Chapter 30

The new clothes were unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable, although his valet had assured him that the style would fit much better once the tailor had been by to make the necessary adjustments. It was, he was told, all the style in the capital. A style which had been heavily influenced by several great men of influence, such as the architect who had designed his new dwelling and a number of other famous men whose names Tom likewise promptly forgot.

He had to admit that washing the road off his skin had made him feel significantly better, although he did wish that his new valet would have allowed him to dress himself. Although, considering the unfamiliarity of the suit which had been laid out for him, perhaps it was best that someone who knew how it went together was there to help.

The valet finished his duties by escorting the lad to the parlor, where the king was waiting for him. Tom nervously bowed again, and the king waved him off.

“When we’re alone, Tom, you don’t need to give me such honors. The truth is that I find them tiresome. While I’m expected to receive them in public settings, I prefer that those with whom I interact privately discard with such pageantry when there are no witnesses around to notice their lack.”

Tom straightened and scratched at his collar. “Thank you, I guess. My parents never thought I’d be in a royal audience, so I have no idea how to act around royalty.”

“Your new servants will see to your education on that matter,” Fenard assured him. “Considering your age and background, I have also appointed a number of tutors to see to your education on other matters as well. I do not mean to belittle you, of course; I am certain that your parents and your village did an excellent job of raising you. It is simply a fact that your new station requires you to begin with a certain level of knowledge of history, politics, and statecraft. While I hear your parents were quite prosperous, they were preparing you to take over a small rural business, not interact with political figures on a national scale.”

Tom sighed. “And here I thought I was done with school now that the System considers me an adult.”

The king laughed heartily. “My boy, I assure you, you will never be done learning new things! You should simply be grateful that because of your youth, the expectation will not be upon you that you already know them!”

“What is my position, exactly?” Tom asked. “Antoine said I was being conscripted into the Royal Knights.”

Fenard had been warned of this wrinkle and he did not flinch at the word choice. “Conscription is a much stronger word than I would prefer to use for your situation, Tom. Rather, I would consider you a foster of the royal family. You have emerged with an unexpected and powerful class, one which my family is uniquely equipped to help you level and utilize to its maximum effect. I do not mean to claim your parental love from your parents, but I would like you to view me as a source of guidance and support. As for your appointment as a Royal Knight, I assure you that it was an effort to bestow you with an honor suitable to your birth and upbringing thus far. If the title is bitter on your tongue for any reason, I assure you that it is not mandatory.”

“I see,” Tom said, and he went silent for a moment as he considered the king’s words. So far, his impressions of the king clashed heavily with what he had been expecting. He wondered if the image that Antoine had been painting over the last several weeks was inaccurate, or if, as Jessica had warned him, the king was presenting a false front in order to lure him into servitude.

“You haven’t yet had a chance to tour your new property. Would you accept the honor of having me as a tour guide? I have myself just refreshed my familiarity with this estate, although if you’d prefer someone more knowledgeable of its history I can of course summon your butler,” Fenard suggested after the boy had been silent for some time without showing any signs of further conversation.

“I suppose,” Tom said, and the tour began.

They were walking the grounds some time later when the conversation returned to Tom’s place in the world. “I suppose that Antoine has informed you of the history of your Class, has he not?”

“It was the Class of the ancient kings,” Tom answered.

“Indeed it was,” Fenard said. “Those were some truly great men. And women too, there were Queen Controllers in the old days as well. Felicia, Matilda, Gloriana, all of them left their mark on the histories of their respective nations. We’re uncertain why the class no longer runs in the blood of the royal family as strongly as it used to, and it is in fact a matter of some concern to us.”

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“You need it to make certain the Cores stay the way they’ve always been,” Tom said.

“Not the way they’ve always been, Tom. Once upon a time, there were no Cores on the surface. In order to claim a class, one would be forced to delve a dungeon, and the dungeons of those days were far more dangerous than the ones that adventurers delve in modern times. The truly dangerous dungeons have been culled, either destroyed or Sundered into manageable Cores and put to good use,” King Fenard explained. “The entire world was covered with the Wilds, or the Wastes.”

“What about the Blight?” Tom asked.

“Ah, well, the truth is that the blight are the sights of failed attempts at expanding the six great kingdoms, Tom,” Fenard answered. “The techniques of the ancient kings have been lost to time. We’re not entirely certain how they managed to create cores as tame as the ones we enjoy today.”

“We made the blight?” Tom asked.

