Soren ended his meditation and opened his eye as the morning sun shined its rays through the slits between the curtains; making the suspended dust particles in the room visible to him.

Today, he was planning on finishing his business with the Hunter’s Association; together with some other affairs like buying the latest information from the information seller. He had done this in every town that he had visited after Bellfalls, so it had turned into a habit now. With the experience he had gained so far, he was already aware of the advantage that good and valid information could give him. One such example of this was his situation back in Bellfalls. If it was not for Smiley messaging him at that time and telling him about the ‘Pillar of Paradise’, Soren would have turned into these suspended dust particles by now; similar to Ashby, Captain Hans, Lyris, and all the other Initiators in that area. Although there was some miscalculation on Smiley’s part about the activation time of the pillar, his information had, in the end, saved Soren’s life.

…..

Taking a taxi to save time again, Soren instructed the driver to take him to the Hunter’s Association; he had decided to deal with his business there first since it was only going to take him a few minutes. But as his taxi reached the place, he once again saw the same ‘closed for the day’ sign outside the building.

Is this related to the war? Did something else happen?

Looking at the sign with a frown on his face, Soren started speculating the reasons for this unusual action from the Hunter’s Association. Based on the common knowledge among the Initiators, the only people who could affect the association like this in this backwater area were the high-ranking Initiators; peak Rank 1 or beyond. Only situations related to someone at that level could cause the Hunter’s Association to shut down for an indefinite period of time.

After thinking up to that, Soren realized that he needed to first gather the latest information before making any move. So, with that in mind, he immediately instructed the driver to change his route and move towards the next destination.

………

Honest Shadows; this was the name of the Organization which dominated the information business in the Stuteron Kingdom; even Myriad Items wasn’t their match in this field. Just as their name suggested, this organization took pride in the authenticity of the information they sold. Although they could not get all the sensitive information related to the kingdom, they could provide the buyer with pretty much everything else.

After spending a good amount of crystal for what he needed, Soren came out of this organization’s building with a faint smile on his face. Unexpectedly, he had received a delightful surprise among the information that he had just bought; which was that the person he was going to look for, according to his initial plans, was currently in this city. Because he was planning on joining the war through the Hunter’s Association, it was pretty much confirmed that his access to the resources would be restricted. To counter this fact and to increase his chances of not only surviving the war but get more benefits, Soren had planned on contacting someone important.

Although the possibility of him succeeding in persuading this person to help him was low, he still wanted to give it a try. After all, even if it was unintentional and he had decided to let it go, Princess Azure still owed him for what she did back in Eastwood.

According to the information that Soren had bought, the only place where he could meet with the princess was the restaurant that she had been visiting since coming to this city. As for the reason for her being in the city, it was because she was accompanying a Rank 2 Initiator affiliated with the royal family. Their purpose here was to meet with the Rank 2 Initiator who was the head of the Hunter’s Association in the Stuteron Kingdom; this was the reason why the Hunter’s Association building was closed right now.

With a Rank 2 Initiator in the mix now, the risk factor for Soren’s plan had gone up significantly. However, he had already taken such risks into account before deciding to do this; thus, he wasn’t planning on changing his mind now. Besides, he didn’t have any intention of harming the princess; he was just going to use her for his gains. Whether or not she would suffer as a result of his actions though, he didn’t care much about that.

………

Based on what Soren knew about Princess Azure and her retainers, he was sure that a deceitful approach would not work in this situation. There were already many risks involved in approaching the princess like this; if Soren lied about his motive on top of that, it would certainly be the end of him. And even if Princess Azure didn’t kill him for that, her retainers would definitely end his life in secret.

Of course, if Soren told them the whole truth, his end would not be any different either. So, to solve this problem, his only option was to hide one truth behind another and mix it with lies. Directly approaching the princess with a persona based on what Soren had gone through was his best choice right now.

And so, with his steps lacking his usual confidence, he walked inside the restaurant and moved towards Princess Azure’s cabin.

The persona he had created right now was supposed to be of a person who had had a hard life. From his facial expressions to his walking style, everything about him made him seem like someone who had suffered a lot of pain and had gone through a lot of hardships. His whole being gave off a sad and lonesome aura which invoked a sense of pity and sympathy in anyone who looked at him.

“Come in, Mr. Soren,” A sweet voice carrying a hint of surprise came out of the cabin before Soren could even knock on the door; in the end, there was no way for Soren to hide his presence from the high-ranking Initiators inside the cabin.

Getting permission from Princess Azure, Soren weakly nodded once in acknowledgment and entered the cabin with his head slightly lowered.

“It’s nice to meet you again, princess,” Soren bowed and said in a polite tone after entering the cabin.

Also acknowledging his greeting with a nod, Princess Azure then gestured towards an empty wooden chair across the table and said, “Please.”

“So Mr. Soren, what brings you here?” She continued after he sat down.

“I heard you were in the city; so I came to ask for your help,” Soren did not waste any time on dilly-dallying and just said his motive outright. He knew that being straightforward in this situation was his best option; if he used fake words and flowery sentences here, it would definitely have an opposite effect.

“I know it might seem selfish of me to ask you for help, but I feel that I’m owed,” Without mincing his words, Soren continued and said what he wanted to say.

Consequently, his words made the princess think back to the time when she had requested the Liston Family to spare his life. Based on that, she didn’t feel like she owed him anything; yet, she also knew that Soren was not aware of that. Moreover, with her personality, she didn’t want to explain that to him either; as it would make her seem like a petty person.

