After a while, Tenzing calmed down. He forgot that Michael was the person who ultimately won the auction using mammoth wealth. He just didn’t think that Michael could accumulate that much Sand Dollars in such a short amount of time.
Of course, if he knew that Michael built the Reborn company in two, three years tops, then he wouldn’t be surprised as he was now.
"Damn, I wish I had more GodForge pieces!"
Michael nodded. "If you have any more, just tell me and I’ll buy them off you."
Tenzing pumped his hands. "We’ll be having an expedition in the mountains soon, and hopefully, we’ll find some GodForge pieces there.
Ah, I wish I was as good at magic as you are. That way, I could just send a message to you whenever. But whatever. With these Sand Dollars, we’ll be able to search deeper on the ground."
Michael scratched his head. "Actually... I have just the solution for you."
He presented the lanky mountaineer with the phone and told him all about its features. And by the end, Tenzing’s face was downcast, his expression obscured.
"...how much?"
"10,000 Sand Dollars each."
Tenzing looked at the pouch in his grasp, his hands trembling. He was battling with himself on the inside, and in the end, his curiosity got the best of him.
He pushed the money back to Michael, all 150,000 Sand Dollars he gained from the GodForge pieces.
Michael smiled, giving the most amiable customer-service smile. "Pleasure doing business with you!"
"THIS IS SO UNFAIR!!!!"
In the end, Tenzing came back to his company as poor as before, and 15 kilograms of GodForge pieces sold off. He didn’t even have the phones yet!
Most of his adjutants wondered if he got finagled by some unscrupulous man, but Tenzing just told them to trust him and that it was worth it.
They never trusted him again after that.
...
...
...
Meanwhile, in the heart of an unknown city obscured by shadows, two hooded individuals met in an unpopulated alleyway.
"How is my father?"
One of the individuals slid her hood back, revealing herself to be none other than Katarina Petrovich.
The person she was talking to was a member of their secret organization. And for safety’s sake, he didn’t reveal his face.
"After bringing the Antique to the Professor, he has shown signs of significant progress. He is in the sleep-talking stage of his Failsafe. He’s mumbling words related to his discovery," the agent reported.
"What were the words?"
"Unity, Supreme, God, and Divas... He’s repeating those four words constantly. Our researchers believe that he has found something relating to the Ancient Era, especially because of ’Unity’."
The words seemed so disparate, having no solid connection to each other other than their importance in Ancient history.
But Lichtenstein already knew those even before coming to New Sparta. Whatever tipped off his Failsafe must have been something recent. However, Unity was not recent. And those with Supreme Talents were on the other side of the world. No human had that.
Wait... is one of the Beastfolk Rulers here secretly?
Katarina shook her head. There would have been signs.
"Despite this progress, it will still take him a year to recover according to our estimates," said the agent.
"Not if I can help it," Katarina declared. Finding that second Antique Bone may progress her father’s condition earlier than they anticipated.
She turned around, resolved to meet with the Elves. They were the key to meeting with the Dragoconian who had it in his possession.
"Wait, our leaders urge you to keep your eyes open. They have been making their moves in New Sparta."
Katarina looked back. "What?"
"They’ve been spreading their doctrine, slowly gathering their forces. We believe that they’re planning something with the Beastfolks. They seem to be focusing their energy on them."
Katarina turned pensive. It wasn’t the Draconians, they were too powerful to be influenced. The Elves despise their ideology. It could be the Vampires, but they were too focused on their own religion. There were only two races left.
"Was it the Mermen?"
The hooded agent was silent for a moment before answering, "It’s the Werewolves."
"Them?"
Katarina couldn’t understand it. "Is it because of the Lunar Celebrations?"
"We believe so. But it’s more complicated than that. According to our spies, we believe that they’re targeting the Goldblood Werewolves."
This caused Katarina to recall her memories, back to when her father was telling her the history of the Beastfolks.
Seeing the carefree face of her father surrounded by books caused a pang in her heart for a second, but she steeled herself.
Eventually, she remembered.
"It’s the Purebloods."
The agent nodded. "Yes. They’re trying to take the heritage of the Purebloods."
During the old days, there was this ultra powerful Werewolf Tribe who had an indubitable strength. They were the origin, the progenitor, and the ancestor of all known Werewolves today.
They were called the Purebloods.
That name bore a resemblance to another Beastfolk race: the Royalbloods from the Vampire race.
That was because the Pureblood Werewolves were vassals to the Royalbloods.
They served as the royal guards, the cavaliers, and the knight of the Original Vampire herself.
And with the power she bestowed, the Royalblood Vampires and the Pureblood Werewolves were unstoppable, paving the way for the Monster Continent to be the kingdom that it was now.
However, the Original Vampire disappeared from the face of the Earth, and the Pureblood Werewolves soon lost their power.
They branched into many tribes, some going on till this very day.
But legends say that there were two specific Werewolf Tribes who still carried that heritage. It was believed that they carried the power borne through the Original Vampire’s bestowal.
They were the Brownbloods and the Goldbloods.
"But it’s been disproven. Those were just myths," Katarina muttered.
"They believe differently. The Brownblood Werewolves have deteriorated to become the weakest tribe in their species... However, the Goldbloods were different. They exhibit a latent potential that they deem to be important."