A party to enjoy? Not for me

Unfortunately, I was unable of posting this chapter yesterday for the 3-day 3 chapter challenge, I did finish it yesterday but it was around 1 Am when I did so...

This chapter is about 7.6K words long.

I took 2 hours just to edit this so would've been a bit of a trip to do it then.

I hope you can enjoy this chapter.

And don't forget, have a nice day!

Peace!

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"WELCOME HER MAJESTY THE FIRST QUEEN AND HIS HIGHNESS, THE FIRST PRINCE!"

/CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!/

/CRUNK!/

'The massive double doors of the Ballroom opened, and a couple walked from within.'

'A man and a woman clad in elegant clothes made of materials of the highest order…'

'For the lady, a long regal Golden dress that went on for at least a meter behind her foot, floating slightly above the ground, together with a green tiara on her forehead with a white gem on it.'

'Her hair was clear brown that became red at the tips.'

'The boy wore a surprisingly simple formal surcoat made of a mix of leather and cotton, it was very well made, having even a modern tint to it.'

'While his hair was a fully clear brown, an unusual color amidst the Royals.'

'Their expressions were equally sharp, on the woman, it made her seem strict and mature, on the boy, it made him look handsome and gallant…'

'The elusive First Queen and the notorious First Prince!'

/Cheers!/

'The moment they stepped into the lights, the knights raised their swords in unison, and everyone raised their drinks, cheering their arrival.'

'Not only the Heroes and minor Nobles, everyone.'

'It seemed they were pretty loved… Or pretty powerful.'

/Step step…/

'They eventually made their way down from the stand, walking down a set of stairs not that far from where both Philip and Petter were sitting.'

"Hm?"

'Due to this, the Prince's and Philip's eyes met.'

'Without hesitation, Philip gave him a slight nod, and the Prince replied in kind.'

'And that was about it for their interactions.'

...

"... Phew."

'But it was only when he walked away did the Prince breath out a sigh of relief.'

He must be that one… The reason sister was grounded for a while.

I can tell, he's a bit different from the others, not in the same sense as the Sword Hero with sharp eyes... He looks at me in the same way father does.

Albeit that makes him look overly cautious, I'm certain he has other ideas... But he's special either way.

That Hero, on the other hand, was assessing me... Gauging the Prince in broad daylight?

He's bold... But not without reason.

He's dangerous.

/Buzz.../

'Something seemed to shine in his pocket, and this prompted the Prince to put his hand inside carefully...'

[... Royal Light failed to access the target]

'And when he did so, flaming words manifested in front of his eyes, but no one reacted to them.'

I expected that much... But I didn't need it anyway.

'Under normal circumstances, the Prince could not access the System in a direct way like the Heroes could, so after they met, apart from a slight discomfort, he didn't feel nor heard anything unusual.'

'But his training as a Knight gave him more than enough leeway for him to evaluate what the being in front of him was without the need for special items.'

'There was an advanced technique of sending a slight string of Mana into the eyes of someone else, and receiving this string back once it rebounded with the targets' Mana.'

'By reading it, they could somewhat determine the stage of their opponent.'

'It's normally inefficient as anyone can easily put up a barrier to prevent such things, but this is the Imperial Palace Ballroom, no one was even allowed to use even the slightest bit of Mana.'

'Yet, his Mana string was thoroughly destroyed.'

He seized control of it the moment it entered his pupils…

He could've broken the string way before that, but he waited for that extremely small window.

Impressive, really impressive.

'It was safe to say the Prince's impression of Philip had been quite grand…'

"Son." The Queen said with a slight smile as she looked forward

"Hum?"

"You'll have all the time in the world to speak with them… Now… Raise your head and smile, our duty lies in front of us." She spoke slowly without even glancing at him

"... I understand." The Prince replied as he exhaled slightly, soon returning to his professional smile

'Indeed, there was no need to think too much into it now, they would meet eventually once more.'

'At that time, he would be able to have a talk with him.'

'He awaited eagerly for the moment.'

…

/HORNS!/

"WELCOME HER MAJESTY THE SECOND QUEEN AND HIS HIGHNESS, THE SECOND PRINCE!"

'Once again, the horns blew, and a couple appeared from the depths of the Palace.'

'Their clothes were similar to the previous two.'

'A long Green dress that floated slightly above the ground behind the lady, together with an Emerald Tiara on her forehead with a black gem in the middle.'

'While her son wore elegant clothes made of a mix of wool and some other materials most could not tell, having a small cape hanging on his right shoulder, opposite to his brother's on the left.'

'In fact, it made Philip wonder why they were so… In synch?'

