21 Caine Smith (1)

Caine took a deep draught of the beer before launching into a narration on golems. He spoke for a quarter of an hour without pausing. As Edward listened, he left a mark of beer foam on his lips which he did not notice until Tiffany giggled.

Edward's thoughts began arranging themselves,

(A golem mage's strength is judged based on the number of golems he can control)

(100 is average while 1000 is exceptional. The strongest golem mage ever controlled 8,000 at once)

(An average golem hovers around the iron tier strength but are superb for defending key installations)

(A golem mage's level of control is determined by his Aether core rating, his aether manipulation ability and mastery of spirit magics. For auxiliary means, there is suitable monster core abilities and spirit beast contracts)

"How many golems can you control?" Edward asked as Caine finished his explanation.

"I can control up to 10 golems," Caine answered with no hesitation.

Edward's face fell as he heard the answer. Caine appeared unruffled at Edward's expression,

Seeing Edward's reaction, Tiffany spoke up "Caine is plenty strong even with 10 golems. He just took out seven class 4 beasts with nine golems."

Edward's expression took a straight 180 degrees change as he reassessed.

"Isn't a golem's normal level of strength equivalent to an iron tier combatant? How could you take out Steel tier combatants on near even odds?"

" I crafted 9 of my golems personally," Caine replied with a grin. "Their strength is comparable to steel tier combatants."

Tiffany added that many other golem mages would have needed more than nine golems to wipe out seven class 4 beasts.

"May I know what your golems are made of?" Edward asked as he leaned forwards.

"Sorry, trade secrets." replied Caine.

Edward's body immediately returned back to his original position as he apologized stating that he was a layman for matters relating to aether magics.

Caine waved off his apologies and brought his mug up instead.

"Would it be possible for you to control 100 golems in a matter of 6 months?" as Edward's mug made a clinking sound.

At the side, Tiffany looked somewhat uncomfortable while Caine displayed no outward emotions.

Edward noted Tiffany's reaction but kept his face blank as Caine replied that while It is possible , it is unlikely due to the high amount of resources required.

Edward than indicated for Caine to explain further by pointing out that the Astrea name had access to more resources than many.

"A grade 5 monster core of a spider queen with the ability 'Spirit Strands' or an overlord class spider queen spirit beast as my contract beast." Caine replied.

The food arrived, and the trio tucked in with great gusto.

As they finished the meal, conversation on daily subjects could be heard from the trio's table.

As the wait staff cleared the plates from the table and refilled glasses, Edward queried Caine if the reason why he is aligned with Mercenary guild was to earn enough points to exchange for the relevant monster core.

"Indeed, amongst the various organizations, the mercenary guild stands in the best position to procure a grade 5 spider queen core. I am artificing golems for them on a regular basis to exchange for mercenary points too." replied Caine while leaning back in his chair. "Should such a core surface in the outer realm with the mercenary guild, I am confident of my ability in procuring it."

Edward considered for a moment before asking for Caine's timeframe.

Caine replied that he expected the process to take a decade or longer.

Edward then asked if he would stand against Coalition forces to achieve his goals.

Caine straightened and his expression became closed as he answered that for Coalition forces, he is unable to give an answer for the time being. After pausing a moment, with his eyes blazing he stated in an even tone that he will not raise a hand against the MagiTech institute nor the Magi order and that will not change even in the future.

"Fair enough," Edward replied as he took a draught of the beer.

At the side, Tiffany was nodding after Caine's words.

Edward inquired as to why the mage pair was operating in the Astrea Empire's holdings instead of the Eastern Coalition's.

Caine drew out a pouch and summoned two sheafs of parchment. As he unrolled it, Edward saw that it was a map of Astrea Empire's holdings in the outer realm with various markings on it.

"The blue markings indicates where demon spider queens have been spotted." Caine replied as his fingers traced the markings. The red circle here shows where a dark iron deposit is found."

Caine then unrolled the second parchment. There was no red markings and much fewer blue markings. "This is the map I have on the Eastern Coalition's, the mercenary guild at the Coalition's holdings assured me that it was in a similar state to the Dynasty."

Edward was nodding like a fan at a blood sports match where the gladiator just scored a great mark.

"Any plans for contracting an appropriate spirit beast?"

"The hunter who aims at everything, aims at nothing. I selected the beast core as it has the highest odds in my opinion." replied Edward as he rolled the parchments.

"Without an army behind one's back, it is not advisable to approach a spirit beast tribe." Tiffany piped up in a jovial manner.

"It appears that we are out of beer. Give me a moment, I will go get some of the finest draughts the inn have available." Caine took the jug and headed for the back.

As Caine left and headed to the counter, Tiffany and Edward chatted, "Hey Tiffany, I noticed you looked a uncomfortable when I asked Edward if he could control 100 golems earlier. Is there anything I was missing? He is a regular golem mage, right?"

Tiffany sighed and had a morose expression before replying "Tif will do, Tiffany sounds so stately. What Caine is not saying is that compared to normal mages, Caine is born with a weaker aether core than most. His rating is 3 compared to the average 7 of a mage. It is considered a faux pas amongst the magi community to talk about a mage's Aether core rating especially if the other party has a low rating."

"I am sure you can imagine what sort of encounters he would have had in the magi community with his Aether core rating. I would appreciate if you could bear this in mind when discussing core rating matters with him." Tiffany said as she drained her mug.

"Huh, what did you say about rating? I appear to be suffering from short-term memory loss." Edward acted lost.

A crystal clear laughter like tinkling bells resounded from Tiffany.

"I am back, hope you two did not wait too long for the drinks," Caine said as he set the jug on the table. "Where were we?"

Edward sat up straight in his chair as he related that he was creating a new branch of special forces company under the directive of Aureus. Edward asked if Caine had any special capabilities as a golem mage, something that can be considered for employment as the company has an opening for a golem mage.

Before Caine could reply, Edward added that a grade 5 spider queen core was not out of the question as a price for hire.

Caine and Tiffany's brows raised as they heard Edward, they exchanged incredulous looks with each other. Edward suspected that had he not shown proof that he was a retainer of Aureus, those two may have taken him as a clown and dismissed him.

Still carrying an incredulous look, Caine stated that he was close to being a grandmaster in golem artificing. Top 3 in the outer realm in that aspect.

"More like number one," Tiffany said from the side.Caine carried on by listing that his bloodline ability allows him to manipulate aether far better than most mages resulting in a high level of control for golem manipulation. He added that control dilution will happen when more golems are added but it is nothing that time and training will not fix.

"What is your forecasted strength as a golem mage should you gain the spider queen core?" Edward was peering at Caine now.

"The strongest golem mage in the outer realm until the gates reopen," Caine replied as he crossed his legs.

"Would you pledge allegiance to Prince Aureus if he can procure said core or the appropriate spirit beast within a year?"

Caine looked stunned at Edward's offer.

"Hey, hey can I get a grade 5 salamander core while you are at it?" Tiffany asked from the side while waving one of her hands in an animated manner.

Edward looked bemused as he replied, "What distinctive abilities do you have? Would you pledge allegiance to Prince Aureus?"