Chapter 012:

Just to be clear, Alexander did not have the faintest interest romantically with anyone in this room.

‘Well, Mrs. Schuyler is pretty hot though…’

So he did not really care whether Erika was seeing Clive or not and really, it was none of his business. But with Eleanor’s words, his reputation was now on the line, and with regard to the complex social web inherent to every civilization, pride was essential.

Though exaggerated to say so: unless Alexander wanted to live as a social pariah, wasting the last bits of his life away in the woods, he needed decent social standing.

‘So retaliation is a must. Then again, I really am struggling to care here so I just might change the subject instead,’

While Alexander was thinking of such matters, by his side, Eleanor had shrunk back from Erika’s abrupt exclamation with a look of fear in her eyes; however, Alexander still did not fail to notice the hint of glee hidden beneath the fear.

On the other hand, Erika did not seem to be able to see through the ruse as she now sported an expression equal parts regret, embarrassment, and guilt.

The atmosphere grew awkward as she reseated herself. Beside her, Clive was sporting a shit-eating grin but still chose to remain silent.

Just as Alexander opened his mouth to speak, the Staff finally brought the food in and he instantly put the matter aside.

Pride be damned.

The smell alone made him forget about everything and everyone as he began salivating heavily.

It took every iota of willpower left within him to not start ravishing the contents on the table as he patiently waited for the king to carve the first meat. His majesty was speaking and the others were smiling but none of it registered with Alexander as the meat had stolen his senses.

The first bite was divinity itself and the second was even better. He damn near shed a tear as he thanked the bastard god for sending him to this world, he even began to consider that bastard’s request.

‘Heh, not really though,’ He admitted to himself as he took a big gulp of the fragrant fruit juice the staff had given him. It was cool and tart, a nice way to break up the meat’s grease.

The rest of the meal was a fever dream of gluttony. It seemed the food had softened the atmosphere of the table considerably and even Ellie seemed less mad. The three main men spoke merrily at times while at others, they sported solemn expressions as they discussed even more serious matters, but overall it seemed like everyone had forgotten the earlier verbal conflicts; this was a good thing as Alexander was not in the right headspace to fight a child.

After the blessed meal, dessert was served and as everyone sat around talking leisurely, sleep got a hold of him.

Fortunately, he did not dream of anything but unfortunately, he was rudely awoken some time later by a lingering, malicious gaze.

Groggily snapping his eyes open, his gaze sharpened at the sight of a tall and sturdy built man dressed head to toe in magnificent armor. He stood proudly to one side with impeccable form, the perfect representation of what a knight should be. However, the moment Alexander recognized who this particular knight was, his heart lurched to a stop as intense anger burned within him.

“Nox!” He spoke through gritted teeth.

“Oh Timmy, you’re awake,” a cheerful voice replied next to him.

Turning his head, his eyes met those of his ex-fiancee.

“Erika?”

“You fell asleep while eating dessert,” She said as she handed him a napkin.

Though puzzled, Alexander took it as she continued talking, “Ellie took the opportunity to pull a little prank,” She said wryly.

Finally noticing the fact that cream covered every inch of his face, Alexander grew annoyed and he begrudgingly began to wipe himself clean.

The two sat in awkward silence as he struggled to get every bit off. He could tell that there was something on her mind, but he did not care enough to prod her forward.

Finally, she gathered enough courage to squeak out: “W-what Ellie said was a lie, ok? Clive and I…He asked me but I didn’t,”

“Erika,”

“Y-yes!”

“We have nothing to do with each other anymore. Don’t worry so much about it,” He said half-heartedly as his attention was drawn elsewhere.

Erika was stunned for a moment before slight disappointment colored her face.

At the center of the room, the dining table was moved to the side so as to make room for what seemed to be a makeshift fighting ring.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Two knights in vastly differing armor traded blows with dulled weapons as Eleanor and Clive cheered from the opposing sides. Their placements outside the ring were enough to clue Alexander in on what was going on.

They were pitting their knights against each other’s.

‘So they do that here too huh,’ Alexander thought to himself as memories of the past clouded his eyes. He did notice however that the swords in this duel were dulled, much unlike his previous world.

In the ring, the fight was brought to an end as the Graveclaws knight smashed the pommel of his sword into the other knight’s helmet, firmly knocking him out.

Ellie despaired while Clive smiled smugly.

‘Fuck, those two brats are annoying,’ Alexander thought to himself as he picked apart another plate of dessert with his fork. Further looking around the room, he noticed a clear divide between the children and the adults. Over to where Nox stood, the two kings and the count spoke to one another in hushed tones over bottles of wine.

‘I could really go for some wine right now,’ He grumbled to himself.

“Looks like Ellie is getting desperate,” Erika finally spoke in order to make conversation.

Looking back over, he saw a new knight entering the fray. This one was scrawnier in build and it was all too obvious that he was on the young side.

