Since I was young, my only dream has been to become a royal knight. Unfortunately, the inability to wake a class was the only thing preventing me from succeeding. No matter how much training or overwork was done, it was never enough.
To prove myself, I worked out daily. It didn't matter, though. I was turned down each time I applied to be a royal knight. After five long years, not a single order or person would take me in. I was consistently turned down, and I felt as though my dream was slipping more and farther away.
By the time I turned 24, I was ready to give up. I thought about quitting, and letting my dream go, but I wanted to try one last time. So, I applied to become a knight for the Ravencroft family.
I didn't think it would work and I didn't even dare hope, but I made the cut. My dream had finally come true. I celebrated by buying a house, and I married my childhood sweetheart. From that day forward, I trained harder than ever to prove my worth and rise in rank.
Then came my chance to prove myself on the battlefield. But instead of glory, I faced a bitter truth—classless people like me weren't meant to be knights.
I went up against someone with a knight class, and I was defeated with no effort at all. What made it even worse? My opponent was a woman. And instead of killing me, she spared my life, calling me too worthless to bother with.
My pride shattered that day.
Everything I thought I was, everything I had worked for, crumbled to dust. I became depressed.
Realizing I could die without ever achieving anything on the battlefield, I left the front lines and became a guard at the Ravencroft estate. It was the best decision I could have made.
The pay was better, and I gained powerful protection. I had a lover, and with her backing, I could get away with almost anything. I had it good. I even had the honor of training the Duke's children, Damion and Selene.
Life was comfortable, but the humiliation of that battle, it still haunted means everytime I remember it, I want to go crazy. So, whenever I could, I took out that anger on my wife, maids, and any woman I came cross.
But despite all that, I was content. I only had 29 more years as a guard, and then I'd retire, rich and comfortable. Everything was set.
At least, that's what I thought, until I met that little girl, Selene Ravencroft.
Back in the present, after calling Selene forward for her turn, Galen eyed the young girl up and down. He thought, In the future, this little one would one day blossom into a beauty, just like her mother. Maybe one day, if she falls out of favor with the Duke and Duchess, I could have a chance with her.
He licked his lips as he thought the lewd things he would do to her, but those thoughts were interrupted when their eyes met. A sudden uneasiness washed over him, but he brushed it aside, dismissing it as his imagination.
"Begin," he signaled.
Selene took a fencing stance, something that puzzled everyone, including Galen. He furrowed his brow. "Why is she standing like that?"
Before he could dwell on it, Selene dashed toward him with such speed that he barely had time to raise his sword and block the strike.
Before he could feel any relief, she was quick to follow up with another, aimed directly at his chest. He had to step back from this attack, but Selene was relentless, her wooden sword stabbing toward him again and again.
"Hey! What are you—" Galen barely blocked her furious attacks, but a few of the strikes managed to land on his chest, abdomen, and shoulder blade. He was clenching his teeth tightly to hold back his annoyance.
He was tempted to strike back, but then he remembered that the Duke was watching him. He swallowed his anger and tried to remain calm. "Alright, you've passed. Good job—"
Before he had even completed his sentence, Selene attacked him again.
He was panicked now, yelling, "Stop! I said stop!"
But she didn't. Her eyes were empty, her movements stiff, like a marionette on a string. For the first time in many years, Galen felt fear.
"Damn it, Selene! I said stop!"
Duke Magnus and Alaric both saw what was happening. Alaric instinctively started to intervene, but the Duke laid a firm restraining hand on his shoulder.
Selene sprang into the air, spinning elegantly before bringing her sword down with a sickening crack onto Galen's shoulder, breaking it.
"AHHHHHH!!" he screamed in agony, dropping to one knee as he clutched his now broken arm.
Selene landed lightly on her feet, stepped back several paces, and resumed guard.
His breathing was ragged, his mind racing: Why is she doing this to me? Did I do something to upset her?
Galen's head spun as he struggled to make sense of what was going on. His eyes darted to Damion, standing behind Selene, his shoulder in his hand with a dumbfounded expression. Suddenly, it clicked, Is she avenging her brother?
