*Bang*
I was awoken by a sudden bang coming from outside.
As I ran to the window which overlooked the training field, I saw a dust cloud on the left side of the field.
Watching it, I saw a figure with blonde hair landing on the ground.
It was the pretty boy hero, Richard.
“Ahaha, this attack doll the guards put up is awesome!” he shouted laughing.
Veins almost burst on my head hearing his words and I got dressed summoning my artefacts as I did.
On my sword, I put, 'Lightning Sword' runes on the blade and ran outside.
As I got nearer I started to run and he spotted me. My speed was much quicker compared to before and I swung.
“Bastard!” he shouted and swung. I activated the runes and a blade of electricity appeared coating my short sword. As soon as our swords made contact, the electricity rushed through his sword to his hand.
“Guardian restrain him,” I commanded.
At my order, a brown pulse passed through the guardian's body and into the ground. The ground trembled as earth chains shot out of the ground and began to bind the idiot there and soon pulled him down.
“You stupid moron! What the hell do you think you are doing!” I cursed at him.
“I should be asking you!” Richard shouted back.
“You attacked my minion and you want me to explain,” I shouted back at him.
“Minion?” he said confused.
“Yes, you dolt! My class is dungeon maker, I can make minions to move around my dungeons. He is one I got yesterday, and is currently in a healing process you idiot!” I shouted at him.
“How was I supposed to know!” he shouted back.
“Seriously, maybe being blindsided by an ogre damaged your brain more. God, why are heroes such idiots like you?” I said looking up. “Guardian, did you receive any damage?”
“This servant did not. The attack power of this individual is too insignificant to cause damage to this servant's body. This servant’s physical power is limited until Master repairs them, but this servant’s endurance has been recovering as this servant healed,” he said.
“It spoke!” Richard said shocked.
“Let this idiot go and if he attacks again, you can retaliate but not with deadly force but enough to make him think twice,” I said.
“Understood Master,” the guardian said.
The idiot was released, and he quickly jumped up and took some distance, staring at me with narrowed eyes.
“How much health did you recover?” I asked.
“When this servant began, it was 25% and it has recovered 5% every hour since. This servant is currently at 65% almost gathered enough to rise to 70%, Master,” he said.
“Good, keep healing and raising your weapon. Oh, did you level up the ‘Planting Roots’ skill yet?” I asked.
“It is at around 25% of skill exp gathered,” he replied.
“Good, once you are 100% healed, focus on raising the weapon,” I said.
He stayed quiet and I looked at Richard sneering before turning to leave.
The man in question saw my sneer and his face darkened.
“What?! Going to leave like that?!” he shouted.
“Wasting more time on you will waste my training time, leave him alone and you will get beat up less. Also, guardian, when someone asks, tell them you are my minion who is part of my dungeon,” I said.
“Understood Master,” he replied and I left without listening to the buzzing noise the blonde idiot was making.
At the door of the castle, I spotted a familiar figure who I hadn't had time to talk with.
“Interesting pet. Is he strong?” he asked.
The man who asked had a longsword on his back. This was Nickelous who stood to the side of the doorway.
“He is still recovering but at least squashing that idiot hero like a bug is possible even now,” I said and he snorted.
“You should start focusing on yourself,” he said and passed me to start his own training.
I looked his way and walked to the dining hall. I pulled up the notifications that had been waiting to pop up since I woke up, but due to my shock they didn't activate.
What I got was three Wisdom and a level in mana control.
From there I headed off to train my sword skills. I knew I was lagging in that area and one day it would bite me in the ass.
I looked for a knight that actually cared about teaching me about the sword and we started sparring until noon.
After, I went and experimented and did the same the next two days.
On the third day, two important things happened. First, the guardian’s first weapon was complete and his skill was raised by 25% exp. He would need to keep raising more to get better. The second was that Misaki returned at level 10, but she was furious.
“Can you believe it!? The first day I reach the army camp some random shitty knight cursed at me for wearing samurai armor calling me a disgrace for using such things,” she came in shouting.
