I think about her proposal for a few seconds, remembering all of the unique remarks I've heard from Lith, the Bedrock director's warning, and the tone of her words.

Even when doing an enemy detection scan of the surrounding settlements, the special perk of my mythic-grade enemy detection gives me a very clear video-like view of everyone within my mana control range.

There isn't a single man in this jungle, I only sense women. Showing her my real face, or even an altered version doesn't seem like the correct thing to do If I want to further this trade relationship. There needs to be a hint of truth in what I show her, but I can't just flat out lie to her face.

I come up with an idea, activating concealment and changing my appearance while taking off my black helmet.

Ember smirks, and Lith's eyes widen with surprise as the replicated face of Bri is revealed beneath my helmet. I change a few structural features to make sure it's not an exact match, however, she's the last woman I met face to face with and have her appearance fresh in my mind.

If one were to compare myself right now side by side with Bri, there are clear differences, but one could mistake us for being related.

I do this to give a reasonable alibi in case Bri doesn't want to show her face to any partnered Regions in the future, it's like she was never here and it's all a coincidence. However, if she does, it would be easy to pretend it was her all along. Human memory is very malleable, anyone can be tricked into believing anything as long as the conditions are set up to align with their preconceived notions.

My darker-toned skin contrasts with the jungle and long black silky hair wavers in the air. I make eye contact with their leader for a full three seconds before turning the corner of my lip up and placing the helmet back on my head, deactivating the concealment perk.

The tall warrior with the spear lets out a laugh, and the two women with bows drawn power down their wind magic arrows while the serious expression on their leader's face turns to a relieved smirk. She pulls another item box off of her waist and sets it on the table.

"I had a feeling I'd like you. No wonder I accepted this trade; my instincts were right."

She motions for me to look through the pouch while explaining the difference in the order she wants for next month.

It's over twice the size of the last, and all details and down payments are inside.

While I sift through the spatial magic item to make sure everything she says is present, I get a telepathy message from Ember.

"Quick thinking. I believe that's exactly what she wanted to see, but do you really think that was a good idea in the long run?"

I reply through our link.

"Technically her team did craft all of this gear. It's not like I'm lying about that... I'll fill Bri in when we get back to make sure she is okay with this. However, I doubt she will pass on making a new connection in a far off region and would be happy to handle further business here if I make the offer. It's up to her."

Ember nods but asks another question.

"How about the Association? This is a regional director we're dealing with. They surely have Bri's picture on file somewhere. Even if you made her appearance look slightly different, high level craftsmanship skills aren't easy to come by. It's not out of the realm of possibilities they connect the link"

Trading under a secret identity isn't against Association Policy. They themselves are the largest customers buying from someone they don't even know. I doubt Bri would even be in trouble if anyone found out, but Ember has a point.

I think about what he said, but given Lith's information that this is a region that doesn't always play well with the Association, I feel that they will keep my secret safe If I prove myself trustworthy.

Just to make sure, once I accept the item box, I follow up with another reply to consolidate our deal.

"I haven't showed my face to many people, so I want to make it clear that this is between only us. In return, let me upgrade all of your main weapons for you. It will be a token of my appreciation and an agreement of peace between us."

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At first, they're confused by my offer, but the green-eyed leader is the first to accept it.

"Very well. This will be a pact for secrecy and goodwill between all of us. We don't do business with many outsiders, so I hope you do not disappoint us like the Association has over the years. Even if I'm technically a Regional Director, I don't morally align with their main organization's practices and would like to start making non-associated connections. Let's see what you can do."

She places her earth stone-imbued hammer on the stone table in front of me, and I get to work.

I ask for a large amount of her blood, over twice as much as normally needed in a craft. She's confused as the weapon is already blood bonded, but when I pull three high B-Grade earth stones farmed from the worm monsters on the 38th floor of the labyrinth, her eyes widen at the power radiating off of them.

I give her a mythic-grade potion of regeneration to restore her lost blood and imbue all of the stones along with about 100k MP worth of mana crystals to use as a boost to the reaction.

