Two weeks have passed since my trip to the World Tree in Goldwyvern City.

For the past weeks, I have garnered everything I could with my current abilities.

I have added more features to MERLIN, improved my proficiency in and with the Tomes even further, and had ‘decorated’ my home.

[Morning, sire.] MERLIN greeted first thing in the morning.

“Yeah… morning….” Getting out of my bed, I stretched and did some light exercise.

Once done, I breathed in deeply, then went to the bathroom to wash myself up then dressed myself up in casual clothing.

Today is the day I get my package from the underworld market—the custom-made Desert Eagle and body armor.

It’s a few days early, but I don’t really mind; the earlier I get ready, the earlier I can get the All-stone and achieve my goals.

I went to a desk where a briefcase rests and opened it, revealing neatly stacks of bills that should amount to 150,000 UNV, but just to be safe—

“MERLIN,” I called out.

[Yes, sire?]

“Do me a favor and see if the cash in here actually adds up to the price.”

[As you wish.] Then, a layer of blue light came out of a small black box above the desk and slowly swept through my briefcase before disappearing. [Notice: It adds up perfectly, sire.]

“Haa, that’s good, I guess…” After deducting everything for my plans and upgrades, I now have barely any money for any future dealings that may arise.

The investments I made wouldn’t reap profit for at least another few months, and I could always dabble in day trading with MERLIN to do all the work for me, but it would take a few months at best for her to learn everything about the market and the stock signals.

Besides, she can’t multi-task at the moment, since the servers I bought for her were cheap but efficient for their price, so she wouldn’t be with me if I were to need her in an important situation.

“Haa, I wish I could just use counterfeit money, but…”

The supplier of my package isn’t someone I can offend. At least, not with my current situation anyway.

Besides, having on my side could be beneficial to me; it’s not a necessity, but, instead, a possibility.

Anyway, with the meet-up being at noon, I decided to make progress with the tomes.

Acquiring certainly was beneficial, since I was quickly able to progress to about 68% of the overall ability.

I grabbed a couple of tomes, sat cross-legged, and began processing them.

A few hours have passed by and I now should be at around 76% finished, since only a few tomes were left in the packaging.

Panting, I laid down on the floor to rest. Although processing the tomes were so much easier now, doing it in intervals is much more efficient than doing it in one go.

Then, a ‘ding’ sound came from my smartphone on the couch as the screen brightened.

Sitting up to get a better look at it, it was a message from the supplier, who ‘kindly’ reminded me that it was almost time for the delivery.

It was a quarter to 12, so I sent him a message that I’m already on the way.

With that done, I got up and went to the mirror to fix myself up.

Hmm, I definitely look good. I just hope that my age wouldn’t become a troublesome matter.

With that said and done, I wore a small earpiece before grabbing my smartphone, wallet, kitsune mask, and briefcase.

After making sure I have everything, I walked out.

*****

***

*

The location was in an abandoned warehouse surrounded by a dense forest, just outside and south of Dublin City.

Not really surprising since our transaction is very much illegal.

After I made sure I was outside the public eye, I wore my kitsune mask and had MERLIN erase any traces of me from security cameras before continuing further.

Luckily, I didn’t have to travel much, so I was able to arrive five minutes before the appointed time.

The warehouse was in front of me. Several graffiti and moss were growing on the wall, but my main focus was on the man smoking with a visibly annoyed expression on his face.

The man has dark green hair slicked back, and a scar on his left cheek. He wore a gray shirt with matching black pants. There also was a black suitcase on his right side.

Surrounding him in a semi-circle formation were men in black armed with rifles. They all were brawny and middle-aged.

They gave off this serious atmosphere; as if they were going to war.

Are they Mavens? Probably not.

Mavens would prefer to use a sword than a gun since it would complement their capabilities, or maybe they’re like me—Fragmentary Mavens. Regardless of which, it’s best to approach them as if they were Mavens with unclassified ranking.

“A kid?” The man puffed out smoke. He looked at me dead in the eye before saying, “Get away, kid, this isn’t a playground.”

But the man smoking in front of me is most definitely a Maven.

This… should be interesting.

*****

***

*

‘This… should be interesting,’ Arthur inwardly smiled. “No, I think this is the place for me.”

He looked at the man who was smoking and said, “I presume you’re Peter Ruell?”

As he finished, his guards all pointed their guns at him.

Despite that, Arthur remained calm.

“Who are you?” the man, Peter, asked with a cold look. He dropped his cigarette to the floor and stomped on it.

Arthur motioned them to calm down with his hands and said, “Nathan Axel, your buyer.”

