I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 223

Hidden in the bush, I continued to spy on Jordan Stride and his group. As I listened to them plot, I was also considering how I’d make Jordan pay for his insolence. It was one thing if someone came at me directly, but I really didn’t like the Paragon family’s methods. They would even weaponize your friends against you.

“I can’t betray him like that!” Ronald cried out.

“Can’t?” Jordan wore a dangerous look. “Have you already forgotten that the Sampson family would be six feet under if it weren’t for our kindness?”

Ronald shook slightly, his face turning red. “I could never lose my gratitude to the Stride family! Our great-grandfather made an oath to support the Stride family.”

“And that oath means nothing to you?” Jordan quirked an eyebrow.

“Of course it does!” Ronald made a bitter face. “However, Spirit is…”

“Spirit is a commoner!” Jordan snapped. “He has no power. If Lady Capala wasn’t playing games with her main branch, he wouldn’t even have any backing at all. Even now, he hides in his mansion. He’s not even made a single appearance in a week and has refused every invitation. He’s a coward and a lecher. You must ask yourself who your allies really are. Well? Are you going to cause your family a falling out with the Stride family?”

“I-I…” He looked down, defeated. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good. Then, you can start by sending him an invitation to meet as friends. If you can’t even do this, then you’re no good to me, do you understand?”

“I… understand.” Ronald’s shoulders slouched in complete defeat.

“Good, good. Now, get lost,” Jordan said.

Ronald and the two beside him immediately ran off. Jordan’s group sneered at him as he ran away. Once he was out of sight, Jordan’s smile dropped. He glanced around at the other boys around him and then nodded.

“It’s time.”

A sudden, serious mood fell over the boys as they headed off down a path that was blocked off. It definitely looked suspicious. How could I leave them now? I continued to follow them as they headed down the mountain away from the center of the academy. There was a long trail hidden back behind the academy. There were no academy facilities, but it still had the feeling of being a maintained part of the academy. They traveled for about fifteen minutes, occasionally checking around themselves to make sure they weren’t being tracked.

I was already familiar with mana detection and was able to blend in with the environment undetected in the same way that I had upgraded my sentinels. They eventually came into a clearing. At first, I couldn’t see anything, but then I felt a rising energy signature emerging from the shadows under a grouping of trees. Out came an old man with a gray beard. I was surprised by how powerful his energy signature was. Since I mutated and gained extra mana, it was a bit easier to tell now, and by my best guess, he was a late-stage champion. What was someone at the strength of a paragon elder doing meeting a group of younglings at the base of the academy?

The old man radiated a sense of power and maturity, and it was matched by the respect and fear in the eyes of Jordan’s subordinates. They all lowered their heads as Jordan approached the old man with a mixture of arrogance and caution.

“You have what was ordered?” Jordan asked cautiously, looking like he might not trust the other man completely.

The old man snorted and then reached into his robes. Jordan stiffened for a moment as the man brought out a scroll in his hand.

“Your turn,” the man said in a gravelly voice.

Considering how far away from the academy they were, this was likely not an exchange they wanted anyone to be aware of. Likely, this was even a good distance outside of the Headmistress’s sense range.

Jordan looked at the scroll in his hands with hesitation, then nodded. “Give it to him.”

Three of his companions stepped forward. One of them used a ring to bring out a large chest. Another filled the chest with coins and gems. The other added a few items that I could detect mana from. These would be circuit-enhanced tools. Of course, they were also often just called enchanted artifacts, although I had come to learn that that was a mortal way of describing them.

Once the chest was assembled from the contents of three different rings, the boys all put it in front of the old man. The chest was ornate, adorned with intricate engravings that seemed to shimmer in the fading light. The man offered his scroll and let Jordan snatch it from his palm before waving his hand and warping the filled chest into his storage ring.

It wasn’t that the old man’s rings were larger than the other three. It appeared like they had kept the items in separate rings as some sort of safety precaution from being robbed. The old man didn’t seem to care much at all.

“Then, our business is concluded.” He turned to leave.

“What’s in the scroll?” Jordan said, causing the old man to stop and glance over his shoulder.

“You should ask your father if you want to know. I’m not in the business of spilling secrets.”

“I’m the one who paid you,” Jordan responded arrogantly. “You should be able to tell me everything.”

