Chapter Five
Choices
"What? Taking them as part of the three families? Does this have to do with Geist not having a good talent? Do they want to take the six-candle orphan?" Senbo wondered to himself.
He had been a teacher for the children of the non-path for many years, and this was the first time the classes had been merged into the three families.
His wisdom led him to a logical conclusion, but he was still beneath the ranks of the three family instructors, so he had to obey.
"If this is your collective judgment, who am I to impose my opinion? You can take over," Senbo sighed quietly.
"Don't worry old man. In fact, we will not be taking over; the students will," Stolz replied in a tired voice as she walked to Senbo's side, who quietly stood back.
"We'll leave the choice to them to avoid any bias, but we still can reject them," Jokai added calmly as she also stepped forward.
Sinbo's eyes glared a bit, he felt that such orders weren't only for the talented people to join the three families.
"Alright then, form a line behind one another and step forward one by one," Senbo spoke in a calm voice tinged with some sadness. He was somewhat excited about teaching this class.
"I feel nervous," Risa muttered quietly, looking toward the instructors. She had spent most of her life with her brother and let him make most of the decisions, remembering a painful memory.
When their parents died, she cried non-stop while Sero stood silently, throwing flowers on their dead bodies, not crying at all.
Since then, she had unconsciously followed him in every decision, even if she didn't like it.
Yet now she became a talented magician, and following her one-candle brother was an illogical decision.
"Next!" called out the old Jokai in a tired voice. She had grown bored of watching the situation and had rejected all those who had tried to join the Hervolt family.
The Hervolt family was known for their strength, even among their women. For them, magic was revered, and using it for daily chores was something only the lowly weak did. Therefore, they trained their bodies with it and followed a body cultivation style. So, it wasn't surprising that most of the young men tried to apply to them.
The Anira family, on the other hand, considered magic one of their many rights as mages, and not using it daily weakened the person and was an insult to thr mana itself.
Thus, most of them were skilled magicians but physically weak.
The Geist family, however, viewed magic as just a weapon, no more, no less. Weapons killed others and imposed dominance over the weak. That was magic, and that was mana.
"Next! Hmm? The little girl with six candles," Jokai muttered curiously, looking at Risa as she stepped forward, and before any of the other elders talk, Stolze played her card.
"Risa Geist, you may not know me, but I know you well. Your mother was my sister-in-arms, and we lived together for a long time. Of course, I don't intend to make that information a reason for you to choose us, but remember, you are always from the Geist family, and if you do choose us even after what we did to your mother I promise you that you will be taken care of, you can even get her inheritance if you reached the right age if you do," Stolz spoke with a smiling face.
Such a temptation was too hard to resist, and in no doubt, the other felt the strings of Annalise befall Stolz's words.
Using her mother's past as bait for her mind and her mother's inheritance was too tempting to reject, and if it was Sero, he would choose them simply for the inheritance alone.
But he had no luck in that.
"You can have her; I'm not interested in slender girls," Jokai said coldly.
She wasn't interested in her talent since the Hervolts had enough, and as a Dread and Drada teacher, she didn't want a distraction like her to challenge them in strength.
"The Anira family doesn't have much to offer compared to the Geist family, but if you decide to join us, we will welcome you warmly," Alice said while laughing.
"I'll choose the Geist family then," Risa replied calmly. Although her reason appeared to be a fondness for the family, she joined to find out what happened to her parents in detail.
"Very predictable. Next—" Elder Jokai began, her expression changing to one of intense excitement as her old eyes lit up at the sight of Liu Jinta.
"No need for discussion, boy. You will join the Hervolt family," Elder Jukai said calmly.
"Oh? You want a notorious thief to join a great family of Hervolt? Who am I to refuse?" Jinta responded with a pleased tone.
Behind him was Li Xian, and naturally, her beauty caused a stir among the clan's elders. Since she didn’t belong to the Geist family and didn’t catch Elder Jokai’s eye, she ended up in the Anira family.
"Next, Sero Geist," Jokai said with boredom, but her expression changed when she sensed a terrifying confidence emanating from Sero, as if he was certain of the family he would choose.
"So, you're the little one who gave the old man Ji a good beating? I wonder what kind of punishment you think will befall you?" Alice said, laughing.
"Humans feared the four-armed being out of ignorance, but that being changed their lives," Sero said in vague terms, which evoked a strong feeling in Alice.
What others thought was bad poetry was actually a kind of message directed at the Anira family, known only to Sero, who believed it would improve his situation.
