Chapter 208: New Slaves

Reiji and Rufus continued their way to the old mansion to see Felix and the others… He's also very curious about the new slaves he'll get.

After a few minutes had passed, they arrived at the gate in front of the mansion… Reiji looked around and noticed that the Array covering this place seems to affect the people around it and make them ignore whatever is happening within…

Of course, there is also a dangerous feel on this array that would seemingly attack at any time…

Although he is not an Arcanist, he felt that it is a good defensive array and it must be something that he should learn for his dojo in the future…

'You can now enter.'

It is the same voice he heard from before…

'Gate? Is that you?

'Mhmm…'

'I see… Thanks… Would you mind if I let my wielder come in too?'

Gate is the scabbard Arcana that he met the last time he visited.

'Of course, we've already prepared and had our servants ready to welcome you in.'

Reiji thanked the Arcana again as he told Rufus to enter. 

As for Ruthren that is secretly following them, he remained outside and waited for further instructions.

'You can leave the kid at the reception room… You can come up now… The servants will look after him.' 

Another familiar voice resounded in his mind… It came from a calm female voice this time.

She's the manager of this base and working together with Gate… He recalled her as a folding fan adorned with precious jewels…

'I understand. I'm coming.'

Reiji acknowledged the voice before letting Rufus know about his plans and flying away…

The servants have also arrived as they escorted the young man. It appears that they are about to entertain the young man.

As soon as he arrived on the upper floor, he was greeted by his three friends and two other familiar people…

They are Renzo and Karen.

"Reiji… We've been waiting for you!"

Felix greeted him first followed by Yerin and Jaymie…

"Ruthren reported that  you've already gained a lot of skills by staying here…"

"Haha… Isn't that amazing? Rory gave us some good training about Mystical Energy… It's really impressive."

"Yes… We can also do some speed flight now! Kekeke!" Jaymie added as she flies around the room.

Yerin just observed her friend but her aura shows that she's also proud of something… It seems that she learned the same ability too.

After a few greetings, Reiji asked about his main reason for visiting here…

'Are you telling me that you want me to attempt marking these two again?'

Reiji asked as he glanced at the two Arcanists behind them…

'These two? No… I just ordered them to be here so you'll see that the Mind Collection made them work as their servants. They are an important asset of this Mansion and if you put aside their wrongdoings before, you will actually like their addition here. They are very strong and decent training partners.'

Felix, the Kris Sword Arcana, explained…

Reiji looked at the wavy sword seriously before glancing at the two Arcanists he has beaten before.

'I see. But if you want them as your wielder, you might want to reconsider… Of course, I won't stop you if you really like them, but they seem to have a lot of enemies so you have to be careful.'

Reiji sincerely gave his advice to his fellow sentient Arcana.

'Eh? Of course!  Don't worry, I won't be choosing them. It's not like I want to be wielded by a gorgeous lady or something…'

Felix explained quickly. He felt exasperated as Jaymie and Yerin also had the same thought. They are seriously thinking that he has an interest in becoming Karen's Arcana…

Nevertheless, he ordered the two to take the people that they've captured and let Reiji decide whether he wanted them as his servants or not…

Apparently, the Mind Collection has captured five members of the Three-Eyed Imp's Evil Cult!

"Where did you find them?" Reiji asked in surprise. As far as he knows this cult sacrifices humans to please their Imp god and be summoned in the real world.

"Well… They have been attacking some mines recently. Particularly those ore deposits where osnium can be mined."

Felix then explained that the cult appears to be interested in this type of ore and the Mind Collection had, of course, guarded it with their powerful members.

Reiji nodded at this and didn't pry too much about it…

He noticed that there are four females from the five and found it quite surprising… After all, the attack that occurred in Farahn Village were all comprised of men. He had never seen a female cultist… 

Nevertheless, he just thought that the one giving them tasks might have thought of dividing them this way…

He also noticed that, unlike the male ones that are filled with tattoos on their bodies, these females do not have a single one on them… The only markings that would perhaps identify them as a member of the cult were their palms with strange patterns similar to Arcane Circles that Rufus was studying…

"Alright… Let me try…"

Anyway, these people deserve to be his slaves as he's unsure just how many humans they've sacrificed just to gain their notoriety…

Reiji used his Appraisal Skill on them and confirmed their Spiritual Energy units… It is such a convenient ability.

