Jacob left the agency after accepting the investigation mission and headed to his mansion not far away.
The past week, he only spent his morning in the pool area, since he spent most of his time in the Gunsmith Guild's workshop, and after an entire week he was finally done with the preparation.
It was far quicker than he thought it would take, and it was probably because he didn't feel much fatigue despite lengthy and delicate work. If he hasn't exhausted himself with the water meditation technique, he might've done it in three days.
Nevertheless, he now had greater gasp over his strength and he mused he might reach the A rank strength after he hit the twenty percent or he might reach it before it.
Well, it still remained to be seen since he can't gauge his strength, nor he wanted to test it in the star mercenary agency. Those neighboring kingdoms might start a war just to eliminate a freak like him since he was human.
One had to know that A rank was like a legend in an uncommon region.
Anyway, today Jacob was also going to use the heart essence of the tiger bull which he had made in the Rain Town but didn't inject since he was concerned about his body condition.
Now that he had trimmed it down to a satisfactory level, he was ready for the next injection.
He goes straight toward the underground chamber and sealed it.
After making sure he was ready. He took out the injection filled with the red liquid from his pendant and pierce his heart without any hesitation.
It was like a regular thing for him now.
However, his expression changed when the liquid simmered in his heart. He felt like boiling mercury just entered his bloodstream!
'This heart essence is too potent. What was the tier of this bull!?' Jacob was alarmed.
He never thought a rare species' heart essence could make him feel pain like this anymore.
Yet, it seemed he was still wrong. He remembered Immortika had once told him the higher species tier was the more pain he'll suffer, while it would also bring him just as many benefits as well.
However, even the wolf king, who was probably a tier five species, wasn't able to inflict pain on Jacob as he felt now. This means this tiger bull was probably a tier six, or he was a tier seven, which made it a rarer species!
But he knew it was impossible since that bull won't be so helpless if it was already stepping into the rank of a tier seven species. Those hob trolls won't be able to capture it, much less kill it.
So, this means it was probably at the very edge of tier six!
Nevertheless, Jacob would've done this again even if he knew since the more painful it was, the more percentage he'll get and reached the twenty percent quickly.
The pain only last for five minutes before that comfortable sensation returned and not only that, Jacob visibly felt getting lighter, both mentally and physically.
The entire process lasted for half an hour before the entire heart essence was exhausted and integrated with Jacob's body.
"Cursed Immortality!" He quickly summoned the book so he could see his progress. He knew this wasn't a normal injection.
_______
…
-Second Level: Turn Immortal Mark into Cursed Mark
-Completion: 17.02%
…
_______
"If I have one more heart essence at that bull's level, I might've broken into the twenty percent right now," Jacob mumbled with a hint of regret.
He suddenly felt the urgency to move toward the rare region more, but he didn't lose his reason. He would decide this after this trip.
The night passed, and in the morning, Jacob performed the water meditation as per his habit. He was already at the 1:53 mark and after his last injection; he increased his endurance by five minutes altogether.
He was quickly approaching the second-hour mark.
After twelve hours, Jacob donned clothes he made with the Tiger Bull's hide and he had to admit just the weight of a shirt and pants was over thirty KG and the long jacket was thirty KG alone.
Nevertheless, Jacob felt comfortable in these extremely flexible yet soft clothes and the weight was like non-exist for him.
To hide the traits of Tiger Bull's hide, he used black metal pigment that was used to coat guns and now no one can tell his clothes were made with Tiger Bull's hide and they look just like normal clothes unless someone tries to lift them.
He also connected firearms within his long jacket and his short swords hidden behind his back. He was also now fully armed.
"I'm going out for some time, if anyone comes looking, tell them I'm out of the city," Jacob instructed the middle-aged man who was also the butler of this mansion and he was quite reliable.
"I'll see to it, my lord." The butler bowed in acknowledgment.
Jacob nodded and left the mansion in a carriage.
However, another carriage was following Jacob's carriage from some distance.
Two men sat in this carriage. They both wore expensive gear and had muscular builds.
The man with long hair lifted the curtain slightly from the window and looked at Jacob's carriage with his hawk-like eyes. "It seemed the boss has overestimated this guy. He's as carefree as a cat." His voice was filled with disdain.
The short hair man with a thick beard replied as he chuckled coldly, "I also didn't understand why Boss is being so cautious. He's just a gunsmith with some talent. I didn't see any reason to follow him around with caution. We can just scare the poor guy and he'll sign his life story."
"I think that's the problem. Since he's talented, we can't make a move without vigilance or we might have to escape this place. Even the boss won't be able to cover for us like he always does." The long-haired man shook his head.
"Whatever, but I had to admit he's rich to live in that mansion with all those beautiful maids." He licked his lips with a lascivious expression.
"Heh, once we're done, we'll have our fun, don't worry. But yesterday there was a change in his routine. Do you find out what he did in the mercenary agency?" He questioned while his eyes were affixed on Jacob's carriage.
"Don't have any clue. He was there just for ten minutes and left. No one seemed to notice him." He said with uncertainty.
"Strange. Could he be selling his crafted weapons to the agency instead of the guild? But he didn't go back to the guild as well and returned. Now, he's moving toward the outer city. Something is strange about this." The long hair man said with suspicion.
They were following Jacob for a week now and they knew his routine. So, this was quite unusual since Jacob followed a strict routine every day.
A cold glint flashed past the beard man's eyes, "Do you think it's our chance?"
"Not sure, but you should contact the boss. We can't move carelessly. I'll follow him for now. Meet me at point three in an hour after you get our next instruction." He declared.
"Alright."
The bearded man nodded, and he jumped from the moving carriage and landed on the ground like an agile cat before he swiftly moved and vanished into the trees.
After half an hour, Jacob disembarked the carriage and left the Lionheart City on foot from the west gate, since it was closest to the Lion Forest.
The long hair man observed it from an alleyway and frowned. 'He left the city? Should I follow him or wait for Brute? I can't let him get out of my sight. I'll leave a message for him.'
When Jacob was over a mile away from the city when he suddenly vanished behind a tree.
'Where did he go?!'
He couldn't help but rub his eyes in confusion since the man was just walking a few tens of meters away from him and suddenly he vanished behind a tree like a ghost!
'Is he resting?' He thought and remain hidden.
However, an icy voice rang at this moment with a hint of mockery, "We finally met, huh?"
The long hair man suddenly jumped in horror when this voice sounded from right behind him.
However, before he could react, a powerful hand gripped his neck from behind and it was so strong he felt he was in the grip of a metal claw!
"Ah… I…" He choked under that tightening grip as he put his arm around that stony hand to escape from that grip, but alas, he was helpless.
Jacob's murderous voice rang again.
"Now, you have two choices. I can chock the lights out of you or you can tell me why you were following me around. If you chose the first option, keep struggling and if you chose the latter, then stop!"