Nero sat at the same place, looking at nothing. His brain was coming to terms with everything that just happened. And oh, boy, did it happen. He played with the world's worst [Rogue] card unless you were changing into some sort of bard-wizard-rogue-warrior that smoked a pipe.
Then he heard screaming and dashed out of the door. The village was alive, the Knights moved a couple houses away and while it was good they were harassing some else, they were harassing their neighbors. It was too close. They barged into a house, someone was screaming. Then they barged into another house, and someone else was screaming. The Knights came out with two youngsters. Nero would recognize them anywhere.
Husk and Cesar, this generation's official bullies. Cesar's mother was screaming, being held back by Cesar's uncle, her brother, as she was a widow. The elf Colonel, was with his back turned to Nero, watching the scene. The two boys were dragged before him and forced to activate their devices. The gnome scribe was next to the Colonel, shaking his head but still writing on that ridiculously big book of his.
And the elf shouted, silencing the whole village that was watching, hidden behind their slightly ajar window shutters.
"For the crime of perjury and false report, we sentence Adventurers Husk and Cesar to forced labor in the Kingdom's Dungeons. Take them."
The Kingdom's Dungeons were a set of Dungeons near the Capital that were reserved for the exclusive use of the Realm. Any card or Essence farmed inside was the King's property and it was farmed exclusively by Adventurer criminals, to fuel the war machine of the Realm. Every day you would be tossed into any Dungeon the Knights in charge saw fit, and you'd be stripped of everything you farmed upon exit. They didn't care if you died inside or how long you stayed in.
Worse yet, there was a quota every inmate had to fill, set at the whims of the warden. If you used Essence above the allowed, or any cards that showed a change of Status, or, gods forbid, an Anima Crystal, it was considered theft from the King and immediately dealt with. Failure to meet one's quota meant you'd be tossed into a Dungeon well above your own rank.
The two were shackled and tossed in the wagon. Nero's eyes met Katia's, mother of Cesar. She found a target to direct her anger and Nero regretted standing there, in the light, like a freaking lamp. The knights mounted their wagon and went out of town. Nero decided to hoof it too and shut the door behind him, locking it and moving a huge wooden log to block the entrance. Only then he went upstairs.
He found everyone inside his parent's bedroom. He only heard anything after he opened the door. Both Altia and his mother were kneeling on the rug, crying, and hugging each other. Never a good sign. Altia looked at him, ran, jumped on his neck and hugged him, bawling on his shoulder. Rhynne stood up and held Byron's arm.
Nero did his best to soothe Altia. The girl was a mess, her heart rate skyrocketing and she was almost strangling Nero. He didn't say a word. Any promises he made would be empty. He just hugged her back, the studs of his brigandine rubbing on her.
"Nero," Rhynne finally spoke, her voice breaking between sobs, "I have to explain. About Valanaago--"
"Say no more, mom. You owe me no explanation unless you told him to behave that way. And if you asked me, I'd tell you that you chose the better man."
Rhynne froze. She looked between Byron and Nero. The man spoke.
"I didn't tell him a thing. It is all him."
But Nero knew he'd scored big on the dad credit rating. Byron was grinning, pride beaming in his eyes.
It seemed that the friendly banter calmed Altia a bit. Nero kept rubbing her back.
"Nero, what happened?"
Nero told her of the conversation. How the elf tried to make him stick with a Rogue class and how the gnome gadgeteer stayed by Nero in order to make him accept a visit from another gadgeteer that might be interested in studying his level cap.
Then he told the events of just now. How the two Adventurers that had just moved into the rank II Dungeon were dragged, bound, and charged of falsehood by the Knights. How Mrs. Katia was probably hating them now, even though it was her idiotic son that decided to report Nero.
"You did well, son. There's a saying, 'to plant wheat, one must strain their backs. To harvest wheat, one must strain their backs. To eat wheat, one must fairly compensate those that strained their backs'. It means that to solve a problem, most of the time you end up with another problem. That the Knights went away with just a visit from a Gadgeteer and Katia's enmity, it is a good outcome. Those two acted on bad faith and are being punished for that. Her anger is misplaced."
