Ryn
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Chapter 283
🕑 Added 2025-02-15 19:00:06 +0000 UTC“I see you found him,” Lily said blankly to Marcus.
“Yes, my mission was successful my lady.”
“We are going to have words later, Marcus,” she promised to the man.
When she finally turned to look at Julius, a smile finally bloomed on her face and he was glad to see Lily come running over to where Aubrey and he were sitting down on the grass.
“I’m sorry, but it was all Marcus’s plan,” he said before she could blame him along with Marcus.
“It’s okay,” she said softly before crouching down and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
There was a probe from Lily’s aura directed at him, and he let down some of his own defenses to allow the girl to connect with his emotions. Once they connected, he sensed that she was similarly offering him access to her emotions.
He closed his eyes and released a sigh of relaxation as he felt Lily open up her aura to him. The feeling of happiness and relief that emanated from her was heartwarming. So without anymore hesitation he embraced that feeling.
As he was enjoying that feeling he felt someone poke him in the side. He opened his eyes to see Aubrey staring at the two of them with puffed up cheeks. Lily being Lily, already knew exactly what the girl was asking and created another connection that let Aubrey in as well.
There was no reason to say anything to each other. The connection let their feelings known better than they would be able to put into words.
It was only after several minutes of sharing their emotions and aura that they finally released one another.
Lily then turned to face him with a stern face.
“Even if it was Marcus’s plan, you still could have contacted me,” she said while wagging a finger at him.
“I thought it would be a nice thing too,” he said to her.
“That’s the only reason why, huh?” She asked with a knowing look.
He looked away guiltily and shook his head. “To be fair, you did send Marcus after me after I specifically expressed my request that you didn’t do that.”
“You really think I wasn’t going to send someone after you? That sounds like you don’t me at all.”
“Good point.”
She was about to say something else but held herself back. “The only thing that matters is that you are okay,” she said with another smile.
“Now tell me everything,” she said with a much more serious look.
***
He ended up telling Lily and Aubrey a pretty quick brief of what happened. From how the whole teleportation fiasco occurred to where they ended up inside of the labyrinth-type rift. Then how they got to Blumand and in contact with House Easten.
He did keep a few details secret but it was pretty obvious he was and they both knew it.
“Come on, just tell us,” Aubrey said to him.
“Some stuff, I just can’t tell you guys because it is not my stuff to share. Also, I don’t want to have to explain everything again to the other guys.”
Speaking of the other guys, they were all testing some things at the training facilities after they all had dinner. Kyle had created something and wanted Edgar to try it out with Derek.
“Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go see them now,” Aubrey said while tugging on Julius’s arm.
He allowed himself to get pulled away but Lily was the one who stopped her.
“Hold up Aubrey, we still have company,” she said, looking at where Marcus, Stella, and Reinera were all standing there awkwardly.
“Oh yeah. Hey there Grace, it’s good to see you are safe as well,” Aubrey said with a heavy emphasis on her name. Which led him and probably everything else to believe that Aubrey knew exactly who Grace was.
At this point, he didn’t think anyone in his friend group didn’t know.
Reinera gave a shy wave back to Aubrey. “Yes, it is all thanks to Julius. I might have died if not for him getting dragged away with me. I owe him a lot.”
That seemed to make Aubrey happy to hear because she noticeably brightened up and nodded at the girl before giving Julius a bump on the shoulder.
He gave her a little harder bump in return knowing exactly what she was implying. Aubrey simply grinned at him knowingly before turning to look at Stella.
“Who the hell is this though?”
Lily was the one to answer her. “Don’t be so rude, Aubrey. This is Stella, she works for Derek’s family and is a part of House Quincy, which makes Kyle her family. She also is the other person who helped find little Mr. Troublemaker here. You should be thanking her instead of being so crass.”
“Little?” Julius muttered with a frown. “I’m taller than you though.”
She barely gave him a second glance but he did feel a soft jab in his head from her psychic abilities.
He saw Marcus notice this and the one-armed man tried and failed to stifle a smile.
“Oh, my bad. Then, in that case, you have my deepest thanks, Stella,” Aubrey said much more politely. “This dum-dum over here always seems to be getting in a lot of trouble and who knows what kind of mess he would get into if you hadn’t found him in time.”
Stella to her credit didn’t take offense to the initial gruff attitude and had a wide smile on her face. “It’s no problem at all. I was just doing my job,” she said as she brushed the gratitude away.
