21 Caine Smith 1 (2/2)

Edward then asked if he would stand against Coalition forces to achieve his goals.

Caine straightened and his expression became closed as he answered that for Coalition forces, he is unable to give an answer for the time being. After pausing a moment, with his eyes blazing he stated in an even tone that he will not raise a hand against the MagiTech institute nor the Magi order and that will not change even in the future.

”Fair enough,” Edward replied as he took a draught of the beer.

At the side, Tiffany was nodding after Caine's words.

Edward inquired as to why the mage pair was operating in the Astrea Empire's holdings instead of the Eastern Coalition's.

Caine drew out a pouch and summoned two sheafs of parchment. As he unrolled it, Edward saw that it was a map of Astrea Empire's holdings in the outer realm with various markings on it.

”The blue markings indicates where demon spider queens have been spotted.” Caine replied as his fingers traced the markings. The red circle here shows where a dark iron deposit is found.”

Caine then unrolled the second parchment. There was no red markings and much fewer blue markings. ”This is the map I have on the Eastern Coalition's, the mercenary guild at the Coalition's holdings assured me that it was in a similar state to the Dynasty's”

Edward was nodding like a fan at a blood sports match where the gladiator just scored a great mark.

”Any plans for contracting an appropriate spirit beast?”

”The hunter who aims at everything, aims at nothing. I selected the beast core as it has the highest odds in my opinion.” replied Edward as he rolled the parchments.

”Without an army behind one's back, it is not advisable to approach a spirit beast tribe,” Tiffany piped up in a jovial manner.

”It appears that we are out of beer. Give me a moment, I will go get some of the finest draughts the inn have available.” Caine took the jug and headed for the back.

As Caine left and headed to the counter, Tiffany and Edward chatted, ”Hey Tiffany, I noticed you looked a uncomfortable when I asked Edward if he could control 100 golems earlier. Is there anything I was missing? He is a regular golem mage, right?”

Tiffany sighed and had a morose expression before replying ”Tif will do, Tiffany sounds so stately. What Caine is not saying is that compared to normal mages, Caine is born with a weaker aether core than most. His rating is 3 compared to the average 7 of a mage. It is considered a faux pas amongst the magi community to talk about a mage's Aether core rating especially if the other party has a low rating.”

”I am sure you can imagine what sort of encounters he would have had in the magi community with his Aether core rating. I would appreciate if you could bear this in mind when discussing core rating matters with him.” Tiffany said as she drained her mug.

”Huh, what did you say about rating? I appear to be suffering from short-term memory loss.” Edward acted lost.

A crystal clear laughter like tinkling bells resounded from Tiffany.

”I am back, hope you two did not wait too long for the drinks,” Caine said as he set the jug on the table. ”Where were we?”

Edward sat up straight in his chair as he related that he was creating a new branch of special forces company under the directive of Aureus. Edward asked if Caine had any special capabilities as a golem mage, something that can be considered for employment as the company has an opening for a golem mage.

Before Caine could reply, Edward added that a grade 5 spider queen core was not out of the question as a price for hire.

Caine and Tiffany's brows raised as they heard Edward, they exchanged incredulous looks with each other. Edward suspected that had he not shown proof that he was a retainer of Aureus, those two may have taken him as a clown and dismissed him.

Still carrying an incredulous look, Caine stated that he was close to being a grandmaster in golem artificing. Top 3 in the outer realm in that aspect.

”More like number one,” Tiffany said from the side.Caine carried on by listing that his bloodline ability allows him to manipulate aether far better than most mages resulting in a high level of control for golem manipulation. He added that control dilution will happen when more golems are added but it is nothing that time and training will not fix.

”What is your forecasted strength as a golem mage should you gain the spider queen core?” Edward was peering at Caine now.

”The strongest golem mage in the outer realm until the gates reopen,” Caine replied as he crossed his legs.

”Would you pledge allegiance to Prince Aureus if he can procure said core or the appropriate spirit beast within a year?”

Caine looked stunned at Edward's offer.

”Hey, hey can I get a grade 5 salamander core while you are at it?” Tiffany asked from the side while waving one of her hands in an animated manner.

Edward looked bemused as he replied, ”What distinctive abilities do you have? Would you pledge allegiance to Prince Aureus?”