Avi wasn’t having a good time of it.
Not only had Sophia and Faenwyn been poisoned, but Joram had just dumped them all into the Realm without a second thought. Sure, it was an emergency, but there had been other options available. Like summoning the Soyokaze, pulling up a bulwark of earth and stone while they opened the portal for the safe haven, or even just teleporting them all somewhere.
But no, his first instinct was to protect others the best he could. Which meant that they were now in the Realm. The poison had been relatively easy to treat, but the questions were a bit more poignant.
“What’s happening?”
“Was it the Belladonnas again?”
“Is Sophia going to be all right?”
“Why didn’t he keep us there to help him?”
And many more questions along those lines. In favour of keeping the two girls alive, Avi hadn’t answered their questions yet. But now that the two were stabilized and the poison neutralized, she couldn’t not answer them anymore.
“From the appearance of the ones being dropped in here with us, I’d say that it is indeed the Belladonnas again,” she finally said, catching their attention fast.
“In here with us?” Aya asked, now looking around the large garden they’d arrived at.
“In secure holding cells, yes,” she replied with a shake of her head. “They’re not a threat to us, though. Joram incapacitated them before sending them in. That said, and to answer a few more questions, Joram sent us here to keep us safe because he determined that the attack was too much for us to help with.
“In fact, we’d just be in the way,” she said with a shake of her head when Aya and Jezira gave her weird looks. “From who’s arriving, the attackers are all Tier 5 and Tier 6.”
“All the more reason to let us help,” Jezira said with a frown. “A group of assassins of that calibre shouldn’t be underestimated. Fighting a mutated flood dragon is one thing, but a group of trained assassins is quite another case entirely,” she finished, Aya nodding along to her words.
Avi cocked her head to the side, then spoke.
“Seeing as how a Mid-Rank Tier 6 just arrived, I’d say that Joram’s decision was sound.”
“By the way,” Emily piped in. “How do you know who’s being… sent here?” She asked curiously.
Avi smiled, appreciating that someone had the presence of mind to ask, even though the question had a sensitive answer.
Before she could answer though, Kassandra spoke.
“Also, why’d your hair change colour?”
Avi wanted to [Mind Wipe] the lot of them, but held back due to what Joram would say about that.
“It’s my natural hair colour,” she said with a shrug. “It’s a little too eye-catching though, so I changed it to be one colour while at the Academy.”
“Sapphire blue isn’t eye-catching?” Alyraele asked with her hand half-raised as though they were in class.
“Less eye-catching,” she amended. “Anyway, I’m glad that everyone is all right now. For the time being, we should just sit tight until Joram lets us know everything is good out there,” she said, pulling out a chair to sit on.
* * * * *
Being a half-step Immortal, Ixarys was normally sent on the more dangerous assignments. Like removing a sect leader or assassinating a powerful political rival of this kingdom or that empire. Or its leader.
That she was assigned to oversee this assignment in secret was what she would consider beneath her. That little Imressa had failed her assignment even though she should have been overkill for it, had surprised the leaders enough to put together this squad.
And for them to assign her as its shadow.
Ixarys had been scornful of the assignment until she saw Joram Aneath act. That wasn’t someone without cultivation, even though he was reported to be a body refiner on par with a Tier 5 cultivator. He moved too fast, his attacks too heavy.
Her suspicions only grew as she watched the boy start pressing little Isabel. When Isabel called for the Moonfall Formation, Ixarys nodded in approval. Sure, little Isabel wasn’t likely to survive an attack that even she, Ixarys, wouldn’t. But sometimes that is what the mission called for.
The requestor would just get a larger bill.
Then Isabel vanished like the others Joram Aneath had attacked at the same time that she felt an overwhelming surge of Mental Strength blast out of Joram Aneath that caused her jaw to clench; even as far away as she was from the fight.
Once she’d fully opened her eyes again, after having instinctively squinted, she saw that the rest of the squad was now missing and Joram Aneath’s aura was twice as bright as before.
Her eyes widened further when she saw the scales on his exposed skin. They weren’t physical scales in the sense that he’d somehow managed to grow them. No, they were a solidification of his battle aura. Not only that, but his hair started to turn violet, lightening significantly from its normal dark purple. It also now looked a bit… feathery as he stood there, waiting for the meteorite to fall.
Ixarys couldn’t understand why he was just waiting there, but mentally shrugged at his foolishness. The power that had gone into that spell’s formation was enough to kill an early Rank Immortal. That he was just waiting there proved how foolish the young could be.
