Never spit straight up. Unless it's a Frat Boy Dare ™ where you bet you can catch it on the way down. Eww. Frat Boy Dares ™ suck.
Marion came to visit me during my study session at the library. She sat on an armchair next to the table I was reading the grimoires and waited for me to notice her. Meanwhile, I was waiting for her to come to talk to me, but then I remembered I was supposed to be a [Prince] in a Realm where those in power killed on a whim.
And my public track record did nothing to dissuade people that I was not like them. Damn.
“Marion, please approach,” I said with a friendly smile.
“Your Highness, can I speak to you about my daughters?” She asked with a shake in her voice.
I immediately fired my {Detect Divinity} and located the two priestesses. I stood up, ready to dash to their help. “Did something happen to them?”
She was already skittish, my sudden movement made her flinch. “No, Your Highness! They’re fine, just that Mona came to me with an odd question.”
An “odd question”. I knew what she was talking about. I quickly moved to hold her and assure our privacy. The whole Palace had the best wards this Empire had ever seen but we still had servants and guards. While I trusted them, I didn’t intend to burden them with such troublesome truths. A dome of magic burst invisibly around us, shielding me and my milkmaid from prying eyes and keen ears.
“She asked you if you had another daughter,” I stated. Marion nodded. “She got an omen from the Matriarch. The girls deserve to hear the truth, Marion.”
She sighed and stuttered. “Bu-bu-but...”
I hugged her. She was like a mother to me. How could I allow the woman whose teats fed me as a baby to worry?
“Do you believe I’ll destroy the Empire?” She shook her head. “Well, I won’t. I won’t let harm come to you or your daughters. My sisters. Neither to anyone inside this Palace right now. The girls deserve the truth. I pretend to tell them everything during our delve. They will react as they will, and we’ll work from there. I hope they’ll understand.”
“Mona will be devastated,” Marion lamented.
“I know.”
“She has a special place in her heart for you, Percival.”
I grinned. This close, with just the two of us, she dropped the bothersome ‘Your Highness’. “I know.”
“But she’s your twin sister. You are related by blood.”
“I’ll never do anything untoward with my own sister,” I said, remembering the meme Perk Loki put in my Class list.
“And that’s why I say that Mona will be devastated,” Marion lamented.
“Are you telling me you want me to...”
“Goodness, no!” Horrified, she widened her eyes.
“Good. Then I won’t.”
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“Wow, this armor looks so nice!” Mona gushed as she donned her combat attire for the first time. “But it’s too heavy and restrictive.”
“That’s because your Attributes are crap right now. Once you get some levels, it will be as easy to wear as clothes,” I replied. “I just want to see the fit and check what engravings you want on yours. How is it going, Madge?”
“I’m fine!” she shouted behind the changing screen.
The armor was made with the Earth recipe for vanadium-chrome steel. I had to reverse-engineer the proportions but it was an amazing suit of armor for a beginner. Since they were spellcasters, they couldn’t use Adamantite armor because this much Adamantite covering them would block any use of magic. It was about twice as resistant as normal steel people used before the System bonuses were applied to it. A mundane antimaterial rifle from Earth would put only a dent on their breastplates.
If they were higher-leveled, I could use thicker plates to increase the defensive bonuses.
> [H&H Forges’ Triplet Light Steel Plate] – Level 54
>
> Price: 14 kingmetal coins
>
> Materials: Special Steel, living silk.
>
> Defensive bonuses: Blunt: 50%, Slash: 60%, Pierce: 60%.
>
> Damage Reduction: 15 (27).
>
> Critical Chance reduction: 20 (40)%.
>
> Minimum Strength: 40.
>
> Minimum Dexterity: 35
>
> Minimum Endurance: 40.
>
> Enchantments: All Attributes +5. Dexterity, Mind, Willpower +10.
>
> Durability: 345. Hardness: 84 (96).
>
> Living Silk Perks:
>
> +12 Damage reduction.
>
> Recovers 5 points of durability per hour.
>
> +20 bonus to either Willpower or Charisma against harmful mental effects.
>
> +20% critical chance reduction.
