Chapter 9: Artifact
Mikhail glanced calmly at Lucian after seeing the server jot down all their orders. He didn't notice it at first, but the latter always gave off a serene and obedient vibe whenever they talked and interacted with him.
Maybe it was just Lucian's personality, but Mikhail couldn't say for sure, considering they have just met him over an hour ago.
This was also the reason why the earlier incident of Lucian blurting out 'brother' to Mikhail felt strange.
It wasn't a bad type of strange, but the weird fuzzy type of strange that made Mikhail's thoughts wander off unintentionally.
Not knowing the answer to the strange feeling that he has, Mikhail shook his head to shrug it off.
If there was really something hidden behind Lucian's actions in front of them, then it would surely be answered in the near future.
As the second son of the Crownwald family that occupies the third seat of the six powerful families that hailed from aristocracy in the Valoria empire, Mikhail has a sharper sense of intuition that allows him to avoid most conspiracies directed at him.
To Mikhail, Lucian doesn't give off any alarms that would make him suspicious. It was a welcome but puzzling feeling. It was pretty tiring trying to keep up his guards while interacting with his peers, so having someone like Lucian as a friend settled comfortably on Mikhail's mind.
If Lucian could read his second brother's mind, then he would be able to answer that the puzzling feeling must be due to their blood ties.
Lucian did not notice his second brother's scrutinizing glance. It was the same with what Mikhail was feeling. Lucian doesn't raise his guards around his siblings, and it was not the unintentional type like Mikhail, but a conscious effort to allow his battle-hardened senses to relax.
He does not want to scare his family with the rotten bloodlust that permeates his soul the moment his body tingles with danger.
He looks like he's in a daze, but Lucian has been staring at the Artifact category of the system mall.
There are thousands of artifacts to choose from, but Lucian wants an all-around artifact that can flexibly defend, attack and prioritize the safety of the wearer.
Artifacts were divided into tiers. Tier 1-3 artifacts are the lowest tier and the most affordable and tier 4-7 are the middle tier, and tier 8-9 are the high tier artifacts with price that ranges from a hundred thousand to millions of system coins based on their uses.
In the past, Lucian would not even be able to afford the lowest tier artifacts, but now that he has a bulging wallet thanks to the reward of the system, his gleaming eyes couldn't stray away from the middle tier artifacts.
Blue Whale Necklace: Creates an invisible water barrier formed from the moist in the air once the wearer encounters a life-threatening danger. It can be used once a day. (50,000 system coins)
Rose Vine Bracelet: A plant beast artifact with a weak spiritual sense. It can sense danger instantly and uses vines to protect the wearer and attack the enemy. (90,000 system coins.)
'The Blue Whale Necklace only operates once the wearer encounters life and death, which is not something that I want, and the Rose Vine bracelet is a living artifact, but it will be too eye-catching and out of this world.'
'The Rose Vine entity would be able to hide its existence, but it is too easy to be noticed.'
Lucian felt a headache coming at skimming past the artifacts. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose at seeing the functions that he wants, but the problem is that those functions are on two different artifacts.
'If only the Rose Vine Bracelet could be invisible like the Blue Whale Necklace when it uses its ability.'
"Here are your orders, ma'am and sirs."
Lucian's thoughts were cut off at the voice of the server.
He raised his head and felt a wry smile springing up at the edges of his lips at seeing that he had been too preoccupied with the system mall that he even ignored his brother and sister.
Facing the raised brow of his brother and the snickering look of his sister, Lucian scratched the back of his head as his ears burned from the embarrassment.
"Sorry b-brother, I was thinking about the incoming start of the university."
Lucian raised his eyes and met Mikhail's.
Although he knows that he's being too abrupt, Lucian will not pass off the chance to call Mikhail his brother. After all, his second brother has already said that he can call him that. He will not be coy at something that he really wants to do.
Lucian did not have the chance to call Mikhail his brother in his first life, so he would treasure the chance given to him in this life.
"Pfft…you don't have to be too uptight. It's fine, brother Mikhail was just teasing you." Mishya chuckled at seeing Lucian so embarrassed.
Mikhail also laughed at seeing Lucian's reaction. He was just boredly waiting for their order and stared teasingly at Lucian's dazed look. He really did not expect the other party to have the tendency to daydream for so long.
"Yeah, I was just astounded at seeing you daydream for so long."
"B-Brother, please don't tease me." Lucian felt even his cheeks burning up at seeing his brother and sister laughing at him. But the warmth swimming in the depths of his heart felt so comfortable that he unconsciously let out a satisfied smile, which seemed to bring a flash of sunny light all around his figure that it was almost blinding.
Mikhail and Mishya froze on their spots.
Their eyes stayed on Lucian's smile as if they were enchanted.
'What the…how can someone's smile be so heartwarming?' Mikhail and Mishya thought at the same time.
The brother and sister were wholly unaware that what they were feeling was the deep tug of their bloodline trying hard to pull them closer to the truth.
"Um…let's eat." Lucian could not endure any more of the stare that he's getting from his brother and sister.
He hurriedly changed the topic to the tantalizing food on their table, which worked wonders at getting the attention of Mikhail and Mishya.
Their stomachs let out grumbling sounds that elicited another wave of laughter on their table.
Their meal was pleasant as they talked about the basic information about them, particularly about Lucian, though he could only tell them about his identity as Lucien Valemont.
Nonetheless, Lucian felt himself growing closer to his brother and sister in just half a day which only brough him endless joy.
