For a little more than two hours, Sebatian got to understand what exactly he was to do, who he would be working for, the risks, the benefits, and his ability to refuse.
In case he refused, they'd erase his memories and send him back to Quartez.
With his wit guiding him, he accepted and signed a contract. They then postponed all talks till the next morning.
<The next morning>
*AH!*
Screams resounded as a whip tore the skin of a shirtless man.
His body was bloodied with cuts all over and he knelt with his hands chained in opposite sides.
After three days of such treatment, the man could barely feel his body, much less talk.
He was captured four days ago for conspiring against the Empire. He was among the mercenaries who took mana crystals from the mountain.
Begging and pleading did not help him. He was flagged like a beast for a crime he knew nothing off.
'For me to end up here' he thought.
All his years of work as a mercenary amounted to nothing.
He was inexplicably bitter.
Then, someone entered the compartment. He could hear footsteps and the door opening.
"So?"
He didn't know what was answered, but he heard the next words.
"Release him"
He tried to clean his ear. He must've heard it wrong.
Abruptly, his chains were unlocked and he fell to the ground like a bag of stones.
"Have someone take him out. We have a new target" was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.
Within a small room, the Emperor sat cross-legged with his eyes closed and a shiny blue object laying on his legs.
'Good. At this rate, I'll be able to get rid of it in five years'
The object was a mana stone. The Emperor was cultivating by absorbing its essence.
His idea to defeat the poison within him was working. Slowly but surely.
Since it was a mana stone, he didn't have to worry about mana running out, which was why mana stones were so treasured.
Unlike mana crystals, they don't become useless once the mana within them was expended.
Mana stones would draw mana from the atmosphere, condense and refine it - which was another reason the Emperor could estimate five years for such a powerful poison.
The mana within mana stones was also many times higher in quality than mana crystals, not to mention the mana in the atmosphere.
The three mana stones were barely enough for the task, but the Emperor couldn't touch Cavarl, who had joined the royal faction.
A rune master would soon arrive to deploy his arrays, which should help increase his speed of cultivation.
'To think I have to use this for poison expulsion'
The most annoying thing about the situation was that, by using the mana stones to remove poison, his rank wouldn't increase.
'Well, It's better to be stagnant than crippled' he soothed himself.
Then he went over the information he'd received.
After poking around, the house of Everdust revealed that they had captured Ilyon - who had died, unable to withstand torture - and members of the Red Wolf guild.
They said that Ilyon confessed his guild knew nothing of the events.
The Emperor didn't see it that way and sent many to begin curtailing the members of the White Iron guild.
'They might know of the mana stones'
It was a far fetched theory because, if they did, it would've spread across noble circles.
Still, there was no harm in checking.
Then, he had all the mercenaries that took mana crystals hunted.
Few were captured as many had escaped to other powers - which was how news of the manite mine spread so fast.
The war - without Grandmaster interference - would take at least four years. He made sure of it by putting enticing items on the list of war merits.
War merits could only be rewarded when one's contribution points were adequate.
Combatants of all ranks would kill enemy and allies to rack up war contribution points.
Even better, war contribution points could only be used once the war was over.
This war was going to eat into the forces of each power.
It mattered not who won the war if everyone suffered losses.
Niton's lost population could be easily recovered, but what about the others? The Emperor surmised that they would think something very precious was in the mountain for him to put Mithril as a reward.
Only, they would be falling right into his trap.
He expected Ledemor, Vorus and Covaria to join the war within half a year.
All the while, the mana crystals would lose mana and degrade in quality.
'When this war ends…' the Emperor gave a grin.
He stopped selling mining rights to the mountain from the second day, making it available only with contribution points.
As a bonus, one could acquire it the moment they had enough contribution points, so the race for contribution points became even fiercer.
It was a sinister plan through and through.
Avilla was a natural fortress, used to defend against all out attacks and surprise attacks. It was a feature that favored the Nitonians.
He could hear sounds of battle from afar, but the enemies were unable to penetrate deep into the city, so the royal district was intact.
Then he remembers the news of a G-rank guild getting a buffer zone.
It was absurd, but the Emperor trusted that Bolton had his reasons.
With that, he got back to his cultivation.
—------------------
Ezra woke up, stretched, cleaned up, then headed to Bard's lair.
—-------------------
"Oh? That fast?" asked Ezra.
"I'm just as surprised it will happen in three days" replied Bard.
Ezra arrived to find that Bard hadn't studied the fruit.
He hadn't had time.
Bard was called to defend his position in three days, else the vice would become the new Head Alchemist.
He was concocting the new potions and learning as much as he could about them.
Ezra nodded.
The result was already set, but he said nothing, proceeding to take the fruit.
"You're taking it?"
"Yes, I found that I was mistaken. The effect of fire was but a dream. So rest assured, it's a normal fruit" and left before Bard could speak.
Ezra put it in his ring.
The truth was, he understood its uses yesterday.
Also…
'I'm doing it again'
His expression crumpled when he remembered the thing that had him killed.
'Trusting too easily'
He never discerned why Bard suddenly had a change in attitude at their first meeting, so sharing his secrets was a stupid move.
He let out a laugh.
"I never learn"
He entered his mother's room and found her reading on her bed.
She raised her eyes.
"What a surprise"
Ezra looked away.
With his hands behind his back, he took out a fruit from his ring and raised it for his mother to see.
"What is that?"
Ezra talked in a low tone, resembling that of a child…
"A fruit. I heard it helps with reading, so I bought it for you"
"Why, thank you" she said, taking the fruit while still eyeing him.
"Make sure you eat it all" he added.
"Ok" then she took a bite.
Her gaze went blank as she felt something fundamentally change within her.
Snapping back to reality, her gaze darted about.
Ezra had left, leaving her with many questions.
'Where did he get this?' she wondered.
Looking about, she found a note on her lap saying…
'Make sure you eat it all, and eat it fast. I know you might have questions, but all in due time mom'
She shook her head with a light smile.
Each time, she's reminded that her boy had already become a man shouldering things she knew nothing about.
She was happy, yet sad at the same time.
Each time, she was reminded why she needed to grow strong.
Quickly, she ate the fruit, before going back to her books.
How she wished she had done all these things before.
Meanwhile, Ezra went to pick his new servants.
