Capítulo 10: Chapter 10
When the rest day finally came around, I visited the Fenlai city branch of the Dawson Conglomerate with Yale and Uncle Hillman whom I had asked to wait in the city. There was not much waiting around at the reception of the building and we were ushered straight to the top floor where a tall, bald and very fat man warmly welcomed us to take a seat on the couches around a coffee table. The man introduced himself as Monroe Dawson, Yale's father and head honcho of the Dawson Conglomerate.
"I must say I was quite surprised when Yale came to me with your request Linley. I may call you Linley, right?" Monroe asks me in a jovial tone.
"That is alright Mr. Monroe, Boss Yale and I are close friends after all." I agree to let him call me just Linley as I want to make a good impression.
"Haha, good good, and please just call me Uncle Monroe, since as you've said my son is good friends with you." He responds before continuing. "As to your request itself, we have a caravan set to leave from Fenlai to Channe in 2 months already. It would not be too much trouble to have say a couple dozen or so more people along with their goods be added to the convoy."
"Thank you very much Uncle Monroe." I respond before listening to more details along with Uncle Hillman. In the end most of the details are ironed out and Monroe assures me that I or Uncle Hillman can come to their Fenlai branch any time before the set dates of departure for any clarifications or requests.
"There is one more thing I would like to request of you Uncle Dawson, I don't know if it's alright but I would like to accompany the caravan up to the border of the Holy Union at least. I would also like to have a stopover at a couple of places if you allow me to join the convoy, it will be locations along the way so we don't have to take any detours from the main roads." I ask as an afterthought.
I made this request after much consideration as I figured I could use this chance to make contact with the Hyde clan in the northern region of the Kingdom of Hanmu as well as to meet the siblings Jenne and Keane who should have settled close to the north eastern borders of the Holy Union. The Hyde clan was the clan of the Violetflame warriors of the 4 supreme warriors and the later duo were members of my own clan, I just hoped their mother was still alive and hadn't already passed or something.
"Hmm, that is an odd request but I may be able to arrange it on my side but will you be able to make time to journey with us Linley. The journey will be long and may take up three months at the minimum, I doubt the Ernst Institute will allow you skip attending for that long." Monroe voices his doubts.
"It will be fine Uncle Monroe, as long as I say I have accepted an escort mission personally from you it would count as me filling the assignment quota for mid-level magi by the Institute." I tell him. I already had plans to advance to the 4th grade classes soon seeing as I had broken through to 8th rank magus at the start of the year. My special training as well as the regular boost of absorbing the refined Soul energy I had stored in the CD ring ensured my progress being fast and smooth.
"Oh, then you are already meet the qualification for promotion? That is incredible, Yale has been telling me how strong and talented you are and that you have been helping him. I am very grateful for what you have done for my son Linley and I will be happy to have you as part of the escort for our caravan." He responds positively. He already had some idea of my strength but was unsure of my exact rank though as Yale had never shared it per my request. Regardless, he was very grateful for the help I had given Yale and he had a better idea of his son's strength which he was very proud of, so this small request of mine was readily accepted.
We spent a moment longer finalising some paper work as well as reconfirming the dates and route of the convoy. It was nearing mid-day when we finished and at the insistence of Monroe, we agreed to join him and Yale for lunch before departing.
I did not waste much time after returning to the institute and immediately applied for promotion into the next grade. It came as quite a shock to some people as now besides Dixie I was the youngest among the 4th Graders. While everyone in my group could also easily take the test and advance as well, they chose to remain in their current grades to not attract more attention as well as to further put off needing to accept assignments to venture outside. They were still too young (Most of them are still around 12) lacked experience a bit and we had all decided to wait at least 2 years before we take up any assignments. I kind of needed to complete some work outside though so I made use of this opportunity even if I could wait 4 years before I had to fill the institute's quota.
While the fuss from my promotion still hadn't died down, I quickly applied for an outside assignment with the institute's management by showing them the documents Monroe had given me. There was some more shock at that as people thought that it was still too soon for me to apply but I didn't care. Once all the paper work was sorted I set about to prepare a few things for the journey, I had a new updated journal I wanted Uncle Hillman to hand over to Wharton when he meets him.
I had also procured the materials needed to create memory crystal balls, with me advancing to rank 8 as a magus I could use the water style spell Floating Scryer Technique to create memory crystal balls now. Memory crystal balls were considered luxury goods as any mage could use them to store and play scenes like a video recorder. They had decent storage capacity as well with each memory crystal ball being able to store 30 minutes of footage so I decided to record some of my training and sparring sessions for Wharton to study.
Grandpa Hiri's most recent letter back was a bit worrying as just as I had feared, Wharton was starting to neglect his spiritual power training. He was falling into the same pitfalls as everyone else regarding their training and I would not stand for it, especially after my most recent discoveries. I had recently found out that in order to achieve the Impose level or 3rd stage of combat as I was calling it, one must have high spiritual power. It must be equivalent to around the average 8th rank mage's level or they will simply not have the mental strength to pull off this technique. No wonder even my Saint level ancestors only attained this level much later in their Sainthood, they trained almost exclusively as warriors and it took their spiritual energy years- close to a century- to reach this level naturally.
This was all I could for Wharton right now other than physically going to whack him upside the head. Since he was so taken by the flashy warrior techniques, I also took to including the spell boosted physical attacks my friends and I used along with my recordings of the 2nd and 3rd stages of combat techniques. Hopefully that will bring his training back on track, I thought as I packed up all the things I would need for the journey I was about to make.
The two months up to my departure for my assignment blew by and everyone from my group came to see me off at the institute's gate. They didn't have to but they still came as they all sort of recognised me as the leader of our group, even Senior Anna who just recently joined us was there.
"Alright, everyone, I'll be gone for four months at most. You all have your training schedules set right?" I asked them to they all respond with various answers.
"Yes mother, I have everything ready, no need to worry." Reynolds quips.
"Really Linley, it's us who need to be worried about you, not the other way around." Delia says with a cute pout, she is somewhat upset over my sudden assignment. She understands that it is important for me but that does not mean that she has to like it.
"Take care Linley." George, Dixie and Anna were very blunt and simple.
"At last, the devil instructor is going on a long retreat. No one can run me ragged everyday now, bhwahahahahaha…" Yale lets out his inner slacker.
We all just stare at him for a moment before I turn to George and Reynolds and say to them- "Make sure this one doesn't slack off." To which they both promptly reply – "We'll handle it."
"Cough, I was only joking you know, no need for all that…" Yale replies with a sheepish look.
