[Quest Completed. King Ryan Gilamel has survived and earned 2 points.]
There was a long silence in the courtyard as a mix of red and yellow particles scattered across the atmosphere before disappearing, revealing a mummy-like figure wrapped in yellow light.
The paint brush user strolled torwards Ryan with his brush still attached to the whip, "Forgive me, Master, but are we to kill her so soon?"
Ryan frowned even though he knew what the latter meant, "What are you suggesting, that we recruit her?" He asked, raising a brow.
"If you wish for it," Ian replied before bowing.
The doors leading into the courtyard swung open, and a number of soldiers in armour rushed out.
"Astrix's Flames! My King!" came Rictor's exasperated cry as he ran towards the bruised Alric.
In that moment, Ryan felt the submerged pain sprawl out of his back and groaned out of agony. Had it not been for strength, he might have been taken out from the moment he landed on that table.
While gritting his teeth, he looked towards the guards, and eventually pointed at the wrapped assassin.
"Take her to the dungeons."
"And the man with the brush?"
Ryan thought for a while and said, "He's another retainer of mine. Let him be."
The guards obeyed as Ian's whip unraveled from the unconscious maid with a flash, allowing the guards to lock her hands with chains.
"Oof," Ryan groaned as his knees buckled. Luckily, the Counsellor caught him on time.
"Rictor, could you send builders to reconstruct this?" He asked, watching the shed in front of them burn. He really loved the place.
After a moment of observation, he spotted something bizarre. The flames had never expanded beyond the points where they originally torched when he released them, puzzling him greatly.
'Do these flames not expand?'
"Will do, my King. Will do," Rictor's serious tone broke him from his thoughts. With that settled, Ryan was led into his chamber.
Upon landing on the royal bed. The system announced to his ears.
[You have completed your Second day as King. Here are Ridlockia's earnings for the day:
Wealth +11
Resources +97
New People +312
Updated Army
New recruits - 30
No new soldiers were added.]
Despite the stupendous ache that was racking over his entire body, he still managed to force a smile—at least there were rewards for this survival.
'What a dangerous night.'
~~~~
"Update," Ryan thought as soon as he awoke.
[Stats Info
Strength - 14
Agility - 14
Speed - 14
Luck - 14
Charisma - 14
Mana - 34/40
Points - 3
New Spells
Fireball - Instantly hurl a fireball at your enemy.
Costs 1 MP and 3 seconds to cooldown
Do you want to add?]
"Such a life-threatening event and only 3 points?" He snorted.
Apart from that, he didn't gain any unique skills and just a simple fireball.
After rubbing his head in disappointment, he allocated the points to mana and added the spell to his arsenal. Luck could go to the abyss for all he cared.
He remembered the fight of last night, and a certain thought lingered, "Who wants to kill him and why?"
He knocked himself on the head, amused at how stupid the question was, "Obviously a plotter."
"Should I be concerned that the Master is awake and muttering to himself?"
Ryan immediately jittered at the voice as he looked towards a side. Lying against the back of a wall was a man with grey robes and black hair that cascaded towards his neck.
"As soon as the mages were done with treating you. You fell asleep. The Old Man asked me to take watch during the night in case something else happened." said Ian.
"Rictor" Ryan thought, amused.
"Why would he leave only one person?"
Ian shrugged at the question, "I take it that saving you was a good enough reason for him."
'Good enough or suspicious? Maybe he wanted to confirm?'
"Now that you are awake, I have a question to ask." Ian removed his back from the wall and shifted his upper body. Without hesitating, he looked at Ryan and said, "Master Ryan, I am genuinely curious to know how you summoned me."
"What?"
"The last thing I remember is me being dead, buried under a pile of rocks. I have no recollection of what led to it. Since I don't have answers to that. I might as well ask the person who brought me to live how such things were done."
'Necro-shoot Necromancy's not a thing here?' Ryan was starting to get nervous as he didn't have the time to create a response when he saw Ian stand next to his bed, eagerly awaiting a response.
'Oh, that should work.'
The King drew in a long breath, and spoke with an unusually calm tone, "I take it that you're someone long from the past. Let's just say, the ages of then are no longer the same as now, humanity has far progressed from what it was centuries ago. "
There was a long silence where Ian just stared at him blankly. Then slowly, he backed away with a step.
Immediately, the Light User moved away from the bed and went back to resting against the wall, "Very well, Master."
[Sir Ian is skeptical but accepts your answer.]
'Well, it would be strange if he wasn't.'
Suddenly, a sharp noise echoed from behind the chamber's doors, and Ryan rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Ian took the chance to ask the guard, "Yes. Who is it?"
"Pardon me," came the voice of a Soldier. "The Counsellor instructed me to inform the King of the Temple's visit today."
"Temple?" Ryan mumbled as he blinked, feeling a bit distraught by the thought of leaving this room. 'Do we have to go? I'm still recovering.'
Unfortunately, he couldn't because yesterday he'd received treatment from the Effector mages.
