The Butterfly Effect

Late at night

Baruch Mansion

Hillman hurried back after seeing Moke and Linley off to Ernst Institute.

"Lord Hogg, Moke and Linley have both entered Ernst Institute. Young Master Moke was even assigned a villa of his own."

Hillman strode over, excitement in his voice.

"Hmm?"

He froze when he saw Hogg preparing a lavish feast.

"Lord Hogg, what's this?" Hillman asked, puzzled.

Hadn't they already celebrated during the day?

Besides, Moke and Linley had already left.

Hogg smiled. "Hillman? Come, come. I figured you'd be back around this time, so I prepared this feast especially for you."

"A feast for me?" Hillman sat down, completely bewildered.

"That's right. It's for you."

Hogg opened a bottle of wine. At some point, his expression had turned grave. "Hillman, there's something I need to ask of you."

"Lord Hogg, you..." Hillman's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding rising in him.

Sure enough, Hogg continued, "You know all about my situation, Hillman. Ever since Lina disappeared, I've lived in pain every day. I've lost count of how many times I've jolted awake from nightmares."

"But I still had children to raise. I didn't dare go looking for my wife."

As he spoke, Hogg smiled. "Thankfully, my sons have made me proud!"

"My sons, Moke and Linley, were both accepted into Ernst Institute! Once they graduate, they'll be respected mages.

"And they may even become Advanced Mages and earn noble titles in the kingdom!"

"Lord Hogg..." The more Hillman listened, the more uneasy he felt.

Hogg raised a hand, asking Hillman to let him finish. "Ernst Institute doesn't charge tuition. As for living expenses, the taxes from Wushan Town may be meager, but they'll be enough to support them."

"Now, Hillman, I want to go look for my wife, Lina."

Tears streamed down Hogg's face.

On the night Wharton was born, a group of mysterious people had taken his wife away.

There was little chance she was still alive, but Hogg still wanted to search for her.

At the very least, he wanted to know who had killed his wife.

"Now, Hillman, if anything happens to me while I'm doing this, I'm sure you'll take care of my children!"

Hogg smiled through his tears. "My children are all well-behaved. They won't give you too much trouble..."

"Lord Hogg!"

Hillman stood. "That doesn't matter. What matters is your safety!"

"Don't worry. I'll be careful!"

Hogg nodded firmly. "After all, I want to see my sons grow up, too. But I really can't bear this any longer.

"That pain... Now everything's taken care of. I have to try."

Hogg stared straight at Hillman. Though Hillman appeared to be the captain of their family's guard, over the years, the two had become more like brothers.

Hillman said nothing. In the end, he nodded heavily.

Hogg, meanwhile, smiled with relief.

At last, he could follow his heart and do something for himself.

Hogg hadn't expected his son Wharton to awaken the Dragonblood Warrior Bloodline.

After all, the odds were incredibly low.

In the original story, Hogg only decided to act after Linley came up with eighty thousand gold coins to pay Wharton's tuition, resolving Hogg's worries about the future.

But Moke hadn't expected that his and Linley's acceptance into Ernst Institute would spur Hogg to act early.

The butterfly wings he'd set in motion had made a slight difference after all.

"Wow, is that the genius with super-high affinity for every element? I think his name's Moke."

"He's only nine, right? How is he so tall? And he's really handsome, too."

"Yeah! My brother's thirteen, and he's still shorter than him."

In the first-year Lightning Element classroom, several sweet-faced girls huddled together, whispering as they stole glances at Moke.

Moke was only nine, but after fusing with the Holy Dragon Warrior Bloodline and rapidly advancing in battle-qi, he'd grown a head taller than Linley.

In the first-year classroom, he stood out from the crowd.

With his good bearing, handsome looks, and the distinction of having super-high affinity for every element, it was only natural that the girls kept glancing his way.

"Big deal if he has super-high affinity for every element. A mage's cultivation mainly depends on spiritual force. His is only eight times that of someone his age. He'll probably struggle just to graduate. What's there to be so proud of?"

Where some were curious, others were jealous. One boy deliberately spoke loudly from nearby.

Of course, this was just a little jealousy from some noble children, who were annoyed that a group of cute girls were paying attention to Moke.

There was no ulterior motive behind it. It was just childish envy.

"Hey, Moke, they're talking about you. Why aren't you reacting?"

Beside Moke, a little fellow much shorter than him grinned.

Moke looked at him. "Reynolds, what kind of reaction do you want from me?"

"I thought you'd teach him a lesson." Reynolds grinned.

Reynolds had high affinity for the Lightning Element and was Linley's roommate.

Since he and Moke were both close to Linley, Reynolds and Moke got along well, too.

"Well, aren't you little ones lively?"

Just then, a white-haired old man entered the classroom with a kindly smile.

"Super-high affinity for every element, yet you chose to attend my class first?"

The old man gave Moke an almost imperceptible glance. "What a pity. His spiritual force is only eight times the norm. It'll be difficult for him to become an Advanced Mage in the future."

After feeling a little sorry for Moke, the old man began his lesson.

"My spiritual force is strong, and I can use some of the low-level magic incantations widely known across the continent. But I still have only a shallow understanding of magic."

"It's a good thing I came to Ernst Institute." After one lesson, Moke decided he'd attend the instructors' classes whenever he had time.

After all, he didn't have the same privilege as Linley, who had a Saint Realm expert at his side.

But with Moke's aptitude, drawing conclusions from a single example was easy.

He only needed to attend a few lessons to grasp the basics.

"The key is that I might be able to buy incantations for advanced magic on the black market later."

As he pondered this, Moke walked toward the dormitory with Reynolds.

He'd arranged to have a meal with Linley after classes.

But before they reached the dormitory, they spotted Linley approaching from the other direction. He looked like he'd just finished class, too.

But a sweet-looking, adorable girl was walking beside him.

She chatted and laughed with Linley, her face glowing with happiness.

"Delia?" Moke smiled knowingly. His little brother had caught her eye so early.

"Brother!"

Linley waved when he saw Moke in the distance. Delia, beside him, also looked over curiously.