He could sense over ten different types of seals layered on the envelope.
Some were familiar, but others were strange.
They were too complex for him to identify them, and he hadn’t been taught about them.
There might have even been hidden seals mixed in.
’Why so much secrecy?’ he thought.
He opened the letter carefully.
As soon as he did, he felt a probing spell activate from within the letter.
It scanned him, touching his mana and identity like a cold hand brushing over his soul.
"That’s an Identity Scanner Spell. It’s confirming that it’s you, Isaac Hargraves, who is opening the letter," Althea said.
Isaac nodded slowly.
Inside, though, his expression tightened.
This was far too elaborate for a simple message.
Something about this felt wrong.
He unfolded the letter.
It was a single page, written with only five lines.
...
Only you can read this letter, and this letter will be erased after you read.
Alice Calloway’s future.
The city was destroyed in it, remember?
That event’s timeline has changed.
It will happen tomorrow.
...
As soon as he finished reading, the paper burned away in his hands.
The ashes turned to nothing before they could even touch the floor.
Isaac stared at the empty air where the letter had been.
His mind froze for a moment.
Then he looked up at Althea.
His face was calm, but inside, he felt cold.
"Did you know what was written in the letter?" he asked.
"No," Althea said quietly.
"Professor?" Isaac said aloud.
There was silence for a few seconds.
Then a woman’s voice echoed in the room, soft and steady. "She said the truth."
Althea’s bodyguard, Charlotta, stiffened.
She reached for her weapon and scanned the room, but she couldn’t find anyone.
Isaac kept his gaze on Althea.
"What was written in the letter for you to react so seriously?" she asked, her tone calm but curious.
"You should return to your city," Isaac said.
Althea blinked. "What do you—"
She stopped halfway, then her eyes narrowed as she seemed to understand something.
She stood from her seat.
"We’ll be waiting in the lodgings you’ve prepared. If you need our help, don’t hesitate to call us."
Isaac nodded slightly.
She turned and left, Charlotta following close behind.
The moment the door closed, Isaac sat back on the sofa and rubbed his temple.
When he had helped Alice awaken her bloodline and reach Apex rank, the System had shown him a message.
It said that in the original future, Alice was supposed to be exiled from the city, forced to survive in the wilderness, and that was how she would awaken.
By the time she returned for revenge, the city would already be gone.
But Isaac had helped her awaken early.
That change had alerted the future.
The Goddess of Love, War, and Harvest had praised him for saving Alice from her tragic fate.
’The Seventh Queen of Florathi can talk with the Goddess through the World Tree. Althea said so.’
’So maybe the Goddess told her that the city’s destruction would now happen earlier because I changed Alice’s future.’
That made sense.
But if the Goddess knew about the destruction, why not tell him what would cause it?
Why only tell him when it would happen?
He stopped that train of thought before it went further.
’No point in blaming them. They didn’t have to warn me at all. I should be thankful they did.’
He exhaled slowly and leaned forward.
’So, the city will be destroyed tomorrow.’
’But what does that mean exactly? Instant destruction, or something that starts tomorrow and slowly causes the end of our city?’
He needed answers.
He turned his head and saw Vale watching him from the other side of the room.
"Call Leora and Celia back," Isaac said.
Vale didn’t ask questions.
He just nodded and pulled out his communication device.
Isaac waited in silence.
His fingers drummed on his knee, his mind already running through dozens of possibilities.
Within five minutes, Leora and Celia arrived.
Celia looked confused and worried. Leora had a faint frown.
"Isaac, what’s going on? You called us back so suddenly," Celia asked.
"I’ll explain," Isaac said. Then he looked around the room. "Professor, come out."
The air shimmered faintly, and Professor Catherine appeared sitting on the side sofa, one leg crossed over the other.
She looked calm, and her eyes studied Isaac carefully.
He didn’t waste time.
"Fortified City 50 is going to be destroyed. It’ll either happen tomorrow or start tomorrow," he said.
The room went still.
Celia’s eyes widened.
"What?" she whispered.
Leora, Vale, and Catherine all froze too, but they masked their reactions better.
"Are you sure?" Leora asked.
"Ninety percent sure," Isaac said quietly.
He left the remaining ten percent for the small chance that the Goddess of Love, War, and Harvest had lied or made a mistake.
