Bloed and the others walked before the king in front of the gazes of hundreds of beastmen.
Each beastmen was looking at them with hot eyes, showering them with excited gazes that made Bloed a bit uncomfortable.
To be honest, he would have preferred if the king rewarded him in a more private setting, however, he knew that the king planned to make use of this opportunity to put a show in front of the beastmen and increase the morale of the country.
Thus, Bloed did not mind it too much. In the end, it was just politics.
Kneeling on a knee, the group lowered their heads and waited for the king's words.
King Arlen Firstmane nodded satisfied. He then looked at the rightmost person with a smile.
"Rhone Nightwhisper. For your bravery during the competition, I reward you with the Amulet of Silence."
Following the king's words, an attendant walked towards Rhone while holding an amulet on his hands.
Bloed did not know what the Amulet of Silence was, but based on how Rhone's face turned red in excitement, it was obvious it was incredibly valuable.
"T-Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"That is what you deserve. Continue working hard for the beastmen countries, young man."
"Y-Yes."
Nodding slightly, the king looked at the next person, Rana.
"Miss Rana Salena, for your great performance during the competition, I grant you the Bracelet of Past Wisdom."
Rana's eyes opened wide. She looked towards the king as though she could not believe his words.
She was not the only one. Bloed and the nobles that knew about the meaning of that name were looking at him in the same way.
Bloed had heard about the Bracelet of Past Wisdom before. It was a very famous demigod artifact with the ability to save five spells to be released when the user needed them.
That in itself was amazing, but what made the Bracelet of Past Wisdom so valuable was the fact that it could save spells up to the level of Apotheosis.
In other words, it could save up to five SSS-Grade attacks that could be used at any moment!
It was an artifact that any mage would desire!
Rana was so stunned that she needed several seconds to react. And when she finally reacted, her voice was strangely high-pitched due to the excitement.
"T-Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"You deserve it. Next is Miss Aya Sharpclaw. For your spirit of sacrifice, I grant you the Cloak of Tiabennes."
Once more, Bloed was stunned.
Just like the Bracelet of Past Wisdom, the Cloak of Tiabennes was a demigod artifact. It was rumored to belong to a famous thief hundreds of years ago. Apparently, that thief was so good that he even stole from several royal families without ever being caught.
In the end, he died and left behind an Inheritance, including a cloak with the ability to hide the presence of its wearer.
It was the perfect artifact for an assassin-like fighter as Aya.
Aya, however, did not show as much excitement as Rhone and Rana.
Perhaps it was because she did not know about the cloak, or perhaps it was due to another reason, but the catkin girl just bowed with a stoic expression after receiving her reward.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The king seemed a bit awkward due to her reaction, however, he quickly glossed over it and looked towards the two remaining people.
Bloed and Liu Ying.
When he reached them, the king sighed softly.
"To be honest, your rewards were the hardest to choose. You two don't seem to need many things, and to be honest, Mr. Bloed's artifacts don't lose to many of the artifacts in my collection. However, I managed to find something."
Turning towards Liu Ying, the king waved his hand, signaling to one of the attendants to bring forward her reward.
A part of white boots with blue and black streaks on their sides.
When Bloed saw the boots, he shook his head bitterly.
'The king sure is being generous with his rewards, huh.'
"These boots are called [Deity Steps]." The king smiled. "They are my reward for you."
Liu Ying tilted her head confused, probably unaware of the ability of the boots. However, Bloed knew their ability very well.
[Deity Steps]. A pair of boots with the ability to perform [Blink].
With them, its wearer could teleport to a short distance a total of five times before having to recharge them.
These boots were a godly equipment for someone like Liu Ying, whose fighting style relied on extreme close combat.
Finally, when it was Bloed's turn, the king smiled wryly.
"Mr. Bloed Norman. Yours was the hardest to choose. Actually, I didn't know what to choose. Thus, I decided to give the choice to you."
After the king's words, two attendants stepped forward.
In their hands, they were holding two items.
One of them was a breastplate. Bloed did not need to look to know it was a defensive-type demigod artifact.
As for the second, it was a small booklet.
In its cover, there were two words.
[King's Aura].
Bloed frowned when he saw it.
"The first item is called Balor's Breastplate." The king explained. "It has the ability to create a shield able to block even demigods attacks. Of course, with your current strength, you can only use it once or twice each time."
Bloed nodded in understanding, but his face showed he was not interested in it.
It was normal. In the end, Bloed could not use mana. Demigod artifacts that relied on mana to be activated were useless to him.
Plus, he just created a defensive technique just as powerful as that breastplate. And as it was a technique he created, it would grow stronger together with him.
Noticing Bloed's disinterest, the king then pointed to the second item.
"The second item is called King's Aura. However, it's not an artifact. It's a technique."
As soon as the king reached this point, Bloed interest faded completely.
He already expected it, but when he heard the king's words, he was disappointed.
Just like demigod artifacts, Bloed could not use this world's techniques.
After all, he was manaless. He did not have mana.
However, the next words of the king surprised him.
"… I know that the cultivation technique you practice focuses more on soul power than mana. Thus, the technique I chose is rather special. It's a technique that has been passed down in our country for generations.
"Unfortunately, this technique does not use mana but instead uses soul power. Due to that, few people in our country have managed to practice it. In fact, nobody has practiced it successfully in the last one hundred years. However, I have a feeling this technique will shine in your hands."
Bloed was stunned.
Soul power?
In other words, this technique used psychic energy to work!
It was the first time Bloed saw a technique like this in his life.
Immediately, his eyes lit up. He looked towards the technique with an eager gaze that surprised even Liu Ying and the king.
The king could not help but smile wryly when he saw that.
"It seems you already made your choice."
He then waved his hand to the attendant holding the booklet.
"Take it. It's yours now."
Calming his excitement, Bloed bowed slightly and received the booklet.
"Thank you, your majesty."
...
P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels