Stygian Mage

Faron walked through the corridors of the Liston Family Mansion and entered a hall after knocking on the door. Ervin and the other senior members of the Family were currently sitting around an oval table, having a meeting; Ervin sat on the main chair as the head of the Family.

“Was there any issue?” Ervin asked Faron as others also stopped talking and focused on Faron.

“No, Sir. He didn’t resist at all and went in willingly.” Faron replied, seemingly talking about Soren.

“That’s a problem in itself. What do you think he’s planning?” Ervin asked as he frowned and lay back on his chair.

“There’s a high chance that he was thinking of breaking through to Rank 1 under our captivity and then break out of there. For now, he must be trying to look for a way to cast spells under that restriction.” Faron replied, completely baring the plan that Soren was thinking about.

“Casting spells in there would be impossible for him; even Rank 1 Initiators have their Mana Core restricted the moment they step in, let alone Rank 0 Initiators. As for gathering Mana to cultivate, he won’t be able to do that either under those restrictions. But we have to prepare for the worst. We have to consider the possibility that he can gather Mana in that prison cell, and will break through to Rank 1 soon.” Ervin worded his thoughts out loud while tapping his fingers in a rhythm on the wooden table.

“Do you want me to keep an eye out for any increase in his cultivation level, Sir?” Faron asked as he understood what Ervin was getting at.

The other senior members also agreed about taking precautionary measures early on, instead of cleaning up the mess later.

“Why don’t we just kill him now? It would save us a lot of trouble. “A young-looking male sitting the farthest from Ervin on the right side said.

“Don’t speak out of turn, young man.” Another elderly person who was sitting close to Ervin on his left side berated this young man without any hesitation. Clearly, there was some discord between the senior members and they didn’t miss any chance to put the other person down.

“It’s fine. We need all the ideas we can get right now.” Ervin said as he stopped the fight from continuing.

“To be honest, it all happened because of Young Miss and those stupid brats. We could have easily followed the same plan that we always have, and slowly earned his trust. Even if he would have decided not to stay with us after breaking through to Rank 1; at least, he wouldn’t have been hostile towards us.” One of the senior members who were close to Ervin said.

“We have given them too much freedom. Today, their actions are causing us this much headache; tomorrow, they might just become the reason for our family’s demise.” An elderly member further commented on that.

“In my opinion, it all happened because we didn’t keep an eye out on his cultivation level.” Other senior member added.

“Who could have known that he could cultivate so quickly. We couldn’t have someone just follow him all day long, checking his cultivation. And even if we could, using so many of the one-time scanning type spell is not feasible at all.”

“There’s no use in beating ourselves over the past. What’s done is done; arguing here won’t change any of that. Now, we have to think of a plan to solve this mess. Do we really have no choice but to kill him?” The oldest person amongst the member said as he brought everyone’s attention to the main point.

“We can’t kill him like that. He can be a very big help to the Family. Not to mention, the fact that he cultivated so quickly means that his aptitude is very high, even amongst the ‘Travelers’; and don’t forget about his Bloodline. Although we still don’t know what it is, we must have that Bloodline.” Ervin said as he put forth what he was thinking.

Everyone fell into silence as they heard what Ervin said. They all had been astonished when they learned of Soren’s real cultivation level. That speed was something they could only dream about. It was not that they did not suspect Soren possessing a high-grade cultivation technique, but according to them, his Bloodline could be the only reason behind it. This conclusion of theirs was not without basis, and as it turned out, they were right.

They all wanted to have that power, and so, their greed took over; resulting in them making a decision of sparing Soren for now, and trying to turn him into their puppet.

“So, do we continue with the original plan of torturing him? Will he break like that before dying?” Another senior member, who looked to be about 35-36 years old, said.

“I’ll arrange a proper scanning spell for you, Faron.” Ervin didn’t reply to that senior member and just continued, “Keep an eye out on his cultivation level. And if he somehow breaks through to Rank 1, kill him with any means possible. Have Carla station there with you for support. We can’t take any chances with this one.”

“Yes, Sir,” Faron said out loud while being indifferent about getting a proper scanning spell. He didn’t care about this spell in particular. Because this spell didn’t matter much in the place they lived. Every Rank 1 Initiator knew each other. They were already aware of each other’s cultivation level, and given that it was not easy to increase even a single layer in Rank 1, they didn’t have to check it that often.

“And…..make sure you don’t damage him permanently. Keep it under a limit. We don’t want to break him completely; we don’t want him to become a wooden log. We want him working for us; for that, he needs to be in a perfect physical condition.”

Ervin hesitated as he thought about the consequences of his words. If his past was taken into consideration, he had thoroughly changed after what happened with his wife. But his soft-hearted side from the past still sometimes influenced his decision; it was his reality.

Knock!

Knock!

