1st person Pov:
"But I assure you, magic is much as beautiful as any other art in the world if not more." It seemed like he wasn't willing to lose to Julian in appealing to his own expertise. Well, he doesn't have to worry about that. I myself am pretty interested in Magic which did not exist back in Kunlun. Something new is always intriguing. I spent my last life mastering all kinds of weapons. Among them, I am the best at swords so I won't worry about swords right now. As soon as I can get my hands on Magical knowledge, I will experiment with it to the fullest.
Well, that is for later. "I am sure it will be. I will try to become the best of both worlds, worlds of sword and magic. My parents belong to both of them after all." I replied to him. "Well, that is also true. May you have a great future ahead of you Michael. May the blessing of the World and Goddess Astoria be with you." He gave me a simple blessing and all three old men backed down.
My mother seeing that the little scene has now ended so she brought me to the center of the room. There was a table and a chair that was grand looking. On the table was the same delicacy that I have seen two times before. I discovered its name to be a 'cake'. What a peculiar name. but it is amazing in taste. The cake this time was very big, however. I guess enough for everyone present here.
Then one by one every family came to greet me. Some came alone while some came with their whole families. I figured out the hierarchy system of this world from this simple greeting manner. First came the Duke, then Marquis, Earl, Count, Viscount, and at last Baron. Baron and Viscounts are at the bottom of the food chain but depending on the department they serve; their power could vary. Those who served in the military had more power than the rest of the same status. The military was a direct power under the Royal family after all.
After everyone had greeted me and given gifts to me which were taken away by the servants came the big parties. The dukes. They each gave me a gift to which the gifts from before paled in comparison. They were big and from the looks of it, expensive. First came Andreas Heraiz. His gift was not wrapped in anything. It was a vase made of gold. As soon as I touched it a message from the system was shown in front of me.
[Curse detected. The item "Vase of Everlasting life" is tempered with. It will have the opposite effect of its true nature. It will eat your life away if you are in its vicinity. It can have one target. Effects are hidden via a rune. The item has no effect on those above level 25]
[Its set target is the user. The effects are life force decay. You will lose 1 Hp every minute. The effects would double if you were in direct contact with it.]
Wow. This guy is not giving me any breathing time, is he? Well not that it matters. "This is the 'vase of everlasting life' Michael. If you are in its vicinity, it will heal your wounds and your fatigued body will also recover.'
Wow again. This guy is ruthless too. Lying with such a straight face reminds me of how Chun-woo acted every time when I caught him on the way back from the brothel. Even with the smell of women and Alcohol all over him, he would lie with such a straight face that even the Buddha would doubt.
I took the gift with a smile on my face. As soon as I touched it, I felt a stinging sensation on my hands. And a message that I had just lost 2 Hp also came up. "Thank you, grandfather. I will take good care of it." I ignored the pain and replied with a happy face. The smile on his face widened as well. But I could tell that smile was not for my happiness but for the success of his plan.
Carla took the vase or practically snatched it and gave it to the servant collecting gifts. But not before she ran a brief check on it but from the looks of it, she found nothing. I guess it was the effect of the rune. I will search for these runes. They sound pretty interesting.
Next came up Julian he wasn't alone though. A boy and a girl of around my age were along with him. He introduced them as his grandchildren. Oh yeah wasn't he a doting grandfather? The boy of five was Steven while the girl of my age was Alice. Alice had golden hair and very beautiful green eyes. Even if she was undeveloped right now, I could tell that she would become an enchanting beauty in the future. It would definitely not hurt by being on the good side of Julian. Steven was, well, just Steven. He then represented me with a sword. I could tell this was not the present he intended to give me. So, I could only guess he was very satisfied with my answer.
[Sword of Freezing Mary (sealed)
Grade C
Attack +50
Strength +10
Agility +5
Endurance +20
Additional effect: depending on the wielder's affinity with ice, there are chances of inflicting ice damage]
[Restriction: to use the user needs to be the level 25]
Now, this is a present. The stats are something else compared to the flame dagger in my inventory which is of Grade D. There is a restriction though. It seems I can't use it unless I am level 25. Well, it's not like I can use it right now anyway with this small body. And also, I don't understand this sealed part. I will have to look into it later.
"This was the very first sword I used in my first battle. Though you cannot use it right now, this would do for your first sword." He was immensely satisfied with my answer it seems. This gift showed a lot more than just expensiveness. It was a gesture. I never passed any of my swords down to anyone because I found no one worthy enough of any of them. His giving me his weapon just showed how happy he was with me. "I will be sure to put it to good use. I will make sure to protect innocents and punish Evil with it."
Just a thank you was not going to be enough for a gift like this. So, I stood up, bowed, and relayed my true thoughts without any trickery or ulterior motives. It was a dangerous move, but I didn't care. If I didn't do this, I would be insulting this person's kind gesture. Even if it puts me at risk, it didn't matter to me. This time I was not acting in the slightest. This was the real me. "I see. I look forward to your justice Michael." He seemed to have caught on which was why he didn't say anything more than that. He gestured for me to be at ease and moved out of the way along with his grandchildren for the next person in line.