《Ajax's Ascension (Formerly Gamer Reborn)》 Prologue I woke up at 5 AM on a Saturday morning, drenched in cold sweat, I don¡¯t even remember the dream I had. All I know is that it went south real quick and that I woke up right as it did. Knowing that I couldn¡¯t get back to sleep I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the shower. I just stood there for a few minutes letting the warm water cascade over me in an effort to gather some energy before I got on with all that I had planned for the day. As I grabbed my morning cup of coffee I sat down at the table and started to look through all the letters that came in yesterday, and oddly enough not a single one was bearing any bad news. While this may sound weird to some that looking through letters for bad news and not finding any being a surprise let me explain. Ever since I can remember every night I had a nightmare there was something that day that went really bad or was supposed to go really bad for me. I somewhat started putting it together in middle school, seeing as after every bad dream there was a surprise test that I was not prepared for. That''s not to say that I had a bad dream before every surprise test, it was just those that I had not studied for. By third grade I learnt to trust my gut a bit and sometimes took ¡°sick¡± days after bad dreams and lo and behold I was missing out on some surprise tests. When I told my parents, bragging about my so-called powers (sue me I was 8), all they told me was that it was a coincidence and I mostly agreed with them and tried not to put too much faith in it. I still did last minute cramming and hid cheat sheets after every dream because why tempt fate, but it was all superstitious and not something I took seriously. That is until the day in my senior year of highschool when I had the worst one yet. I woke up with a headache and it just wouldn¡¯t go away. The weird thing was that it happened on a Sunday and I thought I had nothing to worry about. That was true until I heard the doorbell at 7PM and opened the door to two police officers that informed me my parents were in a car crash with a drunk driver and they didn¡¯t make it. They had been in a crash with the son of some important politician in the local community who managed to pull some string to get him off with just probation. As I ransacked the letters and found nothing in there I relaxed a bit, at least I wasn¡¯t getting evicted, so instead I went to my PC and started looking through emails. Maybe there was a clue in there about how my day could take a turn for the worse. And there it was an email from my boss telling me that they no longer needed my services and that I was being let go. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The jewellery store I had worked at for the past 4 years just fired me out of the blue. Well I say that, but I suspect it had something to do with an argument I heard last week between the boss and his wife. Now it wasn¡¯t an all out yelling match and I only picked up a few words outside the room but it was enough for me to figure out what had happened with today''s email. She had come to ask her husband to do a favour for her sister, I picked up something about a nephew needing a job from her side and something about a lazy good for nothing from him but I guess nepotism still wins out in the end. After I learnt just how unfair the world was I started to just focus on becoming someone who couldn¡¯t be just swept under the rug, I focused a lot on my studies and got into a college to study architecture with a partial scholarship and used all my free time studying or playing video games. They were the only outlet where I could enjoyably interact with strangers without spending the first few hours being an awkward introvert. It was also what I had planned on doing for the rest of the day to blow off some steam. I was pretty upset about losing the job, but I was two months away from finishing college and having to look for a better job anyway, so I was mostly just upset at why I got fired more than the fact that I got canned. After a full day of bad luck playing online I decided it would be fine to just go out to a bar and handle my anger by jumping in the bottle, since I was free tomorrow anyway. I was tripping my way back home, after running out of cash drinking cheap vodka at the bar, when all of a sudden an angry voice started yelling at me. ¡°Give me all the cash you got!¡± I felt a strong grip drag me into an alley and I felt the barrel of a gun pressed to my head. With a small chuckle my inebriated self decided that the best response was ¡°Thanks for helping me look, the barkeep told me I was out¡±. Clearly that was not the answer the mugger was looking for as next thing I know I feel a fist hitting me in the jaw. The mugger then grabs a hold of my wrist and tries to wrench the watch off. Drunk as I am, I lose my balance and go tumbling over. I fall right and top of him and the next thing I know I hear a BANG. As I am floating in that darkness I see my whole life flash before me over and over again. It was then that I realised that the poor needed to work hard from the very beginning if they were to ever have a chance at making something of themselves. My early happy years with my family were the only memories I did not regret though looking back I was disappointed in myself. I had been so carefree back then doing nothing but messing around playing video games. The only productive part of my whole childhood had been learning to speak and write Chinese, and even that I had done just to placate my mom, who insisted I learn a second language, so I picked the first one I could find that nobody around me would understand. After the accident as I decided to get my life on track, I had barely a few months in which, through a lot of hard work, I managed to get my partial scholarship. This lead me to neglecting everything else like my diet and exercise.That then lead me to gaining weight and having a poor social life through my college years, with barely a few one night stands in the parties after end of term exams, comprising my social life as the job working to pay the rest of my tuition and housing drained me of all my energy. To finally getting killed in the back of an alley one night. I had lost track of how many times I went through the loop while I was floating in the void when I heard the words. ¡°What do we have here? A mortal soul travelling through the void, I wonder how you managed not to get pulled back into the river of rebirth.¡± ¡°I could hand you over to be put where you belong but I so despise contacting Death, may as well let you there all on your own the normal way.¡± As the last word ended I felt like I was spinning no longer knowing which way is up and then I lost whatever consciousness I had had in the void. Chapter 1 I woke up to being surrounded on all sides by what I thought were giants, as the bright light and loud sounds confused me I felt myself being picked up and lowered into water then being tightly wrapped up in something as I was passed from one giant to another. This one just held me to her chest and smiled at me. I had tried moving but found I had no strength being wrapped up as I was, I had tried talking but only weird cries came out from my mouth. Through it all the woman holding me was heaving in deep breaths but seemed happy. As I continued to struggle and shriek I felt myself getting more and more sleepy until I just blacked out. It had taken me two weeks of doubting my own sanity to come to two conclusions, one that I had been reborn, and let me tell you this is the one I think has a lower chance of being what happened, and the other that the shot I took to the head had not killed me but left me mentally insane. But I decided that since there was nothing I could do about the second choice I might as well go with the first and treat this as me actually being reborn.
The first thing I realized about being reborn is that all the stories you read about it happening put one hell of a good spin on being a baby. Being unable to move on your own, lift your own head or control your bowels is something I was happy about not remembering my first time around going through all this. All the previous knowledge and understanding I had did not help me with the instinctual need for food or suppressing the instinct to ask for that food by straining my vocal cords to the limit. The only issues with my methods being that they were identical to the ones for asking to get changed from sitting in my own filth, luckily enough my mother seemed pretty adept at telling the difference between the two quickly and has always handled it efficiently.
It has been around a month now since my birth and I was starting to get an understanding of the consistency of my new family. In this world I was not an only child, far from it in fact as it seemed that besides my parents I also had an older brother who looked to be about 14 , and an older sister aged about 7. Without understanding the language however everything I heard seemed to go in one ear and out the other, the best I could figure out my brother¡¯s name was Tom and my sister¡¯s Judy, as for my parents from the similar forms of address I was guessing they were calling my parents different words for ¡°mom¡± and ¡°dad¡± and hadn¡¯t been yet able to figure out their names. Having to take 12 naps a day as well as everyone always baby-speaking to me made it hard to try and pick up the language but I figured out ¡°mom¡± and ¡°dad¡± in another day and had wanted to try to surprise them by speaking. My plans all went out the window however when I figured out that for that my vocal cords were working and I could scream for all I was worth, my new body''s tongue and lips didn¡¯t have the muscle memory in order to create the sounds I wanted. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. That night as I was trying to figure out how to speak everything changed. I was staring blankly in concentration at the wall of my crib when in front of my eyes a block of text appeared: Status : Name : Ajax Level :1 Experience : 0/100 Traits: Child, Divine Witness Health: 20/20 Mana: 70/70 Stamina : 5/10 Vitality : 2 Strength : 1 Endurance : 1 Dexterity : 1 Intellect : 25 Wisdom : 16 Mind : 7 Perception : 4 Stat Points : 0 Skills : Nothing made sense, it wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t know what this was, I had read enough stories that I had tried in those first 2 week for more hours than I¡¯m comfortable admitting to try to bring up something like this but nothing worked yet now it pops up out of nowhere for no discernable reason in the middle of the night. The fright sends my infant instincts into overdrive and I start bawling my eyes out. It takes seconds for my mother to come into the room, disheveled as if she had just woken up, and check if I am hungry or in need of changing. When she reasons that I am not in need of food or a new cloth diaper she starts to worry. I next see my dad coming into the room sleepily rubbing his eyes as he listens to the worried torrent of words coming from my mother only to say a soft calm reply. As soon as he finished his words my mom get a look of realization on her face after which she calms down and puts sways me to sleep. Naturally I try to resist, after she successfully calmed me down I try to figure out what happened and what is this Status. Unfortunately my past few hours of learning to speak combined with the drowsiness from calming down from a tantrum lets her gently put me to sleep without me figuring anything else out.
Silvia P.O.V : The sound of Ajax crying woke me up, looking out the window lets me see it must be the middle of the night, and I slowly get out of bed and walk over to the baby room next door. Thomas and Judy are managing to sleep on the other side of the house so I hurry to quiet him down before he wakes them up. I reach in the crib and lift him up to check if he needs to be changed but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the issue. Afterwards I try to feed him but it seems that he isn¡¯t hungry either. Its at this point that I start to get worried. Yes babies are known to cry for no reasons but this is the first time Ajax has done so. ¡°I don¡¯t know what''s happened! He¡¯s not hungry and he¡¯s clean, he just won¡¯t stop crying.¡± I worriedly tell Sam as I see him enter the room. He looks at me with tired eyes and seems to think for a moment then calmly responds. "It''s the first day of Summer, his status must have just unlocked and it scared him¡±. Hearing the logical reason I realize that yes it does make sense. Being awake at all hours to feed the baby I had lost track of days and didn¡¯t notice that today was the first day of Summer. I instantly relaxed and started to calm Ajax down then put him to sleep. Chapter 2 I wake up to a few rays of sun getting through the window and try to twist my head to get the light out of my eyes when I remember the scene last night and I¡¯m instantly awake. I tentatively try to pull up my status and sure enough the same thing as last night appears. Status : Name : Ajax Level :1 Experience : 0/100 Traits: Child, Divine Witness Health: 20/20 Mana: 70/70 Stamina : 10/10 Vitality : 2 Strength : 1 Endurance : 1 Dexterity : 1 Intellect : 25 Wisdom : 16 Mind : 7 Perception : 4 Stat Points : 0 Skills : As well as something I didn¡¯t see last night. In the small bottom left of my vision is a small blinking dot. I focus on it to see what it may mean and am presented with a message. ¡°Trait ¡°warning of misfortune¡± found, trait affects future sight. Future sight is not the domain of mortals, trait forcibly removed. Removed trait has left a hole, survival without a trait is impossible. New trait granted by @#$%^. Trait Divine Witness gained. ¡° I try to think ¡°close¡± and the message disappears. I also try bringing it up again and find I can¡¯t do it, this leads me to the decision that all actions on my status are permanent. Next I focus on the trait ¡°Child¡± and a new message is presented to me. ¡°Child - Temporary trait Status points cannot be allocated. Incremental increase of all stat points by 10 throughout the duration. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Stat points do not affect ageing. Gaining skills grants Experience. Levelling skills grants Experience. Crafting Experience gain stopped. Killing Experience gain stopped. Upon expiration or removal Trait Apprentice is gained for half the duration Child has persisted. Time remaining : 150 cycles. ¡° Closing that, I focus on my other trait. ¡°Divine Witness - Permanent trait Affinity with all skills greatly increased. Ease of levelling skills increased. Ease of forcibly gaining stat points slightly increased. Stat points gained per level increased by 2. Skill level limits increased by 50. This trait cannot be forcibly revealed.¡± I then try to focus on Health but nothing happens. That seems to be the case for all of my other stats. They come with no explanation, not that I don¡¯t find them self-explanatory. With that out of the way I reread through my two traits and focus on one part that bothers me when compared to all the games I have ever played: ¡°Ease of forcibly gaining stat points slightly increased.¡± I try to figure out what that could mean and my status changes in front of my eyes. Status : Name : Ajax Level :1 Experience : 0/100 Traits: Child, Divine Witness Health: 20/20 Mana: 70/70 Stamina : 10/10 Vitality : 2.00 Strength : 1.00 Endurance : 1.01 Dexterity : 1.00 Intellect : 25.00 Wisdom : 16.00 Mind : 7.00 Perception : 4.00 Stat Points : 0 Skills : Ah, I see, so increases in stat points don¡¯t count until they reach a full point but their progress can be tracked, which leads me to my next question, What did I do to increase my Endurance? The only thing that stands out to me is that my stamina went from 5/10 to 10/10. So simply using and regenerating stamina increases my endurance, that doesn¡¯t seem all that bad. Reasoning that there is nothing else I can do I start struggling and flexing my legs and arms hoping that by doing so I will not only strengthen my muscles to the point that I can crawl so that I have some mobility but that I also use up some of my stamina. Sure enough 20 minutes later I am at 1 stamina and too tired to move any more but my mind is still wide awake and alert, so I do the only thing that seems to make sense try to focus on myself so that I can feel for my mana, after all if spending and regaining stamina gains endurance similarly spending and regenerating mana must increase a stat as well. Two hours later I finally feel a strange energy inside of myself and am jilted out of my concentration. Pulling out my stats now gives me something different : Status : Name : Ajax Level :2 Experience : 50/200 Traits: Child, Divine Witness Health: 20/20 Mana: 70/70 Stamina : 2/10 Vitality : 2.00 Strength : 1.00 Endurance : 1.01 Dexterity : 1.00 Intellect : 25.00 Wisdom : 16.00 Mind : 7.00 Perception : 4.00 Stat Points : 22 Skills : [Meditation Lvl 2 ][Sense Mana Lvl 1] The thing I notice is that I no longer need to focus to sense the mana inside of me. I then try using the mana for something but that is where I get stumped, it goes to reason that for something to regenerate it must be used up first but other than feeling my mana I don¡¯t seem to be able to do anything with it. It takes 5 minutes of exertion to finally get my mana to release from me and am prompted that I have now gained the skill [Mana Expulsion Lvl 1] sadly my focus on releasing mana also helped me release something else. Fuck it, if that''s what it takes that''s what it takes. So with my victory of having learned how to sense and reduce my mana being left with only 10/70 I give the house the morning wake up cry that I have soiled myself again, all the while thinking that after all my hard work I could go for a meal. Interlude - Maps This is the world Map, roughly as I imagine it, There are a lot of rivers running through it which is how everybody gets their water.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. This is the area around Open Caves. I hope this will help with people seeing into what I hope to make as I have found writing a map description is not one of my strengths. Chapter 166 With the arrangements made Ajax quickly took his leave. Walking away from the school however Ajax quickly realized that his plans for today were flawed. He had initially intended to spend today setting up all of the bee hives that were made while he was in the dungeon, doing that however ran the serious risk of either getting him an achievement or a new trailblazer skill that would mean he would lose a free achievement. His destination didn¡¯t change at all however as he made his way towards Luna¡¯s house so he could change out of the fancy clothes he was wearing now and then he planned to go through the city and get some furniture for his newly built house. ¡°So how did the meeting go?¡± Hatchet asked him after he got changed. ¡°Went really well, I got offered a position as a teaching assistant.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°You did?¡± Luna asked, surprised. ¡°I was pretty sure all of the teachers already had their slots filled.¡± ¡°They do.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°All but Silvertongue. He is starting teaching this year so he has his slot open. The headmaster bent the rules a bit by letting me be the assistant for his homeroom class instead of him personally.¡± ¡°Silvertongue?¡± Luna looked confused hearing the name. ¡°Since when do the Silvertongues have someone good enough to teach at the academy?¡± ¡°I am guessing that would be Abbot Silvertongue.¡± Alfred jumped in. While Luna became adept in dealing with politics since she has been a guild master she didn¡¯t have his breadth of knowledge on nobility. ¡°He was something of a black sheep, a real talent when it came to magic and fighting but not so much in terms of politics. If I was to guess his family forced him to take this position just to have someone keeping an eye on the incoming class.¡± That statement certainly cleared up quite a bit about the professor to Ajax, his perpetual poker face and the irritability that he felt through the man¡¯s aura when it came to the functions of his job. He just didn¡¯t want to be doing it but couldn¡¯t refuse it either. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should congratulate or pity you Ajax.¡± Alfred followed up. ¡°Why is that?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Because you are the perfect opportunity to get his family off his back in these next six years. While no doubt every strong noble family will be trying to entice you to join them, his has a duty to provide you with the delving opportunities you need.¡± Alfred placed a tea in front of Ajax. ¡°At least for the first year or so they will be bending over backwards to get you whatever requests you have hoping to give you a good impression of them, all while also trying to recruit you at every turn.¡± While Ajax wasn¡¯t excited to hear that, now that he had seen a bit of concrete proof that he wouldn¡¯t be forcibly recruited even with nobles knowing a lot about his abilities, he was willing to put with an aggressive pitch to join in exchange for easy access to the dungeons. ¡°So what are your plans now?¡± Hatchet asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to be buying some furniture today and getting the newly built house ready, thankfully it is pretty close to the academy so I won¡¯t be crossing half the capital every morning.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Tomorrow I have to go in early to get my uniform and Achievement taken care of.¡± ¡°Oh? And what achievement is this?¡± Hatchet asked with curiosity. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Right, I totally forgot to mention this last night since the duke being here caught me by surprise. I got an achievement called Trailblazer, part of its reward is that the next achievement I gain will have its discoveries cost ignored.¡± that¡¯s as far as Ajax got with his explanation before he was interrupted. ¡°What?!¡± Luna asked, almost crushing the tea cup in her grasp. ¡°What kind of achievement is that? And more importantly how do you get it?¡± ¡°The achievement is for being the first to ever gain a skill. It increases said skill by two ranks and makes your next achievement free in terms of discoveries. Not only that but you can gain its rewards multiple times so long as you keep gaining Trailblazing skills.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually a fitting achievement. Which skill was it that you managed to gain?¡± Luna asked. ¡°I¡¯d rather keep that to myself.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh! Sorry I didn¡¯t mean to pry, I know how combatants are about their skills.¡± Luna quickly apologized. ¡°No, it''s not that.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s just that I think there might be some other Trailblazing skills that come as an offshoot from it and I would like to get those rewards as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Luna said. ¡°But I would like to ask that you don¡¯t keep it hidden for too long, a big part of gaining skills is natural talent so if you don¡¯t gain any in a year or two could I ask that you share it so that others can have a chance?¡± Ajax simply nodded since he had already made a similar deal with the headmaster, after all he wasn¡¯t about to reveal that he had a massive increase in natural potential that meant the only skills he wouldn¡¯t gain would be some that he would be particularly bad at. ¡°So what achievement are you getting tomorrow?¡± Hatchet moved the point forward. ¡°They¡¯re helping me get ¡®Enigma¡¯ . It''s supposed to grant me a Legendary tier privacy skill.¡± Ajax said ¡°You might want to reschedule that, they might have someone reading your skills there to learn your trailblazing skill.¡± Luna tried to warn him. ¡°I thought of that too, the headmaster agreed that there would be none there who would be able to do that.¡± That Luna actually relaxed at that gave Ajax a lot more confidence that he wasn¡¯t being tricked. The only reason he was willing to even risk getting his skills inspected was that beekeeping could be found just as easily by having someone tail him for a week. Having changed his clothes and enjoyed a filling breakfast Ajax spent the rest of the day collecting furniture and ferrying another thirty wooden hives to his plot of land. He made sure to just dump them there and didn¡¯t even set them up just in case that would be enough to trigger something. As night came Ajax had finished setting up the furniture. While he wouldn¡¯t be living in this house all that long as he planned for it to be a gift to his brother and Kate it is still the first house he bought and the first time he was living alone since he was reborn in this world. Sure he had technically slept alone in a tent when he went delving but that didn¡¯t really count. Surprisingly sleep was hard to by as he laid on the straw mattress. He spent his time trying to remember all that he could about beekeeping. He knew that smoke would make them more docile, not that he had any issues with them since his stats made him practically impervious to the normal bees but more that there might be a skill in there for him. Gathering the honey definitely didn¡¯t have a skill for him as people had been gathering honey from wild hives for centuries if not millenia. An interesting thought came to him when he thought about planting flowers all around the hives and infusing them with mana. Would the fact that the pollen came from mana infused flowers matter? He knew different flowers were used back on earth depending on what the honey would be used for after but he didn¡¯t know any specifics. Ajax didn¡¯t remember when he fell asleep thinking about honey but he felt rested when he got up the next day. He felt determined to get a blacksmith and a leatherworker together and have them make a proper mattress for him sometime soon as he straightened out his back. A quick wash later he got dressed, grabbed a sandwich to go and made his way over to the academy. Unlike yesterday the guards on duty simply opened the gates for him. Ajax was slightly surprised at that since they weren¡¯t the same guards as yesterday. The wary and incredulous looks they were giving him made Ajax feel like Dave had shared with them the outcome of their spar. As he was about to pass the gates he suddenly remembered a small issue. ¡°Where can I find Professor Silvertongue¡¯s office?¡± he asked the guards, he had never actually seen where on the first floor it was since he had gone straight to the headmaster¡¯s office yesterday. With the specific direction he got it took him another minute to get to the correct room in front of which he saw twenty people talking together with the headmaster and professor Silvertongue besides them. ¡°There you are Ajax.¡± the headmaster greeted him. ¡°Everyone, if you could please inspect the young man, I have a rather busy schedule I would like to get on with.¡± Ajax was surprised to see the headmaster come in person. He even got slightly alarmed when he noticed that all twenty people stared at him and yet nothing happened. Ten seconds, then twenty went by yet still nothing came of it. ¡°Why is nothing hap-¡± Ajax started to say after a while but he stopped as he got the notification. Achievement: Enigma Be inspected by twenty different people within one minute. Have no privacy skills. Requires twenty Discoveries to earn : Requirement fulfilled by Trailblazer Reward : [Enigma] skill. Chapter 167 Name : Ajax Level :31 Experience : 2910/55100 Traits: Divine Witness Health: 2240/2240 Mana: 2250/2250 Stamina :1850/1850 Vitality : 224 Strength :185 Endurance :185 Dexterity : 185 Intellect : 225 Wisdom : 225 Mind : 225 Perception : 185 Stat Points :0 Skills : New : Beekeeping Trailblazer 0 -> 1 Enigma 0 -> 1 Upgrades: Cooking 25 -> 26 Mathematics 25 -> 26 Deception 26 -> 27 Ajax pulled up his status and confirmed the appearance of the new skill. Just like his [Berserker] and [Mana Skin], both of which also came as a reward for an achievement, [Enigma] showed up slightly differently, not only that but it also came with an innate understanding of what the skill did. [Enigma] did indeed work just like advertised, he could innately influence a false status screen that would appear if someone without the skill level to penetrate it would receive while being none the wiser about it. Not only that however it also allowed him to fully block any inspection skill and send a small backlash instead. This was interesting and something he will have to test out. ¡°My Lord, who is this?¡± one of the people that inspected him asked professor Silvertongue, though his eyes never left Ajax. ¡°This is Ajax, he will be starting today as the teaching assistant for my homeroom class. If you could please inform my father that I will be required to provide some delve slots for him in the near future upon your return that would be of help.¡± Professor Silvertongue answered, a brief smugness oozing through his aura before he quickly got it under control. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°This can¡¯t be right, sir.¡± another said. ¡°He is only level thirty-one and somehow has one thousand six hundred and thirty-nine stats. Is this some sort of new deception skill?¡± Both the headmaster and professor Silvertongue turned to look at Ajax at that. Both had known he was powerful but finding out what his total stats were was still a bit surprising. ¡°No, that should be correct.¡± The headmaster said. He was surprised the total was so low, the amount of mana he displayed in his fight should put him close to the eight hundred mark but his physicals should be similar if not slightly greater, add his vitality and perception on to that and it would be close to two thousand. ¡°You are more and more interesting every day, but I realize today is not the day to push on this.¡± ¡°Headmaster?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°If you could just humor me. Is whatever you are using to boost your physical abilities easy to replicate?¡± the headmaster asked. ¡°No.¡± Ajax said looking at his original Legendary skill. ¡°If you are ever looking to test the limits of your methods I would be happy to help.¡± he said as he took his leave. ¡°Right then, thank you for your help.¡± Professor Silvertongue addressed the twenty people, most of whom had yet to stop staring at Ajax. ¡°Ajax, follow me we still have to get your uniform sorted out.¡± Ajax followed the professor through the halls until they reached a large room marked ¡®Uniform Storage¡¯. The professor offered two quick polite knocks but entered without waiting for an answer. ¡°Madam Riggly?¡± he asked as he entered. Ajax followed after him and was slightly surprised to see a small old dwarf sitting at a sewing machine. Despite the fine metalwork it was still operated by a pedal underneath the workbench. ¡°Is this him?¡± the old dwarf asked as she sprung up from her chair with an agility that Ajax hadn¡¯t expected. ¡°Yes¡± the professor confirmed before he turned to Ajax. ¡°Go on then, introduce yourself.¡± ¡°Hi Madam Riggly, I am Ajax.¡± Ajax did as instructed. ¡°You¡¯re a tall one aren¡¯t you?¡± she said looking up at him, she was about half his size. ¡°Well then let''s get to work, we don¡¯t have much time.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t aware where she got the measuring tape from or how she could get any accurate measurements from just swinging and wrapping it around him, though he did stay perfectly still in hopes of not getting in her way. ¡°Not too bad overall, shoulders are the only issues with a standard large uniform a bit tighter around the waist as well. I¡¯ll be done within the hour.¡± she proclaimed as she disappeared into the back of the storeroom.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Ajax called out behind her. ¡°Alright, come on now we will be back in an hour to get you dressed.¡± Professor Silvertongue said as he turned to leave. ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°To get you everything else you¡¯ll need.¡± Professor Silvertongue curtly replied. The two came back the same way they came and were heading straight for the professor''s office and went straight past it to the next door. ¡°Here we are.¡± he said as he opened the door. Inside Ajax saw a neat office, one maybe a third of the size of the one the professor had. The desk was loaded with books as well as a few sharpened pencils and a few blank sheets of paper. ¡°This will be your office,¡± he said. ¡°Most teaching assistants have their own research they are doing on the side but this space should be good enough for you to study while taking full advantage of the academy''s resources. Should you want to start your own research, feel free to do so as long as you can keep up with your classes and if you need any help reach out to me.¡± Ajax silently inspected the office and found the furniture to be of much better quality than the one he just bought for his own home, he had initially set up an office there but he had a feeling it would just be there for anything he didn¡¯t want to leave lying around here. He had already planned on sharing his discoveries on the Status Page with the nobility as he already did with Luna and doing it as a research project within the academy seemed like a great idea to him. ¡°What is this?¡± Ajax said as his eyes drew to a beautiful ring that was left of his desk next to all the books. ¡°That would be a storage ring.¡± the professor said. ¡° It is mine but I will be lending it to you for as long as you remain as a teaching assistant, it should help you with the logistics of carrying everything you need to every class.¡± ¡°How do I use it?¡± Ajax asked as he picked up the ring all the while cheering in his head at having found a true storage device. ¡°The ring is very basic, it has no locking enchantment on it and is only the size of a one meter side cube. Simply slide it on a finger and will it to access the space.¡± the professor guided him. Ajax did as he was told. It was a weird feeling seeing the empty storage space in his mind without the use of his eyes, definitely something that would take some getting used to. ¡°To store an item it has to be touching the ring while you think about pulling it inside.¡± the explanation continued. ¡°It does not work on living things, nor on anything touching a living thing. It also doesn¡¯t work on anything that is infused with mana.¡± Ajax pulled one of the books inside the ring and pulled it back out. Everything was instinctively simple to do. ¡°Do be careful in your time here. Just because your ring can¡¯t store items that are in contact with you doesn¡¯t mean some of the other students here won¡¯t have one that can.¡± a small frown flashed over his face so quickly Ajax thought he imagined it. ¡°I suggest keeping a small amount of mana coursing through your uniform at all times to prevent some unmannered pranks.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Ajax said as he moved the ring to his right hand pointer finger. ¡°Now this ring is a loan. I would suggest leaving it in your office when you leave school. That way should it go missing for some reason you won¡¯t be held liable. You are welcome to also go home with it but should someone steal it you will have to find a way to replace it.¡± the professor said. Ajax spent the rest of the hour practicing with the ring while the professor went to his own office to get things ready for the first class. Both of them went back to the uniform storage room to collect a very comfortable elegant uniform. After getting changed into it Ajax followed the professor back to his office. ¡°Your first class of every day will be with me in that room over there.¡± he pointed to the room that had a few students going in and out of it. ¡° After that you should follow the rest of the students for their next classes. As a teaching assistant you will sit at one of the desks that have their back to one of the sides of the class. At the end of every school day do check your office as I will leave any work I need you to do on your desk. Any questions?¡± Ajax did have a few questions but it wasn¡¯t anything important or that he wouldn¡¯t find out shortly by simply going to class. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Alright then, off you go, always try to arrive before the teacher unless they are teaching in that room since the last lesson. Some of them get cranky about it.¡± With that he entered his office and Ajax set off towards the classroom. Chapter 168 Ajax took five steps towards the classroom before he realized that the ring on his finger didn¡¯t have anything to write with or anything to write on. He quickly popped into his office and shoved two pencils, a sharpener and a small notebook into the ring before he headed towards the classroom. Looking at the other students that were messing around in the hall, Ajax noticed a few distinctions between his uniform and the one that the students who decided to wear one had. Unlike theirs his had a star surrounding the academy¡¯s emblem that adored the pocket on the chest of the uniform. While that was the first thing he focused on the second was the weapons they all carried. The quality of the weapons was superb, more so from the ones that weren¡¯t wearing the school''s uniform and instead they wore their own fancy clothes with a school emblem pinned somewhere on their chest. In terms of ability the swords seemed to match the same level as his own blade that he took from one of the recruiters but theirs were obviously lighter and usable by level twenty-threes. For the wands and staffs he didn¡¯t have a point of reference however the amount of jewels adorning some of them and the mana he could feel in them made it clear that they were even more valuable. Surprisingly however, of the ten students in the hall only one of them carried a ring that felt similar to the one professor Silvertongue gifted him and the wearer looked a bit younger than everyone else. ¡°Who are you?¡± one of the students who didn¡¯t have a uniform on asked him as Ajax approached the entry to the classroom. ¡°I¡¯m a teaching assistant assigned to this class.¡± Ajax said with as humble of a voice as he could manage. Despite having a better opinion of the nobles in the capital after the last few days he definitely didn¡¯t want to be picking a fight. He directly gave his answer and entered the class heading straight for one of the desks on the side of the room. Inside the class there were fifteen more students, this would make the class total twenty-five, well twenty-six if he counted himself as he would always be a tag along for them. In total only ten of the twenty-five were wearing their uniforms. He had been told that on the first days only the children of barons, marquis and commoners would be wearing a uniform as the dukes would be looking to represent their houses but that number should increase as the less well off ducal houses would be in uniform outside of special events. The first thing that arrested his attention was the staff Annabeth had lying against her desk, the crown was formed by five smaller gems surrounding a bigger one. The smaller gems were about the same size as the ones other students had as their main gem, as for the bigger one Ajax could fire mana inside it. The second object to catch his attention was a sword left unattended on top of a desk in the back. The handle presented two medium size gems in cross guard as well as one in the pommel, judging it by how the formations felt he could tell that the two gems on the sides were used to power an Enchantment while the last one was for a runic magic formation. Whoever it belonged to was clearly a spell wielding melee fighter like himself. As Ajax was setting up his desk he and the other students were measuring each other. Looking at the spread it seems that there were three clicks forming in the class. The first was formed by the ten students outside, the second was gathered around Annabeth and the third was a group of nine sitting at their desks, with everything prepared waiting for the teacher. As he was looking out over the class he realized that one person he was expecting wasn¡¯t here. ¡°Ajax, you finally made it.¡± Lexi greeted him from the doorway as she made her way towards him with her usually bubbly personality. ¡°I was wondering if you were going to be late on the first day.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Lexi¡¯s entrance shattered the standoffish atmosphere. While the students sitting at their desks turned back to talking to each other and only occasionally giving him a glance, the ones that were surrounding Annabeth were giving him friendly smiles. It took Ajax a few moments to catch up to what happened. Lexi was clearly part of Annabeth¡¯s group and with her greeting Ajax like that it all but marked him as one of theirs. ¡°Ajax, was it?¡± one of the boys that were grouping around Annabeth¡¯s desk approached him. ¡°Those desks are for teaching assistants, why don¡¯t you take this one?¡± he said as he pointed towards one of the free desks on what he realized was Annabeth''s side of the room. Ajax was quickly putting together what the social situation was going to be inside the classroom. The class had already split into three according to the powerful houses that had a member in this class. Annabeth was Archduke Goldmancer¡¯s daughter and the boy in the middle of those seated promptly displayed the sigil of Archduke Steelblade which meant that the boy wearing outside in the hall was prince. ¡°Oh no, Ajax is really a teaching assistant.¡± Lexi answered for him once she noticed that Ajax was thinking about something else. Ajax politely nodded back to her after her answer brought him back from his own thoughts. ¡°What? But he looks young enough to be part of the class, let alone a teaching assistant.¡± the boy exclaimed. Some of the people here were around the limit of twenty-one years old as their families kept them from enrolling so they would join the class with a member of the core archducal houses. His exclamation was heard by all despite not being very loud as all the students outside were entering the class and heading towards the back of the room. Nobody however had a chance to ask the questions obviously floating in their minds as professor Silvertongue followed the last student into the room. ¡°Everyone find your seats.¡± he said as he strode towards the main desk in front of the class. ¡°As I hope you all remember from two nights ago I am professor Silvertongue and I will be your homeroom teacher for the next six years. Any questions before we begin?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± the same boy who questioned Ajax in the hall stood up. ¡°Who is he?¡± he asked, pointing at Ajax. ¡°Please stand up Ajax.¡± the professor addressed him before turning back to the class. ¡°This is Ajax. Due to a few special circumstances Ajax here was assigned as a teaching assistant to your class specifically and will be joining you for the next six years.¡± ¡°If I may, sir.¡± One of the boys who had been seated at his desk before Abbot came raised his hand and waited. ¡°Go on,¡± Professor Silvertongue prompted. ¡°I was under the impression that the Academy didn¡¯t bend over special circumstances.¡± A few in the class snickered at his statement but were quickly cut off by a sharp glare from Abbot Silvertongue. ¡°That is usually the case but your class as a whole is somewhat special.¡± Abbot said. ¡°How so?¡± the boy pushed. ¡°And what makes him so sp-?¡± The boy cut himself off when the member of house Steelblade frowned at him. ¡°How so? Well first of all your class has twenty-six students where they normally average around sixteen.¡± Professor Silvertongue started. ¡°Secondly, I am your homeroom teacher despite this being my first year teaching at the Academy. And lastly, His Highness joined the class roster three days ago despite normal registration limits. While under most circumstances the Academy is removed from politics it isn¡¯t fully insulated.¡± ¡°As for young Ajax here.¡± the professor nodded to him. ¡°His situation is special due to a different reason. Ajax is a special case of the likes of which the academy hasn¡¯t had to deal with before and this was the best possible solution.¡± Ajax felt four people in the class try to use an identification skill on him at that. Since he hadn¡¯t set up any fake information all four of them suffered the backlash of [Enigma] and winced. ¡°How so?¡± one of the girls sitting by Annabeth asked after she recovered from the backlash. ¡°Ajax is the only commoner that is part of this year''s class.¡± the professor started and a number of the students gave disapproving looks towards Ajax. ¡°We¡¯ve had commoners be part of the class before.¡± the first student to speak chimed in. ¡°Yes, I too am aware of that, if you would be quiet I will explain this to you.¡± Abbot rebuffed him. ¡°As I was saying, as a commoner Ajax will have quite a busy few weeks at the start catching up with some of the knowledge that your families have imparted to you as part of your basic education. This normally doesn¡¯t stop commoners from joining the class normally.¡± ¡°What is different here is that Ajax has already surpassed level thirty, him joining the class as a student would unbalance quite a few of our tests throughout the year, as I can assure you he is by a solid margin stronger in combat than any of you. As such this was the workaround that was chosen.¡± The professor''s tone marked an end to the topic. Chapter 169 Despite many looking like they had more questions on the subject, professor Silvertongue didn¡¯t give them any more chances to ask questions and moved into the main point of today¡¯s class. Unfortunately for Ajax this first class period was focused on explaining the purpose of the academy, something all of the incoming nobles already knew, meaning most of them were still mostly focused on him. The four pings from [Enigma] in the last ten minutes reassured him of it, even if three of them were from the same persistent boy intent on getting a migraine from the backlash. ¡°The main purpose of this academy is to advance our knowledge in all fields as well as providing as much knowledge to the next generation as possible.¡± Professor Silvertongue said. ¡°One thing that might be different from how some of you may have been tutored in the past is that questions during classes will be kept to a minimum. As many of our lessons as possible are filled with intended blanks to allow you to gain as many discoveries as possible.¡± This was going to be a big change for Ajax who had spent five years asking Hatchet everything that popped into his mind and the years of schooling back on Earth didn¡¯t help as the schools system there also encouraged questions. Abbott went on about some of the great achievements the academy had achieved in the past using this method for quite some time. ¡°This brings up now to your schedules.¡± he said and Ajax focused on what he had to say. ¡°You will be attending in a thirty day cycle. Any absences that are not excused or accounted for by reasonable circumstances will result in punishments, failure to complete a punishment can result in expulsion.¡± This drew Ajax¡¯s attention. While the rules seemed strict there were a lot of qualifying statements there. ¡®Reasonable¡¯ circumstances and ¡®can¡¯ being the main offenders as without diving deeper into it could mean people get away with almost anything depending on their background. He was pretty sure the academy wouldn¡¯t stand for too much pushing but he also knew the prince getting expelled wasn¡¯t ever going to happen based on absences. ¡°For the first eight days of the cycle you will be coming to the academy, mornings will be spent in lectures while afternoons the class will split into physical and magical training. You will have two free days afterwards. ¡° Abbot explained. ¡° The following ten days will consist of preparation, execution and debrief of a class delve. On average we will look to have these delves be six days in length but with the unpredictable nature of the dungeon it pays to be prepared. The final ten days are yours to with as you please.¡± Ajax knew that for their first year there should be no nothing unplanned happening in the delves as they would be delving only the consistent first floors. ¡°Why are we getting such a long break after the delves?¡± One of the students in uniform asked. ¡°The academy and our training instructors will be available to all of you during that free time. However the academy does realize that some houses still train their members in proprietary techniques and that some of our commoner students would need the time to earn money and support themselves and their families.¡± the professor explained. ¡° We heavily encourage you not to waste those days lazing about.¡± ¡°Sir you said that the class will be split into two depending on magical or physical inclination. With Ajax being a teaching assistant for the entire class wouldn¡¯t it be unfair that he only goes with the physical focused members.¡± This time it was a girl not in uniform that spoke up for the first time that day, the evil grin she sent Ajax¡¯s way cemented that she wanted to find fault with him. Something the others picked up on and Ajax appreciated that most shot her a reproachful look at her comment. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Sir, since Ajax and His Highness have a spellblade fighting style, which class would they join?¡± Lexi asked before Abbot had a chance to answer the first question. Nothing in the tone of the question or her expression reflected anything besides innocence yet everyone was well aware of the effect her question had. ¡°His Highness would be able to choose on a day by day basis, while Ajax will be going where the instructors would require of him.¡± Abbot answered. The following hour was spent with various students asking their professor if he had any specific skills outside of the curriculum that he would be willing to teach them. It was a long back and forward but they finally got him to admit to being willing to try and teach them an Epic tier skill in their fourth year and afterwards. The skill¡¯s name was [Mana Break], it was a very mana expensive skill and worked similar to an EMP from back on earth. Pure mana was sent out in an agitated state with the hope of disrupting any spells it encountered. The advantage of the skill was that it worked on runic magic and even enchanted items, though the latter only for a brief period. ¡°That would be all for now.¡± the professor said after the third attempt at getting him to go further in depth about his skill. ¡° Your next course is alchemy and since I doubt your professor has changed since I attended this academy I suggest you not be late to his class.¡± With that Abbot walked out of the room and all the students stood up. Predictably most of them headed for Ajax instead of heading for the door. Ajax knew that this is what would be coming considering the reactions they had to him, both positive and negative. Most of the students approaching him were part of Annabeth''s clique and were looking to start forming a positive relationship with Ajax, Lexi¡¯s interaction with him marked him as someone who would be important in the future. Some were there however to challenge the so-called commoner anomaly. Ajax also knew that him being marked as being above level thirty would be intimidating but it wouldn¡¯t be enough to dissuade some of the stronger students from picking a fight. Six levels worth of stats was something that could be made up for by potions. ¡°Hi, I am ..¡± ¡°How are you¡­¡± ¡°Nice to meet you¡­¡± The lack of communication skills was hitting Ajax hard now as he couldn¡¯t follow along with all the students talking all at once. All of the ones talking seemed to be well intentioned so they slowly fell silent once they realized that he wasn¡¯t able to keep up with them. ¡°Ajax,¡± a voice cut through the recently established silence. ¡° I am Benedict Steelblade. Please know that I mean no disrespect but I would like to challenge you to a duel.¡± Ajax was taken aback at the declaration. He had expected at least two challenges to a duel but he wasn¡¯t expecting the grandson of Archduke Steelblade to be one of the people challenging him. He had planned to give whoever challenged him a decent beating since doing so could also be seen as an insult to the headmaster for granting him the position. But getting on the bad side of the Steelblade family was a bad idea considering that they were in charge of the army should a war ever descend on the kingdom. ¡°Don¡¯t do it Ben.¡± Annabeth spoke for the first time since Ajax had entered the class to someone other than Lexi, and even now she was holding an arm to her ribs where Lexi had just given her a light poke. ¡°And why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Unlike what he expected following the challenge Ben¡¯s tone was filled with pure confusion and didn¡¯t show an ounce of hostility. ¡°Well, let me put it this way, why are you challenging him?¡± she sighed before asking him. ¡°Us Steelblades pride ourselves on our combat ability, a mere six levels should be a gap I could possibly surpass.¡± he said with conviction, however his military bearing stopped it from coming across as overconfidence. It was like he was simply stating a fact. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± Annabeth nodded ¡°If that was it there is no point in a duel.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m asking why? If he is capable of surpassing me I am eager to learn from my defeats.¡± ¡°What she¡¯s saying is that there would be nothing for you to learn.¡± Lexi butted. ¡°If he took you seriously anyway, the difference in power is just too big.¡± ¡°Ben, yesterday he won a spar against Dave.¡± Annabeth said. ¡°And Dave wasn¡¯t holding back.¡± The statement broke the military poker face Ben had on his eyes opening wide in surprise. ¡°For real?¡± he asked. ¡°Yep.¡± Lexi nodded emphatically. ¡°I think it took me five minutes to pick my jaw up off the floor.¡± ¡°In that case. Please disregard my request for a duel.¡± Ben turned to Ajax and said with a small incline of his head. ¡°That said, I would be interested in sparring against you, since you bear no house sigil I am guessing that your style is self created and I would like to experience it.¡± Chapter 170 The respectful request for a spar was like a signal for most of the people who were now mingling around Ajax. All of the people that were part of Benedict Steelblade¡¯s entourage almost entirely lost any hostility towards him. ¡°Great, but I suggest we all get moving.¡± Lexi broke the silence that had been established. ¡° Professor Vilethorn has a habit of making all who are late take potions of necrotic resistance.¡± The statement had two very distinct reactions from the people who were here and split them into two groups. The first looked at her questioningly, not understanding why that would be a punishment, the second had already started walking towards the door while doing their best to repress their gagging at the memory of how the potion tasted. ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re getting off without a duel today, commoner.¡± one of the boys without a uniform hadn''t left the class when the prince did, whispered to Ajax as the class collectively moved towards their alchemy lab. ¡°We¡¯re just going to let the archduke get what he wants first.¡± Ajax quickly threw a [Judge Threat] over on reflex when he heard the threat but he stumbled into the same limitation he had when he went into the dungeon a few days ago, the person was so much weaker than him that getting a clear read on his level and power was becoming more difficult as he got stronger and stronger and the point of reference moved further and further away. ¡°I¡¯ve got to get myself another more specific inspection skill.¡± Ajax muttered to himself. Arriving into the new classroom Ajax saw multiple workbenches set up to house two students. Each workstation had multiple small glass shelves as well as a medieval immigration of the Bunsen burners he had seen in his own science classes back on Earth. ¡°Ah, you must be the teaching assistant the headmaster spoke to us about yesterday.¡± professor Vilethorn said once she saw Ajax enter class. ¡° I am Deborah Vilethorn but please address me as professor or professor Vilethorn.¡± ¡°Ajax.¡± he responded with a bow in greeting. ¡° a pleasure to meet you, professor.¡± ¡°Good to meet you as well Ajax, now if you would go and help my own assistant with distributing the ingredients for this class so we can get everything underway.¡± the professor replied. Ajax looked towards the teaching assistant section of the lab and saw a middle aged man pouring different measurements into multiple vials. With but a nod to the professor he headed over to help as instructed. ¡°Ajax you said?¡± the man asked without taking his eyes off the beakers he was pouring into. ¡°I¡¯m Edward Goldenstalk, go ahead and start sharing these, leave one of each here for yourself.¡± Ajax did as he was told and quickly got all of the ingredients to each of the workstations before taking a seat at the one he shared with Edward. He was happily surprised to see that he recognised most of the ingredients he saw being given out for today''s class from his short time apprenticing to the village alchemist all those years ago. ¡°All twenty-five of you are here already?¡± The professor sounded surprised as she looked over the class once the last of the ingredients was handed out. ¡°Lexi dear, did you warn them all?¡± ¡°I might have mentioned something.¡± Lexi slightly fidgeted in her seat next to Annabeth. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Well that¡¯s no fun.¡± She let out a theatrical sign and exaggerated the motion of storing a big flask from her desk in one of the cabinets. ¡°Welcome to your first Alchemy class.¡± She began once again all jokiness gone from her tone. ¡°Alchemy is somewhat of a niche subject, and one where without talent you won¡¯t find yourselves making much progress.¡± ¡°Despite that there is a reason why all of you are attending this class in your first year.¡± she said. ¡°Even in a class as big as yours, if we were to look at best we¡¯d find four of you having had previous training in Alchemy and half of that having actually gotten the skill.¡± ¡°For those few of you I¡¯m sorry to say that you will not find yourselves very engaged this coming year. Our entire curriculum for this year will consist of me trying in every way I can imagine to make sure all of you have a basic capability of creating acceptable brews of some of the most fundamental potions.¡± she paused at that to let the information sink in. ¡°You¡¯ll find that the most basic potion not only scales decently well with levels as long as the ingredients are of matching quality, but that they also allow for quite the leeway in terms of ingredient substitution. By the end of the year I aim for all of you to know how to make some basic antivenoms, resistance and healing potions. Any questions?¡± she asked. There were none. Even those who had a particular disinterest in Alchemy understood how important knowing this information could be one day in the future. With that class started as the professor walked them through creating a base healing potion. ¡°You¡¯re doing very well.¡± Edward said as he watched Ajax easily follow along with professor Vilethorn¡¯s verbal instruction. ¡°I spent a few weeks as an apprentice to the village alchemist before I moved on to try something else.¡± Ajax shared, though he kept quiet that he already had [Alchemy] at level ten. Class passed by very quickly for Ajax, only three of the twelve pairs had done badly enough that they had to start the process all over again. The clear star of the show was a girl in uniform that had a station all to herself and was carefully brewing the potion exactly as instructed, showing that she had inherited her family''s calling for Alchemy by finishing well ahead of the allotted time. ¡°Well done, all of you.¡± the professor said. ¡° It may have taken some of you an extra try but all of you managed to brew an acceptable potion by the end of the class, now can anyone guess what type of potion we will be doing next class?¡± ¡°Antitoxin.¡± someone shouted out. ¡°No, a resistance potion.¡± someone else disagreed. ¡°I think it¡¯s a mana or stamina regeneration potion.¡± A third person chimed in. ¡°It''s going to be the same potion as today.¡± the girl who finished by herself said cutting off the guesses. ¡°Yes, very good, that¡¯s exactly right.¡± the professor nodded, ¡° Will you be so kind as to explain your reasoning to your classmates.¡± ¡°All we had to do today was brew the potion.¡± the girl said, despite managing to keep the boredom out of her face and posture some seeped in in her tone. ¡°Next class we¡¯ll most likely have to prepare some if not all the ingredients from their raw stages before brewing.¡± ¡°Exactly so, though you¡¯ll have to prepare half of them.¡± the profession confirmed. ¡°Like I said at the beginning this class will be focused on emergency alchemy, using what¡¯s on hand appropriately is more than 70% of this class so you¡¯ll be doing a lot of ingredient preparation this year. With that said you are all dismissed.¡± As almost all of the students quickly gathered their things and made their way out of the classroom as they headed towards the practice fields where they will be split into physical and magical for their training the professor approached Ajax. ¡°You did rather well.¡± Professor Vilethorn congratulated. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ve had a few weeks of practice with our village alchemist.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°So I see.¡± She nodded a little dispirited, likely coming to the wrong conclusion that he didn¡¯t have much talent for the craft. ¡°Well if you find yourself doing any research and in need of Alchemy do feel free to stop by and ask, Edward of myself may very well be able to help you out.¡± ¡°Thanks for the offer.¡± Ajax said as he finished tidying up his station. ¡°Right now I¡¯m focused on just keeping up with the class but I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡± With that conversation ending Ajax made his own way towards his office where he got changed into his combat gear. He could have joined the rest of the boys in the locker room equivalent but he had seen enough shows focused on high school and knew better than to do that this early in the year and risk having a confrontation in there. As the class split itself into two based on if they focused on physical stats or mental ones Ajax was surprised to see that for the first time in his life the mental focused group had a three to one ratio compared to the physical one. ¡®I guess talent in mana is somewhat hereditary in humans and nobles tend to marry in order to provide that advantage to the next generation¡¯. ¡°You must be Ajax, which one of us will you be joining today?¡± the physical instructor asked while nodding between himself and the magical instructor. ¡°I¡¯ll be joining you today, sir.¡± Ajax said as he looked towards Benedict Steelblade, he had agreed to a spar after all. He hadn¡¯t realized it until now but he did miss his spars with Cadmael from way back when. Chapter 171 Ajax stepped to join the physical fighters, though he didn¡¯t see the prince sighed dejectedly at that as he was on the mage side of the courtyard, he hadn¡¯t heard the conversation that had taken place in the class before Alchemy as he had already left by then. ¡°First things first then,¡± the instructor started. ¡° I am instructor Anthony Gatecrasher, the man to my right here is Dave and he is my teaching assistant. Some of you may have seen Dave around before as he does take shifts during his days off as a guard for the Academy.¡± Ajax finally realized why the assistant looked so familiar to him, it was the same guard that he had fought just one day ago though he no longer supported the guard uniform but instead had some much better gear. Dave caught Ajax¡¯s eye and gave him a respectful nod. ¡°Most of our lessons will be split into two, we will have a skill practice session to start with and a spar session to end with. None of you will be graded on anything besides attendance during these lessons, though if I believe you to be slacking off I will send you away and mark you absent so feel free to experiment and I will be here to help guide your style.¡± Gatecrasher continued. ¡°For today, I want everyone to take up their primary weapon.¡± The instructor pointed them all to pick up the training weapons on a specific rack. ¡°If yours isn¡¯t present, come tell me about it and I will make sure one will be made available for tomorrow.¡± While Anthony had started teaching the class Ajax joined Dave in watching by the sidelines, he would usually join in with the rest of the class during any class activities at the Academy but here his higher stats needed to be accounted for. ¡°I didn¡¯t get to tell you yesterday since I had to go get myself patched up but you pack a hell of a punch.¡± Dave started the conversation. ¡°Thanks.¡± Ajax said. ¡° You¡¯re pretty good yourself, you managed to keep me from landing solid blows on you for quite a while despite my magic.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about magic, but from what I saw yesterday whoever did your training didn¡¯t do you any favors by not ingraining a style in you to build off of. Style skills are almost as important to melee physical fighters as their weapon skills.¡± Dave said. ¡°My teacher didn¡¯t have a style.¡± Ajax admitted, ¡°Didn¡¯t have one myself until a few months ago when I picked up [Berserker Style], though that one isn¡¯t great for training, especially when using magic enhanced attacks.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to imply anything by it.¡± Dave quickly apologized after Ajax¡¯s answer. This apology had Ajax stumped, he didn¡¯t know that Dave was apologizing because he had thought Ajax to be part of the nobility yesterday when he had arrived dressed in some rather fine clothes. His previous statement could be taken as a slight to their house. ¡°So, then Ajax.¡± instructor Gatecrasher joined them at the side of the training area by the time Ajax had cleared the misunderstanding with Dave but kept a sharp eye on everyone else in the class. ¡° I hear you have a style focused on magic enhanced attacks.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Risky, style that.¡± the instructor nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll always be hurting for stat points but have more skills to stack on top of one another so the skill level cap will take longer to apply its limitations to you. What weapon do you favor?¡± ¡°I trained with every weapon I could get my hands on in the village.¡± Ajax responded. ¡° My brother is a city guard and my teacher is a retired adventurer turned hunter so I have experience with most basic weapons. Though as Dave pointed out I wasn¡¯t taught any style skill.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yes, I will have to take a look at the way you fight before I can recommend a few options for you on that front.¡± the instructor said. ¡° Speaking of Dave, however, I heard you gave him a run for his money yesterday.¡± ¡°That¡¯s putting it mildly, sir.¡± Dave answered. ¡°I always knew mages have an advantage over us in a one on one since they can quickly spend their mana, whereas most of us have trouble getting skills that use stamina so quickly to keep up, but Ajax was something else.¡± ¡°Oh, how so?¡± Since Dave was recovering yesterday and classes were starting today Anthony didn¡¯t have time to get a good debrief on the fight from the other day. ¡°His spells are definitely a lot weaker than what mages even of his level throw around, but what he lacks in direct power he makes up for in versatility and speed. He was actively changing the ground beneath my feet all while also swinging both a sword and an axe at me.¡± Dave recalled the ending moments of the fight with a slight wince. ¡°Oh, I see so you favor the sword and axe?¡± for the first time he took a quick glance to gauge Ajax''s reaction before turning his eyes back to the students. ¡°I can use a sword, axe, hammer, shield, spear and knife decently well. I do prefer to wield two weapons as it allows me more variety in the enhancements that I imbue my strikes with. Though I much prefer to start at range with a bow.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned.¡± the instructor sounded surprised. ¡°For most of them, their first few weeks in this class will be spent polishing their main weapon and learning a second one that compliments it but you have enough breadth that we can focus on selecting a good style.¡± ¡°What the hell is wrong with these weapons?¡± One of the students yelled after he fell during his normal exercises with the spear. ¡°They are a good way to get you used to pressing your advantage.¡± instructor Gatecrasher explained. ¡°As a physical fighter your strength will show in your endurance, unlike the mages who will be spent after the first half hour. These heavy weapons are meant to replicate how your own weapons will feel much heavier once you have gone through half of your stamina.¡± Ajax had also gotten his own set of heavy one handed weapons and started practicing with the rest of them. It had been harder on him than he expected since he had no problem usually ending a fight with his magic before his stamina started to run out making using such heavy weapons a new experience for him. ¡°Alright now, let''s have you all split up into groups for sparring.¡± the instructor mercifully ended their suffering. ¡°Sir, could I spar against Ajax for today?¡± Ben came and asked. ¡°Are you sure about that young lord?¡± the instructor asked respectfully. House Gatecrasher was one of house Steelblade¡¯s subordinates and Ben was the grandson of the Archduke. ¡°He was able to outmatch Dave and it wasn¡¯t a fluke at all.¡± ¡°Yes sir, I am interested in his fighting style. As you know sir I also have a slight talent for mana, though it is much smaller than the one I have for physical fighting. I want to see what I can learn from him.¡± Ben argued. Ajax was surprised at the revelation, while skills in mana weren¡¯t unheard of in humans they were still rare so hearing that someone chose to focus on the physical despite having some talent for mana was a surprise for him. ¡°Very well then.¡± the instructor nodded. ¡° Dave keep a closer eye on the others as I will be focusing on this bout a bit more.