"Mhmm… Honestly, your timing for coming here is quite suspicious… You're also using a high-level Stealth Ability that can be compared to an Epic Rank even though you're only a Rare rank…" Ryu mentioned his doubts about Reiji's identity…

"Huh? It's just a coincidence…" Reiji tried to explain but he realized that it was quite difficult to prove his identity. His strong ability can be explained by being Awakened or something but his timing for visiting here was indeed something to be wary of…

​​

He can understand why Ryu was a bit apprehensive…

Aside from that, he had never interacted with any other sentient Arcana that could vouch for his identity…

"We only have four gatherings every year and you happen to arrive at such a convenient time? Haa~ you're also saying that no one invited you here but you're interested with the leader of the Mind Collection?"

"Eh? The Excalibur---No, I mean… The sword that was said to be stuck on a stone is the leader of the organization?" Reiji asked in surprise.

"That's correct… I don't know why you keep calling it Excalibur but the leader's name is Fern. You better remember that… He is a genuine blessed of the Sword Deity! Hmph! Anyone should know that name… After all, even the organization made by all the Cursed Arcana would fear him every time he's mentioned…"

Ryu proudly said as he appears to deeply respect the sword Arcana called Fern…

'Whoaaa~ A blessed?'

On the other hand, Reiji was amazed by something else after hearing this revelation. He was quite thankful that Ryu was starting to reveal information about their organization.

Finally, he would have a chance to meet a blessed Arcana! It is even blessed by the Sword Deity just like him…

He can't wait to see this Arcana called Fern. If they are both blessed by Albeiron, then they should be on the same side...

"I want to learn more about the Mind Collection and this organization made by the Cursed Arcana… Tell me what I need to do so you can trust me…" Reiji was missing a lot of information about this world and he needed Ryu's help.

The cloak Arcana went silent after that…

In truth, he couldn't feel some malice in this wooden sword and he even felt that he can be good friends with him…

However, logic tells him that this new Arcana wasn't so simple and he needed to be careful.

After all, he can't just let anyone approach their leader. Although Fern is a powerful Arcana even though he's handicapped, the enemies might've prepared as well and considered his situation…

"Ahh… Right, do you know the current situation of our leader?" Ryu asked. He wanted to test his knowledge.

"Eh? Of course not… I only know that he's stuck on a stone. This is also the first time that I heard about the organizations formed by Arcana." Reiji answered truthfully…

Ryu asked several more questions to gauge the extent of his knowledge... Only after a long interview did he finally give up and accepted Reiji's reasons…

"Haa~ Very well… I don't feel any threat from you. You also look like a brittle sword, so I guess my worry was uncalled for."

"No, you're only doing your job to guarantee everyone's safety… I can understand your situation…"

Reiji said as he heaved a sigh of relief. He also had a feeling that his Title had given him a little help during their conversation.

[ The Gentle Hardworker ]

[ Effect: Other Sentient Arcana would feel goodwill towards you ]

He wasn't exactly sure how it works but he considers this title as a passive skill. Even though he might look suspicious due to his unknown identity, they shouldn't feel threatened in his presence or something like that.

"Anyway, you still needed an invitation to attend the gathering…" Ryu muttered after he decided that Reiji is not a threat.

"Eh… No, I don't think I should join this gathering. I'm not sure what to do in that place as well… As long as you can brief me about the organization regarding all the Arcana, I'm already happy with that…"

It is the truth, he has no idea what to do in that gathering. If it's possible, he wanted to meet Fern after it takes place.

Unfortunately, Ryu seems to have other plans.

"Haha… You don't have to be so nervous. I can give you an invitation… I haven't invited anyone for a long while now, so I can accompany you in the gathering…" Ryu mentioned his plans as he also didn't want this newborn Sentient Arcana to join other organizations.

Before Reiji can further decline, Ryu suddenly had a serious tone in his voice as he gave a warning to him.

"By the way, Newbie... Can you hide that thing clinging around you... Its presence is a bit suffocating..."

"Eh? Clinging on me?"

"That stone... Isn't that the reason why the scanner detected your presence?"

"Ahh!"

Reiji finally understood. His Stealth and Traceless ability should've been enough to perfectly hide his presence, unfortunately, it wasn't the same for the Arcane Stone!

'Haa~'

Reiji sighed in relief after realizing this. He upgraded his Stealth to its maximum so he expected that skill to help him together with the Traceless, so it was a huge blow to him after he was still detected by those scanners...

'I really thought that my skills were ineffective against that scanner...'

"Right, I'm using a special cloth I received from a friend... This can supposedly suppress this stone's aura... I guess it wasn't as effective as I thought... Is it still leaking?"

"No, not really... I'm just sensitive to this kind of Spiritual Pressure... and those scanners used by guards were quite special... After all, it is made under the instructions of another blessed Arcana living in this city."

"Another blessed? Wait, how can you feel the Spiritual Pressure? It's not activated yet."

"Heh~ But it doesn't mean that I can't feel its energy, right? That stone appears to be quite special... Anyway, you must know there's a reason why I'm guarding this area..."

Ryu smirked after saying this, he seemed to possess an abundant number of abilities based on this hint.

At the very least, it also shows that he was still unaware of the true value of this stone and only felt the power hiding within it...

"Let me help you hide its presence for now... I won't ask what exactly that thing is but it feels similar to a Defensive Array of some sort so I'm not really interested... Don't worry, many other Arcana has their own collection of magic items to protect themselves... See this patch on my back? It's not just a decoration I attached, it's a magic item. Hehe... I won't tell you its effect though..."

"Ah, I see... Thanks for letting me know..." Reiji realized that this Arcana was quite talkative... Of course, he was really thankful to him since he was still learning a lot from him.

Ryu then went somewhere for a bit as he took something that might help Reiji... He seemed to be a very kind and caring Arcana to newbies like him...

"Ahh... You can call me Reiji!" He immediately said after realizing that he was always being addressed as a newbie...

After a while, the floating Cloak Arcana returned and gave him a red string...

"Let me just tie this on your tussle... It will help you erase this Array Stone's presence. Oh, do you have an Appraisal Skill or perhaps an Identification Skill? You might be surprised how effective this is... Hehe... "

Ryu proudly said as he wanted to brag something about this string. Unfortunately, Reiji doesn't have any identification skills yet.

At the very least, he has a Danger Sense ability and he can't feel any danger on this item yet... So it should be safe putting it on his tussle.

"Very well... You just need to know that it can hide the Aura of this array stone as long as the string remains red... If you found it turning black someday, you have to pour your Spiritual Energy into it to bring back its effects... Understand?"

"Ahh... Yes... Thank you, Ryu."

After chatting a bit more, the Arcana finally explained the Mind Collection's hierarchy...

"As you already know, the leader of the organization is Fern, the blessed Sword Arcana... Aside from him, there are two other blessed Arcana helping him. The one who made the guard's scanner that you encountered, Vivi the Quill Pen Arcana... and the other one is Neri, the Shield Arcana..."

Ryu then gave a brief explanation about their powers that were spread around the Arcana community. It seems that the leak about some of their abilities was deliberately done to act as a deterrence against their enemies...

Reiji can somehow understand this... After all, reputation is also a factor needed to build a successful organization.

He became excited. He finally realized how big this world is...

He wanted to join the Arcana community, meet other Sentient and Blessed Arcana along the way, and perhaps discover a lot more things that this world has to offer.