“The end of the three-century war that pitted the two largest Empires of Illyrcium against each other ended in an… unforeseen way. How exactly did the war end, Tane?” the teacher asked a random student.

The student groaned. “The War Gods of the Grand Brax Empire rebelled and took over the empire.”

“Yes and no. It’s true the War Gods performed a successful coup and overthrew the Brax Emperor but what led to these events transpiring, Alice?”

“The Elves sent assassins that killed a bunch of military officials or something.” a young girl removed her head from her hands and, with dead eyes, answered.

“That is one factor, yes,” the teacher sighed.

It seemed she had reached her limit, so she just continued on her own. “The Empire of Tel’an’duth sent assassins deep into Brax territory and ended up assassinating many high-ranking Brax military officials, including the commander of the Dark Elf forces. This deep strike was a huge success, and many of the Tel’an’duth assassins managed to escape capture. The High Elves, thinking they had struck a major blow to Brax, celebrated and, in doing so, were blindsided by the Brax counterattack. Unbeknownst to Tel’an’duth, Brax had sent their own assassins. During a celebration, Brax assassins successfully infiltrated the Tel’an’duth royal palace and crippled the High Elf imperial family, killing off many royals.”

The teacher turned around with a smile that didn’t seem all that happy. It was the end of the day, and most of the students of Class S1 were at their limits. It didn’t help that this was all old news to them, and their parents had probably been regurgitating this stuff to them for years.

The war ended a little over two decades ago, so most of these kids couldn’t care less. But for me, this was important. There was no doubt in my mind that my parents played a part in these events.

Thankfully, the teacher resigned herself to finishing the lecture. “With both Empires crippled, a surprising turn of events came to pass. Tired from centuries of war, the Brax War Gods, led by their commander, rallied behind a banner of change. With the strongest fighters in the country being supported by a large portion of the military along with the deaths of many high-ranking generals who were loyal to Brax, the Brax royal family never stood a chance. War God Bishop Maxwell, who would become the first and current King of Luminar, assaulted the capital in a surprise attack.”

The teacher stopped, took a drink of water, sighed while looking out at the class, then continued. “City guards allowed the War God’s forces to march into the capital before they realized it was too late. However, the Brax Emperor managed to erect the Guardian Shield over the palace, stopping War God Maxwell’s advance. The Guardian Shield is a legendary class dungeon item that erects an impenetrable barrier. It’s said that a similar artifact was used by Emperor Talgan to keep the Dragon Emperors and The Six at bay during the siege of the capital of Nul. With the Guardian Shield deployed, the War Gods had no choice but to perform a holdout. The Dwarves of Krunbar had begun an assault in the westernmost part of Brax, so forces were deployed to quell the tide of Dwarves. However, the War Gods did not have to wait long. Insurgents inside of the palace brought down the Guardian Shield just a handful of days after the holdout began. The palace was stormed, the Brax royal family was put to death for treason against their countrymen, and the Kingdom of Luminar was born. Peace between the warring nations was brokered, ending the three-century long war.”

The teacher turned around to face the class and sighed. I’m sure 90% of the class stopped paying attention some time ago. But I had learned a lot. I didn’t need to pay attention to 99% of the stuff this school had been teaching me over the last few months, but history lessons were always the best time to learn something new.

It was a shame history was only lectured once a week for only an hour and a half. I was curious as to why it didn’t seem all that important to these people. Perhaps cultural differences? Even Mom and Dad didn’t seem too keen on telling me the history of things. Mom told me that fairy tale about Talgan, but that was pretty much it.

Anyways, that’s how everything went down, huh?

Mom and Dad were part of those events in some shape or form. I just know it. If I had to take a guess, Mom must have been Tel’an’duth royalty that had escaped the assassinations. The way she talked and carried herself was just so different from everybody else. And since I’ve been around my fair share of royalty these last few years, I can see how Mother fits the bill.

And knowing my father, he was probably one of the assassins sent by Brax. It’s one thing to send your best men deep into enemy territory to attempt an assassination of officials, but expendable mercenaries are another. That would have made my father and the Dark Elves the perfect choice.

