Chapter Nineteen

The Bargain

In a large, dimly lit room, where the walls were shrouded in faint shadows like mysterious spirits, many beds were placed on the ground, made from soft fabric with cotton covers providing temporary comfort to those lying on them. The air was filled with the scent of medicinal herbs mixed with the aroma of old wood from the furniture in the hall. This was part of the academy’s healing hall, where the injured and ill gathered to recover.

On one of those beds lay Sero silently, as if he were part of the place itself. He stared at the wooden ceiling adorned with ancient carvings. These carvings, despite their simplicity, told old tales from bygone eras, erased by history, and reduced to mere faint lines on the ceiling. The area of his abdomen was severely burned from the Small Flame Shard empowered by Drada's rage when he struck him in the last confrontation.

Despite the pain, Sero smiled gently. His eyes gleamed with deep thought, as the pain was only a minor part of his plans. The malevolent thoughts in his mind kept spinning, presenting him with numerous possibilities, each suggesting new benefits he could gain from his current situation. “Drada… another step on my path,” he murmured quietly.

A fight with a member of the Hervolt family might be a curse for some, but for him, it was a blessing, an opportunity to play the game his way.

The door was knocked softly, followed by the voice of a young girl with a sweet tone, delicate as the morning breeze. Her footsteps were light, barely audible, as she approached his bed cautiously.

“I welcome the young master,” the girl spoke in a tender tone, trying to control her nervousness, “My name is Hua Li, and I will be responsible for your treatment until your recovery.”

Her white face blushed gently, and her shy eyes avoided meeting his directly. Her short black hair covered one eye, giving her a childish appearance and an unexpected innocence in such a place. Sero, for his part, did not bother to respond directly. He turned his head away and sighed slowly. “Another weak minded nurse, just like the others…” he thought with indifference.

Hua Li belonged to the Hua family, a family entrusted with caring for the clan’s health for generations. Being a first path mage made her ineligible to participate in dangerous battles, so she was assigned as a nurse at the academy. Her age was not far from Sero’s; she was only two years older, but she often seemed more mature than him, especially in this place.

“Do you mind if I examine your injury?” Hua Li asked shyly, looking at the ground, trying to avoid causing any discomfort.

A look of displeasure appeared on Sero’s face. “Of course you can!” he thought sarcastically. “What do you think? Did you think I came here to rest?” But he maintained his composure and replied in a cold tone, “Go ahead.”

Hua Li approached cautiously, feeling anxious as she examined the burn marring his abdomen. The skin between his navel and chest looked as if it had been scorched on a low flame, with the burnt smell still lingering in the air. The burn was second-degree, but for Sero, it was merely a scratch compared to the blow he took from Doska. He showed no reaction during her examination, accustomed to physical pain and surpassing its limits.

As Hua Li worked to treat the burn, worry was evident on her face. “Oh my, Winter Water Shard…” she whispered, causing drops of cold, pure water to fall from her hands like small springs. The gently flowing water penetrated the scorched skin and began to slowly renew the dead cells, gradually restoring the skin to a partial natural state.

Fifteen minutes passed, enough to reduce the severity of the burn to first-degree, but Hua Li was exhausted. She had consumed a significant amount of mana during the process, which reflected on her frail body. Sweat poured down her forehead, and her features were tense from the intense focus she had put into treating Sero.

“That’s enough to ease the injury for now…” she said, breathing heavily. “I’ll return in two hours to continue the treatment. Until then, try to rest.”

With quiet steps, she left the room, leaving behind a calm that enveloped the place.

Sero gazed at the closed door quietly. “Healing shards…” he thought to himself. “That girl uses a shard of winter water, I remember a scum from my previous life continued to use it when we fought, but I killed him with ease since it’s one of the worst healing shards. First, it consumes enormous amounts of mana to renew cells, and second, it only renews the tissues that the cold water reaches. It’s ineffective in treating vital organs or bones. Just a first path shard, not bad… but there are much better options.”

He turned onto his right side and closed his eyes slightly. His thoughts were flipping rapidly between scenes, but he knew this time was not for sleeping but for thinking.

Two hours passed in silence. The time was enough to make the place seem devoid of any life, but soon Hua Li returned to continue her task. This time, she was not alone. Risa accompanied her, looking more annoyed with her brother than ever.

