Genius Seventh Prince

"What?! How could my punishment be so much harsher? People die in those fights; I don't want to fight those rabid criminals! Everyone knows that they fight even if their limbs get cut off. They are all crazy and desperate! Why don't you just ask me to die? It can't be like this, I won't accept this! My father will have words with His Majesty about this. You are obviously crazy and sadistic!" Cherell completely exploded the moment she heard her punishment. Even if she were really an airhead, she could see the difference in treatment right away. As long as one was sane and had other options, they would not go to fight those death row criminals. Often, the arena was a morbid entertainment for nobles where they watch criminals fight criminals in order to live longer or get a reduced sentence. Every now and then, ordinary people or nobles go to fight there, as well. But those people are all notorious muscle heads that only think about fighting and getting stronger. Cherell was nothing like those people!

"Hmph, all I can say is that unless your father wants your family's spot to be given to others, then you will have to follow my instructions. Even complaining to His Majesty would do nothing for you. His Majesty knows exactly what type of person I am as he watched me grow up. Do you really think he would not expect this occurrence? Yet, he still handed you all under my charge. This is because he trusts my strength and my ability to train people into fighters that could stand a chance against the other countries. Plus, you seem to feel smug right now thinking that you pulled one over me, but I can ȧssure you that I know of all your actions inside the forest. I hope that clears up the reasons for your punishment enough." The Duke did not even bat an eye at her threats and insults. He just sneered with his eyes showing clear disgust.

Greyson watched all this happen with a plain expression. If her actions really went unpunished or they suffered the same amount, he could only say that his respect for the Duke would have been seriously diminished. However, just as he had hoped, the Duke came out strong against Cherell and was willing to ignore her identity.

Aphina watched the rusting excitement and could not hold back her budding curiosity.

"Hey, hey, Greyson, what exactly did she do? My uncle is already pretty unreasonable, but this is going pretty far even for him." She snuck up next to Greyson and prodded him with her finger.

"Well, it's a long story..." He went on to list off the tale of his suffering. Honestly, he had been waiting for someone to ask because he just felt the need to get all that anger off his ċhėst. After he finished, he took a deep breath and immediately felt a lot better. Although complaining was a bit childish, it was effective in venting the negative emotions stacking up inside of him.

Aphina was expecting the abridged version, but instead received the full brunt of every little detail. It took her a moment to take in all the information before she just patted his shoulder with sympathy for his suffering.

"Wow, and I thought we had it tough! At least that Trevion is very experienced and did not complain at all. While he is not the best company for conversation, he is pretty much the best option for missions. If anything, I was probably the one holding him back..." She ended looking a little sheepish. 

"Well, it all makes sense now!" Braiden chimed in all of a sudden. He had also been listening in from the side, so he heard the whole story.

"What do you mean?" Greyson looked over curiously.

"I wouldn't call that much of a chance..." Aphina muttered.

"True, with her strength, those prisoners will probably eat her alive." Braiden just shrugged. His uncle was not the type to pay much heed to politics or showing grace to the fairer sėx. It was a miracle he was behaving this well right now. Braiden guessed that his father must have set down some rules.

"Hmph! I hope he will replace her. After hearing your story, I wholeheartedly believe that we stand a better chance down a man than with her joining us. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. With her in our midst, that weak link might as well be a gaping hole for others to break though." Another voice snorted from behind. 

Greyson recognized the voice's identity right away: Trevion Vervan.

"I'm surprised you are not taking her side." Greyson raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Just because we are both nobles does not mean we are allies. Her weakness will only drag me down and make my responsibilities harder to see through. Our goals will also be even more impossible to achieve. No one wants to have to fight while pulling dead weight." His cold voice held no other emotions. He was just stating the facts.

Greyson just shrugged. He was not going to fight that logic, especially since he was the one who experienced getting dragged down first-hand. 

In the end, Cherell lost the fight. She went back to complain to her father, but it was to no avail. After the Viscount got chewed out by the Emperor about raising his children incorrectly, he went back to lecture his own daughter for making him lose face. In the end, Cherell was just a daughter who did not particularly stand out in her family. Her father did not dote on her and quickly told her to take responsibility for the consequences of her actions. Although disheartened, Cherell knew there was nothing to really expect from her father anyway. Nobility looked great on the outside, but only those involved knew how truly cold it was. Family was only close knit to outsiders, but no better than strangers connected by a common last name. 

Some people started to pity Cherell. Colin was already her friend, so he went to support her. He tried to help train her how to fight before the matches started. It did not help much, though, as Cherell was beaten quite handily in her first match. If not for the interference of the judge, she might have died. 

Each match of Cherell's ended with her almost dying, but then being brought back by the healers. The Duke purposefully paid for the best healers and healing materials to be used on her. Some could say he was cruel, while the deeper thinkers could tell that this was training in a different form. With each successive match, although she continued to lose, she got smarter and more savvy in how she used her magic. Even her chanting sped up. One has to know, only the weaker magicians had to speak long chants. The more talented magicians continued to shorten the length as they grew more powerful. Sometimes, they no longer needed to chant out loud but just used a quick word in their head. However, this method still had limits. More complicated and powerful spells usually still required some set-up time and long chants. 

