Vesper and the man walked towards a room and the man stood outside and said, "His Majesty is inside, you may go on from here."
Vesper walked in the room and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of a bookshelf holding a book by his hand, in the room by the chair behind the table there was an owl perched on a stand by the chair.
"Greetings, your majesty." Vesper said as he looked at the man, who kept on reading, as if he hadn't registered his presence.
In his memories, Vesper remembered that the man in front of him, was his adopted father, the Emperor of the Velentia Empire, Marcus Ashborn, the man who accepted him, when his mother found him in the woods while she went hunting.
The king, who had been staring at his book, closed it, then he looked at Vesper and said, "How are you feeling boy? I heard you fought bravely. It seems the gods favoured you and didn't let you die on the battlefield."
"I am well, your majesty, I thank you for your concern." Vesper said.
The king never actually cared about Vesper. He had eight sons and five daughters, and Vesper's adoptive mother was his third wife, so Vesper was not important to him, but he didn't mistreat him due to his adoptive mother.
Marcus looked at Vesper and said, "In a month you will go and support Benjamin in the North, do well, and I will give you a title and your land, so you don't have to be bothered about the unfair treatment you get here."
"Yes, your majesty, I will prepare myself." Vesper said.
"Alright, take this." Marcus threw an emblem at him and continued speaking. "You can go to the treasury and pick one item from the first two rows as a reward for your valiant victory against the barbarians."
"Thank you, your majesty" Vesper said.
Marcus waved his hands indicating Vesper to leave the room, and after he left, Marcus said, "Conan, I have done my best for that child, I am not responsible for him. The only reason I am going this far is because of the promise I made to Amara.
The owl turned its head and looked at Marcus and spoke, "You have done enough Marcus, you will not be faulted should anything happen from now."
Vesper walked back to his room holding the emblem. Getting to his room, he closed the door and looked at the golden emblem in his hands and fiddled with it.
"Ah, let me see my magic", Vesper said as he closed his eyes and exhaled as he exercised an internal breathing technique that increased his concentration.
Slowly he felt particles of darkness surrounding him, and then he willed it to form in his palm. Opening his eyes, he saw a ball of darkness form above his palm and then, manipulating it, it flowed around his arm.
He heard a knock on the door and the ball disappeared. He went and opened the door to see a lady standing in front if it, she had blue eyes and white hair that fell to her waist.
"I came to see if you were okay. I felt an ominous energy in your direction." She said.
'Ah, I forgot that humans forbid the use of dark arts. I wonder what they will do when they find out I have dark magic' Vesper thought.
"I am fine Catherine, I didn't feel anything, are you sure it was from my room?" He asked.
Catherine looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze before shaking her head. This boy had no way of manipulating mana, his mana pathways were crippled at birth,
"Sorry for disturbing you Vesper, maybe I was overthinking things, my apologies." She said as she walked away without waiting for his reply.
Vesper stared at her for a while before closing his door. It was already late in the evening when he woke up and answered Marcus. Now he needed to think of a way to talk to his father.
"I guess I forgot to tell you that I am watching you and I also didn't give you enough information before sending you off to this world" Erebus' voice sounded in the room as he appeared from the shadows by the window.
"Well, father, I would need a compensation. How about knowledge and a pair of unique weapons suitable for your son." Vesper said with a smile.
"You brat, you do take advantage of the situation hmm, fine." Erebus walked and placed his finger on Vespers' forehead and information flooded his mind about Dark magic, the world he lived in and so on, but then they started vanishing as soon as they came.
Only basic information about the world, and the types of beasts was left. Vesper stared at Erebus with confusion on his face.
Erebus laughed and said, "Well, not everything is free. Besides giving you everything would make things easier for you, a challenge makes your mind healthy, don't you think?"
"As for the weapon, survive the battle and I will grant you a pair of katanas, I know they are your favourite, but this body you possess. The previous owner used a halberd, there is one in the treasury that is just perfect for you, you might be surprised by what you find." Erebus said.
"You must learn to draw runes and magic arrays. The weakest Grandmaster can feel most magical presence lower than theirs, at least 500 meters from their location."
"One last thing, keep Aurora with you. As for her younger brother Benjamin, he cares less about both of you." Erebus said as he vanished.
Vesper smiled as Erebus left. He wanted to take extra benefits, but Erebus caught him. He knew he had to learn a lot of things now that he had come to this world, so he waited for the following day to start learning.
The next day, Vesper was walking towards the treasury when he saw a young boy with golden hair.
"Hey Vesper, I heard you nearly died in battle, it is good you didn't die. I need your skills in my battle soon, as canon fodder that is." The boy said as he laughed out loud.
Vesper was about to reply when a female voice said in authority, "You will not speak to our elder brother that way Benjamin, now apologize before I, make you."