A huge blue bird was flying over gorges. The red gorges were hundreds of meters tall. There was a knight wearing blue armor riding the bird. Lightning crackled on the beast's body, then it suddenly accelerated. It flew over mountains, wide rivers, and forests with towering trees, then it reached a huge city.
The city had square walls. There were towers with domes on their four corners. Within the imperial palace with dome roofs, Uslou, the emperor of the Morowind Empire, had a frown on his face.
"That damn Gustav is really tricky. There were two kingdoms in the gap that served as our bufferzone, but does he really think that we cannot notice his plan? The remaining kingdom in our east has long surrendered to us, so we foiled their surprise attack. We tried to solve it with diplomacy, but it seems that ambitious man won't easily stop the war. He has another way to reach his ambition while waging a war with us," said Uslou.
The prime minister named Zahir chuckled. "Your Majesty, he wanted to put a solid defense line against our empire so we wouldn't be able to stab them in the back while he conquers the remaining kingdoms in the south. They should also be aware that the Osburg kingdom also surrendered to us, so they made the preemptive strike before we did.
Gustav is probably confident that he can sustain a long war because of their sea trade and his plan to swallow the three kingdoms. Consuming our resources could also be part of his plan. Once the three kingdoms are under his empire, he won't lack resources and soldiers, while we will be lacking them."
Uslou nodded his head with a grim look on his face. "It's what I also realized when I read the information."
Zahir rubbed his long beard, then a smile appeared on his face. "Your Majesty, we should play along with Gustav."
"What do you mean?"
Zahir chuckled. "To totally control the royal courts of the kingdoms, the Maginev Empire must put puppets on the thrones, but who wants to be puppets forever? We will feed the ambition of the puppets, so they can hold the power in their hands and let them stab Maginev in the back."
"Hahahaha! I like your plan, but how will we make up for the huge loss to our empire?"
A mysterious smile appeared on Zahir's face.
***
Inside a tent, Marco was eating a fruit while his feet were on a table. He was thinking of the sudden change in Van's behavior. "What happened to him? Did Axel successfully changed him? Whatever it is, Van looks motivated, but it could only be temporary. He might give up again after suffering in training. If that happened, I should talk with Axel. Our sacred art could be too much for Van. We should give the boy a more appropriate aura technique which he can endure."
In an open ground, Edgar was practicing the sacred art. He was not able to match the rhythm of his breathing and movement at first. He was able to do it after a few hours of trying. He was only able to execute the first three movements, but he was already very exhausted and his muscles were aching. His body was aching, but he was smiling because he could feel that his strength was growing.
When Marco returned, he was shocked that the prince had successfully executed three movements. They were trained on swordsmanship and breathing first when they were children as preparation for training in Flameworth Sacred Art because its 24 movements were difficult. He was just letting Van try. He can't accept for a while that his wasteful nephew seemed better than him.
"You!" Marco pointed at Edgar. He moved in front of Edgar. He put his hands on both shoulders of his nephew and applied pressure.
"You! Did you fool everyone and secretly practice our sacred art?" Marco thought that this was the only possible explanation. Van was a waste. At that time, he was only a first-circle magician. He did not even try to train aura because, as he said before, it was painful and very exhausting. Van did not train in swordsmanship, but Edgar did.
Edgar trained for 5 years in swordsmanship based on martial arts that circulated on the internet. Martial art masters on earth freely circulated their martial art to help people gain some strength for protection.
"Uncle, I only copied what you showed me and followed your instructions in breathing and movement." Edgar helplessly smiled at Marco. Everyone in the castle knows that he never trained in sword art. He successfully executes three movements because of his training on Earth, so he can only pretend that he copied Marco.
Marco was staring at Edgar. "You endured the training and you were even able to follow the movements in sacred art. Tell me the truth. You were not like that in the last training."
Edgar turned silent as he also looked at Marco, then a smile appeared on his face. "Uncle, you know the situation of the royal court. If I show who I really am, then what do you think will happen to me? But I realized earlier that if I stay hidden, then the more I, the royal family and kingdom will be in danger especially now that father is in that situation. I think I should at least let the people that I trust to know who I really am."
Marco chuckled, then he laughed loudly.
