Chapter 76: Explaining The Ploy (Bonus Chapter)

Aiden had released the immobilis spell on Kayden, who instantly sprang up without warning and delivered a punch to Aiden’s face.

Laela raised both her arms over her mouth as she didn’t expect that reaction.

Aiden quickly turned his head back toward Kayden in a fit of rage, and Kayden stared right back.

“You should be thanking me, you fool!” Aiden said.

“Use that spell on me again, and I promise I’ll make you regret it!” Kayden threatened back, with streaks of lightning now coursing through his body.

The entity in Arianna’s body then laughed out loud as she watched them staring daggers at each other.

This immediately pulled their attention back toward her, and Aiden walked forward with his hand stretched out as though he was going to cast another spell.

She raised both hands up and said, “Hey, hey, you got me, okay? I already told you what you wanted to know.”

“If you’re not Arianna, who are you and what did you do to her?” Kayden questioned with a somber tone.

“Oh, you foolish boy, you couldn’t even tell when the girl you love wasn’t the same person anymore,” the entity taunted with that devious smile.

Kayden gritted his teeth and turned away. He was mad and disappointed with himself.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t tell about the behavioral shifts; it’s just that there was no way his mind would have ever gone toward Arianna being possessed by someone else.

“Answer his question now. Who are you and what have you done to the true owner of that body?” Aiden spoke out, and you could hear how agitated he sounded.

The entity sighed and then her grin returned. “My name is Liandrin, and the real Arianna is simply sleeping.”

Then Aiden looked at the souls within her body again and said, “So that’s why that other light is dimmer than usual.”

He looked up toward her and asked, “How are you currently in possession of this body, and why?”

Liandrin then replied, “This was not my doing, it was what Mother Dearest wanted. And why? Let’s say I was supposed to help you all reach your full potential.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Aiden questioned, then added, “And who is this person you speak of?”

Liandrin rolled her eyes, then spoke, “Well, I guess now that you know who I am, I can at least tell you all why I’m in this body.”

There was a brief pause before she spoke further. “My duty here was to gather the top potential mages after the magic assessment into one guild, and then help facilitate their growth… force you all to do missions, to take on tasks, and to get better at using magic while climbing the mage ranks.”

Aiden then interjected with a question, “And what about wanting to be Grand Magus and all of that?”

Liandrin laughed out loud and said, “That sounded like a good touch, so I just threw it in there.”

“So agreeing to go out with me if I joined Ravens Grave was all part of some ploy?” Kayden was going through moments of realization.

Liandrin then replied boldly and in a mocking voice, “Yes. Matter of fact, even the real Arianna never had any feelings more than deep friendship for you.”

“Lies! Get her back here now!” Kayden demanded.

“But deep down you know I speak the truth. That’s why you happily agreed to my terms without giving it a second thought. Kayden, love, it has always been a story of unrequited love.” That mocking tone and the taunting smile from Liandrin made it even worse.

Aiden interjected with a more serious question, “To help us grow, you say? To what end?”

“Why else would a kingdom need powerful mages? To vanquish any threats against their kingdom, to win wars, and to claim thrones!” She replied with a devious smirk on her face.

Aiden was in thought for a moment, then asked, “Who put you up to this?”

Liandrin looked at him with a devious smile on her face, but she wasn’t exactly forthcoming with an answer.

Aiden then stretched his hand out again and said, “I assume the real Arianna doesn’t feel any pain I inflict on that body. I’m inclined to make this unpleasant for you.”

“Tsk.” Liandrin clicked her tongue in frustration, especially knowing that Aiden would actually follow through. Then she replied, “Well, it’s not like any one of you could possibly be a threat to her, so I’ll just get on with it. Mother Dearest is the one with the title of Grand Magus. She is the one who put me in this body for the very purpose I’ve carried out so far.”

Every one of them looked toward her with shocked expressions of disbelief. The Grand Magus? That sounded impossible.

“These are lies. Why would the Grand Magus be involved in something like this? To make a mess of another’s life by forcing your soul into this body?” Aiden refused to believe it.

“You already found out about me. Why else should I tell untruths? Believe what you want, doesn’t matter to me.” She shrugged, looking completely unbothered.

Aiden then listened with his enhanced hearing, he couldn’t detect her heart skipping a beat. No anxiety, nothing.

“How do we get you out of her body?” Kayden questioned again in a somber tone.

“Only Mother Dearest has the knowledge of the spell in this kingdom. I will only leave this body if and when she deems it so.”

“You don’t seem to be afraid of having you and your so-called Mother Dearest exposed,” Aiden said, noticing how Liandrin simply laid it all out in front of them.

“Heh,” she smiled. “And why would I be? She’s the single most powerful person in the kingdom, and at the end of the day, she’s doing all these for the same kingdom. You are all at a loss if you can’t see the vision.”

“I’ve had enough!” Laela exclaimed from behind, then stretched her hands. Vines started growing from underneath Liandrin’s feet, and in split seconds, she was ensnared by vines.

The same vines near-instantly drained her of her mana to the extent where she fell unconscious and was knocked out.

Both boys turned to see an angry-looking elf. That was probably the first time something had gotten to her that way.

“Well, what do we do now?” Laela asked, directing her question to Aiden.

“There’s no option except to go see the Grand Magus, and if she really was the one behind all of this, then she will have to undo the spell,” he replied with firmness in his voice.

…

Not long after Laela put Arianna’s body down, the system displayed notification screens in front of Aiden:

[Special Quest: Find Out Why Another Soul inhabits Arianna’s Body → Complete]

[+5 available stats points]

[You have been awarded +10,000xp]

[Bonus Reward: +6000xp]

[Outstanding Performance Reward For Finding out within the day +5000xp]

[XP Boost Badge: Extra +21,000]

[Technique Copied: Mass Magic: Body Reduction(B)]

Aiden nodded slightly in approval seeing these notification screens. One of his main goals had been achieved successfully

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep