Kyros loved this uncle of his. He was very grateful. Although he wasn't the one that raised him, Uncle Aron Steele always encouraged Kyros to take courage and keep on fighting. It was this person that encouraged Kyros to become a Knight. It was the swordsmanship of the Aron Steele that forged Kyros's way of the sword.
And so, this kowtow was more meaningful and held such gratefulness.
"Uncle Aron... I won't let you die this time! I won't let all the unfair treatments of those politicians and kings succeed! I'll surely grant you your Dukedom!" Kyros vowed secretly.
"Stand up, kid. You seem like someone who has had his fair share of pain. You lost your memories without any wound on your head. Kid, if you want to get stronger, you have to face the truth. Did your family and friends die inside this cave?" Aron asked immediately.
"Still the strict and stalwart uncle..." Kyros secretly observed.
"I... don't know. I woke up in a strange temple. I was alone... No one else was there. The last thing I remember was running. Some people... were shouting and telling me to escape. Ugh! My head!" Kyros faked a pained headache. His face began to sweat.
"Alright. I won't ask for now. Men. We have to see what's inside so that we can report. Where is this strange temple?" Aron asked.
"Deep inside this cavern. But um... Sir Knight..."
"Just call me Uncle Aron. If I'm right, you should also be descended from a Knight or Lord. That sword is quite exquisite. If your companions wanted you to escape, you must be a Young Lord or Baron at the very least." Aron explained.
"Ok... Uncle Aron." Kyros changed the way he addressed Aron. Kyros felt his heart warm. He had wanted to call this dear uncle of his by this title.
"Men. You heard what I said. Treat this kid as you would to my younger brother." Aron ordered.
"Yes, Lord Aron. We greet young lord, Kyros." They gave a bow.
"I..."
"Accept it, kid."
"It's not important... Uncle... The temple that I found is strange. No dead creature can stay there. I was escaping and managed to kill a wounded Char Vermillion Lizard... And it disappeared!"
"Oh? That is interesting. Show me where the temple is." Aron's expression was startled.
"It's over there... Also, the temple managed to heal me from my wounds!"
"Heal your wounds?"
"You may not believe it... but I lost a finger a few days ago when that Char Vermillion Lizard tried to kill me. But when I woke up, the lizard was gone, and my finger was back!" Kyros exclaimed.
Calaminus had a strange expression. Why was Kyros telling the group about the temple?
"What an interesting temple. Can you lead us back?"
"I'm... not sure. I feel that I've lost my way. If I see some of the places, I might be able to remember. But it was so dark... I'm not sure if I can tell you where I went." Kyros sighed.
"It's alright. We'll take our time." Aron nodded and gave the orders.
The group began to move back.
"Why are you telling them?" Calaminus asked.
"It will make them experiment with the place and try to carry those Char Vermillion Lizards back to the place. And, since this may take a while, I want to give my uncle a small base for his escapades here. Since fate is going against them, I have to do what I can to make my uncle raise his ranks."
"You want him to take credit for finding the temple? But this temple will disappear when you need to leave!"
"Exactly. My uncle gets the necessary rewards for finding the temple. I'm sure when he reports it, the other nobles will get jealous and try to get the Steele family out! I mean, what right does a Baron have to hold this place! And when these traitorous thieves come and give my uncle payment not worth their contribution... I take this temple away." Kyros couldn't help but reveal a cruel sneer.
"Big oof to the guys who tried to take it away from the Steele clan!" Calaminus laughed.
"But I know that when my uncle informs the kingdom, the kingdom will do their best to keep this place a secret! But they will begin experimenting on this place and even build stuff on the large space here. They will send people inside this place. I'm even certain that they will try to make this place a fortress! They will bring in stones, ores, and the like to make this an important place in the kingdom."
"So they bring minerals, rocks, lumber... And that will complete some of your quests! Oh boy. Oh boy. You are one crazy scheming cultivator!"
"Since fate is going against my family, I'm sure that fate will prod these folks to treat my uncle harshly. But I'm curious. Does fate know I own the temple? If my uncle and the Steele family use the temple, I may make this temple stay here longer. But if fate gives my uncle a series of treacherous events, then it shows that fate isn't that smart."
"I see. You are experimenting on fate! I forgot that you programmed your soul to do that continuously!"
"Yes. Does fate know that sending traitorous and backstabbing people inside this place acts to my advantage? I can wait it out and let the Level 2 Shade enemy happen. The men could even help me fight the monsters inside! Or... they could get killed. Either way... that will help me complete my wicked men's quest."
"Bruh..." Calaminus marveled and spoke Kyros's Int stat.
"But why aren't you leading it towards the temple now?" Calaminus realized it and asked.
"I need to find a Char Vermillion Lizard that they can kill and bring inside. The more, the better." Kyros explained.