"Damn it! You hid it too well and you overdid it! If you started training when you were a child, you have a high chance of reaching the 4th level of aura! Why did you waste your talent?!" Said Marco with a feeling of regret. Their kingdom was being eyed by a powerful empire. A 4th-level aura master was a powerful force in the kingdom and will ensure the rule of the Royal Flameworth family.
"Uncle, father's enemy had eyes and ears everywhere. I might not even reach the second level if information about me is leak. At least, it is much safer now because the biggest enemy of father in Baynard is gone, but I still can't openly show who I really am because there are still possible enemies in our kingdom."
Marco had a helpless smile. He understood the point of the prince, but he did not expect his nephew to be that smart. "I will talk to the elders of the royal family and prepare precious materials for your training."
He still hoped that Van could reach the 4th level of aura before the empire in the north aims for their kingdom. For him, the prince seemed to have the best comprehension of martial arts in the royal family, so the resources should be tilted toward him.
"Thank you, uncle. I will try not to disappoint you!" Edgar felt relieved that Marco believed what he said. It was so fortunate that the younger Van was smart. It was much easier to convince the people who knew the prince.
Marco hoped that Van can endure the pressure on his shoulder given to him by the royal family and the kingdom. "Rest for a while, then I will continue teaching you later."
Edgar took a potion and recovered a little of his stamina. He rested for an hour before Marco started teaching him again.
"After forming your mana core in your consciousness, you can build your magic circle. You must at least have one circle on your mana core before you can build rune skills. The more magic circle in your mana core, the higher level of rune skills you can build. Rune skills help magicians instantly cast magic. Powerful rune skills cannot instantly cast because they require accumulation of mana but are still a lot faster than casting without rune skills," said Marco, then a magic circle appeared on the ground.
A fire dragon rose and moved around Marco. It opened its mouth and fired fireballs into the air.
The fireballs flew and then fell to the training ground of the Royal Guards.
Dan, the team leader of the Royal Guards, saw the falling fireballs. "Fuck! Who carelessly casts fireballs?!"
An aura covered his right arm. The aura turned into a tiger arm, then he swung it to the fire balls.
TIGER CLAW
Bang! A huge red slash of claw rapidly flew and destroyed the fireballs in the air.
Marco saw the flying tiger claw and laughed. He dispersed the fire dragon, then cast the skill again without relying on the rune skill in his sea of consciousness.
The runes on the magic circle were forming. A fire dragon rose and lifted Marco into the air.
"Did you see the difference? It takes longer to cast magic," said Marco while standing on the dragon's head.
Edgar looked at the fire dragon with longing. The fire dragon moved around him as it moved down its head. It dispersed, then Marco swiftly stepped on the ground. He smiled when he saw Edgar longing for the skill, then he continued his teaching.
"Our sacred art 4th skill is a combination of fire energy and aura. You can form rune skills for our sacred art when you reach 2nd and 3rd circle. The rune skills are fire blade, fire beam, and fire tornado. You must be a 4th circle to execute the fourth skill of sacred art because it will require an astonishing amount of mana. Martial skills cannot be formed into rune skills. Rune skills in our consciousness can only be built with mana and cast using mana. Martial skills are based on aura." Marco paused for a while and seemed to be thinking.
"Let us end the training for today. Soak in a medicine bath that I asked someone to prepare earlier. You should not use healing magic for your aching body from training aura because that will stop the improvement of your strength. The proper way to heal is soaking in a medicine bath. Unlike healing magic,the medicine will not stop your body from adapting to intense training, and your strength will keep growing.
For people who lack resources, healing magic is their first choice for recovery. We will continue our training tomorrow. I thought I would have a boring time here, but you gave me a great surprise! Hahahaha." Marco left the training ground while laughing. He was really happy that the future king was not a lazy and debauchery prince like what everyone thought.
Edgar went back to the castle. He went to his bathhouse and swam in a prepared medicine bath. His whole body felt comfortable. He felt his strength growing again. The medicine seemed to be a secret formula for the royal family. He smiled. The virtual world was really a treasure trove of knowledge. The most important secret knowledge in the kingdom will not be hidden from him, and he will bring them home to Earth.