Jacob was startled when he heard the barbarian mention his star ID. He didn't pay him any attention; in fact, no one in the entire treaty would normally ignore Asher and even forget about his existence. It was a very strange phenomenon that even Diminutive didn't seem to have noticed.
Furthermore, Asher rarely spoke and took part in their meetings and followed orders without batting an eye, but now, he suddenly spoke, and his words didn't seem casual as well since they all suddenly felt the tempo of the chapel was disrupted the moment he mentioned that star ID.
Although they might pay little attention to the barbarian, they all knew that he was the Dark Prince of the Dark City, and unlike them, his authority wasn't something he could just give away on a whim.
Nonetheless, the most important thing was why Asher suddenly uttered that Star ID, how he even knew that 'Crimson' was the owner of this Star ID, and what his intentions were in bringing it up.
'Is he in on that?' Diminutive eyes suddenly widened slightly as he carefully glanced at the barbarian and then Jacob, who had suddenly turned silent. Many possibilities started to appear in his mind, and he decided to keep observing.
"No, this is my first time hearing about this Star ID. But why did you reach this conclusion that this is my star ID?" Jacob impassively replied. He controlled himself from hexing the barbarian since he knew it was just a puppet, and if he showed an excessive reaction, he would declare to everyone that he was the Faceless Ancient.
Although it wasn't a big deal even if they found out about his Star ID, the thing is, there were simply too many things that would surface if they could search the database of three factions.
If they find out his history, they would know that he was not as mysterious as he seemed, nor was he as powerful as right now about two decades ago. Once the veil is lifted, his deterrence would be gone, and he wouldn't be able to manipulate them as he wanted.
Not to mention, it would also become painfully obvious that he had a huge secret that allowed him to reach his point within just over two decades. Then forget about Diminutive; everyone would be scheming against him.
Moreover, he had signed the oath contract with the ATLAS about him not knowing the Legendary Key's whereabouts, and if they find out about it, his ability to bypass oath contracts will surface.
Although he could always tackle it by saying that he had discovered its location after signing the contract, the seed of doubt would remain.
That's why he can't let them find out that he was Faceless Ancient, and he also had to find out why and how this barbarian suddenly reached this conclusion since he hadn't let any clues nor Faceless Ancient was enigmatic enough for Asher to link Crimson and Faceless Ancient suddenly.
Jacob instantly sensed a conspiracy, and he again discovered that Diminutive and Veronica weren't the only ones in the treaty he had to watch out for. Those quasi-legends were simply too unpredictable.
Nonetheless, he now had to deal with this guy first before he could formulate another plan to completely detach himself from the star ID, Faceless Ancient, at least until he was in the Unique Plains.
As for simply changing his star ID name, it was impossible now because he was a 3-Star Star Privilege ID holder. The twenty-year name change function of the Star ID only works on o- Star Star Privilege ID holders. Or he would've changed his damn star ID long ago!
However, he now has another way to fake a Star ID, the Gluttony Mask, but sadly, he can't use it right now.
Asher's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't think Jacob would deny it so casually, and he couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not since Jacob was simply too careful not to show his emotions. The early undulation in his aura could also be due to his dismay with being disrupted and questioned in the middle of his speech.
Furthermore, Asher had already investigated the star ID, Faceless Ancient, and when he found the details about the guy, he was in disbelief and thought the Golden Constant was messing with him, who gave him this information.
After all, how could a Unique Rank suddenly become a quasi-legend in a mere two decades? Not to mention that because of Tomas's interest in Jacob and since he had noticed him when he was in the Epic Plains because of his winning the medallion, he had gathered almost all the information he could find on the guy.
But that information also fell into Asher's hands, and although he admits that the guy was talented and abnormal, he could not believe that he could reach such heights within such a short span of time.
However, then he thought about how the Golden Constant was interested in him and insisted on taking his body, and he instantly thought about Jacob's abnormal growth. It finally struck him that there must be a secret that even that lunatic wanted at all costs, and he became interested in it as well.
After all, if that secret could help him grow to such heights, and even someone like Golden Constant was willing to reveal himself for it, it was worth looking into it. Who knows, maybe he might get something unexpected in this backwater place.
Anyway, his plan of secretly confronting Jacob about it so he won't deny it fell into the drain when Veronica suddenly suggested the signing of the Zodiac Contract. He also became uncertain about Crimson really being the Faceless Ancient after hearing about him manipulating the Zodiac Plains Enforcement to trigger the darn Extreme Respond, which even he was afraid of.
So, he had no choice but to ask this question to prevent him from agreeing to sign the zodiac contract; otherwise, things would turn sore quickly.
Now that Jacob had also denied it without much hesitation and asked him the reason for his conclusion, he was stumped and didn't know how to respond. But he knew he had to first stop him from thinking about signing the zodiac contract.
"Mr. Crimson, forgive my rudeness, but it's very important. If I can have some private moments with you, it would be easier for me to explain." Asher sounded embarrassed and shy, as if he had done something wrong, which instantly made everyone's eyes twitch. However, Jacob's eye could see what others can't, and he instantly knew this guy was lying. He also wanted to know what compelled him to take such action and what he wanted with Faceless Ancient.
"Alright, I'm also quite interested in what you have to say. "Everyone, please excuse us!
Jacob impassively nodded, as it might show that there was really something between that star ID and him, but he had to know what this guy was after. A strange unease started to grip his heart the moment Asher mentioned his star ID, and he knew his instincts couldn't be wrong!