A question

"Are there any more questions you would like to ask?"

"No... It looks fine to me, as long as you are willing to swear the oath in my circle of truth, we can conclude the deal!" said the Shaman.

After more than 30 minutes, when Five's legs were already asking him to sit down, the two men finally concluded their deal. The terms were as followed:

1. A minimum of 80 barbarians would go to the dungeon every day unless something important happened. This number will increase in the future if both parties were happy with their agreement.

2. Among the barbarians, only the shaman and the chief, Achi would be informed of this deal.

3. The barbarians were free to explore the dungeon as long as they did not go beyond a designated floor. At the moment, the barbarians could only go as far as the 4th floor and naturally, this number would slowly increase in the future.

4. Twice as many ores would be available on the first floor for mining.

5. The barbarians would fight as they wish and as long as they did not blatantly suicide or violate any of the previous terms, none of the monsters would deal fatal blows. Injuries were allowed as long as they were not life-threatening.

6. The monsters of the dungeon would also not attack the Black Iron Tribe at their village or in the forest unless one of the previous terms was violated.

7. The oath would only last for 1 week as a test. Beyond that period of time, another oath will be made if both parties were satisfied with their outcome.

Five was very satisfied with this deal. He was not very greedy and as long as he could increase the number of barbarians coming to the dungeon, he would be happy. First, he would get the barbarians accustomed to the dungeon and at the same time, he was doubling his income! In the future, if the barbarians became sufficiently dependent on the dungeon, they would move to protect it by themselves!

As for the Shaman, he was also in a good mood. After listening to Five, it seemed that the dungeon had a considerable fighting force and contained a significant amount of resources. If he played his cards properly, the tribe could benefit a lot from this deal.

"We have a deal then! Haha, when I first thought about contacting you, I thought you would immediately attack me on sight! Looks like I was worried for nothing. Well, it's not as if I would have lost a lot..." jokingly said Five. He looked carefree but between the lines, he was saying: "don't think about attacking me, my death is not worth a lot!"

"Haha, this is normal. Since you have shown your sincerity earlier, I will also do the same. I will help you craft something to hide your demonic aura. This way, you will look just like any normal human; It should be ready in two days!" said the shaman, appearing completely oblivious to Five's hidden message.

"Crafting? About that, I would like to make another request!"

"What is it?" suspiciously asked the shaman.

"It is about one of the harpies you have previously seen, Angela. She has just started to learn to craft. It would be good if she had someone to guide her, what about..."

"No! I refuse!" abruptly cut the shaman. "I am sorry but I am not allowed to teach the ancestral recipes and techniques of my tribe to an outsider. Besides, I already have an apprentice and she is taking all my free time already, I don't have enough time to teach someone else!"

Five frowned, he knew it would be hard to get a good teacher for Angela but he did not give up yet, "Please don't be impulsive. I understand your thoughts but aren't they too outdated? The world is changing and you need to adapt, aren't you already starting to shift from hunting to exploring the dungeon? Maybe it is time to open your mind a little bit. Besides, there is no need for you to actively teach her anything, it would be enough if she can be present when you pass your teachings to Mira."

"No no no, these crafting techniques are very important to the Black Iron Tribe and cannot be easily leaked out. They were accumulated through the blood of my ancestors, how can I give them to outsiders like that?" righteously said the shaman.

Five paused for a moment and stared at the old man. "Triple the amount of ores!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Triple the amount of ores! If you agree to teach Angela, instead of doubling the amount of ores, I will triple it instead!" decisively answered Five as he examined the Shaman for any signs of weakness.

"No no, I already said..."

"Quadruple!" declared Five.

"This... I really..."

"Quintuple! That's my last offer; if you say no, then let's forget about it," said Five as he appeared to be about to give up. From what he has seen, this amount should be more than enough to move the Shaman.

