Tyson, who was standing beside Arthur, also bowed in greeting and introduced himself.
The difference was that he introduced his name in full. He introduced him was Tyson IV Dyson. It indicated his identity as a true son while Arthur wasn't.
The patriarch chuckled and said to them, "What fine boys."
He looked at Arthur from his head to his toe. Arthur himself felt something touch him as the man looked at him. It was as if the man's gaze was tangible.
He felt something touch every part of his body. Nothing was spared, not even his thighs. It made him shiver and feel naked.
After inspecting Arthur, the man said to Augustus, "The boy is right, though. He has more talent than you."
Arthur wanted to refute again. But before he could say anything, Augustus said, "I know. He was already at the ninth transformation when he was eleven years old. I have to work hard every day, or he will catch up with me."
As if that wasn't bad enough, Augustus continued, "He started cultivating at seven years old, so he used four years to grow from the second transformation to the ninth transformation. That's a godly level of talent. I know he will catch up to me. But I don't want it to be so soon."
Arthur groaned inwardly. He should be proud, but from the looks he was getting from his mother, he knew he was wrecking her plans for him to suck up to his father.
He said to himself, "Me and my big mouth."
He tried to patch things up. "I was just bragging. I didn't mean anything more with what I said. I am sure that you are a dragon among men."
The patriarch shook his head and said to Augustus, "Don't let his modesty fool you. If there is a dragon among me, he is the dragon among men. If you dare to be a dragon among men, he will be the dragon slayer."
As he said that, the man began to walk around Arthur. People made way for him as he inspected Arthur thoroughly.
Arthur was certain that there was something invisible touching him. He was certain that it wasn't just his imagination because the frequency of the thing touching him had increased with the increase in the man's attention towards him.
The power of the invisible force had also increased. It was pinching his body and checking his muscles.
He had experienced something like that at the hands of his mother and Brooks. So he knew that he was being inspected. It brought a chill down his spine.
When the man was done, he said, "Good talent. I appreciate talent. Because I do, I will give you a gift. Consider it a gift from the Dyson family. So when you grow stronger in the future, don't say that the Dyson family never supported you."
A golden bow suddenly appeared in the patriarch's hand.
He said, "This is a top-grade extraordinary artifact. Since you will need to be at the second mortal coil to fully utilize it, it is called a rank 2 artifact."
"You're not in the second mortal coil yet, so you can't make your own arrows. You will need physical arrows to use with it. So you will need this."
As he said that, a quiver of arrows also appeared in the man's other hand.
Then he said to Arthur, "We in the Dyson family are a family of archers. So this is all I have to give. I hope it will serve you well."
Then he handed the bow and quiver to Arthur.
Arthur was already eager when he heard that he would receive a gift. When he saw the golden bow suddenly appear in the man's hand, his jaw fell open in surprise.
He wasn't the only one who was surprised. Both he and Tyson were surprised by the sudden appearance of a bow. They were further surprised when the quiver appeared.
Arthur received the two precious items with care and said, "Thank you, patriarch."
The man rubbed his smooth, hairless chin and said, "You're welcome."
Then he encouraged Arthur, "Go ahead and give it a try."
Arthur lifted the bow and tried to pull it. He found that the bow was very heavy. It was difficult to lift with one arm, but he managed to do that.
It was even more difficult to pull the bowstring. The bowstring felt as if it was made from metal. It was tough to pull.
Still, he managed it. He managed to lift the bow and pull it.
He smiled in excitement and asked the patriarch, "How's this?"
The patriarch beamed and clapped. "Nicely done. I'm sure that this will be put to good use by you. I am looking forward to the news of your success."
Augustus's face twitched as he watched. He was trying his hardest not to show his emotions, but it was very difficult to do so.
Lady Delia, on the other hand, didn't have as much control as her husband. Her eyes had widened, and her mouth was ajar in shock. She looked as if she had seen a ghost.
As for Lady Vena, she was nervous. She was fidgeting and sweating.
Her sweating increased in intensity when she saw the smiling patriarch glance at her from the corner of his eyes. She knew then that she was in trouble.
She cursed herself inwardly, "Damn it. I should have acted surprised too."
What they were doing had drawn some attention. But no one came to interfere.
Arthur and Tyson were busy admiring the bow and quiver. They touched them with affection and spoke words of admiration about the bow.
Tyson pleaded to Arthur, "Please let me try it. Please, please."
Arthur let him have a go at the bow. But Tyson couldn't lift it off the ground. He gripped it with both of his hands and pulled with all of his might, but he couldn't lift it at all.