“Brother,” I looked over towards the door and saw my twin sister standing there. “If you don’t hurry, we are going to be late to Count Corriander’s Investiture.”
“I’m ready.” Looking down at myself again, these clothes look awful. I don’t want to be seen in them. Granted, every knight present will be wearing them. But I’m not a knight. Doesn’t the son of a knight get to wear something less drab, I mean less formal? My getup was old-fashioned, with pants that ended just below the knee. My white socks were all the way up my thighs, so they could be prominently displayed. That wasn’t the worst offender; that honor belonged to my coat and shirt combo. My shirt was puffy; that’s the only word I got for it. It puffed out on the chest and just looked, well, tacky. The coat’s sleeves only went to my elbows.
My sister grabbed my arm. “Come on, let’s go. Mother said you’re supposed to escort me.”
We started to walk towards the ceremony. Thankfully, we wouldn’t have far to walk. Duke Wellmont’s family, whom my father and mother both served under as head knight and head maid, respectively. They owned a nice mansion in the capital. One perk of being in my father’s family is that we got to stay in the mansion, though of course not in the best rooms. I had to share my room with my sister, though today was quite nice since she and mother spent the time getting dressed, thus leaving the room to myself.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” My sister was pouting at me.
I started racking my brain. Coat, check; shoes, check; shirt, unfortunately check; socks, check; was I supposed to bring a pass or ticket to get in? If I were, nobody told me that. Wait, my sister looks mad. Ah, I see. “You look really great today. That dress is cute.”
She wasn’t relaxing yet. “Is that all?”
I looked back at my sister. For an eight-year-old, you’re getting annoying. “Your hair looks really nice done up like that. You and Mother must have worked on it for quite a while.” But you shouldn’t go fishing for compliments like that; it’s unbecoming, but whatever.
She smiled at me. “Thanks, and you look handsome yourself.”
Now why did she have to say a thing like that? I looked hideous. Though I am glad I am not a noble. Since they must wear those silly fake hairpieces. I never understood why our ancestors in America started wearing them, but I was sure glad they fell out of style. I turned the corner, and we had just one more block until we reached the cathedral in the center of the city.
It was a magnificent sight. I love stonework, and this checked all of those boxes. They did not use concrete or mortar to construct it. They precisely cut the stones to fit perfectly together. The grounds around the cathedral were all one giant roundabout of cobblestone roads. All the city’s main roads intersected here. The road we were on connected the kingdom’s palace with the church. Lots of carriages and people milling about.
“You look happy.”
“Doesn’t the cathedral look wonderful?” It had that gothic aesthetic that made it stand out. I forced my sister to switch to the left arm, so I stood between her and the road.
“I mean; I guess so.”
“Hmm.”
She was smiling. Most likely because everyone we pass is grinning at us, saying, ‘Don’t those two look so cute’ or ‘Oh my gosh, aren’t they just adorable?’ However, what I found funny is that the men with the women just looked at us and ignored us, or on some occasions just nodded along. One man didn’t even look, just saying, ‘Yes, Rita.’
There was a line waiting to get in through the main entrance, but thankfully we got to skip that line and head through a small door on the side. My older brother was guarding the door. He got to wear the normal knight’s uniform. Wait, how is that fair?
“Becca, you look just like Mother, and your dress makes your eyes sparkle. And your hair looks incredibly cute. Its golden radiance is like the sun.”
Becca, my sister, curtsied. She was grinning. “Thank you very much, Trenton.”
“Amon, you look,” Trenton puffed up my shirt some more and straightened my collar a little. He started brushing out the wrinkles on the coat. Then nodded, “much better now. It’s too bad I am on duty; I would look much more dashing than yourself. You just don’t have it.”
Maybe I don’t want to have ‘it.’ Did you ever think about that? Plus, you always do this. You must always be better at everything, look better in anything. “Thanks for your help, you always have my back. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Trenton frowned slightly but quickly smiled again. “You two had better head on inside. You two will sit next to Mother. She is waiting for you.”
Ha, I didn’t react the way you wanted me to, so take that. I bowed my head and continued to escort my sister inside. The inside of the cathedral had amazing amounts of woodwork everywhere you looked. But it wasn’t the time to look around, so I walked through the passageway until I reached the main hall. It seems like all the big shots were present. The only reason we got a special place was that my father served as head knight.