But what really happened then?

Maybe Dad got hurt, and Mom took him in? Perhaps it was even a love at first sight type of thing? I’ve heard that things like that can happen. It sure seemed like Mom and Dad loved each other very much.

They had disagreements, sure, but they never fought. And although my Dad is strong, I know his gentle soul all too well. I sighed. Either way, it doesn’t matter. I’ll never really know what happened unless they tell me themselves.

The teacher began to pack her things as the class took her actions as an opportunity to start talking amongst each other. This happened to be an excellent time for me to learn even more things. Gossip flowing from these noble children had taught me a few things. It mostly lets me keep up to date on the happenings of the world. It seems nothing major is going on right now, no wars to speak of at least.

I tried to focus on conversations, but it was difficult with my damaged ears. I’m sure if I could hear normally, I would be able to tell exactly who was talking and what they were saying but right now, my hearing is slightly worse than the average Human if I had to guess.

But there was a conversation amongst two boys about a row back from me that caught my attention. “Hey, did you hear about that new dungeon that was found?”

“What new dungeon? I didn’t hear anything about that. Are you messing with me?”

“No! My cousin was part of the team that went to map it out first. It’s on the edge of the Barrens on the Dark Elf side, and he said it was almost like ruins or something.”

“That’s not all that special. I heard the Iron Citadel to the north is just one giant underground Dwarven city that got turned into a dungeon.”

“You didn’t even let me get to the best part!”

“Sorry…”

“ANYWAYS, my cousin said. By the time he got there, the dungeon had been cleared and the core destroyed. Even the entrance to the dungeon wasn’t even there anymore.”

“Then how do they know if the dungeon even existed in the first place? Dungeons don’t just disappear. It sounds like your cousin is a big fat liar.”

“He is not—”

“—Kaladin? Hey, Kaladin, are you okay?” Tristian asked me while tugging my arm, pulling me away from the boy’s conversation.

“Huh? I’m fine, just zoning out,” I responded quickly with a wave of my hand.

“You’ve been doing that a lot recently. Are you sure you are okay?” Tristian asked me with a worried expression.

“I’m fine, really. Just a bit tired, I guess,” I said awkwardly. Tristian didn’t press me any further as Adria just gave me her own worried look.

I was indeed a bit tired. I’ve been staying up a few days at a time to try and cram as much information in as I possibly could. The library was open late at night, and even when it closed, they didn’t bother to check if anybody was still inside.

Elves don’t have to sleep and eat as much as Humans do so I’ve been taking advantage of that part of my biology. Of course, Humans don’t technically need to sleep and eat every day either but doing so sure does make one feel better. It’s much the same for Elves, but we don’t get the negative drawbacks of sleep deprivation till about the third day of staying awake.

We can also go about four whole days without feeling hungry but I never skip meals. If I skipped meals, I’d be even smaller than I already am and that was unacceptable. If I wanted to grow up big and strong, I needed to consume calories.

Doing all that while maintaining my mana enhancement and physical training in secret wasn’t making my life easier. But thankfully, the food here at the academy was pretty dang good; I had to admit. Even outside of the three primary meal times, you can always go to the cafeteria to eat if you weren’t in class.

Taking full advantage of that, I’ve increased my food consumption to the maximum. And I’ve made sure to diversify my intake and be as nutritionally balanced as possible. I’m pretty proud of that if I do say so myself. I’m sure my knowledge of nutrition from my previous life surpasses anyone in this world. But then again, I’m not sure if it applies to Elves…

“Oh! Yes, one more thing before I go. Your homeroom teacher told me to mention some of these things for you guys since he forgot,” the history teacher called out to everyone.

She started writing down various things on the board. The students who didn’t care one bit about the lesson paid great attention to the information being written down. Most of the items were events to look forward to for the next year or so. Events like a festival, plays, traveling merchants or performers, and a few knight bouts here and there. Most stuff kids would be interested in seeing. But it was the last two things that stood out the most.

“And yes, before the start of your second year, you will have two big events to look forward to. The Guided Monster Extermination and then the First Winter Banquet.”

