Bard put his palm on the table, making it lit up with green runic lines and then turned his palm like he was opening a jar.
*Craaack*
The hall began to change as the bookshelves turned to reveal other shelves filled with different artifacts and minerals. From scrolls of different types, to all kinds of accessories, to some broken sword that creeped Ezra out.
Like so, five shelves stacked with items appeared in full view.
Following that, the density of mana rose rapidly as Ezra feasted his eyes on all the different artifacts, most of which were covered in a gold hue. He didn't need mana vision to know that every one of these was at least Gold-rank!
…!
Some were materials he recognized but he never expected to find them here, with an alchemist at that.
Seeing such a look pleased Bard greatly as he lightly coughed to break Ezra out of his reverie.
"These are the best out of all the materials and artifacts I bargained for or bought throughout the years. Some are here because of their specific uses"
Ezra looked at him while pointing at the shelf as he asked…
"What does an alchemist need Mythril, Auranium and Adamantium for? Or do you have a hobby for blacksmithing?"
"Oh, it seems you're quite knowledgeable about this, that makes things easier. Auranium, as you know, is the best metal for enhancing the use of Aura, but did you know that it could be used to manufacture a wide range item, one that could cover a ten mile radius if used properly? Or that Adamantium, the hardest metal known to man, was magnetic to Silver veprium? Or that Mythril, man's most beloved metal, has healing properties?"
"Wow" Ezra was astonished at what he was hearing.
'Wait…why was he telling me all that? I still didn't fully trust him yet, or maybe I still didn't believe people could change so easily or so suddenly. What I could trust were soul contracts, and according to the contents of the one we just signed, he could not harm me in any way, even indirectly, while I could harm him'
As Ezra ruminated on his trust issues and what Bard had just said, he remembered something.
"Mr. Bard, do you know blacksmiths-"
But Bard interrupted him before he could finish his question.
"Of course I do, don't you know-"
And Ezra simply returned the favor.
"-that don't have any backers yet"
Bard's mumbling came to a stop as his forehead creased slightly.
"I'll have to check and ask around. What exactly do you need them for?"
"I need them to work for me personally. They need to be diligent and above average in their craftsmanship, and they must be at Journeyman level at the very least. Although, you can recommend those of lower rank if you think they have sufficient potential. And please, you must be very discreet about it"
"Hmm, I will do so"
"Now, secondly, I drank an elixir not too long ago that cleansed my body of impurities but also made it poisonous"
"Blood poison?" Bard already figured it out.
"Yes, so I need you to tell people that it was your potion"
"That is easy, but what do I say if I'm asked to produce another just like it?"
"Easy, tell them I went around loitering in your lair and broke a lot of beakers. Then those other potions mixed up into the incomplete potion that I drank"
"I see, but they could simply collect a sample of your blood to sieve and dilute in order to find what materials are involved"
"That's where this comes in. Hand me a parchment and a pen"
"Here you go" Bard handed it to him, only to see Ezra scribble away absentmindedly for twenty minutes while murmuring incomprehensible words to himself.
"Here, you will present this to the advisor as the incomplete potion, effectively throwing them into a rabbit hole while you request for more resources"
Ezra handed the parchment now filled with words and some atrocious drawings. The drawings were labeled, which was why Bard was easily able to identify who it really was.
A look of astonishment took him over as he quickly calculated the end result of the potion Ezra handed to him. It was why he signed the first contract without even seeing the potion, only half the formula, because even if the potion's effects were weak, the ingredients already gave him an idea of the end result. He could modify it once he mastered it for better results.
Bard was on cloud nine when he saw Ezra's evil grin.
"Umm, Sire, that smile of yours, it's really discomforting"
*Cough*cough* "What grin?" Ezra hastily changed the subject.
"Now, Mr. Bard, what items do you think would be most useful for the current me?"
"Well, all of them, but it depends on what aspects of usefulness, is it to enhance your charm, to assassinate, to-
"To grow stronger, thing that can make me grow stronger faster, that's what I need"
"Ok, your highness said he was at the Adept-rank, was it?"
"Yes?"
Bard was about to continue when a thought struck him as he looked at Ezra wide eyed, his index finger was trembling as he pointed towards and asked…
"I-I'm sorry Sire, did you say you already reached the Adept-rank?!"
Ezra, who didn't seem to understand the absurdity of such a thing, nonchalantly replied…
"Yes, I did. Is that a problem?"
