Michael stared at the unconscious assassin, turning the problem over in his head.
He wanted the man alive.
That was the only way the assassin held any real value to him.
And that was exactly where his dilemma began.
How could he guarantee the assassin’s loyalty?
Turning him into a vampire was the most obvious path.
But the sunlight problem made that inconceivable for now.
“Hah.
I need to find a solution, and fast,” Michael muttered to himself.
He hauled the assassin over his shoulder and moved through the hidden routes that cut beneath the city, keeping well away from any eyes that might be watching.
Reaching the dungeon where criminals on death row were held, he locked the assassin away — after taking every precaution to ensure the man couldn’t harm himself first.
“What happened?
My guards are telling me you were attacked.”
Michael sat across from Reynold in his office, relaxed, turning a dagger slowly between his fingers.
News of the fight hadn’t stayed quiet for long.
Not that Michael had expected it to.
Not that he had tried particularly hard to contain it either.
“It’s no big deal.
The Duke simply decided to make the first move,” Michael replied, his tone easy.
“The Duke?” Reynold’s expression cooled instantly, the warmth draining from his face like colour from a wound.
“It’s no big deal,” Michael said again, a faint smile on his lips.
“If anything, it might be a blessing in disguise.”
Reynold stared at him.
“You knew the Duke would attack, didn’t you.”
It wasn’t quite a question.
He looked genuinely astonished that Michael had seen that far ahead.
“Yes.
Which is exactly why I came to tell you — don’t react.”
Michael’s voice was calm and direct.
“Continue as normal.
Business as usual.
We can’t afford the Duke’s spies picking up on any change in behaviour.”
Reynold nodded slowly, still processing.
“Alright.
But how did you know it was the Duke?” he asked, just as Michael rose to leave.
It’s the signature method of Duke Hemsworth’s guild,” Michael replied simply, and walked out the door.
He left Reynold sitting in his chair with more questions than answers.
That wasn’t Michael’s concern.
He wasn’t here to babysit.
Reynold was a means to an end — a vessel for revenge, nothing more, nothing less.
Walking back through the city, Michael turned the sunlight problem over in his mind like a stone he couldn’t put down.
Turning the assassin was still the most optimal move.
But that setback remained, standing in the way like a wall with no door.
He pulled his hood lower and drifted through the marketplace without any particular destination, letting the noise of the crowd wash over him while his mind worked.
“Get your sun stones here!”
He stopped.
Sun stones.
Rare mineral formations capable of absorbing and storing concentrated sunlight within their core.
Michael knew immediately that it wouldn’t be enough on its own.
A sun stone alone wasn’t a solution.
But it was a start — and right now, a start was all he needed.
He bought every sun stone available in the market without hesitation.
Payment?
Charged directly to Reynold’s account.
The authority that came with being the city lord’s right hand had its uses, and Michael was never shy about using them.
Back in his quarters, he got to work.
He tried combining sun stones with clothing through asset conversion, weaving the stored light directly into fabric.
Useless.
He adjusted the method.
Tried again.
And again.
Different ideas, different combinations, different approaches — and every time, the experimental vampires he tested on burned to ash the moment sunlight touched them.
“This is so frustrating.
What else could I possibly need?” Michael groaned, dropping onto his back after burning through the entire day without a single breakthrough.
“I can’t stall much longer.
After tomorrow I’ll have to either kill the assassin or send him back to the Duke.
And the Duke will notice if his man takes longer than scheduled to return,” he muttered, pressing a cloth over his eyes.
He lay there in the quiet, exhaustion pressing down on him.
Then he sat up.
“Tch.
Why am I wasting time experimenting when I already have a faster way to get this done?”
A slow smile crossed his face.
The answer had been sitting right in front of him the entire time.
He had simply been too caught up in the process to see it.
Sacrifice something of value.
Receive what he needed.
Michael didn’t hesitate once the conclusion was reached.
The most practical thing he could convert was lifespan.
“Looks like I’ll be hitting dungeons again soon,” he muttered, checking his remaining years.
Approximately forty left.
Aside from coin, lifespan was quietly becoming the most precious resource he had.
He took a slow breath and activated asset conversion.
[Use asset conversion to create knowledge on how to create a daylight ring?]
[You will use 30 years worth of Lifespan.]
Michael stared at the cost for a long moment.
Thirty years.
Gone, just like that.
He accepted.
And just like that, he had a decade left to his name.
The knowledge settled into his memory like something that had always been there — detailed, complete, and immediately useful.
Then he read through it.
And groaned.
Daylight rings weren’t something he could produce in bulk.
The materials required were sun stone, mithril, and phoenix ruby.
Sun stone was manageable.
Phoenix ruby and mithril?
Near impossible to source.
“Tch.
Guess I’ll just use asset conversion to produce the ring directly,” Michael said, frustration clipping the edges of his voice.
With his goal now clear, he moved.
The next dungeon.
More lifespan.
Then the ring.
Everything he was doing came back to one thing — he needed a spy.
Someone on the inside.
The next stage of his plan was ready to begin.
Ignite the dispute between the Duke and the city lord.
Fan the flames carefully, from the shadows, until the two were at each other’s throats.
And to make sure it went the way he needed, he required someone the Duke trusted — someone already embedded deep within that world.
The assassin, once loyal to Michael, would be exactly that person.