The look of that child caused me in a certain way anxiety. His power didn't seem like much, but those eyes weren't the innocent and inexperienced eyes of a child. They were those of someone who went through difficult stages and developed thanks to them. It belonged to someone who had fought since the day he was born to survive. The intense gaze stopped the moment the leader of the brats started looking for him. He was weak anyway and didn't have much time to deal with them, so I left Ben in charge. Instead, I looked at the situation with the goblins in the area. Yes, the golems summoned by Miss Hilligan were doing their job as promised. The problem was that every day they multiplied and seemed to get smarter. Ambushing the merchants in the Forest of Flerm, a dangerous area for us, but necessary to pass to our capital, Wardon. A group of adventurers offered to take care of them. I would have gladly accepted it, but it would have tarnished Raud's reputation as a weak kingdom and the Three Great Nations would take action knowing that. For these reasons I arranged a meeting with Bolt Fryder, a merchant who entered the world of commerce through his connections and became the leader of our Merchant Guild branch.
I entered my office and saw Bolt sitting in one of the chairs, dressed in elegant clothes, as always.
The purpose of this room was to give an air of discomfort to anyone who witnessed it, except for the King. A sense of authority impossible to disobey for someone else and a sense of confidence for me. It was a simple room, a wooden desk and two common chairs on each side. A library with shelves full of encyclopedias and informational books loomed behind my chair as a display of knowledge, even though I had never read any of those works in my life. I remembered my father, Jeremiah V, reading his favorite: 'Unknown World: Elves, Orcs and Dwarves'. According to him, the other species were always underestimated because they did not interact with humans. For this reason the enslavement of these races was so common. He thought that if we came together we could achieve unimaginable feats. However, he was not successful in his mission. In fact, he ruined our situation in the process. After that unsuccessful relationship with the elves, the Raud Kingdom declined and its years of glory, which already seemed distant, ended. Fortunately, I learned from those lessons and moved on, without needlessly worrying about the past.
Bolt quickly got up from the chair opposite mine and bowed his head. He gave a slight display of disloyalty, someone in his position should bow their entire body before me. I had to manage to come to an agreement with someone who didn't respect me as a sovereign even while having a unique skill. I would use my unique skill only at the right times, especially so as not to get in trouble with the Guild. After the Emperors' War, the citizens of Raud fell into poverty. Since most went to the army to die for their nation, there was no manpower left and we had to cut costs to fund the militia. This also affected Guilds. Right now I was trying to mend my relationship with them.
I had also invited the leader of the Adventurer's Guild. He was already known for his constant tardiness, I would take it upon myself to discipline him later, but my focus was on Bolt.
"Looks like he didn't attend. I shouldn't have come, now I'll look like an idiot." said the merchant, with a face that did not hide anything.
"Believe me, your thinking turns out to be incorrect. Sit down and let's discuss the issues that concern us."
We both sat on opposite sides. Me in the chair that represented power over the one in front of me. However, Bolt's safe and confident posture made me think about every word that came out of my mouth. Debates were going on in my brain, one after the other. What should be revealed, what not. All in a second. Then, I made up my mind.
"Mr. Fryder, I'm sorry for your recent losses in Flerm's Forest. Also, it seems someone was incapable of showing himself. He will receive just punishment, as will anyone who defies my authority. Whether on purpose or not." I said, with the most serious face I could muster.
"Are you threatening me?" his body trembled slightly, though he had the guts not to cower in this situation. "I may not be much of a thing next to others, but I do have friends. Very good friends, who would not hesitate to lend me a hand in case of danger."
"I'm just telling it like it is. Anyway, I have a plan in mind to eliminate the goblins. I hope you'll be willing to listen."
Bolt frowned. My credibility being questioned could not be allowed. Without waiting for his response, I immediately began to explain my proposal.
"It is true that you merchants need to pass through the Flerm Forest due to the high mountains surrounding it. We haven't found a solution for this yet, however, what we can do is send new recruits from the Royal Forces."
"Recruits? You're getting funny as time goes by. You know the incredible power those goblins wield, it doesn't make sense."
"First of all, speak to me with respect and the honorific according to my position. From now on, you will refer to me as Your Majesty." I didn't think I was going to get into bigger trouble, so I thought it was time to use my unique skill. Bolt's serious face relaxed and his eyebrows rose up as his eyes turned teary, in a gesture of pure terror. "You must understand who truly is the most important here, whatever contacts you may have. Not even ten thousand Holy Knights could stand up to me."
“Your Majesty, I am aware of your strength, yet I still think sending recruits into such a dangerous situation is madness. I am obviously willing to listen to you, there is no doubt about that. I hope you have some good reason for proposing this."
