Aside from the Dung Heap, Ardum also had two Hatchlings, but they were not very important.
The most important thing was that if they managed to deal with Ardum, they would get all of these Specters.
Naturally, Nick wanted to know how they would get them. After all, the Specters were owned by another Manufacturer, and if these Specters suddenly appeared in Dark Dream's building, wouldn't the city get involved and accuse them of theft?
Wyntor told Nick that this was not the case.
In the past, Kugelblitz had wanted to get rid of one of its competitors, and after a lot of influencing in the city's government, they managed to pass a law.
This law dictated the minimum power one needed to possess in order to safeguard the populace from a captured Specter.
One needed at least one Extractor for every Specter, and the Extractors all needed to be on the level of every Specter.
Dark Dream, for example, had two Hatchlings, which meant that Dark Dream needed two Newbies, and at least one of the Newbies needed to be a Peak Newbie.
However, there were a couple of exceptions.
For example, if a Late or Mid Newbie could prove that they could suppress the Peak Hatchling, there wouldn't be an issue.
Another Manufacturer could request a check on another Manufacturer, but the check cost a lot of money.
If someone wanted to perform a check on Dark Dream, they would need to pay a million credits.
If a check was requested, a team employed by Crimson Fungus City would arrive and inspect all the different Specters in the Manufacturer.
If the Manufacturer was deemed to be strong enough to have these Specters, the team would leave, and the other Manufacturer would have lost their credits.
However, if the Manufacturer couldn't show the power required to suppress their Specters, the Manufacturer would be forced to disband, and the Specters would be handed over to another Manufacturer.
Almost always, the Manufacturer that requested the check also had a couple of empty Containment Units ready while also having a great number of extra employees, and since they also paid for the check, they almost always got the Specters.
So, what did this mean in concrete numbers?
If Ardum managed to kill Nick, he could request a check.
Wyntor wouldn't be strong enough to suppress the Dreamer on his own, and the other two Extractors were still too weak. Additionally, their abilities also weren't suited for combat.
On the other hand, if Dark Dream managed to get rid of the second John in Cycle and kill all of the Newbies, they would get all the Specters of Cycle.
At this point, it was important to mention that they couldn't purposefully kill Ardum himself.
Ardum was one of the potential heirs of the Melfion family, and even if he was supposed to prove himself worthy, the Melfion family wouldn't be happy with seeing one of their sons killed.
While nothing would happen to Wyntor, the person who killed Ardum would most likely be killed by the Melfion family.
As a John himself, Ardum could represent the Dung Heap, but he couldn't represent the two Hatchlings.
But as long as they managed to kill enough of Ardum's men, they would still get everything.
Ardum was only one man, and he had three Specters.
For quite a while, Nick and Wyntor planned through all kinds of scenarios.
At some point, they would clash with Cycle.
With Ardum's arrogance, he probably thought that Dark Dream didn't even know that he was spying on them.
Wyntor assured Nick that Ardum's head was so far up his own ass that he was defying physical laws.
As long as they acted stupid, Ardum would believe himself to be in control.
For now, they would just act like they didn't know that someone from Ardum's company was spying on them.
After a lot of talking, Nick said that he had to go.
It was about time for his first lesson.
Nick and Wyntor went back to Dark Dream.
When they entered the warehouse, they could see a new person.
"Yes, Stan?" Wyntor asked the guy who was running up to him.
It was a man with dark hair wearing a grey suit.
And at this moment, he seemed like he had seen a Specter.
His eyes were widely opened, and his face had turned pale.
"Sir, there was nothing we could do! She was-"
"Calm down!" Wyntor said with a forceful voice.
Stan looked with a worried expression at Wyntor as he kept glancing towards the back of the warehouse occasionally.
"Manela, I guess this is your doing?" Wyntor asked.
"They were weak."
Nick and Wyntor looked up at one of the scaffoldings and saw someone leaning on a railing.
When Nick saw the person, he took a deep breath.
She was big!
The person was over 190 centimeters tall. Her hair was light brown, and her skin also had a very brown tone.
Nick would have thought that she was a man, if… well…
Her front was also very big.
A moment later, Nick noticed the emblems on her uniform.
She wore the bloody red uniform of a Zephyx Extractor from Kugelblitz, and Nick could also see the picture of a three-headed mushroom on her chest.
The mushroom was being struck by three lightning bolts, which signified her level.
She was a level three Zephyx Extractor, a Veteran.
And she wasn't just any Veteran.
She was a Veteran who was being employed by the most powerful Zephyx Manufacturer in Crimson Fungus City, Kugelblitz.
This person was most likely extremely powerful, even for a Veteran.
The next moment, the tall woman jumped over the railing and comfortably landed on the ground, making almost no sound.
Crk.
Nick heard the distant sound of something scraping on the walls of the warehouse and looked over.
On one wall of the warehouse was a metallic spear embedded.
Nick remembered that this was one of the positions of the guards.
Luckily, he didn't see a corpse.
SHING!
A moment later, a tiny silver thread reflected in the air, and the spear shot out of the wall.
Clink!
And neatly landed in the tall woman's right hand.
Nick took a deep breath.