At the same time, she realized just how deeply her brothers' influence had penetrated the clan. The thought sent a chill down her spine.
The next few days passed peacefully as Arthur focused on his cultivation. Fortunately, no one came to disturb him during this time. Perhaps it was because he had awakened and people still weren't sure how to treat him. Whatever the reason, Arthur enjoyed a rare few days of peace.
After the investigation, it was concluded that the guard who killed Julius had a personal grudge against him. Apparently, the guard's family had been bullied by Julius's son before he joined the clan, and he had harbored resentment ever since. When his superior gave him the opportunity to kill Julius, he seized it without hesitation. Unfortunately for him, it became the biggest mistake of his life.
The investigation also revealed that Julius's wife and son had died on the very same day. As a result, the case was closed under the conclusion that the guard had acted out of personal revenge.
There were, however, several inconsistencies in the story. Why would the guard openly kill Julius when there was no chance of escape? Why would he throw away his life over a grudge related to bullying? And if the guard was dead then and there, who killed Julius' family and why?
Still, the official verdict was that the guard had acted recklessly without considering the consequences of his actions.
Of course, everyone knew the guard had been framed.
However, no one wanted to dig deeper into the matter. To most people, the lives of an insignificant butler and a prison guard simply weren't worth the trouble.
After learning about the outcome, Arthur realized just how easily people could be sacrificed when they lacked power. Their lives and deaths could be decided by others, and few would care enough to question it.
The realization only strengthened his determination to become stronger.
A new butler was assigned to Arthur after the case was closed.
When the man came to introduce himself, Arthur looked at him and said,
"I don't care who you are. Do what I ask and don't ask unnecessary questions."
The butler immediately understood the message and simply nodded.
"Understood, Young Master."
From then on, he carried out Arthur's orders without issue.
Over the next few days, Arthur spent nearly all of his time cultivating.
The path of a mage was divided into many levels, with the Beginner Stage being the first. Anyone who had just awakened was considered a Beginner Low Mage.
Arthur was currently at Beginner Low. Normally, it took several months for someone to reach Beginner Mid. Even talented geniuses required at least four to five months to advance to the next level. And for a person to advance to the next stage he needs to satisfy two conditions. One is the amount of mana stored in his dantian and the other is his understanding of his awakened element.
As cultivators climbed higher, the time required for advancement increased even further.
The process itself was simple.
A mage had to meditate, absorb mana from the surroundings, and store it within their dantian. The larger a person's dantian, the more mana they could store and the greater their endurance in battle.
Considering Arthur possessed nearly four times the mana capacity of an average person, he naturally held a significant advantage.
After several days of cultivation, Arthur began thinking about the elemental cultivation.
Simply having a powerful affinity wasn't enough. He needed spells.
With that in mind, he visited the clan library and searched for anything related to the Space Element.
As expected, he found nothing.
Arthur already know why his awakening had not generated the same excitement that William's had.
The higher a person's elemental affinity, the easier it was for them to understand and control that element.
Someone like William, who had awakened a Violet-grade Fire Affinity, would naturally find it much easier to interact with fire mana than someone with a Red- or Orange-grade affinity.
That was why a high elemental affinity was considered one of the most important requirements for reaching the higher stages.
However, affinity alone was not enough and this is the main reason about William's importance.
Over the years, powerful mages had developed countless spells based on their understanding of different elements. These spells served as foundations for future generations, allowing younger mages to learn and grow much faster.
That was why awakening a common element was often considered advantageous.
The Ashborn Clan alone possessed numerous fire spells and several elders capable of guiding William's growth.
Arthur's situation was completely different.
Although he possessed Violet-grade affinities in both Space and the unknown new element, there wasn't a single Space Mage within the entire Ashborn Clan.
Without spells or teachers, his path would be much more difficult.
Realizing that the clan could offer him little help, Arthur ordered his new butler to prepare a carriage.
Soon, they arrived at the market district where Awakener-related items were sold.
Arthur visited several well-known stores in search of Space-element spells. Because Space abilities were both rare and expensive, he was only able to find three spells.
After making his selections, he instructed his butler to handle the payment and left.
This was the standard procedure for members of major clans. They would purchase whatever they needed, and their butlers would take care of the payment arrangements. The shop would then send the bill to the clan, which would settle the amount later.
The previous time Arthur had purchased the recording device himself because he didn't want Julius learning about it.
If Julius had handled the payment, he would have known exactly what Arthur bought and might have prepared accordingly.
After purchasing the three Space-element spells, Arthur returned to the clan and began studying them.
The three spells were Telekinesis, Gravity Control, and Space Shield.
These were among the most common abilities associated with the Space Element, but their versatility was nothing to scoff at.
Using elemental abilities was fairly straightforward.
A mage needed to understand their element and use that understanding to shape mana according to their imagination.
For example, a fire mage could imagine a fireball and form it through their understanding of fire. A water mage could create a whip made of water. The effectiveness and stability of such creations depended on the user's concentration, control, and understanding of their element.
A certain level of understanding of one's element was also necessary to break through to higher stages.
Arthur looked at the three spell books spread across his desk.
Since there were no teachers who could guide him, he would have to learn everything on his own.