TBATE-PRODIGY

Chapter 93

Arthur Leywin POV

"About you becoming a Lance," Gramps said smugly.

I grew wide-eyed at this and looked around the room at the other council members. Mother and Father were smiling proudly. Elder Buhnd gave me a nod. Queen Pricilla smiled at me as my eyes fell on her. My eyes flicked to King Blaine, who just sat there emotionlessly with his arms crossed. Mom smiled at me as she nodded in approval. My gaze fell on Tess,  seeing her eyes slowly trace me up and down before her eyes met mine. Tess smirked and gave me a wink.

"Y-you want to make me a Lance? But I'm only sixteen." I said, completely shocked.

"Exactly, Arthur," Gramps said with a smile. "You're sixteen, and look at what you've already accomplished. You're a white core mage, a quadra-elemental, and you have a beast will and body of a dragon, not to mention a dragon bond. You now have a wolf-like weapon given to you by the Djinn, and you've defeated a Retainer. With all these in mind, it's a no-brainer to make you a Lance."

"Not a wolf," Regis grumbled under his breath, still sulking, while we ignored him.

"Not only all of that, Arthur Leywin," Aldir began. "But you have also learned how to wield aether. I've seen aether used to some degree by the Indrath clan. I know it is potent magic. With aether at your command and your dragon body, you will dominate the battlefield."

"Plus, as a Lance, you will be a general of Dicathen. One of our pillars of power. When people see you on the battlefield and see the power you can bring, you will boost morale." Gramps said.

"You guys are making me sound like some main character in a book or something," I said sheepishly as I scratched the back of my head.

Everyone in the room except for King Blaine and Aldir laughed a little at my statement. I then looked at Gramps with a serious expression.

"Thanks, Gramps, I appreciate it, I really do. But I don't think I'm ready. The only team I've led was the disciplinary committee at the Xyrus Academy. And we all see how amazing of a job I did with that." I said dejectedly as I looked down.

"Arthur, Xyrus Academy wasn't your fault," Tess said consolingly.

Tess walked up to me and gently grabbed my right hand with both of her hands. I looked into her eyes as she gave me a warm smile. I smiled back and couldn't help but notice how beautiful she has become.

"Thanks, Tess. But it was my job to protect the students' remember. I couldn't even protect a school. How could I protect others in war? I have little leadership experience and have never led people into battle before." I said.

"We actually came up with a solution to that," Father announced.

I looked at Father curiously, "You did?"

"We did indeed," Gramps said with a smile. "You will be promoted to the title of Lance and given the rank of general. However, you will be attached to the Trailblazers and assigned to the Beast Glades since the Beast Glades needs a Lance. Captain Helen Shard will remain in charge, and we will have you shadow her. Yes, you will technically outrank her, but I didn't think you'd mind following her lead."

I just smiled and shook my head amusingly, seeing how much planning Gramps put into this. I looked over to Mom, who gave me a proud nod of approval. My eyes fell on Tess, who was smiling brightly. Probably since I would be becoming a Lance and assigned to the same unit as her. I gave a small chuckle as I looked back at Gramps.

"Well, it seems like you have everything planned out, Gramps. Ok, I'll become a Lance." I said with a nod.

"Ha! How many people can say they've trained a Lance!" Gramps said smugly. "Good; we will send out a notice of your promotion announcement immediately and hold the ceremony tomorrow. We will do it in Etisin since that's where we will have the biggest crowd."