Kai nervously navigated the hallways of the Keep, he was constantly looking around carefully assessing if he was being followed. His satchel contained items that far superseded the value of everything his parents owned.
His heart was beating faster by the second, there was no way to assure himself until he reached home and hid everything properly. Not only had Theodan gifted him the second and third layer of Cultivation Chant, but also a complete origin stone.
These two presents were already ridiculous as it is, but there was also the existence of the third gift. 'Shit how am I supposed to pass the hours without losing my sanity.'
Eventually, he arrived at the kitchen, where he promptly met his father, who as usual was swamped with work as some of the lords still remained at the Keep. The convening of the Council of Lords had just ended, but the nobles took their time in their departure, hoping to gain favours with the Major Lords or even the King in the process.
Due to his busy schedule Damien didn't have time to notice the unnerved Kai who was constantly looking around for suspicious behaviour.
Kai's father informed him of Sir Illinor's absence from the capital for the next few weeks. The Knight was commissioned by a Major House for some task. Of course it was all classified. Since, he had yet to bend the knee to a House, he could be employed individually by anyone, as long as the task was approved of by Illinor, and the pay was sufficient.
Sometimes Kai wondered if he should also pursue a similar path, he too wanted to avoid the frivolities associated with the Houses of the Kingdom. He just wanted to earn so he could successfully support his family.
Knowing he could sell the origin stone for a great amount of coin was also tempting for the young Kai, but nonetheless he would rather invest it in his future, moreover, he would never betray Theodan's trust like this.
Since, meeting with Illinor was out of the question the young boy strolled about the main path of the Capital City, he walked with a sense of unease as he carefully made his way to the Sirbius Palace.
The Palace was full of splendour as usual, many commoners preferred the Sirbius Palace since it didn't share any prejudice towards them, and treated everyone well. This, however, did not reflect in the prices of equipment, supplements or manuals which remained equally unbiased towards class or creed.
The reason the Sirbius Palace garnered such popularity was especially thanks to the presence of Martin Sirbius. After he became a disappointment of the House of Sirbius, he had lost his way much like Damien of the House Grier. The sense of failure was even greater since he was one of Lord Bastiel Sirbius's few sons.
But Martin was a resolute man, he focused himself not on strength and tactics, but knowledge and resources. If he couldn't fight, he would facilitate, and for him it became the only source of redemption. He pleaded his father for an opportunity, he even risked a life of comfort and indulgence as a good for nothing.
The House of Sirbius owned the Sirbius Palace since a while ago, but it never succeeded as a business endeavour, always consuming more money than it garnered. When Lord Bastiel hesitantly placed the burden of the Palace on Martin's shoulders, the results were impeccable and superseded all expectations.
Martin worked to his bone to beat the competitors, while never overstepping his bounds in the family. He also supplied the family with equipment and resources that were never paid for by the House, despite the expectations of profit imposed by his father.
According to his brother, it was Martin's problem to deal with. 'The disappointment has to make himself useful if he wants to stay in the House.' Victor Sirbius, Martin's elder brother, had once openly remarked at a gathering of the House members. Martin could never shed those words from his heart.
Kai recounted all that his father had disclosed to him regarding his Uncle Martin. He began to understand how the cycle of oppression unrelentingly functioned in the Kingdom. Leventis was a fair place, but only in accordance to the strength of the individual. Especially in the case of noble families.
But, this philosophy highly undermined the capabilities of individuals that could provide something more than just simple strength. If not for Martin's unyielding nature, he would have already been a victim of the oppression.
After Kai entered through the big red door of the Palace, he was escorted to Martin's office, as instructed by Martin himself. The staff here would never dare disobey his orders.
Unlike other Merchant Houses or Palaces of Aurora, Martin did not believe in hiring those who boasted a high status or appearance. Rather those who were grateful for the work, showed the bare minimum skills and a willingness to improve were selected.
"Kai my boy! What a pleasant surprise to see you here." Martin spoke loudly in accordance to his usual demeanour.
Kai also smiled in return, when he first met Martin, he was perturbed by Martin's antics, but now his opinion had completely shifted.
"I finally managed to visit the Capital after so long, of course I wasn't going to leave without saying hello." Kai spoke in a relaxed manner, he felt safe now that he was in Martin's office.
Martin excitement boiled at the youth's words, but as a thought surfaced in his mind it reflected on his face as well, all of sudden his excitement died out. "Say, how's Damien been lately?"
"Father? He's seems to be alright, why?" Kai answered quickly not thinking much of the question.
"No, is he actually okay?" Martin inquired once more.
"I… um… He's been rather busy lately, overworked even, thanks to the Council convening at the Keep… And he also seemed to have a bit of a cold the other day." Kai thought of everything, but other than the shortage of coin, nothing overly concerning had happened to his family. He knew his father would disapprove of mentioning such a issue to Martin, and thus chose to omit the embarrassing detail.
Martin's expression fell, he began to mumble words that Kai couldn't quite discern. "What he does not know won't harm him." These were the only words loud enough for Kai to understand.
The two finally took their place in the office beginning their discussion about refiners and warriors, Kai had plenty of questions, and Martin had much time to spare for a lively conversation.
