The Marigold Kingdom has a famous army in this part of the continent. The reason was because they’ve produced countless stars who later became war heroes over the years. There was one reason for this, the military program that they had.
Their military program was so harsh but affective, that it’s said that as long as you survive the entire training program you’ll have a bright future ahead of you in warfare.
The place where this military program was based was called the Scorpion’s Nest, and it was located on the eastern edge of the capital city. It covered several hundred acres of land, and housed majority of the country’s soldiers, which numbered in the tens of thousands.
The current leader of this place was none other than the First Prince, James.
*Bam!*
Currently, he was in a heated battle with someone who was dressed in a soldier’s uniform. It was Amelia.
The two were clashing with their fists, rather than their swords.
*Bam!*
Amelia was hit in the stomach so hard her feet was forced off the ground. She gritted her teeth, and jumped back to create some distance between she and James.
“Heh.”
James looked at her and smirked. That just pissed her off.
She clenched her fists and shot towards him. James welcomed her with a kick aimed at her side. Amelia jumped over it and flipped frontwards, and swung her heel towards the top of James’s head.
James stepped back and avoided it, before slamming his fist into her midsection.
*Bam!*
“?!”
However, James felt like he struck iron rather than flesh. A slight pain ran through his hand, which made him delay his next action by a couple seconds. But that was more than enough for Amelia.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she took a step forward and threw a punch with all of her strength.
“?!”
James watched as her fist turned metallic as it came closer to him.
*Bam!*
He was hit in the stomach so hard that it felt like he was hit by a truck.
“Ugh?!”
Even so, he didn’t fall. He gathered power in his leg and swung it, slamming it into Amelia’s side.
“Ahh!”
She was propelled to the side, and her body bounced off the ground a few times before stopping.
“Shit….That hurt.”
James said while touching the spot Amelia punched him.
“Cough! Cough!”
Amelia on the other hand, stood up while coughing.
“I still couldn’t win.”
She said.
“True, but you had me on the ropes there.”
James approached her and said.
“Ohhhhhh!”
Suddenly cheers poured down on the two. They were being watched by other soldiers.
“Man, that was great! It’s always exciting watching the prince and Amelia spar.”
“I know what you mean! My blood is pumping!”
“I’m too worked up! Hey, who wants a spar!”
Various exciting comments came from those in the crowd.
“When did you learned to use Iron Skin?”
James asked while waving at his men.
“I asked Rory to teach me. Although he only gave me a couple demonstrations and told me to figure out the theory behind it.”
Amelia replied.
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
James asked.
“How so?”
Amelia replied.
“I mean isn’t it hard to figure out how something works from just looking?”
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James asked.
“It is, but if you replay what you saw in your mind over and over again while trying various ways to imitate it, its possible to learn it.”
Amelia replied.
“Also, this way I have a better understanding of the technique and can continue to customize it to my use.”
She added.
James smiled at her answer.
“We really are a like, you know that.”
He said.
“I too prefer to do things that way too, because just like you said it allows me to understand not only the task, but myself better.”
He added.
“Is that so? I guess we’re both hard workers.”
Amelia smiled at him.
“What’s this? Are you two flirting again?”
Somebody walked up to them and said.
“Stop that, Omar. Amelia doesn’t like it.”
James said, however his tone indicated that he was happy to hear what Omar said.
“My apologizes, it’s just a harmless joke.”
Omar said.
“I don’t mind.”
Amelia said.
“Your personality is quite different from how you were in tournament. Is this how you really are?”
She asked.
“Hahaha! No, Amelia. That’s a part of his personality too.”
James said.
“This guy is both aggressive like a bull, and as tame as a house cat. It just depends on the time and place for him to show the different sides of himself.”
He said.
“I see.”
Amelia said.
‘Now that you mention, people are indeed complex. There’s no way you can describe someone with one word because they have many sides to them. This is why someone can have multiple Animus at once, because they have multiple sides to them.’
She thought.
“Oh, I really liked your Animus.”
She said to Omar.
“Thanks. I worked hard to create it.”
Omar was pleased for being praised.
“Even Rory liked it.”
Until he heard the name he didn’t want to hear the most.
“….Yeah, I know. That’s why he stole it.”
He said with a depressed tone.
“Hey, how did he do that anyway?”
Omar asked.
“I don’t know. I asked him once and he said that he just copied and customized it to his likening.”
Amelia responded.
“Hey, how do you create an Animus?”
“?!”
Both Omar and James were shocked to hear her question.
“How? Don’t you have an Animus?”
James asked.
Amelia shook her head.
“Seriously…”
Omar was lost for words.
“And you’re so powerful?”
“Didn’t Rory teach you?”
