The Monarch

Chapter 141: Requests

"I swear to protect your life for the next twenty years." The king’s voice resounded, putting an end to all side conversations. At that moment, no one was dissatisfied, the boy would pay with his life if he was a charlatan. Along with the king’s sentence, the sovereign signed a contract visible to everyone on air.

Kayden began to take off her clothing and reveal her face. Practically no one recognized him, he was never really very famous.

"When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with a Level 1 innate talent." Some people recognized Kayden, especially those who had contact with him in the past. "At that moment, I understood that I would need to pursue something different to stand out. That’s why a good friend of mine and I invented the fourth magical path."

His sentence first caused everyone to become confused as they digested the meaning of it. For as long as everyone could remember, there were only three forms of cultivation: you could cultivate your body, your core, or an animal linked to your soul.

As soon as the penny dropped, millions of spiritual senses rushed at Kayden. Fortunately, the king kept his word and didn’t let anything come within 100 meters of the boy.

"I named it Heart of Mana and would like to propose the kingdom to sell it exclusively." His sentence again caused anger among some, how could he maintain something at this level when he was just an apprentice?

"What’s your price?" This time, the king appeared in person, floating above the arena. He was different from the king of Han times, the man had a youthful appearance with golden hair and a face clean of any hair.

Signs of middle age were visible in the king and caused a feeling of wisdom and responsibility proportional to his position. Kayden had to admit that he was very similar to Astolfo, almost identical.

"I know that the secret I carry is capable of causing a war between the kingdoms, so my price will not be cheap." Kayden’s eyes showed absolute determination, and after having an oath from the king, he was not afraid of being attacked. "First, I would like to have free access to all the knowledge in the imperial library." The boy wanted to pave the rest of his path as a magician at that moment.

"This can be done." The king didn’t care about such a small detail. Knowledge was power, but in the end, only the truly powerful could carry that knowledge through time.

"Second, I would like a monetary amount of around 100 billion gold coins." This was a ridiculously large amount, but this was within a few years’ budget for any Big Ten family.

"That can be done too." Money was just something useless to the king compared to knowledge.

"Ultimately, I would like the highest noble title possible and the right to pass on my technique to those in my house." This was necessary for Kayden’s revenge in the future.

"Marquis is the most I can offer you, boy." The king didn’t mind even giving the position of grand duke to Kayden. Long ago, he lost his attachment to worldly things, but he still had to show a certain respect to the nobles in his kingdom.

"This is perfect, my king." Of the three requests, the only one Kayden couldn’t afford to be denied was knowledge. The money was a bonus and the noble title was something he needed for his revenge.

"What’s your name, boy?"

"Kayden, just Kayden, my king." The boy never had a last name and didn’t care about it.

"As the current king of the Sun Kingdom, I name Kayden Heart as the first marquis of your lineage. From now on, your entire lineage has the right to nobility and ascend to the highest level of society through the battles of the nobles." This was what Kayden wanted when he became a noble.

Unexpectedly, he even got a surname directly from the king and, even though he didn’t choose it, the boy liked it. It fit well with his second life and his achievements in it.

A battle of the nobles was nothing more than a stronger noble eradicating a family and taking their titles and lands. This was the easiest way to climb the kingdom’s hierarchy. Kayden only discovered this after talking to David, as according to the scientist, this is not something open to the public directly.

Kayden took out a small book from his clothes, and on the cover, it just said "The Heart of Mana" and the names of the authors underneath, in this case, Kayden and David Nakir. He handed it to the king, who promptly accepted it and disappeared from the arena.

The exchange was relatively smooth and quick, with almost no interaction. The king was extremely calm and objective, he had no questions or pressure because of his position. He was just like someone who didn’t have a care in the world at all.

After a few seconds of silence, with no one saying anything, another voice was heard in the arena.

"Proceed with the test with the marquis." Only a few people recognized the dean’s voice and one of them was the judge in the arena who regained consciousness.

"What’s your test, Marquis?" Even the judge’s tone changed. It was one thing to deal with commoners or heirs of nobles, it was another to deal directly with a high-ranking noble, even if it was just a title, it still carried a lot of power.

"I apologize for stalling again, but this is necessary." Kayden waited for the judge’s acceptance, which came with a nod. "Four years ago, my brother and I went to the state championship."

Finally, someone in the crowd recognized Kayden and his previous nickname spread like wildfire among the spectators.

"Kevin Ashford entered the hotel we were staying at and tortured my brother and me for hours on end. Not only that, he killed my brother without even blinking." The boy paused dramatically and returned his angry tone. "We spent hours under the effect of the anti-mage herb, I had the entire structure of my cultivation destroyed ."

All adult wizards already knew the anti-magic herb. It was used for criminals of heinous crimes, mainly because they offered a painful and slow death.

"My brother wasn’t able to survive, but I was. And I promised myself I would get revenge. And my determination only grew when I came out of a nearly four-year coma and discovered that Kevin had gone unpunished and the case had been hushed up by your family." Another dramatic pause was made by Kayden.

The boy was playing the audience like a violinist playing a solo orchestra. Every person who ever experienced a situation of abuse of power by a nobleman was sympathizing with the boy.

"As a commoner, I could never take revenge as I could simply be killed and the Ashford family would not suffer any reprisal. But now? I am a noble and I will seek retaliation against the corrupt nobility of our country."

Before Kayden could continue, an old man’s figure appeared above the arena. He didn’t have any very striking features, he had a completely shaved head and no visible hair, not even eyebrows.

"Who do you think you are, you little shit ?" His voice resounded throughout the event and a frightening pressure of mana began to pour out of the old man.