Sweat was pouring down his face. He wiped his brow and looked up to see where his opponent could be. There was a motion that appeared in his sphere of perception; he jumped backward out of the way. Three throwing knives landed on the ground and exploded. Through the smoke, he grabbed his cobra staff and swung down into the smoke. A hand shot out of the smoke and grabbed the staff.
"Not bad," Aralyn said. She pushed back his staff, throwing him off balance.
"Not the first time a woman has roughly handled my staff," Axel said, regaining his balance.
"Charming," Aralyn said. The two had gotten a lot closer over the last few weeks. Their days were consistent: they spent time physically training. The physical training regime consisted of workouts that a bodybuilder would do: deadlifts, bench presses, bicep curls, squats, and other such workouts. There would also be days when they focused on calisthenics, body movement, and increasing awareness of the body. After their physical training, they would work on spiritual training: meditating, studying, and practicing different meditation poses.
Then, they would work on practical magic training, different summoning rituals, and practicing order magic. Axel Arbors was not like Levi. He could not spell cast, so he had to rely on his allies and summons. This was why he trained his physical body so well. Axel needed to be a competent combatant. He needed to have good martial techniques to be a solid fighter. He was not satisfied to simply be a summoner. This was what Aralyn had proposed to him when she first met.
"You are a great summoner but a terrible fighter," Aralyn had stated.
"What does that even mean? My summons follow my lead and fight the way I tell them," Axel defended.
"Sure but what are you going to do when your mana is low and your summons are gone? What if you fight an opponent that can rush past your summons or sneak past? I was able to do it, and I am not even close to the sneakest person. What will you do then?"
"Fine, I see your point. What is that you want to do here?"
"I want to teach you. I want to teach you how to the warriors of order fight and train. Especially from my homeland."
"That is not taught to many outsiders," Axel had said.
"You are correct," Aralyn replied. "That should tell you how important we feel that you are. You are the one who can bring order to the world as it should be."
"Why me?"
"Why not you? Are you not someone worthy of such trust?"
"I definitely am, I wonder why they sent you. I have to imagine there are other male elves who could teach me just as well as you. Why send a beautiful, presumably single elf?"
"I wondered that same thing when I was given this assignment. It is good to know you think that I am beautiful."
That had been the spark of their budding relationship. Axel would ignore a lot of the advances the princess made. Eventually, her constant persistence weathered Axel down, and she finally got a kiss from him. The kiss turned into much more. Axel would slowly start complimenting Aralyn a bit more as she continued her usual tactics. All while they never shirked during their training. They worked hard. Axel even made a small advancement toward 5-star. He wasn't close. The gap between 4 and 5 stars was massive, but once stagnant, any progress was welcomed.
They had finished showering and were enjoying a light, refreshing lunch together, discussing their next move.
"I need to return home soon," Aralyn said. "I will inquire about the root from the mother tree. Of course…" she paused. "I would have more incentive if I could show anything for our relationship."
"Oh? And what did you have in mind princess?"
"An engagement ring?"
"Whoa…"
"What? Am I not worthy of your hand in marriage?"
"We just barely met."
"Has our time together not been wondrous?"
"It has but-"
"So why the hesitation? Are you trying to marry someone else?"
"No, I-"
"Just aren't man enough to make the next move? Fine." She stood up, getting ready to leave. "I will return in three weeks, with news. Do be sure to keep your training up. Good day Prince." Without letting Axel get another word, she left. Axel was left sitting at the table dumbfounded.
"What just happened?" he asked. Meanwhile, Aralyn left the room with a malicious grin on her face, as if a snake had just trapped a mouse.
Aralyn walked through the portal to the land of Stravenia. A warm density of magic greeted her. Strevnia was a land inhabited mostly by elves, but other magical creatures resided in the land. The magic levels were much higher in this region of the world, which is one of the main reasons why the elves settled here and called it their home. Strevnia was located in the eastern region of the land. Massive evergreen trees created a covered canopy for the outside world. Above the canopy was a thick layer of snow and ice.
Underneath the canopy, there was warmth and darkness. However, due to the pure levels of magic, plants had adapted, creating their own light. Fungus grew out of the trees, glowing in vibrant blues, pinks, and greens. Some of the stones underneath the foot would glow with every step on them. It was something directly out of a fantasy novel or game.
Aralyn took a deep breath as she walked along the pathway toward her home. The walk through the forest would only take ten minutes to get to the next portal gate, which would lead her directly to the main city of Lamourai. She used this walk to gather her thoughts. A lot has happened within the last month; uncertainty still played in her mind over and over. She was still unsure why her Mistress had sent her to meet with the Arbor prince. It made no sense.