Someone knocked on the door of the hall.

“Come in,” Ervin said as they all looked towards the source of the knock. For someone to disturb them during their meeting meant that the issue was important; as such, Ervin couldn’t ignore it.

“Sir, the Princess, and her people have arrived. They want to talk to you.” A young man entered the hall and said as he bowed in respect.

The moment this young man said the word ‘Princess’, everyone in that hall, including Ervin, got a jolt and stood up from their seats. This person was not someone they could deal with in a careless manner. They couldn’t let a person of her stature wait for them while they finish the meeting. They all were aware of the priorities and such, this meeting came to a sudden and an unexpected end.

…

Ervin rushed through the corridors with Faron on his tail. Although he had heard that this Princess didn’t have a good influence inside the palace, it was still enough for him to be very careful around her. He simply could not afford to offend this person, no matter what. Of course, Ervin was also aware of the situation surrounding the kingdom, so he knew the limit up to which he had to obey this Princess. But no matter what, she was of the royal descent. As such, he had to give her utmost respect; if not for her, then for the royal blood.

“Welcome to this humble one’s place, Your Highness.” Ervin bowed deeply with respect as soon as he entered the guest hall. Faron also followed him and deeply bowed, though he didn’t say anything.

The Princess simply nodded while sitting on the sofa as she saw them entering; Livan stood behind her like her shadow. Azure didn’t say anything about the ‘Your Highness’ part this time; mainly because right now, she was there as the Royal Princess, not Azure. Her status as Azure was not enough when it came to dealing with Families and Organizations. So, she had to rely on her status of a princess, someone with royal blood flowing in their veins. And a commoner calling a Royal Family member by their name was not a forgivable act; of course, without permission.

“How may I help you today, Your Highness?” Ervin continued as he went in and sat down in front of the Princess. This was not an act of rudeness; it was simply an act in accordance with their status. His choice of word ‘help’ instead of ‘serve’ clearly reflected that. He was deeply aware that this Princess and her attendant could easily destroy their Family if they wanted to; they had more than enough strength for that. But, at the same time, he was also aware that the Royal Family could not bear the consequences that would follow after that. It was not because Ervin was deeply connected and had a very huge influence; it was because they, the Liston Family, carried the word ‘Family’. They were a part of the huge community which would band together every time there was something or someone that threatened their existence. If the Princess destroyed the Liston Family without a good reason, it would create a spark; a spark which could very well end up engulfing the whole kingdom, especially when war was ongoing.

The Princess was well aware of this fact; that’s why she had arrived here personally to recruit Initiators for the war.

“Mr. Liston, I wanted to talk to you about the ‘Traveler’ which you have under your employment,” Azure said as Ervin sat down.

“What about him, Your Highness?” Ervin was a little surprised after hearing that she was there to talk about Soren.

“I wanted to ask how you were dealing with that situation,” Azure continued.

“I am afraid I don’t follow, You Highness.” Ervin frowned as he replied to the Princess.

“Let’s stop the façade for now, Mr. Liston. I am talking about the situation with his Blood Contract. From the fact that he was hiding his cultivation level, it’s clear that he was planning to break the contract. What are you planning to do with him, now that you’ve found out about this?” Azure pushed back and laid bare the ‘secret’.

Ervin had a flash of surprise appear on his face but it was soon replaced with indifference, hidden inside his respectful appearance.

“May I know, what is the reason that Your Highness is asking this question for?” Ervin answered her question with another question.

“Generally, this matter would have nothing to do with me. But this time, I unknowingly got involved in this. So, I would like to know what is happening with this situation.” Azure simply stated the reason for questions.

Ervin fell into silence for a while as multiple thoughts went through his mind. After thinking about the situation properly, he said, “We have kept him in captivity for now. After seeing how the situation develops from now on, we will either break him or kill him.” Ervin’s reply didn’t hide anything. He had no reason left to hide anything anymore; the Princess wanted the bare facts, after all.

Azure frowned as she heard Ervin talk about ‘breaking’ Soren. Although she wasn’t aware of the details, she could easily tell that they were going to torture him.

“Is there any way you can release him and let him go.” Azure finally said what she had come here to say. Her naked innocence and naivety were clearly on display here. Her words not only shocked Ervin but also Faron who was silently standing by the side. Livan was the only one in the room who was completely unaffected by her words; he was well acquainted with this side of her and had already accepted it.

“Princess, we can’t do that. That would not only put my family in danger but also endanger you. He is well aware of who it was that revealed his cultivation level.” Ervin calmed down after that burst of shock form her words and said.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll have Livan make sure that he does not keep a grudge against me or your family.”

“Please forgive me, Your Highness. I am not willing to risk the existence of my family just based on those words.” Ervin didn’t sway from his decision and firmly refused the princess.

