Chapter 286: Straightforward

A week passed by since Angus and the others returned from Savan city. During this one week, Angus kept focusing on cultivating his exhausted chi. Besides reading books and attending his courses, he was completely immersed in cultivating his chi.

Currently, Angus and everyone are at the Spring Dorm garden doing their usual afternoon activity. After a while, Angus wakes up from his cultivation while sweating.

"Angus, you are awake." said Jayna beside him and gave him a blanket.

"Thanks, Jayna." replied Angus while receiving the blanket and wiping his sweat.

"I think you should take a break. You have been like this for a week." said Jayna.

"Huft.. You are right. I think I need to take a breather for a while. It is not that we will encounter something dangerous." replied Angus.

"Yeah, you are right. Anyway, do you think Sir Benjamin will be okay?" asked Jayna.

"That's not our business to decide. I already told everything to Uncle Jade about his circumstances. I believe your father will not do something stupid after receiving all my information." said Angus.

"I hope so." said Jayna before the two of them enjoyed the scenery with Anna sleeping on her lap.

Before separating from Benjamin, Angus asked him about his future plan. However, the immortal skeleton said he didn't have any plan at all. 

He even thought of sealing himself along with the philosopher's stone. Therefore, Angus proposed to him to join the Heart Kingdom.

Since Benjamin himself is a full-fledged sixth-grade combatant, he needs to be supervised by the country. As a high noble and royalty, both Angus and Jayna cannot leave Benjamin even if they want.

The sixth-grade combatant is a powerhouse and could easily destroy a small city. Leaving such a power unsupervised is not wise for the kingdom's security, especially since the Heart Kingdom is on the rising.

Although both Angus and Jayna are still too young for this matter, they actually already heard some rumors that many hostile kingdoms are trying to pressurize and target the Heart Kingdom. At the same time, the neutral kingdom is starting to be on guard at the Heart Kingdom. 

With the addition of the Sur village group, the Heart Kingdom got a great reinforcement and could easily conquer the other nearby kingdom, especially by having two seventh-grade combatants.

However, King Leon still has not declared anything and is just observing the nearby kingdom's reaction. The next day, a mysterious person in a robe came towards the royal palace. 

"Halt!! This is a restrictive area. Please show yourself." said the guard.

"Ahh… Could you please tell your majesty Benjamin Graham is asked for an audience." said Benjamin while revealing his human appearance.

"Benjamin?! Have you had any appointments before?" asked the guard.

"He doesn't need one." heard a voice from behind the guard.

"S-Sir, Jade." said one of the guards while saluting at him.

At the same time, all the guards also respectfully saluted him. After returning to the Heart Kingdom, Jade decided to work back as King Leon's personal guard. However, King Leon thinks it will be a waste for someone like Jade to work only as a bodyguard. 

In the end, Jade became King Leon's, right-hand man.  Although not many know about Jade's true strength, his prestige as King Leon's right-hand man already speaks for itself. 

Moreover, during this one month, Jade shows good leadership and a great loyalty towards King Leon. The rumor even said that he was also training the royal guard. Therefore, everyone knows that Jade is someone with a high position.

Ignoring the other guard, "I presume you are, Sir Benjamin. Please follow me." said Jade.

"Ahh.. To think someone of your caliber will escort me. This humble one is truly honored." said Benjamin while following Jade.

Soon, both of them arrive at King Leon's working room. As a king, King Leon needed to work on a lot of things. Therefore most of his time he spends in the working room. He will be in the throne room when he gets an official meeting and handles important stuff.

After being granted access by the King, both of them enter the room. The King's working room is full of books and paper. Few royal guards are standing in the corner while a few assistants are working nearby the king.

Noticing the incoming of the two, "Ahh… you must be, sir Benjamin. Please take a seat while waiting for King Leon to be done." said the old butler Darius.

"Alright, then I will leave this matter to you, Darius. I still have something to do." said Jade as he left the room.

