CHAPTER 54: MEETING AGAIN

A loud clank woke him.

Baruch’s eyes fluttered open and for a moment, his heart skipped a beat, not knowing where he was.

His hands were on a cold and hard surface.

"You didn’t try anything."

That familiar voice said, calmer than it was the previous night, and Baruch turned to see his uncle standing over him.

Oh.

Baruch blinked and remembered where he was.

"He" didn’t come?

As Baruch thought this, his uncle went to one knee, grabbing his chin with his right hand.

"How did I not notice?" The uncle said, caressing Baruch’s left cheek.

Baruch slapped the arm away. His uncle chuckled.

"Even as a mage, you’re still here, lazy as you’ve always been."

"Doesn’t matter, now, I think you understand you are better off using your abilities to help the family."

Actually, Baruch’s nature was one of wanting convenience. Before, yes, he was scared of his uncle. Now, not at all. He still held on, though.

"And I’ve sent word. You’re still a rank one mage."

Baruch wasn’t listening to him when his hand shot forward without his control, coiling around his uncle’s neck like a serpent.

"Wh - what are you doing?" His uncle asked, choking, his face a flush of red and veins already bulging out on his forehead.

"It- it isn’t me." Baruch said, and was surprised he could speak.

The guard, that Hadrian had already sensed with his spatial sense, came in after hearing the commotion.

Since flesh path essence could be channeled to the other vessels, irrespective of the path core they carried, it worked the same the other way around.

The guard unsheathed his sword and it came slicing down on Baruch’s extended arm. However, bone and flesh stretched, wrapping around the sword, and Baruch pulled it.

The guard was yanked forward.

Hadrian channeled the force path essence to Baruch’s left arm, which had taken the shape of a spear, and stabbed the guard through his eye and skull.

Baruch observed all this, his head the only thing left for him to control. Despite the bloody horror, that ecstatic feeling somewhere deep inside him left him fighting a smile to form.

Baruch’s right hand cool around his uncle’s neck loosened and the man fell to his knees in a fit of coughs, wheezing.

"You.... " the uncle said in a grating voice that was cut short by his bloody coughs.

To humans, this flesh path rank one disease doesn’t seem so mild.

Hadrian thought.

Actually, there were easier and faster ways to get Baruch to leave that dungeon, but practicing on utilizing his abilities brought him no harm.

Baruch’s foot took a step over his thrashing uncle and the guard’s pool of blood, walking out the cellar.

After this, Hadrian’s consciousness and control retreated and Baruch’s half smile died.

Baruch’s uncle wasn’t lying about the guards, but Hadrian wasn’t going to fight them for Baruch. He would have to get through them on his own.

What good is a lazy asset?

It wasn’t like it would be an impressive feat, they were regular humans, after all.

Even though that uncle had said that they have and can deal with a rank one mage, Hadrian was skeptical.

In truth, Hadrian wasn’t sure he liked the way he went about the whole matter.

It feels like I’m too involved. Too.... Hands on.

He shook his head.

I’ll still have to punish the bastard.

Hadrian watched as Baruch, who’d understood his message, cut down the guards one by one.

I thought they could handle a rank one mage, even an inexperienced one like this. But, Baruch’s abilities make it hard to slice and cut him, and perhaps they never had to deal with getting infected by coughing disease in the middle of a fight.

If his other family members were still around, I wonder if it would have been the same.

They didn’t live here, and had only come for dinner. In fact, with or without Hadrian’s revalation, Baruch had planned to tell them that night.

It wasn’t really love, Hadrian thought, but more of a fondness that Baruch felt to the people who were the means of him living up until that point

Half an hour later, Baruch walked out, his hands drooping blood. It was an hour past sunrise.

Not needing to be told, Baruch made his way to the central district to the registrar to swear the oath.

...

Hadrian also made his way to the central district, for now The mages in Doran’s street could wait.