The latter froze, deep inside, he was struggling the urge to accept this offer. The tribe could greatly benefit from these ores, especially now that they were training blacksmiths; ores were what they lacking the most! However, in the end, the shaman desperately held onto his morals, "This... I am very sorry, the offer is attractive but this is not appropriate. I am afraid that not everyone can learn shamanism and our other techniques. Only one in a thousand barbarians are able to learn our techniques. The harpy you mentioned looked very powerful but crafting is not just about strength and magical power, it is also about wisdom! You see, the art of crafting does not limit itself to following recipes, you also need to derive your own! Without wisdom, a craftsman can only call himself a journeyman!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the shaman let out a sigh of relief. Fearing that Five would continue to raise the price, he decided to completely change his argument, hinting at the fact that Angela might simply be unsuitable for learning his techniques.

This time, Five did not know how to answer, it was true that Angela was not necessarily meant for crafting but there was no way she lacked wisdom! The problem was how to prove that she had the qualifications to learn from the shaman! "This..."

Five was about to retort when he suddenly heard the distinct flapping of wings in the distance. He turned to look in that direction and as he expected, a few seconds later, Angela emerged from the foliage.

"Master... Thank you for trying... But can I take it from here?" asked Angela with a firm tone. She looked serious and was even clenching her fist to show her determination.

In truth, the harpies had been listening to the conversation the whole time! By cleverly using the wind, they were able to carry Five's and the Shaman's voice to their ears and eagerly listened to the negotiations. When she heard that Five was trying to get her a teacher, Angela was touched but as the conversation continued, it looked less and less likely that he was going to succeed!

As a result, for once, Angela decided to step up for herself. For once, she would get out of her comfort zone and speak for herself. She could not let this opportunity go and quickly flew to meet the two.

Five looked at the silver-haired harpy. He immediately understood what Angela was here for and smiled. It seemed that the harpy was slowly growing up, "Sure, go ahead!"

"Thank you Master... Thank you for believing in me... As for wisdom... I think that I certainly do have more wisdom than someone who would leave his apprentice at the mercy of the forest alone at night like that!" decisively exclaimed Angela. As soon as she finished speaking, she blushed but held her stare.

"Huh? Are you trying to taunt me? Well, it's not going to work. I have always been protecting Mira from the shadows, it is just that I did not expect you to suddenly appear to grab her. Mira also has several items on her to protect her, I am sure she knows her limit! As for making her meditate alone near the pond, it is a necessary process. I went through far worse than that to feel the elements; I even had to walk on a path of blazing stones once. Although our methods are crude, they are effective and the only way for us to get closer to nature! If I could, I would never have allowed Mira to endure those but everyone needs to be tempered to some extent, I don't want her to become a good-for-nothing," answered the shaman with a sad tone.

"Ohhh..." answered Angela.

"Then what do you have to say about wisdom? Do you not agree with what I just said?" asked the Shaman.

"No... You were right... But as long as I prove that I am at least as wise as you... Would you accept me as an apprentice?" asked Angela.

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" curiously asked the Shaman?

"By asking you a question... It is one that I was able to answer, my master can vouch for me in that circle of truth you were talking about... If you are not able to answer that question, that simply means that I am at least as wise as you..." answered Angela.

"Answering a question? Haha, that's one way to do it but little girl, what if I am able to answer the question?" asked the Shaman.

"Then... we will quintuple the amount of ores... If you are not able to answer the question... You will accept me as your apprentice and we will only quadruple the amount of ores on the first floor..." proposed Angela.

The shaman thought for a moment, he was very confident in his own wisdom and ability to answer questions. He basically had the cumulated knowledge of the Black Iron Tribe since its creation! What an easy way to gain benefits.

"Alright, I agree. Ask your question little girl!" confidently said the shaman.

"Okay... But first, I have to ask you 2 questions... They are very important to my question. Keep in mind that it is the third question that you should be able to answer..."

As Angela started to speak, Five froze and internally swore, wasn't this the result he had just asked the harpies a few days ago? 'D*mn, I knew it was bad to teach card tricks to Alice... But who would have known that even telling riddles could be dangerous... It is better to stop sharing things from Earth with the harpies or they might become master swindlers.'