Amir didn't want the Dark Faction to be the same as before, where an alliance of clans with the strongest on top controlled everything.
No, for the Bonum Society to achieve what they needed and to freely pursue the Golden Globe, they needed absolute control.
With everything that had occurred, including the fact that an outsider clan, which they believed was the descendant of the Noctis Clan, was taking charge, it felt almost like a new king had been elected, and that was the perfect time to be showered with gifts.
Amir had asked Ricktor, a member of the Erupting Fist Clan, to lead Raze back onto the stage, where there was suddenly a seat.
Raze hadn't even noticed when it had been placed there. Ricktor gestured for Raze to sit down, which he obliged, even though he was finding the whole situation extremely weird.
'Just what are these people up to, and what did he mean by a gifting ceremony?'
"Since there is no longer anyone who disagrees with the fact that Raze Cromwell, the Dark Magus and White Dragon, is the leader of the Dark Faction, we will now conduct a ceremony."
"All of you, in an hour's time, may come back one by one and greet the new leader."
Hearing these words, Raze could see it on the faces of those below. Some of them were gulping, frightened, and they didn't hesitate to leave the courtyard, rushing off.
"Hey, will this be okay, just letting them all go like that? What if they come back with armies or something to try and take over?" Safa asked.
"I doubt that would happen," Anna said. "Raze showed enough strength, and so did all of you. Right now, it's the opposite. The reason they are so nervous is that they want to do their best to get on Raze's good side."
Time was insignificant to many Pagna warriors. After all, even reaching the high levels of the initial stage meant they could live past the age of 100.
The only question was whether their life as a Pagna warrior would mean they would get to live that long.
The wait for everyone to return felt relatively short as the members were able to stand there cultivating, and growing the power their dantian could hold—a second was never wasted by any of them.
"So what am I meant to do with these gifts they bring back?" Raze asked, following along with why Amir had said what he did.
"What do you mean? They're gifts for you," Amir replied. "You are free to use them however you like. I'm sure you'll find some of them quite useful."
Raze then turned to look at the others, and when he opened his mouth, Alba already stopped him.
"There's no need to share them with us," Alba said. "Those gifts are for the Dark Faction leader. This is one of the privileges for you, and you need to use them to get stronger.
"Besides, we already got our fair share of items when we raided these clans in the first place."
"Yeah, if anything, we got first pick," Liam said, with some of the others giving him stares. They didn't want Raze to think he was getting the second pick of items.
But from many of the clans, that would be the case.
Eventually, the clans started to return one by one, along with the merchants and those who ruled the various kingdoms.
Coming back, they hadn't done so empty-handed. There were those coming with items wrapped in cloth, some in the back of carriages, and others in crates.
After all of them had returned, Amir gestured for them to come up to the stage one by one, handing over a gift.
The first item gifted to Raze was from one of the biggest kingdoms that ruled over the Dark Faction.
The man didn't seem to have much but a piece of paper. He went down on one knee and handed it over to Raze.
"That's the king's seal," Amir said.
Breaking it, Raze went ahead to read the details.
"Yes, we give permission for the Dark Faction leader to use the portals that cover our land any way they see fit."
"The agreements we already have with the other clans have been extended to you, and even more so, you will be given priority over all."
For a first gift, this was a lot better than Raze thought. Accessing the portals to other dimensions meant he would have a chance to gain valuable strong crystals, not just for him, but for his allies as well.
As the man left the stage, the gifts continued, ranging from special artifacts that looked quite fancy but, when Raze tested them with his magic, weren't too special or were more lacking than his newly crafted Ghost Blade.
Some items he had gained were great treasures that could be sold for a large sum, which would help him fund a number of places.
Then there were things that started to catch his eye. One was a high-graded sword that gleamed in a blue color. It had feathers attached to the bottom of it and was incredibly light.
It had the name the Falcon Blade. Right now, it couldn't do much, but Raze could already imagine its power as he would be able to enchant it.
He had broken many of his older enchanted weapons that were unable to handle his power, so this certainly would come in handy.
Another set of items that excited him were the large number of different techniques he was able to examine.
In his fights, more than anything, Raze was lacking foot techniques, and he had gained a large number to choose from.
'With these techniques, I want to try and combine some of them with magic, to do the same as what he was able to do.'
It was then when another merchant arrived, displaying something to Raze that made his eyes glow.
He saw it in the merchant's hand, and immediately he could feel his heart pounding.
"Yes, this is it! This is exactly the type of thing I needed!" Raze said.
It was the first item that made him speak out loud.