Synopsis: The kingdom of Leferon was having a time of peace. However, after an abnormal monster subjugation by the prince and his comrades, a conspiracy that could plunge the world into war is uncovered. With this discovery, the king orders the prince to put an end to the conspiracy but what will he find on his journey? Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Also on Royal Road: http://royalroadl.com/fiction/7239 Table of Contents: Chapter 1: A Bad Feeling Chapter 2: The 5 Headed Hydra Chapter 3: Back for More Chapter 4: The Warning Chapter 5: A Day Off Chapter 6: The Assassin Attacks Chapter 7: Waking up in Jail Chapter 8: Circumstances of the Forthon Princess Chapter 9: A New Mission Chapter 10: The Great Forest Chapter 11: Mutated Wasp Queen Chapter 12: The Second Prince Chapter 13: Forthon Castle Chapter 14: Abigail's True Form Note: This is my first attempt at an original novel. My inspirations are JRPGs (especially Tales and FF), anime, and CNs. Probably really generic but would still appreciate feedback. EDIT: Changing the name to Class Crystal Battles because the title is pretty similar to Tales of Demons and Gods. Also the story won't introduce gods until probably the last arc (if I continue that far). Didn't realize I could change the title until recently.
Chapter 1: A Bad Feeling The kingdom of Leferon was in a period of peace and prosperity. Although it could not be considered a very big country, it enjoyed abundant resources and a good economy. Although not all the neighboring countries were friendly, Leferon was surrounded by natural barriers making invasions difficult. Even the country closest to them, the kingdom of Forthon, would have to go through the Great Forest in order to attack them and there was little threat of that as Leferon had been friendly with Forthon since its founding a thousand years ago. Furthermore, there was little strife between nobles and commoners as corruption was dealt with quickly and harshly. In the Royal Office of Leferon, a handsome blonde haired man was doing paperwork when someone came in with a stack of papers and a tray. “And these are the last of the documents for today, Your Majesty. Before that though you should take a break. I’ve also brought your favorite tea.” “Thank you Glenn but I’ll drink it after I finish. And we’re alone here. There’s no need for my best friend to use formalities.” “Although you may think there is no need, I still believe it is necessary as your subject.” As the eldest of the three sons of the previous king, Arthur had been king of Leferon since he was fifteen years old. His parents had allegedly gotten lost at sea when attempting to establish peace and trading treaty to neighboring countries. Thanks to them laying down the framework, Arthur was able to maintain and even improve Leferon for the past ten years. For the past ten years, his best friend Glenn had been helping him as his secretary and bodyguard. “Glenn, can you tell Ed to deal with the hydra in the report? I think he can deal with it without having to risk the lives of ordinary soldiers.” “I’m sorry Your Majesty. Prince Edmund left a note in his room saying he is currently traveling with his adventurer party and cannot be reached quickly.” “Knowing him he’s probably getting wasted in some noble lady’s bed right now. Alright then how about Barry?” “I believe Prince Barton free to handle this matter. I believe he is currently in the training ground at the outskirts of the palace. But are you sure about this?” “Of course. He may be the youngest but there’s no way he’d be killed against a mere hydra. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” “Then I shall go and inform him, Your Majesty.” As Glenn left, Arthur stared out the window. Although he thought he may have been looking too much into it, there had recently been an increase in monster attacks. Most were only low level trolls or golems rather than a hydra but Arthur still couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling that something bad was happening. I hope nothing comes from this feeling. *** Clang Two people were sparring with each other on the training grounds near the royal palace. The man was wielding a long silver spear while the woman was wielding an axe almost as large as she was. Although they were just sparring, they were using magic as well so the training ground was littered with massive craters and burns. “Come on Dulhan! You call that a strike? My grandma could hit harder than you!” The woman was in her early 20s and wearing white armor. She continued to swing her axe at the man while her long blonde hair flowed in the wind. Any ordinary onlooker would question how she could effortlessly swing her axe around as if it were made of paper with such slender arms. Although she had an attractive face and her body had curves that could cause most men to stare at her in the street, she currently had a bloodthirsty grin plastered on her face that would scare anyone away. “Sorry if I’m not as bloodthirsty as you Medony! Besides, your grandma could probably kick all our asses, right Barton?” Dulhan was wearing black armor. He was also in his early 20s and had short brown hair and a carefree face. Although he was constantly being forced back by Medony’s insane strength, she was unable to get a direct hit on him while he had already struck her a few times with his superior speed and range. Furthermore, it was just a sparring match so he was quite relaxed. “Well that’s kind of obvious. Medony’s grandmother was the Adventurer Guild’s grandmaster for decades. Hell, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who still has bruises from the training she gave us last week.” Prince Barton was wearing blue full body armor and was armed with a longsword and a shield. He had short black hair and a face just as attractive as his brother’s. However, his head was completely hidden by his helmet and was currently training with his contracted beast, the Heavenly Dragon he had named Bailong. As he gave his reply, Bailong had launched an energy breath at Barton. Although he was able to block it with his shield, the cape of his armor was still slightly singed. “Damn I should have put up a barrier instead!” Bailong let out a satisfied roar. He was about 3 meters long and 2 meters wide with wings on his back and a magnificent white scales that reflected countless different colors when light was shining. Although he was a Heavenly Dragon, one of the most powerful types of Dragons in existence, Bailong had yet to reach maturity and achieve his full strength. At the age of 5, children are taken to a contract beast gate and allowed to attempt to summon and bond with a newborn beast. The chosen partner depends entirely on luck and Barton had been able to summon Bailong. Bailong was currently 15 and it usually took Heavenly Dragons around 15-20 years to reach maturity. This meant that he was on the threshold of reaching his true power. Though his power was a force to be reckoned with even now, he could still be threatened by more powerful or more experienced opponents. At that moment, someone approached and the group stopped sparring. The three touched a crystal on their wrists and their weapons and armor faded away leaving them in their normal attire. These were Class Crystals which could store equipment. As they were quite easy to mass produce and doubled as a Spatial Storage, even civilians had Class Crystals. By touching it, a user could instantly put on or take off a set of equipment corresponding to a Class. The Class system was used widely enhanced certain aspects of the Class Crystal user. However, most people could only use one Class. The Classes that Barton, Dulhan, and Medony were Knight, Dragoon, and Berserker respectively. “Prince Barton.” “Hey Glenn. Is there something you need?” “His Majesty King Arthur has a mission for you. You are to eliminate the hydra currently attacking towns in the easternmost part of the kingdom. His Majesty would have sent Prince Edmund instead but he cannot be reached. Furthermore, His Majesty would prefer if you left as soon as possible to minimize the damage. Shall I prepare a Dwarven carriage for you?” “It’s fine. We’ll leave now. Let’s go Dulhan, Medony. It’s about 3000 kilometers away. If we go at top speed, we’ll probably get there in a day or two.” ““Right!”” As they said that, a magic circle appeared on the back of their hands. They had summoned their contracted beasts. Dulhan’s was a Nightmare Horse named Altoras while Medony’s was a Lightning Griffin named Azun. Nightmare Horses were jet black horses with manes of hellish blue flames. They lacked defensive capabilities but their speed was unmatched and could gallop through the skies as easily as on land. Lightning Griffins were golden in color and had majestic wings which pulsed with electricity. They were as fast as lightning and had the strength to match. Both were only slightly lower in rank to Barton’s Heavenly Dragon. As all of them had contracted beasts who could fly through the skies, they could ignore roads and fly straight to their destination. They had already been sparring so they had all their equipment with them. The only thing they had to worry about was food but they could easily stop in a town and buy something or go hunting in a forest. “Good luck Prince Barton.” “Thanks Glenn. Let’s go.” With the parting words, Barton and his group took off to the skies.
Honestly, I was surprised by the writing. I think you have the potential to write a real story as you improve. Keep up the good work!
To ask for opinion..it better to have more than 1 chapter.. With only 1 chapter published now, world building insufficient and I have know idea what the heck going on..keep up
Nice job mate, I followed you on royalroad, though I think you've been influenced a little too much by the novels here, theres no sfx generally in english writing like Clang.
Chapter 2: The Five Headed Hydra It took Barton’s group a little over a day to reach the eastern border of Leferon including a stop to eat and rest. When they reached the village where the hydra had last been spotted, they dismissed their contract beasts and went to the mayor’s house to question him about the hydra. Apparently, it had appeared from the Great Forest and attacked a group of traveling merchants and had even eaten several before the survivors were able to escape. Currently, the group were in searching around the trails of the Great Forest. However, their search had been fruitless so far. After all, the Great Forest was one of the natural barriers that protected Leferon from invaders and the trees of the forest grew tall and dense. Dulhan let out a relieved sigh. “Looks like we’re lucky. According to the townspeople the hydra only has four heads. That means that it hasn’t reached maturity yet. I doubt we’d be able to deal with it if it had six or more heads.” Hydras reached maturity when they gained six heads. In order to face a six headed hydra, at least 250 soldiers would be needed. However, an immature hydra would generally require no more than 100 soldiers to kill. Medony slapped Dulhan in the back hard. “Come on, what are you so happy about? A mature hydra would have been a great challenge. An immature hydra can’t even spit acid yet and I’ve heard stories of hydras with 11 or 12 heads. Oh what I would give to witness one of those battles. Well I guess we’ll have to settle on an immature hydra for today though.” “I would really appreciate it if you stopped slapping me with so much force. You should really learn to watch your strength. After all you’ll have trouble finding a husband if you smack him around like a gorilla all the time.” “Who are you calling gorilla? Besides I’ll probably find a lover sooner than you. After all, who would take a lazy bum like you as a husband?” “Just because I don’t want to spend every free moment working out doesn't mean I’m lazy. In fact-” “If the old married couple are done bickering, we should really be focusing on finding the damn thing. According to the mayor, the hydra attacked those merchants somewhere around here.” ““Who the hell are you calling married!!!”” Although he really did want them to focus on finding the hydra as soon as possible, Barton also enjoyed teasing the two of them from time to time about their relationship. After all, they had grown up together and although they had arguments every other day, Barton knew Dulhan and Medony cared about each other deeply even if neither noticed. Or maybe they just didn’t want to admit it. Barton didn’t know for sure but he decided to just stick with the occasional teasing and let them figure it out on their own. The two continued bickering as they went deeper into the forest. Suddenly, Dulhan stopped talking. “Shhh! Did you guys feel that?” The ground had just started to tremble as if an earthquake had occurred. In the distance, the trio heard a roar followed by the sound birds taking flight and forest animals fleeing. The source of the roar was coming from a clearing in the forest about a kilometer away. Barton stared at the towering black monstrous creature in the distance. “Well, pretty sure we’ve found the hydra.” *** When they reached the clearing where the hydra was located, they found it greedily devouring a group of recently slaughtered deer. From its heads to its tail, the hydra was around 30 meters long. It’s black scaled body was covered in the blood of its prey and it’s red eyes had a hint of madness as it greedily consumed the deer. “Wait looks like the information was inaccurate. It’s got five heads.” “So it was able to grow a new head in the time it took us to get here. There’s still not much difference between a five headed hydra and a four headed one. Let’s go!” Medony was the first to attack, equipping her axe and armor by pressing her Class Crystal on her wrist. She used strengthening magic to enhance her body and shot at the hydra leaving behind a sonic boom. Berserkers possess herculean strength that easily surpassed reason and this included Medony. A red aura surrounded her as she made her first strike. Although she hit the hydra in the leg, its scales were harder than she expected so the wound she inflicted wasn’t very deep. However, the wound still hurt the hydra and it let out an anguished screech. Dulhan and Barton followed soon after, activating their Class Crystals as well to fight the hydra. “Mana of fire, wreath my blade in flames and burn my enemies! Burning Strike!” Dulhan jumped into the air and channeled mana through his spear. The spear started to glow with a fiery aura Dulhan quickly stabbed at hydra’s eyes. With a cold look in his eyes and mercilessly striking with his spear, Dulhan looked like an uncaring war god in his shiny black armor. Blood started spurting out of the wounded eye and the hydra started flailing around. Of the trio, Dulhan was the only one who consistently chanted to use magic. Medony usually lacked the patience to chant in a fight while Barton prefered to keep enemies guessing whether he was using magic or not so he rarely bothered with chanting. Although the chants were not necessary to use magic as long as the caster knew the spell, verbally chanting would increase the power of a spell by around 50%. Meanwhile, Barton charged his sword with mana to strengthen its cutting power and slashed at its relatively unprotected underbelly. After that, he raised his sword and dozens of swords of various different elements started to shoot at the hydra. Magic Constructs were the special bloodline ability of the Leferonian Royal Family. Using it, one could make magical objects with different properties such as elemental swords and barriers. After being made, they would last around an hour before fading away unless it had a constant stream of mana. This versatile ability was the main reason Leferon’s first king was able to found the kingdom a thousand years ago. By mass producing magical weapons and armor to his troops and having them provide the mana to keep it from fading themselves, his army outclassed any other army at the time. In fact, the Magical Constructs that Barton could make were still a bit superior to the weapons current footsoldiers generally used. Although Barton had caused the swords to explode on impact, the hydra’s scales were too hard for them to do any major damage. However, it was still sufficient in drawing its attention away from Dulhan who continued to attack its eyes. Feeling threatened, the hydra tried to run but it suddenly fell down. “Looks like I just needed a bit more power to cut through those scales.” Next to Medony was one of the hydra’s severed legs. “Sorry but we’re not letting you loose so you can eat more citizens.” As Barton and Medony continued to strike the hydra’s body, Dulhan used his great speed and reflexes to dodge any attack the hydra tried while blinding each of its heads. Dragoons specialize in swift and sharp stabs as well as having a great emphasis agility and accuracy and Dulhan was no different. After about 15 minutes of fighting, he had succeeded in blinding all of the hydra’s heads. “Let’s finish it off! Barton, tie it down!” Dulhan’s spear started to glow with white flames. A hydra’s major organs are located in its heads. As a result, the only way to make sure a hydra dies is to cut off all its head and cauterize the wounds. Otherwise, it would eventually regrow its heads. “Alright!” Barton planted his sword into the ground and clasped his hands together. Chains of light appeared behind him and started to entangle the hydra. This was Barton’s Divine Bindings, the most powerful chains he could make with his ability. Furthermore, it had strong sealing properties that weakened the hydra further. After that, he redrew his sword and started channeling fire mana into the blade. “Don’t forget about me!” Medony’s entire body started to glow golden and she had a bloodthirsty grin plastered on her face. At the same time, her axe was glowing with a red hot glow. “Oh holy flames, burn white and true to smite my enemies! Holy White Spear!” “Spirits of violence, imbue my blade with the flames of war! Berserker Slash!” Perfectly in sync, Dulhan and Medony lept into the air and beheaded two heads of the hydra each. At the same time, Barton slashed the air sending a wave of fire energy to decapitate the final head.
