Chapter 38 - Wesley's Start (2)

Wesley and Kellan bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Today was the first time they had managed to leave class early, so both of them had things they wanted to do.

In Wesley's case, he had asked Lane to scour the study for any books dealing with mana. Because of the sheer multitude of books in the Black Manor study, Wesley couldn't possibly search through everything during the short periods of free time he had between studying, training, and school.

Wesley immediately headed to the Manor and walked in without pause. After a year of being in the Manor, all the guards and maids were clear on Wesley's personality. He was neither interested in greetings nor small talk. He always had somewhere to go, and he hardly bothered to inquire about any of the Manor's proceedings. While they all recognized Wesley as the true Master, they had started associating Lane with the role.

As Wesley walked past the guards and maids in the Manor, aside from a few respectful bows, no one stopped him. He immediately went to the study. As soon as he reached the study, he found a green-robed Lane sitting in one of the chairs reading.

The moment Wesley opened the door to the study and Lane saw him, he immediately stood up and bowed respectfully while speaking:

"Master."

"Lane, sit. Tell me, did you find any books that fit my description?"

"Yes, master. Only three in the entire study."

Lane spoke as he pointed to three books piled on the main desk in the study. Wesley immediately walked toward the desk, sat down, and began looking at the books. Seeing this, Lane went back to his reading.

The three books were extremely small, each having only fifty to a hundred pages. Two of the books had official-looking covers, while one of them was more worn and looked like a journal. Wesley reached for one of the official-looking books.

This book had a white, eggshell-like cover with the words *The Gift of Mana* written in golden cursive letters on the front cover. Seeing the title, Wesley started to get a premonition, but he still proceeded to the introduction, which read: *In the name of the Lord of Light, beginner of all beginnings, and master of all things...*

Seeing these first words, Wesley sighed heavily, then unceremoniously tossed the book to the side of the desk. Lane, who was sitting with his back turned to Wesley, turned his head. Upon seeing the tossed book, a complicated, questioning look appeared on his face.

Wesley immediately reached for the second official-looking book. This book was less grand-looking than the first, with a simple brown cover and the words *The Nature of Mana* written in green letters. Seeing this, Wesley immediately recognized the book’s origins, then proceeded to toss it toward the other white book with a frown.

The reason Wesley was dissatisfied with these two books was simple: he recognized that they held absolutely no relevant or useful information. Both of these books contained the philosophies of the two major religions of the continent, making them shaky sources at best.

There are two major religions in the four kingdoms: The Light Bishopry and The Green Heraldry. Both religions are highly centralized, with extremely rigid hierarchies and even more rigid beliefs.

The Light Bishopry believes in the Lord of Light. They view him as a single deity who is the source of the world. They also claim that light magic is an extension of their lord's original form, which is why light mages call themselves Holy Mages. The Light Bishopry has temples all around the four kingdoms, though their strongest presence is in the Entaf Kingdom, which also serves as their center. The other three kingdoms—the Norn and Tamin Kingdoms—maintain a neutral stance, allowing their subjects to be members but without giving them any power.

As for the Green Heraldry, they are more philosophical than religious. They claim that everything in the world is connected to nature and that nature is the source of all things. They believe that the origin of everything is nature, and that nature is where everything will ultimately end. The Heraldry has no official temples, but their shrines are built in numerous places across the continent, usually found near forests, springs, or other natural sites.

In terms of influence and presence, the Bishopry held the advantage over the Heraldry, but in terms of followers, the Heraldry held the clear advantage. The Bishopry favored light mages and hailed them as saintlike figures alienating the common masses to some extent, while the simplicity of the Heraldry attracted the people more easily.

Wesley held neither positive nor negative views on either religions, but he still couldn’t use neither of them to try and find answers. Religions tend to explain things so that they are in line with their core beliefs, making it prudent to take whatever they have to say with a grain of salt.

Wesley immediately turned to the last book of the batch. He hoped that this one last book would be different from the last two. As he brought the book close to him, Wesley was surprised to see that the only words on its brown, leather cover were [Mana]. Wesley was excited at the prospect at finding a proper book regarding the topic, but before he could read the book, something caught his attention.

