Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

The disturbance that had begun inside the Holmes estate had already spread far beyond its walls.

Across the capital, nobles who had been conducting meetings, entertaining guests, or simply spending the afternoon inside their estates stopped whatever they were doing when another tremor passed beneath their feet.

Mana formations embedded throughout several residences reacted on their own, while defensive barriers flickered as though something powerful enough to threaten them had entered the city without warning.

The reaction among the capital’s magic beasts was even more noticeable.

Roars began echoing from different directions, first from creatures kept inside noble estates and then from the military compounds where powerful mounts and contracted beasts were housed. Some responded aggressively, while others lowered themselves against the ground and refused to move despite the commands of their handlers.

Nobody understood what they were reacting to.

Inside the Royal Palace, the King of Olmost had already left his seat and walked toward the enormous windows overlooking the capital. Several officials stood behind him, though none dared interrupt as another faint vibration passed through the palace floor.

His eyes narrowed toward one particular direction.

’Noble House, Holmes... It’s coming from there?’

The King remained silent as he studied the distant section of the capital where the Duke’s estate stood. ’Did the Duke somehow produce another monstrous talent like that daughter of theirs?’

The thought alone made his expression complicated.

Calling Elinox Holmes one in a million had always felt inadequate to him. There were talented people throughout Olmost, and every generation produced individuals who stood far above those around them, yet Elinox had long since passed the point where ordinary descriptions seemed practical.

’One in a million... no. I could confidently say she’s not one in a million. Among people her age, that girl is one of a kind. There isn’t anyone who can truly be called her equal.’

His gaze remained fixed on House Holmes.

’And now another one has been born?’

A memory surfaced from years ago, when the capital had experienced another phenomenon originating from the same family. He had been so much younger then, yet he still remembered the reports, the Mana throughout the area behaving strangely, and the sensation that had covered part of Olmost on the day Elinox was born.

Even senior officials had struggled to explain it.

’I still haven’t forgotten what happened when that little girl was born. It was as though the heavens themselves were welcoming some divine being into the world.’

The King released a long sigh.

’If only the royal family had prodigies like that among us. The struggle against the Kingdom of Degenerates would’ve been much easier to deal with. We would’ve towered over them ages ago.’

He remained near the window while the officials behind him exchanged wary glances. None of them seemed eager to suggest sending someone toward House Holmes until they understood what had caused the phenomenon.

The King could hardly blame them.

The Holmes family had a habit of making ordinary problems feel rather small.

Within another section of the capital, the head of that very family had reached a far less dignified conclusion. ”What the hell?! Are we being attacked?!”

The Duke of House Holmes practically launched himself upright from his bed when the room trembled beneath him.

Whatever had occupied his attention with his wife several seconds earlier ceased to matter as Mana rushed instinctively through his body. His gaze swept across the room, searching for signs of an attack, before another wave of pressure passed through the estate.

Then, he recognized the direction.

His expression changed. ”That’s coming from Elinox’s residence.”

His wife had already moved away from the bed and was pulling on the nearest clothes she could find, showing far less concern for appearances than she normally would.

The Duke stared toward the distant section of their estate before his eyes widened further. ”Did something happen to my daughter again?!”

His wife turned toward him with such a sharp expression that he decided there was probably no value in asking why she somehow looked more alarmed than he did.

Mana gathered around her body.

”Move,” she uttered.

The window opened before the Duke could answer, and she shot into the air, leaving him staring after her for half a second before he realized his wife had just departed without waiting for him.

”Hey!”

He grabbed the rest of his clothes and followed.

Elsewhere throughout the capital, explanations were already being invented faster than anyone could verify them.

”It’s House Holmes again.”

”Again?”

”Where else would something like this come from?”

A shopkeeper standing outside his establishment stared toward the distant noble district while several customers gathered near him.

Someone farther down the street shook his head. ”Probably that young High General.”

”Lady Elinox?”

”Who else?”

A nearby man gave him an incredulous look. ”You say that as though making the entire capital shake is something she does every afternoon.”

Rumors spread between streets almost as fast as the phenomenon itself. Several nobles arrived at the same conclusion, with more than one household already sending people to determine whether Elinox Holmes had achieved something new. Something grand worthy of celebration.

Everyone in the capital knew her reputation.

Whenever that young prodigy made a move significant enough to be noticed, small consequences rarely followed.

Inside the Holmes estate, however, the person responsible for the disturbance was not Elinox.

Ethan Holmes had finally understood that.

His body had gone rigid as he stared at Zishan.

The difference between what his mind knew and what his instincts were telling him had become impossible to ignore. Zishan was supposed to be Level 99, while Ethan had reached Level 300 long ago. There should have been no reason for the young man standing several meters away to make every instinct inside him scream that moving carelessly would get him killed.

Yet the pressure surrounding Zishan felt worse than anything Ethan remembered experiencing from someone near his age.

Even Elinox had never made him feel this way.

His sister had always been terrifying in her own right. Ethan had watched her grow stronger at a pace that made talented people around her seem ordinary, and he had learned early that provoking Elinox carelessly was a poor decision.

If Elinox resembled some terrifying beast capable of tearing apart anyone foolish enough to stand before her, then whatever Ethan sensed from Zishan felt much larger.

A behemoth.

Something so vast that comparing Levels suddenly felt ridiculous.

Zishan continued staring at him while the strange pressure surrounding his body pushed against everything nearby. ”Choose.”