Chapter 2: Mana refining method?
"Is that so?" Mark narrowed his eyes, forcefully calming himself down. As he observed the nervous expressions on the faces of the people before him, he carefully weighed the pros and cons of his next course of actions.
Wu Ke is a member of the Wu Clan, a prominent family in the village. They own numerous shops across various industries, including clinics, medicines, herbs, and more... Just one of these shops could generate an income equivalent to what Fan Li's parents could amass in a hundred years, all within a month.
Right now, Wu Ke is engaged to Su Mi, one of the numerous granddaughters of the Village Chief, Su Ming, from the Su clan... In terms of status, Wu Ke is, at most, an ordinary person in the Wu clan, but even so, his background was dozens of times better than his own.
If the truth about Wu Ke sleeping with other women behind Su Mi's back comes to light, it would undoubtedly shatter the engagement.. Following the engagement's demise, Wu Ke's parents would definitely attack him. After all, marrying into the Su family was a means of elevating their status within the clan.
In this case, there are only two possible scenarios that could happen: one is that he would be protected by Su Mi's parents, and the other is that he would be ignored.
Su Mi was beautiful, with an above-average appearance, rated at about 6.3 out of 10. Her parents doted on and spoiled her. If they were to discover that their supposed-to-be son-in-law was doing something behind their backs, they would definitely be angry.
However, it doesn't necessarily mean that they would do something to Wu Ke, as the two parties are just low-level members of the Su Family and Wu Family. They don't have the power and energy to engage in a conflict.
At most, Su Mi's family would ask for compensation. As for whether he would be protected by them, the whistleblower, it is unlikely, as people in this world are different from the previous one.
In other words, revealing the fact that Wu Ke was sleeping with his fiancée would bring him no benefit, so he could only swallow his anger.
'But then again, it's not as bad as I imagine. Maybe I could take advantage of this situation to make a profit.'Mark calmed down, his eyes lighting up as he calculated various scenarios in his mind.
Staring at the two frightened guys before him, Mark deliberately controlled his expression and screamed, "Don't you even lie to me! I saw it with both my eyes. You two are involved, you cheated on me, you cucked me!"
"N-no, Fan Li, calm down. Can you—" Wu Ke's face paled as he desperately tried to calm him down.
"No! I won't calm down. You two cheated on me, you cucked me. I can't forgive you!"
"T-this, can you lower your voice? What if others heard you!"
"So what if others heard? I don't care. I want you two to die!" Mark's breathing became heavy as he immersed himself in acting, and for a moment, even he was shocked at his performance. 'Huh, did my acting talent always be this good?'
"Can't we resolve it?" Wu Ke's expression increasingly became grim, thinking of how his parents would react if the engagement was broken.. He couldn't help but tremble.
"No! Unless you give me a copy of the mana refining manual of your Wu clan, things won't be resolved!" Mark screamed angrily, with an expression as if demanding something impossible.
That's right, Mana.
This world is not as simple as the previous one. According to memory, there are various kinds of superpowers in this world, and what makes it possible is the energy called Mana.
Anyone can practice it, but the problem is that the practice method of Mana has already been monopolized by big clans. Usually, they would never spread it to commoners as it could potentially challenge their rule.
Well... Its not uncommon for commoners to obtain Mana refining method, after all, there are various factors, but such scenario was almost impossible
As for why he was asking for Mana refining manual, even if he knew it was impossible obtaon.. Well, he's not really expecting to obtain it, he just wanted to have a high opening and bargained for something higher of value after being rejected.
"That," Wu Ke was stunned and didn't know how to answer for a while. He calculated the pros and cons, then agreed immediately.
Compared to the possible breakup of marriage with the Village Chief's granddaughter, the Clan's Mana refining method is not that important—well, as long as others don't know it.
Also, refining mana isn't that easy; it requires talent, resources, and guidance.
"L"Okay! I agree!" Wu Ke nodded and agreed, stunning Mark at how easily he agreed. Well, not to mention him; even Du Lin, who was panicking a while ago, was also shocked.
'Huh, did I hear it wrong' Mark couldn't help but feel dazed. Originally, he was just asking to bargain for something of higher value after being rejected, such as money, etc. But who would've thought that Wu Ke would agree immediately?
This is something he didn't expect.
'Huh, it seems that I overestimated the value of the Mana refining method of Wu Clan.' Mark's thoughts were running fast as he concluded. His eyes lit up in surprise, but he immediately suppressed it. 'Since others agreed easily, maybe I could ask for more?'
"No! That's not enough. I also want your Clan's technique!" Mark's expression darkened again as he demanded more.
"..this..." At this time, unlike before, Wu Ke paused and hesitated.
Different from the Mana refining manual, the Clan's technique holds a higher value.
The Mana refining manual is a method of gathering and generating Mana. There are various ways to refine Mana held by different clans and organizations, but in essence, it's the same, the goal is to cultivate Mana.
However, techniques are different, as they form the foundation of the Clans.
They were created through trial and error over several generations, with an unknown number of family members sacrificed in the process of perfecting them until they reached today's level.
"Okay, but I can only give you the first and second chapters of the technique. The later chapters are only accessible to core members of the family," Wu Ke said after hesitating for a while.
"Y-you... dammit! Okay, fine!" Mark kept the angry expression on his face, as if regretting his decision, but his pride could not accept turning back on his words. Finally, he bit his lips in helplessness, making both Wu Ke and Du Lin let out a relieved sigjed.
"Also!" At this time, Mark struck while the iron was hot. He added, "I agree to keep what happened to the two of you a secret. However, I still won't marry Du Lin. That's it!"
"Okay, okay, understandable." The two nodded and agreed immediately. After all, Mark was a man; being betrayed was already too much. If Du Lin was to marry him, then he would definitely go crazy.
The two sides chatted more briefly... Well, it was more of Mark kept acting like he was angry, while Wu Ke and Du Lin kept calming him until both parties parted ways.
After seeing the two off, Mark locked the door of his parents' courtyard, headed towards his room, and finally couldn't hold it, letting out an excited laugh.
"It worked! It really worked! I've fooled them!" Mark muttered to himself.
He really didn't expect that his original intention to bargain for something would result in not only obtaining the Wu Clan's Mana refining method but also the Wu Clan's magic technique.
"Huh, what's this?" Calming himself down, he suddenly noticed a '+1' on the icon of his cheat, SDT (software development tool), in the corner of his eyes and couldn't help but feel confused.
Clicking the icon, the front page of the SDT greeted him. It was still the same bland, dark, and boring interface as before, but unlike then, there is a new folder named [Unnamed1] on it.
"A new folder? What is this?" Mark couldn't help but feel confused and decided to run it. What greeted him were complex codes that he was familiar with.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
public class HostCharacter {
private String name;
public HostCharacter(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
public void expressAnger() {
System.out.println(name + " is filled with anger!");
}
public void expressCunning() {
System.out.println(name + " cunningly plots the next move.");
}
public void expressRegret() {
System.out.println(name + " feels a deep sense of regret.");
}
public void expressHate() {
System.out.println(name + " passionately hates someone or something.");
}
public void expressBetrayed() {
System.out.println(name + " feels betrayed and hurt.");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
HostCharacter host = new HostCharacter("Host");
host.expressAnger();
host.expressCunning();
host.expressRegret();
host.expressHate();
host.expressBetrayed();
}
}
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.....
Author's Note: The program reference above is something that I've just made up to add flavor to the story, so don't expect that it would work if you think of running it.
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