On the way back to the sect, nothing notable occurred, except for the overly neglected road from the village to the main tract. However, this did not significantly slow down the former prince, so Rand arrived at the sect's entrance the next day. He reported his return to the gatekeeping disciples, as required by the rules, and then headed straight to his house, without any distractions. There were still a few days left before the joint expedition outside the sect. All possible preparations on his part had already been made, so Rand could only wait.
Thus, he spent the next few days secluded in his home, immersing himself in cultivation to avoid wasting time. Without pills, progress was slower than he would have liked, but even using only spirit stones, Rand's energy absorption rate was phenomenal. Combined with his previous cultivation sessions supported by pills, this allowed him to approach the third level of the Qi Condensation stage on the eighth day since his conversation with Eyron. However, just as he was about to break through to the next level, he had to interrupt his meditation. Because at his doorstep appeared a group of visitors consisting of Eyron, Balron, Fara, and Weed. Their appearance together on this day could only mean one thing: Eyron's plan was already in motion.
Rand heard his guests long before they knocked on his door, as they were actively and loudly discussing something, their voices audible from hundreds of meters away. The only distinguishable parts of their conversation were the frequent mention of the name "Oberin" and Fara's dissatisfied voice. But as soon as they approached within a clear hearing range, they stopped talking. And in silence they then approached and knocked on his door.
Rand opened the front door to see a frowning Balron, a slightly frightened and simultaneously annoyed Fara, expressionless giant Eyron standing behind everyone, and broadly smiling Weed, in whose body Rand could sense the presence of Qi, indicating that he had finally also become a cultivator.
"Weed has already reached the first level and surely has become stronger. But even before, if Eyron's story is to be believed, he could fight someone at the third level. How strong has he become now? And have there been any other changes in him? I need to stay alert," Rand thought.
He was pulled from his thoughts about the changes in his target and how they might affect his plan by the greeting of Balron. who for some reason, before saying anything to Rand, glanced at Fara, who had her head lowered.
"Hello, senior Oberin," Balron addressed him more formally than usual, "Congratulations on reaching the second level. I'm sorry to distract you from your cultivation, but we have a good proposal that might interest you."
"Good day, juniors," Rand decided to follow the formalities as well, "And what is it that you want to propose?"
With a heavy sigh, Balron attempted to answer:
"You see, over the past week, we realized how pleasant and fast cultivation can be when you have enough resources. In these seven days, we achieved what would normally take us at least a month. But everything eventually runs out, and our resources were no exception. Now we have to return to simple meditation, but after making such quick progress with spirit stones and pills, cultivating without them feels dull, slow, and almost pointless."
"I understand," Rand nodded in agreement, "resources indeed accelerate cultivation progress multiple times. I wouldn't mind if I had more of them either. But you haven't answered my question."
"Yes, sorry, maybe I started answering from too far away. I just wanted to say that we all need resources. And our proposal involves a way to earn them. In the sect, there are paid tasks available. Usually, they are taken up by novices only after completing initial training, when they are around the fourth or fifth level of Qi Condensation. But due to the unexpected absence of teacher Gerhard, we have the opportunity to complete one of these tasks now and earn resources that will help us develop and perform better in future competitions. Many of these tasks require a significant amount of time to complete, but there are also those that can be done in a few days. However, most of such tasks involve killing beasts, which carries certain risks. Of course, with our current cultivation, going alone even on the simplest task would be foolish and extremely dangerous. So, I think we need to form a group to complete it together. And that's what our offer to you is: would you like to join us in completing such a task?" Balron asked. But he spoke in a tone that seemed unsure if he wanted Rand to join them or was subtly asking him to decline.
From the beginning of their conversation, Rand noticed changes in Balron's behavior compared to before. Most likely, the source of these changes was Fara standing next to him, seemingly starting to exert significant influence over him and possibly trying to create a rift between them. But Rand didn't really care if Fara influenced him or not, whether she turned Balron into his enemy or not. Unlike Weed or even Eyron, Balron wouldn't be a dangerous opponent. Moreover, Rand already had plans for Balron's gift in the future, and it didn't particularly matter if Balron considered him a friend or foe, his fate would be the same.
