Through the cheers and noise, while everyone celebrated, there was one person watching Ray's back. Thinking how far they had come together, a genuine smile played on his lips.
"Always pulling things onto your own back... so like you," Alex chuckled, appreciating Ray's determination despite its recklessness. Recalling their friendship, which had been forged since childhood.
Alex and Ray had grown up together.
While Ray hailed from a royal bloodline, his daily routine involved learning history, politics, and combat.
Alex, on the other hand, was the single-born son of the Ironheart family, bound by duty to produce the kingdom's strongest fighters. His family swore loyalty to protect the royal bloodline.
Ray and Alex would often meet during their combat training sessions; they were both trained by the kingdom's second strongest fighter, the king's shadow, Alex. Along with the same teachers, they also shared the same fighting techniques and cultivation techniques.
Despite the weight of responsibilities and the harsh realities of life, they found solace in each other.
Ray, born into the royal family, lacked the cunning and talent displayed by his siblings, demonstrating little interest in the throne.
During training breaks, he always asked Alex about the world outside the castle, eager to know what it was like to talk to new people and make new friends.
The concept of living in luxury was foreign to Ray; he was a bird longing to soar in the sky, not to be confined in a golden cage.
Alex, understanding this sentiment, shared similar feelings, having glimpsed the world beyond the castle walls.
Years passed until an unfortunate day arrived. After the battle against the Elvain Empire, the king suffered an incurable injury. His days were numbered, and each second bringing him closer to his last breath.
To prevent power imbalances and future conflicts, the king devised a plan to determine the new heir to the throne.
Normally, the eldest of all descendants would be given the right to the throne, but the council expressed concerns about the firstborn.
Rumors circulated that the king's eldest son was a spoiled, indulgent man with a penchant for alcohol and women. His susceptibility to temptation or manipulation posed a significant risk to the kingdom's stability.
After countless debates and proposals, an agreement was reached between the council and the king. They decided to implement a test to identify the rightful ruler of the nation.
Each of his seven princes and princesses was assigned a random territory in the kingdom.
They were strictly forbidden from assembling an army or plotting against each other for the throne. Within six months, the territory that prospered the most would declare its ruler as the next heir to the throne.
Even after ensuring all forms of impartiality and fair chances, favoritism still found a way into the equation. Among the seven descendants, if there was one person the council harbored animosity towards more than anyone else, it was Ray.
Even after being one of the most capable heirs within the royal bloodlines, Ray's humble nature and interactions with commoners won the hearts of countless people.
Simultaneously, they earned him numerous enemies among the nobles and the council.
This resentment against Ray led to some behind-the-scenes machinations, resulting in his being assigned a neglected and remote territory on the village borders.
The majority votes against Ray; the king could only watch as favoritism played a role in his otherwise fair-standing plan.
Ray was aware of this, but he simply didn't care. For him, this was the life he always wanted, the freedom he had dreamt of.
However, unbeknownst to him, even in this unfavorable situation, there were still many people who saw him as the future king of human nation. Alex, was one of them.
"You don't realize it, Ray, but as my father said, your desire for freedom and peace makes you an even more perfect candidate for the throne." Alex said, his voice cut out by loud noise, "For me, you always were, are, and will be the only king of this nation."
The meeting subsided, with Alex handling the explanation to the villager while Ray joined Ben and Freya on their little barbique party.
"Guys, would you mind if I grabbed some of that delicious meat as well?" Ray asked, sitting next to the campfire, looking at Ben with pleading eyes.
"I would mind, so get lost," Freya responded.
"Hey, can't you be just a little more polite? It's not like I am begging for your help or anything; I just want to know whether you want to stay or not."
"You don't need to ask me to prove how desperate you are."
While both Freya and Ray were engaged in an argument, Ben's gaze was fixed somewhere else. The whole time, his blood vision remained active, tracking every movement of the villagers. Without much effort, he identified the targets he wanted.
So, they are the members of the Fane. [They are quite a lot, if you were to ask me.]
