Regions.

After saying their goodbyes to Alune, Veritas and Bello once again headed to the gambling den called Beast Master Den. It was a place where Beasttamers collected and fought using their companions.

Individuals then had to bet on which one they think was gonna win. With this, they could earn double or triple of what they had bet.

Veritas and Bello had been a long time customer in the gambling den. Ever since they have first encountered each other, Bello was dragged by Veritas to gamble.

Bello had many wins and even earned back his money from time to time.

However, Veritas almost ended up with a lost every single time. In the start, he would have been in a lucky streak, winning almost every bet.

But as the hours pass by, Veritas would then bet everything he had earned and lose it all!

Every time Bello sees that situation, a piece of his Soul breaks.

Nevertheless, he was used to this frequent escapade of Veritas. Although Veritas did not came on a daily basis, every time he did.. they would gamble. 

Bello was dumbfounded of how much money this damned Prince had. However, he did not complain about him not giving it to the poor or trying to help others out. It was his family's money after all, and he had the freedom to spend it as much as he wants.

Veritas looked at the surroundings and saw the peaceful landscape before him. The fields of grass, the small huts and houses, the soft breeze, and the acres of farmlands. This was refreshing when compared to the busy streets of Diamond Borough. 

Him and Bello was walking at a road that lead to the Copper Borough of the Central City of Elrod.

The Central City of Elrod was composed of 5 areas that make the city whole. 

At the far edges of the city is the outskirts where Bello and Alune had lived. Many farmers settled in this area due to the abundance of fertile soil. This was the main cornerstone of the agriculture inside the Central City of Elrod.

Then, the Copper Borough was where most of the common people had lived. There were gambling dens, brothels, and many more! It had housed many residents and was considered to be the most populated area in the Central City of Elrod. 

Going deeper inside the city was the Silver Borough, most commonly occupied by those with capable jobs and work as middle class. Various offices, academies, facilities and many more is located here. The shift from Copper to Silver was significant!

Copper seemed like it was slums and area where illegal things happen. However, Silver was way more developed and had lampposts, better architecture, cleaner environment and prevalent technological advances.

Now, Gold Borough housed those of lower nobility and higher-earning individuals. It looked the same as Silver but it was much more cleaner and looked more advanced. To be considered as the Golden Borough, it was only normal that it would have pleasing aesthetics and peaceful air. 

Lastly, Diamond Borough was located at the heart of the city, this was where Veritas lived. Most of those in nobility stayed here as it was the most peaceful and guarded by knights that patrolled everywhere. 

This was all located inside the Central City of Elrod, the capital of the kingdom of Elrod. The entirety of Elrod stretched far and wide and contained many regions such as the Northern Region, Eastern Region, Western Region, and Southern Region.

Each region has major cities that resided inside the kingdom such as the Wilden in the North, Dragonia in the East, Palliz in the West, and Alfar in the South.

Those major cities were governed by the 4 Dukes of Elrod. The vastness of Elrod is ruled and governed by the Julius Boreas Elrod, the King of Winds. Everything was in Elrod was guided by the winds, providing safety and freedom to each individual.

Thus, the Elrod was hailed as the Kingdom of Peace.

As far as Veritas recalled, he had never stepped foot outside of the kingdom of Elrod. But, he had been to different regions of the kingdom. It would take hours, even days to reach from Central Region to one of the Regions from the four cardinal directions.

Veritas remembered the time when he had been engaged with a fierce confrontation with the Son of the Duke from the Northern Region. Veritas was very annoyed with the individual's treatment towards his people. So, Veritas gave him a piece of his mind, ending up in a fistfight between the two.

Veritas won of course..

As Veritas walked along the road with Bello, he could not help but admire the peaceful scenery that this Kingdom had. Most teens would take this peace for granted, but Veritas.. he appreciated every small thing. 

From how the wind swayed his white hair, to the cows mooing in the distance, and to the acres of farmland that stretched as far as the eye could see. 

Veritas could only grin in silence as the soft breeze of the afternoon air touched his skin.

With that, Bello broke the silence between them and updated Veritas about his recent achievement. 

"Hey Veritas, not to boast or anything, but I've recently reach my Soul and unlocked my Path."

Bello had a smug look on his face when he uttered the words to Veritas.

"Oh? That's cool.."

