29 Refusal

"What did you just say?" Rouie had a shocked expression as she looked at Andrew.

"I am very sorry, but I can't accept your offer." Andrew scratched his head as he answered. Rouie was silent for a few moments before sighing.

"May I know the reason why?" she asked calmly. In truth, she was not calm at all.

[Is this boy alright in the head? He actually refused... What should I do? If he is left without any supervision, who knows how slow his advancement speed will be...] she thought dejected.

"The truth is...I already accepted someone else's inheritance. What kind of person would I be if I just went back on my word like this?" Andrew had a serious expression as he said.

[I think it should be fine if I put it like this...After all, there are lots of people with very strict values and principles. Yeah, it seems like a valid reason. After all, who says I am not a honorable person myself? In the end, I haven't done anything that proves otherwise...]

"Eh? That's fine as well! There is no reason to refuse if it's like that. Who is it? We'll devise a plan for your learning together. Most people have more than one teacher, that's no problem at all!" Rouie breathed a sigh of relief.

[Fortunately, it's just that. With a bit of luck, it will be someone I can easily persuade. After all, there are only a few daring enough to steal someone from me. Even better if it's someone from my faction inside the Council. Those guys listen to everything I say...] she smiled. She didn't even notice Sorin's expression turning complex when hearing Andrew's answer. Great sadness and regret could be seen on his face.

[Teacher...the successor I found this time is just too good. If it was you in my place, then things would have been different. After all, you were also at that legendary level. You had the ability to grow this kind of talent. Him learning from me... I am just not good enough...] he thought as he sighed.

"He is talking about me, Ascendant Master. But I see now, it was a mistake on my part. He is all yours." Sorin said as he shook his head.

[Tsk, this has been harder to say than I expected. She might not have the best personality, but she surely is the number one array master in this place. Me holding onto this boy would just be selfish. Rouie still has a lot of lifespan left. If the boy can become an Ascendant Master in the next 300 years, then there would be two people able to control the city's Grand Aegis. At that point, not even a Guardian attacking it relentlessly for an entire day would be able to break it. The implications are too great.] he thought as he looked at Rouie.

As soon as she heard Sorin, a deep frown appeared on her face. She seemed to be pondering over something.

"A mistake? No, no, there was definitely no mistake. I have thought about it and your research is revolutionary. I definitely want to take part in it!" Andrew grew anxious as he heard Sorin.

[My rewards!! There is no way you can get out of this, old man! Quests seem to be pretty rare as well, especially such a big one. No way I am losing it!] he was very confused about why Sorin would so easily give up on him after all the things he said.

[Is it because she is his superior? He must be afraid of her. What should I do...] his expression grew even more anxious.

"No need for that, Sorin. You finally found yourself a good successor. I am not so despicable as to take that away from you. I also understand why you gave up on him so easily, but there is no need to think about that.." Rouie said as she threw a meaningful look at Sorin.

[Yes, yes, listen to your superior! So this is the head of the association, truly worthy of that title yes...] Andrew laughed in his mind as he registered what Rouie said.

"But, Ascendant Master this..." Sorin wanted to argue but he was quickly cut short.

"No buts, this is my final decision. But I also need to talk to you about something. I trust that Grandmaster Artros can also help him finish his registration and give him a rough introduction on his benefits as a member. " Rouie smiled as she put her hand on Sorin's shoulder, both of them vanishing in the next second.

"I'll also take my leave." Karovi said as he took a step forward and disappeared, leaving Andrew and Shawn alone.

"Haha, I never saw her display so many emotions. You surely fooled me, why didn't you tell me you were already a Peak Array Master?" Shawn laughed.

"Sorry, sorry. To be fair, I thought you wouldn't believe me." Andrew chuckled as he said.

[What a lame excuse. Well, we have known each other for only a few days. There is no need to tell him anything...] Andrew thought as he stared at Shawn [It's all because of that vision...it did not only show me the future, it also gave me these emotions I don't really understand. It's the same with that girl, Sarah.]

[Whenever I look at them I have this strong feeling of familiarity...it's like I can trust them with anything. Even if that would be the case in the future, I don't like it.]

[It's uncomfortable. It's like these are someone else's feelings that just happened to be merged with mine. I have to make a clear distinction between what is mine and what is not. I have to build my own relations...] his train of thought was interrupted by Shawn's voice.

