"We've talked a ton and only now do you recognize me? Do you forget the faces of your enemies after a battle?", his look as a soldier was completely different when he was fighting as a barbarian. In the castle, he wore heavy plate armor and there was a visor that hid part of his face. His voice was about the same, so Lucas hated himself for not noticing these tiny details.
"Not exactly.", Lucas held back some words, 'I only remember the notable ones.'
'Huh, I thought you didn't taunt your opponents, I thought that was my job.'
'Well.. I didn't lie, did I?'
'Hahaha, nope, but I still remember him very well. Hey, can I fight him?'
'Oh yeah, you wanted a rematch since the last fight, huh?'
Lucas nodded to himself before asking Galen outright. "Galen, would you be so kind as to have a practice fight with me?"
Galen kept a cool-headed mind, even when his objective was almost achieved and was given freedom, he always followed his orders perfectly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten his position as a right-hand man to the Queen.
"Sure. On the way to the trial there's an open field. We can fight there.", he didn't look all that excited or emotional. Like he was reacting as if he wasn't involved in some way. Not that Lucas cared all that much, this was purely a selfish request that he didn't even expect to be fulfilled.
They visited the field, they were alone and unbothered. Galen removed his armor to fight in his loose clothes. "I don't want to ruin her majesty's gift. I'll fight you like this."
"That's fine by me.", Lucas stretched his body before switching. 'Good luck out there. Don't embarrass us.'
"Hah like that ever happen."
"Excuse me?", Galen frowned for a second before Lucas waved his critique away.
"Ah, don't worry, let's fight, yeah?", Lucas seemed different, Galen felt his entire person had changed. From the small details on how he stood still, to the look in his eyes and the devilish grin on his face. A bigger contrast to his demeanor in the castle was hard to find.
"So you're like this again?", he raised his fists as he focussed on detecting any movement from Lucas. His loose form, with his arms by his side, looked weak, filled with openings, but Galen knew better than to fall for such a trap.
He only fought against Lucas once, but it gave him enough information to prepare against their next bout. Galen kept his distance as Lucas slowly walked around him.
Suddenly he shot forward, aiming his fist straight at the man's face. Galen shifted his weight down, dodging the fist by a hair before grabbing Lucas's arm and throwing him over his own body, catapulting him in the air.
Not only was Lucas's own strength used, but Galen himself already had enough power to lift him alone. Lucas just helped him out.
Landing on the ground, he instantly recovered before a massive fist was coming straight at him, but Lucas didn't even blink. He lowered his body before sweeping the ground with his leg. Galen jumped at the right time, only for Lucas to stand up at an inhuman speed and punching him straight in the gut.
Galen flew a bit backwards before softly landing on the ground. His arm had a bruise while his gut was fine. Even in that extremely tiny moment, he was able to protect himself. In that small exchange, both Galen and Lucas could estimate their opponent's strength a lot better.
Lucas rushed forward and let his fist fly towards Galen's face once more. Seeing the almost exact same posture and attack, Galen shifted his weight again to catch Lucas in another throw, but it was a feint. His other arm was already aiming at his chest. Having barely any time to block, he bent his knees and twisted his body to dodge it.
Stuck in that position, Lucas took advantage of the strange posture of the man, bringing his elbow down, he pushed the man to the ground. But by the time Lucas wanted to follow up on his attack, a foot was planted straight in his chest, pushing him back.
"You have great strength, but rely too much on brute force. Looks like all Starborn are similar in that regard."
"Tch, I haven't even started yet, better keep your guard up.", Lucas rushed at Galen. They fought for what seemed like hours. Galen couldn't win in a straight-up confrontation anymore, his only way out was to use Lucas's power against him.
Even if he used his special technique, he felt that it wouldn't accomplish much. Besides, one other Starborn already copied his attack so effortlessly, he wouldn't want to give such a monster another weapon to use.
By using different grappling and throwing techniques, he was capable of holding off Lucas until everything suddenly changed.
"Enough playing around.", Lucas raised his arms and let the mana flow through his body. Every move he would now make could spell the end for his life. Galen raised his hands.
"I give up. I'm done."
"What?! We just got started!"
"I won't survive against a mage. I won't sacrifice my life to satisfy your insanity."
Lucas let the mana flow back to his core as he lowered his arms. "Fine, then let's stop here. It's no fun if I can't go all out.", a bit dejected, he felt annoyed that he wasn't able to win using just his basic strength. Of course, the moment he pulled out his magic, he would win without a doubt.
'Here ya go, this was stupid. I wanted to punch his face in, but the fucker gives up the moment he knows he's not going to win, that's no fun.'