Chapter 3: Back for More About five kilometers away, a figure with glowing yellow eyes watched the battle, hidden by the shadows of the forest. After the hydra had been decapitated, the figure pulled out a dart filled with liquid and threw it at the headless hydra. “Looks like those humans put up quite a show with my pet but it would be boring to have it end so soon.” *** “Whew, that was close. There were a couple of attack I wasn’t sure I would be able to dodge. Let’s go back to town and have ourselves a nice long nap.” Dulhan made an exaggerated sigh as he stuck his spear into the ground and fell on his back. However, anyone could see that he did not actually have to exert himself much in that battle. On the other hand, Medony was still as boisterous as ever. “Oh come on, none of us even got hurt aside from a few scuffs here and there. I would have enjoyed it more if I could have gotten a few more swings with my axe before it went down.” “Personally, I’m with Dulhan on this one. Let’s rest in the town for the night before going back to the palace to report to my brother. Maybe the sages back at the capital can find more information about the hydra using its corpse.” “We’ll let the mayor take care of the transportation. Let’s just get back to tow-” HHHRRROOOOOAAAAAHHH!!! Medony was interrupted by a roar coming from behind. When she turned toward the source, she couldn’t contain her shock. “W-what the hell?” The hydra they had recently killed had been struck by the dart and started shaking as the trio was talking. It only took seconds for the serem to drain into the hydra and regrow its severed heads and heal its injuries. Revived, the hydra let out an angry roar that drew all eyes toward it. Worse,the serum had actually caused a sixth head had grow out as well. Dulhan was gaping in disbelief. “How is that possible? Our fire attacks should have cauterized the wounds preventing it from regrowing its heads! And it’s even grown a sixth head!” “We killed it once. Looks like we’ll have to do it again. Come, Bailong!” Barton lifted his hand and a summoning circle appeared. Out of it appeared Bailong the Heavenly Dragon. “Bailong, provide us covering fire.” The dragon nodded and with a roar, flew up into the sky and started shooting energy from his mouth. Barton then turned to Dulhan and Medony. “We have to take this thing down before it gets used to its new power! Summon Altoras and Azun. We’re going to need all the firepower we can get.” “Come out, Altros! Show that thing Hell!” “Let’s go, Azun! It’s time to bring the thunder down on this thing!” Dulhan and Medony both raised their hands and summoned the Nightmare Horse and Lightning Griffin. After being summoned, Altros started to shoot blue flames at the hydra while Azun shot white lightning. At this moment, the hydra had finished evolving and regained mobility. Although the contracted beasts were high in the air and out of immediate reach, their masters weren’t as lucky. The hydra swung its massive tail at the trio. Barton reacted quickly, intercepted the attack by putting up a three layered barrier as well as his shield. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to use a stronger barrier. The hydra’s tail shattered the barrier, dented the shield, and flung Barton about half a kilometer away through trees and boulders. If he hadn’t absorbed some of the impact with his shield and barrier or if his armor were of lower quality, he most certainly would have died. Luckily, his armor was made by a Dwarven master and was able to absorb damage for him to remain conscious. The once majestic blue armor was currently in a sorry state. There were dents and cracks all over and even some parts of the armor were broken away. Although Barton could not be considered to be alright, at the very least he was still alive. Furthermore, he accomplished his goal. Him intercepting the attack had caused the hydra’s tail to miss Dulhan and Medony and give them time to counterattack. As the hydra had thought it had gotten rid of all three with that attack, Dulhan and Medony were given enough time to collect themselves and renew their attack. Unfortunately, it had learned from the previous battle and the evolution of the additional head had increased its strength and reflexes exponentially. Even with the added support of their contracted beasts, they were having a much harder time against the hydra than before. Crap, that damn hydra hits freaking hard. Looks like I've three broken ribs, multiple leg fractures, left arm is broken in four different places. I guess I won’t be able to fight in this state.“Spirits of nature heed my cry, heal me with your blessed light. Healing Aura!” Barton used a healing spell to stop his bleeding and start healing some of his more major injuries like his broken bones. As a Knight, Barton was neither as physically strong as Medony or as fast as Dulhan. However, Knights were versatile, being able to fight physically as well as cast any type magic. In order to get back to the battle more quickly, Barton poured mana into his armor, not even waiting for his healing spell to finish. A pair of translucent wings began to take shape on his back stretching about a meter on each side. With these wings, Barton was able to get back to the battleground in mere seconds. Although only about a minute had gone by since Barton had taken the hydra’s attack, he still feared what it could do to Dulhan and Medony with its power. They had been holding back considerably against the hydra when they were fighting before but even if they were to go all out, Barton feared for the worst. Thankfully, they were able still okay when he got back. Dulhan had been able to blind one of the heads with some assistance from the contracted beasts. After that, he had managed to blind a second head with some support from Medony although his arm was hurt in the process. His broken left arm was swinging uselessly at his side while he was still trying to blind another head with his spear in his right hand. His once flawless black armor was now covered in cracks and dents. Although his arm was broken, his overall condition was actually a bit better than Barton’s before he had used the healing spell. Medony’s armor had many more dents than before but it seemed that she was as energetic as ever. This was due to the fact that a trait of the Berserker Class was to dull pain and the special ability of Medony’s bloodline was to convert damage into physical power. The more damage she took, the more powerful she became. In fact, as Barton arrived at the battleground, she had been able to cut off one of the hydra’s heads on her own. This act left her open for the other heads to attack though. Thankfully, Barton was able to launch a Blade Storm at the heads seeking revenge just in time, managing to hit an eye on two of the heads. As the swords exploded on impact, the hydra recoiled in pain as two of its eyes exploded. Barton continued on by casting a wide area healing spell in order to ease their injuries. “Spirits of nature, hear my plea, cast your merciful light on us. Healing Sanctuary! Sorry I’m late but at least I took out two more eyes. Don’t think that will work a second time though. So you still complaining the five headed hydra was too easy?” “Oh shut up. Dulhan’s managed to blind two of the heads and I’ve chopped off one of them. Your attack just now partially blinded two more. That leaves one more head that’s completely fine and I’m not entirely sure we have enough left in us to win.” As the three gathered up, the contracted beasts were keeping the hydra busy. When Dulhan reached the perimeter of Barton’s Healing Sanctuary, his broken arm and other injuries started to heal. However, the hydra had developed acidic breath that it was using on the contracted beasts meaning they didn’t have time to just stand around. Similar to a dragon’s breath, hydras could produce and launch this acid by using the mana in their bodies. Although it wouldn’t kill the contracted beasts, getting hit by that acid would still take them out of the fight. “Altoras and the other contracted beasts are at their limit as well. Looks like we’ve got no choice. Barton, Medony, help me stall for about 5 minutes.” “I’ll try but seeing as how much trouble it’s been up to now, I can’t make any guarantees.” “I’ll do it but if you let us down and we die I’ll bring you back and kill you again.” With those parting words, Barton and Medony started attacking the hydra once more. Meanwhile, Dulhan put down his spear, twisted his Class Crystal, and pressed it again. In a flash of light, his black armor and spear was replaced with a black robe and a short staff. After this, he raised his staff and started to collect mana into the orb on his staff. Normally, one person could have only one Class. However, there are exceptions to the rule. In rare instances, a person could possess the ability to use two Classes. These individuals were called Dual Class users. Around the world, it only happens in high ranking nobility although nobody knows the reason.Dulhan’s family, the Vortals, had fallen into ruin in his great grandfather’s time so much that Dulhan had spent his earliest years on a farm, his great grandfather had been a Duke. Although his family had since been restored to its former glory due to his father’s tireless work, another large contributing factor was that Dulhan was discovered to be a Dual Class user. When the country finds a Dual Class user, they are sent to a special school that finds what Classes they have an affinity toward and provide train them in those Classes. After all, Dual Class users could be an important military asset in times of crisis. Dulhan’s alternate Class was Summoner. As the name suggests, Summoners use mana to summon creatures to do battle. However, Summoners are physically weak and generally need comrades to protect them as they prepare for summoning. Though Dulhan’s Dragoon Class increased his physical abilities slightly while he was a Summoner and likewise the Summoner Class would have allowed him to summon weaker creatures while he was a Dragoon, the increase was not significant enough to make a difference in this battle. That was why he still needed Barton and Medony to protect him. While Dulhan was gathering mana, Barton and Medony were both frantically defending and attacking against the hydra. With some trial and error, Barton had found that he had to use a five layered barrier in order as well as his shield to avoid being knocked back by the hydra’s tail attack and a three layered barrier would be sufficient to block the hydra’s attempts to bite them. Furthermore, he would launch a Blade Storm whenever the hydra started to turn its attention onto Dulhan. As Medony had the greater striking power, she left her defenses to Barton and continued to attack the hydra to lure it away from Dulhan. Even if she was unable to cut off any more heads of the hydra, the deep gashes on its body were more than enough to turn its attention to her. The contracted beasts were also continuing to shoot down at the hydra from the skies. Facing these attacks coming from different directions, the hydra decided to try a different tactic. Although the attacks from the humans hurt it, the attacks from the contracted beasts hurt it more. Thus it decided to prioritize taking them down first. The hydra raised all five of its heads to the sky and started focusing its acid breath on one contracted beast at a time. The first to go down was Altoras as despite his great speed, he was unable to dodge five different attacks coming from different directions. Before he hit the ground, Altoras disappeared in a flash of light. Although contracted beasts could be killed like any other living being, they rarely die in battle. This is because they are able to return from where they were summoned if they take a large amount of damage to preserve their lives. Although they cannot be summoned again for at least a day, their lives would not be threatened. His defeat was followed shortly by Bailong who attempted to counter the hydra’s breath attack with his own. Because he was still young and couldn’t maintain his breath, Bailong lost the struggle and was sent back as well. Azun was able to last a little longer because she was able to accelerate at the speed of lightning. However, this put a strain on her body and the hydra was able to strike her down after another minute. Medony had used those precious few minutes given to them by the contracted beasts to charge up another Berserker Slash and cut another of its heads while Barton focused his attention on healing some of their injuries. However, after Azun fell, the hydra turned its acid breath on Barton and Medony. “That won’t work on us! Mirror Reflection Shield!” Barton raised shield and placed up another five layered barrier between them and the hydra. When the hydra’s acidic breath hit the barrier, it was absorbed and shot back. The Mirror Reflection Shield was one of Barton’s spells that combined his Magical Construct ability with magic. The result was a spell that could reflect any enemy magic as long as the layered barrier stayed intact. Unfortunately, it could not reflect physical attacks and if a magical attack were to break through all the barriers, the reflection effect would not activate. The hydra had never expected its own acid to be shot back at it and recoiled as its scales and flesh started to smoke and bubble. It appeared that both scale and flesh were beginning to melt. HRRRAAAAAAAOOORR!!! It let out a pained roar and started thrashing about. Although the injury looked grievous and would take a large amount of time to heal, the hydra didn’t seem to mind the pain. In fact, while it seemed much more violent than before, it seemed almost as if it was most offended by the fact that its own attack was used against it. Shit! That didn’t go as well as I thought it would. “Dulhan are you done!?!” Suddenly a large magic circle appeared in front of Dulhan. Over a hundred shadowy wolves appeared and started attacking the hydra. Their claws and their fangs clawed and bit into the exposed flesh from the previous attacks. Rather than summon something large to attack the hydra head on, Dulhan had decided to summon a large number of weaker beasts to overwhelm it with sheer numbers. “Just finished. Now take that thing down while my Midnight Wolves have it distracted!” While Dulhan was controlling his Midnight Wolves, he was unable to change back into the Dragoon Class. Thus it was up to Barton and Medony to decapitate the remaining heads of the hydra. Before Dulhan had even finished talking, Medony had already jumped up and decapitated one of the hydra’s heads. With a swift motion, she kicked the smouldering stump and brought her axe down on the neighboring head, head, dyeing her axe and armor a brilliant crimson. Barton did not stay idle though. He charged his longsword with mana and launched a flaming wave of magic at another head. If the hydra had not been distracted by the sudden attack of the wolves, it may have been able to block or dodge the attack but the energy wave severed another head from the hydra. With two heads remaining and the hydra still struggling with the countless wolves clawing at its injuries, Barton and Medony charged with their respective weapons and struck down two remaining heads, finally bringing the battle to an end.
Yeah the title is a work in progress right now but I can't really think of a good name. On another note though, that's all I have for now. Once again I would appreciate feedback and suggestions and I'll try to incorporate them into later chapters.
Chapter 4: The Warning Clap clap clap The unexpected sound caused all Barton and the others to turn around. A hooded figure had appeared behind them. Although their face was obscured by a mask, they could see a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at them from under the hood. “Wow! I never expected that such a small group of humans would be able to bring down my six headed hydra. Sure it was a failure since it only evolved once even after taking in my serum but still congratul-!” At once, all three, including Dulhan who had switched back to his Dragoon Class had launched attacks at this mysterious figure. However, all they accomplished was knocking down the figure’s hood. Under the hood was a man with blue skin and yellow glowing slitted eyes. At the sides of his head he had horns resembling those of a ram and had slightly long black hair. Although non-human races were relatively common in Leferon, Barton and the others had never seen anyone similar to this man before. “Now, now, no need to get violent. I’m genuinely praising you. Still, I’m a busy guy so I’ll bid you adieu.” As he said that he turned around and leapt into the forest. “Wait!” Barton twisted his Class Crystal while running after the mysterious man. In a flash of light, his broken equipment was replaced with a red cloak and light armor with a black breastplate. On his back was a bow. This was Barton’s alternate Class, Ranger. Rangers were hunters that could effectively move in any terrain. Although they are much weaker than Knights physically, they too are able to fight physically and with magic although they favor evasion rather than defense. However, what was most important was that Barton’s Ranger Class could move through the forest much faster than his Knight Class. The two were moving at an incredible speed. In less than a minute, they had traveled approximately 5 kilometers. “Can you quit following me? I’m under orders to return to base without being letting anyone know where it is.” “I’ve got some questions for you. For starters, why did you unleash that hydra in the kingdom? What’s your goal?” “Sorry but no spoilers. I will tell you this though. You’re the Third Prince aren’t you? Well let’s just say keep an eye out for your big brother for about a week when you get back. That way I won’t get in trouble for this fiasco since the higher ups will be coming down on the asshole in charge of that mission. It’s a win-win isn’t it?” “Sorry but that’s not enough for me to let you go!” Barton took the bow from his back and separated it into twin swords. Then he disappeared and reappeared in back the the mysterious man, swinging his swords down. Just as his swords were about to hit though, the man disappeared. “Teleportation by taking advantage of natural distortions in space eh? Looks like the range is about a radius of a hundred meters. Pretty interesting skill. Thanks for the demonstration although I wonder why you didn’t use it against my hydra. I’m gonna guess that it’s a skill you can only use in this form isn’t it Prince? Well it’s impossible for you to catch me anyways.” The voice coming from behind left Barton shocked. The Teleportation ability was a trump card Barton had created for the Ranger Class and yet it was seen through so easily. Normally, only those of the Mage Class could use mana to teleport by causing distortions in space. Similar distortions occurred naturally as well but few people had noticed them and fewer knew what they were. The Ranger Class’s enhanced sense, specifically the enhanced eyes, allowed Barton to vaguely see and use these distortions but even he had trouble using it consistently as he had only recently come up with this technique. What was more shocking was that this figure was able to figure it out and even mimic it right after seeing him use it. Recombining his swords into a bow, Barton manifested Magical Construct arrows and shot them at the man. However, the man disappeared before the arrows could hit and even Barton’s enhanced senses couldn’t find him this time. “Remember my words young Prince. Seriously, I’m counting on you to screw up that asshole’s plans so stay on guard!” *** When Barton returned, Medony was wearing a white robe and equipped with a long staff. A glowy white light was coming from her staff that made Barton’s body feel lighter. She was in her alternate Priests Class. Priests specialized in healing and support and in this Class, Medony was able to heal everyone much faster and much more effectively than Barton could. However, Priests have nearly no combat ability, focusing on support instead so the Berserker Class was still more useful in the battle against the hydra. Dulhan was the first to speak. “So he got away?” “Yeah. In any case we should probably get back to town. We can request the mayor to recover the corpse of the hydra and send it to the capital.” Medony lowered her staff. “Don’t worry. If we see that guy again we’ll beat him into the dirt, revive him, and beat him into the dirt again.” “Do you have any idea how much your attire is clashing with your words right now? Priests aren’t supposed to be violent you know.” “Oh shut up, Barton. That’s just a stereotype. Besides it isn’t very knightly to be making fun of a lady now is it?” “Since when are you a lady?” “Well screw you too, Dulhan! I may enjoy battle but I’m still the daughter of an Earl you know! Besides I can be ladylike if I wanted to!” “I’ll believe it when I see it.” ---Here's the next chapter. Since the I've been told the title sounds too similar to Tales of Demons and Gods and it was a place holder in the first place, does anyone have any suggestions? How do you guys like Tales of Crystal Battles?
