​"There is no need for you to panic," Vincent said calmly, remaining seated at the wooden table. "Since it seems like you are completely done doing... whatever it was you were doing, I should get going." He slowly stood up, brushing off his uniform.

​"...?" Ian just stared at him, completely confused.

​Just as Vincent’s hand touched the brass doorknob, Ian finally spoke up. "Aren’t you going to ask about what I was doing just now?" Ian asked, slowly getting off his sweat-soaked bed.

​Vincent paused, turning around to look at the boy. "That’s not what I am curious about. What I want to know is just how strong you actually are to project an aura that terrified a Second-Stage and Third-Stage Aura User outside... and even paralyzed your own maid stiff," Vincent said, his eyes narrowing curiously.

​"Hearing you say that kind of makes me feel bad about what I did to her, unlike someonewho made her faint" Ian sighed, picking up a fresh linen shirt and throwing it on. "But I’m surprised that you don’t seem scared at all."

​"Ha-ha-ha!" Vincent let out a booming laugh. "You may have scared those greenhorn guards, but I am in a completely different league than them, Young Master. In my eyes, your little pressure just made you seem like a wild dog."

​’A dog? For real?’ Ian thought, his expression instantly twisting into annoyance. ’Just how stupidly strong are you to see a literal barking puppy?’

​"You seem to not like how I described you," Vincent chuckled, noticing Ian’s sour face. "If you want to test out how strong you really are now, I can be your sparring partner today and see where your limits are."

​"Huh?" Ian paused, his annoyance fading into surprise.

​"Don’t act like you don’t want to," Vincent smirked. "Meet me down in the private training room in half an hour."

​"Half an hour? Why half an hour? We can just head down there right now," Ian asked, cracking his newly forged knuckles.

​"First, I need to have a very friendly talk with the people outside so that a nasty rumor doesn’t spread around the estate. That includes your maid," Vincent said firmly.

​"What? Can you just leave her out of it? It’s not like she knows anybody in this estate to tell anyway," Ian complained, stepping forward.

​"You are acting like you have known her for years, but it’s only been a week since you met her," Vincent countered, crossing his arms.

​"It’s not that I implicitly trust her, but my mother told me that I should protect her and keep her safe. So I intend to do exactly that," Ian said with serious resolve.

​The absolute second Vincent heard Caroline’s name, he completely froze.

​"Sigh...throwing the mother card already," He whispered. "Fine, If Lady Caroline personally told you that, I guess it should be fine," Vincent relented, hurriedly opening the door. "Just don’t be late."

​’He really trusts Mother that much, huh?’ Ian thought, watching the door close. ’Not just him, but even Aunty Martha. When I told her Tracy was assigned to me by Mom, she accepted her immediately without a single question. I guess Mother really does have a certain amount of influence around here.’ Ian shook his head. ’I will talk to Tracy and apologize later. I should hurry up, shower, and get to the training room.’

​A short while later, Ian was walking down the quiet estate corridors toward the underground training room.

​’I didn’t get to finish looking at the System when I was with Uncle Jacob, but I did catch a glimpse of my roster earlier,’ Ian thought as he walked. ’Since I broke through and bought a high-tier Bone Forging technique, it looks like the System upgraded. The number of External Member slots has increased from five to twenty people! But where am I even going to find sixteen more trustworthy people?’ Ian arrived at the heavy iron doors of the private training room and pushed them open. The room was empty.

​"Mmm... Uncle Vincent isn’t here yet, huh?" Ian muttered to himself.

​"Uncle Vincent? Who is that?" a quiet voice suddenly asked from directly behind him.

​"Aaaah!" Ian jumped, violently startled by the sudden voice. He spun around, his heart pounding.

​Standing just a few inches behind him was a boy his age with pitch-black hair and dull, emotionless golden eyes.

​"Do you by any chance mean the Head Guard, Vincent?" Isaac asked, his expression completely blank.

​"You scared the life out of me, man!" Ian exhaled, holding his chest.

​"Oh, sorry about that. I kind of thought you knew I was following behind you," Isaac replied smoothly.

​’Following me?’ Ian repeated, a chill running down his spine. ’I didn’t hear a single footstep! It’s exactly like Aunty Martha said about Uncle Alarick’s assassin butler maybe he could have picked up something ...’

"Oh, you are already here. And you brought Isaac with you," Vincent’s booming voice echoed as he stepped into the training room, wearing loose sparring clothes and holding two wooden practice swords. "Isaac, when did you arrive? I didn’t even see you enter the estate gates. And how was the Academy?"

​"I arrived not too long ago. Mother told me to seek out Ian immediately, though I don’t know why," Isaac replied, his dull eyes giving nothing away. "As for the Academy... it was fun."

​’Fun?’ Ian thought, giving his cousin a deeply skeptical look. ’I have the previous Ian’s memories. Time at that academy is the exact opposite of fun for a weak noble. It was so brutal the previous Ian dropped out within two weeks. Isaac is definitely lying through his teeth right now.’

​Ian shook off the thought. ’Well, I already planned on telling him about Cultivation, which is why I told Aunty Martha to send him directly to me the absolute second he got home.’

Vincent looked over at Ian, giving him a subtle nod, silently asking if they should proceed with the spar while Isaac was watching. Ian just nodded back in confirmation.

​"Well, Isaac, since you are already here, I want to show you something," Ian said, stepping forward and firmly clasping his quiet cousin’s shoulder. "It will be much easier to show you than to explain it."