He used to receive a reaction of fear, doubt, and shock when he ever met anyone, but not William. And he didn't like such a kid and this awkward situation at all.
"I came to tell you about the most important dark spirit master bases in the region. I believe such information is something you need, right?"
This dark spirit master came here while knowing that William was oblivious to any of this. But least to his knowledge, William already got tipped off such bases before from the old fox's message.
Instead of showing any eagerness or excitement on his face, William kept his calm. He already had information about many enemy bases, yet such knowledge came from a long time ago.
Who knew, it might happen for many of these bases to not be there right now. And so, William decided to listen to him, and also to test out his real intentions.
If he came here to just deliver fake information over, then he was an enemy. If he delivered true information, then he'd still be an enemy.
No one, not any normal spirit masters at least, would be able to have such knowledge. If any normal spirit masters force had such intel, they'd not come to William and tell. Instead, they'd work over these bases themselves. The only ones who knew such information and would come to inform him like this were folks from the enemy. And according to the level of truth in his words, William could guess further beyond that.
"The enemy won't try to help me out unless there is some sort of big dispute in the middle of their ranks," William thought to himself. If the news this dark spirit master wanted to say were fake, then it might be explained as a move from the enemy to lure William to a trap.
But if the news were correct, then there was only one explanation for this, internal conflict. And that would mean huge news for William. So, it was all down to his next words.
Aside from that, William labelled him, the gem he found, as an enemy, one that he had to face and fight against one day. But that didn't mean William would drop his aim to get such a gem to his side.
If he was part of the enemy, then William would work slowly and take his time to kill this dark spirit master's leaders until he'd be a rogue spirit master. If by then he'd still be resistant to join him, then William would kill him. He'd prefer for no one to have such a scary talent as long as he'd not get it.
"Tell me then," William crossed his arms, "I'm all ears."
For a reason, that dark spirit master felt like he failed in impressing this kid. And for another reason, it felt like William knew a portion of what he was talking about. And that was something that Moore and his master never expected.
"There is a base in the hills in the northern east, fifty kilometres away from the fort…" But he came here to deliver such intel. And so he started to do his task, without beating around the bushes anymore, aiming to get done from here as fast as he could.
William attentively listened to what this gem came to say. And as expected, this gem provided true intel for him, mostly things he knew about.
Yet there was still more new intel that he didn't know. In total, he learnt about thirty enemy bases all over the region. And William felt that this dark spirit master didn't tell him everything.
That meant there were still more enemy bases than this actual number. But to William, it wasn't a big deal. After crushing a few of these bases, getting lots of prisoners from them, he'd get to know lots of information about other bases and enemy moves that he didn't know yet.
"That's it?" After Moore said everything he came for, the fog started to swirl. William knew it was a sign that this dream spirit master was cancelling his technique, releasing him from this dream world.
"What else? I told you the things I came here to say," Moore paused in his tracks, feeling more unease by William's yet to come words.
And he was right, as William made an offer that took him totally by surprise.
"I like you," William paused before suddenly adding, "what it takes to make someone like you work for me?"
"This…!!!" Moore was shocked beyond belief. He came here to try and trick William. And yet the poor sheep he sought out turned out to be a ferocious beast.
"I want you to work for me," William said what he wanted from this gem, "take the offer and think about it carefully. You got the way to contact me anyway, not the other way around. So, there is no harm in listening to what I'm going to say, right?"
Moore was feeling more surprised inside his mind. He even felt his spirit shake fiercely by William's words.
Recognising his spirit element was something, and knowing all the ins and outs about it was another. Seeing this dark spirit master remain silent, without even continuing to cancel the technique and go away, made William continue speaking.
"I won't promise you riches, as you can get whatever you want from your current master," William knew tempting this dark spirit master with riches wouldn't work, "but… As you can tell, I already know about your spirit element."
"Your point is?"
"I can guide you to experience things that you never imagined before…"
"No thanks, I'm good where I'm currently at!"
"Just let me continue what I wanted to say," William wasn't fazed when Moore interrupted him, "don't tell me I can't satisfy your long-awaited dream."
William even winked when he said that. And despite not saying anything, the one he was speaking with went into deep silence.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you didn't dream of feeling that excitement," William got Moore just exactly at the spot he wanted, "to feel the ecstasy of spilling your enemies' blood on your hands."
"..."