Chapter 1
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Under the starry night, the great Bennett Castle stood to guard the plain that it was built on. Everything in this territory belonged to the Knight of Bennett. The king granted it to him.
This territory was located at the southmost point of the Duchy of Carmel, right at the crossing border of the Earth-Dividing Mountain Range. It was a location far away from conflict, and it served as a crucial granary to the Duchy of Carmel.
It was summertime now, and the crops were plentiful. Every time the chilling night breeze came by, the whole field danced in uniform to signify the prosperity of this land.
A boy who looked to be around twelve was swinging a sword about the size of his body. As if it wasn't heavy enough for him, this boy was also wearing a steel armor that was clearly oversized for him. He was about 150 centimeters tall, so the armor looked more like a belt as it was covered around him.
As young as he was, this boy took his training seriously. The look on his face suggested that training was something sacred to him. Every time he swung his sword, he shouted with as much vigor in his lungs as he could. There were reasons for that. One, to breath in as much air as he could, and two, to squeeze out all the strength in his muscles.
This boy was focused. His black hair was completely drenched in sweat, and those purple eyes of his were glowing with youthlike passion.
Well, they were until he heard the sound of a horse coming his way.
"Look what I've brought to you, Abel," a young man of eighteen called out as he jumped down from his horse. He had blonde hair, thick brows, a tall, edgy nose, and eyes that were as blue as the sky. His whole body was covered in leather armor, and the boots he was wearing were made especially for riding.
"Welcome back, big brother," Abel welcomed his brother back. Unlike most children, he wasn't particularly curious about what the gift was. Manners, for him, was something that came before his own personal interests.
As Abel's older brother, Zach was already used to seeing Abel like this. A year ago, Abel was severely injured after falling off his horse. He became much more mature after that. It was hard to get used to at first, but one year was more than enough to adjust to this sudden change of personality.
For the sake of clarification, both of these young men were sons of the Knight of Bennett. The older one was Zach, a rank four novice knight who just got back from Fort Lee (a town). The younger one, who had been busy with his training, was Abel. It had only been two months since he began his training as a novice knight.
As the oldest heir to the Knight of Bennett, everything his father owned would be passed down to him after he became a knight. He would have full ownership of the Bennett Castle and the estate it was built on. Abel, sadly, was not blessed with such privileges. He had to rely solely on himself if he was to make a living.
As unfair as the rules might seem, Abel had a good relationship with Zach. Every time Zach went to town, he would always spend the little money that he had to buy presents for Abel. He was a good brother. He strived to make Abel happy.
Abel, on the other hand, was considerate enough to not ask for any new training equipment from his father. Although the family's estate was about 50 kilometers in radius, there wasn't much income apart from what they used to buy food with. Worse yet, only 500 gold coins were left after they've paid for their taxes and day-to-day expenses. It was just enough to pay for the maintenance of Bennett Castle. If you were to then take out the tuition fee of Zach's knight training, this family practically had no savings at all.
The package Zach had for Abel was a long box. To show how much love that was put in this gift, Zach had it wrapped around in some very colorful paper.
"What a beautiful dagger this is," Abel exclaimed as he waved his gift around. This dagger was made with fine steel, something much heavier than what you use to make a regular steel dagger. Normally, a dagger like this would cost a lot more than a normal one.
"Glad to see you like it. Lucky for me, the guy selling it didn't know how much it was worth. He sold it to me for 30% off the price of a regular dagger, so I took it."
"Glad to see you like it." Zach meant it when he said that. It had been a while since he saw his little brother smiling like a kid, and nothing was more precious than the expression Abel was showing just now.
"You can keep training if you want. I'll go back home now," Zach said as he got back on his horse. He wasn't planning on interrupting with Abel's training, even if he was going to keep using the only steel armor that they've had. It was Zach during the day, and Abel during the night. It's something that they've agreed between themselves.
A novice knight's training consisted mainly of the basics. One must keep practicing his sword techniques until he could effectively condense all the strength that could be exerted. In turn, a special power, namely one's 'qi,' would start forming inside his body as a reward to the efforts that were given. The qi would then slowly gathered up and formed a meridian, and the total number of these meridians would represent one's total ranks. (Having a total of one meridian would signify that you're a rank one novice) After five meridians were in place, they would condense themselves again to form a core.
A knight with a core would be considered a proper knight. They could use their combat qi in fights, and they could use their combat qi to perform various fighting skills. In other words, combat qi was an effective asset to boost one's fighting capability.
After millennia of research, it was found that the most effective way to forming one's meridian was to have him wear heavy armor during his training. For this very reason, it became mandatory for knight families to have at least one steel armor set inside their homes. In order to be called a knight, one must have armor that he could engage in his training with. During times of conflict, he would also need it to provide for minimal protection.
By decreasing or increasing the number of plates, the same armor could be shared even if the wielders were in different ranks. That being said, one did not have to own an armor to be called a knight. If he was to be seen wearing an armor (even if it wasn't his) on a horse, he would be instantly recognized as a knight, no matter how low his rank was.
"97…98…99…100," Abel chanted as he made his final swing, then collapsed right on the grass field below him. His purple eyes were looking straight at the sky above him. "Which of these stars was my original home?" He asked himself.
Unbeknownst to others, the original Abel fell off his horse and died about one year ago. His corpse was replaced by another soul that came from planet Earth, and unlike the original Abel, who was only about ten years old, the new Abel was about thirty years old in his actual age.
Despite having behaved as carefully as he could, it was hard for the new Abel not to have others suspect him for his change of personality. Fortunately for him, however, everyone just thought that it was the aftermath of falling off a horse.
This particular Abel had another name back home. The name he had on planet Earth was Lee Ya Bo. He was an experienced bodybuilding trainer who was always busy with his work. One night, at about ten o'clock at night, he came back to his apartment whilst not feeling so good about himself. Because of this, he decided to open up his laptop and open up Diablo 2, one of the few games he still had in reserve.
He opened up his software, played Diablo 2 for a bit, and found that the quantity of his Tome of Town Portal was 0. He had the bad habit of forgetting to buy his Scroll of Town Portal, so he opened up his hacking software and modified his items for a bit. He hacked the game so that the quantity of his Scroll of Town Portal would regenerate themselves once every few minutes.
Lee Ya Bo was having a time of his life, but a bolt of lightning struck and hit him right when he was inside his home. The lightning conductor did absolutely nothing. The lightning didn't even bend as it was dropped straight down at him.
And that's pretty much it. After he regained consciousness, Ya Bo found himself to be the second son of the Knight of Bennett. Weirdly enough, though, his name was still Ya Bo (Abel).
Whilst trying to get rid of the thoughts in his head, Abel stood up and headed back towards Bennett Castle. He was feeling quite good about himself on that day. If things went well for him, there was a chance that he would become a rank 1 novice knight on the same night.
After coming back home, Abel decided to do something first before having dinner. There was still about half an hour before mealtime, so he was thinking about giving some care to his steel armor.
Abel took cleaning very seriously. He never missed a spot when he was wiping the sweat off his steel armor and furnishing it with oil. It was a custom for knights to take care of their armor. Whether it was Abel, Zach, or even the Knight of Bennett himself, they had to maintain their armor in a way that they could pass it down to the next generation.
After Abel was done with the armor, it was his giant sword that came next. It was relatively easy to clean it, mainly because of how simple its design was. Apart from the blade and the handle, there was no decoration or ornament whatsoever. Whoever made this weapon had only two considerations in mind: simplicity and practicality.
After finishing his daily maintenance, Abel took a shower and joined his family in the dining room. As he came in, he found that his father, mother and older brother already on their seats.
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Chapter 2
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The Knight of Bennett was wearing a plain white calico as he sat at the dinner table. As usual, he had a serious look on his face. Abel never saw him showing much emotion at all.
Actually, 'never' was an overstatement. The last time he saw any expression from the Knight of Bennett was about a year ago when he had just woken up from his coma. He could never forget the joy on his father's face as he was brought into this world.
Abel's mother, Nora, was a kind woman. She was the one who fed Abel every time he was recovering from his injuries. If anything, she was the reason why Abel acknowledged to being a part of this family.
Abel never got used to saying his grace before a meal. He had been an atheist for all thirty years of his previous life. It was only until recently that he had come to pray to the Holy Light, which almost everyone in this world would devote their worship to.
Nobody talked during mealtime. The knights were the lowliest among royalty, but this family still adhered to their mannerisms even when alone.
For the dinner tonight, it was a large piece of beef divided into four. Father and Zach received a larger portion, whereas Mother and Abel were supposed to receive much less. Since food intake was needed to increase the supply of a knight's qi, there was simply no way to divide the food between everyone equally.
But still, even as a bodybuilding trainer, Abel had never eaten so much beef during his time on Earth. There was about a pound of beef on his plate, and he was only twelve years old. There was also some porridge for him. It wasn't like he couldn't finish his food, though. He finished eating all of it in just a few minutes.
"Here, have some more," a gentle voice said. It was Abel's mother, Nora. She just gave Abel more than half of her beef.
The Knight of Bennett threw a quick look towards Abe, but he didn't say anything to him. Instead, he just kept on eating. His hands were somewhat stiff. However, while he was trying to slice the meat with his knife. There was a slight cladding noise when his knife made contact with the plate, something very unusual for the master of this house. Zach took notice of it but was quickly hushed when the Knight of Bennett threw a glare at him.
"Thank you, Mother," Abel thanked Nora as he accepted a fraction of his mother's meal. Since this was the way of Nora showing her love, the right thing to do here was to simply accept it.
As a part of the family routine, the Knight of Bennett had Zach accompany him for some personal training after dinner. Abel, on the other hand, wasn't allowed to attend until he was a rank one novice knight, which he might just become before tomorrow arrives.
Whilst wasting no time to become a rank one novice knight, Abel headed straight back to his room for a knight's breathing session. He had a full meal just then, and the amount of qi he accumulated throughout the day were very much sufficient for his training to make progress.
