The Earl

In a small candlelit room, a man walked in followed by a smaller woman. He closed the door behind them, twisted the handle and the lock clicked into place. Before taking a seat, he conducted a lap of the room, carefully tapping on points in the wall, which sent a clanging sound reverberating throughout the room.

"Fortification is still strong", he mumbled beneath his breath, moving to take a seat opposite the woman around a stone roundtable.

He pulled out his seat, "Now then, shall we get to understanding our findings", he reached into the middle of the table, imbuing a small orb with mana, illuminating the rest of the room.

The man crossed his arms, his slicked back grey hair that was receded to the point it was barely passable was greasy, and his stone-cold black eyes narrowed on the woman, "Number 4?".

He stroked his long white beard, tugging at the end with a victorious smirk as he waited for her answer.

Number 4 shrugged, "I don't know. We didn't particularly have any interesting findings. Earl Mikal, what makes you so sure that child is someone important?".

Earl Mikal scoffed and scrunched his nose, "How dare a mercenary have the gall to question a nobleman".

'Fantastic …'.

Number 4 rolled her eyes, thinking to herself about how she would've killed this guy if he hadn't have hired her. Although, she was still forced to lie about what she had seen when she launched the attack on Milo and Renny. Not because she didn't want to feed the information back to the Earl, but because of Dark.

She knew from her time speaking with him that even though he was powerful, his skills remained relatively unknown to everybody. No matter who she had asked about him while she was being raised, the answer remained the same.

Dark was a mystery nobody dared to unravel.

She was sure that Dark didn't possess the ability to monitor her 24/7, but did she want to take that risk? Not a chance. On the minuscule chance he was able to hear her speak about Milo, she knew that she would be killed by him without any remorse.

Another reason she didn't want to speak was …

'That kid, what the hell is up with him'.

It was her first time seeing someone as frightening as Milo. He killed without remorse and had someone as brutal as Dark monitoring him at all times, to say he was an enigma was nothing short of the truth. It made her shudder just thinking about all of the possibilities that would happen to her if she was to expose him.

"Don't lie to me number 4", the Earl said, cutting her internal thoughts short.

"I'm not", she shrugged again.

"YES YOU ARE!", the Earl screeched, slamming his hands on the table, knocking a candle over in the process.

"…", number 4 remained silent watching his outburst.

"I'VE BEEN AWARE OF THIS ROYAL SELECTION FOR YEARS, YEARS!", the Earl exclaimed in anger, "DO YOU THINK I WOULDN'T TAKE MEASURE TO MONITOR THE OTHER CHILDREN!?".

"So that's it", number 4 said, "You already knew this kid was going to be a threat to your precious son. So you wanted him eliminated".

Since learning of the Royal selection, the earl had systematically distributed his own guards and some hired mercenaries to each of the noble residences of the surrounding area. The way he did this was simple, the most trusted and powerful guards went to the more notable houses, known for producing quality heirs and incredible fighters, whereas the lower ranked servants were sent to the Barons.

His reasoning behind this was logical and sensible, but also reckless and foolish. He wanted to maintain his position with the king so badly he was willing to stunt the growth of any of the other noble children from the area. This was because they had the potential to surpass his own son and steal the kings attention, meaning less funding for the little town he ran.

The main point of interest was immediately drawn to the Van Belched house when it was reported Renny had adopted a young child many years ago. Of course, the Earl had no way of knowing that the child Renny supposedly adopted was the son of a collateral line and was also eligible to become the heir of the Van Belched house.

As more time passed, unbeknownst to him Milo was constantly watched from a distance, practicing his abilities and fighting monsters in the forest behind the main residence. Normally Milo would have been able to sense the presence, but thanks to his newly formed core and lack of mana control, the scout went unnoticed for the entire time he was there.

It was only until recently that the Earl viewed Milo as a threat. It was when he was seen forcefully absorbing mana after killing some nearby monsters. What the scout saw, was Milo breaking through to the Ascent stage.

It was unprecedented in their region and something not many thought possible, that was, unless Milo was to grow into arguably the greatest prodigy the human kingdom will ever see.

"Shit", the Earl spat, rubbing his forehead, "And you're sure you didn't see anything. Anything at all?".

"Nothing", number 4 shrugged again.

"Fuck", the Early frantically paced around the room, "FUCK!".

He crouched to the floor, rubbing away at his temples with a scowl on his face, "THAT LITTLE BRAT IS GOING TO RUIN EVERYTHING!".

"DAMN! FUCK! FUCK YOU RENNY! HOW DARE YOU RAISE THAT CHILD IN SECRET!".

Number 4's expression softened into one of pity watching this. She wondered how it was possible for a man of such high standing to fall into such a state in such a short amount of time.

"Wait … THAT'S RIGHT!".

A manic chuckle started escaping from the Earl's lips, he tried to cover his mouth with his hand but ended up bursting into even deeper maniacal laughter.

"HE ISNT RENNY'S SON! SO HE CANT PARTICIPATE!".

'This guy …'.

Number 4's eyes narrowed watching him carefully. The Earl continued to writhe around on the floor, like he was throwing a tantrum.

'He's really gone off the deep end over some kid … and they actually let him run a town'.

…

"So Renny", Milo asked, looking out of a window watching people bustle in the market beneath him.

"Any idea who those guys were?".