In case of anything, he wanted to keep Baruch in control range. For now, not only could the bastard not be trusted, but as his only experimental asset, he would rather not not lose him before finding another one.

...

It was past noon by the time Baruch made it to the registrar. Of course, he’d cleaned up nicely. He wore blood clot red trousers and a top.

In the far off distance, at a glance, he saw the keep of the Baron. Its black bricks and hard rectangular build gave it a somewhat dominating aura.

The guard tower designs must be purely for aesthetics. Hadrian, watching through Baruch, thought.

From Haldon’s and truston’s fight, who were merely rank two, such fortresses must be useless in guarding against a powerful mage.

One powerful enough to think about attacking the Baron’s keep.

Anyway, that wasn’t Baruch’s destination. Baruch took his time, but eventually arrived at an old, abandoned, grey brick episcopal palace of sorts.

Taking steps forward, he approached its opening, but was blocked by an invisible barrier.

Huh.

Hadrian and Baruch were in sync.

Baruch’s hand rose, with his palm stretched, and he placed it against the air.

It wasn’t like a wall, channeling some essence and pressing harder, he pushed in by an inch but an eyeblink later his hand was pushed back with greater resistance.

A figure walked out of the episcopal palace’s dark entrance.

Baruch’s eyes narrowed. Immediately, Hadrian peered into their essence.

She’s just a rank one mage.

And like most rank one mages, she was young.

As she approached, Baruch, who had resumed pressing his hand against the invisible barrier, stumbled forward. A path had seemingly opened for him.

Hadrian, who’d been peering into the rank one mages essence sea could tell it wasn’t her doing by how inactive her essence was.

"Come with me." She said in a stiff tone.

She wore a red robe uniform, with three star sigils to the left of her chest.

They already have uniforms, this quick?

Baruch picked himself up and dusted off his his clothes.

"Path?" She asked, already turning around.

"Flesh." Baruch said.

It brought her to a stop and she turned around, scrutinizing him once more.

After a short awkward moment, she turned around, and Baruch followed.

Mages weren’t necessarily a rare thing but to see this many in one place....

Rank one, rank two. As Baruch’s eyes darted, Hadrian peered into their essence seas and noted their cores.

Some mages already wore similar styled robes, while some looked to have just arrived like Baruch.

To his right, murmurings filled the air, the hall where most mages were. That wasn’t where he was led.

Baruch stopped and she stopped when he did.

"What is it?" She didn’t turn to him.

"Why am I the only one going that way?" Baruch asked.

Eh, this guy’s survival instincts aren’t as bad as I would have thought.

Hadrian thought.

The female mage turned, and for the first time since he’d arrived, she smiled.

"You don’t have much of a choice in that."

Baruch was here because of the revelation he’d been sent, but even then his heart beat rose, and he found himself taking steps back.

When the female mage took a step towards Baruch, Hadrian took over his body, stopping him.

I want to see this.

Why are they treating flesh path mages differently?

Please. No.

In his mind, Baruch was already pleading to the existence.

If there’s an opportunity to save you, I’ll save you. If there isn’t, well, this was always the plan.

Of course, Hadrian didn’t think this out loud to Baruch.

The female mage watched as Baruch, whose expression had been one of stress a second ago, turned calm.

"Sure." Baruch said.

Well, it was true. He had his own experiments to run with Baruch, so he would rather not lose him, but the matter, he felt, was tied to him and it was a worthy enough reason to sacrifice Baruch.

The female mage’s brows rose and her smile faltered. With her hand, she gestured for Baruch to walk in front of her.

With a nod, he did as guided.

A prisoner in his own mind, Baruch could only observe the event unfold in front of him.

Back then, facing his uncle, he was really the one with the power hand. Now, he was in a hall full of other mages.

Even the ecstatic feeling, in front of this primal fear, couldn’t distract him.

"Another one?"

Baruch’s foot stopped, and he turned to the speaker.

Black slick hair, a handsome face. Haldon.