I just shake my head before heading out, I first head to a warehouse on the outskirts of Fenlai owned by the Dawson Conglomerate which was the starting point of the caravan. I reach my destination in good time to see that the caravan is just about finished loading all their cargo and after I have my identity verified and documents approved by the leader of the convoy, we begin the journey north.
At the relatively moderate pace of the pace of the convoy, we reach Wushan town in the evening of the same day where we decide to stop over for the night as well as pick up the people who were willing to follow my family to start their lives elsewhere. Other than Uncle hillman and his son Nader, the other two strongest members of my family's guards- Lorry and Roger- decided to join us on the journey along with their wives. They had only recently gotten married and they had expressed their desire to move out of Wushan due to a particularly bad encounter they had with the new noble family assigned here. Healer Jerry also volunteered along with his family along with a couple others families we were particularly close with.
After a good night's rest, we headed out at the first light of day to continue our journey. There wasn't much to do for me on the journey as the regular guards hired by the Dawson Conglomerate were all very strong and capable. Besides they only saw me as a slightly strong up and coming talent despite me being dressed like a warrior with a simple shirt and pants of durable leathers. I had unconsciously used my life magic affinity to compress and condense my muscle mass so despite having the strength of a 6th rank warrior I only looked slightly more fit for someone my age, maybe a warrior of the 3rd or 4th rank at most. Even that was doubtful as I was introduced to them as a mage after all.
"Captain, there seems to be a large party of around 20 hiding in the forest to the left ahead. There's also another group of around 30 that is quickly making their way towards us from the back. They all seem to be trying to be as quiet as they can, I think they are hostiles." I inform the leader of the caravan who is also an 8th rank warrior.
"Alright everyone, be on guard. Doug relay my orders to the rear, tell them to be ready for attackers from the rear, we'll handle the front." He nods at my input and quickly orders the rest of the guard to stay sharp. I go about casting a few defensive spells around the cargo and non-combatants, just some transparent Shields of Wind that will protect them from any stray attacks.
This was the duty I had taken for myself at first; it had quickly become apparent to everyone that I had really good detection skills so that became my primary duty. I had to notify the captain of any large or powerful reaction I got to my detection spells, most of the time it would not lead to a fight as the other party were not bandits or were not confident in facing a group as large and powerful as us but there were still the occasional fools who sought to try their luck. This particular bunch seemed to be of the latter type, they had decent numbers and strength with quite a few 5th rank warriors led by a 6th rank and they also sought to attack us from two sides. Unfortunately for them though our side was much stronger and we were prepared so, where earlier they could have inflicted some damage from their two-pronged attack, we completely decimated them this time around.
Needless to say, while I did not get much combat practice on this trip, my detection skills got a good workout. I also made it a point to be liberal with defence, support and healing thanks to my earth, fire, wind and water affinities. Since I was using my real identity, I was cautious of what I revealed to people but they were still I awe of my capability by the end of the week. I had made it very easy for the warriors on our side after all, our opponents were often caught off guard by minor tremors of the ground beneath them, there was a decent barrier protecting the cargo, most injuries on our side were quickly and efficiently healed and after a few of the men had tasted my cooking I was also appointed as main cook for the group.
By the end of the first week of our journey, the other everyone treated me as one of their own instead of some opportunistic green horn who had taken advantage of his connections to complete an assignment. Some of the warriors would even approach me to spar and help me practice on our breaks after I had told them I was also training to be a warrior after one curious person had enquired about my twin-chain linked blades. I managed to under play my strength in those spars but it was good practice fighting different people and their varied styles so I counted that as a win.
At the pace set by the caravan it took us three weeks to reach the northern region of the Kingdom of Hanmu. The site of my first stop was a town here by the name of Blueore town, which had developed around a mine that harvested Blut Vene stones. It was a dark grey rock with deep blue veins from which a metal called Indigen could be extracted which was a moderately expensive metal preferred by warriors to be added into making their weapons. Naturally the town had a slightly higher number of blacksmiths due to the nearby mines and it was one such blacksmith's store I had come to visit.
I read the sign complete with violet flame designs that proclaimed the name of the shop to be Nirvana Flame Forge. Real subtle I thought to myself and made my way inside, there did not seem to be much work being done in their forges judging from the quiet of the place and though they had a good selection of weapons and tools on display, the dust and cobwebs around the place told me they didn't have much business either. I made my way to the counter out front to request for a meeting with the owners. It took a while as they person behind the desk did not just dismiss me as some random brat, the mand was really rude and I had to literally threaten him with a fireball before he wised up and went to call the owners.
"Humph, so you are the punk who is threatening to burn my family's store down. Just because you have some talent as a mage does not mean you can call shots around here. Let me take the responsibility to teach you some manners on behalf of your elders' boy." A boy in his late teens comes stomping up to me in a right fury.
"Look, there has been some misunderstanding, I just wanted to meet with the shop's owner. We are old family friends and I have a proposition to make." I try to calmly explain to the hot head. Looks like the classic misunderstanding situation from novels is happening where a wronged lackey gets his superior to fight his battles for him. I only threatened to burn the guy behind the counter, not the whole shop.
"A likely story, my father owns this place and we have never seen or heard of you before. If you are not here to buy something, I suggest you get out." He walks into my personal space to try and push me out of the shop.
"Squeak, Big Bro let me handle this guy. Who does he think he is to treat us like that?" Bebe mentally communicates with me and I take a moment to calm him down by reminding him that we didn't come here to pick a fight. That still didn't mean that I was going to let them continue to be so rude with me though, I wonder if they treat all their customers this badly, no wonder their business is down.
"Hugrh…" the teen who sought to manhandle me out of the shop suddenly found himself on the floor after I caught his outstretched arm and judo flipped him. He was not injured much as I had held back but he was winded and a bit dizzy.
"Do you treat all the people who come here this badly, no wonder business seems down here. Really though, I'm only here to talk or are you telling me that the alliance between the 4 supreme warrior clans is no more. What have we been reduced to when a member of the Violetflame warriors is not willing to even hear out what a member of the Dragonblood warriors has to say?" I dryly ask.
"Ho, so you claim to be a scion of the Dragonblood warrior clan, do you?" A new voice asks and I look up from the downed teen to see a middle-aged man has come out from the door leading to the forge. He stares me down for a few seconds like he is judging me but I keep my gaze calm and steady.
"Well then, come on out back so we can discuss what ever you wanted to talk about. Let me warn you though, if you are not who you say you are, you will pay dearly for crossing us." He warns.
"Very well." I curtly respond before heading towards the area he was pointing to.
