Book 3: Chapter 6: Palace and Grand Magus Yulia
'Has she stopped using her skill?' Sophie asked Lone.
He nodded and replied, 'Yup. I can't feel her trying to squirm into my mind anymore. Thanks for conveying my message.'
'Keeping a focused mind is harder than we thought it would be. We shall return Soph to you now. Call on us should you need us again,' Sophie said before giving control of her body back to her more bubbly self.
"I don't see any slaves," Lone commented as he took in the sight that was Golden Pass City.
It was easily the largest city he'd seen on Altros thus far. At a guess, Lone would say it had at least three or four million residents. A good majority of the city had been carved out of the valley as if it had once been a mountain.
An artificial valley of this size would be a monumental architectural feat. It was a shame it didn't trigger his Historical and Cultural Appreciation skill. It truly was a marvel to look at despite that.
Princeling Keith snorted. "We are not barbarians, Blood Mage."
The princeling's tone spoke of how much he wished to strike once more, though he wasn't foolish enough to attempt to do so, likely aware of the futility of such an action. That was a positive thing in Lone's eyes.
He spied Hesha the sight mage sneaking a disgusted look Keith's way. Her newfound respect for Lone clearly trumped any loyalty she had for the rude royal B-ranker.
Princeling Andrew added, "Many thousands of years ago when Father founded this city nation of ours, he weighed the pros and cons of a class-based system and saw it wanting, hence why it is a meritocracy centred around strength and then skill."
"So if I kick your dad's ass, do I become the new prince?" Lone asked rather seriously.
Keith almost burst a blood vessel but Andrew chuckled in good humour. "No, not quite. It is a little bit more complicated than that."
"Good. I don't think I can beat an XX-ranker in a spar even if I go for the kill, but it's good to know I won't suddenly inherit a truckload of responsibility if a fluke happens," Lone said.
Breena leaned over to Soph and whispered, "What's a truck?"
"It's like, uh, a big carriage. Lone's told me a bit about them before," Soph replied just as quietly.
"Ohhh..." Breena didn't seem to understand at all.
"What is, um, that is, if you don't mind my asking, Great Mage, what is the strongest person or thing you've defeated and how did you best them?" Hesha asked, curiosity bursting out of her tone.
Lone shrugged. "Person? SSS-ranked blood mage Rosanne Daybringer. I snapped her neck when she tried to flee from me. Thing? Low-ranked eldritch horror, Urundartka of the Deep. I ripped it apart from the inside as it tried to consume me. Hardest fight of my life thus far, that one."
Princeling Keith snorted. "Lies. As if you would kill your own kind."
Lone frowned. "I'm no eldritch horror unless you meant Rosanne? You're a special type of stupid if you think blood mages are all in some sort of massive book club or something. I didn't even have an affinity for blood magic until I fought her."
Andrew frowned. "Brother, be silent. Every word of insult you direct at my guest is a word of insult you direct at me."
"I don't need to put up with this," Princeling Keith snapped before he stormed off in another direction with his retainers in tow.
"I'm so sorry for his poor behaviour," Princeling Andrew apologised.
"I couldn't give a fuck less, but do know that I'll kill him if he tries to cross me again," Lone said, coldness the only emotion visible on his expression.
At that, Princeling Andrew could only nod hesitantly.
Lone smiled. "Well, a couple of questions before we reach the palace if you'd humour me. To lighten the mood."
"We would be honoured, Great Mage," Hesha spoke up, clearly not shaken up by Lone's blatant threat on a princeling's life.
"'Ppreciate it. Big principality city like this surely has a couple of branches of The Adventurer's Guild. Which is the strongest? Or, better yet, which has the most powerful guildmaster?" Lone asked.
"The guild in the fighter's district, without a doubt," the fire mage Helen responded. She pointed to the northern side of the city and added, "It's halfway up the valley in between the city's three arenas."
"Thank you. And what about any guilds or companies that have identification services?" Lone asked.
