Rise of the Devourer
Book 4: Chapter 11 — Royal Banquet

The time for the banquet arrived quickly. Noah stood in front of a mirror in Kaelan's estate, where the afternoon sun shone through the windows as he checked his clothes. Kaelan gave him a navy jacket with silver stitching, matching pants that fit better than Noah thought they would, and a bunch of accessories that he didn't know how to put together.

He mumbled to himself, as he fumbled with what he thought was a pin. "Why do so many small, complicated pieces of metal need to be at formal events?"

Aurelia started from the next room, her voice coming through the open door, "The nobility have to find ways to show off their wealth and free time. If getting dressed were easy, everyone would do it."

She came in a moment later, and Noah's complaint went away. Aurelia's gold dress caught the light of the setting sun. The cloth moved around her, and her hair was styled in a way that made her seem like she was glowing under the sun. She looked... lovely.

"You clean up," Noah said with a smile.

"I’m assuming that’s another one of those weird sayings from your world. Does it mean I look too clean and boring?” Aurelia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It means you look good,” Noah replied.

“Obviously," she replied, flicking her hair with a haughty attitude as the both of them smiled. “Not sure you clean up though, and what’s with that pin, come here.”

She got closer and adjusted the decorative piece with steady fingertips. Noah could smell her perfume.

When she was done, she stepped back to take a good look "Better. You know, you look really good when you're dressed up and not covered in blood and dirt for once. Maybe you should dress up a bit more often."

Noah looked down at himself, and the fancy clothes he wore. “Well, it’s not as bad as I expected it to be. But it’s not really my style you know?”

“If you say so, I kinda like it,” Aurelia replied.

“Well, if the lady commands, I will try my best,” Noah replied, giving her a bow. Aurelia chuckled in reply.

A moment later, Kaelan's voice resonated through the estate. "Are you two ready? The others are waiting!"

They headed to the main hall, where the remainder of their company was waiting for them. The change was amazing: their adventurous gear had been replaced by formal clothes that would look good in any royal court.

Vion looked amazing in a deep red dress that appeared to glow with its own fire. The color went well with her red hair, and the way she moved made it seem like the fabric may catch fire if she got too upset. She saw Noah gazing and smiled, which made his heart race.

Erwest had decided to stay in his paladin armor, which had been polished and made to shine. Valeria wore ceremonial armor, which was plainly more comfortable for her to wear than civilian clothes.

Kaelan was a member of the royal guard and wore a military dress suit that showed he was a member of the royal family. He also carried ceremonial weapons and wore insignia that showed his family's service to the crown.

The biggest surprise came from Seraphina. The mage had changed into a blue dress that shone like stars. Her silver hair was styled in a way that was both elegant and wild.

"Seraphina! You look so pretty,” Aurelia said.

The wizard fidgeted with her clothes, her brows furrowed slightly. "Valeria insisted on it. Apparently my usual robes weren't good enough for a royal banquet."

"It is customary to go in pairs," Kaelan said as they got ready to go. "But we have an odd number of people, which makes things difficult."

They put themselves into practical groups: Erwest and Valeria, who had become closer during their adventures; Kaelan and Seraphina, whose height difference was funny but worked; and Noah and Aurelia, who had been through a lot together and felt natural together.

"What about Vion?" Aurelia inquired.

"I'll be with Zax. It seemed right after what came out this afternoon."

There were beautiful and well-equipped carriages waiting outside the estate. The trip to the palace was calm, as Noah stared out the windows of the carriage and saw the cityscape go by. He was amused by how different Drakonias looked when they took the ceremonial route instead of the practical ones they typically traveled.

When the palace was lit up for a big event, it started to actually look like a palace instead of just a fortress. Every window was lit up, and guards in full costume stood along the way. Other carriages were coming in and dropping off visitors in formal clothes that showed they were rich, powerful, and important in politics.

The guards at the entry received their invites when they got out of their carriages. They looked at the invitations, compared them to a master list, and then let them into the palace.

The main ballroom was a piece of art in terms of architecture and decoration. The ceiling rose above and was decorated with murals that told the narrative of Drakonia. Chandeliers lit up a meeting of the political and social elite from several kingdoms. People were talking in different languages all around the room, and there was music from a string group in one corner.

"This is... intimidating," Aurelia remarked, staying close to Noah as they walked in.

"Not used to events like this?" Noah asked as Aurelia shook her head.

“I’ve always preferred to stay out of anything too high profile. Royals usually don’t host E-rankers, which is what I was when I met you.”

