Kanaria

Before returning to the city, they continued getting all the essence from the wolves. Eventually, they reached Tier 1 Wolf. 

When Clovis stabbed the wolf, he noticed something strange. The liquid poured into the essence bottle was slightly different from what he usually saw. 

"This is…" Clovis furrowed his eyebrows, observing the change. A bubble was formed within the liquid and actually consolidated inside the tube. 

"Are you kidding me?" Jay gasped. "Isn't this a beast soul?" 

"Beast Soul?" Clovis recalled what Beast Soul meant while Jay continued with his explanation. "Beast Soul is the beast's special ability. If a human absorbs it, they will gain this special ability and be able to use it. Once you become a higher tier, you can even do something so mystical that it's beyond a mortal limit."

"You should have this beast soul, Jay." Clovis pointed at the syringe. 

"Huh?! Do you understand what you're saying right now? Beast Soul is far more precious than essence. They have a special ability that can surpass human limits. Even with all the essence you can get from these wolves, it won't be enough to pay for this essence. It's even from a Tier 1 dire wolf."

"I know that. The wolf seemed to have a weird change of pace, so it must be related to this beast soul. Since your fighting style is related to speed, I don't think it's a bad idea to have this beast soul," Clovis explained with a nonchalant expression.

"As I said earlier, the beast soul is…" Jay wanted to convince Clovis that he should be the one taking this and not him. But Clovis was dead set on having Jay absorb this essence. 

"There is no limit to the beast soul, right? I think this will fit you quite well." Clovis thought for a moment. "If you don't want it, I will simply sell this beast soul."

Jay opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat.

For Clovis, he thought he could get enough money to upgrade the membership two times with this beast soul. But when he looked at his group, he knew that he had to prioritize the group over his personal gain.

Besides, this essence should be enough to upgrade his membership once. 

Seeing how Clovis didn't hesitate to give such a precious thing to him caused Jay to become even more determined. No matter what happened, he would stand beside this man. Even if they put the group aside, Jay thought Clovis was an extremely good friend, one that should be kept no matter what.

"I understand. Even though I want to pay you for this beast soul, I don't have a lot of money right now. Then, I won't receive the share of the essence for a bit until it's enough to pay for the beast soul." 

"You don't have to do that. If you still feel like owing me something, just put the money in the group's fund. We will use it to buy all kinds of items for the group." 

Jay sighed. "Alright. Let's do it your way." No matter how hard he persuaded Clovis, it didn't seem that he would be changing his mind. 

Jay didn't realize that the reason he wanted to make it a group fund was because he would be the one taking care of their group fund. It would be weird if he kept selling all the essence without using it himself. So, by using the group fund as an excuse, he could get more money for the Another World Mall. 

After sucking up all the essence, they began walking back to the city. 

Clovis was quite satisfied with their haul. After all, in addition to the essence they had gotten before helping Kanaria, they had a total of 1,120 ml of essence as well as 60 ml of Tier 1 Dire Wolf's essence.

He wanted to go back to the mall as soon as possible. Then again, by the time they reached the base, it was still 1 p.m. He still needed another eleven hours before he could enter the mall.

"Then, I am going this way." Clovis pointed in Essence Bank's direction.

"I will go to the Explorer Association to register us. We'll meet again during dinner to talk about our next plan."

"Sure." Clovis hurriedly walked to Essence Bank. He never thought that he would be able to find his first comrade so soon.

But before reaching his destination, he met a familiar face. It was Kanaria. However, it seemed that she was being confronted by some people. 

"Do you understand what you are doing right now?" Kanaria asked while looking at their faces.

To Clovis's surprise, Susan and the other two were among the people she glared at.

"Huh?" Clovis didn't really want to get involved, but he still hid not far from her group while watching. He didn't want them to recognize him and end up dragging him into their mess after all.

"Kanaria. It seems that you've forgotten how the family have helped you and your sister. To not even be able to realize the betrayal means that you are unsuitable to be in charge of the group anymore."

"Ishtar… Are you seriously doing this?" Kanaria frowned. 

"I believe I am doing this for our family. Because of you, we have lost a few people. If I let you remain as the leaders, the remaining people won't be able to rest easy. And I believe that you need to clear up your mind for the time being. How about returning to the family?" 

Kanaria gritted her teeth, glaring at this red-haired woman. It was clear that she wanted to make her leave the group. 

"You're going to regret this, Ishtar. Since you want me to leave, then I'll leave the group." Kanaria snorted. "In the future, even if you are on your knees and beg me to return, I won't go back to this group." 

"Hmph. Do you think you're that important? The real reason why you're able to become the leader is because of your sister. But with this failure, even your sister can't say anything. Since you have said it yourself, then your sister won't be able to do anything to me." 

"I don't need this group." Kanaria harrumphed and stormed off in anger.

These people were looking at her with a grin on their faces as though they had just won.

On the other hand, Kanaria just strolled around the street while wondering what she should do next. It was at that time she noticed someone who seemed to have been eavesdropping the whole time. 

"Clovis?" Kanaria was startled.

"Yo. Do you believe me that I happen to be on my way to Essence Bank?" 

"Yeah. You don't seem to be a person who likes to lie." Kanaria nodded.

"It seems that you are in trouble."

Kanaria thought for a moment before grabbing Clovis's shoulders and spinning him. She then pushed him to the other side of the alley to avoid her group. She said, "Not really."

"But looking at the conclusion, it seemed like it was a trap."

"You could see that?"

"Somehow."

Kanaria sighed. "I don't know what to say anymore. That red head has been waiting for an opportunity like this to take over the group. She doesn't know that the group will crumble sooner or later." 

"What do you mean?"

"It's going to be a long story."

"Are you sure you want to share it with a stranger like me?"

"Jay believes you, so it doesn't really matter. Jay might look like a weird guy, but his eyes are exceptional. He knows what kind of person he can trust and which one he shouldn't. Besides, I'm feeling bad right now. I have told you to come to me if you need something, but right now, I'm homeless."

"If you don't mind going to Essence Bank, then sure."

Kanaria smiled. "Have you heard this saying? Amateurs do tactics, experts do logistics." 

"Yeah."

"I was the one who handled all that stuff. Now that they had driven me off, they had to find someone capable of replacing me. At the very least, they need about three people if they want to replace me. In the end, they won't be able to explore for a while, and if they continue with their rash action, the group will crumble soon."

"Really?" Clovis looked surprised. When she put it that way, he could see why Kanaria didn't look troubled at all. 

"By the way, since Jay invited me earlier… is that offer still valid?" Kanaria smiled sweetly, offering herself. 

"…" Clovis blinked a few times, not knowing how to answer.

"It seems that you're unsure about my ability. In that case, how about I help you with the preparation to see if I am a good addition to the group?"

"We can do that." Clovis nodded. He didn't know how much logistics impacted the team, so he was quite curious about this offer. At the same time, he had seen Kanaria's fighting prowess earlier, which qualified her to be a member of the team.

"Then, please take care of me, Captain." Kanaria smirked, treating herself as a member of the group already. 

"By the way, I have a question. Are you sure it's fine to join my group? Aren't you from a famous family?" 

"It's fine for now. Jay is in the group as well, so I have an excuse for the time being. Besides, I want to see the man who Jay acknowledges." 

"If you say so." Clovis nodded. He didn't know whether this was the correct choice or not, but he could still decide it later after seeing Kanaria's ability. 

However, he never thought that Kanaria would instantly decide to join his group. Today alone, he managed to get Jay and Kanaria, which was something he never expected.