Waiting for the prince was usually a boring affair where the team would normally already have headed towards their next destination but that wasn’t an option in Deepwood and especially not in their capital. This wait was also an exception however as there was something very interesting that everyone was invested in, namely Ajax’s Aura.

“I don’t get it.” Ajax said, “I thought you could only have one trait.”

Ajax’s mother had mentioned that to him at the beginning, he hadn’t questioned it when he got his noble title since his mother mentioned that those titles usually combine with others but not only was the noble title temporary there was nothing it could do to boost Divine Witness’s effects like it would do for other Traits, that and the trait also mention it couldn’t be detected so maybe it couldn’t combine at all.

“That is the commoner view on it but not correct.” Aranor answered. “It’s just the one that applies most often. Any traits that have overlaps will combine to provide a boost that is stronger than the individual effects of either trait. An Aura or a Bond however have nothing to do with the skill level cap so they are separate. Oddly enough Aura and Bond also combine, providing not only a stronger Aura for both parties but it also lets the both parties know their exact location over short distances when the Aura is extended.”

“Why do they combine?” Ajax asked. “What do they have in common?”

“An aura is an expression of your soul, which is why one only gains it when their stats and skills are high enough.” Elara explained. “A bond is formed between the soul of two beings.”

“Congratulations on breaking the record for unlocking your Aura.” Xavier said as he patted Ajax on the back. “ I was hoping for that myself but I’m pretty sure you’ll hold on to both the Age and Level records for a long time.”

That remark prompted a few more congratulations before the group settled in to wait once more. Unlike their last dungeon, the floor the prince would have to solo would only go up to level one hundred and twenty so it shouldn’t take all that long.

They in fact didn’t need to wait all that much as the prince was done in just under three hours, as soon as he exited the dungeon however the group was marched towards the royal palace.

The palace itself was unlike anything Ajax had ever seen before. He had seen the royal palace of Gryndor which looked like an overly large medieval European castle and he had seen the massive council building of the Republic that looked a lot like the house of Parliament without the big clocktower, the elven royal palace was unlike anything could compare to what existed on Earth.

How the elves had gotten so many trees to merge their tree trunks was a true mystery, more than that he could feel just how potent the mana that was though he was unable to feel anything else about it, most likely because of the wards that no doubt littered the place.

“It doesn’t look all that secure.” Ajax muttered as they walked over the roots that took the position of stairs, he couldn’t see any gate or a perimeter wall. All there was was guards all over the place.

“Elves don’t rely on structural obstacles for defenses like the rest of the humanoids.” Arianwyn whispered to Ajax as all of their escorts turned amused gazes at him hearing his words. “Because we live in trees our guards have ways to access an extra source of mana from the trees themselves.”

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Ajax stopped dead in his tracks hearing that, almost causing the soldiers behind him to run him over but he couldn’t pay attention to that at the moment as he was processing that new piece of information as it fit like a piece of a puzzle he didn’t know was missing.

In hindsight it also made sense that there wouldn’t be that great a need for walls and gates when all elven cities were just trees that were part of a very large forest, the difference between the regular trees and the trees where the elves lived was that the cities were influenced by the elves that lived there.

Another big implication of this discovery however had to do with the fertilizer Ajax and the prince had so generously provided to the elves. He had initially though that the elves would just use it for their high end resource gardens but there was nothing stopping them from using it to grow the mana level of the trees their own palace was grown out of, essentially increasing security as a whole.

“Come on.” Lexi said as she lovingly intertwined their arms and started pulling Ajax along as the group restarted their pace towards the palace. “You can walk and have and have a revelation about what that means at the same time.”

“What revelation?” Lioriel asked quickly, her voice harsher that she had used previously.

“I don’t know.” Lexi answered honestly with a smile. “He’ll most likely share after he finishes organizing everything he’s realized.”

“This happens often?” Aranor asked curiously, he hadn’t gotten to experience the event besides the first time Ajax realized about the use of fertilizer.

“He just views the world differently, I think.” Lexi said. “He was already far above his peers when he joined the Academy and coming from a backwater region he had a few revelations that have caused similar reactions.”

As he continued walking Ajax paid no attention to the conversation happening around him. Instead his mind went through all the new possibilities that could apply when it came to dealing with high end trees as the basis for a defensive position.

His first thought had been towards how mages could use the increased mana pool. It was now no wonder that none of the other races had managed to encroach on the elves, he was ready to bet that there were similar fortresses set up all around the entrance of the forest where a war would be fought and few things were as terrifying to an army as artillery mages with an increased mana pool.

The second thought his mind drifted to was how this extreme advantage could also turn into an achilles heel. If something like a lizard bond with a venomous bite that could infect plants and travel through their mana then a single spy could get the defenders to poison themselves as soon as the attack started.

The final and biggest revelation came to how different the approach to defenses could be. Booby traps could take on a whole new meaning if they were linked to the trees themselves, the usual problem with everyone not aware of a trap triggering it could be bypassed by making use of the plants own instincts to anchor it while also supplying the mana required.

As Ajax thought about this possibility something else came up that he hadn’t considered before, could a plant become a Bond? He turned to ask the prince but he was quickly shut down before he could even open his mouth. “Don’t say a word.” the prince said. “We’ll discuss whatever it is in private later.”

Ajax opened his mouth to protests when he took in his surroundings to find that he was now deep inside the palace and they were heading towards a large set of doors that reminded him of the smaller private throne room King Gryndor had for official meetings that had to happen outside of the more public throne room where the nobles of the court usually gathered.

“Wait to be called upon.” one of the guards at the door said as the group approached.

Ajax was very tempted to take a deeper look at the wards and see if he could use that as a catalyst for a breakthrough for [Inspector’s Eye] but he was almost certain that not only would his actions be noticed but also that they wouldn’t be looked upon as simple curiosity and chance for improvement.

It took five minutes before the doors were opened and an elf called them in “The Queen will see you now.”

The elf didn’t seem all that remarkable to Ajax but from the reactions of both the prince and Aranor there was clearly something he was missing as both of them had much stronger reactions to him than they had to Lioriel. Ajax was also very tempted to use [Inspector’s Eye] on the elf as well but could tell that would be even less well received than using it on surrounding wards.

As Ajax entered the small throne room there were multiple things that fought for his focus. The armed guards spread throughout the room, reminiscent of the squads that were ever present whenever he met King Gryndor. The non-combatants that should have been members of the royal family or trusted advisors. Most of all however was the throne that looked to be grown out of the floor upon which stood the elven queen, an intricate crown on her head that was actually connected to the throne and through it to the entire palace.

“I’m not sure what surprises me more.” the queen said as they entered. “That there has already been an incident of this nature despite the recent arrival in the capital, or that it wasn’t Gryndor’s eldest prince who caused it.”