What did Brandon do after seeing his two students again? The first thing he did was have a bath and change into pristine white gloves that matched the colour coding of those who were of The Order.
"It was Alex's (Arthur's) idea!" They both pointed at each other after being dragged into the Healing Sanctuary and glared at for a good few hours. The camaraderie between these two was paper thin once you applied enough pressure to them.
Though Brandon seemed to be listening to their squabbles on the outside, he was actually thinking about what happened earlier as his eyes looked over the hand he had used to punch Arthur's chin.
He had healed his injury, but Brandon could still remember the pain he felt after hitting Arthur. It felt like his fist hit a Guardian's shield rather than his student's chin. How hard had he been training?
No, these two youths could never be judged with common sense. They wouldn't have been able to beat that fake Cult Leader if they were easy to beat up... An idea popped into his head as he stood up.
The two troublemakers quietened down as they weren't courageous enough to fight Brandon fairly.
If life had taught them anything, then it was that there was no meaning in a 'fair fight' unless it had any purpose. The Grand Hero also understood their mindsets as he remembered their past.
Now that he thought about it, this scene gave him déjà-vu. He remembered the first time he met them was when they were chasing down a boar that he just so happened to 'kill steal'. Their big argument about who kept the meat turned into a full-on brawl, which he won of course. Both of them were immature but not strong, back then...
Now, they had grown up... He no longer had to secretly protect them or have to keep an eye on them so they wouldn't die somewhere. They were worthy of being people he can put his faith in.
"I need you two to help me."
"...You want 'our' help?" Alex was the first to ask as this was the first time Brandon requested anything of them. They had gotten used to him looking down on them as children rather than adults.
This irritating look made the burly youth argue:
"You're joking! You want us to work for free, don't you? This is just free labour, isn't it? You're not-"
"You get to fight people."
"Where can I sign in?" Arthur's demeanour shifted as he looked like a professional mercenary asking what their job would be. The scholarly youth face-palmed as Brandon gave him a smug look.
Who could understand Arthur better than the guy who practically raised him? Even Alex felt like this Mentor had caught his friend's tail... The brawny youth was a battle maniac of the highest proportions. Which explained his great tenacity.
Anyone else would have fell into despair upon having to go through that survival journey. Only Arthur actually got more excited the more he got to fight. He even had more practical experience in battle than Alex himself even after all these years.
"Aren't you busy with the Mirror Cult?"
"I need help exactly BECAUSE I'm busy. You can't expect me to handle everything, can you?"
"He said we can fight."
"You just zip it, Arthur. I don't care if you have battle boner." He spat to the guy next to him.
"Hey, isn't that going too far? You make it sound like the only thing I live for is to fight."
"..." He's joking with him, right? He could remember Arthur's first words when they first met was an invitation to battle. After that, this battle maniac stuck with him because he sincerely liked fighting. And yet he speaks like a pacifist...
What the hell is with that innocent expression?!
Alex's enraged face looked a bit like this: (ʘ言ʘ╬)
Blood veins popped on his forehead as his face scrunched up to the point he seemed like a devil.
"It was your idea to-"
"Don't try worming your way out of this...! Just because I dragged you into a fight this time doesn't mean you don't take any responsibility. Weren't you only recently talking about blowing up a building?"
"That's different..."
"How?"
"I hate their guts!"
"...Why?" This one word caused there to be silence as Arthur avoided his gaze. He didn't speak for a few moments as it seemed like he wanted to tell him something but stopped himself from saying it.
Alex knew something was up the moment he realised that his friend had a total of seven Spell Slots. He could ignore the first five 'Body Slots' that seemed to be artificially placed inside his body, but he not the natural 'Spell Slots' nurtured.
There was a reason why not many people could become Noble Rankers and why those who were under the Imperial Ruler as nobility were trusted by many. It wasn't all to do with pure combat prowess.
There were two factors needed to naturally gain a Spell Slot: The first was luck, which can range from being an inborn Lord Rank individual like the Crown Prince and the Grand Hero before them or having a chance encounter with a Spirit King, while the second was 'Achievement', which can also translate to fulfilling certain conditions before acquisition. It was sometimes even the crystallisation of a 'promise' placed on oneself.
Of course, this world wasn't a game where Gaia handed Spell Slots to just anyone. The second factor is normally used so that Noble Rankers of the Human Empire don't betray their nation.
By swearing loyalty to their King or Ruler, they can obtain a Spell Slot, or those that already have a Spell Slot can boost its effectiveness by overlaying another 'condition' on top of it. Once they have made their promise, it becomes etched in their beliefs. Once they betray them, the Spell Slot will break and they will suffer from severe depression.
Though that was the lightest punishment. It was dependant on the Noble Ranker how much faith they would put into their beliefs and how much of their lives they would be willing to give up for it.
Those ranging from Barons to Dukes could be trusted to defend the Human Empire without shrugging off their duties, and Noble Rankers that don't integrate into the political system can at least become Adventurers should they choose to do so.
The scholarly youth wasn't sure what his friend had promised to gain a Dark Spell and Blood Spell... It had to be said that the Attribute of a Spell Slot relied heavily upon the nature of how it was formed. Light Spells and Holy Spells normally were made from good motives, with the latter was made by especially pure promises that only needed people to righteously help those in need.
