"A valid choice." The Grand Voice stated.
The three cards were wiped off the tab, following the room which also disappeared, returning his view to the Hall.
A dizzying sensation gripped his head as images of ancient pages filled with unfamiliar texts flickered before his eyes.
When the images finally disappeared, Ryan sensed a surge of information passing into his consciousness.
Annoyed at feeling light-headed, he pulled himself towards the throne and sat on it. From there, he caught wind of Rictor wearing a white robe with a flaming sun at its center, and scaling through the steps to stand by his side.
It was then that Ryan noticed the whole courtroom, fixated on he who sat upon the marbled throne and a strange feeling welled up inside his chest.
"We will now begin the Oath-taking ceremony!" Rictor announced.
The whole hall was silent as the officials remained on their knees while Ryan watched a beautiful young woman with long red hair, wearing a white dress patterned with the colors red, orange, and blue, ascend the steps to stand before him.
On one hand, she held a golden sword, and on the other, an orb of fire levitated, twirling above her fingernails.
Ryan would have been concerned about why that was happening; however, he was more worried about the red tetragon gleaming inside the woman's eyes.
"High Priestess Esteria greets his majesty," She said, bowing a little when Rictor whispered into his ear, "Sire, this is where you stand."
Ryan obliged and arose to his feet, keeping a calm and collected outlook despite the stinging pain he felt that was threatening to explode his brain.
The Priestess smiled and chanted an oath before the court, who were still kneeling, internally praying for when the torturing kneeling would end.
"Before the presence of the Sacred Flame of Astrix and the Ceremonial Sword of Truth. Do you, King Alric, heir to the house of Gilamel, swear in the presence of the Divine to uphold the tenets of thy forefathers as the new Ruler of the Ridlockia Nation?"
Ryan found himself a bit bulldozed by how fast those sentences were and answered unfocused, "Yes, yes, I do,"
The Fire Orb suddenly magnified in size, and its flame burned with a much brighter light than before.
"The Divine acknowledges his majesty's words. Recite the Oath along with me, O Brilliant King,"
"I swear to govern the nation as a defender, a ruler with benevolence and wisdom, the flaming hand of justice and law. The tenets of which thy forefathers had followed will gain its respect and scrutiny, and the scourges which scour our lands be purged by the eternal burning fire."
With that, the priestess finalized the oath-taking ceremony, "So be it, the will of the Divine."
She then raised the golden sword and knighted him.
Suddenly, the familiar AI spoke, clearing away the mental heaviness.
[Congratulations! King Ryan Gilamel has completed the Ascension Ceremony.]
[Ascension Ceremony completed. Creating Nation's info...]
[New title Unlocked - King]
[Nation's Info acquired.]
By the time Ryan was finally able to look up, there was a screen hovering next to his face with information that he skimmed through.
[Nation's Info
Nation Name - Ridlockia
Element - Flame
Capital - Red Heart City.
Founder - Eric Gilamel of Ilunia.
Deity - Astrix, goddess of flames.
National Treasure - Eric's Ring.
Average Loyalty - 60
Population - 587,237
Soldiers - 22,800
No of Cities - 3
No of Towns - 7
No of Villages - 18
No of Forts - 2
No of Outposts - 1
Stats
Wealth - 1000
Resources - 1000
Divine Favour - 100
Nation Points (NP) - 100]
He scrutinized the first part tab with a poker face while thoughts kept running through his mind.
'A 1 in 28 ratio of soldiers to people seems a little… strenuous?'
Realizing that this was a world where magic and powers weren't for everyone, and with what he'd witnessed and experienced before arriving here, he found it acceptable to a degree.
'Although almost 600,000 people is still quite small.'
If that was the case, this wasn't a nation.
Noticing the thought made him shake his head and scold himself. 'On earth, there are nations with way less. Why so judgmental? Can you even make basic decisions for yourself, not to talk of handling this many?'
"We will now proceed to the gift-giving ceremony!" Rictor announced.
Ryan felt as though another headache was about to erupt.
As soon as the Counselor had spoken, the first official stepped in front of the whole court, holding an item wrapped in a piece of cloth.
"A Sword?" Ryan looked on with skepticism, staring at the official's info.
[Character Info
Name - …
Title - Court Official (Bronze Rank)
Elemental Affinity - False…
Description
…]
Then he followed up with the sword. It had a flaming crystal wedged between its hilt and its blade, and runes inscribed on its spine.
'It's just like Pierre's weapon.'
[Weapon Info
Name - Affinity Blade
Grade - Rare
Description - A Normal blade can't bring out the full power of an affinity user, hence came the existence of these. All you need is a flaming crystal to aid in its creation and the essence orb of a fire beast to carve this sort of weapon.]
"I beseech the Flaming Hand to honour my gift. An affinity blade forged with runes, made from the best craftsman in…"
As the Official kept talking, Ryan noticed Rictor signalling to the guards below the steps. In a few short moments, the item was taken and delivered to the King's palm before the next official arrived with its own.
One official in particular caught his interest. A man wearing a beanie with a silver plaque on his fabric belt.
Since the whole info load, he knew that there were seven plaques for officials, ranked in the ascending order of wood, stone, copper, bronze, silver, gold, and the highest, which was diamond.
Jade, on the other hand, could not be ranked as it was not for officials but a given privilege to scholars like Rictor.
While the first six were to be climbed like steps, only the last one had to be granted by the King.
"Consul Piers pays his respects to the King!" The Man greeted with a loud voice loud, attracting the whole court's gaze.
"I bring my respects to his majesty from the City State of Arim. The King wishes to extend his heartfelt greetings on his majesty's ascension."
"Oh,"
[CharacterInfo
Name - Consul Piers
Title - Foreign Official
Elemental Affinity - None
Profession - Official
Description
A foreign official from the city-state of Arim, who watches over the welfare of its subjects in Ridlockia. His demeanour stems from the fact that his home is or should be, almost, if not the same strength as all your settlements combined.]
'So he comes from a place where almost, if not more than, 500,000 people live?'
Ryan watched Piers turn to the side and wave his hand towards a group of people. All of a sudden, servants filed towards the steps with a ton of wooden boxes at hand.
The Consul bowed again, "The King of Arim would also like to know when you are open for any discussions."
'Discussions?' Ryan was confused for a second before gauging what the Consul meant.
For now, however, he still had to understand how this world works. Especially when he needed to get back home after the first scene of dealing with a snake.
"Tell your King, I will send him a notice when fate allows me the chance,"
"Very well, your majesty," The Consul bowed, smirking as he and his servants returned to the crowd.
By the time he was finally able to leave the hall, officials had dropped in with gifts, along with trying to sneak in some information which they believed would tinge his interest.
"How sly," Ryan thought as he inspected the ceiling while lying on his back. Clearly, the intent was to ragebait the court and bring out competition.
Such was to be expected, as soon enough they would start clamouring for a Queen.
"Why didn't I get to pick the role of a simple traveller, or at least a wandering adventurer?" He whined.
At least, he could simply ignore it for the meantime and use other matters to understand what was going on.
As he turned to the side and closed his eyes with the intent to sleep off. His ears were blasted with a loud message from the system.
[You have completed your First day as King. Here are Ridlockia's earnings for the day:
Wealth +9
Resources +92
New People +279
New Recruits +25]
Curious, Ryan propped himself and regarded the screen with both a puzzled and annoyed look.
"First day," He repeated, now in the midst of loading all the information dumped on him when a loud knock came from the door.
"Your Majesty, the Royal Dinner is ready."