The announcer’s voice once again caused the stadium to erupt. Amelia had defeated Emily and advanced to the finals. With her victory, every citizen of the kingdom that entered the tournament was eliminated, leaving she and Rory.

This was what everyone thought, however there was a more major issue that rose from Amelia’s victory. That was the fact that none of the Princes subordinates made it to the finals.

This was a huge blow to all three of them.

Not only that, according to the reward conditions, the winner would become a general in the military. Both Rory and Amelia weren’t citizens of the country, which meant regardless of who won a stranger would obtain major power in the kingdom.

This could lead to the kingdom’s demise depending on what actions the winner took. The only way to avoid this was for the king to go back on his word, which would sully his reputation.

No, another way was give the title but zero responsibilities. This meant that the winner would be given an empty title, without the authority that comes with it.

The crowd was ignorant to this as they continued to cheer.

Amelia tried to get up, but every time she stood on her ankle she fell back to the ground. She tried for the fourth time and it resulted in the same thing, however this time she was caught by someone’s arms.

It was Rory.

“You really gave it your all.”

He smiled at her while looking down on her.

“It was nothing.”

Amelia replied.

Rory laughed and wiped the blood away from her face.

“You’ve gained more wounds. Looks like I’ll have to work hard to get rid of them.”

After saying that, Rory lifted her off her feet and carried her in his arms.

“What are you doing?”

Amelia asked with a frown.

“The princess can’t walk on her own two feet, so naturally I the prince must carry her.”

“Hmph. You’re more of a jester than a prince.”

Amelia said. She however didn’t object to letting him carry her.

“I think so myself. I’m not fitting to be a prince.”

Rory laughed and walked off the stage carrying Amelia.

“…..Hey, those two will fight tomorrow right? There’s no hostility between them.”

“Forget hostility. They look like a pair of lovers more than anything.”

The crowd comment while watch Amelia and Rory leave.

Sir Allen watched them leave with a serious expression.

“This has turned into quite the situation, Your Majesty. We’ve might have invited a disaster into our ranks.”

He said.

Later that night, there were several movements occurring in the city. A lot of people were making all kinds of moves as if preparing for something big. Sometimes these people would meet and a fight would broke out. Various scenes like this were happening all over the city.

Rory was in his room, sitting by the window looking at the night sky.

“Looks like we plunged the city into chaos with our victories today.”

He said.

“What’s happening right now?”

Asked Amelia, who was laying under a blanket, with her entire body wrapped in bondages and giving off the various ointment smells.

After collecting the massive rewards from their bet at the gambling house, Rory bought some ointments and medical herbs, which he combined with his medical knowledge to treat Amelia.

When he looked over at Amelia, her face was bandaged up, but he still found beauty in her eyes.

“The forces of the three princes are in a frenzy trying to find us. Apparently, now that they’ve lost in the tournament, they want to recruit us to make up for the lost.”

Rory said.

“Even though they don’t know our identities?”

Amelia asked.

“The people running around are trying to find our location and research our backgrounds. Even though I said they wanted to recruit us, that’s only my assumption. They might want to eliminate us as well.”

Rory answered with a smile.

“What should we do?”

“Leave them be. I intend to visit the castle anyway. We’ll meet with the king and his sons then.”

“Do you have something to do at the castle?”

Rory shook his head.

“No. I respected the king from 100 years ago, so I wanted to greet his descendants.”

He smiled.

“I’m also interested in the princes. From their subordinates, I can tell that they’re all interesting people.”

“Won’t their people find us here?”

Amelia asked.

“Ah, don’t worry. I’ve casted an illusion over the inn. They won’t be able to see it at all. Just to make sure, I’m even keeping an eye on the whole city.”

“And how are you able to do that?”

“It’s one of the skills I possessed.”

Rory replied.

“Do you mean one of the Regal Techniques?”

“Oh? You know of the Regal Techniques?”

Amelia shook her head.

“Today is the first I’ve heard of it. Roc was using one to read your attacks weren’t he?”

“I see. Allen told you.”

Rory understood immediately.

“While I understand that there are some things you don’t wish to share, I appreciate it if you stop keeping me in the dark about everything.”

Amelia said with a frown.

“You’re misunderstanding something here, Amelia. It’s not that I refuse to tell you certain things, it’s just that I haven’t decided if you’re ready to hear them.”

“Whether I’m ready or not, shouldn’t I decide?”

Rory shook his head.

“No. I’ll decided.”

“You don’t own me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Rory approached her.

“I own you and you own me. That’s how it works.”

He stooped down and held her cheek.

“That’s what it means to be partners.”

“By that logic, I can order you to tell me what I want to know.”

“True. But not everything you own will work the way you want it.”

Rory said with a laugh.

“Well, telling you about the Regal Powers isn’t a big deal.”

He removed his hand and sat beside her.

“The reason I didn’t was because I felt that you would be eager to try and learn them if you knew about them. I thought that you would become so obsessed with learning them that you’d ignore everything else and focus only on them.”

“Are they really that amazing?”

Amelia asked.

“If you use them correctly, yes. I’ve seen countless geniuses destroy themselves trying to master these techniques. They even went as far as to abandon their normal training, and solely focus on the Regal powers. That is something only an idiot would do.”

Rory said.

“If you abandoned your previous training that made you as strong as you were, then how do you expect to grow?”

“I won’t do something as stupid as that.”

Amelia said.

