Jack was worn out as the sun rose from the horizon. He had been thinking for too long without figuring out any realistic solution. For the time being, his survival could only rely on the protection from others since Abraham alone had been proven to be insufficient.

To avoid being seen in this state by Sophie, Jack asked Edward to take him to school early so he could take some rest there before class time.

Jack didn’t go straight to the classroom but instead to the principal's office. Meinhard was already there, busy writing something. He signaled Jack to take a seat and on the table in front, the professor had prepared a cup of tea and a ham sandwich.

Jack didn’t waste too much time consuming the meal. His mind regained some consciousness, which he was going to need for the long day ahead.

It took a while, only when the sun had fully shown itself and finally cast away the coolness of the night, for Meinhard to finish and waved the paper to fly away.

“A report,” Meinhard didn’t feel like explaining more.

Jack suspected it was being sent to the Corvus.

Then, Meinhard lazily walked to the seat in front of Jack, his robe still stained by the soot from the fire snake last night. He poured himself some tea. Jack let the principal take a sip to liberate himself from some of his exhaustion.

“So,” Meinhard started the much-anticipated conversation, “where should we begin?”

Jack leaned forward, his hand tightly gripping his knees.

“From the fact that Abraham shouldn’t know about any of this?”

“Meinhard raised his eyebrow.

“Why?” Meinhard asked. “Why isn’t it necessary to tell Abraham about this?”

“Not now,” Jack said. “We should avoid a house war in Oxdale for the time being.”

The principal scratched his beard, nodding at Jack’s request. Inside, he knew it was but an excuse. It was mainly because either Jack wanted to deal with this himself or he was waiting for a response from the Corvus household. Abraham Harper would likely keep the status quo even if he knew about the fight last night. The Harper had no real evidence to accuse the Hensley, as the assassin had been silenced, unfortunate it was. Moreover, the Harper was in no good shape for a fight due to their business situation.

“Alright,” Meinhard responded, “I can keep it from my old friend’s ear. But you, you are the problem now. What are you planning?”

“That will be our next topic.”

“Oh,” Meinhard opened his eyes wide, “you said as if you’ve got something in your mind. Even I am clueless about what to do here!”

Jack pushed his index finger at Meinhard.

“You, professor,” Jack said. “You are my protection plan.”

Meinhard frowned, his face twisted.

“Even if I work for the Corvus,” his voice gradually intensified, “I'm not your servant like Edward.”

Jack shook his head, raising and gesturing in his head to calm Meinhard down.

“That’s not what I meant. I want us to do an exchange.”

Meinhard frowned even harder. He slowly came to the conclusion that he had let something slip, something that Jack could and would take advantage of. He pondered as the memory of last night's conversation with Jasmin reappeared in his mind.

“Hey,” Meinhard said half-jokingly, “you really believe what Jasmin said? About me considering you to be the one who will aid me in finding the kid and its mother?”

“Isn’t it?” Jack calmly responded.

“Even if it is, I won’t rely on it too much. It’s nothing more than a flash of hope, not enough for you to bargain in the exchange you are speaking of.”

Jack smiled. Meinhard’s answer hadn’t been an outright refusal. Therefore, Jack only needed to increase his convincing factor.

“You must still be keeping an eye on Charlotte Allison, right?”

“Yes, what about her?”

“Social status wise, can Charlotte Allison go further, say other continents, to the extent of representing the might of the Dessotor Empire?”

Meinhard scratched his beard vigorously. The matter of finding your place among the powerhouses was extremely crucial, more so on the international scale. To intimidate other regions, the potential of one’s younger generation had always been the prerequisite, for the youth would be the region’s fate decider. There would be confrontations and competitions; not only between empires, nations, and kingdoms; but also the many organizations in this world. Once the youngling had made a name for themself through deeds and achievements, proving their capability on the world stage, it would become the leverage for their patrons to create future foundations and connections, ultimately boosting the regions or organizations’ strength. Charlotte was the ace of the empire for such events, and they were usually held at grand organizations outside the continent.

“Saying that,” Meinhard gaped, “could it be that you are….”

Jack nodded.

“I can assure you, my potential is not inferior to that of Charlotte. How and why? My apology because I can’t spill any more than that.”

“Why?” Meinhard reactively asked, realizing he shouldn’t have.

Jack shrugged, ignoring the question, and poured himself another cup of tea. In his mind, Meinhard still wasn’t yet the one to put all his faith on. He couldn’t be certain whether or not the professor was being spied on or constrained with some peculiar magic. The enigmatic nature of the Corvus household only served to intensify his prudent tendency.

Meinhard pondered some more, but eventually, he shook his head.

“Still not enough for me to accept your request.”

“How about I add one more thing?”

“Such as?”

“Bastian’s support.”

This time, Meinhard burst out laughing, so much so that he couldn’t hold his tears back.

“Sometimes, you really make me feel like we’re equals, but don’t make me laugh. Don’t think that a week of lessons with Bastian and you completely know the man. Bastian Kahl is not someone you can relate to. He doesn’t like the game of power, nor does he wants anything to do with the likes of Jasmin Hensley.”

Jack leaned back, rubbing his eyes, his voice unwavering.

“Bastian must have had such a wonderful teacher for him to create a copy of a weapon that could terrify that icy lady, am I right?”

