The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 317: The competition modes (2)

Chapter 317: The competition modes (2)

A/N: this is a bonus Chapter.

A/N: Please don’t buy the privilege. They are not written well. I need to revise them all. My apologies to everyone who lost money on this.

These notes aren’t a permanent thing. I will only do so when I have multiple bonus Chapters to release, which I secretly hope is always the case.

Bonus Chapters owed: 1 out of the 4.

I will remove bonus options after this week and focus on improving the privileged Chapters.

Thank you for reading and supporting me. Please continue to do so.

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The Salty Sweets served sweets wrapped in Salty Leaves. Although the sweets retained their sugary taste, the salt could be tasted on the outer layer.

The contrast of sweet and salt stimulated Hex’s taste buds in novel ways. He quite enjoyed the experience. He followed Elize’s recommendations when ordering his share of food, which included fruit cakes, fruit pastries, and fruit biscuits. The pastries with coconut fillings were especially great, and he indulged himself by ordering a couple of portions more.

While Hex enjoyed his meals, the others stared in silence at each other without touching their food. The two groups in front of the Merchant’s hut started to attract attention. Unwilling to cause a commotion, Elize invited both groups to a meal on the third floor of the Merchant Hut.

Elize seemed easy-going but she was an Enlightened Knight and the person in command of all the forces gathered in this part of Wrixia. Despite not being a merchant, her strength and status demanded respect from everyone.

The shop owner even went as far as putting the closed sign at the front to prevent other customers from entering and disturbing her meal. Even heirs such as Sterling wouldn’t get such a treatment.

Hex didn’t expect Ella to accept her invitation. But she sat opposite him and Sterling. She stared at the latter with hostility in her gaze. The people of both groups sat spread out in the small shop but Hex detected the wariness in their behavior. A single spark and the place would explode in bloodshed and death.

He sighed at their behavior and would rather not be with either group. But now that Hestia was part of one team, he wished to at least understand the competition and the formats. In that way, he hoped to analyze the risks Hestia and perhaps he would have to bear if they went through with competing in it. Once he satiated his hunger, he looked at Elize.

"Would you explain the competition to me and also why I could and would compete in different modes and rounds?"

"More than happy to do so," Elize replied and gave him a detailed explanation.

During the start of the Fourth Age the Silver Dragon – the name of the mother company behind groups such as the Silver Serpents – decided to expand the pool of candidates from which they could pick an heir.

Before that, only descendants of the Ancestor’s main line were chosen. But with time, the smaller groups spread over the world started to request, and later demand, a spot in the list of candidates. Also, it became harder and harder to select a worthy heir from the limited number of candidates.

So, they expanded the list on one hand and calmed their partners and underlings by introducing a competition format that tested everything the higher-ups deemed necessary in a true heir.

Through the years they tested, improved, and adapted as needed to come to a format that satisfied their needs. But the times changed and others inside and outside Wrixia wished to join the competition too.

So, a few centuries after the Fifth Age started, the higher-ups reached a consensus with other powers to change to format, allowing heirs to bring in teams to compete in different modes, from point gathering to eliminations.

The teams would get challenges to overcome and the heir would select members to compete with others to complete these challenges. While some challenges differed from competition to competition, others remained almost the same.

Each competition had challenges testing the abilities of people who could heal and defend, as merchants considered health and longevity as the most precious treasures one could have. An heir with an excellent healer or team of healers had a higher chance of gaining loyal followers. Also, the better the healer, the longer and more effective the heir could utilize the people around him.

Challenges that tested Druids or Druid-like abilities also were hot in demand. The world they lived in crawled with beasts and other creatures. Plus, the environment outside of cities and towns took its toll on a regular human body. Druids could utilize nature elements, transform into powerful beasts, and bond with creatures, enabling them abilities to endure the direst of environments and the most hostile of beasts.

Hex tried to steer the conversation into learning more about Druids and why she considered him a fit for it.

"Druids are like Blessed but their gifts aren’t given by Heaven."

The revelation stunned him. He knew people used other means to train before Heaven gained sentience. But he didn’t expect such a thing to still happen.

"Where do they gain their abilities from then?"

"From those who could survive standing against Heaven. Those we call Sages or...Taboos."

"Taboos can give Blessings?" Hex asked in shock. He saw a similar reaction from some while Gronke and the Star Sword remained calm.

"Yes," Elize said affirmatively. "For example, Druids in Wrixia gain their Blessings from the Old One. Not from Heaven. In fact, without His permission, Heaven can’t even peek into the land hidden beneath the leaves."

"That is good and well, but I am still not sure how I qualify."

As far as he knew, Hex didn’t get any Blessings other than the ones he received from Heaven during the ritual in the Temple.

"The rules don’t state the term ’Druid’ in their requirements to participate. They just pose challenges requiring transformation abilities and strong physical bodies to complete. As long as you qualify, you can join.

Seeing how eager you are to learn some of the abilities the Dryads wield, I thought you would like to train your shifting skills. After a few rounds, the few that remain in the competition are trained before they continue the competition. So, even if you don’t win, as long as you reach a certain round, you can still gain a lot from participating."

Hex couldn’t deny that the prospect sounded alluring. Although his control was excellent, he believed he could gain a lot by training under people who specialized in these two areas. Plus, he already had the abilities. It wouldn’t make sense to not maximize their utilization.

He glanced at Sterling who remained silent all this time.

"What do you think, mister heir? Do you have a spot for me in your team?"

"Of course. It’s hard to get someone like you, so thank –"

"You can join me, no, us too," Ella interjected. At once Sterling’s smile disappeared.

"Why the fuck would he do that? You guys are hunting him, aren’t you?" He snarled at her.

"Everything can be adapted to circumstances," Ella replied with a sneer, before looking straight into Hex’s eyes. "We can retract the wanted posters and even give you the deed over Grindeston. Hestia is also on our side. What do you think?"

"No, thank you," Hex replied at once. "I don’t like that Divine Lord of yours. But I think you guys decided to team up, at least at the start, didn’t you?"

"Yeah," Sterling replied. His tone and expression indicated he rather not. "We saw the list and gathered some information. The competition this time is fierce. With the war on the horizon, all powers around the world sent their best and brightest to compete. They hope to enrich their manpower with a few trained and experienced youngsters. I suspect many hidden and open agreements are reached between different parties."

Hex suspected such a thing when he saw both Ella and Sterling, listening in silence as Elize explained everything. Why else would they endure each other if not for mutual benefit?

"I am a bit surprised you are not considering the Warrior’s obstacles."

Just as Hex was about to ask to leave and find a place to rest, a voice from beside Ella sounded. The Star Sword stared at him with eyes that twinkled in the dimly-lit shop.

"And why is that?" Hex asked, curious to know why she mentioned it. He never spoke or interacted with her in other ways.

"Oh, nothing," she said with a shrug. "I am just curious why not compete as a Warrior too because one of the possible opportunities is the memories of the Sword God."

"So?"

What did that have to do with him?

"Well, Sword Gods aren’t deities. They are the first line of Warriors to fight against their Fate, the last of which was your master, the Baron. So, I thought you would be interested. But maybe I am mistaken."

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