My father was talking to a bunch of other men, who I should guess are also head knights to the other nobles present. Mother was sitting down, but she spotted me and gestured for the two of us to sit next to her. We didn’t have the best seats, but they still were reserved for us. My sister let go of my arm and hurried over to Mother. I followed her.
My mother looked me up and down and nodded. She approved. “Make sure you sit at the end of the pew; it’s not appropriate if you make your sister sit there.”
“Yes, Mother.”
We took our seats, but shortly after sitting down, Father showed up. I had to get back up to let him in. He sat on the opposite side of mother. He never even looked at me, nor did he say a word to me. Kind of typical behavior coming from him. Still, I much preferred our relationship. I can play the silent game. Mother, on the other hand, liked to talk. I must actively avoid her when I am back home. Which, thankfully, isn’t too difficult.
The room grew quiet as the nobility all took their assigned seats. Once seated, the main doors of the cathedral opened to let the commoners in. After several minutes, the doors closed, and the cathedral became full of people. It didn’t take long for the archbishop of this cathedral to step towards the stand. I don’t know his name, nor do I care to learn it. Large, baggy, and gaudy clothes adorned him. They were white with gold embroidery. He wore a tall hat, called a miter.
He spoke, but I tuned him out. I was much more interested in the color of his soul. I’ve created a spell that allows me to look at people’s souls. In fact, you can kind of tell what sins somebody has committed by looking at the color. This archbishop had a black soul. He definitely murdered somebody or ordered the deaths of other people. Souls came in various shades of gray. But once somebody kills another, their soul will always be stained black.
Whenever I hunted bandits, they always had black souls. I felt no guilt towards killing such filth. I looked around, and many of the nobles also had black souls. That didn’t surprise me. I tried looking around to see if his majesty was present, but royalty wouldn’t attend a lowly count’s investiture. The only reason we are here is because Count Corriander serves under Marques Marx, who serves under Duke Wellmont. That and Count Corriander and Duke Wellmont are good friends. I know Father has had to go to their estate several times with Duke Wellmont.
The main part of the ceremony is about to start. Count Corriander stepped forward and knelt in front of the stand. The archbishop took a special rod from a priest and spoke, “Corriander, by the power that God holds, we will now see if you are worthy of your appointment.” The archbishop held up both his hands, with the rod in his right hand . “If God accepts you, then we will all be witnesses here this day.” The archbishop touched the rod on Count Corriander’s head, and the Count was suffused with light. That light swept through the room, giving everyone a warm feeling inside.
When the light faded, the archbishop handed the rod back to the awaiting priest. “You are all witnesses this day to God’s power. God has divinely appointed Count Corriander to his title. God approves of him and his actions. Please rise, Count Corriander.” The Count stood up.
I focused my entire attention on that rod. This has got to be some kind of trick, and a good one at that. In my old world, nobility had used the claim that God granted them authority to rule. But they never had what looked like lights from the heavens, and warmth being suffused into everybody who was present. If I couldn’t use magic, I would probably just assume that what the archbishop professed to be the truth.
Things clicked a little better in my brain. Our kingdom of Welch only allows nobility to wield magic. I had to learn everything in complete secrecy. If the commoners can’t wield magic, then they can’t understand the difference between divine sorcery and magic trickery. It allows those in power to better remain in power. I wanted to just destroy it all here and now. It made me ill. But I remained calm and collected. I must remember that if the church is actively participating in this farce, then who knows what powerful individuals are pulling the strings.
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And there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that there are people hiding and ruling everything from total secrecy. After the life I endured, I am a full-blown conspiracy theorist. I know they would put down anything that steps out of line or shows up somewhere they’re not welcomed. I do not know if this group includes some hidden masters, so for the time being I will just be little ole me. A son of a knight, who has no massive talent for the sword.
I watched a priest lock the rod in a case and take it away. I will find you later; I will not let a mystery like this go. In fact, I wonder what the church would do if somebody stole the rod? People started standing up, so I joined in. That is it for now.
***
“I thought after the ceremony we were supposed to head straight back to the Duke’s estate?”
My mother was busy cleaning some vases. “Sometimes nobles change their plans.”
“So, do you know why?”
