Nolan had the same iconic neutral look on his face as he spoke to the leaders of the ruling families whom he had spoken to to begin this operation which was actually going much better than what he had expected, at least after listening to Jessica speak about what the King of Lanthanor was supposed to be capable of.
Born in the G.o.ddess"s Sanctum sect, he had been judged at birth to be unfit to be a seed, much to the disappointment of his parents, who had both been seeds and were now two of the secret individuals in the G.o.ddess"s Sanctum who were poised to break through and become powerful Heroes of Angaria.
He never even spent that much time with his parents, unlike his brother who did manage to qualify.
He was the forgotten child, and at one point, he even distinctly remembered both his parents frowning when he entered the room when they were playing with his brother.
In this way, Nolan grew up alone, with no one to love and no one to love him. He became convinced that him growing powerful would set everything right, and he pushed himself so, so hard to train night and day.
Yet, the Heavens had already decided that he would be but mediocre when compared to the top talent of the Big Four, and who was he to try and change that? He never succeeded in doing anything to attract his parents" attention, until that fateful moment when he tried out a technique he had found in some corner of the secret library that his family had collected over the years.
The technique was one that promised those who were mediocre that they could burn off this mediocrity and s.h.i.+ne like the sun that symbolized their sect. It promised many things, and even its use seemed simple.
Yet, there had been a word stamped on the top of the tome which said "Faulty".
Hey, faulty is just a moderate term, right?
Convincing himself in his desperation in this way, Nolan used the technique, and the strange thing was that…it worked.
His talent as a Mage increased because his Mageroot was forcefully excavated, but in return…he forever lost the ability to move his face, and to feel anything above his neck.
Even his eyelids had to be opened with magic, and his eyes had to be moved painfully each time he wanted to turn and see something.
That was why he always looked straight ahead, and when he smiled, that was why it looked so artificial and eerie.
He was literally holding up the corners of the lips to make the smile appear, so it was to be expected that this would be the effect.
After the success, he went happily to his parents to declare that he could compete with his brother, but…sadly, it hadn"t been quite enough to cross the difference, and all three of his family got disgusted expressions on their faces when they saw his drooping lips and cheeks that were side effects of the spell.
The spell had apparently melted the area around his Mageroot and the Mageroot itself to excavate it and also forcefully enlarge it to increase magic talent in a way that was much more riskier than what Daneel had done, and this resulted in irrevocable damage to certain parts of his brain due to the heat that was transmitted in the other areas around the center of the forehead, where lay the Mageroot.
It had been an excruciating process, and he had expected to be welcomed with open arms.
So…the disgust made him snap.
He lunged at his brother and bit like a mongrel that had been kicked and kicked until its wrath had become something that would not abate until it tasted the blood from the throat of its abuser, and many in the G.o.ddess"s Sanctum still whispered to this day about the comments made by the healer when his brother had been carried into the healing bay.
He had apparently looked like he had been mauled by a wild animal, and the healer had even found that there was very little undamaged flesh left due to the extreme force with which Nolan had attacked.
This extremely macabre occurrence made it clear just what blunders they had done in the upbringing of their child, and the parents, instead of making amends, decided to abolish Nolan into the general sect.
From that day, Nolan saw nothing of the exclusive world of seeds that was perfectly hidden from the general Big Four.
He spent days crying in front of the gate he knew led to his old home, but he was always thrown outside, and sometimes even beaten.
He was just eleven at the time.
For a few months, Nolan kept wailing at this place, no matter how much he was ignored or scorned.
All that changed…on one fateful day.
A seed who had visited the sect had gotten lost in the main sect area because she had wanted to run some errand there.
She finally found the way to the secret part of the sect, which was where she also found Nolan.
His face which he had still not learned to control intrigued her, and when Nolan found someone who spoke to him with an emotion that was not negative…he was captivated.
She looked like an angel who had stepped down from the Heavens, for hers was the first face that he saw when he looked up that was not filled with emotions like disgust and aversion.