Although he was busy chatting with Mikhail and Mishya, Lucian made use of his multi-tasking skill he honed in the doomsday to skim through the artifact category of the system mall.
He doesn't want to waste time giving them the protection artifacts, especially since he could still sense the spying eyes on them throughout their time inside the café.
"I'll go pay, you two wait for me here." Mikhail stood up after letting his stomach rest for a bit.
"I need to go to the restroom." Mishya stood up and took her handbag.
They have been inside the café for over an hour now. The sun on the horizon has also turned from bright yellow to mellow orange.
The three of them have a lot to talk about, but Mikhail knows that he and Mishya need to get home soon to explain about Mishya's use of the emergency button.
"Okay, thank you for the treat, brother." Lucian watched Mikhail's receding back heading to the counter of the café.
Mikhail just chuckled and shook his head at Lucian's polite behavior. The more he looks and interacts with him, the more Lucian really looks like an obedient and cute little brother.
The light in Mikhail's eyes dimmed at the thought of 'little brother'.
He swept back the messy hair on his forehead and took a deep breath to chase away his depressing thoughts.
On the other side, Lucian focused his attention on the system mall interface once again.
He briefly read the usage of the artifacts before scrolling through. If he really couldn't find the perfect artifact, then Lucian would just reluctantly buy the Blue Wale Necklace and Rose Vine Bracelet for his brother Mikhail and sister Mishya.
Lucian felt helpless as the time ticked. He glanced at his brother Mikhail standing next to the counter and raising his holoring to pay. And with his enhanced senses, he could hear the familiar steps of his sister Mishya coming from the direction of the restroom area immediately after the sound of a creaking door.
Once the two come back, they will head back and Lucian won't be able to meet them again till the admission day. Not because he doesn't want to ask them out, but because the Valemonts would surely occupy most of his time before the admission to instill their poisonous thoughts in his head.
"Ugh…isn't there something…wait…what is this?" Lucian mumbled to himself in annoyance, but his scrolling instantly stopped at one particular artifact.
Void Jellyfish Pendant: A middle tier artifact forged in the form of a Jellyfish pendant. The Void Jellyfish is a unique cosmic species known for their all-around fighting capabilities. They nest in the void and are invisible. Their body expands to five meters tall and five meters wide as a defensive ability that counters attack through softness, and their tentacles that writhing with electricity can grow to fifty meters long. (150,000 system coins.)
"This must be the most expensive middle tier artifact in the system mall."
Muttering to himself, Lucian's eyes brightened happily.
'This is it!'
His thoughts operated on the system screen and a notification rang right after.
"Bzzt…Purchased two Void Jellyfish Pendant with 300,000 system coins…Remaining system coins: 4,699,500."
"Retrieve from system storage."
Lucian felt a cold touch landing on the inside of his palm. He looked down and saw two exquisite transparent jellyfish pendants the size of half a finger. The jellyfish looked like a chubby figurine with distinct tentacle lines.
A black braided rope made from unknown material was connected to the head of the jellyfish, and it can be adjusted to become a bracelet or a necklace.
"Did you wait long? Sorry about that." Mishya suddenly appeared next to Lucian. Her presence almost forced him to throw away the Void Jellyfish pendant in his hand.
"Why are you scaring him for? Let's go, dad has been sending messages nonstop."
Mikhail playfully tapped Mishya's forehead. He turned to Lucian to pat his shoulder.
"We need to go home. We've already given you our contact information, so just call us when you have the time after the admission day."
Lucian stood up from his seat as he clutched the two artifact pendants at feeling the slight sense of emptiness from merely hearing his brother saying that they are leaving.
The mention of 'dad' coming from Mikhail's mouth made Lucian flinch. He lowered his head before raising it again with a perfect smile plastered on his face.
"Hmm, I know, brother."
The three of them walked out of the café, and Lucian instantly noticed the movements of the ones tailing his brother and sister.
After walking out of the café, a pristine black SUV stopped on the road next to Mikhail and Mishya.
"Here's our ride. We'll meet at the admission day, okay?" Mishya laughingly messed up Lucian's hair until it resembled a chicken coop.
Mikhail could only shake his head at his sister's form of amusement.
Lucian nodded his head and did not mind the mess that became of his hair.
He held out his right hand and showed the pendant to the two of them.
"Wow, that looks cute! What is this for?"
"A meeting gift for both of you."
"Really? Thanks!" Mishya did not stand on ceremony as she hurriedly took one pendant. She fiddled with it for a few seconds before deciding to make it into a bracelet.
Mishya raised her left hand adorned with the jellyfish pendant.
"How is it? Doesn't it suit me?"
Lucian nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. Mikhail felt helpless at his sister's behavior, but he did not disappoint Lucian as he took the last pendant and wore it on his neck.
"Thank you, it looks really nice."
A genuine smile glittered in his bluish-gray pupils like the thousands of stars in the night blue sky.
"You're welcome, I'm glad you like it."
The three of them did not dally any longer.
Mikhail and Mishya got inside their ride that instantly left the Highcrest street and headed to the Echelon gardens district.
Lucian hailed a car to go back to Valemont's villa. No matter how much he loathes the place and the people living there, Lucian understands that he just got back and doesn't have anything to fight head-to-head with the Valemont family.
Unbeknownst to Lucian, the moment he left in his hailed ride, three tinted black sedans covertly followed in the direction of Mikhail and Mishya's car.