"Woah… isn't that Emris? The doll?"
"Is that monster blood? I thought he was a cripple."
"It was probably Reid's doing, maybe a little blood got on him."
"Tch, going monster hunting when you are supposed to be attending the family meeting."
"What a blatant disrespect to the family head…."
"He thinks he can behave anyhow he likes just because he's the son of the family head…."
Murmurs filled the air as the members of branch families began whispering amongst themselves. A few were even bolder, talking like it doesn't matter.
The main family heard most of it, but they did nothing to stop it. It was no news that Veronia and her children loathed Emris.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Julien was the first to step forward, his gaze was firm, his back straight as a righteous and noble aura emanated from him just as Emris and Reid's dark steeds arrived at the entrance to the manor where all the other carriages were stopped.
They both dismounted their mounts, their expressions a bit vacant as they were both lost in their thoughts from what they just experienced.
Reid took out a piece of clothing, sheathing his sword before proceeding to wipe off some of the purple blood on Emris.
'The fight became more intense than I thought it would, thankfully, the young master seems to have improved a lot….'
Emris looked around, his spear still in hand, his eyes landing on the other family members, his expression was blank and he seemed to have been looking at empty space.
This ticked some of them off the wrong way and they immediately made sure to take note of the behavior.
It was pretty pathetic, if it had been Julien, they would have attributed the situation to their fault but because it was Emris, the doll of House Leonis, they seemed to have forgotten he was a member of the main family.
"Get me a maid." Emris ordered but nobody moved. Reid took a step forward to head inside but Emris raised a hand to stop him.
His eyes landed on the family members standing at the door, the atmosphere suddenly becoming intense.
"Are you deaf?" Emris asked. It was obvious he was talking to them but they all stared at him and then glanced at Julien before looking back at him.
Emris' eyes narrowed even more and his grip on his spear tightened.
'I didn't just go through the devil's path to be disrespected by these dogs….'
Emris took a step forward, his thoughts unknown when Reid suddenly stepped in front of him and bowed.
"Young master, please be calm. I'll get a maid to prepare a bath for you and change of clothes. Let's head in first."
Reid had seen how Emris fought, with his life in his line, his skills, which had been surprising before, increased even more.
Although he still wasn't in the level of a Tier-1 knight or Warlock, if he had the element of surprise, he would be able to kill anyone of the first tier, afterall, he just killed a lot of monsters of the same rank.
And to make matters even worse, the deadly poison that they had both applied on their weapons was still effective, just one cut is enough to take out even a genius tier-3 like Julien.
And for someone who had been mistreated all his life and held animosity towards everyone here, given his current mental state, Emris might attack without even knowing.
The adrenaline and fighting instincts from the forest were still pumping through his veins.
"Are you deaf?" Julien finally replied through gritted teeth. He walked closer to Emris,
"Father called for a meeting and you dare arrive looking like this?"
"And whose fault do you think that is?" Emris spat back.
"You insolent…..!"
"I'm not in the mood for your childish games Julien."
Emris looked away from Julien, glanced at the family members standing at the entrance before finally settling on Reid.
"Contact Jenna, tell her to make her way here. We'll head to a tavern in town."
Emris walked back to his dark steed and in one smooth motion, mounted it. Reid did the same, his gaze on his Fluctlight Bracelet as he began the process of sending a message to Jenna.
'She would be glad to know we made it out alive….'
"You! Where are you going?! There's a meeting."
Emris stared at Julien who was glaring at him with intense hatred and a hint of bloodlust, he looked like he would attack anytime now.
Tap! Neeeiigh~
The dark steed rose on two feet and neighed loudly before galloping away with the second one in tow. Soon, Emris and Reid were out of sight.
'How is this possible? How did he make it here before dusk? And that look in his eyes, he doesn't seem afraid of me anymore.'
Julien was seething with rage and shame, his face was red from a mixture of both. He felt like his pride had been kicked to the curb.
"Huu…" he took a deep breath and he turned around with his usual cold expression and began to head into the mansion.
