“Tell me, Lord Aiden Lacheart. Against all our precautions, have you acquired a unique skill?”
Brandis knew the answer even before he asked the question. Valdan, not knowing this aspect of the scripture, had passed on the young man’s progress with a smile on his face. It was always a thing of celebration whenever a person developed a unique skill.
Brandis would be lying if he claimed he hadn’t been happy to hear the news, too. One of the summoned of his kingdom was proving powerful and resourceful. But the Demon King was also going to be powerful and resourceful.
“Yes, your grace,” the young Lacheart answered.
Brandis had been testing the young man’s resolve. This had been a moment to lie. For all the summoned knew, the only way for a person to see another’s interface was if they allowed them. So Lord Lacheart could’ve lied, said he hadn’t gained one yet. There were a lot of ways to dance around the subject until he could dance no more. People lied about their skills, classes, levels, and a lot of things until they found out that someone stronger than them could see it whenever they wanted, unless they had the defensive skill to stop them, or an enchantment, or an artifact or the other designed for secrecy of such level.
But a direct answer? Brandis could respect that.
Derendoff’s aura came alive behind him and Brandis almost sighed. But he did not. When a Knight acted in a hurry, time became of the essence. If Derendoff was already moving, then the Knight had spotted a significant threat.
And Brandis was inclined to follow. He pitied the young Lord and the hand fate had chosen to deal him. Valdan had said many good things about Aiden. In most of them, he was inclined to believe that Aiden had the potential to escape and survive a fight any enemy with a level that was less than a hundred. It was high praise.
But while Brandis was willing to wait and see if the potential Demon King would survive the first cut from Derendoff, there were risks he was not willing to take.
So Brandis activated one of many skills.
You have activated [Blood Rush]
Effect: 89% increase in movement and reaction speed.
Duration: 00:04:00.
Brandis left his chair in a blitz of speed.
…………
You have activated [Orb of Lesser Speed]
Effect: 3% increase in movement speed.
Duration: 00:00:12.
…
You have activated [Cube of Lesser Endurance]
Effect: 8% increase in endurance.
Duration: 00:00:04
Aiden had never been so glad to see a notification in his life. He was also glad he had enchantments to work with. The increase to speed would help him move faster, even if by a very little margin, and moving faster was definitely important in this situation.
Derendoff’s blade was coming down on him. By its trajectory, it wouldn’t even split his head in equal halves. It was more on one side than the other, which meant Aiden had a chance. He pushed his body to obey him, ducking to the side, and away from the blow.
His head was out of harm’s way but it only took him a moment to realize he was not free. Derendoff’s sword would not split his head. But it was going to take his arm. His right arm.
He had been going for a strength enchantment for his second enchantment instead of endurance, but he’d been saddled with the wrong one. Still, maybe luck was on his side. Losing an arm would be terrible, but an increase in endurance would buy him a little more time to survive the blood loss. If he could get away with one arm, he could still survive.
Even as the blade came down on his arm, his mind was already looking through his memories. He could replace the arm. Nastild magic was powerful enough for that. He just needed to find someone skilled enough and a powerful items to support them.
Aiden grit his teeth for the pain. His only prayer now was that Brandis would underestimate him, believe Derendoff’s single strike would suffice to kill him. If he could take advantage of that, there was a chance of survival.
Then Brandis vanished from his chair and hope fled Aiden.
He couldn't dream of fighting the king.
Derendoff’s sword came howling down and pain flared in Aiden’s shoulder on impact. He bit back on it, already making his way for the side of the room when his body came to a halt, unable to move.
Someone had clamped a hand down on his uninjured shoulder.
Dread joined pain in a waltz all over Aiden’s mind.
“I must admit to being slightly impressed,” Brandis said, standing beside Derendoff and Aiden. “To avoid an instant kill from a Knight, changing it to a critical damage is impressive for someone of your level.”
The king had a firm hand holding Aiden in place by his shoulder while his other hand came between Aiden’s other shoulder and Derendoff’s sword, grasping the weapon by the blade.
Brandis offered Aiden a small apologetic smile before turning his attention to Derendoff.
