"A Dancer's Beyonder Ability, Dance of Attraction, can draw certain nearby things over and, at a price, attach them to me, allowing me to use one of their abilities or traits."
"Could I use this ability to act as a Monster?"
Wilt stood up, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
"It should work. I have to try it!"
Just as Wilt was about to go test it, he looked at the sky outside, then at what he had just written in the letter, and sat back down.
"There's no rush. I'll try it tonight."
"First, I'll make preparations for the Lanevus matter."
With that, Wilt took a monocle from his pocket and placed it over his right eye.
"The monocles of Amon's avatars are all derived from the Uniqueness and can be used to communicate through Worms of Time. I remember this is how they're used..."
Wilt sank his consciousness and Spirituality into the monocle and began using it for internal communication according to the method he remembered. The next instant, a puzzled voice rang out in his mind:
"Number 041?"
"What do you need me for?"
"It's me," Wilt hurriedly replied through the monocle.
"I wonder if you still remember me?"
The other party chuckled. "Heh, of course I remember. Thanks to you, I'm now a commander without a single soldier."
"Besides, among the first fifty avatars, you're the only one who isn't a demigod of the Marauder Pathway. The main body just told us about that."
"So what exactly do you want? If it's nothing, I'm hanging up. There's a whole pile of things waiting for me in the Rorsted Archipelago."
It was clear that the other party had no desire to have anything to do with Wilt.
Wilt understood that too, so he got straight to the point:
"Are you short of money right now?"
"What a ridiculous question," Avatar No. 037 said irritably.
"If you're looking to borrow money, you've come to the wrong person. I'm hanging up."
"Wait! I want to give you money!"
"Give me money?" The other party hesitated.
"That's right," Wilt said, pressing his advantage.
"I'd like to discuss a partnership. If it works out, you'll make at least a few hundred thousand pounds."
Hearing this, Avatar No. 037 fell silent. After a few seconds, his voice came again:
"You're not planning to rob a bank, are you?"
"If that's the case, I sincerely wish you success. But I refuse to join you, because I'd like to live a little longer."
"It's not a bank robbery. It's a grand scam!"
"How could robbing a bank compare to robbing nobles directly and getting them to obediently hand over their money?"
"Oh, that sounds interesting!" There was curiosity in Number 037's voice.
"Go on."
Wilt immediately laid out what he had prepared to say. "In Tingen City, I met a man naturally suited to the Marauder Pathway. His name is Lanevus, and he's a Divine Descent Vessel being nurtured by the True Creator."
"Lanevus is extremely talented in the Marauder Pathway. As you know, the main body removed many of the Marauder Pathway's abilities, so they can only be obtained in full at the High Sequences."
"But Lanevus is different. Through talent alone, he regained those removed abilities when he advanced."
"Hmm?" At this, Avatar No. 037 sounded surprised.
"From what you're saying, he really is naturally suited to the Marauder Pathway."
"What? Are you planning to snatch him from the True Creator and then make the Aurora Order pay to ransom the Divine Descent Vessel?"
"If it were before, I'd be very interested in something like that, but now..."
"Sorry, I don't have enough manpower."
"My scam isn't that crude," Wilt replied, then explained his plan.
"Lanevus is currently a Sequence 8 Swindler. To digest his potion, he's laying a scam in Tingen City."
"He falsely claims to own a large, high-grade iron mine in Sivellas County and has made fake plans and documents to lure victims into investing in the Lanevus Steel Company."
"He uses temporarily hired workers, rented premises, and enclosed land to create the appearance of mining operations, deceiving representatives sent to inspect the site. That makes the victims believe the project really exists and ultimately part with their money willingly, while he runs off with it."
"But in my opinion, Lanevus's methods are too crude. Although he scammed over a hundred people, most of his victims were middle class, and he only made a little over ten thousand pounds in the end."
"So I plan to change his script a little. My story goes like this..."
"A down-on-his-luck noble's offspring fighting in the Southern Continent happens to discover a gold mine on a deserted island near the Rorsted Archipelago. He tells no one, instead secretly buying the island with his military merits and savings."
"But the governor's office eventually finds out, and the greedy governor sets his sights on this prize. He uses various means-temptation, threats, or claims of flaws in the island's purchase procedure-to make the impoverished noble give up the island."
"Lanevus is this impoverished noble's representative. He comes to Tingen City because the noble's parents or grandparents once had connections with the nobles there. Although those ties have since been severed, he has nowhere else to turn and can only ask those nobles for help."
"Lanevus's goal is to establish a gold mining company and bring in as many nobles as possible as shareholders. Only then will the governor's office be forced by pressure from the nobles to recognize the legality of the impoverished noble's purchase of the gold mine island, allowing him to keep the mine."
"What do you think of the story?" Wilt asked.
"As long as you can take care of the impoverished noble's identity, the gold mine island, and the governor's office, you can leave Tingen City to me. That way, we'll definitely be able to scam a huge sum out of the nobles. Once it's done, we'll split it fifty-fifty!"
"You must be very short of money right now if you're rebuilding your avatars' forces. Want to work together?"
After Wilt finished, the other side fell silent. Just as he was wondering whether something had gone wrong, Avatar No. 037 finally spoke. "Not a bad idea!"
"But we split it thirty-seventy. I get seventy percent of the proceeds, and you only get thirty."
"Absolutely not!" Wilt refused without hesitation.
"All you have to do is fabricate some false information. That's as easy as eating and drinking for a Mentor of Deceit. Why should you get seventy percent when you're doing nothing else?"
"It's different for me. I have to make contact with Lanevus. As a Divine Descent Vessel, he'll definitely be protected by an Oracle. And to convince the nobles to actually pay up willingly rather than make empty promises, I've also approached the Aurora Order for cooperation."
"Oh, right. The Aurora Order also has a Demoness called Trissy. She's a Divine Descent Vessel being nurtured by the Primordial Demoness."
"With these two Divine Descent Vessels gathered in Tingen City, you should understand how dangerous my situation is. Giving you fifty percent is already the biggest concession I can make."
"Heh, do you really think a Mentor of Deceit can do anything?" Avatar No. 037 retorted irritably.
"I only deceive and exploit rules. It's not as if I can create something out of nothing."
"Because nobles are involved, demigod-level powers will certainly be used for prophecy or divination. To keep the truth from being discovered, I'll need to be ready to deceive them at all times."
"And the most troublesome part is the impoverished noble's identity. His origins aren't within the Rorsted Archipelago, so to make his identity flawless, I'll also need to enlist the avatar in charge of another region. He'll certainly demand payment too."
"So sixty percent of the proceeds is my biggest concession. The person in charge of the other region and I will each take thirty percent of the total. You can split the remaining forty percent with the Aurora Order and the Aurora Order."
"Hmm... you could try deceiving them, making them do the work without paying them, and then pinning all the blame on them at the end. That way, you might be able to keep the whole forty percent for yourself."
"If it succeeds, I'm sure it'll be a grand feast of deception."
"The headline of the Backlund Morning Post will read: The True Creator's and the Demoness Sect's Blessed Join Forces to Defraud Tingen City's Nobles; Aurora Order Claims Responsibility!"
"And the real Swindler remains hidden behind the scenes and gets away unscathed..."
"That would be interesting, wouldn't it?"
Wilt: "..."