But like usual, she followed orders, concocted a believable lie to feed the man, and did what she had to do. She reached the portal and stepped through. In stark contrast to the darkness of the forest was the brightness of her city. Large cobblestone buildings rose all around her. They were painted in pastel colors. The road was paved gravel and was quite busy; carts full of vegetables, magical items, and slaves were bustling around the city. Druids, Elves, and Dryads all walked around the city. They were of all shapes and sizes and walked around going about their business.
In this city, it was more unlikely not to be a magic user than to be born one. There was a reason why many people looked to the elves for wisdom regarding magic. They had old magic—magic from the ancient days. As they were the ones to inhabit such a magically rich place, almost every child born was born with magic.
Lamourai didn't have any guilds or a guild district. It had aristocracy and diplomats. The aristocrats lived in the wealthy district, which had massive houses made of marble instead of cobblestone. The diplomatic houses were miniature castles made of cobblestone. Large spires would wave the flag of each diplomat. Aralyn grew up in the wealthy district, being a princess to the throne. The diplomats were from other kingdoms within Stravenia; very rarely was there a diplomat from a different nation.
For the past month, Aralyn has been in a magically deficient region, by comparison, while also secluded from other people. It took her a moment to reorient herself to the hustle, bustle, and noise of a populated city. It was, at the moment, sensory overload. She spotted several pegasus pulling a fancy carriage, clearly indicating an aristocrat or a diplomat. Aralyn had her own pegasus that she sadly had to constantly leave behind as the pegasus would not do well traveling through portals. Taking one final look around, she spotted a guard with a snow-white pegasus.
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"My lady," he bowed. "The Mistress wishes to see you immediately."
"Of course," Aralyn said politely. She mounted the pegasus and strode off toward the building that had her Mistress.
She walked into an opulent building made of marble, which was not the usual cobblestone. A chime sounded as she pushed open the heavy ivory doors. She walked in without a preamble, knowing that she was expected. Aralyn was not known to be scared or nervous in the face of power. However, there were few beings that she would show deference to, and she was about to enter one of them's rooms.
"Ahh, my princess has returned home," a voice sang as Aralyn entered the chambers. She walked in front of a veiled throne, where the Mistress sat behind, unseen to most people.
"I have mistress," Aralyn said with a bow.
"Very nice, how did it go?" the Mistress asked.
"It went well. I was able to meet, learn, and train with the target. He was resistant at first but that has been dealt with," Aralyn reported.
"He is willing to train with you, interact with you, and sleep with you," her gaze lingered on Aralyn's private areas.
"Yes, mistress," Aralyn said, doing her best not to show discomfort.
"Great. You are doing well. You have done a good enough job for not knowing the purpose I have sent you there. It will be important that you maintain a relationship with the young summoner."
"Thank you, mistresss."
"Now, it's time I let you know what the plan is." Aralyn steeled herself before the crucial information. "I am planning to over throw your father and Axel Arbors will be the arbiter for that. It is no secret that I have not gotten along with him in many moons. Even longer if you count the time before last. He is a terrible husband and a terrible father. Abusing his daughters as if you weren't gifts from the gods. I digress. Has the young prince informed you of his plans yet?"
"Yes, Mistress," Aralyn replied. She dared not comment on the information that was just provided to her.
"Do tell," she prompted.
"He plans to summon the goddess Tranquility back to this world. Bring her back would surely allow order magic to come back but be much stronger. However, the ritual is significant in resources and takes a lot of mana. Summoning a god is no easy feat. He needs power and he needs ingredients."
"Preciscly," the Mistress responded. "Tranquility will grant all of her followers or those within the League of Order a gift ability and perhaps another gift. This will increase the power of the order spells, magic, or technique ten-fold. With the help of you, your sisters, and the league we will be an unstoppable force. The problem is he needs the right ritual with the right ingredients otherwise it could kill him."
"As I understand, it almost has, 13 other times. Most of those times it did actually kill someone. But he believes he has the correct ritual."
"What makes him so sure?"
"The ingredients needed. They are all complex and rare items. Items that are needed from every region of the world."
"Balance," the Mistress mused.
"Exactly," Aralyn nodded. "He believes that these will be the proper ones to bring her back to this realm and allow order magic to rule the world once again."
"Yes and when we are granted that extra ability, we will finally be able to throw the Althmar throne over once and for all. Give way to the new Althmar, a nation, a kingdom ran by a female elf." The Mistress laughed a malevolent laugh. "You have done well princess," she complimented. "I urge you to keep progressing the way you have been. When the timing is right we will give him the root."
"I told him it had to be when he proposes to me," Aralyn said.
