"What are you doing?! Let him go!"
Amelia's cries fell on deaf ears as the guards pulled me away.
I could have tried to fight back, but there was no point. I was in the middle of the Lix Estate. There was no way I could fight against all of them, especially with the elders and the patriarch nearby.
Amelia continued to complain to the guard and her older brother as I was quietly dragged into the basement of the Lix Estate, where a few others were chained up, probably left to die.
"You shouldn't have messed with our master. He has a lot more influence around here than that useless girl," one of the guards said as he threw me on the ground and tied me up.
Once they saw that I didn't reply or look in their direction, they stopped trying to talk to me and quietly left.
'Knowing Amelia, she will probably go complain to her father, the patriarch. Even with her meager influence, her father is bound to be interested in me.'
As long as Amelia managed to do that, then escaping would be as easy as breathing.
Around two hours passed until the same guards as before came to get me unchained.
"Don't think for a second that you won. There's no way you're not going back down there."
"Mhm."
I dismissed their words with a nod as they brought me in front of a decent crowd where dozens of individuals with bright red hair were looking upon me.
'It seems my actions were a much bigger deal than I thought.'
I hadn't done much, but it seemed the fact that I was a commoner complicated things.
Nevertheless, I had a plan.
"Bow before his Greatness!" the guards exclaimed as they forcefully brought me to my knees.
"I greet the Lix Patriarch," I said in a monotonous voice, staring at the ground.
"Enough, let him be," he suddenly declared as he waved his hand.
Only then did I meet his heavy gaze, which analyzed every inch of my body.
I could feel his strength with only a glance. He was definitely amongst the strongest I had met in my life.
It was clear that he was trying his best to conceal his Mana and his Physical Aura. However, because of how powerful he was, a very small amount still leaked, and it was enough for me to realize that I was no match against him.
'Maybe I could win if I could sneak up on him, but... in a fair battle, he would kill me in a single move.'
The Patriarch stayed quiet after those words, his facial expression changing a few times as he looked at me.
"Where did you meet my daughter?"
"I met her by luck. I was on death's door, and she saved my life."
He raised an eyebrow.
"And why were you on death's door?"
"I thought too much of myself and almost died against monsters."
He rubbed his chin and shook his head, seemingly annoyed by something.
"What kind of monsters? What rank were they?"
'Does he think I'm lying? But how? I'm keeping my heartrate in check and I'm showing no emotions.'
I decided to take a gamble and lie, as I remembered that his son was about C-Rank based on the handshake we shared earlier.
"They were B-Rank monsters, sir."
"And how old are you?"
"I just turned eighteen, sir."
And then, I realized that I had made a mistake as all of the Lix family members whispered to each other frantically. I wasn't exactly sure why they reacted this way. All my life, I had seen people aged around 15 years old killing B-Rank monsters, and they weren't even considered talented.
"What rank are your affinities and what is your mana core's capacity?"
"I'm sorry, but I think that's personal information."
"HAHAHA!"
The Patriarch burst out laughing before losing his cool.
"You sure have guts. However, you should answer my questions... Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to punish you."
"F-Father, please!" Amelia tried to complain, but quickly shut her mouth with a single glare from her father.
"I can answer the question. However, I will only do it in private."
The Patriarch seemed to understand my words as he immediately ordered everyone to get out of the room, even the guards.
A few minutes passed and there were only the two of us left.
His gaze was intense and filled with warnings. If I made one wrong move, then I would be dead before I could even react.
He snapped his fingers, and a small device appeared in the middle of the room, one that I recognized well. The device was called an Appraiser, and it would show the user everything related to his powers: the affinities he awakened, the capacity of his mana core, and his unique skill.
"Place your hand on it."
"Before that, you need to take an oath that you will not speak to anyone about what you see today."
The Patriarch grinned. "I don't think you're in the position to make demands."
"Is that so?" I tilted my head. I knew I couldn't let him walk all over me. "Three years ago, you ordered an assassination on the Demacia Family, more precisely, on their—"
"H-How do you know that?!" His eyes widened.
The Patriarch's eyes widened as his aura, which he had kept hidden, suddenly burst forward. In an instant, I found myself on my knees, coughing up blood because of the high energy density he was emitting.
"Y-You don't need to know that. All you need to know is that everything related to this assassination will be revealed to the whole world if I don't come out of here alive," I bluffed. "You don't think I came here without any plans, did you?"
"What do you want?"
"Nothing much, I simply need a personal recommendation from you to enter the Royal Academy."
"Even if I ask the Royal Academy for a favor, they will refuse. You're a commoner; the only possible way for them to make an exception is if you were to have exceptional talent. However, no matter how long I look at you, I can't feel anything special."
"Take the oath, and I will show you my talent."
The Patriarch decided to play along now that I had forced his hand and took the oath, which would kill him if he ever defied it.
Only then did I step forward and place my hand on the Appraiser.
[Appraisal has begun...]
[0% -> 23% -> 46% -> 100%]
[Appraisal completed.]
As the message appeared over the device, a large screen with all of my information appeared in the middle of the room, allowing everyone present to read its content.
"T-This... How is it possible?!"