Bolt's expression showed fear in front of me. Correct, that was what I intended. My unique skill was known according to ancient texts as [Presence]. It allowed me to give orders to people and force them to carry them out. Also, my aura increased, the outward appearance of everyone's magical power. It presented a great risk, since it was not possible to hide my power while using it, so my enemies could estimate the exact measure of my power. Fortunately, there wasn't going to be a problem with Bolt, since he was a Lowliest. Taking advantage of Bolt's current state, I began to explain my plan.
---
I stopped using [Presence] on Mr. Fryder and took my leave. He seemed quite at ease even after being under my skill. I hoped I had made the right decision. It was time to investigate the whereabouts of the Adventurer Guild leader. I had only invited him with the reason of not generating conflicts by rejecting one of his groups. Everyone knew how overprotective he was of his members.
Three knocks were heard behind the door that led to the entrance to my office. I let the person in, and the Commander of the Royal Guard appeared as the doors opened. Benned Hasser was a strong man. Simple as that. Knighted by my father, he served more than forty years as one without issue. Someone completely loyal to the Crown was necessary to bring peace to the Kingdom. An honorable warrior on and off the battlefield. Able to risk his life to save others. That was Benned.
"Your Majesty, I have come to inform you about the Unique Skills of the heroes." started, but suddenly stopped and sighed. "There are some interesting ones and some very basic ones. Some have no skills at all."
At this, I reacted with surprise. The summoning ritual did not seem to have been very successful.
"How many are the Lowliest?" I asked, praying to the Five Gods that there wouldn't be too many of them.
"Seven. Considering there are eighteen of them, that's not a bad number."
I thanked Nhefem, Ysena, Tirue, Mersha and Ionder for their mercy in giving me a low amount. A smile from ear to ear formed on my happy face.
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"Tell me about their skills." I told him, calmer now.
"I was able to observe stealth, strength and intelligence related skills and some slightly more special. The leader of the heroes seemed to have a unique skill called [Emotion Reader]. Completely new, never found even by Aerthia's greatest historians. It works in such a way that the child can understand the behavior of the people around him permanently, with the only condition that his power is more than or equal to that of the person who is under his effect."
"Interesting. Anyone else to talk about?"
"There was a very introverted and serious boy. His face was expressionless and without gestures that could betray his thoughts. He did not have any unique skill, however his mana was enormous. Greater than that of the traitor could be said."
I was unable to help but frown, never having thought of the possibility of a Lowliest carrying even a small sample of mana. The Five Gods were supposed to offer glory to the powerful and dishonor to the weak.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! An impostor. That must be it. An impostor sent by Bezellah."
I fixed my gaze on Benned's eyes. He did not lie. This could not be happening, it was against all the Laws of the Church. People without any skill were called 'Lowliest'. Since they had nothing special about them, the non-existence of their mana was taken for granted. Magic power was the tool of the Five Gods to combat evil in the world. It was given to those fortunate in the path of salvation, professed by R'Lythe and censured by the Greedy King Bezellah.
"Your Majesty, the boy seems to be a competent person, intelligent even. I think he's smart enough to understand the stupidity of opposing your choices. Besides, we could leave him in Denly's hands, he will know how to train him and would be a strong addition to the army." proposed Benned, as wise as he was in my father's day.
I sighed. I took my time to reflect. Pros and cons. Even if there were docile Lowliest among the heroes, that didn't mean that all of them were. According to the characteristics mentioned by Benned, this boy kept a cool mind in risky situations. It was not clear if he was on the thinking side or the ignorant side. Considering the immense mana storage within the traitor's body, the only thing I could think of was how terrifying it would be to face him. Geigar was too strong for this world. So great was his power that he challenged the Gods and failed in the attempt. However, it was useless to imagine the results of inducting the boy into our ranks. If something went wrong it was our fault for not controlling him well enough. This was a bet. You had to flip the coin and wait for the correct side to come up.
"Alright. Send him to Denly. He won't be useful for the mission anyway, if he doesn't even have a basic skill."
Benned looked at me doubtfully.
"Would it be inappropriate to Your Majesty for me to inquire about this 'mission' you speak of?"
"Not really, although I prefer to leave you wondering. Well, let's move on. What else is there?"
Benned didn't even think to ask again. He probably thought it wasn't important enough to insist on knowing.
"If you like, I still have a couple of interesting children. There is a hero who is pure brute strength, his Unique Skill is [Fury]. You know it well enough, it's the one the Emperor had. Regarding his personality, it seems to resemble his power. Someone quite impulsive and brute, without any caution. There is also 'the girl with the threads', as I have decided to call her..."
Thus the afternoon continued, until the completion of his report.
---
"It doesn't look like we're as lucky as thought." I told myself.
