Roland opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
Everything was tinged by red and black, with the sunrise possible to see through the windows.
His body could be been feeling refreshed and full of energy, but his heart and mind were cold.
He thought he would be hit by a feeling of guilty just like when he steals from someone, however, he felt absolutely nothing at having killed more than ten people when he went berserk.
He felt empty, with a void in his heart.
"What have I become? Will I still feel anything when put in a similar situation left with no option but to kill?" Roland used his arms to cover his eyes, as if fleeing from a truth he can't ignore.
"But I don't regret my actions, if I need to kill to protect my life and dream of living in tranquility, so be it. No matter how hypocrite and paradoxical that is. I'm sure if my grandpa could see me now he would insult me to death."
"However…"
"I don't really like what I am becoming. Using violence to resolve problems." Roland stayed with his arms covering his arms until his stomach rumbled, indicating his hunger.
Roland stood up from the lavish bed he was to find his masters looking at him.
"You have finally woken up, sleepyhead," Lucy said.
"How are you feeling?" August strode over.
"I'm feeling nothing of special." Roland got his breakfast from the Endless Bag and eat it while glaring at his masters.
They know why he was doing that, and couldn't help of feeling embarrassed. It's the first time in Lucy and August's lives that they have a disciple that doesn't fear them so they don't know well how to answer when they are in the wrong.
In the old days, they would scare their disciples off with Essence and just say 'it was for your own good', but this won't work with Roland that only see them as weird talking animals.
Lucy sighed. "Tell me how much you want to know and I will tell." Honesty is the first step to improve a relationship.
Roland didn't say anything until he finished off having his breakfast. "After yesterday's incident, I know the techniques you gave to me aren't normal and you two must come from someplace above my imagination. But… I don't care about who you two really are. If one day you two trust me enough to tell your identities, I will listen. However, I won't force you. Just tell me the information based on how much you believe me. Although, I must ask you this.
Are you two my masters or not?" Roland's question went deep into Lucy and August's hearts, his immaculate bright eyes just searched for one thing. A confirmation that their relationship is true no matter how much it is based on schemes or coincidences.
Roland since meeting that aberration of nature in Rongvale when younger, decided to not care more about identities, if someone that is going to betray you is a pauper or a prince doesn't matter, what matter is how much before betrayal that relationship was true and how it hurt to be betrayed.
Lucy and August were speechless, they talked between themselves telepathically for a long time before coming to a decision. "Little Roland, we will tell you everything about us when you become a Magus Rank 4, only then you will be strong enough to protect yourself from searches on your soul. We trust you, but you are currently too weak to know our secrets."
Roland nodded at Lucy's words, understanding the danger after a random thug telling him he could search his soul without a problem.
"But we can tell you why you went mad yesterday and that we didn't leave you alone, we saw your whole fight since the beginning."
Roland silently listened to everything, making his own conclusions.
Qi Energy came from all kinds of high emotions and its mutated by what emotion it came from, so when Roland began to feel hatred and anger the Qi Energy was mutated to a nocive energy that corrupted his brain and made him go berserker.
It was actually a good thing, because when training Timeless Emperor Technique you will have to face tribulations based on all Lord Sins in each tier if the user doesn't know how to perfectly use Qi to negate the tribulation.
So Roland passed through the first tribulation based on Wrath in a space where there were only enemies to him kill.
There was a minimal chance that when it is only lacking one percent to complete the first tier, Renegade Mortality, he would go berserker whenever he is, even at the street full of innocents or when holding hands with his loved one.
But since the tribulation was activated earlier, the danger in the first tier doesn't exist more.
When Roland finished of listening to all this he was shaking, just imagining him going berserk in the streets or when alone with a girl he likes. "Will I be able to master Qi one day?"
August said. "Don't worry, if nothing strange happens you should be able to avoid the next tribulation."
Roland wasn't really reassured by this answer and looked to Lucy this time. "What's the trick of your technique? Just tell me now and I won't be mad at you later."
"There's no trick… I guess. Maybe it will have a problem when reaching the third tier, Emotional Spirit, but there's nothing I can do to warn or help you." She uncertainly said.
