"So, we have confirmed your result and you are truly the victor this time." The commander presented a few documents as well as a card. "This is the card for the cash prize, while these documents are for the super injections. There are a total of seven documents that will act as a voucher for you guys. You just have to go to Essence Bank to exchange for the super injection."
"Thank you, Commander." Clovis politely nodded his head.
"Also, this is the compensation for the snake." The commander took out a small glass cylinder.
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They noticed a small crystal inside the cylinder. "Isn’t this a Beast Soul?"
"This is Tier 1 Beast Soul coming from Thylacine Species. You have to wait until you are Tier 1 to utilize it properly, but once you reach Tier 1, you will unleash an extraordinary grip strength that could actually tear apart your opponent. I hope that this is enough to compensate you guys for the snake.
After all, I have to admit that the snake’s appearance is because of the military’s blunder for failing to protect the competition arena."
Clovis also lost the remaining special bullets that his grandfather left behind, meaning that he wouldn’t be able to do anything if he encountered another problem like this.
Still, Clovis smiled at him and received it. "I understand. Let’s not talk about the snake anymore."
"Thank you." The commander nodded, satisfied. "Since it’s already dark, I believe you guys should go to Essence Bank and make an appointment for tomorrow. After that, condition yourself for the injection. It’s going to be hard for you guys after all."
"There is something that I’d like to ask before we close this matter for good." Clovis raised his hand. "I’m sure that the snake’s appearance is not a natural one, right? Is it related to the military?"
The commander shook his head. "I can understand that you suspect us, but I can assure you that this is not related to the military. We believe that the egg of this snake was the cause, but we couldn’t find more. We suspect that there is a great power or powerful group that is trying to mess with the competition.
"I think I can tell you this… The competition was urged by the higher-ups. That was why we couldn’t make a perfect rule to avoid your kind of way of ’cheating,’ since we didn’t have a lot of time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my jurisdiction to know everything behind the scenes, so I could only say, ’Please be careful.’"
Clovis let out a sigh. It seemed that his suspicion was correct. The snake was coming for him, and this competition was a bait.
For one reason or another, it didn’t seem that these people took action personally. After all, if they sent an assassin to him, there was no way he could do anything.
So, from the looks of it, there must be a reason why they had to kill him by using beasts.
"I understand. Thank you for the information, Commander." Clovis nodded with a smile.
The commander stood up and said, "Congratulations for winning the competition." Without wasting any more time, the commander left the room.
His behavior looked a bit suspicious, considering it would be more normal if he actually chatted about some useless stuff before leaving.
Clovis said, "I guess we’re done here."
"Yeah. We will get 2 super injections each, but you have to get 3 injections, Clovis. You surely won’t reject, right?" Kanaria stared at him as if she didn’t want to receive a ’no’ for an answer.
Even Jay nodded his head, agreeing with her.
"Alright, alright. I understand." Clovis sighed, having no other choice but to accept it. "By the way, let’s go to Essence Bank right now and make an appointment. I also want to sell the essence I got from this competition."
Jay couldn’t help but recall his conversation with Kanaria yesterday night.
Clovis and Kanaria were sleeping in the tent with a curtain separating them. After a while, Kanaria woke up and sneakily came outside to meet Jay.
"Kanaria? Can’t sleep?" Jay raised his eyebrows before noticing Kanaria’s serious gaze.
"Jay. I want to talk about something."
While wrapping himself in a blanket, he listened to Kanaria’s request. "So, you want to sell the essence in a way that Clovis could utilize it?"
"Yeah. Clovis tried to divide it evenly despite his contribution being the highest. But since he doesn’t want to accept it, I’m thinking about accepting it evenly but with a little trick.
"Elaborate."
"We currently divide our loot into four, right? Us three and the group’s fund. I am thinking about splitting half of our portion for the group fund, meaning we will only get an eighth of the original portion while the group fund gets a total of fifty percent."
"I don’t have any problem with it. If needed, we can use the group fund to buy some essence for us to improve." Jay nodded in understanding.