'Two queens with two similar dresses, one golden, another emerald, together with two tiaras, one with a black gem, the other with a white one.'

'While their sons wore similar clothes, perhaps to symbolize their equal standings?'

'It seemed the Royal fashion had a lot of "Dualities".'

'Just like the other Queen, the second Queen's hair was unusual being fully white, while her son's was a bit more common, being a clear blonde.'

'It was oddly similar to another girl he knew… But then again, that wouldn't be surprising.'

'Nobles would often have some connection between their families in their long lines, would it be strange for them to have the same hair color?'

'And it's not like white hair was exclusive to the Royal bloodline either…'

...

/Cheers!/

'Once again, they walked to the end of the Stage where they waved at the guests of the party before turning to their left, going on the opposite set of stairs the First Queen and Prince used before, maintaining this strange balance of duality…'

'As he thought about this, wasn't there also the policy of two sons every 4 years? Why was there such an emphasis on it?'

'Efficiency? Style?...'

"Hum... Will this repeat until the entire Royal Family is here?" Philip asked Petter as his eyelids started twitching

I'm about to sleep...

"Shhh! Don't say that too loud… If they hear you it's over."

"And... I don't think so."

"Everyone after the Fifth and Sixth Prince are too young to participate in these kinds of events, so… A few more times?"

"Urg…"

'Just as he complained mentally about the excessive formalities of such an event, the Horns blew loudly once more as the Green Knights raised their swords to welcome the Royals once more.'

/HORNS!/

"WELCOME HER HIGHNESS THE THIRD PRINCESS AND HER HIGHNESS, THE FOURTH PRINCESS!"

/CHEEERS!/

"?"

Why was the cheering louder this time?... Wait a minute…

'Taking a look at the crowd, he was quick to see that most of the cheering came from the young male Nobles… They were even louder than the Noble girls when the two Princes made their way to the stage…'

/Step step…/

'While Philip marveled at the simplicity of men, two beautiful princesses appeared on the podium, waving their hands at the same time as the Knights did their things in the background.'

'It wasn't much but it was honest work, it added to the atmosphere of grandeur...'

"I can see why they were cheering so damn much now." Petter said with a sly smile and a chuckle as he crossed his arms

Though there definitely are more intricate reasons...

'One wore a gorgeous, but pure white dress, as it waved in the air, it left behind faint speckles of light that danced around.'

'The other wore a mysterious, but alluring black dress that left behind dark speckles that reflected light around her in a similar way as Opal.'

'They had no ornaments on their heads apart from their own natural hair.'

'Interesting enough, they were both redheads, one redder than the other.'

'On their fingers and neck, they were the usual accessories, fancy rings, and necklaces, just like their mothers.'

'One of their fingers was free, indicating that they weren't married.'

'And albeit the Humans of this world didn't have the practice of using a ring for marriage, just like their predecessors did, they were incorporating the cultural aspects of past Heroes into their own culture as a way of appealing to them, and also because using a Ring to signify a bond wasn't completely alien to them.'

'Elves, Dwarves, Tauros, and other races all had their own bonding rituals.'

'It was both romantic and even somewhat prestigious to follow through with them.'

'And most importantly, it was a way of alluding to the Heroes, to make them feel more at ease when in their presence.'

'Though that might've been unnecessary given their own statuses...'

'The flowers of the Empire, the Third and Fourther Princesses!'

/Step step…/

'Like the others before them, they maintained the Duality of this event, each choosing a set of stairs to walk into.'

'A Princess to the left, and one to the right...'

"..."

'And lo and behold, Philip now saw himself staring right at the Third Princess.'

'Their eyes didn't remain together for long though, as the princess turned around and made her way to her mother soon after, not even giving Philip a single extra glance.'

'He didn't mind either, not like they were close or anything.'

'Though he did look around in search of the girl that he clashed with at Rafiel's party, at least, he thought she would be here.'

"Did you see that? She totally looked at me, what a curse this is, my silent Rizz." Petter said as he scratched the tip of his nose with a small smile

"..."

He'll remain single forever ain't he?...

...

'Eventually…'

/COOLER HORNS!/

"EVERYONE! WELCOME HIS MAJESTY, THE KING!"

/CHEEERS!/

'With the grander sound of even louder horns and a few more special effects, a group of people walked from behind the double doors.'

'Being led by an imposing man with red hair and beard wearing an extremely extravagant set of cotton clothes and a long red cape, a group of 12 followed right behind him.'

'Directly behind his left and right, a red knight and an old man stood.'

'The King's Left hand: Head noble Skypos Lupio.'

'The King's Right hand: Red knight Igrus, the Grand General.'

