Incest/Taboo Magic, Love, Family

Author's Note: It is a fictional tale. All characters engaging in sexual activities are over the age of 18 years.

This is the fourth part in the series. I would advise first time readers to read the previous parts before reading this one. Do refer to the glossary and maps, in chapter zero, they will make things clearer.

In this chapter, we follow Raymond as he leaves Ryhor and travels to Ostorth. As with the previous part, it's a bit light on the sexual content.

Please take a look at the maps in the glossary or from my profile page.

Enjoy

(Un-Edited)

Scene 1

A wooden carriage was travelling on an empty road under the thin forest canopy. The light drifting through was refracted by the misty haze as it illumined the path. It was enough at the moment that no lamps were required, but the light was receding, ever so inevitably. The coachman expertly held the reins of the two horses, his face stern. The distant noises of beasts didn't faze him one bit, and his eyes remained vigilant for any sudden trouble. Four guards on the sides of the carriage rode close to it, maintaining a constant speed.

The carriage could by no means be called huge; however, it appeared large enough for a speedy and comfortable journey if there was only a couple of people inside. Nonetheless, it shouldn't be a concern because the narrow road on which it had been travelling was well maintained, though it didn't look as special as the one in the big cities of the south and the west. Only a few pebbles to its edges were visible and that took a much closer inspection than was necessary. It was a given in this case, as the road was the only one between the two cities of Ryhor and Purvoth.

"Halt!" A stern voice echoed.

The coachman pulled on the reins and the carriage slowed to a stop on the guard captain's command. Apart from the coachman, the three guards, along with the guard captain, dismounted their horses. The guard captain swiftly covered the few meters of distance between his position and the carriage and then briskly knocked on its door.

*Knock*Knock*

"Sir Raymond!"

A minute or so later, when a strikingly handsome young man alighted from the carriage, the guard captain greeted him in a polite tone. The dark haired man, covered in a full-body-armor, nodded as he observed the surroundings.

"Captain Fjord!"

"Reporting! We are a kilometer away from the Purvoth base."

"Hmmm..."

Raymond deeply inhaled the misty air. He had been inside the carriage for quite a while and took time to stretch himself. Bending down, he stroked the slightly damp earth and hummed contentedly as he felt the richness of the soil. Since the day he had awakened to the earth attribute, he had felt a renewed appreciation and connection to the earth and his surroundings. He couldn't explain the feeling itself, but he knew that it felt strangely comforting whenever he made contact with the surface. It was as if he had met someone whom he had missed for a long time.

Raymond straightened his back slowly, his gaze fixed on the patch of earth. The neighing of the nearby horses broke his stupor. He took a cursory glance towards the setting sun before he turned to his left and commented, "we shall stay in the base. If we go inside the city, then we might be late tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir Raymond!"

"We can't be more delayed than this..." Raymond added as he turned towards the carriage.

Captain Fjord acknowledged the command and waited for Raymond to board the carriage before he took his place at the head of the party and signaled to follow along behind him.

"Hah! The time passed by so quickly!"

Raymond slumped onto the cushions. His shoulders felt stiff from the long journey. It had been a couple of days since he left Ryhor. The journey to Ostorth proved tedious for him, sitting in that small space and spending last night in the wild. One had to pass through Purvoth if they wanted to travel from Ryhor to Ostorth, and it took two whole days if they rushed their travel. It was on Raymond's command that they had slowed down on the way.

"Fucking infuriating! I couldn't even celebrate my awakening properly..."

Raymond was not at all glad that he had to leave Ryhor to meet his mother. He had delayed it for as long as he could, and his only solace was the fact that he would be getting something out of it. Something incredible, much in the likes of the absurdly big magic stone given to him by his gorgeous cousin.

"Miranda! So awesome..."

He let out a sigh and glanced at the nearly depleted magic stone. Throughout the journey, he had been absorbing the concentrated magic power contained in it to increase his own mana. The effect was far better than he had imagined. He had already become a full-fledged 2-star level awakened warrior, one who was near to evolving his mana pool for the third time.

"Using money to gain power is awesome!"

Raymond had completed the second evolution of his magic pool last night after they had halted for the night at a predetermined place. The five people with him were a little shocked when he had started to laugh maniacally in the middle of the night.

