VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 9

VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 9

Flying at top speed, Lark finally returned to Blackstone Town. He slowed down as he noticed the migrants below. There were hundreds of them. Lark surmised that these people were part of the group who fled through Lion City’s southern gate. Although a large number of them went back to their homes after the monsters had been taken care of, a portion of them decided to finally leave the city and migrate to a ‘safer’ territory.

Lark saw Clarkson and his men controlling the influx of migrants into the town. Wearing their police uniform, those from the city immediately understood that they were part of the patrol. Clarkson and his men even made a small barricade using wood, which deterred people from entering the town without permission.

“Sir, we’ve been waiting here for more than a day already,” said one of the migrants. “How long do we have to stay here, right before the town’s entrance?”

Clarkson’s sword visibly hanged on his waist. “Please understand. There’s a lot of migrants this time. We can’t make a decision until the Lord comes back.” His voice was firm and resolute.

‘Good work, Clarkson,’ thought Lark.

Lark initially had doubts if Clarkson could properly perform his duties as the head of the Police. After all, he’d been forced to come here to this small town by the order of the Duke. But now, looking at how he was handling things, it seemed those were useless worries.

Lark flew straight to the mansion and entered his office through the open window. He undid his concealment spell, removed his cloak, and went to the hallway. He called the first servant he saw.

“Tell Gaston to come and report to my office immediately,” said Lark.

The servant was surprised to see Lark. “Young master? You’re back!” And he remembered the words uttered by Lark just now. “Ah, r-right away! I’ll immediately inform the head butler!”

Lark went back to his room and slumped on his chair. So many unbelievable things had happened these past several days.

Who would have known that even after a thousand years had passed, he would meet his friend, Kel’ Vual, at the Lake of the Full Moon, of all places? Furthermore, he also learned of Agreas’ fate and the imminent demon invasion.

“There’s a lot of things I need to prepare for,” muttered Lark.

It was tiring just thinking about it. But these were things that must be down, no matter what. Everything was for the sake of Blackstone Town.

The gem tied on his neck softly glowed for a split second. A familiar voice spoke, “God… God Evander!”

The last part was almost a squeak, as though the owner of the voice was trying its best to contain its excitement.

“Blackie?” Lark replied through the communication crystal.

“You’re finally back!”

“Hey, let us speak to God Evander too!”

“Shut up! It’s my turn now! I won our game of hayangji!”

Hayangji was a popular turn-based strategic game in the Kingdom.

But how did the Scylla learn that game played by humans?

Furthermore, judging by their squabble, it seemed that they used the game to ascertain their rights to use the communication crystal.

“You know how to play hayangji?” said Lark.

“Yes God Evander. The elves tasked to help us in creating the roads were playing it. The rules were really similar to buyol, the game taught to us by Quervanu.”

Indeed, Quervanu was very fond of playing those strategic games. If his memory was correct, he’d managed to win only around five games out of a hundred against that disciples of his.

Although Quervanu did not have monstrous strength like Kubarkava, he was one of his smartest disciples, probably second only to Pollux.

Lark smiled. He really missed those times.

“Hayangji, huh?” said Lark. “Let’s play one of these days, how about it? We can also invite the elves.”

“Really?!”

“Of course, we’d love to!”

“We don’t mind even if God Evander invites those insects!”

“I’m the best out of every one of us, God Evander! Please let me have the first match!”

“This damn snake! Stop lying! You lost to me before! Bah!”

“That was a fluke! You lost three times before that!”

“What did you say?!”

Lark chuckled. He was glad that at least the Scylla found a game to pass the time. Living alone in that forest must have been extremely dull and boring. He was glad that Blackie discovered hayangji.

“So, why did you call me?” said Lark.

The fracas died down at once.

“I apologize for the commotion, God Evander. The King of Elves and their priestess visited our sacred ground recently. They wish to speak with you, My God.”

“The King of Elves and their priestess,” mumbled Lark. “And the reason for their visit?”

“Although they didn’t tell us the exact reason, after observing them using surveillance magic, we’re certain that it was because of the demons. We believe that their priestess received a revelation from the temple.”

It was impossible to observe the elves from the golden statue all the way to the City of Aerith. The elves must have camped near the Scylla’s lair and stayed there until Lark returned.

“The elves didn’t return to their city?” said Lark.

