Chapter 96: Complexity

Chapter 96: Complexity

This was a relaxed conversation. As they talked, Uncle Vincent sat down beside the tree at Bran’s gesture. After the initial distance and wariness faded, the talk became casual.

Vincent drew out his personal weapon and said, “This was sent by your mother. She said you made it.”

“That’s right, it wasn’t very mature back then.” As he spoke, Bran reached out and took the weapon. The moment he took it, the weapon emitted a ringing sound, and then, under Vincent’s gaze, it released a blinding light.

After the light faded, Bran handed the weapon back. “Try it again.”

Vincent gave the weapon a light shake and exclaimed in admiration, “Impressive!”

Then Bran began his habitual trickery. If you want it to truly fit your hand, you’d better demonstrate your martial skills. I can customize it based on your habits.

Feeling an itch to try, Vincent stood up in response. He was just about to start his demonstration when Bran stopped him from going further and called out loudly, “Danny, get ready to make a weapon!”

With Vincent looking utterly baffled, Danny appeared in response. She and Bran exchanged a smile.

As their abilities improved, stylistic differences were more about borrowing ideas. They no longer needed to observe and learn repeatedly like they did at the beginning. So, this demonstration didn’t take much time. Bran clapped his hands hard and cheered loudly. Vincent’s martial style was very different from that of the Castle. He was constantly moving quickly, not charging straight ahead and relying on overwhelming force like they did at the Castle. This piqued Bran’s curiosity.

“Uncle, what are the Demon Clan like? Are they very powerful?”

Bran calling him ‘uncle’ made Vincent feel much more at ease. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Their individual strength varies greatly. The weak ones aren’t even worth mentioning. But the powerful ones among them require three to five of us to deal with.”

“It must have been very tough back then, right?”

“Extremely tough. Our advantage was that our average strength was good. Both men and women were powerful Warriors. Even so, we paid a heavy price back then to block the Demon Clan at the mountain pass in the Western Territory. If it weren’t for the heavy casualties from the continuous battles with the Demon Clan, we wouldn’t have stopped at the Eternal River.”

Bran said eagerly, “I hope I get a chance to face the elites among those Demon Clan. What do they look like?”

“Most look similar to us, just with different skin tones. Among them, some tall, humanoid creatures with dark red skin lead those with low combat power. But the truly powerful ones often have forms that deviate from the human shape. For example, beings with two faces and four hands, or with a human head and an animal body—those are the truly troublesome elites.”

This answer struck Bran as novel. “It sounds like those elites are a union of different races.”

“We guessed the same. But we’ve never been able to go deep into the Demon Clan’s Territory. Also, they probably have a training method. Because even among elites of the same race, the differences in physical qualities between individuals are huge. The ones that truly require three to five of us to deal with are very few.

The time we suffered our heaviest casualties was when they gathered these elites and launched a fierce assault. But we took the chance to let them out of the mountain pass and block their retreat. After wiping out these Demon Clan members, they never launched a similar attack again.”

Talking about training methods made Bran think of the Mana flow method in the Wasteland. So, he drew its path on the ground and asked, “You should know about this Mana flow method, right?”

“I know. Wizards from the Northlands can sense it when they enter the Wasteland. But this method can’t be widely used. Only Wizards can sense Mana, and Wizards who can consciously circulate Mana within their bodies are even rarer. So, no one talks about this method now.”

Bran said with some uncertainty, “This should be the training method our ancestors used. Moreover, this aura could still be preserved after the Wasteland was destroyed. You can imagine how widespread and massive the use of this power was back then.”

At this point, Bran paused, patted his head, and called out loudly, “Whisper! Are you there, old one?”

Following Bran’s shout, Whisper flew out from the tree and landed on Bran’s shoulder. “Rare that you remember to call me ‘old one.'”

“It was you who were circulating the Mana! I knew it had to be that way.”

Whisper didn’t deny it and explained, “You are strange. Your defensive mindset is too strong. Moreover, the direction of your ability’s Evolution is more refined self-awareness and control. Back then, although we activated your Mana, we couldn’t further interfere with its flow within your body. Not until you sensed and learned this method from the Wasteland.

Just like here,” Whisper pointed at the Ancient Tree, “you learn more through observation, then create things that are somewhat similar but not quite. For us, it’s more of an instinct. Like your sister, her body naturally accepted this change. If it were another Northern Wizard, for example, your Sister, she accepted the beneficial part and made it her body’s instinct. They simply change for the better by intuition, without any resistance.

Now I’m curious, are you really a Northlander?”

Whisper didn’t dwell on this question and continued, “We are indeed much weaker than we were back then. It will take several generations of effort to restore our former prosperity.”

Bran bared his teeth and teased, “Hurry up, Uncle. Flatter the Old Fairies more, get them to think of a way.”

Whisper jumped up and knocked hard on Bran’s head. “These things can only be done slowly. They can’t be rushed.”

After saying that, Whisper flew back into the tree.

“She seems to not like me very much.”

Bran couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Why should she like you? It’s good enough that she doesn’t show she dislikes you.”

As Whisper said, things could only proceed slowly; they couldn’t be rushed. Building trust between both sides would take time. Although both wanted to express goodwill, how could a long-standing estrangement be repaired in a short time? The deep-seated, hidden thoughts in people’s hearts aren’t entirely determined by personal will.

Seeing his uncle looking somewhat conflicted, Bran explained, “This is Bran Manor. But now, it is also the home of the Fairies. When you enter, you’re not just entering my home, but also the Fairies’ home. As a guest, you should show some basic courtesy to the host. Don’t just think, ‘This is my nephew’s home.’ The Fairies are ready to live with us, but we are not ready yet. Think carefully, are you really prepared to share this land, this home, with the Fairies?

Go back, Uncle.”

Vincent stood up. First, he said to Bran, “Thank you.”

Then he bowed to the big tree and said, “I’m sorry.”

…

After Uncle left, Whisper flew out from the tree and landed back on Bran’s shoulder. “You saw it earlier?”

“Yes, when you said this is our shared home, I realized. Since we live together, we must share some things. This is Bran’s home, and it is also Whisper’s home. When you didn’t welcome him, I had to send him away.”

“It’s really strange. You don’t completely view each other from a Northlander’s perspective.”

“Because I don’t even know what I am.” Bran seemed a bit lost.