During the night, I felt a tug from Pandora. Someone was attempting to contact the Matriarch, so I took the Wisp from my soul and held it in my hands. I focused and heard the prayer.
> Dear Matriarch, what is your relationship with Prince Percival?
I couldn't help but laugh. It was Mona, using her unique Perk, {Matriarch’s Wisdom} for the first time. I guess she hadn’t done that yet because she was worried about bothering a goddess for trivial stuff but this must be pressing down on her mind really hard.
A fairy chirped in my head.
I spent some time thinking about the answer, imagining my twin sister on her knees, praying. After a while, Nenandil started to pester me and I gave her my answer.
> Prince Percival is someone who’ll further my goals for the Empire. He granted you the power you wield through me because both you and your sisters are very important to me. I’ll give you some advice. Wait patiently until your Labyrinth delve. Percival will attempt to take you and Madge away from your escort. Go with him. If you do, he’ll tell you everything and answer all your questions regarding this life.
I sent the reply. I hoped it would keep her troubled heart calm until the delve and help me with my plan to escape the escort with them for some privacy and to stop them from leeching Exp from the two.
“How?”
“That was intentional. Now she knows she has another sister in hiding, and she’ll connect the dots and accept me easier.”
“I hope not? Even if she does, it is their problem for hiding it from her since birth.”
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The morning of the very next fucking day, I heard soft banging at the gate. No, seriously, what manner of magic did this gate inherit to attract people like that? I ate my breakfast as I went to the front gate, a gormandizing groan on my lips because this peapura bacon was so good. Their flightlessness was mainly because their wings were too fat to fly. But this fat could be cut in strips and fried just as pork bacon, but lighter as it was white meat.
I crossed the gate just like the other times and found an army of… bureaucrats. Not a single soldier in sight, the usual scrying sensors were up there in the air, and I could sense fear from these guys. The lead man, one I’ve seen en passant back in my childhood days, approached and knelt.
“Your Highness [The Fierce Imperial Prince] Percival, duelist extraordinaire and master of the impenetrable gate, please accept our greetings.”
Somehow I got two titles for my accomplishments. That’s how Imperial parties started and ended with the nobles’ introductions. Lesser nobility never made it to the venue, by the time his betters were introduced, these betters’ betters were already gone, the food was gone, the cold drinks were lukewarm, the warm drinks were cold, and their feet hurt like hell.
But they couldn’t skip the parties as not going was considered an offense to the host. So the barons and viscounts mostly were called “lineup nobles” behind their backs. Some high Houses even had a competition during party season for the longest lineup outside their ballroom doors. They fought for second place, because the first place, as anyone could guess, belonged to my dear father.
“You may stand. Who are you and what is your job?”
“I’m Oswald Ormond from House Ormond, sire. I work at the Annex Palace Administration.”
“Good. What is your business here?”
“We came to apologize, Your Highness. When Sir Godfrey and his knights were summoned elsewhere and the gates closed, someone in the Annex Palace Administration took note of it and erroneously believed the Palace to be closed but never filed an official report. He was embezzling the funds destined to sustain Your Highness and Her Majesty your esteemed mother. We caught him and reimbursed the funds, now we come to present you his head.”
And I bet this guy was caught only because he wasn’t sharing the embezzled funds. Or because someone high up decided to check the books and didn’t like the way the money went. Even the fact only one person was killed when this embezzling ring was found was suspicious. Could one guy alone do it? I doubt it.
“And the funds, I suppose,” I added. I didn’t need the money but it was a matter of principle. Just as any government budget, you better spend it or you might find it redirected elsewhere in the next year.
The old man hesitated for a while before he answered, “Of course.”
That was one good thing about the Empire. You could trust anyone in the administration. You could trust they were all crooks. No delusions, no lies, no naivety.
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I burned the head on the spot. Some bureaucrats wanted to enter the palace but I strongly denied them. I told them to build a small garrison and office building outside the gates, and handle visitors and guests from now on. Until the debutante ball, my Palace would remain closed. Before I went back, I stopped to talk to Oswald.
“Winter is almost upon us. I still didn’t receive the pass for the Labyrinth expedition. Are you going to tell me I’ll have to go to the debutante ball without a visit to the Labyrinth?”