She pulled him back from his decision to die and end it all, by just saying one thing.
"Oh, you poor thing. So this world has beaten you down, just like me? Why let it have the last say, then? Live, and show it what you can do. If you choose to follow me, I swear that you will someday get revenge."
That was enough.
In his darkest time, she gave him hope, and the strength to live.
Regardless of whether she kept her word, Nolan swore to serve her forever.
He was asked to train in the sect and become strong.
Unlike among the seeds, in the general sect, his talent was quite adequate to make him feel highly valued.
He figured out ways to make his face normal, and he kept training until he became a Champion.
Even his Path was a secret one obtained by Jessica, and no matter how much others tried to change their impression in his eyes on seeing that he was now someone of value, he remained loyal to her.
Hence…when he found that she was imprisoned, it was all he could do to control the anger that rose for the first time since that time he had attacked his brother.
On her command, he did not go out to directly attack the puny King in the Central Continent whom he thought nothing of. It was only when she told him everything that had happened did he understand that that man was one with a formidable mind, but when Jessica had laid out her plan, he had marveled at how she had covered everything he might do.
He had always known that she was one of the best in making plans that had a high chance of success, and he carried out all of his duties well, until they were now in this stage were victory seemed within his grasp.
While he went through all these things in his mind, the leaders of the trading families who had answered the call remained silent, as this wasn"t the first time they had been contacted and then made to wait.
This man whose unnatural face had even begun to appear in their dreams was one who liked to go into random reveries, and the first time this had happened, the one who had been foolish enough to speak up and interrupt him had been punished by having a spell cast on them that made it feel as if their skin was being peeled off.
From then, the leaders had learned what they should do, and as the mists of memory in Nolan"s eyes faded, he finally looked up and addressed them.
"Everything is going well, but be on the lookout. It is possible that he will do something soon. Do you have any updates?"
With a gulp, the pot-bellied man spoke up.
"Yes, I have good news. It seems that we do not have to carry out our plans to target the Network and make them cover our coins. The Network is supposed to be independent, and till now, we all know that they were focusing on the coins of the King while only speaking of ours in pa.s.sing. That has changed today, because a program has been announced which is apparently due to our latest price cut. A reported will be going around to the houses where the trinkets are present to interview the people and let them speak regarding which option is best. He will be interviewing those on all sides of the aisle, so there is a high chance that this will actually sway more people to our side."
Nolan showed no reaction when he heard this, but internally, he frowned, even while smiles lit up on the faces of a few of the leaders in front of him.
Immediately, he contacted Jessica, who stayed silent for a few moments before replying, "Just keep an eye on it. It is possible that he values the Network business more, and it really does need to remain impartial if it wants to maintain its hold on the market. Maybe, by doing this, he wants to be smart by now allowing us a way to enter that market. Also make sure that the interviews go well. Pay people to expound our coins, if needed."
He could hear the slight uneasiness in her voice, but the suggestions made at the end smoothed out that feeling, bringing back the confidence that he had always seen in her.
She had always been like this. The more she faced adversity, the more she would spring back and fight against this. It wasn"t very possible that the King could be doing anything by this, but the timing still felt a bit strange, so she had added these plans which would further strengthen their position.
Admiring her for the umpteenth time in his mind, Nolan gave the instructions, and saw the same admiration for the quick-witted thinking that they thought he was displaying.
This was only a few hours after they had announced their price cut, and the coins were being sold like hotcakes.
The Network moved fast. The price cut had been in the early morning, and by the evening, the program had already begun.
The interviewer was a lady who had apparently been newly employed, and she was pretty, with an endearing att.i.tude that made her perfect for her job.
She interviewed those who were using both, first, and this was to be expected as the King might still want to give a chance to himself.
However, already expecting this, the trading families had paid off these people to just clearly give the numbers, which were evidence enough that they were the best on the market.
