"Gabriel Vanderbilt. The man at the center of the sun's brilliance. Let me do the honors of welcoming you to New Sparta."

Alaric walked over to the Conglomerates' table with the usual charismatic brilliance that he had been donning this entire time. But somehow, even he was being dwarfed by the natural aura that Gabriel was exuding just from turning his head.

"Thank you. I will be looking forward to seeing what this part of the Queens region can offer us. I think it'll be fun," Gabriel said. "Right guys?"

The other four people in the conglomerates' table gave a courtly nod at Alaric as well.

Michael could tell that they were trying to be nice, but they couldn't hide the boredom in their actions. They just wanted this night to end.

And he couldn't blame them. He was also waiting for the time to tick down until the end of the Soiree so that he could talk with Romeo about the second Antique.

According to Jot'un, these people came from very far away. And since his railway and highway system hasn't yet been implemented out of the Lower Queens region, they must have taken months to travel all the way to New Sparta. Michael imagined it to be much worse than jet lag by more than a thousand times.

"If you need any questions regarding New Sparta. Anything at all. You can ask for my name; Alaric Goldstone."

Gabriel perked up. "Goldstone? Ah, Cedric. You know this guy?"

Gabriel turned to the man closest to him, prompting everyone else to turn their attention towards him as well.

The guy named Cedric was a much less imposing man, someone who blended into the crowd very easily, especially being so near under the blinding glamour of the Gabriel Vanderbilt.

However, once they set their sights upon Cedric Goldstone, one couldn't help but let their eyes linger onto his figure for a few seconds or more. He had this sort of simple gravitas that only got more and more impressive as time passed.

He was like a fine wine, aged perfectly and in the best conditions possible.

Gabriel and Cedric were the complete opposites of each other. One the sun, and the other a moon. But in actuality, they were two sides of the same coin. Both were imposing in their own carved niche of authority.

"Yes. A distant relative, if I recall. Someone who was sent down to take care of the business in the Lower Queens region," Cedric said with a casual, but deliberate tone.

"It's nice to finally meet you, cousin," said Alaric.

The two Goldstones faced each other. One wore an owl mask, the other an eagle. It was a perfect microcosm of their relationship with the other. The owl hunted low and at night, while the other was high up, enjoying full reign of the skies.

"It looks like you've done well, cousin. Congratulations," Cedric praised. "You have lived up to the Goldstone name."

Now, Cedric's words weren't malicious in any way shape or form and were in fact genuine praise. However, most would feel insulted by being praised by someone much younger and with a weaker cultivation than they were.

"With such high praise from you especially, I am honored," said Alaric.

It seemed that Alaric himself was admitting that he was inferior compared to his much more talented cousin.

Most people wouldn't understand, but Michael had an inkling.

It's because of the Nascent Armor isn't it? It equalizes the cultivation difference between the two.

"Cedric and Gabriel. Those two are complete monsters in terms of cultivation. They're only 16 but they've reached the peak of the Body Formation realm! People call them the Twin Peaks!" Jot'un explained.

By this point, it wasn't just Alaric who approached the conglomerates' table. Aerith and Bobby also approached and introduced themselves.

Of course, only those who had a high enough importance were given the chance to get close to the conglomerates.

There was an invisible queue wherein people ranked themselves based on their stature. Those at the top could approach the conglomerates table, either by introducing themselves or giving praise to them.

Those that tried to cut in line were either glared at or simply jostled back down to their seats.

The only ones who had no intention of ever coming close to the conglomerate table were Michael and Jot'un, keeping themselves at the very end of the ballroom and giving no indication of lining up.

In truth though, Michael was interested in these conglomerate youths. He wanted to know what made them so special. What kind of advantages did they have that the ordinary people didn't? How did they obtain those Nascent Armors?

Thankfully, he didn't have to face the fiasco of people clamoring over to the conglomerates' table to know what he wanted to know. Jot'un graciously told him basic information about the five people sitting at the top.

"You see that dark-skinned woman? She's Neytiri. Some say that she's an incredibly talented blacksmith, inheriting the best techniques from the Hepheasteus company vaults."

Neytiri looked very similar to a certain figure back in his previous life, one that was the symbol of beauty in a desert. She even had black eyeliner under her eyes, as well as the gold jewelry around her to boot.

Michael saw Neytiri and Bobby acquainting with each other. She didn't seem to have the unapproachable aura that the other conglomerates had. She looked quite friendly as she talked to Bobby. They were both from the Hepheasteus company after all.

"That lithe, slender looking man is called Alexis Oscorpe. Not much is known about him, but everyone knows he is just as talented as the rest of them."

Alexis seemed to be quite the loner, giving insipid responses to those who tried to talk to him.

"And that woman talking to my dear Aerith is named Vera. She's also a proper apothecary from Sinclair's Elixir. They're already acquainted each other before this, so they're just catching up with each other."

Those five people were from the Conglomerates, each one representing the five companies at the top of the world.

Wait… five?

He remembered there were six people who entered the room.

He then glanced at the corner of the room.

His eyes widened, and his heart stopped.

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