The man’s expression darkened. Without a word, Jordan grunted and fell to his knees. The other boys all collapsed at the same time. I could feel a pressure emanating from the old man. He was using his energy to apply this effect. Naturally, at my level, I easily shrugged it off. By the time the pressure dissipated and Jordan and his friends could look up, the man was gone.

“What do we do?” one of the boys asked Jordan.

“Should we open it?” another asked, eying the scroll still in Jordan’s hand. “It might contain something valuable.”

“Shut up, all of you!” Jordan snapped, clearly frustrated. “Forget you were here. I’m not going to offend my elders over trash. It’s just a wedding gift anyway.  Let’s go.”

As they left the clearing, heading back to the academy, I turned my attention to the man who was rapidly escaping through the woods. The trees here were dense, their canopies blocking out most of the sunlight, creating an eerie, gloomy atmosphere. He was still able to move at a rapid pace as if it was bright as day.

Suddenly, he stopped and spun around, yelling, “Who’s there?”

I waited a moment, looking around. His eyes weren’t locked on my position, but he was facing my direction. After a moment, I sighed and began to clap my hands. I stepped out of hiding.

“Well done. I’m shocked you managed to detect me.”

“A mere evolved?” The man squinted in my direction, a look of surprise. “What technique did you use to hide for so long? … Doesn’t matter. You tracked the wrong man, boy. Now, you’ll pay for your mistake.”

He shot towards me, coming at me with a fist. By the time he reached where I was, I had moved to the spot where he had been standing. He immediately spun around.

“So fast!” he cried out. “Just, who are you?”

“That’s my question,” I responded calmly. “I want to know who you are and what was in that scroll you handed to Stride.”

The old man was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise. “You even saw the exchange. No matter. Dead men don’t need to know details.”

He lunged at me again, but this time I merely caught his fist and twisted. He did a flip, slamming into a nearby tree. Given his age, I was a bit worried about tossing him around, but the guy looked up, an ugly expression on his face, yet no show of anger or pain.

“I’ll ask again.” I smiled. “Tell me who you are, or I’ll break your fingers one at a time.”

“Go ahead and try it!” the man spat.

I reached out and grabbed him, but in that moment, his eyes shone, and he grabbed me as well. I immediately felt a suction of energy trickling out of me. Was he using a technique? I was immediately intrigued.

He let out a maniacal laugh. “You’re doomed now, boy. The second I got my hand on you, you forfeited your life!”

“Is that so?” I clinched my teeth, pretending to struggle.

“You wanted to know my identity? Well, I’m from a dark guild. Are you afraid now?”

I raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. “A dark guild? What are those?”

“You’ve never even heard of the dark guilds?” he sneered, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “You’re such a country bumpkin. Dark guilds use techniques forbidden by the major powers. Anyone seen using such a technique would be hunted by Wardens and executed on the spot. But it doesn’t matter; you’ll be dead before you can tell anyone about me.”

“Wow… so, this is an energy absorption technique. I see, it’s a bit more efficient than the other methods I’ve seen. You can even absorb from bones and organs. Of course, it still has setbacks.”

“You…” He was starting to look alarmed at my calm expression. “What setbacks?”

“Well, first off, the user has to be alive to take advantage of the energy flow,” I explained, a thoughtful expression on my face. “Also, you must be much stronger than your opponent, or they’d be able to take control of the flow of mana instead.”

“Thankfully, I am stronger!” he declared, but then frowned. “J-just, how much energy do you have?”

“A lot more than you.” I grinned, but when the man tried to let go of my arm and jump back, I grabbed his hand, forcing the link to continue.

“Just how strong are you?” he snarled, and quickly, his alarm turned to terror. “I won’t let you steal my energy!”

“I don’t plan to take your energy, but I am curious how much energy you can absorb. Shall we see?” I said, then began to shove my energy through his bond.

“Ahhhh! Wh-what are you doing?” he shrieked.

“Just a little experiment.”

The energy flowing into him went from a trickle into a flood. He began to desperately pull away, but I kept sending more and more energy into him. I was honestly curious how much energy a champion could hold compared to me. His body started to crack and break.

“Stop! Ahhhh! Stop! Nooooo!”

His body exploded like a balloon, but instead of guts and blood, it was just mana that erupted forth. His body turned to dust leaving nothing behind while the sudden release of mana mostly ended up passively absorbed by my body which was in a deficit. I was restored as if nothing had happened within a few moments. As for how much mana he took before exploding, it couldn’t even be represented by a percentage.

“So… that’s what happens.”