‘Wait a minute,’ Thales thought.

Six years since he obtained his Power of Eradication, someone among his old acquaintances in Constellation had indeed found out about his Power of Eradication.

It was in the Prison of Bones.

‘But…’

A dark purple mask flashed across Thales’ mind.

He subconsciously tightened his grip around his sword.

‘Impossible.’

“I have told you, you are the only person who is going through the process of fighting in this knight training. It is not hard to tell if you are cheating.”

Mallos’ amused words pulled Thales back to reality.

The watchman pointed at Thales’ arm, and he felt satisfied, as though he had just caught his prey.

Doyle blinked in surprise while he was at the foot of the other pillar in the corridor. He habitually nudged the person next to him.

“Really?”

The protector opened his mouth repeatedly. “How old is that kid again?”

Doyle did not expect anyone to answer him.

However, to his surprise, this time, Glover’s deep voice was heard. “According to the reports, fourteen years and one hundred and twenty-eight days old.”

The vanguard, whose nickname was Zombie, narrowed his eyes.

Doyle was shocked.

“Damn, he’s almost at the same age as the youngest person to be Awakened. Wait a minute…” Doyle immediately figured something out. He gave Glover a strange look. “How can you remember so clearly?”

Glover ignored him. He just tightened his arms over his chest.

He stared at the field intently.

Thales tried to adjust his breathing while he thought about what was going on and what kind of consequences it would bring. Just as he was about to respond, Mallos spoke again, “There was no such thing mentioned in the brief report about you, so…”

Mallos rubbed his hands together and asked in an unperturbed tone, “When did you Awaken to your Power of Eradication?”

Thales was frightened again.

‘The Sin of Hell’s River…’

It may have seemed unimportant, but the fact is, the power had helped him traverse the birch tree forest, overcome the evil plots of that ugly-faced woman, survive the catastrophe in Dragon Clouds City, and escape into the desert. It eventually brought him back safely to Constellation.

There were too many secrets related to it and too many things he encountered with it, regardless of whether they were the things told to him by Black Sword or Ricky.

‘No.’

He could not expose too much.

At the very least… he could not just bring out his full abilities.

Their conversation lasted only a few seconds, so Thales was not allowed to hesitate. “In… Northland.”

The young Duke of Star Lake took the chance when he cleared his throat to quickly think of an excuse and organize his words.

“Heroic Spirit Palace was very dangerous, so I needed to hide my abilities and keep my trump card.”

He grew more eloquent the more he spoke, and he displayed worry and wariness at the appropriate moment. “As for you, Lord Mallos, where did you get your brief report?”

Mallos did not reply immediately, but he stared at him for some time.

Mallos’ gaze made Thales feel very uncomfortable.

A few seconds later, Mallos showed him a bizarre smile, but he changed the subject. “What kind of Power of Eradication do you have, Your Highness?”

It was another deadly question.

“I…” Thales frowned. He pretended to think and look helpless. “I am not too sure either.”

Mallos remained silent for a while before he continued to ask, “Then, what kind of characteristics does it have? What changes did it bring to you?”

‘The Sin of Hell’s River…

‘What characteristics? What changes?

‘Hmm… Hell’s senses?’

Thales thought about the night vision effect in Black Track and the underground prison.

‘Extremely fast healing?’

He remembered the pain he felt when he recovered on the battlefield.

‘Four-dimensional effects that allow me to see ghosts?’

Thales tried his best to chase away the memories of what he experienced in Black Track.

‘Or perhaps the urge to fight like a beast?’

When Thales thought about it, he shook his head.

His face was full of innocence and confusion.

This time round, it was Mallos who frowned while he kept his gaze on Thales.

“So, it just manifested… without any symptoms?

“And you have no idea what it is?”

Thales nodded pitifully and wore an awkward as well as embarrassed smile. “I-I suppose you could say that.”

Mallos looked at him, and his expression became more solemn.

Both of them were silent for a while. The watchman seemed as if he needed some time to think.

“If I remember correctly, you only learned the Northland Military Sword Style to build your basics, yes?” Mallos spoke again, and he sounded cautious.