To the side of the study, near the edge, a naiscule falctuation of mana caught Wesley attention. Wesley instantly recognized that this was the invocation of a spell, so he immediately reached for his dark sword, while staring at the place where the fluctuations were at.

After almost five breaths, a six feet pillar of earth rose from the ground then started taking the shape of a person. After another few breaths, the human shaped earth pillar disappeared, and a sturdy, dark clothed man stood in it's place. Seeing this person, Wesley couldn’t help but smile and immediately spoke:

"Neal. Good of you to visit."

Lane who was immersed in his reading immediately turned his head towards Wesley, then followed his eyes until he saw his uncle Neal standing there. He couldn’t help but be startled at how Neal could have entered without him noticing.

"Uncle....How..."

Wesley immediately interjected and spoke to Lane:

"Lane, your uncle is not a simple person."

Neal looked at Lane with tender and affectionate eyes and spoke in his hushed voice that caused people to strain to try and hear:

"Lane, I have something I want to discuss with Wesley. Mind giving us some time."

Lane simply switched his head between Wesley and Neal not knowing what to say or do. He simply couldn’t understand how his uncle got in, or what he wanted to speak to Wesley about. But after processing the information in his mind for a few seconds, he immediately got up and spoke before heading out:

"Then I'll take my leave."

As soon as Lane was out of the study door, Neal walked to the seat opposite of Wesley and sat down. Wesley, whose face was smiling while Lane was still here, instantly turned emotionless as soon as the door closed behind him.

"Neal, is it done?"

"Yes. The preparations are complete."

"Give me a breakdown of the general structure and potential."

"Yes. In the last two months, I have managed to plant nearly five hundred agents in various business, the city guards, and the Manors of the four families. Since the city is divided into the seven sectors and the walls where the guards reside, I have established a system where every sections is independent from the others; the agents in each section will send their intelligence to specific collectors, who will then send it to me."

Wesley nodded a few times pondering what Neal was saying. By dividing the agents into different independent groups, it insulates them from one another so that if one group is compromised, the others are not. This also enabled Neal to systematically scour the intelligence he receives, to better pinpoint which sector needs improvement and or attention.

Wesley was extremely impressed with this Black Family's expertise regarding these covert spy networks. It was no surprise that they were able to serve as the eyes and ears of the Royaume Empire.

Neal simply continued with his explanation:

"Although I couldn’t manage to plant too many agents in the four families, they should still be enough to give us a general view of the families. On the other hand, it was easier planting agents in the government and the city guards. As for the business, I focused on places like Inns and Brothels, but there are still a few agents in other business so as to not let any relevant information slip by."

Wesley was listening to Neal intently. This arrangement was not bad at all, not only did it allow for them to have the capability to go on the offensive against the families, it also gave them the ability to predict the families' movements against themselves. As Wesley continued nodding, a sudden thought came up to him and he spoke:

"Neal. How many of your agents are able to recognize you."

"None of them. I always have my face covered, and I can appear in most places unhindered, making it very hard for someone to follow me."

Wesley suddenly cracked a smile that if seen by anyone else would be considered sincere, but in Neal's eyes, it appeared extremely devious.

"Neal, I think It is time for the Black Family to return to Blackreach City."

Neal was instantly started at Wesley's words. They held the advantage when their enemies thought that they were dead because then their enemies would have to divert some of their resources to protection against the unknown enemy, some to investigation, and some to current operations, but if they stepped into the spotlight, then the enemy's entire focus would be on them....

Before Neal could even finish his thought, he suddenly understood Wesley's intentions. Neal was not a slow guy, and when it came to shadowy maneuvers, very few were better, but this Wesley somehow saw something he didn’t.

"You....You are planning to.."

"Haha. As expected of you Neal. To be able to see so much ahead, I am impressed."

"Why."

"No special reason really. I am not very ambitious, I just think that there are many neglected people in this city."

Neal thought about Wesley's words for a few moments. He kept looking left and right as if he was calculating something, then his gaze froze on Wesley and he spoke:

"Understood. I'll 'officially' arrive in the city tomorrow. Then I'll proceed to start waves and catch their attention."

"Good. Take Lane and the other kids. It is best that there is nothing that connects us."

"Understood."

"Good. Let it start."