"Mother, How did I do?" William asked innocently.
"Fufufu, my baby was so handsome when you were fighting. Just like your father." Aquila complimented him while ruffling his head,but a complicated look bloomed on her face. But she immediately mask it and smiles.
William's smile widened in response; he tightened his hug for a moment and let go of her. He then turned to the cadets; three of them were lying on the ground, groaning in pain; one of them stood like a statue, terrified of his future; and one of them…pissed his pants.
William walked closer to them and said, "I am sorry." He apologized and bowed slightly. Aquila wanted to stop him; after all, a Spade should never apologize, but she stopped herself from doing it.
'I need to talk with that woman.' Aquila thought, biting her lips in concern, the complicated expression returned on her face looking at William. 'I hope I'm not too late.'
The bow cadet's eyes widened in fear as he crawled backwards. 'W-What is this demon? W-Why is he apologizing? We are going to die!'
William glanced at them for a moment before leaving the training grounds with Aquila.
.....
"I am telling you, his mood is fluctuating a lot." Aquila complained to the green-robed woman in front of her.
"And I have been telling you that it's okay." Gaia said annoyed by Aquila's persistence. Aquila had come to her, saying that William's mood has been fluctuating a lot, and asked her if there's something's wrong with him.
"Look." Gaia said, grabbing Aquila's attention. "Every kind of mana out there influences its user a little bit." She began explaining.
"It's usually a very minor thing, and the influence decreases every time a person ascends to the next stage. But there's a very minor chance that there may be a drastic personality shift in a person, and since William is using four different kinds of mana. Of course he will have mood swings like a pregnant lady."
"And aren't you worried that it might change him?"
SIGH
Gaia sighed in exhaustion, "Listen well, idiotic woman. William isn't showing any kind of behavioral changes when he is with his family, and the only changes we have observed so far are when he is fighting."
"So, you are going to just ignore the problem since it doesn't affect us?"
"Ugh! If we help him every time there's a problem, William will grow up to be a green flower; do you want that?" Gaia asked, hitting Aquila where it hurt.
Aquila's face slumped immediately, imagining William to grow up to be a paper tiger. "No," she replied, her voice cracking.
"Then let it go; let William figure it out on his own."
...….
William, the source of Aquila's and Gaia's argument, however, was standing in front of his father, smiling widely.
"Father, I have won the spar!" William exclaimed with a smug smile on his face.
"Good. You have to work even harder, and never underestimate your opponent; always give your all." Ophiscus warned, wanting William to be more cautious.
"Yes." William replied, taking a mental note to remember the things his father had taught.
"So, what do you want?" Ophiscus asked, 'I don't think he has ever visited me in my office unless he wants something.'
"I want to go outside the mansion. I have never gone outside, and I want to explore and meet new people."
'I guess it might be okay. He needs to know how the world works. He needs to learn how to solve problems on his own.'
"Okay. But Orion will go with you as well." Ophiscus agreed, making Wililam jump out in joy.
"Thank you, father." He yelled, running out of the room to go find Orion.
Ophiscus chuckled at William's actions and went back to his work.
.....
In the garden, Orion was sitting on the grass with Ava and Mia, his personal maids, flirting with them.
He leaned in on Ava, going for a kiss but missed it when William's shout startled him, "Brother!"
William came running down towards the garden; he even used 'Wind' to get to him faster.
Orion's mouth twitched as he watched William sprinting at him. 'You have come at the right time, little brother!'
CHUCKLE
The maids behind Orion chuckled, amused by William's actions.
"Brother! Let's go out!" William shouted, reaching Orion. He was very excited to go out, his amethyst eyes shone like the sun in excitement.
"Out?"
"Yes, my father gave permission for me to go out. So let's go. He told me to take you with me."
'Ahh! I understand; it looks like Father wants him to experience how the world works.' Orion nodded in understanding.
