The Herb King

"See you later, Simon." Leric said before he entered their carriage.

Simon smiled and bid them farewell. Now that the mansion has been sold, he will go back to his family and ask for a long vacation after everything is taken care of.

Meanwhile, Leric and Samira were now chatting inside the carriage.

"Let's go to the market first before we go back to the mansion. I want to buy some crafting materials since I'm planning to make an instrument." Leric said. He couldn't wait to make his guitar. In his past life, playing the guitar was one of the things he does when he was bored. He knew how to play it well and he was even confident to play any song after hearing its melody once. He was gifted in music, but he didn't have the time to pursue his talent in this field since most of his time was used for his research.

"Instrument? What kind of instrument are you making?" Samira looked at him in surprise.

"I don't know if you've heard about it. It's called a guitar." Leric didn't know about the music of this world or what kind of instruments they use when playing songs.

"Guitar?" Samira was confused when she heard the name. It was something that she was unfamiliar with.

"You'll know what it is soon." Leric smiled mysteriously at her.

"Miss Samira, are we heading back to the clinic?" The guard's voice drifted to their ears.

"Not yet. We will go to the market first." Samira replied. She was curious about the instrument that Aethelwolf was talking about.

"Alright." The guard answered.

***

It was the start of the one-on-one matchups and the stadium was already densely packed with spectators. Everyone couldn't wait to see the young prospects fight with each other.

There were many top contenders this time so everyone was excited.

At this moment, the organizers were still announcing the bracketing of the remaining participants.

"For this round of the competition, the participants will be divided into ten groups with each group consisting of ten participants. The participants of every group will fight amongst themselves in a round robin and only the top five of each group will advance to the next round! The other half will be eliminated from the tournament!"

Hearing this announcement, everyone immediately stared at the screen projected in midair. There were ten groups shown, from Group A to Group J. Ten names were written under each group.

The participants also looked at the projection and anxiously searched for their group. Some of them were hoping to be grouped with the weaker participants so that they can advance to the next round.

Meanwhile, inside the VIP room of the Reynolds Household. Lord Julius and Madam Antonette were chatting solemnly with the emperor.

"Your Majesty, just tell us if you need our help. Although I'm old now, I can still fight." Lord Julius said with a cold look. He heard from the emperor that his son was now working together with the second prince to locate the main headquarters of the Northern Viper Group. From the looks of it, the emperor is now planning to deal with them.

Emperor Ragnar nodded at his words. "The Northern Viper Group has been acting really strange lately and they have become more active. According to our latest information, the bandit group has some strong warriors and we might need the support of your Reynolds Household soon."

"You can count on us, Your Majesty!" Lord Julius promised. The Northern Viper Group has been causing them a lot of trouble lately and he will only be at peace once they are eliminated. Luckily, they managed to strike a deal with Aethelwolf and acquired a hundred Awakening Pellets from him. Once they find suitable people to consume the pills, they will have an additional one hundred Level 1 Espers in their household! That is an increase of ten percent to their total strength!

"Let's talk about these matters later. For now, we should focus on the tournament. Who do you think will win the championship, Julius?" Emperor Ragnar changed the topic.

Lord Julius pondered for a moment before he answered. "On the surface, Alec Ward is the strongest among the participants, but I think there is someone who can put up a fight against him."

"Oh? And who might this be?" Emperor Ragnar revealed an interested look. He has been keeping an eye on the participants especially the most likely ones to enter the top ten. In his opinion, no one can fight evenly against Alec Ward or if there is one, it is Grace from the Urgel Household. However, the little girl still lacked battle experience and her level is even lower than that of Alec.

"Your Majesty, you see that young lady over there? Among the remaining participants, she is the only one who comes from a humble background. From what I've heard, that young lady is eighteen years old, but she is already a mid stage Level 1 Esper. She is also a hunter so she has a lot of experience in battle. If only she was given sufficient resources when she was young, perhaps she might have reached the same level as Alec. What a pity." Lord Julius sighed with a regretful tone. There were so many hidden talents among the commoners, but most of them were destined to be buried in the dust.

"Are you talking about Janrose Yanez? You're right. That girl is indeed capable, but I don't think she can withstand Alec's ferocity." Emperor Ragnar shook his head.

"We shall wait and see." Lord Julius smiled and remained silent.

Emperor Ragnar squinted his eyes when he saw the old man's mysterious smile. After knowing him for a long time, the emperor knew that Julius wasn't the kind of person who talks bullshit. He must've learned something about the girl that made him so certain about his words.

Thinking about this, Emperor Ragnar stared intently at Janrose. She has a shoulder-length black hair with beautiful facial features. She was quite short with a height that barely reached five feet, but despite her small stature, she was exuding an air of confidence in her clear and bright eyes.