¡± Ajax and Ben squared off against each other, Ajax had a hammer and axe in his hands to combat the heavy armor and shield his opponent wielded. A sword would be good if he could get to the joints any opening in the armor but he wouldn¡¯t be trying for that in a spar. Ben''s sword on the other hand was a good choice against Ajax light leather armor as well. ¡°Ready?¡± Ajax asked. Ben simply nodded and the two charged towards one another. Ajax hadn¡¯t activated any mana skill to start off with yet he still found himself to be faster than Ben. With Ajax seeing the difference in speed he knew he could end the spar at any time if he pushed his [Syphon Mana] but that wouldn¡¯t be productive for either of them. The spar continued with Ajax heavily on the offensive for the next three minutes and this left both participants heavily impressed with their opponent but each for different reasons. ¡°To think that a spellblade can push me like this without spending a single drop of mana while only being a few levels higher than me.¡± Ben complimented him as he let out a tired sigh. Ajax could see how this fight would end, if he wanted he could lean on his higher stats and just outlast his opponent but that definitely wouldn¡¯t count as a victory to him. Despite his higher stats Ajax found it impossible to land a single blow on Ben, his footwork and ability to predict Ajax¡¯s strikes was phenomenal to the point that even engaging [Berserker Style] saw him only putting more pressure and both of them spending their stamina expenditure faster. He had a lot he could learn from Ben. ¡°I have to say I hadn¡¯t expected the difference in skill to be this big.¡± Ajax admitted. Ajax finally called upon his mana and this caused Dave to react as all the others had finished their spars and were all watching Ajax and Ben go at it. ¡°Careful sir, he can increase his stats with his mana.¡± This was whispered to the instructor but Ajax picked up on it with his high perception stat. He almost scoffed at the warning since he didn¡¯t plan to use [Mana Syphon] at all. As Ajax charged towards Ben again he quickly turned the earth at his feet into mud. This will not only impede his impeccable footwork but will also distract him from the main attack. Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised to find that Ben had managed to adapt to the mud in time to parry the blow and redirect most of the power of the swing to the side. That however was the mistake Ajax was counting on as the lightning coursing through his axe momentarily stunned Ben. His hammer had taken on a red hue as he infused it with magma and stopped the strike a few inches before hitting Ben fully in the helmet. Ben didn¡¯t have a chance to get his bearings following the electrocution as the instructor yanked him from behind, should Ajax have followed through on that hammer strike it would have hit nothing but air. Chapter 172 ¡°Well, I can definitely see what you meant when you said you weren¡¯t taught any style. ¡° The instructor said as he gently placed Ben back on the ground. ¡°Your attacks were quick, precise and had quite some power behind them. That said they didn¡¯t flow from one to another almost at all.¡± ¡°What was that!?¡± Ben exclaimed excitedly, the instructor''s observation bringing him to the present. ¡°There was almost no time to react from the moment you started to gather mana to when you cast your spell, not to mention you cast a second one right as I had a handle on the mud you created.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how I cast.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But you didn¡¯t even open your mouth, I was looking for it, your jaw didn¡¯t move.¡± Ben pressed in his excitement. ¡°I don¡¯t chant my spells.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°What? ¡­ But, ¡­ then¡± he tried to make sense of it. ¡° I happen to know quite a few physical focused fighters who would want to learn how to do that.¡± ¡°I bet there would be.¡± The instructor confirmed before he changed the topic since the headmaster had warned him yesterday, there were bound to be questions but he wasn¡¯t to let people push Ajax on them if he wasn¡¯t forthcoming. ¡° It¡¯s definitely something you can think about adding to the Academy¡¯s knowledge base once you catch up on the basics a bit.¡± ¡°I bet you might even be able to get a noble title out of it if it can be achieved with any sort of consistency.¡± Dave nodded in agreement. That was all news to Ajax, but it was a rather nice surprise. Not that he wanted to spread his way of casting yet as that might have people prepare counters for him, but seeing as he was going to spread the knowledge on how to refrain from spending your stats early maybe he could get a title from that. The title wouldn¡¯t help him all that much but it would make settling in the capital much easier for his family in a few years. ¡°Maybe one day.¡± Ajax said noncommittally. ¡°Alright you lot swap partners, Dave you spar with Ben here while I talk to Ajax.¡± Instructor Gatecrasher commanded before he brought Ajax to the side. ¡°Yes, sir?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°From what the headmaster explained to me I am to treat you as an advanced student, but a student nonetheless.¡± the instructor said. ¡° Looking at it from that point of view, the best way for me to help you is to try and teach you a style skill.¡± ¡°I would really appreciate that, sir.¡± Ajax nodded with excitement at the news, having just seen how much of a difference a style skill could make after Ben fended him off despite the stat difference. ¡°Good, now I have a few styles that I think might work for you. All of them are rare styles, I know an epic style that might also work but I¡¯d rather not have you learn that as it is a pure physical style and it would impede you from getting another epic style that is more catered to spellblades.¡± Ajax was hyped at hearing the news, though he also noted that skills actively impeded one from gaining others that are similar in the same or lower tier. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That said, for the next few days you will be sparring with Dave and I will ask that you not hold back much from your usual fighting style, that way I can select the style that will best fit you.¡± With a more focused look Ajax felt the instructor use an inspection skill and [Enigma] told him he had gotten a look at his total and current , mana health and stamina. ¡°That¡¯s quite the privacy skill you got there.¡± the instructor complimented. ¡°I could ballpark your physical skills as close to two hundred and thought I should confirm the exact number sorry about that. Would you mind sharing your Strength and Dexterity?¡± ¡°Wha¡­¡± Ajax was about to ask about Endurance but he realized he would know that from his max stamina. ¡°I have one hundred and eighty-five in all three physical stats, though I would prefer if you ask instead of inspecting me.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± the instructor winced, ¡°Sorry about that, force of habit. Most nobles don¡¯t care if their stats at such a low level are known. I can see why you would be wary of inspecting skills though.¡± After the awkward interaction Ajax spent the rest of the class practicing his forms with the weighted weapons trying to calm himself down from the spike of adrenaline that getting inspected had sent through him. Once the class was over Ajax made sure to drop his ring off in his office before he left the capital via the school gate. He knew the teacher hadn¡¯t meant anything by it but his paranoia was both justified and not something easy to just get over so he went to spend the night in his field near the hives. The previous training and the run out here had drained his stamina to around four hundred but he was still sitting on full mana. He spent the few hours before going to sleep injecting that mana evenly into all of the trees spread out around his hive, after all his first use of mana was in helping grow plants and he had vague memories from earth about specific pollen being used to specialize honey, therefor he wanted to see if mana would also have an effect. With his mana spent Ajax took a look at the three standing hives and the small fort of unoccupied hives by the cottage, he should definitely find some time, either after class or during his free days to get the other hives set up. A look around also confirmed that he should also buy some flower seeds to set up around as the trees that were here wouldn¡¯t be enough for all the bees he was going to set up. The rest of the school cycle passed by quickly, most classes were introductory things he had learned in the village or covered aspects of the law and its interpretation, some covered subjects he was utterly interested in like calligraphy or dance. Nothing there had outright shocked him, though the lack of taxation on inherited wealth was a massive surprise to him as someone who had lived in America and had to go through getting his inheritance. As for the few hours he had after school he spent most of them planting flowers, setting up his new beehives and infusing mana into the old tea trees. On the final night before his first delve with the class he visited Luna and Hatchet to talk to them about how his time in the academy had been, after all out here they were the closest thing he had to family. ¡°I do have to ask, did you tell anyone anything about interacting with the status screen?¡± he asked Luna as the night drew to a close. ¡°No, only Alfred Hatched and I should know about it. Why?¡± She asked. ¡°I was planning to use that knowledge for my first research project as a teaching assistant during my first two years at the academy.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Why would you bother with that so soon?¡± Luna asked. ¡° I don¡¯t mean to say you should keep the knowledge hidden, just that I think you would find dealing with the rewards that come with it rather troublesome.¡± ¡°Would I gain a noble title for something like that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Most definitely, you might even get a Marquis title depending on the ramifications.¡± Luna nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why I am asking, getting a noble title might actually take away most of the spare time you might have outside of class.¡± ¡°And would that title extend to my family?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Yes, any title earned will also extend to any living family with direct relation to you. Parents, siblings, children and any current spouses.¡± Luna confirmed. ¡°You will however be regarded as the head of the noble house.¡± ¡°My family will most likely be moving here in the next year or two. Closer to one year if my mother has anything to say about it.¡± He chuckled. ¡° Any chance I can pass off the duties to her once she gets here, the noble title might make things a lot easier for her.¡± ¡°You would still have the final say in any major decisions and will need to make appearances on any big events surrounding your family but the day by day running could be passed off to your parents.¡± Alfred informed him. ¡°In fact the day to day of most noble households isn''t handled by the head of house.¡± While Ajax hadn¡¯t yet made a decision on if he should use the connection he has to his mother¡¯s merchant family he knew that he wanted his mother to have a noble title when she arrived in the capital and met her parents again. With that the night ended and he went to sleep before his first delve with the class. Chapter 173 Unlike his previous eight days at the Academy this time Ajax came dressed in his combat gear instead of his uniform and he even carried his trust expanded backpack that was filled with his provision. He recognised how useful the ring was but he wasn''t going to risk it somehow getting damaged in the delve. ¡°All right now, settle down.¡± Professor Silvertongue said. ¡°I know this is the first time going on a delve for most of you. This is why I as well as healer Ungus will be joining you on it. As we go forward however you will have a volunteer from the healing Union as well as one or two of the teaching assistants of the other professors to go with you.¡± Both instructor Gatecrasher and Dave were sitting by the door. Ajax wasn¡¯t paying all that much attention. Unlike all the other classes where he knew the basics but also had to pay attention to fill in some missing gaps that they taught at the Academy, delving was something he had been doing for months in a much more dangerous dungeon. The gear that instructor Gatecrasher and healer Ungus had put every other set of equipment he had seen to shame, they all knew it wasn¡¯t required but it was more about sending the message that the dungeon shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. The spotlight however was stolen by professor Silvertongue¡¯s mail armor, not only was each individual ring in the chestmail enchanted but they were also arranged so that they would form bigger enchantments when working together. The chainmail was sturdy andAjax could feel the mana concentration in the metal was stronger than what had been in the lake he found. To top it all off was the massive shoulder pad that covered his dominant arm to offset the weight of a heavy shield. The walk through the city looked a lot like a fashion show or a parade, depending on how you looked at it. Each class marched in formation as all six headed towards the dungeon. Ajax did notice a few people pointing at him and Dave as they walked behind the freshman class. ¡°Don¡¯t let it bother you.¡± Dave whispered. ¡°They¡¯re all jealous they can¡¯t have as bright a future. Him and Dave weren¡¯t the only ones with less than stellar gear, Ajax had caught sight of two other commoners, one in the third year and one in the fifth that looked much more shabby. He had found out that in all six classes there were a total of seven commoners besides him, only two of them hadn¡¯t already joined a house however, and that was because both were holding out for better offers instead of deciding to go at it independently. ¡°How come you don¡¯t have any gear given to you?¡± Ajax asked, after all Dave had already joined a noble house. ¡° This gear is higher quality than it looks.¡± Dave said as he pointed to his armor. ¡°Then how come none of it is enchanted?¡± Ajax could feel quite a bit of mana infused in the material and knew it could handle quite a few enchantments. ¡°Because I¡¯m not actively delving, well at least not anything that would pose any danger for me. I¡¯ve been at the academy for the last four years and I¡¯ll be sticking around for at least six more. Getting it enchanted now will be detrimental to my training if I end up relying on it too much.¡± he explained. ¡°I¡¯ll have it enchanted for my last year here so I can get used to the enchantments.¡± Ajax nodded at the explanation and quietly followed behind his classmates as they all filed into the dungeon area. Just like the other arch, this one was also surrounded on all sides by tall walls that were manned by people and the grounds holding dangerous runes ready to exterminate anything that came out of the arch. The mob before the entrance was consistent with the other dungeon at the capital, only this time a wide path was made for them all to approach. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. One by one each class entered until it was finally for the first years. Ajax already knew what to expect having done his research on the dungeon. Despite being called the Goldmine there was no gold to be found anywhere. There were 6 different layouts that could come up and all of them were different variations of a forestry mountain covered with caves. For two of the layouts the caves connected to one another but for the other four they were dead ends. It was only called the Goldmine because of how valuable a dungeon that only had a five level jump between floors was. Inside the first floor Ajax could already feel the mana in the air of the dungeon. Even with increased efficiency it was not enough for him to maintain any noticeable increase from [Mana Syphon], something he had expected seeing how the expected level of monsters was only twenty-five to thirty but he was still slightly disappointed. ¡°Dave, Ajax you two will only step in if someone is about to be seriously injured.¡± instructor Gatecrasher reminded them once they stepped inside. ¡°Despite all their training there is bound to be one or two that get over excited about being in a dungeon and act careless, if it doesn¡¯t look like the blow will be too bad let them get hit a bit before stepping in, might knock some sense into them.¡± ¡°Alright, everybody settle down.¡± Abbot silences the chattering. ¡° We seem to have gotten the fifth variation, and I hope that all of you know what that means from your preparation. For your first day we will be splitting up into four groups.¡± ¡°The first group will be made up of those who have delved a dungeon before.¡± some slight muttering arose at that as the ideal groups people had planned crashed and burned. Five people stepped forward after a moment''s hesitation. To no surprise Ajax saw Lexi, Annabeth and Ben all part of the group, besides them there was one of Ben¡¯s friends and a member of the prince¡¯s group, the same one that had gone out of his way to threaten Ajax that first day of school before Alchemy class. Surprisingly the prince wasn¡¯t among them, though if Ajax thought about it a bit more the prince was only level twenty-one until very recently so it made sense he didn¡¯t have delving experience. ¡°You all will be with Ajax,¡± he said. ¡°Now before anybody complains, this is because Ajax doesn¡¯t have experience supervising so I want to make sure none of you will freeze up and this way the groups will be smaller so you will get a better chance to experience the fights.¡± ¡°But, Sir there are four other people who could lead the groups.¡± Another student piped up. ¡°No, there aren¡¯t. Healer Ungus will be sitting back at the base camp where we all know his exact position in case of an emergency. I would also like all of you to offer your thanks to healer Ungus as he offered to set up the camp all by himself today.¡± he said with finality. ¡°Thanks healer Ungus.¡± The class collectively said in a way reminiscent of the way kindergartners answered ¡®good morning¡¯ to their teacher as a group. ¡°These groups are only for today so stop worrying so much about it.¡± instructor Gatecrasher cut in. ¡°The six of you can go, be back in this clearing five hours from now.¡± Ajax and the group quickly followed instructions as they jogged off towards the mountain. ¡°And make sure they stay out of the caves for the first day.¡± the instructor called after Ajax As they headed away from the rest of the class Ajax realized the first issue. Unlike what he was used to, this group had their makeup completely flipped. They had four casters and one physical fighter so he kept a closer eye on the light armored members of the group trusting Ben¡¯s armor to be able to take a hit. The first enemy they encountered was, unsurprisingly, a bear. While the second layout had a tribe of kobolds, they were spread out throughout the case and didn¡¯t wander the forest. That left them with the bears, wolves, stags and a slim chance on one of the few griffins that nested near the top of the mountain but hunted everywhere. ¡°I got his legs.¡± Ben¡¯s friend reacted to the bear as soon as they saw it and silently chanted to immobilize his feet. Ben started charging before the chant was even complete. The two showed that they had been training together as none of the four bolts hit Ben and accurately froze the bear''s paws to the ground. The bear was not standing still however and also charged towards Ben. The frost spell was not all that strong based on the short chant and the amount of mana channeled. The bear in fact had managed to break out one of its paws through the momentum it had. That didn¡¯t do much to help it as it looked down at its paws in confusion only to be decapitated a second later. ¡°So which way do we go now?¡± Lexi asked as Ben was coming back while wiping the blood off his sword. ¡°That way for wolves, that way for deer and there should be another bear that way.¡± Ajax pointed in three directions without much thought. ¡°Oh, and how do you know that?¡± the noble from the prince¡¯s group asked snarkily. ¡°Tracks.¡± Ajax said, pointing to the group. ¡°I learned from a hunter in my village. "This caused the rest of the group to chuckle as the noble''s face turned a bit red in embarrassment. Chapter 174 Lexi P.O.V. Hunting through the dungeon like this was a totally new experience for me. Despite having been on a delve before, that was one that was arranged by my father where he sent most of the people around my level with a few higher leveled people to watch out for us. Like most groups that brave the dungeon, that group was heavy on physical fighters with a few mages and made up of fifteen people. ¡°Watch your steps, we are getting close to the deer and you might give away your position.¡± Ajax said as he led the way through the trees. As we had already downed a bear we decided to go for the deer. A big reason for that was that we wanted to have some freshly cooked meat for dinner tonight and while we couldn¡¯t take the meat outside the dungeon it could still be cooked and eaten inside. Ajax stopped and hid behind a tree, I found it hard to keep him in focus despite looking right at him, some sneaking skill most likely [Stealth]. Looking through the trees we could see a large clearing where a herd of six deer and four stags were eating. ¡°I¡¯ll go around the side,¡± Ben started formulating the plan. Out of all of us he was the most suited to lead besides maybe Ajax, who was just here as a last resort observer, so none of us had a problem with him taking the position. ¡°The four of you will prepare a strong initial blast and I¡¯ll draw their attention right before you finish casting.¡± Anna and I nodded to each other, with a group twice the size of our own and only one physical fighter we would be in real trouble if they got to charge towards the casters with nobody to protect us so we were going to use our combo attack. One of my grandfather''s discoveries was how air affinity mana could boost the power of fire affinity mana when mixed. With a short nod to Ben he dashed from the size hitting his shield with his sword to draw attention to himself as I launched a compressed fire orb in the center of the herd. Anna quickly followed that up by using a wind bolt that detonated my orb. We had done numerous tests and the resulting explosion was almost half again as strong as just both of us using a normal explosive fireball. Rick used a spell that turned the entire clearing from an open grassy arena into a muddy swap. He had been fascinated by the application of using water and earth like this ever since Ben had told him how Ajax had used it in their spar and how it was a strong defensive option for when a physical fighter got in close. As for Rupert he went with his tried and true shadow blots. They weren¡¯t all that spectacular but were quick to cast and very mana efficient. I wasn¡¯t sure what Rupert¡¯s problem was with Ajax but he had been trying to goad him into a fight since the start and it had only gotten more pronounced as he questioned everything Ajax said for the last hour we spent tracking. That Ajax seemed to have a logical explanation and reasoning only seemed to infuriate him further. The ambush was a big success and we advanced towards the two remaining deer that were still standing while Ben was finishing off the last wounded stag. Out initial barrage of spells killed everything else and we wanted to make sure not to spoil the meat of at least these last few so we used wind slices to decapitate them. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Leave this one to me.¡± Ben said as he enjoyed battling with the stag. A quick [Inspect] confirmed that this stag was slightly stronger at level twenty-eight. Despite all the stoic persona and brilliant strategic mind Ben was deep down a battle junky who loved pushing himself like this. While Ben was finishing off the last of the herd I looked around to see what Ajax was doing. It was surprisingly easy to find him, his expression was serious however, unlike the easygoing smile he had while he tracked down the deer. He brought his hand up level with his face and lifted his index finger. It took me a moment to realize that he was pointing up and by the time I lifted my eyes a screech resounded in the forest. I had failed to account what being in a clearing meant, yes we didn¡¯t have trees everywhere making hard to fire spells but we also lost the cover above our heads. A griffin the size of a large horse was diving towards us. I instantly called out ¡°Above¡± as I dived towards Anna and pulled both of us down and to the side out of the path of the griffin. Rick and Rupert weren¡¯t so lucky. Rick was flung to the side as one of the large wings hit him right in the chest as he turned towards the screech. Rupert however was the worst off as the claws looked to be going straight for his shoulders in an attempt to pick him off and carry him away. A quick surge of mana came from Rupert''s necklace as a quick mana shield sprung up around him and quickly shattered to the griffin¡¯s claws. It was however enough to bring the griffin to a stop as it landed two feet from him. Ben was the quickest to react to the situation as he disengaged the stag and raised his shield while charging towards the griffin. ¡°Finish off the stag.¡± he called out to Anna who was already getting back up and muttering the start of a spell. I had no doubt Anna would handle the stag without issues so I focused on the griffin. I quickly chanted the cast for a wide wind burst, my whole plan was to use the widely spread wings against it and give Ben time to get in a good position. The plan worked as the griffin stumbled awkwardly as the gust pushed it down into the mud. The biggest problem we had now was that the griffin was in the middle of our formation following its initial dive. This poor position means that not only would we need to be careful not to hit Ben without spells but also not to hit each other should the griffin dodge. Even with Ben moving to engage the griffin in close quarters the beast still seemed focused on Rupert, I wasn¡¯t sure if it saw him as the biggest threat because of the mana shield that came from the necklace or if was just his bad luck but it charged towards him. Ben was no pushover however and a quick glance saw his enchanted blade light up as he brought it down and severed one of the griffins wings as it charged past him. Rupert was quick to tumble out of the way and the griffin missed due to the unbalanced weight that came with missing a wing. The griffin stood back up ready to engage us but it was too late for it. Anna, Rick and I had all finished our casts and with the griffin no longer being in the center of our formation we launched an Ice lance, earth spike and fireball respectively quickly bringing the fight to an end. ¡°AAAHHH¡± I didn¡¯t even get a chance to catch my breath as two wolves jumped from into the clearing and bit down on Rupert''s arm and leg. In our battle with the surprise griffin we had stopped looking around in the forest and Rupert was the closest to the edge of the clearing after dodging the griffin¡¯s charge. I could see three more wolves running towards us and a forth that leaped going for Ruptert¡¯s neck. None of us were in any position to do anything about it when I felt a large amount of mana off to the side before an arrow embedded itself into the head of the wolf mid-leap. The next moment Ajax was a blur as he charged the wolves. Mana was gushing all around him just like it did when he spared with Dave brandishing his axe and sword. With my increased mental stats, my eyes could keep up with Ajax as he quickly killed the two wolves attached to Rupert before turning on the other three and making short work of them as well His blades were covered in a quick sheath of wind mana and sliced through the wolves with no difficulty. I could see the ground itself change in order to both give him better footholds and also trip up the wolves. He had to be casting three spells at once, maybe four as I was unsure how his physical mana enhancement worked. Despite the spells being highly inefficient in terms of mana his fighting style had clear strong points. With the wolves dealt with we all converged on Rupert''s position, though I did catch Ajax¡¯s posture slump as he also approached. ¡°Seriously?¡± he muttered, ¡°Guess I¡¯ll need to be more careful about this in the future.¡± I didn¡¯t know what he was talking about but it didn¡¯t seem like it was the wolf situation. Chapter 175 PUNISHMENT: Infraction stemmed from Bullying I (Mitigating circumstances : Inside Dungeon, 50% lowered punishment) : 1000 experience lost. Punishments until Bullying I upgraded to Bullying II : 1/3. Ajax brought up the notification he had gotten in the middle of taking out the wolves and swearing under his breath. ¡°Seriously?¡± he muttered, ¡°Guess I¡¯ll need to be more careful about this in the future.¡± He brought up his Retribution to double check some things. RETRIBUTION : Repeated and extended fighting and killing against much lower levels has been noticed. THis is strongly discouraged, Punishment : Bullying I applied. Bullying I : all experience and skill gains from fighting substantially weaker enemies reduced by 20%. (A substantially weaker enemy is considered from your level with a baseline. A creature with less than 90% of your level yet no less than five levels below you is substantially weaker.) There it was, the discrepancy that had made him all but ignore the retribution since the day he had gotten it. Nowhere on it did it say that he will be punished by losing experience for going against it. Not only that but two thousand experience was a decent chunk, it took him a full delve to get that much towards the end of his time in Lessis. More than that however he didn¡¯t if the cost of the punishment was contant, was only the first of the three for two thousand experience, was the next one more, or would they only cost more once the Retribution upgraded Bullying? And most important of all, what would happen if he was brought below zero on the experience he had in the current level? ¡°Useless commoner.¡± Ruppert hissed as Ben was wrapping his bitten hand after having bandaged the leg. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have done that before they jumped me?¡± Under normal circumstances Ajax would have simply ignored the noble but his attitude had been getting on his nerves the entire time he had been tracking the deer, the punishment and loss of experience is what pushed him over the edge. ¡°My job here is to make sure you don¡¯t wind up dead, getting injured is part of delving.¡± He shot back. ¡°Best you learn the dangers of not always being aware of your surroundings with a simple bite, most die learning that lesson.¡± ¡°Why you - AGHHH¡± he started to answer back before Ben tightened the bandages around his arm. ¡°Leave it be.¡± Ben said. ¡°You know he is right. Seems we still need to get used to the changes in the dungeon, here monsters are more likely to work together to make sure we die and even act slightly outside of the patterns their species would follow on the outside¡± This was the reason they were taken by surprise. A griffin would have always gone for the bodies of one of the dead deer as it was simply a bigger prize that came without a fight. Not only that but the wolves would have simply waited out the fight and cleaned up anything that was left behind instead of trying to take on the victor. ¡°So, what should we do now?¡± Ben asked, he was a leader that valued the opinions of his party members. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°I say we keep going.¡± Annabeth said after storing the two cleanly killed deer in her ring. ¡°Those wounds don¡¯t seem too bad, a light healing spell and we should be able to push on.¡± ¡°Our instructions were to turn back if any of us were injured.¡± Rick countered. ¡°We should head back.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the edge of the clearing. ¡°Or at least I¡¯m not carrying him if we have to later.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, definitely heading back.¡± Lexi confirmed as she looked where Ajax pointed. The spiky leafed shrubbery Rupert had rolled through once the wolves let go of him wasn¡¯t all that poisonous, for a level twenty-four like them at most it would give them a slight rash for a few hours. But considering the open wounds it would have gotten in, they all knew his arm and leg would swell up to three times their normal size in less than an hour''s time and the bleeding would be hard to control after that without a proper healer. ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t risk it without a proper healer.¡± Annabeth agreed. ¡°So we¡¯re going back.¡± Ben nodded at the decision, there was no need to wait for Rupert to give his opinion considering the way his expression twisted when Annabeth first suggested they keep going with just some minor healing and having him tough it out. ¡°Which one of you kept track of our location?¡± Ajax asked as they all turned to him. ¡°Looking at the mountain.¡± Rick quickly picked up what he meant, after all Ajax wasn¡¯t here as a real member of the party, him tracking down the deer could already be called too much but all that did was just remove some wasted time they would have spent wandering aimlessly, returning to a pre established safe point was something they needed to all keep in mind. ¡°We need to head that way.¡± Rick confidently strode off in that direction with everyone moving behind him. ¡°This is the right way.¡± Ajax confirmed as he moved in behind them. ¡°But which way did we just come from?¡± ¡°Why does that matter?¡± Rupert snapped. ¡°All floors beyond the first have a random layout.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°You won¡¯t know the map beforehand and they get bigger as you delve deeper into the dungeon. You have to keep in mind where the exit is, especially in maze floors.¡± Ajax¡¯s words made all of them freeze for a moment as they looked out through the trees having a hard time locating a direction now that the mountain was obscured by the canopy. They quickly started moving again but remained silent as they thought about it. ¡°If you find yourself in a cave or tunnel system without a way to keep track of your direction then change your approach, don¡¯t randomly choose a path.¡± Ajax tried to teach them something he remembered from his classes back on earth. ¡°How would we change the approach?¡± Lexi asked, eager to make conversation now that Ajax started to open up a bit. ¡°You pick a side,¡± Ajax began to explain. ¡°Left or right it doesn¡¯t matter, and then you follow that wall, if there is a crossroads you always take the first on the side you chose.¡± ¡°That fails the moment you hit the first dead end.¡± Rupert shot back, but Ajax also saw the others also nodding along to what he said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t actually.¡± he let out a small sigh. ¡°You¡¯re still looking at the passage as a whole.¡± he paused for a moment as he tried to remember how his computer science teacher explained it to him. ¡°Imagine that you have to traverse the entire maze by keeping one hand extended and in permanent contact with the wall.¡± He began. ¡°If you ever hit a dead end you¡¯ll find yourself naturally turning around but now but now the side of the tunnel you are touching has changed, when you come back to the crossroads you¡¯ll take the second road in the direction you chose.¡± ¡°And what if there is no exit?¡± Ben asked clearly interested in the idea. ¡°If there is no exit you¡¯ll eventually end up back where you started.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°This isn¡¯t all that much better than going in a random direction, all you have to do is find one tunnel guarded by something you can¡¯t fight and it falls apart.¡± Rick said. ¡°It does fall apart if you are looking for another exit and you run into something like that.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°But in a dungeon you should almost always be able to turn back, all you have to do is switch the hand that is keeping contact with the wall and walk forward, you¡¯ll be retracting your steps all the way back to where you started.¡± The next few minutes were quiet as all of them tried to visualize the example to try and find a flaw with the logic only for none of them to be able to come up with anything. ¡°It does work.¡± Lexi exclaimed in her usual happy mood. Their discussion ended there however as they all arrived at the camp healer Ungus had set up to find they weren¡¯t the first team back, they were in fact second to last. ¡°Looks like even the experienced team slipped up.¡± Ajax picked up the whisper as they entered the campsite. ¡°Which of you need medical attention?¡± healer Ungus quickly approached them. ¡°Rupert stuffed two wolf bites and the wounds may have been exposed to redpatch leaves.¡± Ben reported quickly, his military bearing showing again. As Ajax looked around he saw that Dave¡¯s group was the only one still out there. Both the group led by professor Silvertongue and instructor Gatecrasher had returned and each had a single member patched up and resting on one of the cots healer Ungus had set up. It took another two hours before Dave¡¯s group returned unharmed, but judging from the blood splattered on Dave and how it had dry and wet patches it was clear he had had to step in more than once, most likely not being so liberal with letting the nobles get hurt as Ajax or the professors were. Chapter 176 As most of the students split back up into their three groups Ajax decided to do something productive and started cooking the deer they had brought back. As he was cooking he was thinking about how he should deal with the Punishment. Clearly he needed to do some more research and a visit to the school¡¯s library would fit in nicely after they returned from this delve. Until he got a chance to do that research however he was going to go out of his way to make sure if he needed to interfere anymore during this delve he would only incapacitate the monsters instead of outright killing them. ¡°That smells good.¡± Dave said as he came up to him having finally cleaned the blood off his armor. ¡°I heard one of yours got bit.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t paying attention to his surroundings after one of the griffins dived in and two wolves got a hold of him.¡± Ajax said. ¡°My group didn¡¯t have anyone make any mistakes.¡± he said and that raised Ajax¡¯s suspicions about why he had to interfere. ¡°Then why did you come back with blood on your gear?¡± he asked. ¡°Had a few of them freeze up.¡± Dave said ¡°If they are to be hurt because they messed up we¡¯re supposed to let them get roughed up a bit but if they freeze, getting hurt will actually make it more likely that they will just freeze again next time.¡± ¡°They froze again at the end when we ran into a squad of kobolds. I¡¯m guessing they looked a little too humanoid for them.¡± he shook his head. Everyone was ecstatic at being fed a warm meal instead of the rations they brought with them, even if one or two of the students did complain about the quality they were quickly told to shut up by the rest as they didn¡¯t want to discourage Ajax from cooking more often. The next two days went very similar to the delve Ajax did with the Healing Union. Most of it was boring and he only had to step in once when the team he was with didn¡¯t notice the griffin swooping down on them. A quick electric arrow managed to both take the griffin off target and give the rest of the students time to get in position and brought their attention to it without distracting them from the kobolds they were engaged with. The end of the dungeon clean up on the fourth day of the delve went very differently to what he had experienced before. While most of the monsters had already been killed over the four days there was still enough to form a decent wave at the end. Not that it helped them much as with the number of mages present not a single monster was able to make more than ten feet into the cave before it was blasted. ¡°So how was your first cycle with the Academy?¡± professor Silvertongue asked him as they made their way back to the academy after exiting the dungeon. ¡°The delve was quite a bit more boring than I had expected, but other than that everything was interesting.¡± Ajax answered honestly, he was very excited about all the different subjects he was going to learn about in school. ¡°Hahaha.¡± the professor laughed at his answer. ¡°You have to be the first fifteen year old to say that the delve was the boring part of the first cycle.¡± ¡°The griffins were a bit interesting, I wonder how they can fly around with such a bulky body.¡± Ajax said. ¡°They have hollow bones, at least the ones inside the dungeon, there are variations of species that don¡¯t and can¡¯t fly until they get proficient with wind magic.¡± Abbot answered. ¡°Anyway, I have your first delve set up for you.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°You do?¡± Ajax was surprised to hear that everything was already set up. ¡°When is it and which dungeon is it for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s three days from now.¡± Abbot said. ¡°You¡¯ll be going with one of my family¡¯s crafter teams to the third floor of the Highlands.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a crafter team?¡± Ajax asked as he hadn¡¯t heard the term before. ¡°A crafter team is a group whose purpose is to find ingredients for crafters to practice on inside the dungeon. Just because none of the items can be brought out of the dungeon unless you get lucky with a good find they will still keep their skill progress. You¡¯ll even get to meet one of our senior crafters who¡¯ll be there to advise.¡±Abbot said, sounding more enthusiastic than he had at any other time. ¡°So this is your family''s plan, they want to show me the advantages you give to the people to join you as they work their way up while still giving me exactly what I need to progress.¡± Ajax said, though he had to admit it did sound like the Silvertongues had a great benefits package. ¡°Oh,¡± Abbot¡¯s expression went back to his regular stoic look. ¡°What gave it away?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time I heard any form of emotion in your voice.¡± Ajax said. ¡° That must be a well leveled skill since you actually sounded excited.¡± ¡°This is why I hate politics.¡± Abbot murmured under his breath. ¡° All that aside, joining our family, or any big noble house really but I am partial to my own, will be very beneficial to you.¡± ¡°That may be so, but I haven¡¯t had the greatest experience with nobles in the past, even tangentially.¡± Ajax admitted ¡°As things are right now, I¡¯ll see just how far I can get by myself and if I reach a bottleneck I might change my mind based on what I can learn about other noble families along the way.¡± ¡°That does sound like a well thought out plan. One piece of advice I have for you then is not to leave stat potions as an afterthought. As you gain levels and stats from dungeons try and buy some stat potions while your stats are still low, the price skyrockets for stats once they pass the three hundred and fifty mark.¡± Abbot said. ¡°The team will be gathering in front of the dungeon in the morning, they¡¯ll be the only team waiting out there so it should be easy for you to find them.¡± With that Abbot walked away and Dave returned next to Ajax after giving the two of them some space to talk. ¡°Big plans?¡± he asked. ¡°I have my first real delve in the Highlands three days from now,¡± Ajax said. ¡°As the class teaching assistant it still falls to Abbot to fulfill my perks as a teaching assistant, like appropriate delves. I am going with one of the Silvertongue crafter teams to the third floor.¡± ¡°See if you can gather a few crafting materials from the second floor for any crafting you might like to do. Most of the time the senior crafter that joins will have time to spare and they have always helped me with my crafting even if it will only ever be a hobby or a last resort.¡± Dave suggested. Ajax nodded at the advice, he hadn''t thought of doing that but now it was simply a question of what crafting profession he will be able to find ingredients for. Once they got back to the Academy all of the students were dismissed. Since it was still midday Ajax went straight for the library on the seventh floor. Unlike last time he came here he could only feel the aura of the headmaster coming from his office. Ajax took next to no time at all to get accustomed to the aura now, his time around professor Silvertongue had greatly helped with his ability to withstand non hostile auras. Entering the library for the first time was an experience all to itself. Rows and rows of shelves towered over everything all filled to the brim with books. In fact after taking a second look he realized that the shelves themselves were also enchanted to be spatially expanded allowing for more books to be stored. He really hoped there was a good filing system otherwise he would end up spending the rest of the day just to find the right section he should be searching. As he walked through the shelves he noticed that they were split up by subject, with Alchemy being the first section and Archeology being the second. He quickly found his way to the Curse section and he began looking through all the different covers hoping to find one on Punishments. ¡°Is there something I can help you with?¡± a voice called out to him from right behind him. Ajax flinched in surprise and finally felt a second aura coming from the old man behind him spread throughout the area. To say that the man was old was an understatement, despite being rather tall the man was hunched over and looked to be almost made up entirely of wrinkles, despite this his aura was undeniable. ¡°Well, what are you looking for here boy?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m here to look into Retributions and Punishments.¡± Ajax answered his question the second time. ¡°Well which is it, Retributions or Punishments? They are two different sections, also why are you looking at Curses?¡± he asked, almost sounding slightly offended at the notion. ¡°I want to know about the Bullying Punishment.¡± Ajax was more specific this time. ¡°Bullying.¡± the old man scoffed. ¡°When will people learn that power leveling doesn¡¯t do anybody any good?¡± he didn¡¯t wait for Ajax to answer as he started to shamble off. ¡°Well come on then.¡± Chapter 177 Ajax had a problem putting together the movements of the old librarian. He had spent a considerable amount of time analyzing his own movement and that of other people with decently high physical stats and yet the old man was unlike anything he had seen before. All of his movements were consistent with the slow shamble of an old man yet somehow he moved as if someone hit fast forward on a recording. Despite trying to figure out why the old man¡¯s movement seemed so odd to him he still made sure to pay attention to his surroundings so he was careful to look at the isle they entered, it was marked as Punishments which would have been his second or third try after maybe Retributions. ¡°What are you looking at so focused on?¡± the old man asked as he was extending a thick scroll he pulled off one of the shelves. ¡°Your movements¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°They are different from anyone else I¡¯ve seen with higher stats.¡± ¡°This is your first time seeing a full body speed enhancement?¡± he said as his free hand motioned towards the thin cloak that covered his body and was latched with a decent size gemstone near the neck. ¡°That¡¯s odd, but anyway if you have any questions I¡¯ll be over there by the desk for a little while.¡± The desk he pointed to was very similar to the one the headmaster had in his office, the only real difference was that this one was sitting in a more open space, it even came with two smaller chairs sitting opposite the large more comfortable chair that sat behind the U- shaped desk. Ajax nodded his thanks as he took the scroll and headed over to one of the free tables over to one side. He sat down, pulled a small little notebook to take notes and a pencil out of his ring as he rolled out the scroll. Punishment : Bullying Bullying is a progressive retribution, starts off at the first rank Bullying I and grows linearly up to ranks Bullying V. It has a three step progression and a follow up infinite punishment that doubles the original two thousand experience penalty once Bullying V is reached. The punishments of Bullying never reduce the level of the person even if incurred at zero experience. Bullying is an adaptive punishment that comes from several variations of retribution and presents with a different penalty depending on the retribution that triggered it. Progress counted by number of incidents regardless of the number of infractions per incident. Punishment triggered after one hundred incidents for the first time after receiving Retribution and every ten after. Variant I : Obtained by consistently killing enemies that are weakened or trapped by others with you lending any assistance before, after or during the fight. Number of incidents required to trigger is unknown but over one hundred. Observation required incidents to trigger decrease rapidly if the helpers are higher level. Punishment Variant I : Experience and skill progression when killing enemies that are not at least one tenth of your level higher then you decreased by 20% if helped by people at or above your level. Observation : battles where enemies outnumber allies at least ten to one do not count towards punishment. Punishment penalty progresses linearly to 100% loss of experience and skill progression at Bullying V. More tests required for this variant when taking on groups of enemies that consist of a large variance in levels. Variant II : Obtained by repeatedly weakening or trapping enemies at or below your level for others to kill after. (Note trapping for enslavement or taming purposes does not count if the new owner paid for them with that understanding in place even if they killed them after). Number of incidents to trigger is unknown but over one hundred. Observation required incidents to trigger decrease rapidly depending on level difference. (Note : Incidents where you intervene after a fight has already started.) This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Punishment Variant II : Decreases the experience and skill progress made by all allies when working together by 5% in all forms of combat. Punishment penalty progresses linearly to 25% loss of experience and skill progression at Bullying V. Punishment is active at all times regardless of size of group or level of enemies. Observation : having more people with this punishment stacks up to a 50% reduction in experience and skill progression total for the group. Variant III : Obtained by repeatedly making marked increases in experience or skill when fighting and killing enemies that are less than three fourths your level. Number of incidents required to trigger is unknown but over one hundred. Observations required incidents to trigger decrease rapidly as level difference to enemies increases (Note incidents where both enemies and allies number over one hundred do not count). Punishment Variant III : Experience and skill progression reduced by 20% when killing enemies lower than 90% of your level. Observation group size affects the level range of enemies that do not trigger then punishment. When fighting at least ten enemies with a level 80%-90% of your level, punishment does not go in effect and incident doesn¡¯t count. When fighting at least thirty enemies with a level 70%-80% of your level, punishment does not go in effect and incident doesn¡¯t count. Punishment penalty progresses linearly to 100% loss of experience and skill progression at Bullying V. Warning : Multiple Variants of Bullying can be earned. When earning another variant the effects combine while the Bullying Punishment increases by a full rank. Bullying progression and rank can be counteracted by the Achievement : Against Overwhelming odds on a one to one equivalency but lost experience is not refunded. Observation earning the Achievement while at rank Bullying I will lift the punishment. (Note : punishment will be afflicted again should you have five incidents in one month or through the regular requirements). The scroll answered a lot of Ajax¡¯s questions. Most importantly he would not be losing any levels due to the punishment, he was also kicking himself for practicing his healing skills on low level animals and killing them after as surely those counted for a lot of the incidents that lead to him triggering the first punishment, that and the snakes quest. The next thing he focused on was the Achievement Against Overwhelming odds that could remove the punishment from him; that was something he had to look into shortly. The different variants also explained the disdain that the librarian had shown when Ajax mentioned the punishment. Considering how young he looked it was easy to assume that he had gotten the first variation of the punishment. Having gotten what he came for Ajax headed over to the librarian with the scroll in hand. ¡°Yes?¡± the librarian asked without looking up from the scroll he was writing. ¡°I¡¯m not sure which shelf I should return this to.¡± Ajax said with a slight blush of embarrassment, he had been too focused on the old man¡¯s movements at the time and when he went to return it he found two isles marked for Punishments. ¡°Just leave it off to the side.¡± The old man gestured without stopping his writing. ¡°I would also like to ask if you have a scroll on the Achievement Against Overwhelming Odds.¡± Ajax said after placing the unfurled scroll where he indicated. ¡°Of course you would.¡± The librarian finally stopped writing and he looked up towards Ajax and responded with a dismissive tone. Ajax felt [Enigma] activate as the librarian used an inspection skill. For the first time he also felt the skill failed at blocking the inspection, though he did know that the old man only got a look at his stats and name, he had also tried to get his level but [Enigma] had managed to block that. ¡°That¡¯s a surprise.¡± the old man said as he stood up. ¡°It seems that I owe you some apologies.¡± He also gave a rather deep bow, though that was more because of his already hunched back. ¡°I am guessing that you are suffering from the third variant of the Bullying punishment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Ajax said coldly, he also calmed down a moment later when he realized that his own classmates had done the same thing in trying to inspect him and the only reason he was angry at the old man was that he succeeded in getting some information, as long as he didn¡¯t get to read his skill it wasn¡¯t something he was going to make a big fuss about and he knew the old man hadn¡¯t even attempted to read that part of his status, leveling up [Enigma] however rose on his priority list. ¡°Ajax you¡¯re still here?¡± Professor Silvertongue said as he entered the library. ¡° I see you have already met Balthazar.¡± ¡°In a way.¡± Balthazar responded. ¡°It seems all of my manners have waned with age. I am very sorry about that young man. I haven''t even introduced myself to you, I am Balthazar Young.¡± ¡°I am Ajax.¡± Ajax responded with a slack jaw at the name the old man gave. ¡®How can someone so old be called Young¡¯. ¡°Yes most people react this way when introduced to Balthazar.¡± Professor Silvertongue laughed. ¡° The name used to make sense because of how young he used to look but now that he is approaching four thousand years old it seems more of a misnomer.¡± That bomb brought all of Ajax¡¯s thoughts to a grinding halt, this man was four thousand years old? How was that possible? Even kings and heroes didn¡¯t live much past one thousand years at best. ¡°Is he one of the freshmen this year, Abbot?¡± Balthazar asked as he gave Ajax a moment to come to grips with what he just heard. ¡°Not exactly.¡± Professor Silvertongue said. ¡°Ajax here is a teaching assistant for the freshman class. His unique situation made it difficult for him to enroll as a student in the Academy.¡± ¡°Yes, I can see that.¡± Balthazar nodded. ¡°Well let''s see if we can get you that scroll boy, it¡¯s the least I can do after I was so rude to you.¡± Chapter 178 Ajax was only brought back into the moment after Balthazar started walking towards a different aisle. He still could get his head around how the man had been alive for four thousand years, even the two hundred that normal people lived here seemed like a lot to him after he ended his first life before the age of twenty-five. ¡°How could you survive for four thousand years?¡± Ajax finally asked. ¡°I¡¯m only three thousand nine hundred and seventy four.¡± Balthazar said cheekily but then continued to explain. ¡°It isn¡¯t a secret however, are you aware of the effects that stats have on aging?¡± ¡°All physical stats except Perception slow down the effects of aging, physical stats more so than mental ones.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°That is correct but it is not the complete truth.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°While all the stats affect aging, even Perception, they do so at varying rates. Perception is by far the worst , then Wisdom and Intellect are next but both are quite a bit better and Mind is a good chunk above them. Then we reach the physical stats, Strength and Dexterity are about the same and are above Mind with Endurance being a decent chuck above them. That leaves us with Vitality, which is the opposite of Perception by being a solid bit better than Endurance.¡± ¡°Then why isn¡¯t that knowledge better spread?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°First of all, that is because most people don¡¯t make it too far past sixty in their entire lifetime.¡± The old man answered. ¡° Not only that but most people, even in the non-human kingdoms, focus on an almost purely physical build despite access to magic because of the longer lifespan this grants.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see the issues with sharing the knowledge.¡± Ajax still answered. ¡°The stats also affect an aging body differently.¡± Professor Silvertongue answered. ¡°Did you notice, in the previous question we spoke about the effect of stats on aging. Well the stats have a completely reversed effect on age.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the opposite of what you just said?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t know what to think. ¡°No, what I mean by that is that as your body ages past its prime you¡¯ll start to see your stats be given a penalty. There will be no numerical value reduced but an old man with four hundred strength can¡¯t overpower a young man with even two hundred. But an old man with four hundred Perception still has better senses than a young man with three hundred and fifty.¡± Abbot explained. ¡°The final piece of the puzzle is that stats applied only slow down the aging process after they are applied.¡± Balthazar said. ¡° Two people with identical stats and a common average build can have the same stats at around level eighty but one of them has aged half again as much as another simply because of the order they increased their stats in.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t sharing all this mean people would live longer on average?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Yes, and perhaps one day it might even be a good idea to spread this information, after all making an educated decision on this would bring about a lot of good.¡± Balthazar nodded. ¡°But how many commoners do you know that are getting a good education? This information is being distributed but only to those who also receive enough education to make appropriate choices.¡± ¡°If we were to spread this information out wildly, almost every member of the kingdom would spend 80-90% of their stats on Vitality at level ten as that would lead to them living the longest. Can you imagine what doing this on a large scale would mean for society?¡± Abbot asked. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. That question made it all click for Ajax, vitality was very important in combat, but that was only when it came to defense, Vitality had almost no benefit for offense, meaning that if everyone was focusing on vitality with most of their stat points they would all be extremely weak for their level as they begin leveling, and those other low stats would then affect their skills. Even with low skill their leveling speed wouldn¡¯t change that much since the difficulty factor would still be there but the end product of those skills would be much worse than it is now. ¡°I see you can put it together.¡± Balthazar nodded. ¡°Now imagine what would happen if a kingdom that shared that information to its common people was attacked forty or fifty years down the line.¡± Ajax already knew the outcome would be disastrous. Forty or fifty years wasn¡¯t enough to let said kingdom build up a numbers advantage by having its people live longer due to the investment in Vitality but they would be weakened by having their soldiers be much weaker due to the cost of the investment. While it may seem unfair that only the poor weren¡¯t given this information while the nobles and the affluent merchants profited from it, sharing it would do more harm than good before something akin to minimum public education was introduced. ¡°This brings me back to the initial question, how did I manage to live so long.¡± Balthazar said as he entered one of the aisle and started perusing the shelves looking for a specific scroll. ¡°You see in my youth I was dedicated to efficiency, but I took it to a very far extreme.¡± He closed his eyes and shook his head as he struggled to remember those days. ¡° I wanted to get as much out of my stats points as possible, so the day I turned ten I spent all of my stats in the one stat that grew the hardest naturally, Vitality.¡± Ajax was a bit surprised at the parallel this took with his own life, he had done almost the same thing at the age of ten, only instead of spending all the points on one stat he simply didn¡¯t spend them. ¡°But that wasn¡¯t the end of it, even after that point I continued to stubbornly only spend my points on Vitality while rigorously training my other stats, both physical and mental.¡± he continued. ¡°Right now trying to do the same thing would lead to stagnation, but back then the kingdoms weren¡¯t as stable as they are now.¡± ¡°How does that help?¡± Ajax asked, if anything he thought the kingdoms not being stable would be an obstacle for this sort of choice. ¡°I can see why you would think that but I was lucky to be born as the son of the head of one of the three Pillar houses.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°The equivalent of the three archdukes of today.¡± Abbot supplied. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Balthazar nodded. ¡°As such, my father had the wealth and influence to afford having me taken to delve as many as six dungeons for their full floor achievements. three of them even being five level jump dungeons like the Goldmine. That combined with my talents for healing magic and stat potions allowed me to have stats that far surpassed what my level should have been able to achieve even if most were focused on Vitality from a young age.¡± ¡°This is the result.¡± Abbot said. ¡°A very aged body, so much so that even with physical stats that surpass yours he has to rely on magical items and mental stats that mark him as a more than competent mage.¡± ¡°I made my mistake in going too far with my obsession with Vitality.¡± Balthazar admitted. ¡°I managed to gain at least one hundred and thirty points in each of my stats through pure training over the years, with the exception of Vitality of course.¡± ¡°Ah here we are.¡± Balthazar said as he picked up one of the scrolls and handed it to Ajax. ¡°The achievement Against overwhelming odds.¡± Ajax accepted the scroll, while the parchment had the same thickness as the one that contained Bullying the rolled up scroll was a lot smaller meaning that the amount of information on it was much smaller, he quickly unrolled it. Achievement : Against Overwhelming Odds Requirements : kill an enemy at least twice the level you are alone. Two discoveries cost. Rewards : skill [Judge Threat]. In depth requirements : Kill an enemy beast or monster (humanoid are not acceptable) that has not been weakened in any way( Previous wounds, environmental damage, environmental disadvantage, exhaustion). Without any help provided, all magical or enchanted gear used has to be selfcrafted, plain weapons are allowed, buff skills or effects not allowed. Enhancement potions crafted by others are allowed so long as they only affect you and not the enemy. Observations : Hidden reward, remove one instance of the punishments Bullying or Coward if afflicted when first achieved. Hidden rewards are repeatable twice for killing five enemies twice your level alone and again for ten enemies. Note: Enemies killed inside the Dungeon only count if you are not part of a party delving the dungeon and are doing so alone, this regardless of any interference or lack thereof. Attempting to achieve this in a Dungeon is heavily discouraged. Note : Killing a beast that has been well cared for in a natural environment does still count even if said beast was held in captivity as long as all requirements are met. (Monsters used for entertainment in a colosseum or ring fight.) Note : Killing bound companions does count so long as the system believes the fight was genuine and the humanoid bound didn¡¯t interfere to weaken the enemy in any way. Chapter 179 Ajax was on his way back towards the bee hives with a full bag of different flower seeds on his back. He had checked a few things that didn¡¯t seem to add up about the achievement description since he had already brought down one enemy that matched all the listed criteria. It turned out that there was an extra requirement that the monster be at least level fifty. Ajax was pretty sure that the fish he had faced at the lake was close to that but perhaps it was only level forty nine, [Judge Threat] wasn¡¯t the most accurate skill to use when getting precise measurements. One more clarification that took a load off his mind was that you could use buffs on yourself, it was only outside buffs that discounted the achievement. With that cleared up he felt very good about his chances of gaining the achievement, all he needed now was to find a monster that strong, not the easiest thing considering he couldn¡¯t solo dive in either of the dungeons and that entering with a team disqualified him from the achievement. He left that issue for later and started planting the seeds making sure to infuse mana into each one. Two days of gardening later Ajax found himself with another problem, now that he could continue his beekeeping without worrying about wasting a trailblazer achievement he had to find a way to move entire hives without killing any of the bees lest they trigger his punishment. With that restriction he decided to resort to Earth¡¯s method of smoking them before attempting to capture the queens and transport the hives. This relaxing cycle of planting flowers and infusing them with mana, capturing bees as well as spending an hour or so every night recapping all the lessons that he had gone through at the academy. By the end of the second day he had filled the area with 100 hives and had given up on getting any more in the short term since the local bee population had taken a big enough hit that they were hard to find. For the final evening before his first true delve in a capital dungeon Ajax went to have another meal with Hatchet and Luna. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that Hatchet had gotten a job with the Adventurer¡¯s guild as an attendant to help test potential scouts. It had been a long time since Hatchet had done anything to do with the guild but it seems that teaching Ajax awakened a new passion in him so now he was looking for a few more students. Not only that but he had officially also joined Luna¡¯s house as one of her retainers, it was more of a formality since they were old friends more than boss and subordinate but it did offer him a level of protection and preferential treatment, after all no adventurer wanted to piss of the Healing Union. After the enjoyable meal Ajax returned back to his own house. He took a look at the plot next to it where progress on the second house was starting to be made. This one would take a lot longer, not because it was bigger but simply because he wasn¡¯t overpaying for a rush job. The next morning Ajax was in gear and was carrying his trusty backpack. Unlike his class dungeon trip this time Ajax was fully decked out in gear, had sufficient rations to last him for a month and also brought gear so that he could adapt to any environment. A second mostly empty backpack was stacked on top of the first where he carried items for leatherworking. Out of all the crafting professions Ajax could choose from leatherworking was the most consistent one. Since he didn¡¯t want to make such a big investment in a set of tools that would soon be replaced anyway only for them to be unusable he got a set for an apprentice leatherworker after all the chances that both the second and third floor wouldn¡¯t have a single species with workable hide were miniscule. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The other thing he brought with him was his arrow making kit, getting a few tips on how to make decent arrows was one of the things he was looking forward to most since that would be a staple for him for the foreseeable future. As he made his way to the dungeon Ajax finally caught a glimpse of the team waiting off to the side before the queue. The group was a lot bigger than the team the Collectors had, all in all there seemed to be thirty people in total. Twenty of them were clearly combatants, two of them looked to be there simply to carry all of their luggage. Off to the side there were seven more all listening closely to a mousy looking woman that all eight crafters seemed to be giving their undivided attention. All of the members of the delve were young, none of them looked older than thirty by Earth standards though Ajax knew some of them could be in their sixties or seventies. ¡°You Ajax?