Hal of course had never heard of these 'Golden balls' but he could not help but find the sound of them a little queer.

"I said, the Golden balls" Gregory repeated for fear that Hal had not heard.

"And what exactly are these balls?" He asked.

Gregory sighed,

"The Golden balls is an artifact consisting of, well...Golden balls and were bestowed to a Payne Ancestor. It is said to be an item of great power but no one has ever understood their use or being able to make it do anything whatsoever.

But even then, it is still considered more valuable than the Payne Broadsword which is an Armament rank Artifact. In fact, It is a priceless treasure that I was supposed to guard until my dying day as the Payne Family head.

When your mother saw it, she seemed very enamored with it and so I explained everything about it to her. Including just how priceless it was to me and my family and how much I would hate to see it lost.

I admit that I was bragging a little at the time. This was the first possession I had that interested this Blue-eyed goddess and I was quite proud of myself.

So you can imagine my shock when your mother examined the Balls for a few seconds and told me that everything I had been told was a lie and the Balls were worthless junk.

I was upset and it showed in my visage as she quickly pacified me by telling me that it was only that way because it was incomplete. I asked her if she knew what it was supposed to be and she told me she not only knew what it was supposed to be, she also knew how to make it so.

She said she would need a few materials and might even be able to complete it. I grinned from ear to ear and asked her if she was truly considering staying a while longer to complete this artifact and she told me yes.

Not only that, but she would also no longer return home should she succeeds in completing it.

"This should be enough to take care of whoever comes after me" She said.

I could not help but fantasize about how glorious the Artifact would be once complete. At that time, surely nothing was stopping me from becoming Mayor and fulfilling my dreams.

Alas,

I should have known it was too good to be true.

That night, everything changed..."

Gregory paused at this point and cleared his throat loudly while he seemed to attempt to pull himself together.

While he was doing so, Hal thought of the implication of what Gregory had just told him. Even though he did not know yet if Svetlana had truly been able to complete that artifact, but if she had then it could mean only one thing:

She was an inscriptionist.

Inscribing was a branch of Rune Mastering and an obscure branch at that. This was mostly because it was not of the utmost importance that an inscriptionist has Astral sense.

It was something that any Cultivator could attempt, however it was considered a branch of Rune mastering because it required the special skills and finesse that is needed in the drawing of Arrays.

The act of inscribing which usually goes hand in hand with Crafting and Forging referred to the creation of Artifacts.

Take for example, the Rune dagger that had been used by the Plebeians during their attack of Hal's mansion,

It was a product of inscription, albeit a poor one. It was considered the lowest level of inscriptions and not even qualified to be called an Artifact.

However, there were scarcely any widespread creations of Artifacts because it required much more than inscribing words of power (Runes) into an object with either Astral energy or Cosmic Energy. It required a little bit of life force as well.

It was why the Rune dagger could never count as an artifact because not only was it weak, its ability, which was to be sharp enough to pierce the body of a Cultivator, was bound to fade away eventually and it could only be made permanent with the use of life force.

Which begs the question most have been known to ask, Just how many people had died for the creation of the Many artifacts in this world, as some particularly powerful Artifacts could not be made with the Life span of a single cultivator no matter how powerful the cultivator.

It had led many to believe that a majority of the Artifacts were created by gods which also supported the claims of some that they were wielding 'Divine weapons'.

So, as it must now be obvious, this practice is detrimental to the Inscriptionists and shortens their lifespan and the reduction depended on the Rank of the Artifact being created.

Naturally, with all these disadvantages, such a profession could not truly be popular and we are now back to it being an obscure branch of Rune mastering.

Anyway, Inscriptionist exists but they are usually more focused on the fixing of damaged Artifacts which hardly caused any reduction of Life Force and would also not permanently stave off the eventual deterioration of the Artifact in question.

However, Hal doubted Svetlana was only interested in fixing the Artifact. If she was completing what she herself testified to as being powerful, then she was bound to at least apply to forge and Crafting.

It was a process that was quite guaranteed to involve the use and reduction of Lifeforce, but yet Hal felt Svetlana was not the type to do so and might seek alternative means.

Then again, she could very not have a choice and feel her back was against the wall.

Gregory finally completed his pause and resumed the tale, or more accurately, he began the end of it,

"That night, Lillian confronted me and accused me of cheating on her. I wanted to deny it but I felt it was about time to own up to how I felt for Svetlana so I admitted everything to Lillian and told her she would just have to deal with me being with Svetlana.

I told her I never meant to hurt her..."

"Yeah, great line" Rita said in a spiteful voice.

Gregory ignored her,

"...and that this was not likely to happen with any other woman. Svetlana would be the only one.

I was truly hooked on polygamy at the time.

Lillian stormed out to a different room while I, feeling quite terrible, sought out comfort with Svetlana in her room and was surprised to find the place completely cleaned out.

The only thing left there was a note that said 'Thanks'.

I searched the entire estate and came up empty, not only in my search but also in my heart. Something in me was gone and it was very much related to Svetlana's departure.

Even the guards claimed they had not seen her. For all indications, she seemed to have vanished.

It was at that time when I was feeling sorry for myself that a thought came to me and I sped off to the treasury only to find the Golden balls missing. So many other precious materials were gone as well.

And I knew at that moment that not only had she stolen my heart, but Svetlana had also stolen my treasures and I had now funded the restoration of an Artifact I would never get to make use of"