After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 42.1

“This… this cat is…”

Levin was a cat lover. His own palace kept seven or eight cats, so his knowledge of cats could be considered very professional. But this one before his eyes…

He was frightened. He stepped back when met with the gray cat’s gaze, inexplicably feeling fearful and holding his breath. As a king, he had seen countless powerful individuals, faced Sword Saint Ferrol, Sword Saint Simon and others, but the pressure he felt facing them seemed less than from this cat.

It was just a casual glance, yet it made his hair stand on end. When he activated his system assessment, it showed the cat’s level was merely 27.

He himself was already level 43, how could he be scared by a level 27 cat? Yet he had goosebumps all over.

Levin gripped the necklace in his hand tightly, still trying to think, when suddenly a voice spoke up.

“Hello, would you like to buy a book?”

At the same time, the gray cat was picked up and had its head stroked.

The gentle and friendly voice was like warm spring sunlight, shining into his heart that had just been trembling with fear. Levin immediately looked up and met the gaze of the speaker.

A young man with black hair and black eyes, delicate features, dressed in black, sat behind the counter.

These features weren’t uncommon, but couldn’t be called rare either. However, when combined, they easily caught one’s eye and stirred one’s heart.

The other person was clearly the owner of this bookstore, seemingly keeping a cat to watch the door.

“I…”

Levin was stuck, not knowing what to say.

He couldn’t very well say that he had been searching everywhere for “number one in the rankings” until he came here.

But come to think of it, the lighting and composition at this counter position looked quite similar to that image!

“Feel free to browse the books. If you find any you like, just come here to check out,” the young man said.

The youth didn’t notice his awkwardness, smiling faintly, his amiable personality fully evident.

Levin was slightly taken aback.

His system assessment automatically displayed that the other person’s level was only 30 – not particularly high, but considered quite strong among ordinary people. However, this person didn’t seem to be from their great empire. Was he a magician who came here to further his studies?

The Magicians’ Association of the Great Oedipus Empire ranked among the top seven in the world. With a long history and many famous figures, it attracted talents from all over the world. It prided itself on its profound magical foundation, housing hundreds of thousands of books, and even had three Great Magicians.

The hero Ye Qingyi had once stayed here for over a hundred years, and Great Mentor Matros had also come here to teach students.

Some said their empire was a country of sword and magic, with many powerful individuals and talents emerging constantly. However, only he, as the king, knew that the stronger these individuals became, the weaker the king’s authority grew. People respected the powerful more than him, the king.

At the same time, he was also constantly restricted in court politics. No matter what he did, there would always be this or that family opposing him.

He felt almost suffocated, squeezed between numerous powerful families, yet still had to be dragged along by them to conquer the continent and become the first and only “emperor” of the continent. Of course, those great families each had their own supported royal members, and the one they would push forward in the end might not necessarily be him.

As the king of the great empire, there were very few powerful supporters among his followers. The Great Magician Millard from the Magicians’ Association Research Institute counted as one. Millard was a friend of his mother who had watched over him since childhood. With his mind solely focused on magical research and no interest in power struggles, Levin couldn’t feel more at ease with him. But at the same time, he was also depressed because Millard wouldn’t help him fight for power either.

Cough, his thoughts had wandered too far!

Levin shook his head forcefully and looked at the other person, asking curiously, “Did you just arrive here recently?”

Caring for the citizens was part of a king’s daily cultivation.

But as soon as he spoke, his goosebumps rose again, because he felt that cat staring at him.

The cold gaze was frightening.

And why did he feel like he had seen this cat somewhere before? And recently at that? Especially the color of its fur…

Xiu Si answered. “Yes, I’ve only been here for a few days.”

Levin was curious and asked, “Are you here to further your studies in magic?”

He had heard from Millard that these days were when exchange students from various neighboring countries came to study and interact. Some people came for a few days, some for several years.

Basically, every country had a Magicians’ Association. They were organizations independent from the state, with countries or regions as their basic units. At a higher level, there was the United Nations Magicians’ Association.

Countries couldn’t interfere with Magicians’ Associations or arbitrarily mobilize the magicians within them.

The relationship between countries and Magicians’ Associations was mainly one of sponsorship or requesting assistance. Therefore, they also couldn’t interfere with the associations initiating academic exchanges between various countries.

