...........

Chapter 23: Specter hunting IV

...........

As the man looked through the contract, he found himself speechless. He knows the reputation of the bloody general, but he didn't expect him to be so ruthless against his son... If only he knew.

"G-give me a minute." The old man stumbled on his words before walking to a table close to him and started writing a few things down, things about the task and the candidate to keep track of it.

Val continued to look through the contracts on the wall while contemplating his task.

'I've been given a year to finish the task, and I'm free to do what I desire within that time as long as I complete it.

However, my task is much harder than my dear brothers' tasks back when they were tested.

And the reward? a certain degree of freedom to do whatever we want without crossing a few lines.

Moreover, we can ask Alvion one question, which he will honestly answer. Rhys' was most likely about his mother, and I'm sure Noah & Nious asked the same... The difference is the answer they received.

So how am I to go about this? I got myself a few possible shields, I ought to see how useful they could be. With the combination of my preparation and rat plans, It should all go well.'

"Here." His thoughts were interrupted by the short old man handing him back his contract. He took it and put it back in his pocket as he noticed the clerk's obvious nervousness, "What? Speak and stop fidgeting."

The clerk nodded, finding himself under enormous pressure under the young man's harmless eyes, "As you might know, we usually take the test time to investigate the candidates but... But I don't think we need to investigate you sinc..."

"Stop beating around the bush. You want to see my family's symbol, right?" Val smiled amusement as he showed the old man the same hexagonal disc he showed to the guards before.

The man tensely nodded before handing Val a white engraved orb, "This is a scanning artifact as you might've already known. Please keep it with you at all times, especially when facing the contract's targets, and please bring the ashes of the fallen specters with you."

Val took the small artifact to his hand, 'I've read a lot about this thing, made of the core of the fallen banshees, able to detect signals of special creatures and their state,'

Thankfully the artifact was engraved specifically to detect specter signals and filter everything else because otherwise, there will be so much information it'd be impossible to go through.

Moreover, that would to a certain extent violate one's privacy. They can't detect anything specific at all but can accurately pick out how many seekers were within close proximity of it.

It's also a useful tool to detect the specters in the vicinity, and every specter hunter uses it.

He then went back to the Inn, sensing the obvious movement of the ether along the way, and he felt no envy for the seekers causing it. 'The movement of the ether I cause in deep meditation is simply too much, so being forbidden to meditate during the test is something I predicted.

I will likely alarm the whole town if I do so, and I didn't even use the full capabilities of my soul curtain back at the castle... It was just too much.'

The inability to absorb the ether and fill every cell with it could be torturous. He can form his aspect seed without absorbing the ether, this is a defining concept of the ether seeking path's brilliance.

The absorption of the ether is tasteless, necessary at times, but tasteless. It's but a number that gradually goes higher and higher.

The tools and subsequent steps of the path are what make seekers shine because otherwise, they would've been barbarians with a limited future.

Alvion however did give him an ultimatum. Just like how seekers can selectively absorb ether variants in the deep meditation state, they can also selectively choose the distance of the ether variants they want to absorb.

That's however an arduous task due to the vagueness of that state, and very few can achieve it before the third sequence... If only he knew that his son has already achieved it.

Strangely, however, Val wasn't interested in practicing at all. His focus was elsewhere as he sat down on the bod of the Inn room and closed his eyes.

However, there was no movement in the ether for he didn't enter deep meditation. He instead focused on the ether under his control, within the cells of his body.

He started imagining that ether flowing into his soul through his brain's center, thus entering a dark space.

He then imagined the ether moving in a particular familiar movement, lenticular galaxies' movement. The soul curtain type plays a role throughout the first sequence.

A seeker's aspect will depend largely on the soul, mentality, environment, emotions, and lastly, desires.

He hasn't heard or read of it happening, but Val chose to use those concepts to his advantage to get a specific aspect he desires.

He thought of it day and night. He imagined it in his sleep and saw it when his eyes were wide open, under the light of the sun. He was even hypnotizing himself to truly believe that's how it should be.

