Chapter 165: The Mask Beneath the Moon
━━━◇◆◇━━━
[Lunar Vein Dew]
"Distilled from moon-fed blooms, it carries the calm of midnight and the strength to stand within it."
Type: Natural Treasure (Consumable)
Rank: ★★★
Description: A teardrop-sized vial containing shimmering dew gathered from Silverveil petals under a triple-moon bloom. Soft light pulses within as though breathing.
Effects:
- Restores mental and spiritual fatigue
- For 6 hours:
• Increases inner harmony rate (loci alignment, aura balance, etc.)
• Temporarily enhances Moon-aspected Resonance Arts by +30% effectiveness
• Stabilizes mental state, improving clarity in high-stress situations and during the night
Limitations:
- Cooldown: 3 drops a week
- Moon-aspected boost does not apply to non-resonant users or solar/fire-aligned techniques
Notes: "Favored by ascetics, cultivators, and madmen alike—anyone who seeks stillness amid storms."
━━━◇◆◇━━━
My eyebrows shot up as I scanned the dew’s description.
A natural treasure, huh.
This was my first one—unless you counted the Clearflow Pill, but that had been more of a quick-fix consumable. This? This was something rarer.
And its effects...
A slow grin spread across my face.
Wasn’t this exactly what I needed?
Between training my new powers, testing the relics, and whatever fresh ’hell’ Virion had planned for me, my stamina—both physical and mental—would be shredded within days. But with this...
Not only would it restore my energy, but it could enhance my focus during high-stress situations. And that line about "inner harmony rate"...
Could it help harmonize my Loci?
Possible. But I wasn’t going to bet on it. Not until I’d tested it properly.
Still, the limitations gave me pause.
Three uses a week. No stacking. And the moon-aspected boost wouldn’t work for non-resonant techniques—meaning my void affinity wouldn’t benefit.
"Still worth it," I decided.
Mentally, I tipped my hat to the System. This was one hell of a thoughtful reward. Maybe it was encouraging me to work harder in its own way.
Closing the window, I turned my attention to the second completed scenario. Time to see what other surprises were waiting.
Ding-!
━━━◇◆◇━━━
SCENARIO: "THE MOON’S SHADOW"
STATUS: ONGOING (HIDDEN)
"A prince who found his brother. A brother who can’t go home. The bond between them is being reforged—but the danger of their past and present still looms."
▸ OBJECTIVES:
✓ Veil of Secrecy – Help Emory maintain his hidden identity
✓ Broken Strings, Mended Ties – Make both brothers work at the shop harmoniously and reforge their bond
✓ The Prince’s Dilemma – Force Nolan to choose between staying with Emory or returning to his kingdom (with or without him)
▸ REWARDS:
- ???
━━━◇◆◇━━━
I nodded at the "Ongoing" status, raised my brow at the description—then froze.
Emory.
The name glared back at me like an accusation.
So it was really you...
A dry chuckle escaped me.
Just a moment ago, I’d entertained the possibility—the way Nolan softened around him, how Emory’s timid demeanor seemed to slip whenever Nolan acted out of line. But I’d dismissed it as a coincidence. Yet...
I’ve been fooled all along.
Not just me—everyone.
All this time, we’d seen Emory as a fragile, skittish soul. The quiet archiver who flinched at loud noises, who stammered through conversations, who seemed perpetually one harsh word away from vanishing into the shadows.
But now? After the system’s personal confirmation. Everything made sense.
The way he effortlessly slipped into his Masked Broker persona during information exchanges—no hesitation, no fear. The way Nolan, a haughty moon elf prince, became putty in his hands, whining and clinging like a chastised child.
Heck, I saw Nolan calling him Big Brother almost every day!
And... I’d missed it.
Because of my overthinking and tired brain, probably.
A wry smile tugged at my lips.
The clues were there.
The unnatural grace in Emory’s movements when he thought no one was looking. The way Kai, that infuriatingly smart bird, obeyed him without question. More importantly...
He played the role too well.
A master of masks.
A shadow moving unseen among humans.
He even gave off that mastermind vibe now.
A sudden chill crept down my spine.
What if he really is?
And, if not for the System, would I ever have pieced it together?
Probably not.
Thankfully, he didn’t feel like a villain—just someone with too many secrets and too many reasons to hide.
A runaway prince?
Or an exiled one?
Or...
Is he really an illegitimate son?
The System offered no answers, leaving me in the dark again. Typical.
I squinted at the screen as more questions clawed at my mind like restless spirits.
Why go to such lengths to hide?
Why choose this particular shop?
Was he truly some mastermind playing 4D chess with all of us?
Or just a runaway prince trying to disappear?
The possibilities tumbled through my mind like dice:
- A spy gathering intelligence?
- Someone who’d intentionally approached Cassandra?
- Or simply a lost soul who’d found temporary shelter?
Too many questions. Too few answers.
Then a thought struck me, and my lips curled into a knowing smile.
Cassandra probably knew.
That woman had her own System, after all. Maybe she had something like my [Character Insight] or even better.
The real question wasn’t whether she knew - but why she’d allowed it to continue.
She must have seen something in him.
Cassandra was probably not the type to tolerate threats near her business. If Emory was still working there, it meant one of two things:
- He was completely harmless
- He was useful enough to keep around
Either way...
"I don’t need to worry about him then," I murmured aloud.
After a beat, I added: "Or the shop."
If Emory had survived this long under Cassandra’s watchful eye, he was either exactly what he appeared to be - a displaced prince hiding from his past - or he was so damn good at his act that he’d fooled even the Merchant Queen’s system.
And honestly?
Both possibilities were equally fascinating.
The shop would be fine. Nolan would... well, continue being Nolan. And Emory?
Well, that was a story I’d enjoy watching unfold from the sidelines.
For now, at least.
I closed the System window with a flick of my wrist; some mysteries were better left to reveal themselves in time.
"..."
A wry smile twisted my lips.
Even as I told myself to let it go, curiosity gnawed at me.
Then—
Wait.
A thought struck me like lightning.
Kai.
That blue bird who followed Emory everywhere, who obeyed his every command without question...
My hands moved before my mind could catch up, summoning the [Monster Hunter’s Encyclopedia] in a flash of silver light. The pages rippled beneath my fingers, rearranging themselves until—
There.