"Say boy, what is your opinion of the refiner manual you purchased some time ago?" Martin asked with interest.
"I've roughly read through it on many occasions, it was a fascinating read. The technique claims to achieve a transfer of energy, perhaps world energy into a weapon."
"Yes, it sure is, but you don't seem to have understood what the ability really is, some may disagree with me, but I'd say it's not a weapon, it's… a punishment. I've read through it myself so I understand that in concept it sounds useful for attacking your opponents… But as proof, look no further than the name." Martin explained his theory regarding the infamous manual that had been collecting dust at his Palace from the day he'd assumed control.
Kai's eyes lit up, "The Immortal Scourge, the name definitely stood out to me, but could you elaborate on why the names makes you think so?"
"When it comes to refiner manuals the essence of the technique is usually present in the very name of the book. In the case of your manual, I can't put my finger on why the word 'Immortal' is included, but I do know scourge refers to the idea of punishment… If I'm right, then this technique could be nothing more than a wretched remnant of torture from the days of the Lost Empire." Martin looked at the boy with concern, he did not want Kai to be unaware of his choice, even if it meant taking back the manual that had become a bane in his coveted refiner manual collection.
"Hmmm, there is quite a lot to consider, for now I would like to test out the manual at least, but that may be a while, since I was able to only practice the preliminary exercises recently." If anything, Martin's emphasis on the name made Kai more certain that the mention of the word 'Immortal' had some relation to the existence of cultivators. But what he didn't expect was the real meaning behind the word 'scourge.' It sure held a vicious connotation.
'I'm making progress with the chant so it would be shame to not even attempt the technique of the manual' Kai thought to himself as he was reconsidering the nature of his manual.
"Hohhh, that means you've achieved resonance already?" Martin had a slight surprise on his face as his eyelids parted further than normal.
"Ah, yes… I had help." Kai became a bit embarrassed by the sudden reaction and question.
"Well, when you first bought your manual, I was unsure of how much progress you'll make in the path of refining, so I felt it enough for you to own a manual, but now… and only for you, I'll allow you to change your mind. If you wish you can pick a substitute, of course bronze and gold grade are off the table." Martin waited for Kai to consider his proposal.
"Um Uncle… be honest with me…" Kai took a second to muster the courage, ever since he first bought the manual, Martin had been pestering him to reconsider, naturally he had his doubts. "Is this manual fake?"
"Hahahahahahaha oh no no no… hahahahaha." Martin didn't know what to expect when the young boy became all hesitant, but this was more hilarious than problematic.
After curbing his laughter Martin focused himself to properly respond to Kai. "Well, not exactly, with manuals there is no exact way to prove their authenticity other than adopting the technique and experimenting with it's limits, so the best techniques in the world are only considered so because individuals have pioneered their tactics to maximise the ability they gained from the manual. Of course, the grade of the manual also determines power and authenticity, but they are rare to come by even at the lowest of grades… Hence, in theory… there may be many manuals out there boasting more powerful techniques only waiting for the right person to dedicate themselves to it."
"So then what gives you such a unenthusiastic impression of my manual?" Kai asked after assessing the facts.
"It's the matter of feasibility, I have personally reviewed the processes mentioned in each refiner manual. I may not be an expert but I can at the very least tell the fakes apart from the real ones… And I can say with confidence The Immortal Scourge is an authentic manual. But, I believe the difficulty could be too high, or even worse, there may be an inherent hidden flaw in the technique which could be attributed to the incompetence of the author… It's odd though, I have yet to witness another manual like this that appears authentic but was returned even after being sold for a cheap price."
"Do people often return manuals?" Kai asked as he began perceiving Martin's hidden indication.
"Hahahahahahaha, I don't run this Palace as a joke… Returns, there is no such thing as returns…" Martin's words immediately caused a bemused expression to appear on Kai's face.
"I entrusted The Immortal Scourge to a friend, a mid bone refiner. We both had something to gain from it. One he would receive a manual at a dirt cheap price, moreover, I would finally be able to understand the secret technique hidden within the manual… But, it resulted in nothing. He was simply incapable or the manual was too difficult, he even remarked everything went accordingly until he actually attempted to use the technique, so I couldn't even tell where the issue lay." Martin recounted the dealings of the manual with a conflicted expression.
"I'm sorry if it may seem like I was misguiding you, but at least at first I allowed you to buy the manual at a reasonable price, since I felt it would be a similar arrangement where you would slowly test of the manual and if there were any serious issues, I could finally find the answers to my doubts.
But, since you seemed desperate for the discount, regardless of whether Damien was too proud to acknowledge it, I had no option even if I didn't want to sell you the manual… But from that very day I came to like something about you Kai, a practical sensibility devoid of pride." Martin confessed what had been on his mind since his first meeting with Kai, adding in a compliment at the end.
Kai become slightly flustered at the compliment, yet he pretended to ignore it as he asked another question. "So why offer me an exchange now?"
Martin smiled sheepishly, while scratching the back of his head. "I-I have a few brothers and sisters, and they had many children over the years, but never did I feel like an Uncle to any of them… With you, I... for the first time in my life feel differently, after all Damien is like a brother to me."