Notice
The All-Maker Special Ability has been recharged and can now be used.
Alden dismissed the screen and leaned back in his saddle. Riding along the dirt road, he felt relaxed, confident. The work of his new armor, he suspected. A gift from Dhatri, the Commander had the camp’s blacksmith forge him a new set of plate armor, custom fit. Fine steel, the armor was polished so perfectly that Alden could see his own reflection in it. A truly wonderful gift.
His newfound confidence also came, in part, from the sparks of joy he had been feeling these past few days.
After his anointment to knighthood he had, begrudgingly, dealt with the highly intoxicated Frenna. A living nightmare, the woman had spent the night reaching for drink after drink. She was also, expectedly, unkind to those who attempted to stop her. Alden, in other words. Yelling slurred obscenities, she beat him aside at every intervention. Only with the aid of three other knights had she been properly restrained, and by then she had destroyed two tables and three chairs, two of the latter across Alden’s back.
But it was what had occurred after that that had brought about his jubilation.
Bruised and with numerous broken bones, Alden had sat beside the medical tent, leaning against a log of wood that had been carved into a bench, the rough bark scraping against the skin of his exposed back. Healing had become a common affair, one that strained him, mentally and physically. Healing was costly to his mana reserves. A hindrance when all was peaceful. Deadly, if he were in a prolonged battle.
He had searched the Store, first, for biological textbooks. Row upon row of books had appeared before him, in every variety and from every era of Earth’s humanity, from the basic works recorded by ancient doctors to the most advanced research done by modern Earth’s greatest doctors. And, he saw, books written in the far future, long after the time period in which he had lived.
A greater boon than he could have ever imagined, if not for one problem. Money. Even the most basic modern Earth textbooks cost over three hundred impera. More than he had available. Banked money, sadly, did not count.
In his dejection an idea sparked in his mind and, sorting the books available to him by price, he found what he had hoped for.
All black, the spine embroidered in intricate golden patterns, the book he desired most of all stared back at him as it sat alone on the blue screen.
The Book of Complete Knowledge
A book containing all that can be known.
17,000,000,000,000,000,000 Impera
An unfathomable relic. Unobtainable. Worth more than all the money and trade goods that existed in all the world, it was an object outside the reach of all who lived.
Except for him.
Tempting as it was, he did not use his power immediately. All-Maker was, based on prior uses, a rather conspicuous power. He would prefer it stayed hidden.
An hour after noon he slowed his horse to a stop, commanded his men to stop. He turned back to look at them. Of the fifty extra men that he had been given, only a handful stood out.
The mages, for one. A young man and woman, the two mages were twins, apparently. Alden was uncertain. The brother was a short, handsome man by the name of Elric, and was more than pleased to make his presence known. On their first day together, just before setting out, he had ridden to the front and announced himself to Alden, first, and then more loudly to the other soldiers.
The sister, Aerin, was his complete opposite in terms of personality. Wearing the same blue and gold robes as her brother and with a similar stature, Aerin kept her hood up and her face covered at all times. And, to add to her mystifying presence, the woman rarely spoke. Even when she did, it was only to her brother, and quietly at that.
The twins' presence offered mild amusement; despite Aerin’s sheepish nature, she was rarely far from her brother, even as he put himself at the center of attention. Even now he rode up to Alden, his sister trotting along behind.
Only her eyes remained uncovered, Alden noticed. Deep, emerald green, like her brother’s, they remained downcast as she came to a halt. She looked up, met Alden’s gaze, held it for a slim second, then bashfully fell away.
“Are we resting, sir?” Elric asked. He was respectful of rank, at least.
“We are. Half an hour, then we’ll send out our best trackers, see if we can find anything.”
“Aye, sir.” Elric turned and left, his sister following behind. Elric had long since taken it upon himself to dispense Alden’s orders.
Alden turned off the road, urging his horse into a canter over the flat, grassy plains. In the distance he could see a herd of horses; wild, they paid little attention to Alden or the soldiers, continuing to graze. Past them further was a dense forest, its edge a wall against the plains.
