NOVEL NEXT Chapter 152: Three Years
A jolt of the carriage startled Xiel from his memories, or perhaps a dream.
They had arrived at Farrell Manor, where he was about to start his new life. He wasn't sure what to expect, but with the training that he had, he was expecting to be a servant of this young girl in the family.
Xiel learned from the tower that Mana Practitioners who were about to attend Magic Academies could have one or even three servants who were non-practitioners.
After all, Magicians were known for having weak defenses at their early stage. Because of that, nobles or rich Magicians would always have their children accompanied by a few servants who would grow old with them.
This way, they would have deeper trust in each other. Furthermore, the Slave Mark on them would have also become profound and inescapable after that much time had passed.
Of course, these servants wouldn't just take care of their daily needs but also protect them even at the cost of their lives.
'I guess I'll have to do my best to serve here… However, am I even going to be strong?' He mused to himself.
Soon, he found himself in a room of servants with Van.
Van, the quiet but strong Sword Slave who could be a Beastblood Slave, handed him a bundle of folded cloth.
"Servant's attire," Van said. "You'll bathe first. Then the young lady wishes to see you."
Xiel said nothing. He had learned long ago that words were weapons others used against you.
An hour later, he already looked a lot better dressed in crisp black-and-silver uniform, Xiel stood in Butler Judge's study.
At this time, Julia was fidgeting in an oversized chair, while Judge observed him like a specimen under glass. It was the same gaze that the Archmage would give him.
"You're probably wondering why we bought you..." Julia said as she noticed that Subject Zero had already arrived.
Xiel kept his eyes lowered.
"To be your servant?" He replied cautiously.
Julia smiled at his answer.
"Grandfather says special people deserve special chances!" She leaned forward. "And you're definitely special. So…" She clapped her hands. "You need a new name!"
Butler Judge wanted to stop Julia since she had already named Van without his permission. After all, they should be giving names befitting of slaves and avoid names that had certain meanings.
"My lady, naming slaves is—"
"Xiel."
The word slipped out before Xiel could stop it.
Julia blinked. "…Shell?"
"Xiel," He repeated quietly. "It was… my name. Before."
There was a moment of silence as it seemed that Subject Zero wasn't properly trained. Even Judge seemed momentarily at a loss.
"Do you still want to use that name?" Julia asked.
At this time, Xiel nodded. He didn't want to forget his identity. Although he knew that it was already impossible to be freed and return to his family, unless there was a miracle, he still wanted to keep his name and remind himself of his roots.
Then Julia beamed. "Perfect! Xiel it is!"
She then turned to Butler Judge. "See? Isn't that easy!"
Butler Judge just smiled as one of the rituals to complete the Slave Mark on their bodies was actually the process of naming them.
Now that they were named by their master, they wouldn't notice it, but their mind were already completely bound to their master.
It wasn't some sort of normal or weak magic, curse, or aura technique. That was why Xiel couldn't repel it easily. It was a branding method that only Third-Circle Mages could do.
With Xiel's current ability, it was impossible to remove the brand. However, even if he could reach that level in the future, the branding would already be deep into his soul and could no longer be removed.
In the meantime, as soon as Xiel got his name back and saw how Julia was happy for him, the collar around his neck started to feel lighter…
'It seems that I working for Master Julia wouldn't be that bad… I will do my best to satisfy all of her wishes…' Xiel thought.
***
In the meantime, Van was secretly observing all of this using his Ocularis Lens…
'Ahhh… He's already trapped. So that's what's supposed to happen.' Van mused as he saw the subtle change in Xiel's eyes after he was given his name.
Well, because of his Ocularis Lens, Aura Mastery, and his past life's memories, he was able to resist the slave marking, brainwashing, or whatever it was called.
Though he was still bound to them, it was only because of the collar that was still attached to him…
'I should probably copy Xiel's movements or actions from time to time.' Van thought as he also needed to act like a perfect servant. Copying Xiel might be a good method for that.
***
The seasons had turned three times since Subject Zero—now called Xiel—had arrived at Farrell Manor.
The once-skinny teenager had grown into a lean, tall figure of eighteen. He still had that same pale hair, but it was now tied back in a warrior's knot.
Though he still bore the slave collar, it had long ceased to give him discomfort… Furthermore, the members of the Farrell household treated him more like a retainer than property.
At ten years old, Julia Farrell was no longer the same child who'd once struggled to maintain a Mana Barrier for ten seconds.
Now, she could cast about fifteen Zero-Circle spells before exhaustion set in. It was already a remarkable feat for her age.
Her Magic Hand could now hover steadily for over three minutes. She was able to control it with excellent marks, as she would even use it to pluck stray leaves from the manor's courtyard fountain like she was using her own hand.
"Not bad, right?" she grinned while flicking a leaf at Van. She liked this training as she could do it now.
On the other hand, Van, now thirteen, easily caught it between two fingers. His Ocularis Lens was even monitoring her development.
[ Progress Assessment:
Mana Reserves: 2.1x Baseline ( for age ).
Control: 89% Efficiency
Weakness: Dual-Casting Lag ( 12-second delay ). ]
Indeed, despite being good at her Magic Hand, her Dual Casting needs improvement.
"You've improved," Van said as he always did.
Julia stuck out her tongue. "You're such a flatterer."
Still, she knew that she was really improving, and she was proud of it.
Right now, against ordinary humans, she was untouchable—her Mana Barrier could deflect arrows, and her Magic Hand could crush the heads of her targets. Or if she was being merciful, she could just disarm her foes before they got close.
But if she had to deal with other mages?
That would require the Magic Academy.
And her enrollment was just months away.
Soon, Julia and Van glanced in Xiel's direction. He was still training as expected.
Though Xiel remained incapable of using both mana and aura, Butler Judge had actually arranged some potions to him.
To be exact, they were Archmage Farrell's potions. These potions had transformed his frail body into something formidable.
There were Silver Apebone Elixirs from a Three-Horned Magic Beast that hardened his bones.
Then, there was Marrow Tonics from another Two-Horned Magic Beast that accelerated his natural healing.
Finally, there was a special potion. This potion must only be consumed after the first two have settled in.
After all, the potion came from a Five-Horned Earth Wyrm! It was this serum that truly pushed his physique's limit. Normally, this potion would destroy the bodies of even Aura Knights. This was especially true for Magicians with a weaker physique.
It was at this time that Van realized that Archmage Farrel actually had a clear plan about Xiel's future. Because of that, he felt that this mysterious Archmage was several times better than High Mage Merlin, who had just sold Xiel for such a cheap price, because he thought that Xiel was a failure.
Now, Xiel could already shatter stone with his fists, outrun horses in short bursts, and—most crucially—nullify spells on contact.
At this point, he was a perfect soldier who could surely protect Julia at all times. Perhaps, if not for Van's intelligence and impressive fighting abilities, which found the weakness of his opponent, he would have been changed by Butler Judge already.
Indeed, Butler Judge often paired him with Xiel for sparring.
Renji and the others would even secretly watch their sparring as they all couldn't help but be curious as to why Xiel couldn't win against the thirteen-year-old Van.
Surprisingly, Julia was the happiest with such a result. After all, she felt proud that her first slave was stronger.
'It's really not that easy…' Van thought.
During his battle, his Ocularis Lens would always predict Xiel's moves… However, it was still difficult to defeat him since Xiel's nullification field disrupted Van's aura-enhanced strikes.
They were evenly matched for most of the first few exchanges in the battle.
Thankfully, his knowledge of Acupuncture Points and his Ocularis Lens' strategies to use Xiel's own strength against him could actually work, and it allowed him to win every sparring session they've had!