“Big brother!” Risa exclaimed, charging towards Sero’s bed with a puffed face. “How did you end up here?”

“Finally, my sister remembered me. I was wondering when she would fulfill the promise she made,” Sero mocked with a light laugh, enjoying the disruption of the moment.

“I was busy, alright! Because of my talent, many high-ranking members of the Geist family and others tried to get me!” Risa fumed as if Sero didn’t care about her life, refusing to look at him and showing her disappointment.

“Is your life really that bad? Were you unjustly tried as well? Or were you beaten by someone else?” Sero laughed while closing his eyes, only to increase her annoyance.

“You wouldn’t have been beaten if you hadn’t bullied your classmates! And I suffered too!” Desperately, Risa tried to change the subject, but she knew well that her situation was much better than Sero’s. She had been adopted by Stulz, a teacher of the Geist family, thanks to her past with Risa’s mother.

Stolz had shown such great kindness that Risa completely forgot her hardships in the orphanage and had become wealthier in terms of gold coins and mana stones than Sero after the trial. All while Hua Li watched in silence.

“If you came here to disturb the patient, I suggest you leave,” a woman’s firm voice spoke from outside the room. Both Risa and Hua Li turned silently, their expressions changing instantly upon seeing the owner of the voice.

“Ah! Lady Alice! Welcome to our humble place! Allow me to bring tea for you!” Hua Li stammered as she tried to leave, but Alice smiled gently, “No need for that, you did well. I only came to take a look at one of my students.”

“Then I’ll excuse myself! Let's go, young lady!” With a shy voice and a flushed face, Hua Li clasped her hands and pulled Risa out with her, who was still in shock.

No one could blame her for that. The appearance of a family teacher meeting a student personally was a rare occurrence only happening with highly talented individuals or important backgrounds. Thus, Alice’s visit to a weakly talented orphan was truly strange, no wonder Risa was dazed.

With a serious expression and measured steps, Alice walked around the hall, holding her staff while removing one of her gloves with her mouth from the other hand, revealing a hand as white as snow. She turned to Sero, who was lying on the bed and began examining him with focus.

“Show me your injury,” Alice ordered, and Sero couldn’t refuse her words. She was a third path mage, a great mage compared to Sero, she simply was far more experienced than to toy with, and with a simple breath, Sero revealed his abdomen and took a deep breath as she gently felt his injury.

“Did that troublemaker from the Hervolt family cause this? It seems that his high talent allows a weak shard like the Small Flame to cause significant damage,” Alice sighed with disappointment, then performed one of her shards. Within a few seconds, the area was healed as if it were new, and Sero felt a bit of relief.

“Well then, now that we’ve resolved this issue, shall we begin the actual discussion?” Alice spoke coldly as she put on her glove. Her red eyes pierced through Sero’s spirit, but it only made him more eager.

“Both of us know that Drada broke the academy’s rules, and all it takes is a word from either of us for him to be expelled,” Sero said sarcastically, igniting a spark in Alice’s eyes.

“So, you intend to go down that path. Haven’t you got tired of making enemies without purpose? The class has grown to hate you so much that they’ve fabricated a completely different story of what happened,” Alice sighed with even greater disappointment. It was clear that the situation was more complicated than it seemed.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“And? Let them make whatever they want, no matter how many clouds there are, the sun is still there despite everyone’s noses,” Sero laughed warmly, cementing the idea of indifference in Alice’s mind. He seemed ready to face any consequences.

“I would understand if it were for a Blood Dagger Shard, but you left the Lysa to take it. Do you intend to win the young lady’s favor?” Alice laughed gently, but her laughter had a meaningful tone.

"Did you really come for this reason?" Sero sighed with boredom, but Alice showed little interest.

"No, of course not. I came to discuss Drada’s fate with you. Do you intend to expose him or not?" Alice asked with a sly smile, revealing her true intentions. It was clear she wasn't interested in secondary issues.

"I could try, but I’d be suppressed by the others. A weak, orphaned boy causing trouble who intends to tarnish the reputation of the Hervolt family’s lineage—who would believe that?" Sero replied nonchalantly, pretending not to care.

"You’re right, but at least it would stir up rumors that the Hervolt family would pick up on. Perhaps you don’t know, but that family is divided into two factions regarding the right to receive support between Dread and Drada. They would definitely try to investigate the situation. Some would try to silence you, while others would offer you generous payment to confirm the matter. You might even end up facing another trial that would certainly lead to Drada's expulsion from the academy," Alice rolled her eyes and spoke cheerfully, causing Sero to smile.

"And incur the enmity of Drada’s support faction? No thanks," Sero replied, then gazed at the ceiling as if he were carefully considering his next words, "However, I could threaten Drada with expulsion in exchange for a few resources to support my weak talent. This way, I wouldn’t cause a stir or break any false truths others believe," Sero replied craftily, clearly outlining his strategy.

"This little one is truly cunning, handling the situation and making it work to his advantage. Unfortunately, he’s a one-candle talent, if only he got his sister's talent, he would be a high member of the Anira family," Alice thought quietly, then replied, "That’s fine with me. I don’t intend to start a problem anyway. What do you want as compensation?"

"One thousand gold coins, five hundred mana stones, ten deer meats, one pound of blood grass, two pounds of spring lotus tea, ten polished mirror jade pieces, and Drada’s small flame shard," Sero spoke indifferently, causing Alice to show a troubled expression.

"That’s far too much, but compared to expulsion from the academy, it seems a reasonable price. Given his tense situation, he’ll likely agree," Alice spoke thoughtfully, then her expression turned serious. "But, isn’t this extortion? How will you handle it if he reports you to me? I mean I won't just let it go easy on you little one," Alice asked, placing her hand on her cheek, unable to hide her smile, as if she enjoyed hearing Sero's thoughts.

"Then I’ll expose him and get involved with the Hervolt family," Sero responded directly and without hesitation, causing Alice’s heart to leap with joy. He knew what to do in both the best and worst-case scenarios.

What delighted her further was that this was the same conclusion she had also reached—exploiting others’ mistakes wasn’t considered evil but rather seizing opportunities. Who would miss such a chance?

A thousand gold coins were enough to support Sero for a year if used it wisely, but he wanted them specifically to purchase resources from the coming caravan, and the mana stones were for supporting his magic realm.

As for the deer meat, it was considered an investment with Doska, but Alice thought he requested it to build his frail body due to the harsh conditions of the orphanage. Alice had witnessed his body becoming thin and weak and had watched his health deteriorate worryingly. Therefore, she thought his interest in deer meat was not merely a desire for tasty food but evidence of his eagerness to enhance his physical strength. She didn’t realize that his request had much deeper implications than simply wanting a meal.

On the other hand, the goal of Drada’s small flame shard was far beyond mere temptation. Sero’s request for that shard was nothing more than a cleverly designed bait to divert Alice from the more important resource, the polished mirror jades.

Mirror jade was a valuable resource, and if Sero had decided to buy it, it would have raised suspicions if an investigation was opened about the mage’s death outside the village. Thus, receiving it as a secret compensation was a better decision.

Sero needed this rare resource to refine the Cold Burn Shard. It wasn’t just about developing magical powers but about developing magic capable of shifting the balance of power. The more powerful it became, the greater its influence on the clan, and thus the benefits.

As for the blood grass and spring lotus tea, they also played important roles in his plan. Blood grass was a rare material used to activate the Bood Thread Shard, while spring lotus tea was used to activate the Blood Tea Leaves Shard.

In the caravan, there was a chance to obtain these shards; if not, he would simply sell the blood grass and tea. No resource was without value, and every resource required careful planning to extract its true worth.

Suddenly, Sero got up from the bed with a start, and sighed with boredom, "Well then, since my injury has healed, there’s no need for me to stay here." He couldn’t bear to wait any longer. But as soon as he moved, Alice pulled him by the ear and put him back into bed. It seemed as though the strength that had made him move was completely drained.

"Where do you think you’re going? I wasn’t here just to talk about your situation with Drada, but to also give you the lesson you missed, you troublemaker," Alice spoke angrily.

Sero sighed in frustration, "If it’s like the first lesson, it’s unnecessary. I can receive it from any other source."

