I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 329: Suspicions and Relations

While Argentum’s second trial testing his intelligence had just finished in the Desecrated Inheritance, another thing was happening in the southern part of the continent near an inheritance that gave off the same feeling as the Desecrated Inheritance. Of course, when compared to the Desecrated Inheritance, this inheritance took on the shape of a majestic castle made out of earth, giving off an incredibly pure feeling of the Earth element anywhere went, unlike the Desecrated Inheritance mixture of death and earth.

At the moment the moon was past its peak, a flaming entity arrived in front of this castle, illuminating the surroundings quite a bit. Unfortunately, this form did not last long as this flaming entity gradually lost its light, transforming into the figure of an incredibly beautiful woman with crimson hair. Naturally, this was none other than Eleanor, who had come to the Supreme Terra Firma Inheritance to confirm her suspicions of Argentum not being in this place.

Although that may seem to be the case, Eleanor finally realized why Argentum decided to choose the Desecrated Inheritance as the Earth-based inheritance he would go to instead of the Supreme Terra Firma Inheritance. Letting out a light sigh, she then muttered to herself, “Even though I moved at like 70% of my full speed to conserve a bit of my energy, it still took slightly over a day for me to arrive at this place. I know she placed her inheritance here since it was dense in the Earth element, but she could’ve settled for a place that had around 80% of this place’s density and be content with it.”

“Ah, well. She’s definitely a stubborn girl, unlike me.” Eleanor giggled as she said these words to herself. Soon after, she sent a large ball of her energy into the majestic castle, giving off the message that she was there. Fortunately, it did not take long for a strand of energy familiar to her to connect, prompting her to say in glee, “Rosalia, it’s been so long!”

“Eleanor? Is that actually you?” Rosalia, who was the one Eleanor was trying to contact, responding in a slightly sleep deprived tone, though the brewing excitement hidden in her tone could still be perceived. “You finally took the time to come and see your older sister. Come, come, come! Come inside, we have a lot to talk about!”

Just as Rosalia was finished talking, a large mass of brown energy enveloped Eleanor, leaving no trace of her being in front of the castle at the moment it disappeared. It only took a small amount of time for her to appear somewhere else, appearing in front of a woman who was sitting on a comfy brown sofa while wearing loose dark green pajamas.

Even though this woman seemed to have just woken up from her sleep, her natural beauty could still be seen. From her brown hair to her brown irises, and even the small dark brown mole under the right side of her lips, she exuded a feeling that she was one with the earth. This woman was none other than Rosalia Terrelle, the woman Eleanor was talking to, as well as the owner of the Supreme Terra Firma Inheritance.

Seeing Eleanor in front of her, her lackadaisical posture from before had turned into that of expectation as she stood up from her seat and leaped towards her to embrace her. Eleanor, who was expecting something like that to happen to her as long as it involved Rosalia, decided to hug her back as she said, “Long time no see, Rosalia. I know we haven’t seen each other for a long time, but I got something to ask you that’s very urgent.”

“Oh?” Rosalia uttered in response, the excitement on her face being replaced with slight disappointment as it has been a while since she had seen Eleanor. Nevertheless, she knew that with great strength came great responsibility, so it wasn’t unnatural for Eleanor to come see her for things just like these. Then again, she wasn’t satisfied with just seeing her for a few minutes before leaving, so she said to her, “I’ll only answer your question on the condition that you accompany me for 3 days.”

“Really?” Eleanor could not help but inwardly let out a sigh, wondering how such a stubborn Animate she had met accidentally would become her older sister in name. Nonetheless, she acceded to her request as she replied in a defeated tone, “Fine, fine, fine. I’ll accompany you for 3 days, a week even as long as you answer my question. Though I might have to go out for some time after you answer my question. If you want, you can tag along with me while I head there.”

Hearing Eleanor’s response, Rosalia released Eleanor from her embrace as she jumped for joy, saying, “Yay! I can finally be with my younger sister for a week! Yippee!”

Seeing how Rosalia reacted to her response, Eleanor let out a light chuckle, pondering to herself that this was probably why she decided to become sisters with this girl. Fortunately, Rosalia didn’t celebrate for that long, though the smile on her face could be seen as she asked, “So, what question do you want to ask?”

“I was just wondering if you have or had a Wind-based Pseudo-Animate enter your inheritance these past couple of days,” Eleanor asked, to which Rosalia’s expression instantly turned serious as she questioned, “Are you planning to steal my future disciple away from me?”

‘He actually went here? He actually listened to what I said?’ was the first thought that entered Eleanor’s mind as she looked at Rosalia’s reaction. Of course, she still had her suspicions as to whether this was true or not. Soon after, she replied, “Don’t worry, I’m not. Anyways, did a being like that enter your inheritance?”

“Yeah.” Rosalia nodded. Not long after, an expression of awe and surprise could be seen on her face as she continued, “To be honest, this being might be the best disciple I could ever have. Although he’s mainly focused on the Wind element, he shows great affinity with the Earth element as well. On top of that, he can learn and ponder over skills at insanely fast rates and even fight against those at a higher level without breaking a sweat!”

‘Sounds like the Argentum I know, though why do I feel like there’s a catch?’ Eleanor thought to herself. Deciding that the best way to find out if Argentum was actually inside the inheritance would be to see him firsthand, she then told her, “Is it alright if I meet with this future disciple you’re planning to take? I only want to confirm some suspicions I have.”

