As the heroes gathered, they witnessed the field of grass stretching toward the horizon. This was the area Siege mentioned.

"This was the place I became a hero," said Siege "and the place I received my armour, The Excalibur"

Suddenly, metallic armour began to form around Siege's body. Reginn recognized the workmanship of the Goddess clearly imprinted in the suit, however, this was much more futuristic than anything he saw before. Reginn wondered how this heavy suit could even fly.

"Since this land is a part of my property, we should be able to do as we wish here"

Sivrit knew that Siege was wealthy from the look of his home, but she was surprised to hear that all this land was his.

"Are you a lord, Sir Siege?"

"Well, I don't really want to talk about my past. I'm just the 99th hero now. Also, you don't have to say 'sir', we're all equals here"

Sivrit knew that that was definitely not true. She imagined that in this group of heroes, Reginn would probably try to show off his strength and dominate everyone else while she was the weakest and not even a hero.

"Come on let's get started already" whined Reginn

"Alright then, who wants to go first"

"Me! Me!"

"Alright, Reginn, who are you thinking of sparring with?"

"You!"

"Eh? Are you sure? I'm probably the weakest of the heroes here"

"Look, I'm not here to pick on the weak, it's just that I want to see that armour the Goddess made. I want to compare it to my equipment from the goddess"

While he did claim himself the weakest of the group, this was probably the first time Siege was considered weak, though he was indeed weak in relativistic terms. While he did not have many spells to gauge the opponent's strength, his instincts told him that Reginn was bad news.

"Alright then, hopefully, I won't disappoint you"

"Heh, nothing the Goddess made has ever disappointed me"

The two entered the center of the field and readied themselves. Meanwhile, Blodelshein sat down next to Sivrit under the shade.

"So, how long have you known Reginn for?"

"Oh, I actually just met him a few weeks ago at my school. I do get along with him but honestly, I know next to nothing about him"

"I see. Do you know if he killed anyone yet?"

"Huh?"

"That's good"

Sivrit knew that Reginn was impulsive and loved fighting, but he did not feel like a murderer. Rather, he felt more like a boastful warrior.

"Do you know something about Reginn?"

"Hmm... I do. All I can tell you is that you yourself don't have to worry about Reginn. Just make sure to stay close to him"

"...Okay"

Sivrit did not really understand what Blodelshein meant but she decided to write down the hero's advice in the journal she made regarding Reginn. Looking through the journal, she saw that she really did not know anything about Reginn. She did not even know that he was a hero until today. If he was the second as he claimed, that would make him tens of thousands of years old and perhaps that was the reason Sivrit did not quite understand his actions.

Meanwhile, Reginn revealed his equipment from thin air; a golden cape made of reptilic scales. It shined brightly under the sun as it swayed gently with the wind.

"This is my equipment, A Glimpse of the Absolute. While it was made by the Goddess, I guess it technically is made by me since these scales are from me"

"Do you mean...?"

"Yes, I do have another form where I am slightly scalier, but that doesn't matter now, let's have our spar"

"As you wish"

Reginn vs. Siege

Siege was the first to approach and stabbed with his lance, also made by the Goddess, however, Reginn blocked the strike with his cape, surprising Siege. He backed up to avoid a counterstrike and his arm began to transform into a cannon. This armour was capable of firing lasers which could incinerate cleanly through metal, however, he could see that the scales which made up the cape were not only stronger than steel but also light as a feather. Reginn took this opportunity to take close the gap and strike Siege squarely on his chest. He was blown back by the impact but did not take any direct damage. The Excalibur on the other hand seemed to have lost some of its functionalities.

Reginn was honestly a bit underwhelmed by the armour. The previous creations of the Goddesses of his time were much more powerful than this. This made him question why the Goddess made the heroes slowly weaker over the generations. It was obvious that there was a downward trend with heroes and in accordance, demon lords where the destructive capabilities of both parties weren't even comparable to their predecessors. If the Goddess could create a hero like himself, why not just continue creating new World Beasts in his steed? However, he ceased his doubt as he knew that the Goddess was someone beyond his understanding.