A knight's breathing techniques was the most crucial part of his skillsets. Whether it was passed down from the family or learned at a knight's academia, every knight had their own special breathing techniques. If a knight was to make a lot of contributions on the battlefield, he could transfer his war efforts in exchange for improvements in his breathing techniques.
After sitting himself on a rugged floor, Abel calmed his mind to commence his breathing session. The pace at which he inhaled the air went from slow to fast, and his stomach gradually became filled like a drum. He exhaled a streak of white, misty essence, which vanished into the air like an arrow that's just been fired. The food in his stomach was quickly being digested as he was doing this.
After breathing for about twenty times in a row, the qi Abel acquired during the day was now passing through the food he ingested, and it slowly started to form into a single meridian channel.
This meridian channel was quite unstable at first, but just when Abel thought that he had failed himself again, a power suddenly emerged from his meridian all the way across his body. He wasn't sure quite what it was, but both his body and his mind were like he had just gotten out of bed this morning.
He had finally become a rank one novice knight. A year ago, after seeing his father slicing a large trunk of a tree, he had come to realize the existence of supernatural forces in this new world. Unlike his home back on planet Earth, strength was very much crucial for survival here.
When Abel asked his father to train him to become a knight, he was given a detailed explanation of the family's circumstances in response. From what the Knight of Bennet told him, a second son should only train himself without interfering with the progress of the eldest son.
Zach was the priority of the family, basically. All the resources should be given to him first, and Abel would only have what was spared. That being said, though, he would still have access to learning the Bennett family's ways of being a knight.
Despite his unfortunate circumstances, Abel still learned quite a lot under his father. For the several months that he had recovered from his injuries, he was taught the ways of tending to horses, giving maintenance to his weapons, as well as the handling of a bow and arrow. He was also taught the proper etiquette of a knight, and he was taught many other things he had to prepare for before commencing his official knight training, which only happened at about two months ago.
Whilst still cheering for the progress he made just then, Abel noticed that the meridian in his right arm was quickly losing its presence. Good thing that it stopped after a few seconds, though. If this kept on going, Abel would lose all his progress without being able to do anything about it.
The breathing session tonight didn't result in complete failure. Abel lost some qi at the end, but he could easily regain them after a day or two of training. He was not going to lose his rank as an amateur knight.
But still, having qi drained out of him was a somewhat bizarre phenomenon. To satisfy his curiosity, Abel pulled back his right sleeve and found a light shadow on his arm. It was kind of difficult to notice it at first sight.
Abel took a long, close look at this mysterious shadow. He wasn't sure why, but it sure did look kind of familiar to him.
"It's a Horadric Cube," Abel jumped out of the ground after he figured it out. This thing was a Horadric Cube, there was no doubt about it. As an avid player of Diablo 2 for so many years, he would've never mistaken an important item like this one.
"It followed me to this world?" Abel walked around his room in excitement. There was not a thing that he was familiar within this world, and seeing a Horadric Cube here was like finding a water bottle in the middle of a desert.
From what it looked like, the Horadric Cube had probably always been there. The reason it hadn't appeared before was because there wasn't any energy to activate it. Since Abel became a rank one novice knight tonight, some of the qi he lost just then probably went inside the cube.
The Horadric Cube was just floating on his right arm. Abel touched it with his finger, and his vision was suddenly filled with a window showing his inventory slot. There were twelve slots in total, and two of them were occupied by a single blue book.
It was the "Tome of Town Portal." Abel recognized it on the spot. It was the same copy as the one he modified before being struck by lightning. From what he could see inside his head, the quantity of this Tome of Town Portal would regenerate itself once every few minutes.
"I'll take this Tome out of the Cube," Abel thought, and the Tome of Town Portal quickly appeared inside his hand. It was quite a big book, almost as big as a magazine you would find on Earth. Its opaque blue cover was decorated with dark golden fringes, which would give off an occasional spark to signify how valuable this item was.
"Can I go home if I use this Tome of Town Portal?" Abel's heart started beating very fast. He wanted to see his real parents. He wanted to get a taste of his mother's cooking, and he wanted to get a smell of his home town. For the entire year that he was in this world, Abel had never been so homesick until just now.
After slowly opening up the Tome of Town Portal, twenty different Scrolls of Town Portal appeared. These scrolls were written on white wool sheets and were strapped in blue ribbons. All Abel needed to do to open up a portal was to pull the ribbons away.
Abel tried placing his hand on one of the scrolls, but for some reason, his finger bounced off whilst he was trying to make contact with it. After trying again with a bit more force, he was able to successfully take the ribbon out of the scroll.
To his dismay, no portal appeared in front of him. It was a fireball that had emerged, instead. Abel instantly threw it out of his hand the moment he saw it, which made a burn hole on the rug that he was standing on. It was irritating, of course, but at least it didn't burn the entire house down.
Why didn't it work? Why did fireballs come out? Abel tried a few times more, but the results were always the same. Every time he tried opening up the Scroll of Town Portal, flames would come out and incinerate its content into a pile of ashes.
