City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Banquet

Formal attire was a must during occasions like this, and the combination of red and black seemed to be an unspoken decision amongst all the Archerons. These two colours represented sulphur and lava, the very symbol of the Archeron bloodline. Almost every Archeron was fond of blazing temperatures and the stench of sulphur, because they represented the purity and richness of one’s bloodline as well as the onset of bloodline abilities.

Only two people here weren’t all that keen about the event: Richard, and that frail-looking girl in the corner.

On Richard’s part, he felt uncomfortable with all the eyes almost boring into him, whether the gazes were obvious or not. Another reason for his discomfort was the intense volcanic ballroom. After all, it was his elven bloodline that had awakened first.

But were these other people really that fond of volcanoes? It seemed to him that only Wennington, Venica, and Demi were in the process of having their bloodlines awakened here, and the extreme temperature was becoming apparent. Many people were showing signs of discomfort— beads of sweat were rolling down their necks, and there was a tense expression in their faces.

A trueblood Archeron would feel nothing in a ballroom of 40 degrees. Richard, who’d already awoken his bloodline with Eruption, was a good example. Even standing near the mouth of the volcano in the family tombs with Gaton he was rather unaffected by the heat.

However, he personally wasn’t too fond of heat. It was near 70 degrees where he was standing! The other people in the room were just putting on a pretense, as if they had pure bloodlines themselves. It was common behaviour in many families with a long history, as many strived their hardest to act like truebloods to gain the favour of the family heads.

Gaton had risen like a comet, and was now like the brightest star in the night sky. If the choice of emblem was a volcano, then these people would act like they could die for anything related. And what better to represent volcanoes than high temperature and the smell of sulphur?

There was an answer to that question— lava. But of course, none of these rats would actually throw themselves into lava. Richard was filled with derision as he scanned through the ballroom.

His eyes landed on the girl again, holding there for a while before he looked away. The fault wasn’t his— she was wearing a long white gown in a sea of black and red. Even if she didn’t accessorise much, she was really eye-catching.

Information about her floated up in his mind: Coco Millie Archeron. Age 16, 1.67 metres tall, and a level 2 illusionist. She was the daughter of Pierre Archeron, titled cavalryman and level 10 warrior with an elementary double rune of strength and defense. He was the current vice-captain of Blackrose Castle’s guard.

Richard furrowed his brows at this information. Coco was of the lowest status of anyone present here, only present because of her father being a titled cavalryman. Even that was rather forced, given that he was only level 10. The only reason he had a title was likely his long service to the Blackrose. This title could not be inherited. His measly achievements indicated that this Pierre wasn’t courageous enough to fight on the battlefield, if not he could have been a titled knight that had the potential to reach at least level 13.

Pierre’s real intention in sending Coco to Faust was apparent. He wanted her to marry a man with status and power, and if luck permitted, give birth to an Archeron of purer blood. However, Richard saw at first sight that a mere level 2 illusionist at 16 years of age meant she had no talent at magic. Her physique revealed even more that she wasn’t suited to melee either. Thus, the only thing she had left was her bloodline, but Richard didn’t find that to be quite rich either. Her father was incapable of awakening any bloodline abilities in her, and she seemed to have inherited her mother’s weak physique.

It had been a year since Coco had come to Faust, and given her status she could only be delegated to a marriage that she had no right to resist. If she refused to follow through with the first of the ancient traditions, she would be banished immediately from the Archerons, so she may as well follow through with protocol.

That being said, however, not every Archeron would be designated to a marriage. Once a partner had been decided, the family had to provide a certain amount of support to ensure both parties raised their strength and produced better offspring. Coco was a pretty girl, her soft features and tender aura plucking at the heartstrings of many, but her weak build left her without a partner despite a year spent in Faust.

The Archeron bloodline was known to be fierce and violent. Hundreds of years of arranged marriages had made it clear that one needed two powerful parents to have a child with a greater chance of awakening their bloodline. It was also found out that it was easiest to give birth to offspring with pure bloodlines if direct family tied the knot— especially those with truenames.

Coco wasn’t either, and that explained why she wasn’t chosen by any of the ambitious Archerons. The leaders would have taken this into consideration as well, so they hadn’t appointed her to someone themselves.

Richard looked at the people in the ballroom once again, focusing on his half-siblings. He had long gotten a hold of the information on everyone attending this banquet.

Warren, 14, level 5 archer; Wennington, 14, level 8 blaze guardian; Venica, 14, level 7 blaze warrior. Demi, 15, level 10 cursemaster.

Apart from Warren, who was slightly weaker than the rest, it could be said that none of them paled in comparison to Richard. Wennington and Venica were already showing signs of their bloodlines awakening, their attacks also inflicting damage of the fire element. Moreover, Demi’s talent in magic was astonishing. Richard would have been able to match her level if he’d focused on magic instead of runecrafting, but a mage’s role and power weren’t the same as that of a cursemaster.

But of course, Richard was the star in this ballroom. A personal apprentice of the master of the Deepblue, level 8 mage who was also a runemaster, and he possessed the eye-catching appearance that came from his elven bloodline that set him apart from the rest.

Furthermore, Gaton had personally evaluated Richard’s bloodline to be on par with his own. That was insane in itself. It was no longer a secret that Gaton had a truename, which meant that Richard would ultimately have his own truename on top of being a runemaster.

This explained Venica and Demi boring into him with hawkish gazes. Both of them were tall, their appearance leaning more towards the paternal side of their genes, as well as hot and flirtatious. They were wearing near-identical evening dresses with plunging necklines, tailored to the simplest cut with nothing unnecessary to cover up their beautiful curves. Not only did the dresses bring out their stunning breasts, the high slits in the dress also showed off their alluring legs. This was especially true of Venica. Although she was a year younger than Demi, becoming a fighter had contributed to her voluptuous bosom that looked like it would fall out of her dress.