“Stand down, Sir Derendoff,” he said in what seemed like a saddened voice.
Derendoff looked at him, flabbergasted. “But, my king—”
“Stand down!” Brandis barked.
“He is the Demon King!” Derendoff insisted, disobeying. “To slay him here is to solve the issue. We can save countless lives in this moment. You certainly cannot be serious.”
Brandis’ face twisted in a scowl. “I cannot be serious? You dare challenge your king?”
Derendoff’s blade trembled in Brandis’ hold as the knight tried to pull it away.
“My king,” Derendoff said. “This is for the greater good. We can vanquish the Demon King before he becomes the Demon King. Save the entire world.”
“The greater good?” Brandis repeated, and his voice was steel. “You have always been an unfortunate Knight, Derendoff.”
Derendoff released his sword, abandoned it to Brandis’ hold, and darted back. He’d barely crossed any distance when the King’s hand left Aiden’s shoulder and grabbed the knight by the front of his armor, taking purchase in the collar of his breastplate.
In a single move, Brandis stopped Derendoff’s retreat and brought him down to his knees. The ground cratered under the force of the action and the red carpet dipped into the depression.
“Do not move, young Lacheart,” Brandis said, but his eyes never left Derendoff. “What you are about to witness is the will of a king.”
Derendoff stared up at the king with trembling eyes. “My king, you must slay the Demon King. Do not let your kind heart lead you to mistakes.”
Brandis' hand still holding the blade of Derendoff's sword trembled with rage. “And your devotion to doing as you please has already led you to mistakes.”
With his shoulder free, Aiden staggered back and away from Brandis, but he didn’t go far. For all he knew, the king had saved his life but was still deciding on what to do with it.
As he watched the events transpire before him, the enchantments on Derendoff's armor came alive, shining in a myriad of different colors.
“My king,” Derendoff started in disbelief. “What have you—”
Brandis released Derendoff and kicked him. The force of the blow was terrifying, reverberating throughout the entire room, and the knight flew across the room and into a wall.
Brandis hefted Derendoff’s sword in his hand in anger and threw it forward like a spear, but Aiden didn’t see it cross the distance. All he saw was the king’s throw. In the same moment, there was a second crash exactly where Derendoff had been thrown even before the dust had settled.
The room shook and Derendoff howled in pain.
What the hell is happening? Aiden wondered, terrified. Was Brandis trying to kill the knight? Why?
Because he tried to kill me?
Aiden couldn’t make sense of it. Then a small suspicion grew in his mind, an inkling of an idea.
When the dust settled, it revealed Derendoff struggling to pull his own sword from his shoulder. He struggled with one arm, tugging and pulling like the mad. Spittle fell from his lips and tears pooled at his eyes as blood dripped from his shoulder.
“My king!” he wailed, all his attempts failing. “Why have you forsaken me?”
Aiden stood silent, pretended he was a carpet or a standing lamp or a statue designed to beautify the room. He played the role of the unimportant. The last thing he wanted to do was gain the attention of any of the two people in front of him.
It had been so long since he’d been in this position. He had completely forgotten how it felt to be powerless in chaos.
He knew his return had rendered him weak, but he had never appreciated just how weak. His weakness had never stood in front of him and shoved its fingers in his eyes as it currently was.
He was an ant playing politics with elephants.
“Forsaken you?” Brandis scoffed, watching Derendoff struggle with his own sword. “You have forsaken yourself, Derendoff. I don’t know if your madness is from how your father trained you or if you have trained yourself this way. But it matters no longer.”
Brandis took a deep breath, calmed himself.
“Despite my better judgement,” he continued. “I allowed you to become one of my Knights. Despite your flaws, I felt you were at least loyal to the kingdom. All you did was in its best interest. But time has shown that all you’ve done is indulge in your sense of justice at this point. To you, the kingdom’s best interest is what you say it is.”
Derendoff abandoned his sword to snarl at him. “ALL I HAVE DONE, I HAVE DONE FOR BANDIV!”
Brandis turned his face away as if Derendoff had spat in his face. “Last year you assaulted the delegate of Andavari simply because he would not kneel in my presence.”
