Chapter 178 Deal

On his walk back, Lucas was moving more on automatic pilot as both sides were in the Mental Sphere. Staring at one side of the dome, a bunch of Light runes were clearly etched on the wall, giving off a bit of light. On the other side, the Dark runes were visible. He never really used them all that much, but looking at them now, he really never gave them much though.

Staring at them, he tried to understand the meaning behind each one, they contained impressions and meanings that couldn't be described in words, only feelings. Some felt extremely similar to each other, others felt as opposite sides yet performed the same function in the end. 

To Lucas, it was like reading a language he could pronounce, but hardly had any idea what each word exactly meant. Since the beginning, he always gained spells through tomes or books that explained certain magical processes. If it wasn't that, it was copying whatever he found interesting enough. 

To replicate the spell Lucas had to use the runes available to him, sometimes things turned out fine like with his Blue Fire Sword, other times he failed miserable like his Light aura. Since it all came down to understanding of nature and magic, Lucas couldn't brute force certain things. 

Given enough time, he could find sequences of runes that created a spell by combining all his runes in a random order. But doing so would require time Lucas neither had nor wanted to spend on it. Sadly, his fate seemed to take a turn since with the current runes his only choice was exactly that. 

The chance of finding some Light runes here, in a world without any spell-based magic, would be extremely hard. Perhaps if he found the diaries of previous Starborn he could gain some knowledge, but Lucas knew that such a boon was simply impossible. 

For now his arm was gone, and he would have to live with it. The best option he thought of would be to slowly regenerate his limb, but to create entire bones and the complexity of the hand, Lucas wondered if such a thing could regrow naturally. Since most of his Light spells simply tried to return the body to its natural state, wounds weren't an issue. 

But healing a lost arm would just patch up the wound, not regrow the limb. So Lucas felt dejected as both sides tried to figure out a way to get his full strength back. One side was extremely proficient in healing so he made the most progress, the other was an expert in the Dark runes, so he barely understood a single rune. 

Yet it was with the cooperation from both sides that their understanding of the runes grew the fastest. It didn't take long before he saw the camp in the distance again. Deciding to stop researching his runes, Lucas prepared his entrance. 

Stuck between choosing a disheveled look or the look of a proud knight, Lucas chose the latter. Making sure his appearance was tidy, Lucas walked with a steady pace towards the camp. The moment he was spotted, the guards alarmed everyone to his arrival. 

The drawbridge lowered, Carian and Thurin moved at a great speed to meet their savior. Carian was glad to see Lucas survived, but Thurin felt his heart drop the moment he saw Lucas's current state. 

"What happened?", Thurin exclaimed as he rushed to hug Lucas. Such a breach of personal space wasn't something he was used to, he felt extremely weird to have someone hug him. It had been years, after all. The feeling of warmth made him feel strange. 

Still, he couldn't just push him away, that would ruin the image he was trying to create. Instead, Lucas awkwardly hugged him back with his remaining arm. 

"No worries Thurin, I might've lost my arm, but I haven't gotten weaker. Instead, let me show you what we have all achieved together!", Lucas released his ring and pulled the bodies of the Terrabears and the Black Griffin out of it. 

Since they had won the battle but had to leave behind their prizes, everyone felt a little down. Yet now, the Starborn came back and gifted them their rewards. Celebrations were heard as Carian inspected the Black Griffin. People were amazed on how it looked, but Carian was more impressed than anything. 

If it was before, he would've been scared to see the potential danger, even now his heart wasn't fully calm. 'The feathers of a Black Griffin are comparable to the strongest Tier 2 Cultivator. Looking at this one, it looks like it's already an adult, so perhaps even a Tier 3 Cultivator would be in trouble. If he managed to create such a hole so easily, then only the Emperor stands a chance against him. And even then, if this isn't the full capacity of his strength, then we can only persuade him to be on our side.'

Carian was troubled with the outcome. Unlike everyone else, who were celebrating and heaving Thurin and Lucas into the sky, Carian let out a sigh. It would be his responsibility to make sure that this Starborn was kept under control. And if that was to be achieved, he needed to know what he wanted. He looked at Lucas from afar.

'I guess it's time to use that.'

The celebrations continued, but Lucas didn't take part in them, using his current state as an excuse, he went back to his tent. 

Carian followed him and entered without pause. Lucas was sitting in his chair, he was about to study his runes further, but heard someone approach him. 

