The next few days were uneventful, and I still wasn’t sure about these grandparents. I liked Poam and Nil more so far; they taught me plenty of things they shouldn’t. I mean, not sure that’s the greatest reason to like them but they’re fun. Today was the day I was supposed to meet Crown Prince Ekard. I wonder what he is like. My parents gave me a special ring that suppressed the aura of I possessed; they actually gave me six and told me to put on all of them. It’s probably a temporary effect. My parents were waiting with me in an incredibly formal receiving room. My dad was grinning maliciously, while my mom was harder to read. After fifteen minutes had passed, one of the rings simply dissolved. So, they are a temporary solution. After we waited for twenty minutes, three figures entered the room.

One of them was tall, not as tall as my dad, but built like a wall. He was honestly a wall of muscle. Where my dad had sleek, dagger like dragon horns, this figure had large and grand dragon horns. His eyes were a deep ocean blue, and his skin was a lush green. The man was also completely bald, or more didn’t have hair. The woman had long slender horns, closer to my dad’s than the muscle wall. She was about the same height as my mom. Her hair was a peculiar aquamarine color. She had eyes that were a metallic grey which contrasted her skin which was a vibrant, scarlet red. Then there was a kid about my age. He was slightly shorter than me, but a bit bulkier. His eyes were a metallic blue, almost like lightning. He had hair like his mother’s, a deep aquamarine color. His skin was green like his father’s, and his horns were just like his father’s. So, this is Ekard. He was glaring at me, not blinking. I stared back at him calmly. My parents stood up, so I did as well. They extended a friendly handshake to the figures, so I extended my hand to Ekard. He tentatively shook my hand, clearly being careful how much pressure he was exerting. It was an awkward, limp handshake. Is he nervous? What is with that handshake?

“It is good to see you Azzeck and Senna! It has been so long! And is this little Nil?” the tall figure boomed. His voice was quite deep, and clearly happy to see my parents.

“It has been a while Azkar! It is so good to see you as well Vauzu. And I see you brought Ekard.” Dad replied happily as they hugged each other.

“How is Nil? Did you tell him the plan for today?” Azkar asked my dad.

“He was told. Honestly speaking, we are a bit concerned given his talent. We have done our best with his talent, but it has been a challenge.” Dad retorted. That is a peculiar phrasing.

“We have been in a similar boat with Ekard. His talent is honestly shocking given his lineage.” Azkar stated back. Ekard was looking at me, and kind of smirked. He’s been looking down on me. One of the rings had dissolved. Only four left.

“It is a struggle. Nil’s talent is honestly not what we were expecting.” Dad lamented. Oh, I see the game they're playing.This is going to be fun.

“Ekard has needed some serious help. It has been a bit taxing.” Azkar informed my dad. I wonder which side is going to be more surprised.

The snow jobs continued back and forth. Both of them are trying to undersell how talented either of us were. I looked at Ekard and smiled. I am going to put you six feet into the ground. Ekard just smirked in response. I casually walked over to chat with him while our dads continued to lie through their teeth. Our moms looked on, clearly wanting to move on with the day. Let’s play.

“Hello Ekard, I am Nil.” I introduced myself.

“Crown Prince Ekard, Nil.” Ekard snapped back, looking offended I called him Ekard.

“I am Crown Prince Nil.” I reminded him.

“You only drop titles with those of a similar strength. I do not need to show someone weak any respect, Nil.” Ekard taunted. I am going to have so much fun beating you.

“Thanks for telling me, Ekard.” I replied with a smile. I have read up on Beastkin, I think I can get under your skin if I really want to.

“Look, weakling Nil, you better show some respect.” Ekard snarled. Game on. I was down to three rings now. Azkar realized something was off.

“Why, son of a hamster? I mean, look at those nice, rounded ears you inherited.” I said with a sweet smile. Ekard swung at me, which I easily dodged. Both sets of parents noticed.

“Why are you swinging at Nil?” Mom asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“He called my mom a hamster!” Ekard roared. Vauzu looked at me and sighed while my dad gave me a discrete thumbs up.

“Hamster son! Hamster son! Hamster son! Hamster son! Hamster son! Hamster son!“ I sang to taunt him.

Ekard looked ready to rip my head off. That was easy. He must have a lot of ego. Family, important to demons, massively sensitive subject to Beastkin. His parents were looking at me and smirked. My parents did not say to stop, which was a subtle sign to keep needling Ekard. So it’s okay to be a menace when you say so. Not that I was going to complain.

