Chapter 10 : The Young Wolf Meets The Old Snake (2)

Adam followed the Viscount in silence.

They climbed the stairs for a while, before stopping at the 50th floor.

Prior to entering the Ashen Tower, Adam believed that installing a teleportation device on every ten floors was excessive. Just one teleportation device was more expensive than a small house in the capital, after all.

'Yet another lavish extravagance of the Royal family,' he used to think.

...but now, he understood why they'd spent so much on teleportation platforms.

These seemingly endless stairs made you understand the true meaning of the word 'hell'.

If even he, a young athletic man at the peak of his condition, had trouble climbing to the 50th floor... He couldn't imagine what it was like for the frail mages and scholars who had never exercised their bodies.

'pant...I'm sure whoever designed these stairs...pant...had a sadistic tendency,' Adam thought, his white tanktop drenched in sweat.

Despite his good stamina, climbing so many stairs without taking a break was exhausting even for him. Adam was surprised that the Viscount, who was an old man in his sixties, didn't seem the least bit tired.

'This man is a monster if he climbs these stairs every day...'

Finally leaving the staircase on the 50th floor, the duo arrived in a small circular room where two men in heavy plate armor were guarding a large door.

'Royal Knights...!'

Adam's body involuntarily tensed up when he saw the eagle-shaped emblem made of silver on the men's chest plate.

Royal Knights were the most elite forces of the kingdom, bested only by the Royal Guards who were in charge of protecting the King.

They answered to the Royal Court and His Majesty only, so even if the Ashen Tower was a prestigious institution, it was still surprising to see Royal Knights guarding it.

'Let's hope they do not recognize me...'

Adam's mind started racing with various possibilities of what could happen, but one thing was certain : if they found out his real identity, he wouldn't be able to leave the Ashen Tower alive.

"Greetings, Lord Achalinus."

The two men in armor bowed respectfully as soon they noticed the Viscount leaving the staircase.

They always wondered why the Viscount never used the teleportation platform, but they got used to it.

Albert approached them, before saying with an inquisitive tone.

"This young man is my guest. I expect that you won't waste our time with an unnecessary check-up. Is that clear ?"

"..."

Adam's face paled when he heard the Viscount.

He knew the Viscount had a lot of authority in the capital, but he never expected him to order Royal Knights around as if they were his own subordinates.

"...Everything's alright, my Lord. He's free to pass."

However, contrary to what Adam thought, the two knights didn't react and just moved aside to let them go through the large door.

They have been guarding the 50th floor for quite some time already ; they knew the Viscount had a bad temper, and they eventually grew used to it.

Even if he wasn't their superior, and therefore wasn't supposed to talk to them in such a manner, they knew better than anyone that going against Viscount Achalinus over simple words was akin to suicide.

Not even their Captain could save them if the Viscount decided to end their lives. There was a reason why people called him Serpentdoom in the capital ; he would bring doom upon anyone who dared to offend him, no matter the status, age, or sex of his victim.

"Mhm."

Albert nodded at them with a satisfied expression.

Access to the higher floors in the Ashen Tower is normally restricted to officials and academic personnel only, but some unofficial exceptions are made for the guests of high-profile figures.

Although infamous throughout the entire kingdom, Albert was nevertheless a reputed noble of Valor, and one of the most prominent teachers in the Royal Academy. His name carried a lot of weight, and House Achalinus was a very influential family in the capital.

Adam was glad that such a man was on his side, albeit temporarily.

When Adam passed the door with the Viscount, his vision blurred and the scenery suddenly changed.

A gentle breeze was caressing his cheeks.

"What the..."

His eyes widened at the scene in front of him.

"Welcome to the 50th floor of the Ashen Tower, young man."

Adam was too shocked to even notice the Viscount smiling next to him.

They stood in front of a small wooden house, in the middle of a mountainous area spotted with various trees and wildflowers. A long river of crystal clear water was flowing nearby, and he was amazed to find real fish swimming within.

The temperature was quite cool, and the sky was partially cloudy.

"This feels so... real. What in the world is this place...?"

"My office."

"Huh ?!"

Adam never expected to find this inside the tower.

"These kinds of 'offices' are gifted only to the best professors. Consider yourself fortunate to witness mine with your own eyes."

Albert's expression was more relaxed than usual, and his lips twitched upward when he saw the impressed reaction of his guest.

He was proud of this place he called 'his office', since he personally designed the landscape.

"Is it large-scale space magic ?" Adam asked, finding it hard to believe that such a place was contained within a single floor of the Ashen Tower.

"Hm, in a sense, yes. Although it would be more accurate to call it 'space runemancy,' since the creation of such an artificial realm was made possible only thanks to a powerful spell formation and complex enchantments."