"Get up, Youtian. Honestly, I can't believe you were tossed around so easily. Looks like I need to increase your training." The middle-aged man rebukes his son to which the teen replies hurriedly with a- "Sorry father."- as he gets back on his feet.
We settle down on some rough wooden benches in a corner of their workshop area to talk. The middle-aged man looks at me expectantly as if ordering me to speak but I pointedly look in the direction of the attendant who I first spoke with when I came here.
"You can go back to managing the shop out front, Toby. I'll take care of this myself." He tells the hanger on and then raises an eyebrow at me to start when we are alone. I still take the time to cast a sensory spell to make sure there are no eavesdroppers before I start speaking, I've already said more than I wanted to in front of a third party and don't want to tempt fate too much.
"Mr. Vincent Hyde, I presume. My name is Linley Baruch, as the current head of my family I formally greet the head of the Hyde clan." I say while performing a cupped fist salute.
"You are the head of the family?!" He questions with both his eyebrows raised. He can't seem to wrap his head around that as I seemed to be younger than his sons.
"Sigh, yes I am the current head. Unfortunately, with my father's recent passing I had to take up the mantle much earlier than expected. I wonder if you knew my father Mr. Vincent, his name was Hogg Baruch and he was the Lord of a small town near Fenlai city called Wushan township." I give him some more background info to see if something clicks.
"Hmmm, I am sorry for your loss young Linley. I'm afraid I never personally knew your father and while I knew that your family was located somewhere near the capital of Fenlai, I was not sure of the exact location. Do you perhaps have any further proof to verify your claim, perhaps you could show me your transformation? If you are who you say you are it will not be an issue." He responds back.
"I'm afraid I can't do that Mr. Vincent. While I may be a member of the family, I am unable to transform. I'm sure you are aware of our clan's limitations but maybe this will prove my identity." I tell him while taking out the secret manuals of all 4 supreme warrior clans from my bag as well as a Dragonblood Needle. The Dragonblood Needle is a special tool of my clan which helps them determine if they have the required concentration of Dragonblood in their veins to practice the clan techniques. It was also a bit unique as in that it could be used as a tool to check if someone is part of our clan or not, our blood reacts differently compared to normal people despite the concentration of Dragonblood after all.
"Let me see that for a moment then. Youtian, get the violet case from my study, you know the one." He takes the Dragonblood Needle first and also asks his son to fetch something from his study. He examines the needle for a bit as if to check if it is real while waiting for his son to retrieve the item. A few minutes pass by as the two of us wait in silence before Youtian returns with the requested case and this time around he is accompanied by another similar looking teenage boy, who I guess is his brother.
Vincent then sets the Dragonblood Needle I had given down for a moment before opening the case and taking out a similar needle out from it. He then proceeds to compare the two for a bit before handing his copy to me.
"I trust you know what to do with that? I hope you understand, it's just that we cannot completely trust you unless we have solid proof. We can't just believe that everyone that comes up to us saying that they are also members of the 4 supreme warrior clan." He tells me.
I don't hesitate at all and just take the offered needle and lightly prick myself with it to get my blood in the small grove. I then hand over the needle back to Vincent who then holds it up to the light to look at while consulting from a book he pulled from his case. That must be their copy of my clan's manual, this guy is being extra vigilant, Moody would approve. After verifying with his own tools through his own eyes, he finally believes me.
"Well, that settles it then, on behalf of my Hyde clan I warmly welcome you to my shop Linley Baruch." He greets me with a cupped fist salute, he is no longer tense and cold either. Now with my identity verified he is giving me a warm welcoming smile.
"So, what is it the young head of the Baruch clan want to talk to us about. If it is ahem… about monetary aid then I must unfortunately be straight with you and decline. Our clan is not that well off right now and business is not good." He tells me sheepishly with a pained face.
"Haha, no Mr. Vincent, I am not here to seek funds or anything of the sort." I tell him. I can't really fault him for that assumption either as we were sort of aware that all the clans of the 4 supreme warriors had fallen into difficult times. It was a reasonable assumption to make seeing that I had come to seek my clan's allies as a very young head of a declining family.
"Please, feel free to call me Uncle Vincent, Linley. Our clans are close allies after all. Getting back to the topic though, if you don't need money, why have you sought us out?" He asks me.
"Very well Uncle Vincent. As for why I came here, I wish to renew the alliance of the supreme warrior clans. I have recently received some backing along with some training and in these troubling times I came to see if you would be interested in banding together to uplift our situation." I put forward my proposal.
The eyebrows of Vincent and his sons raise as they had not quite expected that from me. "Ahem, well… I will need to consider that Linley but before that could you share some more details as to what you are expecting to achieve out of this as well how you intend to proceed. Surely you or as you've said, your backer has some plan?" He wisely asks for more information first before committing to anything.
"What I am proposing is fairly simple and straight forward Uncle Vincent. I do not mean to take advantage of your situation or even take control of all the supreme warrior clans or something so, you don't need to worry about any of that. Even if you don't want to formally partner up, I will not take offence but there is some information I feel obligated to share with you regardless." I tell him up front.
"And what pray tell is this information?" He asks curiously. He can't really deny to himself but this alliance does seem to appeal to him a bit, granted nothing is being offered to him but at least the boy was honest and not looking to hurt their interests. It also could not be denied that he had talent, he had seen him easily throw his eldest son around so the kid had potential. Allying with him now could be a gamble but if he fully realises his potential the returns for us would be huge. All sorts of thoughts and scenarios were running around in Vincent's mind right now.
"It is mostly a warning Uncle Vincent. Didn't you ever find it odd that all our families have fallen into such dire straits despite having plenty of powerful warrior Saints. Our legacies are torn asunder, we have enemies hiding in the dark plotting our destruction. My parent's deaths were no accident Uncle Vincent and I recently found that the plot runs deeper and our enemies have been sabotaging us for many years now." I say with a dark look before continuing- "Fortunately, I met a good teacher so I am starting to build up my strength and my younger brother has shown that he has the required concentration of Dragonblood to practice our clan technique. My family will rise again and if I have anything to say about it then it will be within a decade from now." I state confidently.
"I will have to think on this Linley, you have given me much to think upon though. I wonder if you could tell be a bit more about your backing though, potential is one thing but if we do not have the strength to protect what we have right now, everything will be for naught." He grimly states as the dangers I had warned him about seem to have confirmed some of the fears he had for a long time but was reluctant to acknowledge them.