Fara herself was of no significance and not worth thinking about, but Rand decided that if the opportunity arose, it would be better to eliminate her just in case.
Instead of immediately responding to the proposal, Rand remained silent for about ten seconds, pretending to contemplate, then asked his guests:
"Before I answer, I need to know a few important things from you that will determine whether I agree or not. Have you already chosen the task, is that right? What is it about? How much time will it take to complete? What is the reward?" Rand already knew the answers to most of these questions, and the rest didn't interest him at all. He actually wanted to just agree, but if he did so without asking anything, it would look strange, so he decided to create an "image of an interested but uncertain group member" first, and only after getting his answers, agree.
"Balron, let me answer," Weed suddenly decided to intervene in their conversation.
"Of course, if you want, you can do it, Weed," Balron immediately responded, without even a moment's hesitation.
"Thank you. Yes, we have already chosen the task, Eyron found a very good one for us. It's quite simple, but it pays well. The task is to eliminate a beast that has been terrorizing a remote village for several months. The animal destroys local livestock and has even killed several people who tried to catch it. But it is likely that this beast has only recently reached Qi Condensation; otherwise, the damage from its actions would not be so minor, which means it won't be too dangerous for us.
It's hard to say how long it will take, but we estimated about five to six days. Half of that time will be spent traveling, as the village is somewhat remote, and it will take about a day and a half on foot to get there. So, the round trip will take about three days. Finding the beast shouldn't take too long because Eyron has a special potion that can lure it from a certain distance, so even in the worst case, it will only take a few days. But without you, there could be difficulties during the battle with the beast; after all, we know almost nothing about its abilities, it might turn out to be quite dangerous, and you are the strongest among us. Even Eyron, who is quite strong himself, admits this. So we would very much like you to join us and help in the fight against it." Listening to Weed's explanation, Rand felt that all his words were full of wisdom and not agreeing with him would be incredibly foolish… But Rand was prepared for such influence, so he managed to resist it without much difficulty and even think calmly while listening to his speech.
"What enthusiasm, he even decided to interrupt Balron and speak to me directly, using his persuasion ability. All to make me agree? What interests him so much about me?"
But Rand didn't realize that these internal reflections caused him to delay his response to Weed's proposal, which greatly surprised Weed. An awkward pause ensued, as if Rand didn't know how to respond to the proposal and politely say "no", and Fara, who had been silent until now, took advantage of it.
"I told you, he won't want to go with us. He took first place in the competition and received ten times more resources than all of us. So even after a week, he still has plenty left, and there's no need for him to waste time on a task with us. We shouldn't force him, besides, I'm sure we'll manage just fine without him. Eyron alone is enough to defeat most beasts, and if the four of us attack, no weak beast will stand in our way."
At this moment, Weed's eyes flashed, and his smile disappeared. He was about to say something to Fara, but Rand spoke first:
"You misunderstood my silence, Fara. It wasn't a refusal, I just needed a few moments to think over the proposal. In general, if the task's reward isn't too small, I'm willing to go with you."
Hearing this, Weed smiled again and happily said:
"Excellent, I knew you wouldn't let us down, Oberin. Don't worry about the reward. Initially, the task paid only two hundred spirit stones. But a few days ago, the reward was increased to a thousand, which means two hundred spirit stones each if divided among the five of us. Plus, we can keep the beast's carcass, which can be sold for a good price. We've decided it will go to whoever contributes the most in the fight."
"A decent reward, that works for me. When do we start?" Rand finally agreed.
"The sooner we start, the sooner we finish, I think. Also, there's not much time left before teacher Gerhard's return, so we should hurry. The four of us are ready to leave at any moment, so it's up to you when we leave. How much time do you need to prepare?" Weed asked.
