[Aiden's POV]
After our ID cards were ready, Ryuk spoke again, "Sir Aiden, I have selected 2 beginner dungeons we control on this continent, which has higher monster density. One of them is also a special dungeon, but I don't actually want to recommend that to you. I am only telling you this because, it was your wish." He looked at Seraphine as he finished.
"Why is that, Mr. Ryuk?" I asked, my curiosity increased.
"That's because it is known as the Grave of the Thirty Steps. The special part about this dungeon is that it allows entry only once. You can't farm it again. It sends a party or someone foolish enough to solo the dungeon into one copy."
"Even if we send someone immediately after the first ones, they are like in different dimensions and never come across each other. We have lost personnel because of this, so I will advise you to go cautiously if you want to." He finished his explanation.
He was telling me it's dangerous, but in my eyes they were just waiting to form as origin points. If I could farm it repeatedly, it would have been even better. I actually got a good thing from here beside my ID; I was gleaming, but I showed restraint.
"Okay, Mr. Ryuk, I would take your advice to heart. If all things are ready, could we depart now? We have somewhere to be," I pressed.
He nodded and presented two ID cards made of a unique metal, especially to be used as ID cards. He also put a third card beside it; it was black in color with gold lettering and a purple border, giving off a VIP vibe.
"Here are your ID cards and the bank special card. Please put a drop of your blood on the bank's card so it will be forever bound to you. Furthermore, I have included 2 dungeon passes on it. Since it's your first time at the bank, think of these passes as a bonus," he explained with a polite face.
But my focus was somewhere else; I remembered my blood had become golden, and if I pricked and dropped blood here, then all my doing to remain undetected for some time would go to waste.
My OP balance was also low; I didn't have enough OP to pull out a bundle gacha to do something in this situation. I was getting tensed up. I asked inwardly, 'System, is there any chance that any skill will come out in 4 pulls that could hide the color of my blood?'
[Although I support this mindset of pulling Gacha, I must stop you here, host. Please check the description of Illusion Mantle again, and you will figure it out yourself.]
I immediately opened the profile and checked the skill.
[SSS-rank Skill: Illusion Mantle]
[Type: Perceptual Deception]
[Description: An advanced deception skill that forges altered perception of the host's stats, abilities, and even appearance. However, real attributes/looks remain the same]
When my eyes reached the word "appearance," I promptly understood. I closed my eyes and focused on using the skill with intent to mask the color of my blood.
I felt something akin to an extra layer on me, covering everything. I also changed my eyes to look normal. I just hoped the manager didn't notice my eyes; he was also eyeing Seraphine too much.
I opened my eyes; the whole process took about a few seconds. I quickly picked up the pin beside the card and pricked my finger to drop blood on the card. After the process was complete, the card glowed in purple for a bit and then returned to its previous state.
The manager stood up along with us as I picked up the cards and handed Seraphine's card to her.
Before we turned to leave, the manager spoke again, addressing Seraphine, "Miss Seraphine, please take this token with you. In the future, if you want to open a bank account, it will help you soften the process."
She looked at me before accepting the token. I didn't see any harm in it, so I nodded positively. After finishing our business, we made our way out of the room. The manager spoke again, "Pleasure doing banking with you, Sir Aiden and Miss Seraphine."
We just nodded in response and hurried our footsteps; the politeness of the manager was giving me an eerie feeling.
Just as we were walking out of the building, my eyes caught a group coming towards us. I desperately hoped I would not be identified, and we quietly kept walking.
We crossed each other; I was just about to let out a breath I was holding, praising that we weren't caught. However, a voice came from behind, "You two, stop and turn around."
I tried to act like I didn't hear and kept walking; Seraphine also didn't stop, following me.
But before we could take two more steps, the same voice reached my ears with a loud voice this time: "By the decree of the Arclight Clan, I command you two to stop and turn around."
'Shit' I cursed in my thoughts and stopped to turn around.
Seraphine noticing the situation asked, "Do you know them master?"
"Yeah, annoyance from the past. Don't react to their provocation; let me handle it," I assured her.
The group walked towards us; the older one from the group spoke to the one in the front, "Young Master, you shouldn't have used the decree for such a trifling matter of stopping some individuals."
The boy in the front, Zale Arclight, didn't answer the question and stood in front of us and spoke, looking at me, "What do we have here?"
The third one in the group, young and probably from the branch family, spoke, "Do you know them, young master Zale?"
The older one probably recognized me and became silent, Zale answered, "You didn't notice; the one standing in front of us is the one and only Aiden with no surname, although I don't know who this beauty is." His eyes were focused on Seraphine beside me.
"What do you want, Zale?" I impatiently asked.
"He doesn't look much like the Aiden we know, young master," the lackey of Zale spoke.
"Oh, so you knew it was me and still didn't stop. You are the same arrogant as ever, but now you are a nobody, but you haven't let go of that superiority of yours," Zale blurted his feelings out.
That's the reason I didn't want to face him; his jealousy knows no bounds. When we were in the academy, he always came 2nd after me; he always blamed me for robbing his chance to get the first place.
"And you are the same as ever, working with your mouth. If you are done patting yourself on the back, then we would like to leave," I spoke and turned Seraphine to leave.
"Hold up, you think you can leave easily as you please; it's not like before, Aiden. The situation is reversed; now I have the power, and you are a nobody. I will show you how to use the power that you so willingly never used." He spoke with a lecherous gleam in his eyes.
"But I am also a recognized member of the main family now. So I will be magnanimous and let you go, if you let that angel stay here, hehe." He giggled.