Awakening: I Ascend As A Legendary Ranked Necromancer-Chapter 97: I know

I didn’t sleep immediately. I couldn’t. First, I fed it with monster cores, then I turned Hermit’s power into sense, scanning the room and everything around me. Nobody was hiding, at least as far as I could tell.

I let out a sigh of relief and opened my eyes. I reached over and touched Temur’s neck. Nothing was wrong with him. He was sleeping so deeply he didn’t even notice.

I sighed again. Standing guard until morning wasn’t exactly fun, but it had to be done. By the time the first light spread through the room, I figured a small nap wouldn’t hurt.

When I woke, it was mid-morning. Temur had already washed and dressed.

"You look terrible for someone who woke so late," he said, raising an eyebrow at me.

I groaned as the light hit my eyes, squinting before shutting them again. "You look too refreshed for someone who slept with a knife on his neck."

I told him what happened as I slowly dragged myself out of bed. "...I’m thinking Cormac knows about it. Just a hunch." I shrugged.

Temur stayed quiet for a while. I looked at him. "What?"

He shook his head, tapping his chin, frowning slightly. "I’m just thinking... we don’t have experience dealing with humans or other races like that. Monsters are predictable. Other beings..."

I knew what he meant. Fighting monsters is easier. At least they don’t smile at you only to slip a dagger into your ribs later.

After washing up, we went to see our guide. Cormac was in his room, standing upside down with his middle finger raised. Sweat dripped to the floor as he huffed, but he stayed straight.

"You... are awake," he said, slowly bending down to put his feet on the ground. "I’m just catching up on my exercises."

Even Awakeners have to train and perfect their strength. Cormac knew he’d never advance in rank, so he was just using everything in his silver rank. "...have you two done your training this morning?"

Temur and I exchanged looks. Sure, he could train normally, but I don’t train like that. "Yes," I said quickly. "But that’s not why I’m here. Do you know about the people who came to our room at midnight?"

Cormac didn’t deny it. "This is how they check strangers. Either someone vouches for them, like I did, or they investigate themselves. But they insist on checking you personally."

"And you let them drug our food?"

Cormac glanced at me, and I saw a flicker of fear. Even the big one doesn’t want to fight us. "It wasn’t your food. It was the doorknob. A dust type that enters through the palm."

A chill ran down my spine. Poison... this town is dangerous. There wasn’t much more to say, but I kept my eyes on Cormac as we went downstairs.

Even while we ate and drank, I watched everything. "Here. It’s an all-around antidote potion. Won’t cure the most powerful poisons, of course." I handed it to Temur.

Cormac smiled, but we ignored him.

Temur leaned forward, speaking low. "You said something about where we can buy information, right?"

Cormac explained there’s a local organization that sells information, not just about the town, but about everything happening in the Tower.

He drank thick beer from his cup and sighed. "I did say that, but I never said I’d take you there. Especially not with my VIP card. But yes, they sell the best information around here."

"I’m just your guide," he added, "but that doesn’t mean I know everything inside..."

Temur closed his eyes, letting the veins on his head relax. "What do you want?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You newbies always have gold. You can pay me in gold or monster cores."

We paid with gold. Cormac made it vanish faster than a blink and told us to follow him. And so began our strange journey through the town.

In the bright light, I could see the whole place. Like any normal town, there were good and bad spots, but here, almost everyone was armed, dressed in black, and the streets were dirty.

"We’re entering the territory of the Silent Daggers. Be careful what you say and how you behave. They’ll kill you before asking questions."

Compared to the neutral block, it was better here. No dead bodies, no beggars.

I recognized the gang members by the way they carried themselves. Everyone else moved out of the way. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"If the Black Axe are mercenaries, the Silent Daggers deal with information, smuggling, and assassination. We’re going to one of their main buildings. I have a VIP card for most of the gang. That’s why I don’t come cheap."

"And here we are!"

We stopped in front of a building barely bigger than the inn we had left behind.

"Ahm... are you sure this is the place?" I asked. It wasn’t much bigger than the inn, and honestly, it didn’t look much different either—both were shabby buildings.

"This is the place." Cstridebegan strode in confidently, and with a shrug, Temur followed. I sighed and went along.

Nobody stopped us from going inside. The interior was exactly what I expected: chairs, tables, people eating. The only difference was that the people eating were all members of the Silent Dagger.

Cormac headed straight for the innkeeper’s table and pulled a black card from his ring. "I want the most expensive two-fanged pock."

He didn’t bother lowering his voice, and everyone froze when they heard him. VIPs weren’t uncommon here, but they were rare. All eyes turned toward us, studying the newcomers with sharp interest.

I shifted uneasily under the attention. And what did Cormac do to get a VIP card anyway? I couldn’t help thinking. He said he has them for most of the gangs here... must be something important.

The innkeeper dropped the cup he was cleaning and cleared his throat. "For how many?"

"I’ll take their plates. Make the food the highest quality."

The man froze, eyes widening slightly as he looked at the three of us. "For that quality... that’ll cost a lot."

"I know."