Pah! Useless… sack of fat!

After a busy and tiring day, Candice was eager to get her well-earned sleep, only to be interrupted by a commotion. Busdin, one of her uncles, had lost his marbles. He was found by the retrieval crew that was meant to collect the crystals. Only there were no crystals, only a delirious Busdin. He blatantly stole the mana crystals from the mine and claimed that a candy dragon, of all things, ate them.

Candice had seen it with her own eyes. She had to. The elders were interrogating and examining Busdin who turned crazy extensively but to no avail. The prominent guess was that Busdin made deals with an outside party to funnel the crystals for personal gain before the outsiders turned on him.

The loss of the crystals was equal to a third of House Chevry's yearly revenue. A colossal amount!

Busdin’s relatives and parents were detained under orders by the furious matriarch. If nothing conclusive came out, she might execute them. That lineage had always been the bad apple in the family.

She returned to bed, struggling to sleep because of her anger. Spy hunts and inspections were set in motion but that was not her role. Tomorrow she must take part in the trial again. She knew the house was putting a lot of hope on her shoulders. She must succeed.

If only I could get that Ice Lightning… Damn those bandits and that disdainful man!

Two out of the five bandits were caught and tortured but the Ice Lightning was no longer in their hands. Probably in the hands of a rival faction that didn't want House Chevry to rise. It was as good as lost. The last thing she heard of the aloof man was he’d broken out of prison.

Candice felt the world had showered her with so much injustice of late.

She fell into slumber and was awakened by a voice. It was the voice of her ancestor!

“Honored Ancestor, is it you?”

The voice didn't answer. There were only echoes of the calling.

Try as she might, Candice couldn't ignore it. She followed her curiosity and slipped out of the camp to the inheritance site. She didn't tell anyone because what should she tell them? I heard the ancestor calling me? People would think her crazy. She must ascertain it.

The temptation of greatness made her disregard the more logical whispers in her mind.

When she arrived at the lake, the guards were all asleep. Normally she would have chastised them for dereliction of duty but her thoughts were all focused on a black and white monster that surfaced from the lake.

A Devadom Orca!

The girl and the orca were unmoving for the first few seconds. Candice strangely felt wisdom and intelligence behind its purple eyes. Was this an avatar of her ancestor? Such thoughts made Candice stay her hand to attack but vigilant in case the other party decided to.

It was good the orca didn't. She didn't have the confidence to last for long against a Deva-class monster. Instead, the orca’s body language seemed to be offering her a ride.

“...You want me to get on?” Candice asked softly.

“Pyaaah,” the orca cried, showing no sign of aggression.

“Okay… Gently does it…”

Like riding a horse, Candice was on top of the orca. It slowly moved through the water. Candice felt her heart leap from excitement. How many people could boast they had ridden a Devadom Orca? Perhaps it might be willing to become her familiar after this? It might not be a lightning element monster to complement her abilities but so what? It was a Deva-class! The fantasy only emboldened her further.

It didn't take long until the orca swam underwater. Candice held onto its dorsal fin and held her breath. The water made her as weak as an Idler. The orca swam near the lake bed and suddenly she felt she was flung away by a catapult.

“Bwah!?”

Wet and disoriented, she found herself in a dry place. The walls were of similar make to the inheritance ground. She was definitely guided to the most important part.

While drying her long hair with a towel, she walked to an ornate door closeby.

‘Only the Chevry bloodline may enter this sacred place.’

Candice took a deep breath.

I am the chosen one!

She pushed open the door to her future. It was very heavy but the door slowly opened. Before long, a profound light temporarily blinded her.

“T-This is-!”

Candice had entered the great outdoors with grass upon grass which only gave way to a clear, open sky. A flock of birds that cracked with electricity flew overhead. Trees with electric-green leaves that rumbled with the sound of thunder. Runic pillars, mystic statues, scripted hill, and many more wondrous sites. There was even a full blown river!

Candice recognized this space as a pocket dimension. Behind her, the opened door showed the previous dark hallway but the door stood on its own in this place, as if someone just raised a door on an empty field of grass. The above looked like a sky but it was actually a tall ceiling built with illusions. Same case with the illumination. She then saw the many high-quality lightning attribute cultivation resources, as per House Chevry’s signature affinity. There were many magical birds but she didn't see any other kind of animals.

Candice was in awe of the great lightning paradise. One thing clearly stood out from the rest. One hundred meters away or so, there was a gazebo with a floating tome constantly crackling with blue sparks. Candice was certain that it was the true inheritance.

“Amazing, isn't it?”

A bearded white parrot landed atop a pillar and talked to her. Its eyebrows had the shape of thunderbolts.

“Ancestor Janus?” She’d heard the same voice several times in the inheritance ground.

“I am not Janus Chevry. I’m not even alive. Janus created me as a caretaker of this place, the great lightning paradise, Serene Thunder Aviary.”

People thought the inheritance in this place was left behind by a Level 4 Chevry ancestor but they were wrong. Only a few were privy to the truth. Janus Chevry was a Level 5 lightning Pathseeker that was called the Doom of Roael. The city that would become his moniker was destroyed by his hand along with its residents and Level 5 guardian.

Janus was an unorthodox Pathseeker. He was bloodthirsty and ruthless. To not bring trouble to his bloodline, he hid the fact that he was a Chevry. He even had disagreements with the Estellian Church and fought with them many times. Still, he left his inheritance for the family before his time came.

“Inheritor, you have done well reaching this place. You’ve proved your ability and will in the trials. Accept your reward.”

The white parrot conjured a white ceremonial baton that landed in Candice’s hands.

“Give the baton a drop of your blood and you’ll officially become the master of this place. May you never tarnish the name of Janus Chevry.”

