Book 1, Chapter 78 (1/2)

Banquet

Wennington was very calm as he watched Richard, also observing the other young ladies. It was Warren who looked at him strangely, his gaze containing an undeniable envy and some hatred as well. There was another boy from a branch family here who was on par with Warren in capability and age, but he seemed far more reserved with it. All three of them were obviously interested in Demi and Venica, as well as another beautiful and provocative young lady that attracted a lot of attention.

Not one of them paid any attention to Coco. Taking her to be one’s partner was almost resigning oneself to tragedy— in a world of power, beauty was the most worthless thing of all.

Conversely, both Venica and Demi had the right to choose their partners, and Demi was a key interest in the family as well. She’d demonstrated outstanding talent at a young age, and with a decisive calmness to her she seemed to many to be the next Alice.

This went even further with Richard. In the mere two days since his arrival people were already discussing the possibility of him becoming the next Gaton. Needless to say it was openly acknowledged that he might never be able to reach his father’s level of power, but the fact that he would become a runemaster would certainly get one’s blood pumping.

The two were entirely different prospects altogether. Richard didn’t need to prove himself in combat— his identity as a runemaster alone was enough to suppress all the youths present in this hall for a relatively long time.

Ordinary runemasters could gear up two to three elementary rune knights. If one were to make a simple comparison of power— the sale of one of these rune knights would make up the cost of manufacturing, and even one of the remaining would be able to wipe out the entire batch of youths here easily. This was an exceptional battle ability of its own kind.

Every young lady in the hall was rather beautiful in general, while the young lads shone in valiance. Venica and Demi were all the more charismatic amongst them, due to their parentage and prowess. This was particularly so for Demi, as indifference could evoke the carnal desires deep within men. Her shapely legs and curvaceous figure also made it clear that her performance on the other battlefield— the bed— would be very much comparable to her gift at battle.

Richard stood alone in a corner, holding onto a glass of wine. He occasionally loosened his collar to get some fresh air. He was not afraid of high temperatures, but he didn’t exactly like the smell of sulphur, and disliked formal occasions like this one even more. The evening suit that he was clad in had cost approximately a thousand gold, and was sewn personally by a top-notch tailor specially recruited by the family’s housekeeper. Richard’s distinctive charm was brought out to the fullest in this attire, a product of his elvish and Archeron blood mixing together. Yet, it only made Richard miss his own magic robes more.

He really liked his robes for the enchantments they had on them. During battles they could enhance one’s concentration despite the chaos, increasing their chances of finishing a spell successfully. As this was a permanent enhancement, it was extremely expensive. Though it did not have much practical use outside of actual combat, its price was more than ten times than the enhancements for stored battle-type magic. Thus, few would choose to get it. However, this was the most important enhancement to Richard, and that was simply because it could further improve his accuracy in runecrafting.

Richard was already used to living and working under the effect of that specific enchantment, and with the suit lacking it the change felt particularly uncomfortable. An article of clothing made by a top-notch tailor was only worth about a thousand gold, but that robe of Richard’s was worth at least ten times as much. This was the difference in costs between the world of magic and the ordinary world, one that could never be bridged.

Disinterested, Richard swirled the wine in his glass, letting the scarlet liquid swish around the insides of the cup. At the same time, he silently began to calculate the time. It had only been slightly more than half an hour since the banquet had begun. This meant that there was still at least another two and a half hours before this ordeal was over. This duration was already equivalent to the amount of time Richard usually took for a meditation session, which was at least a tenth of a point increase in his mana reserves.