Chapter 48: Bloodlust
After William tested the Seven Steps of Supreme inside the barony, it caused quite a commotion.
The town’s guard team searched for the culprit behind the incident for a long time but failed to discover anything.
In the end, they concluded that the destruction had been caused by a monster that had somehow sneaked into the town before leaving after destroying the area.
However, they still couldn’t figure out how such a powerful monster had entered the town and left so silently without alerting anyone.
Since the matter was still the talk of the town, William didn’t dare test his abilities inside the barony any further.
Instead, to practice Phantom Steps and Wind Cutter and get used to his new Aether Energy, he secretly traveled to the Kolva Mountain Range, where he had previously discovered the Astral Rift.
With his current strength, he could easily travel back and forth between the town and the mountain range in a very short amount of time.
While running back toward the town, William recalled his memories from the original timeline regarding the upcoming Aether Affinity Test.
’If I remember correctly, there won’t be anyone important participating in this test. Even the person overseeing it will only be at the early-stage Star Lord Realm, accompanied by two assistants.’
William couldn’t remember the Star Lord’s name, but he still remembered that it was this very person who had discovered the Astral Rift in the original timeline.
’Now that the Astral Rift has already been destroyed because of me, I wonder if anything else will change during the test.’
Shaking his head to stop thinking about things beyond his control, William focused on running at full speed.
In just over twenty minutes, he arrived near the town walls.
The guards patrolled the walls throughout the night, so he first carefully confirmed that there was no one nearby.
Only after making sure the area was clear did he swiftly climb the wall like a nimble monkey before silently jumping inside.
After safely entering the town, he avoided the guard patrols that were still active because of the Seven Steps of Supreme incident and soon arrived near his home.
The moment his house came into view, William’s mind relaxed, and he leisurely strolled forward.
However, as he drew closer, his footsteps gradually slowed, and a terrifying chill appeared in his eyes.
’There are traces of Aether Energy here...’
His heart tightened, and he immediately rushed inside the house.
He first checked on Samuel, Karl, and Elena. Only after confirming that they were all asleep and completely unharmed did the tension in his heart ease slightly.
He looked around the house but found nothing unusual.
Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and looked upward, his eyes flashing with golden light as he activated the Eyes of Insight skill.
Although the roof blocked his vision, under the effect of Eyes of Insight, he could still perceive faint Aether Energy signatures coming from above.
Without wasting another second, he stepped back outside and, with a single leap, landed atop their single-story house.
"You are finally back. I was waiting for you for over an hour."
A slightly lazy voice reached his ears as soon as he landed.
William looked over and saw a young man, around twenty years old, lying on the rooftop while staring at the cloudy night sky. The man wore a long black coat over black pants. His skin was pale, and his eyes were blood-red, a color he was very familiar with.
William’s eyes narrowed slightly because he immediately recognized the figure.
"You were sent by Vivian?"
The man’s lazy eyes instantly sharpened as he sat up and looked at William coldly.
"It’s Lady Vivian. Know your place."
William’s expression remained completely unchanged as he replied indifferently.
"A blood slave doesn’t need to tell me about my place. Just tell me why you came here and be on your way."
The man was stunned upon hearing William’s words, and a cold light flashed through his eyes.
"How do you know I am a blood slave?"
William didn’t answer and simply looked at him calmly.
Seeing that William had no intention of replying, the man snorted coldly before tossing a ring toward him.
"Lady Vivian asked me to deliver this to you."
William caught the ring and discovered that it was a storage ring with a much larger storage space than his storage earring.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he inspected its contents. However, after taking just a single glance, his breath caught in his throat.
Even so, he didn’t reveal the slightest change in expression and calmly put the ring away.
"Anything else?" He asked.
The man grew increasingly irritated by William’s indifferent attitude.
After all, he was at the peak of the Star Commander Realm and was vastly stronger than William.
Unfortunately for him, because of Vivian’s orders, he couldn’t do anything to William.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a cold voice.
"Lady Vivian told me to inform you that one of the assistants accompanying the overseer for tomorrow’s Aether Affinity Test will be Lucas Benlot."
William’s expression froze for a brief moment upon hearing the man’s words.
But the next instant, an intense killing intent flashed through his eyes.
"Who did you say is coming?" He asked in a bone-chilling voice as the surrounding temperature seemed to drop noticeably.
The man was taken aback by William’s sudden reaction.
At the same time, even he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine because the killing intent radiating from William was so intense that it seemed to affect the surrounding air itself.
"Lu-Lucas Benlot. He will accompany the overseer to observe the Aether Affinity Test in Rosco Barony tomorrow."
Without realizing it, the man’s voice stuttered slightly under the overwhelming pressure of William’s killing intent.
"Heh..." A cold smile spread across William’s face as he thought about the storage ring Vivian had sent him.
’So that’s why she didn’t wait until I reached the academy and sent it to me in advance.’
He slowly closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they had already returned to their usual calmness.
"Dominick, when I checked my house earlier, I noticed traces of your Aether Energy near my parents’ room. What were you doing there?" He asked in an utterly calm voice.
Although William’s voice was calm, for some reason, Dominick felt a strange sense of fear.
At the same time, he couldn’t understand how the peasant standing before him even knew his name.
The next second, however, Dominick became annoyed at himself.
’I am at the peak of the Star Commander Realm, while this peasant is only at the early stage of the Star Warrior Realm. What do I have to fear?’
Looking at William’s calm expression, he answered with a faint smile.
"I got thirsty while waiting for you, so I thought about drinking a little blood from those two people. But unfortunately, after entering the house, I remembered that my master had forbidden me from harming anyone during this trip."
William’s expression didn’t change after hearing Dominick’s explanation and he calmly walked toward him.
With every step he took, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop even further.
"I don’t know why you approached my parents despite Vivian’s orders. I don’t care whether you simply wanted to test me or were merely curious about my reaction."
He stopped directly in front of Dominick and stared into his eyes.
"To me, it doesn’t matter." His voice was icy cold.
"But if you had harmed even a single strand of my family’s hair..." William paused for a brief moment before his eyes narrowed.
"The best outcome you could have hoped for would have been being nailed to a stake and burned alive...."
He didn’t say anything about the worst scenario and simply walked past Dominick.
Dominick remained standing motionless on the rooftop, his entire body feeling cold from the bloodlust that had surrounded him for a brief moment.
Only after William had jumped down and completely disappeared inside the house did he finally move.
He placed one hand over his chest and realized that his heart was beating so violently that it felt as though he had just finished running a marathon.
"Just who is this guy?"
Earlier, when William had stood in front of him, he had felt such intense bloodlust that every single cell in his body screamed at him to run.
It was as though the young man standing before him could unleash a fatal attack at any moment.
The most absurd part was that he was at the peak of the Star Commander Realm.
For him to feel such danger from someone at the early stage of the Star Warrior Realm was completely nonsensical.
"This guy is definitely not simple..."
Dominick took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart before deciding to leave immediately as he didn’t want to remain in this place for even a second longer.
William sensed Dominick’s Aether Energy signature moving farther away but paid him little attention.
Returning to his room, he lay down on his bed and silently stared at the ceiling.
"Lucas Benlot..." He muttered softly as he slowly raised one hand and clenched it into a fist.
"It seems it’s finally time for me to spill some noble blood."