"I drip... Dripping..."
It's been six months since I started training. Every day it was repeated like the previous one; it never finished doing the same thing. At first it was mentally exhausting, but after only a month, my body got used to excessive training.
It was difficult at first, but then it got easier.
After these six months, my body had changed considerably. My muscles were bigger and my abdomen was completely marked. My forearms, legs, back and all my muscles had been trained daily. The training was tough, but the results were very good.
"When will I begin to achieve gentlemanly achievements?"
Although I trained nonstop every day from 3:00 AM to 9:00 PM for six months, it won't do me any good if I don't get knightly achievements. Achieving these merits depends on my actions and how challenging the problems I solve. For example, if a dungeon that no other gentleman has managed to clean is cleared by me, I will receive an accomplishment to complete it.
Oriana explained to me about the dungeons. In this world, they are classified by grades 9 through 1, where grade 9 is the least dangerous and grade 1 is the most deadly. It's like a game, but this classification is used to measure the real danger of dungeons.
"You're here. I have good news and bad news," announced Oriana as she entered the house where I stayed every day to train.
"What are they?" I asked.
"The good news is your training is over. The bad news is that your quest for achievement will begin tomorrow."
"What's wrong with that? It doesn't sound bad..." I thought.
"I'm not saying it because it's bad. I'm saying this because you'll be risking your life," Oriana explained.
"..."
It was to be expected. Achieving accomplishments as a knight is not a simple task; it is an adventure where life hangs by a thread at every moment. This world is new to me, and I've been in this training camp for half a year.
I hate to admit it, but I don't want to leave the training camp. Although I've grown stronger, it doesn't mean I have the strength of a gentleman.
"Where do I start?" I asked as I looked at Oriana.
"Tomorrow I'll give you all the details," Oriana answered before turning around and coming out the door.
I was sitting at the table, lost in my thoughts.
"Tomorrow... everything begins," I murmured to myself.
"You shouldn't be worried," Encrid intervened.
"I'm not," I answered automatically.
"Then what are you worried about?" Encrid asked.
"To obtain knightly achievements may seem simple, but the difficulties... I'm just not sure what I'm going to face," I confessed.
"You could give me your manna," Encrid suddenly suggested.
"But if I do that..." I hesitated.
"Do it. No problem. No one will come at this time of night," said Encrid.
It was true. It was at least 10 p.m. Normally, Oriana would come in the morning with news, but this time it was different.
"All right," I said.
My manna started flowing and headed for the tattoo. I didn't understand why Encrid wanted to take on a human form; maybe it was to relax a little.
"Hua, it feels great to have a body," sounded Encrid's voice as the darkness filled the room. Slowly, the darkness condensed into a single point, forming a human figure. Finally, Encrid's body appeared sitting in front of me.
"..."
"What?" Encrid asked.
"Nothing," I said.
"..."
"You look... strange," I said after a moment.
Encrid certainly had a peculiar appearance. His face just said one word: "weird." Although his eyes were inexpressive and colorless, he seemed an empty person, devoid of emotion, but definitely peculiar.
"I'm not."
"I don't think I can get along with you."
"..."
"I sigh."
"That's right." I mentioned Encrid.
"Sound deaf."
"Asher, I forgot something to tell you..."
At that time, a big problem happened. Oriana went into the room. She exchanged looks with Encrid, but he didn't react. He looked frozen, though he couldn't be sure. I looked at Encrid, who simply yawned quietly, without worries, while Oriana was only three meters away from where he was sitting.
Oriana seemed simply frozen, unable to move. I looked at her body and shadow; she seemed to be held back by another shadow. I quickly looked at Encrid.
"Don't do that, do you want me killed?" I murmured, trying to avoid a big problem.
"..."
"I sigh."
"All right."
I looked quickly into the shadow, which released Oriana. I looked at her carefully, but she only looked frightened; her eyes showed signs of exhaustion and sweat, and her fingers trembled. He quickly backed back and drew a sword from his waist.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Hey, I'm just a friend of this kid's."
She looked at me briefly, frowning, but her expression didn't change; she kept sweating and shaking, though she kept her sword.
"No problem," I said.
"..."
"I just came to tell you... that you wait for me in the training camp at the same time..."
"He's... Well, you can leave if you want," I said sarcastically.
I felt very nervous. He didn't know what he was thinking, but his expression didn't even change at all when he finally left the place, slowly, not without looking at Encrid for a brief moment before he left.
"She's weird..."
"..."
"Yes, but over time you get used to it."
It was the truth, but really, what happened to her? He just saw Encrid for a few seconds and left just like that. Why didn't you stay alert or something? Encrid might be an enemy to Oriana, so why didn't he even try to fight him the moment he drew his sword?
I didn't know, but maybe Oriana felt something I can't feel. Maybe he realized that Encrid was an opponent he couldn't even touch.
It's confusing.
"Why didn't you do anything?"
"I don't know, but I just paralyzed her with my shadow, that's all."
