7K words.
Almost posted this in the wrong place, lol...
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/Deep within the Free City…/
Inside a large laboratory, people of varying sizes, clad in black and gray suits, stared intently at a thick glass window. Some were over 170 cm tall, others just as tall as children, a common sight in the Free City, where races of diverse sizes coexisted. The juxtaposition of taller Elves and smaller Dwarves highlighted this.
Beyond the protective glass, an even larger room housed a massive machine resembling a giant tech-furnace, with numerous tubes snaking in and out. At its center, a large metal ball trembled slightly, swinging left and right as if trying to escape the cables that locked it in place… Suddenly, a loud /BEEEP!/ echoed, activating numerous switches automatically, the lights in the whole facility flickering momentarily.
With a /Fuwoon…/, the machine powered down. Removing their headgear, everyone breathed in the hot air, a welcome relief from their stuffy helmets, "Experiment Burner-35 has ended, prepare to log the attempt." announced someone seated by the window, eyes fixed on a series of glowing buttons.
The scientists then checked equipment, meticulously documenting the experiment's results and ensuring no malfunctions occurred during or after the machine's shutdown. A short time later, a small but powerfully built scientist removed his helmet, revealing a middle-aged Dwarf with a long, thick beard and mustache, and thick goggles perched on his nose. With a serious expression, he said:
"Good work everyone, enjoy your weekend…"
As the man talked, another scientist approached him:
"Director, the files are ready."
The man nodded, ignoring the rest as he read the files… "Hm…"
'As expected, it's still not enough… Not enough energy to quick-start the reaction… But I thought I had found the necessary ratio for the fuel. What could be the problem this time?'
The man flipped the papers, reading at a fast speed...
'The cooling is within the expected parameters... There could be issues later, but that's another phase of the project…'
'Gas emission is within the calculated amount for this phase... There was a little trembling, so something's unstable... The frame? We can always reinforce it. Either way, it's not that unexpected nor alarming...'
'The machine works… And very well at that. The only issue is that it's not stable enough, part of the fuel isn't igniting and creating the expected phenomenon… Not without some assistance from our side.'
'Still… This is a Magmatic Forge through and through. No one can refute that fact…'
He closed the papers and frowned, 'But this isnt what I want.'
'I don't want to appear and show the world half-completed research… Yet the deadlines are coming and those annoying people are pressuring me to reveal my research…'
'What part of it do they not understand? It's not ready!'
The man scratched his head in frustration.
"For my grandfathers pubes! This is making me go nuts!"
'If they were so eager to see the results of my research they should've shown me more support. If they had done that, I would've finished this years ago!'
'Had I not spent months begging them for scraps, how far would we be now? Thick-faced, smooth-chinned, monoball… Bastards!'
"Urg!..."
He tucked at his beard but calmed down, stroking it faintly.
'How did the ancient stone shapers regulate it? They could build this entire reactor out of stone and crude iron!… Their earliest unstable models at least… Thousands of years ago…'
'I got my hands on the rarest intact parts and their prized metal, yet I struggle this much to replicate something every clan could do! Just what principle was so well known at that time that has been lost?!… If only their research papers were still intact...'
'Hum… It's certainly not the fuel that is at fault. We're using Pure Green Luminia recovered from sealed-off vaults. It's the exact same thing they used. We've also purified it and recovered its manufacturing methods… I modified it to fit the prototype and all isolated experiments succeeded.'
He looked through the window and into the reactor, 'Most of this prototype was built from the pieces we recovered from other Magmatic Forges by following the few blueprint pieces I managed to decode… The rest was forged after hundreds of calculations... I'm certain its shape is exactly as it was meant to be!'
'Yet… the end result still fails to match the darned calculations!... I'm losing my mind... Sigh...'
"The issue likely stems from the modifications…"
'In the end, fully replicating it was impossible… Still, I manufactured replacement pieces for those parts to fulfill the same purpose, there's shouldn't have been an issue… curses… decades of research to reach this point…'
'Doesn't matter. With each day, we step closer to the original... I only need time… and more budget…'
The man scratched his head in frustration once more.
