Outlands, Serisis.
9:40 a.m. 15 th Banem 1092.
A cold breeze blew past the cracked earth as a heavy chill descended on the plains. Three parties cautiously eyed each other, hesitant to engage one in fear of the last party taking the opportunity to launch a deadly attack.
The three parties consisted of Ragnaf, Rudega, and Durst in one party, Brilith Loneheart’s gang in the other, and the final being the patrol team of about 50 soldiers led by Serisis’ fiery princess, Chu Ling.
Considering Chu Ling’s bombastic personality, there was no way she would wait for either party to respond. With a loud snort, she drew tugged on her bowstring as she approached Brilith and Ragnaf. “I asked for your name,” Chu Ling chided as she glared at GrizzlyDiamond. However, she shook her head before he could even respond and asked, “Which of you caused those earthquakes?”
“Earthquake?” Brilith murmured with a frown. No one in her party could cause an earthquake (directly). Plus, she hadn’t felt any tremors, so that meant it had occurred far outside her range of detection. If she thought of the people present, the only one capable of such a feat…
“It was you, wasn’t it,” Brilith said as she glanced at Rudega. Everyone followed her gaze to the weak-looking dwarf, disbelief in their ears.
“A small trick,” Rudega replied with a tight smile as he glanced at the woman who led the troops. Just from a glance, he could tell she was plenty strong. However, whether she was strong enough to handle these monsters called Summoned, he had no idea.
However, Rudega had gambled all his mana to produce small earthquakes nearby and ensured they grew weaker towards their position in the hopes that someone perceptive would follow and seek out the source. All he could do now was wait and see if his gamble would pay off.
Rudega brushed himself off and walked in front of Ragnaf. He bowed to Chu Ling, who maintained an equal distance of about ten meters between both parties, forming a strange triangle. “Esteemed miss, my name is Rudega Farvulia, of the dwarven Farvulia household. My companions and I are refugees from a scheme to start a war in Daggerfall. We wish to seek asylum in Serisis temporarily. Is it possible to have our wishes related to the King?”
Chu Ling frowned and looked at Durst, who still lay on the ground. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He has been poisoned,” Rudega stated.
“Poisoned?” Chu Ling repeated in disbelief. “Even an orc can be poisoned?” She said, looking at Ragnaf. Her shock was justified. Orcs were notorious for their tough physiques, which could not only heal from basically any non-life-threatening injury, but were also highly resistant to most poisons and disease ailments.
“I don’t know how,” Ragnaf responded to Chu Ling’s questioning gaze. “I’ve never seen an orc fall to poison.”
“It should be a special poison crafted by the wisben,” Rudega explained as he looked at Brilith. “He’s been in a coma for several hours now. He is in desperate need of a healer.”
Chu Ling nodded and then turned to examine Brilith’s party. “Seem’s you’re the ones responsible for this? Identify yourselves. I don’t recall the presence of such powerful Summoned in our country. What’s your purpose?”
“This damned…” GrizzlyDiamond spat in rage as he brandished his sword, causing the soldiers around Chu Ling to draw theirs similarly. “Even though you’re just a bunch of one’s and zeroes… You’re all acting too cocky…”
“One’s and zeroes,” Chu Ling muttered as she handed the bow to one of the accompanying soldiers and dismounted. She pulled out a dazzling red sword from the saddle and frowned as she pointed it at GrizzlyDiamond. “I do not know why, but those words offend me. I’ve changed my mind. You can tell me who you are after I beat you all into submission.”
GrizzlyDiamond snorted as he took a step forward. “With just you? You’re not capable enough.”
“Whether or not I’m capable…” declared Chu Ling as a tremendous fiery aura exploded forth from her, swiftly raising the temperature in a mile radius to boiling points. The warrior princess’ ki took the form of a raging phoenix as it spread its wings behind her, its burning red eyes locked onto the insignificant ants before it.
GrizzlyDiamond gritted his teeth. Shit, this woman was much more powerful than he initially thought. Just looking at that monstrous energy caused sweat to pool on his forehead. He did not know when, but at some point, he began to lose his grip on his sword due to sweat.
However, it was now faced with this impossible challenge, that the gamer pride within GrizzlyDiamond surged and showed its unreasonable crazy head. “So what if you’re a little stronger than me,” GrizzlyDiamond laughed as he took a step forward. “It won’t be the first time I’ve cross-level challenged.”
Unfortunately, just when GrizzlyDiamond was about to launch his attack, a thick 5-meter tree root shot out of the ground and blocked his path. The man looked back in confusion at his guildmaster, whose cold eyes were fixed on Chu Ling.
“You must be Chu Ling, younger princess and second-in-line to the throne of Serisis,” Brilith said with a light smile. “I heard you were a powerful warrior who dedicated her life to the frontlines. It seems the rumors did not do the real person justice.”
