Path to Transcendence

Marcus POV

Marcus was currently trying his best to relax and enjoy the ride in the carriage.

However, it was becoming a much harder task than one would originally believe. Especially considering the person he had to share the carriage with.

"Why are you taking a carriage? Why not just teleport around from city to city?" Stella's voice rang out.

He sighed and adjusted the brim of his hat to cover the rest of his face from her gaze, ignoring her.

"I mean it's inefficient! Instead of wasting almost all of our time traveling from one place to another, we could be using that time to search through so many cities and towns. What are we going to find all the way out here?"

Most people would say that Stella was blessed with the voice of a goddess. But he would invite them to try saying that after staying within the same carriage as her for over a week. The woman didn't stop talking. It didn't matter if it was early in the morning or if he was trying to fall asleep, she didn't stop yapping.

"Like I told you a thousand times, if you think there's a better way to find the boy, you can go off on your own. Nobody is forcing you to follow me. I have other responsibilities other than finding the boy."

"Pft, are you kidding me? You really are still trying to convince me that you are actually following a different person at the moment? Even I know that is a bald-faced lie," she scoffed as she swung her legs from the bench.

"It's not a lie. I am following a person of interest that has been quite an annoyance to House Violet and their dealings," he said honestly, even opening up his aura to her so she could verify its veracity.

She still shook her head disbelievingly. "Whatever you say. I am still going to stay along for the ride."

He shrugged at her. "Do what you wish."

He was telling her the truth. He was after a man who he was led to believe was quite nearby. This person has been quite the thorn in the side of House Violet and removing this thorn would be a welcoming pleasure.

What he didn't tell her, was that he was pretty certain that this person and the boy the two of them were looking for were connected somehow.

Although, he had a sneaking suspicion that she was already aware of this.

It was no secret that people of note knew of Marcus's unusual ability to track things or people down. It is what made him such a valuable asset to House Violet. What most people didn't know was that he had a very very rare affinity for Karma Magic.

He would be the first to admit that it wasn't a very impressive or strong affinity, not even close to some of the legendary seers but it was just enough that he was able to predict where certain things were or what was going to happen.

In this case, he had felt a strong connection between the boy and the man House Violet wanted to take care of. It was the reason why he had not forced House Easten to give up the boy even though he had been pretty certain that they knew where Julius was or had some kind of relationship with the boy.

He had waited until the boy left on his own volition. It was simpler this way and avoided angering a powerful House such as House Easten. He knew better than most what kind of dangerous secrets laid beneath the Marquis House.

"Do you think we will come across any Null Fiends along our way?" Stella asked, suddenly.

"Huh?" He asked reflexively, immediately regretting it as he did.

"You know, Null Fiends. The big scary monsters that absorb mana? And the ones that are quite prominent in this region?"

"I know what Null Fiends are," he said blankly.

"Well, you asked," she pointed out.

"No, I was confused as to why you were even asking something like that," he said exasperatedly.

"I was just curious," she mused.

He only shook his head and used his lone arm to scratch the stubble that was poking his neck, ignoring the look she was giving him.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He knew why she was looking at him. She was hoping that he would ask what she was curious about. But he wouldn't ask. After all, he had already fallen for the trap several times during their trip.

"You're not going to ask what I am curious about?" She finally stated.

"Why would I need to ask? You're just going to tell me regardless," he pointed out bluntly.

She pouted. "Yes, but a good conversationalist would ask what I am curious about."

"I never said I was a good conversationalist."

"You could at least fake being one then," she pointed out with pleading eyes.

He grunted at her, giving her the only answer he thought was necessary.

She harrumphed and went on to explain it regardless. "Okay, well I am curious about how every one of their species has the ability to absorb mana. Even those at Tier 2 are capable of some kind of absorption. Don't you find that odd?"

"No, not really. They have very specialized skills and Concepts that allow them to achieve this."

"Come on. You really believe that's the whole reason?"

"The only reason I really care about. I haven't had to deal with Null Fiends in years," he said uncaringly.

