Chapter Seven -  Inmos Coming-Of-Age Ceremony

The roar of delight from the crowd were so loud that Hywel could hear them through the walls of the waiting room. This was quite an astonishing fact to the young master who did not expect such enthusiasm from those who were not of the Inmos House.

The ceremony was planned to be held for the entire day while keeping into consideration the possibility of any possible extension. Hywel was told that in the past the ceremony was merely a hunting game or battle royale in the case of multiple candidates and only required a full day, but this time the prince who was coming to referee had decided to ‘spice’ up the events.  Sir Hugh had sent the general plans of the events to those who were preparing everything at the Inmos Mansion, stating that he would return at the day of the ceremony.  

The sheer scale of this ceremony put Hywel at a loss; the amphitheater for the audience alone could easily fit the lobby of the State Hospital, which Hywel had been a part of in the past, seven times over if not more. The lobby itself had enough seats for two hundred people, he recalled, but considering the standing space as well, the lobby could practically fit another half a thousand with careful managing. From a glimpse when he was led to the waiting room, he also saw many robed figures who he assumed was mages preparing something made out of fog similar to that of a screen projector in the air in every angle around the amphitheater. Later, he was told that there were others organizing the ‘battlefields’ as well in the depths of the Inmos Forest.

He had no idea of how much it’d cost to put up such high-class entertainment. The young master had caught the sight of the organizers busily moving to and fro since around the time his training with Valce began, so he knew there were even more effort involved than the ones he could see as well. All in all it made Hywel wonder whether the people of this place were more rich than that of his past life, or whether this was just because the Inmos House was just that rich.

As for the actual events, there weren’t any words on that except that the royalty who was coming to referee will be announcing the rules on the day. Hywel heard that the royalty in question was a prince who had a brilliant mind, however he only showed his knowledge to satiate his curiosity or boredom. Surely the Inmos ceremony would have been a great opportunity for them..

It would be a lie to say Hywel wasn’t nervous, however his feelings were leaning towards anticipation and a hint of excitement moreso than that. His past experiences had played a huge role in his composure; the days he spent administering operations to patients allowed him to realize the importance of being calm and collected at any instance. He had experienced many times the fright of starting something new such that while the slither of doubt did linger across his thoughts he also recalled the excitement and the sense of accomplishment which followed afterwards. Having said that, Hywel knew that the biggest reason he was able to keep his tempo was due to making up his mind during the month or so of time he had until today.

The more Hywel thought about his situation so that he can decide whether to compete in the ceremony or not, the more he realized that there really weren’t anything crucial he would lose regardless of his decision or the result of the ceremony. If he had to say the benefits and risks involved in each scenario, it was mainly those which affected his relationship with the Inmos House, specifically with Sir Hugh and Lady Ann. They weren’t his real parents but they had given all they could to help him, Hywel knew.

In the end he decided to compete, not because he had no choice but because he felt it was a small price to pay for the amount of care and opportunities he was given because of them. Also the experiences he would get from the ceremony could be beneficial in the future regardless of the outcome. Even if he lost, he hoped he would not look too bad in the eyes of Sir Hugh. There were no guarantees, but if he lost and was sent out to this foreign land and in the future come across a time when he met Sir Hugh again, he hoped the fact that he did not back out on the ceremony would aid him somehow.

A loud knock on the door snapped the young master’s attention back to reality. He glanced down at himself to make sure he had everything in place; a hard leather vest over the short-sleeved tunic and fingerless gloves which stretched down to cover half his forearm. The shield was held in place with straps around the glove of his left arm currently to free his hand from the load, but there was also a metallic grip he can use instead of the straps. The leather pants around his legs supported his  scabbard; it wasn’t as beautiful as Fabre’s but was well-made nonetheless, the sword fitting snugly inside. It was also surprisingly light, allowing the young master to focus on combat without being distracted by the unbalanced weight on his left side.

“Come in,”

Hywel called and the door opened. The person entering was a maid whom he recognized.

“Master Hywel.”

“Luteia?”

The young man expressed his question.

