Chapter 106 Not Soul Artist

"Hmmm? What do you mean?" Number One questioned with raised eyebrows. "Did you happen to take a mission to kill those Sand Bandits?"

"Yeah and we took it today morning," Captain Jack replied happily while stepping in to see the bloodbath. "We heard you are coming to the main Academy so we decided to meet you halfway and escort you. We took this mission to complete it on the way but you beat us to it."

Captain Jack then gazed at Nami and Luna who still wielded their Soul Swords before suggesting, "Ladies, do you wish to join us? There is always a place for strong individuals in our team."

Number One already considered the three of them as unity so wherever he went, they would follow as well. The girls made it clear by walking up and holding onto Number One's arm. "We are Number One's team."

"Perfect," Captain Jack commented and whistled towards the exit. "Do you need help in looting this place? I heard those bastards stole your Soul Crystals."

Number One only chuckled and nodded, "Some of them might be still alive so careful. One already stabbed me."

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It felt good to be working with someone as competent as Captain Jack who could read the situation without many words. Before they knew it, the Hunting Team came through and helped with the ransacking of the whole area. They helped him collect all the Orange Crystals that were stolen and much more.

"You can take the rest of the goods and sell everything. We can split the money afterward," Number One proposed as he transferred all the crystals into one Storage Ring. There were at least fifty or sixty rings in a pile and Number One didn't have the connections or the time to handle it.

"That's settled. We will also extract all the Vultures too and sell what we can on the market. The meat of the Heaven Rank beast should fetch a nice price," Captain Jack commented as he patted Number One on the back. "Are you planning on heading to the Academy now?"

Number One only wanted the Soul Crystals so he was about to agree but the hideout turned out to have much more to offer.

"Sir! We found a hidden passage!"

The report coming from one of the rooms gained Number One's attention and they followed to see what was going on. The room had nothing special besides a bed, a few drawers, and a wooden crate that was just pulled away from the wall. It revealed a small hole that led deeper into the depths of the mountain.

"It seems like someone dug it by hand as no explosions were used," Captain Jack pointed out while looking through the hole. "Maybe that's a backup exit the bandits made in case of emergency?"

"We won't know until we find out," Number One commented as he didn't hesitate to get on his knees. "Wait for me, I will check it out."

"I can send someone else instead," Captain Jack proposed but Number One already crawled inside before Captain Jack finished speaking. It seemed like he was the only one who noticed the peculiar smell that was coming out of the hole.

Number One had stumbled upon an old Essence Stones mine in the past and he still remembered the metallic aftertaste it left in his mouth. He confirmed his guess after breathing in the tunnel and having a similar experience.

It took Number One at least a minute to reach the other exit and he immediately brightened at the Green glow illuminating the cave. What he didn't expect was an instant begging coming from the dark corner. "Please! Don't kill me! I'm not a bandit!"

Number One came out of the narrow tunnel and activated his Soul Vision to see an old man with a white pickaxe in his hands. To make it even more surprising, it wasn't a normal metal pickaxe but instead a Soul Weapon in the shape of it.

"White Talent with a Soul Pickaxe?" Number One commented with a dumbfounded expression. "How did you do it?"

The Green Essence Stones momentarily dropped in priority as the man in front of him did the impossible. They were both White Talent yet his Soul Weapon was firm without any fluctuations.

"This?" the old man muttered while displaying his pickaxe. "My metal pickaxe broke almost thirty years ago so I just tried using my Soul Energy and it formed into a pickaxe. I have been using it since then and it has never failed me."

The old man slowly walked up while raising his arms to surrender and pleaded again, "Please don't kill me. I am just an old miner and I have been here long before those bandits came and turned this cavern into a hideout. You can check my Storage Ring. All I have is food, water, and clean clothes. The rest of the space is full of ore I collected the past week."

The old man seemed honest but Number One still caught the ring that was thrown at him. It was uncommon that a White Talent was in possession of a Green Storage Ring but it wasn't that surprising knowing they were in a Green Essence Stone mine. He must have collected them for a while and found an Artifact Crafter to make him one.

