CHAPTER 30: JUST A SMALL MATTER

The woman was startled to see him, but then looked relieved.

"Richard, thank goodness you’re here—quick, help me write a letter," she said hurriedly, clearly not in the mood to ask why he had only just returned after several days.

"Sister, is it true that a beast horde is coming?" Richard asked in response.

"So you’ve already heard? Yes, it’s true—there may be a beast horde. Ten years ago, they appeared two days after the birds left," Sister Lisa answered.

She scratched her hair anxiously while searching for paper and ink.

"Where do they come from? What causes them to appear? Isn’t this region supposed to be safe?" Richard pressed for answers.

"I don’t know. Our investigation ten years ago yielded nothing. The beast horde seemed to just... appear out of nowhere."

Hearing that, Richard furrowed his brows again.

So even Sister Lisa and her comrades in the Sky Armor Legion didn’t know.

At that moment, Sister Lisa finally found paper and ink. She handed them to Richard.

"Quick, write this: ’Brother Carlos, Purple Rose Village may be attacked by a beast horde again. Please inform the commander about this.’"

Richard reluctantly took the materials and went to the table to write down exactly what Sister Lisa said.

Though he had never studied writing in this world, he had memorized the shapes of every letter. He could write naturally, though his hand was stiff and the result not very pretty.

Anyone reading it might be annoyed at the sloppy handwriting.

But to Sister Lisa—who couldn’t read—it was already extraordinary.

She quickly took the paper and hurried off, clearly intending to send it with a pigeon.

Left alone, Richard fell into thought but couldn’t figure out anything.

Finally, he left the orphanage and rode his horse into the forest to meet his ancestor, whom he hadn’t visited in quite some time.

Richard sometimes worried the old man might vanish if he didn’t come see him.

Fortunately, the man was still there, lounging in a freshly made chair.

He was eating roasted duck and drinking wine from who-knows-where.

"Ohhh, Richard, you’re finally back..." The man immediately sat up when he saw him.

"Grandfather, are you all right?" Richard asked.

The question made Aldric laugh.

"Boy, are you worried about me? Come now—you know your ancestor once competed for the World Magic Aether, and I’m still alive after sleeping for so long in the Sea of Calamity. What could possibly threaten me in a forest like this? Ohhh, you seem to have formed an Aether Will. Did your trip outside grant you much benefit?"

His eyes narrowed as he sensed the difference in Richard.

"Grandfather, you knew I went outside?" Richard asked.

"Of course I knew. I sneaked into your village when you didn’t show up for days and heard that you had gone to a town," Aldric replied.

Richard nodded. "Yes, I did gain much from it. By the way, Grandfather—the birds left the mountain. I heard that ten years ago, when this happened, a beast horde suddenly appeared around the village. It seems it will happen again. In your opinion, what causes it?"

"Just a small matter," Aldric said, confusing Richard.

"You see, if the sky falls, let the great ones handle it. If it’s a small problem, leave it to the small folk. This is only a minor matter—you don’t need to worry too much. Didn’t they deal with the horde ten years ago? This time, they should be able to handle it again."

Richard: "..."

"Grandfather, you seem to enjoy making jokes," Richard said, his expression torn between a smile and a grimace.

But Aldric beckoned him over to the chair.

"Sit. Let’s talk about your training. You’ve improved a lot—have you mastered the Codex of Moonshadow and the two Arcanes I gave you?"

"I’ve begun to master them," Richard replied.

"How much?" Aldric pressed.

"Among them, my progress with 100 Shadow Monsters has been the fastest..."

As he said this, Richard waved his hand.

Whoosh!

He released shadow energy that instantly formed into eight massive shadow lions, five times larger than normal lions.

Compared to last time, they were far bigger—because Richard’s Aether had doubled.

Aldric’s eyes widened at the sight.

For him, this was unimaginable. But to Richard, it was nothing special.

"Grandfather, as you can see, I’ve made great progress. Now, will you tell me how those beasts appear?" Richard asked again.

"I already told you, it’s just a small matter. You don’t need to trouble yourself over small matters," Aldric replied again, making Richard roll his eyes.

The problem was, Aldric truly saw it as a trivial issue, not worth attention. It wasn’t that he was hiding anything—he simply didn’t care.

Richard fell silent for a while, then remembered something.

"Grandfather, what do you think about the Black Heart Soul?"

"That is something remarkable. Dragon Knights rely on it to become unstoppable, for it gives the heart the ability to gather hidden power... If I had it, I could grow even stronger..." Aldric said at once, serious this time.

"But, the Black Heart Soul demands too much slaughter. Without killing, one cannot charge the heart with power. Even its assistance in training is not that great without slaughter. Still, who would object to slaughter if it meant greater strength? Unfortunately, it’s said only one book records the method of creating a Black Heart Soul, and its whereabouts are now unknown."

Aldric looked at Richard curiously.

"Where did you hear about the Black Heart Soul?" he asked.

"From here," Richard replied, showing him the black book. Aldric snatched it immediately, though Richard didn’t mind—he had already memorized the method.

Aldric quickly opened it, eyes widening in shock, his mouth slightly agape.

"You—where did you find this?" he asked, breath quickening.

"From an acquaintance whose name and features I won’t mention," Richard replied calmly, making Aldric the one to roll his eyes this time.

"Boy, you dare keep secrets from your ancestor," Aldric said, annoyed but clearly joking.

He read the black book again, frowning from time to time.

"The method is truly simple, but this ritual..." he murmured, his expression growing grave.

"Is something wrong with the ritual, Grandfather?" Richard asked.

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