Vidar stared at the man as the man stared back, his mind racing to make the best move in such a tense situation. The tension built with each second, his hand still curled suspiciously in front of the girl’s forehead.
“I–” Vidar abruptly cut himself off, closing his mouth shut as his mind went into overdrive at the implicit threat of the man’s strength.
From the instant he arrived, the armored man didn’t so much as glance at the two children in front of him, focusing solely on Vidar. This wasn’t too odd, as he seemed to be the aggressor, but there was something off about that fact.
It was clear the man was in a position of authority as well, as his battle armor was an indicator of his military status. While anyone could own armor, the fact that he immediately demanded an explanation meant he thought of himself as a position of authority.
Ultimately, the man reminded Vidar of a member of law enforcement.
So from the perspective of an officer of the law, what would be his thoughts?
He was a man strong enough to watch the situation from far enough away that Vidar wouldn’t have a chance in hell of knowing he was there. Meaning he’d either just arrived or had been watching the entire time.
Considering the man only interfered at the very last moment, the latter situation was more likely.
So the man had been watching from afar, likely from the beginning, and didn’t even attempt to stop it. Yet, he was only concerned enough to stop the altercation when he thought Vidar was going to finish the two children off.
Not law enforcement, then. Escort, perhaps? Benefactor? Children this talented wouldn’t be left alone. Vidar held back a sigh, relieved that he’d chosen not to go for the kill.
Because if the man had been watching the entire time, he didn’t need an explanation. He needed a confession. Something that would only be useful if he weren't interested in immediate ‘justice’.
If he was hellbent on protecting his charges, then Vidar would already be dead.
Suddenly, the man let out an explosive sigh, muttering something under his breath. Vidar could only pick up the word ‘savage’, but didn’t hear anything else.
“Do. You. Understand. The. Words. Coming. Out. Of. My. Mouth?” The man stressed every word as if he was too stupid to understand them if they were slow.
Does… does he think that I’m a barbarian or something? Vidar slowly retracted his hand from in front of the girl’s face as he glanced at his body.
From the perspective of the man, he did seem like a wild savage child, didn’t he? He was wearing what amounted to tattered garbs covered in blood and resorted to violence almost immediately.
He could work with this.
Instead of verbally responding, Vidar only nodded, playing into his role of an uneducated oaf. He’d already revealed his ability to speak earlier, and it wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t know the universal language.
The universal language embedded in all intelligent life had a unique function that made communication smooth. While one might not be as learned when it came to vocabulary, all they’d have to do was hear the word to understand the meaning.
It was an ingenious function, albeit one fueled by the laziness of past kais.
“Good! That’s good, I wouldn’t know what to do if you didn’t,” The man nodded with a small smile on his face. But in the blink of an eye, the man’s smile was replaced by a stern, unyielding glower. “Now explain why you decided to kill those two men. Do not leave out any details.”
The warrior wasn’t even trying to act like he hadn’t been watching from afar.
Vidar almost snorted, unable to help himself from piercing the man’s flimsy act.
“There was a third,” He replied succinctly.
“Hm”? The man cocked an eyebrow, mildly confused at the non-sequitur.
“There were three men,” Vidar kept his tone blank, careful not to express his amusement. “How did you know I only killed two?”
The girl, who’d been silently watching the exchange up until this point, snapped her gaze onto the man. She was smart enough to understand the implications of that statement.
Vidar watched as the man’s stern expression cracked, but he didn’t falter and soldiered on.
“The two men have their viscera splayed across the trees. If there was a third, his body was likely eaten by the spirit beast. I don’t know what you think you’re implying, but stop stalling and answer my question.” The man growled.
That excuse was about as flimsy as his other one, but Vidar didn’t care to bring it up. He simply wanted to give off the impression that although he was ‘uneducated’, his mind remained sharp. Trying to use simple deception instead of honesty would fail.
It was subtle, but Vidar knew that all impressions were seeds rooted in one’s mind.
If these impressions were constantly supported by small interactions, they would blossom into the belief that he possessed certain traits. Someone who makes an impression as a rude person would have every negative trait amplified in the eyes of others.
With his actions, he advertised himself as an ignorant genius. His miraculous ‘conclusions’ would solidify this ideal, stamping himself in the man’s mind as someone not to underestimate intellectually.
Taking a few seconds, Vidar was careful to formulate an answer that was both succinct and lacked any complex vocabulary. He didn’t want to sound like a caveman, but he also didn’t want to sound like he was knowledgeable either.
“I… killed the fox,” Vidar began, speaking slowly but with confidence. “Then I tried to leave. The men didn’t let me. I warned them– Told them to move. They got… mad. They died.”
“I see,” The man put a hand to his chin, looking up in thought. “That’s the only reason you killed them? Because they were in your way?”
