"So, I was thinking of taking the heroes along with me to check out what's happening in the forest"
The heroes and their teachers were all eating their dinner while Regal relayed some, but not all, details of the kings letter.
The heroes collectively showed some disdain towards the idea, remembering the last time they were dragged to the forest and William was forced to battle a strange creature none of them had ever seen before. Now that they had received some training, they were likely to be put through a worse ordeal.
The heroes' teachers were not any more in favour, even Kendrick had to show some resistance.
"Regal... that forest is dangerous enough as it is, but now you even explained that there may be possible demonic activity there. Don't you think the heroes need a bit more training before something like this?"
Regal looked at Kendrick in disappointment, as if expecting a different response.
"I'll be there too you know, blondie over there can already kill a kobold without any training, and now that the other heroes are starting to get a handle on some skills, I think we should find out what they can do.", Regal sighed as he stuffed a piece of his food in his mouth.
The others however, had completely ceased eating... other than Anne.
Regal wasn't sure if she simply didn't care about potentially fighting monsters and demonic beasts in the forest or if she just wasn't aware of the danger. While he had glanced at Anne, Kendrick glanced at William.
"You beat a kobold?", Kendrick questioned with open interest.
William was confused for a moment but quickly pieced together that the creature he had defeated was probably called that.
"Yes, on the day we were summoned."
Kendrick was clearly surprised by this.
After around a week of training him, he felt that William's swordsmanship was improving at an immaculate rate, so much so that it didn't feel like he needed a teacher in the first place. But it sounded as though he had already known some elements of swordsmanship and even put it into practice against a monster.
But at the same time, if he was trained in swordsmanship beforehand with that kind of talent, he should be many times stronger than he is right now.
"What, you didn't know?", Regal asked.
"No...", Kendrick frowned, he didn't even to think to ask if William had any previous experience, he thought he was a total newbie. But even without asking, it seemed obvious.
It turns out of course that Kendrick is correct, William is new to this world with both its monsters and swordsmanship.
"Well, now that you know, any changes in your evaluation of his strength?", Regal asked.
Kendrick thought back to a recent question from Regal where he stated that William could probably fight a D-rank.
He was thinking for a few moments while staring at William, as if analysing him.
The others remained silent in the meanwhile.
Ruk and Ellis had learned something in their short time at the Riverwood estate. It's that Regal Riverwood is most likely to listen to Kendrick.
Ellis had shown to be very good at lowering Regal's guard for whatever reason, but she never truly changed his mind about anything. He would often try and avoid her. But in cases where he couldn't, he would pretend to be compliant while trying to slip away and would do whatever he planned to do anyway.
So in this scenario where Regal planned a special trip for the heroes, they could only rely on Kendrick to suggest otherwise.
While he was still thinking, Regal turned his head to the two silent teachers.
"How about you two? Do you think your heroes could handle a leisurely trip through the dangerous demonic forest?", as he asked the question he placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands.
This left them with a hesitant expression.
Ellis was positive that Himari could be of use to even a B-rank party, she just needed experience. But while experience in the demonic Lucus forest would be valuable, it's also too dangerous.
A B-rank is typically a party that is capable of easily taking down B-ranks when working together, and with some resistance they could achieve the same result individually. However, in the Lucus forest, monsters could swarm you from all directions. Even if those monsters were mere D-ranks, they could prove to be trouble for any party if they had enough numbers.
Even worse, there wasn't simply monsters within the Lucus forest, but also demonic beasts. If there was truly demonic activity within the forest, it would imply that there was a demon. In other words, a leader for the thousands of demonic beasts in their area of the forest.
Ruk's thoughts weren't too far off from Ellis'. He has faced his fair share of demonic beasts, and if there is anything scarier than a horde of demonic beasts, its a horde of demonic beasts being controlled by an intelligent demon. It's this very trait that causes even the lowest rank demons to be considered a threat.
"It's funny you know", Regal stated with a smile.
It grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.
"Demons are believed to be terrifying and powerful creatures who want nothing more than to kill humans. But despite them being so powerful, they find safety in numbers, just like humans do.
It's believed to be a trait of the weak."
Everyone remained silent. The idea wasn't unheard of, but Kendrick and the other teachers didn't expect Regal to hold this kind of thought about the demons. Regardless, the words seemed to be directed more toward the heroes.
"So what's the message here? If a demon is seen controlling a group of demonic beasts, they're weak."
The teachers immediately had a baffled look on their faces. What Regal said was pure arrogance. Anyone who had faced the demons before knew that even the lowest ranking demons weren't weak. At best they were at the lower end of B-rank.
The demon king, who is said to be the strongest demon is said the be 'Unranked'. A special rank used in all human ranking systems to rank a creature that simply cannot be compared to anything else. As if they deserve a rank of their own, powerful enough to take a whole army by themselves.
