The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

Souta's eyes constricted as he stared at the young man in front of him. He was stunned and rooted in his position.

His appearance was a little bit different from Souta's memories. But he was sure that this man was the famous Ancient Myriad Emperor in Ruin Desolate Land.

He was young but Souta was confident that this young man was that legend.

There's no mistake.

Ancient Myriad Emperor.

A widely known NPC in the game. He rose through rank at high speed and defeated any creatures that got in his way. After he ascended, he created a huge commotion in the Ruin Desolate Land by defeating several gods alone.

His battle achievements spread throughout the entire world. His special ability was called [Seven Elements Unification]. The only man that possessed seven elemental affinities.

Later on, he established a strong organization and was called the Ancient Myriad Emperor.

Souta narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. All of that will happened in just two years.

He knew a lot of powerhouses that rose quickly in the game. In fact, he already met some of them. Isabella, the one who will be called "Faceless Woman", Yanagi "Blade Dancer", and Randolf "Dark Emperor".

And then this one that appeared before him, the future Ancient Myriad Emperor.

He knew them but he didn't know their origin. How could he remember all the details from the game? It's already amazing that he could still remember where he got all of his equipment and some of the important events.

He couldn't even remember the thirty-plus gods of Olympus much less remember all the background details of a certain character.

So the Fone Kingdom was the hometown of the Ancient Myriad Emperor.

Souta observed the two people following Alexander. His eyes adjusted and noticed that the two people broke one of their Shackles. Then, he focused his eyes on Alexander.

Hmm?

One of the Shackles around Alexander's body had various cracks on its surface. It was like a fragile glass that would shatter at any second. Furthermore, the mana inside his mana pool was triple as large as ordinary Peak S-rank. It was even comparable to a weak Shackled Realm expert from any sub-world.

'He had a solid foundation. His energy is flowing smoothly inside his body. His energy output must be several times higher than Peak S-rank. He could breakthrough at SS-rank anytime but he's suppressing it.' Souta said inwardly quite shocked by what he saw.

This was the most solid foundation he had seen ever since he integrated the [Galaxy Eyes]. None of the S-rank warriors in Athen's Champion could compare to this man.

Moreover,

Souta observed the seven marbles inside Alexander's solidified mana pool. The seven marbles had different colors corresponding to the elemental affinity that he had. The elemental affinity already had a seed which means...

The second level of [Elemental Drive].

Souta himself only mastered the first level of [Elemental Drive] yet this man already mastered the second level of all seven elements.

As expected of someone who will become a top powerhouse in the next two years.

Even Souta wasn't sure if he could achieve it. He wasn't a genius like others thought. Most of his efforts came from the system. The only thing he could proudly say that he mastered without the system's help was Saya's [Archetype: Vajra Extremity].

'I will try to find an opportunity to talk to him later.' Souta said inwardly.

"He's different than what I imagined. Completely different from what Sakme described." Leilus whispered.

"Oh, yeah." Souta just nodded at Leilus' words.

Alexander was the Ancient Myriad Emperor in the future. Souta tried to assassinate him in the game but got killed several times. So he knew little things about him.

This guy wouldn't work with Red Matter Association.

There's a chance that the future had changed once again. The mission that he had in the Dukedom of Halbun was only for S-rank but the difficulty was high. No S-rank in the Athen's Champion could defeat a fake Shackled Realm.

It means that the mission failed in the game and no one managed to capture Rufus. If no one captured Rufus then the upcoming battle here wouldn't occur this early. Alexander would have left the Fone Kingdom after achieving Shackled Realm since there's no more opportunity here.

'I got it.'

Souta walked to the side and looked at the other guest.

Leilus glanced at Souta and asked, "Did you discover something?"

"Nothing." Souta shook his head.

At this moment, Drami, Marcus, and Paolo approached them.

"That guy is strong... It's unusual." Paolo said while glancing at Alexander.

