Blood in the Deser Read online

  Chapter 120 Two Truths

  "Thanks, it's nice to see you too." Phloria sarcastically replied

  "What happened?" Lith asked.

  "It's terrible!" Yurial groaned. "After all these hours, zero progress. We have barely eaten to have more time, but it was all for nothing. I'm going to fail dimensional magic so bad it's going to destroy my grades.

  How can we focus on a subject so hard with all that's happening? Every time I am alone, I have to watch my back from Lyam and his goons. The rest of the time I am either studying or worrying about what could happen if a civil war really breaks out.

  I could lose everything and everyone I love. The work of generations destroyed in a few days, simply because people like the Lukart think that might makes right. I can barely sleep at night anymore."

  He held his head between the hands, his eyes watery due to stress and exhaustion. Phloria just nodded, sharing his worries. She had almost developed the compulsion to call in once an hour, to check the wellbeing of her brothers.

  "So basically, you are saying that living like a commoner is driving you crazy?" Lith replied furrowing his eyebrows.

  "Your first worry is the same one every Ballot less student has to live with. As for the second, well, back in my village, wandering nobles were treated like natural disasters, since they could pillage, kill and r*pe at will.

  And we were the lucky ones, since the presence of my mentor kept most of them at bay. Sorry, but I'm not sorry to break your self-pity bubble. Not to mention that basically you two are the living proof their strategy is working.

  If everyone were to freak out like you do, very few would graduate this year. That would be considered as the Headmaster's fault, with the only result to push the Kingdom one step closer to the civil war."

  Phloria and Yurial only got gloomier after his speech.

  "Way to go, you idiot." Lith scolded himself. "Why don't you beat them down while you are at it? We need their help, so try to be a decent person for a change." ¨C

  "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to be a jerk." And for once he was sincere.

  "But something absurd happened to me while I was in the forest, and I'm still messed up."

  Before any of them could ask a single question, Lith told his story once again, but unlike the Marchioness, they didn't allow him to continue after the part about defeating the plant Abomination and rescuing the dryad.

  "Are you telling us you defeated a monster alone?" From her voice and expression, Phloria didn't believe a word he said.

  "Was the dryad hot?" A tinge of colour returned on Yurial's face, even with Lith avoiding to mention the nudity part.

  "Are you all right? I can't believe you are so calm after that thing almost managed to eat you alive." Quylla had turned ashen, with Friya preferring to calm her rather than express her surprise.

  "Yes, yes and yes." He replied.

  "Thanks for being the only one that not only believes me, but also sincerely worries about me, Quylla."

  At those words the others acutely perceived Lith's poke, realizing their rudeness, rushing into expressing overdue concerns about his wellbeing.

  "If you find this part incredible, wait for the rest." He resumed the narration, taking out the natural treasures, the letter and the box at the right time to prove them he wasn't making any of that up.

  When Lith finished, it was hard to understand if they were more incredulous or scared. Incredulous because both the ideas of the monster and a prophecy for a soul, seemed too much something out of a fairy tale to be real.

  Scared because the content of the prophecy wasn't about endless riches, a future harem of world class beauties or Lith becoming King, like in the legends. It was the stuff their nightmares were made of.

  Without the academy, Quylla would be back to be a homeless orphan. And if the war really ensued, there was no telling how it could end. The only certainty was that both sides would spill a lot of blood, maybe enough for the bordering countries to invade, erasing the Griffon Kingdom from history.

  "Why are you telling us all this? You do know how crazy all this sound, and if your patron, of which we never heard about before, has already took matters in her hands, what do you need us for?"

  As usual, Phloria was the first one to speak. She had taken her leadership quite seriously. Despite their bond, she always felt he was keeping many secrets from them. More than not believing him, she wanted Lith to crack his impenetrable armour and show her some real trust.

  "First off, because you are my friends, and you have the right to now the truth." Every fiber of his being was cringing at those words, yet he pushed forward. Like Solus had reminded him earlier, progress, not perfection.

  "Second, because even my patron, just as you, Phloria, don't believe me capable of such a feat. Before I continue, there's something you must know."

  Lith sat on Quylla's bed, massaging his temples while inwardly cursing the fate forcing him to take a gamble after another.

  "Life at the edges of civilization is really hard. I had to fight for everything since I have memory. I'm not like you guys, I killed my first human at the age of six. Then, after I finished my apprenticeship, I became a bounty hunter, killing people for money."

  "There, I have said it. They finally know I am a bona fide murderer with a penchant for gold." ¨C

  With a deep sigh, he raised his head to look them in the eyes. Contrary to his expectations, there was no surprise, disgust or spite in their expressions.

  "Why you don't look shocked in the least?"

  "Well, I already knew everything." Friya shrugged.

  "After how you handled the school's queens the first day and reading Professor Vastor's report about your achievements, I was too curious. So, I had a background check made on you."

  "You did what?" Either in the new world or on Earth, violations of his privacy never felt nice.