It wasn’t likely, but it was possible.
Professor Catherine leaned forward. "Do you know how it’ll happen?"
Isaac shook his head. "No. But the timing couldn’t be worse. It’s one day before our Quest starts, and before the red rain."
Celia frowned. "The red rain? You mean that mutation storm?"
Isaac nodded.
"Yeah. When it starts, all the monsters in the wilderness will mutate. They’ll go berserk and attack everything nearby."
He paused.
"That includes nearby settlements like ours."
The rain would mutate all monsters in the wilderness, causing them to go berserk and attack all near settlements.
In the wilderness, wild monsters and monster tribes lived.
The possibility of them going berserk due to red rain was the main reason Isaac had been focusing on strengthening the city’s defenses.
But now, he had another problem to deal with.
"Leora, Professor Catherine, Celia, and I will move through the wilderness. Celia and I can use teleportation, and our group’s combat power is high enough to scout the wilderness comparatively safely and quickly. If something strange is happening out there, we’ll find it," Isaac said.
Vale looked at him seriously. "You think the attack will come from the wilderness?"
"Yes," Isaac nodded. "An attack from inside the city is impossible. I can check the citizens’ loyalty through the system, so rebellion isn’t an issue.
"Ruby has access to all CCTVs, so no outsider can sneak around unnoticed.
"Even if something does sneak inside and start something secretly, we could stop it before it gets far with brute force.
"So secrete sabotages are not possible.
"The only real danger is if something attacks from the wilderness, and in a large enough force that we can’t stop it."
Leora folded her arms. "That makes sense. But you’re not coming with us to the wilderness."
Isaac frowned. "What?"
"You need to stay here and work on the crops. They’re essential if we want enough materials to strengthen the city’s defenses before the Quest.
"If you leave to scout, our progress on the Quest will stop completely," Leora said.
Isaac hesitated.
He wanted to argue, but she was right.
The crops were crucial for buying defensive and other materials through trading.
He sighed. Right now, he really thought it would’ve been good if he had a clone skill like Professor Catherine.
"You’re right," he said quietly. "I’ll stay. But remember to stay safe and report back the moment you find anything unusual. Don’t fight unless you have to."
"Of course," Professor Catherine said with a small smile. "We’ll be careful."
She turned and left with Celia and Leora.
The room grew quiet.
Isaac leaned back and rubbed his eyebrows, trying to ease the tension that had built up in his head.
His mind, however, didn’t rest.
In the original future, Alice was supposed to be thrown out of the city and forced to survive in the wilderness.
At first, Isaac had believed that Selene was the one who did it.
But after what happened at the banquet at the Calloway estate, his view had changed.
During that event, he had noticed something wrong, something deeply unnatural.
Everyone in the Calloway estate had either been working under someone’s control or outright brainwashed.
Later, Chairman Lucius told him that "someone" had taken over the estate and its people.
From all the clues, it was clear that this "someone" had been targeting Alice.
Isaac remembered that clearly now.
’That person wanted me to see their extent of power. They wanted me to realize the Calloway estate was under their control.’
And then, not long after that banquet, he had been kidnapped.
When he woke up afterward, Professor Catherine had erased his memories.
’The person who kidnapped me must be the one targeting Alice, and they would be the ones who exiled Alice from her family and city.’
’Since Professor Catherine erased my memory of being kidnapped, she must know who was responsible for it.’
He would need to talk to her about it tonight when they reviewed his missing memories.
For now, though, he had to focus on what was in front of him: The city’s defenses.
He got up and walked toward the window.
Outside, workers were busy laying road to his house. The smell of metal and stone filled the air, mixed with faint traces of mana.
His thoughts were interrupted when Vale entered the room.
"Isaac," Vale said, holding a clipboard in one hand. "The we have gathered enough Runic Obsidian Slabs and the Soul-Conductive Alloy. With the other materials we already have, we can start construction on the Summoning Altar."
Isaac’s expression eased slightly.
"Good. Let’s start the construction right away," he said, standing up straight.
Vale nodded and gestured toward the door. "Everything’s ready at the main square."
Isaac followed him outside.
Isaac still aimed to find a method to have all his people evolve into Apex rank into the future.
He refused to throw them behind like discarded game characters that were no longer of use.
For now, though, they needed immediate power.
And the solution for that was the summoning altar.