“So, that handshake earlier, it’s kind of sad that’s the best you could do. I imagined a dragon Beastkin would be stronger. It’s okay, I’ll hold back as to not hurt someone so fragile.” I teased. I was down to two rings.

“I am going to gut you.” Ekard snarled. His face was looking pissed to say the least.

“With what? Those horn nubs? That hamster Beastkin really hurt your horns.” I taunted. His emotions were all over his face.

“Let’s move things along.” Azkar suggested, looking a little annoyed.

Way to go Nil! You won the first round! That’s my son! Dad praised, smiling victoriously.

We went to one of the underground training areas. On the trip down, only one ring was left. They were definitely dissolving faster. No wonder I wasn’t given more, the are decaying too quickly. Azkar and Vauzu were starting to sense something was off. The aura began leaking slightly. Ekard was glaring at me the entire time, clearly itching to fight.

Why do we have to spar? I asked my mom. Up until now, I really didn’t care why. Now I wanted to know what gave me this opportunity.

It dates back a long time. It started over two thousand years ago, and stubbornness has kept it on since. Be careful, something is off about Ekard. Mom explained.

At this point, the last ring dissolved fully unleashing the aura. In an instant, the other three looked at me, eyes going wide. My dad smirked. A bit of my was leaking out now, but the aura of was completely free. Ekard’s face faltered for a second. Azkar glared at my dad.

“Why does he have an aura of ?” he inquired, looking a bit concerned.

“As I said, his talent has created problems. This is one of them.” Dad explained with a smile. Azkar shot his son a look, clearly warning him.

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We eventually reached the underground training areas. I gladly took my spot in the fighting area. Ekard took his, glaring at me. Neither of us were allowed to use weapons. Don’t get to use my sweet sword; I was looking forward to that. He and I were both stretching, looking at each other. My mom told me I could stop suppressing my , so I complied. Azkar shot my dad a look, and my dad was smiling maniacally.

“He is seven?” Azkar checked, seeing my dad’s smirk.

“Yes. I also believe Ekard is totally normal.” Dad answered mockingly.

“You were being deceitful earlier.” Azkar declared. That’s a bold declaration.

“And you told me nothing but the truth I bet.” Dad taunted with a are you seriously acting like this expression.

It was go time. I was not going to use my time abilities against Ekard; that was a lot of , and I highly doubted he was that much faster than me. I activated my , and got ready to fight him, I mean spar. Just like how Lux and I spar. Our dads signaled to begin. Good news, I was definitely faster than Ekard. Bad news, I almost shattered my fist against him. It felt like I punched a wall made of metal. Ow. What the hell? Our dads exchanged knowing glances at each other. Ekard barely moved from my hit. He tried punching me, much cleaner and faster than earlier, but I used to dodge back. My hand hurt pretty bad. I might have cracked something in that swing. I adjusted my . I rushed in, this time trying a kick. I had enough force and in it to push back Ekard, but it hurt. Why is his body so freaking solid? This is not normal. I pivoted and kicked again; all that accomplished was now my other leg was sore. I used to gain distance. Ekard was looking at me, and slowly moving towards me while keeping his stance. His face did not give away how much pain he was feeling.

Ekard decided he was not patient, and rushed in. With my , I could easily see his movements and dodge them. He was picking up his tempo, adding in feints and kicks. He was actually a lot faster than he was moving initially. Okay, maybe some is necessary. I used to get away. Ekard pursued but was a bit too slow. I don’t want to imagine how hard his hits are if they connect. I already started chaining a few . , , , . Ekard had three small nicks and was pushed back a few feet for my efforts. What is with his body? This is ridiculous. Sure, I held back as to not use the level of that chopped off the spire, but there was still a good amount of invested. While I was trying to process my not working, Ekard dashed in, and unleashed a left hook into my side. My ribs cracked from the impact. Focus Nil. I am not going to withstand several of those. I again used to get distance. My forling ribs. I used more . I rushed in, punching him several times, followed by a kick. Several things cracked, and none of them were on Ekard. He retaliated with a solid punch to the face. A few other things cracked. Okay, or bust. Time for a full powered version of my .