Chapter 5: A Day Off The capital of Leferon, Winora, was a melting pot of all different races that inhabited areas near Leferon. These races came from the “natural barriers” that protected Leferon. The elves and fairies came from the Great Forest in the east, the dwarves came from Deurfaek Mountain in the north, the lizard people came from the Fiergol Desert in the south, and the Merpeople came from the Waltos Sea in the west. Of course there were also a large number of humans visiting from all over the world as well with the most being from Forthon, the closest human country with was located on the other side of the Great Forest. With merchants originating from so many sources, one could spend weeks going through the stalls and shops and still not get through all of them. Delicacies from every corner of the land could be found in the countless restaurants. Dishes made from magic were especially popular such as a sweet that was made by applying ice magic to sugar and milk or beef that was seared to perfection with fire magic. Elven performances were a sight to behold with magic taking various bright and colorful shapes and reenactments of old stories and battles done by famous actors could be viewed in theatres using Dwarven Pictures. Smithys rang with the sounds of hot steel being forged for eager new adventurers and street vendors advertised their products for everyone to see. Although it may have seemed too chaotic for a tourist or traveler to navigate, those who grew up in or near the capital were used to it and could find their way to their favorite shops or restaurants easily. Barton, Dulhan, and Medony had been spending their free time in of the streets of Winora since they were children. Usually, they would come here after a mission and spend some of their hard earned money on whatever foods and attractions were on the streets. However, Barton didn’t join Dulhan and Medony today. It had been five days since they had returned from the hydra subjugation and the sages at the Alchemy Academy were still busy analyzing the remains. Although King Arthur had told them to take time off to rest after reading their report on the battle, Barton had taken the mysterious man’s words to heart and spent every free moment guarding his brother. After much argument, Arthur had finally given in and allowed him to act as a guard. However, Arthur attached the condition that Barton was not allowed to equip his weapons or armor until a threat had occurred. After all, Arthur had to meet citizens as King and he did not want to have them intimidated by Barton. Dulhan and Medony had just finished dinner at their favorite restaurant and were wandering the streets to find something else to do. The sun had already gone down and the moon was hanging in the sky. The streets were much emptier than it had been earlier in the day. Although Winora was backed during the day and late at night, the streets thinned dusk. After all, it was late enough that the shops that opened in the day were closing yet it was still too early for the stores that appealed to the night crowd to open. Of course there was always people on the streets but “It’s a pity Barton’s not here. He would have loved that seafood dish. It’s not really the same if we don’t hang out together.” “Yeah, pity.” We’re all alone and she just had to bring up Barton. I went through the trouble of asking her out but does she not realize this is a date? How dense can she be? Damn why does she have to look so cute outside of battle! As they were spending their free time here, they were wearing their casual clothes rather than their armor. Usually, Dulhan would wear a tunic and pants in his free time. Although he was used to being a noble now, when he could he still prefered to dress in more comfortable clothes when he could. Today was special though so he was wearing a black vest with matching pants. Underneath, he wore a grey shirt. He had dressed up hoping to impress Medony but he was disappointed when she just asked what was with his clothing choice. Medony was wearing a beige blouse with a brown dress that was easy to move in. Despite the clothing choice being simple and conservative, it had actually emphasised her body’s natural curves rather than hid them. Her long blonde hair had been tied up into a ponytail giving her an energetic impression. Furthermore, as she was neither in battle nor thinking of battles to come, her usual bloodthirsty expression was replaced by one of cheerful relaxation. The result was that more than one man had walked into a wall or pole today as she had been passing by. “So do you think that man was telling the truth? That the king is going to be attacked” “I don’t know but at the very least Barton said he didn’t seem to be lying.” “Dulhan… is it really alright for us to be enjoying ourselves like this? I know we were injured pretty badly against the hydra and the king himself told us to rest but I still can’t shake the feeling of something bad happening. That man clearly could have killed us but all he did was reveal himself and left. Even then, if he hadn’t revealed himself, we would have thought that hydra was just a random occurrence.” Of course Dulhan had also thought of various reasons the mysterious man had revealed himself at all. Of course the most obvious hypothetical scenario was that the man wanted them to be on edge and strike them after they had become exhausted or let their guard down. Another possible scheme might to get them to waste resources protecting the king while they attacked a more vulnerable target. Of course there was always the option that he had been telling the truth and there was infighting among their ranks. “Well we can’t let what might be bring us down. All we can do is plan for the possibilities. Besides, what was it that you said before?” Striking a pose Dulhan continued. “Oh yeah! ‘Don’t worry. If we see that guy again we’ll beat him into the dirt, revive him, and beat him into the dirt again!’ See? We already have one plan of attack. Now we just need to come up with about a dozen more and we’ll have nothing to fear.” “Pu Pwhahahahaha! Oh gods, your impressions need so much work! Hahaha! And what’s with that ridiculous pose?!? Haha! I can’t breath!” “Hey! Come on, it wasn’t that bad was it?” Medony was still chuckling as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yeah it was really that bad! After we find that guy and beat him into the dirt you’re taking acting lessons! But for now let’s find something else to do.” With that she continued walking away leaving Dulhan standing on the street looking like an idiot. When she had walked about 10 meters ways, Medony suddenly turned around. “But still. I needed that. Thanks, Dulhan.” She then flashed him a genuine smile. Then she quickened her pace. “Now hurry up! I’m gonna leave you behind!” Dulhan’s heart skipped a beat. Although his face didn’t show it, he was extremely flustered right now. “What? Oh wait up!” Ah damn, that’s totally not fair smiling at me like that! I’ll get her back for that. Seriously I’ll make her fall for me if it’s the last thing I do! As Dulhan was lost in his inner monologuing, he accidently ran full speed into a young woman who had walked out of an alley. “Ah!” “Kyaaa!” After hearing the collision, Medony rushed back. “You should watch where you’re going! What if you hurt her? Spirits of nature, hear my prayer, bathe us in your healing light! Healing Circle!” “Sorry, miss. That was entirely my fault. Let me give you a hand.” “Um thank you.” As Dulhan took her hand to help her up, his expression froze. “Wait, what’s the matter?” Medony asked worriedly. She had finished her healing spell but Dulhan’s expression made her think that maybe the simple healing spell she used wasn’t enough. She turned to the girl. “Are you alright?” Immediately, she started to look at the girl for any injuries but stopped almost as quickly. She could guess why Dulhan had frozen. The only way Medony could describe the girl was beautiful. She looked to be in her late teens or early 20s but was a bit on the petite side. Her pale skin contrasted perfectly with her shiny black hair which hung down to her waist and was tied into a ponytail using a yellow ribbon. Whether it be her pink lips or her gentle brown eyes, Medony couldn’t find anything about her face to complain about. Although her curves weren’t nearly as pronounced as Medony’s, they were perfectly proportioned for her body and would still make many a man crazy. The pink blouse, white jacket, and yellow skirt she was wearing gave off a very feminine aura. Men would fall over themselves over the two of them but for entirely opposite reasons. While Medony gave off the impression of the ideal mature and tough woman, this girl gave off the impression of a gentle flower, the ideal noble lady. “I’m fine. Thank you but I must be on my way. I’m in a bit of a hurry.” As she said this, she started almost running away. Seeing the girl run off, Medony turned back to Dulhan with a slightly smiling expression. “So that’s your type of woman eh? Well you can still go chase her if you want her contact information.” With that, she started to walk away. She didn’t know why but she had started to feel somewhat angry all of a sudden. “W-wait! Come back! At least let me explain!”
Chapter 6: The Assassin Attacks At around the same time, Arthur was in his office doing paperwork. Although he had finished their quota of paperwork for today, Arthur preferred to continue for as long as he could. After all, work that was finished today wouldn’t have to be done tomorrow and it especially helped that he had an extra pair of hands. “I’ve finished reviewing this stack of documents. Nothing seems to be wrong with the taxes and budget.” “Thanks just put them over here and I’ll do the final check and approval.” In addition to guarding Arthur, Barton was also doing his fair share of paperwork. After all, although his education had primarily been focused on combat because he was a Dual Class user, he was still a prince and expected to take over rule if something had happened to Arthur and Edmund. Thus, he had was able to do anything Arthur could even if Arthur was the one who did the final reviews and signed the documents. Although Arthur had a fiance but wasn’t married yet so he didn’t have any heirs who could inherit the throne. Furthermore, in Arthur’s eyes, Barton would make a better king than Edmund who loathed paperwork and would probably spend the day partying. Still, if something did happen to Arthur, Edmund would probably give up his right to the throne on his own so Arthur didn’t have to worry about a battle for the crown. “I’m kind of glad you forbade me from equipping a Class now. If my back is so sore in my casual clothes I’d hate to imagine if I were to sit here all day in my armor.” Usually, Barton would be wearing his white and golden King’s Guard uniform but a maid had accidently spilled coffee on it the other day. Instead, Barton was wearing the clothes he usually went out in: a red shirt with dark blue pants and a long white jacket. Other nobles may have said it was improper or something to that effect but Arthur actually liked how causal things were. It reminded him of more carefree days before the crown was thrust upon him. “Don’t worry. I was the same in the beginning but you get used to it. After doing it for years, I can do paperwork wearing anything, including my armor. But enough of that. Let’s call it a night after these documents. Barry, are you sure you want to stay here with me? It’s been four days since you’ve returned and you’ve pretty much been by my side since then. Sure it’s great having you around helping me with paperwork since Glenn went to help the royal blacksmith in the Deurfaek Mountain but that’s beside the point. You should be resting a bit, spend some of the gold you got from subjugating that hydra. Anyways, are you sure the enemy wasn’t just trying to fool you?” “I’ve thought of that too but when he mentioned he was screwing up the plans of ‘that asshole’ the disdain sounded genuine. It’s better safe than sorry though. Besides, I don’t even remember the last time you picked up a sword.” “Haha I may not have held a sword for a while but if I remember correctly you’ve never beaten me in a spar. You can come back with the insults when that changes.” A few more minutes passed as the brothers chatted idly. “And then I told Ed ‘With the amount of women you get with, it’s a surprise we- Kling Seemingly out of nowhere, a hooded figure had drawn a dagger and tried to plunge it into Arthur’s neck. Fortunately, it was blocked by a barrier that had activated automatically. “Sorry Mr. Assassin. Your ability to completely mask your presence and killing intent surprised me but you were too naive. The neck is one of the most vulnerable parts so it’s obvious that we would prioritize protecting it.” Immediately, Barton touched his Class Crystal and equipped his Knight Class. Though the armor had yet to be repaired from battling the hydra because the royal blacksmith was out of town, Barton still felt more comfortable using it than the Ranger Class against an unknown assailant. After all, the Ranger Class specialized in analyzing a target and adapting to their fighting style while exploiting any discovered weaknesses. On the other hand, Assassins specialized in quick and efficient kills aiming for weak points although they too lacked physical strength and generally made up for it using poisoned weapons. A skilled Assassin could kill a target in one hit so Barton wasn’t sure he would last long enough in the Ranger Class to learn the Assassin’s moves. Based on these assumptions, he had decided that damaged full body armor was still better than the single chestplate that he had in the Ranger Class. Realizing that the assassination had failed, the Assassin jumped toward the exit, released a smokescreen, kicked down the door, and ran away with slightly less speed than sound. “Barry, go after him but capture him alive! We may be able to find out something about the mysterious man and his group!” “Got it!” Barton poured mana into his armor and the translucent wings appeared on his back. Even though the confined spaces and sharp turns of the corridors prevented him from going full speed, he was still able to catch up with the Assassin in a matter of seconds. He crashed into the Assassin, tackling them to the ground and knocking off their hood. Barton looked the Assassin in the face and froze for a moment. “You’re a girl?” Her Assassin garb had hid her body and her hood obscured her face but after it had been revealed, there was no questioning her gender. She had a beautiful face, long black hair tied in a ponytail that went down to her waist, pale white skin, and gentle eyes that you wouldn’t expect to find from an Assassin. However, there also burned a determination in her eyes that told Barton she would do anything to succeed. Although the gender of the Assassin hadn’t mattered to Barton, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen which threw him off guard for a moment. However, he quickly shook his head and pushed that thought out of his mind. “Surrender quietly or I’ll have to capture you by force.” The Assassin merely responded by throwing daggers aimed at the cracked parts of his armor. Barton was able to easily deflect them with his shield and charged forward. The Assassin dodged, threw another smokescreen, and darted down another corridor. As long as she evaded capture, she could regroup and try again. She had made it to the main entrance when Barton appeared in front of the doors to block her way. “Sorry but you’re not getting away that easily. I grew up in this palace so of course I’d know where all the corridors lead and where the shortcuts are.” “The king is still alive and I didn’t kill anyone on the way here. I can force my way through you but I don’t like killing unless it’s absolutely necessary. Can’t you just let me go?” “Afraid not. We’ve got some questions for you and in case you didn’t know, attempting to kill a king a crime usually punishable by death. Don’t worry though. Our justice system isn’t merciless. Depending on how willingly you answer our questions you might just get some prison time. Besides, I’m as confident in my strength to capture you as you do for getting past me. Now please surrender.” Looks like I have no choice… I have to use my main Class. The Assassin twisted her Class Crystal and pressed it. Her Assassin equipment was gone in a flash and replaced with an outfit that was primarily pink, white, and yellow. In her hand was a decorated wand that was about a third of a meter long with a clear gemstone at its end. So she’s a Dual Class user as well. Looks like this will be trouble. Mages specialized in wide area offensive magics and with large amounts of firepower. Many other classes could use magic. For example, Barton himself could use various types of offensive, defensive, and support magic in his Knight Class and healing magic in his Ranger Class. However, Mages not only did Mages have the largest mana stores of all Classes but there were also the most control, being able to guide magic even after the spell was finished. Although Barton could have used Magic Constructs to attack, Mages had weak physical attacks and Barton didn’t want to damage the palace any more than they had to so he prepared to strike her with a quick and powerful slash. Unfortunately for him, the first thing she did was not cast a spell. Instead, she raised her right hand. “I need you help, Ashe!” Out of the summoning circle appeared a golden 2 meter tall Divine Phoenix. Divine Phoenixes were rare and powerful beasts that paralleled and rivaled Heavenly Dragons. However, while Heavenly Dragons were stronger physically and could use many types of magic when they matured, Divine Phoenixes were much more powerful magically but focused on fire magic. The summoning had caught Barton by surprise and he barely managed to dodge Ashe’s flaming claws. However, the Divine Phoenix was relentless, continuing to peck, claw, and shoot fire at Barton’s broken armor as he struggled to block and dodge. Barton would have summoned Bailong to help out as well but he was still recovering from the hydra fight and Barton didn’t want to cause him more damage before he healed. Unfortunately, this meant that he was at a disadvantage. The only thing he could think of was to end the fight in one swift strike. Pouring mana into both his wings and his sword, Barton accelerated toward the Mage and struck her in half. Suddenly the body burst into flames and vanished. A voice suddenly called to him from behind. “Sorry Mr. Knight but your attack was too naive. While you were being distracted by Ashe I had plenty of time to set up a Flame Clone. Now try your hardest to block my strongest attack. Ashe, come here!” At the Mage’s command, Ashe became wreathed in pure golden flames and entered the gemstone of the wand. Mana was swirling around her, tearing the ribbon holding her ponytail and letting her hair down. At the same time, her jet black hair turned a silvery white. “Mana of fire, fuse with the purest of flames and become the Golden Beast of Purgatory! Blazing Phoenix Strike!” Silvery white hair? But that's-! Barton immediately raised his shield and put up an eight layered shield. This the the maximum number of layers he could use and was his ultimate defense. However, it was nothing to the 10 meter bird of pure golden flames that assaulted it. Each layer only lasted a few seconds before shattering. Finally, the phoenix had broken all the barriers and had gotten to Barton’s physical shield. With a final strike, Barton’s shield broke along with much of his damaged armor, the entire front entrance of the palace, and a significant amount of the courtyard. Perhaps if his armor and shield hadn’t been damaged, he would have been able to defend against the attack. However, the flames had torn through his damaged equipment even more easily than the Magic Construct barriers. Amazingly, he was still conscious after taking the attack and struggling to get up. However, his strength ran out at that point and he collapsed back onto the ground. The giant firebird was about to finish the job when she was stopped by the Mage. “That’s enough Ashe. There’s no way he’d be able to capture us now. You can go back now.” With that, the Heavenly Phoenix returned to its original size and appearance and disappeared with a flash. The Mage on the other hand collapsed for a moment as her long silver hair returned to its original black color. The Blazing Phoenix Strike really took a lot out of her and she had even used her bloodline ability to increase its power. Although she could have let Ashe finish him off, she wasn’t lying when she told him she didn’t like unnecessary killing. I can’t believe was able to survive Ashe and my combination attack. Looks like he wasn’t just boasting. Maybe if I had someone at his level, I wouldn't have had to come here. It’s a shame we’re enemies. He’s pretty handsome too. Wait what am I thinking?!? I should probably leave. After catching her breath, she got up and prepared to leave. “You fought well but looks like it’s my win. Maybe we’ll meet again.” Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain and lost feeling in her legs. As she collapsed to the ground she was able to slightly turn her head and saw a familiar face wearing black armor and wielding a bloodied spear behind her. Next to him was another familiar face who was wearing priest robes and immediately started healing her wound. “It’s you two?” “Was it really necessary to stab her? She was on her last legs anyways and we could have easily captured her without having to hurt her!” “Why are you so caring to an enemy all of a sudden? Besides if I didn’t use my Paralysis Spear, she could have gotten away. You know what we’ll talk about this later. For now I’ll apprehend the criminal. You should probably check up on Barton.” “Hello again. Sorry about bumping into you earlier but imagine my surprise when I had a vision of you attacking the king! Looks like you were just unlucky.” Dulhan’s bloodline ability, Future Sight, was not suited for combat. It could be used on a person once a day. Through physical contact, he is able to see an event that would happen to the person during the day. Although it is possible to change the future he sees, he found early on that it was much easier to let the event happen and try to fix it afterward. Otherwise, he might become the cause of an event he was trying to prevent. This was the real reason he had been shocked when he had helped the Mage up originally. After all, he had already set his heart on Medony so he wasn’t tempted by the girl’s beauty. The reason he only got here now though was because he had to catch up to Medony and explain the situation to her. As Medony went over to heal Barton, Dulhan pulled out a pair of mana sealing handcuffs from his Class Crystal. He took the Mage’s hands and cuffed them behind her back. Thanks to the Paralysis Spear’s effects, she couldn’t even struggle. All she could do was resign to her capture. Next, he put anti enhancement legcuffs on her to prevent her from running. Immediately after, the Mage Class disappeared in a flash and the girl was back in the normal clothes that she had been wearing when she met the two in the first place. The anti mana handcuffs and the anti enhancement legcuffs were the two Leferon’s two most valuable tools for capturing criminals. Although they had the basic function of preventing a criminal from using their hands or run away, they had secondary effects as well. The handcuffs prevented a criminal from using mana themselves and the legcuffs prevented any enhancements cast from an outside force from activating. When used together, they also negated the effects of Class Crystals and placed a seal on their physical strength, rendering even the strongest criminals practically harmless. After making sure the prisoner was locked securely, Dulhan undid his paralysis effect and helped her to her feet. “Now you can walk right? I’ll escort you to your cell in the dungeons. I’m sure His Majesty would like to have a few words with you tomorrow.”
