When Harris mentioned the word "beast", a question that Seth had been wanted to be answered this morning suddenly popped up in his head.

"Um, Uncle Harris? If you and my father were to engage in a duel, who do you think would win?"

"Hmm. Let's see..."

That said, Harris drowned himself in the sea of thoughts.

Heldrin, who had been listening quietly, suddenly gave off a palpable aura of both curiosity and excitement with a look of a begging puppy once again. It was pretty obvious that Seth wasn't the only one who wanted to know.

And then, after a couple of seconds, Harris finally spoke up.

"Your father would win..." he said reluctantly at first. "Yes. Your father would win."

"You said physical combat, right? That means no magic is involved. But just in case that magic is involved, I would have the upper-hand." added Harris.

Seth remained silent.

That's right. Even though Ephrael was a strong fire mage, he still had no chance against a third-stage mage. Ephrael was only a second-stage fire mage. Although they were only one stage apart, the gap between them was still considered huge.

The third stage is the last stage of an elemental mage. Comparing a third-stage mage to a second-stage mage is like comparing an adult to a teenager.

Awakening stage = Infant
First stage = Child
Second stage = Teenager
Third stage = Adult

As Harris sensed Seth's silence, he spoke up again.

"You might be wondering why I am the one who's being asked to train the guards even though your father is stronger than me in melee combat, but it is just because of my connection to the royalties."

Seth just nodded dumbly at what he said. That thought actually didn't cross his mind, but he appreciated the information anyway.

"Sigh. I am indeed interested to have a mock-battle with your father. If only we aren't very busy. So instead..." 

Harris patted Seth's shoulder.

"How about we have a little duel, Seth?"