Archive 12: Keep your friend's close, but keep your enemies closer.

The following morning, Magnus was woken up by a large commotion in the house.

The house was bustling with noise and voices.

He woke up feeling disgruntled. He frowned immediately. This noise was going to make it difficult for him to meditate. If only there was a way for him to bloke out the noise. 

*Ding

[There is a way] 

Huh? " Did I think out loud?" He wondered. 

[No you did not but I could tell what you were thinking. And like I said there is. However you are not at that level yet. You would have to be at least a level 5 to use that ability.] 

"Great, what am I supposed to do now, this wouldn't be a problem in my old body." 

[You could use coins to use the ability temporarily. But you do not have any at the moment either.] 

"Do me a favour and stop contributing. None of the things you suggested can be used right away so what's the point." He snapped.

[You did not let me finish. You can borrow some coins from the system but you would have to pay it back later.] 

"I'm not sure about that. The last thing I want is to be in debt to this unknown system. However…"

The noises were getting louder. He needed to complete his task before the holy official arrived. He hesitated for a second before giving in. 

"Fine. Give me the coins, I want the ability to block the noise." 

[Ok. System is calculating… the ability costs 50 points, your balance after the purchase will be -50 coins. Do you confirm this purchase?] 

"Yes." 

*ding 

[The purchase has been made. You have temporarily unlocked the noise cancelling ability. You can now use it.] 

His status screen appeared and he saw the icon for the ability displaced in the feature menu.

He selected the icon.

Another screen popped up with the options to selected ok or cancel. He selected ok and immediately after that the noise he was hearing was gone.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"That was quick." He remarked. 

[Yes the system is quick and efficient. Almost all of the features work instantly.] 

"Okay, I need some quiet now." He then started his daily meditation.

An hour later, there was knocking on his door. He looked at the clock on his bedside and saw the fine was nine thirty. He had meditated for a little longer than normal. 

"Come in." 

The door slowly opened and his mother came in. 

"Good morning sweetheart. The holy official is here. Whenever you are ready…" 

"Yes I am ready, you can send him in."

She then turned and gestured for someone outside the door to come in.

A young gentleman who looked to be in his mid twenties came into the room. He was dressed in a long white robe with gold detailings on the front.

He had long white hair cascading down his back and his eyes were the same shade of white. He had soft features that made him look even younger than his age and his whole energy gave off a divine air.

He looked both intimidating yet approachable at the same time which made Magnus feel a little uneasy. He was an overall handsome young man.

He looked at Magnus laying in bed and gave him a warm smile. 

"Greetings young master Alastor. I am bishop Mikäel of the Hyperion Church. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." He said.

His voice was soft but also magnetic, and he spoke with such authority that it made anyone who heard it want to listen.

The eyes that stared at him seemed to be observing him, almost analyzing him which made Magnus frown.

Esmeralda who had been looking at her boy saw this and immediately went to his side. 

"I am sorry Bishop, my son just woke up so please excuse his behaviour." She said with a forced smile. 

"No worries, I understand his situation. Please allow me to take a look at him."

"Of course." She replied while moving away and giving the bishop some space. 

"Young master Alastor, I will be touching your forehead briefly and sending some of my energy into your body in order to examine you." 

"Alright." Magnus calmly replied. 

The bishop didn't waste time and put his hand on the child.

A golden light could be seen surrounding him and the bishop closed his eyes, sending his energy.

This process took only a minute until he finally let go. There was a slight frown on the bishop's face which made Esmeralda who was standing on the side worried. 

"W-what seems to be the problem?" 

"Like the doctor said, there seems to be problems in terms of his memories, but nothing serious at the moment. What concerns me is this child's energy." 

"His energy?" 

"Yes, he seems to have s significant amount of holy power that shouldn't be normal. How old is young master Alastor?" 

"He's seven years-old." 

" I thought as much. Well all I can say is that this child is truly blessed. However when he received his baptism when he was a month old, he didn't have a lot of holy power. Where did it come from?" 

This made Esmeralda freeze. She knew exactly what the bishop was talking about. When they were measuring his levels as a baby, it was extremely low.

This is when the duke started to act cold and distant with the child, and when they thought their son was going to be ordinary.

But she knew that as soon as her son came back home, he felt different. And now she knew why. However she felt like it wasn't a good idea to reveal where he had been.

"Isn't it possible for holy powers to manifest later, especially in children?" 

The bishop turned to look at the Duchess.

"Yes Lady Caesrus it is possible. It seems to be the case when it comes to the young master." He then turned to look back at a Magnus.

"Well this is good news. You should be proud young master." He smiled warmly at him. 

"I am sure once his tenth birthday arrives, his potential will be enormous." 

"Yes. It is quite the good news." Esmeralda replied back.

But somewhere in her heart, she started to feel uneasy.