John stared at his reflection in the mirror, taking note of the damage. Around his cheek, the side of his face was colored red from the bruise he received.

Earlier today, Marleya pitted him against Neina. Back when she was still a Fighter, John often came up on top; now as a Crusader, she wiped the floor with him.

The breakthrough happened a week before, and Neina was still getting used to her own strength. As such, when John took a chance for a stab, she reacted with much more strength than she wanted and hit him on the side of the head.

The helmet held strong, but it still banged pretty hard against his head. Even now it remained throbbing while his neck ached whenever he moved. At least she didn’t hit through the slit of his helmet; that would leave him with fewer teeth and possibly a broken jaw, none of which are fun to heal, especially if he swallowed one of the teeth by accident.

As he passed a hand over the bruise, he took note of the stubble already growing back. He’d need to shave again soon, one of the downsides of this body compared to the one back on Earth. On the other hand, his hairline showed no signs of receding, so he had to take the good with the bad.

With a groan, he struggled to remove the gambeson while moving his neck as little as possible. As a Mage with light affinity, a Luminomancer, John could mend the damage, but there was nothing to be done about the pain unless he visited a proper healer. Done with the gambeson, he threw it to the side and did the same to the pants and boots before sinking into the bathtub.

The warm water was exactly what he needed after a whole morning of working his muscles. He lost track of time as he relaxed in the tub, only getting out after the water started getting colder.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he then returned to his bedroom. The room looked almost identical to when he first arrived years ago, with the only difference being the bookcase. Before it only had three books while now it was stacked with various works.

They ranged from geography to noble houses and even magical beasts. John took the time to study it all as he discovered more and more about this new world. He read on the history of the Olsandre House, from their origin as a cadet branch to the Olsens, to becoming the rulers of Somerford.

He also read on the various magical beasts that populated this world; fox-like creatures that blended with the forests, moles that dug through solid stone, and even giant eagles that were used as transportation by the truly powerful.

Of course, none of these books were as valuable as the two that sat by his nightstand. Wrapped in thick leather covers, these were the books he used to study spells, each of them costing a single platinum coin. According to his teachers, the spellbooks would become an essential part of his life if he hoped to continue learning spells.

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John walked to the wardrobe and grabbed a pair of breeches and a simple blue tunic. As always, he hid his mother’s necklace under the clothes, with the pendant wrapped with a cloth; no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get any paint to stick to the metal.

Looking presentable again, he finally walked out of the room and into the hallway. As always, guards stood at attention near the Earl’s quarters; that was the only thing that didn’t change in his time here. Everywhere else he looked, the number of guards had been reduced.

As Marleya had once explained, the high level of security had to do with the number of noble guests. Hagen did it both as a show of strength and also to prevent anything from happening under his nose. On that note, John still couldn’t figure out how Nevil and Bella managed to sneak out of the castle when he first arrived. He also never got to ask as their fathers kept them both locked up afterward.

After Hagen settled the details with all of his vassals, he waited for Vasilis to eventually declare war against Skanler. He waited for a month, two, three, until he finally couldn’t maintain his forces anymore and was forced to disband them.

Instead of declaring war as Hagen expected, Vasilis’ forces seemed to have disappeared. Some wondered if the foreigner gave up, while others claimed Skanler must’ve found their hideouts and killed them. Hagen still had no idea of what really happened.

John said nothing. For all effects and purposes, he knew nothing about it. He was grateful to Hagen and Athalia for welcoming him, but he had no idea how they'd react if they learned of his involvement in the man's disappearance. He had to think of himself first, that's what his mother would've wanted.

John descended the stairs and walked towards the kitchen.

“What the hell happened to you?” was the greeting he received by Clare, a wizened woman, and the castle’s head cook. “Did you forget to wear your helmet or what?”

John picked up a stool and sat at the counter near her. “I went against a Crusader today. It went as well as you’d expect.”

Clare chortled. “Serves you well then. Just because you’re close to breaking through doesn’t mean that you can go around challenging Crusaders like that.”

“I didn’t challenge anyone. Marleya set it up, and my opponent was supposed to go easy on me.”

She extended a hand and pressed it against his bruised face, causing him to wince back, which led to the pain on his neck flaring up.

“Please don’t do that,” he said, settling back in his seat.

“Sure, but why haven’t you gone to the healer yet?”

“It’ll be better by tomorrow. More importantly, what’s there to eat?”

Clare shook her head. “You’re way too stubborn, boy. Suffering from pain won’t help you improve. When lady Athalia hears about it she’ll have a fit.” Clare reached across the stone counter and pulled a covered tray. She opened it up to reveal the slices of roast lamb underneath.

“She doesn’t need to know,” John said while grabbing a knife and fork. “It’ll be our secret.”

The old lady was about to respond when she suddenly paused, her gaze fixed at something him.

“What exactly don’t I need to know?” spoke a voice from behind John.

He looked back to find Athalia standing there, arms crossed, and a raised eyebrow.