Elias blinked as he reviewed this odd thought. He never believed he could be the kind of person who thought influence was important, but then he realized it was just another form of power, and he craved it.

Not necessarily the power to command others, but the power to make decisions that would affect his own life.

There were things in life that might of arms may not get you, but the proper influence will.

This man was the reason they were all here today, as he was the one who made this decision to seal this place, at least that was what it seemed on the surface, but he knew that his master’s hand was all over this affair, and he would not be surprised if this entire incident were one that she orchestrated just to train him.

Elias felt a chill crossing his spine as he thought of this. He thought of the oasis and the countless people that had died while Commander Yseult had just watched, and knowing what she had planned in the future, Elias knew that he had to get stronger as quickly as possible, or his fate would not have a good end.

His trials were going to become increasingly harder. The first trial was him moving alone, and now the second was one that involved the entirety of the city. If he survived this trial, what would be the third?

Beside the Lord Protector, the Guild Grandmasters stood in their robes of office, with unreadable faces.

Elias looked through their ranks to find the face of Supervisor Chen, but it seemed that he was not among them; perhaps he did not have the required authority to stand here.

From the pamphlets he had read before coming over, he knew the Guild had pulled on talents from even outside Stormfall. Elias was curious to find out the power of the geniuses outside the walls of the city, and from them glimpse the greater state of the world.

He did not think he would remain in this city forever, and it may be the right time for him to start learning about the world outside this place.

Behind the Guild Grandmasters were the Academy’s representatives standing in their white uniforms, with young faces and old eyes.

The Academy was an odd organization, since they were relatively new, the oldest Academy being twenty thousand years old, but Elias knew that in that time, they had been slowly spreading their wings as they searched for talent outside the noble houses.

Perhaps one of his most surprising competitors may come from the Academy because they had a lot to prove, and Elias knew how much the yearning for gaining recognition could push someone forward.

He looked around to see if he could see any representation from Stormfall, but he did not find anyone. He knew that his teachers and his master must be looking at him from the top of the Asylum, and he did not know why that thought made him smile underneath the armor.

A silent sigh came out of nowhere, and Elias looked down to see that a shadow that had always been covering him had collapsed, and suddenly, he could see more clearly.

His eyes widened a bit when he noticed what had just happened.

Originally, he had been a bit surprised that no one seemed to have reacted to his presence; only now did he know that he had been hidden, and that sigh represented that he was now fully visible.

It did not take long before his presence was noticed and heads began to turn.

He could imagine what they were seeing, as he now cut an impressive figure in dark armor, with a shield resting on his leg, and a helm that covered his face, and the way he stood still, Elias could as well be a metallic statue.

Elias was now tall and broader than he had been a month ago, although his body was still settling into the changes the Elder Talent had carved into it, and it was unknown whether this process would ever be complete.

He did not look like the boy who had walked into the Asylum three weeks ago, and he certainly did not look like anything the people here had seen before, with the growing murmur that was beginning to cut across the crowd.

Wearing such heavy armor was not something that was forbidden, but it was certainly rare due to the fact that most Siphons at their age lacked the proper endurance to carry such weight for a long time.

With all eyes on him, Elias did not freeze; instead, he was using this opportunity to memorize all the faces he was looking at, trying to see if he could pin them to the names he had seen of some special candidates.

Their faces all bled together, but he was able to see certain special candidates due to the way the Siphons around them placed them in the forefront as if they were the obvious leaders.

Elias marked one of the youth who stood out, who had bright blue hair that seemed to be glowing in the morning light. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

’Blue hair, surrounded by nobility from the upper districts, that should be Tarian Arathor.’

As he was noticing this person, Tarian turned to look at him as well, and their eyes met across the crowd. Elias noted a faint glow in his eyes before Tarian looked away.

In that moment, Elias saw his hand reach for the short blade on his waist before he steadied it, and in the eyes of Tarian, he could only see a discerning gaze, as if he wanted to peel off the armor around Elias with his eyes.

Elias pushed this noble son aside in his head, as he could feel that his Elder Talent was stirring inside of his head; he feared that the longer he looked at him, the more he would not be able to hold back to challenge him in combat.

He continued looking around him, seeing some interesting characters that made his Elder Talent throb, and Elias smiled inside him as it seemed as if he had seen a new use for his Talent.

When he was looking at powerful figures like the Lord Protector that could eradicate him in a single hit, his talent was quiet, but when he was looking at those that could kill him, yet there was a possibility for growth, then his talent responded.

And among the crowd of three thousand, his talent throbbed dozens of times, meaning there were at least fifty people here who could kill him.

A ravenous feeling of hunger swept through his mind at the thought of fighting these people and being brought repeatedly to his limits so he could break through them, and yet Elias kept still, suppressing the hunger of the hunter inside of him.

He was also aware that among the crowd, some of them had noticed him and marked him.

’This could be interesting, it turns out we are not just going to be hunting beasts, inside this place, some of you think of hunting me as well.’

In the midst of this thought, Lord Protector Calyx Arathor stepped forward, and the crowd fell silent.