Chapter 212
Chapter 212: I'll Keep Making Use of You
A colossal blue radiance emerged from a stretch of open grassland, and blue patterns spread outward through the air.
A violent gust erupted in an instant from that deep and ethereal tunnel, pressing the lush green grass completely flat.
A group of people slowly walked out from within the blue gateway.
The Manor was so quiet. The birds that had been perched serenely on the branches were startled by the Magic and scattered in all directions.
Leah looked around and let out an expression of complete ease.
"We're here."
This was Heni's first time visiting. As she stepped out from the gate and took in the surrounding scenery—so utterly natural and unspoiled—her eyes sparkled with little stars.
"Wow, it's so big!"
She stretched out a finger, pointing toward the old Manor, and let out a cry of amazement.
Xiangyilan dragged the luggage ahead and was first into the Manor to get things settled.
After a while, a series of sounds like a series of small earthquakes rumbled out, and tremors traveled through the ground.
A deep, resonant voice reached their ears:
"Master. Miss Leah."
"Welcome back."
A Bear-man Steward stood beside all of them.
His towering frame was enormously powerful, and the steady rhythm of his breathing rose and fell together with his chest, entering everyone's ears.
A pair of gentle eyes carried a hint of severity, and a fearsome aura drifted gradually from between his brows.
Both Heni and Cocotte opened their mouths wide, utterly astonished:
"So… so big."
But Cocotte quickly got a clearer look at the massively built Demi-human before her:
"This is a Bear-man?"
This was actually a Bear-man?
Bear-men were such a hot-tempered, ferocious race—how had one here become this calm?
And on top of that… his every movement looked remarkably refined, like a gentleman.
The enormous Bear-man looked at them with gentle eyes and gave them a bow.
Frightening. Graceful. Powerful.
Was this the Clavena Family's way of doing things—even a Bear-man had to conduct himself accordingly?
Cocotte found herself rather taken aback.
At that moment, Leah pulled Heni to stand in front of her and addressed Helnersen with solemn seriousness:
"Mr. Helnersen, please prepare a room for her."
"No need to bother for the Elf—she'll find herself a garden to sleep in."
The Bear-man gave a nod, turned a slight bow toward Heni, and said:
"This way, young miss, if you'll follow me."
Heni was startled, looking up at Helnersen, feeling a little frightened.
After all, she had never encountered anyone this enormous before. Helnersen, towering like a small giant, genuinely put considerable pressure on her.
She turned her head in a fluster, glanced at Viktor, then looked at Leah.
Leah gave her a reassuring nod, then continued:
"Go with Mr. Helnersen to get the room sorted first. I'll take you into town for a look around later."
The Clavena Manor was not located within Blairstone itself but stood alone on the outskirts.
From the Manor to the city was a distance of at least 2 kilometers.
Heni gave a nod, settled her nerves, and followed behind Helnersen into the Manor.
After watching the 2 of them head off, Cocotte floated her cloud over beside Viktor and lowered her voice to ask him:
"Hey, that should be a Bear-man, right…"
"How did you manage it?"
As a top-tier Mage herself, she could clearly feel the power coiled within that Bear-man's body.
He could probably kill her with a single punch.
Not that Cocotte thought he was stronger than her—she was just a Mage, after all, fragile to her core.
Viktor glanced at Cocotte and said flatly:
"You should know, I'm not capable of everything."
Cocotte heard this, tilted slightly back, raised an eyebrow, mouth hanging open, a flash of genuine surprise crossing her eyes.
"What?! This actually has nothing to do with you?"
Leah, standing nearby, stepped in to explain:
"Helnersen has been working for our family since my grandfather's generation."
"All those Demi-human guards you've been seeing—every one of them is thanks to his training."
Cocotte's mouth fell open further. This was truly beyond anything she had anticipated.
And the power resting dormant within Helnersen's body was also beyond the scope of her understanding.
What Class was he, exactly?
"Martial Artist. That is Helnersen's Class."
Viktor's voice reached her ears, calm and unhurried.
"Martial Artist?"
As a former Council Member of the Mage Council, Cocotte's breadth of knowledge went without saying.
Yet right now, for the first time, she felt her knowledge falling short.
Viktor offered no further explanation. He slipped both hands into his pockets and continued walking forward.
The black Crow on his shoulder ruffled its feathers and yawned from its perch.
Then Viktor's voice came from beside her.
"All you need to know is that in the entire Empire, Helnersen is the only Martial Artist."
A Martial Artist was an exceptionally rare Class—both in terms of its power and the method of advancement.
It was a branch of the Warrior Class, and likewise required no expenditure of Magic Power.
But where a Martial Artist differed from a traditional Warrior was this: a Martial Artist needed to cultivate 'natural energy.'
This energy was also called 'Energy.'
Only when the stored amount of 'Energy' within the body had reached a certain level did one qualify to become a Martial Artist.
And that was just the most basic prerequisite.
A Martial Artist did not advocate combat. They needed to spend time in the practice of 'nurturing Energy.'
