When I arrived in Town Maell, it was well past midnight, though my delay was understandable. I had to make a stop back in my town, where I had paid another little visit to Zolast. I left the meat with him, which he accepted with no shock, the earlier explanation about my roots working well to reduce the surprising nature of it.
The rest, I shredded in the river, leaving no evidence about the origin of the ability.
Unfortunately, there was precious little that he could say about the Ability, other than the fact that, even for the nobles, it was a significant reward, their prices varying wildly due to the nature of the ability, one that required previous records of the same ability to accurately understand.
And, unlike stats, there were truly a great number of Abilities, making such knowledge a strategic weapon.
Apparently, most people just took the risk and absorbed it, trusting the energy from their promotion to unlock its full potential.
Which meant, it was the opposite of the Stats, and needed to be consumed before the third promotion the latest — and, from the way Jertann was slowly absorbing the ability Zolast had provided him, the earlier, the better.
The perfect gift for a young noble … which meant that I could have easily given it to Duke Yoentia. Zolast implied it as well, but I ignored it. It was much more valuable to me as a tool to unlock the black market access I had been clamoring for.
Not only I needed the additional equipment Zolast requested, but also I needed mana skills to equip the loyal guild members before the dungeon started operating.
It was still a race against time. The better they fought, the more mana stones we would harvest … and the sooner I could promote.
Pity just buying crates of mana stones and destruction energy was not a valid strategy, for one silly reason. I couldn't carry too many crates with me at the same time, and relying on another group to constantly transfer crates of mana stone to an unknown location was even more unacceptable.
With a sigh, I slipped into the town once more, and moved around the outer town. Despite the late hour, the town was alive and moving … but people were tense.
Understandable after my latest display. I chuckled even as I moved among the streets, listening to the gossip to get a general sense. Then, I went to find my little thief, which gave me the slightest trouble. He had changed his hiding spot.
Finding him didn't take long, as his new residence was on a dead street that was being used as a garbage dump five streets away. Far too close for him to be trying to hide from me, but just far enough to test me.
"Amusing," I said, and he jumped from his hiding spot, shocked that I managed to sneak behind him.
"H-hello sir," he stammered, and I examined him, trying to sense if he leveled up. The weight of his concealment was still the same, which suggested that he did not.
"Give me your report," I said.
"Yes, sir. As you know, there are fourteen gangs that operate in the outer town. The biggest one of them is…" he started, followed by a long and detailed report about their operation, which gave me another clue about his origin. He kept his report simple, but still, his delivery was too on point for him not to be educated in a formal setting.
Moreover, not only the information he provided was quite accurate, including everything I managed to pick during my earlier walk and more, but also it was quite relevant…
His training was even more accurate than I expected, but with a lack of practical experience.
"Impressive report," I said, and he relaxed. "Too impressive, even," I said, and just like that, he tensed, realizing that he had slipped too much; which further confirmed that whatever secret he had was truly important.
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in your secret, every young man should have some," I said with a chuckle, using a subtle touch of Charisma to relax her slightly more.
"So, are you going to help me level up like we agreed?" he said.
"If you wish so," I said. "Or…"
Stolen novel; please report.
"Or what?"
"I can give you another task, and as a reward, I could give you an even bigger reward. Maybe even dungeon access."
"Not necessary," he said. "Just help me level up, and that would be enough."
"Fascinating," I said as I looked at him. "So, you don't need someone to defend you while you level up outside illegally. If you're confident that you can handle the beasts, who am I to argue."
He froze, unable to answer for a minute before sighing in defeat. "What's the other mission."
I threw him a pouch, one that was the same size about half a derum of silver. "I need you to buy me a standalone house in the outer city," I said.
"Do you think that much silver would be enough —" he started as he grabbed the pouch, only to realize it was about twice as heavy. "That's not silver," he said, shocked.
I chuckled. "Should I ask how a street rat is familiar with the density of the gold enough to recognize it without opening the pouch," I said, and he froze. "You need to be more careful if you truly want to hide your origins," I recommended, and he nodded. "Do we have a deal?"
"What are the requirements for the house, old man," he asked.
