"This is a rare opportunity, try and learn from him and do not spout the nonsense that you usually do when you are around him."
Vivienne spoke as she and Lucian walked into a certain room.
"I understand."
Lucian nodded as he kept staring at his teacher.
This was... definitely different.
It seemed like this was the first time Vivienne cared about how he acted in front of someone else, as if she... respected the man he was about to meet.
’Garrick Vale, huh...’
He muttered inwardly, thinking about the man he was supposed to meet.
The Warden Seat.
One of the Strongest Hunters in the Enclave, the man who commands all the hunters in the Enclave, the man who, in case of a full-fledged War, would take command of Humanity.
Lucian was... obviously interested in meeting him.
And it went without saying, he had no plans of spouting his usual nonsense in front of this man. He would treat him with the utmost respect that he deserved.
Vivienne nodded, satisfied by his answer.
The two then walked into a room, it wasn’t one of the usual briefing rooms he had seen inside the Enclave, this one was... smaller, quieter even.
There was a long black table in the middle, a few chairs around it and several strange artifacts built directly into the walls.
There were no screens nor any unnecessary decorations, just a room that was meant for important conversations that... could not be leaked.
And near the long table... was he.
Lucian recognised him instantly.
That short silver hair and matching beard, the scars on his forehead and cheeks, the sharp eyes couldn’t possibly be mistaken.
One look was more than enough for Lucian to understand how... dangerous this man was.
Lucian continued staring at him, he was wearing a thick black leather coat with gold studs, buckles, and hanging chains, over a white shirt, black vest, and a dark tie.
It was a simple, yet oddly authoritative appearance.
Lucian noticed how incredibly calm he was, his stable breathing and heartbeat, his upright, strong posture—
A hunter through and through.
As Lucian and Vivienne walked in, the man glanced at them, his eyes instantly moved towards Vivienne. He bowed his head a little, without making it very obvious. Vivienne nodded back.
Then, Garrick’s eyes moved to Lucian and...
An amused smile appeared on his face.
"So you are Lucian."
"Directorate Vale."
Lucian bowed his head and greeted him properly. That made Garrick raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"I did not expect you to greet me this politely.
From what I’ve heard, you are not the type to bow your head."
"What does Directorate mean? I always greet my seniors like this, I have the utmost respect for Authority."
Lucian answered graciously.
His words made Vivienne’s mouth twitch.
Garrick actually laughed out loud.
"I’ve heard great things about you."
He praised Lucian out loud.
"Not many hunters could stand toe to toe against a Werewolf on Rhydan’s level."
"I had help."
Lucian smiled.
He didn’t wish to lie or fool himself into believing that he was actually on the same level as Rhydan.
The only reason he managed to stand toe to toe against Rhydan was because Evelyn gave him near-endless energy, allowing him to do the things he did.
Without her, the battle would have ended within seconds.
And Lucian knew that.
"Yes, I know."
Garrick nodded.
"And I feel more reassured that you acknowledge that."
"Not acknowledging it only means denying the truth.
That’s delusion.
If I am going to delude myself, I might as well take it a step further and say I am the strongest being in the world.
There is no point in such statements."
Lucian shrugged with a casual look on his face and the more Garrick heard him, the more impressed he seemed.
He even turned towards Vivienne and acknowledged Lucian out loud.
"You have trained him well."
"If simple facts impress you, you’ve set the bar too low."
Vivienne didn’t care.
To her, what Lucian said was only obvious. Only fools think of themselves as more powerful than they actually are.
Garrick heard Vivienne’s words and for a moment, he paused, thinking about everything he had encountered these past few years and he...
"I guess that is true."
He nodded.
"I have been going too easy on today’s hunters."
Vivienne did not say anything. Today’s hunters were clearly not up to her standards, though of course...
Her student was an exception.
To be fair, his very existence was an exception, so it wasn’t really ideal to compare him with other hunters.
It did, however, seem like Lucian had spoiled Vivienne and distorted her expectations to some extent.
And Garrick could see that.
He could see the way Vivienne stared at her student, the way she walked around with him, as if flaunting her student to the world, it was honestly... amusing to watch.
One doesn’t get to see many reactions on her face.
So as Garrick returned his focus back to Lucian—
"Still, you did well."
He praised him openly.
"Varek has been a problem for a long time."
He started explaining.
"Not enough of a problem that the Enclave could dedicate one of its highest-level teams to hunting him indefinitely, but every time he appeared, people died or returned broken.
And he was very good at disappearing before anyone capable of dealing with him arrived."
Lucian nodded.
That sounded exactly like Varek. Pick weak prey, leave before those he could not defeat appeared. That was exactly what he did when he faced him as well, disappeared the moment he realised he couldn’t win, not that it worked in his favour this time around.
"You cornered him inside a Trial where he had already fed on hundreds of powerful candidates, that was exceptional work."
"I did what I had to."
Lucian nodded.
"Yes, you did.
And you did an exceptional job at it."
Garrick smiled, Lucian smiled back as well.
Just then, the door behind them opened again. Lucian turned around and saw several Enclave people walk in.
Four Hunters, two members of staff and between them was...
Varek.
And the moment Lucian saw his ’old friend’—
His smile widened.
"Look at you~
You look comfortable."
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