Chapter 66: Anomaly
That same evening, inside a private office within the Wilson family mansion, four figures were sitting together.
"So, how were they?" asked William Wilson, the Family Head. He was a middle-aged man with grey hair and a deep, commanding voice. He sat comfortably on a throne-like chair, casually sipping a glass of wine. "Is what Vincent said true? And should we really consider helping them in their difficult times against that family?"
"We only saw the older one, Ian, in action. As for the younger one... what was his name again?" Zena said, crossing his arms.
"Isaac," Sarah answered smoothly, taking a sip of her tea.
"Yes, that Isaac fellow. I only saw him at the very start of the commotion, and then he just disappeared. Maybe he figured out it was a ploy from the beginning, or maybe he just doesn’t care about his brother," Zena grumbled.
"How could he have possibly noticed it was a ploy with the way you were acting? You were shouting and crying like an absolute madman," Sarah said with a teasing chuckle.
"It wasn’t acting," Zena said in a low, dark voice.
"What?" Sarah blinked, lowering her teacup.
"It’s nothing."
"What do you mean, it’s noth—"
"That’s enough, you two," William interrupted, cutting Sarah off before she could finish. He looked at the young boy with a guilty expression. "Zena, I am sorry for making you act out that specific scenario. It must have brought back very bad memories of that time."
"It’s alright. It happened a long time ago, and I did get my revenge eventually. There is no need to think about that time anymore," Zena sighed, shaking his head.
"Anyway, Sidd, tell me what really happened," William said, looking over at the red-haired mage from earlier.
Sidd, who had been quietly standing by the wall, started explaining everything step-by-step, from the moment Ian threw his first punch until the very end of the confrontation.
"I see... so that is what happened. Then, Zena, from what you experienced up close, how is he in a real fight?" William asked.
"The guy is a terrible fighter! He doesn’t even know the absolute basics of how to hold or swing a sword. And he clearly has no idea how Aura works. Even though he doesn’t use Aura himself, he should at least know that an Aura-covered weapon will instantly shatter a normal iron sword!" Zena complained, starting to list off Ian’s flaws. "Oh, and he doesn’t even check his surroundings or use the environment to his advantage. He is definitely the type of person to just punch first and think later."
"That is a lot of negatives coming from you. Does it mean you don’t like him at all?" William asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I don’t like him at all. He has all that monstrous strength, and he doesn’t even know how to properly use it!" Zena said, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Seriously, who the hell just stands there and punches a glowing axe for the entire fight?! Even I was starting to get angry watching it!"
"So, does he have any real potential? That is what I truly want to know," William pressed.
"Mmmm... I hate to admit it, but he sure does have potential," Zena muttered reluctantly. "If he gets just a little bit of actual combat experience, he could easily take down a Fourth-Stage Aura user, or even go head-to-head with a Fifth-Stage."
"If you, a Fourth-Stage Aura user, are saying that, then he really must have insane potential, huh?" Sidd noted. "So, Family Head, are you going to accept Vincent’s offer?"
"..." William became completely quiet for some time, staring into his wine glass as he thought deeply. "I think I am going to accept. In the short run, an alliance with them will force us to rely on each other too much. But in the long run, it will benefit us greatly. That is, unless other powerful people figure out that the Thorne family is just a bunch of Anomalies. If that happens, other nobles will either try to ally with them or completely destroy them."
"Anomalies?" Sarah finally spoke up. "This is the second time today I’m hearing that word. What is it, really?"
"An Anomaly is something that exists outside our basic understanding of the world. For example, the magic you are using right now used to be an Anomaly," Sidd explained to his disciple. "Long ago, there were only Aura users and regular knights on the continent. So, when the very first Mage appeared, she was treated like an Anomaly and was hunted because people thought it was some kind of wicked witchcraft. But what people didn’t know was that she had already gathered other people with talent like hers in secret, and that is how magic started to spread across the continent."