Roland wanted to take out the Soul Spirit to analyze it since Lucy's answer was as just as reassuring as August's one, but perceived it wasn't in his bag or around him. "Where exactly am I? And where is my Soul Spirit? I only remember os seeing people coming at me with silver armor."
A wooden embellished door at the north of the room opened before Lucy or August could answer him. "Sir Roland, I can answer your questions."
From beyond the door came Relarid, the fat manager of Silver Breeze, and a woman Roland never met in his life.
She had long scarlet hair, tied and in a ponytail by a black clip on her hair. She wore a red and black dress highlighting her body along with a red fan.
Everything about her was red or black, and Roland's first impression of her was of a prideful and thorny flower with how she carried herself. He didn't want to deal with women like her, too much hassle and she will always look down on you no matter what you do.
"My name is Elizabeth Eden, Sir Roland." She said with a formal bow, revealing a pair on black studs on her ears because of the falling hair. "And to answer your questions, you are right now on my residence, I hope my bed wasn't too uncomfortable for you. You were taken by one of my armies when you went unconscious after fighting your ambushers."
Roland looked around the room and noticed it was full of papers describing cooking recipes, he couldn't understand how it was a room of a rich-looking woman like her, it only had a mirror at best and nothing of exaggerated with exception of the bed.
"About your 'Soul Spirit'... I can guess what it is." From a black ring on her hand full of runes, Roland's Soul Spirit came but with golden talismans bound around it. "Pardon for my rudeness, but I had to seal it to it not cause more problems." She gave the Soul Spirit to Roland and unsealed it.
The Soul Spirit when set free, immediately saw its master and went to his side, resting on his hand.
Elizabeth saw the confused look on Roland's face and interpreted it in her own way. "Sir Roland, I know you must be wondering why did I send an army to save you when my Father noticed the commotion in the place where you were. Although that was meaningless as you were strong enough to ward off all your enemies and probably would kill them without my help anyway. You are more powerful than any other person on the seventh layer of Essence Reformation that I ever met, even myself would struggle to deal with so many people when I was at your stage of power."
"Seventh layer?" Roland's confusion only grew, since when he was the seventh layer? Was it the tribulation that in someway gathered Essence enough to him do that? But just some days ago he was at the fifth layer, this training speed is absurd.
Elizabeth looked quizzically at the black-haired man, how could he not notice his own layer on Essence Reformation?
Each action of him just makes her curiosity increase, principally after her father said that the man only two years older than her had something, the Soul Spirit, he couldn't understand or grasp its complete identity. But that was of course only curiosity, she wouldn't have any malicious thoughts at the man that saved her from her plight despite him being considerably weaker than her. "Ah, I forgot about thanking him." She thought.
"Sir Roland, I forgot about saying this but I send people to save you because you saved my birthday's present to my father. For that, I deeply thank you. You don't know how much you delivering those eggs meant to me." Elizabeth bowed until her head almost hit the floor.
Relarid watching this felt goosebumps and light-headed, he knew how much his boss was prideful, she didn't even bow when the people from the middle stratum or high stratum came to Lakepoint.
And yet she was here bowing and lowering herself to someone at Essence Reformation, she didn't even ask for him leave before bowing, her gratitude was so large that she didn't care that her subordinate was seeing her doing that.
Roland sighed, feeling bad now about how he categorized Elizabeth. "Please stand up, what I did can't be that amazing, it is just simple eggs, Madam Eli-"
"Call me of only Elizabeth, I'm not old enough to be referred as 'Madam' for anyone that isn't my subordinate." The glint in Elizabeth's blood red eyes after she stood up was scary enough to Roland meekly nod his head, maybe his impression of Elizabeth was actually true and dealing with her is a mistake, after all.
"Perhaps a little of information on my background would make you understand better why I cared so much about you making business with a branch of my restaurant," Elizabeth said. "Sir Roland, you are a tourist or someone from far away, am I right?"
"Yes."
"I thought so, if not, it wouldn't be possible to you not recognize me right way. I'm pretty famous for various reasons." She said without any shame of boasting while fanning herself with the fan in her right hand.
Roland thought. "This woman really has a unique pride."