"My teacher is a Grand Magus Saint and a good friend of my ancestors though he had requested me to keep his identity a secret. He was training in seclusion for many years which is why he had not shown himself before but after he had found my family, he took me in as his disciple after he saw my talent in magic." I state with a confident smile.
"You're a mage, no way. I can't believe a weak mage can throw me around as easily as you did a while back." Youtian exclaims.
"I train as both a warrior and a mage, my teacher has told me that it would be best to train in both as it would be beneficial for my future growth. I am also a currently a student of the Ernst Institute and a certified 4th rank mage." I confidently state.
The trio of father and two sons' gape in shock as I revealed some of my strength and backing. They never expected me to have such strong backing or even have that much personal strength at my young age.
"It is not all smooth sailing though as my teacher has clearly told me not to be overly reliant on him and to train hard to get strong on my own. Our families went into decline despite having a decent number of Saints after all so our enemies are not some weaklings either." I warn them again in the hopes that they suddenly don't grow a big head and go all spoilt young master on me.
"This… this is wonderful news you have told me Linley. Yes, I understand the reasons to remain silent for now and I agree with your teacher's advice to train ourselves first and not rely only on him. Could you perhaps arrange a meeting with him, I would like to personally thank him and also request if he could maybe teach us something as well." Vincent asks hopefully.
"I'm sorry Uncle Vincent, I do not know where he has gone off to right now. He approaches me randomly maybe once every few months to personally teach me but the rest of the time I don't know what he is up to. I could request him on your behalf the next time I see him but please don't hold all your hopes on it. Rest assured though, he means to help us and had actually asked me to help all the other supreme warrior clan members I happen to meet. With that in mind, this is for you Uncle Vincent." I say to him as I give him a journal like the one, I had given to Wharton so long ago.
"What is this Linley?" He takes the book from me and asks me with a weird face on finding nothing but recipes for a few dishes in it. I smile in amusement and then proceed to show them the enchantment I had placed upon it while also keying them into the secrets of the book. They all gasp in shock at the altered contents of the journal and all three huddle together around it to read the fantastical cultivation methods listed in it.
"Ahem, you may pursue them later at your own pace Uncle Vincent, my teacher's journal will not fly away but right now I have a few other things to discuss with you." I interrupt their study of the new techniques and continue. "The other reason for me to approach you is to see if you would be willing to relocate your family from here. Most of the enemies of our families are based around the Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows so I thought it would be safer for us to develop in the empires where their influence is limited."
"You mean for us to completely relocate our clan Linley? That will not be easy young man, that is a tall undertaking and despite the manpower we possess, our funds are currently very limited. That doesn't even begin to cover where will settle after moving and what we will do to earn for our livelihood once there." Vincent states his concerns.
"Don't worry too much about that Uncle Vincent. I have some ties with the Dawson Conglomerate and they may be willing to lend us a hand with the move. Given the quality of the work I have seen in your shop I have no doubts you can restart your business successfully in the O'Brian empire where warriors are numerous, with a little start-up investment, I'm sure it will be easy. Besides my younger brother Wharton has been living there for a few years now and is a student of the O'Brian Warrior Academy." I tell him.
"Hmm… that could work." He ponders on my suggestion. I take the time to sweeten the deal and continue my sales pitch-
"I myself am not hurting for funds Uncle Vincent. My teacher has trained me well and has even taken me on a couple of successful ventures into the mountain range of magical beasts. My family is no longer hurting for money as we once were, in fact I would be more than happy to fund your relocation as well as giving your sons a chance to enrol at the O'Brian Warrior Academy as well." I add. With all that I have earned, it truly won't be difficult for me to fund another dozen students to enrol at the O'Brian Warrior Academy for the next decade or so.
"… Give me some time to think about this Linley. In the meanwhile, let me invite you to stay in my family's home. That is unless you have other plans and commitments of course." Vincent responds. This is truly an amazing offer he has been given and he really wants to accept but like my father all the members of the supreme warriors have their own pride and cannot just accept handouts from others even if they are close friends of the families.
"I am currently travelling with a merchant caravan of the Dawson Conglomerate Uncle Vincent and I still have a bit of a journey ahead of me. I will need to inform the leader of the caravan that I intend to spend the night at your place, we were intending to stay here for a day so it should not be an issue." I respond.
"Hmmm, very well. Youtian, Trey accompany nephew Linley to the caravan and then escort him back to our compound, I will head out first then to make the necessary preparations." He tells his sons to accompany me before formally bidding leave. I guess I managed to make a good enough impression on him especially considering he started addressing me as 'Nephew Linley'.
I also leave to inform the leader of the caravan of my change in accommodations for the day as well as to get a better idea of their current itinerary. I want to see if I could request them to hang around in town for a couple more days to give Uncle Vincent more time to come to a decision.
"Let me get this right, you are asking if we could delay our departure and wait here for a couple more days? Hmmm… the business here is taking a little longer than I had initially expected… we are ahead of schedule anyway… it would be back to boring soups and dry rations if the kid decides to separate…" Captain Chase was muttering weird stuff towards the end. I develop a twitch in my eyebrow at the last muttered comment in particular but he eventually snaps out of it and tells me it would be fine to extend our stay here for two more days.
I still stick around for a bit and cook them lunch and after that I ask to see if I could maybe add a few more people to the caravan. Chase doesn't even bat an eye and tells me that they have enough space for a few more people and besides I have enough allocations as I only had around a dozen extra people accompanying me while I had permission for a dozen more on the caravan.
With that sorted, I accompany the Hyde brothers back to their family's compound all the while promising Chase that I would be back to cook them dinner. The Hyde brothers were silently observing all of this while unsure what to make of it.
On arriving at the residence of the Hyde clan, I find that Uncle Vincent had organised a feast in my honour to welcome me. After that we retreated to his study where I informed him the slight change in the schedule of my caravan and he was more than happy to host me for a couple more days. We then talk about various other things including how I had already run into the young members of the Grimori clan who had completely lost their Tigerstriped warrior legacy over time and was helping them out. Vincent was very shocked to hear about what had happened to them and was now wearier of my earlier warnings.
It was not all about only sharing only the good stuff about my clan's actions though as I also talked about some of our failings- "It was not enough for my ancestor to sell our clan founders war blade Slaughterer though, that pathetic insult to the family name also had a mistress on the side and sold the little girl that came off that relationship into slavery just to fund his own life of debauchery." I make a face of disgust as I recall that particular information I had found buried in a corner of an old diary while clearing out my old family home.
