With the lesson over, Zaman excused himself from the room as he had other matters to attend to, leaving Sol and the Princess alone together. Normally, such a thing was never done, but the Commander had a good read of Sol’s personality and was sure nothing bad would come of this. He was even secretly hoping they would get along and Sol would become another valuable ally for the Princess.
Sol, unaware of Zaman's machinations, leaned back in his chair in deep thought.
‘I hoped for a bit more than that, but now I at least know that I’ve been going about it wrong. I thought I just needed to combine and max out my skills as much as possible, but what I need to focus on are those already at max level or EX. [Siphon] is still a ways away from maxing out, but I have [Aggregate] and [Reinterpret], which started at EX. I also have the other two talent skills I siphoned to work with…’
While Sol considered his options, he realized something crucial.
‘Wait. Can’t I improve [Siphon] with [Reinterpret]? Why didn’t I think of that before?!’
Feeling extremely foolish for not trying it sooner, Sol promised himself he would attempt it as soon as possible.
Valerie, who was also wondering how she would approach her Ascension, noticed that Sol had come to some sort of realization.
“Was Zaman's lesson helpful? It seems like you realized something,” she asked, not only out of curiosity but also on the off chance it could also be beneficial for her.
Sol nodded. “Though vague, the Commander did point me in the right direction. I was focusing on improving my general skills and hadn’t thought about my talent skills. I already have two talent skills I can try comprehending a law skill from.”
She was surprised. “You maxed two talent skills already?! I only recently maxed out my first talent skill… You look younger than me, yet you’re ahead of me.”
Valerie was 22 years old, while Sol was almost 19. Though the time it took to max out a talent skill varied greatly depending on aptitude and effort, it would on average take over 15 years for someone to max out their first skill. Even Valerie, who was very talented and had access to countless resources, had only recently maxed out her first skill after 8 years.
Sol shook his head. “That's not a fair comparison. I had much more time on my hands to train. I’m sure you could have maxed out all your talent skills if not for your other responsibilities.”
Though the real reason it wasn’t a fair comparison was that the two talent skills he learned started at the EX level, saving him a lot of time. Regardless, he remained tactful about it, and it was true that the Princess had many other responsibilities and even more with her recent preparations to assume the throne. Though the King had yet to step down, many knew it was only a matter of time, which was why many forces were taking action.
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She let out a small laugh at his reassurance. “It’s fine; you don't need to comfort me with pleasantries. I’m honestly glad we have someone as talented as you here.”
Sol made an awkward smile, having his intentions read so easily, and tried to change the subject.
“By the way… Why is it that the Commander is only teaching you about law techniques now? Wouldn’t you have been an A-Ranker by now if you knew where to focus your efforts ahead of time?”
“Maybe, but I was told I wasn’t ready to learn about Ascensions by fath— the King. He wished for me and my brother to train all our skills to a proficient degree before trying to comprehend law techniques. The reason for this is to become more well rounded.”
“More well rounded?”
Valerie nodded. “Yes. It’s well documented that those who rush to A-Rank by focusing on one skill end up lacking in too many areas compared to those who slowly progress, learning every step of the way. Battle sense, adaptability, and more are habits that need to be built from the foundation; it's not something one can easily start doing after focusing on one specific skill for years. For that reason, we even went— Never mind, but you understand what I mean.”
She was about to talk about entering Necropolis as a way to further hone their skills. She and her brother did so on occasion until the monster house incident that took his life. Since then, she hadn’t stepped foot in the dungeon. If asked why, she would say she was too busy preparing to rule, but that was a lie, and she knew it. Still, she stifled those feelings of fear to reassure those around her.
Sol didn’t know how to respond as he could see she was somewhat conflicted about something. Their silence soon became awkward as neither knew what to say. In order to end the awkwardness and the anticipation of attempting to break through to A-Rank, he stood up and gave a cordial bow to the Princess.
“I must get going. Thank you for allowing me to join today's lesson.”
Before Valerie could respond, Sol quickly left the room, leaving her speechless.
‘Normally I have to excuse knights before they can leave. I think he forgot… I don’t really mind, but I wanted to talk with him more. I keep freezing up whenever I think about Nelson…’
The Princess could only regret ruining the mood and hope to talk with the young Knight Captain another time. In the meantime, she had to focus on her max level talent skill and try to break through as soon as possible.
...
Back in his room, Sol sat upright on his bed and got into a comfortable position. It was only when he sat down that he realized his mistake.
‘Ah! She didn’t excuse me… Why are there so many rules to follow… I can only hope she’s not petty over something like that. At least she didn’t give off that sort of vibe.’
After wishing nothing bad came out of that, Sol entered his mental white room. He looked around and, wanting to spruce up the environment, changed the walls to simulate a grassy plain. He then created the body of a trihorn deer he recently killed during a mission.
‘It's easier to create creatures when they're fresh in my mind. For practice, I should ingrain a few different creatures into my memory with my pseudo psychic skill. But that's an issue for another time; for now, let's try it.’
Sol raised his hand and used [Siphon], the first of many to come.