The Duchess sighed, seeing her child’s dreamy gaze.

“Oh how hard you’ve fallen, daughter.”

“I’m perfectly in control of my emotions! You asked about it anyway, not me!”

“Because I'm your mother and this concerns more than just yourself. All I can tell you is that if you pursue this man, you’ll need to be prepared to drag him into a world he’s completely unfamiliar with. Your noble duties cannot simply be neglected, and you’ll be required to bring him to a majority of affairs since we both know you have many suitors vying for your hand. I’ll never arrange your marriage for you, but that means you must take responsibility for your relationships.”

“...I know.”

Umara nodded solemnly.

Dating the daughter of a Duchess was a big deal. She had forgotten about that mainly because she never involved herself with much at the Magisterium. And when pressured to date, she used her studies as an excuse.

But now she was stirring the pot, and both her and John would need to bear the consequences.

However, seeing Umara’s seriousness, the Duchess couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“Don’t be so worried. I have a feeling he’ll be able to deal with everything fine considering his occupation.”

“As a delivery man?”

“Indeed.”

“...What does he really do?”

Umara asked, her curiosity blazing.

But the Duchess shook her head.

“He’s just a delivery man.”

“Bullshit!”

“Language.”

“...Unlikely.”

“Hmph, your mouth has become loose.”

The Duchess smirked and looked out toward the city.

“Dear, you know I’ve been keeping certain realities of this world away from you. But you're growing up, and I won’t be able to shield you forever. Of course, your choice to date someone involved in those things isn’t helping me, ,but I understand that sheltering you is no longer as necessary as it had been.”

“...So can you tell me about what he does?”

“I won’t, but I won’t stop him from exposing it to you either. However, I’ve already warned him and I don’t believe he’ll test me. He’s not to involve you in his work. The people he works with and knows are very dangerous individuals. Your identity is under no circumstance allowed to appear in that world. It’ll create a huge mess for all of us, even though I wield a lot of power in that sector as well.”

“I have a hard time believing there are people who can pressure you.”

Umara looked at her mother with scrutiny, but all she earned was a shaken head.

“I’m not all powerful, and power isn’t everything. There are those who can match me and have no interest in the royal affairs of the Kingdom. They work in the dark, creating entire Empires that nobody you see around you will ever know existed. And they who have few rules wield even more influence than I do and fight to secure more power with means I only dare to defend myself with. You, my dear, are leverage capable of being used against me. Do not give them an excuse to make a move by involving yourself, or we’ll all regret it. Do you understand that?”

“...Yes.”

Umara nodded seriously. It seemed the waters were far deeper than she imagined. She didn’t think it was possible for anyone other than the King and other Dukes to pressure her mother, but it turns out there were others out there who were more than capable of that, and she didn’t even know they existed.

The Duchess looked at her daughter. Despite her warnings, she was still curious.

“John is a special case since he appeared out of nowhere. He has no background to speak of and works a unique job that gives him special immunities. He’s lucky. So when you see him, you can tell him that you’re allowed to take tours and go to the parties, but by no means are you allowed to operate in any capacity. I won’t babysit you, so take it as a learning experience.”

“Okay!”

Umara nodded happily. She was finally free!

“Also, I want you to come home tomorrow. Your father wants to see you.”

“Oh…”

Her happiness subsided with her mother’s next comment as she simply dipped her chin.

After that, the mother and daughter discussed more business and leisure until ending their dinner later into the night.

……

…

After heading to the Black Spider Hotel, I greeted my favorite receptionist.

“Key Master!”

“Ah, it’s John. I see you had an eventful time.”

“You would be correct.”

“Well, it’s good to see you in one piece at least.”

We shook hands as I nodded.

“Yes, no lost limbs, thankfully. Hey, I have a question. A Duchess is on the level of a Duke, right?”

“It is.”

“Okay. What does it mean to be a Duke?”

I asked with curiosity, since my original questions from before still hadn’t been answered.

And unlike the others, the Key Master simply answered.

“A Duke is someone who has been given a certain level of royal authority by the King. They are at least Authority 11 and are given a Dukedom. Some Dukedoms are entire cities while some are massive swaths of land beyond the Capital. And Dukes or Duchesses who reach Authority 12 are titled Grand Dukes, standing almost equal to the King himself. As for regular Dukes, they are often given the responsibilities of managing their territories, as well as certain key positions within the monarchy.”