  "Sorry, but between your skills, glare and awful character, I thought it was best knowing the competition. Besides, is not like I had to dig that hard, it was all public knowledge."

  "And she told me everything once we became friends." Quylla chimed in.

  "I never thought badly of you for that. On the contrary, I find you amazing. Wish I was able to do the same, instead of being constantly forced to rely on others." She blushed a little, keeping her eyes down and fiddling with her long hair.

  "Same. I mean that I had a background check made too, not the cool part. To be honest, I found you to be quite scary at the start, but then you turned out to be a chill guy."

  Yurial patted some invisible dust off his shoulder, incapable of looking Lith in the eyes. He still found him to be quite scary.

  "And so did I. Hope this isn't the big secret." Phloria snorted.

  "It actually is. At least part of it." Lith stood up, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

  "But showing is much better than telling. Phloria, would you mind taking out your sword and attacking me?" He gestured the others to clear the space around them, for their own safety.

  "Are you crazy?" She asked with her eyes wide open.

  "Humour me. And while you are at it, drink a defence potion too. I'm too tired to hold back, I could hurt you quite badly."

  Seeing that she kept not moving, Lith closed in too fast for her to react, tapping with his right index and medium finger on her solar plexus, forcing the air out the lungs and making her cough uncontrollably.

  When Phloria tried instinctively to reach for her sword, Lith swept her with a kick. Before she could adjust her body for the fall, he was already up, clenching her sword hand with his left hand and lifting her by the throat with the other one.

  He then gently helped her standing up again, while a shocked silence filled the room. Thanks to
his new body, Lith hadn't needed to use fusion magic, his enhanced physical prowess was enough.

  "Ever since I was little, I noticed my constitution was quite unique. That's how I manged so well in the past, before the academy."

  "That's amazing! Why did you hide it? I would flaunt it all day if I was in your shoes." Yurial said.

  "Yeah, you could. Because of your status. If so many nobles get angry when a commoner surpasses them in any field, imagine what would happen if they knew that a commoner that is both a good mage and fighter exists."

  It was the best explanation Lith had come up with. It covered the reticence, partly explained his exploit, and most importantly exposed as little as possible of his secrets.

  "I would be either targeted by those that perceive my existence as a threat, or forced into servitude. My mentor always said to never reveal it to anyone, and this is the first time I'm disobeying her.

  Because I need your help."

  Chapter 121 Interludium 3

  The Griffon Kingdom was commonly referred as the Original Kingdom, since more than a millennium ago had been the first great country to emerge from the warring states period in the Garlen continent.

  It wasn't the biggest, the primacy belonged to the Blood Sands tribes, but because of the much harsher life conditions of the desert coupled with its lack of fertile lands, it was without a doubt the richest.

  To the north and west it bordered the Gorgon empire, and to the south and east with the Blood Sands desert. The central government was located in the capitol, Valeron, named after the Original King, Valeron Griffon.

  The ruler of the Kingdom was also the commander in chief of the royal army.

  It was prohibited to private citizens or even nobles to have an army. Those who could afford it, where only allowed to have a personal guard, up to one hundred soldiers.

  The simple attempt to recruit or form one was high treason against the Crown, and the perpetrator's bloodline would be executed up to the third generation. Nobles were only considered as administrators of their land on behalf of the King/Queen.

  They weren't allowed to make laws, only to apply them as they were enacted by the Court. In case of doubt about their interpretation, a simple call via the communication amulet to a royal scribe would clear it.

  To waive the laws were needed special circumstances and the King's direct approval, otherwise it would be considered an act of rebellion.

  One of the reasons the Griffon Kingdom had flourished during the centuries compared to is neighbours, was the ruler's selection process. The title wasn't hereditary, just like the competence, skill and talent the role required.

  After the death of the current ruler, the spouse would hold the reins of the whole Kingdom until the next one was found. To access to the selection, there were three essential requirements.

  The candidate had to share, no matter how dilute, the blood of the Original King, also had to possess outstanding magical talent and proved administrative skill. The reason for the first requirement was still a mystery to everyone except the ruler.

  The second and third, instead, were quite obvious. Without magic, the ruler would be a prisoner of his own guards, since even a magico level servant could kill him without leaving any trace in barely a second.

  Lastly, a good ruler was first and foremost a good administrator. Without a proper sense of justice and balance, he would be either a tyrant, or even worse a profligate strawman in the hands of whoever was able to enable his vices.

  Those who satisfied these requirements would be brought in the deepest part of the royal castle, in front of a mystical gate made out of gold and silver, that would open only for those who carried royal blood.

  The ones that were found worthy, would emerge from it shocked but unharmed, while the others would never return. It was the main reason why the title of King/Queen was not coveted except from those who sincerely believed to deserve it.

  At any time, someone that met the requirements could challenge the current ruler and undertake the trial, but again very few came back.

  In it's thousand-year history, the Court had never elected a ruler without carrying the tradition, and even that was a mystery.

  Many thought that behind the gate there was a series of magical artifacts, that would put the candidate to the test and kill those who weren't fit to lead the Country.