The Guided Monster Extermination? What was that?

I was about to ask, but Adria being Adria asked before anyone could even raise their hands. “What’s the Guided Monster Extermination?”

“Ah, yes, a good question, Adrianna. Before the start of your second year, Classes S1, A1, and B1 will be teaming up with the Knight Academy for a monster extermination practice. As nobles, it is expected that you will have to issue monster extermination requests for your land throughout the year. Since you are ordering people to fight monsters, you yourselves should understand what you are asking others to do. It will also give you a chance to gain some real combat experience against monsters, something that may come in handy in saving your lives one day. A select few of you may even one-day command soldiers, and monsters are known to attack even large armies for food. So along with your teachers and young knights from the academy for protection, we will be heading into the forest to slay low-threat level monsters. We are not heading deep into the forest and will only be facing monsters on the outskirts with threat levels of twenty or below,” the teacher explained.

The students in the class began murmuring to each other, whispering about monsters and fighting. “Is everyone in class going?” Adria asked.

“Yes, even servants will be attending. It’s imperative that servants who have been training alongside all of you are familiar with how you fight and act under pressure. I pray that a day never comes where you have to fight a monster in the wild but pretending that something like that will never happen is foolish. Monsters are real, and they will attack you if given a chance. And if you are not prepared, you will perish,” the teacher said grimly.

Oh my. This is it.

This is a golden opportunity, and it’s being given to me on a silver platter. I’ve been wracking my brain for years on how to escape but they are going to just let me walk out of the city on a little field trip? I can’t believe this. I had no idea an event like this was going to happen.

It made sense, though. This was pretty much a hand-holding exercise on killing monsters. I’m sure if any of these kids went face to face with a Shadowling like I did, they would die 100% of the time. Most of these kids won’t ever see a monster again, so this must be a way to have them empathize with the people they are sending out to hunt monsters. If they understand what even low-threat level monsters can do, they would be less likely to send a group of people to their deaths.

At least, that’s what I think the school’s thought process is. With teachers and knights in tow, these kids shouldn’t have a single worry. Which honestly might backfire on the entire goal of teaching them a lesson. But I digress, now I have to prepare myself.

How am I going to go about this?

“What’s the First Winter Banquet?” Tristian asked Adria.

Adria’s eyes lit up and she smiled. “It’s a big feast and dance they put on for a successful year at school! It’s going to be soo much fun, we all get to dress up and dance and stuff. I can’t wait… I wish we could just skip the monster hunt or whatever.”

Absolutely not. I’ll go as Tristian’s servant if I have to. I’ll get down on my knees and beg him to take me if it comes down to it.

“Adria, we can't miss the event, it's important, you know. Besides, I think it will be fun. We get to camp for a single night. Us three camping together sounds fun, right?” Tristian said with a warm smile.

Yes, absolutely, Tristian.

Adria sighed profoundly and audibly. “I guess you’re right… when you put it like that, it sounds kinda fun. But what about Kali?”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with Kaladin?” Tristan asked.

“He is hurt, so he can’t go hunting out in the woods!” Adria argued.

The hell, I can’t! I don’t care if I have to limp my sorry ass across the entire damn forest. I’m going.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, I’d like to go to the forest. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to enjoy one,” I said curtly.

Both Adria and Tristian winced at my words. Neither of them could meet my gaze and they both deflated into their seats. I never spoke about my desires to them, and I never complained either. I was waiting for a time like this, so if I ever wanted something my words would be all that more potent.

Was I guilt-tripping these two children? Yes. Do I care? More than I thought I did. I felt a faint semblance of what I believe to be regret from being so harsh to them. But I needed to get my point across regardless of how it made me or them feel.

The bell rang, saving us from an awkward atmosphere. The bell rang at the end of the school day and the start of the rest days. Adria sighed deeply once more.

“What’s wrong?” Tristian asked nervously.

“Me and Kali have to go home today. And I don’t wanna go,” Adria moped. Seemingly back to normal.

