Chapter 579 - An offer

POV Nathaniel

As Lily leads me towards the others I notice Myrra sneaking closer, her tall figure looming over the two unsuspecting disciples trailing behind.

Well, it had to happen.

I hear Pallius shout at the catgirl to leave him alone while my minion starts kicking as Myrra squats in front of her and rubs her cheeks, calling her something as silly as Minithaniel.

I think I'm starting to dislike how often my name gets twisted and turned into a nickname.

The first disciple I meet is someone I know, a young lynthari boy. And damn, I would recognize that bristly tail anywhere.

“At least act ashamed,” Maya berates me, and, in support, she puts her hand on her disciple's shoulder.

“I did nothing wrong,” I defend myself.

“You never do anything wrong. But, and sorry here, Enan, it was funny as fuck.”

“A little bit,” I agree, but don't mention that it is saved as one of my precious memories. That expression the young lynthari made was glorious.

“Anyway, this is Enan. He is a bit shy but a hardworking little guy, right?” Maya ruffles his black hair and touches his ears, which are the same color.

The lynthari's bristly tail sways from side to side as he lets out a complaining noise, his face flushing.

Maya lets go, “He doesn't talk that much, though, such a silly guy. And what's with the pajamas?”

“I lost a bet.”

Instead of asking me again, Maya turns to Lily and raises her eyebrow in question.

“He did it for his disciple:”

In real time, I watch as my hard-earned notoriety is destroyed piece by piece. But at least the pajamas are comfy.

Curious and thinking it might improve the look and help me regain some lost dignity, I through one of my Ley Lines summon the [Mana Crown] I had left floating in the living room.

The instant giggle from my side tells me that's not it. But it's too late to take it back, and sending it now would look even lamer, so I decide to keep it.

I lower myself so my eye line matches that of Enan's and look at him with what I consider a friendly face, reaching out my hand toward him. “My name is Nathaniel, and it's something I share only with a few people, but you are a disciple of one of those people, so I'll tell you as well. But keep it to yourself, okay?”

With his gray eyes, he looks at Maya first, and only when she nods does he look back at me and nod. “I will. My name is Enan.”

He reaches his hand toward me, and I shake it. His voice is very gentle and soft, yet it has a nice firmness to it when he introduces himself.

I stand up again and call out, “Myrra, bring me my disciple, please.”

In a blink, she stands next to me, holding the minion in her arms. It almost looks like she is forcing poor Vega to listen to her heart, probably because Vega called it weak when Myrra started bullying her.

“Minion, this is Enan, and he is a disciple of Maya,” I say.

“Master, that's too many names!” Vega complains right away, which makes Myrra giggle and snuggle her even more.

“Feral one, I will buy your disciple from you. She is way too cute. It's exactly how I imagined you when you were young. Cute, but a devious little jerk.” Myrra offers.

“I won't be sold to someone with such a weak heart!” Vega calls.

“Minion, fixed it for you: 'I won't be sold,'” I correct her.

“That's true. I won't be sold at all!”

“Suuuure,” Myrra ignores bursts of kinetic energy thrown at her, either enduring them with her strong body or deflecting them with flashes of Aurora Glass, “And what is with your clothes, feral one?”

“I'm going through a phase.”

“I see! How about I take Vega, Pallius, and Enan and force them to talk? I will make sure no one gets hurt,” she offers.

“That's very suspicious for you to offer that, but let's first get Izzy's, Sophie's, and Min-Jae's disciples, and let Izzy take pictures…”

“Okay, I will hold onto your disciple until then.”

“Master, help.”

“Sure, keep her until then,” I answer to Myrra.

Our weird group moves to the workshop where we find Isabella and Sophie with their disciples.

Izzy spots Vega and immediately grows curious, joining in. “Hello, I'm Izzy, in case you forgot since the last tournament. It's nice to see you again, Vega. By the way, Nathaniel talked about you a lot.”

“He did?” Vega asks curiously, still trapped in Myrra's arms.

“Yes, he did. Would you eat with me later? I want to talk to you.”

“E-eat with you?” Vega seems a bit confused as if suspecting something bad might happen. “Should I do it, Master?”

“Why are you asking me? It's up to you. And, minion, I wouldn't bring you to people I think would hurt you, got it?”

Vega nods, and Izzy looks at me with a big smile. As always, she tries to connect with me to read my feelings, but I deflect her attempts. Even so, I know she can still sense them on a superficial level.

What an evil ability.

“This is Seneca, my disciple,” Izzy introduces her disciple.

Seneca, even though probably around 10 years old, is a bit taller than Izzy. I don't recognize her race, but as Izzy said before, Seneca has blue hair that reaches down to her shoulder. Well, it would. Instead of falling down on her, her blue hair floats around her head in a movement reminiscent of a flame.

I feel no heat from them; they simply float without falling onto her face or blocking her view. Otherwise, Seneca is slim, her skin a warm, sun-bronzed shade. All of it is complemented by her pale blue eyes, which have a strikingly beautiful shade.

Seneca puts her arms around Izzy from behind and looks at us with those piercing blue eyes, “Thanks for taking care of Izzy.”

Maya snorts, “Sometimes I have a feeling it's Izzy who takes care of us.”

That makes Seneca hug Izzy even tighter. It's an unusual sight, especially since Izzy is much stronger than Seneca, and they're close in age.

