In the luxurious estate only accessible to the platinum ranks and the instructors, stood a lone duplex made out of bricks, and the fresh scent of lavender lingered in the air.
A training area nestled in the backyard consisting of a circular platform used for sparring.
Arthur stood opposite Alfred, his butler, sword in hand, huffing and puffing.
The ground beneath them was littered with scars that oozed with smoke, signaling they've just clashed.
"You're getting better at this, young master." Alfred stood straight, glancing at the wooden cane in his hand, which was now splintered.
"Don't flatter me, Alfred; I can't feel my improvement." Arthur said a bit annoyed.
"Don't push yourself too far, young master; people your age can't even begin to comprehend your level; you are well above the rest."
"Well above the rest...?" Arthur laughed sarcastically.
"'Well above the rest' isn't enough, Alfred..." His grip tightened around his blade.
Alfred sighed. "I know how much you want to measure up to your father, but constantly pushing yourself won't help."
Arthur let out a scoff.
As Alfred continued, "If you keep pushing yourself, you'll only break down." Arthur tossed the sword to him and walked into the mansion in silence.
"Are you hungry, master..."
"No." Arthur shut the maids down in annoyance immediately.
"He's sure in a bad mood today..."
Arthur walked upstairs to his room and changed into his bathrobe.
What was the point of all this training if he couldn't surpass his father's legacy?.
The king, Uther, had declared the position on his throne open to any of his siblings.
Arthur had a senior brother, a heavenly knight, and currently in the king's personal guards consisting of 7 heavenly knights.
And he was still struggling against weaklings.
He went into the bathroom and a moment later emerged.
His room was pristine white, littered with precious stones that could even make the nobles jealous; fancy chandelier and flawless marble flooring screamed wealth, in his king-sized master bedroom.
The lamps were powered by existence stones, dormant till the night falls.
As Arthur approached the bed, something felt... off.
He glanced to the side, and a white sheet of paper nestled on his lamp stand with a crane on it.
Arthur looked around; he could've sworn this paper was not there the moment he walked in.
Did someone sneak in? An assassin? No, he would have known.
Arthur grabbed the sheet of paper, curious; he glanced at its contents.
The writing was a bit jagged but readable.
_Arthur Voldemort._
_Come to the general library by nightfall. Don't bring guards; do not let anyone follow._
Arthur's heart rate increased a bit; whoever this was, is capable of sneaking into his room and leaving a note undetected.
"Is this an assassin...?"
If it was, why would they go through all the trouble to get him to the library? Something felt off.
But Arthur was confident in his ability; if the assassin wasn't a heavenly knight, he could fight him.
Arthur read the name at the bottom of the page.
_From the mystic arts major._
"The mystic arts major? Who's that?"
The name sounds like a seer or a mage.
Arthur dropped the letter on the lamp stand; if the person was skilled enough to sneak in here, he wanted to know who that was.
****
On another part of the mansion, Zach turned into a scuffle rat carrying the letter around, infiltrating the homes of elite knights wasn't easy—especially in broad daylight.
He would use the form of a rat to run around unseen and the form of a snake to squeeze through holes.
He made sure to suppress his aura so he wouldn't be noticed by any of the guards, skillfully placing the letters in places that would ensure that they were seen.
This was especially hard, but he managed.
****
A blond girl stood in her room, looking at the piece of paper.
Seraphina skimmed the message in her hand.
_Dear Seraphina_
_Come to the general library by nightfall. Don't bring guards; don't let anyone follow._
She looked at it with an unreadable expression, then the paper burnt to ash, letting the ashes fall down.
"Tch... this punk, who do they think they are?"
She was annoyed but also curious; who had the audacity to bark orders at her?.
****
Grey looked at the message in his hand with a straight face.
"Who left this here?" He inquired throughout the house, but no maid admitted it.
He refused to believe someone actually snuck up into his house and placed this here.
That would make his home's security a laughing stock.
_Dear Grey_
_Come to the general library by nightfall. Don't bring guards; do not let anyone follow._
Grey stared at the words for a moment.
And a wide grin formed on his face.
"Finally! Something interesting..."
****
The rest of the platinum knights had various reactions to the letter.
Darius thought it was the other platinum knight messing with him.
The frozen princess, Isolde, was actually delighted, waiting to meet the stranger.
Roland was stoic, almost not wanting to go, but the curiosity was enough.
Zach carefully planned the wording, only just leaving instructions, so it has tension and attract eyes.
Valen's reaction was the most hilarious, outraged that another assassin could slip past him.
Orion and Keal came together to spar later that day, finding out that both of them actually received the letter.
"Do you think the others actually received the same letter too?" Keal—a girl with short black hair and a childish voice—asked, looking at both pieces of paper written with the same shitty handwriting.
"I believe so..." Orion replied.
Zach had finished delivering the letters, exhausted, and almost completely out of soul essence.
[79/421]
Zach noticed the skill didn't drain as much essence as it did when at the Ignorance stage.
Now he could hold his transformation for a staggering 20 minutes before he reverted, which was a lot considering when he started this trial, he wasn't able to last 2 minutes.
Zach stepped into a provision store, looking at the items for sale.
The sales person showed the different options, but Zach was there for one thing.
"What's that...?" Zach pointed at a wooden mask made out of black wood; it had no facial features, just a black rune covering its surface.
"That...?" The sales person's tone was a bit disappointed.
"That's the mask of right; not worth your time." He tried to wave it off, but Zach picked up the wooden mask.
The first thing he noticed was its weight; the mask was heavier than usual.
"This was made from blood stones and can deepen your voice." He said.
"I'll buy it." He didn't want the platinum knights to know who he was... not yet.
He wore the mask, and immediately it felt like he wasn't wearing anything; the weight had completely disappeared, and most shocking of all, he could see the world clearly, despite the mask not having any holes for the eyes to see through.
Zach mumbled a few words, and his voice was thicker indeed.
He quickly bought it and went to his dorm to prepare for the show by nightfall.
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