A little bit of miracle

There are many reasons as to why Albert needed to run away as soon as Varka appeared.

The man is known among the people of Mondstadt— Foreign, even— as a living legend.

He was so famed that some of the hidden powers that are always watching from the shadows— manipulating every move of the world— have taken interest in him.

So why would a man as strong as him not pursue the assassin that just infiltrated the knights? He has the capability to chase him for hours on end, after all.

But really, who can comprehend the Grand Master's thoughts properly?

Right now, the same man was looking at the team of people putting Eroch's corpse inside a black body bag.

"What happened?" Suddenly, a voice was heard beside him.

It was the Frederica Gunnhildr.

"Assassination." Varka replied with a tobacco stick in his mouth.

"Hmm." She hummed, looking at the situation. "Any leads on our killer?"

Varka took out his cigarette and puffed out smoke. "None. The person that did it was a pro. Never left any tracks of him— not even fingerprint or footprints."

"Even footprints?" She asked.

"No." He shook his head. "Interestingly enough, quite a few saw our assassin leisurely walk around the headquarters."

"We interrogated them and checked out the places where the assassin walked on." He said before pulling out his cigarette again.

"Wanna know something funny?" Varka smirked. "There were no footprints."

"We checked every bit of area of the floor, yet still no prints, haha." He chuckled. "It's as if our assassin is as light as a feather."

"..." Frederica stayed silent and contemplated what Varka said. She said with serious and sharp eyes. "I see..."

"Whoever our assassin is, he's clearly skilled." She said before putting on dark gloves. "What do you think? Is it a person hired from another nation?"

She then lowered her voice for Varka to hear. "Or the Fatui?"

"..." Varka heard this and merely smoked more.

Soon, the medical staff left the room, carrying the body bag on a stretcher. Now, it is but Varka and Frederica left in the room that still has some blood stains.

"You know, there is something that interests me." He said as if changing the topic. "Right before I barged into this room, I heard something very interesting."

"Although it was inaudible, I managed to hear tiny bits of words."

"And they are?" Frederica said before walking near the location where Eroch died.

"The Fatui." Varka said before leaning against the wall. "Fatui... Recruits... And a deal."

"Those three words were the only ones I was able to hear." He said. "Our guy must be investigating something related to the Fatui or works for someone that needs that intel."

"But that begs the question." Frederica said as she carefully inspected the site of the murder. "What is the Fatui's connection to Eroch?"

Hearing this, a small smile appeared on Varka's face. "Since the man himself is gone, there's only one person left who knows."

Hearing this, Frederica turned around. "You don't mean..."

"Oh yes." Varka smirked. "I'm going on a hunt."

"No killing, of course." He added.

"Hah..." Frederica sighed. "You gonna announce this?"

"No." Varka shook his head. "I'll leave it to you. Just make an excuse to cover this incident like an explosion or something. Just don't involve the assassination."

Frederica heard this and a scoff escaped her mouth. "Don't want others to catch your prey, eh?"

"Just a habit I got when I trained in Wolvendom when I was a small lad." He replied before leaving.

"Well, that is to be expected of the Knight of Boreas, I guess." She replied before picking up a small part of an eagle feather.

She then inspected the feather and found that it was white. White enough to reflect the moon's glow from the window.

She then placed it in a plastic container armor future analysis.

* * *

[Congratulations on completing your mission]

[Progress bar has been raised]

[Shop function unlocked]

[Notice]

[The system has leveled up]

[The Template System Lvl. 1] → [The Template System Lvl. 2]

[New features unlocked]

[Level up rewards distributed]

A barrage of notifications appeared in front of Albert, who was resting inside a shadowy part of Mondstadt.

He looked at it for a brief moment before feeling nauseous.

Blargh*

He threw up.

"Huff... Huff..." He panted. He then wiped his mouth with his hand.

Tonight was the first time he killed a fellow human. He felt their blood as it ran down his hand when he stabbed them.

His mind was in a state of turmoil. It was unavoidable. Humans feel no remorse when slaughtering animals, but feel great guilt when they kill a fellow human.

It was not something he can control. Best he could do is suppress it.

Coupled with his running and using up his stamina, the stress built up and he had to release it somewhere.

After vomiting his dinner out, Albert moved a bit far away and sat down in the shadows.

'Not good...' He thought. 'My stats are too low.'

'I can't pass out here. If I do, there's a high chance I'll end up in the Knights tomorrow.' He was no fool. He knew that if he passed out here, he could be easily found.

The moon's ethereal glow shined down on the dark streets of Mondstadt, illuminating its dark parts.

Albert looked out, feeling weak. 'Ah... How beautiful.'

Countless stars covered the night sky. The full moon looked as if it was looking right down at him.

The skies, however, were forming constellations. Albert once read that a person's past and future can be predicted by their constellation. Some say it can even boost one's power.

Yet... He was not able to find his. No matter where he looked, he just couldn't find the right one that yells 'It's Me'.

"Meow..." Suddenly, a stray cat appeared out of the darkness.

It then started walking towards the man covered in a white cloak leaning against the wall.

"Purr..." It nudged its head against his hand.

"Meow..."

"Meow..."

Out of nowhere, three or more black cats that looked identical appeared one after another and surrounded Albert.

They all purred and sat near him, while some sat down next to him.

Albert saw this and a soft smile appeared on his face. "To have a moment like this..."

"Is to have a moment one cannot forget." He didn't know what he was saying, but he said.

Perhaps it was from a book he read? Or perhaps an anime line from his past life? No matter what, he felt like saying it was right.

He then patted one of the stray cats. "To be a stray cat that is always on the move on the streets to survive."

"One must gather a group to form a protection to the many." He said as he saw a cat offering a fish bone to a younger cat not far away.

In his vision, the stray cats were one big family in Mondstadt. They would scatter when there is danger and would gather together when there's food or a cat is being threatened.

"Yes..." Albert said with a smile before closing his eyes. "A family... That looks out for each other"

After saying this, Albert entered the realm of slumber.

However, as soon as he fell asleep, something happened.

Something that he knew would never happen in his life.

A golden light descended towards his body. It radiated the surrounding area, but not enough to catch any unwanted attention.

The golden light then condensed itself, forming a circular item. With a brief flash of golden light, something landed on Albert.

It was a circular object glowing bright yellow with a Geo symbol on it. It was encased in a golden plate that had a chain.

It mostly resembled... A pocket watch.

But that was not the only thing that happened.

Because up in the night sky, a brilliant light glowed.

That single bright light then connected itself to six more stars, creating a new constellation.

The Magna Furta constellation. A construction that portrays trickery, illusions, and most importantly... acting.

Albert's... Very own constellation.