Chapter 304: Raid On The Orpse Devouring Set

Ever since she beat Oswald's grandson into a coma, Melissa had been confined by her own father for a week.

Melissa was in the combat division and hence wasn't supposed to be under Joseph's supervision. It was just that Joseph did have many former friends as he had former enemies.

Melissa's current top superior, Winston, also happened to also be a good friend of Joseph's.

Therefore, it could even be said that Melissa had been a 'junior personnel that had caught the member of a corrupt internal faction' and had done a meritorious deed.

However, her attacks had been too overpowering and had given Todd a severe concussion. Medical attention hadn't been provided quickly enough, resulting in Todd's brain function being affecting and causing him to suffer brain damage.

Thus, in accordance with Secret Rite Tower regulations, she was to be placed under a seven-day confinement as punishment for causing grievous hurt to another.

Of course, this explanation was just surface level.

Joseph had rejoined Secret Rite Tower and was immediately raised back to the rank of Great Radiant Knight. Therefore, the situation wasn't as simple as it would be if just a few regular knights were involved.

The entire Oswald faction had influence in all four of Secret Rite Tower's divisions. If Oswald was likened to be a tree that shaded them, these people were like the roots, boring into every corner of the organization.

Uprooting the problem at its... roots wasn't an easy task.

At present, their greatest backer had fallen, and these people could no longer hide under his protection. However, it was much harder dealing with the underlings than the boss. Ordinary members that lacked power usually idled away and remained unnoticed precisely because of this.

Therefore, it meant that when things went south, they would continue to stay even more hidden, making it difficult to be tracked down.

Furthermore, back when Joseph at his prime was the Great Radiant Knight Chief, his righteous and upright character had offended many. Their distaste for him only grew with time, resulting in a hidden maelstrom gradually swelling.

A prime example would be the recent raid that Joseph launched on Oswald's mansion. While he had followed the Council of Elders' instructions and executed the mission with proper procedures, there were still some who made a fuss about the whole situation.

They accused Joseph of being unconscientious; causing Oswald's death, as well as allowing an increasingly problematic criminal to escape once again.

Some even went as far as to suspect Joseph of colluding with Wilde, using the latter as a cover-up for his own criminal cooperation with Oswald.

Under such circumstances, had the supposed 'firestarter' Melissa be allowed to resume normal training and missions, that would be equivalent to placing her in the eye of the storm.

Putting aside the persecution, embarrassing gossip would've already made the young lady very uncomfortable.

While Joseph reckoned mental training had been beneficial to Melissa's growth, the damage done from his past two years of neglect was well apparent in the Todd incident.

These 'trainings' had gone on long enough... Now that he was making a comeback, Joseph naturally needed to free up his time and return back into Melissa's life to perform his duty as a father.

As such, the 'confinement' was only in name. It was actually just protection for his daughter.

Pa!

Melissa shut the book in her hands, exhaled sharply while shutting her eyes and thinking through the contents she had read.

At this moment, she felt a deep sense of weariness and satisfaction.

The keystones of everything basically have the same fundamentals. Yet because their methodology, combinations, or arrangement differ from one another, it allows things to gain different attributes. If we are able to control these 'keystones' using aether, we will be able to master their shape, form, and existence.

Before this, I could only 'see' the structure and existence of these keystones. Now with the basics all set, I can finally exploit the cracks and unstable regions of an object. Like how I had dealt with Todd, now I can even destroy a shield that can withstand a Destructive-rank attack.

But viewing from another perspective, this is ultimately all that I can do.

If there truly were a Destructive-rank before me now, I wouldn't even be able to last a single round. Largely because I won't even have the chance to pressure a Destructive-rank into playing defense. Rather, it would be the exact opposite. After all, I can only see through their skills, not defend against it.

But, what if I could manipulate them, or even deconstruct their aether? Even Destructive-rank attacks would just fall apart like a house of cards!

So... this is what true power is.

Melissa's eyes shone and sparkled with excitement as these thoughts ran through her mind and she was barely able to contain her joy.

She appeared very haggard with dark patches under her eyes. Her face was pale white, yet elation was written all over it.

She had obtained the book Door Key: Origin from the bookstore for three whole months already, but it was only now that she truly caught a glimpse of that door.

Before today, she would fall into a state of involuntary fainting every time she read this book.

Though she was undoubtedly making progress, it was as if she were a primary school student that had received high marks and was now drowning herself in studies—extreme inefficiency.

If based on her previous level, she wouldn't even be able to decipher a thousandth of the book's contents.

She was not gathering knowledge but being swallowed by knowledge instead.

The more she couldn't understand, the more she craved it.

And thus, she could only continuously flip page after page, all till her body could no longer physically withstand her spirit. Consequently, she had to rely on outside forces to snap her out of this trance each time she read the book; otherwise, she would have already collapsed and died.

Through this painful learning process, Melissa's mind and body were repeatedly tempered instead.

She also saw a spike in her power, ascending to Destructive-rank.

Just that considering how Secret Rite Tower's stance was unclear, she had chosen to hide her power and only a select few knew about it.

In time, I'll no longer need to continue hiding it anymore. According to Father, Secret Rite Tower will soon be wholeheartedly putting all resources on trying to get on Boss Lin's good side.

While the Council of Elders' intention to 'get on Boss Lin's good side' wasn't all that simple, there was nothing stopping Melissa from assuming this.

Hehe, Melissa chuckled to herself.

Personnel that had initial contact with the bookstore, including Joseph, Melissa, and Carolyn would naturally become the core of Secret Rite Tower's upcoming operations.

In other words, those who still held a grudge against Joseph were practically going against the Council of Elders.

They brought this onto themselves! Melissa stood up with the book in hand as she contemplated.

She was within a tiny confinement chamber in Secret Rite Tower. The only furnishings in this cramped space were a table and a bench.

Melissa was allowed three hours for socialization each day during her confinement period. These three hours were separated and implemented during meal times.

And to prevent psychological problems, Melissa was allowed to bring books, magical items, or other stuff to keep her occupied. After all, confinement was not supposed to be torture but a means for reflection.

Melissa had also been confined occasionally in the past. Secret Rite Tower was comprised of transcendent beings and not mere mortals, so being put in confinement for three days to a week wouldn't really cause them any psychological trauma.

Today was her last day of confinement.

A door materialized on the wall behind Melissa the moment she stood up, and it opened slowly.

An instructor from the combat division was standing at the door and handed Melissa a stack of documents without showing any hint of emotion.

"Melissa, your confinement has ended. You have been assigned a new mission."

Melissa took the documents and examined them before immediately breaking into a frown.

Something isn't right with this raid on the Corpse Devouring Sect's hideout on 67th Avenue!