Unholy Player-Chapter 67: Preparing for Another Journey

Adyr sat up in bed as the faint scent of dampness and polished wood filled his nostrils. Morning sunlight streamed through the window, catching the dust particles drifting lazily in the air.

It wasn’t a luxury suite by modern standards, but it offered a quiet, undisturbed start to the day. Not that Adyr cared. He got dressed, exchanged a few words with the innkeeper, and walked out.

—

At the center of a spacious, sunlit room, a girl slept peacefully on a double queen-sized bed. Her golden hair shimmered in the morning light, which gently warmed her soft, delicate features.

As Vesha shifted beneath the covers, settling into a more comfortable position, a quiet knock came at the door.

A calm, gentle voice followed, belonging to a middle-aged woman. "Lady Vesha, are you awake? Your father is waiting for you at breakfast."

Vesha stirred, her eyelids resisting as she tried to open them. After a moment of reluctant stretching, she called out in a drowsy voice, "Yes... I’ll be there in a while."

Still blinking sleepily, she looked around in search of her nightgown. The sunlight pouring through the window made it even harder to keep her eyes open.

Her gaze moved lazily from the nightstand beside her to the fabric toys on her stylish, patterned rug, to the chair in front of her wooden vanity, and finally to the wide leather armchair in the corner, where a tall man sat, smiling at her. But she still couldn’t see her nightgown.

"Who...?"

Her eyes flew open, and she let out a startled scream.

"Lady Vesha, are you alright?" the maid’s voice came again, now filled with concern. The doorknob began to turn as the maid tried to enter, but Vesha quickly shouted, "I’m fine, don’t come in!"

She froze, then glanced at Adyr’s amused face with an apologetic look. "I just saw a cockroach. It’s okay, I can deal with it."

"Oh... okay. If you need my help, I’m here," the maid replied from behind the door.

Vesha stood up and rushed to her wardrobe. She was wearing only a loose satin crop top that barely reached her waist, revealing more than it should, and matching pink satin underwear.

Her face flushed bright red. She quickly threw on her nightgown, turned to Adyr, and stammered, "I-I wasn’t expecting you."

He had told her the day before, "I’ll find you," but she hadn’t expected him to take it so literally.

The mansion was crawling with guards, yet the man standing in front of her had fought and defeated a pack of monstrous wolves. Slipping past a few mortals didn’t seem all that difficult.

"Sorry, old habit. I didn’t mean to scare you," Adyr apologized.

Old habit? Vesha paused for a moment, then sighed. "It’s okay."

"I came to ask if you have any information on collecting energy crystals," Adyr asked casually.

Lately, too many things demanded his attention. But he had started to realize that the power he currently possessed wouldn’t be enough—at least, not enough to guarantee the success of his plans.

Energy crystals were the key to increasing his strength. And to obtain them, he first needed to know where to find them.

"Um..." Vesha opened her mouth nervously. "Can you turn around first? I need to change."

"Sure." Adyr smiled and turned to stare out the window.

While she picked clothes from the wardrobe, she began to speak. "As far as I know, there are two ways to get energy crystals. The first is through crystal mines." She sorted through a few outfits, eventually holding up two dresses—one pink, the other a lighter shade—and continued, "Crystal mines are naturally formed and extremely rare. I’ve heard of them, but I don’t know where they form or how to find them."

She finally chose the light pink dress and laid it neatly on the bed.

"The second method, which you already know, is through creatures affected by Sparks. They often mutate due to Spark energy and form crystals in their bodies. Hunting them is the easiest method."

Just as she said, this was something Adyr was already familiar with. The skeletal creatures in the cave and the wolves he had recently killed had both carried energy crystals.

He nodded while admiring the flowers blooming in the garden outside the window. "Do you have any information about a low-ranking Spark appearing nearby?"

From his new companions at the inn, he had learned that Vesha often chased down rumors like this, especially those involving threats to local villages. It was likely the only reason she had found the cave where the Dawn Spark lived. There was a good chance she knew about other suspicious locations—or even the exact whereabouts of another Spark.

As he had hoped, she gave him an answer.

"Yes. Since the kingdom’s practitioners have been so busy lately, they haven’t been able to deal with low-ranked Sparks. So they’ve been appearing more often around here." She paused, thinking for a moment. "I heard a recent rumor from a nearby village. They said trees vanished overnight... and a few children disappeared too. They came back days later, confused, unable to remember anything. It’s probably the work of a Spark."

Adyr raised an eyebrow, thoughtful. His current knowledge of Sparks was limited, but he understood they could vary wildly in abilities. So he struggled to see how disappearing trees and memory loss in children could be connected.

"I’m done." Vesha’s voice reached him just as he turned.

"What do you think?" She murmured, a soft blush coloring her cheeks. It was clear she wasn’t talking about the Spark.

"Like a flower freshly taken from the garden," Adyr replied, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

Her face flushed deeper at the unexpected compliment. She fidgeted with her hair before glancing at him. "Want to visit the village?"

Adyr looked back at the garden, letting the colors burn into his memory before responding. "Yes. Will you join me?"

Her presence would make things easier. The villagers trusted her, and if he needed their help to track or trap the Spark, she’d smooth the way. On his own, they wouldn’t tolerate a stranger roaming freely.

"I will," she replied without hesitation. The thought of saving another village had already begun to soften her heart.