Chapter 438: Calamity
He studied it for a while and then used one of his monocle’s appraisal enchantments.
[Item: Potion of Youth]
[Description: A drop of water drawn from the wondrous Fountain of Eternal Youth. Grants the consumer an extended lifespan, ten times what is expected from a normal person in their rank, and recovers their body to its peak state at the height of their youth.]
Smith’s body shuddered with excitement.
’What!?’ He thought inwardly.
In truth, he had expected something wondrous, mayhaps a few more decades added to his life, but what was this exaggerated effect!?
The intense reaction came as no surprise to Maya. After all, she had already read the description before receiving the reward, and though she had been surprised, she had to have expected this much at least for a trial that essentially put her life on the line.
Just looking at this singular item, Smith could not help but be curious. What kind of effects would Maya’s other rewards have?
He was even more curious now. What would the bloodline change in her?
Could it raise talent? It was certainly possible.
How much would his talent improve if he used it instead?
However, he shook his head as soon as the thought came. He was not shameless enough to steal from her.
He had already done enough shameless acts by taking this vial from her. Any more would just be dishonourable.
’I will have to find another way,’ he thought quietly. He looked toward Maya and gave her a rare, pleased smile. "Well done. I’m pleased to see that you put my teachings to good use inside the trial."
Maya nodded, a flagrant remark to credit himself and make his claiming the vial less shameful, but she didn’t complain, "Thank you, Father." She bowed her head respectfully.
Smith nodded.
"I will have preparations made for you to integrate the bloodline. Of course, I will monitor the process from start to end and make sure everything goes smoothly. It will be dangerous, but I believe everything that I have taught you, and everything you have been through, all leads to this moment."
His gaze sharpened slightly, "If you manage to make it through this step, you will soar through the skies. I doubt any of your peers will be a match for you."
Maya nodded proudly. She managed a small smile.
She rarely heard any words of praise from her father, and when she did, it made her happy. But that did not mean she would express that happiness openly. The smile was just about all that she showed him.
"Would you like to know what Manfred and the others received as well?" she asked casually. She had already checked with them, so she was aware of their gains.
Though they were from different factions, they often teamed up for most of their assigned missions. As the most talented youths in the Alliance, and since they would work together in the Hidden Legacy World, the elders had all unilaterally agreed to have them work together for a while now.
So it made sense that they did not hide their gains from each other.
Even Maya had told them as well, though she had not explained the enchantment descriptions on the items she received or the finer details of her bloodline.
"No need," Smith commented. "I will have the other faction heads tell me themselves."
He paused, "However, I am still going to need a written report with an account of everything that happened in the trials."
Maya pursed her lips, but she nodded, "Yes, Father."
The others would probably be asked to do the same, so now it was just a matter of discretion on her part, deciding what to include and exclude, and hoping that their accounts matched.
It would be quite the task for her.
Smith put the vial away in the pocket of his coat. Maya did not so much as flinch. He would probably dismiss her now.
However, he pulled out a drawer beside him, took out a small file, and placed it on the table in front of him. "Now then, let us speak about this Elion."
Maya raised a brow. Perhaps he had questions about what she knew about him. Probably.
She did not know much, but she would tell him as much as she could without giving away what she would rather keep to herself.
However, Smith’s next statement surprised her: "I think you have misunderstood." He passed the file to her.
"It is not that I want information from you about him. It is more so that I am giving you information about him that you most likely do not know, seeing as you were away for so long."
His gaze sharpened, "So, Maya, are you aware of the calamity you have brought to my doorstep?"
Maya frowned, ’What does he mean by that?’ That was probably in the file he had given her, so she opened it and started reading through.
The more Maya read, the more her expression soured. By the time she reached the very end, her face was as pale as a ghost, and beads of sweat were forming on her brow.
She looked toward her father fearfully, "I-Is this true?" He opened his palms and shrugged.
"All of it. I was not there to see it myself, but one of our two Mithril-ranked adventurers was present when it happened. I can confirm that it is one hundred percent true."
Maya was confused, "Then why..." She was about to ask, but Smith interrupted her.
"Why did I let him join the Alliance despite him being branded a heretic?"
He asked the question with a light smile as he locked his fingers together.
"You see, the matter interested me a bit. The boy suddenly grew stronger, his talent increased, and he became the strongest first year in little more than a few months. I was curious about what methods he used to raise his talent."
Smith tapped his monocle lightly.
"And while you could say he used demonic methods, as they say, only a blind fool would believe such things. I already checked with my monocle when we met. The boy is fully human, so that incident was nothing but a farce to snuff out an arrogant student who had spiralled out of their control. I suspect he simply disrespected the duke, which is not hard to believe. The sudden growth must have gone to his head, and he simply paid the price for it."
Maya nodded. Her face had already regained much of its colour by now. She could see it now.
Her father had seen so far ahead, which meant he already had a way of dealing with whatever trouble came with harbouring a supposed heretic.
Smith chuckled, "The boy must already suspect that we know, and that if we do not know, we will eventually find out." His smile grew more curious. "However, do you know what surprises me the most?"
Maya shook her head.
Smith continued, "He does not seem to care at all, and that speaks volumes. Either he is just too arrogant and confident in his abilities, as I already suspect, or he has the strength to back it up already."
He looked straight at her, "So, tell me, Maya. How powerful is this boy?"