From what he researched, Dark Spells usually meant they had 'dark motives'. It could range from wanting to bring someone harm to hurting themselves for the sake of gaining a Spell Slot.
Blood Spells also weren't the 'nice' kind of Spell Slots as they signified the formation of a pact.
Why would he form these Spell Slots?
Alex's glares were like this: (﹁﹁)~→
His eyes were sharp as he was someone who had a lot more knowledge than others regarding magic.
Being stared at in such a way was uncomfortable for Arthur, but he had his reasons to keep these things a secret. He didn't want his scholarly friend to know in-case he got depressed over his circumstances. It was the downside of intimacy.
Though he knew he couldn't just keep quite.
"Because they're the bad guys." Though this sounded reasonable, it felt insincere coming from the battle maniac who normally gave no forethought about what was right or wrong.
Alex wanted to further interrogate this brawny friend of his, but a voice resounded in his ear.
"Ahem." Brandon coughed to interrupt them.
He had forgotten that this teacher had asked for their help. He wanted to refuse, but gave it another thought since it would be ungrateful for them to refuse the only request Brandon ever had for them.
"...What do you want?" He sighed and decided to go with the flow since this WAS their Mentor.
Helping him out shouldn't be that bad. At worst, he will just give up if the going gets too tough.
"Assist me in finding more Classless Beasts."
"What're those?"
"..." Right, he forgot to explain them. Oh well, this will become common knowledge in a few days anyway. There was enough time to explain it once they've gotten used to this new environment.
"First, get familiar with the Priests here. You are going to be staying here as new Squires from now on. You'll also have to get familiar with others and work in a team larger than just you two."
"...Sure." He was giving free food and somewhere to live so there was no way the scholarly penny-pincher could refuse him. Although he already made plans before coming here, he decided to alter his plans to suit what he currently needed.
Alex's greedy eyes were like this: ($_$)
The golden coins his eyes turned into made Brandon realise he was invested just in the money.
"Ummm... Alex?"
"For the sake of the innocent civilians, I shall definitely enlist my services to the church!" He spoke while being unable to ignore the benefits of leeching off someone as rich of his Mentor.
"..." Everyone was silent at his sudden outburst.
Even Bishop, who was watching over them, and hoping they would give a helping hand, was unable to hide worry after seeing those materialistic eyes combined with a purely righteous tone of voice.
"Wipe that drool away your mouth first. (And what the heck is with those coins in your eyes?!)"
"I'll need to sort a few thing out. I'll be back shortly!" He took it upon himself to leave first so that he could minimise the spendings he was going to make on buying a mansion and servants.
He had never forgotten the value of money!
"Well... I guess I should be going as well." Arthur scratched just cheek the moment he was left alone with Brandon. He wondered if he was still holding a grudge for punching him in the face previously as they gave him a makeshift 'Stuman style greeting'.
"...Wait." As the brawny youth was about to scamper off, he stopped him after much thought.
"Anything wrong?"
"Nothing... Do I need to inform you something for us to talk? When did you become so distant?" He wrapped his arm around the youth's head and messed his spiky hair. Arthur felt a warmth in his heart as this overly friendly attitude was just like him. That didn't mean he didn't like it though... If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't have been social.
The younger Arthur of the past was much more of a battle maniac than he was right now. In fact, the current him was quite tame compared to his past self who jumped at the opportunity to fight Brandon. Without him, he is probably would've turned into an animal that only knew how to fight and hunt, never reconnecting with his twin sister.
"Have you been well?"
"Obviously."
"You sure?" Brandon lifted a brow at him.
"Why do you ask...?" He noticed something was off from the way his Mentor was speaking to him.
"You don't look 'fine' in my perspective. I'm not sure how you attained such strong physique, but it must have hard..." He couldn't even imagine the kind of torture Arthur went though to become tenacious enough to endure his enhanced punch without being unconscious for a few days. What was more surprising was ARTHUR trained like this.
He still remembered that despite being a honest-to-God Sword Warrior, the brawny kid in his youth was actually lazier than Alex. Despite being a battle maniac, the kid version of Arthur wasn't diligent enough to train his mind and physique properly.
Even with his guidance, he could only barely do a Light Type Mana Burst, unlike Alex, who had a specific Mana Burst for every Attribute. Even though he was ignorant of Arthur's two ominous Spell Slots, he was sure something was up.
"You both have to stop asking that...!" The brawny youth finally snapped as he became defensive.
"Sorry, sorry. You're right. I was being too nosy like always." He let Arthur escape his headlock and put his hands up to show him he was backing off. For Arthur to be like this... It was better not to force him to speak if he really didn't want to say it.
The brawny kid huffed and left as well, leaving Brandon to reminisce as he saw him leaving. That back reminded him of his old self... He too was such an emotional and sentimental teen like Arthur once upon a time, before 'it' happened his friend...
Whenever he saw these youths, Brandon was reminded of his own friend and himself in the past.
"I hope you don't make the same mistakes I did..." He murmured before turning to talk to the Bishop again. There were many things they needed to get sorted before they could start retaliating against the Radiant Sword Mirror Cult and its followers.
The past shall repeat no more... At least, that was the conviction he had while forwarding their plans.
He prayed for their safety and security...