Magicia is a large piece of land populated by trillions of people residing in three distinct kingdoms. The kingdom of Exter is where the discipline of weapon sorcery is widely used.
In the discipline of weapon sorcery, people rely on their weapons to grow their core. The stronger the enemies they slay it with, the stronger their weapon gets, and it in turn makes their core stronger.
The imperial family and various noble houses rule the Exter kingdom. They manage the taxes collected by the merchants and commoners for the greater good of their empire.
The kingdom of Exter had not participated in any war for over a century, bringing a trust among merchants and farmers. The kingdom of Exter is also famous for its academic and scholarly sectors.
Due to these reasons, the kingdom of Exter is more famous for its economic status than its military strength. Though, just like any other kingdom, Exter has some level of dirty politics and corruption of its own.
In a town of the Exter kingdom, known as the Vertije town, one could find something similar. In a dark area of the town, which is also the only place for those poorer than commoners to reside, there stood a large abandoned building.
The building was 6 floors high and had around 100 rooms in total. Nobody from the group of beggars, who nestled close to each other, dared to wander near the building, which gave off an ominous presence.
There were two thugs guarding the entrance of the building. They seemed to be half drunk and had flushed faces as they talked in loud, incoherent words with each other.
If one went deeper inside the building, they could find square prison boxes made of metal. Inside the prison, one could find humans or exotic animals that were illegal to capture or kill.
Yes, this was a small illegal slave market run by thugs of the slums. There were hundreds of mundane thugs and dozens of stage 1 thugs running this slave market.
The strongest among them was a newly stage 2 ranked fighter. His name was Agrotha, which meant "swan" in the Maeshic language spoken by everybody in Magicia.
Agrotha, along with his henchmen, sat in a luxurious room. One might be surprised to find such a luxurious room in such an ominous building, but it looked entirely different from the opposite side.
The building was built at the very edge, connecting the town to the slums. Agrotha took a sip of his premium wine, usually drunk by the nobles, and questioned one of his men.
"How did the capture go this week?"
His henchman replied to him with a nasty grin on his face. He was quite happy to disclose their achievements to Agrotha.
"We captured a stage 1 puvook bird. We also captured around a hundred of its children during the raid and might be able to increase the number to 500 in a month through forced breeding."
"Not that!"
The henchman understood what Agrotha was asking and proceeded to answer him with the same disgusting smile he gave off earlier.
"We managed to capture 70 females from here and the surrounding towns. They range from the age of 12 to 28 and are quite beautiful as well."
Agrotha's smile widened after hearing the number. Though they did sell the captured females as slaves, the most beautiful ones were sometimes used by them.
Even if the used ones were not sold later, they could be used for their daily activities like cleaning and cooking. Agrotha got up from his seat and headed towards the basement with a lecherous smile of his own.
They reached the dark underground area where they kept the woman they captured. Around a dozen of the men were called to bring the chained woman in front of Agrotha.
The woman and girls were scared and despaired when they heard the conversations of those thugs. Would they be used and killed? They did not want to die like that.
Within a minute, the thugs brought all of the females from their jail rooms to the large basement hall. Though, the henchman with Agrotha noticed something strange.
There were 70 females when he counted earlier, whereas the large hall was now filled with 69 females and 14 thugs with candles illuminating the hall.
The henchman was about to tell Agrotha about the missing girl when suddenly, all the candles were snuffed out with a strange phenomenon bringing darkness and silence to the great hall of the basement.
That is when the henchman saw it! He saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing in the dark. He could barely react as his throat was pierced by a small needle within milliseconds, killing him silently.
The other thugs heard the sound of something falling, but they dismissed it as somebody stumbling in the dark. Somebody finally lit their candle after a moment when all the candles were snuffed out.
Agrotha and others in the room took a step back as they saw one of their own killed in such a horrific manner. They felt chills as goosebumps crawled up their skin. The other females nestled close to each other, forming a small crowd after seeing the corpse.
Agrotha heard the sound of another thud and turned to find another one of his men had been killed. The dead thug's head had been pierced by another needle, like the one earlier.
The thugs looked at each other, scared, as they didn't know who was killing them. Worse still, nobody except Agrotha could use the powers of their bonded weapons for some reason.
After a tense silence, the candle burning in the room was suddenly snuffed out. Multiple thuds echoed in the dark and silent basement hall, which terrified them to no degree.
Now, there were 5 other lifeless bodies lying on the floor. The dark stone floor had turned red, and everybody could smell the metallic scent of blood mixed in the air.
This time, Agrotha was ready for another assault. He ordered his thugs to capture a woman each and use them as meat shields. He ordered them to light their candles and be alert in case they were snuffed out again.
