There was a silence on the golden hill.
It was a silence of shock. The princes and princesses at least four stages and got golden lights for themselves.
Few even crossed six stages and got a dark golden light.
Only one among them cleared the seventh stage and got a pale red light.
In the short but marvelous history of mankind, there were even instances of dark red and even scarlet.
Both of these were accomplished by triple awakeners—they were low-level and polished to the peak by experts.
When they got the rewards, everyone was pleasantly surprised.
Then, the federation floundered their wealth on another set of triple awakeners to clear the tenth stage.
But even after spending tonnes of resources, countless manpower, and a lot of time, the tenth stage was never cleared.
It slowly became a legend.
But now, that very legend was broken by the living legend in front of them.
The man looked to be in his twenties, with brown hair and blue eyes. Despite clearing the legendary stage, he didn’t seem tired, much less injured.
“S-Senior!” Princess Ria called out in a humble tone.
The princes and princesses behind her also leaned forward, looking at him eagerly but always maintaining a respectful posture.
“Hm? It’s you guys.” Varian raised a brow at the princeling gang.
While he didn’t show it, he was surprised. Not because of their presence, but of his own reaction to their presence.
These princes and princesses were all peak level 7s.
Arguably, he was still weaker than them. But he could sense that they weren’t capable of killing him. He couldn’t beat them yet, but he could surely escape.
And this was because these princes were all in their thirties and almost two decades over him.
If it was a newly promoted prince, Varian was sure to mow the ground with him.
Heck, even if it was a typical level 7 prince, Varian was confident of overwhelming him.
But these people…especially this platinum-haired woman, she was significantly stronger than him.
“Ahem.” Princess Ria coughed to adjust her posture and asked in a polite tone. “We saw the purple light, did you clear the tenth stage?”
“No,” Varian said with a straight face.
“Huh?” Everyone was taken aback.
“I was fiddling with the lighting of the gate. It seems like it’s working pretty well.” Varian nodded to himself as if appreciating his own work.
“…Haha, you have a good sense of humor.” Prince Kane from Earth stepped forward and looked Varian in the eye.
‘This guy…he is master’s apprentice.’ Varian recognized him. Prince Kane had a short but welcoming conversation with him during the solar banquet.
“Senior, as the future pillars of humanity, this is a really joyous matter for us. So, we request you to give us more insight into what happened.” Prince Kane took another step forward.
Varian frowned and didn’t answer.
“We aren’t trying to be hostile, but we just want to ensure your identity or at least that you aren’t hostile to the federation.” Prince Kane raised his hands and said.
He meant what he said. But no matter how well his intentions were, they were in direct conflict with Varian’s.
“We know all the level 7 and level 8 princes.” Prince Kane said slowly. “You can just reveal your special code and everything will be clear.”
The princes and princesses straightened their backs at his words. Indeed, this was too strange.
Since he crossed the tenth stage, he should definitely be at least a peak level 7. But they hadn’t seen any prince with this face.
However, to avoid offending the other party, they asked for a special code.
Every prince had a special device that generated a special code every 24 hours. It was a very complex code and couldn’t be hacked.
The benefit of this code was to maintain your own anonymity while proving your identity as a prince.
This was done to avoid favoritism and other discrimination as well as to prevent drawing hatred to princes when they undertake dangerous missions and offend powerful enemies.
Varian crossed his arms and looked at them with a judging expression. It was as if he was watching a pathetic show.
The princes and princesses were enraged at his behavior, but it also prevented them from acting rashly. That was also Varian’s goal.
‘Now how the fuck do I get out of here without making a scene?’ Varian began to rummage through his memories for any potential solution.
“Your standing as a prince will be greatly elevated. You will be seen as the next Sovereign, no, even higher than that.” Prince Kane continued.
Varian didn’t budge.
“Just the special code, senior.” Prince Kane pressed further.
The princes and princesses also began to feel suspicious. It was only a code. Not the real identity.
Then why…
“Are you not even a level 7?” Princess Ria suddenly said.
The air stilled and everyone’s eyes locked onto Varian.
Yes. That was indeed a possibility. If he wasn’t a level 7, he wouldn’t have the code. There was also a good chance they wouldn’t know him.
The princes and princesses stepped forward and clenched their fists. Unless he proved his affiliation to a human-friendly power like the adventure guild or military, they were ready to attack.
There’s a high chance he wasn’t a level 7, so, it was going to be a cakewalk…
“Level 7?” Varian smirked and glanced at the thirty young men and women. “Kids, how about you all try to gauge my level? Feel free to run your senses.”
Varian raised his arms in invitation.
An ominous premonition rose in everyone’s hearts, but they still spread their senses onto him and checked for his level.
As a result…
“…I can’t feel anything.”
“It’s blank.”
“He should either be unawakened or much stronger than us.”
“…I think we offended someone we shouldn’t.”
As they muttered from shock, Varian stepped forward.
Flinch!
Everyone flinched and stepped back, except Prince Kane and Princess Ria.
Varian looked at them with a smile. “I’m not a prince, but this should give you answers.”
He snapped his fingers and a badge shot out to Kane and Ria. Their senses quickly scanned it and their jaws dropped.
“This…”
Ria and Kane were stupified while the rest stared at the badge with wide eyes.
Varian waved his hand and the badge disappeared. Then, he calmly walked down the hill.
His parting words lingered in the air. “This is a secret mission. Only report this to your upper echelon.”