Everything felt so unreal to Adam that it took a while for him to notice the faint trace of runes surrounding the place.

These sigils have been enchanted with great care. He could tell at first glance that the one who drew these runes was a skilled master Runemancer.

If he was trapped inside a spell formation of this quality, Adam was sure that he would have no chance of escaping.

"Wait, does it mean that every other person who has an office in the Tower owns a similar place ?!"

"It depends. New professors and low-ranked officials only have access to a single room, with very little furniture and decorations. Individuals with greater prestige, like myself, have better advantages. The upkeep cost of an artificial space of this size is very high, after all."

"I see..."

"Anyway, I believe it's time for you to tell me the reason for your presence here today. I have been welcoming you in my office since you seem to be acquainted with Sir Aurelion, but I hope for you that you had a good reason to come find me..."

Albert had a cordial smile, to the point that his mustache was raised, but the look he gave Adam told another story. His piercing eyes were constricted and emitted a suffocating pressure.

Adam understood the meaning behind the Viscount's words ; so far, the only reason why the Viscount has accepted to meet him and had been so respectful despite Adam being a commoner was because of the small card Mr. Lloyd gave him.

"I... I have a favor to ask of you, my Lord."

Enduring the pressure emitted by the Viscount, Adam mustered all his courage and did a 90-degree angle bow.

"A favor, you say ? Mhm."

The Viscount touched his chin with a pensive look, before asking.

"Even though Sir Aurelion sent you to me, a favor of mine has a cost that a commoner like you might not be able to pay in his lifetime. Are you certain that you are willing to take this risk ?"

Adam hesitated.

No matter how shameful it was, the Viscount was right.

He knew beforehand that even with Mr. Lloyd's backing, asking the assistance of the infamous Serpentdoom wouldn't be free.

That's why Adam prepared a storage ring filled with gold and artifacts before coming here, but if even this wasn't enough... He didn't dare to think what this ruthless man would ask of him and his father.

'Wait... Maybe with this...'

Adam had a sudden epiphany about something that would be of interest to the Viscount, but if that was the case, it meant that everything had been planned and arranged from the beginning by that mysterious man.

'How scary...'

For a moment, the thought of being in the palm of the store owner made him forget about the scary old man in front of him, who was said to be one of the most cruel nobles of Valor.

"My Lord, if I may ask... Do you perhaps have a need for fire-type elixirs...?"

"..."

Albert's face froze.

His eyes widened, and he unleashed all his pressure onto the young man still bowing in front of him.

"How do you know ?" He asked coldly, a tinge of suspicion hidden in his raspy voice.

Adam realized that he wouldn't leave this place alive if he didn't give a satisfactory answer.

"I-Is this sufficient payment for a favor of yours, My Lord ?"

Adam took out a box wrapped in a plastic bag from his storage ring and handed it to the Viscount with both hands.

"This bag... Does it come from the pet store ?!"

"Y-yes, My Lord. It was a gift from Boss Lloyd to my father, but... I think he knew that you would ask for compensation if I came to ask for your help. I believe he gave me this so I could use it as a bargaining chip."

Albert recognized the plastic bag at first glance since this strange material could only be found in the mysterious pet store.

"...It wouldn't be surprising with Mr. Lloyd's personality. Let me check what's inside first."

The Viscount released his pressure and picked up the box of gochujang from the young man's hands.

When he opened it, Albert swallowed.

"H-How did he know...?"

He had a look of total disbelief plastered on his face.

A weird red light was simmering up from the box he was holding ; a violent fire-type energy was overflowing, fiercely coming out of the box like the tides of a violent sea.

"...Indeed, Mr. Aurelion probably intended for you to give me this box."

Albert closed the box with a faint smile, still shocked by what he had just seen.

"This... is exactly what my children need."

"By children, do you mean-" Adam asked with a small voice while he straightened up. His body still felt numb from the fierce pressure he had to endure.

"My beasts."

"Ah, I see..."

Albert remained calm on the outside, but his entire body was shaking in excitement.

If this young guy hadn't been a fellow customer sent by Mr. Lloyd and Albert had seen this package in the hands of someone else instead... He would have stopped at nothing to obtain it.

"I know the energy coming from this red paste is special, but is it that powerful...?"

Adam, who saw the Viscount's expression change dramatically after handing him the box of gochujang, couldn't help but ask.

"Just powerful is an understatement, young man. A single box of this strange paste contains enough energy to grow two of my Ourobos to the early stage of the Apollyon-class. Its value is at least equal to the tear of a Crimson Phoenix, or even the scale of a Greater Dragon... And both are considered legendary-grade materials."

"...W-What ?"

It was now Adam's face that froze.