“Really? Even if I told you that mastering the regal powers would turn you into a god?”

“………”

Amelia was quiet. She had to admit that if she had the chance to achieve godhood, there’s no telling what she would do.

“But is it that easy to become a god? I mean, there have been only two gods in history. I didn’t think that becoming a god meant that mastering four abilities.”

“As expected of my woman. You’re pretty smart.”

Rory praised.

“You’re completely right. Godhood isn’t that easy to achieve. Mastering the Regal Powers only open the door leading down the path to godhood.”

“The path to godhood…”

The phrase sound surreal to Amelia. It was like something out of a story, yet when Rory spoke of it she immediately believed it.

“The path to godhood is extremely long, so long that many have walked it but only two have managed to reach the end.”

Rory said.

Only two beings became true gods in this world that existed for countless years. That said something.

“The strongest in the world are all on this path, but none have reached the end for thousands of years. The only reason they could even start this path is because they mastered the Regal Powers.”

“Just what are the Regal Powers?”

Amelia asked.

“Elia, have you ever heard this saying before? Every man has a king inside of him, but only a few can release that king on to the world?”

Amelia shook her head.

“Well, it’s basically the same thing for the Regal Powers. Everyone was born with them, but only a select few can awaken them.”

He put up four fingers.

“There are four Regal Powers. They’re called Regal Powers because those who awaken them are said to be kings among men.”

He explained.

“However, there are different levels of kingship.”

“Different levels? There are different levels between kings?”

Amelia asked.

“Of course there are, after all not all kings are equal.”

Rory replied.

“Awakening one of the Regal Powers makes you a king that can rule in one direction. Awakening another makes you a king that rules in two directions; and so on until you reach the peak. An Omni-King who rules in all four directions.”

“Omni-King…”

Amelia repeated the term.

“So you have to become an Omni-King for the path to Godhood can open up before you?”

Rory nodded.

“Once you master the four Regal Powers, you obtain the hidden fifth power that will raise you from a king to a demigod or Pseudo-God.”

“Wait. Why is it starting to sound like a video game?”

“Right?”

Rory started laughing.

“There are many times when I’ve wondered if this world was just a story in a video game.”

He said.

“Then Roc was an One Directional King?”

Rory smiled when heard Amelia’s question.

“That’s the first I’ve heard someone describe those who awakened the Regal Powers in such a way.”

He nodded as if he liked it.

“That’s right. He mastered one of the Regal powers, so he’s an One Directional King.”

“Future Sight, that’s what Allen called it. It’s the power to see your opponents actions right?”

“You’re close.”

Rory said.

“Future Sight aka Clairvoyance, the ability to see a person's future action through reading their anima. This is only possible against living things and can't be used on objects, because they don't have a will or anima. How far you can see in someone's future varies from person to person.”

He explained.

“Isn’t that basically what I said?”

“Yes, but you make it seem simple. This is pretty hard to do especially in combat. Some people can even see a person’s future action minutes before the person themselves even think of doing it.”

“How’s that possible?”

“Because our anima is an extension of our consciousness. Did you know? Our thoughts are present in our minds before they are even brought to our attention. When you believed that you just thought of something, the thought was actually there all this time.”

Rory explained.

“So what if someone could read your anima that is basically a projection of your mind and soul? They’ll know your actions before you do.”

“When you put it like that, that skill really is dangerous.”

Rory nodded.

“As for how far into your subconscious one can see through your anima, depends on their skill. You might awaken the ability, but that doesn’t mean you’ll definitely be compatible with it. You might specialize in one of the other powers.”

He explained.

“I see.”

Amelia slowly digested the information that Rory gave her. She admitted that such a skill was to die for, and even felt the urge to try and obtain this skill now.

“What are the other three skills?”

She asked.

“Ajna, Sonar, and Link.”

Rory said. He then went on to explain them and lifted a finger.

“Sonar is the ability to use anima to gather information about your surroundings. This information includes the number of living things, their positions, and their features. Those who master this can also know how strong the person is compare to themselves, and how strong is their anima. The range varies.”

He lifted another finger.

“Link is the ability to link your senses with another living thing, and use them to gain and share information. The range of this technique varies and they are those who don't need consent to connect their senses with another.”

He lifted a third finger.

“Ajna is the ability to connect with living things and the world on a spiritual level. The user can read a person's emotions and come to a deeper understanding of them. Full mastery of this technique will allow you to become one with the world, and advance further in Anima at an unmatched rate, because you'll gain a great understanding of life.”

“……..”

Amelia was speechless after hearing of such abilities. She also knew that what Rory was using to read her heart was called Ajna. She remembered the Nymph Aqua mentioned it before as well.

Not only that, the fact that Rory can monitor the entire city while remaining here meant that he could use the power called Sonar. Not only use it, his range was unreal if it covered the entire city.

She began to understand how Rory did some of the amazing things that he’s done. He was using the Regal Powers.

“Now that I’ve explained them to you I need you to promise that you’ll not try to forcibly awaken these powers. For the Regal Powers, it’s better to awaken them naturally than force them.”

Rory said.

“This is because of what I said earlier. Not everyone are compatible with every power. If you forcibly activate a power that doesn’t suit you, then it would be like wasting your potential. Also, the reason why you’re not compatible might be because of a mental problem that you have, that isn’t something to play with.”

Amelia took note of his warnings, and nodded.

Rory smiled when he saw that and stood up from her body.

“Alright. Get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”