Chapter 28

> “While it is well known and established that Sundering a Core will reduce that Core’s HP to a single point, less known are the alternatives for restoring Cores to Health. While it is generally assumed that the only option is the Inheritor’s Mend skill, there exist two other options for repairing damaged Cores.

> “The first alternative method is simply time. Experiments have shown that expanding a core to its maximum physical size and allotting it the maximum available territory will increase the rate at which health points are recovered. Unfortunately, even when expanded to the maximum degree, the regeneration rate is measured in weeks, rather than minutes or hours.

> “The second method is to level the core. As before, expanding a core’s size and territory help the core recover when using this method. It is also recommended that the core be sedentary for at least one day prior to healing it with this method. While this is not strictly required, experiments have shown that cores recover more health points when using this method.

> “See page 132 for commentary on leveling cores.”

> Page 132

> “One of the first, and often the most serious, mistakes that an unguided Controller makes is leveling their bonded Core. The connection between a Core and a Controller is not always in a single direction, and higher level cores are well known to affect the judgment and even sanity of lower leveled Controllers.

> “At the same time, Cores are eager to level, and will promptly spend all of their acquired experience at once if given the chance. With older cores this can be an issue, as while Cores take more experience per level than humans or monsters, they also generate significant amounts of experience when left sedentary, often by spawning monsters which will compete with each other, even in the absence of human predation.

> “This need not be the case, however. The Level skill can be used as a bludgeon or a scalpel. The inexperienced Controller will use it as a bludgeon, allowing the Core to control the leveling process. The experienced Controller will use it as a scalpel, applying precisely the correct amount of experience to the core to trigger one level at a time.

> “Unfortunately, the personality of the Core in question continues to come into play even with this method. The Rapport between Controller and Core (See pages 87-93, 104-110, and 189) will affect the response to restricted uses of the Level skill. If the Core does not trust the Controller, it will attempt the Controller into using the Level skill too strongly. It is recommended, if the desired outcome is a core with a targeted level, to spend some time establishing Rapport with a core before Leveling it.

> “It is simultaneously strongly recommended not to Sunder a Core which you are attempting to establish Rapport with.

> “In order to develop a light touch using the Level skill, one must first learn how to activate the skill, and then they must learn how to do so with the minimal investment possible. This may take some trial and error. It is strongly recommended, when developing this technique, to use Cores close to the Controller’s level, and with which the Controller has established a moderate amount of Rapport.

> “See pages 149-182 for visualization exercises to help moderate the consumption of Experience during the use of Level. These exercises are multipurpose in nature and are recommended meditations for all Controllers during the early stages of their development.”

Antoine set the book aside and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t bother looking up the exercises, they would do him no good. Tom already had, presumably.

They had made camp, and Tom had expanded Alpha Core into its monolith size. The young Controller was meditating now, his eyes closed as he leaned against the massive crystal. Klein was rubbing himself against Tom’s leg, and Tom was absently scratching the Worsican Lynx.

Sevin sat nearby, sharpening the spearhead of his weapon of choice, while Jessica was playing pranks on the juvenile minotaur with her Sonic Sovereignty ability, causing the beast to believe that a bee was floating just behind its head which it could not get rid of. Antoine snorted with amusement when he saw what she was doing through his mana senses. He approved of the practice, and he wasn’t terribly worried about the monster figuring out what she was doing to it. Minotaurs weren’t known for their intelligence, after all.

Lo and the other Korgoath were sleeping through the day in the small tunnel Tom had made for them, and Antoine was content to leave them there. He had yet to come to a decision on whether or not to let Lo live. For now, he was simply keeping the Korgoath under scrutiny.

Abruptly Tom stood up and walked out of the little camp. He didn’t say anything, but Antoine recognized the call of nature when he saw it. Antoine went back to reading the book that the foreign agent had provided Tom, adding its knowledge to what he already knew about the Controller class.

A shadow flashed overhead, and Antoine was on his feet in an instant, his hand on his blade. The pegasus circled the camp once, and Antoine relaxed his guard as he recognized it, and its rider. He wasn’t surprised that Silva had been the one to find them, only that it had taken her so long once they had begun traveling on the surface again.

The Winged Knight landed nearby, but was forced to take off into the air again when the minotaur charged her position.

“Antoine, tell the Controller to call off his beast,” she called from the air as the pegasus flew circles around the camp.

“He’s occupied at the moment,” Antoine answered. “You’ll just have to wait until he gets back.”

She said nothing further until Tom returned a few moments later, then she repeated her request to him.

“Who are you?” Tom demanded before following her instructions.

“I am Lieutenant Silva of the Winged Knights,” came the answer. “I mean you no harm, I am here to facilitate your induction into the Royal Knights. We should have met before you left on this journey, and I should have accompanied you for it.”

Antoine heard the reproach directed at him and simply grinned through it. “It’s fine, Tom. Silva is mostly harmless.”

Tom considered the problem for a moment. “Brutus, settle down. Don’t attack our guests,” he said at last.

Antoine hadn’t realized that the minotaur had a name. Silva landed a moment later, waiting until she was certain she was safe before dismounting. She stalked over to Antoine, eyes aflame with anger. “I have been searching for you for weeks! You were to find the boy, put a stop to any sort of shenanigans that he might be causing while untrained, and then wait for backup! On whose authority did you undertake this trip?”

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“My own,” Antoine said. “Even retired, I outrank just about everyone in the kingdom except for Ferdy himself, in case you’ve forgotten. And Fenard told me to return with the boy and that you would be coming as reinforcements as soon as possible. He did not explicitly command me to await your arrival; I assumed that you would simply be there to secure the valley.”