Maybe the report had been correct, and he truly didn’t have a cultivation base, as anyone with one would feel just how terrifying the attack was and would flee.
Just before the meteorite the size of a manor house landed, she saw Joram Aneath’s aura flare even brighter, causing her to blink. A moment later, she was hit with the sound of the impact, soon followed by the shockwave, sending her tumbling in the air for a moment before she regained her stability and looked to see what the results were.
There was now a large mushroom of dust and smoke where the battle had taken place. Her budding divine sense couldn’t feel any presences within many miles of the site. Presumably because everything had either been wiped out from the attack, or had fled.
She stood there for some time, watching as the dust and smoke cleared away. She didn’t know why she felt the need to stay, as Moonfall wouldn’t have left anything behind of Joram Aneath. But she had a feeling in the back of her head, an inkling that she should stay.
It took another hour for the dust to settle sufficiently for her to finally see the crater formed by Moonfall. Her jaw dropped.
Standing in the middle of the crater, naked as the day he was born, was Joram Aneath. Sure, all of his hair was gone, presumably burnt away by the intense heat of the attack. That, and his skin still seemed to be regrowing along with the rest of his right hand.
But it was regrowing at a rate visible to the naked eye. In fact, as she watched, the rate of his regeneration sped up, making her eyes go wide in fear.
Just what kind of monster is that? She asked herself as she stared at Joram Aneath as his healing finally finished, leaving him looking like a random naked person in a crater.
“Hmm, indeed a monstrous existence,” someone said from beside her, nearly causing her to soil herself as she jumped away in a panic.
“Who, are you?” She asked warily, taking in the man’s stature, but mostly trying to feel anything at all from him.
“Hadvar?” The man asked, then shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Then what should I be worrying about?” She asked, looking for any clue as to who this person was, or if he was even actually there. She couldn’t feel anything from him, no cultivation, no Mental Strength, not even a breath.
“That I’m on ‘Team Joram’?” The man asked, shaking his head.
Before she could do more than register what he’d said, her head exploded in pain. Blackness began to envelope her world, her breathing suddenly locking up as she felt herself starting to fall. Before everything was overcome with darkness, she could have sworn that she felt someone’s arms around her.
* * * * *
“Are you starting a collection?” Avi asked when he finally returned to the Realm.
He really didn’t know what to say to that. It was true that he hadn’t killed any of the assassins, instead choosing to capture them alive.
“I thought that it might be preferable to buying slaves,” he finally said, looking at the other members of the study group as they all watched him like hawks.
“I’m pretty sure that you’ll still need to do that,” Avi replied dryly. “Their slavery seals are far too complex for you to work on right now.”
Joram sighed, knowing full well that Avi knew him best.
“Well, we’ll just have to see,” he said, not wanting to say it out loud. “Let’s get cleaned up and head to Alivia. There’s still plenty of daylight left, after all.”
That got the study group chatting again. Even though he got the side-eye more than once, from more than one person, he didn’t let it bother him too much. Since he’d made the decision to become real friends with them, and not just convenient study partners, he’d made the resolution to share more. As in, to share at all. He was normally quite terrible with sharing things about himself.
That he’d been able to speak so candidly with everyone was a minor miracle in and of itself. That he was still there, still putting himself out there was yet another miracle. It was different with family, as they tended to accept you more than others would. At the same time, family also tended to be the least accepting of things they didn’t approve of. Like life decisions, personality traits, or of mistakes a person made.
All that said, strangers were also a bit difficult.
On the one hand, you had a clean slate with which to work. They knew nothing of you or your past, nor did they usually come with any preconceived notions of how they thought you should be or act. On the other hand, first impressions mattered a lot. As did anything the person heard about you before your meeting.
He was lucky, then, to have met such a fantastic group of people. Jae-Eun was one of those who’d met him before any rumours had spread about him. Sure, their friendship had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start with his little lecture about respecting people and their secrets and such. But she’d adjusted well and had, he thought, learned the lesson well.
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While the next four had been interested in meeting him due to his musical ability and the little bit of fame that had come with it. That said, they’d not had too many preconceived notions going into their first meeting. As such, they’d all managed to get to know each other well enough.
As for the last four, well, it had taken some time to get to know them very well. At the same time, he was astonished that they’d all basically “fallen” for him. Yes, he was now very aware of how the others felt, and how everyone wanted to get to know him better one way or another, but he was still astonished.