'Sword Slave Marker!'

Reiji activated the Marker and received a successful notification from the guide.

[ You have applied the Slave Marker to the target. ] 

[ Number of Sword Slaves: 2/5 ] 

After seeing the good news, he continued marking the remaining female cultists… He didn't take the robust male since his body screams that he's a cultist… 

Though if he wears long robes and hides his face, he would certainly hide his identity, however, as a servant, he can't hide his body forever…

"Master… Please give us your orders…"

Reiji smiled in satisfaction and looked at their status.

[ Name: Slave Two 

Spiritual Energy: 95 Units 

Status: Weakened, Increased Poison and Curse Resistance, Increased Sword Affinity ] 

[ Name: Slave Three

Spiritual Energy: 100 Units 

Status: Weakened, Increased Poison and Curse Resistance, Increased Sword Affinity ] 

[ Name: Slave Four

Spiritual Energy: 70 Units 

Status: Weakened, Increased Fear Resistance, Increased Sword Affinity ] 

[ Name: Slave Five

Spiritual Energy: 70 Units 

Status: Weakened, Increased Fear Resistance, Increased Sword Affinity ] 

Reiji found their status interesting… 

Two of them have Poison and Curse Resistance and the other two have Fear Resistance which can be quite useful… Although none of them has a higher Spiritual Energy Unit than Ruthren, they might be even more useful to him later on…

He then felt dizzy after using the Marker continuously but he still managed to thank Felix for letting him mark them as his slaves…

"By the way… Have you heard about the declaration of war?"

Felix suddenly asked.

Reiji was unaware of this but he immediately recalls the messenger hurrying to the Tower this morning… 

However, he didn't hear anything from the market and around the area about this war. It seems that it hasn't spread to everyone yet.

"Declaration of war? Tell me more about it."

"Sigh~ It is the Erliente Dukedom… I hope that it would be quickly settled…"

Felix sighed as he started sharing the information he heard from Rory.

The Erliente Dukedom and the Chodora Kingdom have a long history with each other. 

When the Kingdom was just starting to develop as the land was filled with various Evil Beast and Orcs, the royalty of the Kingdom asked for the assistance of the Dukedom in exchange for various Epic Arcana, Magic Items, Gold, and even rare materials… 

Aside from that, the Kingdom was also popular with its impressive Apothecarists… Their potions were something that even up until now is still being circulated around the kingdom and neighboring countries.

As for the Dukedom, they are known for their powerful cavalry and their enchanted steel… Although they only have a few Arcanists during that time, their cavalries would always instill fear in the opposing side.

The Dukedom of the west also has four major powers ruling their territory… The three Dukes and a Grand Duke ruling over them…

Apparently, the territory at the border of the Kingdom's western region is owned by the Grand Duke himself.

"What happened? How did this kingdom gain hostility from the Dukedom who assisted them?"

Reiji was curious to know…

"Well, I heard that after the successful subjugation of the Orcs and Evil Beasts to expand the land, the returning cavalry suffered an unknown sickness and all of them died... It was a huge loss for the Duchy… They barely had any casualties fighting the Orcs but their forces died from an unknown illness…"

Reiji nodded at this but realized that this is not enough reason to hate the Kingdom… After all, it is the sickness that killed them…

However, after thinking just for a little bit, he has drawn a conclusion…

"You said that the kingdom has skilled apothecarists at that time…" Reiji asked…

"Yes… Just like what you've thought, it seems that the kingdom has sabotaged their helpers."

Reiji sighed after confirming his guess… 

Nevertheless, what he was worried about is Stella who should've been staying in the Erliente Dukedom by now.