Chapter 223
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There was only silence in the room after the hidden guards dragged away the elder. She was going to be put in solitary confinement until they finished extracting the information from her.
Vincent's eyes were dark and foreboding, and Thea was grinding her teeth at the sheer audacity of the elder.
She didn't understand how someone could do that to the clan that had raised them, and had sheltered her.
Unlike the two that were silent and giving off a heavy aura, Alec, in comparison looked rather relaxed.
Compared to the earlier scary aura that came off the teen when he was listening to Thea's report, Alec now looked positively at ease.
It wasn't to say that he liked what was happening but compared to shielding against a dagger poised in the dark, now that more things were brought to light, they had a wider range of movement.
Vincent gave a heavy sigh, and Thea flinched at the sudden break of the stifling silence in the room.
"Looks like we are going to war with the Rhys Royal Family," Vincent chuckled, a cold smile painted on his otherwise stoic face.
Thea flinched again at his words as her mind flashed back to the various memories she possessed about the clan being 'massacred' in the middle of the night.
Though it was not real, sometimes her mind could not differentiate between fact and fiction when she woke in the middle of the night.
"I will be infiltrating the palace. The war… there's no point in me participating, right?" Alec said casually, but inside was a different matter.
Bloodlust was singing in his veins, as the call of battle thundered closer.
Unlike the rest of his siblings, Alec's specialty that had been painstakingly trained by his teacher, Evin, was stealth, assassination and infiltration. The reason being his Magitype and Societype.
Originally, Alec was not meant to ever be on the frontlines in a battle, and that was how he had been trained accordingly even if he had combat training.
With his liking of the more subtle arts, Alec found that this path fit him very well despite the way he grew his body – or should he say, in spite of the way he grew his body?
Vincent thought about it, his eyes studying his nephew.
As if sensing his uncle's doubts, Alec reined in his magic, and his presence that had previously been there faded into nothing.
There was a flash of surprise in Vincent's eyes, because this degree of mastery over one's magic was not usually seen in someone so young, and so skilfully done as well.
"Your level of mastery over magic is admirable," Vincent praised, but whether or not one excelled in infiltration was more than mastery over their magic. They needed to perfectly blend in and read the motives of other people properly. "But, is that enough?"
While Alec was skilled, he had never done an infiltration before. He had received the skills but had yet to put it to use.
The ever-unchanging smile on Alec's face remained as usual, as if he didn't hear his uncle questioning his abilities. "How about it, uncle? Want to test it?"
Vincent smirked, ignoring the look of bafflement on Thea's face at their conversation. A chuckle leaked out of his mouth, before it turned into full-blown laughter.
"Hah. Boy, you're really like your mother."
"Shall I take that as a compliment?"
Thea looked between the uncle and nephew like they were both crazy. Slowly, her hazy memory started coming back to her.
The nephew of the clan head…?
Alecris Neil, Awakening Magitype, Every Societype?
Thea's eyes widened minutely, shocked at her own thoughts. Was this the same Alec that she'd heard the adults speaking about when she was younger?
Thea frowned.
But why didn't his age match? She did not remember the clan head's nephew being this old?
Thea kept her confusion to herself.
Strangely, the clan head seemed to trust his nephew's skills a lot, despite his Magitype and Societype.
She'd never heard about anything special about the boy, and the adults around her never really talked about him other than a few casual, shallow remarks. She had no basis or comparison for her to make.
Of course, if Thea thought about how he was competing against a good number of Brights that were practically designed to excel even from birth, she would have changed her mind.
What Thea didn't realize was that after spending a lot of time amongst the common populace, some of their stereotypes had rubbed off on her.
Thea looked at Alec more closely, confused.
Hair that was as dark as night, and a toned, if lean body. When he moved his hand to brush his fringe from his face, she could see the slight flex of muscle hidden under the clothes he wore.
Her eye roamed, and she categorized the various things she had not had any time to take in about him.
Heavenly Ascension Sect's clothing!
And it was an inner disciple's clothing, not an outer one.
Thea shocked herself, then her eyes landed on a golden pin that was pinned onto his collar, and her jaw dropped.
Wait!
Alecris Neil, from the Heavenly Ascension Sect, the youngest seal master ever recorded on the Kaoriht continent?!
The shock rippled through her mind, leaving her stunned.
Vincent cleared his throat, causing Thea's head to snap up.
Both uncle and nephew were staring at her, waiting for her input, and Thea's face burned at the look of hidden amusement on the clan head's face, as well as the confusion that she could all but feel behind Alec's smile.
Ah, fuck! How could she drift off in the middle of listening to their conversation!? Thea was mortified.
Vincent took pity on her, as he repeated dryly. "You are to give Alec some pointers about the layout of the palace, and you will be his outside contact."
"Yes, clan head!"
Excellent. She would be able to redeem herself with her skills.