'First off, thank you for not rushing after him after he said that.'
'Of course, I'm not a boar.'
'Hmm, there still might be something interesting to learn here.'
Galen felt a strange shift in Lucas once more, his back got straighter, his movements more elegant and his face displayed a familiar mask. "Galen, if you would be so kind as to entertain again me later, I would be grateful."
Focussing on Lucas, he opened his mouth slightly before Lucas interjected. "Of course, I won't use magic, but I'm very interested in your way of fighting."
"You want me to teach you our fighting techniques? That doesn't seem like a move that benefits any of us.", Galen already saw what Lucas was after, he was briefed by the Queen on his behavior after all.
"Oh, but it surely will. You see, once the ritual is done, and I've learned what I can from you, I have no reason to stay here any longer.", it felt strange to say those were the positives, but Lucas found those to be the most fitting arguments for Galen.
A light appeared in his eyes as he suddenly gave Lucas a very small smile. "Then I will give you the training you seek."
Lucas found it a bit annoying to see him agree so easily after hearing that he would leave after the lessons.
'I don't understand why she said he likes us.'
'Hah! You trusted that slut?'
'Hey now.'
'She suggested sacrificing Marie, fuck her.'
'That was merely a hypothesis. Besides, that won't be possible.', Lucas felt the emotion drain from his face. He had to use his hand to cover his mouth for a few moments before a carefully practiced smile appeared again.
"Let's go to the ritual.", Lucas needed something that stimulated him again. The fight wasn't any fun, but it was definitely worthwhile. Galen nodded and brought him to a strange looking alter not much further.
A big black circle made of foreign runes was surrounded by different kind of bones and complete skeletons. A few totems were made of sticks and the skulls of animals. Lucas was able to recognize some, but a few skulls looked completely alien to him.
There were around 5 totems all placed next to each other with the totem in the middle being the largest. The skull on top of the totem had carvings in it that looked magical, but Lucas didn't understand anything of it.
"This is where you would need to place the body. There are a ton of beasts that are useful in the ritual, one of the best is the Four-Armed Armored Gorilla. It increases your height while also giving you the power of four arms while keeping only two. You said you had a corpse ready? I assume you have it stored somewhere in the Empire?"
"No, I have it here.", Lucas waved his hand and pulled out the corpse of the Black Griffon he fought when he entered the Underground. It was still in a good state, but showed signs of decay, making it clear that time didn't stop when it was put in the ring, merely slowed down.
Galen's surprise was almost instantly hidden as he inspected the corpse. "Impressive, but the quality is low. The chances of this ritual depend on the freshness of the body. You could start now, but you might miss out on certain benefits."
"Then I'll sell it to you, diminished returns are still returns. There must be someone who would want this here.", seeing no reason to waste an opportunity, Lucas looked for the best solution.
"Sure, I'll auction it off for you.", Lucas was happy and surprised by his helpful attitude. He couldn't get a good grasp on Galen. It was clear he didn't like him and wanted him gone, yet he was also happy to help out in training and even advised him on the ritual.
Of course, this could all be because of the orders he received from the Queen, but Lucas found that hard to believe. How dedicated could he be to a single command?
"I'll get us a map that will lead us to the nearest Black Griffon nest. I hope you can handle them on your own?", and while he was here to guide Lucas, he wouldn't risk his own life fighting the strongest of the Great Beasts in the Underground.
"That won't be an issue."
"Good, then we'll meet here at the start of the next cycle."
"You guys have a lighthouse as well?"
"No, our cycles are dependent on the sound of the bells coming from those belforts. You'll understand when you hear them."
Lucas nodded, thinking it couldn't be much different from the Church of Light in the world above. He was given directions to the nearest in and left alone. There were some issues since Lucas couldn't speak their language nor did he have a lot of local currency on hand.
He cursed Galen out for missing out on these details, but perhaps he saw them as such obvious things that he didn't give it any thought. Luckily, he was able to use signs and use items as a form of trade. He definitely lost out on that deal, but sleeping on the ground wasn't something he wished for.
Normally he would study or practice his magic, but after realizing the benefits of sleep, he would simply create a small bunker of a ton of arrays and sleep in them. If even the tiniest mouse or fly would enter the array, he would be instantly woken up and protected. Light would heal any wound that was present while a burst of Darkness would spread out.
It might've been overkill, but to Lucas, this was the bare minimum. If he had better knowledge of arrays he would've done a lot more.
Sleeping again in quite some time, Lucas was suddenly woken up by the loud bells that chimed throughout the city. Almost waking up with a headache, Lucas cursed the sounds, almost firing off a spell to shut them up.
