Chapter 26
Lucas walked along the path, a long coat covering his body down to his knees.
Beneath it, he wore the attire of Hidden Sky City: a dark blue leather armor chest piece.
Emblazoned on its front was a symbol of two wings—one white and one black—with five stars positioned below it.
Blake walked beside him, dressed similarly.
The only difference was that the symbol on his chest bore four stars instead of five.
As they walked toward their destination, they talked.
"Yeah, she's really cute. She was only born a month ago," Blake said.
"From everything you've told me, you seem like a good brother. So why does your little brother seem to dislike you?" Lucas questioned.
It had taken them two days to reach this point.
They were now resting only briefly as they walked, for the city was not far.
They could see it in the distance, covering an area of about 60 square kilometers.
However, compared to the 300-square-kilometer expanse of Hidden Sky City, it was nothing.
The sheer size of his home city still shocked Lucas, but he understood it was necessary to house the many clans, elites, and ordinary people within.
Even the capital city of the empire was of a similar scale.
A Duke-ranked Noble controlled this city and the surrounding towns.
Blake sighed. "I just don't spend much time with him because of my training and missions."
"Not to pry," Lucas said, "but you should try to find a balance. Spend more time with your family while still dedicating yourself to training and missions. I understand that finding time is always a problem, but you should always try your best." He then added with a slight smile, "On the other hand, your parents are working hard, having one child after another."
Blake chuckled at the last part. "Oh, no. My dad has two wives. My little brother and I are from the first wife, our mother. Our little sister is from our other mom."
"Seriously? I never knew," Lucas said, genuinely surprised.
He had always wondered how Blake had a little sister who was only a few months younger than his second-born brother.
That makes a lot of sense. Or did this world just take the small words the author wrote and change them into a realistic possibility? he wondered.
"So, as the firstborn, are you ready to take on the responsibility of being the patriarch?" Lucas questioned.
"Patriarch, huh…." Blake replied, looking at the city walls growing closer with each step. "I never really thought about it, but in truth, that's not what I want."
"What do you want, then?" Lucas asked.
"Hmmm…." Blake gazed into the distance in silence before saying, "To be happy with my parents in our Sky City and make memories until we leave this world."
Lucas was about to comment, but Blake turned the question back on him. "What about you, Lucas? Your family? What do you really want?"
'Clever boy, opening up to get me to tell him things about myself,' Lucas thought.
He sighed and said, "As you know, my clan members all died from a bloodline disease, leaving only my mother and me. I am only alive because of her efforts, and she, on the other hand, is still in a coma, fighting for her life every day. What do I want, you ask? I want to cure her."
Blake nodded with a smile. "And after that, what will you aim for?"
Lucas stopped for a moment, wondering why Blake was asking something like that.
'Blake is mostly straightforward, but he may be different from what the novel described. So why would he like to know?' Lucas couldn't find an answer and finally questioned,
"Why do you want to know?" His question was simple but could be seen as rude.
Blake didn't take it that way.
He chuckled and said, "I just want to know what type of person you are."
Lucas looked at him for a moment before saying, "You're talented, Blake, and I really like you. If you are ever in need of help, just call. As for your question… I want to go as far as I can go."
Blake was confused by the answer, but Lucas didn't explain, and he didn't ask as they continued toward the city.
The two had connected deeply during their two days of travel, even if the time was short.
Blake had tried his best to get close to Lucas, though he didn't know his aim or his reason.
Lucas hated the unknown, especially when he couldn't calculate the impact it would have on him and his plans.
The most annoying unknown was the Great Sage; having another would be tiresome.
Even so, he had opened up slightly to Blake and even shared laughs with him.
Despite his young age, Blake seemed much older and was very knowledgeable about the politics of Hidden Sky City, so much so that Lucas almost thought he was lying about not wanting to become the patriarch.
Nevertheless, Lucas had enjoyed his short time with Blake.
He had also improved a lot in his cultivation; his speed was becoming more insane every day, as if the Mana Eyes weren't finished enhancing his body.
He felt that reaching the Platinum stage with his mana core would only take a year and a half if he trained non-stop and ignored his other projects.
But with his focus divided, he estimated it would take him at least three years to reach the peak. This was assuming he used Runes to increase his cultivation speed.
What he wanted more was to improve his physical strength.
He estimated that reaching the peak of the second Pathway would take him four months of non-stop training.
He needed to quickly start his Mana Beast creation project.
He planned to create his Mana Beast and also learn some techniques to aid him, particularly ones that would help with the Soul aspect, which he was studying using the technique he got from Mara.
He also sought a technique to help increase the rate at which he gained physical strength.
With it, he was sure he could reach the Fourth Pathway in a year and a half, or two years at most.
Anything higher than that, he would have to see, as the only being he knew of above the Fourth Pathway was the Great Sage.
Lucas thought about it again and corrected himself, "And that Lotus Clan Elder in those ruins."