To top it off, I imbue my own extreme grade earth magic into the hammer and add over +200% stat buffs on all five of the stat bars, making the weapon many times stronger than it was minutes ago.

When I let go, and the flashes of white light stop, the result left behind hums with power.

The regional leader can't believe what she's holding in her hands as the energy from it courses through her veins.

I do exactly the same thing with the two bow users, using high B-Grade wind element stones to imbue into their bows and large amounts of their blood to make sure the bond is strong enough and they don't lose control. Over +150% buffs are added to all five stat bars, plus I imbue my mythic-grade enemy detection to the bows to give them a special attribute that expands to reach their mana control aura and allows the caster to locate enemies' exact location as long as they're still holding the bow.

I give the spear user a mythic-grade extreme strength imbuement that brings her weapon over +300% strength while every other stat is close to +150%. In addition to this, I imbue her chestplate with mythic-grade body hardening and raise its defense stat to +275% while the other four rest around +150%.

Both become blood bonded and will grow in strength as she levels up. She's become an unstoppable tank.

The last imbuement I do is for the woman with knives all over her body. I imbue half of the knives with mythic-grade stealth and the other half with mythic-grade dagger arts, raising them all to +175% on every stat but giving her a versatile range of weapons to choose from.

Once I'm done, I step back, and the five women are blown away by the items I've managed to create before their eyes.

It is all one-of-a-kind gear. Priceless, not even available at top regional auctions.

I explain that this is a one-time deal, and if they want unique pieces like this again in the future, the three per buyer offer stands for them at the same price as everyone else. 333 gold per item, and 999 max per month to spend on monthly special order buys.

They keep staring at their new gear and even do some test swings, but the conversation turns quickly to what they want crafted next time I come by.

I think to myself while opening a telepathy link with Lith and Ember.

"Well, I think that was a success. Peace has been brokered in the Talton Region."

Then, I turn to their leader and speak aloud a final request.

"There is one last thing I'd like before we move on to our next stop on our trade route."

She lifts her gaze to meet my helmet.

"What's that?"

I turn to my right side.

"I make it customary to enter at least one dungeon in every region I visit. Do you think I could take a step inside? There's one less than half a kilometer that way, isn't there?"

Lith looks into his item box to check the time and pull out the white gem that's our ride, confirming that we need to head off soon, and the green-eyed woman swings her hammer over her shoulder and nods.

"Sure, I don't see why not. I assume you're all planning on using that transport crystal to get to your next location so we might as well see you off from there."

I smile underneath my helmet as we trek all the way through the jungle and hop through a slow spinning C-Grade dungeon, completely unguarded in the middle of the jungle.

We hop through, and I now have a dungeon walker point set in the Talton Region.

The four guards venture off into the dungeon to start testing out their new gear as I shake their leader's hand and we both say our thank-yous and goodbyes.

I look her in the eyes while crushing the last crystal that leads to the Vice Region.

"See you next month, pleasure doing business."

There's a flash of light and the three of us land in a small mana-shielded room.

The instant the transport magic clears and I let my perception skills seep out to find where I am, I recognize the layout of this underground fortress very clearly.

We're all stood inside the humming mana shielding for a few minutes before the rhythmic footsteps of three men approach.

Two of them are over level 500, both with a water element awakened, while the man in between them is level 308 with a very recognizable unique skill on his status.

Artificer [Legendary Grade]

The doors at the back of the shielded room open, and a silver-haired man in a purple cloak with all kinds of metal gadgets and magic items strapped to his arms and legs steps out with a smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Vice Region, visitors from the Dark Continent. My name is Leo, I will be brokering the trade deal today and inspecting the delivered goods."

He steps aside to show the opening in the door that leads to long dim underground hallways.

"We are right beneath the main association's headquarters in the capital. Please, right this way, let me show you to the trade room. To my understanding, this is your last stop on your route, so I hope you don't mind if I take up a bit more time than your other clients. I'll make it worth your while."