"Rejoice! Hahaha… *cough cough. I have found something crucial you can use in your manhunt."
Garvin coughed the whole way in his speech. But Arthur got his message loud and clear. He couldn't help flashing a cunning smile after he realized that the OWB manhunt can be resumed with a fresh lead.
But Arthur needed to know if the lead was solid or not. After all, he was about to pay the geek a hefty amount of resources for it. He wanted to make sure that it was well spent. So he asked to confirm:
"How sure are you about the lead, Garvin? How can we trust the leads generated by this array?"
Garvin looked at Arthur with a tinge of anger in his eyes. But he didn't speak immediately. Cybill helped him get up and snapped her fingers. The earth-element mana and the earth beneath were combined to create a medium-sized table and three chairs.
Cybill helped her husband sit on one of the chairs while she took the chair next to him. Arthur didn't need an invitation. He took the remaining chair and waited for the array master to tell him what he needed to hear.
Garvin returned to his normal condition when he drank the tea made by his pioneer wife. Only then did he look at Arthur in the eyes before replying:
"That array was not my creation, Arthur. According to the royal library where I got it, it came from one of the ranker's utopias, which is still kept a secret from the public's eyes. However, it was recovered long ago, so you probably aren't aware of it.
What this array does is enable the ranker to enter the forced state of epiphany. But if it had done only that, it wouldn't be all that different from the arrays we know of, would it?"
Arthur nodded his head while tapping his fingers on the surface of the table. He stopped his actions suddenly and guessed what Garvin was trying to say to him:
"You mean you have to pay a price for using this array? It was obvious from your condition anyway. Tell me, what's the catch?"
Garvin massaged his stiff shoulders with both his hands and continued his speech:
"As you might have guessed, the array keeps the ranker's mind from falling into the subconscious state. This very state is needed for rankers to be immersed in their epiphanies, forced or not.
But thanks to the activation of this array, you can still access your memories and recall your experiences while you are in the ethereal state. You know what that means right? It means instead of the world's mana solving your random doubts, you get to ask a set of specific questions to it."
Arthur's eyes opened wide in surprise after he heard what the array master was trying to say. Garvin verbally marched forward before Arthur could interrupt him
I must say that the person who created this array must have been a genius lunatic.
Lunatic because the guy only cared about the output of the array and not its aftereffects. It was almost like he wanted the rankers who use it to suffer consequences after they were done with it. There's no countermeasure to prevent that. I guess he wanted to balance things out before they got out of hand.
That means the array forces you to pay a heavy tax for your transgression with the world's mana when it senses that you were conscious while being in the ethereal state.
Your mana core gets damaged right after you leave the state. There are other repercussions as well that I don't want to mention. Basically, the higher your ranking status is, the greater the repercussions."
Understanding dawned on Arthur. He recalled the former demanding extra compensation for his damaged mana core.
"I'll pay you extra, don't worry. But you are not the man to pay that heavy a price just to complete my request, Garvin. You must have figured something out, I'm sure."
Garvin looked at his wife and smiled at her, indicating he was thankful for her:
"I didn't. It was Cybill who mitigated the effects of using the array with her doses of exquisite potions. My mana core still got damaged after using the array. I have been able to reduce the damage a great deal after she administered me her remedies before and after the procedure. I should be able to recover from these repercussions in a few months.
The world's mana and its all-encompassing higher consciousness don't know how to lie. My point is, you can trust the intel I've gained after facing these repercussions, for asking the questions that you wanted to know the answers about."
Artur had to believe in Garvin after closely examining his condition. Only after he was assured did he ask him about the lead:
Garvin was a geek array master. But he was no pushover. He demanded he is paid first before he gave the lead to Artur. The latter had a couple of creases on his forehead but he agreed to the guy's demands. He retrieved all the resources that he had promised him from his storage.
"Alright. Listen to this, Arthur. The lead I got is…"
He told Arthur what he had gained from the higher consciousness he had just talked with. Then he nodded at his wife who supported him in getting up. The couple soon left, leaving Arthur alone in his seat.
He soon had another visitor in the form of a completely black-clothed man who seemed to have appeared from thin air. His face had also been masked by the black mask. He bent the knee in front of Arthur and placed his right hand on his heart as if performing a salute.
"What should we do with this information, my lord?"
Arthur looked at the man and said out loud in a voice that was laced with his suppressed anger:
"What should we do? Hehe. We don't want to scare the guy or create any ruckus. We grab him as soon as we confirm that it's him using this lead.
Anyway, what about my son? Is he progressing the way we wanted him to? I would still want to proceed with our earlier plan if it's salvageable after capturing that thief."
Arthur narrowed his eyes and asked his servant. It seemed he was still hoping to continue with his project.
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AN: I'm not feeling well. Headache, cough, light fever, and sore throat. I sure hope it is not what I think it is.. So expect delays and erratic timings in chapter releases for a couple of days.