“I am here to take the young master to the stage,”

The maid stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She took a step inside as she continued.

“And also to make sure master Hywel was impeccable for the audience.”

Before Hywel could react, the maid was expertly tidying his hair and straightening any creases he missed. No matter how many times she had done so, it was still uncomfortable for him for others to take care of him like this but he knew better than to interrupt.

To his relief, the maid’s hand left Hywel early. He turned to face her so that she could lead him, but could not ask her to when he saw her face.

“To think that master Hywel had grown up this much…”

She said a hint of melancholy in her voice and eyes.

“And to think this might be the last time I took care of the young master…”

Hywel didn’t know what to say.

“If that happens, surely the young master would die from cold, no? After all, it was I who had always clothed the young master. Oh, and make sure you can differentiate between food for the pets and food for people.”

Luteia’s voice was still the same and gave the impression that she was genuinely considering the possibilities of such examples happening to Hywel. He was at a loss of words to reply again, but for a very different and complex reason this time, unsure if she was teasing him or worried.

The ceremony, while formal, was not one for speeches or greetings. It was a day of observing for most, and was often treated as a sporting event to some. Upon arriving at the main stage, Hywel looked up at the semi-circle of the crowds gathered and sitting at the amphitheater. Men and women of various clothing, of various faces. The majority were chatting to those next to them in excitement while holding a piece of paper in hand. Somehow Hywel was oddly reminded of a horse race where the audience betted on the winning horse, but he didn’t think much about it. Instead, his attention shifted to his cousin standing next to him.

Fabre Inmos held a serious composure as if in deep thought. Perhaps it was his way to appeal to the public, Hywel wasn’t sure. Instead he found himself looking at his attire. It wasn’t the eye-catching glamour that he wore on their first encounter, but something which looked sturdier; The top consisted of an indigo fabric around his neck of a very thin fabric which reminded Hywel of silk. One side was hanging down in front of him while the other his back. The day wasn’t cold or anything, so its use was unknown to Hywel. Next was a vest similar to that of Hywel, however on the corner near the hem was an intricate pattern. It seemed like a spiral of words, but he was too far to make out anything. Underneath the vest was a simple tunic.

His left arm and legs however were encased in metal plates.  They shone silver in the sunlight, the joints and the areas which bend were had an absence of plates possibly to allow movement but instead protected by leather. The plates were focused on places with the most risk of being hit, namely the back of the hand or the shins. His right arm however was devoid of any gloves, but Hywel assumed this was due to his weapon of choice; the scabbard on his waist. The hilt alone had various extra bits for protection as the young master had observed in the past so he knew that a glove would undoubtedly be a hindrance more than aid. His attention did not linger on Fabre for long as there was a sudden announcement which caught everyone’s attention.  

"All hail Prince Edel Glordia, the third prince of King Glordia the fifth!"

The spectators’ chatter ceased in unison, the wave of people rising to give a formal bow towards the highest platform of the amphitheater that was vacant until now. They all kept their bow until the prince spoke, their attention at the prince. Hywel noticed the sight of Sir Hugh behind the prince and a robed old man standing next to him.

"At ease. Welcome all to the Inmos Coming-Of-Age Ceremony. Let us get the ceremony started without a second to waste on drawn out formalities and speeches. There will merely be a simple telling of rules - and a simple fight to the death."

The prince's strong voice covered the area, and with the mention of the word 'death' , the crowd gave a loud cheer. The prince gave a majestic smile with a swish of his glistening golden hair, causing a chain reaction of women in the crowd falling to their feet with hearts in their eyes.

Hywel would've too if he wasn't so nervous. His focus was far away from the handsome prince in gold and green, and more on the bearded man behind him. The distance between them was great for one to notice where the other’s sight was at but they both knew each others’ eyes were on them. Hywel could not tell what Sir Hugh was thinking as he was expressionless, but after a time The Spear looked away as the robed man behind him turned to strike a conversation. That was when Hywel realized he was holding his breath and exhaled.

The weight of weapons were heavy in his hands. Unlike the time he was in the waiting room, his nervousness was at its peak. He felt like he would lose strength in his legs any time, but willed them to stay standing.