“It was disrespect against the king!”
“He was a delegate of a nation on the brink of going to war with us,” Brandis answered calmly. “Of course he was going to be disrespectful. For gods’ sake the man at least bowed. You have no idea what we had to do to prevent that war from breaking out. Just last month you tried to kill a civilian in public simply because he called me a tyrant.”
“It was slander against your name!” Derendoff scowled. His voice was quieter now, resigned.
“And for that he deserved to die?” Brandis asked in disbelief. “And now you try to kill my guest.”
Derendoff’s eyes shot straight to Aiden. Even in the knight’s current situation, he carried enough bale in his eyes to send a shiver up Aiden’s spine.
“He is to be the Demon King!” Derendoff hissed.
Brandis ran a hand down his face. “You are perhaps the stupidest knight I have ever had the displeasure of leading. I said all we know about the Demon King is that he will be a classless with a unique skill. Does that mean we should go around killing any and all of my subjects who gain a unique skill before level ten?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Brandis tossed his hands up in frustration. “Would you have me kill your cousin's son while I’m at it? Would you have me lay waste to my own kingdom in fear of what may or may not be? Should every classless with a unique skill suffer a fate that should not be theirs simply because one of them might be evil in the future? Must all of them die for the possible sin of one of them?”
Derendoff remained silent. Spittle dripped from his lips, and so did blood.
Brandis sighed. “One of these men will save this world from the Demon King, Derendoff. And you risked killing that very person on the chance that he might be the Demon King? If you believed the Scriptures so deeply, then you would’ve believed that your attempt would be futile. After all, only the Hero can kill the Demon King. But it never said that only the Demon King can kill the Hero.”
Brandis gestured at Aiden. “If he was to be the Hero, you would’ve doomed this entire world with nothing but your single stupidity. And that, no matter my relationship with your father, is stupidity I cannot forgive.”
He walked up to Derendoff now, crossed the distance between them and kneeled in front of him.
“You will not die today,” he told him. “You will be healed and stripped of your title as a Knight. You are no longer a Knight of mine. And you will not be permitted to be a knight of any noble. Should I ever hear news of you that displeases me again, I will grant the King’s verdict upon you. I will declare the punishment of [Sight-bound] on you.”
Derendoff’s eyes widened. “A Knight is immune to the edict of sight-bound.”
“Even now, you continue to challenge your king.” Brandis scoffed. “You seem to forget that you are no longer a Knight. I have already stripped your armor of its royal enchantments. Once you are taken from here, you will be stripped of the armor itself. Then you will be stripped of all titles and gains you have acquired by your position as a knight of mine. Until then, sit still.”
Brandis grabbed a handful of Derendoff’s hair as the Knight struggled to protest and slammed his head into the wall.
The wall lit up in countless defensive enchantments as Derendoff fell silent.
Brandis cocked his head to the side, studying the man. Satisfied with whatever he saw, he took the sword in the knight’s shoulder by the hilt and pulled it free. After that, he raised a hand over the Knight. It shone a soft green and Derendoff’s injury resonated the same light.
Aiden knew healing magic when he saw it.
When Brandis got back to his feet. The atmosphere settled as if all the chaos had never happened. But the evidence was there. Every single sign of it. Healed, Derendoff remained seated against the broken wall, armor stained in blood.
“I must apologize for what you just experienced, Lord Lacheart.” Brandis looked at Derendoff’s sword in his hand and gestured at Aiden with it. “Would you want to claim his blade?”
Mute, Aiden shook his head. Why did everyone think he wanted the sword of a knight that had somehow offended him?
Brandis’ brows furrowed. Then he looked at the blade in disappointment. “A shame. It is a fine blade. And no other knight will want it.”
He cast the sword aside and allowed it clatter violently on the ground.
Aiden kept his mind struggling to focus on the events in front of him. Despite just having survived death, he couldn’t believe he had almost been witness to a [Sight-bound] verdict. It was a punishment granted by a king, and only a king.
