"Best part of the tourney you ask? Why, the afterparty of course! Once everything is done, the whole city just celebrates altogether. Nobody hates a good, big party!" - Vladislav Karpov, resident of Sabaya and loyal fan of the tournament.

"You sniveling snob of an overgrown cat!" yelled Ursus as he slammed the table with one meaty fist. It was clear that he had not used his full strength, though, for otherwise the table would be reduced to splinters already. The burly mixed-breed man drained his flagon of ale in one long pull before he pointed a finger accusingly at Vitali. "You knew they were the Blood Demon's disciples all along and didn't think to let me know!?"

"Hey, I'm letting you know now, am I not?" Said Vitali with a chuckle as he drank from his own flagon of ale. They, along with Cal, her students, and nieces, were at the largest tavern in town, enjoying themselves as Willa treated everyone in the tavern to celebrate.

The sum of money the therian girl won was quite massive, enough to have bought a set of armor like what Cal bought her, if from a less skilled craftsman. Then again, it was likely unfair to compare the work of the Champion of Metal to other blacksmiths.

Together with Ognar and Giselle, the three of them had told the bartender that the night's drinks were on them. The patrons of the establishment naturally recognized the three who dominated the tournament, and cheered when the news that they got to drink for free was announced.

Already many were snoring loudly either on their tables, or on the floor, so drunk they fell asleep right then and there. Many cheered drunkenly as Willa stood on a table and chugged down some hard liquor straight from the bottle.

The cheers just intensified when she finally removed the bottle from her mouth and turned it upside down to show that there wasn't a drop left inside. Normally drinking so much of such liquor would have dropped a person on the spot, if not give them alcohol poisoning.

As a blood mage though, Willa just drank the alcohol as if it was water. Cal had taught the trick on how to deal with alcohol to their students, though that trick did nothing to help them hold their drink. Willa just naturally had a strong capacity for alcohol to begin with.

Cal herself sat by the bar, taking her time as she cheerfully sampled the various kinds of locally brewed liquor the establishment had in stock. She found one that was brewed with local herbs and drunk by mixing with some water and a sugar cube to be odd in flavor, yet other varieties, like the ones made from local fruits, agreed with her palate far more.

She sipped on a cocktail made with a mix of sugar cane liquor, fruit liquor, as well as some citrus juice which were then cooled to a near-frozen consistency. The barely-frozen drink was like a slush of melting snow, and melted pleasantly in her mouth.

"That was a very impressive showing your students gave," said an old bear therian man with a large, wild beard who was seated next to her. The half-dwarf half-therian elder was Ursus's maternal grandfather, also the former chief of the imperial army. "Think there's any hope for my dumb grandson to improve?"

"Can't promise until I checked him out, honestly," Cal replied with a shrug. "The boy's clearly trained his body to the extreme, and his mix of heritages helped with that as well, but when it comes to magic, it's often luck of the draw."

"Willa's one of those who started a game with four emperors in her hand. That girl will likely surpass me if she remains this diligent, I believe," she added as she looked fondly at her student ,who had grown leaps and bounds in the few years she had known her. "That said, those with longer lifespans tend to grow more slowly and have longer growth periods as well. I myself only started really growing in magic capacity when I was in my eighties."

"Let me get that silly brat then," said the old retired man with a smile. He then drained his flagon of ale, dusted his robes, and walked into the crowd, which parted at his approach. Even at his old age, Ursus' grandfather cut an imposing figure, as he was barely smaller than his gigantic grandson.

He returned not five minutes later dragging Ursus by one of his round ears, despite the younger man's protestations. Cal had to chuckle at the ridiculous sight, and noticed that many also openly laughed at the spectacle.

"Grandpa! Please! I'm almost thirty! Leave me some face will you!?" protested the younger man as he squirmed with his ear in his grandfather's grasp.

"Shut up, you ungrateful twerp!" replied his grandfather as he stuffed Ursus into a wooden chair he grabbed from a nearby table. The chair was a bit too small for the big man, and Cal doubted he could get out of it without breaking the chair. "Now lay out your arm and let Lady Ambervale give you a once over!"

Cal laid a hand on Ursus' wrist with a chuckle. Even his arm was easily three times hers in size, truly a man blessed with a mighty physique. She calmly probed the man with her mana, carefully inspecting his mana reservoir and the state of his mana conduits.

"Well, the good news is that he's still a growing boy," said Cal to the two large, beefy men who looked at her with expectant faces. "But it wouldn't be for that much more. Your mana reservoir might grow another fifth, a fourth more at best. I'm afraid there just isn't much more room for growth there."

"On the bright side, I can at least pass down some training methods that would help him optimize the use of what mana he has in him," she added, which brought smiles back to the faces of the two dejected men. "You're unlikely to catch up to Willa, though. That girl is still growing fast, and I doubt she's going to stop anytime soon."

"We thank you for the kind advice, Lady Ambervale," said Ursus' grandfather with a slight bow. "This brat's in the imperial guards now, so he ought to have enough time to practice properly for once."

"You have a far superior physique, so if you train well and use your gifts just right, you will be able to overpower her for a short period," said Cal honestly to the younger man, which seemed to perk him up. "That said, she will outlast your stamina no matter what you do, and similarly, she will always be faster than you. Your bodies are just built differently, and she has a far greater reservoir of mana to tap from."

Ursus nodded to Cal's heartfelt words, and paid attention while his grandfather noted down the training methods Cal suggested for him. He was just growing a bit bored when a clawed hand was laid on his shoulder.

He looked back and saw Willa, who was slightly tipsy from out-drinking what looked to be half the tavern. She had a wide grin on her face, and gestured towards the second floor of the tavern, where the private rooms are. The smile on her face made the meaning of her gesture quite obvious.

"Youngsters, tch!" said Ursus' grandfather when he noticed his grandson climbing up the stairs together with Willa and subsequently disappearing into one of the private rooms. "Always thinking with their dicks first~"

"It's just how they are," replied Cal as she sipped her drink with a smile. "They wouldn't be youngsters otherwise!"