"Just because I showed you some kindness, you’re starting to show disrespect? Sit and listen, or you’ll find yourself taking the stick before you get the carrot. Besides, you’ll need this lesson more than you think," Alice added, closing her eyes.

Despite his reluctance to waste time, Sero had no choice but to listen. Even if his experience spanned a thousand years beyond anything Alice had taught, he couldn’t refuse, and he had to accept the lesson she provided, even though he had an annoyed face that Alice clearly ignored.

.....

The caravan from Vyre and Ying Tao clans crossed the vast grassy plains stretching to the distant horizon. The ground shook under the weight of thousands of strange beasts, making the caravan seem like armies of enormous creatures. This caravan was a display of grandeur, representing the power and superiority of the two clans.

The Central Grassland Continent was divided into three main regions: the Lan Grasslands in the north, the Yao Shi Mountains in the center, and the Jinsou Lakes in the south. These names referred to three great mages from ancient times whose deeds shaped the continent.

When Terra was accepted by the human tribe, there was only the small white-haired girl who approached her. For the villagers, the prevailing feeling was a mix of curiosity and fear despite the village chief’s reassurances.

The appearance of a four-armed entity capable of growing trees was beyond natural imagination, and the actual response was fear of this stranger. But over time, feelings began to change. Terra became part of their daily lives, gradually transforming into a symbol of reverence and appreciation.

Thanks to the life shard, Terra accelerated plant growth and made some animals feel safe in her presence. This made it easier for the villagers to catch and tame animals, while animals that attacked Terra were considered beasts to be eradicated and consumed.

Chickens, sheep, cows, bees, and hoopoes were domesticated, while wild boars, and fish were hunted, and wolves and tigers were driven away. Terra, unknowingly, became like a goddess to the village. Children were left with her, and she enjoyed playing with them and sharing her fruits. Until the day when a child awoke in his magic realm...

It was a cold winter’s day, and Terra resided in a giant tree in the center of the village, which as years passed had grown a hundred times its size to match the size of the Geist clan.

"Revered one! Great one! Save my son! He has been cursed from the heavens and his hands are burning!" cried a woman with great sorrow, tears streaming down her face.

Terra sat majestically on a long vine inside the giant tree trunk, with a transparent veil covering one eye, while her body was draped in a long silk robe. She hadn’t cut her green hair, so it had grown long enough to reach the ground, with white flowers growing on it. Terra truly embodied the image of a life goddess.

To her left, stood the girl who had spent her entire life with Terra Who was Ninteen of age, respectfully wearing a black robe from head to toe. Terra had chosen her as her daughter, and she had gladly accepted, naming her Alya Ziri.

"Dear Mother, may I intervene?" Alya asked quietly, causing Terra to laugh gently and say, "Of course, my dear. Show them the kindness and beauty of life as I have shown you."

"Thank you, revered one!" the woman responded gratefully, about to kiss the ground Terra walked on, but Alya stopped her gently.

Alya looked at the child, bent down to his level, and displayed a radiant smile.

"Could you show me that flame?" Alya asked kindly, and the child, showing anxiety, held out his hand and ignited a small flame.

"That's truly wonderful!" Alya laughed, then opened her hand to reveal an ice puppet, causing the child to marvel and exclaim, "Are you like me?! How!"

Alya answered, "Willpower made us, and our strength was harnessed from the world by us. My mother was the first to discover this truth and passed it on to me. This power is the power of the world’s shards, and we use mana to harness it. Now, I’ll pass it on to you. From now on, you are known as a mage, and from now on we are siblings, little brother," Alya laughed as she held the child in her arms and then asked, "What’s your name, little brother?"

The child responded happily, "Lan! My name is Lan!"

...

"And what next!" On one of the roaring beasts, there was a wooden hut where a girl sat in her grandfather's lap as he read her a story from a book about Terra's life events.

"Hehe, that's enough for today. Go to sleep, the journey is tiring," said the old man with a straw hat and long beard, laughing.

"That's not fair, Grandpa! That part was exciting!" the girl replied in frustration, but she was interrupted by one of the caravan members, "Master Ying Tao Jiu, Chief Fire Sabi wants to set up a simple camp for the caravan so we can rest. Can we grant him permission?"

"Of course, the rhino bulls and iron hoof horses are extremely tired," replied the old man Ying Tao Jiu.