When Roland was lost in thoughts, Garcia could not wait any more and asked, "I've answered your question. Now, I want to hear your answer."

It took him a few seconds before he made a reply, "Ah, yes, I'll join the a.s.sociation."

"What?" She seemed surprised.

He spread out his hands and said, "I'm willing to join you. Isn't that what you're asking for?"

"Yes... I was just thinking that you..."

"You thought I got cold feet?" He chuckled. "I really just went shopping with my relative in the afternoon. Why can't you trust me? But can I apply to join the a.s.sociation now? You said that the senior is the referee."

Garcia stared at Roland for quite a long time with a serious look, as if she was discerning whether or not this application was sincerely meant. After that she shook her head and explained, "No, she's not a referee. She's my master. I invited her to come to show you how to better use the Force of Nature, but she'll never want to meet you again."

Hearing this, Roland thought,

"Uhm, is it because that I stood her up today? She must have been very upset and it seemed that she even reproached Garcia."

She pulled out a piece of paper from her tea table and gave it to him. "You just need to fill out this form to apply. Your signature is required."

Roland was startled. "Is it so simple? It's an a.s.sociation secretly protecting the whole world. Don't you need to hold a ceremony or test my ability first?

Garcia sneered coldly. "Come on. Do you think we are the ancient Priory of Sion or Knights of the Holy Temple? It's modern times now. Your signature just indicates that we protect your right to know. When the a.s.sociation receives your application form, it'll check your ident.i.ty and file for social security and grants in your name." She paused. "As for the ability test, anyone who has awakened with the Force of Nature is eligible to become a martialist. You can get much stronger if you work hard. Given this, a test for a newly awakened doesn't determine anything."

Roland felt it was really weird to hear a person brought up in an ancient royal family to talk like this.

When he picked up the pen and was about to sign, she stopped him.

She said solemnly, "I have to remind you again. Once you become one of us, you'll no longer be an ordinary person. You'll enjoy the rights granted by the Martialist a.s.sociation and meanwhile have to fulfill your obligations. If you betray us or disclose our secret information, you'll immediately become our enemy. When that happens, we won't bring you to a court. We're allowed to punish any betrayer according to our own procedure. I hope you think it over before you sign."

She had fervently hoped that he could join the a.s.sociation, but now she was reminding him of the risks of joining it. This changed his att.i.tude toward her. He found Garcia in this Dream World was totally different. No matter how devious and cruel the Queen of Clearwater had been back in the Kingdom of Graycastle, she handled everything open and aboveboard in this world.

"I know what I'm doing." Roland nodded and signed his name. "Now, can you tell me the truth about the Erosion?"

"No." She folded the application form carefully and put it in a wooden box under the tea table. "It'll take about two days to verify your ident.i.ty. You just filed an application. You're not an official member of the a.s.sociation, so I can't tell you anything about it."

"Well... then I've another question. You said that a martialist could get a generous reward by killing a Fallen Evil. Is that true?"

"I've clearly explained this to you before," said Garcia, seeming a little disappointed hearing this question about pecuniary returns.

"I'm not asking about how much the reward is. I just want to know how can the a.s.sociation check that I'm the one who killed the Fallen Evil." Roland shrugged. "During a mission, I guess I won't be able to fight against a Fallen Evil while recording the whole process with a camera by myself. Do I have to invite another martialist to witness the fight? Or, you guys adopt the ancient way, counting the heads I bring back?"

Garcia got grumpy and said, "Is money that important to you? No matter who kills a Fallen Evil, the world will end up being clearer. Why do you square accounts in every detail and are so particular about personal gains?"

Roland argued, "You're a well-known martialist whose reward for winning a match is equivalent to a common person's yearly income, but just two months ago, I was still a jobless guy. I have to take care of myself and the little girl. You're right. Money is very important to me!"

He deliberately made use of her misunderstanding to delude her into believing this lie. After all, he just wanted to find out the cause of the Erosion through the Martialist a.s.sociation rather than devote himself to the a.s.sociation.

Besides, money was indeed very important to him.

Garcia stared at him for a moment, still seeming a little annoyed and then said, "To prove that you've killed a Fallen Evil, you just need to give its mutated Natural Core to the a.s.sociation."

"I can hand this thing over to the a.s.sociation?" Roland was slightly surprised. Now he thought that it might not be an accident that the core of the Fallen Evil who had awakened in the McDonald's had remained solid in Phyllis' hand.

"Of course. It's the source of the Fallen Evil's power. Once a mutation occurs, it'll never recover. It can prove the Fallen Evil is eroded. If we don't collect these mutated cores and lock them away, they'll infect other people sooner or later. Ordinary people will lose their minds simply by touching it."

"You mean... a mutated core can be used by different people?"

Garcia said with resentment, "Yes, that's why some people are collecting them. We know exactly what they're thinking. Don't they worry that they'll destroy our world by doing so?"

Hearing this, Roland immediately realized that another group of people were organized to collect the mutated cores and act against the Martialist a.s.sociation. Garcia who had just let this information slip in a fit of anger was reluctant to divulge any more details about those people.

"But the a.s.sociation must have stored a great number of mutated cores. Aren't you afraid that they'll find the location of the cores or some martialist will betray and leak the secret to them—"

"It's impossible!" She interrupted without hesitation. "Although you're not allowed to know these things at this moment, I can a.s.sure you that those crazy guys will never break through the defense line guarding the core area of the Martialist a.s.sociation. Before they get to the place, the four Defenders will tear them into pieces!"

He really wanted to ask her where this core area was and who the four Defenders were, but he knew for sure that he could not get the answers from her today. Given this, he suppressed his curiosity and thought to himself.

What if I get into the place where those mutated cores are stored and release all of their Force of Nature into the air. When that happens, what'll happen to this Dream World and to myself? How strong will my power and the warm flow circulating in my body become?

No matter what'll happen at that time, I really look forward to it.