While she had doubts about Alec's skill, she doubted that the clan head would allow familial relationships to get in the way of the clan's safety.
"Set out tomorrow for the Capital, Rhys City."
Both Alec and Thea gave their affirmation to Vincent.
Vincent nodded at Thea, dismissing her.
Alec remained inside to continue discussing with Vincent.
The problem this time was what they wanted to achieve this time around.
It wasn't the first time that someone had dared set their sights on the Neil Clan, and it wouldn't be the last.
"I am constantly feeling the lack of our information sources," Vincent said with frustration. "I've started grooming a group, but it is not ready for field use yet."
"It doesn't matter right now. The problem will be fixed with enough time, but this time is a bit short."
Vincent agreed. "Yes, that is the case. But what I really want to ask is, are you be willing to head an information division for the clan?"
Alec fell silent. He knew why his uncle was asking this of him. There were a few reasons.
One, they were related by blood, and Alec had not given his uncle any source of doubt as of yet.
Two, Alec, who was a Sin and Cher, appeared like an Every to the clan.
Three… well, his uncle definitely already knew about his little information gathering group.
Alec's smile curled into a smirk, causing Vincent to raise a brow.
"Well… what's in it for me?"
Vincent huffed a laugh. "I'll take that as a no. I know you well enough by now. Anyway, I won't ask for much. In fact, I will send the youths being trained to enter your hidden sect. How about it? I don't need anything except for allowing a discount to the clan when we want to buy information."
Alec hummed. Well, he'd been thinking about how he needed more manpower in the various parts of the continent.
Just having Hong Jun and the various orphans they were both picking up over three years weren't anywhere close to enough.
"Very well. I accept your terms."
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There was only silence in the room after the hidden guards dragged away the elder. She was going to be put in solitary confinement until they finished extracting the information from her.
Vincent's eyes were dark and foreboding, and Thea was grinding her teeth at the sheer audacity of the elder.
She didn't understand how someone could do that to the clan that had raised them, and had sheltered her.
Unlike the two that were silent and giving off a heavy aura, Alec, in comparison looked rather relaxed.
Compared to the earlier scary aura that came off the teen when he was listening to Thea's report, Alec now looked positively at ease.
It wasn't to say that he liked what was happening but compared to shielding against a dagger poised in the dark, now that more things were brought to light, they had a wider range of movement.
Vincent gave a heavy sigh, and Thea flinched at the sudden break of the stifling silence in the room.
"Looks like we are going to war with the Rhys Royal Family," Vincent chuckled, a cold smile painted on his otherwise stoic face.
Thea flinched again at his words as her mind flashed back to the various memories she possessed about the clan being 'massacred' in the middle of the night.
Though it was not real, sometimes her mind could not differentiate between fact and fiction when she woke in the middle of the night.
"I will be infiltrating the palace. The war… there's no point in me participating, right?" Alec said casually, but inside was a different matter.
Bloodlust was singing in his veins, as the call of battle thundered closer.
Unlike the rest of his siblings, Alec's specialty that had been painstakingly trained by his teacher, Evin, was stealth, assassination and infiltration. The reason being his Magitype and Societype.
Originally, Alec was not meant to ever be on the frontlines in a battle, and that was how he had been trained accordingly even if he had combat training.
With his liking of the more subtle arts, Alec found that this path fit him very well despite the way he grew his body – or should he say, in spite of the way he grew his body?
Vincent thought about it, his eyes studying his nephew.
As if sensing his uncle's doubts, Alec reined in his magic, and his presence that had previously been there faded into nothing.
There was a flash of surprise in Vincent's eyes, because this degree of mastery over one's magic was not usually seen in someone so young, and so skilfully done as well.
"Your level of mastery over magic is admirable," Vincent praised, but whether or not one excelled in infiltration was more than mastery over their magic. They needed to perfectly blend in and read the motives of other people properly. "But, is that enough?"
While Alec was skilled, he had never done an infiltration before. He had received the skills but had yet to put it to use.
The ever-unchanging smile on Alec's face remained as usual, as if he didn't hear his uncle questioning his abilities. "How about it, uncle? Want to test it?"
Vincent smirked, ignoring the look of bafflement on Thea's face at their conversation. A chuckle leaked out of his mouth, before it turned into full-blown laughter.
"Hah. Boy, you're really like your mother."
"Shall I take that as a compliment?"
Thea looked between the uncle and nephew like they were both crazy. Slowly, her hazy memory started coming back to her.
The nephew of the clan head…?
Alecris Neil, Awakening Magitype, Every Societype?
Thea's eyes widened minutely, shocked at her own thoughts. Was this the same Alec that she'd heard the adults speaking about when she was younger?
Thea frowned.
But why didn't his age match? She did not remember the clan head's nephew being this old?
Thea kept her confusion to herself.