"Did you find anything suspicious from other guests?" Leilus asked.

"Nothing. The power level of the other guests is low so we could easily observe them but there are few Shackled Realm experts here so we don't dare to act rashly." Marcus said.

He was right. Aside from Alexander, there were guests that brought Shackled Realm experts.

Souta looked around and found five One Shackle Realm experts. The other guests were either S-rank or A-rank. A low number of them were B-rank.

"We'll have time. We'll scatter later and talk to the guests to find more information." Leilus said.

At this moment, the party was going to start. Not everyone attended the party. It was understandable as they just issued an invitation yesterday night so not everyone was prepared for him.

"We're going now," Drami said before she left with Marcus.

Paolo raised a glass of wine close to his lips and said, "I'll try to talk with some beautiful ladies later. How about you, Leader?"

"I don't know. I'll just find someone suspicious and try to extract information." Leilus shrugged his shoulders.

The two of them glanced at Souta. Their eyes were asking, "How about you?"

"It depends on the situation." Souta smiled.

Sekmet's mother and father appeared. They started to give a speech that lasted for a few minutes before they introduced Sekmet. Sekmet appeared elegantly as she slowly walked down the stairs while holding the hem of her dress.

The guests focused their attention on the star of today's party. The daughter of the Germana Family.

The party had officially started.

Leilus and Paolo left Souta's side as they began to approach some of the nobles.

"Later."

Souta sighed as he turned his eyes and found that a lot of people were trying to talk to Sekmet.

'Should I start?'

Before he could even move, a young man in his early twenties approached him.

Hmm?

Souta observed the young man. The young man had slicked-back brown hair and sharp brows. He was taller than Souta and his build was normal.

'Liquefying realm... Pretty good.'

He quickly assessed the power level of the young man.

The young man smiled kindly and said, "Hello, I'm Jovian Burnhum, second son of Count Burnhum. It's my first time seeing you here so I guess that you are one of Miss Sekmet's guests."

Souta smiled and introduced himself to Jovian. Souta guided the conversation as they slowly strolled around the hall. It was perfect and they only stopped close to Alexander's position.

"Oh, so that's how it is... You've been with Miss Sekmet's for a few years and grew stronger beside her." Jovian nodded.

"Yep, our mercenary group experience a lot of things and we even went to several big countries. We are actually on our way to Sky God's Avenue but we decided to visit this place here." Souta paused before he added, "Sekmet will reach Shackled Realm soon so we want to find an opportunity for her along with our comrade Paolo."

"Shackled Realm...? That's already a top-level warrior in our country. People at that level would receive countless recommendations from noble families." Jovian said.

"Do you know Sekmet before she left years ago?" Souta asked.

"Hmm... I don't know as I've only seen Miss Sekmet from a few banquets." Jovian suddenly remember something as he turned his head. "I recall that Miss Sekmet is Sir Alexander's fiancee."

"Hmm?" Alexander turned his head as he heard someone mention his name. He saw two people looking at him.

They were Souta and Jovian.

"Oh, Sir Jovian and..." Alexander raised his glass of wine at Jovian before he glanced at Souta.

"I'm Souta. Miss Sekmet's comrades." Souta greeted him politely.

"It's my pleasure to be your acquaintance, Sir Souta." Alexander smiled.

"It's my pleasure too." Souta smiled.

The three talked about normal things. Souta didn't go straight to the point as he was trying to find an opportunity to ask about the current situation.

While everyone was talking, a voice sounded.

"Third son of King Fone is here!!"

Souta and the rest of the Blue Cross Squadron turned their heads. They heard people around them talking to each other about the third son of King Fone.

"His Highness is here."

"Third Prince is late as usual."

"Shh! Be quiet! You know Third Prince's personality."

"Yeah, if he heard you, you would be beaten to death."

"I heard that he was confronting the Crown Prince's forces luckily the Dreyfus Family was backing Crown Prince."