“Huh, that’s right isn’t it? Somehow I’d forgotten,” Noah said.

Aurelia punched his shoulder slightly. “Your stupid growth speed has been dragging me upwards too. I think without meeting you I’d only just be reaching D rank.”

Noah smiled and Aurelia seemed to relax a bit too.

Kaelan stood next to them, glancing at the two banter, before starting to point out some people to help them understand the complicated social situation around them.

He quietly pointed to a guy in robes near the eastern wall and whispered, "That man is the head of the Southern Adventuring Guild Coalition. He has a lot of political power and has been known to recruit promising adventurers from events like this."

As they walked through the crowd, he kept talking, pointing out important people with the ease of someone who had grown up in this area. "The woman at the refreshment table is General Vyra Scorpion; she led the defense of the Northern Borders during the Troll Wars. The woman by the balcony is Archmage Celeste Nightingale; she is the headmistress of the Celestian Academy of the Arcane."

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When the archmage was mentioned, Seraphina produced a noise that sounded like a hiccup or a whimper. The woman saw the commotion and looked through the crowd until she found their group. She smiled and walked toward them with the ease of someone who has learnt how to handle formal gatherings while being older.

The archmage shouted out, "Seraphina!" as she got closer. "It's great to see you here, it’s been quite a while since I met you. Have you been using what you've learned in the real world? I hope you're learning things that can't be taught in school?"

Seraphina shrank back, her confidence fading. "Hello, Headmistress Nightingale," she remarked in a low voice.

The old woman smiled as she talked to their group, asking them about their travels and displaying interest in where they were from. She was happy to hear of their achievement in the trials and congratulated them with the sincerity of someone who knew how hard it was to do what they did.

The gang looked at Seraphina with interest after the archmage left.

Aurelia responded, "She seems nice. Why were you scared of her?"

Seraphina shivered. "She's a monster. Don't let her looks fool you—there's no humanity in that woman's heart. She made me do the same spell exercises over and over for days without breaks, made me memorize theoretical frameworks until I could recite them backwards in my sleep, and once locked me in the practice chambers for a week with only basic food until I mastered a hard transmutation sequence."

"That sounds like... school," Valeria replied.

Seraphina remarked, "It was torture disguised as learning," she said, before mimicking the woman’s voice. “Again, but this time with focus, she’d say like a machine, in that same tone and voice, every single time. I have nightmares about it."

A change in the mood of the ballroom broke up their chat. People stopped talking and turned their attention to the main entrance, where two people came in. It was evident from across the room that Vion and Zax came in together.

People noticed Vion rather quickly, her gown sparkling under the lights. Zax, comparatively, chose to make his human disguise simple. His formal clothes were well-fitted but not spectacular. But the weight of his presence spoke for itself. No one would think he was anything less than an extremely powerful mage.

And it’d be the understatement of the century, Noah thought.

As they walked in, the music changed to the first few bars of a waltz, and couples moved to the dance floor. The change went down without a hitch, making the social event more interesting.

"I see Drakonians taking part in this," Aurelia said as she watched numerous people from the kingdom join the dance with ability.

"Royal customs are more or less the same in all kingdoms,” Kaelan said. “This is a mixed group of people from different countries and cultures. The hosts change the entertainment to meet the needs of a wide range of guests."

Kaelan's uncle Valros showed up with a woman on his arm while they were watching the dancing. The Drakonian officer smiled at their group and then spoke to his nephew.

"Kaelan, you can't be a wallflower forever. This is a party, so have fun! Or your lady is going to get bored and leave you,” the man said, clearly at least slightly intoxicated.

“Uncle, I think we’re—”

“Sure, why not,” Seraphina said.

Kaelan glanced at her in surprise.

"Oh it’s not that big a deal. I learned how to ballroom dance in school. We had to learn how to get along with other people while we were there. I actually somewhat liked the dancing. Just not the people."

Valeria glanced at Erwest expectantly as Kaelan and Seraphina headed out to the dance floor. The paladin looked down at her, opened his mouth to refuse, saw a frown form on her brows and gave up the thought. Valeria smiled happily. “Come on,” she said, pulling him along. "We will learn together, no matter what you want."

Noah and Aurelia stood next to each other and watched their friends join the dancers. Aurelia looked at Noah.

"Do you want to—"

She shook her head. "I can't dance. You go ahead and have fun. I'll be fine watching from here."

"It'll be fine," Noah responded. "I can't dance either, but we could just do what everyone else is doing. How hard could it be?"

