A Testament Of The Dark Magician

{Scanning protocol is currently at the infant stages. Omega will need more information to implement a new protocol to analyse and produce accurate readings of what the Host considers 'power levels.'} 

Roland tried to process that response. His brows suddenly lifted, and he remembered a hall filled with the sea of information needed to improve the system. 

'The library?'

He had more than a few reasons now to venture into that hall. But Roland would leave that for tomorrow. For now, he focused on getting some much-needed rest. Roland surveyed a few available rooms on this floor despite Mariah's eliciting advice for him to carry out tyranny. Roland chose the empty room. 

The room was only a little bigger than the one in Lord Brutus's castle. But this one was furnished modestly with expensive-looking décor. Roland didn't care much about any of those things. He just needed a bed. He closed the door and finally allowed his tense body to relax. 

He quickly discovered that wearing a mask all day was draining. He carefully moved his neck from side to side to relieve the strain on his joints. With his back firmly against the closed door, Roland fell into a daydream, piecing together his next move and, realistically, what options were open to him at this point. 

Roland folded the loose strands of braided locks over his head, and a deep exhale left his mouth. 

'I want to try and advance to a bronze body at least. I have a feeling Iron won't be enough to make it out of here in one piece. ' 

The question is, how do I go from Iron to Bronze when the manual is incomplete.' 

Roland's thoughts were suddenly disturbed, he sensed something but before he could speak Omega arrived with an announcement. 

{ Omega has completed the physiological and mental scan. Would the Host like to see the results?} 

"Y-yes show me the results" He responded eagerly. 

A few electronic sounds beeped and chimed away. A small 3D cube image appeared floating in the air. Roland watched the curious cube and even cautiously moved his hands through it. As he expected, his body passed right through. Suddenly, the four edges unfurled open, and a humanoid 3D model appeared. A series of annotations and descriptive information surrounded the model.

A general description aligned against one side, consisting of his age, height, and weight. In fact, it delved deeper and revealed his blood type, blood group, the percentage of damage taken, and whether his body was in full health.

Roland scanned the information and felt his heart skip a beat once he passed over a particular set of annotations.

He narrowed his gaze, reading what was listed beside his race.

"Human/Undead." And the line just below it. 

"Bloodlust Hunger – 16.8%." 

The value had increased by 11.8% in just a few days. Roland could only imagine what would happen once he reached 100%. In truth, he probably could guess it had something to do with him appearing in the forest in the middle of the night. Covered in animal blood. He sighed a deep breath before scanning the rest of the information.

Strength: 0.4/5 

Speed: 0.9/5 

Vitality: 1.0/5 

Intelligence: 2.1/5 

Body Tier: 1.1/5 (Early Iron) 

Mentality: 3.27/10 

Mana Core (1): 15% Synchronisation 

Mana Core (2): 0% 

Roland stared at the screen with mixed feelings. He wasn't used to suddenly going from one extreme emotion to the other. Inwardly, he was happy Omega could pull off something like this. He glanced at his base stats and wanted to cry, but his intelligence and mentality showed promise. What troubled him the most was the two separate mana core values. This did coincide with Omega's earlier findings. However, Roland himself still did not understand the extent to what possessing two cores meant. 

Omega's voice awoke him from his downcasted thoughts. Within the withdrawn silence, he heard the mechanical voice.

{Host, is there anything else you'll be needing?} 

Now that he was somewhat accustomed to Omega's abilities, Roland had already produced a mental list of ways to quickly increase his power with the help of his sophisticated AI system.

There were way too many dangers around him, for one. And since this was a world that seemed to hold its own measure of mythical powers. The unknown was likely the biggest threat to his life at this moment, he concluded.

A cold light glazed over his youthful, bright eyes.

'I need to be able to defend myself. Or these psychopaths will kill me.' 

He exhaled another deep breath, feeling the day's frustrations leaving his body. He ran his fingers through the tussle of wavy locks falling down the side of his head. 

His previous cold demeanour had wholly transformed into the smiling boyish grin of a child's again. Right now, he looked just like any 16-year-old boy would look.

"No Omega, it's fine for tonight. Goodnight." 

Roland heard a rouge sound from within the room. He scanned the still atmosphere, and his eyes fell towards a shadow being cast against the ground. Roland had only noticed one shadow against his room: the one in his current view. 

He creased a slight smile as he said. 

"I was wondering where you were hiding. You can come out now. My death knight." 

The shadow squirmed and enlarged, and a dark figure rose out from the once flat shred of darkness. The purple mask seemed to materialise into place. In a few blinks, the willow was inside his room, placed against a single knee. 

"Young Lord. How may I be of help." It asked him. 

Roland thought about some things before he replied. 

"I have a few things to ask you about your origins. But first, I have a plan to share with you. So listen very carefully." 

The next morning, Roland rose up early by force. His mind refused to give him any peace, it seemed. There was too much to do and what felt like a very short window for him to do it. Nevertheless, he had succeeded in surviving his first night here. He was hoping for more of the same today. 

Stepping out into the castle, he noticed twice as many servants as in Lord Brutus's castle and also… 

"Hm, am I being…followed." 