“What the hell are you talking about now?” Chu Ling spat, unsatisfied with this roundabout way of speaking that was so common with nobles. “Are we fighting or not? If not, explain yourself. Why are you chasing these two men?”
Brilith maintained a passive smile as she softly replied, “The matter involving these two is one of state secrets. I am not at liberty to tell you that. However, I can tell you that my name is Brilith Loneheart. As for my authority, I am a Veridium Seeker from Gorun, capital of Ederwood.” She took out a platinum badge with a strange tree engraved on it and tossed it to Chu Ling. “See for yourself.”
Chu Ling’s eyes narrowed when she inspected the badge. It was indeed real, no doubt about it. She might not be well versed in mana, but even she was sensitive enough to feel the unique mana imprint reserved for items created by Ederwood’s political craftsmen. This imprint could not be forged as it was unique to each craftsman. Therefore, there was no way this badge was fake.
Which meant this woman who called herself Brilith Loneheart was indeed a Seeker. Now, this was troublesome.
Who were Seekers?
Seekers were a group of high-level elite task force sent out by the council of elders in Ederwood to handle various political matters. There were many ranks to these Seeker roles, and Chu Ling was not sure about all of them, but she did know that the highest rank was called Veridium, named after a rare tree that only grew near the capital.
Meeting a Seeker was equivalent to meeting Ederwood’s Council of Elders. If you found favor with them, by proxy, you also found favor with the Council. Likewise, if you found trouble with a Seeker, the council would seek vengeance.
Chu Ling did not know how this Brilith managed to become such a high ranked Seeker within just over a year (assuming she arrived at the same time as the first batch of Summoned), but the reality was before her. If this matter was not handled properly, it could lead to a war between Ederwood and Serisis.
A few months ago, Serisis would have welcomed a war. It would give them an excuse to plunder Ederwood’s resource-rich forests. However, ever since Rosendun came forward with their deal, a new path had opened up for Serisis. Right now, food was no longer a significant concern for the country, and by the time Rosendun’s transportation devices were completed, the nation would completely change.
Although the citizens had not yet been informed of the specifics, they had already begun to see the future potential in the food distributed to the many villages in those cold boxes. The country’s mood was on the rise right now, and a war would utterly shatter their hearts.
Serisis would join the warfront one day. Chu Ling did not doubt that. She might not be the best politician, but she could sense the continent’s changing tides. However, this was not the time.
Even so, if Chu Ling were to roll over and allow the wisben to do as she wished out of fear, she would not be the notorious fire princess. “A Seeker, is it?” Chu Ling said as she calmly returned the token with a casual toss. “I understand your position, but you should understand mine too.” Chu Ling’s brows furrowed as a frightening aura burst out from her. “This is not your country. This is Serisis, and I am her Princess. A visitor has personally asked a favor of me. Do you expect me to send them to their deaths willingly?”
Brilith smiled, but those who gazed at that smile felt their blood freeze. There was a large amount of venom hidden behind that smile. “Visitor, you say. Am I not a visitor too? Do the wishes of a Seeker not matter to Serisis’ princess? I am not asking you to do anything. Rather, just let us handle this between ourselves. We will take these two back to Daggerfall to face the price of their crimes.”
“You said it again,” Chu Ling chided with a harsh sneer.
“What?”
“Seeker,” Chu Ling elaborated with a frown. “You keep saying that word like it should scare me or something. Ah, you know what, I’m pissed off!” The princess scratched her head, glared at Brilith’s procession, and then roared, “I’ve changed my mind. Get your asses the fuck out of my country!” Before Brilith could respond, the princess sneered, “Ah, don’t worry, your highness. Serisis won’t aid these fugitives. They will pass by and go to Rosendun. You can do whatever you want in that country. But for now, can you guys kindly fuck off!?”
“Fuck off?” For the first time, Brilith’s smile stiffened. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing right now? You dare speak to me like that?”
“Ah, no wonder they call you Seeker. Clearly, you need to seek out some brain cells,” Chu Ling snapped. At this point, she had shed all pretense of a noble princess. “I want you all,” she said, pointing at Brilith’s party, “to leave my country the way you came. Is that too hard for you?”
The soldiers, seeing this Chu Ling, nodded their heads in acknowledgment. This was how their princess should be. That earlier nice, diplomatic girl act had been giving them shivers.
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Rage flashed in Roro’s eyes. Unable to bear the insulting comments any longer, she prepared to take a step forward. However, an arm cut across her chest, preventing her from moving. The little assassin looked up the arm to its owner’s chilly expression.
“Not now, Ro-chan,” Brilith whispered in a stiff tone. “We’ll deal with these people after we’ve fully taken over the Council of Elders.”