“Nope, and I don’t really care to know. It’s not my place.”
“So, how long will we be staying then?”
“I was told three more weeks.”
“Huh, well, I don’t mind spending more time in the capital.” I stared up at the ceiling. “Dad isn’t going to send us home? I mean, we were only supposed to be here because of the investiture.”
“No, we will all go back together.” Mother finished her current vase and moved onto the next.
With my sister needing to be with the Duke’s daughter, since she was her friend. And my brother is busy with knightly duties, since we are leaving him here in the capital. That means I can have some fun then. I know I am supposed to stay on the grounds of the mansion, but that would be boring.
I snuck out of the mansion and proceeded to the merchant’s quarter. I had my wallet filled with some of my loot from killing bandits. With this being my first time in the capital, I was excited to see what items would be for sale.
***
“Come get your fresh meat pies. Just finished cooking, get them while they are fresh.”
I walked over to that heavenly smell. “How much for one, sir?”
The food vendor’s eyes looked surprised to see me, probably because I’m small. “For you, lad, five coppers.”
I honestly hate haggling, but I also hate spending more money than necessary. Spending more money won out. I took my wallet, not my hidden one, and made a show of emptying it in my hand and showing I only had three coppers. “Will this do for one, sir?”
The guy sighed, took my money, then handed me the smallest pie he had. I thanked him and ran a short distance away. I wolfed down my food. It’s pretty good. It tastes like a chicken pot pie. That filled me up nicely. Where to next? It was a good thing I ate, as when I looked down the street there were several vendors offering a variety of foods. I enjoyed the smells as I walked further into the market.
Once you got past the food streets, the real market began. There were clothing shops and blacksmiths. Large variety of household items and tools. I was kind of hoping to find potions and enchanted items, but it seems the capital didn’t have them either. I mean, it makes sense. There are no adventurers, no citizens wielding magic, nothing that would warrant a different economy.
A rather extensive building in the center of the district grabbed my attention. I walked up to the building. There were two guards standing out front. This building must be important; no other merchant had guards. I became curious.
I walked up to the two guards. “What is this building?”
The guard on the right answered. “This is the merchant’s guild, and the auction hall for big-ticket items.”
“What are big-ticket items?”
“Beats me, kid, but it is just for nobles, so go figure.”
The guard on the left then added, “There is a large auction in three weeks, just got announced yesterday. It's got all the nobles in a frenzy, so it must be something special.”
That likely explains why we are staying in the capital for another three weeks; I wonder what items would go on auction. Maybe I can come back tonight and break in and look around. Nodding to myself, yeah, let’s go with that plan. “Thanks for your help. I am just visiting the capital with my father. He is a knight, and I wanted to explore a little on my own.” I bowed my head in gratitude.
The guard on the right chuckled. “Well, kid, this area is rather safe, but stay out of the slums. They will eat you up.”
That got my attention. “Are there gangs or bad people there?” I made sure to look somewhat frightened.
“There are three gangs, and they don’t like outsiders poking their heads around.”
“Lots of small fry too who won’t hesitate to gut you and take everything.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I looked down at my feet, then back up at them. “Just so I know what area to stay clear from, where are the slums? I would prefer to stay as far away as possible.”
The guard on the left pointed to the left, then behind him. “If you head to your right and take the road past the guild hall here. You just follow that for maybe an hour or maybe half an hour and you will get to the slums. Trust me, you won’t miss it.”
“If nothing else, the smell alone will let you know you're in a dangerous area.”
“Thanks for your help; you two have been really kind to me.” I bowed my head again.
“It’s nothing, kid. I have my boy, and this lout.” The guard on the right pointed to the other one . “He has three girls, all around your age too. I know we both would want somebody to help our kids stay out of dangerous areas.”
“You got that right.” The left guard pointed at me. “And you stay away from girls when you get older.”
“Girls are gross.” That is what a boy should say.
They both burst out laughing. The one on the right caught himself first. “You say that now, but you’ll change your tune pretty quick in a few years.”
“No, I won’t,” I ran away from the guards while they started laughing again. I don’t want to have anything to do with women. They only give a man grief and make his life more miserable. At least I hope I don’t have to engage with them much. Who knows what the future holds in store for me?
