"You are now in the presence of the Champion of the Realm, the one who is named as The Hunter of the Wind, The Bow of the Banished, Lord Izta," said a man cladded armor, who appeared to be the figure's personal guard.
Emery had heard about this Lord title of a Magus. Different from other Magus, combat magus often become commanders in the war with the elves. They tended to have their personal guards and troops under their command, some were even given a place to govern such as the magus in front of him.
The guard continued his words, "Now, move forward and kneel before our Lord, acolytes."
Emery and the others felt compelled to comply when they heard the guard's words and saw the figure who sat on the throne. However, just as they were about to get on their knee, the man on the throne suddenly lifted up his hand.
"There is no need to do so". He then turned his gaze to the side, towards the wall, and said, "You can all leave now"
As soon as the man finished his words, Emery and the others found there were dozens of guards on standby inside the hall, hidden from plain sight. All those guards gave the figure a salute, before they swiftly walked out of the hall. When the figure saw that his guards were all gone, he returned his attention back to Emery and the rest.
"All this secrecy is quite necessary, so don't be too bothered by it".
Emery and the others were confused by the situation. At first, they thought this figure would be imposing and full of authority. Unexpectedly, beyond his crushing aura and the golden armor that could intimidate anyone, the man in front of them looked friendly, at least now.
Klea stepped forward and proceeded to kneel in front of the figure. She then said, "I give my respect to you, Lord Izta. First of all, we want to thank you for the friendly gesture that helped us pass the first stage."
Klea made a gesture behind her back, which prompted Emery and the others to kneel in respect as well. However, the figure just silently raised his hand and Emery sensed a wind breeze passed through him, he felt as if there was a hook pulling him back on his feet. Shocked, Emery immediately turned his head to the others only to find they were the same as him.
"The formality is really unnecessary. You are in the presence of a kinsman" Lord Izta said, while calmly looking at them.
Upon hearing that, Klea was shocked inside, but still kept a calm expression on her face. Still being respectful, she opened her mouth again.
"Kinsman? Lord Izta, may I ask you some questions?"
"Go ahead," he said lightly.
"May I know how you knew about the pyramids? And, please, tell us who you are".
Hearing that, Lord Izta didn't answer the questions immediately. The man looked like he was talking to himself for a moment, before he said, "Ah? Yes. Me and my friend here are truly nostalgic right now. We watched that pyramid being built and finished, it was an amazing experience."
Emery was puzzled when the man said 'his friend here'. Quickly throwing his sight to the surroundings, Emery couldn't see a single shadow inside the hall beside theirs. While he was still confused by the man's words, Julian said something, "The pyramid of Giza was built more than 2 millennia ago, which means that Lord Izta is…"
As if the truth was revealed in front of them, Lord Izta looked at Julian and said, "You're right. It has been over 2.000 years now, it has been that long." Returning his attention back to Klea, "And yes, young lady. I have been known with many names, too many that I have now lost track of most of them"
Lord Izta suddenly turned silent as he thought for a while. He then started talking to himself again. "What was it called again? Do you remember?" he said.
Lord Izta's behaviour made everyone confused. They then noticed he seemed to talk as if there was someone standing next to him.
"Yes, a long time ago people called me as the mighty hunter that defied god" Lord Izta muttered. But then, he finally looked at them again and said, "However, it was a long time ago. Thus, it's not important. What's important is that all five of you are finally here."
The behavior of the man in front of them looked even stranger. Emery and the others were all even more confused. Lord Izta stood up from his throne and stepped forward. He then vigorously said, "You reached the Top 10! Amazing… Wow!"
Those words full of energy slightly made the wind blood and the floor shake. Seeing the phenomenon, Emery couldn't help but think if this was the strength of mere magus.
"At first, I thought it would have been good enough if all of you could reach the top 50. But with the fact you are top 10, we might have a chance."
'We might have a chance?' everyone beside Lord Itza thought. The words echoed and repeated in their mind as they were confused by them.
"Yes, although at the moment you are all too weak to pass through the second stage."
Hearing that, Thrax immediately rebuked. "I disagree. We are very confident that we can make it!"
"Confident, huh?" Lord Itza walked closer to them and asked, "How much do you actually know about the second stage?"
"Not much, lord. Just the fact that it was supposed to be a battleground between 3.000 top acolytes." Julian answered.
Lord Izta approached Thrax and began to walk around him. "So... Where does your confidence come from?" he asked.
"Our bravery and strength, of course!" Thrax exclaimed.
"Just another dumb muscle arent you!" Lord Izta berated.
That word surprised Thrax. Seeing the reaction, Lord Izta continued his words. "Don't get me wrong, young man. I relate to you the most in my younger days. However, it is true that all of you are indeed weak." Before Thrax could say anything, the man beat him to it.
"I saw your fight and even though it's impressive, the reason all of you managed to win was only because of your teamwork and tenacity."
While walking past the others, he added, "But your strength is nothing special. In my eyes, without the equipment, you all wouldn't even have made it to the top 50"
Thrax, who was annoyed by the man's harsh words, loudly said, "So, you are saying we wouldn't win without the spirit stone you gave us?!"
Upon hearing that, Lord Izta calmly shifted his gaze to Thrax. Immediately, Thrax felt a pressure descend on him which made his knee weak.
"No, not so hostile, will you? And no, even though it's actually true, that's not what I am saying." Lord Izta continued, "I am saying the second stage, the battleground, will forbid the participants from bringing any kind of equipment."
Emery and the others were startled when they heard that. This was the first time they heard this rule, as they haven't had the chance to read the details of the second stage.
"The second stage will be all about your personal strength. So, did you understand? If not, let me make it easy to understand." Eyeing the five acolytes in front of him, Lord Izta slowly said, "All of you are in big trouble. Not just five of you, but the other acolytes as well."
"But it will be 5 against 1 battle between us and the elites, right? It should be possible." Julian said.
Hearing that, Lord Izta laughed. "You seem like a clever kid but apparently, you're not." His gaze turned sharp, "I have been in thousands of real life and death battles, and it's never really that simple, boy."
"First, the winners will be selected based on their personal point. Thus, I'm sure you aren't naive enough to trust your classmates and put your back on someone you barely know. Second, let me ask you something. Why do you think the elite acolytes didn't participate in the first stage? With their strength, it would have been easy for them to sweep the competition and earn a sum of contribution points. So, why?"
Thinking for a while, Emery hesitantly replied, "Because they already received more than that?'
"Exactly! The amount they received was much more compared to yours."
"That's not fair! What is this?" Thrax asked.
Glancing at Thrax, Lord Izta said, "Well, it never is, young man."
"From the beginning, the academy never really cared about the acolytes who were in the normal classes, that's why it was called the fortunate class. 2000 years ago, me and my friends were also facing the same situation as you. You could even say the fortunate class only exist to serve as practice mates and grinding stones for the elite class' acolytes."
Emery and his friends were shocked when they heard that. The shock was then replaced by anger at their unfair circumstances.
Looking at the man in front of them, Klea asked, "Will you please guide us, Lord Izta?"
Lord Izta was silent for a moment before starting to talk to himself again. Emery and the others could faintly hear him say, "So, you really think we should help them, my friend Enkidu?"
Lord Izta then looked at Emery and the others. "Yes, of course. Obviously, we will help you. We have waited hundreds of years for this chance."