"Hmm... but they didn't look as surprised by it as I would have thought..."

Captain Fjord, in particular, had seemed like he was used to such scenes, and that didn't sit well with Raymond.

"He shouldn't have the money for it. The same goes for the other captains in the base, then why..."

Raymond had been in a terrific mood because of his rapid progression. He had always felt weak and out of place in his family of super powerful women. It wasn't because he was the only male, which was quite strange in itself; he had become used to that reality a long time ago. The thing that always haunted him though, was that he was the only one who hadn't awakened and thus was the weakest among them. He couldn't help but feel ashamed, embarrassed, or even unworthy whenever he stopped to compare himself with his sister and cousins.

"Hmmm... maybe Rose and Lily too used magic stones to raise their levels?"

That was a sobering thought. Raymond clenched the dimly shining magic in his fist. He wanted to become strong and do it right then; he couldn't afford to wait any longer. For far too long, he had been the black sheep, and the thought that it would forever remain the same made him a bit despair. He felt like punching a hole in the wall as he thought about the wide gap between his current self and Miranda, his ultimate goal.

"Fuck! I have to become strong at any cost!"

Raymond had a determined look on his face as he gritted his teeth.

"No matter what! I will become the strongest and..."

Scene 2

Ostorth: the capital of Gelodesh.

Raymond peeked out from the little window on the side after he pulled aside the curtains. The city was much the same as he remembered it. He hadn't been back in the capital since he left for Ryhor all those years ago. As the carriage passed by a few familiar places, he reminisced, with a smile on his face, about the days of his childhood spent in the city.

"Ryhor is far better..." he muttered longingly.

Obviously, as a city itself, Ostorth was far superior in comparison to Ryhor. The size, the population, the riches, everything was a notch above here in Ostorth. The houses and streets seemed much cleaner, devoid of snow. There weren't as many people wearing armor and wielding weapons. The guards inside seemed a little less vigilant, so did the people in whole, owing to the fact that the distance with the Northern Forest made it highly unlikely for a prime beast to wander inside.

Raymond, though, felt much more comfortable and loved in the smaller of the two places. It was as if he had arrived in an alien place. Although life in Ryhor was extremely tough and, not just for the general public, it was fulfilling. He had some problems, but they had nothing to do with Ryhor. He loved that place, the place where he grew up, found love... the place where he awakened.

"Sigh..."

His heart felt melancholic, and he laughed at that.

"I have only just left there. It hasn't been even a week..." Raymond muttered to himself and tried to cheer himself up by thinking about his recent success in training his magic.

Gradually, though, as the carriage passed through the wide streets and towards the sparsely populated but heavily guarded area, his mood worsened. The palace became visible, and Raymond snorted in derision of its showiness.

"What a bunch of..."

The kingdom of Gelodesh wasn't a wealthy kingdom. The royalty, the nobles and the people accepted that fact because of the harsh geographical conditions and the threat from the Northern Forest. And apart from the few tribes, the residents of the kingdom looked favorably upon their rulers. The rulers along with the noble class also made sure and never tried to exploit the poor people. They did everything to make the life of the people that much easier. The only exception was the large and grand palace, which looked extremely out of place in comparison to the rest of the capital.

"I will never understand what they were thinking when they built it... then again the style of architecture is also very different and glitzy... it doesn't make sense at all!"

The carriage came to a stop just outside the large entrance. The little commotion caused by the greeting party as they gathered near it, was the signal for Raymond to alight from his carriage.

"Yo!" A heavy yet melodic voice resounded which turned everybody silent.

Raymond followed the voice instinctively, and what greeted him was the sight of an incredibly eye-catching woman. She had a mocking smile on her beautiful oval face as she gazed straight at him. Her fiery red hair was tied in a long ponytail and there was a sword fastened to her hips. The brown, leather jacket, draped over her white shirt, fluttered in the gentle wind. Much like her hair, her figure was fiery, big breasts, thin waist, and long legs to die for.

She was sat on one of the pillars supporting the heavy iron gate and had dangled her left leg from it. While the right leg was bent at the knee and held tight to her breast, mashing them sexily. Unexpectedly she jumped down and made a beeline for Raymond. The clacking noise of her boots, matched with the tight, brown, leather pants, was the only noise in the surrounding until Raymond spoke airily.

