Chapter- 13 Bastian of the Past

Gilead watched as the slow Bloodline Continuation Ceremony

 Deteriorated

The one good idea had now seemed rather an oversight. 

The Labyrinth was specifically designed to be at a child's level…. But yet 

As Gilead observed the whole event took place from an observation crystal

He saw 3 of the participants falling for obvious traps & ploys. 

But other than those misfits, the rest of the participants showed some promise. 

'for Gargith... He's clumsy, but he never stops moving forward, Gilead judged objectively. 

Lovellian floated an image of the labyrinth's interior into the air. 

The image was divided into six screens to show each of the six children. 

Rather than avoiding the traps, Gargith had chosen to force his way through them. Even though he was struck by arrows or confronted with a monster, he would smash his way through with one swing of his greatsword, which was about as large as his torso. 

Gilead turned his attention to another competitor, 'Dezra is agile, and she also has a good intuition....'

Indeed once the garbage is gone, the truly talented individuals start to stand out. Gilead thought as he watched the 6 participants. 

Cyan is being overly cautious, but that's not so bad.' 

Ancilla had obtained the notes of famous adventurers and the blueprints of several labyrinths and had used them to train the twins. Through this, the twins learned the basic information and strategies for conquering labyrinths. All of which would help them break through this transparent and easily explored labyrinth. 

For example, when the labyrinth was enclosed on all sides, but a wind was being generated by magic, then following the direction of the wind could help you find your way. If they looked carefully, they could also find several other artificial clues that pointed to the right way. And even without that, as long as they used their judgment, it was possible to escape a trap during the moment that it activated. 

Cyan was capable of doing just that. He has extremely good movement, there is minimal to no awkwardness in his movements. It seems he's improved in the last few days. But though he may have good movement his mind is just not flexible enough. His vision was narrowed because of his action of recall from memory and movement. That was why he fell into several easy-to-avoid traps.

'Ciel is sensible, and her thinking is flexible. However... There is a sadistic side to her. 

Ciel would activate a trap by throwing things, like her shoes. After doing that a few times, she would be free to head down the now trap-free path. If her path became blocked, she would just turn around, and if her path wasn't blocked, she would just keep going. Whenever she encountered a monster, she wouldn't fight them right away, rather she would taunt and toy with them, before slaying them …

Why do all my kids, with the exception of Cyan, seem to be mentally deranged? Gilead was genuinely confused by this prospect Ciel may be a psychopath and Edward …who knows. 

After going through a nonsensical grandeur about his kids, Gilead shifted his gaze toward Lovellian.

"I'd like to hear your opinion on my son, Edward."

Hearing Gilead's question Lovellian nodded before answering. 

"Edward, correct… well he's more or less mentally unwell. Just yesterday while you were talking about the Ceremony, he seemed completely uninterested and bored. Then, things took an alarming turn. He was fiddling with his fork, and suddenly out of nowhere, he stabbed his thigh. His reaction was expressed as close to euphoric and even seemed to relish the moment. 

Your son has this incredible talent… It's almost overwhelming. And I dare say what I detected wasn't martial arts but rather magic,"

"What do you mean he was using magic rather than martial arts, he was clearly using the white flame formula?"

"While yes you technically are correct, it's only half true. How do I put it, the mana around him, his body seems to only absorb frost mana or spiritual essence. His mana pathways, when I seeped some of his own mana into his body his body tried to reject it but I was of a higher circle than him so I entered with ease, the sight of his mana pathways left me dumbfounded. Each fiber of his body was more or less waved with the pure essence of frost, the boy's natural aptitude for the Ice element is beyond comprehension, and his mana purity is of a 5th circle mage!, …. but the Ice element seems to be the only element his body can endure" Lovellian exasperated surprised.

"If that's true then how can he utilize the white flame formula?" Gilead questioned 

"No no, rest assured he can use your family's White flame formula to its full extent,"

"Is that so?" Gilead said more to himself than Lovellina 

"But it seems he's created a variant of your family's White flame formula. From the mana waves I can discern his mana cultivation method seems to be incomplete, and relatively weaker than its original counterpart, but nevertheless impressive." Lovellian spoke outlandishly 

This conversation conceded for several minutes, before somehow venturing off to the hero party. 

"That fairy tale was also read to me when I was young. But, I... to tell you the truth, I actually 

preferred Hamel," Gilead admitted. 

"Are you really talking about Stupid Hamel?" Lovellian asked in surprise.

"If it wasn't for him getting into trouble, the fairy tale would have been very boring. Although he was ill-mannered, he was also good-hearted... He inspired me to slowly overcome my inferiority complex towards my ancestor Vermouth through my own hard work. Because even when everyone else was already following Vermouth's opinion, Hamel, all on his own, insisted that he had a different opinion." 

"I actually hated Hamel when I was a kid." 

"Well, that's fair. Thanks to Hamel, the party was forced into several crises... However, Hamel always tried to take full responsibility for his actions in each crisis. That was why I couldn't possibly hate Hamel...." 

 Gilead looked at the events occurring within the labyrinth with a smile.

 Lovellian nodded to Gilead before shifting his gaze toward the crystal screen. 

However...what on earth is that kid, Eugene?"

 Eugene had already caused him to feel amazement several times in a row. But, by now, feelings of perplexed confusion were overtaking his sense of admiration. 

"I don't know….." Gilead muttered in a sincere tone