"Well, I have a different theory," she stated proudly. "I believe that the main source of their dangerous absorption ability comes from the unusual way they circulate their mana."

"What?" He asked, a little bit of interest actually forming.

"I know it sounds weird. But the last time I came across a Null Fiend, was a Tier 5 who was protecting some of its spawn. I didn't really care about the adult Null Fiend that much. But what I noticed during this time, was the way the newborns were using their mana." Marcus noted the extremely giddy tone Stella was getting as her eyes glimmered.

"It was quite uncontrolled, but it allowed me to get a better idea of how they use mana, funnily enough. I couldn't quite get a close enough look without the Tier 5 getting aggressive, but the children almost were using their mana in a way that sucked every bit of ambient mana inward."

His interest waned. He didn't see where she was going with this. Sure the absorption skill of Null Fiends was impressive but many other users had some kind of similar ability.

When she saw his less than enthusiastic response she couldn't help but give him a frown. "Don't you understand the significance of this?"

"Nope," he said while sitting up and looking out through the window. He had sensed something but wasn't quite sure what it was.

"How can you say that like you don't care? Aren't you curious why or how a Tier 2 monster can filter all of that mana without harming themselves or changing their path? How come they are all relatively the same monsters? If they were absorbing ambient mana without any control or adaptive regulator, that would drastically affect the progression and evolutionary traits they gained or learned."

Marcus was barely listening to her as he focused his senses outward. He even went so far as to use his psychic abilities to enhance his brain so that he could reach out further.

Stella on the other hand was so enthralled with the topic that she hadn't noticed that his attention was elsewhere.

"The only thing that makes sense is that the Null Fiends have some type of natural regulator that tirelessly and systematically organizes and codifies each type of mana on its own. Can you imagine what we could learn from examining this process in closer detail, Marcus?" She stated excitedly but when she noticed he was staring out the window her eyes narrowed.

"Marcus? Are you even listening to me?" She exclaimed.

Instead of answering her, he was too focused on what he was sensing. It was the aura of a Tier 5 off in the distance, a human Tier 5, a decently powerful one too. It also showed very similar signs to the man he had been hunting.

However, that wasn't what gave him pause. He felt a lot of other aura signatures alongside the Tier 5. A very large group of humans were fighting with other humans if his senses were correct. Alarmingly, he felt the connection of the boy he was after was also with them.

He didn't particularly care about the lives of the other people, but Lady Lily had made it very apparent about the importance of saving her friend. If something happened to this boy during this battle and he was too late to do anything about it, Lady Lily would be furious.

Marcus did not want to endure that. The young Violet's temper was just as terrifying as her grandfather's.

The thing that worried Marcus was that the karmic connection he managed to establish with the boy felt a bit… off. It almost felt like someone had placed him in some kind of restriction or imprisonment.

That made Marcus angry. If anything happened to the boy, he would slaughter anyone who was involved. It didn't matter if it was the Crown Prince of the Empire. They wouldn't escape Marcus's wrath.

"Why can't you be a little more interested in what I have to say?" Stella asked sadly.

He turned and gave her a serious look. "I think I sense the Tier 5 I have been chasing after," he told her.

That made her stop the tangent she must have been preparing for him.

"So? Just go and get him then. Unless you think you can't handle another Tier 5," she said teasingly.

He nodded at her and got up, preemptively activating his skills. The wave of power that exuded from his body made the enchantments on the carriage flicker and Stella gave him a curious look. She must have been wondering why some random Tier 5 was making him use so much power to deal with.

However, before he teleported he gave her another look.

"I thought it might be prudent to let you know that the boy might be with this man," he said before wrapping himself in spatial magic.

He smiled as he saw Stella's stunned face. He gave her credit though. She recovered quickly and before he was even able to finish his teleportation, he felt her activate her Time and Spatial Magic at the same time. Then with a look of complete concentration on her face, she teleported alongside him toward the distance.

That's one way to get her to be quiet, he mused to himself.