"Report," a cold voice spoke in the darkness. A glowing rune on the table displaying the image of an imposing man with a scowl on his face.
"He has been progressing as expected," Lionel spoke, his head bowed slightly.
"Oh, then what affinity did the boy end up with?" The scowling man raised his brow in curiosity.
"My lord, Drakkus gained three affinities after defeating the memory shard. He reported a greater affinity of space and two middling affinities, one of blood and the other of lightning."
"Space, you say. Hmmn, to think I had greater expectations for the pup. I had hopes he would have inherited the family bloodline. It is of no matter, elven blood has always been notorious for its unruly nature." All interest vanished from his voice as the coldness returned.
Lionel hesitated for a second before speaking again. "I have something else to report, my lord."
"Then spit it out. I have wasted enough time on this already." Irritation crept into his voice as he spoke.
"From our training, I have deduced that he may have the will of battle. The boy shows remarkable talent for swordplay. And all his skills bear the signature red color." Lionel lowered his head once more, waiting for a response.
The silence stretched for a few seconds before the voice asked. " Tell me, what legion was the boy assigned to?"
"The first, my lord." Lionel did not dare raise his head, barely remembering to breathe as the figure began to laugh.
"Then let the hound deal with the boy." The laughter returned.
When the laughing finally stopped, the figure disappeared, not even deigning to say goodbye. Lionel blew out a breath in relief, sweat marring his back at the interaction. He had to admit he did not pity the boy.
—
[Quest: Defeat the Denizens of The Wolven Woods
Lesser Lycans Defeated (3/3)
Wargs Defeated (15/15)]
[Quest Completed calculating rewards…]
[Rewards - Skill upgrade token 1… The user is not supported by the path of the warrior. Rewards unattainable.]
The message greeted me once the last lycan finally died. Although the result was expected, it still left a sour taste in my mouth. After everything, I still did not qualify for a reward. I guess I can't be too salty; the path of kings had its own advantages. An influx of energy poured into my body when the quest was completed. Opening my status screen proved that I would not be leaving empty-handed.
[ Name: Drakus El Drakkar
Race: Half Elf (Stage 1)
Bloodline: Will of Conquest - Purity 12%
Affinities: Greater Affinity of Space
Middling Affinity of Lightning
Middling Affinity of Blood
Stats:
Prana - 15
Mana - 12
Aura - 10
Skills: Blink lvl 2, Lightning bolt lvl 1, Blood Drinker lvl 1]
My stats went up by a few points. But I knew that would happen going into the shard. The real surprise was that my blink skill gained a level. If the skill followed convention, then the amount of mana that it used per activation should go down. As well as slightly increasing the range of my skills. But other than that, nothing much would change from a single level. The rewards for such a difficult mission were slightly disheartening. But looking at everyone else, they clearly did not share my sentiment. Although subdued, I could see the smiles and elation on their faces. Considering that they unlocked the path of warriors because of this shard i could understand.
In the eyes of the kingdom, they had officially become adults. Opening up far more opportunities for them. A sense of spatial disorientation overwhelmed my senses as we were transported outside the shard. The fluctuations in space felt oddly comfortable as I suddenly appeared in the clearing we ventured from a week ago. Truth be told, Tjorval's death was unexpected, but to say I was shaken up about it would have been a lie. I had seen so many people die in my decades of service. My own hands were so drenched in blood that I doubted I even had a conscience. Yet I still understood the need for appearance. As far as everyone else was concerned, I was just an 18-year-old princeling with no real-life experience.
I could barely finish my thought before the adrenaline wore off. Pain, unlike anything I had felt in this life, began wreaking havoc in my body. To make matters even worse, my sickness came back with a vengeance. All the times I had to suppress it only aggravated the end result. Before I knew it, I had already collapsed to the ground, convulsing in pain. Contrary to popular belief, my focus was not on the pain. But the sound of birds chirping and the cicadas in the distance. Even when mind-numbing pain wracked my body, I felt at peace. The sound acted like a final confirmation that we had done it. I had not only completed but also overcome the most difficult challenge of my new life.
