Chapter 37: Build-up (1)

On his way to the Flameheart estate, Rylan seriously contemplated this. Roland had killed far too many people for him to be averse to the idea. Evenon was an opportunistic parasite that leeched off the young and the lost. He offered them a severe addiction or even actively ruined their lives in exchange for money. Most of his customers weren’t like Rylan’s past self; they only sought comfort, a way to escape reality, or just to have fun, and Evenon bled them dry for everything they were worth.

It wasn’t just a matter of giving them the drugs they wanted. Evenon would lead them to more expensive, heavier substances, uncaring of the consequences. He was the kind of man who thrived the more his customers sunk into the mire, pushing them ever deeper. In short, he made an active effort to intensify the addiction of his customers. The philanthropic, kind façade that he was known for in other cities was paper-thin and hid a monster.

As the one most familiar with Evenon, Rylan knew why that was the case.

In the past, he was in the same position as his customers.

An extremely difficult childhood. Growing up dirt-poor and sinking into the criminal underworld from a young age. A violent father and an uncaring mother, which made him feel as if he had no value. The death of his closest friends in the war. Evenon had told him plenty of reasons why he wanted to get back at the world and rise above the masses with money and power. Yet, they didn’t matter.

None of his reasons justified his current actions.

There are plenty of people who lived rough lives but ended up kind and understanding, instead.

Roland had been no saint or knight in shining armor. In his single-minded pursuit of power, he had fought against and killed too many. In his life’s final battle, he ended the lives of tens of thousands before finally dying. There was no room for him to think of himself as a good person. That was why, throughout his life, he had always admired those who could continue to do good in such a hostile world. He had gotten to know many of them and realized that, even though their lives hadn’t been easy, they had still risen above that.

Meanwhile, Rylan had been trash, through and through, but he now possessed those memories. He might not be a good person, but he perfectly understood that someone like Evenon needed to be eliminated. The man had caused too much suffering and pain.

The City Guard will probably want to kill him, too.

There would be many in the City Guard who had witnessed Evenon’s criminal empire firsthand. They would push for his execution instead of imprisonment the moment he was proven as the head of the organization. To begin with, Evenon’s crimes were too severe.

Lost in his thoughts but still keeping an eye on his surroundings, Rylan walked, returning to the Flameheart estate and approaching the mansion’s entrance. Sitting on a chair by the side of the doors, Sarah looked at him. He approached her with a smile.

“I’m back. Good evening, Sarah.”

She simply stared at him for a few seconds, looking as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she merely stood up and bowed.

“Welcome back, young master.”

“I was talking to Evenon, as I told you. I’ve managed to buy ourselves two more weeks with the promise of helping him find out who gave information to the City Guard. However, our relationship was ruined in the process. He’ll probably act against me soon.”

Sarah raised her body with a questioning gaze and a strange expression.

“And what will you do? I think you should tell the Family Head.”

There was an undertone to her question. Rylan realized it immediately. Truthfully, this was a good situation for his past self; someone needed to take the blame for him to get the staff back from Evenon, but it didn’t have to be him, the real culprit. Rylan’s past self would have created a scenario where someone else took the blame and ended up dead in a ditch, while he lived and got the staff. But, that was no longer who he was. Besides, Evenon already knew he was the snitch. It would be pointless.

“Isn’t it obvious? We’ll continue to work with the City Guard and get rid of Evenon completely.”

Sarah grinned. Rylan blinked. It had been a long time since he had last seen her smile. He spoke with a smile of his own.

“Keep watching. We’ll succeed.”

Sarah was the person who knew his past self the most, which was why she had been capable of instantly grasping what his past self would have done. It was up to him to prove that he had really changed, as he had been doing.

Together, they entered the mansion.

“Contact my father. Tell him I’ve returned.”

“Before that, please turn around, young master.”

He turned to her with a questioning expression. She got closer to him, looking at his chest with a frown.

“You still need a healer.”

He ran his fingers on his wounds, looking down. They had stopped bleeding, but his shirt was still stained. She continued to speak.

“Why didn’t you wear armor?”

Rylan sighed.

“My body isn’t strong enough yet to move quickly while in armor. It would only slow me down. No point in wearing armor if you don’t get hit.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You did get hit, my lord.”

He shut his mouth for a few seconds before speaking again.

“Right, but it doesn’t happen often.”

She let out a small sigh.

“I’ve already talked to the Family Head and informed him of the situation and your wounds.”

He nodded. She grabbed the wand on her waist and drew symbols in the air. Her eyes began to glow with a blue hue. Rylan watched on with interest. After some time, the glow subsided. Her eyes returned to their normal green color.

“The Family Head ordered me to tell you that he’s waiting for you in the study.”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll go straight to my room afterwards.”

She nodded, walking with him until they reached the door to the study. Then, she bowed, some distance away from the guarding Mages.

“I’ll wait for you in your room, young master.”

“Sure.”

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open, closing it behind him. His eyes captured the full study in an instant with experience, then zeroed in on Gerard, who was sitting behind the desk as usual. Next to his father, a Mage with full white robes stood. He was a tall man with short brown hair and eyes. The Mage bowed. Gerard frowned as he looked at Rylan’s chest. There were traces of worry in his eyes.

“How did that happen?”

“I pushed one of the soldiers out of the way, but couldn’t dodge the troll’s attack completely.”

The Mage in white robes blinked rapidly, as if he were questioning what he had just heard. Gerard furrowed his brow. Then, he looked at the Mage.

“Heal him.”

Still looking a bit out of it, the man nodded. He pulled a wand out of his robes and pointed it at Rylan. Chanting left his lips in a droning melody. Rylan tried to memorize as many of the words as he could; after some time, the chanting stopped. The wand glowed with a green light.