Tristian sighed in exasperation at his friend. “It’s not all that bad, Adria. It’s only two days, and then you will be right back here. You should be lucky your dad doesn’t have you come home every rest day,” Tristian reasoned.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Adria just huffed in response. I wasn’t much of a fan of going back to the mansion either. My freedom here was far too good, so returning to where I was a slave felt awful. On the bright side, I got to see Muriel and Sylros but that was pretty much it. Even my sleeping arrangement was better here at the school.

Living with Adria and Tristian wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. After the first night, Tristian and Adria got me curtains to put over the doorway, so I had a modicum of privacy. The two never intruded on me and we had a sort of mutual understanding of not intruding on each other’s privacy.

Of course, I still had to wake up Adria every morning but that was nothing. I was already up most mornings so I could get a little bit of exercise in, or I was up because I didn’t sleep that night.

Tristian was an early riser as well, most likely due to his time at the Knight Academy. Every morning without failure, Tristian woke up to go workout and train. He was usually back in time for breakfast which was right about the time Adria was finally ready for the day.

Either way, returning to the mansion was a must. Adria was going to have to talk to her father about the monster extermination eventually and doing it sooner rather than later was for the best. If he said no now then Adria could keep pestering him for the next few months until he broke. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

—

“Young Master Adria, it’s good to see you again,” Muriel bowed.

“Muri! I’ve missed you. How have you been? Have you been bored without me and Kali around?” Adria squealed as she hugged Muriel.

“It has been awfully quiet at home since you two left,” Muriel purred with a smile.

“Well, I missed you too, Muri,” Adria giggled.

Adria released Muriel from her hug, and Muriel walked over to me. “It’s good to have you back, Kaladin.” Then she hugged me tightly.

I shook a little bit from the surprise. Muriel hasn’t hugged me since that day in the cellar when she told me about her son.

She quietly whispered in the Beastmen language so nobody else would hear. “I’ve got good news for you. I can’t tell you yet, but I think you are going to like it.”

I just nodded in slightly confused confirmation. Good news? What is it that Muriel could possibly have to tell me? Let alone something that she wouldn’t want Adria to hear about?

Muriel didn’t elaborate as she began helping Adria unpack the carriage. During the ride here, I convinced Adria to speak with her father sooner rather than later. But I was curious.

What is it that you want to tell me, Muriel?

—

“Dad, you know about the Monster Extermination school thingy, right?” Adria asked.

Mayor Sandervile was in his office tackling paperwork as usual but Sylros wasn’t present. In his place was Sir Bril standing guard behind the Mayor in blue plate armor. Did he ever get tired of wearing that all day? Surely a more casual outfit at times like this would be better?

Mayor Sandervile looked up from his paperwork and had a fond smile on his face. “Of course, I remember my days at the academy. That was my first time ever slaying a monster. A truly glorious experience that I will never forget. Why do you ask?”

“Well… it’s coming up soon, and I want to go. Kali and Tristian want to go as well,” Adria said with a hint of trepidation.

She knew that what she was asking was dangerous. Even though the school was planning safety measures, accidents could still happen.

“Oh, it is nearly time for that, I suppose,” Mayor Sandervile mused, rubbing his chin.

“Well, Dad?”

“Well, what?”

“Can we go?” Adria asked, her early worry starting to fade into mild annoyance.

“Of course, I’m not going to rob you of a valuable life experience, Adria,” Mayor Sandervile said nonchalantly.

Really?

“Really?” Adria sputtered.

“What? Why wouldn’t I let you go?” The Mayor asked, seemingly confused.

Who are you, and what have you done with the Mayor? Has he been replaced by a doppelganger? Even the ever stoic Sir Bril raised an eyebrow.

“Of course, there are going to be conditions,” The Mayor added with a flick of his hand.

There we go, back to normal.

“Soo, what are they?” Adria asked.

“I’ll be sending Sir Bril and Martin along with you three on your trip.”

Oh, that’s not good. Go back.

“What? Dad, that’s stupid!” Adria yelled.

“I have to send somebody to protect you? Do you mean for me to trust your life with your teachers or some knight’s squire from the academy? I think not,” he huffed.