The luscious trees provided a cool, almost chilly shade, as well as the perfect cover for what he was about to do.
Dismounting, Alden walked several paces into the woods, listening. Birds chirped and squealed as they flew overhead, ruffling against the leaves.
There was enough privacy, he felt.
The flash of light was brief and dim, yet Alden’s outstretched hand remained empty, the book nowhere to be seen.
Notice
The Book of Complete Knowledge has been incorporated with the System.
Notice
Siphoning Creation Energy into the System
Notice
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The System has been upgraded.
Quests have been upgraded.
Companions now available.
Land Management now available.
Units now available.
Looting now available.
Alden sighed, then dismissed the screens. Twice, now, the siphoning message had appeared.
Useful as the new features may have been, there was the worry that it was reducing the effectiveness of his desired creations.
A worry proven by his first usage of the Book of Complete Knowledge.
Notice
The effectiveness of the Book of Complete Knowledge has been reduced due to the System’s siphoning of Creation Energy. Some knowledge is restricted and must be unlocked.
Monthly uses remaining: 2
An irksome turn of events, though not unexpected. Still, Alden thought, he had been able to gain the knowledge he desired most at the moment.
Scrolling through the new screen, Alden read topic after topic available to him; bodily anatomy, cell structures, cellular lifecycles, genetics, evolution. The entirety of biological knowledge was at his fingertips, neatly categorized and ready to consume.
He spent his time reading it, starting with the basics: cells. A retreading of what he had already known, to begin with. Still, it would reinforce his knowledge, ensure he had a solid base. And, he found, he knew less than he’d previously believed.
Through research and study Intelligence has grown.
Reward: 1 bonus point to Intelligence.
Thirty minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and once more they set out on the road.
On the road Alden read what he could from the blue screens, then stopped, curious at the new developments of the System. He started with the Quests.
Endangered Supply Lines
Ensure the safety of Titemore supply lines.
Tier 1 Requirements: Kill the Hilvans responsible for attacking the supply lines.
Reward: 8,000xp, 10 bonus points to Strength, Titemore army morale boosted 20%.
Failure: Titemore army morale decreased 20%.
Tier 2 Requirements: Kill the Hilvans responsible for attacking the supply lines & capture their leader.
Reward: 10,000xp, 10 bonus points to Strength, 5 bonus points to Charisma, Titemore army morale boosted 20%.
Optional: Ensure the prolonged safety of the Titemore army’s supply lines.
Reward: 15,000xp, 10 bonus points to Charisma, Titemore army morale boosted 15%, Titemore army power boosted 10%.
He smiled at the screen, reading over the words again and again. An option component with extra rewards was tempting, certainly, but what interested him most were the details of the effects of his success. Or failure. It brought his missions into perspective, in a way. Easier to understand. More useful.
Next was Companions, which brought up four columns.
The first companion displayed was grayed out, the words ‘Unavailable’ layered over the top of Amice’s image. Beneath was a detailed list of her Stats, as well as a description of her life history. Beside her were Uhtric, first, followed by Caldwell; the two with the highest loyalty, he noticed.
The last was Airabella, his tamed peryton. She did not, like Amice, have the ‘Unavailable’ message overlaying her image. She was close, then, if out of sight. It was hard to tell with her.
Beside each of their names was a small ‘+’ symbol; he knew intrinsically, the knowledge instilled in him by the System, that it would level them up and increase their abilities. He needed only for them to gain experience.
He smiled to himself. The System was proving to be a greater and greater boon with every passing month. Where would it be in a year's time? Two?
Proceeding to the Unit section, Alden was further pleased by what he saw. Before him were several classes, each with a darkened silhouette representing them and a number in the right corner–the total number of his assigned soldiers that fit the class. Below the silhouettes were each Unit’s Stats, an average of all those who comprised the Unit.
