《Combat Empire》Sweet Dreams
Advertisement
The woman hadn't come for any purpose other than to introduce herself to him. As for Celine, she always followed Miss Didier.
Lucas soon forgot about the whole thing, continuing to read while Emelie decided to have a servant watch Lucas instead of her watching him. She simply couldn't waste time like this anymore, and she warned Lucas about other people before walking off to go help manage her husband's land, as well as her father's. Her father sent her reports, which was how she could help.
She would've had Lucas simply take the books he wanted, and then follow her back to their room, but he was adamant on staying and it was hard saying no, considering what the tutor had just said.
Why Lucas wanted to stay was simple. He didn't want to have to go back to the library after reading, to get more books. Also, he feared he might fall asleep and waste time if he sat down on a comfortable chair or bed while reading. Being so young gave him the energy to wreak havoc if he so desired, but in the blink of an eye, he could fall asleep, just like that.
He proceeded to read for the next couple of hours, before getting tired and taking the books he didn't finish or still found interesting, back to his room. There was a registering process though, of course. He had to leave some of his mana or the book couldn't go. He briefly studied it but it was far more complicated than a simple lightball.
Batain was right in saying conduit magic and imbuement magic weren't that similar, though was this even imbuement magic? Was he really the one performing magic by leaving his mana there?
He quickly went back and picked up a couple more books on magic before trudging back, the servant watching and helping him the entire time.
Once he got back, he didn't immediately start reading. He was already saturated with knowledge. Also he'd just get a headache if he kept reading. Instead, he began assimilating the new things he'd learned, turning them over in his mind.
Overall, he'd learned a bit more history and more of the little intricacies of magic.
'So many countries only rose because of this 'god' shit. It's stupid but kinda interesting. Some fade, some get crushed, others manage to grow.' While the general concept remained the same, it was twisted hundreds of different ways throughout history.
There was only one constant: the World's Law.
It wasn't a literal law; it had started off as the remaining power of the ancient empire that had once ruled the world: the soldiers, police, and various loyal noblemen who'd been stationed there. Using more advanced technology than the rest of society, they holed up during the natural disasters that would wreck the world.
Once those disasters ended, and the grass had begun to green again, they emerged as a sort of police of the continent. Throughout history, the shadowy organization had played a huge part in destroying blasphemous upstarts, though not once had it actually tried to take power and revive Empre. It surely had the power to do so, given the deep roots it had.
Advertisement
It was while thinking about all these things billions of miles above him, that he drifted off to take a nap.
An hour and a half later, he woke up, feeling oddly refreshed in the way only a nap could give. Getting up, he stretched, before staring into space, simplemindedly enjoying life for a minute. Then he picked up one of the books he'd brought.
He didn't really have much in the way of entertainment. It was an issue that came both due to the technology, and his age. He didn't have the technology required for the fully consuming entertainment of Earth, and due to his age, he didn't get anything more than toys and books to read. It was acceptable though. His parents loved seeing him read and he enjoyed it to an extent as well, as he learned a fair bit.
What was unacceptable was wasting time doing things that didn't really give him anything long term, like he had in his first life.
Shaking his mind off those depressing thoughts, he got up, checking his parents' rooms to see if they were still around. Upon seeing they'd left, he left his room, calling a servant to take him to the dining hall. It'd been quite a while since he ate breakfast in Batain's room.
Looking out the window, he saw a pale orange yellowish light, signifying that the day was at least in its latter half. Getting to the dining hall, he briefly marveled at its size before evaluating the people sitting there. Judging from the lack of blonde hair, most of the people there didn't seem to be actual members of his family but, rather, guests.
'Heh, should I dye my hair blond to fit in?' The thought briefly crossed his mind. He had somewhat similar features to the rest of the family. However, he doubted it really mattered. Besides, where would he get hair dye or the permission to use it?
Looking around, he saw a familiar tall frame sitting down. Walking over to them, he tapped the person. "Hi, Uncle Batain."
Batain frowned, before looking down at the pipsqueak he was supposed to be teaching. Almost immediately, his eyebrows shot up. "Don't tell me you figured it out already."
Lucas simply shook his head.
"Then what the hell are you here for?"
"To eat."
Batain was about to shoo him off when he remembered that the kid knew almost no one so having him eat by himself in a room full of strangers wasn't the best idea. He inwardly sighed at his own kindness. "Where are your parents?"
"They're still working." Lucas sat down next to him. "What are you going to eat?"
"Beef stew", Batain grunted out. Lucas, then, asked his servant to order beef stew. He didn't really know what to eat, given that he didn't know what the kitchen and could make, so he'd just follow someone else's lead.