“Sir, if I may,” Sir Bril spoke. It was rare to ever hear the man speak, and his somewhat high-pitched voice just didn’t match his massive stature.

“Bril? What is it?” The Mayor flicked around. He wasn’t angry but genuinely surprised, it seemed. I guess Sir Bril doesn’t even speak to the Mayor very often.

“Perhaps sending my sister would be more appropriate. I believe if you want Lady Adrianna to have a meaningful experience, sending me would do the opposite.”

The mayor looked taken aback. “Do the opposite? What are you going on about?”

“If I were to go on such an excursion, there would be no monsters,” Bril said matter of factly.

The Mayor seemingly understood Bril’s intentions. “That… is true. You can’t just hold back?”

“Holding back is not possible, sir. If I am being given an order to protect Lady Adrianna, then I shall see to it that no threats come close to her. I’m sure the instructors will not approve of my methods,” Brill said seriously. “I believe Ester would make a fine replacement for me. Sending the captain of your guards on a school field trip would be…a little much, sir.”

“Yeah! And we are going camping for a night, so I don’t want Sir Bril with us,” Adria added.

Poor Sir Bril, his gaze fell, and he was noticeably crestfallen from Adria’s harsh words. I believe the man wanted Adria to experience the event much like he probably did once upon a time. But Adria’s reluctance to take him is a good thing for me. Escaping from Ester is one thing, but Sir Bril would be a nightmare.

Mayor Sandervile sighed and sat back into his chair. “I suppose you are right… fine, I’ll acquiesce and send Ester in your stead, Bril. However, Martin is going regardless of your complaints. If an accident arises, I want a light mage as close to you as possible. No negotiations, Adria,” he said sternly.

“Okay, that’s fine, Daddy,” Adria said with a smile.

Mayor Sandervile smiled warmly back and we gave our respects and left the office. Adria was noticeably happier now, and she must have known this was the best deal she was going to get from her father. But it was odd. She had said she didn’t want to go on this trip.

Did Tristian’s words really change her mind?

That was also one wild ride, and I had no idea things would turn out like that. I had expected a long-winded conversation and lots of back and forth, but for him to just allow her to go? Perhaps they put more stock on this event than I had anticipated? Or maybe they know something I don’t?

I guess they might use this as a way to discourage Adria from ever facing a monster willingly. Show her the terrors of the beasts that lurk in the night, and she might never want to leave the mansion again. But Adria doesn’t strike me as one to give up so easily. I just can’t be sure.

“You must be looking forward to this, Kali,” Adria remarked as we walked through the mansion together.

“How can you tell?” I asked curiously.

Adria giggled and twirled around, so she was walking backward while facing me. “Because you said you wanted to go somewhere, and you never ever say you want anything. So even if Daddy didn’t let us go, I would have taken us no matter what.”

“You would do that just because I said I wanted to go somewhere?”

“Of course, we are friends, dummy. That’s what friends do, right?” Adria asked while tilting her head to the side.

“I guess you’re right,” I said, meeting her gaze. She stared at me for far longer than I was expecting.

I stared back into her swirling hazel eyes. At this moment, I almost want to ask her if she would take me away from this place. I had a feeling that she just wholeheartedly meant what she said.

Would Adria let me go home if I asked? If I told her about how I was captured and what they did to me, would she contact my family for me and let me leave this place?

I… I can’t say it, not now. I’ve come too far, and the golden opportunity has finally shown itself. Trusting my ability to understand people would be a foolish choice. Perhaps I was just looking for hope where there was none. For the last four years, it’s been me and me alone.

I can’t take this kind of risk now.

Perhaps sensing my inner turmoil, Adria asked me a question that made my heart sink even further. “Are we friends, Kaladin?” She never broke eye contact, and she had her serious face on.

“Yes,” I responded instantly.

Her serious face melted into a wide toothy smile as she skipped away, twirling around in the hallway.

I’m sorry, Adria.

—

I yawned and did a nice full-body stretch. The kind of stretch that only happens every once in a while when you make your whole body shake. Glorious.

