CH363 The Chosen Four
***
"I am Kavakan, the mighty warrior of the Weretiger Clan of Westeria."
The first to speak was a massive man, easily two and a half metres tall. His sheer presence reminded Alex of the saying âbear back and tiger waistâ.
âWeretiger?â Alex raised an eyebrow.
Immediately, OmniRune supplied him with information about the race.
Weretigers were a branch of lycanthropesâsimilar to werewolvesâbut not to be mistaken for ordinary beastmen. Lycanthropes were shapeshifters who could freely transform between human and beast forms, as well as an intermediate hybrid state.
Where werewolves were known for speed, Weretigers embodied explosive power.
âI guess that explains the long orange hair and tiger waist,â Alex mused with a quiet chuckle.
The next person stepped forward.
This one was no smaller than Kavakan, though his presence differed entirely. Where Kavakan gave the impression of raw, predatory strength, this individual was pure, chiselled muscleâa walking mountain of flesh and muscle.
In fact, when Alex had first entered the room, this man had been in the middle of what looked suspiciously like seated arm training.
âA gym rat in another world?â Alex wondered.
"I am Mogal of the Dravo Tribe," the man introduced himself.
From his tribal drawings and distinctive attire, Alex immediately recognised him as a Barbarian.
Barbarians were a unique offshoot of the human race, once alien to Pangea, but long since adoptedâor rather acquiredâas outer-being soldiers by Pangean conquerors.
They were natural-born warriors, raised in combat from the moment they could walk.
According to OmniRune, the Dravo Tribe was among the largest and most renowned Barbarian tribes on Pangea. They trained their own kin relentlessly and sold them to the nobility as elite warriors.
It might seem a strange practice, but for the Dravo, battle was both culture and life itself.
They didnât seek the "beautiful death" that Orcs longed for. Instead, they believed that only through battleâby facing and conquering worthy foesâcould they truly grow stronger.
That was the Dravo way of cultivation... or at least, a core part of it.
The next was a human woman, about 170 centimetres tall. Her hair was jet black, slowing turning amber as it approach the tips.
"I am called Silver. Silver Blackbolt." she said.
âSilver Blackbolt? Thatâs a very... peculiar name,â Alex thought. âThere has to be a story behind that.â
He kept the thought to himself and turned to the next person. A six-foot-tall elf lounged against the wall, black hair falling lazy over his sharp features.
âA black-haired elf, huh...â
Alex had seen dark-haired Drows before, but never a black-haired elf like this. The manâs ears were even longer than Eleanorâs â he was almost certainly an outer-being elf, not a native of Elarion.
"Havel... Landomas," the elf said, voice slow, finishing with a bored yawn as if the effort had exhausted him.
Alex frowned.
He didnât want lazy subordinates, but Havel possessed ten rune slots â one of the highest counts Alex had seen.
It was only because he had a perfect vessel in Udara already at his side, that he was able to stay composed at the sight of Havelâs readings.
âLazy types often solve problems efficiently when it matters,â Alex mused. âIâll give him the benefit of the doubt â for now.â
He nodded to the four chosen.
"Congratulations. Youâve passed the first test. Weâll continue with the second test tomorrow. Get some rest â youâll need it."
A shifty-eyed youth from among the six who had accepted the detection spell but werenât selected piped up, "What about us, sir?"
Alex turned to him, then to the others he hadnât picked.
"You all seems like competent individuals," he said, "but not the sort of talent I need. Your skills would be wasted under me." He offered the closest thing to consolation he could muster.
Then he turned to the Agoge Master at the door.
"Bring them to the Enclaveâs main spire tomorrow. Give my name at the gates and the guards will direct you."
"Understood, Young Master Alex." The Agoge Master said, rubbing his hands with a look that Alex immediately recognised.
"Youâll be paid regardless whether they pass the second test," Alex added, walking over to Drake. "Just bring the four of them."
Drake nodded, and the two began making their way out.
"About the price..." The Agoge Master, ever the merchant, quickly called out.
"Rest assured, youâll be paid whatever reasonable demand you haveâtomorrow." Alex replied without looking back.
He and Drake left the property and soon disappeared into the night.
On their way back to the Enclaveâs main spire, while taking in the cityâs lively evening bustle, Drake suddenly said, "Weâre far enough. You can drop the act now."
Alex let out a wry chuckle. âAs expected of a Legend.â
Finally, he allowed his exhaustion to show.
"How bad is it?" Drake asked.
"Not much. Just feels like I went through a battle, is all," Alex answered.
Something couldnât come from nothing.
It was one thing to pressure a single person with his True Name, bloodline pressure, and auraâbut thirteen? That kind of suppression had to be fuelled by something, and it wouldâve been foolish to draw from his bloodline energy or essence.
Instead, Alex had powered the act with his mana.
Blasting his energy across such a wide areaâenough to force the thirteen Agoge graduates to their kneesâwas monstrously inefficient. It devoured far more mana than it was worth.
If not for his Extreme Mana Capacity talent, no mana source at the Intermediate Rank couldâve sustained such an expenditure.
"The talent you checked for... is it the same one Udara has?" Drake asked.
âPerceptive,â Alex mused.
He nodded. "Yes. Itâs a talent that makes them perfectly suited for support from my unique Mage Class."
"Donât become too fixated on that talent," Drake cautioned. "You might end up overlooking a gemâor worse, choosing a waste."
"Iâm aware. Thatâs why I intend to test their combat ability tomorrow," Alex replied.
He still had some mana left in his Mana Heartâjust enough to test the four chosen Agoge warriors if he wanted to, though reluctantly so. But considering the potential plots and hidden schemes surrounding him, he deemed it wiser to conserve what remained for self-defence.
Sure, he had Drake by his side, but Alex preferred a sense of urgency over his own safety rather than relying completely on someone else.
When father and son returned to the Enclaveâs main spire, proper accommodation was quietly arranged for Drake, befitting his status. Meanwhile, Alex made preparations for the following dayâs meeting with the four potential party members who would soon shape the next phase of his journey.
**(13/70)*
Kavakan
Mogal
Silver Blackbolt
Havel Landomas