'Time to conduct more tests, time to perfect the process, time to understand its innerworkings fully. After that… I can think about improving it…'
He shook his head.
"I'm getting ahead of myself."
'Even if I have many ideas to improve it, I'll first put myself on the same level as the ancient stone shapers before proceeding. This way, I can guarantee that I fully understood their intentions and thinking process.'
'The documents tell how each Clan had their own methods and beliefs and that those influenced all manners of their society, even the way their furnaces worked… If they can do it, so can I.'
'The issue is that… I may not be trying to figure out one model but several at once… To make this singular reactor, many blueprints were excavated and decoded. They fit together but not fully.'
'Even if a single bolt isn't in place, then it could lead to instability and the sensitive reaction to fail… The ancients, however, had mastered this process to such a degree their reactors could function even with severe instability. That's why some lasted until the present.'
"Urg, two… No, one year is more than enough… I just need to make a few dozen more experiments and pinpoint every single variable, then fix it."
'We don't lack leads, I only need time and resources to make the process stable. Even the reactor isn't commercially viable, as long as I can study the reaction within a functioning reactor… if only those conservative fools allowed me to take a glance at theirs…'
"Those fucking bastards!"
""…""
The other scientists hurried with their work while the Dwarf remained in the room, thinking and reading the papers. Slowly, the researchers finished with their work, leaving behind more reports for him to read.
Time passed, and eventually...
/Creak.../
Someone entered the room.
/Step step step…/
"Hm? Oh, it's you." The dwarf said as he turned around
It was another man, just as small as him… And oddly similar to him, in fact. It was a young Dwarf with long brown hair. He was carrying a sealed box with a lot of effort. It seemed heavy.
It was strange to see such a young man working in a laboratory... But the Old Dwarf didn't seem to think of it as strange. The older Dwarf even looked a bit proud as he patted the young boy's shoulder and helped him carry the box to a table.
"Good work boy, Ive been waiting for this."
'The only good news of the day...'
He took a small card from his chest pocket. It was a metallic keycard with his name on it. Covered in strange runes and symbols.
The young man whipped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I still can't get used to the heat of this room… And these damn boxes..."
'Even with the protective gear, I constantly feel as if I'm in front of a heated forge… And these boxes… It doesn't help they're as heavy as a damn bull!… But when you open them, only a tiny thing pebble remains inside...'
"I know, the ventilation isn't ideal. If we had time, I would've made a countermeasure, but we're running on a tight clock so we have to cut some expenses… It doesn't help that construction takes a hundred times more than it should due to the confidentiality of the operation." The older Dwarf said in disappointment as he opened the box
He passed his keycard through the lock and it opened with a smooth clicking sound.
/Click!/
'A bad working environment leads to bad productivity. I would've liked to solve it all, but that takes time and money... and I lack both.'
He smiled faintly, "Hopefully, once we finish this project, well have time to do some reforms in this laboratory."
"Also, I already told you why these boxes are heavy."
He looked at box, inside, the Dwarf saw what seemed to be a big clump of red rock with a letter on top of it…
"Hm…"
But he didn't seem pleased to see that… "Is something wrong, Dad?" The young Dwarf asked as he noticed his expression
His father grabbed the ore with extreme caution, weighing it down with his own hands... He frowned deeply, his forehead tensing as it grew redder
"... This ore… Its 6.8 Kg less than what I requested."
"What does that mean, exactly?"
/CLAP!/
The older Dwarf scoffed and closed the box angrily.
"It means a potential time loss of at least a week, and that's a conservative estimate."
"This Ore was supposed to be used in creating a new TER Valve since the other one was showing signs of malfunction and decay, switching it would then show more accurate measurements..."
"TER… You mean a temperature regulation Valve?"
"What else boy?!… The valve was meant to reduce some of the risks of the prototype by a considerable margin… However, since we have less Ore than necessary, a problem arises..."
"The first solution is to maximize time and make a thinner valve, but that increases the risk factor significantly, this valve is extremely important and if it malfunctions, it could compromise the machine as even a slight fluctuation of temperature could lead to the meltdown of several key components... Even slight damage would set us back by days… the worst it could happen is a Critical Meltdown..."
