Chapter 9 - Night Talk

The high flow of Natural Energy in Nerun's baby body, with no open central meridians, was very dangerous, and when it happened, it caused the child to spend sleepless nights, twisted in pain and on the verge of dying. How terrible for a toddler to have to go through all that pain with no way to control it.

Over time, Maikal ensured that the seal put on the meridians was stable, and that allowed Nerun to grow up and get stronger at a pace that was appropriate for his young age. The thing is, without the ability to connect the auxiliary meridians to a central meridian, the possibility of Nerun losing control of the energy could be quite likely and potentially calamitous.

Maikal reached over to the dresser in the room and pulled out a small alabaster jar covered with wax. He broke the seal and pulled out a small rounded pill of a deep blue colour. He stared at it for a short time before tossing it directly into Nerun's mouth.

"Swallow that. It will help you, little brat, to calm the uncontrolled energies that must be circulating through your body... I have told you repeatedly, that except on life and death occasions, do not open a single one of your auxiliary meridians. At least not yet. Although we do not yet know how your auxiliary meridians will react when they can finally be associated with a core meridian, the fact is that without the opening of at least one, your body cannot contain all the energy that is absorbed, and your Qi can lose control. You know this perfectly well.

Moreover, you don't yet have a fine control of the strength you gain from opening the meridians so you could have done great damage to Sylvester.

Thirdly, if you use your skills before you are officially a Qi master, others might discover your secret. That could be quite detrimental if someone with bad intentions were to find out. Your body constitution is unique in the world and you must be doubly careful, or someone might want to experiment on you, or even try to steal your body and transfer your meridians. Although this practice is considered taboo and frowned upon in the continent, especially in Ansem, It would not be the first time it happened. You would be surprised at how dark can this world get".

Maikal said harshly and worriedly.

"But I really wanted to win Father. I have been practising a lot on my own when no one is watching. I have finally learned to open a single meridian in each limb and in my head. This helps me not only to better control the force I use, but it causes much less pain and sequelae in my body. It took me a long time, but when I succeeded I wanted to show you what I could do. In the end, I decided to wait until the tournament to surprise you."

Nerun replied with his head hung low in a low voice. Maikal stared at him and in the end could do nothing but sigh.

"We know you are strong Nerun. You don't have to prove it to us. We just want your body to be strong enough to use that power. We are proud of you. That you have managed to control the opening of just one of the meridians is truly amazing, and Father only finds it difficult to tell you. He has never been good at compliments."

Elijah said as he smiled to himself. Maikal gave him a sidelong glance, but did not deny what he had said. Finally he smiled again and said to Nerun.

"Well done, brat. You won fair and square, hehehehehe. I haven't forgotten about your prize, when your body recovers in a few days I will teach you, Silvester and Luka a real fighting technique. You have earned it. Now scurry off to bed".

Nerun was overjoyed, his eyes shining as if there were stars in them. In the end he was nothing more than a child seeking the approval of the person who was like a father to him. He didn't want to leave but rather continue talking to Elijah, but he finally ran off to bed when Maikal threatened to kick him in the ass.

Once Nerun left the room, Maikal couldn't help but laugh a little and said.

"In fact, Nerun's visual acuity is also a product of the fact that the auxiliary meridians in his head are also half-open. It is said that the two ocular meridians can allow a person to see even the wings of a fly 10 km away when opened by a Qi Sage. Although he does not have the meridians fully open, his vision and the rest of his senses are already being enhanced by them. He has excellent dynamic vision, better than many Warriors who have been fighting for decades. One can't help but feel jealous at times, heh heh heh. While the rest of us are desperate to open more and more meridians, he struggles to keep them closed. I don't know yet if this is a blessing or a curse for him."

"Father, I'm sure that Nerun will flourish. His potential is incredible and he will be able to reach the pinnacle of the martial or magickal arts, whatever path EON has destined for him. His constitution would surely be the envy of any grandmaster, be it from the Great Families of Ansem to the descendants of the Seneschals or the Grand Duchies of Lutzomya on the other side of the continent. I am sure that if we could trust one of the Great Masters that live in the Capital, he could enter the best of the Academies."

"NO... Say no more Elijah, we have already gone over this. It is preferable that no one outside of us knows about his special condition. It could well be too dangerous for him. We can't trust anyone."

Maikal cut Elijah off abruptly. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation, and Elijah knew there was no point in angering Maikal because he was not going to change his mind. When he wanted to, his stubbornness knew no bounds. While Elijah disagreed with the idea that no one could be trusted, it was true that caution was never a bad thing, especially when it came to Nerun's life.

Then Maikal went on to ask: "And you Elijah, how did it go at the border?"

"Very well father. I have met many soldiers and become friends with several of them while doing some odd jobs here and there, and even fighting against people from Rhodnius alongside them. I've earned a bit of a reputation in the frontier. I have even managed to come into contact with a sergeant under the orders of the Dragon General of House Baruna. If I play my cards right, I will soon be able to enlist in the army of Ansem."

