Ivor was too stunned to speak.
Graduating from LA and getting on the ladder of success was one of his dreams. His grandfather Isen Osan had also instilled that wish in him.
Eren couldn't offer him that path anymore. And with the increase in his rank, it was only going to get more difficult for him as a vagabond. After all, after the C-rank, getting ranking resources while staying outside the system was going to be extremely difficult.
Still, the butcher was offering him something to tick off his to-do list. He knew that the ship had sailed for him to come into the mainstream. The rankers' society as a whole wouldn't accept him. So whatever Eren was offering him wasn't meant to be official. Not that he cared at this point.
He was about to ask Eren about something when the latter threw something at him all of a sudden.
"This would be your key to coming to the capital with me and getting inside the event."
Ivor looked carefully at what he was holding in his hands. It was the same artifact Shandil had used to alter his identity. The butcher had turned the royal elf into one of his living undead and taken possession of his belongings. So the mask belonged to him from that moment on.
Eren had already communicated with Shandil and asked him how to use the mask. A special ritual must be performed for the mask to work, which involves the sacrifice of the ranker from which the identity originated. Eren couldn't believe that elves were involved in such practices when he first learned about them.
It meant that Rondo was a real person before Shandil killed him and robbed him of his identity. When the ritual was finished, nobody could tell the difference between the real and fake Rondo.
Eren got up and started pacing around the campfire with his hands behind his back. He took a short break before speaking further.
"I'll tell you how to use the mask, Ivor. But that is only if you are interested in coming with me."
Layla snatched the mask from Ivor's grip as the latter seemed lost in his thoughts once again. She noticed the runes engraved over it and was amazed at the craftsmanship of the elves.
"This… this is intent-based magic! Elves really are ahead of humans in using this branch of magic."
Layla made her comments and observed the mask for a bit before returning it to Ivor. The latter casually placed the mask over his face and looked at Eren. Chuckling, he asked.
"Fuck Arthur?"
Eren nodded his head before replying, "Fuck Arthur indeed."
Eren knew that Arthur was one of his biggest enemies apart from Demonmir. The only advantage he had over Arthur was the fact that the latter wasn't aware of Eren's role in messing up his plans.
As much as Eren liked to play hide and seek with Arthur forever, he knew the Duke would not let things go. Arthur was like a ticking time bomb in Eren's hands that would go off with one wrong move.
Thus, Eren decided to target Jason instead. Jason was Arthur's weak point. At least the butcher hoped he was. Arthur was focused on capturing Layla these days, which was detrimental to both Eren and Layla. So his attention could be shifted to Osan Woods' Butcher again if he manages to mess with Jason.
Eren had a simple plan. But he believed that simple plans had a higher rate of success because of how straightforward they were.
Jason was well protected by his team of guards daily, even when he was attending Royal Renar. Nobody would be able to touch him. Plus, the guy wasn't cannon fodder either.
Jason felt privileged to be a royal. But he never let pride get in the way of his learning. After all, he was often called a bastard son by his step-siblings and their mothers. So the guy had a kind of fire inside his heart that couldn't be faked.
Just like Arthur had once remarked about his bastard son, he was quite skilled as a ranker. His achievements would only accumulate with time as he looked after the fire inside his heart.
Arthur had also prevented anyone from helping Jason too much. At first, he sent his bastard son to LA while sending his legitimate children to Royal Renar to prevent a family feud. But when he saw that Jason was ready to take on anyone, he brought him to Royal Renar to compete with his step-siblings.
Eren was aware of these tidbits about Arthur and Jason because he liked keeping tabs on his enemies. He always ran away from Jason when they were in LA because he was not strong enough to even say no to him. And that decision saved him from attracting Arthur's attention.
Times change. At this point, Eren wanted to confront Jason instead of the other way around. He wanted to use him as a chess piece to influence Arthur in a certain way.
Ivor understood what Eren wanted to do to Arthur when he heard Eren's proposal. As he removed his mask, he asked the butcher in a downcast voice.
"When will you stop shooting from my shoulder? I hate being used as a pawn."
Eren stopped pacing around when he heard Ivor's words. He looked at the guy intently before gesturing to him to hand him something.
"Haah! Just give me the mask then. I can always look for some other ways to fuck with Arthur."
Ivor was lost for words when he witnessed Eren's uncaring attitude. He just knew in his heart that the butcher was perfectly capable of reorganizing his plans with or without him.
Ivor pursed his lips before placing the mask in his storage. He clenched his fists before replying.
"No. I will do it. Let me see how much that backstabber has progressed after ditching me in Purgatory."
As much as Jason didn't like being used as a pawn, he didn't want to let go of the chance to clash with Jason personally. Plus, he always wanted to graduate.
Ivor knew that his life was going to be put at risk even with the mask working for him. But he believed that some risks needed to be taken in life just to get peace of mind.