Still, the sleep did wonders, for once, he didn't feel his eyes drooping or the heavy weight on his shoulders. After having some trouble to find the correct place, Galen and Lucas met up.
He had brought a map with clear instructions on where to go. All the signs and notes were in a language completely foreign to him. Lucas didn't give it a lot of thought, but he did find it strange that the Empire spoke a language he knew and the Kingdom of Elise didn't.
Was it all a coincidence or were there reasons for this? It was simply too big of a question to begin with, so he pushed it to the side. There were more important things right now. For one, he had a new target to get rid of.
Cycles passed as Lucas went to hunt a Black Griffon and brought its fresh corpse back. Laying it in the circle, the totems nearby started to shake. Purple flames came out of the skulls that hung around the altar.
A voice, not too dissimilar to the one in the trials before came out of the biggest skull that stood in the center. It was the same language the citizens of the south spoke, leaving Lucas a bit underwhelmed and confused.
Galen, who stood at the side, politely translated.
"A Black Griffon has been brought upon the altar. Speak thy full name and position in the world."
"Lucas, Rank 2 m- Wizard.", Galen didn't translate it back to the altar as the skulls shook around and clattered. It seemed that some words were recognizable, even in different languages.
From the circle on the ground, purple flames came out, burning the body of the Black Griffon. It didn't take long before the body vanished in its entirety, not even ash or embers were left.
'This kind of flame shouldn't be possible. Flames start and grow because of three things, oxygen, fuel and heat. The fuel can be used up to a certain point until there's no energy to be gotten out of it anymore, then it should become ash, not.. nothing.'
'Perhaps...'
'What? I have to admit that you have more experience when it comes to flames since you figured out the Blue Flame.'
'Well...What if there's Darkness in there?'
'Huh? But then? How would the trial work?'
'Couldn't tell ya, this shit hard to understand as it is.'
As Lucas looked at the altar, Galen gestured he moved to the center of the circle. Seeing that the flames just now could evaporate an entire body of a high ranking beast, Lucas didn't feel all that excited to stand in the same spot.
This could've easily been a fantastic assassination attempt. Reluctance was showing on his face, enough so for Galen to catch on. "Don't worry, the trial is completely safe. It has just absorbed the energy from the griffon and needs a new host to place that energy in. If I could, I would love to take this chance, sadly, you can only do the trial once."
Hesitation guided his movements as he slowly made his way to the center of the trial. The voice came out of the skull again, it was a deep and emotional tone, unlike the stiff one from the trials in the Empire.
Galen listened carefully before translating all the words from the skull. "It says that you have options. You can either choose between gaining one of the advantages of the body of the Black Griffon, gain the understanding of its mana flow or a tome of spells. If I had to translate it correctly, I believe a grimoire would be more accurate than a tome."
"Huh."
'So the same as the other one.'
'Can I choose this one?'
'What are you thinking?'
'Pick the grimoire, we need new spells and runes. The Black Griffon's mana flow is something we can study later on, and we already have the best pathways available while also working towards a Tier 3 body. There's no need for another physical benefit.'
'Reasonable, I agree.'
"I choose the tome of spells."
"I can't speak for you, say the words, جادونامه "
"What?", Lucas didn't understand a single thing, it sounded too far removed from his own speech that it felt almost alien. Galen realized this wasn't going to work.
"Say it like ǧādwnāmh, that should be close enough for the altar to recognize.", and only after a few tries did the skull suddenly twitch. The circle beneath his feet lit up, making him panic for half a second before a book appeared before him. Grabbing it the circle went quiet and darkened.
"I'm surprised you didn't choose the first reward. Getting the strong hide of a Black Griffon would turn your body invincible."
"Nothing or no-one is invincible. Besides, I have the Empire's trials for that."
"Sure. So what now? You've done our trial, so there's nothing else to gain here."
"Of course there is, your lessons, sir."
"We can do those outside our country."
"I see.", it became clear to Lucas that he wasn't like here, and they would love it if he left as soon as possible. "Afraid that our spars will destroy the nearby town?"
He shook his head, "Starborn aren't loved here, I believe that it will only inconvenience you.", Galen said with his perfect diplomatic tone. He was just a soldier following orders, only given the freedom to interpret the orders and accomplish them in his own way.
Agreeing with Galen, they soon left the Kingdom of Elise. The cycles passed as Lucas and Galen trained with each other. Galen started to get better and better at detecting murderous intentions and dodging as a reflex as Lucas started to learn how to use his opponent's strength against him.