“But it’s funny that you mention it, when Marcus and I came across Julius here we found him-” She paused midway through his sentence because Julius sent a powerful pulse of ruinous aura at the woman.
He didn’t concern himself with the fact that it would have likely hurt anyone not Tier 4 or above, he was much more concerned about the woman leaking his secrets.
One of the things he definitely wanted to hide was the fact that he had been fighting a Tier 5. That would only give the others more ammunition to use against him.
Thus, he used his newly improved aura powers to great use and halted the woman in her tracks before she could cause irreparable damage.
The actual aura itself didn’t do much of anything. Stella was much too powerful for that to happen, but it did surprise her just enough that she realized that he didn’t want her to share it with them.
Thankfully, she seemed to understand his position and didn’t continue to rat him out. He promised that he would remember this and pay back this favor in the future.
However, this usage of aura didn’t go past Lily without her notice.
She whipped her head around and looked at Julius.
“What was that?” She asked with a narrowing of her eyes.
“What was what?” He asked in mock ignorance.
“Your aura. What was she about to say that you didn’t want her to tell us?”
He looked completely sincere at her and shook his head. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Of course, she didn’t believe a single word and turned to look at Stella. “What were you about to say?”
Stella suddenly looked away and stared at the library behind Lily. “I wasn’t about to say anything.”
Julius wanted to slap his own forehead. That was the least convincing lie he had ever heard.
“Oh okay,” Lily said and turned to look at Marcus. “Tell me what she was about to say,” she demanded.
“I don’t know what you mean, my lady,” the man also played ignorant.
“You have made an oath of loyalty for House Violet, correct?”
Marcus nodded. “That is correct,” he said defeatingly.
“Then I command you to tell me what you are hiding,” she said with a smirk.
“Hey! That’s not fair!” Julius argued from the side.
“I agree with Julius on this my lady. My oath does not require me to tell you everyone’s secrets. I promised Julius that I wouldn’t talk about everything. If you would like to know, then I suggest you ask the boy yourself,” Marcus surprisingly stood firm in the face of Lily.
Lily huffed. “Don’t worry, I will be doing that,” she said to Marcus, dropping the issue without much fuss.
Julius wiped the sweat that had been forming on his brow. He would make sure to repay Marcus as well.
***
While Lily, Aubrey, and he went over to the training facilities, the others didn’t come along. Marcus and Stella offered to take Reinera to Amelia, whom still didn’t know of Reinera’s return.
He didn’t wish to see what would happen when the guardwoman finally found out. After all, he had his own issues he needed to take care of.
While they were walking toward the training area, both girls didn’t stop talking or touching him. It was almost like they couldn’t believe he was actually there.
“So what’s up with your aura now?” Lily questioned him. “It feels very different from before. Almost as if it underwent some significant changes.”
“Yeah, that it something a little more difficult to explain but if I do then it will probably be better if I wait until the rest of them are here as well.”
“You do realize that there are going to be a lo oft questions for you coming from both the school and possibly the Royal Family right?”
“Yeah, that is something I am not looking forward to. I have a feeling that the school had already been contacted when I entered. Someone is likely going to come and find me pretty soon,” he said with a sigh.
“I would be more worried about the Royal Family,” Aubrey said with a shake of her head. “They are always so pushy and arrogant.”
“Speaking of that, when did you find out Grace was… you know?”
“Oh, I have known for a while. But the others put it together once the two of you disappeared and we never saw her again,” Lily said to him.
“Oh yeah, I haven't really had the time to ask, but how have you guys been?” He asked with a bright smile. There was so much attention on him and what he had been doing that he failed to ask anything about how they had been handling his absence or what they had been doing in the meantime.
“Well after we got your letter, a lot of stress went away because at least we knew you were alive. But other than that, it has been quite busy for all of us. Derek, Edgar, and Aubrey have been really focused on the upcoming tournament. Aubrey in particular has made some very impressive leaps in these past several months. We believe that she will definitely be at the top and has a really good chance of qualifying for the inter-school tournament,” Lily explained.
“What about you and Kyle then?”
“Kyle has been focusing a lot on enchanting and item creation, which is what they are experimenting with right now. I have been putting a lot of my focus on stuff outside of school. There have been a lot of recent developments that need my attention,” She said with a tired tone.
“What about your own abilities?” He asked curiously.
She shook her head. “I still try and dedicate a certain amount of time, but honestly, it has been hard. A lot of my actual focus has been acquiring a third Concept but that has been a little more difficult. I want something that diversifies and covers some of my weaknesses but it has been less than fruitful. It’s frustrating because I know if I tried to get another Mind Concept or something mind-related, I would probably have already acquired it,” she vented to him.
