Clack clack
The steps of the marquis reverberated through the hall, echoed by the steps of the branch family leaders following behind him.
Their presence was unified, their gait strong and steady. It seemed like they owned the place, which wasn't far from the truth.
Their aura was not just dignified, there was a strange authority to it that made everyone stand up and look down at their feet as they approached the table at the head.
All except one pair of eyes.
'Hmm?'
The Marquis glanced in the direction of Emris, his third son. Unlike most of the children of House Leonis, Emris eyes weren't blue.
'I never knew he had such eye color…'
It was a lie. If the Marquis had to answer honestly, he never even knew Emris had eyes at all. He just didn't pay attention to such things.
But today was different, today, the Marquis had to look around and notice one or two things about the children of House Leonis, because an opportunity to rise had presented itself and he needed to make sure that if he rose in strength, his family would be able to maintain it.
The marquis and the other family heads took their seat and everyone else in the hall followed.
There was silence, then the silence was broken by the voice of the head of house Leonis, lord Ashran.
"A few hundred years ago, ruptures suddenly began to appear. A tear in space that led to the Outlands just out of the reach of our empire."
The Marquis voice was strong and filled with charisma. As he spoke, everyone couldn't help but listen, either due to fear, respect or a totally unknown reason.
"These ruptures led to monster dens. And they were hence seen as a treasure trove in this day and age where monsters were used for almost every single purpose."
The duke paused for a while, making sure his words sank in before he continue his speech,
"Ruptures have grades, from one to five, which determine how massive and powerful the den and its guardian were, respectively."
A rupture had a guardian, a boss monster that ruled the den. A den doesn't always consist of just one species of monsters, although they are usually of the same type— undead type, flying type, plant type etc.
"A den is a great opportunity for any family, it promises chances for the young and old to train, kill monsters, harvest their cores to improve themselves while also gaining millions of gold tar after selling the monster corpse."
In order to move from one tier to another, one has to fill and saturate their cores with mana from the environment while simultaneously refining it to the highest quality and density possible.
A great way to speed up the process is by absorbing the mana held within the core of beasts. Hence, a monster is valuable in more ways than just their corpse. This was why adventurers and mercenaries were the most populated secondary jobs.
"But the most valuable trait about a rupture is the fact that there is a chance that a ruin exists behind it."
At the mention of a ruin, the atmosphere in the room immediately shifted. Everyone here knew what a ruin was.
"A ruin is the remains of an ancient civilization. It normally contains way more powerful monsters than seen in the den but it also usually processes way better treasure, priceless treasure that could permanently elevate the status of our family."
Everyone understood what the marquis was saying. A ruin usually held at least one relic, and a relic was a treasure of any kind that cannot be ranked.
This doesn't mean they are stronger than ranked treasures, but they are more practical and most times, more useful.
"A few weeks ago, a rupture appeared at the very heart of Bellenau, just a few miles away from this estate," lord Ashran continued after a short pause to let his words sink in,
"And it had been determined to be a grade-4 rupture."
The hall was instantly filled with murmurs.
Everyone had heard of the rumors that a rupture was found in the heart of Bellenau and after hearing about the family meeting, they assumed it to be a high ranking one.
But the confirmation that it was a grade-4 rupture still sent waves of shock, surprise, joy and anticipation through them.
A grade-4 rupture meant one thing— it was extremely likely that the moment this Rupture was conquered, the Leonis family would no longer be a marquis family but a Duke household.
And even more exciting was the fact that the higher the grade of the rupture, the more likely it was that a ruin would be on the other side.
'If there's a ruin and the relic is captured by us, we might immediately become the strongest duke family even….'
It was no news that all of the three current Duke households had conquered a grade-3 rupture with a ruin and a relic. But none had conquered a grade-4 rupture ruin, none except the royal family.
Lord Ashran raised his hand and the hall immediately quieted down. His expression became serious as he spoke,
"A lot of people are aware of this opportunity falling in our hands and they'll do whatever it takes to make sure we don't claim it for ourselves. To make sure we are kept where we are."
The atmosphere in the hall became heavy. Although there were young ones in the hall that were barely teenagers, they weren't fools. From a young age, they've been taught about how the world works.
"We will need to make sacrifices to rise to the top, I'm sure you are all aware of that."
The marquis paused for a moment before continuing,
"Which is why, after a meeting with the branch family leaders, we've decided that for the next one month, everyone will participate in rigorous training, both young and old."
"No one is to leave Bellenau and in exactly thirty five days from now, we'll conquer the Rupture."
The bustling sounds filled the arena once again, no one seemed opposed to the marquis' words. They were all thrilled, in fact.
"Once we become a Duke family, I won't need to go to a brothel anymore. I can just have them come to my quarters."
"Is that really all you can think of?"
"Maybe I'll be able to enroll in Imperium when all of this is over."
"You wish! Imperium is on a whole different scale. I heard it was hard for even the main family siblings to get in and they are said to be the greatest talents in their generation."
"That is because their talent is only in regard to a marquis family. If I get a fortuitous encounter, I might become even more talented than them."
The atmosphere became lively as members of the family began chatting amongst themselves of the possibilities that could come from this.
That was until someone's voice broke through, forcing everyone to become silent.
"Father, family heads,... I don't mean to be impudent but there is another matter we have to discuss."
The hall immediately became silent as everyone listened to what Julien had to say. As the heir to House Leonis' soon to be dukedom, and a Tier-3 knight at the age of eighteen, he was a talent that was respected by everyone in the House.
"A few days ago, I asked my maid, Miranda and my butler, Alfred, to do an inventory of the storage at Mildeburg, and we found something rather peculiar."
Julien glanced at Emris, a small smirk playing at his lips. Emris' eyes immediately widened as he felt a terrible sense of foreboding.
'This bastard, what is he plotting now?!...' Emris cursed inwardly.
If it was any other time, Emris wouldn't be even remotely bothered, because he felt Julien's antics were childish at most.
But in such an important meeting, where everyone of the Leonis family were gathered— a place where his reputation was rock bottom compared to Julien —the kind of damage that could be done with a single word was unimaginable.
"It has been brought to my attention that the prime frost orb is missing."
'Shit….'
Murmurs filled the hall as all eyes turned towards Emris. Julien didn't even need to clearly state his intent for everyone to understand the meaning behind it.
As all eyes fell on Emris, the hall slowly began to quiet down as everyone waited for Emris to speak. They didn't want him to defend himself but instead, tell them the reason for his actions.
The prime frost orb is an elixir in the form of a small orb-like pill, it has a high level of ice energy concentrated in it and it can be used to boost one's core.
"I am a cripple, why would I take the prime frost orb? It's useless to someone like me." Emris replied. He had immediately composed himself.
'I need to watch what I say very well, just a slight slip up can cost me a lot.'
Julien's smirk remained, which made Emris' sense of foreboding increase more.
"That's something you will have to explain to us too." Julien stood from his seat, his eyes narrowed at Emris before he turned to everyone,
"Why would a cripple like you, steal the prime frost orb at this sensitive moment?! I'm sure I'm not the only one that finds it hard to believe it's a coincidence."
Julien finally turned back to look at Emris and the look in his eyes sent a shiver down Emris spine,
"Emris, have you betrayed House Leonis?"