Yuan nodded slowly as the na left Noah’s lips.
"...Mr. White," he repeated inwardly, allowing the na to settle within his thoughts.
Outwardly, his expression remained calm and polite, his posture unchanged as he sat across from the masked figure. However, beneath that composed exterior, his mind had already begun working.
’White...’
The na echoed again within his head, simple and unassuming.
As the guild master, he had encountered countless individuals over the years, from low-ranking adventurers to powerful magi whose nas alone carried weight across regions.
Nas were not trivial in this world.
They held aning.
Once a na reached a certain level, it spread naturally through guild networks, noble families, and whispered conversations among those who understood power.
And yet—
’White...’
There was nothing.
Not even the faintest trace of a na resembling White.
Yuan’s brows furrowed ever so slightly before smoothing out again.
’Nothing at all...’
Even after racking his head, the na Mr. White didn’t strike any mory.
It was as if such a person had never existed within the circles of power he was familiar with.
And that, in itself, was strange.
His thoughts deepened, becoming more focused.
’An arch magus called White...’
The idea ford clearly in his mind, lingering there as he analyzed it further.
’Has he been hiding himself all these years?’
It was not an impossible scenario.
There were magi who chose isolation over recognition, individuals who withdrew from society to pursue their own goals, whether it be knowledge, power, or sothing far more obscure.
Such individuals rarely appeared in public.
They left little to no trace of their existence.
If this man was one of them, then it would explain the absence of information tied to his na.
’Or...’
He raised his gaze slightly, studying the masked figure again.
’He could be from another continent.’
The world was vast, far larger than what most people within this region truly understood.
There were plenty other kingdoms in this continents that weren’t known to common people.
If this man had co from such a place, then everything made sense.
The unfamiliar na.
The complete lack of records.
The absence of even the smallest rumor.
’That would explain it.’
The thought settled more firmly this ti.
Still, despite reaching that conclusion, Yuan knew better than to ask.
He could not directly question him about his origins.
There were boundaries that had to be respected, especially when dealing with individuals whose strength far exceeded one’s own.
Crossing those boundaries carelessly could lead to consequences he had no intention of facing.
’From that mask alone... it’s obvious.’
Whoever this person was, they were deliberately hiding their identity.
Yuan lowered his gaze again, his expression returning to its composed state.
’There’s even a strong chance...’
His thoughts continued quietly.
’That the na White isn’t even real.’
An alias.
A temporary na given for convenience.
The more he considered it, the more it made sense.
A man of such presence and power would not reveal his true identity so easily, especially when he had no reason to do so.
A brief silence passed between them as these thoughts settled within Yuan’s mind.
However, he did not allow it to linger for long.
He had already co to a decision.
’Still... I’ll need to report this to the higher-ups.’
This was not sothing he could ignore.
Not sothing he could keep to himself.
An arch magus, whether confird or rely suspected, was not a trivial matter.
Such individuals possessed power that could shift the balance of entire regions.
If one had appeared, even briefly, it needed to be known.
Then, just as quickly, his expression softened once more.
The polite smile returned to his face as though none of those thoughts had ever existed.
He leaned forward slightly, maintaining a careful balance in his posture.
"So, what business are you here for, if I may ask?"
His gaze remained lowered just enough to show respect without appearing submissive.
Even as he spoke, there were things he wished to do.
Questions he wanted to ask directly.
Curiosities he wanted to satisfy.
He wanted to probe deeper into the identity of the man before him.
To understand who exactly he was dealing with.
And, if possible, to see what lay beneath that mask.
However, he restrained himself, and remained composed.
Across from him, Noah remained still for a brief mont.
Then, within the mask, his eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the question.
"I’m just here to sell a few mana beast corpses," he said calmly.
His tone was steady, carrying no particular emotion.
Yuan blinked once, though his expression did not change.
The answer was simple.
Unexpectedly so.
Still, he did not interrupt.
He simply observed.
Noah moved his hand forward then, extending it over the table between them.
His palm faced slightly upward as he held it there.
For a brief mont, nothing happened.
Then—
The space above his palm began to distort.