>
> +35% evasion when near another Triplet Light Plate.
>
> +20 bonus to Dexterity regarding balance and footing.
>
> +10 bonus to Mind for Perception tests.
>
> A suit of plate armor made with knowledge from another world by a sage dwarven smith and imbued with living silk padding. Only three such suits of armor exist in the world. It will grow as the wearer gains Exp while wearing it.
>
> If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I adjusted the armor on their bodies but honestly, it was already an almost perfect fit. “You’ll wear what I like to call battle dresses until you can wear the armor. They are plated too, but it’s brigandine. It offers less protection but is lighter. But one thing you must wear all the time is these veils. I’m going to wear one of these too.”
I handed them the exotic headgear, a silk band of twisted fabric with a thin veil that covered their entire heads. It looked like a lampshade but for the head.
> [Silk Veil of Obfuscation] – Level 34
>
> Value and Materials: Hidden.
>
> Reduces the effects of sensory attacks by 50%.
>
> Blocks recognition of the wearer’s face and identity.
>
> +50% to stealth.
>
> +30 to Perception.
>
> Reduces incoming Appraise attempts by -250.
>
> +10 Mind, Willpower, and Magic.
>
> Perks: Hidden.
>
> A veil of living silk to protect what is important to the crafter. Wear it proudly.
The veils and suits of armor were kindly leveled up along with the guards by Bertram, his mother, and everyone else who dared defy me in front of the gates. May the System recycle their souls.
They put on the veils and even I had trouble telling which was which. It was like extreme face blindness. Only other cues like what clothes they wore allowed me to tell them apart. I couldn’t tell people outside who they were because they would become targets. I would go to war against the Empire, walk up to the Imperial Palace and kill my father on the spot for them but it wasn’t yet time.
The reason for that was Rhiannon. She was mentally stable right now because of my accomplishments but it all hinged on the public image of Percival. She talked to me about the debutante and how she would re-enter society with me by her side. I felt I couldn’t take that away from her. Her psyche was on a delicate balance and anything harsh would tip her over the edge again. I didn’t want to see her afraid, melancholic, and trapped in her own head.
After the fitting test with the girls, I went to see her.
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She was doing the job of the [Governess], directing the maids to clean the palace. With our reduced staff, we “mothballed” several rooms that weren’t being used, covering the furniture with sheets and sealing windows and doors. These rooms still needed to be dusted every other week, and she took upon her the responsibility to coordinate the palatial staff.
“My son!” She beamed. “What brings you here?”
“I just wanted to hear your voice, mother. How’s it going?”
She spread her arms, showing the spotlessly clean room. “Splendid! The girls are really motivated to work, and they will do double now that you graced us with your presence.”
I met the maids’ eyes and smiled at them. “Girls, make my mother happy, and I’ll sing everyone a song tonight during supper. A romantic song.”
Rhiannon squealed and squeezed my arm as she hugged it. “It’s been so long since you last sang for me. Girls, Percival’s voice can make you melt. You don’t want to make us miss it, do you?”
“No, Your Majesty!” They said in unison and redoubled their efforts.
“Mom, the expedition is upon us. I’m taking only Madge and Mona with me to the Labyrinth. We need to keep the palace well-defended during my absence.”
“It will be fine. Didn’t they put a second wall? Nobody strikes before the debutante, it’s a waste. Right now, you’re untapped potential, one that could swing either way. Truly, you killed your brother and his mother and caused their supporters grief. But these same supporters will try to approach you and create a connection. If they win you over, they are better than before since you’re stronger than Bertram. If they don’t win you over, they can swiftly eliminate you right after the debutante. And right now the whole Empire is watching you go on the expedition. There’s too much attention on us for someone acting covertly. We can stay with the gates closed and wait for your return.”
“I’ll take more time than usual in the depths, mom. I want you to keep this signet ring. It will keep glowing so long I’m alive. This way you can keep your mind at ease. It can also contact me. Just break the gemstone and I’ll be back here in less than a minute.”
She smiled and slid the ring on her finger, watching with delight as it changed sizes to match her slender hand. “You’re the best son I could ever ask for. Go and have fun with the girls. I’ll be fine here.”
