Chapter 83
Kyon was finishing delicious meat stew in his room when he heard the door creak open. He recognized the quiet, barely perceptible footsteps.
Kyon instinctively felt that Juno's appearance promised him trouble. This girl was one of a kind. The whole world faded and lost colors in her presence. She bewitched him... Bitch! It was unfair that gods had endowed her with such charming beauty. A merciless demon in the guise of an angel! The contrast added a certain piquancy, though.
Juno hesitantly walked inside, nervously wrapping a curl of golden hair on her finger. This time, she didn't come to the servant to set him up or destroy him. Strangely enough, she came because she wanted to get stronger. Juno had to get over herself and swallow her arrogance to get what she wanted. She desperately wanted her long-cherished dream to come true, but she would never have it without energy and talent.
Kyon nearly choked on the last spoonful of stew and flashed a wry smile instead of a greeting:
«So?»
The little beauty closed her eyes framed with a fringe of long captivating eyelashes. When she opened them, her full lips parted hesitantly:
«Tell me, master. Can you really clean the keys?» - Juno's voice caressed his ears like a spring breeze. Her behavior had radically changed.
Kyon winced. Juno was a talented actress! She appeared genuinely sincere and innocent. Nothing about her rang false, not a little bit, but his common sense insisted that the cunning little devil was up to something again.
«I can. Let's cut the crap.»
Juno knew the wicked servant well enough to believe that he was telling the truth. The ill-fated night when Kyon became her master, he promised he wouldn't rape her, and he didn't. He said he would beat her if he won fair and square, and he did. She hoped he wasn't lying this time.
Juno took a deep breath, summoning up her courage. The mere thought of becoming his student was humiliating for her, taking into account the difference in their origin. However, Juno couldn't deny that he moved and reacted in the battle better and faster than her.
She straightened her short gray skirt, knelt slowly before Kyon, who looked at her as if she were his property, and reverently said:
«I swear to be an obedient and obliging student. I promise never to resist you in any way and fully acknowledge your power over me. In exchange, you will regularly encourage me for good behavior and never defame my dignity, which means you will never harass or torture me without a good reason.»
As Juno finished her rather arrogant tirade, she got up and looked eagerly at her "master," expecting his words of approval and consent but ...
She only heard Kyon's booming scornful laughter:
«You're in no position to dictate your terms, stupid fool. You're my toy! I will do whatever I want and when I see fit. Now swear your allegiance as befits a truly submissive slave or get the fuck out of here and stay pathetic mediocrity for the rest of your miserable days.»
«B-but... It's…» – Juno's head hung down. The servant was too uncompromising... It was unfair! She couldn't get anything from him but had to give him everything he wanted. It had to be exactly the opposite way!
Juno couldn't believe that her arrogant servant had the divine ability. On the other hand, if he had deceived her, she wouldn't be obliged to keep her oath to a liar. Besides… Could any vows given to insignificant slaves have any value?
Juno looked firmly at Kyon and knelt again.
«Dear sir…»
He impatiently interrupted her:
«From now on, call me your master!»
Juno pressed her lips into a thin line of irritation but quickly came to her senses and said:
«Master, I swear to be your obedient, obliging student and never resist your power over me. I will be very grateful if you give me the service you promised in exchange for my good behavior.»
«I did not promise you any service. I said that I would probably do it. On the whole, I accept your oath. Well done. From now on, I'm your master.» - He patted her head condescendingly as if she were his obedient puppy.
Juno rose to her feet, looking offended but said nothing.
«Here's your first important task. Show me your family treasury. I'm interested in powerful defense items. The more of them, the better.»
«You... you...» - Juno cooled off just in time. It was a great chance to prove the slave's divine skill! Even 1% of key cleaning cost the entire treasury and even more for Juno, the self-absorbed bitch. The benefits outweighed the cost. The servant would get his way, anyway. He always did. He always took from her whatever he wanted. It would be a sin to miss her chance to become a super genius resisting his first request.
