Conrad's Change

Osric frowned slightly. Weren't his Talents a little bit exaggerated?

He had been expecting a thrilling fight, and sure, never in his wildest dreams had he ever dreamt of Conrad defeating him. If anything, he would be the one to drag his face in the mud. 

Even so, he hadn't expected it would be so easy. It had ended far quicker than he expected. Wasn't Conrad supposed to be one of the most talented geniuses of the current generation?

Osric shook his head before turning to look at Conrad. 

In truth, Osric was only asking for the impossible. His Talents easily trumped the Divine Grade, and yet, he had actually expected Conrad to, at the very least, struggle against him? It was simply impossible.

In fact, if Conrad really had struggled against him, then, his Talents wouldn't be at a Grade above Divine Grade like he had speculated. It was… only normal Conrad fell before him.

Conrad whimpered. He held his arm with his other hand, his teeth clattering and trying hard to conceal his moans - a futile effort. 

He felt a pain the likes of which he had never felt before. A pain that was more of an emotional type than a physical one. His defeat at the hands of Osric was so painful it overrode the one he felt from his broken knuckles and fractured arm.

How had he, an absolute genius of the Fahren Clan, lost to a kid picked up from the streets of the Immortal World? And so easily at that?

For a moment, he even harbored the thought of Osric utilizing a Divine Treasure that had managed to evade the senses of the Divine. But then, his rational mind won. It was simply impossible.

Which then brought him to a conclusion: was he really that inferior to Osric? 

For years, he had been forced to wallow in the shadow of Seina, trace after her steps, and consequently, this had built his inferiority complex to high levels. But then, this was Seina, a girl blessed with the complete Bloodline of the Fahren Clan, it was only normal she shone brighter than him.

However, who was Osric? He didn't even have a family to speak of. No, he did have parents, but what does that matter when their souls was already taking a trip in the Chthonian Realm?

No, more importantly, even if his parents had been alive, they got no clearance to gallivant amongst a colossus like the Fahren Clan. The more talented among them, the wife, had been born with mere Terrestrial Grade Talents. Talents that only held sway in the Mortal World.

Due to this, their child was bound to inherit their Talents, and as such, he shouldn't have been able to defeat Conrad. And yet, he had done just that.

How had that been possible? Conrad thought, humiliation tickling at his skin like the legs of a millipede.

He raised his head to gaze at Osric, and he couldn't help but view him in a new light. At that moment, he made a decision.

What need was there to be arrogant if he had nothing to back it up? No, in fact, far from it, he did have a lot to back it up. However, take Osric, his Talents, or at the very least, some of his Talents trumped his, yet, they way he viewed him didn't seem to change.

Even after he had defeated him, there was no contempt nor was there anything remotely close to mockery in his eyes. He was arrogant, indeed. But his was a different sort of arrogance.

He considered mockery beneath him, he considered all of Conrad's tantrums beneath him. This was a kind of arrogance that didn't waver in the face of all his teases. In fact, now that he thought about it, Conrad felt Osric had definitely not taken the challenge seriously until the Natural Treasures were introduced.

He suddenly yearned for such a demeanor. But the real question here was, how would that be possible? Each and everyone are born with a unique set of qualities. Hence, Conrad wanting to imitate Osric's sounded a bit silly, but still, the passion with which he held this thought was anything but silly.

Conrad abruptly stood up, his gaze lingering on Osric one last time before he turned to leave. As for if he could emulate Osric's qualities, only time would tell.

Osric, on the other hand, squinted his brows in silent shock. Considering the kind of individual Conrad was, conceding silently was the least he expected from him. He had been preparing for his usual tantrums, but somehow, for some reasons, he had chosen not to.

He narrowed his eyes, watching Conrad's departing figure vanish from his sight. What had cause the sudden change in him?

Osric was unaware, but this battle had propelled a change in Conrad, a change that was drastic.

That said, Osric raised his head to face the Divine floating few meters above him, clearly awaiting his prize, the matters of Conrad had taken a backseat in his mind, chanced by more important matters.

The wizened Divine peered down upon Osric, his languid face portraying no emotion whatsoever. While most were still shocked by the outcome of the battle, some, including the Divine, were unfazed.

No, it was not accurate to say they were unfazed. Instead, they had expected such an outcome. They all were present during Osric's Awakening Ceremony, and it had shaken them to the very core. To say the least.

As such, the Divine was unsurprised at the defeat of Conrad at the hands of Osric.

"This battle has ended in the favor of Osric. He wins." the apathetic voice of the Divine rang out, spreading across the Battle Hall, before he vanished, his aura disappearing just as quickly.

The old man didn't feel compelled to linger here anymore. He had only accepted to referee this squabble of mere Mortals because he gave Conrad some face, or more accurately, the existence behind the child a lot of face.

And since it had ended, what need was there for him to keep waiting? 

Meanwhile, Osric wasn't even paying attention to the Divine anymore, or anything at that. All that currently occupied his mind were the two Natural Treasures that resided in the Spatial Rings within Seina's dainty palms.

He couldn't wait to get his hands on them.

However, he withheld himself. He was being too hasty. It mattered little if his Talents were of the Divine Grade or beyond, if the Natural Treasures deemed it unfit to bow and willingly offer him their benefits, there was little he could do.

On second thought, he could just force them. However, that wouldn't be possible until he had strength that rivalled theirs, which meant, he would have to become a Divine. This was a Realm that was still too far away from his reach.

Hence, he would need to take things one step at a time.

"Congratulations, you just won yourself two of the best Natural Treasures in existence. You should proud." Seina's melodious voice reached into his ears as he approached her.

To this though, he just smiled softly before replying.

"It's nothing to be proud of."

Hearing, Seina rolled her eyes, then chuckled. Who was he trying to impress? But then, she was certain he wasn't trying to impress anybody, this was just how he felt.

That said, she shook her head and handed the two Spatial Rings over to him.

"Here. It is yours now. You've earned it."

Osric almost chuckled in amusement at the remark of the lass. Indeed, he had fought and won for the ownership of the Natural Treasures, but did she have to make it sound as though she was a mistress bestowing her servant rewards for a job well done?

Coming to this point, an imperceptible smile stretched Osric's lips. Nevertheless, he accepted the Spatial Rings and scrutinized it.

The Spatial Rings themselves were Divine Grade Treasures, a fact Osric didn't find surprising. The Natural Treasures were of the Divine Grade, and for the Spatial Rings to even hope of containing them, they must be of the same Grade as the Natural Treasures at the very least.

He rolled the rings between his fingers, before he inserted each on his index and ring fingers. He would check them out in due time. He then turned towards the spectators, most of which still hadn't recovered from their shock.

However, his focus wasn't on them, no, it was on a certain Immortal that took the highest seat for himself.

For a while, Osric just gazed at him with indifference before he returned his attention to Seina.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Of course." came Seina's reply.

And then they walked out, side by side, leaving the whole Battle Arena in shocked silence.