Adion left his grandfather’s mansion after spending a few hours talking and headed over to the new headquarters of his secret organization. He was in a good mood. Even if his grandfather had an unexpected history that might result in some trouble later on, Adion wasn’t too worried. He felt that as long as he was in Cyalis, there wasn’t any reason to overly worry. He just had to focus on his studies and increasing his strength.

The day was extremely hot. After an extraordinarily harsh winter, its effects couldn’t be seen at all during the spring. And now as summer was just around the corner, it didn’t seem like whatever decided the weather had any inclinations of changing the current trend.

If it continues like this, won’t it become unbearable during the peak of summer? It seems like the seasons have turned to the extreme.

Adion soon reached an inn not too far away from the mansion where Perk and Tib were staying. He ordered a cold beer from the bartender to stave off the heat.

After gulping it down, he went to the bathroom, not locking the door behind him. He focused on the building about 300 feet away. It didn’t take long before he found the room he was looking for. He focused on the space there and teleported over.

That should do it. Adion thought as he appeared in the apartment building where he had bought a room.

He knew there was always a risk of people following him. Even if he put on a mask and changed his aura, people wouldn’t be so easily fooled if he stepped out of the same inn. But if he went to the bathroom and teleported away, no one would be able to follow him. He didn’t lock the door behind him, so if anyone had their eyes on him, they would have to assume they missed him exiting. No one would be able to guess that he had actually teleported.

Adion looked around the apartment. It was a pretty fancy apartment with a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and even a small study. Adion didn’t need anything fancy, but it was hard to get anything less luxurious in this part of Cyalis. Either way, he didn’t lack money at the moment.

Adion focused on his aura. He hid his strength down to show low Bronze. He didn’t want to appear to be a 17-year-old with middle Silver strength. That would immediately reveal his identity as Adion Remori.

He had practiced hiding his age, but it didn’t come near his ability to hide his strength. He would probably be able to fool the common mage, but should anyone apt in aura sense try to sense his aura, they would feel that his age seemed off. Thus, he also changed his strength. He didn’t think there were a lot of people who could see through that.

He tried to apply the advice that he had gotten from the Headmaster the day before, but it was far too early to see any results. Adion had decided to slowly create the persona of Atao, the leader of Celestial Shadow. That was the identity he would use when changing his aura, after all.

But it was still a long way off. He couldn’t imagine being someone else for very long even if he gave it all his focus, and he didn’t think his aura changed that much even then.

He grabbed an Ash Williwon mask that he had left in the apartment and put it on. Even if he was going to meet Tib and Perk, there would be two Gold mages accompanying them from now on. He didn’t want them to know his true identity without swearing an Oath.

Perhaps it’s been good for me to have all these eyes on me. Even if it has inconvenienced me and Sell, it could have been far worse if I wasn’t prepared for it and accidentally revealed my plans with Celestial Shadow.

Adion focused on the mansion on the other side of the street. He couldn’t get his space mana sphere to occupy the entirety of the property. It was not just a mansion but several other buildings and plots of land with trees and a few gardens. But he could still reach most of the rooms in the main mansion.

Maybe I should get a few people to work on keeping the place nice. If they are non-mages, it might be easier to get them to swear an Oath if I offer them enough money. I guess I’ll let Perk and Tib handle it as they like. They are the ones who will spend their time there.

Adion chose one of the many empty rooms and teleported over.

This should be either Perk's or Tib’s bedroom. Looks like they have already settled in.

Adion didn’t linger. He could now feel Perk and Tib and one of the Gold mages at the back of the mansion. They appeared to be practicing in a small fighting pit.

Oh? Perk has reached middle Iron. He’s just 14, so that’s not bad at all. He’ll definitely be able to reach Bronze before he turns 17. With his Gift of invisibility, and counting on his aura control to keep improving, he should be able to start getting some serious work done by then.

As Adion approached, the Gold mage was the first one to notice him appearing. His name was Grender. Adion had found him and his friend, the other Gold mage called Taronto, after posting a mission in the Outskirts Guild. They had both spent a large amount of time in the Outskirts together, and were now looking for a mission with less danger than hunting beasts. They were starting to get old, both already having passed 50.

Adion had conducted a short interview and thought they were somewhat capable and trustworthy. He never showed them his face, though. Nor did he ever let them know his name. He warned Perk and Tib to be careful in revealing anything either.

He was pretty sure they wouldn’t easily leak any information. There was simply no advantage in doing so. Adion was paying them very well. And they would have to be stupid to anger someone with the capital Adion appeared to have, especially without knowing his background. But Adion didn’t want to take any chances, so whatever could remain a secret, he kept a secret.

“So it’s master Atao,” Grender greeted Adion with a gentle smile as he saw him coming. He treated him politely even if he only showed low Bronze strength. He probably suspected him of coming from a very influential background.

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“Grender,” Adion nodded.

“Boss! You came!” Perk yelled excitedly. Adion noticed that both of the boys were covered in sweat. They held the daggers Adion had gifted them in their hands.

Grender must have been teaching them to fight. Looks like he is doing his job.

“How are things going?” Adion asked, stepping up to take a look at his subordinates.

