Everyone is silent after my declaration of different plans. Thomas, Lord Benjamin, Lord Benjamin's team, and some of Lady Elise's team all look at me in more shock, too. Far more shock than I'd expect from them just from me being assertive for once.

Right now, there isn't a trace of fear in me. At least, none leaking out. I can still feel a little fear at their reaction, but it doesn't matter right now. They really can't just kill me. Too many people at the guild know how powerful I am and how talented I am.

The most they can hope for, if they want to punish me, is interfere with things, prevent me from doing things. Since I'll be leaving on a journey to explore the world for wonders, even that wouldn't be effective. Not unless they try to kill me while I'm gone.

By the time I leave, however, I plan to be even more powerful than I am now, and that Title just gave me a serious boost.

I don't even need to check the Title or my Status to know two of the effects. My Mana capacity doubled in size the moment I received that notification. On top of that, I'm generating Mana to fill it up at twice the speed that I normally do.

This Title doubled both my Mana and my Mana Regen. Too bad increases to Mana capacity doesn't add Mana to match the increased capacity amount.

While everyone stares at me in shock at my sudden assertiveness, I check out the Title.

The Arcane Prince You are the Arcane Prince, born to use all magics, born beneath a great magical sign. Take command of yourself and your surroundings and influence your will upon the world. All Mana and Mana Regen is doubled.

So the doubling is all it did. From what I can tell, I have this Title because I'm a seven-affinity born during the Arcane Convergence thirteen years ago. Why haven't I had it since birth, then?

"Max," Thomas says, and I dismiss the Title menu and look at Colt's bodyguard. "Do you remember what happened last time you fought this outpost?"

"I do," I state. "And I'm significantly more powerful than I was back then. I won't have to resort to lightning magic this time. Even if things get desperate, you all are here to back me up. If I have to use lightning magic again, then I will know you intentionally didn't help me out when I needed it."

There's silence for several moments, and I can tell the other boys are a bit confused about what's going on. The fear is still in my chest, but I'm ignoring it.

I want to personally demolish this outpost. Again. When I put something down, it needs to stay down.

"This was my task, anyway," I state. "If the outpost was rebuilt, then that means I didn't succeed in taking it out well enough. When I finish today, it will be gone."

Thomas is silent for a few moments again, then nods.

"Okay," he says. "If you feel you can take it on, then go ahead. Do you want us to block off the other exit and take out any that go that way, make it a two-pronged attack instead? Or for some of us to go further into the woods beyond the other exit and hide there, ambushing and taking out any that flee that way?"

Taking out any that flee? Oh, I guess some could do that. What would be a good strategy?

"Yes," I nod, then decide to test the limits a little further. "Peter, you take your team, Aaron, Cyrus, and Nicholas and hide behind the other exit. If any flee, you take them out, but don't attack the outpost or intentionally draw them out. Lady Elise, you and your guards stay here and back me up if I need it. Lord Benjamin, you go to the eastern side. My initial wave will be destructive enough to demolish parts of the wall, so some might flee out that side. Thomas, you and Colt go to the western side and prepare for any that flee out that way. Both side teams, do the same as the back team."

"You heard the kid!" Lord Benjamin says. "Everyone, let's move! Max has about five minutes left before he's back to full Mana, so let's get into position before then. Max, go as soon as you're ready."

"Wait," I say, and Lord Benjamin stops. "How can you tell I'm not at full Mana?"

"I can sense Mana," he answers. "So can my entire party, Thomas, and every royal guard of our kingdom."

That's how they're sensing my invisible spells! They're sensing the Mana in them, aren't they?

"Oh," I say.

"Whatever Title you got," he tells me. "It is quite potent, to double both your Mana and your Mana Regen. The item you'll get from it after your Rank-Up Trial will be quite the item."

"He got a Title?" Colt asks.

"Let's move, everyone!" Lord Benjamin says. "We should all get into position before Max is up to full Mana!"

"Max got a Title?" Colt asks as he's pulled away by Thomas.

Everyone moves into their positions as I wait for my Mana to recover. At least, I'm suspecting they do, but there's no way for me to know for sure right now. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Thankfully, there was no immediate retaliation against me.

I also finally learned how they could tell what spells I have. Peter and his team must only have a general sense for Mana, while the more experienced people have a more developed sense for it, letting them know even the elements in the spells.

"You seemed startled by the Title notification," Lady Elise tells me once everyone else is out of sight and we've moved onto the path leading into the goblin outpost. "I take it you do not understand why you earned it?"

"I met the requirements at birth," I shake my head. "Shoulda had it already."

"Chances are," Lady Elise tells me. "There is a requirement either not stated in it or which you do not see as a requirement. The Title was earned after you asserted yourself against not others from the slums, but people in positions normally seen as higher than you. When you pushed down your fears and voiced what you wanted. Without seeing your Title, I can already assume that being confident and assertive is a requirement for it."

