Two months passed quietly in the Utra country.
The events in the Bare Dungeon weren't a rare sight in that world, cultivators would often test their luck or skills in danger zones only to die because of some unexpected situation.
Also, three nobles had witnessed the weapons of their companions laid among hundreds of magical beasts' corpses, their testimony was enough to prevent any investigation.
The lives of Manuel Gousho and Phoebe Ramgett had been lost in a fight against a rank 4 creature, their families could only blame their recklessness.
Yet, another piece of information had reached the ears of a few large-size noble families.
These families were among the wealthiest ones in the entire nation and were also the ones leading the movement called Cause.
It was due to their lofty position that they could think about opposing the rulers of the nation, planning a long-term revolution by using the bright star that was Daniel.
This piece of information was about another bright star, possibly even brighter than Daniel, but that was in the grasp of the Royal family.
"Young Master, are you sure that this Vance won't use you to improve his position with the Royals?"
A female cultivator with her face hidden by a veil asked Daniel that was right next to her.
They were near Vonduhr, on the mountain path where the battle between the Muwlos family and the criminals hired by the Royals had been.
"He is alone, Octavia, a lone cultivator forced to accept any kind of offer to obtain resources. The Royals might treat him well because of his aptitude but there is a limit to how much they can give without forcing him to join their ranks. Instead, father is willing to offer him a noble status once the revolution is over. He will be able to set his own family and be one of the closest allies to the next rulers of the country."
Daniel answered with confidence.
He had discussed the situation with his father, the patriarch of the Udye family, and they had reached that conclusion.
They would offer Noah resources and techniques as long as he fought with them and they would promise not to hinder his personal freedom.
The last part was a point that Daniel strongly insisted on.
He had understood some of Noah's character, he was a lone wolf, completely focused on his personal power.
People like him would just stab you in the back if you tried to control them, it was better to give them a generous offer and refrain from forcing his hand.
"What if he has no interest in being a noble?"
Octavia raised another doubt.
She was Daniel's personal guard for the meeting and also the cultivator in the heroic ranks that Noah had requested.
"Being a noble means having the resources to gather spells and techniques. That is exactly what he wants and becoming a noble is the option that will preserve his independence without becoming anyone's servant. He will accept."
Octavia became silent after those words and moved her gaze on his surroundings.
The mountain path had been reconstructed and a two-story tall pagoda had been built on its side.
The Muwlos family wanted to remember their fallen soldiers and their promising heir so they built that monument in their honor.
Also, some soldiers had been stationed there, it could be said the influence of the nobles on the city of Vorduhr had largely increased after that battle.
However, Octavia didn't see anything worthy of praise.
In her mind, those soldiers had died under the assault of criminals and lone cultivators, the same status of Daniel's guest, she really couldn't bring herself to trust such a character.
"You could have let us doing some investigations at least, I don't like not knowing my opponent."
She complained, interrupting her silence.
"He is not your opponent and you know that the network of the Royals is incredible, they would become suspicious if my family suddenly looked for records about a cultivator of the darkness element."
Octavia sighed, she knew Daniel's character, he was set on bringing Noah to his side.
"Young Master, you are a good person, you always try to see the best in people. Yet, you must understand that there are monsters out there, beings without any care for rules and ethics, beings that will never be subjected to any society. The world is big and our political system is just one of the many of this continent, you won't be able to see the bigger picture if our customs blind your eyes."
Daniel lowered his head before raising it wearing a determined expression.
"If he tries something funny, we'll just kill him. It is better to remove him than leave him to grow with the Royals, I'm honestly a bit scared of his potential."
Octavia nodded hearing that, she felt glad that Daniel was slowly abandoning his righteous character when it came to matters involving his family.
Hours passed and the morning became afternoon, yet there was still no trace of Noah.
"He's late."
Octavia was running out of patience but Daniel was still confident.
"We didn't set a specific hour, I'll wait till dawn if needed."
Yet, the afternoon became night and Noah had yet to appear.
"I don't think he will come."
"Then why would he set this meeting? Trust me, he will come."
Then, the night became morning, the appointed day had passed but Noah didn't deign them of his presence.
"Why? I was sure he was telling the truth about the Royals so why didn't he come to our side?"
Daniel had lost hope by then and was clueless about what to do next.
His position had been endangered due to the loss of two heirs in his recent mission but, if he managed to recruit Noah, those losses would be forgotten.
"Maybe he was discovered by the Royals and killed."
Octavia gave him another idea.
"That's unlikely, he doesn't seem the type of person that would just get caught. Well, I don't know what his intentions were but I know what our next move will be."
Daniel sighed as he continued to speak.
"Let's reveal his aptitude, I really want to know where the Royals found such a genius."