Once their food was brought to them, they both began gobbling it with equal voracity and relish. Quickly, they finished and asked for seconds. They were still eating that, when one of the most beautiful women Lucas had seen in a while, walked up to their table.
Advertisement
She had long blonde hair extending down her back, stopping just shy of her butt. Her eyes were a bright playful blue, matching the cheeky smile she was giving.
"Aw, Bat, is that your kid? He's just like you, it's super cute."
Batain looked up at her warily, as if she'd come to take his stew. Still, he responded, after finishing the food in his mouth. "He's not my son, Thecla."
By now the woman had sat down, putting her elbows on the table, seemingly hung on Batain's every word. "Really? Then whose is he?" She sounded genuinely shocked.
"Sebastian's."
"Oh, I do see the resemblance a bit. He looks and acts a lot more like you, though. It's cute. What's your name?"
Lucas had trouble following her speech. It was way too fast and animated. It was like she was cheeriness personified.
"His name is Lucas." Batain answered for him. Lucas was quite surprised at how curt Batain was being. He hadn't known the man for too long but he seemed a lot more like the type of guy who, when they didn't want to talk to you, would say anything they wanted to.
"Hi, Lucas! I'm your aunt Thecla. I'm the oldest one so if you really need anything, come to me before anyone else, ok? Ah, he's so cute! I love kids." Once again, her speech was so animated that Lucas had trouble following what she was saying. Meanwhile Batain sipped on his wine, uncomfortably.
After a tiny second of awkward quiet, she got back up. "Ok, I was just checking in, to see who my little nephew was. See you later, Bat. And remember what I said, ok? Bye!" She ruffled both of their hair before leaving.
A slight shudder went through Batain's body at those last words. He'd lost his appetite. He looked down to see Lucas still eating away at his stew. There was a slight resemblance between the two of them but not a lot, compared to both of their resemblances to Sebastian.
Lucas, noticing Batain looking at him, looked up from his meal as well. "Who was she?"
"She's your aunt Thecla, like she said." Batain's explanations remained curt.
Normally, Lucas would leave it at that but considering he was a kid, he could have a little leeway in terms of how he talked to people. "Why'd you seem scared of her? And you let her call you Bat."
"Because she's strong as hell. Also she's the one who came up with the stupid nickname. If she wants to use it, she can use it." Batain's expression turned grave at Lucas' question.
Lucas, as an only child, had a tough time connecting his gorgeous aunt with someone that could whoop Batain's ass, but he didn't doubt what he was saying. He simply went back to eating his nice beef stew.
Batain would've left early but Lucas seemed to be finishing the rest of his meal quickly enough that he'd walk with the kid back to his parents' room.
While they walked back, Lucas' apparently personal servant trailing behind them, Batain looked down at the kid. Batain never really considered getting a kid, and he wouldn't start now. They were a hassle. A man couldn't even eat his beef stew without getting prodded because of his kid. And then there's the fact he'd probably have to care for the woman he had the kid with. That was probably a part of the goal of Daphne's little stunt. A truly devious girl she was, trying to force him into a relationship. It was pointless though since he would never care for that kid even if he was fooled into having one.
Thecla wanted the same from him too. She'd always been stupidly idealistic about a 'perfect family.' The more kids, the better in her eyes. As such, she'd tried to get Batain to marry, on multiple occasions. When that failed, a simple girlfriend was fine enough. Still, he remained averse to having a relationship, content to hit it once and leave.
And who could blame him? Batain was about to preface a rant about his right to smash and dash, until he realized the only person near to hear him was a child. Well, there was the servant following him but as per the name, they were servants not beer buddies. He didn't feel like having to explain to Thecla why all the servants were gossiping about Batain's night life. Hell, they already did a lot of that with Nathan.
Dropping off Lucas at his parents' place, he began walking back to his room. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't talk about the conduit magic lessons. He was glad at least that the kid had the common sense to leave the block in his room. It'd be quite easy to identify it if one focused on it.
Speaking of which, he needed to teach him how to mana cloak, at some point. Eh, that would come later. The kid needed to first learn how to light that cube up, and that'd surely take a while.
Having reached that point, Batain put his thoughts about the boy to the side, whistling a little tune, as he walked back to his room.
Lucas entered his own room which was close to his parents'. He'd been given a key, though it was mildly frustrating that his servant had to be the one to use it, as he couldn't reach.
Once in his room, he began looking for things to do. Ironically, it was because Lucas showed so little interest in things like toys as a baby that contributed to his lack of stuff to engage with.
