Chapter 104: The contest (1/2)

With Hermes joining in on the training, the day-long training was more effective than ever and the prince made incredible leaps in his martial arts and scholarly understanding.

Then, time flew by fast, and here, the three of them were gathered in the training courtyard, on the eve of the contest.

Aadityapal walked towards the two gods in slow steps and halted in front of them.

Unexpectedly, he kowtowed to them and thanked them earnestly.

”I would have never achieved this level without Master and Lord Hermes, I cannot thank you enough.”

Hermes shrugged and kept silent.

Alex made the prince stand up and he sharply looked at him in the eye.

”The best way to thank us is to show all that you've learned tomorrow,” Alex bluntly said.

Aadityapal nodded repeatedly and a teardrop slowly slithered its way down his face.

However, Hermes broke the atmosphere by jokingly, or perhaps seriously, saying, ”Though, if you have any more of that silver metal of yours, you can also thank us with that.”

Nonetheless, this remark made the prince laugh, and Alex demanded he open up his palms.

Then, he placed a glowing silver ball upon them.

The moonlight reflected off the ball, and a red glow diffused from the embedded ruby.

”Use Prometheus well, will you?” Alex lent him the masterpiece that he crafted, and it would be a waste if he didn't use it to its full potential.

Aadityapal nodded and clenched the fist-sized ball.

The ball then turned into a longsword, and the prince placed the blade on its wide end upon the left side of his chest.

He stoically exclaimed, ”I swear!”

Following that, the two gods and the tense prince parted ways, and they all went off to visit Hypnos, God of sleep.

_____________________

-The next morning-

Alex woke up to the resounding cacophony of cheers and screams.

'It's the day, I should go spectate on the state of the contest,' Alex waited for his brain fog to clear up, and then he got ready to visit the square that would host the fierce competition.

Hermes was still sleeping soundly, as he usually did, and he would likely only wake up, confused when the contest was already over.

Alex mocked his friend internally and swiftly put on a simple attire.

He no longer had any qualms about hiding his status, and he simply unfolded his wings, which were a result of Incarnation, and flew out towards the square.

*Boom*  *Boom*

'It seems flying wasn't the best decision...' Alex soon regretted his choice.

With the festivities and the excitement of the succession contest, fireworks and other such objects were common.

In broad daylight, people were propelling these smoke explosions, that decorated the bright and blue sky.

Alex was targeted by some of these explosions, and when he reached the square, his face was already dirty from an ash-like material.

'If this were modern Earth, authorities would arrest you all for contributing to air pollution....'

Unknowingly, Alex already viewed his homeworld as a distant memory, and only the common sense of the modern era remained.

Impressively, in the short week before the contest, they had already removed the immense statue of Ashoka that previously occupied the square, and instead, erected an enormous tent that would be the venue for the scholarly part of the succession contest, which was arguably the most monotonous part of it.

Nevertheless, countless carriages with hopeful Brahmins had parked outside of the tent, and they were waiting for the start and lecturing their princely children.