Inside the deeper part of the lair below the Bare Dungeon.
Three nobles sat on the crystalline ground, staring at a young man that was silently cultivating on top of a "Breath" blessing.
The room had been swept clean by the three nobles, the corpses of the worms had been gathered in Daniel's rings and the weapons of the other two nobles had been retrieved and carefully stored.
Then, the three of them sat in front of Noah, waiting for him to speak.
However, Noah didn't seem to really care, he was doing his best to refill his centers of power and heal his injuries, the nobles were losing their patience.
"How did you manage to grow up so fast? You don't have any noble background so you couldn't have that many resources."
Troy was the first to break the silence, he was the most unwilling of the three to accept Noah's strength.
It couldn't be helped though, Troy had been in his same class in the academy and, in just a few short years, the gap between them had enlarged by a lot.
Noah's centers of power were on Daniel's level after all, such a feat was unbelievable for a man that wasn't even twenty years old.
Noah opened his eyes and replied to him without interrupting his cultivation.
"The Royals have discovered my aptitude in the entrance test in Shelfan Mountain, I've been working with them since then."
He didn't hide his cooperation with the Elbas family but he didn't explain further, secrets like the Royal inheritance or Samuel's assassination had to remain hidden.
The black vortex between his hands constantly absorbed "Breath", refilling his dantian which slowly nurtured his body and added liquid "Breath" in the membrane around his heart.
"Were you here because of the Royals' orders?"
Milo joined the conversation.
"No, I just wanted to test my strength. Yet, these beasts had laid many traps in their lair, I ended up falling for one which directly brought me here."
Noah continued to answer, creating a story that could satisfy the nobles.
"Why did you injure Manuel's sea of consciousness back then?"
At that time, Daniel asked his question.
"Manuel had already lost the battle when he resorted to a spell aimed to kill me. Thaddeus purposely waited on interrupting the match to test my real strength so I acted. He should consider himself lucky, if it wasn't for the rules of the academy, I would have killed him already."
Killing intent was radiated from Noah's figure as he spoke those words.
Those events had really angered him, they were one of the main reasons why he was hasting the preparations for his big escape.
"That's a lie! Manuel was strong and upright while you only used your puppet during that fight. I know that something strange had happened inside the thunderstorm!"
Troy replied to him.
He was a bit scared by the thick coldness that Noah was exuding but the presence of his companions gave him enough confidence to speak openly.
"My mental sphere was already in the second rank by that time, do you really think that I needed to cheat in order to win?"
Noah's statement made the three nobles gasp in surprise.
The battle had happened almost two years before, which meant that Noah had become a rank 2 mage by the age of eighteen!
A monster!
An unparalleled genius!
Their thoughts couldn't be calmed in a short amount of time, Noah was the youngest rank 2 mage that had ever existed in the cultivation history!
Noah didn't mind waiting for them to accept the situation, he was cultivating after all, his real intentions were to buy enough time for him to recover.
"You must have gained a lot from your cooperation with the Royals, their missions aren't always that ethical though."
Daniel spoke, seemingly hiding a different meaning behind his words.
"I did some bad stuff if that's what you're asking, I'm not really ashamed of my actions. I needed resources and they were willing to pay, that's it."
"So, would you sell yourself to them just to continue cultivating?"
Troy was still heated.
Noah's last revelation had surprised him even more, he had finally understood that he had never been Noah's equal.
"Yes."
Noah didn't explain further but his eyes seemed to be enveloped by a dark light.
The nobles watched as his aura became colder, he resembled a beast encircled by enemies.
'Does he see the entire world as his enemy?'
Daniel had that thought seeing Noah's reaction.
'Alone. He is completely alone in a world that wants to make use of him. He hid his element for so long and secretly worked with the Royal family through all this time only to reach my level. Admirable.'
Daniel praised in his mind.
He had realized long ago his privileged position.
Not only his family was one of the most powerful among the noble families, but he had also been nurtured as the main heir since his aptitude was discovered.
The reason why he had so many spells of the light element was that his family had spent an exorbitant sum of money to purchase them, sometimes they have had to deal with other countries to purchase them.
Yet, a man younger than him who had no support whatsoever managed to reach his level.
'I wonder to what length he had to push his moral compass to obtain such strength.'
Talent had only a small influence on the improvements of a cultivator.
Resources and hard work were the means by which someone could become strong.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
Daniel had internally recognized him as his equal, it was time to hear his intentions.
Noah turned his gaze toward him before speaking.
"The Royals speak quite openly about some of their political struggles. I know about the Cause and how the noble families want to use you as a flag for their revolution."
"And?"
Daniel's eyebrow arched as Noah compared him to a flag.
"The Royals have been trying to tighten their leash on me for quite some time already and I don't have the strength to escape their control. Yet, there is a power that is planning to depose them and that could give me the freedom that I want. I want to join the Cause."