'And behind those two, 10 well-dressed youths stood.'

'It wasn't hard to tell who they were, the 10 most outstanding Heroes, those that had shined the most during the 5 months they spent in the Palace, and 6 months in this new unusual world…'

'Albeit they hadn't announced their names, just being right next to the King was enough of an honor to tell who they were.'

'If they couldn't recognize them, then it would be best for them to leave before they embarrassed themselves further.

/Silence…/

'By raising his hand high in the air, the King gathered the silence of the entire hall, and with it, he started his anticipated speech…'

…

/10 minutes later…/

"... And with those words… Let the party truly begin!"

/CHEERS!/

'Everyone raised their drinks for what felt like the 20th time in the past 20 minutes.'

'The King's speech was long, but it was simple and direct.'

'A bunch of praises here and there, some criticism here and there, nationalism, "For the peace and prosperity of the Empire", and so on.'

'But overall, just some pretty words to make the spirits of all rise a little.'

'Of course, there was definitely a lot of Political innuendos fused within given by the faces some of the Nobles were giving, but that wasn't of Philip's concern.'

'What he cared about was the so hinted "after-party" that would happen once this party ended, which could be taken as the sole meaningful Event of this party.'

/Chatter…/

'As the King finished his speech, the Green Knights around the double doors slammed their feet on the ground, marching inside, closing them as they went past it.'

'They may all look rather goofy and forgettable, but those guys weren't there as decoration, by checking their Statuses, Philip confirmed they were all over Level 90.'

'They were all super Elite soldiers training to be the Swords and Shields of this Empire.'

'And their armor was likely no joke either, even if it looked a bit weird…'

'But that was mostly due to cultural differences, for the common Knights of these lands, those 20 Emerald Knights were likely their idols, as the Grand General was most probably too high of a target to set for themselves.'

/CLANG!/

'The grand double doors closed, and its loud sound reverberated all around, and with that, the chattering became even louder, as if some people had been waiting for that to return to their previous conversations.'

'At the same time, the King went down the stairs, but not from the right or from the left, but from the middle.'

'A set of magical translucent stairs formed in front of the stand, and the King, together with the Grand Commander and the High Noble stepped into it as they descended into the Ballroom.'

'As for the Heroes, five turned to the left while the rest to the right.'

/Chuckle.../

'As he looked at them, Philip couldn't help but laugh drily.'

They're very synchronized, I wonder how much they trained for today, how cute.

...

'Following his grand appearance, things started to heat up.'

'The King first greeted his family, grabbing the hands of his wives after he patted the shoulders of his sons and smiled at his daughters, going to a grand table in the Upper Middle section of the Ballroom to sit and drink with them.'

'As he did so, many Nobles started flocking to where he was, but those weren't your ordinary Nobles, they were the patriarchs of the big families and the owners of affluent groups, the kind of people that could leave their marks in the Empire if they so decided.'

'This was also the time when the food from the tables started to slowly levitate into the ceiling, vanishing from sight.'

'The time to eat and drink was over, it was now time to talk and dance…'

'Of course, one could still eat and drink, it wouldn't be a party without those, but it was clear that the overall theme of the party was beginning to shift.'

'Would you stay behind to eat and drink or would you ride the waves?'

'The young Nobles started moving to the King, greeting him with their parents before they started moving around back.'

'It was time for them to do what they came here to…'

/Crunk!/

'From the ceiling once more, many pieces of wood and stone fell somewhere around the Lower Center of the Ballroom, forming into an arena of some sort…'

'Yes… This was the main event for these young Nobles, their own… Stage.'

'While the adults had their own talks in private, the youths would 'socialize' far away at the opposite corner of the Hall, but not too far from their eyes.'

'After all, this would be the best opportunity for their parents to show off as well would it not?'

'This was, at its core, an event for them to enjoy and laugh, but to some, it was a place to settle long scores, a battlefield even.'

'For two knight Families, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to show how much they developed over the years?'

'Such a party would only happen once a Century, they definitely could not miss this opportunity.'

"..."

How tiring...

'But whatever complicated reasons each had, Philip found it all too simple for him to be entertained by.'

'In a sense, he was eager to see what sort of things those Nobles would pull out of their elegant tight sleeves, but on the other hand, this was a place directly beneath the eyes of every Major Noble and person of affluence in the Empire.'

'They wouldn't go too far... They couldn't.'

'Some may not even be able to show their all due to the pressure.'

'But still, it's better than listening to a speech for another half an hour…'

"Are they going to fight?" Petter asked as he looked at the young Nobles flocking to the arena in the Southern portion of the Hall

"I guess so, but it depends mostly on what they came here for." Philip replied after putting in some thought

By the looks of it, most are only there to show off their progress and so on, not necessarily to fight.

