Veritas jolted awake from the comforts of his soft bed. The sunlight basked his fair body, along with his smooth skin. His hair was messy and Veritas was wearing sleeping garments.
After a long dream, recalling the events of his battles.. Veritas felt hazy.
Although it had not even been a week yet, Veritas thought that there was something.. amiss.
His dreams were fragmented and moments flashed by in an instant.
He remembered staying in the woods for 3 months, fighting the Gargoyle Knight and.. he also remembered staying for another 3 months... doing nothing.
Veritas felt conflicted when trying to remember his dream. Everything had faded out of his mind by now. There were figures that he tried to remember.
He remembered the Duke, who helped him greatly in his survival, and.. there was another person. A peculiar silver-haired individual that Veritas could not seem to remember.
Was he a mere illusion of his dreams? or did he really exist in the waking world?
Alas, Veritas had no answer..
The only thing that he could remember clearly is the whispers that spoke deep into his Soul
It said:
"Save her"
Weird.
Veritas could not quite discern the voice, but the whisper reached deep into his Soul. As if it were talking directly to him or rather.. demanding him in a commanding tone.
Veritas laid down for 10 minutes before finally walking out of the room.
Veritas headed towards the dining hall to get his breakfast.
Along the way, he saw an individual with deep-black hair and crystal blue eyes. It looked as if he had just woken up but the individual was already tidy and clean.
It seems like the black-haired individual was being guided by a maid, heading towards the dining hall too.
"Bello!"
He immediately felt a chill creep up his spine. Without even turning back, Bello hastened his steps.
"Don't ignore me."
Veritas showed up beside him, appearing as if he had just teleported.
"..oh- hey, it's you." Bello coldly replied.
Veritas balled up his fists and veins showed on his forehead.
'This guy!'
In a matter of moments, Veritas calmed himself down and walked along with Bello and the maid.
They reached the dining room where Veritas' father and mother had resided. It seems that they've already sat down, awaiting for the arrival of the two.
"Pleasant morning to you two.."
Veritas replied with a "yeah" and Bello bowed in respect.
Thus, the two of them sat down and began to eat their respective foods.
The breakfast consisted of two eggs, garlic rice, and a piece of ham.
'Another one of Mother's weird recipes..'
Even though Veritas complained in his mind, he finished his food in a flash!
As for Bello.. his eyes lit up at the scrumptious-looking food in front of him, carefully taking one bite after another..
Seeing this, Aletheia could not help but smile, this was something that she had learned from her homeland. Something that was near and dear to her heart.
Amidst all of this, Julius cleared his throat and spoke:
"Bello, how skilled are you with the blade?"
Bello's throat clogged up at the sudden question, he swallowed his food and replied:
"I am not quite sure, your majesty.."
"I see."
Julius added:
"Shall we test your skill?"
With a spoonful of food in his mouth, Bello suddenly stopped and looked at the King with horror.
Veritas saw this and tried to contain his laughter.
"What do you mean, your majesty?"
Julius leaned in at the table.
"In order for you to study at the Knights Academy, you must possess some degree of swordsmanship."
"I- I understand."
Julius looked at the direction of Veritas.
Veritas gulped.
"That goes the same for you too,Veritas. Although you've already mastered swordsmanship and have gathered experience, you still lack guidance."
"Worry not.. I shall be personally training you two.."
Bello's eyes widened in shock! To be personally trained by the single-most strongest individual in the Kingdom was a great honor!
Veritas' eyes widened too! Throughout the years he has only been trained by Mikella, never once with the King. His Father only told him basic knowledge about the Soul and the different processes and aspects, yet to learn such swordsmanship from him!
It was thrilling to say the least!
"It is my honor, Father.." Veritas placed his hand on his left chest and bowed lightly.
To which Bello did the same, bowing and showing his courtesy.
Satisfied by this, Julius continued with his words.
"For the next 30 days, I shall be guiding you two with the blade."
It was only the 7th of June, and the second semester of the Academy starts in the 8th of July. In the past, their system of tracking dates and time was completely different to that of now.