Sidd sighed and shook his head. "This is basic knowledge for Mages. It is literally the history of magic. You should really find some time to actually visit a Magic Tower and read a book."
"But magic is not the only known Anomaly. There is also a very rare case regarding Aura users," Zena chimed in. "Occasionally, someone is born who can naturally feel Aura, but their body physically cannot store it in a core. Instead, they can violently pull it from the air to temporarily strengthen their physical bodies to insane levels. At first, when I saw Ian’s insane physical strength, I thought he was maybe that rare case. But he didn’t use Aura at all, and his deep wounds naturally healed themselves in seconds. That’s when I realized he must be a completely new type of Anomaly."
"Yeah... that is one of the main reasons I want to ally with them and help them grow," William nodded.
"Is there another reason?" Sarah asked curiously.
"Yes... the main reason I agreed to Vincent’s alliance arrangement is that we are also not in a very good relationship with the Zennin family. If the Thornes are destroyed, we will be next. We will be put in a very tight spot," William explained seriously.
"We are not in a good relationship with them? How? We have never openly associated with them before," Sarah asked, looking confused.
"Well, you see, not many people know this history, but before we were officially recognized as nobles, the Zennin family used to be a Viscount family."
"What?!" Zena exclaimed in shock.
"Yes...One of their Family Head did something terrible that deeply angered one of our former King. Because of that, they were stripped of their Viscount status and demoted to a Barony," William explained. "Right around that same time, our family had earned our noble title, and the King bestowed half of the Zennins’ confiscated land to us. Even though the Zennins got to keep their main town, their deep hatred for us never stopped."
William took a slow sip of wine. "And you both know the rest of the story. When the King bestowed the Thornes their noble title, he had to give them land too. That land was carved directly out of our territory, and a very large portion was taken from the Zennin family’s remaining borders."
"So that means... even if the Zennin family is only a Baron rank in name, they are actually a very strong family. Their hidden military strength and wealth can probably be compared to a full County because they have been building power in this kingdom for a very long time," Sarah realized, her eyes widening.
"Exactly," William nodded grimly. "That is why we absolutely must form an alliance with the Thornes. Only together will we actually have a fighting chance against them when they eventually make their move."
"So, what is our next move now?" Zena asked, leaning forward.
Suddenly, William smiled warmly and started telling them exactly what they needed to do.
— The Next Day, Morning —
The bright morning sun shined down on the dusty streets of Wiltshire. Ian and Isaac were just walking out of the Adventurer’s Guild, both holding small wooden badges that clearly displayed a ’D’.
"I guess your crazy fight yesterday actually worked in our favor. The Guild Master made us start straight at D-Rank instead of F-Rank," Isaac said, casually tossing his badge into his pocket.
"Yeah, who would have guessed?" Ian grinned, stretching his arms. "You should be thanking me right now for doing all the hard work."
"Don’t push it," Isaac said dryly. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, causing Ian to accidentally bump into his back.
"Hey, why did you stop? What are you staring at...?" Ian muttered, following Isaac’s gaze.
Just a short distance ahead, standing right at the dirt entrance leading into the Great Forest, were Zena and Sarah. They were fully geared up and clearly waiting for someone.
"Don’t say a single word," Isaac whispered quickly to Ian.
Ian immediately understood and just gave a small nod.
The two brothers kept walking straight toward the forest. They walked right past Zena and Sarah, keeping their faces completely blank and not saying a single word.
Zena and Sarah just stared at the two brothers walking right past them, completely dumbfounded.
"Hey...!" Zena finally yelled, jogging after them. "We were waiting for you guys all morning! You could have at least stopped and asked us what we were waiting for, since we kinda know each other now!"
Suddenly, Isaac stopped walking. He slowly turned around, looked at Zena and Sarah with a perfectly innocent, confused face, and tilted his head.
"Wait... who are you?" Isaac asked flatly.
"Pffft—!"
Both Ian and Sarah immediately covered their mouths, desperately trying not to burst out laughing at Zena’s completely offended expression.