Chương 256: A New Job For Me

Apart from mending Faelan or making Anathema into a pseudo-spirit, the new equipment of the Mindscape would definitely allow me to create much more refined and powerful spectral servants of all sorts. Until now, I was mostly stuck with feeble ghosts who couldn't do much at all. However, my evolution had given me so much that I couldn't just focus on one thing at a time. I had also acquired 'Flowing Metal', which was a clear sign that I should get myself certain upgrades.

Fortunately, the time I spent working in the Mindscape had been enough for Mari to get her consciousness back. So I took the time to explain to her what kind of upgrade I was expecting. To make proper use of 'Flowing Metal', I would need at least one of those limb-altering upgrades. Since they only seemed to come for one limb at a time, it would also be best to add them onto my right arm, considering that there already was 'Hydraulic Limb' on it.

"Mmh… I see…

It will probably be a bit complicated, as I assume that there will be a need to make the new limb function before it is considered to be a proper upgrade, but as long as I have the right pieces, it shouldn't take too long for me to figure it out" Since I had my knightess form, creating pieces out of steel was actually easy, but it seemed like I wouldn't have much time to do this at the moment–Leou soon stepped into the room, but before talking, she took a moment to breathe with her hand pressed against the wall.

She wasn't getting used to the nausea caused by the warp array the organisation used to get to their secret spot.

"I shouldn't have gone down the stairs so quickly…"

"... Alright, I talked with Ergonip. I didn't have to do much. Our resident skeleton has a lot of trust in you, considering all of your previous successes… But I still need to explain the goal of the mission clearly""The objective is very simple: We will arrange for you to take part in an examination that will decide whether or not you are competent enough to teach the Unwanted Presences. That part is easy.

Everything is corrupt to the bone in the Aestherian Republic, and since basically no one wants to work with them, it is pretty much guaranteed that they'll accept you""As for the rest, you merely need to convince one of the Unwanteds to place their loyalty into you, and thus into the organisation as an extension… As for the other two… You can either kill them or groom them to become agents of chaos. You can do as you see fit. We only want one of them…

More than that, and we might run into some problems ourselves""I understand… May I make so–some suggestions?"

"Sure""I would like to take Xlown and Mari with me–me""Huuh… I don't think there will be any problem with Mari, but… Xlown might arouse suspicions" My clown daughter tilted her head to the side as if she didn't understand why she might seem suspicious… A fairly funny joke considering that she had caught a mouse just thirty seconds ago, and its tail was still sticking out of her mouth. She just slurped it up like a spaghetto. Leou stared at Xlown for a second before resuming speaking.

"Knowing you, you probably already have an idea about how to make this work?"

"Absolutely" Two weeks later, and here I was. In Aesther, the only republic of the continent, and the most corrupt country of the continent as well. This nation was once one of the greatest, but ever since they decided to get rid of their king–The reason why they had been so great–Things had taken a nosedive.

The only reason they were still relevant was thanks to the fact that the monarchy had left them with a lot, allowing them to slow down the eventual death of the already rotting body of their foolish idea of governance.

It reminds me of another nation I had read about that had also gotten rid of its king to create a so-called 'utopia'. Within just a few months, it had been the worst place on the continent. Life there was worse for the average person than for a slave in Beelmart. It had even been declared more dangerous than the Northern Wildlands. Of course, it quickly fell apart, and the other nations surrounding it conquered the land. An action which was celebrated by the people being invaded.

Aesther was obviously not doing as poorly, but the trajectory was nonetheless very similar. Right now, I am standing inside of some sort of waiting room. Whoever was in charge of recruiting instructors for the Unwanteds had clearly been a bit too confident, judging by how much space had been dedicated to this place. The only people here were I, Xlown, and Mari, as well as a mage who was passed out drunk on the ground. Vomit coated his grey beard.

The worst part was that he would probably be the most qualified mage to show on account of the fact that he was likely to be the only one. For the occasion, I had manifested my knightly form to almost resemble a paladin. My dress was white and blue, and instead of being plain grey, my armour was gold and silver, with my helm having been made to almost resemble a mask, but of course, it was still a helm on account of me being a walking suit of armour and nothing more at the moment.

I would have liked to learn more knight skills to enhance my performance, but everything happened on short notice, so I only had 'Spectre Blade' alongside my regular abilities in this form. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. It should still be more than enough, though.

"Excuse me, Miss Maya, the… The Silent Knightess?" A young man who looked like a servant, but was instead called a 'Jack Worker', which just meant that he was, in fact, a lowly servant, but since this was Aesther, they felt the need to call a cat a dog. I stood up from my seat, and alongside Mari and Xlown, I followed after the servant. Mari was carrying a bunch of bags, acting as if she were my carrier. Even though the bags were actually filled with her own tools and such.