"That pig went and sold his own flesh and blood, as if the insult of practically giving away a priceless family heirloom wasn't enough. What he did to his own family was much worse and something I will never forgive him for, the war blade can be recovered with some effort but the matter of outright betrayal of the clan… I had actually requested my teacher to help me find out if there are any living descendants of my family from that unfortunate event and imagine my luck on finding some. The clan that I thought was only reduced to me and my brother has a few more members. This journey of mine is partly to get in touch with them, I intend to contact them and bring them back into the family and also seek forgiveness for what they had to face due our shared idiot ancestor." I grumble while nursing a cup of tea. I did not have to embellish on anything as those were my true thoughts.
"Calm down nephew, while I commiserate with your feelings on the matter, there wasn't much you could do before. The main point is that you are looking to atone for the wrongs done in the past and better care for your clan, all of your clan. I can tell that you will be a great leader for your clan nephew, let me just give some advice on this matter though. Bad things like this will happen on occasion and sometimes you will not be able to do much but the important stuff is to keep moving forward. My own dear sister was taken advantage of by a vile beast in human skin, he was so charming and sincere at first in his advances but he drove her to her death not long after their marriage. I naturally saw to the man's punishment personally but the fact remains that I was too late to save my sister." He shares some of his own dark secrets while giving me advice at the same time.
"Just like in your case though, that matter with my sister did not end there. She had twin daughters of her own by that time, sniff and I dread what might have become of those sweet innocent ones if I was even a day late in avenging my sister. Even though I know that they are children of that man, may he burn in the deepest pits of whatever hell he is in; I could not abandon my little nieces. I have been caring for them for 7 years now as if they were my own and I've never looked back or regretted taking them in." He adds before downing the rest of his own cup of tea while wishing it was something stronger.
That got me thinking that this world was really cruel indeed and further reinforced the need to increase my personal power as well as those who I consider friends and family. The world was not that different whether I looked at my life here on the Yulan continent or I remembered the life of the Transmigrator from Earth. Even in that so called modern world crime and suffering were common, no matter where the difference between the rich and poor, the strong and weak, the leaders and commoners made life a constant struggle for everyone. Our lives all depended on our own choices, beliefs and efforts. With my own resolve further strengthened I bid him farewell for the day as it was getting late.
I made a trip back to where the caravan was camped out to help with dinner preparations, all the while I was also having a mental conversation with Grandpa Doehring and Bebe. I had let Bebe know about my ghostly guiding grandpa and though he couldn't see or hear the spirit of the Earth magus he acknowledged his presence and communicated through me if he wanted to know something from a Saint level Magus.
At this point Grandpa Doehring felt that there was not much more I could directly learn from him as my foundations were pretty solid and anything further, I could learn by myself. I now called upon him every now and then just to talk as well as to occasionally try and experiment with the edicts of death and necromantic magics. I had some success in letting his ghostly form experience physical sensations again, the trick was to also include a bit of a connection using life and fate magic as well. Now Grandpa Doehring could also taste my cooking and he was very happy, he also had more confidence in my earlier claim of getting a new body for him eventually.
I knew it was possible as both the Cult of Shadows and the Radiant Church had angles/fallen angles possess humans to increase the quantity of their high-level combatants after all. That was just one other thing they had that I desperately wanted, I also wanted more details on Oracular magic which the Union had a monopoly on. I need to see if I could discreetly kidnap their leader Heidens at some point and rip the information from his head. As for getting Grandpa Doehring a new body, I thought I could use something similar but I did not want to just kidnap some poor sod with a strong body like they did. I was not going to stoop so low as those hypocritic scum, I guess I just have to wait and see if any other opportunity presents itself in the future.
Two days passed by very quickly and the caravan was just about ready to depart once more but this time were joined by Uncle Vincent's sons and nieces. After much assurances from me to take care of them on pain of death he had agreed to send his sons and nieces off to train in the O'Brian empire as per my earlier suggestion. He still had a few things to resolve in Blueore town before the entire family can relocate but he thought it best to send the younger ones off first with someone he had a good impression of. It would give the kids a chance to spread their wings as well as serve as a test for them to set up in the empire so that the rest of the clan can join them in a few years.
With that being the case, I spent most of my free time on the journey training the young members of the Hyde clan along with my family's old guards on the basics of my cultivation methods. Heck the stronger the latter were, the better they would be able to serve my clan I reasoned, they had already proved their loyalty to me by willingly joining me on this long journey to relocate. There was also the fact that Uncle Hillman was a talented warrior and a really good instructor to boot, if he had a good idea of the training plan, he would be able to take charge of everyone's training after we separate. Grandpa Hiri was obviously going soft on Wharton as the kid seemed to be straying from my teachings.
I spent a considerable amount of time to also just engage them all in conversation and encourage a more inquisitive mindset which would help them later on. Plus, since the Hyde's all had good fire affinities I had good cooking assistants, it would make my work easier to feed the large caravan as well as serve as training for their spiritual essence. That is what I call hitting 2 birds with one stone.
I knew I would only be able to accompany the caravan till the borders of the Holy Union as there was no way the Union's border officials would let a native student of the prestigious Ernst Institute leave their territory without a really good reason. I decide to make the most of it by drilling into their heads all the intricacies of my methods while explaining the importance of spiritual energy to them. The Hyde bros were a bit thick at first and too drunk on the supreme warrior kool-aid for my liking though it was nothing a good beating could not solve. They especially came around when I told them that high spirit essence was a must if they wanted to even start learning the advanced combat techniques listed in their clan's training manual.
The Hyde sisters- Clair and Teresa were a whole lot open minded to my teachings though, maybe it was their young age of 8-9 or their wide-eyed wonder at the simple spells I had shown them but they were more diligent in following my instructions. Seeing as I will have to account for some of my students wanting to study magic primarily, I set out creating another training journal that would focus more on magic theory this time. I also took out some of the simpler and basic books on magical knowledge I had collected in my inter-spatial ring so they could take them along to study even after we part ways.
After a few more weeks we arrived near a small town near the Union's border that was also one of my goals of this trip. Goldengrass village was a really small backwater farming community that focused on producing mostly wheat and a few other grains, the residential area was not even a quarter the size of Wushan town and was perfect for someone to hide and fade away into obscurity. Nobody would ask too many questions if someone suddenly moved to this place one day as it was close to the borders meaning plenty of people passed by and there was always someone who had a difficult life before and wanted to start a new quiet life.
After a bit of asking around town I approach a particularly run-down wooden shack near the outskirts of the town. Looking at the young girl doing laundry outside in the cold as well as the general ramshackle condition of the shack, I can't help but feel bad for my cousins here. Despite our family being somewhat poor, father always ensured we had all the basic necessities so we were never this destitute.
