Secret Arts Of The Adenea Family
"Inspect"
[Inspect activated]
[Name: Atlas Adenea]
[Ability: Sonic Manipulation]
[Advanced Battle Arts: Tylon (C rank)]
[Stage: None]
[Level 5]
[Strength: ??]
[Agility: ??]
[Stamina: ??]
[Skills: ???]
[HP: 1500 (+500 Mid Grade force field)]
Eli turned around to glare at Riott. For some reason, it had escaped him to use the inspect skill on him.
"Inspect"
[Inspect activated]
[Name: Riott Maybach]
[Ability: ???]
[Advanced Battle Arts: ???]
[Stage: ???]
[Level 4]
[Strength: ??]
[Agility: ??]
[Stamina: ??]
[Skills: ???]
[HP: ???]
Eli could feel interference coming from the sword on Riott's back.
"Inspect"
[Inspect activated]
[Name: Fire Mayfaer Blade]
[Tier: King-Tier]
[Active skill: ???]
[Strength: ???]
[Speed: ???]
[Passive skill: Mayfaer Cloak: cloaks the user's scent and projects an aura of underestimation]
Eli decided to inspect Riott's suit, which looked like almost concealable armor without the bulk normal armors should have. It looked more like a vastly decorated business suit.
"Inspect"
[Name: Skyrim Armor]
[Tier: Advanced Tier]
[Strength: +15]
With the stats the king-tier sword gave in speed and strength, stacking on the stats for the armor, Riott could easily kill a level 4. This was the difference weapons could make. "And with the passive skill of the sword, he can easily backstab almost all level 5 ability users as long as they aren't concentrating. In close combat, he would also be the winner, which means he can kill Eli a thousand times over. This was a reminder to him that he wasn't strong enough. How will he fare in a battle against Riott, worse still Cartl Taylor who was a level 6?" Eli had developed a slight trauma after his close brush with death when he used the Conquest key and was disappointed in himself. A slight brush with death made him slack off. He was going to do more conquests and get even stronger. Deep down, something told him he wasn't ready to complete the Elite dual conquest yet, but he could still get it in the gift box, and if that still didn't happen, he could buy it. At least now he had access to the system shop, Eli thought.
The sword on Riott's back began to tremble, and Riott felt a gaze on him as if he was being watched by a predator. As he started to sweat, he raised his head to meet Eli's glare, which made him shudder. Riott had thought that the kid couldn't handle Vulcan Tanheln, which was why he called for help, but he couldn't be more wrong. The threat he was feeling from Eli was almost choking him, enough for his weapon to consider Eli a threat.
"Did I do something wrong?" Riott asked with an awkward smile.
"Mr. Eli, this way please," Atlas said.
"Nice sword," Eli nodded and followed behind Atlas. Riott let out a sigh as the pressure suddenly vanished.
"What the heck was that?" Riott mumbled.
Eli followed Atlas as the massive double doors opened when she approached. They both stepped into the hallway. The hallway walls were adorned with picture frames that seemed to float just inches from the surface. At the entrance, the first frame captured a brown-haired little girl with similar features to Atlas, her eyes wide with curiosity and wonder. The background was a playground, with hovering toys and robotic companions. Her innocent smile would warm any heart.
As they moved further down the hallway, the frames transitioned to three boys, each at different stages of their lives. In one, they were toddlers, their chubby faces smeared with what looked like chocolate. Another frame showed them as pre-teens, engaged in a holographic game, their expressions a mix of concentration and excitement. Midway through the hallway, the frames began to include their father. A tall, imposing figure with a kind smile, he stood with his sons in various settings. One picture showed them on a family vacation, the backdrop a breathtaking landscape with twin suns setting in the distance. Another captured a moment of triumph, the father and his sons standing proudly beside a sleek spacecraft, their faces lit with the glow of accomplishment. The final frames depicted the father alone, his face weathered with age but his eyes still sharp and full of life.
"Just to be clear so there are no misjudgments," Atlas began, "the old man has three sons and two daughters. The eldest son turned out to be successful, and the second son is not so bad either. But the third son is a tool, lazy and spoiled. He opened his own company that deals with the most unsavory characters in the city. The massacre he caused had nothing to do with the old man. With or without such farce, the old man would have won anyway. So far, he has been doing well thanks to his familial connections. Vulcan Tanheln works for that prick."