"... Rose!"

"Yo, Ray!" Rose hugged him deeply before she playfully bopped his head. "Finally awakened huh!"

The happiness that Raymond had felt on seeing her vanished in an instant. He pushed her hands away as he glanced at the dumbstruck surrounding and chided in a serious tone, "Can't you behave modestly? We aren't in Ryhor anymore."

"Ooh! Little Ray Ray got his feelings hurt!" Rose laughed uproariously and then put her arm around and Raymond. She waved at the people, signaling them to disperse as she dragged an unwilling Raymond inside and towards the direction of the audience chamber.

"Just bear with it for the time being. I will bring you to buy a new sword afterwards." Rose whispered in his ear in a calming voice unlike her previous playful self.

Scene 3

Raymond stood in the center of a large hall. The hall was airy and well lit by the rays of the sun coming in from the open windows in the three directions. The place was adorned with purple colored drapes. The long carpet running the length of the hall from the entrance right up to the throne, placed on a beautiful dais, was also purple in color. The throne looked as if it was made out of gold, but Raymond knew that it wasn't the case in actuality. All in all, the court looked extremely glorious.

"What a waste of resources!" Raymond clicked his tongue.

He felt a lot of annoyed gazes directed at him. However, as he glanced around the hall and the people averted their eyes from him.

A bunch of pussies! Raymond scoffed at them. Not all of the nobles attending the court were awakened as the number of those were truly too few, although Gelodesh had a higher number of them. Raymond didn't want to mix with those nobles as he didn't seem it worthy of his time. Miranda was next in line for the throne, and he couldn't care less for it anyhow.

He gazed at the two rows of seats, lined opposite to each other and on the sides of the wide carpet, were meant for the nobles and the royal court members. Right now, there were a number of empty seats nearer to the entrance. However, the ones close to the dais were all occupied, and a man who was stood the closest to the dais met Raymond's gaze.

Ian Wilson or Old Man Wilson as Raymond liked to call him, the head of the Wilson family, looked at him with a kind smile on his face. Ian was a powerful awakened of 7-star level, and a well-respected military expert of the Gelodesh Kingdom. The Wilson family had a history of producing long lines of powerful military strategists and Ian was one of the most outstanding among them. He was a very free-spirted man but, was fiercely loyal to the Tygrines and their royal authority.

"Old Man! I see you're in high spirits as always!" He strolled to him and called out.

"Your Highness!" Ian laughed and did a small bow to Raymond. "It's a very joyous day. After such a long time I get to meet you, and you have already awakened your attribute. So of course, I'm in high spirits," he said and then laughed boomingly once more.

Raymond shook his head and acted exasperated. He liked the old man. Although he called him old man, the man didn't look a day older than forty-five-years. The awakened with each increase in their star-level would become stronger, and as a result, their bodies would too. Thus, it was quite difficult to tell their age by looking at their appearance. The higher the star-level, the more youthful and long lived one was, that was a common knowledge in the continent.

"Where is Rose? Have you seen her?" Raymond asked after they went back and forth with each other. Rose, had left him alone right at the entrance of the chamber after dragging him through the hallways. He was a little pissed at her for that. She had left saying that she would take only a minute, but he knew better to believe in her words.

"I think Lady Rose is with Her Majesty the Queen..."

"What!? When did she get there?"

Raymond was confused but he didn't have to wait long to find his answer. Rose sauntered inside the hall and winked playfully before she bumped him lightly as she stood beside him. The arrogant look on her face irked Raymond immensely at that moment.

"What the fuck! Where were you?" He hissed by her ear.

"Little Ray Ray can't handle being alone, yeah?"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Ooh, Little Ray Ray is a big man now!"

Raymond clenched his teeth and whispered, "Do you want me to show you?"

"Hehe," Rose giggled for a moment. "Now that you've awakened I won't go easy on you..." A wicked aura enveloped her as she said those words. Raymond could only gulp in a breath seeing his cousin like that.

While they were bickering among themselves, the few voices around them fell silent all of a sudden. The people around them had all bent their knees. Raymond hurriedly looked to his front and saw his mother about to take her place at the throne.