would likely kill him if it worked as intended. I cast a full powered from above. Thinking it was as weak as before, Ekard tried tanking it. This time however, I cast it with the intent to crush him flat. Ekard’s eyes went wide as he was slammed into the ground. I was not letting up. , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . I could hear several things crack on the second to last one. The final one cracked a lot of things. My breathing was labored. My took a sizable dip. Okay, that was not enough. Like a zombie, Ekard stood back up, bleeding heavily. He easily took a fighting stance and charged. You have got to be kidding me. Ekard was almost upon me when I used , taking the energy and launching him back. There was a long slash on his chest, but it was not very deep. If those barely injured him, I need to stick to . I can’t hit that hard. What else did I know? Ekard was relentless; he charged in like a bull. Wait. I wasn’t playing dirty enough. I remembered when I used on Uncle Nox’s heart. Okay, probably not the best idea to try it on his heart. I used to acquaint his head with the floor, cracking several tiles. Ekard, bleeding heavily from his face, stood back up. Forling zombie.

“You can stay down, you know.” I informed him, breathing heavily.

“I didn’t hear the spar get called.” Ekard declared. Ugh.

He rushed yet again. The instant the first part of touched him, Ekard slid, messing my aim up, and almost sweeping my legs. I quickly used to move his entire body to the left. I took several steps back, glaring at him. How do I get him to stay down? I had I hadn’t tried. It’s different fighting someone new. Wait, that might work. I used to make several knives of . Ekard stood up, and sensed something was off. It was similar to the gatling gun of needles I made, but these were much sharper. And deadlier. He should be fine. I unleashed the torrent at him. He instantly tried dodging, but I used to slow him down enough for a few to hit their target. The knives did not go as deep as I would have liked. What is with his body? They did, however, go in deep enough to stay in. After I had about six in him, I stopped the knife gatling, rushing in, and kicked one of the knives in deeper. Finally, Ekard showed a sign of pain, as he howled when I kicked the knife all the way in. He gritted his teeth, and kicked me square in the chest, again cracking several ribs. How are you so strong? I made a spear of and plunged it into his leg as I went flying.

Again, Ekard howled in pain. My breathing felt quite funny. I probably have a punctured lung. I used to gain some more distance. was able to get through his ridiculously solid body. But it gave me an idea. I made a pair of brass knuckles and a set of greaves out of before going on the offensive. Ekard was already standing, dashing to meet me. Just need to be compact and let my do the heavy lifting. I tucked under his punch before using to move his head into the hook I was launching into it. This time, his face caved from the hit rather than my fist. I quickly followed up with a kick, again augmenting it with a . Crunch. His head slammed into the ground. Ekard quickly recovered, pivoting to trying to sweep out my legs again. I used to spin him, greeting his head with another hook. Ekard was on the ground yet again. I wish I could use , but he’s just too strong.

I made two spears of , stabbed them into his shoulders, pinning him to the ground. I kneeled down on him, pinning him further as best as I could before alternating punches. I had about capped out my , my body humming and vibrating from the I was forcing through it. Hold it together body. The brass knuckles did the trick a bit too well, as Ekard was no longer shrugging off my punches, but my knuckles felt like they were creaking. My hands were bleeding severely from the repeated blows. After a minute or so, I stopped, my arms exhausted, and my spent from the constant . With the fumes I had left, I used to get away from Ekard. Please be out. Please be out. My breathing was heavy, and my vision was blurry from using so much . Ekard was not moving. Please be out. Please be out. I had dissolved the spears I used to pin him to conserve some . Ekard slowly stood up, his body shaking from the damage. You have got to be kidding me.

“I ain’t done yet.” Ekard declared, before standing there menacingly.

I was trying to stabilize, and Ekard stood there. Then, I was declared the winner. Ekard had passed out while he was standing. Thank the Lords. I dissolved all of my . Our parents rushed to check on each of us. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

“Why. So. Hard?” I asked through incredibly labored breaths.

“I am also curious why your son has such a hard body.” Dad added. My mom was looking on, clearly interested as she began healing me.

“I want to know why your son has so much , able to use a that well, possesses an , and has that level of control.” Azkar replied, looking bitter. I am the winner.

“Nil has an insane level of magical talent, to the extent we needed to get him an , and a for , , and . Or more accurately he has acquired one for each and has them all. Why was Ekard’s body so solid? That is not .” Dad answered.

“He does have a for , but also possesses an incredibly rare trait called . It makes his scales near indestructible, his muscles denser, and his body a lot sturdier than a usual dragon Beastkin.” Azkar explained with a bitter expression.

“I never imagined that Ekard would meet his match. I do thank you for hopefully beating some humility into him.” Vauzu added drily.

“No. Problem.” Were about the last words I could manage before I passed out from the pain.