'Shit, maybe this tutoring thing is a good thing', he thought, as he picked up his cube and began infusing his mana into it. His servant had left the room, leaving him alone as he attempted to light up the block of metal.
Still, nothing worked. By the time his parents came back to check in on their son, he was fast asleep, his dreams as varied as his day had been.
Advertisement
- In Serial63 Chapters
Silver, Sand, and Silken Wings
In the opinion of the common storyteller, Sylph did not exist. Frustrated and deceived by her mothers hiding the truth of her parentage, young dragoness Sylph heads out looking for answers along with a childhood friend, a young human alchemist. From the sky high walls of Carthia, through the winding, lively streets of Halfhill, her journey leads her all the way up north to the picturesque nightmare of snow where she hatched. And yet, the answers lie buried in the desert sand on the other side of the continent. In a world of cruel slave traders and a ruthless, self-proclaimed queen, Sylph uncovers the answers she seeks and realizes her grave mistake of ever leaving home. A singular misstep in the hostile city means death, or worse, and the guards are hot on her haunches after blundering her way through the gates. The draft for this work is finished. I am editing the chapters and putting them up. Updates every 14 days because I am tangled up in work.
8 236 - In Serial84 Chapters
Heart of a Mer
Sequel to Cry of the Mer. Having left the Lemuria Institution - where so many horrors occured - far behind, Katie and Luna couldn't be more relieved to be free of the torment that still haunts their dreams. But they're far from at peace. Struggling with the onslaught of Post-Traumatic nightmares and stress, they both face new challenges. For Luna, finding the home and family she doesn't remember will be a difficult journey weighed down by a lack of self worth, and may come with a price too high to pay. And Katie - the halfbreed science project - must now try to find what being a Mer really means and find a place in one of two worlds no longer built for her. Sacrifices must be made, and with the ever constant threat of being rediscovered looming over their heads, both Mer feel it is only a matter of time before the storm breaks out once more and drags them back to the captivity where everything began.
8 65 - In Serial28 Chapters
The Nexus Point Chronicles
My name's Samson, and I'm a Soldier For The Terran Coalition. Before War became my future, before it became all of our futures, earth was a peaceful place... Well not really but we did our best with what we were given. And then the elven Gods of another universe decided they wanted to play a game, they wanted power, they wanted the Nexus point of all creation.... they wanted EARTH. And so they brought death, They brought pain, and suffering and loss unlike any other as humanity died in the millions. But they brought magic and the system and the catalyst for the Gods of earth to reawaken, fight and defend that which is theirs. Now we're playing their game, fighting the war that they started, staining our hands with the blood of the innocents and the Guilty alike. But make no mistake, in this war of cosmic stakes, we will be the victors! We will be the one that seats on the throne of multi-univeresal supremacy. Because we have miracles, guts and the all too annoying trait of not staying the fuck down! and there are none in all of the universes more vindictive, more destructive than humans. This is our story, this is our tale! this is our saga! Our futures, for our children! Remember it! This novel is also hosted on scribblehub. Please support me on my Patreon. Updates are sporadic but at least three times a week, so please show your support. Thanks 😊 The cover does not belong to me and was taken off the internet 😅. Discord server below https://discord.gg/tWSG5XN Participant in the Royal Road Writhaton Challenge
8 277 - In Serial9 Chapters
Travels In An Unknown World
Shawn Yates was an ordinary person who lived his uneventful life just like everybody else. He went to school, he had a job and he had friends. He spent most of his spare time playing games and the one he had played the most was the MMORPG that his father had helped develop. 'The Wayfarer's Realm'. But he had just turned twenty when his entire life was flipped upside down. Waking up in an unknown world in the body of his in-game character, a battle mage who practices chronomancy and spatial magic, he tries to survive and explore his new enviroment. Follow his travels as he learns more about his new world and tries to finds an answer to the biggest question on his mind. Why are there so many similarities between that world, and the world of 'The Wayfarer's Realm' that his father helped create?
8 133 - In Serial16 Chapters
Heroes and Ancients
The arrival of the frog who was also a self-confessed God brought a variety of changes to Earth that affected the lives of every living being on the planet. Everybody felt a significant change on their bodies as if great power can be attainable even for the most ordinary people. Treasures and abilities await the arrival of their rightful owners as the "patch" that the frog brought to this world was installed and everybody has just started the game that will change their lives.
8 180 - In Serial22 Chapters
The Neuroalchemist (A "Songs of the Ancients" Short Story)
An amnesiac hunter and a rebellious healer are tied together to set off the strings of fate.(Second Tale in Songs of the Ancients)
8 60