(31) Sacred will

'Yagren's mother is currently a hostage, so he most likely won't dare to make a huge move. If he began a war now, he would only suffer severely.' 

Lucas began deducing Yagren's actions from his current understanding of his character. 

'...In the end, I guess the cardinal officers will intervene. Yagren's mother has citizenship in Survile, gaining her protection from the law enforcers.'

This possibility had been present in Lucas's mind from the moment he came up with the hostage plan. Originally, he had confidence that he would have a few days before the cardinal officers moved, but now he pretty much doubted if he even had a day. 

Ring~

Sighing internally, Lucas picked up the call. 

"Hello, my name is Dergon. It's a pleasure to be acquainted with you, sir. Mister Terence has already informed me about your arrival. As one of the rulers of the Halmen district, please let me welcome you."

Lucas's brow rose after hearing Dergon's voice. It was totally different from how he spoke to Yagren on the phone. 

'As I thought...all the rulers are capable to a degree and he is an A rank awakener too. He will become a very useful pawn in this fight.'

A smile spread across Lucas's face: "Alright, I will not reject your offer. Please pick me up from..... Ah, and the cardinal officers will begin to move very soon, can I entrust you to take care of this matter?"

Finding Dergon to be capable, Lucas didn't see a reason to provide a solution unnecessarily. 

Immediately the atmosphere on the other side of the phone changed. 

Dergon immediately evaluated Lucas, finding him to be very interesting. 

"I understand. We will meet soon, sir. I will prepare a hidden base so that you don't get tangled up with us even if the cardinal officers arrive." 

The more Lucas heard Dergon speak, the wider his smile got. 

"It was nice to meet you too." Lucas bid him a farewell for now. 

Contemplating internally, Lucas turned to Syuzia who was sleeping on his thigh with a peaceful look. 

'She reached rank F+ two days ago, but she is still not very useful. It might take a month for her to break through to E-rank, even with her speed. Well, I have a lot of villain points, so I can spare some anyway.' 

Lucas didn't consider himself a psychology master or anything, but he could acutely tell Syuzia was very worried internally. She most definitely sensed the difference in strength from Yagren. 

"Syuzia. Are you worried about me?" Lucas felt like teasing Syuzia but held it in.

Syuzia lifted her head, nodding solemnly in response to his question. 

"Alright, let me help you a little." Lucas caressed Syuzia's small head gently. 

[Realm breakthrough (F): 1000 villain points.]

Instantly, Syuzia felt a mysterious energy flow into her body, which was suppressed by Lucas. 

Lucas didn't want the driver to notice anything weird. 

'Now, she will be somewhat useful even in the Halmen district. At least she will have the capability to run away...' Lucas didn't worry about Syuzia anymore. 

Instead, Lucas focused on whether or not to strengthen himself. 

There was no skill catalogue present in the villain system, so he couldn't do anything about it. 

He already had discerning eyes, hence he could learn things quickly by seeing. It wouldn't be wrong to call Lucas talented in this aspect. 

'Then, it's my willpower next. I should get a good trait to enhance my growth on a mental level.' 

Lucas didn't consider himself to be in any way weak mentally. It was evident seeing his temperament this far. However, he still thought his growth to be not very satisfying. Not to speak of the pressure and pain he will go through while fighting the protagonists.

Lucas had no experience in these things. Fighting was very rare at the time he transmigrated from after all. 

Searching through the villain system's shop interface, Lucas found a trait suiting his needs. 

[Sacred will (Evolving type trait): 35,000 villain points.]

[Description: Sacred will — it is a trait closely connected with the spirit of the owner. The more hardship you experience, the stronger your willpower grows.]

'There were a few spiritual techniques in the game too, if I remember correctly. This trait strengthens my spirit, therefore I will probably excel in any spiritual arts.' Lucas didn't dislike this side benefit. 

However, he was worried about the amount of villain points necessary. His eyes traveled to the corner of the interface, displaying his villain points balance. 

[Villain point: 53,800]

'Phew...I guess, I can afford it just fine.' 

Lucas quickly brought the sacred will trait. 

[The host's spiritual energy has been stimulated. Calculating....]

[Willpower/spiritual energy: 46.2 (B)]

'Is rank B the usual amount of willpower an adult has? Well, I certainly do feel strangely clearer than ever...' Lucas closed his eyes and tasted this feeling for a while. 

Not noticing Lucas's current state of mind, the driver spoke up: "Sir we have reached the Halmen district. And it seems like a group of people are waiting to welcome us." 

Lucas opened his eyes, feeling a little displeased. 

Gazing outside, worn-out buildings and shops poorly maintained were visible to all. Even the number of people in the street was very low, not surpassing 30. 

People appearing like gangsters or delinquents were in the majority. 

'....So this is Halmen district.'

Staring forward, Lucas could see people sent by Dergon to lead the way. They were sitting on bikes and smoking carelessly, but when they saw Lucas's car approaching they immediately straightened up and threw away the cigarettes in a hurry. Dergon had disciplined them quite well. 

After they verified it to be Lucas, they began leading the way — sometimes glancing at the car boarded by Lucas. 

The luxurious car didn't match the atmosphere of the street at all. Gathering everyone's attention no matter where it went. 

Seeing Dergon's subordinate leading the car, most of the people turned away immediately. They didn't want to get mixed up in this matter, damaging their current life. 

Lucas, who rested his face on the back of his palm, couldn't help but make an observation: 'I was wondering why he was leading me so openly, but now I get it. The cardinal officers would have of course found out my identity if they found this car's arrival here. But, I guess it was just a baseless worry. There are no CCTV cameras on the streets and neither will the citizens speak up about Dergon's matter, to maintain a neutral stance.'

More importantly, Dergon's subordinates had still covered the car's number plate for caution's sake. 

With all this before him, Lucas could rest assured of his secrecy for now. 

'Now then, my only goal for today is to gather information. I experienced a setback before because I lacked just that. But I won't let it repeat itself. I need to understand the difference in strength between Dergon's and Yagren's forces.' Lucas's eyes shone sharply.