¡± the leader asked? Ajax took a good look at the man, he was wearing a set of cloth armor with a number of gems embedded here and there. He wasn¡¯t all that tall and he was a little on the thin side but it was all muscle. ¡°I am.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Good to meet you.¡± The man¡¯s stony face broke with a genuine smile that didn¡¯t look like it shouldn¡¯t belong to him but did as he offered Ajax his hand. ¡°Name¡¯s Trevor.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± Ajax responded as he shook his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± he called out and the rest of the group quickly picked up all their gear and lined up to go to the dungeon. ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time to talk as we get to the third floor.¡± The line moved rather quickly though Ajax could feel a disapproving look focused on him from behind though he couldn¡¯t figure out who or why he was on the receiving end of it. Nobody gave the group bearing the archduke¡¯s sigil more than a glance, though Ajax did receive a few inspection attempts though nothing that managed to get past [Enigma]. It seems that the people with a high level inspection skill knew not to try it on people connected with archdukes. ¡°Alright, everybody knows the drill.¡± the leader said once they were all inside. ¡° Ajax here is our guest and he is the teaching assistant at the Academy to Abbot. If I have to catch shit from him about how any of you treated him I will make sure the one or ones responsible will catch at least twice as much as I did. Am I clear?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± All of the combatants and even the two bag carriers answered in unison, with the crafters quick to follow. ¡°Don¡¯t look so glum.¡± Trevor said with a cheeky smile. ¡°From what I hear, if you judge him by his age you¡¯re in for a quick wake up call. And that is something that all of you will get to see first hand as Ajax will be taking down the bosses guarding the arches for the first and second floor by himself.¡± Ajax knew that soloing the boss before an arch was the easiest surefire way to know you had enough contribution that the floor would be considered cleared for the Dungeon achievement. Unlike last time he came into this dungeon Ajax didn¡¯t get the rabbit infestation variation. He was slightly disappointed by that as he would have like to grab a few for cooking on the upper floors ¡°Why such a big difference in quality?¡± A gentle yet disapproving voice sounded out from next to him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked the mousy woman that was inspecting his equipment. ¡°Your weapons aren¡¯t great but they are at least decent, but your armor wouldn¡¯t be anything more than a mild inconvenience to anything we could find on the third floor. ¡°I haven¡¯t yet had the funds to try and replace any of the gear I had when I got to the capital a few weeks ago.¡± Ajax answered as he awkwardly scratched his head. ¡°The weapons I got from a few overeager recruiters but they wore full plate which doesn¡¯t match my combat style.¡± ¡°I was asked to provide teaching in any crafting professions, is there something you are interested in?¡± she asked. ¡°I would like to try my hand at everything.¡± Ajax said excitedly, ¡°but for now I just brought tools for leatherworking and arrow crafting so that¡¯s what I¡¯d like to focus on. Maybe some mild alchemy if we get a good floor for it.¡± ¡°I specialize in blacksmithing, but I know a thing or two about leatherworking, should be enough to get you started.¡± she nodded. Ajax was pleasantly surprised by the attitude the team had towards him, he supposed that Abbot was behind it and the way they were trying to get him to join their house. He still wasn¡¯t going to make a long term commitment but he would certainly be amenable to helping them out if it wasn¡¯t too far out of his way in the future if things kept going like this. Chapter 180 The team moved through the dungeon at a decent speed. The one thing that was never the same regardless of it being on the same iteration of the dungeon¡¯s first floor was the arches that lead to the next floor. Ajax knew more about them having found out that the mana types he could feel when touching them represented the main themes that the floor they led to would take. Ajax had done quite a lot to try and improve his precision when taking a look at different arches, the biggest issue he had however was the way he was examining the mana. The way [Sense Mana] was locked off even at level fifty and provided no insight. [Mana Syphon] couldn¡¯t do a much better job at penetrating the arch¡¯s protection needing physical contact to even attempt siphoning the mana unlike spells which he could start draining more than ten feet out. With all the tests he had done he found two big issues when it came to identifying floor themes. The first was that he could only get a reliable read on the top two most prevalent mana types at most. The other was that there were many mana types that he couldn¡¯t identify since he hadn¡¯t had contact with them. The first arch was found in a little under half an hour after they entered the dungeon and was guarded by a giant snake that was level thirty five. ¡°Let''s see what you can do.¡± Trevor encouraged Ajax. Ajax didn¡¯t want to waste any time with this. Instead of going to fight the snake up close he simply unslung his bow and drew back an arrow. Since he was going straight for the kill he used magma for as much straight up damage as possible, and he put a full two hundred mana into it. His actions got a small reaction from the few mages that were present. The arrow wasn¡¯t all that fast, without the physical enhancements provided by [Syphon Mana] his strength wasn¡¯t all that outrageous, his bow also couldn''t handle him using [Syphon Mana] and he knew he should look into replacing it. The arrow flew quickly and while the snake did sense it before it struck it was still far too late for it to do anything about. The magma arrow barely made it more than an inch past its scales but that was more than enough for it to scorch the inside of the skull killing the beast instantly. ¡°How many of those can you fire?¡± was the first question he was asked Trevor. ¡°Without a break, another ten.¡± Ajax responded truthfully. ¡°That¡¯s as powerful as a level thirty mage, I heard he was a hybrid.¡± ¡°He can only do it ten more times, mages at level thirty could output that power level for twenty attacks at least.¡± ¡°Not with the initial penetration power the arrow added on, and definitely not without an incantation¡± Murmurs started to rise up all around him. Ajax knew his stats, at least mentally, were at about the same level they would be for a level thirty mage, maybe a bit higher. He just wasn¡¯t as efficient with his mana in return for speed and flexibility. ¡°Let''s get going through to the arch.¡± Trevor started to get them moving once again. Ajax did take the time to start skinning the snake he killed and others quickly joined him once he started to get it done faster. ¡°This skin would work to make yourself a new pair of boots even if it''s only for the duration of this dungeon.¡± the crafter woman said from behind him once he finished. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°What happens to craft once we exit the dungeon if they weren¡¯t made from items that can be sustained outside the dungeon?¡± Ajax asked as he hadn¡¯t ever had that much of an interest after he was told they wouldn¡¯t work on the outside. ¡°Depends on the construction process.¡± the woman said. ¡°If all of the item is made from them it will simply wither and rot, or crumble into dust. If it contains parts that are sustainable those won¡¯t be affected but the parts that were made from dungeon material will be affected even if it doesn¡¯t look like they were.¡± ¡°How can it not look like they were?¡± Ajax asked, since it should be pretty obvious if part of an item was withering away. ¡°Best example is when smelting multiple metals together. If even as little as one tenth of the metal can exist outside the dungeon the structure won¡¯t collapse but it will become brittle, all but shattering the first time it meets any real power.¡± she explained. ¡° Selling such items is considered a crime and is punishable by at least five years worth of working the mines.¡± Prison wasn¡¯t a thing here, at least not long term like it was back on Earth. If you committed a crime your punishment could be a fine, community service work or death. Sometimes a mix of the three with your family being left with the fine if you were sentenced to death. Ajax found that to be a better system as it turned criminals into a cheap workforce for the public instead of a drain on taxes. ¡°There is one exception to things that you shouldn¡¯t rely on that are made from dungeon material.¡± She added. ¡°What are those?¡± he asked, surprised since he hadn¡¯t heard of anything like that. ¡°Stat increasing potions.¡± she explained. ¡°If they are created inside the dungeon and consumed inside the dungeon the effects will persist even once you have left. It is why all the noble houses try to recruit experienced alchemists. A lucky few floors in succession inside the Goldmine and an Alchemist might end up having more than three quarters of the items needed to make the potions that their strongest retainers need.¡± ¡°Are there so few alchemists that even the large noble houses struggle to get even a single one?¡± he asked, surprised. ¡°There are that few dungeon crafters, yes.¡± she confirmed. ¡°There is a big difference in crafting inside your workshop and crafting inside the dungeon.¡± ¡°I thought a strong team would be able to protect you while you craft, and with a big enough storage ring it shouldn¡¯t be hard to get the required equipment.¡± Ajax thought out loud. ¡°While both of those things are still issues they aren¡¯t what I was referring to.¡± she shook her head. ¡°While the increased mana in the air might not have a massive effect on combat, though one should be increasingly more aware of it as they delve higher and higher floors, its effect on crafting is enormous.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that.¡± Ajax said as his mind started thinking of the issue. ¡°It affects different crafting professions in different amounts. A leather worker would hardly be affected since most leather comes with the affinity of the monster it was skinned from so the mana in the air doesn¡¯t change the volatility much. For a smith he needs to be extra careful when smelting so that the metals don¡¯t become infused with the wrong type of mana. Alchemy just happens to be the most affected, closely followed by enchanting.¡± she said. ¡°Finding dungeon crafters is also rare since they are almost exclusively commoners.¡± Ajax gave her a look at that and she nodded to the crafters that had come with her in the dungeon. ¡°Unlike nobles the dungeon is the only place where they can afford to find the materials they need to progress their craft. Most of them end up dead long before they reach their prime due to an accident that happens. After all, since they are crafters they usually lack combat skills and all it takes is for things to go wrong once.¡± By the time they finished their little talk the entire team had made it through the arch. Ajax paused briefly to sense the type of mana inside the arch for the second floor and all he could feel was an immense amount of water mana. Once he passed through the arch he found himself on a beach looking out into what seemed to be a lake or an ocean that was dotted with islands, he could even see another arch on the peach of the island closest to them. Most importantly however he could see the flashing icon in the corner of his vision that let him know his dungeon delving Achievement had progressed and he gained +1 to all stats. Most of the team was upset about the theme of the second floor. It was a collection of islands, most inhabited by different species of humanoids, Trevor had seen a tribe of feral worgens, they resembled wolf beastkin but were much closer to the wolf side than the human, a tribe of goblins inhabited a different island and a few naga could be seen in the water. The crafters were ecstatic with the floor theme as they were given a full four hours to build lots of boats from the trees on the island that they would use to get to the nearest island. Even if most of them weren¡¯t all that excited about carpentry they knew it was a useful skill to have and most hadn¡¯t started to focus on a specific craft just yet. Ajax also joined in but he only assisted in getting wood in chopping the trees into their proper shapes, leaving the assembly to those who had experience. The boss guarding the arch they headfor was an orc chieftain. He had a few champions with him and Ajax was only able to pick off their caster with his bow before they spotted him and charged. With the ambient mana being much denser however Ajax had no issue using [Mana Syphon] to its full extent, and a few elemental enhanced blows made quick work of the orcs. The display got him a few nods of recognition from the other combatants on the team. As they prepared to enter the third floor the crafter were arguing with the porters about how many barrels of water they should get, after who knew if they would have access to mana rich water on the next floor? While Trevor and Nina, as he learned the head craftsman was called, were sorting that out Ajax placed his hand on the arch. He felt a strong fire mana presence that masked anything else but Ajax was suddenly very much in the favor of grabbing the water now as he took a barrel, filled it and put it inside his backpack. Chapter 181 ¡°You too?¡± Trevor asked as he noticed Ajax filling multiple barrels. ¡°I¡¯d like to try and get the hang of alchemy.¡± Ajax said truthfully. ¡°Making potions in the dungeon is certainly a lot cheaper and not having potions is a loss of potential.¡± The porters grumbled slightly at the amount of weight they had to carry from the second floor but the team quickly got a move on and stepped through the arch. ¡°I¡¯m not an alchemist by trade but we do have more than a few spare plants in our provisions.¡± Nina said to him before they stepped through the arch. ¡°Do be aware that we will charge you the price of anything you use after we exit. Alchemy is highly profitable but you never find all the ingredients you need on one floor.¡± Ajax took that to heart as he followed through the arch. Getting proficient in Alchemy was going to be a costly endeavor but one that would surely pay off later down the line if he stuck with it. The academy was his best chance to focus on it as they supplied plenty of ingredients for their classes and the instructor was one of the top in the field. Stepping through the arch felt the same as always but once he was out on the other side everything changed. The air felt uncomfortably hot and thick with soot starting a slow burn in his lungs. The ceiling was marked by black clouds that loomed over the entire floor. The entire expanse was a rocky hot hellscape with a river flowing in the distance that seemed to actually be on fire. ¡°It¡¯s an abyssal floor.¡± Trevor called out to the sound of curses from a lot of the team. Ajax quickly took his own scarf out of the bag just like everyone else and wrapped it around his mouth and nose to filter the air he was breathing. Demons, as they were called back on Earth, also existed in this world. Much like elementals however, demons only appeared after a certain level, for lesser demons like imps and hellhounds that level was fifty. This level meant that while Ajax did learn about abyssal floors from the guild this would be his first time entering one. With the fine scarf filtering the air Ajax finally got around to checking the notification marking his gain of +1 to all stats from advancing another floor. He grinned to himself as just today he got a whole sixteen stat points just from delving and there were more to be gained from the Goldmine in the near future. ¡°Everyone get in formation three! Crafters put that high perception stat to work and keep your eyes peeled.¡± Trevor called out. Ajax moved to the center, he didn¡¯t have any prior experience working with this team so he was placed with the crafters so as to not get in the way of the defensive position. While everyone got in the defensive position quickly nobody was tense showing that this was simply a precaution. Both imps and hellhounds traveled in packs and habitually targeted people in lighter armor. ¡°What¡¯s with him?¡± Ajax asked as one of the crafters was shaking slightly. ¡°He¡¯s just excited.¡± Nina answered with a bit of excitement showing in her voice as well. ¡°Abyssal floors usually have the best variety when it comes to all different metals, not to mention the difficulty of crafting in this atmosphere leads to great advances in skill levels. Though as a beginner I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to have any successful alchemy crafts in this environment, best to stick with leatherworking for this delve as the water just became more important for other things.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I hate to say it but it looks like all that water will have a purpose after all.¡± Trevor cut it having listened in on the conversation. ¡°We¡¯ll still leave you half the barrels but we will need the other half.¡± A bit more grumbling came from the crafters at that but nobody outright complained as they understood the situation. With that settled the group started off in the direction of the closest hill, Nina had a skill that would let her sense the presence of the metals if they were close enough to the surface so the group was now looking for the closest mining site they could set up. The first encounter with an enemy was very underwhelming for all the precautions they took. A single gargoyle flying in the sky approached for a dive but was quickly killed before it could get too close to the party. Even the stone body of the creature shattering on the ground as it was shot out of the sky. ¡°Collect that!.¡± The excited smith quickly piped in. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to work a forge powered by gargoyle coal.¡± ¡°Stay in formation!¡± Trevor quickly followed. ¡° Hellhounds have a camouflage skill that isn¡¯t powered by mana and are almost always present on abyssal floors.¡± Nina delivered a quick smack to the back of the guy''s head almost sending him to the floor despite her small stature and light blow. Ajax adamantly promised himself not to annoy the high level smith as she had clearly put some serious points into strength, she might not have had an aura but Ajax would put money on her being the strongest person on the team. After the team carefully moved to collect the corpse of the gargoyle they continued heading in the direction of the hill. The way there was relatively safe with only two other gargoyles attempting to impede them but getting nowhere with the attempt only adding to the supply of coal for the forge. Once Nina finally got a hit on her metal detection skill the team headed for a cave that opened up near the halfway point of the hill. They could hear something that Ajax could only describe as an evil cackle from a long way off. ¡°Sounds like we got imps. Team one stick with the crafters, everyone else with me, Ajax that means you as well.¡± Trevor gave out instructions. Knowing a fight was about to break out Ajax started using his [Mana Syphon] the amount of mana present in the air was higher then he had ever felt before, add that on to the increased efficiency perk he got when he pushed the ability past the threshold and Ajax was now having almost half the cost of his full power infusion sustained by the mana in the air. As Ajax felt himself absorb the mana he found that it was made from a mana type that he hadn¡¯t encountered before, not only that but it was the same mana type that was predominant in the arch second only to the fire mana that was masking it. Ajax didn¡¯t give it much attention as the battle soon began. Thirty imps came charging out of the cave as they approached. They looked very much like he remembered them looking back in the video games he played on Earth. They were short, no taller than three and a half feet with red skin and freakishly large pointy ears coming out of their small skulls with a long nose and small pointy teeth. While the imps weren¡¯t moving all that fast Ajax was quick to notice the sparks of black flame that materialized in their hands. His mana sense told him that while they looked very much like flames the mana was different in some way from normal fire mana, more like it was a mixture between it and another form of mana. Ajax hadn¡¯t even known it was possible for two forms of mana to mix like that. He had certainly added a double effect to his arrows before but that was done by layering the mana infusion while making sure the mana types didn¡¯t mix, this was definitely something he should do some research on before trying it out for himself. Most of the fighters either dodged the fireballs outright or blocked them with their large shields, the opening volley not managing to find any solid connections. Ajax quickly fired off six arrows, each infused with about one hundred lightning mana before he swapped over to his sword and hammer. The reason Ajax swapped weapons was easy to see for all that took a closer look at the arrows that landed, despite the lightning mana having no issue immobilizing the imps struck the arrows didn¡¯t make it any deeper than half an inch into the skin, since Ajax couldn¡¯t put any more power behind them without breaking his bow he decided to go into melee. With his full powered [Mana Syphon] Ajax had no problem overpowering the imps, he was careful to use a wind augmentation on his blade and ice on his hammer as he wanted the imp hide to suffer as little damage as possible. By the time he took out three of the imps the rest of the team had also handled the horde. Chapter 182 The battle was over quickly, with this being a crafter run team almost all of the combatants were at level fifty-five meaning they were slightly above the strongest monsters that could be found and would have stood a chance going even one floor higher. After all no house would risk its crafters without appropriate protection. ¡°Trevor, this place has a solid vein but I¡¯m not sure how deep the cave goes. Make sure to clear it all out as this will be a perfect base camp for this delve.¡± Nina took her role as leader of the delve even if she was below Trevor in the chain of command that only applied during combat. Trevor sent a scout to take a look deeper inside the cave while everyone else already started setting up the crafting facilities on the outside of the cave. Everybody seemed like a well oiled machine as they started getting the base camp set up, Ajax didn¡¯t have an assigned role so he got to work skinning his own kills as he didn¡¯t want to get in anyone¡¯s way. For the first time Ajax had forced himself to push past his own feeling of wrongness. Despite goblins, kobolds and imps looking slightly humanoid, Ajax didn¡¯t have any issues when it came to killing them, he understood that this world was different from Earth and that life didn¡¯t have the same value here. Skinning something so humanoid however was something that he did have a reluctance to, one that he had to push himself past. Two of the corpses he had to leave off to the side to defrost as trying to skin them otherwise would have damaged the leather. ¡°These are some clean kills.¡± Another of the crafters said as they approached him after he finished with the second kill. ¡°Was planning to use the skin for some leatherworking so I took care not to damage it when I killed them.¡± Ajax replied. ¡°I can see that.¡± He nodded at the two with a few frozen patches. ¡°You mind if I try skinning those two, the frozen patches should add enough difficulty for me to improve my skill. I¡¯ll use my other skills to quickly tan them as well.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Ajax agreed, happy to have some tanned skins to work with as well. While the other crafter had started skinning the other two imps Ajax had gotten started at making a pair of boots out of the snake on the first floor. The boots he had on were sturdy enough for the rocky surface but sadly they were a horrible fit for the hot atmosphere. ¡°That¡¯s not bad.¡± Nina said as she looked over his shoulder. ¡°You already have a leatherworking skill?¡± ¡°Tried my hand at a lot of things back in my village.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°My parents weren¡¯t all that keep to have me take up anything combat related after my brother joined the city guard so I went through everything else before it came to hunting.¡± What he left out was that he had picked up most of those skills, and that his talent in those areas was in question considering his Divine Witness trait meant he could pick up most skills with enough practice. For the next two hours Ajax had put together a more decent pair of boots that would allow his feet to breathe a little without sacrificing defense. ¡°There is nothing else inside the cave and I couldn¡¯t find any other exits.¡± The scout then returned. ¡°The cave does run a few tunnels deeper but they are all dead ends and clean.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Alright, everyone with a mining skill pick up a pickaxe and follow me.¡± Nina called out. Ajax traded out his boots before heading over to pick up a pickaxe. This action got a n eyebrow raise from Nina when she saw him among the three crafters and two combatants who answered her request. ¡°I¡¯ve got to wait for the imps to get tanned anyway.¡± Ajax shrugged at her look which got a nod from her. Besides the mining picks all of them also carried a few wooden poles that a carpenter would place to stabilize the cave when they started to mine. It was a quick ten minute trip before Nina found what she called the best spot and the carpenter quickly got to work setting up the supports. With the supports in place all of them got to work and started picking away at the walls. Ajax was taking full advantage of his [Mana Syphon] but wasn¡¯t using any of his own mana, just whatever he could get for free; that combined with [Precise Blow] meant he was making good progress in tearing the wall apart. In about twenty minutes they had already started to see the Iron vein that was hidden in the wall of the cave and the slowest of the miners was sent up to get a cart so they could start ferrying it up . Ajax could feel his body warming up as he kept going while also being careful not to mine outside of the area held up by the supports, the last thing he wanted was to cause a cave in. After about another hour of work, and the third cart of ore the sent up to the top, the cart returned with four more of the combat personnel. ¡°They¡¯re ready to start the smelting process.¡± One of the newcomers informed Nina. ¡°Crafters come with me,¡± she said and also nodded at Ajax. ¡°Simon, you stay here and make sure they don¡¯t bury themselves.¡± ¡°Yes ma''am.¡± came the quick response from the carpenter. Ajax and the other three crafters passed over their picks as they headed back up with the forth cart only half filled. Once they made it up at the top Ajax was surprised to see a gray fire burning in the furnace that gave off a bright blue smoke, clearly the gargoyle coal was quite something to see burn. ¡°Were there any incidents?¡± Nina asked Trevor once they were back and the cart was taken back down by one of the crafters who inspected the imp skins before deciding to mine for a bit longer. ¡°Only three more solo gargoyles.¡± Trevor responded and pointed to the pile of rocks next to the furnace. ¡°They were quickly brought down and added to the pile.¡± While Ajax didn¡¯t join in to help with the smelting process he did stand nearby as he pushed his [Sense Mana] skill. He had felt that the iron had mana infused into it though he didn¡¯t know what kind. He could use [Mana Syphon] on it to figure it out but since the iron most likely was less resistant than the arches if it was found out that he could weaken mana enhanced materials it would cause a shitstorm he didn¡¯t want to deal with. Out of the entire team only three people were involved in smelting the ore. One was Nina, one was the eager smith and the final was one of the combat members who had apparently gained the skill but wasn¡¯t interested enough in crafting to make it his focus. Of the three only Nina and the smith were using the gargoyle coal and Ajax could see the difference between them with his [Sense Mana]. The bars the combatant smelted had a lower mana concentration than those created by the other two, using mana infused coals seemed to lower the concentration loss during the smelting process. As for the bars created by Nina and the smith the difference could be sensed in the flow of the mana. The bars created by the smith had a very chaotic manapath whereas Nina¡¯s had a smooth clear orientation. He couldn¡¯t distinguish them once they were finished, without infusing some mana into them anyway, but it was obvious during the crafting process. ¡°We¡¯ve got another Gargoyle incoming.¡± The scouted shouted while pointing towards a dot in the sky that was slowly getting bigger. ¡°Mind if I take it?¡± Ajax asked as he pulled out his bow. ¡°It¡¯s all yours.¡± Trevor nodded Ajax first fired an electric arrow much like he did with the imps only for it to bounce harmlessly off the gargoyle. Clearly the stone skin was too much for his arrows and his non enhanced strength to break through and the rocky texture was resistant to the electric effect as well. His second shot was much more effective, despite it also bouncing off the ice mana froze a large enough patch to affect the wing causing the gargoyle to drop in an uncontrolled dive. The crash wasn¡¯t enough to kill the gargoyle but it did crush one of its knees causing it to lose the leg. Ajax was quick to close the distance however and the gargoyle didn¡¯t even get a chance to stand up before a metal infused hammer crushed its head completely. With the gargoyle crumbling in front of him Ajax lowered his hammer as a wave of weakness traveled through him, a system notification opening in front of his eyes. Curse of Weakness Type : Temporary Strength : Minor Effect : Strength lowered by 10. Cause : absorbing too much cursed mana Duration : 1 hour Chapter 183 The instant that he read the notification Ajax quickly cut off his [Mana Syphon], for the first time he had found a downside to his core skill, he had read a few times that there was no such thing as a perfect skill all of them had limitations or downsides only the rumored Mythic skills didn¡¯t and he had finally ran into [Mana Syphon]. He had paid very close attention to how his skill absorbed mana in the past, even when using it against spells that were cast by others the process was always the same. It would break down whatever structure the mana had before it absorbed it and used it to fuel him. It had never been an issue in the past but it seems that curse mana, even without a structure, was harmful to him. He theorized that there must be a mythic version of his skill that not only broke down the mana but also neutralized it before absorbing it but getting something like that was not realistic. ¡°You¡¯re not going to let him keep it right?¡± he heard a voice behind him that broke him out of his pondering. ¡°Our rules stand.¡± Nina¡¯s voice was one he recognised so he turned towards the people behind him. ¡°But he¡¯s an outsider, not even one of us.¡± the same crafter complained. ¡°Our. Rules. Stand.¡± Nina¡¯s tone brokered no argument. As Ajax paid a little more attention to the pile of gargoyle at his feet he realized what the fuss was about. The gargoyle he had killed was one that could be taken back outside without dissolving into mana. The rules of the delve was that whoever kills it can keep it and that was how house Silvertongue incentivised their combatants to volunteer for helping out on crafter delves. Taking another look at the curse notification Ajax decided that it wasn¡¯t anything he needed to be all too concerned about right now, the duration was only an hour long and ten Strength wasn¡¯t too big of a loss but the phenomenon was something he would be researching the first chance he got. With that settled he nodded his thanks to Nina and quickly packed up the gargoyle coal. As he waited around for the curse to dissipate Ajax found himself paying a lot of attention to the tanner as he was using a set of runic magic equipment to speed up the tanning process. Unlike with chanting or monster free casting Ajax could just barely use sense mana to get an idea that mana was being used, let alone find a way to copy the spell or mana type used. ¡°Interested in runic magic?¡± the crafter who was tanning them asked. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t mix with my style.¡± Ajax denied. ¡°I am curious what mana type you are using though.¡± ¡°I never thought about that to be honest.¡± the crafter said, surprised. ¡°I¡¯m sure the person who made them knows but as long as they help with my crafting that¡¯s good enough for me.¡± The hour passed quite slowly as he was basically watching paint dry only with leather but by the end of it he was pleasantly surprised to see that he had gotten a new skill. [Curse Resistance] was the first Rare resistance skill he has seen but it was a welcome addition, especially since he had yet to learn anything about how curses worked, all he knew was that using curse spells was outlawed. By the time that his curse dropped off quite a few of the ingots had cooled down enough for the crafters to start actually using them. The process was fascinating since the increased stats that people had here meant that some of the smaller works could be done in a few hours despite the high quality metal. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. A few more of the crafters were adept enough with smithing to try their hand at it, even if it wasn¡¯t their main craft though they were making some much simpler pieces like a knife or a basic sword. ¡°Do all of them have the blacksmithing skill?¡± Ajax asked Nina when she took another break from smelting the metal. ¡°No, but blacksmithing even without the skill helps improve other crafting skills.¡± Nina said. ¡°It''s all about watching how the mana dense materials react, when doing something as simple as hammering a metal bar into a longer and thinner shape then sharpening it you still make some progress even if the end product isn¡¯t all that great.¡± With the curse gone Ajax went ahead and took up at one of the open anvils as he started crafting a knife. He was hoping to use some of the imp leather for a grip and hopefully make a decent knife. ¡°That¡¯s not bad for a beginner.¡± the smith crafter said as he looked over Ajax¡¯s knife. ¡°My dad was the village smith, I watched him a few times.¡± Ajax said. ¡°It¡¯s still not as good as yours.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t lying, the blade the smith made was a two feet long two handed sword, it had a good guard and was only missing a handle, the pommel was even detailed into a snake¡¯s head as a symbol for house silvertongue. ¡°We¡¯ve got imps incoming.¡± the scout called out as he looked out in the distance. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Finally¡± ¡°About time¡± ¡°Let me at them.¡± Despite some of the combatants being handy with crafting some of them were still just sitting there bored out of their minds. With Ajax¡¯s recent windfall all of them were eager to make their own tidy sum and wanted to take a swing at the approaching imps. ¡°Get in formation.¡± Trevor shouted over all the excited cheers. ¡°These are still abyssal imps, they may seem chaotic but they have some teamwork when it comes to fighting, I don¡¯t want to lose anyone on this delve, you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± they all responded and stomped down their eagerness as they quickly formed their formation. Ajax was left to sit on the side lines for this battle, which was fine by him as he was really interested in analyzing how the imps casted their black fire. The reason for this was very simple, the mana type that they mixed with fire to get the black flames was the curse mana that was prevalent throughout the floor. Now that he was fully focused on the imps Ajax got a much better picture of how they were casting their magic. Much like all the other casters he fought before the imps were channeling fire mana quickly through their hands as they brought it into their palms to summon the fireball. The difference in their technique was that they weren¡¯t simply channeling the skill during the second or two that spell took, instead during that entire time they were going through a pitching motion at the end of which the flames that sprouted in their hand quickly turned from red to black before being flung at the combatants. With there only being twenty imps in this group the group make quick work of them even without the help of Ajax or any of the crafters. Ajax wasn¡¯t sure if he was glad or slightly disappointed that none of the black fireballs made contact. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted anyone to get hurt but more that he wanted to see what the effects of curse mana was when mixed with other mana types. As he pondered this he tried summoning up a small amount of curse mana in the palm of his hand, he had taken precautions to move away from the group and waited until all of their mana users were busy doing something else. There was plenty of mana in the air for him to get a good idea of the feel of it so he had no problem turning three points of his mana into curse mana. From there however he quickly found the curse mana connecting to his mana pool and spreading like a drop of food coloring in water, by the time he managed to contain it he felt his entire arm burning. Curse of clumsiness Type : Temporary Strength : Minor Effect : Dexterity lowered by 30 with the right arm. Cause : Curse man infused in right arm. Duration : 2 hour Unlike all other forms of mana Ajax found that he couldn¡¯t enforce any control over the curse mana. The result was far from the worst case scenario but Ajax still berated himself over the stupid risk he just took, he knew curse mana was dangerous but so far his prodigious talent had let him turn any setback into an advantage so he got overconfident. He should have realized from the start that generating curse mana wasn¡¯t a good idea. He didn¡¯t know how the imps did it but even they only generated it at the last possible moment, even then they only did so when it could combine with the fire mana that was already severed from their mana pool The final test he had for the curse mana, at least until he did some further research in the Academy library, was to try and use his [Mana Syphon] on the curse he could feel in his right arm. That test was a decent success as while it may have spread the curse it did also break it down and weaken it. Curse of clumsiness Type : Temporary Strength : Minor Effect : Dexterity lowered by 10. Cause : Curse man infused in the body. Duration : 15 minutes Chapter 184 Despite the curse being spread out and weakened, Ajax spent the next fifteen minutes feeling like his blood had raised its temperature by twenty degrees, this wasn¡¯t enough to deal any real harm to him especially through his [Pain Resistance] but it did certainly make for a very unpleasant time. With that the attacks seemed to have stopped and soon night was upon them. As Ajax was considered one of the crafters for the duration of the mission he wasn¡¯t assigned a position in the night shift. Despite the tents having some silencing runes on them they weren¡¯t strong enough to suppress the sound enough for Ajax Perception so he was woken up both times when a gargoyle attacked. The third time he was woken up by the sounds of battle it was close enough to morning that he decided to simply get up. The sight of another gargoyle being added to the pile next to the forge however wasn¡¯t what interested him, what did interest him was the bubble of mana he could feel from next to the anvils. As he approached he recognised Nina from her stature but he was still surprised to see the woman bring the hammer down on a piece of metal yet hear no sound. The phenomenon was soon explained by the mana that was swirling around the metal as it easily stopped all the vibrations from traveling. ¡°How does that work?¡± Ajax asked when he saw Nina put the hammer down. ¡°How does what work?¡± Nina asked him not at all, startled by his presence. ¡°The magic that stops the sound from your hammering.¡± Ajax explained, the mana movement was so complex and quick Ajax couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it even with his [Sense Mana] at level fifty. ¡°I have no idea.¡± Nina admitted something that shocked Ajax. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Ajax all but shouted in his surprise. ¡°No.¡± she said as she turned to look at him questioningly. ¡°But then how are you doing it?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You¡¯re in your first year at the Academy right?¡± Nina asked and Ajax nodded. ¡°That makes sense then, you won¡¯t go over this at least until later in the year but it is related to my skill.¡± Seeing Ajax still looking confused she decided to explain a bit more of the theory. ¡°Skills are gained through practice in a field that you have talent in, for the most part anyway, but if that was all there was to it why wouldn¡¯t people without the skill not be able to replicate it by simply copying the technique?¡± ¡°The answer is that when you gain a skill the system adds the innate knowledge of how to fully complete the skill to whatever it was you were doing before.¡± she continued. ¡°It¡¯s seen less with lower rarity skills but it gets very obvious with higher rarity ones.¡± Thinking over her words Ajax was surprised that he hadn¡¯t put that together himself, after all he had no idea how his own [Mana Syphon] worked, sure he knew and understood the process of absorbing the mana, but turning what he siphoned into a physical increase was something he didn¡¯t know, he did it purely by muscle memory granted by activating the skill. ¡°My Epic skill, [Mana Compression] came from me trying to keep all of the mana present in the metal despite forging it, the skill does that but also more that somehow makes my work better.¡± Ajax was surprised that she so easily revealed an Epic skill that his mind completely switched tracks from the discussion they were having. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Why would you reveal an Epic skill?¡± he asked before he could stop himself. Nina simply chuckled at his question. ¡°It is a bit refreshing to see some of the gaps in your learning. After the power you showed and the skill with the few crafts you tried your hand at, it''s a nice reminder that you are still limited despite all that potential.¡± ¡°As for your question, I don¡¯t mind telling you about that skill because a lot of people know about it. You said you come from a small village so I¡¯m sure that your parents drilled it into you not to share any skills that are Rare or higher right?¡± she asked. Ajax simply nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good approach as a general rule, but once you have enough power to stand up for yourself, or join a house or guild with enough power¡± she pointed to the silvertongue sigil on her armor. ¡° Epic crafting skills are something you share as advertisements. Combat skills should absolutely be hidden but revealing some skills like this can also help you hide others by having people know you for just the skills you let them know. I¡¯m the smith with [Mana Compression] and that¡¯s what I¡¯ll be to everyone even if I have an Epic combat skill they might only suspect I have.¡± Ajax nodded along with her reasoning. ¡°Then I should probably be advertising that I have [Enigma], a Legendary skill should be enough to cover up a lot.¡± Ajax had no issue revealing that since the higher ups of house Silvertongue already knew he had that skill and so did quite a few other parties. The look of shock on Nina¡¯s face when she heard the name of the Legendary skill was something to see, her eyebrows made a dash for her hairline and her jaw dropped open as she just stared at him for a few seconds before she regained her composure. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should have told me that,¡± she said after she regained her composure. ¡°You do know it¡¯s something I will have to share with the family higher ups.¡± ¡°I know¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°But seeing as professor Silvertongue not only knows when I got the skill but also used his connections to help me get the skill they must already know about it.¡± It was then that Ajax felt an appraising skill be used on him by Nina. [Enigma] tried to fight it but it was still too low to be able to stop whatever skill she used, what did surprise Ajax was that [Enigma] informed him that all Nina got from him was that his race was human. He hadn¡¯t seen any previous inspection skill collect information on his race. ¡°Thanks for that.¡± Nina said. ¡°For what?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°My appraisal skill just beat a Legendary skill. This should help me unlock an appraisal skill that is a higher rarity.¡± She said. Ajax didn¡¯t get a chance to respond as the scout on duty interrupted them with a call ¡° Incoming hellhound pack, they¡¯re almost on top of us!¡± Ajax quickly reacted and took his bearings, focusing on the pack of horse-sized dark red chihuahuas that had come out of camouflage and were charging towards the cave. There weren¡¯t that many of them, only fifteen but they were moving a lot faster than the imps and most of the combatants weren¡¯t in formation. Ajax was careful to only use [Syphon mana] on his own mana as he drew his sword and pulled out his Axe, the hammer wasn¡¯t as good against highly mobile enemies, especially when there were allied he might send the hounds crashing into with a strong hammer blow. It took him almost no time to decapitate the hellhound he targeted and had no issue spotting the second that tried to jump him. The problem was that he was in no position to dodge so he quickly used earth mana to mold the ground into getting him a way to jump out of the way. The hounds jaws snapped shut right where his shoulder had been a second ago. What was even more worrying however was that in the last second Ajax felt a lot of curse mana be released from the hellhounds teeth. Unlike with the imps however this mana quickly dissipated into the atmosphere after the bite missed. The second bite attempt ended with an axe splitting the hellhound''s skull, killing it instantly. The rest of the battle was also winding down with Nina having killed three hounds herself and Trevor standing over two despite wearing nothing on the top half of his body, a clear sign he had just woken up. For the first time since the delve had begun however the team had finally suffered an injury. One of the combatants had a hound bite down on his arm, despite the plate armguard the teeth still managed to get two inches deep into the skin after a few repeated bites on the same location. Sensing the danger the hound let go of the arm and jumped backwards as a spear barely missed it. Ajax was surprised to see the hellhound breathing so heavily and moving so sluggish, he had read about them before and they should have had more stamina than this. The last remaining hounds were quickly mopped up while Trevor moved towards the injured combatant. ¡°Nobody touch the wound.¡± he commanded as he shoved the team''s healer closer. ¡°They had a cursed bite.¡± he said as he quickly but carefully removed the damaged armguard to reveal the bite mark that was quickly turning purple. Ajax was surprised to see them shove a piece of wood in the injured person¡¯s mouth but it was self-evident why a moment later when the healer used Holy mana on the cursed site. The wounded combatant looked to be in severe pain as the Holy mana cleansed the curse, his jaw tensed so much that Ajax was worried he might bite through the wood. Chapter 185 As he watched the combatant battle the agony inflicted by curing the curse Ajax found himself praising his past self for the foresight to not test out the interaction between the two conflicting mana types on his own body without doing any research first. ¡°Is he going to be alright?¡± Ajax asked Nina as the fight was over. ¡°He will be fine, the hell hounds bite only inflicts a lesser localized curse caused by infusing a large amount of curse mana into the bite site.¡± She explained as she watched over the crafters who started to set up their work stations. ¡°Lesser curse?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised that the curse was different than his own but he wanted to see just how much information he could pull out of Nina, after all the more he got out of her the more he would be able to question Balthazar without it looking suspicious. ¡°Curses are set up in different tiers, the known ones are minor, lesser, weak and the basic curse. At least those are all the tiers where the subject has survived getting cursed, there have been curse users who have claimed to achieve strong curse variations but no victim has ever survived to confirm it before the culprit was executed for one crime or another.¡± she answered. ¡°So curse magic is outlawed?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°No, it just so happens that anyone that managed to find a way to curse people has also been dabbling in many outlawed practices, most prominent of which torture by exsanguinate.¡± she explained as a small frown took over her face before disappearing. ¡° At least those who can cast a stronger variant than weak curses anyway.¡± With the questioning out of the way Ajax started to reflect on the battle he had just witnessed. Unlike the imps that were clearly a caster type the hellhounds seemed to be an obvious physical type combatant, their speed and strength alone marked them as such for level fifties monsters. So then the question remained, how did they work in curse magic on top of that? Despite spending almost an hour thinking over the topic Ajax was no closer to finding the answer than when he started. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have any theories of what could be going on, instead it was because of his gaming background from Earth that he had way too many plausible theories. After all, the LitRPG genre as well as DND and online video games had many takes on curses or the warlock archetype and he didn¡¯t know which one applied or if they were all wrong. He was broken out of his thoughts when all of the hellhounds were skinned and the tanners started their work on them. With their camp having limited space some of the imp skins were taken down and considered done since the hellhounds were so much more valuable, after all their skin was that of a physically focused creature and as such would be of higher quality than that of caster type of the same level. After getting his imp skin back Ajax wasn¡¯t focused on turning it into any proper leather armor, he knew that both his skill and the material wasn¡¯t good enough for him to make anything that would be better than his current equipment. At best he might be able to make something comparable using the skin of the two hellhounds that he brought down. That didn¡¯t mean that the imp skin he had was useless or to be used just for trial and error. The system was known to grant increased experience for complete items, this wasn¡¯t something that could help him, but there was no such thing as plate armor that didn¡¯t use any leather, if only for warmth. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. With that idea in mind he had quickly approached one of the crafters who had been previously working on only making weapons, not only that but the weapons were of a slightly lower quality that any other smith that was working with the metal that was being pulled out of the mine. ¡°Hey.¡± Ajax greeted as he approached. ¡°Yes? Is there something I could help you with?¡± His slightly annoyed tone quickly turned respectful after he saw who he was talking to. After all he knew that the Silvertongues were invested in recruiting Ajax and he didn¡¯t want to make a bad impression. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you are sticking to only making weapons.¡± Ajax approached the topic straight away as he didn¡¯t want to put too much pressure on the young smith and was just looking to make a fair connection that didn;t come with strings attached. ¡°I am, but that¡¯s not because I am focusing on weapon smithing, simply because they will grant me the most experience and experience.¡± the smith said. ¡°I was wondering if we could make an agreement.¡± Ajax said as he looked at the work the smith produced. ¡°Despite it being worse than the others it wasn¡¯t by much, at least if he didn¡¯t take Nina into account, and it was a lot better craftsmanship than the few metal pieces that made up his set of armor . ¡°I¡¯ll make the leather inlay for your armor pieces, that way you can gain more experience from making complete works instead of just weapons. And in exchange you can help me with the smithing needs of my own armor once we are back outside.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to be focusing on smithing?¡± the boy asked surprised, considering he had seen Ajax talking with Nina quite a bit and he had also seen him going down in the mines to mine out the ore. Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised by the question but he knew that he couldn¡¯t overextend himself too much when it came to professions crafting if he didn¡¯t want to fall behind on his combat skills. In the end he decided that Alchemy would be his main focus as it was by far the most expensive one and the one he could gain the most from by drinking stat potions in the dungeon. The second would be leatherworking as most of his gear and bags were made of leather, meaning that he would have to branch out for the other pieces. ¡°I plan to focus on Alchemy.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°Sadly there are basically no plants on the floor, since most of my armor is leather I will put any spare time I have into leatherworking. That¡¯s not to say that I don;t need a good smith, simply that I can;t stretch myself too thin.¡± The smith seemed to weigh his offer for a few seconds before he extended his hand towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯ve got yourself a deal. You make me the leather pieces for a few sets of armor and I¡¯ll be happy to make any smithing pieces you need on the outside.¡± His smile turned into a smirk as he added one last part to the agreement ¡°as long as you provide the ore or metal, ofcourse.¡± Ajax had hoped to get one over on the smith with the surprise offer but it seemed he caught on to the trick and asked Ajax to provide the materials. Still it was a good deal and one he gladly shook on as he headed back and started his work on the leather. Working with such high leather was a lot harder than he had expected. Unlike the level thirty five snake he had worked on the level fifty imps were a lot harder to get to work nicely. The biggest reason for this was the fact that the imps were casters, as such despite the leather being of high quality their lower Endurance made it much harder to work with than the snake had been. His work as he finished with the imps was by no means a work of art but it was good enough to be considered padding for whatever amor the smith crafted. Seeing as he had finished a bit of time before the smith had finished with the armor Ajax decided to go back to analyzing the curse mana he felt from both the imps and the hellhounds. The more he thought about it the more it didn¡¯t make sense. The hellhound had clearly had a more potent curse mana than the imps, this was clear when he thought back on the amount of curse mana that the hellhounds released with each bite and the amount that the imps were using to mix into their fireballs. This didn¡¯t make any sense, the imps were clearly the caster type. Not only that but the hellhound couldn¡¯t even keep a hold of the curse mana after they bit down, regardless of whether or not that bite actually made contact. That is when Ajax had an epiphany. What if neither the imps or the hellhounds actually had any control of the curse mana. What if they both simply released the curse mana and it naturally melded with its surroundings, for the hellhounds that would be the atmosphere when they missed and the flesh of their target when they made contact. For the imps it would always be their fireball they were preparing. His theory made a lot of sense considering how when he tried to generate curse mana directly it had tried to infect his entire mana pool and ended up cursing him. What if they weren¡¯t generating curse mana from their mana pool, what if they were generating it by sacrificing their stamina instead. Both the constant motion of the imps and the tired hellhound supported this theory. Chapter 186 His theory that both the imps and the hellhounds sacrificed their stamina to turn it into curse mana had a solid basis, both when it came to this world as he saw the hell hounds getting tired a lot faster than any monster that level should after the amount of effort they put in, but also in terms of Earth knowledge as a lot of warlock tropes surrounded sacrifice for power, the only difference here was that the caster was also the one bearing the sacrifice. With this hypothesis in mind Ajax was determined to sit out the next encounter as long as it was against imps or hellhounds and just observe in hopes of getting a better grip on his theory. This most likely wasn¡¯t anything that hadn¡¯t already been spotting but he wanted to work out his own theory before reading whatever else anybody else had already figured out to keep a fresh perspective and keep his Earth idea untainted. As he was thinking about the curse mana theory however his work with leatherworking was finally showing his lack of skill levels. It wasn¡¯t so much that he didn¡¯t know how to make the gear, but as soon as he stopped making basic armor padding, the imp leather was getting too hard to shape into proper pieces, his bracers are the only piece of gear that came out right and they were simple circular pieces of leather. Even his pauldrons didn¡¯t come out right and he was going for a light variant. As he didn¡¯t want to waste any more of the leather he had earned for himself just yet he took one final look out into the horizon and once he saw nothing he decided to go for another stint down in the mines and work on his mining skill a bit more. Ideally he would be able to delve on his own for floors that were still at the same level as he was. He also knew that after floors passed the level one hundred points for their monsters their scaling changed but all that meant was that he had to work that much harder to make sure he could handle floors of his own level on his own. Right now he probably would have had no issue taking the first floor of the Highlands by himself nor did he have any problem taking the Goldmine¡¯s second floor on solo with the exception of maybe a few very bad matchups where he couldn¡¯t properly hunt the monsters. The issue with this was that the floors at this level weren¡¯t worth a profit to solo. If he was to pay his way to getting a delve slot he had to make sure that he would be making a solid profit and for that to happen he needed to level and make use of the potions he could with his new stat increases. As he went back down inside the mine he could actually start to feel the curse mana that had infused the metal ore down in vein. Unlike other forms of mana curse mana had a much easier time attacking itself to physical objects, his gaming knowledge and fiction knowledge however quickly raised a red flag as this being a quick way to forge a cursed item. Curse items however took many forms, from bloodthirsty blades that had gotten their owner killed to blades that demanded blood in exchange for power boosting their wielder in exchange for his sanity all the way to items that granted power in the moment for a price paid after the battle was over. Some of these had their place as strategic items in a persons repertoire and some were best avoided at all cost. His biggest issue yet again was his lack of knowledge on the subject, something he was going to correct as soon as he got back to the library. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The next few hours were quiet with the exceptions of quite a few gargoyle attacks. It seems that the forging yesterday had led the gargoyles to close in more and more on the location of their base and now the attacks were getting more and more frequent. One of the combatants had even had the good luck to kill a gargoyle whose corpse could be taken outside, something that had taken the spotlight off him as the only one to have gained any tangible loot up until that point . Ajax spent the next two days in the mine as he waited for the corpses of the tow hellhounds to be properly tanned. He had found himself actually working up a sweat mining the ore in the intense heat generated by environment now that he wasn¡¯t wasn¡¯t using his [Syphon mana], we wasn;t going to risk exposing himself to another cursed with [Syphon mana] since he didn¡¯t know if that would lead to permanent damage and there was one more test he was hoping to perform when it came to curse mana. Without his increased stats the physical work actually wore him out and he knew that he was relying on his one legendary skill to make up the difference. The one issue that he knocked into again and again every time he had thought about taking the focus off [Mana Syphon] for his build was the amount of flexibility and power it provided him. In the end Ajax decided that making [Mana Syphon] the core of his build was the best choice, and instead of shoring up his defenses for the one time it would be vulnerable, creating a shield for it was a much better strategy. In his past life on Earth the most obvious example came in the form of card games. Very often the game changed extremely based on whichever choice was the most powerful for the given time, that in turn made the counter to that specific deck a good choice simply because of how often you would encounter a favorable matchup. He was in a completely different situation, his hybrid build was an outlier, instead of focusing on shoring up his defenses he should focus on making an escape route for himself if he ever found himself countered. This would now only be much easier to do but also had a much less restrictive condition for success, simply surviving without long term damage. As he thought about it his biggest advantage and greatest weakness were both his mana. With [Syphon Mana] it meant that he had access to much higher stat levels that he should have even if it was only for a short period of time. His weakness therefore was if he should ever be left without any mana or unable to access it. The clear solution to his issue was his curse theory. If he could figure out how the abyssal being managed to make use of curse man, even in its base form, it would provide him with an alternative from his reliance on his Legendary skill. His day in the mine focusing on the curse mana inside the ore however proved useless. He did get a good workout from his mining skill but he was no closer to working out how to use curse mana for his own benefit than when he started. From the looks of it curse mana instantly became attached to the first thing it came in contact with. When he tried to conjure it from his own mana pool it stuck to him and tried to convert the rest of his mana pool to curse mana. When the imps used it it melded with the fire mana to create the black flames. Finally when the hellhounds used it dispersed into the atmosphere when they missed but cursed the bite site when their fangs dug in. It was unlike any other mana type he had ever come in contact with and if he was to guess [Curse Mana Aspect] was definitely a Legendary if not even a Mythic level skill. As he received his two hellhound skins Ajax decided to trade them both for a chance to get his weapons enchanted by one of the crafters once they got a change back on the outside. It wasn¡¯t exactly a fair deal on either side: Ajax couldn¡¯t make use of the two hellhounds skins he had earned due to a lack of skill but at the same time two hellhound skins were worth a lot more than a set of enchantments for a sword axe and hammer crafted from common steel. It wasn¡¯t until the fourth day of the expedition, as the mining vein was running dry that a massive attack formed of both imps and hellhounds stuck. Thankfully the imps were not only slow on the open fields but they also lacked camouflage giving the team ample time to get ready. The surprise of the hellhounds was not something they were expecting but something that they could manage with the combatants at higher levels. Ajax was in the thick of it with the rest of the combatants but he kept a close eye on what both the imps and the hellhounds were doing. Surprisingly it was the imps that finally gave it away as the fight drew to a close Ajax finally felt his slashed imbue curse mana into both sides of the flesh as he decapitated an imp. He had just gained the Epic skill [Cursed Slash]. Chapter 187 Ajax was overloaded with information following the strike. Not only from the system as the skill imparted the necessary muscle memory for him to use it but also from everything else he was observing as he was carefully monitoring everything. With the battle still ongoing he didn¡¯t take a look at the notifications he could feel popping up and simply focused on the fight. He did feel a slight discomfort in his left arm following the slash so didn¡¯t make any attempts at using the newly gained skill. A few more wind empowered slashes made quick work of the imps near him, by the time he was done with that the rest of the team had already finished off everything else so he got back to the camp to review his notifications. The first notification to quickly assert itself was an obvious one. One that he should very honestly have expected since the moment he thought about testing this skill. Curse of Weakness Type : Temporary Strength : Minor Effect : Strength lowered by 10 in the left arm. Cause : absorbing too much cursed mana in the left arm Duration : 15 min In order to generate the cursed mana required Ajax had sacrificed his Stamina. Sadly without the use of a skill to guide the mana in any way a bit of the generated mana got absorbed into his left arm. Thankfully the amount was small enough that the curse was temporary and it wasn¡¯t any cause for concern so Ajax would just have to wait it out. As Ajax felt out the skill he knew that he had also gained a method of somewhat directing the curse mana generated, future uses of the skill wouldn¡¯t be affecting him, not only that but they wouldn¡¯t be affecting his sword or axe either, an important boon as even a single brush with curse mana seemed to have had some effect on his sword. Considering the effect on the imp was easily visible he knew that a decent amount of curse mana was generated. As he inspected the blade Ajax could tell that it would need to be sharpened, not only that but his [Blacksmith] skill was pointing him towards some minor structural damage as well. Curse mana was definitely more destructive than any other mana type he had interacted with, the only one that came close was Void and that one bypassed defenses to strike at the target. The next aspect Ajax examined was the cost, that single strike had lowered his stamina by a staggering two hundred. He knew that he would have to do some tests with his new skill but if the cost hadn¡¯t decreased with him gaining the skill he would have to use it sparingly, That or his reliance on [Berserker] would increase drastically. His next notification was one that he had a hard time not laughing at. Achievement: Maybe Curses are not for you. Have the first three curses inflicted by you also have you as the target. Requires one Discoveries to earn : Some mana types are inherently aggressive to some hosts. (Has been discovered by others before you) Reward : [Curse Resistance] skill. All of his inclination to laugh was lost as he read the last line of the Achievement. How can he gain a reward that he already has? Not only had this Achievement not given him anything, he had in fact lost one Discovery for it. It wasn¡¯t until his next notification that his outrage subsided. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Reimbursement You have been awarded a Reward you already possess. Reward offered : [Curse Resistance] Skill. Reimbursement : [Curse Resistance] increased by 10 levels. The Reimbursement notification not only meant that he had gained 10 levels, but he was sure that finding out about Reimbursements also meant that he had regained the Discovery he lost gaining the Achievement in the first place. ¡°No you can¡¯t use it!¡± the exclamation of the smith brought Ajax¡¯s attention back to the here and now. ¡°Why not?¡± the combatant that was examining the sword the smith had spent two days working out asked. ¡°I made it, if anybody is going to be using it for the short time it will exist it might as well be me.¡± the smith said as he reached for the handle. Ajax hadn¡¯t had the chance to properly examine the blade in question but looking at it from afar he had to admit it looked like a very good weapon, not the best he had seen by a long shot after his he took a look at his physical instructors weapons in the first class delve , but much better than his sword. The workmanship on his blade was actually slightly better, just eyeballing it but his was made out of simple steel whereas this blade was made out of mana infused steel. ¡°None of you are going to use it.¡± Nina interrupted the argument with a stern voice. ¡°But why not?¡± the smith asked. ¡°Because it¡¯s Cursed.¡± Nina said. This statement instantly brought Ajax from barely being aware of the argument to giving it his undivided attention. Was he going to get some information on how curses work? ¡°It¡¯s Cursed?¡± the combatant dropped it like the handle suddenly burst into flames. ¡°Yes it is.