The rest of the banquet proceeded smoothly, well, as smoothly as a bunch of noble teens forced in the same room without adult supervision could go.
Yom was finding it harder and harder to be in my precence, Seraph was boasting about his harem and was trying to decide who should be the first wife, Rovan kept asking everyone for a sparring match, well everyone but me.
I even went and asked why, he scoffed and said that although I might be a good magician, I didn't use any weapon so it was not worth it.
Oh right, I didn't show my jian, welp.
The others were whispering in between themselves and I was left to my own devices for sometime.
Being invisibile was strangely nostalgic, after passing a lifetime completely ignored, the sudden attention I received everywhere was getting on my nerves without me realising.
Of course I exploited the free time to start reading the book on ancient rune crafting Lyss had given me. It was interesting.
More then crafting in the sense a blacksmith intended, this book explained how to enchant with the runic language normal items, like I had done with the [spying mirrors], but in a much detailed manner.
A good hour went by before someone actually noticed my silence.
I did release a Doppelgänger moving around copying my past actions, but when someone touched it and it disappeared they started to look for me once again.
"You really don't care about anything but magic, do you?" -Yom
"Brother, you shouldn't…"
"I know, I just wanted to tell you something. Although these bastard pricks are insufferable and frankly speaking boring as fuck, they are and will be tremendously powerful people."
"Get to the point Yom."
"You should mingle. Disorder is not only chaos, but knowing when to strike and who to strike. It has a logic behind otherwise, we would just be beasts."
That was true, a truth I really didn't care about, but still needed to keep in mind.
"Fine, what should I do?"
"Have that sparring match with Rovan, people will have fun and it will be a good way to show you're not just a magician. You need to be the top of the top, don't you?"
His words were the calling of a siren, if I cared about pride, which I did not.
"You just want to see me bleeding, I already gave my blood to father."
"ROVAN! Crow says he wants to fight, even if it's just to receive a beating, he wants to learn from the best fighter!"
I looked at Yom with unadulterated hatred. After all I had done for him, he wants to push me to the flames of hell?
While I was planning how to actually kill Yom making it seem like an accident, Rovan and the other heirs regrouped.
"Will it be hand to hand? He didn't show any weapons and his posture is definitely that of a scholar." -Rovan
"No, I use a jian and if my little brother doesn't see me bleed he will be upset."
Rovan looked at me and then nodded.
"Fine, you can use magic. I won't be so heartless and just maim a little."
This bastard.
"Rovan, you shouldn't underestimate Crow's magic…" - Yom
"Now now brother, don't spoil the game. Let's do it like this. If I survive 5 minutes, I will then use magic. Is it good enough?"
"5 minutes? Crow I can kill in seconds."
I turned around and went towards the training ground. No way in hell I would fight in a dining hall, food was sacred.
The 12 princes and princesses were following suit, with Yom trying to convince me not to use magic. But I already given much more leeway than necessary.
If he really couldn't dispose of me in 5 minutes, there was no need to continue the challenge.
As soon as we entered the room, miss Anne was already waiting at the edge of the room.
"Miss Anne, do you have prophetic abilities to know when I will bleed and consequently decided to come here to laugh at my face?"
"Yes."
"Good, take a picture hahahahaha!"
People couldn't even begin to comprehend how we were able to talk like that, but I'd say I was able to greatly corrupt miss Anne, my personal healer into a staggering trickster herself! And the picture I asked for were clearly references for my illusions.
Rovan and I moved to the center of the room and stood a couple meters away. Auriel strode forward nominating himself as referee and emergency healer and since there were no problems with that we just nodded.
"Duels between nobles have a strict etiquette-"
"Lord Rovan, it's just a sparring match. Let's skip the pleasantries."
"Fine."
He took out his war axe and swung it with an ease and forcefulness that startled basically everyone. Blood red and taller then him, the axe stood proud like a promise of broken bones, noting like the sleek jian that appeared in my hand.
Black, light and definitely not on par with the monstrosity of that war axe.
As soon as my form was shown to everyone, they couldn't help but start laughing.
"He really is a scholar alright!"
"Damn! Can he even walk?"
"So tall and so unable to use a weapon, such a waste."
Everyone but Anne was snickering comments, even Yom that had never seen my training was somewhat apologetic.
"Brother, if I knew you were so bad I…"
"Shut up Yom. You are going next against this giant of a man."
"What? I never agreed to that?"
"Rovan, Yom, if I win. You will fight together, Okke?"
In their eyes the possibility of me winning was 0% so they just nodded.
Anne however took out her phone and called for someone, clearly unamused.
"Who are you calling healer Anne?"
"Your personal healer young master Yom, we wouldn't dare be unprepared."
With everything settled, I put the jian on my shoulder like a baseball bat and gestured for Rovan to commence.
"I'll make this quick and painless Crow! Here I come!"
The giant sprinted forward with a speed that had nothing to do with his figure.
Had it been me a couple of weeks prior I'd be praying to the gods, but things had changed.
As his axe started the swing, I took a step forward, a step that to everyone else looked like I was slipping right into the axe.
Nobody thought it could be possible for someone to be so clumsy, they all thought that somehow I would raise my jian in time and at most be flung away.
But my jian was steady on my shoulder despite me seemingly falling down without a change in expression.
As soon as the axe was a few inches away from completing the hit, my fall seemed to slow down, my hand shot forward landing on the flat of the axe and with a new point of contact I was able to handspring above him, during the jump the jian in my hand snapped forward slashing at Rovan's shoulder and when I landed behind him ready to strike again, everyone's jaw dropped.
Rovan of course wasn't so easy to trick, as soon as he felt the slash, he took another step forward creating enough distance to protect himself from a backstab.
"I guess you ain't just a scholar."
"I wish Lord Rovan, you don't even know how I wish I could just live in the library."
The exchange wasn't lost from the other heirs, in their minds it was clearly a jab at Rovan, but the man himself knew I was honest, he could feel no love for the weapon, nor the act of achieving first blood. He only felt my existence for what it was.
A man standing there with a sword and no desire to use it.