"Oh poor Untouched Soul, you must be pretty jealous of me now. Allow me to comfort this young one, but first you have to call me Senior Bello. Only then, would I allow my grace to be given upon you.

Veritas looked at Bello with disdain, unsurprised by his statement.

'This guy is unbelievable!'

"You know.. I could still beat you up even if you are a Pathbearer right?" Veritas added.

Bello's mouth turned agape, and he was perplexed due to this

"Hah- Sure you can.. Keep coping little brother.."

When suddenly, Bello was already at the ground, staring the blazing sun above him. He felt the soft breeze and appreciated the little details in life.

'Ah- This is so nice.'

Upon realizing that he had been attacked by Veritas, Bello sat up straight and bowed, apologizing to the white-haired boy in front of him.

"I'm so sorry your majesty! It won't happen again!"

"Now YOU call me Senior Veritas! Bastard!"

"Eh- I don't want to.."

Veritas sighed and let the insolence of Bello pass, he turned around and kept walking along the road.

Veritas then smirked and stared back at Bello with scheming eyes, Bello instantly felt the creeps climb up his body and his face immediately went pale.

"What are you planning you fiend!"

Bello threw a rock in Veritas' direction, not realizing the consequences of his action. 

'Ah- I just threw a rock at the prince.'

Bello saw that Veritas looked darker now, there was a bump in his forehead and his gaze was terrifying.

"You! You-"

Bello immediately ran at full speed, not wanting to face the torment of the Prince once more.

Veritas soon followed after him almost outpacing the damned scoundrel.

*

A few moments had passed and the two boys reached the Copper Borough, they were both panting due to the prolonged sprint that the two of them did. 

However, looking at the large sign that said "Beast Master Den", Veritas' eyes immediately lit up in excitement. He ignored the exhaustion and dragged Bello inside to gamble!

"Finally! My Glory! My- my! My home!"

Veritas shouted loudly with grace, the people around stared at him as if they were weirded out by his presence. However, upon seeing his white hair and gold eyes, they began to gossip and whisper amongst themselves.

"Is that- the Prince?"

"There's no way... Why did he scream like that brat, Veritas."

"Impersonating the Prince is a violation of the law."

Veritas exhaled in amusement and went to the counter in order to place his bets. 

'Oho! Pretty interesting match ups.'

Veritas read the board that announced the upcoming battles.

"White Bull vs Cloud Mongoose, Fury Chicken vs Demon Destroyer World-Eating Cat, Dark Dog vs Frost Serpent!"

Veritas then talked to the lady at the counter to place his bets and gave his money accordingly, signing a paper to forge his evidence.

After betting, he immediately headed to the den where the battle was going to take place, buying things to eat along the way. 

Bello was dumbfounded after being dragged all of the sudden. One moment he was behind Veritas and the next, that scumbag had already disappeared.

Bello was not lost though, he already knew where Veritas was gonna be and at this point, he was at the food stalls. He did not rush to go there but rather, he went to the counter and inquired.

"May I know how does one become a signed Beasttamer here?"

The clerk stared at Bello for a couple of moments as if assessing his Soul. For a moment, Bello had thought that her eyes changed color all of a sudden. He shook off that thought and focused on the matter in front of him.

"Ah- I see, Beasttamer of Wills right?"

"Indeed."

Bello was confused as to how the clerk had known. Then, a few moments went by and he was given a sheet of paper, containing texts regarding the information about him.

"Fill that up please and come back to me. Thank you!"

"Alright."

It only took a few minutes for Bello to fill up the form and hand it back to the clerk. 

After doing so, he went inside the den and searched for Veritas, he thought that Veritas was probably getting riled up by now due to the intensity of the fights.

However, Bello saw a large commotion near the food stalls, he had a bad feeling about this.

Immediately heading over to the area of commotion, Bello saw a white-haired boy, holding popcorn in his hands. The boy was being confronted by three men with a large physique, they seemed to be intimidating him.

But the white-haired boy looked unfazed by this and continued eating his food. 

Bello's eyes widened upon realizing who the white-haired boy was. Until today, the scumbag that he was most familiar with had black hair and red eyes, Bello forgot the fact that Veritas was the Prince of Elrod!

"Veritas you-"

Bello could not even finish his words before a fight had suddenly started. One of the big guys seemed pressed about Veritas and immediately swung his right arm. However, to Veritas' eyes, this could not even be considered as a fight. 

It was a one-sided massacre.