“I’m just sayin’... you mighta went a bit overboard.”
Lucius and his fellows were once again enjoying a lovely meal of flowers in the dining hall. A few days had passed since Mili’s, rather memorable, demonstration. It took an entire group of paladins to subdue her, and even then the spunky musician wouldn’t go without a fight - kicking and singing and blasting their eardrums with music to the very end. There were no real casualties as far as Lucius knew, nor any lasting wounds, but it sure gave everyone a fright.
Lady Bradamante suffered the worst of them all. Even with her prowess, she could not fully avoid the surge of lightning. Her once golden armor turned a hazy black, and despite emerging relatively unharmed surprisingly, the paladin shivered whenever she saw Mili from thereon after.
“Psh, It’s fine. It turned out alright, didn’t it? Now no one’s looking at you all funny-like anymore!”
“Yeah, kid. They changed gears over to you.”
“Suits me just fine. I’m used to the attention.”
At the time, the musician acted innocent, saying she wasn’t used to her power and that it was all just a big misunderstanding. No one could resist her teary, quivering eyes - so pure, so guiltless. Eventually she managed to get away completely scot free. Only her companions saw the snicker hiding beneath.
“I must say,” Lucius said, elegantly cutting a piece of flower steak. “Our stay here has been quite the surprising one. I had expected the lady’s teaching to be rather harsh, but these past few days have been nothing but pleasant.”
The morning following Mili’s impromptu concert, their training had begun. Contrary to what they thought, it was rather simple: running around the courtyard, doing exercises, building up stamina. Lady Bradamante watched over them closely and had other knights to act as assistants. Once the afternoon arrived, they switched over to a more academic-based focus. The players were given books and parchments detailing the basics of combat (conveniently translated thanks to the system), and then underwent periodic tests to examine their knowledge.
The evening hours were where they faced the most tribulation: sparring. It wasn’t as intense compared to Lady Bradamante’s show before, though. Each player was assigned their own personal knight, and they would conduct light spars to help hone their experience. Learning couldn’t be done only through text, after all - a personal approach was necessary in order to cover the gaps that theory could not.
Lucius subdued all the knights appointed to him quite easily, so unfortunately he didn’t get much out of it. That was fine. The gentleman didn’t need to learn what he had already mastered.
Mili wrinkled her nose. “Speak for yourself. I swear, every day feels like I’m about to kick the bucket. Can’t even make it to my room at the end of the night without some part of my body being sore or aching.”
“Well, what'd ya expect after pourin’ all your stats into magic?” Marco said, teasing her. “What’s it at now, anyway?”
“Forty-five.”
Marco nearly spat his food. “That high, huh? No wonder you managed to scare the miss.”
Mili shrugged. “Maybe. I don't think it actually hurt her. I wasn’t holding back, y’know, but she stood up right as rain. Tough cookie, that lady is.”
She continued on, availing them of her woes and poor, battered muscles. The training certainly was strenuous for those of lesser physical stats, but fortunately it was made tolerable thanks to the efforts of Sir Ruggiero. The man was like an oasis in the desert, a refreshing breeze of kindness and consideration. Whenever a person was about to give up, he swooped in and reinvigorated them, lending words of support and advice with the patience of a saint.
His courtesy was well appreciated, especially when compared to the tough-love practiced by Lady Bradamante. She did not hold back her words, nor her apparent ecstasy in pushing them to their very limits. Still, she wasn’t an unreasonable one. Bradamante understood the importance of moderation. No matter the task, she never drove the players any further than they could handle, and stopped right before their breaking point.
It reminded Lucius of the ol’ good cop bad cop routine. Except it wasn’t an act - the two paladins really were just that different in temperament. Perhaps it was because their relationship was such that they matched each other perfectly.
Mili managed to struggle even with Ruggiero’s aid, but she endured despite her complaints—all the players did. And it wasn’t just because they sincerely wished to improve.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
>[CHAIN SUB QUEST]<
You have proven your potential to the Paladins of Francia, but don’t grow complacent. Great danger looms in the future. If you wish to survive, develop your skills and endure Lady Bradamante’s training for the next thirty days. Rewards await those genuine in their struggle; however, if you consistently display lacking effort before your instructors, or you miss a day of training for whatever reason, then this quest will automatically fail.
Reward: + 10 unattributed status points, 200 Cosmic Coins
Failure: Decreased reputation with the Holy Empire, possible imprisonment upon reaching a certain threshold
Failure wouldn’t mean just souring the moods of the Sacred Order, but the entirety of the nation as well. Lucius wondered how the reputation system actually worked: did the system instill an innate sense of disgust within the other, or did it spread naturally through rumors and the like?