Kendrick began laughing. Regal maintained his smile as he waited.
"Seriously... only you would call demons weak."
Kendrick paused for another moment before continuing.
"Alright, if you take me along, then I have no problem with my disciple joining"
Regal scoffed, "Overboard much? Though I don't mind, tag along if you want.".
In reality, Regal's presence alone would be more than overboard.
Suddenly the other teachers made a face like they had an idea, or rather that the answer was in front of them the whole time. A compromise where they could personally ensure the safety of their disciples.
As if sensing what they were thinking, Regal's face turned sour and decided to speak first.
"Any more than that would be way too much though, how are the heroes supposed to gain experience when they have a whole party of experienced people acting in their place.
If anything, me and Kendrick being there is detrimental to their progress, but I suppose we have no choice.", Regal sarcastically shook his head.
Ruk wasn't going to let this proceed.
"Lord Riverwood, please understand that we just want to-"
"Whoa there! I can't understand complicated things Ruk, but are you suggesting that the legendary Archmage of the kingdom can't handle some babysitting?", Regal quickly jumped in, aiming to give Ruk no room to argue.
"That's not it, I just wish to-"
"NOT only am I the LEGENDARY Archmage, but I am also the individual who the KING placed in CHARGE of the heroes, so I believe I get the final say regardless", Regal interrupted again, putting emphasis on certain words in the process.
The lot of them seemed to shake their heads at his childishness, but no matter how childish it was, it was true.
Ruk simply frowned, he disliked being spoken to in such a way but he was also someone who respected authority. If it was within his authority, then Regal could do what he wanted.
If only Ruk understood that most of what Regal did was within his authority, then perhaps they would be on better terms.
Silence followed for a few moments, seeming to indicate that Regal won.
"So then... when do we leave?", Kendrick asked.
"Tomorrow morning. In the ideal scenario, we would move at night. Even demonic beasts need rest after all.
But even that may be too much for the fledgling heroes."
Kendrick nodded and decided to finish his now cold meal.
As if it was his turn, William asked with a confused expression, "Demonic beasts sleep? I imagined something with 'demonic' in its name to be more active at night."
Regal nodded to this, thinking that it did indeed sound correct.
"On the outskirts, demonic beasts are of a lower rank. They are also typically just that, beasts. But there are many nocturnal demonic beasts too... but they're typically higher ranked creatures, and they're in a different area of the forest... I think."
'He thinks...?', many at the table collectively questioned in their head.
"Hmm... perhaps I should hire an adventurer party to lead the way? We don't want to get lost after all.", Regal placed a hand on his chin.
Pamel then moved forward to Regal, indicating that he had something to say.
"Go on?"
He bowed before speaking, "The adventurer party we met on the day you summoned the heroes had left me with their name. We could contact them if you wish"
Regal tried to recollect their short adventure at the forest outskirts. They met a group of adventurers who were fighting a demonic beast outside of the forest where Regal ended up finishing the job for them.
"Hmm... Well, they're as good as any."
Taking that as confirmation, Pamel moved away.
Regal and the others continued eating, Anne was the only one who was finished and was now waiting for the others.
'Was she even paying attention to what was going on?', Regal wondered.
He himself then started to ponder about whether his disciple was ready for this excursion. He believes it's better to make plans as soon as possible, truly talented people will be capable of tackling ordeals which are levels beyond their own capabilities. He himself trained this way, he just threw himself at challenges along his journey and forced himself to come out on top. If he failed, he would have no choice but to retreat and try a different way.
This training almost cost him his life at times, but Regal only saw it as part of the process. He was arrogant from the beginning, believing that he could win no matter what he was up against, even if he was weak.
Now his disciple, a talent who is on par with his own and is loved by mana. In fact, her ability to memorise spells instantly already puts her a few stages ahead of when Regal first started. She is a timid girl who seems to have a growing passion for magic, not falling behind any instructions and training provided by Regal.
She is currently a 1st circle mage, but her control over her magic is approaching a stage where she could summon a 2nd circle. Summoning 2 circles at once meant that a person not only had the control, but they had the mana and the mana pathways suitable for it, it also meant they had the mental capacity for the usage of 2 circles, even if they used the same inscriptions for both.
The first circle would allow her to use simple attacks and spells that may be useful for affecting the environment.
'If I were her, I would focus on creating slippery terrain and using narrow pathways to control the enemies movements... but that's assuming she is alone. She doesn't need to worry about demonic beasts targeting her when it's the vanguards job to keep them at bay.'
Regal realised he was thinking too much and that his food was only getting colder.
'Well... I guess I'll she what she's capable of in a real fight by tomorrow.'