Darius Supreme

Xela nodded in surprise. "Well, I know it's a feature, but I actually haven't tried it. I thought I'd also need to reach Journeyman level before I could…" 

Darius nodded. "Indeed, which was why I asked you in the first place. Your answer would have been able to inform me as to whether it was possible or not." 

Xela was left speechless, then gave up. Her master thought far too much, even structuring his questions in ambiguous ways. 

As for Veri who sat close to Xela like a twin sister, she had an utterly confused look on her face. It was clear that nothing they talked about registered in her understanding, and this was why Darius and Xela were not bothered to talk about it before her. 

Darius then turned to Veri and smiled. "So, Beautiful Veri, please tell me about yourself." 

Veri blushed at Darius' compliment but was assertive enough to speak freely. "Well, there isn't much to know about me. I was born and raised here in Elysium, in the town of Elven Water. It's kinda far from this city, almost halfway across the continent." 

At this point, her eyes became a little misty and glazed over with reminiscence. "My hometown is small and peaceful, with only elves living there. We live in a forest near the sea, so we have an abundance of game, crops, and fish." 

"My father is a fisherman and my mother a huntress. I learned everything I know about the sea from my dad, while my mum taught me archery, so I had a pretty nice life." 

Veri brushed her hair behind her ears with a soft smile. "However, I kinda got bored of the dull life at home. I asked my parents for permission to leave not long after my coming of age, hoping to meet new people, experience new things, and ply my skills here to get stronger!" 

Darius nodded in understanding while Xela held Veri's hand. He then continued to inquire: "And how did your parents feel about your thirst for adventure? Did they move here with you or did they give you their blessings before you left?" 

Veri laughed lightly as she explained. "Well, my dad was a bit worried, scared that I would be taken advantage of by the evil city boys, but my mum convinced him I'd be fine and if anyone bothered me, I should just shoot them in the butt, hee hee!" 

Xela giggled and Darius just sat there speechlessly. Well, parents differed from household to household. A mother who was an elven huntress would definitely be fierce and confident, while any father would worry about sending his beloved princess into the cruel world. 

From this, Darius understood why Veri was slightly naive and trusting, as well as quite pure. It was also why she likely took to Xela, not only because they were fellow elves, which reminded her of home, but also because Xela was cast from a similar mold. 

Darius already knew that Xela's mental and emotional purity had been slightly tarnished by the darkness she had experienced before she had ended up in the hands of Foldo. 

Well, that couldn't be helped, it was obvious that her story involved betrayal by her own people, and the fact that Xela could still remain so innocent and good-natured after that was a blessing in and of itself. 

Once more, Darius felt that Veri would be a good friend for Xela. However, as she was not a Branded Servant, it would be awkward to take her around as many of Darius' actions were not meant for the public eye. 

Xela seemed to realize this more than Veri, so Darius left it to her to sort her relationship with the Wood Elf out. He waited for Gunner to finish his meal before returning to their suite together. 

As for Xela, she took Veri to her room so that they could talk. As Veri already had her own lodging within the city, and Xela's room only had one bed, he doubted the Wood Elf would sleepover. 

Once they returned to their room, Darius then turned to Gunner. "Alright, how was your day? Was the arena interesting?" 

Gunner grinned. "Very." 

He then explained the format of the Colosseum of Blood, as well as the 10 matches he had participated in. Since he did not kill any of his opponents, Gunner did not gain any experience even after some of the tough fights that came later in the day. 

Well, it should have been obvious, shouldn't it? 

Since when was Gunner so restrained in battle that he would allow someone to attack him passively and then let them exit the stage without hitting back once? 

He hadn't spared Magnus because the 5 years in seclusion had made him kindhearted, but because killing Magnus would have forced him to climb 2 levels straight up. 

After what he and Darius had experienced in the Plains of Death, they had developed a small complex against the stage-climbing Quest that would await them. 

Darius was amused when he heard that his Branded Servant had become slightly famous in just one day. Due to his unique power and amazing skills, he had dominated even Adept foes with relative ease. 

What had shocked the crowd and made his name resound in the Halls of Fame in the Colosseum today was the fact that his last opponent had been a Master fighter upon his request. 

That fight had forced Gunner to go all out, using Earth's Guardian to raise his Strength to the Master stage before he could even fight equally with his opponent. 

Fortunately, Gunner had gained misc skills over the past 5 years that reduced skill costs by a useful amount, other his MP regen of 21 per second wouldn't be able to support Earth's Guardian that drained 25 MP per second. 

Otherwise, he would never have dared to risk his life against such a powerhouse, for it wouldn't be only his stats and experience that were superior, but his skills. 

As far as Darius could tell, non-Transmuted basic grade skills/spells started at 1% at average quality, while the Transmuted ones started at 5%. They also grew differently with each level added, with the former gaining 1% per level and the latter 5% per level.