Shortly after, her gaze fell on the pendant worn about his neck before her brows knitted slightly.

“You’re still keeping this useless Etherstone? The mana has already completely dried up. If you want, I can just gift you a new Etherstone. Money is not an issue,” Lady Eniwse spoke casually while returning to her desk.

Vaan glanced at the big blue stone with a drop of redness embedded on the pendant before shaking his head.

“This is all I have left to remember my parents after they lost their lives in the Gehenna Realm exploration.”

He had always thought that just maybe, the Etherstone contained a cheat-ability or something to help him survive in the world like all transmigrators in stories do.

Alas, he had come up with nothing but disappointment in the past two years.

“Sorry…” Lady Eniwse apologized.

“Don’t mind it, Lady Eniwse. You’re a noble witch, and I am just a useless servant who cannot awaken his Life Aura like any other 2nd generation offspring of witches. There’s no need to apologize to me.” Vaan shook his head casually.

As the recovery spell continued to heal his body and remove his bruises, Vaan took a seat by the reading table and picked up a half-read book on magic crystal reactions.

“When we are alone, there is no differentiation between a witch and her servant. Only a man and a woman. If you were truly useless as you claimed to be, you would not be allowed in this private office, reading precious books of knowledge only witches-in-training are permitted to read.”

Lady Eniwse’s lips curled into a smile before ruefully adding, “What I value is that intelligence and unique thinking process of yours. And truthfully speaking, if you had been born a witch, the Wise Scholar title would have belonged to you.”

“If, but I don’t really care about such things as fame. I am proud to be born a man, regardless of the situations I find myself in,” Vaan responded calmly while pulling out a drawer containing his written notes.

Listening to Vaan’s words, Lady Eniwse shook her head with a slight smile. What was good about being a man? They can only live under the shadows of witches.

But then again, if Vaan were a witch, she would not get to experience his—Ahem, never mind. She felt conflicted.

Shortly after, Lady Eniwse suddenly recalled something before casually inquiring, “How is that weapon project of yours going, Vaan?”

Vaan paused for a moment before he replied honestly, “It’s in its final phase, Lady Eniwse. Once I—”

Boom!

“Eniwse! How dare you touch my servants!” the young witch-in-training barked.

Lady Eniwse glanced at one of the four previous servants, whose legs had initially been broken with Mana Bullet, standing behind the young witch.

“It’s Lady Eniwse to you, young lady. They deserved it for bullying my servant first.” Lady Eniwse nonchalantly responded.

“Hmph!” the young witch-in-training snorted before stating, “It’s just a useless servant anyway. So what if they bullied him?! Useless things should just die!”

The young witch-in-training immediately glared at the indifferent Vaan before conjuring an elemental spell, Fireball, with the intent to kill.

However, the Fireball dispersed instantly. A Mana Bullet had shot through it with a quick flick of Lady Eniwse’s fingers while she was still seated behind her desk.

“Dare to attack my servant in my presence? It seems you have forgotten your place, Isabelle. Should I file an official challenge to teach you where you stand in this academy?” Lady Eniwse spoke coldly.

Shortly after, she added with a cold smile, “I am sure that many thirsty servants would like to have a look at your bare body on stage after I am done humiliating you in front of everyone.”

Isabelle faltered with a slight change in expression after hearing Lady Eniwse’s threat before spat stubbornly, “I admit that I am currently no match for you. But even if I can’t punish him myself in front of you, I can still get my servant to do it for me!”

“Violence between witches is prohibited outside of official challenges, but even you are not allowed to interfere in a dispute between servants when another witch is also present! You can only blame your servant’s incapability!”

“Luwg, beat that useless servant up for me!” Isabelle ordered.

“Yes, my Lady!”

Very shortly, Vaan was picked up from his seat with his book in hand by the servant Luwg before his face was clobbered without retaliating.

Lady Eniwse’s face frosted at the sight before she spoke coldly, “Vaan, I grant you permission to fight back!”

“Yes, my Lady.” Vaan’s lips curled into a smile before skillfully breaking away from Luwg’s hold.

He was just waiting for those words.

Ptui!

Some blood dripping down from his bleeding nose was spat out from his mouth before Vaan wiped his mouth with scorn, “Your punches are even weaker than Duvall’s punches.”

“Courting death!”

Lwug’s expression darkened before lunging forward with his fists. However, his punches were gracefully evaded as Vaan closed the magic crystal reaction book in his hand.

“Slippery little bastard! Stop dodging and fight me!” Luwg roared.

“Brute force solves nothing.” Vaan shook his head slightly before lecturing with a stern look, “Knowledge is power. Experience it!”

Bang!

Luwg’s head was quickly smacked by the thick book in Vaan’s hand before he could even react, causing him to be dizzy.

However, all he could think of was, ‘this was what he meant by knowledge is power?’ as he nearly coughed up blood from anger.

Before Luwg could recover his bearing, Vaan continued using the thick book to strike Luwg’s head, stunning the person with consecutive concussions.

Seeing that her servant was losing, Isabelle’s expression turned ugly before she sneakily exerted pressure on Vaan and made his body freeze momentarily.

Nevertheless, it was just enough time for Luwg to recover.

Vaan was suddenly struck with an Aura-enhanced punch in the chest, which immediately shattered his bones and catapulted him back as he sprayed blood sprayed from his mouth in the next instance.

His blood slammed against the cracking concrete wall before his broken body fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from a punctured hole in his body.

‘So this is what it feels like to be struck by something enhanced with Aura?’ Vaan thought as he laid motionlessly, soaking in his blood while barely holding onto his consciousness.

No one noticed that the Etherstone quickly absorbed large amounts of the blood due to Vaan laying on his stomach.

Ding!

<Sufficient blood tribute has been made>

<System synchronization has been commenced>

The bloodsoaked-Etherstone pendant disappeared as a sudden notification entered Vaan’s head, causing him to nearly puke out another mouthful of blood from excessive indignance.

‘Sufficient blood tribute…? Son of a…’

He had tried dripping his blood on the Etherstone before—in fact, it was the first thing he tried, and on multiple occasions at that.

Who knew that the problem was not a matter of dripping blood like in the cultivation stories but a matter of not dripping ENOUGH blood.

‘Those two years of suffering…’

“Vaan!”

Lady Eniwse’s enraged cry was heard, and the intense rumbles in the office were the last thing Vaan remembered before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.