Mixed Blessing System

Lothur finally arrived in front of an abandoned building in that area away from the center of Peters City.

In this place, with many poorly dressed people in the surroundings, Erika had entered through a side entrance and disappeared in the middle of that building.

Seeing this, Lothur frowned, finding it strange that a woman like her would be in such a place.

She might have her less good features than others he knew, but she was still a woman with her qualities, someone who could easily attract many men. As such, Lothur did not expect her to walk into a building where beggars seemed to congregate.

Places like these were dangerous anywhere!

However, remembering how appearances could be deceiving, Lothur soon began checking out the people in the surrounding area, looking for cultivators.

'Level 1, level 2, level 2, level 3...' He quickly saw the statuses of a dozen people, all of whom were cultivators despite their appearances.

'It seems this is the headquarters of the organization behind her.'

'But is that the same group that sent those three after me?' He wondered as he stayed hidden behind garbage cans, not far from that building that Erika had entered.

But as he watched that area, suddenly a man who looked around 30, with short black hair and a body typical of those who did not exercise, appeared shouting at the side of that building.

"Please, please!"

"Help me find my wife! She's been missing for four months now! Please!" The man fell to his knees on the ground as he looked at the people who had just thrown him out of the building that Erika had entered.

Tears dripped from his eyes as such an individual ignored his injured elbows, begging for help from these people. "Please, gentlemen! My children can't sleep at night, and I can't stop thinking about what might have happened to her!"

"Please, the Mouse Company is the only hope I have!" He bellowed amidst his desperate crying.

Seeing and hearing that, Lothur finally understood who was behind Erika. 'Mouse Company, huh?'

'It makes sense...' He clenched his fists, feeling that an organization that worked in the shadows and underworld could definitely be a threat to him.

'Was Willi also from that organization?' But unfortunately, Lothur could not answer that question since he had no evidence to connect such a person to that organization.

He felt that Erika was not innocent and that she probably had some connection with Willi. But this was his intuition working, so he could not be sure.

In any case, he was now sure that she was dangerous and that the Mouse Company could be plotting against him through her.

'I hope I never have to see you again, Erika. But if you insist on meeting me, I'm afraid I'll have to use you...' He closed his eyes for a moment, determined to do what was necessary to get information and protect himself.

After that, he did not take long and soon left that area discreetly, not attracting the attention of the many watchers in the surroundings.

...

After his little adventure, Lothur trained for some time when he arrived at the estate of his wife's family. But this time, he did not go to train with Annaliese since, unlike the night before, someone was watching her residence.

Nevertheless, after training, he spent the night in his room until he finally left the estate early the next day.

So, after speaking with Annaliese on their way to the Morning Star Academy and answering a few more of his cultivation-related questions, he went to his daytime schedule.

He attended the Spiritual Language class, visited the library, and watched fights between students on one of the fighting stages in Sector-1.

Each academy sector had training areas for cultivators but also structures where people could fight matches open to the public.

Such places could be used in challenges, like the ones Lothur had already received, or even battles between people looking for better places in the student rankings.

After some score, students could challenge others in better positions and then 'steal' the merit points from their opponents if they won the fight, of course.

In any way, although it was pretty interesting to watch these fights, Lothur had not done this as a form of entertainment but as a study, an inspiration for his own path.

In the end, he went on to his meeting with Anneke in a restaurant in Sector-4.

...

[Name: Lothur Ritter]

[Physique: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger]

[Bloodline: ****]

[Cultivation: level 4]

[STR: 7.4] [CON: 8.6] [DEX: 6.5] [AGI: 8.3]

[INT: 30] [PER: 12] [WIL: 45.5]

...

"So? Did you do what I told you?" Anneke asked the handsome man in front of her as she used a silver fork to pick a vegetable from the colorful meal she was having.

Lothur then relaxed in that comfortable chair in such a restaurant, holding a drinking cup in one hand.

He saw the relatively busy place, with people coming and going, several tables just like theirs occupied and said. "I learned a little more about the difficulties of the Frost family..."

"It seems parasites are consuming this family, and sadly, such an organization seems to accept it all." He thought about the things he had read and what he had heard the other day.

"Parasites, huh?" She said this in a low voice, thinking that part of these parasites were people from the imperial family, whom Lothur should not refer to in this way.

But understanding what he meant, Anneke just said. "The Frost family is not exactly as guilty for their situation as you think. They were just surpassed. Life is like that, full of cycles."

"Powers go up, and others go down constantly. That's the normality of things..."

"I disagree."

"That truly is what happens, but only because the leaders of that family seem to have accepted a comfortable position in the past and stopped moving forward."

"Unfortunately, the one who accommodates and accepts what he has achieved is the one who will eventually regret it. In a world like this, the one who doesn't keep moving forward necessarily regresses." He said this as he put his drink back on the table and sampled some more of the fine cuisine of this establishment.

Meanwhile, Anneke was looking at him strangely, surprised to hear such well-thought-out words from Lothur.

"The current position of this family was already predictable if you ask me. Sooner or later, there would be a less talented generation..."

"Gee..." She stopped eating her salad and asked. "Did you learn all this by reading in one day? Do you still have any questions?"

"I do. The imperial family is stronger than the current Frost House. So, why doesn't that organization simply force my wife's family into full submission? Why do these plots?"

Anneke realized that despite some good ideas, Lothur still lacked a good sense to judge more complex situations. She said. "That's simple. Even sovereigns need to use rules, or everyone would fear them so much that it would be impossible for them to rule."

"As such, the imperial family would hardly make a drastic decision without good justification."

"As for those actions, I can't tell you about that. Some families are simply competing to improve their positions. So, I don't know if there's a finger of the imperial family in every Frost family problem."

"In any case, with the royal succession to be decided, it's normal for candidates from House Leopoldine to become more active."

"Thus, your family is more affected than it normally would be..." She looked at him meaningfully, giving him this information that basically proved his suspicions regarding his marriage to Viktoria.

'So, she married me to buy time for her family?' He pondered this, regretting that his wife had not chosen him for his attractiveness.

"What?" Anneke questioned the smile on Lothur's face.

"Nothing. I'm just curious how long I'll have to deal with these problems... What is the emperor's situation? He must be in pretty bad shape to search for an heir, no?"

...