"Leaving already?" Nina asked Arnold as soon as she stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her body.

"I have to even if I don't want to..." he replied while tying his shoelaces up.

​​

"I see... well are you going to show me your vanishing trick or not?" she sat right next to him, her body and hair still wet.

"There's not much of a trick, you see." Arnold said and got up from the bed, "All you gotta do is... open sesame!"

Arnold uselessly waved his hands around to add a grand effect to his nonexistent spell and a crimson portal opened up in front of Nina.

"Open sesame... that's the best you could come up with?" She said with a sarcastic look on her face, "Is it too late to forget about last night?"

Arnold grabbed her wrist pulled her towards him, "I think so."

"Oh, my Romeo... get your a*s outta here already." She gently pushed him away, "I don't like guys who slack off."

"Alright alright, I'm leaving." He turned to face the portal, "Just tell Nathan to call me in case he finds something, and tell him to do so on my communicator. The communication channels on the base aren't safe to use."

"What do you mean, communication channels aren't safe? Want us to do something about it?"

"Let's just say, walls have ears as well and no need to bother yourself with such menial tasks, I'll see you later, madame. Feel free to call me as you please." Arnold smiled and jumped inside the portal.

***

Once Arnold was back inside his room, he quickly changed into his uniform and headed inside the workshop. He needed to prepare for war, he also needed to decipher how the beast collars and the monster blood were used to control monsters and humans and he knew the perfect people who could help him with it. But first, he wanted to use his [Probe] skill on both of the items.

___

OBJECT: Beast Collar

TYPE: Control device

GRADE: A

REMARK: A rare device developed by the human race to tame monsters gain control over them. A controlling rune is placed on the inside side of it which essentially binds the monster to its master, delivering an electric shock wherever the monster disobeys the master.

___

___

OBJECT: Coaxing Blood

TYPE : Controlling Liquid

GRADE : A

REMARK : A blood concoction that is yet another creation of the twisted fantasies of the human mind. Unlike monsters, this blood concoction is used to tame human beings into doing someone's bidding. A dose as small as a vodka shot is enough to control a human's action for some time (depends on the intelligence of the target). However, if a large enough dose is given, it would force the target into submission and permanently reduce the intelligence of the target, thus, making it easier to control the target after the next dosage.

___

"So that's why the church was pouring so much blood into the mouths of the people they had captured. They wanted to ensure that the others submit to them." Arnold mumbled and a portal popped up behind him and Talos and Alice walked out of it, "Also, regardless of what the notification says... there's no way in hell anyone made these from scratch."

He called Talos because he had known things which Arnold didn't and was more efficient in identifying various types of gears, and Alice because she was the one who was the person using both of these things also because he thought she could provide him with more Intel. Once they were outside, Arnold immediately handled them both of the things and asked them to tell him whatever they knew about them.

"I don't know... we just followed the instructions Devon gave us to make the blood concoction." Alice mumbled, "I don't know whether he made it or if someone helped him-"

"I see... well thanks for your help, you can go back inside." Arnold waved his hands and took the flask of blood from Alice's hands.

"But I do know how to make it." She replied.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. You can go now." Alice nodded and went back inside his domain.

The blood concoction wasn't of much use to him either, because it could only be used to control human beings and if he needed to control someone he could simply use [Blood Bond] to do so. Since he was already familiar with it, he'd feel more comfortable while using it. It was Talos' turn next.

"So what do you think?" Arnold asked, folding his arms before his chest, "Could we replicate it?"

"It is... fascinating and unique. This collar can be used to enslave any monster there would some restrictions to that and nothing is perfect in this world. Now that being said, there is a drawback to this collar as well." Talos replied, "The collars require regular maintenance as the rune inside it frequently wears off and once the collar is off of the monster, there's a risk that the monster would go berserk and cause a scene, however in Master's case, he doesn't need to worry about such trivial things because-"

"I have my domain to restrict the monsters inside." Arnold completed what Talos was about to say.

"Yes, Master." Talos replied in his electronic voice, "Also, yes we can replicate it but it would require a specific type of rune which I'm afraid the master doesn't possess yet."

"What type of rune do I need?"

"A Control rune. Its appearance is similar to the blood rune, the only difference is its size and the colour of engravings on it."

"So till I can get a hold of these 'control runes' I can not use the beast collar?" Arnold asked Talos.

"Of course, Master can use it as he pleases. After all, one control rune lasts for the duration of three months, and I'm sure the elder would soon provide you with some different things in the shop once it comes back online after you've completed your quests." Talos responded.

"Three months huh..." Arnold mumbled, "If that's so then I know exactly who I'd like to tame."

"It's her, is it?" Talos replied after seeing the evil smile on Arnold's face.

"You guessed it right, my greatest creation." His smile widened, "She has given me enough troubles till now, it's only fair for me to return the favour. She's been a pain in my butt for so long so it's about time she started listening to me. After all, I did make her one of my elite summon, didn't I? It's time to tame that ungrateful succubus."