Chapter 17:

The Rising Sun Clan

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*Zzz!*

As Vinci walked through the respective School portal, he arrived in his neighborhood.

“Ahh, today was quite a long day...to think I’d have two battles on the same day while having to hold back at the same time..”

Vinci mumbled as he began to walk down the dark alley towards his house.

*Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*

“?!”

Vinci stopped when two shadows swooped down from the sky and landed in front of him. As he tried to see who they were, he quickly realized that it would be impossible.

Both of the strangers were clad in pure black clothings from the tip of their head to the soles of their feet. They were both completely wrapped in darkness.

As Vinci wondered who they were, the left shadow spoke up,

“Greetings, Mr. Noburo. We are from the Rising Sun Clan. As per our Clan Master’s order, we have come to fetch you.”

“...And why is that so?”

To Vinci’s question, this time the shadow on the right spoke,

“Because he wishes to meet you.”

“Meet me huh...well, if it’s the Master of a Clan that wants to see me it might be worth a visit…”

Vinci thought as he studied the two ink-dyed figures standing before him.

“Alright, I will go with you guys.”

“‘Then, allow us to guide you.””

The two shadows walked forward and the left shadow placed its raven hand on Vinci’s shoulder. The grip was firm and filled with confidence. In an instant, the surrounding became white…

***

“It is just as you had said, Headmaster Ember. Our report stated that when our agents went to check on the boy, Vinci Noburo, at his house there was no one inside. Instead, they found traces of Teleportation magic being used outside the house’s vicinity. The boy was most likely kidnapped by the Rising Sun Clan as you had mentioned.”

The secretary Sina stood facing the elder in the dimly lit room. The only source of light was from the crescent window behind the desk where the elder sat.

It was now past midnight and school had closed several hours ago, but strangely the two women had remained in school.

“Mmm… I knew the Rising Sun Clan would eventually make a move on the boy sooner or later, but this is a bit too soon...well, perhaps not, given his record-breaking test score...and that unusual display of strength…”

The headmaster smiled as she thought back to how she had secretly tailed the boy at the beginning. She had watched over the boy since the moment she locked eyes with him during the School introduction ceremony.

At that moment, she had placed a tracking spell on the child that was prepared before hand. After that, all she had to do was “will” the spell to latch onto the specific target that she had set her eyes on. Once the tracking spell was successfully placed on the boy, headmaster Ember was able to clearly see all of the boy’s movement in her mind from a bird’s point of view. She simply had to think of the child for the tracking spell to activate and transmit a mental live footage of the boy’s current actions, thought she made sure to not use the tracking spell when the child went to do his “business” in the restroom…

But because of the tracking spell placed on Vinci, the headmaster had already seen Vinci get taken away the moment the two dark servants appeared.

Moreover, she was able to see all the battles that Vinci had took part of these two days-- including the one with Emi’s group. The elder was quite astonished when she saw the boy’s overwhelming strength against his nine assailants. And her amazement only furthered when she witness the child fight on par with one of Arena Academy’s top warrior, Athan Greymony. If there was a ranking system in this school that determines a student's’ battle prowess, the child Athan would no doubt be ranked in the top five…

“Should we not go help him, Headmaster?”

Sina’s question brought the headmaster back into reality.

“Oh...ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. I’m sure the Rising Sun Clan will not do anything to the boy...after all, they should know better than anyone what I’m capable of if they dare harm one of my students..”

The headmaster’s eyes let out a murderous glint as she intertwined both her hands in front of her solemn face. To this, the secretary hurriedly lowered her posture as she gave a slight bow.

“I understand, then we will not take part in this as you wish.”

“Mmm…”

The elder then turned to look out the window behind her.

“I wonder just what are you up, little Earl?”

***

When Vinci opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a grand room. The walls were colored brown like wood with large bookshelves each planted in the four corners of of the spacious room.

As he turned to observe his surrounding, he noticed that the two shadows were standing behind him now, one on each of his side, as they maintained as slightly bent posture.

“So, I presume you are Vinci Noburo?”

A deep voice boomed out and Vinci immediately turned to face the source.

In front of him, he saw a middle aged man dressed in golden-white robe with three stripes of white hair on his otherwise dark head. The man was smiling at him.

“Yes..I am. And I’d assume you’re the Clan Master?”

“That is correct. My name is Earl FlameHeart, Master of the Rising Sun Clan.”

“Ah~ so he is Cecilia’s father then…”

Vinci quietly thought as he looked at the man before him.

“And today, I asked that you be brought before me because I have a proposal for you that you might be interested in…”

Earl continued as he eyed Vinci.

“...Would you like to join the Rising Sun Clan as an official member?”

“?!”

Although each Clan in the United World was large, it was not easy to become a member. Normally, to become one, the person would have through a rigorous training menu before finally deemed worthy enough to be admitted. And upon admission, there are various benefits to be apart of a Clan, though more or less if one is just a member, they would simply be viewed as “pawns” for the Clan.

Knowing this, Vinci unhesitantly replied,

“...I refuse.”

“? And why did you?”

“I don’t have much of a desire to work under someone else. Especially if the benefit doesn’t outweigh the work required --and being a “slave” to a Clan seems like it would be a drag..”