Abel cried after that. He cried for a while, then went to sleep as he got tired of crying.
Whilst Abel was asleep, a shed of moonlight shined through the window and lit upon his face. The tears on his cheeks were gradually blown away by the night breeze coming in, which made him feel kind of cold even in his bedsheets.
" Ba Ba, Ma Ma ," a young, vulnerable voice called out in the night. It was the desperate call of a son to his parents. No one would understand it, though, as it was spoken in a language that belonged not to this world.
It was Mandarin. The language was Mandarin, the common tongue that used back at home. It was the language that a son would speak in when he was far away from home.
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Chapter 3
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Under the bright dawn light that shone across the plain, the Bennet Castle, once again, revealed its grandiosity for the whole world to see.
Compared to other castles owned by knights of the same rank, the Bennet Castle was actually a much more extravagant piece of architecture. It was, in a way, what you'd call a 'work of an era'. It took about ten years for the First Bennett Lord to finish constructing it. And if it wasn't for the diligent maintenance of those who came after him, there wouldn't be such a magnificent landmark standing here to this day.
Due to the incompetence of its successors over the last few generations, the Bennett family was demoted from one of the most prestige Lords in the kingdom to just a family of knights. This was why the Bennetts were always so ashamed when they talked about their past.
As the current ruler of the house, the Knight of Bennet was very regretful to have accomplished so little during the war. He fought bravely and persistently against the orcs, but the achievements he made were not sufficient to change his family's status.
This was why he was so keen on educating his children. Zach, especially. If Zach could become a knight before the age of thirty, the Bennet bloodline would have no concerns with being cut off. After that, it was up to Zach's ability to decide his own future.
Abel, though, was not placed with such responsibility. If he never volunteered to become a knight, the Knight of Bennett was going to have someone teach him mathematics. Abel was supposed to find an office job in town when he got older.
The Knight of Bennett was very worried about his younger son's future. Abel was not going to have his own castle. He was not going to have his own warhorse. He wasn't even going to have his own armor. Once Abel became older, he would become a wandering knight, and wandering knights were not recognized by the nobles in this country. He would have to spend a great deal of his life just to be able to afford the basic gear. If he could find a stable living before the age of forty, that would be considered more than lucky.
"You ranked up?" the Knight of Bennett asked Abel.
Abel took about two months to become a rank one novice knight. The same process took his father four months, and his brother four and a half months. Abel wasn't given the same amount of resources. The attention he received was nowhere near the same as other men, but raw talent alone gave him an advantage at the very start.
"Yes, Father. I became a rank one novice knight last night," Abel replied, and Zach quickly ran over to give him a hug.
"You're a genius, brother, my most dear brother!" Zach span his little brother around. He would've liked to compliment him a bit more, but Abel didn't seem to like being waved around like a ragdoll.
"You're a genius," Zach said once more as he put Abel back to the ground.
"Shame. Shame," the Knight of Bennett watched with a complex look on his face. He was happy, but kind of sad at the same time. If Abel was his oldest son, he would probably make more income than Zach would as a knight. That being said, Zach's training was already in progress. The Bennett Family did not have any money to spare.
Abel got his Horadric Cube yesterday. He couldn't use the Scroll of Town Portal in it, but it was always nice to possess an item this valuable. In fact, after he woke up this morning, all he was thinking about was the formula he used to craft the cube. Even though there weren't a lot of formulas that he could use now, he might find something useful in town.
"Father, I want to go to Fort Lee today," Abel requested. As usual, he was very direct to make this request. He wasn't used to talking this way before, but knights were supposed to be assertive in their speech.
The Knight of Bennett nodded, "Sure. You just became a knight last night. It's better if you take a day off from your training today."
"I'll help you get a horse," Zach said, then ran off to the stable. He got an inferior horse for Abel. After helping Abel to get on it, he even snuck a gold coin inside his pocket.
The Knight of Bennett saw it, of course, but he didn't point it out. He was very happy to see it, though. After all, a brotherly bond was a rare thing to find from those of noble birth.
Every horse that was not a warhorse was considered to be what was called an 'inferior horse.' A warhorse would be fed wheat and beans, quality feeds which would've cost at least 10 gold coins every month. Without receiving this kind of treatment, a warhorse would quickly lose its speed and become a regular inferior horse.
The horse Abel was riding was an inferior horse. It was a two-year-old pony, but it was born from a warhorse that belonged to the Bennett family. If the Bennett family could afford to give it the proper nutrition, there wouldn't be a problem to raise it as a warhorse.
While Abel was riding on his inferior pony, he had his bodyguard, Norman, following him at his back. Norman was wearing a full set of leather armor. He was carrying a long sword on his back, but he didn't have a horse with him. Since the horse his master was riding was a pony, he had no problem following it with just his two legs.
Norman was a retired soldier who became back from war with the Knight of Bennett. As an underling to the Knight of Bennet, he lived with the rest of the family in the Bennett Castle. In a way, it was the way of a servant showing his gratitude and loyalty to his lord.
