"I appreciate the hospitality."
Peter smiled faintly.
Michael hesitated for a second. "Is there anything else Iām needed for?" he asked.
Peter paused just a moment too longālong enough to register the subtext.
"No, Lord Mic Nor," Peter said smoothly. "That would be all. Shall I arrange for a carriage?"
Michael gave a grateful nod. "Please."
Peter turned with a small bow, gesturing for Michael to follow. As they made their way through the estateās finely carved halls, Michael didnāt speak. He didnāt need to. The silence suited him, allowed him to process everything.
The meeting had gone far better than expected. Heād walked in simply hoping to fulfill obligations and maybe deflect a forced marriage.
The mansionās main doors were opened for them as they exited.
A pair of carriages stood at the courtyard, the Dukeās colors emblazoned on their sides.
Peter gestured toward one, and a driver quickly jumped down to open the door.
Michael recognised that it was the driver that drove them here in the first place.
"Back home, Sir Mic?" Peter asked.
Michael nodded. "Yes. Home."
As he stepped into the carriage, Peter added one last thing. "Have a great day ahead, Sir."
Michael gave a small smile.
The door shut, and the carriage began to roll.
Inside, Michael finally allowed himself to breathe fully.
The ride was uneventful. Aside from drawing the occasional curious gaze, everything went smoothly, and Michael was soon back home.
He had barely settled onto his bed, preparing to sort through the dayās events, when a knock echoed from the door.
It was Ace.
"What is it, Ace?" Michael asked, looking at the young man with a blank expression.
"My lord, someone is here to see you again. He identified himself as Master Yuan."
Michaelās previously indifferent gaze sharpened.
"Master Yuan?"
"Yes, my lord."
"The one whoās visited before?"
"Yes, my lord."
Michaelās eyes narrowed slightly. There was no mistaking itāthis was definitely that Master Yuan, the personal assistant of Mage Lian.
Without wasting a second, he rose from the bed and quickly made his way downstairs.
And just as expected, sitted patiently in the living room with his usual composed posture, was the man himself.
Master Yuan didnāt waste time stating his purpose. He was there to deliver a messageāGrand Mage Lian extended his greetings.
Michael immediately understood. It was about the Titan Potion.
Even without stepping outside, his enhanced senses had already picked up on the presence of a carriage waiting nearby. Still, he gave a polite nod and said, "Iāll see Mage Lian soon. I wonāt keep him waiting too long."
The moment he said it, he noticed a subtle shift in Master Yuanās expressionāa flicker of displeasure, quickly buried beneath practiced calm.
Despite the faint tension, Master Yuan remained respectful. In fact, he seemed even more deferential than during his previous visits.
It was the same sort of increased respect Michael had noticed in others since today.
And Michael had his suspicions why.
Master Yuan didnāt linger. With a short bow and a murmured farewell, he excused himself and stepped out.
Michael headed back to his room.
Once inside, he sat on the bed and then reached into his storage space.
A second later, a box materialized in his hands.
He unlocked the latch and slowly lifted the lid.
Inside were three items.
First, the Titan Potion.
To be honest, if it wasnāt for the fact that this couldnāt be used by ordinary people and the fact he knew it wouldnāt have much effect on him, Michael would have had second thoughts of giving this to Mage Lian.
Michael stared at it in silence.
He then shifted his gaze to the two other items in the box.
Two books. Both martial arts.
He went through the two again.
[Berserk] and [Ghostwind Steps].
One for strength. One for speed.
"I canāt practice both here," Michael muttered, "but once I master them, they should give a significant boost to my close combat prowess."
He returned the manuals and potion to the box, then placed it back into his storage space.
With that done, he called out his status screen and focused on his talent.
His eyes were immediately drawn to his accumulated points
3634 Evolution Points.
Enough to evolve twenty undead to the Extraordinary rank.
Michael believed this would be more than enough to secure a perfect rating. But he wasnāt satisfied. He wanted more.
These points werenāt enough.
He needed to see if he could get more..
He had less than a month left before he needed to advance to Rank 2. Technically, he could do it at any timeābut Michael wanted to time it just right.
Ten days.
That was the window he gave himself.
In ten days, without fail, he would advance.
For now, he needed to begin searching for materials that could trigger Mutated Evolutions in some of his undead.
The question was whether to seek Mage Lianās helpāor find them himself in the real world. The latter seemed like a better option.
"Then thereās that," Michael mused. "Evolving so many undead to Extraordinary rank will definitely draw attention. If Iām not careful, itāll cause a commotion."
That meant he needed to be settled in his new territory before thenāand at the same time, begin interacting with the Dukeās daughter, trying to learn more about the Beast Tamer class from her.
Michael knew he couldnāt drag this out.
"Tomorrow, Iāll visit Mage Lian," he decided. "Spend the second half of the day in Aurora to prepare for advancement, then meet the Duke the day after to inform him of my departureāand try to get closer to his daughter."
Having laid out the plan, Michael felt more at ease.
He closed his status screen and was just about to begin meditatingāthen paused.
It was still early in Aurora.
If he hurried, he might just catch Aunt Miaās food while it was still hot.
******
A/N: Sorry for the inconvenience in reading. The Chapters have been edited now.