"Not long. I need about ten minutes to put on my artifact armor. After that, I'll be ready to go," Rand replied almost without thinking.
"Great, we'll wait for you here, right?" Weed asked the others, and they all agreed without hesitation, even Fara, who wanted to say something, could not do it after Weed's words.
So, Rand left his guests at the doorstep, returned inside, and took out an artifact robe, the Full Plate Armor of Impenetrable Defense, and a pendant that simulated spiritual sense from his ring, then began the long process of putting them on. Once he had donned the armor, robe, and pendant, Rand attached the bracelet gifted by Moraine to his armored hand. Fortunately, it could slightly adjust its size and fit without any problems. This set of artifacts probably wouldn't be needed for this mission, but it wouldn't hurt to have them, and since he needed to wear the armor for a while to bond with it, this decision wouldn't be completely useless.
When he emerged before everyone in his new attire, he caused a wave of surprise among those present.
"Quite an impressive look, Oberin. In this armor, you remind me of knights from stories. I'll have to get myself one like that," Weed said, curiously examining Rand's armor.
"Such armor, as far as I can tell, is quite expensive, so getting one will be difficult. Am I right, Oberin?" Balron voiced his opinion.
"That's correct. I don`t know its exact cost since I got it for free for taking first place, but I'm sure it's not cheap," Rand replied, not going into details, though he knew its approximate value.
At this moment, Eyron spoke for the first time since the beginning of the conversation:
"You might not know this, but it's impolite to ask about someone else's artifacts. So, I suggest we stop bothering Oberin with questions about them. It's better to go and officially take the task right away. If we don't hurry, someone else might take it, and we'll have to take something much more difficult."
Everyone agreed and followed Eyron to the Task Pavilion, a large building on the other side of the sect. There, Eyron led them to a young disciple steward who was supposed to register the task for them.
As soon as the group of novices approached him, the disciple interrupted meditation and opened his eyes, saying:
"I don't help kids find tasks. For that, you should speak to the novice at the entrance."
"Senior, we've already chosen a task and want to take it. It's task number 23429. Please register it for us," Eyron informed the disciple. The young steward, hearing the task number, closed his eyes for a moment, then said, looking not at Eyron, who spoke with him, but at Rand.
"Hmm, the village of Irbis. Assistance in locating and exterminating a beast, presumably at the early levels of Qi Condensation. The villagers only saw the beast from a distance once, at least those who survived. According to them, it resembles a fox. Nothing more is known about it, but I assume you've already read that in the task description. The reward for completion is one thousand low-quality spirit stones. You're lucky; it used to be only two hundred, but someone recently decided to add another eight hundred. But you'll only receive the money upon presenting the beast's head at the Pavilion, and you'll also need the village elder's signature on the task sheet to confirm completion. Since you're young novices, I'll give you some advice: don't try to catch a random beast in the forests and then force the village`s elder to sign. You can`t outsmart our Pavilion; believe me, many have tried, and their fates were not enviable, as they not only paid a huge fine but were also barred from the Pavilion. Speaking of fines, you have a month to complete the task. If you fail within that time, you'll have to pay a penalty equal to one-fifth of the reward. Knowing this, do you still want to take this task with your group?"
Although the young disciple steward seemed to be speaking to the whole group, he continued to look only at Rand, and the last question was directed solely at him. Seeing Rand's artifacts and realizing that his cultivation level was higher than his companions', he considered Rand the leader. With nothing else left, Rand had to respond, even though he had intended to leave all the talking to Eyron:
"Yes, senior, we thank you for the advice and warning, but we still want to take the task."
"Very well, then each of you needs to touch my table."
The young novices followed the disciple 's instructions and touched the table, specifically the spot where a large handprint was visible. As soon as they did, a silver sheet appeared on the table, listing their names and the task details. The student approached the sheet, took it in his hands, and said:
"Oberin, disciple of elder Byron, Eyron Landolf, Fara, Balron, and Weed, you are assigned the task in the village of Irbis. The rules have been explained to you. Take the sheet and go, don't waste any more of my time."