He himself took a woman of probably 20 years old and kept her as a shield while bringing his bonded weapons. The other men could not sense the powers of their bonded weapons, as if somebody had severed that specific connection.
The candles were snuffed out again, and with it came the sound of thuds. The unnatural darkness seemed to be able to absorb all sound like it was being controlled by somebody.
Agrotha felt like he was in deep water because he couldn't make a sound or hear anything. He wasted no time in lighting his candle while increasing his guard.
The candle in his hands fell down as his eyes widened. He shrieked, but nobody heard it. The remaining of his men were butchered and pinned to the wall like straw dolls, their eyes dangling off their sockets as blood painted the floor.
He saw the carnage of slaughter with trembling hands and widened eyes. He had seen a lot of things in his life, but never something so brutal.
He didn't have time to register when the woman he held as a hostage turned around, free of her shackles, and poked her sword in his stomach within a millisecond.
Blood gushed out and brought a searing pain in his guts. He felt despair and fear creeping in him as he looked in her pupils. Though, the woman noticed something and retreated faster than eyes could follow.
Agrotha, who had the face of somebody who was despairing, suddenly changed his facial expression to somebody who had his prey in his hands.
It was because Agrotha's blood, which touched the floor, suddenly changed its trajectory and launched itself like a snake towards the woman with yellow pupils within milliseconds.
The woman with yellow pupils wasn't fast enough to avoid the surprise attack, which caused the blood spike to land on thin air. Land on thin air? Agrotha did not even blink when the woman vanished out of nowhere.
He used his blood to cover his wound and increased his guard. He had 2 bonded weapons, as he was a stage 2 being, and his enemy knew the ability of his first weapon.
The woman he fought had 2 abilities, which were severing the connection of bonded weapons of those weaker than her and vanishing out of thin air like a ghost.
He had to be careful in this fight if he had to survive. The next attack came rather soon as an invisible needle was fired through the darkness at a swift speed.
Agrotha was slower to counter the needle and had to use the second ability of his bonded weapon. An invisible yet subtle change appeared around the area within a few meters around Agrotha.
The swift needle froze like it had pierced something like an invisible blood. Yes! Agrotha made his blood faster and undetectable through the ability of his bonded weapon.
If anybody came near him, they would be hacked into several pieces through the countless invisible blades of blood present all around him.
He was quite lucky back then to have fused his newly bonded weapon with the core of a strong monster he got from the auction house. Now, the yellow-eyed assassin had no other means to fight.
His eyes widened as he saw a pair of yellow eyes mere inches apart from him. Had he miscalculated? Did she not have the ability to turn invisible but teleport?
Before he could tear open her guts with his invisible blades of blood, she vanished just like she did before. Though, she left a gift for him.
Those unique yellow eyes of hers! He remembered that face now. Wasn't she the slave he sold to the duke? It must be her! But why did she show her face?
He barely looked down when the mana bomb exploded near him at point-blank range, left by the woman with yellow eyes and black hair, killing him instantly.
The females were handed over to the nearby guard station along with the imprisoned exotic animals the very next morning.
The most important thing to notice was that hundreds of corpses were found in the ominous building that evening with [revenge of the ghost] written on the walls with blood…
…
Wandering for a thousand miles, I found a developed city I have been searching to reside in and rest for the time being. I lay down on the comfortable white bed and thought of my future actions.
I had just eradicated the slave market that sold me when I was young. I was relatively a newcomer in the Abode of Assassins, which was a terrifying organization and had its roots everywhere in the Exter kingdom.
Abode of Assassins is the boldest secret organization among those that are active in the kingdom.
Looking at my past, I was sold to the Duke of Nefervice when I was just 10 by that slave market. I was extensively taught midwifery and the profession of maid.
Five years ago, the child she had been taking care of was assassinated in front of her when she was just a non-awakened maid. The assassin brought her to the Abode of Assassins because he saw potential in her.
Though, the organization she worked for was secretly loyal to the royal family of the Exter kingdom. It was the reason why the Abode of Assassins was so powerful and had lasted till now.
The assassins in the Abode of Assassins were basically pawns for the royal family, who did their dirty deeds in the dark. Even she did not know of this fact until some weeks ago when she was given her first mission.
Though, the newcomers are mostly given small missions. My first mission as a newcomer involved protecting the child of a certain viscount favored by the royal family.
The crown prince favored this certain adventurer due to his heroic deeds and promoted him to be a viscount. The brave adventurer found the previous viscount of this region embezzling tax funds from his region.
The previous viscount was demoted to become a baron. The previous viscount, now a baron, though weak, has the support of the second prince.
There is a high chance for the second prince to send assassins of other organizations to the unborn baby of the newly appointed viscount.