"In the end, are you convinced about joining the army?"

"Yes, Father. Eldest brother made his career starting in Ansem's army, and I want to follow in his footsteps. I'm sure my skills will blossom if I serve the kingdom. Besides, for orphans like us, the army is not a bad place to get ahead. Unlike working for the nobility, the army is strictly meritocratic, so if I give my all, I'm confident I can rise quickly and gain enough influence."

"Your decision may well be the most sensible one. Yet you must not forget that the capital is a nest of vipers. Do not be fooled by the nobility of Ansem, especially the five Great Families. They are all full of old foxes, capable of smiling at you in a friendly way while stabbing you in the back at the same time. Sometimes it seems that being hypocrites is their main nature".

"I will always heed your advice, father," Elijah finished. He still didn't understand completely where Maikal's distrust of people other than his own was coming from, but he had learnt to trust Maikal's advice. After all, he was the man that gave everything to him, and Elijah knew that his father only had his best interest at heart.

"I am very glad to have you back. But why did you return so early? I didn't expect you back for at least 3 months. Besides, where did you get the money to buy all the stuff you brought? I know you are incredibly talented, but unless you got yourself a sugar-mom, whom you served in unspeakable ways, I don't understand who gave you so much money. Don't tell me you stole it," Maikal inquired, making a bad joke.

"Your perverted sense of humour doesn't get any better, you dirty old man. One of the reasons I was able to earn so much money is because I was offered a job as a guide on the border. There is a group of nobles from the capital who have come in search of the Green Crystal Flower, which only grows in the depths of the Rando Forest. Since one of the captains I made acquaintance with knows that I am from Radem, I was recommended to serve as their guide. We negotiated a payment of 70 gold coins, and I have been paid an advance of 20 gold coins".

Elijah stated with a smile.

"Nobles of the capital? What nobles? What Family specifically?"

"As I understand it, it would be one of the five Great Families of Ansem, the Corena family. Marquis Corena's youngest daughter, Julieth, is the one looking for the flower."

"That creep Corena's youngest daughter... How old is she?" asked Maikal in surprise.

"I had the chance to meet her once, and she's just three years older than Nerun and she's eight. Apparently, she is the only daughter of his last concubine, a young woman of just over 25."

Maikal couldn't help but widen his eyes as he muttered, "Gianni still has the strength to be with his concubine and have a daughter... Who'd have thought the old geezer would still have the juice for that?

His tone seemed mocking, but you could tell there was a hint of envy underneath.

"Anyway, who is accompanying her? The Green Crystal Flower is not extremely rare, but it only grows in the depths of the forest, and there are usually multiple nests of magical beasts in its vicinity, many of them level 2 and 3. If you' re unlucky, there could even be a level 4 beast nearby and that could be catastrophic," Maikal commented.

"There are several guards with her, 20 in total, plus a steward. Most of the guards are Qi Masters with levels between 15 and 19. There are two Qi Grandmasters of level 20 and 21, and the captain of the guards is a Qi Praetorian of level 33. As long as we are careful to avoid large beast nests, and do not encounter any level 4 beasts, there should be no significant danger. As I'm familiar with the forest, I am confident that I can guide them along the safest route. Besides, I plan to bring help. Does Nerun still play in the woods whenever he can?"

"Heh... When he's not training or fighting with Sylvester, he keeps going into the forest again and again, even though Maya has forbidden him to do so several times. He claims he has a friend in the forest, who knows what tree is the brat talking to, hahahaha" laughed Maikal. "It's not a bad idea to take Nerun. He can gain some experience and he certainly knows the forest, possibly better than you. He's a little monkey, after all, nothing should happen to him".

"Then, that's that. As they had still some preparations to do at the border, we agreed to meet in Radem in 10 days. I came early so that I could spend time with you first. Now that I have seen Nerun's improvement, I'm more confident to bring him along. In any case, I'm planning to train him a bit to increase his skills so that he can better protect himself in case of any eventuality". Elijah finished.

Maikal nodded briefly.

Maikal then raised his hand and extended his Qi in such a way that it surrounded the room so that no sound could come out of it. The power to extend one's Qi in your surroundings to create a space completely belonging to you, and that followed your Will, was one of the abilities belonging to a high level Warrior, at the very least, a level 70 Qi Emperor.

"..."

An awkward silence ensued between the two for several minutes but Elijah waited patiently in Maikal's room without rushing him. He knew that Maikal was trying hard to calm his emotions. Finally, Maikal broke the silence as he leaned against a wooden chair in the room.

"What new rumours have surfaced?"

Rumours around the world. That topic can be considered pretty broad if you are not familiar with the intent of the question. With gossip flying everywhere, another recipient of that inquiry would think they were either playing a joke on him, or he would have to talk for days on end to talk about all the local rumours. But Elijah knew very well what exact news it was that Maikal was waiting for.