What it did was create a quest available to people with combat classes of significantly higher levels than the culprit. Anyone who saw it would receive a quest rewarding them for the simple task of beating the hell out of the culprit. To avoid the possibility of killing the culprit, the quest would also inform whoever received it, that killing the [Sight-bound] would transfer the punishment to them.
Only a king could lift the verdict.
“Lord Lacheart,” Brandis called in Aiden's silence, a touch of worry in his voice. “I forget that you are only but a child. Perhaps this has been too much for you. Would you like us to continue our conversation on another day? One of your choosing, obviously.”
Aiden shook his head in response, remembered he was being addressed by a king, then responded with his words.
“No, your grace. I am fine.”
Brandis watched him through narrowed lids. “Are you certain?”
“I am.”
“I see.” Brandis walked up to his desk and leaned against it. “Then you may continue. You have your answer to the question regarding unique skills, so is there anything else you wish to know?”
Aiden thought about it. He knew Brandis had not truly apologized, but he had done it in his own way, by granting him a second audience at a choosing of his own. Aiden would take that apology since history had taught him that an apology from a king was one of the rarest things on the face of Nastild.
“Is there anything else the scriptures say about the Demon King?” he asked. “Any other way we can use to identify who they might be?”
Brandis shook his head. “The Scripture is nothing more than a book, written by cryptic men who loved to seem cryptic and important. It dances around half-truths and unreasonable parables. Even the very piece of information it gave us about the Demon King could lead a less than wise king into stupid actions. I would advise you not to put too much stock in it.”
Aiden nodded. There went his chances on the subject of the Demon King. The question now was if he was going to prevent Ted from gaining a unique skill before his class. If he was, the next question was how?
How did he stop Ted from gaining a unique skill without informing him of unique skills?
“How quickly you work your mind,” Brandis chuckled. “If you are worrying about the what just happened, don’t. There is no guarantee that you are going to end up being the Demon King.”
Aiden looked at the king. “Even if I have a unique skill with no class?”
“Your companion, Derek has a unique skill and yet no class,” Brandis told him. “The one you call Drax also has a unique skill. You are not the first of your kind, Lord Lacheart. You are merely the one that has proven the most talented so far.”
That gave Aiden a problem. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t looked in that direction. Then Ted could easily already have a unique skill.
“Wait,” he blurted without thinking. “How did they…”
Aiden shook his head, eyes darting towards Derendoff’s unconscious body. He was about to ask how they’d survived Derendoff’s attack before remembering that the man was nothing but a Knight. The king could’ve found out in any way he pleased.
Brandis followed his gaze and looked back at Derendoff.
“Him?” he asked with a touch of surprise. “Oh no, Lord Lacheart. He wasn’t here for you. You were here for him. Derendoff has been a problematic Knight for a very long time. This was his last a chance, a test of his control. He failed it like a fish in the sky.”
Or a fish in the wall, Aiden thought.
“That said,” Brandis continued. “You have gone through a traumatic experience today. And while I have apologized, I am a King. A king’s apology should not be empty. Make a request within reason and I will grant it.”
A request within reason.
It seemed something good was going to come out of today’s events. Aiden didn’t have to think about it. His request was going to involve getting as strong as possible as fast as possible. He waltzed through his mind, picking out the things he knew of this world.
I could go and get Spell Binder, he thought, then discarded the idea.
Spell Binder was a blank sword made from a powerful steel. He’d found it in a dead Dragon’s cave during one of the Order’s expedition. It also had a level requirement of fifty. So even if he found it now, he wouldn’t be able to use it until he was at level fifty.
Best to leave it where it is.
He could have his coat of enchantments commissioned, but that too had a level requirement. With all the enchantments running through it, he would run out of mana from just putting it on.
Brandis drew his attention with a chuckle.
“It seems like you have too many requests to make that you are having a hard time picking one,” he said.
Aiden held himself back from nodding. All his requests would lead to power, but he needed to start slow and build his way up. Unfortunately, all the places he knew he could grind and level up would kill anybody below level thirty.
“I have heard rumors of something called an adventure society,” he said finally.
Brandis cocked an inquisitive brow. “Rumors, Lord Lacheart? This game you’re about to play, do you play it for your safety or Ded’s?”