¡± Nina confirmed. Nobody questioned Nina¡¯s declaration as such everyone in the vicinity was giving the sword on the floor a dirty look. ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± the smith asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t manage the mana pathways inside the metal when you forged it.¡± Nina said. ¡°Almost all of the equipment forged from the steel we pulled out of the mine is cursed. It wasn¡¯t something you, rather it was what you didn¡¯t do.¡± Everyone was quick to put it together that all of the metal was cursed. Two people that were sharing the tent closest to the pile of smelted bars started heading over and moving their tent to a place further away. ¡°Cursed metal isn¡¯t all bad.¡± Nina explained to all the crafters as they had all approached once they found out something was wrong with the steel. ¡° If we manage to find any cursed ore that we can take outside you will find that it is one of the most expensive mana infused forms of steel.¡± ¡°How come?¡± the smith asked, his reluctance turned into fascination as he listened to her explain his craft. ¡°Cursed items aren¡¯t all inherently bad. In fact cursed items are some of the strongest items out there. This all comes down to the form of curse they inflict.¡± she said. ¡°Your sword simply generates and releases curse mana, this means that the wielder will be constantly exposed while also allowing any cuts made with the weapon to only infect the target with small amounts at a time. With proper care put into the mana pathways of the blade the curse can be changed¡± ¡°How can the curse be changed?¡± one of the other crafters asked. ¡°I¡¯m not all that sure.¡± Nina admitted. ¡°I am not an expert on crafting with curse infused reagents as finding them in blacksmithing is not usual.¡± As she said this she pulled out the blade that she had crafted in her time in the dungeon. ¡°This blade here isn¡¯t that much different from the one he made. At least when it comes to how it handles the cursed mana¡± her little joke helped loosen the atmosphere. ¡°All I did was make clear mana pathways throughout the metal to lead the curse mana the steel naturally generates to the outside of the blade through the edge.¡± ¡°This means that unless the wielder cuts himself he won¡¯t be exposed to the mana.¡± she took on a bit of a predatory smile after that. ¡°But it also means that the amount of mana that is infused into the target when cut is a lot bigger.¡± ¡°Can you give us an example of a different type of cursed item?¡± one of the other crafters asked. ¡°Of course, but I would warn you not to go around spreading the information around as the royal family isn¡¯t too keen on it being spread everywhere.¡± Nina nodded. ¡°They have a cursed rapier that takes stamina from its wielder every time it lands a blow on a living being. In exchange for that it takes two hundred points of mana from the target.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like all that great of a thing.¡± the combatant who originally wanted to take the blade for a spin said. ¡°I¡¯d much rather have a good enchanted blade.¡± ¡°I never said that the curse blade can¡¯t be enchanted.¡± Nina corrected him. ¡°In fact curses can be used to allow for stronger enchantments to be placed on the weapon. The rapier in question is enchanted to store the mana it drains from its victims, that mana can then be used to release wind slashes.¡± This new information made Ajax extremely glad to have received the ten extra levels in curse resistance. He knew that he was overly paranoid towards the mana type because it was new to him and he fully intended to research it further. One of the other things he wanted to research was if the Achievement he earned had multiple types. While he had used poisons in the past all of them were bought or extracted straight from an animal, what if he could gain ten levels in poison resistance for creating three different types of poison and using them on himself first. Chapter 188 For the next few days the team had finished mining out the iron deposit, not only that but the number of attacks on their camp had increased in number. This was to be expected as both imps and hellhounds weren¡¯t stationary monsters so they had cleared up most of the floor already. Ajax spent his time as one of the more popular leather crafters during this time. Most of the reason for this was that he was one of only two that were using the leather as insoles for the plate and mail armor the rest were making. As for why he was the preferred option, the reason for that was simple : he was worse at making it and his quality suffered. The question as to why he would be the preferred option if his work was worse was one that stumped him. The answer he got didn¡¯t improve his ego, apparently putting together a finished work with subpar materials pushed skills harder and rewarded more experience to the crafter making his subpar work a better use of their time. Despite searching the rest of the caves they could find there was no other sizable deposit of steel. They had found one or two more small deposits but they were buried so deep that it would have taken a few days of digging just to get to them so they decided to leave them and finish clearing out the floor. As they cleared out the floor Ajax¡¯s luck shone through again, despite not taking part in the fight with the hellhound pack or the two imp hordes that ended up being formed out of monsters that they could then take back outside he did kill off both of the other gargoyles that shared the same traits, leading him to having a sizeable amount of their coal. By the end of their delve everyone was standing in front of the archway drenched in sweat. The harsh abyssal climate hadn¡¯t let up in the least and they were all ready for a much needed shower. Ajax was very happy with the outcome of the delve however. Name : Ajax Level :31 Experience : 53510/55100 Traits: Divine Witness Health: 2250/2250 Mana: 1200/2260 Stamina :500/1860 Vitality : 226 Strength :187 Endurance :187 Dexterity : 187 Intellect : 227 Wisdom : 227 Mind : 227 Perception : 187 Stat Points :0 Skills : Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! New : Curse Resistance 0 -> 12 Curse Slash 0 -> 1 Upgrades: Cooking 26 -> 29 Skinning 30 -> 34 Tanning 10 -> 19 Dismantle 40 -> 41 Heat Resistance 19 -> 21 Mining 10 -> 19 Leatherworking 10 -> 21 Beekeeping Trailblazer 1-> 3 Mana Syphon 26 -> 27 Enigma 1 -> 5 A single delve had just granted him almost fifty thousand experience. He knew that he had never delved such a strong floor before but the result was beyond his expectations. He even suspected that the achievement that earned him ten skill levels in Curse resistance had also granted him the experience related to raising the skill. After such an outcome Ajax was planning to practice all of his profession skills a lot more in the dungeon, even if he would never really reach extreme proficiency in most of them the sheer amount of experience he could gain from them was worth considering. In fact getting practice with his crafting professions was something he would be able to do well when he was delving with the class. After their first delve the class would be given a lot more leeway as such Ajax would be fine setting up in their base camp or on his own in a remote part and then mining, smelting or brewing potions as much as he wanted. In fact the first floors of both dungeons had ample supply of plants that could be used in making very subpar quality potions, trying to make anything worthwhile out of them would do wonders for his [Alchemy], he could even get a good handle on [Mana Milling] as he was sure Nina had the smelting version of the skill but he hadn¡¯t asked for pointers on that just yet. ¡°Do you have any idea what you are going to do with those?¡± Nina asked him as they were making their way out from the dungeon grounds. ¡°Most likely sell them¡± Ajax admitted as he looked back at his backpack where his share of the mana cores and the remains of the three gargoyle were placed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If they were normal monsters, I would have offered to buy them on behalf of house Silvertongue.¡± she said. ¡°But since they are gargoyles they don¡¯t have an accepted market rate, I do however suggest that you sell them somewhat discreetly.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t gargoyles have a market rate?¡± he asked. ¡°Because unlike most other monsters their corpses are purely made of coal. Most monsters have different parts that fluctuate in price but as a whole they are mostly consistent.¡± she explained. ¡°I could offer to buy the coal from you as well, but if I were to lowball you it wouldn¡¯t look good for house Sylvertongue and I was asked not to highball you in any way either, the price for the gargoyle has also been volatile these last months. The best I can do is this warning to be discreet about selling it. Ajax nodded his thanks then bid farewell to the team as he headed back home and took a much needed bath. He also didn¡¯t hesitate to toss his armor in soapy water and leave it there for it to soak, as for the clothes he wore beneath his armor those were taken to a corner of the yard outside and burnt before the smell could spread any further. On the whole the delve had taken eight days, this gave him a few days off before his next cycle of classes would start again. His plan for tomorrow was to go to the library first thing in the morning, after that his schedule would depend a lot on how much information he found there on curse mana. He would also be spending most of his nights out in his fields, not only would most of his practice with the curse mana need to happen in the forest and away from prying eyes but he also needed to get back to his mana infusion for the plants his bees will be collecting from. He slept in a lot longer than he normally would the next morning. Ajax hadn¡¯t realized just how exhausting it had been to stay in the abyssal atmosphere for those eight days, he could feel his body groan and complain, he wasn¡¯t sure if any of that had something to do with the amount of curse mana he had put through it in the last week but he was about to find out. As he arrived at the library he gave a polite greeting to the old librarian before he made a beeline for the Curse section. He could have tried to be more discreet about what he was pursuing but he didn¡¯t think he had a chance to sneak anything past a noble that had survived thousands of years of plotting and scheming. ¡°And we¡¯re back to curses are we?¡± he heard the man''s voice despite not knowing when he got so close. ¡°Something you might want some help with?¡± This conversation however had a bit of an edge to it. Ajax didn¡¯t know it but the reason for his uncomfortable feeling was the old man¡¯s aura. The old man had lived through wars and this was the second time a prodigy the likes of which he has never seen was looking through the curse section, the sheer calamity that could mean was not something he would let happen without a bit of investigating and prodding. Chapter 189 ¡°Yes¡± Ajax nodded eagerly, surprising the old man. ¡°I just came out of an Abyssal themed floor and I was cursed, more than once.¡± ¡°Oh¡± All of the righteousness and anger was replaced with an undercurrent of guilt as the old man deflated. ¡°What, kind of curses, are they progressing right now?¡± Ajax realized now that he hadn¡¯t properly expressed himself. ¡°They were all minor and temporary, no longer than an hour. But I want to know if it would have any adverse effects on me in the long term. ¡°From three minor ones, you should be fine.¡± The old man said as he turned around and plucked a scroll from the shelf. ¡°Just to be on the safe side you should make sure to avoid getting hit by similar types again so soon. Which types were you hit by?¡± ¡°There are multiple types?¡± Ajax sounded surprised since the System didn¡¯t have a Category like that. ¡°They do.¡± the old man nodded. ¡°Most lethal but also the easiest to cure if the infection type, applied to a wound directly, targets the flesh. Then there is the mana corruption, curse mana mixes into your mana pool. Causes weakness and weakens the mana channels in your body. Backlash curses, most often come from curse weapons but they are mostly a double edge sword, but one you can be sure your opponent took the worst off as long as you connect. And¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Controlled, cursed mana attached to you with a purpose. The least immediately dangerous but the most versatile. Not something that would appear on a third floor of a dungeon since none of those creatures can actually manipulate the cursed mana.¡± he waved it away. ¡°It was mana corruption, all three times.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°That¡¯s not good, lucky enough for you the exposure was minimal.¡± he shook his head a little. ¡°I suggest you take the next few days away from your mana practice and simply focus on expelling your mana, maybe injecting it but definitely no manipulation or control of any way. That should refresh your mana channels.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Ajax dipped his head. ¡°How did you get cursed three times with mana corruption?¡± he asked. ¡°Well¡­¡± Ajax rubbed the back of his head, he wasn¡¯t about to admit to [Mana Syphon] but everything else was easily explainable. ¡°I initially learned magic by copying monsters who could control it, kobold casters to be specific, so I tried the same thing with the cursed mana since I hadn¡¯t run into it before.¡± ¡°Well that was stupid.¡± the old man said. ¡°Surprised it passed so quickly, if you generated any cursed mana yourself it would start to infect you mana pool so quickly you wouldn¡¯t even have time to use it.¡± ¡°That got me cursed.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°But I figured out from the hellhounds that you can also get it in exchange for stamina, though using it gets a bit tricky.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Tricky is an understatement.¡± the old man agreed ¡° But the way to use curse mana generated through loss of stamina is by either applying it directly to your opponent or mixing it with some mana you can control that you have already launched. Though I advise you to give up on it, the skills that do that without cursing yourself are Epic rarity.¡± ¡°You ain¡¯t gotta tell me.¡± Ajax mumbled under his breath. Apparently that was still too loud as the old man turned back, fixing him with a look. ¡°You got an Epic stamina based cursed skill?¡± Balthazar''s next movement was odd for Ajax to watch, it seemed to him like someone put the old man on fast forward and he dashed to him. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°[Cursed Slash].¡± Ajax said softly. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good, better than the one he has from straight up combat though it would lose some of the assasination potential.¡± it was Balthazar¡¯s turn to mumble loud enough for Ajax to hear. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°There is only one other person, that I know of at least, that can use stamina based cursed attacks in the kingdom. He is one of the royal group leaders, high level and skilled too. Combine that with his [Cursed Stab], he is not someone you want to meet in a dark alley.¡± Even the ancient Vitality stacker didn¡¯t seem to want to pick a fight with someone like that. ¡°I would also advise you to keep this skill under your hat for a while.¡± the old man continued with a hint of gravitas. ¡°I know better than to go around telling everyone I have a skill that uses curses.¡± Ajax retorted a bit aggrieved. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Under normal circumstances I would tell you to get as much practice with it as you can once you rest your mana channels.¡± the old man shook his head. ¡°Even now sharing that skill with a few nobles here and there wouldn¡¯t be all that much the idea is for the commoners not to hear about it.¡± ¡°And why would that matter?¡± Ajax was getting a bit heated, after all he was a commoner too. ¡°For the same reason the assassin and his entire squad were sent on a mission away from the capital. That brat, what¡¯s his name, just released a plaque on the capital, then he all but lynched an entire city after he ran away. Commoners don¡¯t know enough to distinguish between disease enhanced by curses and stamina sacrificial curse generation.¡± the old man spread his arms as if it was obvious. ¡°His trial is next week, I say give it at least a month after it¡¯s all done to settle down.¡± Ajax could help but agree with Balthazar here. A person was smart, even if they didn¡¯t have much schooling. If you explained it to them they would understand the difference between his skill and the genocidal plague doctor. However people as a collective were dumb, quick to make snap decisions even more so when they were powered by fear and anger. ¡°Anyway, you have access to curse mana now.¡± Balthazar jumped to a different point. ¡°Oh the possibilities. I could never get that muscle head to work with me at all but now we have a chance.¡± Ajax felt a little like a lab rat as the old man eyed him. The feeling passed in a second ¡° I have an apprentice that is rather skilled with many types of mana, would you be open to working with her and me so we can document what happens when certain mana types mix with curse mana?¡± The offer surprised Ajax, more so that it was an offer at all rather than a command that he would help with testing. Ajax was also very much interested in that same result, not only that but he would get a chance to analyze a lot of mana types up close when running this experiment, it was all upside. ¡°I would be rather interested.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°Great, come back here tomorrow at noon¡­¡± He drifted off as he took a longer look at Ajax. ¡°No, not tomorrow. You should first rest your mana channels. I¡¯m sure that I should be able to get her to come for three days after school once the new cycle starts.¡± Ajax took the hint and grabbed the scroll he was given and read it quickly before he made for his bee hives. Since he was going to just be releasing mana on mass he might as well put it to good use as nourishment for the trees and plants there. Ajax¡¯s arms started to feel slightly itchy after the first two hundred mana points. He knew that Holy mana and Curse mana were highly reactive to each other but he couldn¡¯t feel any trace of the curse mana in his channels yet passing holy mana through it to nourish the plants felt like an allergic reaction. As for why he was using holy mana the answer to that was simple. He first planned to make use of sustainable qualities of honey for medical purposes, perhaps a honeyed mead or two on the side as well. For that Holy was the best aspect to use, at least from those he had access to. That night Ajax fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Not only was emptying one''s mana pool also a quick way for them to get tired and sleepy but he had done that exact same thing night after night as a before sleep ritual as a child. His final thoughts as he went to sleep was that he should visit Hatchet and Luna tomorrow. It had been a while since he had talked to them, not only that but he wanted to start buying materials to start getting his [Alchemy] off the ground again and Luna would be very well connected with at least a few alchemists and their suppliers. Chapter 190 ¡°So, you¡¯re not only telling me that you somehow managed to get a stamina based cursed skill, something which only one other person in the kingdom has, but you also decided to focus on crafting?¡± Luna said as she looked to be nursing a headache. ¡°This on top of your hybrid fighting style?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Under normal circumstances I would congratulate you for your dedication to see through any and all potential you have but what you''re doing is stupid.¡± Luna said. ¡°How so?¡± Hatchet was the one who asked that. ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t have the funds to keep that up.¡± Alfred answered from the side of the room. ¡°Had he joined a noble family they would have made sure he had the resources he needs to stretch himself over all these fields.¡± ¡°He can also make money by himself.¡± Hatchet argues. ¡°That would be true,¡± Alfred conceded. ¡°If all his skills were at the same point and he was splitting his time equally then all he would need is a bit of luck, but even that would slow down his progression compared to focusing on only one aspect.¡± ¡°Alchemy is a very expensive profession.¡± Luna picked up. ¡°He will need to spend large amounts of money progressing to the point that he can use the plants he will now find in the floors he delves. Not to mention that those materials usually have a short shelf life and he can¡¯t keep anything he finds now for later.¡± ¡°What if I already had a starting fund?¡± Ajax asked as he thought of the around one thousand gold he still had left over. ¡°That could work.¡± Alfred conceded. ¡°But it would need to be a large amount. Taking your, let''s call it abnormal, progress speed into consideration, the equipment you would need to buy for alchemy will cost you three to four hundred gold by itself.¡± The number was like a punch in the gut for Ajax. ¡°Not to mention that you will have problems selling your wares. Few people would trust your skills enough to buy and those that do won¡¯t be paying top prices for a while.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Because master alchemists already fill that niche. Progressing is more expensive the further up you go. Master alchemists keep selling near flawless potions at almost every level to get as much funding as they can.¡± he explained. Ajax had a tough time here. There was just too much to do and too little time, between his magic, his physical skills, his time in the academy and his crafting something had to give. His time in the academy and crafting was also connected since the teachers there could help him progress much faster than he could by himself so his combat time would have to take the hit. ¡°It will still be worth it.¡± Ajax said aloud though he was mostly trying to convince himself. ¡°Your meteoric rise in levels will not slow¡± Luna accentuated. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it And that was where the crux of it was. It wasn¡¯t that his progress would slow down compared to normal, simply put it would continue off the back of the rest of the skills he would be progressing. This would mean that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep jumping that many levels at once since his combat skills wouldn¡¯t be growing fast enough. ¡°That¡¯s fine, their leveling has already started to plateau. Maybe a few more stats will be what I need to push them further.¡± ¡°If you are so adamant about this I won¡¯t try to persuade you any further.¡± Luna shook her head in dismay. The reason why Ajax had become so adamant in getting his crafting to a higher level was that he realized it would only be a matter of time, time that he would have because of how high his stats were, until he would have few people who would be able to delve with him. That would also mean that almost nobody would be skilled enough to use the materials he would need to keep up with the ever growing power of the dungeon, he would need to be his own craftsman in the end so delaying his growth in power now would mean he would not need to delay it later. ¡°My lady, not to overstep but maybe he would be a good choice for it.¡± Alfred said as he looked to be thinking about something. ¡°Yes, he most likely would but I doubt he will be given the chance.¡± Luna countered. Ajax hated the cloak and dagger speak, why couldn¡¯t they just be upfront about whatever it was. ¡°Some time in the future there will be an opportunity for you, Ajax. Sadly the king has ensured all who know what it is are unable to inform those who could take advantage of it.¡± she let out a sigh. ¡°The only reason I know is because of my position as guild leader, what I can tell you is that you should make sure to enter the end of year tournaments for the academy and perform well.¡± Ajax simply nodded. He could tell that it wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to tell him, the king most likely did this to ensure that the noble houses didn¡¯t end up in an open war by proxy with their heirs for the opportunity. Though taking it would most likely put a bullseye on his back that would have nothing to do with people wanting to acquire him as much as payback. ¡°I will, thank you.¡± he responded. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet, though I think you would find the opportunity exciting to say the least.¡± Luna said good naturedly. With that Ajax had his plan set for the foreseeable future. The first thing he did was take a quick trip to the Academy. Sadly he found out that his Alchemy professor wasn¡¯t present, not only that but she would only be back on the first day of the new cycle so Ajax would have to wait until then to consult her. So he made his way to the library. As he was walking up Ajax felt the aura of both the headmaster and the librarian, meaning that both of them were present, not only that but he also felt another aura he hadn¡¯t sensed before, one that was stronger than professor Silvertongue. ¡°Ajax, why are you here?¡± Balthazar asked as he entered the library. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to rest?¡± ¡°So, this is him?¡± A woman that looked to be in her early thirties asked. She was dressed in ornate robes marked with the sigil of the royal family, she was also rather short but despite that she had a noble posture and cold eyes. ¡°We could get started right now.¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± the old man refused. ¡°I will make the official introductions next time. Ajax it would be best for you to leave for now and get your rest.¡± Ajax did as he was told, he had a few questions about the woman he was sure would be there to help with the experiments regarding cursed mana but all that could wait a few days. As he was passing by Ajax noticed something odd. Bees didn¡¯t naturally form hives so close together in nature, at least not so many of them. Not only that but he had just removed most of the hives that were close to the entrance to the forest. This would have a marked effect on the yield the farming fields would have. Whereas before fields closer to the forest would be the to be pollinated now it would be the fields closest to his patch of unwanted land. Sadly he didn¡¯t have any way to take advantage of this as he simply didn¡¯t have the funds to buy the fields near his own. A lot of his limitations seemed to come from the fact that he was always without funds. Not only that but any avenue to generate those funds needed start-up funds of their own. Ajax''s respect for what his sister and Alana had managed to do in a few years grew immensely. That¡¯s when he realized, even if he didn¡¯t have the knowledge to act on the idea, there was value in sharing it with another. A merchant organization would be very interested in that information. Not only that but he would need to build a good relationship with a merchant organization if he was to have a steady supply of materials at a reasonable cost once he started progressing his alchemy. He slowly took out the sigil his mother had given him before he left for the capital. He had been thinking whether or not his grandparents deserved a chance or not, after all they had effectively abandoned them once his mother made his choice. In the end Ajax decided to pay them a visit tomorrow, if nothing else he wanted to get their take on it, there were two sides to every story and even if he would never agree with their decision he still wanted to hear them out. Chapter 191 It was almost mid day by the time Ajax started heading towards the city. He had spent a good portion of his mana that morning taking care of his medicinal plants that were finally starting to sprout flowers. He knew it was early but his mana had always made plants grow faster and he was outputting quite a bit of it for that purpose on a daily basis. He hadn¡¯t yet used any of the elemental mana types since he didn¡¯t know what if any effect that may have on the plants and later the flowers. The wide smile on his face however was represented by the fact that he felt some mana take hold in those plants. It wasn¡¯t much, and considering how quickly they were growing by the time they would be perfect for picking in a month they would barely have enough mana to qualify them as mana enhanced plants but they would still be much more profitable. Ajax had to assume that the reason for this was his [Inject Mana] skill. It was the only one he didn¡¯t have back when he was a child which meant that he wasn¡¯t wasting any mana and ensuring that everything he spent at least made it into the plant initially before being later released. Out of curiosity he had also tried to use mana injection on a bee but not only was the process much harder but after he put fifty mana into it the bee burst into dust. Clearly you couldn¡¯t make mana enhanced creatures the same way as with plants. Or maybe you just had to go about it the same way and infuse them from infancy? That wasn¡¯t an experiment he was willing to test if the end result was a monster. Entering the city Ajax headed straight for the merchant section of the city. He wasn¡¯t carrying much this time, just a small bit of gargoyle coal as well as a core from the hellhounds, gargoyles and imps each. He had debated keeping the higher levels cores for Fluffy as he was expecting the shadow cat to have the biggest progress out of his entire family the next time he saw them but he decided against it since he could still feel the curse mana inside the cores. Sure curse was one of the mana types that would go well with the darkness affinity already present in the cat, still everything besides strength was all but sure to take a wrong turn. Ajax spent the first two hours getting a good look at the place. All he did was go from store to store and big front to big front trying to get an idea of who were the big players and how the organization his grandparents had was positioned. After a thorough inspection Ajax had to admit he was rather surprised by all the small stores that were found there. What surprised him was that some of them looked to have been there for some time, an idea that sounded ludicrous since the big stores could always target them and put them out of business before returning the market to the status quo. The market was split up into four levels. The top and the bottom were easy to pick out, the bottom were the small mainly crafter run operations that all specified on one small domain to edge out a profit. The top were split up into two further groups, the local players made up by the ducal houses that were vying for the seat of Archduke Goldmancer and the international trading groups that went so far as to have branches in other kingdoms and used their wider network to compete with the nobles. Working with anyone from either group was a non-option for him at this point. If he went to the top organizations they would request massive commitments from him just to form a contract, even those that wouldn''t have would have members that would be happy to sell any information on him they might have for a good price. The bottom shops were not only too specialized to make them good partners since he would be selling off most of the stuff he didn¡¯t need from dungeons but they were also in a position for someone to juice them for information like an orange if their partnership made the rounds of nobility. That left him with the low and high levels. Unlike the bottom and top they were actually relatively close together and contained around 80% of the shops in the section. The difference between the low and the high was whether or not they had opened a good size branch in another big city. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. From his short reconnaissance he found out that his grandparents actually had the best organization from the low level ones, in fact many believed they were a lot better than a lot of the high level ones but they simply never expanded leaving them in the low tier. Besides investigating the market place he had also asked around and gotten a good idea about what the market price for the coal and the cores should be. Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly depending how you look at it, his cores actually dropped in value significantly every time he mentioned they were from abyssal creatures. The upcoming trial of a curse user was clearly having an effect. In the same vain everyone wanted to get their hands on the gargoyle ore as they thought the idea of burning the remains of such a creature was a good thing. With all that taken care of he went ahead and entered the shop. Well, calling it a shop is not doing it justice, it was more like the food courts that you found in malls back on Earth, a lot of small sections that had their dedicated space only they weren¡¯t competing with each other as they all offered something different. In the back center of the shopping floor was a counter that blocked off the stairs leading to the second level. Ajax wasn¡¯t sure if the offices were on the levels above but from the vertical size of the building he was sure that there had to be at least one floor that was dedicated to VIP¡¯s if not more before you got to any offices. Ajax wandered through the first floor as he saw the man at the counter was busy and had a small line waiting for his attention. In the meantime he decided to take a look at what exactly this place had to offer. The first thing he noticed when he focused more on the products sold was that all of them were finished, they weren¡¯t selling any materials anywhere. This ofcourse didn¡¯t mean that they couldn¡¯t procure them but more likely that they only dealt in bulk order or previously agreed upon deliveries. The second thing he noticed was that the range of items was the largest he had seen in any of the organizations he entered in terms of quality. They had a few poor quality beginner gear all the way to gear that was clearly expertly made for level seventies at the very least. Despite the large selection everything seemed to have what Ajax thought was a fair price, at least until the gear started being advertised towards level fifties where he lost his frame of reference. From what he could see most of the customers that came in went straight for the items they wanted, bought them and went back out, very few were browsing the wares like him. He also noticed the two guards that were moving around discreetly, he was sure they had some sort of stealth skill since had lost track of them a few times even though he was trying not to. He didn¡¯t want to use [Judge Threat] on them so he couldn¡¯t be sure of their strength. When the Line finally disappeared Ajax approached the counter. ¡°Hello, sir.¡± The man behind the counter greeted politely. ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± ¡°I am looking to sell a few cores and some other things I pulled out of the dungeon.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to get all that appraised for you.¡± the man said, though he did give Ajax a surprised look. ¡° Would this be a one time affair or are you looking for something long term?¡± ¡°I want to see what kind of long term deal I could get.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°I would also be looking to buy items I require from here as well.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± the man nodded politely. ¡°Do you have a form of identification? An adventurer¡¯s Guild badge would do.¡± ¡°I have this.¡± Ajax responded as he placed the token his mother had given him on the counter. The man gave an impressed nod before picking up the token to take a close look at it. The moment he did his eye widened in surprise for a moment so brief Ajax thought he¡¯d imagined it. After that placed the token back in front of Ajax and pulled out a piece of paper to scribble something on, something he hadn¡¯t let Ajax see. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d have to wait for a moment while I get that identified as it looks like one of our older models.¡± he said as he passed the piece of paper to a man that stood guard behind him at the stairs to take it up. ¡°Could I have a look at what you are hoping to sell in the meantime?¡± Ajax compiled and pulled out the three different core types as well as the piece of wrapped up gargoyle ore. The man took his time inspecting all three cores and then unwarping the ore. ¡°Hmm,¡± the man said as he rubbed his small beard. ¡°Cores from an Abyssal floor, a low one judging by the strength. I can see why you would want a long term contract, the market price on these just fell off a cliff. The ore on the other hand should net you a tidy-¡± Ajax didn¡¯t listen anymore as he dodged to the left as his [Danger Sense] activated, he did so just in time to see the hand of one of the guards that was wandering the floor grasp the empty air where his shoulder had been. ¡°What is this?¡± Ajax said as he whirled to see that the other guard had moved into position to cut off his line to the exit. ¡°The owner would like to have a private talk with you sir.¡± a third guard said from the top of the steps. This one was better equipped than the other two and a quick [Sense Threat] Put him above Ajax¡¯s power level by a decent chunk, though nowhere near anyone the level of professor Silvertongue. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he insists on it, though your safety for the duration and your freedom following it are guaranteed.¡± Chapter 192 Elija P.O.V. The last few months have been hard. That foolish power hungry little nitwit had done massive damage to the local economy with his curse infused sicknesses and looking over the contracts we had to fulfill I was starting to get annoyed again. I knew that the crown had little recourse but to seize all the goods present at the time, not only that but there was no way we would get a market value rate on them but couldn¡¯t they at least make sure we would be getting our stores replenished at the same const in the following months? This was not the first time in the last few years alone, and I knew for sure that it wouldn¡¯t be the last time that something like this would happen. Incidents like this made merchant organizations in the low classification rise and fall like a tide. Those that were on the high and top level had many branches that could cover the local loss and absorb the damage. We weren¡¯t hit too hard this time since we weren¡¯t heavily invested in the food section of the market but it will still take months to recoup the losses. It was times like this that I regretted not expanding a secondary branch after all this time. I knew I was overly paranoid for not taking a chance on doing so again after my first apprentice decided to start a branch in a different city only to cut off all ties two years down the line. That event nearly crushed us. The only person I could trust to open a secondary branch even now was my wife and that would mean we would barely see each other. A decision we had both disregarded. This line of thought always brought me back to thinking about my daughter Silvia. Unlike in the past when I thought about the choice she had made to leave with the man she selected I couldn¡¯t muster the same emotions of hurt and disapproval. We had always had someone living in that small village of theirs keeping an eye on them and sending us updates on her every few months. The last update we had gotten on her however was a little over a year ago. We hadn¡¯t even realized something was wrong until it had been six months without any updates. Two months ago we had gotten the news of the attack on the village by salamanders from a nearby cave. It was that attack that had cost our informant his life, but there was still no news on what happened to Silvia. Both my wife and I had spent almost an entire month in a depressed state that had compounded with the curse crisis. ¡°Sir Elija.¡± one of our newer attendants burst into the room. I was about to chide her for not knocking when I saw my wife Aurora follow her with a look that seemed to be undecided between hope and horror. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked but instead of answering all she did was give a folded up note. The note was short, no more than a few words written in Sebastian handwriting ¡®There is a guest here carrying a token with the family crest.¡¯. The words token with a family crest sent me to my feet in an instant as the only family crest in circulation was the one we had given Silvia the day she left. All that hope and joy turned to dred as I recognised the message, a guest meant that he didn¡¯t recognise the person and he had met Silvia before she left, not only that but as we had established beforehand the way the letters were slanted signified that the guest was a man. ¡°Have the guest broug -¡± I started to say. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Knuckles is already going to bring him.¡± Aurora interrupted me with an unsteady voice I haven¡¯t heard from her in years. Knuckles was our head enforcer. He was an average solo adventurer a little over ten years ago whose sister took ill only for him to be scammed by an alchemist for the medicine. Our choice to invest in him that day had proven wise as he not only sold everything he got while delving through us but he also worked part time as our guard for a very reasonable pay when he wasn¡¯t delving. More important than anything else was that he was loyal. ¡°Do you think?¡± Aurora asked me as we waited. The question may have been ambiguous but I knew exactly what she meant, ¡®Do you think he knows what happened to her, if she is alive?¡¯. ¡°He must.¡± I replied. ¡°There was ofcourse a chance that the token could have been lost in the attack and somebody just picked it up but it seemed a little too soon for that person to be here if that was the case. We were put even more on edge as the sounds of a physical altercation came from the bottom floor through the open door. Both Aurora and I made for the door, unable to hold our curiosity and unwilling to let the chance at finding something out slip us by. We both stopped after a few steps recognising that we would be liabilities in whatever was going on down there. Despite both of us being above level eighty we were merchants. Despite the common belief that people specialized into fighters, crafters or mages there was a fourth classification. Much like crafters mirrored the stat distribution of fighters, thinkers mirrored the distribution for mages despite not relying on mana skill, merchant and tactical skill were limited by your mental stats. This wasn¡¯t an issue so much in the first thirty skill levels but the requirements grew in line with everything else after that, this was also why most battlefield commanders were mages or hybrid combatants as they could increase their strategy skills. The sounds quieted down in only a few seconds, but it didn¡¯t seem that way to me. We could all hear the stairs creak slightly in a familiar way I recognised as Knuckles heavy boots slowly followed by two more sets of footsteps. If I had thought the few seconds of combat before had passed slowly, waiting for them to climb up the stairs made it seem like they were scaling a mountain. Thankfully, my merchant nature took over and I started clearing up any signs of the desperation I felt at getting any information on my daughter. After all one of the core tenants of all merchants was not to leak anything about just how much you value what you want to obtain. A quick glance at Aurora let me see her walking over to my side doing the same thing. Knuckles¡¯ large frame was all I saw as he led the way into my office, behind him I could see the boots of the guest and another of our guards from downstairs. The guest stopped at the door and angled himself in such a way that he wasn¡¯t turning his back to anyone whereas our other guard mirrored him on the other side. Knuckles on the other hand crossed halfway through the office before he moved from my line of sight though he still stood between me and the guest. The first thing that took me by surprise was how young the guest was. Despite him being even bigger in stature than Knuckles¡¯ already tall frame I wouldn¡¯t have thought it possible for him to be older than twenty. The second thing I noticed was the split lip that our other guard was sporting, and the accusatory glare he was keeping on the young man. ¡°This is Sir Elija and Madam Aurora.¡± Knuckles introduced us. ¡°They have a few questions for you.¡± ¡°Interesting way you have to ask a question.¡± the young man said with hostility. ¡°Do you usually just try to grab clients without a word of warning?¡± The commotion from downstairs suddenly made a lot more sense. I couldn¡¯t remember the guard''s name off the top but I knew that he was a recent hire who was eager to prove himself. This most likely triggered that altercation we heard. ¡°We apologize for that.¡± Aurora said. ¡°He is a new hire and a little eager. We wanted to ask you about the token you used when you identified yourself. Where did you get it from?¡± The young man frowned at the question. It was a look I had seen many times before in this line of work but one I couldn¡¯t comprehend from him, why would he be both surprised at the question and angered by it at the same time. Did he think we were accusing him of stealing it? ¡°Why does it matter where I got it from?¡± He snapped back. ¡°From what I looked into your group before, your tokens are used as an introduction point.¡± ¡°What did you do to the woman you took it from?¡± I said my temper got the better of me for the first time in almost twenty years. There was a reason why my wife and I made such a good merchant team, that was because we complemented each other so well. While I could see the market as a whole she dealt with the bartering and the talking. All my anger drained from me and was replaced by shame as I heard the next words the man said. ¡°You have some nerve accusing me of hurting my own mother after you disowned her.¡± Chapter 193 Ajax had been on edge from the moment the guard had made a grab at him. The cold calculating front he was presented with the moment he entered the room only went to exacerbate this. Why even act like they cared so much? Worst of all however was the guard that had led Ajax up here. The man was slightly stronger than he was now, if they could have someone like this around then Hatchet wouldn¡¯t have needed to give up an arm defending his parents. As much as he didn¡¯t want to admit it the disaster back at the village still affected him alot since he remembered what losing his parents back on Earth had been like. The moment Ajax opened his mouth to talk he could feel his [Persuasion] skill hadn¡¯t liked his approach to the conversation. Right after he finished his words however he felt [Enigma] trigger in response to his grandmother. As was to be expected of a merchant he hadn¡¯t been able to block her skill at all, he did however know that all she managed to get from him was his name, age, race as well as his level. He did also find it surprising to know that she also inspected every single item that was visible on him with just that one use. Aurora¡¯s eye flashed with some recognition, something that Ajax also noticed. What he didn¡¯t notice was the suspiciousness she built because of his level. Regardless of the sole inconsistency she still decided to approach this carefully just in case it really was her grandson. ¡°We apologize for that.¡± Aurora said. ¡°He is a new hire and a little eager. We wanted to ask you about the token you used when you identified yourself. Where did you get it from?¡± Ajax was surprised by two things. First was the undertone of care he could feel for his mother coming across in the question, whether this was the result of a social skill or genuine he wasn¡¯t sure. The second however was that the eager guard was a new hire. That guy had been coordinating with the other two guards perfectly so he frowned as he shot a glance at the split lift he had delivered following the grab attempt. ¡°Why does it matter where I got it from?¡± He snapped back. ¡°From what I looked into your group before, your tokens are used as an introduction point.¡± He decided to push and see if what they cared about was his mother or just not giving out the hefty discount that the token should have earned him. ¡°What did you do to the woman you took it from?¡± Elija finally entered the conversation no longer able to hold back, his usual legendary patience nowhere to be seen. The question pleased Ajax as he could tell that they still cared about his mother and that this wasn¡¯t an act, had it been they would have lost much more than a simple discount by having the head of the organization get rattled so quickly. However the insinuation that he would hurt his own mother, and for it to come from those who abandoned her for the choice she made also enraged him enough to stop with the guessing games. Even before he opened his mouth to answer he could see Aurora had taken a vice grip of Elija¡¯s should, not that he noticed however. ¡°You have some nerve accusing me of hurting my own mother after you disowned her.¡± The words sapped all the strength from Elija. The weakness in his posture made the grip Aurora had on his shoulder start turning the chair towards her. The first to react however was the guard standing across the doorway from him. ¡°That¡¯s quite the claim you¡¯re throwing around.¡± he said as a ¡®click¡¯ was heard from the sword on his waist. Ajax didn¡¯t even get a chance to respond as two voices thundered at the action. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Sheath that sword you fool.¡± Knuckles growled as his hand quickly went to his own sword, though he didn¡¯t draw it. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare draw that blade.¡± Aurora said as if spewing poison at the action. Each had said it for a different reason. Aurora was almost certain that this person was actually her grandson Ajax, they had gotten some reports on the existence of all three grandchildren though they didn¡¯t know too much about them, the last few months wallowing over a mistake made so long in the past made her overly protective of him. Knuckles however had a much different reason why he was alarmed. The moment Ajax had entered the room he had unconsciously relaxed slightly. Years of experience in dealing with bandits when protecting shipments let him figure something out from that action alone. Where Ajax had been on edge about an ambush before he was now confident of one form of victory. In Knuckles mind there was only one scenario where that would be the case and it was also the worst case if it came down to a fight. The only reason why he would stand a better chance here was because he knew that by targeting Sir Elija and Madam Aurora he would be forced on the defensive. This meant a fight should be their last resort. ¡°Dear?¡± Elija asked, hope filling his voice as he knew that for his wife to take that tone she had to know something he didn¡¯t. ¡°Knuckles, please remove your hand from the blade.¡± Aurora said sternly. Knuckles was quick to obey but he also drew a few steps backwards. Essentially this was an invitation for Ajax to just escape instead of going for an attack on his employers if it came down to it. ¡°Thank you.¡± Aurora said her voice returning to what it was at the start. ¡°It won¡¯t do to have my grandson threatened in my own home.¡± The statement however had an opposite reaction as it only served to enrage Ajax again. ¡°So you were keeping tabs on us?¡± he hissed out. ¡°That identification you used on me confirmed the name and age and they should match what you knew. Would it have been so hard to help them through that attack disaster?¡± his voice almost turned to a shout at the end. Both Aurora and Elija were surprised that he noticed the identification but Aurora was quick to explain. ¡°We only had one person keeping an eye on her, not only that but they sent reports only twice or three times a year. They died in the attack on the village so we had no idea the attack even happened until a few months ago. We still don¡¯t know anything that may have happened to her.¡± her voice went quiet as both her and Elija couldn¡¯t lift their eyes from the ground. A lot of Ajax¡¯s anger had started to burn out by now, not just because he was getting an explanation but also because remembering the attack moved that anger back on the noble who had been the cause of it. ¡°Both my parents made it out alive.¡± Ajax finally said after about a minute of silence. Joy instantly lit up both Aurora¡¯s and Elijas face as they looked up at him. ¡°Thank the gods!¡± Ajax could hear his grandfather murmur. ¡°Can you tell us where she is?¡± Aurora pressed. ¡°They are staying in Lessis. Judy and Tom took care of them following the attack.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t have any issues sharing that information as he knew that they would have gotten it soon anyway. Not only that but they were also under Commander Grievous¡¯ protection. ¡°It¡¯s long past due that we apologized.¡± Aurora said. ¡°Not just to her but to Sam as well. It seems we might have been a bit too quick to judge.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I should look into inviting them to come back here.¡± Elija agreed as he stood up ready to go and give the order. ¡°No point in sending out that offer now.¡± Ajax took the wind out of his sails. ¡°Why not?¡± Aurora asked, her voice quivering at the prospect of her daughter now rejecting them. ¡°Because they¡¯re already planning on coming down here.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Though that won¡¯t happen until Tom finishes his time with the guards and Judy finishes shoring up her main branch. Not to mention that Kate has a commitment to the Healing Union which would take a few months to approve a transfer for her to the capital." He didn¡¯t mention that the Healing Union was most likely a non-issue since Luna could handle that. ¡°Kate?¡± both Elija and Aurora asked. Neither was aware of a fourth child named Kate, let alone one that had shown any talent with healing magic. ¡° Tom¡¯s girlfriend, maybe even wife now, they¡¯ve been together for about eight years now.¡± Ajax just shook his head. ¡°The plan was for them to follow me here in about two years.¡± The reason Ajax was even willing to share any of this was because he knew how torn his mother was when it came to her parents. He had decided that the final decision on the matter would be hers when she came down here, he would go along with whatever she decided. ¡°Why follow you?¡± Elija asked absentmindedly as he was already starting to think through a plan to speed up the timeline. Aurora however turned a speculative look on Ajax as she thought on the level she saw. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s because of my level.¡± Ajax confirmed it for her, taking her by surprise once more as he revealed more of her skill. ¡° Which brings us back to why I came here in the first place.¡± His words brought his grandfather''s mind to a halt as now both his grandparents were focused on what they could do to start making amends. Chapter 194 Aurora P.O.V The day had already been full of ups and downs but from the tone of Ajax¡¯s last words it seems we weren¡¯t finished just yet. The boy was clearly full of surprises, his level and the fact that he knew so much about my [Analyze], it was an epic inspection skill mostly dedicated towards items than people but this was a first for me. The biggest issue was that I didn¡¯t feel any resistance, whatever skill he had that had let him know about my own skill wasn¡¯t strong enough to block me but was good enough for me not to detect resistance while also giving him information. I put that realization aside, there was more to come now, I will talk all of this over with Elija later, he was always the better thinker between the two of us once he had all the information. I needed to focus on Ajax now, this was our grandson and the first meeting wasn¡¯t shaping up to be a good interaction despite the joyous news. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°The reason why I came here today wasn¡¯t to reconnect with family.¡± My [Lie Detection] let me know that his statement there wasn¡¯t all true, but what worried me more was that it wasn¡¯t all false. ¡°I came here looking to establish a cooperation agreement.¡± I stayed silent for a moment, trying to think what the best way to approach this would be. From the feeling I got from the boy I felt that trying to push anything right now wouldn¡¯t get a good reaction from him. ¡°What do you mean you didn¡¯t come here to reconnect with family?¡± Elija responded, he was still a little off balance. I placed my arm on his shoulder trying to calm him down. ¡°I did my research into this organization.¡± Ajax said, something that rang true to my skill. ¡°My earlier point about the token granting me a better deal should still hold. That is the main reason I chose to come here first.¡± A tight squeeze on Elija¡¯s shoulder stopped him from responding this time. Thankfully we understood each other well enough that the look he saw when he turned to me was enough to not only let him know that I should do the talking but also that he should be focusing on the details of the deal. ¡°From what my mother said when she gave me that token the night before I left for the capital she hasn''t decided on the attitude she has towards you.¡± Ajax continued seeing us not respond. ¡° With that being the case my decision on considering you family rests with her, a decision she will no doubt have to make once she moves here and one I will not be influencing simply respecting.¡± The truth of his statement was chilling. Right now he would be fully prepared to treat us like strangers if Silvia decides that¡¯s what our past choice means. But since the part about SIlvia being undecided was also true helping him couldn¡¯t hurt our chances in that decision. ¡°What type of agreement are you looking for?¡± I asked, switching back into the practiced role of merchant. ¡°I am currently affiliated with the Academy,¡± he said. ¡°This results in me having a lot to learn, sufficient access to the dungeon, but not much time when it comes to gathering materials or selling any spoils, something I hope to rectify by having a contract with a merchant organization.¡± ¡°And how long would this contract last?¡± I asked. ¡°For others, I would start with the reminder of this academic year to see if it is a good fit,¡± he answered. ¡°But not with us?¡± Elija said, his tone calm and collected for the first time in the discussion. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°No, not with you.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Considering what that token I have means I doubt anyone will be able to give me a better deal, at least not one that doesn¡¯t tie me to them.¡± ¡°So then how long will the deal be?¡± I asked. ¡°Until my mother arrives,¡± he said. ¡°When that happens our relationship will change and the deal we come to today will end regardless of which choice she makes.¡± ¡°That would be fine.¡± I confirm after Elija signals to me it is acceptable. ¡°What materials would you be looking for?¡± ¡°My main focus will be Alchemy.¡± The reveal was big, all the high level alchemists were quickly swept up by nobles especially those that could craft in dungeons which is something I assumed he would be doing. ¡°But I will be trying my hand at a few other crafts as well.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± I asked at Elija¡¯s prompting. ¡°Leatherworking, mining, skinning, farming and a bit of blacksmithing.¡± he rattled off an impressive number of professions, no wonder he had little time for trading. I also had to stop myself, and thankfully Elija did as well, from reacting when he mentioned blacksmithing, afterall the whole reason for our disagreement with Silvia was over her choosing a young blacksmith as a husband. ¡°That is acceptable.¡± Elija says. ¡° On the raw items that you bring in we can offer you almost full market price, current or usual depending on which is higher we won¡¯t be making almost any profit on them. For anything that you make we''ll give you 90% of the price after taxes.¡± The deal was not just good, this kind of a deal was only seen with master crafters signing for at least a century at a time or high level adventurers signing exclusivity. Elija obviously knew that and had somehow turned the short maximum three year lifeline on the contract in our favor. ¡° Materials and tools for most of your professions should be easy to get on short notice, as long as you are not looking for anything too specific or rare. The sole exception is Alchemy, that¡¯s not to say we can¡¯t get them but it may take some time.¡± Elija continued ¡° These we would be willing to sell to you at cost if the item you make from them is successful and sold back to us and at 110% of cost if it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That works for me.¡± Ajax said. ¡° We have a deal.¡± Elija was quick in drawing up the contract. Unlike our usual deals this one was so straightforward and easily defined that it fit on a single sheet of paper that the three of us signed. Right after the contract was signed Ajax already presented his first materials. Abyssal cores from imps, hellhounds and gargoyles as well as gargoyle coal. The total worth of the items wasn¡¯t all that impressive, even with the inflated current price of the coal it totaled up to a little under seventy gold coins. A price that Ajax asked to be put towards his Alchemy equipment before he left. ¡°What did you find out?¡± Elija asked the moment the two of us were alone. We had canceled any other meeting we had for today as none were all that important. ¡°Almost everything he said was true.¡± I started, which got an eyebrow raise from him since I had a habit letting him know about any lie the moment it was spoken, even if I didn¡¯t make it obvious to anyone else that I knew the statement was a lie. ¡°It was a partial lie about reconnecting, I¡¯m sure that he also did want to meet us but everything else was true.¡± ¡°Seems like the situation is worse than we feared considering Silvia is alive and well.¡± he nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s far from the worst possible outcome, we still have a chance to make this right.¡± ¡°We do.¡± I smiled back. ¡°Or at least Ajax believes we do.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± he asked, his mind already starting to plan the best way to earn our daughters forgiveness as he scoured for certain documents. ¡°Yes, but this is strictly about Ajax.¡± He stopped and turned towards me. The information was so astounding I wouldn¡¯t be sharing outside the privacy of our enchanted office. ¡°Firstly his level is thirty-one.¡± ¡°What?!¡± he gasped out incredulously. ¡°Isn¡¯t he only almost sixteen?¡± ¡°He is.¡± I confirmed. ¡°Elija, that¡¯s not all. I¡¯m sure he has a Legendary skill.¡± ¡°A Legendary skill? But your [Analyze] doesn¡¯t read skills.¡± he said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡± I confirmed. ¡°But I also didn¡¯t feel any resistance when I used it on him. He did however know that I used it, not only that but he also knew exactly what information I got even if it didn¡¯t stop me from getting it, all of this without me feeling anything odd until he mentioned it. It has to be a low leveled Legendary skill, either a form of precognition letting him know about anything that targets him or a privacy one. I think it¡¯s the latter but I can¡¯t be sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have our people look into him.¡± he said, believing in what I told him. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be likely to alienate him?¡± I asked. ¡°I won¡¯t have them approaching him,¡± he denied. ¡°He mentioned the Academy, have you ever known the young nobles going there not to spill information?¡± As always Elijah was quick to come up with a plan. As always the first step was to get all the information he could. ¡°We need to increase our information gathering budget for the year.¡± he said as he got back to ruffling through the document ¡°I think triple will be enough but best to quadruple it.¡± ¡°What else are you having them look into?¡± I asked, knowing that such an increase wasn¡¯t accounted for only by Ajax. ¡°He said Tom was a guard, his wife Kate a member of the Healing Union and his sister Judy had started a trading company.¡± he rattled off all we knew about the rest of our grandchildren. ¡°Since they are all that are tying Silvia to Lessis I want to see what I can do about speeding up that two year timeline.¡± On that I fully agreed, two more years would be too long to wait. With that in mind I sat down across from him ready to spend the rest of the day building the foundations for getting our daughter back. Chapter 195 Ajax spent his last few free days getting used to working with his new alchemy equipment as well as tending to his plants by infusing them with mana. From the looks of it his first batch of honey should be ready around the same time that his first year at the Academy ends and they all go on their two month long school break. As for the alchemy equipment it was all very high grade. It would be if he needed to pay three hundred and fifty gold even after the biggest discount they could give him. Two hundred and fifty of that price he would be paying on his next visit when he would be selling things and picking up supplies to take with him into the dungeon. The return to school wasn¡¯t as awkward for him as the first day. Now that everyone had gotten a bit more used to him and begrudgingly respected his level of power a new dynamic had sprung up around him. The prince¡¯s faction had maintained their distance, not looking to interact with him all that much. But considering his friendly interaction with Annabeth and Lexi as well as his constant sparring sessions with Benedict he found himself with a foot in both camps. Personally Ajax was leaning more towards the Goldmancer camp but unlike the students of the class he didn¡¯t have to make a definite choice. Not only that but the less determined members of the two sides used interacting as a bridge to interact with the other group without the usual competitiveness. This wasn¡¯t something he enjoyed but he could see the benefit as it got him his first dedicated social skill [Conversationalist]. It was only a Common skill but it was a start towards [Detect Lie] which he really wanted to get. Unlike their first cycle the opening homeroom class with professor Silvertongue was a lot more interesting to him this time around. He had moved on from the basic concepts of mana saying that anything more advanced will be something that the mages will focus on in their training with the combat instructor as it wouldn¡¯t make sense for the physically focused students to have dedicated class time for that. ¡°Then what was the point of having us learn that during the first cycle?¡± on of said physical students asked as soon as the announcement was made. ¡°That cycle was actually done more for you physical students as well as for the benefit of catching up any students who didn¡¯t have it drilled into them as part of growing up.¡± the professor responded. Despite the politically phrased answer everyone knew that he meant that the curriculum had been made with specific lessons introduced to cater to commoners who sometimes joined the class. The more curious students who had pestered their older sibling or parents about their time in the academy would have already known that if no commoner was part of the class those lessons usually ended up getting skipped. ¡°We will now be moving on to something that could pertain to all of you.¡± the professor continued. ¡°How to lead mages in battle.¡± ¡°Why is that something all of us have to learn?¡± Another physically focused student asked, this time one that was the son of a Marquis. ¡°Because, despite the fact that a physically focused fighter shouldn¡¯t be the squad leader of a mage squad in practice, that has been known to not always be the case.¡± the professor blew out a sigh of disappointment at that, this was something he personally despised. ¡°Why is that something that shouldn¡¯t happen?¡± one of the people in Benedict''s camp asked as he looked towards the archduke¡¯s grandson. ¡°Many of our generals are physically focused. ¡°I don¡¯t mean that you¡¯ll be learning how to use a mage battalion. Thankfully our kingdom has made enough progress that command and tactical positions are always given out by merit. What I mean is that you all need to learn how to lead a squad of mages.¡± Ajax had a confused look on his face at that explanation. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°The royal family is aware enough to know that such positions almost always go to the highest ranked nobles. With the importance of mages during a battle their squads are the best protected, meaning it''s the best spot for commanders to put inexperienced members of houses who would hound them should their members die in combat¡± professor Silvertongue drew another breath. ¡°As such the least we can do is make sure that when that happens you at least know what to do so that you aren¡¯t a detriment to the squad you end up on.¡± The explanation had left quite a few of the students indignant, the idea that they would take such a position for the sake of personal safety seemed insulting to them. Ajax however was 100% sure that as soon as they were faced with a real battle most if not all the ones who acted insulted would forget their reactions right now and would be thanking their commander as they headed for the squad assigned to them. The rest of the class was very interesting for Ajax. Not only because this was information that he hadn¡¯t already gone over as with most of the mana lessons in the previous cycles but because of the skirmish he had participated in before he joined the Collectors and started delving. He still remembered a lot of the battles that had taken place back then. During those battles he hardly ever focused on the mages as they mostly only canceled each other out, with it being a skirmish the winning mages wouldn¡¯t really start bombarding the infantry as this would lead to heavy casualties. Magic squad combat mostly resorted to three simple steps. The first was positioning, getting the squad in a good position, this meant that not only could they not be ambushed but also that they could target the enemy infantry, protect their own infantry and also be prepared to engage with enemy mage squads. The second step was fortifying their position. The only reason why he had managed to ambush a few mage squads during the skirmish was because they were always in transition and they were inexperienced, once the mages had time to set up ditches and small walls anything short of a warrior with a large level advantage or another mage squad will pose little threat to them. ¡°Next lesson we will move on to talk about the best way to engage with another mage squad. I will end this by saying that if you are physically focused and end up leading a mage squad the best thing you can do after you get yourself positioned is work as a scout to ensure your squad doesn¡¯t get surrounded by a flank or a stealth focused assassin somehow slips in.