"So I take it you’re willing to conduct the trade now," said Flintlock when he appeared in Nero’s dream that night. "Did you check intel prices?"
"Yes, I did," responded Nero calmly, his mind still occupied by the time he had spent in the Unity Network. That place was a goldmine of knowledge, not just intel, and Nero already knew what he was going to use his merit on. After all, if he could not use the network while in KMA, they were of no use to him, so it would be better if instead he utilized them for his current needs.
"I also looked up the value of Vitracil, and the value of all bits of intel relating to Vanessa that I plan on sharing today, so I know the exact value of the intel I’m sharing with you."
Flintlock nodded, as if it was as he expected.
"Can we get this done already? I have better things to do than visit your dreams everyday," he said.
"Sure. If you already know about Vitracil, then you should also know about what it’s used for. Vanessa used it for a full baptism while still a Neophyte, although I am bound to secrecy on certain matters so I cannot reveal how or where. What I can tell you is that she also visited Lumina in disguise. Who helped her in, and who helped her out are things that I do not know about, and it seems to me like she had a bountiful harvest inside."
"Lumina..." Flintlock murmured, his gaze losing focus as his mind wandered. Although Nero did not state where she got Vitracil, his words seemed to insinuate that it may have something to do with Lumina. Whether that was the case or not, it was not for him to determine. He just needed the merits from this intel.
"I can also tell you that any gains she may have had from Lumina, or anywhere else, were only personal goals and gains. Her true objective seemed to be something else. It seems she played a significant role in finalising some deals between Kolar and Nova," said Nero, finalising his report.
In truth, this was far from all he could reveal about Vanessa. There were things he could reveal that only he knew, such as how to detect her innate ability, her combat habits, and her preferred strategies. In fact, Vanessa herself had allowed Nero to share those things, yet Nero refrained.
There was also the fact that Nero knew exactly how many merits he needed, and how many he would get from this intel. There was no need to be excessively greedy. This was more than sufficient.
"Is that it?" Flintlock asked, sounding unsatisfied. In truth, even this was valuable information for anyone who needed it, but naturally Flintlock wanted as much as possible. The resources he needed weren’t cheap.
"Yes, that’s it," Nero responded normally. "There are many things I cannot reveal even if I want to. At the same time, there are things I can reveal, but don’t wish to."
Flintlock chuckled.
"Ah Nero, no need to be so adorable," he said, though the meaning of the words did not match his intentions. "We may need to work together in the future. Wouldn’t it be better to have a solid relationship for that? Why not do your future self a favour?"
Instead of answering his question, Nero asked him another one.
"How does one redeem resources? Let’s say I want to buy some of the resources available to me. How will I get them without compromising my identity?" he asked.
Flintlock sighed, before finally answering once he was done shaking his head.
"There are multiple ways. One way is to go to one of the six bases in disguise, redeem it there, and leave. You can also have them delivered to certain locations and claim them from there. You can send them to intermediaries, and then collect it from them using a password. Honestly, there are many ways, and they all depend on you.
"If you have nothing else to share, then I will pay you 50% of the cost, as we agreed, and be on my way. By the way, as a gesture of good will, I’ll give you a piece of information for free. A certain Irene Grant re-entered Kolari territory a few days ago, and has returned to the army. The details of how she returned are not privy to me, so if you’re interested, you can look into it yourself."
Nero merely nodded, and turned his attention towards Flintlock to see how he traded the merits, even if it was in a dream.
"In reality, when you want to trade for information in person, you will still need to use your Unity Network card. Since this is a dream, I’ll show you what it looks like," Flintlock said, before pulling out a card. Nero felt himself be touched by some aether briefly, and a hint of information flashed in his mind.
He had received one 4 Star merit, one 3 Star merit and two 2 Star merits for the information he had submitted, which was actually quite a decent haul. Besides the information about Vitracil, the only reason that this information was so valuable was because of how much attention was being paid to Vanessa, otherwise the price would have been a lot lower.
"Good luck inside KMA," Flintlock suddenly said, breaking from his habit of sticking to business. "Come out with a decent appointment and an important branch. That way I’ll have a decent contact."
Although he ended the sentence with a humorous tone, Nero could sense his sincerity in wishing Nero well.
"I will. In that case, you should also become someone important so you can keep tipping me off. I’ll look forward to hearing from you," he said, for the first time withdrawing his hostility towards Flintlock. This suspicious character who had clearly demonstrated the influence of Unity in his prison cell was not someone who could earn Nero’s trust any time soon. He did, however, prove his usefulness. The fact that Nero had, at the last minute, gone against his word and not completed the mission, and yet he had not faced any kind of dire consequence also caused Nero to consider what kind of an organization Unity was.
Still, he would investigate it properly. He would learn why they were interested in Noman, and if his death had anything to do with them - such as leaking his location. If they did...
Those were thoughts for another time, so Nero kept them suppressed. This was about the most sincere moment that had occurred between Flintlock and Nero, and it would be important to part on good terms if they were going to continue to work together in the future.
The dream ended, and in the morning Nero continued his routine as normal. Only after breakfast did he reenter the Unity Network once more, checking on his merits.
While he had attained the merits Flintlock sent, his total earned merits remained 0. Nero didn’t mind.
Instead, he converted his 3 Star merit into ten 2 Star merits, giving him a total of twelve. Then he converted all those into 1 Star merits, earning a total of one hundred and twenty. The only merit he didn’t touch was his 4 Star merit.
Then Nero entered the intel room, and began his research. Unfortunately, while he could not yet get any useful information on the people he wanted, he could buy a lot of basic and low level knowledge even now.
The first thing he bought was an expanded explanation of card crafting, including concepts from other countries as well. He also bought various card crafting manuals, as well as some basic recipes.
For the next few days, Nero did nothing but study card crafting, enhance his understanding, and make steady progress towards crafting Virtuous Moonlight into an altered card. The days slowly turned into weeks, bringing him closer and closer to the day he would enter KMA once and for all.
It was in the last week that finally, after getting a batch of resources he’d ordered at high cost, Nero returned to his room feeling a lot of anticipation. He was almost ready to craft his card. The only thing left for him to do now would be to actually test the new recipe he had come up with.
Yet before he could return to his room, he sensed something amiss. He sensed the signs from afar: all the hidden tells he had left around his room had been triggered. Someone had entered his room while he was gone.
Drawing his blade and his cards, Nero slowly crept up to his room. He listened for any signs of movement, but it seemed that all was still. Either the intruder had already left, or they were waiting to spring a trap.
After deliberating for a moment, he decided to confront the intruder instead of heading back down to the front desk. He did not want to give them a chance to escape in case they sensed that they had been discovered, and since this was a Kolari town, he did not think it would be so easy to hide in case there was a fight.
Instead of opening it gently, Nero kicked in his room door, ready to confront any adversary. Unfortunately, he was not ready for what he saw inside.