NOVEL NEXT Chapter 137: Van's Daily Life
A month had quickly passed in the Farrel Manor.
Van's cycle of predawn wake-ups, silent observation, and the ever-present weight of the curse coiled around his heart continued.
During the day, he shadowed Lady Julia.
He would come to the morning spell drills, where she still struggled to sustain a Mana Barrier for more than ten seconds.
There were also the theory lessons where Renji sometimes mocked her shaky grasp of Mana Spell.
Aside from that, maids would also teach Lady Julia from time to time about the nobles' etiquette and various noble houses that were friends or enemies with the Archmage.
Indeed, within the Phyrexia Kingdom, there were still plenty of internal fights. There were also such problems in their kingdom.
However, according to what Van had learned, they would all easily come together if a foreign enemy were to come. It was something that this kingdom could really do.
Nonetheless, by night, Van would still guard outside Lady Julia's bedroom door until her breathing steadied into sleep.
Then, as almost two months had already passed without many changes, the staff in the manor finally grew lax around him—no longer flinching when he passed, no longer watching his every move.
'Perfect.' Van thought.
***
Then, on a rainy evening of the next day, exactly sixty days after Van's arrival, a masked courier arrived. This mysterious courier entered the manor and his cloak was still dripping onto the foyer when Van saw him.
He handed the butler a sealed letter stamped with a black sun—the mark of the Ashenveil Tower.
Van already knew that this Ashenveil Tower was another Mage Tower connected to Archmage Farrel.
Van's Ocularis Lens caught two words as the courier gave the letter to the butler.
"Auction… Subject Zero."
The butler's eyes then flickered to Van—just for a second—before ushering the courier out.
That night, while Julia slept, Van visited the butler's study.
The letter lay on the desk...
He didn't have to get closer. Just standing near the door, seeing the letter was more than enough for him.
Just like that, Van activated the Ocularis Lens' special feature.
[ Spectral Analysis. ]
It wasn't something that he could use before in his past life. As a matter of fact, the Ocularis Lens shouldn't even exist anymore since it was supposedly a mechanical eye.
However, his eyes were perfectly fine and made of flesh.
But it was still working for some reason.
Then, as he continued to get exposed to Aura, Mana, and various mystical things of this world, the Ocularis Lens started getting better. It was able to adapt, and although it requires plenty of time to make that happen, it would still happen.
Soon, the Lens emitted a low-frequency pulse, scanning the parchment through the envelope:
[ Ink Composition: Iron-gall ( standard for formal letters ).
Hidden Layers: A second sheet beneath, written in sympathetic ink ( visible only with heat application or mana ). ]
As expected… The Lens was still having trouble reading through the letter from afar. However, after doing its best, he still found some important things written on it.
[ Key Phrases:
"Subject Zero secured per contract."
"Bid starts at 50 High-Grade Crystals."
"All other Peak Aura Trainee subjects to be observed." ]
Van squinted as he read the information.
'Now... This is interesting...' He mused.
However, he knew that this wasn't something important to him.
Aside from that, he also realized that he was already being observed by the Butler from another room.
At this time, Van just decided to turn and leave. From an outsider's perspective, he simply stood at the entrance of the study and looked around for a moment before leaving.
It was nothing suspicious. It was as if he were just considering whether to look for the butler or not.
Indeed, Butler Judge wanted to call him out and ask why he was looking for him, but in the end, he just let it be since he was also busy…
***
The next morning, Julia noted Van's distraction.
"You're brooding," she muttered after her Mana Breathing Cycle. "Did Renji curse you again? I told him to stop that."
Van hesitated, then opted for a half-truth. "I overheard the courier mention an auction. It… reminded me of the Obsidian Tower."
In any case, Butler Judge knew that he was there when the courier arrived. It would make sense if he was able to hear a bit of their conversation.
Julia's eyes lit up. "An auction? For what?"
"Magical assets, likely." He replied.
"Ooooh." She then abandoned her meditation, as she immediately moved. "I want to go!"
This wasn't something Van had expected to happen. However, he still expected that the butler would decline.
"Impossible, my lady," Judge suddenly said from the doorway. He must have been listening.
"The Ashenveil Auction is no place for children."
Julia pouted. "But Grandfather lets me—"
"Your grandfather," Judge interrupted, "will most likely set a condition. Learn to cast any spell approaching the level of a First-Circle or maybe as strong as a First-Circle Spell by week's end, and you may attend."
Julia froze.
She was a Zero-Circle novice. Asking her to cast a First Circle Spell was not possible. He could just say no!
"That's unfair!" she shouted.
Gareth smiled thinly. "So is life, my lady."
***
Julia spent the afternoon sulking in the library, kicking the leg of her desk.
"It's stupid," she grumbled. "Nobody learns First Circle spells at seven! Not even him!"
Van said nothing, but he knew that Julia was right…
Nonetheless, his Ocularis Lens had already acted as it tried to gather information in the books he read, and the things he learned through various lessons in the Tower and in Julia's class.
Soon, his Lens managed to find something.
[ Subject History: "Echo Protocol." ]
'Ahh... So it was like that...' Van mused as he read the information.
It was a method to cheat.
If Julia couldn't cast a First-Circle spell, she could use a tool to help her—using a pre-charged mana crystal to trigger a single-use effect.
But should he help her?