A muscular guy with scars on his body sat on the sofa, his hands resting on the upper edge, his head leaning to his left shoulder. Knees apart, sitting while bluntly leaning backward.
Smirking at the roof. Aric got into the room.When he opened the door, two maids stood with two guards and a butler.
All five bent forward, greeting him. He raised his hand. "You may leave the room."
All five walked out of the room. The barbarian wasn't even looking at him when Aric said 'morning'.
The barbarian smirked while leaning back. "WTF, you little prince? You forgot who I am."
The barbarians are a group of young people which we usually call thugs. The reason why he is playing high is because he is the leader of the barbarians, who can build an entire building in less than two months.
Well, that's not even the reason why most fear them. It's because of their connection to each of the four kingdoms, which are prohibited from interacting with one another.
Just remembering from my past. The way someone sits hints at their personality.
Let's look at him sitting knees apart. It's a form of open and expansive body language that can signal confidence, dominance, and a sense of claiming territory.
Looking at him leaning back… Arrogance: In certain settings, such as a meeting, leaning back with a smug expression can project a condescending "know-it-all" attitude and suggest a feeling of superiority.
"Listen, I know who you are. Who doesn't… and that's the reason I contracted you, don't you think so?"
He smirked, still not a flinch in his body language, but his voice was a bit engaging, and that's a sign to go for it. "Of course,who doesn't know me? No one, after all. What you are asking is simple, straightforward, but think about it: paying us after all the work is done… Such a shame."
Let's see if I can meet his body language by leaning a bit backward and opening my knees as wide as he does.
"Listen, I know who you are, and you should know who I am as well. I know it sounds very doubting, but you should embrace yourself because I'm gonna give you a title, more like an authority. You need to be heard, not as a should, but must. Just look at you, getting in the castle and playing all high and mighty. Not even a royal with a duke title can play as high as you."
He bounced back, bending forward. He put his hands on his far-apart knees. "Damn… You sure you're the prince I contacted?"
That's it. Let's see... Here we go again… Now I need to make him feel special before making him smart…
"Yep, the same flesh and soul called worthless… So anyway, I'm here contacting you in secret. I don't want you to tell anyone what I am about to tell you. This secret meeting has a purpose. Eventually, throughout the plan, you will figure out how I will give you authority beyond the duke."
The barbarian got serious. Raising an eyebrow, he glanced at Aric. Aric was smirking as he never did before. The smirk was basically known as 'the sigma male smirk' on Earth. Raising the left side of his lips higher than the right, he bent his neck forward.
THE BARBARIAN'S THOUGHT 'Why is he smirking like this? What's going on? Why do I feel like that stupid crybaby isn't even here anymore? Plus, what's wrong with him trying to elevate my status? Not to mention he wants me to listen to a secret and never breathe it out ever again… Who is he? Wait, is there a reason why he told the others, even the guards, to leave the room? It's making sense now.'
The barbarian was overthinking everything. He over thinks wherever he goes. The reason is that he always plays so high and mighty. That's why, even if he must play high, he is aware of his actions. Aric knows that all too well from experience. 'Usually,the ones who are aggressive and arrogant are the ones who care the most.'
The barbarian smirked a fake smirk, covering it with his limb. "Haha…hey there, little guy, what are you planning? Stop playing the rap and come out with it."
"Hear me out. I won't repeat it. So my plan is gonna take a while.
The first thing is that you guys are going to the east mountain. The mountain has underground caves; inside there are these crystals named 'fruit crystals'.
Each crystal has its own power stored inside them. What I want you to do is bring them all, every last one of them. The crystals you want to bring me might be mistaken as a stone. No, they definitely are stones unless we use the central crystal. I will give you fragments of the central crystal."
Aric pulled out a necklace he was wearing. "This necklace has the central crystal's fragment.
As to how it's going to help you differentiate them, you just stand there, raising the crystal up, and the stone will float around you. Don't be surprised if it is too much to handle by hand.
Beneath the mountain, there is a town that you know better than me. At the edge of the town, I have a depository. The depository is completely different than a normal depository since it's actually a mansion. You guys will take over the mansion; I will give you the pass key.