“Yes.” Thales showed an ugly smile. “Is that also in the brief report?”

Mallos moved his eyes away and did not answer him. Thales gazed at the person who was his master in name with sparkling eyes.

“What ability did you obtain?”

Thales repeated subconsciously, “What do you mean by ‘what ability’?”

Mallos narrowed his eyes.

He looked at Thales like he was looking at an amateur. He gritted his teeth and said, “I mean, when you Awakened to your Power of Eradication…

“Did you obtain… extraordinary observational skills, balance, and a sense of rhythm? I remember those being the characteristics for Pegasus’ Music…”

Thales shook his head.

‘No.’

“Then, is it the Thawing of Glaciers? Did you have a large increase in your stamina and control over your exertion of force? Or perhaps a control over your will and mind?”

Thales continued to shake his head.

“Then, stronger power, speed, and attack advantages? Glory of the Stars?”

Mallos did not quite believe that Thales would have that particular Power of Eradication.

Thales still shook his head with an innocent look.

Mallos’ expression turned even more solemn.

“Is it… an instantaneous explosion of force where you risk everything, and it happens within one single breath?”

‘Please don’t let it be this…’

Fortunately, Thales shook his head for the fourth time.

That also made Mallos frown even deeper.

‘Right, it was not this one or that one…’ While he evaluated the effects of his lie, Thales muttered secretly in his mind.

‘But I suppose one could consider it as the Sharingan in the form of a Power of Eradication?

‘Is that counted?’

Finally, Mallos sighed long and hard before he wrapped his arms around himself even tighter.

“Okay, let us just assume that you do not have the four abovementioned types.

“Did the Eckstedtians teach you any extra combat skills that affected the Awakening of your Power of Eradication?”

Thales pursed his lips.

‘Eckstedtians?’

“I… do not know. They just constantly…” Thales shrugged and smiled awkwardly. While he tried hard not to say the phrase “smack me”, he uttered several words that made the situation he faced sound more dignified. “…Made me go through training to fight against enemies?”

Mallos’ expression changed into an unpleasant one again.

He stared at Thales as if he was staring at a cunning fox that was very hard to catch.

In the end, the watchman raised his head.

“How very impressive indeed for you to have Awaken to your Power of Eradication at your age.”

Mallos spoke praising words, but he did not sound like he was praising Thales at all.

“However, the truth is, it is not a good thing to Awaken to your Power of Eradication too early. Shortcuts always make people lazy and careless…”

The watchman smiled faintly. “Especially… when you know nothing about it.”

When Thales saw Mallos’ usual elegant look and calm smile, he suddenly became very anxious.

The prince tried to calm down. “But at the very least, it saved me many times… particularly during the journey back to the country.

“That should… not be something bad.”

Once again, Mallos gave him a smile that caused feelings of unease.

“Rest for a while, Your Highness. Get yourself hydrated and soothe your muscles.

“The first phase of your training in this session has ended.”

Thales felt relaxed and sighed in secret.

However, Mallos turned around and called out to a guard who was with him, “Toledo! Except for those who cannot leave their posts, call everyone else here.”

Thales, who had just sat down to drink some water, heard it too.

The soldier named Toledo frowned gently. “Everyone?”

Mallos nodded and continued to smile indifferently. “Yes, everyone in the Royal Guards or Star Lake Guards. Let them come to the training field.

“His Grace may need help from all of them.”

Mallos slowly narrowed his eyes when he said that sentence.

Thales’ hand, which holding on to the bottle, instantly froze.

Toledo was obviously used to Mallos’ orders. He only hesitated for a moment before he turned around and passed the message.

“Same goes to the both of you, Glover and Doyle.” Mallos looked into the distance with sharp eyes. “Having a post does not mean that you can be lazy.”

Glover and Doyle stared at each other; they could only walk nearer. But, the first one to reply Mallos was the prince himself. “Help? Every one of the guards?”

Thales looked at Mallos doubtfully. Then, he took a look at the training field. “W-What do you want to do?”

Mallos turned his head around and wore a bizarre evil smile, which was in contrast to the indifferent and elegant smile he usually had. “Just as you wished, Your Highness, you will now progress to new territory in your course.

