The Great Crestmaster

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Yasbel had not expected that she would meet such a mishap today. Her mind was full of questions, she was not the type to just brush them off, she couldn't even if she wanted to.

She thought that she did everything perfectly, after all she did everything perfectly without a single mistake.

In the first place it was not impossible to know the name; Ortarious, but it was not easy either. And anyone who knew wouldn't know to associate her with that name anyway. She was sure of that.

And yet here she was, cornered by a farmboy. How did it come to this? She reviewed her actions so far but it was a futile effort, she didn't find where she slipped up.

Sighing, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. It was difficult for a person to find one's own faults, all people had a tendency to overlook their own mistakes and problems.

She thought that she overcame that part of herself but it was obvious that she didn't, at least not yet.

So could it be a coincidence? No, absolutely not. Aldrich wouldn't have been that confident if he wasn't sure, he purposefully lured her into a trap where she couldn't resist.

She took the risk because her original plans were stumbling, she wouldn't be promoted any time soon. She had to at least become the assistant manager of the branch if she wanted to get her hands on that evidence.

But despite her fast rise in the ranks in the beginning, middle management was a slog. She was eighteen this year and if she had to wait to get to where she wanted to get she would be thirty eight by then. So she had to think of another way.

That's when Aldrich entered the picture, the moment she laid eyes on Aldrich in the lobby that day her instincts told her that he contained an opportunity. That was why she gave him special treatment.

He didn't even seem to notice that he was getting special treatment, seeing this she knew that he was inexperienced.

Even if she was wrong about him she wouldn't have lost anything but a little time but if she was right she might get a good return on her investment.

And today her hunch was confirmed when she saw those five gold coins. She knew the time to reap the benefits was now, this fat sheep had delivered itself to the chopping block.

Only he was not a sheep, he was a monster and she dug her own grave. Perhaps the old idiom 'wolf in a sheep's clothing' worked aptly to describe him.

Now that she thought about it deeply she noticed subtle differences in Aldrich in all three times she met with him.

The first time he was a clueless farmboy that just took his first step into the big city. The second time he was getting familiar with the ways of the city.

The third time he had already become a dangerous individual. This was not only because he uncovered her secret but also because he displayed an ability to absorb and use new knowledge at a high speed.

After all he was the one that pointed to the fact that the company would come under scrutiny later on. This was something that she wanted to reveal later to raise her value further.

Another thing was that he offered her 15% even after he had cornered her, this move was brilliant. He could have given her much less and she couldn't complain.

By giving her a significant cut he ensured that she wouldn't flip out irrationally. He gave her a taste of the benefits and simultaneously took her down a peg.

Hmm, not bad. Yes Yasbel didn't feel too bad that she lost to Aldrich this time. Working with someone who was smart enough to recognize her talents was already good enough for her.

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Aldrich sneezed into the wind. It was already eight at night, he had just finished the appraisal on the five gold coins and they were now stamped so they could be used as legal tender.

He payed a silver and ten coppers for the appraisal and then he exchanged two of the coins for their value in imperial coin. This was because he had an immediate need for funds.

Although the shop owner tried to persuade him to convert the rest he declined politely. This was probably the last time he did this sort of suspicious conversion.

As for why he offered her 15%? It was for two reasons. The first is because he didn't actually know Yasbel's secret, he knew a family name but nothing beyond that.

The second reason was because he wanted her to work with passion. Passion made a difference, if she worked unwillingly that would have unknown consequences.

​ Especially so, since she had a vital role in the operation. He would have to find a replacement for her but that would be extremely dangerous it was simply better to keep a friendly and amicable relationship between them.

Tonight was not going to be a quiet night, he was going back to check on the nightmare town. He was pressed for essence orbs he had to get another 34 orbs at least so that he can take back five more coins.

No, he needed to bring back seven coins because he was going to use the two that he already converted for his personal use. He also had to see what happened over there.

Everything was connected to that roar, he heard it so many times and the husks went crazy when they heard it.

Maybe, just maybe he could revert the husks back to how they used to be if he uncovered the secret of that roar. Not that he needed to.

The Malformed husks give out more essence orbs so it wasn't all that bad a deal.

Aldrich returned back to his apartment while he tried to sneakily eavesdrop on Irene but there was nothing to hear.

After going through his nightly routine which consisted of eating diner then going through the new monster codex and his class notes. Finally a round of meditation before going to bed.