Chapter Thirteen: Setting Out

“Lord Leo, you must see reason. You-”

“No, Veipos, you need to listen to me.” I snapped, cutting him off. It wasn’t the first time having this conversation and my patience had grown thin. “I didn’t sign up to be king. Helping you take out the fuckers who cursed you was one thing, but I am not ready to rule.”

“Your highness-”

“Shut up, Hythriem. We’ve been over this. Yes, the people need a leader. It doesn’t have to be me.” I said, pausing to take a calming breath, The two men looked like they wanted to say more, but I raised a hand to silence them. “Take a look around you. The capital is a wreck. Half the city looks like a scene from a fucking zombie movie, and the other half reminds me of a post-apocalyptic war zone. Look, I’m not saying I can’t be the king, or even that I won’t be. What I am saying is that right now the people don’t need one. The kingdom needs to rebuild, not be ruled.” I finished and gave them time to consider my words. When my friends didn’t speak for a moment I continued.

“Not to mention our country has been cut off from the outside world for centuries. You know as little about what’s out there as I do. Hythriem, just the other day you were saying that we needed to start sending people out there to gain information on current events and possibly make a few allies. It’s only too soon before the more opportunistic and power-hungry will start showing up and waving their big armies around. Right now I am the most dispensable person when it comes to rebuilding. I am also the only one here powerful enough to explore the world and still make it back safely. As the king I can even negotiate treaties while I am gone. It makes sense.”

Both Veipos and Hythriem visibly sagged at the truth of my words. Werxiun, who had also been brought along to try to convince me to change my plans, was leaning against a shelf with a thoughtful expression. The three of them had tracked me down in one of the city's remaining libraries while leaving Railnia to oversee the construction efforts. It had been almost a week since the battle with Vastein, and after years of neglect, there was a lot to do.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the root of their concerns. While the rest of the Threlnistari had regained their lives, the generals hadn’t. It was true that when the curse ended they were once again blessed with the bodies and power obtained in their previous life, but it was incomplete. Whenever it was called for, my allies could revert to their cursed forms. Meaning while the rest of the people would recover, start new families, age, and die, the generals would be the same undying revenants until the day I died. Only then would their spirits be free to pass on. That fact was causing my allies to feel like outsiders to their own people, which was Something that I could easily relate to.

It wasn’t that the Threlnistari weren’t kind and welcoming to me. Plenty of them would greet me with cheers and smiles and had obvious gratitude for my part in freeing them from their curse. When I could I had offered my assistance in rebuilding or clearing out rubble. Ultimately, though, it was a task better suited for the people who had spent their lives here. This hadn’t been my home, but it was theirs. So while all of them were friendly, I spent the majority of my time pursuing personal interests. The primary one was scouring the capital for whatever books and maps that might have remained after so long. Ensuring my grimoires abilities to scan and store information was being used to the fullest extent. I had finally come to the last standing library on my list and the grimoire was hovering almost happily as it shone a bright green light onto a shelf covered in scrolls. Within the light letters could be seen swirling around.

“Who will guide our people while you are gone?” Werxiun asked me after a moment of contemplation.

“You three and Railnia. I plan on leaving you guys behind. One, the people are already used to following you. Two, you guys are good at ordering people around. You four are more than capable of leading without me. With the power vested in me, by the will of the system, and my ability to commit murder, I hereby grant you the authority to be your own boss while I am away. Just treat it like a council of elders. Split up duties and then convene when you need to cooperate or something.”

“And if something happens where we need the king's direct approval?” Veipos inquired.

“If you need me, call me,” I answered pointing at my grimoire. Within the two days together I had quickly enforced a strict no-mental contact rule unless absolutely necessary. It’s hard to use the facilities when people barge into your head asking about city block layouts. We also discovered that our basic mental bond struggled with longer distances. Especially if I was inside multiple layers of stone. To offset that though I had them form a mental link with the tome so it could register them as contacts. The item had a much better connection over longer ranges, as well as having the added benefit of blocking out their attempts to contact me when I was busy. “Please try not to need me.”

“Very well. We concede the argument. Do you know where you intend to go first?” Hythriem’s voice was resigned as he too finally relented.

“Maybe the huge ass jungle that borders our kingdom. You did say that Zelastin was an ally of ours.”

“Not quite. I told you that it had been an ally, but I never claimed that it still would be. My biggest concern lies in the fact that there might be a new king.”

“Explain to me why there wouldn’t be a new king if it has been so long,” I demanded.

“Because demons have long lives,” Hythriem said simply.

“Did you say demons?”

“Lord Leodon, didn’t we mention this already?” Veipos asked, raising a hand to his mouth to hide his smirk. While it’s true our bond didn’t make me a mind reader, he couldn't hide the amusement he felt at seeing my distress.

