Chapter 6

Farhan’s voice echoed throughout the whole room. Several items were shaking as if there were a cataclysmic event, and the air in the room turned frigid. The oppressive aura exuding from a knight mage was not something to look down on. Although it was gone within a short period of time, the pressure left Arias’ with a pale face, a droplet of blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. If this was the old Arias, he would have ended up on the floor already. The oppressive aura was a type of offensive psychic power. If it was not because he had a strong mind, he would not have been able to endure the pressure like this. The gap between a neophyte and a knight mage was too much. He gritted his teeth before wiping the blood at the corner of his mouth, a cold smile appeared on his face.

“Heh! Are you trying to kill me, Grandfather? No, I should call you Master Farhan, shouldn’t I? Because for you, I’m a worthless loser who dared to undermine the clan’s prosperity. A useless being such as me shouldn’t be counted as one of your grandchildren, should it?”

“Behave, Arias! Do you have any idea how much your grandfather cared about you?”

Albert suddenly stood up, disapproval written all over his face. Albert’s angry reaction was something unexpected for Arias.

“Care about me? How amusing, Father. When I was fatally ill, has he ever thought of caring for me? All those times that I was being bullied, was he ever concerned? And just now, he almost killed me. Is this the kind of care you were talking about?”

Arias said in a cold voice. As far as he could remember, the only time he ever received his grandfather’s love and care was back when he was young. Once he found out Arias was powerless, his grandfather stopped caring for him. Moreover, the thing that he did just now was not something a grandfather should have done to his grandchild. Farhan should be able to realize that Arias was just a powerless human, and unleashing such pressure for just a few seconds would have been enough to kill Arias. Was that really something a grandfather would do to his grandson?

“Do you have any idea who saved your life when you fell into the river and the snow lotus that helped cure your injuries?! And even this betrothal…”

“That’s enough, Albert. There is no need for more words.”

Before Albert could continue, Farhan raised a hand to stop him from saying further. At that moment, Farhan was beginning to be able to control his emotions and his anger had greatly subsided. However, there was still a tired look on his face. The sound of his sigh could be heard.

Arias’ heart clenched. What Albert had just said helped explain quite a lot of things. Perhaps what he knew about Farhan was just a façade that the man put up and not the essence that was inside. He was starting to think that he might have been wrong about the man who was his grandfather.

“You, why did you do something so rash.”

Farhan asked, his words and his expression were much calmer than before. When he used his oppressive aura just now, deep inside he also felt regret.

“Even if I didn’t, the Hobson would have done everything they could to annul the engagement anyway. Also, I don’t want someone such as her to become my wife. I detest those pair of eyes when they were on me, and the way she looked at me like I was a lowly weed.”

Arias said, his teeth gritted in anger. What he hated the most were people who looked at him in such a way. One day, he would make every one of them regret they ever looked down on him.

“She was one of the most beautiful girls in Bernier City, but you’re saying you don’t want her?”

“I never wanted someone such as her. There are other, more valuable qualities than just the beauty of one’s face. I may be weak, but I also have my pride. Is this enough reason, Grandfather?”

Arias announced firmly, every word he said was full of pride and his eyes shone fiercely like an eagle’s. His gaze never wavered as the words were spoken. Arias’ behavior put the whole room into a trance of astonishment for a moment. Brave, bold, and full of pride, this was nothing like the old Arias. If this was his normal self, he would not have dared to talk back to Farhan. He would not even be brave enough to make direct eye contact with the man.

“It seems like you’ve grown up. If you are certain, then I won’t ask any further.”

Farhan made a gesture of grabbing something from the dimensional ring before using his power to levitate and move the item until it was hovering right in front of Arias. It was a pill that had a bright, emerald green color. Inside the pill was full of the force of life. Arias felt more lively just by inhaling it.

“Although you are not a mage, this elixir should be able to cure your injuries. Now, you may leave.

“Thank you, Grandfather.”

Arias said his thanks before taking the elixir. Truthfully, he was starting to feel rather guilty inside. He was not a fool. The things he heard from Albert were enough to make him understand that Farhan was not the man Arias had thought him to be.

Although he felt regret, there was nothing he could fix now. He could only bid his farewell before walking out of the room.

“Father, why didn’t you tell Arias about the real purpose of the engagement.”

After Arias left, Albert questioned his father. In the beginning, the purpose of the engagement was to establish a tie between the two clans. But once Arias turned out to be a Powerless, the purpose had changed. Farhan wanted Arias to marry Sophiar because he wanted to find support for Arias. He knew of the clan’s internal conflict well including the struggle for the position of the next clan leader as well as other issues. He himself had to remain neutral and could not interfere much. To have Hobson become Arias’ support was the best solution for this issue.

“It’s over and there’s no need to say anything. We just have to find other ways.”

Farhan let out a tired sigh.

Inside Arias’ room, once he had left, he immediately headed back to his own room.

“Hahaha, a mid-level pill! I didn’t expect him to give me an Emerald Flora elixir. This elixir was made from various types of valuable herbs and the brewing method is also quite complicated. Although it had a healing property, that’s not its greatest value. This pill is concentrated with pure magic force. Just taking it would considerably help with the accumulation of power and can be used to help low-level mages advance past the most difficult phase. Using it to cure minor injuries like this would be such a waste.”

Arias raised a cunning smile, his eyes shining brightly. He looked at the pill with delight. The reason that Farhan gave a valuable pill such as this one to Arias was that Arias was powerless. Normally, mages could only absorb fifty to seventy percent of the pill’s true power. The amount of power that could be absorbed from a pill would depend on each mage’s talent. But a Powerless one such as Arias could only absorb five percent of a pill’s healing power, so using normal pills for his treatment would not have much effect on Arias. This was the reason that Farhan had given Arias this Emerald Flora pill.

But if Farhan were to know all the truth, he would surely be furious. First of all, Arias was not a Powerless. Second, he was not badly injured. Everything was just an act, whether it be the pale face or the blood that had trickled down. All of that was just a pretense. He just bit his tongue to make the bleeding look real. He did not think that the outcome would be this worthwhile.

“This pill might become useful for me in the future.”

Arias inspected it a little more before keeping it inside the dimensional ring that was in his bag. He could not wear the dimensional ring like others because it would be too eye-catching.

“Now, it’s time to test my power and see what I’m capable of.”