¡± With that the professor ended his lecture and walked out. On their way to the next class Ajax was excited. Despite knowing that the alchemy class in and of itself would probably still be something basic Ajax was actually hoping to ask a few questions of the other teaching assistant as well as professor Vilethorn after the class finishes. Ideally he would get their input for crafting inside the dungeon. Much to Ajax¡¯s disappointment however not only did the class cover something very basic that he had already learned from a village apothecary but the material also needed to have both the professor and the teaching assistant helping the students, more so because those not interested weren¡¯t putting in all that much effort. Today the class focused on preparing ingredients. Where their first class had focused on crafting some basic increased regeneration potion they were now learning how different types of ingredients could be prepared. Some plants could be used as picked, others needed to be crushed, shredded, or dried. Not only that but they had to be prepared in an easy way to measure. The class had started relatively controlled so Ajax quickly set to prepare his ingredients before he could start asking questions however the class went off the rails. Out of the twenty five students almost fifteen had no interest in alchemy so they just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. This seemed fine however where physically focused students had an easier time preparing the materials due to their higher Dexterity the mental focused students ended up making a lot of mistakes trying to keep pace with them. ¡°Stop just trying to rush through it,¡± professor Vilethorn snapped after passing by the eighth student who wasted his vibrant pound grass by mincing it at nearly half the length he was supposed to. ¡°Alchemy takes time and patience.¡± The few chastised students muttered a group apology that came off slightly insincere despite their social skills. This only served to upset the teacher more as she decided enough was enough. ¡°You had all better pay attention and make sure you learn how to do this as for the rest of the year you will be responsible for the ingredients you ruin with improper preparation.¡± she threatened. The threat wasn¡¯t anything that worried the students as anything they worked with in the first year class wasn¡¯t going to be all that expensive and their families would easily be able to afford a few replacements here and there. ¡°You¡¯ll also be paying for them by working as a gardener in the school alchemy gardens, don¡¯t think you can get out of this by just tossing a few coins at it.¡± This time the threat made clean contact as the students started requesting help and clarification. ¡°Oh, is there something I can help you with?¡± professor Vilethorn asked Ajax after he remained behind despite the rest of the class moving on, he had seemed dismissive after their first lesson when she approached him about him possessing some skill for alchemy. ¡°Yes professor.¡± Ajax answer. ¡°I''d like to ask you about crafting potions and elixirs inside the dungeon.¡± Chapter 196 ¡°Dungeon crafting?¡± Professor Vilethorn raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Well that¡¯s quite the leap from our last lesson, what prompted the change?¡± ¡°Need¡± Ajax answered. He also continued when he saw the gaze that invited him to. ¡°The cost of the potions I will need in the future is something I most likely can¡¯t afford. But if I am able to make them inside the dungeon using the abundance of materials in there that changes things.¡± ¡°It takes a lot of time and wasted resources for any crafter when they start crafting inside the dungeons.¡± the professor challenged. ¡°More so for alchemists, will you have the resources for that, let alone the time to study it during your delves?¡± ¡°From what I read on the matter, learning to craft inside the dungeon works almost like a completely separate skill.¡± Ajax said. ¡°While doing so increases the difficulty and speeds up skill growth, once someone gets the hang of it their success tends to remain consistent. So if I learn how to do it while I am still at the beginning of learning alchemy the materials should be cheap and most are in abundance provided by the Academy.¡± ¡°And what will you do about time?¡± the teaching assistant asked. ¡°With you having the normal amount of classes on top of being a hybrid fighter and spending your free part of the cycle delving at an appropriate level you¡¯ll never find the time for it.¡± ¡°That would be true.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°But I happen to have a whole part of the cycle dedicated to delving way below my level. I checked and there is nothing stopping a teaching assistant from practicing his crafting profession while assisting with a class delve.¡± That statement surprised both the professor and her assistant. Both had been thinking of Ajax as just another student with a few specialties so they didn¡¯t consider the free time he could carve out for himself while on the class delve. ¡°Well now¡­¡± Professor Vilethorn said as she stroked her chin and a smirk broke out on her face. ¡°That could work out well for you.¡± With that she went over to her desk and started to go through her drawers one at a time ruffling through the books, loose sheets of paper and scrolls that were there while muttering something about ¡®where the hell did I put that?¡¯. ¡°As precise as she is when it comes to brewing a potion, she has to be the most disorganized person I know.¡± the teaching assistant shook his head in defeat as he watched his teacher tear the desk apart. ¡°Aha! Here they are.¡± Professor Vilethorn said triumphantly as she held a few pieces of paper and then proceeded to place them on the desk and write something on each of them before bringing them over and handing them to Ajax. ¡°These are the recipes for some basic potions that should help the most with raising your skill level as well as getting you accustomed to crafting inside the dungeon.¡± Ajax gratefully accepted the recipes and took a quick glance over them. The list of ingredients matched the style of the first recipe she handed out in the class''s first alchemy class with one simple exception, on the left side of the ingredient the amount required looked to be crossed out in such a way that you couldn¡¯t tell what was written there before. ¡°Why are the quantities crossed out?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Crafting inside the dungeon, especially when working with low levels of [Alchemy] is best done by experimentation and substitution.¡± the professor explained. ¡°Once you have managed to create all three of these recipes the next ones I will provide you with will contain the amounts required but not of the plant but of the effect the plant has.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°You will be sure to find that while crafting deeper in the dungeons trying to brew recipes as they are written down will be impossible due to the affinity of the mana present on the specific floor. Starting by learning like this will have you prepared to improvise and adapt even if it might mean it takes you a bit longer to rise through the low levels.¡± she added on. ¡°Come by my room the morning before you depart for the delve to collect the ingredients.¡± With that Ajax headed for the door ready to go to his next class when he noticed the teaching assistant following him. ¡°For this first cycle I¡¯ll prepare the ingredients for you but for every time after that I suggest you show up a day early to prepare them yourself, that will save you time in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Ajax said as he dipped his head. He was a little angry at himself for not thinking about that, he also didn¡¯t know why he had somehow expected the ingredients to be already prepared for him. The rest of the classes for the day passed quickly much like they did the previous cycle, unlike with alchemy Ajax chose to keep his focus on only one crafting profession only learn the others through his classes at the academy. The next change in how the cycle played from the previous one was when they got to the afternoon practice. The prince had joined the physically focused part of the training meaning they already had an even number and he would make it odd. ¡°Ajax if you would join us this time around.¡± the magic instructor asked. Ajax simply nodded and joined the casters. There were a more casters than physical fighters but that didn¡¯t seem to disturb the teacher. ¡°Now, while last week I was content to simply have you go through you spells while working on having everyone get at least acceptable with their aim.¡± everyone turned to a single student at that remark, clearly he had been a weak link for a while. ¡°Now we will work on your control of magic in a different way.¡± ¡°Will we finally get a chance to duel each other?¡± one of the students asked. ¡°Not just yet¡± the instructor denied. ¡°Unlike physical combat, starting magical sparring too early is very likely to lead you into forming bad habits that are hard to break later on.¡± The wave of disappointed groans was silence with a single glare from the instructor before he continued. ¡°Now, while you were all practicing your aim during the last week I observed the form of your spells for each one of you, well with one exception.¡± he turned his gaze on Ajax after that statement. ¡°Sorry.¡± Ajax said, aware that he might have focused a little too much on physical training. He couldn¡¯t help it though as his spars with Benedict had been very fun, for the first time in a while he was on the backfoot in terms of skill but not in terms of stats. ¡°That however won¡¯t be an issue.¡± the instructor continued. ¡°Now that we can control where our spell is going we need to control how the spell is formed.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what the incantation is for?¡± one of the lower ranked nobles asked. ¡°No, the incantation simply gives you a mold.¡± the instructor explained. ¡°Now while the general idea has been known for a while it is our current headmaster that has not only come up with an enticing theory as to why but has taken great steps in proving it to be true.¡± ¡°Luxim¡± the instructor chanted and a regular ball of light sprung up from his palm. ¡°This is the base spell, you all know it and this is the result most people will get if they cast it without any intent behind it.¡± he said as he waved his hand through the orb and dissipated it. ¡°Now the headmaster¡¯s theory states that the chants we use only for a base idea for a spell. In the case of the previous spell that idea is ¡®ball of light¡¯. As we get better with our intent you will find that we can change the output of the same incantation.¡± he continued. ¡°Luxim. Luxim. Luxim.¡± he chanted once again. The first time he chanted a ball much bigger and brighter than the previous one was summoned. The second time there were three orbs and all were dimmer and smaller than the first one. The third one however was exactly the same size and brightness as the first only instead of it being a bright white light it was a bright blue light. ¡°All four of the spells took the same amount of mana.¡± the instructor said. ¡°The first sacrificed duration to become bigger and brighter. The second exemplifies that a spell doesn¡¯t usually restrict the amount of replications it generates, this is however sometimes limited with stronger spells that have a longer chant.¡± ¡°What about the third one?¡± that one had been the most interesting as quite a few of the students hadn¡¯t seen a color variation of the spell. ¡°As I said, all the spells cost the same.¡± the instructor answered. ¡°If mana input was to be increased you could replicate the first spell. The second however requires a change in intent, the third requires you to possess and add [Light Aspect Mana] to your intent in order to change the color of the light.¡± This was a massive revelation to Ajax, chiefly for the effect this could have on his use of fire. Ethanol fire not only could not be put out by water, but as long as the are was well lit it would burn invisible to the naked eye. Chapter 197 While Ajax was shocked at the implications he also realized that most of the power presented from this discovery wasn¡¯t something that could be used by most mages as it required a level of scientific knowledge they would have access to. The second part was that the power bestowed by such means might also not be as strong as he first suspected it might be. One of the first things he tested once he got strong enough was throwing a stone and hitting it like a baseball with a bat. The reason for this was simple: he wanted to see if he could cause a sonic boom. Strangely however the sonic boom wasn¡¯t produced, Ajax was surprised by that since the laws of physics didn¡¯t seem to be changed so why would breaking the sound barrier not produce a sonic boom? The only answer he could think of was that the presence of mana has an effect of the way physics work, a new factor that the people of Earth never had to deal with, as such all Ajax can do is test things to find out if they are affected by mana. ¡°For now I want all of you to show me the base version of your most used combat spell.¡± The instructor said. The students grumbled at something so basic but they still complied quickly. What Ajax saw from most of them were a series of elemental bolts, the most common was a fireball but some used ice or earth. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see that Lexi and Annabeth used wind and fire respectively, after all he had seen them even work together to combine their spells into a massive blast. When it was finally his turn Ajax had a small dilemma. His most used spell was clearly his augmentation, but that came with a number of different elements. If he was to narrow everything down to one element his earth manipulation would have to be his most used spell but he didn¡¯t want to work on this with earth. In the end he decided to go with simply using fire augmentation to light his sword on fire, though he was careful not to burn himself. ¡°Interesting.¡± the instructor said as he examined Ajax¡¯s blade. ¡°There was no incantation but this also clearly isn¡¯t just pure fire generation and manipulation.¡± Ajax had no desire to explain how his Epic skill worked and he was pleasantly surprised to see that the instructor didn¡¯t push him to do so either. ¡°This might be a very good way for you to train your intent.¡± As he said he also extended a small armband towards him. ¡°I will have to insist that you wear that as you do so, at least for the beginning.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Ajax asked slightly suspicious of the item, he could feel a mana stone powering and enchantment with his [Sense Mana]. ¡°It¡¯s an item made to restrict the skill [Fire Aspect Mana], it should work with skills all the way up to level sixty, though that is as long as it is the only restraining enchantment you have on, the crafters haven¡¯t yet been able to find out why they interfere with each other.¡± the instructor explained. ¡°But then why do you want me to use it?¡± Ajax asked perplexed. ¡°I thought you said that manipulation through aspect mana skills was part of it.¡± ¡°It is.¡± the instructor confirmed. ¡°But from what I can feel you are constantly supplying this spell with mana, this means that you are using that skill to control it and not your intent. I even suspect that this has probably pushed your skill quite high but unless you want to lose efficiency later on and with stronger spells you need to learn how to direct spells with your intent.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ajax did admit that the instructor did have a point and strapped on the armband. The sensation that flooded him was weird. Despite the armband being almost loose on his arm it felt like it was tightly squeezed on. Not only that but feeling wasn¡¯t one he could lessen or increase by flexing his arm, like an itch he couldn¡¯t scratch. For the rest of the training time all of the students practiced their intent. Some of them, like Lexi, had a very easy time using their intent allowing them to modify their spell visibly from one cast to the next. Clearly this wasn¡¯t the first time they heard about the concept or practiced it. Others didn¡¯t manage to get any serious progress, their spells indistinguishable from their base form. ¡°Don¡¯t let yourselves be discouraged.¡± the instructor said as the class time ended. ¡°It takes time to learn how to use your intent to morph a spell.¡± Ajax did manage to make some progress, at the start he had trouble with even keeping the flames away from his hands, this incident made him swap the sword for a broad axe so that the flame would be further away from his hand. By the end of the lesson however he had managed to use his intent to keep the flames burning the handle of the axe. With the class over Ajax went over to his office for a short but much needed break before he would go to meet up with the old librarian for their experiments with curse mana. Ajax thought that joining the mage side of the class was actually a good idea since despite only having five hundred mana remaining his stamina was still above seventeen hundred and that¡¯s what he would need to use [Cursed Slash]. Thinking about it now, it was actually a good thing that a few of his classes were mostly refresher courses on what he had already picked up with only a dash of new information, between his delving crafting and now research he was very busy. As he made his way up on the seventh floor Ajax once again felt the same two auras he did the last time he came here, one belonged to old Balthazar and the other to the woman he was bringing in to help with the experiments. Ajax also noticed that he couldn¡¯t feel the headmaster''s aura meaning that he wasn¡¯t close at the moment, that or he had found some way to hide his aura. ¡°Ajax!¡± the old librarian greeted him excitedly as he entered. ¡°Great to see you looking so much better now.¡± Ajax gave a deep nod in greeting to the old man yet his eyes were inspecting the woman standing next to him. She seemed to be giving him the exact same treatment as he felt her gaze wash over him. Surprisingly [Enigma] didn¡¯t trigger which could mean something good or something very bad. ¡°Oh, where are my manners?¡± the old man said with a bit of giddy in his voice. ¡°Ajax met Evelyn, Evelyn this is Ajax. He will be helping with our research.¡± ¡°Evelyn of the Forth.¡± The woman said coldly as she extended her hand. The name however was something that drew Ajax¡¯s attention and made him freeze for a second. The name of the Forth wasn''t really a name, it was more of a title. Of the elite squads under the command of the king the leaders of the top five always had their last names replaced with ¡®of the Number¡¯ for as long as they held the position. This was meant as a show of devotion to the crown instead of whatever family they may have come from. While this didn¡¯t mean that she had cut ties with her family or even prevented her from using her influence to help them it did mean that she had the option and full royal backing to do so. It also marked her as one of the strongest people in the kingdom. ¡°A pleasure to meet you.¡± Ajax said as he grasped the outstretched hand, his delivery a bit wooden however. ¡°Good, now if you¡¯d both follow me.¡± the old man interrupted, ¡° This isn¡¯t the place for such experiments.¡± As the three of them moved through the halls of the Academy the old man decided to start discussing their topic of research. ¡°So, which element do you think we should start off trying to see a reaction with?¡± ¡°Any of them will do, we will have to see how they all react eventually.¡± Evelyn said. ¡°Though perhaps not holy as I doubt we will be able to get much from that interaction to start with.¡± ¡°I think fire would be a good place to start.¡± Ajax suggested. ¡°Oh, why is that?¡± The old man seemed very interested in why fire was where Ajax started off with. ¡°The imps inside the abyssal dungeon, I could feel that the way they were making their black fireballs was by casting a fireball with magic while generating curse mana with their arm movement. I think the curse mana simply attached to the fire magic and turned it into the black flames. I want to see if we can maybe recreate that.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Hmmm, that does seem like a promising place to start with.¡± the old man agreed. ¡°If that works the same for us as it did for the imps I can already think of a few situations where this could be useful.¡± Evelyn said, a small smile briefly flashing over her lips for the first time since Ajax met her. Chapter 198 Evelyn of the Forth P.O.V As much as I may personally hate admitting it there were some things where experience trumped all. The ability to spot potential and opportunities was one of them and despite some of my personal opinions one the walking relic Balthazar had gained a lot of experience in his nearly four millennia of living. I was the second youngest leader of the royal squads, not only that but the only one younger than me was the leader of the tenth and he was a lot weaker than the rest of us only being a squad leader because he was the future king''s right hand man. I knew that in my pursuit of power I had to leave some things by the wayside but that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t befriend others to make up for it. The kid Ajax was quite the phenomenon. He bore little interest for me specifically as I was almost four hundred years older than him but he was definitely stronger than I was at his age and yet the old man picked to back him and now I was going to benefit from it. When I heard his hypothesis about how cursed mana worked I couldn¡¯t suppress all the joy I felt. Out of the other three leaders of the numbers I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to outmatch the leader of the first and second squad. Simply put they were more than three hundred years older than me and would start to decline and retire before I could take their spots honorably. Jekkle of the Third was different, while he was still one hundred and fifty years older than I was, the difference in our power wasn¡¯t all that large, at least not when it came to fighting monsters. The problems came when it came to direct combat as his preferred curse mana attacks had very little research done on them so I had yet to defeat the cocky bastard in a duel. ¡°For now we should just observe your skill and see if we can learn anything from it alone.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°What is the skill specifically called again?¡± ¡°[Curse Slash].¡± the kid replied. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± the old man nodded with a grin as he pulled out a strange weapon and tossed it to him. ¡°You¡¯ll be using that for at least our first few weeks of research. Safety when dealing with cursed mana cannot be overstated.¡± The boy caught the long spear shaft with a look of surprise. The weapon was odd as the shaft had the length of a spear yet the blade at the end was as large as a short-sword. It took the kid a few practice slashes to at least get the balance of the weapon right before he executed his skill. The curse mana trail that was left by the blade was so reminiscent of Jekkle¡¯s skills. I had felt it a few times before but I never had the chance to truly study it as it was in the middle of a duel. Not to mention that Jekkle¡¯s assassin inclinations meant almost nobody had ever seen him in action and lived to share about it. ¡°It seems like giving you a longer handle was useful in more ways than one.¡± the old man smiled as he started taking notes with his enchanted quills. ¡°The curse mana is generated by you and then quickly directed to the blade by your skill. Tell me, do you feel and curse mana lingering inside of you? Also how much stamina did that cost you?¡± What was also very telling was that the curse mana was generated almost exclusively from his hands. I would definitely have to get him to use the skill when he was dual wielding blades, if my conjecture that the skill only generated mana in the limb closest to the weapon I could use the generation of curse mana as an early warning signal of where the attack would come from. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°There is nothing affecting me now, all of the curse mana generated was directed to the edge of the weapon.¡± the kid answered. ¡°The skill also cost more than I had hoped, it took a hundred stamina.¡± That was quite a shock, that little curse mana took a hundred stamina to generate? A hundred mana could generate three or four times as much elemental mana. To think that all these years that bastard had tricked me, I had always fought to end the battle as quickly as possible since a mage is known to run out of mana faster than a warrior runs out of stamina but from the sounds of it curse users bottom out even faster. ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead and add some basic fire mana to it now in the form of a fireball.¡± the old man said, his three enchanted quills never stopped writing and had each finished with the first scrolls they were scribbling down and moved on to the next. ¡°Throw a slow moving fireball, Ajax go ahead and to a slash just in front of where it will pass.¡± The kid and eye glanced at each other and he gave me a small nod to let me know he was ready. I muttered the simple incantation and released a particularly slow moving fireball, the kid read the direction well and placed the slash right in the path of the fireball. ¡°Well, that certainly is not black fire.¡± commented as I watched the fireball explode harmlessly against the ground leaving a small scorched patch. Oddly enough the curse mana did seem to attach to the fireball but the flames didn¡¯t seem to turn black, if anything it seemed to consume the fireball. ¡°Yes, it was rather anticlimactic.¡± the old man agreed as he rubbed his beard. ¡°Can we try it again, only this time try putting less power in the fireball.¡± the kid asked as he seemed to have thought about something. I indulged him but the second attempt was just as fruitless as the first, if anything the one thing we did manage to figure out was that the curse mana actively consumed the power of the fireball as with this one having less power it was almost wholly consumed. ¡°Hmmm, maybe fire wasn¡¯t such a good point to start with.¡± Balthazar said a little dejectedly, I fully understood where he was coming from as these results weren¡¯t what I had been hoping for when I agreed to help with his experiments. ¡° ¡­ but what if¡­¡± the kid was mumbling something to himself, his eyes moving left and right as if they were following some imaginary trail. ¡°Can you do it again with the same power as the first one?¡± he asked after he seemed to have finished his trail of thought. ¡°Ajax, trying the same thing over and over until it works isn¡¯t how you get good research results¡± the old man started to explain but I was intrigued and proceeded to start my chant again. The moment my mouth opened the kid took a quick step towards me and started his slashing motion, it took every ounce of my willpower not to paste his on the spot for it. The only reason I didn¡¯t was because [Incoming Attack] didn¡¯t trigger, the skill was an Epic variation of danger sense that let me know every time an attack was heading towards me. Sure enough the blade passed harmlessly two inches above my palm without even touching my robe, what it did was leave a trail of curse mana right above my open palm as the fireball started to take shape. Unlike the usual process I felt all control over my own spell get ripped away from me. I had been able to change the specifics of my fireball spell right up until the moment it launched since I was thirty but now I lost control just as the ball was taking shape. Instead the fireball that formed was made of black flames whose heat I could feel almost burn my palm. The ball of flames then launched and followed the initial path the normal spell would take if it had received no influence splattering against a bench at the side of the training ground. ¡°What were you thinking!!!¡± the old man screamed at the kid who at least had the good sense to look suitably chastised. ¡°Sorry, I got ahead of myself.¡± The kid apologized looking a little embarrassed. ¡°Well it worked.¡± I said as I watched the black flames consume the bench. ¡°Though while I have to admit your deductive skills were good, I do question your survival instincts.¡± The amount of water it took to douse the flames, the remains of the bench that was left not only scorched but also slightly rotten and even the ashes were all quickly looked over and documented by the old man. ¡°It is interesting, it seems that curse mana can only merge with fire mana when the spell is taking shape.¡± the old man seemed to have forgotten his earlier outrage but I knew from experience that he had only put it aside, the kid was going to be in for a scolding once we finished experimenting for the day. As it turned out we were finished quite quickly after that, the kid could barely use the skill fifteen times before his stamina got too low so we called it a day at that. We didn¡¯t find anything extraordinary today but it was a start. I could already feel the advantage Jekkle had over me had started to shrink. It was only a matter of time before I¡¯d know enough to come up with a plan to win. As I was walking away I did turn to look at the kid again. Despite him being too young to be of any interest to me from any point of view other than as a possible recruit when he got older he was definitely going to become somebody. It seems like I will need to go make a report to the royal family. Chapter 199 The research into [Curse slash] took a deep toll on Ajax¡¯s stamina and most of his mana was spent on training with the mage instructor on controlling his intent and what remained after that was put into his plants. On the upside his plants had already taken deep roots and some bushes were already starting to grow, it might only be a couple more months until all of them would start sporting flowers and his bees could get to work. As for his research into the curse mana Ajax still wasn¡¯t sure if it was something he should be doing right now, curse mana was getting dicey especially since the goddamn plague doctor had managed to buy himself a one week stay of execution through some legal loophole. Ajax had only taken a single peek into the infected city and he wanted the guy to hang. Hanging was not in the literal sense obviously, with the way stats and skills got people could survive hanging for hours at a time and executions had gone the way of the French and relied on a guillotine to put a definite end to a person. Ajax was in complete agreement with that change though he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if dullahans was something that existed in this world where so many magical beings had already been found. The research however did prove rather fruitful. Almost all of their testing had been focused on fire magic so they could get a sense of it and the results were promising. When it came to fire mana it seems that curse mana was only compatible with it before the spell formed, afterwards it was almost as good as water mana at snuffing out a fire. When they did combine however the result was a lot more deadly but also lacked almost any control. The flames not only burned but corrupted and rotted everything they touched, the worst part was that some materials would become more combustible as they rotted and that could cause small explosions that would spread the flames. As for their research partner Evelyn, Ajax found that she had little to no interest in him at all. The one time that she showed any interest outside of their curse mana research was when she asked him point blank if whatever he did to put himself so far ahead of the curve could still be used by her. After Ajax had told her that she couldn''t, she didn¡¯t broach the subject again. The second element they had half a session with was ice. Unlike fire Ice was not only compatible with curse mana but it didn¡¯t lose its compatibility once the spell was fully formed. The pitch black ice that was formed as a result was much heavier than regular ice, not only that but just like the fire spells the caster lost all control over them once the ice mana mixed with the curse mana. What really interested Ajax and Evelyn however was the fact that this new ice gained a very odd property to shatter reflectively to physical damage, the effect meant nothing when it was hit with an arrow as the range seemed small, no larger than a few feet. However those few feet could mean that a knife wielder would be pelted from head to toe by some very sharp ice shards. They had yet to test if those ice shards would also infect the target with a curse or if it would remain as black ice but Ajax had a strong feeling that it would work as a delivery device which could prove invaluable against melee fighters. Evelyn also seemed extremely pleased at the news, so much so that she shared with Ajax that an opportunity would arrive in a month''s time for all the freshmen at the Academy, an opportunity that the nobles had been waiting for. With their progeny reaching past level twenty they were now at a spot where they could form their first bond with a monster of a similar level. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Why do they form bonds with fully grown creatures?¡± Ajax had asked when he found that out. ¡°Because they are not meant to be lifetime companions.¡± the old man explained. ¡° In most cases a strong companion simply won¡¯t form a bond with a human, at least not an inexperienced one.¡± ¡°And having a companion gets them experience?¡± Ajax asked incredulously. ¡° I would have thought a dead bond would be a warning flag to avoid that human.¡± ¡°That is the reason they also choose such low level creatures. Even if they are treated well and progressed most of them would still die in a century, one and a half at most. The bond skill might not have a level but any creature you attempt to bond with after the first will be given a lot of information on how you treated your first bond.¡± the old man explained. While Ajax didn¡¯t find that method all that agreeable he had to admit it was a lot better than the practice of forming a bond just to kill it in hopes of unlocking some extra skills. That the treatment of the companions was recorded was also a point in its favor as it would mean the companions would be treated very well. Even with all of that going on Ajax simply pushed all of it to the back of his mind, he had something else to focus on now as the entire class was heading towards the goldmine for their second delve as a class. Unlike their first delve where they had their professor, two instructors, two teaching assistants and a very high level healer joining the students their second go around was much different. They quickly made their way inside the dungeon before professor Silvertongue addressed all of them. ¡°Alright everyone, quiet down.¡± he raised his voice and all of the chitchatter died out. ¡°Now as you are all aware for the next four cycles the delves will be a competition that takes the form of a tournament.¡± That got a small cheer from the more competitive students as they were all looking forward to the game. Ajax had been slightly dejected when he heard about it since he had been hoping to simply practice his alchemy during these low level delves, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out that he would have all the time he needed for his brewing. ¡°Two rules that will stand and are not to be broken under any circumstances.¡± the professor continued. ¡°You are not, and I repeat not, allowed to trigger the obelisk. Any student, regardless of who they are that is found to have done so will not only find themselves expelled but they will be fully prosecuted for recklessness or murder depending on what happens afterwards.¡± That rule made perfect sense. Even with Ajax¡¯s classmates abilities being strong enough to delve this entire floor a stampede like the one caused by triggering the obelisk would be lethal to all of them. ¡°The second rule is that you are not to launch damaging attacks towards other students. Stealing is allowed but should you be caught in the act you will be eliminated for the rest of the delve. You are only to steal things that were collected from this floor of the dungeon.¡± A few students looked around trying their best to appear innocent at that. ¡°Don¡¯t think I am kidding, if I get a whiff of anything else being stolen I will find out who it was and they will be cleaning all the toilets in the Academy with a toothbrush for an entire month.¡± ¡°Now, we are in variation one of this floor. You all should know the location Ajax will head to and I will be moving around the floor keeping an eye on things, Dave will be here by the arch as well.¡± The professor said as Ajax grinned at the idea that he could stay in one spot for essentially a few days to just practice his crafting, he had stocked up on ingredients and he was hoping to make some progress. ¡°Everyone, go ahead and split up in your teams.¡± With that everyone split off into six man teams. Ajax thought that the tournament was well thought out. It was not only a test of skill, where killing and collecting the most from the dungeon floor would determine the winner. Since the teams were to be formed of five students and a novice healer from the Healing Union and all team members had to be different every week for four different delves this involved both strategy and political maneuvering to win. It was a foregone conclusion that Annabeth, Benedict or the prince will be the ones taking the first spot, Lexi was mentioned as a dark horse but as the heads of the three factions in the class the battle for first place was clear. As was to be expected the teams this week were split into the usual factions but starting with the next delve it would be near impossible not to have an infiltrator from another faction in your team. With that Ajax had already started his trek towards the clearing he would be staying in for the next few days already looking eager to get started with his crafting. Chapter 200 Benedict Steelblade P.O.V All five groups were keeping their distance from one another as they huddled together going over their plan once again. This competition was going to be the first point of contention for class ranking. While this year wouldn¡¯t be the most impactful, all the high nobles came from different backgrounds it will still affect the noble landscape. Worse of all is that everyone had a somewhat decent chance to win. Out of their entire class the stand out strongest are me, Goldmancer and Manashaper. While Goldmancer having Manashaper on her side would usually be enough to push me out of contention this trial system focuses a lot more on stamina giving me a chance to make up for the disadvantage. That left the prince as the other contender. While he was much weaker than us he had the advantage with numbers, the difference between the seven on my side, eight on Goldmancer¡¯s and ten on him wasn¡¯t all that big since we were not only a bit stronger but also from stronger families with more money to spend on their gear. The problem came that he now had two full teams that he could go with whereas both me and Goldmancer would have to drag dead weight after the first round. When I looked around before we left I was shocked to see that not only was Goldmancer not on the same team as Manashaper but she wasn¡¯t in a team made up of only her people she was part of the split team. It seems she was going to save her full team run for when she had experience as well as not competing with me. It was a smart plan but one that would also mean I would have more to hunt this time around. ¡°Okay everybody can go.¡± Silvertongue said about five minutes after Ajax headed off. He also took off but I knew he would be roaming around us until we all started to split off at least. As one we all dashed into the forest, only one of the prince¡¯s group didn¡¯t head towards the mountain, instead choosing to head behind the arch. We all knew the area there was small and limited but if they were the only ones there they stood to gain quite a bit before they could pick things off around the side as they spread to the rest of the floor. It was a smart move as nobody would go compete with them as they would also then be left splitting a small area. The wolves and deer we encountered were pretty much a non issue, as long as we didn¡¯t get sloppy and taken by surprise we should have no issue taking on most of them. Not only that but after the experience we had last time I was constantly aware of what was going on above our heads, no way I would let a griffin sneak up on me a second time. ¡°Kobolds a hundred feet in front of us.¡± our scout called out. Most of my team was getting ready to charge them while the healer assigned to us was starting to hang back. Since kobolds had casters in their rank that was a necessity as if a spell hit the healer there could be nobody to heal him. It was a good strategy but it would also slow us down. ¡°Focus on their casters¡± I called out. ¡° Their weapons can¡¯t get through our armor but spells might just bypass a part of it. In truth unless one of us took a clean spell to the head I doubt the spells could do all that much to us with the gear we had on, but I knew the healer would insist that they had to heal any injury that we took. Unlike the rest of the team they cared little for the score on the exam and just wanted to get as much experience from the delve, this meant healing as much as possible. A quick ice lance went right over my head taking out one of the kobold casters with a clean hit through the eye socket. ¡°Got one, bombard them while I take out the other.¡± Rick called out as the fireballs took the kobold front line by surprise. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. None of us got so much as a scratch as we cut apart the ten kobolds. We were even lucky enough to find a few staples of alchemical ingredients as we waited for the healer to catch up to us. While they were worth a little less than the kills there was no reason to leave points lying about. The whole day had gone about as well as we could have expected. The one regret I had was that the griffin we found had gotten away. Rick had managed to get a good hit with his ice lance but sadly all it did was take out the back paw and not the wings he was aiming for. The griffin had been smart enough to fly away as it saw us charging towards it. Griffins were worth the most but there were so few of them. ¡°Let''s head towards the help point.¡± Rick said as it was starting to get dark. ¡°Not like we¡¯ll get much more done today, better to start fresh tomorrow with full stamina.¡± I nodded my agreement. These first two days were going to be the most stamina intensive as everyone rushed through the forest and the mountain to get as many of the abundant creatures that were there. After the initial rush died down people would need to take things slower as there wasn¡¯t enough prey that you could run mindlessly and still find it. As we arrived at the predetermined cave I was surprised to see Ajax was working at brewing a few potions. The guys had three cauldrons going at once and he looked to be mixing another set of ingredients. ¡°You lot need any help?¡± he asked without lifting his gaze from his work. ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± the healer answered. ¡°Decided to make camp here that way all of us can get a good round of sleep without having to keep watch.¡± That was the main reason for camping here, without a watch rotation we could all wake up earlier and get started again. ¡°You find any useful herbs?¡± he asked finally looking up from his work. ¡°Have found a few of them.¡± Rick said. ¡°Can I have them?¡± he asked as he stretched out his arm. ¡°No you can¡¯t have them, they are worth points.¡± Rick sounded indignant, he still had a bone to pick with Ajax after the way the last delve went despite my hopes that the two would patch things up. ¡°I¡¯ll still mark you down for the points they are worth.¡± Ajax said with a shake of his head. ¡°This way however I get to save on some ingredients and you get to carry around less things, win-win. Rick remained silent but handed over the herbs at my nod. I saw Ajax not down what we had brought before he started chopping them up and getting them properly prepared. To be honest I was glad he was only an assistant for this tournament. Despite the budding friendship we had struck up last cycle through the physical combat training and spars my families informants had found out that he had a much deeper bond with the Goldmacers family. Not only that but he was a skilled hunter and that would be invaluable in a hunt like this. All of us went a bit deeper into the cave and were quick to fall asleep in the next few minutes. When we woke up the artificial sun hadn''t yet risen. I didn¡¯t know how the dungeon worked but it seemed that at least this first floor shared the same night day cyle as the outside world. I had been warned that as we delved deeper that won¡¯t be the case, some floors would have the same schedule, others would have an opposite schedule, some might have a sped up schedule and others were stuck at one point. I would hate to find a permanent night floor. ¡°Have you just kept going throughout the night?¡± the healer explained as he was standing next to a small pile of potions Ajax had placed on one side of the table. They formed a small pile which was honestly rather impressive. ¡°And these would actually work like normal potions!¡± That was indeed impressive. Unlike the slave we had learned to make in our first alchemy class, a proper potion was much harder to make. It seemed that he also had a bit of a knack for alchemy, especially since I didn¡¯t see much of a puddle on the floor from failed attempts. I had expected to see one considering he was crafting inside the dungeon making things more unstable. ¡°Managed to make something from the herbs you gathered.¡± Ajax said as he pulled out three larger vials. ¡°And why would we want healing potions?¡± Rick asked, and this time I agreed with him we all had better healing potions given to use by our family, the little stand next to them said each potion cost ten points to get. ¡°These aren¡¯t healing potions.¡± the healer said as he took up the much larger flask. ¡°They are Bait.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Should work on the kobolds and the wolves but won¡¯t do much for the deer.¡± ¡°They¡¯re the real deal.¡± our scout said as he took a look at them with his item inspection skill. ¡°Their quality is only fair but it might be worth getting one of them if we use it sparingly in the coming days.¡± We were only allowed to bring healing and protective consumables with us so a chance to get some Bait potions would swing the odds in our favor. ¡°Can anyone buy these from you or just us since we brought the herbs?¡± I asked. ¡°Anyone¡± Ajax replied. ¡°It was agreed upon with the professor.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± I cursed, this is where Goldmancers change of approach worked in her favor as now I couldn¡¯t have the other two of my people use their points to buy the other two flasks so that the main teams would get them. Chapter 201 Prince Xavier P.O.V The first two days had gone well but quite as well as I had originally planned. About 80% of the monsters on the floor had already been killed by now and it came down to who would be able to hunt down those that remained. Most importantly however it seemed that half of the griffins were still alive somehow, simply flying above and choosing not to engage. If I could get two of them I¡¯d be pleased but it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Goldmancer seems just as crafty as her father. Despite being almost as foreign to our classmates as I am, and I just forced my way into the class and among my peers a few weeks before school started, she had managed to leverage her money to buy off two of the outer circle from Steelblade. They weren¡¯t helping her by any means but they weren¡¯t dragging her back either. She would certainly not be in the top three when the points would be tallied up at the end of this round. Usually this would mean that me and Steelblade would take a wider margin but I never expected she would split up from Manashaper in this first round. With a full team on her side she even snatched a few groups from right under my nose. Despite it being Goldmancer¡¯s entourage and her family name backing the group, her and Manashaper had a big trump card for this little competition. Both of their names were high enough that either of them winning would count as a win for them, this meant that me and Benedict couldn¡¯t let our guard down just in case they decided that Manashaper would be their representative. ¡°Your Highness, are you okay?¡± Johnson asked. I recognised the wariness in his voice was because of the smile I sported despite our position not being as good as it could be. Johnson was smart enough to realize that Goldmancer was most likely to come out ahead after this round even if me and Steelblade would be number one and two when the points were counted up. Then again how could I now smile, this was exactly why I had chosen to join this class : The challenge, the opposition, I would actually have to work to win. I still remember my uncle as he reminisced about his days in the academy and how he had to go head to head with the Silvertongues and the Steelblade heirs of his time. ¡°I am just fine.¡± I assured him. ¡°Let''s head for the caves. I¡¯m sure there have to be quite a few kobolds we can find if we go and explore them. Who knows maybe we might even end up finding a griffin nest in the caves near the top.¡± When it came to combat I knew that I was a ways behind Benedict. Not only was I a hybrid fighter but I had invested my initial points into a heavy Vitality and and Mind build hoping to get as many forced points before I used the last few levels and potion to correct the values. Even if my skill with the sword was better he was just stronger and faster than I was and I couldn¡¯t put up any strong spells to tilt the fight in my favor just yet. The moment we engaged the kobolds inside the mine I did my job to hold their warriors in place and give our mages time to wipe them out. These kobolds weren¡¯t all that bright, their moves were easy to read and with a well placed shield you could deflect their blows and unbalance them. After that getting a good hit in or knocking them into their allies was easy in the narrow corridors of the mine. Going through the mine ended up being even better than we expected with the way things were going. I would only need one of the remaining five griffins to set the foundation for a good start. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°I hear fighting up ahead.¡± our scout said. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I want to see who we¡¯re competing with.¡± I knew we wouldn¡¯t be the only team in the tunnels. With most of the beasts in the forest cleared out everyone would head for the tunnels, especially since the outside patrols had also been taken out so the change of getting attack from in front and behind was low, almost impossible if at least three teams entered at the same time. ¡°You¡¯re just late to the party.¡± A friendly bubbly voice called out as we reached the other group. The fight was already over and most of the people were already collecting the spoils and proof of kill from the corpses. Manashaper gave me a quick wave before focusing back and cutting the left ear off a kobold. ¡°Oh well, maybe you won¡¯t make it to the next one.¡± I fired back. I couldn¡¯t tell with Manashaper, by now almost everyone who has been to at least five big events in the last two years in the capital knew that the girl had two sides to her. The bubbly, fun-loving sweet girl, and the mischievous schemer that held grudges like no other. Still I don¡¯t think anyone knows which one of her personalities is her true self or if she¡¯s just a mix of the two and she chooses which side she shows. ¡°Your Highness, we finally found you!¡± a voice called out from another tunnel that led into this area. ¡°What are you lot doing here?¡± Johnson asked accusingly. It was a good question as they were supposed to be scouring the forest so they could lead us to the final wolves and deer after we were done with the tunnels, either tomorrow or on the last day depending on how many they found. ¡°Steelblade has the lead.¡± he puffed out, everyone from that team was breathing heavily from the quick pace they took to get here. ¡°He¡¯s already taken out three of the five griffins.¡± That statement was like a bomb as it wiped not only the playful smile from my face but also the teasing grin that Manashaper was sporting. So far each of the five teams had taken a griffin for themselves, I suspected that had something to do with Silvertongue as all of us were attacked in the middle of a fight with deer or wolves. But now Steelblade killed three more and shot himself into the lead by a good margin. ¡°How?¡± Johnson asked. I sadly wasn¡¯t quick enough in telling to shut up, I didn¡¯t want to give the answer away as Manashaper also seemed to have no idea how they did it but he had already given away too much with the first word. ¡°The commoner!¡± he spat out. ¡°He¡¯s doing alchemy in that little cave of his and he turned some of the herbs they gathered into Bait.¡± ¡°He¡¯s helping the Steelblades?¡± Manashaper asked incredulously. ¡°No he¡¯s doing it for himself.¡± the man denied. ¡°Apparently he worked it out with professor Silvertongue that he can take the herb we gather and mark us the points we should receive for them. After that he crafts Bait with them and we can use those points he just gave us to purchase it from him.¡± ¡°If they have Bait why didn¡¯t they kill all the griffins?¡± I asked, secrecy was a lost cause at this point. ¡°Because they only had enough herbs for three flasks of bait, they are out in the forest gathering more now.¡± he puffed out. That was all the signal we needed as both Manashaper I and both of our teams dashed down the tunnel going straight for the spot where Ajax was. From the sounds of it professor Silvertongue made sure Ajax wasn¡¯t putting his finger on the scale with this competition but if two groups arrive at the same time he would be able to choose who to help first so we had to get there before Manashaper could. It¡¯s a good thing I was a hybrid with stronger physical stats. As I was running however I couldn¡¯t help but feel that I was finding myself disliking this Ajax. It was not so much personal as I didn¡¯t have anything against him personally. If anything I think he is the person who is closest to me in terms of raw talent. No, what I dislike about him is the attention everybody gives him and how he got it by exploiting a cheat in the System. I didn¡¯t know what cheat he had found, not even my father or grandfather knew and they were the King and the crown Prince. But apparently it couldn¡¯t be used by them or me anymore. Not only that but he would make it public in a year or two at most according to the guild head of the Healing Union. I didn¡¯t want to end up like my uncle but from the looks of it my little brother, who doesn¡¯t have as much talent as me will end up benefiting from this when I couldn¡¯t and might close the gap. Not only that but both father and grandfather think I should try to befriend Ajax in hopes of having him take the spot of Ajax of the First should I ever come to rule. That spot is usually reserved for a talented mentor usually at least a century older than the king who focuses on being the strongest and they want me to focus on somebody the same age as me? I can¡¯t focus on that now, first let''s win this contest then I will have a few free days to think over the meeting with father and grandpa. Chapter 202 By the time the whole floor was clear Ajax had managed to finish brewing over two hundred potions of restoration and a total of twenty batches of Bait. Out of all those creations Ten batches of Bait were even of inferior quality and the rest were failures, though that had more to do with the fact that he was substituting ingredients so that he would only use herbs found on the first floor of the dungeon. As for the regular potion he managed to create one hundred and forty of inferior quality, ten of basic quality and one of Uncommon quality. While all that might have seemed like great progress it was clear that repetition wasn¡¯t the best way to get his alchemy skill higher. Over the whole exercise he had gotten a total of eight points in alchemy, three came from the one hundred and forty inferior quality potions, two of them coming in the first fifty when the recipe was still a novelty to him, another point came with the ten basic quality, two points he got for the batches of bait though he suspected that was more for the first time he ever substituted ingredients in a recipe. Finally the single uncommon quality potion got him two whole points by itself. One other thing that the dungeon pounded into him was that his [Mana Milling] skill became much harder to use inside the dungeon. Not only did it allow him to infuse his own mana when preparing ingredients but it also opened the ingredients a lot more to the dungeon''s free flowing mana. The one uncommon potion he made had also used the best ingredients his mana milling had produced from the environment in exchange for the same regular ones he brought in. Overall the delve was still very much a success as it did give him the last one and a half thousand experience that he needed in order to level to thirty-two. This new level up did mean that he had to enter the second floor of the Goldmine before he leveled up again if he wanted to claim the +1 to all stats for clearing the floor at an appropriate level and he was hoping that his upcoming delve in a few days would do the trick. As for the first leg of the tournament the order of the first four placements was exactly as he expected them to be once he saw how the teams split up. In first place was Benedict Steelblade, Prince Xavier took second, Lexi Manashaper came in third and Annabeth Goldmancer took fourth. The next person in the standing didn¡¯t even have half the points Anna had gotten so it was clear that the points had been funneled into them but that was all expected. ¡°With an astounding lead Benedict Steelblade has managed to rack up one hundred and fifty points.¡± Professor Silvertongue praised the leader of the competition before everyone was ready to head out of the dungeon through the archway. The lead was truly remarkable as the Prince only managed to get one hundred and twenty five points, while Lexi gobbled up one hundred and fifteen. The big surprise was Annabeth managing to get herself to a solid one hundred. Her team had been the second to find out about Ajax¡¯s Bait operation and snagged the final two griffins, getting her within striking distance. While things did seem to look up for the prince who would be getting another round with a full team backing his problems would crop up in the other two. Unlike Annabeth, Lexi and Benedict the prince wasn¡¯t all that much of an offensive powerhouse meaning that the dead weight he would be carrying at that time would slow him down a lot more. ¡°How was crafting in the dungeon?¡± Dave asked Ajax as the two of them brought up the rear with everyone leaving the dungeon. ¡°Harder than I expected it to be.¡± Ajax admitted. His skill had been good enough to successfully make the potion five times in a row outside the dungeon and even get one of basic quality from five tries, inside however his success rate dropped to 75%. ¡°But it did bring equal gains with it.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. What excited Ajax most about this delve however was the Rare skill [Dungeon Crafter], he had unlocked it early on in his attempts, most likely due to his Divine Witness trait, but it hadn''t even gotten to level two despite all the crafting he had done afterwards. The biggest regret Ajax had about the run was that he had to leave behind his single Uncommon rarity potion. Even if only a few of the ingredients had come from the dungeon that was enough to make it so the potion wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the dungeon with him, another forty of the inferior and two of the basic potion also shared the same fate and were left behind. When it came to the remaining eight basic potions Ajax was going to give them to his grandparents to sell, he had to start paying back the money they had fronted him in getting the alchemy equipment. As for the one hundred inferior quality ones he was going to donate them to the Healing Union, his grandparents shop did have a reputation to maintain so selling inferior quality potions would actively harm that. Not only that but he did want to do something, even if it was only a good will gesture, for all the help Luna had given him since he arrived in the capital. On their way back to the Academy Ajax had noticed something strange. He thought that it was his imagination during the last few days of the delve but even now the Prince was actively hanging back, closer to Ajax that he had been standing before this trip. Not only that but while he had been very cordial in all their interaction Ajax did feel a little hostility in the glares the Prince threw at him when he thought he wasn¡¯t looking. ¡®Does he know that I have access to [Curse Slash]?¡¯ Ajax wondered. The execution of the curse user had happened a day before they went on their delve. It was the weirdest thing Ajax had seen from the populace in this new world. Most of the capital had taken to the streets to see justice served however the execution grounds had barely any people present as everyone was afraid of a last second curse the culprit might release upon death. Ajax was reassured by both Blathazar and Evelyn that him having access to [Curse Slash] wasn¡¯t going to be an issue for him, though both did urge him not to make it public for at least a few months. The human reaction to fear was one thing that hadn¡¯t changed from back on Earth, even here if you took a random person off the street and asked him if there was something wrong with the skill now they would say there wasn¡¯t as one of the king''s own squad leaders used curse attacks. However while a person was smart, people as a group were dumb, all it took was one person with a few social skills and there would be a mob out to lynch him. Immediately following his dismissal from professor Silvertongue, dismissal that thankfully only happened after the man confirmed that Ajax¡¯s next delve with the Silvertongue house would take place in the Goldmine in three days, Ajax made a beeline to professor Vilethorn. ¡°Good afternoon professor.¡± Ajax greeted as he entered the lab/office. ¡°Ajax¡± the professor greeted with a slight incline of her head. ¡°You¡¯re back already!¡± The teaching assistant greeted him more excitedly. ¡°So how did it go?¡± professor Vilethorn asked, with a bit of eagerness present in her voice. ¡°Worse than I had expected, I only managed a 75% success rate when it came to only getting a completed potion.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°Thanks once more for the ingredients.¡± While Ajax did have to pay for the ingredients, they were already prepared for him and sold to him at a quarter of the market price, something he knew wouldn¡¯t happen a second time and was only done to motivate him to pursue Alchemy. ¡°75% is a great result!¡± the teaching assistant quickly answered. ¡°Most beginners don¡¯t get past 50% their first time crafting inside the dungeon.¡± ¡°How many basic quality potions did you manage to make?¡± The professor however focused more on the quality rather than the quantity. ¡°Ten.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Though I did manage to get an Uncommon rarity one as well.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± the professor stood up at this and reached out her hand. ¡°Can you let me see it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Ajax shook his head dejectedly remembering the potion he left behind while taking a basic potion and putting it in the outstretched hand. ¡°I only managed to get that by using some of the mana infused herbs from the dungeon so I couldn¡¯t take it out, the same is true for two of the ten basic potions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame¡± the professor said as she took her seat again and examined the potion in her hand. ¡°The use of mana infused herbs does lower the achievement of having created one on your first delve doing so but not by all that much. I expect that I¡¯ll be seeing you in my classes throughout all six years you¡¯ll be at the Academy?¡± ¡°That you can be sure of.¡± Ajax agreed before giving his goodbyes and heading home. For the next two days he planned to relax, mentally at least following the five days of concentration he put into crafting potions. This means that he will be emptying his stamina with basic physical exercises and his mana by infusing the trees and plants he planted around his bee hives. Chapter 203 One of the biggest new things Ajax had found out in his days of relaxation was the mana limit the trees that had been planted on his patch of land had. All matter had a mana limit, some had it higher than others and living beings were dependent on their growth not only their species. The other big difference between organic and inorganic matter was that organic could be filled to its current upper limit in seconds with a strong enough source whereas doing so with inorganic matter wasn¡¯t possible. One thing that both had in common was that when the maximum threshold was exceeded both organic and inorganic matter would vaporize to release the mana. Ajax saw this as the branch he was infusing mana into did exactly that once the tree had been filled up to the brim. As for the flowers and bushes Ajax had planted their mana tolerance was currently lower than the trees, however they were also much young and with enough care and infused mana Ajax will be able to actually cultivate some mana infused herbs in the long run. That wasn¡¯t to say that the mana wasn¡¯t having a positive effect on the trees as they had started sprouting a much healthier foliage, however they were already too old to be able to absorb any of the mana. After his few days of rest were over, Ajax geared up and packed his kit before heading towards the capital. He had thought about paying his grandparents a visit to deliver the potions but decided to hand those over along with anything he picked up in this delve that he would end up selling. He did however drop by one of the branches the Healing Union had set up in the middle of the slums where his one hundred inferior quality potions were gratefully accepted by the administration. As he came into view of the dungeon team he would be joining this time around Ajax could easily tell that this time would be a lot different compared to last time. While none of the members of this delve seemed to have the power or levels that Nina and Trevor had Ajax could easily tell that they were all around level sixty, that was a bit of a jump compared to the last team. Not only that but this team all looked to be younger than the other team still seeming to be in their late twenties, though Ajax was sure they were all at least closing in on seventy. ¡°Ajax, it¡¯s good to see you again.¡± Nina greeted him from the side. Ajax was surprised to see the smith here. ¡°Nina?¡± Ajax answered with surprise. ¡°Are you going to join this delve as well?¡± ¡°No, no.¡± she denied. ¡°I was coming to pick through the markets for anything useful at low prices and was asked to handle the introductions.¡± saying that she lead Ajax to approach the team that looked ready to head out. ¡°Trevor, this is Ajax. I trust you know about him already.¡± the way she said it seemed more like a threat than an introduction to Ajax. ¡°No need to worry Miss Nina, dad already pounded into me that we shouldn¡¯t do anything to haze him.¡± Trevor said while rolling his eyes like he heard the same thing a few times in the last few days. ¡°Good.¡± Nina nodded. ¡°Ajax, this is Trevor II. You¡¯ve met his father last time, know that he is the leader of one of our top two elite youth teams. Despite his lack of interest in anything regarding crafting he is quite adept when it comes to combat.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°You¡¯re only saying top two because the other team is led by a Silvertongue and we¡¯ve somehow never had a chance to compete with them.¡± one of the twenty members spoke up with a cocky grin. It seemed to be a universal truth that the strong and talented would be given some leeway in terms of discipline even in the big noble houses as long as they were loyal when push came to shove. ¡°Good to meet you Ajax¡± Trevor II said as he offered Ajax a handshake. ¡°Dad had quite a bit to say about you. Ajax simply accepted the handshake with a nod of his head, though he did make sure to make it a deep nod so that it wouldn¡¯t be taken as a sign of disrespect. ¡°Well you¡¯re as antisocial as he said, I just hope everything else checks out.