"Starborn Lucas, I would propose you pick a bigger tent. Although you weren't with us for very long, you've proven yourself amongst the soldiers and most importantly, you're a friend of Thurin."

"It's fine, this place is good enough for me, thanks for your proposal though.", Lucas used his fake smile so openly. To Lucas, it didn't matter where he slept, but declining the offer would make him seem more humble and respectable, yet Carian saw right through it.

"Star-, no Lucas. Let me be honest for a moment.", Carian felt that the best way to approach a man of such caliber was through pure honesty, removing all the false flattery and pretenses. According to historical records, ways to communicate with the Starborn were clearly noted. The one thing they all contained was being open and trying not to hide anything. 

Lucas felt intrigued by the man, according to his estimation, he should be capable of killing Carian pretty easily if things turned sour. Sadly, his energy reserves were bottomed out at the moment, so he would rather avoid it. Of course, that's just how one side thought, the other was paying close attention to their conversation.

"Throughout history, we know that Starborn are heralds of change, you will no doubt also be included in that group. Their arrival was always coupled with destruction and chaos, for the losing side, of course. The group or family that sided with the Starborn became rulers of the world.", Carian stopped talking as he tried to gauge Lucas's response. 

While what he said was true, the records also said that they were all bloodthirsty monsters that could sometimes not distinguish between friend or foe. There was only one that was more like Lucas, but that could be an exception.

"And?", Lucas pushed Carian a bit since he stopped talking. It was clear that Carian was figuring out what to say, but waiting around bored Lucas, he had more pressing matters to attend to. 

"I want to get you on our side through a contract. I want your support and aid for our Empire, and I need your help with the young master."

"That's asking a lot, especially considering my current state. And like you said, I don't need to support your side. I can always go to where the grass is greener."

Lucas tested the waters, he wasn't planning on abandoning them, since that wouldn't be good for anyone. Still, Lucas had to know his limits in order to get a good deal.

"What do you want?", Carian didn't show a hint of nervousness, he felt that his country would be the best in a partnership with the Starborn, they had almost always had them on their side.

"I want everything, protection, money, from every piece of knowledge and wisdom stored within your archives to the way you create weapons and your body strengthening. I want everything.", Lucas didn't hold back on his demands. If someone was desperate to have him on their side, why wouldn't he gain as much as possible. 

Carian didn't look away though, he stared deep into Lucas's eyes. His mind was racing, but not for the reasons Lucas thought. 

"I don't have the authority to give you everything. Although I'm just an advisor, if my belief holds true, I can still give you everything you desire."

Lucas closed his eyes in suspicion, what Carian said was obviously filled with cryptic hints. What Lucas asked for couldn't really be defined and would be impossible to achieve. Yet because of the loose definition, Carian looked more than confident enough to speak the truth.

'I wasn't expecting him to agree with that condition in the first place, I had a whole list of things I was planning on going through. 

'I don't understand, he doesn't have the power, yet can give us everything? Is he talking out of his ass?'

'He doesn't have the capabilities to do so, yet he still believes he can uphold the deal, meaning that while he might not be capable, someone else will. If that means us or someone else, I can't tell.'

'Does he have something against the Emperor or something? Can he bribe him?'

'A bribe isn't going to give you everything, even if you were the best friend of the Emperor himself. No, he has a clear vision of the future.'

'...Enlighten me, is he going to become Emperor?'

'No, but the person he's advising might be.'

'Thurin?'

'He came here with a goal to train himself, perhaps killing a Terrabear is proof of heritage. Or something more uncertain is happening.'

'Killing a Terrabear isn't that hard, even Carian could do it, it wouldn't be seen as something special, would it?'

'Most likely not, perhaps there are multiple conditions to be fulfilled to become the Emperor. Still, with all the guards and two advisors, he's most likely a potential heir.'

'Meaning that if we do support him, we could become friends with the future Emperor? Doesn't mean we'll get everything.'

'True.'

Lucas let his thoughts run wild as he tried to understand what Carian was saying. Even at the end of every line of thinking, he didn't see a way for Carian to succeed. He had to know how Carian was going to achieve it, or there was no way for him to go through with the deal. 

"Is Thurin that promising?", Lucas took a bet. He didn't want to give away too much, but simply asking him how, would make him feel stupid. Carian had already given him a hint, if he were to answer so plainly, that only meant that was the limit of his intelligence. And if there was one thing Lucas hated, it was being questioned about his intelligence. 

