BXBX NOVEL Chapter 81 Hidden Technique
Xzavier was grateful for the advent of both men because they had saved him from the arduous task of having to explain himself on how he was able to use such a great power without having to actually rely on magic.
At this point, just about every single one was hooked on the prospect of Xzavier\'s mysterious power. True entertainment was scarce in those days, so the mere thought of bearing witness to such an exotic display of power filled both the student, the Civil servant, the governor and the top rated senior mage with an anxiety that was more primitive than logical. Up until this moment, they had all led pretty boring lives…
The governor most especially was itching for the stranger\'s display. After months on end of having to comb through stacks and stacks of incredibly BORING paper work, the governor was ripe for any kind of entertainment. He craved it more than anyone present in that group. Earlene also had her reasons, though they were basically ostentatious and borderline selfish, to her, they were valid reasons.
The white bearded old man, the cunning Silver Knight, and of course, the little boy kept their entire attention fixated on Xzavier. Xzavier was the star of show, and he knew that he had the power to do whatever he wanted. No one was more nervous than Adalia. Even though she had seen Xzavier\'s dexterity with killing machines, she was still very much in the dark as to just his Xzavier intended to go about destroying an entire bucket of water without actually touching it.
Adalia had complete faith in Xzavier, but even she who had seen his work up close, was still looking forward to seeing his performance.
With about six different pairs of eyes fixated on him at once, Xzavier could almost taste the varying degrees of doubt and hope in their eyes. It was like walking through a valley under the watchful gaze of an extraterrestrial entity. The atmosphere was thick and heavy with tension.
Taking full advantage of the attention that was now riveted on him, Xzavier assumed the air of one who had something important to announce. He cleared his throat dramatically. Thoroughly enjoying the scene, he began ambiguously;
"Fine, I will show you this hidden technique. But first…" he shot his left hand up in the air,
"I must warn you! This is a very peculiar technique that has been passed down in my family, from the custodians of our culture to generations unborn."
He paused for a minute before continuing his gripping narration.
"So, I implore you all, please keep this as a well guarded secret! Outside of my family, you all are the first generation of humans to witness this."
Xzavier was beginning to understand that he had to play hardball with these people in order to get what he wanted. It wasn\'t completely their fault, their lives were so simple and devoid of any kind of drama, hence they were the perfect mark for such hogwash. This was just the type of thing that they would just gobble up.
Xzavier wasn\'t the type that enjoyed deceiving them, but it was because he was exhausted of the whole repetitive cycle of having to explain to people why he was so powerful without having any kind of magic whatsoever. It was a really tiresome pattern, and for the first time, he had taken a slightly different approach to the handling of this matter. He just couldn\'t them that the answer was lady science, that answer was sure to open doors for even more questions and probing.
Xzavier\'s ace in the hole was science. Science and a little bit of applied technology were the very keys that Xzavier was planning on using to baffle the small crowd who looked up to him like a bunch of spectators at a circus show. Fascination, delightful amusement, with a subtle hint of doubt which launched incessant attacks on the growing seeds of hope.
Because his plan was simply to use some basic scientific techniques to create an illusion of a powerful magical spell, Xzavier had to make it flashy because to this crowd, magic wasn\'t exactly a big deal. Indeed it was more common than the oxygen which they breathed in day and night. But on the other hand, in this Isekai, advanced science was scarcer than pretty gemstones.
In this case, the scientific backwardness of this isekai proved to be very rewarding for Xzavier. So, even if he performed the most basic form of scientific experiments, he could easily pass it off as a magic trick. This deception was going to be paramount for Xzavier. This way, he didn\'t have to indulge the endless questions.
Amongst the members of the group, asides from Adalia, Dale was the only one who had tangoed with Xzavier, both physically and psychologically (and on some level, spiritually). So, consequently, he never took for granted anything that came out of Xzavier\'s mouth. He expected a kind of fall out from such a demonstration, so he prudently called out to Xzavier to pause;
"Hold on a minute Xzavier!" he cried.
Not expecting this, Xzavier looked at Dale questioning, wondering what exactly the Silver Knight was up to.
But Xzavier\'s reaction was pretty mild compared to the others. Almost immediately, like a pack of wolves whose kill had been interrupted, every pair of eyes, (including the governors) turned angrily to face Dale in a coordinated wrathful rage. Surprised by the reaction, Dale immediately moved to defend himself.
"I\'m not saying that you shouldn\'t proceed. But Governor, I believe safety should be paramount at this moment…
"Are you in anyway insinuating that there could be a security problem? Speak up!"
"Au contraire! I am simply pointing out the fact that we are in uncharted waters here..."
Both Dale and the governor were at the vanguard of the small gathering. So, the dialog between them wasn\'t publicly heard.
"Dale!" the governor snapped! "You\'d better get to your point fast! You\'re walking on thin ice here!"
"Forgive me governor. Permit me to carry out one simple task!"
Obviously irritated, the governor waved him off and sent him away to accomplish that which he intended to do.
In truth, Dale\'s plan was to use the servants to seal off the mansion and estate. He stealthily gave orders to the servants to not allow anyone into the estate at this hour. Of course, the order was received with the utmost priority. Servants carefully secured the grounds on Dale\'s order, making sure not to spook anyone or signify that they were on guard. All the servants left, except Adalia.
So, having purged all the external elements and unnecessary personnel from the location, only Adalia, Earlene, her younger brother, the senior mage Laddie, Silver Knight Dale, and Governor Quaid remained in the courtyard.
Seeing just how prudent Dale\'s decision to remove all the unnecessary elements was, Governor Quaid moved to take the glory.
"My dear boy," he was addressing Xzavier now.
"You\'ve made it clear that this is to be a secret, so, I\'ve taken it upon myself to get rid of every loose end that could be a potential saboteur in the future. Your family\'s secrets are safe."
To further enhance the illusion he was actively creating, Xzavier took another moment in silence. When he finally spoke up, he had the semblance of one who was in a trance. His body movements looked automated, he had a faraway look in his eye and a solemn look on his face. His voice barely above a whisper, he called on the first person who had a role to play.
"Master Laddie...kindly get me a hollowed out log of wood that resembles a pillar. It should be at least several dozen feet long."
Laddie\'s logical mind began to turn itself inside out as it struggled to figure out Xzavier\'s plan. But his guess was as good as the others who came up short as well. So, Laddie proceeded to obtain the required object.
The senior mage stretched out his hand and with the impressively powerful magic of a top mage, he summoned a sweet piece of sturdy long bamboo. There were no gasps or cries of surprise in the background. They were all citizens of Victoria City, a city where magic was commonplace. A basic summoning of this nature was nothing to them. They had all seen worse, and better.
The bamboo stick wasn\'t yet refined to Xzavier\'s particular specs. So, the old man used magic once again to customize the stick into the very picture of what Xzavier had requested for.
With the whole group watching closely, Laddie handed the bamboo stick, over to Xzavier, and waited for further instructions. Everyone looked hard at the ordinary looking bamboo stick, trying their best to dream up one of the several ways that Xzavier could use it in this situation.
Xzavier gingerly examined it thoroughly till he was satisfied with the senior mage\'s work. Finally, he moved forward with his plan.