Turquoise Vein and Reinforcements

The green-glowing crystal looked unusually tiny in the Cyclops's hand, only about two knuckles long.

In reality, though, it was not small. Its overall shape was that of an irregular prism.

The Cyclops held the crystal carefully, afraid of crushing it.

"Target found: Cyclops"

"Comparing enemy and player strength... assessment complete..."

[Level: Lv31]

[Health: 10313/10313]

[Stamina: 6981/6981]

[Attributes: Strength 31, Stamina 31, Intelligence 9, Agility 9]

[Skills: Laser Eye (Rank C) Lv10: inflicts group paralysis and stiffness on enemies (duration varies according to the relative strength of both sides); Hardening (Rank D) Lv18: hardens the body's surface, negating 54% of incoming attack effects; Heavy Strike (Rank F) Lv31: a charged blow that deals 630-670 damage.]

[Overall rating: D (elite)]

[Note: This enemy is far stronger than you. Stay away!]

"Congratulations, you have discovered the item 'Turquoise's Associated Crystal.'"

[Turquoise's Associated Crystal (Rank B): an associated product of turquoise mines that slowly raises all physical attributes over a period of time. Note: Players who use it immediately gain 10 free attribute points and 500,000 experience points.]

Only now did Lister finally understand why the Cyclops had suddenly attacked and occupied all of Rai Territory.

Normally, most monsters had fixed homes and territories and rarely ventured out.

Now everything became clear in an instant. It seemed the Cyclops had sensed the turquoise vein in this area.

Although the monsters in the earlier acts were not very intelligent and were not particularly perceptive of activity during combat, their ability to sense certain natural minerals, especially things beneficial to themselves, was extraordinary.

Turquoise veins provided ingredients for rare potions such as Lucian's Turquoise Solution.

Although the Cyclops did not know how to make advanced human potions, the turquoise in the vein itself could slowly raise his attributes.

It was just that neither its effect nor its speed was as good as the exceptionally rare Turquoise's Associated Crystal in his hand!

A level 31 monster already fell within the fourth tier, and its overall rating was D-rank elite to boot.

Although Lister had enough raw power to hurt him, there was still a considerable gap between their strength.

Never mind his health of over ten thousand-even his Laser Eye differed from those of ordinary Cyclopes, inflicting paralysis and stiffness over an area.

Even one-on-one, Lister could not say for certain that he could kill this boss, much less with over forty lesser monsters outside.

After watching for quite a while, Lister hated to leave Turquoise's Associated Crystal behind, but for now, he could only retreat.

A few days later.

In the Viscounty of Renekton, a distinguished guest finally arrived at Lister's residence.

He was Count Connor's eldest son and the Conner Family's provisional next heir, Lawson Conner.

Lister warmly welcomed Lawson into the house.

With his distinctive pure white hair and a grayish-brown robe, he looked like a serious middle-aged man.

His face showed some fatigue from the journey.

This was not their first meeting. Lister had met Lawson during his last duel.

At the time, Lawson had been the strongest person behind Count Connor.

"Sir Lawson, this is a specialty black tea I obtained from Viscount Gabriel's Territory. It has a little magic plant added. Please try it."

As the Conner Family's first heir, he could generally be addressed as Sir in public.

Lister brewed a cup of deep red tea himself and handed it to him.

Although a little magic plant had been added, it had no special effects.

It merely made the tea darker and less astringent.

Lawson took a sip and nodded silently.

He did not really care for Lister. On the day of Lister's duel, his father, Liad Connor, had even thought Lister had greater potential than Lawson himself, something Lawson had never quite accepted.

But seeing Lister's warm and sincere manner now, and that he was not putting on airs, Lawson's impression of him improved and his attitude softened considerably. He then got straight to business.

"Was everything you wrote to my father true?"

"There's actually a turquoise mine in a place like Rai Territory?"

In the end, it took profit to persuade Count Connor to send someone to help.