Inside the underground mansion where the depository lies, there are two oversized tanks. I want you to split the number of the fruit crystals equally,then put them inside the tanks.
Once you put them inside, you need to balance the weight there. Once you fill both the tanks, it will show the total mass on the layer of the tank, so keep them both equal and balanced.
Then, once both are equal, melt only one tank. Until I come to you, never use the other tank, but you may finish forging weapons.
But then again, you must make an equal amount of the weapons. I want a spear,sword, dagger, and finally, a shield.
Once I come back, I will use demonified spells. Now you may ask why.That's because we need the same amount of demonified weapons and crystalized weapons."
The barbarian's eyes widened. Nevertheless, he was completely flabbergasted; this plan was never expected from a prince tagged useless. "Why? Why though? For what? No, for who?"
Aric smiled, finally knowing full well that his words hit hard.
"Yes! Ohh… About the sale, I will take samples of the demonic weapons. I will go showing what I have been doing these days.All I'm gonna do is give him the demonic weapon, the samples I took, warning him about what might happen if we ignore it.
My goal is to sell the crystalized weapons to my father. Since he will be astonished by the demonified weapon, he will want this weapon so badly as a countermeasure against theirs.
The barbarian laughed. "Hahaha, smart one, smart for real, you're smart. So you can sell it for double the amount of high-ranked weapons."
"Nope, I will sell it for twice the amount. Don't underestimate my negotiation abilities."
The barbarian rubbed the back of his head. "So what's the point of the demonified weapons? They are a lot of the same amount as the crystalized ones."
"Here comes your job. You will travel to the 3rd kingdom while carrying a sample of the crystalized weapons. You will make sure that they need to use a countermeasure against it. At the end of the day, they will buy the demonified weapons from you."
The barbarian was rumbling, though conflicted inside. 'Who is this kid? What the hell is he talking about demonically…
What the hell is going on? How is a kid at age 16 planning all this? Impossible. Who is he? What's his game? Is he opening a war between two kingdoms for money?
If his father knows about this, he will definitely execute him. It's a good thing this meeting is a secret one. This guy is a devil.
And I like it….'
His face changed into a creepy smile. Now, because he was so evil, it's just that he was resisting fidgeting. Once he realized who he was calling 'little guy', his eyes were wide open, but so were his lips. They stretched wide toward his eyes.
"You are better than that kid…"
Aric smirked, then he couldn't control his laugh. He crossed his legs and leaned perfectly the same as the barbarian, and they both laughed.
Aric noticed his plan was going well. "Please don't tell anyone, not even your subordinate. If a word about this slips, we are gonna die for sure. Besides, we are gonna make a lifetime fortune."
The barbarian was someone you would call a beta tagged sigma. He would never even repeat it for himself, let alone tell others.
The barbarian noticed everything; more like, he realized it. Before even the transmigrated Aric appeared, the worthless one was always begging him to work without getting paid. The old Aric was planning to do something so pathetic and even expected profits using it. So he always was confident about paying them from the profit.
The barbarian: "About the money, you already told me you don't have any, so asking might make you more suspicious. So instead, the mansion is enough; we will work there and get paid from the profits."
'First plan executed perfectly. Now I get to use No 'Z'. Ohh… forgot the money system. It ain't that fancy since it was primarily focused on profession. The novel's money system was called Z; the money itself as well 'Z'.
Of course, it has cash, but as for how… Cash is only available for Z above 1000Z.'
The barbarian stood up. He gave Aric a handshake. Holding his hand very tight.
He's holding my hand tight, so he attempts to project dominance, assertiveness, and control. Maybe I was right in choosing him; he actually needs to be heard.'
Suddenly, a dagger right underneath his neck. Slashed his skin. She, from behind, holding his head upward, hanging on his back and pulling her leg against his back, bending him backward. "Master…"A euphonious, feminine voice breathed out her scarlet lips.
Aric was left mesmerized. 'Can't say it's because I got back to being a teen, but I can't deny the fact that she is WONDERFUL.'