Aurelia looked at the dance floor hesitantly. Before shaking her head again. "No, I'd rather not make a fool of myself in front of half the nobility."

A voice cut into their chat before Noah could bring it up.

"Will you both not dance?"

They turned to see Vion coming up through the mob, with Zax following after. In her red dress, she seemed more confident than before, and the way she acted made it seem that way.

Noah smiled and said, "I'm asking her, but she says no."

Vion remarked, "Oh, that's too bad," but her face showed that she wasn't that upset about it. "Will you dance with me? It would be strange for me to dance with Zax all night."

Noah looked back at Aurelia and saw something in her face that he couldn't put his finger on. Vion grasped his arm and led him to the dance floor before he could think about it more.

"I should warn you," Noah said, as they got ready, "I don't know what I'm doing."

Vion smiled, and his smile was both naughty and kind. "I'll help you through it."

As the music began, Noah found out that Vion was a rather good dancer. It definitely helped that both of them had superhuman levels of body control, and thus could make up for any lack of skill quite easily.

Vion moved smoothly and appeared to know when he was going to make a mistake, changing her steps to make up for his lack of experience. It was fun when he stopped worrying about making mistakes and did what she said.

"You're better at this than I thought," he said as they danced the waltz.

"I had to learn," she responded, pointing her tongue out at him. "Royal education includes a lot of things that don't seem useful until you need them."

Noah saw that other dancers and others watching the dance were paying attention to them as it went on. Even though he wasn't very experienced, their cooperation worked. Vion's grace made them look more skilled than they were.

Noah was surprised to see that they had ended up in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by other couples in a circle, as the music hit its height and then faded to a soft close. The applause filled the hall, and he felt his cheeks get hot as he realized that everyone was looking at them.

"Well done!" someone said from the edge of the dance floor. Noah looked up and saw King Draxius coming up with a group of advisors and courtiers. The monarch was dressed formally, and everyone around him had to show him respect.

The king's voice carried over the now-quiet ballroom as he spoke, "It is nice to see so much energy and talent from the young."

The monarch gazed out at the gathering and changed his face as he got ready to talk to them.

King Draxius's voice was loud enough to be heard in the ballroom when he spoke, "And now, we call forth the sixteen victors of the Second Trial to stand before us."

Noah's pulse raced as he understood that this was the time they had been getting ready for. He and the other contenders moved forward and lined up in front of the throne at one end of the ballroom for this ritual.

"Put your right hand over your heart," the monarch said, showing the move.

As they did as he asked, Noah felt warmth start to gather in his chest and spread through his body like fire. As if something was changing, being inscribed into the very core of his existence.

King Draxius started to speak in a language that Noah didn't understand, but the words sounded strong and authoritative. The air got denser and more focused, like being in the middle of a storm that was controlled.

Then, the energy was unleashed in a wave of brightness and warmth. Noah felt something settle in his soul, like a new part of who he was locking into place.

Dragon Warrior

You are a Dragon Warrior, recognized by the ruler of Drakonias. The land of dragons.

Active: All attributes increased by 100. All elemental attacks are 25% more effective. You have 25% increased resistance to elemental damage.

Noah let out a breath as the title settled in, and he quickly switched his current one out for Dragon Warrior, smiling as he felt the changes taking effect. A straight buff of 100 to all attributes is pretty insane. Especially since it looks like my other percentage attributes still apply to it.

The king's voice got back to normal levels. "Congratulations to our newly recognized Dragon Warriors," he remarked. "You have proven that you deserve this honor, and we look forward to seeing how you do in the tournament."

He stopped and his face got more serious. "The tournament will start in two days. The winner will get to go into our vault, where artifacts and treasures that have been collected over the years are waiting for someone worthy. But the ultimate winner—the one who proves better than everyone else—will get to try the Trial of the Dragon's Heart."

The last challenge left a promise and a danger in the air. Noah felt excited inside, wanting to see how well his new skills would work against strong opponents. His new skills were still on cooldown, but by the time the tournament started, he would have all of his weapons back.

The official half of the evening was over, and the group went back to being social. Noah had a lot of enthusiasm that made it hard to stand around and converse. The title, the skills, and the promise of future challenges all came together to make an overwhelming sensation of excitement.

He would need to be ready for tomorrow. He should practice with his new skills, see how well his mana heart works with them, and come up with plans for how to fight those whose skills he doesn't know.

But tonight... Tonight was a time to celebrate, spend time with friends and allies, and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming challenges and reaching goals.