«Follow me, master.» - Juno stood up and left the room.
After the accident with the lightning that nearly killed him, Kyon decided to find a way to protect himself in the future. No matter what it was, an accident or wrath of heaven, some caution wouldn't hurt. Another element would benefit him, improving his energy quality. He had already mastered the darkness. It was time to acquire the light. Kyon wanted to combine them into a spatial attribute and create formations that worked at a distance. He intended to engage science and come up with something unique, gaining a significant advantage over others.
To Kyon's utter astonishment, Juno went to the storeroom... She opened the secret passage and went downstairs to the library.
«…» - Kyon finally understood why the pathetic library was hidden so well. It was a distraction from the treasury inside!
Juno's eyes flashed with defiance. She put her wrist to an unremarkable stone in the wall. Kyon could hear screeching when a secret passage formed under the ground.
Kyon thought. - {A secret passage in the hidden room... Not bad at all.}
The way to the treasury of the great family looked unbecoming like a damp cave of a thousand years old.
{Catacombs ...} - Kyon thoughtfully raised an eyebrow.
Back in the mine, bald Borya told him that they extracted resources in the mountains for two reasons. First, it was because of the high content of energy in the air which meant huge veins of spiritual crystals. Second, the ancient catacombs had existed in the mountains long before the Stone family arrived and rebuilt them into the mine. It made sense to Kyon. He had found himself in the cave for a reason.
And there he was, back to catacombs... Perhaps they were the reason why the mansion was built here. He had read in the history books that this place was chosen for the Stones' estate due to the high concentration of energy in the air. It sounded reasonable, but there was not a single word about the catacombs... Kyon was standing in front of the ancient cave. Thousand-year-old footsteps made it clear that it had existed long before the Stones. Was this place the reason the patriarch's mansion was built here?
Juno and Kyon walked about a hundred meters when they saw a spacious room carved in stone. A few light crystals lit up the long rows of shelves and display cases where various objects were arranged: cloudy stones, weapons, outfits, bracelets, rings and much more. Each object had a cloudy green stone that played the role of a flyer with basic information about the item.
The stones that contained formations were called nephrites in this world.
Kyon's eyes widened in surprise. A spacious room fully stocked with miscellaneous items and treasures! He had found a fortune!
Juno turned around. «Ma-master, if you infuse the nephrite with pure energy, you will know everything about the item. If you want beautiful weapons, take them from the shelves. If you are interested in shiny shields or expensive spatial rings, they are over there. The money is in the safe, but if you take it, you will reveal yourself.»
«Do you think I came here to get rich?»
Juno turned away and pursed her lips. Of course, she thought that the servant wanted to take something valuable. What else was he doing here?
«You don't have to answer.» - Кyon lost any interest in the girl. He picked up the first green cloudy stone and infused the formation inside it with pure energy. A vague fog formed above the stone. Kyon took a deep breath, letting it reach his consciousness. The information appeared right in his mind: "A spatial bracelet of 6 cubic meters."
Kyon grinned and picked up another stone. "A pair of greaves, enchanted to resist fire...","A sword that transforms the fiery attribute into the blazing technique of a thousand fireflies. The technique involves... ","This device estimates the cultivation level in a group of up to ten people, superior phase inclusive... ","A concealment formation from spiritual scanning of the practitioners up to the peak of the Noble phase inclusive."
Kyon took the item of concealment and put it confidently on his wrist. He shouldn't draw too much attention to his extraordinary cultivation speed... Why not fake his stage by pretending he wasn't improving at all? Unlike the trick with lowering the cultivation level, items of concealment could really hide the soul.
Kyon continued to explore the treasury: "One-time formation that snaps into action once infused with pure energy, creating a powerful stream of flame to incinerate the flesh of your opponents. It can break the defense up to the middle of the advanced phase."
