Atticus made his way back from his training session. A month had passed since he started his bloodline training, and notable progress had been achieved.
While controlling multiple elements simultaneously still posed a challenge, he had become a lot more comfortable using his bloodline powers.
Strolling through the garden, his attention was drawn to a pair of red-haired youngsters. 'We've got visitors?' he thought.
Aside from the funeral, this was the first time Atticus had witnessed visitors at the estate. Despite his curiosity, he chose to dismiss them and continued on his way.
As Atticus was about to leave, the boy noticed him and called out to him.
"Hey!" the boy said as he approached Atticus.
Atticus observed a hint of mischievousness in his demeanor, a subtlety that he was able to detect.
'What's with that smug look on his face? Is he planning something?' Atticus thought, sensing something amiss. He turned to face him as the boy closed the distance.
As the boy got closer, Atticus spoke nonhalantly. "Hi…? I'm sorry, do I know you?"
Atticus' words seemed to irk the boy, but he hid his annoyance and put a smile on his face instead. 'Father said not to cause any trouble before I fight him' he told himself. He was mindful of his father's instructions to avoid any disturbances.
"Hello. I'm Dell Alverian. A pleasure to meet you" the boy said, introducing himself with a small smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Atticus glanced at a girl nearby who stared at him in shock. Her thoughts raced, 'What the hell is he doing here? Shit! I can't let this foolish brother of mine know I met him before.' Swiftly recovering, she put on a fake smile and addressed Atticus "Hi, I'm Lila."
Atticus observed the situation with a neutral gaze, 'The Alverianfamily? They must be here because of the destruction we've caused in sector 4. And it seems she's pretending not to know me' he deduced.
Since Anastasia had granted Atticus permission to train, she ceased her practice of filtering the information he could access. And there was no way he could forget a face, he recognized her from the arcade incident, he also noticed the subtle shift in her expression upon seeing him.
While Atticus was lost in thought, Dell's smirked inwardly. He assumed Atticus was silent out of fear and that made him feel good. His smirk grew.
After a moment, Atticus finally broke the silence, responding with a simple "Atticus."
Dell's facial expression twitched, but before he could retort, Atticus cut in, his tone slightly curt.
"So, what do you want?"
Atticus had always been someone who hated trivial things, especially when it wasn't related to his family. He knew Dell was planning something he just knew would be stupid, and he had no intention of pretending to be nice or wasting his valuabletime.
Just as Dell's frustration threatened to boil over, a maid's voice interrupted the escalating interaction.
"Young master, Master Avalon requests your presence" she announced with a deferential bow.
The unexpected summons caught Atticus off guard. 'Why would Dad need me?' he pondered. He turned his attention back to the Alverian siblings.
"Well, I suppose I'll catch up with you guys later." he said with a brief, intense stare at Lila that made her nervous.
Atticus walked away.
Dell watched as he walked away. When Atticus was out of range, he spoke the words he had held inside throughout the entire conversation with Atticus.
"That guy! I'll make sure to teach him a lesson when we spar.I'll destroy him."
Meanwhile, Lila sighed in relief that her cover hadn't been blown. She shook her head in response to her brother's frustration. 'Didn't this fool see how strong he looked? The rumors about his weakness were obviously wrong.' she thought.
'Well, at least this visit won't be entirely uneventful.' A subtle smile played on her lips, revealing her anticipation for what lay ahead.
Upon entering the meeting room, Atticus spotted Avalon and Anastasia seated on one side of the table, with another couple seated across from them.
Atticus could feel the intense pressure in the room. He ignored them and simply approached a smiling Anastasia.
"Listen honey, if you don't want to do it, no one's going to force you" Anastasia reassured him, her concern evident.
She was clearly unhappy with the situation, especially since Avalon had involved Atticus in it. If Atticus decided to decline, Anastasia was prepared to stand by him.
"We should at least ask him first, honey" Avalon interjected, earning himself a cold look from Anastasia.
"What do you need me for dad?" Atticus asked. He was curious about what was happening.
"There's going to be a sparring session between you and someone else. Losing is not an option" Avalon stated, his gaze fixed on Atticus. He was hoping that Atticus would agree to their request.
"Honey, you don't hav-" Anastasia worried voice sounded, but Atticus interrupted her.
"I'll do it" he replied. He had always wanted to see how his strength compared to his fellow peers. Up until now, his combat experiences were limited to battles against Sirius and the training robot.
'So that's why that boy was smiling. This will be interesting,' he mused inwardly.
Hearing this, Eleanor and Luna smiled. They had been slightly irked by the fact that Atticus hadn't even glanced at them when he entered, and they were also surprised by his appearance.
'He doesn't look weak,' Eleanor exchanged glances with his wife, and Luna simply smiled, giving him an assuring look.
'It should be fine. It's been a year since Dell awakened at 7, and he's almost halfway through the Novice- rank,' Eleanor thought. Although Atticus wasn't wearing the Artifact anymore, he was using Conceal to appear as Novice- rank.
The usual age for awakening among individuals from Tier 1 families was 7. Although many attempt to awaken earlier, there have been cases of children suffering negative consequences from awakening too early.
No family would want to jeopardize the potential of a genius just to gain a one-year advantage over other families. 'I heard he just turned 7. He probably just awakened,' he surmised.
"Good. I think we should establish a mana contract then?" Eleanor requested. With their status as Tier 1 families, their word held significant weight. Eleanor, however, chose to proceed cautiously.
He decided to formalize the agreement with a mana contract.
Avalon frowned slightly as he sensed a tinge of condescension in their attitude towards Atticus.
"Alright then" he said in agreement.
Eleanor to promptly produced a prepared mana contract.
'They seem to be well prepared' Avalon noted, observing Eleanor's actions with a discerning gaze. Eleanor's smile in response didn't escape his attention. 'Stopping the war in sector 4 isn't their only goal. They probably also want something else,' he deduced.
While their primary goal was to stop the Ravenstein family's disruptive activities, Eleanor recognized the potential for additional gains.
The Ravensteins wielded significant influence over sector 3, and for the Alverians to conduct business there, they were required to pay taxes to the Ravensteins.
Eleanor's intention was to leverage the situation, negotiating for a tax exemption in sector 3 in exchange for addressing the destruction the Ravensteins had caused in their own sector. 'With this, we can completely take over the potions market in sector 3'
Avalon was fully aware of the potential loopholes in the contract, yet he placed his complete trust in his son's talent.
With the contract signed, they proceeded to the training grounds for the spar.
***
A/N
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