In the Royal Palace everyone was gathered in the massive hall, people from different cities, cults, guilds, sects and associations were all present there. The lovely environment was all time high as the more time passed the more people arrived.
Despite the growing guests, the hall didn't feel packed or crowded, on the contrary, the livelier it got, the more perfect everything seemed. The seating arrangements in the hall were meticulously prepared, each chair and table bearing the names of the guests or the groups they represented.
Maids and servants gracefully weaved their way through the crowd, offering trays of delectable delicacies and refreshing beverages to the attendees.
As guests entered the palace, they were required to surrender their weapons. Similarly, storage artifacts, known for their ability to store other artifacts in them, were restricted to only VIP guests. Those who did not possess a special invitation had to part ways with their artifacts before entering the hall.
To further enhance the security measures, an ingenious artifact was used. Each guest was marked with a special symbol, a sign that served as an identifier throughout the party. This artifact was imbued with enchantments that would detect and notify the King's guard if anyone attempted to utilize any form of skill or blessing within the party. It also worked as a tracking chip of sorts for the next 4 hours, so even if someone did try something, they couldn't run and hide.
This policy ensured that the event remained free from any potential conflicts or disturbances. This advanced system also ensured that the celebration remained free from any misuse of magical abilities or any untoward incidents.
No one wanted their secrets to be known by someone who had appraisal magic or some other blessing that let them know about others. High ranking individuals could just do a mana scan of their surroundings and they'd know everything, so with this artifact it gave many people a sense of security.
It also gave everyone a positive impression of King Maximus. As everyone who joined in the hall were important people of the Schilla empire and some welcomed guests from other associations. Some envoys of beast kin and halflings were also present there. Dwarves already had their own embassy of sorts in Haven, so they had sent their own guests.
No one from the vampire clan or elves clan was present in the celebration, as both were clans that liked to keep to themselves. And unless one needed their assistance in clearing a tower or making some other decisions, they hardly ever took part in any social events.
The talks and discussions were happening all around the hall, when the arrival of the Raven and Blake families at the hall drew the attention of all the guests present.
A hush fell over the crowd as they beheld the sight of the revered heads of both families making their way towards their designated places. Agnus and Artemis walked side by side, exuding an air of regality and nobility, while Rio and Amelia held the hands of their maternal grandfather, Servirous Raven, as he led them forward.
Whispers filled the hall as the guests observed the scene unfolding before their eyes. The eyes of the attendees couldn't help but fixate on Rio and Amelia, for it was their first public appearance after Rio's awakening.
Rumors had spread like wildfire about Rio's blessing, and even those who didn't know about it before, had heard about it in this event. Now the guests had the opportunity to witness its effects firsthand.
After all it wasn't everyday when someone received the blessing of a primordial for free. People would end up risking their lives in dungeons, wasting it on praying daily in temples, but they wouldn't even be able to get the slightest bit of attention from those higher gods. And here it was, someone saying that a 10 year old got it for free on day 1.
The people from the churches or the one who practiced holy magic were surprised by simply looking at the amount of divine presence surrounding him. The aura of divinity was drowning him in their eyes. Calling it a shock would've been a light word, as some people left their seats and stood up in shock.
Rio took a glance at his new system which was filled with a shit ton of notifications from different gods. This is also why events are rare in Arcadia, as simply it becomes a battleground for anyone to hoard the attention from other Gods. If you were lucky, you could get chosen, you can get their blessings. But if you were unlucky, you would simply lose the attention of the God you hardly got, just cause they found someone else entertaining enough to watch.
Just like mortals of the world, many gods too had called those rumors false, but unlike their avatars or believers they could see the sign of Nyx's blessing on him, and the aura of darkness engulfing him.
People too had become surprised soon, as their gods confirmed the validity for these rumors.