“I swear it.”

Candice nodded and took out a knife. Her wildest dreams were in reach. But before she was able to cut her skin, there was a strike from beyond her consciousness and her bracelet broke.

Candice sharply gasped. A mental attack had pierced her defensive artifact! She felt it invading her mind despite her Unreality Field.

She resisted as much as she could but it was all so fast. Less than a second later, the light in her eyes faded.

She stood in place unmoving for a few seconds. And then Candice, baton in hand, slowly walked to the door. The parrot did not react as Candice went past the door and extended her hand as if she was offering the baton.

Footsteps from the shadows echoed in the dark hall. As if birthed by darkness itself, Viers Isuel appeared.

With an already bloodied hand, Viers directly grabbed the white baton, dyeing it with his color.

“You have served me well, but you have outlived your usefulness.”

Viers’ hand went for her neck. Beheading was his preferred method of execution, just like the Demons Slayers. Less probability of resurrections or missed kills.

***

Before Candice, Viers had abducted two people, both a true born of Chevry family but the door wouldn't open for them. Perhaps they lacked the talent or aptitude or something else. The door’s words were misleading. Viers picked a very weak Chevry for the first and a Level 2 for the second but the door stayed closed.

The third was Candice. She was the best among the younger generation. If she was unqualified too then Viers would have to change his approach.

It worked but using an important scion such as Candice had their own risks. Since she had fulfilled her role, Viers had no qualms removing someone with a bad blood relationship from the board permanently.

However…

“...Why did you stop me, Farley?”

Viers said with some distaste.

“Actually, she’s not,” Farley manifested and stopped Viers’ hand. “Forgive me Lord Viers, but you have a tendency to overlook the bigger picture when you’re in your… villain moment. Just like in Osemore, where you killed Sigma.”

“...Go on,” Viers narrowed his eyes.

“You think that breaking the bracelet already alarmed House Chevry to Candice’s plight so there was no need to let her live,” Farley said rationally. Actually, she was very nervous about reprimanding Viers but she acted nevertheless.

“Yes.”

“We don't know that for sure, so, hostage,” Farley suggested.

Viers realized what she meant.

If he was going to engage the Chevrys, having leverage was better than not.

He didn't know if the bracelet triggered an emergency alarm or not but killing Candice definitely would. He knew this world had life-sensing items like in the xianxia stories. Scions of important houses had theirs monitored constantly.

Taking a step back to think, indeed, killing Candice at this moment had no benefit whatsoever. He was so deep in his villainous ego that he didn't see it.

He’d almost repeated the mistake of Osemore.

“Farley,” Viers said after a deep inhale.

Farley’s heartbeat skipped a beat. “Yes, Lord Viers?”

“Well done.”

Viers patted her shoulder and Farley sighed a breath of relief in her head before returning into Viers' soulspace.

Viers shackled Candice with the Pathseeker handcuff that he stole from the prison. It would make Level 3 Pathseekers or below unable to use their Victa. Better versions existed but Viers didn't have them.

Viers was handcuffed with it because of Candice and the deed had come full circle.

“Parrot?” Viers stepped foot on the Serene Thunder Aviary, gripping the ceremonial baton. The Imperial March BGM was projected to the outside from his soul. Candice walked behind him like she was sleepwalking.

“Welcome, Master.”

The parrot bowed and Viers smiled. He stopped the urge to maniacally laugh after seeing his evil plan’s completion. It was in the List, number 20.

“Can you disable the teleportation jammer?”

“Done.”

Viers closed his eyes. “Arsène, come here.”

There was a singularity in space and a massive orca appeared.

“We did it?” Arsène asked.

“Yes we did.”

Viers made direct contact with Orcasène and he disintegrated into particles of light, becoming one with Viers.

“Parrot, shut the entire site. Activate all defenses. Nobody gets in.”

“As you will, but we’re low on power. The energy reserves are almost depleted.”

It was thanks to the loophole that he gained access. He was grateful then but now it was a liability.

“I have mana crystals. This much,” Viers’ heart bled because he offered all the mana crystals that he had just gotten. “If we concentrate the protection here, how long would it hold against a Level 4?”

“If they have Chevry blood, around thirty minutes. If there are two Level 4s, half of that and so on. Otherwise, even level 5 needs to exert quite an effort,” the parrot answered.

“Tsk, why make that kind of weakness… Candice’s bracelet mucked up my plans. Gang! Time is short. Clean this place up!”

His tenants and familiars put every valuable they could pillage, disturbing the sanctuary like a locust horde. They had received lessons from Viers about fast and efficient plundering. They filled up inventory items one after another but the pocket dimension was big. Not as big as Dia’s Biome but still massive. Paina and the others would need more than thirty minutes.

If he could grow a Gate Plant and connect this place with Dia’s Biome then he could ferry the valuables out more quickly but the Gate Plant needed days to grow, even with Dia’s help.

Then again, even if he had a functioning Gate Plant, could he make a portal to Dia’s Biome from this place? Valkut’s space was on lockdown because of a Level 5. The trope was half and half about this. Using this method, it could really go either way.

While his employees were in a pillage frenzy, Viers took the shining book from the gazebo. He stowed it away for now then asked the parrot for the inheritance’s information and about the pocket dimension itself.

He hoped to find a solution to his problem before the Chevrys sensed something amiss and came to investigate.

“Master, a Level 4 presence detected,” the parrot reported.

Hells and Damnations! The Chevry Matriarch is already on the move!

And she wasn't alone. Every Chevry worth their salt was with her. Viers might have taken the castle but he couldn't keep it from the enemy’s much greater force.

If I cannot keep the Serene Thunder Aviary, I have to take as much as I can before evacuating, scorched earth style!