A loud and intense laughter echoed across the area as the sovereign laughed without any care in the world. The situation had simply been that amusing to him. He had just praised Niall for using his head, and the latter had been so confident in his power.
However, who would have thought what just happened would actually occur?
If it were possible, Niall's face would have turned an intense shade of red by now. He was too embarrassed to remain in the area, but unfortunately, he couldn't leave.
The sovereign laughed some more at Niall's reaction before becoming serious.
"The bet is over, and the winner has been decided. Do you have any objections?"
Niall clenched his fist hard. 'I lost the bet.'
He had lost and would have to become Atticus's slave. It was unnerving—something he never expected would happen in his life.
"No, sovereign," Niall bowed and responded.
"Good," the sovereign nodded and turned to Atticus.
"So, how was it?"
The red shroud covering Atticus's face suddenly disappeared, revealing his expression.
"I… felt it. In my head. It was trying to pierce through my will," Atticus replied.
"And how did your will react?"
"It engulfed and burned it," Atticus said, his voice steady.
The sovereign smiled.
"Ah, how envious. I wish my will were as vengeful and unyielding as yours, burning red."
The sovereign felt a tinge of jealousy toward Atticus's will. Not many in the whole of Eldoralth possessed the intense red-colored will that Atticus had.
But those who did were known to be unforgiving and extremely vengeful. More importantly, their will had properties that reflected their owner's nature.
The exosuit's consciousness and the Psyquillan youth that Atticus had battled during his first division battle had experienced this firsthand—Atticus's will reacted violently and seemed to have burning properties.
Atticus, paying no further attention to the sovereign, focused inward to assess his changes.
'It feels like I have more control over the suit,' he thought.
Atticus could feel every inch of the suit, and he sensed that he now had absolute control over it.
Normally, he wouldn't have been able to release the red shroud over his face alone without removing the entire exosuit. But now, he could do it and more.
Atticus decided to check the numbers instead of relying on feelings alone.
'Status,' he called out, and a holographic display appeared in front of him.
Character Profile:
------------------------
Name: Atticus Ravenstein
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Attributes:
------------------------
Strength: 589>> 650
Agility: 607>> 688
Endurance: 619>> 701
Vitality: 634>> 735
Intelligence: 65>> 69
Perception: 54>> 60
Charm: 50
Will: 49>> 65
Level: Master- New!
Talent: Mythical
Bloodline: Primordial Elemental Bloodline
* Level 3
- Fire: 97.3>> 97.7 %
- Air: 97.1>> 97.5%
- Water: 97.5 >> 97.8%
- Earth: 97>> 97.4%
- Light: 83.4>> 84.5%
-Darkness: 85.3>> 86%
-Lightning: 84.5>> 85.6%
-Ice: 83.9>> 84.8%
*Level 2
-Space: 31.6>> 33.2 %
*Level 1
NONE
*Locked Bloodlines -
- PENDING
Abilities:
------------------------
Innate Skills:
* Conceal [Potential: Mythical]
- The ability to conceal your level from anyone regardless of rank. You may choose what level you want to be shown.
- Current mastery: Mythical
Life Weapon Skills:
* Transcendent Slash: Godspeed Grace
* Endless Strike
Normal Skills:
* Arcane Barrier [Potential: Transcendent]
- Current Mastery: Master- >> Master+
* Elemental Mimicry [Potential: Transcendent]
-Current mastery: Expert+
*Ethereal Cloak [Potential: Empowered]
-Current mastery: Expert-
His stats were looking good. Atticus found it hard to estimate the depth of his growth since entering the Abyssal Chasm. Initially skeptical about entering, he now thanked his stars that he did.
He couldn't wait to see the look on Magnus' face when he emerged from the chasm! A smile spread across Atticus' face as he tried to imagine that stoic and ever-serious man showing a surprised expression.
His most improved stat was his will, which had risen by a magnificent 16 points! But something still bothered Atticus.
'Do these current stats mean I'm as strong as a grandmaster-?' Atticus pondered, trying to gauge his strength. It felt absurd. Sure, aerokinesis and burst were very overpowered, but bridging the gap between a master- rank and a grandmaster- seemed impossible.
And yet, he had overwhelmed Niall, who had limited his strength. Sure, if Niall had used his domain, things would have been different, but at the same time, Atticus felt there was more to it.
'I don't think I've ever fought someone at my rank without using the katana arts and aerokinesis. I haven't checked where my passive strength lies compared to others at my rank.'
Atticus resolved to do this after he got out; it would help him determine the actual reason for his power.
However, it seemed it wouldn't be as easy as he thought.
The sovereign suddenly clapped his hands together.
"Alright! My star actor, now that I've helped you overcome your problem, it's only fair you help me with something, right?"
Atticus paused. He knew this was coming after everything, but the only thing he didn't know was what the sovereign would ask of him.
However, he was no slave. While he was grateful, he had no intention of doing something he didn't want to do.
The sovereign noticed the tension in the air and smiled. 'There's no doubt about it, this boy is crazy,'
Atticus' demeanor told him everything he needed to know about his state of mind. The boy was actually telling a paragon that he couldn't force him to do anything?
The sovereign wanted to laugh out loud.
"Don't worry, cub, I'm sure you'd love what I'm about to ask you to do."
The sovereign snapped his fingers, and Atticus suddenly found himself enveloped in intense darkness. He wasn't in the pit-turned-coliseum anymore.
'Isn't this the cave?'
Atticus vividly remembered the darkness of the cave he had first entered in the chasm. 'Why am I here?'
Atticus wondered, and he got his answer quickly. A voice sounded in his head—the sovereign's voice.
[Human cub, some pests invaded my world, and I was just about to take care of them before you arrived. Then I got the best idea of the century—why don't I let my star actor handle this matter? It should be fine, though. The pests are well hated among you humans anyway. Good luck, and be careful!]