Chapter 107: Bloodline Awakening
"You’ve done an excellent job raising Imris."
"I will cherish those words, Your Majesty." Yasmin held the edge of her dress and bowed to Rios.
"From this day onward, Imris will receive personal guidance from me, and his residence will be moved to the royal palace." Rios looked at them kindly as he spoke in a calm voice.
"T-... Isn’t that too much, Your Majesty?" Chief Dathan and his daughter Yasmin looked at each other in astonishment.
"Then I’ll assume you both agree." Rios smiled at them and nodded.
"Who are we to refuse a request from Your Majesty?" The father and daughter immediately lowered their heads, deeply grateful to Rios.
"The array has begun to stop. Should we let the children come out now?" Elena noticed the state of the array and quickly reminded Rios.
Rios looked at the array, narrowed his eyes, then smiled once again.
"Prepare to welcome our little heroes."
The children came out one after another, and the guards quickly arranged them into orderly rows in front of Rios.
Slightly less than half of those Elves still had their original black hair with a slight brown tint, while the hair of everyone else had changed to the color corresponding to the law of the bloodline they had awakened.
Red for those who had awakened the Fire Clan’s bloodline.
Blue for those who had awakened the Water Clan’s bloodline.
Green for those who had awakened the Wood Clan’s bloodline.
Purple for those who had awakened the Lightning Clan’s bloodline.
White for those who had awakened the Wind Clan’s bloodline.
Jet black for those who had awakened the Darkness Clan’s bloodline.
Golden for those who had awakened the Light Clan’s bloodline... and even they were no longer few or rare this time, unlike every previous Awakening Ceremony held by the City of Light.
It would be more accurate to say...
The number of people who awakened the Light Clan’s bloodline this time alone exceeded the total number who had awakened it over the past century combined.
Most likely, after today’s ceremony...
Light Elves would never be considered rare again.
They might even lose their sacred status among the Elves.
Rios looked at them one after another with a satisfied smile before giving them a short speech.
"Welcome, our little heroes...
The future pillars of this kingdom."
The Elven children looked at Rios with awe and curiosity.
Countless questions were running through their little minds at that very moment.
Is this our King?
Is this the hero who ended the famine?
Is this the angel who saved us from the demons?
Will he give me some candy?
...
Every child had different thoughts, yet all of them remained standing quietly, listening to Rios.
"To every little hero who failed to awaken their power...
Don’t lose hope."
Rios looked toward those children whose hair had remained unchanged.
Many of them looked around at their friends whose hair and eyes had changed color, thinking they had simply gotten new hairstyles or received some special gift.
Some of them even cried because they wanted what their friends had received.
But many others cried because they knew the truth.
They knew...
They had failed at the most important moment of their lives.
"This is only the beginning for you.
You still have a long life ahead of you.
The City of Light needs you.
Your families need you.
And I need you as well.
This kingdom won’t build itself.
Only through hard work...
Through people who protect...
Others who build, develop, and teach...
Can this kingdom stand upon solid foundations.
And just because you failed to awaken your power...
Doesn’t mean your road has come to an end.
Just as I helped others awaken their power...
I will definitely find a way to awaken yours as well."
Rios’s words echoed through the children.
To them...
They were like magic itself.
The children gradually stopped crying.
Many of them clenched their teeth tightly and made silent promises to themselves...
Promises whose true impact would only be revealed in the future.
After Rios finished speaking, the Royal Guards escorted the children out of the royal garden, where their families were waiting, until His Majesty King Rios issued further orders...
However, those whose talent had reached Legendary grade or above were left behind.
Rios had personally ordered them to be brought before him.
"From today onward, you will live near the royal palace.
You will be trained by the greatest experts in the city.
You will receive personal guidance from me, as well as personal guidance from the Queen.
And you don’t need to worry about anything else.
All of your personal expenses, as well as your families’ expenses, will be covered by the kingdom’s treasury."
Rios looked at the small group standing before him.
A small portion of them came from noble families...
That was obvious from their elegant and expensive clothing.
Most of the others, however, wore tattered, dusty, or patched clothes.
It was clear they came from commoner families...
Or from the poorest of the poor.
Had it not been for the good nourishment their bodies had received during the past few days, after Rios brought food to the city...
Their condition would have been far worse...
Assuming most of them would even have survived until now.
"You may take care of them now."
Rios gestured toward one of the Royal Guard commanders beside him.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
The commander immediately bowed, took several guards with him, and left to carry out the order.
"Bring in the next group."
Rios nodded toward another commander.
Just as before, another group of one thousand children entered after being organized into orderly rows and stepped into the array.
Just as before, the array poured energy into the children’s bodies and shattered the seals placed upon their bloodlines one after another.
When everything was over...
The children finally came out.
Unlike the previous group, the number of those who awakened Legendary-grade bloodlines was slightly higher.
However, the number of those who awakened mutated Legendary-grade bloodlines was noticeably lower.
Only two...
Compared to the previous group’s five.
Everyone whose talent failed to reach Legendary grade returned to their families.
As for those whose talent reached or surpassed that level...
They were escorted away by the Royal Guards to the special area.
One group entered after another...
From the youngest to the oldest.
After the children...
It was the teenagers’ turn.
After them...
The youths.
And so it continued.
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Above the skies of the City of Light
At that moment...
A phantom made entirely of black smoke appeared.
Its crimson eyes radiated an overwhelming killing intent.
Behind it stood a young woman who looked to be around twenty years old.
Golden energy surrounded her from every direction.
She looked at the phantom with concern, her eyes reflecting the entire world within them.
"Didn’t we agree that the Elves on the Continent of Origin would remain neutral?"