Strangely, the clan head seemed to trust his nephew's skills a lot, despite his Magitype and Societype.
She'd never heard about anything special about the boy, and the adults around her never really talked about him other than a few casual, shallow remarks. She had no basis or comparison for her to make.
Of course, if Thea thought about how he was competing against a good number of Brights that were practically designed to excel even from birth, she would have changed her mind.
What Thea didn't realize was that after spending a lot of time amongst the common populace, some of their stereotypes had rubbed off on her.
Thea looked at Alec more closely, confused.
Hair that was as dark as night, and a toned, if lean body. When he moved his hand to brush his fringe from his face, she could see the slight flex of muscle hidden under the clothes he wore.
Her eye roamed, and she categorized the various things she had not had any time to take in about him.
Heavenly Ascension Sect's clothing!
And it was an inner disciple's clothing, not an outer one.
Thea shocked herself, then her eyes landed on a golden pin that was pinned onto his collar, and her jaw dropped.
Wait!
Alecris Neil, from the Heavenly Ascension Sect, the youngest seal master ever recorded on the Kaoriht continent?!
The shock rippled through her mind, leaving her stunned.
Vincent cleared his throat, causing Thea's head to snap up.
Both uncle and nephew were staring at her, waiting for her input, and Thea's face burned at the look of hidden amusement on the clan head's face, as well as the confusion that she could all but feel behind Alec's smile.
Ah, fuck! How could she drift off in the middle of listening to their conversation!? Thea was mortified.
Vincent took pity on her, as he repeated dryly. "You are to give Alec some pointers about the layout of the palace, and you will be his outside contact."
"Yes, clan head!"
Excellent. She would be able to redeem herself with her skills.
While she had doubts about Alec's skill, she doubted that the clan head would allow familial relationships to get in the way of the clan's safety.
"Set out tomorrow for the Capital, Rhys City."
Both Alec and Thea gave their affirmation to Vincent.
Vincent nodded at Thea, dismissing her.
Alec remained inside to continue discussing with Vincent.
The problem this time was what they wanted to achieve this time around.
It wasn't the first time that someone had dared set their sights on the Neil Clan, and it wouldn't be the last.
"I am constantly feeling the lack of our information sources," Vincent said with frustration. "I've started grooming a group, but it is not ready for field use yet."
"It doesn't matter right now. The problem will be fixed with enough time, but this time is a bit short."
Vincent agreed. "Yes, that is the case. But what I really want to ask is, are you be willing to head an information division for the clan?"
Alec fell silent. He knew why his uncle was asking this of him. There were a few reasons.
One, they were related by blood, and Alec had not given his uncle any source of doubt as of yet.
Two, Alec, who was a Sin and Cher, appeared like an Every to the clan.
Three… well, his uncle definitely already knew about his little information gathering group.
Alec's smile curled into a smirk, causing Vincent to raise a brow.
"Well… what's in it for me?"
Vincent huffed a laugh. "I'll take that as a no. I know you well enough by now. Anyway, I won't ask for much. In fact, I will send the youths being trained to enter your hidden sect. How about it? I don't need anything except for allowing a discount to the clan when we want to buy information."
Alec hummed. Well, he'd been thinking about how he needed more manpower in the various parts of the continent.
Just having Hong Jun and the various orphans they were both picking up over three years weren't anywhere close to enough.
"Very well. I accept your terms."
There was only silence in the room after the hidden guards dragged away the elder. She was going to be put in solitary confinement until they finished extracting the information from her.Vincent's eyes were dark and foreboding, and Thea was grinding her teeth at the sheer audacity of the elder.She didn't understand how someone could do that to the clan that had raised them, and had sheltered her.Unlike the two that were silent and giving off a heavy aura, Alec, in comparison looked rather relaxed.Compared to the earlier scary aura that came off the teen when he was listening to Thea's report, Alec now looked positively at ease.It wasn't to say that he liked what was happening but compared to shielding against a dagger poised in the dark, now that more things were brought to light, they had a wider range of movement.Vincent gave a heavy sigh, and Thea flinched at the sudden break of the stifling silence in the room."Looks like we are going to war with the Rhys Royal Family," Vincent chuckled, a cold smile painted on his otherwise stoic face.Thea flinched again at his words as her mind flashed back to the various memories she possessed about the clan being 'massacred' in the middle of the night.Though it was not real, sometimes her mind could not differentiate between fact and fiction when she woke in the middle of the night."I will be infiltrating the palace. The war there's no point in me participating, right?" Alec said casually, but inside was a different matter.Bloodlust was singing in his veins, as the call of battle thundered closer.Unlike the rest of his siblings, Alec's specialty that had been painstakingly trained by his teacher, Evin, was stealth, assassination and infiltration. The reason being his Magitype and Societype.Originally, Alec was not meant to ever be on the frontlines in a