Chapter 688: All Roads
"Ah, to think that the famous Sylas Grimblade would accept my invitation. I am honored."
Nathan's voice came from the other line and Sylas was taken somewhat off guard. He had used long-ranged communication methods before, namely to speak with his little sister, but he didn't even get the chance to feed it Aether Stones before everything just started working naturally. It was hard to tell if this was because Nathan had pre-loaded it, or...
"No need to be surprised. This is a special device I created with my Profession. It makes it easier on us because it's basically impossible to track, and there's no use for Aether either. If things go well, and you trust me, I don't mind giving such devices to your family as well. That way you can contact them secretly whenever you want without the cost."
Sylas didn't answer immediately, adjusting himself to just what this meant.
"... You corrected the technology issues of Earth?"
Nathan chuckled. "I shouldn't be surprised that you figured it out so quickly, but I can't help myself. I thought I hid it decently well. But yes, you're correct. At least for some matters, I'm capable of tapping into Earth's technology of old. Though it feels odd to say this considering we had full access to them little more than a year ago."
Sylas took a breath. This wasn't just a small matter. It was huge.
As powerful as F-Grade, and E-Grade beyond felt... could the current Sylas survive a bullet at point-blank range? Well, he was pretty confident in dodging now, but that relied not on reacting to the bullet, but rather to the person firing it.
If he was forced to withstand a bullet, he would need to rely on a defensive Skill and his Aether first and foremost, and at best he would be able to deal with a normal handgun. Although Nathan claimed that he could only do this for some technology, the obvious assumption was that as his Profession progressed, so too would his ability to tap into these branches as well.
Without even saying much, Nathan had displayed his value several times over.
'This Profession has to be exceptionally rare or exceptionally difficult to progress. If both of these are untrue, then the enemies of Earth are far more powerful than anything I've imagined until now...'
"Then let's get to the core of it." Sylas said slowly. "Why have you contacted me?"
"I think that we would be of great use to one another. If you've read my file, I'm sure you've seen that I'm very good at making investments."
"From your vantage point, I shouldn't be one."
"Well, I wouldn't be so sure... especially since making a bet on you now doesn't come with a
lot of risk to me. After all, the Grimblades are currently in a state of limbo and ultra flexibility.
I bet that the reason you left the Grimblade family compound so freely is because you managed to strike a deal with someone quite important."
"So you mean to say that you're free to put your eggs in two baskets without losing out on much."
Nathan chuckled. "It sounds arrogant when you put it like that-."
"No. It's just reality. You understand your worth. Should the Grimblades know of your abilities, even if they did have evidence of you betraying them, so long as you didn't cross their bottom line, they would look the other way."
Nathan's laugh echoed out once more, but he didn't reply directly, feeling that Sylas was going to continue. And that he did.
"So why did you not use these abilities for the sake of helping Lucius?"
"Lucius chose me. I didn't choose him."
The words were clear and concise, and they made everything quite obvious. These were about the response that Sylas was expecting, but because of that, he didn't know how much stock to put into it.
Unexpectedly, though, Nathan surprised him once again.
"That said, that's only half the truth. The other reason is because I only unlocked this Profession very recently thanks to a man that you probably know. A certain... Archibald."
Sylas' eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, another piece of the puzzle came into place and he realized that there was another reason Nathan had chosen to do this.
"You need me."
Nathan's words paused before he sighed. "Indeed, you really are too sharp. It's unfortunate, but someone like you can't be my choice. I would never be able to accomplish much of
anything."
Sylas didn't reply.
"You are right. You've probably guessed it already from my words, though I don't know how a monster like you can exist in this world, but in exchange for a foot in the door of this
Profession, Archibald did ask me to contact you on his behalf."
"For what purpose?"
The moment Nathan mentioned Archibald, the truth was all too obvious to Sylas. Although the logic earlier was sound, Nathan had failed to account for one thing...
What could Sylas do for him?
The implication seemed to just be a position amongst Sylas' inner circle, but Nathan knew nothing about Sylas' plans or his intentions. The man might be good at making investments, but those investments should be built on a mountain of research. Unless Nathan was that mysterious journalist, there were too many things about Sylas that he didn't know.
But this... this made perfect sense.
Archibald was an engineer from a time gone by, the fact that he could give out a Class was a surprise, but what this Class was related to fit just fine.
At the same time... Archibald had appeared on the Split Realm Contribulation List at the very top before Sylas replaced him. If his rewards were anything like Sylas', then he had gained
quite a bit.
That just left one question... what could Archibald possibly want from him?
Well, Sylas actually had far more questions than just that. But this would have to do for now.
"He only told me to relay these words to you exactly and that you would understand: 'I know of the Silver City Steles. All roads lead to Legacy.""