Chapter 26 - Ordeals (End)

"Hm! It is a pleasure to have a business with you! I hope our cooperation would be long lasting."

The Chief of Philosopher Alchemy Store in Woster Region, Hanz, laughed cheerfully while shaking Basil's hand. He couldn't help it, he was ecstatic!

He had sold ten batch of Crystal Clear Alpha merely in two days. The demand of Crystal Clear Alpha was that high! Even some of the Mages had made a preservation in advance.

He could see it, the bright future! Crystal Clear Alpha would be the Kingdom's renowned Catalyst. And he, as the first person who sold it, would be sought by many.

Of course, he had to treat Basil with extreme care, so he didn't sell his product to another store. Thus, the magnanimity.

Basil merely nodded his head and pouched his 500 gold coins. It was an enormous amount of money that a son of a Viscount wouldn't easily get. However, it was no more than a pocket money to him.

Why would he think so? Because, he knew the location of some dragon lairs. Just like everyone had already known, dragon lair was filled with all kinds of treasures. He would naturally take it all for himself.

However, that was still in a distant future. If he were to go with his current power, he would be turned into a skeleton with just a breath of a dragon.

Basil exited the store after saying his farewell to Hanz and Clara. They had introduced themselves earlier, since they didn't have the chance to know each others the last time. Both of Hanz and Clara were ecstatic for each different reasons.

They were seeing Basil off as if he were their family. When they couldn't see his back anymore, they muttered at the same time, "I can't wait to see you again." Surely, both had a different meaning too.

...

Basil was training himself together with Deacon in the nearest Forest within Woster Region. Deacon had already been there when he had arrived, because he had told Deacon to be there by the time he had been summoned by the Teacher Council.

They were training their [Link] which was a technique to communicate with one's Beast Companion. Unlike Summoner who had to make a contract with their Summoned Beast, Tamer had to earn the trust of the beast to establish a bond.

The process was more arduous than summoning, however the bond that was established was solid. There had never been an accident where a Beast Companion betrayed its Master, unlike Contracted Beast that could forcefully break the contract and kill its Master.

'Charge!'

With a simple order in his mind, Basil instructed Deacon to charge ahead. The target was a sufficiently big tree. Deacon followed his will and swung his paw to the tree. [Wind Blades] were produced by the swing, almost bisecting the tree.

Deacon jumped up to the tree and used it as a lever to backflip in the air. Behind him, Basil was ready with Jaden's Daggers. He channeled his Qi inside the daggers, and they quickly shone red.

Utilizing his Mana, he used his Art Step [Slip] to dash toward the tree. He moved so fast that it looked like he just slipped behind the tree. The light produced by his daggers made a trail in the air.

Slash!

He reappeared behind the tree. Then, the tree that was half cut, was bisected horizontally. The tree slowly fell to the ground, while Basil calmly observing it. He shook his head and sighed.

"The transition is not good enough. Need to work on that."

He muttered softly while looking at Deacon. As if understanding him, Deacon had a determined look on his face. Thus, they continued to work on their teamwork until dusk came.

Basil stored his daggers in his Spatial Bracelet he had bought a week ago. The money he had got a week ago had been spent to buy the Spatial Bracelet, ingredients to make Hormonal Rush, and the 'defective' short sword.

Any Magic related things were that expensive. It was easy to get rich by simply being a Mage or a Knight. This was also the reason why many people tried to be one. They could change their fate in one night, if they turned out to be talented in Magic.

Nobles were mostly those kind of people. Mage who pursued knowledge, advancement, and true power, never thought wealth and titles were important. It was the reason why there were some people who became a Traveling Mage.

Some of these Traveling Mage became famous for their capability, and some of them became a mystery. However, what certain was the fact that Traveling Mage was by no means average. Each of them were outstanding in their own right.

While riding Deacon, Basil was replenishing the Qi he had spent in the training. Due to the help of Mana Amulet, the recovery rate was awesome. His Mana Heart was also ceaselessly absorbing the surrounding Mana, however he wasn't cultivating it.

He needed to stay still to cultivate his Mana Heart. [Heart Clenching] was painful to practice. With great pain comes a great result. That was how [Heart Clenching] worked. Therefore, he needed to stay still, lest something unwanted might occur.

Luckily, [Star Withering] wasn't anything like that. He could practice it everytime. Even if he didn't practice it actively, his body kept being forged passively. Although it was amazing, the amount of Qi he needed to advance was simply abnormal.

It was twice than he needed back then in his past life. However, he was guaranteed of being free from bottleneck. Thus, the plus and minus was balanced.

Basil looked in front of him and quirked one of his eyebrows. Standing in front of the manor was a couple of maids, Irene, and Shirley. All of them were tense.

Basil was a little bit puzzled. He didn't know why they were so tense. He was pretty sure it wasn't because Deacon who was in his normal appearance.

"Welcome back, Young Master."