Chapter 7: Waking up in Jail The girl awoke in a daze. What? Where am I? She tried moving her arms but was stopped by the cold steel surrounding her wrists. Her hands were still cuffed behind her back. Oh that’s right… I got arrested. Despite her predicament, she wasn’t scared or angry. All she felt was regret that she couldn’t accomplish her goal. The chain between the metal rings of the handcuffs were only about 5 centimeters long so she couldn’t move her arms very much but the chain on the legcuffs were around 50 centimeters long so while the prevented her from running, she could still walk. The girl got up from the bed and walked around her cell to get a feel for her new surroundings. The cell was a 2.5 meter square and was surrounded on three sides by a hard black stone material that the girl recognized as penitite cement. Penitite is a hard mana repelling stone found in the Deurfaek Mountain which her home country also bordered. The penitite stones are broken down and added to cement enhancing the durability and strength of the blocks as well as making them impervious to magic. However, she did not recognize the metal used for the bars of the cell. As for the inside of the cell, the girl saw a sink and a toilet on opposite side of the bed and a little bookshelf near the bed filled with books. In the middle of the room was a chair facing the bars presumably for when the prisoners were to be questioned. This dungeon isn’t as bad as I thought it would be… In all honesty, she had thought she would be thrown into a sewage infested hole in the ground or some other horrific place. After all, she had tried to assassinate their king. Instead, all she could think of was that it was an ordinary jail cell. She went back to the bed. I wonder what they plan to do with me. She didn’t have to wait long for an answer though. A few minutes later, the girl heard a door opening and an elderly jailer walked in carrying a tray with bread and soup. “You’re awake. Here’s your breakfast. Come here and stick your hands through this slot so I can unlock your handcuffs.” “Aren’t you afraid I’ll break out of here now that those handcuffs aren’t sealing my mana?” “Doesn’t matter if you can use mana in here anyways. Those bars and those cuffs you’re wearing are made of Adamantite Steel. The strongest Mages and Warriors wouldn’t be able to break out let alone a little girl like you. Although I will have to lock you back up when you meet the king, you don’t have to worry about it with little old me.” With that, she food tray through the slot. “Eat quickly. His Majesty will speak to you after you eat.” “...What’s the king of this country like?” “He’s young but talented and charismatic. He’s not quite as brilliant as his father or grandfather but he’s running things pretty smoothly. He also cares about his citizens and neighbors. He’s a good man but as a king, that could be a great strength or a crippling weakness. Or at least that’s my opinion. But enough about that. Why would a noble lady like yourself try to kill the king? You're so young and pretty, too. Even if you had a grudge against him, wouldn't someone like you usually send someone else as an Assassin?” “I don’t recall mentioning anything about being a noble.” “Come now dear. I’ve lived through the reign of three kings already. Judging from your words you’re not from Leferon. I don’t know what country you’re from but it’s generally quite easy to spot one by seeing how they eat for example. Oh if only my granddaughter could have a fraction of your demeanor.” “Thank you for talking with me.” After the girl had finished eating, the old jailer handcuffed her and left, leaving her alone to collect her thoughts. About half an hour passed and the door to the dungeon opened again. This time, a handsome blonde haired man wearing a white suit appeared in front of the cell. “Good morning, Princess Emilia Forthon. As you probably know by now, I am King Arthur Leferon, King of Leferon. We met last night but I guess this is the first time we’re meeting each other face to face. Hope you found everything to be alright. I would have put you in a more comfortable cell but all of them are made like this.” “Who?” “No need to play dumb. I’ve read the battle report and after a bit of digging, I think I have enough evidence to prove my assumption. The jailer already helped me to confirm you’re not from Leferon. Since we know you’re not from here, the only other place you could be from without showing up on our immigration and visitor logs would be if you were from Forthon since we have a traveling treaty. To further my point, Leferon and Forthon accents are indistinguishable just like yours is to ours. You’re a Dual Class user and one of the Classes you use is the Mage Class. Reports from Forthon say that Princess Emilia is a magical prodigy and that she’s a Dual Class user. The reports don’t say what your second Class is but I’ll say it’s safe to assume it’s Assassin after yesterday’s event. Finally, it took a bit of digging but Princess Emilia is rumored to have an extremely rare Divine Phoenix as a contracted beast. Quite the coincidence that’s the one you have isn’t it?” “That doesn’t prove anything. It just means that I’m a Mage Dual Class user from Forthon. There’s probably a hundred people who match that description. Besides, you have no real evidence that the princess has a Divine Phoenix if it’s just based on rumors.” “I guess that’s true but you’re forgetting the most damning piece of evidence. You used another ability in your battle. Gathering so much mana into your body that your hair turns silvery white is the bloodline ability of the Forthon Royal Family. I also know that the Forthonian king is an only child and that twenty years ago his queen died in childbirth. After that, he started to isolate himself and his country from the outside. Thus the only two people alive with the Mana Overcharge ability are you and the King of Forthon.” “I guess the secret is out although to be honest I wasn’t really trying to hide it anyways. I failed to kill you so I can’t go home. I’ll tell you my story on one condition.” “What’s that?” “Kill the madman who’s controlling my father.”
Chapter 8: Circumstances of the Forthon Princess “A little over twenty years ago, my mother had died in childbirth. My father, King Charles, was devastated that the love of his life was gone and closed contact with the outside world to mourn. Even without Mother, he tried his hardest to raise me while ruling the country. Even after he had recovered from his depression, his eyes always watered at the sight of one of my mother’s pictures and he continued to close off from the world because he didn’t want to bother with marriage requests from people aiming to be queen.” “When I was found to be a Dual Class user, I chose to use the two Classes that were the easiest for me to use as well as the ones that would help keep my father safe: Mage to keep him safe in the open and Assassin so I could work in the shadows.” “However, something strange happened about a year ago. My father and I had always been very close. He suddenly announced that he was taking a foreigner from beyond the Fiergol Desert named Abigail, who had just started to work at the palace as a maid, as his new wife. I confronted him about it but he merely said that he had finally decided to give finding love another try. If that was the case, I decided that he had spent all these years caring for me so he deserved to have a bit more happiness for himself. Thus I raised no further objections.” A year ago? That’s around the time monster attacks suddenly increased here... “After the she moved into the same room as Father, he started to be increasingly cold toward me. At first, it was only small things like occasionally glaring when he thought I wasn’t looking. Then, it was openly scorning me. Eventually, it reached the point where he was ordering me to subjugate monsters well above my ability. I can only assume it was done with the intention that I would die fighting. It was only due to luck many times that I was able to survive. All the while, that woman would just be sitting beside Father, whispering in his ear and smiling mockingly at me.” “After barely escaping death at the hands of an Winter Jaguar thanks to Ashe having an elemental advantage, I went back earlier than expected and found her meeting with a man with blue skin and a mane almost like a lion’s. Not taking any chances, I used my Assassin Class to hide my presence and snuck into the room and overheard everything they said.” “‘How are things coming along?’” “‘Everything is going according to plan. The king is falling more and more under my control with each passing day. Soon I’ll be able to make him do anything you command. As you’ve commanded, I’ve finally gotten the old fool to increase the size of the military. His own nature is still fighting but his resistance now is pitiful.’” “‘Good. With an army that size, Leferon won’t have an easy fight. The destruction of these two kingdoms will further our plans greatly but the best part is all the death and suffering it will cause. My blood is pumping just imagining it!’” “‘It’s all thanks to Master that I have this power so of course I’ll do anything you wish. Otherwise, I still be stuck in that wasteland trading whores for booze. The only problem is that little bitch Emilia. She knows something is the matter and it’s only a matter of time before she does something. If only the old fool had a son instead. The pheromone powers you’ve given me only work for men. I guess it shouldn’t matter though. Another two months and I’ll make the king to execute his precious little princess by his own hand. T-that is if you allow it, Master.’” “‘Allow it? Just get me a prime seat when it happens. I love the look of despair on prey as they meet their end. Still, that could only happen if she’s clueless about it. Isn’t that right… little princess?’” “Somehow I had been discovered so I thought even if I died, I would at least kill Abigail, hoping to free Father from her control. Still invisible, I launched myself at her with my full speed hoping it would give me an advantage. However, faster than I could react, the man appeared in front of me and pinned me to the ground.” “‘You’ve got spirit, little girl. I like that I’ll make a deal with you. I don’t really care which kingdom I take over and you seem to care about your father so how about this? You’ve got the Assassin Class so if you kill the king of the neighboring country, I’ll let your father go and promise to leave you two alone. That or you can stay here and let your precious father execute you in two months and live out the rest of his days as a puppet. You decide.’” “So you yourself never wanted to kill me, did you?” “No. I knew I shouldn’t trust him but I had no choice. I couldn’t kill him myself and although I could escape the country if I wanted, I couldn’t leave my father there to be a mindless puppet for the rest of his life. Even worse, that madman intended to cause as much death as possible between both sides so I knew what I had to do.” “I immediately went to prepare for my journey. After all, the elves prevent flight above their borders and I didn’t want to fly on Ashe after I reached Leferon in order to keep a low profile.” “The trip took two weeks. I arrived in Winora yesterday morning and waited until night to strike. The rest is as you know. I apologize for the attempt at your life and I know I have no right to ask for your help but I will gladly accept any punishment you give me. Just please, free my father from that madman.” Arthur had learned how to tell truth from lies during his time on the throne. After all, it seemed like every official caught for corruption had a hundred reasons for committing the crimes. However, Arthur didn’t see any signs of Emilia lying. Furthermore, her story matched up with the strange events happening occurring in his own country including the blue skinned men. “Thank you for your cooperation Princess Emilia. I’ll decide you sentence soon but don’t worry. Leferon and Forthon have been allies for hundreds of years. I don’t intend for it to end in my reign.” “Before you go, I have a question. How is the knight I fought faring? Is he alright?” “My brother is fine. He’s already awake but the doctors want him in bed for a few more days. In fact, I think the bedrest will do him good since this last week has been pretty tough on him. You really did a number on him but he should make a full recovery.” With that, Arthur left the dungeon to make preparations. “B-brother?” At that moment, Emilia realized the one she had been fighting was one of the Leferonian princes and how lucky she was that she had stopped Ashe from finishing him off.
Chapter 9: A New Mission Emilia spend a few more days in the dungeon for a few more days but she wasn’t treated badly. The jailor had taken her cuffs off so although she couldn’t leave her cell, she was free to do what she pleased. Because Leferon and Forthon were so close together, much of their culture was the same as well. Thus, she would spend time talking with the old jailer about battles the old jailer had lived through, practicing magic, or reading the books provided in her cell. On the fifth day, the old jailer opened the cell door. “His Majesty has decided on your sentence. I’m sorry dear, but I have to place you in these again.” “No, that’s fine. I’m ready to accept any punishment as long as the king keeps his promise.” With that, Emilia turned around and and allowed the old jailer to cuff her legs together. She then put her hands behind her back and allowed the old jailer to place her in handcuffs. “I’ll lead you to the throne room then.” The walk from the dungeon to the throne room only took about ten minutes, even with Emilia’s mobility restricted by the chain. When they got there, it was empty except for six people. “Hey Grandma, what took you so long? We’ve been waiting forever.” “Quiet down, Medony. You’re in the throne room. Besides I may not be as fast as I used to be but I can still beat down a couple of younglings!” “Alright now, settle down. As I was saying, Barton, I want you, Dulhan, and Medony to go to Forthon and take down the blue skinned man and his accomplices. The only one known is the king’s new wife but I’m sure there’s more.” “You can count on me. Now that Glenn is back you’ve got enough protection. We can leave as soon as you like.” “Your words flatter me, Prince Barton. Thank you for your confidence in me.” “That’s good. Now then. Princess Emilia, you said that you’ll accept any punishment I choose?” “I’ve been prepared for death since leaving Forthon. As long as you uphold your promise I will accept anything.” “Very well. Madam Ellis, please remove the restraints on the princess. Princess Emilia, I sentence you to guide Prince Barton and his group to Fothon and help them take down the people controlling King Charles.” ““What?”” Emilia wasn’t the only one to voice their surprise. “Come on now everyone, calm down. If you stop and think about it, this is the best course of action. The three of you have never been to Forthon let alone its royal palace so it’s obvious you’d need a guide. Emilia grew up there so who better to have as a guide? Besides, Barry, you know for a fact that she won’t be a burden in a fight and she’ll probably fight harder because it’s her family at stake.” “But Arthu- “Or is this because she beat you up? Come on, little brother. I didn’t think you’d be this petty. Either way, my mind is made up. Since you’re going to Thulmok, take her as well. She could probably use new equipment as well.” *** The royal smithy was at the very edge of the palace grounds. After all, striking hot metal was loud and hard work. As his brother had ordered, Barton lead Emilia to the royal blacksmith. Although the long walk took nearly half an hour, Barton barely said a word. Finally, Emilia couldn’t take the awkward silence any further. “Why are you acting so cold toward me? If it’s about beating you then once again, I truly apologize. However, we are going to be spending quite a bit of time together in dangerous territory so if you have any grudges, I prefer you settle them before it gets us killed.” “I-it’s not like I have a grudge or anything. But still, you don’t have to worry about me abandoning you on the battlefield or anything. The very least I can do for comrades fighting beside me is to protect them. If you’re in danger, I can cover your back. I can promise you that. Oh, the smithy is just past here.” The royal smith was quite large, spanning about a three hundred meters wide and a hundred meters long. After all, this was the smithy that provided most of the army with its weapons. Working the metals were both dwarves and men, tirelessly pounding the red hot iron. As they entered, a white haired dwarf who stood about a meter tall approached them. “Well if it isn’t the royal brat. I heard you got your ass beat and even broke my equipment.” “Nice to see you too, old man. So assume you heard the news from Medony?” “Who are you calling old? I’ll have you know I’m at the peak of my prime. But yeah, she and Dulhan came by yesterday to get some replacement equipment. Apparently you younglings are going on another mission so soon? So the king wants you all to have inconspicuous replacement equipment right?” “Yeah. We’re going to another country though my brother wants us to keep a low profile so even if our equipment weren’t damaged, we’d want equipment that doesn’t draw attention to us. Besides, it’s only going to look generic right? Anything you forge is a masterpiece after all.” “Hahaha. Flattery will get you nowhere, kid. Oh yeah, who’s that behind you?” “Oh, this is Princess Emilia of Forthon. Our mission is to free her father from whoever is controlling him.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr…” “Thulmok Horgoth at you service, missy.” Suddenly, Thulmok walked around, circling Emilia, studying her like she was a rare animal. “So you’re the one who handed this kid his ass, right? Mage and Assassin… Alright, I’ll come back to you after finishing with this kid. Stay here for a bit. This shouldn’t take long.” With that, Thulmok lead Barton into his office. “Alright, take out your equipment. I want to see how much work I have to do.” With that, Barton took out both the equipment for his Knight Class as well as his Ranger Class. “The Ranger equipment is in decent condition. Since your brother wants you to use different equipment anyways, leave it here so I can upgrade it. Got some great stuff from my trip this time and I can’t wait to try them out. Lots of things changed in the 20 or so years since I last left this place. Now let’s take a look at the Knight equipme-! By the gods, what the hell did you do to this equipment, brat?!?” “Well that armor’s been through a lot recently. First I fought a hydra and then I fought Emilia and now you just slammed your fist down on it.” “Enough with the jokes brat! You never had a talent in them anyways. Seeing the equipment in this state… I guess the little missy outside isn’t to be trifled with. I guess it’s gonna be pretty hard on you in the future.