"I, Elizabeth Eden, am the daughter of the Master Blacksmith Society's patriarch. I had reached Magus Rank 2 in my fourteen years and stayed in this Rank since then because I'm too occupied living my dream of being the biggest restaurant in all strata of the world. If I relentlessly trained since my teenage years I would be already Magus Rank 4 like my father is and I can step into Magus Rank 3 almost at any time I want." She puffed her chest in pride.
Roland was completely stunned, everything she said was just as amazing as the previous. Even August and Lucy were impressed with her training speed at Lower Existence, from where they came a fourteen years old Magus Rank 2 would amazing too, a shame that at her twenty years she already abandoned the training despite her being a genius.
But this made Roland think, why with a genius like her in the Master Blacksmith Society they are losing to the other Society and he didn't hear anything about her when searching around days ago? The genius with the strange name of Kirin Renascence Society was only at Magic Foundation stage, Magus Rank 1.
"So my Father is so strong that I could never find a birthday present to him at the Autumn Festival, nothing can catch his eye. Since I told I would abandon training to focus on my Great Arts and taking care of my restaurants, he was the only that supported me. I couldn't ask for a better father and I want nothing more than thanking him for that, he cared more about my personal happiness than of the Society's prosperity.
It was then that I found recipes for the most delicious cake and pastry in the world, in my opinion. Knowing how much Father likes of them and with his birthday being near, it was fated to me give them to him and express my thanks for allowing me to live my dream. But unfortunately, I lacked enormous quantities of eggs and being near the festival I thought it would be impossible to gather them. I was nearing giving up in despair when you came along and saved me."
Elizabeth seemed free, as if lifting a weight from her back and sighing in relief after thanking and telling her story to Roland. "Now, I'm sorry Sir Roland, but I'm a busy woman and have many other things to do to Father's birthday. I won't ask you where you got such high-quality eggs or how your pets appeared here in my house, however, can I ask you one thing?"
"Yes, Elizabeth," Roland replied, looking into her eyes. The amount of trust Elizabeth is putting on him, a man he never met before, is frightening.
"Do you already have an invite to the festival at Major Castle? I have one here that will give you the highest authority and priority possible, you will be able to go anywhere you want. You can even visit me at Father's birthday with the others elders from Master Blacksmith Society." Elizabeth gave Roland a golden card with his name on it and a smelting furnace symbol on the sides. "Just go at the festival's day to the big castle on Lakepoint's center and show it to be guided to the festivities of nobles and people from the two Societies."
Roland picked the card and put it on his bag whilst Elizabeth looked with deep interest to his Endless Bag. "Thank you, Elizabeth. I see if I will go to the festival."
"What are your plans now?"
"For now, nothing in particular. Just living my life, I guess."
"Hmm…" She tilted her head and suddenly remembered something. "I'm sorry Sir Roland, but I remembered that people outside of the Society can't stay here if they aren't Society's members. Although this is my residence, it is still inside of the Society."
"No problem, I will take my leave now. Where's the exit?"
"About that… I'm sorry once again but I will ask you to use this teleportation portal to leave from here. If you are a member of the Society it wouldn't be a problem to show you the rest of it, however, rules are rules. If you to join the Society now, it will be another story though. I can immediately give you a high standing here." Elizabeth guided him to a room on her house with only a gigantic purple door with a swirling red portal in form of a whirlpool.
"Sorry, but I don't want to join a Society for now. Maybe later." Roland hawked at the portal, amazed by its appearance, even lighting a wish inside himself to build something beautiful as this when he buys a land for himself. "Where this will led me to?" Its beauty was so splendid that he had a hard time to not show his emotions on his face.
"To the guards' garrison and from there I believe you can easily navigate to wherever you want in Lakepoint." Elizabeth smiled and shook hands with Roland. "It was nice to meet you, Sir Roland. I hope to meet you again."
"Same to you, Elizabeth. And thank you for rescuing me from the street. It wouldn't be funny if I was robbed while sleeping." Roland stepped on the portal. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Sir Roland." Elizabeth watched Roland disappear, grinning to herself as to how it was good to have a 'relatively' normal conversation with someone that isn't her father. Everyone else just seems too worthless to talk with respect or are her enemies and competitors for the God Blacksmith's legacy.