Chapter 489: Power Of A Single Person

Claire just bit her lip and nodded.

"Just take care of yourself," Claire repeated. "And this doesn’t change what I want. I want you to come back here once a day."

Adrian chuckled and nodded when he heard her demands.

"As you wish, my queen."

"Empress." Claire corrected him with a smirk, which only made him chuckle even more.

Serena walked forward and hugged him tightly before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. Claire stepped up and did the exact same thing right after.

Adrian held Aria’s hand and willed himself out of the dungeon.

The moment they reappeared inside the dark bamboo hut, Vance and Octavia were so surprised by Aria’s sudden appearance that they almost jumped up from fright. Luckily, they didn’t scream.

Adrian chuckled seeing them react like a pair of startled cats.

"Stay silent," Adrian whispered. "Me and Aria will go out since we have something to do. If you hear any sounds outside, come out. I will tell you the rest later if things go south."

The two teenagers nodded quickly and Adrian turned to look at Aria.

"Let’s get to work," Adrian whispered.

Aria nodded. "Ready Papa?"

"Yes."

The next instant, both Aria and Adrian completely vanished from Vance and Octavia’s sight.

Just when the two teens thought that Adrian had teleported away somewhere, the bamboo door creaked open on its own and a second later it closed shut again.

Vance and Octavia looked at each other in the dark.

After a few long seconds, Octavia finally spoke up in a hushed whisper.

"Did they just turn invisible?" Octavia asked.

Vance nodded slowly, staring at the door. "That’s so cool, isn’t it?"

"It looked more like it was Lady Aria who turned both of them invisible," Octavia reasoned slowly. "It was almost like Lord Adrian gave her the signal and then she used the spell. It’s almost like she is more than a genius. Where did she even learn these spells at her age?"

Vance shrugged.

"This is Lord Adrian we are talking about," Vance whispered back. "He has so many resources. Just imagine it."

He turned to look at her directly.

"Just imagine," Vance repeated. "He has given us so much. Monster meat which is something that even the Magic Tower craves. A faction that even our whole empire couldn’t touch. Forget touching them, even the royalty looks up to the Magic Tower. Most of the commoners don’t even know about the existence of that faction, and even most nobles don’t know about it."

Octavia nodded. "Yeah, you aren’t wrong there. Maybe Lord Adrian just doesn’t have the talent to learn those spells himself. And she does."

"Yeah, maybe," Vance agreed. "I mean, look at Hugo for example. He has the rare talent for healing magic. And while he does get a penalty of sharing the pain, it doesn’t change the fact that his healing magic is extremely potent compared to other mages in the same rank. Everyone has different talents."

Octavia nodded again. "Yeah. You aren’t wrong."

While they were busy gossiping in the hut, Adrian and Aria quickly moved across the ground of the tribal clearing.

They entered the native huts one by one. Not a single hut had a lock or a proper door, so they just walked right inside.

Aria clung to his back like a literal travel bag while she kept the invisibilty active on both of them. Adrian silently reached out and touched the sleeping tribesmen one by one. The moment his hand made contact, he sent them straight into the replica biome inside his dungeon.

He did the same thing with every single person in the village.

One by one, he cleared out the huts. Once he was completely done and the village was empty, he headed back to his own bamboo hut.

He walked inside and placed his hands on Octavia and Vance before instantly teleporting them into his dungeon too.

Adrian tapped Aria’s hand where she was gripping his shoulder.

A moment later, the invisibility spell dropped. Aria loosened her grip and landed softly on the ground.

Adrian turned to look at her.

"Okay," Adrian said. "Then I will send you back now."

Aria nodded.

Adrian snapped his fingers and Aria was gone from where she stood.

He then teleported himself back into the dungeon to check on his subordinates.

When Adrian appeared, he turned around to see Octavia and Vance standing on the grassy plains. They were staring at him with their mouths wide open.

"What are you looking at?" Adrian asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Vance immediately pointed an accusing finger at Octavia.

"This woman right here," Vance said with a massive grin as he smacked her on the back of the head. "This ignorant wench just told me that you are a talentless person."

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

Octavia glared at Vance with pure murder in her eyes before she panicked and looked at Adrian.

"My lord," Octavia stammered. "I did not say that. I just said that Lady Aria might be slightly more talented than you in magic. I never said that you did not have any talent!"

To their surprise, Adrian just smiled proudly. He pushed his chest out a bit before speaking.

"Yeah, that’s my Aria. She is obviously the most talented in this whole world, heheh. She is my daughter after all."

He then looked at Vance and chuckled.

"I like your dynamic with Octavia," Adrian said. "It’s almost like you two are siblings."

The moment he said that, he paused. A slight frown formed on his face as a sudden thought hit him.

’It’s almost like I am their parent or guardian,’ Adrian thought to himself. ’Or well, a teacher I guess.’

He remembered the way he and his best friend used to play around back on Earth. They used to say dumb things about each other and snitch to their homeroom teacher who was pretty chill about everything.

Adrian let out a quiet sigh.

’If only he didn’t change,’ Adrian thought. ’Things might have been a little different. I wouldn’t have been that lonely or withdrawn.’

It was funny how one single person could change your life to that extent. His old friend’s shift in personality had pushed him into a shell of isolation.

He then thought about Aria and a genuine smile crept onto his face.

’Yep,’ Adrian thought to himself. ’It really is funny how one person can change your life so much.’