Chapter 114 Brainwashing
"Congratulations are in order I suppose..." Ikaris admitted tongue-in-cheek.
When he took another coin out of his pocket to compare, he found that they were completely identical. It was almost impossible to tell the difference.
That was his biggest concern about producing Tartarus Shade's coinage without authorization. If it could be traced back to him he feared the consequences that would ensue.
He could of course sell his gold directly at the market price, but he had a hunch that he would most likely lose out. This way, he was sure not to get screwed.
'Still, this is only a temporary measure. The best course of action is to create my own currency for Last Saint, but I have to ensure that it won't work against me.' The youth reasoned with a clear head.
Currency changes were not free in his world, far from it. There were always small transaction fees even in a transparent bank. In such a rural, feudal world where the strong were king, Ikaris doubted it was that simple.
'I'll try to get the information from Anaphiel or another Lord at the Academy tomorrow.' He finally decided as he realized that there was no way to solve the conundrum at the moment.
'This coin weighs very exactly 10 grams.' Nardor continued in an excited voice. "The more or less 107 kilos of gold ore obtained from the Hellhound Pack surrender has a gold content of about 43% when purified. That is about 46 kilos of gold. So I can squeeze 4600 gold coins out of all that ore."
Ikaris' eyes lit up as he heard the dwarf's words. In one sentence his fortune had been multiplied by 10. Holding back his thrill, he asked tensely,
"How long will it take to convert everything?"
Nardor appeared to ponder for a few seconds, then answered confidently,
"Now that I know how to cast, a few dozen coins a day at first, but it will only speed up as I expand the forge, develop my magic, and recruit new assistants."
Ikaris nodded disappointedly. He had hoped to splurge his fortune upon his return to Tartarus Shade the next day, but apparently he was too impatient.
The only good news was that if the value of gold on this planet was anything like that on Earth, a single one of these gold coins would be worth about $500. Each Portal use cost a small fortune leading him to mistakenly believe he was poor, but in truth this Welcome Pack was indeed more than enough to support the establishment of a new village. The food and materials provided in it might not be worth much more than 10 gold coins.
What was expensive in the Forsaken Lands was everything associated with magic. Bloodsparks, Magic Devices, Steles, Relics, Demonic Meat and so on.
Before leaving him to work, Ikaris suggested that the dwarf go with them to Tartarus Shade the next day and he immediately agreed, realizing that this would be an opportunity for him to do some shopping and take a look at the smithing standards of this world.
As he left the forge, the teenager felt full of energy and after spending 3 long days sitting still to absorb the two Bloodsparks he suddenly felt the urge to face Malia in a new sparring match.
'Let's see if you are still arrogant now.' He thought mischievously as he returned to his residence.
When he arrived, he found only Ellie inside.
"Where did Malia go?" He asked curiously.
"Oh, she went back to brainwash the envoy." Ellie revealed without showing a shred of compassion.
After learning from the sequestered women all the atrocities the Chihuahua man had done to them, she almost wanted to kill him with her own hands. Such a man was truly the dregs of humanity!
"Thanks." Ikaris put on a weird expression.
He knew Malia had taken his advice to heart and resumed her training in earnest, but he didn't think she would take her role as brainwasher so seriously. Usually content with giving orders, the boy had no idea where the envoy was imprisoned and after questioning some villagers he discovered that the prisoner was in his own cellar.
'Geez... Is she torturing him in the same room where they store food?' He wondered with a frown.
A crude wooden warehouse had been built to store ordinary food, but the Magical Meat had remained under his control in the Lord's residence. The idea that the prisoner was kept there did not enthuse him.
Lifting the hatch leading to the cellar, Ikaris was surprised when a staircase about twenty steps long greeted him, descending into the darkness. Malia being half Vampire, she hadn't even bothered to light a torch.
