"This place is pretty big!" Paul found himself walking through the halls of Azriel's residence, it was a nicely decorated place and even though it was already past the middle of the night, everything was well lit with oil lamps.
I walked out to the back where the stars were visible and sat on a step as I looked up at the sky.
"It's been over 7 years since I got here and today has had more excitement than all the days of my life!"
Paul sighed, the reason being that he wanted to go see the others, but they must be asleep by now, but as he was about to get up to leave he saw a beautiful woman arriving.
"At last I find you!" she said in a low voice.
"Aunt Helen you should be sleeping?" Paul felt a little uncomfortable, as he wanted to use analytical eye on her to know more about his mother, but when he saw those worried eyes he didn't, and in his heart he wanted to hear everything from her, to what to use that ability.
Helen sat as Paul sat beside her and watched the stars.
Paul wanted to say something but seeing Helen's expectant look at the sky he mimicked her, and the two spent several minutes in silence.
"Aunt Helen you really aren't my aunt are you" Paul said slowly as he looked at her silhouette.
"What makes you think that?" Helen turned her gaze to Paul slowly and their eyes met.
Paul couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster as he saw those eyes reflecting the moonlight, her silver hair and that lovely face, Paul felt a little embarrassed by such beauty, if she was on earth she would be a truly out of this world beauty, but now he was in a world where fantasy is reality, so there was no reason why the heavens couldn't create such a woman, 7 years had passed but Helen didn't change in the slightest.
"Because my heart does nothing but see you as a woman, rather than an aunt!"
Paul could only say that quietly as he turned his face away in embarrassment, still Helen could hear it all and her cheeks slightly flushed red.
"Look at you leave the house one day and you already want to act like a man!" Helen said with a smile, then continued in a serious manner.
"There are things you don't know. Your mother wanted you to live a normal life, but now that you chose this path the only way for me to tell you these things is for you to become strong, right now you are very weak I can only be there accompanying you on your way."
Paul listened carefully and knew what she meant by cultivation, but since he decided not to use analytical eye on Helen he didn't care much, but he wanted to verify something and remembered from once some people arguing about something, The Kingdom where they were was called Lux and this Kingdom had a custom just like it on Earth that differentiated it from the others.
"Aunt Helen can you give me your hand?"
Helen wanted to ask but she saw Paul's face and didn't ask and presented her right hand in front of him.
"That ring..." was surprised Helen at what she saw.
Paul placed the ring on her ring finger, as he watched Helen's expression, she was a little thoughtful, but more nothing so Paul could determine her doubt.
"This is a platinum ring I acquired from a merchant who was passing through town and couldn't help but think it was unique, Aunt Helen don't you know what it means when a woman lets a man place the ring on her ring finger?"
Paul in his heart noticed Helen's confused face and didn't let her say anything as he went on to say:
"In the Lux kingdom in which we live, this act represents a commitment of marriage between a man and a woman."
Helen's whole face was red she wanted to say something but simply couldn't do it and ran away from the place, Paul couldn't help but smile at what he saw.
*Confirmed*
Aunt Helen is not from this Kingdom and was able to determine that it was a storage ring only she didn't say so, Paul was good at reading people's expressions so he was able to intuit that easily.
When conversing with Master Rhys, we spent over half a day talking, supposedly time worked differently in that space.
There I discovered many things, such as learning about auras and being able to choose the Divine Ray manual.
Rhy gave me ten storage rings with unprecedented wealth, each ring had the wealth of a great mountain, the ring I placed on his finger was one of those rings.
Paul thought about the whole conversation he had with Rhys and remembered the scene before and couldn't help but define one word "Beautiful" there were no words to describe Helen as he remembered her panicked expression.
Paul couldn't sleep and set about cultivating to stabilize his foundation. He could gain experience in battle and meditation, but it was all based on his compression, being an apprentice knight his body acquired the capacity he had for comprehension, that revealed the speed to advance in cultivation or magic.
The residents of this world cannot see his profile, so they base everything on levels and realms.
To start cultivation they use the title apprentice knight unconsciously which had 5 levels, Paul couldn't help but remember some of the cultivation novels that talked about Qi condensation, so he categorized it as something of that same level.
