Isaiah was seated behind his desk, a large newspaper in his hand. "Religious Terrorists Attack!" the title read. "Hmm, I wonder which religion?" he mused. The article mentioned a government building being attacked by religious extremists, though the wording was very vague. The only picture present was of individuals wearing various colored religious robes with weird insignias on them.

After looking at a few more news stories to get a grasp of the local news, he put the newspaper aside and returned to working on his formation designs. Business was booming; money was gushing in. People obviously loved gambling, and the Dominus Casino provided a reliable option.

He was currently designing a Slot Machine Formation, though it was proving difficult. It was many times more complicated than any other formation he had created to date. There was also the question of whether it would be profitable in the first place. The more complex a formation was, the more mana you would need to sustain it. Would the slot machines sustain themselves? He wasn't sure, but even if they didn't and he couldn't use them, it still would have been a good learning experience.

"Knock knock," someone knocked on his door.

"Come in," Isaiah called.

Lily entered. "Sir, Mr. Terry is here to visit you."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow. "Who? Terry Incendio?"

Lily nodded.

"Well, let him in. Let's see what he has to say."

Terry walked in wearing an all-black suit, his hands in his pockets as he gazed around the room. "You certainly know how to design interiors," he commented, his gaze sharp, clearly not here for small talk.

Isaiah maintained his ever-present smile. "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Incendio. It's an honor to receive a Rank 2 mage in my establishment." He gestured for the man to sit, then turned to look at Lily. "Lily, could you get me and my guest two cups of tea, please?"

Terry interrupted him, shaking his head. "No need for that, Miss Lily. My stay will be short."

Lily looked toward Isaiah for confirmation, and he simply nodded, prompting her to exit the room. After Lily left, closing the door behind her, silence fell upon the room. Silence didn't make Isaiah uncomfortable; instead, it widened the smile that was already painted on his face. He knew very well why Terry was here; he had been expecting him to arrive for a few days now.

Terry took his hand out of his pocket. FLOOSH! He suddenly flung his arm, causing a huge flame wave to rush towards Isaiah. Scorching flames washed over the room in a flurry, turning Isaiah and half of the office into ashes. But Terry wasn't a fool. He wouldn't fall for the same trick again. Seeing Isaiah use his clone spell, he said, "So, it was indeed you who attacked Star while I was guarding him." He had hit him with a sudden flame wave to confirm this fact.

Isaiah's laugh echoed around the room, his exact location still unknown. "It's a very common ability. Why would you think that it was me?" He was simply mocking the man at this point. There were a handful of light mages in the first place, let alone ones that were proficient in Illusions. His projection materialized on the other side of the room.

Terry didn't use flame wave again since there were other people behind the door Isaiah stood in front of, but this didn't mean he was out of options. With a lift of his hand, huge amounts of fire energy gushed, materializing into five flaming spears that surrounded him. With a flick of his wrist, they all rushed at Isaiah, stabbing at him. But they simply caused him to dissipate into light particles.

"I hate dealing with Light Mages," Terry mumbled.

"If you don't like dealing with light mages, you simply don't have to," Isaiah's voice replied. He released a Light Cannon that rushed towards Terry, who simply stood still, taking the hit with his lifted arm.

BOOM! The remaining half of the room was consumed in a blinding flash. Once vision returned, Terry could be seen standing as if nothing had happened to him; only a slight redness could be seen on his arm. "Your attacks are impressive for a Rank 1, but that's as far as it goes." He was genuinely impressed that a mere Rank 1 could cause his arm to redden.

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Isaiah smiled, appearing once more. Terry this time didn't even bother attacking him, knowing full well he was facing another clone. "You know what? You are right. My attacks are a bit lacking," Isaiah admitted, then pointed towards Terry. "Luckily, we don't have to be enemies." He paused for a few seconds to let his words sink into Terry's mind, letting him process them. "You need the backing of the underground and also need financial support. Money, which I have plenty of. Control of the underground, which I will obtain soon." His smile grew wider; he could tell from Terry's expression that he was interested. "While I need strong connections in the government, what's a better connection than a Duke candidate? It would benefit me even more if you could rise to be the Duke."

Terry thought about Isaiah's words. He wasn't wrong. While he was still angry about Isaiah attacking a target he was protecting and tempted to kill him, he knew he could never become Duke if he let his anger control his actions. He needed to keep his mind rational at all times. He was also in dire need of money right now. As the youngest brother amongst the candidates, he hadn't had proper time to grow a business. He had spent all his time trying to reach Rank 2, as he wouldn't even have been considered a candidate otherwise. Isaiah was a sharp businessman who could help him in this regard.

Terry looked around the room, trying to sense Isaiah's location. "Deal. I agree with your points. Come out and let's shake hands."

A hand made of light materialized in front of him. "Sure, let's shake hands," Isaiah's voice rang out.

Terry created a hand made of flames and shook the hand made of light, which caused it to burn and dissipate into light particles. His message was clear.

Isaiah appeared in front of him, with a smile on his face and his hand extended. This was his real body. "Seems like you have no sense of humor in you."

Terry was still suspicious if this was the real Isaiah, but he extended his hand. The moment he felt Isaiah's hand, he knew this was his real body. He knew he could simply burn him to ashes right now, however, this was the show of trust needed to maintain such a relationship.

As they shook hands, he looked into Isaiah's eyes. There was zero fear in them. He wondered if Isaiah knew things would have turned out this way from the start. When he first entered, it seemed like he was expecting his arrival.

Isaiah pointed towards the room that had been destroyed entirely. "So, you're paying for this, right?" he said, laughing. He said this knowing full well Terry was currently strapped for cash.

Terry didn't even engage with his joke and asked, "What is the plan then? How will we proceed?"

Isaiah smiled. "Don't worry, we will discuss the plan soon." He then turned to the door and shouted, "Lily, come here please."

Lily had been waiting outside the door, worried the entire time. She had heard the sounds of battle coming from within the room. She opened the door, fear evident in her face, asking in a shaky voice, "Y-yes, Mr. Isaiah?"

Seeing her like this, Isaiah turned to Terry. "Tch, you see what you did? You scared my dear secretary."

Terry looked a little awkward, having been the 'villain' until just a moment ago.

Isaiah patted Terry's back to show Lily there was nothing to worry about, then said to her with a gentle smile plastered on his face, "Could you get us the tea I asked for before?"

Lily nodded, not replying verbally, still a little shaken from the experience.

Isaiah took a seat on the chair that managed to avoid being burned unlike the rest of them. "Before we start, can you manage to get me some Mana Circulation techniques? Any of them are fine. I will use them as examples to create my own."