I went to bed pretty early last night all things considered. Thankfully since I didn’t spend much time here anymore, I wasn’t in any kind of servant rotation. So I just acted as Adria’s direct servant, as usual.

It seems I woke up before Muriel, which has never happened before. Muriel tends to be the first one awake and one of the last ones to go to sleep. I’ve awoken many days to her soft voice and smile shaking me awake. I guess all the time I’ve spent not going to sleep and waking up earlier has set my internal clock to wake me even earlier.

Maybe I’ll wake up Muriel today instead? That sounds like a fun change of rolls.

It’s the female servant’s turn to shower this morning so she can get ready and we can have breakfast together. Maybe she will even give me a hint about that good news she had yesterday.

I rolled out of my cot and got another excellent stretch in. Sleeping in this dingy thing made me yearn for the bed at school even more. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go very far since Muriel’s cot was right above mine. All those years ago, I hadn’t known that she purposely gave me the cot closest to her so she could help me if I ever needed it.

Muriel really was a good person.

I could see her rolled up in her sheets as she slept soundly. I gave her a nudge, but she kept on sleeping. When I did this to Muriel, she would rub my ears until I woke up. Typically touching my ears was a quick way to piss me off, they were far too sensitive for people to go around feeling them whenever they pleased. And even though my hearing was damaged, my ears themselves weren’t.

As I’ve gotten older, my ears have gotten progressively more sensitive, especially in the last year or so. So nobody was allowed to touch my ears if I could help it. But if it was Muriel, I suppose I didn’t mind. I went to rub Muriel’s black panther ears, but as soon as I touched them I felt something was off.

Her ears are cold. Muriel’s fur always keeps her warm to the touch. So why?

I slipped my hand into her covers, and my vision swam.

It’s not just her ears.

Her whole body is cold to the touch.

—

War God Vasquez’s POV

Swoosh

Swosh

Clang

“Are you even trying right now?” Prince Xander yelled in frustration.

“Mmm?” I grumbled.

“I’m trying to train here, master!”

“You call this training? I thought you were just taking your frustrations out on me today. Just because you placed fourth in the tournament a few months ago doesn’t mean you have to get angry with me. Haven’t you gotten over that yet?” I asked while effortlessly blocking the boy’s longsword with my axe.

Of course, my nonchalant attitude just angered the young prince even more. So quick to anger. Just like your mother.

“Fah…” With a final breath, Xander rolled over onto his back with a grunt. “Guess I’ll just take a break then. You are thinking about the Dark Elf boy again, aren’t you?”

“And what if I am?” I asked while thrusting my axe into the earth with a loud thud and leaning on it.

“What’s so special about that kid anyways, you never even told me. I mean, yeah he looks super different compared to any Elf I’ve seen, but I didn’t sense anything else special about him,” Xander complained while rolling over onto his stomach as he started doing push-ups.

“And that’s why you are still a child. If that boy weren’t Young Lady Sandervile’s slave, I would have offered to buy him right then and there. Even with his limp, I believe I could train him to be a peerless warrior.”

Xander shot up as if somebody had stabbed him in the bottom. “What?! You are joking, right? Don’t get me wrong. I felt bad for the kid. I don’t think anyone that young should be a servant, let alone a slave, but training him to be a warrior? What makes you even think that?”

“It’s simple, really. The boy emitted no bloodlust, and when I forced mine upon him, he didn’t even flinch.”

Xander played with his fiery red hair as he thought back to that night. ”He emitted no bloodlust… I guess he didn’t, did he? But doesn’t that just mean he was weak? But he didn’t react to yours… how is that possible?”

“Good question, I don’t know. But I want to know for myself one day. And weak? You shouldn’t judge an Elf by their appearance. Elves live lives so long we Humans can’t even fathom. What’re three centuries of life experience compared to our measly one?” I asked, not expecting an answer. But the Prince was serious when it came to these matters.

“Are Elves really that scary?”

