The God of Jesters
Chapter 240 - 4.07.2 Captured.

Chapter 240: 4.07.2 Captured.

Of course, it was an act to begin with. The intruder was one curious individual, not only was he able to hide himself from normal sight, but there were next to know fluctuations of any kind in this room. But that was only a problem in case he was a normal mortal.

So the moment he walked toward the window, his arm reached out into a corner as if stretching like a spring catching his target in an instant.

A ruse, his whole act of being surprised over her disappearance was a ruse.

"A mage?" He spoke as the flames split apart to expose the person inside. From the build, it was either a woman or a human woman as she was much taller than him. But that was not the most interesting part.

’A mage was able to hide this well?’ Her means were not something Vegal could think up on the spot, it can be a spell, but the most those spells do is suppress the mana radiation, it never makes it disappear.

Then was it some artifact? It would explain the current situation.

Then there was the invisibility that used flames of all things. So bizarre, so odd, truly an enigma in his eyes.

"Who are you?" The face of the woman was obviously fake, so Vegal after dragging her body pinched her cheeks. "Let’s see."

He had completely forgotten about why he came here, why he apprehended her. His curiosity took over his worry for Crow. In his mind, the means of this little mage were very interesting.

A mage’s biggest weakness is their inability to hide, the magical radiation they exude will always be detected by transcended individuals. Making it harder for them to hide and conduct their research as no matter what happens, this radiation is not always good for those living around them.

Hence they build the mage tower, away from distraction and being scrutinized for the radiation they regularly gave off.

But what if there was a way to make it all disappear? This weakness that forces them out in the open unless they go into seclusion?

Of course, the person he got was not so simple, the moment she was caught, Fahna launched a fireball on Vegal’s face. Which struck him, and did nothing at all.

’What was this?’ There was no time to think though. She struck again and again, each fireball turning bigger than before, some of the fire even spilled out and fell around the room.

If not for the house being built using bricks and stones, even including most of the furniture, it would have long caught fire.

"Shh! The village folks here will wake up." Then as if it was nothing, Vegal grabbed Fahna’s hand and broke it, almost causing her to scream, if not for his hand already holding her mouth.

’Dangerous.’ Fahna, ignoring the pain, knew that she was in danger. The dwarf seemed to be a hidden monster, just like she had expected.

But he seemed a lot stronger than her assumptions. Even the flames she was so proud of did nothing to his face. Even a master-level Knight would choose to ignore an attack like hers, but he was taking it all head-on.

What was going on? What kind of monstrous existence is this?

"Don’t struggle, I don’t wish to change my home anytime soon." He spoke, before breaking another one of Fahna’s arms. Rendering her unable to aim her spells anymore.

And then before she knew it, he did the same with her legs, leaving no way out for her.

Even if she were to leave his grasp, she wouldn’t be able to run anyway.

’What... Here?’ She wondered, before wondering what this man was planning.

This is fate, even before I could do anything to her, a foolish mistake on her part has dragged Fahna closer to death than ever before. At this point, I almost felt bad for the Maisel family.

The father was dead, the mother although looked normal was mentally ill, and the brother, my old friend was an undead incapable of siring any children, leaving only Fahna, the only one who could carry the Maisel name.

Sadly, she won’t survive for long now. I don’t say this for everyone, but Vegal was one sick fuck, such a shameless dwarf that had the answer to immortality, but all he wished to use it was for his carnal desires and curiosity.

He was a master at what he did, but he was one selfish fella who didn’t stop at anything to obtain perfection.

******

"Master, I wonder, when will I obtain your bloodline?" Crow wondered, looking at the old man who could barely get up anymore.

"That bloodline is useless without the exercises, if you don’t know them, my gift to you will be useless and the one you already have will be abandoned for nothing," Max explained, causing the crow to furrow his brow a bit.

"Can’t you just note it all down?"

"If you can’t even remember the practices, then you are not worthy of the bloodline." At those words, Crow really had nothing to say.

’You will probably die before that happens.’ He thought. But didn’t voice out his thoughts, he just looked to the side, giving a look at the woman who was doing her own basic exercises before she went to sleep.

Yes, this had been her pattern for the last few days, she doesn’t stay out late as before, as there is Crow to handle Max’s needs. There is no need for her to disturb their practice with her presence anymore.

Of course, that’s what she made it seem like. Her mind was always active the first half of the night, thinking and wondering about the past, her plans for the future, and the eventual arrival of Max’s daughter.

She just hopes that they come before Max’s training with Crow ends, at least that way, Fahna won’t be coming here.

’She probably keeps an eye on the boy as well.’

"Begin." Then Max ordered, watching Crow doing a bizarre dance while maintaining a specific breathing. Of course, without the potions and bloodline, all of this was useless.

"Good, do it again," Max said, acting almost robotic, feeling a bit content with his choice.

He can’t remember clearly how long it had taken him, but what he knew, was it was much slower than what Crow was able to achieve. Of course, he was much younger and stupider due to belonging to a small village where he never got any tuition.

But Crow’s ability to adapt and learn was really something noteworthy when compared to other Knight apprentices he had seen throughout his life.

Of course, he still didn’t trust his memories for some reason, but he believed these kinds of details in his mind might not be false.

"Don’t go home for the next three days, you are close and we can do the inheritance ceremony on the fourth one," Max said, causing Crow to smile from eye to eye, as he asked. "Really?"

Will there be a need for some materials for the ritual?" Crow was born with the steel body bloodline, which he inherited from his father. But his father was not born with it, instead, he bought it from the Church of the Golden Iron. So he knew that the inheritance process was not as simple as it might sound on the surface.

But much to his surprise, Max just shook his head. "There is nothing much, just find the oldest tree there is, the older the better. That should be enough."

"Such a low requirement?"

The lower the requirement, the weaker the bloodline is. That is what was the general belief among the Knights.

So when he heard the details, Crow became a little worried. It was not that the requirement was some hundred or even a thousand-year-old tree, but any tree and it will be good as long as it is old.

"Is there anything else? Like some sacrifice? Or expensive material?" Crow asked, just to make sure he didn’t hear it wrong.

"No, an old tree will do," Max said, making the eyes of Crow drop down in disappointment. But before he could voice out his concerns, a blade appeared in Max’s hand.

Or it looked like a blade because it was invisible. "The important thing is with me."

"What is that?" Crow got curious.

He had held his Max while helping him sit down on the chair, he saw that he had nothing hidden in his clothes, and he was sure that there was nothing.

But where did this blade come from?

Something was odd, very odd.

"A blade, an indestructible blade. I used it a lot during the assassination." Although it appeared a bit translucent at the moment, the moment it was covered with Max’s energy, it turned truly invisible. "It’s the legacy of our bloodline."

The words hit Crow directly in the right places. He couldn’t help but imagine himself holding this invisible blade while he hunts his opponents in the dark, just like Max used to do.

"Master, can I hold it?" He requested.

This was going to be his anyway, so why not hold it a bit earlier? But Max still shook his head.

"Unless you carry our bloodline, the only way you will be touching this blade is when you die. So don’t ask for it now, you will eventually get it."

"But... but why?"

"Just shut up, and recite the name of the Knight potion ingredients."

Then their night continued as usual, a night that Jara kept watch over from the darkness.