Azure frowned after hearing Ervin’s firm response. She had thought that her status and power would be enough to influence this head of a small family. Though she already knew about it, she hadn’t truly realized it before just how powerful the word ‘Family’ could be; she did now. Even a small ‘Family’ in a backwater area like this could firmly refuse a Royal Princess, just based on the fact that they were a ‘Family’.

After mulling over it, Azure decided to play her final card. She had prepared this before coming here and was pretty sure that if nothing else worked, this would. 

“What if I have him sign a Blood Contract saying that he wouldn’t go against your family? It wouldn’t be a problem to let him go then, right?”

Ervin was first surprised to hear the princess talk about the Blood Contract, but then he frowned and said, “It wouldn’t work, Princess. If it could be solved so easily like that, I would have used all the wealth I had to buy a high ranking Contract and used it on him. It could solve the problem temporarily, yes, but what about when he breaks through to Rank 2? Are you asking me to keep buying Blood Contracts of higher ranks? Or are you going to keep providing higher ranking Blood Contracts for us?”

“It’s not so easy to increase the cultivation level, Mr. Liston.” Azure snapped and said.

“That’s what we thought too before this situation happened, Your Highness.” Ervin retorted.

…

…

…

Silence covered the whole room as the two parties kept staring against each other.

Finally, Azure sighed and decided not to antagonize Ervin and his Family. But she wasn’t willing to leave it like that so she thought to take one last shot.

“I am not asking you to use the Blood Contract to keep him under you. I am asking you to make a deal with him; stating that you will release him and not go after him, and he will also not come back for revenge and harm any of you.”

Ervin finally made a conflicted expression upon hearing the Princess’s words. Truthfully, he was slightly wavering on his decision right now. If everything could be solved just like the princess said, then he would gladly take that; instead of going through with what they had decided earlier, this could be an easy path.

After thinking about it for some time, and weighing the pros and the cons of such action, Ervin finally made his decision.

The image of a little girl calling him ‘Dad’ with adoration and love went through his head as he bowed and said, “I deeply apologize, Your Highness. I can’t take that risk, especially when it’s not just me who’ll come under danger. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that he will not come back after breaking even that higher rank Blood Contract.”

………..

“You did everything you could, Azure. It’s not your fault, now.” Livan said as they walked out of the Liston Family Mansion.

Azure nodded but then said, “But he doesn’t know that, Livan.”

She finally released a defeated sigh and went towards her residence.

…………

Soren opened his eyes in the darkness as a smile formed on his face; he had found it. He had finally found the method to cast spells under this restriction. It took him many trials and failures to reach this point, but he did it.

The thing that gave him this breakthrough was his ‘Mana Manipulation’ skill. After so many trials, he realized that this restriction would simply not allow his Mana to come out at all. Getting defeated by this, Soren finally decided to not rely on the Mana inside his Mana Core. In the end, he made a decision to use his ‘Mana Manipulation’ skill to try and see if he could control the Mana that was gathering when he used ‘Devour’. And much to his delight, he could. His ‘Devour’ skill worked in a different way than a normal cultivation technique; Mana gathered by a normal cultivation technique went directly inside the body, so it was not possible to control it without first making it one’s own.

Of course, using ‘Devour’ was also not very efficient. Using this method, he could barely gather enough Mana at once to cast a spell.

Furthermore, during these trials, he also realized that the restriction in this place mainly worked on stopping his Mana in the Mana Core from coming out; it didn’t hinder his cultivation as its main focus. The restriction did suppress the Mana and made it much harder for it to move but Soren could still gather it forcefully using ‘Devour’ and increase his cultivation; which he planned to do. The amount of Mana and the speed of gathering decreased by a lot but these conditions were still better than nothing. If it was any other low-grade cultivation technique, it wouldn’t have been possible to even move this Mana, let alone use it to cast spells and cultivate.

…

Soren’s smile increased even further as he saw his surroundings. The prison cell was completely dark right now. The minimal amount of sunlight coming in from the window was already gone as it was evening right now. In this condition, there was almost no possibility of someone seeing his dark Mana when he used ‘Devour’; given that they were able to see Mana, of course.

Moreover, he was not going to cultivate and breakthrough to Rank 1 in this cell. That would be a suicide on his part. He could guess that the Liston Family would probably have someone checking on his cultivation level on a regular basis, and if he broke through to Rank 1, he would be killed instantly. He was kept alive only because they thought they could still control him. The moment he would have enough power to break the Contract, they would end his life just to be on the safe side.

So for now, Soren had decided to stay put and bide his time. He was going to slowly increase his CP to around 98% and then stop there. The most important thing for him right now was to use his spell and find a way to break out of the cell. Once he broke out of here, he could instantly breakthrough to Rank 1 and then break the Contract to finally achieve his freedom.

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