An Intriguing Offer

Caxon looked at the three silver cores who approached the cart with worry and confusion. He decided not to run away now as that would just grab their attention and right now, they should be focused on talon mostly.

"Well, this is a lot of protection for a couple of poor scholars who shouldn't be able to afford three adventures. It seems like our information was true, so I will tell you what whoever is the noble among you come forward and I won't kill everyone here."

The three men laughed as the one in the middle yelled at the group. As he said the last sentence the man also released his aura, Caxon dropped to his knees as he suddenly felt like a thousand pounds was placed on his shoulders and his mind.

He also noticed that he was now able to see the leader's mana core since he was actively showing it off. Fear also gripped his heart since the rank 5 silver core suppressed him, it was too late to run and if this man decided that he should die here there was nothing he could do.

However, this is when he looked around him for the first time as he struggled to raise his head. The first thing he noticed was that he was the one in the best position out of the adventures as Talon and Trinadal were both faces down in the dirt and the elf had foam coming out of his mouth already.

After seeing this Caxon wanted to lay down in the dirt to copy them and not to stand out but he knew it didn't matter at this point. That was because he saw Alarat standing perfectly tall looking at him and nodding his head.

"You are even able to withstand this pressure, you are looking more and more impressive by the minute young Caxon."

As the leader saw that Alarat was not affected by his mana core the three knew that they may have a serious fight on their hands so they got ready and prepared their weapons.

Even from this distance Caxon could tell that the bandit's weapons were not normal as they seemed to produce their own aura as if they were alive.

"Oh, I see you have graded weapons impressive for a couple of bandits even if they are just basic grade still decent weapons for someone like you."

As Alarat got out of the cart he mocked the bandits as he approached them. The bandits involuntarily stepped back as the scholar who seemed ordinary before now sent shivers down their back.

"Now let me show you a real weapon."

As he said this Alarat took a sheath out of his storage ring and drew the sword within, as soon as Alarat took the sword out a pressure even greater than the silver core mage appeared, although it wasn't focused on Caxon he could still feel it as if the air had gotten heavy around him.

The sword in Alarat's hand seemed to give of the feeling of a tiger holding its claws on your throat. He could feel the need for bloodlust coming from the sword and it seemed like if Alarat wasn't holding it then the sword would kill everything here by itself.

The bandits who were at the receiving end of the blade's aura could feel their legs start to shake.

"Ho... how … how do you have a Sky Grade sword?"

Alarat did not respond as he simply imbued his fire element mana into the sword and gave it a light swing.

Caxon could feel the moment Alarat changed his mana to the fire element that it was at a level not even comparable to his comprehension of fire. He also felt the sword 'eat' the mana as it amplified it into a magnificent wave of fire the turned the three silver core mages to ash instantaneously.

As the fire approached the trees it did not light anything on fire and simply disappeared. Caxon suddenly heard Amon in his head.

'Young master, that man has a Sky grade weapon. The weapons you have been using are the most common ordinary weapons. Special weapons made from beast parts or rare ore can become graded weapons, there are basic, advanced, earth, and then sky grade weapons. Although there are more powerful weapons above sky grade there are still extremely rare and very very powerful be wary of this man.'

Caxon, and Talon quickly recovered from the pressure they had felt, Talon looked at Alarat like he was a god while Caxon still wondered if he should just run away. Alarat didn't seem like the kind of person to kill him and if he was a participant Caxon guessed that he wouldn't stand a chance anyways so he just stayed where he was.

"It seems I owe you an explanation, the bandit was right and it is my fault you have been attacked today, my true name is Alarat Stormbreeze, son of Riladon Stormbreeze."

After Alarat said this Talon quickly kneeled on the ground.

"It is an honor to protect a noble from a prestigious house such as the Stormbreeze my lord."

After seeing Talon's actions Caxon quickly followed but Alarat still noticed his confusion even if he tried to hide it well.

"No need to kneel please stand, stand, I am not even the heir of the Stormbreeze name, I am just a simple teacher. Speaking of teaching, young Caxon I have some questions."

As he said this Alarat lead him away from Talon as the two sat on two logs away from the road, Caxon once again decided to just go along with this since he didn't really have a reason not to follow him and didn't think it would be dangerous. After sitting down Alarat stopped smiling and looked at him seriously for the first time since they meet, even when killing silver core mages, he did not look this serious.

"Now, I do not need to know the circumstances that have led to the current you but from what I have seen your potential is much too high to be wasted wandering the world as an adventurer. Your mana core is not at the level of some of your peers but it is still considered decent at your age. Your swordsman ship is more impressive than most students at my academy even some of the old students, but you would still be able to improve if you came to the academy. The thing is that you do not know how to use your mana, we would be able to show you a wide variety of elements to see what you are inclined towards. After a few years we could teach you spells and skills that will help you for the rest of your life. I have seen full grown mages who are affected by having to kill people with their sword. Whatever you have gone through to be able to snap the neck of your enemy and maintain your composure shows that you have what it takes to go very far in this world."

Caxon went silent while he thought about the offer. He saw a few problems, such as academies being a go to place for all participants. But when he thought of it further the reason many participants would want to go to an academy is because of all the possible benefits it could bring.

He would be able to learn the history of the world and the politics in a completely normal way. He would be able to evolve his knowledge on mana and it would allow him to become stronger, he had already noticed that he was finding it hard to improve his comprehension of the elements by simply watching them.

The most useful but also the most dangerous was the connections he would be able to make. Finding teachers or students that he could make his allies could be very helpful in the future, but if he made powerful enemies it could cause issues in the future.

"It's fine if you don't answer now, I understand. Take this ticket, you are already going to the capital and the school year is just about to start, in fact that is why I am heading back. In just a few days the Arbren Royal Academy will hold their yearly application event. If you bring that ticket, you will be allowed to enter, once you get to the capital make sure to search out the academy."

As he was thinking Alarat gave him a golden ticket with only his name across the top and a symbol of a dragon standing on the edge of a cliff in the middle.

"Thank you for the offer, sir I will definitely think about it."

After their conversation the two returned to the cart as the group continued their journey. Now that Alarat had revealed his power there was no problem on the road and the rest of the journey was easy.