Chapter 293: Warning

"What was the point of all these… experiments? What were you... testing?" Forcibly calming himself, he slowly growled out a question. Although this information was already probably enough to mark the quests and even the Madame's mission as completed, he wanted to learn more about this man, this unfathomable opponent of his.

Listening to the question, the shadowy figure erupted into a peal of hearty laughter. It took him almost a full minute before he could respond. His words, however, weren't of much help to Aiden.

"I have already told you, boy. Weren't you listening? I needed to see the effects the higher-tiered energy had on these primitives." With a flick of his hand, the gemmed staff evaporated into thin air, he continued. "As I said before, the results were satisfactory, even if the corruption was too much for their minds to handle."

"Well, except for a select few… like that orc you claimed for yourself." He added thoughtfully. "That reminds me… how did you do it? How did you override the control of the energy? Normally it shouldn't be possible, but somehow you managed to cleanse it! May I ask… how did you do it?" He leaned forward, focusing his hidden gaze on the boy sitting in front of him.

Unfortunately for him, Aiden wasn't keen on answering this figure. His hands were balled into fists, as he stared back intensely at this enigmatic being.

Although the answer he got was vague, the notification he saw from the corner of his eyes, showed that it was indeed enough for the system to satisfy the mission's conditions.

With that knowledge in mind, he slowly stood up from his seat, shaking his head lightly. 

"We all have our secrets." He answered curtly, declining any further questions about the matter. "With that, my work here is done." 

He added and was about to turn around and leave when the shadowy figure flicked his right hand again. Upon his simple action, the air around Aiden turned thick, forming an invisible solid barrier, holding him in place.

"Don't be so eager to leave, my boy. Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you. You should be already aware that while you are indeed strong compared to most of these ants, you are still lacking when compared to existences such as me. Even against my servant that you so rudely took for yourself, you were at best evenly matched. If he would have gone all out, I don't think you would have been able to defeat him so quickly. Lucky for you, he couldn't exert his full power due to my instructions." He mused, his tone carrying a hint of ridicule.

Hearing his words, Aiden clenched his fists tightly. Planting his right feet slightly behind the left, he entered a jump-ready battle stance. Even if he knew he wouldn't be a match against this impossibly powerful existence, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

However, the figure only chuckled at Aiden's nervous stance. He waved with his hand, as he spoke in a carefree manner.

"Ahahaha, don't be so trigger-happy. I told you, I am not here to fight you, I just wanted to see you for myself, and get some answers, that's all." 

He let out a short sigh as he left his seat and stood up. He waved with his right hand, causing both chairs he summoned to fade away. 

"Anyway, I got what I came for, so it's time for me to leave." He turned around and flicked his hand one last time, causing a dark portal to appear in front of him. Before stepping through it, he turned his head to the side and left a remark. 

"Grow stronger boy, don't be so complacent. You are wasting your time. If you think your current strength is enough to protect those you hold dear to your heart, you are in for a rude awakening. Keep your secret well protected, not everyone is so carefree like me." 

Suddenly a scarlet hue surrounded his visage, the tone of his voice turned much more somber, lower-toned, gaining an otherworldly, yet familiar feel to it.

"Be wary, the Seven Sovereigns still covets the secrets of the Ancients. If you wish to learn more, visit the Demon Grotto below ground. Only you can unlock it."

Finishing what he wanted to say, the shadowy figure stepping into the portal and vanished from sight. Shortly after the dark portal closed, leaving only Aiden present in the room.

Even after he left, Aiden continued to stare at the spot he was last seen with a vacant look. His words continued to ring inside his mind, he couldn't make heads nor tails of it.

"The Seven Sovereigns still covets the secrets of the ancients? What did he mean? What are these sovereigns, but more importantly what is the secret he was talking about?" He pondered, slumping back down to the ground once again.

"Still, he was right about the fact that I am still weak. I am helpless against beings of his level. Heck, even against Murus I would have lost…" Thinking about his first disastrous clash against the now-absorbed tall humanoid-looking creature, Aiden sighed exasperatedly. 

Taking a deep breath, he forcibly calmed his nerves. Changing the subject, he focused on the slew of notifications waiting for him and the memories that was still in the forefront of his mind, waiting to be processed and merged with his being.

'Before I check the notifications, I should probably quickly go through his memories. Maybe I could learn more in the process… But, before that…'

He opened the portal to the Minion World calling for his 4 servants to come back. Upon his calling one by one, Roas, Glohn, Gob, and lastly Galina hiding behind her brethren, stepped forth.

As they appeared, they were shocked to see the state of the room. The room they left was already in a pretty brutal state, but that was incomparable to what they were greeted with as they appeared. A large section of the wall was now missing, destroyed, a large gaping hole was left in its place where you could gaze at the dawning, orange-tinted sky. The massive pool of blood that covered the floor was gone, in its place wide, ominous cracks replaced it. The gore, the small miniature islands made of meat, and organs of the once fearsome orc warlords were nowhere to be seen.

Their young master was slumped down on the grown with a weary, tired look on his face, his attire torn to shreds. His chiseled body was out in the open for all to see and enjoy. 

Galina after everything that happened between them, had to avert her gaze, lest she would lose herself in that perfect glistening body of the young master.

Roas, seeing the state he was in, immediately walked closer and knelt down next to him.

"[Orc] Young Master! Are you okay? How can we help you?" He asked with worry and concern in his tone.

"No… I'm fine, just a bit tired." Aiden responded, smiling at his first servant. "I... " He sighed, the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a solemn outlook. 

Planting his hand on the ground, he slowly pushed himself up. Although Roas wanted to help, Aiden pushed his hands away.

"Guys… and Galina… you are part of my family, the first to pledge yourself to me. When you did, I promised that I will give you the chance to get your revenge. Unfortunately, this chance was robbed of you, another enemy has popped up and robbed this from you."

He paused his speech, and took another gasp of air, before resolving his will. In the next moment, he shocked all four of his servants, he bowed down and continued with an apology. 

"I have failed to fulfill my promise to you, and for that, I apologize. Although currently, I do not know how to absolve the Master-Servant bond we created, I will do my best to find a solution to it. If you no longer wish to stay with me, I only ask that you be patient until I find a way to set you free from this connection, we all share."

Even after finishing his apology he stayed bowed down. In fact, he really felt guilty for failing to fulfill his promise to them, even if it wasn't his fault. He felt that he had failed them, that he was not worthy of their support and love.

The guys were speechless at this sight, unable to respond. Although they did wish to all fulfill their dreams, they couldn't fault their Young Master for this turn of events, nor did they wish to leave him. They vowed for eternal servitude, and besides, their new life were all granted by him. They could feel the love and concern the young master had for them.

It was the shy Galina that stepped up first. She reached for the Young Master's head, gently grabbing it and lifting it up.

"[Goblin] Young Master… Please stand up. We are all happy you walked into our lives. Without you, our lives would be meaningless. You granted us a new life, a new form. Everything we have we owe it to you." 

"[Goblin] Besides…"

Gob, stepped up as well, kneeling in front of Aiden, his fisted right hand hitting his chest.

"[Goblin] ...We can still take our revenge. The one that controlled the orcs is the one that is ultimately responsible! Master, you have not failed your promise at all!" He exclaimed with a reverent look.