The maids didn’t like the idea of M&M having me all for themselves. Most of them still wanted me to take them as my lovers, even if just for one night. But I didn’t intend to do that with them.
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The delve escort had no less than a hundred people. A. Hundred. People. [Knights], [Scouts], [Cooks], [Adventurers], a [Groom] and a [Sumpter]. Then two specialists, a general-purpose [Wizard] for magical amenities, and the cherry on the cake, a [Cryptobiologist]. Apparently, it was a scientific field that studied monsters. Should we find any interesting or unique monster as the Labyrinth was wont to beget, that guy would study it.
A hundred-plus people and an equal number of animals. They had a herd of pack beasts to carry the supplies. It was a logistical nightmare but it reflected very well how the Empire did things. With overwhelming numbers, useless and incompetent people got in just because they had influence.
As one can imagine, participating in such an expedition was a great honor. Those who survived the depths would brag forever that they helped His Highness [The Fier…
I’m not retelling Percival’s full title. I refuse.
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The Labyrinth entrance had been closed off to Adventurers a month now, to give monsters time to respawn. It was exclusive for my use, as it was for each of my older brothers before me.
Sending a [Prince] to level up represented, as Imperial propaganda made people believe, a golden opportunity for the future of the Empire. One of the princes would become the next [Emperor], so the strength of the scion became the strength of the lion and of the people too. One can imagine that in the last four centuries, only thirty-seven such events happened, less than one each decade on average. A procession was the default way to send the prince, an opportunity to see the new Royal in person for the first time.
The girls boarded the open carriage in their plate armor. While they could walk and move wearing the armor, they suffered significant penalties in combat. They wouldn’t need to fight next to me and I wanted them to look impressive.
A parade started from the [Prince]’s palace and ran around all the districts of the Imperial Capital in a roundabout way. People flocked to the windows, roofs, and balconies along the way, eager to see and cheer for the new Royal scion. It was a celebrity cult, like back home in America. The Prince and his entourage would parade in open carriages, slowly doing a route that would take literally all day, from sunrise to sundown to cross.
I had mixed feelings about this and it didn’t affect me much, but to the girls sitting next to me with their veils and shiny steel plate armor, it was mind-blowing. I could feel her emotions as they were shocked and baffled by the cheerful response of the people. I knew it was something addictive and would corrupt any person after enough exposure.
But it also was an opportunity. With this many people cheering me, I would be a fool if I didn’t take advantage of it.
> > Roar of the Crowd (add a tenth of the resource regeneration of each spectator to yourself).
>
> > Mana Wellspring (double MP regeneration for everyone in range, siphon excess MP regeneration to yourself).
>
> > Diva Presence (people in Charisma (284) meters around you stop what they are doing to watch you).
>
> > Diva Aura (Shift reactions 1 step for every aura Perk (8 as of now). Double the range above (568 meters). Roar of the Crowd and Diva presence work even when not performing).
I dumped all my Energy but 10 million into breaking the {Magical Deficiency} curse. With thousands of people watching me, I kept adding their MP regeneration to mine as they weren’t using it, and a tenth of that again even for those without a full MP pool. I activated a Blood magic spell that converted 20 HP into 1 MP and dumped all my HP regeneration on that conversion spell.
Even with all that, it wouldn’t be enough to break the curse and convert it into a Perk as I wanted. Especially because this was a tiered curse, with about five steps. I needed to pay the cost in full for each one and then all of it again if I wanted the Perk. But it was free magic and I didn’t have anything better to do other than please the crowd.
At the end of the day, I did manage to shave close to eighteen percent of the total cost, bringing the “progress bar” (there was no such thing in the System interface) to 55%.
Then the parade was over. The night sky was clouded by actual clouds and the light pollution of the magical lights around the Labyrinth entrance. Like many others, they had a small walled garrison around the actual entrance to the depths, to keep any monster floods contained. The gates opened and [Prince] Percival’s entourage descended into the depths.
Monsters, Exp, treasure, and glory awaited us. I just had to ditch this bothersome collection of useless sycophants.