He nodded his head and pouted alongside her. “I know the feeling. I have been trying to get a Space Concept for a while now, but it hasn’t been that fruitful either,” he admitted.
“You want a Space Concept before you get your third Concept? That is quite optimistic,” Aubrey snorted.
“Why’s that?”
“Because everyone knows that Space and Time Concepts are some of the most difficult Concepts to learn. Most who actually are fortunate enough to learn them do so when they are already at Tier 4 or higher. Something about the qualitative difference between the minds of a Tier 3 and a Tier 4,” Lily explained. “Even Stella probably only learned her Concepts at Tier 4, but then again knowing her, it wouldn’t be impossible if she did at Tier 3.”
He nodded his head at that. He already knew the difficulty from what Richard and Rebecca told him, but it was nice to hear another perspective.
They eventually got to the training facilities and he couldn’t help but notice that there were more people than usual. Especially for a weekend. It was probably for the upcoming tournament that Lily mentioned.
After navigating through the busy crowd, they arrived at the guy’s room and promptly knocked.
It took a few moments but the door finally opened up to reveal a sweaty Derek.
“Hey, I got your message. Did you guys want to join? Kyle’s new item is pretty fascinating, it might even be able to block some of your skills, Lily. Actually, on second thought I don’t-” Derek cut himself off because he eventually noticed that it wasn’t just Aubrey and Lily.
Julius gave a similar wave he did to Lily and Aubrey and found himself smothered in a hug once more. Only this time, it was distinctly more sweaty, but still just as pleasant.
Comments
sjturner79
That sounds like you don’t me at all.” should have a Know, or understand or something in there
Andrew Logan
He mentioned to them he got a skill and had help but he never mentioned the will concept. It was brought up at one point that he specifically hid it from them due to how he acquired it.
Andrew Logan
He also never mentioned his will concept because of how he got it.
Andrew Logan
I don't really get why he is hiding his abilities at all anymore. The odds that anyone recognizes him is slim to none even if his face was printed in a empire wide newspaper. I mean if you think about it the Julius they remember is a random t1 kid that rarely interacted with anyone and got teleported botched gods knows where in a world where a random t3 could be around any corner. It is honestly more surprising that Julius is alive at this point. Maybe a couple people from house hyperion could remember him if they really tried to but it's hard to believe. The other reason to hide his skill is greed. Which would make sense if not for the fact that 2 tier was seem to adore him multiple tier 4's like him and he is friends with the young scions of very powerful people. At most it would get the royal family interested in him more. I also agree that at the intra tourney there could be someone to fight him. I disagree that Derrick would be able to at all considering how strong he was at tier 2 and in previous years. Maybe the princess's brother or some other powerhouse. We know that there are people as tallanted as him so far like that sword worshipper mentioned. Also he hasn't really fought a mind mage yet. I would say out of the friend group Lilly has the best chance of beating him in a tournament with rules. Also wouldn't be surprised if in the tournament they use those cuffs that stop his healing from working.
Hamfist
@Thomas That is not correct. He advanced to tier 3 before he did any training in Blumand and he had Sharpness, Will, and Phoenix at that time. His friends know about Sharpness and Phoenix but he never told them about Will because he was embarrassed about how he had gotten it.
Thomas Grimshaw
@Hamfist don't forget the additional Soul damage that he has gone through after fighting a tier 5 in tier 3 and not dying instantly. although I am sure that he will not reveal this and that it will be revealed by a certain other tier 6 who is going to help him get a space concept.
Thomas Grimshaw
@Hamfist, Not sure of either tbh i think the fact that she was hiding her true identity has clouded the judgment a little but seeing as they have known for a little while i suspect it was more that she was so relieved to finally see Julius again.
Thomas Grimshaw
He got his third and fourth concept while training in Blumaund so at a guess that is part of the story he has not told them yet, along with the fact that he is now Tier 3. But the description of what he told them was pretty vague.
Reid Thompson
I thought his friends knew he had 3 concepts already?
Paul Smith
They should know because he had to explain how he healed his soul to them before the teleport incident that brought us to this arc.
Hamfist
She's always had a lot of "over-protective mother/big sister" energy but in the past it was more helpful and less restrictive. Her total dismissal of Grace is a problem as well, IMO. Imagine how this reunion would have gone if Marcus had shown up with a Julius who was pissed because he'd been forced to leave Grace behind, especially if she hadn't been in a safe location like the Easton estate. Then again, Julius tends to disregard Grace most of the time anyway so maybe he'd have been fine with that happening.
