While Rami was undergoing the awakening process, a heated discussion echoed through the corridors of the security center.
A glass was shattered, followed by loud shouting:
"Damn it! What have you done? We asked you to keep the goods safe for just one day! What do you mean it's been stolen? Are you really a security center? I doubt that you didn't steal it yourselves."
In an office-like room, three people sat on a couch, while in front of them, a person bowed his head in humility.
"I apologize, sir. We swear that no one from our side stole the goods, and even the prison warden was killed after questioning in your presence, so we couldn't have stolen the goods. How dare we steal from a noble?" said the person bowing, who was the city's security chief, Drake.
The person in the middle was not convinced by Drake's excuse and shouted again, "How dare you say that? A prisoner from your side escapes, oh my god, what a coincidence! I almost swear that you conspired with that prisoner to smuggle the goods, and the captain of the guard must have been just a victim."
Another added, "Yes, Mike, you are right. Why were they keeping the goods in a place like a prison?"
The third person said, "And don't forget that the goods were with us for a week without any issue, and when we entrusted them to the security center, which was supposed to have eight powerful beings, the goods were lost on the same day."
While Drake remained silent, Mike said, "Listen, Drake, you should know that stealing from a noble is not something that can be easily escaped, and even we, as high-level adventurers, will be punished for it. You have three days to find the goods, or we will inform the noble of its disappearance. We might be punished with fines and damage to our reputation due to our high status, but for you, it could mean losing your position and even your life."
When Drake heard this, he straightened up and began to sweat, trying to think of how to save himself. While he was lost in thought, he heard a voice say, "We are leaving. We will come back in three days."
Drake watched the three leave and collapsed on the ground from the pressure and fear.
After a few minutes, Drake adjusted his appearance and clothes, changing his previous submissive demeanor to a more resolute and serious one. He sat in the office chair and called someone.
After a while, the door knocked, and a soldier entered, saying, "Yes, sir."
Drake replied, "Is there any news?"
The soldier answered, "No, sir. We have tracked all those who left the city in recent days, and there are no suspects. We have searched the city and the criminals as well, and there is no trace."
Drake yelled angrily, "How can you not handle something as simple as tracking down just goods and a prisoner?"
The soldier said bitterly, "Sir, we swear we are doing our best, and as you know, the thief is professional. He didn't take the bag containing the tracker but took the goods directly, which means he knew about the tracker. Such a person is difficult to catch."
Drake said, "I don't care about that. I want results."
The soldier suddenly replied, "Sir, do you want us to interrogate the temporary workers?"
Drake asked in surprise, "Huh? Are you saying that just ordinary people could burn down the headquarters, free a prisoner, and deal with the warden?"
The soldier replied nervously, "I don't know, sir, but we can only try."
Drake said, "Okay, you can investigate, but do it after you finish capturing all the criminals and powerful gang members in the city."
The soldier asked in astonishment, "Why, sir?"
Drake answered angrily, "You fool, don't you see that the investigators here are almost dying from exhaustion? Why waste their time investigating ordinary people? Unless we've given up on the suspects."
After dismissing the soldier, Drake sat in the chair, tired, thinking about his disappointment and frustration with himself. "Damn those adventurers!" he muttered angrily. "If it weren't for their greed in trying to handle two missions at once, I wouldn't have ended up in this predicament. No! In reality, if it weren't for my own greed and agreeing to store the goods, none of this would have happened."
While Drake cursed himself for his greed, elsewhere in the city, in a small, cramped room, Rami sat on the floor in a meditative posture. Though the room was almost empty, he was surrounded by what seemed like magical and ancient dust swirling around him. The magical mists danced gracefully, creating a mysterious atmosphere in the room.
Despite this magical ambiance, Rami appeared to be in pain. The tension was visible in his eyes, causing his face to contort from time to time. The pain was gripping him, but his determination was strong. He did not realize that his survival from the chance of capture was merely a matter of luck, and he now had to face the challenges that would come after the awakening process.
As Rami felt his body reacting to the elixir, warm sensations came over him, but before he could enjoy them, he suddenly felt something making its way through his body from all directions. It felt as if the air was penetrating his pores and entering deep into his body.
After about half an hour, he began to feel the foreign substances, which he thought were mana, moving towards his heart. When they reached his heart, he felt excruciating pain. Rami tried to scream and lie on the ground from the intensity of the pain, but he endured it, fearing what might happen if he stopped focusing.
As time passed, he learned to help direct the mana from the stone to his heart, despite not having complete control over it. However, he was able to influence it slightly, which helped him endure the pain.
After an hour, Rami lay on the ground beside black blood. Yes, it was him, Rami, lying on the ground due to exhaustion. Despite the pain, he smiled with happiness because he succeeded and became a mage.
The black blood next to Rami was a result of the mana purification process, where mana works to remove toxins and impurities from his blood during his transformation into a mage. Conversely, if he had become a warrior, his body would have removed impurities differently, with black impurities exiting from all over his body, indicating the elimination of all impurities from his body, not just from the blood, as is the case in the mage purification process.
Although he felt a little regret because he knew his appearance would have been much more attractive after that process, he was not too saddened because he preferred to be a mage rather than a warrior.
It is known that mages are stronger than warriors. The reason the warrior won in the prison against a mage might be due to unfavorable conditions, and the result would have been different if the process had taken place elsewhere.