Chapter 24: Omen
“Here it comes again.”
Reaching out his right hand to press against his chest, the Azure Orb pendant was emanating a heat like flames before his chest. Joshua muttered to himself in slight confusion, “This reaction has been happening frequently lately, but why?”
In truth, this unusual activity from the Steel Shards and the Azure Orb was not a one-time occurrence. Ever since he returned from the lakebed of Nissier Snow Mountain, this sudden heating phenomenon would occur every few days.
The scorching heat felt like a flame suddenly igniting in his chest. It wouldn’t burn anything, but it could sense a powerful Order Force pulsing within it.
Although it was strange, there were no clues or omens for this matter. Even looking across the Empire and the entire Mycroft Continent, there was nothing particularly noteworthy happening. Joshua couldn’t find the cause of the Orb’s mutation, so he had to let it be.
After all, he had many things to do recently.
Whether it was preparing for the visiting delegation from the Wilson Family, or that Paladin who might arrive at any time, all of these required advance preparations to avoid losing face as the local lord. He also needed to keep an eye on Winterfell Academy, which was cooperating with Nostradamus, not to mention the giant palm-print lake beneath the academy. He and the old mage had been exploring it frequently lately and had found some clues, but there was no breakthrough progress to speak of.
Training the knights and studying the Book of Ib’en couldn’t stop either. And there was Black, who was still in the process of advancing—this guy was advancing far too slowly. Moreover, even though Joshua had concocted a bloodline awakening potion, it stubbornly refused to drink it, as if it looked down on it entirely. The warrior simply handed it over to Ying to take care of, letting it sleep slowly. After all, there was no need for mounted combat recently.
To be honest, as the lord of a territory, aside from his daily unceasing training, Joshua still had many official duties to handle. Even with Lin’s help, he couldn’t afford to be idle.
Since there were no clues about the Azure Orb’s unusual activity, and it wasn’t severe, he could only set it aside for now and deal with it one by one when he had time.
At this moment, the family of four hunters across from him was preparing to leave. The father, a man carrying quite a bit of leather and a large bundle at his side, was presumably filled with beast materials. He had probably come to the city to trade, bringing his children along to see the world.
Joshua finally focused his attention a bit to observe, and then he noticed that the man’s strength was actually close to Silver-rank, and it seemed he was about to break through.
“No inheritance, under thirty years old, relying solely on hunting, and now close to Silver-rank strength—that’s quite promising.”
A little surprised, the warrior shook his head with some regret and said, “It’s a pity. If someone like this had been trained from childhood, he might have reached Silver Peak by now and could attempt to break through to Gold in the future. He’s a good knight prospect.”
Being able to break through to Gold, even if only a possibility, counts as talent. But someone who can definitely break through to Gold and challenge the Ultimate Essence—that’s a genius.
“Thank you, Lord!”
Before leaving, the two children, who seemed to be a brother and sister, ran over under their parents’ signal, happily thanked Joshua, and then ran back to their parents’ side.
They looked very pleased. Today, they had actually touched and seen such precious things. Even in the future, they could show off to their friends.
Joshua was in a good mood and replied, “It’s nothing. Hurry back now; your parents are getting anxious.”
He showed a smile.
Today’s test of the Mana Armor was perfect, with all functions performing as expected. Once further refinements and modifications were made, and a few more combat-related rune circuits were designed, his personal battle armor would likely be ready soon.
Of course, all of this required Number Three’s assistance. Otherwise, the design for the next set of armor would probably take months to appear, a pace Joshua couldn’t accept.
Nearby, Ying and Lin were speaking softly.
“Little brother, little brother, do you think Master likes younger ones?”
The silver-haired girl said with a serious expression, her green eyes showing a rare look of gravity. “I mean, how is it so different from before? It’s been so long without a mistress appearing. You know, when Mr. Fan was first awakened, the previous mistress had already appeared.”
“Master usually doesn’t smile so happily!” the Divine Mechanism girl emphasized.
“Sister, you simply don’t understand Master at all.”
Ignoring his sister’s clearly unreliable imagination, the black-haired boy said calmly, “Obviously, Master is this happy because he’s getting new armor. He knows that when he fights later, it’ll be even more satisfying—that’s why he’s smiling.”
“…If that’s the case, isn’t that what those humans call a fetish…”
“That’s way off… Wait, sister! Where did you learn such terrible words?”
“Alright, you two, stop chatting over there.”
Suddenly, Joshua’s voice came from behind them. “I, Master Moria, and Number Three are going to continue improving the Mana Armor further, trying to find a substitute for the mana core. This high-purity magic crystal is too expensive… You two head back to the Lord’s Manor first and prepare lunch or something.”
Being caught talking behind his back, the two Divine Mechanisms were startled. But upon hearing their master’s instructions, they immediately replied, “Yes!”
Meanwhile, the hunter’s family of four headed toward the trade district near the city center.
On the Mycroft Continent, most hunters hunt in autumn when the prey is fattest, using the meat to get through winter, then tan the leather and bring it to big cities for sale in early spring. This hunter was no exception.
As Joshua had observed, his current strength could already be considered Silver-rank. With a little rest to recover his body, worn out from past overwork, he would surely advance to Silver before the next winter.
And a Silver-rank hunter wouldn’t just hunt simple beasts like antler deer or giant boars in the future. He could try hunting some low-level magical beasts. That way, his two children would have the money for better training, and they might even surpass their father.
Perhaps he could even send his son to serve under the lord as a knight’s squire.
Thinking of the future, the hunter couldn’t help but show a hopeful smile.
After selling the leather, he took his wife and children back to a small town near a forest in northern Moldavia.
Unlike the Black Forest, ordinary forests couldn’t gather so much mana, so they naturally couldn’t nurture many magical beasts. In this forest, the most common were various deer and wild boars, with occasional sightings of winter wolves. If not for the possibility of some large magical beasts that had never been seen, the giant boar king would be the most powerful monster in this forest.
Such towns, relying on hunting and gathering herbs and magical plants from the forest, were numerous throughout the Empire, especially near mountainous regions. Without suitable land for farming, they had to fight beasts for food.
After sending his wife and children home to settle in, the already prepared hunter picked up his full set of tools and headed for the mountains to begin the first hunt of this spring.
“This should be my last hunt before becoming Silver-rank… I have to take down a big prey and celebrate properly.”
He thought to himself, and then walked into the dense northern woods.