Hysterical, Galen raised one hand in surrender, in a crazed manner as if pleading with her, "Selene, I'm sorry! I'll apologize to Damion! I swear it!"
But Selene didn't budge; her eyes were vacant, expressionless.
Galen stood up more slowly, his shoulder hurting, and a forced strained smile danced on his lips as he homed in on her. "There, there. Let's not get so worked up, hmm?" he crooned, all honey and charm, his mind racing with ways to draw closer to her prelude to knocking her down.
Just as he was going to make his move, Selene once again lunged forward twice as fast. She sprang into the air, and he didn't have time to react before her wooden sword came down hard on his head.
Everything went black as Galen fell to the ground, out cold.
Selene was still standing above him, her eyes frigid and emotionless, the grip on her wooden sword tight.
Galen regained consciousness, blinking up at Selene. For a brief moment, the image of the woman who had defeated him on the battlefield all those years ago flashed before his eyes. That familiar mixture of hatred, rage, despair, and unwillingness started to well up inside him. He had already carried the psychological scars from losing to a woman with a powerful class back then, but this? Losing to a little girl with a cursed class? It was unbearable.
The pain of his first defeat had stung, but he could justify it, his opponent was strong, and powerful. But this. this defeat hurts deeper. He lost to a child with a cursed class. It was too much for him to handle. Overwhelmed by emotions he couldn't suppress, Galen fainted, foam bubbling at the corners of his mouth.
[Ruthlessness Skill Deactivated]
Selene gasped for air as her emotions back slowly, her body shaking in the process. She fell to her knees and tried to catch her breath. She remembered reading that the Ruthlessness skill would cause the caster to be deprived of their emotions. At the time, though, she had never given it much thought. Losing her emotions felt, it scared her. But at the same time, there was a strange sense of relief, as if a heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders.
Her interface lit up with notifications. Her level had increased to 15, her swordsmanship skill to 21, and her Ruthlessness skill to 11. But she barely registered any of it. Her eyes were glued to Galen's unconscious form as she tried to understand why the Ruthlessness skill had activated in the first place. Her legs shook as she forced herself to stand.
Magnus walked toward her, a menacing grin plastered across his face. His face darkened, and his tone, which chilled her very bones, he commanded, "Explain."
Tears welling in her eyes, shaking from head to toe, she explained the Ruthlessness skill, how she had come by it after hacking off Thorn's hand yesterday.
"He said, "Let me check your status."
She summoned her status, and he read the details. As he scanned the information, his brow furrowed in concern.
Magnus dropped on one knee next to Galen's unconscious body and touched his forehead, causing a blue light to emanate from his touch. Magnus's bewildered expression changed to one of fury and finally rage in a matter of seconds. In a flash, he caught Galen's head, and as Galen woke up yelling, the blue light flashed.
After a few seconds, Magnus finally released him and stood up, meanwhile, Galen looked up at him in terror. Galen was about to plead for forgiveness when Magnus raised his foot and stomped down hard on his groin.
There was a crunching sound and Galen screamed in pain. Everyone in the audience instinctively clamped their legs together out of pity. Foam bubbled up around Galen's lips as he fainted a third time.
Butler Alaric rushed over, his eyes wide in shock. "Why did you do that?" he asked Magnus
Magnus, still fuming, simply pointed at Selene. "Read her Ruthlessness skill."
Alaric turned to Selene and asked, "Young Miss, may I see it?" She hesitated but showed him. As he read the skill, his eyes widened in understanding, flicking between the unconscious Galen and the still-enraged Magnus.
Selene, however, was clueless.
Before she could ask what was going on, Magnus turned a sharp gaze to Evangeline. He commanded in a cold tone. "My office, Now!" he then stormed off.
Evangeline looked flustered as she hurriedly followed Magnus's orders. This confused both her and Alaric, who exchanged puzzled glances.
The Queen, Aldric, and Damion also left the training grounds shortly after, leaving Selene and Alaric alone with a group of awkward knights.
After a few seconds of silence, Selene realized that she had messed up, big time. Not only did she not have a tutor to teach her because of all the rumors, but now, she lost her combat instructor too.