The Deceitful One



Bryan looked at the genuine smile on Nicholas's face and then at his stretched-out hand. In the end, he shook it. "Anthony."

"So, Anthony." Nicholas grinned. "Can I call you Anthony? Alright, I'll call you Anthony. You have quite the setup here. This study is practically a library. You've made good use of this large space."

Bryan saw Nicholas look around his study and his lips couldn't help but twitch. He thought to himself, 'Is this fucker… trying to get on my nerves?'

Nicholas continued to look around the place as he showered praises mixed with insults. At this point, Bryan had just decided to ignore him. He figured that if he continued to listen to this eccentric person, he might just murder him out of anger.

Hence, he walked to his study table and took his seat. He then took out a fancy cigar case from the drawer. Opening the lid of the case, he took out a fine cigar, cut one end of it, and then lit it.

As he smoked the cigar, he looked at Nicholas who was now reading one of his books which contained his meditation notes. He exhaled a breath of smoke and asked, "Are you here to read books?"

"Ah," Nicholas exclaimed as he lightly patted his forehead. He kept the book back on the shelf and then sat down across from Bryan. "I tend to get carried away whenever there are books around."

"I can see that." Bryan rolled his eyes. He took another puff of the cigar and asked, "So, what do you—"

But before he could ask his question, he was cut off by Nicholas. "What is your relation with Connor Winchester, the previous owner of this house?"

Bryan's eyes slightly narrowed. He then replied, "He's an old friend that I met in Damascus." Naturally, when Bryan had visited Connor's dream and pretended to be an angel, he had made sure to get Benny to alter the man's memories. And it was precisely for such events.

All his cautiousness was beginning to pay off. After all, if he said one thing and if Connor said another, and their stories didn't match up, people would begin to suspect him. Bryan's lips curled up into a smirk. "He can be considered to be my business acquain—"

Once again he was cut off by Nicholas, "But there are hardly any records of a merchant in Damascus who goes by the name of Anthony Wayne."

"That's because I hail from the Demeter Kingdom." Bryan cooked up a lie without even flinching. However, he was starting to get annoyed by Nicholas constantly cutting him off.

Nicholas looked at him deeply and asked, "You're an enigma, Anthony. All of a sudden you appeared in Nadir and then within a few months you approach my company with an invaluable idea. I can't help but feel suspicious of you. Just, who are you exactly?"

Bryan took another puff of the cigar and blew it out, "You already know who I am. If you feel suspicious, you're free to lea—"

"Are you aware of the dangers of being a rogue Transcendent? You surely know the official Transcendent organizations' stance toward people of your kind." Nicholas solemnly said.

Bryan exhaled a deep sigh. He kept the cigar on the ashtray and the next moment his eyes narrowed. A terrifying otherworldly aura emanated from him as he muttered coldly, "Bastard if you cut me off once again, I'll make you wish you were dead."

Nicholas's lips curled up into a smirk. "Oh, what a malevolent aura…. You sure are a dangerous man. Forgive my transgression, I'm just not cut out to be a sociable person."

He appeared to be extremely calm on the surface but his back had already been drenched in a layer of cold sweat. He had never felt such a frightening aura before. It was almost as if he was sitting in front of a predator at the top of the food chain.

It was at that point that he realized that although Bryan may appear to be a gentleman on the surface, on the inside he was an extremely menacing person. In usual circumstances, since he aligned with the Church of Craftsmanship, he would have immediately called for reinforcements to capture Bryan.

However, he truly admired and respected Bryan's intellect. After all, how can anyone who can come up with the transaction system for the payphone be invaluable? Hence, even though he was a rogue Transcendent, Nicholas wanted to ally with him.

Bryan took back his aura and then picked up the cigar and began smoking once again. He then asked nonchalantly, "So, what do you want?"

Nicholas deeply looked into Bryan's eyes and solemnly said, "You're a rogue Transcendent, how long are you planning to hide? Why not join an official organization?"

"Oh?" Bryan was amused. "And what organization would that be?"

"You can join the Transcendent division under the Church of Crafts—" Nicholas began, however, this time it was his turn to get cut off.

