CHAPTER 105

  AN ASCENDING PRESENCE

  The journey back to the palace was shrouded in silence. Bernard had been right, yet Hans's words still clung to the royal siblings, echoing in their thoughts long after the conversation had ended. To be a knight. A true knight. It seemed harder and harder now.

  Yet, for all its difficulty, anything worth achieving was worth the struggle.

  Allynna understood why her mother was forced to do things like this. Was it weakness that drove her to this life? The thoughts clung to her like a strong adhesive.

  She admired and envied Hans—the Parvian Prince. To her, he embodied an unreachable sky, a man whose only allegiance was to his own beliefs. He obliterated all obstacles in his path with unflinching resolve.

  Theodred’s unquestionable beliefs towards the knight code struck her with the same force.

  She turned inward, but found only emptiness. There was nothing driving her like that. Turning to Riftal—her younger brother, who toiled tirelessly to earn his place, to make himself known, she had nothing to fuel her own ambitions.

  She laughed bitterly—not in vanity, but in frustration. Where is my flame? She asked herself and found no answers.

  Before long, their ride reached the gates of the palace but the news of Theodred’s feats had already knocked them.

  Reina, her expression stormy, rushed toward them. Her eyes locked onto Theodred, fury radiating from her every movement.

  “Theodred,” she seethed, “you are on house arrest until I say otherwise. Understand?”

  Theodred nodded, his face unreadable. “Do as you wish, teacher.”

  “Is that all you have to say?” Reina’s voice was sharp, her anger barely contained.

  “I was not wrong,” Hans interjected, his eyes unwavering.

  “I know,” she spat, “but you will still be punished for your actions.”

  “As I’ve said, do as you see fit.” Hans’s calm was unshaken as he strode past her.

  His little incident didn’t escalate a bit since Reina handled everything in shadows. But it had drawn the Clandorian children closer to Theodred, particularly Allynna, whom the unapproachable Hans and easygoing Theodred bear the same feelings.

  In the days since, Allynna had found herself following Theodred, unable to tear her eyes away.

  “What the hell happened here?” Delimira muttered, her gaze narrowing as she watched the royal siblings' close proximity to the pricky existence.

  “No idea,” Chris replied with a shrug. “But it seems like they’ve gotten close. She even calls him Theo—”

  “Theo? My foot!” Delimira’s voice rose as she marched over, intent on breaking up the gathering. But she faltered mid-step when Reina’s sudden appearance stopped her in her tracks.

  “Teacher?” Theodred raised his head. “Did you bury that too?” Hans hinted towards what he caused in his last trip.

  Reina sighed. “I know you won’t listen, but you must learn to yield sometimes, disciple. You cannot always chase immediate results. Consider the bigger picture. To you, saving one person may seem the right choice, but it could doom thousands—who’d be irresponsible then? If you don’t have it in you to look after them for life. Don’t just step in whenever you wish.”

  Her words reminded him of his own and he wasn’t alone. Delimira also recalled them as Hans had said them to her when they were nabbed by Arat.

  Hans didn’t complain so Reina asked further.

  “How much do you know about spirits?”

  “Not much.” Theodred answered as if he never cared. “Just that it gives a significant boost to our abilities.” He said.

  “Yes,” Reina nodded, “but if you wish to contract a powerful spirit—one like mine or any of the royals—you must first stop trampling over the Shadow Family’s toes.”

  “Fine Fine. I get it, teacher.” Theodred replied, though his curiosity was piqued. “But a spirit—what is a spirit, exactly?”

  He was genuinely curious but no matter how much he searched, he never found how they came into existence, only that they lend their powers to elves.

  “Hmm… it’s not a national level secret… and since you are so agreeable today, I’ll let you in.” She turned to see Delimira and Chris listening from behind.

  “Why don’t you two come too?” She invited them.

  Retelling the story of how mana came into existence.

  “Before nations and kings, there were two forces that ruled the world—two powers known as the World Trees. One governed the day, and the other, the night. They birthed two distinct races. We—elves—are the offspring of the Day Tree, blessed with long lives and superior bodies.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The night tree coveted the day. Hence began the war for dawn. We triumphed over the creatures of the night, and in doing so, we destroyed it. When the night tree fell, so did the day. Since Light and Darkness cannot exist without each other.”

  Her voice grew solemn as she continued.

  “The fall of the day tree scattered its power across the world, giving birth to new races—humans, dwarves, and others. It also transformed the high-mana regions into what you call Beast Zones, where animals were mutated into mana beasts. Those who fully embraced the mana ascended, leaving their physical forms behind to become ethereal. They retreated to other realms—the Spirit Worlds—accessed only through Clandor. And the gate to the most powerful realm lies within the Shadow Family. That’s why I warned not to stomp their toes any further.”

  Hans’s brow furrowed. “But if the day tree is dead…” he trailed off.

  “What remains is the remnant,” Reina finished quietly. “It still holds great power, and it is the responsibility of the royals to protect it. That is our duty.”

  “So, the spirits were at some point the same as us—or mana beasts, right?”

