"Your highness, there has been news from the Chosen Hero's estate"
A man dressed in scholarly clothing said nervously as he kneeled before a goden stairs.
Above these stairs lated with gold, seated a man wearing a crown adorned with gems of different colors. His hair had all turned white yet his face still remained youthful. His strong prominent jaws accentuated his musculine charms while his stern and unmuddled eyes glinted with wisdom and experience.
A grave foreboding feeling of danger surged from the man's body which the kingdom's most renowed general wouldnt even be able to replicate.
However, he was not a general but rather the 37th king of the Agaris kingdom, king Damien Builfager.
"Speak" The king commanded with a magnetic voice that brimmed with absolute authority.
The scholarly dressed man didnt dare delay in relaying his message as he answered almost immediately.
"The chosen Hero Alina had gone to the forbidden lands. The Great hero had left a letter stating so but a reason wasnt specified in the letter. However, it seems like one of her party members had suffered from one of the recent attacks of the dark elves, injuring him with a special kind of poison even the high priestess wasnt able to dispell. The hero might have heard of the hearted tree which was rumored to be located in the inner realm of the forbidden lands. Its roots were said to be a universal cure to poison but the existence of the hearted tree wasnt at all proved even by the Holy Crusade of the church."
Murmurs bursted through out the hall.
The hero was actually persuaded by baseless stories?
Some of them sneered inside their hearts.
Silence reigned but everyone could feel the atmosphere around them change for the worse. No one was brave enough to speak and make a sound with the king's temper reaching its limit. Fear enguled the officials and even the guards stationed upfront. They were sweating buckets with each passing second.
The hero that has been entrusted the task of protecting the kingdom had left for the forbidden lands for unknown reasons and now they were forced to endure the king's ire!
One should know that the king as a ruler of the greatest and most flourishing kingdom in the whole continent was no mere ordinary personage. He had won the throne from his brothers and his scheming step mother through years of blood shed.
Blood flowed like river in the battlefield whenever the king's sword rose. He had developed an unignorable killing intent within his years in the army, where he was sent by his step mother to die.
However, he had instead won the previous king's favor through his accomplishments in the army and was made the crown prince.
After returning to the capital from the border he succeeded the throne and killed his own step mother. No one till this day can say for certain if his brothers met the same fate.
And now the very same killing intent emanating from the king in his years in battle is directed to his poor officials who were already on the verge of breaking down in tears.
They would rather wallow in the sewers than to wallow in the king's tyranny!
The king was silent but one can see his eyes fuming with rage. Moments later, he directed his stern eyes towards his most trusted right hand, the royal tutor , Luca Ernest.
"Deploy the knights of royals to retrieve the hero immediately! "
Everyone in the hall was dumb founded.
The knights of royals were warriors personally chosen by the king to serve as his personal guards. They are the elite among the elites that had passed countless tribulations in order to gain the honor of serving the king.
Why would the king suddenly order his legendary troops to retrieve the hero?
It was rumored that the king favored the hero greatly but they havent realized that it was true and it was even to the extent of sending in his personal guards that are responsible for his safety; The safety of the most important person in the kingdom.
One cannot help but be suspicious about the relationship of the two. But no one was not in the right mind to blatanly ask so.
Luca froze but immediately nodded "Yes your highness"
Growing up with the king, he knew just how stubborn his personality is. He would always stand firm with his judgement, a trait that would bring him greatness or his own undoing.
However, he couldnt help but sigh deeply in his heart. He knew that he was worried about that little girl but he acted too impulsively this time
Basing fom the reaction of the officials they had already seem to have come up with various speculations about the relations of the two. It wont be good for king's reputation if these complicated rumors were released to the public.
It seems that he would have to manipulate some people right here and there.
Meanwhile the king's eyes had already turned blood shot. Everyone who saw it percieved it as rage but underneath his cold facade, he already on the verge of fainting from anxiety and fright.
Where could his little Lina be?!
He felt as if his world was ending with his thining rationality.
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Alina sneezed. She rubbed her nose in agitation.
Was someone talking about her?
She shook her head before shifting her line of sight towards the tree infront of her who was rubbing a strange cows belly, groaning in discomfort.
Seems like she would have to endure more torment.
Of course she can just stay away from the two to prevent her nose from withering from the wretched stench but how was she now supposed to secure some of the odd tree's roots?
She had already recuperated enough to be able to stand up and use basic spells. However her mana was still recovering in a significantly slow pace due to the thin amount of mana in the atmostphere coupled with her innate aptitude.
She wont be able to cast more complicated spells any time soon.
As someone who has a magic core with an affinity to fire. She was more likely to exhaust her mana in battle but her prowess is ofcourse much more stronger than magic core holders with an affinity to other elements.
Magic cores were gemlike existences that are buried deep within a persons inner consiousness, more specifically, the brain.
Only a small part of the kingdom's populace was bestowed with magic cores and they are immediately sent to study in an academy as per decreed by the previous emperor to nurture warriors and mages to contribute to their society.
Magic core holders had characteristics basing off on their own magic cores which means that they can only use spells based from their own magic core type. Magic cores had exactly 7 types; Cores with affinity to Light, Fire, Water, Darkness, Gravity, Nature and Shadows.
Her magic core however was a special case since her fire magic core had mutated with one with light affinity since her bestowement ceremony, where she had received her title as the chosen hero and her sword.
However due to the mutation of her magic core, she was now able to use both fire and light based spells.
Worries eventually resurfaced in her heart as she was reminded of a major detail.
It wont be too long before the vermillion's divine flames loses its effect. She needed to achieve her goal as soon as possible. But, how will she proceed to do so. Should she resort to force or a peaceful negotiation?
Moments later, her thoughts were interrupted by a sound she knew all too well.
Resorting to force it is.
A/N: OMG thank you guys for the support on this novel during the writing prompt contest because WE have secured a place on the top 10!