The newly appointed viscount is strong, but he is usually busy with raiding the misty areas of the cross-border and cannot protect his unborn child all the time.
To avoid any mishaps, I was chosen to take care of the unborn child for a few years. The mission might look boring to the newcomers, but the abode of assassins used missions like these to test the patience and loyalty of newly recruited assassins.
The newly appointed viscount is famous for being valiant and powerful, with fiery red eyes and blood-red hair. He has the favor of the crown prince and could be promoted to a count in the future.
The crown prince also wants to check the loyalty of the newly appointed viscount by taking him to the misty ruins when his child is the most vulnerable. He also wants to bring a trust that the royal family now considers him valuable by protecting his child.
…
I slept for a few hours before changing my outfit to look like a professional maid and went towards the large mansion visible in the distance. Reaching the entrance, I was stopped by the guards present near the gates.
I just brought out the recommendation letter I was given for the mission and handed it to the guard in front of me. Noticing the crest on the envelope, he stiffened and rushed inside.
A few moments later, the guard returned and told me to meet the viscount in person. I was brought to the office room where the viscount worked and asked to go inside.
Upon entering the room, he entered my view. The viscount nodded and gestured for me to sit on the chair in front of the desk.
I sat down and narrowed my eyes a little as I felt the ominousness present in the air. The viscount looked in my eyes and said it in a neutral tone.
"Alice Frontier, the newly recruited assassin of the Abode of Assassins. Your mood looks quite happy after taking your revenge on those thugs that sold you when you were young."
My emotionless face subtly changed, and my eyes widened in shock without my realization. How could he know all of that? Even the abode of assassins didn't know about my revenge!
I brought out my piercer and fired the fastest needle towards his neck within a millisecond. Everything felt slow, and that is when I saw it! I saw the viscount's eyes clearly tracing the path of the almost invisible, fast needle.
The needle had already shattered the sound barrier and was the fastest I could ever fire, yet he just caught the needle with his bare fingers.
The remaining force from the needle broke the table and the surrounding wood, but they were restored just like they were before with just a wave of his hands.
There was no reaction from him, and he looked more bored than shocked. My instincts flared as I prepared to use all my stored-up energy to teleport away from this monstrosity in the shape of a man.
This man in front of me was much stronger than what was known. He is at the very least a stage 3 being who had the power to eradicate entire mountains with their firepower.
Goosebumps rose on my arm as I saw the viscount in front of me at point-blank range. He caught my neck and lifted me rather easily as I struggled to breathe.
Though, the reason for my goosebumps was that I had already teleported several hundred miles away from his county. He had covered all that distance within seconds, as if he had teleported alongside me.
Was he a stage 4 being on par with the dukes and some of the rarest talents on Magicia? Why does he act like a stage 2 being when he is that strong?
If he is this strong, then why does he need assassins hired from the royal family to protect his child? Did it not mean that the viscount had hidden motives and was already deceiving the royal family?
I was thrown like an object in the air, making me land hundreds of meters away from him. A lot of my bones broke, but my concern was something else.
He erased the runes that were made by the organization on my neck and recreated it with another one. I didn't die during the process and felt the runes stronger than the previous one etched on my neck.
This man had just erased the runes made by multiple stage 4 beings and copied them again to avoid letting the organization know of anything strange.
I could sense that the runes in my body would kill me if I dared to betray the viscount in front of me. The runes functioned like before, but the subject of my loyalty had been changed to the viscount instead of the organization.
I coughed up blood and thought of the ridiculous acts of the viscount in front of me. If he could erase and copy the runes to make it work for him without letting those stage 4 entities know of his existence, then he must be a stage higher than them.
Does that mean that the viscount is a stage 5 being? Could he be a spy sent from the other nations? But why would the other nations send a spy of such caliber?
Mundane people who are lucky enough to awaken with no background support could not surpass stage 1 in their entire lives. Even the rarest of geniuses could only reach stage 3 in their entire lives with no background families.
The reason was their mundane bloodline. Noble families are distinguished from mundane ones because the children of stronger people have better talents than normal children at birth.
Genes of awakened parents adapt in the presence of mana and evolve to better harmonize with it. Thus, their children are better suited and more talented to awaken compared to others their age.
Their starting point is different, and hence, they can grow stronger than their predecessors to give birth to stronger talents and pave the road for their successors to grow even stronger.
Over the 600-year history, when the first batch of people started ascending, only 3 people had reached stage 6 and created their respective kingdoms.
Though nobody ever reached stage 6 after the three ancient rulers perished, causing the majority of the awakened to believe that stage 6 is just a myth created to solidify the rule of the royal families.
So logically, the strongest on the continent are stage 5 beings, and one is standing right in front of me as I cough blood. After a few moments, he said in a cold tone.
