Hearing his words, the Masked Man was suspicious. "What exactly do you mean?" He asked, squinting his eyes at him.
Ed, the assassin, didn't want to drag this issue any longer. "I need more rewards for this mission," he said with a smile. Since the difficulty level has been raised. There will be more problems to deal with along the way."
The Masked Man is not deafeningly deaf "Assassin Ed suspects that some victim's family is causing their organization's problems." Ah!" He reflected to himself.
But Assassin Ed's concern is not unfounded. But it's too late for him to back out of the contract. "Since the order has been placed. Simply go with it." He thought to himself.
Furthermore, even though he is willing to cancel the contract, Assassin Ed will not agree. That guy is a resource hoarder.
I've taken too many blows in the last few weeks. He didn't have the energy to keep Assassin Ed entertained. "Assassin Ed," he said. Please finish your mission. Is there any reason to expect more resources from me? Our adversary has not yet been identified. We continue to believe it has nothing to do with the Killing List."
Assassin Ed is deeply dissatisfied in his heart. He too knows the intelligence report is not confirmed. Otherwise, he's certain he'd swindle a few more wealth from the Masked Man. "Okay, I'll contact you after the mission," he said without changing his expression. He then hung up the phone.
...
After a few days, Zack returned from Mountain Liz and resumed his normal life. In the meantime, he informed his Uncle of his suspicion. His uncle assured him that he will look into this further.
Later, Zack shifted his attention to a weekend life-or-death duel.
...
In the meantime, May Ford students returned to their hometown.
The following day, Leon Stevens entered the snow-white May Ford Training Centre. It's a large campus here, spanning several hundred acres. There are several structures along the way. A sky bridge connects each building. Where students walks up from one building to the next.
Leon quickens his pace and strides towards his mentor's office cabin as he notices that familiar budding. There is a separate building for May Ford Training Centre employees. Leon entered the medium-sized building a few minutes later. Where several rooms can be seen. Every room is reserved for the staff.
Their image and name are displayed on a screen installed at the bottom of the door.
Leon arrived in front of his mentor's cabin after a few more steps. There is also a picture with a small oval face and curly blonde hair. No one would believe she is a mentor rather than a student.
He displayed his identification card on the screen. It scanned his credentials and intimidated to his mentor Carla about his arrival. The technology on this campus is more advanced than on Hansen Campus. This indicates that the city is gradually losing its tier-8 skin and is on its way to becoming a tier-7 city.
"Creak," the door swung open. Leon took a cautious step inside.
This cabin is literally enormous in size. Aside from the office desk, there are a few high-end chairs and a luxurious couch. There is a minimalistic kitchen, toilet, and a small nap area.
Seeing her mentor emerge from the kitchen. "Mentor, I brought the detailed report you requested," Leon said as he greeted her.
Mentor Carla was already aware of his impending arrival due to earlier indications.
She placed the tea pot gently on the desk and then poured two cups of tea gently.
"Take this and drink it slowly." She motions for him to drink it. Leon handed over the report to her server before taking a sip from her teacup.
They both sat in their seats. Mentor Carla sipped tea with one hand while reading the report on the screen with the other. While reading the report, she squinted her eyes.
He was a little nervous when he saw her expression. "What's going on?" he wondered as he sipped his tea. Previously, when he returned from Red Stone City to his home. He received a call from her requesting that he compile a detailed report. I was initially perplexed, but now I'm fairly certain that this report was requested by someone from Crimson Hall.
With that thought in his head, he sighed inwardly. Then he began to sip his tea while holding nothing.
Mentor Carla finished reading the report a few moments later. She sighed deeply and began to drink tea, shaking her head.
Leon's words, "Mentor, why do we have to listen to Crimson Hall?" abruptly interrupted her thoughts.
Mentor Carla sighed as she looked at her student and said, "It's natural." Because of the collaboration. It's not just us; a few other institutes have also joined forces with Crimson Hall. Crimson Hall rarely requests anything from lower-level institutions. As a result, we must do everything in our power to fulfil their request."
But Leon is clearly dissatisfied. "Mentor, you told me earlier that Crimson Hall might reward me," he replied.
Carla, the mentor, nodded as he headed his students' statements. "The rewards are not treasured," she said as she stared at him. "It's far more valuable than that," she teased.
Leon has no idea what to make of her words. "What could possibly be more valuable than treasure?" Initially, he dreamed of getting pills. It doesn't appear that it will happen." As he reflected to himself, he felt a little helpless.
When Leon did not respond, Mentor Carla decided to tell him right away. "They gave you quota to attend their trial for the upcoming exhibition event," she said. However, unlike the other seed candidates who were chosen. You must follow their trail."
Leon's heart raced when he heard that. He was well aware of how valuable the opportunity to participate among his peers was. He can demonstrate his abilities in order to attract the attention of some powerful forces. He was also familiar with the quota system. Seed Candidates from various institutions typically compete in the competition.
To appease infrequent cultivators and a few minor forces. They established a quota system for their students to obtain the title of Seed Candidate. It is not easy to take part in this trial. The registration fees alone can bankrupt a small family. This trail is only used by people from large fish. I have a quota to participate without having to pay any registration fees. This is a good for me.
Carla, his mentor, gave him some time to process the information. "The trail itself is a huge event," she said a few moments later. However, it appears that they will take place a few months before the main event. When it happens, you must be prepared."
When Leon smiled and nodded, he suddenly remembered something. "What about the other students, Mentor?" If they had known there might be some issues." He inquired, hesitantly.
"This matter is decided by the heads of two institutes," said mentor Carla. You don't have to be concerned about that. It's purely coincidental. You happened to be in a couple of other cities at the time. Which of these is closer to Red Stone City? Even if they knew, they can't help themselves." She gave him her assurance. Then she remembers something.
Even if the elders agreed on this point. These are some conceited students on campus who could cause him problems.
"To be on the safe side, stay low key and stay away from our Seed candidates and his companions," she said to Leon.
While mentioning our seed candidate. She was disgusted on the inside. It's one thing to have exceptional talent and strength. However, if the character is flawed. It's unavoidable to hide from troubles.
Leon's brow furrowed when he heard the word "seed candidate." He's a lot weaker than that guy. Since Management has given him the go-ahead. He has no major concerns. Only a few students might give it a shot. He was familiar with their Seed Candidate's personality. That guy will not hesitate to cripple their classmates for minor infractions. If a significant event relating to his area of interest occurs. He will not hesitate to murder me.
He shook his head, not thinking about it. He thought he was stronger than Him. However, they both come from strong families. As a result, Leon is banking on his family's clout. If he tells his family about the chance. They will always be there for him.
...
A few days later, the same thing happened. Leon told his family about his opportunity. They were overjoyed, and his standing in his family grew even higher. But you must still wait for the official announcement. Even for trail events, the Crimson Hall would distribute name lists of participants in their trail.
Certainly, rumours about Leon's trail event participation began to circulate on campus.
Certainly, some members of management purposefully leaked some information. This caused quite a commotion. However, due to Leon's strength and background, no one dares to confront him. He is in no way comparable to the seed candidate. Nonetheless, he was ranked as one of the top twenty students on their campus.
Only a few of the top ten students were dissatisfied with this. They blew their chance a few months ago when they faced off against their number one student. Now, there is someone weaker than them who has seized such an opportunity.. They couldn't contain their anger.