Aiden paused. Then he sighed.
Why was he even surprised? Ded would’ve had his conversation with Sam within the palace walls. And there was scarcely anything that went on within the palace walls that Brandis and the Sage were not aware of.
“I assume he is also somehow related to how you know of unique skills,” Brandis went on. “Regardless, you may continue. What would you like to know of the adventure society?”
“Not about them, your grace. If you are aware of my relationship with Ded, then you are likely aware of the fact that he has snuck me out of the palace once.”
Brandis nodded. “I am. You and your friends went to have a little soiree with some goblins. Did you enjoy yourselves?”
“Enjoy is not necessarily the word.”
“I can imagine. I believe one of you came back with an injury. I heard he had to use one of my healers the next day. Do you wish to make a request based on these goblins?”
Aiden nodded. “One of the goblins I fought that night behaved… strangely.”
“Strangely how?”
“When I cut its arm off, it ran. It did not shriek. It did not cry out in pain. It did not panic. It just turned and ran.”
“And it was what level?”
“Level one.”
Brandis folded his arms, his expression turning thoughtful. “That is odd for a level one goblin. They are like babies, having never experienced much pain, that should not be its reaction. Especially to the pain of a severed arm. Alright, and what would you request of me?”
Aiden took a knee and bowed his head accordingly. Pain flared in his shoulder and he had a feeling that Brandis' hand hadn’t absorbed the full impact of Derendoff’s falling sword. He may have stopped it from cutting him, but something had still hurt his shoulder.
“I swear,” Brandis smiled. “You continue to display ethics of my world very properly. Tell me, did Valdan teach you this?”
Aiden remained on his knee. “He did not.”
“Alright, then. Ask away. What is your request, Lord Lacheart?”
“If it pleases the king, may I be granted leave to work with the adventurers of your kingdom to dispatch of the goblins?”
“I swear…” Brandis leaned forward with a sigh. “That is all? You want to go goblin hunting? Are you just unable to dream big or are you just a simple man? You get the chance to ask the King for a favor and it’s to hunt goblins?”
Aiden kept his eyes to the ground. “Yes, your grace.”
Brandis walked around his table and sat on his chair. He picked up a quill and pulled out a piece of parchment from the stacks of books on his desk.
“This,” he said as he started writing. “Is going to be a written instruction from the king. Take it with you and ask for the master of the armory. I see you have a favor for enchanted combat so you might as well take it to the royal enchantery as well. Have them outfit you with whatever you need, then take it to Valdan.”
Brandis dropped the quill and stamped something on the parchment. Done, he held it out to Aiden.
Aiden got up and moved to accept it.
“Valdan will assist you with a soldier of your choosing,” Brandis told him. “If you hurry, you should be ready by tomorrow afternoon. Then you should meet the master of relations he will have everything you need for the adventure society.”
Aiden just stood there, confused.
“Just like that?” he asked.
Brandis smiled. “I am the King, boy. I have powers beyond your understanding.”
There was a jovial light in his eyes that almost made Aiden forget what he had done to Derendoff just a few moments ago.
“Before I dismiss you, Lord Lacheart,” Brandis added. “I do have one question.”
Aiden folded up the parchment and slipped it into one of the pockets of his soldier belt. “Yes, your grace.”
“You and your companions were only informed of the rising darkness. How did you deduce it was the Demon King you were being trained to go against?”
“I wouldn’t use the word deduce, your grace.” Aiden clipped the pocket of the soldier belt shut. “More of assumed. In our world there are stories, fiction told about people who either reincarnate, are transported to another world or go back or forward in time. In situations where the story is about being transported to another world, ninety percent of the time it’s to face off against a Demon King destined to destroy the world. So we just assumed that since this has met the criteria so far, all that’s left is a Demon King.”
Brandis looked visibly shocked.
“Your world,” he said, “sounds like a very intriguing place. Hypothetically speaking, if portals were to open in your world and monsters were to rush in, do you think they would possess the ability to survive such a thing?”
Aiden had thought about it countless times before, and the answer was always the same. Current technology would have a difficult time fighting against anything over level fifty. And anything in the hundreds might as well be a walking calamity.
