Death… And Me

Chapter 3124  Another Test

Rean was taken aback by that answer. 'Didn't think you would tell me that easily. Still... are you sure you want to meet Gratlur? From what these guys around are saying, it seems like Zangeshu is quite famous. There is a good chance he is close to his great-grandfather. I don't want to pour salt on injury, but your acting skills are pretty shit.'

Roan didn't deny that. 'I know, but I won't need any acting skills. I just need to act serious as I always did. That's because the topic I'm bringing up can't be taken in any other way.'

Rean pondered about it for a moment when an idea appeared in his mind. 'Wait, are you planning to ask...'

Roan nodded. 'I'll go meet with him. You can just observe.'

Rean sighed but had to admit he was also curious about the same problem. 'Just one thing, would it be better for me to exit the Inquisition Forging Hall first in case you need to flee?'

'No need,' Roan shook his head. 'Even if somehow I have to run, no one knows about you. If necessary, you can go out later, and then I can come out of the Dimensional Realm.'

'Very well.' Since Roan was that confident, Rean decided not to meddle in his business and continued to wait in the Puppetry Sub-Branch.

As for Roan, he checked the few memories he took out from the real Zangeshu. Finally, he went to the top floors of the Inquisition Forging Hall, asking one of Zangeshu's great-grandfather's subordinates for an audience. "Can you call the old man and tell him I need to talk to him?" He spoke in the way he saw in Zangeshu's memories. It wasn't hard for Roan to pretend to be Zangeshu since he just needed to be arrogant. Roan was quite good at it, although he always had the right and strength to be so.

The guy heard that request, scratching the back of his head. "Little Zangeshu, you know that Master Gratlur hates to be interrupted during his work. Isn't it better for you to meet him at his home later today?"

Roan shook his head, though. "What I have to discuss is important and can't be waited. Just tell him that I will accept his offer regarding the new position in the Inquisition Forging Hall if he receives me now."

Gratlur's subordinate was surprised to hear that. Gratlur had been pushing for his great-grandson to start learning more about the Inquisition Forging Hall for several years, hoping that Zangeshu would take his position as the director as soon as possible. However, Zangeshu never showed real interest in being the director, so it was quite a headache for Gratlur. Everyone directly linked to Gratlur knew about this.

"R-Really?" The guy asked back. However, he quickly shook his head. "No, forget it. I'll inform Master Gratlur straight away. Please wait here."

Roan faintly smiled and nodded. He had nothing to do with whatever happened later between Gratlur and Zangeshu. He hasn't even decided yet if he would even release Zangeshu later.

---

Meanwhile, Rean's wait for the night finally ended, and he was brought to the examiner, who would check his proficiency in crafting puppets. "Aren't you a little too young to be here?" The examiner asked, narrowing his eyes. Usually, someone as young and with Rean's cultivation would at most be a disciple of some members of the Inquisition Forging Hall. Few ever took the tests since only overall ability counted, and age and cultivation usually gave you a lot more experience. That's why no one found it strange that 'Tagunda' took the test while Rean and the others were only his disciples.

Rean didn't mind the comment, speaking, "I don't think so. I'm truly very good with puppets. Of course, I'm not as good as the real geniuses or those directly connected to the Inquisition Forging Hall, but I can hold my own. Besides, my master paid for my test already."

The man didn't think much about it. "Well, those aren't my Spirit Stones. I'm Flafei, and I will check your abilities in Puppetry today." He then turned to another three cultivators there, although those three were much older and had much higher cultivation than Rean. In any case, that small number showed how Pupptry wasn't a very famous sub-job in this place. "The same goes for you all. Everyone, follow me."

The group was brought to another room where many different puppets of several different levels and forms could be seen. Humanoid ones, Beast ones, Spirit ones, etc... However, they were all deactivated, missing many runes, parts, cores, and other things. "Your test is quite simple. You can choose any of these broken puppets to fix. Don't worry. All of them have their instructions regarding their structures, runes, etc. You can use it to see what is wrong and how to proceed with your fix. So, even if you have never seen a specific type of puppet before, you should still be able to fix it with the information provided," Flafei explained. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"You have one day to fix as many as possible. There is no need to fight with each other over puppets either since there are many of the same types. There is only one rule, once you fix a certain type of puppet, you can't do it again. Fixing the same type of puppet twice will not improve your chances of passing this test."

Finally, he waved his hand, and a big holographic screen appeared at the top of the room. "This is not a competition. All of you can pass, or maybe none of you can. As long as you reach 800 points, you are in. This is literally an individual test. There is no extra prize for the one with the highest score or any bullshit like that, either. Now, you can start."

Rean and the other three spread their Spiritual Senses, quickly checking the various puppets. However, Rean had to admit his attention was a lot more on the conversation Roan was having with Gratlur right now.