An Extra’s POV
chapter-719

Adrien was sincerely impressed with Rey.

At first, he didn't really have an opinion of him—just as he didn't have an opinion of anyone else. He had no clue if he could 'use' him, or if he had to be wary of him.

In the end, it turned out the latter was the case.

Their relationship had somewhat evolved and devolved over the months that were spent in H'Trae, but at the moment Adrien was in a rather complicated position when it came to Rey Skylar.

'He's brilliant, and he's outsmarted me in many instances already… almost as though he is a completely different person from the one I am used to.'

Still, anytime he interacted with Rey, something seemed off.

'He seems just like the Rey I had profiled. All those features… his easily-readable expressions, incredible agitation and aversion towards me, and a bunch of other staple things I had associated with him after our interactions.'

Yet… those observed characteristics ran contrary to a lot of Rey's actions.

It was so puzzling.

'That version of Rey would not have been able to manipulate all of these scenarios to such a level of sophistication.'

Not only was he easy to read, but his scope of knowledge seemed very lacking. He expected the competent Manipulator that pushed him to such an extent to be much more knowledgeable and mature, but Rey showed no such thing.

The entire thing almost felt like Adrien was dealing with two different people.

'Or… maybe he is doing all of this intentionally. It's possible that his current persona is meant to mislead me into profiling him a certain way, and then end at a faulty conclusion.'

It was no wonder that many of his predictions had been affected—including what happened with the Dungeon he was standing in.

'If that is indeed the case, then… for someone who preaches so much about morals, he is quite the monster.' Adrien didn't particularly despise Rey for any of his actions, and he didn't think much would change about how he viewed Rey if all of these premises were true. He couldn't hate the player, if the game was already so messed up from the start.

'Both of us are just trying our hardest to win, after all…' Besides, while he indeed encountered some loss, it wasn't like he gained nothing. 'Thanks to the death of all the Dragons, I have some decent Undead in my army. I even got my hands on the corpses of the Dragon Generals…'

The ones who were obliterated by Rey were mere puppets, which meant he had the genuine article. 'I had to sacrifice the Commanders for that, as well as a great deal of the Mana I stored up, but the results were worth it. Now that I have more powerful pawns in my arsenal, I should be able to achieve a lot more…'

In essence, he gained and also lost.

'I should be satisfied with this outcome, especially since there are future prospects in sight. But…' A certain glint appeared in Adrien's eyes as his lips began to curl up, forming a rather disturbing smile.

'... I can't help my greed this time.'

His mind fell on a particular entity he could not help thinking about ever since he encountered it.

'Emil! That Slime… it's too fascinating and useful to let go.'

During their fight—when it pretended to be Rey—they ended up having a deep conversation, and he got to know a lot about the Symbiote Slime.

… Things not even Rey knew yet.

'This is another reason why I'm so perplexed about who he really is. Perhaps… I can use this current scenario to determine that as well.'

During their interactions, he was able to sow enough seeds to guarantee him some measure of rewards in the immediate future.

He wanted Emil.

'... And I suppose there's also nothing wrong with that.'

****************

Rey was surrounded by darkness, having no one around him except for a single figure.

The naked Dark Elf was unconscious, and as her dark hair draped over her face, and her body hung to the walls of the pitch-black space, her pathetic frame was completely observed by Rey in its entirety.

He had no perverted thoughts, despite her being bare before him, and there was nothing about his countenance that displayed any kind of pleasure—not even a hint of it.

He was absolutely serious.

"I've been through quite a lot for this moment, you know? For you…" He murmured, his eyes fixated on the face of the Elf named Ciela.

He knew she most likely couldn't hear him, and there was no point telling her all of the details, but he needed someone to vent to at the moment. Emil was still giving him the silent treatment, and he felt things only got worse after he commanded her to reveal all she talked to Adrien about.

Needless to say, their relationship wasn't the best at the moment.

He wanted to address it, and he knew he would have to, but not at the moment. Right now, he was at a precipice that demanded all of his attention.

'Once I'm done recovering Esme… I'll properly hash things out with Emil.'

That was his line of thought.

If Adrien was still present, maybe he would have been more impatient, but since he couldn't sense him around, and he figured his task was probably off-Continent, Rey reckoned he had enough time to swiftly wrap up the Esme issue and properly address his neglect of his Familiar.

His rationale behind this simply stemmed from the fact that he would be too distracted at the current moment to properly cater to all of Emil's needs.

'I have to give a hundred percent attention to her once this is all over…' He smiled to himself, now focusing all his mind on the target before him.

—Esme's mother.

"I didn't understand it at first, but now I know what The Oracle meant when she said a 'path' would open up for me." As he said this, a smile crept up on his face and he took a few steps forward.

Then, pausing right when he was a hair's breadth away from the Dark Elf, he continued speaking.

"I now know how to fix everything."