Night had fallen. The stars could be seen from afar, their luminescence turning the sky into its canvas.
On the terrace of the White LionManor, one of the outstanding villa in Westport Harbor, a young man, aged sixteen was sitting in the lotus position. He was wearing expensive clothes made of silk and dyeworks. The ring on his left hand was especially eye-catching, its emerald glow in the night rivalling that of stars.
His body was trained, although his sword instructor was often complaining about his lack of diligence in martial arts. The scholars who were invited to the manor, however, had a totally different perception of the youth. They held him in the highest regards, for he was intellectually gifted.
Despite this wealth and the "Steelguard" name, Lewis was not heir to the Steelguard family. He was a bastard. Due to an incident, he had been exiled at the age of 10 to Westport Harbor, the economical center of Bear Island, the fief of the Steelguard barony.
[Beep! You have completed a cycle of the Myrthia Arcane Meditation Technique...Your spiritual force has increased by 0.002 point. Your physical potential increases slightly...]
Lewis possessed two esteemed secret.
One was that he had inherited his mother's talent in magic.
Second was that he possessed a magical artefact, the Myrthia Ring, allowing him to perceive his surroundings with a rare precision, record facts as if he had perfect memory and more importantly, complete analysis based on the knowledge he had accumulated.
The two, combined, allowed him to grow silently in the city.
[Beep! Your status are healthy, analysis completed...]
[Name: Lewis Steelguard | Beginner Rank Acolyte
Strength: 1.8, Agility: 1.6, Vitality: 1.7, Spiritual force: 6.2
Rank 0 Spells: Beast Sense (70), Umbra Hands (58), Soul Drain (30), Necrotic Touch (29)
Skills: Arcane Meditation Technique (71), Magical Theory (55), Swordsmanship (42), General Knowledge (30), Etiquette (23), Eloquence (20), Occult Lore (18), Intimidation (15), Alchemy (12), Stealth (10), Accounting (4)
Magical Artefact: Rank 0 Myrthia Ring]
"So little growth...At this rate, it will take me roughly two years to reach the spiritual force requirement to become an intermediate rank acolyte", Lewis mused
Regular acolytes would despair at the growth of their spiritual force. Some would even give up after a few years, believing they reached their potential. Others would seek shortcuts.
He was different.
He would always optimise his growth. He found out that moonlight could increase up to 12% the efficiency of the arcane meditation technique, so he would always practice it during night, especially during full moons.
He would also study magical theories as much as possible, as magical studies had the biggest impact on the proficiency of his meditation technique.
And more importantly, he never despaired.
In this world, he could trust no one.
Not his mother, who had committed a crime, leading to him being exiled.
Not his family, who had exiled him for a crime he had not committed.
Not his knights, who were loyal to his household, not him.
*Caw*
*Caw*
A crow landed on his lap.
"Oh?", Lewis smiled
On one of its legs, there was a small parchment.
The symbol of "Black Lotus" was inscribed on it.
It was a mission from the magical circle he was part of. A gathering of necromancers, witches, bloodline path acolytes and other magically gifted individuals who walked the "Dark Magus Path".
As one of its core members, Lewis naturally had his share of responsibilities.
After reading the content, he used the spell Necrotic touch, causing the paper to decay into dust.
"Werewolves, huh...", he mused, "Beginner rank 0 magical beasts...I wonder how strong they are"