"How did you all do it?" asked Benedict and the rest of the representatives of the Dvalinn Federation to the 69th Battalion, wanting to know how they managed to evolve their Avatars.
As part of the families who influenced the entire world, they were aware of Avatar Evolutions.
So, they also knew that certain conditions must be met for a monster to evolve.
This knowledge was a closely guarded secret by the Monarch Clans and the Ten Prestigious Families, who had cracked the method of evolving a few monsters.
The only problem was that they had only managed to make these handfuls of Monsters turn into Alpha Monsters.
If they could find a way how to turn them into Sovereigns, then their value would rise drastically.
"I-I don't know," Pietro stuttered, feeling pressured by the Champions who were looking at his Rank 4 Blaze Skunk, who was also looking back at them with the "What do you think old foxes are doing to my bro, Pietro?" glare.
"You must have done something," Harvey said calmly. "Don't worry. We promise that we will compensate you greatly for the information. If you wish, I can even put a word to my Patriarch and make you a retainer of the Elrod Clan. What do you say?"
Harvey didn't even bat an eye when he asked that, even though Thirteen was sitting not far from them and munching on some potato chips.
The teenage boy was laughing in his heart as he watched the retainers of the Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families interrogate—errr, interview his soldiers and bribe them with great rewards for any information that they could give them.
The other Wanderers, who belonged to the Dvalinn Federation and had become friends with the 69th Battalion, were also asking them these questions.
They were hoping that they would be able to contribute to their families, allowing them to be rewarded as well.
Unfortunately, even the spies who had gone to great lengths and paid their way to join the 69th Battalion were clueless about how their Avatars evolved.
If they knew how it happened, they would not hesitate to report to their employers in order to receive not only praise but also hefty rewards.
Seeing that the soldiers were also confused about how their Avatars evolved, the representatives of the different families shifted their attention to the boy who was laxly drinking soda and eating potato chips with his pet snake, Tiona.
"Ahem, Zion. Good weather we are having today, eh?" Benedict smiled as he sat beside the boy.
Thirteen then glanced at the dark sky above his head, which was a sign that it would be raining soon.
"Yep," Thirteen replied. "The weather is nice."
As if waiting for that moment, the sound of thunder roared in the heavens, making Benedict cough lightly.
"How did you do it?" Benedict inquired.
"Do what?" Thirteen blinked innocently.
"How did you make the avatars evolve?"
"Feed them well, train them well, and let them fight monsters for experience points? You know, just like those popular games on how you make monsters stronger."
Benedict was very tempted to spit on the boy's face, but he refrained from doing it. He forced himself to smile like a wise adult who was about to trick a kid into spilling his deepest darkest secrets.
"Come on, Zion." Benedict patted the boy's shoulder. "Talk to your Uncle Benedict. I'm sure we can negotiate."
Thirteen chuckled. "Uncle, I don't really know. I was just observing from the rear and giving orders. However, I understand that you are surprised just as I am when the Avatars evolved.
"I mean, if I were a member of a Prestigious Family, I would definitely keep this a secret, right?"
Michael, who was standing several meters away from Thirteen, fixed the glasses on his face.
Just like the representatives of the Dvalinn Federation, he wanted to ask his nephew about how the Avatars of his subordinates evolved.
He had known his nephew long enough to understand that many weird things happen whenever he was involved in something.
If Zion were to tell him that he didn't know how the Avatars evolved, Michael would drag him to an empty room and negotiate with him, just like what Benedict was doing right now.
The other representatives also asked Michael in a subtle way if he knew what was happening.
However, he only smiled, not saying anything but implying that he knew about it, even though he didn't.
Suddenly, the representatives had a breakthrough.
They simply narrowed out their questions to "What do you usually do with your Avatar when you summon them?"
After matching the answers from the Wanderers, they noticed a pattern.
The members of the 69th Battalion were feeding their Avatars even though they didn't need to eat anything!
Also, the food they were giving them was the same.
When Jordan Nightshade asked the Wanderers to show him the "Pet Food" that he was feeding his Night Wolf, the boy showed him the one that Thirteen provided for them.
The representatives of the Dvalinn Federation looked at the package with a picture of Zion, smiling and giving a thumbs up.
"Leventis Corn Avatar Food," Jordan said as he read the label on the package. "No MSG added. Guaranteed to make your Avatar and Zion Leventis' Bank Account happy.
"P.S. There is a one in a million chance that your Avatar will evolve if they eat this pet food."
Jordan and the other representatives once again shifted their direction to Thirteen, who now had his own Leventis Corn in his hand and was feeding Tiona with it.
Sensing the many gazes around him, Thirteen smiled and glanced in this direction.
"I forgot to say that I am also the CEO of Leventis Corn," Thirteen said. "I accept bulk orders. No friend, family, or acquaintance discount. Also, it's not buy one take one. No refunds."
"Zion, I'll buy every pet food that you have, right now," Benedict declared. "No matter how many it is, I'll take it all!"
"Don't be hasty, Benedict," Harvey said. "How about we divide Zion's stock of pet food between all of us? I'm sure that there's a lot to go around, right?"
"… Fine." Benedict knew that he couldn't monopolize such a good thing, so he agreed to compromise.
Thirteen laughed internally because he was using this as propaganda to boost his private business.
What the Dvalinn Federation didn't know was that for every one million packs of pet food that he was planning to sell, there would be one pack that could actually make an Avatar evolve.
This would make them more eager to buy his product, making him richer.
Thirteen knew that there was no way that the Dvalinn Federation would let such an important event slide.
If they really find a way to make Avatars evolve, then it would revitalize the Avatar Industry.
Of course, the teenage boy had no plans to let the other families know this secret.
Even if they took a sample of the food that the Wanderers were feeding their Avatars and had it sent to their lab for research, they wouldn't find anything.
Why? Because only the first batch of pet food that Thirteen gave them had that ability.
Right now, the Wanderers were using his third batch of pet food, so even if they took it as a sample, they wouldn't find anything special aside from the ingredients used to create the pet food that Zion was planning to sell en masse.
His mother, Alessia, and his Father, Gerald, were now undergoing the final stages of their craft.
Because of this, they would need massive resources.
The Empyrium and the Palladium would give them a lot of money, but Thirteen had no plans to sell them.
No.
He was planning to use the Empyrium for his Project Nautilus and Project Apocalypse.
Because of this, he needed a new source of income. And what better way than to sell Avatar food that had a one-in-a-million chance to make an Avatar evolve?
Thirteen could already imagine his product being sold like hotcakes, which would earn him billions of gold coins in just a span of a day.
Of course, the ones who would buy them in bulk were none other than the Dvalinn Federation, who was trying to negotiate with Thirteen to give them a steady supply of pet food before the other Monarch Clans and the other Prestigious Families.
In short, they wanted to monopolize this amazing product, and Thirteen was more than happy to sell it to them with benefits and conditions attached.
Michael watched as his nephew got surrounded by lions, hyenas, and foxes, who were trying to outbid each other in order to gain a higher percentage of the products that Thirteen was going to sell.
Deep in his heart, Michael almost pitied them, knowing that they were being deceived by the teenage boy, who was making the Champions and Monarchs dance on the palm of his hand.