¡± Trevor said, cracking a smile for the first time. ¡°Your last delve with our house was an eight day long camp defense. We¡¯re hoping this one won¡¯t take as long, our job is simple: get to the eighth floor and clear it, grab anything of value that we can bring back out.¡± Ajax was ecstatic at the news, getting to floor eight would mean he would get the bonus for seven new floors, that would mean an extra seven to all his stats. Not only that but floor eight would be filled with monsters with levels between sixty and sixty-five, even just the cores from such strong creatures were sure to sell for a pretty penny. ¡°You lot watch yourselves, the dungeon is no joke.¡± Nina said, though judging by her tone and expression even she knew the warning wouldn¡¯t do much to the group of young elite at this point. ¡°Also do try to bring me something nice, who knows I might even make one of you a custom piece if you do.¡± That piece of encouragement quickly had the attention of every single member of the team as they all cheered with greed at the news. With the morale handled they all made their way towards the arch that marked the entrance. Unlike last time Ajax only had the bare minimum for any Alchemy crafting with him this time. Not only did he not want to risk the new equipment in a non-crafting delve but it was also heavy and it would have taken up a lot of room. ¡°We¡¯ll simply be taking the first seven arches we find and get to the eight floor as fast as possible.¡± Trevor II said. ¡°Ajax will be the one to clear all of them as apparently he still has something to gain from those floors.¡± After that he turned to the rest of the team with a serious look. ¡°Just because he will be handling it solo does not mean you are out on a leisurely stroll, keep your eyes peeled for any materials that we might be able to bring with us.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the rest of the team responded at once. As Ajax took a look at the team composition he found that it was made up of one healer, four mages, five archers and ten melee fighters. He also noticed the two bison acting as porters as well as the three mountain lions and one falcon that seemed to be bonded with different members of the party. All of the bonds were monsters and were above level fifty; they also had no affinity to any element marking them as having already reached their full potential. The only other bond present was a bear, this one was not only in the sixties but also had a bit more room left to grow, fitting that it was Trevor¡¯s bond. Once they entered the first floor of the dungeon much of the relax attitude had dropped, not because of any danger the floor may pose to the team but because they wanted to get past the easy stuff quickly and they all made a beeline for the location of the nearest archway, starting from the second floor they would actually need to explore a bit to find the first archway but on the first floor to location was set. Ajax made quick work of the stag defending the archway, he briefly used his [Mana Syphon] and crushed right through the antlers and the skull of the boss dropping it dead with a single quick blow. ¡°I like your style, kid.¡± one of the short members of the team said. The man was five foot three at most but on his back he carried a massive metal sledgehammer that Ajax knew to keep well clear of during combat. Floors two, three, four, five and six were quickly dealt with in much the same manner. Floor four did them the courtesy of providing a pack of bloodthirsty bunnies whose corpses they could take outside. The monster in question reminded Ajax of the bunny from Monty Python, on the fourth floor the monsters were capped at level forty-five but Ajax knew he didn¡¯t want to meet them on a later floor as their small size, high speed and piercing attack could prove devastating. The monsters were carefully preserved as their fur was of very high quality and the meat was supposed to be extremely good, so much so that a few of the members had managed to pester Trevor in doing a small detour to kill another pack, this one they couldn¡¯t take out of the dungeon but they could cook it for themselves later. During their descent into the dungeon Ajax had checked each archway to get an idea of the next floor, but he wasn;t too fussed about what they ended up with as he knew they would quickly pass through. This changed however on floor seven where the first gate they found had a very strong concentration of magma aspected mana. Chapter 204 Ajax was forced to make a very difficult decision. On the one hand he could try and warn the team about the magma mana he felt when he siphoned the arch and this would most like lead to a much safer run if they were to take a different arch. On the other hand revealing something like this wasn¡¯t something to be done on a whim. In the first place it would basically be outing that he had a Legendary skill as Rare skills weren¡¯t hard to find when u had a kingdom¡¯s worth of people and none had been discovered that could tell what the next floor would be like. ¡°Well let''s get to it¡± the leader said as he took a step towards the arch. ¡°Also where the hell is -¡± Trevor II¡¯s question was cut off by the scout that had just appeared from the foliage of the dense jungle floor theme. Not only that but from the way he was breathing and the greed in his eyes it was clear that something good just happened, this meant that at the very least Ajax¡¯s choice was postponed, for now. ¡°Boss!... Boss!...¡± He heaved as he tried to get some air, the speed he rushed back at as well as the excitement had left him winded. ¡°I found a small camp of spawns. Ones we can take outside.¡± Ajax frowned slightly when he heard of spawns. He knew the term but he hadn¡¯t run into any of them before as they simply weren¡¯t something a dungeon would choose to use on lower floors. In simple terms spawns were humanoids spawned by the dungeon. Unlike kobolds these weren¡¯t monsters but could be humans, dwarves, beastkin, elves or any of the other hostile humanoid races. Most noticeable about them would be that they never dropped a core, also once the levels got past ninety chances were they had better gear than delvers did so a team could get all new gear for the rest of the delve. Now that there was a camp whose weapons they could take outside was one of the biggest jackpots the could hit. ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± ¡°I told you guys I was due some good luck.¡± A few members of the team already started celebrating their early payday. A few of the people didn¡¯t seem all that excited and were instead more cautious. ¡°What are we dealing with this time?¡± ¡°Foxkin.¡± the scout replied. ¡° I could see six of them.¡± The biggest challenge with facing spawns was that they were essentially bloodthirsty humanoids. The worst part of all this was that they wouldn¡¯t know what to expect from them. Unlike usual monsters where you could mainly assess their attributes, humanoids were extremely versatile, they could be glass cannon mages, bulwark tanks or anything in between. ¡°Did you get a look at their equipment?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°Not a good one, I didn¡¯t want to risk giving myself away if one of them was perception based.¡± the scout replied. That was the other problem with dealing with spawn. Unlike regular humanoids they didn¡¯t have to level, the dungeon created them at the appropriate level for the floor meaning they could have builds that would be totally impractical to use to actually get to that level, the lesson most prominently shared by the Adventurers guild being the one cast mage. A mage that had practically no Mind or Wisdom but was stacked with intelligence, the could fire one spell and one spell only but that spell could be on the level of something twenty levels higher. The story was something of a myth or legend, only somewhat confirmed by teams when they met them as they were climbing to the floor they wanted to get to so they overleveled said mage with no public record of any team meeting one at an appropriate level for them. Then again it could be that no team had met them and lived to tell the tale. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The team made a careful approach, Ajax had his bow drawn and was ready to release a two hundred mana magma arrow, he was looking for a sure kill on his opening shot. Sadly it wasn;t to be a perfect ambush. The foxkin had gotten a whiff of them before they all got in position and the jungle exploded with movement. Ajax¡¯s arrow was quick to hit its mark, penetrating the staff holder right between the eyes before releasing a small amount of magma right inside his skull killing him instantly. It wasn¡¯t enough to even melt the spawns face but it doesn¡¯t take much magma to the brain to get a solid kill. The rest of the foxkin were also quick to follow. All three of their physically focused melee combatants were quickly swarmed in one versus three and dispatched. The other staff wielder did manage to give the team''s assassin a good shot around the head, turns out it was a monk staff wielder and not a caster so the dagger through the back wasn¡¯t enough to kill him. The seven arrows that turned him into a pincushion after were however. As for the ranger foxkin, he did well to get some distance from the melee, and even managed to get a few shots off towards the teams bow wielders, though none of them landed. The issue was with him being away from the main fight he turned himself into a clear target for the three mages that blasted him with spells the moment they had a clear shot. ¡°Everyone good?¡± Trevor asked once it was clear the fight was over. ¡°He will be in a minute.¡± The healer said as he was patching the assassin up, blood now colored his hair where his skull cracked slightly. ¡°I want that staff.¡± the assassin cried out, a small hiss of pain following his cry. ¡°I took it to the head so I get to take it home.¡± The rest of the team did make some over the top rebuttals and comments about his hard head but it all seemed in good fun. It seems that when it came to finds like this the loot was given out in a pick order. The order was determined first by the most injured in the fight, there was only one this time, then by kill contribution. The healer was getting the short end of the stick there but a high level healer had the easiest time making money on the side outside of dungeons. ¡°Alright, fine you can get the staff,¡± Trevor conceded. ¡°But I also expect you to turn in an accident report for the hit.¡± That was a hit as it would put a spotlight on his carelessness. ¡°What do you want, Ajax?¡± Trevor then asked. ¡°Damn, you can make it spew magma inside their skull?¡± one of the people that was investigating the corpses asked as he inspected Ajax¡¯s kill. ¡°I¡¯ll take the other staff.¡± Ajax said as he picked up the staff. Most important thing about it was the obvious enchantment runes that were running all across it. Ajax hoped it was a mage¡¯s staff and not a healer¡¯s but that was for later. The rest of the gear was quickly distributed, the mages were also given a stern talking to. Reason for the talking was that they didn¡¯t use ice spells to kill the archer and ruined most of his gear in the process, all that was salvageable was his bow and arrows. Having seen the team in action Ajax had now determined to not share what he knew about the magma archway. After all the team had made preparations for any type of floor even if this would be one of the more dangerous ones. Ajax was mostly worried about the companions. Bisons and bears didn¡¯t mix all that well with high temperature environments. And none of the companions was in their sixties yet, though that would be an issue regardless of what floor they would go to. Progression Achievement : Delver Pass through an advancement arch inside a dungeon. Reward: +10 to all stats. Progress : Passing arches to levels you haven¡¯t been to advances this achievement. Reward: +1 to all stats for any progress made. Ajax took a fond look at the that had stacked up so nicely during this delve as they entered the floor. It had started as a +1 to all stats back when he got to the second floor in the dungeon near Lessis, went up to +3 after the delve he had done a few weeks ago. But this dungeon truly deserved its name as the goldmine as it gave him seven floors of progress so quickly. ¡°We¡¯ve got an environmental floor, heat based by the looks of it.¡± Trevor called out and everyone started swapping their gear to its correct configuration. ¡°Any of you want to send your companions out now¡¯s your chance.¡± Nobody took him up on the offer though a few of them did look tempted. One thing that Ajax was thankful for was that despite the magma theme the floor wasn¡¯t a deep cave with tunnels layout or a desert type. Instead it seemed to be a full plant ecosystem that adapted to the rough rocky terrain as well as the rivers of magma that could be seen flowing. Chapter 205 Fighting on the eighth floor of the Goldmine was completely different to the other times Ajax had been in the dungeon. The closest he could get to it was when he first started going into the dungeon back in Lessis, but even then The Collectors had a bigger level and skill lead compared to the creatures that showed up, now however most of the party was on the low level range for entering this floor and they were pushing their skills to make up the difference. The biggest thing Ajax noticed was that the passive mana he could use [Syphon Mana] on counted for 75% of the cost when he was running at maximum absorption. This was also the only reason why he had any mana left after the fifth fight they encountered. Thankfully there was nothing like curse mana on this floor that would negatively affect him or else he would be screwed. The elite team on the other hand dealt with the delve a lot different than he would normally see things done. First of all the mages almost never took part in a fight. Mainly to maintain mana and they only jumped in when something looked like it would go wrong. Second they picked their fights carefully so that they always outnumbered the monsters they were facing, at least two to one though three to one was preferable. So far the team had found giant scorpions, and worms. A weird mix between a hippo and a rhino that liked to bathe in magma, the mages had needed to take care of that one with a bit of ranger support as nobody wanted to let those things get close to them. An immovable treent type that seemed to root in lava and try to eat them. Lastly they also ran into more than a few golems. ¡°Good thing they¡¯re golems and not rock elementals.¡± Trevor let out a sigh after the team decided to on a spot to set up camp after clearing a group of golems. Golems were made of stronger rock than earth elementals of the same level but they paid for that in a few ways. Firstly their core was locked in place either in the center of their chest or the head. Secondly while the rock they were made from was stronger it also took a lot of time to replace should it be damaged, unlike an earth elemental that had a stronger healing factor than Wolverine and Deadpool combined while in contact with the ground. The companions the team had brought with them were of next to no use in direct combat. With them being at least ten levels behind they could little more than buy time. Their use for logistics and scouting however really endeared them to Ajax. The two bisons were given a rushed haircut once the floor theme was revealed, same with the bear, leaving just enough of their fur and hair for a little protection and Ajax could swear he could see the sweat forming and dripping from them. Nobody actually bothered to set up a tent during the night. Unlike previous desert themed floors the night time here wasn¡¯t actually freezing but the same persistent heat that the floor had to start with. The team simply put down their bedrolls and decided to sleep with just a bit of cover and a few people on watch. ¡°GOLEMS INCOMING!¡± The shout woke Ajax up from a deep sleep. ¡°At least fifteen of them!¡± That wasn¡¯t good, there were far too many of them and the team had kept almost all engagements to seven opponents at most. Ajax was quick to jump up and take out his hammer and shield. He knew that slashing damage meant little to the hard rocky bodies and that a hammer was the way to go, more than that the shield was a requirement as the golems were surprisingly quick for the huge power they packed. Most of that coming from the fact they had practically no joints limiting their limbs movement. The first thing Ajax saw was Trevor''s bear getting punted across the camp by one of the golems. Thankfully that wasn¡¯t enough to kill the bond but it was clear its front paw was broken as it couldn¡¯t put any weight on it. With no option left Ajax went right to his [Void Aspect Mana]. For all their strengths a golems core was actually quite fragile, this made void attacks that bypassed their impressive amor devastating to them yet Ajax had hoped he wouldn¡¯t be forced to show it. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. With his [Mana Syphon] running at maximum capacity Ajax pushed himself to move quickly and try to even to drop a few golems with a surprise void offensive. The plant worked well and the first golem took a hammer to the head that barely chipped the rock there only for it to suddenly drop dead a second later as the core shattered inside its body. Ajax pure offense took out another two golems before he caught a bad deflection with his shield sending him flying much like Trevor¡¯s bear. Ajax could feel that while his arm wasn¡¯t broken the blow had dislocated his shoulder and the arm hung limply by his side. He didn¡¯t let that stop him as he charged again. While his speed hadn¡¯t dropped the rest of the team had gotten into formation and with the three kills Ajax got they had been given enough of a reprieve to start making good progress themselves. With the initial surprise over and the mages not sitting on the sidelines the battle quickly turned into the teams favor as golem after golem was turned to rubble. Ajax got another two kills before the rest of the physical fighters brought four down and the mages depleted their mana pools to finish off the last six. Most of the team let out a sigh of relief as the last golem dropped but that didn¡¯t mean they were fine. Nobody was dead yet but one of the rangers had gotten surrounded and took a glancing blow to his little armored head. He was now in a pool of blood with the team''s healer there trying to patch him back up. ¡°Help me out with my shoulder.¡± Ajax asked Trevor as he walked up to him. ¡°It¡¯s not broken, only dislocated and I need to get it back into the socket.¡± ¡°On three.¡± Trevor nodded to him as they both got into position. ¡°One¡­ Two¡­¡± There was no three, and while Ajax knew that this was the correct choice to prevent any damage from him flexing on three the surprise that came with the sharp pain caused him to let out a mix between a growl and a yell. ¡°The table is set up.¡± came the announcement as a table filled to the brim with their rations was placed in the middle of camp. Nobody really had any appetite to eat right after the fight had ended but all of the injured members, which was more than half the team at this point, started shoveling food. Even the ranger with the cracked skull was given a medieval form of IV. All of it was to help out with the mana cost of the healing, this way there would be more nutrients for the healing spells to pull from instead of consuming the mana to repair the wounds. For the mages, eating wasn¡¯t all they were doing. While they didn¡¯t have skills, knowledge and spells needed for proper healing all of them knew one spell or another that could pause or slow a deadly wound while they waited for a healer to get to them. Ajax had already taken care of his shoulder the best that he knew how. It wasn¡¯t perfect as the shoulder still had a weak dull throb but it was good enough for now until the team¡¯s healer could see him. Having shoveled three meals worth of rations down his throat Ajax stood up and headed towards the bear. Out of the bonds it looked like the falcone was the only one to have gotten out unscathed. One of the mountain lions had lost an ear, one its tail and a third had a few chipped teeth that had been grinded as it tried to restrain the arm of a golem. All of those wounds were something Ajax couldn¡¯t help with. The two bison had each lost one of their horns and both had a few large bruises across their bodies. It would take a healer to regrow the horns but Ajax was optimistic about the bruises but first on his list was the bear''s shattered paw. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Trevor II asked him as he saw him approach the bear. ¡°I have a non chanted spell version for healing as well.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Unlike my combat magic however I¡¯m the only person I¡¯ve ever tried it on and nobody is that badly injured that I need to experiment on them. I have healed a few bears before however.¡± ¡°Oh, your spells sure are something.¡± one of the mages said having heard the conversation. ¡° What the hell was that thing you used on your hammer? Your wound up blows barely chipped the rock, far less than a non-spell enhanced blow should yet they would drop dead right after.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of my ¡®aces¡¯.¡± Ajax answered. All of the people looking questioningly at him right now simply nodded at that explanation. Professor Silvertongue had told him that even members of their house had skills or abilities they kept hidden from all but the decision makers of house Silvertongue. Those abilities were their ¡®aces¡¯ and once someone identified a skill or ability as such they wouldn¡¯t push for more information on it. Ajax knew that his void aspect would definitely be reported back but the wouldn¡¯t be pressing him for more information. With that conversation handled Ajax took a look at his mana 250/2340. Those extra seven points in mind gave him a bit of extra mana to try to help the bear with but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. ¡°Here¡± Trevor said as he extended a mana potion to Ajax. ¡°Do what you can for him please.¡± Ajax took the potion and chugged it, it tasted like minty mouthwash but Ajax could already feel his mana regenerate quick. In a matter of seconds he now had 600 points of mana, enough to hopefully take care of the bear¡¯s paw so he got to work on it. Chapter 206 Out of the entire team of young talents the healer was the one most shocked to see Ajax go to heal the bear. He was busy but now that he finished with the skull fracture nobody else had any lethal wounds, there were some crippling wounds that he will be taking care of for the rest of the night and a good chunk of tomorrow but there was no way he could ignore something like this. Most healing magic was either buried in a deep vault of a noble family or under the protection of the Healing Union yet here was this new healing spell that didn¡¯t even require a chant. Most healing spells that did anything more than first aid worked on more of a chanel with the spell starting after an initial chant and a second chant being required to keep the spell going, that was how the healer examined and made sure all of the damage was fixed. The method was advanced yet it had one key issue, if you were chanting a healing spell you couldn¡¯t chant an offensive spell so it meant that mages could only be off healers after combat had ended. ¡°I¡¯ll need a mana break.¡± the healer said as he took out a potion and chugged it down before moving over to Ajax¡¯s side. Unlike the potion Ajax took that instantly recovered some mana for him this one increased his mana regeneration, meaning he would get more mana but it would only come in ten minutes. Much to the healers'' relief, the healing spell Ajax was using on the bear was slowly working to piece the shattered bone back together in the paw. He had been at it for the last three minutes and the pieces weren¡¯t even put together yet meaning the spell wasn¡¯t all that quick when it came to any serious damage. It was still a great medical discovery but from the looks of it would be one that affected high end healers, or maybe even dedicated healers at all. ¡°There could still be some bruising but he should be able to put some weight on it now and swipe with it if it comes down to it.¡± Ajax said as he blew out a tired breath. With only two hundred mana left Ajax was ready to go back to bed. He went over to his sleeping bag and didn¡¯t even bother removing his armor as he collapsed and fell asleep in seconds. Nobody in the team chastised or moved to wake him, a good part of the members who suffered very little injuries even copied him and went back to bed so that they will be better rested if another attack happened. ¡°How strong was that mana potion you gave him?¡± the healer asked Trevor. ¡°I am not a mage, all I have are the basic potions.¡± Trevor responded. With that information the healer knew that not only was Ajax¡¯s healing slow it also wasn¡¯t all that efficient but that was only true when it came to healing a bear. All healers knew that your efficiency when healing yourself was much higher than when healing others since you had a much better idea of what was wrong when you were the one sporting the wound. Even if it was improved, however, that healing wouldn¡¯t do much to massive injuries. The healing ability would be a godsent equivalent to an Epic skill for a physical fighter. In combat with others of comparable strength it wasn''t a massive killing blow that won the fight and it wasn¡¯t a slow bleed out, at least not in most cases. The fight usually ended because of a debilitating blow that shifted the match heavily to one side. This could be anything from a shattered elbow to a cut hamstring. Those wounds weren¡¯t massive and as such Ajax would be able to heal them, not only that but he could also use the fact that he healed them as a surprise attack. When your opponent took a quick step with the foot you thought was limp there was every chance you could lose your head. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°How are you doing buddy?¡± Trevor gently asked as he scratched the bear behind the ears. ¡°GRRRR!¡± with a mix between a purr and a growl the bear communicated his affection as well as a request to be fed. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯ll get you some food just be a little patient.¡± Trevor shook his head with amusement at his bond. ¡°Everyone that is not injured and taking watch, get to work gathering those golem bodies. The rock they are made of is solid so set up a few defensive barriers. If we are attacked again I want a few solid walls up around us.¡± The rest of the night went by peacefully as did the next morning. The watch shift had swapped with the first rays of light. The new shift took over for the previous and continued building up their local defenses, Ajax had used a good chunk of the mana he recovered overnight to finish up healing the bear¡¯s paw as well as the bruises on the bisons. While this may not look all that impactful it actually allowed the team to get a move on since their pack carriers could now move. It was a little past noon when the team finally got moving again. None of the mages were at their full mana and Ajax was sitting at around halfway but it was still enough for them to get moving. They spent the rest of the day clearing a perimeter around their temporary base hoping to ensure they wouldn¡¯t be attacked again the second night. The day went well, they didn¡¯t find any more golems but the did come across both scorpions and massive worms. Ajax was more careful during the battle with the scorpions this time around. Unlike when he faced them on the first day he wasn¡¯t just going for the kill this time and took extra care not to crush the poison sack. The poison these scorpions carried was more akin to acid than poison being very corrosive to anything but the delicate organic material that made up the poison sack. It was so corrosive in fact that the number one method for killing the scorpions was to simply picture the sack and have the poison kill the scorpion afterwards by corroding it away from the inside. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t.¡± Both of the people bonded with bison quickly approached Ajax the moment they saw what he was doing after the fight was over. ¡°You want to take that with you fine but you¡¯re carrying it.¡± Ajax opened his mouth to argue but stopped before he spoke his first word. He did see their point of view, all it would take was a small rip in the sack and not only would it spill all over the rest of the equipment it would also most likely ground the bison for a whole day of healing at the very least. The second night was thankfully quiet. The team still didn;t get all that much of a restful sleep as all of them were still very much on edge after the attack the previous night but they were much more rested the following morning and they were ready to head off down river to see where the rest of the monsters on this floor were. As they made their way through the rocky jungle the team had its first profitable find. They were also glad to see that it didn¡¯t come in the form of a monster. In the middle of a rather large clearing was a massive rock covered in volcanic moss. The moss resembled the forest moss in texture but was a bright red in color, not only that but they could take this moss outside the dungeon where a skilled alchemist would be able to use it. The most common use for it would be for a fire resistance potion or in the creation of a fire resistant coating for a piece of armor. Ajax was shocked to find out that you don¡¯t actually drink resistance potions. All of his years of gaming just to find out that the elemental resistance potions were used by dousing yourself with them, he was thankful that came up in conversation before he had to use one as he would have made a fool of himself by drinking it. Their journey came to a pause as they followed the magma river to a small pond. The pond¡¯s most prominent feature was the large swirling whirlpool that looked to be stirring the magma. ¡°Well at least now we know why the magma doesn¡¯t just cool and harden.¡± someone said as they carefully approached the edge. ¡°I think I see something swimming in there.¡± the scout said as he noticed ripples break away from the circular motions to head towards them. ¡°Furnace salamander!!!¡± Trevor shouted, a bit of panic creeping into his voice. ¡°Everyone back the way we came quickly.¡± The team didn¡¯t waste a second. They weren¡¯t even doing a tactical retreat away from the salamanders; they were clearly advancing in a different direction, not even stopping to take a pot shot towards the bloated lizards that had crawled out of the magma and were waddling quickly towards them. Chapter 207 The furnace salamanders were waddling out of the lava but their speed took a severe hit as they finally clawed their way up the rocky edge. From there their round forms didn¡¯t allow them to make fast enough progress so the team managed to put enough distance between themselves as to disengage before either side managed to get a blow off. The mages simply took a moment to raise an earth wall before they also retreated quickly. ¡°What rotten luck. Not only do we get an environmental floor but we have to deal with furnace salamanders.¡± One of the rangers said while everyone else was catching their breath following the impromptu sprint. ¡°Are we¡­ going to be leaving¡­ that pack for last?¡± Ajax asked while heaving. ¡°There were¡­ two level sixty-five bosses there.¡± Having seen the two arches that were on opposite sides of the small pond Ajax determined that both of the bosses and their small pack had mixed together in the lava pond and were now acting as one big group. ¡°I say we don¡¯t fight them at all.¡± the healer spat out as he lay on his hands and knees heaving in air. ¡°Let them come out of the dungeon after us and get blasted.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll kill them.¡± Trevor countered with a tone that said he had made up his mind. ¡°Trevor are you crazy?¡± the scout that had been closest to them asked. ¡°How do you plan for us to take on that many of them?¡± Ajax had to admit that it was a question he himself had. The age old question in this world was what came first, the dungeons or life? Did life evolve first and then the dungeon copied it to create the denizens of each floor or were the dungeons first and they spat out the first forms of life. It was a question that humanoids had no answer to and one that Ajax wondered if the dragons knew. Regardless this meant that they knew the exact characteristics of the furnace salamanders. Knowing the specifics of a beast and killing it however were two very different things. Furnace salamanders are large horse sized lizards that resemble a mix between the komodo dragon with the head of a king cobra. They are highly, with an extremely scaly and durable skin that is also highly resistant to most elements but in particular heat. Besides their extreme durability the lizards are usually also quick on their feet easily being able to dash around. Their name however came from their unique characteristic of swallowing magma. Not only were furnace lizards highly resistant to heat on the outside but they were also resistant to it on the inside. For their extreme defense and speed the lizards had sacrificed all direct forms of offense. The only offense they had was the lava they swallowed, with their elastic insides that allowed them to puff out like a blowfish to store lava they could later spit out. They are usually herbivores with little territorial behavior but that was changed by the dungeon. The question of how they could take on a dozen furnace salamanders was a great one. Their defense meant it would take a lot of effort to bring one down. Not only that but after they had emptied their load they would regain their usual speed and make a quick dash back into the pond to reload. ¡°We¡¯ll clear the rest of the floor first.¡± Trevor said. ¡°After that we¡¯ll use the obelisk to get them to leave their pond, that way they¡¯ll only have one load each.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Everyone gave a sigh of relief once they heard Trevors plan. Attacking into the salamanders at their pond would mean they would take at least three or four fatalities but drawing them out using the obelisk was a good plan. It would take a lot of preparation as they didn;t want anything else to join the salamanders in their final battle. With the new plan established the team spent most of the afternoon making for the highest point they could see to get a better layout of the floor. They then spent the rest of their time setting up the camp there in such a way that a nocturnal attack would pose little threat to them. Their planning paid off in spades as despite their defenses they were once again visited by golems during the night. The defenses and strict watch they kept meant that everyone was woken up in a timely manner and the golems were dispatched without anyone taking and significant damage. The next six days the team spent meticulously clearing out the rest of the floor. Now that they knew what to expect it wasn¡¯t all that difficult as the worms, golems and scorpions were easy for them to handle and everyone was too on edge after the nocturnal attacks and the salamander ambush to be careless. Besides finding a group of three golems whose bodies they could take back outside the dungeon and a few patches of moss, the whole delve wasn¡¯t all that remarkable. The big surprise for them however came on day five when they happened upon another, smaller group of furnace salamanders. The big difference however was that this time the reptiles weren¡¯t near a magma pond. ¡°Now this is much, how do you like that you useless fucking reptile?!¡± one of the team''s heavy knights yelled as he grappled with the salamander. Without any magma all the salamanders had was speed which meant that once they came in contact with a physical fighter that focused on strength they could actually pin them down without any fear as they had nothing to threaten them with. The team knew better than to just kill them off quickly and instead used the weak pack as a test for their final battle. While everyone had read about the furnace salamanders not all of them had encountered one before so they launched their attacks to see how much damage they could do to their tanky scales. It came as almost no surprise to himself but Ajax quickly found out that his void attacks were the best choice against the salamanders. More surprising however was the fact that his void element became almost entirely useless if the attack hit the salamanders anywhere except their skull. This made his void an all or nothing blow where a headshot would mean an instant kill and anything else was a waste of mana. This was all well and good until you remembered that their head is also the source of their lava jet. ¡°What are you doing now?¡± the warrior holding on to one of the lizards asked Ajax as he approached slowly. ¡°I want to see if this is effective against them.¡± Ajax said as he carefully sliced into the scorpion poison sack and allowed it to drip onto the back of the lizard''s scales. ¡°Hey, be careful with that thing!¡± The warrior was quick to withdraw his legs and tighten his grip as the salamander started to struggle harder, throwing a little of the acidic poison around. The scorpion venom took all of five seconds to get soaked up into the elastic scaly skin of the salamander. A quick normal strike with his hammer afterwards let Ajax find out that the scorpion poison was the natural counter to the salamander''s tough skin as the soaked patch cracked and peeled off the struggling reptile. ¡°New standing order, any scorpions that we find are to be carefully killed and the poison sac collected.¡± Trevor was quick to act once he saw the results of Ajax¡¯s experiment. Ajax and two of the rangers had also taken the time to skin all five of the salamanders after they killed them, they would use any of the non damaged skin to layer over the shields they brought that way they would have a defense against the opening volley later. By the end of the sixth day the team had cleaned out the floor and was setting camp around the obelisk. The location of the obelisk was on a rather large open plane and the entire team was thankful it hadn¡¯t been a mile to the left as that would have placed it at the bottom of a depression. Everyone was taking a good rest tonight as tomorrow would be a hard fight. Everyone already knew their part of the plan, the only exceptions were the bonds. They were all told to stay back and out of range. Despite their lack of offensive tools the sheer level difference meant that their physical attacks would be enough to injure the bonds, not to mention the lava they could spit out. The only exception was the eagle as it had been given leave to fly high above and keep and eye over the battle, its main objective was to ensure that if they missed any creature they would be given a heads up before it arrived. Chapter 208 Ajax P.O.V For once everyone had gotten a good night¡¯s sleep and I felt refreshed as I got up and started getting ready. Since we knew which direction the salamanders were going to be coming from we formed a small moat in that direction and covered it with some rocks, inside the moat we had placed all of the poison sacks we had collected from the scorpions. Ideally we would have tossed the poison sacks at the salamanders but that presented too much of a risk as having one rupture during the toss could fling the poison everywhere. What we hoped now was that they would misstep in the moat and cover their legs in poison removing some of their mobility. Even with all that preparation everyone was nervous, some quiet mutters about whether or not we should even be doing this were going around and I knew very well why. Furnace salamanders were in the top three most dangerous monsters that had been documented at this level bracket of the dungeon. This extreme single focus tactic fell off a cliff in terms of efficiency at around level eighty but for now it marked the single biggest threat. The only two monsters that were more dangerous could be found in a cold or strom floor respectively. The shivering python, took second place when it came to the deadliest creatures around the early sixties. The animal was small, fragile and extremely fast. Once it got close to you however it would syphon away heat and could leave someone with frostbite in under a minute. Number one was the thunder pigeon. This one didn¡¯t have any remarkable attributes besides its immunity to lightning damage. That and the ability to attract lightning bolts. One moment of carelessness and you could find yourself fried. Once our levels became higher we wouldn¡¯t be so vulnerable to elemental damage and I wanted to reach that point more than ever. ¡°Everyone get ready.¡± Trevor shouted after he activated the obelisk before running back into his position. What followed next was the calm before the storm. I had suddenly gotten a much better idea of what the people manning the walls of Helm¡¯s Deep would have felt in the second Lord of the Rings movie. Simply having made preparations in a defensible position waiting for the calamity to strike. ¡°I see them.¡± the scout shouted and not more than a few seconds after I caught sight of the dozen or so wadling little balls of scales making their way towards us. It was also at that point that we all realized we had overlooked something. Yes we knew that the salamanders were in the magma pond, but what if they weren¡¯t alone. A half dozen of the flaming hippo-rhino mix were also barrely towards our defensive position already blazing with magma covering them. Mages were the first to open fire. While both archers and mages of similar level usually had the same range, mages had much more leeway here in terms of precision, archers needed to be almost pinpoint accurate to get past the durable scales. I was in somewhat of a middle ground with my enchanted arrows I could let loose before the others. My opening shot was a lightning arrow, fire was useless same with magma and wind didn¡¯t have the necessary penetration power. A well placed void shot may have killed them but I wasn¡¯t accurate enough for that and ice wouldn¡¯t do more than slow them down a little, at least before they expelled all that magma. Four of the salamanders fell before they got to the moat, sadly the rhino hippo hybrids were the first to barrel through it. The poison was a lot more effective on them than it was on the salamanders but after the first three tripped and collapsed as the poison was eating through their feet their bodies formed small bridges for the rest of the monsters to barrel over. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The remaining three hippo hybrids were enraged by the loss of their comrades so they broke into an all out sprint charging towards our frontline. The scale covered shield did their job turning the already manageable monsters into easily dispatched nuisances. My only problem was that their mad charge had broken down all of the barriers we had set up through sheer momentum. By the time the salamanders got into effective range there were only six of them left, that didn¡¯t make me feel confident however as I could easily pick out the two level sixty-fives still coming towards us. ¡°Defelect with the shields.¡± Trevor shouted as the first few lava sprays were sent out. ¡°Watch the splash.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how much the call helped but five out of the six streams were properly redirected off to the side, the last one however hit the shield face head on sending blobs of magma in all directions. That''s when the screaming began from the archers and the mages that were hidden behind that particular shield. Chucks of magma had gotten into contact with the flesh and the sick sizzle that came made a shiver run up my spine. Then the screams began. It wasn''t the two archers that had been splattered that were screaming, I was assuming that they had the physical stats as well as the [Pain Resistance] to hold it in. The mage however was another story, he was yelling his lungs out as a massive blob of magma had landed on his left shoulder and was now dripping down the side of his chest. The horrible stench of burnt meat soon filled the air as everyone tried to stay focused on the fight. With some of the magma expelled however the salamanders had started to regain some of their speed. Their bellies weren¡¯t as round and their weight had dropped making everyone miss their initial attack. In seconds the salamanders were on top of our frontline following the path the hippy hybrids had opened for them and from there the battle changed completely. We had hoped there would be three left alive at most by the time they got to this point, not six so everyone had to adapt on the fly. I swapped from the bow to my hammer and shield and went forward to help the shield wall. From there an odd game of peek-a-boo began as the salamanders tried to get past the shield to spay the fighters in the back but the fighters also tried to go around the other side to hit the salamanders in the ass. Seeing how none of the strikes landed by the other melee warriors did much to them, the salamanders initially ignored me as I charged in with my shield up. Unlike the rest of the shield wall I didn¡¯t have a wide tower shield so I had to be careful in case any of them decided to aim for my legs. Their attitude towards me changed completely following my first blow. I landed a powerful hit directly on top of the viper head of one of the two level sixty-five. The result was exactly as expected, a slight chipping of the rocky scales followed by the monster dropping dead, blood flowing out of its outballs and nose as the brain had to have been completely squashed under the power of the blow. The next moment I poured out eight hundred mana into forming a small earthen wall in front of my legs and infusing my shield with ice as three magma jets got sent towards me. Two of them made contact with my shield and while I had deflected them properly to a harmless position the momentum behind the flying lava was more than I had expected as it sent flying backwards right off my feet. The rest of the team was thankful on the ball and had taken advantage of the change in target and quickly lowered the number of salamanders from five to one. Seeing it was left alone the second level sixty-five charged right at the shield in front of it, instead of ramming it however it latched on to it and pulled to expose the frontliner holding it. The rash move had given all of the other units a clear and exposed target that they quickly fired upon. The monster had barely more than a two seconds before it got riddled by both spells and arrows yet that was enough time to empty most of the lava it had stored right on the plated frontliner. The healer was quick to leave the side of the wounded mage and rushed over to the frontier that was now getting cooked alive inside of his plate armor. The rest of the frontliners were also quick to dash towards their fallen companion and did their best to strip his armor from him without getting any of the lava on his skin. By the time the breastplate had been removed the man had gotten a nasty third degree burn that covered his abdomen and the healer was chugging a mana potion while trying to heal any of the lethal damage. ¡°I¡¯ve done all I could for him. Quickly take him out and have another healer take a look at him.¡± The healer coughed out after his mana ran dry. Two of the rangers along with their two mountain lion bonds were quick to set up a makeshift stretcher and were quickly rushing towards the entrance arch. The silence of victory stretched out slowly from their departure yet nobody was in a celebratory mood just yet. All of us were too tired following the battle that ended up being much harder than we expected. A few people slowly dragged themselves to the grounded hippo hybrids and put them out of their misery before everyone simply took a seat on the rocky landscape to rest. Chapter 209 All in all the delve seemed like it would be particularly barren, the only truly worthwhile things gained being the experience and equipment that they collected from the previous floor. Ajax however wasn¡¯t content with that, mostly because he had sensed a particular lack of magic inside the lava pond and he wanted to know what was there. There was only one issue, he couldn¡¯t exactly dive in the magma to get it. After explaining the issue to Trevor the man got the mages to go on a small fishing expedition to look for said item. It took the mages two hours before they found it, mostly because even Ajax couldn¡¯t remember the exact location as he was more focused on running from the salamanders at that time. ¡°Holy shit is that what I think it is?¡± One of the mages exclaimed as they looked at the red oval that was dragged out of the lava. ¡°We¡­ we found an egg... an actual egg¡± the other mage was just as stunned as the first. While the two mages were busy breaking out of their shock and celebrating their good fortune Trevor was left with a very difficult decision. How would they deal with the egg? His initial plan had been to give whatever was there to Ajax as he was the only one to argue for going to get it and maybe give him a smaller cut of armor and weapons they took from the previous floor if it actually turned out to be valuable but a furnace salamander egg was something else. This was all the more true for the Silvertongue family as Nina, their best smith had also been bonded previously. The monster had died almost a decade ago and the furnace salamander would be a massive boon. While the monster didn¡¯t scale all that well into the higher levels it was one of the best bonds for a smith as they would have an on demand furnace, not only that but it would be one that was extremely precise. ¡°An egg bond.¡± Trevor said letting all the mirth at the event fill his voice as he stood next to Ajax hoping to judge his reaction to it. Ajax had much the same reaction as all of them being extremely surprised by the egg that was found. While no youngling found in a dungeon guaranteed a bond hatching an the egg itself was successful nine times out of ten for people who had previous bonds and three out of four times for others. Ajax¡¯s issue with the egg was that the bond wouldn¡¯t fit him at all. The salamander would be slow to grow and would most likely cap out at around level one hundred, maybe one hundred and twenty-five if it was well fed from early childhood. Other than that it was also long lived easily surviving for five hundred years meaning taking it would be a long term commitment unlike the bonds most people tried to form early in life that would survive half a century to a century at most. ¡°It sure is something.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°An ideal companion for a smith.¡± ¡°We¡¯d be willing to give you all of the armor and weapons we got from the previous floor if we can keep the egg.¡± Trevor offered. Ajax was initially taken aback by the offer. The egg was much more valuable than those pieces. Thinking on it however the egg wasn¡¯t his, despite him pushing for it it was still part of the shared loot so being given all that equipment for his one twentieth share of the egg did bring things in perspective. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the agreement that we just sell everything we find and then share the profits?¡± Ajax asked as he felt an opportunity, afterall he was dealing with house Silvertongue so they wouldn¡¯t begrudge him a little bargaining. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°We¡¯d like to keep the egg, for Nina.¡± Trevor said as he trusted his social skills when they told him to reveal the reason. The idea worked as Ajax was quite appreciative of the smith after having such a positive first delve under her watch. ¡°I¡¯ll agree to that.¡± Ajax said, making Trevor almost breathe out a sigh of relief, that was interrupted as Ajax continued. ¡°Under the condition that if the bonding is successful she¡¯ll craft me a weapon when I graduate from the Academy in six years.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep you an open slot and charge you nothing for the work but you¡¯ll provide the materials yourself.¡± Trevor had almost agreed on the spot but thought better of it after he took a closer look at Ajax, who knew how strong he would become in six years and how expensive the materials for a weapon for him would be. Ajax begrudgingly accepted the deal and felt his few merchant skills level one they shook hands. When Trevor went over to explain the deal to the mages their expression dropped instantly for a moment once they realized that Ajax held some small claim to the egg. Their jubilation quickly returned once Trevor explained the deal but the moment of panic was still funny to Ajax. Trevor was carrying the egg like a newborn baby as the four made their way towards the exit archway, he didn¡¯t want to risk anything happening despite the shell being strong enough that it would simply bounce harmlessly if dropped. ¡°What the hell took you all so long?¡± one of the frontliners asked as he got up seeing them all approaching at a casual pace. ¡°Do you know how long we¡¯ve¡­¡± His words died in his throat as he caught a glimpse of the egg that was in Trevors arms.The momentary quiet was quickly broken as everyone broke out into cheers similar to the two mages previously. In a moment of petty vindictiveness the mages quickly rushed up to explain the deal that had been reached with Ajax regarding the egg. The whole team reacted exactly as the mages expected with a few even cursing them out for not mentioning that a deal was in place before bringing up Ajax. Once the realization that they would be keeping the egg set in a few of the more heavy spenders and gamblers did groan a little about how they wouldn¡¯t get any of the weapons and armor they had collected from the seventh floor. While they were being generously provided for by the Silvertongue family they would also be expected to give up the egg without any immediate monetary rewards. ¡°Ignore them¡± Trevor told Ajax as he stroked the egg gently. ¡°They¡¯ll get over it real quick once they find out what benefits our team will get as a whole for bringing this out.¡± ¡°On that note we¡¯ll be happy to take you with us anytime.¡± Trevor¡¯s voice turned more serious now. ¡°Your skills are no joke and you can look after yourself, I have to admit I did still have my doubts when I first saw you. I look forward to our next delve together, who knows you might just be our good luck charm.¡± He said the last part with a bit of amusement in his voice. Ajax was surprised to find Nina, Trevor senior and a bunch of healers waiting on them as they exited the dungeon. It seems that they had taken quite a bit longer than he thought to retrieve the egg as the higher ups came prepared for some heavier casualties. As the rest of the team came out with only a few scratches, burns and bruises Nina had started laying into them to give her such a fright. All of that cut off instantly as she saw Trevor II carrying the egg as he came towards her. ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± Her words were high in pitch as she acted like a school girl who just found a puppy under the Christmas tree. ¡°Hit me, hit me, somebody hit me so I know I¡¯m not dreaming.¡± Trevor senior was quick to give her the requested backhand as she was making a fool of herself and attracting too much attention. Nina however didn¡¯t let that stop her and took it as the confirmation she requested, and then proceeded to go up to every member of the delve team and individually hug them. ¡°Er¡± her smile froze on her face as she got to Ajax who was standing next to Trevor . ¡°We already have a deal in place.¡± Ajax quickly explained, he didn¡¯t think Nina would do anything to him but he also hadn¡¯t expected such a reaction from her so he covered all his bases quickly. ¡°The egg belongs to house Silvertongue.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± her excitement quickly returned as she hugged Ajax. The only one to not receive a hug was Trevor II as he was holding the egg. ¡°I¡¯m buying for all of you at The Tapped Barrel, I just need to go and get the little one all set up you can all go start my tab.¡± ¡°After you get looked over by the healers.¡± Trevor senior was quick to intervene before everyone took off towards the tavern. ¡°We did drag them all the way here after all.¡± ¡°You joining us?¡± Trevor II asked Ajax after he transferred the egg from his arms to Nina¡¯s embrace. ¡°Sure I just have to go get these taken care of.¡± Ajax said as he patted the storage bag that contained all of the armor and weapons that were now his. ¡°Do you mind if I take the bag and bring it to you at the tavern?¡± At Trevor¡¯s shake of the head no Ajax picked up the heavy bag that strained his strength to the limit and made his way towards his grandparents shop looking to wipe out the debt the had expected would take at least half a dozen delves all at once. Chapter 210 For the first time in a while Ajax felt his muscle strain under the weight on his back, the oddest part of the feeling was that the ground wasn¡¯t sinking beneath his feet. As someone who studied architecture back on earth the foundation was an extremely important part of a building yet somehow it seemed the ground here wasn¡¯t affected by extreme weight. This came as a shocking surprise to him since he had seen large creatures and even warriors leave footprints when launching themselves at extreme power and more so because of how easy it was for him to shape the ground, if mildly, around him. The only explanation he could come up with was the same as for the sound barrier, somehow the presence of mana was ensuring that high level people wearing very highly mana infused items didn¡¯t just sink straight into the ground. The only issue he had with this was that it very obviously didn¡¯t apply to him. The heavy gear of six high fifties spawn was further compressed into a pack that he carried on his back. To say that the changes to his center of gravity were big was an understatement. More than once he had found himself almost tripping when his foot hit a pothole, the presence of which he couldn¡¯t understand due to the extreme rigidity of the road. All that said he slowly continued as he made his way to his grandparents house. His effort was actually rewarded when he earned the Uncommon skill [Unnatural Balance]. Sweat was pouring down his back as he arrived at the store, with his mana being close to empty from the fight this trip squeezed his stamina to low levels as well. ¡°Mr Ajax¡± The guard at the door respectfully greeted him and opened the door as he approached. Ajax was a bit caught off guard by the treatment but chose to acknowledge it with a nod as he entered. Once he entered he made a quick eye contact with Sebastian who was still behind the reception desk towards the back of the store. By the time he made it to the desk the man already brought out a rather short cloak that he offered to Ajax. ¡°What is this?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°Something to help you carry your load.¡± Sebastian answered as he draped the cloak over the heavy backpack and Ajax felt the weight reduce drastically. ¡°Master Elija and Mistress Aurora are here to see you, both were looking forward to your next visit.¡± Ajax still wasn¡¯t used to the forms of address that were used here in the capital. Back in Lessis, ''Sir¡¯ and ¡®Lady¡¯ were the usual forms to address those of high standing, once he got to the capital he quickly learned that using them for people who had no noble title was frowned upon with the title of ¡®Master¡¯ and ¡®Mistress¡¯ being the replacement. The history that those titles came about due to the profitability of slave trade in the past didn¡¯t help ease the transition for him either. With his burden made lighter Ajax quickly made his way up the stairs where Sebastian led him to a different room from last time. Inside the room both Elija and Aurora were present with their head guard standing behind them with his eyes fixed on Ajax from the moment he entered the room. The simple fact that the guard wasn¡¯t standing between them signified that they had looked into him and believed he meant them no harm. ¡°Ajax, welcome back.¡± His grandmother greeted him, his grandfather taking his usual stance of simply nodding in greeting, though his nod was much deeper and slower showing that he meant no disrespect by it. ¡°Would you like something to drink?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± Ajax said as he slowly took the seat opposite them and placed his pack on the table, it was obviously there for displaying the items he would be selling to them. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Sebastian was quick to provide Ajax with a choice between ale or wine. Ajax much preferred the ale so he went with that being quickly brought a pint. ¡°How was your delve?¡± Aurora asked, trying to introduce some familiarity while keeping the topic of the conversation business minded as Ajax had made clear at their last meeting. ¡°Profitable.¡± Ajax said with a small smile that turned into a grimace as he finished. ¡°Though a little more risky than I¡¯d have hoped.¡± ¡°I take it this wasn¡¯t a crafting delve like your previous one.¡± Aurora continued, Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised they had investigated even his last delve. ¡°How did you find the Goldmine¡¯s floors?¡± ¡°The small level difference was definitely a boon¡± Ajax said with a deep grin as he thought about the +7 he gained to all stats from the single delve. ¡°Though the quick change in environments took some adjusting.¡± Ajax followed his statement by starting to unload all of the armor and weapons on the table while also piling up his share of the manacores in a corner. ¡°These all belong to spawn from the seventh floor.¡± Aurora said as she expertly identified the items. The head guard straighten up at that information as while the seventh floor wasn¡¯t too much of a challenge for him anymore he had to keep his guard up, add that onto the danger that spawns presented it was quite the achievement. ¡°Yes, finding a camp whose weapons we could take back outside was quite a boon.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°They are all pretty standard pieces of equipment.¡± Aurora continued, Ajax had kept one of the one-handed axes for himself as it was well balanced for him but he was willing to sell all the rest. ¡°The staffs are both standouts, this one is clearly a melee weapon with an enchantment to store impacts from incoming attacks and release them on use. The other staff is more impressive, it has a few mana replenishment runes alongside a few fire and earth amplifications.¡± Ajax was glad about that, though he did feel a bit bad when he remembered the look the assassin had on his face when Ajax took the staff that was meant to be his once the deal for the egg was struck. ¡°The other big ticket item here is the gloves, they increase the speed that healing magic casted by the wearer works at, this should mean less blood loss and therefore less mana for healing. Total value for the lot is between four hundred and fifty and five hundred gold coins.¡± Aurora finished her inspection and looked to Elija. ¡°Current price for it all I¡¯d say is four hundred and ninety. The novelty effect on the melee staff isn¡¯t popular right now, people are looking for consistency, so it loses a bit of its value, the mage staff is always in high demand as for the healer gloves those are at a premium since with all this talk of curses speed is looked for by all healers right now. We¡¯ll offer you four hundred and fifty for all of it.¡± Elija showed his merchant abilities by understanding the current market and offering Ajax a prince that was generous but still netted them a good profit. ¡°I do have to admit to being surprised you got so much out of one delve.¡± Elija continued. ¡°This amount of loot is on the very low side for a delve but that is when counting the entire party, how do you have all of it?¡± ¡°These mana cores are from magma agesent creatures and come from the eighth floor.¡± Aurora said as she looked through the cores. ¡°We found a furnace salamander egg on the eighth floor and they gave me all of the weapons and armor to buy out my share of the egg.¡± Ajax calmly revealed. ¡°A furnace salamander egg!¡± Aurora was surprised and ecstatic at the news. ¡°Thank you for this.¡± Ajax¡¯s grandfather said. The information meant a lot for the merchants. While word that a bond egg had been retrieved by house Silvertongue had already gotten out following the display outside the dungeon, knowledge on the species of the bond could still be leveraged by merchants in the offering of gifts when hoping to reach a good deal. ¡°I do hope you were careful.¡± his grandfather continued, the words quickly bringing concern as the realization set in for Ajax¡¯s grandmother. ¡°You¡¯ve faced furnace salamanders!!!¡± Aurora exclaimed. ¡°Are you alright? Do you need a healer?¡± Her tone calmed down quickly as her merchant instinct quickly suppressed her protective grandmotherly ones. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Ajax confirmed ¡°I¡¯ll take the four fifty for the gear here if you¡¯ll throw in ten more for the cores.¡± The price for the cores was a little on the high end but with the new information Ajax had delivered his grandfather would have taken the deal even if it was offered by a stranger and offered an outstretched hand to Ajax. ¡°With this you¡¯ve already repaid the full four hundred gold debt you had for the Alchemy equipment and are already walking out with sixty more coins,¡± he said. ¡°Quite the windfall you¡¯ve had this time around.¡± Ajax shook his hand before accepting the bag of gold from Sebastian and then finishing off his ale. The ale was good but it was a little bitter for him having always preferred sweeter things he thought that a portion of his upcoming honey might be purposed into making honey mead. Chapter 211 For the last few months Ajax started to settle in with his new routine as well as his time at the academy. One thing he wasn¡¯t too happy about, but that he could understand, was that he wouldn¡¯t always have a dungeon delve during his free period of every cycle. He did however get two more delves with the crafting team. During these delves he learnt that his strongarming of the Silvertongue house hadn¡¯t gone quite as well as he had expected. Because Nina was going to be focused on raising a bond in the near future her skills wouldn¡¯t progress for a good long while before they have explosive growth once she starts integrating the furnace salamander into her creating style. That wasn¡¯t to say that he wouldn¡¯t be getting a good weapon, it just wouldn¡¯t be quite as good as he hoped. Name : Ajax Level :33 Experience : 29760/61600 Traits: Divine Witness Health: 2430/2430 Mana: 2460/2460 Stamina :1940/1940 Vitality : 243 Strength :204 Endurance :194 Dexterity : 204 Intellect : 246 Wisdom : 246 Mind : 246 Perception : 194 Stat Points :0 Skills : New : Conversationalist 0 -> 5 Dungeon Crafter 0 -> 5 Unnatural Balance 0 -> 3 Battlemage Style 0 -> 1 Upgrades: Mathematics 26 -> 30 Stealth 35 -> 37 Athleticism 35 -> 38 Running 36 ->38 Stolen novel; please report. Reading 22 -> 24 Writing 22 -> 24 Cooking 29 -> 30 Haggling 20 -> 23 Gardening 20 -> 24 Axes 40 -> 45 Hammers 40 -> 45 Deception 27 -> 28 Swords 40 -> 45 Shield 40 -> 45 Bow 40 -> 45 Spear 50 -> 45 Throwing 30 -> 37 Persuasion 20 -> 23 Unarmed combat 35 -> 36 Knives 40 -> 45 Skinning 34 -> 37 Tanning 19 -> 20 Dismantle 40 -> 42 Climbing 30 -> 31 Tracking 30 -> 35 Heat Resistance 19 -> 21 Poison Resistance 25 -> 28 Pain Resistance 20 -> 25 Trapping 25 -> 26 Cold Resistance 5 -> 15 Sprinting 35 -> 40 Mining 19 -> 21 Smelting 10 -> 15 Mana farming 12 -> 21 Increase Price 10 -> 15 Lower Price 10 -> 15 Danger Sense 30 -> 33 Leatherworking 21 -> 25 Alchemy 10 -> 30 Mana Milling 6 -> 21 Precise Cut 35 -> 37 Precise Blow 35 -> 37 Judge Threat 30 -> 32 Piercing Shot 35 -> 38 Berserker 10 -> 17 Cooperation 20 -> 27 Berserker Style 10 -> 11 Manipulate Mana 36 -> 40 Inject Mana 40 -> 41 Spot Weakness 25 -> 31 Residue Recognition 20 -> 23 Mana Skin 20 -> 25 Teamwork 12 -> 20 Mana Conjuration 25 -> 27 Lightning Aspect Mana 20 -> 23 Metal Aspect Mana 20 -> 23 Ice Aspect Mana 20 -> 23 Magma Aspect Mana 20 -> 23 Holy Aspect Mana 12 -> 17 Void Aspect Mana 20 -> 23 Mana Syphon 26 -> 28 Beekeeping Trailblazer 1 -> 7 Enigma 1 -> 10 Curse Resistance 12 -> 15 Curse Slash 1 -> 11 Looking at his new Status Ajax was both very pleased with his progress as well as a little underwhelmed on different sides of it. During the last months his magic had seemed to have mostly stagnated with the few ranks he was gaining coming from the innovation of researching the exposure of the curse mana to different Epic affinities. For as much as his magical side had stagnated however as Ajax learned to control his intent better his physical side had finally started to break past its bottle neck. Anthony Gatecrasher had followed through on his promise and just yesterday Ajax had finally managed to gain [Battlemage Style] and he could now use this as a base to fuse it with his [Mana Syphon] in order to hopefully create an Epic style unique to him. His other great strides had been made in his crafting and gardening. Taking care of the plants and injecting mana into them on a regular basis had paid off in spades with the plants even radiating a very tiny amount of mana by themselves. This hasn¡¯t had any visible effect on the bees just yet but Ajax was looking forward to the honey that he would be collecting. The biggest difference Ajax had experienced since arriving in the capital was just how much his social circle had expanded. He would now regularly hang out with Benedict, Lexi or Annabeth on his days off. He had spent lots of time in professor Vilethorn¡¯s classroom as well learning as much Alchemy as he could. Occasionally he would have dinner with Luna and Hatchet though despite all of their attempts he had yet to unlock any more conversational skills. His relationship with his grandparents hadn¡¯t moved at all in terms of familiarity choosing to keep it to a strictly business arrangement. He knew that they respected that but he also had the feeling that they were making the preparation to go beyond sooner than the initial timeline he presented them with. Unknowingly his grandparents were going to profit from their approach. In order to try and make it easier to get closer to Ajax and their daughter''s family the couple had bought up all the farmland that surrounded Ajax¡¯s own lot. With the bees pollinating any crops they planted there with pollen that had traces of mana they were sure to have a richer yield than expected. Not only that but they had also bought the two houses across from the plots that Ajax had purchased in the city as well. All of this led Ajax to be extremely surprised when he received a letter from his parents letting him know that they would soon be on their way to the capital. Apparently Judy and Alana had gotten to work with another company in the capital and that networking as well as the profits they made had sped up their timeline considerably. Not only that but Tom had been given special permission to transfer over to the capital on account of Fluffy¡¯s growth and the fact that she started to require higher level cores than were coming out of the dungeon to continue her growth. The final piece of the puzzle was surprisingly Kate being called to finish her required tenure at the Healing Union in the capital on account of her discovery regarding alcohol being used as disinfectant. While those may be all the official reasons given, Ajax could see that his grandparents had put their feet on the scale to get his family to the capital faster. With the letter arriving today and it mentioning that they would set off in a week¡¯s time this meant that they were only a week or so from arriving. While both houses had already been built for a while since he wanted to get that done in advance they were not furnished yet. Ajax now faced another problem as while he had gotten some furniture that would be enough for himself he knew next to nothing about actually furnishing a house. Not only that but of all the people he knew they were all of too high social standing to help him decorate a house for commoners. Chapter 212 Silvia P.O.V. We were all done packing and by the end we had more than a few of the wagons from the caravan filled up just with the things from all of the things we had decided to take from our personal homes. The rest of the wagons were of course filled up with everything else Alana and Judy decided to take with them in hopes of turning a big profit in the capital. This made the news we had gotten two days ago a very messy affair to celebrate and would turn our first few years in the capital a lot more logistically difficult than we had expected. It was still very much something we all celebrated and while I was a bit guilty that it wouldn¡¯t be in the letter we sent to Ajax seeing the look on his face when we told him in person would be its own reward. Kate had gotten pregnant. She and Tom had been trying for a few months after Tom had reached level twenty-five, the idea being that they could handle the added stress while we were still in Lessis and their workload was manageable and then their child could benefit from growing up in the capital. Conception between humans and beastkin was known to be more difficult than just between humans. ¡°How are you feeling darling?