The Master of Cards Chapter 76: Hidden Machinations

Marty saw that Alex didn't respond at all. "Aah, you are quite boring. I just saw that you helped out in a mission and wanted to see what kind of person you are."

Alex didn't speak. He simply kept the briefcase on the table. "I am not a Lune. I don't need this item. Please exchange this for the reward that was decided earlier on."

Marty sighed. "Very Well. I will send you the points. You can choose the items from the store." He took back the briefcase.

Alex didn't say much and simply left. Marty sighed as he looked at a holographic projection of a person hidden behind a wall. "Are you happy with my acting? The poor cousin was already thrown out of the family, why provoke him further?"

"I didn't like how everyone simply abandoned him and acted like he didn't exist. The Patriarch said he would be a cripple, but he even managed to develop a pure attribute base card. Provoking him would give him a reason to persist. Perhaps, he could shed his status as a cripple." The holographic projection sighed.

Marty shook his head. "If he managed to do the impossible, then aren't we creating an enemy for the Lune Family? Whatever, I am not a fan of how he is being treated either."

Alex went back to the counter. There wasn't a sign of fluctuation on his face. But inside he was boiling with rage. Sending him the single use card was like slapping him in the face.

He looked at the available items and ended up finding a list of special items whose attributes were unknown. Alex requested to be able to personally see those items.

Alex had received 40,000 points to trade from, but even just seeing the items with unknown attributes cost 9000 points.

In the storage, he used Energy Affinity to search the items. Most were attributes he had never seen before, but he was hoping to find the Pure Energy Attribute, however, he failed, until at last he found a very small bottle which contained some white sand.

This white sand actually had the pure energy attribute, but the density of the energy was so weak, that Alex wouldn't be able to get any benefits from absorbing it.

"What is that item?" He asked the woman.

"It is some kind of white sand that has hints of some unknown attribute. However, it is almost useless. Would you like toe exchange it for 30,000 points?"

"So much for a useless bottle of sand?" Alex asked in surprise.

"These might be useless to us, but clearly it would be useful to people who can identify it. The prices are decided after much appraisal." The woman calmly replied.

Alex sweared inwardly and purchased the sand. The only reason was he had seen some weird fluctuations of the pure energy attribute within the sand, that looked like a kind of circulatory flow. He gambled on the sand having some kind of use.

Alex then left the Family Alliance with Bill. Bill wanted to take Alex around, but Alex replied that he wasn't in the mood.

Bill nodded. He had seen that something clearly had happened in the Family Alliance headquarters and didn't broach into it.

"Alex, what are you planning to do now?" Bill asked.

"Nothing, I am thinking of returning to Pond City." Alex replied, but at that moment, he received a call from an unknown number.

"Is this Alex?" A voice spoke up.

"Yes. Who is calling?" Alex asked.

"I am Lionel Ace, the dean of Warrior University. I heard that you were in the city and my sister wants to thank you. Would you mind joining us for a meal at my house?"

Alex was surprised. He had already considered that matter done and dusted. "Well, I don't mind." He replied.

Later in the evening, Alex went to the warrior university and found the quarters of the dean. It was a grand mansion inside the campus with a beautiful sight of a waterfall in the vicinity.

"Alex, you've come." Lionel nodded and then ushered him in. "Aurora emphasized that she is cooking today."

Alex smiled and nodded. "Thank you for inviting me."

Inside, he saw a healthy girl laying food on the table. When she saw Alex she felt a little shy, but nodded. "Welcome. I prepared a dinner as thanks."

The three had a congenial dinner and the atmosphere was relatively warm as the people talked in general. After the dinner, Alex excused himself from the place and decided to return to the dojo.

Since the rage inducing moment at the Family Alliance, the dinner calmed his mind and he had a good feeling about the two siblings.

After Alex left, Aurora turned towards her brother. "Brother, why are we doing this?" She had a sad smile on her face. "Didn't you say that he was banished by the Lunes?"

"Yes he was banished and abandoned from childhood. They say he was crippled, but I don't get that sense from him at all. He probably has a lot of hatred for his family. We could use it. Don't you remember the reason our two lives were turned into one of pain?" Lionel spoke.

Aurora had a resigned look on her face, but nodded. "I understand your goal brother, but I do not like putting a false affront in front of my benefactor and try to manipulate him like this."

Lionel shook his head. "How are we manipulating him? We are simply building good relations with him. I have a feeling that he would become a good pawn to use against the Lune Family for what they did to mother and father."

Aurora agreed with Lionel's analysis, but in her heart she felt conflicted about the whole thing.

Chapter end