He looked at Ian and decided to give the Light user an instruction, "If you don't mind. I have a task for you."
Ian looked at his Master, intrigued by the task, "Oh, and what would that be?"
"I need you to explore the Castle and detail every corner of its structure."
~~~~~
Mounted horse riders eyed their surroundings as their steeds rode through the cobblestone streets.
Onlookers and bystanders would occasionally glance at their flags and a certain figure in the centre, wearing clothes that had golden patterns with a stash, but having a face that was partially covered by a silk mask.
Ryan could spot the tension on the guards' faces as they rode their horses towards a tall, circular, stone building which was surrounded by a square fence.
The entrance was a stone gate, manned by two people in red garments.
They held long spears that had their tip as flaming crystals and had a curly orange cape around their necks.
The riders came to a halt, and Rictor's mount moved forward. "We have come with the one chosen by Astrix," He said, peering from above.
These priest guards or priest warriors seemed unfazed by his reveal and simply reacted by unlocking the gates.
Here, Ryan witnessed the strange appearance of the courtyard.
Hidden behind those walls were stone floors marred with both soot and ash; there was barely a bit of colour other than black and grey, making the place look...desolate.
As they rode in, he was immediately struck with the smell of incense.
Thick incense.
There were no trees, nor weeds nor grasses to spot.
Everywhere, even the lower end of the walls was ashen and black. The top portion, however, remained in its colour as seen from the outside. On top of them were torches, spaced and lit all through the walls.
Finally, they reached the foot of the building, where a set of stony steps were carved to reach the open entrance of the tower. Two people stood guard, but unlike the first two, they held no weapons.
He guessed that those were the original priests.
"Greetings to his grace," The duo bowed slightly before one of them added, "Please descend from your steeds and remove your shoes before you enter."
Ryan wondered if he'd chosen the wrong element. None of this felt right.
When he dismounted from his horse, he could sense an intense heat around the area.
Before he could query about the matter, the Priest added another instruction, "Only the King and the Royal Counsellor may follow."
The guards sent the two a look, but were quickly silenced when the priest's eyes flashed with a shade of red.
A part of him felt intimidated by that move but he soon spotted a small, red mark around the priest's arm. It had the shape of three crimson-coloured arcs, each of which was positioned slightly above the previous one.
Thankfully, the top of the stone stairs was not riddled with soot, so all Ryan had to worry about was the noise of his breath sounding deep inside his ears.
The building was dark. Clearly, no one had bothered with windows cause all they had was the one figure in red and orange holding a torch of burning wood to lead the way.
An unknown amount of time passed, and they reached a staircase to ascend.
Now the Lord of the Nation was starting to feel a strange stillness in his chest; each movement they made returned with an impervious sense of darkness.
Despite the torch being there, it felt as he though he walking deeper into the night with no direction or light. An insatiable need to sleep, to just close his eyes forever and embrace the cold, unseen warmth.
'What wait? I picked Flame, not the Lord of Night, dammit!' He cursed internally, shaking his head as he regained full consciousness over his body.
'My word…is this building cursed or something?'
He cast a glare at Rictor, who kept looking at him with a smile. 'So you knew uhn?' He squinted his gaze in an effort to show his annoyance, "What would have happened if i slept off while walking?"
"I would have woken you up, My King."
"What is up with this place?"
"It is known as the threshold of darkness. Your Majesty." The Priest who was leading them answered.
"Anyone who falls asleep while walking has their soul forever claimed by the spirit of ashes and cinders, The Willock."
"What happens to those caught by the Willock?"
"A great misfortune comes, at times even death."
'Rictor!'
"Hence why we don't approve of someone visiting the temple alone, Willock is one of the six flaming spirits to those who believe in the Flare. One cannot visit the goddess for a powerful thing if they are not powerful in will.
Had His Majesty drowsed even a little bit, I would have been forced to reject your visit and turn you over, else your visit would be disastrous."
'Ouch.'
When it seemed as though they would keep walking forever, a dim light appeared. Gently, the light's intensity increased, and before he knew it, they were finally out.
"The King's fortitude is quite good," The Priest commented as they walked about the clean floor that allowed sunlight. No more blackened steps to remember.
Feeling relieved, Ryan sighed before turning to the two golden doors. The priest stepped to it, held one of the handles, and slammed it down.
Gurg!
He repeated the same action twice before a response was given. The doors were unlocked as the Priest ushered him forward.
Upon treading in, the doors locked with a slam. At that moment, he remembered Rictor.
"The Counsellor will have to wait," A feminine voice expressed.
Ryan switched his head to his front and frowned after seeing a stone table with an incense burner on top and a patterned raffia carpet below.
"An honour that his majesty has visited." The Voice said again.
A Woman in a long white gown stepped out of a corner and sat on the carpet. Then she looked at Ryan with a pair of red eyes, each holding a tetragon within.
"Emissary of Astrix," She said with a start, "The Divine Envoy Esteria welcomes his Majesty to the Divine's threshold."