Meanwhile, Xlown was acting as a swordbearer. Since my daughter was able to manipulate her body at will, she had made herself look like a regular human girl. … Somewhat, at least. She wasn't able to get rid of her chalk-white complexion, but her paleness wasn't exactly a problem. Odd features weren't exactly that rare.

"The judges are inside this room, Miss" I motioned with my hand to thank the servant as he opened the door, leading into a room where four individuals were seated behind a table. They weren't just random people, but perhaps the four most important figures of the Aestherian Republic. Ganiel Kalersky, Leader of the Republic. Tanaya Uolip, Prime Minister of the Republic. Johnpol Jimeni, Archmage of the Republic. Padri Golk, Minister of Defence. These four wielded the most power.

I didn't know why the leader and prime minister were here when I was fairly certain they didn't have much experience to evaluate someone's strength and capabilities as an instructor, but it would certainly make for an intimidating line-up if their nation wasn't a joke.

"Welcome, Miss Maya. We are pleased to have you here""No shit, it's only her and that dead-drunk mage""Ahahah, Miss Uolip… We obviously had many more contestants before them" For someone whose job was pretty much to lie constantly about everything, Ganiel Kalersky was a pretty awful liar.

"Alright, would you please demonstrate something to us?" Padri Golk ignored the two who were supposed to be his superiors. I obliged and unsheathed the sword carried by Xlown–The Minister of Defence, who, along with the archmage, was the only person here with actual combat experience, had his eyes brighten up at the mere sight of my posture. Clearly, whoever had shown up before me must have been rubbish if a good stance was enough to impress him.

Without hesitation, I swung the sword and produced a 'Spectre Blade', which went right through a pillar before eventually fading out as it travelled for too long without encountering a target. This time, it was Johnpol Jimeni who seemed impressed.

"Very good! A ghostly sword art using negative energy instead of mana!" Unlike most mages, he was instantly able to tell what kind of energy was used, and even knew immediately that this skill had to do with ghosts specifically. Just as Leou had told me, this old man was definitely the most dangerous person around. I showed them a few normal swings to demonstrate my understanding of the basics of swordsmanship as well, and by the end of it, the archmage and minister seemed quite impressed.

The other two didn't seem to quite get the full picture. Interestingly, whilst the leader didn't seem to get anything, the prime minister actually only seemed lost when it came to pure swordsmanship. She hadn't seemed lost at all when it was about energy and magic. Is she a mage? If so, even the organisation wasn't aware of it… Ganiel Kalersky stood up and came to shake my hand–The lack of security was quite appalling.

If I wanted, I could have murdered this guy a dozen times over, and he himself didn't seem to be worried… He has to be wearing some sort of defensive enchanted item, right? There are indeed mana fluctuations around him Makes sense…

"I don't think there is any need for debate, Miss Maya, you are hired! Would you like to discuss the terms of your contract with us? We are very flexible!" I pointed to Xlown, who began reciting a text I had made her memorise.

"Lady Maya would like to have access to private quarters featuring a forge, as her carrier requires one to take proper care of equipment. Alongside it, a source of steel would be welcomed. Furthermore, since Lady Maya has come from abroad, she would appreciate being able to watch warriors of all kinds from Aesther in action, so that she may learn…" Xlown had perfectly learned the text.

Of course, things like ghosts or curses couldn't be asked, as it would be a little too odd, but I made sure that I would be able to squeeze as much value out of this trip as possible. Since I was probably the only person worth something to have shown up, they didn't argue about my demands and accepted them immediately. After being shown to very comfortable quarters where Mari was able to unload her bags, I was directed to meet the three Unwanted Presences I was meant to teach, and… They were weird.

I had never met any Unwanted Presence before, but they looked off, their voices were off, and they would sometimes use incomprehensible words. It seems like the translation ability they were granted wasn't able to translate everything they spouted. Also, they had last names despite seemingly just being commoners. What a bizarre world they must have come from. In any case, none of them seemed to know how to wield a sword, spear, or anything like that.

In answer to the question, I wrote about what kind of weapon they knew how to use. They all gave unsatisfactory responses. Kevin Baker, who claimed to be a military trainee, said he had only ever used a handgun. Which I had never heard of. Rose Miller, who said that she was a farmer in the countryside, said she knew how to shoot a rifle, which I had also never heard of. And then, Daniel Williams, the scrawniest of the bunch, simply said that he had never even held a weapon, apart from a kitchen knife.

But everyone had held a kitchen knife at least once. It meant nothing. The most promising is the girl, followed by the military boy. As for the third one… He doesn't show any promise at the moment. It is best to be wary, however. Unwanted Presences can develop their powers late, and judging by the quality of the other two, it would be odd for a regular schmuck to be swept in as well Batches of Unwanteds are typically similar to one another in terms of potential Right…

None of them looks like they have any potential for now. Which is good, I'll just teach them the basics for now. What a shame that I can't speak in this form. It would have made things a lot easier.