Chapter 58: Ivor's Aspirations

Veronica gave a naked challenge to Eren even without the latter saying anything in retaliation to Ivor's rude behaviour.

Eren was in a dilemma!

Should he kill this little bitch first before chopping down her tongue from its base? Or should he perform the chop first before killing her?

But then Eren remembered Lin and his panel of professors in the city. They might take action if one of the first-year students of LA disappears while travelling. Therefore, he had to drop that idea.

Reen condemned Eren for being a wuss. She was going to have another snack for the road. Her kind. Not the kind Eren and Jake were buying.

A girl gotta eat after all. But suddenly her Lil human nugget was taken away from her.

Reen tried to assure her master that she'll not leave any clue behind. If push comes to shove, she would even digest her victim's clothes to eradicate any form of a trace.

Bur Eren shut her up with an unflinching no in his head.

Even if she could eliminate the traces, this wasn't the right time for Reen to leave her inorganic form amid so many ranked entities gathered in the city.

Reen had assumed the shape of a pendant around Eren's neck. Eren wanted her to remain that way for as long as she could.

"Miss Veronica, surely you jest. I'm a simple wannabe potioneer. I don't even know how to kill a mouse.

All I've ever done till now is make elementary potions. So I have no choice but to refuse your friendly offer."

One could imagine Dom Raiders' members coughing blood after hearing Eren's claim about him being unable to kill a mouse. That indirectly meant they were even less worthy than a mouse as prey.

Eren said his bullshittery and bowed ever so slightly. They could all see that the bow was only done as a formality.

"Hmph! A coward's friend is another of his kind. Why was I expecting anything different?

Someday I'll have to straighten you guys up so that you can at least stand up for yourself."

'Should I eat her now?'

Reen asked in a suppressed excitement. Maybe a mere food ridiculing her master will change his mind and he'll allow her to take a bite? The demoness slime was very optimistic.

'No!' Said Eren to his pet before replying:

"Jason is it? Thank you for informing us about Matt. We will go to our inn soon afterwards and stay there until the carriage fleet gets ready.

Now, if you'd excuse us. See you soon."

Eren quickly changed the topic and treated Veronica's words as passing wind, invisible and inconsequential.

That triggered the bratty girl even more. But before she could speak, Ivor looked at Eren before saying:

"Hold on a minute, Eren. Speaking of Matt. How well do you know him? I read in one of the reports my grandpa kept on his study table that your apothecary had treated the guy before he was hospitalized.

Do you think he is also involved with the OWB? If yes, what else can you tell me about him?"

Ivor asked with a solemn face.

His eyes were deadly serious. His aura had become calm and collected. It was like something wanted to resurface from within him at that time.

"Hmm? I don't know anything else about Matt that isn't already there in the report. I just know that he was very loyal to Dom and will do anything to clear his name.

But why are you so keen on knowing about the guy? Don't tell me you want to kill him.

Forget about the feasibility of doing something like that at our age or the thing being right or wrong. Didn't you hate your brother?

That Matt guy, if he is involved with the OWB, must have done you a favour by making sure that Isaac doesn't create trouble for you ever in the future. You are now the heir apparent to the baronet. Why are you so angry with him?"

Eren normally would have let things go. He wouldn't have bothered asking anyone anything because he already had so many of his past life experiences, however, restricted they were.

But there was something else in Ivor that wasn't there in Isaac.

Eren asked Ivor that question because he felt the guy was too unstable when it came to Isaac. And it wasn't due to brotherly love. It was something more driven and ambitious.

Eren could feel that Ivor thought highly of himself. But he also felt that the kid had the skills to back that feeling. Eren lived less than a mediocre life in his previous lifetime.

So Ivor's persona, the special light in his eyes, intrigued Eren. It invoked certain greed in him.

Eren felt like he should rob Ivor of that light in his eyes. He felt like he should wring the boy dry of his ambitions so that he can use them to forge his own set of ambitions.

That's why Eren asked Ivor this question. And he asked him provocatively. So that the latter would give an honest account of his inner feelings. And it worked.

"Haha! Favour? What kinda fokin favour are you talking about? Royal Ren is better than LA in every possible way.

You know why there's the word "Royal" placed in its name, right? It's because Royal Ren mostly houses the FOKIN royal kids of the kingdom along with the kids of bureaucrats and other crucial positions.