And the foundation Establishment as the ranks 1 to 10, where Paul was already at rank 2, so he guessed that cultivation reached higher levels, walk up to heaven.
Will I really be able to reach Rhys's level? Paul shook his head, not worth thinking about things too far ahead yet. It was better to focus on what lay ahead.
Author's note: I used to use the term swordsman's apprentice, but from now on I will use knight's apprentice, to make the narration easier.
A person entered apprentice knight is for his compression attribute to awaken, The martial Ranks from 1 to 10, were the foundation.
"And this…"
In Paul's hand appeared a book with silver edges and a strange drawing on its cover.
"The Principle of Energy, The Reason for Primordial Chaos, The Primordial Era's Ray of Divine, 'Overlord's Ray'."
Paul was able with a tip from Rhys to understand 1 of the 12 levels of this technique, but the first was the easiest, you simply just had to have an affinity for the lightning element, fortunately Paul had an affinity. It was discovered that it was a double element, the element of lightning and the element of light, although the latter did not compare with the former.
Paul spent the whole night trying to understand the next level, but it was impossible, when he thought he had an idea it turned out that it was not what he expected, it was like running in circles without being able to get out of the cycle.
It was already daylight but Paul did not feel fatigued in the least, he felt that his energy was strengthened and now he was a rank two intermediate level, he felt that if he continued at that pace in about a month he could perhaps reach the next level.
"Time to go."
Paul yesterday asked Azriel for a favor and that was for Lord Klink to leave his store behind and follow him to the capital, since if he told him himself he would most likely want to stay in that store, but that could cost him death, that's why he didn't bother to tell them and left everything as it was.
Little Luna and Jasmine did not get up easily but it was to be expected since they spent more than half the night awake.
There was a wagon and horses ready to leave, Mr. Klink was already sitting in front to drive it and little Luna and Jasmine were standing side by side, anyone who saw them would think they were sisters because of their resemblance.
" Paul what are you doing there we have been waiting for you for a while, the capital is waiting for us!" Mr. Klink had a smile on his face.
Isn't Mr. Klink supposed to be one of those old men who prefer to live and die in his village? Where did this guy come from?
Paul felt strange he was prepared even to face that he would stay in his tent, but fortunately that was not the case. If the gentleman stayed there was a good chance that his aunt would stay too and Paul would be a little disappointed in life.
"Mr. Klink where is Aunt Helen?" Paul asked a little nervously.
"Ah her, she's already inside, she looks like she's anxious to get out!"
Paul sighed and then burst out laughing as he knew why reason she wasn't present.
When his eyes fell on the petite Luna she hid behind Jasmine as she watched him shyly.
"Little Luna looks just like your mother!" Paul said smiling and the sound of a thump was heard inside the carriage.
"Don't bully Luna!" Jasmine looked at me menacingly.
Both Paul and Mr. Klink laughed out loud.
"Hey at least say hello when you say goodbye!"
Said an approaching figure, this was Azriel.
"We have to make the most of the time" Paul was already sitting next to Klink to help him herd the horses.
"A week ago a letter had arrived at the guild for you, I just didn't give it any thought it was today when Iriene informed me that there was such a letter" Paul received the letter and placed it inside his storage ring unseen.
A storage ring was a ring that could contain a space inside it to store things. And Paul's not only had unlimited space which made the object a world treasure, but it is also invisible.
Paul felt relaxed that he received the ring and that it could be hidden, for if that were not the case he was almost certain that much later it would get him into trouble.
And the reason was that even in the entire Lux Realm there was not a single ring that could store anything. These objects in low level kingdoms were legends, who knows what they could cause if someone found out that he had one of these on him, even Paul hesitated to give that ring to Helen, but in the end he had to keep it to determine his doubts, and it is not as if he could take it away now, but above all Paul could not accept back something he had already given away.
She already knew who it was that had sent her the letter and remembered that cheeky friend of hers.
Miguel, I haven't heard from you in a long time.
" Let's go!"
Azriel watched them walk away and said in a low voice:
" I hope you don't disappoint our family boy!" and returned to the guild.