She looked as gorgeous and as solemn as ever. Her lustrous, long, blonde hair were fastened in a braided bun and it highlighted the regal look of hers. The royal garbs, a mix of gold and purple, didn't give much hint to her body, however, Raymond knew she had all the traits of a strong awakened. Her face looked a lot like Lily, and nothing like him.

"Your Majesty!" Raymond bent his knee to express his respects. From the corner of his eyes he noticed Rose shaking her head at him. The lamenting expression on her face irked him to no extent.

"Rise."

Raymond and the rest of the people arose and gazed forward. The Queen, Samantha, glanced at them and then gestured to take their seats. Raymond nearly had a mind to kick at Rose who was doing a very poor job of holding back her laughter. In actuality, Raymond didn't need to bow or bend his knee before the queen. As a royalty of Gelodesh Kingdom, though he didn't have a lot of perks, it was one of the few he could enjoy.

"So clumsy! Why do you insist on making a fool of yourself?!" Rose's whisper evoked some gloomy and lonely memories. He already didn't like the stuffy atmosphere in Ostorth and the weirdness of his mother, who had yet to meet his gaze or say any words to him, added to it.

She's just a lesser version of Aunt Suzy...

Raymond comforted himself with that thought. They were twins, Suzanne and Samantha, and looked quite similar to each other, unlike Rose and Miranda. However, Raymond always felt that Suzanne was the more beautiful, sexy, capable and warm of the two. Turbulent, couldn't begin to describe his relation with his mother, and he had given up on remedying it.

"Son, it's wonderful that you have awakened your attribute..."

"Thank you for the kind words, your majesty!" Raymond replied stiffly. He gazed at his mother there was slight hint of joy on her face but nothing more than that. It was a stark contrast from the reactions of the rest of his family, Rose included.

Even now, her vision seemed to be more on Rose to his side than him. It was as if she was purposefully avoiding facing him, and he couldn't understand the reason behind it. Nevertheless, it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. Although he would've liked it very much if his mother would treat him as well as she did his twin or his cousins, he had outgrown her at this point.

"Rose, I expect you to handle that thing..." Samantha said with a smile on her face.

"Leave it to me, Aunt Sam!" Rose loudly answered as she nodded and thumped Raymond's back. It would've been far unusual or horrible if it was other than Rose who had acted disrespectfully like that, but the people in the hall were used to such scenes.

Raymond understood that it was an indirect signal for him to take his leave. He wryly smiled to himself and did a quick bow. "Your Majesty!"

Without sparing a glance to his mother, he turned around and walked out after that, and thus missed out the complicated gaze that streaked through her eyes.

Raymond, a little distracted, was just about to exit the palace gates when Rose rushed in front and glared at him.

With her arms on her waist, she spoke in an admonishing tone, "why can't you be a little less stiff?! You are an awakened now! Miranda spoiled you too much!"

Raymond returned her glare with a ferocious look of his own. He was beyond pissed off by her constant egotistic acts. Before he could launch into a furious rant though, Rose sighed heavily and hugged him close to her breasts.

"Forget it... I'm sorry! Let's go, we have a lot of things to do!"

Scene 4

"Henry Trading Association, huh?" Raymond muttered. He sighed contemplatively as he gazed at the impressive and imposing nature of the shop. Rose had brought him here and he was looking forward to what she'd had in mind.

It had been a few hours since they had been messing about and roaming around in the city. He was in a fine mood. Rose was extremely fun, and he sometimes forgot how entertaining and enjoyable it was to spend time with her.

However, he hadn't forgotten about the purpose of his visit to Ostorth. In the few hours together with Rose, he had pestered her to no end. Although she refused to reveal anything about it, by the impish look on her face, he guessed that it was definitely something special. The jealous grumbles she let out from time to time, reaffirmed his thought.

At least mother didn't skimp out on it, so there's that... Raymond had been apprehensive to see his mother. He was a little disappointed after their public meeting but wasn't all that surprised by it.

"Hey!" The loud voice beside his ear, cleared his mood.

"Why are you standing there like an idiot? Come in, quick!" Rose spoke shaking her head. She grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the entrance of the shop. "You can buy whatever you want! It's on me!"