'And there's nobody that can defy the two in this village,' Nero added in his mind. 'Power still matters. Not that they won't try to sideline us and attempt to make our lives miserable. Especially now that the secret is out.'
Nero caressed Altia's head, her bawling reduced to sporadic sobs.
"I thought they would take you away," She whispered.
"That elf has a bone to pick with our family. He was just using me as an excuse to hurt all of us, especially mom," He whispered back, knowing full well it was a futile endeavor to hide their conversation from Rhynne. Nero learned that the hard way as soon as puberty hit. He became a huge fan of trekking through the countryside and ranging far from his mother's ears, so he could... do what pubescent boys do in the spring of their youth.
"I know, she told me. That elf was a suitor. But if the choices were between him and your father, you are right. Rhynne chose the best man."
Byron frowned a bit.
"Because then there wouldn't be a Nero for me."
She kissed him.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Byron clapped his hands, doing some damage control. "Okay, kids, you are still caked in Dungeon... nevermind, self-cleaning armor. Good choice. You are tired of your Delve, go to sleep. Altia, would you stay in the guest room, please?"
"If that's fine by you, Mr. Byron. But the Knight's visit wore me out even worse than the four days in the Dungeon."
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Nero was expecting a lynch mob the next day, and the narrow-minded townsfolk didn't disappoint. He woke up with a stone hitting his window shutters, one of many that followed. He stood up, stretched, ignored the blurb of voices outside, dressed up for a normal day of delving, checked his equipment, charged his clockwork shield and sword, organized his cards for delving, setting aside the ones for trading and the ones for long-term keeping, and then went out of his room to do his morning business.
After the close call with the country's most elite force yesterday, the pitchfork crowd outside was nothing.
Downstairs, he met his mother and gave her a filial hug and kiss. Altia and Byron soon joined for breakfast and they were halfway done when someone banged on the door.
Byron had a half-scowl-half-sadistic smile in his face as he stood up. "I'll get it."
He went outside and a heated argument went on. Nero finished his tea, ate his freshly mom-baked bread, the best kind, and gently dragged his chair back.
Altia looked between him and Rhynne. "How can you keep calm when the whole village is out there to get us?"
Nero shook his head. "Tier four classes. To scratch dad, you'd have to bring the Knights back. And the village knows that very well." It was sour in his mouth but it was the truth.
"That's not it, Nero. We came to this village to raise you among your own kind. Now that you are able to earn a living on your own, we were... how can I say it..."
"You are going back to delving, right?" Nero concluded.
"After your wedding. Altia's father should return in a day or two, you propose, we will skip the engagement time and go straight for the ceremony. If you are fine with us doing things that way, Altia."
Nero knew that the pacing was too fast for her. But the circumstances changed.
"I don't know, Mrs. Rhynne. I need to talk to my father."
"Valanaagornif got interested in you, and I know he wasn't jesting. Altia, you are a woman and your Level cap is high enough to put you in the crosshairs of a lot of people. Important, powerful people. I know that and mine is a dozen lower than you. You love my son and I am eternally grateful for that. But you have to understand what it means to be a woman with a high-Level cap in this world. Do you?"
Nero used the conversation to practice his father's ultimate skill, 'find interesting smudges on the ceiling rafters'.
"I think I do Mrs. Rhynne. I would be delighted to be your daughter-in-law. If Nero would have me."
And he failed miserably at becoming one with the background.
"Me? O-of course, Altia. I love you too, let's get married. I'll make a formal marriage request to your father once he gets back."
Yes, way to go, you dummy. Hesitate when she needs you most, he berated himself. It was not that he didn't love Altia, because he did. It was just that things were moving too fast and what the Colonel said yesterday stung him a bit. That a noble could give her things he would never be able to. All he could do was farm a rank I Dungeon forever.
"Why the sudden cold feet?" She asked, equally annoyed and hurt.
"I love you Altia, and nothing would make me happier than to have with you what mom and dad have. A lifetime of true companionship through thick and thin. But you could live a life of luxury, you know? Become a noble lady, have access to the best cards ever, yellows or above, even."
