Emperor's Reckoning

"Alright, I think I understand what this part of the world does," said Lyon. "But, I want to ask, do you only hire humans as adventurers here?"

"Hmm? Oh no, not at all!" Avi shook her head excitedly. "In this place we valued everyone by their power, their due diligence, and their strength."

( She basically mentioned power twice!! ) thought Lyon as he made a slow nod. "Then, is Harp Guild one of the Guild Link?"

"Yes!!" Avi firmly nodded twice. "There are like a hundred of guilds or so, but we somehow managed to get out there and crawl to the top, ourselves."

"That's admirable," said Cecile.

( I'm sure it wasn't smooth sailing, nor was it an innocent one ) thought Lumina ( Nobody made it to the top innocently ).

Avi clapped and clasped her hands before she leaned forward and smiled. "How is it, pretty tempting right?"

"That's a good pitch, but you basically offered us nothing fancy," said Cecile as she smiled back. She leaned back against the chair and made the gesture of her crossed legs clear. She clasped her hands on top of her right knee and then let out a smirk.

( That's some power move ) thought Lyon as he smiled inwardly. He was not ready for the upfront gesture coming out from his wife. ( Now that I think about it, I never saw her making deals before ).

Doma was taken back by the wild gesture, but he had lost all ability to speak after he saw what Assid could do to the leader of the Frost Party. He might be stronger than Arf, but he knew his jaw would be dislocated just the same with a single controlled fist from Assid. Remaining quiet and docile was the best he could do, even though it hurt his pride as a hunter.

( She is really a tigress inside that cloak sheet ) thought Avi as she looked at Cecile with great rivalry. "Do you want to state your demands?" asked Avi.

Doma raised both of his brows.

"That's really straightforward," muttered Lyon.

"Woah..." Nafail could only gulp. He looked at the cloaked people around him and was reminded of his audacity of asking for Adventuring Token because he saved them.

"I like women that don't beat around the bush," said Cecile.

"Heh~" Lyon leered away with an unwelcoming smile. At least for the women around him.

"I want the item that could help a True God cultivator break through the inevitable ceiling," said Cecile with a smile.

"You mean Mana Essence?" said Avi before she made a wry smile. "That's a really high demand, do you know how much that costs?"

"Arf told us a little bit about it," said Lyon. "He said around five hundred thousand Adventurer Token."

"Exactly," Avi nodded. "Not only they are expensive, but they are also perhaps as rare as Heaven's Prism."

"Mana Essence??" Lyon raised his brows. "So it's all just mana all over again?"

"No, it's different," Cecile shook her head. "Mana Essence can only be obtained from a slain beast, but not just any beast only monstrous level ones can leave a drop, let alone a chug of a glass of it."

"Wait, so it's liquid?" Lyon raised one of his brows. "That's something, we grew from not seeing mana at all, then we faintly see it, and now, we just put the damn thing into a glass and chug it down like it's alcohol? Nice," Lyon smiled as he made a slow nod.

"Most adventurers here are of True God and they either hit the ceiling or are approaching ones. Of course, the weakest here is Godhood, though they can't possibly do much without the help of others, thus we have a party system," said Avi.

"Hmmm," Lyon put his hand on his chin whilst his brows furrowed. "But, why do these beasts capable of producing mana to Mana Essence?"

"That's..." Avi had a slight hesitation before continuing, "Some experts say that it is due to their extreme natural body that they had since they were born. Making them stronger just by living and warming up their muscles. They had a different meridian structure than us humans and non-humans. However, maybe also because of that that they lacked sentient? It's still a mystery."

"So it's better not to think about it then," Lyon nodded. "I guess."

"That's true, wow, you're really easygoing," said Avi. "I lo—"

"Shut your mouth," said Lumina coldly.

"I-I see, sorry for bothering you," Avi made a wry smile.

Cecile chuckled at the sight. "Well, can you provide Mana Essence or not?"