He didn't know what was the scariest : that he strolled through the capital with a legendary-grade elixir in his storage ring, or the fact that Lloyd gave him such an expensive item for free, as if it was nothing.

'The Viscount might have a heart attack if he learns that Mr. Lloyd used this legendary-grade elixir as a condiment for fried chicken...'

A chill ran down Adam's back when he thought about this crazy store owner.

Still holding the box in his hands, Albert also sighed at the thought of Mr. Lloyd.

He already guessed that Lloyd was a big shot hiding his identity, but he never expected him to have such backing. Even he, as the patriarch of House Achalinus, didn't have access to legendary-grade elixirs and artifacts.

If the Royal Family found out that the owner of a random shop in the residential area of the 7th district had access to legendary-grade items, they would quarantine the entire capital and do all they could to capture him right away.

'Not only this energy is pure and of high quality, but it's also the perfect attribute for my children...'

The reason why it took so long for Albert's deceased Malachite Ourobos to evolve was mostly due to a lack of resources.

Not that House Achalinus lacked funds, but rather, it was extremely hard to find the right elixirs, and every time he found one in an auction he had to compete with other Houses in a bidding war.

While Albert possessed enough wealth to buy an entire kingdom in the Outer Continent if he wanted, it was still not considered 'wealthy' by the Center Continent's standards.

He didn't have the funds to compete against other aristocratic families at every auction, and as a result, he often had to give in and head back from the auctions empty-handed.

The other issue he encountered was that, except for a few of his snakes, most of them shared the same attribute. This meant that they needed the same kind of elixirs to break through, which made him split the little resources he could get between all of his beasts.

Snakes were said to have cold blood. On Earth, it was nothing but an inherent characteristic of their species, but on Lunaris, the quantity of cold and heat they received during their growth could directly affect the speed of their growth and the limit of their evolution.

Since most of Albert's snakes were variants of Ourobos, a rare breed born with a secondary ice-type attribute, they had to absorb and refine a great quantity of the opposite -fire-type or explosive-type- mana to break their limit and evolve. Since explosive-type elixirs were even rarer than fire-type, he didn't have many choices when it came to acquiring elixirs.

He had to wait decades and spend millions of gold coins to get his hands on enough elixirs to raise a single Malachite Ourobos to its peak...

And yet, one item from Lloyd's store contained more than twice the amount of fire-type energy than all the elixirs he used to raise his favorite snake.

"Ha... Haha... HAHAHA...!!"

Albert's mind snapped, causing him to burst into uncontrollable laughter as he thought about the absurdity of this situation.

All the money and time he spent for fifty years were not even worth a simple box gifted by the store owner.

"M-My Lord...?"

The Viscount, usually calm and collected, laughed hysterically like a madman in front of Adam for long minutes, before finally calming down.

"I have been arrogant. I am the one who may not be able to pay you back for this box."

The Viscount looked at Adam and smiled wryly.

"I doubt any favor of mine would be worthy of such a gift, young man."

Albert was rather embarrassed to have shown such a shameful side of himself, but he quickly went back to normal as if nothing happened.

He then put his right palm on his chest and grabbed Adam by the shoulder with his left hand.

As he gazed straight into Adam's eyes with a solemn look, he declared.

"Therefore, I, Albert Lupus Achalinus, swear on my name that from this day onward, I shall do my best to help and assist you in every means possible, no matter your request."

Showing a rare genuine smile to the young man, he stored the box of gochujang inside his ring and led him inside the small house.

"Now come, and tell me in details what brought you here."

___

Meanwhile, far from the Ashen Tower.

Lloyd was staring at the wooden door behind his counter.

"Celestine said that I can now open it by myself..."

He didn't open the store today since he wanted to check what was inside the Backroom, but he hesitated to enter it by himself.

"I can't ask Celestine or Balgor to come with me, since I don't know when they will visit me again," Lloyd sighed.

Just as he was about to change his mind, he felt a breath of hot air on his ankles.

"Woof! Woof!"

The two heads of his chubby dog were looking at him with round eyes, probably wondering why their owner had stood in front of a door without moving for more than an hour.

"Now that I think about it, I can just bring you with me instead. Right ?"

"Woof!"

As if he understood his master, Blackie barked and waged his tail.

Lloyd was a bit hesitant about entering the Backroom alone, but he remembered Igor telling him that whatever was inside would be helpful for his business.

"It's not like I have a choice anyway."

Lloyd stood up from his chair and attached a leash to Blackie's silver collar, before going in front of the mysterious door.

He carefully placed his hand on the door handle, and to his surprise, there was no resistance when he turned it.

He didn't know what Celestine did to his body while he was unconscious, but she was right ; he could now easily open this damned door that used to not budge a single inch.

"Alright, let's go Blackie."

"Woof!"