Silas and Alfred stood before the cave as aether swirled around Amelia's chest in a torrent.
The atmosphere around her was influenced by the energy she emitted, making it harder for air to flow.
Alfred stole cursory glances at Silas and the rifle in his palm. His mind was in turmoil as he thought of its devastating power, enough to end even a pseudo tier 6 beast in one shot.
Among all firearms available in the market, there were hardly any that could deal so much damage, and even those were extremely expensive, with some worth more than an entire planet.
"Silas, is this the same gun that elevated you to tier 1 scientist?" Alfred asked calmly.
Silas nodded. "So you heard all our discussion."
He returned the rifle to his AI space with a thought as he looked at Alfred.
"Do you have any plans to sell it in the future?" Alfred asked, thinking of how much their military power would increase if their soldiers were armed with such rifles.
Silas thought for a moment before he spoke. "I have signed a contract with Sovereign Garden to only sell to them," Silas said calmly, his mind working as he created the most convincing lie.
"The same Sovereign Garden that has been growing rapidly?" Alfred asked, wide-eyed.
Who had not heard of the Sovereign Garden yet? It was one of the biggest topics in the Virtual Server now, due to their unique products, which could not be bought anywhere else.
"Yes," Silas nodded. "But I have a VIP pass that can get you things at a 30% discount price."
"Okay, calm down," Alfred said, placing a hand on his head as if to confirm he was still sane. "You can discuss with Governor Max when we get out, don't tell me any other thing."
Alfred could not handle all the information Silas was dumping on him at once, especially not after narrowly escaping death.
Silas sighed when Alfred asked him to discuss with Max.
In truth, there was no VIP pass, and he was only going to create one when he left the place.
If Alfred had asked for it, that would have been another issue on its own.
"Okay."
Together, they stood calmly, waiting for Amelia to finish her breakthrough.
"Why is it taking so long for her to finish?" Alfred furrowed his brows.
It's been 3 hours, and Amelia still hadn't completed her breakthrough.
"It is probably because of the uniqueness of the manual," Silas said.
In truth, the cultivation manual Silas had created was designed to purify the aether as much as possible before fully forming the core.
This meant that 99 percent of the aether Amelia was currently absorbing was being filtered away.
It was the same during his own advancement too, just that Master Sebastian had enough resources to make it faster.
"You've been staying here for 2 weeks, do you still have enough nutrient bars?" Silas asked, trying to break the silence.
"I am at the Marshal stage, I can do without eating for over a hundred years," Alfred said, raising his head high.
Silas furrowed his brows. "Why then do you eat?" he asked.
"It is enjoyable and, like I said, it is just for a hundred years."
"So, Governor Max can also do without eating?" Silas asked, remembering the gluttonous governor who knew nothing but lounging in his mansion.
"Yes, he can even go on for over 5 thousand years because he is a foot into the Ascendant realm," Alfred said.
Silas shook his head. "He knows nothing but eating and lazing around."
Alfred looked at him, his eyes blinking uncontrollably when he heard Silas's words.
'Did the governor not tell them anything about his strength?' he wondered, remembering just how skilled and exceptional Max is.
His talent was able to draw the gaze of Sebastian, a vice tower master.
"You should speak with caution," Alfred warned before jumping away.
Silas shrugged at the words, thinking it was just because of Max's position.
He went towards a nearby stone and sat on it.
He dove into his mind, looking at the newly completed book.
After using billions of books to try deducing a stronger blueprint for the rifle, he had finally given up.
With his current knowledge, the rifle was already at the best it could be.
"No wonder rifles are so expensive even with their lower power," he sighed.
He looked at the other things being deduced.
He already had 20 altars, each one dedicated to mixing knowledge from all fields to create a single thing.
He aimed to create something unique enough to reach tier 3 researcher.
'But the reference materials are not enough, I should read as many books as I can when I get back,' he thought.
He had asked Rion to stock up on some books before they departed, but little did he know that his mind would absorb all the knowledge before the third day.
Like that, time passed. After what felt like an eternity, they finally saw movement from Amelia.
First were her hands, which had been suspended in air, a few meters away from her chest. They fell to the floor as the aether she was absorbing burst out in a torrent.
Then, her eyes fluttered open, slowly.
Like an angel, her big, purple eyes graced the world before her.
"How are you feeling?" Silas was the first to ask, throwing her a bottle of water.
She caught it with her left hand calmly before nodding to him.
Opening it, she began to down its contents. It took less than 5 seconds before she finished an entire bottle of water.
"That hit the spot," she sighed, releasing a long breath.
"So, our spar," she said directly, stretching her body for a quick prep.
"That offer was for within 2 weeks, you finished on the last day," Silas waved his palm.
Before Amelia could say anything else, Alfred's body fell to the floor, landing softly without raising even a speck of dust.
"Let's go. Silas, infuse the badge with aether," Alfred said directly.
"Wait, my bag is still in there," Amelia said, dashing into the cave to quickly take her bag.
When she got back, Silas's aether flowed into the badge, its form shaking before releasing a burst of light that swallowed the trio.