Chapter 20 - Invitation

Authors Notes=============

Will PR in ~1 hour after release, as usual

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Without forther adue, enjoy the chapter!

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Book 3 – Chapter 20

The audience stared at Dale in awe.

Immediately they broke out talking.

“Wasn’t this floor invincible even to Black Gold Experts?”

“What the hell?! How is this possible?!”

“He’s only a Steel Core expert, how could he defeat a Gold Core expert!?”

“What was that last attack? Oh my god look at the floor! Is he a Gem Core General in disguise?!”

The audience was completely shocked. Every single powerful noble sitting there had just witnessed the impossible. Not only had a Steel Core commander defeated a Gold Core commander, he had created a gargantuan crater.

The crater was also not just anywhere. Dale had shattered the famous unbreakable arena floor, an arena ground that not even Black Gold Commanders could damage. Dale had changed from an innocent misguided child to a monster in the eyes of the surrounding nobles.

Dale walked off the ruined arena floor nonchalantly, as if what he did was completely normal. On the inside, however, he could barely stop himself from laughing. Dale felt great, showing everyone how powerful he was. He walked back to Jerah, smiling happily. Dale had never felt so vindicated in his entire life.

Jerah was staring at Dale in complete surprise. Jerah had known that Dale was strong, but… For Dale to be this strong… he thought, surprised. Jerah came to the conclusion that he absolutely must keep Dale working with his family. When Dale grew up he would be an absolute monster.

Dale walked over next to him, smiling widely.

“That was awesome bro!” Jerah exclaimed, high fiving him. Dale made to sit but Jerah waved him off.

“I think we should get out of here while we can. Many of the nobles know how strong and young you are. Soon they’ll come after you like dogs, all of them trying to recruit you into their house.” Jerah said, nodding at the surrounding crowd. Indeed many of the nobles sitting there stared after Dale with a hungry look in their eyes.

Dale nodded and walked with Jerah as they left the arena area.

The entire party of Nobles on the Borealis Top had felt the ridiculously powerful Draconic Aura that Dale had given off. In the few seconds that Dale was unleashing his strength, no less than 4 of the Gem Core General’s that ruled the Council had appeared in the audience, on the prowl for danger. When the Council members saw who was giving off the aura, they had all stopped in shock.

Dale was clearly not a dragon, yet was able to give off a Draconic aura. What happened next solidified their shock, as Dale leapt off the ground towards Lyre.

When Dale manipulated his Dragon Sea, the energy inherent in that Sea flooded throughout his body. It was able to reinforce and strengthen himself and his Aura as if he was a dragon. However, an unintended side effect of this technique occurred when Dale used his Shatter Steps technique.

Dale launched himself forward with his Art by rebounding his own energy off the powerful energy in the shifting earth. The energy that rebounded was proportionate to the energy he injected.

When Dale rebounded off the earth this time, however, the entirety of the energy present in his Dragon Sea, one of the 108 Godly Arts, rebounded with him, causing an enormous amount of force to erupt.

The majority of the impact remained in the earth and spread out, causing the enormous crater that spread over 50 meters, destroying a large part of the arena.

However, to the onlookers watching this fight, it appeared that a kick from Dale was powerful enough to shatter the invincible arena floor. They looked at him as if he was a god incarnate, his strength simply incomprehensible. The footprint he left was engraved in the floor dramatically, a small human print spreading from a massive earthen crater.

“He’s a genius!” was the immediate thought of the Council Generals. All of them immediately wanted to recruit him into their family. With strength at this level despite him being only a Steel Core commander, they had no doubt he would evolve and grow to be truly powerful.

However, because they were at the Daja Ball and in public, they couldn’t do anything yet. They had to settle family matters and finish the ball before they could try to contact and recruit the powerful youth.

One of the Council Generals, however, was not pleased at all.

Dorian Claire was not in a good mood. As the Council Head of his family, he himself was a powerful Gem Core General. However, recent events in his family had started to turn dire. First one of his favorite nephews, a powerful cultivator at the Gold Core level, had recently died, killed by some mysterious expert that was walking around naked near the Northern End. Then his trading reports and missions with the City-State of Roth had mysteriously stopped responding, leading Dorian to believe the goods had been stolen and his merchants killed. Finally, some no name Steel Core commander was embarrassing his family on the Daja Ball arena.