This practice not only granted the Martial Artist a healthier and more powerful body—it also extended their lifespan.
So the more 'Energy' nurtured, the stronger the Martial Artist.
Conversely, a Martial Artist who engaged in frequent combat would deplete their 'Energy,' and their physical condition would become comparatively weaker for a period of time.
As a result, a Martial Artist's power level was not fixed, and not many Players chose it as a primary Class.
While Cocotte was still turning this over in her mind, Leah suddenly spoke up from beside her:
"Alright, talked enough? When you're done, we should get going."
Cocotte tilted her head, puzzled.
"Where to?"
Leah looked at her with a smile, and said with an air of mystery:
"I'm taking you somewhere an Elf ought to go."
***
Thick smoke billowed and rolled.
The crisp ring of metal striking metal and the clatter of materials colliding filled the vast workshop.
Dozens of workers moved back and forth throughout the workshop, arms full of various materials and steel, engaged in the methodical production of something.
Upon spotting Viktor and Leah standing at the workshop entrance, every worker stopped what they were doing and quickly bowed to Viktor.
"My Lord Count."
"My Lord Count, greetings!"
"Good morning, Lord Viktor!"
The workers addressed Viktor with the utmost respect, their gestures uniform and precise.
Viktor gave little in return—a faint nod—and continued walking ahead on his own.
The black Crow snickered mockingly in Viktor's ear:
"Oh my, Lord Viktor."
"What a commanding air you have."
Viktor shot the loose-tongued Crow an unamused glance and said nothing.
Their salutes were not out of reverence.
They were out of survival—not wanting to get on his bad side.
Strictly speaking, this was also one of Viktor's past mistakes.
Many places had revised their image of him following his earlier conduct, shifting from infamy to the widespread reputation of a genius Mage.
Everywhere, that is, except Viktor's hometown: Blairstone.
Far too many people in this city had suffered under Viktor's past behavior.
Even the stray dogs on the roadside had no regard for Viktor.
No matter how well his reputation spread elsewhere, the moment he came to Blairstone—back in his own territory—every one of those workers had only 1 thought:
Is this really Viktor in the flesh?
As the group went deeper into the workshop, Cocotte gazed around in curious fascination.
Dozens of craftsmen were gathered around an extremely long table, performing repetitive work—assembling components, calibrating precision.
Before long, a pitch-black Firearm was assembled and hung on a wall rack alongside the other completed pieces.
Cocotte stood to the side and stared, her eyes wide.
What sort of strange new contraption was this?
Viktor still had both hands in his pockets, looking entirely unsurprised, and asked Leah:
"Has this one reached mass production yet?"
"You know how it is—making this type of Firearm isn't the difficult part, but our energy supply isn't keeping up."
Leah spread her hands with a helpless shrug.
"In a day, we can only produce 10 handguns like this."
Leah stepped forward, paid the craftsmen no mind, and lifted one of the completed pieces down from the wall.
She thumbed the safety, raised her arm, narrowed her eyes, and took aim at a distant shooting target.
Then she pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The enormous Magic Power, compressed and then released, erupted into tremendous energy. The black iron bullet burst forward with it, shattering into the wooden target suspended in the air.
Cocotte beside her had never witnessed anything like this. Her mind went completely blank.
She could tell that Leah had no Magic Power to speak of—yet this weapon, casually fired, had the impact of a small cannonball. It was genuinely alarming.
Better than a bow and arrow by a long shot, she thought.
Leah placed the handgun back on the wall and took an unfinished piece from one of the craftsmen.
The unfinished gun body was different from the completed ones—a green eagle had been engraved upon it.
She turned it over in her hands a few times, then held it out to Cocotte and said:
"Try channeling the natural energy that Elves are best known for."
"Huh?"
Cocotte took the handgun and weighed it in her palm, a little puzzled—but she followed Leah's suggestion nonetheless.
A green glow began to shimmer across her palm, and natural energy gradually wound itself around her arm.
The entire gun body was slowly enveloped by the light as well, flowing into the eagle engravings that had been set there in advance.
The green color trickled slowly along the edges, then pooled at last in the sharp eyes of the eagle.
Like an eye opening, the engraving's lines became crisp and vivid.
Cocotte was still none the wiser, and watched helplessly as Leah took the gun back from her hand and examined it carefully.
Then, with practiced ease, Leah picked up 6 iron bullets from the table and loaded them in one by one.
She took aim at the target again and pulled the trigger.
In an instant, a burst of green energy exploded from the barrel. The bullet tore through the air at terrifying speed—
In the blink of an eye, the light pierced clean through the entire wooden target. The fearsome shockwave of wind only then erupted outward from all around.
That was more than double the power of the shot before.
Cocotte: "……"
Deep within Cocotte's heart, a profoundly bad feeling suddenly rose.
Leah set down the Firearm in her hands and turned a radiant smile on Cocotte.
"Truly worthy of the Elven Queen."
"Now then—let me think about how best to make use of you."
The premonition had come true.