"If there is one thing I hate most in the world, it is training."
"Whether it is refining a skill or an attribute, they are not things that can be raised quickly."
"Instead, you must take your time bringing it up step by step, putting in a lot of time and effort to get results from it."
"Doing the same thing over and over and over again."
"And only when you are sick of it will your efforts begin to bear fruit."
"Then you have to do it again."
"With every character you play."
Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in dynasties online.
….
"Are you like 10 years old or something? Can you come up with something better? I feel like I'm losing brain cells just breathing the same air as you! Do me a favour and stay away from me, okay? I don't want to be infected by room temperature IQ!"
Railius said back, equally sarcastic and relaxed with a small smile as it had been a while since someone had come at him so directly, putting his hand to sheath Jordis' half-drawn sword, showing that he did not care for such an insult. Luckily, because his character was familiar with this person, he knew his name, as in Dynasties Online; there were no names above NPCs like in other games. The recollection of a character also only works if the player has not met the NPC before, but the NPC has met the player character as once a player has met an NPC, they are expected to remember, just like with people in real life.
This is something that many players find hard to get used to, as in almost every other game; you are told by the game the name of an NPC when you meet them. Looking back into his character's memories, he was not surprised by what he found about the man before him or the reasons for his apparent hatred for him.
His name was Bron Metsk, the son of one of the biggest supporters of the construction of the dojo and a wealthy merchant, Livienth Metsk, the leader of the Metsk Merchant Group, commonly referred to as the Metsk company. Unfortunately, Leon's favouritism towards Railius because of his hidden background as the Grandmaster of Loyalties young lord did not go unnoticed by the other students, no matter how low-key Leon tried to make it.
And as one might expect, this favouritism towards Railius aroused jealousy from the other students as Leon, known to them as Master Zhou, only explanation for this treatment was that Railius was the son of an old friend who had asked the dojo master to protect and raise the boy once he died, having no other relatives that were trustworthy enough to trust with his young son.
Many of these rich scions thought that he had no place in this dojo because, except for Jordis, who was Master Zhou's son and so had the right to be taught by his father, everyone else had to pay to get Master Zhou's tutelage so the plan to make connections by training with these young master's backfired somewhat.
Of course, not all the merchant children were snobs. A few, mainly those who dealt with the military regularly, knew there was a unique brotherhood between those who served together. This bond was not something to be underestimated, for it was not rare for soldiers to help out the families of their brothers in arms if they were in need. Something as simple as having them teaching their comrade's sons was a given for these military men.
This jealousy would not be so bad if Master Zhou did not so favour Railius, but out of all of them, this mysterious master seemed to care for him the most, sparring with him the most and giving him the most pointers yet out of all the students he appeared to be the least enthusiastic of them all, and after all Master Zhou's effort he was still average amongst the youths as if he was forced to go there instead of appreciating how rare it was to be taught by a master like Master Zhou.
Even after all the care this master took with him, he was only average at best amongst the class and compared to Jordis, who had already gotten to the adept level with his primary weapon and side weapons, lived up to his father's name and became the most skilled student amongst the younger students when it came to combat prowess.
But if Jordis could be said to be the best in one-on-one combat, then Railius could be said to be best at strategy, much to the annoyance of many there who always seemed to fall for the young lord's bag of tricks that seemed to get bigger and bigger as the years went on.
Bron was stupefied at Railius' reaction.
"You!"
"You!"
Was all that Bron could say for a moment, surprised as he momentarily forgot that one of Railius' best talents was infuriating people. Even Duke Ancel Gallomour, the Duke of Plantaria, known for his calm and tolerance, was nearly provoked by Railius, let alone an inexperienced young master like Bron.
"Do you dare duel with me, you bastard!"
Bron shouted in anger with confidence as even though he was not at Jordis' level amongst the other students who were mainly at the intermediate level, he was near the top, which is why he was so annoyed at Railius.
Because the young master thought that if even 50% of Railius' care was given to him, then he could have become an adept fighter already!
What was an adept fighter?
Usually, only the best newly trained soldiers or skilled war veterans got to this level, and getting to this level before turning 20 traditionally meant that someone could become a master by 30. This is something extremely rare as almost everyone who became a master before the age of 30 became people of immense influence.
Yet Jordis, with no apparent military training nor strong background, managed to reach this level at 17 years old! Usually, only the geniuses' of general families are capable of getting so skilled so quickly!
Of course, Bron knew that Master Zhou came from a military background and seemed to have become at least a captain within the army and, so, gave basic lessons in military tactics. But unfortunately, Bron, like most others, did not know the master fighter's entire background, as House Aurellion had cleverly given a half-truth to help make their case. It also helped that many of Luicus' other subordinates who were not arrested or killed by Chavaria left the Chavarian army in disgust to become mercenaries or start-up schools or dojos like Leon did, unknowingly helping the son of their beloved general to keep a low profile and conceal his true identity from his enemies.'
