Vengeance of the Returner

"Welcome, Mr.Nix!"

Rafila welcomed with a smile on her face standing inside her office. Since he came to her clan house to report his mission.

Nix nodded his head and went straight to the topic without wasting any time.

"So...I am here to report."

"Yes..." she nodded her head and opened a file and gave a pen. For some reason, she seemed kind of tensed up and anxious.

Nix grabbed the pen and began writing everything he could while skipping some parts about the angel he had under his custody. He chose to let it be an open secret, as Helina already knew that Nix took Zariniel with him.

He finished writing and stared at her for a few seconds making her flinch and uncomfortable.

"So, Ms. Rafila, mind explaining a few things?"

"Sure, Mr.Nix"

He dropped the pen and looked at her eyes and said.

"I want to know who assigned this mission."

"That's confidential plus it was clearly mentioned prior to accepting the mission." She said indifferently.

"Well, That's that. Why are you so uncomfortable it's like you have something in your mind... "

As though he suddenly remembered something, his eyes glimmered giving Rafila a slight surge of anxiety.

"Ahh! Forgot to ask! I requested you to take care of my clan members but you messed it up."

Now, the reason for Rafila's anxiousness was clear. She was disturbed about how to apologize or talk about it.

She bowed her head and began talking in a low tone.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss..."

At that moment Nix gave her a sinister smile and said.

"It's fine Mrs.Rafila. I get it. It's quite tough... But, I need compensation for the loss..."

Rafila clearly realized what Nix wanted and began to talk with a serious look.

"Thanks for understanding but, what would you like as compensation..."

"Firstly I want to know where you got the tools that you gave me."

"We have a dual-class wielder, an alchemic craftsman," Rafila said with a smile.

"Hmm, I hope you understand why I am coming in a roundabout way."

Nix said, staring at her eyes.

He needed those tools and he was planning to hire members plus Cinzia told him that it is hard to hire new ones so he decided to hire members from her clan under a contract since it is one of the safest ways. He took this chance to get new members. After all, he already mentioned it to Cinzia prior to visiting Requiem.

"It'd be nice to get to the point as you always do Mr.Nix,"  she said with a hideous smirk.

"How much for that dual-class wielder and Helina?"

Rafila knew that Nix looted Havenkat's business firm's treasure as such she already knew he had a lot to offer from Helina.

She took out two files from her drawer. Opened it and placed it on the table for Nix to go through and began talking. 

"I can only let one of our clan members out of our clan."

Nix quietly went through some details plus the terms and conditions for hiring them.

He didn't say anything other than saying. "How much?"

"Five thousand G coins for the level three dual-class wielder."

No matter what it was a huge sum. Nix just gave her a nod and called out for Gunther who was waiting in the carriage with a small case opposite the entrance of the requiem clan house.

"Here boss!"

He said cheerful and dropped the case inside Rafila's office with a cocky smirk on his face as though he was proud of his clan lord.

"Hundred platinum coins for Helina and the Dual class wielder."

Rafila couldn't help but be surprised. She was dumbstruck by his offer. One P coin equals 100 G coins as such a hundred P coin is equal to ten thousand G coins. She thought Nix could lay his hands on a few things and attained a great fortune looting from Havenkat but, she didn't expect it to be this much. If he were able to offer this much, then he might as well have more than that.

Well, the economical system was complex and messy between the outlaws' factions. Outlaws get fortunate enough to hit the jackpot and sometimes they starve. The royal council doesn't give a fuck about outlaws very much. Anyway, It's not like they give a fuck about their own people. They milk money from people regardless of their social standing in the name of tax as such, they could care less about the complexity in their economy. 

"Hundred platinum coins will be accepted for getting Helina but, if you want two members you'd need to pay two hundred coins..."

Meaning he'd have to pay twenty thousand gold coins. Anyone would be greedy for money, so it was nothing special to fret about but Nix nodded his head and called Gunther again. This time he placed an, even more, bigger case.

"Alright, Two hundred platinum coins... Do we have a deal?"

Nix asked casually. Ever since entering Empyrean he never cared about money since he was able to always plunder money efficiently. Plus he didn't precisely know the value since he was always handling a huge sum.

