Duncan didn’t have time to protest before an Ability Slip once again appeared in Neta’s hand. It looked just like the one she’d shown him before their spar. He was beside her this time so he could feel the mana rippling off the artifact.
“This might look like blue paper, but it’s actually solid mana.” Neta held the Slip as though it were a precious gem. “These are normally only earned as rewards for clearing temporary realms. That’s why they’re so valuable. Not only do they unlock new Abilities, but they’re also dangerous to acquire. Non-combatants rely on delvers for Slips and protection, while delvers rely on non-combatants for almost everything else. That’s the natural cycle of the Realms.”
Neta approached Duncan, Slip still in hand. “Like you said, we Kunish have a lot of traditions. It’s customary for successful Subject Trial takers to receive their first Slip from their family and then earn the rest themselves. There are many reasons for this. It helps prevent over-reliance on others. Obtaining a complete set of Abilities gives young delvers something to work toward. It also helps create more powerful fighters since it’s common for the Realms to reward delvers with Slips well suited to their Subjects.”
Neta’s tone changed to one full of emotion. It pulled Duncan’s attention away from the piece of magic in her hand and up to her face. To Duncan’s utter astonishment, tears had begun forming in the matriarch’s eyes, and it looked like she was struggling to speak. Cinder’s face fell to the grass, almost as though he understood what was about to be said and didn’t want Duncan to see his face.
“I have… had two sons. Twins, actually. Gelden and Vin. Gelden is Cinder’s father, while Vin never married or had children.” Her voice came in trembling spurts now, and tears freely fell from her face. “They were on the same team, along with Gelden’s wife, Antonia.” At that name, Duncan heard a soft sob escape Cinder’s control. Antonia, Cinder’s mother, most likely.
“They all died 47 years ago. We don’t know exactly what happened. I wasn’t myself at the time because my husband had passed just months before. I hadn’t seen the boys or Antonia since before he died, and I didn’t bother to look into where they were.”
“The next thing I knew, a Guild representative was at the estate entrance. She tells me my sons and daughter-in-law died on a mercenary contract in another permanent realm. A terrible series of realm breaks had occurred. Their team went in to help however they could and didn’t return.”
Neta was weeping now. She’d fallen to her knees as she failed to contain her emotions. Cinder’s face was like solid stone. He was doing everything he could to contain his own sorrow as he walked over to his grandmother and held her against him. Duncan found himself staring down at his feet, blinking away tears of his own. He didn’t know exactly what he was feeling at that moment. He was stunned, as he’d never seen such emotion from his masters. He was sad, as he loved the O’Leons and knew he would have loved Gelden, Vin, Antonia, and Neta’s husband as he did the rest of them. He was also confused as to what had brought on this story.
Above all, though, he was grateful. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t help the feeling. He was grateful the O’Leons had taken him in. He was grateful he had two masters who had dedicated so much time and effort to his training. He was grateful he’d found people he knew would mourn losing him if one day he also didn’t make it back.
As he stood there, trying to find the right words to express his thanks and his ache for their loss, he realized he didn’t have to find the words at all. He knew these two. He’d lived and trained with them for two years. They didn’t want anything from him.
But there was a reason Neta had told him this story. The entire O’Leon family had always avoided talking about Cinder’s parents and Neta’s children, likely because of the very scene taking place before Duncan now. So, Duncan waited in respectful silence as he struggled to control his own tears.
It only took a few minutes for Neta to regain control. Cinder pulled her back to her feet, and while Duncan could still see the sorrow in her eyes, he could also see resolve begin to take hold.
With a voice hoarse from crying, Neta spoke. “I tell you this because I…no, we want to offer you something.” She looked to Cinder, who gave her a slight nod and a bright smile. “As I said before, according to tradition, you should receive your first Slip from your family. I hope you will accept your first Slip from me now, regardless of what you decide.”
“Decide?” Duncan asked.
“The O’Leon family would be honored to have someone such as you, Duncan,” Neta said, giving him a warm smile that transformed her face from a portrait of grief to one of hope. “I would be honored and proud to call you my son. If you would agree, I’d like to adopt you in the eyes of the Realms.”
Duncan’s mind froze. Adopt? Him? Those two words were all he could think of for what felt like hours. When he finally moved past them, his mind hopped from one question to another. What about his family back on Earth? Why would Neta and Cinder make this offer in the first place? What did she mean by in the eyes of the Realms?