"I will now announce the rules."

Prince Edel continued after a pause, turning to face the two candidates. Hywel's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the prince, his worries leaving him for a split second and looked down as he felt his cheeks redden again. ’Stupid stupid’, he criticized himself.

"I will  pick a piece of parchment from the bag here,”

He motioned with his hand and a servant scurried into view with a leather bag in tow, kneeling in front of the prince with the mouth of the bag open just enough for his hand to go in easily.

“As many may have heard, this year won't be those boring game hunts you see every year, I  assure you. The events will continue until one candidate gets a total of three wins, and once the current head, that is, The Spear wishes to retire, the chosen candidate will be crowned the next Head of the Inmos House! Every match will be decided by a random draw from the parchment I shall pick up. Simple, no? Then without a moment to lose, the first match will be..."

There was a drum roll from the background as the prince reached into the bag and Hywel vacantly noted how drumrolls sound the same no matter which world he was in.

"Protect the Maiden in Distress!"

There was another uproar of cheers as the task was decided and as Hywel watched, the mages who were on standby around the amphitheater  raised their hands in the air and started chanting. Hywel’s ears caught a small 'May the best man win.' from his cousin and suddenly Hywel’s vision played tricks on him; it was as if the world had flickered off to nothing. It took only a moment for his vision to come back but the scenery had completely changed; he was all alone in the middle of a forest of trees.

"Teleport?"

Hywel questioned himself, looking around and spotted something odd; a piece of fabric under a tree... no... it was a person. Hywel crouched down after checking there were no immediate threat, getting on his hands and knees at the fallen person. It was a woman, lying unconscious on her back, half buried in grass and plant matter. His doctor mindset kicked in, checking for the person's pulse. He frowned, checking if she had any injuries, her breathing, but no; no pulse and no visible injury, yet breathing. There was warmth in her hands and her cheeks were still coloured with life. Every other knowledge about a person's body signalled that this person was still alive, but no pulse? He began to fear his skills were slowly deteriorating from no use.

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"Protect the Maiden in Distress,"

The Prince's voice reverberated in the woods, startling Hywel. He got up with the sword unsheathed and gripped the shield out of its strap, readying as the voice continued.

"Your task is to prevent any calamity to befall on the maiden nearby until she wakes, or until a candidate has fallen."

The boy gripped at his weapons more, eyes alert for any sign of these ‘calamity'.

All was silent soon after. There were no way for him to know how long it was until he heard a faint rustling. The rustling gradually increased, spreading across the forest like a wildfire. He could actually see a few of the trees shaking as well, its leaves trembling at the wake of whatever was making the noise. Hywel’s eyes followed the tremor of trees as it went from one side to another. This allowed him to retaliate in time when the bushes to his right exploded with activity. Instinctively he slammed the shield between himself and the thing that was coming right at him, and with a heavy thud and a gaspy scream, the thing stepped back. Hywel lowered his shield so he could see what attacked him.

The… creature had a humanoid shape, but glistening black in the light. There were gaping holes where the eyes and mouth would be, and the gaspy scream seemed to be the only sound it could make. The creature lunged after a pause at Hywel once more, to which Hywel slammed the shield again. This time though, the oily creature exploded out of its humanoid shape and latched onto his shield. Hywel shouted in panic and dropped the shield, backing away as the creature changed back to its humanoid form, the shield in its arm. Gritting his teeth, Hywel held the sword in both his hands now; his only defense was now in the hands of his opponent, which wasn’t the best outcome there was. At this point Hywel doubted slicing at the creature would do much good; if it was capable of freely changing its form, then cutting it might do nothing, if not multiply it or something. The creature resembled a Slime, Hywel decided in his mind. The mucus-like texture was obviously replaced with some kind of thick oil, but nonetheless the way it shifted and transformed matched to the description of the fantasy creature from literatures he had read in the past.

