Unlike mom's intuitive educational lessons, dad would make us spar, but never taught any foundational stuff outside of fighting. His favorite response phrase to my complaints was,
"If you want to be at the top, you need to carve you own path. So figure out the answers best for you!"
So I did, by frequently raiding his study! Here he left all his notes. For instants, the way of the Battlemaster is laid out in great detail.
According to dad's notes the stages are divided into Fledgling Fighter, Pawn, Knight, Blademaster, Grand Blademaster, Duke, King, Emperor, and the legendary Saint. Fledgling fighters are your average person beginning their training. Pawns are your average foot soldiers who have bodies somewhat stronger than the average person.
Knights are those with physical strength which rivals 100 Pawns. Blademasters are those who have awakened a lifeforce energy known as Aura and can slay a thousand Knights with a single sword stroke. Grand Blademasters are able to infuse their Aura into their swords, armor, and other objects. They also have the strength to raid and destroy a heavy fortified castle the size of the Hoover Dam by themselves in a matter of minutes.
Dukes on the other hand, can level a city-state housing 3 Hover Dams by themselves in minutes. Kings can destroy kingdoms the size of Texas in minutes and Emperors are believed to either destroy or create entire continents when they fight. However, all of this pales in comparison to the legendary Saint Battlemasters.
Saint Battlemasters are fighters who have reached the height of power! They can slay mages with just a look! If they will it, it will happen. Saints are no doubt the embodiment of will and physical might! Every young fighter dream of being a Saint, but no one in this world has ever become one as far as we know.
Still, with every country treating strong Battlemasters lavishly, who wouldn't want to be one! Even my father wanted to be treated like a celebrity, thus here we are! Currently, my family is a noble family in the southern country known as the Monarchy of Duxley which is one of the four major powers on the continent of Eliador.
Much to be expected, I would be forced to learn about the world around me (even if I didn't want to). As nobles, dad made it a point to be educated on geography and the power dynamic of the continent. In the rare occasion I would've been inside for dad's lessons, he would issue harsh physical training as punishment for getting questions wrong…
After a year and a half, I can safely say I survived dad's hellish curriculum. As mentioned there are 3 other major countries on this continent. They are the Principality of Papos in the center of the continent, the Merchant's Republic to the east bordering the neighboring continent known as Frontanium, and the northern Monarchy of Gallan surrounded by active volcanoes and never-ending winter.
Our last "lesson" focused on the selection of royalty in our country and the history of kings and queens. I couldn't help but enjoy this lesson as dad really took pride in the chance for advancement presented to every Battlemaster.
"Yuriy, with you learning the sword, its time you fully understand how much of a pillar to society we are. Take Duxley's ruler, King Lawrence Aldahazar too is a Battlemaster, albeit at the Initial King stage."
"In this country, our ruler is not succeeded by their blood descendants or other relatives lithe the Monarchy of Gallan. Instead, our ruler is decided through the battle ritual known as the Divine Tourney. In this competition, the minimum requirement is for contestants to be at least a King stage fighter and have fought in the military for at least 5 years."
It was here dad seemed to toot his own horn. Dad currently was at the peak Blademaster stage. Although he didn't meet the power requirement, he has been in the Duxlian military for almost 10 years.
His strategic prowess and well-disciplined demeanor had earned him the noble title of Count and the ranking of Military Instructor. In this way, almost every soldier must go through him to join the ranks of Duxley's army. When dad started speaking about the king's past, he was very reverent and seemed to expect the same of me.
"Our current king has been in the Duxlian military since he was 15 years of age. In our country one is considered an adult at the age of 15. I'm sure you already know this, correct?"
Dad asked, slowly striking his hand with the wooden practice sword he always carried. Seeing that thing reminded me of his "punishment"…ugh. I nodded my head which signaled him to continue.
"Good! For 10 years, the king fought on battlefields all over until the tourney was announced given the previous king had decided to abdicate. King Lawrence's tourney was considered the quickest tourney due to there being only 16 King level Battlemasters in the military, some of whom were in the last tourney which was 20 years prior. Yet not a single one stood a chance for the young Lawrence."
"It has been 30 years since King Lawrence ascended to the throne. During this amount of time for some unknown reason, he has yet to advanced to the Emperor Stage. This caused many to doubt him. In the 30 years of his reign, there had been 125 duels issued to the king, 48 small scale skirmishes and 4 international wars; all ended in King Lawrence's victory with minimal casualties and injuries."
"His record had earned him the moniker, Solar dragon of Duxley given his undefeated battle history and strategic prowess. After proving his dominion, King Lawrence later announced the policy to allow well trained and honorable Battlemasters to become nobility, albeit the title was not hereditary unless the individual signed a soul contract with the country and swore eternal fealty to Duxley. Thanks to this policy many warriors myself included, were able to join the ranks of nobility."
