Edgar's lips twitched, hearing Orion's words, "Just wait and see how magnificent the capital is." He quickly wrapped up the conversation.

'He didn't deny it, heh.' Orion thought to himself in amusement.

"We also have quite a few acquaintances over in the capital," Selene added. "They can help you out if you need anything."

Orion looked at her. "Who are they?"

"Oh, you will know once you meet them." Eldric quickly interrupted Selene and said with a mysterious smile.

Orion inwardly chuckled, looking at him, "Very well then." They continued chatting while eating food.

Soon after, they set off again. Orion couldn't wait to see how the capital would look. Edgar had really hyped him up for this.

***

The group traveled for the entire day, traversing the silent terrain towards a particular place near the capital. This was the territory of a duke—House Blackwell.

Orion saw quite a few Shadow Element users along the way, and some local people buying stuff for occult arts.

"Grandpa. What's this Dukedom? Who controls it?" he curiously asked while looking out at a traveling merchant. They had traveled through a few cities without stopping in House Blackwell's Dukedom.

Eldric carelessly looked out of the carriage. "Blackwell eh… it's quite an interesting Dukedom. In their territory, they mostly practice Shadow Element, while some are born with dual affinity for Lightning and Shadow."

Orion tilted his head. "What's the difference between Thunder and Lightning? I have heard about both, but I thought Thunder is merely the sound that follows after Lightning?"

Eldric chuckled. "It's the same for mages, they just like to call themselves Thunder Mages because it sounds cool. In reality, it's the Lightning Element and not the Thunder Element. Just look at me, I call myself a Thunder Mage because that's how people call me. No point in correcting everyone."

'A world full of idiots…' he quietly thought.

"Anyways, back to the topic. Blackwell is also famous for their Occult activities. But the Royal Household doesn't care about that as long as they are loyal to Thunderpeak Kingdom," Eldric finished saying.

Orion rubbed his chin. "So, have they done anything recently that would suggest their loyalty is shifting?"

Eldric shook his head. "No, they are quite loyal to our kingdom. That's why they are allowed to do these things, and the Kingdom doesn't meddle much in their affairs."

"So who is the Duke here?" he asked again.

"Not Duke, but Duchess." Eldric chuckled and continued, "Duchess Ysara Blackwell rules the House of Blackwell alone. She took the reins after her father passed away and has been in control ever since."

Selene looked at Orion and said, "At first, all the Noble households thought that the decline of Blackwell would start with Ysara," she softly chuckled, "However, that young lass proved everyone wrong and consolidated the position of House Blackwell even further in this kingdom."

Orion nodded with respect. "Truly a woman worthy of respect. So does the House Blackwell specialize in Lightning and Shadow Element?"

Eldric laughed out loud. "That's what outsiders would think. However, House Blackwell members are actually experts in mental manipulation, illusions, and Lightning-based soul arts. They are actual practitioners of Spirit Arts who have learned to integrate Lightning into their Spirit techniques."

Orion raised an eyebrow. "We can fuse elemental mana in Spirit Arts and attack the soul directly with it?"

Selene nodded her head. "Of course, dear. The applications of mana are limitless, one just needs to have an active imagination."

He nodded his head in agreement. "Looks like I will meet with the members of House Blackwell in the academy."

Selene's eyes twinkled. "Do you remember when I told you about how the Heir of the Blackwell family tried to enter the Thunderhall Academy's Forbidden Archives? Hehe, Ysara changed the Heir after that. The new heiress is Nyss Blackwell. Maybe you will get along well… or not with her."

'…Why does she seem to be having so much fun?' Orion thought to himself, looking at the twinkling eyes of Selene.

"Well, we will see about that once I join the academy." Orion didn't want to dwell more on the topic and gave a short reply.

Selene smiled lightly and didn't continue on the topic.

Fiora and Rina glanced at each other when Selene brought up Nyss, but they didn't say anything.

***

The group left the Dukedom and got on the road towards the Royal Capital. They could visibly see that the number of people and caravans had increased. Even the number of different species had increased.

Orion spotted many different species making their way over to the Capital City: Foxkin, Wolfkin, Lionkin, Catkin, Dwarves, Goblins, Wood Elves, Gnomes, Lamia, and other species were frequently spotted on the road.

He looked at all of this with fascination. He didn't expect that this world would hold so many races, despite reading about them in the library.

'It's truly a… fantasy world,' he inwardly thought.

[Master, any species you took a liking to yet? (¬‿¬ )]

'Yes, of course. I'm liking all what I'm seeing,' he replied without hesitation.

[May I suggest, Master? You should first look for a Foxkin for your harem! They are the best at management and are one of the most intelligent species.(≧∀≦)]

Orion shook his head. 'Stop trying to match me with others. I can't enter a relationship just yet.'

[Ehhh Why??( ｡•́︿•̀｡)]

Orion thoughtfully looked at Eldric and Selene from the corner of his eyes. 'Maybe because I'm fucking two months old? But that aside, I first need to build a status for myself. I can't just rely on Grandpa and Grandma. Because if I don't have worth of my own, then I can forget about forming a harem.'

[I guess that's true… you will have trouble later forming a harem if you found one member right now. Complications can rise then. (•﹏• )]

He inwardly shook his head, 'Precisely. That's why I'm not advancing with Fiora and Rina. Otherwise, you think I couldn't have already claimed them?'

'My wives can't be just normal women as well. They need to be the best at their fields—even if I have to train them myself. So for that, I first need to make myself the best in that field.'

[You really thought this out, Master. Σ(°△°|||)]

He inwardly chuckled, seeing how shocked Lumi was. 'Anyways, show me my status screen. Been over a week since I saw that.'

[Limitless System - V3 (Lumi)]

[Host]: Orion Helstorm (Primus Xal'Zaryon Drakonis)

[Title]: Perfect Being, Limit Breaker, Heir of Two Thrones

[Age]: 1 / 9000 (Soul Age: 20)

[Bloodline]: Human Emperor, Thunder Dragon Emperor, Fire Dragon Emperor

[Physique]: Human Emperor's Constitution, Fire Dragon Emperor's Constitution, Thunder Dragon Emperor's Constitution

[Soul]: Human Emperor's Soul, Fire Dragon Emperor's Soul, Thunder Dragon Emperor's Soul

[Rank]: Awakened / Hatchling

[Mana Channels]: 9 Primal Mana Channels (Universally adaptable conduits capable of channeling all known energy forms.)

[Passive Abilities]

-Mark of Fate

-Fire Affinity (Tier 7)

-Thunder Affinity (Tier 7)

-All Other Elemental Affinities (Tier 6)

-Draconic Instinct (Suppressed)

-Dragon's Might

-Supreme Mental Endurance

[Active Abilities]

-Eye of Revelation (Appraisal & Bloodline Analysis)

-Fire Dragon's Breath

-Thunder Dragon's Breath

[Treasures]

-Soulpiercer Sword (Bound to Soul)

-Bonesteel Sword (High Grade Treasure)

[Inventory (8/10)]

-Damaged World Tree Seed

-Strange Stone

-600 Tons of Meat

-Bonesteel Sword (High Grade Treasure)

-Worn-Out Boots (Common Grade)

-Beast Fur Ball (Common Grade)

-Torn Beast Skin (Common Grade)

-Moonberry x9,983 (Common Grade)

[Gambling]: 11 Draws Used | 7 SP Remaining

[Chronicle of Trials]: 0 Quests

[The Forgotten Archive]