“Scary? No. They die just like any other race. But it’s the ones that live for so long that you should be wary of. As Humans, we can never tell how old an Elf is. A spry High Elf that looks no older than twenty could be a warrior with centuries of life and death experience. I’ve fought and killed many Elves, but it was the ones that seem unimposing that are the most dangerous,” I recounted.

“So that boy…?” Xander gave me a look that he wanted me to explain more. It was a face I was very familiar with.

“You understand that all living things give off bloodlust, yes? Even an infant emits a small amount of bloodlust. It’s the natural order of life. Living beings need to kill and eat other living things to survive,” I explained.

“Yeah, and we can feel each other’s bloodlust because we have mana, right?”

“Yes, that is the theory, at least. I believe a High Elf scholar proposed that train of thought. A deadly storm that claims hundreds of lives has no bloodlust because it itself is not alive and has no mana. But all living things have mana, so we can feel each other’s mana and intent.”

“Do you believe that?”

“I try not to think about such things. I know what I know, and I swing my axe like I have been trained. Life is just easier that way. I’ll leave the deeper thinking to those who are smarter than me. But yes, I believe that theory to be somewhat true. However, those who can hide their bloodlust are the most dangerous people. I like to think that I have a decent grasp of things regarding death and war, but even I can’t hide my bloodlust completely as that boy did. I can’t even be sure if he was doing it intentionally or not.”

“Have you ever met anyone else like that? And wait… if you think he is so dangerous, then doesn’t that mean Adrianna is in trouble?!” Prince Xander questioned, shooting up from the ground.

Good question, but I don’t think so. At least, that’s what my gut told me. But giving him such an answer wouldn’t help this boy understand, and it would only worry him.

“No, she isn’t in any danger, so don’t go around saying those things. I’m sure that the sly old Mayor knows exactly what he is doing,” I said forcefully.

There was no point in spreading gossip about another nation’s business. Wars have started over less…

“But yes, I have faced a few opponents that could hide their bloodlust. Mason and Marks can hide their bloodlust well, but the most formidable man I ever faced who could was the former Emperor of Tel’an’duth. That Elf lived for the entirety of the war as Tel’an’duth’s sole ruler. He was a man born and bred in the depths of battle. When I went against him, I didn’t even know who he was. He seemed like just an ordinary Tel’an’duth Sentinel that managed to sneak up on me in the midst of a battle. But then… then I felt his bloodlust. There is another theory amongst us soldiers that one’s bloodlust increases with how many lives one has taken. At that moment, I felt the bloodlust of a man nearly three hundred years older than me. A warrior who had taken countless lives on the battlefield.”

“Well, what happened? Did you win? Why was the emperor so close to the front lines?” Xander asked me, his excitement rising.

You are going to be a battle junkie just like your father, aren’t you, young man?

“Apparently, that was something he would do from time to time, or so a minister told me after the war. When you live for so long, life can apparently become dull. It doesn’t help that the High Elves are full of themselves, well, most of them. And the fight didn’t last very long. We only clashed for a few seconds, so I didn’t get a chance to understand how strong he truly was.”

Prince Xander deflated a little at my lack of a story. However, it’s a true story. Thinking back, could I have beaten that man? I was in my prime, the strongest and fastest I ever was. I do wonder what would have happened if we were to go all out…

But it doesn’t matter now. That man and I are both old warriors now. Worrying or thinking about a battle that never will or did happen will only make my hair turn gray faster. Besides, we are at peace now. I’d rather sit down and have some ale with him than cross blades.

“I see… what, what was his bloodlust like?” Xander asked.

“A creeping cold that settled over me slowly. It was almost insidious in nature as it wormed its way into my mind and soul. It made me feel as if my final days were upon me.”

“So you were afraid?” Xander asked with a coy smile.

“No, just wary. I fear no man, Little Prince,” I said with a little too much oomph.

“Uh… haha, of course, you wouldn’t be afraid of anyone, master,” Xander said quickly with an awkward chuckle.

“Good, I’m happy that you understand. Alright, it’s time to get back to work,” I said, heaving my axe out of the ground and shifting into a relaxed stance.

“Yes, sir!” Xander flicked his sweaty hair majestically.

Does he do that on purpose?