Feeling surprised, Ricky palpitated upon hearing what Doris said. The secret that he had been hiding all along was about to unveil. A lucky guess or an accurate presumption from Doris made it happen. Sure enough, his worst fears of getting busted came true.
However, things could not be reverted on how it used to be. Every secret was meant to be discovered in the long run, so Ricky tried his best to keep calm. After a moment of astonishment, he regained his composure. After all, Ricky himself had already expected this situation - to be recognized by someone powerful as Doris. It was inevitable for him to be revealed as he kept hiding in a facade. What he could only do was to reveal himself now.
"What are you saying? That's ridiculous, Doris. How come this is not the true face?"
Tina asked and diverted her gaze at Ricky. Doris' wild statement set off a bomb on her mind, that was about to explode any moment now.
Slowly and reluctantly, Ricky took off the mask made of human skin on his face to reveal his true face. It was a handsome face that looked innocent and harmless to everyone. He smiled at the stunned, gorgeous face of Tina, showing his gentlemanly side. At the back of his mind, he wished that Tina would not loathe him for hiding his identity. A deep sigh of nervousness escaped from him as he prepared himself to explain.
"Yes Tina, this is my true face. As for my real name, it is Ricky. I apologize for lying to you up until now,"
Ricky said with a nervous yet charming smile. His heart was still palpitating hard as he waited for Tina's response.
"What a handsome face..." Tina said unconsciously as she was in a daze that made Ricky flustered. A few seconds later, Tina's eyes widened as she realized what she had said. She coughed a little and put a poker face look and said, "Your name was Ricky? What a familiar name!" It was true to Tina that she was familiar with Ricky's name. In an instant, she reacted with eyes wide open and her hands covering her wide-opened mouth.
"You... you are that Ricky with enemies everywhere!" Tina said, pointing at Ricky in disbelief that made her tremble a little.
"Yes, exactly! That's me. Ricky, everyone's enemy. Sounds rhythmic, right?"
Ricky said and chuckled as Tina's reaction made him laugh.
Although Ricky didn't want to confess, there was no possibility for him to conceal again in front of Doris. It was quite a relief that the two ladies didn't think of him as an enemy at the moment.
Instead, they were surprised and amused upon recognizing him. Then, Tina said again, "What a surprise! You are that famous Ricky! I can't believe I am facing you right now. All the forces of the Realm of Wildness are looking for you. How could you come up with this? You are hiding in this Chaotic Region and you changed your face. That was unexpected," she said and calmed down a bit.
"Well, I have no choice. It happened too sudden. I'm forced to do so,"
Ricky said, reminiscing how he had to come up with a disguise. However, he had a more important thing to do right now, so he shrugged those thoughts away.
The next moment, Ricky became serious, and asked Tina, "Now that you have known my true identity, will you..."
Ricky could not continue further, but what he meant was quite clear to Tina. In a moment, Tina's face changed and glared at Ricky, with her arms crossed. However, she blew her baby hairs away and looked away from Ricky.
"Humph! Fine. Have it your way. Set your heart at rest! I am not interested in your so-called spiritual space tool at all,"
she sneered and let out a smirk as she saw Ricky's face lightened. Upon hearing this, Ricky couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.
"Ha-ha. Thank you so much, Tina! I owe you this one." Ricky laughed happily, while Tina could only bite her lips to suppress herself from smiling back.
Meanwhile, Doris interrupted and took the mask from Ricky. "This human skin mask is supposed to be cast by a casting master who is close to reaching the intermediate stage of Spirit Level. It isn't easy for normal lower spiritual kings or even middle spiritual kings to find out that you're wearing one. No wonder you've been hiding in this Chaotic Region for so long." While she was talking to Ricky, she checked the human skin mask carefully.
'How did she know all of that? She said that the mask was cast by a casting master close to the intermediate stage of Spirit Level? Is that Elder Alex?'
Ricky thought to himself, making him admire Elder Alex for a while.
"It was well-made too. However, did you know this already? Ricky, the casting skill of this human skin mask is similar to your Pounding Skill of casting weapons to some extent. They are both intricate, but still, you have comprehended a little better,"
Doris continued. "If I am not wrong, you have ever taught this casting master sometimes."
"How did you know? There is nothing I can conceal in front of you!" Ricky said with a faint smile. Again, Doris saw him through. He was confused whether he should be afraid or be at ease because Doris knew a lot about him.
"I just made a guess. It was not obvious at first though. Actually, I didn't concern about you until I inadvertently saw the weapons you've cast,"
Doris said bluntly. However, Ricky still felt uneasy.
"Then, can I know the reason why you led me here? I'm sure you have led me here on purpose," Ricky asked in doubt, making Doris smile as a return.
"Of course, I brought you here intentionally. To be exact, I want to let you confirm something and help me with something. I will certainly pay you back whether you succeed or not," Doris said while smiling that gave Ricky a comfort.
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