After been on an intense training for the last few days
Dror was still a little sad and happy at the same time.
The main reason for his sadness was the path of alchemy, even after practicing and spending lots of herbs he couldn't even make a single pill.
His bright dream of earning lots of money by making pills went into the drain.
Above that he had also used up some precious herbs, while trying to practice alchemy.
At the same time his reason for happiness was, he had a little talent in black smithing.
In Fact every earth element body had a little talent to become an artifact master.
But Dror has conveniently believed this to be his personal talent.
Even with all this Dror was secretly hoping in his heart that, after taking the trance inducing pill he would miraculously develop some talent for alchemy also.
With all kinds of hope for a 'rich' future, he finally swallowed the trance inducing pill.
....
Usually the effect of a trance inducing pill would last for 2 to 3 hours, as it was only a temporary and partial trance that one entered.
So he had arranged for not being disturbed for the next 5 hours.
But as he swallowed the pill, he was in a state of dream and when he remembered one of the techniques that he had practiced earlier all of a sudden he felt like he could implement the techniques more flawlessly than when he was implementing it physically.
In the trance like state his concentration was fully focused without being directed to any of the six senses or other things.
Once he started practicing the techniques in that state it became more and more easier and he kept on doing it without break for a long while and changing to a new technique after some success.
He lost the sense of time after a while and kept on practicing.
It only felt like a short while for him to practice all the techniques to perfection. When he concluded his practice he himself felt like
" was it this easy to practice the techniques to such a level.... maybe I should spend all my money on these pills .."
When he slowly opened his eyes, he felt like something was amiss.... it felt like he had an empty stomach for a while.
Usually He wouldn't feel this much hunger , It should have only been 3 to 4 hours.
Since he was not cultivating and absorbing energy from nature consciously he might feel a little hunger but not this much, soon he realized what had gone wrong after checking his sky watch.
It had been 6 days since he had gone into the trance .
" fuck.. how can it last that long ... I should have prepared better.. maybe I really am a secret genius.."
It was a good thing that Nympho was nowhere near, unless the evil sword would have berated him so much that he would have to dig a hole to hide himself.
After checking the room he couldn't find Nympho as usual, Maya was still sleeping inside the earthen vat filled with earth elemental crystals.
As he got out of the room he saw a guard that was waiting right outside his room with a surprised look.
Dror inquired " Is there a message for me..."
The guard replied scratching his head " I am here to guard your room under the order of the commander, until you wakes up..."
Dror quickly understood, people might have come to visit him while he was meditating and found it weird that he was not out for a while. So the commander arranged for a guard to keep others from disturbing him.
" hrmm... I was a little too immersed in meditation and lost track of time. Thanks for keeping watch on me ... i will personally thank the commander later... You can go back to your duties now.."
The soldier was a little surprised after being thanked by someone like Dror, but he soon calmed down and spoke.
" There is one more thing, the commander had requested for sir's presence once you wake up.... "
The guard left after talking some more.
Dror had a vague idea about why the commander might be summoning him.
He decided to meet with the commander after cleaning himself up and having a good meal first.
...
At the same time in an unknown place, a meeting was being held inside an ancient looking large hall.
An amiable middle aged man, with deep black eyes, black long hair and spiky beard was sitting on the seat of honor which looked like a throne.
The others were seated a step lower than the middle aged man and not all of the people sitting on the left or right were real people, Some were also holograms.
One of the person to the left bowed to the seat of honor and spoke
"My king, I don't think we should announce the appointment of Young Dragon's battalion yet. I think one of the chosen candidate is not worthy of the title."
" Hrmph.."
A cold snort was heard as someone else interfered.
It was a young man with black eyes and black long hair, this person also looked very similar to the king who was sitting on the throne.
But their aura differed greatly and If Dror was here he would instantly recognize this haughty prince. More than that he would be gobsmacked by this setup, the kingdom was long lost but the rebels were still playing kingdom, not that the structure didn't had its own merit and it also gave a certain confidence and hope for them.
The first prince continued " Minister of external affairs, if you are referring to Dror the barbarian.
[[ for some reason it sounds like Conan the barbarian..lol.. please don't mind..]]
It was already decided that we have the right to decide 3 candidates and he fits perfectly to be a candidate.
You should have already heard about his accomplishments. Which one of the other chosen candidates of the moderate faction has such accomplishment? "
The External affairs minister tried to rebut " My prince but, this person has joined our cause only recently and his past is also not completely known. In fact his appearance is a little shady, he sprouted out of nowhere all of a sudden. "
The prince wanted to rebut but he too knew this was one of the weaknesses in his candidate.
But before the prince could continue the argument, he felt the aura from the above change a little.
Then the current rebel king Reynolds the third spoke looking towards one of the seats on the left side.
" Raven what do you think.."
A mature world toppling beauty, in complete black dress stood up from among the left side seats.
This woman had enchanting blue eyes and really long black hair with a small patch of white hair to the left side. This small patch of white hair only added to her beauty instead of tainting it.
She bowed towards the king and spoke " Your highness, we have investigated this person. His enmity with the Lomba family, the confrontation with the alliance government squadron and his involvement in the Blood god's church incident are all real.
The only questionable part is his past, we have sent spies to the planet Treag from where he is supposed to have come.
Planet Treag is big and the slums in it are innumerable, we could not verify his story until now, unless he himself provides more details and locations.
One more thing to note is, as far as our investigation went we couldn't find any details of him entering our planet through the proper channels or spaceships... Unless he used some back channels"
There was silence in the hall for a moment and then the king looked towards the seat closest to him on the right side.
" what do you think prime minister.."
The person that responded was an old man with long white beard and white hair, the man was also little hunched to the front showing the posture of an aged body.
But the one thing that stood out about him was his bright yellow eyes which still showed the vigor of a young man still in his twenties and his attire was also a dignified one.
The prime minister also bowed to the king with a slight smile and spoke.
" I have read the detailed report on this young man and it really intrigued me. He is really interesting, reaching the true warrior realm without any backing at such a young age is an incredible feat.
Even with lucky encounters not everyone can become a True warrior.
Hmm... coming to the point, I don't think he is a spy sent by the alliance government, even though his past seems to be a little sketchy.
The first point is, if he was really a spy from the alliance government he would have never got involved in the matter relating to the bloody church, which has resulted in the execution of Lorenzo.
The second is the Lomba family, they are someone who are hellbent on taking revenge on the smallest grievances. To shame them to such an extent is impossible with their cooperation.
Thirdly, if he was really a spy, then the alliance government would have surely fabricated a spotless past for this person, with sufficient evidence supporting it.
In conclusion I would say that even though this person is not our friend, he surely is an enemy of the alliance government and the enemy of my enemy, if not a friend still can be considered a temporary ally..."