“Yes, Stormbringer is an Archon weapon, the original version, that is. The copy that Bastian made after he had consulted his master’s recipe was quite terrible, though. It could only initiate a part of an Archon’s real power but worn away with each use. It’s really inefficient.”

Jack nodded; his face brightened up like the morning sunshine.

Meinhard was a bit unsettled with Jack’s facial expression.

“Whatever you do, don’t make Bastian point his sword at the Harper.”

Jack smiled at the principal’s warning.

“Alright,” Jack said, “I’ll keep that in mind. So tomorrow, we will be discussing more the terms and agreements of this deal.”

Jack made his way to the forges in the afternoon. The street was as crowded and busy as ever, but strangely and concerningly, so was the Sword in the Forge. Jack wasn’t sure who those people were at the front of the shop, but the Hensley name was first on the list. The information Jasmin had acquired last night, plus the swords that were custom made the other day, had pushed them to his doorstep for questioning. Now, he understood that it wasn’t only because of Bastian’s grumpy attitude but also the Hensley’s influence that had kept customers away from Sword in the Forge.

Jack picked an item shop and walked in. It was old but had everything you would expect from such a shop. He found a daggers display by the window side and pretended to check the goods while keeping his eyes on the entrance door of the forge.

It took almost an hour for Jack to see Jasmin walk out of the door, her face emotionless, unlike the first impression he had had. She grumbled something, then left with all of her followers.

Jack waited for another fifteen minutes before entering the store. Bastian was inside with his gloves off, gulping in an oversize cup of beer. The red veins in his eyes were popping, more so when he saw Jack walking in.

“You,” Bastian waved his cup, “you dare show your face here?”

“Why not?” Jack nonchalantly responded.

Bastian raised his eyebrows, holding himself back from throwing the cup. He slammed it on the table instead.

“What?” Bastian asked. “You’re going to thank me or something, you little brat?”

“Ten gold coins, how’s that?”

Jack took out exactly ten coins, put them on the table, grabbed a chair, and sat in front of Bastian.

“Isn’t it still too little for the life of a Corvus kid?”

“Oh these, they’re just extra for the deal I’m about to offer you.”

“What do you little brat have to offer me?”

Jack didn’t give his answer. Instead, he stacked the coins up and pushed them toward the old man. Those eyes quickly became as shiny as the gold coins he was staring at.

“Stormbringer only had one use left, isn’t it?” Jack asked.

“Hmm,” Bastian snorted, “Meinhard should know when to shut his mouth!”

“And you must really want to create a perfect copy, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Bastian patted his chest, “My master never really showed me how to do it, so I just groped around.”

Jack reckoned Bastian had poured all of his profit into the recreation of Stormbringer, leaving his store as shabby as it was now. Even if his only customer was the Hensley, the profit would be no less than the others.

“What if I could provide you with the detailed recipe of Stormbringer or an even stronger sword?”

Bastian was stupefied for a moment before he burst out laughing. Jack stopped it by raising his hand.

“Don’t laugh if you don’t want to embarrass yourself.”

Jack took out two pieces of paper, folded them, and held them in front of Bastian.

“Before you are the recipes for two swords,” Jack said. “On the left is Stormbringer. On the right, something even more powerful.”

Bastian was still looking at Jack like a crazy person. Despite that, Jack remained persistent and serious.

“So? Even if you don’t believe me, don’t you want to at least glance over them? If I manage to list all the necessary ingredients or give an accurate description of the sword, isn’t it enough for you to trust me? Besides, you have nothing to lose, don’t you?”

Facing Jack’s series of provocations and the unwanted visit of the Hensley, Bastian really wanted to put all of his frustration on the little brat. But somehow, every single of Jack’s words was hitting the spot. He was curious whether or not Jack was high on something.

What if it’s all true….

The old man raised his hand, much like Jack’s anticipation, and picked the piece of paper in his right hand. Jack gave out a long sigh in relief. He didn’t actually have the recipe for Stormbringer, but he decided to put his bet on Bastian’s passion for blacksmithing. He had learned about Stormbringer, and therefore, his curiosity would entice him to choose an even superior item. Jack also hoped Stormbringer wasn’t better than the weapon he had just offered.

Bastian unfolded the piece of paper and read the information from the system’s item list that Jack had written down.

Black Lightning Blade (Weapon, Archon, Mythic, Infusible)

Description: The embodiment of lightning from the darkest realm.

Effects:

+20% Physical Damage.

+100% Lightning Damage.

+30% Move Speed.

+30% Attack Speed.

+20% Lightning Spells Cast Speed.

+20% Lightning Retaliation Chance.

+30% Lightning Resistance.

Special Effects:

Grants the wielder the ability to channel a special kind of lightning, [Black Lightning]. Required: double the mana used for normal lightning spells.

[Black Lightning] (magic damage, does not stack): imbue spirit damage with each strike and ignore physical defense.

Grants the wielder the ability [Lightning Jump]. Required: medium mana cost.

[Lightning Jump]: Teleport the wielder to the position the lightning has struck.

Core Material: Lightning Essence x3, Lightning Archon Monster Core x3, 1m2 of Thunderlinen, 500g of Nethium

*Monster Core can be mixed. Lower quality such as Crusader Monster Core will degrade the final product to Rare or Uncommon.

*Nethium amount can be used less. May degrade the weapon to Crusader rank.