  Others that the ghost of the Original King still dwelled in the castle, passing his wisdom through the generations thanks to the bond of blood they shared.

  All of them were wrong.

  Behind the gold and silver gate, after a short tunnel, there was the lair of the Divine Griffon Tyris, one of the only three Divine beasts that lived on the continent, that history knew only as the Original Queen, from the time she helped Valeron build his Kingdom, which he named in her honour.

  (AN: I will use the "she" instead of "it" because since it can shapeshift in human form the boundary between beast and human is quite thin and confusing.)

  Every time it was necessary, she would examine the candidates, making sure that the legacy of her only one and true love would not be lost, using her powers to probe their minds and spirits.

  If any of them pleased her, the Kingdom would have a new ruler. Otherwise she would have no need to fix something for dinner. Tyris didn't believe in direct intervention, nor did she care that much for human affairs anymore.

  She just kept fulfilling King Valeron's dying wish, choosing his successors and scaring the sh*t out the Court from time to time, when someone thought that the tradition was outdated.

  It was from her lair that Arj?n R¨ºnas departed for his new mission.

  He was the youngest recruit in the Queen's Corpse, and had just finished learning the basics of royal magic from Tyris. (AN: is just true magic but with another name, all the other canons will be kept to avoid confusion.)

  The existence of the Queen's corps was a known fact, something that every law-abiding citizen would remember and respect. To the contrary, the Queen's Corpse was supposed to be just a rumour, the bogeyman of the underworld.

  It was a secret unit, comprised only by the most loyal member of the corps, that once had mastered royal magic, would single-handedly remove any threat to the Kingdom.

  If an entire noble household died in an accident, if a criminal cartel disappeared overnight, it was the Corpse's doing.

  No one had actually ever seen a member of the Corpse in action and lived to tell the tale, it was one of those "My cousin's friend knows a guy that¡" kind of rumors. Yet they were very real.

  When they had met, Tyris had welcomed Arj?n in her human form, making him fall head over heels for her, and wasting the following week rejecting his marriage proposals and trying to reason with him.

  She had kept her Griffon form for too long, forgetting that calming down a scared guest was much easier than facing his unreasonable feelings. Tyris' human appearance had a delicate oval face, with perfect features that countless artists had spent their whole lives in vain, trying to reproduce them.

  She had shining gold hair, long enough to almost touch the floor, and silver eyes that sparkled as stars at the faintest light. Her pearly-pink skin was flawless, showing no sign of being affected by living in the cold underground lair for so long.

  Tyris usually wore a simple blue satin day dress, used centuries ago by grieving widows, that despite its ancient and baggy cut could not hide her soft and ravishing curves more than a flying bird could eclipse the sun.

  The first time Arj?n had seen her smile, he believed to have been long dead, because that simple expression brought back to life all the feelings that long years in the Queen's black ops squad had made him forget.

  "Remember to not abuse your new powers." Were her parting words.

  "The impurities in your body are not your enemy, on the contrary are the only reason why you and all the talented mages are still alive, despite your bodies are unsuitable to wield the power of your cores.

  It takes time fo
r a body to adapt, and there is no way to rush the process. Any misstep, and you will turn into an Abomination, and someone else from the Corpse will have to get rid of you. Farewell, child. We shall not meet again."

  With a heavy heart, he departed without looking back.

  According to the Queen's orders, something was wrong with the Kingdom, even worse than usual, requiring all hands-on deck and forcing Arj?n to abandon his training early.

  There seemed to be something odd about many Alchemic labs near the White Griffon academy and the materials they were buying in stock, along with too many dimensional boxes for their purpose to be anything good.

  Chapter 122 Interludium 4

  After Arj?n left, Tyris could not but sigh, thinking about the irony of the core refining process. While those who started with a very weak mana core, be it red or yellow, had it easy, the stronger the core, the higher the risks.

  Her beloved Valeron was the perfect example. Born with a yellow core, once learned true magic, he had the opportunity to strengthen both his core and body at the same time, removing the impurities bit by bit.

  Once his core had started to be too strong, pain had been the first sign of alarm, allowing Tyris to stop him from refining the world energy until the body had fully adapted.

  But for stronger beings, like magical beasts or talented mages that had already reached their full development, true magic was more often than not a death penalty. If they purified the impurities too fast, the energy inside their bodies would flood every single cell without control.

  The lucky ones would die on the spot, while the less fortunate would explode among excruciating pains.

  And then there were the Abominations.

  Beings with a core so strong, with a will so indomitable that even death could not defeat them. They would plague the land, consuming all forms of life trying to prolong their existence.

  Unlike mages and magical beasts, Abominations were like snowflakes, no two were alike. Their souls and minds would shape their new form, until the moment they were put down like rabid animals.

  The only way to avoid such destiny was through hard work and patience, but the rewards were beyond imagination. Becoming a conduit for the world energy meant becoming an Awakened one, a being with an endless mana supply, whose only magical limit was his own willpower and imagination.