Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 392: Archive blueprints

Chapter 392: Archive blueprints

Everything was quite above anything Alex had come in contact with concerning craftsmanship.

It was a telltale to the skills of the Beastman beside him.

Anyway, now was hardly the time for praise as he pondered a certain matter.

He didn’t plan on fighting anyone in the Archives.

The plan to infiltrate the Catacomb was basically an in-and-out.

But on the off chance he ends up faced against those dwelling within, he needed something to defend himself with which is how Entropy comes in.

However, the weapons Andre created made it seem as though he were going in for a fight, a look he didn’t wish to maintain.

"Perhaps the weapons could be swapped?" Alex muttered with Andre raising a brow.

"For?"

"A pair of tonfas."

"May I ask why?"

"Is it important?"

"Mostly curious."

"To avoid accidental deaths." Was the short answer.

Andre nodded before picking up the weapons set out on the desk. "Anything else?"

"Also, I’d appreciate it if the tonfas have a mechanism that allows for knives to be implanted. If death is unavoidable, I’d rather make it quick."

"Alright then. You may return for now. Come back tomorrow."

"Understood." Nodding in response, Alex snapped his fingers, quickly disappearing in a flash of black and white light.

Andre sighed as he turned, prepared to take his leave when he noticed a shirt lying on the floor, rather close to the lava duct.

His brows furrowed and moments later, a faint smile crept up the corners of his lips.

***

Alex appeared in Ana’s library only to shiver at the intense shift in temperature.

Before he could realize a discrepancy in his current attire, Ana emerged from a corner with Victoria following closely behind.

The duo paused on seeing Alex, their gazes quickly shifting from his eyes down to his torso.

Victoria’s expression remained impassive while the faintest of smiles emerged at the corners of Ana’s lips.

Alex frowned at the silence, following their gaze to find that he was without a shirt.

He instinctively snapped, quickly enveloping himself in a shroud of black and white.

Coughing awkwardly, Alex inquired. "Any luck on finding the blueprints?"

"Of course, of course," Ana replied in faint amusement. "Would you like to see it now or after you’ve put on a shirt?"

"I’ll be back."

Pa

Victoria spared a glance at Ana who shrugged. "What?"

Snorting, she turned and left to pick up the blueprints and spread them across the table at the center of the library.

Alex quickly returned, wearing a simple white shirt.

"Is this it?" He calmly inquired as his gaze fell upon the rather complicated blueprint of the Archives.

It looked like a multi-story building but instead of moving up, it instead went downward with only its first story above ground.

"So where is the Catacomb?"

"Lake Rhodes."

"Hmm?"

"One of the twelve inland lakes in the Empire. It’s quite close to the capital, roughly 10 days if we utilize a train."

"I see." As Alex spoke, Victoria pulled out a map of the empire as well which she then used to mark out Lake Rhodes.

"Any particular reason it was built there?"

"To maintain a lukewarm temperature. Due to how the Catacomb was built and the things it harbors within, temperatures aren’t allowed to move past what is acceptable to a human. Too hot could cause damage and too cold would do the same."

Nodding in understanding, Alex inquired further. "Where’s the entrance and exit?"

"Only one door leads in and out of the Archives. It’s here." Ana remarked while placing her finger on the blueprint. "And it’s usually guarded by both Taskmasters and the Family head in charge of watching over the Archives."

"So we can’t afford to get in from there," Alex muttered as he studied the structure properly.

In total, the building had six stories with one marked out as the quarters of the family head, another marked out as the quarters for the Taskmasters, and the remaining four marked out as holding areas for the Relics.

"Where would the Key be?"

"I can’t be sure," Ana replied before adding. "But it would be easy to find out if you get your hands on the records. It’s usually kept here." As she spoke, she gestured toward yet another portion of the blueprint.

"I’m guessing there’d be guards there as well."

"Most likely."

Taking a deep breath, Alex softly drummed his fingers against the table as he studied the blueprint thoroughly.

"And the sealing methods for the Relics?... Are they all the same?"

"Most likely but there are a few that would require a different sealing method. Considering the Key can unlock all seals, I doubt it would be sealed like other Relics."

"Which means it would be considered a high-risk item," Alex muttered. "We’d need a means to break it out of its cell should the situation call for it and then reseal it."

"Maybe we could try creating a makeshift sealing chamber to contain the Key but I worry that it might be disrupted by the building," Victoria suggested.

"The more we talk, the more issues arise. Alex, are you sure we can go through with this?" Ana calmly intoned, voicing the worry that had remained with her for quite some time.

Alex pursed his lips, seeing reason with her worried but regardless, this was the only way to ensure victory in the inevitable journey to the capital so would he give up now all because of a little setback?

He thought not.

"Alex..."

"You both should get some rest. I’ll handle the planning. If I have any questions, I’ll reach out to you. In the meantime, practice the mental communication we now possess. It would prove useful in our future endeavors. For now, you are dismissed."

With that, Alex calmly picked up the Archive blueprints along with the Imperial map before making his way out of the library, leaving Ana and Victoria to their thoughts.

For now, the future of the planned heist to acquire the Wanderers Key looked bleaker than when they first birthed the idea.

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