Norman was a very skilled swordsman. He became a rank six warrior after being trained directly under the Knight of Bennett. He didn't possess any kind of special techniques, but his swordsmanship alone was enough to make him a trustworthy bodyguard of Abel.
"Hold on for a second, Young Master," Norman drew a sword from his back and scanned the trees on the side of the road. It would take about half an hour to go from here to Bennett Castle. It was also half an hour away from Fort Lee. If something was to happen to Abel, it was virtually impossible to call for back-ups.
"What did you find?" Abel pulled the rein on his pony, then drew his new dagger from his waist pocket.
While Abel was a lot taller than Norman on a horse, he couldn't see anything that was in the trees. What he could hear, though, was a loud growling from over the distance.
That's when the shadow appeared. Abel could see it now. It was a shadow panther, and it was leaping straight for the pony's neck. The pony wasn't afraid in the least, however. As the offspring of a mare that survived the war, it was more than ready to take on a defensive stance.
Snap. Within less than a second, it quickly jumped back and dodged the deadly bite of the shadow panther. The panther missed and was immediately punished by Norman and his long sword.
Usually, a shadow panther wouldn't appear during the daytime. It liked being in the dark, and it liked ambushing its prey while hiding at the side of the road. An encounter like this was rather unusual, in a way. This panther must've been starving to go so far away out of the forest.
Norman already had his sword ready. The shadow panther, though, was by no means an ordinary feline. As ineffective as its bites were against Norman's blade, it still managed to dodge every single one of his attacks.
Abel jumped down from his horse to join the fight. The shadow panther didn't attend to him. Judging from past experience, the larger human was the only thing that was stopping it from getting a full meal.
The shadow panther was right. Well, partly, at least. Abel didn't make a direct approach. Instead, he just circled around in the distance for an opportunity to strike. He didn't want to be a nuisance to Norman. It wasn't like he could do much harm if he just charged forward, either.
It took a while for Norman to make his first contact. He was aiming for the shadow panther's neck, but it was fast enough to make the blade hit its back, instead. Worse yet, the sly beast exploited this chance for a counterattack. While Norman was off guard, it used its tail for a surprise whip attack at one of his legs.
Norman was suddenly at a disadvantage. Pain started showing on his face, and his feet were moving slower as he tried to re-adjust his position. While watching from the side, Abel knew he couldn't wait any longer.
Abel quickly drew a long, deep breath. He wanted to concentrate all his qi into one powerful attack. If he could release it towards the shadow panther, this should be over in an instance.
He had to be very careful, though. The technique he was using was meant for novice knights to train themselves to exhaustion. If he was to miss and make another attempt, he would probably end up destroying his meridian to the point of no recovery.
In a blink of an eye, the shadow panther leaped towards Norman for a finishing strike. Since there was a momentary pause as it stayed in mid-air, Abel took the chance and took his bet. He ran towards the panther from its back, his dagger pointing forward in his hands.
A painful growl from the shadow panther. It was aware of Abel's presence the entire time, but the injury Norman inflicted still had an effect in delaying its movements. It was a close call, essentially. If Abel didn't step in, the outcome would be very different now.
Having dug his dagger inside the shadow panther, Abel quickly let go of his grip and took a few steps back. The panther, on the other hand, started violently jerking its body as it laid on the ground. It didn't have the energy to keep up the fight, but the bloodlust would just never leave its conscience.
It took a while for the shadow panther to die. The more that it growled at Abel and Norman, the weaker its voice slowly started to become. Once it stopped making any noise, that's also when it stopped moving at all.
Abel wanted to make sure that the panther was dead, but Norman pulled him back when he took a step forward. "Be careful," he said, as he threw the sheath of his sword towards the shadow panther.
Just when Abel thought that the shadow panther was dead, it suddenly clashed away the sheath with its claws. Even on the brink of death, its reflexes were still much faster than the vast majority of humans.
Now that the shadow panther was certainly dead, Norman still wouldn't let Abel go check on it. Instead, he went ahead to pick up the sheath that he threw.
"Young Master," he pointed towards the claw marking on his sheath as he picked it up, "As you can see, most beasts prefer killing their prey instantly."
Norman picked up the shadow panther's corpse on the ground. Then, with a smile on his face, he removed the dagger from its backside and returned it back to Abel.
"How would you like to deal with this, sir?" Norman inquired, "This is your prize, after all."
"Let's carry it and sell it in town," Abel ordered as he looked towards the injury on Norman's leg,
"Take the horse from here on. Take the panther with you as well."
Despite his role as a humble servant, Norman didn't hesitate to take his young master's horse. He would give his life away if it was for the Bennett family, but none of that was contradictory to what he was doing here. Right now, he was an injured man. The most he could do for Abel was to not be a liability. Since there was only one horse available, the fastest way to travel was to have him stop walking on his two legs.
