The Diamond Kingdom is known for its huge mountains and a large amount of talented sword and armor smiths, but another thing that makes this kingdom stand out is the incredible fighting capabilities of the citizens and the big families
The most noticeable family is the family of the great sword king Rigel Ruw, Rigel is also known as the possessor of the 4th card and "The Blue Death"
Every person from this family is a respectable and capable swordsman with many years of training and a protocol for everyone to develop an original sword fighting style, this family is also quite feared because of their strictness and aggressiveness toward their students or the people who want to marry a person from that family
The nicest member is the strongest too, it's of course, Rigel who has ascended from that toxic and hateful way of wielding a sword and strived to get away from his own family, he managed to do that, liberating himself from his family was lifting off a curse
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"Applications for becoming the future jack!!! Come here and take a ticket while we still have! If you don't hurry you may lose your chance to become a member of the royal family!" A blonde short-haired girl yelled in the streets as she waved around tickets
"Do they really sell participation to anyone?" A tall boy with long black hair tied into a topknot and grey eyes asked
The boy had a sword resting on the right side of his belt which was well hidden because of the big coat he was wearing
"They sure do! And you can get it at the low price of one gold coin!"
"One gold coin is not a little..." The boy said
"Come on don't be like that! One gold coin to have a probability to become the right hand of the princess or at least get some recognition from the world is a good price" The lady described to the boy with a bright smile on her face
"That would be nice if that really was the case" The boy said as he slashed the bag of money the lady had in her hand
"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!" The lady asked enraged as all of her coins scattered around the ground
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me while you are clearly scamming people! Invitations are only sent to people by the king not from some idiot chick like you!" The boy said as he pointed his sword at the lady
While being threatened the lady saw a single detail on the boy's coat, it had a sun pattern
"You can't be..." The lady muttered in shock
"That's right! I'm Icarus Ruw! The youngest member of the Ruw family, now turn yourself into the guards or I will for you" Icarus said as he glared at the lady's eyes
After that, the lady took the money and went to the guards while Icarus continued walking until he started feeling hungry
'I haven't eaten since I started traveling from the diamond kingdom huh? I guess I could use a little snack...' Icarus thought as he went inside a bar which also had a place for people to sleep
When he stepped into the bar he was surprised to see that everyone was yelling at a kid not older than him
"DRINK, DRINK, DRINK!"
"Now this is the Heart's poison! A special drink from our region, that has poisoning in it but in a non-lethal dose and feels like it burns your mouth, it sure is a nice drink but very expensive! Are you sure you people want to pay him to drink it?" The bartender asked as he prepared the drink
"YEAH"
"GIVE HIM HELL!"
"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PRICE!"
"Excuse me what's going on?" Icarus asked a random drunk in the bar
"This kid! He just turned 16 but he is out-drinking everyone with no clear signs of stopping, he is almost invincible to alcohol!" The drunk told him
Curiously Icarus walked up to the big crowd and spotted the boy, he was a boy human with unique red eyes
'What an idiot...' Icarus thought as he sat as far away as he could from others
He had ordered food and waited for it
'After taking a small walk I couldn't spot someone stronger than me so I assume not many strong people came to join, after all the king also requested young men and being one of the strongest teenagers in the world I'm undefeatable'
"Oh man, they wouldn't leave me alone! I finally got off those jerks!" A boy said while holding food
"What are you doing? I am sitting here!" Icarus told to the boy when he saw him sit casually with him
"What? My bags are here dude!" The boy said as he pointed at a bag behind Icarus
The bag had a sword and a dagger in it, Icarus felt quite embarrassed after he saw the boy's back
"No it's okay I don't mind, you have ordered food haven't you?" The boy said as he started eating his steak with a lot of lemon on it and a bunch of lemon slices
Speaking of the devil, as soon as the boy mentioned Icarus's food it quickly arrived at their table
"I must eat fast since I will be visiting the castle! So excuse my quick way of eating"
"Oh, you are going there too? Then just wait and let's go together?" The boy said with a smile
"You are going to see the king? Who are you?" Icarus asked surprised
"My name is Teras! How about you?" Teras asked with a smile on his face
"I'm Icarus Ruw" Icarus said proudly
Surprisingly for him, there was no visual feedback from Teras, he was completely unfazed
'Who does he think he is? He meets a person from one of the strongest families and he just ignores them?' Icarus thought as he started to eat his food
Icarus was silently eating while staring at Teras playing with mana by creating something like a thread or a rope out of mana
"Anyway I'm going to pee so watch over my things if you can" Teras said as he quickly got up
'Wait a minute...' Icarus thought as he used mana vision
Suddenly Icarus got up from his table and furiously slammed his hand on the bar and shortly after grabbed the barman by his his clothes
"Do you think I'm dumb? Putting poison on someone like me? What do you think will happen to you huh?" Icarus said as he pulled out his sword and pointed it at the man's neck
"I-I'm sorry! I was paid by some people to do it! They said to give it to anybody that wasn't from town, it's a poison that damages the inside of the one that consumed it, it's not lethal but can damage people long enough to miss this tournament!" The barman explained to Icarus
'The guy... Was his steak poisoned too? It has to be, maybe that's why he got so fast to go to the bathroom' Icarus thought as he quickly went to inform Teras
Surprisingly Teras was peacefully enjoying the steak
"What's wrong with you dude? I told you to watch over my stuff!" Teras whined as soon as he saw Icarus
Teras was also playing with mana by creating something like a thread or a rope out of mana with the hand that wasn't occupied with food
"How are you okay? That doesn't make sense..." Icarus asked Teras confused
"What do you mean? I like lemon so I can eat a lot of it!"