I pull up the Title again. It does mention taking command of myself and my surroundings, as well as influencing my will upon the world. Before now, I only did that against monsters and other people from the slums. Against other people, it was done full of fear and worry and suspicion.

This time, I did it to nobles, royals, and royal bodyguards. I also did it while ignoring my fears. I suppose that does count.

Titles are through the System, which was created by a being above the gods themselves. If that being is acknowledging me for this, then I shouldn't worry as much. I'll still worry, but at least I know there's a higher power who's fine with me doing it.

"You have never been so assertive before," Lady Elise comments as I return to watching the goblin outpost. "It was nice seeing you state your position, Max. I am curious, though. How did you know the outpost was restored?"

"I didn't," I answer. "I just…"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Had outside knowledge?" Lady Elise asks.

How did she know?

"Do not be so surprised," she chuckles a little. "It is not uncommon for gifted people or people in certain positions to be visited by the gods from time to time. One of them told you to come here today, am I correct?"

"He said he ain't a god," I say. "It was a boy who looked 'bout ten, and he knew stuff. He also got close to me 'fore I noticed him. Like, real close. Real weird kid. He told me to come back in one week, and that was one week 'go. I didn't expect Thomas to actually take us here. I was gonna come back in two days and check it out. All the kid said was that I'd find something unexpected here."

"Did you have any expectations for what it would be?" Lady Elise asks.

"A giant pile of dragon poo."

"I beg your pardon, what?"

"It would have been totally unexpected," I say. "So I expected it. I guess that's why it wasn't a giant pile of dragon poo."

Lady Elise doesn't respond to that, so we wait for my Mana to finish filling. The princess moves back a bit, her guards accompanying her.

The moment my Mana is back to full, I conjure up four [Flashbang Bomb]s and throw them over the wall of the outpost, aimed at landing around the center of it. I follow that up with four [Air Spear]s that I send into nearby goblins.

A green-tinted [Air Barrier] appears in front of me, doming around me and the group behind me as a [Shadow Barrier] forms as well.

Before my bomb spells can land in the outpost, [Fire Bolt]s shoot out from within, striking them. Futile attempts at protecting the outpost, these ones were designed to have two-hundred-foot diameters. Explosions rock the world.

"Hey! Take down this barrier! It's in my way!"

The barriers pull back to behind me, opening up some so that they can pass me up. They probably close back up after passing me by.

I deflect the debris with a violet-tinted [Air Barrier] of my own as I send some more follow-up spells. [Air Bolt]s and [Air Spear]s and even a few [Air Bomb]s. The bolts and spears are sent at the goblins atop the walls, their figures somewhat-visible through the dust. The [Air Bomb]s are sent through the entrance.

Soon, my assault is met with return fire. This is actual fire, too. Spears and bolts of flames, [Fireball]s, and even a few other things.

Because of Elm's advice about water and ice magic, I'd been practicing it a lot this past week. A two-inch-thick [Water Barrier] forms in front of me, the water replenished with only a small cost of Mana when it's evaporated by the spells. None of the fire magics are strong enough to get past the barrier.

If I remember Thomas's lessons on water magics properly, water itself is good for putting out flames or stopping offensive fire magics. Ice magic, on the other hand, is better for getting through fire magics.

I begin casting [Ice Spear]s and [Ice Bomb]s and [Water Bomb]s. If I continue using air magics, I'll lose efficiency now that the goblins are responding. The heat from flames can knock them off-course.

Soon, goblins, trolls, and boars rush out of the entrance of the goblin outpost. Far more than there were last time. I count at least forty goblins, thirty boars, and fifteen trolls. I'm sure there are more who survived, too.

Only a quarter of the goblins are air-affinity goblins judging by their equipment and attacks, while the rest are fire-affinity. The first thing I do is use [Ice Spear]s to take out the boars, since the fire mages among the goblins use [Fire Barrier]s to protect them. I also use [Air Spear]s aimed at the trolls to slow them down. Due to trolls having a weakness to fire, the goblins use [Air Barrier]s to shield them, so my spells are unaffected.

The [Air Spear]s aren't meant to deal with the trolls, just slow them down.

Another pair of [Air Bomb]s deal with more [Air Barrier]s that were thrown up, and I continue to use water magic, mainly as a way to douse fire spells cast at me. [Ice Spear]s are launched at the goblin mages, as they're effective enough against both barriers being used against me, mostly because of the sheer strength of my magic.

For the melee goblins charging at me, I send [Ice Bomb]s and [Air Bomb]s at them. When they scatter to avoid the smaller blasts, I pick them off with [Air Bolt]s. A few well-timed [Light Bomb]s help keep the goblins disoriented as well.

This battle is way easier than the last one, and some of these goblins are definitely stronger than most of the ones I fought before. I guess that comes with not having to worry about Mana as much while also having more Magic.

