One Last System

'I guess it was a good move to involve Arganar in this matter,' Mia thought. 

The situation was baffling... but not too unexpected. 

It was a long time since she received her first clues that something was wrong with the Sect. But now, she finally obtained definitive proof. 

'It was a really good idea,' Mia repeated in her mind, stopping herself from plummeting down. 

She only had a single request for the man that showered her with cultivation resources. 

To track the whereabouts of a missing package that she never received. 

Even though the man accompanied her group on a daily basis while promoting their growth, he didn't report back on the topic yet. 

'And now, I know for sure that someone is trying to mess with me,' Mia thought.

'On itself, it's ignorable...' she thought, closing her eyes for a moment. 

Only to open them a moment later, looking sharply at the material of Arthur's letter. 

'But for someone to steal from Arthur?' Mia asked, feeling how her blood boiled in her veins. 

"Unforgiveable..." Mia muttered before even realizing that she had let her thoughts out loud.

She opened her eyes wide and looked up, taking proper stock of the situation she was in right now. 

"Young lady, what kind of message do you want to send?" The clerk behind the desk asked while fat drops of sweat decorated his forehead. 

The strange man who barged into the room clearly established who was the important one here. 

And it wasn't even the man himself!

'I guess I won't lose anything by helping him out,' Mia thought before releasing a deep sigh.

"I need to write back to them that I didn't receive the storage ring. Tell him that I found my own problems with our common friend as well," Mia explained. 

There was no way she could openly admit to being conflicted with the Sect. Not even when she turned all of the old guards of the place against herself by allying with Arganar. 

'What if someone sees the message?' Mia thought, reasoning her decision to use cryptic language instead. 

"I will send it right away!" the clerk reported, breathing a sigh of relief as he turned around and escaped the scrutiny of the man. 

"Now, then," Mia muttered, moving her eyes on the man. 

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said, taking a moment to clean his demeanor. "I'm Figo Yeara, the connection between you and the auction hall, young miss," the man said. 

Mia remained silent. 

While she expected that Arthur might attempt to find some other ways of contacting her that didn't involve Sect...

The ongoing event was just too strange. 

"Why do I even need someone like you?" Mia asked, too suspicious of the man to just listen to his words.

"Young miss, let me explain the situation," the man smiled, not discouraged by Mia's words at all. 

He appeared to be long used to this kind of treatment. 

"In short words, with your current position, anything you fancy within the auction hall is yours," the man explained, comically bowing his head. 

"And that's just the benefits from the auction hall itself," Figo added, raising his finger to bring Mia's attention back. 

"I have reports outlining a massive caravan of cultivation resources heading this way. If you deem it fitting to pick all of them up, you will have to wait for the caravan to arrive, though," Figo warned before his lips turned into a weird smile. "But our Auction Hall is more than willing to credit all of those resources," he added, in a tone that suggested that this was the grand finale of the reveals.

"Credit?" Mia muttered, raising her eyes at Figo's face with curiosity. "What does that mean?" she asked. 

"You just received unlimited funds," Figo explained in a few words. "Whatever you want from the Auction Hall, you can have. And whatever you want from the city, you have more than enough money to pay for," he added with a smile. 

'Are you for real?' Mia thought, stunned by the news. 

She allowed herself the idea that Arthur would somehow find a way to support her. Even if she didn't deem herself worthy of that kind of help, she knew full well just how doting Arthur was. 

'If I still occupy even a small shred of his heart, he won't forget about me,' she thought, certain of the fact. 

But not even in her wildest dreams did she hope for such a ridiculous situation!

Whatever she wanted from the auction hall?

'Does this mean I won't lack cultivating resources ever again?' Mia thought, stunned by the idea. 

And then came the calm. 

'No, it's not that simple,' Mia realized. 

There was a reason why Figo was so eager to turn the resources Arthur sent into a credit of the Auction Hall. 

'The only thing that I really received are the funds that Arthur sent directly,' Mia thought when she saw through the deviousness of the auction hall's plan. 

They never specified the amount that Arthur sent her. She could only guess how much his gift was worth. 

And the second, she would be even a single copper coin above what he gave her...

The auction hall would be sure to take back from Arthur in plenty!

"Could you please tell me," Mia muttered, still hesitant about her decision. Then, she swallowed down her saliva and looked Figo directly in the eyes. "How long will it take for the caravan to arrive?" She asked, "What's the estimated worth of what it carries?"

She didn't lust for the benefits of Arthur's support. But she couldn't deny their allure either. 

'I guess I have no other choice but to rely on him if I want to keep up,' Mia thought, clenching her fists and trying to encourage herself. 

She reached the fifth stage of cultivation. This achievement alone was quickly turning her into a prodigy in the eyes of the important elders of the Sect. 

As it turned out, Arganar was still a pretty influential figure within this particular sect location, easily able to gather supporters for Mia's case. 

But for some reason, Mia still couldn't help but think that she was lagging behind her lover. 

'I wonder what level are you in right now?' she thought, raising her eyes to the ceiling of the building. 

"There should be enough for you and your teammates to reach seventh or maybe even eight stage in one go," Figo replied with a slightly sour smile, proving that Mia guessed his intentions correctly. 

Even though they were apparently working together, he couldn't refuse himself the pleasure of trying to set Arthur up by manipulating Mia!

But the girl didn't think about it at all. 

'Enough for me and my group to reach seventh or even eight-stage?' she thought, stunned. 

'First off, how do you know about my group?' she thought after some time.

But it was only an appetizer. A prelude to the question is far more important.

'Are you fucking serious?' Mia couldn't think of anything else when the true volume of Arthur's gift dawned upon her. 

Yet, Mia didn't smile. 

Instead of rejoicing, allowing herself to relax now that she didn't need to worry about anything at all...

A sour expression appeared on her lips. 

'I guess I'm still a long way from catching up to him, aren't I?'