All of the maids, along with Irene bow their heads and greeted him by the time he got down from Deacon. When the maids saw Deacon who stood behind Basil while keeping his original size, their faces went rigid.

None of them had treated Basil like how they should have treat a proper Viscount's son. It wasn't because they had any grudge against him or something. They were merely following the order of their Master. It was do or die.

They weren't dare enough to defy the Master's order as what Irene had been doing for all of the time. Therefore, when they heard Basil's blooming ability in Magic, they were afraid to lose their lives. Lives of ordinary people are nothing in front of a Mage.

Although there was a law created to protect them, as long as it wasn't a massacre, no one would punish a Mage for killing their servant. Furthermore, they were sure that the Master wouldn't defend them even if what they did was his order.

Luckily, their worry was unfounded as Basil ignored them completely.

"What are you doing outside here?"

Basil merely nodded at Irene to reply her greetings and asked her. Irene was unusually tense at that moment. He couldn't help but wonder.

"That is..."

"Brother."

Suddenly, Shirley who was standing beside Irene pulled on his sleeve. She had a distressed expression on her face, and was close to tears.

"Father is.. He is... You..."

She couldn't form a sentence properly, she was afraid she couldn't hold the lump in her mouth and burst in tears. Basil patted her head and looked at Irene. A knowing smile adorned his face.

Irene who saw that smile, felt her eyes getting hotter and bowed her head deeply. Basil let his hand off Shirley's head and got inside the house with Deacon in his original appearance. Depending on the person, it could be considered as a declaration of war.

Irene, Shirley, and the other maids followed him silently. None of them told him to where he should go, however Basil seemed to know where he should head himself.

Dining room. There, sat two people. Each of them had an unreadable expression on their face, and a strange glint in their eyes. When he arrived they instantly looked at him, expecting him to greet them. However, he merely smiled condescendingly.

Their face contorted for a second before returning back to the unreadable expression.

"Take a seat, Basil. You too, Shirley, my dear."

Nicholas spoke softly. He had never spoken that way toward Basil before, however Basil had no reaction to it. He merely sat himself on the chair with Deacon standing behind him observing the room like a bodyguard.

"I know you treasure your pet, however let us have a dinner among ourselves tonight."

Nicholas said while gesturing at Deacon.

"Pet?" Basil was unamusemed, he chuckled humorlessly. "He can take everyone's head and leave only two of us alive right now. Pet shall not be dangerous."

Nicholas frowned at his not so subtle threat. He didn't care about the maids, he was unamused by the fact that his daughter and wife were included.

"Even more a reason to keep him away from this dinner."

"If you do not want me to have a dinner with you, you can just say it like a man."

"What do you..?!"

Nicholas was close to lose himself. He was trying his best to be civil, however Basil kept getting on his nerves.

"Huuh..." He calmed himself down and spoke once again, "Fine. Let us just have a dinner."

Basil didn't pay him any attention as he was already moving foods into his plate. He was calm as usual. Only the people around were tense, especially Shirley. She kept looking at him and Nicholas alternatingly.

"I have heard of your endeavor from the academy. I am amazed by it."

Nicholas spoke once again after they started the dinner.

"However, your showcase of power was done wrongly. You have injured someone you should not touch."

"Earl Woster has been a great support of our family's business. Because of him, our business could expand to many other places. Although it was in a duel, by injuring his son, you have created an awkward situation for us."

The last one was Catherine. Although she said it calmly, there was a hint of glee in her tone. Basil looked at her in amusement. In response, she merely hid her smile behind her hand.

'You should have accepted my offer this morning.'

She was laughing in her mind. Her eyes glinted while she was looking at Basil daringly. However —

"Business, huh?"

— she instantly went rigid with just one word from him.

She didn't casually open her mouth. Nicholas who saw this took it as something else.

"It seems that a little growth in power gets to your head. How dare you to disrespect your mother?!"

He scolded Basil harshly. He had poured out his pent up emotion into that sentence earlier.

"So, what is the purpose of tonight's dinner?"

"I have decided to have you live independently as a punishment. This is our last dinner together."

Clank!

Shirley let go of her spoon. It fell on top of her plate and created a noise. Irene who had been rigid since earlier, felt her feet turned jelly. She had known that the Master was up to something however she didn't expect this to happen.

To let Basil live in Independence was the same as banishing him. She couldn't say anything. She loved Basil, however she couldn't defend him right then. Even if she was a Chief-maid, she was no more than a servant.

In front of all these, Basil merely took a sip from his glass, and stood up graciously.

"My last dinner with you? Splendid! Let us end it here."

He didn't finish his food, nor he finished his drink. He didn't want to. Giving these disgusting people to have a last dinner with him, Basil Pacifer? They weren't worthy!

'Nicholas, Catherine, this Lord hopes you will get used to the life in Hell.'

That day, the Cobham family had just released a lion from its cage. They thought that they had given Basil a great ordeal.. However, the truth was they had just led themselves to their own demise.