After all, Lister had taken on the task of exterminating the Cyclopes himself, and everything gained from it would go to him.

Even as the leader of the seven great families, the Conner Family could not help with something like this for nothing.

Now that there was profit to be had, things were different.

"Sir Lawson, if you don't believe me, shall I take you to Rai Territory to inspect it yourself now?"

"That won't be necessary. Since my father believes you, I naturally believe you too."

"How large is the vein, and how much can it produce? Have you investigated?"

It seemed Lawson really was a straightforward man, and he spoke just as directly.

"I haven't seen the vein itself, and I don't know its size, but I know where it is."

"If you haven't seen it, how do you know it's a turquoise vein? What if it's something else?"

Lawson's gaze sharpened. He immediately set down his tea and looked at Lister, waiting for an explanation.

"Because I saw Turquoise's Associated Crystal. The Cyclopes attacked all of Rai Territory because of the turquoise mine too."

Hearing this, Lawson finally nodded with real certainty. After all, there could be no mistake about the associated crystal.

If it could produce a crystal, then the vein could not be small either.

"In other words, the entire vein is currently occupied by the Cyclopes."

"If we want to mine it, we have to wipe them out first?"

"That's right!"

Lister could do nothing about the Cyclopes on the outskirts by himself for now, but with Lawson here, everything would be much easier.

The Conner Family's members were mage-class professionals, and they specialized in fighting groups with area-of-effect attacks.

Lawson's innate skill also included vine control. With his help, Lister was confident he could even kill the boss.

"There's one more thing my father asked me to ask you."

"Please, go ahead!"

"Is Quint, the duke's son, really trustworthy?"

"Could the duke have deliberately planted him to infiltrate our families?"

Lawson's words left Lister momentarily stunned. He really had not considered that possibility.

From Count Connor's perspective, it did seem easy to think that way.

But Lister had played the game, and Quint really did become Will III in the end. From that, he could be certain Quint could be trusted.

"He is!"

"If you don't believe me, this is actually a good opportunity to test him."

The value of a turquoise vein could not simply be measured in money, since it supplied the ingredients for rare potions like Turquoise Liquid.

If the vein was large enough, the strength of all the professionals supported by the family could rise quickly.

And if they wanted greater profits, they would naturally bypass Duke Will and have Quint, the legitimate baron of Rai Territory, mine it and share the profits with them privately.

With such enormous profits at stake, it was an especially good test for Quint.

"All right! Then let's discuss the details of this mission first."

"You can decide the specific plan, but when it comes to carrying it out, you'll follow my lead."

Lawson's words brooked no question. Although Lister had already displayed his strength in the duel, Lawson still considered him far too weak to be worth taking seriously.

Lawson thought he had already shown Lister ample respect by letting him decide the detailed plan.

When it came to carrying it out, he still intended to keep control in his own hands!

Lister said little about it. At least Lawson really was willing to help him, and as long as the final result matched his expectations, letting Lawson direct the operation was no great matter.

Meanwhile, inside the Renekton Family's old castle.

A woman in extraordinarily revealing clothing walked steadily up the stairs.

Apart from a few scraps of cloth covering the essential parts, the woman was almost entirely bare.

Her skin was wheat-colored, and the four muscles on her lower abdomen stood out clearly as she walked. There was not a trace of excess flesh on her long thighs, and when she exerted herself, even the striations of her thigh muscles could be seen.

With her red hair, she gave off a wild, uninhibited impression.

The woman now stopped in front of a room and unceremoniously shoved the door open, looking with slight disdain at the young man inside.

That young man was Quint, and the wild, unrestrained woman was Kailina, a professional at the peak of the third tier whom Duke Will had sent for the time being.

"Speak!"

"You'd better actually need something from me!"

"Otherwise, for interrupting my training, considering you're just a mere baron now, I won't mind personally 'training' you for a few days!"