"I'm quite disappointed in you, Mr. Albert, for not knowing our lord's capabilities. Isn't information supposed to be your job?" Cao Cao asked smugly, questioning Albert's competence.
Albert looked back with a smile. "It's precisely because I know the information that I am in awe and surprise right now. What our lord did defies the fundantal rules of alchemy. It's like suddenly discovering that what I breathe is not air, but water, and having it proven right before my eyes. That level of surprise."
Cao Cao was stunned. He had intended to provoke Albert and hurt his pride, hoping to make him slip up and show his ugly side in front of their lord. Perhaps he had underestimated Albert's ability to maintain his composure.
Daniel began, "Is it that surprising?" He placed the transmuted Adamantine on the desk and slid it toward Albert. "But don't worry, transmuted material still has its limits."
Albert received the transmuted Adamantine, scrutinized it, and used a spell to analyze its structure while listening to his lord speak.
"Envy and I have already tested this and found that my teacher's thod of alchemy is said to be a perfect form of transmutation, but it's still a thod, not a miracle. There are still limits. For example, to transmute a material into a higher-grade material like Adamantine, the original material needs to have a certain level of mana quality.
For instance, that stainless steel I transmuted to Adamantine should have around 60% to 70% of the durability compared to natural Adamantine. To reach a higher percentage, I need to use Orichalcum as the base material. The best I can achieve is 98%. It's rare to create 100% durable transmuted Adamantine from Orichalcum," explained Daniel.
"I see…" Albert nodded in understanding after listening to Daniel's explanation and examining the transmuted Adamantine himself. He then turned to Daniel.
"What you just demonstrated is not a miracle but a higher form of alchemy. May I ask you to teach this, my lord?" asked Albert.
"You can learn, but it won't be teaching you. It will be my teacher, Hers Trisgistus. However, that will be after I have set up our mage organization's reward system. You can use that system to request tutoring or exotic materials for your research later. Now, let's focus on the eting," Daniel said, steering the conversation back to the agenda.
"Of course, my lord. I apologize for distracting us with an unrelated topic," Albert apologized with a noble manner, bowing to Daniel.
"Where were we? Ah yes, I told Mr. Cao to bring those samples to so I can make the machine, right?" Daniel continued from where he had left off, and Albert nodded.
Daniel turned toward Cao Cao. "Mr. Cao, do you have anything more to add?" he asked.
"No, my lord. I don't have anything more to report," Cao Cao shook his head, concluding his report. Now it was Albert's turn.
"Mr. Worseley?" Daniel called Albert, indicating it was his turn to give a report.
"Other than the work on the forceful evacuation of the Hightower splinter cells, we are also working on increasing our influence in Canada, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Once we have established influence over all of North Arica, Japan, and Southeast Asia, we will install independent secret operation cells in Europe to monitor the Hightower.
As for the Qing Empire, it's still a no-go zone for us right now. We have too few reliable connections there," said Albert.
Daniel nodded, then turned toward Cao Cao. "Mr. Cao, the Qing Empire is your forr holand. Can you help him?" Daniel asked the forr warlord.
"It's been more than a century. I don't know if I can help Mr. Worseley much, but I'll try my best, my lord," Cao Cao said with a polite bow.
Albert had no comnt on this. Personally, he didn't think Cao Cao could help since it had been so long since Cao Cao's ti. However, since his lord had suggested it, he would tolerate Cao Cao's involvent.
"Moving on to the next topic," Albert said, glancing at his tablet. "My lord, there is a man who wishes to et with Lady Greed. He insisted on a private conversation and has been detained in one of our cells in Arica. This fellow possesses a surprisingly strong will and claims to have critical information regarding the Confederacy conspirators. He also seems to know about the Curtained World too."
"He wants to speak with the person in charge. Would you like to speak with him, my lord?" Albert asked, his hand resting on the table.
"Through an online conference, you an?" Daniel clarified, and Albert nodded with a smile. "Okay, you may bring him up on the main screen."
