An overwhelming rush of memories flooded Percy’s mind, bringing him to his knees. Noticing his soul wisp on the way back, he’d just about managed to put his brewing equipment away in time, to avoid breaking or spilling anything by accident.
A good shout, considering how troublesome this clone was to assimilate. He wasn’t necessarily the longest-lived one he’d ever sent out, but he’d spent months training non-stop, bringing a mountain of runecrafting knowledge back. Advanced knowledge that Percy now had to digest in an accelerated pace.
‘Ugh… At least I got what I wanted from the Vault…’ he sighed a few minutes later, once he was back on his feet.
His brain still pounded like a drum, and it would take him a few more days to fully wrap his head around the new runes, but he should be good for now. Fortunately, he was alone in the room, so he hadn’t needlessly worried his companions.
Nesha was busy mingling with the town’s residents, trying to procure any alchemic reagents she could find in the local marketplace, hoping to extend Percy’s dwindling stash. It was important, as he wouldn’t be able to replace his trollsfury potion, nor continue to brew Aurora Dew without them. Of course, they were more likely to find what they needed when they reached their destination, but that was still a few weeks away.
At least, Gentlebreeze town was many times larger than Bogside town. More developed too, with taller buildings, cleaner streets and a bustling economy. Sure, commoners didn’t live easy lives anywhere on Remior, but falling under the jurisdiction of a noble House that didn’t treat them like cattle made a huge difference.
Checking himself in the mirror, Percy couldn’t help but frown as he rubbed his chin.
He’d grown a bit of a stubble over the past couple of months, hoping it would help hide his identity when combined with his glowing eyes. It must’ve done something to that effect, since nobody had pulled him aside just yet. A rather important place to be, as he’d already spotted wanted posters of him and Nesha in multiple towns. Fortunately, the Divine Root’s information was a little outdated, Baldy having done a great job keeping the news of his Sorcerer’s Eye from spreading.
And that wasn’t the only sacrifice the others had made. Micky had had a tough time travelling while skipping meals and conserving his stamina. They couldn’t even bring him into the towns, so he was currently camping a few miles away. At least, his situation had improved a little. Pretty early on, they had discovered that the crow could use Regulation with Percy’s fused mana too, by absorbing it through his other mutations – his beak, talons and eyes.
Since then, he’d not only managed to clear his new channels, but he’d even learned how to split his ice mana into its components, regaining access to his other spells. Of course, he still had to find a use for the new affinities, and to finish tempering his pathways. Elaine was currently keeping him company, partly to protect him, and partly to teach him her Circulation pattern.
‘I should make it up to them.’
Technically, Percy was already pulling his weight in the group by providing everyone with Aurora Dew. But he wanted to do more for them if possible. Not necessarily for Nesha or Micky – he’d already done plenty for both of them over the years – but certainly Elaine. After all, his cousin had risked everything to accompany them. Not to mention that she brought the most to the table merely by being with them, thanks to her high fighting strength.
Naturally, he’d offered to teach her runecrafting like Nesha, but she’d declined. Her affinity wasn’t particularly suited, and she didn’t really have the patience for it either. The only other thing Percy could do for his companions was to grant them a second core.
Strictly speaking, he’d already promised to do it for Nesha. Ideally, he would have liked to extend the favour to everyone – Baldy and Galahad included – but it just hadn’t been possible. First, he didn’t feel confident repairing a Blue’s damaged soul, let alone a Violet’s. Even for Elaine, he wouldn’t dare risk it unless they had a Green soul available for Micky to eat. Then, he’d also had a clone active during his time back home, so possessing his relatives hadn’t been an option.
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Much of that was solved right now, but they’d also need life mana to fix the Decree. There wasn’t much of a point in giving anybody the seed if they couldn’t germinate it. All it would do would be to rob them of the ability to use healing potions. Sadly, they wouldn’t be able to return to his family for the foreseeable future. Their only alternative were the green mushrooms, but they’d need way too many of them for this to work.
‘I guess this is something we’ll have to work on, once we settle at our destination.’
The sheer number of corpses they’d have to procure was mind-boggling, but it wasn’t like they had a better option. Either way, this wasn’t that big a problem. As long as the Divine Root failed to discover them, everything else they could deal with. And it didn’t seem like their enemies had any more karma users to send after them.