If he knew Leon, the person he called Master Zhou, was a grandmaster and best friend with one of the most famed strategists in the continent's recent history and even became his most trusted subordinate and protector, what would his reaction be?
It would be one of surprise and awe.
Hell, even dukes and the landed nobility, those with the highest status and power in society, would pay extraordinary amounts of money to recruit Leon. In fact, when Leon disappeared with his friend's last son and heir, many nobles lamented that they did not have such a grandmaster like the Grandmaster of Loyalty under their command, especially when they heard that he became a butler to keep a low profile. If it were not for this, then House Aurellion's escape from the Chavarian emperor's clutches would not have been so smooth.
The Chavarians had sent 1000 elite, including soldiers, imperial guards, and 3 masters, to hunt down this butler and his 300 guards, which was merely a failsafe to ensure that all the members of House Aurellion would die because no matter how strong a master fighter was fighting 3 alongside, including a war veteran was something almost impossible and even someone as skilled as Leon would have no choice but to lay down and die.
But what was the result?
Leon killed all 3 of the masters, and then his subordinate Aldorus led another 1000 men to save him when he was on the brink of death! The other nobles could only look on with envy as this miracle maker disappeared from view!
Railius yawned as he looked at Bron tiredly as if the young master was a cute little pet. He looked over at Jordis, who seemed ready to fight since this rich young master challenged Railius.
"If it's a duel, we can designate a champion as is custom, right…."
Railius said ponderously as if it had just come to mind before and then turned to his friend, but everyone knew that this was an act put on by this youth to mock his opponent.
"Brother Jordis, would you be willing to fight on my behalf?"
Railius asked, knowing the answer that he would get from his friend, who had been raring to fight for a while and only stopped because of his unspoken order.
"Of course, my good brother."
Jordis said causally as he went over to one of the racks that lined the dojo wall and grabbed a blunted sword, swinging it a bit to get used to its weight.
"Senior, we are in a bit of a rush, so can we start soon? To be fairer, I'm not using the weapon I'm best with, so you can't say you are being bullied."
Jordis said in a hurried tone. He was used to such challenges by now, but they really did have somewhere to be. Even though he was only around a year or so younger than Railius and Bron, he still had to respect them as his elders in the dojo, even if he could beat both even if they came to attack him together.
'Shameless!'
Many people had thought, who didn't know, that Jordis was just as good with a sword as he was with a halberd despite it being his backup weapon! Most of the time, Jordis was a silent protector of Railius, but at times, he turned out to be like his lord to a lesser degree, as Railius had some of the thickest skin known to man as insults against him went into one ear and out the other.
In anger, Bron had allowed himself to be cornered by Railius and Jordis! Why was it that not one of the youths dared to challenge him despite their jealousy? It is because whenever someone did Quinten Railius' fake identity that he has used in public since he entered, Nathia would have Jordis fight on his behalf cleanly, defeating these bullies who wanted to humiliate Railius.
The youths could only curse Railius for his cowardice and shamelessness as he just watched on as Jordis beat down these youths who challenged to duel him one after another as if the whole thing had nothing to do with him whatsoever!
Bron had no choice but to bring his sword up to a guard position, but just before they could fight, an aged, authoritative voice boomed through the dojo, making each person freeze.
"Young people are still as hot-blooded as ever. There's no need to be so immature! Quinten and Jordis come to my personal quarters! We have some things to discuss!"
Master Zhou shouted, making everyone back down as no one dared to go against the dojo's founder. As a grandmaster, Master Zhou's senses were far above an average person's, and so he could sense the arrival of Railius and his son. He could even overhear the many conversations that took place throughout the dojo, and once things started to get out of hand, he stopped the momentary duel so everyone could back off with their dignity intact.
"See! Told you we were in a hurry".
Jordis said as he sheathed the sword and returned it to the rack, quickly returning to Railius, who had already started scaling the stairs, ignoring this incident as nothing but a slight bother.
Getting to the top floor, he saw a familiar man standing outside the door.
Master Ral stood outside Master Zhou's door and nodded as Railius approached, but the young lord knew the man's true identity.
Aldorus Belrion, The First Commander of The Pelican Guards!
He had spent nearly 7 years under Duke Ancel training up some Pelican Guards for him. The Duke had even paid a large amount of money to House Aurellion for him to stay longer than the 5-year agreed-upon time. However, nearly 1 year ago, Alfgier Ancel's loyal grandmaster finally made a breakthrough, giving Duke Ancel his own unique unit. Once this was done, there was little need for Aldorus and the other Pelican Guards to laze around, so he quickly sent them back to Railius.
