Bab 25: The world stone

"Young master Hex wishes to speak to you, sire."

Wallen knocked on the heavy wooden doors, conveying their purpose. Hex stood behind him and waited with a heavy heart for a reply.

'If he refuses I will stay here, waiting for when he has time. Eventually he will have to meet me.' Hex vowed not to leave without some answers.

They were currently in the highest tower of the castle. It stood fifty meters from the ground, providing beautiful scenery. Hex, however, was not in the mood to enjoy it.

"Enter."

It had taken some time, but finally the baron agreed to let them in. Wallen pushed the doors open, revealing a simple unadorned room. He stepped aside and signaled Hex to enter.

The room was circular, with almost no furniture, aside from a small table with two chairs at the window. The baron sat at the table gazing outside.

'Is this where he spends all his time?' Hex couldn't help but find the entire thing strange. He didn't know what the baron did with his time, but he hadn't expected him to spend his time alone, locked up in some tower.

Wallen closed the door, leaving master and student alone. The baron had yet to acknowledge his presence, but Hex didn't let it deter him.

"Greetings master."

He got closer to the table and bowed. Although he didn't really consider the baron his master yet, he had to show proper manners. Especially since he came here to get some answers.

"Sit."

Hex thanked the baron and sat on the other chair. He waited, unsure whether he was supposed to start or wait for the baron to turn towards him. But the baron remained sitting as he was.

'This is getting awkward. I will just start. If he minds, I will apologize.?'

Hex knew what he wished to know, but how should he start? It caused him to hesitate a bit.

'Should I start with the training? Or the mission. Or should I start from the beginning?'

He looked at the baron, who hadn't moved the slightest. A gentle breeze flowed through the open windows. Somehow, the sight outside with the feel of the breeze calmed Hex. He stopped worrying about everything and turned to gaze outside.

"Master, am I human?"

"Yes."

"Do I have a crystal instead of a heart?"

"No."

The answer was unexpected. Hex knew there was something strange going on inside him. Was his master hiding the truth? Before he could push more, the baron spoke.

"It's a stone."

"Huh? A stone?"

"Yes."

Hex exhaled, trying to keep his calm. The short replies started to irritate him.

"Could you explain a bit more?"

"You are born with the world stone inside you."

Hex turned in shock. He had no idea what a world stone was but he knew something named as such would be extraordinary.

"A world stone is the seed which gives birth to a world."

The baron continued his explanation without showing the slightest emotion. Hex, however, felt his mind go blank.

This was beyond his imagination. He was worried about not being a human. He thought maybe he was a creature like the Heartless.

"W-what?"

"H-how…no why?"

The baron finally turned his gaze towards him. Hex didn't see any emotions in them. They were as uncaring as always. Somehow, it helped him to calm down.

'If the baron doesn't care about it, it might not be something special, right?'

"Master, why was I born with it? What will happen to me?"

"I don't know why. I have theories, none supported by evidence."

What the theories were, he didn't explain. He just continued with the second question.

"Whatever happens to you depends on you. The world stone is a boon and a curse. It can help you absorb and refine chaotic energy, even remnant souls and wills."

"Just like during the ritual?" Hex interrupted.

"Yes. At that time your heart was still dormant. You needed the monolith to awaken it."

The memories of the ritual appeared before Hex's eyes. He also thought about the time during the mission. Things started to make sense. But there were still things that worried him.

"But do I need to cut my chest open and insert the beast crystals into my heart?" Hex wished to be stronger but he wasn't a masochist. He couldn't imagine cutting himself open every time he wanted a power up.

"If you want to."

'Why would I want to?'

"It would be faster to just use the monolith. Blessed can use them to refine crystals. You just have to pay the Temple a fee. You wouldn't draw too much suspicion if you just refined some crystals to sell."

'That could be done? So I can improve my power and earn at the same time?'

"Is there a limit to how much power I can absorb?" Hex wondered if he could start pumping himself with energy. He would become strong quickly.

