As we further approached the north, the air became colder and colder.
It was to the point that I would probably get frostbite, so my master had to place some kind of warmth spell upon me.
Sometimes it felt as if he had a spell suited for every occasion.
It made me feel slightly disappointed, as all I could use was magic bullet.
'Surely, one day, I'll be able to use other spells.'
With such idle thoughts, I noticed that Timmy had begun descending.
"Hold on tight."
I found it slightly silly that my master was giving me such advice, considering he was still standing upright with his arms crossed, but I followed it regardless.
Fwoom!
Timmy began a nosedive, and we descended at terrifying speeds, I had to close my eyes and completely focus on holding onto him.
When we landed, the fog that usually coated the tundra had been dispersed.
Contrary to what I expected, there... wasn't much?
It was just a regular part of the tundra, with snow and glacial peaks.
I breathed heavily to calm myself from the violent descent, and asked my master a question.
"Weren't we meant to go to see your forces, or something? I expected some big castle, you know?
"Oh, yes, we'll be heading there, but I had some small business to attend to."
'What kind of business does he have in a barren place like this?"
I decided to simply wait and see.
Sss...
Timmy faded into dust, which returned to my master's hand, after which he began to walk, with me in tow.
I wasn't sure how long we had been walking for, but it felt like it had been nearly two hours.
My master seemingly walked with purpose, yet everything around us felt the same, so I wondered if he was simply walking aimlessly, expecting something to appear.
"I see them. Stay close to me."
I squinted my eyes and looked in the direction my master was facing, but I could not see anything.
But either way, I stood a little closer to him, as if he had said something like that, 'they' must be truly dangerous.
A few minutes later, we had approached eleven tall men.
The shortest of the bunch was six foot tall, equalling my master, with the largest being around seven foot.
They wore the armor of knights, but the design of their helmets were ones I had never before seen.
The grey viser completely covered their face, with eight slits across the helmet, perhaps for sight and airflow.
The most noticeable thing were the spears they held.
The spears each of them had were the exact same, and I tried my hand at analysing one.
[Sanctum Spear]
[These spears have been granted to the knights of the sanctum by their god. They are permanently attached to the bodies of the knights, and cannot be removed, even in death.
Rank: S
Effects: ???]
'S rank?'
It was the highest rank I had seen so far, and if that was not enough, every single one of the knights bore an S rank speak.
My master looked at them silently, and I felt uncomfortable as they stared back with equal silence.
The tallest one, seemingly their leader as identified by his dark blue helmet and armor, approached us.
Then, my master spoke up.
"Before you ask, the kid is my disciple."
The knight in blue armor nodded silently, and faced one of his allies, notioning him to come to his side.
He did so, and I noted his stiff movements.
"The prince asks, what is so special about this boy for you to have chosen him?"
Who this prince was, I had no idea. I was equally confused as to why the knight in blue brought someone else to speak.
Could he not speak for himself?
"It's none of his business. Let's just get on with the deal."
The knight paused before speaking again.
"The prince asks if you have brought what he has requested."
My master ruffled around in his suit pocket, bringing out a small bag.
Unfortunately, I could not analyse whatever was inside the bag.
This whole scenario gave me a slight sense of deja vu, as if I was watching a drug deal back on earth.
The knight took the bag, and to my surprise, did not bother checking the contents.
Without a word, he gave my master another bag.
My master took it quickly, and I could sense that he was not eager to linger around these men.
He turned around, and as we were about to walk away, the knight spoke up.
"The prince... has offered a gift for your apprentice."
'A gift?'
Before my master or I could say anything, something fell from the sky.
There was no explosion on impact, with the thing cleanly piercing the snow.
It was a spear, quite different from the spears the group of knights bore.
It seemed to be made of wood? But upon closer inspection, the material was clearly different.
Upon analysis, my eyes shot open in shock.
[Sanctum of the Unknown]
[???
???
Rank: SSS
?]
An SSS rank item?
Being casually given as a gift?
Before I could say anything, my master spoke on my behalf.
"You... if you're picking a fight, I'll gladly kill you all. Tell him to take that fucking thing back before I obliterate you."
All of a sudden, I felt an intense pressure.
I could barely breathe.
Right now, my master was furious. It was obvious to anyone.
His deep gravelly voice was even lower than usual, and I could not bring myself to turn my head to look at him.
But I could see a faint purple light being emitted from his way.
His cracked skin usually emitted such a light, but right now its intensity had increased tenfold.
The knights in front of me remained still, and the blue helmeted one nodded his head.
I blinked, and the spear was gone, as if it was never there to begin.
Even the snow had been restored to its previous state.
"We're leaving, immediately."
When we walked back a seemingly suitable distance, I had several questions to ask him.
"Who were they, no, why'd you tell them to take the spear back?"
I felt cheated, I was being offered an SSS rank item, yet my master had spat in their faces and told them to fuck off?
I had no reference as to how much power a SSS rank weapon held, but it was surely something phenomenal.
I did not believe he had said such words for no reason, so I had to ask.
"They're knights of the sanctum, as for the spear... it's no more than a shackle, if you had accepted it, you'd become a slave."
A puzzled expression must have been visible on my face, as my master continued.
"You'd have joined a sort of hivemind, and would lose your sense of self. Honestly, it was utterly disgusting for him to try and pull such a trick right in front of me. A mockery, if anything."
I nodded, quietly accepting the explanation.
I had more questions to ask, but judging from the fact that my master was still glowing, it would probably be better for his mood to cool off.
'My sense of self?'
Becoming a slave with no thoughts was something I could never accept.
I guess it was a deal with the devil, of sorts.
Out of everything I had, my freedom was the only thing that mattered to me.
On earth, I lived every day chained under the weight of my poor decisions.
I could not bare such a thing in this life as well.
---
LOG 17 - THE KNIGHTS OF THE SANCTUM
Knights who serve the sanctum prince, a foreign god who dominates the deep north of the continent through his knights. They serve him absolutely, and would not hesitate to die upon his order. Rather than being humans, they are something more akin to machines of war. Their armor is permanently binded to their skin, as is their spear. If they have decided upon an enemy, they will stop at nothing to ensure that they are destroyed.