Rewards and Sensing Mana

The banquet went rather well, considering the previous events for Raz. Numerous people greeted his parents and introduced themselves as well.

No one really stood out to him, although he could tell that the kids of the nobles were always either looking at him in awe or respect, which he didn't mind.

He looked around for Anton a couple of times, but the insane boy was nowhere to be found. It seems he wasn't the only one. All the other nobles occasionally looked around, no doubt to see what had happened to Anton.

However, it seemed Viscount Malfe had no intention of disclosing what happened to him and instead continued to greet everyone with his wife, who seemed fine. Still, Raz could really tell that she was nervous and anxious underneath the calm guise.

Meanwhile, Aria, who accompanied them, seemed to be in a joyful and giddy mood as she had a small smile while she walked with a bit of spring in her step.

Chuckling a little bit, Raz could tell that she really didn't like her brother at all.

After the steady stream of people greeting the Alden family dwindled down, Raz got to eat a rather expensive and fancy spread of food which he gorged himself on as his body was always in need of nutrients due to his cultivation technique.

A few hours sped by in a flash until a loud clanking was heard coming from the main table as Viscount Malfe stood up and spoke clearly for everyone to hear, "Thank you all for once again coming to my banquet. I see old faces and new ones.

"Everyone this year has had a good year which could be attributed to a lot of things, but I can't help but give credit to Viscount Alden for discovering a mana lake. The discovery has once again brought welcomed attention and investment back into the Ite region from the surrounding regions and the capital."

A round of applause erupted from the room as William stood up and bowed before sitting back down.

Viscount Malfe continued, "Numerous children from our region have found their way into various Magus academies, with some of them being very prestigious. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we, nobles and families of the Ite region, had a good year!

"But something my late father would say would be not to get distracted by the fanciful distractions and keep on the lookout for the shadows sneaking around! It is true that we had a good year, but we shouldn't let our guard down just yet.

"As families of the frontier, you all know just as well as I do that things are never peaceful for long in this region."I'm sure some of you heard this banquet or from various sources that our very own Bennelli's have been getting an increase in monster traffic and attacks.

"Or the rise in bandits and looters terrorizing villages in our domains. However, we shall get through these problems together, for we are not families who do nothing but sit on our behinds. We are the Magus who live on the frontier. Tried and tested! Cheers!"

The nobles and Magus in the room all cheered and drank various beverages before the banquet once again resumed talking.

With the toast done, the Alden family decided to take their leave earlier than most other families as they did not plan to stay the evening in the territory.

They said a few goodbyes to some of their closest friends before the family met up with their knights and Ed as they loaded up the carriages to ride back to Levir.

Before William and Raz entered the carriage where Fay already sat softly sleeping, a familiar voice ranged out as Viscount Malfe jogged after them, holding a box as he said, "Before you leave, I must gift you with an apology for my son's actions."

Raz received the wooden box that had a simple latch on it to keep it closed before he opened it with a creak.

In the box was a magenta-colored crystal shaped like a sphere the size of a baseball. Next to it was a bronze medallion with numerous runes glistening across it with a symbol of three eyes etched in the center of it.

With no idea what the items were, he could only look towards his father, who was looking into the box from behind him.

Instantly, William looked surprised as he picked up the medallion and inspected it before asking with an incredulous look on his face, "Thomas is this what I think it is?"

"It's a medallion to the Treye trading guild that gives its owner the status of an honorary member. As for the cube, it's one of the purest crystals we've extracted from our Vandry mine. It was going to be a gift in case we needed one in the future, but I felt it an appropriate gift," Viscount Malfe responded.

Still shocked, William bowed his head as he thanked, "I know you were going to give a gift, but are you really alright with giving Raz this, Thomas? After all, he's only five, plus we both know whatever your son was trying to pull off would've never really worked."

Laughing, Viscount Malfe reassured his friend, "Don't worry, I've thought this through and decided it's worth it. I really wish to make sure there are no hard feelings between our families so we can continue being friends and allies.

"Plus, think of it as an investment. I can't really put my finger on it, but I feel like your son is destined for great things."

William thanked Thomas once again and even made Raz say his thanks before the pair got into the carriage and started off back to Levir, waving bye to Thomas and Aria, who was watching the Aldens leave while waving.

As Fay continued to sleep as she handled most of the socializing at the banquet, Raz turned towards his father while looking at the medallion and crystal sphere in the box to ask, "Are these really rare, Dad?"

"The crystal itself is quite rare and worth a decent amount, but the practicality of it is very limited. It's a great conductor of mana, but its actual usefulness is quite low and is more of a toy for children as injecting it with mana will produce a very aesthetically pleasing pattern to flash from the cube," William responded.

His description reminded Raz of a magical kaleidoscope, but he continued to listen as his father continued, "The medallion, however, is worth quite a lot, I must say. As Thomas said earlier, it symbolizes and represents someone being an honorary member of the Treye trading guild.

"The Treye trading guild is one of the leading trading guilds out there as they have hundreds of branches across various kingdoms and countries. They trade in anything possible, from information to magic artifacts, and have a stellar reputation.

"They are so influential that numerous influential and powerful people would fight to become members, but the trading guild itself keeps a tight restriction on who can become a member.

"Normal people can always purchase and use the guild, but if they aren't members, then they wouldn't receive preferential treatment or discounts, plus the things they could buy from would be limited as well.

"To be honest, I almost fainted from seeing Thomas gift you this medallion. A holder of a silver medallion is a regular member and can gift a single person a bronze medallion, but I didn't even know Thomas was a member.

"Even your grandfather is only a member after painstakingly paying a large portion of his wealth to join after years of waiting. I'm not even a regular member and am only an honorary member because of your grandfather.

"All you have to do is imprint your mana signature onto the medallion, and it'll be yours forever. Even if someone stole it, unless they could replicate your mana signature, they wouldn't even be able to use it.

Raz asked, "How would I do that?"

William explained, "First, you need to be able to feel the mana in the environment before attempting to attempt to absorb some to control. However, just being able to feel mana is a challenge in itself. I'll help you when we get back home.

"Be warned, however, that most people take a week or so to sense and be able to manipulate mana into their bodies. It only took me four days to learn it, so don't put yourself down if you don't get it right away. Even if you have the potential to be a genius, Magus, you are still human after all."

Nodding, the rest of the carriage ride was rather peaceful. His mother slept soundly, and even his father seemed to be dozing off.

Appearing to be asleep, Raz closed his eyes but was actually trying his hand at controlling mana with his newly developed mana circuit.

Sensing mana was a cakewalk for him as it was incredibly similar to detecting qi back in the cultivation world. It only took him a few minutes to get familiar with it.

Manipulating the surrounding mana was rather difficult. It took Raz ten minutes to be able to get any reaction out of the mana he intently tried to manipulate.

Unbeknownst to him, if William found out, it would take his son only ten minutes to do all that.

He would probably faint on the spot and suffer from a stroke from the sheer shock of such a revelation.