<To clear your doubts, No, gods cannot see which God has blessed or chosen whom. Here it was only possible, as Nyx simply had no intention of hiding her presence. Why would she hide from pests, she's a fucking primordial. That's why everyone noticed her blessing but not of Skuld's, who simply wanted to be forgotten.>
All eyes remained fixed on them, as they walked through the hall, whispers and murmurs of admiration and curiosity filled the air. While both families just ignored everything around them and took their reserved seats.
Rio and Amelia were still sitting with Servirous who had an indifferent look towards everyone. While Agnus and Artemis sat across them.
"So how does it feel?" Servirous asked Rio, who was curiously looking around the hall.
"Natural" Rio said without thinking, looking around, trying to see how many people from the plot he could identify.
He knew since this event was attached as the flashback of the heroine and hero's first meeting, he'd see many other side characters here too. And he was right. Though identifying anyone by looking at them was hard for him, since he had no idea how they looked in the novel, but through their robes, or the names written on their tables he could see some of them.
"Natural huh." Servirous muttered hearing his reply. He smiled a little and continued "Of course it does. You have the blood of the 2 greatest families in the world in you. As that geezer used to say, Blakes are born to bash others' arrogance."
"Father, they're children." Artemis interrupted her father, who was going to insult their grandfather.
"What, it's true. You can ask your husband. After all, he used to roam around, announcing it like some sort of family slogan, when he was young." Servirous smiled and said, looking at Agnus, who just chose to stay silent, lest they pick some other things from his past to talk about.
Amelia, who was about to start eating something from the plates placed on the table, stopped herself, as she looked around and saw everyone staring at her. She took a bite and ignored everything again.
Unlike Rio, who was trying hard to act natural, while hiding his all time high anxiety deep down, as this was probably the first of any kind of celebration event that he took part in for years. He couldn't even remember when was the last time he'd been the center of attention like this, had he ever. He wasn't sure.
He hated attention on earth, but here, in Arcadia, it was a necessity if he wanted to survive. He had to utilize all the cards he could, and being in the limelight was the best choice for him to grow stronger and improve his chances.
Amelia, she was born and raised here, she had simply grown accustomed to the gazes of people staring at her every action.
Being noble wasn't always a noble thing, after all..
Acting as he should, Rio gave a casual glance at everything around them, his eyes locked with many people who were still looking at him. He had identified some very interesting people in this party from the plot.
'Is it weird that I somehow feel excited to meet them now. What a wonderful stage for the impression of my first introduction in Arcadia. This is much better than starting directly at the academy selection tests.'
'Now let's see where's our hero? Not you, not you, not you too. Oh wait, is that the villain and the perv. So they were a combo even in their childhood huh.' Rio thought looking at a pair of kids, busy talking to each other and gawking at everyone.
'If they're here then, where's our ice queen? She's supposed to be here too. Not you, not her either. Hmm Guess she didn't come huhh. Well that's to be expected. But I still see her dumb dad here, well I already knew he won't miss this chance.'
Rio thought, looking at Baron Misha Winston, Noah's father, who was happily chatting with other people, probably talking about some partnerships or deals or some connections. His face showed no sign of sadness like a father that had lost his son some time ago.
'Some people really do not deserve to be a parent.' Rio thought.
Seeing Baron Misha wasn't a surprise, as he already expected it from someone like him. After all, he cared only for profits, and Noah's death didn't affect him any more than how a small pet's would. He didn't invest anything in Noah other than his seed at the beginning, and he didn't suffer any loss.
'I bet deep down he would've even been glad that Noah died, since Noah had the shittiest talent and useless personality in his family. Unlike his sister, who was prideful, smart and strong, Noah followed the foolish rules.'
'How surprised he must be if he ever found out what he lost, just cause he lost Noah.' Rio thought with a smile.
Shaking his head, he ignored him and kept looking at other people trying to find the protagonist.
'Where the hell is the hero, he should be in their group, playing around now or getting bullied, but he's not there. Don't tell me Noah's death changed something.' Rio thought, but crossed this idea from his head, as he remembered-
'No he'll be here. He has to be. This is the stage of his first awakening, after all. So where are you Leon Heartwell? Where are you?'
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A/N - well, let's start now.
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