Being a lifelong- two, at this point!- introvert, not to mention having a relatively low self esteem for most of his existence, having so many wonderful people genuinely interested in him was shocking, to say the least. Sure, Sophia didn’t seem to see him in a romantic light, but that didn’t bother him in the least. Actually, it relieved him more than he thought possible. If anything, he was glad for it, as he was sure that she’d make a wonderful friend that he wouldn’t have to worry about having romantic complications with. Someone he would be able to just talk with without worrying about anything else.
‘Joram?’
‘Yes, Avi?’
‘Don’t overthink things,’ Avi sent, giving him a bit of mental whiplash.
‘What?’
‘The fact that most of the study group confessed to you,’ she started, then paused for effect. ‘They like you. You like them. Just let things develop naturally. Continue to speak with them like you usually do. Continue treating them like you’ve always treated them. Just. Just take your time. There’s no rush.’
‘What would I do without you?’ He sent warmly after a moment of thought.
‘Probably implode or something,’ Avi sent back cheekily.
Joram just nodded to that, knowing how true that statement was. He was indeed prone to overthinking things, a bad habit from his previous life on Earth. Well, if he was being honest with himself, it was still a bad habit, and one that he truly needed to rid himself of. Or, rather, one he needed to fully master.
Then he remembered the first Belladonna, so he reached out through his connection to her and pulled her into the Realm, depositing her in one of the empty cells not taken up by the other twenty-one Belladonnas. Then he remembered how Kinkade had captured that last one and sighed.
It had been more than a little bit risky revealing himself like that. But the fact that they’d been able to take down someone who was so close to reaching the 7th Tier was eye-opening. He had known that Psijic Energy was incredibly powerful stuff. But seeing it in action was quite another thing.
Sure, he’d seen the results when he used it to fuel [True Resurrection], but that was different. But using [Ego Whip A] x 3, [Crisis of Breath A], and [Mind Thrust A] to take down such a high-level target was beyond ridiculous. Yes, he’d augmented them to their limits, having a separate Mind manifesting each of those powers to make the best of the opening he had. But. Psijic Energy was definitely OP.
If he was calculating it right, then he was currently enjoying quite the multiplier in his powers’ effects after having converted a Power to use Psijic Energy. And if what he posited was correct, then the multiplier would just increase as his Tiers increased.
Sure, he had an absolutely ridiculous mana pool given that he still had sixty-three cores in his little solar system…. What had he called it again?
*Shrug*
‘Mind Space’ would work for now. Anyway. Even with his ludicrous mana reserves, it was still limited to Tier 3 Mana, which wasn’t nearly as effective against someone with Tier 4 Mana. The gap between Mana Tiers was fairly significant, to the point where someone cultivating a higher Tier of Mana could easily crush someone cultivating a lower Tier of Mana.
But Psijic Energy seemed to bridge that gap rather well. Even though he was still working on integrating Tier 3 Mana into his Psijic Star, its current… potential was staggering. Deadly, even. Once he got the higher-level Powers translated into Psijic Spells/Powers, then he was sure that he would be able to take on a 7th Tier Cultivator/Practitioner. He just wasn’t sure where the limit in that Realm lay. Would he just be able to deal with an early-stage Immortal, or would he be able to handle a mid-stage Immortal?
He shook his head, not wanting to get ahead of himself. Hubris was the cause of death of too many people to count. Too many up-and-coming talents had their lives ended too soon because of excessive pride. So, he’d take a page out of the Book of Wisdom and take things slowly.
Joram came out of his musings when he noticed that everyone seemed ready to go. Mostly because everyone had started to stare at him expectantly. So, he shifted the Soyokaze to the small plaza-like area attached to the seating/eating area of the garden and called everyone over to start boarding.
“How’re you doing?” He asked Sophia and Faenwyn as they passed him on their way to the ship.
“It really sucked,” Sophia replied, but then shrugged. “I’m just glad that we’re friends,” she finished with a half-smile.
“I’d have still helped you regardless of our ‘friendship’,” he said, a bit disappointed by her response.
He must not have hidden his reaction well enough, for Sophia then hurried to clarify.
“No, what I mean is that I’m glad that we know each other, and you were able to help me. You and Alicia. It just… sucked. I’ve never been in so much pain before,” she finished quietly, now looking down at her feet.
