The raging battle came to an abrupt stop as Anastasia and Avalon walked into the advanced training room.
"Did something happen?" Atticus asked, a bit confused as he caught the wide grin on Avalon's face. Avalon was usually easy to read, his expressions was always worn openly, which led Atticus to believe they were bringing good news.
"Guess what?" Avalon said, smiling as he approached Atticus and Magnus.
Atticus sighed. A thousand possibilities flashed through his mind, but he had no intention of guessing.
He turned towards Anastasia with a smile, glad she was there too. Though she loved teasing him, Anastasia rarely joined in on such games when it came to serious matters.
"The rewards for winning the Nexus have finally arrived," she said.
Atticus's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked, just to confirm.
"Tch. You ruined the fun, honey," Avalon threw Anastasia a pouting look, clearly disappointed that she'd spoiled his moment. Anastasia chuckled, she was enjoying it.
"Yes, baby. We just received an ambassador from the Dimensari," she explained.
If he was honest, Atticus was a bit shocked. After the incident with the other races, he had let go of any hope of receiving rewards. It had felt like a painful loss, but he didn't want to keep hoping for something that might never come.
Magnus showed no hint of surprise as he listened. Even though he'd been training with Atticus, nothing happened in the Ravenstein estate that he wasn't aware of. What he didn't know, however, was what the reward actually was.
Feeling both Magnus and Atticus's curious gazes on him, Avalon snapped out of his brooding and began to explain.
Clearing his throat, he said, "The rewards are split, one part benefits you personally, and the other benefits the human domain as a whole."
Avalon then brought out a golden slate from his space ring and handed it to Atticus, who scrutinized it immediately. "An art?"
Avalon's tone became even more excited.
"Yes! It's a paragon ranked art, and wait for it, this art combines one ability from each of the superior races!"
Atticus froze, and even Magnus seemed taken aback. The value of an art like this was immeasurable. The fact that the alliance had given something of this caliber to Atticus was beyond surprising. Was this really true?
Avalon's grin widened, and even Anastasia couldn't help but smile. It wasn't every day they saw such an expression on Atticus's face.
But at that moment, Atticus's thoughts were entirely focused on the art in his hands. An art that combined one ability from each superior race, it was incredible.
His mind drifted to his brief encounters with the races at the Verietega nexus. He had battled the apexes of the Nullite and Dimensari races, and every ability they used had been overwhelming.
Even if each race had contributed their least powerful abilities, to Atticus, they were worth more than gold.
'This is priceless; I have to learn it immediately,' he thought, feeling a sudden, intense eagerness. It was the kind of feeling one gets when holding a long awaited burger, only to be interrupted repeatedly.
While he was lost in thought, Atticus hadn't noticed that Anastasia was calling him.
"Atticus?"
"Atticus!"
He snapped out of his reverie and turned to see all of them looking at him with smiles.
"Wow, are you that excited?" Avalon ruffled his hair. "At least let me finish telling you about the other rewards first!"
Another shock ran through Atticus.
"There are more?" It felt unbelievable. This alone was more than enough.
Avalon nodded with a smug smile.
"They might not be as impressive as the art, but they're still something. They're more like privileges…"
Atticus's gaze was fixed on Avalon's mouth as he spoke, but if he was honest with himself, most of it was going in one ear and out the other.
From what he caught, it sounded like the alliance had granted him diplomatic immunity across every race's domain. He could visit any domain he wanted, at any time.
The art he'd been given had been the agreed upon reward for the Nexus and was supposed to be given immediately after the competition. However, due to certain circumstances, more than a week had passed before it was finally delivered.
Atticus nodded, absorbing the gist of it, but it seemed Avalon was just getting started. Aside from the art and privileges for winning the competition, Atticus had also received a surprising number of gifts from other groups.
Both the Dragon and Aeonian races had sent representatives with gifts and invitations to visit their domains. But they weren't the only ones.
To his surprise, even the superior races extended similar invitations. While they felt it beneath them to send gifts, they still invited him to visit their domains.
This particular point caught Atticus's attention. While it seemed simple, it was a tricky situation. Atticus had no intention of visiting any of them, but he was concerned they might find a way to trick or pressure him into doing so.
It was something he'd need to handle carefully and immediately.
And that wasn't all. During the week he had spent training, the various tiered families in the human domain, as well as smaller, less significant families, had sent him gifts.
Even many citizens of the human domain, no matter how small their contributions, had done the same. By the end of the week, the entire Ravenstein estate had become filled with all sorts of gifts.
In essence, Atticus had a lot to handle. However, he had never been one to shy from responsibilities, especially when those responsibilities involved sorting through gifts! Who in their right mind would call that work?
It seemed inconceivable.
By the time Avalon finished, Atticus was grinning from ear to ear. Though he was curious about what had happened with the races whose apexes had died during the competition, he decided not to ask.
For now, he had work to do, and it was work he'd enjoy.