Chapter 347 - Taming Priorities

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มี.ค. 2569 07:40

The force wasn’t violent, but it was utterly unstoppable. Like a tide that gently yet firmly rejects an intruder, the mushroom’s presence pushed Selphira’s mana out of Ren’s body. Selphira collapsed to her knees, the mental exhaustion hitting her like a hammer. Her serpent instantly loosened its grip on Ren while she struggled to catch her breath. Blood continued to drip from her face, staining the polished floor. The ancient Ashenway, who had faced abyssal horrors, who had stood in the presence of the King in his full splendor, who had survived battles that would have destroyed most beings, trembled slightly as she gathered herself. "I’m sorry… Forgive me for frightening you," she finally said, her voice unsteady as she wiped away the blood with hands that used the water control of her turtle beast. "I wanted to give you an important lesson. You’re keeping secrets that could determine our city’s fate, and I thought you needed to understand the gravity of... Telling just anyone." She leaned on her serpent for support, rising slowly as it left Ren side to provide balance. The creature wrapped around her, its scales shimmering with healing light. Gradually, she regained her composure, though the weariness remained evident in the slight slump of her shoulders. "But it seems I’ve received a lesson as well." A wry smile crossed her bloodstained lips. "How something that appears small... can be so vast in reality." Selphira shook her head in genuine amazement, her eyes reflecting newfound respect. "There’s no way to extract the ring from your beast. Not me, and I’m certain not even with Sirius’s help could we manage it. The attempt would likely injure us severely, and perhaps you as well." She approached Ren, who was still recovering from the shock of the invasion. "But that won’t stop someone with dark intentions from trying." Her tone grew grave, her eyes boring into his with an intensity that conveyed the seriousness of her warning. "Your luck has been remarkable so far, but I’ll repeat it... trusting indiscriminately could be your downfall. Not everyone who smiles means you well, and not everyone who seems interested in your gifts has benign intentions." Ren nodded slowly, the lesson clearly received. The mushrooms in his hair dimmed slightly as he processed her words. "I understand, Lady Ashenway. And... I accept your apology." Selphira smiled, a genuine gesture that momentarily erased years from her weathered features. "I now understand why it would be nearly impossible to describe the purification process. The complexity of what I witnessed..." She paused, searching for adequate words to convey the incomprehensible. "It’s like trying to explain the ocean in exquisite detail to someone who has only ever seen a glass of water." "It will be impossible to replicate or use as an ultimate weapon, especially if your reach is limited to Silver rank," she continued, her mind already calculating possibilities and limitations. "But the fact that you can purify anything at all... that in itself is extraordinary." She settled into the chair opposite him, fatigue still visible in her features. "Cultivate your abilities, Ren. You should know that I’ve made a deposit in your name for Liora’s debt. As long as you remain ’by her side’... or under her protection... you have my support." Her eyes gleamed with renewed determination, a fire kindling behind them. "And listen carefully: I will do whatever necessary to prevent this war. Our city needs time for talents like yours to grow. The future cannot afford to lose what we’ve barely begun to understand." In her mind, the decision was made. War must be avoided for a few more years at least, even at the cost of bowing their heads and damaging their honor. This boy, with his seemingly divine mushroom and impossible secrets, represented something they couldn’t afford to lose. Whatever Ren truly harbored, Selphira had felt its immense energy, a power transcending the ordinary that, fortunately, was pure and required protection until it could fully manifest. "Now go," she said finally, gesturing toward the door with elegant finality. "And remember what you’ve learned today. Trust is a precious gift. Don’t waste it on those who haven’t earned it." ♢♢♢♢ Selphira strode through the corridors with purposeful steps, her mind processing what she had just witnessed. ’We cannot let it advance too quickly,’ she thought while heading toward Wei’s office. ’If war erupts now, we’ll lose the boy’s enormous potential.’ Wei was reviewing documents when Selphira entered without announcement. The professor looked up, surprised but not offended, few people in the academy had the privilege of bursting into others’ offices without ceremony. His expression shifted quickly from mild annoyance to attentive respect when he recognized his visitor. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖 "Lady Ashenway," he greeted, standing immediately. "To what do I owe this honor?" "Patinder," Selphira replied without preamble, her tone making it clear this was no casual inquiry. "I need to know everything you’ve documented about him." Wei blinked, visibly disconcerted by the direct request. "May I ask why?" "The city’s survival might depend on it." Those words were sufficient. Wei nodded gravely and extracted numerous notebooks from his bookshelf. The pages were filled with meticulous annotations, diagrams, and comparative analyses, months of careful documentation that had initially begun as skeptical record-keeping but had evolved into something approaching reverence. "We’ve been documenting all his ’knowledge’, well, he says it comes from his spore," Wei explained while turning pages covered in his precise handwriting. "Cultivation methods that defy established understanding, accelerated evolution timelines, combinations we would never have considered. And he claims we haven’t even recorded 1% yet..." Selphira examined the pages with growing amazement. The detail was extraordinary, precise measurements, careful observations, even systematic testing protocols from Wei. "Has all this been verified?" "Very little," Wei admitted with some reluctance, his fate clearly wrestling with his scientific integrity. "The problem is that most of his methods, while faster than traditional ones, still require time. Exactly one hundred days." "Who’s involved in these tests?" Selphira asked, her eyes scanning the names in the annotations. She recognized some students from prominent families, a few faculty members, and several family names from the outer districts. "Mainly his companions and some poor folks from the outskirts," Wei replied. "Most people distrust ’unproven’ methods, especially those people with an already assured ’decent’ potential." An ironic snort escaped Selphira’s lips. The "privileged" rejecting what might elevate them even further, clinging to traditions that limited their growth while those with nothing to lose embraced innovation. "If I may ask, Lady Ashenway," Wei nervously adjusted his robes, "why this sudden bigger interest in Patinder?" Selphira closed the notebook with a sharp thud that made Wei flinch slightly. "Because he might be exactly what we need in our leader’s absence... Do you know where the director is?" ♢♢♢♢ The meeting room featured the enormous three-dimensional map of the city at its center, glowing with arcane energy that highlighted territorial boundaries and power distributions. The three Dravenholm brothers, Julius, Victor, and Arturo, were already present when Selphira and Ignatius arrived. Sirius waited in a corner, his usual unreadable expression masking whatever thoughts churned behind his cold eyes. "You called this meeting with urgency," Julius noted, his diplomatic training evident in his measured tone. "We assume you have new information." "I have a change in strategy to propose," Selphira announced, stepping directly into the map’s illumination. "We must surrender Kassian to the Goldcrests." The silence that followed was so absolute that one could hear the gradually accelerating breathing of those present. Victor was the one who finally broke it. "Have you lost your mind?" he exploded, his Qilin partially manifesting with his agitation. "Give up the guilty party? Show such weakness before Kharzan and our low and mid-ranking nobles?" "It’s not weakness if we present it correctly," Selphira responded calmly, unperturbed by his outburst. "We’ll keep Klein and mark Kassian with a formal ’house arrest’." Arturo shook his head vigorously, his mind already calculating the political ramifications. "Our political honor and influence would plummet. We’d lose credibility among our allies and vassals." "And more factions would join the Goldcrests," added Sirius from his corner. "Opportunists always follow whoever appears strongest. We’d be creating momentum against ourselves."

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