Chapter 82 - Benefactor (1/2)

Chapter 82: Benefactor

LUCAS WYKES’ POV:

“And what the h.e.l.l is this supposed to be?” I raised an eyebrow, looking around inside the dimly lit room that reminded me of some crudely built wine cellar.

It was that poor excuse of a mage from the Ravenpor house that brought me here, telling me that it would be something I’d be interested in.

I normally would’ve blasted that sod away when he talked me so arrogantly, like he was doing me a favor; but I was quite curious, especially after the explosion of the Tri-Union Building earlier today.

“Welcome to one of the many humble dwelling that we use to hold our meetings,” said a coa.r.s.e voice.  I was surrounded by at least 60 hooded figures, but only the one sitting lazily in the middle while addressing me had a mask on.

It was a plain white mask with two small eyeholes and a smile crudely drawn where the mouth should be.  The mask was rather simple enough but the simply drawn smile gave off a sinister feel.

Charles Ravenpor, who was next to me, put on his own hooded robe and knelt down on one knee with his head bowed.

“Lord, I have brought Lucas Wykes like you asked,” he said in a careful, hushed tone.

“Ahh, so this is the famous Mr. Wykes, here in the flesh!  So glad you could join us for our little…crusade!” he laughed, averting his attention from Charles.

I looked around. “I’m not here to join anything.  I came here out of curiosity, but I’m not impressed.  Who are you supposed to be anyway?  You don’t seem to be a student… Don’t tell me you’re a professor?” I scoffed.

“How dare you!  You should be grateful that we even considered letting a mutt like you join us!” One of the hooded figures to my right yelled.

“A mutt?” I echoed back, feeling a vein bulging from the side of my forehead.

I soundlessly prepared a spell at the ingrate who dared to mock me, but before I could finish the chant, the man behind the smiling mask snapped his fingers.

*Fwoom*

“AHH!” The hooded sn.o.b that dared called me a mutt suddenly combusted into flames.

I couldn’t help but click my tongue.  Even for insta-casting, that was fast… frighteningly so.

“Now, now.  That isn’t a very courteous thing to say to our newest member, right?” As the masked man, who was still lazily sagged down on his earthen throne, spoke, the fire had already burned through the boy’s robe and was burning his skin.

“AHHHHH!  F-forgive me!  I was wrong.  I apologize!  P-please!” he begged as he was furiously trying to pat the fire off.  Meanwhile, the other hooded figures were too scared to do anything to help him.

Turning away from the hooded figure still screaming in pain, I faced the masked man.  “Before I decide whether I want to even join this little cult of yours, what is it you’re trying to accomplish, and why do you even need me?”

I couldn’t sense his mana core but it didn’t seem like I was on the same level as him.

“Circ.u.mstances make it unable for me to personally act for now, so I need some capable magicians in order to thoroughly complete my plans.  You see, I hate leaving loose ends,” he explained as he used an arm to prop his head up.

“Taking advantage of your Director’s absence, it is the opportune time to act so that by the time she comes back, it will all be too late,” he continued.  After snapping his fingers again, the fire suddenly disappeared, leaving the boy twitching from the pain.

“And as for what I hope to do, let’s just say that my goals coincide with these folks and I simply thought that it’d be nice to kill two birds with one stone.  Everyone here is a dissatisfied human n.o.ble that once took pride in the fact that this academy was meant only for the purest of lineage.  While you may be a special exception to this case, I would still like to have you on board,” he answered as if he wasn’t human.

“Besides, the whole ‘accept all’ motto that this academy now follows makes me want to barf; don’t you agree Mr. Wykes?”  As he said this, the hooded figures all nodded fiercely in agreement. Just from his tone, I could tell that this guy was smirking behind his mask.

“Whether they make you want to barf or not doesn’t matter to me.  Why waste my time and energy on bugs I could squish at any time?  The peasants that were able to weed their way into this academy aren’t any better than the low cla.s.s adventurer thugs that go around blindly flailing their weapons.  Even the n.o.bles that were brought up in the most pampered conditions aren’t worth c.r.a.p to me. If this all that you have to say, then I have no reason to lower myself to be put on some leash and take commands from you,” I snapped at him, turning my back.

“Lucas~ what a hurtful thing to say.  How could you ever compare yourself to some sort of dog tied to a leash?”  He gestured by putting covering his mouth with his hands, sarcastically, like he was actually surprised.

“It seems like what I’ve heard is true.  That you were a rather prideful mage that looked down on people of low birth.  Did your friend, Arthur Leywin, not prove you wrong in this aspect? ” The coa.r.s.e voice playfully edged me on, making me stop in my tracks.

I whipped my head around. “What did you—”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that, although you were hailed as a prodigy in the field of magic and have been pampered with elixirs and strengthening methods since your awakening, you aren’t a match for the child, Arthur Leywin,” he shrugged, holding his hand up.

I could feel my fists whiten in frustration, but he cut me off before I was able to refute.