After his meeting with Zaman, Sol left the palace and met up with the squad at a tavern. He spent the rest of the evening enjoying the drinks and the joyous atmosphere. Though he maintained a smile and laughed along with their jokes, every so often, when no one was looking, his smile would fade, and he would stare off into the distance.
No one really noticed this except Duncan, who, taking the opportunity of Aron challenging a self proclaimed professional drinker to a drinking contest, subtly slid over and asked, "Hey, is everything alright? Did something happen when you met with the Commander?"
Sol lightly shook his head. He silently activated [Muffled Movements] to block their conversation from eavesdroppers, then asked, "Do you remember what I told you on our first mission, when you asked me why I picked you for this team?"
Duncan noticed the noise of the tavern had disappeared and understood that what they were going to discuss was serious. He nodded. Though it had been some time ago, he could recall that conversation as clear as day.
"Yeah, you wanted to give me a real chance of promotion. Why are you bringing it up now? Are you being promoted already?"
Duncan found it odd for Sol to mention this again so soon, as he expected it would be at least two years before Sol either got promoted or retired.
Sol shook his head again. "No, I'm going to be leaving soon. And I'll be honest, it may not be on the best of terms with the Royal Knights."
Duncan frowned, worried by what he meant. "What? Is someone targeting you? Is it someone in power, or does it have to do with the recent crimes being framed on other knights?"
It had been a known issue lately, where royal knights were getting dragged into controversies or caught committing crimes. If it was just one or two cases, Duncan might have believed it, but after over 20 squads had been involved in such drama, it was clear to him and many others that there was outside intervention.
"No, not me as far as I know. It's... umm, hard to fully explain, but just know in a week I'll likely be gone, and it may be without a word. I've already talked to Zaman about you on a few occasions, and with you working on your law technique, it's guaranteed you'll become the next captain of the squad. Please don't tell the others."
"I… don't know what to say. Do you really need to go? You know that leaving like this will make you a wanted man. The Royal Knights detest deserters."
Duncan was torn. The time he had been waiting for years had finally arrived, but at the same time, he was reluctant to part ways with his current Captain. They had been through a lot in a short period of time, and he didn't want it to end so soon. Reminding Sol of the risks was, in a way, his attempt at persuading him to stay.
Sol felt similarly. Though he had come with the intent to leave as soon as he got what he needed, he hadn't considered the new friends and allies he would be leaving behind. But he had already made his choice and didn't plan to turn back.
"I have to. Regardless of the consequences," Sol said with determination. While he wanted to explain more, he didn't want Duncan to become an accomplice or get involved.
Seeing the look in Sol's eyes, Duncan knew there was no persuading him otherwise. He glanced at the squad, who were enjoying themselves in the distance, and finally agreed.
"Okay, I understand. And I promise I'll take care of them. But I gotta say, you're leaving me some rather big shoes to fill. I don't think I'll be able to be like you."
Sol chuckled. "You don't have to. Just be yourself."
The two finished their drinks and went to join the others, not wanting to spend the rest of the evening worrying about the future. They simply enjoyed themselves.
The next three days went by in a flash. Sol first met with Amber, and after telling her about his upcoming meeting with the Saintess, they made plans for leaving the city. Amber had surprisingly already done most of the legwork and had multiple escape routes lined up, utilizing various means, including merchants, old tunnels, and even black market connections. However, the routes only took them a short distance outside of the city, as where they would head next depended on what they learned from the Saintess.
Aside from planning with Amber, Sol also spent time with each of his squad members, knowing that even if it wasn't the last time he would see them, it might be a long time before he did.
He first hung out with Nataly, helping her test a few new nature spells she found in the Royal Library. Even he was surprised at the variety of spells she had learned, from creating a storm of sharp, blade like leaves to a spell that allowed her to travel between trees. Her goal wasn't to learn every nature spell but to use them to further enhance her summons and healing capabilities, planning to focus entirely in that direction. Sol, knowing the importance of specialization for learning law techniques, supported her choice.
Next, he walked around the city with Aron and saw firsthand how fast he could network with complete strangers. Though Aron seemed dim at times, it wasn't because he was stupid; he just preferred to go with the flow rather than overthink things like Sol did. It made it easier for others to get along with him, and his honest approach only helped. Though there were cases where it didn't pan out, showing Sol that Aron couldn't get along with everyone, it wasn't due to some supernatural power but rather his natural affability.
With Rex, Sol didn't do much, but when he casually asked where Rex planned to go if he ever got his dream boat, it sparked a long conversation. It turned into a three hour lesson on uncharted areas, legends of the sea, and seafaring knowledge. It was definitely not what Sol expected, but it was surprisingly interesting, given Rex's passion for the subject. When the lesson was over, Sol remembered he still had a lot of merits he didn't plan to use and gave Rex half to help him reach his goal. He gave the other half to Duncan for the squad's funds, knowing they could always use more.