‘I just hope Baldy is alright.’ he smiled bitterly.
Percy had no way to contact his grandpa. While he’d done his best to draw Deimos’s ire to himself, the guy didn’t sound that reasonable. Percy could easily see him taking his anger out on House Avalon. Especially considering that Jason had gone missing in the vicinity of their estate. Anybody who was unfamiliar with Percy’s combat prowess would assume he’d had help taking down a Green. Sadly, there wasn’t much he could do about it, other than hope his grandpa was wise enough to handle the situation.
Sighing, he walked out of the inn, deciding to take the rest of the day off. His headache would make brewing annoying, and he could use some fresh air. He also had to talk to Nesha about the new runes as some of them concerned her.
Strolling down the street, Percy ignored the stares he got from the townsfolk. He was used to them by now, owing most of the attention he received to his eyes. Sure, the default assumption was that they were the result of his bloodline, but not many bloodlines were nearly this eye-catching.
Heading towards the market, he soon noticed something strange, however. The place was always busy, but there were many more people around right now than when they’d first arrived in town. There seemed to be some kind of spectacle drawing everyone here...
‘Shit. I hope Nesha hasn’t landed in any trouble.’
Hurrying along, Percy pushed through the growing crowd, soon reaching the source of all the commotion. Luckily, he spotted his girlfriend standing a few rows away, not involved in whatever this was. Still, that did little to stop his face from paling.
Several officials stood there, holding the commoners back, each of them sporting an elegant attire that Percy recognized all too well. Most notably, they were all adorned with insignias depicting some roots emerging from the underside of a cloud. And there were five of them, all of them at Green.
‘No! Did they find us already?!’
Instinctively, he wanted to run away. But he held himself back, knowing that would be beyond foolish. Not only would he draw their attention even faster, there was no way he could possibly outrun five Greens.
Forcing himself to calm down, he realized something was off with the situation. Nesha hadn’t tried to escape either, nor did she look very shaken. Besides, sending so many people after them was a bit much, wasn’t it?
‘It’s just a coincidence. They must be here for something else.’
Exhaling a breath he hadn’t even noticed he was holding, Percy allowed himself to relax. Next, he scanned the scene more carefully, trying to piece together what was happening. Other than the men of the Divine Root, there were two others standing there. Or, well… only one of them was standing, the other being on the ground.The first was a young boy. He couldn’t have been older than 13, or maybe even 12. Yet, he looked as if he owned the whole town, his gaze brimming with uncontained arrogance.
As for the other person, he was clearly distraught, grovelling at the boy’s feet, seemingly begging for something. He was much older too. A middle-aged man with a Green core pulsing in his chest. He was clearly ‘only’ an Orange-born, but this was still a strange way to treat a Green. At that level, one was already considered an elite, regardless of their birth-grade. Why was the man kowtowing to the boy? Was he trying to apologize for something?
Either way, the kid had to be quite important, to have so many elites guarding him.
“Esteemed Holy Child! Please, show mercy! Let alone the discount, I would have given you the trinket for free had I realized who you were!” the man pleaded.
But the boy didn’t respond, merely kicking the man’s face as if he was nothing more than trash. Nobody moved to stop him. Even the victim didn’t bother resisting, letting the kid do as he pleased.
‘Holy Child?!’ Percy’s eyebrow shot up.
He’d never expected to meet one in such a random place. But that would certainly explain the mess. Instinctively, his eyes fell back on the boy, this time scrutinizing him more carefully than before. Percy had previously ignore the kid, thinking he was only treated for being the son of somebody important.
On further investigation, however, it appeared his clothes were even finer than the ones worn by the Divine Root, somehow. They were adorned with all sorts of symbols Percy didn’t recognize the meaning of. As for the boy’s face, it wasn’t anything special, his features as unassuming as his messy brown hair.
It was only when he saw the brilliant Blue core shining in the kid’s sternum that Percy’s eyes widened, the truth slamming into him like a battering ram. And if that wasn’t proof enough, the suffocating domain he unleashed upon the crowd the very next second was plenty… Percy too, felt the wind knocked out of his lungs as he finally accepted what the boy was.
After all, there was only one sort of person who could possibly reach such a high grade this young. The very people the Divine Order recruited at any cost. The only ones who stood a chance of advancing past White. The ones who might one day become gods…