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He asked again, “Will you answer me?”

His tone did not carry an ounce of respect toward the Empress of the Empire. Fragrantia was aware this old man was not someone who understood what courtesy meant. This old man was too proud. However, Fragrantia needed his help at the moment.

She replied, “This child was found by my daughter when she was traveling outside. He is called Valerian and has the exceptional talents of a battlemage. I thought if the young man was to be trained and cherished, then it must be done by the best.”

Fallax did not show anything on his face and said, “I will be the judge of his skills, you should go out and wait, the tower of Battlemage is not a place where you can barge in at any time.”

Fragrantia nodded and said, “I understand, I will send my guard outside, but the child is my attendant and I will not leave him alone.”

She did not ask for his permission to stay but made her point. Fragrantia cast a gaze at Ensis, who projected a silent protest with her eyes. However, it was brushed off by the Empress. The warrior could only take back her sword and walked out of the tower slowly.

Fallax and Fragrantia did not speak but kept staring at each other. After a few moments, the old man said, “Tell me the truth. Who is this child?”

His tone was still the same, unfeeling. Fragrantia replied, “What do you mean, Senior Fallax? Have I not told you about him already?”

.....

Fallax scoffed and said, “Do you think you can fool me? You are a hundred years too early, Your Excellency. I can tell from a glance how much importance you attach to this child. It is enough to say that you even look down on your children when you compare them with this so-called discovered talent in your mouth.”

Fragrantia nodded and said, “As a mother, I might not be able to look down on my children, but as an Empress, I do. You are correct. This child never knew what the word comfort meant and has been leading a bitter life on his own for as long as he can remember. He is so talented and wise that my children even after having every privilege that the world could imagine, lag behind him. May I be wrong to look down on them?

As for the importance you mentioned, that is because the Empire needs strong pillars. Valerian has all that is needed to be a pillar of the empire in the future.”

Her logic and reasoning were not something that could be overcome by the old man in front of her, she was not a vase with a glorified title.

Fallax knew that the empress did not tell him anything. He stared at her visage for a few moments, but finding no flaws, he changed his focus to the child on the staircase.

...

Valerian was walking slowly and as he climbed the tower, the pressure on his shoulders increased, he was using his physical strength in combination with the mana channeling inside his body. This way the load on his body was not upheld by either of the systems solely.

The last step on the so-called first floor was too hard for him to take, it was like the body was being pressed down by a mountain. Yet, the water attribute had a property called repulsion. If mana of another attribute pushes against the water attribute, it will repel it on its own.

Valerian, with the help of the counter, took the last step. He let out a deep sigh after the final step. However, he did not have the luxury to rest, his senses went on alert and he was being attacked from the back. He ducked and rolled on the ground, only to find a man standing on his original spot.

The man attacked him again, it was a fist aimed at Valerian’s temple, the boy was not slow this time. He fished out a knife quickly from the inside of his coat. The claw knife was held in a reverse grip and the man charged at Valerian quickly.

Using the advantage of his size, the boy ducked and avoided the fist and his knife was slashed across the abdominal region of the assailant. However, the contact made him frown.

...

Fragrantia noticed the situation. Fallax had taken out a crystal ball earlier and he could see the progression in the staircase clearly. The empress asked, “There were no puppets earlier when Vertex tested, right?”

Fallax did not reply and kept looking at the crystal ball. He asked, “Has he trained before?”

Fragrantia nodded and said, “He was trained by Quies and also spent a considerable time in a forest on his own.”

Fallax replied, “That explains the speed and his sharp reflexes.”

His voice was calm and patient all of a sudden, he was gazing at Valerian fighting with the puppet-like it was a battle between two masters. Fragrantia only gazed at the proceedings from the side. She did not have any intention of talking to this old man.

She was surprised to see that her nephew was capable of holding against an opponent this good. The puppet was moving as if a human trained for years, the only thing holding it back was the strength output. She thought about this and arrived at the conclusion that Valerian was already a grade two battle mage.

He was only pushed back because the puppet was not a human. Suddenly, Valerian stopped slashing and stabbed the knife at the head of the figure in front of him. He had found out that the opponent was an enchanted puppet and it did not have any weaknesses that a human would possess, so he cast a spell, ‘Umbra Spiculum.’

A black spike was shot from his hand and the head of the puppet was left with a huge hole in it, following which the puppet fell to the ground. Valerian crouched down on the spot to catch his breath, the fight just now was very intense. He did not expect to fight with an opponent this strong.

Suddenly he heard the cold voice from again, “Get moving, this is a test and not your playground.”

Valerian cursed this voice to be so unfeeling, he was a child if you look at it. He stood up and walked to the next flight of stairs, and this time he channeled the mana in his eyes earlier before taking a step forward. He could tell that these stairs were not easy.

He saw a gentle blue glow in the space above the stairs, this was the wind-attributed spell. Valerian countered it with earth attribute inside of him, as he expected, there was a strong frontal force acting against him, stopping him from advancing.

The speed was steady but the process was dexterous. Valerian did not expect this test to be so tough. When he reached the end of the staircase, he was attacked again, and this time the puppet had a green light shining inside it. Valerian countered this wood enchanted puppet with a strong fire, making it back off.

He then went on to face the other staircases, the seven flights corresponding to seven attributes in mana, and Valerian faced them all with the countering element, however, the troublesome thing was the puppets at the end of the flight of the stairs.

When after four hours Valerian reached the top of the stairs and at the highest floor, he found Fallax and Fragrantia sitting in chairs with a tea set placed in front of them.

Fragrantia looked at his figure covered in sweat and wanted to tell him that he can rest, however, Fallax said, “Does your attendant not know that it is his duty to serve you tea?”

This was the test of Valerian’s character. If he was too soft, he will not make a good battle mage despite his shocking talents, and similarly, if he was too proud, it will not work either.

Valerian was dripping wet in sweat. The last flight of stairs was fire mana, and if he had not used his best efforts to push the water attribute inside him to the limit, he would have lost a layer of skin.

Yet, he did not have the time to even catch his breath before this old man came to preach manners and duties to him. Valerian took a deep breath and walked over to the table. He picked up the tea set and served a cup of tea and passed it to the Empress.

The old man waited but Valerian had no intention to make another tea. He said in a cold voice, “Is this the level of your attendant?”

Fragrantia could tell that Valerian was getting restless so she said, “You can answer him, Val.”

‘This is your home, and we are the guests, let alone speak softly to your guests, you are asking a guest to serve you? I may be an attendant, but that is to Her Excellency, and not you, Old Sir. So, kindly spare me the words of wisdom.’, that said, Valerian stood behind Fragrantia.

The old man was surprised, a faint smile emerged at the corner of his mouth. Fragrantia noticed this and asked, “Did he pass the test?”

Fallax shook his head slowly and said, “He aced it.”

The floor echoed with a burst of sonorous laughter. Fragrantia raised her chin slightly, the boy has made her proud.