Chapter 7: The Mage from the Ivory Tower (Part 2)
Location: The Servant's Training Grounds (Old Barn).
Time: Midnight.
The barn smelled of dry hay and sawdust. It was the only place far enough from the main house to muffle the sounds of impact.
Thwack.
Caelum hit the dirt face-first for the tenth time.
"Get up," Ren said. He was leaning against a support beam, arms crossed, looking bored.
Caelum groaned, spitting out a mouthful of straw. He glared at Ren. "You cheat! You threw dirt in my face!"
"And if I were an assassin, I would have thrown acid," Ren replied calmly. "You are training to be a Knight, Caelum. Knights fight in tournaments with referees and rules. I am teaching you how to survive."
Caelum dragged himself up. His expensive training leathers were scuffed. He wiped his eyes. "Father says a noble warrior fights with honor."
"Your father," Ren said, walking forward slowly, "is a Level 60 Grandmaster who can crush mountains. He can afford honor. You are a Level 8 Iron Rank. You cannot."
Ren picked up a wooden stick.
"Again. This time, don't look at my weapon. Look at my shoulders. The shoulders move before the hand."
Caelum gritted his teeth and raised his practice sword. "Fine."
They sparred for another hour. Ren didn't use magic. He didn't use his superhuman stats to overwhelm Caelum. He lowered his output to match Caelum's physical level, defeating him purely with technique and anticipation.
By 2:00 AM, Caelum was exhausted, bruised, and panting. But there was a change in him. He wasn't swinging wildly anymore. He was watching. He was calculating.
"Enough," Ren said, dropping the stick.
Caelum collapsed onto a hay bale. "Do I... get a passing grade?"
"You survived," Ren said. "That is the only grade that matters."
Ren dusted off his tunic. "Now, the payment. The Library."
Caelum nodded, catching his breath. "Follow me. The night shift guards are on my payroll. They think I'm sneaking out to meet a girl."
Location: The Arken Family Library.
Time: 2:30 AM.
The library was a sanctuary of silence. It was two stories high, lined with shelves of mahogany and smelling of beeswax and centuries of history. Moonlight streamed through the tall, arched windows, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air.
Ren stood in the center, overwhelmed not by the size, but by the data.
To a normal person, this was a room of books. To Ren, it was a buffet.
"You have one hour," Caelum whispered, standing guard by the heavy oak doors. "If the Head Librarian wakes up, we're dead."
"Understood."
Ren walked to the shelves. He didn't pull books out to read them. He simply ran his fingers along the spines.
[ System Activity: Scanning... ]
[ Copying 'History of the Northern Duchy' to Archive... ]
[ Copying 'Bestiary of the Frozen Wastes' to Archive... ]
[ Copying 'Basic Swordsmanship Theory' to Archive... ]
He moved quickly, his hand a blur. He was absorbing information at a rate of ten books per minute. The Bibliotheca of Infinity was expanding, new rows appearing in his mental landscape.
He reached the section labeled [ Genealogy and Bloodlines ].
Ren paused. This was why he was here. He needed to know why his mother, a woman of intelligence and grace, had been cast out. Why he was a "Bastard" and not just a second son.
He activated [The Librarian's Eye].
The world turned grey. But one book on the top shelf glowed with a faint, crimson light.
It wasn't a published book. It was a thick, leather-bound journal without a title.
Ren climbed the ladder. He pulled the journal down.
It was locked with a mana-clasp.
[ Lock Level: Low ]
[ Requirement: Arken Bloodline ]
Ren placed his thumb on the clasp. Click. It opened.
He flipped through the pages. It was a record of the Duke's personal affairs. Ren skipped the financial reports and battle strategies. He looked for the dates corresponding to twelve years ago.
Entry: Year 412, Month of Frost.
"She is pregnant. Elara refuses to terminate it. She claims the child is a blessing. I call it a risk. Her bloodline... the Vanes... they were Keepers of the Third Seal. If the Church finds out I bedded a daughter of a Heretic Clan, I will lose the Dukedom."
Ren froze.
Heretic Clan? Vane?
He read on.
Entry: Year 413, Month of Rain.
"The boy is born. He has her eyes. Grey. The color of the Void. The Oracle inspected him. She said his fate is 'clouded'. He has no destiny. A Null Fate. I cannot kill him—he is my blood—but I cannot let him rise. If he awakens the Vane bloodline, the Inquisitors will burn this entire estate to the ground. I have sent them to the Outer Rim. It is for their own safety. Or so I tell myself."
Ren closed the book. His hand was trembling.
"Safety," Ren whispered, his voice dripping with venom. "He threw us into the slums to protect his title. He let her die of sickness because he was afraid of the Church."
He learned three things:
His mother's surname was Vane.
The Vanes were "Keepers of the Third Seal" and considered Heretics.
Ren wasn't just a Null in mana; he had a "Null Fate"—meaning he was invisible to the prophecies of the Oracles.
"Ren?" Caelum whispered from the door. "Time's up. I hear footsteps."
Ren shoved the journal back onto the shelf. He didn't need to steal it; he had already copied it to the Archive.
"Coming," Ren said.
He walked toward Caelum. His face was blank, but inside, a cold fire was burning. The Duke wasn't just a bad father; he was a coward who chose power over family.