Teras misunderstood
'He didn't realize the food was poisoned but wasn't affected by it, quite interesting... I will not say anything about it anymore, besides, if he can't compete in the tournament then it's a benefit for me' Icarus thought as he calmed down
"What's up with your food? Aren't you going to eat anything?" Teras asked as he finished up his steak
"I told him to cancel my order, I wasn't so hungry, it seems like you finished your food so may we go?" Icarus asked Teras
Teras was very confused because of Icarus' acts but still agreed and the two of them left the bar without paying
Icarus didn't want to pay him so he lied to Teras and told him that he paid for his food, which Teras thanked him for
"What's the reason you are seeing the king?" Icarus asked Teras
"I sort of lied to you! I won't be seeing the king but his daughter, somehow I managed to become the tutor of the princess... How about you? Are you some kind of knight? Judging by this cool coat you have to be someone important!" Teras casually said with a smile as he pointed at Icarus's sun-themed coat
"I was invited to partake in the tournament to see who will become the princess's guard" Icarus said before drinking some water
"Then that must mean you are an important dude! I thought most people get in by attending this showcase(?) the king hosts today!"
"You seem quite calm after meeting an important dude like you say! I mean if I told you who I was I bet you would be very surprised! I mean I'm surprised you don't know me by name in the first place!" Icarus bragged with a smirk on his face
"Oh, but I know! You come from one of the card possessor's family, no? What if I told you I have met way more interesting people?"
"Like who?" Icarus asked confused
"The goddess of war Enyo and the one and only Tokkou" Teras said with a big smile on his face
'Enyo? The one that works alongside Grandpa? And Tokkou too? This guy sure has good connections, but I can't recall an event I have seen him before, such connection can only mean he is from a wealthy family like mine' Icarus thought confused
He couldn't understand how this unheard guy could know such well-known people
"You were hasting to see the king right? Then pick up the pace, you will be late" Teras said as he started moving faster
Icarus quickly followed him
The two guys then took a silent walk toward the castle, many people stared at them intensively, well more specifically Icarus Ruw
People in every part of the world were looking forward to seeing the potential of Icarus and what he could achieve after some time since he made a sudden appearance in the world
Most kids from famous families aren't revealed to the world unless they show the potential to become great
"Are you sure it's okay to move in the open like this? I mean people could always attack you or take you for ransom or something?" Teras asked Icarus
"Even if they tried I doubt they could do it!" Icarus confidently said as he continued walking unfazed by all the eyes staring at him
Auras, are something that shows when a person is intensively at battle, mana auras can have variations of colors but that doesn't mean anything. An aura can also be something more theoretical, for example when Teras was in the forest with the Joker he felt this aura that propelled him away from the Joker, but this aura was not something visual but something internal, something you can only feel but not see. Almost anyone who can control their mana can sense the mana of others no matter if they are weak or strong, but an aura is more likely to appear when strong emotions are projected, like happiness, fear, and rage, or when mana vision is used
This is why Icarus walked 5 steps behind Teras, for some reason, Teras had no aura, a sign that he didn't exist...
"What's the matter? We are here, aren't you going to come in?" Teras asked as the doors of the castle slowly started opening
"Wait what time is it?" Icarus asked as if he had woken up from a nap
"Dunno! Probably midday, why?"
"The trials aren't opened until four in the afternoon! I should leave..." Icarus said after feeling a monstrous pressure in his chest
'Wait what am I saying? This isn't the time...' Icarus said as he used his sword to support his body
"Are you okay? Do you need water or something? You are starting to look quite pale..." Teras calmly said as he watched Icarus suffer
"Shut up!" Icarus said as he started to concentrate
'Everything I ate or drank today was all made by me... I even managed to spot out a poisonous dinner so why am I feeling this way? The feeling is starting to wear off little by little but it's still very strange, doesn't this guy feel it?' Icarus thought as he started getting a grip on this pressure
"Hey Teras I thought by going in town you would have found a chick but all you found was a Ruw, truly disappointing stuff right there, I should probably kick you just for doing this!" Enyo said as he was standing on the top of the castle's walls
"You! You are Enyo aren't you?" Icarus said as he pointed his sword at her
"Yeah! Who are you supposed to be? I don't remember all your fancy names" Enyo said as she jumped off the walls
She landed in front of Teras and Icarus
"Icarus Ruw, how do you know Teras? And why are YOU here?" Icarus asked Enyo
Icarus looked quite confused at what was happening
"Didn't he tell you? I'm his master and I am here to force him to train the princess while all of you fight each other just to be by her side!" Enyo said with a smirk
'His master? Enyo is the master of this guy? Then he is a threat! But wait, he said he is simply tutoring the princess not taking part in this tournament!' Icarus thought as he tried to process the situation
"Anyway little noble brat, since Teras's lesson is about to start how about you come in? In some hours the show will start anyway so there is no reason to leave without accomplishing anything from here!"
Enyo invited Icarus as if she owned the place
"I have to meet my future partner after all!" Icarus replied with confidence as he entered the castle
'An aura-less guy that is the student of Enyo and Enyo herself in the same place tutoring the princess? This is something I could only refuse if I was a fool!'
Icarus thought as he thoughtlessly followed Teras and Enyo inside the castle
His goal is to have a good interaction with the princess, will he achieve this?