Kael’s eyes fell on the tall figure, with a presence so strong that it was impossible to ignore. Her blonde hair, streaked with a few strands of white, framed her strong, confident face, and her green eyes glowed with a mix of passion and wisdom.
She wore casual clothes as if she didn’t care about customs. Those clothes, however, failed to hide her hourglass figure, giving her a mature charm and effortless grace.
As the woman stared at the Hero, she grinned.
“Hero Kael, I finally get to see you.”
She greeted, her voice full of absolute confidence.
Elira, who followed behind Kael, instantly froze when her eyes fell on her mother.
“I-It is an honor to meet you, Lady Veylara.”
Kael greeted as he bowed his head.
Veylara’s grin widened at that, soon, however, her expression changed.
“I heard about your performance at the gathering yesterday. You defeated Adept-Level Tamers while only being an Apprentice-Level Tamer yourself. That is quite an exceptional performance.”
“You overpraise me, Lady Veylara.”
Kael smiled politely.
At the same time, Arlan rushed forward, somewhat panicked.
“Mot—”
He tried to say something. Veylara, however, raised her hand, and the single gesture was more than enough for the mighty Commander to take a step back.
Veylara then stared at the Hero and,
“I wonder how strong you will be once you become an Advanced-Level Tamer.”
She commented.
“I look forward to it as well.”
Kael nodded, not flinching at her words even though something didn’t feel right.
“How much time do you think you would need to become an Advanced-Level Tamer?”
“Hmm?”
Kael narrowed his eyes.
Veylara, however, seemed oblivious to his expression and,
“What’s wrong, Hero Kael?”
“Nothing.”
“So? How long do you think you need to become an Advanced-Level Tamer?”
The Stormhold mother repeated her question.
“I… do not know.”
Kael lied again.
“Come on, I’m sure you must have some idea. You’ve been in this world long enough, no?”
Veylara grinned.
Elira narrowed her eyes at her mother’s questioning. She tried using the Whisper Stone, but before she could, Veylara glanced at her and smiled. In an instant, the usually brazen Court Mage fell silent.
Yes, Kael was abandoned, just like that.
“A week, perhaps.”
The Hero answered.
“A week?”
Veylara raised her eyebrow.
“Could be earlier too. I’m not so sure.”
“To say you will become an Advanced-Stage Warrior in three weeks after beginning your training—I assume you’re the only one who can say that and make it believable, Hero Kael.
Your talent is enviable.”
“I was blessed by Lord Feraos.”
Kael bowed his head again.
“…”
Veylara remained silent.
“…”
“…”
In an instant, silence fell in the air as no one dared to speak. Everyone waited for the Stormhold Head to continue. That was simply how overpowering and intimidating her aura was.
And then, suddenly—
“Heh.”
Veylara laughed, making both Arlan and Elira tremble. Then, before the siblings could even say anything—
“Let’s go on a ride, Hero Kael.”
The woman spoke, and before Kael or anyone else could react, she grabbed him, placed him on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and jumped high into the air—almost ten meters up.
“Wha—”
The sudden change made Kael scream. However, even his scream was abruptly cut off as Veylara’s fingers pressed against his neck. His throat went numb, and his voice was stolen.
“!!!”
In an instant, his mind panicked.
But there was nothing he could do. Everything happened so fast that he couldn’t even see it, let alone react to it. Heck, even Igni and Cirri couldn’t react.
The space around him then trembled, and a giant red wyvern flew out of Veylara’s Sanctuary. Veylara landed on it with Kael still on her shoulders.
She then glanced at her children from above and,
“We will be back by dinner.”
With those words—
“RRROOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!”
The wyvern flew away.
The Hero was kidnapped just like that, and there was nothing his two friends could do about it.
“He’s dead.”
Arlan even declared his fate.
“I knew letting her meet him wasn’t a good idea.”
Elira shook her head, disappointed.
The Court Mage had even closed her eyes, praying for her dead friend.
No matter how annoying Kael was, he was indeed a good friend she valued.
“Why did he lie to her?”
Arlan questioned with a frown on his face. Just like Elira, he also knew Kael was already an Advanced-Level Tamer.
“He wants us to keep the fact about him being an Advanced-Level Tamer a secret for the next seven days.”
“Why?”
Arlan couldn’t understand.
“He didn’t tell me.”
“A secret, huh…”
Arlan muttered, his face showing no expression. Soon, the siblings walked into their home, leaving Kael to his plight—it wasn’t like they could do anything to help the poor man anyway.
…
On the other side, as Kael and Veylara flew on top of the Firefang Wyvern, the Wynvern was 5 meters wide, a monster that made Kael tremble, even though he had a Dragon of his own.
His thundering roar didn’t make things any easier and what made everything worse was… Veylara piercing gaze.
“Why did you lie?”
Suddenly, Veylara questioned.
“W-What?”
Kael stuttered, his voice returned to him.
“You are too tense. It isn’t good to be tense when you lie—it raises suspicions.”
“I have no clue what Lady Veylara is talking about.”
Kael shook his head, and Veylara nodded, satisfied.
“This is somewhat believable. Better.”
“Lady Veyl—”
“I am different from those you’ve met until now, Hero Kael. Your lies may work on others, but they will not work on me.”
Veylara cut him off before he could say anything.
“You can use your eyes if you wish to. I won’t mind. I know you’re dying to do it anyway.”
“I-I can…?”
Kael questioned, completely forgetting that the woman had just accused him of lying. Seeing his excitement, Veylara just smiled.
“Go for it.”
Kael didn’t hold back. Very quickly, his eyes turned golden, and—
[Name: Veylara Stormhold]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 81]
[Level: 98]
[Strength: 256]
[Agility: 275]
[Speed: 277]
[Stamina: 269]
[Defense: 248]
[Mana: 100]
[Intelligence: 300]
[Charisma: 180]
[Strengths: Supreme Combat Prowess, Master of Battlefield, Tactical Genius, Commanding Aura, Perfect Warrior]
[Weaknesses: -]
…
‘What the…’
Kael’s eyes widened in horror.
This was…
This was much more horrifying than what he had expected…
He thought he had seen the peak of this world when he saw the status of Ninth-Stage Warriors like Cedric and Aurelia, but…
This was just absurd.
Cedric and Aurelia’s average stats were around 180-ish, but Veylara…
She was far above them. Heck, she was even stronger than their Bonds.
Of course, Kael had expected her to be stronger than them—she was called one of the strongest, after all—but…
He wasn’t expecting the difference to be this horrifying.
He thought Mythical-Level Tamer was the limit, but…
There seemed to be a level above that he was not informed about.
Kael’s face turned solemn, and Veylara didn’t fail to notice this change.
“It is foolish, you know?”
She called out, looking into Kael’s eyes.
“Playing tricks in a world you know nothing about.”
“Huh…?”
“You think you are surrounded by enemies.
Who is your prime suspect?
The Crown Prince?”