"Excuse me miss, but is this where Ms. Kelly and her family lives." I ask the girl outside. She is around the same age as Clair and Teresa and just as adorable with big watery eyes and pink chubby cheeks.
"Um… this is the place sir. What business do you have with my mother may I ask?" She confirms that I'm at the right place while also asking what I want. Just then a nasally voice interrupts us.
"Hey, who are you and what do you think you are doing talking to Jenne?" A thin teenage boy wearing gaudy clothes asks me. He is very pale looking, has a ridiculous mushroom like haircut and is surrounded by rough muscular goons. My mind shorts for a bit as I wonder if this is again the work of the legendary 'MC halo' or something.
"Is this stranger bothering you Jenne? I've told you before if you agree to become my concubine, I will take good care of you and no one will come find trouble with your family anymore." He ignores me and addresses the girl- Jenne.
"Um… I… I'm sorry but I must decline young master Peng." She nervously answers while slowly back pedalling toward the house.
"Go away and stop bothering my sister you dirty mushroom." Just then I see a young boy no older than 5 maybe charge out of the house, all the while yelling playground insults at the mushroom douche and waving a frying pan around in his arms.
"No, Keane get back." The girl calls out to him.
"How dare you, courting death! Guards break his legs and cut off his tongue, maybe that will teach the brat to respect his betters." The offended young master mushroom orders his goons to attack. As if that wasn't enough, enter powerful guardian knight old man stage left, rushing to protect his young charges.
"Young master Keane, miss Jenne, quickly get inside and hide. I will take care of this." The old man charges at the advancing goons.
"Hah, you think you people can act all high and mighty just because the old man knows how to fight. Humph, I came prepared this time and have brought my family's strongest warriors, they will make short work of the senile old fool and then…hehehe." Young master mushroom goes spouting off.
"Nooo… Grandpa Lambert…" The kids- Jenne and Keane cry out with tears in their eyes.
My mind that had shorted finally reboots; I was just standing there off to the side like an idiot. The others had all ignored me too and I was not even given a second glance after the first couple of lines in this act it seems. Just then the exact words of young master mushroom register in me and I start seeing red, my twin Blades of Chaos are quickly unsheathed and I yell out-
"What the hell did you say you were going to do to my cousins you damned pedo-mushroom?" I immediately charge at the fool while easily cutting down any of the guards that dares to get in the way, none are able to get up after even a single hit from me.
"What?! How can this be?" The idiot can't seem to believe what is happening. He had already underestimated the old man Lambert who was holding his own and even slowly pushing his elite guards back but now a random kid was cutting them down like wheat. Young master mushroom was many things but he certainly wasn't dumb enough to stick around after offending a powerful expert.
"You-… I'll remember this. Mark my words…" He was continuing to spout while slowly retreating but I was having none of that. With a flick of the of the blade in my right hand I insta-cast a fireball that hits him right in the groin before exploding.
"AAAAAAAAAH…." The pig squeals with his voice getting progressively higher in pitch before falling on his back and curls up on the ground. The others all pause in fear at the sudden development, a powerful warrior they can somewhat wrap their head around but just the thought of offending a scary mage who could make your precious family jewel encrusted sword explode in a fiery blaze was too much for the goons. They all drop their weapons and beat a hasty retreat, two of them even have the wits about to stop and quickly pick up their young master between them before legging it.
I was still pissed though, just the thought of that slimy b**tard approaching my little cousin had me erupt in goosebumps from disgust. Who knows how many young innocents that piece of shit has hurt or killed? I know that people start relationships earlier in this world but that was only courting and betrothals for public appearance (unless you were horny idiots like Yale and Reynolds, at least they went to brothels and it was somewhat consensual), but even then, most do not start anything physical until both parties are at least 16. Thinking about all that had me start chanting a new custom spell that I got sudden inspiration for.
It was a bit more complicated as I incorporated more than one element and could maybe be considered as a spell of the 4th or 5th rank. With another wave of the blade in my left hand this time, I fire a blunt rounded stone projectile in the shape of an extra-large sausage at the sick pedo's a*se as his two loyal guards were carrying him away by dangling him between their shoulders, I had a clear shot.
"GAAAAAH…!" The pedo-mushroom lets out another pitiful wail after my most recent attack seemed to have roused him to consciousness for a bit.
"Tch, I will still need therapy after that…" I grumble after sheathing my blades and rub my forehead a bit.
"Ummm… Pardon me milord magus, I want to thank you for the assist but I must ask, what is your relationship with my charges." The old man, Lambert asks. He seems to be very loyal to my cousins and if I'm not judging this wrong, from his position he seems to be preparing to hold me off if my intentions towards the kids seems even slightly off.
"Woah, you must be very sincere in your duties if you wish to fight me after seeing what I can do. My cousins are indeed very fortunate to have someone like you looking after them, you can relax though, I mean them no harm. Could we perhaps talk inside, I'd rather not discuss these matters out in the open?" I reassure the still cautious old man as well as the two little kids that are peeking around the door of their shack.
"Very well Lord Magus. This way please." He leads me into the house but I can see that he is still a little nervous. The interior of the shack is as dismal as its outside, there are only 2 rooms including what I assume is a sitting room where I am given a seat.
I am invited to sit on the best seat which was a simple stool inside and the others remain standing while looking nervous. Jenne and Keane are hiding behind Old Lambert's leg but they seem to be a little less worried than the old man, Keane especially looks like at me like I am some sort of hero, his eyes were sparkling and he was nearly bouncing on his feet.
"Ummm… are you from the Jacques clan, does the clan have any instructions for us." Surprisingly it is Jenne who first initiates a conversation with me.
"No, I am not from the Jacques clan." I respond in a gentle tone to her and she seems to relax a bit. Looks like the relationship with her father's side of the family was worse than I had expected.
"But you said you are their cousins, may I ask who are you milord, if you have no connection to the Jacques clan." Lambert decides to pick up the conversation. He still maintained a rather formal polite tone as if afraid I would take offence and attack or something.
"My name is Linley Baruch and the current head of our Baruch clan. Yes, our clan, I believe you and your mother are members of my clan and I have come to invite you all back into our family." I address the latter part of my conversation to the two kids. Needless to say, my revelations came as a shock to my audience.
