Arthur smiled as he trailed down the street, back towards his family's home.
There might've not been any direct gains today, yet the seeds for his future growth had definitely been sown.
"Cultivation is about patience. A river only ever flows in one direction. To go against it, is to go against the natural order of the World.....".
The matter of gaining strength and cultivation could be left until tomorrow. For the time being, there was nothing he could do without bringing extra attention to himself.
Arthur had already faked the details of that Fae Formula from earlier, stating that he had found it in an ancient diary. As the months go by, perhaps more and more Fae Formulas would be unearthed, allowing him to rake in more and more wealth as time passed.
Arthur himself didn't have the time to nurture the Fae on his own, although such a thing would allow him to rake in all the rewards.
Splitting it was better in the long run, giving him more time to focus on other things.
"I have a second-tier talent. The amount of origin essence I can use is greater than that of my previous life. I can be a little liberal in regards to picking the Fae I need, but I need to take into account my plans for the future, and act accordingly".
The Fae Master's who were successfully able to perform their Origin Fae's ability would be able to choose another Fae from the Clan Reserves. All of the Fae that these newly awakened talents could pick were Rank 1 Fae, and talents usually chose Fae that supplemented their Origin Fae, or ones that their Origin Fae could supplement.
Just releasing the Winter Solstice Salamander would release an extremely powerful gust of cold air. That would probably be more than enough to fool the Elders, whom haven't seen a single Immortal Fae in their entire lives, Arthur thought.
But.... as a result of this, he could pick any Fae that he wanted from the Clan Reserves.
"Which one should I pick, I wonder?".
Arthur's mind was filled with numerous thoughts, all coming to a halt as he walked through the main gate to his Family's home.
The young reincarnate felt a tingle on the hairs on the back of his neck, causing his pupils to become pin-drops and his fist to go swinging back behind his head, knife in hand.
Arthur could feel the tip of his knife collide with a bright golden coloured aura, instantly snapping, causing the flesh between his thumb and index finger to tear, gushing out blood.
His eyes met the tall, burly figure, who also had a strange expression on his face.
"Huh.... Guess I won't be doing that again".
Arthur could barely react before he felt himself being pulled into the embrace of this large burly figure, who swung him around endlessly, like a dog would a chew toy.
"Haha! I knew my little brother would awaken a talent that rivalled my own! As expected of "my" younger brother!".
Arthur rolled his eyes at this two metre tall giant, remembering who this person was, and why his personality was so.... extroverted.
This... was his elder brother.
His eldest brother.
In other words.... the next Kovacs Clan Leader.
"Dominic. I don't appreciate being held like this", Arthur's words were monotone, almost tired, reminiscent of his original self.
This was how he remembered interacting with this particular sibling. At the very least, he was the easiest one to please.
Dominic tilted his head back an laughed.
"You just tried to stab me in the throat little brother! It seems awakening your talent as a Fae Master may have also increased your awareness!".
Arthur rolled his eyes once more.
"Can such a thing really be possible?".
His elder brother placed him down, nodding vigorously at his words.
"It is. After awakening a talent to become a Fae Master, it isn't uncommon for some to awaken to other strange abilities. The most common are the Thirty-Three Sovereign Boundary Physiques. Each of these possess extraordinary capabilities in both combat and cultivation. Their talents each exceed that of a first-tier talent and they possess the innate ability to amplify the effects of Fae, with their own bodies!".
Arthur nodded, trying his best to appear ignorant.
"In a small region like this, there would be no chance of one of the Thirty-Three Sovereign Boundary Physiques to appear, yet, a few years ago, in one of the neighbouring clans, one did".
"In Chernenko Village, a young girl with the Overflowing Ocean Depth Sovereign Boundary Physique appeared. After this was discovered, someone from one of the huge Clans in the Azure Envy Continent appeared, and took the girl back with them".
Dominic shook his head silently.
"If such a girl ever returns, and with the backing of such a large Clan, our Parachenko Village will undoubtably become an emissary of that Clan. We could wipe them out, but in the even that she ever does return and find out that we did it.....".
No more words needed to be said.
The atmosphere became sombre for a moment.
Arthur supressed a wince as he felt his brother smack him "gently" on the back.
"At any rate, ignore that stuff for now! Mother and the others want to see you! The guards told her that you went off on a little trip into the forest with some Fae materials, but lost you after you ran off. She was a little worried, you know?".
Arthur shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm fine. I know the landscape like the back of my hand. No way I'll get lost in in the forest".
Dominic nodded, knowing full well what his brother was like.
The two siblings walked through the corridors, not even sparing a glance to the young servant girls walking through the halls, bowing as they walked passed.
If any of them could become their concubines, their status in this household would soar!
.... Even in the world of mortals, things were never simple.
Entering the main hall, Arthur sighed when he saw the faces of all of his blood relatives.
"Big brother!".
"Big bro!".
Two tiny figures, probably not even up to Arthur's chest came running towards him, opening their tiny arms and wrapping their thin, tiny bodies around his own.
"Ivan.... Ivanka.... Have you two behaved yourselves?".
The two younger twins looked up at their elder brother with stars in their eyes, both nodding vigorously.
"Can we see your Origin Fae Arthur!".
"Yeah! Can we!? Can we!?".
They both bounced up and down, showing immense joy in their brother's presence.
They were both 11, and would have to wait another four years to undergo the talent awakening ceremony.
Even if the Clan Leader wanted too, having someone below the age of fifteen exposed to Hatred Fae was something in of itself dangerous.
Once they matured a little more, and started to understand the world around them, then, and only then would they be allowed to undergo the talent awakening ceremony.
Arthur smiled, patting their heads.
"Perhaps later, alright? I still need to get ready for the feast tonight. And before that, I want to develop the bond between my Fae and I".
The two pouted, showing their displeasure as they removed themselves from their brother's body.
Things were never that easy when it came to Arthur, they thought.
"Arthur! I was worried sick! After the guards told me that you escaped them I couldn't help but worry that you had gotten-! What happened to your hand!?".
Arthur looked down at his pocket, noticing the large red stain on his coat. Instantly he knew what to do.
"It was Dominic's fault. He surprised me".
He pointed to his brother, throwing him under the bus.
The Matriarch of the Kovacs Clan eyed her first born son seriously, who squirmed under his mothers gaze.
"It was just an accident! I mean, Arthur tried to stab me and.... well, oops?".
Dominic scratched the back of his head, looking more apologetic than anything else.
Their mother sighed.
"Sometimes I worry that you are too much like your Father, Dominic. At any rate".
Arthur saw his Mother reveal a large, fat silkworm from out underneath her sleeve. It was a beautiful green in colour, covered in large pieces of moss and surprisingly damp to the touch.
The silkworm glowed yellow slightly, an indication of topaz origin essence.
The silkworm spat out a large amount of silk, which wrapped around Arthur's hand, encasing it in a thick, bundle of silk.
Arthur eyed the Fae carefully.
'A Rank 3 Restoration Fae. The silk it produces can wrap up injuries tightly, restricting the leakage of blood. The silk that it produces has a healing effect as well. Being able to increase the healing speed of injuries by several fold.... A rare and powerful Fae'.
Arthur's mother sighed for a moment before pulling her son along.
"Come now Arthur. As the son of the Clan Leader, you have a certain image to maintain. I've picked out the perfect attire for you to try on this evening!".