"An oath?" At that exact moment, the curiosity Aster felt towards Valyr''s current ss had intensified. However, even though his curiosity wanted to know what the young man''s ss 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 uses 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 ss.


    Of course, Aster could not help but find it somewhat weird to swear an oath that only had one use, 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 use to the oath.


    Nodding, Valyr replied that the statement he had told earlier was the only use to the oath, only to add not long after that Aster should swear a mana oath, which thetter 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 uses 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 manipted 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 dere to follow the following uses till my final breath."


    "Under any circumstances am I not allowed to disclose any information regarding the current ss of Valyr Zeihardt, as well as sses and subsses that the man might obtain in the future."


    Just as he had said the use Valyr told him to swear by, Aster could not help but feel like the oath wascking 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 rted to the person that would make or break their noble n, he decided to add a few more uses.


    "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."


    "Andstly, 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 uses 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 ss would not be spread. However, what the man did instead was not just ensure that he wouldn''t spread information regarding his current ss and future sses, 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 uses, 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 uses, 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 uses 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 uses, 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 ss?"


    In response, Valyr lightly nodded, only to have an expression of hesitation on his face before bitterly smiling. "Before I show you my ss, are the noble ns the only ones taking sides regarding the problem the Zeihardt n 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 ns aren''t the only ones who have chosen to take sides. The ss guilds have also decided to take sides as well."


    "For reference, the cksmith, Tailor, Alchemist, and Sage Guilds, the four most renowned production ss guilds, have taken the side of the supportive faction. As for production ss guilds that have taken the side of the rebel faction, the Enchanter and Lapidarist Guild are the only ones that I know of."


    "Forbat ss guilds, five out of the six most renowned ss guilds have chosen to take the side of the supportive faction, with only the Assassin Guild being the only ss guild among the six to have taken the side of the rebel faction."


    "Naturally, more ss 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 exnation, Aster went ahead and returned the topic of their conversation to what it previously was.


    "Now, would it be possible to see your current ss, Valyr?"


    Taking in a deep breath, Valyr lightly nodded beforemanding the system to show his status screen, omitting most of the information that was in it. Leaving only his name, level, and current ss behind, he turned the screen that had appeared in front of him around for Aster to see, prompting thetter to take a closer look as he soon looked at Valyr with incredulity.


    "This is…"