Chapter 43: Kael is looking for him
Thalion burst out laughing in response. "I reacted the same way back then... But she did it right in front of us. Surprised, aren’t you? Your mother was an amazing woman. It’s a shame she’s gone."
Lucius swallowed hard. He couldn’t believe that someone from these lands could be so much better than him at something he’d devoted most of his life to.
Repairing, creating, and researching magical tools wasn’t just his first job; it was practically the foundation upon which he grew and rose to the top.
Everyone in the Global Ranking’s Top 100 regarded him as the next The EX!
In the last 500 years, aside from him, no one else has emerged who was capable of reaching those heights.
Not even Kael, who has just reached #2 in the Rankings, will be able to do it. Because that was his last Mana Mark, and it was obtained through the superhuman efforts of three of the most powerful players in the Rankings and exhaustive research that took years.
Besides, it’s not like you can just walk into the dungeon where they got it any old day...
Lucius shook his head to stop thinking about it. He still held deep memories of being #5 in the Rankings. He had to bury them and act according to his current ranking: He didn’t appear in the World Rankings, and in the City Rankings, he was at the D-Rank level.
So he decided to stop thinking about it. He hadn’t expected to find someone so good in these parts... even though she was already dead.
"My mother was an amazing woman. I’ve heard she has two names, but I don’t know which one is real."
"Two names?" Thalion looked at him, shocked. "What are they?"
"Elara and Lilith. Which one is the real one?" he asked.
Thalion frowned. "Who told you that, Young Lord? As far as I know, no one knew Miss Asturias’s real name. She took a surname only because she needed a public identity."
"Huh? Really? When I was little, I overheard my father talking. I didn’t understand what he was saying, but he addressed her by those two names. According to rumors I heard, my ex-fiancée’s name was given to her in honor of my mother. Isn’t that true?"
Thalion thought it over carefully.
Not even he knew that woman’s real name, but it wasn’t impossible that Valerius Asturias, her husband, knew it.
However... Elara and Lilith...
That woman’s age... her knowledge and wisdom...
Her strange power...
’Am I overthinking this?’ he asked himself.
He remembered seeing those two names in historical records, associated with the same person...
He shook his head. ’No. It’s impossible,’ he told himself.
There was plenty of evidence that it was impossible.
"Well, maybe only your father knows her name. He should also be able to tell you everything that happened before," Thalion replied, hiding his thoughts.
Although Lucius managed to sense something.
’Something’s wrong, isn’t it?’ he thought.
Something didn’t add up in all of this. First, he started talking about a different birth. Then he spoke of a ridiculous ability that he considered impossible. And finally, he became strange upon hearing those two names mentioned.
’My father...’ Lucius thought to himself.
"I’ll have to forget about finding out, then. That man hates me to the point of impossibility."
"Haha, how you find out won’t depend on me. How you play your cards is up to you." Thalion smiled.
Lucius smiled back at him. He knew the man was telling him that he currently had some very useful cards up his sleeve.
’I’d already thought of that, but this guy is really intrigued by my mother. Could it be that she’s hiding a secret?’ he wondered, and remembered the tool his mother had left him.
’In my mind, I remember that she personally placed it in my hands before she died, but I also have another memory as if it had simply always been with me. What is going on with this body?’
After they both talked about a few more everyday things and Thalion reminded him that he could count on them from now on, Lucius left.
Thalion remained silent for more than 15 minutes, until he broke the silence. "Lord Gerard, if you were coming, you could have come through the door. Isn’t it disrespectful to come in through the window?"
Gerard laughed behind him. "Lord Thalion didn’t want to alert the boy, so I decided to come in through an unusual entrance." Gerard walked over and sat down in the spot where Lucius had been sitting.
"If you wanted to see him, why didn’t you come in earlier? Eavesdropping on conversations isn’t right."
"As I said, I didn’t want to alert him. I’m an S-Rank, Lord Thalion. My presence overwhelms any F-Rank, and since he might be on guard against me, I decided not to show myself to him."
"Sigh." Thalion leaned back in his chair. "Well, Lord Gerard? Have you decided on something?"
"I can’t make decisions on my own, you know, Lord Thalion? Unlike you, who rules a fiefdom with A-Rankers, I’m part of a family and guild where S-Rankers are the norm. Even though I have status and power, I’m merely the captain of one of the main expedition groups. I’m not powerful enough to make decisions." Gerard replied with a chuckle.
’Barely, he says... As the captain of one of the main expedition groups in such a large guild, his strength is at the pinnacle of this world. And on top of that, he’s the nephew of the current most powerful man in the world...’ Thalion felt that Gerard was mocking him.
But he couldn’t say it out loud.
"You want me to help you bring Young Lord Lucius to your guild, right?" Thalion asked directly.
Gerard smiled slightly at that moment. "I like dealing with smart people," he said, placing both hands on the table. "I’ll give you anything you want. I need that star in my guild."
Thalion swallowed hard. "Everything I want?"
"My uncle told me to eagerly seek out the next Rising Star, as he wants him in his group. So, that’s exactly what I said."
’Lord Kael the Spearman...’ Thalion swallowed even harder.
A promise from the current most powerful man in the world—and one who would surely remain so for decades or more—was worth far too much.
It was the promise of a man who resembled God. While reaching the God Rank might be difficult or even impossible for him, he resembled God!
The No. 2 Rank had been vacant for over 200 years. That someone had finally been able to claim it spoke volumes about his supreme power.
One of his promises was worth more than precious stones and the finest magical tools.
The answer might be obvious to others. However, Thalion understood the value of a Rising Star.
Although people currently look down on him because the System still classifies him as Rank F, the likelihood that he’ll suddenly skyrocket in the rankings is far too high.
’Lucius is far too valuable an asset for the island. However, his family wants him out of the game, and the Castelier Family won’t sit idly by once they see that he really wasn’t the useless fool they claimed him to be. The Thorne family’s pride will also cause him trouble...’ Thalion looked pensive.
Lucius wasn’t just any asset. Not in his eyes.
Not only was he the son of an unparalleled legendary figure who was born under strange circumstances, but it turns out he inherited several of his traits and is more talented than previously believed.
Thalion took another deep breath. "Can I have some time to think it over, Lord Gerard? It’s not a decision I can make on my own. I’m not as capable as you think." He decided to use the same excuse Gerard had used.
"Hahaha, well, I’ll give you the time you ask for. I’ll give you three months to think it over, and when you finally decide to send it to us, I’ll give you one year to implement it." Gerard stood up, grabbed a cup of coffee that was already there, and drank it all in one go. "Let’s work well together in the future," he said before leaving.
Thalion clenched his fists as he watched him disappear out the window. ’You’re confident, Lord Gerard.’
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