The man was leading this conversation somewhere. But it took almost a full minute for Vidar to parse what exactly he was being goaded into.
He’d almost forgotten there was a third option besides ‘attack’ and ‘mercy’. There was also the ability to ‘flee’. Since he was much stronger than both of the spearmen combined, he had the power to ignore them and quietly walk away. If he was hellbent on leaving, nothing stopping him from doing so.
So from the perspective of the armored man, there must’ve been a more primal reason for killing them.
There was, conveniently enough, so he simply told the truth.
“They are weak,” Vidar scrunched his eyebrows in thought, feigning the need to think about his answer. “They tried to tell me something, but I didn’t listen. Why would I listen to the weak? It was a waste of time.”
That must’ve been the right answer, as the man’s face lit up. “Ah, I understand. So one of them tried to lecture you for some inane reason but it only annoyed you because they’re weak. Does that mean you’re only listening to me because I’m strong?”
Once again, Vidar had to hold back his amusement. I never said ‘one’ of them lectured me. This guy is really bad at acting.
“Yes,” He replied instead, giving a small nod.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Why? Couldn’t the weak have something to say?”
“It is not wrong to be weak. But one cannot stay weak; Else they will end up like her,” He gestured to the girl who was only half listening, her focus on stopping the blood from pouring out of her brother’s unconscious body. “To become stronger I must learn from the strong, like you.”
“I see, I see.” The man seemed to become more pleased the more they conversed. “But how can you tell that I’m strong?”
Vidar ‘froze’ for a second before quickly shifting back into his guarded posture. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, giving off the idea of being genuinely confused.
“I don’t know.”
The man’s smile widened greatly, showing visible care not to show his teeth. Inwardly, Vidar felt a sly glee at seeing the man’s attempt to accommodate him. He truly believed Vidar was like a wild animal, unable to discern a smile from bared teeth.
“Would you like to know? To understand the power within yourself and gain the ability to control it? With the guidance of warriors far stronger than even myself, you could become monstrously powerful. How does that sound?”
Vidar narrowed his eyes. A sales pitch? Why would a guard be trying to recruit him? Unless…
Unless he misinterpreted the man’s role. If he wasn’t a guard of the two children, though, then what could he possibly be?
Looking at the man a bit closer, he came to a realization.
From the perspective of people who’ve never seen humans, they’d instantly assume I was the same race as this man. A… Faunilith, I think they called me.
Both the warrior and Vidar shared many characteristics. The only differences between the two were their eye colors and shades of skin. While both had brown skin, the man was that of a deep brown, like cocoa. Vidar, on the other hand, had a skin tone that was neither dark nor light, like almonds. And if one looked closely, they’d see the warrior had gold eyes while Vidar’s were a bright amber.
Vidar knew that other races sometimes looked similar to humans, but the similarities between them were uncanny.
If the man was under the assumption that they were part of the same race, then everything made sense. The warrior clad in silver had arrived solely in an attempt to scout him, only stopping his last actions because he was duty-bound to do so. Arguing that the weak adults died for the sake of the next generation– himself– would make enough sense that this second race couldn’t be too angry at his inaction.
Allowing talented children to die on top of that? That was blatant disrespect and shameless favoritism towards the Faunilith race.
And I’ve just made myself look like a worthy enough prospect. Dammit.
Vidar narrowed his eyes. “It… sounds too good to be true; A trap.”
“Good instincts,” The man praised. “To be taught at Dawn–”
“What?!” The girl suddenly jumped up and whirled toward them, her voice as shrill as a banshee. “You can’t seriously be considering enrolling him into Dawn Academy?! He’s a feral piece of–
“Silence,” The man’s voice was steel, his aura flowing from his body in waves of power. “If your brother were to protest, I might’ve considered his opinion. You, on the other hand, are worthless. You have no martial talent whatsoever. Do not speak unless you are told to, wench.”
The girl paled, sweat forming on her brow as she stared defiantly at the man, who met her gaze with rigid severity. The tension crackled in the air, thick with resentment and the weight of authority.
She attempted to meet his glare, but eventually faltered, schooling her expression and turning her gaze back to her brother.
Like a switch, the man’s countenance went back to a warm smile as he shifted his attention back to Vidar. “As I was saying, those taught at Dawn Academy are required to contribute to the empire through military merit.”
“...Meaning?” He knew what it meant, he was just stalling for time to think.
“After graduation from the academy, you’ll be required to participate in the current war against the Corrupted as an Imperial Knight.”
Corrupted? Vidar questioned internally. Is that what they’re calling the animals infected with dark energy? Earlier, he called the fox a spirit beast, so they must’ve come up with a few dramatic names to separate animals from actual opponents.
If what he suspected was true, then this was a unique opportunity.
