“Now that you are on my side, I’ll tell you a little of my current predicament.”

  Briego looked up, as he sat on the floor, listening to what the woman in front of him would say.

  “As you can see, I’m currently just a mortal, and without a fissure, mana stones are hard to get. As of now, I currently have very little.”

  Briego then remembered the two pieces of mana stone Sarina had given him. With a swipe of his hand, two pieces of mana stone materialized on his palm. Then he stretched both of his hands to hand them to Sarina.

  With a worried tone, Briego spoke, “Forgive me for not giving you this sooner.”

  Sarina didn’t stand on ceremony. She motioned her hand to the two pieces of mana stone and stored them in her pouch. She then moved toward the table, where the book with the torn page was located. She sat down on a simple wooden chair, crossed her right leg, and placed the bowl on the table.

  “My Master, fortunately, is all-knowing. He bestowed me a way to awaken a fissure without going through Heaven's Spring Array.”

  “What!?” Briego shook to the core. He hadn’t heard of another way to awaken a fissure other than the Heaven’s Spring Array that the clan conducted during the awakening ceremony. Apart from that method, he had heard of another method that lone magicians had used to awaken their fissure, but that involved encountering a wild Heaven’s Spring and entering, thus forming a fissure. But the likelihood of finding Heaven's Spring in the wild was very unlikely. The clan only had one in their possession, and it was their most highly guarded place. “Indeed, we insignificant people can’t comprehend the methods of 5th-circle magicians. If such a method exists, then healing my fissure is definitely possible!” Briego said inwardly with excitement.

  Sarina was satisfied as she observed Briego’s reaction to the information. She added, “That's why I’m seeking your help. Not only does it require a certain portion of mana stones, but it also needs certain requirements, which are not important now.”

  Briego nodded. “Currently, I have about twenty mana stones saved up. If Lady wishes, I can grant these to you.” In truth, Briego was not willing to part with his money. He had a slightly more than twenty. If he were to fully give out his money, he would have to resort to working mortal jobs. The most lucrative work he could do was as a hunter, hunting wild bears and boars and selling their parts. Since, as a cripple, he couldn't have a lucrative magician job.

  He had only said this to show his sincerity towards Sarina and, in turn, gain contributions for the method to repair his fissure. He knew that with just some simple mana stones, his fissure problem wouldn't be solved. He inferred that only by helping “Ciel” complete her mission or if a special circumstance occurred, only then would he gain the method.

  Sarina shook her head. “No need, there's no rush. You can keep them for now in the foreseeable future.” Sarina let out a small smile. “I wasn’t lying when I said that I came here with the proposition of business. Your mana stones are a depreciating value. I'm guessing that you’ve been living off the money the clan gave you as compensation from your family. As of now, any magician job is out of range due to your condition. This opportunity will provide the same benefits as a normal magician role; it even has much more potential if used wisely.”

  Briego let out an embarrassed look. All this time, he had been using the mana stones due to the death of his two family members. He knew it. But somebody saying it to his face was like a kick to his nether regions. He could only bask in shame.

  “I wonder what Madam has come up with.”

  “The plan is…”

  Sarina explained in detail her plan, from the initial procedures to what could expand in the future if it worked well. Briego listened intently. Every time Sarina spoke, he couldn’t help but twist his face slightly. He had to reexamine Sarina—her business idea was very unethical! The way she spoke about it calmly and with a hint of grace brought shivers to Briego’s soul.

  Briego furrowed his brows. “Won’t the clan find out and track us down?” After hearing her idea, due to the nature of it, he was sure that the clan would track them down and they would face repercussions; he was imagining the worst, which was execution.

  “It seems you’ve been too ostracized from the system. The clan wouldn't worry itself with the matters of mortals. Unless it's causing a big commotion that stops overall productivity, they won’t bat an eye. Even if death occurs, they would lazily investigate it. As long as we keep in secrecy and to ourselves, there’s a minute chance of them cracking us down.”

  Briego nodded in realization, but he still had some doubts. “But there's still a chance that they will track us down; then what would we do?”

  Sarina’s voice grew a notch louder than it was previously, her expression tightening a little bit.

  “Briego, in life, we have to take risks. Danger is found in opportunity, and opportunity is found in danger. Without them, how would we know which is which? Are you satisfied living this riskless life of yours, in which you are a shell of your true self? How do you think heroes and geniuses are born? They haven’t lived a sedentary life. They took control of theirs and made themselves gain opportunities to become the person they were destined to be!”

  Sarina then calmed down her voice. “Either way, so what if they find out? My Master is a 5th-circle magician. Hmph! Not even the clan leader is at the level of my Master.”

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  Briego gulped. Sarina’s words were powerful—without risks, how could one find opportunities? He had been living too much of an uneventful life; no wonder he was in his current state. “Haha.” He laughed in a depreciative manner. “Without risks, there are no opportunities! I was too blind. Even Sirius in the Heavenly Testament decided to take a risk that ultimately left him opening the Door of Opportunity.”

  Briego lowered his head as he said in appreciation, “I understand now. Thank you, Madam, for your guidance.”

  “It seems you’re worth salvation. It wasn't wrong for me to choose you after all.” Sarina wasn’t sure if her sole words could convince him. That is why she deliberately mentioned her Master as a backup to fall onto if things were to go sour. If she were to have allies, it would be best for them not to doubt the decisions she would make. If this wasn’t addressed early on, it could lead to Briego doubting her capabilities, solely growing distrust, and a decrease in morale, which would lead to inefficiency. After all, if he believed that the plan would ultimately fail, why would he put in his full effort?