"If you want to get stronger and live then yes, there is a limit. If you just wish to die, you can use it till your heart explodes. It's your choice."

Hex nearly cursed. He had been frustrated by the lack of training time with his master, but if he had to talk like this every day he might attack the baron in just a few days.

"So, if I absorb too much at once, will I explode? So what's the limit?" Hex took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, and inquired.

"Your limit depends on your body strength and affinity. In your case both can be improved a lot. Normally, Squires use resources such as refined crystals, pills and potions to improve their body. You can also do that. Compared to them, your body can absorb even more than they can."

"Oh…but how? Ingesting resources doesn't lead to the heart, does it?" Hex still remembered basic lessons provided by the cloister. The ingestion system doesn't include the heart.

"No, but blood, which absorbs the energy does. And by refining the blood inside the heart, the amount of energy the blood can hold increases."

Hex thought about his master's advice and it made sense. It was even magical. He could absorb and refine more and faster than others. His heart was a treasure.

"Anything else I need to be aware of?" Hex tried to form his questions in a manner his master could explain more. Or he would go crazy.

"Never use crystals more than two ranks above yours. Give your body the time to digest and absorb all the energy you ingest. And if the truth about your heart gets out, the whole world will try to kill you."

"WHAT?"

"Yes."

"WHY?"

"Because it's the greatest treasure. Even the Heavens want to destroy it."

It took a while for Hex to think about it. He knew his master was right. And he had intended it to be a secret. But he never knew that the consequences would be so dire.

'Only he knows. And he keeps it a secret.'

Hex glanced at the baron feeling conflicted. His animosity with him seemed insignificant compared to the baron's favor of keeping his secret to himself.

"Master your glyph. Once you have gained it under control you can try to get a second Blessing."

Hex nodded. He knew overthinking about his secret wouldn't lead anywhere. He just had to become stronger.

"Any suggestions on how to improve further?"

"Fight."

"Against whom?"

"Others."

"Like?"

"Squires. The caravans are already entering. In a couple of days the town and the visitors will host a tournament for Knights. This time they decided to have one for the Squires too."

With that he signaled for Hex to leave.

He turned towards the window as the sun was setting. He learned many things, but many remained unanswered. He avoided asking about his birth.

Somehow he felt that the baron might have been able to answer. But Hex wasn't ready. He was abandoned.

'What if they abandoned me because they knew I would be a danger to myself and to them?'

Hex tried to avoid thinking about his parents. He never understood why they didn't want him. Maybe this explained it.

He rather didn't know his family if he just ended up being the reason for them to be killed.

'In the end the answer remains the same. I just have to become strong enough to decide my own fate.'

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Working on edits. Please don't waste your money.

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KIRIM HADIAH

Bab 26: The mission's rewards

'Why does he know so much about me?'

…

'Does he really know about my parents?'

…

'Why is he protecting my secret?'

…

'Why did he cause me to be kicked out of the Temple?'

…

Hex couldn't sleep at night. His mind was filled with questions. Questions, he either avoided getting an answer to or either wouldn't get an answer for.

The knowledge that his secret would turn the entire world against him surprisingly didn't bother him. To him it was just similar to the whole of Grindeston being against him, only on a bigger scale.

Questions about his parents, his family and his past bothered him more. No matter how much he tried to keep a strong front, deep inside he often wondered who his parents were and why they had to leave him.

The more Hex thought about his conversation with the baron, the more convinced he was that his master knew about his parents and his family. How else would a stranger know that he was born with the world stone.

'He had to be there when I was born. He knows at least my mother.'

But Hex wouldn't ask the baron yet. He decided to become at least a Knight before broaching that subject.

All these worried Hex and kept him awake. However, nothing bothered him as much as the confusion he felt towards the baron. He had spent years convinced that the baron had screwed him over.

