Chapter 3: The Art of Language

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Art of Language

Houlder, capital of Norton Holt County.

Inside a dimly lit room in the Count’s Mansion, Countess Selena Nightthorn was holding a secret meeting.

Deep green curtains blocked any prying eyes from the window, and the leaping flames in the fireplace cast wavering shadows across her.

Around thirty years old, she was now reclining sideways on a dark velvet sofa.

One arm rested casually on the back of the sofa, propping up her chin. A few strands of her raven-black hair had slipped down, falling across her full bosom.

Her ink-dark velvet robe flowed like the night itself, tracing the lines of her voluptuous and elegant figure.

Her eyes were half-lidded, her gaze resting nonchalantly on the man in black kneeling before her.

Her red lips parted.

"Is it done?"

"My Lady, as you requested, I gave the boy a vial of Dream-Weaving Spider extract. I told him it would increase the chances of his bloodline awakening."

"Did he drink it?" Selena’s voice was soft.

"He should have..."

She cut him off coldly.

"’Should have’?" The temperature of her voice plummeted. "Does that mean you didn’t see him drink it?"

Jared felt his chest tighten.

He instinctively looked up to explain himself, but his gaze fell upon the slender, shapely legs partially hidden in the shadows of her robe. And higher up...

The mere thought of that image was enough to make his blood rush.

SLAP.

The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the study.

Jared let out a muffled grunt, clutching his right cheek as it instantly swelled and turned red. The stinging pain made his vision darken.

He scrambled to explain, "Mistress, please! The Atmesia Clan is doomed to extinction. The boy only has a few years left to live! None of the men in his family have ever lived past twenty-five, and I hear he’s in far worse health than his father and uncles ever were!"

SLAP.

A second slap cut off his smug excuses.

Selena’s voice was glacial. "Idiot. That’s not what I want to hear. If you can’t even handle a simple task like this, what use are you to me? Get to Print and confirm for yourself whether he’s dead or alive."

"Yes, Mistress."

Jared didn’t dare delay for a second. Without even getting to his feet, he practically scrambled on all fours toward the door.

...

「At the very moment Jared fled the study in disgrace, far, far away, deep within the woodlands...」

As the morning mist was slowly burned away by the rising temperature, Hesia’s taut nerves finally began to ease.

The mother bear, as massive as a small hill, shot them a lazy glance before closing her eyes again, seemingly indifferent to the two "little bugs" that had wandered into her territory.

However, a smaller Earth Bear was now curiously sizing up the man and dog before it.

It looked about the size of a full-grown brown bear, but in the long lifespan of an Earth Bear, it was still just a cub.

It tilted its head, its amber eyes filled with curiosity.

Until it grew out of cubhood into the next stage of its life, it would roam the various woodlands with its mother.

It had just awoken from its most recent hibernation, and this was its first time ever being so close to a human.

For Hesia, this was the best opportunity he could have hoped for!

He first gave Bruce’s tense body a gentle pat and whispered, "Relax. I’ve got this."

Fortunately, he had come prepared. Steeling himself, he rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a wax paper package of honey-glazed rye balls.

A sweet fragrance wafted through the air.

The little one’s nose twitched instantly.

It got to its feet a bit clumsily, its eyes fixed on the package in Hesia’s hands.

Hesia figured that if the bear decided to take a few swings at him, he wouldn’t be able to escape. After all, Earth Bears were masters of Earth Magic.

He mustered his courage and walked forward.

In Earth Bear Thun’s mind, this sweet-smelling creature before it was no different from the Honeydew Elves that brought delicious treats in its dreams.

It beckoned with a paw, trying to appear friendly, as if afraid of scaring the human before it.

Seeing its reaction, Hesia breathed a huge sigh of relief.

It seemed that even for a creature wielding the great power of the earth, a young bear’s craving for sweets was irresistible.

Thun took the wax paper package with an enormous paw and eagerly brought it to its mouth.

With a series of satisfied grunts and rumbles, it hugged the package and gobbled down all the honey-glazed rye balls in a few big bites, as if they were crunchy peas.

It even wadded up the wax paper, chewed on it with a few loud CRUNCHES, and then spat it out with a PFFT.

[Affinity with Earth Bear Thun has increased. Decryption Points +2]

Hesia felt a sense of relief; his attempt had paid off.

This meant he just had to... repeat this process another two hundred and fifty-nine times to save up for a single draw.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

’Another 259 servings of honey-glazed rye balls? I’ll give the poor thing diabetes at this rate!’

Though he was exasperated, Hesia quickly calmed himself down.

’Different species give different amounts of Decryption Points for raising their Affinity,’ he reasoned. ’For a high-tier Magical Beast like an Earth Bear, the traits I can draw must be powerful ones.’

’If I can just manage to get a draw, it might be enough to solve my current predicament.’

But getting 520 Decryption Points just by feeding it snacks and saying hello was unrealistic.

Killing it was out of the question.

’Helping the target grow or achieve a breakthrough...’

He recalled that it took these creatures over a century to mature from cubhood. By then, he’d be long dead and buried.

Besides, it wasn’t like he had any way to help it grow in the first place.

Seeing Hesia’s furrowed brow and grave expression, Bruce tried to comfort him, letting out a soft whimper and rubbing his furry head against Hesia’s leg.

Looking at his companion, Hesia was suddenly reminded of Bruce’s own far-fetched dream of becoming a Mage.

Even if Bruce mastered the [Norton Holt Common Language], it was unrealistic for him to learn Magic. The aptitude required to be a Mage was incredibly demanding.

’But the Earth Bear is naturally gifted,’ he thought. ’If I gave it the [Norton Holt Common Language], could it learn Magic?’

He hesitated no longer.

Thanks to his mother’s upbringing, Thun was a polite Earth Bear.

Having finished its snack, Thun seemed to want to express its gratitude. It clumsily extended an enormous paw and gently took Hesia’s hand.

Hesia immediately seized the opportunity.

[You have consumed 10 Decryption Points to acquire the trait: Norton Holt Common Language]

[You have selected target: Earth Bear Thun]

[Bestowing trait upon target—Norton Holt Common Language]

Thun: "Rrrrumble... grrr... mmm... delicious. Thank you!"

Thun: "?"

Thun’s Mother: "?"

Thun abruptly clapped a paw over its mouth, its eyes bulging wide.

Not far away, the body of the hill-sized mother bear went rigid, and her eyes snapped open.

Hesia’s heart hammered in his chest as he hurriedly explained, "Honorable Earth Guardian, please don’t misunderstand! I mean no harm. It’s just a small bit of Language Magic."