Novel Full Chapter 227: For your safety
Chapter 227: For your safety
Elion tried to speak, but his body was not listening to him at all; his throat was dry, and his limbs felt heavy, as if they did not belong to him anymore, and it took Maximus only a moment to realise what the problem was.
His mere presence was choking the young man, pressing down on him without intention, and so the old man acted immediately, placing a lid on it as if he had erased himself from existence entirely.
In the very next instant, the pressure vanished.
Elion wheezed as air rushed violently back into his lungs, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he coughed a couple of times, trying to stabilise himself, while Maximus spoke again, his voice still low but now far clearer.
“Where did you find it?” Elion coughed again, his brows furrowing deeply as he finally managed to force words out.
“Find… what?” he asked, his voice hoarse and confused.
Maximus frowned in a deep, creased frown.
And that was when Elion finally realised something was wrong. Very wrong. Because no one else was reacting. Not a single other person.
Everyone in the room was still looking in their direction, but… they were frozen, completely still, like statues, like time itself had stopped for them.
Even Halbrecht, who Elion had already recognised as one of the strongest individuals he had ever seen, stood unmoving, his expression locked in place as if he had been paused mid-thought.
Elion’s heart skipped. ’What…?’
“Are you trying to play tricks with me, boy?” Maximus asked, his voice sharper now, his brow still creased as his gaze bore into Elion.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Elion replied, his voice steadier now as he pushed himself back up to his feet, though his body still felt weak, and his mind racing beneath the surface.
“Where did I find what?”
Outwardly, he appeared absolutely confused. But inwardly, his thoughts were spiralling.
’Did he see something…?’
That gaze earlier hadn’t been normal.
It had felt like everything about him was being peeled away, like there were no secrets left, like he had been completely exposed.
’Did he actually see something…?’ His heart pounded wildly. ’System!?
He called out inwardly. But even as that thought echoed in his mind, Maximus stepped closer and looked at him again.
His eyes shimmered once more, and once again Elion felt it.
That same sensation, like he was being stripped naked, like nothing about him could be hidden from this enigmatic old man.
Maximus frowned. ’He really does have it, he thought, ’so how come he doesn’t seem to know what I’m talking about?’ Was he born with it?
That thought lingered for only a moment before he dismissed it. Impossible.
’No, he had to have found it in the dungeon,’ Which meant it had been there all along. It had always been so close to him.
’I spent my whole life looking for one and yet…’ Maximus’ thoughts darkened slightly, ’This boy… just stumbled upon it.’
He got thinking, now what to do. The most direct solution came to him immediately.
The best course of action would be to extract the origin core out of Elion, but that was almost impossible to do without killing the boy.
Once an origin core was fused with a person, it was not as simple as that; it integrated with their very being, more specifically, their soul.
So, unless you disintegrated the person’s soul to separate it from the origin core, there was no way to get it, or he could wait until the day the boy died naturally, but Maximus was much closer to death than Elion ever would be.
Time was not on his side.
He nodded quietly as he made a decision. ’I will keep him close to me until I find another way to separate the core from his soul.’
’If not… well, I might have to resort to…’ he didn’t finish the thought.
Usually, this would be so far beneath him that he wouldn’t even consider it, but this was far bigger than some boy; This was not about pride or about morality. A whole world’s fate hung in the balance here.
He looked back at Elion. Only about a second had passed while Maximus was thinking; his thinking speed was just that fast. Now, how was he supposed to break the news to the boy? No, he would not tell it straight to him; it wouldn’t hurt if he twisted the facts a bit.
Maximus began explaining, “The thing that you found in the dungeon, the one that increased your strength and talent, that is what I’m talking about,” he said simply in his old voice.
Elion’s eyes trembled, ’Does he know about the system!? He thought.
[I am sure that is not the case], the system explained to him.
’Oh, you are there after all
, he thought, ’I thought you were hiding from the old man.’’
[No. Once I understood his line of thought, I realised that the old man cannot sense me… but he can sense a part of me, which is odd to say the least. He must have exceptional sensory abilities, even for a sage mage.]
’A part of you, what do you mean?’