“Minor Heal.”

The green light shot towards Rylan, sinking into his body. A green hue surrounded his wounds, mending them in real time. With interest, Rylan watched as the skin and muscles were reconstructed and crawled over themselves, finally closing the wound completely. Gerard nodded.

“Thank you. You can go.”

Without another word, the man bowed to Gerard and Rylan and left the room. The moment he did so, Gerard leaned back on his chair with a frown.

“Why did you take the soldiers, who can’t use mana, to fight a troll?”

Rylan walked closer to the desk.

“I didn’t do it without thought. I tested the troll’s capabilities beforehand and concluded that they could kill it if they fought together. And if they faltered, I would be there to protect them.”

Gerard shook his head.

“You got hit. What if you had gotten yourself killed?”

“A minor injury. I was careful, especially because I was leading the soldiers. Nothing happened. They weren’t harmed.”

His father sighed. Rylan smiled. He appreciated his father’s worry, despite everything his past self had done.

“Sarah told me you were talking to Evenon.”

“Yes. He wanted me to catch whoever is feeding information to the Vaard family. I think he already knows it was me. We fought. He let me leave, but said he would kill me.”

Gerard immediately frowned. The temperature started rising.

“…He did what?”

Rylan waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. He didn’t want to fight me to the death right there, so he let me go. Both of us need more time to prepare for our battle.”

Gerard stood up, then placed his hands on the desk. He spoke slowly.

“Do you understand what you’re saying? Evenon has said that he will kill you. And you fought him? Didn’t you say you weren’t ready yet?”

Rylan tilted his head.

“So? I said I would kill him too. I’m not ready, yeah, but I had no choice.”

His father stared at him with an expression of disbelief. In the end, he only scoffed and sighed.

“From now on, I can’t let you leave on missions with the soldiers,” he said after a few seconds of silence.

“Leveling up is the best way for me to close the gap between myself and Evenon. I need to do those missions.”

Gerard firmly shook his head.

“Absolutely not. You’ll be risking not only your life but the soldiers’ as well.”

“Then let me go alone. Even if I’m surrounded, I can find a way out with the Falling Snow Steps and my other Skills.”

“No.”

Rylan sighed.

“You already know that I can deal with any of Evenon’s men, and they won’t be able to leave the town in large groups. If Evenon himself comes to kill me, the City Guard’s scouts will be able to notify you before he gets too close to me. I understand that there’s some risk, but I can deal with it.”

Gerard stared at him, and Rylan stared back. He wasn’t willing to compromise on this. He needed to hunt to become stronger and eventually kill Evenon, and this needed to happen as fast as possible. As his father opened his mouth and was about to speak, Rylan spoke first.

“You know you can’t come along.”

His father stopped for a second, before speaking while shaking his head.

“Fuck all of my responsibilities. You're in danger. I will hunt with you.”

Rylan couldn’t help but smile. Gerard’s warm words had reached him. It was a feeling that he had almost forgotten.

“If you come with me, there would be unknown consequences. Our family isn’t too powerful, but you’re still one of the most powerful Mages in the region. We don’t know if someone would try to use this opportunity to target you or even me.”

Gerard frowned.

“And what if Evenon tried to attack the family’s estate while we’re gone? It’s unlikely, but you wouldn’t be here to hold down the fort. Trust me, Father. I can do this alone,” Rylan continued. “This brings me to another point. I think Evenon is more powerful than we know.”

The man shook his head, remaining silent for a few seconds.

“What do you mean?” he finally asked.

“I don’t know why, but at one point, his mana suddenly increased in power and density. Since I’m still unfamiliar with the power level of each Circle, I can’t tell you just by how much, but he became stronger in an instant. It might be related to the fact that his ring cracked.”

Gerard kept his frown.

“There are artifacts capable of hiding one’s true power. If this ring is one and he has kept it active for a long time, there’s no way to know how powerful he really is unless the artifact is destroyed… I would like to just go over and kill him, but there’s not enough evidence for me to act personally.”

Rylan nodded simply. As the head of a noble family, his father needed to act according to his position. Gerard couldn’t go and kill someone as influential as Evenon without reason. Even though the investigations were proceeding well, the City Guard had yet to find definitive evidence that linked Evenon to the criminal underworld.

“Another reason why you should stay in Cantavega and be ready to fight him yourself, but only if the need arises.”

His father looked at him. The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

“…Are you sure you are willing to kill him?”

Rylan nodded.

“Yes. He will end up dead if he gets caught by the City Guard, anyway.”

Gerard silently stared at Rylan. Sadness filled his expression.

“Sometimes, I get the feeling that you’re just another person wearing my son’s skin.”

Rylan smiled bitterly.

“That isn’t entirely untrue. I guess you could put it that way. But, would you rather I remained the same as before?”

“I don’t know. No, probably not.”

“I understand your perspective, but I’m still Rylan. I’ve just changed. I’m still your son, Father.”

Gerard sighed. His sad visage didn’t go away.

“Yes, I know. It’s just that… The change was too sudden. I feel as if I’ve lost something.”

Rylan remained silent. He couldn’t change his father’s feelings; the man’s thoughts were understandable. In practice, the son Gerard had tried to save for so long had died, being replaced by a different version. Still, it was for the better. Rylan’s past self had been irredeemable.

The father and son duo looked at each other, each with myriad emotions in their eyes. After some time, Gerard spoke tentatively.

“I will keep training you and telling you of the spells someone like Evenon is likely to use. If you two end up fighting again, I won’t let you be the one defeated.”

Rylan nodded.

“Thank you, Father.”

He would continue to grow stronger. The time to face Evenon rapidly approached.