Chapter 702 Brightest Star
The Silver Eye Clan's village was divided into several distinct sections, each with its own purpose and function.
The first section was the training grounds that was divided into a huge field and an arena. The arena, if one could label it such, was located next to a dojo, and young Summoners in their late teen and 20s could be seen training hard, honing their skills under the watchful gaze of an old man.
The arena was surrounded by tall walls, designated to keep outsiders from peeking in, and to make sure that the training Summoners could feel secluded, retaining their focus on the training rather than watchful gazes from outside.
The field next to the arena was used by three dozen Familiars that were also honing their skills. Two bulls charged at each other seemingly mindlessly, while a huge truck-sized Lizard spit flames on a bronze-colored armadillo.
There were a handful more unique 'trainings'-methods Nial and Celine encountered but they diverted their attention after a while without questioning anything.
It was not on them to question the training methods of other clans, to begin with. After all, there was a reason why the Silver Eye Clan was secretly crowned the most powerful clan in the Lacardia Empyrean Void's history.
'They're tempering each other's special traits and physique using unique means. I wonder if the Lizard's flame would hone Goldy's golden scales as well…'
Nial was quite intrigued by the training methods used for Familiars. There weren't too many Summoners willing to train their Familiars after they reached their racial limit. Training their Familiar using normal means was still somewhat that could be considered quite common, but he had never seen Rex training his dragon breath, Dragon Might, his aerial skills, forget about the toughness of his scales.
Maybe it would be a little bit difficult for the Blaze Dragon to improve after reaching a certain threshold, but Nial couldn't be sure about that.
He just knew that Rex had already used up his whole potential, while the same could actually be said about the monsters in the large field. Goldy was different in that regard.
'That's for later.'
He shook his head and went ahead, still holding Celine's hand.
Beyond the training area was the residential area, where the Silver Eye Clan had built various small tree houses. In fact, except in the trees above the training area, tree houses could be seen everywhere. They were well-hidden, which was mostly thanks to the mana-infused wood used to construct the tree houses.
The tree houses were arranged in a circular pattern around the central plaza, where several hanging bridges led to. The villagers, members of the Silver Eye Clan, gathered in the central plaza for meals and other activities. There was even a scoreboard ranking everyone's combat prowess according to their Mana Core's rank.
This was quite interesting if he was to be honest with himself.
"There is no ranking for Summoners at the Mirae rank. Sad."
He shrugged his shoulders and kept looking around.
It was a little weird that nobody seemed to pay any attention to them, but Nial didn't really dislike that.
They were the only two kids in the Silver Eyes Clan's village, yet nobody cared about them. This was something new for Nial Lacardia, the Crown Prince of the Lacardia Empyrean Void, whom everyone tried to fawn and please no matter what.
Nial enjoyed the peace and the fact that nobody cared about him.
He could see small gardens where the villagers grew their own vegetables and herbs and Familiars tending to gardens. Both Familiars and Creatoran worked together to create a village full of harmony. It was a rare sight in an Era where most Familiars were considered tools to become stronger rather than family members and forget about a part of society.
At the heart of the village was the council hall. The Clan leader gathered there in order to discuss important matters and discuss the decisions that may affect the entire community. It was one of the few buildings that had been constructed on the ground, made out of stone, and decorated with various unique symbols and intricate carvings.
Seeing the dozens of Creatoran and Familiars gathering around the woman whom he presumed to be the Silver Eyes Clan Leader, Nial smiled lightly.
Despite its isolation and secrecy, the Silverv Eye Clan was a thriving community, filled with skilled and dedicated Creatoran and their Familiars. They were committed to protecting their place and standing in for their opinion, guarding their way of living.
While others may be afraid of the village and see the Silver Eye Clan as a mysterious and dangerous clan, Nial felt that he came to a place he would learn to call his home, his sanctuary.
Unfortunately, it seemed like he was the only one thinking like this.
"Matriarch, you cannot do this! Why do we have to accept the Crown Prince into our rows? His disappearance will attract too much attention, and the Empire's enemies will search for him. It is only a matter of time before they find out about the Silver Eye Clan. Accepting him is against our most-fundamental rules to never accept a brightly shining star!
We are the shadows that see everything, not the brightest shining stars dancing in the limelight!" A middle-aged man in the midst of the crowd shouted out loud.
He seemed to be truly enraged about the news that reached him only now. Some voices agreed with the middle-aged man's comment, but there weren't too many of those. The voices were from his loyal followers, not from people who actually believed that Nial's arrival would change too much.
"Did you drink too much over the last few days, Dave? Or maybe you couldn't satisfy your poor wife again. Poor Malika." The young woman standing on the pedestal mocked all of a sudden.
She sneered and looked at the middle-aged man in contempt.
"Our highest priority is to protect the Lacardia Empyrean Void. That means we will help the brightest star of the Empire to shine brighter than anyone else. That way, we can hide in his shadows."
"..."
"Isn't that what you planned to do? Are you scared just because a youngling will come soon?"
"...We don't know if he will make it here, either way…" The middle-aged man tried to retort but the young woman could only laugh lightly.
"If you didn't notice it yet, he is already here. Dave…you really need to cut drinking too much!"