Amelia shook her head again.
“I’ve only known Rory for a little under six months. Before then I was self taught. I only heard about animus after I joined the tournament.”
She shocked both of them.
“That’s really hard to believe.”
Said James.
“Either way, I want to try developing an animus of my own. I haven’t asked Rory because I want to take him by surprise and crush him when I have the chance.”
Amelia said.
“I can’t understand the nature of your relationship with each other.”
Said James.
“However, if you want to create Animus I can help. Well, not me personally though.”
“Then who?”
James smiled.
“I’ll introduce you to my master.”
“Master? I thought you said that you were trained by the country’s top warriors?”
Amelia asked.
“I was. But I also had a personal master that taught me everything I knew about fighting. They also oversaw my training with other warriors.”
James replied.
“I see. So when can we meet him?”
Amelia asked.
“We can go now.”
“Is that okay?”
James nodded.
“Yeah. I was supposed to meet them today anyway. In fact, I should’ve already met them by now.”
“Is it okay to stand them up?”
Amelia asked.
“Nope. Not at all.”
James then turned to Omar.
“If I don’t come back alive, I want you to carry on my dream.”
He said.
“Of course, your majesty.”
Omar answered solemnly.
“May the Sacred God guide you.”
James nodded.
“I’m off.”
“Men, salute the prince as he embark on this dangerous journey!”
Omar shouted. All of the soldier lined up and showed James a salute.
“Take care, Your Majesty! May god be with you!”
The soldiers said in unison.
“Yeah….I’ll be sure to make it back alive.”
James saluted back and spoke with teary eyes. He then turned his back to them.
“Let’s go.”
He then started to walk away.
“Good luck, your majesty!”
“May the gods watch over you!”
“Don’t run, it will only make things worse!”
Various words of encouragement could be heard behind him.
Seeing all this, Amelia-
“No…..Isn’t this a bit too overdramatic? He’s just going to meet his master.”
She said while following behind him.
They left the Scorpion’s Nest and headed to the northern section of the capital.
“Where are we going to meet your master?”
She asked.
“Outside the capital.”
James replied.
“We’re leaving the city?”
He nodded.
“We’re going to the mountain range in the north. That’s where my master and I always meet to train.”
“What, is he an hermit or something?”
James burst out laughing when he heard that.
“No, my master isn’t a hermit. It’s just that my training is so intense that if it occurred in the city, there would be too much destruction.”
He said.
“You’re that strong?”
Amelia asked in surprise.
James shook his head.
“Not me, my master.”
He said.
“Let’s hurry. If I meet up with them soon, I might still have a chance at leaving a body to bury.”
After he said that, he increased his speed and Amelia had to work hard to catch up. They ran for a while and left the city and entered the mountain range.
“So where is your master? Don’t tell me that we have to climb the mountain too?”
Said Amelia.
“No, they should be around here.”
James looked around.
“You have some nerve keeping me waiting, Jamie.”
“?!”
James body suddenly stiffened when he heard a melodic voice reach his ear.
He quickly tried to turn around.
*Bam!*
However, before he could properly do so, he was hit and blown away by a powerful force.
*BOOM!*
Amelia heard a loud explosion behind her, and quickly turned around.
“?!”
When she looked, she saw a human shaped hole on the side of the mountain. From the size and shape of the hole, she immediately knew who was used to create that hole.
“James?!”
She shouted.
“For goodness sakes.”
“?!”
She heard a voice behind her. This voice made all of her hair stand up, as she felt a cold chill ran down her spine. Cold sweat quickly covered her body. She wanted to move but couldn’t.
“I wondered why he was late, but it turns out that he was messing around with some lass.”
The voice got closer to her ear. It was only then Amelia forced herself to turn around. When she did, she saw something unexpected.
In front of her were two persons. The first one had dark hair and skin, brown eyes, and was dressed in a tuxedo. He was quite handsome and had a friendly smile on his face.
He was the servant who led her and Rory into the throne room when they first met the king. She remembered him introducing himself as Richard.
The second one was the closest to her and someone she’s never seen before. It was a woman with tanned skin, black long hair, purple eyes, and a beautiful face despite having a frown on it. She was dressed in an ankle length dark pants, strapped heels, and a short blouse that left her stomach exposed.
It was obvious that the voice belonged to her.
‘W-What the hell…..’
Amelia was completely shocked as she looked at the woman. It was because she gave off a terrifying pressure just by standing there. There was only one person she knew who gave off such an overwhelming feeling just from breathing.
That was Rory.
“Damn, brat! So you’ve finally started chasing women and now feeling all grown up huh?”
Said the woman.
“I’ll beat some discipline in you as your master!”