"Out of town?" Hearing this, Ryan couldn't help but be a little surprised, and he stammered a little, "Let's go... Out of town... Mr. Galib... You mean to say...."

"Drane, you just came back from the Imperial Capital, come on"

"Okay," said Drane, taking over the topic and to Ryan, "Son, the eagle will always fly to the sky, even if he is nostalgic for the earth; At this point, Draena seemed to feel a little dry in his mouth, and he released a small balloon of water to his mouth and swallowed it gently.

"Look, kid" Draena said with a smile, "magic is everywhere, it will change our lives for the better..."

"Well, when people get old, they become a little verbose. Draena shook her head and continued, "Before I bring up your rite of passage trials, I'll tell you a story...

About 200 years ago, the evil army of the undead invaded the continent of Eslar, and in the face of the boundless army of the undead, humanity became more vulnerable than ever, and death and fear loomed over the entire continent of Eslar. Still, people did not give up hope, and a human knight stepped forward and raised the banner of resistance, his name was Bird Fernando.

With his efforts, the human race gathered nearly 200,000 troops from the seven surviving countries, and formed an alliance with the elves and dwarves to jointly resist the invasion of the undead legion, which was later the Holy Alliance.

Finally, in Sunrise City in the east of the mainland, the main force of the coalition army and the undead army launched a decisive battle, known as the "Sunrise Battle" in history. After hard fighting and painful efforts, good triumphed over evil, and the coalition finally defeated the undead legions. After the war, Byrd Fernando unified the human world and established the Holy Alliance Empire, which he also became the first emperor of. This is where our Holy Alliance Empire comes from.

In order to keep this history remembered forever for future generations, Fernando I decreed that the day of the end of the annual "Battle of Sunrise" should be designated as "Victory Day" to commemorate those who died in this catastrophe. At the same time, in order to encourage people's martial spirit, a royal competition is held every year in the imperial capital of Fernando City to select outstanding talents.

The Royal Athletic Tournament has been held year after year, and a large number of talents have been selected for the empire, countless strong warriors, pious knights, wise mages, and dexterous thieves have been selected to enrich the empire's army. As a result, the Empire's armies became so powerful in just ten years, and even the fierce orc tribes trembled as the sword of Fernando I called "revenge", and these powerful orc tribes were driven out of the South Tarren steppes that had lived for hundreds of years by Fernando I's army. In order to survive, the surviving orcs had to migrate to the North Talon savannah, where living conditions were poor, and lived in pursuit of water and grass.

For the first time in human history, we truly have the vast desert land from the South Talon steppe in the north, the sea in the east, the Hengduan Mountains in the west, and the Silent Forest in the south, and the most fertile land that accounts for half of the Eslar continent!

However, as time passed, Atlético Royale slowly lost its original meaning, and people discovered its drawbacks and began to exploit them.

The venue of the annual tournament is the Royal Arena built in the imperial capital of the empire, Fernando, and because the rules of the tournament are to fight one-on-one in a fixed field, regardless of class, this makes it unfair to the various professions participating in the competition.

As we all know, a high-level mage's magic is extremely powerful, but he needs a little time to condense his mana and cast magic, in that kind of fierce competition, how can a magician's opponent give him such a chance? A mage who is close to a warrior or a thief is doomed to failure; a shooter who is a hundred-step archer cannot give full play to his own advantages if he cannot distance himself from his opponent and engage in hand-to-hand combat; and a thief with flexible skills is forced to fight the warrior face to face, and has lost the initiative in battle? In the end, almost every year's competitive champions were either brave and strong warriors or pious knights, and the significance of Fernando I's establishment of the Royal Athletic Tournament to select all kinds of talents was lost......"

"And what happened later?" Ryan asked, captivated by the story Dralane's telling.

"Hehe", Draeney smiled and continued: "For this reason, the Royal Athletic Tournament has been in the doldrums for a long time, but twenty years ago, Orlando, the current head of the Royal Knights, the Imperial General, and the Supreme Military Commander of the Imperial Capital, stood out from the Royal Athletic Tournament, and he not only won the championship, but also proposed to reform the Royal Athletic Tournament for the first time. As a result of his status as a champion, and the increasingly embarrassing situation of the Atlético Royale, Emperor Fernando XII accepted Orlando's reforms. ”

"In fact, the reform is also very simple, that is, the previous one-on-one competition has become a five-on-five competition for the team. In this way, the mage can calmly cast his magic under the protection of the warriors in front of him, and the priest, who almost never participates in competitive tournaments and can only recover, heal and life magic, also appeared on the stage of the Royal Arena for the first time...... All professions can find their place in the arena.