“Are we introducing our disciples again?” Sophie steps in from the side, pushing her disciple forward. “This is Deva.”

Her disciple is a thylarin with six arms, which brings a familiar question to mind.

I glance down as she uses one of them to tuck her black hair behind her ear and this time I ask, “Why do some thylarin have six arms while about 95% of the others have four arms?”

Deva doesn't even wait for Sophie to respond. Instead, she answers herself, confident and completely unfazed. “It's likely an ancient Genetic Lineage, rumored to be inherited from a long-forgotten ancestor.”

“From before the system?”

“Possibly yes.”

“How did that ancestor travel between planets even before the system?”

“That is something even our greatest minds and historians have yet to uncover. But it's an intriguing question. One of our Champion researchers plans to visit other planets or seek out older beings for answers. Meeting a Ruler is likely impossible, but there are others who might know. The Magi, The Last Elf, or The Warden of the Parallax Eyes could be among the few with that knowledge.”

“Oh Kyralon? I wouldn't be surprised.”

For the first time, Deva opens her orange eyes wide and takes a step towards me. All six of her arms grab my shirt, and I almost expect her to shake me.

“You know him?”

“Yeah, met the guy. Velnar, locked in the tower, all mysterious. Nice to talk to but also an asshole at the same time, if you know the type.”

“H-how! You are just a second or third year tutorial attendee.”

“Beyond quest.”

This time she even tries to shakes me. Even though my body isn't that strong, there is no way I would be swayed by this kid, so it doesn't move me at all, "There's no way the Warden of the Parallax Eyes would need something from you."

“Well, he did,” I say, seeing how starstruck she is, and I decide to tease further, “He even poured me a drink and answered my questions.”

Once again, she tries to shake me. That pretentious control is completely gone, replaced by a childlike impatience. For a moment, she seems less like the composed figure she tries to be and more like an eager kid struggling to hold back.

“Do you realize that there are Absolutes willing to trade entire planets just to have their questions answered by someone like The Warden of the Parallax Eyes!?”

“I also chose not to ask the question I was allowed to.”

And she attempts to shake me again. At this point, I wonder if it is some sort of special attack or something.

Before the poor thylarin can do anything else, Sophie grabs her from behind and pulls her away with a firm grip. Deva flails in protest, blubbering something about me being completely insane, her six arms twitching like she’s trying to argue her case. Meanwhile, Sophie keeps nodding, looking like she agrees with everything her disciple says.

At that same moment, minion keeps shouting something at Myrra to let her go so she can punch that blue handy halfwit.

Seneca giggles on the side, Enan watches in silence, and Pallius tells Lily to leave me alone. He insists that someone like me would never meet the Warden of the Parallax Eyes and that I shouldn't be trusted with my lies.

I let Sophie deal with her disciple, and while my minion keeps shouting at Myrra to let her go, I join Lily, “Will you take care of Vega? Just make sure Myrra doesn't bully her too much. I will be back soon.”

“Sure, no problem,” Lily answers.

I stop in front of Pallius, whose dark blue hair and eyes momentarily lighten with a mix of yellow as he stares at me. “What does being shadow mean? Something like a bond?”

He shakes his head slightly. “On my planet, ‘Shadow’ is a formal title granted by members of powerful families. It’s not a heavy chain like a bond; it’s more like a chosen follower. It means you willingly walk by that person’s side, learning and growing with them. If both allow it, it can become as strong as a bond, but at its core, it’s about following, not guarding.”

“So, it's not like a bodyguard?”

“No,” he replies. “It's a role of trust and choice: a follower, not someone who hides in the background or guards.”

“I see. Well, see you later.” With these words, I teleport away and then use Wraith Dance to move further. There, at the edge of the forest, I find a man waiting for me who has made his presence known.

As always, Savant looks collected, judging by the way his green eyes watch the area. His now long black hair is tied at the back of his head and falling down. He doesn't seem like he even minds the waiting he had to do; he just patiently waited for me.

I also got a subclass of patience offered, but I don't think I would ever like it. While I understand his behavior, it constantly irks me, and there are a lot of reasons for it.

“What?” I ask.

“I came to make an offer to you.”

“I'm listening.”

“There are three things I need help with. It's fine if you decide to help me with just one or more. For each, I'm willing to offer a trade, be it items, materials, knowledge, or something else.”

“I have a question first.”

“Do ask.”

“Don't you have a disciple?”

“I do not, I have rejected it.”

“I see. So what are these three things?”

“First is to help me with the Sword of Aeons. There is something I want to do and I'm currently incapable of doing myself. Seeing the weapon at your waist, you or your group should be able to help me.”

“Hmm, not gonna lie, I would agree even if I could only just look at the sword.”

“Still, as I said, I'm willing to pay. The second thing is this,” he lifts his right hand and shows it to me. It looks normal, maybe just the shade of the skin is different. “It's the hand of a lumoran Champion I have absorbed but was unable to do so fully, and now I have trouble with it. What I need is either your or your healers' help.”

“And third?”

"Third, I have learned by observing you and by using my skill to absorb kinetic energy. You seem to be the most proficient with it among Earth's tutorial participants, so while I plan to do things my way, I want to gather more information from you." He says it without hesitation, hinting at his skill and capabilities while also throwing it in my face.

“That’s quite a shameless request. It will cost you.”

"I'm confident I can offer a fair trade."

***

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