Lewis had committed to the crimson clan in the past, because it was the only faction in the Magical Court with ties to wandering acolyte black markets. This basically meant free access to necromancer resources such as corpses, souls and blood essence, resources that were essentially banned from light magi organizations like the Magical Court.
While it was banned and looked down upon, the magi could not care any less about their acolytes' doing. Burion was a plane where people worshipped strength. The Magical Court dominated the continent, and it could be considered to have a heavy influence in the world. Countless kingdoms and empires rose and fell according to the Magical Court Council's whims. Many acolytes were sent in kingdoms to oversee its management, and advise rulers. In return, the kingdom sent magical prospects to the magical court, further strengthening its dominance in the world.
There was no organization as dominant as the magical court, yet it only possessed one magus out of seven known in the continent. The reason was simple. In order to become a magus through the regular way, you needed a regent. The one with the least setback was called the [Elixir of Life], an elven product that was very scarce. Only the Dalian Empire possessed samples of it, and it only gave a sample to the Magical Court when the Magus ruling the magical court died.
The other magi in the continent broke through irregular means, but one common trait they all shared was the fact that they inherited the legacy of a long-lasting magus household. Among them, the bloodline type magi were the most common, as they did not need a regent as strong as the elixir of life to break through, though the bloodline shackles were a curse in itself, something that Lewis experienced too, at his lowly, puny level.
Lewis no longer needed the crimson clan, now. He no longer needed blood essence samples, since he had already completed his research on vampire blood integration, and experienced its limits the hard way.
Yet, Lewis was in front of a huge manor within the Magical Court. Although it was nothing compared to the majestic tower owned by the Arcane Faction, the manor looked very luxurious and ominous, symbolizing its wealth. Although it was just a small-sized faction, it was actually closer to a medium-sized faction in terms of resources and advantages. It only lacked power, individuals who could go toe-to-toe with other factions if a faction war occured, hence its rating.
Joining the crimson clan was not something Lewis wanted to do out of loyalty towards the organization that allowed him to reach the pinnacle of the acolyte realm. He was not even attached to anyone in the organization, feeling-wise, having already lost all humanity in his heart.
It was a purely logical organization.
The crimson clan was an organization within the Magical Court with the most potential, an organization that was going to become a medium-sized faction in 5 years, and a major faction in 30 years, if he followed the same path he did in the past. This meant that if he invested in its growth, the return on investment was ridiculously high.
Lewis no longer was the inexperienced child he used to be in the past. He learned from his mistakes. He fell, rose, and fell again.
Opening the door, a familiar sight befell his eyes. At this point, the [Crimson clan] was just a tavern for necromancers, body refinement acolytes and blood acolytes who needed forbidden resources. It was a hub of weak individuals who could not join other factions.
The barmaid, only thirty years old at this point, was Janna Heartsteel. Tall and strong, her fierce gaze never changed over the years. She was only an intermediate-rank body refinement acolyte at this point, one that could be considered fairly weak compared to other body refinement acolyte of her level in the Magical Court. However, she would be crowned the [Sword Queen] in the future, for a reason. In the alternate timeline, she eventually became the advanced rank acolyte who showed the most potential into becoming the next magus in the Magical Court, and it was because of this very reason that she died in a faction war, ambushed and eliminated from the competition.
Whether other observing factions had a hand in it or not, nobody could tell, not even Lewis.
Janna Heartsteel was not just a leader to him, she became his mentor.
In this lifetime, though, she was just a stranger.