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Chapter 4
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Fort Lee. It was supposed to be just the name of an old fort, but people started building a town around it and made it into a densely-populated town. Right now, the old Fort Lee was used as a residence for Lord Rex, who was the current mayor of this town.
It was about noon when Abel and Norman arrived at Fort Lee. After a brief discussion between themselves, the two decided to go to the church for some treatment first. For the priest to perform a 'healing for light injury' on Norman's leg, they spent a total of ten silver coins.
Something stood out to Abel while they were walking out of the sanctuary building. As it turned out, holding a church was actually a very profitable business. Ten silver coins were enough to feed a family for a month, but a priest could ask for the same amount for performing one divine act. Actually, just look at how tall the church was built.
Under Norman's guide, Abel came to a leather store on the eastern side of town. It was, frankly, the right place to sell the shadow panther they killed.
The store manager was shocked when the two brought the animal in. It was hard to bring down a dangerous predator without doing too much damage to its body. That was exactly what Abel and Norman did, though. Apart from the long streak of the wound on its backside, every other part of the panther was left untouched.
That being said, the shopkeeper was more than happy to buy it for ten gold coins. While Norman seemed pretty content with this deal, Abel just nodded with him. He didn't know how the leather market was like, but the ten gold coins sounded like quite a good sum.
Ten gold coins. Along with the one coin he got from Zach and the other five he had in saving, Abel had a total of sixteen gold coins. Just like in the previous world, having gold meant great purchasing power. This meant that Abel wasn't exactly penniless now.
Just to be clear, he didn't come to Fort Lee for a day off. He came here to do some shopping. Some of which he had sent Norman to retrieve, and some of which he must buy without letting others know.
Which was why he decided to head to the center of Fort Lee. After sending Norman away, Abel came to the Fort Lee Shopping Centre, which was a large shopping place marked with a logo of the old fort. It was about noontime here, so there wasn't a lot of people.
Abel wasn't sure what he could buy here, so he went to ask at the counter. From what he could see, this was kind of a more high-class version of a general store. There were daily commodities, jewellery, clothes, etc. He wasn't sure if he could find the stuff he was looking for here.
"You must be sir Abel," a fat, middle-aged man walked out from the counter. While wearing a big grin on his face, he greeted Abel with a bow. It was a weird bow, and the timing was pretty weird as well.
Despite the unconventional (and somewhat inappropriate) display of etiquette shown towards him, Abel returned the favor with a formal greeting of his own. He knew how hard it was for commoners to learn the proper etiquette, so he wasn't going to ask too much here.
" I am. Do you know me?"
"Forgive me for calling out your name, Sir. My name is Tim. I'm the owner of this establishment," Tim bowed again, but still in a very bizarre manner, "I've noticed the Thorned Shield on your attire. Your brother Zach had the same mark on him, and I happened to know him some time ago."
The Thorned Shield was the coat of arms that represented the Bennett family. To be a competent royal, one must learn to memorize as many coats of arms as possible. It was a mandatory part of Abel's knight training, along with literature, music, and other talents.
"Do you have any single pieces of gemstone here, Mr. Tim?" Abel inquired. Now, Abel didn't have to but referring to Tim as 'mister' was quite a respectful thing to do. Judging from Tim's reaction, he must've been extraordinarily pleased by this act of acknowledgment.
"You've come to the right place, Sir," Tim responded with a wider grin than when they had just met, "Yes, we provide a variety of gemstones here in Fort Lee. What were you after, Sir?"
On his command, Tim ordered his men to unlock a big box stored in the counter. There were several rows of gemstones inside this box, all of which were very small pieces. Most people in Fort Lee couldn't afford jewelry. Plus, the bigger gemstones were to be moved to somewhere else. They had other uses than being sold off as luxury accessory items.
"How much do I need to pay for these, Mr. Tim?" Abel asked as he picked up six evenly-sized rubies from the box.
"Just six gold coins, Sir Abel."
It was a reasonable price. After all, no esteemed merchants would swindle a customer from the same region. Also, Abel might be young, but he was still the son of a knight. It was a fair deal made with six gold coins. Plain and simple.
Having received the cash from Abel, Tim went to put six ruby pieces inside a woolen bag. He led Abel out of the store after that. In the most respectful way he knew, of course.
Having left the shopping center, Abel ran off to an isolated alleyway. There, he took out three ruby pieces from the bag and placed them in his Horadric Cube. If he remembered his formulas correctly, three of the same gemstones could merge into one bigger, finer gemstone of the same kind.
Having withstood his feeling of excitement, Abel tapped the crafting slots with his finger. He inserted the three rubies in, which quickly vanished in a flash of light. He then saw a big ruby in the uppermost slot of the Horadric Cube.
What a thing a beauty this was. After putting it out in the daylight, every side of this piece was glistening with a clear, red flash. Whether it was the size or the quality of this piece, it was definitely a rank higher than the three other rubies combined. Abel couldn't tell for sure, but he knew this was worth more than three gold coins.
Having crafted his second larger gemstone, Abel was starting to think of a good place to sell them. He knew he couldn't go back to Fort Lee Shopping Centre for this. If he came back to sell them to the place he had just bought jewelry from, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong here.