Even an outsider like Eli could tell the third son was not favored by the Adenea family. Eli wanted to refute since the opposition party member was supported by Ember Estate Mayor. It was the chaos that Vulcan Tanheln sowed which translated to a lack of security that netted the position in the bag for Earl Adenea. Eli nodded to acknowledge that he had caught Atlas's drift.
"Why didn't you tell me your father was the head of Hutton District?" Eli asked.
"I thought you were some prick from some prominent family, that's why you were treating us like we are just some people."
"Who doesn't know the face of the Head of the District they live in?"
"So that's it, they think I'm from some prominent family," Eli thought. "Why would you think that?" Eli asked.
Atlas stopped to glare at Eli. "Even now you are still not the slightest bit affected by all this, and most pricks from prominent families like to dress like they aren't worth a thousand credits."
After a while, Atlas turned left and stopped in front of a large silver door. "The old man has many health complications. Therefore, he mostly stays inside this wellness treatment center." Atlas then led Eli inside after the door buzzed open.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Loud sounds immediately resounded as the soundproof barrier clicked off and the door opened. The sight that greeted Eli was the old man in an arena. Several hoses were connected to his skin, his eyes tightly closed, and the skin where the hoses were connected was writhing as if alive, obvious signs of high-grade nanobots.
The old man was moving in a strange, architectural pattern, constantly throwing punches at dummies that randomly popped out of the floor. Considering the distance, it seemed impossible to land such punches, but each time, a huge sound wave left the old man's hand, slamming into the dummy and exploding it into pieces. The old man would then turn to the next dummy right before it fully emerged.
He was able to predict where the dummies would pop up, perhaps due to his ability, coupled with the footwork of his advanced battle arts. Despite his old age, it was a beautiful sight to behold.
There were a set of beautiful identical twin girls attending to him. They were both wearing red flowing robes from the old world that covered their whole bodies and a hood covering their eyes, exposing part of their jet-black hair on both sides of their faces. It looked like the workings of some heretic cult.
"Inspect"
[Inspect activated]
[Name: Earl Adenea]
[Ability: Sonic Manipulation]
[Advanced Battle Arts: Tylon (C rank)]
[Stage: Introductory (Nth Level)]
[Level 5]
[Strength: ??]
[Agility: ??]
[Stamina: ??]
[Skills: ???]
[HP: 2000 (+1000 Mid Grade force field)]
The old man had the same ability as his daughter, and the last time Eli met the old man, he had assumed he was at the initial stage. Even though the old man was at the peak stage of the introductory stage, his arcane energy was better than that of Vulcan Tanheln. That meant the old man had gained more insights into his advanced battle arts than Vulcan Tanheln and perhaps needed a little push to enter the initial stage.
Eli used inspect on the identical twin girls.
"Inspect"
[Inspect activated]
[Name: Moyla Mandel]
[Ability: Oracle]
[Advanced Battle Arts: None]
[Level 3]
[Strength: ??]
[Agility: ??]
[Stamina: ??]
[Skills: ???]
[HP: 1500]
"Inspect"
[Inspect activated]
[Name: Mella Mandel]
[Ability: Oracle]
[Advanced Battle Arts: None]
[Level 3]
[Strength: ??]
[Agility: ??]
[Stamina: ??]
[Skills: ???]
[HP: 1500]
"Mr. Eli, it seems you finally made it?" Mr. Earl stopped his training, deactivated the training arena while all the strange hoses were detached from his body by the twin girls. He gave Eli a welcoming smile. The elderly man wore a set of loose shirt and pants. The flowy suit made Mr. Earl look much more relaxed than when he was in the transitional suit.
"I thought you were supposed to treat my grandpa today. Where are your instruments and whatnot?" Atlas interjected abruptly. Something about Eli was getting on her nerves, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"My treatment can be described as anything but normal," Eli shook his head. "Here, look." Eli handed Mr. Earl a booklet. On the cover, it read, "Secret Art of Adenea."
This had cost him 15,000 DBS. He found it strange that the old man hadn't made a breakthrough even at such an age and had asked the system for clarification. The answer he received from the system was not what he expected. The Tylon Advanced Arts is an incomplete battle art, and only one in a million prodigies are lucky enough to break through to the initial stage. It's very taxing on the body, causing it to break down over time if one does not make a breakthrough to the initial stage.
He had asked the system for a solution, and it gave him a technique that would surely help the old man break through to the initial stage. The cost was lofty, and he felt the pinch, but he wasn't sulking. He knew the importance of forming a solid connection, and who better than the head of the district he was currently staying in? The old man was a golden goose he did not want to lose.