I can't lie, dad's lesson did inspire me to learn and develop more. So I started spending even more time in his study to cover all the gaps in my knowledge. For starters, the geography of my home nation.
Duxley is divided into five provinces in which a King level Battlemaster is the military leader alongside four ordained dukes. The dukes are not necessarily Duke Battlemasters but are nobles with the title of Duke. My family lives in the southwestern province towards the country's border called Evenshade. The land here is for the most part forest with little to no towns or villages.
This area unlike the other four provinces, has only two dukes alongside a King Battlemaster given the southwestern border leads into a land of death known as the Salandir Wastes. Of course, the Salandir Waste is not a wasteland but a never-ending forest void of magoi and is filled with a deathly energy. Of all the adventures and caravans which have entered the wastes, few return. Those who have are withered lunatics whose only salvation is death.
There's one thing I find curious though. Dad said he was able to become a member of nobility through King Lawrence's legislation, but why is it we can't inherit this noble rank. Instead of asking him, I ran towards mom who has a "gentler" means of education. When asked, she replied with…
"My little Yuyu, your dad didn't swear eternal fealty to Duxley as he has connections to the Engelberg ancestral land and the Arcane Institute known as the Tower of Infinity. The Tower also made non-mages sign a soul contract which restricted anyone from swearing eternal fealty to any entity including the Tower!"
Upon mentioning the Tower, I knew whatever mom was about to say, was most definitely magic related.
"Don't you find it odd the Tower would restrict such a thing?"
"Yes!"
"I do too, sweety! And yet, it's the truth as your dad most definitely signed a soul contract. It was the only way he could get a mage to provide knowledge and supplies for me and your siblings as I am classified as a Roaming Arcana, or free mage."
(What the fuck is that!?) Seeing the question mark floating above my head, mom giggled and continued.
"Roaming Arcana are mages who do not want to be bound by the soul contracts devised for mages since all of them required eternal fealty except for a few special contracts. Like most Roaming Arcana, I am self-taught using the surviving knowledge and ideas of our ancestors. In our case, Ancestor Yuriy was known as Grand Enchanter Yuriy of Primal Force!"
It comes as no surprise mom found a way to include ancestor Yuriy into her lesson… again! Mom makes it sound like this bastard was the Jesus of this world or something! Anyway, Whatever she was gonna say is most definitely helpful.
"Listen well sweety! Because of our ancestor's inheritance, we know how great mages can become! Grand Enchanters are mages who are a step away from godhood! That's right, your ancestor was almost a god of magic! If that is not something to strive for, then you might not want to purse magic, sweety."
Well I'll be… I was almost a literal "son of god"! (Forgive my blasphemy lord!!) But how come we know so little of this rank. When I asked mom, her demeaner sunk a little.
"Sadly my little Yuyu, all knowledge of these powerhouses is either lost or sealed by the current mage organizations. Nonetheless, the knowledge left behind by our ancestor was enough for me to reach the peak Journeyman stage! Although I am not a primal mage, his knowledge still helped me who focuses on developing as an Alchemic Craftsman!"
"OOO, what's that, mommy?"
I said, which always works like a charm. Seeing my growing interest, mom couldn't help but indulge me, as I was young and thirsty for knowledge.
"Alchemic Craftsmen are mages who do not specialize in combat arcane arts but focus on creating artifacts, and formation arts. Alchemic craftsmen make a variety of goods depending on which sub-class a mage chooses. In my case, I decided on the sub-class known as MagiTech! This sib-class focuses on the creation of golems, magic enhanced armor, and architecture."
"I may not have made any magic defense towers, but I have made many small scale defenses around our home. My most prized creations are the gargoyles surrounding our home. They are more than enough to make thieves take the long way around our homestead!"
Having my fill of learning sessions, I would always make my way to dad's study to confirm everything I was taught and fill in any gaps. As I read through the books found in the study, my imagination always gets the better of me.
Sometimes, I recall the many games, novels and comics from Earth which have this type of vibe. The main characters are born nobles with a silver spoon up their butt, and are unnecessarily OP. Or I imagine the main characters like my favorite game by Macrohard, The Master tomes 5: Cloudvale.
In this game, you start out in a near death situation and have the ability to do anything and be anyone given enough grinding. Now that I think about it, my third life awfully reminds me of that game. Even how I was in a life and death situation almost identical to the game (Only I died…DAMN NPC!!). Oddly, I had a similar appearance (albeit a woman) as my very first character who was a beastman from a distant land.
Whatever, I'm here now. I will make the most of what I have in this life! While I was buried in knowledge, my mom called out for me using the voice receiver artifact in dad's study,
"Yuriy! My little Yuyu! Come out of the study!"
-End of Chapter