"Did you find what you wanted?" Caelum asked as they slipped out into the hallway.
"I found enough," Ren said.
Suddenly, Ren stumbled. He grabbed the wall for support.
A sharp pain twisted his stomach. The [Gauntlets of the Starving Wolf] pulsed on his hands (hidden by the False Null ring).
[ Hunger Levels: Critical. ]
[ Caloric Deficit detected. ]
[ Warning: Artifact will begin consuming user's Health in 10 minutes. ]
Ren gasped. The training. The scanning. The stress. He had burned through the food he ate this morning.
"Ren?" Caelum looked concerned. "You look pale."
"I need... to go," Ren rasped. "I need to eat."
"The kitchens are closed, but I can get you some bread—"
"No," Ren pushed off the wall. "Meat. I need meat."
He couldn't explain. He needed to kill something and let the Gauntlets feed on the life force, or he needed to eat massive amounts of food. Since he couldn't raid the kitchen without getting caught, he had to hunt.
"I will see you tomorrow night," Ren said, turning and running down the corridor toward the servant's exit.
"Wait!" Caelum called out, but Ren was already gone, moving with supernatural speed.
Location: The Dark Forest, Entrance to the Root-Cellar Dungeon.
Time: 3:15 AM.
Ren didn't bother with stealth this time. He sprinted through the forest, the hunger driving him like a madness.
He reached the dead tree. The seal was still broken. He plunged into the darkness of the dungeon.
[ Dungeon: The Root-Cellar of Gluttony ]
[ Floor 1: Cleared. ]
[ Floor 2: Unexplored. ]
Ren ran past the charred remains of the Creeper on Floor 1. He found the stairs leading down.
Floor 2 was different.
It wasn't a hallway. It was a massive, circular chamber that looked like a meat locker. Hooks hung from the ceiling, dripping with slime. The floor was covered in waist-high mist.
Ren stopped. He could hear chewing.
In the center of the room, three creatures were hunched over a pile of bones.
They looked like pigs, but they stood on two legs. They were obese, their skin pink and hairless, covered in sores. They held rusty cleavers.
[ Monster: Gluttonous Butcher (Pigman) ]
[ Level: 7 ]
[ Type: Demon Beast ]
[ Status: Feeding ]
Ren didn't strategize. The curse of the Gauntlets was influencing his mind. The "Starving Wolf" wanted to feed.
"Dinner," Ren growled.
He drew the Prisoner's Shiv.
He activated [Viper's Strike].
He launched himself at the nearest Butcher.
The pigman squealed, raising its cleaver. But Ren was faster. He slid under the swing, slashing the creature's exposed belly.
Slash.
Blood sprayed. It hit the Gauntlets.
The leather of the gloves glowed red. The blood didn't drip off; it was absorbed.
[ Effect Triggered: Life Steal. ]
[ Hunger Reduced. ]
[ Vitality Restored. ]
A surge of euphoria hit Ren. It felt better than eating. It felt like power.
He spun, kicking the second pigman in the knee, shattering the joint. As it fell, he stabbed it in the throat.
The third pigman roared and charged.
Ren raised his hand. [Mana Arrow].
Bang.
The bolt hit the pigman in the face, blinding it. Ren closed the distance and drove the shiv into its heart.
Three kills in ten seconds.
Ren stood panting over the corpses. The hunger in his stomach faded, replaced by a warm, buzzing sensation.
[ XP Gained: 350 ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You are now Level 6. ]
Ren looked at his blood-soaked hands. The Gauntlets were humming.
"This is dangerous," Ren realized, his mind clearing as the hunger subsided. "The artifact influences my aggression. I almost lost control."
He needed to be careful. But he also needed to clear this floor.
He looked around the room. At the back of the meat locker, there was a heavy iron door.
And standing in front of it was a figure.
It wasn't a monster.
It was a humanoid figure made entirely of shadow, holding a lantern that burned with a green flame.
[ Warning: Dungeon Guardian Detected. ]
[ Entity: The Shade of the starving Steward. ]
[ Level: 9 ]
[ Danger: High ]
The Shade raised its lantern. A cold, raspy voice echoed in Ren's head.
"The Master is sleeping... do not... disturb the feast..."
Ren gripped his shiv. Level 9. This was the boss of the dungeon.
"I'm not here to disturb the feast," Ren said, his grey eyes glowing in the dark. "I am the feast."
He checked his Mana. [ 90 / 205 ].
He had enough for one big fight.
"Let's see what you're hiding, Steward."
End of Chapter 7 - Part 2
Summary of Events:
Training: Ren trains Caelum in "dirty fighting," beginning to change the boy's mindset from honorable knight to pragmatist.
The Heist: Caelum sneaks Ren into the Arken Family Library.
The Revelation: Ren finds a journal confirming his mother (Elara) was a Vane—a member of a "Heretic" clan called the Keepers of the Third Seal. Ren learns he has a "Null Fate" (invisible to prophecy).
The Curse: The exertion triggers the Gauntlets' Hunger Curse. Ren is forced to flee to the Dungeon to feed.
Dungeon Floor 2: Ren slaughters three Gluttonous Butchers in a frenzy, healing via Life Steal.
The Boss: Ren encounters the Dungeon Guardian: The Shade of the Starving Steward (Level 9).