Her efforts won enough acknowledgement from the Duke and the rest of the representatives, so they did not make a fuss when she was allowed to rejoin their training. Even Greyson had to admit that her experience seemed to cause some dramatic changes. When he was grouped with her one more time, she hardly said a thing and just continued to work hard and follow directions.

...

This all was but a short interlude in the grand scheme of the training. The Duke would find new ways to torture and train them. Sometimes, it would be pairs other times groups, even all ten of them working together. Yes, ten! After the first little competition ended, Keaton made a reappearance. Although the words coming from his mouth were no less scathing, he seemed to reign in his arrogance. At least, he would listen to others' plans if they were also a noble. Maybe in order to keep the peace, Greyson was never grouped with him. They both just ignored the other's existence. Seemingly, they came to an understanding that they would never like each other, but there was no reason to keep picking a fight. 

At the end of the month, the Duke finally gathered them together and announced they would be leaving the next day. Their destination: Proelium Honoris! It is always held in the winning country of the previous year's competition. That title usually rotates between five outer region countries: Cascain, Ulrea, Bron, Glenos, and Feorr. Surprisingly, these countries seemed to be randomly placed all over the map. However, if one looked closely, then they would see that these countries were lucky in placement. Areas rich in mana were produced either inside or nearby the country. When mana is dense, the chances of great talent being born in those areas increases. The more dense the mana, the greater the chances. This is also the reason the inner and central region countries maintain their superiority. Obviously, this does not mean there are no weak individuals in the inner countries, it's just the general level of talent is raised a step. The bar is raised even higher inside the central region countries. 

Last year's champion team was from Feorr. This country was located on the west side of the Human Empire. Traveling to other outer countries could be quite time-consuming. If one likened the entire empire to a circle, then the outer countries were like parts tracing the outer edge. Each inner edge of the countries were touching at least one inner region country. The outer edge touching other Empires or barren territory like the Snow Country. As one could not pass through to the inner region without permission, then to get to other outer countries one would have to keep passing through other outer region countries to get to the one dėsɨrėd. As Snow was in the far north, the country in the far south was the furthest away and the most tedious to travel to.

"Do not mistake this for a vacation or a scenic route to enjoy. We will continue our training. I have places in mind where we will stop and fight. Originally, our trip would only take around half a month by flight on the magic beasts we have prepared. But the time is doubled due to the stops we will be making. I hope you all are prepared to continue working hard."

Everyone nodded in understanding, but one could see the excitement in their eyes. Although it's not uncommon to travel outside, usually traveling would be restricted to the neighboring countries. Mostly because these children are geniuses whom the country treasures. Cases like Greyson's adventures are rare. Relations even with the neighboring countries are not great, but it is still within the realm that they can control. Any further would be very dangerous. Someone could accidentally kill them without news being able to travel back. Status in one country doesn't mean anything in another if they are too far apart, especially a country like Snow that is at the bottom of the food chain. 

"I would also like to remind you that we will be traveling inside other outer region countries. Your status will most likely mean nothing to them. Some might even treat you with more disdain if they hear you are from our country. I know most of you are proud and cannot take insults lightly, but I'm telling you right here that you will need to reign all of that in. In most circumstances, I can protect you, but there are definitely people as strong or stronger than me out there. There are even cases of inner region people taking trips out into the outer region countries. Those are people that we cannot offend even more. I know it's hard to swallow, but being alive gives you a larger chance of redressing your grievances. If you die, then all is lost." The Duke emphasized the last sentence even more. He could not stress enough the importance of what he was saying. As someone who has experienced it, he knew how hard it was to keep calm when others insult your home and your people. However, it would be even more terrible to die and for the country to lose a potential powerhouse for nothing. Plenty of representatives have gone and gotten themselves killed by lashing out at that moment. However, they quickly are killed and there is nothing the rest can do to avenge them. This was the situation of the weak.

Most of the representatives just nodded perfunctorily. The Duke could tell that they were not taking his words to heart much. Greyson was one of them. However, he was not acting so because he did not understand. But only because he was truly used to it. How many times did others sneer at him due to his social status? Too many to count. There were also the people who initially acted against him because he did not hide his mixed-blood status. He was confident he would be able to wait for the right moment to have his revenge. There was also his confidence that he could beat anybody as long as he was given time. The talent was there, he just needed to capitalize on it!

"We will meet at the gate of the city tomorrow and leave by sunrise. Everyone pack your essentials as it will be a long trip. Whether we sleep outdoors or at an inn will be random depending on the situation, so prepare for either situation. Everyone understand?"

"Yes, Instructor!" They shouted in unison before everyone broke apart to get ready.