The Aethelgard Academy was a city of shadows, but the Imperial Wing was a island of gold. While the rest of the students were hiding in the dark and complaining about the cold water, the noble families were having a party.
The Lunar Bloom Banquet was a massive display of waste. The smell of rare orchids was thick enough to make a commoner choke. Every noble wore silk robes that were woven with threads of genuine starlight.
David Silver adjusted his collar. It felt like it was made of starched sandpaper. He was not wearing his grey cloak today. He was dressed in the stiff livery of a catering servant. He looked like just another piece of furniture.
"Relatable humor, David," he whispered. He balanced a silver tray full of crystal glasses of Dragon-Pear nectar. "You have glassed a mountain and deleted a Tier 6 assassin squad.
Now your greatest challenge is not tripping over your feet while serving snacks to people who want to kill you. The God-Mage path is very glamorous!"
— [Infinite Regeneration System] —
[Host Information]
↳ Name: David Silver
↳ Life-form: Human / Engine-Bearer
[System Note: Your ’Grace’ stat is currently undergoing a 100,000x multiplier check just to keep that tray level. If you spill a single drop on a Duke, the Imperial Guard will think it is a declaration of war. Do not mess up.]
"Shut up. I am doing my best," David thought.
He moved through the crowd of perfumed nobles. Madame Joyce had used her power to get him into this room. After the water lash incident in the Grotto, the Academy was full of Inquisitors. Being a student was dangerous, but being a servant was a great disguise. No one looks at the person who refills their glass.
"Did you hear about the Silver boy?" a woman in a dress of peacock feathers whispered. "They say he broke Sterling’s armor with a rusted stick. The Greyjoys are very angry."
"It was a fluke," her friend said while sipping her drink. "The boy is a Static Core freak. He just got lucky because the world is falling apart. I am surprised they have not kicked out all the commoners yet."
David walked past them with a bored face. It was a strange feeling to hear people talk about his execution like it was a boring social topic.
He saw Rachel across the room. She was a guest because of the Silver-Stallion clan. She looked stunning in a dress of moonlight silk. Her silver hair flowed like a frozen waterfall. Rachel did not give him a sign of recognition, but he felt the thrum of her mana through their link.
Stay sharp, she sent to his mind. The High Table is not just for teachers tonight. The Greyjoy matriarch is here.
David’s hand tightened on the tray. Liora Greyjoy. She was Sterling’s mother. Barnaby told him she was the true power in that family.
"The nectar is low at the High Table, boy," a head butler barked. He shoved David toward the raised platform. "Move it! Do not look the nobles in the eye. They do not like the help having opinions."
David nodded and climbed the stairs. The air here was heavy with the weight of high-tier mana. He saw Headmaster Hallowell talking to a man in sun-crested armor. This was the High Inquisitor. But the woman in the center of the table was the one who controlled the room.
Liora Greyjoy did not look like a mother. She looked like a goddess made of obsidian. Her hair was a deep black that seemed to suck the light out of the room. Her dress was a dark violet. She sat with a posture that was terrifying.
David’s Observation skill triggered a red alert.
[Warning! High-Tier Necromantic Energy Detected.]
[Classification: Forbidden Art – Soul-Rot Weaver.]
[Status: Tier 7 Peak.]
David’s heart hammered against his ribs. Tier 7! The Greyjoys were supposed to be lower than that. Liora was a hidden powerhouse. She was the one who was corrupting her own son.
He reached the table and began to refill her glass. He moved like a robot and looked only at the crystal.
"The Academy is a mess, Hallowell," Liora said. Her voice was like silk sliding over a blade. "First the cliffs and then the Archive. Now your power grid is gone. One might think you have lost control of your laboratory."
"It is just bad luck, Liora," Hallowell replied. His voice was very strained. "We are looking into it. There is no evidence of sabotage."
"Maybe you are looking for a wolf when you should look for a tick," Liora whispered. She finally turned her head and looked at David.
David felt the temperature of the room drop! It was a spiritual frost. Liora did not just look at him. She searched him. Her eyes were two pits of black mana.
David kept his core in a Static loop. He forced the Catalyst into the corners of his soul. He made himself feel like a hollow shell. He tried to look like a zero.
But Liora was not like Sterling. She did not look for power. She looked for the absence of it.
"You have very steady hands for a servant," Liora said.
David did not look up. "Training, My Lady. The Academy is very strict."
"Is that so?" Liora leaned in. The smell of funeral lilies and old earth hit David like a wave. Her heavy ones jiggled as she moved. "And yet you feel quiet. Too quiet. Even a commoner has a pulse. But you? You feel like a hole in the room."
David felt the 100,000x multiplier ready to fire. He was ready to Flash-Step out of there.
[Warning! Passive Attack Initialized: Death-Gaze.]
[Detection: A necrotic seed is being planted in your soul through eye contact.]
Liora’s eyes flared with a jagged purple light! To the guests it looked like a trick of the Sun-Cores. To David it felt like a cold needle was being driven into his heart. He did not flinch.
He could not. If he fought back, the High Inquisitor would sense the Sovereign mana and kill everyone. David took the hit. He allowed the seed to enter his core. He felt the Death-Gaze begin to rot his mana from the inside.
"Thank you, boy," Liora said. Her lips curled into a predatory smile. "You may go."
David bowed low. His vision was blurring as the curse started to work. He backed away from the table with perfect steps. He descended the stairs and wove through the crowd. His heart felt like it was being squeezed by a frozen hand. It was a very bad feeling!
[Alert! Severe Necrotic Contamination Detected.]
[Condition: Liora’s Death-Gaze (Tier 7 Curse).]
[Effect: Your heart will stop in six hours. Your mana core is turning into a Necrotic Anchor.]
He finally reached the exit and ducked into an alleyway. "You went for a drink and came out with a death sentence. That is the last time I work for free."
He slumped against the wall. His breath was shallow. The black veins were appearing on his chest. They were coiling toward his neck like snakes.
"She marked me," David whispered.
He coughed up a mouthful of dark blood. "She did not just feel the system. She marked the Vessel for harvest. She wants to eat me."
Liora Greyjoy had been hunting. And she found her prize. David felt the weight of her Tier 7 power. It was like a volcano compared to his flickering candle. She was on a different level.
He looked back at the windows. The music was still playing and the nobles were laughing. They did not know that their hostess was a monster in a silk dress.
David! Rachel’s voice screamed in his head. I felt it! Your mana went dark! What did she do to you?
"She gave me a gift," David thought back. His vision was tunneling. "Tell Barnaby the Greyjoys are the source. Liora is the one. And she is looking for the Engine."
He staggered away from the Academy. His Void-Shimmer was flickering as his mana failed. He needed to get to the gardens. He had to purge a Tier 7 curse before his heart stopped.
As he vanished into the shadows, the system made a final sound.
[Chronal Debt Increasing...]
[Life-Force: 84 percent and falling.]
[System Note: I suggest we do not die yet. The ’Reality Editing’ menu is still locked. I would hate to leave without answering the questions.]
"Me too, System," David muttered. His eyes flashed with a desperate golden light. "Me too."
The Bloom was over and the hunt was on! David Silver was a target now. He had a Tier 7 death sentence in his chest. The only thing between him and the grave was a 100,000x multiplier and his own stubbornness.