"If we're lucky, that's a year of work down the drain, if we're not… We might have to reconstruct the whole thing."
"The second one is to scrap the previous valve and melt it down, fusing the two materials together, but while this is done, we won't be able to run any major experiments, and there is also room for imprecision because we're fusing two different metals together."
"One is processed metal recovered from a ruin, decaying for who knows how long, and the other ore that was mined recently… The ratios could be utterly different. I may be okay with mixing different metals, but I want each piece of the machine to be as pure as possible."
He grasped the fancy letter between his finger, almost crushing it… But he held his anger as he looked at his son. His face even redder than before.
"Make me a small favor son and… Go to the market and see if you can find another ore, one that fits the fucking requirements, I'll pay for the expense… we can leave this piece for something else… like the dozen other useless small chunks we have lying around."
"We simply can't delay things anymore, and I'm not really keen on putting our lives in danger over their pettiness."
'This is a warning from them. They're telling me to hurry up… bastards…'
"Father? This type of ore can't be so easily found, much less one of your requirements…"
The older Dwarf simply looked at his son with a poker expression, and after he understood what he meant, he paled. Taking a step back in shock.
"... You… If they found out we even considered dealing with them…"
"Shut it boy! You talk as loud as a damn cricket at midnight! I never said that!" The older Dwarf said as he blocked his son's mouth
"Tell this to your ma, she'll understand what to do… Now go! Leave me to read their excuse in peace." He said as he opened the letter
"I... Yes, father."
/Creak…/
As the door closed behind him, the older Dwarf let out a sigh, "This is the worst outcome... From everything they could've done, they did this..."
He looked at the door and shook his head.
"He's too young for this, he needs to understand that if you play fair, you'll win nothing in life… Because there are those that don't. If you want to keep your morals, you need to shove your foot in dirt first."
"Still… I would've preferred to not deal with them, especially at such crucial times…"
'It's all because... because of those fucking bald nuts! Warped chins! Soggy tits! Pube beards! Their greed knows no bounds, their ignorance shall be their doom, they're putting business in front of a revolutionary rediscovery for our species!'
'I can understand wanting a return for their investments, but if we can just succeed, whatever we spent before will feel like a grain of sand in the ocean!'
/RIP!/
The old Dwarf only read the first half of the letter before he ripped it apart and threw it on the ground, fuming in anger.
"They're not even hiding it anymore, fine!"
He looked at the silent machine behind the thick glass window, slamming his fist on the table before turning around, "They gave me eight weeks... If I do it like this... It can be possible."
'I can make it work!'
"We're so close, I've mostly deciphered its inner workings, and we've even tapped into the security codes of the ancient systems…"
'Although most of the code is fragmented, every day we're making progress in rebuilding it. The Ancient Stone Shapers and Architects were really incredible. With the recovered codes, I wonder how many secrets we can find buried beneath the mud?'
"The core of our civilizations. If we can recover it…"
…
Later, before the gates to Philip's home, Sebastiano spoke with another butler, clearly not from the Utler Manor, "Deliver it to this manor's lord." the other butler said, turning and leaving without further comment, "I shall." Sebastiano replied as the man left, feeling no offense.
He was well aware of the nobles' interactions and the way their butlers often mirrored their behavior. Once the man left his sight, he turned his gaze to the letter, recognizing the wax seal on the letter.
'The Pykes?' he wondered as he saw the Pyke family's crest.
A thought struck him, he'd heard their eldest son planned a city visit to learn the family business. 'Hum… Ah, yes. This must be the masquerade ball…'
A long-standing tradition for newcomers. Carefully pocketing the letter, Sebastiano closed the gates and returned inside.
…
/Knock knock!/
Sebastiano went around the manor and past the back garden to the training room, built into the wide, curved stone wall. A solitary door, carved from the stone and painted in the manor's dark blue and gold emblem, stood there.
He approached, knocking lightly and waiting for a response. He knew it was unwise to interrupt someone's training, but this matter demanded his lord's attention, and Philip hadn't requested privacy, so he felt justified.
Normally, a request for solitude would be relayed through the head butler; however, he knew little of this new lord. Habits and preferences take time to learn, and he felt he had made the most appropriate decision.