They tracked the month using the course of the moon which was even more complicated.
However.. When Julius rose to the throne along with his wife, Aletheia, they began to implement changes.
Technology began to prosper, various quality of life additions were improving lives, they knew how to track time, and the overall intellectual capacity of Elrod grew.
Julius and Aletheia were quite old, yet they remained the splendor of their youth.. They were nearing their 60s now..
When Julius rose to the throne, he was only in his 20s. He was considered to be the youngest Prince to have ever been crowned as King..
That said, every region in Elrod implemented the monthly calendar, and used the 12-hour clock system.
Julius then spoke once more..
"In the afternoon, come back to this castle and meet me in the training grounds."
"Understood!" said the both of them in unison.
So, it did not take long for breakfast time to finish.
Bello said his farewells to Veritas near the main door of the castle.
"I'll go home first. Guess I'll see you later."
"Yeah. Yeah"
A luxurious carriage carried Bello towards the Gold Borough and Veritas was left alone standing.
He scratched his head and spoke to himself.
"Guess I still have time to take care of some business.."
Veritas, with a blank expression, wore the Faceless Mask and rode a carriage.
"To the Copper Borough please."
With that, Veritas headed down to the busy streets of Elrod.
*
It was the afternoon, the sun was blazing yet the winds compensated for the heat, sending out a cold air that swept through three figures.
They were: Julius, Veritas, and Bello.
Julius wore protective training gear, it was dark-colored and if one were to gaze at it they would deem it to be a normal piece of clothing. However.. it was made out of durable steel mesh that can handle the strongest of slashes.
On the opposite side, Veritas and Bello stood, wearing the same outfit as Julius but the difference was.. Veritas wore a white one and Bello was the same.
The three of them held training swords that are made out of the sturdiest wood, engineered by a cultivator.
"Hey isn't that the King?"
"Prince Veritas!"
"Who's that other guy?"
Various Knights that were training saw the spectacle of three individuals facing off each other.
They were at awe due to the unfamiliar sight of the King training along with two other people.
They were used to Veritas constantly training here, but as for the King..? He seemed to be foreign for the normal Knights.
"Bello, show me your stance."
The black-haired boy immediately stood vigilant and held his blade with two hands, placing it in a defensive stance in front of him.
Julius stared at his posture.
His foothold seemed to be fine, that goes for his grip and form too. Julius immediately thought that for a beginner, Bello showed great potential just by doing his stance.
"Great."
Veritas glanced at Bello's form and was actually appalled.
'Actually not bad.'
With that, the King taught some lessons about swordsmanship, it consisted of the various forms, swordplay, reaction time, and many more..
This was all engraved to Bello's mind, yet the substantial information made him feel a sense of anticipation for battle.
After half an hour of talking, Julius moved on to the next stage. He wanted to see how much potential Bello really had.
"Now, let's test your ability. Strike me down without stopping!"
Bello hesitated to move at first but when he steeled his resolve, he jumped in without a warning. He struck the King's blade with utmost efficiency.
The Knights saw his sudden attacks and they were surprised.
Not by his amazing swordsmanship but rather.. his sloppiness.
Bello was not that great in connecting his strikes.
However, Julius and Veritas noticed something in his eyes.
It was as if he was used to seeing different visions at once that he couldn't focus on a single one.
His strikes were reserved and missed most of the time, but he anticipated every move that Julius made.
When Julius moved to the side, Bello had already reacted and was upon him, if he ducked, Bello's eyes shifted immediately.
His reaction time was impeccable!
'Not bad at all!' Veritas was amazed.
If he worked tirelessly throughout these 30 days, then he would become a formidable swordsman!
With those eyes of his, he could even learn the Elrod Swordplay!
That was too far of a stretch though because even though the eye was an important aspect of the swordplay, one must fused the mind and body to be able to act out what one thinks.
And with Bello, who was used to seeing through his beasts' eyes, his growth would be like a hidden diamond amidst the coal mine.
Such eyes like his were not to be underestimated..