Khan's wariness instantly skyrocketed. He halted his steps, and his eyes almost glowed while probing Jason's mana.
The statement and Jason carried no ill intent, but Khan couldn't relax. He was in a space station filled with soldiers and special guards handpicked by the nobles. If someone wanted to take him out, that was the perfect opportunity.
Khan knew his political situation was quite safe, but that environment was complicated and mysterious. Mister Chares' organization, the Hive, and probably more parties could be after him. Realistically, anything was possible when the nobles were involved, even tricking a Lieutenant Colonel.
"That bad?" Jason asked when he noticed that abrupt reaction.
Anyone in a high position knew that fame came at a price. Jason could see that in Khan's changes. He could guess Khan had made many enemies to get where he was, which justified his reaction.
"The order came from the Rassec boy himself," Jason revealed in an attempt to reassure Khan. "It can't be a ploy."
Khan saw no lies in Jason's mana, but his wariness didn't disperse. Still, he resumed walking with the Lieutenant Colonel to check the situation. If something felt wrong, he wouldn't hesitate to blow everything up.
Of course, Khan also thought about Monica, but she was basically untouchable, especially after working on Neuria. Her family would raise hell if something happened to her.
The walk grew slightly awkward, but neither Khan nor Jason shrunk from it. The two left the residential area and dived deeper into the structure, taking many turns and crossing multiple corridors before arriving at a giant, square block.
The structure appeared out of place. Its surfaces were black, which differed from the white and grey of the rest of the space station. Moreover, a lot of synthetic mana ran under its metal, hinting at multiple active security measures.
The structure's huge door added value to the hunch since a great deal of synthetic mana converged there. Its functions were unclear, but Khan wouldn't touch it so casually. His senses told him not to.
"Let's wait here," Jason exclaimed, stopping before the threatening entrance. "I have to send a message."
Jason drew his phone, typed something, and stored it back. His gaze landed on the door afterward, and Khan imitated him while his senses continuously scanned the area.
The synthetic mana inside the door moved, losing some of its threatening vibes. It still didn't feel safe to approach, but that turned out to be unnecessary.
A whooshing noise spread as the door unlocked and opened inside the square block. A multicolored symphony immediately came out, immersing Khan in its various feelings. The place contained hundreds of unique mana sources, and a few were familiar.
Jason led the way inside, and Khan failed to keep his eyes still once a sea of items landed on them. Weapons of various grades stood on pedestals or specific tables, creating narrow corridors in that otherwise immense space. That was an armory, and Khan struggled to inspect all of it at once.
Some items stood out more than others, but something else caught Khan's attention during the inspection. Two auras were approaching his position, and a different kind of presence hovered in a corner near the tall ceiling.
'I guess it's normal,' Khan thought, staring at the seemingly empty corner. 'He is basically a prince now.'
The stare didn't last long since the two incoming figures eventually peeked past the rows of items and appeared in the open. The place's bright, yellow light shone on Rick and Lucille, highlighting every detail of their fancy clothes, as well as their smiling faces.
Khan felt glad that a spark of maturity had appeared in Rick's youthful face. Yet, Lucille was the one who had changed the most in those years. For starters, she was wearing a dress, and her red hair had lost its wildness to turn into soft, straight silk.
Lucille's mana radiated some discomfort, hinting that she didn't choose that attire by herself. The nobles' attendants had probably forced her to improve her appearance, but her smile remained genuine.
As for the couple, reuniting with Khan after so long wasn't too easy. The first interaction with his heavy presence left Rick and Lucille gulping. He was suffocating even when smiling. His mere figure radiated an invisible energy that the two experienced at an instinctive level.
"You sure have grown," Khan commented, noticing how Rick and Lucille had become second-level warriors. "I'm glad."
"Boss!" Rick shouted, snapping out of his stunned state. "It's so good to see you again."
Rick didn't refrain from stepping forward and performing a military salute. That gesture was unnecessary due to his new status, but still expressed the respect he felt for Khan.
"Likewise," Khan nodded, his smile growing warmer as he thought of a joke for Lucille. "Lu, I never expected to see you in a dr-."
Khan didn't finish the joke since the second inspection of Lucille revealed something odd. He frowned as he fixed his eyes on the young woman. Her mana was moving oddly, pointing his attention to her waist.
After living with Monica, Khan had almost got to know her body better than her. He even felt when her period was approaching, but Lucille radiated something different.
"Lu," Khan called to voice a guess, "Are you pregnant?"
Rick and Lucille's eyes widened in shock, basically revealing the truth on the matter. Jason only needed a look to know that Khan had been right, and his mouth opened in surprise for multiple reasons.
The pregnancy was a massive news that would probably never reach the public. Still, the depth of Khan's senses was even more surprising. It made Jason wonder about what kind of world his eyes reflected.
"How did you-?" Lucille began to say, but Rick promptly returned to her side, interrupting her.