There were only four Units, despite there being nearly sixty soldiers. Two mages, forty-two footmen, twelve archers, and twelve cavalry, for a total of fifty-eight Units. Companions, it seemed, were not included in their counts.
Similar to the Companions screen, each Unit possessed a ‘+’ symbol, an upgrade, rewarded for experience in battle. One could not come soon enough.
Or too soon.
“Carriage up ahead, sir,” said Gosfrid. One of the ten that had followed Uhtric, Gosfrid had become Alden’s de facto tracker. A stern, dark haired man with weathered skin, Gosfrid had been a hunter for most of his life, selling carcasses to the meat markets of Addens to make his living. Skilled with the bow, the man’s true strength came from his eagle-like eyes, which could see further than Alden’s own, even after having used magic to enhance them.
“Any men?” Alden asked.
Gosfrid shook his head, stammered, squinted. His eyes opening wide, he turned to Alden.
“Dead, sir. All of them.”
The carriage had been tipped over during the attack, its horses and driver slaughtered by a hail of arrows, its doors hacked into a mess of splinters and chips of dried green paint, the contents they once protected now missing and replaced by a singular corpse and dried blood. Sat at the center of the roadway, it was an almost disembodying sight. One that said that the Empire, for all its might, was still vulnerable.
There were over two dozen bodies in all. Cloaked in green tunics now darkened with blood, they bore the sigil of some northern baron Alden didn’t know. Missing were the swords and spears and chainmail each man would have carried, with the exception of those damaged beyond repair.
Despite the death, it was not a particularly appalling scene when all things were considered. The bodies had not been mutilated in any discernible manner, merely left to rot for the better part of the day.
Or, perhaps, he had grown too used to death.
From the bodies he surmised it was a morning attack, not long after the caravan would have packed up camp. The perfect time for an ambush.
With nothing to salvage, Alden ordered their bodies to be gathered and set side by side a distance from the road. He was thankful that the Empire did not have some sort of religious necessity for bodies to be buried; he didn’t want to waste the time digging graves.
Instead he lit them afire with magic, watching and waiting as it spread from one body to the next. Fire produced by magic was exceptionally hot. Another boon. The bodies were incinerated in quick order.
“What do we do?” Elric asked. Lips tight, he sat uneasily on his horse, shifting back and forth in his saddle. His sister fared worse, having turned away, focusing on the grasslands and the distant herd of horses.
“We follow,” Alden answered. He observed Elric a moment, then read his screen. A loyalty of 68. Good. It was 65 that morning. An improvement. “First, however, we need to divide our troops. I want you, Aerin, Uhtric, Caldwell, and Gosfrid leading teams of ten or so.”
“My sister, sir? Are you certain?” Elric asked.
“I am. Will that be a problem?”
Elric gave an uncertain glance his sister’s direction, turned back. “It might, honestly speaking, but I’ll see what I can do, sir.”
“Good. When everyone has selected their teams, we’ll move onward.”
As Elric rode away Alden smiled. His loyalty had hit 75.
They settled the issue faster than he’d expected, separating the troops evenly enough. Caldwell had the best footmen, personally chosen by him for their skill at arms. Uhtric, the best horse rider among them, had the cavalry. Gosfrid, the archers. The rest were split between Elric and Aerin.
Delegation was a necessity with this many troops. It was a necessity when he had thirty soldiers as well. He hadn’t done it then. A mistake. A lesson learned.
Skill Up
Tracking has advanced to Rank C
Reward: 50xp
The trail led off the road, as expected, the mix of hoof and boot prints now almost impossible to miss with his Tracking Skill. Unexpectedly, however, there were numerous trails, some leading east, others west or north or south.
They were moving in packs, regrouping for ambushes.
A problem.
He didn’t know which trail to follow, or he should separate his own group, follow multiple trails.
No, he decided. Separation would only weaken them, make them easier to pick off. An ambush against a large group was one thing, but multiple smaller groups? They’d be dead within a week.
That left only one option. Follow the largest set of tracks.