At the very moment he had turned around, Valyr was instantly greeted by the sight of a young man wearing a dark gray robe that went below the man's knees, tied in place with what looked to be a thick leather belt.
Sporting a head of dark gray hair that made the man look like he had been electrocuted, the man had a pair of dark blue eyes that seemed to contain the vastness of the oceans. Completing it with a smile that seemed to contain mockery as he looked at the young man.
"Have the other candidates been informed of my true identity before the tournament?" Ignoring the man behind him for the meantime, Valyr turned around to look at Zeik. After that, he opened up the chat function to send the man beside him a question in fear of having other people snoop in on their conversation.
"That… I'm not so sure." Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Zeik eventually sent a response to Valyr through the chat function, giving the latter a wry smile soon after. "I was only tasked with escorting you and giving you a rough rundown of how the tournament would work."
"When it comes to questions like that, the best person to ask in that regard would be none other than the Guildmaster."
"Got it." Sparing a glance at the man behind him, who now had a frown on his face, Valyr then returned his attention to the screen he had brought up, sending a brief question to Julian within seconds.
"Have you told the other candidates of my true identity?"
"With how precarious it would be for others to find out? Not one bit." As if the man was waiting for the young man to ask the question to him, Julian swiftly sent an answer that responded directly to Valyr's question. "At most, I've only given the three other guilds vague information regarding your identity and your abilities."
"I know each of the representatives for the inheritance come from the four production guilds. However, since this is related to the inheritance, wouldn't they have been able to obtain information on me through the Imperial Production Guild?" Finding the man's response somewhat weird, Valyr decided to follow it up with another question.
"Normally, that would've been the case," said Julian through a message a few seconds later. "However, as I am the one who introduced your existence to those old geezers from the Ancestral Council, we've eventually come to an agreement that it would be better for your true identity to be hidden for the meantime."
"After all, even though the Zeihardt clan may only be a royal clan in status, its might as a whole instills fear even to the class guilds themselves," Julian added on a follow-up message. "Not even the four main production guilds want to know what it would be like to face the frenzy of half of the Zeihardt clan."
"So… in short, the other candidates don't know what I'm capable of." Becoming silent for a bit more, Valyr eventually sent a message back to Julian, something that the latter agreed with.
"Pretty much," the man said in his response message. "Add on the fact that you're using what looks to be an incredibly strong disguise skill, I'd say most of the odds are stacked in your favor."
"Go ahead and use it to your advantage." Telling Valyr that he was in the middle of forging in another message, Julian eventually ended their small chat with a couple more messages. "Get the leader position if you can."
"So, what did Julian say?" Seeing as Valyr dispelled the screen in front of him, Zeik went ahead and asked what had transpired, utilizing the chat function once more.
"The other candidates don't know anything." In response, Valyr shook his head, sending a message in return. Reading through the message he received, a light smirk gradually crept up Zeik's face.
"Then… I guess that only means one thing." Grinning, Zeik decided to forgo the chat function, whispering directly into Valyr's ear instead as his thoughts seemingly aligned with Julian's at that moment.
"Show them the best of what the Blacksmith Guild has to offer."
"With pleasure." Grinning back, Valyr's expression swiftly returned to normal as he finally turned to look at the man behind him once more, whose frown now seemed to extend beyond his face.
"Was I talking to a rock this entire time?" said the man in a slightly aggressive tone. "Don't you know how many times I've been calling you for the past few minutes?"
"You're talking to the Faulus Erlenmeyer, you know?" Hearing the man introduce himself in his conversation, a faint glint flashed in Valyr's eyes. "I'm someone specifically chosen by the Alchemist Guild to represent the alchemists in this upcoming inheritance!"
"As for you…" Pushing on Valyr's chest with his pointer finger, Faulus continued to look at the young man, a trace of disgust in his eyes. "I don't know what you did in the Blacksmith Guild for a no-name like you to be chosen, but I'm sure as hell it wasn't through honest means."
"What are you trying to say, then?" Raising his eyebrow, Valyr's expression remained calm, not giving Faulus the pleasure that came with infuriating someone.
"All I'm saying is that you should prove that you've earned the right to participate in the inheritance." Not letting the other side's calm demeanor affect him, a hint of mockery appeared on Faulus' face as he said these words. "Show me what gave the right for a no-name like you to join the inheritance."
'And here I thought his arrogance was the least of my concerns.' Inwardly letting out a sigh, Valyr could not stop himself from comparing the Faulus he was looking at to the Faulus he had come across in his past life. Though the man was still insufferable in many ways in his past life, the Faulus in front of him looked to be far more insufferable.
'Ah, right. Superiority complex.' Recalling something Julian had told him that allowed him to understand his current situation more, a faint smile appeared on Valyr's face as he looked at Faulus directly in the eyes.
"You want me to show you my right?" Asking this question, Valyr began to walk closer to the young man, clenching both of his fists in the process.
"What's wrong with showing a bit of proof?" Feeling slightly intimidated, Faulus responded back with a statement that allowed to regain some confidence. "Unless… you don't have any proof to begin with?"
"Oh, I got some proof, alright." At these words, Valyr grinned.
"Here's my right…"
Bang!
"…jab."