"Yes, they are. Not only are there 6 to 10 of them, but they are also stronger than normal villagers. Especially the one who is leading them," Ben muttered under his breath, loud enough for others to hear that he was speaking but not clear enough to discern what he was saying.
"Did you say something?" Ray asked, surprised by Ben's seemingly thin air.
"Don't mind him; his inner voice is kind of loud." Freya chuckled, finding it amusing that Ben occasionally seemed to be engaged in conversations with himself. Sometimes he even got hyped up and started jumping around like a toad.
"My inner voice asked me to take a stroll, that's all," Ben replied nonchalantly. He didn't bother explaining much, offering a cryptic explanation before he stood up and walked towards the village.
As Ben's pace increased, he distanced himself from the bonfire until he finally started running. His eyes remained fixed on the church, and he scrolled through his inventory to summon his new soul equipment.
"Activate bunny boots," Ben commanded, and soon the brown windwalk shoes on his legs disappeared into white light particles, replaced by more stuffed-up pink shoes. It was clear that the shoes were larger than Ben's legs, evident in the significant decrease in his running speed.
Bunny Boots: Advanced Tier Equipment
[Defence─»(0); Agility─»(-20%)]
[Special Ability─» High Jump]
[Description: By decreasing your agility, this boot allows you to store kinetic energy from your body and use it to launch a high jump.]
Ben acquired this equipment from his hunt today, merging over 45 basic-tier pieces to gain advanced-tier equipment.
As he kept running, with each step, the long white stuffed ears in the bunny boots started to glow with pink radiating light, filling them.
[Charged: 100%]
As if waiting for this notification, Ben stopped running and assumed a jumping stance to throw himself into the air. In the next instant, the pink energy from the shoe burst out like a bunch of sparkles, popping without sound. And the next second, Ben was thrown 30 meters up in the air.
"Holy fuck... It's higher than I expected." Ben bit his lips to stifle a shout as he dropped to the top of the old church, barely avoiding making any loud noise, thanks to his vampire reflexes.
[Woo, you got some serious spinal damage; even your HP decreased by 3.]
"Shut up and heal me already." Ben commanded, hands over his mouth, to suppress any screams. He slowly peaqued inside the church from one edge of the broken roof.
"Boss, I felt like I heard a falling sound from the roof," a man in a dark cloak whispered, carefully examining the broken roof.
"If you planned to make me scared, then you successfully failed. Now get your ass up here and help me with the ritual," another voice said in a low but angry tone, dressed in a black cloak with an oni mask on his face.
The person tightly gripped a large wooden magic wand with a blue gemstone in one hand while holding a black book with golden linings in the other. His overall appearance signified that he was a wizard.
Without wasting any more time, the mysterious figure in black started mumbling enchantments from the black book, while the blue stone on the wooden wand glowed with faint blue light.
"Don't tell me they are trying to summon a devil again... I don't want to get another annoying slave on my back, you know." Ben hesitated as he looked at the magic patterns and lightning symbols, which brought back unpleasant memories from the past.
Contrary to his expectations, the mysterious figure in the black hood slammed the wand on the ground, and suddenly the whole room lit up like a winding circuit.
In the next second, the metallic Royal emblem on the wall slid open, revealing a narrow path underground. The path was wide enough for one person to pass comfortably at a time.
[It looks like we found a secret way to a treasure vault.]
"I won't be surprised if there's an Egyptian mummy inside it." Ben looked at the long, descending staircase going underground. Even with his vampire senses, he couldn't see the end of it.
[ Ya, now let's avoid interfering more and go back to Ray to report this to him.]
[This information might be very helpful to the villagers.]
"True, I shouldn't get more involved than this; I clearly remember what happened last." Ben slowly crawled back away, but before he could complete his sentence, a cracking sound in his ears gave him his whole life flashbacks.
"You stay here to guard the door while we go inside." The mysterious figure commanded, pointing towards one of the men in a black hood as it walked inside the gate.
But before the figure could enter the gate, a crashing sound reverberated through the room, followed by an innocent apology.
"Trust me, I was just passing by here."