Not until I see your sword skill!" Dr. Gerard said and rooted himself in place.
"Not in the mood!"
"I will wait until you are in the mood!"
"Hmm!" Eiran snorted
"I will definitely call Sophie when you come back from the City Ruin. But you must be alive and well," Dr. Gerard commented, and that piqued the interest of the boy, who nodded.
"I will be fine!" He said before beaming with a smile. "That Dragon King saved me. Does that mean he's an ally?"
"Absolutely not," Nyara said. "He made a move because if you had fought the Annihilator, it would mean you're better than them. Since none of them battled one when they first came here!"
"Oh. So that fire was just to make sure I didn't surpass them in the first fight!"
"Most likely. But the way I know the man, he's not one to scheme deeply—he believes in strength and direct confrontation."
"Okay. What about the others? I saw six of them!"
"Well… let's feed you well before some lessons. Besides, we need to be moving toward the city. The trial of entrance will take hours to clear."
"I won't be resting?" Eiran pleaded.
"I'm afraid not. Besides, there might be fighting. Of course, since beasts don't attack you, we will have an easy pass."
"Can I come?" the red-armored woman asked.
Dr. Gerard answered, "No. Not now. You making a move with them might attract unwanted attention, especially now that we don't know who's pulling the strings."
"I can gather information!" she said again.
"That will do. But for now, you should guard the chamber. You are free to kill any intruder," Dr. Gerard said, but her gaze was on the boy chewing his meat.
"What he said, but not the killing part. We can contain them," Eiran said.
Nyara pulled out a soft towel and proceeded to clean his face, hands, and the rest of his torso where he'd made a mess with food.
Then she dragged him to a corner to wear his Royal Uniform. She stuffed his hands with the sword he'd thrown away and said, "There are four trials in reaching the city. First, approaching causes one's body to be weak. Only someone with incredible willpower can get close to it.
"Second, even if you're getting closer, the city will attack you with cannonballs and guards to stop your advance.
"Third, when you reach it, you will have to solve a puzzle to enter through the door.
"Fourth, once inside you will be teleported to a random location where you will face a trial—it can be a fight, or a race, or a game, or anything, and you will have to pass it. If you fail, you will be kicked out of the city and you have to try again. But if you pass, you will have a chamber in the city."
She took a deep breath from the long speech and continued, "Having a chamber means you can anchor yourself in the city. Other Candidates have chambers, but the six you saw aren't able to maintain themselves inside the city because they don't have enough Ethio. But also because they're fairly new. You too—even if you get the chamber, you must procure enough Ethio to stay."
Dr. Gerard quickly said, "The most important thing is that you get a chamber for now. Maintaining it will come later."
"Yes. What he said," Nyara said. "Can we go now?"
"Eiran," the doctor called, "how about you show me the skill now?"
"Blah." Eiran stuck out his tongue at him and said, "Come back later!"
He was then dragged down inside the pyramid.
***
The underground tunnel now took them to a gate. As they walked out, Eiran's heart skipped a beat as a ginormous silhouette appeared before him.
A subtle weight rested on his shoulder and mind but that made his blood roar in excitement—a worthy challenge.
"You feel it?" Nyara asked. "I know you feel it. The weight will increase. We chamberlains have no desire or destiny to claim the city, and so we feel nothing. But those that want it, even if they aren't candidates will feel it."
"Interesting!" Eiran was in his focus mode. Nyara asked him to begin moving. "It might look close, but it's twenty kilometers from here, and it's always drifting. Now that the gate is open, its drift will slow down."
They began to jog until they were running. Nyara made sure Eiran wasn't straining—his body was too tender to be abused. On the journey, she was allowed to give him some aid like carrying him, but that wouldn't reduce the weight he was feeling.
Eiran was thoughtful, their speed measured as he went into his talent.
SSS Rank Potential
Talent: Celestial Blood
Borne Trait: Essence Vessels
Brand Skill: Healing
Brand Skill: Blooming
Brand Bind: Forge Form
- Bind Link: Small Palace
- Bind Link: Royal Uniform
Eiran's eyes were on Blooming and how it came to be.
