Chapter 561: At The Banquet - 1
Chapter 561: At The Banquet - 1
Leo decided to take Naelith and Thalvyr with him while the rest would stay in the quarters to rest.
His reasoning was simple: the Ember family were flame users, and even though Lyswenna might do the job with her water affinity, she was only at Peak 3-star and would not be able to compete against the real powerhouses if it came to that.
And using flames against flames was only disadvantageous if one was weaker. Both Naelith and Thalvyr were Low 4-star, high enough to go against most opponents. As for himself, since he had acquired the [Sunblood Infernal Physique] himself and was not receiving feedback from any beast, it simply meant Leo could utilise the full power of Low 5-star with his own flames.
Not to mention, he was immune to any flames lower than 5-star.
The only problem was that Leo hadn’t actually tried using his fire affinity even once.
"I guess the inauguration of my new power will begin with some skull bashes." He grew more and more excited about the events that might unfold inside the castle.
Though Leo knew attacks on Lyswenna and the others were impossible because, if that happened, Gunther would be the one handling the matter. Still, as insurance, he summoned Shyra to remain around them in stealth.
Since Nyxa had already been revealed to the public, it wouldn’t be an issue if she were summoned during any fight at the castle.
"What are the chances that the City Lord himself is weaker than me?" Leo’s lips curled at the thought.
But almost as if struck by lightning, all the enthusiasm vanished.
His confidence was getting out of hand, and he shouldn’t become arrogant. He had already experienced one instance where he had nearly died. If things came down to a skirmish with the City Lord, Leo would calmly step down and let Gunther step up.
Wait, it’s a banquet. Why am I preparing myself for a fight? Leo suddenly realised his preparations might all go down the drain.
With that, Leo finally departed for the banquet.
On the way, he decided to strike up a conversation with Thalvyr.
"Thalvyr, do you have fire affinity as a talent, or is it your internal trait?"
Leo asked because Thalvyr’s talent wasn’t related to flames, yet he was completely capable of wielding them.
That came down to his racial traits.
Race: Lizardman - Flame Oriented
Thalvyr looked at Leo at the sudden question, but answered nonetheless.
"Lord, I am not sure, but I think it comes from within. My talent seems to have no hand in it," he replied.
"I have seen a few Lizardmen with Earth elemental powers, and they seem to say the same thing."
"And do you know what your talent is?" Leo could tell Thalvyr seemed to be somewhat aware of what he possessed.
"I am not sure, but it seems to provide me with extra strength the stronger I become."
Leo nodded.
That was expected, since the more Thalvyr ranked up, the closer he became to the evolved form of a Lizardman, a Dragonnewt, which was bound to have some sort of percentage-based boost like Dragons.
Wait... Cindriss and Arkvyr’s talents also seemed to provide that strength boost. Since the boosts from racial traits and talents could stack, they would grow to be exceptionally strong. Leo’s eyes widened slightly at that revelation.
Truly, the draconic lineage is simply a cheat. I guess their pride doesn’t stem from nothing.
Leo then looked towards Naelith. She was a Wood Elf. Even elves were said to be superior to humans because of their positive traits in Vitality and Intelligence.
But their race was still inferior to the dragons, because dragons’ racial traits boosted all stats.
No wonder the elves in Naelith’s world were scared of dragons.
Leo slowly began to realise how disadvantageous a position humans were actually in.
Well... we don’t get negative traits like Gnomes or Goblins.
Leo sighed. To compensate for those negative traits, Gnomes and Goblins were a united bunch, with group-related benefits that the world afforded.
Humans seemed to be right in the middle... Leo realised.
Wait... doesn’t that mean, according to our talents, we can choose any path we want?
This was both a blessing and a curse, but at least humans didn’t fall into the loser categories.
We were more than capable of standing on our own feet with just a bit of effort. The most obvious evidence was that 1 of the 3 Empires belonged to humans.
By now, Leo had arrived at the towering gates of the castle.
The gates stood almost 15 meters tall and 7 to 8 meters wide. It was a royal entrance decorated with obsidian, black volcanic metals, glittering gems and black hardwood.
It would have been quite a sight to watch them opening and closing, but they were already open, welcoming the invited guests while a line of guards stood ready to inspect invitations.
At that moment, however, many other students and mercenaries who had entered the secret realm were coming out, cursing at no one in particular, simply venting their frustration.
"Fuck! What does it even mean that we can get the beast and treasure only when we spot the leader wyvern?!"
"Yeah, like, wasn’t the one we spotted already a leader? It had a freaking 10-meter wingspan!"
"Yeah! And what does it have to do with us that the dragons killed them before the information about the living wyvern could be verified? Our job was to spot the wyvern. We did. Then they should simply give us our rewards!"
The others nodded angrily.
One man could even be seen arguing with one of the stationed guards.
"I am telling you! It was I who spotted the wyvern! The others are lying! Just check the surroundings of the place I reported!" The man looked on the verge of tears, his spit even landing on the irritated guard’s face.
"Go away before I beat the shit out of you!" the guard warned.
"Please!! I need that Yellow-tier treasure! It can change my life!" The man even grabbed the soldier’s shoulder, only to receive a jab to the jaw that sent him rolling across the ground.
"P-please... just check it once..." the man muttered before losing consciousness.
The others simply ignored the fallen man and continued lamenting their own misfortunes.
Leo surveyed the surroundings and realised people were here to sell the treasures they had acquired in the secret realm. Though most of the transactions were taking place outside the castle gates, with the city officials rapidly buying up the treasures, some high-value items were being brought inside for proper appraisal.
Leo was astonished that people were actually not getting cheated and that everybody was receiving the true value of their treasures.
Though it was obvious it would be the case, because the city had a reputation to uphold for the new men to come to their secret realm, which would be explored after 5 years.
Leo considered selling a few of his own unwanted items, but just then, a guard—or rather, a captain clad in fine armour—walked towards Leo.
Comments