Halfway along his curious walk Roland noticed two light armoured guards tailing him. At first he dismissed it as a coincidence, but after testing how committed they were by stopping and starting randomly, he decided to test their resolve by running around the corners once he met the end of the hall.

He confirmed they were, in fact, doing a poor job of trying to remain unseen. He could hear their armour clattering wildly as they gave chase. 

By the time he was bored having them chase him up and down the vast halls. Roland stumbled upon two things: his stamina and body had definitely changed. The jump from a stone to an iron wasn't anything to shrug off. He was confident that there were more dangers now he could escape or narrowly avoid losing his life if he focused.

He replayed that night those two men attacked him. If he had this body back then. There was a good chance they wouldn't have caught him, maybe might've even have held his own until his death knight arrived. He shook his head in a bit to free himself from those thoughts.

The second discovery he made happened when Roland coincidentally stumbled upon a pair of arch-shaped doors covered in tiny symbols. After a closer look, he soon discovered that they were dragons, artistically carved into the two wooden doors.

He pushed the doors aside and found himself surrounded by a sea of books and scrolls sitting against countless rows of stoned shelves. 

Roland took his first steps inside. His footsteps softly echoed against the white and black marble tiled floors. The room was large and shaped into a wide sphere, so the tall shelves wrapped around him as he walked into the centre. 

Roland could hardly believe he had discovered the library on his own—a library this dense with scores of information, for that matter. Back in his old world, he frequently spent his off days submerged in a sea of texts, usually in a four-story building known as the largest library in the country. Thanks to his higher clearance, he practically gained access to every bit of sacred or hidden text there was.

Refusing to leave until he soaked in as much information as he could handle. 

A well of excitement birthed inside of him. With Omega's help, there was no telling just how far he could push that line of gathering and retaining information. Roland shook his head free from his daze and scanned around the hall. 

He felt a little closer to home for the first time since his transmigration. 

"Right, let's get started then, shall we, Omega." 

Other POV 

Mariah sat in a dimly lit room overlooking the outdoor gardens.

Her mother stood beside the balcony, caressing a glass filled with dark red liquid that smelt a little funny. Mariah noticed that most of the drinks her mother made smelled funny. 

A deep sigh was breathed through Lady Herones's lips as she stared out into the vast outdoor scenery. Her mind was filled with hopes of tomorrow, shrewd as they may be. They were the little miracles that got her through the day. 

"What do you think of him." Her sultry voice combed the silent air. 

Mariah shuffled, her eyes lifted and filled with resolve. 

"He's…different. And I'm not quite sure 3 years would drastically change one's character." Said Mariah. 

Her mother nodded in agreement.

"You only needed to have met the cripple once to understand he had a temperament as volatile as his late Mothers."

"They say after he was found, he had been in a coma for three years. Do you think such a case could be had for why he's changed so much?" Mariah asked her mother. 

Lady Herone scoffed mockingly. 

"That fool is only playing in front of us. I don't believe he doesn't remember for one second, and let's just say there's a small window of that being true. That nosey imbecile Lord Brutus would've seen to it that the boy was informed of the matters involving his mother before he arrived. Tsk! No, continue with the plan. We'll monitor his behaviour these next few days and respond accordingly." 

Lady Herone daringly balanced the glass of wine against the thin stone balcony. The glass refused to move, as though it were compelled in place by a hidden force. Mariah squirmed slightly beneath her mother's cold eyes as she twisted around to meet her gaze. 

"Lotten and Govan are away on a mission. But your brother should return a few days before the patriarch's banquet. I care little about what that madman's son gets up to" 

"What of father?" Mariah inquired 

Her mother's gaze narrowed even more. 

"He's been sent…somewhere far away. At the very least, your uncle Almos is expected to arrive in the coming days with the spring army. Hm, what is it my child? Something bothering you?" 

Mariah couldn't hide the uncomfortable feeling she was holding back. Her eyes shifted away, and slowly, she found the courage to speak. 

"It's nothing but…sigh, news of the cripple's return has reached…some of the main houses. And-well…" 

"Speak clearly child." Snapped Lady Herone, a small ounce of her Ki leaked out and the air pressure immediately turned colder. Mariah squeezed the material beneath her hands. The vibration against the air was beginning to physically make her sick. 

"b—Blackstorm clan, they know he's back. And I assume-" 

A loud bang clapped against the air, and Mariah swiftly braced herself. The heavy rush of wind howled, but then silence fell, and nothing happened. 

Once she opened her eyes, a white fiery aura burned over her mother's body. Mariah sat in awe for a moment before her gaze became more serious. 

'Early Stage Silver Ranked Body.' 

Other than Lady Diane, her mother was a close second to the youngest member of the Cloud family to reach it. So why was she reduced to simply being a housewife? Mariah asked herself with a mask of confusion written against her features.

"Alyssa Cloud, isn't that pretentious little madman the reason we're in this mess in the first place. Ho-ho-ho- no matter. So…When are we expecting the little princess then?" 

Mariah watched the aura slowly dissipate into nothing. 

She breathed a sigh of relief andplaced a hand against her fast-beating chest and slowly responded.

"Anytime from this afternoon …I was told."