"That phrase is said by one of the Rins, and I doubt that the old man Ji would know such a thing. Where did you hear it?" Alice asked seriously.
"What I want to say is that I intend to join your family, and I will return your kindness many times over, but only if you accept me," Sero replied calmly, his blue eyes reflecting the image of an endless, deep sea, scrutinizing Alice’s face, who chuckled.
"I see then. It seems that living alone in the orphanage has given you some awakening to speak like this. In that case, the best family for you is Anira, as we appreciate men with enlightened minds," Alice said with false confidence, trying to hide her skeptical expression about Sero's true nature.
His words carried significant meaning, suggesting that he had learned by himself in secret or overheard something.
Stolen novel; please report.
In either case, Alice needed to keep him in the Anira family to satisfy her curiosity and intended to share his words with Nyoska.
After two hours, the distribution of students among the three families was over, and the teachers left the temple without saying a word, leaving them on their own.
"Who will take us to the three families then? Are they going to leave us here?"
"Impossible, they will likely send their servants or something like that."
Voices rose among the students, but Sero ignored them and left the temple alone. After all, this was a clear test to the extent that even a blind person could see it.
One who becomes accustomed to an easy life after suffering from hardships becomes weak and frail.
This is why the clan elders began this small test. By offering the young ones the luxury of joining the three families, their reactions to it were tested.
There were those who boasted, thinking they had achieved everything by becoming mages, and there were the cowards who followed only the strong.
Both would be the first to die in a war, after all, mages fight other mages and the wild beasts, and with such weak or overconfident mindsets, such students were simply a waste.
"Where are you going?" Risa asked her brother curiously, but he remained silent and left alone, leaving her behind.
Li Xian, being weak-minded and lacking in cunning, followed him secretly as they were in the same family, while Risa remained in the temple with a mysterious expression.
Jinta was the first to leave, stealthily following Elder Jokai, who, naturally, sensed his presence but pretended not to know.
"All the pieces are in place, but who would have expected that the Anira clan had one of its pawns here? I thought it was just a coincidence, but the reaction of that woman proved my point," Sero smiled as he pondered.
In his past life, The Anira family was a part of a great sect that would emerge in the future, and he needed to benefit from them as much as he could.
Yet first, he needed shards to strengthen himself, and to have access to them he needed support from the family.
If mana is the power of beings, shards are the power of the world. Just like mages, shards have paths, and as their rank increases, their impact on the world grows.
The most important of these shards were the tenth-path shards mentioned in the Nine Rins' Legends book, the most famous book in the world, agreed to be true by all races. It contained stories about the lives of all the Rins and how they climbed to become revered entities among mortals.
Contemplating these legends, Sero walked until he reached a colossal palace built on a medium-sized mountain, adorned with cherry trees emitting a wine-like scent.
Behind him, Li Xian hid among the rocks as Sero ascended the wooden stairs towards the palace.
"Hmm? That boy caught Alice’s attention. But he is weak in both physique and magic! Yet, he gives off a sinister feeling as if he carries a contagious disease.
"Sigh, It seems the decision to expand the lineage has borne fruit, but that fruit is still small and bitter. Intervention would not be beneficial at this time, but it was a boring day so I might play a bit with him!" a female figure adorned in a red robe and wooden shoes sat atop one of the cherry trees, gazing at Sero, then vanished amidst pink smoke with a soft laugh echoing in the air.
..........
Under the light of the great crescent moon that covered the sky and illuminated the mountain, Sero reached the gate of the Anira family mansion after he walked up a stone path for most of the day till it became night.
His forehead was dripping with sweat, and his breath came in heavy bursts, yet he maintained a calm mind and focused gaze.
"This brat's body is so weak! It's the first time I've felt physical pain in five hundred years. I feel disgusted knowing I’ll have to strengthen this wretch’s body to increase my endurance," Sero muttered irritably.
"Come on, you can do it," a mocking female voice called out from behind him followed by a small soft clapping.
With a sideways glance, he saw a sixteen-year-old girl wearing a red and black robe, with long silky white hair and red eyes, as well as two long silk stockings ending in black wooden shoes.
"Strange clothes for an Anira member. Are you lost kid?" Sero mumbled as he continued walking, each step as heavy as if he were walking underwater.
"Strange clothes? What's so strange about my clothes? If you think we should wear our ceremonial robes all the time, you need to rethink out of your sad past life," the girl spoke haughtily. Her name was Anira Doska, an orphan who had shown talent two years ago and joined the Anira family under the order of a high member in it.