"He isn't human," remarked Poda-Bruss

"Huh?"

"I mean, it's pretty obvious from the cape made of his scales, his unusual strength and durability"

"I suppose you are right, but we don't really know how strong a human can become" replied Orchestra

"No, I believe that once someone gains enough strength to rival the gods, they stop being human. You can see it in his eyes"

Orchestra took another look at Reginn. He was toying with his opponent, disinterested. His eyes seemed blank as if Siege wasn't there. Reginn was deep in thought.

"Do you think someone who isn't a human can become one?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think Reginn might not be a human, but he's close to being one. He may seem monstrous but when we first saw him at the door, he really seemed to enjoy the company of others, but I guess that's a bit ironic coming from me"

"Why would that be the case?"

"Well, I'm a demon-human hybrid now, aren't I? To be honest I don't feel much different. I guess my royal blood is kind of suppressing it. The only visible feature I have is my wings after all, or perhaps it has something to the resurrection"

"My lo- Orchestra, let me apologize for what I've said"

"It's fine. It's part of who I am now and I'm sure that's part of who Reginn is too. I don't think species or race matters when it comes to seeing who is human or a monster"

The match between Reginn and Siege had already ended and Reginn was helping Siege up. This was the first time Siege was beaten up this badly, but this gave him confidence that they would be able to face any threat that came up together as a team. He was eternally grateful that he was the hero and not the demon lord.

"Your armour, Excalibur was it? From the looks of it, you haven't unlocked its full potential yet"

"Huh, is that so?"

"I can see the mana flow of things and from the looks of it, there's a bunch more stuff in there than you realize. I could help you unlock it step by step if you want"

Now Reginn truly understood why the armour was initially so weak. Siege himself was a decent warrior but nothing special, therefore it would be difficult for him to adjust directly to the highest level of the armour. The Goddess must've designed it to scale with his growth. Truly, the Goddess had thought of everything.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Well, let's get going, who wants to go next?"

"If I may, I wish to request a spar with you, Orchestra," said Poda-Bruss

"Of course, I accept"

Now, Reginn wanted to fight everyone individually, but he knew that the heroes wouldn't really like that. At least he could see how strong each was. Now, he did meet these two briefly when he captured Kaizer, but he did not see them fight. He was interested in what field each specialized in.

Orchestra vs. Poda-Bruss

"Well, then let us waste no more time"

"Bring it on"

To Orchestra's surprise, the match began with Poda throwing his repaired wooden shield at her, causing her to duck. When she saw that Poda had closed the distance, it was already too late. With a loud thud, Orchestra was thrown back all the way to the edge of the field.

"I'm sorry, but I do not wish to disrespect you by going easy. I will be fighting to win this time"

"I- It's fine"

Orchestra picked herself up and shook the dirt off her pants. She did not expect him to be this strong. Where was all this power when they fought Kaizer?!

"Why does it feel like you're so much stronger now than we fought Kaizer"

"Well, I fought much more conserved for our safety. I was going to go all out though Reginn interrupted the battle before I could"

"Yeah right..."

Orchestra finally summoned her sword and charged at Poda with her wings cutting through the air. She sliced multiple times but all were blocked with Poda's mana shield that he created in an instant. When she finally stopped, Poda took advantage by grappling her with one hand and slamming her down on the ground.

"Are you alright?"

"..."

Orchestra felt that Poda was being a little cocky with these remarks. While it was true that she had little to no training and miraculously defeated the demon lord, she didn't expect the gap in their strength to be this large. She supposed that this was less about physical dominance, but rather battle strategy as he seemed to be experienced in fighting opponents with greater physical capacity than himself. And she really thought that she was rescuing him against Kaizer...

Orchestra rolled back up and recomposed herself. There had to be a weakness in Poda's defence. She threw away her sword on the ground and took the Acosta stance, the national martial art of Avangarden originating from its shore areas hundreds of years ago. She put her left foot forward and braced herself. Poda was not familiar with the style but was still impressed that she was more confident with her fists than her swords. Orchestra knew that her fists may lead to weaker blows, but it would allow her to attack much faster and gain better control.