Hamfist
You seem to be conflating Affinity and Concept.
Adrian Auriat
that is lily for you
Christopher Leland
Love the chapter , and the tight bond he has with his friends... PS . His spacial perception skill was his first skill ... I would not be surprised if Julius already had a space affinity but did ot realize it...
Tyler Thompson
Starting to not like Lily. Extremely entitled to everything Julius knows and completely disregarded his wishes on leaving him alone.
Raymond Mouton
Was re-reading and just noticed: going to be a lo oft questions => going to be a lot of questions
Hamfist
@Tom The whole tournament thing is about as cliche as it gets, but people seem to want it anyway. [shrug]
Tom
If he does, I hope it isn't just a series of fights with him explaining to himself how he needs to hold back on his abilities to not get noticed. That would be very cliche
Hunter Walke
Paragraph 15 your missing a “know” at the end just a heads up great chapter.
Hamfist
@Catherine Julius could breeze through the tournament but that would mean revealing his abilities. We saw how that t5 reacted after seeing the healing ability, now just imagine if an empire full of entitled nobles get a chance to see it.
Hamfist
@Conred There will also be a chapter or two of being questioned by the school about what happened, probably with a t4 trying to use an authority to intimidate him into talking and Julius laughing in his face.
Hamfist
@Kyfe Yep. Sharpness, Will, Phoenix, and Force. 4 concepts, 5 epic skills, an advanced emblem, and one very kick ass aura. While just a couple months after advancing to t3 and only 14 years old.
Derek Walker
Yeah he has 4, but they wouldn’t know about that one
Amanda
YAY! Seeing them reuniting is so heartwarming. Thanks for the chapter!
Noah
Doesn’t he actually have 4? He got the “Force” concept recently.
Daniel Hamilton
You really think I wasn’t going to send someone after you? That sounds like you don’t me at all.” To add you, don’t know me at all
Mark
Edit suggestion: "Which led him and probably everything else to believe that Aubrey knew exactly who Grace was." The way this reads now is that he and everyone else believe Aubrey knows who Grace is. Try something like, "Which led him to believe Aubrey, and probably everyone else, knew exactly who Grace was."
Catherine
I do and I don’t. If he does I admit I hope that he doesn’t win. At the moment he is breezing through fights unless they’re over 2 tiers above him and its meant to be almost impossibly difficult to fight up 1 tier. Surely there are other amazing fighters in his tier or the 1 above who can put up a really good fight and actually beat him. At the moment fights are pretty much a foregone conclusion unless he fights a tier 5. We haven’t seen Derek fight Julius yet. I’d rather Derek won the competition at this point even if Julius will end up stronger than him in the future.
Kyfe
Plus more surprise at learning he already has 3 Concepts, and had 3 before advancing to Tier 3. Also, they didn't seem that surprised he's Tier 3 already. Did they not notice? Next chapter is probably going to be a lot of, "You advanced to Tier 3 already?! You have FOUR concepts?!" (It's 4, right? lol)
Conrad Manaugh
Im gonna guess 4 more chapters of welcome back with various groups, and then space concept unlock, then tournament
Orthneil Kelley Jr.
TFTC!
A B
Edit suggestion: lo oft -> lot of
Leonardo Krieck
These chapters are too short :,(
Kevin McKinney
Nice to see the band getting back together!
Skylar
I hope he joins the tournament. 🍿🍿🍿
Dallan Simmons
That sounds like you don’t me at all. *know* is missing going to be a lo oft questions -> lot of
Murray Harnan
He does, but they don't know that yet, apparently. He did get one of them while he was "missing", so at best they would have only known about three.
Oskar
Thanks for the chapter 🤠
Raymond Mouton
Thanks for the chapter.
Quentin Cozzi
Thanks for the chapter!
Michael M
Did he ever tell them about the Will concept? They all went to dinner to celebrate his Sharpness concept and he told them about the Phoenix concept on the beach, but I don't remember him mentioning his Will concept
Andrew Potter
The gang’s back together! Thanks for the chapter.
Hassan Sarwat
Thank you for the chapter
Usernames_are_annoying
TFTC. Julius already has 4 concepts though?
brennon Petersen
Tftc!
Profile Name
Tyftc
Derek Walker
Shouldn’t they already know he has 3 concepts already? They definitely know he has 2. But I was pretty sure they knew he got some kind of life concept for his healing skill