Not only that, through team competition, you can also further tap talents who are good at using strategy, good at command, etc., and the Royal Athletic Competition has once again attracted everyone's attention. ”

Ryan said, "I really can't wait to see what Mr. Draeney said, if I can fight in the arena with a group of life-and-death partners, my blood will boil when I think about it, I really look forward to it!"

Galib smiled and said, "I and Drane have participated in this Atlético Royal Tournament, and it was really boring at that time. I'm okay, I'm not afraid of anyone for speed, I'm more than strength, but Draena is miserable, he almost didn't even have time to use a fireball technique, and finally simply flew into the air and concentrated on throwing fireballs to bully that warrior. Now that I think of the soldier's pitiful face, I think it's funny. ”

Ryan was curious about the experiences of the two teachers, who he had studied with for many years and had hardly heard anything about his teachers. However, Galib said a few words and didn't say anything, no matter how Ryan asked, Galib kept silent. Ryan had no choice but to give up the idea of getting to the bottom of it.

Drane said to Ryan, "All right, Ryan. Now that the story is over, it's time for us to tell you about your coming-of-age trials. ”

Ryan immediately pricked up his ears and looked at Dranay with a blank eye, lest he miss a word.

"Actually, it's very simple," said Delaney slowly, "to participate in this year's Atlético Royale and achieve better results. ”

Galib took it and said, "It's simple, but it's not simple. First of all, you have to survive on your own after leaving your hometown, and you have to support yourself with the skills that Delaney and I have taught you, and then you will find five like-minded partners to participate in this year's Atlético Royale. In order to achieve more ideal results, the cooperation between each other and the tacit understanding between hearts and minds are all key points. There is also the choice of partner career, which is also very important. ”

Ryan was thrilled to hear the blood boiling, and the thought that he could have such a day, like those famous heroes in the legend, fight with his companions and achieve glory through hard work, he quickly stood up and said loudly, "No problem! ”

"Hehe, don't get excited," said Draena with a smile, "you go home and think about it, the hunt in the town will be over in a few days, and your father will be back." When the time comes, you should discuss it with him. It's a big deal, after all. This year's Atlético Royale is almost 4 months away, and if you go, it will be a few months, and maybe the journey will be dangerous, but you must not only have faith, but also get the consent of your family. More importantly, once you start the coming-of-age trial, you have to work hard to do it well and stop being half-hearted. If you are sure to go, then spend the next few days with your parents and your friends. ”

"Okay" Ryan nodded and said seriously, "I'll think about it." ”

"Well," said Galib, "you should go back first." And don't keep a straight face, young people must be energetic. ”

"Understood!" Ryan replied loudly. He walked to the door and pushed open the wooden door. The brilliant sun shone into the cabin and also on Ryan's body. Ryan stretched a long stretch, a comfortable look on his face, and walked out.

Looking at Ryan's back, Galib said softly, "Old man, he's still so young, is this going to let him follow the path we once walked?"

Dranay closed her eyes and said slowly, "I came back suddenly this time because of Iber's divine prophecy. He had spent ten years of his life this time to foretell exactly what was to come on the continent in the next five years, and the empire would be gripped in slaughter and fear, just like it was two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, as you know, God's prophecy can only know a rough idea of what it costs, especially in the most critical places. Iberr tried his best, but he only knew something vague. ”

"So you let Ryan ...... in advance"

"More than that," said Dranay, "the disciples of Iber, as well as the descendants of several other 'old friends', will slowly appear, and the prophecy of the gods accurately foretells this. But they may be friends, maybe they are enemies, who knows? But one thing is very certain, once the war breaks out, even a remote place like Dense Fog Town will be affected, rather than passively solving the problems that have occurred at that time, it is better to take the initiative to go out now, at least Ryan still has a short period of time, which is already rare. ”

"Old friend. You are pessimistic. Galib was keenly aware of the worry hidden in the depths of Drane's tone.

"Yes," said Drane, "I am not like you, who have a near-infinite lifespan, and I have almost reached the limit of human lifespan. Although my strength has increased over the years, our opponent has already broken through the limitations of humanity itself, and after all these years, I believe that its strength will be more terrifying than we imagined, and I have no confidence in the future at all. ”

At this point, Draeney suddenly opened his eyes, and a light flashed in his eyes: "But no matter what the outcome is, old man, I will keep the promise I made to the teacher!"

With that, Dranay's eyes looked into the distance along the doorway, as if he had seen the thrilling and blood-boiling scene of many years ago......