/Creak…/
The door was opened from the other side, revealing a sweaty Philip without his shirt and with a pair of gym shorts, holding a large dull sword that was now resting on his right shoulder.
"Do you need me for something, head butler?"
"Yes, Milord."
Still, while little, within the few hours they spent together, Sebastiano had already understood a bit about his new masters.
Philip seemed calm and collected. He was understanding and very social despite not talking much. A man who preferred to listen first and act later. Quite unique to others his age.
While Viera was cheerful, but also collected, the way she acted alone, or in the presence of others, was completely different from the way she did around her fiance.
She only seemed relatively comfortable around him, and that proved to Sebastiano that their relation wasn't like one of a forced marriage, which hopefully meant that their days ahead would be peaceful.
One thing weighed on his mind, however… So far, Viera spent most of her time in the main office reading, and every once in a while she would request something from them, most of it were sweets though…
While the Lord immediately went into training. He understood that Philip was a hardworking man, but most couples his age wouldn't spend their first few days in the city like this.
It made them feel distant from one another, but that wasn't his business, at least not now…
"Apologies for interfering with your training, Lord Polter, but there is a matter that requires your attention." Sebastiano said as he bowed
As he said that, he had a maid behind him deliver a white towel to Philip, as if he predicted such a thing to happen.
As for the maid, she was holding onto a silver cart with several cleaning tools and even a bottle of cold water… Sebastiano was really prepared and efficient, showing his many years as the Head Butler.
"It's okay, I was planning on ending it here for today."
'No need to rush things. I'll need to adapt to this new environment… and probably renovate this training room, too. It's far too poor for my tastes… But my previous experiences could be causing some bias…'
Philip looked at the maid and nodded, grabbing the towel and drinking most of the cold water in one go before putting it back on the cart.
"..."
The poor maid felt embarrassed, she wasn't that old, likely being his age. To her, Philip's muscular body and status was a combination hard to resist.
After the many intense sessions of training and body modification he passed through… His body had reached the absolute peak of the human constitution. In no way was he overly large and "big", he was defined and his muscles were sharp.
He had a few scars scattered throughout his body, most of them from the past three weeks of training, scars that didn't quite heal due to Fabrin's brutal training… Or better put, they were adaptations his body had taken to better resist Fabrin's combat style.
After all, Fabrin often struck the same places in the same manner. His body quickly identified the patterns and tried to defend itself against it… A shame it wasn't quite efficient in stopping Fabrin's otherworldly strength.
"… Tell me now, what's the matter?"
"Not long ago, a butler from the house of Pyke visited us, entrusting this letter into my hands. He requested it to be delivered into your hands only."
"House of Pyke?" Philip winced inwardly, maintaining his composure.
He didn't recognize the name, none of the nobles he knew belonged to that family. He suspected MT would have information on them, but more nobles were the last thing he needed.
No matter where he went, they seemed to follow… Perhaps he should have chosen a less conspicuous residence in the lower city. He'd opted for the upper sector for its amenities; money was useless if not spent wisely.
'Let's see… Ahhhh… Fuck!'
Examining the letter, he recognized the emblem on the wax seal, the same one on the soldiers he'd seen earlier. 'So that was why they were tailing us… They wanted to know where we lived so they could deliver this to us… Should I just ignore it?'
"I'll read it later." he decided. "But first, a warm bath."
"Of course, sir. I'll have one prepared within a quarter." Sebastiano replied promptly
"… and please order another training dummy." Philip requested seriously, gesturing to the adjacent room
Sebastiano looked surprised, adjusting his glasses as he followed him inside.
"The last one was excellent." Philip explained, "but it won't survive tomorrow. I need a replacement."
He stepped aside, revealing a room scarred by deep slashes. The metallic dummy was unrecognizable, battered and near destruction… Sebastiano quickly understood hiw words and replied, "I'll order one." he said as he regained his composure, "… a more durable one this time."
"Good, tell me the options later together with the price. It would also be good if you made a small list of some training materials I can acquire in this city, for reference, of course."
"I'm also interested in modifying this room. If you can provide me with the appropriate documents, I'd be thankful."
