Blood Assimilation

After the old Royal Attendant finished speaking, he led the way out of the alley and arrived at a hidden location. There, a carriage was parked and waiting for them. Shortly after, they entered the carriage and made their way to the Royal Capital where the gathering would be held.

During the ride, the old Royal Attendant explained the program for the ball and the various protocols that they needed to observe. Brawler Randy listened carefully, not making a fuss, even though he was mostly uninterested. 

Meanwhile, Gutz sat outside the carriage with the acting coach, who turned out to be an acquaintance he had met once before. He conversed with them since he was told he could accompany Brawler Randy.

As a familiar person to both the old Royal Attendant and the coach, he was allowed to tag along without a problem. Furthermore, he was originally invited, so it wasn't a concern for him to tag along in the first place.

As they bared the emblem of the Royal Family, they didn't have to be stopped by the guards stationed near the entrance to the Royal Capital. As such, they passed through the gate and continued their journey to the Royal Capital without hindrance.

Once they reached a spire-looking structure after traveling a few miles away from Imperial City, they proceeded to use the teleportation station, which was supervised by the Royal Family to expedite their trip. As a result, the entire journey lasted only three hours before they arrived at the entrance to the Dance Hall of the Royal Castle.

Brawler Randy and the old Royal Attendant alighted from the carriage. Then, they met with Gutz who was already standing outside the huge building in admiration. Despite seeing it every year, he was always mesmerized by the sheer size of the Royal Dance Hall building.

Moments later, they entered the Dance Hall. Immediately, several intense gazes from some of the people in the room were cast on them, causing Gutz to stop in his tracks for a moment.

'What's going on?'

He silently wondered as he noticed that the atmosphere in the Dance Hall wasn't quite right.

Meanwhile, Brawler Randy stood on the side with a calm expression on his face, unperturbed by the intense gazes on him. He had no particular purpose for being there except to meet the Crown Prince. As such, now that he was there, he could only search for him and meet him as soon as possible.

With that intention in mind, Brawler Randy glanced around the enormous hall filled with men and women dressed in formal dresses and attire in search of the Crown Prince.

However, after scanning through the room with his [Dimensional Sense] skill, facing the displeased gazes of the men in the room in the process, he still couldn't find the Crown Prince's location. This discovery caused Brawler Randy to frown in confusion.

'Where is he? I wanted to ask him why he invited the main body to this place, but he's nowhere to be seen. Should I leave? No, I just arrived here. It would be considered rude if I left immediately after arriving. Maybe I should stay for a bit. If the Crown Prince still doesn't show up by then, I will leave.'

As Brawler Randy made up his mind and was about to inform Gutz that he would like to find a seat somewhere to sit until the festivities were over, he was suddenly approached by a group of men with intimidating auras around their bodies.

…

At the same time.

In one of the rooms in the Dance Hall, Crown Prince Lukkas held a conference with Vairon's group and other notable parties of Dungeon Hunters, such as Fortress Defender Manock and Great Sword Dien. At this moment, his expression changed abruptly. Then, the next moment, he smiled as he looked up at Vairon, who sat behind a long table.

Crown Prince Lukkas suddenly revealed: "I just heard from Gasper that Gutz had arrived alongside the guest I invited to today's occasion."

"Oh."

Vairon was pleasantly surprised and said: "That Gutz. To think that he turned down today's invitation to hang out with Randy. He's really hopeless. On that note, it was a surprise when I heard you invited a newbie Gladiator who was with Gutz three days ago. I knew it had to be Randy since he was the only one with Gutz after we separated, but at the same time, I couldn't believe Randy would arouse your attention on his first day in Imperial City."

"Well…"

The Crown Prince had a helpless look on his face when he recalled the fight between Randy and the mysterious woman that day. At first, he was only curious about his prospect, but that battle he witnessed opened his eyes and it was the determining factor that made him want to get Randy on their side, no matter the cost. 

He believed that if Randy became an enemy of the Royal Family or humans as a whole, it would be quite devastating to handle. After all, the skills and combat techniques Randy employed at the Coliseum weren't taught anywhere. Instead, it seemed to be his exclusive fighting style.

Not to mention that his level, according to the umpire in the Coliseum, was merely Level 55. Despite such a low power level, he still displayed combat prowess beyond Level 60. He believed there was a possibility that he could even fight against Level 70 and above, which was not a small feat.

Level 70 was considered high-level combatants among humans. The same applies to other races as well. Above Level 70 was considered an extraordinary level of power. Only powerhouses, such as commanders and generals of armies had such levels.

That fact spoke volumes about Randy's potential as a warrior without going further into details. Hence, he wanted to have a friendly relationship with him, and if possible, I'd like to recruit him into the army for the upcoming decisive battle. 

Putting those thoughts aside, Crown Prince Lukkas stood up from his seat and announced: "All right! Now that everyone has arrived, I suppose it is time to begin the main event of today's ball. Everyone should proceed downstairs to find your partners, relax and fully enjoy yourselves for the night."

After pausing for a bit to look at everyone present, he continued: "At midnight, we would adjourn the occasion and commence the gathering of warriors in this room while everyone else who is not a warrior would have to take a break downstairs. Our agenda for today, as usual, is to share and discuss current events. The information we gather from various outputs will help us formulate a counterattack plan for the foreseeable future. That is all I have to say for now. You may now leave."

With that declaration, the soldiers and warriors inside the room stood up and vacated the conference room. Only Vairon and his party remained in the room.

Vairon suddenly asked out of curiosity: "So what do you plan to do by inviting Randy here to the party?"

"Nothing much."

Crown Prince Lukkas smiled and replied: "I only wanted to talk to him and establish a cordial relationship with him. Then, hopefully, I could recruit him and let him join the army. From what you know of him, do you think I stand a chance of convincing him?"

"I'm not too sure about it myself."

Vairon shook his head in uncertainty and said: "I only know him for a few days at most. And from my impression of him, he seemed pretty aloof and unfriendly. He barely says anything when you speak to him. Whenever you ask him questions, he only gives curt replies with stoic expressions, and sometimes with an occasional forced smile. Well, that's just my opinion. Don't let it dissuade you from approaching him."

Then he jokingly continued: "You can try to convince him at your own discretion. Who knows? Maybe he might bend to your will because of your status as Crown Prince of this nation."

"If only it was that easy…"

Crown Prince Lukkas smiled wryly as he shook his head, and then said: "However, I don't plan on relying on my status to persuade him. Anyway, I will take your word for it and meet him downstairs right now. I'm sure he is looking for me as we speak since I was the one who invited him to this occasion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Crown Prince Lukkas walked toward the door. However, noticing no one was following him, he turned around and curiously asked: "Are you not coming? If you plan on skipping the event, I advise against it. You guys should also join the others and enjoy yourselves before the conference. Don't let people misunderstand and misjudge my hospitality and think that I forced you guys to stay cooped up in here all by yourself."

"Hahaha!"

Vairon laughed boisterously and said: "Don't worry, my dear Crown Prince. We won't let that happen. We would have a small meeting between us. After that, we'd head down together, so the Crown Prince should head down without us."

"If that is the case, I understand. However, don't stay too long or the festivities will be over by the time you arrive."

With that casual statement, Crown Prince Lukkas left the room, leaving behind Vairon and his group. He headed downstairs where everyone was gathered and awaiting his arrival as the host of the event.

…

After Crown Prince Lukkas left the scene, Vairon whose expression was full of smiles immediately became solemn.

Then, he turned to Eliana and asked: "Eliana, what's wrong? What were you trying to tell us just now?"