"You're a genius."
"You're a great talent."
"You will be the person who will bring our family to greater heights, my child."
"Wow, he's so good at everything."
"Is there even a thing that she couldn't do?"
Words like those are things that most of these young people here often encounter in their lives, hence the reason why the fact that they are, at the very least, above most of their contemporaries, is already deeply rooted in their thinking, even at such a young age.
It is only natural, however, given that those words are nothing but the truth, if only it weren't also covered in a honeyed tone due to these people praising them, subconsciously wanting to please these geniuses as well, as after all, these are people who will potentially stand at the leading forefront of the empire in the future.
That is also the reason why it comes to these young people as such a surprise, as they start feeling this oppressive sensation as the Sword Dragon's son fell upon them, increasing the interest of some, for others, it is their wariness that was heightened due to this silent exchange, while some couldn't stop themselves from feeling provoked by the gesture.
While thoughts swirl across each young genius's mind, the one who made them feel all these sorts of emotions now finally returned his gaze towards the people greeting his parent, the old swordsman looking quite proud as he gazes upon his child.
"Hoh... so this is the rumored young dragon, huh…"
"He looks like a splitting image of yourself, Sir Arthur…"
"Is he also going to participate in the trials?"
"Isn't it an obvious matter? Looks like the trials for this year are going to be really interesting."
Staring at the young man towering even these fully-grown adults, said adults couldn't help but praise, perhaps it is only for the sake of courtesy for the young man's father, or perhaps it is truly because they find the young man interesting, only they themselves will know.
What is certain is that these expressions that they are revealing to the young man is one that are made after considering the fact that even now, they couldn't even sense any amount of mana emanating from his own being, as if there's never a day in his life that he managed to absorb and refine mana at all.
While it might be true however, just the confident way he carries himself alone is already more than enough for some people here to take quite the interest on the Sword Dragon's son, some of them interested as they wonder just where such confidence come from, while some of them amused thinking that it's all but a façade, wondering when said façade will break and how he will look like once it does.
Exchanging a little bit more pleasantry before departing, the Sword Dragon, Arthur, couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief as he finally felt free from the constraint of the pretentiousness of the noble etiquette, muttering to himself something that made his son snicker in amusement.
"That's exactly why I would rather deal with those barbarians from the far north than these people."
The war veteran mutters to himself in quite the annoyance, the young man beside him laughing quite loudly from his words, making him helplessly smile as well, seeing that his son appears to share the same sentiment as him too.
"That's true, old man, some of those poisonous pleasantries are harder to take than the direct anger and hatred from those barbarians after all."
The young man replied as the two of them watches the near empty streets of the third-level, only some other carriages passing through every now and then as the two of them were carried by their won carriage closer and closer to the heart of the Kyrios Empire, deeper into the heart of the third level, near the shallow-most part of the fourth and central level of the capital.
Staring at the young man, a product of his and his deceased, loving wife's love, he couldn't help but admire just how much he had grown during these past few weeks, that confidence that is now burning from where the uncertain gaze once was, the way he carries himself bearing more and more resemblance to how he acts, as if his wife, this young man's mother's, gentle nature is now completely melding to the fierce sharpness unique to his lineage.
And with this observation, for one moment, for just one fleeting moment of passing time, did this father notice that his son, for such a short time, had grown all too drastically that it couldn't even be explained no matter how great of a talent, no matter how great of an awakening it is that he had experienced, as even one as sharp as himself, just couldn't stop his hairs from standing on the very end as his gaze provides him an inkling of experience and wisdom those gaze of his child inexplicably holds.
"Argus, you know, although there's this complete certainty in me that you're the son I've raised, lately, every now and then, this father of yours couldn't help but think that you've experienced some hundreds of years of living all of a sudden, as if you've lived a completely different life compared to your life as this old man's and his lady's child"
He couldn't help but blurt out, his tone a mix of joking and seriousness as he truly wonders just what sort of things this young man had to go through for him to acquire that kind of gaze, not even mentioning that mysterious, no, mystical method of tempering oneself in the form of cultivation that they are previously discussing about, something that just based on the extents of what he knows alone, is a method far superior than the magic that is developed for over tens of thousands of years of human survival in this land.
"In the future, in the future, you'll be surprised with how odd cultivation can be, old man."
Smiling wryly as he just couldn't find a proper way to reply to his father's words, the son merely replied with a vague, joking tone that just made the war veteran smile as well, knowing that while he might hold such great secret right now, time will come where he will be told of this secret as well.
'For now, it is more than enough for this old man to know that you're growing well, boy.'
The father thought to himself as he decided not to dwell on this topic any longer, the father and son, while waiting to reach their separate destinations, this time with the young one stepping down the carriage earlier as they arrived at an estate still on the third level but already close to the entrance of the fourth level as well.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the palace? It's a great experience for young people after all."
The father asked once more, only to receive the shake of his son's head as he replied in a resolute manner.
"Nah, I'd rather save that for the future; besides, I bet you're going to receive some scolding from His Majesty rather than anything else."
Those words made the father laugh as he told the coach of the carriage to move now, allowing his child to do his own dealings without any assistance, the young man, now standing in front of a place, a place that while this current body comes into contact to for the first time since its birth, is also a place of extreme familiarity to the him who, one way or another, returned to his younger self.
A place he can always return to and confidently call his second home.