Faenwyn nodded along, not quite looking at him as she put a hand on Sophia’s shoulder.
“That was indeed the most unpleasant thing I’ve every had the displeasure of enduring,” Faenwyn said coldly. “I do hope that our attackers will be suitably punished.”
“Ah, yeah, they’ve been dealt with,” he said, not wanting to get into a discussion about what they thought might be ‘appropriate punishment’.
“Good, then let’s go shopping,” Sophia said, obviously trying to be cheerful. “I’ve had my eye on a few things, and this is the perfect time to pick them up!”
Joram nearly winced at that. Considering that Sophia was the daughter of a successful merchant, he was sure that she had more than enough spending money to get anything that caught her eye. So, if it wound up being something that she’d been eying, then it must have been expensive.
That got a round of approval from the rest of the study group as they boarded the Soyokaze.
‘Yup, you’re screwed,’ Avi piped in, not helping his sudden financial distress.
- - - - -
“That…” Joram said, tallying up the costs of the day. It was now early evening, the sun only an hour away from setting. They’d stopped their massive shopping spree and had managed to get a private dining room at a large restaurant recommended by Alyraele.
“Was fantastic!” Gabrielle chimed in excitedly. “I’ve never been to so many high-class shops before!”
“Me neither,” Daleira said, a huge smile on her face. “But I must say, I can get used to such treatment,” she said, a mischievous glint shining in her eyes.
“I must say, it was indeed enjoyable,” Faenwyn agreed from a few seats down from him.
“Well, if we all ever visit my home, I’ll personally take everyone around to some of the high-class stores in the capital,” Kassandra said, looking smug.
“I shall do the same if we visit my home,” Renna said airily.
“We’ll have to do more quests together,” Emily said, a big smile on her face. “It was fun!”
That got a general murmur of approval from the group. Joram looked around, taking a mental tally of just how much it would cost him in the future based on their reactions.
It wasn’t looking good for his bank account.
“Well, so long as we get some higher-level quests, that should be fine,” Alicia said, her hair once again all blue. “With how well everyone did, I’m sure that we’ll be raking in the money in no time.”
Most of the group had the presence of mind to look a bit embarrassed by Alicia’s words, knowing full-well that N7 had carried them through the quests. Even then, he didn’t mind. Getting the others some combat experience, as well some more practical knowledge was invaluable.
“We’ll see what we can do when everyone is free again,” Joram said with a soft smile. “The weekends seem to be a good time to gather, even if some of you might need to work.”
There was general agreement to that as several servers entered their room to bring out the dishes, the wonderful scent distracting him from a fuss he heard when the door opened.
The conversation slowed as everyone started serving themselves. He was happy to see that Megami had adjusted well to their group, not hesitating to chat with Gabrielle as she spooned something that looked like fried greens onto a bed of rice.
As tempted as he was to dig in with everyone, he really didn’t need to eat, so he just took a sampling of the various dishes. The food really did smell fantastic, so he wanted to see what it tasted like. But he also [Delve]d each one so that he could reproduce them later; be it with [Modify Matter] or mundane cooking.
“So, I hear that Kinkade and Asura are almost ready for their grand opening,” Alicia said, daintily sampling what looked like some sort of baked fish.
“Oh, that’ll be good,” he said, nodding.
“You’re sure that I’ve got a position there?” Sophia asked, now seeming a bit nervous.
“Don’t worry about it,” Joram said, waiving it off. “They’ll need the help. Besides, I look forward to the business you’ll help bring to the department store,” he finished with a grin.
He could tell that she didn’t know quite how to take that. It could be taken as him complimenting her beauty but could also be taken how he intended it. That she was a very capable young woman who’d learned a lot from her family business, and how that experience would be a tremendous asset for the budding business.
He was about to say something else when the door opened again. This time, though, it was slammed open to reveal an irate-looking young man who was followed in by a few others, including one of the staff.
“… I don’t care,” he said, obviously speaking to the attendant. “This is the room that I normally reserve, so any plebeians who want to use it can just leave,” he finished, directing his last words at Joram and the study group.
But when he eyes landed on the women of the group, which really wasn’t hard seeing as how Joram and Wentian were the only men there, his eyes and posture changed remarkably.
“But if these fine women want to accompany us, I won’t argue,” he amended, a sly look replacing his previous contemptuous one.
‘How many clichéd scenarios are we going to run into here?’ He sent to Alicia, wondering at just how some people were brought up.