Years ago, when continental countries used magicians for warfare everywhere, causing many magicians to die and countless knowledge to be lost to flames, the semi-retired Ye Qingyi angrily emerged from seclusion. She established the Magicians’ Association for mutual aid and cooperation among magicians, while also formulating rules of non-interference between the association and countries. Only then were ambitious individuals forced to keep a certain distance from magicians.

Even so, powerful magicians with large-scale destructive abilities remained a primary resource sought after by the military.

Regarding Levin’s question, the young man seemed to have just thought of this matter. He nodded, “Yes, if I have the chance, I’d like to go too.”

If he had the chance? Levin was somewhat surprised. Did this mean he didn’t have the opportunity to further his studies?

Levin pondered for a moment, then suddenly took out a gilded card from thin air. He skillfully handed it to the other person, saying, “Manager, if you need to go, just use this recommendation card. It’s not useful for much else, but with it, you can attend most magic courses at the Oedipus Magicians’ Association, and all publicly accessible libraries will be open to you.”

Xiu Si looked surprised and couldn’t help saying, “We don’t know each other. You’re giving me such a good thing at our first meeting—”

Levin laughed heartily, obviously no stranger to doing such things.

“Manager, please accept it. I’m giving you a convenience today; if you have the chance, you can also give me a convenience someday.”

His tone was enthusiastic and generous, giving a feeling that was hard to refuse.

Xiu Si respectfully complied, saying, “Thank you, I actually need some materials. Your appearance is very timely.”

Levin said friendly. “No need for formalities, we’re peers. Just call me whatever you like. I’m Levin, and you are?”

Levin didn’t hesitate to use his real name, because even the name of the current king had many duplicates, and they were open about this.

As long as one didn’t say it directly, few people could deduce one’s identity just from a name.

His portrait as king wasn’t made public to all citizens, so he could walk down any street without worrying about being recognized.

Xiu Si nodded and said, “I’m Yi Xiusi, the acting manager of this bookstore. My personal hobby is researching magic. I’m staying in the Great Oedipus Empire for a while. Nice to meet you, Mr. Levin.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Yi Xiusi.”

Levin smiled broadly, the frustration of not finding the number one in rankings dissipating somewhat in his heart. His gaze fell, looking at the cat in the other’s arms. He finally couldn’t help but ask, “This cat is…”

“My child. It was just sitting at the entrance watching the store. Did you notice it?”

Xiu Si lowered his head, grabbed the gray cat’s paw, and scratched the air in greeting.

Levin was about to continue asking, but received a terrifying look. The gray cat seemed to be warning him, even threatening his life.

He was frightened again, instinctively stepping back, thinking that Mr. Yi Xiusi was really raising a terrifying child. It definitely didn’t look like just level 27.

Levin inexplicably recalled that during the previous ranking, when the God of Rankings’ lens should have shown the number one, it seemed to have been pressed down by some animal, and ended up being swatted away.

He hadn’t paid attention at the time, but thinking carefully now, the position of that lens seemed to be just at a cat’s height.

Levin lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the corner of the table. He thought, yes, it was exactly this spot, this angle.

Hmm… how did everything match up?

Levin’s heart inexplicably started racing, as if he had thought of something crucial, but couldn’t quite figure it out. In the end, he just smiled awkwardly.

He looked up at Xiu Si and said, “Your child is really cute.” Cute in appearance, terrifying in essence.

And as a father, how could Xiu Si not be happy hearing his child being praised?

Xiu Si nodded repeatedly, smiling as he said, “Yes, yes. Its siblings aren’t here, otherwise Mr. Levin could see even more.”

Levin’s whole body shuddered as he swallowed. There were many more cats like this? Wasn’t that a bit frightening? But in the end, he didn’t dare say anything, and left the bookstore after a few words of farewell.

Levin still wanted to continue searching for the number one in the rankings, but when he checked the time, he realized it was almost 3 PM. An important intelligence meeting was about to be held, routinely reporting recent crucial intelligence. As the king, he had to be present.

“Forget it, I’ll go for now. If I don’t go, they’ll just nag me again.”

Levin was dissatisfied in his heart, but had no choice. For the powerful families, the royal family and even the king didn’t need to be taken seriously.

His kingship lacked freedom.

After Levin left, in the bookstore, the gray cat pawed at itself. It had of course recognized that person as the king, with the faint protection of the Goddess of Fortune floating around him.