“Yeah, I can understand, it depends how this world’s samurai are,” I said.
“True. The queen gave me the history of this armor which was armor from a previous hero. When I told them that, they said, ‘the man died a miserable death like all scum samurai!’” she said.
“If we consider now, the period just before the industrial revolution, then Asia and Japan would have still been warring. In such times, samurai could be considered evil nobles, tyrants and more. True, a samurai follows the code but not all and I read a bit about the east. The place is beyond the demon land and it’s said that unique demons to the region rage through the area and samurai consist of 80% criminal bandits and other scum who abandoned the samurai code and these were turned into monsters by phantoms the demon lord have all over the place. They become demons and it is that reason no one admires them,” I said trying to calm her down.
“No way...” she said sadly and looked at the talisman in front of me. “Your variety rose a lot,” she said.
“I mostly experimented in getting element the last few days,” I said.
I experimented in merging elemental runes to achieve a different element.
What a surprise for me when I put fire and earth runes up and they merged into a new rune. I also discovered the rune for 'Hell,' but it didn’t work alone. When added to fire, it summoned hell fires and if added to ice it created a block of permafrost ice.
Other element combinations were, air and Lightning which turned into storm. Seemed the mix was a branch of magic.
One I really liked was light and dark which made space. Space was in other words, dimensional magic which meant inventory. I still needed to find the right runes for it. Maybe it would be interesting to add space to a bag or pouch and see the effects.
Back on track though.
“So, what are you going to do now?” I asked.
“What can I do? Save people like a hero should while keeping to my teachings and customs. If we kill the demon lord, I will personally go to the east then kill every evil samurai and form a proper empire there to keep rogues like those from appearing,” she said passionately.
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She really was strong willed and emotional when she wanted.
“Want to help me test out these talisman spells, I've been making a number of random ones with unknown runes to figure out their meaning, but I get 1 out of 30 mostly,” I said, and she actually showed a surprised look.
“How do I start them up?” she asked.
“They all have a trigger rune for slow charging. Put a tiny bit of mana in and it will activate the slow charge, so you have time to throw it,” I explained.
She looked them over and grabbed a random one that had ice as the main element. Adding mana, the circle flashed purple, and she tossed it skillfully making it flutter a few meters away without folding.
I was using parchment paper so it wouldn’t fold so much like industrial white paper.
“The paper is heavy, if you had some harder but lighter paper it would be better,” she said.
“Still haven’t found any,” I said.
At this time the circle flashed blue before being burned into ash.
“A dud, too bad,” I said sighing.
“Just keep trying.” Misaki said and took another one.
***
Within the throne room the king and queen were receiving a messenger from the adventurer’s guild.
The adventurer’s guild was an association formed by one of the hero companions from an old generation of heroes hundreds of years earlier. Because of it, the impact of demons and monsters wasn’t as huge in any nation due to the adventurers who sought danger for fame and money.
They possessed one of the greatest academies in the known world and trained new students to high standards in their most prestigious school, Five Hero Academy.
This was founded by five generations of heroes from different nations. One was elf, one dwarf, one beast man and two humans. Each had a different field and class type for the hero class, but they were only outmatched by the demon lord.
“You call for us for a simple request that your ‘adventurers,’ heh, can deal with,” the king said criticizing.
“But there aren’t high level adventurers around that can deal with an armed village of wild goblin led by a red ogre with the blessing from the war god! It requires at least a level 40 or someone of equal power such as the heroes whose growth is much higher than a common man,” the messenger said.
“Heroes have war potential, we can’t be wasting them for petty monsters that escaped from a small dungeon. Some four years ago that couldn’t be subjected even to this day,” the king shouted.
“Actually…” the queen suddenly said and covered her lips.
“Is there something you wish to say?” the king asked curiously.
“The adventurer’s guild hasn’t had many promising adventurers appear in the last dozen years. That is why monsters have been running rampant. Even now, the state of our nation isn’t nearly as secure as the other nations,” she said.