"From today onwards, you will work for me, who will give you a better life, or die for the kingdom that only gave you misery. The choice is yours to make."
He turned and left me alone as I lay on the ground coughing blood. Where did the valiant hero who never raised his hands on a woman go? All the hero crap I read was absolute bullshit!
Why was my luck so bad to get involved with such a terrifying person? Maybe I could have become an adventurer and lived a peaceful, mundane life.
I got up and followed him as I cleansed myself with the few talismans rotting in my spatial storage bag. Let the royal family be damned! I treasure my life more than those hypocrite bastards!
The viscount's child would be born this month, as predicted by the doctors. I would have to be present there and make sure that no calamity is released by this damned viscount because his child is assassinated just after birth.
After reaching the mansion, I proceeded to the viscount's office and went inside the room once again. This time, he just nodded and directed me to sit on the opposite side of the table.
I had no other choice, as I could get killed and replaced by a doppelganger or something that was forming in my mind. He gestured for me to open a letter and read it.
I opened the letter, and my eyes widened as I read the contents inside it. My salary would be 100 gold per month, with benefits like free high-class food and facilities.
I didn't get a room of my own, as I would be living with the viscount's wife and his future child. Even then, I was practically drooling at the notion of getting one hundred gold coins every month as a salary.
It would mean that I will have one thousand gold coins by the end of the year. If I just invested all the extra money instead of splurging like I usually do, I would have more than 50 thousand gold coins in 20 years.
As the silence persisted, I got more confident with every second that passed. I put the letter down and asked the viscount in an emotionless tone.
"What is the guarantee that you will not silence me after I am no longer useful? I can just choose to die right now instead of being used by you. This might also work against your favor, as the royal family, along with the Abode of Assassins, might become suspicious of my sudden death. Will you silence them too?"
The viscount did not say anything and just brought out a shining contract with bold letters written on it out of thin air as if he had been waiting for me to ask such an obvious question.
I couldn't sense anything unnatural about him bringing such a thing out of nowhere, which made his actions even more frightening to me.
He explained that the glowing contract in front of me was made up of poisonous mana. If one went against the contract written on it, they would die of mana poisoning.
If one party is exceptionally strong to be killed with just mana poisoning, the mana binding them both would break and disable both parties in one way or another.
I read the contents written on the shining contract for a long time before coming to a conclusion. Then, the viscount used a knife to draw out his blood and used it to leave his fingerprint on the shining contract.
I too did the same as instructed by him and used my blood to leave a fingerprint. The contract broke up into particles and then merged with us both.
I smiled and bowed to the viscount and looked at him one last time before going to handle my duties. There was a chance that the viscount was lying about the contract, but it was enough that he cared to trust a weakling he could kill anytime.
The viscount I met was the most powerful person I had seen in my life. I would never forget his name in my life. Lionas Osmart!
…
Christiana Osmart looked at her stomach as she felt another kick from her unborn child. She chuckled, along with her servant Catherine present in the room.
"Quite the feisty one, isn't he?"
Though everyone outside thought that the head of the house was Lionas Osmart, the servants residing in the mansion knew better than to trust the rumors circulating outside.
The entire household was run by the palms of this lady, as she was much smarter than her husband at management. Her husband was more like a battle maniac than a viscount.
They saw the viscount come in her quarters every ten minutes to ask something he didn't know. Most doubted that it was just an excuse to escape work and be with his wife.
Catherine was making her braid when they heard a knock on the door. She frowned as she stopped performing the braids.
She went and opened the door and found a yellow-eyed, black-haired maid standing there. Catherine looked confused because she had never seen her before, but Christiana understood who she was. She said to her servant Catherine.
"Catherine, go and prepare the tables for the viscount."
Catherine just followed her words and went to prepare the tables after she bowed like a professional maid. After Catherine left, Alice closed the door and came to Christiana.
She bowed like a professional maid and gave her an introduction of herself in a polite tone.
"I am Alice Frontier. I will be responsible for all your work until the young master is born. You should have been informed by the viscount about me."
"Of course! He told me about a new personal maid that would join soon."
"Then please let me take care of it."
Alice became busy braiding her white hair. Christiana had white eyes along with white hair, which caused people to name her the light bringer.
There could be minor changes to a person, like their hair color or eye color changing after they awakened. This demonstrated an evolution in their genes caused to better adapt with mana.
The nobles didn't object to the union of Christiana and Lionas, as she used the core of a druid in her bonded weapon. Christiana had chosen the ability of healing for her bonded weapon. It was frowned upon for nobles and awakened to marry mundane people.
After the braid was done, Alice helped Christiana to get on the bed. Christiana couldn't move much due to her pregnancy. That was when Christiana felt a trickle of fluid due to her amniotic sac rupturing.