After running a suitable distance away, I had some time to think. It’s likely that there are some bad people in the slums. If they have black souls, I could use them to help with my experiments. My Soul Forge 4.0 was what came to mind. Deciding, I ran home to the mansion and grabbed my storage device that housed my Soul Forge 4.0 update. I didn’t enjoy carrying this around as it was the size of a watermelon, so it stuck out. I wrapped it up and put it in a backpack-like bag and snuck back out.
***
When I got back to the market district, there seemed to be some massive disturbance. Something bad happened. Lots of knights running around. I think I even saw my father and brother, which meant I had to go into full stealth mode. As soon as I thought about it, my stealth ability kicked in.
Abilities differ from spells. Killing monsters that have abilities allows you to acquire them. You can pull an ability into your soul if the monster drops an intact soul stone. Some spells could replicate abilities, while others couldn't. If a spell could replicate an ability, that meant that the ability was much more mana-efficient and usually did extra things as well.
However, abilities that were impossible to replicate truly were the greatest rewards. I had a few of them. Hunting for those rare abilities has become a passion of mine. It is too bad that soul stones are so rare and incredibly expensive. I no longer needed them, since I could just sever abilities directly from the monsters and then attach them manually. Soul stones were convenient though, as you didn’t need my watermelon-sized contraption to keep them. If I didn’t absorb or store an ability right away, the ability would dissipate as soon as I let go of it.
The other problem with abilities is that they require soul connections to work properly. People had twelve soul connections, two of which were already in use. One for mana, and the other for connecting a soul to the body. That meant everyone only had ten free slots to attach abilities to their souls. Some abilities took up over ten slots, thus making it impossible to acquire them under normal circumstances. The Uber abilities that were part of elite monsters usually took up twenty-four slots.
I had only one ability that took up twenty-four slots. That is where the Soul Forge Operating System I created comes in. It uses frequency-division multiplexing and compression to allow me to equip more abilities than others. My current version was 3.0, which took up six connections and allowed six simultaneous connections. It also compressed abilities by a magnitude of six.
My 4.0 update was supposed to increase all of those to eight along with a bunch of other security-related features. The problem I had with it was, if not tuned, for lack of a better word, it was fatal. So that's why I loved bandits, pirates, and all other terrible people. My philosophy was simple. If a man kills another, then he can’t get mad if somebody kills him.
I had to keep my stealth ability until I was past the merchant’s guild hall building. When I was about to enter the slums, somebody bumped into me. That surprised me; they were also using stealth, but not the ability. They were using mana; I could see it clearly. It seemed they didn’t have excellent control of the spell as they became visible.
There must have been two of them, as I heard a voice coming from a place where nobody was present. “Kill the boy; we can’t leave any witnesses.”
I used my spell to see souls, and I saw three souls. The guy who bumped into me, and the guy who just spoke, had black souls. I smiled at this. The third soul was slung over the shoulder of the guy who had just ordered my death. Its soul was white, with a little grey mixed in. It was smaller, like the soul of a child. The man carrying the small soul ran away.
“Sorry, kid, just bad luck that you were here.” The man who ran into me pulled a dagger and lunged at me.
I reached out my right hand and twisted it counterclockwise. As time slowed, the guy attacking me appeared frozen in mid-air. This was my only Uber ability for now. I didn’t need to twist the arm, but I thought it looked cool. I even had a bunch of magic circles, some in the shape of gears, turning with my arm. It was all for show, as theatrics are important too.
I chuckled to myself; the guy did not know what was happening. “It was you who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” I pulled my object out of my backpack and carefully extracted my Soul Forge 4.0 update from the device. I kept a firm grip on it as I reached forward and touched the man’s forehead. Light only i could see entered the man's head and traveled towards his soul. I held my breath as I waited for the operating system's installation to finish. “I really hope you live.”
After several minutes, I sighed and extracted the update. Before I put it away, I made some slight adjustments to the update, and then stowed it. Putting the backpack on and stepping to the side as I twisted my arm clockwise. Time resumed, and the man who was about to kill me continued towards where I had just stood. He stopped moving when he hit the ground.
I snapped my fingers and turned his body to ashes. “Can’t leave a dead body around. I truly, sincerely wish you had lived. Hopefully, your friend can help me instead.” I slowed down time just a smidge as I took off after the other man. I activated stealth again.
