Helial allowed himself to bask in Lumia’s hug for a while, then glanced at Snowflake: “Did you come here too?”

“Tsk, like I got to choose. The green dude took us here in a split second. No chance to rebut. It’s two days this Emperor here needs to wait for that shitty girl to grab something to bite. Every fucking time. So, can we go eat now before this Emperor has to shit on you fuckheads?”

As soon as he stopped talking, the cat let a deadly fart that immediately infected the whole room. Helial and Lumia held their nose, disgusted, and gave Snowflake an upset look. The smell was so nauseating it could kill someone instantly.

“That was my heads up.”

It was at that point that Helial realized he wasn’t wearing his clothes anymore; a light-blue, white-hemmed tunic had taken their place. He furrowed his eyebrows and gave a sigh, his shoulders curved. The fight had blown his old tunic into pieces.

“Lumia, I…” Helial touched his tunic and began to tell Lumia he was sorry. No sound followed.

Lumia smiled and said: “No worries. I’ll sew up something for you as soon as we come back home from the yard tour!”

Her words made Helial frown. “Home”? Lumia had already got used to the idea of living there. Helial pondered over the matter for a while before just letting go. That was indeed a safe place for his sister to live in, and for him as well; the two of them would be able to train in peace. All in all, everywhere was “home” to Helial as long as he had Lumia by his side.

“Let’s go eat downstairs.”

The three went and grabbed something to eat. Lumia and Snowflake seized the moment to show Helial the magnificent halls of the Royal Academy. All along the walls were splendid frescos; every room was full of statues and paintings. Who would daredcall the Goblins barbarians? Helial stared at that display of refined artworks with eyes wide open. The marble statues depicted ancient Kings and heroes.

After eating, they reached the yard where the queen was to meet them any moment now. Helial was struck by what he had just seen. He had always thought that Goblins inhabited caves and shacks in the mountains, and now they turned out to have a more refined taste than most humans.

The yard was full of groups of Goblins intent on training by fighting one against the other to improve their melee-combat skills.

Skill Activated:

Perception

Judging by their dense Auras, Helial thought, they’re all in the First Phase Intermediate stage. Late stage, actually.

Helial’s eyes turned to look at a particularly tall and muscled Goblin. His body size was tyrannical enough to arouse a sort of reverential fear in anyone he loomed over.

Usually, Goblins weren’t that huge. He clearly made for an exception.

As soon as Helial, his sister and the cat stepped in the yard, the Goblins turned to stare at them in disdain. After all, Caesar had warned them about that.

“What are they looking at?” Helial asked, baffled.

“Well, two humans and a cat I guess. As the green dude said, they don’t like humans here. No race is willing to blend in with the others. There’s no written racial profiling in Orma, but humans aren’t exactly welcomed here. The only rule in murdering them is to do it according to the will of the big shots in charge,” Snowflake informed him.

“Fantastic,” Helial said gloomily.

The brawny Goblin in the First Phase Late stage exchanged a few words with his companions, who burst into loud laughter. That Goblin’s body gave off a tyrannical and suffocating Aura. His eyes betrayed a wild arrogance and defiance.

The veins that bulged visibly along his arms left no doubt on his physical overpower.

Snowflake gave those Goblins a scornful look and remarked: “That retard probably put all his Stat Points in Strength. Foolish. He’s sure he’s whizz.”

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Helial nodded in response and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. How idiot could one be to sort out his points so recklessly?

On the Dao of Mana, as Vidio had taught him a while ago, every Class should strike its balance. Be it an Elemental, a Warrior or an Archer, besides worry about their Class-related Skills one should avoid a too imbalance Stats sorting. To put all the Points in either Strength or Intelligence would be counter-productive for anyone, regardless of their Class.

And also, Stat Points acquired by levelling up are overrated. We’ll go into that during our first class.

Helial listened carefully to the Devil’s words and secretly nodded. He knew perfectly well that no one could guide him better than that monster.

The Goblins kept laughing wildly in front of them. Snowflake was all intent on his usual flat-out swearing in response, whereas the taunt didn’t seem to affect Helial and Lumia, who were busy talking about what Lumia had done during Helial’s coma.

Helial found out that Lumia had already visited Orma. She had been escorted around the city and already got to know it better. A warm smile spread across Helial’s face. His sister had finally got to live in a better place than that rat-hole village.

As the talked, the brawny Goblin approached them in all his enormity.

“Hey, boy. You’re Caesar’s new disciple, aren’t you? I’m Maximum. Nice to meet you,” the Goblin sneered.

