In a large mansion:
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE LOST? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH EFFORT IVE PUT INTO HER UPBRINGING?" A loud voice erupted from an older man.
"And to lose horribly to a Mitchell at that, bring her too me."
The door leading to the large meeting room slammed open and a woman was being dragged by her hands, legs trailing behind.
"Emelia, do you realize how much disappointment you have caused me today?"
"Yes sir" a meek response came from the girl.
"Good, now I want your training doubled and no lunch breaks for the next week."
Her face dropped even more from the punishment, but had no counter argument ready for him.
"Yes" she responded, leaving the room slowly.
"Good, now tell me how the other fight went today." he waved his hand to another butler.
"Yes sir, today's fight we found out was not against a wealthy family. They could only offer one grade 3 fighter to today's duel. That fighter volunteered to face all three of our fighters. Sweeping the floor with the first two and then winning a last chance bout from Cole. He won the 3 on 1, sir."
The man's face got aggressively more annoyed the further the man talked. Eventually leaving his face in a contorted mess of rage.
"Bring me those three, i will have them explain their own mistakes individually and punished for their worthlessness."
"But sir, they are only grade three. We haven't even taught th-"
"Do as i say." The lead man interrupted. This man was the head of the Pierce family, Zach Pierce. A grade 7 swordsman.
"Yes sir." the butler bowed and quickly existed the room.
Zach stood there angrily messaging his forehead.
"What a horrible turn of events, why cant something go well for once." He complained as he sat down in a large comfy chair.
Back in the forest:
Nell has managed to kill 4 phase 2 beasts with the overwhelmingly powerful bow, her smile radiated in accomplishment as they emerged from the forest into the clearing. Akio following shortly behind her with a rather tired gaze. They spotted Milda waiting just a hundred feet down the road.
"So, how did it go?" She asked happily as they approached.
"Really well I think." Akio responded
"Nell managed to kill 5 beasts in total today. That might be enough for her to advance her grade to the next level." He continued as he ruffled Nells already messed up hair.
She was super excited by the fact that she killed 5 beasts today as she could barely hold in her excitement to finally advance to the next grade.
"I can't wait to be big like you Milda!" she said with her childish voice.
Milda nodded slowly and they started to walk back to the large city. The sky was now a dim blue with orange creeping in the side as the traversed the rocky road. The forestry gradually disappeared as they reached the farmland.
"It seems like you didn't run into any other monsters that could possibly pose a threat. That's good, i was worried the whole time you were there." Milda turned her head towards Akio with a smile.
"Thank you for doing this, while it may be too quick for her to grow up. I believe it's for the best, we need her to be more self sufficient now that it's just us three." She frowned a little in sadness seeing Nells childhood cut short.
"Wait, how long does it normally take to get to grade three?" Akio asked with a sudden realization.
Akio had reached grade three very shortly after reaching the first town they stayed in, so in terms of time it was maybe around 3 or 4 days after the fire. He couldn't remember exactly how long it was but Nell has been at grade 2 his whole time knowing her.
"Well, Normally you stay at grade 2 for a couple of years to enjoy your childhood and no responsibilities. For the lower levels you naturally level up as you mature." She responded to his question.
"But I suppose there are some anomalies like you. When did you even reach your third grade anyway? Or whatever you call it." She continued to ask giving him a little teasing nudge at the fact of being an anomaly
" I don't really remember, it was shortly after reaching the inn we stayed at first. But I just reached grade 4 after the massive gate fight." he continued with a smug smile.
She looked at him with bewilderment, then shock then happiness and a couple of other emotions. It was like watching a rollercoaster. She stopped trying to put it into words and just sighed and shook her head. The large empire gates slowly appeared on the horizon as they walked down the road. Greeting the locals of the farmland and buying a couple of apples because they were hungry.
They were let through the gate easily after Akio showed his silver identification. it made every check in a lot easier as they had to register at a guild to get one of those. Entering the inn they went back to there rooms. Akio had to be up again early for work and he was too tired from already getting up that early two days in a row. So he decided to head to bed early tonight.
Royal castle:
Your Majesty! I have news" The showman from earlier bowed before a tall figure.
The king was a tall man with a large brown beard that extended past his chin in a majestic manor. He didn't wear a gold and red cloak as the picture depicts him but he wore a very fashionable suit, a blue one with a small black bowtie right underneath his collar.
"You may speak." His voice was a calm one, it held unspoken power and authority. But it gave the listener a calming sense of protection to be around.
"Yes, Today at the brawl between the Pierce family and an unknown family over the Pierce heir losing a fight. I saw a young man with icy white hair, Who fought exponentially well despite it being a one on three" he paused to take a breath
"Get to the point, if you have to go through this much detail it must be worth it. I'm also anxious for this news, you always have delightful stories to tell." HE smiled warmly at the showman as he walked forward and handed him a small glass of wine.
"Yes your majesty, The boy has used the skill Ice glare." The king paused, seemingly unable to comprehend what was said.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" The last person recorded with this skill was nearly a millennium ago, and that was the time where beasts ran rampant. Everyone there had the average grade of 7, which only a few hold today. HE was a terror to behold, the power to mentally and physically cripple someone with just a stare.
"Yes sir, The boy had used Ice glare. He looked to be a beastkin not from around here as we have no files of birth on him. All we have is his adventurers who signed up not too long ago." The showman continued pulling out a piece of paper from thin air.
The king hurriedly grabbed the piece of paper and examined the contents. As he read further his eyes grew more and more excited.
"Looks like we may have a weapon on our hands. With this we could rule the entire continent and finally take out those bastard demons." he laughed.
"Do not give him any special treatment, but allow him to do as he pleases. I want to gain his trust as an ally and I will do so with all of my power. Send my daughter to conquer his heart if you must, i reckon he will be applying to the academy soon if he's joining the knights at his age and prowess." He nodded slowly to the Showman.
"Yes sir." the showman bowed.
They chatted happily over a bottle of wine as the night soon passed.