"Really?!" Raymond asked surprised.

"Of course! You've finally awakened your attribute! I was so excited when I got the news, I couldn't catch a wink these past few days."

Raymond arrogantly hummed, feeling quite pleased with himself. With a wide smile on his face, he asked, "Why were you excited though?"

He expected that Rose would say that she was so excited because of the sheer joy she'd felt for him, or something along those lines, but he almost stumbled to the ground when he heard her answer. "Why? Obviously, it's because I won't have to hold back in our spars anymore!"

"You! You, violent freak!"

"Ha-ha..." Rose laughed noisily and then suddenly brought her dazzling face close to his. In a wicked tone, she asked, "You're not scared, are you?"

Raymond gulped as her hot breath hit his face. He sniffed her alluring scent and grunted before pushing her away, "Who's scared of whom?!"

"Ha-ha... Little Ray Ray is scared!" Rose teased and ruffled his hair.

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Lady Rose! Sir Raymond!" A handsome, middle aged man greeted and welcomed them inside the shop's lobby.

"Huh?" Rose started looking at him and then questioned, "Uncle, didn't I see you in Ryhor only a week back? When did you arrive here?"

The man smiled jovially and then explained that he had arrived the day before since he had some business in Ostorth. He then turned to Raymond and congratulated him, "...Tygrine Family had gained another scion in their ranks!"

Raymond was a little surprised that he would encounter Theodore Henry here in Ostorth. Theodore was the president of the Ryhor branch of the Henry Trading Association, and a very busy man. Nonetheless, he didn't pay much mind to it and decided to politely accept the few words of praises. Quite typically though, Rose cut in before he could respond.

"Why, of course! Raymond is a scion of our family, after all..." After a moment's pause, she waved her hand and remarked joyfully, "Well, whatever. Now that you are here, I can get a great deal!"

"I'll do my best..."

"Come, Ray! Let's look at some swords!"

Raymond followed her excitedly. He could finally get his hands on a magic sword, one which could multiply his power by many folds.

Scene 5

"I can't believe you bought this for me!" Raymond's eyes glimmered as he appraised his new magic sword. He had also purchased a new armor, wrist guards, along with a few other equipment, however, his mind was occupied with the sword.

The new sword was heavier and longer in reach than his previous one. It also had a magic gem embedded in the base of its hilt, carefully crafted to increase the mana circulation of its wielder and amplify it by three times. Obviously, it had costed a lot, nearly three-years of his allowance worth.

"You can't just have shabby equipment anymore! It would be embarrassing for me..." Rose deflected his heartfelt words with an easy tone. As an awakened, she had significantly larger allowance than Raymond, as well as having other sources of income. Still, it was a huge investment.

"Did you learn any spells yet?"

"Only a few... Lily taught me..." Raymond absentmindedly answered, all his focus elsewhere at the moment.

"Oh yeah..." Rose abruptly snatched the sword away from him and glared at him. "Don't you ignore me, Ray!"

Raymond was shocked speechless for a whole minute before he muttered, "I'm sorry. Please, can I have it back?"

"Hmph!" Rose snorted and handed it back to him.

Raymond knew she had a fickle temper and in all honesty, he always thought that she was a bit of a loose cannon. Moreover, she had been very nice to him so he decided to look over the little things, only if to keep peace for the time being.

"Okay, can you please tell me what is the secret thing? It's a magic stone right?"

Rose flashed him an innocent smile. "You really want to know?"

It was exasperating at this point, but Raymond played along, "Yes, I want to know."

"Hmm," Rose put her finger to her lips and pretended to be deep in thought. After a few seconds of holding that pose she asked in a serious tone, "You want to try out your new gear?"

A little skeptically, he answered, "Yes, but what does it have-"

"Come with me!"

Rose grabbed his arm and dragged him with her.

Raymond panted as he glared at his cousin. She was arrogantly looking around, observing the training grounds. It had taken them a good thirty minutes of hard running to get to the military base of Ostorth from near the lake they were at earlier.

He huffed while his breathing gradually returned to normal, "You, crazy woman! Why did you bring me here? And will you finally, for the love of lord, tell me what it is?"

"Fine! You're such a crybaby!" Rose brought a leather pouch from lord knows where and pulled out a shiny magic stone, with a tiny murky spot in the middle of it.