"Cough… I don't believe a word of it… cough cough. I was not aware I was part of any such clan, cough, I've been raised in the slums of Cerre all my life before I got employed at the mansion of the prefecture lord, cough…" I turn to see the speaker and find a thin sickly woman that was leaning against the door frame to the other room of the shack. As per the details I had collected I knew she was in her late 20s at most but she looked around 40 at least. She had plenty of wrinkles with her skin and hair also showing signs of ill health. Her illness must be quite severe, good thing I made time to come here when I did, I doubted she could live on for even 2 more years if she is not treated soon.
"Mother! Why are you moving around? The healers have specifically told you to rest." Jenne rushes to her mother's side to try and lead her back to rest in bed.
"No…cough, Jenne, I was already awoken by the commotion cough cough…outside earlier and wanted to see what was happening. I feel as though this situation is very important… cough, I will not be side lined for this discussion." Kelly adamantly refuses to heed her daughter's advice. In the end she is also guided to a stool to sit with her daughter and Lambert close by acting as a support.
"Sigh, the exact history of how you came to be separated from the main clan is rather… complicated. As for proof, I have some means to verify if you all are indeed part of my clan so I can test you all if you like." I tell them. Now that I'm actually in front of my lost clan members, I'm nervous about telling them about the barbaric and tragic events that led to them being separated in the first place. If possible, I want to push this topic away for as long as possible but I just can't bring myself to just keep them in the dark either.
In the end I take a deep breath and decide to just come clean- "Look, I learnt all of this recently myself and frankly I'm disgusted by what my… our ancestors did. I feel like I owe you an explanation at the very least, what you decide to do later is up to you though I would request you to at least hear me out on the proposal I'm making." I start off before getting into the story of the whole sordid affair.
"I know nothing I say will excuse my family for our past crimes or make all your suffering vanish, but right now I'm offering you all a chance to better yourselves. If you choose not to join me that is also fine, I will give you some gold to help you relocate and make a new life elsewhere, I doubt you will be able to live in peace here after the incident with that young master mushroom. I will also help heal you Ms. Kelly, I am quite good at healing magic so I will certainly be able to do better than a small village's healer." I make my offer after explaining the history of how they were separated from the main clan.
I then take out a pouch containing about 5000 gold coins from my bag that I had prepared just in case and hand it over to Kelly. It's not a lot of gold for me and they certainly deserve more but with their current power I may as well paint a giant target on them by giving them something too precious.
"You can heal mother?! Please milord, I beg you to help." Jenne immediately latches on to that fact and earnestly asks me to heal her mother while Kelly and Lambert are looking at the gold coins I had given them with slack jaws.
"No need for all that lord nonsense between us Jenne. You can just call me big brother Linley, I'm only 13 after all." I tell her with a smile.
"Big brother Linley, will you teach me cool magic spells if we come with you?" The cute little Keane asks with shining eyes.
"Haha, that is sort of the plan. Right now though if you agree to join me, I plan to have you all join my little brother at the O'Brian empire's capital. He is studying at the O'Brian Warriors Academy and I can also fund you as well if you plan to join, as for magic, I will try and teach you as much of the basics as I can until we reach the Union's border and we have to separate. I will leave you with my journal and plenty of books to study on your own though, but I must warn you, the training will be difficult and in the end your strength will depend on your own effort so work hard." I tell him while also watching the adults and Jenne from the corner of my eye to see their reactions.
In the end they accepted my proposal and the first thing I did was check up on Kelly to heal her. After I cast simple general healing on her though she did not fully recover which shocked me, normally that should be enough to vastly improve her health if not completely cure her but it looked like it only had a marginal effect. What was stranger still was that I was surprised she was this sick in the first place, our dragonblood heritage made us a bit stronger than normal humans after all so we don't get sick as easily.
"This is odd. Your condition is not normal Ms. Kelly, it doesn't look like you are sick or injured though so I'll have to do use some more complicated magic to see what is wrong." I tell them what I needed to do next. They agreed as they could see that while not fully healed, she was doing better now.
I did not have a particular spell for such things though and resorted to just use pure life and death type mageforce guided by my spiritual energy to flow through her and scan her condition. The results were shocking to say the least.
"Well, I seem to have identified the cause. You have been poisoned Ms. Kelly. It is no ordinary poison either and any normal person would have died long ago, its only thanks to the innate stronger physique of our clan's people that has enabled you to live so long. Rest assured I will be able to cure you, sadly I don't have the antidote so we will have to resort to bloodletting to remove the poison." I inform them.
"Poison?! I've been poisoned?" Kelly asks in shock along with Lambert and Jenne.
"It must have been the work of the senior madam. She likely could not bear the fact that you bore Lord Wade two children, she most likely got the poison from that notorious apothecary Homer." Lambert deduces.
"The detoxification and healing process will put more strain on your current state Ms. Kelly so we need to make some preparations first. I will go buy some ingredients to make some light food for you so you may recover some energy, I advise you to rest till I get back." I say before making my way out for some shopping. I already have plenty of stuff in my inter-spatial rings but I don't want to reveal that and I can't really use my bag as an excuse either as the amount of stuff I would pull out of it would give the game away. This will also give the family some time to discuss matters privately so I give them some room.
"Do you think they will agree to join our family big gro." Bebe asks me mentally as I head to an out of the way alley so I can safely pull out all the stuff I want from my inter-spatial ring.
"I can only hope they give me a chance Bebe; the main thing is that I have shown my sincerity and done my best, the rest is up to them." I reply back.
"Sigh, this is why I never put too much stock into familial relations in my day, too much drama. But it is also not good to completely isolate yourself either or you will not even be remembered." Grandpa Doehring laments mournfully and I console him a bit.
After some time, I carry a good deal of food stuff in another larger bag and head back to the house of Ms. Kelly. I politely knock on the door outside and the low murmurs die out fast before Lambert opens the door and invites me in. I ask where their kitchen is and am led to a small space out back with a simple mud-fire stove. I begin taking out the stuff I had prepared as Lambert and Jenne watch on, they were surprised I got so much food stuff and were insisting I let them cook but I was not relenting and we compromised with having them help me out. I had to cook if I wanted to enhance the taste and healing power of the food with magic after all.
Soon the aroma of a rich broth begins to spread and I even spot a few of the neighbours lean over to see where the mouth-watering smell is coming from. The residents of the house were not much better with Keane openly drooling and staring longingly at the pot I was stirring. I just chuckled a bit before taking a few bowls and serving everyone a portion. There was complete silence as everyone was too busy inhaling the food, even Kelly whose appetite had declined due to her sickness managed two full servings.
"Alright, now that we are all fed, let's get to purging the poison from your body Ms. Kelly." I tell them. I set about digging a small pit in their back yard and ask Lambert to guide Kelly over to sit by the pit.
