AWAKENED IN ANOTHER WORLD AS AN HIGH ELF

Chapter 9: The Grand Operation (Part 2)

“Being one of the Dark Emperors, the king possesses an enormous amount of power and dark energy,” Adrian explained, tapping the center of the map with one finger. “Fortunately, we don’t need to fight him directly. We only need to exploit his weakness.”

Ethan leaned closer to the table, his attention fixed on the map as the tension in his chest slowly gave way to curiosity.

“What weakness?” he asked, keeping his voice controlled even though he could already feel his pulse quickening.

Adrian slowly moved his finger away from the chamber marked as the king’s room and guided it toward another section of the castle.

“The king takes a special dark potion every morning,” he explained, his tone becoming more deliberate as he revealed the first part of the plan. “That potion allows him to maintain his human appearance.”

Ethan’s brows immediately drew together.

“A potion?” he repeated, staring at Adrian as if he had expected something far more complicated.

Adrian gave a small nod. “A very powerful one.”

Ethan lowered his gaze toward the map again, his mind quickly putting the pieces together.

“So without it...” he began slowly, his voice fading as the implication became clearer.

“He cannot maintain the disguise,” Adrian finished, his eyes remaining fixed on Ethan. “Once the potion’s effect begins to fade, his true form will gradually reveal itself. The longer he goes without it, the harder it becomes for him to hide what he really is.”

Ethan remained silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he considered the information.

“So the potion isn’t making him stronger,” he said, finally looking back at Adrian. “It’s hiding what he really is.”

“Exactly,” Adrian replied, giving him a firm nod. “The king may look human, but that appearance is only being maintained by the potion.”

Across the table, Mira quietly closed the book she had been reading, and the soft sound of the cover meeting the pages immediately drew Ethan’s attention.

She rested the book on her lap and looked toward Adrian, her expression thoughtful as she considered what he had just revealed.

“And considering how much the kingdom worships its king,” she said quietly, her fingers resting against the edge of the book, “I doubt he would want anyone to see what he really looks like.”

Adrian glanced at her and gave a brief nod. “That is precisely why this plan can work.”

He lowered his finger onto the map again and tapped the castle twice, his expression becoming more focused. “The king takes the potion at exactly nine in the morning.”

Ethan’s eyes instinctively shifted toward the clock on the wall.

Adrian noticed the movement and immediately understood what Ethan was thinking.

“We have roughly thirty minutes,” he said, his voice calm despite the pressure building around them.

Ethan’s expression hardened.

Thirty minutes.

That was barely enough time to reach the castle, let alone get inside and interfere with something that was being prepared under heavy magical protection.

Adrian seemed to read the concern on his face because he continued before Ethan could voice it.

“The potion isn’t prepared by the king himself,” he explained, tracing his finger along another section of the map. “A special sorcerer is responsible for making it, and the preparation process takes exactly ten minutes.”

His finger moved downward until it reached the lower section of the castle, where several narrow corridors and chambers had been marked in dark ink.

“The sorcerer enters this room at eight fifty,” Adrian continued, tapping the chamber firmly. “He begins preparing the potion immediately, and at exactly nine o’clock, he carries it directly to the king.”

Ethan studied the marked location carefully, his eyes following the narrow passage that connected the room to the upper levels of the castle.

“The sorcerer works in the lower levels of the castle,” he murmured, realizing why Adrian had chosen that location.

“Yes,” Adrian replied, keeping his finger over the chamber. “The sorcerer works down here because the room has been specially protected against magical interference.”

Mira leaned slightly forward, her earlier calm expression replaced by a look of concern. “Protected how?” she asked, her voice low as she studied the map.

Adrian looked at her for a moment before answering. “The entire chamber is surrounded by old sealing magic. Spells cannot easily penetrate it, teleportation is blocked, and anyone attempting to force their way inside will trigger an alarm.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “So we can’t simply teleport in.”

“No,” Adrian said firmly. “And we cannot break the seal without alerting the castle.”

“Then how exactly are we supposed to get inside?” Ethan asked, his voice tightening as he looked from Adrian to the map.

Adrian’s expression remained calm.

“We are not going to break the seal,” he said quietly. “We are going to walk through it.”

Ethan stared at him for a moment, clearly unconvinced. “Walk through a magical barrier that blocks teleportation and detects intruders?”

Adrian’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Not exactly.”

He reached into his coat and pulled out a small black object wrapped in dark cloth. Slowly, he placed it on the table between them.

Ethan immediately looked down at it.

The object was a thin, metallic disk no larger than the palm of his hand. Strange symbols had been carved across its surface, and faint violet light pulsed beneath the markings like a heartbeat.

Mira’s eyes narrowed the moment she saw it. “Where did you get that?”

Adrian carefully unfolded the cloth around the disk. “From someone who used to work for the king.”

Lyra looked at him sharply. “You have someone inside the castle?”

“I did,” Adrian replied, his voice quieter now. “And that person spent months learning how the lower chambers were protected.”

He turned the disk over, revealing a small circular mark engraved into its center.

“This device carries the signature of the castle’s magical barrier. When activated, it will convince the seal that we are authorized to enter.”

Ethan stared at the device, his suspicion slowly giving way to interest. “And you are sure it will work?”

Adrian met his gaze without hesitation. “It has to.”

The simple answer made Ethan’s expression tighten.

Mira noticed it immediately. “That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” she said, her tone dry.

Adrian gave her a brief look.

“Because it isn’t,” he replied, holding her gaze for a while before turning his attention to Lyra. “Lyra and I will begin the first phase of the plan.”

Lyra gave a small nod, her calm expression showing no trace of concern. “We find the sorcerer before he finishes,” she said confidently. “If we reach him before the potion is complete, we can control what happens next.”

“Correct,” Adrian replied, giving Lyra an approving nod. “She has prepared the strongest sleeping potion she has ever made. More importantly, she prepared it specifically for this mission, so its sleeping agent will not interfere with the king’s potion or disrupt its transformation effect.”

He tapped the map with one finger, his expression becoming more focused.

“All we need to do is find the sorcerer, secure the king’s potion before it is delivered, and add Lyra’s sleeping agent to it. Once the king drinks it, next phase of the plan begins.”

Ethan studied Lyra for a moment, trying to judge whether the confidence in her expression was justified before he finally shifted his attention back to Adrian.

“But how effective is the sleeping potion?” he asked, his voice calm but curious. “We are talking about a Dark Emperor, after all. I doubt an ordinary sleeping spell would be enough to keep him unconscious.”

Lyra’s lips curved into a small, confident smile as she leaned back in her chair.

“It would put a dragon to sleep for an entire week,” she said proudly, her voice carrying the quiet confidence of someone who knew exactly what she had created. “And I’m not talking about some young dragon that has barely reached adulthood. I mean a fully grown one.”

Ethan’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

For a moment, he simply stared at her, trying to imagine what kind of potion could actually accomplish that.

“Then let’s hope the king is a little weaker than a dragon,” Mira said lightly, although the faint edge in her voice suggested that she was only half joking. “Because I really don’t want to find out what happens if he isn’t.”

Lyra turned toward her with an amused smile. “You should definitely hope he is,” she replied calmly, folding her arms across her chest. “Otherwise, we may have to come up with a second plan.”

Mira’s smile slowly disappeared.

She looked at Lyra for a moment before glancing toward Adrian. “I suddenly dislike the sound of that."