Brilith’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Chu Ling. “Thank the heavens for your heritage. If you were anyone else, you would no longer count among the living.” Without giving the enraged princess a chance to reply, she turned her attention to Rudega. “Well played, dwarf. You have managed to keep your lives thanks to your gamble.” A hint of a terrible smile spread at the edge of her lips as she looked pointedly at Durst. “However, that one will not be so lucky. There is no cure for the poison in his blood. You orcs might be strong, but even your regeneration has limits. I wonder how long he can hold out for. The record during our experiments was five days.”
Ragnaf’s eyes instantly reddened. “Experiments!?”
Rudega, sensing the orc’s rage, quickly ran forward and hugged Ragnaf’s right hand. “Do not engage. That is what they want so they can take us out in self-defense.”
“What a smart dwarf,” Brilith teased. “Do not worry. We will meet again soon.” With those words, she nodded at Roro, who then blew on a whistle.
Moments later, Rudega stared in shock as a 20ft long Thundergrowth Candor swooped down and landed in front of Brilith’s party, its beautiful blue and white wings glittering in the sun.
Brilith jumped onto and then sat down on the beast’s back. She was joined by her companions, who cast malevolent glares at the remaining parties.
“Serisis’ princess, Chu Ling,” Brilith greeted as the humongous bird took the sky and flapped its wings. “We will meet again soon. At that time, I will have you pay for your words.”
Chu Ling snorted as she watched the bird disappear into the clouds. “Spoken like a true cliché villain. Even the village kids have better lines…” Chu Ling shook her head and then turned to look at the quiet Rudega. “Who you are; where you’re from; why you really came here; how you got here; We have a lot to discuss.”
Rudega humbly bowed. “Yes. Yes, we do, Princess.”
???
9:50 a.m. 15 th Banem 1092.
Hektor, sweating profusely as he examined his right arm. A terrifying tribal mark occupied the entire arm, pulsating with power that greatly shocked the young man. He finally understood what the sword spirit meant when it said he had not received the full inheritance. Comparing the current mark’s presence to the previous was like comparing an elephant to an ant or the heavens to the earth.
Hektor circulated his ki, and to his surprise, the moment his ki flowed through his right arm, a stream of information piggy-backed on the ki flow to his brain, giving him a full understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of the mark. Hector immediately closed his eyes to digest the information, seemingly momentarily forgetting about the two realm-shaking figures waiting on him.
The slight frown on Sram’s face deepened when she saw this. “He’s truly just like him when he was young,” she muttered, and although she did not look at the sword spirit, they both knew who she was talking about.
The sword spirit shook its head and turned its attention to the struggling youth. However, his concentration was once again broken by Sram.
“Why are you helping him?”
The sword spirit turned to look at the war goddess. “I am afraid I do not understand your question. The child is taking a test like everyone else. I am not helping him.”
“Liar,” Sram snorted with a snort. “You might be able to fool him, but not me. These bones,” she said, pointing at the tiny mountains. “Even though hundreds of years have passed, I can still sense powerful mana and ki in some of them. These people were surely top warriors when they were alive. Do you expect me to believe there’s a test they can’t pass that this kid can?” Sram folded her arms and glared at the spirit. “You failed those people on purpose, but you are letting this child have a go. Why don’t you drop the pretense and surrender? The outcome’s going to be the same anyway.”
The sword spirit raised a brow. “You must have been lonely the past millennium. I do not recall you being this talkative.”
“You!” Sram bellowed as a daunting aura exploded outward. Luckily, she managed to retain the presence of mind to isolate Hektor from its effects as she glared at the sword spirit. “You want to die!?” She roared through gritted teeth.
The sword spirit’s red eyes flashed with excitement and apparent bloodlust as it challenged, “It’s not clear which of us will die.”
Sram lost it. To think a mere sword spirit would be this cocky in her presence! Furthermore, it was the sword spirit of the man she hated most! “Die then!” She roared and had already thrown the first punch when Hektor suddenly grunted.
The young man’s grunt as he opened his eyes awakened the war goddess from her rage. Sram’s fists abruptly stopped inches from the sword spirit’s chest. At the same time, her eyes narrowed as she looked to the side and saw the fist that had stopped inches from her face.
As expected of Razznik’s sword spirit. It didn’t hold back in the slightest despite facing a woman. Sram knew that if Hektor had not interrupted them, she would have been forced to eat that punch.
Of course, the sword spirit would also be forced to endure her punch, and in terms of damage value, her punch would be much higher than the sword spirit’s. However, something was intrinsically humiliating about being punched in the face compared to the chest, which was what the sword spirit had been aiming for.
Its thought process was straightforward. Even if you kill me, you too will die of humiliation and shame.