"Boss, this news is classified," Rick explained, taking Lucille's hand and straightening his back. "You must promise me not to reveal it."
Khan's expression softened at that cute scene. Rick had gone from a spineless kid to standing up to him to protect his fiancée. The purity of the event almost had a cleansing effect on Khan's mindset.
"You won't have to worry," Khan promised. He would tell Monica, mostly to tease her, but revealing that in the presence of that hidden aura wasn't wise.
"I'm a bit jealous," Khan continued as Rick and Lucille relaxed. "Who would have thought that you would have surpassed me?"
"What are you saying, Boss?" Rick questioned. "We are thankful to you. Without you, we wouldn't have had this."
Rick had lowered his voice during the last part of his statement, and his eyes fell on Lucille when it ended. Lucille also looked at him, radiating shyness. The couple appeared on the verge of blushing, and Khan struggled to keep up with their cuteness.
'Is that how Monica and I look?' Khan wondered. 'The other side sure is awkward.'
"So," Khan spoke to disperse that cute scene. "Lieutenant Colonel Clayman tells me that you have something for me."
"Right!" Rick snapped out of his daze and waved his free arm through the place. "I already asked permission from my family. You can pick anything you want."
"What?" Khan asked, his eyes running over the sea of items. "Anything?"
"Yes, anything," Rick confirmed. "Sadly, I had to settle for only one. My initial request was for twenty."
'Twenty?!' Khan shouted in his mind, giving the items another look. That warehouse belonged to a noble family. Those weapons had to be crazy expensive.
"Anything?" Khan repeated, incredulous.
"Of course, Boss," Rick shouted.
Khan glanced at Jason, who had just snapped back to reality. The Lieutenant Colonel had thought about Khan's senses the whole time, but his head performed a nod at that look.
'Wow,' Khan couldn't help but exclaim in his mind as he stepped toward the first row of items.
Some weapons had explanations, while others didn't, but their mana could give enough hints. Nevertheless, Khan had only dealt with knives until now. His lackluster knowledge in the field left him confused in that sea of choices.
It didn't help that Khan's battle style was already well-rounded. He couldn't think of anything that could improve his situation. The simplest and safer choice involved enriching his foundation, which had to come in the form of a better knife due to his ignorance.
That decision created an additional problem. Khan had a great knife, and his blacksmith could keep up with his growth. His fame could also provide better contacts. Quality wasn't an issue in his situation, so investing that opportunity in something as easy to get as a better weapon felt like a waste.
'What do the nobles have that I can't get elsewhere?' Khan wondered. He could think of many answers, but his poor knowledge prevented him from identifying them in that sea of items.
Eventually, Khan gave up on overthinking the issue. His knowledge couldn't help, so he would follow his senses. Something was bound to stand out in that sea of items. The nobles wouldn't be so special otherwise.
Even with inexperienced eyes, Khan could still confirm that everything inside the warehouse was in a perfect state and of the highest quality. His current knife probably was worse than any item on display.
That would typically worsen the issue, but Khan had his senses. When everything was so perfect, he could easily spot the few items beyond that.
Khan walked past a fifth-grade round shield that filled the symphony with a bright, warm light. That sensation grew hotter closer to the weapon, partially revealing its special features.
The next peculiar item was a third-grade spear. Its wooden shaft didn't radiate anything special, but its metal tip sent a chill down Khan's spine. Something deadly lingered around the weapon, and Khan couldn't understand what.
The warehouse had over a hundred items, so Khan often found peculiar weapons. Swords, body armor, and even guns with unique and strange powers shone in his vision, but nothing matched his needs. He even found a few knives, but they also failed to convince him.
The search lasted until something seemingly suitable caught Khan's attention. He followed a wild and intense presence capable of shattering the symphony until he arrived before an old-looking knife.
The weapon didn't look battle-ready. Its black handle had large grey marks, highlighting its deterioration. Half its rectangular guard was missing, and the blade's two edges looked blunt and ruined.
The mana inside the knife was also odd. Khan couldn't quite point out its power. The weapon's presence wavered, alternating between the bottom of the third grade and the peak of the fourth.
The knife's presence intensified as Khan approached it, and its power almost entered the fifth grade when he stretched his hand toward it. The weapon looked alive, but a tremor in the symphony stopped Khan from seizing it.
"Are you sure I can take anything?" Khan asked. Rick, Lucille, and Jason had followed him, so they heard his question.
"Anything, Boss!" Rick nodded.
"I wasn't asking you," Khan revealed, looking at the source of the recent tremor. His eyes returned to the ceiling's corner, and the lack of answers forced him to add something. "What's the problem with his knife?"
The trio followed Khan's gaze but found nothing in the targeted corner. The silence also lasted a few seconds, giving birth to frowns and confusion. Yet, a slender man eventually materialized in that spot.
