Meeting the Chief

It took them about twenty minutes to arrive at their destination. The mansion appeared to be very old and made an impression of being built hundreds of years ago. Some of the bricks in the walls were cracked and looked as if they could turn to dust at any moment. At its threshold stood a small fountain made out of polished bluestone that resembled a fish jumping out of the water. The fish was spewing water from its mouth towards the sky. One of the guards opened the iron gate that was protecting the mansion. They quickly came inside and went in the direction of the main hall. When they were almost there, they heard shouts coming from the inside.

"Elder Jorg you have more than two hundred guards under your command, yet you can't even find one girl on our territory!? You incompetent fool! What am I even paying you for!" shouted the chief, his rage at this moment knew no boundaries, you could almost see the flames roaring in his eyes. He had an urge to destroy everything around him and turn those incompetent pieces of trash to ashes!

"C-chief please calm down! I've sent everyone to search for her. I'm sure that we will be able to bring your daughter back!" he answered timidly. All he could do now was to pray that his men are competent enough to bring the little miss back. How many problems can one girl cause? Couldn't she stay in her room or the library and read books like she always does? He felt that the temperature in the room rose drastically when the chief let out a tiny amount of his killing intent by accident. He started sweating like a pig that was about to be butchered.

Just when the situation was about to get out of control, the patrol that was escorting Ember back home opened the door leading to the main hall and came in.

"Chief, we have brought your daughter back!" said the guard with a long, black beard. He was elated that this nightmarish day is finally going to end.

"Hmph... maybe you're not that useless after all. Everyone leave! I want to speak with my daughter in private, also tell our chefs to prepare some of their signature dishes." he ordered, and almost instantly everyone left the room. The old man started walking towards Ember with a complicated expression on his face.

"So this is how my father looks like... wait, he looks like that old man who held my hand when I woke up after possessing this body. I hope that I won't get into any trouble." thought Ember.

Those screams from before made her quite nervous. She knew that her father doted a lot on her, but the previous owner of this body never did anything to worry her parents. She ordered the system to scan the chief.

Target: Egon

Age: 58

Rank: B+

Class: Red Mage

Elemental affinity: Fire - 76%

Bloodline: Infernal Lion - Allows the user to double the power of his fire spells. Requires tremendous amount of mana or burning user's blood. Extended usage may lead to fatigue or death.

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[Body]

Strength: 29

Vitality: 36

Agility: 20

[Magic]

Spirit: 311

Intelligence: 268

Total points: 664

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[Skills]

[Beep... Unable to display skills. Target is much stronger than the host.]

"Hi, daddy. I'm sorry for making you worry. I just... wanted to learn martial arts like other disciples to make you proud." said Ember with a sad expression on her face.

She decided to put on an act to please her father. Ember felt awkward behaving like this since she was a man in her previous life, but it would just be too strange if her personality suddenly changed. She didn't want people around her to suspect anything. Ember thought that letting people believe that she's just a small, harmless girl can only make her life easier since nobody will consider her as a threat. Even though she won the fight against Baum, it shouldn't make people suspicious. After all, Baum was at the bottom of the food chain. His only redeeming trait was the increased vitality provided by his bloodline.

"Silly girl it's good that you're back! I was overemotional because I can't afford to lose you. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to you. However, if you wanted to start training why didn't you come to me? Maybe we aren't rich, but we still have some connections. We could pull some strings and talk to the right people to let you join a prestigious academy, or you could receive private lessons from one of the elders specialising in martial arts." though Egon. He was happy that his daughter picked up martial arts, but it wouldn't be good if she learned wrong things by herself.

"Don't worry dad. When I miraculously got better after almost dying I decided that I must strengthen my body. I don't need an elder to guide me, but I could use some guidance when it comes to choosing suitable techniques." said Ember with a sweet expression on her face. Of course, she doesn't need teachers because she already has a system that will help her get stronger much faster than any teacher! She thought that visiting library may be a good idea. She could always get some skills that will help her get through the early phase where she is most vulnerable.

"Mhm... it's indeed a good idea to let you practice a martial art that would make your body stronger. " said Egon as he inspected her daughter from head to toes.

"I see that your body already got stronger than it was before and... Oh damn! Is that mana I can sense from your body?! It must be!" said the old man as his face quickly became red and steam of tears started rolling down his face. His hands began trembling from excitement.

"I'm not sure if it's mana or not... I felt that strange energy appeared in my body when I got better. My body also became much stronger than before. " said Ember. She decided to keep playing dumb.

"I see, your sickness must have been a blessing in a disguise! My little girl can finally use magic, haha! We have to check your affinity towards elements. Wait here for me, I'll be back in a second." said her father and laughed once more, it looked like he suddenly became ten years younger. With a bright smile on his face, he rushed to his room to bring a transparent crystal and quickly came back. He then handed the crystal to his daughter.

"Now pour some of your mana into the crystal." said Egon. He was sure that his daughter is going to have an affinity towards fire like him or wind like his mother.

Ember took the crystal from his father and poured some mana into it. The crystal instantly brightened and started shining. The transparent crystal turned silver and suddenly shattered into small pieces that lost their colour and fell to the floor.