Benned had already withdrawn with the typical greeting of Raud. My mind was working at the speed of lightning magic, the conclusions formed in my head did not go anywhere and the problem generated by them filled it with pure useless information that only increased my stress. More than half of the eighteen heroes had mediocre abilities. Unique, but unfit. What good was a girl who could heat the things she touched? She could melt a sword, but the speed of her ability was not enough to avoid the edge. Or the boy who could recognize all flavors? I could use him to prevent poisoning, but he would be a one-use tool. All these questions wondering, disoriented thoughts. The mission I planned didn't seem like a good move. The feud with the Guilds would worsen and Raud would be plunged into internal problems. The rebels would rise up, the traitors would take advantage, and the opportunists would get their share. Only a couple of loyal people and my own imagination could prevent what would happen if it all went wrong. Or not. Or this was inevitable. With the Emperors' War, the appearance of the Demon King in the west, and the Anti-Monarchist faction, my downfall was certain. Heroes were the obvious choice in the middle of this. However, my choices were wrong once again. I didn't want my daughter to inherit a chaotic hell. I had to think about the good of my family and, above all, of the Kingdom.
In that instant, I remembered something.
"Ah, the leader of the Adventurer's Guild."
No, I would take care of that later. Now I wanted to see my daughter.
I got up from my chair and left the office. The guards standing on either side of the gate turned to me and quickly stanced themselves according to the Royal Code, straight and their left arms placed across their chests. I nodded my head and ordered them to follow me. They weren't necessary, since I could defend myself. This was nothing more than a display of my authority to anyone witnessing it. I went to my daughter's quarters.
The woman who served her was an expert in healing spells. The Queen Trina. She was a responsible mother, since our daughter was a baby, she took care of all the tasks related to caring for the princess. Completely different from me, who took care more of the kingdom than my own family. It is not something I regret, after all it is my duty as a sovereign.
I met Trina in my father's time, on a visit to the Lleys Kingdom, east of Raud. In order to gain their support in our confrontation with the elven people, King Golnir, 'the mistrustful', gave us one condition. The heir to the throne had to defeat one of his strongest warriors. Clearly this warrior was not at the level of those belonging to the Tremer Empire Colosseum, but his strength could be compared to that of a tired orc with some injuries to his body. I was a young man in my twenties, I hadn't gotten [Presence] yet. In addition, I was somewhat arrogant. I accepted without listening to my father's advice and, emboldened, I myself challenged the warrior to a duel. We were on an empty lot, clear of any trees that got in the way. Many people had come to see the match, including my parents and the King and Queen of Lleys. It was going to be done with our bare fists, no rules involved, except for not killing. The fight started relatively well. I landed a quick blow to the warrior's face and stepped back at just the right time to avoid the opponent's fist. I continued like this, confident that I was going to win. However, several minutes passed before I realized it. The warrior was calm. There were no traces of wounds or sweat. His hateful smile deepening even more with each blow I gave. My tiredness increased to the point where my legs almost gave out. My whole body trembled and the warrior continued to smile.
I remembered some words in a language different to the common tongue coming out of his mouth.
The warrior charged with his massive body and waved his muscular, vein-marked arm. My last memory of that event was the pain caused by that blow. It didn't last long. But the power was such that it felt like the Demon King himself would hit me right now.
I woke up in a dark room lying on a creaking wooden bed. My body was paralyzed and thanks to that my vision was focused on the ceiling. My mind was blank, partly because of the humiliation of losing and the other reason was to get away from the physical pain that beating had caused me. I spent hours locked up in that place provided with light. Finally, I heard three delicate taps on the door.
'I'm going in.' a soft feminine voice was heard from behind the flimsy wooden door.
The creak when opening it was unbearable, but I couldn't cover my ears. The girl's footsteps slowly approached until her face came into my vision. Some beautiful blue eyes, the irises shone with their own light, her long blonde hair fell to her arms and illuminated that dark place with her beauty. That innocent and angelic look gave me a sense of peace. I felt comfortable looking at her as she talked to calm me down. From that moment, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. There were a few issues I had to fix before that, but I got it done. I married her and we had a beautiful child. The same one that would soon reign an entire Kingdom. The same one that was unconscious in front of me, lying on a bed, like I was when I met Trina.
"How is she?" I asked my wife.
"It's strange. I've never seen anything like it. She seems to have been affected by the insertion of a different kind of mana than normal. I'm sure she will recover normally, but right now with current knowledge there's nothing that can be done." she answered.
Trina's gloomy face said it all. No more words were needed. Our girl passed out for unknown reasons. I wanted to say a few words to her, but was unable to pronounce them. My daughter's name. And then, I said...
"Evie..."