1442 Do you not like my presence?
“I didn’t think I would see you here.”
Aeliana heard a playful voice and the moment she realized who the voice belonged to, she sighed. This woman was the last person she wanted to see right now.
Not that it was possible.
With Nux taking the Dragon Trials, it was only a matter of time before the news reached this woman’s ears and considering how she was ‘more reacting’ when it came to Nux, it was only a matter of time before she came here.
“My disciple is taking the Trial, of course, I will be here to cheer him on,” Aeliana replied, suppressing her thoughts.
“I was expecting you to be busy like you usually are.”
“I try to take time out for my disciple, this time, I succeeded.”
“You seem quite close to your disciple.”
Vyriana commented.
“That is only natural. I have practically raised the boy ever since he was 20.”
“I know, but…” Vyriana nodded, then, a playful smile appeared on her face and, “Was he not satisfied being a Vampire? To think he would decide to take the Dragon Trials within just 10 years of being a Vampire.
What happened?”
She questioned.
Not many people knew about Nux’s ability to use both Vampire and Human Blood. Aeliana, abusing her power as the Pseudo Leader, made sure that other than Progenitors, who she had already informed about his ‘abnormalities’, the rest were kept in the dark and Nux appeared in his Vampire Form whenever he appeared in public.
Vyriana was no exception to this either, therefore, she looked more excited than usual when Nux, who was a Vampire before, decided to take the Dragon Trials.
Aeliana glanced at the Dragon who was clearly enjoying the situation. There was a lot she wanted to say, but she decided to remain silent.
The Dragon was clearly trying to provoke her, she would be a fool to give in to such obvious provocations.
“Say…”
Suddenly, Vyriana called out.
“Now that he won’t be a Vampire any longer and would become a Dragon…
Don’t you think it would be better if I train him instead?”
The Dragon questioned. Aeliana glared at the woman, then, she turned back to the Trial Towers, her expression turning neutral once again.
“Didn’t you already try to rope in my disciple once in the past? From what I know, my disciple rejected your offer, so I would like to respect his decision and reject you as well.”
Vyriana’s mouth twitched when she heard those words. Aeliana, on the other hand, continued, “As much glad as I am knowing that you wish nothing but the best for my disciple, I believe that even if he turns into a Dragon, I have what it takes to teach him. After all, I have access to all the resources in the world, even if I do get stuck somewhere, I have competent people around me.”
“…”
Vyriana turned silent.
She was still too young to deal with Aeliana. She had forgotten just how hateful this woman truly was.
Seeing the change in her expression, Aeliana smiled inwardly, then, her eyes fell on the ‘Points’ Nux had gathered.
“His progress is quite steady.”
Vyriana, who noticed his points increasing steadily commented as well.
Out of all the Trials, Dragon Trial was the only one that gave real-time updates of a participant’s performance by showing the number of ‘points’ they have collected.
This is also the reason the Dragon Trials are usually quite popular and are even used as a form of Tournament where different dragons compete with each other. Dragons aren’t the only ones attracted to such tournaments either, with the chance to track the live progress of the participants, Dragon Trials usually attract everyone’s attention and every time the Dragon Trial Tower is opened, the crowd charges in and watches everything fold out live.
Of course, the same didn’t happen in Nux’s case.
The Dragon Trial Tower was opened just as he expressed his wish to enter the trial, this didn’t give the people enough time to react and prepare to come here, not to mention that Aeliana herself was blocking any leak of information. So even now, not many people know about Nux entering the Dragon Trial.
“No, his progress is a lot faster than normal. He is clearing waves at a ridiculous pace.” Vyriana changed her statement as she observed more.
Aeliana didn’t say anything and continued to observe as Nux climbed the ranks, surpassing many other Dragons and his speed wasn’t stopping even a bit.
Of course, Aeliana wasn’t surprised, she may be busy, however, with an anomaly like Nux as her disciple, she had no choice but to take time out of her schedule to keep an eye on Nux just to make sure nothing was wrong with him.
As someone who had seen this monster hunt beasts in Waranal before, she wasn’t the least bit surprised when she noticed his progress. Honestly, if there was any trial she believed Nux would have an easy time in, it was the Dragon Trial.
The darn thing was practically made for him.
“You think he has what it takes to surpass Elowen Volthar?”
Suddenly, Aeliana heard a question, turning towards Vyriana, she saw her looking at the Point table, most specifically at the name written on the top of the table.
“It has been a while since I have heard that name.”
Aeliana commented.
“…” Vyriana stayed silent, waiting for the answer to her question.
“I think he has what it takes to surpass you,”
Aeliana didn’t hide.
“But…”
Vyriana turned towards the Vampire, and she continued,
“I don’t think that will happen today.”
“Why do you say that?”
Vyriana wasn’t a fool, she could see that the rate at which this monster was clearing Star Beast waves was much faster than her. She wouldn’t be surprised if her record that held out for centuries finally broke.
“The last thing he currently wants is attention.”
“Are you saying that he will hold himself back?” The Dragon raised her eyebrow.
This… arrogant action…
For some reason, she didn’t hate it.
Though she was still having a hard time believing that Aeliana was the one saying those words, after all, she was the last person who wanted the Trial Towers to be taken as… a joke.
And as if knowing what she was thinking, Aeliana just chuckled,
“That boy hides many secrets, Vyriana. He is not that simple.”
“Is that so…”
Vyriana muttered.
“Just watch how he ‘loses’ right after he crosses the threshold to get the Primordial Blood.”
Aeliana chuckled. The two women continued to stare at the points screen, waiting for the results, a few hours later, just as Aeliana said, the moment Nux crossed the threshold of getting Primordial Blood, he was ‘defeated’ and came out of the Tower.
This time, as a Primordial Dragon.
“Master.”
He greeted her with a smile, then, he glanced at Vyriana and,
“Lady Vyriana.” He greeted her as well.
“You look good.” Vyriana praised.
Right now, Nux was 2 meters tall, there were huge red-black horns on his head, his horns, however, seemed different compared to other dragons, unlike how normal dragons only had two horns, he had 4 and his horns formed what could be described as a crown.
His long black hair had now turned red, the golden shade in his eyes got darker, ears elongated, dragon scales could be seen on his arms, and he had a well-toned, lean yet muscular physique.
Nux’s Dragon Form
His steps, backed with his usual confidence, now also carried the pride of the Dragon, somehow making him more charming than he already was.
“How did it go?”
Suddenly, Aeliana questioned.
The meaning behind her question was clear and Nux, who understood that simply smiled and, “It worked.” He nodded reassuringly.
“Good.” Aeliana nodded.
Vyriana frowned as she heard the strange conversation, but before she could think too much, Nux questioned, “Lady Vyriana, why are you here?”
“I had some free time. Why? Do you not like my presence?”
“It is not like that, Lady Vyriana.”
“No, I have noticed that you seem to avoid me for some reason, trying to find different ways to go away the moment I arrive. I bet that even now, you are thinking about leaving.
You act strangely distant from me…
And I do not sense hatred from you either… it is quite a peculiar feeling…”
Vyriana muttered and the moment Aeliana heard those words, she frowned.
This behaviour… it was familiar.
Vyriana wasn’t the first woman in front of whom Nux had acted like this. It had happened before… The women Nux call his… ‘loved ones’. The women he literally controlled an entire continent just so he could ensure their safety… He acted like this whenever he interacted with them as well.
‘Is he interested in her?’
Aeliana thought inwardly, soon, however, she shook her head.
This didn’t seem like a mere attraction…
It…
It was something more… something much more complicated.
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