Mathias shrugged and grinned at him.
"That’s the reward our king planned for you. He overheard you asking your brother to look for mythical materials, and it so happened he possessed an unused one. He also knew you’d win and shared the information with me but hid it from Alice for obvious reasons. After all, with her temper, she would have just yelled that you were the champion on the first day and ended the competition. Hahaha."
As he clicked his tongue and twisted his lips, Mathias pointed toward the distant palace and continued.
"I know you’re annoyed by the skeleton’s condition, but trust me, our king is wise and a good person. He’ll explain everything to you tomorrow morning."
Shoulders trembling in incertitude and hidden disappointment, he sneered, leaving a final sentence as he walked on the city’s clean slabs and engulfed himself in the nature-filled streets.
"I’ll be there at sunrise with my brother in my original form. Warn your king."
A moment later, he stepped inside a luxurious nearby inn and frowned. The usually boisterous main hall was empty, and the smell of cooked food and alcohol was absent. The only person he saw was an aged lady sitting behind the counter, waiting for her family to return from the stadium.
With a few short words with her, he climbed the stairs and entered a room on the second floor.
The moment the door cracked open, Gaston smirked at him, opening his mouth to speak.
Before the nightmare could, he gritted his teeth and cut him off.
"I’m already annoyed enough, so if you plan to speak about your cards or whatnot, please shut up."
He massaged his forehead, seeing Gaston close his mouth and smile innocently at him.
’Is that the only thing you think about? You need a therapist! It’s more than an obsession at this point! Anyway, I don’t have time to waste with this bastard.’
Without wasting a second, he sat on the ground. Golden mist wafted from the wood and condensed into his spectral frame as he emerged from the puppet he had used for almost a year.
Hovering mid-air, his lips twisted, and his luminous eyes rested on it for a few seconds. A sense of loss rapidly tightened around his chest to replace the past few days’ frustration as he forced himself to speak.
"It has seven days of soul binding left. Inform Elena once you deliver it to her."
Gaston nodded in silence, knowing better than to speak when Adam’s emotions were off. Instead, he encased his hand in dark mana and caressed the puppet, parasitising its pseudo-mana circuits.
Without anyone inside, it suddenly rose and followed the nightmare as he left without a word.
A bitter taste filled Adam’s mouth, and his shoulders slumped as he heard the inn’s plank creak under the puppet’s weight and watched its red coat flutter with each step.
’Goodbye, my first mythical creation. I hope Elena will give you a second life even if your form will change.’
He bit his lips and remained unmoving for a moment, the joy he felt when he crafted it and all the challenges he faced using it resurfacing one after another. But he knew he would have to part with it from day one and had to let go.
After a minute, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes to rest his mind for tomorrow’s meeting with mixed feelings.
He should have been delighted by now, but how could he after learning about the skeleton’s flaw? What if it was unusable? Would his one-year longing for it be in vain?
Those unsettling questions and the incertitude gnawed at his heart as his mind slipped into sleep’s tender embrace.
His dim eyes came to life as the noise of displaced wind and fierce movements woke him up at dawn.
Instead of warily surveilling the room, a soft smile stretched on his lips as he gazed at Julius’ gladius cleave the wind in flashes of bright silver. Then, at his defined muscles, befitting a marble statue more than a human.
Now that he inched on his fifteenth birthday, the boy towered at a meter and eighty-five centimeters. Through the glistening drop of sweat covering his skin, protruding veins pulsed with vitality, showcasing his boundless life force.
Finally, he observed the young man’s handsome features with an approving nod and patted his shoulder.
However, his eyes trembled as his spectral hand passed through and forced a realisation to rumble in his mind.
’Without the copy inhabiting his soul sea, we’re not linked anymore...’
He retrieved his shaking hand and gazed at it, feeling bitterness invade his mouth now that he would leave.
’I thought we’d share that unbreakable link forever. But it’s also better that way. I’m a burden to his growth and radiant personality. I wish you a happy life until we meet again many years in the future, brother.’
Pride swelled in his soul as he observed the young man with whom he had shared so many moments since his birth as a silent tear rolled down his cheeks.
Of course, he could contact him anytime, but why would he? It would only put him under Elisabeth’s investigation and make things hard for him.
’I’ll disappear like Kwame did and return with a true body once I’m an archmage. By then, I’ll be able to protect everyone. Fortunately, we still have time.’
With all the preparations he had made and allies he had gathered to ensure their safety, including the hateful Gaston, he knew the beast emperor wouldn’t attack them so long as they didn’t provoke him. After all, Alkemia Al-Nur had nothing to offer but a small desert, its oasis, and the college.
As he pondered how much of a waste attacking the resource-deprived city was, Julius turned to him and smiled.
"Good morning, big brother. It’s great you woke up early. I can share the information I gathered with Arun before we head to the palace."
He offered the young man a warm nod and gestured for him to speak.
Julius sheathed his gladius and quickly wiped the sweat off his body before he explained.
"We went to several cities to ask young, old, rich and commoners alike. Their description of Leon is unanimous. He rose to power fifty-eight years ago by decapitating his father, an old tyrant who let corruption rule the country. From that moment, every law he adopted focused on helping the citizens: he reduced taxes and limited the nobles’ influence by creating an independent organism supervised by scholarly commoners to monitor or judge them in fair trials. Crimes and famish almost vanished in his country because everyone had enough wealth to eat and live decently. Orion also told us about him and his excellent treatment of the summoned."
Julius tucked his finger around his chin, a pensive frown creasing his brows as he continued.
"He also promoted nature and used the royal treasury to renovate every city. Truthfully, I don’t know how his kingdom still exists. Leon has no cash flow and is riddled with debts. Yet whenever he needs a large amount of money, he systematically finds a mysterious item to sell for a fortune to finance his projects. I’m confused about this part, but all in all, he seems like a benevolent ruler."
A pensive grunt escaped his lip as he tapped his fingers on his forearm.
Then, he shrugged and floated to the door, hiding the smile tugging at his lips.
"You’re a man now. No matter what you decide, I’ll Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive! In fact, I’ll retrieve the skeleton and remain silent."
Together, they left for the palace as Julius spoke spiritedly like they used to in the college’s dorms.
He revelled in the atmosphere as he gradually steeled his heart for their goodbyes until they stepped on the palace’s broad jade stairs.
AN: I hope you’re as eager as I am for the next short arc, for its end will bring tremendous changes to the story’s settings.