Lucius supposed it didn’t matter; he was never going to fail a quest, after all. How could a man so perfect, so dashingly beautiful in every conceivable way, ever come across a situation which, against all logical and spiritual probabilities in the overarching mechanisms of the universe, lead to his unsuccessful triumph? It was impossible - simply impossible. For as long as the quest’s contents were agreeable to him, Lucius saw no reason why he shouldn’t be able to succeed with ease.
Time marched on, and soon, several weeks passed by without incident. Except for one particular day. Lady Bradamante had passed by Lucius during one of his spars, when she suddenly jerked around and snatched his arm.
“You,” she had said. “When did you receive the baptism? How did one of your kind…”
Of course, Lucius had no idea what she was talking about. “I beg your pardon, my lady?”
She glared at him and seemed to wrestle with herself for a moment, before eventually letting out a groan and rubbing her eyes. “So be it. May I have your name, sir…?”
“Lucius Rose, pleased to formally make your acquaintance.”
“Ah, yes. You were in the company of Sir Marco and that… vicious child. Very well, I will be watching you, Lucius Rose.”
After that mildly confusing and cryptic encounter, life hurried forth without much change. Occasionally, Lucius would meet up with the young Karolus for a casual talk over tea. They discussed many things - specifically about their respective world’s inventions.
“Wow, you have unicornless carriages where you come from, Lucius?” The boy said with sparkling eyes one such evening.
“Yes, indeed. They are powered by the decomposed remains of creatures that once walked upon the earth millions of years ago. You needed only fill a container with the black, sticky liquid, and then it’d power the machine like blood does for the body.”
“How fascinating!” Karolus giggled. “It sounds a bit similar to how our Holy Gems are crafted.”
“Oh? Do tell more.”
Karolus pondered for a second, before jumping from his chair and running over to a chest in the corner. He pulled out something dusty, blew on it, and then returned, presenting a blue gem for the gentleman to see. “The Holy Gems are crystals formed from the tears of the Imperial Eagle. It is said our God once wept for seven days and seven nights after the loss of their firstborn child, the original Emperor, causing a great flood to rage forth until there was naught but a sea of jewels. The Hallowed Blade, representing the justice of God, buried the sea atop a great mass of land we now call the continent of Europa: our current home.”
“Very intriguing. I assume traces of the bejeweled age still remain underground?”
Karolus nodded. “Yep! The Empire has a few quarries where they dig up and mine the crystals. Their actual form is a lot bigger, so craftsmen cut them down until you have little pieces like this one here.”
The boy set the blue gem down on a table and tapped it. To Lucius’s amazement, water began to leak out, wetting the surface.
“Each gem has its own unique property,” Karolus said, donning the air of a wise scholar. “Blue sapphires produce water, green emeralds can invoke wind, and red rubies unleash spurts of flame. There are many other different types of course, but these are the most common ones.”
After showing Lucius such an interesting display, it was only right that he returned the favor.
*You have spent 1000 Cosmic Coins
Lucius dramatically veiled his hand behind his back, and then pulled out a night light projector. Supposedly it was solar-powered, hence the costly price, but whether or not it would work with the two suns of this realm… well, that was a concern for tomorrow’s Lucius.
“Hm?” Karolus said, ogling the device. “Where did you get that from?”
“I am a man of many skills,” Lucius chuckled. “But this contraption is what we use to brighten up dark spaces. Observe—”
Lucius pressed a button, and soon, the room became filled with twinkling stars - swaths of blue and purple joining together to create a miniature view of the outer space that laid far above.
It was a toy commonly placed in children’s bedrooms, but for Karolus, he beheld it as if it was a treasure more precious than all.
“It’s… beautiful,” he said, spinning around and waving his arms, laughing.
“I am glad; because henceforth, it is yours to keep.”
Karolus stopped and stared at him, wide-eyed. “R-Really? I couldn’t possibly take something so valuable…”
“A gift is only worth as much as it is loved,” he scolded. “Let it be a reminder of me: of the miracle that allowed our two civilizations to meet.”
The boy hesitated for a second, but with a gentle nudge from Lucius, he gave in and hugged the machine with all his love.
“Thank you, Lucius,” he said in-between tears. “I really… I really like it.”
The stars were fake, yes, but it didn’t matter to Karolus. For the rest of the night, he stared off into the celestial lights, hoping that one day he might see them in person.