‘This’ll probably happen a lot, given the status of the study group’s members,’ she sent back dryly.
Joram looked over at Wentian and nodded. But before the man could stand, Bai Lian beat him to it.
“We don’t want any company,” she said, now only a metre from the brown-haired youth.
Joram supposed that he would be considered attractive enough. His hair came down past his square shoulders, framing an aristocratic face. He wasn’t very tall, just about average for the region, standing at about 170cm tall. His robes were of fine quality and draped over his slender figure well.
Probably a minor noble, the thought as the young man began speaking again.
“Ah, but with so many beauties present, how could we not stay to get to know you all better?” He asked, a confident smile spreading his lips wide.
Bai Lian looked as though she was about to punt the kid out the door, but then Wentian stepped up.
“This is a private party,” he said, folding his arms across his chest as he practically towered over the young man. He was amused to see that even Bai Lian was taller than the silk pants.
“Get this servant away from me,” he replied, waving a hand at one of the men accompanying him.
Joram just about laughed out loud when the man stepped up. He was only a couple centimetres taller than the entitled kid. What really got Joram was that he seemed to have only just stepped into the 4th Tier.
Then he realized that his perspective was more than a little skewed. That he had been surrounded by high Tiered Mages his whole life, not to mention having already advanced to the point where a country would consider him a national asset, really wasn’t normal.
A Tier 4 cultivator was normally considered a powerhouse outside of the military. Heck, even in most militaries, they were at least captains, and more likely to be division leaders.
“Please, step over here with me,” the man said, motioning to the side.
Wentian raised and eyebrow at the man then turned back to the young man.
“Please leave, or don’t blame me for being impolite,” he said calmly.
Joram just about sprayed his sip of water when he heard that. Not because he was worried about any trouble that might come of it, but because of the line itself.
The young man’s patience ended at that point, his face darkening in anger.
“I am Cedric Arabanise,” he said, making Joram wonder if mental deficiencies were a family trait. “I am the first young lord of the house. Leave, or I won’t go easy on you,” he said, looking at Wentian and Bai Lian, then panning his gaze across the room. He stopped when his eyes landed on Alyraele, a malicious glint coming to his eyes.
“Ah, I see that Miss Erhice is here as well. Please convince your plebeian friends to leave, and I’ll not make things difficult for your father,” he said, then turned to regard Sophia. “Miss Rearden, I hope that our families can continue cooperating well.”
Joram noticed how pale both women became at Cedric’s words, and his anger started to smoulder, allowing his aura to start leaking out. Which got Cedric’s attention.
“I recognize you now,” he said, turning fully to Joram. “You’re that peasant that cost us a Tier 4 underling,” he said, now practically sneering. “I’ll regain some of the honour that you caused us to lose by dealing with you here,” he said, circulating his mana, letting everyone in the room feel his peak Tier 4 cultivation. In fact, Joram was sure that he was close to stepping into the 5th Tier.
“You speak of plebeians, yet you don’t recognize your betters,” Aya said from where she sat beside Jae-Eun, who had adopted a frosty expression.
Not only her, but everyone was more or less looking at the youngish noble with varying degrees of distaste, disdain, or outright disgust. Even if he hadn’t threatened Alyraele and Sophia, he was sure that they would have been looking at him the same way. As is, Alyraele’s and Sophia’s slightly ill expressions only angered Joram further.
“Now, since things ended and I haven’t been bothered by your family since, I had considered the matter closed,” Joram began, not even bothering to turn his physical eyes towards the prat. “But seeing as how you’re so willing to invite catastrophe upon yourself and your house by threatening not only me, but my dear friends…. Well, I’ll no longer turn the other cheek, as it were.”
‘Abolish his cultivation. If any of his friends interfere, do the same for them as well,’ he sent to the Trio, getting a smile from them in return.
“Oh, what can a peasant do?” Centric asked, then stepped back as Mo Yu joined Bai Lian and Wentian. He was about to speak again when all three of them released their Tier 5 auras and directed them at Cedric.
He immediately dropped to his knees as a dark stain started to spread down his thighs. Joram “watched” as all colour left Cedric’s face as his mouth dropped open, though no sound came out of it. Cedric’s “friends” stepped back; their faces suddenly covered in sweat. The unlucky guard didn’t look any better than Cedric’s friends, but showed a remarkable amount of courage as he stepped forward, interposing himself between his employer and the Trio.