Ryan yawned as he stretched his arms wide.
Then, he propped himself from a bed with silk curtains that draped from its sides. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well, so long, or either of both. The image of the meal he'd eaten last night slowly drifted I to his memory.
There was still a lingering scent of food on his fingertips. Good, sustainable meals that he could hardly savour back then.
Definitely a King-sized meal that most likely contributed to this sort of sleep, which he could only reminisce about.
After lying around for a couple of minutes, he repositioned himself and covered his open chest with a robe.
'Status'
A tab materialized before him.
[Status
Name - Alric Gilamel
Title - Red Heart
Role - Returning Royal
Elemental Affinity - Flame
Core Grade - First
Skill - Mutant
Stats
Strength - 14
Agility - 14
Speed - 14
Luck - 14
Charisma - 14
Mana - 40/40
Spells
Flaming Finger - Sneak attack Spell. Unleashes an attack on an enemy's vital points using a finger. Costs 1 MP and one second of cooldown per finger.
Fire Burst - Defense Spell. Send your element into your palm to unleash a short burst, dealing damage to enemies within a 5-mile radius. Costs 5 MP with thirty seconds of cooldown.
Mana Imagery - Cumulative Spell. The Stronger the imagery, the greater the mana deducted. Cost and cooldown are unknown. Image must be in contact with something related to the user before being cast.
Skills
Mighty Leap - Allows for stronger, mightier leaps to evade enemy attacks. Cooldown is five seconds.]
As he continued scrolling through the tab, Ryan noticed a few things. First was that his mana was now full, and second, his title was none but the one he'd chosen from that time in darkness.
Not that it mattered. Since the system added skills, he had to find a way to stack up on them.
Although there was one matter that bothered him, and that was his very obvious case of amnesia.
The fact that he couldn't remember a single thing about this world despite being in an inhabitant's body was bothering.
Luckily, he managed to get some information because Rictor was talking during dinner.
Alric Gilamel, the person whose body was now under his control, happened to be the last son of King Alwin, who had been pronounced dead years ago. In addition, he was also the youngest brother of another deceased King named Alwen.
At first, he thought there was a certain ailment afflicting the family, but that wasn't the case.
At the age of 5, Alric was sent away to a certain Kingdom of Gargan, which was beyond Thorns forest, where he and the Ember Riders had just returned from.
Two years later, an unfortunate incident befell members of the Royal Family, forcing the second youngest son, Alwen, to ascend the throne at the young age of 10. Fifteen years passed, and Alwen's body grew weak after contracting a rare but deadly Ric disease.
Since there was no one else to take over, Rictor, who had been assigned to Counsellor in a short moment during Alwen's reign, went through the Royal archives and discovered the existence of Alric. With hesitation, he sent a group of affinity users to bring back a man to a land he'd left seventeen years ago.
Yes, Alric was the same age as him, and right now, Ryan was wondering if the Counselor deliberately fed him that info or just loved being chatty.
A loud bang echoed from the door to the chamber. He jolted a little as Rictor's voice came from behind the door, "My King, your bath is ready, and the officials are gathering in the King's hall. Please hurry up!"
"Ughh!" He groaned.
Surely, he was going to need more of those fulfilling sleeps. At least the bath will do.
Meanwhile, in another location within the castle. The doors to a large hall opened, revealing a hall with terracotta pillars, each with artistically engraved runes.
Beside the pillars were flags placed on iron poles, their white, silken material depicting a flaming sun. A representation of the King's house.
The Hall, on the other hand, was called by some as 'The Hall of the Flaming Hand' or others who simply termed it 'The King's Hall'.
A few moments later, a number of anciently dressed officials had filled its space along with ten scores of armoured soldiers.
Yet, with all its 'grandeur', this magnificent room could also be a den for some power-hungry figures.
"Why is the King late to his first official duty?" One official declared, his blue robes swaying with a silver plaque tied under his fabric belt.
"You had better watch your mouth, Consul." Another official beside him warned, "Unless you want your neck wrung from your body."
Unlike the Consul, this official wore armor that had a white cape with a golden sun—the symbol of the army. However, the Consul simply looked at him and snorted loud enough for everyone to hear. "I guarantee that we won't have another repeat of the last one."
The entrance swung open, allowing a man to saunter in garbed in royal attire—a white shirt adorned with golden trinkets and a pair of scrupulously black pants.