Maximus could see the trembling in Elion’s eyes, of course, ’So he does know that he found something great in that dungeon.’
[Yes, a part of me. Let me explain]
The system began.
[You see, when the goddess created me, she used something called an origin core as the foundation of my creation.]
[This is what powers me.]
Elion’s mind focused completely.
[You can think of it as the source of fuel for my existence.]
Elion nodded inwardly.
’So that’s what it is…’
[That is most likely what this old man is referring to.]
’You have a lot of explaining to do once I’m done with this old man here.’
He didn’t know what this thing called an origin core was supposed to be, but it sounded like something important, considering it had made even Maximus lose his composure.
Elion lifted his head slightly, meeting Maximus’ gaze again, though this time without that crushing pressure weighing him down, he spoke carefully.
“I did find something in the dungeon,” he said slowly, choosing his words with care, “but I don’t know exactly what it is.”
Maximus’ eyes narrowed slightly, studying him closely, searching for any sign of deceit. “Is that so…”
His voice was calm again, but there was something behind it now, something deeper. “What did you feel when you found it?”
Elion paused for a brief moment. His mind moved quickly. He could not lie outright. But he also could not reveal everything.
“It felt…” he began, as if recalling it carefully, “like something entered my body, and after that, everything changed, my mana, my control, my perception… everything improved.”
Maximus watched him silently as Elion continued. “I thought it was some kind of rare treasure from the dungeon.”
Maximus remained quiet for a few seconds, his gaze still fixed on Elion, as if weighing every word he had just heard, and then he slowly nodded.
“I see.”
His tone gave nothing away. But inwardly, his thoughts moved again.
’He really doesn’t know what he found, huh…’
That made things easier, and harder at the same time.
He turned slightly, walking a few steps away before speaking again, his back now partially turned to Elion.
“What you found… is not something ordinary,” he said calmly, “it is something that many have searched for their entire lives without success.”
Elion remained silent, listening.
“If left unchecked,” Maximus continued, “it can change your fate entirely and those around you, elevate you beyond what you would normally be capable of, but at the same time… it is not without danger.”
Elion’s eyes narrowed slightly at that. “Danger?”
Maximus glanced back at him. “Yes,” he said simply, “something like that… attracts unimaginable dangers.”
Their eyes met briefly. “You are fortunate that it was me who noticed it first, otherwise you would have not known how you died.”
Elion did not respond immediately, but he understood this was a warning.
“I will be keeping an eye on you,” Maximus added, his tone calm, almost casual, as if he was merely stating a fact, “for your own safety, of course.”
Elion’s lips twitched slightly, but he didn’t voice any complaints. “For my safety…” he repeated quietly.
Maximus did not elaborate further.
Elion lowered his gaze slightly in thought for a moment before nodding. “I understand.”
Maximus looked at Elion for a moment longer, his expression returning to that calm, unreadable state, as if the earlier shock had never happened, and then he spoke in a steady, measured voice.
“I expect a lot from you going forward,” he said simply, his tone neither harsh nor soft, but carrying a quiet weight that was hard to ignore, “do not disappoint me.”
He paused briefly before adding, “And your performance earlier… was spectacular.”
Elion straightened slightly, still feeling the lingering effects of the pressure from before, but he kept his composure as he responded.
“Thank you, Sir Maximus,” he said respectfully, his voice steady, “I appreciate the compliment.”
Maximus gave a faint nod. “That will be all for now.”
And just like that, time resumed for everyone else.
The sounds from outside the arena flooded back into Elion’s ears all at once: the distant roar of the crowd, the echo of spells clashing, the announcer’s voice, everything returning as if nothing had ever stopped, and only then did Elion truly realise that not only this room, but everything before had been frozen, completely halted under Maximus’ will.
He blinked once and noticed that Maximus was already back in his seat as if he had never moved.
“George,” Maximus said calmly, his gaze already shifting back toward the battlefield beyond the transparent panel, “see the boy out.”
“Yes, Master,” George responded immediately, bowing slightly though he was a bit confused.
Around the room, a few people exchanged glances, their expressions carrying mild confusion.
Was that all? Did he really just want to ’see’ the boy?
They all had the same thought.