The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow’s change in attitude was drastic. Mike, in response to his repentance, was incredibly magnanimous!
“Don’t mention it, we’re all friends here. Come, have a seat.”
Mike even pulled out a table, chairs, and a tea set from his inventory.
After setting everything up, Mike nudged the Cerberus Phantom with his foot and scolded, “Can’t you see my friend is still standing? Offer him some hospitality!”
“Meow?”
The Cerberus Phantom, with its three bewildered faces, had no idea where the guest was.
A reluctant shadow settled onto a chair, looking at Mike with a hesitant expression.
Mike, his face betraying no emotion, said calmly, “There might be a slight misunderstanding here. How about we start from the beginning and go over everything again?”
The shadow nodded.
Mike smiled warmly.
“Alright, then let’s start with your birth.”
Quasi-God: “???”
Why not start with the birth of the universe?
Truly starting from the very beginning.
After gathering his thoughts, the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow spoke again.
“I’m a Void Phantom. The Shadow Source is my companion artifact. I was born a Quasi- God…”
Mike nodded slowly. “I see, so in all these years, you’ve only leveled up four times?”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow was instantly speechless.
Although he was annoyed, he couldn’t think of anything to retort.
After all, it was the truth.
“This back-and-forth is too inefficient. Let’s do a Q&A instead.”
Mike took control of the conversation to gather more useful information.
“You mentioned the temple earlier. Is the temple within the Tower of Truth?”
The shadow nodded. “Yes.”
Mike pressed on. “Why are you deities (gods) inside the temple?”
The shadow shook his head. “I can’t say.”
“The origin of the Tower of Truth?”
“I can’t say.”
Every topic Mike cared about was met with the same response: I can’t say.
Mike rolled his eyes and asked helplessly, “Then what can you say?”
The shadow said pitifully, “I want the Shadow Source…”
If that was all he could say, then the conversation couldn’t continue.
Mike changed the subject, inquiring about the relationship between the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow and Shadow Nine.
“Are you close with Senior Shadow Nine?”
“Close… I guess?”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow wasn’t quite sure.
“I helped him build something called the Shadow Fortress. Oh, and Shadow Nine wanted to create something called [Guardian Shadow]. He invited me to be Shadow One, saying he wanted to save some fallen partners…”
Listening to his fragmented description, Mike pieced together the story.
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow, strictly speaking, was like a cosmic spirit.
That was probably why he seemed so naive.
“You helped build the Shadow Fortress?”
Mike caught a crucial piece of information and immediately asked. “We’re facing a bit of a problem right now.”
Mike laid out the difficulties faced by the lower-level Guardian Shadow members, explaining the situation to him.
These people were originally human fighters who had died and been brought back by Shadow Nine.
Now they were living a precarious existence, like lost souls, their lives devoid of meaning, prone to losing control.
More and more Guardian Shadow members were being created, and more were falling into slumber.
Every year, just maintaining the slumbering Guardian Shadow members was a significant expense.
Now that Mike was in charge of all Guardian Shadow, he couldn’t avoid worrying about these matters.
This [Void Phantom] before him was an old friend of Shadow Nine. Shadow Nine had even invited him to be Shadow One.
This not only showed that Shadow Nine trusted him, but also indicated that he was highly skilled in the shadow element!
“How could this be?”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow was puzzled. “Aren’t these just low-level pursuits? Shouldn’t Guardian Shadow strive for something more sophisticated?”
Fuck sophisticated pursuits.
Mike said with unwavering determination, “Right now, we need some low-level pursuits! Solving this fundamental problem will be a great help to our human race.”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow thought long and hard, but he couldn’t understand.
However, he could definitely help with what Mike was talking about.
The Quasi-God presented his solution.
“This is actually not difficult. Give me the Shadow Source, and I’ll teach you how to do it.”
“Ahem…” Mike coughed awkwardly.
“There’s been a slight mishap. The Shadow Source is now fused with my weapon.”
As he spoke, Mike placed Force of Nature on the table, showing it to him.
By now, Mike had a rough idea of Shadow Nine’s intentions.
Originally, Shadow Nine had hidden the Shadow Source within the materials and given them
to Mike.
His intention wasn’t for Mike to fuse with it himself!
Mike’s talent in the Shadow element wasn’t exactly outstanding, it was rather average. His
true strength lay in lightning.
Giving the Shadow Source to Mike wasn’t the best choice.
Most importantly, the Shadow Source, as the companion artifact of the Shadow Quasi-God,
was the most compatible with him.
Shadow Nine’s mastery of the Shadow element was undoubtedly very high.
But there was always someone better.
The existence of the Void Phantom completely overshadowed Shadow Nine’s talent.
Mike thought to himself,
“Shadow Nine’s initial intention was probably to use me to return the Shadow Source to him.”
This way, the Quasi-God could break through to level 995 and beyond in both [Theft] and
[Shadow].
It was Shadow Nine’s way of helping his old friend one last time.
As for what benefits Mike could gain from this transaction, that wasn’t Shadow Nine’s
concern.
He trusted Mike’s ability to fleece anyone.
However, Shadow Nine never expected that Mike would fuse the Shadow Source into Force of
Nature during the reforging process!
Now, even if Mike wanted to give the Shadow Source back, he couldn’t.
The moment he saw Force of Nature, the Shadow Quasi-God burst into tears.
“How could this happen?!”
“Don’t cry!” Mike glared at him. “If you keep crying, I’ll hide the Shadow Source somewhere you’ll never
find it in your lifetime.”
“Then I won’t cry…”
The Shadow Quasi-God immediately stopped crying, sniffling and twitching as he said,
“Can you dismantle this SSS-tier equipment?”
Mike shook his head. “No.”
Was he kidding?! Mike had finally crafted a fully functional SSS-tier equipment, and he wanted to dismantle it
just like that?
“Then there’s another way.”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow mumbled. “After you reach level 900, the Shadow Source
will be useless to you. You can actively separate it then.”
Mike sighed “helplessly.” “It seems that’s the only option.”
Level 900?
That was still a long way off for Mike!
He was only level 300 now. It would take him at least a couple of months to reach level 900.
Mike gently guided him, offering a kind reminder. “So, what are you going to offer in exchange for the future Shadow Source?”
The current Mike was essentially using a [future empty promise] to make an advance
purchase!
However, the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow really needed the Shadow Source.
And the only Shadow Source was in Mike’s hands, inseparable until he reached level 900.
The tier of Force of Nature was very high, and the Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow had no other choice.
“I don’t know anything except stealing and manipulating shadows…”
The shadow spread his hands helplessly. “Tell me what you need me to do to get the Shadow
Source back.”
“No problem.”
Mike agreed, nodding. “Before we cooperate, return the half a copper coin you stole from
me.”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow silently took out half a copper coin and placed it on the
table.
Mike glanced at it, put it in his wallet, and then shook his head. “This isn’t mine.”
The Quasi-God of Theft and Shadow: “…”
He had a bad feeling about this.