"Should we go take a look? Given our food was taken over I imagine they wish to have us move around a bit more."

And I can see some bottles of juice falling near them...

Is this some sort of Battle Royale? Like a tactical airdrop?

Tsk, my loot zone is terrible, I don't even have water...

"That's for certain… But you can go take a look if you wish, I'm not that interested." Philip said as he looked at the ceiling, only to see a girl floating around holding a long string of fabric, using it to bind the butler in the sky as she laughed loudly and childishly

Most of those Nobles are around Level 30, which was about the standard for a fifth-year student at Parad Academy, but... It's not really that much.

'Of course, Philip could be wrong as Level wasn't everything, he was "the" example of that.'

'But if every one of them was special, being able to pull out moves that far outmatches their age and expected Skill mastery, then wouldn't it be quite ridiculous?'

'If everyone could take on people above their Level, then everyone would still be on the same page.'

'Of course, some were Level 40, and a few were even 50… Those were truly impressive, the strongest of the bunch, the Young masters of this generation, sons and daughters of Dukes and such…'

'They were the people at the top of the world, if you could compare yourself to them, then that was it, there wasn't much from there.'

'Only unique individuals would outshine them, like the First and Second Princes.'

'And even if Philip hadn't used his Skill on them, he was sure they were quite capable.'

'The reason why he hasn't done so yet was because he didn't want to, once again, give them a reason to point their fingers at him.'

'As using such observations Skills was considered offensive and rude if not a blatant threat.'

If a Loli can block my Skill, I don't think a Prince cannot…

Still… Those young Nobles… They're not quite there yet.

'In a sense, they were almost on the same stage as Viera, whose Magic mastery, thanks to the Specter of the Principal, had barely risen to that of an Archmage.'

'Even then, her overall Level was still just shy of 25, that was because she fought almost no creatures, focusing solely on her studies throughout the 4 months she stood with Philip.'

'That could be taken as both good and bad, because on one end, having a low level allowed her to raise her Class further by achieving higher Ranks in Magic theory, so on an inevitable day she started to raise her Level, the growth she would experience would be exponential.'

'While on the other end… She wouldn't even be able to react if one of those brats drew his blade in front of her…'

'Their Talent was just around that, though it would be wrong to say they are beneath her...'

'It's complicated to evaluate them, as in the end, it'll only matter after 5 or 10 years.'

'When that time arrives, we can compare them again and see how much each of them grew.'

'And there's no need to bicker about unfairness.'

'They were born with the most golden of spoons, Viera was born in the middle of nowhere as a farmer and had her family taken from her at a young age.'

'She may have been 'adopted' by a talented and strong magician, but which one of them wasn't tutored by someone about as strong?'

'Since, whether they were combatants or not, each of the Dukes was over Level 80.'

'A product of resources and talent, they had all the time in the world to help their own children rise, so that one day, they may succeed them.'

'It would be unfair to complain, much less compare both.'

'They may even feel humiliated by it… As which lawyer would compare themselves to a crackhead in the alley?... Unless they wanted to boost their own self-esteem.'

'Wouldn't it be quite shocking to learn that the homeless guy that is drugged half the time and drunk in the other is still richer than you, a guy that studied 25 years and slaves away at an office?'

'It would be quite the experience…'

"... I'll just sit down for a bit." Petter said as he rested his head on his chair

"It's a bit too chaotic right now, once things settle down a bit more I'll take a tour around those guys over there."

"That's about it for me… But what about your companions?"

"..."

'Philip turned to look at Tedris and Viera at the far end of the table.'

'Surprisingly, they were already in a deep conversation with someone else, and given her deep blue hair, she was definitely a native…'

Hum?... Wait a minute…

Isn't that?...

"Heh! Philip, I think I found what we should do." Petter interrupted as he drew Philip's attention

'Following his finger, Phillip looked to the side, only to see Dae waiting by a small door next to the stairs where the King gave his grand speech.'

'When their eyes met, Dae smiled a bit as he opened the door, crossing it as it closed behind him.'

'His intentions were clear.'

"... Anything is better than this I guess." He said as he got up from his seat

... They'll do just fine.

'He only hesitated for a small moment, turning his gaze to the far end of the table once more before he turned around and followed Petter into the hallway leading who knew where.'

'And obviously, that wasn't missed by many of the guests…'

…

"..."

'In the main table where the Higher ranking Nobles gathered, Rebifos, the King, took a side glance at Petter and Philip as they left the party silently.'

