The Great Hall stood tall against the cloudy day, expelling white smoke from the multiple chimneys on its thatched roof. The outer walls made of a dark gray stone and the overall brutalist style of the building, gave the Great Hall a certain ‘Big Bad Evil Guy’s lair’ vibe. Upon further inspection, I noticed traces of mana weaved in between the stone which made me wonder if the whole building had some sort of protecting enchantment in place. It made sense considering the whole town was a bastion between the Farlands and the Ebros Kingdom.
Despite my initial assessment of the city, Farcrest’s marketplace flourished all around me. Food, weapons, tools, and all kinds of crafting ingredients. No matter what direction I looked I found new things to identify. Other than the abandoned northern district, the city looked like a bustling trade center.
I continued walking through the street market towards the Great Hall.
Red banners with the Marquis crest, a man killing a wolf with a lance, hung from the inner walls. The gate was guarded by a small contingent of soldiers dressed in shiny armor and armed with long albarests. I was tempted to use [Identify] on them but remembering Elincia’s reaction, I refrained from doing it. I didn’t want problems before even starting my life in this world.
As I reached the closed gate, a guard blocked my path.
“What is your business in the Marquis’s Great Hall?” The guardsman asked, glancing at me with unfriendly eyes. The man inspected my appearance from head to toe and he didn’t seem to like what he was seeing. My clothing was humble to say the least.
“My name is Robert Clarke, Scholar from the City of Light. I’m here for a passage permit into the Kingdom of Ebros.” I said with a haughty voice. A good teacher was, in essence, a good actor, and I took pride in my classroom management.
As expected, my words seemed to pique the guard’s interest.
“Farcrest isn’t a border town, Scholar. How did you even enter the kingdom?”
The guard was unsure if he was really talking to a commoner or someone of high birth. Or maybe he thought I was a high level individual? It made sense that people with higher levels looked down on the weaker.
Considering Elincia’s reaction to the story about the teletransportation, I decided to continue with the same lie. If I had to guess, portals weren’t all strange in this world.
“A magic accident teleported me into the Farlands. There I was picked up by an Alchemist harvesting ingredients who brought me here to Farcrest.” I explained with a serious tone.
“Should’ve said that from the very beginning… sir. Portal magic is no joke.” He stuttered.
The guard swallowed the story.
“It is not.” I nodded.
The guard must’ve assumed I was the one responsible for the portal incident because his demeanor changed instantly. If I had to guess, portal magic was a high level technique.
“This way, sir.” The guardsman said, guiding me through a lateral door at the base of the wall and into a narrow and dark corridor. As much as I wanted to enter through the main gates, I assumed it wasn’t worth opening it for a single person.
We emerged into a cobbled courtyard by the side of the Great Hall where a small army of workers unloaded carts with crated goods under the attentive glance of an overseer. Regrettably, I couldn’t tell what was inside the heavy boxes.
“Trade seems to be healthy considering Farcrest is a frontier town.” I pointed out in a vain attempt to make the guard talk.
“It’s been that way for a while now.” He sparsely replied as we walked to a wooden building attached to the Great Hall. Outside the building, an angry middle aged woman dressed in a gambeson with the Marquis emblem was training a group of fresh recruits who barely knew how to hold a sword. The kids couldn’t be much older than Zaon.
Instead of walking towards the building, we approached the training group.
The soldier saluted and the woman knight raised her hand, stopping the frenetic swinging of the recruits. Her eyes were of a stark gray color and her lips were a fine line under her aquiline nose. Her skin was tanned and covered in small scars from a hundred battles. [Awareness] told me she was the don’t-fuck-with-me type.
“Captain, this man says he arrived at Farcrest via failed teleportation.” The soldier explained my situation.
“Another one?! I can’t believe this is the second time this year.” The Captain chastised the soldier as if it was his personal fault. Then, she turned around to face me. She was taller than me and her rolled up sleeves not only revealed lean and bulking muscles but a skin covered in scars. Those weren’t fashionable superficial scars but ones which distorted the skin and muscle.
“Tell me you are not from the Ansan Kingdom. It will cost us a small fortune to send you back.” The Captain said.
I understood that was my cue to speak.
“My name is Robert Clarke, a Scholar, and you don’t need to send me back to my homeland, Captain. I am more interested in traveling to the Imperial Library than returning.” I said with a small bow.
“I’m Captain Izabeka Kiln, leader of the city guard. I like you already, Scholar. People who complicate things are too common in these places.” The captain left the bundle of parchment and walked around the table to inspect me closely.
I made a mental note to not complicate things in front of the woman.
“Come on.” The captain left the group of disoriented recruits behind and walked towards the Great Hall. “We have to ensure you don’t have any suspicious hidden titles before giving you your passage permit.”
“Hidden titles?” I asked with a tremble in my voice.
“You have not been in a System Shrine before?” The Captain looked over her shoulder and gave me a confused glance.
I shook my head. Hidden titles could mean two things; there was a method to hide one’s titles from being identified or there were titles that could only be unlocked at a System Shrine. The second option made sense considering the lack of progress my class had even after twelve levels.
