The problem Jeeves faced was two-fold.

On the one hand, he had to forge a connection with Dali in this world.

The truth would be easier the closer they were.

However, serving Dali would only hurt his growth.

Even doing a simple task like making him a meal would boost his stats high enough to destabilise his improvement.

And he recognised that it would be strange for him to simply show up, dispatch some skeletons, call Dali a royal and leave.

Aesh spoke first.

“Highness?”

He sounded thrilled.

“You’re royalty? And you never told us? That must be why you’re so rich!”

Dali sounded less thrilled.

“Of course I’m not royalty. He’s just playing a joke on us.”

Jeeves looked them all over.

“I’m not joking. The moment you entered Royal Road you became the son of your father, His Majesty the King.”

Dali was beginning to get annoyed at this joke.

“My father’s the King of England? Of course! That makes perfect sense,. Except that he’s Korean!”

“Not the King of England, Your Royal Highness.”

Jeeves paused for effect.

“The King of Dragons.”

“What are you talking about?!”

Aurora made a small “o” with her mouth.

“He means,” she said, “that your father is a king here. In Royal Road.”

“And,” Rell added, “the King of Dragons. Your father rules over the strongest monsters in Royal Road, and you are his prince.”

There was a long lapse in the conversation as Dali tried to figure out what to do with the information.

The other four didn’t seem to find it that odd.

His father had been a mystery, now the mystery was gone.

The truth was strange. Impossible, even.

But they had already accepted that.

To find that Dali’s family was impossible was an eventuality each one had accepted some time ago.

In their minds, Dali discovering that he was the sheltered son of the king of dragons was not so strange.

If his father had been the head of Unicorn itself in disguise they would have just nodded and accepted it.

The certainty that Dali was beyond the realm of logic!

The nagging suspicion that they were joining him!

Eventually Dali gave up on trying to understand the situation.

“What does this mean for me?”

“Well, now that you have passed from Heir Apparent to being the Prince, you are essentially in a position of power over all dragons.”

Jeeves remembered Dali’s level and added “I wouldn’t recommend using that power until you have a couple hundred more levels under your belt, as they might not take well to your command.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“So it’s useless?”

“Well… Yes!”

Jeeves was genuinely happy about this.

Dali was also not unhappy.

Although he didn’t much like the uselessness of his position, he was glad that he didn’t suddenly have huge power.

He prefered to progress quickly, but one step at a time.

He also prefered to rely on his own power, which fueled his next question.

He worded it very carefully.

“Are you going to be traveling with us?”

“No, although I might pop in now and then.”

Dali let out a relieved sigh, and then realised that Jeeves had noticed.

“No, um, it’s not that I don’t want you here! I mean, I don’t, but- Wait! I mean I do-”

Jeeves started laughing uncontrollably.

“If you wanted me to fight your battles,” he said amidst bouts of laughter, “That would be all the more reason not to. With all due respect, Your Royal Highness.”

Dali cracked a smile at that.

“And all the respect I’m due,” he started.

“Is not very much.” they said in unison.

“Well,” said Jeeves after a moment, “I guess I’ll be heading out now.”

“Wait!”

He turned to face Rell.

“What level are you?”

Jeeves told them.

“Three hundred and twenty five.”

They all knew that that level would make him one of the strongest players in Royal Road.

Depending on how advanced his skills were, he could even be the strongest known.

They had never considered the idea that there were players of extremely high level unknown to the public.

Now they knew there was at least one, and that meant there were almost certainly more than one.

The most powerful players were still unknown.

It was a realization that changed the way they thought about Royal Road.

Jeeves disappeared into the forest while they were thinking about his level.

[p=center]* * *[/p]

After Jeeves left he thought about his experience.

[i]’That boy, Rell. He jumped back the moment I struck.’

‘He was able to feel the blow before it happened.’

‘I suppose it’s not that rare to sense an attack, but there are requirements.’

‘To sense an attack that wasn’t even going to hit him?’

‘It appears the young master has interesting friends.’

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