Sram harrumphed and returned to a neutral position as Hektor opened his eyes. She glared at the sword spirit who had similarly returned to his previous posture and sent a mental message. “I see you’re still good at provoking others.”
The sword spirit shrugged and said out loud, “It’s a handy skill.”
“What is a handy skill?” Hektor asked, finally fully awoken from his rumination.
“Provocation,” replied the sword spirit as it looked at the youth. “During your lifetime, there are people you’ll meet whom you want to fight but do not want to fight you. It can be because of cowardice, perceived class difference, or general indifference. At that time, if you are skilled enough to anger them into attacking you first, you can claim self-defense and happily go all out.”
Hektor could not help but grimace when he heard the sword spirit’s explanation. What’s worse, there wasn’t a single hint of shame on its face. Was this Razz guy a troublemaker? The young man could not help hating the fact that his memories were blocked. Hektor took a moment to recollect himself and then replied, “Will you teach me that too?”
The sword spirit shook its head. “Provocation isn’t something that is learned but rather experienced. Do not worry. I will slowly beat it into you over the next few days. More importantly, what effects did the mark bestow on you?”
[Mark of the Gods] manifested differently in individuals. High-class marks like the God of War mark usually had a foundation skill that all its users learned, and unique skills differed from one user to the next.
Hektor nodded and explained what he got from the mark. Just like Razznik did all those years ago, he got the [Weapons Master] skill. It functioned like Lunette’s [All for One] attribute, which she got from her mark. With weapon master, all Hektor had to do was focus on one weapon of the three main archetypes, bladed, blunt, and bow, and his proficiency on those weapons would scale to every other weapon he touched.
This meant that if he trained his sword to the master level, he would automatically become a master with a spear even if he had never touched it before. Furthermore, his proficiency with all weapon types escalated to Beginner Level 7, meaning a situation where he picked up a weapon and could not bring out the best of its abilities would never happen.
Hektor then explained the effects of his unique ability [Battle Thirst]. It was a strange art that absorbed a portion of the enemy’s ki to supplement his own during battle. Currently, the amount of ki it could absorb was minimal and almost insignificant, but Hektor knew that if he trained this skill to the peak, perhaps he would be able to end any fight on the first blow.
The sword spirit nodded. “Good. You passed the first test.”
Hektor’s eyes narrowed. “First test?”
“Yes,” the sword spirit confirmed. “The Unique skill in a god’s mark is a reflection of the bearer’s true personality. If you had gotten something defensive, I would have turned you to ash right here. I have no interest in becoming the property of someone who would hide and let someone else do the fighting for them.”
Hektor did not know why, but he thought of Kashi at that moment. Someone he felt the two were similar, always rushing to the frontlines. But contrary to the sword spirit’s arrogance in its strength, Hektor felt that Kashi did that because he had the confidence to trust his back and his people to others.
The young man did not know where the courage came from, but Hektor gritted his teeth and looked at the sword spirit. “You might as well turn me to bones now. Otherwise, just as you become my sword, I, too, am a sword for someone else. I will cut down whoever he asks me to cut down, and protect whoever he asks me to protect, even if it means my sword collects dust as a result.”
The sword spirit’s eyes narrowed. It reached out and grasped the handle of the devil blade buried in the rock. Following a light snort, he slowly pulled the blade out of the ground.
Hektor’s eyes trembled as the cavern trembled from a heavy earthquake. A monstrous aura burst out from the sword spirit, engulfing the young man and threatening to break his spirit. However, despite the heavy storm clashing against his heart and the fear that turned his knuckles white, the young man’s eyes maintained their resolve without a hint of regret. If he was to die here, so be it. But he would not shame Kashi by breaking down.
Sram, noticing the situation taking a turn for the worse, immediately stepped in front of Hektor. “I just gave this child my mark. Do you think you can kill him in my presence?”
“Kill him?” the sword spirit mocked with a terrifying grin. “Step aside, Sram. This child’s training is about to start.” It looked at Hektor with a menacing gaze that locked the young man in place. “Try not to die, kid.”
Sram swallowed hard when she saw the sword spirit’s grin. She recognized that toothy challenge anywhere. It appeared at the only time one could spot anything close to happiness on Razznik – the moment when he met an opponent he deemed worth fighting.
Sram looked at Hektor with pity in her eyes. She did not know what this child had said to ignite the sword spirit’s excitement, but this experience would surely be traumatic even if Hektor survived. No one had faced that grin and emerged the same afterward.
Sram had no intention of watching the torture that was sure to follow. Besides, she had already remained in the world for too long. After a moment of hesitation, she finally stepped into the void and disappeared.
Upon noticing the goddess’ absence, the sword spirit approached Hektor with its battle intent on full blast. “Alright, Kashi, let’s see just how strong this sword of yours is.”