The busy noise of Auroria faded into the background, my mind focused solely on my own thoughts. I doubted there would be a way to conceal my power and my elemental attunements to the teachers.
I believed my power, equaling that of a weaker AA-rank, would be enough to outpower some of the professors that taught more passive subjects. But I was sure it wouldn't be enough for the combat teachers. That being said, you had to deliberately focus your bind to read another person, and if I was able to never spark any form of interest from a superior, they would have no reason to try and sense my abilities.
I knew there was no such thing as an elemental attunement, and the elements you were able to use depended on how you manipulated the neutral bind around you. But there were always traces of elementally charged bind within people's bodies which allowed those with superior bind control to sense it.
But what if I reversed the process taught to me by the Dragons?
By simply filtering out the remainders of the elementally-charged bind, all that would remain would be the neutral bind.
I cycled the bind within me, slowly removing it from my system and replacing it with neutral bind using my bind circulation. I sighed with relief, satisfied at my own results.
This meant that even if I was read by a more powerful individual, they wouldn't be able to feel anything except neutral bind. According to every race that wasn't a dragon, neutral bind was almost the equivalent of no power at all, meaning I'd be heavily underestimated in confrontations.
"Jay!"
I turned around, seeing Diana walking towards me followed by an older girl. My eyes seemed to be drawn to her escort, her long vibrant pink hair was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Lush green eyes sparkled with a kind of power I had never witnessed before.
I immediately felt the pressure from her aura, the intensity catching me off guard. There was no hesitation in my mind, not a single moment of doubt as both girls approached me. I was already aware of Diana's powerful aura, but this was something that made the Princess's aura look like child's play.
This was an S-rank.
The most powerful individuals in all of Auroria, monitored by the royal families and hired as private soldiers for their respective races. The three kingdoms, even if they were under an official alliance, were constantly racing to acquire new S-rank adventurers. It was no longer a matter of the size of one's army that determined the outcome of a war, but how many S-rank adventurers you controlled.
The S-rank wore a metal corset as her armor, a metal skirt that was somehow able to bend and flow freely like any material complemented the outfit. Her shoulders and arms were completely untouched from any armor, allowing for flexible and uninterrupted movement.
A golden space bracelet lay on her wrist, indicating that there was more to her than met the eye.
"This is Amelia," said Diana, her tone less than excited. I laughed, sticking my hand out. Amelia shook it, her grip extremely soft.
"Hi there, Jay!" she exclaimed gleefully, a wide smile on her face. Her joyous personality masked how terrifying her power was, and I could tell it was intentional.
I walked through the streets of Eloria alongside Diana, both of us undisturbed by occasional nobles that passed by us. The five S-ranks were godly figures within Auroria, and the presence of merely one of them intimidated any passerby.
"Are you ready for the exam tomorrow?" asked Diana as we walked down a small avenue.
I looked at her, surprised.
"It's tomorrow?"
The girl burst out laughing, and I even noticed Amelia smile at the question.
"You really don't know when the exams for the school you're planning on joining are?" she teased, trying to contain her laughter.
"I didn't expect it to be so soon," I explained unconvincingly.
"I'm excited about the combat trial!" said Diana, moving on with the conversation. I smiled at her enthusiasm, not able to share the same feelings as her.
"Yea. It'll be interesting to see what others our age can do."
AMELIA LALA'S POV:
I had become the fourth S-rank at the age of seventeen, an early age compared to the first three adventurers that had attained S-rank power before me.
I had been an S-rank for two years now, and I had learned many skills while I was at the top of Auroria's political system. The power given to the S-ranks was unlimited, any request they had was fulfilled due to the fear of them abandoning their nation. I never enjoyed abusing this power, usually asking for simple things like private quarters or food, but the others ravished in it.
I looked at the two eleven-year-olds in front of me, both of them reminding me of my younger self. The boy named Jay intrigued me especially.
There was no hint of elemental bind within his body, and yet he was talking to the Princess about joining the Academy.
Was this an inaptitude as a binder? Or was it intentional?
A binder that was able to conceal the elements he could use was unheard of, and I wanted to double-check. I knew my current objective was to keep Princess Diana from harm, but I also knew that my status as an S-rank permitted me to do anything I wanted.
I unleashed a small portion of my aura, the immediate change in the atmosphere making the entire avenue freeze. I watched as the Princess I was supposed to protect stiffen up, a natural reaction when in close proximity to an S-rank's aura.
The boy remained extremely calm, merely stopping in his tracks and looking at me.
"What do you think you're doing?"
I absorbed my aura, smiling at him.
"There were suspicious individuals following us, sorry about that."
He didn't react to my explanation, looking over at Diana and calming her down. This boy hadn't even flinched at the exposure to an S-rank's aura, and even if it was a small portion, it was still considerable.
"I'm okay," said Diana, recomposing herself and thanking Jay.
My experiment had brought me nothing, the boy hiding his abilities masterfully. I sighed. There would be another chance to learn about this kid.
The boy named Jay was an entity that filled me with insatiable curiosity. A need to learn that could only be satisfied once there was nothing more to possibly understand. I looked at the end of the avenue, groaning at the sight.
The most arrogant of family heirs was walking up the street. Even at such a young age, he didn't care about who he was addressing himself to. Disrespect was irrelevant to him, and he was someone that I disliked being around, no matter the circumstances.
The boy was someone who had asked for Diana's hand multiple times, even if they were related. It wasn't a direct family line, but the connection between the Imania family and the Liech family existed nonetheless.
Hugo Liech.