Is this really a Game?!

"You needed to have some time to process what happened, to calm yourself down, otherwise you would have wanted to leave and go around the regions looking for that man the instant I told you."

"You are prone to doing this because you get emotional, I couldn\'t let you do that now."

Reign listened to Aethion and sighed as he knew the latter was right. Had Aethion told him about the soul signature, then Reign truly would have tried to leave right away and go search for \'Richard\'.

"But don\'t worry, as long as we come across him again, as long as he is in a radius of 200 meters from us, we will be able to sense a familiar signature, and then, we can focus and sense the souls that are over a mile around you, which will allow us to pinpoint exactly what signature is familiar and who it belongs to."

\'That\'s… incredible,\' Reign thought, the weight of relief lifting some of the tension in his shoulders.

"I did what was necessary, " Aethion replied. "We will find him, Reign, and when we do, he won\'t be able to hide."

\'Are there any restrictions about the soul signatures, I mean, how many can be saved and memorized?\'

"Of course, the stronger one is and the better control over soul power one has, the easier it is to memorize a soul signature and then sense it from that person."

"For the current me, I can memorize up to 20 soul signatures, you might be able to memorize 5 in the same way, any more would be difficult for you," Aethion replied, his voice calm, but a bit prideful.

Reign merely chuckled at Aethion\'s words. Even though Aethion\'s soul had healed to the point of being as strong as his own soul, reaching Tier VI, he was still nowhere close to being as powerful as he was at his peak.

Aethion was prideful, he had at one point in time been a Transcendent after all, compared to Reign, he had lived for far longer and had experienced much more. As a Necromancer, Aethion actually specialized in soul power, at least a part of it.

That was how he was able to create his fighting style, how he was able to create a small army of undead that would constantly be brought back to life and strengthened after being defeated.

Compared to Reign, Aethion was simply far too better at utilizing soul power, the two were not even comparable. Aethion\'s pride was of course present as he felt happy that the difference between them was still quite big.

Still, Reign felt a surge of gratitude towards Aethion. The old man had been a constant guide and support, offering wisdom and strength in their times of need. Of course, he was partly doing so because he was bound to Reign, if Reign was to die, Aethion\'s soul would perish as well.

But over time, Aethion also found himself enjoying his company, after all, Reign was a Nephilim and had limitless potential, as did all Nephilims. If he stayed with him, then even as only a soul, he could easily go above the level he was in the past. .net

"Thank you, Aethion," Reign whispered, his gratitude palpable. He turned to face the bustling city again, feeling a new sense of purpose. The Grand Auction House, illuminated by countless lights, stood as a beacon of progress and potential he and the others made.

He could sense the magnitude of the evening\'s success, yet it was tainted by the encounter with \'Richard.\'

Back inside, the celebration was winding down. Guests began to take their leave, and the staff moved efficiently to start the cleanup process. Reign and his team gathered in a private room, their earlier energy replaced by a serious focus on the events that had transpired.

"We made significant connections tonight," Mia began, her eyes sweeping over the group. "But we can\'t let our guard down, \'Richard\' appearing here means he\'s keeping tabs on us, he definitely knew who we were even before the auction started."

"Agreed," Shadow said, his arms crossed. "We need to be vigilant, our movements, our plans—everything needs to be scrutinized."

"We should also make sure both Doncaster and Wilkashere are fine, check who the people that had come to both places in the last month or so and check if he was one of them."

"No, I doubt he went there, he wouldn\'t be stupid enough to do such a thing, he probably kept an eye out for your group via the system, and perhaps used some information brokers as well, you guys didn\'t really hide your identities during the challenges and when you had accomplished great things, so it shouldn\'t have been difficult to find out information on you."

Reign and the others glanced and then nodded at Jin, who was sitting together with them.

"I have known the bastard for the longest, he usually likes to appear as a laid-back person who doesn\'t care that much, but he\'s a slippery one, he is constantly observing everything and everyone, making sure he has any and all information he can get about the things that interest him."

"He worked as a spy, as well as an assassin for the Order, and he was damn good at it as well."

Wolf, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, nodded. "Our next steps should involve fortifying our position, we can\'t afford to be caught off guard."

"That would be smart, but don\'t forget about yourselves, the best way to keep yourselves, as well as others safe, is to be more powerful than those who would wish you harm," Jin stated, making them all nod at him again.

"I have sent a message to your father, it shouldn\'t take him too long to respond, and if he can somehow get here, he will definitely let me know, that man was the only person in the entire order that \'Richard\' whose real name, as some of you might now, is Nicholas, was actually a bit afraid of."

"He wouldn\'t even flinch when I would berate him for some things he had done wrong, nor did he care when John did the same, but when it came to your father, well, the two didn\'t go along at all, and Nicholas always made sure to not get on your dad\'s bad side."

Wolf smirked, seemingly anticipating the entire thing.

"Dad can be quite the handful, I\'m not surprised."

Reign looked at each of them, appreciating their unwavering support. "We\'ll strengthen our defenses and continue building our alliances, but we also need to try and gather more information on Nicholas, anything that we can find."

"That\'s where our new contacts come in," Shadow added. "Some of the factions we connected with tonight might have intel on him or his activities."

"I\'ll start working on that immediately," Mia said, determination evident in her voice.

"Me too," Shadow agreed. "I\'ll reach out to our allies and see what they know."

The group fell into a rhythm, each member taking on their tasks with a renewed sense of urgency. As they dispersed, Reign couldn\'t help but feel a mix of gratitude and frustration. Gratitude for the unwavering support of his friends and allies, and frustration at the elusive nature of Nicholas, the man responsible for so much pain.

The Grand Auction House slowly emptied, the last of the guests making their way out into the night. Reign stood by the entrance, watching them leave, his mind a whirl of thoughts and plans. The revelations of the evening had given them a direction, but the path ahead was still fraught with uncertainty.

"Ready to head back?" Wolf\'s voice broke through his thoughts.

Reign turned to see his friend standing beside him, a knowing look in his eyes. "Yeah," Reign replied, nodding. "Let\'s go."

The journey back to Doncaster was quiet, each member lost in their thoughts. The weight of their mission hung heavy in the air, a constant reminder of the stakes they were dealing with.

They went through the portal that led to their auction house and then exited it.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the comforting familiarity of Doncaster, a place that had become their sanctuary in these turbulent times.

Reign gathered everyone in the main meeting room, the atmosphere tense with anticipation. "We need to plan our next steps carefully," he began, his voice steady. "Nicholas is out there, and he\'s watching us, we can\'t afford to make any mistakes."

"I doubt he has eyes here, but one can never be sure enough."

"It\'s already late, we will talk to the new contacts and allies tomorrow, for tonight, we should rest and allow our minds to ease off a bit," Shadow said as he placed a hand on Reign\'s shoulder.

"Do try to get some sleep, alright?"

"Yeah." Reign replied, his eyes showing just how exhausted he was after everything that happened today.