Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 165: VOL 3 - 3: Long time no see, Desmond.

In the middle of the main hall of Sigrún's mansion, Erik was sitting on one of the beautiful sofas, calmly drinking tea and occasionally eating cookies at a leisurely pace as he read a book. Seraphina stood behind him with a beautiful smile on her face and an elegant bearing, almost like his loyal shadow.

Soon after, guided by one of the mansion's employees, a young man entered the hall with a firm, upright stride, giving off an impression of strict rectitude and discipline. The young man wore the university's uniform, which contrasted with his smooth, black skin, highlighting his well-defined features—especially his pronounced jaw and his thick, well-shaped eyebrows over his large, grayish eyes.

"Long time no see, Desmond."

Upon seeing Desmond arrive, Erik put his book away into his storage ring and stood up from his chair, then walked up to him and extended his right hand for a handshake. Desmond responded by firmly shaking Erik's hand, then greeted him with a serious expression and his characteristic dignified, elegant tone.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, fellow disciple Erik. I apologize for my prolonged absence; I've had to deal with several pressing matters."

"Don't worry about that. I heard it was family business, so there's nothing to apologize for. Come in and have something to drink."

Speaking cordially, Erik let go of Desmond's hand and pointed to the sofa across from the one he had been sitting on, then walked back to his own sofa and sat down while Desmond took the seat Erik had indicated. This initiated a somewhat informal conversation about current events and minor topics, almost like an extended greeting.

Meanwhile, Seraphina moved quickly with a refined and measured style, serving them tea and placing delicious pastries on the table. Both Erik and Desmond took one while they chatted about random things. But shortly afterward, Erik suddenly commented with a calm smile while looking Desmond in the eyes.

"But I have to say it truly was a surprise when my master told me you wanted to meet with me. It inevitably makes me wonder: why the sudden interest? What could have attracted my distant 'older brother'?"

Erik's remark brought a small, almost imperceptible ironic smile to Desmond's face, but he quickly concealed it and prepared to speak about the main matter at hand in a serious tone, also finding the pointless small talk a bit tedious.

"Although I really did want to see how you were doing, given that I haven't been at the university much these past years, the main reason I came to see you so urgently is because of an errand my family entrusted to me. They want to know if you'd be willing to make a deal regarding your patents."

At Desmond's question, Erik took a sip of his tea with calm movements, studying the young man in front of him a bit without showing any emotion beyond tranquility. He then set his cup on the table and replied in a cordial tone.

"Since it's for my 'older brother's' family, of course I couldn't say no, although unfortunately, I also can't unconditionally say yes. I still have plans for some of them, so I have to ask: which patent are we talking about?"

Erik's response eased Desmond's mind a bit, since at first, he hadn't been entirely sure what answer his "younger, star-haired brother" might give. After all, Erik's patents had already become known throughout the galaxy, astonishing scholars and businesspeople everywhere, so there were countless people and companies willing to pay exorbitant prices for them.

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But despite all the interest, no one had yet been known to acquire any of them—not even a single license—which inevitably led everyone to speculate about the young genius's true intentions. Was he even willing to talk business? Or was he planning to monopolize his technology by taking advantage of his masters' resources? However, it now seemed that Erik was willing to have a conversation, which was a significant step forward.

"In reality, my family is very interested in versions number 3 and 4 of Manalite, as well as the production methods. The family elders are convinced that these two versions of Manalite have countless civilian and military applications, so they want to start working with them as soon as possible—whether by purchasing the patents or through licensing under certain special concessions."

With a firm tone, Desmond laid out his intentions while looking into Erik's calm green eyes. Erik calmly met his gaze, which, for some reason, made Desmond, the first disciple of the great Master Silverwood, feel as if he were facing an old, cunning merchant fox, full of tricks and shrewdness—a rather unsettling feeling, given it was impossible for someone more than four centuries younger than him to surpass him in wisdom and business acumen.

"Your elders have good eyes; they really could do interesting things with those two versions. But there's a problem." Erik commented with a smile while discreetly observing Desmond's expression, which did not change in the slightest. So, he simply went on speaking calmly.

"I no longer own the patents for version 4 of Manalite, although we can still reach a licensing agreement for version 3."

"You've already sold them? Why wasn't there any news?" Although Desmond's expression didn't change, his tone betrayed a slight trace of surprise as he asked, to which Erik responded without giving the matter much importance.

"Well, you could say I sold them, though that's not entirely accurate."

"Who bought them?"

Desmond asked, trying to gather information for his family. After all, if a competitor had acquired them, it would be necessary to make the proper preparations. Erik responded casually, taking a cookie from the plate offered by his beautiful personal maid.