'With so much money to spend and in such a developed place, it may be good to see if I can use it on something useful.'
"I'll do as you ask. The laws regarding the modifications of one's property are quite strict, but it shouldn't be too difficult to have it approved."
Without saying much more, Philip walked out of the training room while the maid got inside to clean. She even asked for his sword, but Philip smiled awkwardly… He didn't want to offend her, but he didn't think that she would be able to lift it even if he gave her
That said, he did let her try. No point in judging without seeing first… but the end result was as expected. Making her embarrassed and too ashamed to even look at his face as she failed to lift it.
Philip smiled and stored the sword in his inventory, this time leaving without looking behind.
"..."
'This young man is full of surprises… Not only is he rather approachable, but he is also very understanding. I've met many his age but few held this degree of level-headedness.'
Sebastiano looked inside the training room with a deep gaze.
'The Dummy isn't that fragile; only a Purple-Gold, strength-focused adventurer could exert the force needed to break it this badly. Or something along the lines of a destructive 5th Circle spell...'
'It doesn't seem like he demolished it in one strike but with several. Even so, to cause this degree of damage without looking tired or causing significant damage to the surroundings shows his level and the control he has over his own strength.'
'Humm… A Dark-Gold adventurer?… Quite young too.'
Sebastiano shook his head. There's no point in thinking too much.
He left the maid behind for her duties and followed Philip into the manor…
…
/Half an hour later…/
"Phew… That was a good bath." Philip murmured with a smile as he left the bathroom, hot steam rising from his body
'And they say being rich doesn't bring happiness…'
After putting his clothes back on, he walked to his office to see Viera reading a book as always.
"You're back… Took you long enough." She said without taking her face off the book
"I just warmed up a bit, besides, look at you, I heard you enjoyed your time a lot… Ordering food and all…" He replied with a smug smile as he walked to the front of the desk, standing before it with his arms crossed
Viera looked at the side, embarrassed, "Humph…"
He smiled, taking out the letter from his pants and sitting on the nearest couch. Seeing the letter, Viera's attention was immediately drawn.
She approached her, leaning on the couch behind him.
"What's that?"
"I dont know, how about we find that out?"
He tapped on the couch, gesturing for her to sit beside him. And she smiled, sitting beside him, "Sure."
"Let's see… Let me read through it all at once first."
…
For the next few minutes, Philip and Viera read through the page-long letter. It was an introduction and welcome, an invitation from the Pyke Family's young Lord towards a party he'll be hosting tonight.
Well written and concise, simple and direct. It contained the party's rules and recommendations, the time it would run, the events it would host, and more.
After Philip finished reading it, Viera raised her left eyebrow, mulling over its contents, "It's a good letter, but can you guess what I'm thinking?… Why us? They don't even know us…"
"I'd say it's exactly because they don't know us. A common curtesy is to treat all nobles with respect until you determine the hierarchy between them. The issue is the intent."
"What the upper section of the city doesn't lack are those of high status and I doubt this party lacks any… Us being picked from the rest is quite improbable."
"Then they must have an underlying reason… This doesn't look good. It screams trouble…"
"But so does not going. This invite is just as much as a suggestion as it is an order. I have some status, but it's incomparable to the eldest son of the Pykes."
"Urg… This is the first time I'm regretting you not being a higher noble… Then… Are we going?"
"Hm… I wasn't planning on going. After all, even if our status is far lower than theirs, I have little intention of entering the political picture. So there's no need to fan their egos."
'Would they send someone to retaliate over a small family not complying? Please… I'd be severely disappointed in their judgment.'
"But this auction at the end does entice me a little."
'The entire party will last, at most, two hours. At least for us. Some of his closest friends, those that want some more fun, or those that want to do business will certainly stay longer.'
'The party will start at ten and the auction at midnight. It shouldn't be lasting anymore than an hour. I'm only curious about what will appear… Who knows? Maybe one of the items Dae told me to keep an eye on will appear… But the biggest reason behind it is to see what they have in mind for me.'
'The earlier I deal with it, the better. Even if the boy only plans on humiliating me publicly to appease his ego... As long as I know what it is, then I can deal with it.'