Earl slightly narrowed his eyes at Vinci and spoke, this time with a hint of menace in his tone..

“Oh? Well then, since you refused I cannot let you leave so easily now....ahaha, don’t look at me like that, I will not kill you.”

Vinci had begun to glare at the man when he talked of not allowing him to leave easily. The Clan Master continued to speak,

“Instead, how about we do this: if you can endure the Soul Power that transmit at you to a certain extent, then you are free to go.”

The master smiled as he stared Vinci. By making this proposal, Earl had wanted to test the boy’s Soul Power level. After all, measuring another’s Soul Power doesn’t have to be limited to just using a crystal ball. By transmitting one’s SP towards another person, they are able to gauge how strong the other’s SP rank is at depending on how that person reacts to their SP aura. If a person’s SP is stronger than the other person, the latter would inevitable either show expressions of pain or faint completely.

That is because emitting one’s SP is similar to that of a killing intent. The SP aura emitted by the person ravages the enemies’ body system in order to gauge their level of skill while at the same time implanting their dominance in that person’s body. Only highly advanced individuals in the upper Ranks are able to do this. Lower ranks would only be able to merely emit killing intents, but not quite able to gauge their opponents rank.

Vinci stared back at the Clan Master before nonchalantly replying.

“Fine. You may try me.”

Earl’s smile widened upon the boy’s agreement.

“Alright, then I will begin now…”

“I’ll start by emitting a bit of SP at him..”

Earl thought as an explosion of invisible energy blasted towards Vinci.

Vinci did budge a bit as his expression remained calm.

“Hmm...good, seems like he might actually be able to use some SP..alright, let’s take it up a notch.”

Another wave came rolling towards Vinci, this time it is a lot thicker and heavier than before. But even so, Vinci’s expression was unreadable.

“Ho...this boy, he could withstand a Grandmaster Rank’s SP energy...I knew he was not so simple! Haha!...hmmm let’s see how long he can last!”

This time, Earl took a deep breath as he tilted his head upward. When he leveled down his head, his eyes suddenly opened as an incredible amount of aura burst forth from his very being.

The papers on his desk scattered as the room slightly trembled. Even the two shadows that was quietly standing in the back let out a slight yell as they quickly fell backward. They couldn’t withstand the aura that Earl was projecting towards their direction, though it was mainly at the boy.

Earl had expected by now the boy would’ve at least fainted, but he stood there stupefied as he stared the boy before him.

Vinci’s face was still as serene as ever, and his posture remained upright and unmoving even before the explosive invisible force that is directed at him. Even a normal person ignorant to the knowledge SP would have fainted by now.

“H-how can this be...t-this should’ve been my full power that’s being emitted towards him, but yet he’s not bothered….are you telling me that this boy’s Soul Power is beyond that of a Heavenly Rank practitioner?!?”

The man slightly paled as he tried to process the impossible scene before him. Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted his thought,

“May I leave now?”

Earl instantly focused back on the boy. This time, a chill ran through his body when he met the boy’s eyes. The child’s eyes reflected strange lighted as he silently gazed at the clan master.

“A-ah! Why, yes, you are free to leave now. No, wait, why don’t reconsider your decision before? I’m willing to even make you my direct subordinate -- no, how about as my direct disciple if you join us?”

Earl had now realized the boy was a priceless existence. If it was true that the his SP rank is at or above a Heavenly Ranked practitioner, his power would be an enormous advantage for the Rising Sun Clan. But even if not, to be able to endure the aura emitted by a Heavenly Rank user is more than enough to deem that person a monster -- especially if that said person is only a mere 15 year old child.

“Haaa...this is the second time someone has asked me to join their Clan...why don’t they understand that they have no use for me…”

Vinci thought as he narrowed his eyes and firmly replied,

“I still refuse. Like I said before, I am not looking to join anything as of now. Now, good bye.”

“W-wait! Then, how about I make you my son-in-law if you come to our Rising Sun Clan?”

“...hah? You…”

Vinci slightly tilted his head as he looked at the grand man who's now desperately pleading with him.

“Haaa...alright, I’m will help your Clan if you need me, but I will not join you. And I don’t want to be your son-in-law...you should at least think about how your daughter might feel, making such a rash decision by yourself…”

The clan master’s face instantly brightened upon Vinci’s words as he ignored his last few remarks. Even though he was unable to get him to join his Clan, if he were to have the help of someone talented like him the Clan itself will definitely prosper in the future.

“A-ah...thank you very much. Well then, Nelo, Selo, please escort our guest back home.”

The two shadows who had been staying back slowly came forward as the left shadow once again placed its hand on Vinci’s shoulder. This time though, the hand was slightly trembling when it came into contact with the boy’s shoulder. But Vinci simply kept quiet.

In another instant, when Vinci opened his eyes he was inside his house now. The two shadows were no where to be seen.

“Hmmm...to transport me directly into my house...well, at least that saves me some walking time.”

Vinci shrugged as he started upstairs toward his room.

“It really has been a long day today...haaaa...”

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Thank you all for reading, you awesome people! :)