A chill went down Raze's spine each time he thought about that moment. The cold hand that touched his face seemed like an illusion, yet based on the blood that it left behind like some type of dirty marking, it was quite clear that it wasn't.
'But why would that thing even think about saving me? And what did it mean that it couldn't protect me? Was it because of the bullet?' Raze thought.
He couldn't ponder on the matter for too long because Himmy was waiting for an answer, and the longer he would take, the more suspicious he would get.
"I'm not weak, you know," Raze finally answered. "And at the same time, it's not like I came out of the situation unscathed. I was hit twice; if I was any slower, then I wouldn't be speaking right now."
"I would like to keep it that way, so it would be nice if you explained to me why someone had come and tried to kill me."
Charlotte looked back at Himmy, her face resembling that of a puppy dog. It was clear what her answer was; she seemed to be more fond of those from Alterian. Shaking his head, Himmy decided to sit back down.
"I agree," Himmy said. "I wasn't trying to be difficult on purpose, but the reason why I can't tell you is because it's classified information. Do you remember what I said before, about how only so much information is given out to those in Alter based on their ranking? There are things that I know that even Charlotte doesn't know.
I am a squad leader or a captain, while she is a sub-leader or the vice captain."
Charlotte gave a little smile when she had heard those words.
"I'm also the fastest-rising member of Alter? The old man always forgets to add that, but due to my hard work and skills, I was promoted fairly quickly."
"I still don't understand, based on the number of times you go to the toilet," Himmy casually commented. Before Charlotte could even complain, he started to talk again, stopping her verbal assault from even starting.
"This might not seem fair, but even though you are involved, we cannot tell you why unless you are promoted, of course."
"Promoted?" Raze replied.
He had thought about rising through the Alter ranks. The higher he was, the closer he would get to wherever those items were stored, and the more information he had. But it also meant he would come across higher-ranked mages who could blow his cover if they knew about him.
"Actually, that's what we were going to ask you before," Himmy explained. "Based on your skills, we are sure that you will achieve a high position in the academy and even when you leave the academy. Not just in terms of strength but connections; we are sure that you will be someone important to us."
"It was just, after you told us about that letter, we decided to wait and see, and as you thought, we had used you as bait."
An instant reaction had occurred right after hearing that. Raze clenched his fist. Even these two, they were just playing with his life. What if the attacker had gone for Simyon or Safa? If that was the case, then they perhaps wouldn't be alive. Holding back his anger, Raze knew what the right thing to do was, though.
"Is that offer still on the table?" Raze asked.
"Just accept, and I'll let you know all you need to know," Himmy smiled.
It didn't take long for Raze to think about it.
"I accept then; now can you tell me who that man was? Was he another otherworlder?"
"Yes," Himmy answered. "I'm sure you have probably guessed by now, but he was most likely the one who had left you the letter from before. As for his goal, it might be as simple as getting rid of you."
"But why?" Raze asked.
"Although he is an otherworlder like us, he does not belong to Alter like us. That man that attacked you comes from the same world as me; he uses the same weapons and maybe even more."
"Just like Alter, they have people from all sorts of different worlds, including that of Alterian. The group of people is known as the Bonum Society. You should know that if there are those trying to protect the world, there are also those trying to destroy it."
"This goes true for the Bonum Society as well. I heard that our leader of Alter and the leader of Bonum used to be friends at one point, working together in Pagna. That was until they managed to get their hands on a god-level item, the Gold Globe."
"We don't know what its powers were, but apparently enough for them to turn on Alter. As for the Golden Globe itself, at the moment, no one knows where it is. That is one of the missions that is currently ongoing within Alter."
"Usually, members of Bonum go after higher-ranked members of Alter to try and gather information, to see what we have on the Golden Globe. But it isn't rare for them to just go after anyone in Alter based on their deep hatred for us, and I suspect that's why they went after you."
Another group of otherworlders was a scary thing to worry about, especially when Raze had no clue about all of their powers. Even weapons such as guns were relatively a scary thing.
Thinking about this, Raze was quite concerned for a couple of reasons. One of them was still how did they know he was an Alter agent, and if he had gotten the letter from that far back, then didn't that mean a member of the Bonum Society was in the academy?
Lastly, it made him remember the message written by the Dark Founder in the cave.
"Originally, when he said they had infiltrated the Dark Faction, I thought he might have been talking about Alter, but now it might possibly be this Bonum group as well."
Rummaging through his pocket, Himmy threw something toward Raze. It was small in size, around the same size as a badge. Catching it, he looked at what was in his hands.
"That is proof that you are now not just a field agent, but a squad member of Alter. It's a device that will allow you to communicate with other members nearby. It does have a certain range, kind of like a radio? Wait... do you even know what a radio is? Either way, it will light up if it senses another Alter member nearby.
Although they could be undercover, in which case you can just power the device off yourself as well by pressing the button on the bottom."
After saying those words, Himmy was expecting a reply, but instead, he was just met with silence, and he could see Raze stood there still as a statue, looking at the device.
"I... I know what this is!" Raze thought, his eyes bulging as he looked at the design. It was white in color with a large capital 'I' on the front that was a faint blue. "It's a communicator, an item from Alterian, and a creation of Idore the Noble, one of the Supreme Magus."