Chapter 71 - 69 — Special
"I greet you, young lord."
Zephyrion fixed his gaze on Selis as she bowed before him.
"You may stand. You were waiting for me?"
"Yes, young lord."
Selis nodded, then extended a small chest toward him.
"I’ve been sent by Lord Calderalth to deliver this."
’It must be...’
As he took it and opened it slightly, the moment he caught sight of the colorless liquid within, a faint smile formed on his lips.
’The elixir.’
To think it had arrived already. He restrained his excitement and turned his attention back to Selis.
"...how long have you been waiting?"
"Four hours."
"...for this?"
A Herald, especially a Whitesteel, shouldn’t be spending time like this.
Selis inclined her head slightly.
"Yes. Lord Calderalth instructed me to hand it to you personally."
"You could’ve left it. Or sent someone else."
"I was ordered to deliver it myself."
"...you could’ve at least come inside instead of waiting out here."
Selis blinked, her head tilting slightly.
"I wasn’t given permission to enter."
"...you could have asked."
"...but you were inside."
"...so?"
"I would have had to enter to ask. I did not have permission to enter."
"..."
The Whitesteel stared at him oddly, like he was the weird one.
Zephyrion exhaled, then shook his head. He turned and began walking off.
"...next time, Selis, just come in."
"I will request permission."
"...."
...
The night passed quickly. As the first rays of morning sunlight fell across Zephyrion, he opened his eyes.
His body was drenched in sweat from head to toe, his breaths slightly uneven, yet a faint smile lingered on his face.
’I was right.’
He had used the high-grade elixir after dinner last night, and its effects had far exceeded his expectations.
Not only had he fully cleared the fourth mark, but he had also pushed well into the fifth.
Staring into the fog, he judged that it would take him no more than two months to completely clear the fifth mark.
Zephyrion exhaled, feeling a faint fatigue settle over him. The aftereffects of the elixir were far lighter than those of the mid and low grade ones, and he could still move his body without the slightest hindrance.
A light tap brushed against him and he turned. Lumi stood there, glaring at him with a scrunched-up face as she pointed sharply at the wet bed.
He sniffed, then frowned as a foul smell assaulted his nostrils. Lowering his gaze, he noticed a black, slimy substance slowly oozing from his body.
’What’s this?’
He brought it closer and took a cautious whiff, confirming it was the source of the stench.
Zephyrion had just begun to consider what it could be when, without warning, the nagging headache and lingering fatigue in his body vanished completely.
He frowned.
’Is it...?’
Closing his eyes, he turned his focus inward, letting his awareness spread through his body. Almost immediately, he picked up on the increased circulation of his blood.
’I see.’
The black, murky substance was nothing more than impurities expelled from his body, residue filtered out alongside the impurities contained within the elixir.
At that moment, he could barely sense any aftereffects from using it.
His mind had clearly subconsciously filtered everything using his blood.
’This is good.’
It seemed he no longer had to worry about any toxic remnants lingering in his body.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, only to find Lumi now standing beside the bathroom, pinching her nose as she pointed insistently inside.
"...."
...
The next day, Zephyrion arrived at the iron training grounds to find the trainees still throwing countless glances his way.
"Look... he’s wearing it."
"...so it’s real. He’s First Steel now?"
"And he got an Iron Token too... man, that’s crazy."
Their gazes were fixed on the purple headband tied around Zephyrion’s head. Even now, it remained a heavy shock to them, and to everyone in the house, that an iron trainee had managed to earn the First Steel title.
The title bore the suffix ’Steel’ for a reason.
As always, Zephyrion took in the looks and whispers without the slightest change in expression.
"...young lord."
As he prepared to begin his training, Kaiden suddenly approached, his jaw tight and fists clenched at his sides.
"...yesterday caught me off guard. I lost. Completely. I accept it."
He gave a slight bow, then lifted his head and met Zephyrion’s gaze with intensity.
"...but I’m not done. I’ll keep training. I’ll get stronger. And I’ll beat you next time."
"...."
Kaiden bowed once more and turned, walking away without another word. A moment later, another figure stepped forward.
"Y-young lord..."
"Fiona."
"Y-yes."
Under Zephyrion’s steady gaze, Fiona fidgeted, her eyes dropping as a blush crept onto her face.
"I... I just wanted to thank you. For yesterday... if you weren’t there... I... I don’t know what I would’ve done."
"It’s fine. I just did what I had to."
"...still..."
"Focus on your training. It won’t get easier. If you want to stand here, you have to push through it."
Fiona’s hands tightened into fists before she nodded firmly.
"...yes!"
As she left, Zephyrion watched her retreating figure for a few moments.
’It’s cleared.’
The nervousness and hesitation that once clouded her eyes were gone. In their place was a steady light, a clear desire to improve and grow stronger.
’Good.’
Fiona’s ability to create metal with durability far surpassing the others hinted at an exceptional level of comprehension.
While her resonance could be considered high, it was merely average in Zephyrion’s eyes.
Even so, from an outside perspective, it made no sense that someone with such comprehension remained at mark two.
Given everything, he was certain she had been holding herself back out of fear of losing control.
’She should progress faster now.’
...
"Gather!"
A few minutes after Zephyrion began training with the relic, Garrick burst into the training grounds.
As the trainees gathered around him on the platform, he swayed slightly, rubbing his temple as though struggling to keep himself upright.
’He’s drunk.’
The man looked even more haggard and unkempt than the last time they had seen him passed out in front of the training grounds.
"Ugh... I feel like shit..."
Garrick let out a loud belch, then, right in front of the trainees, pulled out a large container and began taking deep gulps of booze.
"Ahh... that’s better."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Garrick frowned as he noticed the trainees staring at him in silence.
"What? Don’t look at me like that. A warrior’s gotta stay hydrated."
The trainees blinked, clearly at a loss. Since when did booze count as hydration...
"Alright, listen up!"
Garrick clapped loudly, shameless as ever, snapping the trainees out of their daze.
"We’ve got something special today. You should be celebrating."
"Special training?"
"Again?"
"Ark, please... I’m still sore from yesterday..."
But Garrick offered no further explanation and simply turned, striding out of the training grounds.
"Everyone, follow me!"