"Hmm? What's this?" Vincent muttered after reading the unusual Mana Art in front of him…

"Rune…"

Vincent softly said as he read the description again. He wasn't new to this word since he had literally encountered Runic Badger and Runic Basilisks before. These Magic Beasts were using Rune Magic to strengthen themselves…

However, he previously thought that this is exclusive to Magic Beasts…

It is quite fascinating to see that this is something that humans can learn as well.

Without any hesitation, Vincent triggered the System's Learn Skill to get this Mana Art in his collection of abilities…

[ A Skill Manual found. Would you like to learn the skill Rune Magic? ]

"Yes…"

[ … ]

[ You have failed to learn the Rune Magic. ]

[ You need to learn the Prerequisite Mana Art before you can learn this ability. ]

"I failed?"

Vincent was surprised after seeing the result. This is the first time he failed to learn a Mana Art. Nevertheless, after learning that there's a prerequisite to obtaining the skill, he realized that this skill must be very powerful.

After all, as far as he knows, only Tier 5 Mana Arts would have prerequisite Mana Arts before learning them…

For a Tier 2 Mana Art to have this, it means that it must be very special after all.

'Let's try one more time…'

He then tried learning the skill again, unfortunately, he really can't learn the skill. He can only give up for now until he learned the Prerequisite Mana Art.

Four days had quickly passed and the city has become even stronger. The signs of the terrifying siege before were no more. What was left was the newly built weapons delivered to them from the One Sea Merchant Union…

Now, their city walls had become more fortified and the number of their Formation Cores have increased as well.

In addition to that, the city walls have already been painted with the mystifying Octopus Ink.

It's no longer just the Kayser Tower that was painted with ink but the long line of the wall surrounding Vera City.

The only thing missing was the new weapon that Vincent was trying to build for his army…

After all, the Midnight Sea Pearls that he acquired from the Sea Race were limited. He can only use them in critical situations.

As Vincent was continuing with the development of the Magic Weapon, someone arrived outside his workshop…

The lady seems to be worried that he'll disturb Vincent so she wasn't sure what to do…

'Well, it's also time for me to take a break…' Vincent thought as he put down Arcane Ore in his hands and headed outside.

Clank. Clank…

Vincent opened the door and found Yulia who seem to be fidgeting like she doesn't know what to say… This is the first time he saw her hesitate this much…

"Is there a problem?" Vincent asked.

At this point, Yulia took a deep breath before she replied to Vincent.

"The Zemin Clan is outside the city…" Yulia finally spoke and brought very surprising news to Vincent.

"Really? I thought they've already left this territory…"

"They seem to be in trouble. The patriarch wishes to meet you. Should we decline them?"

'No wonder Yulia was acting like that… No matter what, she's still Yulia Zemin… It's probably normal to be worried about them as well. Anyway, What kind of trouble it is? Is the Zemin Clan victim of the Black Magic Organization?'

Vincent thought as he didn't really care about this clan anymore. He neither hates them nor likes them…

Whether they disappeared in the face of the earth, he wouldn't be happy nor sad…

Nevertheless, he felt that all this time, Yulia has been very helpful to him… If she wanted him to help the Zemin Clan so she can have peace of mind, he didn't mind doing it for her.

"Alright… I'll meet the Patriarch. You should come as well." Vincent finally said and he saw Yulia with grateful eyes.

It seems that he made the right decision.

***

"Is this the Vera City?" Patriarch Leon muttered after seeing the towering city wall painted in black. It looks intimidating from afar and they can tell that numerous eyes were watching them.

Although they can only see a couple of guards blocking the gate, they can tell that many others were observing their every movement.

Instead of being scared, the members of the Zemin Clan felt relieved seeing such a fortified structure.

After all, once they took shelter within the city, they would certainly benefit from this high-level security…

Leon was soon approached by the guards as he stated his reason for coming here… He wasn't sure whether he will be allowed to meet Vincent so he made sure to mention that Lesley Zemin is also here and wanted to meet him.

In the end, he waited for more than half an hour before a familiar figure appeared at the gate to welcome them…

"Y-Yulia? You're serving Vincent?" Patriarch Leon stuttered as he had already forgotten about this talented lady.

After she left the clan, Leon didn't really have any problems running the clan since Yulia is simply a commander of the Clan's Elite Squad at that time. In short, she has many replacements he could find.

The only regretful thing is that they won't be able to know whether she will succeed in controlling the Darkness Mystic Eye or get destroyed by it after reaching its 5th or even 6th stage.

"Yulia! It's good to see you again!"

"Haha… Your beauty has never changed… Have you mastered your Darkness Eyes already?"

Tezcan and Emrah, the two Guardians of the Zemin Clan, said with excited voices.

It was as if they were truly close friends that hadn't met each other for a long time.

Yulia didn't mind this at all as she looked at them with cold eyes before glancing behind them…

After a moment, she finally spoke while looking at Leon.

"Only the Patriarch was allowed to enter and meet with Vincent. Follow me." Yulia calmly said surprising the elders of the clan.

"Alright…" Leon didn't hesitate as he stepped forward to follow her.

"Patriarch… It might be dangerous. You should let us accompany you."

"That's right… We still can't be sure whether this is a trap or not."

The guardians said but Leon paid no heed. He just glared at them to signal them to stop speaking before hurrying to follow Yulia.