Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill-Chapter 169: Leaving the Mansion

When William used his powers to send his consciousness to the sword, he found himself inside a carriage.

The carriage wasn’t particularly luxurious, and there were several other people inside. He counted six individuals in total, all wearing cloaks and hoods.

Victoria was among them. She, too, was hiding her identity and wasn’t speaking to anyone.

Over the past few days, Victoria had grown closer to the sword, and William felt their connection strengthening. He decided to try speaking to her mentally, and to his surprise, it worked.

"Where exactly are we?" he asked.

When Victoria heard the voice in her head, she nearly panicked. William understood the feeling well—he had felt the same way when Asura first spoke to him.

Victoria responded through her thoughts, as if talking to herself. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but she tried anyway.

"This is the carriage taking me—or rather, us—to the battle academy. How are you talking to me like this?" she asked.

"Like this? You mean mentally? It’s pretty easy for me. I couldn’t do it before because our connection wasn’t strong enough," William explained.

Their connection had indeed grown, but what truly enabled him to communicate with her was the abilities Asura had shared with him before leaving. There were many things he could do now, and he couldn’t wait to test them out.

"I’m so nervous. I can’t mess this up," Victoria said.

Victoria had the option to become a merchant like her father—something she didn’t want—or use her talent in magic to become strong.

She was the type of person who couldn’t stand staying in one place for years. She loved the idea of traveling, meeting new people, and helping others. That’s why she had decided to pursue a spot at the battle academy.

With her slightly above-average talent and her father’s connections, she had secured a place at one of the kingdom’s best battle academies.

However, she would likely be one of the weakest students there. The academy attracted the most talented individuals in the kingdom, and with her current abilities, she would be at the lower end of the spectrum.

William saw this as an opportunity to earn her trust and get her to work for him. His goal was for Victoria to grow strong enough to free him.

"Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you get stronger. You just need to trust me, alright?" he said.

"I will, absolutely. But tell me more about yourself. Who are you, exactly?"

"Asura—that’s my name. I was a powerful mage ages ago, and now all that remains is a fragment of my soul in this sword."

There was no way for Victoria to verify information about Asura or anything related to demons, so William wasn’t worried about revealing this.

They talked extensively during the journey. William learned more about Victoria and, more importantly, about the place they were heading to.

"I won’t need to take an entrance test, and classes start in two weeks. But it’ll take us a week to get there," Victoria explained.

"What types of magic can you use?" William asked.

"Lightning, and I know how to use a sword," she replied.

That wasn’t what William had expected. Lightning was a rare element, known for its strength if the user could control it well.

Would Victoria have the talent to become one of the best lightning mages? Only time would tell.

If William had been able to choose an element for her, he would have picked fire. His own talent in wielding fire and black fire had grown tremendously recently, and he felt he could have helped her more with that.

But with lightning, it was a different story.

"That’s a pretty rare element," William said. "My abilities were related to fire, so I can’t help you much with learning lightning spells, but I can assist you with general techniques."

"No problem," Victoria said. "I know you’ll be a great ally."

William didn’t keep talking to her nonstop. He had to return to his original body. Things weren’t looking good in the mansion.

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Jonas had sent guards to watch over everyone—including William and the other slaves—making it much harder to move around without being noticed.

The guard who wanted to work with William was also one of those assigned to watch him. He took the opportunity to speak with William privately.

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"I need you to find out more about a staff member who went missing a few months ago," the guard said. "Can you do that?"

Puzzled, William replied, "But aren’t you the one with more resources? I don’t see how I can do this."

"Oh, you can. Don’t you know? You and the other slaves are going on a trip, and I need you to interrogate someone for me."

"A trip? Why would Jonas bring us? It doesn’t make sense," William said.

Jonas had many people working for him, and it seemed illogical for him to bring slaves instead of his more trusted workers.

The guard explained, "Jonas isn’t concerned about you and the other slaves regarding the library incident. He doesn’t think it was one of you. So, he’s bringing you along. Plus, he needs strong people for manual labor."

Jonas didn’t trust most of his workers to leave the mansion—only a select few. William and the other slaves were among those he believed hadn’t invaded the library.

"And who do you want me to interrogate?" William asked.

"A guard. I’ll point him out to you. Don’t worry."

"A guard? Really?"

Interrogating a guard wouldn’t be easy. Guards were stronger compared to the other workers under Jonas’ command, and if William were caught, it would cause serious problems.

But what choice did he have? The guard, whom William now knew as Travis, had helped him avoid getting caught, and now William owed him.

"Yes. I need you to interrogate him about Simone. He and Simone were involved, so he might know what happened to her," Travis said.

"Who is she, anyway? If we’re going to work together, I need to know."

Travis hesitated before answering. "She’s my sister, and she went missing. That’s why I came here. I need to find out what happened, but I can’t just roam around asking questions. Jonas is always watching the guards. But you can help me, and in return, I’ll help you."

William knew he had to comply to settle the debt between them. Reluctantly, he agreed.

"But how do you want me to proceed? Just ask him normally, or will I have to torture him for answers? Probably the latter, or you’d already know what happened."

"Exactly," Travis said. "I need you to get the answers by force. But you’ll probably have to kill him or make it look like he died. There’s no way he won’t report this to Jonas if he survives."

That was a pretty challenging task for William. With the seal still on his body, he wasn’t at his full strength, making it difficult to confront one of the guards.

However, it wasn’t impossible.

"Alright, I’ll do my best. When is this trip?" William asked.

"Tomorrow. So, be prepared. I’ll talk to you again tonight," Travis replied.

After their conversation, the guard left. Later that day, Jonas called William and the other slaves for a meeting, and it was precisely about the trip Travis had mentioned.

Jonas didn’t share many details, but the slaves were thrilled at the chance to leave the mansion.

Deep down, they saw it as an opportunity to attempt an escape, but William knew Jonas wouldn’t let that happen.

’He definitely has contingency plans to stop us,’ William thought.

True to his word, Travis returned to speak with William that night. As one of the guards assigned to watch the corridor where William slept, Travis had easy access.

He knocked softly on the door, careful not to draw attention. William had been expecting him and opened the door quietly.

"So, what do you need?" William whispered.

Travis handed something to William—a dagger.

"You’ll need a weapon to protect yourself and to get the answers we need," Travis said.

"But Jonas will search us before we leave. There’s no way he’ll let me go with a dagger," William countered.

Travis smiled. "See for yourself. Hold the dagger and lightly tap it five times."

William frowned, confused, but he did as Travis instructed, tapping the dagger five times with his fingers. To his surprise, the dagger disappeared.

"It makes the dagger invisible," Travis explained. "Tap it again, and it will reappear. Or, if you do nothing, it will become visible again after thirty minutes."

After explaining, Travis left. The dagger he had given William was an impressive weapon.

It didn’t require mana to turn invisible, which made William even more curious.

’How does this even work?’ he wondered.

There was no time to dwell on the mechanics of the dagger, but it was something he planned to investigate in the future.

William went to bed and woke up early the next morning. Jonas gathered the people he trusted for the journey, including William and the other slaves.

They left the mansion with four carriages, and William was surprised to find himself allowed to ride in one!

"Before we leave, I’ll check all of you," Jonas announced. "You know, to make sure no one is bringing anything dangerous for the trip. 04, you’re first."

William stepped forward, the invisible dagger safely hidden. He had no intention of getting caught.