Orchestra once again took the lead by throwing a few punches. She alternated between left jabs and right punches as well as sweeping kicks to keep Poda on his toes. Blocking punches and kicks was different than blocking swords; while blocking a strike from a blade caused the wilder to experience a light knockback, Orchestra intentionally threw light jabs in order to balance herself and maintain control. Poda-Bruss wondered what she was going to do now as no one could beat him in a war of attrition.

Since she got Poda to block continuously, she could now use her skill. She hopped back a few steps before immediately throwing a straight punch directly on the shield. Poda was knocked back slightly at this punch but still maintained balance, however, a second invisible punch seemed to travel right through the shield and hit him in the stomach. This was her strategy, if she couldn't break the shield, she would just bypass it. This punch did have the downside of being easy to dodge, but when mixed in with a quick succession of attacks, it would be difficult to predict.

"Truly impressive"

Kallen especially watch this match closely as he also practiced martial arts. However, he had never seen something like this before. He realized that martial arts had come a long way since the centuries past and it'd be good to catch up on what new techniques and practices were prevalent now.

"...I concede," said Poda-Bruss as he laid down his shield

"Already?"

"I can keep going if you wish, but I believe that we got what we came for"

The two shook hands and rejoined the group. Reginn was impressed with how composed they were, but it was pretty clear that they were related to the royals as seen by their marks so he supposed that explained the attitude. More importantly, now there were only 3 heroes left to showcase their abilities.

"Wait, if there's three isn't someone going to be left out?" mentioned Kaizer

"I guess we could do a 1 v 1 v 1..." answered Kallen

"If it is alright with you, I want to fight both of you at the same time"

Sivrit was surprised that Blodelshein was this confident in her strength. She was not the fittest person and she was even blind. The talent that she mentioned must've been one hell of a talent. Reginn smirked as he felt that Blodelshein had already prepared this. The true purpose of this exercise was to sate Reginn's curiosity and since he was already familiar with both Kallen and Kaizer, it'd make no difference if they were both instantly defeated as long as he could see what Blodelshein's deal was.

"I'll allow it"

"Huh?! Are you sure? I mean, she looks like a strong gust of wind could kill her"

"...I accept," said Kallen

"Thank you"

Blodelshein vs. Kallen & Kaizer

The three positioned themselves at the center of the field as Reginn watched in excitement.

"Sorry, but I'll end this as soon as possible. I would like to take care of some important matters afterwards"

"Fine by me"

"Kallen, just make sure not to get in my wa-"

"⌈Motor Control Lock⌋"

At her words, the two heroes fell to the ground, unable to move. They could barely reposition their eyes and looked at Blodelshein in shock.

"If it wasn't clear. I have the ability to control all or parts of the mind. You'll have to figure out mechanism yourself if you wish"

Reginn knew that those words were directed at him. He believed that she had a gist of what Reginn learnt from the Goddess. This talent was a bit similar to Kaizer's ⌈Meta-Dichotomisierung⌋ as it had the ability to affect other realms. While the metaphysics and mechanics of this world were calibrated by The Abstract, the minds of this world were controlled by The Psyche. Since the thought processes of every single living being in this universe combined were massive, the actual process was controlled within the realm. While any living beings could unconsciously access this realm by sending inputs and receiving outputs, it was nigh impossible to directly access other's processes.

However, similar to Kaizer, this skill was also limited by the difference between the user's mental strength and their opponent's. Seeing that she was able to instantly seize control of both Kallen and Kaizer, she proved herself to be a formidable ally, though Reginn was confident that he still had the stronger mind.

"⌈Motor Control Release⌋"

With that, the sun was going down and the group made their way back home. The heroes decided to stay at Siege's abode for the night and Blodelshein offered to bring Sivrit home. It began to rain heavily after they entered the city so Sivrit bought a large umbrella to share. This was the first time in a while that Blodelshein was back in the city. She was resurrected in the middle of the forest and found Siege's abode which he graciously provided shelter with. Since she had a delicate constitution, it took a few days for her to fully recover, but thankfully, by the time Sivrit and the others arrive, she was perfectly fine.

