“You’re sure that’s all that happened?” Lord Marconi shot me some serious side-eye. “You beheaded a baron who was beating his servant and Lord Varkoni would have pardoned you, with no other extenuating details? Who are you?”
I flashed him a wry grin. “Just an adventurer in the right place at the right time.”
Before the lord could say anything more a man with a long horn herald blew it once before his counterpart spoke. “The king will now see Arthur Bajbub Neilson for the crime of murdering Baron Ambrose Darkspear in the city of Cliffhaven.”
The assembled nobility gasped and started murmuring as I hopped off the couch. “It seems my destiny awaits.” I flipped Lord Marconi a flippant salute before striding toward the center of the room.
I gave the king the traditional Golden Elf bow for greeting a foreign monarch. “Arthur Bajbub Neilson, present and accounted for.”
King Evergreen beckoned me forward with a curled hand. He was a tall man, probably well over six feet tall, and his exposed forearms revealed toned muscles. Resting against the arm of his throne were a gnarled wooden staff and a resplendent broadsword in a battered leather sheath. It was obvious the king before me wasn’t just a figurehead, he got into the mix himself from time to time, or at least he did at some point.
With measured strides I approached the monarch until he stopped me merely five feet from his throne. His guards tried to step up and stop me, but a mere glance from the king stopped them in their tracks. He smiled at me with surprisingly imperfect teeth, his left canine had been replaced by a silver implant and the teeth next to it showed signs of distress as well.
He caught me eyeballing his teeth and smiled. “Caught a [Stone Golem]’s fist to the face as a younger man. My father forced me to live with this,” he waved a hand at his mouth, “to remind me I’m just as mortal as the next person, despite my royal blood. I did the same for my son when his arm got carved up by a batch of goblins. He was healed, but I didn’t have his missing finger regenerated.”
“Why are you telling me this? Not that it isn’t interesting, it is, but I thought I was here for sentencing.” I stood with my hands folded in front of me, well away from the blades resting at my hips and on my chest. For some reason, they’d left me armed in front of their king. Curious, I checked his [Status] and understood why.
[Name: King Gareth Evergreen
Race: Verdant Soul (Evolved Human)
Class: Bloomwarden - (Legendary) - Rank A
Level: 45
Emotional Status: Warm/Worried]
Besides my parents and the rest of the people I met back in Wyrm’s Rest, King Evergreen is the strongest person I’ve ever met.
“Because I want you to understand where my upcoming actions come from.” The king’s eyes widened and so did mine when I saw the window in the corner of my vision.
[Status Shield Mastery Increase: 50→52%]
“A level twenty-five [Starlord]? Fascinating.” He rose to his feet and drew his blade in one swift motion. My father’s training kicked in and I sprang back five feet and drew a pair of fighting knives in the same breath. Raiju joined me in growling at the king with her teeth bared.
When he cocked an eyebrow at me I blushed and sheathed the blades. “Sorry. It’s a reflex.”
I braced for him to come at me, but he merely waved it away. “As I’d expect from the son of Shrike.”
That caught me off guard. “You know my dad?” Sensing my calm, Raiju sat by my feet and looked up at the king.
He walked up and balanced his blade with the point on the stone and the pommel in the palm of his hands. “He beat me bloody more than a few times when I was younger. Now? I wouldn’t even dare to challenge him with my entire army at my back.”
I chuckled. “Yup, sounds like dad. He’s a bit of a monster when he’s angry.” I shivered. “Trust me, I pissed him off more than a few times as a kid who could use magic.”
King Evergreen roared with laughter. “It’s good to meet you, Arthur, though I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.” He sobered up a moment later. “Was Baron Darkspear as bad a man as the report said? Be straight with me.”
“Worse, if I’m right.” I clenched a fist. “Can I speak freely?”