Dorian had had enough. Completely enraged, he was eager to take his anger out on anyone that earned his ire. He was going to personally teach this brat a lesson of what happens to those who disregard the rules. A powerful but contained Sapphire Aura surrounded Dorian as he walked forward, preparing to launch a stealthy attack at Dale.

However, as he was stepping forward, a figure interposed itself between him and Dale.

“You wouldn’t be thinking of doing anything disruptive now would you, oh Dorian?” Another Gem Core General stood in front of him. Torel Var smiled at Dorian wickedly, taking great delight in his anger.

Torel was the Council Head for his family and was Jerah’s grandfather. His strength was also at the Gem Core General level. Torel hadn’t cared much for Dale, only knowing he even existed when it was reported that Jerah wanted to split his profit from finding the mine with him.

However, now that he saw Dale’s strength first hand, he was secretly gleeful and happy to have snagged such a powerful seed so early. Watching Dale defeat the Claire Family members was an added bonus to his delight. Torel decided then that he would do everything in his power to keep Dale with his family and protect him till he grew into a powerful asset. Therefore he wouldn’t let Dorian do anything to harm him.

“Hmph.” Dorian walked off, ignoring Torel. Dorian went to talked to some other Nobles, discussing matters of business. Torel smiled and kept an eye on Dale as Dale and Jerah began walking back to the north side of the Borealis Top.

Jerah looked around, leading Dale back to the northern section where the dance floor was located. They passed by several groups of elegant Nobles that were also walking around the floor. Dale received several odd looks as he walked by, the rumors of the weird and powerful aura user spreading before him.

Jerah and Dale arrived back on the dance floor area, settling down on one of the open tables. The floor wasn’t as full as it had originally been, many of the dancers having grown tired. The band kept at it though, playing music at a merry pace.

Dale relaxed, feeling the beat of the music. He watched as the few couples that were left continued to dance, moving in rhythm with the beat. As he listened to the music, Dale felt as if he was figuring something out.

Dale stood up, looking around the floor. His eyes quickly found the gaggle of girls that he had danced with earlier, his eyes latching on to Sarah. Dale walked over, waving at Jerah to let him know that he’d return in a bit.

Dale walked over to the group with a smile on his face. The girls turned as he neared.

“Hey! Sarah, may I have this dance?” he said to the young girl. She was in the midst of listening to a story that one of her friends was telling. Sarah turned and blushed, nodding at Dale. One of her friends pushed her forward. Dale took her hand and guided her to the floor, beginning to dance.

Dale entered his Perfect Balance mode, feeling the forces of the world. Dale had begun to perceive things differently with his Perfect Balance. He felt as if the entire world was in a great rhythm, and he was like a dancer, staying in balance with it. He twirled Sarah around, moving across the floor at a rapid speed. They whipped in tune to the music, spinning around. The surrounding audience began to notice Dale’s dancing, watching as his movements became more and more graceful.

Dale felt like there was something more, however. He felt as if the rhythm and beat he could sense was but a small portion of a much larger truth. Dale was struck by inspiration suddenly and started drawing energy from his core, forming it into Aura. However, instead of covering himself in Aura or using it to attack, Dale used it to empower his movements.

Immediately, Dale’s dancing went from being good to amazing. His movements changed from being well placed to becoming refined and near perfect. Every step he made, every time he spun Sarah, he perfectly received her, moving with near inhumane grace. The watching audience gasped, entranced.

Couples all across the floor stopped and watched as well, taken by surprise.

He was so young, yet already danced as well as some of the best dancers here, They thought. Many could not believe their eyes.

This is it! Dale mentally said, thinking quickly. If I infuse my Aura into what I intend to do… Dale couldn’t describe it in words, but felt that his current actions were somehow right. Dale kept dancing smoothly, twirling Sarah around to the left and to the right.

With his newfound grace, Dale could tell who among the dancers was better than him. The majority of couples on the floor danced roughly, having fun and enjoying themselves, but lacking the near perfect grace.

However, one couple left Dale completely astonished. The couple Jerah had pointed out, when he first came to the floor, were still dancing. Dale recalled their names, David Guile and his wife Lleyta.

Dale watched them dance in awe.

With his newfound appreciation and ability to see the grace in dancing, Dale could notice the minute changes in peoples' movements, and he could discern the best of the best.

Every move David made screamed grace and perfection. His control of his body, his perfect placement, his demeanor, his very Aura screamed grace and perfection. Dale spread his senses, trying to understand how he could dance as well as he did.

His Perfect Balance washed over David and bounced off.