Upon seeing the conflict on Duncan’s face, Neta continued. “Cinder and Pheobe came to me with the idea a while ago, and at first, I thought it would be a bad idea. If I were you, I’d probably see accepting this offer as a betrayal of my family on Earth. Your family obviously means more to you than you could express. But then I remembered who you are. You move with purpose and don’t jump to conclusions. You seek answers when you can and almost always think before you act. So, I decided you would likely want to hear the offer and the reasons behind it.”
She paused, waiting to see if Duncan had anything to say or ask. He simply stood there, staring at Neta. The conflict was gone from his face, replaced with curiosity and maybe the slightest bit of hope.
“The first and most important reason for the offer,” Neta explained, “is that we see you as family already. Regardless of what you decide, that won’t change. My grandson here even challenged me to a duel when he heard I was going to ask you to be my adopted son instead of you being his.” Cinder’s hand on the back of his neck and embarrassed grin were all the confirmation Duncan needed for that claim. The young human couldn’t help but snort. He also couldn’t help the pride that swelled in his chest. Pride and happiness. “The second reason, and the reason it makes sense to make it a formal adoption recognized by the Realms, is that it would give you both protection and a disguise.”
Duncan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He understood the protection part. The O’Leon family name was a powerful thing. While they didn’t abuse it, they certainly relied on it to open doors and prevent some aggression from other influential houses. What he didn’t understand was how it would provide him with a disguise.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Upon voicing his confusion, Cinder was the one who gave him an answer. “Identification Abilities and compendium scrolls can be used to identify people. If someone from Corvelin successfully identified you at this moment, they will see the name Duncan Tell since that is what the Realms know you as. Who knows if they are looking for you or if someone will recognize the name? If you are officially adopted, then your name, when identified, will change to Duncan O’Leon.”
Duncan’s heart skipped a few beats after Cinder’s words. He couldn’t help but imagine a world where he arrived in Corvelin as planned while the Realms saw him as his father’s son, giving him the name Duncan Mayfield. The thought both scared him and reminded him that he’d never told the O’Leons his whole story. He resolved then and there to tell them everything the next time they were all together.
“So,” Neta said, “those are our reasons. Do you have any questions?”
“Yeah,” Duncan responded. “I can’t help but think it would make more sense for Cinder and Pheobe to adopt me. Why do you want to?”
Neta’s smile was many things. It was sad, excited, proud, and resolute. “I don’t expect you to replace the two sons I lost. I just know that I’ve come to love you like a son, so why not make it so.” After a brief moment, she continued with a mischievous tone, “I also think it would be hilarious for you to be Cinder’s uncle.” The laugh that escaped her lips was filled with joy. Duncan couldn’t help but join in after seeing Cinder’s look of pure horror. It took almost five minutes for them all to stop laughing after Cinder finally decided he also thought it was funny.
“Well, I don’t need to think about it,” Duncan said, whipping the tears of laughter and emotion from the corners of his eyes. “I will always be a Tell; I know that. But I also know that I would like nothing more than to be an O’Leon as well. My parent’s on Earth… I’ve never completely explained my family’s situation to you. I would now, but I think Phevona and Pheobe deserve to know as well, so I’ll wait until later to go into details.”
“Suffice it to say, the mom and dad I’ve spoken of are actually my aunt and uncle. They’ve done more for me than I could have possibly asked. They took me in. Gave me a family. Protected me. I say all this to get across that they would want nothing more than for me to accept your offer, and they would be thankful beyond measure to you both and the others. So, I accept… if you’ll have me.”
Duncan’s acceptance was met with joyous smiles, whoops, and a new notification nudging at his consciousness. A simple acknowledgment was all he needed to pull up the words delivered to him by the Realms themselves.
You have accepted an offer of official adoption from Orneta O’Leon. From this day forth, you shall be known as Duncan O’Leon. Duncan Tell’s name has been changed to Duncan O’Leon in the Subject Interface.
Duncan smiled upon seeing the notification. “Seems like it worked,” he said. “The Realms officially changed my name.”
Neta and Cinder approached Duncan, giving him hugs and expressing their welcome to the family. “Phevona is going to be so mad she wasn’t here for this,” Cinder said after separating from the embrace.
