During the Dark Ages

Soon the Dunamis family members gathered outside in the courtyard with tired yawns and groans along with the Bartus guild. Colin looked at everyone, and he noticed that the Daimonis looked the least tired out of everyone. But he preferred not to think of the reason. The Bartus guild seemed eager to get down to business, after the breakfast yesterday, they were eager to see what else humans had to offer.

[Melissa, how are our food supplies looking?] Colin asked

[Terrible, we used up all our rice, flour and meat supplies yesterday with only some of the seasonings left.] Melissa replied

[Alright, thank you for the update.] Colin said

"Alright everyone, I know that some of you are still tired, but we have work to do. We need to gather supplies, namely food, water and cursed ores. I'm gonna split you up in different teams, one for hunting, another for gathering water, a team to get the hotel generators up and running and lastly, I'm gonna need a team to survey and repair the damages within the town as well as gather any supplies usable. Do you understand?" Colin said and everyone nodded their heads

"For the hunting team, I'm gonna put Paul incharge. I'll also request that Bartus send a tier four along with them." Colin said and looked over at Bartus

"That won't be a problem." Bartus replied

"As for gathering water, I'll put-" Colin said, but before he could announce who he was putting incharge, Melissa raised her hand.

"I think I'll take charge of that group. While we are at it, I think we should gather some herbs and edible mushrooms as well. We can use them for seasonings." She said

"Alright then, there is a river to the east, close to the mountains not too far from the town. Be careful, their should be beasts roaming near there." Colin said

"Aiyai captain." Melissa said with a smile and Colin smiled back

"Next, I'm gonna need to ask if anyone knows anything about electrical engineering because I certainly don't." Colin said and five small hands went up amongst the crowd, which Colin recognized as five of his leprechauns as well as a few werewolves.

"Perfect, then you eleven will try and fix the generators along Bartus. Oh and bring Thera along, she might be of some help." Colin said, pointing out a Daimoni within the crowd. By now, Colin had already learned most of their names and faces as well as their abilities. The reason he picked her out was because she possessed [Lightning Affinity].

"And lastly, for the survey and supplies gathering, I'll put Leia incharge. Along with her, I want anyone with [Earth Affinity] as well as the remaining Leprechauns. Any questions?" Colin said and Leia raised her hand

"You said we needed cursed ores as well, how exactly are we gonna find those?" Leia asked, a little bit concerned, she knew just how important they were and she knew that without them, they wouldn't be able to create powerful weapons and equipments.

"Cursed ores form in places with high concentration of demonic energy and rocky formations. So that huge mountain over there is our best bet." Bartus answered her while pointing towards the east, where the Mullvad mountain range, so named because they were inhabited by a large number of moles.

"It is also likely that the mountain is crawling with demonic beasts by now, so it would be best if I headed inside alone and survey the area alone for now. Once I'm done, we can start mining the cursed ores." Colin said and Leia sighed

"Be careful." Leia said

"Alright everyone, team leaders, choose your members." Colin said and everyone immediately became busy choosing who to have on their team. As expected, Paul started off by recruiting the werewolves since they were the best at hunting.

"Colin, let's talk for a bit." Bartus said

"Sure." He replied

"I looked at the Mind Crab's soul crystal, and I have to say....it was very foolish of you to take on that creature. Even though I wasn't there, I can tell that the battle was hard, and you barely survived. You probably wouldn't have if this thing was near water." Bartus said

"You could tell all that just by looking at it, huh." Colin said

"Yes, which is why I think you should let me hang on to it for now." Bartus said

"Why is that?" Colin said and his eyes narrowed dangerously

"I don't think this will be suitable for creating a weapon, but rather an item. Based on the description I've seen, I think I can make an item that allows you to manipulate water, as well as sea creature. To a limited degree of course and a very high price." Bartus said with a smile

"Oh, and how much exactly would it cost?" Colin asked curiously

"Oh nothing much, just the right to sell some of your human inventions." Bartus said and Colin understood what Bartus was saying

"No thanks." He replied, Bartus was suggesting that he allow him to sell their food as well as anything else they had....without sharing the profits with him and his family. Based on their reaction the previous day and what he knew about the underworld, his guild could make a huge profit from selling their food, much less everything else that humans have. And Colin needed that kind of profit if his family was gonna grow, and he wasn't in a position where he could take a loss. Since he would be the one providing the recipes and the raw materials.

"Fine, we can share the profits 50-50." Bartus said

"I was thinking, 80-20." Colin said and Bartus was instantly furious

"No fucking way. 65-35." Bartus said, fuming at the thought of getting such a low amount of such a large profit.

"Look, my family has all the recipes, the raw materials and all the knowledge pertaining to Earth technology and cuisine. And we are also the ones that will have to teach you how to create and store these things. So we are the ones doing most of the work. But, for the sake of fairness, I'm willing to split the profits 75-25. If not, I'm sure I can ask Lily to help me find another guild to do business with, after all, that's not against our existing contract, is it?" Colin said with a serious look on his face and a demon like smile, causing Bartus to grit his teeth in rage.

"Fine." He huffed before creating a contract

[Bartus Guild Business Partnership Contract]

> You agree to share your knowledge of profitable Earth products to the Bartus guild.

> Profits earned by the Bartus guild from selling Earth products will be split 75%-25%. (House of Weakness 75%- Bartus Guild 25%)

> You agree to not form another partnership contract for these products with another guild.

>You agree to aid the Bartus guild in the creation of these products as much as possible.(As long as it does not obstruct regular activities.)

> In exchange for signing this contract, the Bartus will create an item using the Mind Crab soul crystal.]

There were a few tweaks to the contract, but that is what it looked like when it was finalized and Colin happily signed the contract while Bartus sulked a bit. But Colin had a feeling he wouldn't be sulking much longer when he saw what Earth had to offer.