"I want you to understand that I am only going with you because Father asked me to, but if you get in my way, I will not hesitate to take you down," Noel said.
"That’s my line," Riven responded and walked past his brother. "Be up early tomorrow or I’ll leave without you," he said calmly before walking away. Noel stared at his departing brother, his fist balled up in anger.
Everything had been going well, everything had been good for him, living in the spotlight of his family. Then all of a sudden, Riven decided to hog all the attention. He couldn’t live with that.
Riven made his way to his sister’s room. He knocked on the door. The door opened, but rather than his sister, he saw a maid carrying out his sister’s dirty clothes.
"Young master," she greeted in a haste, not daring to look him in the eye.
"Where’s my sister?" he asked.
"Oh, the young mistress headed to the stable out back to play with the horses. She does that frequently. I believe she should still be there."
"Thank you," he said and left. He got out of the house and immediately headed for the stable. He walked inside the stable. It was dimly lit, the light of the sun seeping through the gaps of the wooden walls.
The smell of mixed everything filled his nose, from dried waste, to damp and dry hay, along with the smell of rotten wood.
The horses were all kept in their respective stables. Some were chewing and others simply looking. There was a total of twenty horses inside the stable, a good number for a baron.
He spotted his sister standing at one of the stables, feeding hay to a horse. She was dressed in a simple white gown that reached down to her ankles, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Hey Amber," he called out to her. She turned to look at who called her. When she saw Riven, she fed the horse what was left and headed his way.
"Brother Riven, I thought you forgot me and went off to carry out your regular shenanigans," she said, folding her arms as she spoke.
"But I didn’t. I just had to complete some quests today before I came back. But now I’m here, so why don’t I go show the magic you wanted to see?" he offered.
"Hmmm, fine, let’s go." Her face lit up into a smile. She skipped out of the stable while he followed behind her. For some reason, seeing his sister this way, happy and free, made him happy and sad. It was a bittersweet sight that gnawed at his heart.
He wished that he had something . He wished he didn’t have to bury it all inside light novels. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and followed her.
The both of them stood on the grass. Riven placed his hand in front of her. A wisp of fire came out and began encircling his hand, going round and round.
Amber smiled as she watched the show. Seeing her happy face, he decided to show her more. The flame stretched out from his hands and began going round her body. It took all his mental strength to do, but he managed to control the movement.
As Riven played with her, Noel watched from a window, his arms folded. He carefully observed Riven’s control, wanting to see if Riven was worth him worrying about. But after watching for a few seconds, he decided Riven was nothing to be worried about. He turned and walked away.
Immediately he left, Riven stared at the window where Noel had stood and smirked.
The light of the moon poured through the window, cascading beautifully on the floors of his room. The cool air of night and the calm, quiet environment created a very peaceful time for Riven.
He leaned back on his bed, his system open. He needed to check everything that he had gotten before it was time for him to go and train with Liam.
[Riven Von Grave – Status Screen]
[Affinities: Blood, Fire]
[Blood Manipulation – lv1]
[Fire Manipulation – lv1]
[Next Trial: 27 Days]
He had gotten a lot stronger in the past few days. His progress made him happy, but he knew he needed to move faster if he was going to be ready in fifteen days.
But the next issue was the fact that his brother would be with him. He would not be able to use his full abilities like blood magic when his brother was around. Hopefully, it won’t slow him down much.
"I should check the two item box I got." He recalled the rewards that he got and decided to check them.
"System, show me the item box."
[Item Box: Fire Wall, Blood Bind]
[Item Box: Skill Merge]
[Fire Wall lv1: Create a wall of flames to block attacks of the enemies and hinder their movement.]
[Blood Bind: Control enemies’ movement for five seconds after getting in contact with their blood.]
[Skill Merge: Combine skills of similar properties to create an even stronger skill. Wrong merging will lead to weaker skills.]
His eyes widened when he saw the details of what he got, especially the last one. The skill alone had opened limitless potential for him. He knew this skill—the hero had it—and he used it a lot to create a lot of powerful new abilities.
Riven couldn’t help but smile, knowing that he had gotten one of the best skills that the hero had. He already started thinking about what skills he would be able to merge. He already had a few in mind, but he decided that would be for later. For now, he had to go and train with Liam—couldn’t keep him waiting.