It was subtle at first, almost imperceptible.
A faint ripple, as though the air itself had been disturbed.
Then, gradually, a dark gray tear opened up.
The storage space remained open for only a mont.
Then—
A bag dropped out of it.
It fell onto the table with a solid, heavy thud.
The impact caused a slight tremor across the surface of the table.
Yuan’s eyes widened.
For a few seconds, he said nothing.
He simply stared at the bag resting on the table, his gaze fixed, his mind montarily blank as it tried to process what he had just witnessed.
The silence stretched.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak.
It was that, for that brief mont, he wasn’t sure of what to make of what he had just seen.
Yuan’s gaze shifted slightly, moving from the bag back to Noah’s hand, which now rested calmly as though nothing unusual had just occurred.
’What... was that?’ he thought.
The question surfaced in his mind, slow and uncertain.
He replayed the mont in his mind carefully.
Noah had stretched his hand forward, palm facing downward towards the table.
And then—
The bag had simply... fallen out.
There had been no fluctuation of mana, and that was what made it unsettling.
Because while a spatial tear had indeed opened, he hadn’t seen it.
Noah had deliberately angled his palm in such a way that whatever had occurred remained hidden from direct view.
From Yuan’s perspective, all he saw was the bag seemingly appearing out of thin air, then dropping to thr table.
Yuan swallowed quietly, his throat feeling just a bit dry.
’I’ve never seen sothing like that before...’
His thoughts shifted quickly, grasping for an explanation.
’Did he use an artifact...?’
It was a reasonable assumption.
Artifacts were known to possess strange and powerful abilities, so of which could bypass the limitations of normal magic.
If it were an artifact—
Then perhaps that explained the lack of visible casting.
But even as that thought ford—
Another followed closely behind.
’But what kind of artifact could do sothing like that?’ His brows furrowed faintly.
Artifacts of that level were not common, and were extrely rare.
So for this Mr White to possess sothing like that, he must be soone of extrely high standing and power.
Perhaps it should have been expected, since he was an arch magus.
A bead of sweat ford at the edge of Yuan’s forehead.
It gathered slowly, before sliding down along the side of his temple.
His focus remained locked on the figure sitting across from him.
As though nothing he had just done was worth even a second thought.
anwhile behind the mask, Noah was chuckling inwardly.
The reaction he was seeing—
It was exactly what he had expected.
’As expected...’ he thought, a faint sense of satisfaction settling within him.
He had done it on purpose.
Every bit of it.
The way he positioned his hand.
The way he concealed the spatial tear.
The way the bag appeared as though it had co from nowhere.
It was all intentional.
Not just to complete a simple task—
But to create an impression.
To raise his image in the eyes of the guild master sitting before him.
And from what he could see, it had worked perfectly. .
Noah remained still, his posture relaxed as ever, giving nothing away.
’This is good...’
He planned to create an entirely new persona for himself.
One that existed separate from who he was known as.
An identity he could use freely.
’Mr. White...’
The na echoed faintly in his thoughts.
A placeholder for now, but one that would soon carry weight.
With this persona—
He could move without restraint.
Display his abilities without hesitation.
And more importantly, use it to uncover the truth behind the system that had changed his life.
His gaze remained steady behind the mask, as he calculated what he had to do.
Because he understood sothing very clearly.
He couldn’t suddenly reveal himself as a powerful magus as Noah Whiteheart.
If he did, questions would co.
About how he had gained such power.
Where it ca from.
What he had been hiding all this ti.
And those questions, would surely lead to a lot of attention.
So instead, he chose another path.
’What I can do...’ His thoughts sharpened. ’Is use this identity.’
The persona of Mr. White, an unknown and mysterious figure.
By using it—
He could plant sothing deeper into the minds of others—fear and respect.
A presence that people would not dare to question openly.
And by doing so—
He would no longer need to suppress himself constantly.
In this world—
Power dictated everything.
And with this identity, he could finally wield his freely.
’Lloyd...’ he thought, a cold glint flashing across his eyes. ’This way... I can also get my revenge on Lloyd. His background wouldn’t even matter anymore, hehe.’
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