Abel walked around the town for a bit more. After walking down the main street, he could see that there was a boutique shop in front of him. It was Edmund's boutique shop, the biggest business of its kind in the entire duchy. From what Abel could remember, every town in the Duchy of Carmel had Edmund's boutique shop somewhere. It was a very renowned brand, with a history of 500 years since it was first founded. Every year, the Edmund Business would host a big auction event that would attract aristocrats from all over the duchy. Even those from the neighboring duchies would come to bid on the exquisite items on sale.
"Welcome to Edmund's boutique shop. How can I help you?"
It was a young woman who greeted Abel as he made his entrance. She had blonde hair, a standard oval-shaped face, large eyes, and her skin was fair and spotless. The fine dress she was wearing was made of oriental silk, a material that originated from the Far East. She spoke in a soft, gentle voice as she gave Abel a noontime bow.
"Good noon, young and beautiful madam," Abel greeted, "I'm looking for someone to verify a gemstone for me."
Unlike that fat man earlier, this lady knew exactly the right way to demonstrate her etiquette. She spoke politely, but not in an unnecessarily-wordy kind of way. Her bow was proper and well-timed. As mentioned before, it wasn't easy for most people to learn the proper etiquette. The Edmund business must've done quite an investment in training its employees.
"Please, call me Yvette, my young and handsome sir. You can talk to me if it's about verifying your gemstones. I'm the manager of this shop. Please, come with me for a chat upstairs."
Just from a first glance, Yvette could tell that Abel was someone of noble birth. This was precisely why she would have a talk with him herself.
The two went upstairs to have a seat in the guest room. The moment Abel sat down, he was immediately served with a cup of fresh coffee. Abel didn't want to appear rude, but walking for several hours in town made him very thirsty. He went to have a sip before they even started talking.
It was good coffee. Abel wasn't exactly an expert, but his tongue wasn't completely numb either. Wherever the beans were from, it wasn't something that the Bennett family could easily make a purchase of.
Abel was a very young boy. So young, Yvette could just refer to him as 'boy.' Age, however, was by no means what signified the reputation of a nobleman. This notion was commonly acknowledged among aristocrats, and it was also something that their servants followed by when they served.
"How much is this gemstone worth, Madam Yvette?" Abel took out his bigger ruby and passed it to Yvette.
Having taken over the gemstone, Yvette started examining its interior through a small lamp. Then, after a few minutes had passed, she raised her head with a somewhat delighted look on her face.
"This is a perfect piece! The carvings. The structure of it. Transparency. Honestly, I can't find any flaws in it. How about I buy it from you for 300 gold coins?"
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Chapter 5
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Abel knew how perfect his ruby was. His Horadric Cube was literally incapable of crafting something flawed. It didn't matter if the gemstone was only worth 3 gold coins before. The price was now increased to one hundred times worth of that. If someone else knew about Horadric Cube, it would surely bring a lot of trouble to Abel.
Edmund's boutique shop was a pretty trustworthy business brand. Plus, the price Yvette just offered was very pleasing from Abel's perspective, so he decided to take out the second gemstone from his bag.
Abel passed over the ruby as he folded his bag in half, indicating that he only had two in total, "I have another one. Please, I will sell it at any price you offer."
"Red and Passionate," Yvette exclaimed in a tone that could be heard from a noble, "Now there's two of them, and they are just as perfect as each other."
"I need some supplement for my knight's training. Is there anything you recommend?"
Zach used supplements for his training every month. He liked to drink a special potion that would increase the flow of his qi before exercise. If Abel remembered correctly, the name of the potion was called a 'qi condensing potion.' He wasn't sure about it, though. No one bothered explaining it to a child like him.
"The Edmund's boutique shop can provide you with the lesser qi condensing potion. It is priced at 10 gold coins per bottle," Yvette smiled, then paused for a sip of her coffee, "Telling you this may be bad for business, but there are a lot of unclean residues in the lesser potions and the side effects… Usually, if you take the potion for a month, you'd have to spend another month before your body can recover."
"How effective is the lesser potion?" Abel asked. From his perspective, what mattered was that the potion could do what it was made to do.
While Abel was a complete amateur in the use of potions, Yvette knew every detail there was to it, "The best way to take the lesser potion is to have five bottles every month. With training, course. The five bottles can essentially double your performance results, which means that a month's training will be the same as that of two. After that, you will have to take a month off before you can repeat the whole process all over again."
"If there is a lesser version of this potion, there must also be a greater version."
"Of course. If you take the greater potion, you'll only need to take two weeks off after every five bottles. Five bottles of the greater potion are worth about four months of training. If you want something better, there is also what we call the 'greatest potion,' and the monthly dosage can produce the same results as that of five months' worth of training. You can take it without any break because of how pure it is, but they only come at three bottles per month for one person."