“Where are you going with this?” the king asked.
“Fufufu, the adventurer’s guild was made by heroes and the original disciples are all powerful, but that was because they fought with the heroes who aided them in growing. Yes, this is perfect, we shall have all heroes register as adventurers and move around the nation solving its monster infestation problems and maybe help the nation grow with the technology from their world, such as ideas for agriculture and production. Yes, this is splendid,” the queen said cheerfully.
“But, what of the war?! What if the demon lord sends more tribes?” he asked.
“Oh, stop it. The attack was clearly so he can gauge all the new heroes that were summoned, I'm sure he doesn’t even put our ‘hero’ in his sights. I am sure he is more interested in Ace Cross or Nickelous Zondervan. Also, this will allow the heroes to get more combat experience. Plus, invite more people to their parties and slowly strengthen our war potential. It will allow the heroes to properly adapt to our culture and if we allow them to go to the other nations it will even help them gain more power from the technology and magic from the elves and dwarfs,” the queen said.
“But, how will we contact them and how will they move around or come back?” the king asked.
“Obviously, the same way we sent them off the first time. We can simply send the shadows to tell them, and they can come with the teleporting stones all over the nation. No more discussing this, you tell the guild master of the capitals branch that all 15 heroes will be joining the guild, but keep it quiet until they reach at least C rank. Aside from the higher ups, don’t let others know about them being heroes,” the queen said.
“Mother, do you think Richard will be able to keep quiet?” Charlotte asked.
The queen looked at her daughter next to her and frowned.
“I see your point. He won’t be able to keep his mouth shut at all. I may even have to put a few people to guard the other hero parties since I don’t exactly trust him since he is ambitious and until now, Ace has been a direct confrontation towards him. Still it will be as it is. Do you have something against this?” she asked.
“Even if I did, I can’t change anything. That said, as crowned princess can I follow one of the parties as an adventurer using an alias. I wish to see how our nation is behind the veil of royalty and titles,” she said.
It took a moment for the king and queen to process this before the two reacted totally differently.
On the queen's face was a mischievous grin hidden behind her fan while the king had a scowl.
“I won’t permit it! You are the crowned princess, you will take your mother’s place when you grow up! No, I shall not permit it!” the king shouted.
“Fufufu, I see how it is. I permit it fully, maybe I can even have Marian go with you, her magic talent is very high and with 'him' she will be using and learning very large number of runes strengthening her magic,” the queen said.
“Let Marian be a child for now, let her get older and then she can join if she still wants,” Charlotte said making the queen laugh.
“You are really allowing her to do this?” the king asked.
“She needs real life experience or else she will only have a narrow view of the world. But Charlotte, you will have to depend on yourself and party for funds, gear and all that and no using your title,” the queen said.
“I am ready for this and should Mother need me back, I can come back at my fastest pace,” she said.
“You should have access to all the teleportation stones which is something we all have as descendants of heroes. You can easily return. Messenger, please go about your business and this you just heard, not even your superiors are to hear of it or else it is your head that rolls,” the queen said narrowing her eyes.
“Of course, Your Highness,” he said trembling and soon left.
***
I walked hurriedly through the castle. I had just heard news from Julian that my sister was joining a hero's party! Why did she get to?
Bang!
“Mother! I wish to join the hero’s party!” I shouted.
Inside the room, my mother—the queen—sat already looking my way.
“Marybell, I expected you to come already,” she said.
“If you know then that makes it easier, I want to become an adventurer with the hero,” I said.
“Do you believe your skills and talent allow you such a thing?” she said.
“Does it matter? The hero will invite even worse people eventually, and I can level up by following him. My pure fire magic affinity is very strong compared to older sister’s fencing, and Marian or Julian can’t compare with their nature magic. I am the most qualified to be the hero’s companion,” I said proudly.
I heard Mother’s sigh and when I looked she was fanning herself. Her violet eyes were piercing me, and I felt a shudder while under her gaze.
