Darius led Jorge over to Foldo's settlement and officially introduced the two to each other. Foldo was surprised to see that Darius was roping in an agent of the Superiority Faction, but accepted it when he remembered how powerful his master was.

As for Jorge, she was shaken by the depth of Foldo's operation. She had only known him to be an exiled baron turned cunning bandit boss who chose his targets carefully to remain under the radar.

However, everything before her overturned all the notes her family had prepared on the leader of the Foldo Bandits and the 'facts' she had assumed to have learned about him.

Respect burgeoned in her heart for Foldo after seeing his methods just as it did for Darius. Foldo's meticulous nature could be respected by anyone who came into contact with him.

Funny enough, Jorge's impression of Darius rose in tandem. It was like a pyramid scheme. When the lower-ranked person 'profited', the one ranked higher would profit as well. In this case, the currency was a young lass' genuine respect.

Foldo's eyes narrowed when he heard about Darius' plan to make a force. He quickly knelt and promised to have it established in a matter of months, to allow his master to execute phase 5 without worry.

Not doubting Foldo's competence in the least, Darius turned to Jorge. "You have been given a grand opportunity, Georgina. Follow every order and teaching of Foldo's while I am away and watch your skills, as well as your talents, soar. He is my first Unofficial Apprentice, so I expect you to defer to him in all matters until you have become a master of your craft."

Jorge was slightly dissatisfied with having to be under someone else again, but she understood that she had to prove her competence first. As long as this Foldo fellow did not make things hard for her, she was confident that she could perform with excellence.

Still, she acquiesced as that was the wise choice here. "I understand, Master Darius."

Darius nodded and turned to Foldo. "I trust I can leave all the planning to you. For now, bring me three of your best Journeyman tomes so I can fix them for you. I've noticed the ones in your library were mostly filled with flaws and problems."

Foldo felt excitement swell in his heart as he quickly rushed to fulfill Darius' request. Jorge was surprised to find that Foldo was an apprentice to Darius, not that there was anything wrong with such a relationship, but more about the fact that Foldo was an Amateur mage.

So much about the old fox had been hidden behind a carefully laid out smokescreen. She felt bitter when she realized that in comparison, her own secret had long since been exposed to the Equality Faction.

However, her will sharpened and she began to look forward to her time with Foldo. If she could glean into even 30% of the old fox's skill and cunning, she would end up much better than she was now!

Darius noticed Jorge's growing enthusiasm and nodded his head. What was a person without ambition or the will to grow? Nothing but a rotten vegetable wasting away in a stale garden.

Foldo returned with three manuals that Darius took, checking their contents one by one as well as their respective costs.

[Golem Summoning Spell - Manual

Durability: 4/5

Description: This manual was written by a Journeyman mage with very limited experience but endless creativity. It is a spell designed to summon a golem of any element, but more than 94% of what is written inside is incomplete or mismatched due to the creator's half-knowledge and wrong conclusions, making the spell hazardous to use.]

[Wind Scythe Spell - Manual

Durability: 5/5

Description: This manual was written by a Journeyman mage who was dedicated to the study of wind element magic. It is a spell designed to create a large scythe of compressed wind energy that can theoretically cut through anything, but 10% of what is written inside is problematic, making the spell fail on every cast.]

[Freeze Spell - Manual

Durability: 5/5

Description: This manual was written by an Adept mage half-heartedly for his rich Unofficial Apprentice. It is a spell designed to generate intense amounts of ice energy to freeze the area around the user and create a pseudo-ice domain, but there was an intentional flaw left inside that prevent the spell from being cast.]

[Would you like to change the Flawed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]

[Would you like to change the Flawed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]

[Would you like to change the Flawed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]

Darius' eyes narrowed. "Foldo, where did you get these three tomes?"

Foldo seemed surprised by the question but answered immediately. "The first two were sold at my black market and I bought them from a disgruntled mage. The last one was written by my previous Master as a parting gift before I had to leave the capital."

Darius chuckled with amusement. "It seems the mage circles are far crueler than I thought. Come for the three tomes tomorrow. In the meantime, prepare a place for Gunner and I to rest."

Foldo was still party confused, but he also partly understood when he deduced the words Darius spoke. A cold gleam appeared in his eyes as he cursed his former master, but bowed to his new one.

"At once, Master."

Darius nodded and pondered over an interesting fact he had discovered. It seemed as if the cost for 'repairing' flawed Journeyman spells was fixed at 2 points.

This meant that in a day, he could 'perfect' up to 5 Journeyman level spells! Ha, with such a high output, Darius could start his own mage tower once he reached the main cities of Andrato!

This particular idea had been at the back of his mind in regards to the late sections of phase 5, but he had decided to go with an all-purpose company instead back then.

That way, he could take part in adventuring, mercenary work, trading, and many other things while centralizing his power.