"R-refuse?"

Nale Narene seems to have been taken aback by Rant Valo's response as he could not react to it properly.

"Yes. I don't think I need to listen to you, right?"

Rant Valo calmly responded to him.

"You don't, but aren't you feeling pity for me right now?"

Nale Narene tried to give Rant Valo a way to rationalize helping him, but Rant Valo wasn't buying any of it.

"Nope. First of all, I don't know you aside from what I have seen earlier. And secondly, I'm pissed at your mother."

Rant Valo shook his head at Nale Narene's words. There was no way he would feel pity for someone he only got to know for less than a day. He was, after all, treated quite badly in the village, and he still doesn't know if Nale Narene would do the same and abandon him just like what the other villagers did to him.

"I'll explain everything to you and have my mother apologize!"

Nale Narene pleaded to Rant Valo, and he even bowed towards him to show his sincerity. However, his mother was shocked and tried to make him stand straight when she saw him bow to a villager.

"Nale! What are you doing? Quickly, stand straight. You're a noble!"

Viynia Narene tried to convince him to stand up, but Nale Narene was stubborn. He resisted her with all of his body, and any of her attempts were all useless.

"Mother, please, this is our only chance."

Nale Narene whispered to her in a grim voice. He didn't want the family's noble line to end in his hands. It would be the most shameful thing that he could ever do, so in his opinion, this much was nothing. It's just a sacrifice for a better and brighter future.

"Nale…"

Viynia Narene saw Nale Narene's determined eyes as he looked at her while bowing towards Rant Valo. She swallowed hard and looked away from her son.

"Okay…"

Viynia Narene conceded to him. If Nale Narene was this stubborn, then she couldn't do anything anymore. She would only be antagonistic towards him if she continued.

"I still refuse."

Rant Valo's voice sounded from the other side of the room, and the mother-son duo couldn't help but turn their heads towards him.

"Even with this??"

Nale Narene wasn't able to take Rant Valo's response well as he exclaimed in bewilderment. It was impossible, in his opinion, for someone to not feel an ounce of pity when the person was practically pleading in front of them.

"I don't see any benefits in it for me."

Rant Valo responded solemnly. The things that Nale Narene wanted to do were all to benefit himself selfishly.

Rant Valo glanced at Floriana Sabina from the corner of his eyes and saw her encouraging him.

"Don't worry, Disciple. If you continue doing this, Nale Narene will reveal exactly what's happening."

Floriana Sabina was moving her lips imperceptibly, and only Rant Valo could hear what she was saying. Everything that Rant Valo did from the moment he refused Nale Narene has been Floriana Sabina's idea.

Rant Valo nodded his head in understanding at Floriana Sabina.

"Benefits, you say?"

Nale Narene stood straight and pondered to himself. He thought that being in the good grace of a noble like him would be enough benefit for Rant Valo. However, he didn't expect him to become greedy at this point in time.

"...What do you want?"

In the end, Nale Narene bit his lips and decided to ask Rant Valo's demands first. Then, it would not be too late to decide on what to do after he hears his demands.

"I want to know what is happening towards your family and the reason behind it."

Rant Valo answered him calmly. However, Rant Valo was feeling a little bit uneasy as he was not the type of person to do this. It was only because Floriana Sabina told him to do it that he was even doing it, to begin with.

"Alright."

Nale Narene nodded his head readily. If that's what he needed to do to have Rant Valo take him with him outside of this town to grow stronger, it was reasonable in his opinion.

Nale Narene proceeded to explain how his father exactly dies.

In summary, his father died because he was harvesting a rare medicinal plant called "Evil Sacra Lotus." Contrary to what its name may suggest, it is a very safe plant. It just grows in places full of evil spirits.

Evil Spirits are souls that have tried to depart the world but failed. They contain strong Darkness Element mana that corrodes the mana of anyone that has no immunity towards it.

For example, Nale Narene's father is a 9th Mana Condensation stage Water Element Magic Cultivator. He could create waves and waves of water simply from the water vapor in the air.

But because he didn't have any immunity towards the Darkness Element like Light Element Cultivators, he didn't notice that his mana got corroded before an evil spirit attacked him.

Because of his corroded mana, his attacks failed midway and were ineffective against the evil spirits. Unfortunately, that was also his last.

They only found out about his death after they sent a subordinate to investigate.

The news quickly spread throughout Narene Town, and the Lohuns and Jernas took advantage of it to work together against them.

What could the 'Evil Sacra Lotus' do, you ask? When eaten, the cultivator would enter into a protected state. In this protected state, their minds are clearer than water.

They would be able to cultivate with the utmost concentration, leading to at least a 2x boost to their cultivation speed. And the Evil Sacra Lotus has many petals with effects that last for at least a week.

It was the best headstart you can have against your peers who started cultivating from the same age and environment as you. Nale Narene's father wanted Nale Narene to surpass the Eldest Son and Eldest Daughter of the Lohun and Jerna Household, respectively.

In the end, it only led to his death due to his carelessness.