Monster cores? Gemstones? (4)

Gray gave the Master a stern look as Syndren waited for his reply. Almost as if to warn him that keeping such information secret would later result in some unsavory consequence, and the Master knew all too well what Gray was capable of.

"He's a part of the guild, mercenary or not. If we chase him out now, we would only be creating root for distrust in our relationship," replied the Master before gesturing for Syndren to go on with what he had to say.

"Very well then, if you're sure about this Master," replied Syndren looking at Gray with an annoyed expression before continuing.

"The Captain of the government officials in the area, Agent Ria, got a transmission from General Clifton yesterday. In it were details describing the production method of elixirs similar to those found in the item shop,"

"By using the gemstones as reagents, elixirs of subpar quality can be created. Their researchers have confirmed that the gemstones are a power source, however, this is the only method they currently have to utilize this power," explained Syndren, handing over the yellow file to the Master.

"I see, very well done Syndren. With this we can increase the strength of our forces exponentially, not only that but we can start a market for these elixirs, making them just a bit cheaper than the ones from the item shop," smiled the Master happily as he stroked his chin at the endless possibilities.

'Maybe forming an alliance with these guys was actually a blessing in disguise,' thought Gray as he walked a few steps towards the Master, prompting all the hooded figures in the room to pull out their weapons

"Calm down," said the Master gesturing for all his subordinates to drop their weapons.

"It's okay, put away the gun," said Gray as well, gesturing for Tesse to put away the gun that she had pulled out exactly when the subordinates pointed their weapons at Gray.

"Since we're in a partnership and all, I'm guessing giving me a copy of the production method isn't too much to ask now is it?" asked Gray, a smile on his face as he looked at the Master with greed in his eyes.

"How dare y-" Syndren was about to shout in outrage however the Master raised his hand in gesture for him to stop.

"Unfortunately, even with our partnership, that's impossible. Information like this is too precious to hand over to someone who isn't a full member of our guild," replied the Master calmly, looking back at Gray with cold eyes.

"Very well then. However making elixirs for me shouldn't be a problem since that doesn't require you giving me the secret to your elixir," said Gray, still trying to involve himself in this new gold mine however way possible.

"Of course we can, at a price," smiled the Master, looking at Gray with the same greed Gray had in his eyes earlier.

"No can do, remember the details of our contract. I get everything from you guys free of charge, dungeon information, as well as this," replied Gray, a smile on his face as he continued the negotiations.

'To think that this brat is negotiating with the Master,' thought Syndren, the idea of it all too absurd for him to comprehend.

"Hmm, I had forgotten about that little detail. However this wasn't a resource we had during the signing of that agreement, as such you can't expect us to give you elixirs completely free of charge." replied the Master, his smile slowly disappearing as he realized that Gray wouldn't easily let go of this.

"Then how about we come to a compromise. Since I have no use for these gemstones, how about you produce elixirs for me free of charge, but I provide the gemstones so that you only have to pay for the cost of production," said Gray, the smile on his face getting wider.

"Hmm, this doesn't sound so bad. We will discuss the exact details at a later stage, for now we have a deal." said the Master before shifting in his chair.

"Now moving on to other pressing matters. We are going to be holding a ruin raid in two days, an E-difficulty ruin raid to be exact."

"Two other guilds will be joining us in the raid. A guild called the Hephaestus guild, they mainly consist of summoner type members with a few other members of augmentation and armament class."

"And a guild called the Riot guild. Which doesn't seem to have a specific class of members." said the Master as one of the two subordinates standing behind him held out the document from which he was reading.

"Anyways, although we are all going there with the goal of completing the raid, I want you guys to be on guard. No one can be trusted."

"The attack force will consist of Gray's group, accompanied by Amos, Arena, Trent, and Eino. Since the raid only allows twenty people I can only send a maximum of seven," as the Master was talking he noticed the displeased expression on Syndren's face, prompting him to halt his explanation.

"I would've put you on the attack force, however now that information about these gemstones has been discovered, I need you to stay at the government headquarters and continue to survey any information they might recieve."

"This is a job only you can do, I hope you understand Syndren," said the Master before continuing his explanation.

For the next two minutes, the Master told the group everything that the information guild had acquired on the other guilds that were accompanying them, in case things got dodgy.

"Okay, that's all. You guys will meet at the Central Plaza at 19:00 in two days. Don't be late," said the Master as his subordinates handed files containing the ruin details to all the members of the attack force.

"Gray you can leave behind your gemstones and we will convert them into elixirs for you. Of course, the rates can only be negotiated once we are sure of how much will be used during the production process," said the Master right before Gray was about to leave.