“Pheobe too,” Neta said. “She was more angry than Cinder when I said I’d be the one offering to adopt you.”
Duncan could only smile. Some people might see his family situation as strange. He chose to focus on the fact that he now had two families he knew would fight to protect him, and he knew he would fight to protect in turn.
Neta held her hand out to Duncan, who saw it still held onto the Slip from before. “My husband was a defender. He died protecting his team, as he said he would gladly do if needed.” She indicated the Slip in her hand. “He didn’t think this Slip would fit his own style, but he always said it was his favorite because it represented what he wanted to have with me. He gave it to me as a gift when he asked to court me many years ago. I’ve had it ever since.”
There was no regret or indecision in Neta as she turned her gaze from the Slip in her hand to her new son. “I know for a fact that he would have loved you as we do. He would have seen your work ethic as something out of legend. He would have bragged about your talent to anyone who would listen. And he would have wanted you to have his favorite Slip because he’d think it was perfect for you.”
Duncan didn’t know what to say. First, Neta offers to adopt him, not only for protection but also out of a genuine desire for him to join her family. Now, she wanted to give him something so sentimentally important to her. He wanted to refuse, but, again, he knew his master. She would not take no for an answer.
Eventually, Duncan settled on asking, “What was his name?”
“Aludwin. Dwin for short.” Neta said. Duncan nodded, sending his thanks to the man he’d never know, and accepted the Slip from Neta’s outstretched hand.
The moment he touched it, he felt the mana in the item interact with his mana. It was almost like they were communicating, and Duncan could feel the two pools of power, one his own mana, the other the Slip itself, trying to become one. Another new notification popped up in Duncan’s mind.
You are currently in contact with a tier one Ability Slip. This Ability Slip is filled with the concept of ‘Connection.’ Would you like to bond with the Ability Slip of ‘Connection?’
A tier one Slip filled with the concept of connection. Duncan wasn’t sure what all the information meant, but he figured if he could trust anyone to have his best interest at heart, it would be Neta. So, he thought yes at the notification.
Which Subject would you like to bond the Ability Slip of ‘Connection’ to?
Duncan thought of his THE QUINTESSENTIAL SWORD Subject, and then the feeling of two magnetic forces being forced apart ceased, and the Slip disappeared.
For bonding with a tier one Ability Slip of ‘Connection,’ you have been granted the Combat Ability [Sword Bond].
You have unlocked a new Ability for your Combat Subject, THE QUINTESSENTIAL SWORD. You have unlocked one of fifteen combat Abilities.
Duncan navigated to the list of his Abilities’ descriptions and focused on his newest entry.
Combat Ability: [Sword Bond]
Effect 1: You can bond with up to three swords. Small mana cost.
Effect 2: You can feel the presence of any bound sword. No mana cost.
Effect 3: You can instantly teleport to any bound sword within a small radius around you. Small mana cost. Five-second cooldown.
A smile spread across Duncan’s face after he finished reading the description. He immediately summoned one of the short swords he’d crafted from his [Quintessential Armory] and initiated the bonding effect of his [Sword Bond] Ability. For the first time, he felt his mana surge out of him. It traveled from around his body to his hand and into the sword.
The process took less than two seconds, and Duncan now had a sixth sense telling him exactly where his newly bound sword was. Then, he sent the sword back into his [Quintessential Armory]. He could still feel the sword. It was just like how he could tell what was inside his armory, just more focused.
Deciding it was time for more fun, Duncan withdrew his bound short sword again. This time, instead of being summoned in his hand, the sword appeared at head height three meters away. For the first time, he’d used the function of his Fusion Ability that allowed him to summon the swords he crafted anywhere in a small radius around him. It seemed three meters was the extent of that small radius.
As the sword descended towards the ground point first, Duncan activated the third effect of [Sword Bond]. With no delay between activation and arrival, Duncan appeared, holding his bound short sword, three meters away from where he’d been just an instant before.
Duncan turned to look at his now smiling masters. “Ok, that was awesome!” Cinder exclaimed.
Taking on an air of seniority, Duncan nodded and said, “You’re right, nephew, it was.”
Duncan could have sworn Neta’s laughter could be heard from the city. Just before he could begin messing with her in turn, she caught on to his mischievous look and snapped out, “If you call me mom, I’ll throw you in the Ocean.”
“Yes, Master,” Duncan sighed.