How troublesome. Among all goddesses, perhaps the Goddess of Fortune was the most troublesome.

Her luck could easily create miracles, making it impossible to defend against no matter how you tried.

The lucky live, the unlucky perish.

The most free and unrestrained chaotic neutral among conceptual gods, acting only on whims, yet also the one most capable of breaking balance.

It was fortunate that Her power wasn’t without limits.

In most cases, when you used Her blessing, it didn’t actually increase your luck, but concentrated your own luck into the moment you wanted to use it.

In other words, the luck you used was essentially your own luck. If you were greedy and used it frantically every day, exhausting all your luck, then your future would be surrounded by misfortune. You might not even be able to die, and in severe cases, it would endanger those around you until the misfortune was completely resolved.

The same applied to countries.

For example, the Aust Empire. Some people researched why the previous king of the Aust Empire had become so mad, and one possible reason they traced back to was — the king before the previous one had used luck too frequently.

Inpos remembered Agares once saying, “Any practice that breaks the natural state may lead to the collapse of balance in things, or even lead to extinction.”

Therefore, He never thought the Goddess of Fortune’s blessing was truly a “blessing”, but rather a game of human nature. It gave you the freedom to control luck, and then how would you choose?

But the most detestable thing about the Goddess of Fortune was that She never clarified this point after bestowing Her blessing. Some people realized it too late, when all their luck was used up, leaving only misfortune, and they couldn’t even die until they had experienced all the misfortune.

That king just now was still cautious, perhaps aware of this risk, so he didn’t use too much luck.

In any case, among all the gods in the heavens, Inpos least wanted to approach the Goddess of Fortune.

Suddenly hearing a noise, the gray cat looked up and indeed saw Xiu Si standing up, tidying books. It was clear he was preparing to go to the Magicians’ Association.

“Let’s go, we’re heading out.”

Xiu Si turned his head with a smile.

The gray cat froze, obediently being taken along.

Its learning-loving father was pioneering a new era of modern magic, though His father was still completely unaware of this.

On another side.

Aelioge was searching, step by step eliminating large areas.

But a few minutes later, He suddenly felt uneasy. Buer’s aura was nearby!

“She’s actually caught up.”

Aelioge transformed into human form, immediately concealing His aura and hiding in a spot in the imperial city.

He could feel Buer’s anger. She would definitely not give up until she found Him.

Really… It was just one deception, yet she kept chasing. Aelioge muttered inwardly, forced to think of a way to trick Buer away.

With Buer around, He couldn’t freely search for His father. If His father was discovered along with Him, with Buer’s big mouth, surely all their siblings would know.

Aelioge’s expression turned serious as He stated firmly. “No matter what, I can’t be discovered by Buer!”

This was war!

Meanwhile.

Buer appeared in mid-air, following Aelioge’s magical trail. Sensing that Aelioge was hiding somewhere in the imperial city, she chuckled, then directly burst out. Her exploding magical power instantly covered the entire imperial city, erecting towering demon pillars at the four city walls that reached into the clouds.

This situation naturally caught the attention of the Great Oedipus Empire’s magic tower.

Or rather, even ordinary people could see it with their naked eyes, though they didn’t know what it was, assuming it was some magical experiment of the empire.

“Such long pillars, what are they for?”

At this moment, in the magic tower.

“It’s the power of Abyss Lord Buer! Why has She suddenly come?”

A group of magicians were frightened and hurriedly notified the higher-ups.

The high-level Great Magicians of course also sensed it, but they were completely baffled, unable to react.

Buer was an Abyss Lord who rarely appeared in human countries. Why would She suddenly appear in the Great Oedipus Empire?

“What should we do? What is She here for?”

“She seems to be looking for something. Could She be here for the number one in the rankings?”

“Should we put up defenses first? But She doesn’t seem to have any intention of attacking.”

Several magicians immediately became alert, exchanging glances, wondering who should go communicate with Buer first.

One of them stepped forward, “I’ll go.”

The others gave him looks that said ‘be careful’.

Someone said, “Buer should be an Abyss Lord that can be communicated with, but I still suggest you bring some life-saving measures.”

A minute later, a magician in a gray magic robe cautiously walked in, speaking in a peaceful tone. “Abyss Lord Buer, this is the imperial city of the Great Oedipus Empire. May I ask what brings you to our country?”

Buer turned her head, azure eyes gleaming.