Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening-Chapter 147: Espionage (1)

It was nighttime, and there were no signs of Caleb. The bounty hunters keeping an eye on the dungeon had nothing to send back.

Aside from some adventurers who were quickly investigated and their identities affirmed, there were no signs of their target.

Despite the dormancy of the alarm and surveillance spells, the knights and guards in the city were instructed to keep an eye out for Caleb or anyone suspicious.

For the knights and bounty hunters on the estate grounds, there was nothing they could do but rest and prepare for his eventual show up.

In the dining area set up for the bounty hunters, some of the adventurers continued to stuff their faces with food while others walked around making small talk about the current state of affairs.

Caleb, in the persona of Belzac, was minding his own business, taking a bite out of a piece of bread. His actions were not out of place, but someone was subtly watching him.

Naturally, he noticed this but turned a blind eye to it. ’For someone who uses their muscles a lot, he’s got great instincts.

’I haven’t given anything away, but he was able to tell something was going on from that simple statement I whispered into his eyes.’

Caleb got to his feet after finishing his food. "I’ll go rest up a bit." He wasn’t telling anyone in particular, but a few caught his words.

He turned around and headed for the resting area. There, he looked around and found an empty spot in the far back.

Without delay, he walked towards the bed and lay down. He brought both hands behind his head and crossed one leg over the other.

Through his domain sense, Caleb saw Crusher appear at the entrance and took a bed close by that had a good view of his position.

’I take it back,’ Caleb mused with a slight sigh, his eyes closed. ’His suspicions might draw the gaze of others if he’s not careful. Hah... this is troublesome.’

Fortunately for him, what he was about to do next would make the tigerkin question his hypothesis. After all, Belzac was checked and came out clean.

’The Royals sure have some powerful means...’

The kind of spells the king gave Caleb before departing the capital were no joke. It provided him with the means to execute this ruse.

First was the spell that allowed him to change his appearance and mana signature. It was a useful spell, mostly utilised by the king’s private forces.

However, like all novel spells not commonly known to the public, it drained quite a lot of mana, making it a situational use-only spell.

Another spell Caleb was about to use right this moment was called Body Double. This spell allowed the user to make an exact clone of themselves that was capable of minor interactions.

So long as the clone didn’t interact too deeply with the surrounding people, it was fine. However, it had a downside.

The range was limited to how far your detection capabilities could go. After all, it had to be connected to the main body somehow.

This, however, was not an issue for Caleb, who had a domain sense with an effective radius of 1 kilometre that was still growing. A distance like that was nothing to sneeze at.

Even from his current position, Caleb could see Jess just fine. In addition to that, the Duke’s castle was right under his observation.

He had already mapped out the layout of the castle with the help of his system, identifying the locations he needed to investigate.

These locations caught his attention as they were hidden behind some powerful anti-spying spells Caleb was hesitant to trigger.

’All powerful nobles have something like this... A spell that blocks any magical senses from probing and also alerts the owner of a possible spy.’ Caleb recalled the words of the king.

He was able to tell these locations because his senses could pinpoint those areas via the magical energy signature they gave off. It was a weak signal anyone else would have missed, but this was not an issue for the system.

A subtle wave of mana, unseen and unsensed by the people around, swirled around Belzac’s body. Executing a spell that manipulated the surrounding light, Caleb distorted the perception of those around him, giving the illusion that he was asleep.

Following this spell, he cast the Body Double spell. The spell matrix made a copy of his current appearance and layered it over his real body. From there, Caleb executed his next spell — Spatial Displacement.

With his body in another plane and hidden from sight, Caleb was able to sneak out of the resting area with ease. Left behind was the body double that looked like the real thing — energy signature and all.

’Teleporting to the castle would have been easier if it weren’t for all those spells.’ Caleb grumbled as he stealthily moved around the camp, blending with the shadows and closing in on the castle.

While he could still teleport, he was going for stealth. The protective spells around the castle included anti-teleport spells as well. It would be extremely easy to force his way through, but that would expose him to the forces of the duke.

After bypassing the knights and guards around the estate grounds, he quickly arrived at the castle’s inner walls. This was where the protective spells started.

The Spatial Displacement spell allowed him to hide in a subspace that did not interact with objects in the real world. This granted him the ability to phase through physical objects.

Additionally, with this spell, he could bypass the security spells without triggering the alarms. He was in a different space, and the spells existed in another space; hence, no interactions.

’Step one complete...’ Caleb stated, appearing on the other side of the wall.

The area was crawling with guards and knights. Up ahead, a few hundred meters away, was the main castle, lit up with the chandeliers and magical light sources.

Caleb took a second to review the position of everyone in the main castle grounds, pinpointing the duke’s office. The duke was still in his office doing some paperwork.

’I’ll get back to him. For now...’ Caleb turned his attention to the hidden chamber attached to the study. ’Let’s see what’s hidden behind those walls...’