Rand took the sheet, and they all slightly bowed to the disciple, who had already returned to his meditation, and left the pavilion. As they exited, Fara couldn't hold back and spoke, looking at Eyron:
"I didn't know about the fine. So if we don't complete the task, we'll be at a loss? And why did you agree without consulting us, Rand? Do you already consider yourself our leader, capable of making decisions for everyone? I disagree, Balron is our leader, not you..."
Before she could say anything else, Balron interrupted her:
"Calm down, Fara. Oberin did the right thing. Since we've decided to take this task, we need to see it through. Especially with Eyron's potion, we have a great chance of completing it."
"I'm calm, but I don't understand why you're so calm..."
It seemed that the "scene" could go on for some time, but then Weed spoke up:
"Fara, you're wrong. Apologize to Oberin immediately." Hearing this command, Fara instantly fell silent for a second as if not understanding what had happened. And then she even apologized; her dissatisfaction seemed to vanish completely.
Even Balron that noticed something strange in Fara`s behavior and widened his eyes in surprise. And Eyron, seeing this, narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Rand, whose surprised expression was hidden by his helmet's visor, also pondered what he had witnessed. He didn't care about the silly girl's outburst, but Weed's actions worried him...
"His power of persuasion has grown; there's no doubt about that. Now he can make someone do something they really don't want to do, whereas before his 'persuasion' felt more like a gentle nudge. The only consolation is that the effect is still short-lived. Has his ability strengthened because he reached the first level? But why didn't I feel it was harder to resist his words? Is it because my cultivation is still higher? I hope so, but I need to be cautious. Aina, wake up," Rand mentally called to the spirit of his treasure, awakening her, and then said, "Stay awake for the next few days and monitor my behavior. If you notice any uncharacteristic reactions or actions from me, inform me immediately."
On the way back to the sect, nothing notable occurred, except for the overly neglected road from the village to the main tract. However, this did not significantly slow down the former prince, so Rand arrived at the sect's entrance the next day. He reported his return to the gatekeeping disciples, as required by the rules, and then headed straight to his house, without any distractions. There were still a few days left before the joint expedition outside the sect. All possible preparations on his part had already been made, so Rand could only wait.
Thus, he spent the next few days secluded in his home, immersing himself in cultivation to avoid wasting time. Without pills, progress was slower than he would have liked, but even using only spirit stones, Rand's energy absorption rate was phenomenal. Combined with his previous cultivation sessions supported by pills, this allowed him to approach the third level of the Qi Condensation stage on the eighth day since his conversation with Eyron. However, just as he was about to break through to the next level, he had to interrupt his meditation. Because at his doorstep appeared a group of visitors consisting of Eyron, Balron, Fara, and Weed. Their appearance together on this day could only mean one thing: Eyron's plan was already in motion.
Rand heard his guests long before they knocked on his door, as they were actively and loudly discussing something, their voices audible from hundreds of meters away. The only distinguishable parts of their conversation were the frequent mention of the name "Oberin" and Fara's dissatisfied voice. But as soon as they approached within a clear hearing range, they stopped talking. And in silence they then approached and knocked on his door.
Rand opened the front door to see a frowning Balron, a slightly frightened and simultaneously annoyed Fara, expressionless giant Eyron standing behind everyone, and broadly smiling Weed, in whose body Rand could sense the presence of Qi, indicating that he had finally also become a cultivator.
"Weed has already reached the first level and surely has become stronger. But even before, if Eyron's story is to be believed, he could fight someone at the third level. How strong has he become now? And have there been any other changes in him? I need to stay alert," Rand thought.
He was pulled from his thoughts about the changes in his target and how they might affect his plan by the greeting of Balron. who for some reason, before saying anything to Rand, glanced at Fara, who had her head lowered.
