Demon Hunter and His Cabin
Chapter 868 - 665: The Two Classifications of Bees_2

Chapter 868: Chapter 665: The Two Classifications of Bees_2

"Amanda."

"Geralt."

Roger and Amanda spoke simultaneously.

The so-called association was loose, but they had more or less heard each other’s names. Amanda naturally had no reason to hide her identity.

As for Roger...

He always felt that introducing himself as Geralt in such a situation carried a better flair.

"I’ve heard of your name, the beautiful Miss Amanda." Muska forced what he thought was a gentle smile onto his face.

"The youngest among the newly ascended Dragonborn in the association."

Muska did not hide the glimmer in his eyes. "Not just in the past twenty years; even accounting for further back in history, your youth makes you rank among the top ten."

"Such a..."

Muska sized her up from head to toe, but in the next second, the elegant face within his line of sight vanished, replaced instead by an Iron Tower-like figure.

Roger said nothing, merely staring calmly at Muska.

"A beautiful flower cannot help but attract buzzing bees nearby."

"That’s quite normal."

A hint of amusement flashed across Muska’s face as he redirected his gaze and casually added, "Flowers are always in bloom."

"But bees come and go in waves."

"After all, who wouldn’t want to sample the sweetness of nectar?"

"Muska!!"

Before Roger could speak, a deep and cold rebuke echoed throughout the hall.

The voice belonged to Manu, who stood beside Muska.

The man’s thick eyebrows knitted together, and his eyes flared with faint anger. Beyond that, Roger noticed an additional emotion hidden within his gaze...

Jealousy?

Uh... well, it didn’t seem directed at him but rather at Amanda standing behind him.

In the Western World—even among ordinary people—there were many who, like Muska, openly expressed their emotions without reservation.

In the Transcendent World, such behavior was even more common, to the extent that most people wouldn’t find it jarring.

Roger clenched his fists. Muska was clever; his words weren’t just about expressing affection.

"Stay away from me!"

Amanda’s voice came from behind Roger. The girl stepped forward, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, faint flickers of firelight dancing at the edges of her hair.

"Like bees, some gather nectar, while others only gorge themselves on filth."

The moment Amanda finished speaking, Muska’s and Manu’s faces turned ashen. Veins bulged on Manu’s forehead, his muscles twitching as though he might attack at any moment.

"Did you come here to fight?"

A cold snort sounded.

"Let’s go. Take me to the place you mentioned."

Viola swept her gaze across the room, urging Marcotte to lead her away.

Muska gripped Manu’s wrist, gradually calming his companion’s anger. Yet before departing, Manu didn’t forget to shoot Amanda a contemptuous look.

The words Amanda had uttered earlier had struck directly at his heart.

"Let’s leave."

Muska murmured under his breath.

"It seems that the more beautiful the flower, the sharper its thorns."

Roger chuckled lightly as he looked at Amanda.

"What’s so funny?" Amanda rolled her eyes.

"But you suspect something between them..."

"Shut up!"

Amanda clearly had no interest in discussing any such topic.

Roger didn’t want to either.

He didn’t even feel the urge to confront them anymore.

"This is the place."

The group arrived at a high chamber within the castle.

From the floor to the walls, the room’s décor was exceptionally exquisite—even though Roger had no expertise in antiques. Still, for an old man who had lived over 300 years, every item here could easily qualify as an artifact.

At the spot Marcotte indicated, the floor bore a circular scorch mark radiating outward from its center. The general shape was round, yet the edges were irregular.

"It seems like something’s missing."

Muska frowned.

"This is the spot where my father vanished. The fragments of his clothing remain on the ground, but much of his body had already been devoured by the time I arrived."

"Only a mangled corpse and half a head were left."

"He told me this was the gateway to the Land of the Dragonborn etched in his memory. In fact, I’ve seen similar patterns in his study multiple times."

"Back then, his memories were still unclear, and the designs underwent several modifications. He originally thought they connected to a higher-tier Transcendent World."

Marcotte raised his head.

"Like those governed by powerful factions..."

"Later, he changed his view. He told me this might lead to a completely new place—a paradise exclusively for Dragonborn."

"But clearly."

"There is no paradise in this world, only the Abyss."

"He was devoured."

"This matter is far too strange. Initially, I didn’t want to disturb you all, but later certain things that had happened to my father began to surface one by one in my own life."

"I woke suddenly at midnight, only to find myself in unfamiliar places."

"Even during the day, bouts of memory loss struck me inexplicably. Upon regaining consciousness, I often found myself researching... that bizarre pattern."

Marcotte pointed at the scorch marks on the floor, his face overcome by fear.

"I had no choice but to fabricate lies. I know that perhaps none of you care whether I live or die, but since this happened to my father..."

"Perhaps for you all in the not-too-distant future..."

"Shut up!"

A cold rebuke interrupted Marcotte, sending him flying several meters back as an invisible force pressed him firmly against the rear wall.

"Do you think you’re fit to speculate about *our* futures?"

It was Muska who acted, and Viola offered no objection to his actions this time.

None of them were ordinary Fourth Tier. Each had lifespans likely exceeding a century, and the long years had transformed both their bodies and souls into entirely different kinds of beings.

Transcendent.

Clearly, Marcotte no longer cared about consequences. Facing imminent death, he chose to drag more Transcendents into the vortex.

Whatever his motivation, being pulled into this matter would cause significant disruption, possibly granting him a slim chance at survival.

Of course, if he encountered someone with a volatile temper, he might be crushed before uttering a word.

"What does everyone think?"

Viola spoke.

"This is unrelated to me. While we may all be Dragonborn, our inheritances diverge completely. I’ve neither heard of nor experienced anything similar to what happened to Justin."

Amanda hesitated briefly before glancing at Muska.

"Anyone interested can stay and investigate; I intend to leave."

"What about you, Miss Amanda?"

Viola asked.

Amanda hesitated for an instant. Muska’s statement made her realize not everyone shared the same experiences.

She did. Justin did. But perhaps such occurrences were rare. Agreeing at this point might alert others to certain anomalies.

Yet if she refused...

What if a similar situation happened to her? How could she resist?

Amanda’s strength had grown quickly, but her experiences hadn’t matched Roger’s, making her prone to oversight when handling matters.

She didn’t realize that her hesitation alone was enough for perceptive observers to infer something.

At this moment, Roger spoke up. "Sounds rather interesting. Should we stay and have a look?"

Understanding the meaning in Roger’s gaze, Amanda nodded.

"And you, Miss Viola?"

Roger asked.

But before Viola could respond, the scorch marks on the floor suddenly expanded, engulfing the entire room within moments.

At the same time, the symbols etched into the ground stretched and unfolded into three-dimensional projections visible to all present.

Those flat, stamped markings became intricate figures, revealing their true nature to Roger.

They were intersecting spatial rifts.

"What’s happening?"

Muska’s silhouette flickered momentarily, but in the next instant, he reappeared where he had stood. Roger noticed a small wound on his cheek that was slowly healing.

"What’s happening?"

The irritable Manu already had Marcotte in his grasp, his other hand poised to crush Marcotte into pulp!

Among them, Roger displayed the utmost composure, simply tightening his grip on Amanda’s hand.

*Swish!*

In an instant, the opulent room disappeared, and the damp scent of earth flooded their senses as they found themselves in a dense forest.

But at that moment, Viola suddenly shouted angrily, "Who are you?!"

In addition to Roger and the group, an unfamiliar figure now stood amidst them.