Imperial law dictated that every [Prince] should have at least three months in the Labyrinth to hunt monsters and get some levels before the debutante and a formal introduction to society. That was to strengthen the Royal scions a bit before they were almost literally thrown to the wolves. Most reached the second rank or close to the third, with levels in the late fifties before their debutante. It was too easy to poison, mind-control, influence, or otherwise remove a weak Prince from the playing board.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Oswald flinched. “The [Emperor] delayed your debutante by a year. It will only be held in the next winter, as our [Clairvoyants] dictated this winter will be extremely harsh.”
“Good. More time for me down there. I’ll hold you Oswald, and House Ormond responsible for my success or failure in the Labyrinth. You understand what it means, right?”
> Contested Charisma test won.
“Of course, Your Highness! You’ll have the pass and escort ready within the week! I promise!”
I stood inches before him, scowling, “You better.” I turned around and left the office, without another word.
I felt sorry for acting like an asshole and had to mentally reassure me it was just an act. Unfortunately, it was the only language these guys understood.
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The next few days, Earth mages and [Builders] came to raise the facilities I demanded. I sat on a meeting with the Palace Subsistence Division lead to negotiate the re-establishment of provision deliveries. I invoiced them with the costs incurred during the period of silence, adding up a hefty markup because if I didn’t do it, they would and then resubmit the request for reimbursement.
“I’m going to visit father’s Palace and talk to the Minister of Finance about this invoice. You better fulfill it without any hiccups,” I added as I handed it over to the guy. “And here is the list of emergency supplies we need. I expect them delivered tomorrow at the first light of the Sun.”
I left them and returned inside. I had to hurry up now and finish training my guards and the palatial staff.
If I had more time, I would focus more on their Proficiencies, but that window had passed. If they hadn’t made the best out of the quadruple learning rate they were fools and would fall off by natural attrition.
I know that I did.
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* You gained 15 points in Appraiser (*)
* You gained 33 points in Archery
* You gained 15 points in Blades
* You gained 2 points in Combat Technique
* You gained 17 points in Martial Arts
* You gained 14 points in Spear
* You gained 11 points in Assassination
* You gained 14 points in Spellcaster (**)
* You gained 1 point in Furtivity
* You gained 2 points in Physical Mastery
* You gained 23 points in Alchemist (*)
* You gained 21 points in Baker
* You gained 33 points in Botanist
* You gained 15 points in Cartographer
* You gained 11 points in Diplomat
* You gained 23 points in Dismantler
* You gained 1 point in Enchanter
* You gained 10 points in Gnome Machinist
* You gained 25 points in Leadership
* You gained 11 points in Musician
* You gained 7 points in Physician (*)
* You gained 13 points in Silkweaver (*)
Appraiser (*) [ 312 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Obfuscate Others: Select (P/10) friendly units no further than (P) meters from you. Appraise attempts against them suffer a (2*P/3) Penalty.
Spear [ 608 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Combination Strike (U): You slash then stab with the spear at once, combining base damage from both strikes into one but using the highest armor value. Increase total damage by (P/10)%.
Leadership [ 401 ]. Select 1 Ability.
* Instructor: You can teach a group of (P/5) students on a Proficiency you have above 100. Students learn (P/5)% faster, up to your Proficiency score in the subject taught, and those above that, including yourself, learn at (P/20)% faster.
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The good old {Combination Strike} did a comeback, this time as the ultimate level 600 Ability. I retained the attack technique even before now, but this gave a huge oomph to the strike, as it doubled the base damage and gave a small damage bonus.
Speaking of spears, way more than ten years have passed since I last fed the [Unicorn King’s Spear] with a magical “horn”. This time, I took one of Bit’s spines, the gigantic twenty-meter-long sea urchin spike. I brought both together and watched as the urchin spine vanished and was absorbed by the heirloom spear.
> [Unicorn King's Spear]
>
> Price: Inestimable. Unique artifact.
>
> Base damage: 5d20+15
>
> Indestructible.
>
> Enchantable.
>
> Upgradeable. (On cooldown: 10 years left).
>
> Materials: Unicorn King's horn, hair, and bone. Red Dragon Horn. Urchin Guardian Spine.
>
> Bond: Soul-bound to the [Unicorn Queen]
>
> Unicorn King's Noble Heart: The spear will monitor the user's intentions and show approval or displeasure regarding the Unicorn King's values of Nobility and Purity.
>
> Red Dragon's Wrath: If the target is not immune to (or absorbs) fire damage, the spear ignites right before striking and covers the target with Dragon Fire. Dragon Fire burns all.