¡± I asked Kate who was already seated on a comfortable seat while Tom and Sam were finishing loading up the last of the wagons. ¡°I¡¯m just fine.¡± She said and I knew all of us were treating her a little too much like she was all of a sudden made from glass but I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°We¡¯re all set and ready to go.¡± Tom said with an excited cheer as he climbed up and took his seat next to Kate while Sam and I moved to the wagon in front and took our own seats as the caravan finally started to move. ¡°I still don¡¯t like this.¡± Sam said with a small frown as we took our own seats. ¡°Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t have just told them?¡± Sam had already put together the same thing I had, someone was pushing us to move behind the scenes, not only that but we both knew that it was my parents that were doing so and we decided not to share that with Tom, Kate, Judy or Alana. ¡°Yes, this is for the best.¡± I said. ¡°The sooner we get to the capital the better it will be for all of them, I don¡¯t want them to stall themselves over this.¡± ¡°And there isn¡¯t any way that this will end up hurting them down the line?¡± He asked with a bit more venom in his voice. Venom I understood considering I had been practically disowned when we married. In the year-long period following the attack on the village I had been working with Alana and Judy. While both of them were focusing on expanding and making sure all of the branches they had opened were running smoothly I had been in charge of the main branch here in Lessis and keeping it on track. Doing so not only raised me to a very high position in their organization but also offered me a chance to level some skill I hadn¡¯t used in a long while and I even leveled more than once from the high workload. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± I nodded. ¡°I looked over all of the contracts they signed and while they were a bit suspicious of just how favorable they were, all three of us made sure that there was nothing there that would tie us down or come to bite us later in any way .¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. This mystery benefactor organization that was looking to help us in exchange for using our branches up north had been working with us for months but it hadn¡¯t been until recently that I put together that it was my parents who were behind it. What finally tipped me off was the news that Kate was being called to the capital and that Tom was also being moved there as well. That kind of move was actually common with the Healing Union being able to lean on the guards and make the move happen but they never brought the spouse along with their recruit. It was always their member going first than them asking the guard to bring their spouse down as well. Marriages between the Healing Union and the guards were actually quite common considering how often the healers treated the guards. ¡°But then why would they have us all brought to the capital?¡± Sam asked. ¡°I can only think of two reasons.¡± I answered quietly as the two choices were so different that comparing them as I had for the last few weeks still made me feel uneasy. ¡°Two choices?¡± Sam was surprised here since he could only come up with the first of the two. ¡°Yes,¡± I confirmed. ¡°The first is that they are actually sorry that they sent us away and after hearing about the attack they wanted to make amends and have changed their positions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought as well, what else could it be?¡± he asked, thinking that this was the only option was probably the only reason that he went along with it. ¡°The other is that Ajax¡¯s potential is so big that they are looking for any reason they can to bring him into the fold and benefit from it.¡± this option would be one I will investigate and will always be on the lookout for, I won¡¯t let them hurt Ajax Tom or Judy in the same way that they hurt me. ¡°In this case that would be the reason the conditions were all so favorable for Judy and Alana, they were not the ones they were targeting by helping them.¡± ¡°Hrrr¡± a purring noise sounded from right next to me as I felt Fluffy rub her giant head against my arm. The shadow cat was now the size of a small pony and had already reached level thirty surpassing even Tom and was showing no signs of slowing down. All estimations from the guard was that by the time fluffy was fully grown in two years it would be level sixty and that her full potential might be as high as level one hundred and fourty. This was also the reason the guard down in the capital used to bring Tom down for specialized training. ¡°I¡¯m just fine Fluffy.¡± I said as I scratched the cat behind the ears. This cat had all but eaten Tom, Kate, Sam as well as myself out of a house and home after Ajax had left and we ended up having to procure the cores for her diet instead of Ajax providing them from his share of the delve. Still we had always made sure that she had as much as she needed and that was the reason why her potential was estimated to reach as high as one hundred and forty in her prime. The road through the countryside was like a trip down memory lane. I still remembered my first reaction to these types of open planes back when Sam and I first left the capital behind and moved all the way out here. I hadn¡¯t appreciated the quiet living in a small village like we had would bring back then, all I was focused on was the lack of nobles. Now I was wondering how I would manage to adapt back to the lifestyle of the capital. The trip to the first city on our route was thankfully uneventful, this despite the fact that we were moving at half the speed a normal caravan would because of our massive size. Once we arrived however Alana and Judy were well on their way to scour the city for any opportunity and that left me in charge of the caravan and selling anything that I thought could bring us a profit. By the time we were ready to move on again I had sold off as much as I could from the items that had the lowest value for volume. Almost everything we had would sell better in the capital so I had to make space for us to buy some of the more expensive things that would bring with them a bigger profit when resold. ¡°The next city is clear.¡± our scout said as he returned to us when we were a quarter of the way to the next city. All of us had learnt from Ajax''s letter that told us about the situation he encountered one city before the capital and with the amount of goods in the caravan we couldn¡¯t afford to end up having them seized under a royal decree. ¡°You¡¯re looking a lot more relaxed now.¡± Judy said as we made camp for the night. I also noticed that Alana, Kate and Tom were all there as well with a determined look. ¡°Maybe now you can tell us what it was that you were holding back all the last two weeks before we left?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ you knew.¡± I said a little defeated. It seems my acting skills are not as good as I hoped they were so it seems like I will have to let the cat out the bag a little sooner than I had planned. ¡°I think I know who it is that worked to get us all to move to the capital so soon.¡± As I started telling them everything I hoped they wouldn¡¯t hold it against me once I told them the reason for it was for their own good. Chapter 213 Ajax had only read the contents of the letter late at night after he had just finished emptying his mana into the trees on his plot of land so he decided to sleep on it and deal with the upcoming rush in the morning, not only that he also knew that he needed the time to calm down a little before he did something rash. The next morning Ajax quickly dropped by the woodworker who made his beehives and ordered quite a few beds be made and delivered to his two sister houses, afterall the only thing that his family would care about after the long trip to the capital in a caravas was where the closest bed was. With that taken care of he took off towards his grandparents shop where a tough conversation awaited him. It was obvious to him that the only way the two to three year timeline they were on could be sped up to a couple of months was by his grandparents'' heavy interference. Most likely they had started to get involved from the first week after they met him. ¡°Mister Ajax, welcome.¡± Sebastian welcomed him as he made his way into the shop with slow heavy footsteps. ¡°I need to have a chat with them.¡± Ajax said trying his best to remain calm. Jumping to conclusions was a bad idea, something he had learnt the hard way back in his time on Earth when he was struggling to make ends meet after a few bad choices was not to jump to conclusions about a person''s motives without talking to them first. Still considering the level of interference with a family they had essentially abandoned , he was having a hard time keeping his cool regarding his grandparents. ¡°Ajax.¡± Aurora greeted him warmly as usual though she kept herself behind the desk after she got a look at his standoffish attitude. ¡°What is the matter?¡± ¡°I just got this letter¡± Ajax said as he produced a transcribed version of the letter that kept anything personal out and just had the clear message of a mystery organization speeding up the timetable for them to move. ¡°I thought it best to talk it through before I jump to conclusions.¡± Both Elija and Aurora quickly glanced at the piece of paper on the table and got the gist of the message, unlike their usual dynamic however it was Elija that talked first. ¡°It seems you already have a conclusion.¡± Ajax¡¯s grandfather said. Throughout their interactions over the last few months Elija had found himself being more talkative as both he and Aurora familiarized themselves with their grandson, the one exception to this was whenever they were talking business. Ajax was about to quickly answer back with a retort before he took stock of the situation he placed himself in. His grandparents hadn¡¯t given him any indication that they were looking to take advantage of their connection with the rest of his family. They also hadn¡¯t given him much indication that they weren¡¯t, but that was mainly because he had shut that down from their first meeting, choosing to leave the decision to his mother. ¡°Not a conclusion.¡± Ajax finally answered after a moment of quiet. ¡°I can see the worst case scenario however and I would like to be prepared for it.¡± ¡°You can rest assured that all we have done was to speed up the timetable of their move here we discussed at our first meeting.¡± Aurora said. ¡°Here are all the contracts we have in place with them.¡± Ajax took a quick look over all of them and quickly found himself well out of his depth. Despite some basic merchant skill the complexity of the contracts was something that eluded him. One thing that was perfectly clear however was that his sister¡¯s organization was the only one of the two parties to have a buyout clause on all the contracts, not only that but the total sum of the contracts amounted to about five hundred gold coins. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I can buy them out myself at no loss to them at any point.¡± Ajax said softly as he looked through them for anything that would prevent the buyout clause and found nothing. His personal finances had been steadily growing ever since wiping out his debt, to the point that he now had gone from having four hundred gold in reserves to being at close to six hundred. It would have been a lot closer to eight hundred if he hadn¡¯t been spending as much as he had on his alchemy ingredients. ¡°And you didn¡¯t think I should know that they were coming this way so I could start setting up their houses?¡± Ajax asked his voice, much warmer than it had started out. ¡°I¡¯ll barely get proper beds installed in the few days I have left before they arrive.¡± ¡°You have more than a few days.¡± Elija said, causing Ajax to look at them confused. ¡°They are coming in with a big caravan, at least thirty wagons, meaning they will be moving much slower than the messenger of this letter¡± Aurora explained. ¡°Not only that but they are also bringing a lot of their furniture with them so I suggest you leave plenty of space for them to place it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Ajax said, somewhat satisfied for the moment with the explanation, he would need to talk with Judy, Alana and his mother to verify the rest but for now this was enough to assuage him. ¡°It¡¯s not a trick.¡± Elija said as Ajax stood up and walked towards the door. ¡°I hope so.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°The last few months just talking with you made us realize just how much we missed our daughter.¡± Aurora said. Ajax found himself truly believing the last remark, so much so that he would have thought he was under the influence of a skill if it wasn¡¯t for the accompanying notification letting him know he had earned an Uncommon skill, not only that but it was a skill that he had been trying to get for a long time, [Basic Truth Detection]. The skill was the lowest quality of all truth detection skills, Ajax was well aware of that as he had taken a deep look into the records of all known truth telling skills. Unlike truth there was no dedicated lying skill, as such when it came down to which skills won out truth telling skills had an advantage of about twenty skill levels over deception skills. [Basic Truth Detection] could actually beat out even Epic deceptions skills with enough skill levels. The problem was that the Uncommon skill did nothing when it came to anything other than a straight up lie. Unlike the Rare or Epic variants that would at least put up a fight against deception skills, a lie by omission or anything of the sort would straight up bypass the skill. Despite the Elation Ajax felt at the notification and ray of hope that came with knowing his grandmother¡¯s statement to be true, Ajax pushed both feelings down as he made his way towards the Academy. Even with the assurances given in the contract Ajax was going to trust but verify. ¡°I like the energy Ajax but we don¡¯t have a session set up for today.¡± Balthazar said when he saw Ajax enter the library. ¡°That¡¯s not what I am here for today.¡± Ajax said as he approached the old man with confidence. ¡°Something I was expecting to take a lot longer is now happening in a dozen days or so and there¡¯s something I need to do in regards to it.¡± ¡°Oh is that so?¡± Balthazar said. ¡°And is it good news?¡± ¡°It is if all goes well.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Then you best make sure it does.¡± the old man smiled. ¡°Anything I can help you with?¡± ¡°As a matter of fact there is, I was hoping you would walk me through the process of getting a discovery published through the proper process so that I can claim the benefits after sharing it.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh?¡± the old man stood up straighter, something that he felt all the way down his back as his body protested the quick movement. ¡°Finally going to share that magic style of yours?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ajax said knowing that trying to teach a Legendary skill without an achievement was a fool''s errand. ¡°I¡¯m looking to share the way I got my abnormally high stats, or at least the basis of it.¡± ¡°Well now that is quite something.¡± the old man nodded. ¡°How reliably can the method be replicated?¡± ¡°Everyone can make use of it.¡± Ajax said with confidence. ¡°Though the increase in stats they will get will vary on a few factors.¡± ¡°Now that is quite the discovery to make public, do you mind me asking what prompted you to share it now if you were planning to do so later?¡± Balthazar asked. ¡°The rest of my family is going to be joining me in the capital soon and I want to try to get myself a noble title to make sure the transition goes smoothly.¡± Ajax said honestly. ¡°Can you help me put it all together in a few days?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll point you in the right direction but you¡¯ll be doing all the tedious parts.¡± the old man joked with him. ¡°You do know that if this method of yours leads to any substantial stat growth you¡¯re looking at a Baron¡¯s title right after sharing it, and it will be brought up to Viscound or maybe even unlanded Duke depending on how big the stat gains are.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m counting on.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Though it will take years before the results from it will be seen.¡± With that the two got started at putting together the written instructions. Chapter 214 Ajax P.O.V The last seven days had blurred together as I pushed myself to stay awake working deep into the night every day making sure that I had all I needed to publish the discovery in my name and ensure I would get the rewards for doing so. The biggest obstacle to this was the simple fact that we were in the school day part of the cycle so half of my day was spent in class learning or in the training yard. My main helper throughout all this was Balthazar, the old man had sped up my efficiency by leaps and bounds having taken it upon himself to guide me through the process of reporting a discovery. All the old man asked for in return was that he be listed as my guiding professor for the specific project, this was something I was more than willing to let him have as it didn¡¯t take away anything from my reward and simply let him gain something for helping me. The first two days we had worked together deep into the night as he helped me word the process correctly. Admittedly he had called me an idiot when I first explained what my discovery was and the next hour was spent by showing him how it worked and then listening to him as he played with the display setting on the status page. It was after the last five days that had been a lesson in frustration for me. An idea in theory was all well and good but you had to obtain backed officiated proof of it working before you could make the claim that it did. For the rest of the five days I would go to classes in the morning, training in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day running around either showing the discovery to a few more trustworthy people and then getting all of their statements officiated with a truth telling stone. Despite the medieval setting of this work it seemed like the scientific method was still alive and well as I had to get different tests to prove that it worked. The samples had to contain all different categories too, people with a noble title, people without, men, women, children, people with free stats points available (finding someone like this had taken three hours of searching by itself and the rest of the day to convince him to try and then get that testimony recorded). All of my hard work was going to pay off as I stood in front of the royal palace and approached the gates. This was a formal process where I would present my work and it would be taken before the royal court for scrutiny, this world''s version of peer review. Evelyn was standing there to meet me, her presence made the two palace guards a little jumpy but me and the old man had asked her to deliver this in person to ensure that some ambitious guard and cunning guard didn¡¯t take all of my hard work for themselves. ¡°I submit my discovery for review.¡± I stated loudly as I handed the box filled with scrolls to Evelyn. ¡°It is accepted and shall be delivered to the court.¡± She spoke in her normal voice and then simply left with the box. With that finally done I let out a heavy sigh as I started my trek towards my bed, it was out of my hands now and with the royal court convening today I would, according to both Balthazar and Evelyn, be granted a baron title by tomorrow at noon. Duke Goldmancer P.O.V. The Royal court was just as boring today as it always was. I knew well why it was necessary for it to be held two to three times a month as it offered the nobility ample opportunity to air out grievances while they were still small so they wouldn¡¯t fester into civil war. The issue was that for the last decade and a half I was forced to take a more active role in the management of the house due to the internal fracture the birth of my daughter had caused. ¡°It¡¯s just a little longer father.¡± she whispered from the seat next to me. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I had taken to having her join me for court since she started attending the Academy in hopes exposing her more to noble society after keeping her so isolated in her youth but after the first few gathering the shine had worn off and I knew she was just as bored as I was with the petty squabbles of knights and barons even if her face betrayed nothing but interest in the claims brought forth. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± the king asked as the last grievance over an annulled wedding between two knight families had been dealt with. ¡°There is the matter of a discovery being brought forth before the court.¡± I was surprised to see that Evelyn of the Forth was the one bringing the discovery in person, rules dictated that for chain of custody the person to receive it at the gate had to bring it forward. Groans and frowns of displeasure rose quickly from the Knights, Barons and Viscounts present while the dukes and my two fellow archdukes seemed to have some life breathed into them. Rules of the court said that a representative of all Ducal houses or above had to be present for every meeting as well as the royal family whereas the rest of the nobles could attend more sparelying . ¡°Who is the author of the discovery?¡± the king asked. ¡°Ajax, a teaching assistant at the academy.¡± Evelyn said. ¡°The guiding professor is Balthazar Young.¡± The name Ajax sounded familiar, though I couldn¡¯t recall why off the top of my head. Balthazar Young however was a different beast, while he might not have looked it he had been considered old since my grandfather had been born and I knew for a fact certain nobles had bets going that he would outlive us all. My memory however was quickly refreshed as I noticed Annabeth, Alexis and even Benedict stiffen at the name. None of them should have reacted to Balthazar so this Ajax was the same Ajax that was the teaching assistant for their class, my memory skill quickly brought up the information packet I had read about the boy previously. The boy was a certified genius, having not only an astounding level but even more unbelievable stats for his age and to top it all off he had managed to get Trailblazer achievement, using it to unlock [Enigma]. ¡°The discovery claimed it is a method to increase all stats of a person by somewhere between ten to thirty points.¡± Evelyn continued but following her words a deafening silence filled the throne room. Everyone knew just how absurd an increase of thirty to all stats was, a total of twelve levels for free. If the method worked the boy had just won himself a dukedom. You could see the greed in everyone''s eyes as they listened intently. Archduke Steelblade looked ready to jump down from his seat and yell at her to get on with the explanation quicker. The next hour however saw all of the nobles present go from greedy and excited to angry and regretful. The method did seem to work, I knew because during the explanation myself and most likely most of the nobles who had followed the instruction had been able to change our status screens. The outline of the method was also truthful as if used at the age of ten most anyone would see a gain of ten points to each stat and maybe more depending on how they exercised. The issue was that this method was extremely limited and specific, nobody present could even take advantage of it but I knew that the future potential of this discovery was going to have overarching effects that I sadly wouldn¡¯t live to see. ¡°I move that we grant the boy a Viscount title.¡± Steelblade was equally wise to the overarching effects of the discovery but his proposition drew frowns from quite a few of the barons and knights present. ¡°With all due respect to Archduke, I believe that the title of Viscount is a bit much. Afterall nobody of note can benefit from this method.¡± the shortsighted were always quick to speak sadly. ¡°Perhaps knighthood would be a better reward.¡± ¡°Knighthood?¡± Steelblade, like most everyone who grasped just how big this discovery was, seemed shocked into silence for a moment, sadly for the baron who had spoken Steelblade was the first to regain his speech and laid into him for his foolishness. ¡°The only reason I proposed he be granted a Viscount title and not a ducal one is that he is still only sixteen years old. Despite this Discoveries extremely limited potential for our current forces it is invaluable in the long term." Despite the Archduke¡¯s high diplomatic skills his voice had started to get louder as he talked. ¡°I agree with Archduke Steelblade.¡± Archduke Silvertongue quickly jumped in. ¡°The fact that this method has no cost beside the period of weakness extending from age ten to age fifteen it can be implemented en masse among the commoners. In the next two hundred years we could see the average stats of our entire army rise by up to five or six levels worth.¡± Five to six levels was a very conservative estimate in my opinion, with the increase in stats coming at such an early age it would allow commoners to safely delve the first few floors of the dungeon while gaining the floor clearing bonuses, I expected to see the growth to be at least eight levels. ¡°The claims of this discovery are as magnificent as they are unbelievable.¡± the king¡¯s tone commanded silence as he spoke. ¡°With the proof provided I am going to grant Ajax the title of Baron here and now.¡± Muttering started almost immediately but the king continued talking before myself or any of the other Archdukes could protest the decision. ¡°This is not to be considered the reward. This is simply a placeholder, the court will review this discovery in ten years after extensive trials have been run to decide on a worthy reward.¡± Chapter 215 As Ajax got up the next morning he quickly made his way towards the Academy, according to his grandparents his family would arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening so he had already discussed with both professor Silvertongue as well Balthazar to get some free time. Both Professor Silvertongue and Balthazar were very understanding of the situation, as such the former made sure not to set up a dungeon delve for Ajax in this cycle and even allowed him to miss the class scheduled delve in two days. Balthazar was also understanding and put their research into the curse mana on hold and would instead spend the time carefully drafting their discoveries into their final format. With this understanding Ajax was now going to meet with the old man as well as Evelyn who would be bringing the verdict of the royal court on the matter of his discovery. As was usual for their meetings Ajax was still the last to show up. This meeting however was a little different than the usual as Evelyn wasn¡¯t simply wearing her usual getup. This time she was wearing her full set of enchanted gear bearing the colors of the royal family. ¡°Morning.¡± Ajax offered as he entered the library. ¡°Good morning Ajax¡± Headmaster Manashaper offered, Ajax hadn¡¯t seen him when he entered the door. ¡°That was quite the surprise I had yesterday.¡± While the tone was a little sarcastic and conveyed there was no ill will for having kept the discovery a secret Ajax did recognise that the headmaster had felt a little hurt that he hadn¡¯t shared the discovery with him before presenting it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about not sharing my Discovery with you headmaster, it was something more last moment as I had initially only planned to make it public in a few years.¡± Ajax said with a bit of remorse. ¡°My family already moving into the capital so early pushed all of that up.¡± ¡°Sir, Ajax.¡± Evelyn finally addressed him, the simple title of Sir was enough to tell Ajax that he had gotten a noble title in the events of last night. ¡° I am here to bestow a gift from his Majesty as well as inform you of the decision reached last night concerning your discovery and the reasoning behind it.¡± Both Balthazar and Duke Manashaper¡¯s eyebrows rose at the final part of the announcement. The king had made an executive decision in postponing the reward for ten years later and hadn¡¯t done much to share his view on the matter, as such both were interested in what the reasoning was. ¡°A gift?¡± Ajax asked, confused, anything that came as a result of his discovery should be considered a reward and not a gift. ¡°Yes,¡± Evelyn nodded. ¡°His Majesty has hereby granted you the title of Baron as a gift. The plot of land for your estate in the capital shall be bestowed to you along with your last name after you present your banner to the royal family. You are expected to do so within a moon¡¯s time.¡± Ajax was ecstatic at having received a noble title, which by itself should give him enough renown to offer his family the protection it needed to get settled in the capital. Having to provide a design for his banner in a month¡¯s time however was something that he will have to consult with his family on. ¡°I graciously accept His Majesty''s gift.¡± Ajax said as he bowed deeply after Evelyn glared at him a little as he stood silent before her, this was a time where proper courtesies had to be observed even in private. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°As for the reward for your discovery, His Majesty has decided to postpone that discussion.¡± Evelyn continued ¡°The discussion on the topic of your reward shall be revisited in a decade''s time.¡± ¡°In a decade?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°I have to admit I am curious as to the reasoning on this decision myself.¡± Duke Manashaper said as he looked between Ajax and Evelyn. ¡°It is not often that His Majesty has postponed a decision during his entire rule, not to mention that this reward will probably be his last big decision before he passes the crown to the crown prince.¡± ¡°Yes, in a decade.¡± Evelyn completely ignored both the commentary from the duke as well as the old man who was nodding along to it. ¡°Publicly this is being represented as a period to test your discovery on a wide range in order to better determine an appropriate reward.¡± ¡°And privately?¡± Ajax asked. It was at this point that Evelyn finally somewhat relaxed her exemplary posture. ¡°Privately His Majesty has quite a few concerns with rewarding you appropriately for your discovery at this point.¡± Ajax had to fight himself to not scowl at the remark, more and more as of late he had managed to keep himself from jumping to conclusions and wait to gather all of the information before reaching a decision, it was something that he prided himself on. ¡°His main concern is that your Discovery is, even at a lowball, worthy of a ducal title. There is even a small chance that your reward may end up rewarding with not only a ducal title but grant you a landed Ducal title, with part of the crown lands being put under your name.¡± Evelyn continued. ¡°It is in fact His Majesty¡¯s hope that your discovery is that rewarding as granting both the title and lands will build a stronger connection between you and the kingdom. His concerns are what plunging you into the political landscape with a ducal title right now will lead to.¡± ¡°Yes, I can see that.¡± Balthazar cut in. ¡°Even with a healthy monetary reward, the other nobles will be in a good spot to climb at your expense, having a decade to get used to things as a Baron and form some connections is a clever way around it. Especially since you are told about the intention.¡± ¡°The king¡¯s other concerns regarding this are your already somewhat troubling experience with some noble families. As the head of a ducal household you would be expected to marry someone of an appropriate standing only, while we haven¡¯t been able to find any evidence of any partner you have in the capital limiting the options of one so young was not seen in a pleasant light. Especially should there have already been a relationship we were not aware of which you would then be forced to end due to expectations.¡± ¡°Yes, as a Baron marrying a commoner wouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± Balthazar once again nodded. ¡°Once you were married and other titles bestowed upon you would make no difference, at worst you might be expected to take another wife of appropriate background.¡± ¡°So, essentially the reason for postponing my reward is for me to enter the noble life on a trial basis as a Baron, giving me time to get my feet under me without the responsibilities of a duke?¡± Ajax asked surprised as the possibility of a landed duchy was not something he thought was even part of the discussion. Ajax had to admit, with all the facts presented like this he was in fact thankful for the king¡¯s decision. The gift of a Baron title was enough to offer him the protection of a noble title while not putting him on the bottom of the totem pole with the Knight¡¯s still being below him, while also giving him time to grow into his eventual title. ¡°A word of caution.¡± Evelyn said quietly yet the sentence quickly focused Ajax back to the discussion. ¡°Caution?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°Would I be targeted early for the rewards I will receive in the future?¡± Ajax thought that this did in fact make sense, both greed and envy would make him a target for quite a large part of the nobility to take advantage of since the announcement was made in the royal court. ¡°Not as such.¡± Duke Manashaper denied. ¡°While some petty nobles will try and make moves they will almost certainly have their plans foiled by others looking to make honest mutually beneficial agreements, the only way you will actually suffer from that will be as a result of enormous ignorance or stupidity. Should you have issues due to those, the price for them is something the king most likely considers fair for the lesson you will learn. I was put in a similar position when I was granted my title.¡± ¡°The caution is advised in regards to the eldest son of the crown prince.¡± Evelyn clarified. ¡°It is widely known that the young prince is very talented, however your Discovery will offer his younger siblings a chance that he never had. While steps will be taken to prevent any relation he is still a prince who may bear a grudge for making him feel less special among his siblings.¡± Thinking about his interaction with the prince over his time in the Academy Ajax came to the conclusion that they had both reached a silent understanding to simply ignore the other. His discovery however unintentional could be seen as him breaking that unspoken agreement, in fact the same could be said for pretty much all young heirs who have siblings that might use his discovery as a way to push themselves up the line of succession. Chapter 216 Ajax spent the rest of the day burning through his mana and stamina before heading back home and making the final preparations for his family. According to the chedual they were following they should arrive sometime towards tomorrow evening and Ajax was planning to head out early in the morning to meet them on the way and join them for the last leg of the journey. While the training he didn¡¯t didn¡¯t take all that much focus Ajax was concentrated more on what his new noble title would bring with it. His original plan of getting a title just to offer his family noble protection wasn¡¯t as well thought out as he had thought, had he been given a sizable monetary reward along with a Viscount title like he had expected quite a few things could have gone badly for him in the long term. As for the king''s plans for himself Ajax was a little at a loss. Even back on earth the plans of politicians involved hidden schemes, bribes and strongarm tactics, this made trying to figure out what the king was doing very difficult. As far as he could put together the king was definitely looking to influence him, that influence however wasn¡¯t subtle it was given a parade and being announced at every step, all with one simple goal : to get Ajax invested in his kingdom. His healthy sense of paranoia kept trying to figure out what other plans could the king have but as far as he could tell there were none. Putting that aside for the moment Ajax started things on the more immediately important aspects of his title. Now that he was going to become part of the nobility this opened a lot of doorways that he had personally shut off before. Tradition and common sense in the kingdom dictated that no nobles were going to invest heavily into a commoner without them formally joining their family, as such Ajax had shut down all those who approached him in order to maintain his autonomy. With him becoming a noble now however those choices were open once again as nobles often invested heavily into smaller and weaker houses with just the promise of their house being owed a favour. Favours that sometimes weren¡¯t called in for a few generations down the line. As his mind ran with one idea after another Ajax hadn¡¯t managed to fall asleep until well into the night. This resulted in him sleeping in and only waking up once the sun shone through the window on his face. Despite being beside schedule Ajax still took the time to clean and properly dress himself, after all it was the first time he would see his family in months. With all the preparations made Ajax was finally walking towards the city gates and he broke off into a run once he got past. There was something relaxing about the high speed job lightly powered by [Mana Syphon] as he made his way down the main road. It was only a little past noon when he caught sight of the long caravan and he picked up speed for a quick final sprint. It didn¡¯t take him long to pick out his family''s wagons as he made straight for them. As he stopped off to the side of his parent¡¯s wagon Ajax didn¡¯t even get a chance to offer a greeting as a furry wall of shadow crashed into him. The first to pick on his presence was Fluffy ofcourse. Ajax hadn¡¯t expected the shadow cat that had been the size of a large dog to now be the size of a horse and was pinned to the ground as Fluffy intimated how much she missed him by rubbing her face into his neck. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you girl?¡± Tom asked as he quickly followed after the shadow cat once she dashed and shadow jumped away. ¡°Ajax, is that you under there?¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Woah, you got big didn¡¯t you?¡± Ajax said as he pumped [Mana Syphon] so that he could lift Fluffy off of him. Once he got up into a sitting position he quickly pulled out a level sixty monster core and used that to bribe the feline to get off him. Despite the increase in size the cat was just as responsive to the cores as she had been the last time Ajax saw her giving him a chance to get to his feet. ¡°Ajax!¡± he didn¡¯t even get a chance to dust himself off as his mother wrapped him up in a strong hug. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°I thought I told you in my last letter that everything had been going just fine.¡± Ajax teased though he returned the hug with just as much strength. All of Ajax¡¯s family was quick to gather around him as they settled in the biggest wagon where they had space to catch up. Despite the warm greetings Ajax was quick to focus on the unplanned aspect of their quick relocation to the capital. ¡°I know the plan was for us only to follow you to the capital in a few years but we happened to have some good luck.¡± Judy said. ¡°I know.¡± Ajax said as he looked towards Silvia. ¡°You know already?¡± Tom, Kate, Judy and Alana were shocked as they had only learned the specifics of their mysterious benefactor after they had already started the trip. ¡°You could say that in a way I am the reason why it all happened so quickly.¡± Ajax said as he started his story of explaining the dynamic he had with his grandparents during his time in the city. Everyone was quiet by the end of the explanation, most didn¡¯t know what to think. On the one hand Elija and Aurora had gone out of their way to help Ajax as much as possible but on the other hand they are also the ones that sent Silvia away. ¡°So, what do you think we should do?¡± Tom asked, the ingrained instinct of a guard to get the opinion from the man most familiar with the situation. ¡°That choice isn¡¯t up to me.¡± Ajax said as he shook his head. ¡°I made that clear from the start. Mom and dad are the ones who get to make that choice, I¡¯m just going to make sure they have all the options available.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really all that much of an option.¡± Sam said, though each word was like pulling teeth. Despite their initial reaction to him Sam couldn¡¯t say that there wasn¡¯t a part of him that didn¡¯t understand where Silvias parents were coming from when they didn¡¯t want their daughter to marry a nobody blacksmith apprentice, not to mention all of the help they had offered to the rest of their family after they found out about the attack on their village. What really pushed him past the denial however was Ajax¡¯s confirmation from the moment he got his truth telling skill. ¡°With a baby on the way even if we could buy ourselves out of the contracts that will have a rough time standing on our own two feet.¡± Ajax was shocked by the statement. ¡°I have another sibling on the way?¡± Ajax asked his mother, surprised. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me in the letter?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no sibling on the way.¡± his mother denied it with a small smile. ¡°You¡¯re going to be an uncle little brother.¡± Tom said with a wide proud grin. Ajax found that he felt happy knowing he won¡¯t be the youngest of his family any longer. With a grandson to focus on his mother wouldn¡¯t be as focused on him anymore and he knew just how much she had worried when he was dungeon delving almost every week back in Lessis so someone else taking the spot as the youngest in the family was a good thing. ¡°You don¡¯t actually have to worry all that much about our standing in the city.¡± Ajax said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. ¡°You see, I went ahead and made sure you had the leeway to make whatever choice you wanted, not the choice you felt you needed to make. Though I do admit I have found myself needing some help in that regard.¡± As he said this Ajax slowly pulled out the king¡¯s letter that marked him as a future baron and showed it to them all. ¡°What is this?¡± Judy said as she quickly but gently grabbed the solid parchment only to freeze as she got a couple of lines in. The reaction was mirrored by everyone else as they all quickly gathered around to read the letter until it got so quiet the wheels turning on the road was the only sound you could hear. ¡°Is this for real?¡± Kate was the one to break the silence. ¡°I mean it,¡± Ajax said with a small satisfied smirk. ¡°I really do need help with designing a house sigil, considering that my title wasn¡¯t earned by a feat on a battlefield. The king will take inspiration from the sigil when giving us our last names so it has to be good.¡± The remaining few hours turned from a nice family reunion into a family interrogation as the they got every last detail out of Ajax about his discovery and how he understood the situation. Chapter 217 On the way back the entire family was gathered around Ajax as they intently listened to how he spent his time in the capital. As all of them listened to everything that he had gone through they congratulated him on all that he had already managed to achieve. All of them had been left speechless as the idea that the title he was gifted would most likely be upgraded into a ducal title in a decade but overall this was a great opportunity for the family. Judy and Alana were especially happy because it was a known fact that when a new noble house was promoted and they tried to establish an organization most other noble houses would look to help, or at the very least made sure the commoner organizations didn¡¯t actively disturb them for at least a few months. Not everything was turning out better because of the new title granted however. As much as the title would help Judy, Alana and Silvia as well as grant some piece of mind to the whole family there would be a few repercussions. While it was common for all nobles'' houses to send any one of their members that showed any talent to the Healing Union to train, the same could not be said about the guards. Tom¡¯s career into the guards had just taken a sharp turn that will quickly reach a road block. Despite some of the guard officers taking some bribes from the nobles it was a rule that anyone openly attached to a noble family was prevented from climbing too high in the chain of command. It was a trade off Tom was more than happy to make but it would inconvenience him slightly. Getting inside the city was a whole other mess for which Ajax simply sat at the side and offered his physical strength as Alana and Judy dealt with logistics of getting the entire caravan past the gates. Silvia had offered to handle their personal carts and let Judy and Alana head over to the warehouse and at least take a look at it before they arrived at their new home. With all the merchant affairs out of the way, Fluffy instantly became the focus of attention from the guards once they heard that not only was Tom going to be joining them but that the massive shadow cat was as well. ¡°Do make sure to get her registered before you even register yourself.¡± was the advice all of the people gave him since a non-registered bond was not allowed to set foot in the barracks. As all of their wagons had finally made it into the city and Ajax led them to the two adjacent houses he had built for his family he was met with a massive surprise. Waiting for them by the gate he saw four different couriers, one belonging to each of the Archduke families and one carrying the sigil of house Manashaper. Each of the curious publicly approached him and loudly offered a letter of congratulation for his new title from their masters. Ajax was shocked that they were so quick to move on all this considering he hadn¡¯t even formally been given the title as that only happened when he would also be given his last name. Thankfully for Ajax Luna was there along with Hatchet, Alfred and a good amount of Luna¡¯s household servants. Besides the congratulations being offered in person by Luna for his new title everyone else got to work emptying the wagons. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Thank you so much for the help.¡± Ajax said as they started moving everything into the two houses. ¡°But there really was no need to come all the way here to help us unpack.¡± ¡°The unpacking is more of a gesture done for show.¡± Alfred said. ¡°The main reason for this is to show the allegiance between your house and that of Lady Luna.¡± While Ajax had picked up quite a bit of political movement while at the Academy that was true only when it came to individuals and not whole houses. As such Alfred had taken it upon himself to see him educated. ¡°So what was the meaning of the couriers then?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°They were a show of support and acceptance. It is also expected that you will invite all of the houses who sent congratulatory messages for your inaugural party, receiving a courier and not sending an invitation in return is seen as having a public disagreement.¡± Alfred explained. ¡°What is the inaugural party?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°All nobles are expected to have a party marking their and their family integration into the noble landscape. If the land you are granted along with the title is barren it is expected to have the party outside on said spot to bless it for good luck.¡± Luna said. ¡° I remember how confused I was during my own inaugural party so don¡¯t worry about anything too political happening at it. Mostly it will be a place where you can meet all the houses that are looking to have a friendly relationship with yours.¡± ¡°Look at us helping you move into these houses already.¡± Alfred said as he pointed at the servants wearing Luna¡¯s sigil. ¡°This is an open declaration that our your houses will be strong allies as the day after the offer was made we were here to help you.¡± Ajax had no issue making his friendship with Luna public. He owed the woman a lot for all the help she gave him ever since he arrived here so if she could get anything out of simply making their contact known he was happy to help. While Ajax was being given a crash course in politics the rest of the family was gathered around and admiring Hatchet¡¯s new arm. Fluffy was the most shocked of them all as for the entire time that she had known Hatchet the man had only had one arm. ¡°Easy there Fluffy, yes I know I didn¡¯t have it last time you saw me but that is no reason to try to pull it off.¡± Hatchet complained with a joking tone as Fluffy pulled on the regrown appendage. ¡°You sure have gotten bigger since I last saw you.¡± As the family started to get settled in it was decided that Tom and Kate were going to be taking the bigger of the two houses and share it with Ajax until he got his new land and started building a mansion on it. July and Alana would also sleep there while Silvia and Sam would take the smaller house that came with a smithy attached. As he stepped out for one of the final times to grab the remaining luggage Ajax caught a glimpse of his grandparents standing off to the side of the road and simply observing the procession. Both parties knew that this wasn¡¯t the time for an introduction to take place but the two of them couldn¡¯t help themselves and wanted to catch a glimpse of Silvia again after all this time. As soon as everything was placed inside the houses the whole family came together for a big dinner that everyone made quick work off before they headed off to bed as they were all very tired from the long weeks of travel. While everyone else went to sleep Ajax took a walk over to see his grandparents and see their reaction to his newly gained title. ¡°Congratulations are in order, Baron.¡± Aurora greeted him as he entered the room. ¡°Thank you.¡± Ajax simply responded. ¡°I have to admit this wasn¡¯t something I had even taken as a possibility.¡± Elija praised Ajax. ¡°When I set everything up for them to come here so quickly I thought that you becoming a noble in the future was a possibility but I couldn¡¯t have guessed that you were sitting on a sure way to achieve it.¡± ¡°I had hoped to keep that discovery to myself for a little longer but I wanted to make sure that any decision mom took wasn¡¯t influenced much by external factors.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°Tomorrow I will be taking all of them to see my small patch of land in the morning, in the afternoon Judy, Alana, Kate and Tom will be busy setting themselves up so I will bring mom and dad to see you both then.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a pleasure doing business with you.¡± Elija¡¯s words rang out as Ajax left the room. Regardless of tomorrow''s outcome Ajax and his grandparents would no longer be business partners. ¡°Now I have a party to worry about, not only a sigil, why do none of the stories people tell their kids seem to ever have any of these details.¡± Ajax quietly muttered under his breath as he made his way back home. Chapter 218 Waking up in the foreign room felt weird and the feeling didn¡¯t change regardless of how often I had gone through it in the last year. As I stretched out my arms I could feel Sam still asleep next to me. Yesterday had been a long day that went even longer with the welcoming party. I was so tired that I didn¡¯t have any problems sleeping in a new house, not only that but the beds Ajax got us were really well made, much better than any we had previously had. As I woke up however more and more things started to come into focus from yesterday. It wasn¡¯t a weird dream and I really had come back to the capital after my parents sent me away. Not only that but my own daughter was doing business with them, and the shock I had the biggest trouble coming to terms with was the fact that I was about to become a noble. Sure Ajax was the one receiving the title but not only would a noble title be passed down to any and all generations of the person it was granted to as it followed the line of succession but it would also be granted to one generation up should the parents still be alive. It would be very much a title for show as Ajax would be the head of the house but it would still be a title. As I got out of bed to wash I felt a strange feeling walking through the house. I knew most of the furniture as we had brought it with us but the layout was all different. The house Ajax had prepared for us was smaller than the one he had gotten ready for Tom but it was still half again as big as the one we had back in Lessis which gave the furniture a whole new feel with so much more space. One thing that had remained the same from all the way back in our small nameless village however was that my house still had the big, after a deep and thorough cleaning that I very much needed from the time on the road I started getting breakfast ready. Ajax had made sure that we had plenty of everything in the cellar and by the time I was halfway done I could hear Tom had gotten up and proceeded to clean himself as well. Much as had become common of late, Fluffy stuck her big head through a window next to me as the food was almost ready, the smell enticing her as she licked her fangs. ¡°Go bother Ajax.¡± I told her as I threw her a small bit of bacon. ¡°Knowing him he probably has a bag full of cores already saved up for you.¡± The shadow cat snapped the bacon out of the air before her eyes got big and she darted away back towards the other house. Ajax had clearly known that Fluffy would grow as one of the windows was big enough for Fluffy to leap through as she made her wait inside. He had already shown us where the three replacement frames and glass sheets were in case Fluffy ever tried to jump through the window when it was closed. A predictable side effect of sending the hungry feline back was that no more than ten minutes later the entire family was now awake and taking a seat around the breakfast table. It had been a long time since all of us had gotten together like this and I had missed it greatly. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see everybody so relaxed but what is everyone doing today?¡± I asked more to make sure that Sam, Ajax and I could go see my parents alone at some point, even if I hadn¡¯t fully made up my mind on what decision we should make regarding them. ¡°We have to go down to the warehouse and start sorting everything out, by mid afternoon some of our bulk items that we already have contracts for are going to be picked up.¡± Alana said. ¡°I still have a while before I am required to report in but it''s expected that I at least show up sometime today,¡± Tom said. ¡°More so since I have a bond.¡± The showcat in question was chewing on a core as she purred loudly. ¡°I¡¯ll have a check-up scheduled with the healers for the afternoon.¡± Kate said as she protectively lowered her hand to her belly. ¡°I actually have something else I want to show everyone this morning.¡± Ajax said as he finished the food on his plate. I wasn¡¯t sure what other surprise Ajax could have up his sleeve and at this point I was too afraid to ask. The knowledge of how to interact with the System as well as the noble title that came with it were enough surprises for me, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing and that would always come to bite us in the ass at some point. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. As Ajax took us on the outside of the city my imaginations started to run wild. If he found a secret third dungeon and was keeping a secret from the king this was something that could quickly mark us for execution. I finally started to relax once he pointed out the slightly slanted hill area filled with trees and flowers that he brought us to. With the amount of bees I was seeing he had also gotten lucky enough for a hive to have formed on his land and that was something that I would want to grab since the jar we had at home was only half full. ¡°Ajax, what are those?¡± Judy asked as we started at the dozens of wooden wardrobes spread out throughout the field surrounded by trees as well as the multitude of bees that were buzzing around us. ¡°Those are hives.¡± Ajax said, slightly distracted by the fact that all the bees kept well clear of us. It took me a second to realize that Fluffy¡¯s monster aura was the reason for that, though if those wooden things were actually hives the bees would quickly attack Fluffy if he got any closer regardless of the power difference. ¡°Fluffy, I think it''s best if you stay here.¡± he said as he handed all of us large hats that had a thing see through mesh drop down and cover us. ¡°Let me show you.¡± With that he beckoned us closer to the nearest hive. I could feel the slight wind Ajax was creating to make us a path as it pushed most of the bees away as well. After that Ajax quickly pulled up a panel from the box and explained to us in detail how the bees would create their hexagonal wax structures and fill them with honey only for us to come and collect most of it at a later date without destroying the hive and therefore having a constant supply from the same bees. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard about this before.¡± Alana became interested as she watched how the wooden box worked. As the daughter of a village head she was someone who would have heard about such odd creations. ¡°I know, I even got a trailblazer achievement for beekeeping.¡± Ajax said proudly. He then asked us to help and see if there was any trailblazing skill we could pick up from the craft before the discovery was picked up and spread across the kingdom. None of us took any convincing to try our hand at it over the coming months. With that we all returned to the city and everyone else went their own way as Ajax led Sam and I towards a store I remembered well from my memories. The outside of the building hadn¡¯t changed much from how I remembered it but that was no longer true once you stepped inside. They had clearly expanded the building, probably by buying the one behind it and uniting the two. Ajax led the way and the receptionist welcomed us up the stairs once he saw him. While none of the floors were the same as I remember, the key concept of each higher floor catering to more exclusive clientele had remained the same. As we entered the main office I was surprised how unchanged the room was compared to the rest of the building. Just like the entrance outside, almost all of it was exactly the same as I remembered, even my mother and father hadn''t seemed to age all that much in the two dozen years I had been gone. ¡°Silvia¡­¡± Both my mother and father stood up as I entered the office and for the first time ever I saw my mother speechless as she looked at me. I also froze up as all sorts of pent up emotions rose up again inside me. It was only Sam¡¯s comforting hold on my hand Ajax¡¯s stoic stance in front of me like a guardian that kept me from breaking down into tears of anger? Frustration? Yearning? ¡°Mother, Father.¡± I briefly nodded to them, my tone cold and low. Mother went to come towards me but Ajax took a comforting step in between thankfully. He knew I wasn¡¯t ready for anything like the hug she had intended to give. His action however cause the guard they leaning against a wall behind them to also stand up and put himself between Ajax and them. ¡°No, stand down.¡± My father directed him instead. ¡°I think this would all move along better if we all simply sat.¡± Ajax said as he pulled out a chair for me opposite my father. The move did a lot to put all of us more at ease by setting things up more like a business meeting, something both my parents and I were more used to. ¡°We¡¯re so sorry darling.¡± my mother broke the silence as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. ¡°It took us a long time to realize that we were wrong, and by that time we didn¡¯t know how to approach you.¡± ¡°And what changed?¡± Sam asked, his anger very much justified seeing as him being unworthy of me was the reason we were sent away. ¡°We realized that you made her happy.¡± Father said, his words few as always. ¡°We wanted to reach out to you once we realized that your kids were grown and you would have to move from that small village you settle in if only not to hold them back.¡± mother explained further. ¡°But then the attack happened and the man we had been looking out for you died. We had no news for months and once we finally found out what happened we had no idea where you were or how to go about looking for you.¡± ¡°Ajax showed up before I could make a proper plan for looking for you.¡± Father said as he indicated to Ajax who hadn¡¯t sat down and instead stood behind me with a comforting arm on my shoulder. ¡°And what do you want now?¡± I asked, my tone no longer as cold. Was I hoping for them to welcome me back? ¡°We just want a chance to make up for the mistake we made.¡± mom said, the tears not stopping as she wiped them away but the smile hadn¡¯t left her face following the shock of seeing me. ¡°And we hope that eventually you might come back.¡± I took a quick look at Ajax, he had explained how his truth telling skill worked and even if I suspected it wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to work on my mother I still felt a lot more relieved seeing him nod that his skill said they were telling the truth. I turned to look at Sam and found him looking back at me. A small shaky nod of my head was all it took for him to take over the conversation since he knew this was as much as I could deal with right now. ¡°It will be a while before we think of you as family again.¡± Sam said with a flinty voice. ¡°But we are willing to give you the chance to make it up to her.¡± ¡°It would also be best if you were to wait before you approached Judy or Tom.¡± Ajax continued ¡°A first impression like the one you made on me might be enough to bring everything crumbling down.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what he meant by that but I could clearly see shame cover my dads face and mom choked back a small sob while nodding her agreement. With that the meeting ended and Ajax led us back to our home where I crashed into bed mentally drained and quickly fell asleep. Chapter 219 While Ajax, Silvia and Sam were busy trying to get a handle on the mess that was the relationship the rest of the family would have with Ajax¡¯s grandparents, everyone else was busy receiving their welcome into the capital. Kate¡¯s welcome was by far one of the most welcoming any commoner had ever received when first arriving in the capital. While the Healing Union was under the control of the royal family in all but name, that fact wasn¡¯t a well known fact for the common people. Therefore the fact that the Guild Master had been there in person the night before to welcome Kate¡¯s family to the capital had instantly boosted her up the social standings compared to all the other healing trainees. Under normal circumstances this would also brew jealousy from the people previously in the spotlight but that didn¡¯t come to pass as they were affiliated with the nobility strongly enough to know the truth about how the Healing Union was run, not only that but none of them wanted to make it seem like their house would bully a new noble house unprovoked. Time spent during their lessons was very similar to what Kate had experienced in the past. Sure the books and scrolls they were using were in much better condition than what she was used to but everything else was mostly the same. The big difference came when it was time for their practical experience. As a fully dedicated healer with her level in the early twenties Kate had always been seen as only a novice. Here however the difference in capability between her and her instructors felt like the difference between a puddle and a lake. The strongest healer they had teaching them back in Lessis was level fifty and even then he wasn¡¯t a fully dedicated healer having gained a lot of those skills as a mage early in his life before deciding to head in the path of the healer and spending years picking up the skills to match his level. Here the professor was so much stronger and more skilled than her that anything she could do for a patient they could do with a wave of their hand from across the room. They wouldn¡¯t because of the inefficiency but they certainly could. ¡°Miss Kate.¡± Her teacher approached her after she had expended her mana on the latest patient and went to sit down and recover. ¡°Do you have a moment?¡± ¡°I do.¡± she nodded with a smile. ¡°But it¡¯s Mrs.¡± As she said this she lifted the pinky finger of her right hand to show the simple but elegant ring resting on it. Beastkin customs for rings were slightly different from humans where the placement of the ring had more significance than simply showing the existence of marriage. Wearing the ring on the left hand would signify that they already had children, while wearing it on the right meant that they hadn¡¯t. At the same time wearing the ring on the little finger signified that the woman was currently pregnant. ¡°I see, my mistake. Congratulations are also in order.¡± The professor said before switching the topic to the reason for his approach. ¡°I want to ask, what was it that inspired you to make your very interesting work on alcohol as a disinfectant?¡± ¡°Mostly it was the infection I noticed from people who traveled to us from their healing.¡± Kate answered, she wouldn¡¯t disclose Ajax¡¯s involvement but simply show things from her own perspective. ¡°Some of the most damaging cases I had to treat were always from people who traveled to us specifically to get healing. In those cases it was villagers from small hamlets that didn¡¯t have a dedicated healer that would ignore minor wounds as they weren¡¯t a massive concern, only for them to get infected.¡± ¡°Yes I can see how a more remote region may promote those kinds of patients.¡± the professor nodded. ¡°Thank you for your time, I do suggest that you go rest in the next room over. We hire a bard regularly and while their music isn¡¯t always the best it does have mana regenerative properties.¡± Tom was welcomed to the city guard as more of an afterthought by his fellow guards. Honestly he couldn¡¯t even blame them as everyone was excited to meet the new shadow cat that was going to join the guard, the bonded human wasn¡¯t all that interesting. ¡°Guard Tom.¡± a man that couldn¡¯t be more than a dozen years older than him approached. ¡°If you¡¯ll please follow me, the commander wants to see you.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Tom was quick to put together that this man must be one of the assistants for the commander. He moved to follow the man but then turned back to look at Fluffy who was surrounded on all sides by guards petting and feeding her. ¡°No need to worry about your bond, it won''t take long and I¡¯m sure our men will keep a close eye on her for the next few hours.