  Reina nodded, affirming. And looking at Chris, she suggested.

  “Disciple. You might’ve known. This is Christopher— Bernard’s son. He is also —the first knight of Parvian Prince.”

  As Theodred, Hans looked at her with a confusing look. “Then what is he doing here? Aren’t you enemies?”

  “There are no enemies and allies in politics, only profits.”

  “Well, teacher,” Theodred stated. “Abducting the queen. Killing the kings. I find it hard to move on from those heavy topics.”

  “So you do know a thing or two about the world.”

  “I’m not interested, that doesn’t mean I’m a fool, teacher.”

  “Now now, you’re even running your mouth.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  “I didn’t say.” She turned to Chris, suggesting him. “How about a warm-up with this idealist?”

  Chris wanted that too, and his excited face answered before his mouth.

  “Fine by me.” Hans agreed too.

  “But teacher, I couldn’t find a sword that suited my needs. So, I’ll be in your debt if you had me one forged.”

  “I already did.” She pulled one from her pocket dimension. Making Riftal and Allynna envious.

  Hans felt the weight; it flew as his wrist commanded—heavy and sturdy.

  Chris unsheathed too. “Since you value honour so much. You wouldn’t want me to hold back, do ya?”

  Hans nodded, stabbing the unsheathed brand-new blade down. “I’m Theodred. I honourably request a duel from Ser Christopher.”

  Chris felt embarrassed. “It really makes me sound old. We are of the same age, call me Chris.” He paused a bit and taking the same stance, said, “I, Cristopher, accept your challenge.”

  They cleared the training grounds, occupying the audience seats.

  Chris had already hit grade sixty, an eligibility criterion for the graduation test—the red demon trials and Knight convention. Meanwhile, Theodred had just started his knight journey and barely held two skills under his belt.

  Seeing the familiar stance of Chris— the imperial sword arts. He took the Agile sword stance. His steps ready to fly across the grounds.

  “Begin,” Reina commanded.

  And both collided like thrown spears.

  Clang! Clang!

  None evaded as if it was a matter of their pride. Each strike met with others. Sparks flew, and soon Theodred’s sword started beating Chris’s in terms of speed.

  To counter, Chris used his enhanced mobility skill to match.

  Skill: surge

  The electricity flowed in his veins. Giving a boost to his movements by leaps and bounds.

  Unlike him, Theodred’s skills were already active from the beginning—regenratio, adding a massive aura generation. And LumenGaze, his eyes tracking Chris with deadly precision.

  “He mastered it.” Reina hushed. “Hmm…around thirty. How is his aura increasing so rapidly— in mere three weeks of training, he had increased it around twenty mark.”

  Without any active skills, Hans couldn’t get a hand on Chris, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t make him frustrated.

  He knew Chris as the back of his hand. And he used it to full advantage. Chris becomes agitated, when his strikes do not connect. He had learned it when they used to practice pure swordsmanship back in Concordia.

  His stance switched. From fast to defensive, as a mountain, his movement limited, his sword restrained.

  Then suddenly, he turned into weighted strikes, letting his instinct ride him. Giving Chris the familiar feeling. A wall he can’t climb no matter how much effort he put in. Just as he felt against Hans’s sword.

  But Hans, being unable to use aura, gave him some breathing room; however, Theodred was a different story. A born talent, one who would eventually rule the knight era of this time.

  “Agh, damn it.” He swung hard.

  Skill: Crescent moon strike

  A visible circle of terrifying electricity charged at Theodred, quickly passing through him, stunning. And it returned back to Chris, giving him damage from front and back alike.

  Skill: Maelstrom

  A gigantic flail formed out of lightning, attached to his sword by a string like lightning aura.

  He swung it hard and bashed the immobile Theodred. But Chris didn’t stop there.

  Skill: Divine punishment

  Absorbing a massive chunk of mana and rapidly transforming it into aura, he jumped, holding the ballistic power, and landed right atop Theodred like a meteor. Turning the ground into a crater.

  There lay Theodred, bashed and beaten.

  Coming to his senses, Chris helped Theodred. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know what took me over. Sorry, man. Really—”

  “Ha!” Flabbergasted, Hans looked at him. “It’s okay. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But quite frankly. It would do me good if you kept a distance from me for a couple of days.”

  Reina quickly summoned the healers and tended to Theodred’s wound.

  “Do you know why I didn’t step up when Christopher went overboard—”

  You probably wanted to see if I had something hidden. But that’s not what I must say, right? He let go of the inner voice and said something an idealist fool would say. “You wanted to show me that there is always someone stronger so I won’t turn arrogant about my progress, right?”

  Reina smirked. “Yes.” She dismissed everyone but him as soon as his treatment was done.

  “Hey Chris, what was it? You could have killed him.” Allynna complained, almost protectively.

  “Sorry,” Chris looked at his hands, not believing himself. “I felt an ascending presence as if I allowed it, he could swallow me whole. I never felt it like this before.

  “That is what we call an inferiority complex, Chris.” Delimira stated, confused. Something about Theodred struck a nerve, a nerve she couldn’t pinpoint.