“Please do.” He reached back for his staff and it flew into his hand with a slap a moment later. “[Serene Glade].” Green light poured out from his staff to surround him, Raiju, and I with ten feet to spare. “Speak freely, this is a [Unique Skill] from my class. It makes listening in on anyone within nearly impossible, in addition to its other benefits.”
[Serene Glade Unique Skill acquired with Skill Dominance
Serene Glade cannot be slotted until a higher Skill Mastery is reached.]
So I can take [Unique Skills] too, that’s good to know. I wonder if it counts for that task I have? Regardless, if he’s that scared of Dad, I can be honest with him.
“Lord Varkoni and I spoke after the trial. We’re relatively sure the woman the Baron sexually assaulted is his bastard daughter from a chambermaid.” My voice smoldered with rage. “If we’re right, he turned out to be even more of a cretin than I thought when I took his head.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“It seems I’ve left Cliffhaven alone for far too long.” King Evergreen gritted his teeth. “ Corruption like that is why people don’t trust nobles. I’ll need to send a covert investigator to see if anything else is worrisome there.”
I frowned. “So, why are we speaking within the walls of your [Serene Glade]? I assume it isn’t to protect the reputation of a dead rapist?”
“Not at all.” King Evergreen snapped. “I hope that bastard is tortured by the Devourer for all time.” He took a deep breath before releasing it over a few seconds. “May I be frank?”
“You’re the king, you can do whatever you want.” I shifted side to side as I took in the interior of the [Serene Glade] to avoid looking him in the eye. It was a fascinating pattern of shifting greens, browns, and yellows.
“You’re not wrong.” He sighed. “As far as your supposed crime is concerned, I’ll pardon you as soon as you do something for me.”
“Come again?” My gaze snapped back to the wizened monarch. “I was well within my rights as a Steel adventurer to do what I did. Coming here was merely a courtesy, I am not your citizen to be ordered about.”
Deep inside, a flame I’d felt my entire life roared and I knew then that it was the reason I was chosen as Dominus’ [Suzerain]. I didn’t take orders from anyone, regardless of who they were and I never had, to my parents’ chagrin.
“You’re within my country’s borders, so you’ll follow my commands.” The king leveled his blade at my chest. “You’ll do as I say, or I’ll strike you down here.”
My blood raged as I mentally slotted [Solar Deflection] into my fourth slot. It was Mana hungry, but it’d keep me alive, at least a few times, if the king tried to make good on his threat. At my feet, Raiju started to growl as lightning coursed down her back.
“No.” I channeled my inner [Suzerain] and stood my ground. “You’ll pardon me and then I’ll decide if your task is worthy. If it is, you’ll pay me like an adventurer.” I nearly spat. “My freedom is not yours to control.”
King Evergreen’s blade wavered and he took a half step back as his gaze flicked from me to Raiju and back. “You’d make an enemy of the Kingdom of Verdant?”
“This backwater burg?” I let out a sharp laugh despite the steel in my gaze. “Without question.”
For a moment, it looked like Verdant’s monarch was going to try and kill me, it really did. Two seconds later his shoulders sagged and he sheathed his blade. “You’re a pain in my ass. I hope you know that.”
“I’d rather be a pain in the ass than someone who kisses ass.” I gestured at the difference in our respective heights. “Despite my height.”
“Damn Shrike, your kid’s just as bad as you were.” He grumbled. “Fine, one more thing and I can pardon you of all wrongdoing.”
He held up a hand and pointed his palm at me. “System, hear my call. Do you find this man to be guilty before your gaze? Let your [Judgement] be swift!” Golden light filled the entire [Serene Glade] before fading. When it did, I saw King Evergreen shake his head.
“I knew you were innocent, but I needed your help. Now I guess I’ll just have to pay you.”
I was more interested in the usually blue System prompt in my vision that was gold this time. I glanced over it and the regular blue one next to it and my eyes widened. No shit, that’s a lot.
