"A brat like you? You need a lesson in humility, and I'm just the one to teach it."
Lucian dismissed the notion with a haughty sneer, exuding an air of superiority that was unmistakable.
Eldric argued with Lucian with a stern voice, yet Lucian begged against Eldric's argument.
"Please brother let me be the one who will teach our brother a lesson"
Eldric is still offended by Simon so he makes a deal
"Fine, but I will also teach him."
They go to the training ground in front of the patriarch's office building. As they were waiting for the signal to start, a servant used a whistle signaling for the start.
Lucian starts with a thrust; luckily, Simon barely dodges and nervously takes a breath.
"Ah fuck... My strength is barely enough..."
Lucian strikes at him with multiple thrusts. Simon dodges it by moving back, but as he looks back, Eldric is preparing a Magic cannon; Simon swiftly lets himself fall to the ground. Simon said something under his breath.
"Thank the heavens u dodged that..."
He quickly got up and Lucian smirked
"It seems our brother somehow became a rat with that kind of speed"
Lucian immobilized Simon by making Shadow hands hold him down, then Lucian had a sudden burst of speed rushing toward Simon and thrusting his rapier forward, even though Simon tried to dodge he still got hit, Simon jumped in hopes of dodging the Shadow hands, and rapier he got hit with a barrage of magic projectiles causing some external injuries.
Eldric hits him with more magical projectiles, and Lucian makes shadow walls, narrowing Simon's path for escape; as Simon finally escapes the maze of shadows, he is held with shadow hands protruding. Before his brothers can take the opportunity, they make Simon make a magic shield.
"Oh, what is this? You can use magic now?..."
Lucian once again readied up a strike, and Simon reinforced his shield; the shield was suddenly with a barrage of heavy magic projectiles and enhanced thrust; he felt wrong; he realized the next wave of thrusts and projectiles was with a veil, so if it hit him it would've broken through his shield.
Suddenly, a man in his 50s shouts in a loud voice, making the projectiles disappear, and Lucian freezes with fear; suddenly, Selene protects Simon from the voice using a powerful shield.
Selene asks Simon with a caring voice
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? How badly were you hurt?"
Suddenly Selene hugs him dearly and pats his head before saying with a serious voice
"Father, he's waiting for you; I wish you well, brother..."
Simon pulls away from his sister's hug and looks back seeing his brothers bow down before their father, and he goes towards his father.
Magnus Vaelthorne is an imposing figure, standing tall with an air of absolute control. His jet-black hair is streaked with silver, though it never seems to change with age. His eyes glow an unnatural violet, shifting like the Veil itself as if he sees beyond this world. His skin bears no wrinkles, yet there is something ageless and terrifying about him as if time does not dare touch him.
He wears flowing black and silver robes, embroidered with ancient runes that shimmer in and out of reality. When he moves, his shadow stretches unnaturally, bending against the light in ways that defy physics.
Those who stand in his presence often feel a weight pressing upon them, as if the air itself bends to his authority.
Even though he looked human, his children knew something was out of the ordinary as if their bloodline had something no other had as if they were inhuman, and it was all because of Magnus Velthorne.
Simon approached his father yet his father coldly said to him
"Meet me at my office, Son."
Simon bowed down and responded with an empty voice, devoid of any care nor feeling a contrast to how he is when interacting with others.
"Yes, father."
Simon followed his father's command and went to the Patriarch's office and looked around like a little child curious about the whole world.
He saw trinkets and artifacts big or small, powerful or weak; some were useful, whilst some were useless. He was curious about everything, yet his eyes landed on a book with a cosmic-looking texture and a golden lock going around the book. Not only was it floating and chained down, but just by the physical attribute, he was already intrigued.
He finally reached the middle of the building where the working room of the patriarch was, and he saw the patriarch, his father, sitting on a chair like a throne.
Magnus already knew that Simon entered the building a long time ago, and so he turned around to meet Simon's face. His voice was raspy as if it was dry, yet it carried the voice of someone who was dominative and confident with a noble Aura.
"Simon tell me. Who or what gave you mana? Did you betray humanity and join the demonic fraction to have something useless like mana? If so you are a disgrace to the Velthorne clan."
Simon looked at Magnus with disdain, yet he dared not show it openly, only hiding it. As he shot Magnus with a disdainful stare, he thought to himself that Magnus was a hypocrite for how he treated him when he had no mana. Now, when he had mana, he belittled mana to indirectly belittle Simon too.
Simon's voice was silent with a hint of hidden hate and disdain. Simon looked at his father with hidden resistance, and he didn't even consider his father as his family at this point.
"I didn't do that, and I never will; I can assure you, Father, that I can stand on my own and not need devils or eldritch beings for me to be recognized, and I will even bet on that."
Magnus smiled ominously and was amused with such a bet. He again opened his mouth but this time it sounded more like a human rather than creepy and eerie
"Oh really? Then so do it. Win the school competition and prove to me that you are worthy of being a Velthorne."