He still had Rosanne Daybringer's ring as well as most of Wilbur's sack of goodies that needed to be identified. He couldn't trust any dwarf with Stone's Vision to do that back in the farwinds on account of the greater council keeping close tabs on him. Well, none bar Wilbur but for obvious reasons, he was unable to do that during his enlistment period.
With a young prince desperate to get in his good graces, Golden Pass City seemed as good a place as any other to get this errand completed.
"Mason and Sons in the noble district have a very clean reputation for services of that ilk," Princeling Andrew claimed. "And I know, the district name seems odd given our political structure, but it was designed for visiting nobles since we have none of our own beyond the prince and his immediate relatives."
"Noted. Well then, lead the way to the palace, pal," Lone replied.
"With pleasure," Princeling Andrew responded.
Lone whistled in awe. "Much bigger than the castle back in Milindo. Hell, it might be bigger than the Royal Palace of Madrid."
"Milindo is a small, young nation," Princeling Andrew responded as he led Lone into the massive structure. "I know not of this 'Madrid' you speak of, but this city has a foundation thousands of years in the making, so it only stands to reason our palace is of a notable size."
'A shame it isn't noteworthy enough to trigger Historical and Cultural Appreciation. It may be large, but it's no marvel unlike the city itself. That skill is such a picky bitch.' Lone nodded. "I bet it gets an expansion for each new kid the prince decides to have. Gotta keep all of the wives and concubines happy, eh?"
"Haha," Princeling Andrew laughed nervously. "You are a very frank individual."
Lone shrugged. "I have my secrets and boundaries too, but yeah, I'll speak my mind most of the time. When can I meet your dad, by the way?"
"Hesha," the princeling called, "please lead my guests to where they will be staying. Helen, Paul, Furdar, you may all return to your regular duties. I shall go and find my father and inform him of Immortus the Immortal's request."
Soph tilted her head and pointed at a wall. "I'm pretty sure he's 327 metres that way."
"You are also a sight mage?" Hesha asked, confusion in her expression. "But Great Mage Immortus did not know of my magic type until our meeting. I apologise if I am overstepped with my question. I merely seek to remove my ignorance."
'Suck-ups are kinda annoying too, but she's nice enough,' Lone thought before saying, "Her senses are better than most, but no, she is not a sight mage. Come on, lead the way. Tell me about sight mages while we walk."
Hesha beamed as she happily complied. The other retainers left as well while Princeling Andrew hesitantly began moving in the direction Soph had advised him to.
'She was right. Father is with Grand Magus Yulia just beyond this door. What an absurd level of accurate detection for a C-ranker to have. Is she the one Hesha and Helen felt suffocated by? Or was it the four-tailed Crimson Foxkin touched by Darkness?' Princeling Andrew didn't know as he was no mage.
Taking a deep breath to centre himself, he knocked on the door to Grand Magus Yulia's tower. It was a simple structure though quite impenetrable. His father had tried to level the tower once at Grand Maguc Yulia's request, only to prove that she was, indeed, capable of stopping an XX-ranker's attacks.
"Come in, little brother. The door is unlocked," Grand Magus Yulia's voice flowed through the stone and wood, making it sound like she was standing right next to him.
Bowing respectfully, Princeling Andrew entered the tower filled with mystical trinkets and odds and ends that he couldn't make heads nor tails of.
"I humbly greet Esteemed Lord Father. I humbly greet Lady Yulia," Princeling Andrew said as respectfully as he could.
He wasn't even being suppressed by his father's XX-ranked aura nor his sister's SS-ranked one, yet still, he could not find the strength to lift his head and meet eyes with either one of them.
"How did the dungeon raid go? I can feel Keith's presence in the city although his aura is turbulent," his father asked with little true emotion in his words.
"It went perfectly, Father. Keith and his retainers worked together admirably. His turbulent aura is due to what happened on our way back to the cit-"
"It was that massive blob of Magic Power, wasn't it?" his elder sister interrupted. "What an incredibly powerful being, that person you've invited into our palace. I was just discussing what to do about it with Father here."
Andrew creased his brow. "Not quite. She is one of the two companions of the gold-silver plate adventurer Lone Immortus, Immortus the Immortal. He was using a skill that looks like blood magic which triggered Keith and his retainers to attack them unprompted."