“This is why I told your father to never spoil you girls, you do have talent but your personality is too immature to be an adventurer, can you imagine yourself sleeping in the wild or sleeping in an old inn, going a day or two without sleep to do a mission or run away from a powerful monster. I know your sister can, mainly because the person she wishes to follow can provide a base of operations at his leisure, but the hero can’t. Are you willing to go through all that?” she asked.
“Of course, if I want to fight for the throne why would I back down?” I said.
“Fine, you are permitted so leave, I shall inform your father and you speak with Richard. However, as I told your sister, while acting as an adventurer you will have to rely on yourself and your party for funding and equipment, and you are not allowed to use your title. Even more so as a princess than the heroes, you cannot reveal your true identity while you're out there. The second I hear that you are abusing your status, I shall have you recalled to the palace, by force if necessary,” she said.
“Yay!” I shouted and left.
I smiled as my thought changed, my plans were going well. First I would level up really fast with the hero, then I would challenge Charlotte to a fight for the crown. With a slip of a drug to daze her, I could win and get the crown. Then I would marry the hero. I would be a very powerful queen, that even the other heroes couldn’t compare. The person with the hero class is the only one that has a unique growth rate of 3-8 instead of 1-5. Normal people only got 1-3, but those of us from the royal family are descendants of a female hero which is why we are a queendom. We also possess a 1-6 growth rate which is slightly above the other heroes. Though I hate how my sister has a 2-6 growth rate instead.
If I married the hero, my children would be born with that unique growth would pass to my kids and we would be even stronger. Still, to let such a man be king. Hmm, maybe I needed to figure a way to brainwash him instead of seduce him. He would ruin my nation if I let him.
“Still the crown is mine!” I said and walked outside where he was training and put on an innocent facade attempting to lull him into accepting which he did instantly.
***
The following day the heroes were gathered and told about the guild including its rules and regulations, and then they underwent the test for joining and grading them.
The system was F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS.
Missions were graded the same way, and to rank up each person needed to complete 10 missions of their rank, or three of a rank higher.
For the ranking process, strength and stats were registered, anyone above level 10 with at least three stats over 80 instantly got to E rank. F rank were normally hunting animals or herb collecting while E rank already included monster hunting.
The nation had dungeons, and a lot of the time monsters escaped into the wild. Adventurers were tasked to keep that number low or eradicate them.
“From today on, you all will be free to move through the nation, but we will have people nearby ready to call you back at any time when demons may attack. Until then, you should work to grow stronger. We will not restrain you if you wish to head to the other nations and meet other cultures as teleportation stones are in every nation,” the queen announced.
Everyone looked excited.
On the side, Ace and Misaki stood and with them was a new girl. This was Charlotte, she had let her hair loose, then tied it into a ponytail revealing her full feminine charm. She wore a simple white silk color button up shirt with tight blue pants which had a steel gauntlet, arm guards, shoulder guard, no chest plate or pants but metal boots that rose past the knee up halfway.
“You sure you want to come with us Princess?” Misaki asked.
“Call me Charlotte. While I adventure, I am not a princess. Also, yes. I want to do this, I want to see the nation my family protects with my own eyes. The good and bad,” she said.
“Be careful not to get depressed if it’s too hard for you,” Ace said.
“If I can’t handle this, do you expect me to be worthy of the throne? My mother told me this was a learning experience for my own growth. Still, I didn’t expect for my sister to foolishly follow that brainless man,” Charlotte said.
“Don’t worry about that. For now, we just need to worry about what our first task is,” Ace said.
“True, considering we have you, we can deal with large scale monster hunting quests easily but that bares bad results for us two who will not get exp from that,” Charlotte said.
“All we need to do is kill them inside my dungeon. You will get exp from the kill while I get it after I close the dungeon. I can only improve my skills until then,” Ace said.
“Let’s go. The queen's speech is done and everyone is leaving,” Misaki said walking towards the door.
With the two following behind they headed out of the castle and entered the town toward the guild where missions were waiting for them to pick up and move out.