Although the joint attack had eliminated many faunus in human settlements, their numbers were far from depleted. In areas beyond human habitation, many faunus still lurked, in a place known as the "Zone of Death," a desolate and inhospitable land unsuitable for any human residence. As for the region where Aurora Starling now resides, it had been cleared once before, but most of the faunus that were removed were of the lower order. The higher-order faunus with the ability to shapeshift still hid within the cities of human life, only they had become extremely cunning, vanishing without a trace after each attack, making them difficult to apprehend.
In the Dragon Pavilion Empire, the faunus was a terrifying entity. Any city that reported an attack by a faunus would immediately cause a great commotion.
Aurora Starling had gained some understanding of this world and had heard whispers about the faunus, but she was unclear how these vicious creatures were connected to the lifting of her seal.
'I need to absorb the crystallized power from the brain of the faunus, the FaunuCrysta, to restore my strength. Once my strength is recovered, I will naturally be able to help you break the next layer of the seal.'
Aurora Starling was taken aback for a moment.
Monster partners leave behind MonCryst in their brain to store power after death, and the faunus brain also contains a crystalline entity called FaunuCrysta. MonCryst was highly sought after because it could be synthesized into the weapons of Arcanergy and Furyflame practitioners, endowing them with great power. The more powerful the monster partner, the stronger the MonCryst left behind upon death.
However, the FaunuCrysta was different from the MonCryst.
The power within MonCryst was pure and could be used directly by people, but the FaunuCrysta was laced with a thick darkness. Although the power of the FaunuCrysta was also formidable, few could withstand the dark aura that emanated from it.
Anyone who used weapons synthesized with FaunuCrysta for an extended period would soon find their body corrupted by the darkness within.
In Aurora Starling's own words, the lightest consequence would be a loss of control over one's powers, and the worst, a heroic sacrifice.
Only those with extremely strong willpower dared to use FaunuCrysta, and even then, they would only use ones of a lower grade than their own.
Either way, the FaunuCrysta was a double-edged sword, not particularly useful, yet too valuable to discard.
She had never imagined that such a seemingly worthless item would be the key to restoring her strength. It seemed that someone's tastes were rather... heavy.
'Acquiring FaunuCrysta isn't difficult. After the recent alliance that decimated a large number of faunus, a substantial amount of FaunuCrysta is stored by each nation. These items aren't in high demand, so you can buy a large batch at any auction these days,' Aurora Starling said, drawing on the knowledge she had crammed in recently. No matter how heavy the other's tastes were, the task at hand didn't seem too difficult.
The only problem now was...
She was broke!
As an idiot, a waste, and a professional mooch...
The Bennu family would provide for her basic needs, but they would never give her something called "pocket money."
Aside from the two purses she had swiped from the young maids, Aurora Starling was as poor as a church mouse. FaunuCrysta might not be as expensive as MonCryst, but it wasn't exactly dirt cheap either. With the money she had on hand, she could barely afford a couple of low-grade FaunuCrysta.
Of course, she seriously doubted that a couple of low-grade FaunuCrysta would be enough to even whet someone's appetite.
For the first time since she could remember, Aurora Starling faced a financial issue.
'So, roughly how many low-grade FaunuCrysta do you think you'd need to recover enough strength to break the second layer of the seal for me?' Aurora Starling asked tentatively.
There was a moment of silence before the other party spoke a number that made Aurora Starling's blood run cold.
'Thirty thousand.'
Thirty thousand... Aurora Starling looked up at the sky in speechless despair. Forget thirty thousand, she couldn't even afford thirty right now!
'Higher-grade would be best; two thousand should be enough,' the other party said considerately for once.
Only two thousand... two thousand...
Aurora Starling wiped her face, reflecting on the time when several nations had joined forces to eliminate over ten thousand high-order faunus. After they were distributed among the various countries, she estimated that the Dragon Pavilion Empire now had no more than three to four thousand high-grade FaunuCrysta in total. Yet, a certain someone had casually mentioned a need for two thousand...
Unless she was the one currently seated on the glistening throne, wearing a crown studded with gems, there was no way she could produce such a vast quantity, no matter how wealthy she was.
"Let's discuss the low-grade FaunuCrysta instead..."
The high-grade FaunuCrysta was out of the question. Aurora Starling would have to focus on the low-grade ones. During the battle, the number of low-order faunus that had fallen was in the hundreds of thousands if not millions. Three thousand FaunuCrysta didn't seem so daunting; with enough money, all problems could be solved.
The Bennu family was wealthy, securely seated among the top five families in the Dragon Pavilion Empire. They weren't just rich; they were rolling in it.
If Arcanus Starling were in a good mood, purchasing thirty thousand low-grade FaunuCrysta would be as easy as buying a stick of candy. However, the issue was... Aurora Starling questioned whether she had the skill or leverage to make Arcanus Starling spend a fortune on her behalf.
Now, the problem was money!
The only consolation for Aurora Starling was the "profession" she had chosen in the past—master thief, wasn't it? Money was as common as stones on the ground to her. If she had chosen a different path, like becoming an assassin or a spy, she might be crouching in a dark corner, growing mushrooms in silence by now!
"It's just thirty thousand FaunuCrysta! Relax, with my skills, I'll make sure you're sick of them!" Aurora Starling was confident in her craft, especially since she was currently in the oil-rich Bennu family estate. Any second or third generation member could easily have tens of thousands on them; picking pockets was almost too easy!
Upon hearing the words "sick of them," the certain someone grudgingly accepted the term "young master" that Aurora Starling had so proudly used.
Thus, on a night dark and stormy, a small, slender shadow began to appear frequently in the various courtyards of the Bennu family estate, repeatedly extending its guilty claws towards the innocent and loyal purses.
When the first rays of sunlight touched the earth the following morning, the usually tranquil Bennu family compound was filled with a series of heart-wrenching cries.
"Damn it! Where's my money?!"
"Who the hell is this fearless thief, daring to steal from me?!"
"My life savings! I don't want to live anymore!!"
In just one night, over twenty people in the Bennu family, from top to bottom, fell victim to the thieving hands.