At first he understood well that Bloom Power came from hardship and training, which made their body expand due to muscles, bones, and other relevant organs gaining more strength.
While that also reflected in their mind as they endured hardship, as well as their heart that never wavered.
As someone who had touched upon it, Eiran knew he had the potential to grow.
Forge Form, on the other hand, created his hands and feet, identical to his body. Though when damaged, he wouldn't be harmed as they were fundamentally not real—however, real enough to affect his body.
Eiran had linked the Bloom and Forge Form through his blood and fed them Celestial Blood Essence. That sounded easy, but it was an intricate affair.
Eiran had expected that the hands would expand and bandages would wrap around his body to create a Husk Form, while he as a baby was inside controlling.
But that didn't happen. Forge Form had fused with his body, as the effects on them bounced back to his body and he got accelerated growth in ten minutes.
The toddler attire he wore at that time sucked into his hands and a skirt was formed from the feet and covers.
When Nyara entered, that was the moment after the blooming. He was actually dazed before he began to see her. Her beautiful face also aided in clearing his mind, and the wind caressing his skin awakened him fully.
At ten years old, his mindset had also shifted to be like one. With a bigger brain and bigger emotional container, Eiran was a bit different than when he was a toddler.
The great thing was he wasn't straining to keep himself in this form. However, he knew there was a limit.
He had made the Blooming but still didn't grasp a lot of it. CBE seemed to have done some magic to it and finished the product.
'I should do that to the Blood Art I created!'
Eiran was skeptical though—he only had two CBE and it will take some time before he made more. But without the art, he would be vulnerable.
Eiran noticed he'd clearly made a move when the gorilla attacked him before the Dragon King stood, but the man stood and unleashed his fire at the gorilla before Eiran pulled the sword.
This told him he was slow. Not that his art was slow, but his mastery over it was low. If he made it into a Brand Skill, he would have a better advantage.
Besides, if the art had issues, CBE would fix that.
He made up his mind. All this while, Nyara observed him well, noticing he had reverted to being more focused than even when she first met him.
Eiran initiated the Nameless Blood Art—the speed and augmentation of brain and body commence. Instead of Talent Energy as fuel, he used Celestial Blood Essence.
'Bam!'
Crimson aura exploded from Eiran's body. Nyara reacted in time, sharp blade in hand, and she cut the aura in two, but her blade shattered and she was flung back.
Eiran's body floated in place, pressure from him expanding until it covered a hundred-foot radius. Depressions appeared on the ground as the aura pressed down before it vanished.
Eiran dropped down, one knee on the ground, using his sheathed blade to support himself. Nyara flickered before him. "Are you alright?" she asked. She pulled his head to rest on her shoulder and he did so with no resistance.
She had tried to cut the crimson aura because she feared it didn't come from him, but when she was flung back, she realized he was indeed the source.
"What happened?" she asked. "Are you injured from inside?"
"I'm fine. I'm hungry."
She pulled out her bag and brought out some rations, feeding him slowly. Then she gave him a liquid that Dr. Gerard had given her—a nutritional solution that would help.
Moments later, he felt back to his peak. "Sorry, I should have told you I was Branding the Art on me," Eiran said as he looked up at her. Her face was bleeding from her eyes and nose. The aura's impact was not weak, and she was at her weakest.
"I'm fine." She wanted to ask how he could just brand art but refrained from doing so.
After they recovered, they stood and began to run forward. "I have virtually limitless stamina as long as I'm not straining my body. Let's increase the speed," Eiran said before he lunged ahead faster than before. His mind checking what he had formed.
___
SSS Rank Potential
Talent: Celestial Blood
Borne Trait: Essence Vessels
___
Brand Skill: Healing
Brand Skill: Blooming
Brand Bind: Forge Form
- Bind Link: Small Palace
- Bind Link: Royal Uniform
Brand Skill: Nameless Blood Art
- Blood Art: Heart
- Blood Art: Haste
- Blood Art: Vein
- Blood Art: Bone
- Blood Art: Growth
Brand Skill: Sliding Moon Art
___