Alman looked again at the man sitting in front of him once again. This man was wearing battle clothes from the third floor. That man came here to him to give him a job. And that job will pay a whopping price of 15+40=55 mana stones when completed. The way he sees it, this is a very very well paying job. He has not heard about a guy name Merchant but based on what he is paying him, he must a very big shot on the upper floors…

"Wait. You said that if I want to sell that weapon to us… Does that mean that if I want I can keep that weapon for myself?" Alman asked.

​​

"Yes, certainly sir," Arvin said.

"If you guys are not after the weapon then why the hell do you want to kill them?" Alman asked.

"I am afraid that I cannot that question sir."

"What if try to backstab you guys?" Alman asked wanting to see any reaction from Arvin.

"Lord Alman, even your tribe will not be able to protect you if backstab us. So please do not do anything that could jeopardize our relationship." Arvin added.

"Hmm… Well, I have another question, why the gold mask?" Alman asked.

"It is a long story…. Lord Alman, I am sorry but I don't have a lot of time. So are you ready to do this or not?" Arvin asked.

"Can you give me some time to think about it?" Alman asked.

"I am afraid that could not happen. I want an answer from you right now. Are you in or out?" Arvin asked.

"I am in," Alman said. As Alman said that he is in, Arvin took out a small cloth sack with two mana stones inside it.

He gave that cloth sack to Alman and said…

"I will return after 2 weeks. By that time please complete your assignment. At that time I will give you your compensation and look at evidence that indeed you have finished your assignment." Arvin said.

"Wait… That is it. You are doing a verbal promise." Alman said as according to him this type of deal requires a contract.

"Lord Alman, Merchant does not do contracts. His name has enough authority as a contract. If you are having a feeling that we may not compensate you or we may backstab you, I can assure you that nothing of sort will happen. And if you want you can just capture your targets. When I will return, I will hand you over your reward. Then you could kill them or leave the killing to me. Does not matter." Arvin said.

"…" This left Alman silent as he did not know whether to trust this guy or not.

"Now I will be taking my leave now," Arvin said. Then he got up and went outside of the study room.

As that man left, Alman opened the cloth sack that he had given him. He looked inside and found two mana stones in it. Alman became excited seeing those stones. Alman was on the periphery of achieving a breakthrough from the peak of Level-1 Acolyte to Level-2 Acolyte. He just needed to increase his mana capacity. That is why he would need a large number of mana stones.

With this deal, he would be able to earn enough mana stones that could help him to achieve the peak of Level-2 Acolyte. And if this man's information is indeed true then he would also gain another magic weapon. He already Chained Kunai Knives that was the gift from his father. Now he would gain another one.

Alman was still cautious of the stranger as this man-made a deal without a magic contract. That meant that he could backstab him anytime. But Alman's brain was inclined to believe that this stranger's word was true.

Those three earthlings that came down here were wearing clothes of the Aurora tribe from the third floor. They were not a prominent tribe with no backing at all. Based on his backing they were just ants. And based on the armor that the man was wearing he could have easily killed them.

This was the part that Alman was confused about. Why the hell did this man didn't kill them himself. Alman could smell a conspiracy amidst this deal. But then he didn't really care about it. After all with his backing, no one would try to hurt him let alone kill him. Alman then thought that maybe because of his backing that Merchant guy send that dude here. Maybe he didn't want his name on the murder of those three. That could also be the reason that he didn't fill a contract.

…..

After Arvin went out of the office his heart was aching with pain. After all to lure Alman into bait he had to sacrifice two of his mana stones. But this was a necessary step for his grand plan…

'Loki are you sure that I would be to breakthrough with just two mana stones?' Arvin asked.

{100% sure. You see to become an acolyte you would need two things

1>You would need mana sensitivity. You already have that.

2>Then you would need to learn about runes and magic circles. You already did that.

3>Then you will need to increase your mana capacity. And the remaining mana stones would be enough for that.

And boom you are an Acolyte}

'You said you need two things, yet you mentioned three…' Arvin said.

{…}

'But will the remaining two mana stone be enough?' Arvin asked.

{Yes. The one that used before has about a half mana left in it while the other one is about full. These two would be enough for your breakthrough.}

'Ok then.' Arvin said.

While talking to Loki, Arvin had come out of the Alman's mansion. Arvin then realized that if the news about his appearance somehow went to the Cullen family then they would realize his current location. He needed to move fast before anyone that has a connection with Cullen Family could spot him. So with that, he leaped in the air and ran away from there. Like a ninja, he hopped from roof to roof and finally stopped at a secluded alley.

After he confirmed from Loki that no one had followed him, he took off his clothes and got naked. Then he transformed into Corgan and started flying towards the Kalgan Forest…

After reaching the Kalgan forest, Arvin came down towards the old campsite. Arvin first put on some pants and then without wasting any time, he took out the statue that he stole. Then he took out his ax, and started cutting the shield from that statue…

BAAM

The loud noise of the ax making a contact with the arm of the statue reverberated throughout the surrounding area. As Arvin was in Kalgan forest, he didn't mind the noise. With two of his swings, that shield broke from the statue and fell on the ground…

{Now take that shield to the stream and submerge into the water.} Loki said.

'Why?' Arvin asked. He didn't want to waste time cleaning the shield. He straight away wanted to start with the rune formation and become an acolyte already.

{It is important. While casting runes, the power of the runes will heat the shield. If you make the rune formation while submerging it in the water we could stop the shield from melting.}

'…'

With effort, Arvin carried the shield towards the stream nearby. He then threw the shield in the water. The weight of the shield was enough that it would not be washed away by the stream. So after throwing the shield in the water he sat down by the banks of the stream. He sat in a lotus position and calmly meditated. He wanted to be in his best condition when making the rune formation on the shield. That is why he sat there and mediated in peace.

After an hour and a half of the mediation, Arvin recovered all of his lost mana. Now he was at his peak condition. Arvin then without wasting his time jumped in the water onto the shield…

{Yes. Now, do as we discussed before. Carefully make a circle at the backside of the shield. The diameter of the inner circle should be around 90 cm.} Loki instructed.

Arvin following his instruction, send all of his mana towards his fingertip. Then he started drawing that circle on the backside of the shield. While doing this Arvin had to concentrate very hard. And as he completed the circle, he exhausted all of his mana. Only a very small amount of mana was left in his body.

Weakened by the loss of mana, Arvin returned towards the bank. As soon as he got on the banks, he directly went to sleep. He didn't even dry himself first. He directly went to sleep. Loki looked at his pitiful condition. He couldn't help but feel bad for him as Arvin was not supposed to make formation like this until he reached the stage of Level-2 Acolyte. But here he was doing something that was way out of his league.

But this was something that he had to do.