"It depends on how much you want?"

"Well how much does one needs?" asked Lyon.

"That depends on the person, we can't tell, there are also chances that it would fail," said Avi.

"Fail?"

"Yes, the less the amount, the higher that it would fail, failing as in not doing anything," Avi shook her head. "However, here is the thing, even those that broke through the True God realm still need to amass Mana Essence too, that's why, not only it's hard to get and the numbers are limited, but many covet it for their own."

"Or," said Kesya who spared a yawn before continuing, "We could just kill those above True God realm cultivators, or adventurers, and get it from there."

.

.

.

The atmosphere turned silent at the brutal frag bomb of an idea that Kesya threw away.

"What? Why are you all shutting your lips?" asked Kesya as she blinked innocently.

"That's... a frightening idea," Avi made a wry smile. ( How does that even cross her mind so casually? ).

"Please don't mind her," Assid sighed.

"Hey!" Kesya pouted.

"But, it's not like it's not a way to do things," Lyon shrugged.

"Okay, let's not go there, Ly— Errr, I mean, Sein, please?" asked Luna.

Lyon shrugged his shoulders as he nodded. "Fine."

"So there is that problem," said Avi. "Besides, it's quite a hassle and hard to do to beat those adventurers anyway, not only they would fight back but also, the chances of you dying are also high."

"It's the same with hunting those beasts, though," muttered Lyon.

"Yes, but those beasts are not exactly as smart as us," Avi smiled. "However, beasts are not the only thing that drops Mana Essence."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Ghost," said Kesya with a grin.

"What?" Lyon raised his brows.

"Well, technically a ghost," said Avi. "However, let's just say that tomb of old hoard a treasure that is coveted by many, that still rings true."

"Ah, so this is one of those, beat the guardians, get the ancient treasure kind of thing?"

"Precisely! You seem to have a knack for adventuring, this must be the right path for you to set forth to!" said Avi.

"So they are like store brought Mana Essence, get it from powerful beasts, get it from powerful cultivators, or ravaged someone's tomb?" asked Lyon.

"Or, if you are lucky enough, you might find one on the street, in a small bottle," Avi smiled.

"Woah, yeah, I wonder if my karma would allow me to have that happen," said Lyon with a snort before following with a smile.

"That won't happen," Cecile chuckled. "Though it might be, if we are talking about you, you always have the strangest luck somehow."

"Okay let's not jinx it," said Lyon with a grin. "So if it really depends, how much do you think that ones need to break through the ceiling of True God?"

"A vial?" Avi shrugged. "I honestly can only say that the more is better in this case."

"That's correct," said Cecile with a nod. "The more the better, but if you used more than necessary, you might waste it too."

"So it's better to spend royally then," Lyon nodded. "Damn, being powerful is not only expensive but also hard."

"That has always been the case, yet we strive, somehow," Avi smiled. "So how about it, you want to join the Harp Guild?"

"Sly, but not that sly, your deliverance is lacking," said Cecile with a smile. "You're too hasty for us to join you, you don't even say how much will you give us."

"Hehe," Avi smiled. "I just taking advantage of the atmosphere."

"I want a chalice of Mana Essence," said Cecile.

"A chalice?!" Doma, Nafail, and Avi exclaimed immediately.

"Was it too absurd?" Cecile chuckled. "I think it's not a bad deal."

Avi sighed before she made a wry smile. She slowly shook her head, "I'm sorry but I can't give you a chalice of Mana Essence, I mean, a small vial is enough to make people kill each other, but a chalice? It would be an uproar."

"That's not my problem," Cecile shook her head, "Either that or not, it's also not the only requirement."

( This woman is fucking greedy! ) cursed Avi inwardly.

"It seems like this discussion cannot go any further," Cecile stood up. "Nice meeting you, Avi, perhaps we will meet again in a different situation, oh, and thank you for the information regarding Zelena, you are quite generous."