CHAPTER 18: 50X REWARD! SKYBREAKER!

Aegon was still thinking about Arnold’s gift when he heard a voice beside his grandpa. Only then did he notice a tall man with a hat standing right beside Arnold.

’What the... since when was he standing there?’ he exclaimed mentally.

He really hadn’t noticed him until he spoke, which surprised him since he had the habit of always noticing the people around him.

Aegon ignored Xiu’s sharp words and stared into the man’s golden eyes. For a second, he wondered if they were the same as his, but then he shook off the idea.

For some reason, he felt they were different from his own. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.

"Opa!" Aegon called out before the man could answer Xiu. "Is he Grandma’s brother?"

"As if she could ever have such a stinky brother," Arnold snorted in response. "He’s a friend of mine from my hometown. I didn’t think he would actually come here."

"Ohh, so you’re Opa’s friend. Hello, I’m Aegon," he politely introduced himself.

"Hello, little friend. You can just call me Grandpa Sam if you want," the man smiled and said. "And Happy Birthday. May the Sun bless you for a thousand years."

"Thanks, Grandpa Sam," Aegon was naturally polite with his grandpa’s friends.

"I won’t waste too much of your time," Grandpa Sam took out a pendant from his pocket and put it on Aegon’s small, chubby neck. "This is my present to you. As for what it is, you can ask your Opa later."

"Whatever it is, I’m happy with it," Aegon said, marvelling at the bright sun-imprinted pendant. "Besides, you came all the way from the Empire to here. I should be thankful for that."

"I really didn’t think this lass could actually teach someone such politeness," Grandpa Sam chuckled softly.

Meanwhile, Aegon stared at his eyes again. They were really fascinating to him, and he had a strong feeling that this man was a powerhouse.

How? Well, he did get something as a reward once.

[Ding! Sixth Sense upgraded to Fated!]

Since then, he had naturally become keen to the nature and probabilities of his future. It was just as the name suggested. It felt like his senses were telling him tales of fate. But it was random and unpredictable.

Now, those same senses were telling him that this man wasn’t as ordinary as he pretended to be.

So, he decided to use one of his precious sign-ins on him.

"Grandpa Sam. I also want your blessings, so pat my head. Opa always does it for me," Aegon said, as he lowered his head.

It wasn’t a lie, since he did hear from his grandfather that blessings from elders were really good and auspicious.

Grandpa Sam smiled warmly at him and patted his head lightly, "My blessings are always with you, Little Sun. You don’t even need to ask for that."

Aegon smiled and mentally gave the command to sign-in, ’Do it!’

[Ding! Signing-In in the Hanging Lotus Pavilion!]

[Ding! Legendary-Rank Fragment of Skybreaker Acquired!]

[Ding! 50x Reward Bonus Applied!]

[Ding! Transcendent-Rank Skybreaker Acquired!]

Fortunately, Aegon had his head lowered, otherwise others would have seen his eyes widening in shock. Then, he smiled widely and thought, ’This is just crazy! I knew this old man wasn’t simple.’

He didn’t know the actual ranks of Artefacts, but the simple mention of Transcendent spoke of its true power. Besides, he remembered how he had acquired a Legendary-Rank Physique at the start, and that was only after applying the boosts.

Now, just a simple sign-in on this Grandpa gave him a Legendary-Rank Artefact, which obviously told him how ridiculous this Artefact truly was.

’I will first check if I can even wield it. Sigh! What’s the point of having so many OP things that I can’t even use? Whatever! I’ll just wait for the day I can use them.’

Grandpa Sam gave him one last look before he stepped down alongside Arnold. After that, the gifting ceremony began where the guests gave Aegon lots of presents.

After the display of Xiu’s generosity, they knew their gifts would pale in comparison, so they had to change their gifts and give something better on the spot.

It could be said that they finally understood why Xiu insisted on being the first to gift. She just wanted others to give better things to Aegon.

But if Xiu knew their thoughts, she would disagree completely, since she really wanted to be the first to gift him. Besides, if Aegon really wanted something, she would make sure he got it by any means, so their contribution didn’t mean much to her.

Though, she certainly was happy seeing her dear nephew being treated so well.

On the other hand, Arnold had been giving strange looks to Grandpa Sam, but he still sat calmly as if nothing could bother him.

Finally, Arnold couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, "Why did you give him the pendant?"

"Because I felt like it," Grandpa Sam said, making Arnold smack his back lightly.

"You really don’t forget to give me reasons to kill you, do you?" Arnold growled.

"Relax, my best friend," Grandpa Sam chuckled and said. "I wasn’t planning to give him that, but something compelled me to do it. And I trust my instincts. That child... he’ll become the true Sun."

"I just want him to live a carefree life," Arnold sighed. "Becoming a Sun... that’s too much of a responsibility. I don’t want him to be burdened by it."

"Let him decide that. We oldies just need to watch over him." Grandpa Sam said as he turned around. "Alright, I’m leaving. I need to get back before they notice my disappearance. It wouldn’t look good if the court doesn’t find me."

"You came here without telling anyone?" Arnold asked, not even surprised.

This best friend of his had always liked to run from everything, but would eventually return to them by his own will. He was a unique case even after becoming a grandfather.

"No one can command me," Grandpa Sam said, his voice laced with authority. "But my disappearance will make me look weak. It’s important to maintain my image."

"Image my ass!" Arnold rolled his eyes and said. "Then, I’ll leave the borders to you."

With that, he turned his focus again on the stairs, where he found the Elves giving Aegon their present.

Now, he was certainly curious what they would give to Aegon. After all, this was the first time in many years since Elves attended a banquet of humans.