As expected, those of unique Fate attract each other.

But that path… Heh.

'He smiled.'

They just can't hold themselves, can they?

(AYO! HOLD YOUR HORSES!)

'Several of the Nobles saw his smile, but they couldn't tell what he was thinking, apart from a few of course that also noticed Petter and Philip leave, either through chance or ability.'

'What each thought was a mystery, however…'

…

/Step step step…/

'In a slightly lit luxurious hallway, three men walked side by side.'

'Petter, Philip, and Dae, together once more.'

"Well, you look better than Petter." Philip said with a smile as he looked at Dae

"Hey! That's rude."

'Hearing this, Dae laughed once before saying:'

"Only on the outside, until yesterday my dark circles were likely as big as his." Dae joked as he turned to Philip

"Seems like you two have been working quite hard."

"Isn't that the same for you?"

"You could say so, though I did take my time to eat and rest."

"And hopefully not by much, as things will only get hectic from here." Dae added as they took a turn to the right, entering an even longer corridor

'There were many paintings on the walls, decorations on the two sides of the hallway, and the end was barely visible due to how distant it was.'

'Philip had the urge to say something, but Dae shook his head.'

"Let's leave the business talk for later, as I'm sure you have much to share."

"In that case… Where are we going?" Petter asked as he scratched his head

"We'll be jumping the party and going straight for the main event of the day." Dae replied with a smile as they took a left at an intersection

"Are you sure that'll be okay? You barely just arrived at the party."

"Some will certainly be unhappy, they'll even call me untactful."

"Then again, it's not like it makes a difference, we'll meet them again, it's just that instead of wasting time with the usual pointless talk, next time, it'll be for more serious business."

/Cha cha cha cha.../

/Stop/

"How sad… I'm sure some of those young ladies were very eager to talk with you." Petter teased as they stopped to let a group of maids pass through the corridor with a very, very long silver tray

"Is that so? From my eyes, they seemed more interested in our friend over here." Dae said as he redirected the joke to Philip

"What can I say? I am quite handsome, that we cannot deny." Philip replied with a smile as they rolled their eyes

'Once the Maids passed through, they resumed their walk.'

"Anyway, leave them be in the ballroom to do their own things, they'll figure things out on their own end."

"If you wish, you can turn back, but I particularly already had enough of them."

"Albeit it may seem as if we've just met, I've been subjected to their presence for quite a while before the party even began, I already had my fair share of fancy words."

"And above all, these clothes are killing me." Dae added as he pulled his collar

'Petter nodded eagerly.'

"..."

So it wasn't just Petter that was uncomfortable.

"On that note… Cool cape." Petter said as he looked at Dae's dark cloak

He always gets the cool shit, the only thing I ever got was beatings...

"... Is it an heirloom?" Philip asked as he noticed the intrinsic details at the end of the cape closed to the ground

'By using Great Scholar on it, the truth was revealed...'

'At the same time, it seemed they had arrived at their destination, a door in the middle of the corridor, one of many.'

"You can tell? It seems you studied quite a bit outside…"

"... Why does that sound like an insult?" Petter asked out loud with a frown as Dae opened the door, revealing a small room with nothing inside

'Entering and turning around, Dae rested his back on the opposite wall as he confronted Petter:'

"Surprisingly, this time, it's not."

"I'm just praising him for knowing something rather niche… Or would you have preferred the usual development?"

"Humph!" Petter scoffed as he entered the room, getting next to Dae as he crossed his arms

'Philip followed soon after, closing the door behind him.'

"Is this…?"

"It's a small ranger teleportation device, since it would take a ton of time for us to reach our destination otherwise, in fact, I don't even know if there is a physical path there."

"The entirety of the Ballroom is located within a separate Manor within the Imperial Palace's grounds, just like the Adrius Palace."

"However, the Adrius Palace was located many days on foot up North, meanwhile, these are rather close by to each other."

"The entire Ballroom used to be an Ancient fortress, albeit none of that can be seen after who knows how many refurbishing this place had over time."

"This place has absolutely no physical entrances, and all windows you saw are just illusions meant to ease your heart, as staying within an enclosed space can make some panic."

"They don't even tell that to us... I found out through this guy." Petter scoffed

"So step inside, we're getting out of here."

"Fine by me, where are we going?"

"To the other side of the Fortress."

"I... I thought we were leaving it?"

"My mistake, we're only leaving this darned party behind."

"..."

...

/Not long later.../

/Silence…/

"Was something supposed to happen?" Philip asked as they remained in the claustrophobic room

"... It takes a little while for things to get going… Something about old but reliable mechanisms…" Petter said as he tried to remember the classes he was given about the place

"He's right, it's not complicated."