“So they’re a bunch of bigshots.”

“I suppose.”

The Key Master chuckled at my succinct summary, and I was beginning to realize just how important Umara was.

She was basically a princess, and her mother was terrifyingly powerful, standing just below the pinnacle of this world.

To think Umara actually pursued me first. Somehow, I managed to seduce a princess.

Well, she seduced me too. Regardless, I had a feeling that things would be changing rather soon. There was no way dating someone like her wouldn’t bring some special consequences.

Was I going to have to learn how to act like a noble? I sincerely hoped not.

Besides, I was American. The last time we got told what to do by royalty, we shafted those pompous assholes so hard that they fucked right off back to their tea-sucking continent.

So on one hand, I hoped I wouldn’t get put in a position to make things difficult for Umara.

On the other hand, I looked forward to a tea party.

“Have you been embroiled with a Duke?”

The Key Master suddenly asked, making me scratch my head.

“I may or may not be dating the daughter of a Duchess now.”

“Oh my. Talerria?”

“Yea. So tell me, how bad of a position am I in?”

“Well… Not so much bad as it is difficult. I suggest you go get a new suit costing around 200 gold bullion, because the boyfriend of Lady Umara Talerria can’t be seen as just any ordinary man. You’ll have to prove yourself in many different ways.”

“Oh goodness.”

I sighed in financial pain. It seemed being Umara’s boyfriend would prove to be costly.

Well, my savings of 1 million coin wouldn’t be for nothing. Though perhaps I would need to pick up a few jobs soon.

“Will my coat not be enough? I’d say it’s pretty high end. Definitely cost more than 200 gold bullion.”

“That depends. In some cases it may be, but if you’re going to a formal event, a proper suit is a must. You can’t meet the highest nobility in the Kingdom wearing a leather coat.”

“I guess.”

“I can recommend you to a tailor right here in our market. I get my own suits from him.”

“Oh, I’ll take that name.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I smiled and got a reference. Apparently the tailor was pretty popular among those who knew him and naturally only carried the best services.

After getting that, we talked a bit more before I decided to go.

“I should get to Maxwell.”

“Of course. Have a good evening, John, and be sure to keep yourself safe outside.”

“I will.”

With that, I took the elevator and entered the market.

I was greeted with the familiar plaza and road with high class buildings on either side.

And down that road was the Polaris Family Headquarters where Maxwell stayed.

After greeting the guards, I went in and found my way to Maxwell’s door.

After knocking, I shouted.

“Housekeeping!”

“...What?”

I stifled a laugh as I went through the door, finding a very confused Maxwell.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“Housekeeping may actually have been more welcome.”

“Ouch.”

I brushed the painful words off and walked over to his desk.

“Just wanted to check in.”

“Yes, I see you’ve made significant progress. Are your comprehensions complete?”

“They are.”

“Good. Since you only need accumulation, I’d like you to start coming in every day until you advance. And don’t train outside of here anymore.”

“Alright.”

“And bring 10 gold bullion the next time you arrive.”

“How about 9?”

“Since you want to be cheap, I’ll take 15 now.”

“What?!”

Jumping, I proceeded to negotiate my way down to 13 gold bullion. Afterward, Maxwell chuckled.

“How naive.”

“Uh huh. I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Go on.”

“Applications of Aura. Plex can turn himself invisible. How do I do that?”

“Hmm.”

Maxwell glanced at me with narrowed eyes.

“Aura Techniques are closely guarded secrets. Even I don’t possess more than the one I practiced. But that one isn’t suitable for you.”

“Where can I get one?”

“Nowhere other than the Church or the Kingdom. And to attain one from either of them would require you to not only achieve Authority 8, but to have demonstrated that you are assuredly loyal to them. So like Crowns, it is not something you can get anytime soon. Until you can, however, you should constantly refine control over your Aura. The benefits it will give you are absolutely worth the effort until you attain a technique.”

“Oh.”

I was a bit disappointed. Yet another thing I would have to wait for.

After that, Maxwell waved.

