Sylas stepped into the large common room where there were three individuals waiting for him.
—
[Tasia Banks]
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[Virgil Wright]
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[Austin Beck]
—
Not a single one of them had a Level above zero. Sylas doubted that it was because of a treasure. The odds of such a treasure being effective in his Territory were next to nothing.
That meant that these people simply had no Levels at all. They were probably being nurtured to earn Professions. Though he could see hints of nervousness in them, there was a professionalism there that made it obvious they had done this sort of thing for a living before the Summoning.
The difference was that before the Summoning… Sylas would have been thrown in jail for killing them. And now, there were no guardrails in place for them at all.
Each one was hoping that Sylas would have some etiquette in not killing the messengers. But they were likewise all willing to risk their lives for a chance to move up in their worlds.
They were bold people. Sylas kind of liked that.
As for how long he would, time would tell.
The only woman among them reacted first. She quickly stood, taking the initiative to come to Sylas’ side. Her eyes seemed to carry hints of brightness in them as she appeared before him, extending her hand.
“Hello, I’m Tasia Banks, as you’ve probably already seen. Tasia, like Anastasia, without the annoying fluff. I’m here representing Gothamshire.”
Tasia seemed to be in her early twenties. She wore business formal well, and her hair was done up into a tight bun. Sylas noticed the single button she had undone. It was enough to see some soft flesh, but not enough to feel like she was overdoing it.
She was riding the line between flirtation and business well, and compared to the others, she was first to react and first to take advantage of the situation.
However, Sylas was more focused on the name of the city. It told him a lot more about this situation than most knew. This wasn’t because it had been in the top ten; it was likely never close. But rather, the name itself had a similar tone and feel to the top ten ones during the trial.
He remembered seeing that list for the first time and thinking that it was kind of sad. So many had chosen names from pop culture and based on puns because they didn’t realize just how serious these matters would be. By the time they did, a majority of them had already died.
Gothamshire was certainly another one of these. Meaning, he was unlikely to be dealing with a powerful family right now.
But that was also contradictory.
‘If they’re not from powerful factions, then how did they find me? The only explanation is that they’re getting help from the dark. Ragnar shouldn’t have the ability to do this. Right now, he’s heavily injured and cut off from his usual resources.
‘The Ravenclaw family is definitely located in the Africor Continent, but if Ragnar returns, he’ll be giving up his Heirship. After going as far as to betray the Human Race, he definitely knows that there’s no going back now. He won’t give up so easily, so him returning to the Ravenclaws now is unlikely.
‘If I had to guess, he’s probably somewhere in my Woodland Territory, likely near the location of the underground city, biding his time, healing his injuries, etcetera. He won’t make a move for at least another week, likely longer. He has no idea that I’ve given myself a one-month timer.
‘If I was him, I would assume that I’d want to build up a faction. Who would want to abandon their Warlord Territory? He likely thinks that he has time to set up and find a method to deal with me. So he’ll keep an eye on the underground city because he knows that that’s the one thing we have in common…’
Sylas found that his thoughts were moving much more fluidly. He had always been sharp, but it wasn’t just that he had become sharper; rather, that sharpness was flowing with more agility, more speed.
Tasia hadn’t even finished speaking when he deduced all of this.
As for his conclusion?
It could only mean that they were receiving help from the Africor Continent Constitution Monarchy.
‘They sure move fast.’
Though there was still a possibility that it was Legacy, Sylas felt that the government of this continent definitely edged them out.
Sylas reached out a hand and shook hers. “Sylas Grimblade.”
“Of course,” Tasia said with a happy smile. “Everyone knows you; you’re world famous by now.”
She held Sylas’ palm for an extra half second before letting go, looking every bit the part of an excited fan girl.
She chatted away for a bit before Virgil and Austin couldn’t stand by the side anymore.
Virgil cleared his throat. Being the shorter of the two men, and even a bit shorter than Tasia herself, he seemed to have the smallest presence. But his voice was quite booming and deep. He sounded like he had been an announcer before the Summoning.
“If we could get down to business, we could get this over with quicker so that we can all be out of one another’s hair.”
Sylas’ expression didn’t change, but Tasia apologized with a smile and took a step to the side.
‘Indeed, she is smart. She did it on purpose. This way, any animosity I have will be directed toward these two, even though she likely came to say the very same things they did.’
Despite already realizing this, Sylas didn’t say anything. He wasn’t the type of person to care about such things.
“Sure. What have you come here to say?” Sylas asked.
Virgil looked toward Austin.
“We believe that we can have a working relationship. There isn’t a need to butt heads over the Woodland Territory,” Virgil began.
“Is that so?” Sylas asked. “There indeed isn’t a need. After all, the Territory is mine.”