"Albeit the place looks fancy, the Fortress itself hasn't been changed much underneath due to architectural limitations, so while some things improved, several still remained about the same."

"That's neat... But since it seems we're going to take a little while, where did you get it?" Philip asked as he looked at Dae

"It's a reward."

"Throughout the 5 months we trained here the Crown gave points to all Heroes depending on their actions."

"And those within the top 10 at the end of it were given the chance to choose one of the many heirlooms left behind by all Heroes over the course of 1000 years."

"Items made by past Heroes have quite the synergy when used by other Heroes you see, so even an item made 1000 years ago and considered outdated has some use…"

"Albeit there were no items older than this cape itself, everything else was well-made copies that might as well surpass their original counterparts."

"You can imagine where those items went, likely to some private museum where they should be."

"This cape was merely the one item I choose."

"Why the cape though? It looks cool but isn't it rather cumbersome?" Petter asked as he looked at the cape, touching it slightly

It's a bit leathery...

"That would be true if this had been a normal cape… But this isn't just 'a' cape…"

"Confectioned 300 years ago after the Demon Emperor's demise, it's one of the many items made from its pelt and a personal object of one of the Heroes that remained with him until his retirement."

"It's not just any cape… It's a pretty darn good one."

"..."

'Philip looked at Dae with a blank expression, he knew the man had been waiting for this very moment…'

"I… See… Let me change the question then, why a cape out of everything? Wasn't there like… Better options?"

"Hum... For what I have in mind, yes, there were certainly cooler items."

"As I said, we were given the chance to choose between the items of 3 Hero generations."

"It would be impossible to say that there weren't 'better' options."

"But after weighing my options, I chose this, it was the most suitable one, and I plan to make good use of it."

'With a final cool line, Dae stopped talking, and silence returned to the room, making the situation even more awkward as the three remained still, looking at the door…'

/Shake…/

'After what felt like an eternity, the room started shaking, and after feeling their eyesights spin and twist, everything returned to normal.'

/Blink.../

"This was… Quite the experience." Philip said as he narrowed his eyes, blinking them a few times as his eyesight refocused as he raised his hand to grab the door's handle

"You're doing quite well, everyone else vomited on the ground when they were first subjected to this, that's why there is no carpet here." Dae said as he tapped Philip's shoulder, passing through the door after Philip opened the door

"Ha! He talks as if he was no different, he was the first one to vomit."

"Yes I was, because different from you, I cleared my stomach first and left the room quickly rather than staying inside and being drenched by the lunch of others."

"... Don't remind me of that…" Petter said as his body trembled from PTSD

"..."

To think the mighty Revenger was once covered in the Puke of other Heroes… A tale to be shared by many generations to come for sure…

'Realizing he was also subjected to the same fate, Philip quickly left the room, leaving poor Petter behind with a distorted expression.'

…

/Later…/

'After a few more twists and turns, the trio arrived at a grand enclosed room.'

'Honestly speaking, the entire place looked like some sort of arena, given the elevated balcony surrounding the area.'

'The room was squarish in shape and it was about 3 football fields in size, being full of weird machines and gadgets throughout the area.'

'On the side, Philip saw a few Maids chattering to each other, but they quickly stopped, bowing gently as they saw them enter the room.'

"We're here."

"What is this place?" Petter asked as he looked around, he wasn't familiar with the area, they haven't trained here before

"A testing room, a place to evaluate Heroes across generations." Dae replied as he took a step forward

'They followed him across a small set of stairs, moving to the very center of the room, the Maids following them right behind.'

"Evaluate Heroes?"

"Haven't I said it already? Today is the day they'll test us, not in a simple way as they did in the past few months, but in a very direct and strict way."

'As he said that, he looked at one of the Maids and she approached him, helping him remove his shirt without damaging it.'

'Philip did the same, taking it as all too normal, in fact, he seemed rather elegant while doing it, almost disrupting the Maid's focus…'

'Meanwhile, Zero-Appeal Petter was rather embarrassed, almost disrupting her work as well, but he didn't look cool at all.'

"Any explanations?" Philip inquired as they removed their shirts

"Not really, it's all too straightforward." Dae said with a smile

"But if you want something to think about, let's start with that over there." He said as he pointed at a long machine on the side

'The machine looked like a huge symmetrical boulder on the ground… That's it.'

'Behind it on the floor were many markings, together with a few numbers every few markings… 10, 30, 100, 150, 200, 300, 500, 1000.'