She punched him. It hurt. Altia stood up and her chair fell back, clattering on the kitchen floorboards.
"Nero of the Minnid tribe. If the choices I have are to become some noble jerk's breeding slave or to live on the run with the level zero of my dreams, I know very well what I want."
She was good with words. And also very cute when angry. And Nero should probably pick his mind out of the gutter. But one thing made him smile.
"Of your dreams? Which kind of dreams? Please, tell me more!"
That her cheeks became red-hot and she looked away was enough of an answer. Embarrassed Altia was also cute. Who was he kidding, any kind of Altia was cute. The only thing he could do was to seize her waist and kiss her lips. She answered in kind and they would forget they were in the kitchen with a murder mob outside being pacified by Byron of all people if Rhynne hadn't made a dreamy sigh.
"O to be young. To be kissed with such burning passion and innocence again."
The two youngsters broke out in laughter.
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Outside, Byron was about to gain an Accolade in Willpower, if such a thing was possible through mere crowd management.
"You turned the knights on us! Because of you, my son is being sent to the mines! I don't know what kind of trickery you did to hide your son's level, but it is my child that is paying for that!" Katia shouted at him.
"Who wrongly reported Nero to the Knights?" Byron asked, trying to not let his temper run out of control. He'd smash the whole village. The thing was, the Minnid tribe was not well-regarded in this world. They were few and all this infighting didn't help.
"It is your fault! Why are you hiding your son's level from the Knights?"
"I am not. Master Gadgeteer Tinkwezilsky himself attested through as many tests as he wanted. My son's level cap is zero."
Byron paused and withdrew a half-step. He was surprised with himself, with how easy it came out of his lips, with the pride he imbued into those words. His son was a nothing, just a step better than a street beggar. A waste of money. Any of the people in front of him, if given an Arbitrium, would have a level cap higher than his. And yet...
He blinked, ignoring the rambling of the people. They were insignificant. The few that had devices, they were long resigned to just the taste of power they obtained before it became too dangerous to delve. The early choices mattered more than they wished to admit. Nero did well in seeking a blue card for Altia, even if it wasn't the best. The kids the Knights took, they would never reach their full potential. They doomed themselves by slotting white cards as their Class and Skills options.
Byron felt he was done with the village of Hom. Nero was a grown man, handicapped, truly, but capable of standing out on his own. That he dismissed him during the talks yesterday and reached a satisfactory conclusion even against the overwhelming odds, it was amazing. Byron had his weapons and armor slotted, ready to go ballistic against the Knights. He fiddled with his device. The purple card, the [Manslayer Greataxe of Carnage] was still there. It would be a legendary weapon, one to change the tides of war, if he could find a [Permanency XXXIX] pink card.
It was of a strength above his current level, but his yellow [Armsmaster] Class had a special feature that allowed him to reduce the requirements for weapon cards by 20%. The weapon card itself was worth a King's ransom, but for his son, even if he was crippled, he'd burn it and become a criminal.
He just navigated the rest of the argument, replying with the same words. If the village needed someone to be a sounding board for their bottled-up resentment at their own weakness of body, magic, and most importantly, character, he was the man for the job.
He heard laughter coming from the house. The only two youngsters that mattered were happy and in love. And safe. That was all that mattered.
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> [Manslayer Greataxe of Carnage] - purple Equipment - Main Hand. Requires level 198. Requires +400 Strength, +200 Endurance, +200 Willpower
>
> +160 Strength
> +100 VIgor
> +20 Endurance
> +50 Dexterity
>
> +20 Willpower
>
> "Oh, the slaying of kin, the greatest tragedy of all. Were the people to cast away their wicked hearts, the world would be truly paradise."
>
> Special: All attacks made with this weapon cost 1 Stamina and 1 Mana.
> Special: All damage against people is tripled.
> Special: All damage after armor is doubled.
> Special: Attacks that deal at least 1 damage cause [Bleeding] for 120% of damage dealt over 10 seconds.
> Special: For 5 seconds after drawing blood, gain 100% attack and move speed.