Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Eren failed to copy Lensa's Ability for himself even after four consecutive days of "research." He could only conclude that his Sin series-based Ability was not as convenient as he wanted it to be.

He needed to build his foundation in the light element before even thinking about copying her Ability for himself. He managed to obtain and refine Lensa's elemental attainments. But it turned out that they were not enough for him. They had left some blank spots that he needed to fill in himself.

Eren was a bit annoyed but he got over it quickly. He was only trying his luck. And it was not like the Sin series Ability did not work at all. He would need to strengthen his foundation before trying his hand again.

Eren was keen to have Lensa's Ability for himself because of the potential it carried in his eyes. He believed that he could use that Ability more creatively.

While Eren was trying his luck with Lensa, Nina settled into Corvo Bianco vineyards. The valley had become an ideal space to grow ranking resources. So she got to work immediately setting up arrays and elemental pools for the varying herbs and plants growing in the valley.

Nina was soon joined by Jiana Jihang and the rest of the healers in Healers' Nirvana. The members of Healers' Nirvana were very adept at cultivating and processing resources related to healing. Eren, therefore, settled them in the valley itself.

Jiana Jihang was offered almost the same type of living arrangements as Nina on the other side of the Corvo Bianco vineyards. The kingdom-bonafide B-ranker healer was a bit hesitant about dissolving her guild into White Raven when she entered the city. But seeing the valley made all her worries vanish into thin air. She knew she could regrow the ranking resources her guild was previously famous for in this place.

Eren knew that the guild lands of Healers' Nirvana would take a while to recover from the elemental contamination RDX had caused. The contamination wasn't harmful to the environment or the human population. But mana-sensitive resources couldn't be cultivated on those lands anymore.

To rid the land of contamination, either a lot of time had to pass or external intervention had to be conducted. Eren didn't have time for any of them. He, therefore, sold most of the guild lands previously owned by Healers' Nirvana as soon as possible by having Agatha conduct an auction in Curar.

Jiana Jihang was totally against Eren's decision to sell the lands. Her emotional attachments to her previous guild lands were too strong to see the practicality of Eren's move. But fortunately or unfortunately for Jiana, her opinions couldn't influence Eren's decisions. The man did whatever suited him best.

Jiana started calling Eren a tyrant after he conducted an auction for the unusable properties and other ranking resources of Healers' Nirvana she had safeguarded from the cultists. But she and a bunch of her previous guild members were showered with rare-ranking resources suitable for them after they joined the White Raven guild. So Jiana had somewhat bittersweet feelings about him.

Still, Jiana didn't regret her decision to assimilate her guild into White Raven. Seeing him work made her realize something. She was not as proficient at leading a guild as she had thought herself to be. A leader needed to be callous about making certain decisions for the betterment of the guild as a whole-- even if it turned out that some guild members would get harmed because of them.

Interacting with Agatha reconfirmed that thought for her. At first, Jiana thought that Eren was only exaggerating when he said that Agatha was able to do a better job than her as an administrator.

When she saw the half-blood work like she always did, she realized it was the complete opposite of what she thought. Eren was still not giving Agatha as much credit as she deserved. She practically ran the whole show for him.

Jiana and all the other B-ranked entities of the White Raven guild started preparing themselves for the rank-up program under Eren's orders. They needed to make the best possible progress in their ranking journeys and elemental attainments before the war erupts. All so that they could participate in the war with an added advantage.

Eren didn't want the core members of his guild involved in the war. Especially if they were B-ranked entities. But he also knew that stopping Jiana from participating in the war would make her rebel against him.

Eren had caused the Midnight Moon to suffer a tremendous loss and shaken the general populace of Layos using a borrowed knife. But that could only make Jiana join him and not make her give up the idea of making them taste her brand of personal vengeance.

The rank-up program for the lower-ranked members of the White Raven guild was about to end. From the looks of things, there were going to be zero casualties in the first program. After all, Eren had only selected those who could handle the program in the first place.

The program for higher-ranked entities was scheduled to start shortly after that. Nina, Amory, Jiana, Levine, Zethos, and a few more rankers from Levine's faction were going to participate. If Amory made it out of the program alive, he would become a Grandmaster right away. It meant that Eren's guild would have a formidable powerhouse in its midst.

Agatha managed to attain the rank of Adept during this time. Her exceptional ranking progress was especially amazing because she did not spend much time looking after her personal growth.

There were many reasons for Agatha's growth. A combination of the high-quality resources she received, her enhanced ranking technique, her diligent work despite being busy with city-related affairs, and a bit of fine-tuning from Eren's lust-induced epiphany. They all had a hand to play.

But the biggest reason for her growth would have to be the fact that she had become self-motivated. The more she was put under pressure, the more her talent as a ranker and an administrator blossomed.