'Also, in the middle of the markings two trenches about a palm wide were located, their purpose elusive…'

"What's that?" Petter asked as he tried to distract himself, as even after so long, he couldn't get used to the feeling of these Maids' smooth hands…

"That's our first test, the Strength test." Dae said as the Maids finished removing his shirt, exposing his upper bare body to the world

'As expected, Dae looked rather chiseled, but so did Petter and Philip, nothing impressive on that not…'

'Though each of their chiseled bodies looked different, each with its own charm or so to say.'

"Strength test?" Petter asked out loud as he scratched his head

"Allow me to explain." Dae said as he approached the rock…

/SMACK!/

/BAMMM!/

'Without even getting into a stance, Dae slapped the rock, sending it sliding for a few centimeters before it stopped.'

'On its side was a red arrow marker, that correlated to a marking on the ground.'

'It was about… 3?'

"The principle of this machine is pretty simple."

"Your goal is to push it as far back as possible, easy no?"

"A tad too easy…"

"Obviously, if it was simple, then it wouldn't be here, to begin with."

/Crunk…/

"This place is full of history… Sweat and blood, the start of many legends… And the end of some." Dae said with emotion as the rock slowly moved back to its original position on its own

"Each of these machines was calibrated with the help of tens of Heroes over hundreds of years, every single King came here once to help calibrate them as well."

"Every prince, every General, Archmages… And so on."

'He crouched next to the numbers on the floor.'

"This place was built with the intention of making a unified system of evaluation for all, since the System's numerical values aren't quite efficient on that note, leaving much room to be desired."

"Even if our Statuses are similar to each other since we all came from the same modern world, that doesn't mean they can be translated into any meaningful data for the people of this world, at least not without some lengthy boring tests."

"Even then, we're constantly growing, what would be the point of it then?"

"As such, this place was made to make this process something that can be done without the need for any complicated measures, you just come here and do it, simple."

"And the results can be easily understood by all due to the long array of Data this place has gathered over time."

"See these numbers? Well, they don't correspond to anything you're thinking…"

"They aren't here to measure distance, after all, they aren't even properly set up if that was the case, as the distance between each number is equal, but how would that be precise if it's the same from 10 to 30 then it is from 500 to 100?"

"These numbers refer to… Imperial Units."

"And this is a pure Strength Machine, which means the punch I just gave it had a force of 3 Imperial Units."

"What does that mean to us who originated from a scientific world?... I can't quite tell, but I can give you more information on it."

/Thud!/

'Dae slapped the block, causing it to ring loudly.'

"This thing has 3 modes, each increasing its overall weight."

"Mode 1 is in its natural state, this bad boy should be weighing around ten tons."

"Huh… That's less than I expected, given its size and all." Petter added as he shook his head, finally being able to let his hair be free and the wind on his neck..

"True, but speaking is one thing, why don't you give it a try?"

"Give it your all, don't worry, the rock won't break."

"To even leave a dent on it, you would need to punch it with 10 times as enough energy to push it all the way to 1000 in a single go, something even the Grand General might find difficult to do."

"What? You're telling me this rock is that indestructible?"

"Not really, the Grand General would pulverize it if he were to even try a bit hard, but this is solely to test how much muscle mass you actually have."

"So please, I don't want to be the one to have to explain if we end up actually denting it, this isn't cheap you know."

"Seems a bit excessive…" Petter pointed out as he took a step forward

"You would be surprised by how many times these rocks were broken and switched for better and more resistant ones..."

"Even a hardened Anvil can stop some extreme bullet calibers, but that doesn't mean they're used for body armor."

"There is a line between efficiency, cost, and feasibility, as not only would making a fort of these stones be utterly inconceivable, it would also be a complete waste of time and money."

"But enough talking, some things are better experienced through your fists."

"And remember, only pure physical strength, you can punch, push it, pull it, even lift it if you will, but I won't be accepting anything other than muscle work."

"If I see you doing that I'll be the one bashing your head against it."

"Sure thing sir…" Petter said with a confident smile as he spun his right arm, getting his joints heated up

"Phew, those damn clothes were suffocating me, I really needed a time off…"

/BAAAAAAM!/

'Without a single warning, Petter's expression turned serious as he took a step forward, transferring all of his momenta to his right arm as he punched the rock dead center with a brutal sound as if an explosion had rung.'

/Swoosh!/

'10… 30… Stop.'

"H-Huh?"

'To his utmost surprise, the rock only moved to about 40 before stopping, leaving Petter agape.'

'Each marking was about 5 meters from each other, so from 0 to 10, 10 to 30, and a bit more…'

"Just a bit over 10 meters." Dae said with a wide smile as if expecting this

"Hey hey! Something's wrong, how come I…"

"Are you really going to bicker or are you going to punch harder?" Dae asked with a serious expression as he looked at Petter

"I..."

