Born in Blood

Soon, Liam arrived at the ravine.

The surrounding landscape had a thick layer of snow, but the river still gushed forth, since the geysers didn't freeze during winter.

Lloyd was sitting bare under the chilling waterfall — wearing only the bottom half of his clothes — his eyes closed in deep meditation.

Liam picked up a fist sized rock, hurling it at his mentor with the form of a professional athlete.

Before it could collide with his face, Lloyd's eyes burst forth as he swiftly caught the rock.

"You little rascal!"

Although his tone was slightly angry, Lloyd couldn't hide a warm smile from appearing on his face.

He stepped off the waterfall and greeted his student with a strong side fistbump.

"How'd your mission go?" Lloyd asked, using a towel to dry off his short hair.

"Great. Made me realize how much I hate parties and wasting time." Liam responded.

Lloyd chuckled, putting on his clothes. "I figured as much. You have a loner and unapproachable air around you."

Liam shrugged.

The student and teacher conversed for a few more minutes, before Liam eventually asked:

"I wanted to ask… do you know anything about my family or who my father is? I thought you might know since you brought us food when I was a child."

Lloyd flinched and raised his brows. Eventually, he sighed and sat down, gesturing to Liam to do the same.

After a long silence, he started speaking.

"He's from the Royce family."

Liam remembered that name. Vamar had uttered it with fear in his voice.

"They're the ruling family of Ucladd."

Liam's eyes instantly widened.

"I only know this because of my time as an assassin — which allowed me to peer into the politics of Ucladd. From what I've heard, one of their high ranking members can't control his desires."

Liam repeatedly cursed, his expression dark and distant.

To have a noble as a foe was one thing, to have a ruler as an enemy was another. With this in mind, the numerous hindrances to Liam's path grew thicker and much more difficult.

Unadulterated killing intent silently spread throughout the surroundings, as Liam unknowingly spread his mental waves.

Lloyd saw the dangerous light in Liam's eyes grow even darker. The amount of bloodlust honestly shocked him, as only Magi were able to freely spread their killing intent.

"Calm down."

Lloyd's calm words took Liam out of his stupor.

It took a minute for him to suppress his violent thoughts.

"Do you know his name?" Liam asked in a low voice, and Lloyd responded by shaking his head.

"Listen, Liam," Lloyd put his hand on his student's shoulder, squeezing firmly. "Right now, you're too weak to do anything to any of these people, let alone the noble rulers.

"The only reason you're alive is because they don't care enough to kill you… and that's a good thing."

Liam's scowl deepened, but he didn't interrupt.

"Be patient and always think ahead. Your time will come eventually… to enact whatever morbid justice you have in your head."

Liam lowered his head, pondering those words as a long sigh escaped his lips. He felt powerless, but a similar feeling of resolution arose in his heart.

He stood up and shifted his gaze to his teacher. "Thanks for the words, I'll do my best to follow them. I'll head home now."

Lloyd shot an understanding look towards his student, before the pair separated.

Liam creaked open his house door, sensing Eve sleeping in the living room couch.

She had dark-blue circles under her eyes, which Liam could guess was from staying up late waiting for his return.

His face turned dark a second later.

'Both your husband and son are shitty people, Eve.'

He shook his head, before picking up a fur-made blanket and throwing it over her.

A second later, he entered his room, taking out the box of pills he stole from Vamar's drawer.

The pills were sealed, and out of the five present, two pairs were the same.

Liam recognized the first as the revitalization pills, except these ones had a much darker brown color.

'It's probably more potent.' He assessed, before shifting his gaze to the remaining three.

The other matching pair were silvery white in color, with a circular shape that wafted a bitter smell.

'I'll have to ask around in the underground if anyone knows about these. After a while, though, just to be safe.'

He shifted his attention to the last remaining pill.

It was a square shaped dark-purple pill, with blue and yellow patches all over it. The pill smelled like a dangerous poison, and had a strange aura surrounding it.

'I bet it's valuable.' Liam smiled, before putting the pills inside his ring again.

A moment later, he took out his Psionic Rune and began with his usual training.

Like so, a few weeks passed.

Eventually, it was time for the last and final cycle of Liam's tempering method.