"Sorry, I don't believe in your god." Bryan flatly refused.

Nicholas wasn't disheartened in the least. Instead, he raised his chin and spoke with pride, "Then how about the Dicentra Research Institute? I'll have you know, I'm a proud member of this prestigious organization. Moreover, I even have the authority to—"

"Pfft," Bryan cut him off as he burst out into a peal of laughter, "Hahahaha!"

Nicholas's eyebrows furrowed, "You don't believe me?"

"No, no, it's not that," Bryan wiped the tears away from his eyes. "I just find it funny."

"What's so funny?" Nicholas spoke with a slightly angered tone. "Do you know how illustrious the Dicentra Research Institute is? Do you know how much it has contributed to the advancement…."

Bryan looked at Nicholas going on a rant with an extremely amused expression. He couldn't help but think, 'Little bastard, the Duchess of Discernment is an acquaintance who happens to sit beside me at the gathering, and here you are trying to induct me into her organization. Hilarious!'

After Nicholas finally stopped passionately speaking about the Dicentra Research Institute, Bryan asked, "What makes you think I'm not in some organization already?"

"That's impossible," Nicholas adamantly refused. "I have ties with the intelligence agency of the royal family of the Belize Kingdom. According to them, you're a rogue Transcendent."

He laid out his last card to not only show Bryan how far his reach went but also in order to intimidate Bryan—of course, the last part was a lie. Having dealt with god-knows how many wealthy tycoons and nobles who tried to dupe him, he had naturally learned a thing or two.

Nicholas had to take the lead in the conversation or else he'd be led by the nose. He had to come across as imposing during this negotiation, or he might just be taken advantage of. Seeing that Bryan lowered his head and remained silent after hearing the Royal Family's name, he couldn't help but smirk.

Bryan on the other hand was thinking of something completely different. Only earlier in the morning, he had found that the royal family of the Belize Kingdom might be in cahoots with the Holy Blood Sect, and now an idiot had appeared at his doorstep who supposedly had ties with the royal family.

He couldn't help but wonder if he was destined to be embroiled in this massive conspiracy including the Holy Blood Sect, the Belize Kingdom, and the Central Continent.

In the end, he couldn't help but sigh. He would take one step at a time and rely on his Dream Divination innate ability to remain as cautious as ever.

He then looked at Nicholas who had a smug look on his face, his lips curled up into a mischievous smirk as he replied, "The Belize royal family can't do jack shit to me."

Nicholas's smile froze on his face. He was greatly taken aback by the fact that Bryan wasn't the least bit intimidated by the royal family. He speculated that Bryan was either bluffing or he had a much bigger backing. But he refused to believe that it was the latter.

Hence, his voice turned cold as he said, "Anthony, think carefully before you speak. Don't forget that the land you're walking on is ruled by the royal family of the Belize Kingdom."

Bryan's grin turned even wider. "No, Nicholas. This land and all the lands in this continent are ruled by the Dicentra royal family."

Nicholas couldn't find a retort to that. He couldn't believe that he had actually failed in getting Bryan to work under him. His first plan was to strong-arm Bryan into working under him, but that failed when he realized that Bryan was Rank 2 Transcendent—the same as him.

Hence, he tried to bully him into working for him by laying out his wide network and his ties with the Dicentra Research Institute as well as the royal family of the Belize Kingdom. But that also didn't seem to have any effect. Nicholas couldn't help but begin to think if Bryan really had a bigger backing than him.

Bryan then looked at him and smiled. "I know you're trying to get me to work under you, but that's not gonna happen. Go back and come to me with a better offer next time."

Nicholas's eyes narrowed. The following moment, he got up from his chair and walked toward the door. Right as he turned the doorknob, he turned to look back at Bryan and said, "You'll regret this." With that, he left the study, smashing the door shut after him.

Bryan couldn't help but chuckle. "Ah, I love trampling over such massive ego." He then thought to himself, 'I should probably get the Emperor to help me out a little, in case this bastard really gets the help of the Belize royal family.'