“No. You didn’t.” I replied drily, glaring at him. “I would have definitely remembered that. Demons? If they were once our friends does that mean the demons get along with humans then?”

“Some,” Werxiun said. “They liked our food.”

“By food, you aren’t talking about prisoners doomed to execution right?” I felt like I had to ask. As someone who now did occasionally eat people I felt justified. Particularly because I didn’t want to be the one on the menu. I don’t know if it was the question or my hesitant look but all three men laughed.

“No, your highness. Our fish and the crops from our islands. Though don’t skip the point that there might be a new less agreeable ruler there now. Old King J’rein was well past eight hundred when the curse fell. A few of the demonic species can live to thirteen hundred, but that’s not common. Most likely it could have been one of his sons or daughters who has taken the throne by now. Depending on which one has ascended will affect the outcome of your journey there.” Veipos replied.

That was a lot for me to think about. I didn’t like how the system had pulled my strings when it came to dealing with the Church of the Watcher. I had to do what I felt was right and still had been set up to do what it had wanted me to do. There was a lot of risk of getting caught up in the system's bullshit again by adventuring out into the world. Staying wouldn’t be much better though. Like I had told Hythriem, eventually someone would come poking around, and I didn’t think it would be good being here when they did.

I knew at some point I would have to get involved with the other rulers. As king of Shangrior there was no way I could avoid it. The longer I put it off though, the better. So my plan was to go explore, have adventures, and hopefully not get involved in an international power struggle. A mental ping chimed as my grimoire finished scanning the last shelf in the library. With a quick wave the tome was summoned to my hand and I placed it back in storage.

“I see. Well, this concludes my business here. I now have access to the collected knowledge of every book, scroll, map, love letter, and dirty poem remaining in the capital. I should probably get ready to leave.” I said rising from where I had been seated.

“Not yet. You should see Railnia first.” Wexiun interjected, smiling malevolently. I couldn’t help but wince. I liked the general, but she could be a bit much. She was a battle freak and every day she would seek me out and try to get me to spar with her for a few hours. At first, I was truly grateful. While I was skilled in hand-to-hand combat weapons had never really been my thing. I had only ever learned the basics. My vanguard specialist skill was helping to pick up the slack, but nothing could beat ingrained experience.

Railnia was gifted in every form of weapon, and over the course of the week, she had beaten the basics into me, literally. One of the skills she had access to gave her the ability to create zones around her that set conditions in battle, which gave us an even playing field for our sparring. Except she used the skill to punish me every chance she had. We had battled so often that my Dark Monarch class perk had granted me her skill. Of course, she didn’t abuse me out of malice, she was training me to be more efficient at defending myself. I just wished it didn’t have to hurt so much.

“Do I have to? Isn’t she busy right now? Besides, I really didn’t want a lot of fanfare when I left.”

“I must insist upon it, Your Highness. You know if you were to leave without bidding her a proper farewell she would only track you down. Also, I understand you are uncomfortable with your role. But you are now the King. Even if you don’t like fanfare, the strength that you showed in freeing our people of the curse has given them hope. You need to give them a chance to see you off. At least in some fashion.” Hythriem answered.

“I even have the perfect idea! You are going to love it.!” Veipos chimed in. I looked at my three friends' eager expressions and groaned. I knew I was going to hate it.

“Fine, let’s go get this over with.” I sighed in defeat. It was only fair. If I got to go off and have fun adventuring, I could let them have fun doing whatever it is they had planned for me. I wasn’t wrong. I hated it deeply.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

***

Within a few hours of leaving the library, my generals had gathered the entire population into the city’s main meeting square. The area had more than enough people to fit the current populace. On one side, closer to the capital was a wide stone dais raising dozens of feet in the air. This allowed anyone gathering within the square to see the landing at any given time. Surrounding the open space were the decrepit and crumbling buildings that had used to be the shops and homes for more of the wealthier citizens. Most of the debris had been cleared away, but enough had remained to create a sort of rudimentary theater seating arrangement around the circumference.

Railnia was standing several feet away from me and grinning like a madwoman as Hythriem ascended the dais, followed by Werxiun and Veipos, who took positions flanking him. Moments after they took their place they were joined by four very distinctive groups of undead. At level 11 I could now summon thirty-three deathsworn minions and I had made full use of the skill.

One group consisted of large eight foot tall humanoid creatures. Each one had three heads and eight arms. Two of the arms were powerful looking, as large as professional bodybuilders. The other six, however, had bony formations that served as tools for hacking, prying, cleaving, and chiseling. There were 12 members of my undead army in this group alone. This served as my construction unit. They had been split up and assigned to various work details to help assist the people.