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “I saw the way you were looking at her. You like her, don’t you? Well I guess it’s about time. You spent all these years training and ignoring both men and women so I thought you were asexual! Well I guess now I know what type you prefer.” “W-w-w-what? N-n-n-no! You’ve got the wrong idea! I-” “No need to deny it kid. I’d be much stranger if you didn’t find her attractive. She’s not a dwarf and even I think she’s beautiful. Well back on the subject of your armor, honestly I’m surprised you’re still alive. Pretty much every enhancement circuit I’ve inspected is fried and the armor plates are beyond salvaging. I’m going to have to overhaul the whole thing but with the new materials I got… oh I can’t wait! Looks like I’ll have to do the same with your shield as well. Your sword, Ascaltine, is okay but I think I’ll reforge it with new materials as well just to keep it in line with the rest of your equipment. It was one of my masterpieces after all. If you come back from your mission in one piece and equip the stuff I’ll have done, you’ll reach whole new heights.” “I look forward to that, old man. Don’t let me down.” “Oh but before you go, equip these. Your brother didn’t give me much time to work so they’re not as refined as the old stuff but they should be more powerful. After all, I made these as prototypes to test the new materials I got.” Barton tried out his new equipment. First was the Knight equipment, a metallic grey full body plate armor, shield, and sword. Although they felt heavier than his old equipment, they still felt like an extension of himself and he had no complaints. It was the same for his Ranger equipment which had a brown cloak and silver breastplate. However, the bow and the swords were separate weapons because the Sword-bow had been an original creation of Thulmok’s and would likely draw attention. “Yeah this equipment is fine. I’ll see you when I get back.” “Sure thing, kid. Now call in the missy in here. I was told to equip her as well. Oh, and stay in here as I’m equipping her. It’ll be better to get used to her equipment now than accidently mistake her for an enemy in a fight.” Barton left and a minute later, lead Emilia into the office. “Prince Barton told me you were going to give me new equipment?” “Yeah. His Majesty said to make Mage and Assassin equipment for you but since I didn’t have your measurements, I’ll have to make some last minute adjustments.” “M-measurement?” “Don’t worry, you can keep your clothes on. This old man doesn’t have such hobbies and I wouldn’t do it when young man is in the room as well. Besides, I’ve been a blacksmith for over 200 years. I can tell your measurement and prefered movements with a glance. Just take out the equipment you’ve been using and I’ll do the rest.” With that, Emilia took out her Mage and Assassin equipment. “Since I’m already upgrading the equipment of those three, I might as well do it for yours too. Oh, this is the equipment you’ll be using for now. Wait a moment, the adjustments shouldn’t take too long. Done. Now try equipping them and tell me if anything feels wrong.” Emilia equipped her new Mage equipment first. It consisted of a white button shirt with a red and pink skirt reaching the middle of her thighs. On her back was a red mantle that extended to her knees and in her hand was a metal wand with a gemstone on its tip. Aside from the color, clothing was actually quite similar to the Mage equipment that she had used against Barton. However, she found that she could move much better in it, almost as if it were part of her. “I can feel mana around me much better with this equipment and it feels as if my body is suddenly lighter.” “All the equipment I make have enhancement circuits in them that improve mobility as well as strength. Just wait until you get into battle. Looking at your old equipment, I guarantee at least a 20% increase in your firepower. Also I didn’t do to bad with the aesthetic design if I do say so myself. What do you think, brat?” “I think it really suits you.” “I thank you for your compliments.” Still impressed, she tried the Assassin equipment. However, she was in for a shock. “What?!” “What’s the matter? Does something not fit?” “Why is there so little material!?!” The Assassin garb that Emilia had previously worn was a full body black suit with a hooded cloak that concealed her body so much, Barton and Arthur couldn’t tell her gender originally. However, the clothes she was in now left little to the imagination. Although it still included a black hooded cloak that could hide her body, the garb underneath was entirely different. There was a small button shirt that emphasised her cleavage and left her navel exposed. Next was the skirt that was barely any longer than the skirt on her Mage outfit. She didn’t mind it in the Mage Class and even wore one of similar length with her casual clothes because she wouldn’t performing any high jumps or feats of movement. However, the Assassin Class depended on high mobility and she feared a skirt this short would expose something that shouldn’t be exposed. The final part of the Assassin garb was boots that extended to her calves and stockings that extended just above her knees, leaving a small amount of exposed thigh between her skirt and the stockings. The Assassin garb was the total opposite of her usual demeanor. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t see how these were Assassin garbs. The only part of the equipment set that Emilia agreed with was that her weapons, daggers hidden in secret compartments and gloves with a retractable blade. Emilia awkwardly struggled to cover herself while Barton hastily turned around, his face quite red. “Oh, that. No need to worry about that. Assassins depend on mobility so what better way to increase mobility than to decrease the weight and wind resistance of excess clothing?” “But I’m practically naked wearing this!” Emilia was a princess and she had learned long ago to keep her emotions in check. However, these clothes were just too shocking for her. Her face was crimson with embarrassment. “What kind of advantage would an Assassin have wearing this?!?” “...Well if the opponent is a man, they’d probably be too distracted looking at your body to notice you attacking them maybe? And if the opponent is a woman… maybe she’ll be jealous that you have such great clothes? What do you think, kid?” “...” “I’m begging you, don’t you have anything else?!” “Now, now, young missy. Calm down. It’s a bit too late for me to redo your Assassin Garb. After all, it’s made primarily of cloth and I work much faster with metal. It’s also got enhancement circuits so you’ll get an increase to your strength just like for your Mage equipment. Just use it for now and tell me what you think about it after you come back. Now I have to get back to work.” With chuckle and an amused grin, Thulmok stepped out of the office, leaving Emilia in the room herself trying awkwardly to cover herself with her cloak and Barton facing the wall.
Chapter 10: The Great Forest The walk to the palace gates was even more awkward than the walk to smithy. Thankfully, it was a much shorter walk. By the time they got there, Dulhan and Medony, who had gone to obtain preserved meat, bread, and other provisions were already there. “Hey your faces are pretty red. Are you two alright? Oh. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Medony Ellis. It’s great to finally have another girl in this party. Let’s get along.” “I’m Dulhan Tenmir. Sorry for last time, Princess. Glad to have you on our side.” “You probably already know my name from earlier but I’m Barton Leferon. We’ll be counting on you.” “My name is Emilia Forthon. I’m sorry about the attack and I’m grateful you’re helping me.” “We can get to the Great Forest by flight. After that though, we’ll need to go on foot since the elves don’t allow flight above their forest.” With that, the four summoned their contract beasts and took off into the skies. *** It had taken them a little more than a day to reach the Great Forest. It would take roughly a week to travel through the Great Forest which spanned more than a thousand kilometers despite being the smallest of the natural barriers that protected Leferon. Furthermore, the ancient trees in the center of the forest blocked the sun so days became shorter as travelers went deeper into the forest. Travelers and traders could normally hire an elven guide to provide them safe and quick passage through the forest. After all, being creatures of nature, elves could control the plant life in the forest and create a straight path through. Arthur had not wanted Barton’s group to hire an elf as it may have led to an information leak. Thus, they had to travel through the Great Forest themselves. Even if they were discovered, the elves had no problem with adventurers attempting to get through the Great Forest on their own, only sighed with pity. As long as they didn’t wantonly destroy the forest, elves were generally aloof but polite. As the Great Forest had been standing for well over a thousand years, various ancient magics existed naturally there. Although elves, fairies, and other sentient beings knew to avoid these areas of mana concentration, those that acted on instinct such as bears and tigers would occasionally stumble into one by chance and become mutated. These mutated beasts would ignore travelers but sought large sources of mana to feed on and were the single biggest danger in the Great Forest. It was with the intention of avoiding these beasts that Barton and the others chose not to equip a Class as they used mana to enhance the user. Barton could mask his presence using his Ranger Class and Emilia could erase it completely with her Assassin Class but Dulhan and Medony had no way of doing so and Emilia was reluctant to equip her new Assassin garb regardless. Despite the fact that they would be able to more than double their speed, it was not worth risking a mutated beast finding them or potentially getting split up. Relying on a compass and known landmarks, Barton and the others had made it a significant amount of distance into the Great Forest in a day without any issue. However, this was only because the outskirts of the forest were pretty thin and had been mapped. The hardest part of their journey would be the four or five days they would have to spend in the deep parts of the forest. Dulhan suddenly stopped walking. “I hear a stream just ahead. Let’s rest here for the night.” “Yeah, I agree. We’ve been walking for hours and I can barely see what’s in front of me now. Besides I’m sure everyone’s pretty hungry and tired by now.” With that, the decided to set up for the night. Barton went to fetch water and catch fish from the stream while Medony and Emilia went to collect firewood for the night. Dulhan on the other hand put up the tents and volunteered to cook dinner. Although all three had experience cooking due to their missions, it was unanimously voted that Dulhan was the best. Barton’s cooking was decent and Medony’s was edible but Dulhan was somehow able to make high quality food with scraps. They didn’t know anything about Emilia’s cooking but Dulhan thought that since it was their first dinner together, they shouldn’t let the newcomer have to cook. There was actually another reason Dulhan wanted to cook. Medony was naturally trusting and friendly and although Barton was hiding it better after the trip to Thulmok’s, Dulhan could still tell Barton had a crush on Emilia and probably wasn’t as on guard as he should be. However, Dulhan didn’t completely trust her yet and the fewer chances she had to poison or otherwise harm them the better. Dinner was spiced grilled meat, bread, and a stew made with vegetables and the fish that Barton had caught. The steam that rose from the pot and the smoke that rose from the stone slab released pleasant aromas that whet the appetite drifted toward the hungry travelers. Finally, Dulhan performed the final adjustments and started distributing the food into plates. “And done. Let’s eat.” As they hadn’t eaten anything during the day, everyone finished their food pretty quickly. “This was really good. Thank you, Dulhan. With skills like this you could open your own restaurant.” “No need for thanks. Just applying a bit of what I learned when I was younger.” “Dulhan’s grandfather does actually run a restaurant back home.We used to play there all the time since our parents were friends and our houses were close to each other. That and Dulhan’s grandfather always gave us snacks. That’s actually where we met Barton now that I think about it.” “Yeah, must have been around 15 years ago. If I remember correctly, my brother Edmund wanted to go on an adventure and dragged me along. We made it to the Ellis territory about three kilometers from the capital before collapsing and that’s when Dulhan and Medony found us. I’ve been been friends with these two ever since.” “It’s nice that you all get along. I was pretty isolated growing up as Father was afraid that the nobles would try to get to him through me. Father showered me with attention and I was friends with many of the old maids running the palace but I never really talked to people my own age.” Medony suddenly reached over and placed Emilia into a bear hug. “Aw don’t worry Emi! I’ll be your first friend!” “E-Emi?” Nobody but my father has ever called me Emi. “Yeah, short for Emilia. I used to call Dulhan Han and Barton Barry but they told me to just use their real names when we we got older. In exchange you can call me Medy.” “O-okay Medy.” “Alright. Let’s take advantage of this stream and wash ourselves. We’ll make a bath and use it first. Can you guys wash the dishes? Thanks! Oh and no peeking! Just wait for us to come back. Come on Emi.” With that, Medony dragged Emilia away toward the stream. “Medony really just goes with her own flow, doesn’t she?” “Yeah… she’s even got Emilia flustered.” They continued on without incident for another three days. By this time, they were well into the dangerous center of the Great Forest and Medony and Emilia had gotten quite friendly with each other. As a result, the whole group started talking more and even Dulhan started to be less guarded. Suddenly, the group heard a bloodcurdling scream. “Someone! Anyone! Help!” Rushing toward the source, the group found a trio of injured elves cornered by a swarm of mutated wasps.
Chapter 11: Mutated Wasp Queen Everyone equipped a Class and took action immediately. Barton equip his Ranger Class and started shooting at the wasps from a tree. The equipment with his Knight Class were temporary and lacked the mana wings he had been using until now. Further, with the elves watching, Barton couldn’t use his more complex Magical Constructs like his Blade Storm or Divine Bindings or they would recognize him as easily as they had recognized Emilia earlier. Thus, rather than wage a ground battle against flying enemies, Barton chose to snipe the wasps from the shadows, taking down as many as possible unnoticed. Despite her embarrassment, Emilia had equipped her Assassin Class as the surroundings were much too cramped for her Mage Class to fight effectively. Furthermore, although she could use other elements as a Mage, her specialty was fire magic which was dangerous to use near wooded areas such as the Great Forest. Still, she immediately hid her presence, essentially becoming invisible, and started killing the wasps near her with her glove blades and killing those from afar with throwing daggers. Medony had prioritized healing the injured elves so she had equipped her Priest Class. As with Barton and Emilia, Medony had also gotten new equipment from Thulmok and was dressed in dazzling golden robes with a similarly golden staff. She alternated shining her healing light on the elves while using Holy Lightning to zap any that came too close. Unfortunately, even with equipment from a master like Thulmok, the offensive capabilities of the Priest Class were far too low for the Holy Lightning to act as anything but a deterrent to the wasps. Thus, Barton and Emilia targeted those closest to Medony and the injured elves first. Finally, seeing the huge number of wasps, Dulhan had decided to fight numbers with numbers, staying hidden in the forest in his Summoner Class so that the wasps wouldn’t find him. His new summoner robes were green and his staff was made from a fine wood. As he witnessed the wasps falling one after another, the only elf who was still conscious was still panicking. “We have to get as far away from here as possible! Please!” “What are you so jittery about? We’re totally kicking their butts!” Medony sent another lightning bolt, stunning an incoming wasp. Moments later, it was cut in half by seemingly nothing. “You don’t understand! These are just the scouts and the queen is on her way! We have to get as far away as possible before then!” Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound started and became increasingly louder. Something was approaching quickly.” “Itz too late, meatzackzzz. Oh, it zeemzzz my chillldren have found more meatzzackzz.” What appeared was a wasp-like creature that was over 2 meters long. It’s body was split into three sections with four thin legs coming out of its middle section. On the bottom section was a stinger the size of a hand that was covered by a red venom. However, it was the top section that was the most grotesque. It consisted of a vaguely humanoid torso and head but retained many insectoid characteristics like thin wasp-like arms. Its eyes were black and beady and it’s mouth was still segmented like a wasp. The same shiny black hair that covered its head was also present on its body. Wings that extended about two meters on each side were keeping her aloft. What was even worse was that she had brought another hundred mutated wasps with her. Barton and the other were slowly exterminating the previous hundred but weren’t expecting their numbers to suddenly double. Shit! The others need my help! Damn it all! My summoning is barely half finished! Just out of sight, Dulhan was agonizing at his inability to help his friends. However, if he switched Classes now, his summoning would be cancelled and he would have wasted a large amount of mana and time. Thus, he decided to continue despite his feelings. This didn’t apply to Medony though. As she had been healing the elves this whole time and their lives were out of immediate danger. “Barton! Put of a barrier around these three. I’m joining the fight!” With that, Medony switched to her Berserker class, her familiar bloodthirsty expression back on her face and a red aura forming around her. Her new armor was an intimidating crimson and her new blood-red axe was just as large and the previous one. Her target was the mutated Wasp Queen and any wasp scouts that got in her way were swiftly bisected. With a quick dash and a leap, Medony closed the difference between the Wasp Queen and swung her axe down. “What?” The Wasp Queen had been caught off guard by Medony’s sudden attack but was able to dodge the brunt of the attack. She had lost her legs on her left side though and green liquid oozed out of the wound. “You bitch! I wazz going to grant you a painlezzz death but I’m going to kill you zzlowly!” “Bring it on!” However, the Wasp Queen was now cautious about Medony’s insane strength. She had fought and killed countless prey, both human and elf, and not once had they been able to hurt her let alone sever her legs and slice through her exoskeleton. Thus, she not to take any more chances. Flying up higher and further away, the Wasp Queen made a call to summon the rest of her forces started shoot her poisonous stingers at Medony. The poisonous stinger of a wasp from the Great Forest is extremely dangerous. Although it doesn’t kill causes its victims directly, it causes them to experience unthinkable amounts of pain while paralyzing its body. If enough venom gets into a body, the pain could be enough to shut the body down. It is with these sadistic stingers that normal wasps in the Great Forest use to hunt prey. This mutated Wasp Queen’s poison was no different. Instead, what the mutation had done was given her the ability to shoot out these poisonous stingers and near instantaneously regenerate them as normal wasps would usually take weeks to regenerate a stinger. Despite the speed and force behind the stingers, Medony was able to block them quite easily by placing her giant axe in front of her. After all, an axe that would be pierced by those stingers wouldn’t be sturdy enough for Medony. The Wasp Queen wasn’t discouraged though. After all, her remaining two hundred wasp scouts would kill the other two and though she was injured, she could still fight for hours if needed. She kept flying out of Medony’s reach and rained hundreds of stingers down on her. After several minutes of this, Medony had an idea. Activating enhancement magic on her legs, she ran up the trunk of a tree at full speed, past where the Wasp Queen was flying. After running up about 20 meters, she kicked off the tree and struck toward where the Wasp Queen was hovering. Unfortunately, the Wasp Queen didn’t underestimate her. She was able to dodge and Medony’s attack hit the ground instead, causing a radius of about 10 meters of earth to separate from the ground and releasing a shockwave that caused the destruction of countless trees in every direction. In fact, the shockwave from the impact alone had caused some wasp scouts to die and forced Barton to put up barriers around himself and Emilia. “What the hell are you doing to our sacred home?!?” “Whoops. Sorry about that, Mr. Elf. I’m not used to this new equipment yet. Didn’t think a casual swing like that would do that.” At that moment, several stingers red with venom shot at Medony and were blocked by Emilia who had seemingly appeared in thin air. “Oh thanks for getting my back Emi! That’s your new Assassin garb? Very stylish! I like it!” “R-really? Wait, no. Now’s not the time for that. I’d like to thank you for making a clearing. Now I don’t have to hold back either.” With that, Emilia switched to her Mage Class and fiery mana started to surround her. “Wait, are you sure about this? You could set this whole place on fire. And what about the wasp scou-?” Before she finished asking her question, it was answered by numerous screeches in the distance. Over two hundred Bloodwing Bats appeared out of a summoning circle. Although Dulhan’s new equipment couldn’t lessen the time it took for his summoning to be completed, it did allow him to summon stronger beasts than before with the same amount of mana. These Bloodwinged Bats were over a meter long and were much more powerful than the Midnight Wolves that Dulhan had summoned against the hydra. Their crimson fangs tore through whatever wasp scouts were foolish enough to challenge them. Even with the fresh troops the Wasp Queen had summoned earlier, Barton and Emilia had each killed over a hundred scouts already. This meant that not only were Dulhan’s summons stronger than the wasp scouts but they also outnumbered them. “Mana of fire, become the force of judgement that punishes my enemies! Smiting Torch!” As Emilia finished chanting, magical blue flames shot out of her wand, striking the Wasp Queen faster than she could dodge. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” She screamed in agony before collapsing on the ground with a thud, smoke still raising from her charred body. It only took a few more minutes for the remainder of the wasps to be killed either by Barton’s arrows or by Dulhan’s summons. Finally, everyone gathered back up. “Travelers, you have my gratitude. My name is Nistel and these are my brothers Holduin and Faelus. We’re from the Elven capital, Mirafina.” “Thank you for protecting me when I was unconscious, humans. If there is anything I can do, just say it.” “Why did you have to involve humans, Nistel? I hate being in debt to outsiders.” “Please pardon Faelus. He just has some trauma with outsiders. But still if there’s anything you need, we’ll try to help however we can. I know, this young lady has the Assassin Class. I’m sure if you can gather the poison in the Wasp Queen’s corpse, you can coat your weapons in them and increase your damage potential. You dealt the finishing blow after all so it’s yours by right anyways.” Emilia liked the idea of increasing the effectiveness of her weapons but still turned to the rest of the group. After all, not even a month had passed since they were enemies and although they were friendly with each other, she still wasn’t completely sure they trusted her yet. “Do you think it’s alright?” “Sure Emi. You were the one who finished her off so obviously you should get the spoils. ” “I’ve got no complaints. Besides, none of us use poison for our weapons except for Barton who occasionally uses poisoned arrows.” “Well increasing your fighting capability increases our chances of surviving so I’ve got no complaints either.” Emilia nodded and started walking toward the Wasp Queen. Suddenly however, the wasp queen moved and shot a poisoned stinger at Emilia. Although it only grazed her arm, she still collapsed, screaming in pain. “I don’t care if it killzz me! I’ll take at leazzt one of you with me!” The Wasp Queen lunged at Emilia’s collapsed body, aiming at her heart. The Emilia was fading in and out of consciousness when the Wasp Queen attacked. Before the Wasp Queen could reach her though, Emilia saw Barton appear between them and blocking the Wasp Queen’s attack. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness completely was a torrent of mana, billowing all around. *** Needless to say, when Barton and the others saw Emilia injured by the Wasp Queen, they jumped into action. The elves fled when they saw the Wasp Queen was still alive and that was actually how Barton and the others preferred it. Without them there, they didn’t need to hold back. As the Wasp Queen was going for the kill on the injured Emilia, Barton used his Teleportation to appear between them, twin swords drawn. He simultaniously blocked the Wasp Queen’s attack and severed her remaining limbs. Not daring to fight them all directly, the Wasp Queen attempted to flee. Moments later, Medony arrived by Emilia’s side and immediately started heal her and attempting to counteract the poison. Finally, Dulhan easily caught up with the fleeing Wasp Queen with his Spearman Class, his armor a navy armor and his golden staff a blur as he moved. Using the Blazing Strike spell he used on the hydra, he easily severed the Wasp Queen’s poisonous bottom section from the rest of her body and pierced both her wings to prevent her from fleeing. Grabbing the severed section and kicking the rest away, Dulhan left the defenseless Wasp Queen in the middle of the clearing that Medony had made earlier. “She’s all yours! Just try to keep your power under control.” Seeing Barton's reaction, Dulhan made a hasty retreat. “Thanks, Dulhan. I’ll try to keep the damage contained in what’s already destroyed at the very least.” Barton summoned dozens of Magic Construct arrows and started fusing them together into one arrow. The finished product Barton was holding was an arrow with a spiral tip glowing various different colors. This was Barton’s Dream Arrow, one of the ultimate techniques of the first king of Leferon and his most powerful technique in the Ranger Class. With it, he could easily destroy a large city such as Winora but Barton rarely used it because he generally thought it was too powerful even when he was holding it back. Even if he was using the bare minimum amount of mana he could for it, the Wasp Queen had provoked him into using this technique. Truth be told, he was just venting his anger at himself over letting Emilia get hurt by their carelessness but he didn’t care. He pulled the Dream Arrow back and released it straight at the Wasp Queen. As the Wasp Queen stared hopelessly at the Ranger shooting the arrow, she knew it was over for her. Master, forgive me. The arrow pierced her body and released an intense light pillar into the sky, dispersing any surrounding clouds. True to his promise, Barton had limited the destruction to inside the circular clearing that Medony had created earlier. However, when the light pillar finally faded, nothing was left except a crater about ten meters deep. After that, Barton collapsed onto one knee. It didn’t matter how much he held back when using the Dream Arrow. It was a technique that drained a set amount of mana regardless. Unknown to Barton or the others, someone was watching them from a distance. “Useless trash.” With a grunt, they turned around and disappeared into the forest.
Chapter 12: The Second Prince “Uuuhh.” When Emilia opened her eyes, she felt as if the room was spinning and her body felt like she had been sleeping on a bed of nails and pounded with stones. She struggled to look around and saw Barton and Medony sleeping at her bedside and Dulhan resting in a chair nearby. She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious but it had to have been long enough for them to set up the tent and fall asleep. Emilia struggled to remember exactly what happened. I remember trying to get the Wasp Queen’s venom and she stung me. She was so close to killing me. And then Barton… saved me… Emilia looked at the sleeping Barton and blushed a bit. I guess he kept his promise to protect me after all. At that moment, Medony stirred from her sleep. “Huh? Emi? Hey guys Emi’s awake! Your face is red though. Do you still have a fever? Does it still hurt anywhere? I could have sworn I removed all the poison… Hold on, just let me-” “It’s fine Medy. My body is just a bit sore. How long was I unconscious?” “You were out for about six hours. Don’t worry about it, though. We didn’t lose too much travel time since it was getting dark anyways. We’ll still make it to Forthon with plenty of time to save your father.” “Glad to you’re awake Emilia. You doing okay?” “I’m sorry, Emilia. If we had been more cautious you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Still, I’m glad you’re awake.” “There’s no need to apologize, Barton. If anything, it was my own carelessness that caused my injury. There’s no way you could have known the Wasp Queen was still alive. That reminds me though, what happened to her? Were you able to slay her?” “Well after failing to kill you, she tried to flee back into the forest but I was able to immobilize her and then Barton vaporized her. Oh before he did that though, I retrieved this.” Dulhan took the Wasp Queen’s severed bottom out of his Class Crystal. “Would have been a waste to have vaporized this as well. I’ll leave it with you to use it as you will. You should get some more rest. It’s still the middle of the night and we only need to walk another day or two to get out of this forest. Let’s get back to human civilization as soon as possible.” “Dulhan’s right. Get some more sleep, Emi. I’ll come back to check on you in the morning.” “Hope you feel better soon.” With that, Barton turned to leave as well. “Wait. Before you go, I want to say thank you for saving my life, Barton. Please continue cover my back in the future.” “You can count on me.” With a little smile, Barton left the tent. *** In the morning, Emilia’s body was still feeling sore but she insisted that she was well enough to continue the journey through the Great Forest. After all, they had passed the halfway point already and the forest would only get thinner as they went on. Still, everyone insisted that they slow their pace and take more breaks than usual. Thankfully, the rest of their journey was uneventful and after another day of walking, Barton and the others made it out of the Great Forest. “So this is Forthon, right Emi?” “Yes, although these are just the outskirts. It’ll take another day or so to reach the capital but there shouldn’t be any more major dangers. “Are you sure you’re alright to continue? We can stop in a village somewhere to rest before going to the capital if you want.” “I’m fine. Every moment that woman is still alive is another minute my father is a slave. A little pain will not impede me.” *** Back in Leferon, Arthur was slumped on his throne. “They’ve finally left. Glenn, would you mind getting me something to drink?” “Already done, Your Majesty.” Glenn was already holding a cup of tea for Arthur. “Thanks.” He had just ended a meeting with his ministers and he was exhausted. The issues with Emilia and Forthon had been kept a secret from everyone except for those involved. He didn’t want to give some of the more ambitious nobles a reason to attack Forthon. After all, Arthur wanted to settle this peacefully if possible. Unfortunately, there was no hiding the destroyed palace entrance. He was able to play it off that he was planning on redesigning the palace and the demolition mages got a little carried away. After all, what kind of excuse could be used to explain away such destruction. The ministers didn’t really believe him but at least the truth was still hidden for now. Suddenly, the throne room door opened and a woman in her mid 20s walked in. She was wearing an elegant golden dress that perfectly matched her long golden hair. She was the Prime Minister’s daughter and Arthur’s fiance, Elizabeth Wynda. “L-liz! What are you doing here? I thought you and your family went on vacation.” Arthur was so startled he almost dropped his cup of tea. “Oh, my parents and siblings are still there but I decided to come back early to surprise you. Now imagine my surprise that the palace entrance was little more than a pile of charred rubble. Now, would you mind telling me what happened?” “Oh, I was thinking of redesigning the palace entrance and the demol-” “Dear, how many years have we known each other? Do you really think you can lie without me knowing? Now, please tell me what happened.” Although Elizabeth was smiling, Arthur knew that she was the most dangerous when she had that smile. After all, they had been engaged before they were even born and had met each other when they were toddlers and of course knew each other’s little quirks. Although his parents hadn’t arranged marriages for either of his brothers, they had arranged on for Arthur as the oldest heir. Both Arthur and Elizabeth didn’t mind and were in fact lovey dovey at most times. However, this didn’t change the fact that Elizabeth was one of the few people who could intimidate Arthur. “Well you see, um-” “An Assassin attacked His Majesty and destroyed the palace entrance trying to escape. Do not worry. She has been dealt with.” “Glenn!!!” “As your future queen, Lady Corellia has a right to know about attempts on your life.” “I guess you’re right.” With that, Arthur reluctantly recounted the events that had transpired while Elizabeth was away. “Was that so hard? Now tell me why you didn’t tell me in the first place.” “I didn’t want you to worry. After all, the issue had already been resolved.” “Did you think I wouldn’t worry about you when the first thing I see is the royal palace in ruins? You could have at least sent me a messenger! I would have rushed back here earlier if I had known about it.” “The lady is right you know. You could have spent some more time with each other. Well at least she’ll be at your side in as you die.” The sudden statement made everyone’s blood turn cold. A man wearing a black hooded cloak walked in. His skin was blue and his eyes were yellow. His black hair was long and messy, resembling a lion’s mane. His nose also resembled a lion’s and when he grinned, his sharp teeth were exposed. “I had come to see if the little girl had succeeded in her mission but imagine my surprise when I discover she not only failed but enlisted her target in a foolish attempt to defy me. When I next see her, I’m going to enjoy breaking her. I can’t wait to see her face twisted in despair as I have my way with her!” With that, he lunged toward Arthur. Before he could strike though, he was intercepted by a silver rapier. He had managed to dodge but the rapier had left a small cut on his shoulder. “Who dares!” Quickly after that, he had to dodge a jet black sword, this time aiming to cut off his head. “Damn pests.” “Scum like you doesn’t deserve to stand near my Arthur!” “If you wish to kill His Majesty, you will have to kill me first!” The ones who had defended Arthur were of course Glenn and Elizabeth. The elegant dress that Elizabeth had been wearing a moment ago was gone and was now replaced by pure white armor and a silver rapier. This was her Fencer Class which specialized in speed. Her fighting style was to attack with countless weak but quick strike and overwhelm the opponent. Glenn’s butler suit was replaced with a black robe, black armor, and a matching black sword. A dark energy surrounded him as he took his stance. Glenn was a Dark Knight, a Class that turned life force into power. As long as he didn’t overexert himself, he would be fine but overusing the powers of the Dark Knight Class would shorten his lifespan. “Now, now, you two. I can’t let you have all the fun now can I?” With that, Arthur touched his Class Crystal and his royal attire was replaced with armor that shone golden and white. Like his brother, Arthur had the Knight Class. In his hands was the golden Excalibur, shining with a holy light. Although none of them were Dual Class users, they had combat training to master their respective Classes. In fact, as they didn’t have to split their time on two different Classes, Arthur and the others may actually have the advantage in a fight restricted to one Class against Barton’s group. “So you prefer to die struggling meaninglessly? So be it.” With that, the lion man threw off his cloak revealing a gold armor underneath. On his hands were gauntlets with retractable claws. “I’ll deal with you first, Bitch!” Despite her speed, Elizabeth could barely see the lion man’s movements. With such a big frame, she didn’t expect this type of agility and all she could do was desperately parry. “I won’t let you touch her!” Arthur placed a barrier between Elizabeth and the lion man and dashed closer to strike. He had channeled his mana into Excalibur, holding it above his head to increase its power and range. “Allow me to assist you, Your Majesty!” A similar dark aura surrounded Glenn’s sword as he poured his life energy into his sword and took a similar stance. “Rahr! Bring it on!” The lion man turned to take their attacks head on as Elizabeth retreated. ““Take this!”” Both swordsmen swung their swords downward, releasing large amounts mana and sending it straight at the lion man. This mana wave was Arthur and Glenn’s most powerful attack. It used nearly their entire mana reserves in one slash and when combined, would exponentially increase the power of the neighboring wave. They called it their Darkbright Wave. As it collided with him, the combined attack released a shockwave that exploded violently in the room. Thankfully, the throne room was made to fit a thousand people comfortably in times of celebration or emergency. If the room had been any smaller, the shockwave may have destroyed the entrance to the throne room in a similar manner to Emilia’s attack destroying the palace entrance. “Heh, this is a pretty good attack.” “W-what!” “T-that’s not possible!” Against all expectation, the lion man seemed to be holding back both mana waves with his gauntlets and although he was struggling, he didn’t seem like he was having much trouble. “Was that the best you could do?” “Actually, this is the best we can do!” Appearing behind the lion man, Elizabeth poured as much mana as she could into her rapier creating a spinning torrent of wind magic almost like a drill. This was Elizabeth’s ultimate attack, the Spiral Stab where she used wind magic spinning around her blade at ten million times per second to pierce through nearly any defense. The attack also cost her most of her mana though. She was able to stab him in the heart, piercing his armor through both sides, before using the rest of her remaining mana to flee back to Arthur and Glenn. Her actions were so quick that she was already back by Arthur’s side before the lion man’s blood hit the ground. Thanks to Elizabeth’s strike, the lion man lost his grip on the Darkbright Wave and was consumed in a violent explosion of golden white and reddish black energy. The three of them didn’t let their guards down yet. Although they hadn’t taken much damage, they had thrown their most powerful attack out at the start with the intention of ending the fight as quickly as possible. However, this also led them to exhaust their mana reserves quickly and it would take at least a few minutes for them to recover. As they looked on at the smoking crater in the middle of the throne room, their fears were realized. Something was walking out of the crater. Although the lion man’s armor was cracked and broken, his body didn’t seem very injured except for a small stab wound in his chest. “I’ll admit that surprise attack got the better of me but don’t think it’ll work again. I will also admit that if I hadn’t redirected the majority of the wave downward I’d be in bad condition right now but you lost your chance. I’m angry! Now I’m going to enjoy torturing you all. Maybe I’ll force myself into the bitch in front of the king. Maybe I’ll just do the opposite. Maybe I’ll just tear you three LIMB FROM LIMB!” At that moment, the throne room doors flew open and fell. A man in his early 20s walked in. “Hey Big Bro, I’m home. You won’t believe the insane time I- who’s that and why are you guys so exhausted?” Arthur and Barton were considered handsome but even their faces paled in comparison next to this man. Wearing stylish white clothes and sporting long blonde hair, this man could charm any woman not in a serious relationship to bed with a mere smile. He was the ultimate playboy, Second Prince, Edmund Leferon. “E-ed? Where the hell have you been!?” “Another pest? I’ll kill you before I kill them!” As the lion man lunged at Edmund in a blind fury, Edmund pressed his Class Crystal and his clothes were replaced with peculiar equipment. Officially, Edmund’s Class was Knight, same as his brothers. Also like Arthur and everyone else in the room, Edmund wasn’t a Dual Class user so he didn’t benefit from extra power coming from another Class. However, the equipment Thulmok custom made for him didn’t resemble any other Knight in the slightest. His lamellar armor consisted of numerous small metal plates sewn together until it made a solid breastplate with less solid armor flowing down near his knees. The armor on his arms and legs were made in a similar fashion. His helmet was made a similar way as well, extending backward similar to an open umbrella. The front of the helmet was open with a crescent moon adorning the top and a mask covering his face. Finally, hanging in a sheathe from his waist was a thin, curved two handed sword about a meter and a half long. “Sorry, but I can’t let you kill me or my brother. If he dies, I might be forced to become king and I don’t want that. As for me, do you really want to deprive the world of me?” Fast as lightning, Edmund unsheathed his sword and slashed the lion man from a distance in one swift motion leaving a horizontal gash on his chest. He then brought his sword down, leaving a deep cut from the lion man’s shoulder to his groin, spilling black blood everywhere. In back of the lion man, the walls of the castle were blown away with just the wind pressure. “Huh, I don’t think my Masamune has ever cut an opponent with black blood. Neat.” Nobody knew why, but even though Arthur was the oldest and Barton was a Dual Class user, Edmund was the strongest of the brothers. In fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that Edmund was the strongest person in Leferon by a large margin. Despite being wounded to this extent, the lion man just roared and charged toward Edmund again. “RHHRAAAWWRRR! Little shits! I’ll fucking kill you all! I’m going to release my crys-” Suddenly another blue skinned man appeared out of nowhere. This one had horns like a ram on his head. “Now, now, Regulus. It’s time to leave. We’ve been ordered not to reveal that so soon.” “Hamal, you bastard! Let me go! I won’t stand for this humiliation! I-” With a swift chop to the neck, Hamal knocked Regulus out and activated a magic portal. “Ah, this is why I hate muscle headed bastards like you. Well sorry for the intrusion, folks but I’m sure we’ll meet again.” With that, the pair disappeared. Edmund dismissed his Class and walked over to Arthur. “Hey, Glenn. Serious as ever I see. How are you doing Big Sis. Hit the sack with Big Bro yet? Come on, when am I gonna be an uncle? So Big Bro, what was with the animal people?” Edmund was handsome without compare and peerless in combat. However, if Arthur had to say his brother had a flaw, it was his personality quirks. After he had collapsed on his “adventure” when he was around eight years old, he just did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and that usually involved women. Although he could have his way with most women, he was also a dense airhead who usually couldn’t read the atmosphere. Before Elizabeth could explode with anger and embarrassment, Arthur led him away. “It’s a long story so let’s talk about it outside.” “T-t-t-t-that has nothing to do with you, you idiot!!!”