"Yeah. That’s what I’m thinking about. Special bullets, medicine, and other things have to be restocked as well. Instead of arguing with him, let’s just accept the money and put it into the group fund."
"Sure. Even an eighth of our loot is currently enough for me to advance to Tier 1 explorer. However…" Jay looked at Kanaria with a grim expression. "I want you to remember Kanaria. He is your captain too. Never ever pity him or his evolution rate.
I’m going to beat anyone who dares to pity him, even if it’s you, my childhood friend."
Kanaria’s body trembled, sensing the seriousness in Jay’s words. Jay knew that Clovis would have a hard time advancing. At the same time, he also held Clovis in high regard.
Kanaria waved her hands and said, "I’m concerned about his evolution rate, but I don’t pity him. Please don’t misunderstand. The reason I suggest this is because if we have enough group funds, he will think that he doesn’t need to put his money into the group funds anymore and use it to upgrade himself. You should remember that he puts almost all his money into the group fund, right?"
"Well… That’s fine." Jay nodded in understanding.
Kanaria couldn’t help but smile. "Our captain… is unique, isn’t he?"
"Yeah. I’m glad that I met someone like him."
…
Remembering that conversation, Jay looked at Kanaria as if reminding her about the agreement.
Kanaria gave an ’OK’ hand sign to Jay while saying, "Right? Let’s go to Essence Bank. By the way, please sell all the essence for our share, Clovis."
"Huh? All of them?" Clovis frowned.
Kanaria panicked, thinking Clovis was misunderstanding her intention. "After two super injections, our evolution progress will be close to the maximum. So, instead of absorbing these random essences, we are thinking about using the money to buy essences that will increase the attributes we need."
"Oh!" Clovis nodded in understanding. "That’s not a problem. Let’s go to Essence Bank then."
The group hurriedly left the room. While walking, Kanaria sent a message to Jay. "Oi. After making the appointment, we’re going to leave right away and ask for the money tomorrow. If we stay with him when he sells the essence, it will make it awkward for him."
"OK," Jay replied.
Clovis didn’t realize their scheme. Then again, it actually put him in a better position since he could get the money first and register it in his Another World Mall.
It seemed that the reason why Kanaria’s mother left first was because she knew that there might be danger on the road. They knew that these three people had won the super injections after all. So, there was a chance to steal it or threaten them to direct the appointment.
That was why Vania eliminated all the threats while watching these three from afar. She couldn’t help but smile, muttering, "I hope that you become a great man, Clovis Hacfield, just like your grandfather. Whether you want it or not, the people who want your grandfather’s life will come to you sooner or later. And some of them are already in this town."
Once she saw the group almost reach Essence Bank, Vania disappeared.
To their surprise, Vina was actually waiting for them at the entrance of Essence Bank. As soon as she saw them coming, Vina hurriedly stopped them.
"Ehm?" Clovis remembered about the bet while Kanaria said, "Clovis. She is ours for the next two weeks. We can get someone to bring our luggage. Her strength is also quite good, at least better than the other two girls."
Vina lowered her head. "I will be in your care. Do whatever you want to me."
Clovis was quite amused by her action. She didn’t know when they would come to Essence Bank, yet she still waited for them. And because she wasn’t the one who decided to make the bet, she could back away. Even Vania didn’t mess with her as much as Lovelia because of her mysterious background.
So, if Vina wanted to get away from this bet, it shouldn’t be a problem. Yet she actually waited for them here so that she could say all this.
Clovis let out a long sigh before saying, "If that’s the case, as a member of our party, your role is simple. Just stay in this city and don’t participate in any raids or activities with your previous group for two weeks. This should be simple enough, right?"
"!!!" Both Kanaria and Vina couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows, not expecting this kind of order. It was the same as him nullifying the agreement.
"Why? Do you think that I’m not strong enough to be in your party?" Vina asked while clenching her fists.
"No. You are strong. From your reaction alone, I know that you have the ability to keep up with us. However, being strong doesn’t mean that you suit our group. It’s as simple as that," Clovis explained before walking past her without any expression.