“Unintentionally, I assure you,” Fenard said. “They were formed from a time when Controller was a more common Class than it is today. For a short time, when one of the royal families had more than one Controller, the decision on who would inherit the throne was determined by their subclass.”

“Inheritor or Conqueror, right?”

“Exactly so. If one child was an Inheritor, they would take the lands which were previously tamed, while any Conquerors were sent out into the wilds to establish new territory. If there were multiple Inheritors, well, that was more of a political issue. Our world is less prone to warfare than what we hear of some of the other ones, but it was most common when multiple Inheritors vied for the throne of the same kingdom.”

The king let out a sigh as he continued. “The truth is that the rarity of the class reduced the amount of warfare in our world; for a time it was common for an Inheritor from one kingdom to inherit the throne of another, if the royal family of that kingdom did not produce their own heir with the prerequisite subclass. Then simply being a Controller was enough. Nowadays, we are lucky to get one Controller in a generation, and the kingdoms squabble over you like children squabbling over the last slice of pie. That is how we lost your predecessor, you know.”

“I don’t know,” Tom corrected. “What happened to him?”

“Antoine didn’t tell you?” Fenard asked, surprise showing for the first time. “My father sent your predecessor, Marshal Graves, a cousin of mine, on a mission to tame a particularly virulent dungeon in another kingdom. Marshal perished in the attempt. I fear that is why Antoine dislikes myself and the crown; he blames us for the death of his summoner and closest friend. I do not know if you’ve ever experienced grief, Tom, but it can be an insidious thing.”

Tom was silent as he considered this new information. “Is that why he’s so invested in me? Do I remind him of Marshal?”

“I don’t know Antoine’s mind, Tom,” Fenard answered. “But I suspect that might be the case.”

“You’re very different than I imagined you to be,” Tom told him.

“I imagine so. If we met under different circumstances I’m certain I would have given off a very different impression, Tom. I am glad that you decided not to come directly into the city, as it gave us this opportunity to meet out where there are fewer prying eyes. I am a very different person in public than I am in private, but that is true of all rulers. And the vast majority of nobles and high level merchants as well. I am sure that your mother, for example, presents a very different face to you and the rest of your village than she does those she negotiates with for your father’s products.”

Tom nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. So when I meet you somewhere where we’ll be observed, you’ll be different, and I’ll have to treat you according to protocol or whatever, right?”

“Indeed,” Fenard agreed. “However, we’ll see about raising your social rank a bit so that the honors you’ll be expected to give me are not so onerous. That is one reason that I recommend you accept the appointment to be a Royal Knight, Tom. We will not be peers, but your social standing will be high enough that you will not be forced to kowtow in my presence. Not that I require that of my Commoners, either.”

Tom stopped next to a pond. He had this entire time been carrying the Core Stone that he had tamed, though the king hadn’t mentioned it once.

“These lands are mine, right?” Tom asked.

“Indeed. I have assigned this estate as your personal property. It will be a hereditary gift as well; any child you have may inherit them in perpetuity. Only in the event that your line goes extinct will they revert to the throne,” the king answered.

“Then it’s alright if I build a dungeon here, isn’t it?” Tom asked.

“I more or less expected that you would,” the king answered. “I was planning on giving you one of our level one cores to begin your leveling process, but I understand you already have one with you. I would worry that a wild core would affect your judgment, but you seem to have matters well in hand. Besides, you do need somewhere to keep your monsters.”

Tom needed no further permission. He began to Customize the Alpha Core, and the crystal swiftly expanded from the size of a softball into a towering monolith.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Controller do that before,” the king said amiably.

“It’s my Customize ability. It has a lot of nuance to it, but over dungeon stuff itself it gives me a huge degree of control. We tunneled most of the way here using this Core and that ability,” Tom said.

“Is that how you eluded the Winged Knights for so long? You were underground?” The king already knew this, but pretended to be surprised.

“I didn’t realize that they were looking for us, to be honest,” Tom said. “If I had, I guess I would have waited for them. Maybe, I don’t know. You’re not upset, are you?”

“If I’m upset with anyone, it’s Antoine for skirting the edges of his instructions. Although I did not explicitly order him to wait for the Winged Knights, he should have inferred that it was my intention for him to do so.”

“Except that he doesn’t like you very much,” Tom said.

“No, he does not,” Fenard agreed.

Tom waved his hand, and a hole opened up in the earth. “Would you like to watch me build the dungeon itself?”

“It would be a privilege, Tom,” Fenard agreed, and the two walked into the newly formed dungeon together.