Illyan continued to listen to Korin’s ramblings with an impassive expression.
“In the end, the way to make progress for people like us is to have enough resources.”
Korin finished his speech with a wave of his hand as he pointed at the things in front of Illyan.
Lifting his eyebrow, Illyan asked while feigning irritation, “Are you serious, Mr. Korin? I am grateful for any gift since I didn’t expect any in the first place, but this seems to be like a bad joke at my expense. If it was so easy to become an acolyte, then you could already make an army out of them, no?”
It seemed as if he mentioned it without consideration, but his eyes flashed with cunning.
Korin, not knowing that, nodded thoughtfully.
“I understand your feelings. I was the same when Miss Vanda said these things to me. But here I am now, working tirelessly to obtain the opportunity which will alleviate us to the peak of the magic world.”
Korin took down his monocle as he used a handkerchief to wipe it.
When Illyan looked down at it, Korin smiled gently.
“Talent is very important, Kaoran. Despite this fact, there is a saying that to achieve something you must unrelentingly work for it. But without the talent, all the effort comes to naught. You may think that is your situation as well, but in fact it isn't. There is a big difference between little talent and no talent. A little bit of talent is enough to give hope to a person.”
He put the monocle back on his nose and hid the handkerchief away.
“Me and others in our team are similar. The talent is minuscule, but still there. With a lot of effort, we managed to learn. Our mana is small. Small to the point where we can’t use even simple offensive spells like those venerated acolytes. But… we still found our way. Magic isn’t only about fighting. It is kind of a lifestyle. This monocle, for example, has inscribed a magic spell [Thought Process Enhancement] which allows me to remember and understand more things as long as I infuse mana into it. Why do you think I managed to become a senior academic in so many topics?”
Korin’s smug expression was irritating, but Illyan was truly shocked at his words, though a little disappointment filled his heart as well.
‘So that was the reason why he became so good at mathematics? That is… disappointing.’
Of course, the spell probably wasn’t that strong, but it was a crucial factor.
‘But still, I didn’t expect that Korin was actually kind of acolyte as well. I can’t feel anything from him.’
Illyan wondered if Aurelia knew and decided to ask her later.
“So, you are saying that these things will allow me to become an acolyte?” Illyan leaned forward as he ‘trembled’ a bit and clenched his fists.
After all, he couldn’t disappoint Korin’s assumption that he was very tempted to become an acolyte.
“No. These things are useful, but with just them, you would need decades to even feel mana.” But Korin shook his head in denial.
“Then…”
Korin smirked as he pointed at the last item that he described as the Moonlight Energy Pendant.
“This is the Moonlight Energy Pendant. It is a type of artifact that is made of Moon Stone. Normally, something like Moon Stone would be impossible to get since it is a material sought after by even Magisters, but some scraps of low quality could be found once in a while. However, since it is of low-quality, an useless scrap that lost most of its property, it actually loses a lot of its uses that Magisters were after in the first place. But that allows us to take it and use it.”
Illyan reached out for the pendant and kneaded the stone in his hands for a bit as he was guessing what it was for.
‘There is no energy emanating out of that.’ He frowned when he realized that it was just an empty shell but was silent as he knew it would probably be the best thing out of everything in front of him.
And he was right, as it was actually much more valuable than he thought.
“The effect is minimal now since it is day, but once night comes, you will see the real magic. Especially during the bright moon nights. The reason for that is because the way the Moon Stone reacts when exposed to the moon, it makes the mana in the air visible and easier to feel, and even makes it less volatile! For people with great talent, it is useless since it just slows down their mana absorption, but for us, it is a lifeline that can actually initiate and speed up our cultivation and catch up to the average acolytes in a few decades!”
Korin then took out a similar pendant from underneath his sweater.
However, that one was definitely made out of different stones, as its color was dark green.
“This is an Earth Jade Energy Pendant. It is similar to the one you got, just that its effects are weaker but works as long as you keep contact with the ground. They are quite expensive, and those who find them useful don’t have enough money. But Miss Vanda is generous and gives many of us resources way beyond our reach. Don’t forget, Kaoran, that this was just a gift for the accident back then. But…”
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Korin narrowed his eyes as the intensity in his words made Illyan tense up.
“If you decide to help us all the way, she would sponsor you in the best way possible and even give you the opportunity to get a piece of the inheritance.”
At this very moment, even Illyan felt moved. He knew that their intentions weren’t good at all and that he would suffer if he agreed, but if he was an average man that couldn’t live past the century, he would really hesitate.
‘Well, if I was an average man, I would live a completely different life anyway. If I was still alive that is.’
The resources they were offering didn’t look that good at first sight, but once they were used together for a longer period, it would stack up.
Even with his talent, there was a hope.
‘Well, I still guess that it would be a slow journey considering that Korin who is quite old still doesn’t have enough mana for even one offensive spell.’
The deal was bound to have its flaws, but it was a deal meant for the ones with nothing else.
In the end, Illyan could only feign an eager expression before suppressing it with a hesitant face.
