“There is no fucking way.” Given his aversion to speaking or real muteness, Sitra only continued to tap at the small tablet on which several runes marked the meaning he had in mind. With Irea quickly translating the content for Layn, his initial guess was already proved wrong.

“What’s wrong with the idea? Or maybe it’s not about the idea itself, but about me?” Squinting his eyes, Layn couldn’t help but suspect the man. Was it his revenge for losing in a duel? Or maybe his way to stop his advance, as to not let the archmage grow too arrogant with all the achievements he had so far?

Hearing Layn’s words, Sitra only shook his head before releasing a deep sigh and scribbling a few more words on the wooden tablet.

“Didn’t you come to the academy to learn the basics?” Translating as she peeked over the academy elder’s shoulder, Irea proved to be of indispensable help when interacting with the scout of their party. “Even if this treasure of yours exist and can work, it would unnecessarily stir too much trouble.”

This time, Sitra took his time to draw the funny words of the ancient civilisation with a piece of charcoal on a special handle. Brushing the hard pen against the wood of the tablet, he finally revealed the reason behind his denial.

“You do realise that if not with your help, I will obtain whatever I need with the help of someone else?” Turning serious, Layn squinted his eyes once again while looking at the man. Whether it was revenge for earlier, some real concern or actual worry about his well-being, it didn’t matter.

Because from Layn already found out, when compared to the pure magic he knew off, cultivation wasn’t all that great! Surely, it improved one’s physical ability and resilience, sure, it made one faster and one’s reflexes quicker, but outside of the mostly physical aspect of fighting, it was completely and utterly worthless!

From the creation magic, through manipulation magic, elemental magic, formation magic and many other, different kinds of utilising the magic energy, the general term of magic was forged. And while Layn considered himself to be just an archmage, it only described his general standing, not the specialisation.

“Is it a threat?” After scribbling a few words, Sitra actually went out of his way to turn the tablet towards Irea, making it easier for her to read. On the other hand, this small motion of his couldn’t be considered as anything else but a warning.

“A threat? Don’t make me laugh.” While others would respect the man just because of his standing within the academy, Layn couldn’t be bothered with such antics If the two of them were to compare their standings, then Sitra would appear like some provincial official attempting to threaten the king of the entire universe! “If neither you nor your academy is interested in this business, I’m not going to give up on it.”

Taking a few moments of pause to let those words sink in, Layn smiled. “I can bet that if I spread this offer to just a few correct people, obtaining the necessary funding won’t be a problem.’ Shrugging his arms, Layn explained his position over the topic.

After taking a moment to inhale a mouthful of air into his lungs, Layn then slowly released the air from within, relaxing his body along with the breathed out a sigh. With focus returning to his eyes, he turned back around and looked at the elder sitting behind his desk in the middle of his academy’s study.

“Sure, you can refuse my offer right now. You are fully free to do so and I won’t hold a grudge over it. Just keep in mind…” Stepping forward, Layn focused his sight even more than before, starring daggers down the young elder’s eyes. “What will happen to you, if my project will turn out to work just the way I told it would? What will academy do to you, once they learn that I came with it to them first, out of my sheer sympathy to Irea, only to be turned down?”

Straightening himself up, Layn added a charming smile to his otherwise unpleasant words. Turning around, the archmage was about to leave, when Irea suddenly tugged on his sleeve. Moving his head towards the girl, Layn instantly redirected his sight to where the girl was pointing at.

“The thing is, what you proposed, is just too good to be true. And even if it is, before you could even get back the initial investments…” Irea’s voice wavered as she read the words aloud. Casting a quick glance at Layn’s face, she trembled before lowering her eyes and finishing in a low voice. “…. the disciples from the inner academy will come to claim the treasure!”