Even as he was trying to think of ways to combat it, the creature advanced towards Hywel and the fallen maiden. It was then he realized that while it could cover great distances when lunging, such as the time when it attacked from the bushes, its actual walking speed seemed to be very slow. Rather than walking, perhaps, it might be better to say that it was a mix between walking and rolling its lower half as the legs would lose the humanoid shape from time to time reverting into a blobby form. Hywel wondered why it was attempting to walk now. Perhaps the shield was too heavy for it to lunge? If that was the case, then while it may be impossible for him to defeat it, he should be able to buy some time.

The young master risked a quick glance around his surroundings. All was quiet, and so this Slime seemed to be the only 'calamity'. Should he risk drawing its attention away from the maiden? It would leave her completely vulnerable if he was wrong about the number of enemies.

When the monster closed in enough, Hywel attempted a slow slash. The monster pulled the shield up to block much like what Hywel did earlier. Instead of continuing with the slash however, he stomped down on the shield, remembering what Valce had done to him. The monster went down with little resistance, becoming trapped under the shield, the tilted edge of the shield making it the perfect trap for a monster like the Slime. Hywel sat on the shield just in case it was able to escape, and while he failed to catch the entire body under the shield, the small drops of its black body that were separated from the main body did not move. Just in case, however, he held a careful eye on them.

A few minutes passed, but there were no sign of movement from the blobby monster. Hywel was uneasy, but he kept an eye out on the maiden and then the surroundings. If no new threat comes along, it seemed like he would be able to buy more time. The silence in the area made Hywel think about Fabre; how was he doing? Then again it was probably a piece of cake for someone like him, and so he dismissed the thought.

A sudden movement caught Hywel's vision. About an arm's length away, the ground was moving. More specifically, it looked as though something was trying to dig out from there. Dark oily substance oozed from the cracks of the ground, hinting that the Slime was merely taking its time digging its way out from the shield-prison. Gritting his teeth, Hywel dared to get off the shield. He lifted the shield as quick as he can, equipping it to provide defense if it burst out from under it but nothing came out. There was nothing under it save for a small hole in the ground. The oily Slime was still oozing out of the other side. Estimating the size of the body from what he had seen before, it looked as though he only had a couple of seconds before the entire body was free from the ground.

Hywel's mind reeled. What could he do? Escape was the first option, but how can he with the unconscious woman who was undoubtedly the maiden he needs to protect? He did not have the strength to carry a grown woman too far even with his inhuman recovery; it would diminish his fatigue to allow him to run for hours, but the speed from the weapons in his possession plus a grown adult would be horrendous. A little too late did he realized that the monster was finally free and proceeded to lunge towards Hywel once more with a gaspy scream.

That was when the forest lit up with a sudden flare.

It was deafening and blinding at the same time as a pillar of flames erupted from one side of the forest. The flames licked high above the clouds, lasting a couple of seconds before subsiding. Hywel was stunned during the entire thing, though he came to his senses right after it dispersed, holding his shield up towards the direction the monster was lunging at him.

He saw that the monster had reverted into a puddle. After a moment of staring at it stupidly, he saw a head-like form poked out from the puddle. The young master quickly came to a conclusion.

'It is afraid of fire.'

His mind went back to a particular science class he had to take as a prerequisite during his studies to become a doctor, a plan forming in his mind. Immediately he scanned the area until he found a flat and round stone about half the size of his shield. While the monster was still wary from the pillar of fire that occurred before, he lifted and threw the stone in the middle of the black puddle. No matter how he looked, this monster seemed like an animate puddle of oil, and oil was highly combustible. Since Fabre was capable of using a fire familiar, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine he had lit one of these oily Slimes which resulted in that aftermath. If so, Hywel simply had to use what he knew to follow suit.

