Chapter 106: Heaven Talent
"Those six children who manifested three complete lotus flowers...
They possess mutated Legendary-grade talent, only a single step away from reaching Heaven-grade talent."
Elena’s eyes widened, as did those of the other Elves, when they heard this. They looked toward the thousand children as Rios continued,
"These are only the first batch.
How many more are waiting outside? Nearly one hundred thousand.
And on top of that, most of the Elves didn’t even come today because of the sheer size of the crowd.
So tell me...
How many more people like them are we going to find?!"
Rios clenched his fist tightly.
"Even using the original awakening method you people relied on, the awakening rate should have been at least five percent.
People like these should have appeared every single time you held an Awakening Ceremony."
A dangerous light flashed across Rios’s eyes as he spoke with killing intent.
"And the worst part...
Only the Elves are sealed.
The other races most likely aren’t."
"W-... What made you say that?!"
Elena asked in alarm, terrified by that possibility.
"That damned Falcon delegation...
Every single one of them possessed Legendary-grade talent.
That bastard called Sir Mark possessed mutated Legendary-grade talent.
And on top of that...
That idiotic Giant, Ang.
A random Giant like him also possessed Legendary-grade talent.
So what about the rest of the races...
And the Giants?"
Rios’s cold voice echoed through everyone’s minds, filling them with dread.
Other than Elena, Thandria, and Etham...
None of the others even knew the ranking of talents.
Originally, talent among them had simply been divided into ordinary and exceptional.
Or rather...
They had never possessed any proper talent classification at all.
But Rios’s words required no explanation.
It was obvious from what he had said...
The more lotus flowers a person manifested, the greater their talent.
And it seemed that all the other races awakened their talents normally, without any obstacles...
While the Elves had remained sealed away in ignorance all this time.
Yet amid the tense atmosphere filled with anger and anxiety...
The energy inside the Awakening Array suddenly surged violently.
Everyone immediately noticed it, and their unease deepened.
Rios narrowed his eyes toward the source of the disturbance.
Then his eyes suddenly widened.
A strange light flashed within them, and a crazed grin spread across his face.
"Hahahahaha!
Now this is what I call good luck!"
At the center of the array, among the children...
One of the six children who had awakened mutated Legendary-grade talent was a boy with black hair tinged slightly with brown—the characteristic appearance of ordinary Elves.
He had innocent features and wore elegant, expensive clothing.
It was obvious that he came from a noble family.
At that moment...
Three complete lotus flowers floated above his head.
But only moments later...
A fourth lotus flower began to form.
"Heaven-grade talent!"
Rios muttered joyfully, laughing wildly inwardly.
Talents like his own, Elena’s, and the Immortal Tree of Life’s—Immortal-grade talents—were far too rare to be awakened through methods like these.
They were extraordinary blessings...
Terrifying anomalies that appeared only once every several tens of thousands of years...
If they appeared at all.
Rios had never expected to obtain someone like that from nothing more than an Awakening Ceremony.
As for the fact that he, Elena, and the Immortal Tree of Life had all awakened Immortal-grade talent...
In the same place...
At the same time...
That was a maddening secret which had already stirred countless suspicions within Rios.
But he still lacked the strength to investigate it.
Still...
Obtaining someone with Heaven-grade talent would already make him extremely satisfied.
Such people would become the very pillars of his kingdom.
After the fourth lotus flower appeared...
Its petals began growing one after another...
Until the ninth petal finally formed.
Unfortunately...
The tenth petal never appeared.
Unlike the Nine Lotus Leaves Array, whose lotus consisted of only nine petals...
The lotus flower manifested by the Awakening Array possessed ten complete petals.
Each petal represented ten percent of the awakened talent grade.
Heaven-grade talent... only one step away from becoming mutated.
Excellent.
Rios muttered happily to himself before turning toward Elena.
"Whose child is that?"
Seeing the excitement shining in Rios’s eyes, Elena smiled and gestured for two Elven nobles who had been watching the ceremony to come forward.
Two elegantly dressed Elves stepped forward.
One was an elderly man with blue hair and a kind expression.
The other was a mature woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with white hair.
The feminine weapons on her chest were even larger than Thandria’s, yet they suited her figure perfectly.
"We greet Your Majesty and Her Majesty.
May God bless your reign and your glory."
The man and woman bowed toward Rios and Elena, offering their blessings.
Elena first gestured toward the elderly man.
"This is Chief Dathan, the leader of the Water Clan.
He’s a great leader from the older generation and a veteran third-Level warrior.
However, after being severely injured during one of the wars, his cultivation fell back to the second Level.
He currently serves as a temporary adviser on the Royal Council."
Elena smiled as she introduced Chief Dathan.
"He’s also Imris’s grandfather."
Rios looked at Chief Dathan and nodded with a smile.
"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Your Majesty."
Chief Dathan bowed respectfully, his face filled with joy.
"Raise your head, Chief Dathan.
You’ve done well.
I’ll personally make sure you’re properly rewarded."
Rios gestured for Chief Dathan to stand and gave him his promise.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."
Chief Dathan raised his head as a few tears formed at the corners of his eyes.
"And this is Lady Yasmin.
She is the wife of the former commander of the Royal Guard Legion, a third-Level warrior who fell in one of his missions.
She is also Chief Dathan’s daughter and Imris’s mother.
She currently works as my assistant in the royal office because of her exceptional genius in resource management."
After Elena introduced Lady Yasmin, Rios nodded gently toward her.
"You’ve done an excellent job raising Imris."