Chapter 95: The Duel (2)
Adrian was sitting on a bench in what appeared to be the hypogeum of this strange Arena-like structure. He had changed into all-black, somewhat loose garments for the upcoming duel.
A wooden sword rested in his hands.
Adrian casually ran his finger across the wooden blade’s edge as if to pass the time.
’It is so obvious what Mother is trying to do.’
Any sane person would be able to conclude that this duel was meaningless and its outcome was decided from the start. Adrian was obviously going to win.
And that had nothing to do with the gap between the two in terms of talent or ability. It was something more obvious and simple.
It was the gap in their levels.
His brother was nine and had reached Phase One when he was around eight years old. Adrian, meanwhile, had already ascended to Phase Two.
Adrian’s mana reserves were significantly larger than his brother’s, and his body was also far more robust in comparison. The change brought about by climbing a Phase was simply too significant to overcome.
That was not to say that it was impossible to overcome such a gap; it would just take an ungodly level of talent to accomplish such a feat.
More than that, Adrian had been training with mana for five years now. He had also gotten used to the abnormal strength brought about by the Phases.
So the gap in experience was added on top of everything.
Which is why this fight was simply too one-sided.
’But Mother’s plan has nothing to do with the fight itself.’
She did not need Adrian to lose or struggle in this fight. Her plan didn’t even have anything to do with him or Elias.
It had to do with the people watching them and the nature of noble society.
Adrian was aware that he had been falsely recognised as some unreachable genius by the world. Elias, on the other hand, had no reputation whatsoever.
’And that lack of reputation is exactly what she is trying to use.’
Since he had no reputation, the nobles would try to evaluate him. And since the opponent was Adrian, it would not even matter if Elias lost, since that outcome was already obvious to everyone.
But in their minds, Adrian would become a point of comparison for Elias, and it would continue to be this way in the future.
And thus, any achievement or any display of power from Elias in the future would be compared against Adrian’s own, and everyone would wonder if the gap was still that wide.
This, in turn, would create pressure on Adrian to continue working harder in order to continue maintaining that gap between them or widen it.
’I get why she was being so obvious in her intentions.’
If one were to look at the situation objectively, Adrian could do nothing even after realising her plan.
If he defeated Elias easily, the audience would feel that the gap between the two was immense. Adrian would have to continue to work that much harder to maintain that gap.
But if he held back or even pretended to lose against his younger brother, it would simply destroy his reputation that existed within the noble society.
In all honesty, Adrian would not have cared about his reputation if he hadn’t been a noble; sadly, that wasn’t the case. Because for nobles, reputation was more than just social status. It had tangible consequences that couldn’t be ignored.
Adrian opened his mouth and whispered.
"Alisardarc."
The moment that name left his mouth, mana gathered above his shoulder and condensed into a black bird.
Alisardarc’s deep, abyssal voice entered his ears.
[Feeble One, you seem to be in quite a bind. I fear I can’t see a way for you to get out of this one.]
Adrian remained motionless for a few moments before he slowly shook his head.
"I would not say that there is absolutely no way.
[Oh? Do you have something in mind then?]
He nodded lightly.
"I do. But I am unsure if it will even work."
Alisardarc’s voice sounded intrigued.
[I am even more interested in hearing it now. What is it?]
Adrian turned to look outside the window. He could already hear the voices of the crowd.
"What if I defeat that boy so thoroughly and so absolutely that the thought of comparing us won’t even come to their mind? What if the match ends in a manner that leaves them feeling pity for Elias instead of looking forward to how he will compare against me in the future?"
Alisardarc remained still and silent for a while before hopping to his head and then his other shoulder.
[Hmm... I think it could work, but can you pull it off? It won’t just be about beating him, you know; it would depend on the way you beat him. Anyway, what did you summon me?]
Adrian looked into the bird’s dark eyes.
"I have a different task for you. I couldn’t do this in the hall since it would’ve been obvious, but I don’t think anyone would find a few birds in this arena strange."
Alisardarc tilted its head unnaturally.
[Your point?]
Adrian spoke in a somewhat commanding tone.
"I want you to fly around the arena and gather information by listening to the conversations of the nobles. You may use as many of your incarnations as you need to accomplish this task."
He paused for a bit before speaking.
"Since I have the opportunity, I should get what I can from the situation. Who knows, maybe I would gain some useful piece of information this way."
The black bird met Adrian’s gaze and spoke. His deep voice sounded more serious than usual.
[There are quite a lot of people present; I will need a lot of incarnations to listen to them all. But I fear that will drain you dry of your mana, Feeble One. You would have no mana left to use in your fight.]
Adrian answered in his usual dull tone.
"You don’t have to worry about that."
Alisardarc stared at him quietly for a while, as if trying to peer into something in his eyes.
Then the black bird jumped off his shoulder and flew towards the window. Sitting at the window frame, the bird began dividing itself rapidly.
The number of birds was multiplying at an absurd speed as they all took to the sky soon after. By now, more than a dozen black birds had flown out from the window.
Adrian’s mana reserves had drained rapidly, and he was left with less than a tenth of his mana reserves. The mana he still had left was also draining slowly because of the small amount of mana that was being constantly consumed to maintain each incarnation.
Adrian sighed as he felt the drain on his mana reserves.
Just then, he heard a knock on the door, signaling that it was time for him to get to the stage.
***
The nobles waiting for the duel to begin were talking amongst themselves. Just then, a few of them noticed a flock of around a dozen or so black birds hovering above the arena in circles.
The birds were especially noticeable due to the orange glow of the setting sun.
But the nobles soon shifted their attention away. After all, there was nothing strange about a few birds flying in the sky.
But slowly, one bird after another began separating itself from the flock, diving below and landing on the empty seats. A few nobles thought of shooing the birds away, but decided against it since that didn’t feel like something nobles should be doing.
Soon, the flock of black birds above was no longer present, as all the birds were now occupying an empty chair amidst the crowd.
But for some reason, the people around them felt strange when they met eyes with any of those birds.
It was as though the birds were looking into their eyes as well.