I chuckled. "You're a smart kid, figure it out," I said. To see how he would decide that would be a good test.
An expensive one, considering a derum of gold was not a joke even with the casino bringing more and more money, but the combination of the young man's systematic approach to information gathering and unique ability was too interesting to be squandered, and it was a good recruitment test.
For any organization, illegal or otherwise, the quality of its members was vital, and worthy of spending a significant chunk of my reserves as a test.
Feeling theatric, I waited until he was distracted to dash away, once again pulling the disappearing trick.
Teasing young people would be not fun.
After ditching him, I had another challenge. I sneaked out of the town before I changed my clothes into something more expensive, the magical sword once again on my waist, applied some makeup to look slightly younger and change my hair color, and changed my posture.
Just like that, I was Fekar once again. Self-proclaimed loyal retainer of a mysterious young noble, and more importantly, supported by a mysterious assassin of unknown means. Just the person that could easily sell an Ability Stone without being hunted.
Hopefully.
I managed to pass the gates of the town easily, the guard activity was more focused on limiting the contrabands rather than the individuals. Not to mention, even without the growing reputation of my fake identity, none of the guards were stupid enough to deal with someone that was openly carrying a magical weapon, marking me either as a noble, or as a guild member that was good enough to afford such a weapon.
Either way, above their pay grade.
Of course, even as I walked, I had seen a dozen people checking me up from a distance before dashing away, no doubt to alert their respective organizations. I acted unaware of their movements as I rushed toward my destination.
Before I even arrived at the inn, Barzist was already out, waiting for me along with four of his warriors, rushing toward me. "Welcome again, sir," he said even from a distance, stopping just a couple feet away from me and bowing. "I would like to apologize for —'
"Cut it. You have already completed the mission given to you by my associate, no more talking necessary. I don't have much time to waste."
"As you wish, sir," he said, thinking he managed to hide his anger from me, not appreciating the dismissive way I spoke toward him. "Please follow me back to my inn."
I nodded as I walked, my pasture defenseless and haughty, which meant either I was a fool, or I was extremely confident in my security despite having no bodyguards to assist me.
Well, from their perspective, no visible bodyguards.
Soon, we were in a private room with a comfortable chair. I sat down without asking for his permission. Despite having another chair, he stayed on his feet. "How can I help you, sir?" he said.
I didn't say anything, just pushed the ability stone toward him. The moment he touched it, his eyes widened. I could see greed blooming in his eyes, but I didn't react other than pushing a very subtle touch of Charisma, creating a flicker of fear.
Greed died, no doubt under the memories of waking up with a blade in his throat.
"I want you to sell this," I said.
"A-are you sure, sir," he answered, stammering in shock. "T-this is not a simple responsibility."
"Are you saying it's too hard for you to handle?" I countered.
"No, not at all!" he corrected hurriedly, aware of the benefits of being involved in such a deal. "I just want to make sure I understand your needs perfectly. I don't want to disappoint you by promising something I can't bring."
"Good," I said, not mentioning his first 'failure' of a mission. "I want fifty Advanced Spearmanship skills," I declared.
"A-are you sure, sir?" he gasped, looking shocked. His reaction was understandable due to the mismatch between the item to be sold and the price. Not because what I requested was too high … but on the contrary, too low. "An ability, even an unknown one, would sell for much more during an auction."
I gave him a dismissive glare. "Do you think I don't know that? Fifty advanced skills is not the price for the ability stone … it's the price for the ability stone that I need to sell in an hour. Understand."
"I … I do, sir," he said, stiffening.
"I don't like to be mistaken, Barzist. Do your best, and bring me what I requested, and all the deals you manage to strike in the process will be yours, understand? Assuming none of those skills are too damaged, of course. I wouldn't need to tell you what will happen if the delivery arrives unsatisfactorily, right?"
"Yes, sir," he said, his greed alive once more, battling with his fear. His fist tightened around the box, about to leave place the stone of the table in front of me.
I waved my head. "You can keep it. I'm sure the deal will go much more smoothly if you show it to your associates." Then, I smiled as I pushed the chill of fear into his mind. "I trust that you'll defend it with your life."