"Hehe, seems like your plan failed brother. Looks like you've lost this one." Edwinn whispered into Julien's ear.
"Lost?" Julien chuckled as his lips curled into a dark menacing smile,
"We'll see about that."
—
[Congratulations, you've slain a monster (nightcrawler)….]
…..
[Congratulations, you've earned achievement points x10….]
...
[Congratulations, you've completed a cross ranking skill…..]
....
[Congratulations, you've earned an advance card….]
....
[Congratulations, you've slain a monster…..]
...
[Congratulations, you've gained a monster card….]
....
[Congratulations, you've earned a function card…..]
....
[Congratulations, you've slain a monster...]
...
[Congratulations, you've earned achievement points x10…..]
...
I closed my eyes as the oast notifications buzzed in my ear, feeling as the hot water relaxed my muscles.
All of my tensions, my emotions, everything…. I could feel them calming down, returning to normal.
I began to feel sleepy, I wanted to rest my head and just relax at this point but I knew I couldn't rest, not yet.
'Julien will definitely try something during the meeting, I need as much ace up my sleeve as possible.'
"Esfyn, show me my card."
[Understood, lord Emris.]
[Host's Exclusive Card]
Host: [Emris Leonis]
Race: [Human]
Bloodline: [None]
Potential: [One star (Top-tier)]
Combat Strength: [None]
Trait: [Perfect body], [Mana resonance]
Skill: [Formless shadow Scripture (Intermediate)], [Velthora Basic Spearmanship (Intermediate)]
Talent: [Spearmanship(Superior)], [Ice jade constitution (basic)]
Achievement points: [300]
Inventory: [Leather Mantle (Rare), Mission card x3, Advance card x5, Random equipment card (Rare) x1, Function card (Healing) x8, Random skill card (Rare) x1, Monster card x20, Random card (Uncommon) x3, Random card (Rare) x1, Function card (Evolution) x1, Function card (third eyes awakening) x1]
'I got a lot of rewards this time, but the greatest reward isn't from the system,... It's from that monster.'
Even now, I could still see the monster, it was one of a kind. I could tell it was different from other nightcrawlers and not just because it was their leader.
And the tear behind it,.... It was a rupture, and I could tell that it was still an infant although I couldn't tell the rank.
'Sigh, first things first, before I unlock any of the other cards, I have to take what I have to the top.'
"Esfyn, how many advance cards are needed to take my talents to the top-tier grade?"
[You currently have x5 advance cards, lord Emris, you need eighteen more advance cards to take both your talents to top-tier grade.]
"Do it. Purchase the advance cards."
[Purchasing advance cards…..]
[Upgrading talent— Spearmanship to Top-tier grade…]
[Upgrade complete….]
[Upgrading talent— ice jade constitution to Top-tier grade…]
[Upgrade com…..]
I drowned out the rest of Esfyn's voice once again as I closed my eyes. The moment my Spearmanship talent was upgraded, I felt my mind get clearer as the previous battle in the devil's path began to replay in my mind.
I could see the errors in my techniques, a way to make them even more fluid. I began to comprehend even more of the [Velthora Basic Spearmanship].
I was stuck in a trance for a short period of time before I finally snapped out of it.
'I see,..... So this is the difference between having talent and not…. It sure is nice.'
I knew at this moment that if I returned to battle the king of the nightcrawlers,.... I would die in less than five seconds.
My comprehension of my skills made me understand how powerful the enemy truly was. And I also understood one other thing….
That monster was intelligent!
'I better get going…'
I've been in this bath for a while now, I still had a family meeting to attend. As for the rest of my rewards, I can just pull them up during the meeting.
They are just card draws after all.
Crack~
'oh, I forgot about this…'
The water in the pool has almost completely turned into ice. Unlike the water Jenna specifically made for me, this one wasn't hot enough, and coupled with the fact that the ice jade constitution has been upgraded top tier….
I looked around, there were icicles forming around the edges of the bathroom.
"I better pay for damages on my way out."