Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

558  Real Estate

Adam gazed at the middle-aged man before him with a faint smile. He walked up to him and patted his shoulder.

"Rowan, it's been a while."

Since Adam had returned from carrying out the mission at Stratford, he had mostly lived in the countryside near Saratoga Castle.

Initially, he barely visited the city because of the threat of the criminal organization, Umbra Thieves.

But gradually, after he and the Flynn Family Magi had begun cleaning out their members in the city, Adam came to the city more often.

However, he still mostly spent his time in the countryside.

It wasn't until Rowan, his informant at the time, advised him to invest in real estate in Ravenfell. After having received twenty-five percent of the loot from Stratford's layer, Adam's coffers had increased significantly.

He had more money than he knew what to do with. Thus, Rowan's advice came in a timely manner.

Adam knew of Rowan's history, that he hailed from a prominent mercantile family in the past. Due to some unwise decisions made by his father, as well as the state of the economy at the time, his family had gone bankrupt.

This led to Rowan, his wife, and his kids struggling to make ends meet. But fortune favoured him eventually and he ended up meeting Adam in the slums of Corvid Quarter.

Since then, Rowan's condition had vastly improved. After working for Adam for the last seven years, he had now become his assistant.

Adam trusted the man and, after doing some research, decided to invest a large amount of his personal net worth into buying land in the Uptown Quarter and building his manor upon it.

Rowan looked at Adam's facial appearance and chuckled, "I see you've finally decided to grow a beard."

"Hehe, what do you think?" Adam began walking with him, making his way inside.

"It suits you, my lord." Rowan nodded. He then glanced at the young man's ponytail and added, "But perhaps you should consider a haircut?"

"Hmm, perhaps…" Adam stroked his chin in thought. "It's not easy to maintain long hair. Also, very inconvenient to wear my hat."

The pair walked to the gazebo beside the small man-made pond in the courtyard. He took his seat and asked, "Anyway, how are things here?"

Rowan straightened his back and respectfully answered, "I've hired the local builders and carpenters and completed the constructions of the first floor and the second floor."

He paused for a moment before adding, "The basement has been left completely untouched as you'd instructed."

"Hmm, the house is very much to my liking," said Adam as he scanned the manor.

The design was simple yet striking. The structure stood two stories high, built with dark stone, giving it a cold and imposing presence.

The windows were tall but narrow, framed by pointed arches. The roof was steeply pitched with dark slate tiles. Small, triangular dormer windows framed the roofline.

Moreover, at each corner of the building, subtle stone pillars rose up, adding stability and a touch of gothic architecture.

"What about the maids and servants?" He asked.

"My lord, I've carefully handpicked them after several rounds of interviews," replied Rowan. "Rest assured, they are very professional in their jobs."

"Loyal?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rowan smiled helplessly, "That can only be nurtured with time. As long as they're paid on time and treated well, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Good." Adam nodded.

This was one of the reasons why he liked this person. Unlike most people, Rowan didn't sugarcoat his words. He was an honest man.

"What about your family?" Adam asked with a faint smile.

"My kids have shown promising academic results in Ravenfell Public School. They're very happy to make new friends there," Rowan said with tearful eyes. "And my wife is healthy and well."

"I'm glad to hear that." Adam smiled.

He then got up from his chair and started walking toward the manor. "I'll be heading to the basement and making some arrangements. Make sure no one disturbs me."

"Yes, my lord!" Rowan respectfully nodded before following Adam into the house.

Once in, Adam went downstairs, while he went to instruct the other maids and servants in the manor.

As he took the stairs to the basement, he noticed that the walls were made of the same rough gray stone as the exterior.

Except, they felt damp to the touch with patches of moss clinging to the crevices.

"Heh, they truly haven't touched an inch of this place," Adam chuckled in amusement. "Well, this works perfectly for me."

He was planning to carve the entire place with rune magic, making it the perfect place for him to carry out arcane experiments as well as practice herbalism.

Furthermore, once he had time, he was also planning to carve runes on the boundary walls of his manor, making his house akin to a small fortress.

He had paid a large sum of money to buy this land and build this structure, after all. So he might as well go all in.

Finally, he arrived at the basement. He placed his hands on his hips and curiously scanned the room.

The low, arched ceiling gave this place a cavernous, tomb-like vibe. There were a few dimly lit torches attached to the walls, their flames barely keeping the darkness at bay.

The stone floor was uneven, scattered with dust and small bits of debris.

He looked at one corner of the basement and mumbled, "Hmm, that area will serve as the wine cellar."

Then, he looked at another corner. "That entire place will be where I carry out my herbalism experiments."

He turned around and looked at the third corner. "I can set up a small experimenting section here."

Finally, he looked at the last corner of the basement. He stroked his trimmed beard, wondering out aloud, "Now what should I turn this section into? Hmm…"

After a few moments, he still wasn't able to think of anything. He shrugged as he walked to the center of the basement.

"Whatever. I'll think of it later."

He then waved his hand, conjuring a sitting cushion from his earring. Then, he sat on it in a lotus position. He licked his lips and excitedly muttered, "For now, let's devour some souls!"

The next moment, he closed his eyes.

When he reopened them, he had already arrived inside his spirit sea, floating in mid-air. He looked around at this calm and serene place, a hint of a smile slowly blooming on his face.

The spirit sea stretched seemingly infinitely, indicating the potential of a Magus's mind.

Its surface was smooth and glassy like polished silver. Gentle waves stirred occasionally, stirred by a nonexistent breeze.

The water was a deep tranquil blue, clear enough to see the soft glow of light filtering into the depths. But its true bottom remained hidden, lost in an endless space.

No matter what happened in the outside world, Adam could always come here and find peace, resilience, and strength.

This truly emphasized the philosophy he tried to live by—that external events and circumstances are beyond one's control, and that only one's thoughts, judgments, and perceptions remained entirely within one's power.

Inside his spirit sea, everything felt weightless and free, as if time had slowed to a gentle hum.

Adam turned around and gazed at the island-sized white lotus in the distance. It was supposedly the center of the Spirit Sea.

The legendary artifact emanated an aura of holiness and authority. It lay nestled between three, round leaves.

"Those green leaves," Adam muttered under his breath as he flew toward them.

He landed on one of the round leaves, crouched low, and scratched its surface. "I wonder what this is," he said.

It had been around fifteen years since he had chanced upon this legendary artifact. Even now, he barely knew anything about it.

He got to his feet and sighed, "One day, I'll find all the secrets you hold, lotus."

The next moment, he closed his eyes yet again. When he reopened them, he had arrived inside the mysterious space inside the white lotus.

Seeing the thousands of white orbs lazily flowing around him, his lips curled up into an excited smile.

After having absorbed all the souls inside the weeping trees in Stratford all those years ago, as well as the souls of the members of Umbra Thieves that he had slain in recent times, the number of orbs here had grown immensely.

The feeling of euphoria that he got by absorbing souls here transcended anything he had ever felt in his life.

It was greater than the intoxication of alcohol, the high of magical herbs, and the pleasure of sexual activities. It was a feeling that surpassed all these things and more.

Adam was thankful for his extremely high discipline and mental fortitude. Had it not been for that, he would have become a reckless murderer who wantonly killed people and devoured their souls just to get high.

He spread his arms wide and a visible wave of energy rippled out from him, spreading in all directions.

Then, all the small orbs of lights in the vicinity slowly drifted toward him.

Just like that, he began devouring the soul fragments one by one!