I've never even killed a chicken!

"Oh? You old... Hanks, my good man, tell me more!"

An Kai's eyes lit up. He had left the tower precisely to look for resources.

Hunting and fishing in the Desert were already a drop in the bucket compared to his current shortfall.

Hanks pretended not to have heard An Kai call him an old bastard.

He cleared his throat and began explaining...

"The Mountainbreaker Gang..."

Five minutes later.

An Kai understood.

Hanks wanted him to join the Mountainbreaker Gang as a retainer, which would earn him a monthly allotment of resources.

It would be worth around ten Lower-grade Magic Stones.

And being a retainer was only a nominal position. He wouldn't actually have to do anything.

An Kai was certainly willing to take such a sweet deal!

Especially since Hanks also said that mage retainers received twice the usual allotment!

However...

An Kai wasn't in a hurry to agree. Why would Hanks tell him about such a good deal for no reason?

"Is that all? Hanks, you'd better not be lying to me!"

An Kai glared at him, making it clear that they weren't done here unless Hanks told the truth.

"Ahem... Kid, what kind of man do you take me for...?"

An Kai remained unmoved and gestured for Hanks to keep spinning his tale. He was listening.

"Ahem... Oh dear, this memory of mine. I forgot something!"

"Once you join, I'll receive ten Lower-grade Magic Stones as your sponsor. How about we split them?"

"No need. They're all yours."

An Kai answered without even thinking.

He still knew where to draw the line on certain matters.

They were only ten Lower-grade Magic Stones. Compared with the retainer position Hanks had introduced him to, they were insignificant.

Once he learned that he could receive the Mountainbreaker Gang's resources for free, An Kai lingered no longer and urged Hanks to take him to join.

With something to gain himself, Hanks was eager too. Without needing any further prompting, he led An Kai toward the Mountainbreaker Gang's headquarters.

The journey took them about half an hour.

They arrived at the Mountainbreaker Gang's headquarters in southwestern Chaos City.

Looking at the headquarters' gate, which was over ten meters wide, An Kai couldn't help asking, "How strong is someone at tier two?"

"How strong? He could take on a hundred of you with one hand."

Hanks answered, patted An Kai on the shoulder, and led him into the Mountainbreaker Gang's headquarters. At some point, he had pinned a badge engraved with "Mountainbreaker Gang Retainer" to his chest...

"A hundred?"

"That strong?"

An Kai muttered inwardly. A hundred mages like him should be able to destroy Chaos City if given enough time...

Could someone at tier two wipe out a city?

Upon entering the headquarters, they were greeted by a courtyard covering nearly a thousand square meters. The gang leader's room stood directly in its center.

The rooms on either side were used for the Mountainbreaker Gang's group activities.

The room for registering retainers was just to the right of the gang leader's room.

Hanks led An Kai straight there, ignoring the gang members who were training, and pushed open the door to the retainers' room...

"Lord Hanks, you're here. Have you come to accept a retainer assignment this time?"

An old man with a faint aura sat inside. He spoke with a gentle smile on his face.

"Old Frank, I've brought you a retainer. A mage, no less."

"An Kai, come here!"

Hanks called An Kai over from the doorway.

An Kai had already pinned his "Tier-One Mage" badge to his chest. At the sight of old Frank, he gave a shy, youthful smile...

"A tier-one mage certified by that old fellow Dong Lin in Nameless Town!" Hanks introduced him from the side.

"Oh? So you're one of Mage Donglin's people!"

"How has Mage Donglin been lately?"

"The president was summoned by the association and went to Buklin Capital. Since I lack experience, President Dong Lin sent me to Chaos City."

Faced with Frank's questions, An Kai spun a lie without a second thought...

Frank smiled, his expression otherwise unchanged.

Inwardly, he had already reached a verdict on An Kai: A youngster who fled the Mage Association. He can't be entrusted with anything important.

That fellow Dong Lin... Frank had dealt with him before. He didn't believe that old bastard was so kindhearted!

"Then could you give us a demonstration?"

At Frank's words, An Kai willed an ordinary Fireball into his hand.

Then he threw it through the open doorway and into the courtyard.

With a soft boom, it blasted a hole in the ground.

Seeing this, Frank's smile widened. He extended his right hand. "Welcome to the Mountainbreaker Gang, Lord An Kai!"

The rest was straightforward. Frank collected some basic information about An Kai, who made everything up without speaking a single word of truth.

Frank didn't mind either. He seemed used to it.

Before long, the registration was complete. Frank took out a "Mountainbreaker Gang Retainer" badge and handed it to An Kai.

Then he took out twenty Lower-grade Magic Stones and gave them to An Kai.

He also handed ten gold coins to Hanks. "Thank you for your contribution to the Mountainbreaker Gang, Lord Hanks."

After saying this, Frank put on an apologetic expression as though he had made a mistake. He gave an embarrassed smile and returned to his seat.

"I'm getting old, getting old. Look what I've gone and done," Frank murmured.

If Hanks hadn't mentioned it beforehand, such a crude attempt to sow discord might really have driven a wedge between them.

Unfortunately for him, Hanks had already told An Kai.

An Kai felt that old Frank was no simple man.

That little detail alone-giving An Kai Lower-grade Magic Stones while giving Hanks gold coins-was certainly no accident.

With the resources in hand, An Kai and Hanks were about to leave when a series of angry shouts suddenly rang out in the courtyard...

"You damned bastard! Let's see you escape this time!"

"I'll skin you alive!"

The one shouting was none other than the Resource Hall's master, War Wolf Polpi.

He held a disheveled figure in his grip.

Behind Polpi was a mage holding a staff and wearing grayish-white mage robes, walking with his eyes turned toward the sky.

Whenever Polpi happened to glance at the mage, his expression was quite respectful.

"Polpi has always been hotheaded. The man he's holding is a Mountainbreaker Gang Traitor. We caught him once before, but he managed to escape."

"Thankfully, Retainer Lord Richardson stepped in. With his strength as a mage at the eighth tier-one level, he successfully recaptured the traitor!"

Frank rested a hand on the window, looked outside a few times, and explained the situation to An Kai and Hanks.

Hanks paid little attention to his explanation.

His expression remained unchanged, as though the three people outside were merely three ants.

An Kai was much the same.

But An Kai behaved that way because his mental power had been drawn to the disheveled figure...

Just now, An Kai was absolutely certain he hadn't been mistaken. He had seen a ring in that disheveled man's mouth!

It looked exactly like his Storage Ring [Storage Ring No. 1], right down to its color!

That meant there was a very good chance this fellow had a Storage Ring in his mouth!

"Why did he betray the Mountainbreaker Gang?"

An Kai turned back to ask Frank...

Frank paused for a moment, then sighed...

"Because he stole what he was supposed to be guarding. Two hundred gold coins went missing while he was watching the warehouse!"

"Two hundred gold coins? You didn't find them even after catching him?" An Kai suppressed his excitement and continued asking...

"No... Lord An Kai, do you have a way to force a confession out of him?"

"Of course not. I've never even killed a chicken!" An Kai gave a shy smile, but inwardly, he had already come up with an idea for securing his resources...