The Deceitful One



Listening to Bryan, Donald was greatly taken aback and he couldn't help but panic. He nervously asked, "Master, did I do something wrong? Perhaps I unknowingly made a mistake somewhere, I promise I didn't—"

Seeing Donald sweating nervously, Bryan couldn't hope but chuckle. He waved his hand and cut him off. "No, no, it's not what you're thinking. I just feel that your skills could be put to better use."

"Better use?" Donald felt puzzled, "what exactly do you mean, master?"

Bryan smiled and replied, "What I mean is, I want you to be my personal assistant."

Now, Donald was even more confused. "But master, isn't that the same thing as being the butler?"

Bryan's eyebrows twitched, he then patiently explained, "Currently, you are the manager of this household. But as my personal assistant, you will handle all the administrative work."

Seeing that Donald was paying full attention, Bryan continued, "After interacting with you, I've come to realize that your skillset makes you overqualified to be a butler. So, I want you to take up more responsibilities."

Donald heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that he wasn't going to be fired. Furthermore, after listening to Bryan praise him, he couldn't help but feel a little happy about himself.

He was indeed overqualified to be a mere butler. If it wasn't for him having a conflict with the butler of Mr. Winchester—the previous owner of the mansion—he would have long since been promoted and given work in the businesses run by Connor Winchester.

After all, Donald had exceptional organizational and communication skills. Hence, he was indeed a very good fit for the role of personal assistant.

But he didn't know much about the duties of a personal assistant; he hadn't had much education, after all. Hence, he couldn't help but ask, "Master, what does a personal assistant do exactly?"

Bryan explained, "You'll be responsible for scheduling all my meetings, making travel arrangements, keeping track of my finances, etc. Oh, also the new butler and all the existing maids and servants in the house will report to you directly. Think of this as a promotion."

Donald thought for a few moments and then asked, "So, basically I'll be your right-hand man, is that it?"

"Haha," Bryan chuckled, "that's precisely what you'll be. Also, you'll be getting a pay raise."

Donald was ecstatic. He was already making fifty pounds a month working as a butler. If he were to get a raise, he and his family of four would be able to live adequately without much worry.

Although with his current salary, his family was living just fine, it never hurt to make more money. Besides, living in a city such as Nadir was very expensive.

He looked at Bryan gratefully and then bowed. "Master, thank you for this opportunity. I shall do my best to be the perfect assistant for you."

Seeing Donald's sincere expression, Bryan smiled. He gestured for him to sit across from him and then spoke, "But I must tell you, you won't just be any regular assistant."

Donald was puzzled once again. "What type of personal assistance would I be then? Also, I apologize for asking so many questions, master."

Bryan smiled and shook his head. "The man who asks questions is a fool for but a minute. The man who doesn't ask any questions is a fool for life."

Donald mulled over Bryan's words in a daze. His words were very profound to Donald and he couldn't believe that a person who was so young in age could have such wisdom. Once again, he was left in awe and his respect and admiration for Bryan further increased.

Unaware of the man's growing veneration, Bryan continued, "Anyway, to answer your question, I must first ask you one myself."

Donald nodded solemnly and respectfully gestured to continue. Bryan's lips curled up into a smile as he asked, "Donald… do you believe in the supernatural?"

"Huh?" Donald was taken aback. He didn't expect his master to ask him such a childish thing. He thought he would be asking him something job-related. He shook his head and asked, "By supernatural do you mean those urban myths?"

Bryan chuckled and thought to himself, 'As expected, the world of supernatural and the existence of Transcendents is indeed very tightly guarded.'

He then took out a crystal ball, which he had bought in Damascus a long time back, from underneath the table. He put the crystal ball on the table right in between him and Donald.

When Donald laid his eyes on the crystal ball, his eyebrows twitched and he couldn't help but wonder if Bryan was joking with him.

Bryan saw his expression and simply smiled. He then instructed, "Place both your palms on the crystal ball and keep it there for as long as you can."

Donald hesitated and asked, "Master… are you serious?"

Bryan nodded. "Go ahead, we don't have all night. All your questions will be answered."