'And there is one thing that makes me confident in clashing with them… My identity as a Hero. Even in the worst scenario, I can at least invoke that to protect me.'
'While I don't know them per se, their emblem tells me everything I need to know. Even the wax and prints on this invitation contain information about them. The more there are, the higher their rank and history are, and the harder it is to falsify such documents.'
'There are faint traces of magic on this paper. Another form of validation near impossible to copy.'
'… In the Empire, the emblems of noble houses aren't just a means to identify them. It shows others their rank, a part of their history, and more.'
'Because of its shape and the colors present on the emblem, together with the Divine Bird and Emerald Sun, I'm certain the Pykes are part of the Southern Empire… not just that, but their rank is at least akin to that of a Marquiss, so they must be aware of the summoning to some degree.'
'If they capture me or worse, I can at least make them reconsider drastic measures… Still, that isn't something to rely upon completely…'
'There are traitors in the empire, and there isn't a mention of them in the notes… Dae likely had no time to write them, but it's something to consider. If the party wasn't tonight, I might've had the time to ask him directly.'
'Anyhow…'
"Really? Do you enjoy giving away money or something?... Haaa… I'm not that keen on going though… But if we don't go, we'll offend them all the same, right?... SIGH… what a bother." She said as she rested her head on the couch
Philip agreed with her, nodding, "Look, I'm with you on that, but what can we do? Such is the world of Nobles and their excessive social norms…"
"But since they approached us first, why not go and be done with that? It'll be in the middle of the night, so we can check it out once and free ourselves from it. Not going is worse than leaving early if we must…"
"Worst that can happen is those nobles looking at us wrong, but if that happens, who cares? Knowing who they are and vice versa won't change our lives in the least." He said with a shrug as he looked at the letter
She smiled, "What if they are important? Will you be able to ignore their scorn?… Or their wrath?"
"That doesn't change much, even if a Duke scorns us for being untactful, what of it? If he deemed that enough to attack us… Now that's another story."
He looked at her and said with a sly smile, "If you can't take it, then you can stay."
"If that's your poor attempt at riling me up, then stop. I'll go… Doing something like this once in my life won't hurt, I suppose."
"It's settled."
Once he said that, Philip reached out for a silver bell on the table, pulling it towards him with telekinesis.
/Ding!/
A few moments after…
/Knock knock knock…/
"Come in."
"Yes, Milord. You called?"
A maid waited by the door with her head slightly bowed.
"Tonight we'll be going to a party, but we didn't bring that much luggage with us. Would it be too much to request you to fetch a dress for this lady over here?" He asked as he pointed at Viera
"Eh? But I…"
Philip shook his head, interrupting her.
"Those dresses are good, but not enough. We need something expensive… more so than anything you brought combined."
'Appearance is half the journey… I'll also need a suit of equivalent class...'
The maid smiled, "I know just the place… Please follow me."
"Tche… what's wrong with my dresses? Calling them cheap. Don't think I didn't get your meaning asshole…"
Viera looked at Philip with an annoyed look, but she gave in and followed the maid, leaving him alone.
She didn't utterly dislike fancy and beautiful dresses. If she could, she'd love to go shopping like other girls her age, but her conditions limited her actions… Sometimes, being too wise stopped one from enjoying the frivolousness of life; and Viera was far too smart to blow the little money she had on anything other than research materials.
… Once they left, Philip's expression changed as he looked at the letter.
"Alright… I thought my stay in this city would go as planned, but it seems trouble came to me sooner than I expected… and all of it just because I looked at a girl."
/Chuckle…/
Philip laughed drily. He couldn't even be upset…
"Men will be men, I guess... Can't even blame him, I'm quite good looking." He muttered to himself as he stroked his hair
'I'll be dammed if I saw my girl looking at another guy more handsome than me the way she did… That said, this reaction seems quite excessive… Just move on man!'
'Is this curiosity or something else? Assuming it's the worst scenario is a bit… Sigh. I'm growing paranoid and the people aren't helping it!'
'Its not like this wasn't a thing back on Earth, there were many crazy people in there as well…"
"Pyke Family huh… Seems like its time to check the Database!"