“I warn you, Robert Clarke, I’m a level fifty seven Knight, if you do try anything stupid I’ll crush your spine before you could even blink.” The captain said before addressing the guard who had guided me there. “You, maggot, look after the Scholar’s belongings. He is my guest.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The soldier said, extending his hand to me.
I gave him my backpack and nobody questioned the suspicious wooden shotgun butt protruding out. I felt naked without my weapon, however, the shells were safe inside my pocket.
“You don’t have a suspicious title do you?” The captain asked as we entered a beautifully adorned corridor with painted murals and ornamental banners hanging from the ceiling. The decoration was surprisingly tasteful.
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t think so?” I replied, remembering what Elincia had told me about locked titles.
We walked in silence through a carpeted corridor. The brass-framed windows reached the high ceiling and gave us a wide view of the interior gardens. There was a bush maze, fountains and clumps of all kinds of flowers.
We reached a glass door to a crowded balcony and the captain signaled the guards to let us through. On the balcony there were men and women dressed in expensive suits and dresses of vibrant colors. Broad rings of gold and precious stones adorned the noble’s hands while the women flaunted beautiful necklaces and earrings. If the Marquis was there, he was hidden among the crowd.
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Captain Kiln took me to the side of the balcony, far from the noble clump and pointed down to the garden. Two men dressed in fencing attire were standing at opposite sides of the garden while the squires helped them with their padded jackets. In the middle of the fighting area an old man with braided hair and stern look acted as the referee.
“Have you witnessed a judiciary duel before?” The captain asked.
I shook my head.
“Then it’s your lucky day, Scholar. Sir Janus insulted Baronet Tirno during the last feast.” Captain Kiln said with a lupine smile.
“What did Sir Janus say?” I inquired.
“Janus said Tirno’s lovers during their days in the Ebros Knights Academy looked just like his mother.” Captain Kiln let out a tired sigh.
I glanced down at the dueling area. Baronet Tirno was a tall and slender young man of blonde curls and piercing looks. He wore a blue and black jacket with a crest similar to the Marquis symbol, so I assumed he might be related to the Marquis. Tirno moved with ease under the padded jacket and made a flourish with his rapier before blowing a kiss to the balcony. The gesture was answered by a wave of giggles and sighs.
For someone with a soiled honor, he was enjoying the moment.
Sir Janus, on the other hand, was a brutish looking man with the physique of a beer barrel. An unkempt bristly black beard covered his face and his small black eyes resembled the ones of a pig. Janus looked more like a well-armed murder hobo than a knight.
“Tirno has the reach advantage.” I said as the squire handed the rapiers to Janus.
“Good, you can use your eyes.” Captain Kiln said and I wondered if every woman had a similar level of sass in this world.
The referee, an old man dressed in a white and yellow tunic, stood at the center of the arena and cast a spell creating a golden dome of twenty meters in diameter. A second later the dome became translucent, barely blocking the view of the duelists.
“He’s a Fortifier. Any skill used inside the area of the bubble should stay inside instead of killing you. Well, none of them have magic classes but with high level combatants any extra precaution is welcome.” Captain Kiln explained.
Down inside the bubble, Tirno and Janus walked five paces away from the center, turned around, and saluted with the rapiers. Then, they adopted a fighting position I wasn’t completely familiar with. It seemed they were going to start sprinting instead of fencing.
A sudden gust of wind rose, kicking up a dust cloud, and Tirno disappeared just to reappear by Janus’ flank. I gasped. Had he used a skill or was it his natural speed? Janus raised his sword and parried just in time. Then I noticed my mouth was wide open.
“Want to bet?” Captain Kiln asked with an entertained expression on her face.
“I don’t have money or valuables other than a quarter cheese wheel.” I babbled back, too entranced with the fight to pay attention to the woman.
The captain slid a silver coin down the railing and left it in front of me. I recognized a gambling addict that shouldn’t be gambling when I saw one. I glanced at the coin and then I looked down at the arena. The duelists were still testing each other. Baronet Tirno had an elegant style with quick transitions and nimble footwork. Sir Janus, on the other hand, stood like a heavy boulder in the middle of the yard.
“Two silver coins and I will tell you exactly how Lord Tirno is going to lose.” I said with a taunting smile.
The captain’s interest was piqued and soon after there were two silver coins in front of me and another two in front of the woman.
“I love to fleece know-it-all Scholars.” The captain said despite the fact she was betting against her own money.
I ignored the banter and focused on the duel. After the initial explosion of speed things had slowed down. Still, they moved faster than any HEMA practitioner or olympic fencer I had seen in my life.
I remembered Zaon talking about class growth. It wasn’t a surprise that the kid was apprehensive of becoming a Soldier when there were classes that could move like those two men. Not even with my Lv.5 [Swordsmanship] was enough to reach those speeds.
[Awareness] filled my brain with information. Tirno fought with deliberately elegant movements trying to find an opening in the opponent’s defense while Janus adopted a style similar to what I knew; he tried to control Tirno’s sword and deliver a strike without jeopardizing his own safety.