Only when a royal scion from any of their royal family branches fails to secure admission in Royal Ren does he reluctantly get into any other of the top four academies of the kingdom. The same is the case with bureaucrats' kids.

LA in the south, specialising in berserkers, close combat experts and potioneers.

Lufthansa in the west. It specializes in historians, rangers, thieves, and other combat dicentric professionals.

Artemis in the north is famous for giving stellar long ranger fighters to the kingdom.

And Sansara Sage in the east, which is renowned for producing scholars in runes, inscriptions, arrays, artefacts, and more.

But do you know why Royal Ren stands at the top among these academies? It's because it specializes in everything.

It HAS everything. It stands above the top four institutes.

It's like all the knowledge the Edinburgh kingdom has to offer is condensed into a single place we know as Royal Ren. It receives the biggest grant among all the top academies from the kingdom. And it boasts of the most qualified and famous professors.

Sure, the four academies are at their top in their respective zones. And they produce countless experts.

But Royal Ren offers ordinary students something that other academies can't, even if all of them were to receive the same amount of resources as the former.

You know what that is, right? It's the chance to make connections with the royal scions. They are the ones who are going to get appointed to the most important places available in the kingdom, whether they fall into the civilian, bureaucratic, or military categories.

After all, the other mainstream positions in the kingdom are going to get taken by the students of Royal Ren.

Agreed, other than royal scions and the children of bureaucrats, the ordinary students in the Royal Ren aren't treated well. Even someone from the house of a baron won't be able to exert much of their influence.

Plus, Royal Ren places certain restrictions on students who aren't part of the royal branch. Ordinary students who graduate from the Royan Ren have to serve the royal house exclusively for a certain period.

A binding mana contract will have to be signed by these students that would attest to the same.

Still, I had a chance to attend Royal Ren. My future would have been much brighter if I could attend the most resource-rich academy of Edinburgh. But now I ended up in LA.

What will I even do after I graduate from LA? Become an adventurer? A hunter?

Even if I somehow manage to secure a place in the royal court's bureaucracy, civil offices or military, the position won't be high.

My promotion will always stagnate. Students from Royal Ren will be prioritized over me for higher, better paying, more important positions.

What good are your skills if someone with connections gets appointed over you because of their royal contact?

That's why students from the top four academies become famous adventurers and hunters. It's because they can not help but become only that.

The students from the top four academies choose not to struggle for these positions because they know their struggle to grow will be futile in the end.

That's why they turn to become normal soldiers, city guards, adventurers, and hunters rather than trying their luck for those positions.

At least after staying active on the field, they can hope to progress further in their ranking journey while earning a decent amount. That's what they think when they opt for those professions.

But that's just the brute way of handling things if you ask me.

Royal Ren contains much easier, safer ways with which you can progress rapidly in your rankings. The information about those ways is heavily restricted. The binding contract will make sure that those ways stay limited to the students and teacher bodies of the Royal Ren.

In short, becoming a student of Royal Ren is your ticket to success in life. Whether it is social standing, monetary growth, or ranking journey. You will progress much ahead, much faster, and much better in all walks of life if you become a Royal Ren alumni.

Why would someone who has a chance to attend Royal Ren will find joy in attending LA?

But the thing I dreaded the most happened to me. My loser brother had to die just before my entrance to the Royal Ren.

It would have been perfect if Isaac were to become the heir to Osan baronet. But now I have to carry that responsibility. Only because he had to kiss the angel of death at the worst possible time.

Now Grandpa won't allow me to sign the binding contract anymore. So I'm stuck in LA. Without a contract. And without a prosperous future.

So you tell me. How did you manage to concur that Osan Woods' Butcher or any of his accomplices must have done me a HUGE favour by getting rid of the only ticket I had to escape mediocrity?

The fokin OWB… err… the accomplices of OWB are my mortal enemies. Not because they killed my brother. But because they killed my dreams."

Ivor vented out all the load in his heart that was weighing him down. He gave voice to his dreams, his aspirations, and his despair. In front of four LA students, one emotional-for-no-reason snack shop's keeper, and a few customers.

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Author's Note: This extra chapter was brought to release by the overwhelming response from @Waakaranai, @yayinV, @InHisName, @Mohammad_Alibrahem and other active readers.

Thank you for your contribution. Stay tuned and happy reading! ;)