Bard subconsciously clenched his fist and closed his eyes shut as he inwardly chanted…
'Calm down, calm down, calm down…'
Yet, he found his heart pounding even more as he said so. The flames of envy that had been put out before lit up like a firework. It took all of Bard's willpower not to curse and scream at such absurdity.
I mean, what the heck?! Normal people, aka commoners, felt and awakened mana naturally in age ranges of 19-25. Any commoner who did so before 19 was said to be talented.
Nobles on the other hand use their resources to get items that would allow the process to happen faster. One example would be to have children feel mana from artifacts and gain familiarity with it. This cut the age range to 13-17.
It could be cut even shorter, but that could bring about complications in the long term. They ranged from brain spasms, to organ failure, to meridian fractures, to mana overdrive, to mana overload, and many, many, more.
All these were discovered throughout centuries as kingdoms tried to increase their battle power by increasing how fast a child awakened mana. They would use slaves and prisoners for experiments.
And the reason why these experiments failed was simple. Humans need to grow before they can awaken mana. Mana was present in all living things from birth, like a slumbering beast. Once awakened, it would try to break out of its cage, namely the human body, leading to the complications mentioned above.
Yet, now, a five year old kid was at the Adept-rank. Bard didn't question it at all because he remembered that Ezra had manifested an aura when he arrived.
Wait a minute, manifest aura at five?! He noticed before but hadn't really thought about it, but now that he did...sigh.
He opened his eyes only to see Ezra shaking his head and clicking his tongue.
"Tch, will you snap out of it?! What do you think others would think when the head alchemist acts this way?!"
Truthfully speaking, Ezra also understood how one would view the current him, a freak right out of a fairy tale.
Because-
'In my past life, I was twenty two before I could use mana at all'
-he also knew how hard it was for him to awaken his mana the first time.
It was theoretically impossible for a child to awaken his mana at three.
Children at such an age are not yet self-conscious, so they couldn't subconsciously use mana when they didn't even know what it was, now could they? Even if they could, awakening mana and turning it into a mana pool was definitely not painless. It wasn't that painful once you were already familiar with mana, and also, by thirteen, one's body would have grown to a substantial level, which gave them more tolerance to pain.
It was only possible for Ezra because the cerulean gem that came out from his swords held his large soul and fused it with that of the baby over a period of five years, while indirectly nourishing his body with mana.
The act of indirectly introducing mana into his body allowed him to awaken his mana and naturally form a mana pool far less painfully, like it was a part of his body. It was all the gem's doing, but of course, no one knew this. Even Ezra couldn't entirely understand what happened. He only rolled with it, hoping to find an answer in the future.
But if a baby did what thirteen year olds were struggling to do…I doubt any explanation was needed for what would come after.
Which was why, when the news of the youngest prince of the empire awakening mana at three got out, 45% scoffed and sneered at such a stupid lie, another 45% laughed at loud at such a prank and believed it to be ridiculous, 5% ruminated about for but some minutes, but without concrete evidence threw it to the back of their minds. The remaining five percent, nobles, top ranking adventurers and high ranking merchants who were in some way connected to the three empresses, affirmed it to be true.
But that was all. Having talent and being able to use it were completely different things. He was blessed with mana, yes, but that was never the condition to become the Emperor, now was it?
So, 3% choose to 'wait and see' and the remaining 2%, the Empresses and some of their family members who saw Ezra not as a threat, but as an eyesore staining the glory of their existence with his so-called 'talent', deemed it best to get rid of him and his mother.
You could say it was akin to how a human sees a cockroach far away and decides to kill it because of its irritating look by throwing his shoe at it.
The shoe missed the target and the cockroach scrambled away. The human sees it as a hassle to chase after it and lets it go.
This is the summed up reason why he and his mother's food was occasionally poisoned, but they were never attacked by assassins of a high calibre or the like.
Back to the present.
Bard slowly regained his bearing, as well as his stone cold expression, as he tried to wrap his head around the anomaly in front of him, but only found himself inwardly sighing as he perused the items on the shelves and spoke…
"You haven't picked any combat manuals, have you?"
"No"
"Then this tablet might be a good start" Bard said as he handed him a tablet that had small pieces of transparent white crystals arranged on the surface, with some faint marking etched underneath the crystal surface and a wooden platform supporting it.
"What is it?" Ezra asked.
"It's called a recording tablet, and like it name suggests, It records things and plays it, just that-" Bard was about to continue as a thought popped up to him.
"That reminds me, your highness, which element do you have affinity with?"