Raymond's eyes glimmered with excitement. It was just as he had thought, a magic stone of earth type prime beast, not any smaller than the one he got from Miranda. He tried to snatch it from Rose but she was like a cat.

"Tsk-Tsk," Rose tutted. "Little Ray Ray is a naughty boy, isn't he?" She laughed heartily when he glared at her menacingly. "Fine, fine..." She paused to put the magic stone back in the leather pouch and concluded with a playful wink, "you can have it if you win!"

"Win?" By now their commotion had drawn in the nearby soldiers who were staring at them, more accurately at Rose. Raymond unmindful of it questioned, "Win what? Against whom? You?!"

"Ooh... that would be going too hard on you!" Rose glanced at the soldiers, who had all puffed out their chests. She pointed at one of the more handsome looking one and remarked, "Against him! Yes, defeat him and it's yours!" She suddenly brought her lips close to his ear and whispered, "Or you can just beg for it!"

"Sir Raymond!" Emil Gudmundsson slightly bowed his head at Raymond and then turned towards Rose. Time seemed to stop for him as he gazed at that stunning face. With a deep longing evident in his voice, he greeted, "Lady Rose!"

"Emil. I hope you've been well."

Her voice sounded sweet as always, like it was the call of lark. It had been more than a couple of years since that time in Purvoth. He still remembered that steamy night, the best night of his life. They had met while she had come to see her mother and discuss some business. He had been tasked to show her around the base, not that she needed him to, but it was her request. After that, the next two days were the best days of his life. Those fiery hairs and that mesmerizing ass, they were never far away from his thoughts.

"Uhhm..." Raymond cleared his throat and that broke Emil's stupor. He apologized immediately, "Please overlook my rudeness, I was just a little taken aback..."

"Looks like you're not the only one!" Raymond's tone was full of ridicule and his eyes cold. Emil was confused by the sudden hostility, however, it was not his place to question Raymond.

"Lady Rose, you've called for me?" With some hope, Emil asked. He was not stupid so as to believe that there would be a repeat of that time, still, he believed that if he could somehow impress her enough, she would give him a chance one more time.

Rose glanced to her side, at the frigid face of Raymond, and a smile bloomed across her face. "Have a spar with Raymond here!" She paused and when she was convinced that she had his complete attention, winking playfully, she added in a low voice, "If you perform admirably, I would be very happy..."

A fire of want burned inside Emil. He was reminded of that ethereal night and could only stare blankly at her. It was hard to look away from her. As a soldier and an awakened, he was always taught to be alert at all times. However, he didn't mind being in a daze if the cause of it was Rose.

Miranda and Rose, their existence in Gelodesh was akin to two fairies. The difference being, Miranda was like an unattainable goddess residing high in the sky. Whereas, Rose was like an angel who would sometimes come down to play with the mortals. He was one of the lucky mortals.

Emil spluttered, "Yes, as your wish..." He couldn't believe that he was doing it again, staring at Rose. from the corner of his eyes, he noticed that with each passing second, Raymond was growing more and more annoyed. "Sir Raymond, shall we?"

Raymond snorted and followed Emil.

"Ray! Don't embarrass me!" Rose's voice sounded behind their backs.

In the widest training arena, the two men stood facing each other. The distance between them was nearly 20 meters. It would see a little too far away, unless the abilities of awakened were taken into account. The arena was a flat surface with a very little amount of snow and sand mixed in patches. It was done to take into account the environment of neighboring kingdoms.

Surrounding the round arena were a few of the soldiers. Rose on the other hand was stood inside it. The arena was big, big enough that there was at least ten meters of space left behind both men. So Rose, who was cautiously watching them from one end of it, wasn't to be a hindrance. She had a sharp look in her eyes and there was an aura of alertness around her. Fights between awakened were always dangerous, even if it was a friendly spar.

Moreover, Raymond appeared extra motivated. She didn't know if it was because he was eager to test out his new power or something else. One thing was clear though, he was extremely serious about it. He held the same stance when he had fought her previously. Still, there were minute differences. His knees were bent in an angle slightly larger than before and the grip of his left hand on his sword, held vertically parallel to his gait, seemed a little looser. The new sword was lighter and sharper so he could definitely afford to swing it with one hand, but she was sure there was another reason for this change.