Once the boars and melee goblins are taken out, I focus on the goblin mages while keeping the trolls distracted with [Air Spear]s and [Fireball]s. Admittedly, the latter also causes them more damage and I've already wiped out half of them. That's half including from the additional waves of monsters that showed up during the fight so far.

"Hm."

I send more [Fireball]s their way, finishing off the rest of the trolls before working on the remaining goblin mages. The goblin mages left are easy to deal with. [Air Spear]s, [Ice Spear]s, [Water Bomb]s, and [Air Bomb]s are all that it takes to demolish the rest of their shields and kill them.

This fight was easy.

"Hmm…"

"What is wrong?" Lady Elise asks.

"That got me less than a full Level's worth of Experience," I tell her. "Kind of sucks."

"Do not forget," Lady Elise tells me. "That even if your total was not 100%, it shows the values toward the Level you just gained and the value toward the next Level added together. You may have still gained more than 100% Experience toward the Level you just gained."

"No, it ain't that," I say. "I didn't even reach the next Level, and I was already almost to 50% of the way there. I'm now at 98.72%. I guess this fight was too easy."

Though I still normally gain more Experience than that from fights like this. Did Lady Elise and her guards steal some of mine even though they didn't fight?

Before I can decide on asking that or not, however, my instinct calls to me. I immediately turn back to the ruined entrance of the goblin outpost and conjure up two layers of [Air Barrier]s, a layer of [Water Barrier], and a layer of [Shadow Barrier].

Just in time, too, as several attacks slam into them. [Air Spear]s, [Fire Spear]s, a [Fireball], two [Air Bomb]s, and a [Light Bomb]. I'm so glad I noticed the flash of light, or I'd have probably been blinded by that. As it is, my [Water Barrier] was fairly evaporated, and both of the [Air Barrier]s were cracked, the first one nearly destroyed. Those attacks were strong.

Rather than waiting for more, I immediately return the wave of spells with a series of attacks of my own. A few [Air Bomb]s, [Air Spear]s, [Air Bolt]s, [Flashbang Bomb]s, [Water Bomb]s, [Ice Bomb]s, [Ice Spear]s, [Ice Bolt]s, and [Light Bomb]s.

Just as their attacks were stopped, mine are as well, then the assailants become visible. It's a goblin and two trolls, and I don't even need instinct to know that they are much more dangerous than even Ak'Narul was. I didn't need the gasps from Lady Elise and some of her guards to know this is a serious threat, either.

The trolls look more composed than any of the others I've seen, and they don't immediately run toward me. Both are wearing leather loincloths, though the bulges indicate that they're probably male. Both of them have black hair and grey skin, like the other trolls I've faced, though these ones have a difference from the rest.

Well, two, and that's excluding the loincloths.

The other trolls have all had dark brown eyes that seemed to meld into the pupils and didn't quite look right. These trolls have blue eyes that look rather human, and that's kind of unsettling.

In addition, these trolls all have crystals on their foreheads. Ovoid crystals, each maybe only an inch or so in length, arranged in a pattern with one pointing straight up and the other two pointing to the sides, though also angled slightly upwards.

One of the trolls has a golden-white crystal, a reddish-orange crystal, and a green-tinted crystal, in that order from left to right on it. The other has a reddish-orange crystal, a green-tinted crystal, and a pale blue crystal.

Though they have crystals, I get the feeling they aren't Crystal Beasts. The crystals are too uniform for that, almost as if they were intentionally placed like that, their sizes the same. From what I was told this morning when I asked Lord Benjamin about Crystal Beasts, the crystals are always the more even, raw version I saw on the crystal voidstone bear.

These crystals are perfectly smooth and perfectly placed.

Even though that's a clear sign these strong, quickly-healing monsters have magic, that's not the most dangerous member of the group. No, the goblin leading them is definitely more dangerous than the trolls with crystals are.

This goblin doesn't seem to have the disproportionately-skinny limbs of the others, and its stomach is less-round as well. Its clothes seem to be of a better-quality even if not quite up to the skill of humans. The beast wears a leather vest with a few laces between the two flaps, which aren't pulled completely closed. It has on pants and boots, and even a belt with pouches, vials, and knives.

Around the goblin's neck is an amulet hanging from a steel chain, the amulet a steel flower with seven petals. Each petal has a different crystal, each one representing a different element, and in the center of the flower is a violet crystal.

Gripped in the goblin's right hand is a staff, the dark shaft smooth. Atop the staff is a larger violet crystal with smaller ones spread around it, probably seven boarder crystals in total. Each of the smaller ones I can see are different elemental crystals, and they're shaped like flower petals. It would make sense that there are seven total if the staff matches the amulet.

This goblin is obviously of a higher type than the ones I've faced before, and the craftsmanship on its amulet and staff are superior to normal goblins' work, too.

Coupled with the gasps from Lady Elise and her guards, I can only assume this is one of the goblin kings.

"The power hunter returns," the goblins speaks in our language, its voice almost human, but with a slight guttural tone to it. "And he dies this day."