Albert tapped his tablet, and the main screen in the eting room displayed a man in his mid-40s wearing casual clothes. He appeared rather haggard.
The man noticed Daniel and Albert looking at him through the screen.
"Daniel Emberweave!? You're in charge!? Ah... that's right, Ms. Goldwyn is your lover. It seems she's quite traditional.
How unexpected," the man remarked with surprise in his voice.
Daniel remained silent, but Albert knew his lord was playing a power ga, so he obliged.
"Start by telling my boss who you are and why you want to speak with him, Mr. Tanner," Albert said in a deep, threatening tone.
The man seed to regain his composure. He looked at Albert, then at the warden beside him, took a deep breath, and began.
"I'm Robert Tanner, Chief Engineer and Chief Researcher at Vance Armory. The reason I want to et you is that I have critical information about the Confederacy conspirators and a plan that's... too inhuman."
"What is it that you find inhuman?" Albert asked in place of his lord.
Tanner fell silent, seemingly deep in thought, or perhaps struggling with how to explain to Daniel.
"There's a man, a man in a wooden owl mask. He's the one who helped General Moore. This man... it might be unbelievable to you, but... he seems to be using magic," Tanner paused, looking at Daniel's unimpressed face.
"I... I know it sounds crazy coming from , that magic exists. But I saw it with my own two eyes! It sounds crazy, I know! But that man in the owl mask, he seems to be able to awaken General Moore as a mage, and many others too," he quickly clarified.
"What do you an by many others? Do you an there are more mages who have been recently awakened by this owl mask guy?" This ti, Daniel asked, sensing trouble brewing.
"Yes, Mr. Emberweave. There are others, several, and maybe more since I escaped after witnessing their atrocities," Tanner said, appearing sowhat traumatized by what he had seen.
"How so? Tell ..." Daniel inquired.
Tanner seed uncomfortable and remained silent for a few seconds before relenting, seemingly persuaded by the warden on his side that it was in his best interest to tell Daniel.
"They... They use innocent people... as sacrifices. I don't know exactly what they do, but the man in the wooden mask seems to have a thod... or substance to mutate people into living flesh mounds... Then...
they put people who want to beco mages inside these flesh mounds, one person per mound, and within 24 hours, they beco mages. There are... many types of flesh mounds, each with different purposes, from what I've observed," Tanner explained.
As Daniel listened, he opened his notebook, pulling up classified data on the screen for Tanner to see. The file contained various pictures that his people had obtained from the US frontline after Ragnar and Greed destroyed the flesh mounds in the secret tunnel.
"Is this what you're talking about?" Daniel asked.
Tanner seed stunned at the sight of the pictures, growing even more uncomfortable.
"Yes... It's this," Tanner confird with a nod.
Daniel, noticing Tanner's discomfort, looked at Albert then down at his notebook. He closed the file, no longer showing the pictures to Tanner. He would keep this information and discuss it with Envy later.
"Mr. Tanner," Daniel addressed the man, waiting for his attention. "I have a proposition for you."
Daniel raised his fingers as he listed the options:
"First, you can work for here at Astral Tech as a researcher, but in return, you must forget everything about magic and its phenona. If you wish, we can... edit out your mories of this incident and give you a fresh start."
"Second, you can also work for in my secret lab, but you'll need to learn about magic and its applications. We'll utilize it to create advanced technology and accelerate the world's technological progress."
"And third... we'll erase your mory of the incident and, of course, of us, and let you go."
Tanner fell silent, contemplating the options. Then, his eyes narrowed.
"That second option... are you perhaps... aware of magic?" Tanner asked cautiously, understandably wary after his encounter with an unsavory mage.
Instead of imdiately answering, Daniel opened his hand and conjured a simple fla, showcasing his ability to Tanner. "Yes, Mr. Tanner, I am a mage myself. But a naturally awakened one, not through those disgusting rituals you described. In fact, there are many mages in this world... we simply remain hidden from the unawakened population...
like you."
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