Victor stood before the gathered elders and the patriarch of the Asteriscus family, gazing down at him with a mixture of disapproval and mounting frustration on their faces. If looks could kill, Victor would have died several times over.

  “Victor, you brat, explain yourself!” barked Victor’s uncle, Gardacle Asteriscus, the loudest voice in the room — the old man’s face was red with fury. “What have YOU done to cause this predicament?! Did you intend to drag the Asteriscus Magus family down with you into the mud?!”

  All the elders in the room were in full agreement. It was written plainly across their faces. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing: “What has he been doing all this time?” And more than that, “How dare he show his face now, at a time like this?”

  But the most palpable animosity came from the man seated at the center — his father, Maverick Asteriscus.

  “Victor,” Maverick said, his voice cold and sharp. Unlike his brother, he didn’t raise his tone, and he didn’t need to, as his words carried far more weight. “You vanished without a word. You were last seen months ago alongside the Merlin heir, who is now dead. And just a few days ago, they sent an envoy demanding tribute, threatening us with terms fit for vassals. Do you even understand what kind of storm you’ve brought to our doorstep?”

  His words were precise and clear, but they brought silence across the hall, which was tense and suffocating.

  Yet, instead of cowering beneath their pressure, Victor’s expression remained composed. Slowly, a quiet, mysterious smile curved across his lips. “Quite the welcome, I see. I suppose I should have expected nothing less.”

  Having served as the headmaster of the Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi for months and worn the mantle of a respected authority figure for just as long, Victor felt nothing from their pressure. The gap between who he once was and who he had become was like the distance between heaven and earth.

  “What?! How dare you!” Gardacle roared, unable to contain himself, and unleashed a wave of mana pressure. The force of an Elemental Adept Magus slammed toward Victor, filling the hall with suffocating energy.

  Victor played his part well. He flinched slightly, letting his knees bend just enough to appear pressured, but he continued to speak.

  “Let me finish,” he said calmly. “I wouldn’t have returned here if I didn’t bring something of value… After all, I’ve uncovered a complete high-rank meditation technique — one that could help an Elemental Adept Magus break through to the Nexus Temporal rank.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” Gardacle thundered, slamming his fists down onto the arms of his chair with a loud crack. “Do you think we’ll believe such nonsense from you? A high-rank meditation technique? That’s nothing but empty boasting!”

  It had long been the dream of smaller Magus families like theirs to obtain a complete high-rank meditation technique — a key that would allow them to advance further on the Magus path and stand shoulder to shoulder with the great lineages. For generations, such a treasure had eluded them. So, for Victor, a mere third-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte in their eyes, to suddenly claim he had uncovered what they had searched for in vain was nothing short of preposterous.

  “It’s fine if you don’t believe me,” Victor replied with a calm shrug, his voice cutting cleanly through the doubts of the elders. “But if that’s the case, then don’t expect to get a single word out of me when I do reveal the technique. I’ll just take it elsewhere.”

  “You—!” Gardacle’s face turned red with fury. He rose from his seat, mana gathering rapidly around him. “It seems you’ve forgotten what it means to speak before official Magi! Let me remind you with a—”

  “Enough!” Maverick’s authoritative voice rang out, causing the pressure in the room to change instantly. Gardacle froze, though his eyes still burned with anger.

  Maverick stapled his fingers, fixing Victor with a piercing gaze. “Your claim carries a lot of weight and responsibility. If you’re lying, the damage you’ve caused is already irreparable. You speak of a high-rank meditation technique that can help an Elemental Adept Magus break through to Nexus Temporal?” He paused, letting the words sink in. “Then prove it. Make an oath before the Primordial One. Swear on your soul that what you claim is true. Do you dare?”

  The Primordial One was a mysterious existence believed to oversee the Primordial Nexus — the origin of all mana. The power behind most magic contracts typically invoked the Primordial One as the witness and enforcer. Simply making an oath in its name wouldn’t carry the full weight of a contract, but it still bore a weaker, yet tangible effect. For an acolyte, breaking such an oath would be extremely fatal. The backlash wouldn’t be as absolute as a magic contract, though it was still enough to maim or kill, depending on the severity of the falsehood.

  Of course, none of that mattered to Victor, who was a peak Elemental Adept Magus.

  Victor thus vowed, “I swear on the Primordial One that the meditation technique I possess is a complete high-rank method, suitable for helping Elemental Adept Magi reach the Nexus Temporal rank.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Suddenly, a faint ripple of energy shimmered briefly around him, as if the world subtly acknowledged his oath. Gasps echoed throughout the room. Even the elders who had doubted him most were momentarily stunned to silence.

  After all, Victor wasn’t lying in the slightest.

  Within the grand library inside the citadel, there were indeed countless high-rank meditation techniques that were designed to reach realms beyond even the Primordial Sigil rank. In fact, Victor had already been using nearly all of the high-end computers he had accumulated back on Earth to assist in generating the continuation of the Omni-Elemental Fusion Method. The second level, suited for the Nexus Temporal rank, was nearly complete and would be available once he returned to the academy.

  In this case, he wasn’t bluffing. Not in the slightest.