A planet waging war against an infestation of dark energy was a scenario very familiar to him. One could say that he was an expert in dark energy and its effects on wildlife. If he played his cards right, he could use this time to grow in power and exploit his knowledge to infiltrate these… Faunilith.
While they likely couldn’t provide much, their support was a better foundation for his training than his pitiful amount of mana and a dirty cave.
Plus, he had a much better chance of finding out where the fuck he was by living in their society for a while. Struggling by himself in the wilds would eventually work, but it would take way longer.
However, he needed a bit more information before he committed to this path.
“In your… Empire,” Vidar enunciated the word as if he’d never used it before. “How strong are you?”
“In comparison with others?” Vidar nodded. “Well, the last time I checked my Battle Rating was 553 if that helps.”
553? That’s… way weaker than what I can feel from my danger sense. Is there something wrong with my– wait. He said ‘Combat Rating’ not battle power or power level. It’s likely another form of power measurement. Like how Kili is 50,000 BP.
“I… have no idea what that means,” Vidar admitted with a blank face.
The man blinked, then facepalmed. “Sorry, I forgot that you… Nevermind. My power is average among other Imperial Knights, with the current Emperor being a bit more than four times stronger than me.”
Perfect. If he had to estimate the man’s power level based on the sense of danger he was feeling, then he was a bit more than 100x stronger than Vidar. And if the emperor was only four times stronger than that…
Being seen as a ‘prodigy’ among them will be easy with how weak they are. Compared to the powerhouses of the universes, they’re nothing.
Still, he couldn’t just agree to it that easily. He had to have some reluctance, or else he would seem suspicious. No one with a good head on their shoulders just agrees to overturn their way of life for a few promises of power.
“No,” Vidar shook his head. “I don’t know what these ‘Corrupted’ are, but I want no part in your war.”
A silence descended upon the clearing as the knight simply stared back at him in response. Unwavering in his ‘decision’, Vidar didn’t budge an inch. Eventually, the warrior scowled and opened his mouth.
“My war? This is a war between the Faunilith Empire and the plague that runs rampant through the world.” The warrior spat out, his words laced with venom. “Whether you like it or not, you have likely already fought our enemies.”
“Ah, you mean those things. Yes, I have killed them before," He’d killed one here, but he’d killed thousands in his past life so it technically wasn’t a lie. "But, I will not wage war against the world. If this plague is strong enough, then I will readily admit defeat.”
The knight continued to stare at his, seemingly flabbergasted that he would refuse. Abruptly, like a lightbulb appearing above his head, the man changed his tune with a glint in his eye.
“Ah, well, what can you do?” With a faux frown, the man’s voice dripped with disappointment. “Unfortunately, you’ve already caused me a few issues. As a member of the fourth division, my job is to protect the fools you’ve recklessly slain from the monsters of this forest. Now that you’ve killed them, my captain’s assessment of my capabilities will drop.”
Vidar froze, comprehension glittering in his eyes. This form of extortion was very familiar to him, and he immediately understood what the man was trying to do.
At least he knew now how the man reacted to rejection; Through implied threats of violence.
That was about par for the course for the people of this universe, though. Everything was solved through fighting, it seemed.
Still, he didn’t stop playing his role, knowing how this song and dance went.
“But they were the ones who–” Vidar started indignantly, only to get cut off.
“As you aren’t a part of the empire, none of the laws apply to you. That fool over there could shoot you with her bow a thousand times but if you even tap her too hard I will have to intervene.” The man said with a ‘sad’ sigh.
Vidar’s voice trembled, his face twitching in anger. “So what happens to outsiders who kill people of your empire?”
He already knew the answer; It was fairly obvious.
“Ah, you’re asking for the punishment?” The man’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “The punishment is immediate execution.”
Vidar wasn’t sure if he could effectively act as if he was terrified for his life, so he simply widened his eyes.
“I… don’t want to die.” He replied lamely, hoping the monotone pitch of his voice sounded like despair.
“In that case, I have just the solution!” The knight let out a wide smile, not bothering to hide his shining teeth any longer. “If you became my direct disciple, I’d be able to admit you into Dawn Academy without any hassle. Your progress and accomplishments will in turn amplify my reputation and will smoothen my path to getting promoted. With this, we both benefit!”
“And my execution?” Vidar asked, his head down as if resigned to his fate.
“Well, my direct disciple can’t exactly be executed for something this small, can he?” The man continued to smile, the mirth on his face clear to see. “This whole matter will of course be concealed for the sake of my precious student.”
“Fine, then,” Vidar mumbled, his teeth gritted. “I’ll join your Dawn Academy.” He stressed the words in a mocking tone as if it burned his pride to even say the name.
Not too shabby of a performance, if I do say so myself.