"D...Dox, are you really going to use this sword to exchange for a ticket? Have you thought this through?" Vay looked at Dox with shock.
Dox himself hesitated slightly but ultimately placed the stiletto into Cicia’s Box: "It’s useless anyway, so might as well exchange it."
As the stiletto fell into Cicia’s Box, Cicia’s voice floated out from within, and this time, everyone heard it.
"Having the courage to abandon your own sword, but you’d better sew your mouth shut in the future." Cicia’s voice was quite cold: "Considering the Noah descendant and Angel, this time I’ll let you off, but there won’t be a next time."
Upon finishing these words, a red light mark floated out from the box and hovered once again over Dox’s hand.
Dox looked at the ticket now back in his hand, cursing internally: No next time? I guarantee we’ll never meet again in this lifetime.
This time, Dox learned his lesson; he only grumbled internally, without speaking out.
With the ticket, Dox was no longer blocked by the Alchemy Golem and smoothly stepped onto the stairway that had turned from virtual to real.
"Let’s go." Dox: "I don’t want to stay here a moment longer."
Angel turned around and continued walking at the front, without commenting.
Vay came to Dox’s side and whispered: "I never thought you would exchange that sword."
Kaier, who was beside Vay, curiously asked upon hearing Vay’s comment: "What significance does this sword hold for Lord Red Sword?"
Vay glanced at Dox, seeing he didn’t mind, he replied: "This is the sword he always used before advancing to Official Wizard. Also, he spent all his savings to buy it at an auction in Mesomyia back in the day and used it for decades."
Vay paused for a moment: "I suspect Dox doesn’t even have as much sentiment for his current Red Sword as he does for this stiletto."
Vay’s words weren’t concealed, so Angel, walking at the front, also heard them. He too was quite amazed and remarked: "For a sword with such deep meaning to you, you’re willing to part with it?"
Dox grumbled, "I’m reluctant too. But I just have this strange feeling that if I take someone else’s stuff again, or something of little significance, that woman will definitely make things difficult. I had no choice but to bring out that sword!"
"Is this inspiration? Your inspiration recovered so quickly?"
Dox: "No, just a kind of feeling. I suspect that woman is up to no good."
Angel: "So, this is Cicia’s test for you."
No wonder when Cicia got the sword, she said, "Being able to give up your own sword shows some courage." If Dox had brought out something else, Cicia might really have made things difficult.
Dox: "That damned woman... so annoying."
Vay quietly joked from the side, "If you hadn’t said that through the Mind Ribbon, the expression would have been much more intense."
Given the previous lesson, Dox didn’t dare speak openly. If that woman could monitor the entire Other-dimensional Space, he might get into trouble again.
However, being teased by Vay made Dox a bit unhappy: "You talk about me, but that woman clearly said she spared me for the sake of Noah’s descendant and Angel’s face. It’s understandable that Angel has some sort of deal with her, but how did your Noah Clan get involved with this woman?"
Vay paused since he also didn’t know the details and could only turn to Black Earl for answers.
Black Earl remained silent.
Angel then spoke, "Cicia had ties with an ancestor from Noah she mentioned to me before."
Black Earl had already suspected that Angel might inquire about what he and Cicia discussed, and now Angel’s candid acknowledgment showed that he indeed had inquired.
Otherwise, it’s unlikely that Cicia would mention the Noah Clan to Angel for no reason.
To this, Black Earl was not angry. Angel using "connections" to inquire is perfectly normal; his honesty removed some of Black Earl’s doubts.
Nevertheless, Black Earl wanted to know exactly how much Angel discovered. This would reveal how close Angel and Cicia’s "relationship" is.
Since Angel didn’t conceal his actions, Black Earl directly asked his concerns: "Did Cicia tell you about Noah’s ancestor?"
Angel: "Sort of. I learned some general stories, like the ancestor’s name and a certain Dominator’s daughter’s name. Other than that, nothing much... But Cicia’s description of this Noah ancestor reminded me of something."
Black Earl immediately asked, "What is it?"
Angel shrugged: "Let’s keep that as a secret for now; if it becomes necessary, I’ll mention it."
Whether Angel shared it or not was his choice, but the phrase "if necessary, I’ll mention it" stirred everyone’s imagination.
Black Earl: "Is it related to this exploration?"
Angel: "It’s uncertain for now. If it turns out unrelated, that’s fine. However, if it does relate, then it will be a very close connection."
After speaking, Angel chuckled lightly, "Rest assured, once I find any clues related to it, I’ll surely bring it up. Otherwise, it’d be pointless to say."
Dox muttered, "You could share to enlighten us..."
Angel smiled, with some hidden meanings, "If it’s related to this exploration, I wouldn’t mind sharing for the team’s sake. But if not, exchanging secrets doesn’t come free."
Dox clutched his pouch warily, "What do you mean?"
Angel: "Nothing much, just equivalent exchange."
With that, Angel stopped talking, silently counting in his mind: 1, 2, 3, ...
By the time he counted to ten, a familiar ripple reached Angel.
——The private line between Black Earl and Angel.
Black Earl: "Are you hinting at something?"
Angel: "Hinting? It seems quite clear to me."
Angel gestured for Black Earl to look back.
Black Earl turned around and saw everyone’s attention on him and Angel. Clearly, they all had some guesses.