'Petter's face tensed as his veins popped up.'

Fine, punch harder, got it.

Enough playing around.

'With his fists glowing red, he waited for the rock to reset.'

"Don't use your Vitality…"

"I know! Sheesh…"

"Just saying..."

"... Phew…"

'This time, Petter breathed properly before getting in a martial stance.'

"HUFF HAA!"

/BAAAAAAAANG!/

'A punch much stronger and faster than before, striking dead center of the boulder!'

/Swoosh!/

'10… 30… Stop.'

/Thud/

'The rock eventually stopped around 60, but more towards 70, so 65+?'

'Petter fell to his knees, and a dark cloud formed above his body...'

"Now now, no need to feel defeated, most of your training was based on control and discovery rather than Statistical growth." Dae said as he patted his shoulders

"Shut it… I don't want to hear it…" Petter replied dejectedly as he hugged his knees

I thought that... At least 100…

"Why are you crying, that's quite a good score, why don't you look at the previous Heroes' scores over there?" Dae said as he pointed at a small pedestal on the side

"I'm not crying this is rain... Oh?..."

'And like a curious child, Petter got up from the ground.'

'Looking at Philip, Dae shrugged, taking a step forward.'

"My turn…"

No need to hold back this time.

/Breath in…/

/BAAAAAAAAM!/

'Like Petter before, Dae got into a stance and punched forward, delivering a fatal blow to the poor stone!'

/Swoosh!/

'And the rock slid…'

'10… 30… 100... 150...!!'

'Around 182…'

"Phew…" Dae said with a slight smile as he shook his right fist a bit

That's about it, moving my body like this feels so relaxing.

Any more than this and I'm afraid I'll risk fracturing my bones.

"Hehe... Ha... That's lower than I thought." Petter joked from the side as he looked at Dae

"#!!"

'While Dae bickered with Petter, threatening him with his fist, it was Philip's turn to punch the rock.'

'But not before he inspected Dae...'

[DING]

[An unknown force has blocked Scholar Vision]

That was to be expected I guess, he had all the time in the world to prepare for this...

'As this message played out, Dae turned to look at Philip, smiling slightly before he went back to bickering with Petter.'

/Crunk!/

'Meanwhile, the rock fell back in place.'

'With that, he cracked his neck before he started to stretch the rest of his body…'

"Come on! Hurry it up! We don't have all chap… I mean, day!" Petter said in annoyance as he saw Philip prepare

"Hum… The winners are those that know when and not to act…" Philip replied as he finished his stretches

'Touching the metal boulder, he asked:'

"This thing is pretty sturdy, right?"

"Enough for it to not be broken easily under simple Physical forces, yes." Dae replied as his eyes sharpened

"As I mentioned before, there are also other mechanisms meant to help the rock stop, such as hidden breaks that add resistance to the rock as a way to emulate the necessary force needed to push it to a determined mark."

"From 0 to 10, each meter corresponds to 2 Imperial Units, but from 500 to 1000, each meter corresponds to 100."

"Don't even talk about breaking it, getting it to the end would be a challenge."

"Perfect… It's been a while since I actually tried to punch something, so let's start small." He said in a low tone as he raised his head to inspect the rock

Also, I think my hand should be able to bear my entire Physical strength against a harder surface, right?

I'm not a fan of shattering my fingers…

It's just a simple punch anyway.

'Philip raised his fist lightly…'

/BOOOOM!/

/TREMBLE!/

'And with a light fist, the rock was catapulted back while a typhoon of wind ravaged the area, pushing back even the Maids who were further away!'

/CREAAK!/

'The rails beneath the stone screamed momentarily as the rock slid further back at high speeds!'

'Witnessing this sight, Dae had a momentary thought:'

A little stronger?... A little?

By the Gods, what did you…

/Swoosh!/

'The rock having already traveled across the 300 mark, it didn't show any signs of stopping!'

…

.

.

.

Notes

This "concludes" the party Arc and we go to the after-event which is pretty much what many wanted...

Unfortunately, many events were eventually cut from the Novel, such as Viera's Birthday, a personal meeting with the Grand General and his family, Philip's return to the Capital by foot and not teleportation devices, a meeting with the previous Nobles he met at Parad Academy and a scene where they apologize to him, more interactions with the Heroes at the party, such as the Great Sage's girl interaction.

And a bit more I forgot.

If there was anything else on your mind, post it here, I'll read it I promise.

Aside from that, I need to get ready to go to University, see you all soon.

That was all from me, goodbye.