Afraid that he would end up disrespecting Bryan if he asked further questions, Donald did as he was told and placed his hands on the crystal ball.

Initially, he just thought that he would indulge in his master's weird interest. However, soon his eyebrows furrowed when he realized that his brain was beginning to hurt the longer he kept his hands on the crystal ball.

Alarmed, he was about to inquire about it, however, he heard Bryan's calm voice drift into his ears. "Don't worry, it's completely harmless. Just hold out for as long as you can."

Donald nodded and decided to trust his master's words. He closed his eyes and tried his best to last for as long as possible. Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead and his facial expressions contorted in pain.

The longer the time passed, the more pain he felt in his brain. He felt as if he was being stabbed in the brain by multiple needles. However, he remembered that Bryan had said it was harmless, hence, he withstood the pain and continued to hold out.

A couple of minutes later, he finally couldn't withstand the pain anymore. He withdrew his hands and gasped for mouthfuls of air. "That's it… I can't… anymore."

Bryan, on the other hand, looked at the time on his pocket watch and was pleasantly surprised. He looked at the panting Donald and smiled brightly. "A high-grade spiritual aptitude. How surprising!"

When he had thought about making Donald a Transcendent, he thought that it would already be a great thing if the man had a mid-grade spiritual aptitude. But to think that he would actually have a high-grade spiritual aptitude was astounding.

"Master… what was that?" Donald gasped for air as he asked Bryan. He glanced at the crystal ball with lingering fear in his heart. He felt that if someone tied the ball to his hands, he would really die in a matter of minutes.

Bryan succinctly replied, "Compatibility."

"Compatibility?" Donald wiped the sweat off his face. "For what?"

"Magic!" Bryan smiled. The next moment, he raised his hands and cast an Apprentice-level Fire Path spell. The following moment, two fireballs were created on his palms.

Donald instantly stood up from his seat and looked at the fireballs in utter disbelief. His eyes widened as he stuttered, "I-Impossible!"

Bryan looked at Donald's shocked face and smiled. "Magic exists and the supernatural world is real."

Looking at the bright fireballs that gave off immense heat, Donald's jaw dropped. He remained frozen in his spot for a very long time. It wasn't until he started feeling the heat from the fireballs that he snapped out of his daze and drew back.

He looked at the fireballs that seemed to be floating right on top of Bryan's palms and incredulously spoke, "M-Master, won't your hands burn?"

Bryan raised his eyebrows and smiled in amusement. "After witnessing such a miracle, all you could think of is my hands getting burnt? Hehe, as expected. You'd make a fantastic assistant."

Donald gulped involuntarily, he didn't know what to say. To say that he was thunderstruck would be a severe understatement. He had only seen magic performed in the circus but he knew them to be gimmicks.

What he was seeing in front of him right now was the real deal, he just knew it in his heart. It took a long while for him to calm down. He looked at Bryan and asked, "M-Master… who exactly are you?"

"I'm a Transcendent." Bryan raised his chin and spoke with pride.

"Transcendent… there must be more people like you, yes?" Donald asked in wonder. For some reason, he wasn't feeling apprehensive like most people would when they'd be introduced to the supernatural. Instead, he felt endless curiosity and wonder.

Bryan astutely noticed this and smiled. "Indeed, there are a lot of us than you can even imagine."

Donald nodded and then a few moments later asked again, "Then that crystal ball earlier… what was that for? Again, I apologize for asking so many questions."

Bryan chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I remember when my teacher introduced me to magic, I was even worse than you." He then picked up the crystal ball and added. "This ball right here measures the spiritual aptitude of a person."

"Aptitude for learning magic?" Donald asked again, a hint of yearning and hope shining in his eyes.

Bryan nodded and replied, "That's right. It measures a person's aptitude to become a Transcendent. The longer a person can hold out while placing their hands on it, the higher their aptitude."

"Then master," Donald asked nervously, "how did I do?"

Bryan kept the crystal ball back on the table and then looked at Donald and smiled. "Much better than I expected. You have what it takes to become a Transcendent."