As Bryan was lost in his own thoughts and fantasies of his power spiking and surging endlessly, Anthony turned to Rider as he spoke, "It’s time to tell me your wish, after all, I will be leaving the moment we leave here," his sky-blue eyes meeting Rider’s own with a calm yet expectant gaze.

At Anthony’s words, Rider fell into his thoughts, he had been thinking about it throughout the past eleven days, yet nothing concrete had come to mind, no matter how much he pondered over it.

"Need help?" Tiara asked as she stared at him, her expression carrying a hint of curiosity.

"What do you have in mind?" Rider asked as he turned to meet her gaze, clearly open to suggestions.

"Why not just tell him to make you become an Apexus Mana Ranker, and I mean a proper one, with the mana control and battle experience, the full package," she suggested, her tone thoughtful as though she had already weighed the option carefully.

Rider’s eyes turned to Anthony as though asking if he could truly do what Tiara had just spoken about, silently seeking confirmation.

"I can do that, make you a proper Apexus Mana Ranker, but all I can tell you is that it’s not quite the same if you achieve it by yourself," Anthony replied, "of course, I’m not saying that there are negative effects with my method or anything, I’m just saying they aren’t quite the same," he spoke, his voice indifferent towards whatever choice Rider would make at the end of the day.

Rider fell into his thoughts again, he felt as though Anthony was subtly telling him to become an Apexus Mana Ranker through his own effort and strength, as though Anthony was implying it was best, better that way, as though there was something intangible yet invaluable to be gained from walking that path alone.

If the natural way wasn’t better, Anthony wouldn’t suggest it, right?

Rider’s eyes turned to Bringer as though asking for his own suggestion on what to ask Anthony for.

Bringer simply shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Just ask for one of those shadow soldiers," and from the tone of his voice, everyone knew that if Bringer were in Rider’s shoes, that was the wish he would make without hesitation.

Of course, Anthony would grant the wish if Rider made that choice, but it would be another shadow soldier, just not Beru, Igris, Bellion, or George, as those were not entities he would part with so easily.

But Rider declined his brother’s suggestion, the Dragon Domain had a lot of Apexus Mana Rankers that could act as their bodyguards, there was no need to add one more to that already overwhelming force.

Seeing that he wasn’t getting any particularly helpful suggestions, he closed his eyes as he drowned out reality from his thoughts, remaining completely motionless as he searched within himself for an answer. Anthony didn’t speak, he simply watched in silence, and so did the others, after all, only Rider had been granted the opportunity to make his own wish.

After a moment, Rider opened his eyes and spoke, "How about I become your disciple or a loyal soldier of yours," his black eyes meeting Anthony’s sky-blue ones directly, "although you never said it explicitly, I know Clement, Spectre, Vivian, and the rest all got their ridiculous talent from you, after all, there is no way five years ago that the Human race would unearth ten inheritance grounds all at once," he paused briefly, "so, I need whatever you gave them, or whatever you did to them that makes them so outrageously talented to the point their talent seems second only to yours," he stated in finality.

Rider’s words caused a wave of silence to spread through the forest as everyone stared at him, completely stunned. No one had thought that far ahead, after all.

Rider’s wish was outrageous, because one had to understand that Vivian and the rest of the group were all at the Apexus Mana Rank at the moment, beings that stood at the very pinnacle.

Besides, he wasn’t just asking for talent, he was asking for Anthony’s blood, the same blood he had given Litt and the rest at the time, and it wasn’t only that, there was also the existence of the system itself. Although Rider didn’t fully understand what he was asking for, it was undeniably an absurd and monumental wish.

Anthony remained silent for a moment, then he spoke with a calm and composed tone, "Your words are indeed true, Donna and the rest are my subordinates, but do you know why I chose them at that time instead of anyone else?" he asked.

"Because they were Humans?" Bringer replied as though he had just given a genius answer. Everyone turned to him as though he was an idiot, their eyes clearly conveying that was obviously not the correct answer.

"The answer is simply because they were free, they were not attached to any Guild, Household name, or contract or anything of the sort, as they were all poor and untalented orphans," Anthony began to speak again, "I won’t lie, I indeed did something that made them who they are now, but what I did demands absolute loyalty to me, after all, it’s tied to one of my greatest secrets," Anthony stated calmly as he met Rider’s gaze without wavering.

"I can be absolutely loyal," Rider replied immediately, his eyes unblinking as he spoke with conviction.

"If I ordered you to wipe out the Titan Domain, and make sure your Father and Brother died last after they’ve witnessed the fall of their Domain, would you do it?" Anthony asked as he remained comfortably seated on the ground, his tone unchanged.

At Anthony’s question, Rider’s face twisted into a deep frown as he realized he couldn’t carry out such an act, the mere thought of it clashing violently with everything he stood for. Of course, it wasn’t that Anthony was actually going to order him to do such a thing, but the question alone made it painfully clear where he stood.

"This is why I picked Donna and the rest, they have no attachments to anything, not the Human Domain or the Omni Peak Academy, the only attachment they have is something they built with their own hands, like how Vivian and Donna are building orphanages endlessly," Anthony replied as he declined Rider’s wish without hesitation.

Although his blood essence could force Rider into absolute loyalty, Anthony didn’t want that, Rider needed to willingly choose to be absolutely loyal, just like how Spectre and the rest had all sworn their loyalty before he had given them his blood.

"I understand," Rider stated, although he spoke those words, he felt a deep sense of pain within himself, after all, he had just lost something immeasurable, something that Anthony himself had said was connected to one of his deepest and most guarded secrets.

’Sigh... only if I was ruthless like many others,’ he thought to himself, knowing full well that he could never bring himself to kill his brother or father, after all, he had been raised in a family built on love and bonds that he could never discard.