“Sir Janus is going to end the fight by stabbing the Baronet in the hand.” I calmly said, channeling all my fencing knowledge. Judicial fencing wasn’t about killing your opponent, although it happened frequently, but about incapacitating it before it could harm you.
“Alright, I’m going for Tirno.” The Captain said.
The balcony was in complete silence. Rapiers clashed, but none managed to control the weak of the opponent's blade to create an opening. The amount of stamina both men displayed was astounding, even compared to top tier athletes from Earth. If I were to train for a hundred years I could hardly reach their levels of speed and coordination.
Suddenly Lord Tirno put aside all attempts of defending and lunged forward, aiming at the center of Sir Janus’ chest. Sir Janus stepped back with a nimbleness uncharacteristic of a man of his span. To get away from Tirno’s blade, Janus raised both arms and pulled back his body. In that awkward position, Sir Janus counterattacked with a downward stab aimed at Lord Tirno’s hand and withdrew from the engagement to avoid Tirno’s afterblow.
However, the afterblow didn’t come. Lord Tirno’s sword fell to the ground as the man bursted out cursing. As he retreated to his side of the arena, I caught a glimpse of bright blood flowing from his right hand.
New word learned!
Words learned: 3,001/215,000
Rank: Talkative Teenager
I made a mental note to not mention that word in front of children.
“I lost.” Captain Kiln sighed, bringing me back to the present.
“Not yet, he’s going to continue. Look.” I replied as Lord Tirno’s aid bandaged the wounded hand. The noble man snapped at the squire to hurry up but no matter how much bandages he applied, they quickly soaked in more blood. Suddenly, sick of waiting, Lord Tirno pushed his squire back and retrieved the sword.
“It’s over.” Captain Kiln sighed again.
Down in the garden, Sir Janus repeatedly hit Tirno’s blade until it slipped from his bloody hand. Then Janus prompted his rival to retrieve his sword just to repeat the process. Three times Tirno raised his sword and three times Janus slapped it from his hand.
“What a shitshow.” Captain Kiln grunted just as Sir Janus disarmed Lord Tirno for the last time and chased him across the garden hitting the Baronet’s legs with the rapier’s flat side until he found shelter inside the Great Hall.
Sir Janus took a bow towards the balcony and threw his sword in the squire’s direction. The Captain slid four silver coins to my side of the handrail.
“Better spanked than dead.” I pointed out, pocketing the coins with a winning smile on my face.
“Sir Janus is a lowborn who reached knighthood because he was accepted in the Ebros Knights Academy. His position in the court is frail and yet he acts like an idiot.”
The squires cleared the garden and the nobles who had been observing the duel started vacating the balcony. I learned a couple more insults from overhearing their conversation, some of the nobles were fuming and I pictured them plotting against Sir Janus in the near future. A hurt noble’s ego was dangerous in this world or the other.
“Abei!” The captain suddenly called.
An old robed man emerged from the group, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
“What is it, captain?”
The man had a shining bald head and a majestically bushy beard. Unlike the young man from the tower, Abei didn’t look like a cheap street magician but a full fledged sage.
“We have one of those portal hoppers. A Scholar.” Captain Kiln announced. “I thought you would be interested.”
In a single sentence, Abei’s face was cleared of all irritation. The old man made his way through the balcony with an eager stride and, unlike the captain, didn’t bother to measure me up with his eyes. Instead he jumped directly to the questions.
“Where are you from and how did you get here, young man?” Abei struck me like the kind of person who would look into a loaded shotgun’s barrel to satiate his curiosity.
“I’m Robert Clarke, humble servant of the City of Light. I arrived here due to a teletransportation accident.” I introduced myself, already expecting what will come next. The questioning.
“The City of Light? Never heard of that place.” Abei stroked his beard and looked around searching for an encyclopedia just to remember he was outdoors.
“And I never heard of Farcrest until I popped out here.” I replied with a shrug.
Abei nodded, understanding my predicament.
“You don’t seem to be scared for someone so far from home.” The man looked me directly in the eye. I was slowly getting used to being questioned.
“Three days in the Farlands is a hell of a cure for fear.” I replied.
The Captain gave me an approving nod. People of this world trusted too much in the System and too little in the common sense.
“Why am I being treated with such deference? I'm nobody after all.” I asked, eliciting a jolly laugh from the old man and I braced myself for a long story.
“People who are exposed to teletransportation spells usually are wealthy, noble or high level, so it's only logical to protect such individuals when the integrity of the kingdoms depends on them.” Abei explained. “Anyway, we need noble witnesses to grant you the permit. Let’s go to the audience room.” The man added as he invited me through the glass door into the Great Hall.
Before I could cross the doorway, Captain Kiln grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Just don’t do anything stupid and things will go well. Understood?” The woman asked with a stern voice.
“Understood.” I replied, knowing perfectly well that doing stupid things, like jumping heads on into a dangerous world full of magic creatures, was exactly my specialty.