“Yes, God Evander. They’d been camping near the sacred ground for more than a week now, awaiting your return.”

Lark furrowed his brows. Although King Melandrach had been acting subservient to them, he was still the king of a nation. Lark found it discomforting that the King of Elves had been camping in the forest for several days now just to meet him.

“Blackie, send a message to King Melandrach. Tell him that he and his men are free to stay inside the castle.”

This was the least he could do to show courtesy to the King of another nation.

“But the golden statue is being kept inside the castle—”

“—I sealed the room with magic and reactivated the spell, Hand of God, before I left,” said Lark.

Although the range of Hand of God was extremely small compared to other spells, it was still a pinnacle-grade spell. After taking hundreds of gold coins, adamantite ores, and a bloodstone, Lark reactivated the pinnacle-grade spell embedded on the wall using a pinnacle-grade mana stone. Anyone aside from Lark would be immediately crushed by the spell if they attempted to take even a single gold coin from the treasure room.

“A pinnacle-grade spell is protecting the treasure room… We understand. We shall immediately relay God Evander’s message to the King of Elves.”

There were no beds and fixtures in the castle the Scylla made, but Lark deemed that staying there would be a lot better than camping in the forest.

Knocks were heard and the door to Lark’s office opened. An elderly man with ashen, brushed up hair entered the room.

“You’re finally back, young master,” said Gaston. “You called for me, My Lord?”

“I’ll visit the forest soon,” were Lark’s last words to the Scylla before he cut the supply of mana to the communication crystal.

“It’s been a while, Gaston,” said Lark. “I want a detailed report on everything that happened in my territory while I was gone.”

“Of course,” said Gaston. “It should ready before the day ends, young master.”

Gaston adjusted his monocles as he studied Lark’s face. “You seem to be… very pleased, young master.”

“Is it obvious?”

“Yes. You’re smiling from ear to ear, My Lord.”

“I see,” said Lark. “I… met an old friend”.

“An old friend? Is it Lord Omie, Lord Renz? Or maybe it’s Lord Jepsy?”

Those three were members of Lark’s little group before Evander took over his body. The self-proclaimed Masters of Lukas. His friends that partook in his hedonistic lifestyle.

Lark shook his head. “No. He’s… someone you’ve never met before, Gaston.”

Lark looked at open window. The sky was bright and clear. Just like the calm before a storm.

“I see,” said Gaston. He did not pry any further. “Young master… there had been a rumor circulating in Blackstone Town recently.”

“A rumor?”

“Yes. Hundreds of migrants from Lion City arrived at our territory just recently.”

Lark remembered the migrants he saw at the town’s entrance.

Gaston added, “I heard that those people left the city in fear of the monsters of the lake. The peculiar thing is… some of them had been spreading rumors that the young master was the one who killed all of the monsters that nearly destroyed Lion City, around half a month ago. There were already bards singing praises of the young master’s exploits. Some people were even saying that you’re the second coming of the Sun God.”

“Sun God, huh? It’s been a long time since people last called me that,” mumbled Lark.

Gaston shot a quizzical gaze at him. “Young master?”

“Nothing,” said Lark. He didn’t confirm nor refute the claims. “Aside from the rumors, anything else?”

“Big Mona arrived at Blackstone Town yesterday, young master. He’d been waiting since then for an audience.”

“Ah, the letter.”

“Should I ask the merchant to come here, My Lord?”

“Yes, Gaston. Also, tell Austen, George, and Anandra to come here at my office.”

“As you wish.” Gaston bowed his head. “Then, if there’s nothing else, please excuse me.”

Several minutes after Gaston left, the brothers entered Lark’s office. The two of them were huffing. Beads of sweat filled their face and their sweat-soaked clothes stuck to their skin.

“Master! You’re finally back!” said Austen.

“Thank Gods. We’ll be finally free from that hell!” added George.

Lark said, “What happened?”

The two slumped on the couch and sighed.

George angrily spat, “It’s Anandra, Master! Ever since you left, he forced us to wear this thing during our training! That demon!”

George raised his right arm, showing the wrist weight wrapped around it.

“That old man! What does he think of us! I hope he turns bald!” cursed Austen.

“And who are you calling an old man?” a cold voice was heard.

Austen and George looked at the door and saw Anandra standing there. The two of them froze, their faces struck with terror.

