''Hey, Mell, do you have any idea why they called us here?'' The girl, with blond hair like Mell and wearing a form-fitting training uniform that accentuated her flawless figure, asked in a hushed tone, her gaze scanning the surroundings with a mix of curiosity and confusion.
Mell paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer. She glanced at Samuen, who stood calmly ahead with a mysterious smile on his face, and replied hesitantly, ''I'm not sure.''
Mell looked at the other elders who were standing close to Samuen and appeared to be calmly awaiting something or someone, and she could not help but wonder if this summons had anything to do with Raydon.
When she was here with Galen and witnessed Raydon's incredible performance on this training ground some time ago, Zephyr suddenly came and disappeared with Raydon after telling them not to tell anyone else about what they had seen here.
Mell and Galen had left the training ground after taking Zephyr's words to heart and deciding not to tell anyone about it for the time being. While they were waiting for someone to come and explain what was happening to them, Mell had come back here with the other battle maids in response to the call of the family leader.
'But where is Galen, and why have they gathered them here as well?' Mell pondered, her gaze shifting to the other battle maids standing beside her.
The family's other six battle maids, with the exception of Belicia and Tika, had been compelled to come here without being given an explanation, and now they were being forced to wait here.
As the group waited with bated breath, a misty vapor suddenly materialized in front of their eyes. It quickly coalesced into a large water capsule, which then shattered quickly, revealing Zephyr within.
''Why are you alone? Where is Raydon?'' Cael questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Zephyr had a shocked expression on his face and muttered as if he had not heard the question posed to him. ''He actually possesses an innate skill.''
''What are you talking about? Didn't you go to fetch Raydon? Where is he?'' Seren inquired, her confusion evident.
''Ah, yes, he didn't need my assistance, so he should be on his way here now.'' Zephyr finally snapped back to reality, lifting his head to address the group.
And soon, while everyone was still waiting, a dark cloud suddenly materialized beside them. It then disappeared just as quickly, revealing Raydon.
Raydon looked at Zephyr and thought, paying no mind to the prying eyes around him. 'His skill should be better than mine at long distances. '
Even though Raydon was moving at his top speed and using his shadow passage skill to get through walls and other obstructions, Zephyr was still able to beat him.
Also, after only a couple of tries on his way here, he had finally started to master his skill, and now, thanks to his high agility stat, he was able to travel almost 70 meters in a single go inside the black and white world rather than the basic 30 meters.
Additionally, his stamina stat had reduced the cooldown from 1 second to approximately 0.9 seconds, although it didn't make a significant difference at the moment.
"But the biggest issue is mana," Raydon thought, glancing at the remaining MP on his character panel. He had used his skill 11 times in total just to get here, depleting 2420 mana out of his total of 3300.
"You seem to be getting accustomed to your new skill."
When Raydon was deep in thought about how he could put his skill to better use, Samuen's ragged and worn-out voice jolted him out of his musings.
"Yeah, it's a really cool skill," Raydon replied with a smile.
'Damn, of course it's cool. It's your fucking innate skill,' Zephyr thought sarcastically.
In fact, innate skills did not provide very many benefits. The only two benefits they did provide were an additional skill slot and the ability for item holders to use a skill without uttering its name. However, having the ability to use skills without having to rely on an item and seamlessly integrating them into one's body had a very unique sensation.
"So, where are my promised items?" Raydon asked, taking a quick glance around.
Radon believed that the reason they had called him here was because they were going to finally give away the items that they had offered earlier, but he did not understand what the purpose of gathering so many people together was.
As Raydon stole glances at the battle maids from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but wonder why they were present. At the same time, the battle maids themselves were engaged in hushed whispers, contemplating the same question about Raydon's presence among them.
''Hey, are my eyes playing tricks on me or is this our young master who was previously exiled from the mansion? '' A stunningly beautiful girl with blue hair and sapphire blue eyes among the battle maids asked, her voice filled with confusion.
''It definitely has to be him, but he looks very different from before. What is happening here? '' Another battle maid, with red hair and equal beauty and charm, responded.
Whispers continued among the battle maids as they tried to make sense of Raydon's presence and his transformed appearance.
While they were all engrossed in examining every detail of Raydon's transformed body with their eyes, contemplating how such a remarkable change had come about, Samuen's chuckle abruptly interrupted their focused scrutiny, snapping them out of their trance.
Samuen assured Raydon, indicating Diam, "Do not worry, all the items I have chosen to give you are prepared."
Following his signal, Diam promptly retrieved an ostentatious table from her dimensional storage.
'What the...? This isn't the item they promised to give me, right?' Raydon frowned in confusion as he laid his eyes on the flamboyant and beautifully embroidered table.
While Raydon puzzled over the table's purpose, Diam began unveiling various items from her dimensional storage, meticulously arranging them on the table.
His eyes fixated on the items before him, Raydon quickly realized that the table served merely as a decorative platform to showcase the items' value.
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