battle, and that was how he had been trained accordingly even if he had combat training.With his liking of the more subtle arts, Alec found that this path fit him very well despite the way he grew his body or should he say, in spite of the way he grew his body?Vincent thought about it, his eyes studying his nephew.As if sensing his uncle's doubts, Alec reined in his magic, and his presence that had previously been there faded into nothing.There was a flash of surprise in Vincent's eyes, because this degree of mastery over one's magic was not usually seen in someone so young, and so skilfully done as well."Your level of mastery over magic is admirable," Vincent praised, but whether or not one excelled in infiltration was more than mastery over their magic. They needed to perfectly blend in and read the motives of other people properly. "But, is that enough?"While Alec was skilled, he had never done an infiltration before. He had received the skills but had yet to put it to use.The ever-unchanging smile on Alec's face remained as usual, as if he didn't hear his uncle questioning his abilities. "How about it, uncle? Want to test it?"Vincent smirked, ignoring the look of bafflement on Thea's face at their conversation. A chuckle leaked out of his mouth, before it turned into full-blown laughter."Hah. Boy, you're really like your mother.""Shall I take that as a compliment?"Thea looked between the uncle and nephew like they were both crazy. Slowly, her hazy memory started coming back to her.The nephew of the clan head?Alecris Neil, Awakening Magitype, Every Societype?Thea's eyes widened minutely, shocked at her own thoughts. Was this the same Alec that she'd heard the adults speaking about when she was younger?Thea frowned.But why didn't his age match? She did not remember the clan head's nephew being this old?Thea kept her confusion to herself.Strangely, the clan head seemed to trust his nephew's skills a lot, despite his Magitype and Societype.She'd never heard about anything special about the boy, and the adults around her never really talked about him other than a few casual, shallow remarks. She had no basis or comparison for her to make.Of course, if Thea thought about how he was competing against a good number of Brights that were practically designed to excel even from birth, she would have changed her mind.What Thea didn't realize was that after spending a lot of time amongst the common populace, some of their stereotypes had rubbed off on her.Thea looked at Alec more closely, confused.Hair that was as dark as night, and a toned, if lean body. When he moved his hand to brush his fringe from his face, she could see the slight flex of muscle hidden under the clothes he wore.Her eye roamed, and she categorized the various things she had not had any time to take in about him.Heavenly Ascension Sect's clothing!And it was an inner disciple's clothing, not an outer one.Thea shocked herself, then her eyes landed on a golden pin that was pinned onto his collar, and her jaw dropped.Wait!Alecris Neil, from the Heavenly Ascension Sect, the youngest seal master ever recorded on the Kaoriht continent?!The shock rippled through her mind, leaving her stunned.Vincent cleared his throat, causing Thea's head to snap up.Both uncle and nephew were staring at her, waiting for her input, and Thea's face burned at the look of hidden amusement on the clan head's face, as well as the confusion that she could all but feel behind Alec's smile.Ah, fuck! How could she drift off in the middle of listening to their conversation!? Thea was mortified.Vincent took pity on her, as he repeated dryly. "You are to give Alec some pointers about the layout of the palace, and you will be his outside contact.""Yes, clan head!"Excellent. She would be able to redeem herself with her skills.While she had doubts about Alec's skill, she doubted that the clan head would allow familial relationships to get in the way of the clan's safety."Set out tomorrow for the Capital, Rhys City."Both Alec and Thea gave their affirmation to Vincent.Vincent nodded at Thea, dismissing her.Alec remained inside to continue discussing with Vincent.The problem this time was what they wanted to achieve this time around.It wasn't the first time that someone had dared set their sights on the Neil Clan, and it wouldn't be the last."I am constantly feeling the lack of our information sources," Vincent said with frustration. "I've started grooming a group, but it is not ready for field use yet.""It doesn't matter right now. The problem will be fixed with enough time, but this time is a bit short."Vincent agreed. "Yes, that is the case. But what I really want to ask is, are you be willing to head an information division for the clan?"Alec fell silent. He knew why his uncle was asking this of him. There were a few reasons.One, they were related by blood, and Alec had not given his uncle any source of doubt as of yet.Two, Alec, who was a Sin and Cher, appeared like an Every to the clan.Three well, his uncle definitely already knew about his little information gathering group.Alec's smile curled into a smirk, causing Vincent to raise a brow."Well what's in it for me?"Vincent huffed a laugh. "I'll take that as a no. I know you well enough by now. Anyway, I won't ask for much. In fact, I will send the youths being trained to enter your hidden sect. How about it? I don't need anything except for allowing a discount to the clan when we want to buy information."Alec hummed. Well, he'd been thinking about how he needed more manpower in the various parts of the continent.Just having Hong Jun and the various orphans they were both picking up over three years weren't anywhere close to enough."Very well. I accept your terms."