After 7 years of watching Aldorus train up Pelican Guards, Alfgier had learned enough of the methods to combine with his own experiences in combat and war to create Ancel a unique unit that could fight at a similar, if slightly inferior, level. This is mainly because Railius was not only the first to create a unique unit, but he even gave up the landed title of count for it. Hence, the system made sure to make the Pelican Guard a cut above other unique units, which was why the Chavarian Imperial Guard struggled so much against them when they fought against this formidable fighting force.
After finally coming to Nathia, Aldorus took on the mantra of Master Ral and joined Leon, helping him manage the dojo's affairs.
Unlike Leon, Aldorus did not give Railius special attention. As a result, he was well-liked as an impartial instructor, as Aldorus knew there was nothing you could do if the student was unwilling to learn. Sooner or later, Railius would come to them for teaching, but he had to go to them for instruction of his own accord and not be forced like Leon tried to do so often, which is why the Grandmaster of Loyalty was finding that his training of Railius was relatively ineffective compared to what it could be.
"Quinten."
Master Ral said calmly, calling Railius by his fake name for you could never know who was listening, and even though 8 years had passed, many people still remembered House Aurellion because Lucius was far too renowned for people not to take notice of his mysterious son who seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke.
"Master Ral, is Master Zhou inside?"
Railius said, acknowledging the other teacher of the dojo.
"Yes, he is. Ah, I almost forgot, Student Quinten, make sure not to lose out on the many opportunities that are present here and annoy unnecessary people. After all, it would be such a waste and an annoying problem for you to deal with in the future!"
"Do you understand?"
Master Ral said with a smile, confident that the intelligent young lord got his meaning as he opened the door to the dojo master's office for his young lord.
"Of course, thank you for your teaching master. I will make the most of all the opportunities the dojo provides, but it is not my fault if some are missed due to hatred outside of my control. Sentient beings are emotional creatures, after all."
Railius said their conversation, seeming innocent to most people, held a much deeper meaning.
Walking in, he saw a typical office with a few key differences. Their desk was low with some papers on it, but Leon was on a mat, seemingly meditating, but hearing the door open, his eyes snapped open, and he gestured for Railius and Jordis to join him. The door quickly closed behind them as they heard Aldorus go to the bottom of the stairs up to the office to ensure the conversation between them remained private, as it was unknown if someone would try to eavesdrop.
"My lord, may I ask what you plan in the future."
Leon asked. Now that Railius had come of age, he had the power and right to do as he pleased. The most that Leon could do now was give advice.
"I will create a company for a few years 3, at the most, then return to Nathia and start to gain some renown in military affairs and eventually a landed title."
Railius said, revealing his ambitions, having a clear short-term plan for what he wanted to do, though the long one was flexible and could be changed as needed.
"You plan to join an army?"
Leon asked. He did not ask about what Railius wanted for, whether it was to get rich or gain power; the Grandmaster of Loyalty and the Pelican Guards would support their young lord no matter what path he chose.
"Potentially, I could also create a mercenary group first."
Railius said he still had not decided if he wanted to start his own mercenary group or join the army of a kingdom,
"A good plan, my lord, gaining financial backing before entering into the constant conflicts that follow the striving for power; however, there is one thing that I recommend doing before you go on your travels."
"Gain a swordsmanship move!"
Leon said as the NPC did not know about skills as far as they were concerned, someone skilled and could pull off special moves had talent with that weapon. Not once did they equate it with a skill. They only knew about levels and what those were.
Railius knew what this meant. Leon wanted him to gain an active skill before he started his adventure.
"Understood, Uncle Leon. Do you have any ideas on the best way to get one?"
At this, Leon smiled slightly, and Railius once again felt a chill in his heart as if he had just fallen into his ex-regent trap.
"Of course, my lord, you will need to fight. Luckily, there are plenty of people at your level to train. I'll announce a tournament for everyone to take part in; it should also help deal with some of the hatred you have gotten from others as Jordis will not be allowed to step in as he cannot be with you 24/7, just like how I had to command troops in battle under your father it is likely he will have to under you so you will need to defend yourself."
Leon said a glint appeared in his eye that Railius couldn't recognise.
"Uncle Leon, surely a few sparring sessions with you or a few others like Aldorus will be enough anyway. What if I lose won't all this effort go to waste?"
Railius said, not wanting to have to fight a bunch of people to get his skill as many people would delight in finally being able to take down Railius, who always beat them at strategy games but whose fighting capabilities could only be said to be average at best.
"Ahh, don't worry about that. There will be losers brackets, and anyway, on the battlefield, your enemies will show mercy, so it could be said to be good training, so don't lose too easily, okay."
Leon said as if it were natural, settling this matter with a wave of his hand.