Lightly yawning, Rosalia lightly nodded as she replied, “Sure. Follow me.”

…

Back at the Desecrated Inheritance, Claudius was looking at Argentum with an expression of awe and reverence, though in reality, he was just looking at the aura shrouding Argentum. In response, Argentum could only utter a single sound.

“…huh?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t calculate all of those moves, just like what you told me back there?” Claudius could not help but say as he stood up. Thinking that Argentum’s huh was a response to his previous statement, he then became slightly disappointed as he asked, “Please tell me you calculated all of those moves…right?”

“Er…” Argentum could not help but scratch his head, even though he knew Claudius couldn’t see him. It was just that the question was too sudden. In fact, he wasn’t expecting his opponent to even ask him these questions. Thankfully, it only took him a bit of time to regain composure as he said, “I did calculate all of those moves, but…”

“What a madman! Tell me your thought process, oh Monarch of Zechys Victories!” Claudius interrupted Argentum from saying what he wanted to say, clenching his fists in excitement. Scratching his head even further, Argentum could not help but focus on the disembodied voice and ask, “Can I leave this place?”

“The exit has always been open in the first place,” the disembodied voice resounded throughout the room, answering Argentum’s question. “Just turn around and you’ll return to the initial room.”

“Aw, come on! Just answer my questions for a bit, will you?” Claudius could not help but say. “I finally found someone who could fight against me on Zechys at a similar level, and you’re just letting him leave like that? I won’t let that happen!”

“Aren’t you a bit too obsessed with Zechys?” Argentum said in response to Claudius’ words, to which Claudius decided to take on a serious expression as he solemnly said, “Well, although Zechys is a game, it’s still a decent emulation of war and the various strategies one could use in war. Learning thought processes and strategies for Zechys helps me become a better strategist in the battlefield.”

He then let out a light chuckle as he continued, “Of course, I also love the game itself.”

Although Argentum wanted to leave a while ago since he felt that Claudius gave off the vibes one would get from an incredibly devout believer of a religion, right now, he felt like a sane man to him. With a light sigh, he decided to accede to his request as he said, “Fine, fine, fine. I’ll explain my thought process to you. Just don’t do that crazed adoration thing ever again. It’s kind of sickening.”

“Yes, oh Monarch of Zechys Victori—I mean…sure,” Claudius responded, interrupting himself from continuing with his crazed adoration shtick.

And so, Argentum went ahead and explained his thought process while undergoing the two phases of Zechys. With each move Argentum explained, the more and more amazed Claudius became. Sometimes, he even wondered if such a move possible, even though he experienced it firsthand. By the end of it, Claudius was left with his mouth agape while Argentum said, “Is that all? If so, I’ll take my leave.”

“Ah.” Surprisingly, Claudius was brought back to reality by those words. Soon after, he respectfully bowed in front of Argentum as he said, “Thanks for enlightening this lousy strategist right here. You’ve opened my eyes to a greater horizon. If it’s possible, may I know your name?”

Feeling that there was no problem with his question, Argentum replied, “The name’s Argentum.”

After saying those words, he was about to head back to the room he was previously in, only to think that it would be fine to ask Claudius a few questions since the latter asked him some. With that in mind, he then asked him, “Speaking of which, why did you decide to side yourself with Lord Calcifas? Was it for protection?”

“Sure, you could say that a part of it was for protection, but I also had another reason why I decide to go under Lord Calcifas’ wing,” Claudius hastily replied, seeing how Argentum was ready to answer his. Of course, he also answered this since he felt like it wouldn’t be bad to build a relationship with this being in front of him.

With a shy smile, he then explained, “It’s mostly because of resources. I came from a poor family, so I decided to go under his wing to obtain some resources. Naturally, he would only give me resources as long as I worked hard…so I did. Right now, my parents are now better off while my fiance is proud to have me as her future husband thanks to Lord Calcifas.”

“You should be more proud of yourself,” Argentum could not help but say. “Without enough talent and hard work, you wouldn’t have been able to put Lord Calcifas’ resources to good use.”

After saying those words, he then turned around to walk back to the room he was previously in, only to stop in his tracks as he told the disembodied voice in secret, “Remove the aura that’s preventing him from seeing me.”

“Alright.” In less than an instant, the aura surrounding Argentum had disappeared, allowing Claudius to see Argentum’s backside. Of course, he was surprised to find out that he was fighting against a Pseudo-Animate, but that instead made him be in awe of Argentum even more. Committing his backside into his memory, Claudius then said, “If you ever come to Zoras City in the future, find me in the Zoras Elite Institute and I’ll make sure to help you out!”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Argentum said in response as he walked through the exit, leaving Claudius alone to himself. Soon after, the disembodied voice resounded throughout the room Claudius was in, asking him, “How are you so sure that he’ll come to your city?”

“Just a hunch,” Claudius lightly chuckled as he said, “I’m sure you decided to have him undergo these trials for the same reason.”

“Don’t get too privy,” the disembodied voice said with a light chuckle. “Thanks for coming here on short notice.”

“No problem,” Claudius let out a light chuckle as well. He then removed the dust off his clothes as he said, “Make sure to give me a reward for this, okay?”

“Melzarin?”

“…”

“Oi. You there?”

“…”

“Oh, you little piece of shit.”