Abel had his eyes wide open this entire time he was listening to the explanation. Yvette didn't want to appear rude, but the boy sitting across her was simply being way too cute.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," Yvette chuckled, "but if you're looking for the qi condensing pill, the best ones we have in this store are just the greater potions. We sell them at 50 gold coins per bottle. If you're looking for the greatest potion, you'll have to visit our main headquarter."
Abel wasn't going to pay for a potion that was 50 gold coins per bottle. He wasn't even going to ask how much the greatest potions were. To his knowledge, there weren't a lot of rich people in Fort Lee. Most would've had to sell their homes to afford a bottle of the greater potion.
Out of a mysterious affection for the boy in front of her, Yvette leaned in to share some secrets with Abel.
"A lot of people don't know about this," Yvette softly whispered near Abel's ear, "According to the potion master in our main headquarter, if a novice knight decides to take the qi condensing potion, it will actually be harder for him to advance his ways to become an official knight. It doesn't matter if the potion is lesser, greater, or greatest. The more you take these supplements, the more residues you will have inside your body, and that's going to counteract with your breakthrough process when you try to become an official knight."
Abel didn't know why Yvette would be so kind to him, but he did realize how lucky he was to have her teach him so much about training with potions. All in their first meeting, too, so not only was he feeling very grateful, but he also began to develop more respect towards this very goodhearted girl.
"Thank you for your reminder, Miss Yvette," Abel spoke in an even more formal tone, "What you just told me will be very crucial to me. If you don't mind answering to this, is there any potion that doesn't produce a side effect?"
"Why, there is, of course," Yvette nodded her head, "Sometimes when they are in the mood for it, the potion masters would make something called the 'master's qi condensing potion.' There is no guarantee on the number of these master's potions, but one potion master is said to be able to produce ten bottles of it every single year. Once the potions are ready, they are either given off as gifts for friends and families, or they are bought off by the rich and powerful."
Yvette continued in an admiring and proud tone, "In our annual auction event, our own potion master would put up five bottles of the master's qi condensing potion for sale. They are priced at more than 1000 gold coins per bottle, and one bottle is enough for a novice knight to skip an entire year of training."
If he didn't have his own Horadric Cube, Abel would've never considered taking potions for his training. Based on his previous performances, his talent looked more promising than both his father and brother. He was a genius, and it didn't matter if he was only twelve years old. With enough time and effort, he could easily become an official knight.
Still, the idea of using a master's qi condensing potion sounded very attractive to Abel. A year worth of training without any side effects and all it would take was some money? It was the perfect job his Horadric Cube!
Having come to a decision, Abel raised his head to make his purchase, "I'll take 54 bottles of the lesser qi condensing potion. Actually, with the money that's left, can I also get a small crossbow? Maybe something I can hold with just one hand?"
Abel knew how dangerous this world was. He could be ambushed by a starving beast just by walking on an open path. It was true that he was smart enough to kill that shadow panther back then, but it was best not to rely on luck in every single fight. That being said, it was always good to carry some gears with him while going to places.
Abel wanted a sword and some armors, too, but his budget was way too low for that. Actually, even if he had more money with him, he probably still wouldn't use it here. He was nowhere good enough to hide his own secrets (his cube) yet. If he was going to spend money on equipment, he'd like it to be something that people couldn't see.
By this logic, a small crossbow seemed like a decent option. Just like that dagger Zach gave him, Abel could easily hide a weapon like this somewhere on him. Come to think of it, it would be nice to be able to perform sneak attacks both within close range and long-range.
"How about this small crossbow? It was crafted by the dwarves," Yvette went and placed a grey crossbow on the table, along with the potions Abel had ordered.
Abel tried lifting the crossbow with just one arm. It was a very delicate piece of work, with a little less than a kilogram in weight. He didn't quite like its appearance, though, since every part of it was just painted in plain grey. Besides, there were some very ugly holes that were punched through the handle.
"This is a second-hand item," Yvette explained in a bemused way as Abel had a very questionable look on his face, "I know what you are thinking, but the dwarves did a pretty good job when they first crafted this. Usually, a brand-new crossbow with this kind of craftsmanship would've cost more than 500 gold coins. There were supposed to be some gems on the handle, but someone else decided to chip them off to make extra profit. Besides, no one liked this color. No wonder it would be in the store for this long."
"I'll take it," Abel stated. He knew Yvette was being good to him. He wasn't sure why she was willing to go so far to help him, but he knew she wasn't the type to lie.
"Be careful when you take these lesser potions. You have a long road ahead of you," Yvette said as she placed the qi condensing potion in a box. She also grabbed some ammunition for Abel's crossbow.
"Thank you, Miss Yvette. I'll make sure that I take these potions with caution," Abel responded with sincerity. He wanted to appear reliable in front of Yvette.
Once Abel had gotten out of the store, he had 54 bottles of the lesser qi condensing pill, one small crossbow, and 5 crossbow arrows. Yvette, on the other hand, was sitting next to the window on the boutique shop's second floor. While watching as Abel slowly made his way back, she couldn't help but think about her little brother who had left the family for two years by now. If she could see him now, he would probably be just as big as Abel.