“We were just about to finish today’s lesson,” Grender answered, “I would have arranged for us to practice in the evening if I knew it was going to be so hot.”

“It really is unbearable,” Perk complained.

“It’s good to get some sunlight and exercise,” Adion said, “Why don’t we go inside and get something to drink? Grender, you can join Taronto and take a break while I’m here.”

“I certainly won’t refuse that,” Grender said with a laugh.

Adion led Perk and Tib inside the mansion again and settled down in a small reception room. It was out of sight, and Adion could feel if anyone approached, so he removed his mask.

Perk brought some cool lemonade for them as they sat down.

“You have to try this, boss,” Perk said excitedly, “This place is incredible. They have all sorts of cooling runes that can even keep things frozen if you want. Should we show you around?”

“We can do that later,” Adion said with a smile. He already had a pretty good idea about the layout of the place after investigating it through his sphere of space mana. But it was always preferable to see it with his own eyes.

“How is your training going? How is Grender and Taronto treating you?” Adion asked.

“It’s really fun, boss,” Perk said, “Grender and Taronto have been teaching us for a few hours every day in different fighting styles. They are really good!”

“They should be,” Adion said with a nod, “They managed to survive in the Outskirts long enough to reach Gold, after all.”

Adion continued asking about their current situation. He was happy to see both of them in such a good mood. They had been slaves, and then on the run, before finally stumbling upon Adion. Since then, things had gotten better, but they had spent most of their days training hard.

Now, they had been with Adion long enough for their training to start showing some results. They also had access to resources that might even make kids of Noble families jealous. With Adion’s new wealth, they didn’t lack anything.

Even if every day still was filled with diligent practice, they had access to Gold mages to train and protect them, and an entire mansion for themselves. How could these two kids coming from poverty not be excited about their new circumstances?

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy with everything. How is your shadow mana manipulation coming along, Tib?” Adion asked.

“Let me show you, boss,” Tib said, a rare smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Adion felt how Tib controlled the surrounding pure mana to gather above his palm, where he turned it to the shadow attribute.

“It only takes you a few seconds, very good,” Adion nodded.

“Do you think I’m ready to form a core soon, boss?” Tib asked.

“That’s still a very long time away, I’m afraid,” Adion said, “Forming a core without a spark will take at least a few more years of practice.”

“That’s what I thought,” Tib said with obvious disappointment.

“Well, you have Authority over shadow, so strange things can always happen,” Adion said, “But it’s better to be safe than sorry. I don’t want you to fail in forming a core. If you lose control while having a large amount of shadow mana in your body, it could have some serious consequences. And should you form a core while having traces of other elements, not even I know what would happen.

“It’s not even been a year since you started training. It can be said that your current progress is a lot faster than I was. And it took me seven years. I had access to an absurd amount of space mana, though, but with the Soul beast core I got from the auction, it shouldn’t be completely hopeless. As long as you can finetune your control enough, that beast core should be more than enough for you to form a core.”

“I’ll continue to work hard,” Tib said with a serious expression.

“Good,” Adion nodded, “That’s all you need to focus on for the moment. You also have more money than you can spend that has been left in your hands. If you need anything, you now have Grender and Taronto to guard you as you go out, so there is nothing to worry about there. Just don’t overdo it. If you bring too much attention to your wealth, it can still result in serious problems.”

“Don’t worry, we know, boss,” Perk said.

Adion continued advising the boys on what they should focus on until he could visit next. He suggested they should hire some non-mages to act as servants. There were a few Moonlight Oaks in Cyalis, and it shouldn’t be a problem for them to get access to at least one of them. Adion had no interest in wasting his time making contracts with non-mages, so he left it to the brothers.

After spending almost an hour talking, Adion got up from his seat.

“Are you leaving already, boss?” Perk asked.

“I’m not in a hurry,” Adion said, shaking his head, “Since I’m here, I’ll take some time to teach you a few things. Let’s begin with taking a look at your aura, then I’ll test your fighting abilities and your progress in runes.”

As expected, Adion’s words caused the brothers to smile.

I should do this more often, they work hard for themselves, but more than that, they work hard for me. If I don’t examine the fruits of their labor, what use is there in working so hard?

Adion didn’t leave the mansion until late at night, spending almost the entire day with the brothers. He had planned on leaving earlier, but was unexpectedly treated to dinner. Seeing Perk’s eager expression as he asked, Adion had no choice but to stay behind and join them for a meal. Adion had no idea that Perk knew how to cook. Apparently, it was something he had learned since he was a child. Adion had to admit that it wasn’t bad at all, and he asked Perk to prepare something the next time he stopped by.

Haah. Adion inwardly sighed as he stepped out onto the streets, his aura and face on full display once again. The cool night air made for a nice walk, so he didn’t hire a carriage to take him back to the Academy.

It feels good to finally be able to provide for them. I have asked for a lot, and they have always delivered. I can’t forget that. I should figure out something nice to give them the next time I stop by. They were so happy when they got the daggers. I don’t think they even understood how precious they were. Since that’s the case, I’ll at least give them some little trinkets.

Maybe I can give them some cool clothes? We are going to start an organization, after all. We should have our own unique uniform.