Strangely, despite the obscurity and anomaly of the aspect, he found it quite easy. He felt himself making progress towards that path. He felt like he's slowly but surely planting the aspect seed he desires.

That's how he's planning to spend the entire test time and even more if required. He continued with the process for a few hours before going to sleep.

He was used to not sleeping much in his previous life, and it only got more extreme in this life, only two hours a day, and he clearly felt like he can handle it.

He used to follow the Dymaxion sleep cycle, which is quite arduous for most people, and even he used to find it a bit tiresome, but he felt no such thing here.

He woke up at dawn, so he continued with creating his aspect seed until morning. He then headed downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.

Val was extremely thankful for the advancement of food in this world. He can even say it surpasses his previous world due to the variety and magical ingredients here.

He found himself satisfied with the chicken and waffles before him. A recipe everyone can make, so he kind of missed his home where he could find some wonderful ingredients, therefore phenomenal dishes.

As always, he ate his meal elegantly with his legs crossed. His hands were holding a fork and a knife. He can't remember the last time he used his hands directly to eat something if you excuse his stay at the prison.

Soon his guests found themselves in the Inn, and they naturally found him in the dining room. As before, the woman and the leader took a seat before the other two followed suit.

"You're really staying in an Inn when you can stay in the seekers' district for free. Am sure the clerk told you that, and considering how much money one needs to start as a specter hunter, I fail to see why you'd do this."

The woman who appears to be the real leader of the group, the sound reason spoke coldly, with no respect whatsoever, something she specifically reminded the man of before.

Val had no change of expression as he cut part of the chicken and the waffles. He then brought them together before picking them with his fork, and to his amused mouth they went.

He stopped not after that but ate until he had his fill. If only he could see the woman's face hidden beneath the hood, he would've seen veins popping on her head as she did her best to calm down.

Val placed the fork and the knife on the table, then picked up a napkin and carefully cleaned his mouth.

Whatever calmness the woman regained during that period was thrown out of the window by his next words, which broke the tense and awkward atmosphere, "Sorry about that, I was eating while you were interrupting."

He however didn't stop there as he added, "A wise man once said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

I thought I will have to say that to him at some point, but I didn't expect I will have to say it to you since you reminded him to be respectful. I guess..."

"Enough!! Let's get this over with, and I will speak no more." The woman finally snapped and shouted at him before throwing the pot to her teammate and giving a glare at her female friend next to her after she noticed her barely holding her laugh back.

The two men however were speechless, suddenly witnessing their ice-cold friend losing her composure stunned them, so Val had to take things into his own hand.

"I don't mind joining your group even though I believe I can finish my contract safely, but it wouldn't hurt to be safe.

Also, I want to lead the group when it's time for my contract. Of course, you can give advice at that time as I will during your contracts.

That brings me to another thing, let's leave my contract for last as I need to observe what each of you excels at to assign the most suitable tasks when the time comes."

The man thought about it carefully before taking his hood off, showing his short brown hair and brown eyes, and a handsome face.

He then said, "Welcome to our group, I'm Lucas Neuros, the leader of the group. This is..."

He tried to introduce the woman next to him but was cut off by her as she said the rest with an extra vinegar on top.

"Selena Oulser. Those terms, we can agree on as long as your tasks don't have too high of a chance of getting us killed. Also, if I find your leadership to be subpar when the time comes, I will take over."

The other woman next to her let out a chuckle before introducing herself, "Natalia, just Natalia. And please excuse her tone, she means well."

"Hi?! Don't put words in my mouth!" Selena couldn't help but glare at her friend as she said. In contrast to the men, the two still hid their faces.

"Boarlian." The last man was quite burly and had no hair to speak of on his head. His words were rough and slow. Well, he just spoke one word.

Val gently nodded at the group, finding them quite amusing and entertaining. Hell, he could even see the threads of fate guiding them to him or the opposite... 'It's starting.'