And thus, she said, “What can I help you with?”

“If it's possible, I want Your Highness to remove the bounty on my head.”

Of course, he was only using this as an excuse to justify his meeting with the princess; after all, this bounty was nothing more than an annoyance to him and didn’t hinder him much. If she did help him and removed it, it would be great; but even if she couldn’t or didn’t, it would still be fine as it had already fulfilled its purpose.

A couple of minutes went by after Princess Azure heard Soren’s request. From her expressions, although it seemed like she was thinking deeply about this matter, she had, in fact, already decided to help Soren with anything he wanted; as long as it was viable. Soren’s sad and lonely persona combined with his eye-patch had already melted the princess’ heart and had filled her mind with nothing but sympathy towards him. This was because she had personally witnessed what he had gone through back in Eastwood. She might be a royal princess who had seen lots of deaths on the battlefield, but, in the end, she was still a soft-hearted girl; a fact that she could never change.

Livan, on the other hand, did not believe Soren so easily; this was his nature. Although he couldn’t find anything suspicious about Soren right now, he still kept a skeptical attitude. From his vast amount of experience, he had long since learned not to trust people easily. But even though he thought like that, he did nothing to change Princess’ Azure’s mind. This was how he did things; never interfering in anything that she did, and just staying beside her to protect her life.

“Okay, let me see what I can do,” With a smile on her face, Princess Azure finally broke the silence and agreed to help Soren. What he had done to get that bounty was certainly wrong in her eyes, but she had also justified his actions in her mind by blaming the circumstances that had forced his hands.

“Stay in the city for now. I’ll contact you once it’s done.”

…..

Walking out of the restaurant, Soren still maintained the persona and didn’t behave any differently. In fact, even after going away from that area, he continued with this act. This was because he was sure that Livan must be using his sensing spell or skill to spy on him right now. So, for the time being, he needed to keep up the act and continue with this persona.

The fact that the first contact with the princess had gone so smoothly made Soren quite happy; even though he couldn’t show it in his expressions right now. Of course, he was also aware of the reason why it was so. The princess had easily believed him because the persona he had created was not completely false; it was based on his actual experience. He just didn’t reveal this side of his to anyone as he believed it showed weakness in character. Soren didn’t think he was someone special or that he was the only one who had gone through such sufferings. Based on his personality, he was not the kind to drown himself in self-pity and whine about it just because he had had it rough. He found such actions meaningless; this was his nature.

Regardless, however, the fact of the matter was that he had finally finished the hardest part of his plan. After this successful first meeting, it would certainly become easier for him to do what he wanted to do. To use Princess Azure for his gains, he needed to form a strong bond with her; strong enough that she would help him regardless of the cost.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Status: Healthy

Rank 1: Layer 1 [CP - 0%]

Name: Soren Farrow

Species: Human

Attribute: Darkness & Ice

Health: 100%

Stamina: 100%

Mana: 100%

Strength: 7.93

Agility: 9.70 (+1.90)

Vitality: 17.69

Intelligence: 21.22 (+7.20)

Spirit: 20.24 (+8.45)

Resistance: 9.10 (+2.35)

Spells:

Spell Vessels: 3/10

Innate Spells: 18

Innate Skills/Bloodline Talents: 7

Water Bubbles [7/7] – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Snow Blades [5/5] – Level 9/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Ice Chakra [6/6] – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Create Undead: Low Tier Ⅱ – Level 7/15. Mana Cost – Average. [Rank 1]

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Dark Raven – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Ice Barrage – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Dead Rising – Level 7/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Acid Needles – Level 5/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Shadow Prison – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Frost Domain – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Elemental Sense – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Dark Gravity – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Withering Wood – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Ice Spikes – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Soul Search – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Rank 1]

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Ice Wall – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Waterball – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Rainfall – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Spark – Level 10/10. Mana cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Fireball – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Space Snatcher – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Rank 0]

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Mana Manipulation – Level 7/15

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Potioneering [Rank 0] – Level 15/15.

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Powered Vision – Level --/--

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Vornea: Basic Form – Level --/--

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Devour: First Evolution – Level --/--

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Second Intelligence – Level --/--

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Shadow Steps – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Equipment: Common Clothes; Magic Staff – Moonshard; Spirit-Pendant; Snake-Earring; Spirit-Ring; Resistance-Ring; Caster’s Bracelet; Agility-Boots; Dagger; Mana Touch – Gloves.

Storage Pearl: Common Clothes; Hunter I.D; Mask; Multiple Unfocused Cultivation Techniques – Low Grade; Focused Cultivation Technique – Middle Grade; Egg – Crystal Albarose; Various Ingredients; Automatons x3; Beast Cores[Rank 0] – x184; Beast Cores[Rank 1] – x114; Rank 1 Potion Recipe – Sun’s Afterglow; Rank 1 Potion Recipe – Soul Recovery; Cultivation Technique – Turtle’s Life; Cultivation Technique – Flaming Hair; Various Skills – Memory Spheres; Empty Memory Spheres; Books and Compendiums; Various Common Pills and Potions; Fire Element Spell Vessels; Four ‘Strength’ Enhancement Artifacts; Rank 0 Common Potions[Middle-Grade] – x0; Rank 0 Common Potions[High-Grade] – x0; Rank 0 Common Potions[Top-Grade] – x0.

Mana Crystals: 432 [Middle-Grade]; 214 [Low-Grade]; Myriad Items—Card [Value-000]; Six Mana Cards.