That Man

"Aurora and Lyn are impressive as always, and even that brat, Wendel, seems to have luck on his side. The little lady of the Saunters has one of the most overbearing performances so far, but there's a student from the Second Dawn Academy who matches her vigor; he's called Hanru. There are a few interesting characters, but apart from Hanru, I believe there's none that he should pursue. It would be bad on our prestige if we try to take all the talents, and this is just one generation; in time, more will come. There are a few other non-affiliated young mages, but I believe that we should let the military take them. They've lost most of their talents in the past wars, so I believe it's about time they refilled those positions.

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but the concentration of geniuses this time around is more than the past fifteen years. There's no doubt that this is a golden generation. These are my takes concerning all that took place in the tournament so far." Federin Castellan, the crown prince of the Great Dawn kingdom, concluded with his head bowed low.

Within the entire Great Dawn kingdom and its neighbouring kingdoms, there was only one person who could make Federin bow his head, and that was the reigning king, King Fedor Castellan.

Today was a day of rest in the tournament's schedule, so Fedor had used this as an opportunity to have his son report to him on the progress and development in the tournament. As the king of the Great Dawn kingdom, he had a busy schedule that prevented him from spending eight hours a day at the tournament grounds.

"Hmm." King Fedor stroked his beard.

"And what about him?" Fedor asked.

Although there was no name for 'him', Federin knew exactly whom his father was asking of.

"He's performed better than expected albeit part of that was due to luck. What's most surprising however is his connections with some of the notable non-affiliated mages; at least three, two of whom have progressed to the next stage and one who was assigned as an assistant to him. There's also another friend of his, from a viscount household, who managed to take third place in a group with some notable characters. There's another, possibly a female interest, go also qualified for the next stage.

"Despite having few friends, all of them, except one, had managed to qualify for the next stage of the tournament." Federin reported.

"In summary, regarding individual performance, the null-born is nothing impressive and average at best. His victories mostly had to do with his opponents being inexperienced and overly confident, as well as the fact that there were not enough students who were much of a challenge to him. His potential might be limited, but he is still a smart kid.

"Excluding individual performance though, he seems to have an eye for spotting talents. This is merely a conjecture of mine, seeing as he's associated with quite a few of them. It might be mere coincidence after all, this is a rumoured golden generation, so geniuses would be plenty. That is all." Federin concluded.

"Top thirty-two... Well,the format of the tournament is a bit flawed, so it's more of top fifty than thirty-two. Even then, that's interesting especially since this is a golden generation." Fedor said lightly. However, his tone changed later.

"It seems as if he's covering up his lack of talent by having talented people beside him. This can't be allowed to go on for long. Leuven was a thorn by the side and Darius a headache to deal with. He happened to now lose his two children and the third's potential is limited; but if he happens to get surround himself with strong allies, it would be no different than facing another Darius."

"I have a suggestion, father." Federin said.

"Speak."

"Although the null-born has found some talents to be associated with, I don't think there's any reason to fraught. If anything, none of them are from marquis or duke families so their influence is not only limited but the resources available to them is low. Even if the null-born hopes to squander on them, the elders within his family would be displeased and Elijah would try to put a stop to that. We shouldn't forget that while we have a score to settle with the Arnhaunts, they are also on the bring of internal chaos." Federin said.

After seeing his father nod at his words, Federin continued,

"We should take a watch and see approach, and at best, extend invitations to those parties close to him. We should also have the military do the same, just in case. As long as they come under us, we have nothing to fear.

"Also, external aid is still merely external aid. So long as the null-born remains as such, there is nothing to fear. As records have shown, every null is destined to stop at the sixth-stage of the Guardian realm and progress no further. At that stage, he is nothing to us. Even though the Arnhaunts have released a bunch of special brews, they are limited to only the first phase of the Guardian realm. At most, there would be little effects to one at the starting stage of the second phase, but that is all. There exists nothing with this part of the world that can defy the laws of nature up till the third phase. So long as the kid doesn't reach the fourth phase or the peak of the third phase of the Guardian realm, he is nothing to us. As long as he remains below this realm, we can deal with him with ease at any time." Federin said.

"Sighs. You really think the sixth-stage of the Guardian realm is nothing to us, right?" Fedor suddenly asked a question that sounded dumb.

The royal family controlled the Great Dawn kingdom and had a lot of talented and powerful men under them. In the same way that Darius had the decadon, a unit of ten sixth-stage and above Guardian mages, the royal family had a much stronger special unit. Apart from that, the king was a ninth-stage mage and his son was a peak sixth-stage Guardian mage. There were a bunch of other sixth-stage and above Guardian mages under them, so it was unreasonable to say that the royal family had to be cautious around another sixth-stage Guardian mage.

"I.." Federin didn't know how to answer.

"Well, you are right. Typically speaking, a sixth-stage Guardian mage, even if they are from the Purple Sun sacred land, means nothing to us. However, a sixth-stage Guardian mage from the direct line of that man is another story. That man, is Leuven Arnhaunt."