“Next, we will be sparring against real-life opponents.”

Mallos bared his teeth and grinned, but it just made Thales feel a chill in his heart.

‘Spar… Sparring…’

Thales was stunned for the fraction of a second before he reacted to the situation.

“Why?”

Thales pointed at the sword on the floor and showed that he could not quite understand what was going on. “Were we not just…”

However, this time round, Mallos interrupted him.

“You still cannot understand?”

Mallos’ smile fell away, and his gaze on Thales became sharp. It caused Thales to instantly become speechless.

“It is okay if you do not realize it, but since we have noticed it…” Mallos’ expression became very serious. “Then, from now onwards, our goal for today’s training will be to understand the truth of the power inside your body.”

Mallos’ expression swiftly became colder.

At that moment, Thales’ heart seemed to skip a beat when he faced the aggressive watchman.

He was stunned as he stared into Mallos’ profound eyes. He was surprised and did not understand what was going on.

‘What happened?’

On the other side of the field was Doyle and Glover, who walked over slowly. Doyle said to Glover in shock, “Wait, we’re sparring so soon?

“Isn’t it too early? The group of people in the guards…”

He had not finished speaking…

Because at the next moment, the sounds of footsteps could be heard from around the area.

One, two, three…

Under the setting sun, the Royal Guards who were in charge of protecting the duke came from every corner of Mindis Hall. Most of them arrived with sparkling eyes, which were reminiscent of the murderous look of a warrior. They cast puzzled looks at the two people at the center of the field.

Glover shook his head and did not answer D.D.

“Beware, Your Highness. The Royal Guards were all carefully selected.” Mallos watched his subordinates come over while he stood in the training field. “Among them are veterans who used to fight in the army, and some who were born in noble families. Some are also jinn who were born in families where knowledge is passed down from generation to generation.”

Mallos looked at Thales, and his eyes sparkled. “Do not underestimate them.”

Thales tried hard to control his expression as he sorted out his chaotic emotions.

‘What the hell does he want to do?’

The watchman smiled faintly.

“Just as I have previously said, if we accidentally hit you, please kindly bear with us.” Mallos sighed slowly and stared at Thales’ right arm, which had wrestled the sword from him in a contest of strength.

The moment Mallos looked at him, Thales could feel his Sin of Hell’s River moving restlessly just like a provoked beast.

The prince took a deep breath and tried to force down the abnormality in his body.

“Is there a need for this? I am very tired…”

“You do not understand the Power of Eradication in you, Your Highness.” Mallos looked away and returned his subordinates’ greeting calmly while he replied Thales in a casual manner, “And that is very dangerous. You are just like a knight who does not know the sword in his hands and the war house beneath him.”

Mallos slowly turned around. “Your Highness, you must understand yourself and know yourself well.”

His expression became serious, and his gaze was so sharp that it looked as if it was about to pierce through Thales’ armor. “It is only after you understand yourself well that it will be easy for us to customize… the training that you need.

“Trust me, Your Highness, this is for your own good.”

Mallos stared at Thales intently and calmly said, “I believe that His Majesty also cares about your body, yes?”

When he heard that address, Thales froze.

The Sin of Hell’s River stopped at that moment as well.

“Let us not worry him while he reads the brief report from Mindis Hall. Is it not good for us to understand your power here and report the good news to him?” Mallos was expressionless.

Thales was under Mallos’ scrutinizing and skeptical gaze. He found that he could not say anything even after a long time had passed.

The Royal Guards were already standing by the side indistinctly. They were silent, serious, tidy, and in a uniform line.

They only awaited their captain’s orders.

Thales lowered his head and took a deep breath.

He suddenly thought of an absurd possibility.

Thales silently speculated, ‘Perhaps the reason why Mallos has wanted me to attend the martial arts lessons from the start is not for me to receive training.’

“All right, Procca.” Mallos turned around and shouted at one of his subordinates in the line, “Warm up and pick a suitable practice sword.”

When the expressions of the Royal Guards changed, the watchman calmly walked out of the field with his back facing Thales.

“Kindly engage His Grace in a sparring match.”