  “It seems that you’ve spoken the truth.” There was a distinct change in Maverick’s tone, the hidden anger easing into a calmer tone as he continued, “You must be tired after such a long journey. Return to your quarters for now. The elders and I have matters to deliberate regarding your claim.”

  It was clear that Maverick intended to summon Victor privately later, likely to discuss the high-rank meditation technique in greater detail. A shrewd and authoritative man to his core, Maverick no doubt wanted to monopolize it for himself — to be the first in the family to step into the coveted Nexus Temporal rank.

  Victor, of course, saw right through the intent and didn’t care in the slightest. He concealed the amusement flickering in his eyes behind a neutral smile. “As you wish.”

  With that, he turned and left the main hall. The heavy doors closed behind him with a low thud, and the suffocating pressure of the elders’ scrutiny vanished instantly. His footsteps echoed down the familiar corridor — a path he hadn’t walked in what felt like a lifetime. The walls were the same — adorned with mana sconces and banners bearing the family crest — yet something about them felt less imposing. He had changed too much for this place to feel the same.

  Eventually, he reached the residential wing reserved for the family’s legitimate sons. As he stepped in, the sound of familiar voices reached his ears.

  “Well, look who crawled back.”

  Victor stopped in his tracks. By the ornamental fountain stood two blue-haired young men, not much older than himself, lounging as if the world revolved around them. Both bore features resembling his own — his half-brothers. One was tall and lean, wearing a haughty smirk and a jeweled brooch pinned to his acolyte robe. The other was broader, with arms across his chest and an all-too-eager grin on his face.

  “Thought you’d be locked up or thrown into the dungeon by now,” the taller one sneered. “But I suppose they’re saving the punishment for later.”

  “Maybe they’ll strip him of the family name,” the other chimed in with a laugh.

  Gerald and Ivan. In the past, Victor had kept his distance from them, and they had treated him with indifference since he held equal power. Now that they believed he’d fallen, they wasted no time gloating.

  Despite the mockery, Victor merely glanced at them with a faint smile and didn’t bother responding. Instead, he strolled past them without a word, leaving the two sneering brothers puzzled at his calm demeanor.

  But just as he passed them, both of his half-brothers suddenly stiffened, and their eyes were going wide in terror.

  “M-Monsters?! Why are there monsters crawling all over the walls?!”

  “Aaahh!! Help! Don’t let them touch me!”

  Victor had subtly cast the illusion spell {Curse of the Nightmare} to spook his half-brothers — nothing serious, just enough to make them squirm and make it a lifetime trauma whenever they saw him. Ha! Their reactions aren’t much different from the players who got hit by the same curse.

  As their panicked cries echoed behind him, Victor turned the corner and made his way through the corridor. But just as he reached the door to his old quarters, a figure stepped into his path, blocking the way.

  It was a striking young woman with shoulder-length blue hair, clad in a fine acolyte robe that shimmered with traces of enchantment. Her sharp gaze locked onto Victor with a complex mixture of surprise, disbelief, and relief, carefully masked beneath a stern expression. She stood with her arms crossed, which was while rigid, it wasn’t hostile. She was Victor’s half older sister.

  “Victor!” she exclaimed. “You sure have the guts to return to the Asteriscus Manor. Why didn’t you just run off somewhere far away from all this?”

  Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly, though his expression remained calm. He instantly recognized the mana fluctuation emanating from her, which was bordering the threshold of becoming an Elemental Adept Magus. Perhaps not inferior to the queen spider that Victor fought as an acolyte.

  Not too shabby. Even though she was only a few years older than Victor, Angela had always been one of the most promising talents among his siblings, a rising star of the Asteriscus Magus family, and one who would certainly be the first to become an Elemental Adept Magus if not for Victor.

  “Nice to see you too, Angela,” he said mildly.

  She scowled but didn’t refute his words. “You have no idea what kind of trouble your name has stirred up around here. You're lucky Father hasn’t publicly disowned you yet. Half the elders want to pin everything on you, and that Merlin envoy’s still lounging in the guest wing like he owns the place.”

  There was a trace of hostility as she uttered the envoy.

  Victor raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. “Sounds like I came back at just the right time.”

  Angela gave him a long look, clearly thrown off by his composure. “You look… oddly confident. Still, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have come back. Just… be careful. I was thinking of recommending to Father and the elders that we request support from the Amethyst Ring Tower if things escalate. If the Merlin family really attacks, they’d be forced to think twice with the Tower involved. It should make things easier for you.”

  The Amethyst Ring Tower was a notable Magus academy located on the border of the kingdom, second only to the Arcane Radiance College. Its master was a powerful Nexus Temporal Magus, and the Tower maintained a cordial alliance with the Arcane Radiance College. Angela was currently an acolyte of the Tower.

  But different from Victor, who was just one of many ordinary acolytes within the Arcane Radiance College, Angela was a standout — an elite apprentice being groomed to become one of the Tower’s future pillars. Her words would carry more weight in there than his in the Arcane Radiance College.

  Victor, however, simply shook his head. “There’s no need.”

  “At least get some re— Huh? Why not?” Angela blinked.

  With a mysterious glint in his eyes, Victor revealed, “Because I’ve decided… I’m going to take over the Asteriscus Magus family.”

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