"Hello, senior Oberin," Balron addressed him more formally than usual, "Congratulations on reaching the second level. I'm sorry to distract you from your cultivation, but we have a good proposal that might interest you."
"Good day, juniors," Rand decided to follow the formalities as well, "And what is it that you want to propose?"
With a heavy sigh, Balron attempted to answer:
"You see, over the past week, we realized how pleasant and fast cultivation can be when you have enough resources. In these seven days, we achieved what would normally take us at least a month. But everything eventually runs out, and our resources were no exception. Now we have to return to simple meditation, but after making such quick progress with spirit stones and pills, cultivating without them feels dull, slow, and almost pointless."
"I understand," Rand nodded in agreement, "resources indeed accelerate cultivation progress multiple times. I wouldn't mind if I had more of them either. But you haven't answered my question."
"Yes, sorry, maybe I started answering from too far away. I just wanted to say that we all need resources. And our proposal involves a way to earn them. In the sect, there are paid tasks available. Usually, they are taken up by novices only after completing initial training, when they are around the fourth or fifth level of Qi Condensation. But due to the unexpected absence of teacher Gerhard, we have the opportunity to complete one of these tasks now and earn resources that will help us develop and perform better in future competitions. Many of these tasks require a significant amount of time to complete, but there are also those that can be done in a few days. However, most of such tasks involve killing beasts, which carries certain risks. Of course, with our current cultivation, going alone even on the simplest task would be foolish and extremely dangerous. So, I think we need to form a group to complete it together. And that's what our offer to you is: would you like to join us in completing such a task?" Balron asked. But he spoke in a tone that seemed unsure if he wanted Rand to join them or was subtly asking him to decline.
From the beginning of their conversation, Rand noticed changes in Balron's behavior compared to before. Most likely, the source of these changes was Fara standing next to him, seemingly starting to exert significant influence over him and possibly trying to create a rift between them. But Rand didn't really care if Fara influenced him or not, whether she turned Balron into his enemy or not. Unlike Weed or even Eyron, Balron wouldn't be a dangerous opponent. Moreover, Rand already had plans for Balron's gift in the future, and it didn't particularly matter if Balron considered him a friend or foe, his fate would be the same.
Fara herself was of no significance and not worth thinking about, but Rand decided that if the opportunity arose, it would be better to eliminate her just in case.
Instead of immediately responding to the proposal, Rand remained silent for about ten seconds, pretending to contemplate, then asked his guests:
"Before I answer, I need to know a few important things from you that will determine whether I agree or not. Have you already chosen the task, is that right? What is it about? How much time will it take to complete? What is the reward?" Rand already knew the answers to most of these questions, and the rest didn't interest him at all. He actually wanted to just agree, but if he did so without asking anything, it would look strange, so he decided to create an "image of an interested but uncertain group member" first, and only after getting his answers, agree.
"Balron, let me answer," Weed suddenly decided to intervene in their conversation.
"Of course, if you want, you can do it, Weed," Balron immediately responded, without even a moment's hesitation.
"Thank you. Yes, we have already chosen the task, Eyron found a very good one for us. It's quite simple, but it pays well. The task is to eliminate a beast that has been terrorizing a remote village for several months. The animal destroys local livestock and has even killed several people who tried to catch it. But it is likely that this beast has only recently reached Qi Condensation; otherwise, the damage from its actions would not be so minor, which means it won't be too dangerous for us.
It's hard to say how long it will take, but we estimated about five to six days. Half of that time will be spent traveling, as the village is somewhat remote, and it will take about a day and a half on foot to get there. So, the round trip will take about three days. Finding the beast shouldn't take too long because Eyron has a special potion that can lure it from a certain distance, so even in the worst case, it will only take a few days. But without you, there could be difficulties during the battle with the beast; after all, we know almost nothing about its abilities, it might turn out to be quite dangerous, and you are the strongest among us. Even Eyron, who is quite strong himself, admits this. So we would very much like you to join us and help in the fight against it." Listening to Weed's explanation, Rand felt that all his words were full of wisdom and not agreeing with him would be incredibly foolish… But Rand was prepared for such influence, so he managed to resist it without much difficulty and even think calmly while listening to his speech.
