The location of their family meeting changed to the dining hall after the Healer gave them the okay. Percy remembered struggling to reach the dining hall with his mother’s support, but the rest was a blur. Sophia demanded Percy to play with him, but it was like the princess was talking to a wall.

“What’s wrong with Percy? Is my brother broken?” She asked her mother, who studied Percy for a few seconds. A smile blossomed on her lips.

“He’s in a trance. Wait and see for yourself,” Reina ruffled through Sophia’s hair as big plates of food were brought inside. They were put down before Percy, who was in dire need of nutrients.

The others had already eaten, which was also why the servants were so surprised when they were told to prepare more than a dozen dishes for Percy. The royal family wouldn’t normally waste food like that.

Fortunately, Percy didn’t wait long to clear all doubts. He made sure the servants understood that no food was going to be wasted.

His eyes lit up at the sight and smell of the food before him, and he started right away. Percy started slow, but after the first bite melted in his mouth, it was over. His stomach thundered loudly, startling Sophia. However, the young princess was even more shocked at the sight unfolding before him. Her brother wasn’t her brother anymore. He was a starving beast!

Percy regained his senses only after a stack of more than 20 empty plates towered next to him. He was still hungry, but it was not too bad anymore. He felt much better than expected.

“Amazing.”

Percy heard the Old King murmur. He looked up and tilted his head.

“You’re overflowing with mana,” The King explained while the Old King kept staring at him.

Percy looked down and smiled. He was covered in several layers of highly purified mana. It was hard to find mana of such purity anywhere in the kingdom.

Since when is my mana this pure? That’s probably [Dragonblood]’s doing. That’s neat!

He smiled and retracted the mana.

“Sparkles!” Sophia exclaimed, pointing at Percy, who had also noticed his sparkling skin.

“Every woman of the kingdom will envy you for your skin if they see you,” Reina teased her son in a light tone, but her eyes told a different story. A hint of envy flickered in her eyes as she studied his flawless, shining skin. The damage to his skin, such as the scar caused by a Berserk Rabbit, and the corner – the product of his diligent training – were no more. They had been expelled with the skin he had shed this morning.

Percy studied his body, the smile on his lips never ceasing.

My skin is much tougher than it used to be, but it’s also soft and comfortable to touch. Unlike before, mana is coursing through them.

Not much mana coursed through his skin at a time, yet there was always a little bit. However, by focusing more mana on his skin, Percy felt it stiffen and toughen up. The skin on his arms compressed and deformed, or so it looked at the first glance. At a second glance, Percy studied his arm more intently.

“That looks almost like a scale made from human skin,” The King noted after noticing what Percy had been doing.

Percy retrieved a small dagger from his spatial ring and cut into his skin. It wasn’t a deep cut, but he was surprised how much force he had to apply. It should have been much easier to cut his skin.

Once he retracted the dagger, mana flowed naturally to his wound. It spread around the cut, stopped the bleeding in record time, and closed the wound within minutes.

“Beastial regeneration,” Percy murmured before repeating the same process with the human scale. He pressed the dagger blade against the human scale and tried cutting into his skin, but he realized quickly that he required more strength. Thus, he applied more force until a cracking noise attracted his attention. The dagger cracked and shattered.

“Ooh,” He blurted out while the Queen mumbled, “Seven Hells. Why is my son cutting himself? Can’t I have a normal child?!”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I am normal!” Sophia responded in excitement, but all she received as a response was a particular gaze. ‘Are you sure about that?’.

“How do you feel?” The King inquired.

Percy had yet to stop experimenting with the changes, yet one thing was certain, “I feel great. Now that I’m not starving anymore, I feel better than ever.”

The King nodded, his eyes glimmering, “In that case, let’s spar.”

Percy stopped his inspection and stared at his father. Even the Old King and the Queen were looking at Phillip Kain in surprise. The King stopped sparring a long time ago.

“You have to show me what you’ve got if you want to join the envoy, representing the crown.”

Percy flashed a smile at that.

“Alright then…let’s spar!”

***

Percy and his father, followed by his mother, grandfather, and sister, approached the Kingsguard’s training ground in the back of the royal palace. The training ground was a massive open area right next to the royal forest’s entrance and it had everything the Kingsguard needed to develop and improve their combat skills, physical fitness, and discipline.

The runic combat dummies, the archery range, and the parkour, which was connected to the royal forest, didn’t attract their interest right now, but Percy liked them a lot. He loved the obstacle course that led through half of the royal forest and he liked the area prepared for cavalry training as well.

“Do you want to spar in the combat rings?” Percy asked his father, who shook his head, “Let’s use the sparring area.”

The sparring area was a simple sand field surrounded by runic pillars, which activated when two sparring parties used the arena. The runic pillars were engraved with simple runic enchantments that lit up when someone was either seriously injured or about to sustain a deadly wound.

It took the Enchanters months to configure the runic enchantments to light up right before someone would be lethally wounded. It was not yet perfect, but the final result was as close to perfection as it could be.

“The runic pillar will determine the winner,” Phillip Kain said lightly, “So don’t even think about holding back.”

You are already an Ascended. I don’t know if I can injure you even if I’d wanted to.

He thought but didn’t speak up. Instead, he walked up to the sparring area where the Kingsguard was training.

“Great, the royal family!” Someone shouted at the top of his lungs, interrupting the Kingsguard’s training across the massive training ground.

The training came to a sudden halt as everyone turned to the royal family to salute the crown.

I still hate this

Percy grumbled in his mind, recalling the dozens of times the Kingsguard had saluted to him. To his dismay, that was the easier part. It was uncomfortable, but it got worse. The Kingsguard wouldn’t move until he, or some other member of the royal family, gave the command.

“At ease,” Phillip said after a second, which resulted in another commotion as the Kingsguard lowered their salute.

The Weaponmasters, two women and an elderly man stepped forward and approached the royal family.

“How may I be of your service, your Excellencies?” The elderly man hinted at a polite bow, which the female Weaponmasters replicated.

“I wish to spar with my son,” The King announced loud enough for most men and women of the Kingsguard to hear. Some raised their eyebrows as they couldn’t remember the last time they saw their king hold a weapon other than the knives at the dining table, while others smiled at Percy.

Percy trained often with the Kingsguard, and they knew what he was capable of. However, they had yet to see him fight for real.

Percy separated from his family and moved closer to the sparring area, where he discovered Louis, the Demi-Human. He smiled at his friend, who inched closer with a complex expression.

“I didn’t know you were a fighter.” Louis mentioned while quickly adding a “Your Excellency.” when members of the Kingsguard glared at him.

“I helped your sister before, Louis. Did you forget that already?”

“Of course not…Your Excellency,” Louis hurriedly shook his head, “It’s just that I never saw you fight. Dealing with that jackass in the Guildhall was one thing, but fighting the King…I don’t know, Your Excellency.”

Percy snickered but didn’t say anything else. He turned around and waited for his family as he heard the elderly Weaponmaster say something.

“No problem, Your Majesty. We will leave the premises right away,”

Phillip nodded, but the Old King intercepted, “Let the Kingsguard stay.”

The King studied his father for a few seconds.

“They should see this,” The Old Kingt’s eyes glimmered, “I want them to witness how powerful the next ruler will be!”