“N-No, we’re talking about Gaston! The b-butler!”

“That’s… that’s right!”

Anandra stared at the brothers for a moment, effectively shutting their mouths in an instant. He walked toward Lark, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed his head. “You’re finally back, Master.”

“Good work on training George and Austen,” said Lark.

The brothers’ eyes widened upon hearing this. Realization dawned unto them.

“The young master is the one… who ordered this training?” said George. He sounded as though he’d been betrayed by his master.

“Of course. Master Lark wrote it in his letter before he left,” said Anandra as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The two of you skipped morning training. We’ll triple the laps later in the evening.”

“No!” Austen was horrified.

“Why do we have to do this… this monster freak training like you!” protested George. “We’re magicians! It’s not fair!”

“Didn’t I tell you before? If the vessel is weak, it’ll be extremely hard to cast stronger magic.” said Lark. “The two of you are already used to hard labor back in Lion City. I don’t see why this little training would be an issue.”

Austen and George didn’t dare to talk back to their master. The brothers had been wearing weights on their arms and feet for several days now. These made a lot of difference whenever they were forced to run around the town. Right now, their arms and legs felt numb.

It was subtle, but they noticed the small smirk on Anandra’s face after hearing the master’s words.

That old man, George and Austen cursed.

“As for the reason why I called the three of you here today,” said Lark. “It’s to ramp up your training.”

The brothers groaned upon hearing the word ‘training.’

“Anandra. Starting tomorrow, you’ll start training on how to infuse mana into your weapons.”

“Understood,” Anandra readily replied.

“Austen, George. Starting tomorrow, you’ll start training on quick cast. I originally plan on teaching this to the two of you once you’ve mastered all the first tier one spells of the basic elements, but right now, we simply don’t have the time for that.”

“We don’t have time?” said George.

Although these brothers had innately massive mana pools, they would probably die if they fought even a lesser demon. Their casting speed was simply too slow.

“Here, take this.” Lark took out two metallic discs from his drawer and handed it to the brothers. Engraved on the discs was the magic first-tier magic formation he’d taught to them. “Apply some mana at the bottom of the disc. Not too much, not too little. Try it.”

Austen and George nodded and did as Lark had instructed. To their surprise, their mana quickly flowed through the engravement and formed a magic circle. In just three seconds, a fist-sized ball of fire appeared right on top of the magic circle.

“Easy, right? You’re already close to mastering the first-tier spells without the help of such a device. That thing is merely meant to help accelerate the learning process,” said Lark. “Keep repeating that exercise until it becomes similar to muscle memory. This is where monstrous mana pools become an advantage. Your average magician could probably do this exercise for eight to ten times a day, but it should be possible for the two of you to do more than a hundred. If the disc breaks, come to me. I’ll give you another one. Your goal is to cast that same fireball spell in half a second. Do you understand?”

Austen and George shuddered in excitement.

“Yes, young master!”

Lark looked at the door and noticed the newly arrived visitor. Big Mona, the head of the Merchants Guild in Lion City.

“Ah, you’re here,” said Lark.

His disciples looked at the door and saw the fat merchant. They wordlessly moved to the side as Big Mona entered the room. At first, they wondered if they should leave, but Lark wordlessly told them to stay.

“It’s been a while, partner,” Big Mona grinned.

“Please sit,” said Lark. “I assume that you came here because of the letter?”

The couch squeaked the moment Big Mona sat on it. “Of course. It was amazing! How could I let go of the chance of obtaining the rights to that potion!”

For a moment, Lark was reminded of a squealing pig. Lark was not certain of it, but it looked like Big Mona had gained more weight since the last time he’d seen him.

“I heard from one of your affiliate merchants that your dream is to surpass the Vont Family ruling over the Merchants Guild at the capital,” said Lark.

Big Mona’s smile slid down his face upon the mention of the name.

“Mona, you understand it, right? That potion. That fabric. This is your chance to prove to everyone that you’re the best merchant in the entire kingdom.”

For a moment, greed started seeping out of the fat merchant’s eyes. He’d already resolved himself before he went here. He knew that such a tempting offer wouldn’t be free.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Lark apparated a dagger and slid it toward Big Mona. “This dagger. Use it to make an oath. Swear your allegiance to me, to Blackstone Town, to the Kingdom. Do this, Mona, and I shall help you achieve what your heart desires.”