Offer

"Sigh, if I wanted to do something to him, I could simply take him away. Do you think any of you will be able to stop me?" The old man scoffed and suddenly released his control over the two.

Agnes immediately hugged Alex the instant she regained control of her body and so was the village head who rushed over and stood in front of the two as soon as he was released from the air.

The villagers close to them also made a small protective circle around Alex, completely shielding him from the sight of the old man.

"Seriously?" The old man mused but did not do anything else and simply stood there with a slight smile on his face.

"Alright then, if doing so would make you feel safe. Let's talk, lead me to your place" the old man ordered.

"We have nothing to discuss with you. If you have something to say, say it here" said the village head in a deadpan tone.

" Sigh! I guess this is the cause of my actions just now. Fine then, I apologize for acting rude just now" The old man sighed and suddenly offered an apology which shocked the village head and the others.

But this did not cause them to calm down, rather, they became more vigilant and cautious of the old man. Why would he suddenly apologize?

He definitely wanted them to let their guards down so he could do something bad! They all thought.

Seeing that no one replied to his apology, the old man only shook his head and proceeded to say what he wanted to say.

"That kid," he said and pointed to Alex's location since he was being shielded by his mom and the others.

"I can see he has become a seedling and has a rare element to that. So, I want to take him with me as my student and help me develop" the old man said softly. His current style looked completely different from his arrogant self from earlier.

"He's not interested, you can leave" Agnes voiced out before even the village head could say a word.

The village head looked at her for only a moment before turning back to stare at the old man. The sudden offer from the old man had surprised him greatly, he was certain that this person must be someone with a powerful background and Alex would definitely grow to unimaginable heights under someone like him.

But he thought that he would need to talk to Agnes first to convince her to refuse because there might be ulterior motives behind his sudden proposal. After all, who would not want the best for their children? Seeing how the old man easily controlled them, the village head had thought that Agnes would accept the offer since her son would be under someone so powerful.

He did not expect her to reject before he could even open his mouth. He was very satisfied with her reasoning; whatever reason that made her reject the offer, that is.

"Eh? Are you sure? Maybe you didn't quite understand what I meant. I'm assuming that you are his mother or guardian? Anyway, if that kid becomes my student, he's bound to have a bright future and can easily become someone like me. Don't you think you should ask for the kid's opinion before making decisions for him? Even if you are his mother…"

The old man was still in the middle of his speech when Agnes suddenly cut him off.

"Enough! My son will not follow someone like you and that is final" Agnes said fearlessly as she stared right at the face of the old man.

'Perfect!' The old man laughed inwardly while staring at the village head who had a mocking grin on his face.

"But don't you think the boy should at least get to decide as well? This is about his future after all" The old man seemed persistent.

"I won't become the student of anyone who uses his power against my mom or village!" Alex's voice sounded from amidst the encirclement of the villagers. He had seen everything that had happened clearly, from the old man suddenly appearing beside him and his mother to the village head getting held in the sky. He had seen how arrogant the old man had been to them and how he tried to use force on them. Why would he agree to follow such a person just because they suddenly became nice?

'Don't you worry old man, when I get into the academy and become strong enough, I'll make sure to pay you back for bullying my village if I meet you again' Alex declared inwardly.

'Nice one kid, according to script! Now for the next step' The old man chuckled inwardly but his face remained calm.

The grin on the face of the village head seemed to have become wider and he was just an inch away from laughing at the old man.

"Then, what do you people plan to do with him? Don't tell me you are going to let his luck waste away here, that would be a serious crime" the old man uttered as he slowly released his pressure. The faces of the village head and the others changed upon feeling his pressure slowly pressing on them. They had almost forgotten that this person was someone who could destroy their village with ease if he wanted but the village head gritted his teeth and endured the pressure, not allowing himself to be intimidated.

'He definitely has some interest in Alex's rare element and would not want to make a bad impression on him' the village head thought and straightened his back before staring back at the old man without a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

"That's none of your business, we will help him develop himself. It has nothing to do with you" the village head said in a strong voice.

"Hmm? Just you people? Do you have any idea how hard and expensive it is to grow a mage? It's fine if you don't want to tell me your plans for him but I won't allow you lots to hinder his growth" the old man scoffed, returning to his usual arrogant self as a small pouch suddenly appeared on his palm which he threw at the village head.