"Report back to me once you have completed it, you can all leave" Ikem made a hand gesture prompting the council members to all stand up as they bowed before leaving.
Alone Inside his palace room, Ikem began tapping the armrest of his throne, "if this works out the way i plan for it then i will be killing two birds with one stone"
Reaching the research chamber, Zephyr found the scholars engrossed in their work, studying the various artifacts and treasures collected. Stepping forward, he addressed the head researcher.
"I have a request from the king," Zephyr began, his voice firm and authoritative. "We need to find any weapons or artifacts with concealment abilities among the treasures. It’s imperative that we locate them quickly as we can if possible"
The head researcher nodded solemnly, understanding the urgency of the situation. "We will start our search immediately, Your Highness. Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to find what you seek."
"If I may, how many do we need to find?" The head researcher asked Zephyr.
"If possible four, if not just do the best you can" Zephyr answered as he held the head researcher’s shoulder.
"You all heard his highness, get to it quickly" The head researcher’s voice boomed in the chamber.
One apeling from Ember clan moved towards the head researcher and Zephyr, the both looked at the apeling who raised his hand to show a ring he had on. "This might be what you highness maybe looking for"
The apeling said as he sent mana into the ring and in front of Zephyr and the head researcher disappeared, meanwhile Zephyr looked to his left immediately waving nothing happened but he nodded his head while still keeping a look at the position and said, "yes this is what father is requesting"
The apeling who had the ring once again appeared at where Zephyr was looking, with his fur and hairs looking upturned. Quickly rearranging himself the apeling moved forward and gave the ring to zephyr while asking.
"How did you know where I was, your highness? I have been making use of this ring since i found it and no one has found me till now" The apeling asked in confusion.
"You seem to forget what element I belong to boy, nothing moves without the slight disturbance of air and I am really good at picking up those disturbances" Zephyr answered as he took the ring, raising it up to take a look at what was special about this artifact.
The head researcher left Zephyr to his antics while he went to help in scouring through the treasures, "Nothing" Zephyr thought to himself as he looked at the ring, he picked up nothing.
Shrugging as this wasn’t what he was best at, Zephyr turned his attention back to the scholar apeling and soon a result presented itself as one apeling took up a helmet and put it on causing dark black smoke to cover his figure soon he disappeared.
Zephyr watched with interest, expecting the same result but his expression changed as he didn’t feel any disturbance, "How?" Thinking that with Zephyr at the sent gust of wind blew across the chamber yet Zephyr received no feedback.
Speaking out loud to the open air, Zephyr shouted "Don’t take the helmet off, try to make a move at me"
The gust of wind and Zephyr’s voice caught the attention of the apeling nearby as they paused what they were doing to see what Zephyr was planning to do. "This is a good research note" They all thought to themselves.
The apeling Zephyr was talking to, meanwhile was looking down at the smoke covering his body that only he can see, he remembered how the smoke reacted when the wind came close to him. Making him corporeal as the wind simply passed through him undisturbed.
Hearing Zephyr’s words, the apeling smiled as he moved closer to Zephyr while he stood in front of him. Raising his arm to Punch Zephyr’s face, the apeling didn’t know what happened next but he found himself lying on the ground.
"Interesting" Zephyr said as he squatted taking the helm of the apeling. "Even if you didn’t find anymore concealment treasure this one is already enough but continue looking, there may still be some surprise left"
Zephyr said to the apelings who stopped their work, the only one still confused was the apeling lying down on the ground. Tapping the apeling shoulders Zephyr said "Stand up, you depended too much on the helm and forgot to keep your guard up"
"How?" The apeling murmured to himself. "Simple, an incredible concealment equipment, sensing you is nigh impossible but once you make a move or have an intent to attack you become exposed"
"From the smugness in your face at the time you thought you could punch me but the moment you raised your hand, your position was clear for everyone" Zephyr said as he tossed the helm up and down.
The apeleing looking defeated went back to join the others, "It’s good, I am testing these treasure out now, it would be a useful information father will need in the case he plans of making use of them"
The same thing happened again with picking up treasure and supplying it with mana to see the effect, soon the research chamber turned into a light show, sometimes fires, sometimes lightning. This continued for over an hour before two other treasures were handed to Zephyr, one looking like a crown while the other was still a ring.
Both were the same as the first rings and it was easy for Zephyr to find them, only the helm proved to be more unique.The head researcher approached Zephyr with a puzzled expression. "Your Highness, we have searched close to half of all the artifacts, and it seems that these four are the only ones with concealment abilities that we could find for now"
Zephyr nodded, acknowledging the effort put forth by the scholars. "Thank you for your diligence. These four will suffice for now. Continue cataloging the rest of the treasures, there might be other valuable artifacts among them that the kingdom will find great usage of"
Walking out from the chamber, Zephyr made his way back to the palace with the artifacts in his hand.
Ikem sat in his hand drowning in his thoughts when the palace room door was pushed open to show Zephyr who now had the artifact covered in winds and they hovered and followed right behind him.
"I thought it would take much longer and it seems like you got enough," Ikem said as she stood up walking towards Zephyr. They both met halfway as Ikem’s huge hand took hold of the weapons.
"Good job boy" Ikem said at the same time he got hold of the artifacts.
Zephyr blushing scratched the back of his head "I didn’t do much, the scholars were the one that did everything"
"Either way I am thankful for it, you are the only one around me now who I can rely on. Take one of those barrels I came back with and send it to the scholars when you have the time, tell them it’s my token of appreciation" Ikem said as he turned back walking to his throne and sat down.
Zephyr also sat down in his sit as he looked at his father who was observing the artifacts, "During the pick out, I have confirmed the usage and weaknesses which we share with the apelings who you plan of giving it to"
"I’m listening," Ikem said as he looked at Zephyr.
Zephyr took a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking. "The concealment artifacts, particularly the helm, possess remarkable abilities to render the wearer invisible to the naked eye and possibly supernatural senses. However, It is not foolproof. Any sudden movements or intent to attack while wearing the helm will disrupt the concealment, revealing the wearer’s position."
Ikem nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information. "So, they offer a form of stealth but require caution and control from the user. That’s valuable to know."
Zephyr continued, "Additionally, The other three artifacts come with similar concealment abilities. They function in much the same way but unlike the helm, there concealment capabilities isn’t strong but that is if your opponent see you turn invisible, ways to counter them can be easily found but if there is no possible knowledge and the user treads carefully, it will prove to helpful to what it is you plan on doing father"
"Interesting," Ikem remarked. "These certainly could prove useful in what we are about to do not only that but various situations, particularly in espionage or strategic maneuvers. But their limitations must be considered carefully."
Tossing the artifacts back to Zephyr, who caught it all mid air as he used the wind to carry them over to him, "Remember your previous order, you are now to journey out of the kingdom and head over to join the scout in Osita settlement and remember once they found the rebel group, don’t engage until you relay the message to me"