"Yesterday, I personally examined his body and didn't find any traces of magic whatsoever," Kenneth began his report. "Aside from that, there is no sign that he had awoken any kind of Spiritual Powers. Even so, I still can't gauge how strong he is."
"You can't gauge how strong he is?" the Elf interrupted Kenneth's report. "How can you not gauge his strength? Aren't you always with him?"
"Yes." Kenneth nodded. "I am always around him. When I used the clan's artifact to measure his strength, the results said that he was a Class D individual."
"Only Class D?" The Elf frowned. "Isn't that a bit too weak? Then again, he's a Half Elf. I guess this is to be expected of a filthy half breed."
(A/N: Filthy Mudblood much?)
Kenneth tasted something sour in his mouth when the Elf referred to William as a filthy half breed using a contemptuous tone. Even so, he took hold of his emotions and put on a calm expression.
"So, why did you say that you couldn't gauge his powers?"
"It's because the feats that he has accomplished don't match his power level."
Kenneth started to narrate everything that he had gathered about William. From the battle against Psoglav until the end of the Dungeon Outbreak. The Elf listened patiently until Kenneth finished his tale.
"Isn't it very obvious?" the Elf asked in contempt. "Or must I spell it out to you so that you can understand? The boy's strength is only subpar and his real strength relies on that goat he calls Ella. If you leave the goat out of the equation, he is just an ordinary half breed that won't be able to achieve anything, even if he trained for years."
Kenneth wanted to refute the Elf's words, but the latter didn't give him an opportunity to do that.
"Based on your report I can tell that the hybrid only relies on external forces to increase his battle prowess. Such a person doesn't amount to much when fighting alone. Continue your monitoring and report any changes that you see," the Elf ordered. "Remember, your purpose for going to the Southern Continent is to see whether he is the one rumored about in the Prophecy.
"The clan has already dispatched others like you to different places in the Central Continent where rumors of strong individuals that had a hint of dark magic could be found. We need to find the Prince of Darkness and bring him to the Silvermoon Continent before he awakens his power. This is the order from the Patriarch of our Clan. It still annoys me that we have to waste our resources to monitor a shepherd in the Southern Continent."
"He is not an ordinary Shepherd," Kenneth said through gritted teeth. "Don't forget whose son he is."
The elf quieted down after hearing Kenneth's words. He also knew William's identity and that was the reason why Kenneth was sent to personally monitor him in the academy. The son of the Saintess and the Dungeon Conqueror was an existence that shouldn't go unchecked.
"Just carry out your mission and report as soon as you find anything worth reporting," the Elf ordered before the transmission was cut.
"You still haven't changed, Father." Kenneth firmly gripped the mirror in his hand as he clenched his teeth in anger. When Kenneth heard that William was one of the candidates that was named by the Patriarch, he immediately volunteered to be the one to monitor him.
He had long heard about the Half-Elf that was born from the union of the Saintess and the Hero of the Elves. Kenneth wanted to see what kind of person William was. He didn't care if William was the Prince of Darkness or not.
What he cared about was Lady Arwen, his teacher, who resided in the Holy City of Nytfe Aethel. Before he left the Silvermoon Continent, he promised her that he would watch over William and keep him safe.
Arwen only giggled when she heard his promise. He still remembered her parting words on the day he was about to ride the ship bound to the Southern Continent.
"My son is a wolf in sheep's clothing," Arwen said with a smug look on her face. "Go and meet him. Perhaps, you will learn a thing or two by staying by his side. May the Blessings of the World Tree always shine upon you. Take care of yourself and let's meet again a few years from now."
Kenneth returned the round mirror to his storage ring as he remembered his teacher's smiling face. Arwen and William had similar enough smiles that Kenneth sometimes found himself in a daze when the Half-Elf smiled at him.
'I hope that you're not the Prince of Darkness, William.' Kenneth sighed in his heart. 'Because if you are, all the elves in the Silvermoon continent will do everything in their power to catch you. I don't want to see that happen.'
Kenneth walked towards the window as he gazed upon the East. Dark clouds loomed in the distance, as if to mark the coming of a storm.
Oliver, who was hiding inside William's shadow, was not aware that the letter he had sent back to his Master had been intercepted by the Rayleigh Clan who specialized in intelligence gathering and the making of prophecies.
It was for this very reason that William had become a priority candidate on their list. If the Parrot Monkey had known that his arbitrary action years ago had set many things in motion in the Silvermoon Continent, he would definitely kick himself out of anger because of his stupidity.
Not only did he endanger William's life, he had also unintentionally broken the peaceful life that Celine had sought for during the years of her enslavement.
-----
After William got the instructor's permission to take a few days leave from the academy, he hurriedly returned to his dormitory room only to find Kenneth staring outside the window.
"I am about to return to my hometown for a few days to participate in a wedding ceremony. Would you like to come with me?" William asked.
"No." Kenneth shook his head. "I will just wait for your return. There are still many things I need to do because our 'Sir William' doesn't want to do his duties."
William coughed lightly because he was guilty as charged. "Well then, please, do your best Mr. Secretary. Your Sir William is very unreliable. Go ahead and look for suitable candidates that can join our ranks."
Kenneth gave him a side-long glance and snorted. "Go and return as soon as you can."
"Okay." William smirked and patted Kenneth's shoulder before leaving the room.
In truth, Kenneth wanted to go with him, but he couldn't afford to meet Celine at this point in time. The elves of the Silvermoon continent had been keeping a close eye on two important individuals and they were none other than Celeste and Celine.
The twins that were mentioned in the grand prophecy of the Silvermoon Continent. Although Celeste was most likely the bride stated in the prophecy, none of the elves dared to make their move on her in the small chance that they were wrong in their assumption.
Because if they made a mistake, there was a chance that their entire race would be wiped out from the face of the world.