Silva frowned, but she wasn’t privy to the conversations between Fenard and Antoine, and it was possible that the man was both telling the truth and acting in good faith with the interpretations of the orders he’d been given. Or, more likely, skirting their boundaries without actually going outside the lines. Antoine was one of those forces that was impossible to micromanage; he was more like a hurricane which could be more or less pointed in the direction of a problem. Very useful when that problem was a dragon or a rogue dungeon, or a rogue Controller. Less so when the problem required a soft touch.

She sighed, and turned back to Tom. “You are Tom Weaver, Controller, correct?” she asked.

“I am,” Tom answered.

“I greet you and congratulate you on your advancement to your class, and adulthood, Tom,” she said. “As I am certain Antoine has informed you, in some manner or another, Controller is an ultra-rare class, and it’s abilities are in extremely high demand. As such, the crown requires your services. However, I assure you that your efforts will be well compensated. Once you have mastered the art of taming dungeons, you will draw an income of up to five thousand marks per year, or more. You will be given estates both inside and near the capital. You will enjoy an elevated social position, and from hence forward your family will be peers with the nobility of the nation. The list of advantages that will be given to you and your family is actually quite extensive. While I understand that this entire situation came to you as a surprise, I assure you that you are extremely blessed to have awoken the Controller class, and that it will be a net benefit in your life.”

“If it’s such a good thing, why did nobody in our village know about it before?” Tom inquired.

Silva’s lip twitched. “It’s complicated. Centuries ago, your class was the hereditary class of the king or queen of Welsius. Back then, it was common for royalty or the nobility to become controllers at their maturity. For whatever reason, the prevalence of the class has decreased over time, and with it the knowledge of even its existence.”

“That’s right,” Antoine agreed, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “There was absolutely no effort to suppress the knowledge because it undermined the ruling power’s legitimacy.”

Silva’s lip twitched again. “As I said, it’s complicated. And it doesn’t truly matter. You’re not the first Controller to emerge outside of the royal bloodline, Tom, and I assure you that it doesn’t matter. Your Skills are too valuable not to treat you like a prince.”

“Yet you’re conscripting me like a common foot soldier,” Tom argued.

Another lip twitch. “Conscription? Is that the word Antoine used? I assure you, raising you to be a Royal Knight is intended as a high honor, Tom Weaver. While the position comes with certain obligations, it also has many, many advantages.” She paused to consider her words. “I suppose that if being a knight carries any connotations you don’t appreciate, taking up that mantle might be negotiable. King Fenard believes that the most loyal servants serve willingly. Both he and I would appreciate if you gave him the chance and the privilege of negotiating the price of your service directly.”

Both Tom and Antoine frowned. Tom, because this ran counter to what he’d been told, and Antoine because he could see the woman trying to drive a wedge between him and the boy. Any alternative to joining the Royal Knighthood would be just as restrictive, if not more so.

He didn’t bother to contradict her; he knew that his time of being the boy’s sole mentor was coming to an end. Now was the time for him to step back and let the boy see the world for himself. Hopefully Antoine had influenced him enough that he would be able to see that although the bars were golden, his gilded cage would still imprison him.

“So you’ll be traveling with us the rest of the way, then?” Tom asked.

“If you would not mind waiting a day or two, I would gather my fellow Winged Knights and we would escort you the remainder of the way together,” Silva confirmed.

Tom glanced at Antoine, who shrugged. Silva’s lip twitched again. It irked her that the boy deferred to Antoine, whose rebellious nature was well known. She hoped that the Vanquisher’s personality had not had time to rub off onto the new Controller.

“I guess that’s okay,” Tom said at last. “I’m surprised you don’t want to fly me there yourself, to be honest.”

“Flying is a very dangerous trick to learn, Tom,” Silva answered. “It requires a dedicated sub-class and takes years of building a report with your bonded mount. If anyone ever offers you a ride on anything that flies, you should question their regard for your safety, as most flying mounts are more likely to kick unfamiliar riders off of their backs midair than they are to convey them to their destination.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Tom promised. “What happens to my monsters when I reach the capital?”

Silva considered. “You have more than just the minotaur?”

“There are some Korgoath,” Tom answered. “They’re sleeping, they don’t like being out in the sun. It hurts their eyes.”

“It’s best not to grow overly attached to your monsters, Tom,” Silva informed him.

“So, what, I’m supposed to just kill them after I’m done with them?” Tom challenged.

“Of course not. But they will cause a panic if you bring them into the city,” Silva said. “Even if you keep them from attacking the citizens, there’s a large chance that someone will attack them preemptively. It would be best to find a place for them to live safely. Perhaps you can turn this core into a dungeon where they can live happily?”

Tom glanced at the Alpha Core and frowned, considering. “You said that I’m going to get lands and estates and stuff, right?” he asked. “Well, why not keep them there? Honestly I’d rather not go into a big city if I can avoid it; I feel really exposed when I’m outside of a dungeon I control.”

Silva’s lip twitched again. It was a reasonable request, but it would put distance between the boy and the crown, and she disliked that. “I will speak with the king. He may require you attend an audience with him, but I’m not certain that you living within the city will be required. I shall inquire as to which lands will be granted to you and you may establish the dungeon for your monsters there. In the mean time, perhaps you should consider marking them, so that others may know that they are under your Control?”

Tom simply shrugged. “That’s a good idea, I should have thought of that. Oh, I guess I did back at that first dungeon, but Antoine killed all of the Burrowers I marked like that.”

They talked for a while longer, and after extracting a promise that he would remain in the area until she returned with his escort, Silva left to gather the rest of the Winged Knights who had been searching for the lost Controller.