« Bahamut : Are you sure about it? »

« I am Mr. Cool : Yes, I am »

« Bahamut : This is serious. »

« Average Man : What are you talking about? What 12 noble houses? »

Max who was looking at the chat too had the same question in his mind.

« Coward Cat : I too have never heard about them. »

« I am Mr. Cool : I will explain. The Mage Association and Guild Union are the two Superpowers, right. But the thing is, they are mainly formed of members of 12 Noble Houses who have been protecting the Continent for a long time.»

« Average Man : Why didn't I know about this? »

« Bahamut : The common population has no idea about it. But you would have definitely heard of some famous names from the noble houses »

« I am Mr. Cool : Yes, there are a lot of famous personalities like Gary Lorenz. And the Current Mage King, Kenneth Walker. »

Seeing the text Max was surprised for a bit. But it wasn't that shocking since he already knew that those two girls were not ordinary to begin with. In other words he was starting to become numb to shocking situations.

« Coward Cat : I thought that the two Superpowers were a body to serve justice and they were free from any control. »

Max asked in confusion.

« Bahamut : It is not totally in control of anyone. Although the majority of control lies with the 12 Noble Houses. As long as you have the strength it doesn't matter where you are from. Everyone can climb the ladder. »

« I am Mr. Cool : Yes. Besides, even though the Noble houses had been scrambling for power. They have been protecting the continent for a long time. »

« Average Man : Hm..I kind of get it. So basically, the Mage Association is a company. The CEO is the Mage King. The Directors are from 12 Noble Houses and all the Mages can be counted as shareholders. »

Max didn't know why but he found this stupid way of thinking to be entirely befitting of this situation.

« Coward Cat : So what are we going to do? Both the Mage Association and the guild Union probably have already been infiltrated. »

« Average Man : Can't you do something Bahamut, like you earlier did? »

« I am Mr. Cool : No he can't. This matter is too serious. If some kind of conflict broke out between the Noble Houses. It would affect the whole Continent. We definitely can't mobilise our family forces. »

« Coward Cat : So you two are from noble houses. »

Max perfectly caught onto his words.

« Bahamut : Yes, I am. But I can guarantee that my House is not involved in it. If there were any signs of Demonic Aura. The system would have alerted me in the very beginning. »

« I am Mr. Cool : The same goes for me. »

« Average Man : Can't you just secretly investigate them? »

« Bahamut : No we can't. Every house keeps a strong check on another. If they found someone investigating about them. It will fuel the sparks of war. Just to let you guys know the relation between the noble houses is worse than you think. »

« Coward Cat : Why? If they have been working together for so long. Why is their relationship so bad? "

« I am Mr. Cool : Didn't I say earlier. They want power. Humans are greedy. If it wasn't for the threat of Mana beasts, it would have already turned into a full-blown war. Tsk..these idiots.»

« Average Man : Aren't you badmouthing your family? »

« I am Mr. Cool : No, My house is neutral. We aren't involved in the power struggle. »

« Bahamut : Sadly my family is not a neutral one. Recently, My Father has decided to support the Walker House. I don't know the reason behind his decision.»

« Coward Cat : So what is the situation? »

« Bahamut : The Walker House has majority of control over Mage Association with the support of 3 Noble Houses while Ovens House has the majority of control over Guild Union with the Support of 3 Noble houses on their side too. The remaining 4 Houses are neutral.»

« Average Man : So it's basically a stalemate. With each of them taking control of one body. »

« I am Mr. Cool : Yes you are right. »

Max at this moment suddenly had a thought that made him curse and he immediately began typing.

« Coward Cat : What if the traitor is from the neutral house. Won't the situation immediately turn around if they use this opportunity to send the power balance into chaos? »

« Average Man : F*ck! »

« I am Mr. Cool : You are right..»

« Bahamut : We need to immediately gather evidence regarding the traitor before it's too late. If we can't gather any concrete evidence, no one would believe us. »

« I am Mr. Cool : I can definitely convince my father with evidence »

« Average Man : Who would gather the evidence? You can't use your family forces right. »

« I am Mr. Cool : I am in the Hospital. So I can't. Besides, after the recent commotion, My father is keeping an eye on me. »

« Bahamut : I am out in Orena leveling up and completing a Quest. I still don't know how long it will take to get back. »

« Average Man : What about you Cat? »

« Bahamut : Leave him. He needs to train in order to win the All Academy competition »

« Average Man : Then who would do it?»

« I am Mr. Cool : It's obviously you. Who do you think is left out? »

« Average Man : M..Me..»

« Bahamut : You are the only one left. I will give you the information later »

« Average Man : What for? »

« Bahamut : Joining the Dark Society. Go and infiltrate them. We need to know who is the traitor working with the Dark society to Help the demons »

« I am Mr. Cool : You are the only one we can count on »

…..

So the matter ended. Even though the Average Man seemed reluctant to accept the task. He didn't have a choice.

Max closed the chatbox and remembered about the envelope.

He hurriedly tore the envelope and opened the letter. He was wondering why Mr. Stark had sent a letter when a phone call was enough to communicate.

He unfolded the letter. But there were only a few words on it.

" Don't let me down. Show them what my disciple is made of. "

Max only smiled as he read it. He then turned the page to check if there was anything else on it.

As he turned the letter, a few more words caught his eyes.

" Iron Smithy, Old Town, Arcane "

" Go and meet the owner with this letter "

Below those words was a seal with a hammer and Crescent moon.

" I haven't got anything to do. Might as well go and check it out. ", Max said to himself as he got up on his feet.

He slowly walked towards the entrance and after exciting the Academy gate he boarded a cab and headed towards the location.

Since he was suspended for a week. It didn't matter whatever he did. He didn't have to care about anything. Obviously, being suspended would affect his studies and future too. That was only if he was an ordinary student who had to care about his future. But that was of his least concern.

His future?

He was working his ass off for the continent's future. He couldn't live a peaceful life until this all ended. That was the one thing he was sure of.

….

On the other side, the news about the suspension of the students had already spread.

Mage Department, Classroom.

" What's wrong Elly? ", Lisa asked seeing the troubled expression on Elly's face.

" No, it's nothing. ", Elly replied with a smile.

But in reality, she was upset. She had heard the students behind her chatting about the students involved in the fight yesterday had been suspended.

With this news, she only felt her guilt increase. That guy had helped her friend. And she ended up causing trouble for him.

….

Old Town, Arcane.

A cab entered the old broken streets and stopped beside a thin alleyway.

" Sir, the cab can't enter such a narrow path. You would have to walk on your own. ", the cab driver said.

" Oh..it's fine then. ", Max said as he paid the driver and got out of the cab.

Max scanned his surroundings. This place was really shabby. The buildings and the street looked pretty old. There were no signs of renovation in any of the buildings. Max felt as if he had traveled back to the past. There were few people out on the streets who looked intimidating with the tattoos and scars on their bodies.

As he walked into the thin alleyway, he noticed quite a few people drinking and smoking in front of some shabby looking stores.

As Max walked through the alleyway, quite a few people noticed him. It wasn't everyday that they saw someone so nicely dressed.

Max too felt several gazes on him. But he ignored them and kept walking.

Where in the hell did he came? He couldn't understand why Mr. Stark send him to a place like this.