"No wonder the quests sound quite tedious. It was meant to make you use your intellect to the max!" Calaminus realized it.
"That temple is truly a perfect training ground for someone like you! It gives rewards and consequences that will drive you to your limits!"
"Alright... Be quiet. I need to prove my lordship to Uncle and his mercenary friends first. Which means I need to fight them lizards with the honed skills of a baron!" Kyros answered and focused on the darkness.o
As the group moved, Kyros was trying to make them take the wrong path as he pointed out the direction opposite to where the temple was.
The group traveled quietly and cautiously.
"On your guard! I can smell some approaching!" Aron advised.
While most men would find this strange, Kyros knew that his uncle had a superb sense of smell.
"One... Two... Three... Oh my god! Retreat!" Aron shouted as he ordered his men to retreat.
Without hesitation, the group retreated.
"ROAR!" Several loud roars suddenly resounded as several large creatures emerged from the ground.
They had dark-orange skin, long snake-like heads, and arms and feet that allowed them to stand like humans. Their tails began to whip loudly.
"We're surrounded!" One of the mercenaries cried.
"Fight!" Aron shouted as he charged and bashed his shield on the figure of the lizard.
The mercenaries were out of order as they were panicking and fearfully evading the slashes and strikes. One of the Mercenary got whipped by the tail, and although his shield blocked it, it sent him flying and crashing to the wall.
Kyros ran forward without hesitation.
Several large figures emerged, but Kyros moved forward.
"Pronto!" Kyros charged and began to evade the attacks.
"Boy!" Aron shouted as he saw Kyros disappear in the dark.
With Kyros's high dexterity and with Pronto, he managed to move deep within the darkness. His experience in fighting in the dark allowed him to easily evade the attacks and reached the area where the torches cannot illuminate.
In the darkness, Kyros finally activated it.
"Shadow Familiar and Shadow Ghouls! Come out!" Kyros called out.
Kyros's shadows stood up and formed the paper-thin figure similar to the shadow ghoul. But this shadow also had the same gear as Kyros.
Five Shadow Ghouls emerged and leaped out to attack the numerous lizards. Kyros began to retreat.
The Shadow Familiar and the Ghouls were attacking and slashing the lizards. The Lizards couldn't kill the shadow forms even if they tried to bite and whip them. Their attacks would pass through, and it caused the many emerging lizards to focus on attacking them.
But the Familiars and Ghouls of Kyros couldn't also kill the lizards as their claws, fangs, or the shadow sword of his familiar couldn't penetrate the thick skin.
"That should keep them busy." Kyros concluded as his plans worked. Kyros began to attack and slice his way wounding the Lizards as he went back to where Aron and the mercenaries were.
His attacks could only leave wounds to the lizard and not cut through.
"How thick!" Kyros cursed.
He tried to slash the more vulnerable parts of the lizards, but even that couldn't critically wound them.
"I guess I should just focus on helping the mercenaries survive." Kyros concluded and went back.
The mercenaries and Aron continued their heated battle. The mercenaries had grim expressions, and helplessness could be found in their eyes. They could still see that more lizards had yet to reveal themselves in the darkness.
Suddenly, Kyros emerged and gave a powerful stab to the back of the head of one of the lizards.
The lizard squealed in pain.
"Now! Attack it!" Kyros shouted.
Aron immediately moved and delivered a mighty chop and sliced the head of the creature.
Kyros jumped and didn't stop and began to rush towards another, evading the dangerous claws of the lizard.
"He's fast! The kid is fast! Men! Attack when he distracts the monster! Kid! Try to distract the lizard!" Aron immediately ordered.
"On it!" Kyros nodded and began to evade the maws and whips of the lizard. He would attack and leave a light wound on one lizard and flee by jumping and rolling to the side to harass another.
Kyros focused his instincts to move as the memories of his other life emerged.
"Kyros. Don't lose yourself to this trance!" Calaminus could feel what Kyros was doing and feared for the worse.
But suddenly, the Soul Console of Kyros appeared.
---
Calculating path and priority of attack...
Attack Lizard on the northeast corner.
Action complete.
Evade and roll to stab the eye of the lizard on the other edge.
Action complete.
Move towards lizard attacking Aron and stab the back.
Action complete.
---
"His soul! He's using his other soul to control his thinking!" Calaminus realized what was happening.
"I guess having multiple souls is showing. So this is how he fought against the orcs and became a legend in his past life!" Calaminus finally understood how Kyros performed some of his miracles. Kyros had already done a weaker version of this in his previous life. Was this how Kyros was able to immerse himself into battle without losing his awareness?
"The Soul Console is displaying how his two souls are working. One is immersing itself in battle. The other one is giving off commands!"