"Certainly, master Jade." replied Darius politely.

In the meantime, Benjamin politely sits on the nearby couch, waiting for King Leon. After a while, King Leon disappears from his spot and arrives before Benjamin [Blink].

"So, you are Benjamin Graham. Why don't you reveal yourself?" said King Leon while glaring at Benjamin.

"Err.. Pardon me, but I think it will be inappro.." said Benjamin.

"Reveal yourself." cut King Leon shortly.

"A-Alright." said Benjamin while dispelling his illusion spell and showing his skeleton appearance.

Looking at this, the nearby royal guard becomes startled and ready to fight Benjamin. In the meantime, King Leon smiled at Benjamin's bizarre appearance.

"That's much better. Before we talk about business, royal guards, you are dismissed!!" said King Leon.

The nearby royal guard in the room was startled at sudden instruction but still followed their king's order.

"Also, never come back to my working room anymore!!" said King Leon while they approached the door before ignoring their response and letting Darius handle the rest.

"I apologize for my subordinate behavior. Now, let's get this straight. I want you to work for me." said King Leon.

Hearing this, Benjamin became silent for a while, "May I know what you need from me, your majesty?" replied Benjamin.

"I want you to create Homunculus for me." said King Leon blatantly.

"I am sorry. But, I must decli…" replied Benjamin without hesitation.

"Before you respond, I should make this clear. All I want is the Homunculus for war, and I don't need that Philosopher's stone of yours." said King Leon, cutting into Benjamin's response.

"You don't need a Philosopher's stone??" said Benjamin.

"Yeah, all I need is the homunculus for war. Whether it is using a philosopher's stone or not, it doesn't matter to me." said King Leon.

"That's impossible. The Philosopher's stone is the core of homunculus. There is no other energy source that is strong enough to power them." said Benjamin.

"How about this one?" said King Leon while taking out a bluish energy core.

This bluish energy core is actually Vigo's sustainable energy core.

"T-That's… Can I look more at it?" said Benjamin.

"Sure." said King Leon while giving the energy core to Benjamin.

Looking at the energy core carefully, "T-This is fascinating. The enchantment seems alive and adapted to the surrounding mana.. No, energy. Not only mana but also any type of energy." analyzed Benjamin.

"Ahh.. Pardon me, your majesty. Where did you get such a thing?" said Benjamin.

"It's the newest product from our research center. So, do you think it could replace your Philosopher's Stone?" asked King Leon.

"I am not sure. There are some different properties from this energy core with the philosopher's stone."

"However, if this core could supply continuously without stopping, it would be possible. Still, there is a lot of research to be done from compatibility to many other things." replied Benjamin.

"That's enough. So, what do you think? Do you want to work for me? However, let me get this straight from the start. I will use your homunculus for war purposes." said King Leon.

"T-That's very straightforward, your majesty." said Benjamin.

"Well, I am a person that likes to the point. So, how is it?" replied King Leon.

"Actually, I don't really care too much if you use my research for war or not. However, If you want me to work for you, I have few conditions." said Benjamin.

"I am listening." replied King Leon.

Then, the two of them start to negotiate about their partnership and condition. After a few hours of discussion, they finally conclude the condition and term. However, they still need to sign the contract before their partnership work.

In the end, Benjamin is escorted back with the guard to one of the luxury houses in the capital city. They decide to meet the next day again to sign the contract together.

The news about Benjamin having a meeting with King Leon also reaches Angus and Jayna. Hearing that Benjamin has agreed to work together with King Leon, both of them are relieved.

They don't want to make an enemy with Benjamin as he is the creator of the legendary homunculus. From Benjamin's rough explanation, Lily is actually not a genuine homunculus yet. She is actually still in the development and a trial product.

If the trial product is as dangerous as a sixth-grade warrior, what will happen if the actual product is finished? A weapon that is comparable with the seventh-grade combatant may be born.