While Aurus and Herellia were inside the inheritance of Area 52 in order to obtain Comprehension Leaves, a pair of Animates were currently traversing through the lands of the continent whose name still remains unknown.
The first Animate was a man who looked somewhat chivalrous and valiant as a blade that exuded intense Wind energy could be seen hanging by the side as the Wind energy particles in his surroundings seemed to caress him. On the other hand, the second Animate was someone who looked in his middle ages, yet was able to keep pace with the first Animate thanks to the mana circulating throughout his body as he continued to cast spells.
Indeed, they were Dane and Vanadir, heading out towards a certain place in the continent whose name is unknown to hunt and allow Vanadir to transition into a higher ranked Cla.s.s.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
"Uh..." While traversing with Vanadir beside him, Dane could not help but ask, "Your Highness, do you know where we're going?"
"Of course I do!" Vanadir replied with a light smile, filled with confidence. "Though it has already been a few days since we've left the palace, I'm definitely sure we're getting close! We're bound to reach Greater Tempest Cliff soon enough!"
With the place 'Great Tempest Cliff' being spoken, Dane could not help but sigh and shake his head as memories resurfaced in his mind.
A few days ago, Dane brought the masterwork weapon made by him and Kelsey named Magnus Tempestria to the ninth prince Vanadir as a way to increase the chances of the ninth prince to win the spot for the throne and be hailed as the king of Seraph Kingdom.
Of course, Vanadir was quite enthralled by the appearance of Magnus Tempestria, even more so once he knew that the weapon was a high quality Grand grade weapon. But the straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that the sword was blessed by a G.o.d, though the both of them did not know that it was just a Lesser G.o.d. Nonetheless, Vanadir was exhilarated to use the sword out, not wanting to keep it in some sort of case for months before using it only in the tournament for the throne.
He wanted to experience the sword's full power.
"Let's go hunt!" Vanadir could not help but stand up from his seat as he looked at Dane with his eyes twinkling.
Thankfully, Dane was able to adapt to Vanadir's current mood and sipped a bit of the tea he was supposed to finish before standing up and nodding. "If that's what Your Highness, then that's what we'll do then. I reckon that you've asked permission from His Majesty King Seraphim before going out to hunt?"
"Urk." In an instant, Vanadir was left speechless after Dane's timely advice. He wryly chuckled for a bit before looking at Dane and replying, "Thanks for the reminder Dane. I forgot about the things that could possibly happen before the tournament right there."
What Vanadir was talking about when he mentioned the things that could possibly happen before the tournament, it was none other than death. Murder, poisoning, a.s.sa.s.sination, any method possible to kill princes in order to boost the chances of other princes in winning the spot for the throne.
This was not a rare occurrence at all in the Seraph Kingdom, even obtaining news of 3 princes other than him being stabbed, poisoned, and tortured respectively a few months before the upcoming tournament.
Placing Magnus Tempestria on the table, Vanadir willed a part of his mana outside his body as it formed a talisman that went towards a certain direction not long after. A few seconds later, a talisman came back and halted in front of Dane's body, covering his body in a mysterious aura before dissipating.
Seeing that he was covered in a mysterious aura that was the aura of Seraph royalty to be exact, Vanadir looked at the patient Dane before grabbing the sword once more and saying with a smile, "Okay! I've received permission to go out hunting as long as I bring a trusted person of the royal family with me to act as my bodyguard."
"And that would be..." Dane then followed up with this question.
Pointing the sword's tip towards Dane, Vanadir chuckled lightly and replied, "Who else would it be other than you, Dane!"
Dane heard Vanadir's reply and lightly smiled as he replied, "I thank the Prince's generosity."
"So, where are we heading off Your Highness?" After pondering for a bit, Dane decided to ask this question.
"Hmm...I didn't think of that." Vanadir hemmed and hawed for a bit as he thought up of places that would be incredibly suitable for his cla.s.s before settling on a place that was not that far away from the kingdom.
"Aha! Let's head towards the Greater Tempest Cliff!" Vanadir answered after a bit with great fervor, running towards the exit of the palace not long after with his absurdly high Agility.
"Let us head there then." Dane smiled as he started to chant movement boosting spells.
"2nd Circle. Child of the Wind."
"3rd Circle. Ephemeral Tempest."
"3rd Circle. Unyielding Body."
"2nd Circle. Breeze Flutter."
"4th Circle. Grand Hover Art."
Whoos.h.!.+
And just like that, they headed out of the palace towards the Greater Tempest Cliff...ending up where they were at the moment.
"Your Highness, you can confess that you have a poor sense of direction," Dane tried to console Vanadir, who tried to maintain a facade of happiness as they continued to run. "As long as you admit it, I'll summon a map of the continent in an instant."
Although Vanadir was quite tempted and wanted to test out the power of the sword at this instant, he decided to be stubborn in his ways and replied, "No need for maps! I'll rely on my intuition to find our way there!"
Hearing Vanadir's reply, Dane could not help but sigh in reply as he decided to not meddle with Vanadir's decisions anymore and follow him from behind.
Thud.
As he thought of this in his mind, Dane instantly felt a calling at the back of his mind, prompting to look at where it came from and was shocked to find out what it was.
"Spiritas..." Dane muttered to himself as he remembered this word.
"After all this time, it still hasn't been used as a material?"
Within the inheritance of Area 52, in a boring and cube shaped room of stone.
"Inheritor, welcome to the inheritance of Area 52," the voice that resounded in Aurus' mind stated.
Hearing the name 'Area 52', Aurus could not help but ask himself, "To think that there's such an area like this in this world...is this a joke or is it actually true?"
"Anyways, I just came here for comprehension leaves. I have no need to know the history of the inheritance." Deciding that it would be futile for him to think about the origin of the name any further, Aurus placed this thought at the back of his head.
"Due to the increased difficulty of the inheritance, the amount of trials the inheritor has to clear has been increased as well." Not long after, the voice continued to talk.
"The inheritor now has to face three trials, these trials being Comprehension, Logic, and Soul Strength in that order," the voice added on.
"Comprehension, Logic, and Soul Strength huh..." Aurus muttered to himself. "They definitely have something to do with Comprehension Leaves."
"In ten minutes, the inheritor shall face the Trial of Comprehension. Failure to clear this trial shall mean forefeiting the chance of gaining the rewards from the inheritance, as well as the key of the inheritance."
"So if I lose, I get kicked out with no rewards whatsoever and no key." Aurus thought of this and nodded inwardly as if it was a matter of fact. "Wait a second."
"Key?"
"What type of key?" In an instant, Aurus' interest and motivation shot up to its peak, changing Aurus' indifferent att.i.tude to that of an extremely motivated and goal oriented one.
"Guess I'll have to take this inheritance seriously. Who knows what this key to the inheritance may bring."
"Oh, and the Comprehension Leaf."