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Asher only stands there with no response for a whole minute. 'I have waited for longer than you have.'

After a whole minute of silence, she moved to sit at her desk. They had a staring match for a few more minutes.

"Well, you seem perfectly fine," Coincilor said at last with a raised eyebrow. "I heard from Alissa that you've forgotten some memories, but now, I can definitely confirm it," she added, her voice carrying a hint of concern.

"Yeah, just a little tidbit here and there," Asher admitted, rubbing his neck in fake embarrassment. 'Not really. But I can't exactly talk about the system…' he thought.

"You don't remember the rewards for becoming Vice Councilor, do you?" the Councilor probed further.

"Ah, no... I can't say I do," Asher admitted, his tone reflecting a mix of confusion.

"Then why did you preemptively attack Jolan?" the Councilor asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

"I just lost a few of my memories. After my last time in the infirmary, I decided to stop being passive... and that bastard had it coming for a long time," Asher declared righteously.

"Can't deny that," the Councilor conceded with a sigh, but she quickly steered the conversation back, "I was going to offer you a way to your family."

"What?!" Asher exclaimed, his voice full of surprise and a hint of suspicion. 'Is that the reason Asher fought this much?' he wondered, his thoughts racing.

"I know one of the secret entrances your family used to contact the outside world," the Councilor revealed, her voice steady.

'She doesn't seem to be lying,' Asher thought.

"Before you can ask, you have to do something for me. Jolan's usefulness had ended. He is becoming more of a thorn," she explained, pausing to let the information sink in.

'Is that the reason the bastard is targeting him that much? By the words she used, removing doesn't seem like the only thing she has planned for Jolan...' Asher pondered. 'And Jolan also had enough invested in the position to come to heavy blows.'

"Oh, and there's also an artifact that could aid you, potentially granting powers to help you," Councillor Rosewood mentioned, her words as if selling cheap drugs.

Asher's mind raced, searching for the most likely answer. 'I already have a support Artifact that she knew, so it must be in line with Attack or Defense.'

Asher leaned forward as he asked. "What kind of powers are we talking about with this artifact? And what's the catch?"

Councillor Rosewood smiled thinly, looking at this changed Asher, "The powers are... substantial. Enhanced strength, perception beyond normal bounds, perhaps even manipulation of elements."

'Isn't that too much diversity for a single artifact' Asher thought as he considered what the artifact could be.

"As for the catch," she paused, her expression turning solemn, "it demands a piece of your soul. A small price for such gains, don't you think?"

"What!? A part of the soul? Is it a Soul Artifact?" Asher asked, as he didn't want anyone to have something connecting his soul.

"Yes and no, the artifact will not be yours, but don't worry. No one controls your soul. It just connects to your soul. You will do something similar if you return to your family. This time, it's just ahead of time," she reassured him.

'Well, the only thing that connects to the soul can be a system,' Asher thought as his heart raced a little. 'Is it something like his or the like the World System that was explained in the Cultivator Memory Capsule?'

"And you will let me use this Artifact, just like that?" Asher asked, wanting to know why he would be easily given a system.

Hearing him ask that question, the Councilor raised an eyebrow. Normally, Asher would have jumped at the chance to gain extra power, but noticing his cautious approach prompted her to reassess him. "Hmm... You've become more perceptive," she commented but continued, not waiting for his answer. 

"Well, the power you will gain by following your family's artifact path is designed to enhance your attacking capabilities. The one I offer is more oriented towards augmenting an individual's talent. Even though you may want power today, the potential of ours is much better. Consider it our investment in you."

'Why do I feel like it's more toward Individual's fate than talent,' Asher thought. 'Having this many system users in her payroll must be that. Especially with her all-rounded explanation of the artifact.'

He wasn't sure, but he suspected the Councillor was talking about the system.

"Is that so... But I already know the Artifact grants System?" Asher directly asked, not wanting to play this game. 'It's not going to be secret for much longer, then why should I talk in circles."

Her facade cracked a little, surprise flickering across her features. "Where did you hear that? Did Alissa tell you?"

"Well, look at that. Surprising people sure give you advantages. And Alissa knows about the system but didn't tell Asher," he mused internally, narrowing down the reasons to two possibilities. 

She learned it from the family or acquired it when she became Vice Councillor. The latter seems more plausible.

"Not her. But tell me about the secret entrance. What can you tell me about it?" Asher wants to get everything he can get his hands on.

"..." she didn't reply for 10 seconds, and Asher could almost see her anger rising at being ignored. "Well, I will play your game… It's hidden, only accessible to those with powers and money to hire them," she explained, her eyes locking with his, a message in her gaze. 'Tell me what I want to know, and we will see if you can get more.'

'And you have the power and resources to hire Mercenaries? What could the Orphanage possibly need them for?' he thought, 'and the only way to get more information about it will be to handle Jolan.'

Asher's mind raced as he contemplated how to maximize the situation to his advantage. "And I need to remove Jolan from the Vice Councilor position first to know more… You believe I can handle what this Elder and Jolan will throw my way?"

"More than anyone I know," the Councillor affirmed, her confidence in him evident.

"Let me guess, it's my destiny?" Asher queried, his tone lightly mocking, observing her for any tell-tale reaction.

"What, no. Why would you say that?" the Councillor responded, but Asher noted her slight twitch, a giveaway.

But Asher's thoughts soon drifted to past iterations as he began to hypothesize the situation further. 

'Asher must have acquired a system that helped him counteract the poison.'

Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, the system message flashed before his eyes, interrupting his train of thought.

'Oh, come back, did you?' Asher sneered inwardly upon seeing the message, speculating. 'Guess you're about the Councilor or Rosewood Orphanage.'

"Well, give me a minute, and I will tell you," he announced, settling into the chair. He opened the capsule, deliberately ignoring the Councilor's reaction, signifying his momentary disregard for her authority.

'Well, she wants something from him, and he can be a little disrespectful as he is not in much requirement of a system, just only the coordinates, and that too can be handled by Alissa, right?'

Asher contemplated his position. 'She wants something from me, but I'm not desperate for a system—just the coordinates?' This thought emboldened him, affirming his leverage in this negotiation.

As he started seeing the memory, he was again given a sequence of events in its audio, visual, and sensory form. 

The recollection began with his dealings with the Councilor, tracing back to his initiation as Vice Councilor. 

The Councilor led Asher to the basement of the main building, where we saw a glowing artifact suspended above a pedestal. After that, the memory got a little hazy.

Although he didn't witness firsthand how he gained the system, he conceptually understood he had acquired it. 'Still hiding, huh?' he thought, recognizing the deliberate omission in his memory.

Last time with Alissa, when he gained the third capsule, he always thought it odd. He didn't understand how Asher would have confronted Jolan and the Elder. It seems that it was all due to this supposed power-up.

As the memory fast-forwarded, he came to know the bastard behind Jolan. He was unsure whether he should laugh or cry to see it was the same Elder from the family.

'Of course, they were involved. Who else would back Jolan against me if not someone from my own bloodline?' he contemplated, the realization both answering and raising questions.

The memory did not end with the revelation about the Elder. It skipped ahead, directly aligning with the day he learned he would be departing. 

He was in this very office, receiving details about the hidden entrance: Bluefield City, Calamity Auction House, accompanied by the secret codec to decipher the correct passcode for any given day.

Asher was coming back from the memory trip when he felt his consciousness being pulled elsewhere. A momentary wave of panic washed over him, but he soon calmed as new memories appeared inside him. 

 

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