Chapter 13: Forthon Castle Barton and the others arrived in Forthon’s capital, Culhelm in the morning. They decided to wait until nightfall to strike as there would be less guards and the cover of night would hide them. In the meanwhile, they decided to wander the capital. As Emilia was sheltered by her father for most of her life, she had very little experience with crowded streets and merchant stalls so Medony had taken command, dragging her around while Barton and Dulhan struggled to keep up. At around midday, the group went to an inn to get some rest while they could. Dulhan was the first to wake up and when he looked out the window, he saw the sun was setting. “Hey guys, wake up. Let’s come up with a plan of attack.” As the others stirred awake, Dulhan locked the door and closed the windows. It wouldn’t be good for them if someone overheard their plans. After everyone was awake and alert, Emilia spoke her thoughts. “The castle entrance in the north is the most heavily guarded with about five guards at the wall at all times. The other entrances in the east and west only have two guards at the wall at any given time so I think we should strike there. The problem is that no matter which entrance we strike, Barton and I have to scale the walls and since Dulhan and Medony can’t hide their presence, they’ll be seen easily.” “So can you sneak in and open the gate to let us in?” “Yes but the gates can only be opened if levers on both sides of the gate are turned at the same time. That’s why I’m going to need Barton to come with me and operate the lever on the other side.” “What about secret tunnels or anything something like that? Does this castle have any of those?” “We can use those to get into the castle but there are no such passages I know of in the wall.” Barton was deep in thought. Suddenly, he spoke.“Emilia, how do the guard uniforms look like? Are there specific uniforms for each gender? How about specific identification for each guard?” “Um, there are guards of both genders but I don’t think there is any difference in uniforms. As for identification, the uniform itself is a guard’s identification. If it gets removed by an intruder or if an intruder steals a uniform, the black badge on the left arm glows red. Oh, and the uniforms look like this.” Using magic, Emilia made a little hologram of a castle guard. As Barton had hoped, the uniform was grey full body armor that included a helmet. “Alright! It might be a gamble but I think I have a plan.” *** About an hour later, Barton and Emilia were scaling the castle’s west wall while hiding their presence. Although both the Ranger and Assassin Classes gave them enhanced mobility and speed, the wall they were scaling was still that of a royal castle, designed specifically to keep intruders like them out. Furthermore, they had to be extra cautious because Barton couldn’t hide his presence as well as Emilia. If a guard were to look directly at Emilia, they would see nothing but if they were to look at Barton, they would notice a slight haze and send the castle on high alert. Fortunately, it didn’t take very long. A few minutes later, they reached the top. While Barton stayed hidden, Emilia quickly dispatched the two guards. They never knew what hit them. After tying the unconscious guards up and leaving them in front of the gate, Barton and Emilia went into opposite guard towers and pulled the levers controlling the gate. As the gates opened, an alarm sounded with a loud ringing, and two people wearing the royal guard uniform hurried through. One of them grabbed the two unconscious guards and threw them into the forest about fifty meters away while the other closed the gate afterward. Then, they both hurried up the stairs and resumed “guarding” the wall on high alert before the rest of the guards arrived less than a minute later. A guard with slightly more ornate armor walked up to and started questioning them. “What the hell is going on? Why was the gate opened so late at night? If His Majesty’s new concubine wakes up, all of our necks are at risk!” “We’re not sure, either! We were guarding the wall and the alarm just started sounding on its own!” “Yeah, the gate must have malfunctioned or something. You should probably get it checked out.” The senior guard glanced at left arms of the two he was talking to. The badges were black and in his long years as a castle guard, he had never heard them fail to identify an intruder. “... Very well. I’ll inform the head guard when our shift is over.” Then he turned to the other guards. “Listen up! Although this may have been a false alarm, I don’t want to take any chances. Someone get the guards in the castle out here! I want every inch of these grounds searched!” Their plan had worked out even better than they had expected. While every guard in the castle was wasting time searching the grounds, Barton and the others entered one of the secret passages that only royalty knew about. Although these tunnels were designed for royalty to flee from the castle, they could also be used for the reverse. “Whew, that guard nearly gave me a heartattack!” Medony was wiping away some cold sweat as her guard uniform faded from her body. The guard uniform she and Dulhan had been wearing had been made by Barton’s Magic Construct ability. That was the reason he had asked Emilia how the guard uniforms looked like and what they used for identification. “Yeah but at least now all the guards have left the castle. We should have an easier time moving around the castle now. Where does this tunnel lead, anyways?” “It should lead to the inside of a closet in the royal bedchamber. Right to where that woman should be with my father. Ah, this is the trapdoor hidden behind a painting.” As Emilia pushed to door open, the group suddenly found themselves surrounded by clothes. She attempted to continue into the bedroom when Barton stopped her. “Wait, we should come up with a plan instead of rushing in. What if she’s surrounded by guards?” “I am the only one who can completely hide their presence so I will check the surroundings first. With any luck I can plunge my knife into that woman’s heart without her even waking up.” With that, Barton reluctantly let go as he couldn’t refute her logic and she disappeared through more clothes. Besides, I trust you will protect me if I run into trouble. Emilia slowly slid the closet door open a crack and looked into the room. With the exception of a giant guard wearing a visor and a custom suit who was standing in front of the entrance, there was nobody except her father, King Charles, and the woman controlling him, Abigail, naked in bed. She noiselessly slid the door enough to exit the closet and approached Abigail, still completely invisible. With one quick movement, she activated the retractable blade in her glove and plunged it into Abigail’s heart. Suddenly, she sensed a presence behind her and turned. The giant guard was behind her swinging a club. “Watch out!” Barton placed a barrier to block the club but it instantly shattered, knocking Emilia away. Barton dashed out of the closet and caught her before she collided with the wall. Although she was bleeding, the barrier had softened the blow and Barton immediately started healing her. “My, my, my. Vicious little bitch, aren’t you, princess?” To Emilia’s amazement, Abigail got out of bed, her blood still dripping from the stab wound. “Who would have expected you to stab me in my sleep while your father was inches away?” “B-but how? I stabbed you in the heart! You should be-” “Dead? I would be if I were still a normal human. Thankfully, Master Regulus granted me a power beyond your comprehension!” From her Class Crystal, Abigail summoned a violet robe and two scimitars and swung at Barton and Emilia. Barton set up another barrier to block the attack and escape, Emilia still in his arms. “Running away? Phemus!” By Abigail’s command, the giant guard swung his club at the fleeing Barton. Bang “Medy!” What he hit instead was a large, blood-red axe. “Your fight’s with me, pal!” With a swing of her axe, she knocked Phemus across the bedroom, through several other rooms, and into the open courtyard. “Dulhan and I’ll handle that big oaf. I’ll leave that bitch to you!” With that, she ran after the guard, a grin plastered on her face. “Stay safe, you two.” With those parting words and his spear in hand, Dulhan turned around and ran after Medony. Phemus had landed in the middle of the courtyard where the palace guards were searching for intruders. “What the he-” As one guard went for a closer look, she was met with Phemus’s club and killed on impact, her mangled corpse launched several hundred meters away. The remaining guards pulled out their weapons but backed away shaking. That three meter tall monstrosity had killed someone with one hit. They weren’t prepared for this type of power. “AAAAHHHHH!” One of the guards worked up the courage to attack the giant but it just earned him the same fate to the previous guard. That monster was drawing closer. At this point, the remaining guards were frozen in fear. Some even collapsed on the ground and soiled their uniforms. “Hey ugly! I’m your opponent!” As if answering their prayers, a savior appeared, challenging the giant. With a swing of her mighty axe, the woman knocked the giant away, sparing the remaining guards from a grisly fate. Another man with a spear came up to them. “If you value your lives, I recommend you guys get as far away from here as possible. Oh and tell your fellow guards not to come close either.” At this point, the guards didn’t care if they had never seen these before and were very likely intruders. They were just glad to be alive and not fighting that monster. “Understood!” The guards saluted and ran off away from the battle. “Good. No need to hold back now.” Dulhan readied his spear, channeling mana into it and charged into the fight. “Not a talkative fellow, are you big guy?” As Medony continued her assault on the giant. He hadn’t uttered a single word since the battle began, not even grunting. To a vocal fighter like Medony, this was really weird. Phemus just responded with another swing of his club, knocking Medony back a few meters. With Phemus open from that attack, Dulhan leapt in and plunged his spear into Phemus’s chest. However, the giant responded again with another swing of his club, forcing Dulhan to retreat, the spear still embedded in his chest. “Damn, he’s a tough one.” “Yeah, his movements are pretty unreal as well. How does someone his size move so freaking fast?” “I don’t know but maybe he’ll stop moving without a head. You think you can manage that?” “Who do you think you’re talking to?” “Just asking. Now let’s take this thing down!” With enough speed to leave several sonic booms, Dulhan rushed toward Phemus to reclaim his spear. With slightly slower speed, Medony rushed in, her axe raised, and aimed to cut off the giant’s head. Sensing Medony was more of a threat, Phemus chose to ignore Dulhan and swung his club at Medony. The resulting shockwave destroyed their surroundings, turning the once beautiful courtyard into a brown wasteland littered with rubble. Although both were knocked back nearly a hundred meters, Medony was not too badly injured. She had quite a few bruises and was bleeding from a few scratches but nothing was broken. The worst thing for her was that her arms felt numb from the impact. Furthermore, the damage only served to increase her power thanks to her bloodline ability, Damage Absorbtion. She also had to give Thulmok credit. Her axe was still in great condition despite that earlier clash. Phemus wasn’t as lucky. It seemed like both his arms were broken, his neck was in an awkward position, his one of his legs was twisted the other way, his visor was cracked and of course, the stab wound from Dulhan was still open. Anyone who saw him would think there was no hope for him. However, Dulhan wasn’t just anyone. Running up to Phemus, he sliced the giant’s head off before he could move. At that moment, Medony had reached the place Phemus had landed. “Hey! I thought I was supposed to finish him!” “Well, he’s dead now. As long as the fight’s done, who cares who finished it?” “No...choice…” Startled, Medony and Dulhan turned to the sudden voice and found the giant’s body was still moving and the severed head was still talking. The body reached into his suit and pulled out a syringe filled with green liquid. Before Medony and Dulhan could react, he plunged it into his chest and injected the liquid. Suddenly, his skin turned an as grey color and expanded to double his original size. His wounds started to mend themselves and his head flew back to his body. A single horn grew out of his forehead. The cracked visor finally broke revealing only one eye in the middle of his head. “W-what the fuck is that?!?” “A cyclops? I thought they were just stories!” Cyclops was the only thing Medony could think of that matched what was in front of her. According to legends, cyclopes were a race of giants with immense strength and a single magical eye. That eye was their greatest strength, giving them their immense strength, granting them limited control over earth and stone, and allowing them to shoot magic out of it. However, it was also their greatest weakness as striking the eye would cause immense pain and may even kill a cyclops. The last recorded sighting of a cyclops dated back some 1200 years ago. “Any ideas?” “Aim for the eye. If it is what I think it is then it can control stone and shoot magic out of its eye.” “Got it!” Dulhan once again rushed in, attempting to disorient the cyclops with his superior speed and agility. Unfortunately, Phemus just rose dozens of stones and launched them at Dulhan using his club. Although he was able to block most of the rocks with his spear, a few got past, knocking the wind out of him. “Geez, be careful!” Medony once again swung her axe and Phemus countered with his club. However, even with the physical strength boost from her bloodline ability, this time Medony was no match for the overwhelming strength of the cyclops. Phemus was only knocked back about five meters while Medony was knocked back nearly a hundred. Her arms were numb, her head was spinning, and she coughed up blood so she guessed there was internal damage as well. Borrowing some of her Priest Class’s power, she used a healing spell to fix some of her more major injuries but she wouldn’t have much time to do that. Dulhan’s probably fighting that thing on his own right now! Have to hurry! Just hold on until I get back! She was right. Dulhan was fighting Phemus alone right now and was losing. Although the cyclops hadn’t gotten a direct hit on Dulhan yet due to his superior speed and agility, he had gotten a few indirect hits and Dulhan hadn’t been able to damage him even once. Furthermore, the magic blasts from his eye was the most difficult for Dulhan to dodge as anything Phemus looked at just seemed to explode. Thankfully, it took quite a bit of mana to use so the cyclops couldn’t use it continuously. Dulhan was also thankful for the fact that the cyclops wasn’t very bright. Otherwise, he could have used his earth controlling power in more creative ways like making a trap that prevented Dulhan from moving. With a smash, Phemus sent another wave of stones at Dulhan and once again, Dulhan blocked or dodged them with great difficulty. His battered body wouldn’t last much longer. Phemus launched yet another wave of stones but this time Medony was able to get there in time and block for him. “What took you so long?” “That last attack was much worse than I thought. Thanks to that though I got a huge boost in power. It might not be enough but I’m going to try to make an opening.” “How?” No matter how large the increase, Dulhan didn’t think it would be enough to stop the cyclops. “Gonna do that now so stand back.” Realizing what she was doing, Dulhan retreated back, leaving only Phemus and Medony. Phemus attempted to chase after Dulhan but Medony blocked his way. She released a large amount of mana and her red aura turned golden and then slowly became a golden aura surrounded by a red one. Medony was using her most powerful attack, the Chaotic Dance. The technique increased her speed and strength severalfold for ten minutes but caused her to fight entirely by instinct. Furthermore, the backlash was quite large afterward. Last time she used the technique, she was in a coma for three days. Worst of all, she couldn’t differentiate friend from foe in this state. Phemus responded to Medony powering up by shooting a mana blast at her using his eye. Although it looked like he hit, it was merely an afterimage of Medony who had already arrived by his side and slashed his leg. Phemus swung his club at her but she was able to block it with her axe. This time, their strength was roughly equal and so both were thrown back about ten meters without much damage. Medony rushed back, leaving several sonic booms in her wake and continued to hack at the cyclops’s body. Fearing Medony’s new strength and fighting style, Phemus attacked by swinging his club and shooting rocks at her with enough force to shatter her armor and dent her axe but they didn’t seem to phase her. After all, Chaotic Dance had blocked her pain and Damage Absorption was only increasing her power. Unfortunately, her time limit was nearing and while she had injured Phemus and had even severed a leg, she was fighting by instinct so she hadn’t even touched the eye. Finally, her ten minutes were up and Medony’s red and golden auras disappeared and she collapsed unconscious on the ground. As the cyclops was lacking an arm and both legs after Medony was finished, Phemus crawled to her collapsed body using his remaining hand. “Now you no move forever.” He raised his club and was about to finish Medony when a glowing golden spear pierced the back of his head and buried itself deep into the cyclops’s eye. ‘AAAAAAAAAA!!!” For the first time in the fight, the cyclops howled with pain. As the spear had pierced Phemus’s head, Dulhan had run to Medony’s body at his top speed with the intention of getting as far away as possible. After all, he had just used his own most powerful technique, the Celestial Sky Fang. The technique worked by concentrating all the mana Dulhan had into the tip of the spear and then throwing it as a ranged attack. After hitting the target, the mana would explode, destroying the target from the inside. Dulhan had gotten the idea from Barton’s exploding Blade Storm attack and trained until he could accomplish a similar attack and surpassed it. However, it also damaged his spear so it was a last resort type of attack. In this case, it payed off. Dulhan saw a flash of light and an earthshaking explosion that told him his attack was successful. As he turned around, he could see that his attack had totally vaporized the cyclops, leaving only his charred and broken spear lying in a crater. With that, Dulhan collapsed, losing consciousness quickly. Sorry Barton, Emilia. Looks like Medony and I won’t be able to provide any backup...