"Sir Raymond!" Emil signaled his readiness as he drew his twin daggers from his sides. He glanced at his left towards Rose, and was disappointed to find that she wasn't paying attention to him. However, he didn't dwell on it. His gaze turned serious and the air around him changed. He no longer seemed like a love-struck fool instead a veteran warrior.

The tension in the atmosphere was palpable. It was eerily silent, only sounds being that of heavy breathing and the drops of sweat hitting the ground.

"Huh!" Raymond grunted and his voice echoed in the silent environment. In a burst he halved the distance between them.

Emil brought his dagger in front of his face and bent down to receive the impact from his sword. He had known about Raymond's fighting style and how he liked to attack with heavy blows from the front. Although he believed he was well prepared, he was wrong in this instance.

"Petra Vlastos!"

A large projectile made of rock flew towards Emil's face. Shocked by its size and speed, he hurriedly rolled to his side. Raymond was over him by the time he had dodged it.

Before Emil steadied himself, Raymond's left hand, which had shot the stone projectile, gripped the sword and brought it down two-handedly. The sword made a beautiful curve as it arced towards Emil's head.

*Tong*

Sound of metal clashing reverberated. Emil felt the full brunt of Raymond's power. He was shocked by the sudden spell and his opponent's strength. The twin daggers in his hands were magic equipment, he shuddered at the thought of them being ordinary iron ones...

Raymond sneered as he looked down, "Be serious, loverboy... you won't get a second chance in a real fight..."

Emil kicked on the ground and extended the distance between them. His expression was a little foul at being embarrassed. He peeked at Rose who was still focusing on Raymond. Inwardly, he shook his head and wiped the sweat stuck to his blonde eyelashes.

"You are very powerful, Sir Raymond. Although I never meant to do it, I apologize for unintentionally misjudging your ability..."

The truth was, Emil was more than a little surprised. Raymond had only just awakened his attribute, and by normal sense he shouldn't be this powerful and proficient with his spell casting. Then again, nobody was normal in the royal family. There was a particular rumor in the kingdom about how Raymond was exceptionally talented with mana, yet mysteriously he failed to awaken. Emil, now, believed in it somewhat.

"I won't hold back... Here I come!" Emil dashed. He was much faster than Raymond and was upon him in an instant.

Emil slashed upwards with his right dagger, and in the same breath he brought down the other dagger downwards from opposite angle.

*Clang*Clang*

Raymond deflected both of the daggers with his sword as his body backpedaled by the force of Emil's strikes.

"Huff!" Emil grunted as he unleashed a flurry of strikes. The twin daggers shone beautifully as they reflected the light. Raymond continued to retreat towards the arena wall as he deflected each of his attacks.

"This is nothing!" Raymond shouted and kicked at him when there was a slight window of opportunity. Emil skillfully dodged to the side, though Raymond had increased the distance between them in that moment.

"Is this all you got, loverboy?!" Raymond sneered.

Emil furrowed his brow at that. Raymond was pretending to be unfazed; however, he could see that Raymond's hands were somewhat shaking. Emil was impressed that it was only to that extent and Raymond was still standing scot-free. He hadn't held back this time and had used his full force.

"You're very impressive, Sir Raymond!" Emil commented calmly. Though he didn't have the raw power of an earth element awakened such as Raymond, he had complete confidence in his speed being a wind element awakened. What had impressed him the most was the technique of Raymond. There weren't much openings he could aim at and he had been deflected quite proficiently even if had the advantage of quick strikes.

"Again!" Emil dashed and stabbed with his right hand straight towards Raymond's heart.

Raymond smirked and single-handedly brought his sword downward aiming at Emil's neck, confident because of the longer reach of his weapon. However, the stab was a feint and Emil changed it to a slash at Raymond's wrist. While Raymond tried to pull back, Emil bent sideways to get out of the scope of the sword and increase the force of his slash. At the same moment, he thrust his other dagger at Raymond's throat.