Carian nodded for multiple reasons, he was certain now that he wasn't talking to a mindless Starborn, but one that had the capacity to think, meaning that an entire new world would open for him. If he simply followed the advice that was written down, he could get the Starborn on their side 

Making a mistake in front of a being that is capable of handling an adult Black Griffin, someone who would be around the same level if not higher than the Emperor himself, he needed to be careful. But there was no way to gain a reward without a risk. 

"Together, we can give you anything you desire.", Carian kept his calm tone, but both Lucas and Carian were slightly on edge. 

'Yeah, I still don't get it. So Thurin could become the next king or something, and that's how we get everything?'

'He changed the condition.'

'What do you mean?'

'I said everything, not anything I desire.'

'So he's trying to scam us?!' 

Lucas took a lot of time to think it over, in reality only a few seconds had passed, but that was more than enough for Lucas to do so multiple times. Then he came to a conclusion. When it came to debates with intellectuals, one side of Lucas had a clear upper hand.

'I actually think he is helping us.'

'...We get less, and somehow that's a good thing? Did that black bird scare you so much that your brain stopped working?'

'We get less, both of good and bad. If he were to give us land, we would have to govern it, all the menial task that come with certain rewards aren't what we need or desire.'

'If we get land, just let someone else run it and just reap the profits, isn't that the most basic?'

'Then what's the point in asking for land in the first place, we could just ask for the profits.'

'What? Now you lost me.'

'Carian can't give us everything, but he can get us anything we desire. If we wanted to buy something, he will make the arrangements, we don't have to go through multiple steps to get what we want. If it's money or items, he'll give it to us, he just can't give the things that generate income on a regular basis to us since that would destroy the country.'

'... I'm still not following.'

'Sigh, hey, I'm trying to explain, can't you at least be helpful and think it through?'

'I am, I just don't understand how this is beneficial for us.'

'Just trust me on this, I feel like if this goes well, we'll hold this country in our grasp.'

Lucas took his time to anticipate a few more things and see how the future could look like. If he had to support Thurin as an heir, then he would have to fight against the other heirs. Lucas had a tiny bit of experience with Freya, teaching her to get the lower ranked nobles and poor commoners on her side. If she got their support, then they would be capable of overthrowing the bigger opponents through a sly trick. 

Still, here he had no knowledge of the world, hell, even the name of the empire he was currently in had never been spoken about. He had no clue about how the royals and nobles worked here, the hierarchy, the currency, the religion and cultural events were all lost to him. If he had to help someone get the throne, there was a pile of work ahead. 

Besides that, he also had to get his arm back, so his time would most certainly be limited. Still, Lucas felt confident he would be capable to do it. He might not be the smartest or the strongest, but he had a good edge in both categories and knew how to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. 

"Then I will support you. But I hope you realize I don't have the intel necessary to do so effectively." 

Carian and Lucas continued their conversation and added a few conditions on both sides to make sure everyone was protected. Right as Lucas felt that it was good enough, he held his hand out. Carian didn't shake it, though, he pulled out a piece of parchment. It wasn't as if Carian didn't want to shake hands on it, he just needed collateral and certainty. 

The contents of the contract were the ones they had been talking about, leaving Lucas impressed of Carian's foresight. Carian already knew how this conversation would go and prepared it all in advance. Lucas was glad someone like him was going to be on his side. It made him a little scared to see someone so capable in front of him, if he was capable of predicting the entire conversation, what else could he think of?

Lucas thought of himself as someone that was smart, slightly above average, even if that wasn't the case. Now he knew how big the spectrum truly was, Carian had more insight than he did. Luckily, they were working together, so he could learn his tricks through the time.

Signing the contract, it evaporated into light and entered his body, nestling next to the beacon, the contract did have a grasp on his heart. If he were to go against them, his heart would explode. Luckily, with enough time, Lucas could understand the way the contract worked and try to remove it, but for now, he was glad to let it stay. 

As the contract settled in, Carian let go of his serious persona and relaxed so much he almost fell out of his chair. 

"Aah, finally, it's over. I'm really getting too old for this kind of stuff."

'The scholars might be pretentious pricks, but they sure know how to write guides.' 

Lucas couldn't help but laugh a little, since the contract protected both sides from each other, there was no need to be so wary anymore. Lucas also relaxed a bit, but was quickly surprised when Carian took out a bottle of wine. 

"Let's toast to this partnership, the future of the Empire and to the conquering of the world!"

Lucas didn't really drink, but felt inclined to try it just once since it fit the mood so well.