The second group only had 9 members, and it was the assault unit. These were the deathsworn who were potent attackers. For the last week, they had been split into three smaller units of 3 minions each. This had kept them mobile in case of potential intrusions. Fortunately, so far nothing has encroached into our realm of significance. With the mists gone, wildlife from the jungles started making their way into the sands again. The levels had been higher than expected, but nothing they hadn’t been able to handle. Which had also proved a boon to the now hundreds of hungry people. While the Threlnistari could potentially live off of what the ocean provided, it wasn’t immediately sustainable. So the fresh game did my citizens a lot of good.

The third group was more defensive, and became my policing unit. They stayed within the city and made sure the order was upheld for me. You would think after so much suffering the people would be too unified to cause problems, but alas. Some things were eternal. You put people in the same place and shit would stir. The 8 members served to stop fights and mitigate resource theft. Until the infrastructure was in place to make sure everyone had plenty, I had to enforce that nobody went hungry.

The final and smallest group was my own personal force consisting of Talon, Nuts, Bandit, and Wuzzy. It had been a difficult choice deciding which one of my undead friends would come with me on my adventure, but I was hoping to avoid more problems than I started. I also wanted to make sure that the capital had the best possible protection. So I decided on my three most able scouts, along with some of the added firepower of a ten-foot-tall zombie bear. Not to mention he was comfy to ride on.

“My fellow Shangriori, my fellow Threlnistari. Thank you for accommodating us and gathering here today, at this time for a very important occasion!” Hythriem began, his voice was bold and carried through the air with ease.

“By now every one of you has met your new king. Lord Leodon-” Veipos picked up the speech, but had to pause for a moment as everyone cheered at the mention of my name. It was enough to almost bring tears to my eyes. I had never been hailed like that before. Maybe being a king isn’t so bad, I thought to myself as I tried to stem the welling in my eyes. “Yes, thank you. As I was saying, Lord Leodon has done a lot to help you. Not only did he free us of our curse, but both personally and through his powers has sought to ease us in our recovery process.”

“He has a mission. He needs to leave.” Werxiun called out as Veipos finished his portion, this caused a few cries of alarm to echo throughout the audience, and quiet murmuring could be heard. I had to chuckle at the large man’s lack of tact. His words were always short and to the point.

“Silence, please. What my colleague means to say is that we have been isolated from the rest of the realms for too long. Who knows what dangers lay in store for us? Which is why our king has seen fit to personally venture forth and help foster relationships to both protect our country, as well as see us grow once more into the mighty nation we used to be!” Hythriem declared. The unease that had rippled through the crowd turned to excitement in his words. I was suitably impressed by his ability to paint over the fact that I just wanted to go play instead of being someone's boss at the moment.

“So in order to honor his departure we have prepared an event. By now I am sure that you all have heard of or have even had the pleasure to witness a few of General Railnia’s and Lord Leodons bouts. If you haven’t had the chance to see one of their matches yet, then be prepared to watch with apt enjoyment!” Veipos ended the speech as he waved his hands to me. I nodded my head at him and then turned to face my opponent.

“I take it you don’t plan on letting me win do you?” I asked her.

“Are you kidding me Ellie, sorry, King Ellie? Not a chance. Besides, you can probably survive a rabbit attack now, so this should be a fun battle.” She snorted. I smiled at her praise. When we first began sparring she had said I couldn’t even survive against a baby’s fart let alone a trained fighter. Being able to take a bunny was high praise. “Should I create the zone?”

“Do you realize that by calling me King Ellie you are essentially saying King Lord Leo? That’s redundant, and no. Let me create it. Now that I have the skill I need to start using it to rank it up.” I answered with a question of my own as I rolled my eyes at her. Of all my generals she was the only one who had technically stopped using my title. But only semantically. She stated that since Lord and Leo both started with the same letter she would call me Ellie instead, for L and L.

“Of course. But don’t do our usual. Let’s put on a show. Set the attribute condition to 40.” She said confidently. Of course, she would be confident. I thought dejectedly as I began pulling up the skill required.

Skill: Dueling Field

Skill Rank: F (Upgradable)

Skill Description: Create a zone in a radius around you with specific conditions that can affect all within, including the user. The field’s radius increases by 30 feet per rank and can increase the number of conditions per zone by one. The skill can be used multiple times in the same location without first dismissing previous cast zones. While you can create multiple affected areas they can not overlap. To activate this skill the user must infuse any ratio of mana and/or stamina up to 10% Each dueling field lasts for ten minutes or until dismissed. This has a limited effect on more powerful opponents.