"Hooh!" Emil grunted. He was sure that this would be the end of the spar. Raymond was stuck, as the momentum due to the downward strike of the sword had made it impossible to pull back the sword and dodge the thrust to the neck at the same time. If Raymond had waited just for a moment longer, he wouldn't have tried to pull back his sword and wouldn't be stuck in this situation. However, it was for that tiny opportunity alone that Emil had employed this tactic.

The second dagger was very fast, enhanced by his wind magic spell it was faster than the one in his right hand, and would reach Raymond's throat in less than a second.

"It's over..." Emil whispered to himself as he saw the panicked expression on Raymond's face.

He guessed that Raymond would prioritize saving his wrist. It was a given, after all. It was a spar and not a life-death encounter between enemies. He had planned to stop his thrust just before it could actually injure Raymond. With a dagger at his throat He was completely confident in his victory and relaxed his hand. Abruptly, though, the situation changed.

"Petra Vlastos!" Raymond screamed. A round stone, size of an infant's fist, explosively shot from his free hand and struck square on Emil's armored chest. The large and revolving projectile instantly pushed Emil's body backwards, making his legs airborne. In that split second, Raymond changed the grip on his sword and let it strike against the dagger.

"Petra Vlastos!" Another, much larger, projectile blasted out from Raymond's hand and crashed on Emil's chest.

It blew the blonde man away. His body slid on the hard surface for a few meters before coming to stop. When he stood on his feet, a trail of blood seeped through his lips. He wiped it with his empty hand, his dagger lying on the ground by Raymond's feet.

"What? Did you think it was over? Did you think it was enough to defeat me, lover boy?!" Raymond sneered.

Emil glanced around to find that there was a lot of admiration among the spectating soldiers' eyes. He heard praises for Raymond's quick-wittedness and technique to not only get out of an extremely sticky situation, but also reverse it.

"I honestly can't deny it..." Emil nodded. He couldn't quite believe the extraordinary battle instincts of Raymond. It was as if, all his moves were seen through and he had been lured into a false sense of victory, only to be blown away, literally.

"Idiot! Is this how the captains of our Kingdom's military taught to act?!" Raymond commented disdainfully.

Emil couldn't argue against Raymond's word. He felt quite idiotic himself. The first rule of any fight was never to underestimate one's opponent, and he had done it twice. Judging by the strength of his spells, the number of times he had used them, and the force of his sword to knock away the dagger, it was almost unbelievable that it was a power of 2-star level awakened. Even if the difference between their equipment was vast, and he had miscalculated Raymond's strength, it was absolutely insensible to not recognize that Raymond was a 3-star level awakened.

"Congratulations on progressing to 3-star level, Sir Raymond!"

Emil hadn't, for a second, thought that in nearly a week of awakening, Raymond could have progressed to 3-star level. One required great luck, riches, and talent to accomplish it. Raymond was quite late in his awakening and might very possibly be the least talented among his sister and cousins, nonetheless, he was a Tygrine. For an awakened, money was as important as their lineage and talent, and the royalty, of course, had their ways and secrets.

I have made a fool out of myself... Emil mused. He dared to take a quick glimpse of Rose's face, and his heart tightened after he did. Rose looked incredibly proud as she gazed at Raymond. Emil felt aggrieved as if he was set up by the cousins, one of whom he absolutely adored. However, there was also a slight hint of surprise on Rose's face, and it made him realize that it was his fault, not theirs. He inwardly cursed for neglecting the possibility of Raymond being at 3-star level until this moment.

"Oh, so you finally noticed? Bit of a scatterbrain aren't you?"

Emil felt pissed off after that particular comment. He was already feeling ashamed of his terrible performance in front of Rose. He had seen her around countless of times, not least in the past few days, but this was the first time she had talked to him after that night. His heart beat had quickened when she had called for him, and all he had wanted was to leave a good impression.

There's a limit... Emil couldn't hold back his anger at bay to any further extent. He knew Rose hadn't chosen him just because he was strong and could provide Raymond with an ideal sparring partner. It was also due to his reputation as a calm and sensible commander. That's why, when Raymond continued to hurl insults at him he had chalked as an agitation tactic, cheap provocation. Right now, he felt really provoked. Raymond might just have been doing it so that he would not hold back his powers and fight with all his strength, or there might be some other reason. Still, it was quite grating to constantly put up with it, especially in company of Rose.​