Devilish lights danced in Kyon's eyes when he studied the cloudy stones with formations inside. He knew perfectly well that there existed not only defensive but also attacking formations. Both of them were mostly disposable. Even a weak practitioner could easily destroy a more powerful opponent with a pocketful of disposable formations. Simply put, you borrow the power you do not possess for one blow, in rare cases for two. Attacking formations were not widespread as they required a colossal amount of resources — the keys. Besides, such formations were less powerful than the practitioners who had created them.
Kyon took the next nephrite: "When activated, it covers the body of the wearer with an ether barrier that blocks attacks up to the beginning of the advanced phase."
{Here it is!} - Kyon started to study disposable protective formations. Some of them created a stone shield, others formed a shield of water, air or pure energy, but the most common was the usual ether barrier.
The time flew by, but Kyon continued exploring the treasury.
He took everything he found useful. Soon, he had quite a collection of valuable items in his spatial ring that gave him a sense of confidence. Kyon had replenished his arsenal with the item of concealment, a lot of defensive formations, several attacking formations (unfortunately, they weren't as numerous as he wished). Also, he found a long sword and high-quality throwing needles. He had armed himself so well that even Dinah would find it stupid to fight against the barriers. Kyon wished he had found all this before Yegorka scorched his face. The asshole might have disappeared off the face of the earth if only Kyon had activated a couple of attacking formations.
Kyon nodded, pleased with himself. It was time to master the light. Protective formations would hold the powerful lightning from heaven above. He was going to be fine even if it was 30 times more powerful than the previous time.
When Kyon turned around, he saw Juno sniffling quietly. She was leaning against the wall, sitting on the cold floor. Her head tilted aside, her eyes closed, her legs slightly spread apart. The short skirt could barely hide her special place...
Apparently, Juno didn't want to leave the servant alone in the treasury. She watched him to the bitter end, i.e., until she fell asleep. Now this remarkable creature was freezing her ass on the cold floor, so close to drooling in her sleep.
Kyon approached her with a wistful expression on his face. He didn't mind leaving her here, but there was an unusually unpleasant feeling itching in his chest, leaving him restless...
Kyon did his best not to wake her up when he slightly lifted her skirt and saw her panties. Then he realized what it was all about. The pretty girl attracted him like hell. His young body was at the age when he could quickly lose his head over a girl. The little angel was driving him crazy.
Kyon resolutely picked up her light, warm body and headed for the exit from the treasury. It was already three in the morning, so he wasn't afraid to be discovered. He went upstairs, pressed Juno's wrist to the circle and entered the opened door.
Kyon gently pulled her sandals off, admiring her bare feet. They were so tender, small and cute! Then he laid her on the bed, looked at her peaceful face capable of charming any heart and unwittingly tucked a lock of her silky hair behind her little ear.
The feeling of hatred and desire mixed in an intoxicating, exciting feeling. Once again, he was convinced that it was the right decision to clean her keys instead of killing her.
{Hmm... I wonder what she will be like in a few years. Will she conquer the hearts of the kings and emperors with a single look? Maybe I should take advantage of her irresistible beauty?} – The obsessive thoughts haunted him.
Kyon looked below her nose, impulsively moved forward and kissed her soft, pink lips... It was impossible to tear himself from them. They tasted so sweet. Her smell drove him mad. His heart started beating furiously. His sex-deprived mind and body were simmering with anger and lust. He was insane with desire, so eager to surrender to his craving, but if the nymphet woke up, she would turn into a rag doll. It was too soon. Kyon wasn't ready to break her mind, and Juno was not ready for sexual pressure. She didn't take the servant as her equal. Besides, according to Juno, her grandfather scanned her body every time she hugged him. A weird patriarch...
Juno was waking up, her eyebrows frowning. Kyon pulled himself from her charming lips with great difficulty and cleaned her energy key by another 10%. It would help her believe and obey him completely. Then he left her room with a sigh of disappointment. It was time to master the element of light!