  If anybody had said these words to Briego’s face, he would have immediately taught them a lesson. But looking at “Ciel,” who sat leisurely, a mortal girl with a tremendous backer, he felt relieved. These were affirming words that still made him feel valuable in the eyes of “Ciel.”

  “Madam, I have another question. How would we get those girls to join in?”

  “That’s fairly easy. Due to the beast tide, there are some families with crippled family members to attend to, or other circumstances that prevent them from earning much money. Targeting those from poor families should suffice. We can use methods such as loans to get them to owe us, or we can use other means as well.” Sarina explained casually.

  A cold shiver ran down Briego’s spine. “Ciel” was willing to use such unscrupulous means to get what she wanted. Even as a magician who looked down on mortals, Briego didn’t meddle much in their affairs. He was still a person with some morals left—well, at least much more than the person who sat before him.

  Briego could only acknowledge such techniques. They were the most efficient, after all. In the past, he would condemn himself for being involved in such a plan, but at this age, he had realized that heroes and chivalrous warriors had dirtied their hands along their path. Either way, he had no choice now. In order to repair his fissure, he would need to participate in “Ciel’s” plan. He was sure that he didn’t have a choice anymore—lest he was unwilling, and “Ciel” told her Master about him, he was certain he would be left without a corpse!

  “As for how the word will get to the public, that would be your duty. With your age and identity as a drunkard, you can ascertain the clientele for this kind of endeavor.”

  Briego basked in light embarrassment: “I’m not proud to say this, but as a drunkard, I have an eye for these kinds of people. In fact, they fall on the same frequency as me. I believe the saying: ‘feathers of the same flock fly together’ truly fits. Furthermore, I know almost every tavern in the estate. Finding them wouldn't be a problem at all.”

  Sarina nodded. “Then that settles it. In four days, a person will arrive here. Before the person comes, clean up the place.” Sarina looked around, finding clothes, bottles, papers, cups, and other miscellaneous items.

  Now that Briego had snapped back to reality, he began to realize that his house was in a horrible state. He sighed in shame. “Yes.”

  Sarina added, “And also your appearance. You look like a vagabond. Nobody can trust somebody with such an ugly look. After all, how you look is the first thing people judge you on.”

  “Yes.” Briego had no idea what he looked like from another perspective. He didn’t know that he was in such a terrible state. For him, his looks were the least of his worries. It had been a long time since he had taken a look at his own appearance in the mirror. In his mind, he still imagined himself as he looked four years ago before the tragedy…

  Slowly, Briego got up. He concluded that the conversation with “Ciel” would come to an end. He lightly shook his legs to permit blood flow to course through them. He then noticed a bowl covered in cloth that “Ciel” had brought, but she hadn't mentioned it throughout the conversation.

  Sarina noticed that Briego looked towards the bowl, prompting her to say, “What I brought here is poison.”

  Briego shook, but after having some grasp of “Ciel’s” character, he thought that her being in possession of poison wasn’t too far-fetched.

  “Who are you planning to kill with that?”

  Sarina looked at the bowl and said, “Don’t worry. This is just for a ploy.”

  “Ploy?” Briego asked in his mind. “Ciel” was too cunning. He just hoped that the poison wouldn't involve him. He thought that she had formulated a plan regarding her mission.

  “Do you have any artifacts?” Sarina asked.

  Briego sighed in shame. “I sold the only one that I had left. The only remaining artifact I have is this 1st-circle spatial ring.” He slightly raised his left hand. On his index finger lay a golden ring with intricate patterns—a spatial ring! A useful artifact that every magician must have, it was essential for storing mana stones and magic materials such as herbs or remains of beasts. In the magician world, this artifact was a must-have.

  Its space increased at every circle. The 1st-circle ring that Briego owned had the storage capacity of a large chest—it was very limited in what it could store.

  “It is normal for him to not have any more artifacts other than the ring. He must’ve sold those along with the previous house his family lived in,” Sarina made sense of the situation.

  “Buy a pair of sedatives and give them to the person. I don’t want it to cause any problems.”

  Briego understood her intentions. “As you wish. Also, how should I contact you, madam?”

  Sarina looked at him indifferently. “I’ll pass by here occasionally. As for the future, a communication artifact should suffice.”

  Sarina wasn’t too worried about the other party not being able to contact her. If things went wrong, she could just find another person and go through the same process again. She made sure to not leave any of her trails behind. There were ways to peer into a person’s mind and extract memories, but the clan didn’t have such a spell at their disposal. For mortal matters, they wouldn't waste resources and invite an expert.

  Briego knew that “Ciel” was hiding her tracks, not being traceable. Again, he couldn't be mad. After all, she was the disciple of a 5th-circle magician.

  Sarina got up. “That would be all. Oh, and by the way, store the poison somewhere safely—it could be useful later on.”

  Briego replied obediently, “Yes, madam.”

  Sarina had made too much poison for what she needed. She had safely kept a small portion for her ploy. She could only store the rest and not let it go to waste.

  Briego watched as “Ciel” opened the door in front of her before stepping out onto the road and closing the door with an aloof look in her eyes.

  Left in the room alone, with a candle lighting up the living space, he sighed.

  “What have I gotten myself into?”