MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

"Wait… what?"

Hearing Aster’s words, it was now Valyr’s turn to be at a loss for words. "Was everything so far just a lead-up to this conversation?"

"Partly," replied the man with a slight chuckle. "The three clans do want you to represent the three clans as a whole by the time the tournament comes around."

"However, it’s also true that the Stelyra clan has the same intentions in mind, just without the inclusion of the two other clans."

Though he was having a slightly hard time wrapping his head around the current topic, the young man decided to continue where it was going, getting the feeling that his confusion would be cleared up at some point.

With that, he asked a question that he felt was important to establish before they continued their conversation. "Are you merely saying that as the head of the Stelyra clan, or is the decision collectively made by the entire Stelyra clan?"

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"Both," said Aster, his expression calm. "Though I do admit that most of the reason why I’m making a separate offer is due to my own judgment, I have also discussed this with the other high-ranking members of the clan beforehand."

"Thankfully, the majority were in favor of having you represent our clan in the upcoming tournament."

"But why me, specifically?" asked Valyr after that. "It’s not like it would be difficult to find another person that’s talented enough to represent your clan in the tournament."

"It wouldn’t." Aster agreed with his words. "In fact, it would be far easier to find someone with a similar talent to you using the resources and networks we have."

"However, there’s one thing you’ve failed to take into consideration when I made the decision."

"And that would be?" Valyr asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Your existence as a Player," replied Aster, prompting the young man to remain silent as the man continued to explain his reasoning.

"Although I did say that it wouldn’t be difficult to find someone with your level of talent using the clan’s resources, I’m certain that it would be far harder to find someone with your rate of improvement."

"Of course, that’s only if I limit myself to people similar to me."

"However, if I expand my search to include Players, then that all changes," said Aster, briefly talking about what their clan was doing ever since Players first appeared in Veldanyr.

Considering that all of them had been briefed about Players beforehand through the tournament, due to the Arbiter presiding over the tournament placing great emphasis on their existence, Aster felt that he should focus a bit of their clan’s attention towards the Players when they arrived.

With that, he was quickly able to find out that although every Player that appeared in Veldanyr seemed mediocre at first, almost all of them quickly showed an incredible rate of improvement, easily matching the rate at which the various elites of Veldanyr improved.

In fact, after focusing a bit more attention on the Players, Aster was even able to take note of a few Players, their rates of improvement matching the prodigies that had become well-known throughout Veldanyr for their various feats.

"Although I don’t know how your rate of improvement compares to those Players, I am at least certain that your rate of improvement is far above what should be expected from one," said the man as he stared at Valyr for a brief moment.

"…I see," replied the young man after a bit of silence, his gaze down at the floor as he sorted out the thoughts he had in mind on the topic.

Getting the feeling that it wouldn’t do much for him if he were to continue dwelling on the topic, the young man softly took in a deep breath before proceeding to change the topic of their conversation.

"What is the Stelyra clan willing to offer in exchange?" asked Valyr with a serious expression, deciding to test Aster’s intentions with a follow-up question. "Surely it won’t involve anything that would shackle me to your clan, no?"

"Not at all." Aster shook his head, his expression showing disgust towards the thought. "I’m not even sure why those two clans thought it was a good idea to offer something like that in the first place."

"Then again, I’m sure anyone else in your stead would definitely accept that," continued the man, to which Valyr faintly nodded in agreement.

"In any case, the Stelyra clan’s offers are quite similar to the things I’ve mentioned earlier: a plot of land, and an opportunity to request whatever from the clan without complaint."

"However, if I were to add something on top of that, then that would be the fact that the clan would support your path to power during the days leading up to the tournament, whether it be equipment, skills, XP, or anything else."

"Is there a catch?" asked the young man after that, even though he was highly certain there weren’t any. "What do I have to offer in exchange?"

"There are none." Aster shook his head once more. "All you need to do is do your best in the tournament."

"If you get into a decent spot by the end of the tournament, then good. The clan would get something for being affiliated with you."

"If you get into the top spots, even better. If that happens, I’m sure the clan wouldn’t mind giving you additional rewards because of it."

"No catch whatsoever?" asked Valyr once more, to which Aster reassured him.

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By that point, the young man felt that it was only right for him to come clean to the man. "I’ve already struck a deal with the Mage Guild in regards to the tournament. Would that change your mind over the offer?"

"Not at all." Expecting Aster to frown at his confession, the young man was instead surprised to see the man smiling.

"If anything, I would’ve found it more odd if you hadn’t made a deal with the Mage Guild beforehand. After all, they’d have more information on you than us nobles could have."

"And just so you know, all we got was a small tip from one of the guild’s attendants," said Aster with a faint smile, confident that the guild had already spilled the beans regarding the matter to Valyr.

"In any case, since you’ve already made a deal with the Mage Guild, then I’ll just have to discuss with their director over the matter," continued the man with a slight shrug, his expression exuding immense confidence.

"Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll change any of the rewards I’ve offered to you thus far. They remain the same."

"…Why are you giving me such preferential treatment?" With Aster not finding his deal with the Mage Guild a problem, Valyr already had no qualms in his mind to accept the additional offer.

However, that didn’t mean he didn’t find the man’s attitude towards him slightly suspicious, especially with how the rewards were greatly in his favor.

"Because I’m confident you’ll do greater things in the future." Though, when he heard the man’s response to his question, Valyr was briefly reminded of the interaction he had with the man back then in Clossbay City.

Recalling about how ready the man was in answering all of his queries back then while also keeping an eye out for him, the young man was reminded once more that Aster was like that from the first time he met him.

With that, Valyr found no reason to delay his reply any further, looking at the man with a smile filled with gratitude.

"I won’t betray the trust you’ve given me."

In response, Aster nodded in agreement as he smiled back.

"I’m sure you won’t."