3 Mission (1)

After lunch, Uncle John briefed Drake on the mission.

It wasn't a very difficult mission. It only required them to investigate the actions of a dark wandering acolyte who had sewn discord in the Moonfall territory. According to the spies in the territory, mainly orphans who were brainwashed into serving the Moonfall Household, the wandering acolyte was a necromancer who had committed atrocities in order to earn more subjects to work with.

The rewards were very generous: 10 Magic Crystals as well as a fragmental Mana Ruby.

Uncle John was very straightforward and made it clear that he would keep the Mana Ruby and 5 Magic Crystals upon completion of the mission, and even though Drake was a bit sad, he didn't really care about magical gems. Although it could be used to create a golem or even forge a low-grade magical artefact, it's not like he possessed the necessary funds to build anything. Five magic crystals would already be more than sufficient for the current him.

He had until the evening to prepare.

"Young Master, I have prepared everything, from secondary swords to provisions. However, are you really sure about accepting the mission?", the young butler asked.

James was a fine young man. When he lacked a sparring partner, Drake would often spar with him. Aspiring to become a knight, James had changed his mind after hearing about Drake's story. Owing a life debt to his parents, he decided to become a butler and took care of him to the best of his abilities. At some point, he even used some of his inheritance money to purchase medicinal herbs necessary to his training.

Drake had only come to know of it later on, but he was still grateful. In the Ivory Tower, he was one of the few trusted individuals he would trust his life with. The other ones being his parents and uncle John.

[Name - James Grunt | Age - 24 Years Old

Race - Human

Attributes:

Strength - 1.6 | Agility - 1.5 | Vitality - 1.9

Skills: Dalian Military Swordsmanship (43), Butler Skills (40), Etiquette (30), Cartography (25), Literacy (20) ...]

Drake nodded upon looking at James' status page. Although the biochip could only estimate stats and skill proficiencies, he had come to understand how reliable it was. In duels especially, he could pretty much tell who would win or lose just by looking at their skills and stats.

James' stats were on par with that of knight-in-training, or veteran soldiers, but his real worth lied in his swordsmanship proficiency. It would most likely allow him to best most preparatory knights who possessed even higher physical attributes.

"James, do you believe in fate?", Drake asked

"I do, sir. I believe God makes things happen for a reason"

Drake nodded. He, too, was a believer like most people in this medieval world. Belief in God brought meaning to life.

"Do you know why I work so hard?", Drake continued his interrogation, making James a bit uneasy

"I...I don't know, sir", he replied hesitatingly. Often, he would be horrified upon seeing the wounds Drake would inflict on his own body for the sake of 'training'. Sometimes, he would challenge soldiers even though he could barely stand up, to push himself one step further.

Ever since James became Drake's butler, he never saw him miss one session of training, be it meditation or knight training. No matter how cold it was in the training grounds, no matter how much people ridiculed him for training his swordsmanship as an acolyte, he would train nonetheless.

Drake grinned like a devil as he stared at James' soul: "Because the harder I work, the better my fate becomes. Do you really think I would be allowed to eat at the same table as my cousins if I had not trained so hard? The only reason why my distant uncles only seldomly ridicule me is because they are afraid of my potential"

James stumbled backwards: "Young Master...Your eyes"

Indeed, his eyes were shining in a bright red colour. Everything seemed clearer, slower. He could see ants hundreds of meters away, and catch flies with ease. His reflexes were enhanced to a supernatural level. It was the [Demonic Raven Vision] innate spell. Every time he felt anger, danger or greed, the spell would activate, enhancing his senses and reflexes by leaps and bounds.

Every member of the Moonfall Family would awaken an innate spell after breaking through a minor spiritual realm. Some would awaken partial transformations, such as transforming hands into claws. Others would develop [Shadow Petrification Gaze], or [Shadow Breathe].

The innate spells were all very strong, even stronger than spells that acolytes would learn in magical academies. Rather than stronger, it would be more accurate to say they matched the acolyte's strengths.

Drake who trained in swordsmanship would have had little use of transforming his hands into claws. It seemed like his body naturally awakened the Demonic Raven Vision, granting him supernatural reflexes, allowing him to best the strongest knights in the castle by relying on speed and swordsmanship alone.

Of course, awakening innate spells often took times, as it required more than just magical power. It also required a mature bloodline. Awakening an innate spell below the age of 16 was definitely unheard of.

Drake smiled: "However, they all seem to forget that our blood is not that of humans. The Moonfall Family descend from demonic ravens. By eating and sleeping in their cozy beds, they forcefully restrain their true nature. I will show you, James, what a true Moonfall Heir is"

At this moment, James felt the urge to kneel: "I swear I will serve you till my last breath, Master"

For some reasons, he could feel the aura of a conqueror. Worse still, perhaps he could only describe it as the aura of a monster.