Training summer camp, Zone C.
During what should have been class time, Mike squatting in the bathroom, dealing with nature's call.
From the next stall, he could hear the voices of Maxen Stoneheart and Shadow Nine.
"Master Shadow Nine, here are 16 skill books. Four were damaged during the removal of the skill restrictions. Please check them."
"Little Stone, come closer."
"What?"
A flurry of punches and kicks followed.
The noise eventually subsided, and Shadow Nine spoke coldly, "I'll give you another chance to organize your words."
"Master Shadow Nine, there really are only 18 books left, 2 were damaged! I swear..."
Swoosh—
A blade was drawn!
Shadow Nine coldly stated, "Do you think I'm a two-year-old child?"
Maxen Stoneheart quickly responded, "Shadow Nine, even if you kill me today, I won't betray my Second Godfather!"
...
Returning from the bathroom to the multimedia classroom, Mike's mind was not on the lesson at all.
Shadow Nine's voice echoed in his ear, "20 skill books, after removing the class restrictions, 12 are usable."
Blatantly skimming off the top?
Mike, somewhat displeased, said, "Shadow Nine, you might as well say 10!"
Trying to fool a ghost here!
Mike had clearly heard from the next bathroom stall, all 20 skill books were intact!
Shadow Nine drawled,
"I'm getting old, my eyes aren't what they used to be. Now that you mention it, indeed, there are only 10."
"Why don't you say they all got ruined?"
"How did you know they all got ruined? Worthy of a potential Supreme Being, foreseeing like a prophet!"
Mike rolled his eyes, deciding to end this farce and have a serious talk.
"Shadow Nine, if we're going to collaborate on imprinting skill books, we need some rules."
"Alright, you're full of tricks, and I'm just an honest man, let's hear your thoughts first."
The shameless Shadow Nine, his words surely an insult to the meaning of 'honest man.'
"The skill books can only be imprinted by me. The materials need to be A-tier or above elemental cores. For external sales, we need Ares' help to remove the class restrictions."
Raw materials, production, and processing—these three stages all need to share profits, sustainably and reasonably.
Any hiccup in the process, and [Wind's Reach] can't be mass-produced.
If it can't be mass-produced, it won't enhance the overall strength of humanity, contradicting Mike's original intention in creating [Wind's Reach].
Mike was very precise about balancing rights and responsibilities.
"Out of the 20 skill books, Ares took 2, and instructed Maxen Stoneheart to take another 2, making a total of 4."
Shadow Nine spoke again, analyzing, "Ares' intention is clear, removing class restrictions, he wants a 20% cut. 10% stays directly within the corps at the front lines for internal use, and 10% goes to the rear corps to boost their strength."
"No problem."
Mike agreed straightforwardly.
The [Wind's Reach] produced, if not for Ares removing the class restrictions and directly sold to wind element mages, wouldn't involve a cut for Ares.
Allowing him to take 20% of the skill books in the processing stage was reasonable.
Both parties having no objections, Shadow Nine spoke again, "As for the raw materials, that's the real headache.
To gather A-tier or above wind elemental cores, a wind element Battle Chief would have to do nothing else but focus on gathering wind elemental cores, managing only one per day.
Wind element king cores are even rarer, with a Battle Lord able to gather only one per week. Mainly because this stuff was unpopular before, used less, studied less."
Creating SSS-tier skill books required extremely precious materials!
3 A-tier wind elemental cores were needed to produce 1 SSS-tier skill book.
1 elemental king core for 10 books.
The number of wind element powerhouses directly affected the production capacity of [Wind's Reach]!
Shadow Nine sighed, "Wind element is weak and unpopular in any class, and there aren't many powerful wind element users. I guess Ares will think of this too, probably pulling all the wind element powerhouses from the front lines back. To produce elemental cores, expand the skill book production capacity. Once we have the specific data, we can discuss the corresponding profit sharing, how about that?"
Mike nodded, "Okay, what about the 20 skill books?"
"4 go to Ares, 6 are pre-ordered by [Guardian Shadow], and you have free rein over the remaining 10."
Shadow Nine added, "The 2 elemental king cores used to make the skill books will be compensated by [Guardian Shadow]."
Mike could fully accept these terms.
Once the 2 elemental king cores were in hand, a quick turnover, and another 20 skill books.
All in all, Mike would effectively have 30 skill books in hand!
Before long, 10 unrestricted class skill books and 2 elemental king cores were handed over to Mike by Shadow Nine.
...
Abyssal Plane.
A King Cerberus lay on the ground like a dead dog, limp and boneless.
Shadow Seven was nearby, roasting a dog leg, looking quite content.
"It's been years since I've felt this relaxed!"
The shadows of the campfire flickered slightly.
A woman in a red robe, graceful in stature, suddenly appeared in front of Shadow Seven.
Shadow Seven put down the dog leg, his expression extremely respectful,
"Respected Shadow One, you've arrived."
Shadow One was actually a woman!
Shadow One spoke, her voice melodious and very pleasant.
"Shadow Nine said you did well on this mission. He wants you to hunt some more demon creatures before returning."
Shadow Seven quickly said, "Thank you for Master Shadow Nine's praise."
For Shadow Seven, being able to fight longer on the Abyssal Plane was the best reward.
Forest of Truth? Going back was like being in prison, no freedom at all, not wanting to stay a second longer!
"Shadow Nine asked me to bring you something."
Saying this, Shadow One tossed a skill book to Shadow Seven.
"What is this, Wind's Reach?!"
After a quick glance at the skill book's introduction, Shadow Seven's breathing became rapid, his entire being overly excited, his voice trembling,
"Which Supreme Being crafted this, it's tailor-made for me!"
"With this divine skill, do I still need to fear Thor? I will eventually defeat and replace him!"
In that moment, Shadow Seven's fighting spirit soared, competing with a potential Supreme Being, he felt his chances of winning had greatly increased.
Shadow One smiled and said,
"This skill was created by Thor, in a way, you're right, it indeed is the handiwork of a Supreme Being.
The handiwork of a future Supreme Being of our race."
Shadow Seven's expression became incredibly rich, unable to utter a complete word.
After so many years, he was excited for once...
But, how could it possibly be created by Thor?!
Shadow Seven wanted to ask, 'Shadow One, couldn't you wait until I learned it before telling me?! Aren't you concerned about embarrassing me?'
Bang—
Shadow Seven threw the skill book on the ground, turned his head away, his face cold, "Since this book was created by Thor, I'd rather not learn it!"
"Suit yourself."
Shadow One said and then left, leaving behind a phrase,
"By the way, your mother is pregnant again, twins.
She wants you to work well in [Guardian Shadow], everything at home is fine, no need to worry.
Stop sending letters home complaining and spreading negative energy, better spend that effort finding a girlfriend, you're already over thirty and still a virgin, your father is very disappointed in you."
The breeze blew, the campfire flickered.
Only leaving Shadow Seven standing there, dazed, not knowing why, his eyes kept drifting to the skill book on the ground, his gaze burning intensely.
Shadow Seven looked around for a long time, making sure Shadow One had left.
He stiffly moved his steps, slowly crouched down, picked up the skill book, quickly blew off the dust, repeatedly checking if it was damaged, if it had been knocked or bumped, looking extremely distressed.
The firelight reflected on his face, his hands holding the skill book, Shadow Seven muttered to himself,
"I'm just looking, I... I won't learn it!"