"Count, are you awake?" Lenin's voice could be heard from outside the room.
Rasmus stood up from the floor with sweat covering his body after he trained his body to the limit. He walked to the door and allowed Lenin to come in without bothering to put a shirt on.
"Oh, I apologize if I'm bothering your training," Lenin couldn't help but look at Rasmus's muscular and toned body covered in sweat.
"I have been waiting for your visit. Please have a seat, Great Sage," Rasmus pointed at the table as he walked toward the wardrobe to put his shirt on. "You're here to test me, right?" He asked as he grabbed a black shirt.
"That, and to give you the money I promised," Lenin answered as she put a silver ring on the table.
Rasmus walked toward the table as he buttoned his shirt and stared at the silver ring on the table. He sat down and grabbed the ring so he could observe it from up close. He could see the tiny runes engraved on the inside side of the ring that he could barely see them.
"That's a storage ring. It is based on the wearer's Mana and how much they can control. The more Mana they could handle, the bigger the space within the ring," Lenin explained as she pointed at the silver ring. "That alone is worth 1,000 Eclers," she pointed out.
Rasmus wore the ring on his ring finger and he immediately felt the ring was squeezing his middle finger. He gathered the Mana from around him and concentrated it on his ring finger. The ring felt lighter and no longer squeezed his finger.
"I knew you could handle that much," Lenin chuckled.
"What if I couldn't?" Rasmus realized that Lenin was testing him by not telling him the consequences of wearing the ring with a big space within it if it was piles of gold that were stored inside it.
"Your finger would fall off from your hand, but it didn't happen so it's all good," Lenin smiled at Rasmus. "All the money is in there, and you can pull them out whenever you want. There are a total of 13,000 Eclers in there. 10,000 from me and 3,000 from Marquess Rouben," she pointed out as she looked at the ring on Rasmus's finger.
Rasmus imagined grabbing a single money paper from thin air. He could feel the paper in between his fingers when he pulled it out. He watched as his fingers pulled out a money paper from thin air and put it on the table. A paper with a painting of the Gratlan island in the middle and 1 on top of it.
"This single paper is worth 50 Gold Coins?" Rasmus looked at Lenin, making sure that he remembered it correctly.
"Yes, and in total you have 650,000 Gold Coins. You can exchange that in any bank if you prefer coins compared to this piece of paper, but I'm not sure if you really want to carry a gold coin since it's heavier," Lenin nodded as she looked at the paper money. "This paper is made of a special material that is easy to detect if it's fake or not. It's a secret that we have kept for decades, and it's impossible to fake or imitate," she said confidently.
Rasmus exposed the money to the sunlight and wondered what made it special. He didn't find anything different from any piece of paper, and he didn't feel any Mana on it either or if it interacted with Mana.
"Now that you have got your money and the knowledge about magic formation and circles. There's something that I would like to ask," Lenin said as she crossed her arms on the table. "This magic circle that you made, and Jeal had explained to me how you came up with it. Are you sure you're going to give this thing for free? Because this circle is worth twice more than the money in that ring," she continued as she stared at the paper in her hand.
"You brought me here and gave me a second chance in life..." Rasmus paused as he put the money in his shirt pocket. "You gave me the access to gain countless knowledge. Knowledge worth more than money can give, so I think it's a fair trade," he continued as he pointed at the paper.
"Well said," Lenin smiled as she put the paper in her pocket.
It went quiet after Lenin said that, and then she cleared her throat as she drew something in the air so suddenly. She drew a rune and it glowed so Rasmus could see it with his eyes since he couldn't see Mana.
"Do you know what this rune means?" Lenin asked.
"A spark that's the root for a fire spell. Without it, the spell won't work," Rasmus answered immediately.
Lenin was shocked by Rasmus's ability to decipher runes, especially when he recognized it immediately. She didn't know if she should be amazed or terrified because she didn't teach him how to understand runes. Runes were something dangerous to learn because if someone understood how they worked without any authorization, they could bring chaos.
"I underestimate your genius mind, Count," Lenin sighed as she dispersed the Mana. "I said that you're forbidden to learn about runes as what we agreed upon, but you learned runes from learning magic formations," she stared Rasmus in the eyes, afraid of what he understood about runes.
"Are you afraid, Great Sage?" Rasmus asked as he stared back at Lenin.
"Yes, because you're unpredictable which makes you dangerous, Count," Lenin answered with a serious expression. "The world betrayed you, and you're not someone who would welcome the world back with open arms," she pointed out.
"You're exactly right, Great Sage," Rasmus responded as he nodded. "But I'm not someone who would take things personally. The world did betray me, so I don't care what the world would become because I no longer have any obligation to get involved in anything," he explained calmly.
"So you're neither making the world into a better place nor breaking it down to pieces?" Lenin narrowed her eyes.
"As long as it's none of my business, then yes. But, if something is forcing me to get involved, I might or might not do both," Rasmus answered with a straight face.
"I guess it's better than not knowing," Lenin sighed as she closed her eyes.
"You're not expecting a sunny day every day, aren't you, Great Sage?" Rasmus raised his eyebrows.
"If I could wish for it, then I would," Lenin answered and she looked a bit frustrated and anxious about Rasmus's answer and question.
Rasmus realized that the test that Lenin was planning to give him was the test to see his motives and plans for the future. He knew that Lenin knew there was no need for her to test his ability and knowledge about magic formation and circles.
Rasmus stood up and went to grab his suit that he hung on the wall next to the door. He let Lenin think and gave her some time alone to process everything.
"When are you leaving, Count?" Lenin asked without looking back at Rasmus who was standing in front of the door.
"I have yet to find the right place I want to be, so I'm planning to read some books about the cultures of each nation and continent," Rasmus answered as he grabbed his suit.
"Do you have any specific place you want to be?" Lenin asked again as she stared out the window.
"Somewhere far away where the world doesn't pay attention to that place. I'm going to live my life as I please and care nothing else but myself," Rasmus answered as he put on his suit. "But that's just a wishful thought because I don't believe that I have the right to live in any peaceful place as I am a Blackheart," he looked at the wrinkles on his suit.
"There are places where you can live and people don't care about your background or even your existence. With your personality, I think those places would be a great place for you to take over, don't you think?" Lenin glanced at Rasmus.
"Is that another test to see my motive? Or perhaps taking a peek at what's inside my head?" Rasmus asked back as he stood at the door. "But I don't see that's a bad idea to go to such places. I'll consider that suggestion, Great Sage. Have a good day," he said and then left the room.
"To have a wildcard in this time and age..." Lenin sighed as she shook her head.