Even Arthur's eyes slightly widened at the rewards for first place.
It wasn't that he was shocked due to the sheer amount of rewards he was given, but the fact that said rewards had changed since his previous life.
In the scheme of things, these rewards were quite meagre, in comparison to some of the Fae within Arthur's possession.
In fact, the value of the Ocean Vein Tree Fae exceeded that of all the rewards that Arthur received, with the sole exception of the Origin Essence Liquid. The value of that particular type of Source Water was extraordinarily high to an individual, while the Ocean Vein Tree was valued by a large group.
The fact that Arthur got ten days within the Origin Essence Liquid Pond instead of the usual seven days was a surprise to both Arthur, as well as many of the other participants and audience members below.
Traditionally it was only allowed for seven days, so as to let the Pond regenerate its Source Water over the course of another year. This was something that had been repeated every single year, since the founding of the Clan, the reason why they would change such a thing could only be due to some sort of external influence....
Arthur's brows furrowed slightly before shaking his head.
It could be a result of his exemption of heavenly laws, but there wasn't enough information to find out.
At any rate, he should just enjoy the extra three days, stabilizing his foundation and increasing his cultivation.
Those in the crowd, and on the platform all looked at Arthur enviously. Even Borik, Ratimir and Alina peered at the handsome young man beside them, a look of disappointment could be seen within their eyes.
Most of them wanted to say something, but seeing that none of the Elders made a retort, it was obvious that they had come to some sort of agreement.
.... Perhaps if things were different, and they had won, they too would had the chance to spend ten days within the Origin Essence Liquid Pond....
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world....
Seeing most of the crowds disperse and return back to their homes, or to their jobs, only those Fae Masters in the top ten or so remained, eager to receive their rewards.
Everyone in the top ten received at least a single Fae, but instead of it being publicly announced, like at the start of the year, this Tournament rewards ceremony was always held in private, between the participant and the Elders.
After a year, Fae Masters needed to learn how to conceal their own strengths. Even an extremely righteous and family centred Clan like the Kovacs Clan wouldn't neglect the teachings of their ancestors to their descendents.
Some of these young men and women might want to leave the Village in the future and try to journey towards the rest of the Azure Envy Continent. Being too trustworthy, had caused the deaths of countless Fae Masters before them.
Niklos smiled before gesturing for the tenth place winner to come forward.
"Parvan Kovacs.... you placed tenth place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 75 origin essence stones, in addition to an Earth Ribbon Fae. It will improve the gap in your defences immensely, and its low origin essence expenditure will allow you to fight for longer as well".
Parvan's eyes lit up like the night sky, his mouth dropped slightly as he bowed deeply towards the Clan Leader.
"Thank you sir! I promise I won't let you down!".
Parvan had just narrowly made it into the top ten, and even dropped a couple places from his position last year. He hadn't completely ticked all the boxes when it came to offense, defense, support and miscellaneous, but with this earth ribbon fae.... things would be different.
The next victor came forward.
"Godemir Kovacs.... you placed ninth place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 75 origin essence stones, in addition to a Snow Petal Fae. It is a rare Wood Attributed Fae whose ice cold petals can freeze any wounds that it leaves behind. It is quite the Fae, and will allow you to vary your combat styles a little more....".
"Florian Kovacs.... you placed eighth place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 75 origin essence stones, in addition to a Bone Explosion Fae. It's abilities will increase your destructive power, and enhance your already immense physical strength....".
"Milena Kovacs.... you placed seventh place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 75 origin essence stones, in addition to a Corpse Flower Fae. This particular fae can form dangerously toxic corpse flowers within a certain area. It is best used in conjunction with dead bodies, or rotting flesh or lots of blood....".
Arthur raised an eyebrow at this particular Fae.
From his understanding, this young girl's family was responsible for the graves within Parachenko Village. Giving her this Fae was like adding wings to a tiger, allowing her to fully take flight.
Niklos turned towards a young woman, who, despite her short appearance, had quite the.... developed figure.
"Iryna Kovacs.... you placed sixth place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 90 origin essences tones, in addition to a Spider Lance Fae. It is a relatively common Transformation Attribute Fae, ever since the first beast tide, however this one is a variation fae. We don't know the name of such a Fae, so we have decided to call it the Golden Poison Lance Fae. It's poisonous characteristics will be a huge boost to your Transformation".
The girl nodded happily before returning back to her place.
"Zlatanna Kovacs.... you placed fifth place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 90 origin essence stones, in addition to an Air Burst Fae. Unlike the wind stalker fae, the air burst fae provides a much greater boost to burst speeds, rather than just a total increase. I noticed that despite your strong offense, your speed was lacking, so we decided that this Fae would suit your needs the most".
The nod nodded succinctly, although their was a glint of happiness in her eyes.
Niklos' gaze turned towards the slightly hobbling Ratimir, before smiling and taking out a Fae.
"Ratimir Kovacs.... you placed fourth place in the Tournament, so I hereby reward you with 90 origin essence stones, in addition to a Bloodslice Fae. Your close ranged combat skills are extraordinary, even with older generations of Kovacs. However, your ability to attack at mid-to-long range are severely impeded by such tactics. As such, I hope you will be able to use this Fae, to better your combat style".
Ratimir's eyes shined, and he glanced at the Clan Leader, in addition to his grandmother before bowing deeply like everyone before him.
"I won't let you all down!".
Elder Velika nodded slightly before Niklos gestured for him to return to the line.
"Those you Ranked fourth to tenth may be excused. The first, second and third place victors will remain behind".
Alina glanced at Arthur, noticing that Randolf still hadn't come back.
The injuries Arthur dealt to him were no problem, considering how fast he was sent to the medical tent. The injuries that he sustained himself however, were something else entirely.
Alina and Ratimir had another fight, shortly after the end of Arthur and Randolf's battle, but due to Ratimir's overextended stamina and endurance, in addition to his lower origin essence sea, Alina had once again.... taken the victory from him.
The others left behind both Arthur and Alina, the pair of which had taken first and third places respectively.
The Clan Reserves would be open to the pair of them, and they would both be able to choose a few Fae of their choice.
Niklos, the Clan Leader gestured for Alina to come forward, and allowed her to follow Elder Anatol towards the Clan Reserves.
No-one knew how long she would take, which was also a good thing, considering that all the Elders wanted to talk to Arthur about something.....
Specifically, regarding the Law he had comprehended during the semi-finals.
Arthur smiled slightly as he gazed towards his Father and the others, knowing full well, he held all the cards in this situation.