Philip opened his inventory and took out MT.
"Alright, lets get this started… Initiate systems. Password: Orange34."
[Voice recognition pass. Keyword pass. Initiating all systems…]
[All_Purpose Multi-Tool FJSS V3.2.c has initiated]
Philip smiled, "Check Database, Keyword: Pyke family, I want to know anything about this household."
[Checking Database… 1%... 4%... 8%...]
"Urg… This may take a while…"
Philip rested his foot on the expansive couch and waited with his eyes closed…
…
/Almost ten minutes later…/
[Database Scan completed, 3245 logs related to the Pyke Family have been found]
"As expected, they're quite significant… Give me a short introduction to the Pyke Family."
[Processing… Done]
[Pyke Family, Originated by Pyke Hoper 217 years ago during the Blue Tower Revolution amidst a period of political strife where Hoper gathered the scattered students of the Blue Tower following the desertion of its Archmage in the face of the Karlumenian Orc Invasion]
[With the gathered students numbering less than a thousand, Hoper mounted a defense against the three hundred thousand Wild Orc Invasion, not only successfully defending the Blue Tower with minimal loses but also purging the invaders after this event, chasing them all the way to the core of the Karlumenian Plateau, leaving only after cutting the head of the leader of the unified tribes so the Wild Orcs wouldn't be threat again]
[Upon his return, Hoper and the students then cleaned the Blue Tower from the corruption and oppression of their superiors in a cold-blooded massacre, believing them unworthy of leading them and a stain in the honor of the tower]
[Upon the return of the Arch-Mage, Hoper and the senior students ambushed him in his quarters and took his life, hanging his body atop the tower for as many days as he had punished them in the past. It wasn't until the Arch-Mage's flesh decayed fully, leaving only bone, that he was removed from view, his body buried in the Karlumenian Plateau which he had once called a land of barbarians]
[This way, he'd be forever mocked by succeeding generations. For his great deeds, Hoper was given the title of Baron]
[In the meantime, Hoper mounted a search party for the deserters and corrupt members of the Blue Tower, sparring none and killing hundreds and seizing their assets and land, fueling the Blue Tower's expansion and ambitions]
[Following that, Hoper quickly rose through the ranks with his genius mind and political ingenuity, and at the end of his life, solidified the Pyke Family as a massive producer of Magic tools and its image as a Magitech Family, while also granting his son the hereditary Title of Viscount, even though he himself had risen to the position of an Earl]
[Over the successive generations, the Family…]
MT continued with its narration, going into deeper details about the inner workings of this Family across the centuries to come, giving him a pretty clear idea of their power and influence, and above all, why they were here.
[… Currently, the Family is led by Pyke Thomson, High-Grade Magitech Engineer, and overseer of the Blue Tower]
[Thomson has recently taken over command of the Family after his father happily abdicated twelve years ago following Thomson's accomplishment in becoming a High-Grade Magitech Engineer at the young age of 25, his eldest son was five years old at the time]
[He has five children, one son and four daughters, the eldest being the first son and the most likely to inherit his position]
[Pyke Rafiel, 18 years old and he's known to be an eccentric and arrogant man because of his accomplishments not only in Magictech engineering but also in Swordsmanship and Magic]
[Not long ago, Rafiel has taken a liking to the eldest daughter of the Azul Family and the two families should be in the middle of marriage talks, but so far the results have been undisclosed(Information taken from student notes and has thus been classified as unreliable)]
[If you wish, I can make a more detailed analysis of the family's current structure]
"Not now, but this… Hm… Interesting."
'Everything has now become a bit clearer…'
"Are there any descriptions of their appearance?"
[Certainly, Pyke Rafiel has blond hair and brown eyes, and likes to wear white shirts]
[The eldest daughter of the Azul Family has white hair and blue eyes following the genetics of the Azul main line. Although it said her hair is more platinum than white and her blue eyes are the same color as the sky]
"Haaa… So here is my answer…" Philip said with a chuckle as he laid down
'It seems the young man I saw before was none other than the eccentric Rafiel, and the lady I saw was the young girl he fancied.'