As this happened, the watching people all over the continent began to be convinced that they were probably seeing the end of Dans and Nivrons.
After those families, the interviewer went next to a family who only used Dans and Nivrons, and although they spoke strongly, saying that everyone should remain loyal, not many were swayed, especially when the difference was so large.
After this, finally, because it had to be covered, the interviewer went to the capital of the Black Raven Kingdom to interview a family who had s.h.i.+fted to using only the coins of the trading families.
They were situated in a street which had the uncommon occurrence of having two families which had been randomly selected by the King, and the other one was one which used both coins.
The interview went splendidly. The merchants had been ordered to pay a lot, and the people in the family even began to ridicule and humiliate others who were dumb enough to not choose the trading families.
By the end of it, it started to become clear that it would have a lot of impact on the entire landscape.
Nolan began to feel happy as a result, as he knew that Jessica must be pleased. Right as he was about to contact her, though, a strange feeling pa.s.sed over him, as if he had gotten a premonition regarding what was going to happen.
It was a sixth sense which he had obtained as a part of his Champion Path, and Nolan immediately began to check whether there was any reason for it to go off at the moment.
He began to check all the communication trinkets that connected him to all those he was commanding in the Central Continent, and the other display trinkets which were showing the images around Angaria.
However…a loud sound interrupted him, and as he searched to identify where it came from, he realized that it was from the one he had been watching initially.
Expressions of shock could be seen on both the interviewer and those she had been interviewing, and as a second loud sound was heard, they snapped into action.
Everyone ran outside to see with horror that a house down the lane had burst into flames.
"Follow me."
Putting on a brave expression, the interviewer ran in the direction of the house, and as she raised her hand, a strong jet of water appeared from thin air and began to battle the flames that were raging in the house.
At the same moment, the woman also conjured a barrier around her and bravely ran into the house, before carrying out 3 people who were all horribly burned.
The surveillance eye showed all of her heroics, and after ensuring that there was no one else in the house, she sprinkled some water on the face of one of those whom she had saved.
After this man groggily regained his consciousness, she spoke with urgency.
"Healers are on the way, but I need to know what happened! Tell me, is there a risk to the other houses, too? Was there an a.s.sailant who attacked you?"
The man took a few moments to understand where he was, before he finally woke up fully and opened his mouth to answer.
However, right before he could say anything, another loud explosion rocked the area, and as the surveillance eye turned around, it was revealed that it was the same house from which the interviewer had ran out which was now being consumed by flames, just like the one from which the man had been rescued.
After a brief silence during which everyone could only stare with wide-open eyes and numb minds, the man finally screamed his answer, and his scream caused those watching around the entire continent to stand up and drop their jaws in disbelief.
This was the same even in the case of both Nolan and Jessica, who felt as if they had been struck by a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky.
For a moment, some people even wondered whether they had heard wrong, but as the man repeated his words, it became clear that that was not the case, and it broke Nolan and Jessica out of their shock.
The words that he said were:
"It was the new coin from the trading families! The trinket stopped working, and before I could check to see what was wrong, I saw the coin catch fire and then blow up! Everyone, throw the coins out if you value your lives! Now! Do it before you burn to death, you fools! Oh, why didn"t I just trust our King who cares for us, instead of the trading families who only ever cared for profit? Why?!"
As soon as this repet.i.tion ended, for the briefest of moments, people who were glued to the Network trinkets all over the continent felt the image blur, but they thought nothing of it, as it was normal for small distortions to occur in the trinkets which actually hadn"t been fully launched yet.
Only…it was a different case with Jessica and Nolan, both of whom were able to spot something during that moment which could only be seen if one had reached the level of a Champion and had the reflexes that came with this realm.
In that moment, the image on the Network trinket had changed to display the King of Lanthanor, who actually…winked.
"YEAAARGHHHH!"
As Jessica shrieked with rage on seeing that same infernal smugness which she had witnessed when she had been apprehended before, drastic things started to happen all over Angaria.