"Please Linley, you have done so much for us, you don't have to be so distant now. Call me Aunt Kelly, we are family after all." Kelly tells me after taking a seat by the pit.
"Alright Aunt Kelly. Now this might hurt a bit as I need to make a cut on your wrist, I will then use my magic to help draw out all the poison out from the wound before healing you so bear with me." I tell her what I am about to do next. After a nod from her I take her left hand and hold her wrist, I spend a moment channelling both life and death type mageforce through her so I get a lock on the poison and begin gathering it to her left arm.
Her left arm soon starts becoming blue as all the poison in her body is drawn to it. I don't waste any more time and use the clean knife I had kept ready to make a cut that severs a vein in her wrist. I immediately begin draining the foul black toxin into the pit while Lambert holds the whimpering Kelly still. The kids are also in shock at the sight and look very nervous but with my skills there were no nasty surprises so everything proceeded smoothly.
As soon as the nasty discolouration left her arm and the tainted blood stopped flowing, I cast a powerful healing spell to heal the cut on Kelly's wrist. I did one final scan of her to verify there was no more poisonous residue in her body before nodding to Lambert who immediately picked her up and began carrying her inside to get some rest.
"Well, that should take care of the immediate dangers. I suggest you rest as much as possible for a week or so, eat well and drink plenty of water then you'll be as good as new in no time." I tell her after Lambert tucked her into the modest bed in the shack.
"Thank you, Linley. I don't know what would happen to us if you hadn't come around." Kelly and the others sincerely thank me.
"None of that now, this is what family is supposed to do for one another." I reply with a smile that they honestly reciprocate.
"One last thing Linley, we have decided to leave this village and follow your arrangements. I hope we will not be a bother, please take care of me and my family." Kelly says with a serious look.
"It will be no bother at all, Aunt Kelly. Like I've said plenty of times before, we are family and we need to take care of each other. I will head out to the caravan I'm travelling with to let them know that you all will be joining us. Please pack all of your belongings as quickly as possible as we may have to leave as early as tomorrow." I tell them.
"Rest assured Master Linley, I will see to the arrangements personally." Lambert assures me and I can see the respect he has for me both in his attitude and words. I bid them farewell before promising to come back the following day to escort them to the caravan.
Again, it did not take much effort on my part to have the caravan halt in town for a day but I still rushed back to Aunt Kelly's place to help them pack faster after I caught wind of some interesting rumours. Word was spreading around the village that both the head and young master of the Peng clan had died horribly after offending a powerful magus that was passing by. While there were words like 'a*se blown open' or 'd*ck blasted off' doing the rounds, the most offending rumours were the ones that had given me the title of 'A** Blasting Magus'. Seriously who the bl**dy h*ll came up with that name, I wanted to get away from this place before the rumours got any more wild or worse, people connected them to me instead of some mysterious figure.
Now the young master's death I sort of expected but I wasn't completely sure the little sh*t's father would also die. It was due to my parting shot that I fired into the podo mushroom's a*se, it was a combination spell of earth, fire and fate elements after all. I must say that spell was really sinister, the outer structure was created from earth elements and I took inspiration for its design from the modern shrapnel grenades. The extra-large sausage shape had plenty of cracks in its structure that would ensure that numerous pieces would be launched in all directions at high speeds when the inner core of highly explosive fire elements detonates.
I had also used my most recent understanding of the edicts of fate to determine the conditions for the sausage to blow up. I had found out that I could use fate type mageforce to sort of program my spells and have them act in different ways when certain conditions are met. Take the case of the dead senior and junior Peng's, the projectile I had fired up junior's butt would not have blown up if it was left as is for junior to sh*t it out. The moment someone else grabs it to pull it out though it would explode, taking the Samaritan's arm off as well as making junior's butt bloom forever more, which is what I guess happened if the rumours are to be believed. Oh well, judging from the words of the villagers, the Peng clan were not very nice nobles and many were even celebrating their deaths.
When I got to Aunt Kelly's place though I was given weird looks by the residents of the house. Keane looked at me with even more adoration though I wasn't sure how that was possible, Jenne and Aunt Kelly were a bit flushed and embarrassed; Lambert had the most interesting reaction though. As soon as he saw me, he gulped and paled considerably while clenching his butt.
"Hahaha, what is with that reaction? Is this the greeting I get after I come back just to help you pack up sooner?" I ask and the tension breaks a bit. We all set about packing bar Aunt Kelly and Keane, I asked the latter to keep watch on his mother to make sure she rests properly. With my help we were all set to depart the following morning and so we left to join the caravan and said goodbye to Goldengrass village soon after.
There were only a couple of weeks more or so left before we reach the Union's borders so I took the time to ramp up the training of my six new charges. Aunt Kelly also made a full recovery within the first week and I finally got around to telling them the slightly more private secrets of our clan along with our Dragonblood warrior heritage. Keane was totally wide-eyed with awe at the revelation but became very disappointed when he, Jenne and Aunt Kelly all did not meet the required concentration of dragonblood when tested. He finally cheered up when I told him that I also did not meet those requirements and that he can still become powerful like me if he works hard.
Looking at him put so much effort into training after that let me know that my decision to keep quiet about some of my other advantages was the right choice. What ever the case, the next two weeks till the border went by in a flash and I had to bid farewell to the caravan as the finished the second leg of the journey without me.
"Remember to send word back as soon as you meet up with Wharton, Uncle Hillman." I tell him as I was preparing to head back.
"Not to worry Linley, I will look after all of them. You just focus on your magus studies." He reassures me while glancing at the young scions of the Dragonblood and Violetflame warrior clans I had roped in.
"That reminds me, this is for you. It is unbound so be careful, it has 3 million gold coins worth of balance so use it to have the kids enrol in the warrior's academy along with Wharton, even Nader. You can use the rest to get a good mansion in the outskirts of the capitol. I've already spoken with my contacts in the Dawson Conglomerate and made a down payment on a good place so check it out." I tell the shocked Hillman while giving him the magicrystal card I had prepared.
"Linley, I don't know what to say…" He trails off.
"Just do what you've always done Uncle Hillman and make sure the kids don't slack off. Make sure to keep the money, the teaching aides and crystal recordings safe. Use them to train well, I will see you soon." I tell him before we finally part ways.
As I leave, I plan to head back south through the mountain range of magical beasts. My most recent rich young master impression has made me 3 million gold poorer and I must recoup my funds or I will return to being a broke country bumpkin again. With that I head of with Bebe squeaking excitedly on my shoulder.
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