After some time of wait, which Aegon spent wondering about Samuel's words, Elara and Rosa returned. Their faces held a troubled look, surprising Aegon.

Alert, Aegon asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Not really, but it isn't something I can share right now," Elara sighed, guilt flashing through her beautiful emerald eyes. "I'm sorry, Aegon."

"It's fine. It's fine." Aegon waved his hand before his face and said. "Just tell me if whatever matter is troubling you is dangerous or anything."

"You don't need to worry," Rosa said, slumping on her chair. For once, her expression was sullen and thoughtful. "It's just a headache, really. Nothing much."

"That's good. Just tell me if you need anything," Aegon smiled and said.

"There's nothing to do," Elara sighed. "Even we can't do anything, so let's just forget it. It's not anything harmful. Quite the opposite. So don't worry."

Although he was still curious, Aegon respected their decisions and didn't try to probe further. Deciding to change the subject, he took out a wooden box which he slid over to Xavier.

"What is that?" Xavier asked, confused but still opened up the box. Inside it lay sharp mini obsidian arrows, looking more like needles than arrows, along with a similar headband.

"It's a Rare-Rank Artefact, Nerve Arrow. Weird name, but it's pretty good for defence," Aegon explained. "Wear that headband and then command that arrow to move."

Xavier did as he was told. But then paused and asked, "How do I command it? It doesn't work."

"Whistle!" Aegon said. "As long as your whistle runs, this arrow will have its powers and do as you think through that headband."

"Gotcha!" Xavier raised the obsidian arrow in his hand and whistled. It shot out of his hand, embedding itself in the crimson walls.

"That's pretty fast and strong," Elara commented. "It'll save him if enemies get too close."

"Yup! But he needs some practice, so go do that," Aegon said, pushing Xavier out of his seat.

Excited about his new weapon, Xavier didn't even bother arguing and simply went to a corner where he began to play with the arrow.

"This is for Cali," Aegon said, taking out another box. Seeing no response from Cali, he kicked her chair, making her jerk awake. "Try it."

"Uhh what?" Cali asked, slowly opening her eyes. Then, she opened the box lazily, finding a soft black tunic inside.

Confused, she picked it up and asked, "Is this supposed to be something? Why are you gifting me such a plain dress?"

"It's Necro's Mantle, an Epic-Rank Armour. Even though it feels like a soft cloth, it can absorb impact, elemental force and much more before dissipating it in the atmosphere. You can also manipulate its weight, so it won't hinder your movements or make you a tank, actually," Aegon finished speaking and took a sip of soda.

Cali's eyes shone hearing that description and she changed her armour with the Necro's Mantle immediately. Then, she tried jumping around and laughed, "This is so good. I can move as I like."

"Exactly!" Aegon smiled.

"Thanks for this," Cali said, coming back to her seat. "But why so generous?"

"Our next opponent is a literal princess, so I expect her to give her team good stuff. If her team deserves it, mine does even more," Aegon replied, taking out another two boxes.

He slid them over to Rosa and Elara, saying, "You two don't really need anything, but these are good accessories for support."

Rosa raised an eyebrow and opened her box, revealing a pair of beautiful, knee-high leather boots. She didn't even need an explanation to understand their function, making her smile wider as she said, "Can I take this as your dowry?"

"Hell no!" Aegon rolled his eyes at her cheeky smile.

Elara opened her box as well, only to see a pair of gloves inside. She quickly slid them over her hands and smiled in bliss, "Thanks. They suit my style a lot."

'That's why I chose them,' Aegon thought before smiling. "Glad you all liked the gifts."

"Someone liked it way too much," Cali said, as she caught an obsidian arrow before it struck her temple. She clenched it between her hands and shouted at Xavier, "Want to kill me?"

"Come on, Sis. It isn't that easy to kill you," Xavier sighed, as he slowly approached their table. "Also, I was just testing its power."

Cali threw the arrow back at him, and he barely saved himself by whistling loudly. Otherwise, the arrow would have heavily injured him.

"What the hell?"

"Just testing the arrow," Cali shrugged before checking her hand. A diagonal wound opened up on her palm, colouring everything red as she muttered. "Its penetration power is pretty strong."

"Penetrating through a Rank 5 defence. It's the best!" Xavier grinned, kissing the arrow after cleaning it. "Welcome home, buddy."

"At least say thanks, idiot!"

"We're brothers. What's yours is mine and whatever is mine is yours," Xavier replied without even looking back.

"Remind me what I have ever taken from you," Aegon asked.

"You didn't, but I'm willing to offer so thought counts here," Xavier grinned and said.

"Fuck off! You disgusting creature! I know you have a shitty imagination," Aegon kicked him off, feeling creeps for some reason.

"Haha!"

The next few hours went just like that, as all the matches finished one by one. After all, there were a total of thirty-two in First Round. Some games took no more than ten minutes, but some went longer than forty minutes.

The Supremacy Games in general took three days to complete without any breaks. Only the common folks had problems sitting through all that, though.

The matches included some good ones, as even weaker teams could give good entertainment to the audience. Their performance surely attracted attention from others.

Two more matches happened where two God Houses clashed against each other, becoming the talk of the Empire once again.

Aegon was also invested in them a lot, watching everything carefully as they could be his best opponents. Other God Houses easily passed because there were few who could stand against them.

This was also when Aegon found out about Luna's House, House Freyja, one of the twelve God Houses. She also passed easily, meaning they could meet in future rounds.

Eventually, the first round came to an end.

The Second Round was about to begin.

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