Chapter 14: Abigail's True Form Back in the castle, Barton and Emilia were continuing their battle against Abigail. Despite still being wounded, she was putting up much more of a fight than they had anticipated. After all, Emilia had never seen her so much as glance at a weapon in the year that she knew her. “Hahaha! Is that all the prodigy daughter of that fool can do? Pathetic.” As she swung one of her scimitars at Emilia but she was able to sidestep for counterattack. Abigail blocked her blade by twisting her arm in an unnatural way, however and with a swift kick, Emilia was knocked into another room. From behind, Barton swung his twin swords at Abigail. However, once again with unnatural flexibility, Abigail was able to break Barton’s stance and counter with a mana blast from her mouth. Barton put up a barrier to block the blast but he was still knocked away, raising a cloud of dust. “To tell you the truth, I never liked you, bitch. So kind and proper, it makes me sick. By the way, who’s the kid? Your knight in shining armor? Well I guess his armor isn’t shining anymore. The way you’re dressed, you look like the sluts I used to sell. Is that how you got his help?” Hiding her presence, Emilia threw daggers at Abigail but they they were knocked down before reaching their target. “Did you think turning invisible would help you? I can still see you thanks to Master Regulus. Not talking back? Does the widdle pwincess miss her daddy? You know, I was kind of a princess once, but I killed my parents after I met Master. Don’t worry though. The old fool is still useful for now but I’ll get rid of him soon enough. It’s a pity that you won’t be alive to see it.” “Shut your mouth!” Still invisible, Emilia threw more daggers at Abigail. Abigail was able to easily dodge. “What’s wrong? Hit a nerve? And don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, little bastard.” Barton released a volley of arrows and Abigail blocked those that hit her. What she didn’t expect was the arrows to release a smokescreen, giving Barton time to reach Emilia and regroup in another room. “There’s something off about that woman. Her body bends in unnatural ways and she can easily slip through our attacks. I noticed something earlier that may be the way to beat her but do you have any ideas?” “...Maybe but it could be a little risky. It’ll also rely on the element of surprise so it’s all or nothing.” “Alright. Let’s hear it.” Abigail was taking her time looking for Emilia and Barton. After all, she was confident that nothing they could do would be able to kill her. Without even turning around, she caught an arrow aimed at her head. “Nice try, boy. I don’t see Emilia anywhere. Sacrificing yourself so that the bitch can run away? How noble of you.” “Feel free to believe whatever you want.” Barton fired another pair of arrows at Abigail who proceeded to cut them down. However, Barton had a surprise waiting for her with the second arrow. As Abigail struck it down, it exploded with a flash, knocking her about ten meters back. “You little bastard!” “Looks like I was right. A way to fight you is to use attacks that hit a large area. After all, no matter how your body contorts, it’ll still get hit if the attack is big enough.” Abigail’s face was contorted with anger as she charged forward. However, she was met with another dozen exploding arrows. Although they didn’t do much damage because Barton didn’t want to damage the castle with large explosions, they were enough to force Abigail toward the end of the corridor. “Little bastard, why are you using a bow? Why don’t you fight me like a man!” “Are you saying that men don’t fight with projectiles? Archers are essential to wars. Still, I’ll humor you.” Barton’s bow disappeared in a flash of light and in their place were two swords. “Fool!” Abigail rushed forward and slashed at Barton but when her scimitar was a centimeter from Barton’s neck, he disappeared. The next thing Abigail knew, she felt two swords slash into her back. “What!?! How?” “You just said to fight without my bow. Anything else was free game.” “Damn you!” Abigail continued to charge at Barton but he had already adapted to her strange contorting ability and was able to parry each of her attacks. Combined with his Teleportation ability to deal unexpected blows, Barton wasn’t even sure if Emilia’s trump card would have to be used. “I think it’s time to end this.” Barton charged toward Abigail, swords glowing with mana, intending to finish her off. No choice then. Master may have said not to kill him yet but better him than me! Suddenly, a magic circle appeared and an man was summoned from it. It was Emilia’s father, the king of Forthon. Barton stopped his swords a millimeter from the king and in that opening, Charles put Barton into a clinch and pinned him to the floor. “You can’t beat me fairly so you rely on a hostage? That’s pretty low, even for a vile person like you.” “Hahaha. You did you expect this fight to be an honorable duel to the death? Only fools fight with honor. For everyone else, results are all that matter.” As she said this, she positioned her scimitar at Barton’s neck, preparing to decapitate him. Suddenly, Barton let out a smirk and held Charles in place. “I guess I can’t argue with that, right Emilia?” Before Barton could even finish his sentence, Emilia had already appeared behind Abigail and separated her upper body from her lower body with a slash. Her retractable blades were glowing with a shadowy pink aura. This was Emilia’s trump card in her Assassin Class and her most powerful attack, the Deathstrike Edge. To use the Deathstrike Edge, she channeled not only her mana into her blades but also her life force, enhancing the length and cutting power of her blades. As she could control the size, the energy on her blades were only about half a meter long currently but if needed, she could even launch her blades to attack from a distance. As long as she only uses it once per day, the technique would not shorten her lifespan but it was truly a one hit attack. While she had yet to master the technique so the shadowy energy would dissipate after a single hit and leave Emilia defenseless, her attack was successful and the two halves of Abigail were on the ground bleeding out. “Y-you b-bitch! Didn’t you leave?” It was at that moment that she noticed a hole in the wall. “But how? I would have noticed a hole that size! What did you do!!!” “It’s easy. I just blasted a hole into the room here and made a patch. Actually surprised it worked so well.” At this point, Barton had already gotten free of Charles, who had fallen unconscious the moment Abigail was cut down. “U-unforgivable!” Suddenly, Abigail summoned out a syringe filled with green liquid and injected it into herself. Barton and Emilia both plunged their weapons into her but they were too late. Everyone was blown back with an explosive force and Barton and Emilia looked in horror as Abigail started to transform in front of them. Rather than reconnecting her lower body, a new, green serpentine tail grew out of the wound. Her tanned skin was also turning green and scaled as her wounds healed themselves. She grew fangs from her mouth while her tongue extended and thinned and her eyes became reptilian. Her transformation took only a few seconds and she picked up her scimitars afterward. “Now you see the difference between us. Thanks to Master Regulus, I have transcended humanity and become a being of legend. What you face now is a Lamia!” “Any ideas on how to face her?” Emilia was still exhausted from using her Deathstrike Edge but she stood up, weapons ready. “Maybe she really did become a legend. After all, only monsters in old stories would have such a cliche speech. Still, it might be too cramped in here to fight her. Let’s take this outside.” With that, Barton summoned his bow, made an arrow, and released it. A massive explosion ensued that knocked Abigail only a few feet back but destroyed the end of the corridor allowing Barton and Emilia to get out to the courtyard. Still in the corridor, Charles had regained consciousness just as Barton and Emilia had lured Abigail outside. Although he was confused, he knew one thing for certain. For the first time in months, he was able to think straight. Who was it that saved me? Mei? No ...Emi? “Was destroying that really necessary?” Emilia looked at the damage in dismay. “Hey it’s much less damage than what you caused, Miss I’ll use a giant flame bird at my enemy indoors! Consider this payback. Besides, I think we have bigger problems right now.” Abigail was chasing them, showing impressive speed despite not having legs. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and shot out a concentrated beam of mana aimed at Emilia. “Oh shit!” Barton didn’t have time to worry about exposing his identity now. He quickly switched back to his Knight Class, stepped between the blast and Emilia, and put up a five layered barrier. “Mirror Reflection Shield!” Although the mana blast was able to shatter four of the barriers, the fifth barrier was able to block the attack and reflect it. Unfortunately, Abigail reacted in time and avoided the reflection. “Magic Construct? I see, judging by your age you must be the Third Prince of Leferon. This must be my lucky day. I get to kill two ‘prodigies’ at once!” With that, she continued toward Barton and Emilia, scimitars in hand and a malicious grin on her face. Without his mana wings, Barton had much less mobility in his Knight Class but relying on the shared ability from his Ranger Class, Barton was still able to move around the battleground relatively quickly. However, he had to resort to blocking Abigail’s attacks more and more. He was able get a few hits in but the thickness of her scales prevented him from inflicting serious wounds. Attacking was even worse for Emilia. Assassins had low attacking power in the first place so even her hardest hits left little more than scratches on Abigail’s scales. Furthermore, Abigail was focusing much of her attention on Emilia and could see her when invisible so Emilia had to spend much of attention on dodging. The fact that she was still tired from using her Deathstrike Edge meant she was also more sluggish than usual and had to rely on Barton’s shield and barriers to save her. “Emilia, switch to your Mage Class! We’re going to need more firepower if we want to take her down!” As he was saying that, Barton raised his hand and summoned Bailong to help. Immediately, the Heavenly Dragon started to shoot energy breath at Abigail. “But I’d have to be relatively stationary when using magic!” “Don’t worry about that! I’ll keep her busy and protect you so cast to your heart’s content! Just take her down in one hit!” “Alright!” With a flash of light, Emilia’s Assassin garb was replaced with her Mage outfit. Furthermore, she raised her hand and summoned Ashe. “Ashe, please help Barton and Bailong keep that woman busy while I cast my spells.” With a nod, the Divine Phoenix flew off and joined the battle, shooting fire from its wings while Emilia teleported further away and began gathering mana. “That little bitch!” Abigail noticed what Emilia was doing and attempted to stop her by firing another mana blast. Barton noticed the attempt and put up another Mirror Reflection Shield, reflecting it back at her. Though she was able to dodge, Bailong and Ashe were able to strike her with their breath and flame attacks respectively, leaving large burn marks on her scales. “Fuck off!” Starting to lose her patience, Abigail flailed wildly with her scimitars, hoping to hit one of the contracted beasts out of the sky but they were flying just out of her reach. However, Barton had decided to stop holding back as well. He summoned hundredss of Magic Construct swords of every element and strength he could think of. As Bailong and Ashe were attacking, he fused each sword along with some of his life force with the longsword he was using. Same as with the Dream Arrow, Barton was using one of the ultimate techniques of the first king of Leferon, the Life Sword. Even though it was incomplete as Barton could only release it right away rather than hold it in his sword, it was still Barton’s most powerful technique in the Knight Class. After he was finished fusing the swords, the longsword in his hand was glowing similar to the Dream Arrow. However, it was much more unstable, leaking mana everywhere. “Get out of the way!” As Bailong and Ashe obeyed his order, Barton swung his sword, releasing a multicolored energy wave about a fifth of a meter wide and five meters long from his sword. The wave hit Abigail, released a massive explosion of light that shook the earth. As the light of the explosion faded, the blade of Barton’s longsword cracked and broke. “You bastard!” The Life Sword severely injured Abigail. Her scales were cracked and she was bleeding from various parts of her body. She had even lost her right arm where the wave had hit her directly. “I’ll torture you slowly for that!” “It’s too late.” Barton had noticed something in the corner of his eye. Emilia’s black hair started to turn silvery white as she started to chant her spell and the ribbon tying her ponytail disappeared. “Mana of the world, follow my will, become the torrents of chaos that send my enemies to their Purgatory! Brilliant Catastrophe!” As Emilia finished her spell, Barton jumped onto Bailong’s back and clasped his hands together before collapsing on Bailong’s back. With the last of his strength, Barton had used Divine Bindings to prevent Abigail from running away. Chains of light erupted from the ground, tying Abigail in place as the contracted beasts flew back to Emilia. A magic circle appeared beneath Abigail. Wind swirled and became a tornado of pink fire ten meters wide and fifty meters tall while water appeared to conduct yellow lightning crackling inside before being evaporated by the heat. Then, the tornado shrank until it was only about a meter wide and five meters tall. Although the tornado had shrunk, the intensity of the flames and lightning intensified as the magic was concentrated. Finally, stone spikes coated with dark and light magic erupted from the ground and pierced the center of the tornado. This resulted in a giant explosion that could be seen, felt, and heard several kilometers away. Although the Blazing Phoenix Strike was technically Emilia’s most powerful attack, she needed Ashe to use it. Furthermore, it could be used multiple times as long as Ashe was still cloaked in its flames. Brilliant Catastrophe on the other hand was the most powerful spell that she could use alone and was one of the spells that had made her ancestor, the first king of Forthon, famous in his time. Although it had just as much if not more destructive power as the Blazing Phoenix Strike, it wasn’t as concentrated nor could it be used multiple times. However, Emilia hadn’t completed the technique just yet either. The spell required mastery of all the elements used while she had only mastered fire. She almost mastered lightning as well but she could only be considered skilled in the other elements. Thus, the potential for the Brilliant Catastrophe was still great. After the spell, Emilia dropped to her knees and collapsed on the ground. The gemstone on her wand had cracked due to the strain of the spell. Even if she had the energy to look for Abigail’s body, it wouldn’t have done her any good. Abigail had been atomized and not even the smallest scrap of her remained in the crater. However, that spell really took everything out of her, especially after using the Deathstrike Edge just a few moments ago. Although guards had come out after the battle was over, Bailong and Ashe stayed to protect their masters. King Charles himself had to come before Bailong and Ashe let their guard down enough for Barton and Emilia to be transported to the infirmary. King Charles looked on as Emilia and her friend were carried off for treatment. According to the guards, a number of them had also been saved by another pair found on the other side of the courtyard. By their behavior, the king assumed they were Emilia’s friends as well. After all, although he was still under Abigail’s control at the time, he vaguely remembered that there more people with Emilia when she arrived. Thus, he told the guards to transport them to the infirmary as well. Early the next morning, Emilia regained consciousness. Next to her was a dignified man in his early 50s, sleeping in a chair near her. It was his father. As she tried to get up, Charles stirred awake. “Emi… you’re up. Are you okay?” “Yes Father. However, I would like to ask you the same thing. Are you thinking straight? Do you feel any aftereffects from that woman’s ability?” “No, at least I don’t think so. I have to thank you for saving me and apologize for how I treated you under that woman’s control.” “T-there’s no need for apologies! You didn’t do that of your own free will!” Suddenly Emilia turned and looked around the room. “Where are my friends? The guards haven’t captured them, have they?” “Oh, you called them your friends. I figured they were at least your allies so I had them treated as well. They’re in the room next door. Now, I’m somewhat are of my actions this past year but I’d like to hear it from you as well as how you were able to save me.” For the next few hours, Emilia described what happened the past year, including her attempted assassination of Arthur and the events that followed. By the time she finished, the sun was high in the sky. “I see. I will have to meet with King Arthur soon. We will have much to discuss. I assume your friends are awake by now so feel free to head over later.” With that, Charles got up and walked to the door. Before leaving though, he had one more thing to say. “Oh and I know you’re a prodigy at magic but next time you fight in the castle, please try to tone down the damage. The mages will have to work for a month to get everything repaired.” With a chuckle, King Charles left his daughter hiding her embarrassed face with her blanket.