"The Arcane Order."

For the first time since the conversation started, Desmond's expression changed, if only slightly, his eyes widening just a bit from sheer surprise. After all, aside from the university run directly by the director, the Arcane Order had no commercial companies or anything of the sort, so there were very few possible reasons why they would buy something like that—and none of them were simple.

"In that case, there's nothing to be done. What a pity—that was the version the elders saw the most potential in..." Though surprised, Desmond quickly remarked with a sigh, then recovered his serious expression and continued speaking.

"Then let's talk about version 3."

"You say they saw more potential in version 4?" Ignoring Desmond's last words, Erik asked, a bit confused. Desmond nodded slightly and answered seriously.

"Yes, it's the one that most aligns with our main business—though by your question, I assume you don't know much about my family."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I did, but I've heard that the Atticus family is very famous in artifact production, especially specialized artifacts."

At Erik's words, Desmond smiled slightly and calmly explained, though there was a faint hint of pride in his expression.

"Well, indeed, my family holds a certain reputation for crafting artifacts, but our main business actually lies in military contracts. You could say we're among the biggest military contractors of the Order."

"Ohh, now it all makes sense..." Erik commented with a look of realization on his face, understanding why the Atticus family was after version 4 of Manalite. They truly had a discerning eye.

(It seems my masters were right—I underestimated the foresight of the Order's powers far too much...)

"So I suppose you're also aware of how crucial version 4 of Manalite can be. If handled properly, it's a material that will bring about a complete revolution in the military industry."

Listening to Erik, Desmond spoke with a serious expression, hiding the immense impact he felt each time he processed that his "younger brother" had created such a breakthrough—one that would surely earn him a place in the history books. It was something that he himself, among the best Artificers of his generation, felt would be impossible for him to achieve in at least five or ten thousand years.

Erik, for his part, nodded and took a sip of his tea, using the moment to do mental calculations about the profit he could gain from this approach. He also estimated how he'd have to adjust his original plans depending on the outcome. Then he set his cup on the table and commented in a calm tone.

"Well, somewhat. The truth is, I only created version 4, thinking it would be useful to make armor and some kinds of weapons more easily and cheaply. As for whether or not it'll spark a revolution, that remains to be seen—though I honestly see more potential in other versions."

"Other versions?"

Desmond asked, a little confused. After all, although the other versions were cheaper to produce, their resistance, hardness, and ability to withstand mana were significantly inferior to version 4, which greatly reduced their potential usefulness.

"Yes, in my opinion, the other versions have far greater potential to bring about a revolution. Because, while they're inferior in almost every aspect to version 4, mass-producing them costs only a fraction of what it costs to produce version 4, and they're also much easier to work with. That makes them a great option for largely replacing things like Mithral or Silva wood."

Erik commented with a smile as he drank from his freshly refilled cup of tea, courtesy of Seraphina, who wore a faint smile on her face—one that couldn't hide the immense pride she felt for the unparalleled genius of her young master. After all, Mithral metal and Silva wood were two of the most widely used raw materials in the large-scale production of civilian or common-use magical artifacts. They had been used for millions of years, and until now, no one had even come close to developing a new material capable of replacing them.

Meanwhile, Desmond stood there with his mouth agape in surprise, completely shattering his normally serious and proper demeanor. After all, although his family had seen some promise in version 3 of Manalite, that was mainly for producing specialized low-performance, low-cost magical artifacts; they had never considered going so far as to replace materials as entrenched as Mithral or Silva wood. So, if what Erik said came to pass, it would undoubtedly cause an absolute revolution in the galaxy—in other words, enormous profit and renown.

"Are you being serious? Do you really think your Manalite can replace the two most widely used resources in the entire galaxy?"

Still, a bit stunned, Desmond asked while looking Erik in the eye, hoping to find anything that might help him better understand his younger brother. Erik responded with a faint smile on his face, somewhat amused to see how his older brother's facade had crumbled.

"Well, it won't be easy, and it would be impossible to replace them in each one of their applications. Not to mention that habit is a truly frightening thing, so price alone won't be enough for massive public adoption. But I have my ideas about that. For now, however, I'd like to give you a small glimpse of the infinite possibilities of Manalite."

While he spoke, Erik waved his hand over the table in front of him, and four different objects appeared on it. On the left was a small piece of simple-looking white cloth that seemed to glow faintly.

Next to the cloth, there was a white recorder flute, followed by a small transparent bottle containing a dark caramel-colored liquid, and finally, a simple little scepter engraved with several runes, which looked like a magic scepter.

Desmond, with a bit of surprise, looked at the four objects on the table and asked in a slightly expectant tone.

"What are these...?"

***

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