In the evening, Ryan arrived at Naimo's house early. Today is the commemoration of Naimo's coming-of-age ceremony, Namo invited his good friends from the town to celebrate for himself, and when night fell, the bonfire in front of Naimo's house was lit, and everyone sat around the roaring bonfire, talking loudly and excitedly.

Naimo changed into a new dress made of wool, which is said to be made by cutting the hair of a sheep living in the steppes of the northern part of the empire, and then processed in a special way, which is a relatively rare thing in Dense Fog Town, it seems that Namo is very well prepared for his coming-of-age ceremony, which must be the raw material he bought at the Victory Day rally in Takri last year. In addition to putting on new clothes, Ryan also saw that Naimo also had a beautiful necklace around his neck, which was supposed to be made from the bones of a magical beast.

Looking at the beaming Naimo, Ryan couldn't help but joke and said, "Namo, where is the hostess?"

Naimo didn't expect Ryan to ask this, and said casually, "She'll be coming soon...."

Hearing Naimo's words, several young men whistled, and then Naimo realized that he had fallen for Ryan, and he pretended to be vicious and said to Ryan: "Okay, see how I deal with you." As he spoke, he pounced on Ryan.

Of course, Ryan will not be easily caught by Naimo, he dexterously moved his body, dodged Namo, and made fun of Namo while dodging and said, "Naimo, you are good...."

"Of course" Nai Mo was not to be outdone, and quickly admitted: "I am the most courageous mountain tiger." ”

The two chased one after the other, and slowly ran away from the campfire. At this time, Ryan saw Meifu coming from a distance, and since she was behind Naimo, Naimo didn't see it, so he hurriedly said: "I know that you are now a brave mountain tiger, but I don't know if you will become a docile edelweiss rabbit if you marry a wife?"

Namo didn't know what the plan was, and said loudly: "Absolutely not, even if it's my wife, she has to listen to me at home...."

At this moment, Mei Fu walked behind Nemo, and when she heard Namo say this, she asked, "Really?"

"Of course!" said Naimo, who didn't hear Mei Fu's voice. But as soon as he finished speaking, he realized that the voice was wrong, he turned his head and saw that it was Mei Fu, and he was startled, and quickly swore and said: "No, no, I mean that even if I am a brave mountain tiger, at home, I will listen to my wife like a docile Edelweiss rabbit." ”

Hearing Naimo's words, Mei Fu stretched out her hand, twisted Naimo's ear, and said, "If I marry you, then what will you do to me?"

Seeing the pitiful appearance of Naimo swearing that he would listen to his wife for the rest of his life and be tugged at by Meev, Ryan laughed unscrupulously beside him.

Namo glanced at Ryan and whispered, "Still laughing, I was miserable by you guy today." ”

Ryan laughed even harder when he heard Naimo's words.

Seeing that Ryan was laughing at Namo, Meifu couldn't help it, and said, "I'm teaching Naimo, what are you laughing at?"

Ryan clutched his stomach and said, "Naimo, you don't thank me, you still complain about me, if it weren't for me, would you have heard Mefu's words?"

"Which one?" asked patiently. Without waiting for Ryan to answer, Naimo suddenly jumped up, not even caring about his ears being touched, he laughed and said, "That's right, I really want to thank you!"

At this time, Mei Fu also remembered what she had just said, "If you marry Naimo", her face turned red, and she let go of Naimo's ears. Unexpectedly, Naimo hugged Mei Fu and shouted loudly: "I'm so happy, Mei Fu promised to marry me!"

Seeing a pair of lovers who are in love finally come together, Ryan is also happy for them from the bottom of his heart. In order not to disturb them, Ryan quietly walked back to the campfire, found an unnoticed place, and sat down quietly.

As the bonfires burn brighter, the men and women at the rite of passage become more and more relaxed, and begin to find their favorite partners, drinking together, eating meat together, and singing love songs together. Only Ryan sat quietly by the campfire, alone and silently tasting the craft of Meifu - roasting Pige wild boar.

It's not that Ryan is pretentious and unwilling to get along with others. Maybe Ryan is an outlier, he has liked to sit quietly alone since he was a child, rather than having a loud discussion with a group of people about whose men and women have come together again, and who has come together in a new dress...... Even on such a lively occasion today, Ryan was still able to calm down and think about some of his own things.

Seeing that everyone else was talking, drinking and eating meat, Ryan couldn't help but laugh at himself: "It seems that this kind of life is really not what I like." But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't accept this kind of life, and I don't know how boring it would be if I were to live like this for the rest of my life. ”

Ryan looked up at the sky. On a clear July night, you can see countless stars.

"Don't you know that the sky outside is also so clear?" Ryan said silently in his heart.