Deal

Jay thought for a long time before looking at Ning. "May I ask, how much Spark you consume to convert one pack of these Dust," he said.

"That's not the sort of question I like to answer," Ning said. "It's personal, you know."

"Yes, but I was trying to think of how much split should be good," Jay said.

"That's simple," Ning said. "Since Danny here confirmed that my Dust was as good, if not the same as the Dust you get from wherever it is you get it from, I should be given the same split."

"No, Cadet. That's not right," the man said. "The person who makes Dust is a magician with it. Within 5 years of taking over, he's improved Dust's purity by at least halfway to becoming perfect, and he still continues to improve. So I must say that he deserves a higher cut than you."

Ning nodded slowly, thinking of what to say. "Let me ask you this," he said. "How often does this other person send you Dust?"