"I know that name," his father stated. "I can feel him now. C-ranked aura but this feeling... Interesting. No wonder he is fine and Keith is not. Why have you brought him here?"
"He... wishes to fight you, Father. My retainer Hesha called him a polymage and suspects he obtained a perfect affinity for sight magic after she used a spell directly on him at his request," Andrew explained. "When she used said skill, she saw that he has ten perfect affinities for different magical schools. He obtained another when she looked at him with Oppressive Gaze and that prompted her to rank up."
"That sounds like a far-fetched tale at best, a bold-faced lie at worst," Yulia scoffed.
Andrew kept his head lowered, worried about what his father's response would be.
"And yet, young sight mage Hesha left the palace a B-ranker and returned as an A-ranker," Prince Keining pointed out.
"If you say so, Lord Father," Yulia pouted.
"He wishes for a fight, you say? That's the least I could do as payment for not killing one of my sons when he had reason to. Tomorrow at the central arena. You make the arrangement and you let him know since he's your guest, Andrew," Prince Keining ordered.
"By your will, Esteemed Father," Andrew answered.
"Has he told you how or if he plans to report Keith's attack to the guild? A dark-steel plate assaulting another adventurer, let alone a gold-silver plate, is a damned good way to never become a person of worth," the ruler of this city grumbled.
'In a city where strength equals status, getting locked out of earning a silver plate and thus access to the credit slate is perhaps the worst way to be crippled for life,' Andrew agreed. "All he has told me is that he will not press for my younger brother's execution."
Yulia got up and walked for the door. "I'll speak to this Immortus the Immortal. I need to verify your retainer's ridiculous claims that he is a polymage capable of learning new, perfected affinities, as it is anyway."
Andrew stayed silent. After Yulia had left, he felt the ability to look up returning to him. Doing so, he saw his father was missing and he himself was now standing outside of the tower instead of in its central bottom floor. "Elder Sister Yulia's magic is so strange..."
"This room is pretty awesome," Lone said as he looked around the fancy mini-house disguised as a guest room of the palace. "Breena, I want you to use the sofa in whatever bedroom Soph and I decide to use when we sleep just in case anyone tries to do something stupid. It's best if you're near us at all times. Apart from that, I guess we should train or relax or something until someone comes and gets us."
Breena nodded. "I'll, uh, work on my needles..."
Soph began taking off her armour when she commented, "I know you didn't mind that sight mage telling the blonde guy about your affinities but, uh, he just told an SS-ranked mage called Yulia or something and she's coming here to verify what he said. She's his older sister. I think the XX-ranker was there too? His mana is definitely more compact and thicker than the dwarf from your trial, but it's hard to judge. That blonde guy did call him 'father' though."
"Huh. They say anything interesting?" Lone inquired as he got himself comfortable on a leather lounge sofa.
Soph finished getting out of her armour and trotted over to him. Once she had joined him on the sofa and snuggled up to him, she said, "Sounds like you'll get your fight tomorrow at one of the arenas. Apart from that, nope, nothing particularly interesting."
"A public fight?" Lone frowned. "I don't see the point in hiding my strength anymore but that doesn't mean I want to flaunt it. I've decided. I'll fight with the intent to kill. If a real fight with an XX-ranker can at least give me enlightenment and push me to B-rank, then the exposure will be worth it."
"I'll be ready to teleport you out if you look like you're in danger," Soph chimed in. "Your bones can stop Hilda's hammer now but she's three ranks weaker than an XX-ranker."
Lone smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, Soph, and I know. I'll be careful while I try to make him fight me seriously."
A knock came from the door before it swung open and a drop-dead gorgeous woman with hair as black as night strolled into the room. She glanced around a bit before her gaze stopped on the lounging Lone and Soph.
"Ah, there's the mana monster and the supposed polymage," she stated.
Lone raised an eyebrow. "I'd tell you to make yourself at home, but it seems you already have. So, to what do I owe the pleasure, Yulia?"
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