He had decided. Other than chilling and listening to music, his other stress reliever was messing with people. This time, he chose messing with people.
He pointed at the grass, "Why don't you all take sit?"
They looked very unsure of the situation but they still obediently sat down.
Cail stayed under the tree. He decided to ride along their artifact thing as the opening of the conversation, "So, what do you know about artifacts?" First, let's fish some information in order to properly play with their make-believe.
Although he had no idea what they were tripping on, as long as it was interesting enough, Cail was willing to play with them.
Cail's eyes scanned the group. His eyes stopped at the cold-looking guy in the center. He seemed to be the leader of this group.
Handsome, poised, arrogant, cold and prideful to the bones. That's Cail impression of him.
That wasn't a good impression.
Personally, Cail hated this type of arrogant-looking face. It reminded him of those wealthy children, and what do wealthy children remind him of? His half-siblings.
"You there, yes, the one wearing the swirling black vortex brooch. Well, me, what do you think an Artifact is? Don't repeat that textbook information. I want your own understanding."
Hal heard the instructor calling him, he touched his family crest and answered, "Artifacts are objects that came from the void. They are tools used by void users to amplify their energy. Of course, you can't just use any artifact that you fancy; there needs to be resonance between the user and the artifact. Aside from that, their level also needs to be on par with the artifact that they are using or else, they'll suffer from void sickness."
Cail noted down the words resonance and void sickness. He continued to goad for more information, "Go on. What types of artifacts are there?"
This time Clea raised her hand and interrupted, "Me, sir! Me!"
Cail looked at her eager look and chose her. "Okay, so what types of artifacts are there?"
"Annihilators: Focused on attack and destruction.
Bastions: Provide protection and shielding.
Manipulators: Control the environment, people, or perceptions.
Traverse: Affects space, time, or dimensions.
Echoes: Temporarily boost power or energy.
Bind: Used to seal or restrain targets (like people, creatures, energy, or other artifacts).
Singularity Class: Extremely powerful or mysterious; usually sealed due to danger or unpredictability." Clea answered fluently as if she had this information ready anytime someone asked.
Cail wowed inside. Goodness, he almost forgot that all of that was bullshit. What a structured system. He wondered what cult or scam these guys were involved in.
Cail smirked, this is a solid belief, he wondered, "Next question: who here actually uses one?"
He's very curious. What does this artifact look like?
All five of them hesitated. Cail sensed their reservation, so he loosened the condition a bit. "It's okay if you're not willing to show it. But if anyone wants to show their artifact, I promise not to say or ask anything about it." Based on the information that he just gathered, it seemed that this artifact was their main weapon?
Neris looked a bit shady as he looked at Cail. He asked, "Sir, you know artifacts are the void users' lifeline. If I showed mine to you, sir, will I get something out of it?"
Shrewd, Cail screamed inside. But on the outside, he was calm and immovable. "Want to get something from me?" He raised an eyebrow at Neris
"No thanks." He waved his hand dismissively.
Neris pouted and whined, "Sir, points are enough! I'm not asking for any of your personal objects!" Then he muttered something under his breath.
"Academy teachers are cut from the same cloth, all very stingy!"
Cail had no idea what Neris is murmuring about or what points were but he nodded since this seemed to fall into his favor, "Okay."
Poor Neris looked very happy. He took out what seemed like a pin then happily showed it to Cail.
"I have an Echo-type artifact: A silver pin. It lets me store excess void energy build-up and release it in one burst!"
Cail looked at Neris favorably. Good child, he just asked to see it and not mention its uses.
Cail took a closer look at the pin. For such a grand title of an artifact, it looked ugly and incomplete. It looked like someone took a chunk out of it.
This kind of metal, this level of ugliness. Why did it seem very familiar?
He thought for a moment, then finally he remembered, "Damn, I think I saw this pin in the box. I also brought it with me!"
His lip twitched. Those were artifacts? Is Deorc also a member of this nonsense? Based on how wonderful the artifact sounded in their circle, it's no wonder that Deorc is pretty desperate to get that ring.
He didn't say much and just let Neris keep it back inside. Inside his mind, he already concocted a plan.
"Interesting," Cail praised, he is genuinely impressed for all the wrong reason. Still, he did not forget the role that he still had. "Tell me more about it, like, say, how you activate it, and how long it took you to master it."
As Nares launched into a detailed explanation, Cail kept nodding with a serious face, pretending to evaluate him while absorbing everything like a sponge.
Activating it is very simple. You just need to merge it with your innate void aura. On average, it will take eight years to master it, but Nares bragged that he was a genius and only mastered it after three years.
Cail was having a lot of fun so far. He remembered Deorc and how much he was willing to pay for the ugly ring. He thought of something.
"Are there many members of this belief? Are they willing to pay as much as Deorc? Probably. Based on how defensive and how much they held the artifact in high regard, there's a possibility that they are willing to pay a lot of money for this artifact."
Menace as he is, Cail is a staunch materialist who believes in science. He never took this nonsense seriously, but he can exploit people who believe in it.
"How should I price it?" he contemplated.
Still, thinking about the benefits that he might get, Cail felt happy.
He could fake being a teacher for a bit longer.
Well, as long as they didn't ask him to demonstrate anything...