Kaen spent the rest of the day creating medicine for his mother with the herbs he had received as a reward from the count.
After convincing his mother to take the medicine regularly, he began to prepare for the event.
For the rest of the days till the event, he did aura training to advance to the next level of aura knight.
On the day before the event ——
With only one day remaining, he was on the verge of reaching the coveted 4-star level.
It wouldn't have taken him this long if only he had to breakthrough like an ordinary knight who has a single mana core in their body. If he had a single mana core then he would have already reached 5-star by now.
But since he had mana hole in every joint in his body, he needed to absorb a substantial amount of mana when compared to an ordinary knight. Currently, he was expanding his mana core to reach it's maximum size.
"I am now at the last stage of breaking through. Now, I just need to compress the mana core to increase its density and reach the 4-star level," Kaen muttered as he continued the intricate process.
After a few minutes, he achieved the maximum size his 3-star mana core could reach. Now he only needed to compress it to the minimum size to make it more condensed.
He had repeated this process of expanding and compressing multiple times in these last days. Now only the last step remained before he could officially advance to the 4-star level.
"Now, let's begin the compression," Kaen grumbled, clenching his teeth in anticipation of the imminent pain.
Kaen sat upright, initiating the process of compressing his mana core. He would grumble lightly in intervals.
After two hours...
Kaen's face showed signs of strain, with tiny droplets of sweat and a reddened complexion. Minutes later, his expression relaxed, and the redness disappeared. He stood up with a satisfied look, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"I've successfully advanced to the 4-star level. Now all the preparations are done for tomorrow," Kaen muttered with a smile as he slept for the night.
In the morning, he left for the Count's residence.
"Sir Kaen, you're here! Let's get moving. Many influential people are going to be there to act as witnesses to the duel," The Count informed upon greeting Kaen.
The location for the event was decided in the middle of both counties. The arrangements were all done, and the event had already started.
At the location of the event...
Many nobles and soldiers from both sides were waiting for the arrival of the parties involved. As they waited, the sound of a carriage approaching was heard.
"Who is it? Is it Count Nadino or Count Philip?" a soldier shouted, standing up to get a closer look.
"Look! It has the emblem of Count Philip. It must be him," another soldier yelled after the carriage came into sight.
"Whom will Count Philip choose for this duel?" one noble inquired of another seated beside him.
"It must be his usual mercenary ranker. Who else could it be?" the noble replied, as though it were evident.
However, surprise flickered across the faces of the nobles when they witnessed Count Philip's warrior disembarking from the carriage alongside him.
This warrior possessed emerald green hair, neatly tied into a ponytail, complementing his handsome face and green eyes. He carried himself with an air of nonchalance, as if he were on vacation.
"Isn't that Velar Jon?" a soldier exclaimed.
"Yes, the one who currently holds the 66th position on the Ranker's list of the Vradel empire," another soldier shouted.
"Isn't he close in advancing to 6-star status? Why is Count Philip sending him? Isn't it like using a sledgehammer to kill an ant?" a series of questions echoed.
"Count Nadino can only send a fighter of his own county and the fighter cannot be from his knighthood," one of the nobles present exclaimed.
"Now I understand why Count Philip proposed a duel. With Velar, he can effortlessly bring shame to the Nadino county," another noble added.
While everyone engaged in their murmurs, another carriage soon came into view.
"It's Count Nadino! I saw his emblem on the carriage!" a soldier announced.
"The outcome of the duel is already apparent. The Count will have to send Nolan to face Velar. Nolan is the highest ranked fighter of Nadino county if you exclude the Nadino Knights and the count himself, however, He will surely lose unless he has advanced to 6-star" a noble muttered.
"I doubt he will be able to advance to 6-star in this short while. He had just advanced to 5-star last year, however, everyone knows that Velar is a lot stronger than Nolan!" another noble replied.
Amidst the murmurs of the people present, a handsome boy with jet-black hair and deep, sea-like blue eyes exited the carriage with Count Nadino. All eyes were fixed on the carriage, awaiting the appearance of Count Nadino's chosen warrior.
However, when no one emerged from the carriage, it was assumed that the Count would send Nolan who was sitting in the warrior's quarters already.
The Count and the boy proceeded to their designated seats calmly.
The event was proceeding in grandeur with multiple battles taking place one after the other.
Kaen, on the other hand was searching for the weakest opponent whom he could fight and become a ranker without arousing any suspicion.
If a 15-year old defeated a powerful warrior, that would be too suspicious and difficult to believe.
After a while, the lowest ranked ranker who was a recently advanced 4-star knight came on the ring to defend his rank.
All the outsiders were allowed to fight him for the rank.
Kaen found him a perfect opponent for himself.
He turned to the count and expressed his intentions to fight the ranker: "Sir Count, I'd like to fight this warrior, allow me to go on the ring!"
The count looked at the warrior on the ring as he shook his head: "Sir Kaen, he is the weakest ranker here. He is surely not suitable for you! I've already arranged a perfect opponent for you, don't worry, after this event, you'll be famous in all of Vradel empire!"
What is this count talking about?
I'll be famous? That's what I've been avoiding till now!
Why does this count take decisions on behalf of me?
"Don't worry Sir Kaen, just wait a little, you'll be fighting in the main event!" The count said with a smile.
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(A/N - thanks for reading. ^..^)