The raindrops sounded like music to Blodelshein's ears. She was truly grateful that she was able to see humanity thrive once again.

"Sivrit, what's the population of this city?"

"Umm... I think it's around 15 million?"

"Wow! That's more than 10 times from my days"

It almost seemed like a dream to Blodelshein. She was born and raised in a tough time after the kingdom was completely annihilated. Most died or were taken to be slaves while only a handful banded together to survive. It was only after she became the hero and received the blessing that was her talent that things began to turn around. However, even in these trying times, human passion was enough to keep them warm. From the looks of it, now basically no one would have to starve or beg in the streets. No one would need to sell themselves to provide for their family. No one would suffer as she did again.

...

Before she knew it, Sivrit was already back to her home.

"You live in a mansion? Are you royalty?!"

"Well, no, but I am from a noble family. Please feel free to come in and stay the night. I'd feel bad to let you walk in the rain all alone"

The two made their way into the mansion as the butler opened the large wooden door. Sivrit guided Blodelshein to the kitchen since she looked hungry and encountered Sivrit's father looking for a snack.

"Oh, Sivrit, where have you been? And who is this young lady? She looks half-dead! Come, come, let us provide you with some hostility, you poor soul"

Before Sivrit could answer any of those questions, Blodelshein was already taken to the tea table where lay an assortment of desserts as well as a variety of tea to choose from.

"Here, pick anything here you'd like while I have some maids make a meal for you, I assume you haven't had dinner yet? Remember Sivrit! Welcomeness is the spirit of the Belmovs!"

Sivrit took the seat next to Blodel and placed two plates in front of them. She took just a few macarons since it was already almost nighttime as well as a glass of milk provided by a maid. When she saw that Blodel did not take any, she wondered if she was overwhelmed by Sivrit's father.

"Sorry for my dad, he always acts like this. He clearly watched far too many films"

"Oh no, don't be. I am grateful for the hospitality. It's just that... I've never seen any of these foods before"

Sivrit realized that her guest was in fact, born tens of thousands of years ago and obviously did not know these modern delicacies that she took for granted.

"Let me pick out some good ones for you"

"Thank you"

Blodel took a few bites of the sandeshs and her face immediately brightened up.

"These are delicious!"

"Yeah, those are one of my favourites as well, here have some milk with that as well"

After the two enjoyed the desserts to the fullest, as well as a hot stew for Blodelshein, they made their way up to Sivrit's room.

"I've never been to such a large house before"

"I guess this mansion is pretty large"

Blodelshein's reactions reminded Sivrit to not take things for granted. Since she was born into a life of luxury, it was easy to forget how fortunate she was. She believed that since she received so much from this society and this world, it'd be wrong to give anything less in return. That was one of the core reasons why she decided to attend the Royal Gladitorial Academy against her parent's will. Though her father did soften up to the idea after seeing Sivrit's work in the council.

"Thank you again Sivrit for your hospitality"

"No problem, it is an honour to shelter a hero"

"I hope I can meet again later not as a hero, but as a friend"

Sivrit felt a warm happy feeling from these words. She never really cared about making friends and had only a few growing up but now she realized that what she thought was her duty actually brought her many companions along the way. Attila, Reginn, Blodelshein, she was glad that she had the chance to meet them and was happy that she chose to attend the Royal Gladiatorial Academy.

"Oh, also, just a piece of friendly advice, since you're a companion of the hero, you may get into dangerous situations. Never try to fight, just shout my name, Reginn's name or any other hero's name and we'll help you out. You are our precious comrade now after all"

"Okay, have a good night"

"Have a good night too"

Sivrit left for her room and Blodelshein left for the guest room. This was the start of an unexpected friendship neither could've guessed, but they were glad their fates crossed paths and entered the night, dreaming of the future.