'There can be only one explanation for why they seem so assured and at ease. ' Shadow Messenger thought.
"Could the master you mention be connected to the item holder who resides in that apartment room?" He raised a trembling hand and pointed to Raydon's house, whose door he had just knocked on.
''Our master probably lives there,'' Karan confirmed with a nod.
''Hell, even our enemy knows more about our master than we do.'' Spitting on the ground, Fatty Sami said. They were aware that Raydon lived in this neighborhood, but they had not conducted a thorough investigation in order to avoid tension and panic. Besides, it would be impolite to question where his house is behind Raydon's back; he would have told them if he wanted to.
There was an increase in the intensity of the Shadow Messenger's trembling body. 'So it's not his apprentice Raydon but rather himself who is residing in this apartment? Are you kidding me? Did I just knock on the door of a high-ranking item holder and, on top of that, attack his other apprentices on his doorstep? '
The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. He had only come to see Raydon to deliver a message, and he had believed that he was the only person who lived here, so the news he had just heard had plunged him into a pit of despair.
But he didn't know, he got everything wrong. He assumed that the person referred to as master by Dan and the others was not Raydon, but rather the high-rank item holder behind Raydon.
He consequently believed that this high-rank item holder was not only Raydon's master, but also the master of Dan and the others who were in front of him.
*Plop*
The Shadow messenger suddenly collapsed to the ground and started kowtowing and shouting in front of everyone's shocked eyes.
''My apologies, please forgive me, I had no idea you were his apprentices. I came here specifically to deliver a message to him. I swear I didn't mean to cause any trouble. ''
Shadow Messenger was shouting as loudly as he could as though he was trying to get someone's attention. He knew that what he had done was completely unforgivable. He was well aware of the egotistical superiority complexes that high-ranking item holders had, and they would kill anyone without hesitation to protect their reputation.
Dan and the others gaped in confusion as they continued to stare at the Shadow Messenger for a while. Just moments before, this incredibly powerful man had rendered them all defenseless with a single skill, but now he was kneeling before them and pleading for forgiveness.
'Isn't Master far too powerful? The mere mention of his name is sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of all who hear it. ' Everyone's awe for Raydon's might has increased once more.
"Heh, where has your superior air gone now? A short while ago, you were threatening to kill us. Gaghg… '' Fatty Sami approached the still-kneeling Shadow Messenger and was about to kick him when Dan grabbed him by the collar.
''You just stated that you were here to deliver a message to the master. Is this true?'' Dan took a step forward and inquired. He reasoned that since he shuddered in terror at the mere mention of Raydon's name, he absolutely lacked the guts to attack him.
'So, we really misunderstood him, huh?' Dan thought with a sigh.
''Y-yes, I'm definitely just here to deliver a message, and p-please believe me, I have no bad intentions.'' When the Shadow Messenger saw the hope that the misunderstanding would be resolved, he immediately lifted his head and began to explain himself.
''So that was the case. Since you were wearing a mask and looked suspicious, we assumed that you had come to assassinate the master. '' Karan said.
''Assassinate a high-rank? Me? No, no, no, no. '' When he heard these words, he immediately shook his head and frantically denied them.
''High-rank?'' Fatty Sami inquired, raising his eyebrows. They were familiar with the general information about item holders, but they had no idea what high-rank meant.
''Isn't your master a high-rank item holder? You guys are his apprentices, right? Don't you know what rank he is? '' Shadow Messenger inquired oddly. Because they were so few in number, high-ranking item holders did not need to conceal their levels or ranks. That's also how Raydon was able to find out Fang's rank and level in the item shop before since he wasn't wearing a glove.
''Huh? We're his apprentices? '' Pana was surprised and turned to look at Dan for an answer. Although Raydon had trained them, they believed he had only done so out of empathy. They questioned whether he saw them as his apprentices.
''I believe we are, but I'm not sure. It's only been a few days since he started training us, and I'm the only one who has become an item holder.'' Dan said after some thought.
Karan and the others hung their heads in shame as they heard Dan's words. They blamed themselves and felt worthless because, despite Raydon's training, they were unable to awaken as an item holder.
On the other hand, the Shadow Messenger was in shock, in contrast to their current feelings.
''You became an item holder in just a few days? What the hell? '' he exclaimed, stunned by what he was hearing.
What he had believed a while back, that Dan had gotten lucky and awakened by releasing his own limited potential, seemed more plausible to him. Because there was a great difference between those who were trained and awakened by learning a technique and those who awakened themselves by unleashing their limited potential during life-or-death situations.
Given that titles are determined by a person's potential and character, the title obtained as a result of awakening by using all of their limited potentials without any training or learning techniques would be the weakest.
That's why, in Raydon's previous matches, his teammates thought it was impressive that he became an item holder despite coming from the slum, but they also thought his title was useless and he was weak.