"Is it possible that... Can the Knights rank monarch of the sword feel the danger, a danger from which they cannot escape?"
I didn't know, but time passed quickly and it was morning.
***
— Change of scene.
I was waiting for Oriana in the middle of the training camp. He told me to arrive at the same time, but what's taking him? Is it because of last night?
Although I was surprised to see his face scared for the first time. It must have been some emotion, but I was really just scared.
"Sound deaf."
I looked away. Oriana came with a sword in her hand, also carrying what appeared to be a black suit and something white that she could not clearly see. Finally, he approached me.
"Here, put it on quickly and I'il tell you the details."
I did what he told me, and as soon as he gave me the suit, I put it on. Finally, I observed the white thing: it was a mask, but what good would it do me?
The suit was elegant, looked like a military leather jacket, similar to a long jacket reaching up to the knees and pants that could be considered black jeans if they were branded. I completed the set with sports shoes that looked like leather, but when I examined them closely, I confirmed their material.
I looked at the white mask and asked:
"Why a mask?"
"When you're looking for accomplishments as a gentleman, you must keep your identity hidden."
And for what? I see no reason to hide my face or anyone knowing my identity. There must be something else.
"Take this sword, it's made of steel."
I grabbed the sword and looked at the black cover, with scribbles drawn on the edges. The handle of the sword was perfect: thick and very sharp. At one meter long, although I was at least 1.65 meters tall, this sword was much larger than my own height. She felt more than perfect.
"I'il tell you the details. There will be a gentleman waiting outside the castle. He will guide you to the Guild of Achievements, where you will begin your first mission."
"That's it?"
"Yeah, from today I won't see you for six months. You must return when you have obtained the ten knightly achievements required."
"..."
Ten achievements seem to be many, although the achievements are not as easy to achieve as they sound. Each requires a significant task.
"It's not as simple a task as it seems."
"Then go back to the castle and go to the exit."
Oriana turned and walked in haste. I turned my gaze and saw the teleportation door in the distance.
***
— Change of scene.
I went out the teleportation door and headed for the castle exit. I finally got here and opened the doors. Behind them was a gentleman, Josephine. He looked at me with a frown, but I quickly ignored his disrespect.
"So you will lead me to the Guild of Achievements."
Josephine snapped her tongue and frown, stopped looking at me and just shook her hand. I followed him and left the large garden of the castle, although it was very small compared to the rest of the castle.
I walked right behind Josephine. He simply looked at his way with cold eyes and kept his frown frowned. I was really angry.
"You won't be here for six months," his words resonated when I looked at him.
"That's a long time."
"..."
"Yes."
He simply answered and spoke with very few words. We walked for the next few minutes along the cobblestone streets, passing through food stalls, shops and inns. Then I saw something I felt I'd missed: a casino. There was a sign that said "casino" right over the entrance.
Why was there a casino here? I didn't know, but maybe in the future I'd need to come to one of these places, especially if I needed money.
"Wait, I don't have any money, so how..."
"Here... Take 100 gold coins."
"..."
Josephine threw me a small cloth bag the size of my hand. It sounded like every shake I gave him, so I opened it. A golden glow emanated from the sack: it was several gold coins.
"This is 100 gold coins."
The weight was not felt, but for an ordinary person, holding this amount of gold would certainly weigh a lot.
"Remember this: don't trust anyone during your missions. Every mission you carry out will depend on where you are. Take this map of the nearest villages."
He looked at me, pulled a map out of his waist and handed it to me. When I examined the content of the map, it was very detailed, with names of places and dangerous areas marked with different colors. There were two colors on the map: one red and the other opaque yellow. Yellow marked the villages, while red marked a forest.
"Bosque Seco, it's a rare name," I commented, although the map did not specify what dangers there were, it simply indicated that it was a dangerous area when marked in red.
"We're here. One last tip, this is from Miss Oriana: when you enter the guild, don't look at the others and go to the counter," Josephine said before leaving. I watched his back as he walked away. We were in front of the guild, an imposing two-storey building with the name of the guild on the entrance.
[Zajard Guild]
Why is his name Zajard? I thought it would be a guild of achievements as I was told, but this is different from normal. It had a different name and for a moment I doubted whether this was the right place or if Josephine had gotten confused.
"Whatever it is, I'il go in and as Josephine mentioned, I'il avoid looking at the others."
"Spirit"
I took a deep breath, adjusted my clothes and held my hand on the handle of the sword as I walked and finally walked in. There were several tables occupied by men in armor, others with only swords, and some full of scars without visible weapons. However, my attention was focused on certain people.
One of them emanated a great deal of manna, indicating that he was a magician. He wore a white robe and held a large stick with a green stone floating in a circle around the stick. Next to him, there was a gentleman. Then there was another individual different from the others: he had long ears and long blond hair, she was a woman in hunter's clothing. They were talking to a woman who seemed to be in charge of the counter.
With quick steps, I approached and spoke.
"Hello, I'm looking for a mission..."