But Rafila knew about it, No matter what, her clan can even open up a business firm with such a huge amount since a Mid-tier clan possessing coins above ten thousand coins is considered a prosperous one. Maybe her clan can be considered one of the richest mid-tier clans in Dracton. According to merchants and people from a rich household, it's just a mediocre level of wealth but, for the commanders and weak clans, it was indeed a huge sum.

"Deal!"

She said with a smile and shook hands with him.

Getting into an alliance with Transgressors was one of the decisions that she didn't regret.

After that, they signed a few documents, and Helina and the dual-class wielders packed their packed luggage to join Transgressors. They were contracted by Nix for the next three years to put it simply since they are not slaves for him to consider buying them. The Pay was directly given to the clan that owned them to do Nix his favors.

Nix signed the last page he had to and rose from his seat.

"Mr.Nix if you don't mind can I ask a question?"

"Yeah sure?"

"Why did you identify yourself as the black revolutionary?"

"Hmm, Just thought it might be helpful in the future... Plus tell that grey masked guy I owe him one,"

"He died there..."

"I see it's a pity."

He said and turned back to the exit where three people were seated inside the carriage.

"I am Aizen the Alchemy craftsman. Thanks for hiring me Lord nix."A guy wearing circular framed specs said.

Nix nodded his head and quietly observed him with the truth eye.

He seemed like one of the mad scientists who'd mess things up. Yup, you guessed it right! He seemed kind of sus. Well most outlaws are kinda messed up and suspicious, so Nix didn't find anything bad. Aizen possessed black slick long hair while wearing a khaki coat. Next to him was Helina who had a grim expression yet slightly flushed cheeks.

"Thank you for hiring me, lord Nix." She greeted him with a smile on her face.

"I hope you'll be dedicated and feel free to ask for things needed."

Nix was very much interested in hiring the alchemist. After using his tool, his interests in the craftsman behind it piqued. As a result, he didn't even doubt him for a bit and quickly grabbed the chance and after using his truth eye on him his expectations of him surged high.

He sent them off to the clan house and decided to venture around the city for a while and decided to visit the city's library.

No matter what he was self-taught. He had to learn things by himself even if it was hard. If he reached a point where he can't grow he'd need to approach a mentor for sure though.

He entered the library paying a few copper coins and began to go through a few shelves until one book piqued his interest.

It was a thick old battered book. The title of the book was Mana cores. He was very much in need of learning about his own mana core and the other different cores.

[Mana Transmission]

He mumbled reading the title. As he skimmed through it, he found a few interesting facts and an illustration of a circle.

Mana transmission is similar to a circle since it doesn't go out of its boundary and encircles around the body. It is the most commonly possessed core.

Mana transmission is like a buff. It can make the user strong but it cannot be used to disturb the external factors. It can only be used to help to improvise the physical strength and buff using attributes and release it.

'Hmm, This is something I can do too...I need the specific use of my core.'

He mumbled while skimming the unnecessary topics.

'Mana integration, Tch I already know about this...' He muttered and went to the next page.

"Mana Devastation? isn't this what Nagendra possesses?"

He mumbled after laying his eyes upon the title and began to read.

[Mana Devastation]

It is one of the extremely rare Mana cores. It has a high destructive capacity and matches the capabilities of Mana Manipulation. 

'Fucking bullshit! How can someone be this fortunate?'

Nix couldn't help but feel envious of Nagendra. That guy was naturally gifted unlike him who had to go through a hard path. It was indeed very unfair. A normal person would strive to attain a simple power level while these naturally gifted people achieve it at ease.

'Fuck that...'

Nix muttered and drew his eyes to the next side of the page.

Under the title were multiple dots and circles close to each other yet they were drawn in a way that they didn't connect or touch each other.

It is named Devastation for its destructive ability. One can make the mana around them go havoc like bombs as everything contains mana. The user cannot connect with each object mutually but the mana of an individual object can be disturbed. You can assume it like making a balloon blast from within. They cannot move the mana in it nor separate it.

They could use their environment and use them to their advantage. To put it simply they can identify mana and release it with a greater level of force like a bomb. But the thing to be noted here is that it is highly recommended to use it considering the capacity of the user's mana core in the account. 

'Hmm, this is op...'

He had to admit it. It was really an impeccable cheat. His eyes sparkled in anticipation after he laid on the next page with the title he was searching for.

[Mana Manipulation]