“An oath?” At that exact moment, the curiosity Aster felt towards Valyr’s current class had intensified. However, even though his curiosity wanted to know what the young man’s class was, he felt like swearing an oath was kind of pointless since there were many methods to break through them.
Then again, as he thought about how this was the only time the young man before him asked him to swear one, considering that their conversation so far had been filled with information that would leave the masses at a loss for words, Aster could not help but be inclined to do so.
“Alright, young man. I’ll swear an oath.” After a bit of silence enveloped the two, Aster eventually agreed to the request, asking Valyr as to what clauses he would have to abide by. In response, Valyr told him that he would not, under any circumstances, spread information to any other person other than Valyr regarding his current class.
Of course, Aster could not help but find it somewhat weird to swear an oath that only had one clause, a straightforward one at that. Recalling how most oaths he had to swear in the past usually had multiple meanings, as well as loopholes to them, though he could not help but find Valyr’s oath somewhat refreshing, Aster went ahead and asked him if he was certain that it was the only clause to the oath.
Nodding, Valyr replied that the statement he had told earlier was the only clause to the oath, only to add not long after that Aster should swear a mana oath, which the latter nodded in response, being used to having swear mana oaths and far worse oaths in the past.
Nevertheless, even though Aster brushed off the fact that he had to swear a mana oath, a mana oath was by no means lenient. Failure to follow the clauses of a mana oath meant that one’s mana would be stripped out of their bodies in one go, causing one to return to Rank 0 in the best case scenario, or causing one’s body to shrivel up into a dried corpse in the worst case scenario.
With that, Aster took in a deep breath before releasing a bit of mana throughout his body. After that, he manipulated the released mana to circle around his body, resonating with its surroundings as he began his oath-taking process.
“Under the witness of the omnipotent and omniscient mana, I, Aster Valerion Stelyra, hereby declare to follow the following clauses till my final breath.”
“Under any circumstances am I not allowed to disclose any information regarding the current class of Valyr Zeihardt, as well as classes and subclasses that the man might obtain in the future.”𝞸𝑣𝔩xt.𝗇𝓔t
Just as he had said the clause Valyr told him to swear by, Aster could not help but feel like the oath was lacking in substance, feeling that there were many loopholes for him to use to be able to break it. Considering how he was swearing an oath related to the person that would make or break their noble clan, he decided to add a few more clauses.
“Under any circumstances am I also not allowed to disclose any information regarding Valyr Zeihardt’s current strength, as well as any other information making up the man’s strength in the future.”
“Under any circumstances am I also not allowed to disclose any information regarding Valyr Zeihardt’s whereabouts, whether it be now or far into the future.”
“And lastly, under any circumstances am I not allowed to disclose any information regarding the conversation that I, Aster Valerion Stelyra, and Valyr Zeihardt have spoken in this location.”
Listening to the clauses that Aster had sworn by, Valyr could not help but raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity and surprise, knowing very well that he had only told the man to ensure that information regarding his current class would not be spread. However, what the man did instead was not just ensure that he wouldn’t spread information regarding his current class and future classes, he also wouldn’t spread information on his skills, his titles, and even his whereabouts.
Thankfully, it did not take long for him to figure out the reasoning behind Aster’s additional clauses, understanding it from the perspective of someone who was taking a huge risk to tell Valyr regarding the danger that would befall him in the future if he wasn’t careful. ‘With him adding those additional clauses, it would be far harder for the rebel faction to pry any information from him regarding what had transpired here today.’
Whoosh!
At the very instant he had finished going through all of the clauses making up the oath, the mana circling around Aster soon expanded before dispersing multiple motes of mana as a ray of light from who knows where shone down on him not long after.
“If I fail to follow said clauses, may the mana in my body disperse into nothingness and return to the origin.”
Whoosh!
After a slightly strong breeze blew around the vicinity of the two for quite some time, the surroundings eventually returned to how they were, with Aster looking at Valyr with a calm expression. “Well, young man, I’ve done what you told me to do. Would you now tell me what’s so unique about your class?”
In response, Valyr lightly nodded, only to have an expression of hesitation on his face before bitterly smiling. “Before I show you my class, are the noble clans the only ones taking sides regarding the problem the Zeihardt clan is currently facing, Marquis? Are there any other organizations I should take note of?”
Though he could not help but find it a tad annoying that Valyr only decided to ask the question now, Aster took in a deep breath to calm himself down before nodding. “The noble clans aren’t the only ones who have chosen to take sides. The class guilds have also decided to take sides as well.”
“For reference, the Blacksmith, Tailor, Alchemist, and Sage Guilds, the four most renowned production class guilds, have taken the side of the supportive faction. As for production class guilds that have taken the side of the rebel faction, the Enchanter and Lapidarist Guild are the only ones that I know of.”
“For combat class guilds, five out of the six most renowned class guilds have chosen to take the side of the supportive faction, with only the Assassin Guild being the only class guild among the six to have taken the side of the rebel faction.”
“Naturally, more class guilds exist aside from the ones I’ve mentioned, but a great portion of them are still neutral.” Seeing that Valyr nodded in response to his explanation, Aster went ahead and returned the topic of their conversation to what it previously was.
“Now, would it be possible to see your current class, Valyr?”
Taking in a deep breath, Valyr lightly nodded before commanding the system to show his status screen, omitting most of the information that was in it. Leaving only his name, level, and current class behind, he turned the screen that had appeared in front of him around for Aster to see, prompting the latter to take a closer look as he soon looked at Valyr with incredulity.
“This is…”