After arriving in the small town, the first thing Milo, Renny and Marcos did was find an inn to stay in. Seeing as they had an invite with from the Earl himself, they decided to get a little carried away and book the most expensive rooms, order the most expensive food and entertainment.

After all, this was all going to be paid for by the Earl.

"No … idea", Renny replied in separate breaths, stuffing his face with some kind of meat leg he had ordered.

"What about …".

Milo turned his eyes to Marcos, but paused after noticing him struggling to breath with an entire loaf of bread stuffed into his mouth. Milo let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Seriously, you as well Marcos?".

Marcos swallowed dramatically, then guzzled an entire jug of water to ensure he didn't choke, "Its not what it looks like sir".

"Really, well what exactly was it then?", Milo raised his brow.

Marcos loosened his belt, slumping back into his chair, "I was simply testing the food to ensure it wasn't poisoned".

"Really now", Milo pulled out a chair next to Marcos and grabbed an apple, taking a bite, "And that meant you needed to eat the entire loaf?".

A slight smile crossed Marcos' lips, "Better safe than sorry".

Milo looked Marcos up and down, before dropping the matter and focusing back on the original issue. He had spent all of his time in the carriage trying to understand why someone had tried to assassinate him.

He was sure it wasn't bandits.

The guys that attacked them were far too skilled in both mana and martial arts. If on the off chance it was a bandit attack, it would likely be rooted in an organized group situated in the capital, not some backwater town where they currently were. All that was left for him to figure out what why exactly he was the target.

He knew he was the target as even when the driver was dead and Renny was unconscious on the floor, the attackers kept firing their attacks at Milo with no regard for the other two. His initial assumption was that their target was Renny, it made the most sense seeing as he was a head of a noble house, even though he was only a Baron.

Even though they were just attacked, he felt a sense of relief wash over his body as he watched Renny demolish yet another leg of meat.

Milo was more confused than panicked at this point. Renny for some reason felt safe despite them being targeted. He couldn't understand it.

"Renny, why do you seem so relaxed?", Milo asked.

"Oh …", Renny answered after swallowing another chunk of meat, "It's because this entire town is fortified".

He dropped the bone back onto the plate before explaining further, "You see, this town is close to the very edge of the human kingdom. The border it's closest to is the demonic kingdom which means that this little town acts as a first line of defence should an invasion happen".

"So, it's a fortified city?", Milo asked, looking back at the window, "It looks pretty ordinary to me".

Renny moved to sit near the window, "It may look that way, but this town is arguably one of the most heavily stationed places for army personnel in the entire kingdom. You know, the fact that the last great war began in this very town".

"Oh!", Milo exclaimed excitedly, "I had never read about that".

"Uh-huh", Renny mumbled, "Look down there", he pointed towards the market, "The lack of diversity is staggering right? Only humans".

"Well yeah, I thought that was a given", Milo said, taking note of each person that walked beneath them.

"It's not", Marcos cut in, "It didn't always used to be like this. Before the great war this town was likely a trading post for demons and humans meaning that they coexisted with each other. Thanks to the war that is no longer possible as both sides began to fear the other".

"I see", Milo's face sank, "I kind of, would've liked to see it in its heyday".

Milo began to imagine what the world would have been like if he was just born earlier, each of the races sharing magic and techniques, learning from one another and pushing each other to greater heights.

Instead, he was forced into a time where a power struggle was imminent. Not only did this frustrate him due to now lacking vital information on magic, it also made his new life a lot more hectic as he was bound to be involved with the future dealings of the kingdom somehow.

This wasn't his arrogance, it was something he believed to be fact.

*Knock Knock*

"Come in", Renny shouted, urging Milo and Marcos to settle down in a seat.

The door eased open and a small young girl entered. She was dressed in a long black dress with her long brown hair tied neatly behind her head. She immediately dropped into a bow upon locking eyes with Renny.

"Sirs, your carriage awaits to take you to my Lord residence".

'So she's a servant girl? Little bit young don't you think'.

Milo cocked his head, watching her go through her well-rehearsed routine. It was perplexing, she couldn't have been more than 10 but here she was, being forced to do this work no doubt. Milo thought that schooling was available to common people, but judging from this girl, that seemed to be the wrong assumption.

'Well, whatever',

"Right, let's go, lead the way little miss", Milo said with a smile, to which the young girl responded in the same manner.

One by one she led them into the same carriage waiting just outside the inn. They began a short journey up a small hill towards the Earls private residence.

Milo felt a sudden shiver run down his spine as he felt a gaze on his neck. He spun and peered out the back window but was left astounded when all he saw was an empty street.

'The fuck … I could've sworn I sensed someone'.

Milo scanned left to right, trying not to alert the others as to what he felt. If this was another assassin, having it take place so close to the Earl would undoubtedly lead to punishment for them, he knew that much.

'Wait … that's not the point'.

He focused on the street again, carefully looking at the houses and inns lining the road. His eyes widened as they nestled on the gate.

'Where did they go …'.

"Hey Marcos …", Milo's words fell short as he noticed Marco's furious expression.

"A trap?", Milo whispered to Marcos.

"Shouldn't be, doesn't make sense", Marcos replied.

"Then what?".

"I really …", Marcos peered out the back window, "Don't know".

Milo was left looking all throughout the carriage.

The young girl cleared her throat, "I hope you enjoy your stay", she said as her figure disintegrated into dust, floating out of the carriage window.