11 'Transaction'

Miguel stared at the summoned creature curiously. It was a tortoise much larger than the Volcanic Tortoise earlier.

Its body has a mixture of red and black colors, and its shell shone in dangerous light as the tortoise that was over two meters in height glared fiercely at Miguel.

However, Miguel was calm and collected, as he did not believe that Marcel would lay a finger on him.

He had been observing Marcel earlier. Marcel gives off the vibe that he was a strong individual who was just too lazy to act and would always like to pretend that they care. He had met countless individuals who bore the same personality as Marcel from his previous life. He knew exactly what to do to deal with this kind of individual. Coupled with Marcel's earlier response and fake enthusiasm when he summoned his grimoire and made a contract with the tortoise, a plan was immediately formed inside Miguel's head.

Miguel knew for a fact that he was still pretty ignorant of the laws and common knowledge of this world, with the only basic information he knew being the ones given by the grimoire when he awakened it yesterday.

Marcel, who owned a Silver Grade grimoire and was experienced in the ways of being a summoner, would surely know a lot of basic information.

He saw his brief expression of astonishment earlier when he summoned his grimoire for the first time. Miguel guessed that he should have done something incredible without him knowing.

Being direct to Marcel was not without reason and basis.

As for Marcel's actions in summoning the huge creature in front of him, Miguel was naturally not afraid, even if it attacked.

The reason for his confidence was the contracted being on the previously first blank page of his grimoire.

It was a full image of a woman dressed in red robes. Her expression was aloof behind the half-mask that covered the upper part of her face. Her hand was clasped calmly below her stomach, seemingly waiting for Miguel to summon her to the real world.

[Name: Aaliyah Red

Title: Fiery Empress, Holy Daughter of the Red Clan

Grade: Gold

Level: Level 1

Type: Fire Elemental

Description: The most talented daughter of the Red Clan. Conferred the title of Holy Daughter and was later dubbed the Fiery Empress due to her fiery feats on the battlefield. If she had not met her demise early from an internal conspiracy, who knows what kind of level she would have achieved at that time?

]

And for some unknown reason, below her description was the word [Innate Beast], which was not supposed to happen as Miguel knew for a fact that she was a recently contracted being like the Volcanic Tortoise.

At this moment, Marcel also seemed to realize that he had overreacted.

Miguel's direct words pulled him out of his casual attitude; his instinct to defend was triggered, causing him to overreact.

However, upon recalling that he was just facing a kid, Marcel calmed his emotions as he sat back on the chair.

However, the way he looked at Miguel had already changed.

His fool reputation in the village? Bah, Marcel would be a fool if he believed it after hearing what he said earlier. He was more self-aware than a kid his age.

Marcel knew now that this kid was just pretending to be a fool. A wolf in sheep's clothing

Marcel chuckled to himself before he said, "I like your confidence. Indeed, you are right. I indeed value the talent that you have. However, don't get too complacent. Currently, you are as weak as an ant in my eyes. No matter how talented you are, that would only reflect if you were alive to take advantage of it."

"Alright, since my mind is already set, you can state your conditions, but don't get too overboard," he added with a straight face as he unsummoned his tortoise.

Hearing that, a smile could not help but surface on Miguel's face.

"Well, first thing's first. I want you to protect my mother while I'm not here."

Marcel nodded his head. "That's a given."

In fact, even if Miguel did not state such a request, Marcel would still guarantee her safety. After all, she was the only direct relative of Miguel; if something happened to her, the genius Miguel would surely be affected. At the same time, she could also act as a binding point for Miguel and his family.

"Second, I want information—a lot of information regarding summoners and summons. If you have some secret techniques and treasures that can help me boost my strength, you can also give them to me. After all, you don't want your investment to collapse even before it could rise, right?"

"Hmpp! What do you think of this, a daylight robbery? But you're right this time again. I'll see if I have some useless treasure that might be of help to you. As for the secret techniques, I can only give you the most basic ones." 

"That will do. Lastly, you won't mind if one of the village guardians disappears, right?" Miguel stated calmly, as if what he said was not something serious.

Hearing that, Marcel looked at Miguel sternly. He thought for a bit before nodding his head. "It won't matter. I'll just request another village guardian from the main branch. They are just hired mercenaries anyway."

"However, I won't help you with that. It's your personal vendetta and has nothing to do with me. Of course, I prefer it if you do it after you gain enough strength; after all, even though the guardians are still at Apprentice Rank and only have a Bronze Grade Grimoire, they still have already experienced their fair share of battles. The last thing I want to see is your cold corpse just right after we talk about investment and what not," he added.

Miguel smiled upon hearing that. "Of course. I'm not foolish enough to forfeit my life because of baseless arrogance."

"That's reassuring to hear. Anyways, here's the 100 Gold Coins that anyone can receive the moment they awaken their grimoire in the Red Family."

Marcel took out a brown pouch and threw it towards Miguel.

Miguel caught it in mid-air and roughly estimated its weight to be around 1 kilogram. This was one of the benefits of being able to awaken your grimoire. The family would protect and nurture you to become strong; in exchange, you would also have to fight and protect it from its enemies.

"As for the techniques, I can only give you two. In truth, you can receive something like this in the main branch, but I can give them to you in advance so that you can familiarize yourself with them."

Two books of varying thickness were then thrown towards Miguel.

"One of them is the technique to be able to utilize your grimoire's energy more efficiently. It also includes the method to absorb Grimoire Summoning Energy in the air to be stored inside your grimoire. The other one is a training method for fire element beasts. You can use it to train your Volcanic Tortoise. By the way, I don't know how you know of its potential, but it is indeed a beast that can reach the Silver Grade if nurtured properly. Don't look down on the Silver Grade beast. They are also called Elite Beasts for a reason after all," Marcel stated.

Miguel stared at the two books in his hands. He did not care too much about the training method. What he cared about was the first book that involved the utilization of this world's unique energy.

This was what he needed the most to modify his cultivation technique.

Excitement and anticipation rose in Miguel's heart as he looked forward to being able to cultivate again. He could not wait to go home and start modifying his technique.

However, he calmed his emotions as he listened to the basic information that Marcel had already started to discuss.

Like a student, Miguel listened attentively to Marcel.

As his understanding of this world grew, he became more fascinated by its wonders.

He looked forward to the day that he stood at the top of power in this world. And he was confident in achieving it. It was only a matter of time.

"That's about it. You can naturally learn much more along the way, so don't get too hasty. After all, we have a saying that the more you know, the more dangerous it will be. Anyways, you can return here this afternoon to claim your weapon."

Miguel nodded his head. He was satisfied with the 'transaction' today and would surely return the weapon later.

However, he was about to turn around and leave when a bang was heard at the entrance of the room.

Even before the door could fully open from the 'bang', an arrogant voice had already resounded in Miguel and Marcel's ears.

"Branch head, I heard that that fool has awakened!?"