Relief and pride were the last things I felt before I succumbed to the pain. I awoke in fragmented pieces. Vaguely feeling someone carry me. And the worried shouts of Bjorn. When I came too, I was back in the same room I woke up in last time. I expected pain that never came, leading only to confusion. With cautious optimism, I moved my body only to feel in tip-top shape. I was bare-chested on the bed, my shirt had been in tatters at the end of the fight. Giving me direct visibility of the new scars marking my body.
One of the hardest things I had to get used to in this new life was the lack of scars. As a warrior and a general, most of my body used to be covered in scars. But the lack of them made a sort of dissociation where I struggled to accept that my new reality was real. But if things continued like this, I would once again be covered in them before too long. Part of me struggled to believe that it was truly over. For the past week, I had been in a constant state of alertness. Always on the lookout for any potential threat, to the point that my nerves were frayed.
Frustration began to bubble in my chest at the memories of the shard. It was still not enough, for how long will I continue to walk on the edge? Where every battle is a fight between life and death. Where a single mistake could mean my end. Something needed to change. I could not afford to keep passing out after every fight. I could not continue to rely on prana to win. Sooner or later, that recklessness would catch up to me. Luckily, I caught a glimpse of a solution in the last fight. The key was aura. Right now, I am using mana to augment my body, pushing it for more. But with aura I could do the same thing far more efficiently.
Without a care in my mind, I got out of bed. Taking the shirt hanging on the chair before leaving the room. I went directly to Lionel. I found him at the town hall having a meeting with the town council.
"His actions were reckless. The boy doomed himself!" The old man spat in a heated argument. "You heard the same report I did, Tjorval was a liability. At least his death served a fucking purpose."
"How could you say that? Maria is shook, she lost her only son. It was bad enough that she was a widow. But now she is a childless mother as well." Gerard was not having the old man's callousness.
"All of this resolves nothing. As much as I hate to admit it. The kid made the right choice; it's better than losing everyone. All this arguing won't bring Tjorval back." For once Ivan was the voice of reason.
"Ah, speak of the devil. Looks like the little princeling has deigned us with his presence." The old bastard's voice was riddled with sarcasm. Nevertheless, his statement caused all the heads present to turn towards me.
Lionel got to his feet in an instant, moving directly to my side. No words were spoken, but I could see relief evident in his face at seeing that I was okay. "As much as I would love to have a discussion with you, gentleman. Unfortunately, I need to have a conversation with my guardian. So, if you will excuse us, we have things to do." I did not give them a chance to object, opting to just turn around and leave.
Lionel followed closely behind me, and for some reason, I picked up on nervousness. No, that can't be it, I must be imagining it. I led him out of the village to the area where we had spent many days on my training. Lionel was calm and calculating as he observed me. Almost as if he saw me for the first time in this moment. Gone was the image of the timid prince who taught swordplay. In his place stood a warrior, ready to face the world.
"Do you want to talk about it? It must have been hard to make such a decision." Lionel stated it in a matter-of-fact tone. Clearly trying his best to be sympathetic.
"Hard? No, I would not say it was a particularly hard decision. Could I have possibly saved Tjorval's life? Most likely, but why risk it? I chose the outcome with the highest probability of success." There was almost no emotion in my voice as I spoke.
Lionel was clearly taken aback by my cold remark, but he collected himself quickly. A smirk split his face as he began to laugh. "Of course, why did I assume you would be normal? You are his son after all. Well then, little lion, what did you want to speak to me about?" His response confused me. What did this have to do with my father?
Either way, it did not matter. I am here for a reason; there is no use delaying. "Aura… How come you never taught me of this wondrous thing?" My tone may have been light, but the look in my eyes was anything but.
"You little shit, don't try to blame this on me. I was going to teach you, but you decided to rush head first into a shard."
We stared each other down for a few seconds before I gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, I guess that's my bad." shaking my head at the thought. "Now, I am tired of almost dying after every fight. I recommend we up the anty a bit. And increase the difficulty of our little training sessions." The last part was said with complete and total seriousness as I looked directly into his eyes.
"So be it. If you want to die so badly than I will gladly comply." Lionel gave me a menacing smile that sent shivers down my spine. Almost making me regret ever asking in the first place.