After Alan and his sister left, a plainly dressed old man stepped out from the shadows, marveling to himself.
"Such sharp mental perception... it's already close to the level of a grand magus, isn't it?" he murmured.
Once he revealed himself, he quickly rejoined Kenrito's group.
"Mr. Gavus, Alan's strength is indeed real. He forced me to use mid-tier-bronze power, but wasn't the gift we gave him, worth a thousand gold coins, enough? Why did you also give him a storage ring?" Kenrito asked, still puzzled.
Gavus didn't respond directly. Instead, he posed a question, "Your Highness, in today's duel with Alan, who do you think won?"
Kenrito didn't quite understand why Gavus asked this, but he answered seriously, "Though it ended in a draw, in terms of level, he's beyond me. But in a real life-or-death fight, he would have died to my fist. So I suppose I won?"
Gavus shook his head. "From any angle, Your Highness suffered a complete defeat."
"A complete defeat?!" Kenrito stared at his mentor in disbelief. "Are you serious, sir?"
Gavus continued calmly, "Just now, you believed that with the sharpness of the metal element, you could withstand that sudden eruption of earth spikes, didn't you?"
"Of course. With my control over the metal element, even if those spikes were iron instead of earth, they couldn't penetrate my defense," Kenrito replied confidently.
"But what if Alan had hidden highly compressed fire-element lava within those earth spikes?" Gavus asked.
Fire-element lava?!
Kenrito was startled. Fire counters metal! If those spikes had contained lava, his metal defenses would have melted, and his life would have been in danger!
"But... that's impossible! Those spikes were just regular earth-element constructs…"
He trailed off as he saw the grave look in Gavus's eyes, and he felt a chill.
"Sir, if he could have hidden fire-element energy, why didn't he use it openly? Was he sparing my pride?"
Gavus shook his head. "And that's exactly where you fall short of Alan."
"While he may have considered your pride, his primary reason was to conceal his tactics. I've told you before: when fighting, show only seventy percent of your strength, leaving the other thirty percent as reserve. If you expose everything, you'll be left vulnerable and risk losing everything."
Kenrito felt a cold sweat.
He had thought their fight ended in a draw, but in truth, he had been within Alan's calculated control all along.
What a formidable opponent!
"And during the duel, he sensed my presence," Gavus added, narrowing his eyes.
Kenrito was even more shocked. Gavus was powerful beyond measure, and even he hadn't sensed his mentor's location during the match.
Yet Alan had detected it!
"This young man is worth befriending.
Though he's currently a nobody with no background, once he reaches the capital, his fame will rise quickly, and recruiting him will only become harder," Gavus advised slowly.
Kenrito now understood why his mentor had insisted on adding the storage ring as an extra incentive.
Alan had incredible potential!
…
When they arrived at their room, Alan infused his mana into the storage ring and stored the gifts by the door inside.
"You should keep this storage ring," he said, handing it to Isabella.
"But brother, this is a storage ring!" Isabella hesitated to accept it.
In House Roan, they had only one storage ring, a symbol of lordship, and it was far inferior to this one. In many cases, possessing a storage ring was a mark of high status.
"I'm not used to wearing rings. You should have it. Now you can store all your treasures inside without having to carry them around," Alan explained.
After some thought, Isabella accepted it and asked curiously, "Since you accepted the prince's gift and storage ring, does that mean you've accepted his offer?"
Alan shook his head. "Not exactly. Right now, I don't have the value they're looking for. They're merely investing in my potential. By accepting their investment, I gain a useful ally."
"The capital is a complex place with powerful forces everywhere. It's better to have a friend than another enemy."
Isabella nodded, not fully understanding but trusting Alan. "Wherever you go, brother, I'll go too!"
Alan smiled and said, "Then let's get ready to head for the capital!"
"Yes!" Isabella cheered.
After stowing their belongings in the storage ring, Alan took Isabella to the carriage, which had been quickly repaired by the inn staff. They set out once again.
Their next destination was Railway City, the core hub linking the Plantagenet Kingdom's frontier and all major regions.
This bustling city was a nexus of activity, where a magical train would take them directly to the capital!
As the carriage traveled, Isabella gradually fell asleep, while Alan immersed himself in his personal training realm, Hell.
"Hand me the rainbow stone," instructed the woman in black robes as she glanced at Alan.
Alan nodded and passed the rainbow stone to her. Ever since he bought it, he'd been curious, but hadn't had a chance to explore its mysteries.
"By the way, about that young girl earlier…" Alan recalled the girl who had competed with him for the rainbow stone and asked seriously.
"She's powerful. Knowing more won't help you," the woman replied curtly, tapping her white finger on the stone.
Tiny cracks spread across the surface of the rainbow stone, shedding fine powder, and revealing a round, black lump inside.
Seeing this, the woman nodded slightly. "You're lucky. This is a magical artifact crafted by a magus!"
Alan's eyes brightened. He'd heard of magical artifacts, valuable items created by magi.
"This artifact contains a potent lightning element. Fully activated, it could injure a tier-gold mage. However, it's quite damaged and can only be used a few times before it's completely spent."
The woman waved, sending the magical artifact toward Alan.
Alan's heart raced as he inspected it.
Although it was limited in use, its ability to harm a tier-gold mage was incredible!
Immediately, he attempted to implant a fragment of his soul into the artifact, imprinting it as his own.
A flood of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind, revealing the artifact's name and function.
Heaven's Thunder Orb—a lightning-element artifact capable of releasing sky thunder to strike enemies!
Excited, Alan found the woman's assessment accurate. However, as he absorbed the memories, he frowned.
This artifact required mana stones to activate—and not just any mana stones.
Level 1 mana stones wouldn't work; he needed level 2 or higher!
Each use consumed five level 2 mana stones, each worth 300 gold coins, totaling 1,500 gold coins per activation!
A money pit!
He only had about twenty level 2 mana stones, enough for roughly four activations.
Though costly, it was a powerful trump card. After all, a tier-gold mage was an exceptionally formidable opponent.
Alan took a deep breath, then resumed his training in Hell.
First, he honed his Soul Grindstone technique, then continued working on Element Fusion.
He felt close to a breakthrough, though the final insight still eluded him.
…
A day passed quietly.
The next morning, Alan stepped out of the carriage and was met with the sight of a towering city.
This city was different from any he'd seen.
Massive gates, dozens of meters high, punctuated its walls in every direction. Colossal trains, like mountain-sized magical beasts, roared in and out of the city, creating a grand and bustling spectacle.