Using both 5% stamina and mana I activated the skill causing the ground surrounding me to suddenly shine with a crimson light before quickly fading away. The only thing left visible to mark the dueling field's boundary line was a little red ring. When summoning the ring I had set the condition to make the attributes of everyone inside 40 across the board. While that meant I was fighting at a handicap it also was high above the typical conditions we had been using for our sparring matches. She wanted to give the people a fight to remember, and I couldn’t blame her. Being surrounded by the buzz of the crowd was even getting me excited.

I held out my hand as I summoned Abyssal Ruination, transforming it into a glaive as it appeared. Railnia’s eyes sparkled approvingly as she hammered the butt of her own glaive into the earth. Without further delay, we began circling each other. There was no need for words as the enthusiasm in the air was palpable. I hated being the center of attention, but I could see the purpose behind this. These people need some fun in their lives. I personally didn’t think getting my ass kicked by a seven-foot-tall blue-skinned mer-woman was fun, but I could oblige them in this.

I struck first. As we circled I began to face the sun, and to avoid her capitalizing on the disadvantage I would have I took the initiative instead. My weapon sang as it sliced through the air toward her, aiming for her shoulder. She seemed to be expecting it though as her weapon intercepted mine almost at once. I tried to use the momentum of my thrust to turn into her, launching my elbow at her face as I spun with her deflection.

Mid-turn I slammed my glaive into the ground, and used it to push away from her she brought up her knee aiming a blow at my side. Her attack missed me by inches, but she now had gained the initiative and was already swinging her weapon toward my left leg. I rotated Abyssal Ruinations in my hands, parrying her attack. As our weapons collided, I used her own momentum to propel my weapon toward her own leg. Her own weapon pushed too far out of the way to intercept my attack; she instead twirled her body, and lashed out with a kick that not only allowed her to avoid my attack, but it sent me stumbling away from her feeling winded.

I didn’t have time to casually recover though as she was already following up her kick with a wide swing of her glaive. She had used the momentum to devastating effect, and I knew there was no way I could block her attack. Instead, I held up my weapon defensively as our two weapons met with a crack that resounded throughout the square. I was already turning with the attack as I brought my own body into a spinning kick aimed at her head. She attempted to duck below the kick in order to unbalance me, but I surprised her. My retaliating assault had only been a feint, and as she ducked I instead jumped.

The sudden centrifugal force created between my spinning kick and my leap twisted my body violently. I didn’t flail though as she suddenly needed to reassess her positioning and using the surprise against her I managed to throw a fist that connected squarely with her ribs, as my body fell to the ground. She hissed quietly as my blow struck, but I was forced to ignore it. She swung her glaive towards my chest as I landed on the earth below her. I was already in motion though, grabbing her leg, I tugged hard. She lost her balance and stumbled backward, the blade missing me entirely. I kicked off of the ground and took a few steps away from her as we once again stared each other down.

“You have definitely improved, Ellie.” She noted with genuine admiration. I could see the glint in her eyes as she smiled at me, her movements were tense. Her muscles coiled like a cat preparing to pounce.

“I had a good teacher,” I replied, trying to calm my own muscles. The very first rule of combat I had learned was that tense muscles only serve to slow you down. This time it was her turn to strike first. It was almost blinding as the world around me shifted in a heartbeat. A gut-wrenching feeling took over me as she released a wave of killing intent powerful enough to shake my fortitude. I barely managed to maintain composure in order to avoid the butt of her glaive from striking me in the head.

The battle continued like that for well over five minutes, but even then the fight couldn’t last. It was as she had said, we were putting on a show for the people at first. Caught up in a beautiful dance of death and fury. The speed of exchange escalated rapidly as both of us started trying to push each other to the limit. I kept receiving small injuries across my body as she toyed with me. I knew she was trying to milk the experience, not only to instruct me but to give the people a solid end to the battle. I visibly began to falter as I received a continuous series of wounds.

For a moment to the audience, it looked like my stamina was fading, and I would have to call it quits. Even Railnia had been taken in my decreasing state. Yet just as she went in for the final blow my facade fell away and with a burst of energy I pushed myself straight at her, deflecting her weapon with my own as I closed in, my shoulder sending her sprawling to the ground. Not relenting, I thrust Abyssal Ruination down at her neck. I held it there just above her throat as she stared up at me from the ground, her mouth opening into a wide and joyous grin.

“I yield!” She shouted in a loud and buoyant voice that everyone could hear. The people erupted into cheers as I held out my hand to lift her from the ground. “Well done Lord Leo. It’s truly a privilege to be able to fight with you. I wish you well on your journey.” She finished in a more hushed tone that only I could hear. Warmth filled my chest at her words and I nodded. After rising to her feet she bowed deeply before me. From the dais, the other generals also bowed in deference. With nothing left to do or say I beckoned the minions who would be joining me on my adventure and marched away from the cheering Threlnistari, and towards the unknown.