'If they aren't in a relationship yet, it could be he felt challenged in some way? He was described as arrogant, so its a possibility…'
Philip smiled sarcastically, 'How romantic, stepping out for your girl when another man looks at her... Having someone tail me just for her… Its so petty.'
"… But I thought as much…" He said with a lack of interest as he scoffed at the letter
"That's one said covered… What does the Azul family do for a living?"
[The Azul family is a Noble Family with the Title of Marquess in charge of the Academy of Mystics, they're fairly reclusive and focus mainly on research and the development of Magic tools based on their Spiritual Arts]
[On that same note, they're also known for their Unique Spirit Arts, a fact that is deeply tied to their genetics, the Family succession rights, and their business]
"I see… The Academy of Mystics, that's a name I haven't heard in a while."
'One of the instructors, Eriny Guyk is from that academy… Would that make her a subordinate of the Azuls? Hum…'
'Back to the matter at hand, even if Rafiel became annoyed due to that single exchange, there is no need to go as far as to pursue me. He may be arrogant and eccentric, but someone like that would never give so much attention to a nobody they barely saw before…'
'So what else is at play here? Or is this mainly a coincidence due to the circumstance?… Is he deeply infatuated with her to the point of losing his rationale?'
"It doesn't hurt going there, anyway." Philip said as he got up from his couch
'Now then, shall I prepare something to wear?'
Philip opened his inventory and quickly realized that he didn't have that many clothes to use.
"It looked better in my mind then it did in reality…"
'Not like I can go to the party on my Hunter's garments... They look up to par but the style isn't the same… I'm not going there to compare fashion with others.'
'Fine... I guess I'll have to go with plan B... Call Sebastiano.'
He reached out for the bell…
/DING!/
...
/A few minutes later.../
"… I'll come back with a few options as soon as possible." Sebastiano said with a bow as he left the office
/Clack!/
"Another problem done... So next..."
'It's time to check up on what I got from the Principal. I didn't have the time to check on it before since I was busy, but now's the time.'
Philip took out the golden ball from his inner chest pocket and held it before his face. It glowed faintly, but somehow, when it was inside his chest pocket, it did not exude its light...
It also seemed to possess the strange property of morphing its shape. In his hand, it looked like a ball just wide enough for him to hold, but once inside his pockets, its shape changed to look unnoticeable.
"Let me see..."
'I need to look for a small box first... But how do I open this?'
Philip scratched his chin before trying the same method he uses to open the other box, to probe it with his mental power... /Shine…/, "It works, good. For a moment I thought there would be some security measure..."
As his mental power entered the golden ball, he saw its interior: rows upon rows of numbered, closed shelves. Before these, however, sat a small pedestal, holding a silver box and a scroll.
Recognizing the box as his objective, he retrieved it from the inventory. The scroll, easily deciphered, proved to be a massive list correlating numbers with items, the key to identifying the contents of each shelf.
He decided to examine this extensive list later; its sheer size was readily apparent, and it alone would likely take one if not multiple evenings of his time.
"… Phew..."
Philip retracted his mental power and was now facing a box and a question, "No way that old man prepared all of this on the go... It had to be staged."
'I knew something was odd… It was too easy. He was playing with me from the start.'
'The principal was simply looking for an opportunity, and I was that chance. He already had this prepared. He simply moved the items inside according to his preparations. In no way do I think he moved thousands of shelves and stored each item perfectly and orderly with just a clap.'
'Maybe this was the true reward for whoever accomplished those "trials" of his. If someone reached him, more likely than not, he'd be worthy to receive his inheritance.'
'But that doesn't matter anymore.'
"Time to open this thing..."
...
.
.
.
Notes
A short but contained chapter.
We're nearing one of the first big changes I've planned for this Arc and possibly the rest of the story.
As you've seen by now, in case you read the original of course, I've mostly altered the order of events and added more in between. I haven't changed major events too much and I plan to keep things that way.
I think the best way to conduct this rewrite is like that, adding things I didn't do before and addressing issues I either forgot to include or never had the chance to in the past.
Anyhow, nothing's set in stone though, I may end up removing something major in the future... We're barely over a third of the way there anyway. This is like chapter 40ish of 110... There's much left to go through.
Good night.