Chapter 28: The Path to Leave Rustfall Begins
Just like the usual, Manager Drex arrived at Kael's home after he was finished with his duty at the Nexus outpost. He might have a single break every day, but that only gave him a brief moment. That wouldn't be enough to attend to important matters.
"Here," Manager Drex handed Kael the new revised contract.
Kael accepted the contract and started reading its content.
As expected, his request had now replaced the original part where only Manager Drex was going to be the sole distributor for the knockoff Health Potion. The latter would still be the sole distributor, but only in the world of Noverra. On Avalon, the Cabal of Cards, which they finally started using, will have the right to decide who will become a distributor.
However, there was a line that specifically states they could only have a total of six distributors in Avalon, which means one for each of the six kingdoms in the Regalorn continent.
"This is fine with me," Kael doesn't see any problem with that. He already knows there's only a total of six kingdoms in Avalon. There might be three continents, but the Magical Beasts rule the other two continents.
With that being said, Kael finally signed the paper.
Manager Drex brought two contracts with him this time. One will be kept by him, while the other will be kept by Kael. These contracts will mark the start of their business cooperation.
"Give him the rest of the knockoff Health Potions," Kael signaled for Lawrence to bring everything.
Not long after, Lawrence returned with a few bags, each filled with the knockoff Health Potions.
"Other than the one I left to you, there's a total of ninety-eight knockoff Helth Potions in those bags," Kael motioned his hand to hand over the bags to Manager Drex.
"If I knew you were going to give me this many, I would have brought along a few men with me," Manager Drex sighs heavily.
"That's exactly why I didn't," Kael smiled. If he had told Manager Drex the quantity of knockoff Health Potion they have, he would have given the latter the exact reason to bring people with him. He doesn't want that because he still doesn't fully trust Manager Drex.
One's past doesn't necessarily determine a person's identity. Some people might encounter a bad experience, but it doesn't necessarily warrant a reason for them to change. Needless to say, some people do still change. But there's still the question of whether they changed for the better or the worse.
As long as he hasn't confirmed that yet about Manager Drex, then he'll always continue to be suspicious of the latter.
"Not a big matter," Manager Drex took out his phone and started calling a few of his men to come and pick up some important items with him.
"Do you trust those people?" Kael couldn't help but inquire.
"They're all from Rustfall that I specifically handpicked," Manager Drex assured. He naturally knows that he can't bring people who are loyal to Nexus with him. After all, they don't want the topic about the knockoff Health Potion to reach Nexus' ears yet. They still have to make preparations to cover their tracks first before they start doing that.
Not long after, a few men wearing masks arrived at Kael's doorstep.
Manager Drex quickly started directing orders, and in only a few minutes, they had already finished bringing out all the bags of knockoff Health Potion with them.
Seeing that everything is finished, Manager Drex handed Kael a single bank card with a huge label Nexus on top.
It was a Nexus Bank Card, which served a dual purpose by functioning as both a debit card and a credit card at the same time.
"I've already deposited the payment inside that bank card, which I've also registered under your name," Manager Drex explained. "I can't give you an exact number yet for the value of these knockoff Health Potions, so I took the liberty of depositing one million Novarian Dollars. I'll increase the payment after we finish analyzing the final market value."
"That's fine!" Kael wasn't worried that Manager Drex would trick him with money. After all, Nexus is loaded with cash. And seeing him still suspicious, the latter ought not to do foolish actions if he hopes to gain his trust.
"I'll see you when the next batch is ready." Manager Drex bid farewell.
As soon as Manager Drex and his group left, Lawrence and Jayem immediately started expressing their joy.
"That's right! We are rich!" Lawrence cheered as he started kissing the bank card.
"I know we made the right choice last time," Jayem said, feeling proud of his decision.
"Your choice? It was mine!" Lawrence corrected.
"Is that so?" Jayem didn't bother insisting.
"Yeah!" Lawrence repeatedly nodded. "Anyway, where can we withdraw the cash?"
"There are only a few places that can protect an ATM in Rustfall," Kael found it funny. Because one of those places was the Nexus outpost.
Manager Drex definitely did it on purpose, not only so that he could monitor them, but also to make sure they're safe.
Lawrence and Jayem immediately understood Kael's point. If they want to withdraw to a safe area, they'll have no choice but to go to the Nexus outpost. While they could still do it from another well-known establishment in Rustfall, it carries a lot of risk since those people would definitely feel suspicious of how they got a bank card when there's no bank on this continent. Not to mention, a Nexus Bank Card.
"Did he just trick us?" Lawrence felt furious.
"I doubt that," Jayem refuted. "I think he only did that to remind us that we have to start preparing to get out of this God-forsaken continent,"
"That's right!" Kael also agrees.
The moment they brought the knockoff Health Potion to the table, it already expressed their clear desire to get out of Rustfall. Manager Drex understood that point, and he also shared a similar belief with them.
Kael and his group no longer belong in Rustfall.
While Rustfall might be their home and a place that carries countless memories, it's about time they start thinking of leaving this place and start a new life on the other four continents.
A mark of a new beginning.
"Is that why he gave us a lot of money even though he doesn't know yet the value of those potions?"
"It seems so," Kael knew that even though those potions are only slightly worse than the original Health Potion, it would still take a long time before they start getting popular in the market. Meaning, they'll have to take a lot of losses first before they can start earning. And those ninety-nine potions would certainly not be enough to cover the market and gain recognition.
Moreover, their progress would depend entirely on how much he could produce. If he starts slacking, then Manager Drex's plan would get delayed.
Lastly, Manager Drex didn't mention handling fees and taxes, which means the money came personally from his pocket, not Nexus, showing that he is serious about this matter and he is willing to risk everything for their goal.
In his opinion, it would probably take a month or so before Manager Drex could recover the one million Novarian Dollars he had given them.
"I believe it only requires one hundred thousand Novarian Dollars to buy a one-way ticket to the other four continents," Jayem interrupted.
"That might be true," Lawrence shook his head. "But we also have to take into consideration that the majority of those people who claim to have the means to take us out of Rustfall all have a hidden agenda in mind,"
Over the years, the two of them have tried multiple channels to get out of Rustfall, including traveling via ocean or air. And since they're still here, that means all those attempts failed.
Naturally, some people succeeded in escaping Rustfall, but there are rumors that those people have most probably become slaves for the organization that they paid to escape or were killed by that same group. They even saw someone who escaped come back to Rustfall a few years later as a member of the very same gang that they supposedly paid to escape. Meaning, he is now working for them.
"Why not just ask Manager Drex?" Jayem believes that Manager Drex could help them.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Kael rejected the idea. "Once the potions become popular in the market, no matter how hard Manager Drex tries to cover his tracks, Nexus would eventually discover that he is the one distributing all those potions. The moment they start investigating, the fact that he helped a group escape Rustfall using the channel of Nexus will be revealed."
Nexus won't be an organization that governs Noverra if they got fooled and believed Manager Drex simply had a big heart and decided to help a group of people escape Rustfall. Not to mention, the latter is still in contact with that same group after escaping the continent.
"Not a big deal, I know someone who could help us escape Rustfall."
Kael long already had a plan of who to approach once they had sufficient money to leave Rustfall. After all, he escaped this God-forsaken continent in his first life.
Unfortunately, that person demands a lot of money if one uses their channel to escape Rustfall. To be exact, his asking price is one million Novarian Dollars per person.