The Rise of the Black Plain

At the sight of the sabotage artifact, a bomb capable of destroying even a building built by a Supreme, the Missions Hall officer in front of Minos opened his eyes wide.

He looked at the device for a moment and then looked at Minos, unbelieving this human had completed such a tough mission without even using the item given to him by the guild. Not only that, no one would question Minos if he kept such an artifact for himself.

"You were much more efficient in this mission than I thought," the Intermediate Officer in front of Minos said as he picked up the still sealed artifact. "May I ask why you're returning it? You'll obviously get more merit points for it, no matter what the reason."

Minos knew that. In fact, that was the reason he was returning the detonation item to the guild.

"As powerful as this bomb is, it can't be used to my advantage in a fight. It is a sabotage device." Minos looked at the bomb. "I could only use it as a sabotage device or maybe as a trap. But I'm afraid it's not as valuable to me as it is to the guild. I prefer the merit points of this device's value."

Given the characteristics of this bomb, the chances of Minos using it against enemies would be low. He didn't usually ambush enemies. Besides, he didn't intend to fight Supremes, preferring to deal with Sovereigns using his powers, which could help him preserve the bodies of his enemies.

After all, this device would be almost useless in his hands, unlike the merit points it was worth.

"Hmm, you're right. Using it without putting yourself in danger would be problematic, so you'd hardly be able to use it... Anyway, I can pay you 100,000 merit points for this artifact.

That's only half of its value, but the guild rarely pays the full value of an item given to one of its members." The alien looked at Minos seriously, giving him the opportunity not to make a deal.

A hundred thousand merit points were worth more to him than a useless artifact!

"Wait a minute. I'll add your points to your record," the Officer said as he turned his attention to a device on his counter.

"That's fine with me." Minos smiled, not caring. After two minutes, Minos left the mission hall and went directly to the place where he could collect the artifact he had earned for completing the previous mission.

...

By nightfall, Minos had already left the item in his faction's cave, leaving the artifact for someone who would generate merit for his group in the future.

After taking care of a few things, continuing his studies as a seer, and training a bit, he went to Segiel's estate, having received her invitation for dinner that evening.

Minos intended to stay at headquarters before returning to the missions until his position as Intermediate Officer was announced by the Records Hall and he made some changes to his internal activities.

As such, he would stay with the guild for a while before his next trip, giving him time for meetings like today's.

Arriving at Segiel's estate, he soon found himself standing in front of the blue-haired woman, who now had a hard-to-resist smile on her face, her humor somewhat clear in her bright aura.

She was wearing a beautiful white dress as she served Minos the meal she had prepared for him.

Segiel didn't usually do this, but today was a special occasion for her!

"I didn't expect you to be such an excellent cook," he said as he tasted her food, unable to resist eating without his usually refined manners.

She sat down as she watched him taste her food, pleased that he approved of her culinary skills. "This is a gift from me. I imagine you've been busy with Artaud, haven't you?"

"Hmm, I managed to trap and kill him." Minos hid part of the truth, not thinking it appropriate to tell this woman that he could use the Hydras Amulet to deal with enemies.

No one but his family and faction members were supposed to know about the Hydras Amulet, so Minos preferred not to appear as strong as he currently was.

She smiled when she heard that, not doubting Minos. "This will give me the chance to become a General in no time. So your action is already of great benefit to me."

"That's good." He smiled. "I have earned a promotion to Intermediate Officer, but first, an Intermediate Officer has to leave their position to become a Senior Officer."

"That will happen in no time. In a month at the most, the guild will give Artaud up for dead. The death of a General is not like the death of an ordinary member of the guild's inner circle." She said with a smile before tasting her own food, drinking and eating next to Minos.

"If you work hard, we might be able to promote you to Senior Officer when you reach level 106." She suggested after a few moments of conversation between the two of them.

"Level 106? I think I'll be able to collect the merit points long before then." He looked at her with a grimace.

She smiled when she realized Minos wasn't as careful as she was. "If I'm not mistaken, you'll be able to move up one level in about 12 years. You'd better wait until then. By then, you'll be stronger and better able to handle the responsibilities of a high-ranking member of the guild's inner circle.

If you become a senior officer before then, be prepared to lose some of your freedom quickly, and to get involved in the war that may start soon."

He put his cutlery aside for a moment and looked into Segiel's blue eyes. 'Right, her master must have told her what I warned the guild about.'

Upon reflection, Minos saw the sense in her words. An Intermediate Officer could get good missions, but he wouldn't be so directly involved in the more complicated affairs of the guild. On the other hand, if a war broke out, a Senior Officer would be the first to be forced to perform war-related missions, with minimal or no merit points.

'If I get involved in a war, I won't be able to fulfill my obligations in the seraphim world... I'd better wait to be promoted when I get back. By then, I'll probably be at a cultivation level of 107, maybe 108. Things will be better that way.'

"Hmm, thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought about the consequences."