At the very instant Julian had confirmed their suspicions, all of the elders in the room could not help but make noise, their expressions that of great excitement. Unsurprisingly, Faulerei could not help but become excited as well.
"To think the Four Pillars' Inheritance could finally be explored in its entirety," Faulerei murmured to himself before gazing at the ceiling. Then, letting out a long sigh of relief, he looked back at Julian with a relieved expression.
"With your discovery, Julian, you've allowed this old man to have no more regrets before passing onto the next life."
"You still have hundreds of years left in you, Elder Faulerei." Julian chuckled in response, the sound of metal colliding against metal being heard in the background. "Are you telling us you don't want to see what kind of rewards they could pull out from the full inheritance?"
At those words, Faulerei eventually let out a rare chuckle, causing some of the other elders to look at him in slight surprise. "This is the first time I've seen Faulerei laugh…"
"Hey, Alvin. Aren't you glad the Blacksmith Guild finally discovered a true prodigy among the blacksmiths?" asked one of the elders to the left of Faulerei's seat to Alvin, a hint of arrogance laced in his tone. This elder was known as Elder Raylot, the head of the Imperial Production Guild's Tailor Division, as well as its representative for the Ancestral Council.
In response, rather than feeling glad that there was now a blacksmith candidate of the same caliber as the others for the three other divisions, Alvin could not help but feel a hint of anger towards Raylot's words. Taking in a deep breath, this anger quickly dispersed as he looked at him with a solemn tone, deciding to respond against the latter's expectations.
"Sure am." Alvin nodded before lightly smiling. "Though it's not fully certain that the candidate Julian found does have the True Prodigious Blacksmith class, what we've got so far is already a step in the right direction."
"Plus, isn't a True Prodigious Blacksmith good news for everyone, though? After all, with someone like that, the Four Pillars' Inheritance could finally be explored in its entirety. Am I right, Raylot? Alcheon? Sergei?"
Hearing Alvin's response to his question, the smug grin on Raylot's face quickly disappeared as a faint hint of anger radiated from him. Nevertheless, knowing what Alvin was doing, he took in a deep breath before solemnly nodding. "That is true. A True Prodigious Blacksmith, a True Prodigious Tailor, a True Prodigious Alchemist, and a True Prodigious Sage. With this line-up, I'm certain the remaining secrets of the inheritance will finally come to light."
"I'm just glad for the chosen candidates, to be honest," said an elder to the right side of Faulerei's seat, sporting thick black-rimmed glasses. This elder was known as Elder Alcheon, the representative of the Imperial Production Guild's Alchemist Division for the Ancestral Council.
"After all, they would be getting all of the rewards from the inheritance. Our council only aims to obtain any extra information they gain from the inheritance," he added.
"I do wonder where the blacksmith candidate currently is, though," said an elder whose seat was to the left of Faulerei's, donning a head that rivaled even the brightest of suns. This elder was known as Elder Sergei, the head of the Imperial Production Guild's smallest division, the Sage Division.
"Even though the inheritance is set to only open at the end of following month, it would be better to have the candidate close by, rather than having to scour the entire continent for their whereabouts." Hearing these words come out of Sergei's mouth, a thought could not help but pop up in Faulerei's mind, prompting him to have everyone be silent.
Noticing that the surroundings had become silent once more, Julian's apparition could not help but look at Faulerei, waiting for the question that would come out of the latter's mouth.
"Do you have information on what rank that candidate has achieved that class, Julian?" At that moment, Faulerei's excitement was nowhere to be seen. Instead, if one looked closely, there was a hint of worry on his face. "After all, the candidate can only be Rank 3 at most before the inheritance rejects them."
Unsurprisingly, the excitement covering the entire room from earlier was swiftly replaced with that of slight anxiety, with everyone in their seats murmuring with one another about the possible worst case scenario. Nevertheless, everyone gradually quietened down as they stared at the one who had the answer to Faulerei's question.
"I thought you'd never ask, Elder Faulerei." Julian chuckled, the sounds of forging still reverberating under his voice. "Be at ease. The candidate has obtained the True Prodigious Blacksmith class… at Rank 1."
"Heavens!" At the mention of the candidate's feat, a great portion of the elders could not help but let out a gasp in incredulity. Even Alvin and the other elders were not spared from this shock, their eyes widening from the talent of the candidate the Blacksmith Guild had found.
However, not long after, this fact only made them think of another person in mind, a person that the Imperial Production Guild had already found quite a long time ago for the inheritance, who also had a similar level of talent.
Naturally, Faulerei could not help but think of the person as well, taking in a few breaths before posing the question everyone had in mind to Julian. "Although achieving a Mythic blacksmith class is truly a feat worthy of praise, the inheritance unfortunately does not test the candidate's talent alone. Are you privy to the candidate's combat proficiency, Julian?"
"I have indeed had someone test the candidate's combat proficiency, yes." Julian nodded, causing the elders in the room to give him nods of agreement for his preparation. "Since the one who tested the candidate's combat proficiency was a Rank 4 class holder, the elders here could rest assured that the information I shall give is as accurate as possible."
"Of course, I also added this information in the upcoming letter," he added.
Taking in a deep breath as the sounds of forging quietened down in his background, Julian's apparition looked at all of the elders in the room before opening his mouth.
"From what the one who tested their combat proficiency told me, the candidate's combat proficiency hovers at around the Veteran and Elite level, though the one who tested it was certain that it was more likely to be the latter instead of the former."
"Aside from that, he also mentioned that the candidate's talent in combat was quite comparable to Hal."
Hearing Julian mention the name of the person most, if not all of the elders had in mind, a light clamor erupted throughout the room once more as the anxiety they felt earlier was swiftly replaced with that of excitement, with most of the elders voicing out to Faulerei that the candidate should be brought to the kingdom as quickly as possible.
Unsurprisingly, Faulerei was of the same mind, finding the candidate Julian and his representative Nathaniel had introduced to them more than a welcome surprise. Thinking that it wouldn't take long for the candidate to arrive at the kingdom, he then asked Julian for the candidate's name.
However, rather than outright respond to the question, a bitter smile appeared on Julian's face as a hint of hesitation could be seen on it. Noticing this, all of the elders went silent, wondering what was hindering Julian from mentioning the candidate's name.
Of course, Julian knew what was going on inside their heads, so he asked them, "Can all of the elders make sure that word of this does not spread out of this room, as well as any of the reputable organizations of the kingdom?"
"You're also included in this, Nathaniel." He looked at Nathaniel after that, who merely nodded in response as he gestured that he would keep his mouth shut.
Looking at each other for a bit in response to the request, all of the elders eventually nodded in agreement, finding it a small matter if it meant the inheritance could be finally explored in its entirety. With that, Faulerei lightly nodded before opening his mouth. "You have the elders' word, Julian."
Lightly nodding, Julian took in a deep breath before letting out a light sigh. Then, with a composed face, he responded. "The candidate's name is…"
"Valyr Zeihardt."