“In our stories those are called apocalypse events,” he answered. “And I cannot say if we will survive. But humans have always had the stubbornness to survive anything.”
Brandis face took on a worried look. “I see. You are dismissed, Lord Lacheart.”
Aiden nodded.
He walked to the exit only to pause at the door.
“Your grace,” he said.
Brandis waved him away. “If you’re worried about Derendoff, don’t be. I actually intend on locking him away or sending him on a short exile. I’m sure that by the time he’s free to do as he pleases you’ll have the strength to face him.”
“Thank you, your grace. But that is not what I have on my mind.”
“Really?” Brandis looked up at him. “I assumed his survival would trouble you. If that’s not the case, then what is?”
“Your page. The boy that came to get me. If it is not too rude to ask, how did you come to know the child?”
Brandis said nothing for a while. But it wasn’t a long while. When Aiden felt he might’ve crossed a line, the King spoke.
“The boy is not my page. He is someone my advisor—the old man you fought when you woke up—brought in. I fear you would have to ask him if you want to know their relationship.”
Aiden nodded once and left the room.
Ted was not outside, just the attendant Aiden had left there. The man turned to him with a slight bow.
“With all the ruckus,” he said calmly, “I am glad to see you come out, Lord Lacheart.”
“So am I,” Aiden said, walking down the hallway. “So am I.”
As he made his way to his next destination, he wondered what relationship the Sage had with the child. For what reason would the Sage of the king be keeping the son of Voss, destroyer of Vass, third general to the Demon King, as a page?
……………
Brandis watched the Sage step out of the corner of his study. The man spared Derendoff’s unconscious form the briefest glance, as if looking simply because there was something to look at, before stopping in front of his table.
“What did you think of the boy?” Brandis asked.
“He is an intelligent one,” the Sage answered blandly. “Already, he knows of our ways.”
“You noticed, too.” Brandis turned his chair so that he faced away from the Sage. “He called me ‘your grace.’”
“Respectful,” the Sage said.
“It is.” Brandis stared at one of the books on one of the shelves. It was a tale of a fallen kingdom. “It is also the way people with important positions in other kingdoms address kings of a different kingdom. It says ‘I acknowledge your authority, but you are not my king.’”
“And you believe it was intentional?”
“I do.”
“And you do not like this?”
“I had an audience with one of them the other day, and he addressed me as ‘my king’. I was hoping the most promising of them would also come to address me as such.”
“You cannot have it all,” the Sage answered with a slight bow. “But it is also good to know that we have someone we do not have to spend an excessive amount of time teaching etiquettes, seeing as the envoys of Nel Quan will be arriving soon.”
“Yea.”
Brandis wasn’t sure how he felt about this. Clearly they were trying to see how the summons were doing, and he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to let them know.
The Sage nodded once, then turned away, making his way to his unreasonable exit.
“Sage,” Brandis said, calling his attention before he was gone. “If I asked about the child—Vass—what would your answer be?”
“I would give you no answer.”
With that, the Sage walked into a shelf and disappeared.
Brandis chuckled. That went about how he expected it to.
………
Aiden was down to his fifth book, perusing through it with so much hurry someone would think he was looking for the key to saving the world.
Not here, he thought, slipping the book back into its place on the shelf. He was in the architecture section of the library, under building enchantments. And he was yet to find anything on temperature enchantments.
He was currently reading through his eight book when he paused on a page. He leaned against one of the shelves and slid down to sit on the ground.
Temperature enchantment, he read. Designed to be placed at the highest point in the room for optimal efficiency. Keeps room at regulated temperature…
He let out a sigh but wasn’t sure if it was a relieved sigh or not. For one thing, he was glad to eliminate the chances of Ted having regressed, too. For another, he felt alone again.
Lonely.
Now he just needed to make sure Ted and Voss’ son were not going to become friends.
Aiden closed the book. Now he had to deal with the goblins. Yes, he made the request because he wanted to use them to level up, but he was also curious about the reaction of the single goblin that had escaped him.
What kind of goblin doesn’t feel pain?