Even if Mangrel was low on time, he had no intention of rushing to Jwarlen. At least until the chances of success didn't reach a certain degree.
For now, the only two weapons Mangrel had in hand were the dagger and the algaeist flower.
There was a limit to how many people could be poisoned at once, using only the dagger.
'Poisoning their food is not possible, I don't have enough information on them. I will have to escape the moment I find anything amiss.' Mangrel could only take a cautious stand, to cover up for his weakness in the information aspect.
'Weapon...Something sharp enough to pierce the skin is enough.' Within a second, Mangrel found an alternative.
Wood.
The house he was in was made of wood, he could carve many weapons out of it. Normally it would have been not possible, but with Mangrel's skill and dagger, it was doable.
Mangrel headed to the ground floor with no hesitation, finding Mars sitting in one corner.
'The trust built isn't enough for him to hear my order without any doubt. I only have him as my pawn, so I will have to make do with him. Persuasion and enticement is the only option.' Mangrel walked up to Mars normally.
"Brother..." Mars greeted Mangrel with a little awkwardness. It was the first time he lived with someone in this house.
The air around them grew substantial, with seriousness wafting through the air.
"Mars, hear me properly. Do you remember what I told you about the cultivator?" Mangrel's serious eyes met with Mars, making their eyes lock in mid-air.
"Hum." Mars nodded his head in agreement.
"Do you want to become a cultivator? A being who can do whatever they want in this world? They can easily resist the changes in the weather with just their body too." Mangrel stated while stretching both his hands to the side.
The temptation in Mangrel's voice was so blatant that Mars was able to tell what he was getting on immediately.
"What do I have to do?" Mars asked straightforwardly.
Mangrel was just using one of Mars's weaknesses. After two months, the snow month would begin at last.
It would be exceedingly impossible to collect food in the alleyway then.
Putting aside food, staying alive for even a day would be a huge deal for Mars. He was not someone who could go back to work on the construction site.
Mars had run away, causing him to be blacklisted from the name list of the beggar organization. If the person they tried to search for a few months ago suddenly appeared before them, it would be investigated for sure.
In the first place, the punishment for running away would most likely be death.
Therefore, there was no way Mars could use the refugee area for the beggars, provided by the organization.
Mangrel's proposal of becoming a cultivator was truly tempting above everything for Mars.
Who was not interested in gaining supernatural power? Doing so would increase their survival chances in this cruel world and let them achieve their life goals.
Mangrel smiled in response to Mars's smart response, he was being blatant for that reason, to begin with.
Mars was not someone who would think deeply about others' words. So word playing with him would just be like punching a wall with a baby's hand, no response or result.
Seeing through the gap in the window, Mangrel saw that it was already night.
"Give me your dagger and break the woods from the staircase's railings and bring them to me." Mangrel gave out his instruction after contemplating for a second.
Mars handed over the dagger and moved to break the wooden railings.
Even if Jwarlen sold the Belvan, Mangrel decided to just take whatever they exchanged for him. Even if Mangrel gained just the origin stone, it was his victory. He could then begin his body cultivation journey at once.
Mangrel moved to the alleyway, moving the wall to the side.
It was already night, so it was unlikely for people to be still looking for him, in the alleyway.
'...It's heavier than I thought.' Mangrel had some difficulty lifting it, unlike Mars.
Looking around for a second, Mangrel found the nearest corpse to him. Without hesitation, he began pulling the body into the house.
Clack~
Placing the wall back in its place, Mangrel stretched his back, feeling slightly sore. Pulling the body of an adult, even if he lost a lot of weight, took some effort.
'I just woke up after sleeping too, so my body's blood flow and muscles must not be in top condition.' With that in mind, Mangrel stretched his hands and legs a little.
Bang! Crack! Bang! Bang!
At that moment many loud sounds flowed through the room, from near the staircase.
Looking towards it, Mangrel found Mars kicking the staircase railing with all his might.
'People might be attracted, but they can't do anything until tomorrow, because of the sealing and rules. Only law enforcement has the right to open sealed houses.' Mangrel didn't even need to read the rule guides to know this fact.
If any normal citizen were allowed to open up a sealed house, the outcome would be quite clear. Anyone who lost their house would move to live in this house.
The people in higher positions aren't stupid enough to not notice this fact. If that were not the case, the city's living conditions would have been different.
'It's possible to glimpse at a person's attitude and competence by looking at the result of their work. The level of their competence is easy to predict through it.' Mangrel did not do anything to stop Mars's action.
The reason it took Mars a while to begin his work was because he hesitated. He was aware that the others would hear the loud sound too, leading to losing his only house. But the hesitation did not last long, Mars was keenly aware of the condition of the house.
The house's ceiling and the other exterior were very weak. It would probably not hold on even for a single day in the snow month. Losing it now and then did not make much of a difference.
'With this, Mars has lost his place, both in the alleyway and this house. The local reinforcement would take it all away, now he only has me to rely on.' Mangrel liked Mar's decisive attitude.
'Is that the reason he could survive till now? Well, if he hesitated longer, I would just give him the dagger back.'
Mangrel pulled the corpse into the room beside the hall and turned its back to face the ceiling.
The disgusting smell of flesh rotting flowed through the room, which could make anyone nauseous. Mangrel did not have any change of face even then, he quietly waited for Mars to finish his work.
Not long after, Mangrel stopped hearing the sound of the railing being broken.
Rustle.
Mars walked into the room with dozens of long wooden blocks in his hand. His eyes met Mangrel's in mid-air.
"Just place it in the corner of the room." Mangrel pointed at one corner of the room, through his eyes.
Seeing Mars put down the wooden block, Mangrel ordered: "Come here and help me."
Mars dusted his hand and walked to Mangrel.
"Brother...How exactly can we become a cultivator?" Mars could not hold himself back from asking. He followed Mangrel, as only death awaited him in the future, but it did not mean he was thinking of becoming a subordinate either.
"There is something called the origin stone in this world. If we can get our hands on it, we will be able to awaken as a cultivator without a doubt."
Mangrel did not say anything about how a person with talent can become a cultivator without anyone's help, once he turns 18 years old.
"Origin stone...Where can we get something like that?" Mars questioned with interest.
Mangrel opened his mouth with a serious face: "We are going to rob a criminal's house. We will have to kill people while carrying on this operation, are you ready for it?"
Mars felt Mangrel's reaction was normal.
The reason why Mars did not react in the slightest — when Mangrel confessed that he murder someone was that Mars killed people too.
Looking for a fresh body was hard and at some point, it became impossible to come across any at all. Hence, Mars had no choice but to kill the beggar that was just a step away from death and eat them.
At first, he hesitated, but it all vanished after doing it multiple times. No one advocated morals here for brainwashing, so there was no resistance toward killing either.
"I am ready. If I can become a cultivator, I can eat something better than corpses, right?" Mars smiled at Mangrel, the person who was the same as him.
"Of course, it's beyond your comprehension, but there are many things hundreds of times more delicious than bread. Let's do our best." Mangrel smiled in satisfaction.
Mangrel had no intention of harming Mars. Truthfully, he just wanted to turn Mars into a pawn, who will become useful in the future.
'I am more experienced in making others bow down to me, with overwhelming strength. However, I have experience in making others follow along, using kindness, interests, brotherhood, or even admiration too.'
'I will have to use the best method I can right at the moment. Beginning with kindness and brotherhood, then moving on to admiration.' Mangrel's eyes flashed with light, contemplating internally.
Mangrel might have been a demonic overlord, but he was still a normal cultivator before that. He had experienced many things before reaching this point. Enough to drive one to the pits of insanity.