"Is something wrong?" he asked confused. Andrew has been staring deeply at him for a few moments, as if he was considering whether to tell him something or not.

"Ah? No, nothing. Anyway, can we finish the registration or whatever there is left? I am very tired after all of this." Andrew shook his head and asked.

...

Rouie and Sorin appeared in the small room at the highest floor of the association.

"Sit." Rouie waved her hand and two chairs appeared in the room. Sorin had a confused look on his face as he sat down.

"Head, there is no need for this. We both know that the boy would advance way faster with your guidance. Why would you..." he continued.

"You are right, he would grow faster if he was under me." Rouie sighed "But did you look at him? Don't tell me that age caught up to you and you can't even feel his mana fluctuations?" she smiled.

"His mana?" Sorin didn't recall feeling anything out of the ordinary during their discussion earlier.

"You've really grown old..." she laughed as she continued "There was a hint of disarray in his mana flow when you said you wanted to pass him to me. There was no such fluctuation when I introduced myself, nor when I asked if he wanted to become my disciple."

"The only other moment when he displayed such a fluctuation was when I mentioned it would take him 30 years to reach the Veteran Grandmaster realm, time during which he would need to follow my methodology. It's clear that there is something he needs to do in less than 30 years, and apparently it has a connection with you."

"Even if I took him forcefully, he would probably only try to find ways to complete his own objectives instead of actually focusing on learning. There wouldn't have been much point to it if it was like that. And regarding what his goal is...it doesn't really matter to me, nor should it matter to you." she continued calmly.

"You are saying he has another goal... could he be from that faction?" Sorin seemed to have remembered something as he asked.

"Not possible." Rouie replied categorically.

"How are you so sure? Now that you said it, it does seem really weird how anyone would choose me over you. Maybe he is afraid you would be able to see through him." Sorin squinted his eyes as he pondered.

"He has hints of two Guardian auras on him." Rouie said with a deep breath "One of which is Eternal Night. I've sensed the other one before, but I don't know who it belongs to."

"Anyway, that means he met with Night. If he really was from that faction, our Guardian would have been able to see through him easily. It would have been impossible for him to hide it." she continued with confidence. Sorin thought about it for a second before nodding.

"You are right. So...what do you intend to do now?" Sorin asked.

"What I said before, we'll both work towards helping him advance as fast as possible. It's just that he won't know about my involvement. Changing a few things here and there would also give us a good idea on what his goals are, if you really are that interested in finding out." she replied confidently as Sorin nodded.

"Another thing, his Grandmaster Mind Rune is starting to form." she said casually.

"Excuse me?" Sorin almost jumped up from his seat. "He is only seventeen! The amount of knowledge and his level of understanding would have to be ridiculously high, too high for his age!" he exclaimed.

"Did you hear the three consecutive dings from the Phantasmal Bell? You have never heard them before, so you might not know, but that means he perfectly completed the third test." she explained calmly.

"Isn't the third test assessing the candidate's potential? Can you even get a perfect score?" Sorin was suddenly full of questions.

"Indeed you can't really say someone's potential is 'perfect'. But when the tests were set up, there was a certain threshold for the third test. The knowledge in that test is not infinite. If someone can absorb all of it, it would be considered a perfect pass. I think that his Mind Rune started to form exactly because of the third test." she continued while pondering on something.

"How he was able to absorb and understand that much information in such a short period of time...I suspect he might be an evolver with a mind ability. The reason he was hurt was probably because he overestimated his ability."

"If he really has such an amazing ability, then he might grow faster than your expectations." Sorin replied.

"Yes, anyway, right now he has to focus on forming his Grandmaster Rune. Give him this." she said as she threw a neural infuser to Sorin "Those are the best ways of forming Mind Runes along with the experience from the previous heads."

"I'll make sure he understands everything that is in here." Sorin nodded.

"Sorin, I trust you will handle him to the best of your ability." Rouie said with a serious expression "He is certain to reach my level in the future. But a childish Ascendant Master is worse than having none at all. We must also properly refine his character. I am reminding you so that you can take his mental growth into consideration as well."

"Yes, head. I'll do my best." Sorin nodded. "Is there anything else?" he asked as he rose from his seat. Rouie looked at him for a few seconds before saying.

"I plan to send him to the Ancestral Realm as soon as he breaks through Core Formation." she said slowly.

Sorin's eyes widened as he heard her. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only shook his head and teleported away.