"What enthusiasm, he even decided to interrupt Balron and speak to me directly, using his persuasion ability. All to make me agree? What interests him so much about me?"
But Rand didn't realize that these internal reflections caused him to delay his response to Weed's proposal, which greatly surprised Weed. An awkward pause ensued, as if Rand didn't know how to respond to the proposal and politely say "no", and Fara, who had been silent until now, took advantage of it.
"I told you, he won't want to go with us. He took first place in the competition and received ten times more resources than all of us. So even after a week, he still has plenty left, and there's no need for him to waste time on a task with us. We shouldn't force him, besides, I'm sure we'll manage just fine without him. Eyron alone is enough to defeat most beasts, and if the four of us attack, no weak beast will stand in our way."
At this moment, Weed's eyes flashed, and his smile disappeared. He was about to say something to Fara, but Rand spoke first:
"You misunderstood my silence, Fara. It wasn't a refusal, I just needed a few moments to think over the proposal. In general, if the task's reward isn't too small, I'm willing to go with you."
Hearing this, Weed smiled again and happily said:
"Excellent, I knew you wouldn't let us down, Oberin. Don't worry about the reward. Initially, the task paid only two hundred spirit stones. But a few days ago, the reward was increased to a thousand, which means two hundred spirit stones each if divided among the five of us. Plus, we can keep the beast's carcass, which can be sold for a good price. We've decided it will go to whoever contributes the most in the fight."
"A decent reward, that works for me. When do we start?" Rand finally agreed.
"The sooner we start, the sooner we finish, I think. Also, there's not much time left before teacher Gerhard's return, so we should hurry. The four of us are ready to leave at any moment, so it's up to you when we leave. How much time do you need to prepare?" Weed asked.
"Not long. I need about ten minutes to put on my artifact armor. After that, I'll be ready to go," Rand replied almost without thinking.
"Great, we'll wait for you here, right?" Weed asked the others, and they all agreed without hesitation, even Fara, who wanted to say something, could not do it after Weed's words.
So, Rand left his guests at the doorstep, returned inside, and took out an artifact robe, the Full Plate Armor of Impenetrable Defense, and a pendant that simulated spiritual sense from his ring, then began the long process of putting them on. Once he had donned the armor, robe, and pendant, Rand attached the bracelet gifted by Moraine to his armored hand. Fortunately, it could slightly adjust its size and fit without any problems. This set of artifacts probably wouldn't be needed for this mission, but it wouldn't hurt to have them, and since he needed to wear the armor for a while to bond with it, this decision wouldn't be completely useless.
When he emerged before everyone in his new attire, he caused a wave of surprise among those present.
"Quite an impressive look, Oberin. In this armor, you remind me of knights from stories. I'll have to get myself one like that," Weed said, curiously examining Rand's armor.
"Such armor, as far as I can tell, is quite expensive, so getting one will be difficult. Am I right, Oberin?" Balron voiced his opinion.
"That's correct. I don`t know its exact cost since I got it for free for taking first place, but I'm sure it's not cheap," Rand replied, not going into details, though he knew its approximate value.
At this moment, Eyron spoke for the first time since the beginning of the conversation:
"You might not know this, but it's impolite to ask about someone else's artifacts. So, I suggest we stop bothering Oberin with questions about them. It's better to go and officially take the task right away. If we don't hurry, someone else might take it, and we'll have to take something much more difficult."
Everyone agreed and followed Eyron to the Task Pavilion, a large building on the other side of the sect. There, Eyron led them to a young disciple steward who was supposed to register the task for them.
As soon as the group of novices approached him, the disciple interrupted meditation and opened his eyes, saying:
"I don't help kids find tasks. For that, you should speak to the novice at the entrance."
