Birth Of The Crafts-God

The notification message inviting Lucas for the exceptional basis exam had granted him a three day pass in the Central Prefecture district. As this was the first time he was here -not counting his arrest- Lucas decided to make the most out of the time and visited a bunch of places.

Finally on the third day, Lucas departed the district.

'The difference between the Central Prefecture district and the West Wing district is really large. Not even considering the difference in air quality, the technological advancements and prices alone are quite scary.'

Lucas sighed at the situation as he stepped into the light-rail train departing the district.

'Still on me, huh?'Nôv(el)B\\jnn

A few steps behind Lucas, one man approached the same train. He wasn't the only one as there were a few others doing the same, but Lucas could clearly sense something different from him.

Firstly, most of those leaving the Central Prefecture district were visitors, as the denizens rarely had any reason to do so. It was like comparing a first and third world country. Citizens of the latter would often migrate to the former, but you barely spot a situation where the opposite occurs.

Second, the majority of visitors who arrived into the Central Prefecture district recently and were departing exactly at this time were those who participated in the exceptional basis exam. In other words, they were all either vestige-smiths or vestige-smiths in training. Being one himself, Lucas could easily differentiate people like him from normal folks in a single glance.

The third was that the man's stellar energy level was much higher and stronger than the others. It was like the difference between a layman and an expert.

Apart from the man directly behind Lucas, there was also someone else with a similar build by the side.

'Two, huh?' Lucas thought.

He could easily guess where they were from.

After the incident with Ramirez's gang and the terrorist attack on the students, the Red Fangs had hunted down the underground gangs, but Ramirez managed to escape with his group. The Red Fangs then placed Lucas under their secret surveillance in hopes that Ramirez would target Lucas. If that happened, they would now be able to track him down.

However, Lucas didn't like being bait for someone else's plan. Most of all, he knew that Ramirez wouldn't easily fall for this. At the very least, there had to be no one monitoring him for that plan to work. But if that happened, the Red Fangs wouldn't be able to track Ramirez down.

Nonetheless, Lucas had his own plans.

The ride back to the West Wing district was smooth and without trouble. When it was time to depart, Lucas came down from the train but didn't head back to his store. Instead, he decided to visit an old 'friend'; the manager at the Vinis pawnshop.

The two agents carefully followed after him, but unbeknownst to them, Lucas was already aware of this. In fact, he intended to make use of their presence to aid his plans.

. . .

"Welcome to the Vinis pawnshop." The clerk greeted Lucas as she saw him arrive. Unlike most stores, the Vinis pawnshop still hired hyumans.

The clerk stared at Lucas, not finding him familiar which was understandable as she wasn't the one who attended to Lucas at his first visit. Regardless, she managed to notice something different about him.

'A human?' She thought as she recalled an instruction from her boss when she was recently hired.

"Jenny, if a human with black hair, black eyes and a somewhat handsome yet cold face comes around, let us know. Take a look at his image and keep it memorised in your head."

'I think he fits the description.' Jenny the clerk thought as she compared Lucas' appearance to the image she was shown then.

"How can I help you today?"

She sneakily clicked a button hidden under the desk.

"I need to speak with the manager. I think his name is Kalvin Petri." Lucas said.

"Do you have a reservation?" Jenny asked.

"You should already know who I am so let's cut to the chase. Call the manager for me." Lucas stared at her.

Jenny froze and was filled with fear. For some reason, she felt that the eyes of Lucas was like that of a beast.

"O, ok." She nodded and prepared to leave.

But just then, footsteps were heard from the staircase close by as a middle-aged man descended from them.

"What's the rush, dear customer?"

A man with a silver hair appeared and smiled at Lucas.

Although he had never met him before, Lucas could guess that the middle-aged man was Kalvin Petri, his target for this visit.

"Let's have a conversation in my office, shall we?" Kalvin invited Lucas.

"Sure."

The duo left and walked towards the staircase. Staircases were almost nonexistent, being entirely replaced by escalators and elevators, but the Vinis pawnshop seemed to not be interested in that. In fact, the entire interior decor of the store was somewhat antique compared to the standards of other stores.

"The owner is a man whose tastes are, unique." Kalvin said as he noticed Lucas' curious looks.

In a short time, the duo reached the office and both took a seat.

"I'm surprised you came over." Kalvin smiled as he began to make tea.

"Lies like this don't work on me. You should have seen this coming."

Kalvin chuckled, "That's right."

"So, what is it you wanted to see me for?"

Lucas didn't answer right away, picking a cup of tea that had been poured out by Kalvin and take a whiff of its steaming scent.

"Haven't you wondered how the assassin you sent after me had died?"

The atmosphere suddenly went quiet.

"Haha. I don't know what you mean." Kalvin laughed.

"I told you, such lies don't work on me." Lucas calmly sipped from the cup.

"...indeed. I've been wondering how he went down." Kalvin said.

"You drank from the cup; weren't you scared of being poisoned to death?" Kalvin suddenly asked.

"You wouldn't dare." Lucas replied without any emotion as he took another sip.

"And why's that?" Kalvin curiously asked.

Glancing at him, Lucas replied, "Unless you want to die as well."

"Haha. That's the first time I've had anyone threaten me like this before." Kalvin chuckled before switching up abruptly.

"Hey kid, do you know who you're talking to?"

"I do actually. Kalvin Petri, originally I didn't know much about you, but I found out something in recent times. The Petri family, it's a pretty influential family based in the Central Prefecture district,right? Not that I care either way."

Kalvin froze.

The Petri family might not be big or powerful like the Oder or the Mertens, but from the fact that they were based in the Central Prefecture district, it was obvious that they were wealthy and not your average family. However, despite knowing this, Lucas was unbothered by this fact. It could only mean one thing.

"What do you want?"