>
> Urchin Guardian’s Vengeance: Once per week, you can throw the spear at a target and activate this ability, gaining +100% accuracy. The spear grows to titanic proportions before striking, dealing damage an x16 size bonus regardless of your actual size. If used against a non-living structure, it deals structural damage in a 200-meter area.
This time it gained a d20 bonus to damage instead of a fixed amount. The new ability spoke for itself. It reminded me of Bit’s gigantic eye beam he used to keep Carcinodon trapped in the depths.
Lastly, I had to pick my Perks. Nine third-rank and four fourth-rank ones. As I opened the list, I knew someone was playing jokes on me. Couldn’t think of anyone controlling the System who would play suck a prank.
> * The Fierce Little Lancer (unique): When wielding a spear, increase base damage by 2d20. You gain a +10 bonus to Charisma with intimidation attempts. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
> * Kinky lancer (unique): When striking your enemies in rather sensitive spots with a spear, you deal 200% extra damage. You gain a +10 bonus to Charisma when inciting someone to indulge in forbidden fetishes. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
> * Futanari Lancer (unique): When attacking someone of the opposite gender with a spear, you may eschew the damage completely to make one attempt at seduction with a +10 bonus. The trick is knowing which gender is the opposite one. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
> * Gaslighter Lancer (unique): When using deception in combat with a spear, you can eschew the damage dealt by one attack to make the target doubt one of their beliefs. You gain a +10 to Charisma tests to convince them to abandon such belief. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
> * Fratricidal Lancer (unique): When attacking one of your blood siblings with a spear, you deal 200% damage, and your attack inflicts 300% more pain. No Charisma bonus for you, you little monster. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
> * Daddy Issues Lancer (unique): When fighting with a spear under daddy’s watchful gaze, you convert all d20 in your base damage into 5d6. You gain +10 to Charisma checks to convince daddy you are a good “boy”. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
> * What are you doing to your sister, Lancer? (unique): Just don’t. Here’s a +10 flat bonus to Charisma so you can go and hit on other chicks, so keep your spear away from your sister. But this will stay in your Status Sheet forever, you perv. You can pick only one of the XX Lancer series.
Nope. Just no. I won’t even call him to complain and let him know I’ve seen it.
> * Anima Armor I (very rare): you create a mesh of strengthened flesh and blood underneath your skin, increasing base damage reduction by 10. You permanently lose 10 base HP.
> * […]
> * Anima Amor V (ultra-rare): Increase base damage reduction by 50. You permanently lose 50 base HP.
> * Resilient Flesh I (very rare): You gain 15 base HP.
> * […]
> * Resilient Flesh IV (ultra-rare): You gain 60 base HP.
>
>
>
> Resilient Flesh, Body Elongation, and Anima Armor merged into Titan Body.
>
> * Titan Body (combined): Absolute Damage Reduction 93%. Your integument is always impeccable and can be colored at will. Bonus to stealth equal to the percentile of exposed skin. You can stretch body parts along their longest dimension up to 3 times the normal length without losing strength, accuracy, or balance. Add a tenth of your maximum HP to your maximum Energy. Add a quarter of your base HP to determine HP regeneration. Divide HP recovery tick by 24. Missing body parts regrow in the time needed to regenerate 2% of your maximum HP. Immune to Bleeding, Muscle Paralysis, integument afflictions including damage from fine particulate at normal speeds. No Attributes are locked to you. You gain 60 HP, 10 Energy, +32 HP/level, +22 Energy/level, 50 base damage reduction, +10 to all Attributes, and +3 to Strength and Dexterity.
That’s it for the third rank. A solid defensive boost.
> * Spirit Lance (very rare): Increase spear damage by 1d20. Your attacks now deal 10% of the physical damage to all resources. Damage from your spear heal 100 times slower.
> * Animate Spear (very rare): Your spear may float and attack on its own using your own Traits, freeing you to strike with another weapon or cast spells. Any attempt to grab your animated spear causes it to deal one free attack before the attempt.
> * Dervish Spear (ultra-rare): if you focus for 10 seconds, you can make your animated spear attack every enemy in (Magic/3) meters around you.
> * Blood Pact (very rare): All your spells now cost the same amount of HP to cast. Increase their effect by 50%.
Jokes aside, I was ready to go down into the Labyrinth.