The teenager had not even taken a step inside when he heard a nasal voice reciting a long litany in a dull tone,
"I, Rudolf Frankfurt, the envoy of the Onyxcrest Pride, witnessed the poverty of the Hellhound Pack. They tried to coax me with false promises, but after threatening them with sanctions they finally got scared and offered me their most sacred treasure as tribute, 150 kilograms of Rank 4 Magical Meat that they obtained a few months earlier by chance while witnessing the murderous fight of two rutting Magical Boars during the mating season. They only wanted to give me 50 kilos at first, but after intimidating them I finally convinced them to give me everything. So that their village would not succumb during the next winter, I graciously left them 10 kilograms. Of course I maintained their previous debts and... "
Reaching the foot of the stairs, Ikaris was surprised by the expansion of the cellar, which was now almost as large as their house above. Turning his head in the direction of the noise, he found Malia in front of the envoy and his imprisoned guards.
Because many of them were burly Werewolves, the Anti-Spark Shackles used to incapacitate Plume were inadequate, but fortunately the Hellhound Pack had imprisoned many of their own kind in the past. Large iron chains had been recovered from the abandoned village and Malia had used them to bind all of these guards with.
The only one who was not tied up was Rudolf, but the envoy was so weak that it was unnecessary. Besides, the brainwashing was going well and he had no intention of running away, given his blank look...
"Ikaris? What are you doing here?" Malia was startled as she spotted his figure in the dark, the contrast of the sunlight from outside dazzling her slightly.
"I was looking for you to propose a spar but it seems like you're already quite busy." He smiled as he glanced nonchalantly at the drooling envoy unaware. He was clearly less dashing than a few days ago.
On hearing her Lord's words, the young woman immediately lost interest in Rudolf and exclaimed with glee,
"No! I'm available right now! A fight ? I'm in ! Always."
"Sure..."
As she shifted her attention away from the envoy, the hypnotic magic she was working on him was momentarily interrupted and a fleeting glimmer of lucidity flashed in Rudolf's eyes. He was still confused and drowsy, but before he could understand his situation, Malia whispered in an ethereal voice,
"Go back to sleep."
The emissary closed his eyes and obediently fell asleep without making a fuss. Ikaris was impressed with her methods. This kind of spells, if he could not master them himself, he had to be able to guard against them.
"Is he really asleep?" He remarked suspiciously as he saw the strange pelvic movements of the Chihuahua man.
"I put him in a nice dream." Malia chuckled as she saw Rudolf thrusting in his sleep at an imaginary victim.
"It doesn't seem too bad..." Ikaris didn't dare to speak his mind.
Guessing what was bothering him, Malia shrugged contently,
"My Vampire talents allow me to hypnotize them with my voice, but my Kitsune lineage allows me to create illusions. By keeping them in this dream, I create a continuity between their false memories and the hypnosis. When we release them in a few days, they won't even realize they've been brainwashed."
"Impressive..." Ikaris had underestimated the young woman. She was not as naive and innocent as he had imagined.
Malia certainly suffered from a cruel lack of education and common sense, but she had still grown up in a village perpetually threatened by all sorts of monsters, including the threat of the Crawlings. She had long ago learned to use her gifts to survive, often at the instigation of Grallu.
Not even knowing how to make children a few days earlier, she was obviously not actively involved in creating these illusions. After guiding the prisoners' minds, it was obviously their imagination that did the rest. The only difficulty was to make sure that their respective illusory experiences did not contradict each other. This is where hypnosis came in.
After making sure that all the prisoners were having sweet dreams, Ikaris and Malia went to the outskirts of the village where a training ground and a few wooden buildings had been built as future barracks.
Danchun was meditating quietly with her eyes closed in a chair, leaving Kayden and Connor to oversee the training of the new recruits. The two men had embraced their new identities and were constantly hollering, belittling and chastising the sweaty villagers.
Seeing their Lord and Vice Lord visit them, they both received a shot of adrenaline and began to bark even louder, ramping up the intensity of the rookies' training in the process. The noise alerted Danchun, who opened her eyes and gave them a blaming look. Upon seeing Ikaris and Malia, an indifferent comment escaped her lips,
"Let me guess. Another spar?"