However, while Muni didn’t complain about Loki, he did become jealous of Loki for spending money on something that was irrelevant. He didn’t have the opportunity to splurge like Loki when he was at rank 1, and he still doesn’t now, so jealousy came very easily to him.
After 32 days of training, the day of the final assembly came. Loki finished preparing for what was to come at this point.
When Muni called them for the assembly, he looked at himself using the Power Identification Ability for a while. What he saw made him smile with pride.
Age: 22/77
Race: Human
Energy Quantity: 616 + 616 +616+ 616 +616 =3,080
Energy Density: 4(4)(4)(4)(4)
Energy Rank: 1
Body: 0.6 >> 2.0.
Soul: 1.6 >> 2.0.
Will: 5.
Skill: 100%.
Fenrir (Divine): Power Identification. Tracking. Seal. Devouring. Rewind. Sword Heart. Telepathy. Telekinesis.
BRANCH METACS:
1. Mind Hunter Pathway: Mind Stab. Mind Shield. Hypnotize. Double Mind. Concentration.
2. Forging Pathway: Liquid Metal. Body Lever. Living Armament. Gatling Gun. Knife Box.
3. Sword Pathway: Sword Break. Sword Edge. Sword Dance. Sword Steps.
With his preparations done, he walked with confidence to the assembly. When he got there, nearly everyone had arrived. Those who hadn’t arrived came a few minutes later.
Muni appeared after making them wait for ten minutes. Then he began his speech about the competition and societies.
Loki didn’t listen to the speech at all. He only had eyes for Slav.
Slav noticed his gaze, but didn’t feel any danger from it. So he looked at Loki with a frown and inquiring eyes.
His facial expressions were asking Loki why he was looking at him so much. But Loki only replied with an innocent smile. He looked so harmless that he became creepy.
Muni noticed the exchange between them, which made him furrow his brows. But he didn’t say anything about it at the end of the day.
After his long and passionate speech, Muni sent them back. So everyone began their journey back to their respective homes.
On the way back, everyone began talking about who would win the competition. They mentioned Loki many times, but this time, nearly every one of them believed that, aside from Loki, no one else stood a chance because he seemed to have strengthened his body.
Slav didn’t like what they were saying at all. But he didn’t argue with them and only kept silent as his displeasure simmered within him.
It was amidst all of this unpleasant chatter that Loki approached Slav with that same innocent smile on his face. Slav’s four lackeys quickly stepped into his way to block him from reaching Slav.
This made him chuckle and say, "What’s with all the caution? It is not like I can kill him. So what’s there to fear?"
The four didn’t speak. They stood like statues that would do their duty of guarding their master until the end of days.
It wasn’t until Slav dismissed them that they moved aside. Then Slav walked up to Loki with a frown and asked, "What do you want?"
Loki stopped smiling and became serious as he replied, saying, "I’ve come with a deal."
The word deal made Slav’s heart thump with excitement. As someone on the Money Pathway, deals are their bread and butter. It is how they gain and utilize power.
So the frown on his face was quickly replaced by a sincere smile as he said, "So it is a deal. I’m always welcome to a deal."
Then he asked Loki, "Is this about my offer to sponsor you? As I said before, that offer is always on the table. I am always willing to help talented people like you grow into what you’re meant to be."
Loki nearly frowned as anger rose within him when he heard Slav bring up the so-called sponsorship. He became angry because the deal for sponsorship is actually a deal for Slav to buy him.
It wasn’t stated explicitly as turning Loki into a slave. In the deal, it was stated that Slav would give him a lot of money and help in exchange for Slav gaining the right to make decisions for him.
With the right to make decisions for him, Slav would be able to determine if he gets to sell himself into slavery or not. So while it wasn’t stated explicitly that Slav would own him, the effect is essentially the same.
Even if he were stupid and didn’t understand the repercussions of signing that deal, he now understands it after seeing the fate of everyone who signed the sponsorship deal with Slav. Just the fate of the guy they sent to kill him in the last timeline is more than enough for him to detest the sponsorship deal.
So no, he wasn’t interested in the sponsorship deal. He actually wants to bash Slav’s head in. But he didn’t say that.
Instead, he shook his head and said, "This isn’t about the sponsorship deal. It is about the competition."
Slav didn’t get what he wanted, so he was a little bit disappointed. But he was still interested in Loki’s deal, so he continued to maintain his amicable countenance.
He sighed and said, "What a shame. If you had allowed me to sponsor you, with your talent, you might even be able to reach rank 3."
He pointed at his lackeys and said, "You’re not like these four talentless fools who can only stop at rank 2."
Among the four, there is one with a potential of 41. With this potential, he has the requirements to enter any other sect, regardless of how strict their requirements are.
This is because he can advance to rank 3 in the future. But Slav has said that he can only reach rank 2 and that’s that.
Unless Slav changes his mind in the future, this person will never advance to rank 3. So, despite being ridiculed and used as an example of a talentless fool, he didn’t dare to speak to defend himself. He bore the shame like someone who is being forced to swallow faces.