บท 33: Fruit or Poison
At Farhan’s room, Arias was watching Farhan who stared outside the room absentmindedly. It looked like he was deep in thought. Arias was curious as to what Farhan was thinking. Perhaps he had already forgotten that Arias was standing there waiting for him.
“Hah…Arias, can I ask you to let go of this matter? The two of them have already got the punishment they deserved. I want all problems to end today.”
At last, Farhan let out a heavy sigh. He turned to look at Arias with a face full of sorrow. Farhan’s request was beyond Arias’ expectations. He never thought he would hear such a request from his grandfather.
“What’s there to be afraid of, Grandfather? I may still hold my grudge against them, but what could I do about it? I’m just a worthless existence of the clan, what chances do I have against them?”
Arias said with a shrug like someone who was at his wit’s end.
“Aren’t you a mage now, Arias?”
Farhan said this in an even voice, but when he looked at Arias, it seemed like his eyes could see right through him. It looked like Arias had underestimated the Scarcia Clan’s leader.
“How did you know that I’m a mage?”
Since the other had already found out, there was no point for him to hide it any further. He was only curious as to how Farhan knew that he could use magic now. Perhaps it was the incident that night that gave everything away, or perhaps it was his parents.
“It's magical energy. Before, magical energy seemed to always refuse to acknowledge your existence, they flew right past you without entering your body, as if they were trying to keep you out of this world. But today I saw magical energy flowing into your body like it does to normal people. It didn’t avoid you like it had done in the past.”
Farhan explained. Today, Arias did not look like his previous weak self at all. It was not just his physique that had changed. The wit, the levelheadedness, and the calm demeanor had all changed as well. Farhan could not help but look at his grandson, scrutinizing him, until he incidentally saw that the flow of magical energy around Arias had become different. That was how he learned that the young man was hiding something.
“I truly didn’t expect this. There don't appear to be any secrets I could keep from you. I actually wanted to surprise you on the day of the Tournament.”
Arias replied with a smile and a small sigh that he could not help but let out quietly. Arias seemed to have made a lot of mistakes today, especially by revealing the secret about the malicious feelings between him and his two cousins. With that being known, his plan to kill them had already become more difficult to carry out. Despite this, he was a powerless member of the clan, so if he acted discreetly, nobody would suspect him. But it seemed like that was out of the question now. It looked like he would need to come up with a new plan.
“Did you just say that you’re going to join the Tournament? What level are you now, Arias?”
Farhan furrowed his brows and stared at Arias with surprise. He had thought that Arias was a neophyte at the elementary level. He guessed that Arias’ power must have been awakened after he woke from that near-fatal condition. Ever since Arias had survived that incident, Farhan had been seeing continuous changes in him. And if Arias had just become a mage less than two months ago, he should not have progressed anywhere further than the fifth level of neophyte. This was what Farhan had speculated. But hearing Arias mention the Tournament, he began to think that his speculation might have been wrong.
“I’m just a first-level acolyte.”
Arias said and unleashed the magical power in his body. The power of a first-level acolyte was immediately released, and Farhan could clearly sense it.
“This is…”
Farhan looked at the sight in front of him with astonishment. This was way more than what he had expected. In less than two months, he’s turned from a powerless into a first-level acolyte. This young man sure had a terrifying talent. He was like a chasm whose depth could not be easily measured. With a talent like this, he could not imagine how strong Arias could have been now if he had begun his training at the age of twelve.
“Is there something wrong?”
Seeing that Farhan was staring at him with a strange look–a look of utter shock–Arias could not help but ask.
“You became a mage after you survived that incident, is that correct?”
Farhan asked once more to confirm his doubt.
“That’s right, Grandfather. Why did you ask?”
Arias replied. Though Farhan had expected this answer, he still could not help the shock he felt upon hearing Arias’ confirmation. How could Arias have nurtured his power so fast?
“Are you alright, Grandfather?”
Since Arias entered the room, he had seen Farhan being absentminded and quiet several times. This time too, once he heard Arias’ answer, Farhan went quiet for a while. Arias had no idea what was going on inside his grandfather’s mind.
“Don’t mind me. But about you entering the Tournament, I think it’s still too soon.”
Farhan said in a serious tone of voice. He had the same reason as Maria, Arias’ power was still too weak to enter this year’s Tournament. With Arias’ talents, he could certainly become a powerful mage in the future. It would be a shame if that future were to be destroyed because of this Tournament. There were, of course, chances of being injured from participating in the Tournament, and in the worst-case scenario, participants could even be killed. Weak mages naturally could not hold their own against others. Though Arias’ talents were astonishing, right now, he was like a newborn dragon, recently hatched out of its shell and unable to defend itself from stronger predators. Moreover, Arias still lacked fighting experience. Joining this Tournament would do him more harm than good.
Inwardly, Farhan was actually excited and glad to learn that Arias had become a mage. It meant that the Scarcia now had one more heir with a bright future ahead, and also that Farhan no longer had to worry about Arias’ future.
“Mother also said the same thing. However, if I am able to meet the condition that Father has given me, the two of them will allow me to enter the Tournament.”
Arias replied without paying any mind to Farhan’s objection. There were a lot of things that interested him about this Tournament. What he had his eyes on was not the rewards like the Black Burn Armor or other things. What he was interested in was the Land of the Heavenly. Though he had no idea what kind of place it was, he could feel that it was special and interesting. Perhaps he might even get lucky enough and meet a faerie there.
“What condition?”
Farhan asked curiously. He wanted to know what kind of condition Albert had given to Arias.
“Father said that if I could become a second-level acolyte before the Tournament began, he would allow me to enter it. Anyway…that was all you needed to ask me, right? Then, I’ll have to excuse myself.”
Arias replied evenly. He was feeling a bit bored having to answer all these questions. He was about to turn and make his way out.
“Where are you going? Don’t you know it is a bad manner to walk away from your elders when the conversation is not finished?”
Farhan expressed his displeasure in his voice. This was the second time that Arias had behaved this way. Arias who was about to exit the room had to stop and turned to look at Farhan again.
“What I asked of you, could you do it? I want you to let go of your vengeful feelings. Despite everything they did, they are still your cousins.”
As he spoke about this, Farhan’s voice became soft. It was no longer his usual harsh voice. Farhan had said this with a burdened heart. Arias’ power might seem far inferior to Mashelle and Danesse now, but he had a feeling that in the future, Arias would become so powerful that he would leave his two cousins in the dust. He did not want to see today’s incident happen all over again.
“If someone offered you death, what would you give them in return? A fruit, or a poison?”
Arias replied with a short statement before turning to leave. Farhan found himself unable to come up with a reply. A question began to form in his mind, what would he do if it was him?
“Take this. It should be useful to you.”
Farhan’s words made Arias turn to look at him again. A dimensional ring was moving toward him across the air. As it hovered right in front of him, Arias inspected it and found that there were a lot of magical quartzes inside, along with dozens of elixirs and other magical gadgets.
“What is this?”
Arias asked curiously.
“It is yours…I know you need it. Take it, Arias.”
Farhan raised a smile, his eyes looking at Arias with kindness. It was the look Arias had not seen in a long time.
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
Arias said with utmost gratitude. This must, by far, be the most genuine thank you he had given to Farhan since he had woken up. He took the ring, and slowly made his exit from the room.
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