Peter’s eyebrow shot up, shocked that his buyer was just a kid. After all, not anyone can just enter and use the underworld market.

Nonetheless, Peter quickly regained his composure and decided to treat the transaction as every other transaction he has made for years for as long as he gets what he wants in the end, he doesn’t care who the buyer is.

However, a glint of light flashed through his eyes when he realized that Arthur was just a kid.

“Well then, here’s your package, ‘sir.’” Peter tapped on the suitcase next to him. “And my money?”

Arthur had an eyebrow raised as he held up the briefcase in his hand and tapped it too mockingly. He looked at Peter as if he were an idiot.

Peter’s eye twitched at his gesture.

“Anyway, I presume that everything that I ordered is there and in good condition?” Arthur stared at the suitcase.

Peter dubiously stared at Arthur for a while before putting his hand on the suitcase, he said “…Yes. One customized Deagle with special variations of bullets and four retractable body armor… all of which are here and good to go.”

“Now.” Peter snapped his fingers and pointed at Arthur, to which his armed men raised their guns and aimed at Arthur. “I trust that the money is legit, so hand it over.”

With a couple of guns aimed at him, one would think that Arthur would panic, however, Arthur ignored his question and instead said, “Really now? Let me see it first; I want to test it.”

Peter was now pissed. He coldly stared at Arthur and released his magic. “Kid, don’t push me. Right now, I’m the one with the favorable position here. I could kill you if I wished to do so and simply just take your money.”

Arthur choked a bit at the burst of magic that ruthlessly enveloped him, but he quickly used to protect himself.

Peter thought that Arthur, with him being a kid, would become frightened by his threat. After all, he was surrounded by his men with their guns all aimed toward him and he showed what he can do as a Maven.

However, what Arthur said next made him alarmed and a bit fearful.

“Haa, that’s not how to treat a customer. Is it now, Piers?”

“…W-what?”

“Piers Spencer. A criminal charged with many felonies, one of which includes fraudulation.

“You were an orphan born in the destroyed village of Bellessal. Peter Ruell was simply one of the many aliases that you use in this line of business. Actually, no, everything here is just a lie, including yourself.”

“…What… the hell are you talking about?” He took a step back as he said in a quivering voice.

Arthur, seeing this, simply smiled. “, as you call it, is your ability, isn’t it? You have the ability to change whatever you touch to something else entirely different but only in appearance. Despite that, your ability can still affect the senses of your victim, if they don’t know any better.

“And you used it, didn’t you? You used it just now when you tapped on the suitcase. Although the suitcase and the package inside are most definitely real, they are defective, aren’t they?

“You switched the original package with the defective package when you realized that I’m just a kid, didn’t you? What’s more, is that you have been doing it for years.” Arthur looked at him in disgust.

Peter, no, Piers took a step back. ‘H-how does he know so much?’ he thought to himself.

“So, yeah!” Arthur said joyfully. “I’m the one in the favorable position here and not you. Got that? I could expose you to the authorities if I wished to do so and simply take everything you have.”

“Don’t screw with me! I still have these armed men around me! So, don’t you da—” Before he could continue, Arthur cut him off.

“I’m sorry, did you even listen to a single word I just said?” Arthur looked at Piers and shook his head as if disappointed. “I know about your ability. Meaning, I know that you don’t have any armed men around you. Meaning, you don’t have anything that would threaten me. You can try to have them ‘shoot’ me, but I won’t feel a single thing since I know that they’re not real.”

Piers’s eyes were wide open and he sweated profusely. ‘H-how? How the hell does he know so much about me?! I gotta get out of here! I can’t let myself be caught; not after I’ve spent years crawling my way up! Should I just kill him? After all, the dead don’t talk.’

Piers looked at the smiling boy in front of him. ‘I don’t sense any mana from him anyway, so he’s definitely not a Maven, so killing him would be a breeze.’

A murderous glint flashed through his eyes which Arthur noticed as he said with an innocent tone, “By the way, just so you know, if there was ever a sliver of a chance that I died today, then my team would immediately inform the authorities of who you are and your current location, and everything you’ve built up over the past couple of years will crumble overnight. So I hope you’ll be on your best behavior.”

‘Team?! So, he’s not alone?!’ Piers bit his fingernails, feeling lost on what to do. On one hand, he could give up and be at the mercy of Arthur, which means losing his rights to everything he owns. However on the other hand, if he kills Arthur, then the team behind him will still reveal everything, making him lose everything either way!

‘Shit!’ Piers cursed inwardly.

While Piers was having a bit of a mental breakdown, Arthur was smiling inwardly at the sight of Piers. ‘This is fun…’