Dale gaped, stumbling slightly before recovering. I can’t sense him at all?! Dale thought, astounded.

Dale was able to sense Black Gold commanders battle at extremely fast speeds, yet his Perfect Balance couldn’t sense David at all when he was dancing. Dale could sense Lleyta, watching as she responded perfectly in tune with her husband. Of the two, David was clearly the better dancer. However, Lleyta, his wife, was an extremely able follower and matched her husband near perfectly, making the duo shine on the floor.

The song soon ended, the band rattling off to a pause. The audience surrounding clapped loudly, enjoying the dancers grace. Sarah blushed, looking at Dale cutely. She suddenly asked,

“What family are you with?” She blushed again, as if feeling she was too forward.

Dale smiled confidently and said,

“I’m not a Noble myself, but I am with the Var family at the present.” He guided her off the floor, looking back at David and his wife as they walked off.

“Oh?!” The girl looked at Dale, shocked. She didn’t think he would be related to one of the most powerful families in the entire City-State. Dale smiled back, trying to not intimidate her. She kept looking at Dale and said,

“You better dance with me at the next ball you go to!” She blushed a third time. Dale stared in awe, never having seen someone turn that shade of pink.

“Sure! I would love to!” Dale replied, giving her a quick twirl as they hopped off the floor. She nodded back at him determinedly and then ran off back to the group of girls she had been with previously. They all swarmed around her, asking questions. Dale smiled and shook his head. He turned around to go rejoin Jerah.

However, on his way back, a man came between him and Jerah, walking up with a smile.

“Hello!” said David Guile, smiling at Dale. He gave off a powerful and domineering aura, one that embodied the very element of what it meant to be Noble. David was very muscular, but slim, a perfect mix of the two. He was a little shorter than 2 meters tall at 6 feet and 4 inches tall. He had short brown hair with streaks of grey and a small beard on his chin, giving him an affable and kind look. He was staring at Dale curiously.

“Uh, hi!” Dale said, nervously. He felt a bit inferior in front of the excellent dancer. He shuffled his feet back and forth as he talked to the older man.

“Yes, hello. My name is David, David Guile. I couldn’t help but notice your dancing and wanted to complement you on it.” He said smiling. He looked at Dale expectantly.

“Oh! Ah, thanks!” Dale stammered out, “My name is Dale!”

“You dance very well for someone your age.” The older man said, still smiling, “However, I couldn’t help but feel you try to sense me. It’s been a long time since I met someone who had Perfect Balance.” He gestured at Dale, still talking. Dale gaped at the man in shock. How was he able to sense me?! He thought, astounded.

“I felt it while I was dancing, you seemed to have a moment of enlightenment, no?” He looked at Dale.

Dale nodded back, agreeing. When he felt the rhythm of the world and infused his Aura into his actions, he felt like he was grasping a truth. However, he couldn’t fully grasp it and it slipped away.

“Excellent!” He gave Dale a big smile, “I happen to be a teacher of a school for talented youths across the Theldon continent.” He pulled out a small tablet, covered in mysterious symbols.

“I think you’ll find that the world is a much bigger place than you know. If you become interested in learning about the truths of the world and growing stronger, break this tablet. It will transport you to were I work, the Taron Academy.” He handed Dale a small sheaf of paper from his pocket.

“This is a small letter of recommendation. If you decided to enroll, just hand it to the entrance guards and pass the entrance test.” He smiled at Dale encouragingly.

“The school year starts again in one month. You have till then to decide! Enjoy yourself, Dale.” He gave him a slight bow and walked off, every step he took perfectly placed. Dale watched him go in shock. He looked down at the tablet and small sheaf of paper. He couldn’t understand the writing on the paper, and the symbols on the small tablet were all mysterious as well. He put both items in his pockets and walked over to Jerah.

Jerah had watched the entire exchange and looked at Dale inquisitively.

“What did he want?” Jerah asked, confused.

Dale shrugged,

“Apparently he’s a teacher for some school. He was inviting me to learn there.” He thought he would look into it. He assumed David taught some type of dance class or something, though the fact that he had to shatter a tablet to get there seemed a bit excessive.

“Oh? What school? Maybe it’s an important one.” Jerah was faintly curious. Jerah knew that Dale would get tons of requests now that people knew how powerful he was, so he wasn’t too surprised.

“Ah, I think it’s called the Taron Academy.”

“WHAT??!” Jerah spat out the water he had been drinking, sitting up.

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