“Alright, you can go. I will prepare for your arrival tomorrow. Until then, recover and stay out of trouble.”

“I’ll try.”

Saying goodbye, I headed out of Polaris and made my way back to the Magisterium.

Thankfully I didn’t meet any unsavory individuals, allowing me to sleep peacefully that night.

……

…

*BOOM*

*Splat!*

I fired my shotgun, turning the man’s chest before me into a pile of spaghetti.

Through my air mask, I only groaned as the knife in my leg stung.

“Ugh, you know, I didn’t consider the possibility of you all working in groups.”

*Slice*

I ripped the knife out and looked around.

There was another dead body besides the fresh one, along with one more Hunter.

The first Hunter was a warlock, and he didn’t even get a chance to fire a spell since I promptly parked a bullet in his brain.

The other that I just killed was a knight, but not one specializing in strength. Instead, he was shockingly fast. But with the powers of my coat, I was able to keep up and use my shotgun.

Now, there was another knight who stood there with three bullets in his torso. He wasn’t dead yet, but he was bleeding.

I didn’t know what level they were at, but it didn’t seem very impressive. The only wound I received was from that knife, and it was one that the last man standing had thrown at me.

“Seriously. I don’t ask for much other than peace and quiet. Not my fault everyone wants my money.”

“You killed enough people in the trenches, you son of a bitch!”

The knight spat his hatred. But it was so ridiculous that I barely held back a laugh.

“Those guys? Every single one of them tried to kill me for my money or the cargo I was moving. If I hadn’t been attacked first, then I would’ve just made my deliveries and been on my way. I would say the only people I attacked first were the ones trying to withhold payment. But it wasn’t like I killed any of them.”

“Quiet! You killed innocent people!”

“Like who? These two guys?”

I pointed to the two corpses nearby, making him grit his teeth.

“Yes! And dozens of others, including my brother! None of them deserved to die!”

“Fine. So what do you want?”

I spoke while throwing open the cylinder in my revolver, taking out the spent casings.

My eyes remained on the knight as I did so, hearing his demands.

“I want you to pay for every single one of those deaths! You’ve robbed our families of people who can make money to support us, so you need to compensate us!”

“I see. I suppose when I defended myself, I was too harsh. I should’ve at least given them a chance to live.”

I nodded in understanding as I filled three of the chambers in the cylinders with fresh bullets.

It closed with a fresh click.

Afterward, as the knight started to smile, I raised the peacekeeper and pulled the trigger.

*Bang Bang Bang!*

He froze as three more bullets buried themselves in his chest, taking a few seconds to fall over.

After that, I went to each of the corpses and grabbed anything that looked valuable. One of them even had a spatial sack, though a shitty one.

As I did so, I looked over to the knight.

He laid there with his eyes looking at me. He was still alive, but rapidly dying.

“Wow. Knights really are resilient. Unfortunately for you, I don’t negotiate with criminals, especially when they try to hurt me. After all, I did in fact leave some of you alive. But you guys always came back. Talk about frustrating. I’ve got friends too, you know. Should I just lay down and let you all rob and kill me? How convenient for you. You didn’t even demand my death either. You just wanted my money. I would’ve respected you more otherwise. Not that it was very high to begin with. Also-”

I looked over, suddenly halting my words when I saw that he was dead.

I let out another sigh while standing.

“Whatever. Time for the doctor.”

Making my way through the market, I found the hospital as was routine.

“Oh my, there’s a customer I haven’t seen in a while. How are you, John?”

The girl at the front desk greeted me with a smile while waving over a nurse. I greeted back with a grin.

“Hey Kayla. Had a little run in with some friends.”

“No shit. Just the leg?”

“Yup.”

*Ting*

I flicked a gold coin at her, which she caught reflexively and stashed.

“Right this way.”

She brought me to a room nearby. Like that, my leg wound was sewn together and healed. It took no more than a few minutes from start to finish.

Since I was basically a regular here, I had become familiar with the nurses and doctors. They especially liked me since I tipped them for all their treatments, something nobody else did.

So all my treatments were expedited. Treat them nice, and you get treated nicely, even if it cost a bit more.

“Alright big guy, you’re all set.”

“Thanks.”

