For a while, Valyr looked at the standing Faulus in silence. Though such a question seemed to have come out of nowhere from someone like him, it also made quite a lot of sense.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, Faulus' ability in combat was considered to be on the level of those among the top. After all, it was already difficult for one to surmount a gap between the early levels and the late levels of a rank, much less to say an entire rank itself.
However, compared to someone like Hal and Valyr, the young man was indeed lacking when it came to the combat department. Then again, that thought was only worsened by the fact that he had fought against Valyr during the tournament, only for the entire fight to be the latter leading him on.
And that was with Valyr not showing off all of the abilities in his skill set.
Thinking about it for a bit more, Valyr let out a faint sigh as he consumed the vial of might, inwardly surprised at the amount of stats it had given him. Storing the empty vial in his spatial bracelet for the meantime, he looked at the young man before him. "I don't really mind teaching you, but why the sudden question?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Hearing Valyr's words, Faulus wryly smiled. "Up to the moment we entered the inheritance, I was incredibly confident that I would be of great use to the journey."
"I've even shored up my greatest weakness somewhat, giving me the confidence to fight against those at the peak of Rank 3 as long as I kept my calm." As Faulus continued with his words, the young man raised his eyebrows in interest, surprised that the former could improve his combat skills that quickly.
Though he did not know whether the training he had gone through would translate over to his new levels of strength, Valyr was quite certain that Faulus would still become a force to be reckoned with.
"Yet, for some reason, after we entered the inheritance and ascended to the peak of Rank 3, I've had this nagging feeling at the back of my head." While Valyr continued to listen to the man, Faulus let out a sigh.
"All in all, I just don't know whether I'm ready." Looking down at the floor, the young man had a despondent expression on his face, making it evident to Valyr how the young man's worries had troubled him all this time.
Scratching the back of his head for a bit, Valyr thought about what he wanted to say. "Well, I'm not really good at consoling people, but you've spent a lot of time preparing for this inheritance, right?"
"Yeah." Faulus faintly nodded. "Ever since I was told I had been chosen as a candidate, I've put in a great amount of effort."
"Why worry, then?" In response, Valyr let out a brief chuckle. "It feels quite contradicting if you were to compare it to the actions you've taken up to this point."
Hearing his words, Faulus sighed once more. "I know… but still…"
"Think of this way." Feeling as if the conversation would only go into a loop if he let the man continue, Valyr interrupted his thoughts. "Rather than worry over something that might be beyond your abilities, believe in the effort you've put into your preparations thus far."
"Believe in my efforts…" Muttering these words to himself over and over, Faulus gradually looked as if a heavy burden was being removed off his shoulders, prompting him to let out a long, drawn-out sigh after a bit of silence. "I… kind of needed to hear that. Thank you."
"You know… I feel like this conversation has made me gotten over the fact you've been hiding under another identity all this time." As Faulus let out a chuckle at his words, Valyr felt the exact opposite, not knowing what to say in response to such a massive shift in topic. Fortunately, he did not have dwell on the matter too long as the man changed it not long after.
"Ah, right. Did you get your hands on one of my concoctions from the auction?" asked Faulus with a slightly interested expression. "Then again, I did put a unique flair to them that only I can recognize. Since I sensed it, then that can only mean you did."
"I got my hands on a vial of Might." Valyr nodded in response, only to raise his eyebrow in curiosity soon after. "Why the question?"
"Well… I was actually planning to give all of you vials of Might after all of us ascended to our current rank," responded Faulus, wryly smiling. "But you know… worrying about what I could do and whatnot."
"Think of it as my way of helping out like how you upgraded all of our equipment," continued the man.
Seeing as Valyr was now looking at him with an expectant expression, a faint chuckle briefly escaped Faulus' mouth as he grabbed a total of five vials from his spatial bracelet. Two of them seemed to contain the same viscous fluid that Valyr's vial had earlier, while the remaining three contained a viscous fluid that was of a contrasting color to the two.
"It doesn't really beat getting one's hands on some Reinforcement Elixir, but it does still give out a considerable boost in attributes." Giving the five vials to Valyr, Faulus began to explain what the vials were with a smile. "The first two vials are what you think they are, while the last three vials are actually the magical counterpart to Might, which I've decided to call Acuity."
"Also, the system has limited anyone who taken either Might or Acuity to three vials each at most," he continued, faintly shrugging his shoulders. "Whether it's due to my lack of skills or the fact that the materials I've chosen aren't potent enough, I have no clue."
"How about the others?" Thanking Faulus for the sudden gift, Valyr looked at him as a thought popped up in his mind.
"I'll give it to them later," replied Faulus with a slight chuckle. "Most of them seem to be engrossed in something, so I'll only disturb them before we depart for the plains."
"Anyways, thank you again for that wake-up call, Valyr." Seeing as his reasons to enter the young man's tent was resolved, Faulus thought that it was his due time to leave. "Oh, and also… is my earlier offer still up?"
"I'll teach you more about it once we head to the plains." Letting out a peal of laughter as he decided to see Faulus off, Valyr returned to his tent and consumed the five vials Faulus had given him without hesitation. Feeling a slight surge in strength coursing throughout his body, he waited for the feeling to die down before taking a look at his notifications.
"15 points in almost every stat… not bad." Nodding at his gains in satisfaction, the young man went ahead and stored all of the empty vials into his spatial bracelet before bringing out the Outer Realm Scripture from earlier.
"Hopefully, no one disturbs me this time."
