The Deceitful One

Seeing Ron look at him as if he was some psychopath, Bryan further explained, "It's not like the people I killed were innocent or something. All of them were ruthless criminals who had their hands long dirty.

Furthermore, my teacher told me that when dealing with enemies, I must cut off all their roots, or else they would cause endless trouble for me in the future."

After listening to Bryan, Ron was even more flabbergasted as he thought inwardly, 'The teacher is a psycho and the student is an even bigger psycho.'

Meanwhile, while Ron was recovering from the shock, Robert was the complete opposite. Although he was also shocked it wasn't for the same reason as Ron.

He now saw Bryan in a new light. Being able to manipulate so many people and have them fight each other to increase his own chances of winning showed that Bryan not only had a great tactical mind but was also extremely cunning.

'To be able to scheme so deeply and also be so good at combat that he was able to kill more than 40 people, plus he's still an Apprentice! What a monstrous talent!' Robert thought in his heart.

It was also important to note that the public was still under the impression that the Damascus Massacre took place because of the conflict between Jack Brown and Jeffrey Gill.

If Bryan hadn't disclosed this secret to Robert, he would have forever remained oblivious to it. Of course, he could have utilized divination to find the truth. However, that was on the basis that the Damascus Massacre had Transcendents involved.

And there was no proof of any Transcendents being involved in that massacre. Otherwise, why would Robert look into anything that was not Transcendent related? That is why he felt a hint of admiration for Bryan's cunning and combat strength.

'Looks like Detective Watson has found and nurtured a splendid sapling truly fit to walk the Wisdom Path!' Robert sighed in his heart.

Wisdom Path Transcendents were excellent at manipulating and scheming behind the scenes. Rarely did they ever engage in frontal combat because the enemy would have already fallen for their trap before the need for direct combat arose.

And Bryan's actions indicated that he would become a top-notch Wisdom Path Transcendent if he were to embark on this Path.

Robert exhaled a deep breath and then looked at Bryan, "I hope you stick to certain principles and never harm ordinary people who are innocent. Is that understood?"

Bryan who was talking to Ryan about the details of the night of the massacre in the Brown Estate straightened his back and replied, "I understand, Mr. Albright!"

"Call me Captain from now on as everybody else does." Robert waved his hand.

Bryan couldn't help but smile. This meant that he had officially been accepted into the Silver Owls. He then nodded his head, "Yes, Captain!"

"Hmm, Ron show him around." Robert looked in Ron's direction and instructed.

"Right away, Captain." Ron nodded his head and then took Bryan away with him.

Robert stared at Bryan's departing back for a long time before finally shifting his attention back to the documents on his table and getting back to work.

Outside the office, Ron was secretively glimpsing at Bryan from time to time as if he were looking at some unique antique.

Bryan's eyebrow twitched incessantly as he could feel Ron staring at him. He finally couldn't take it and asked, "What!? You've been acting weirdly ever since I mentioned the massacre. What's wrong?"

Ron looked at him strangely and asked back, "You really don't know? Killing as many as 40 people—and over 100 people indirectly— as an Apprentice is really surprising. Moreover, you're really young. I bet your pubic hair hasn't even started growing."

Bryan's raised his eyebrow as he replied, "Really? But it's not like I killed them head-on. Most of the time I was just sneaking around and attacking them from the shadows."

Then his lips curled up into a mischievous smirk, "And my pubic hair is flourishing down there. Hehe, I can show you if you want."

Ron subconsciously made some distance from Bryan as he replied, "I don't swing that way. Plus, I already have a fiancée."

Bryan chuckled, "Relax, I'm only kidding."

Ron then showed Bryan around, introducing him to the various facilities in the headquarters that he could use.

A relatively large part of the underground space was used to assemble and build pieces of machinery. Bryan didn't exactly know what they were building but he could make out some weapons and armors being made.

Then there was a massive library where rows of bookshelves were kept. And all the books stored in these bookshelves appeared to be extremely ancient.

"Almost all the books in the library are related to magic. You'll also find magic spell books in there, however, you will have to either buy them with money or use credit points." Ron introduced.

Bryan looked at Ron and inquired, "Credit points? What are those?"

"You will be given credit points if you complete certain missions given by the HQ. And you can choose to accept these missions individually or in a group." Ron explained patiently.

'Missions, huh? Interesting.' Bryan stroked his chin as he pondered.

Ron then introduced him to the spell-casting practice area. This was an enclosed space in the basement and its thick glass walls were fortified with magic runes. It could withstand any damage up to the level of a Rank 2 spell.

After touring the practice area, Ron then took him to the adjacent recreation room. It didn't have any games that the people here could play, it was more of a lounge where everyone could relax. Moreover, it also had a small kitchen.

Since this was underground, there were no windows in this room. The walls were made of large gray bricks and gas lamps adorned the walls, illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.

There were a few long sofas placed on both sides of the room along with a few single-seater cushioned couches, chairs, and tables.

There were only five people in the recreation room currently and all five of them were sitting together around a round table, playing some sort of card game.

Ron stood in front of the group and clapped twice to get their attention. He then introduced with a smile, "Everybody! Please welcome our newest team member, Bryan."

Bryan waved his right hand and smiled, "Yo!"