“Mr. Korin, don’t give me hope. To be honest, if I could be like those mysterious acolytes, I would be willing to serve Miss Vanda for the rest of my life. However, it is hard to believe that something like this would allow me to take that step. Even if it existed, why give it to me now when you are still far from getting the inheritance?”
Illyan expressed some of his doubts as Korin finally calmed down since his head cooled down at Illyan’s cold words.
With a sigh, he nodded, “I fully understand your doubts, Kaoran. I had the same thoughts back then too. To be honest, I don’t know how she got these things here since they are a hot commodity all across the continent among average acolytes. But she has her ways. Concerning the reason for her to give it to you now, it is exactly for the same reason why I got it. To increase the chance of getting the inheritance, she is willing to do a lot of things. Giving you this chance is one of them. It is not uncommon for people with great intellect but bad talent to be sponsored by Magisters to become their assistants all across the continent. Because magic is the truth and truth can be understood only by the chosen ones regardless of talent.”
Saying that, Korin stood with a smile as he clicked his cane on the floor and took out a few parchments out of his small waist bag and put them on the table.
“And that is exactly what Miss Vanda wants to do with you. To sponsor you to assist her with the inheritance. The difference is that she is willing to share the inheritance with us. Because she is different. Take this and read it. It is the basic outline of the deal that Miss Vanda wants to make with you.”
Illyan took the parchments and felt surprised since there were at least ten of them, all filled from both sides.
“To be honest, I wanted to talk a bit more about all of this since this is very important but Miss Vanda wanted to be the one to strike this deal with you. Today, I am just a messenger.”
Korin said with a bit of regret.
“Why didn’t she come then?” Illyan asked curiously as he stored the parchments away. He didn’t want anyone else to see it even though there was a small chance someone would barge into his house at this moment.
“You didn’t know? There were messengers three days ago saying that the Headmaster of the Academic Institute was returning back. She is preparing for the ‘welcoming party’.”
Korin smiled from ear to ear. It looked as if an old kind man was talking about something endearing, but Illyan felt the malice hidden behind it and so he sighed.
“Understand. I will read it properly and give you a response.”
“Yes. Please meet us in the workshop you met Miss Vanda a week later. That should be enough time for you right?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After saying farewell to each other, Korin left the manor with a smile while Illyan sat on his chair with an empty expression.
‘Why is living in society so difficult…? I am missing the times where I just enjoyed the meat the tribe hunted down while fighting off the enemies… But this feels like I am being chained by the invisible chains.’
With a sigh, Illyan put everything in the box as it was before and decided to meditate to clear his mind while waiting for Aurelia to visit him again…
……..
After that day, Illyan’s mood became ambiguous. He didn’t know if he should be jubilated for being able to get such resources or be worried about the deal.
He was sure that this time, the contract would not be so easy to deceive and even feared that if he tried it, he would be discovered.
Because of that, his leisure days became history as he once again started to train every day as much as possible.
The leisure would dull his senses if he indulged any more, and so he decided to focus on himself.
Since he couldn’t contact Aurelia while she also didn’t contact him, all he could do was prepare some countermeasures by himself.
‘The vow I and Aurelia did is out of question since that is a fair exchange with everything laid out bare. However, the contract with loose binding of signature is probably also not the best measurement for something as important as this. The name Kaoran isn’t exactly common but also isn’t rare, which can little mess up the potency of the contract. That is, if it was actually my name. In the worst case, they already know that Kaoran is just a pseudonym. The most probable and safe way to do it is blood signature.’
Illyan clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He was already tired of dancing on his toes around them to not make any mistake. It was a tiring thing to do.
‘If I do hide my identity again in the future, I definitely won’t do it like this.’
All the time thinking about how to act in front of someone was truly something that didn’t sit well with him after months of working close with his colleagues who were also his enemies.
He sighed as he brought out the herbs he gained.
‘Since it was a gift they gave before I accepted the deal, it should be alright to experiment with them a bit right?’ Illyan fell into deep thought.
He wanted to try dehydrating the herbs to find something out about them and if there was better use for them.
‘I can also grind them into powder or turn them into incense. Hmm… Hard to make a choice with such small samples.’
Just as Illyan fell into a dilemma, there was a loud gong resounding throughout the town.
‘Hmm? Now was not the time for ringing?’
The bell at the main square of the town was rung to announce the time during the day or some of the emergency. The funeral of someone important, fire in the town, enemy attack, and so on.
Depending on how many times the bell rang, the meaning was different.
Gong
As the last ringing sound turned into still silence, Illyan realized something.
‘Six rings' means… Important Visitor… If I am not wrong then that could in this situation only be…’
The sound of uproar could be heard outside of his manor.
Since he lived in a wealthy district where only those privileged lived, it was usually calm and quiet.
But at times like this, they were even louder than common people.
“Quickly prepare the gifts! The headmaster of the Academic Institute is coming!”
“It doesn’t matter what these academics did! That has nothing to do with him!”
“Getting on the bad side of the gangs? We just need to be discreet! Playing neutral is important during situations like this!”
Illyan’s ears, which were much more sensitive than normal people's, could hear all kinds of discussions as he smiled.
‘The next few days will be wild it seems…’
