The King's poker face had cracked.
For just a single moment, of course.
Very quickly, the King returned to normal, even his heartbeat had returned to normal as if he had perfect control over it.
"Most of the Prodigies usually train under their Nations' security because losing even one of them to an unfortunate accident or an enemy's attack is considered a big loss.
So usually, the Nations do not move those Prodigies unless the matter is of extreme importance."
Alden answered, acting as if nothing had happened, and honestly, if it were Kael from before, he wouldn't have noticed anything either.
It all happened in a second.
The previous him would have simply thought of it as a simple pause and ignored it.
'Have I gotten better at reading people?'
Kael wondered in his head.
'Your senses have gotten sharper, Father.'
Igni, once again, answered his question.
Kael nodded in his head as he then turned towards the King, who was looking at him, expecting another question with an elderly smile.
Again, there was no trace of his momentary breakdown on his face; it felt as if everything was Kael's delusion.
Kael muttered in his head, but as he noticed his constant gaze, he knew he had to say something.
"Then why did you send Elira? Wouldn't she lose?"
From whatever politics he understood, Drakthar, as the Strongest Kingdom, had a reputation to maintain. If their Prodigy lost, one wouldn't look at it and say, 'Oh, she was young and was at a disadvantage.' They would see it as Drakthar's loss, even when they sent their best.
It would affect the Kingdom's image negatively, so why would the King do it…?
At that question, the King's smile widened.
"I did this because of you."
"I noticed that you tend to rely on your eyes a little too much. These Levels you talk about, you think of them as Absolute and judge others according to what you see.
I want to show you that there is more to a Tamer than these levels.
I want to show you that exceptional mages like Elira aren't easy to defeat, even if her opponents are stronger than her. Underestimate them once, and it will prove lethal.
So watch the battle, Hero Kael, enjoy and…
The King smiled, and at those words, Kael once again glanced at the Arena.
The battle had begun.
Elira had already sat up on Emberaile and had soared into the air, looking more like a Mage from the Sky Kingdom than Drakthar.
Just like her, the Warrior from Zephyria, Silas Crowhaven, had soared into the air on top of his Bond as well, and unlike Elira, whose Magna was left on the ground, both of Silas's Bonds were in the air with him.
The Warrior from Eryndor, Arthur Graylock, was completely different; both his Bonds stood tall on the ground, marking his territory.
As for the Mage from the Magic Empire, Rowan Ashworth, his actions raised many eyebrows since, unlike the others, he only brought out a single Bond, pretty much cutting his strength in half.
The Four-Way Battle had turned into Two Separate Battles, where Elira faced Silas and Arthur stood in front of Rowan.
"Are you sure you do not wish to take out your Second Bond? I can give you the time you need to bring him out if you wish."
Arthur spoke like a proud and noble warrior. He wanted to defeat his opponent when he was at his best.
At his words, however, Rowan just smiled.
"I won't be needing it. My Leon is more than enough for you three."
"If that is the case, then I will not be holding back."
Arthur declared as he rushed forward with his two trusted Bonds.
At the same time, in the air, Silas stared at Elira and smiled confidently.
"Facing a Zephyria Warrior in the air… I do not know whether to call you brave or foolish."
"You will find out soon enough.
Though I have to say, the battlefield is quite interesting, especially the choice of Beasts that were made by each participant, don't you think?"
Elira chuckled playfully, her eyes darting around as if she was trying to say something—something Silas didn't fail to notice.
Kael, obviously, was focused more on Elira's battle. He stared at her armored opponent and his eyes turned golden.
[Name: Silas Crowhaven]
[Strengths: Agile, Master of Battlefield, Tactical Genius]
[Weaknesses: Low Mana, Overreliance on Physical Combat]
Of course, with his newfound knowledge, Kael didn't care much about the man himself; his focus was on his Bonds.
[Race: Storm Sovereign Roc]
[Strengths: Aerial Dominance, High Speed, Storm Manipulation, Tactical Intelligence]
[Weaknesses: Fragile Build, Low Stamina, Low Ground Combat Ability]
[Race: Thunder Wyvern]
[Strengths: Lightning Absorption, Electrified Scales, Balanced]
[Weaknesses: Weaker in Distant Combat, Low Ground Combat Ability]
'Those numbers are just absurd.'
Kael shook his head. These numbers were much higher than Elira's Bonds. Honestly, Kael didn't know how Elira was planning to win this thing.
After all, unlike him, who had his System Skills to rely on when fighting opponents stronger than him, Elira didn't have any such thing.
Kael thought inwardly as suddenly—
Elira, who was on top of Emberaile, and Silas, on top of Storm, rushed at each other at a speed much faster than the Beasts below.
And just as they were about to collide with each other—
The two moved past each other, and—
Emberaile's sleek red body covered itself in ever-burning flames without harming Elira as his fiery golden eyes stared at the target, and—
He shot a beam of fire right at the Eryndor Warrior, Arthur Graylock, taking him by surprise.