“Hey, why am I the only one being thrown out? What about you?” Arran complained.“Well, unfortunately for you, I’m not a stranger, so Erin doesn’t have to put on an act in front of me. So, that sucks for you.”Urgh!All of a sudden, Arran was aggrieved. He felt like he had invited disaster from nowhere and Arran didn’t know how to deal with it.How was Arran to know that his very presence would lead to an awkward encounter with a sister-loving older brother who just so happened to have a comped about strangers?Already Arran could sense a gaze coming from Eris that made him almost want to burrow into the ground and disappear into thin air.That wasn’t a joke... Erin was literally looking at Arran as he spoke to Eris and asked.“I see you brought company, sister. Nicoletta, how are you? And what about this boy... who is he?”Erin’s face carried a tight frown as he looked at Arran. Although his face appeared calm, one could still sense distaste in his words when he asked about Arran.“T
Eris’ home was like an indoor garden. Despite how gloomy and shady the castle looked outside, the inside was quite homely.Colorful flowers bloomed within the hallways of the castle and green vines crawled through the gaps in the stone walls of the castle, which were allowed to grow freely and naturally, giving the castle a wild and uncontrollable air of beauty.It was like nature had made the castle her home and the inhabitants were but mere animals living off its gracious abundance.Of course, the inhabitants of the castle were not wild savages running around without a care in the world.Smartly dressed servants could be seen walking around the halls in ardent strides, their faces bright and filled with calm composure.Whenever Erin and Eris passed by, the servants would all bow in greeting before going about their own activities. Occasionally, Arran would feel multiple scrutinizing eyes on him from the servants as they looked over at him, trying to guess his identity. Those who rec
Once again, Arran failed to prepare himself for the unexpected impact of the ruler’s voice. His entire body shook like it had been hit by a hammer. But Arran ignored it.Right now, Arran had the feeling that everybody was looking at him after Eris’ father said his previous words. It was only for an instant, but it was like countless gazes were trained on him like a manikin on display.In the next moment, like an illusion, those gazes disappeared, and it was like nothing happened.‘What was that just now?’ Arran asked himself in doubt.‘Why did it seem like everybody was looking at me like they were expecting something?’Arran could not figure it out and he wasn’t given any time to do that either. At this moment, Eris’ mother had already arrived beside her husband.Patting him lightly on the back, Eris’ mother said, “Dear, do behave yourself. Our daughter finally returned after so long and needs to get some rest. You’re going to end up chasing her away if you keep this up."“Nonsense!
Hyperion Von Vilysivich is the name of Eris’ father, ruler of Aberdeen. From what the rumors said, he was a brilliant ruler with a strong personality who was always straightforward with his views on governing the civilization.Unlike most rulers who didn’t appear in front of the public eye very often, Hyperion was one of the few the Aeth was very familiar with. He was known as somebody who would never shy away from any trouble and was very upright and outspoken regarding all of his opinions.Would someone like this really go through so much trouble just to attack his daughter’s friend simply because he didn’t like him?Not likely!Although Arran admitted he was like an ant in front of Eris’ father, he was really not worth the trouble for him to deal with in this manner, especially since he loved Eris so much. He definitely wouldn’t want Eris to think badly about him for doing something like that.In that case, there could only be one reason for what was currently happening to Arran.A
Good thing Arran was a genius and his physique made it easy to control all kinds of energies, so the first problem was resolved. Now Arran just had to fine-tune his control over his energy.This part also wasn’t a problem for Arran, since he already had prior experience in doing something like this.This experience stemmed from back when Arran was training his bloodline in the academy after returning from Fort Crawford.The conditions back then were quite similar to now. At the time, Arran had to perform a handstand with a large earthen stake on top of him. The weight of the stake was as heavy as two mountains... literally. And Arran had to bear the entire weight with his own body.Fortunately, Arran didn’t have to bear the entire weight on his body... not exactly anyway. Instead, by using a mystical method, the weight of the stake was transformed into powerful pressure that was applied directly to Arran’s bloodline for the process of refining. During this process, Arran also had to a
Arran was lost in concentration as he tried to wrestle with the energy in his body. He was trying to make it flow in a different way from how it was used to. This proved to be quite tough, as for the first time, Arran’s energy refused to listen to him.This was the first time Arran was facing such a situation. Previously, his energy had always been at his neck and call, and Arran had never experienced any difficulty in controlling it, even when he had first started out.But now it was like trying to tame a wild husky.It just refused to listen. This was quite understandable because what Arran was trying to achieve is like attempting to go against one's own instinct.What is flow?There were different answers to this question. Some would say that flow was a distinct pattern of movement or the continual progression of substance in reverse to stillness. But in fundamental terms, flow is an instinct... an instinct to ward off stagnation. It is this instinct that leads to movement, which
“How is he doing?” Eris asked in concern, her eyes trained on Arran as she refused to look away.It has been more than thirty minutes now since Arran started attempting to control the flow circulation of his essence energy and throughout this time his eyes had been shut tightly in concentration.Everybody else had fallen silent save for the slight buzz in the air that came from the pressure emitted by Eris’ father.Both Eris and Charmy had been wracked with worry as they watched Arran in silence. They understood what he was attempting and knew just how dangerous it was.They weren’t worried that Arran’s life would be in danger since Eris’ parents were present. Should anything go wrong, they would definitely save him in time.No, what they were worried about was that should Arran fail, he might become demoralized and it might lead to him not leaving a good impression on Eris’ family.The relationship between members of the royal family was close-knit but weird and somewhat dysfunctiona
The trip to visit Eris’ family was a resounding success. After passing Hyperion’s test, Arran was welcomed warmly into their home.Other than Erin, who still kept a distance from Arran, the emperor and empress were very amenable toward him.Arran spent a day in Aberdeen before he returned to the academy with Eris and Charmy. During this time, he naturally got to know the Von Vilysivich family closely.Emperor Hyperion was the Earth ruler of the Aeth civilization. His wife Avery came from a side branch of the Von Weissen royal family and was Charmy’s aunt. It was through this relationship that Eris and Charmy became very close friends.In the Von Vilysivich royal family, there were only two children, Eris and Erin. Surprisingly, Erin was married and already had a son.Erin’s wife was Eliza, who came from a branch of the Von Gregory royal family. They both had a son, Phyllis, both of whom were not present when Arran arrived as they went to Vesuvius, the kingdom of the fire ruler, for a