"Anselm!" Rick gasped. "I requested for privacy!"
The slender man was crouched in the corner, with palms and feet sealed on those metal surfaces. Still, Rick's call made him jump forward, and his figure floated through the warehouse until it landed right behind the group.
'A flying technique?' Khan wondered, studying the man.
Anselm was a fourth-level warrior with long black hair and a pale face. His black eyes felt devoid of emotion, but his aura told a different story. His mana was silent, dark, and sharp, giving Khan the impression of an assassin.
"My apologies, Prince Rick," Anselm said, almost whispering. "I'm not at liberty to leave you alone."
"Is spying on us any better?" Rick complained. "What are my guests going to think?"
"It doesn't matter what they think," Anselm replied, fixing his empty eyes on Khan. "Only your safety matters."
'The noble guards are truly different,' Khan thought, replying with a challenging look. Anselm felt extremely strong, and part of him wanted to test his power.
The exchange of looks didn't go unnoticed. The area grew colder as Khan and Anselm studied each other. A battle appeared imminent, but Anselm surprised everyone with a question.
"Was my cover flawed?" Anselm asked.
"Not at all," Khan stated.
"I studied your abilities," Anselm revealed. "You shouldn't have noticed me."
"Studying isn't good enough preparation against me," Khan declared.
Jason, Rick, and Lucille didn't know what to say. They didn't even want to intervene. A conversation that only Khan and Anselm could follow was unfolding, and the former clearly had the upper hand.
"Why can't I take the knife?" Khan questioned.
Anselm's face remained impassible, but his mana grew tenser. Khan didn't only spot him through his cloaking technique. He had also felt his intentions. Calling that ability scary wouldn't make it justice.
Moreover, Anselm had done more than studying Khan's abilities. He had also practiced some of them, focusing on his senses. He could catch a glimpse of Khan's mana, making the scene even scarier.
Khan felt on the verge of exploding. His body was packed with wild mana, too much, according to Anselm's estimate. Khan seemed to have just come out of an infusion with no side effects.
"It was for Prince Rick's safety, sir," Anselm eventually replied, summoning his good manners. "That weapon is cursed."
"Cursed?" Khan repeated. He had read the term somewhere but never found an explanation.
"It has a wild will, sir," Anselm explained. "It attacks the wielder, draining his mana. At times, it even lashes out into its surroundings."
'Do such things really exist?' Khan couldn't help but wonder. Still, thinking about it for longer than a second made it feel obvious. He himself could give his will to the mana in his surroundings. It wasn't so odd for a weapon to have that too.
"Is it powerful?" Khan asked.
"If you can subdue it, sir," Anselm said, and the air grew heavier. Khan's gaze intensified as he took firm steps toward the knife. He reached it, and his hand immediately went for its handle.
Anselm jumped before Rick and Lucille to protect them with his body. Jason stepped back when he saw that reaction, but his eyes remained on Khan.
A sucking force took control of Khan's hand when he wrapped his fingers around the handle. Mana slipped out of his flesh, entering the weapon. Smoke began to rise from the blunt edges, and a purple-red halo started leaking from the blade.
The halo grew brighter as the knife absorbed more mana. The temperature on the edges also rose, reaching scorching levels. A humming noise followed, becoming deafening in a matter of seconds.
'It's really trying to suck me dry,' Khan gasped, entertained. 'Though, that's enough.'
Khan summoned the entirety of his control to stop his mana. The sucking force was still active, but Khan beat it through sheer will, interrupting that process.
The sucking force intensified, but Khan's control didn't falter. His mana didn't move by a single inch. It actually started to hate the knife for trying to steal it.
The knife tried even harder but to no avail. After a few seconds, the sucking force completely disappeared, and the weapon began to release mana instead of absorbing it.
A dark-red light leaked from the knife, tainting the purple-red halo and rising through the air. A dense, smokey canvas formed above the weapon, and a horizontal crack opened at its center to take the shape of long, monstrous fangs.
"It will attack now, sir!" Anselm warned, but Khan didn't experience any fear. The knife had accumulated enough energy to launch an attack that bordered the fourth level, but Khan had defeated far worse.
"Get back," Khan ordered as a humming noise came out of those smokey fangs.
'It's growling,' Khan thought. 'I can do that too.'
The fangs suddenly shot forward, but Khan had already opened his mouth. A clicking cry suddenly resounded through the warehouse as the purple-red color replaced the artificial illumination. Mana was flaring out of Khan, immersing that smokey energy in its destruction.
The humming noise intensified as the fangs tried to pierce the defensive technique, but Khan's mana was too violent. The chaos element devoured that stolen energy, eradicating its very existence.
Khan stopped shouting and retracted his mana, which dispersed into the air. His eyes remained on the knife, which had suffered no damage from the previous exchange. Even the sucking force had disappeared, but Khan knew very well it was still alive.