"Such a Brat," Sero muttered irritably, ignoring Doska. Without warning, she threw him twenty meters into the air with a single strike on his back.
He fell like a rock to the ground and made a strong crashing sound, spitting blood and struggling to breathe for two seconds.
"No respect in this generation, I see. You're even worse than the other brat who used to follow you," Doska grumbled, dragging Li Xian by her hair across the pavement.
"You whore! If I had even one of my shards I would make you beg!" Sero screamed in his mind, but he realized his current predicament after that blow.
He was no longer the Dark Waters Immortal, and no matter his past, he could do nothing now.
His great magic, capable of exploding mountains, was now just a shattered dream at the hands of a child in a body that wasn't even his, and if he dared to say anything he would get thrown away again.
Immersed in his thoughts, Doska stared into his face with her blood-red eyes as she extended her hand toward him, conjuring a light pink smoke that he inhaled deeply. The more he inhaled the less the pain became.
"Welcome to the Anira family kid! You'll be bullied by the girls day and night if you can't defeat me. Oh, here, take your sweetheart. She's been following you for so long that she lost consciousness in the middle of the road," Doska said with a smile that intensified Sero's hatred as she threw Li Xian at him, then walked proudly towards the mansion.
"Tch, as much as I want to kick this brat to the ground, she's right. Bullying the weak was something I enjoyed in my previous life too. After all, survival was always for the strongest," Sero wiped his face, which showed a satisfied expression.
He hated his new body and considered everything that had happened a joke, but it would be the biggest joke in the world if he failed.
If his enemies from the future were told that the Immortal who had turned their lives into ruin was reborn in a child's body only to be killed by a group of amateurs, they would burst out laughing.
Dark Waters Immortal finally accepted that he had become Sero when Doska struck him.
That blow restored some of the reason and wisdom that anger and pride had blinded. With these thoughts in mind, he carried Li Xian on his back and walked towards the enormous mansion.
...........
"Where did brother go?" Risa thought anxiously as she left the temple to search for her brother after waiting for a long time.
As Sero predicted, no one had come to pick them up, and they were left alone until nightfall.
Worried for him and herself, Risa began searching, thinking he might have fallen asleep on the ground or something similar.
"What are you doing outside?" A powerful voice resonated in her ears, her reaction was a mix of shock and relief as she recognized the voice.
"Oh, young master Hervolt!" Risa muttered quietly, avoiding eye contact. She had expected it to be Drada but felt a slight disappointment as it was his twin brother, Dread Hervolt.
"That wasn't an answer to my question, kid," Dread responded irritably. To him, her words were trivial; what was the point of calling out his title when someone asks why you're outside late at night?
His reaction was entirely reasonable, but he didn't blame her, viewing her as another ignorant orphan.
"I was looking for the Geist family mansion," Risa spoke quietly. Despite having the same talent, she was timid without her brother and thought she might annoy him by showing greater talent than him.
Now, she and her brother were separated into different families.
"Head towards the eastern mansion. You'll know you're in the right place when you see two white jade statues in front of the grand gate," Dread spoke with boredom, then disappeared into the darkness, leaving Risa alone with her tangled thoughts.
......
At the Anira family mansion, Sero carried Li Xian until he reached the main mansion amidst a garden of flowers, barely able to breathe.
The mansion, a vast structure built of ancient stone adorned with gold and decorated with carvings of mythical creatures, radiated an aura of grandeur and mystery, reflecting the nature of the Anira family.
At the entrance, two massive lions the size of elephants guarded the main mansion, each with two second-path mages sitting atop it, their sole duty to prevent the lions from devouring guests who they find unworthy.
"A boy and a girl, one with single-candle talent and short black hair, the other with three candles. I believe they're the ones lady Alice told us about," one of the guards spoke lazily, then clicked his tongue, causing the lion to pick up Li Xian from Sero's back.
"We've got the girl. What should we do with the worthless one?"
"He's got single-candle talent, but Lady Alice has taken an interest in him. What does she find interesting in someone barely considered a mage?" the mages muttered to each other, indifferent to Sero's presence, considering him talentless compared to themselves.
"I can hear you," Sero spoke irritably, causing one of the guards to look at him with disgust.
"So what? Should we apologize to you? We saw your body thrown into the air from here by our little Doska, and we could do it again if we wanted to see another high view. Why should we care about your feelings?" the guard spoke arrogantly.
Sero did nothing but look with dead eyes, weaving a plan for his next move.