"Wise," the Mistress nodded behind her veil. That will allow you to work with him, continue to develop your relationship with him, and potentially set up a long-term partnership. The root would be the perfect engagement gift; it would be meaningful enough for those who like its specific properties and symbolic meaning to just have it. Prudent thinking, princess."
"Thank you mistress," Aralyn said.
"Well, it seems that I will need to send you back to your new lover. Your next task is to get Axel to propose and get engaged. Once he does you may bring him here to me, I will have the root of the mother tree waiting and prepared for him. Then I will inform you of the next step in the plan. For now I do not want to see you back here unless you are engaged to the crown prince of the Arbor nation. Am I clear?"
"Yes mistress," Aralyn said
"Excellent," the Mistress said. "Be on your way back."
"One more thing mistress," Aralyn said before being dismissed.
"Yes?"
"Axel is without spells, I am not entirely sure how or why but he cannot cast them. He is in danger if anything slips through his summons, which I did rather avoid for obvious reasons. Is there a way I can bring a guard trainer with me to provide him with the proper Tranquil Form for the staff user? He weilds a cobra staff made of a tough yet light metal."
"Hmmm," the Mistress mused. "That would be a good thing for him to learn. I take it you have been his training instructor?"
"Yes, Mistress," Aralyn said.
"Do you feel your teaching is inadequate?"
"Not entirely, Mistress. It serves it's purpose in creating a foundation. However I specialize in daggers and throwing knives. Once we enter into specifics, my specialty becomes unhelpful for the staff wielder."
"I see, you are trying to get the young prince to be proficient at martial fighting, rather than relying solely on magic? Admirable. Yes I will allow Sundamere to go with you to train the young master. I can spare him for two months. That should be plenty of time for him to give the young prince the training he needs. Then once the time is up, he will return and give me a report. Expect him to challenge and push him."
"Thank you, mistress," Aralyn said. "I look forward to learning under Instructor Sundamere. I have heard he is an excellent instructor, tough but fair."
"It is as you say, princess. Now, I will have Sundamere meet you at the portal before you return to your mission."
"Thank you, Mistress; I will see you next as an engaged woman," Aralyn said, bowing.
"See to it that you do," the Mistress said as she dismissed Aralyn.
***
Axel stood in the training yard, staring off into the distance, where Aralyn was before she unexpectedly left. That was an odd tactic that his eldest sister used to use on him: Say something completely random with some decent merit behind it to consider. Not allow the person to consider by spouting that they are outright denying it, then question their character.
It was usually used to throw a person off kilter or to manipulate a certain situation. Axel's fury erupted. He was not one to be easily manipulated, and the sooner Aralyn learned that, the better. Sure, he had enjoyed his time with her, but that was strictly casual and business. There was no denying that she was an excellent fighter who would do well next to him in a battle. There was also no denying her charisma, charm, and beauty. However, Axel had seen many pretty people and met many charismatic beings.
That didn't mean much to him anymore. Axel would never admit it out loud, but he was lonely. His family was all dead, much to his planning, but they were still all dead. He had never taken a lover, and he couldn't summon a familiar. This was the sacrifice he made with his class evolution.
Karmic Summoner
Legendary
Class Evolution
You have a high affinity to balance. Through your actions and your summons, your class has evolved into a Karmic Summoner. Karmic Summoner can summon beings with high-order affinity at a lower cost of mana and materials. Karmic Summoner cannot have a familiar summon or bond due to the Karmic magic flowing through you. For each monster defeated with a summon, the Karmic Summoner will acquire karma. With enough karma, the Karmic Summoner can summon a being one rank higher than their own.
It was the trade-off. He would never be able to have a familiar, but the more times he summoned the specific creatures, the more karma he could build up. Axel was planning on saving up all the karma that would allow him to use it on his final ritual. The one ritual that he had been dedicating his life to. The higher rank he got and the more summons he made, the harder it got to acquire karma. Regardless, Axel was not going to give up.
This brought him back to being alone. He had his league, he had his subordinates, but he didn't have a partner or a friend. The closest friend he had was Xao-Li, and that was an acquaintance at best. That didn't stop Axel, though. His drive to bring order back to the world kept him plenty occupied. It wasn't until Aralyn showed up how isolated he had felt.
He shook his head in frustration. He had no idea why she was affecting him so much, but she was. He was furious, furious for letting himself be distracted. Furious for letting the thoughts of the past influence his present and furious that Aralyn had to use cheap tricks for her to plant the marriage seed. She could have just had a conversation with him. He would not have outright opposed it.
Axel did what he always did when he was frustrated, which was often: he summoned some monsters that he could easily beat up.