But now, knowing that the baron could just have simply killed him or caused his life to be destroyed by mentioning his secret, he wasn't sure anymore. Did the baron have alternate objectives?

He spent the whole night twisting and turning in bed.

…

"What happened to you?"

Hestia stared at him with a frown. She clearly remembered that the boy seemed well rested when she had met him yesterday. Barely one day passed and he looked as if he had aged years.

"Nothing much," Hex shrugged nonchalantly. He quickly changed the subject. "Do you know anything about a competition for Squires?"

"I heard the Squires talk about it," Hestia said thoughtfully. "Apparently due to the loss of so many Knights and Squires the town council decided to entertain the general public. At the same time they wish to invite the visiting Blessed to help with cleaning up the outer region."

"Like you probably know, each year there is a Knight tournament. This time they decided to have a similar one for the Squires."

"Isn't it ironic?" Hex sneered, hearing the reason behind the double tournament. Didn't they lose so many Blessed because they wanted to prevent the outsiders from profiting from the outer region?

Hestia smiled, sharing Hex's sentiment. "Wait. Are you thinking of participating?'

Seeing Hex nod, she smiled excitedly. "There are a few Squires in the castle who will also join the tournament. It's a good opportunity. The rewards are great."

The mention of rewards made Hex lookup. He hadn't considered the rewards. Joining the tournament was something he decided after talking to his master. He had been viewing it as training.

"What are the rewards?" He asked excitedly.

"There are various rewards. But the best things are large amounts of coins, a Knight grade technique for the winner and low grade to high grade weapons for the first three places. You can check the specific rewards when you are there to sign up."

Hex felt some of his worries leave. He felt excited thinking about competing with others. It was a chance for him to make a name for himself. But then he thought about something.

"Ahm, Hestia? What about our loan? And the m-mission rewards?"

Before leaving for the mission they had taken a loan of 8000 coins and rented five mountain goats. Hex doubted any of the goats had survived. On top of that Hex already owned 2800, no, 2790 coins to the castle.

"Everything is settled. We retrieved three hundred Demon crystals, twenty Fiend crystals and one Disaster crystal. Although the last one belongs to the baron, he didn't take it."

"The price for Demon crystals is 500 coins, Fiend crystals are 5000 coins and the Disaster crystal is sold for 50,000 coins. So, our total is 300,000 coins."

The amount of coins stunned Hex. He had never seen 300 coins at once, not to mention a thousand times more than that.

"The Knights have agreed to distribute everything equally amongst all the seven teams, bringing it to 7,500 coins per participant. I hope you don't mind not having discussed this with you." Hestia said with a nervous giggle.

"Actually, you were the one who killed almost a hundred demonic Heartless alone. You should get a lot more," she explained once she saw the confused look on Hex.

"No, not at all." Hex assured her hastily. "I would rather not take any. I am sure the families of the deceased need this more than me."

Despite expecting such a reaction from Hex, her heart still felt warm. By now she had a pretty good grasp of his character. She could tell that Hex was a brave soul with a good heart.

They agreed to join the others going to enjoy the festivities. Hestia would explain some of the resources useful to Squires at the plaza.

…

"How are the preparations going?" Ronan asked his team. They sat inside their room, overlooking the plaza.

"Everything is on schedule, Lord Ronan," Elron said respectfully. "We have placed the essence sinks and finished the array under the outer region."

"Is the Unborn placed successfully in the human incubator?" Ronan asked another member with her hood down. Her short blond hair seemed to glow in the dim light of the room.

"Yes, the girl is responsive so far. But we will need more. Once the soul essence starts to flow to her womb, her life essence will be drained. She will die in a couple of days."

"Don't worry. The stage is set for the next phase of the plan," Ronan assured the woman. He turned toward another male member of his group. "And the candidate for the vessel?"

The young man seemed under twenty and looked nervous amongst the others. He scraped his throat and answered Ronan.

"It will be chosen from the winners of the tournament."