22 22 Red-Skinned

The race of red-skinned earth spirits is strong enough to defeat hundreds of human knights even without absorbing lava, but if they decide to consume lava or magma even once, they need to consume magma or lava at least once a month as maintenance for their changed bodies.

Even if they become strong enough to be on par with a dragon, their bodies will turn into crystal minerals if they don't absorb lava/magma.

Lucas infiltrated the Marquis and successfully searched the secret storage, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

Ernesto spoke respectfully to his servant, saying, "I apologize, sir Lucas,"

Lucas melted all the chains binding him and looked at Ernesto, confusedly.

Lucas scoffed at Ernesto's sudden change of demeanor, and said, "Suddenly becoming respectful towards me?" and with a question, "What's with the apology?" Lucas talked like he had the most authority after revealing his identity.

Ernesto sadly informed Lucas, "The kettle is empty. It has been used already," who was blankly looking at him.

"The kettle is empty? How? Why?" Lucas's mind becomes chaotic as there's no information that the previous lords used in the kettle. It was his lifeline; without it, he would not know how long before he will turn into crystal minerals. It caused him to panic about what else he should do.

"Wait! How does this brat know I am after the kettle?"

The kettle that he's been trying hard to steal at the Marquis castle is his lifeline. If it were not for the kettle, the only remaining source would be the volcano, but a dragon guarded it. He could fight against a dragon if he had absorbed his fill of magma, but in his current state, he would die before he could finally reach the crater.

Lucas used a disguise to hide his original red-skin, glowing red eyes, majestic dark brown hair, and 7-foot build. Using his possession powers, he appeared as a 5 foot tall, fair skinned, light brown-haired 20-year-old, timid young servant.

He is one of the few members of his tribe that survived the hunt of Duke Cornelio at Mount Mayon. The Duke was a master of strategy and also so powerful that he exterminated a tribe of great beings. They've been kicked out of their home and lost access to one and only source of their strength: the volcano.

The kettle is a primeval item that stores a large amount of magma. It was the same kettle that his tribe used to store magma, letting the children or the disabled members of their tribe absorb the magma without having to go to the crater.

Lucas snapped out of his thoughts and glared at Ernesto menacingly.

Lucas wanted to curse and invalidate what Ernesto had stated, exclaiming, "Don't fucking la—", but he was immediately cut off.

Ernesto explained, "The third Marquis wanted to try the strength of the shield made with dragon scale, so he randomly poured all the magma into the shield. It became empty because the shield absorbed all the magma instead of repelling it," and he gracefully bowed his head as he sincerely apologized, "On behalf of my great grandfather, I apologize for his actions. He wasted your lifeline."

Ernesto imagined how Lucas, in his previous lives, reacted to the empty kettle after his hard time infiltrating the castle. He thought Lucas had died cursing the Olivas.

Ernesto opened up his arms as he said, "But don't worry," and he offered, "if you submit yourself to me, I can give you an unlimited magma supply." He smiled benevolently as he continued to speak.

At the same time, Lucas looked at him with distrust. He was still figuring out how this child knew about his need to gain the kettle, and he was still unsure if the child knew about his tribe.

"Ah! Did I offend you? Sorry for calling you sir, Ma-dam?" Ernesto called Lucas "Madam." to prove that he knows everything.

The Tamahaling tribe members are all female. Only a few humans knew about it, which made Lucas extremely wary.

"What is the extent of this child's knowledge?"

Lucas gritted his teeth and mumbled in runic rhymes.

[Urug Urugi tipunun an pwersa.]

Ernesto flinched and stopped smiling. "Whoa! Whoa! Oh, oh! I'll stop! I will stop teasing you." He put his arms up to show that he surrendered. "You'll destroy this area if you cast that! I won't harm you!"

Jose Oliva will surely reprimand him if he destroys this facility.

"This deal will benefit you! I just need your strength, like you need the kettle."

Still full of distrust, Lucas continued to glare at Ernesto like a wild animal. He has not finished his casting, but he hasn't released his stance yet.

"How will you prove I can trust you, kid?"

"Hmm?" Ernesto tilted his head cutely while thinking about his response. "Well, I can actually show you the kettle, and I can also give you a bottle of magma next week. Not now though, I still need to fetch it."

"Fetch it?"

"Yes! You can relax and wait for me to give you your magma maintenance." Ernesto puffed out his chest, emphasizing that he could trust him.

"Where do you fetch the magma?"

Ernesto replied, "Volcano, of course," confidently, as if there were no problem with what he just said.

"Kid, aren't you playing with me so much?" Lucas finally released his stance and sighed at Ernesto's proud statement. He rubbed his forehead, which was drenched in cold sweat.

"Just give me time to prove that I can. So?" Ernesto's mischievous smile was back, and he pounded his chest, proudly saying, "Prepare yourself to submit to me."

As if Lucas were studying him, the red-skinned glared at him for a moment before he returned to his butler self, saying, "Young master, I am already your servant. What are you talking about?" 

The timid servant has returned to his front.

Ernesto chuckled.

"Don't need to be wary. There's only one job I need you to do."

"Hmm?"

"Protect. Kuya Ndulou."

Lucas's eyebrow twitched. He wondered why Ernesto was so overprotective of the Barons' child. He wondered if there was something that the fifth son of the baron was hiding.

In contrast to what Lucas was thinking, Ernesto just randomly had Lucas as an additional guard for Ndulou, so that he wouldn't worry much if Ndulou weren't with him.

He thought, "I can't stay with him all the time. He'd be irritated if I did. I just need someone to guard him strongly, and Lucas fits perfectly as his guard."

Ernesto felt like he picked a gem off the road and ordered, "You'll be his personal servant, and keep that timid looking servant act you have."

Lucas sighed before dismissively waved his hand to Ernesto as he said, "Kid, I don't trust you yet."

Ernesto got closer to him and tapped his shoulder, saying, "Of course, wait for your magma supply; I'll deliver it to you in no time." He winked at Lucas and walked out of the training grounds.

The knights who were waiting outside flinched and could not hide the shock on their faces once they saw the totally messed up training area. They looked back and forth at their unscathed young master and the totally ragged look of the timid servant. The wooden sword was nowhere to be found, and they could see the longsword hilt laying coldly on the floor.

Ernesto didn't care and just happily walked out with the thought of having a new, strong guard for Ndulou.

"Wh-what happened?" They gather around the poor Lucas, and worry about his well-being. "Are you okay?"

Lucas scratched his head and awkwardly smiled.

"I'm fine. The young master just played with me,"

He glared at the door where Ernesto exited as he thought, "Such a vicious child."