"Alright, but before that, we have to change our appearance." Orion muttered while standing up.
"Okay," William agreed without asking why. 'Finally, I am going outside.' he thought while clenching his fists in anticipation.
........
Orion and William were now walking in a market; they have changed their appearances, with William's silver hair turned dark and his amethyst eyes now black. He was also wearing peasant clothes with a worn-out shirt and slightly short pants.
"Brother, where are we going? And what is this place?" He asked as he gave way to an old lady,but bumped into other people in the process.
"You wanted to see the world. I am showing it to you." Orion answered as he effortlessly moved through the river of crowds.
'But this wasn't what I expected.' William thought in disappointment, getting a reality check.
Orion, noticing William's saddened face, said, "The world isn't what you think, William; sure, it's beautiful to look at, but underneath it, it's all ugly."
William's face slumped even more, listening to his brother.
'Ah! Looks like I made him even sadder.' Orion mumbled, his brows furrowed as he began to think of a way to make William's mood soar.
"William, follow me." He said while he sped up. He made his way through the crowd like a snake wiggling its way through tight spaces.
"Brother, wait, I can't walk that fast." William complained, having difficulty making his way in the crowd.
Orion stopped and looked at William. He then took his hand and pulled it along with him.
William followed his brother as he looked around, watching what the vendors were selling. One of the vendors sold meat, while others sold vegetables. Some magical items, some other trinkets. Meat sizzled in one corner, and a sweet aroma hit him from the store next to it.
But there was something in common with all of them…. They were loud, really loud. 'Ugh! Why are these people shouting? Why can't they just talk like normal people do?'
As he was about to turn to his brother and ask him where they were going. His gaze fell upon an alley in a corner. The alley was all dark and empty, but he could make out what's happening inside it.
William squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look. "Brother, stop." He muttered in a commanding voice.
Orion stopped and turned back to see William staring at something."What's wrong, William?"
"I think there's something bad happening over there." William muttered while pointing his finger at the dark alley.
"Move her now! We need to get out before the guards arrive!" A gruff voice shouted from within the dim alley. The speaker, a burly man drenched in sweat and adorned with a bandana marked with a crude skull, was frantically shoving a young girl into a large, rough sack.
"Faster idiots!" The guy yelled again; he was making a lot of profits selling young girls recently. 'Why are those nobles willing to pay double the usual price?' He wondered as he recalled the meeting he had with one of them.
'Well, I don't care about those stuckups as long as I earn money, 'kekeke.' Greed shone through his eyes as he looked at the ten-year-old girl getting stuffed in a sandbag.
"Hey! You! Let go of that girl!" Orion shouted from behind the kidnapper.
The guy with the bandana turned and looked at Orion and William. But the moment he saw William, his eyes shone in greed. 'Maybe I can sell that guy too; all I need to do is dress him up like a girl. Kekeke'
Orion gritted his teeth in anger, his hands shook, and his eyes reddened with fury as he looked at the expression on the kidnapper's face.
'How dare you!? I will burn you alive!' Orion swore to himself.
The kidnapper looking at Orion snorted in contempt and muttered, "Are you angry? So what if you are angry? All of us are Apprentices, I will kill you and sell your brother. Guys! Get them!"
'Wind'
William moved, and using 'Wind', he reached the guy holding the girl.
.
'Heat'
Fire mana gathered in his hands, and in a split second, his hands glowed red like lava.
BOOM
He punched the guy in the face, sending him flying through the air before hitting a wall. But the real horror was yet to come.
"Aaaarrrrggggghhhhh!"
The guy howled in agony as his face melted off from his bones. Sizzle. His blood boiled and his muscles burned. His eyes dried up like a fish, looking at William in terror as he lost his life.
SILENCE
The entire alley turned silent, too shocked to react. Orion's eyes bulged open as he looked at his brother.
"All of you." William muttered, his voice unusually cold, sending chills down everyone's spine. "Will die"