“That’s the new guy that Ellie recruited, but can he really fight that well?” she muttered with a dubious expression on her face.

Unlike the previous knight, this new one did not wear a helmet, allowing everyone to see his nervous face.

‘Hmm, that guy…’ Alexander couldn’t help but take notice.

Once inside the ring, the young man’s resolute pair of eyes sharpened as he faced his opponent down.

Alexander had to admit that the child had a unique bearing ‘But he still isn’t as good-looking as me,’ he comforted himself.

Ability-wise, the child wasn’t as gifted. After carelessly closing in, the young knight was caught by a rough counter from his more experienced opponent.

Alexander grew bored as the outcome became clear instantly.

‘Guess I was wrong,’ He thought, shoving another forkful of dessert into his mouth and enjoying the sweetness of it.

But as he was chewing, he abruptly widened his eyes as he refocused on the fight.

In the middle of the ring, despite all odds, the young knight had yet to give up and was contending against his opponent in a battle of raw strength. Both warriors had their swords crossed as they each pushed against each other with all their might. Sparks flew from the dulled weapons and the wooden ground beneath their feet creaked under the pressure. At first, the young knight was obviously at a disadvantage, yet just as all seemed lost, he suddenly ignited with newfound strength.

Miraculously the young knight began pushing the other back.

“Wow!” The young woman beside him, Erika exclaimed as she stood from her seat in surprise.

‘Shit shit shit shit!’ Meanwhile, Alexander's brow creased at the startling revelation dawning on him.

Despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet, it was clear that the knight from Graveclaws was extremely surprised by how the fight was proceeding. In a last-ditch effort, he gave up all honor and disengaged from the struggle. He dropped his weapon and took a step back, intending to throw a wild punch straight at the young knight’s face. Unexpectedly, the young knight did not seem to fear this as he still pushed forward obstinately. Finally, the fight ended magnificently as the young knight’s shoulder connected with the older knight in a bash, barely pushing him out of the ring.

Cheers erupted from both Ellie and Erika at the underdog’s victory. The young knight smiled handsomely as he lifted his sword upward in victory.

Alexander slumped in his seat as he continued to curse the bastard god in his mind. ‘Of all the kingdoms in this world, why did I have to start off in the same place as a hero?’

That’s right, Alexander knew right away what the seemingly innocent young knight was. He was one of this apocalypse’s designated heroes.

{Attention! Another system user has been detected,} The All-bright system announced urgently.

‘Shit, he even has a system already!’ Alexander thought, gravely considering his options.

He could always choose to eliminate him, but looking around the room he was currently in, he was reluctant.

He once again marveled over how great of a start this life was. He had a great manor, close relations with the king, a flourishing business…in crime, and a struggling smithy. ‘No, the murder doesn’t have to be public. I can always try to assassinate him in secret!’ He told himself despite not having a lick of experience in assassination.

Others might consider his reactions as exaggerated, but Alexander always knew best. Having once been a hero himself, he knew how terrifying they were. In terms of ability, they grew fast and wild but that was the least problematic thing about them, the real kicker was the ‘Heroic Halo’ inherent to all those who opposed the apocalypse.

Heroes were basically walking talking omens of imminent destruction. The advent of this particular hero probably meant that Iron-wall will be ground zero for the apocalypse’s appearance.

While such thoughts plagued him, another person was unhappy with the young hero.

Clive had a stern expression on his face as he witnessed how enamored Erika was with the new knight.

“Congratulations brother,” He said as he stood up with an amicable smile on his face. “To be so young and yet so strong must have taken a lot of work. If you don’t mind, I’d like to exchange a couple of pointers with you,” He finished by picking up a dull sword and entering the ring without waiting for a reply.

The young hero was flustered for a moment as he looked nervously around the room, but upon seeing Clive’s disregard, he steeled his resolve and dropped into a proper fighting stance.

Needless to say, the surrounding guests were surprised, but not to the extent that one would imagine, which seemed to indicate that Clive had done this type of thing before.

A brief silence descended as both fighters stared each other down; It seemed they wanted to wait for the other to make the first move.

The tension was building around the crowd as everyone waited for who would make the first move. Alexander however was pretty calm; he already knew that Clive would break first.

"Ready yourself!" And Alexander was proven right as Clive announced before recklessly diving in.

From the onset, it was clear who had the advantage; Clive was outclassing the young hero in every aspect and soon, the latter was forced into a passive stance in order to block the barrage of attacks being doled out by the prince.

The outcome became apparent and the crowd grew disinterested.

“I expected better!” Clive mocked with a sadistic smile as he moved to finish the fight with a powerful swing.

Alexander, however, was still skeptical and he sat at the edge of his seat as he felt the young hero's gaze linger momentarily onto the air before his eyes.

Unlike the previous time, the young hero did not raise his stats, but rather, he used a skill instead.

A skill Alexander was all too familiar with.

{Berserker's Rage}