Finally, he spent an entire morning with the twins, Lapis and Lazuli, mostly being dragged around by Lazuli to shop for clothes. Neither Sol nor Lapis enjoyed such activities, but with Lazuli begging, they both went along. Though neither intended to buy anything, Sol somehow ended up with eight sets of clothes for various occasions. He found them surprisingly comfortable and fashionable. Lapis, however, refused to buy anything at first, finding them impractical compared to her simple, enchanted clothes, but she eventually gave in and bought two outfits at her sister's insistence, though it was unlikely she would ever wear them.
On the fourth day, Sol met with Commander Zaman once more and submitted all the information he had obtained regarding dungeons and their rules. He transcribed the rules into a physical book and marked those he believed would be most useful to them.
"Where did you obtain this? Can you verify its authenticity?"
Needless to say, he was shocked to receive the information. He had never thought there were actual rules that dungeons abided by. Like most people, he believed it was simply their nature to operate as they did. Just giving a quick glance through the rules, he realized that dungeons had the potential to do much more than just provide free materials and help adventurers level up.
Sol responded, "I obtained it from the Necropolis' dungeon boss, the Shadow Crawler."
"That boss? It rarely talked when I fought it... How did you get this from it?"
"I can't really go into details, but I made a bet with it, and won."
"A bet... You sure are full of surprises. Well, thank you for the dungeon rules. I'll make sure you receive its worth in merit. But now that you're here... why didn't you tell me you'd comprehended a law technique?"
By now, Zaman had already received a comprehensive report from all the human soldiers and scholars regarding the events that took place. Many of them overheard Orna speaking with Torben and mentioning that Sol was comprehending a law technique. Though the soldiers and scholars didn't fully understand what that meant, they believed it was important enough to include in their reports.
"About that…" Sol sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "It kind of slipped my mind, given all the other things that happened…"
He wasn't lying; it had truly slipped his mind. A lot had happened in the ancient city, with Torben, the Bliss Spider and even Orna's help, it was a lot to recount. He would have mentioned it eventually if the conversation hadn't steered toward the subject of the Saintess, but that was out of his control.
Zaman wasn't done yet. "There were also reports of the battle between you and the enemy. Those unaffected by sight witnessed you wield fire, water, earth, light, darkness, and even shadow elements. On top of that, you had these… 'hands' that emitted colorful attacks resembling those of the Handless Fiend. Care to explain?"
'Shit.' Sol had forgotten about the witnesses who saw his fight. He knew this would come out one day, but it had come rather suddenly, catching him off guard. Still, now that he was A-Rank, he felt somewhat safer revealing some of his real capabilities, as he could now stand on more equal footing with those who might target him.
"Your face says it all." Zaman called him out. "I'm assuming you've been hiding this for a while, since even before the Knight Selection."
Sol nodded. There was no point in lying and digging himself into a deeper hole. It would just make the Commander think worse of him. And after all the Commander had done for him, it didn't feel right to deny the truth.
"What's going to happen now?" Sol asked.
What he had done went against numerous rules and laws. As an official royal knight working under the crown, he had indirectly tampered with the testing tools during the Knight Selection and knowingly hid his capabilities, both significant offenses. If they scrutinized all the rules he had broken, it would be enough to easily imprison a lesser noble.
The two stared at each other in silence as Sol awaited an answer.
"Before I answer, I need to know what we are dealing with. Is it an object, or is it due to your talent or talent skill?"
"We?" Sol asked, surprised.
"Yes. You don't have to tell me everything, just what you're willing to share."
Zaman knew Sol well enough to understand he hadn't hidden his abilities out of ill intent. After all, he had not only personally taught him but had also seen the choices he made and actions he took, ones Zaman greatly approved of.
It was most likely for his own safety, and Zaman could understand why. According to the reports, Sol wielded the power of nearly ten different talents, not including passive enhancing ones. If word got out, he would quickly become the center of attention, attracting rulers seeking a powerful fighter and necromancers wanting to study his body to uncover his secrets. There were only a few rare scenarios where such a thing could be possible, and Zaman needed more information to decide the best course of action.
To prevent eavesdroppers, Sol used [Muffled Movements], creating a bubble around them, which caused Zaman to raise his eyebrows.
'[Muffled Movements]… That's a skill that belongs to another talent group.' Zaman thought.
It was common to see this skill in talents related to stealth, assassination, and scouting, but it didn't align with any of the abilities reported so far.
"Well… I don't want to go into exact details, as the fewer people who know, the better. But when I was young, I never unlocked my first talent, even after reaching level five."
"So you were Talentless…"
Sol nodded. "I hated that label. I wanted to be like everyone else and have a talent of my own, so I kept leveling. A few years of effort later, it eventually happened, I got a talent."
Sol stopped there, feeling that was enough information, and he wasn't comfortable sharing more. Zaman understood that as well. It was a very reductive version of the story, but it was sufficient for him.
"This may come as a surprise to you, but I've heard of this before." Zaman said.
"You have?"
Zaman nodded. "It's from one of the books kept on the third floor of the Royal Library. It contains the most extensive record of all known talents in the world, listing the skills that could be acquired and the random talent skills they could give. But in such a book, there's a portion dedicated to a level above legendary talents, mythic talents."