Behind him was the Counselor, followed by an entourage of guards. The two sides of the hall watched as the Nation's Lord and his guards marched upon a red carpet before everyone of them fell to a knee.
"All Hail the King!" They intoned.
As Ryan walked in deeper, a stifling sensation arose in his chest. He subconsciously cast a conspicuous glance at one official. The aftermath left him surprised.
[Name - …
Title - Ordinary Official
…]
After scanning through and finding nothing intriguing. He reached the stairs where the carpet had dropped, slowing coming to a stop.
A majestic throne laid in front of him with arms of chiseled marble and a soft padding underneath.
Suddenly, the sound of spears hitting against the tiles resonated across the hall.
Ryan swallowed whatever residue of hesitation he had and moved towards the object, then slowly, his arm grazed the marbled armrest.
Nothing else was supposed to happen, so he was dumbfounded when the environment shifted, filling his vision with a dimly lit room clouded in smoke.
When he looked up, he found the familiar screen that first appeared when he was in that dark space.
Now an image of three cards faced him, each having both a four-pointed star and a set of weird, squiggly patterns.
"Pick one of the three." A Grand voice inflected.
He raised a brow, surprised by the new speaker, but proceeded to touch the card in the middle. The chosen card detached itself with a smush and started burning in mid-air.
Cautiously, Ryan stepped away from the burning item, watching as it left behind residues of ash.
"You have gained a weapon," The Voice narrated.
Ryan looked at the screen and frowned.
He considered it a joke and questioned the voice, but there was no reply. Hence, he rubbed his head before finally sighing and proceeded to touch the image of an umbrella.
A sword, a bow, even a shield, yet it was an umbrella that the screen was reflecting. It had a metal canopy coated in gold, but that didn't diminish his dislike by one cent.
"Pick one out of the three." The Voice read to him as the image was wiped off the screen, allowing three new cards to emerge from a smoke-like animation.
"These cards contain special figures that can be kept until the day you decide to use them."
Unlike the last time when the cards' backs were facing him, these ones showed three figures with three descriptions and, most notably, three different items.
On the left was a man with a unibrow, long silver hair, and a stone plaque under his belt.
He held a scroll made out of parchment paper.
[Name - Rezar Ren
Age - 23
Elemental Affinity - None
Profession - Scholar
Description - Rezar was raised right from the grassroots. Despite being of humble origins and non-opportunistic beginnings. He managed to become a Young Scholar at the age of 20.
Rezar is a good fit for managing your nation as it expands. However, he does have a temper befitting of growing young adults.]
'He's smart.'
Ryan then moved on to the next.
The Character in the middle was a woman holding a blade that had runes on its spine. Ryan was reminded of Pierre, and for a moment, he wondered how the latter was doing.
"It would be better for me to check up on that guard," he thought.
What highlighted the second character the most was his long, sparkly red hair that snaked around her neck, touching the hems of a velvet red dress.
[Name - Mika Lan
Age - 24
Title - Searing Maiden
Elemental Affinity - True (Flame)
Weapon Grade - Rare
Core Grade - First Realm
Skill - Wielder
Description - Mika grew up unknowing of her Noble heritage and despite, she managed to use hone her skills to the maximum.
The runes are a very defined testament to her strength.
Although Mika is calm and quick-minded in matters of comvat. Her stubbornness and headstrong traits appear when the rules seem like they need to be bent even a little bit, and can be quite detrimental if not managed properly.]
Ryan whistled lightly after reading Mika's description.
Everything there was almost like Pierre's skills, but maybe a much goated version.
Regardless, he still needed to look at the final contestant— a yellow-eyed man in grey robes with black hair that cascaded over his head. The item he held was a paintbrush with a yellow diamond at its end.
'Interesting.'
[Name - Ian Owan
Age - 26
Title - One Word Artist
Elemental Affinity - True (Light)
Weapon Grade - Special
Core Grade - First Realm
Skill - Chanter
Description - Despite being born in a pleasurable life. Ian chose to pursue a passion for the brush along with a strange sense of battle.
Regardless, there are still drawbacks. Over the years, Ian has grown to do things with his own style, and sometimes, his actions may not be easy to agree with.]
After reading Ian's description, Ryan for some reason felt a sense of relief.
"This is a tough nut to crack." He remarked, eyes darting back and forth between the three.
For a while, he said nothing, thinking before speaking, "I choose…"