Once the stone was in place, Hywel gave a warcry and swung his sword down like a hammer onto the flat stone. As he had hoped, small sparks crackled upon the impact, however the first attempt seemed insufficient to light up the Slime just yet. The Slime, realizing what Hywel was planning to do, suddenly erupted into action. First it tried to attack Hywel with tentacle-like appendages shooting towards him, but thanks to the training with Valce he was able to leap back out from the monster's range. The flat stone surprisingly worked as an effective weight to hinder the monster. When the monster was retracting its tentacle-like appendages Hywel thrusted his sword down again and again at the flat stone while shouting with all his might. The monster gave gaspy screams at each clash of metal on rock, though none of the sparks seemed to be enough to light it up properly. Its attacks narrowly missed the boy time after time for while it was animated, it was still a creature of low intelligence. Its aiming skills were next to non-existent and with the hindrance of the stone on top of it and Hywel’s constant movement in and out of the Slime’s range made it all the more harder. The young master’s body did not grow tired as fast as an average person, completely recovering if given the time to pause for a bit between each leap back and thrust forward, adding on to the demise of the Slime.

Another pillar of fire erupted in the background, a few paces away of the first pillar, bigger and louder than the one before. The monster shied back into a puddle, and using more force than before, almost in a frenzy, Hywel smashed at the stone again and again. While sparks flew around the stone and the monster, none of them succeeded in lighting up the monster.

Unlike the time with the first pillar of fire there a trumpet blazed across the forest when the flames subsided. The monster that Hywel was fighting suddenly dissolved into nothing and as he looked back to check on the maiden, dreaded at the assumption that something happened to her by a second monster while he was too preoccupied with the one in front of him, the maiden also dissolved into nothing. That was when he realized that the maiden was probably not a real person. It made sense; how could they risk someone for such an event? The woman was most likely have been an imitation created with some kind of magic.

His vision faded to black as if someone had turn the TV off, then he was back at the amphitheater.

------

"Hywel Inmos is... how should I phrase it... hmm... 'unique'?" A blond man pondered over his thoughts. His green and gold attire shone brightly under the sun, contrasting greatly to the robed and wizened figure sitting next to him. The Great Sage had accompanied the third prince to the Inmos Ceremony, and while the events were going on he was to entertain the prince’s rambling. The truth was however, the Great Sage was here as a bodyguard. Sir Hugh had left them to join his wife. Those sitting at the amphitheater were able to catch the entire events unfolding in the forest by the two candidates using the Projection magic installed throughout the place; the screens which Hywel had noticed earlier.

"He certainly is. I wonder what he was doing to the doll when he found her?" Came the raspy reply. The Great Sage Ivan Kniver was in good terms with the third prince, and even if he wasn't sent for this mission he would gladly become a chatting partner for prince Edel. There wasn’t much on his features that didn’t summarise the man as ‘ancient’ from the dead-white speck of hair on his scalp to the grey iris. His robe was a gloomy shade of orange and was covering every part of him save for his wizened face and his crooked boney hands.

"I will give credit to his creativity; attempting to light up the Oil Ooze with sparks." The prince mused.

"Though thanks to that he was able to win, unlike the conceited bra- pardon me. Unlike the other candidate."

The prince gave a simple nod in agreement. The prince’s glance went from one of the screens to another, switching from Hywel to Fabre.

"Fabre Inmos is indeed skilled in combat. I almost feel sorry he is not of the Adecia House; he would have been a great asset to the strike force, given a few more years of training."

"Indeed, my prince. His method is leaning too greatly towards the offense, which cannot necessarily be considered a positive aspect, especially for the Inmos House. As an actual result he ended up destroying the doll from the explosion of the second Oil Ooze."

"Ah, yes. He most likely calculated the distance, however the oil which makes up the Oil Ooze are not necessarily the same oil. Certain ones will combust in a wider area. By the way, how big of a blast would the Oil Ooze that Hywel fought would have given if it was lit properly?"

"Kek kek kek, about half the forest would have been burnt out of existence!"

Ivan Kniver cackled at the question.

"Although due to that, we had to put extra layers of fire-snuffing magic around it. If it went to Fabre however, such magic would not have made much difference to lighting up the Oil Ooze."

"Hmm, I see. Well. I suppose the continuation of events is in order?"

With that the prince got up from his seat and made his way to the front of the platform they were in where he could see the entire audience at a glance - as well as the two candidates who had been teleported back to the stage and were receiving refreshments.