"Senior, we've already chosen a task and want to take it. It's task number 23429. Please register it for us," Eyron informed the disciple. The young steward, hearing the task number, closed his eyes for a moment, then said, looking not at Eyron, who spoke with him, but at Rand.
"Hmm, the village of Irbis. Assistance in locating and exterminating a beast, presumably at the early levels of Qi Condensation. The villagers only saw the beast from a distance once, at least those who survived. According to them, it resembles a fox. Nothing more is known about it, but I assume you've already read that in the task description. The reward for completion is one thousand low-quality spirit stones. You're lucky; it used to be only two hundred, but someone recently decided to add another eight hundred. But you'll only receive the money upon presenting the beast's head at the Pavilion, and you'll also need the village elder's signature on the task sheet to confirm completion. Since you're young novices, I'll give you some advice: don't try to catch a random beast in the forests and then force the village`s elder to sign. You can`t outsmart our Pavilion; believe me, many have tried, and their fates were not enviable, as they not only paid a huge fine but were also barred from the Pavilion. Speaking of fines, you have a month to complete the task. If you fail within that time, you'll have to pay a penalty equal to one-fifth of the reward. Knowing this, do you still want to take this task with your group?"
Although the young disciple steward seemed to be speaking to the whole group, he continued to look only at Rand, and the last question was directed solely at him. Seeing Rand's artifacts and realizing that his cultivation level was higher than his companions', he considered Rand the leader. With nothing else left, Rand had to respond, even though he had intended to leave all the talking to Eyron:
"Yes, senior, we thank you for the advice and warning, but we still want to take the task."
"Very well, then each of you needs to touch my table."
The young novices followed the disciple 's instructions and touched the table, specifically the spot where a large handprint was visible. As soon as they did, a silver sheet appeared on the table, listing their names and the task details. The student approached the sheet, took it in his hands, and said:
"Oberin, disciple of elder Byron, Eyron Landolf, Fara, Balron, and Weed, you are assigned the task in the village of Irbis. The rules have been explained to you. Take the sheet and go, don't waste any more of my time."
Rand took the sheet, and they all slightly bowed to the disciple, who had already returned to his meditation, and left the pavilion. As they exited, Fara couldn't hold back and spoke, looking at Eyron:
"I didn't know about the fine. So if we don't complete the task, we'll be at a loss? And why did you agree without consulting us, Rand? Do you already consider yourself our leader, capable of making decisions for everyone? I disagree, Balron is our leader, not you..."
Before she could say anything else, Balron interrupted her:
"Calm down, Fara. Oberin did the right thing. Since we've decided to take this task, we need to see it through. Especially with Eyron's potion, we have a great chance of completing it."
"I'm calm, but I don't understand why you're so calm..."
It seemed that the "scene" could go on for some time, but then Weed spoke up:
"Fara, you're wrong. Apologize to Oberin immediately." Hearing this command, Fara instantly fell silent for a second as if not understanding what had happened. And then she even apologized; her dissatisfaction seemed to vanish completely.
Even Balron that noticed something strange in Fara`s behavior and widened his eyes in surprise. And Eyron, seeing this, narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Rand, whose surprised expression was hidden by his helmet's visor, also pondered what he had witnessed. He didn't care about the silly girl's outburst, but Weed's actions worried him...
"His power of persuasion has grown; there's no doubt about that. Now he can make someone do something they really don't want to do, whereas before his 'persuasion' felt more like a gentle nudge. The only consolation is that the effect is still short-lived. Has his ability strengthened because he reached the first level? But why didn't I feel it was harder to resist his words? Is it because my cultivation is still higher? I hope so, but I need to be cautious. Aina, wake up," Rand mentally called to the spirit of his treasure, awakening her, and then said, "Stay awake for the next few days and monitor my behavior. If you notice any uncharacteristic reactions or actions from me, inform me immediately."
