Epic Of The Demonic Sage

“Captain Donald will be my next subject, the next person, to whom I wish to upgrade his gift. Unlike Lieutenant John who can only actually act in the capacity of being part of the royal family, Captain Donald’s contribution to the Inanis Family has already been proven.” Lucius said.

“I see. What were the materials that you wanted before, Asher?” Kiana asked. “If I remembered the things that you asked for before I upgraded my Stone Shooter, it was related to those bees that Gellor and his group defeated before.”

If anybody who didn’t have the Mark of Obedience or Mark of Loyalty were to have the same enthusiasm in learning how Lucius did certain things, it was easy to come to an understanding that it was because they were interested in gaining the powers for themselves.

‘While I know how to upgrade the Gifts through the use of specific materials, what if the user themselves were able to acquire the materials on their own and ingest it? I know that it is not exactly the same process, but what are the chances that simply absorbing or collecting certain materials might make one opt to develop their gifts? I haven’t been able to discover the reason behind Viscountess Blackshield’s own upgrade.’ Lucius thought. He thought about the use of Nexus and its applications, but couldn’t think of much after that.

“Asher?” Kiana asked, noticing his lack of response.

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“The materials to upgrade Captain Donald’s Rare Gift of Tremor Stomp are as follow, the 10 Stampeding Bull rune crystals, the single Plow Worm rune crystal and then 100 Aether Crystals.” Lucius listed. 

Awhile ago, the price of 100 Aether Crystals might have deterred even Lucius who was from a noble family. The situation with Viscount Drew back then had tightened the purse strings of the Inanis Family.

However, at this moment, it was all simply something he had to obtain with via Kiana getting them to reach his goal.

“100 Aether Rune Crystals?”

“The crystals that we’ve obtained from Bergan’s Band. It should be enough to cover it all.” Lucius said with an incline of his head as they made their way back to Inanis Mansion.

The Stampeding Bull Rune Crystals was easy enough to obtain with Gellor and his team’s competency, but it had been the gigantic Plow Worm that took a certain effort.

Kiana naturally had the same line of thoughts but understood that it was impossible to gain success and become stronger during the upgrade of gifts without something in exchange. Compared to the actual slow growth that takes place after years of consistent work, this one was instant and the results were immediately visible.

“Shall I do it right away?” Kiana asked. “I am free tonight and can go gather them now.”

“It is a bit late, so you can wait until tomorrow morning to proceed if you wish.” Lucius said, taking note of the time that he and Kiana left with Sir John.

When they returned to the Inanis Mansion, Lucius visited the dining hall to pay respect to his mother and father. Viscountess Blackshield raised her head at the appearance of Asher.

“Young Lord Asher. Where have you been? It’s a bit late for dinner, but I hope that you can join us.” 

“Indeed.”

“Ah, I’ve simply visited the rehabilitation center, Viscountess. We were unable to go there prior, and while I should have asked once the lockdown was lifted, it did not occur to me.” Lucius said.

“Fret not. I am curious but with your studies resuming after a while, it is actually good to pay attention to these things.” Viscountess Blackshield said. “A young man such as yourself should not hold yourself back.”

“Thank you.”

The exchange of words between the Viscountess and Asher continued for the next minute with the count and countess, both sharing their days as well. Soon enough, Lucius return to his room and went back to sleep.

***

The next day, Lucius woke up and did not attend any lessons from Bishop Reynald. Instead, he went immediately to the Inanis guard barracks to meet up with Captain Donald.

It was actually quite early, but Lucius knew that he needed to be early in order to talk with the captain in private without any other person, noticing what was happening.

“Good morning, Captain Donald. Fine day for practicing in the barracks isn’t it?

“Isn’t it, Young Lord Asher. I did not expect to see you so early, though.” Captain Donald greeted. “Is there anything you would like to do today, hence the visit, Young Lord Asher?” 

“I am interested in sparring with you. It has been awhile since our last one together. Would you like to finish your warm-ups though?” Lucius asked.

“Thank you for the consideration, Young Lord Asher. If you would also like to do yours, I will also be willing to wait.” 

‘Captain Donald has been one, if not, the best fighter in the Inanis Guards for quite a while and his position was no doubt earned that way. Even his own encounter with Lieutenant John had been most insightful to his strengths and weakness, so it is important for me to do better than before.’ Lucius thought.

While it was easier to simply just speak with Captain Donald forwardly and explain the situation, Lucius had been wanting to go up against individuals he had sparred before in the past.

Not to mention, if proved better than Captain Donald, it could work in Lucius’s favor. Unlike Lieutenant John, whose family was used as the pawns to make the man submit and have his Gift become Epic Rank, the knowledge that Lucius had on Captain Donald was quite scarce.

“Shall we begin, Young Lord Asher?”

“Of course, sparring rules?”

“Until the other person decides that they’ve had enough. Or perhaps not too long. I still have to train my guards later, Young Lord Asher.” Captain Donald chuckled amicably.

“Then I will cut this shortly then,” Lucius said as he unsheathed his sword.