Chapter 68: Sealed Rift

An hour later...

"Ugh..." Neolan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, his vision initially blurred while a lingering headache made it difficult for him to think clearly. He was lying on the bed in his own bedroom, and it took him several seconds to regain his senses and recognize his surroundings, ’It’s... my room. I must have passed out from exhaustion and the injuries...’

He shook his head slightly as he remembered what had happened during the training session with his father, wondering whether it could even be considered training given how thoroughly he had been overwhelmed.

The experience had left him with a clear understanding of the difference between their strengths, and he couldn’t help feeling that his father had intended to teach him a lesson rather than simply test his abilities.

’It was more like Father wanted to teach me that.’ A small smile appeared on Neolan’s lips as he recalled the day in his previous life when he had left the Ashburn Estate without saying a single word to his father. Once he had left, he had never used Ashburn as his surname again, and the decision had remained unchanged throughout the rest of that life.

It wasn’t that he had wanted to retaliate against his family or argue that he was the only heir and therefore shouldn’t have been exiled. By that point, he had simply accepted the situation as something that came with being born into one of the Noble Families, where expectations were absolute and failure carried consequences.

Any Noble Family, regardless of its position within the Federation, would immediately exile children who failed to awaken, treating their inability as a failure that brought shame upon the entire family. This practice wasn’t something imposed by the Federation itself, but rather a principle that the Noble Families had adopted among themselves over the years.

From their perspective, a child who couldn’t awaken represented a wasted opportunity and a weakness that could damage the family’s reputation, especially when other families were constantly competing for influence and power.

Neolan understood their reasoning even if he didn’t necessarily agree with every part of it, and he had never particularly cared about the possibility of being exiled, ’Sigh, well, I didn’t really care if I was exiled. After all, I had set up backup plans for that, heh.’

For now, Neolan was well aware that his father wasn’t a bad person by nature, despite the way Ranson had treated him during their previous life. If Ranson had truly been a cruel man, he would never have fought against the Demons during the invasion or risked his life to protect humanity when the situation had become desperate.

Their recent interaction had also taught Neolan an extremely valuable lesson, further confirming that his father wasn’t simply someone who measured everything through strength. With that thought in mind, he slowly sat up on the bed and put the past aside, deciding not to waste any more time dwelling on matters that had already been settled in his previous life.

He then noticed that his entire body had returned to normal, with the injuries and exhaustion from the training session seemingly gone.

’Hmm, it must be Nathan.’ Neolan shifted his attention toward the wristwatch on his left hand, a small smile forming on his lips as he remembered what he needed to do next. ’It’s time to meet K and get the Bleatron Ore.’

He glanced around the room once more before recalling his earlier conversation with his father, realizing that he had managed to avoid explaining where he had been during the previous day’s search, ’I guess I got away from Father’s interrogation about where I was. It’s better than making up an excuse and making him suspicious.’

He released a long breath before raising his voice and calling toward the door, "Cassy! I will be going somewhere, so inform the others not to search for me. I will be back soon!"

"Understood, Young Master," Cassy replied from the other side of the door. Neolan nodded at her response before raising his wristwatch and retrieving a different mask from the one he had worn during his first meeting with K.

After checking that he had everything he needed, he stepped forward and focused his attention on the destination he had already visited before, ’Void Steps.’

His figure disappeared from the bedroom in an instant, leaving no visible trace of his departure and giving Cassy no reason to suspect that he had already left the Estate.

A moment later, Neolan appeared inside the same room where he had previously met K. Several Astrine Blade users immediately assumed defensive stances, reacting to the sudden appearance of an unknown individual inside their secured location.

At the far end of the room, a woman wearing a mask sat opposite K, and both of them turned toward Neolan as soon as he appeared. Neolan briefly surveyed the surroundings, recognizing the guards and identifying the woman without needing to see her face.

’Alice?! What’s she doing here?!’ He couldn’t help feeling surprised because, according to his understanding of the current situation, Alice should have been confined inside the Marsona Empire under her father’s orders.

Alice also examined the newcomer, but she couldn’t determine his rank or recognize his physical features beneath the mask and disguise, ’What’s this? How was he able to enter this room without K’s permission?’

She wondered how someone could suddenly appear inside the room without triggering any alarm or security from the guards beforehand, especially when K himself hadn’t given any prior indication that he was expecting another visitor.

Before she could investigate the matter any further, K stood up and greeted Neolan with a familiar tone, immediately recognizing the anonymous figure despite his changed appearance. "Oh! It’s you. I have already prepared what you asked for. Yuris, bring in the product."

As K finished speaking, a small drone appeared in front of Neolan, although its unusual design made it difficult to identify as a conventional machine. Two circular rings floated around its structure, crossing each other at the front and back while maintaining their positions through an advanced system that Neolan couldn’t immediately identify.

The machine activated a small projection, and a moment later, a neatly wrapped bundle of cloth appeared on Neolan’s palm. Without wasting any time, he raised his wristwatch and retrieved a small holographic lens, positioning it in front of the bundle to examine the contents without unwrapping it.

The lens displayed the material inside, confirming that the Bleatron Ore had been wrapped securely and delivered exactly as he had requested.

Neolan turned toward K and nodded once, confirming that the product had arrived safely. He then took out the mask with the small fox design on its upper portion and tossed it toward K, who caught it without difficulty.

Neolan used his wristwatch to transfer the remaining payment and spoke through his altered voice, "I sent another five hundred million credits to your account. With this, the payment is complete." K gave a small nod, apparently satisfied with the transaction, before snapping his fingers to activate the drone again.

The machine projected another object into Neolan’s hand, and a moment later, a small badge bearing a mask design on both sides appeared before him.

"This is the VVIP badge, reserved exclusively for premium dealers like you. I hope we have many more great deals in the future," K explained. Neolan examined the badge briefly before nodding and storing it inside his subspace, making no effort to prolong the conversation after receiving everything he had come for.

’Now it’s finally time to build the AEGIS-01 with the materials I’m about to obtain.’ He stepped forward and activated Void Steps once more, disappearing from the room as abruptly as he had arrived. Before leaving, however, he glanced toward Alice one last time, unable to ignore the fact that her presence here was completely unexpected.

Alice watched the anonymous man disappear, her attention remaining fixed on the space where he had stood moments earlier, ’That man... felt familiar.’

K turned toward her after Neolan had disappeared, returning his attention to the transaction they had yet to discuss. "So, what would you like to trade that mask for, Miss?" Alice turned to face him, her earlier curiosity about the anonymous man pushed aside as she focused on the matter she had prepared herself to discuss.

Her eyes remained determined beneath her mask as she answered without hesitation, making her request clear to the man who controlled Ousvault’s dealings, "I want to exchange this mask for information about the Sealed Rift in the Marsona Empire."

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[A/N: As I am saving Chapters for the tier 5 privilege I am unable to upload 2 Chapters per day, I apologise for that to you readers.

There is also one thing I am concerned about, Are you guys really liking the story so far? I know the main agenda of the arc is going to come later as I am still laying the foundation to its absolute best. I want all of your honest replies.]