“By the way, do you have coagulants? These are good for taking care of the flesh wounds on the spot.”

The nurse suddenly brought out a canister with an odd nozzle and trigger on it.

“These can be reloaded by swapping the cans. Just spray the contents on the wound directly and it’ll seal it while numbing it. It also expands so you don’t need very much.”

“Oh. This looks useful.”

I checked the canister out. It wasn’t large, but after a demonstration, I found it very effective for the job.

My recovery pills didn’t operate very fast. While it could keep my body together, if I got a laceration or stab wound, I wasn’t able to take care of it besides shoving a bunch of gauze inside the wound.

This was the next best thing.

“Give me three of these nozzles and a dozen canisters.”

“Coming right up.”

The nurse smiled and went off to grab me the supplies.

Just like that, I was loaded with more medical supplies. Of course, it was a bit expensive, costing about 2 gold bullion. But I didn’t tend to spare the expenses when it came to my safety.

Yet another reason they liked me. I bought my medical stuff from them, besides the cigars.

And so I walked out of the hospital and continued on to my original destination.

Umara had left the city after our first day back. Since then, three more days had passed.

The vacation given to us by the Puppet master was coming to an end, and I had been fighting off hunters who still seemed eager to claim my head. I was also training with Maxwell every night.

I had made good progress, constantly getting closer to Authority 4. In fact, I was so close that I was pretty sure I only needed one more night.

And that’s where I was headed toward.

After greeting the Key Master at the hotel, I went to Polaris and found Maxwell’s study.

But before I even entered, I could feel a dense, comforting Aura from the doors.

Pushing them open, I found a chair surrounded by an odd device.

It was a ring that hovered a couple feet off the ground, encircling the chair. And along the ring were 8 White Crystals.

“You’re here. Go ahead and take a seat.”

Maxwell was succinct, waving me toward the chair.

I just did as he said, slipping under the ring and seating myself inside of it.

At that moment, I felt a dense power wash over my entire body and mind. It seemed the ring was concentrating the power of all those Crystals around the chair. Not only that, but all of them were Authority 4 Crystals, a level above me.

“This device will assist your advancement. Every third advancement is important. As a Summoner, your mind will open itself to vast power. Usually you would be able to drain an entire White Crystal above your Authority, but because you are talented, I’ve prepared far more than necessary. Now, listen to my instructions carefully.”

Maxwell instructed while tapping a few buttons on the ring.

“When you advance, your mind will become a bottomless pit of energy. However, it is Magika that will be infused into your body, a universal energy. Therefore, if we take advantage of this moment, you will receive boosts to more than just your mind. It is possible to infuse both Vigor and Mana into your body, providing you with a stronger body and even giving you a certain level of Mana resistance.”

“That’s possible?”

I was rather surprised. The three types of Magi weren’t supposed to be able to use the powers of the others. If it was possible, then there would be people who broke the system and rose to levels unfathomable to others.

Maxwell responded plainly though.

“It’s not as amazing as you think. The power will reside in your body passively. You won’t be able to cast spells or move your Vigor. But it will be there, providing enhancements. Of course, it's nothing amazing either. It won’t suddenly make you as strong as a knight. But it's something. Besides, we’re doing this for the main benefit of flooding your body with Magika, not that.

“Your Spark will be subject to the flood of energy. From what I’ve learned, it’s a malleable object that can be tempered, just how a knight’s body and a warlock’s mana core can be tempered. However, it has to be open to the tempering. That’s why tonight, you are going to entirely empty yourself of Psyka. Then, we will begin your advancement.”

“Oh…”

I slowly nodded. It seemed like the advancement process was complex. But I was still confused.

“I’ve never heard about this at the Magisterium.”

“That’s because it’s a method exclusive to certain families, just like how my Call of the Fallen Angel is a summoning technique that stands at the top of all techniques. You think they just pass these things out for free?”

“I guess not…”

I went silent. For some reason, I felt like I wasn’t being told the whole truth.

But we proceeded anyway. When Maxwell was finished with preparations, he looked at me.

“I want you to expel your Psyka. This device will help you with that before reversing the process. Now, begin.”

He activated the device in full, and when that happened, I felt a deep vacuum force overtake my body, tugging on all the Psyka in my mind.