[Judgement Skill Acquired by Skill Dominance]
[Judgement Skill has evolved due to acquisition by the Suzerain into the Unique Skill Dominus’ Insight]
[Skill Advancement Task Completed - Acquire 5 New Skills in One Hour
Reward: Skill Dominance Mastery unlocked to 49%. Current - 25%]
I guess that means I can truly see what the goddess of gods thinks of a person now. I’ll have to play with it later. I can scan for [Skills] in the crowd now too, that should be useful.
Sensing my shock, King Evergreen shook his head. “I know how to pay for things, even if I don’t do it much anymore.” He almost sounded offended.
“Let’s get down to it.” My inner dwarf was practically giggling. I couldn’t wait to wring King Evergreen for all he was worth. “What can I do for you and Verdant?”
He grumbled for a solid thirty seconds before speaking again and it was as if a huge weight was pressing down on his chest. “Do you know what the average level in Verdant is? What about Sunhome or Ironhold?”
I thought about it for a bit before shaking my head. “I’m not sure about Verdant, though I can guarantee it’s lower than Sunhome and Ironhold’s thirty or so. It’s the second plateau and not everyone feels the need to push past it.”
He grimaced. “Guess.”
“Fifteen maybe? That’s the first plateau, so it might be–”
“Ten.” He cut my rambling off. “My nation’s average level is ten and that’s only including the adventurers who call this place home, but don’t live here. Without them? It’s closer to seven.”
“How?” My jaw hung open before snapping shut with a clack. “Even if people aren’t hunting monsters or training actively, they should gain at levels up to fifteen just by doing what their Classes want them to. They might never break past the plateau like that, but still…” I trailed off. It wouldn’t do to piss off King Evergreen by insulting his people.
“You’re correct, but for some reason my citizens don’t gain levels like that. None of them seem to gain anything by following their Classes.” He leaned heavily on his staff. “The most knowledgeable people I’ve been able to contact or hire have all found nothing, this land just appears to be cursed. Which brings me to the task I mentioned before. I need you to join a pair of convicts I’ve offered to pardon in exchange for clearing a dungeon.”
My eyebrows raised. “Convicts? What are their crimes?”
The king pinched the bridge of his nose. “One of them killed a city guard for groping her. He’d been disciplined for it a number of times before, but he was the captain’s younger brother, so he got away with it more than he didn’t. The other stole a book from my study, putting my personal librarian in the healer’s wing, she still hasn’t woken up from the coma he put her in.”
“What was the book?” Something stunk about the second person’s crime. “Why did he steal it?”
“Why do you care?” The monarch clung to his staff with one hand and the pommel of his sword with the other. “That man put a good woman in the healer’s wing for a book!”
“The fact that you aren’t answering means it’s likely important.” At my feet, Raiju took a half step between King Evergreen and I. “Well?”
“Damn you by all the gods!” He roared. “It was the [Genealogical Record of the Kingdom of Verdant]. He stole my greatest source of information about my own nation.”
“Why is it so damned important to you?” I was getting tired of the run around. If he didn’t answer my question soon, Raiju and I would be leaving.
His eye twitched a few times. “It is the reward my ancestor received for founding this kingdom. It records the names, Classes, and deeds of all Verdant’s inhabitants. Without it, I’ve lost my in-depth insight into the populace, including the dissidents attempting to destroy everything I hold dear.” He practically snarled and I finally saw him for what he was: a wounded lion trying to hide his weakness from the rest of the pride.
Taking my realization into account, I realized I had to tread carefully in the next few moments. “When did he steal the book? Do you know what he did with it?”
“Twenty years ago,” his voice dripped with vitriol, “and I captured him nearly immediately afterward, but he didn’t have it on him. I’ve tried to get its location out of him hundreds of times, but he claims not to know where it is or who might have it now.”
“Understood.” I nodded and put a hand on Raiju’s head to calm her down a bit. She begrudgingly stopped growling and let her gathered lightning fade. “I’m amenable to helping you, assuming the dungeon isn’t beyond my ability and the payment is commensurate with the ask.”