Helial nodded and went back to chatting with Lumia. He was anxious to know what else she had been doing during the last days, and whether someone treated her bad.

“I’m talking to you! The white cat got your tongue?”

Snowflake, even more annoyed, appeared in front of Maximum. “Get the fuck out, you slut. This yard already stinks enough and your filth is of no help to these Emperor Cat’s nostrils.”

The cat’s answer left Maximum baffled. A second later, a great fury was mounting his body.

“Fucking cat, you’re talking t-”

PRRRR

Snowflake had turned to let a devastating fart right towards Maximum’s face. The sudden typhoon forced him to take a few steps back.

BLERGH

Maximum threw up a supposedly big breakfast on the ground.

“Hohoh, that one was brewed, huh.”

Helial and Lumia shuddered at the firepower of that cat.

These Heavenly Star Tigers, always famed for their sophisticated manners… the Devil mumbled.

“You scum! Come here, I’ll rip you apart!” Maximum had lost his temper. He wiped the last traces of vomit from his mouth and rushed towards Snowflake.

Helial took a swift step forward and put his palm on Maximum’s chest.

Dong

Maximum’s momentum dispersed as though he had crushed against an iron wall. Despite all his attempts to step forward, he could only stand still. Helial was like an unmovable mountain, and fatigue didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest.

His palm didn’t move an inch. Helial’s calm gaze turned towards that huge mountain. “Let’s avoid the fuss, please,” he smiled while pushing Maximum back. The latter almost slammed his backside due to the power of Helial’s hand.

Maximum gaped at Helial, utterly shocked.

The Royal Academy was arranged in three Courts according to their power: Outer, Inner and Special. Maximum was an Outer Court disciple, and his strength had never lost out to anyone before. Though, with a simple palm, Helial forced him back as if he were a fly.

The Goblins stared at Helial in puzzlement and swallowed all together.

What kind of monster must he have been to block Maximum that way? Physically, no one in the Outer Court could compare Maximum’s strength.

“Did you see that?” a Goblin asked to another.

“Yeah, I've got eyes. I’m just not sure they work, at this point…”

“How did he do it?”

They were shocked. The most puzzled expression was the one on Maximum’s face, though. He was aware of his capabilities, and therefore he could not come to terms with what had just happened. Helial was waving a hand to remove the dust from his tunic and, as if nothing had happened, he went back to his conversation with Lumia. He didn’t cast him a second glance.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” a furious roar resounded out.

Everybody turned towards its source. To his great surprise, it wasn’t Maximum but Snowflake!

“Forget about it. We don’t have to cause trouble, remember?” in front of the crowd, Helial gave a dejected sigh.

“That pile of crap wants to be beaten to a pulp. Get the fuck out of the way, kid, or I’ll shit on both your heads!” Snowflake seemed to be nervous, or rather - foaming. His white fur was standing on end. His green eyes began to glisten in disquieting crimson shades.

Maximum swelled his chest, ready to skin that cat alive. At that moment Helial asked inwardly, gimme the sword.

Oh, how do you know it’s inside your Soul? the Devil asked.

It’s my soul. How could I not know it? said Helial, looking annoyed.

Fwooosh

Curse of the Demon flashed into existence in a black beam. It was stunningly beautiful. The black blade was as wide as an arm and as long as Helial.

Helial clutched its hilt and suddenly furrowed his eyebrows. Yeah, I increased its weight. It’s 2000 pounds now. I’ll increase it again during our future training sessions, so as to destroy your muscle fibers and let Body of the Qilin level up.

Helial secretly nodded. Body of the Qilin was indeed a mysterious Skill, that levelled up according to the damage undergone by the user’s body. If he wanted to take it to a very high level, a truly painful path would expect him. After all, Kirin had spent three days of suffering inside the Judge of the Dead’s flaming globe before molding a new body.

At the sight of the black beam, Snowflake and Maximum narrowed their eyes. “No one will get hurt today…” Helial sighed, ready to resort to violence if necessary.

Lumia let out a giggle, showing proud of her brother’s reaction. Helial’s clothes were flapping fitfully in the wind as his Aura grew even fiercer.

Before Snowflake and Maximum could even reply, however, air rippled gently and a female figure appeared in midair. It was a woman of outstanding beauty. She was wearing a tight-fitting dress that enhanced her curves, its white color in a slight clash with her greenish complexion. On her dress were embroidered in gold thread the insignia of the Clan of the Heavenly Eagle.

Her sight made the Goblins turn pale as they bowed their head in unison.

Nelia! The Queen of Orma!