"That's a lot of nice ore you got there," Number One commented as he inspected the ring. It was filled with perfect Green Essence Stones that were stuck in hard bedrock.

"Thank you, I have only been collecting the best pieces since I have limited space," the old man replied kindly. "My wife will get mad if I bring her any cracked fragments since they can't be used for Artifacts. She is the one who made this ring for me."

The old man recalled his Soul Pickaxe and questioned, "You believe me, right? I really mean no harm."

"Don't worry, you are safe as long as you don't try anything funny," Number One replied as he threw the ring back to the old man. "I might be ruthless at times but I don't kill the innocent."

Number One would only resort to killing if it was necessary to achieve his goals. He needed the Poisonous Toad Leaves so the Twin Alchemists could only die if they didn't hand it over. The old man only had Essence Stones in his possession and the mine had plenty of them.

"You are a really kind young man. There are not many left like you," the old man acknowledged with a satisfied nod. "If it was any of those Soul Academies they would definitely take my ring away and kill me in a worst-case scenario."

"Actually, I am from the Winged Soul Academy but don't worry, the people that came with me won't do anything to you," Number One assured. "We might even let you work for us if you are willing."

The old man widened his eyes at the proposal. "Are you serious? Doesn't the Academy have enough people to mine this place? Why would they hire an old man with a White Talent?"

Number One only smiled as it was indeed a very unlikely scenario. The world was unfair and there were no rules about ownership. A powerful entity could take over any place as long as they were strong enough to control it. Even if the old man owned this mine for decades, they could either forcefully take it or pay him a small sum to silence him.

The killing was also an option and it was, unfortunately, the most commonly picked one.

"Since we discovered this place first, my team will be the one benefiting from it, not the Academy," Number One replied as he finally called for Captain Jack to come over. He already expected there were rules about sharing any such discoveries with the Academy but his status as an Alchemist allowed him to avoid the rules.

"If that is really possible, I would love to continue working," the old man pointed out without hesitation. "I have been mining this place for many years and I only cleared a fraction of it. I didn't want to cooperate with anyone since that would alarm the Academy. We could also keep the prices high by limiting the supply of Green Essence Stones. The wouldn't be as rare if we flooded the market."

The old man seemed to know what he was doing which made this exchange even more pleasing. Number One pursed his lips and added, "There is another reason why I want to hire you."

Number One didn't say anything else and simply displayed his Soul Energy at the top of his palm. The old man quickly opened his mouth in surprise as he released his own. "You are a White Talent too! How did you become a Soul Artist with a White Talent? I heard that's impossible."

Now it was Number One's turn to be taken aback. "Didn't you already become one? I'm confused."

"Oh, I'm not a Soul Artist. I'm just a simple mortal, not like my wife who can fight Soul Beasts if she wants to. If I were to be attacked by one like those Black Vultures, I would definitely die," the old man explained as he formed his pickaxe in a blink of an eye. "All I have is this pickaxe which I use to mine. I only used it a few times to kill a few bats but that doesn't make me a Soul Artist."

"..." Number One was speechless at how stable the old man's Soul Energy was. He didn't even need a second to form his Soul Pickaxe and it was ready to use.

"What? I'm serious. Even my wife told me I am not a Soul Artist and I should never become one," the old man added while swinging his pickaxe as if it was a sword. "Actually, I remember she also told me not to show my pickaxe to anyone. I hope I won't be in trouble with your Soul Academy."

Number One took a deep breath and explained, "A Soul Artist isn't someone who can battle Soul Beasts but someone who can perform Soul Arts. Your pickaxe is actually a Soul Weapon that many Soul Artists struggle to form. Just this alone makes you a Soul Artist."

The old man got stunned as Number One continued, "You are a White Talent and you can master Soul Arts which shows you have potential to be a Soul Artist. Can you tell me how you did it?"