¡± the assistant said with a smirk as he watched the popularity of the feline. Tom spent an instant more thinking about it before he nodded and moved to follow the assistant after giving Fluffy a signal to wait for him there, the last thing he wanted was for the shadow cat to think he had disappeared and start scouring the barracks for him. The assistant led him to an inconspicuous office, pounded twice on the door and entered without waiting for a response. This seemed odd to Tom who was used to Commander¡¯s Grievous way of doing things, but he also knew that each commander was different. As he entered the door room Tom was hit with a feeling of dizziness. He wasn¡¯t sure where it came from originally but as he took a few unsure steps inside he pinpointed the origin to an odd feeling of pressure emanating from the Commander. ¡°Tom I presume. Please take a seat.¡± The commander said after briefly looking up from a scroll on his desk. ¡°Thank you for bringing him, dismissed.¡± With that the assistant quickly took his leave as Tom took a few wobbly steps before he all but dropped into the chair. Commander Grievous had warned him previously that the caliber of the guards in the capital would be much stronger than him, he had even warned him about what feeling an aura would be like but words weren¡¯t enough to prepare him for the real thing. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± the commander seemed genuinely concerned watching Tom shamble over to the chair. ¡°If you needed a day to settle in from the long road you should have asked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it, sir.¡± Tom said while doing his best to stand straight in his chair. ¡°This is the first time I felt an aura. The feeling is both a little unsettling and disorientating.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± the commander said with an understanding nod. ¡°I always seem to forget that people from outside the capital and specifically those from the more¡­ remote regions of our kingdom don¡¯t have the built up resistance that those who grew up in the capital do. Repeated exposure to auras far stronger than mine even as they simply walk down the road builds up a tolerance, I expect you will too in short order.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best, sir.¡± Tom said. ¡°Good. Now onto the reason why I brought you here.¡± the man said as he looked at him. ¡°Originally. I had planned to fast-track you up the chain of command. If nothing else your file hinted at you being a guard for a long time.¡± ¡°That was the original plan.¡± Tom said. ¡°The decision was also a simple one, your glowing recommendation as well as the bond made that simple, alas I¡¯m afraid that isn¡¯t possible anymore with your brother being granted a noble title. You do understand, yes?¡± he asked. ¡°I do.¡± Tom said with a small sigh, he also explained when he noticed the commander frown at the answer. ¡°The more¡­ remote parts of our kingdom you mentioned aren¡¯t as successful in removing noble influence from their guards.¡± The commander winced a little at that but gave an understanding nod. ¡°This presents us with a new issue. With your brother¡¯s new title you won¡¯t ever be able to lead any patrol. Not only that, you also won¡¯t be moving up to any command position in any of our sections.¡± ¡°I understand that, sir. But I don¡¯t see why that would pose a problem for you.¡± Tom said, surprised. ¡°That would be your bond.¡± the commander sighed. ¡°While outside influence is very much diminished inside the guard here in the capital this does have a rather unintended consequence. Personal strength brings a lot more respect and influence not only with those of the same rank as you but even direct superiors if the difference is big enough.¡± ¡°That shadow cat of yours is already above level forty and it¡¯s not even mature, with the right care, which your file says you have been providing, and the correct diet, which I am sure your brother will supply, it will reach level eighty if not ninety in the next two years, after which it will spend the next hundred years or so slowly clawing up to level one hundred and twenty to one hundred and forty at its peak. Your commitment lasts at least another eight years, and in that time your bond will grow to overpower anyone even close to your rank.¡± ¡°Leading to me having undue influence inside the guard.¡± Tom finished the thought. ¡°Exactly.¡± the commander said. ¡°That being the case I thought I¡¯d offer you an alternative.¡± ¡°An alternative, sir?¡± Tom was confused. ¡°I¡¯ll have you spend the first year on patrol, getting lay of land in the capital and how we do things. Following that you will spend the rest of your commitment as an assistant to as many commanders as you can, do a good enough job you might even get to serve one of the five Wardens towards the end.¡± the commander proposed. ¡°To what end sir?¡± he asked confused as to why he would be moving around so much as an assistant. ¡°Each of us commanders have our specialties. I know that the news of your brother¡¯s title is fresh but I¡¯d have thought you¡¯d be looking to be the commander of his house¡¯s guard in due time. Moving around as an assistant to all of us should give you plenty of real experience.¡± The commander dangled the juicy fish that he was hoping would keep the potentially problematic recruit from causing too many problems. Tom¡¯s eyes widened as his eyebrows made a break for his hairline. Though the more he thought about it the more he found that the position as head of the guard for his family''s house appealed to him more and more, doubly so considering Ajax¡¯s paranoid nature. ¡°I¡¯d like that very much, sir.¡± He said with a smile as he gave the best salut he could while under the influence of the aura. Chapter 220 While Kate and Tom were being welcomed slowly both Alana and Judy were having a hard time keeping up. They had spent most of their trip making plans of how establishing their temporary headquarters would go once they finally arrived but the age old saying kept true. No plan survives first contact with the enemy. All of the other merchant organizations had kicked their interference into high gear. Under most circumstances a new face trying to make their way in the capital would provide them with a juicy target to exploit until they finally got their feet under them and that had been their initial plan. The recent announcement of a noble title hadn¡¯t just changed the game map, it had flipped the board entirely, all of the noble backed organization simply took a step back as they couldn¡¯t be seen bullying someone new. ¡°Has the ¡®accident¡¯ been cleared out?¡± Judy asked as a headache started to take place. ¡°Yes we got the goods out but they are trying to slow us down by having every one of our deliveries be anonymously reported so they will be checked by every guard patrol passing them.¡± Alana sighed exasperated. Both of them knew that they would only have to weather the storm for a week at the most, once Ajax delivered his sigil their family would officially become nobles none of these other companies would try anything more. ¡°Perhaps I can be of some assistance.¡± a slick but well-meaning voice said from the entrance of the office. ¡°Who are you?¡± Judy asked. ¡°My name is Sebastian, I believe we have conversed through letters so far. I can tell that the situation has drastically changed so we decided to help you wait out the storm.¡± Sebastian had quickly left after ushering Ajax Silvia and Sam into the office with Aurora and Elija in order to come help here. ¡°And what are my grandparents going to ask for in exchange?¡± Judy asked, her tone only conveying her skepticism and no outright hostility, she had the entire journey to come to terms with who their mysterious partners were. ¡°This is but a simple gesture of goodwill from the company, as for your grandparents this is merely the first of many overdue apologies.¡± Sebastian answered. ¡°So be it.¡± Alana nodded as she accepted the offered help. ¡°I have to say I am more than a little surprised, even after months of tangential business your brother has yet to even so much as accept an apology.¡± Sebastian remarked. ¡°I am a merchant, Tom is a guard and Kate a healer.¡± Judy sneered. ¡°All of us understand compromise and have had to deal with making the best of a situation we didn¡¯t like with a smile on our face. If my grandparents'' intentions are genuine our forgiveness would be much easier to win. Ajax is a delver and an adventurer, there is little he has had to compromise with.¡± ¡°On the bright side once you do get his forgiveness he won¡¯t hold a grudge over it like the rest.¡± Alana said with a slightly evil grin. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Yes, looking back I do have to agree with your assessment of him.¡± Sebastian nodded as he scratched his chin. ¡°Though that does make me wonder how he will handle becoming the head of a noble household.¡± ¡°The same way he always had, with his family to help him.¡± Judy answered. From there things got a lot easier for both Alana and Judy as with Sebastian¡¯s help and their grandparents'' infrastructure inside the city everything started to go their way once again. Ajax had noticed that nobody else had returned yet by the time he and his parents returned home so he went off to do a little alchemy while he gave them a little space to come to terms with the decision they had made. In all honesty Ajax was glad that his mother had decided to give her parents another chance as he had become slightly fond of them over the last few months, this fondness was also the main reason he hadn¡¯t weighed in at all until the decision was reached as he didn¡¯t want to influence her one way or the other. The next few hours passed peacefully before Ajax could even notice. It had been almost two weeks since he had last done any alchemy because of how much time getting his presentation ready for the royal court had taken. While he didn¡¯t find the practice as enticing as delving it was a close second. This new relaxed state of mind had also proven useful as he had finally been able to brew his first successful stat increasing potion. The quality of the potion was barely passable on increasing a random attribute by one point, not only that but if the random attribute chosen was over fifty the potion would have no effect. Nevertheless it was a success and the first step on the path to crafting his own potions for free as he delved deeper into the dungeon. As he came out of his room happy with his achievement he found that most of the family had returned already, with the obvious exception of Judy and Alana who would most likely have a very long day. Not only had they returned but they started making dinner already, it had been a while since he had had his family so close and this was a nice surprise. ¡°Ajax, have you put any thought into what the sigil will look like?¡± Judy asked as soon as she got home looking dead on her feet as she crashed into a chair. ¡°No.¡± He answered back but decided to explain a bit more considering the deadly glare both her and Alana fixed on him. ¡°If you had given me more than a week and a half notice that you were coming I would maybe have had the time to do more than just gain the title.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come with you girls tomorrow and help sort out everything.¡± Silvia said. ¡°Not to mention that those bees will most likely more than cover any initial losses we experience.¡± Everyone knew that honey, while not scarce, was extremely expensive unless it was in season. Since it was mostly collected by young adventurers in the forests surrounding the capital this meant that it was also all gone within weeks of the hives going dormant. ¡°I actually think you might be able to get a full harvest in even before the season hits.¡± Ajax said. ¡°How do you figure that?¡± Tom asked. ¡°Well I have been using [Inject Mana] on all the trees and flowers on that field, while the bees have not had any major changes to them it seems like honey production has sped up considerably. At the rate they seem to be producing I think we will have to empty those hives three times just so they have room to store it.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°All these years later and you are still playing with plants and mana.¡± Tom chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°I suspected once I found out he had mana but now it makes so much more sense. The reason why his small garden back in the village always produced all those rich and valuable plants was because he would pump them full of mana.¡± Tom explained. ¡°I actually wasn¡¯t using [Inject Mana] back then.¡± Ajax corrected. ¡°I just expelled mana near them, with [Inject Mana] I am losing a lot less mana, though giving too much at once seems to be destructive instead.¡± ¡°So when are you going back to the Academy?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Well my class is having a delve tomorrow but I was given the time off, what with all of you arriving.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh no! You are going.¡± ¡°Absolutely not, you have to go.¡± Both Judy and Silvia jumped on that, sharing a quick glance and nodding at each other. ¡°What?! Why?¡± Ajax asked confused. ¡°You were just essentially granted a noble title, sure they may have given you the time to keep to yourself but now is the time to actually start forging connections with other nobles.¡± Alana explained. ¡°Those people in your class are the highest standing nobles of your age and I guarantee you more than one of them might have an issue with the discovery you made and how it will impact the line of succession in their family.¡± By the time the meal ended and Ajax went back to bed he was now thinking what he could do to help smooth over any grudges his new discovery may cause come morning. Chapter 221 The following morning Ajax was no closer to the design of a sigil for his new house and to be honest he wasn¡¯t even inclined to try his hand at it. Despite the training he had as an architect back on Earth he knew that creativity was not his strong suit. Therefore before Ajax left along with most everyone else from the family he had a request to make after breakfast. ¡°Hey, dad.¡± Ajax said as he put away the last of the plates. ¡°Can I leave the house sigil design to you, creativity was never a strong point for me.¡± Sam was very glad for this to happen as while his smithy wasn¡¯t yet properly set up he couldn¡¯t do anything and he knew he would be left alone with everyone else already having their jobs. ¡°I¡¯ll have a few choices made by the end of the week.¡± His father confirmed with a wide smile. With that bourden taken off his shoulders Ajax got suited up in his basic gear and grabbed him dungeon alchemy set-up and headed for the Academy. Despite going on a delve with the rest of his class it would still be only to the first level of the dungeon, they had all already been told that they would only be going to the first level of the other dungeon for their final exam of the year, delving to the second floor was out of the question due to the randomness factor it presented. One thing Ajax did manage to note was that everyone in the class had made serious progress growing at least one level, with a few that were close to the level point at the start of the year gaining two. ¡°Oh good, you came.¡± Professor Silvertogue poked his head into his office as Ajax was getting ready to head to class. ¡°What do you mean good I came?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. Ajax was perfectly justified in his confusion as he had cleared his leave of absence with professor Silvertongue repeatedly. ¡°Next time you plan on making any big revelations, how about you drop a hint about it before asking for some time off.¡± The professor let out an annoyed sigh. ¡°Do you know how much shit I would have been in with my family if you didn¡¯t show up at your technically first social engagement after presenting your discovery because I gave you some time off?¡± Professor Silvertongue crashed into a chair inside the office ¡°I thought I would need to send someone to get you, and that would have been a whole other political issue on top of it being awkward.¡± Ajax was suddenly glad everyone from his family told him to come otherwise that awkward moment would have come to pass and if there was anything Ajax handled worse than social interactions with nobility it was awkwards social interactions with nobility. ¡°Here, I was also asked to give you this.¡± the professor said as he placed a ring on Ajax¡¯s desk while also picking up the old one he gave him. ¡°Is this one empty?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ajax asked confused, ¡°But why?¡± ¡°The main reason? Simply because before the ring was the sign of my family¡¯s investment in you despite you not officially joining.¡± The professor said, ¡°Now with you being given a noble title and with a reward waiting in the wings this whole dynamic changes.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As Ajax infused his mana into the new ring and found that it was much bigger than his previous one. Not only that but he felt the ring latch on to his mana once he fed it and even sensed a scroll already being inside. ¡°This ring now symbolizes our support for an up and coming house as such the quality needs to be higher.¡± he said with a serious look before slumping down. ¡°There are also another five to ten other smaller reasons that one of my siblings can spend five hours explaining to you in detail if you are interested enough to ask. Suffice to say, I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You forgot a scroll inside it.¡± Ajax said as he pulled out the scroll. ¡°No, we didn¡¯t.¡± the professor corrected. ¡°Like I said before the ring has a different meaning, you can keep this one with you at all times as not only is it locked to only your mana until you unbind it but that scroll is tied to a locator rune, if someone steals it you can track it down really fast.¡± The size of the ring was a real upgrade as now Ajax didn¡¯t even need to take a bag with him despite carrying all of his alchemy set-up, he simply shoved everything into the ring and headed towards his class. As Ajax opened the door to the classroom everyone threw a glance towards the door and froze staring at him once they realized who it was. People¡¯s reaction to seeing him varied wildly, some were happy to see him, some couldn¡¯t care less and others shot him venomous looks, some attempted to mask them but the feeling was obvious regardless. The first to approach him however wasn¡¯t the fuming prince, nor was it Lexi or Anna. It was Benedict who came up to him with the most neutral expression of the bunch giving nothing away. ¡°Thank you so much for your hard work.¡± Benedict said as he placed a hand on each of Ajax¡¯s shoulders and his neutral expression turned into one the happiest expression Ajax had ever seen the guy make. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you realize just how big of an effect all of this will have on our armies and humanoids as a whole in a few centuries but it could be the start of not only a revolution but also the starting point of the first expansion humanoids have made in living memory.¡± The ending part of that sentence made Ajax quickly freeze up for a second as he digested what was said. Could his discovery end up leading humanoids to try to expand their territory, according to the history lesson the dragon gave him the only reason nobody of real power bothers with humanoids is because they stay in their place and as such are protected by the old accord, this has the potential of going very wrong. Thankfully anything of that sort is still centuries if not millenia away at this point so he will have time to find a solution for it. Despite Ajax¡¯s thought spiral at the idea Benedicts approach broke the ice and both Lexi and Anna came over to congratulate Ajax on his awarded title. Despite both groups seeing Ajax¡¯s discovery as a positive thing there were a few nobles who just stood there keeping their mouths shut and looking like they just bit into an unripe lemon. ¡°I had thought you were just extremely talented.¡± A raspy voice cut through the chatter. Ajax turned to see it coming from the prince. ¡°Then again I suppose that having the good fortune of discovering a new way to interact with the system can be considered a talent. You should however keep a close eye out as while luck can be considered a talent it¡¯s the only one that eventually runs out.¡± With that the prince and his whole entire entourage left the classroom, though a few of the nobles that followed him out gave Ajax a few looks of pity, signifying that they had no issue with him but they knew that showing that would have them join him on the prince¡¯s shit list. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him.¡± Anna said after the prince left. ¡°It will take him a while to get over the fact that his lead in the battle for succession was cut down but he¡¯ll come around.¡± ¡°Still probably a good idea to give him a bit of time and space to do that.¡± Lexi butted in. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t hurt to keep a closer eye on your surroundings until then either. ¡°Oh just forget about him.¡± Benedict''s best friend Rick said as he stretched up in order to put one arm around Ajax¡¯s shoulders dragging him a bit down in the process. ¡°After we are done with this delve I am taking you drinking.¡± Rick quickly picked up on Ajax¡¯s confused face, they hadn¡¯t really gotten along all that much ever since the first delve they did as a class and even with Benedict''s approval Rick had kept a bit of grudge. ¡°My big sister is a right bitch and you should have seen the look on her face when she found out that my little sister might be in a better position to inherit the main title. That alone made my day.¡± Rick explained. ¡°And that¡¯s not to say anything of how much this all means to my little sister.¡± ¡°You might have a few people holding a grudge, and most of them will be focused in the academy both in the classes that are above us and the next few that are coming after.¡± Lexi said. ¡°But I doubt you can enter any tavern in the noble district for the next year without somebody deciding to buy you a few drinks as thanks.¡± Ajax simply nodded in agreement. He hadn¡¯t thought about the nobles fighting for succession who would be happy about his discovery yet and found that to be a pleasant thought. As for the prince Ajax already planned to try and teach him his own weird style of casting, though after that last interaction the timeline for those lessons changed from in a few weeks to in a few months. Chapter 222 Looking at how the morning started Ajax would have assumed that the positive or negative reaction to his discovery would be the biggest change he would see in his interaction with his fellow students. Well it turns out that said statement was a little more than half right. That is to say that as Ajax walked down the street beside Benedict and Rick he was quickly made aware of another massive change in his position when it came to nobility, one that he hadn¡¯t taken into consideration when he came to the Academy that morning. This is the fact that the Academy also serves a purpose in allowing young nobles to interact with each other and pursue relationships. Since they had left the classroom no less than five girls had attempted to flirt with Ajax. Now while Ajax is not oblivious to this it is also something that he has little to no experience in. Back on Earth he never had time for a girlfriend and in his new life the friends with benefits relationship he had with Alana is the extent of his experience. Suffice it to say that when it comes to courtship of any sort Ajax is a novice. ¡°What is with them?¡± Ajax muttered under his breath. ¡°I know I¡¯m not that good looking or there would have been some sign before.¡± ¡°It depends how you look at it actually.¡± Rick countered. ¡°Objectively you are not ugly, in fact you could be called handsome. Most of the girls who attempted to make overt moves on you are second or third daughters to knights and barons.¡± ¡°What difference does that make?¡± Ajax said as he couldn¡¯t place the social situation. ¡°Most of their marriages have already been determined in advance for political gain.¡± Benedict explained. ¡°Compared to some of the people that they have been promised to you are downright dashing, add that on to the fact that a relationship with you is one any baron or knight family would take no questions asked and you have a few people who see you as the perfect way to escape their tragic fate.¡± ¡°HUUUHHHGGG¡± Ajax groaned as he rubbed his eyes at the thought. ¡°Wait, does that mean that my brother and sister will now have suitors?¡± Ajax asked concerned about what else he could have brought down on his family''s head. ¡°Your brother is out of the picture.¡± Rick said. ¡°At least for a year or two while he still has a baby on the way and for a short while after the birth. As for your sister, nobles do have a certain level of decorum as to not haggle her until she gets her business off the ground, but she can start to expect them as soon as that happens.¡± ¡°Hell, even your cat might have suitors.¡± Rick chuckled good naturedly at Ajax¡¯s panic. ¡°Fluffy?¡± Ajax asked surprised. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Rick nodded. ¡°Most monster species of the same family can breed amongst themselves. You should expect a few people to come by with whatever feline bond their family has to try and arrange a litter for when the shadow cat is done growing.¡± In his mind Ajax has already assigned the job of Fluffy¡¯s pimp to his older brother Tom, after all they were bonded and there was no way he would let him just stand on the sidelines while he and Judy suffered. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Remember not to grow overconfident.¡± Professor Silvertongue¡¯s words brought Ajax back to the task at hand. ¡°I know all of you have made significant progress since the first delve we have done here but keep in mind that we have also started splitting you up more and more. You no longer have the same safety net.¡± Following the first disastrous class tournament that had mercifully ended after four delves with a draw between Anna and Benedict who had ended up forced to team up against the prince to keep him from abusing superior numbers, all challenges had changed. From now on all challenges were one delve long and announced only after entering the dungeon. This was always a risk when one of the stronger and larger overall class came together this year, time to develop long term strategies always ended up badly for at least one student. This delve however was no joking matter. The idea of the exercise was care and efficiency. People would be forced to split into teams of two for the duration of this delve. A much lower number compared to the minimum of four they were previously. The idea was to give them an idea of how it would be to get separated from your team during a delve. ¡°Also everyone is aware of the markers.¡± instructor Gatecrasher said, ¡° if you find yourselves cornered, and I do mean as a last resort, make for the closest arch and go to the second floor. Make sure to also mark the arch you entered so that one of us knows where to go look for you.¡± It came as no surprise when most people split off into groups with their friends, something both instructor gatecrasher and professor Silvertongue covertly winced at as they remembered just how many fractured friendships came from this exercise back when they went through the Academy. Few friendships survive a few split second decisions made with your life on the line. ¡°Winner of this exercise will be the first team to reach the base with at least five points collected.¡± Professor Silvertongue finished. ¡°Where is the base?¡± the prince asked competitively. ¡°Clues will be given out to all of you depending on which layout we get, after all we do have to give the thinkers among you an edge.¡± Professor Silvertongue said with a small smirk. To the surprise of almost everybody the challenge ended up being conquered almost four hours in as the prince made his way into the temporary base. A few muttered arguments had been made about him cheating when he chose to follow Ajax¡¯s tracks instead of reading through the clues, after all where else could Ajax set up shop and start cranking out potions. ¡°Have you thought about what you are going to have your house focus on for starters?¡± Lexi asked once she also found the hidden base, a little miffed that the prince had beaten her and Anna to it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°One of the downsides of noble families is that they have to pay much higher taxes than commoners. In order to keep up with said taxes each house usually focuses on one field to start off with and create a reliable source of income.¡± ¡°Under most circumstances the means that got them the title are also the means by which the house makes a steady income.¡± Anna said. ¡°Which is also where you hit a little bit of a wall seeing as how your monetary reward is still ten years away.¡± ¡°Hmmmm.¡± Ajax said as he thought about the issue. ¡°I think a subset of farming might be the best thing to go with.¡± Ajax said as he thought about the bees. After all, there was going to be a massive shortage of honey in the coming season. The reason for the shortage should be obvious, Ajax basically plundered massive amounts of the bee population from the surrounding grounds. The bees haven;t had proper time to repopulate meaning that his honey may just become a scarce luxury, and those were something that nobles would always pay top coin for. ¡°Farming?¡± Lexi asked confused. ¡°Well we do come from a small little village by a forest, that and I doubt hunting for game would be all that profitable or sustainable long term.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°How about your family, what did you do when your grandfather was first given the title?¡± ¡°Dad leaned into his magic by offering training to the most promising mages of other nobles, though I am not all that sure of the details as by the time I was old enough to remember anything we had already expanded enough that we had a few means of income.¡± ¡°You could always offer that fancy purple magic you were casting.¡± Anna said, referring to void mana. The spy''s house Goldmancer had inside house Silvertongue had provided that little fact. ¡°It¡¯s not all that useful for mages.¡± Ajax said honestly. ¡°Stand alone that magic isn¡¯t all that useful without physical strength to back it up.¡± The prince seemed to forget his animosity towards Ajax at this moment as he heard the topic of conversation. A new type of element that was useless without physical force but devastating when used with it, this was something he could use to take his next step on the path to being a hybrid fighter. Ajax gave Anna a shallow thankful nod when he noticed to expression the prince had, she had purposely mention void mana in an attempt to bring it to the prince¡¯s attention. Chapter 223 ¡°That element is basically useless to all other mages or hybrids I have met.¡± Ajax was quick to point out. ¡°My style of casting uses more mana for a lower effect but doesn¡¯t rely on chanting. Not only that but much like rune casters the style actively competes with chanting. If anyone wants to try this element it can¡¯t be a chant caster.¡± ¡°Why not a chant caster?¡± Lexi was quick to ask as she was also interested in the new element, though this was more for novelty sake than for the power it possessed. ¡°Very simple, I have no chanted spells that use it so there is no starting point for trying to use any chants with it.¡± Ajax said, even if people had figured out certain words or phrases there was no word for the void element that any of them knew. ¡°Just how inefficient are your spells?¡± Lexi asked now curious. ¡°Throw a fireball at that wall.¡± Ajax said instead of answering. Lexi was quick to chant and throw a decent fireball that left a black mark on the wall. Ajax simply stood up and copied the effect tossing an equivalent fireball with a word leaving a second mark on the wall. ¡°How much mana did that fireball take from you?¡± he asked afterwards. ¡°About thirty.¡± she answered, it was a very weak spell she just tossed out to make a point. ¡°Mine took about one hundred and fifty.¡± Ajax said ¡°and I suspect my intelligence is slightly higher than yours is. My style focuses on having spells empower physical attacks, it focuses on speed and flexibility but in a battle of attrition at long range I would be forced to use my bow or I would empty a lot faster than even a mage usually does.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t mention anything about his Legendary skill. [Syphon Mana] was going to be featured on his house''s sigil and would only be divulged to the king in person as Ajax wanted to build a similar foundation to duke Manashaper on the back of his Legendary skill. These last few months of living in the capital had gotten him to trust in most of the higher nobles a lot more. Void however was out of the question, he wasn¡¯t willing to teach anyone anything about that element. His Legendary skill will be nigh-impossible to copy but the void element was and always will be the ace us his sleeve. Much like how curse attacks were not divulged in any way by one of the King¡¯s top people Ajax would keep void to himself at the very least until he had a working counter to the element. If he was true to himself however Ajax did find that he was willing to try and teach void to one being, that being was Fluffy and even for her it was in the far future once she had finished maturing. Ajax had developed void by focusing on shadow element mobility to move the point of impact but that was as far as he would take it before he got a companion of his own. ¡°Well done, your highness.¡± Professor Silvertongue interrupted their discussion as he got to the base. ¡°Though your methods were slightly questionable they were within the rules and as such your team is the winner for this cycle¡¯s delve.¡± ¡°But he didn¡¯t decipher, they didn¡¯t decipher the clue.¡± one of the other students murmured, even if they knew better than to try and complain about the crown prince on a day when he was this pissed off. ¡°The rules never said that they had to.¡± Professor Silvertongue chose not to ignore the mumble and use it to teach them all a lesson. ¡°These sort of competitions are how nations decide conflict in order to prevent wars, you¡¯d do best to learn that sometimes loopholes to the written rules exist.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t using such a loophole be more likely to cause a war or at the very least a battle to break out.¡± Anna asked. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°That depends, but the answer is mostly yes.¡± Silvertongue nodded. ¡°However, having you think about the existence of such loopholes is what is important here. If you use any that you find will have to be a case by case decision but making sure you are not blindsided by another side using it is something else entirely.¡± For the reminder of the delve the prince had been trying to catch a moment where could talk to Ajax alone but none presented themselves. Ajax had noticed his attempts but wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with the prince trying to force him to teach him about void. He knew there was nothing the prince could do to force him but the attempts themselves could prove annoying. For the rest of the delve Ajax had barely managed to get any more alchemy done, for the first time since he had joined the Academy he had primarily used his time to socialize with the other students in his class. It had taken a few hours to get the point across that he wouldn¡¯t be entertaining any talks regarding marriage at the moment but the discussion focused more on how each of the noble houses had made their start when they were first granted the title. All houses made it a point to document their beginnings, though some saw those beginnings as a point of pride while others chose to look at them as something to learn from. ¡°How does a house get its name?¡± Ajax asked the most pertinent question in the presence of the nobles, after all not only him but his entire family line will carry the name they are given. ¡°Most often they are named for a trend in the family or the specific actions of the house head that gained them the title.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°My house is named Manashaper because of grandpa''s ability to experiment with chants. House Shortsilence however was named for their renowned ability as interrogators, though the specific methods remain a mystery it is well known that after one of their members enters the dungeon prisoners start talking quickly.¡± Ajax had to fight the grimace that fought to make its way on his face after hearing what house Shortsilence was known for. In hindsight it made sense for a line of effective interrogators to be rewarded even if the thought of their practice made him want to regress to his much more paranoid days. ¡°In cases like yours you will have to present your sigil to the king. Considering your strength you will most likely be alone with him in the room so you will have a chance to appeal for a different name should you not like the first he gives you but be careful with that since if you are too picky you may end up worse than you started.¡± Lexi said with a teasing grin on her face. Ajax did make a note of it and was very thankful for all of the explanations that the rest of his classmates gave him, if nothing else he now knew he had at least a few connections in specific industries moving forward should he need them to get on his feet. Handling the family finances wasn¡¯t going to be his area, his job began with gathering this information and passing it along to his sister and mother and ended with being the one making any formal request or offers if they deemed it necessary. ¡°We¡¯ll be going to the Watered Horse tonight!¡± Rick shouted loudly as they were on the way back from the dungeon. Ajax appreciated Rick¡¯s care when it came to choosing the local, the Watered Horse was one of the lower class taverns in the noble section of the capital and one where Ajax wouldn¡¯t stand out like a sore thumb for showing up in his regular day clothes. ¡°I¡¯ll be buying for everyone so stop complaining.¡± Rick continued when a few people started to suggest some higher end places. While that offer wouldn¡¯t have been all that persuasive in their current company, all of the complaints died down pretty quickly once they saw that Benedict, Anna and Lexi were all going along with the choice. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you all ten days from now.¡± Professor Silvertongue said as he dismissed everyone. With that everyone went their own way looking to get out of their delving gear and into some regular clothes before heading to the Watered Horse. Ajax however wasn¡¯t so lucky as the prince had followed him following their dismissal and had caught up to him just as he got to the door of his office. ¡°I want to know more about this peculiar element!¡± The prince demanded, it was much harsher than even he had originally intended to approach the subject but his patience had been worn thin the last few days. ¡°I know you were taught better manners than that.¡± A voice came from the side as the door to professor Silvertongue¡¯s office opened and two women were exiting. ¡°Aunt Cleo?¡± the prince''s jaw dropped in surprise. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I came here to follow up and clear the air about the stupid threat you made towards a newly promoted noble a few days ago. Imagine my surprise to see you also pushing things further by hounding him for something that I know for a fact is private information.¡± ¡°But -¡± the prince started. ¡°But nothing!¡± she said, cutting him off. ¡°You¡¯ll be coming with me and explaining this to your father, keep going in this manner and you¡¯ll end up like your uncle.¡± The prince''s face fell at that and he quietly bowed his head in frustration. His uncle had been first in line as crown prince and had been passed over for the crown despite being stronger than his father, all of it was due to poor diplomatic skills and a few international incidents. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see that, Ajax. Congratulations on the noble nomination.¡± Princess Cleo, the current king¡¯s oldest daughter, said. ¡°You certainly have had great timing for my daughter.¡± she finished with a nod at the girl standing behind her. ¡°Thank you very much for your discovery, Sir Ajax.¡± the other woman said while executing a perfect curtsy. ¡°I¡¯ll be turning ten in a week and will be the first of the royal family to make use of your discovery.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very welcome.¡± Ajax said as he returned with a bow towards the two. With that the two left with the prince in tow as Ajax headed into his office to get changed before heading out. Chapter 224 Evelyn of the Fourth P.O.V. Today I will finally get my chance again. After all the effort I had put in these last few months I will finally have a chance to advance and claim the name of Evelyn of the Third. The man standing opposite me in the ring has the same black mask covering his face as his tight leather armor is covered by the loose cloak. Today I will put everything I picked up about curse mana in the last few months into practice. As the signal was given he charged in same as he always does, I used to think that he did this to unbalance me and because he wanted to make me go on the defensive and turn the battle into one of attrition but now I knew that his resources were just as limited as mine if not even more so because of the constant strain the body puts on stamina during a fight. Unlike every other spar we had I willing went along with his plan and defended the strike easily with a timely conjured wall of ice. The ice quickly turned black upon contact with the curse mana which is why my follow up was to use an earth spell to move the ground below the ice. Despite not knowing it, my opponent just gave me a very durable shield. Seeing that his opening trick didn¡¯t work he quickly took some distance and tried for a few long range slashes, sending arcs of curse mana towards me. The massive flame wall I launched back wasn¡¯t enough to burn through the curse mana but it certainly weakened the slashes to the point that it only severely cracked the ice wall instead of going through it. An added bonus was that the flames did a lot to get rid of the baggy cloak he used to hide his movements. I could tell that he was suspicious, both of my reactions to his attacks were something I practiced heavily while preparing for this fight and now it was time to show him just how much I picked up while he was away. I took his next charge head on, focusing more on the timing of his curse skill activation that the direction of the blade. That turned out to be a mistake as he simply didn¡¯t activate and curse skill leaving me on the backfoot as I pumped a solid chunk of mana into summoning a strong wind explosion to create some distance once again. As sure as I was that I had the counter to his curse skills I still had to be careful of his regular sword techniques as all of my spells still required a chant, regardless of how short it was and how quick I had gotten at casting it. The clash between us repeated a few times and while he hadn;t managed to land a single cursed attack on me I was starting to rack up a good amount of cuts. ¡°I think you should just stop there.¡± The king said as he looked down from the balcony. ¡°Evelyna you proved that you have improved but I don¡¯t think it''s enough just yet.¡± I defiantly shook my head as I motioned for the fight to continue. ¡°Have it your way.¡± the king shook his head in displeasure as he motioned for one of the guards to call the healer. Realizing a clean win wasn¡¯t in the cards for me today I chose to bank the spar on mutual blow. I gave the shadowy assassin an open path to my shoulder that he took, the tip of the sword amining to pierce straight through. The few earth spikes I launched were all cleanly side-stepped as he clearly felt the mana taking shape in the earth. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Right as his stab was about to make contact he finally activated his curse skill just like I¡¯d hoped. As the curse mana was being called up so was my flame spitter spell from the same arm that was about to be hit. The metallic taste of blood started to cover my mouth after I bit my tongue. The chant had been finished barely in time that I hadn¡¯t had the time to clench my jaw for the impending stab, the reflexive biting motion I made once I felt the pain radiating from my shoulder caught the tip of my tongue. It was all worth it however as I saw the black cloak getting tossed aside as the black flames spread. The pain I felt was nothing compared to what I was about to inflict. Despite taking the worse end of that exchange I had managed to not only keep myself curse free, but absorb his curse mana into my flame spitter spell and launch it back on him. My next move seemed to show the spectators as the didn¡¯t understand why I would use a strong holy cleansing spell right after. My opponent was experienced enough with cursed mana to know what I was trying to do. Sadly for him there was nothing he could do as he had no protection against the beneficial spell I cast in his general area. As the holy light washed over him it brought with it a wave of pain that left him thrashing on the ground as the curse mana the flames had inflicted on him were getting exorcised with holy mana in the middle of combat. I didn¡¯t even waste the time to stop my own bleeding as I didn¡¯t know just how much curse mana actually latched on to him from that one attack, My next spell formed a quick earthen coffin around him locking him in place and giving me time to chant a longer lightning strike that landed three inches from his head. With the final strike given, I fell to my knees, my free arm moving quickly to staunch the bleeding from my shoulder but my eyes could stop staring at he black scorch mark the lightning bolt left next to his head. The mark of my victory. The healer quickly rushed to me and began his work, despite winning the spar I was in a much worse shape. Despite my plan working out in the way I wanted, eventually my execution left a lot to be desired. The gap between us was larger than I initially thought and that made the taste of victory so much sweeter. ¡°What were you thinking?¡± the healer berated me. ¡°That stab went clean through the muscle and even chipped the bone! Do you know how lucky you are that none of his curse strike got on you, if it had you would have had to wait three days before we could have even attempted to heal this.¡± The king had also made his way down to the courtyard, his hair a mix of gray and white the clearest sign of his age as he still maintained his body in shape for combat. His frown however let me know that he wasn¡¯t pleased with my choice and agreed with the healer. ¡°It wasn¡¯t¡­ It wasn¡¯t luck.¡± The one to break the silence was my opponent, he still heaved from the pain inflicted on him by cleansing the curse. ¡°What do you mean?¡± the king asked, turning the glare onto him. ¡°I don¡¯t know how but¡­ but she knew my final cursed strike wouldn¡¯t¡­ wouldn¡¯t work.¡± He heaved out. ¡°She counted out the fire spell consuming the curse mana, hah, not only that but she even knew it would end up inflicting me with a weak curse if I got touched. A curse that was weak enough to be cleansed a few moments but that was all she needed.¡± That¡¯s when he removed his mask, still heaving for air and with his arms still shaking from the previous pain and a predatory and evil smirk cut across his face. Both of his eye were fixed on me. ¡°Not even I knew you could imbue flames with cursed mana like that, where did that idea come from?¡± He asked, ¡°No, don¡¯t tell me yet, let me think about it.¡± he contradicted himself. ¡°I look forward to our next spar,¡± he said, his voice quieter and filled with joy and anticipation that made me shiver a little. ¡°You¡¯ll tell me if I got it right or not before we begin.¡± ¡°Oh not you too.¡± The king let out a sigh as he looked between the two of us like petulant children. ¡°I¡¯ll give her a month before I challenge her to regain my title.¡± he reassured the king. I didn¡¯t get a chance to gloat as one of the messengers approached us in the courtyard and made straight for the king. The man wisely stopped a good ten paces away from the king where he bowed and then slowly covered the rest of the distance aware that any rash movement in the presence of the king will see all nine of the combatants on the training field moving to kill him ¡°Your Highness, one Ajax has arrived at the palace.¡± He said. ¡°He posses an invitation and has brought with him the sigil for his new house.¡± So the kid is moving quickly, good for him. Hopefully my shoulder will be patched up quickly because I want to see what his sigil looks like. Chapter 225 Ajax was oddly surprised at the interaction he had with the two princesses. While he had known that the royal family had chosen to try and have a group of children around the same decade as a way to keep them connected as siblings he hadn¡¯t known their exact birthdays. The young princess should thank his grandparents a lot more than they did him as that was the push that made him reveal his trick. Once he finally arrived back home Ajax was treated with a number of different sigils that his family was gathered around. His father had taken the opportunity very seriously and had made a few very detailed pieces that would work as a sigil. The first one was also one he sadly had to remove from the running simply due the fact that it focused heavily on his bees. As much as he decided to share a few of his secrets he wasn¡¯t prepared to make that one public until his family all had a chance to try and get a trailblazing skill of their own. Not to mention that a sigil showing the bee would work much better for his sister¡¯s company seeing as honey was going to be their exclusive commodity. The second sigil was decorated with lots of weapons and magic. Ajax could clearly make out fire, ice and lightning alongside a hammer, shield, axe and bow. The sigil even included the pawprint of a shadow cat. This was a choice he found himself agreeing with, it did represent his versatility. The small bag of coin and anvil on either side represent as well as the presence of Fluffys paw representing the rest of his family. The third sigil was one that was a little bittersweet to him. It showed an edited version of their old house back in the nameless village near Lessis. The fields were bigger and Fluffy could be more clearly seen in the shade of a tree, along with the smithy and all of his weapons prepared around his training spot. Both of the sigils did a great job of representing what he wanted his house to develop into, a self-sufficient power that could stand up for itself. In the end what cinched in for him however was the more varied focus of the second sigil. The second sigil was too war-themed, and Ajax didn¡¯t want to make it seem like he was planning to make a try for the Steelblade title. The third sigil however would actually land him outside of the sphere of influence from all three Archdukes. This neutrality was what decided it for him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going yet?¡± His sister, Alana and even his mother were looking at him once the decision was reached. Their days hadn¡¯t been easy and they all knew once he was granted a title and a plot of land in the capital all hostilities would end overnight, at least for a time. ¡°I was thinking of going tomorrow.¡± Ajax said honestly, he was still slightly tired from his time in the dungeon. ¡°Nonsense,¡± Judy pushed him towards the bathroom to wash up. ¡°We even have a proper suit all ready for you.¡± It didn¡¯t take a genius to get the message so Ajax took a long bath as he got himself presentable for his second trip to the royal castle. This time he would actually be entering and not just delivering a message at the gates. Despite the suit fitting him like a glove Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel a little uncomfortable in it. It wasn¡¯t anything to do with feel of the clothes but rather with just how attention grabbing they were. His original start as a hunter had seen him progress with stealth being a very important factor in his outfit. As such Ajax much preferred black outfits along with gray or even green patches. The golden accents on the silver clothes made him think more of knights or priests, the centers of attention and very much not his style. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Now you definitely look the part of a noble.¡± Alana said as she straightened out his collar, "though you will need to fix your expression from one of discomfort to one of joy when you go before the king.¡± With that Ajax picked up the sigil and made his way towards the royal palace, he seriously hoped showing up unannounced wouldn¡¯t be an issue even if he had been given an open invitation to come and claim his title. Unlike the last time he was here the guards visibly straightened up once he approached them. ¡°What can I help you, milord.¡± one of them asked. ¡°I have an open invitation from the king.¡± Ajax said as he presented the parchment Evelyn had given him. ¡°Right this way.¡± the guard who read the scroll said as he led Ajax into the castle. As they were walking towards the castle two more guards moved towards them from inside. One walked right past them after a small bow towards Ajax and moved to take the spot of the guard guiding him while the second took a look at the scrolled and dashed away in a dignified manner. ¡°The king will be informed of your presence momentarily, you are invited to wait for him.¡± Ajax figured he would now be led through to a waiting room, one much grander than he had seen back in Luna¡¯s house but a variation nonetheless. ¡°Hold on a moment.¡± A voice came from one of the side corridors as Ajax was being led through the palace. Ajax turned to the side to see an entire unit of people that possessed Auras he could clearly sense approach him. While he didn¡¯t know who they were specifically he knew of them, one of the king¡¯s squads, much like the one Evelyn led, all of them had to be in mid hundreds in terms of level and extremely dangerous. Definitely not people he should anger if he could avoid it. ¡°Lady Quinn.¡± the guard guiding Ajax sprung to attention. While Ajax was confused at this interaction since they had passed a few other people without any of them giving him more than a glancing look. His confusion also seemed to be shared by the rest of the squad beside Quinn. ¡°What is it, Quinn?¡± The leader of the squad asked. ¡°I thought I recognised him.¡± Quinn said triumphantly. ¡°Why is he here?¡± Quinn addressed the guard that was leading him despite this being considered quite rude. Something that seemed to strike an odd scene with the rest of the squad. ¡°Quinn, you should be more respectful, at least in the royal palace.¡± Her squad leader Patrick got out through gritted teeth. ¡°He¡¯s here to receive a noble title.¡± The guard dutifully provided. ¡°Hmm.¡± She nodded with a touch of respect towards Ajax at that answer before turning back towards Patrick. ¡°Seems like you were right after all.¡± ¡°Quinn, how many times do I have to tell you, not all of us have your point investment into the mind stat, where do we know him from?¡± he asked. Ajax was also very confused about this turn of events since he definitely had no memory of meeting this Quinn, considering her level of strength he hoped his doppelganger hadn¡¯t pissed her off. ¡°Five¡­ no six years ago.¡± Quinn said as she rolled her eyes. ¡°Back in that backwater when we were hunting that vampire, he¡¯s the kid whose arm I fixed.¡± The explanation did a lot to relax Ajax, now he knew why he didn¡¯t remember her. He had been unconscious when she patched him up and she had left long before he woke up. This revelation also told him exactly which squad they were, the Eighth. ¡°AHHHH¡± a pained groan resounded through one of the open windows putting Ajax on edge once more. ¡°Why does Evelyn not learn she just can¡¯t beat him.¡± Quinn said with a shake of the head, despite her flippant words however her expression showed concern and a little sadness. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that.¡± One of her squadmates said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that wasn¡¯t Evelyn.¡± Ajax was caught off guard by the comment though he felt happy for Evelyn. Balthazar had told him how impatient she was and this proved that the two weeks they had taken off the curse research had pushed her to challenge her fellow squad commander early. ¡°Come on, let''s go see.¡± The rest of the squad already moved, with their stats however even the proper dignified walk looked like a sped up tape of someone walking as they made their way towards the training field. ¡°Congratulations on your title kid.¡± Patrick said before he followed his squad. ¡°I¡¯m glad we got to you in time back then.¡± Ajax was brought back into the present by the guard. ¡°Right this way sir, the king will be with you shortly, sadly you aren¡¯t allowed access in the training yard.¡± The dejected tone let Ajax know that he wasn¡¯t the only one not enthused on not being able to go see the fight. Chapter 226 The following wait was a little nerve racking, a mix of anticipation of how Evelyn¡¯s fight had gone mixed with the fact that he was waiting to meet the king. While the wait itself hadn¡¯t been longer than another twenty minutes it felt much longer to Ajax who ended up pacing for the last five minutes of it. ¡°The king will see you now.¡± A different guard, one with much fancier armor entered the waiting area and invited Ajax inside. As Ajax was led into a small throne room he could see that he and the king wouldn¡¯t be quite as alone as he expected. Present inside the room were almost two dozen other people all of who exuded a powerful aura, Ajax recognised the members of the Eighth as well as Evelyn who looked like she had gone ten rounds with a feral cat from the number of shallow cuts she had on her. Despite all of the shabby clothes the smile on her face informed him about the outcome of the fight. The residual mana combination of curse and holy hanging around another of the people let Ajax know who her opponent was as well as the tactic she had used to gain her victory. One of the crueler methods they had come up with, first infecting a curse and then using the interaction with holy mana to cause excruciating pain. The method was particularly effective as the healing was considered positive by the system so the second part of the combo would bypass most shields. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Ajax greeted with a deep bow once he entered the small throne chamber. ¡°You must be Ajax.¡± The king was an old man, despite the wrinkles on his face and his white hair however he appeared a lot more like the old men from asian animated cultures than those seen in western media, with a strong tall build that showed that he still possessed a lot of power despite having aged past his prime. ¡°I have to say I have heard a lot about you in the last year, it¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you.¡± ¡°While you might know Evelyn here,¡± he said with a wave of a hand towards her. ¡°Everyone else taking part in this meeting is a part of the Third, Fourth or Eighth squad, you can be sure that the contents of this meeting won¡¯t be leaked.¡± ¡°I appreciate that Your Majesty,¡± Ajax said as he wrung his hands a little nervously. ¡°There is something I was hoping to share with you at this time that would not be spread.¡± ¡°Would that be your ability to use a curse skill?¡± The king asked. ¡°Surely you can¡¯t have expected Evelyn not to inform me of your capacity in all this time?¡± ¡°No Your Majesty-¡± ¡°Please call me Terenas, at least for now.¡± the king interrupted. ¡°King Terenas if you must.¡± ¡°Ofcourse Your Ma- King Terenas.¡± Ajax corrected. ¡°And no my [Curse Slash] skill is not what I was referring to, I did in fact believe that you were already informed of that.¡± ¡°Oh, another surprise.¡± The king seemed giddy like a kid on Christmas morning at the news. ¡°Yes, it is about my Legendary skill.¡± Ajax said. ¡°A lot of people are aware of the fact that you possess [Enigma], though there are a few differing theories as to the trailblazing skill that allowed you to gain it.¡± the king deflated a little at the topic. ¡°Would you be inclined to shed a little light on that debate?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Not at this time, King Terenas. There are still a few things I am investigating regarding that skill.¡± Ajax said as he shook his head. ¡°I also wasn¡¯t referring to [Enigma] but my combat Legendary skill.¡± That statement got everyone to freeze for a moment before everybody in the room was fighting a smirk, though a few of the participants did place a hand on the handle of their weapons. The king took a moment to unfreeze before he was shaking with excitement. ¡°That is quite the news, I had expected that this meeting would be quite something, which is why I made sure we would have a certain level of privacy but this has exceeded my expectations.¡± The king said. ¡°How much would you be willing to share regarding this skill?¡± As a future high ranking noble the king definitely didn¡¯t want to pressure Ajax before he had a chance to set down some deep roots inside the kingdom. He was in fact even thinking of a way to tie him to the royal family through a marriage. ¡°I am willing to disclose a few general aspects as well as how I managed to achieve the skill.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Please, by all means.¡± ¡°The skill is called [Mana Syphon]. The essential of the skill is that it allows me to absorb any mana from my surroundings and convert it into increased physical stats.¡± ¡°Sounds like an upgraded version of my [Mana Physique].¡± the man Ajax assumed to be the leader of the Third said. ¡°Being a Legendary skill I am guessing he gets a much better efficiency than I do, possibly even has a higher maximum input.¡± ¡°I doubt the efficiency is higher,¡± Ajax said as he had come across [Mana Physique] in his research ¡°I actually suspect that it is a bit lower, though the maximum input is likely higher for comparative skill levels.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be enough to make the skill Legendary.¡± another member argued. ¡°The Legendary aspect of the skill is also the one that gives it its name syphon.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Unlike [Mana Physique] I am not limited to only consuming my own mana but any mana source that is close enough. This includes high mana density in the environment as well as casted spells.¡± ¡°That is quite the upgrade.¡± The king acknowledged. ¡°You said you are willing to also disclose the method by which you obtained it?¡± The next fifteen minutes devolved into a recap of Ajax¡¯s encounter with the vampire as well as his self-taught method of learning magic from monsters. Much to the king¡¯s surprise the Eighth were actually able to confirm part of the story. ¡°While this is certainly interesting, and definitely something we should investigate, if only for the chance of getting some of the lower rarity skills with the mana syphon effect it is a matter for another time. We have gotten quite a bit sidetracked I must say.¡± The kind said. ¡°We are here to grant you your noble title, if you would present your sigil.¡± Ajax did as he was asked and he presented the sigil his father crafted. To his surprise the king tried to suppress a small chuckle. ¡°You geniuses sure are alike.¡± He commented as he observed the sigil. ¡°Duke Manashaper sigil is also highly detailed and not very suited for branding. While I do accept this as your sigil I do suggest you come up with a more common mark, possibly even a specific color scheme to represent your house as mass producing such sigils does end up being quite the challenge.¡± It was at this point that Ajax had to fight very hard not to facepalm at this oversight. He had put a lot of thought into what he wanted the sigil to signify that he had forgotten almost all noble houses displayed their sigil on anything and everything that had a connection to them and that being simple enough to produce was also a factor. ¡°Kneel please Ajax.¡± The king said as he stood up from the throne and approached him with the sword in hand. Ajax did as the king said and went down on one knee, his [Danger Sense] being absolutely calm was the only reason he was able to calmly get through the procession of having the sword placed on his shoulders and then stabbed in the ground an inch from his face. ¡°Rise now Ajax as a Baron and the head of House Hearthbound.¡± the king announced in an official tone that echoed throughout the chamber. Ajax found that he was happy with the name. In all honesty he had expected the name to have more to do with his discovery or the Legendary skill he had just revealed but he was glad that the chosen sigil had so much more sway. He was also sure that the king hoped the name would foster more loyalty towards the kingdom but Ajax was sure it would be a name his family would also be happy with. With that Ajax rose up to the thunderous applause of the two dozen Squad members present. ¡°I do hope your house will prosper for a long time to come.¡± the king said as he returned to his seat. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax replied. ¡°Now that you are officially a noble I will assign you the land plot A231 from the noble district, for you to build your mansion and for it to serve as your land.¡± the king said. There was a mixed reaction to this from the members of the Squads as they processed the king''s intention. Plot A231 wasn¡¯t all that special aside from the fact that it was empty and anything could be built on it. The important part was that it was one of the plots neighboring a certain Viscount House that just recently lost its noble title. The king''s intention clearly being to grant that plot to Ajax as well when he raised his title from Baron to Duke in the near future. Chapter 227 ¡°You¡¯ll find that plot is empty, as such you can begin building your estate on it, a Viscount plot neighboring it has also recently been vacated due to all that curse plague business earlier in the year.¡± Evelyn told Ajax. ¡°I suggest you take into consideration that plot being added to yours in ten years when laying down any plans.¡± ¡°I will, thanks Evelyn.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Also congratulations on the win.¡± ¡°What gave it away?¡± the other fighter asked Ajax, seeing as his clothing was relatively undamaged it was a very fair question. ¡°I could give the technical answer that you have both curse mana residue and holy mana residue lingering on you and I doubt anyone can reasonably be expected to continue a spar once exposed to both.¡± Ajax said before smirking a bit. ¡°But I¡¯ve known Evelyn for a few months now and this is the first time I¡¯ve seen her smile, I doubt it was following a loss.¡± Evelyn''s smile dimmed slightly at that but it wasn¡¯t enough to wipe it off her face. The king also got a kick out of the comment but soon reasserted order over the room. ¡°According to your records from the Academy I can see that you are doing well at filling in the gaps in your knowledge, that will serve you well as you grow into your new title.¡± The kind said. ¡°That being said, it does leave the matter of the end of the year tournament to address.¡± ¡°What is there to address?¡± Ajax asked, though this was more him feigning ignorance. ¡°Your ability to enter all the open non-student tournaments that lead to spots for the class tournaments.¡± The king pointed out. ¡°Given your level of power I could only see a spectacular sixth year actually giving you any trouble at all.¡± I doubt even one of them could, after all the stats I gained from running both dungeons, Ajax thought back to the dungeon floor bonus stats he gained. ¡°Having you make a straight shot effortless run through the tournaments would have been problematic before but now that you also gained a noble title it would be disastrous. As such a more beneficial arrangement can be made for you on the side.¡± the king said. ¡°A more beneficial arrangement?¡± Ajax asked a hint of greed shining in his eyes, all that time he spent around his sister and his grandparents working overtime to let him know of a potential opportunity. ¡°Essentially, for the following six years I will have you only participate in the sixth year tournament, even that spot will be given with a seeded pass so as to not disturb the open entry tournament.¡± the king explained. ¡°The rewards you will gain for winning will be compensated for having you not enter all six tournaments.¡± This was already an arrangement Ajax was ready to jump at, a way to gain all those rewards without pissing off every noble with a representative in the first five years was a golden opportunity. ¡°On top of that, should you manage to keep your winning streak for the duration of the six years you will be attending the Academy, I will be willing to give you a spot as a representative for our under fifty group in the upcoming challenge for the deep iron mine.¡± the king offered. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Ajax¡¯s time in the Academy had already informed him of the way nations split any newfound resources when they decided to go the peaceful route. A tournament will be held where the representatives of each nation fought for a % of the resource. The tournaments would be split in an under fifty years old category, an under level one hundred category and a no restriction category. The unrestricted category always influenced more than half the ownership of the resource but quite a lot of money was up for grabs in the other categories as well. Seeing as how the tournament would be held in only a few years Ajax knew he had no chance at the under level one hundred bracket, that was filled with one trick ponies who spend at least two centuries training a few specific skills while achieving level ninety-nine, but the under fifty years old was where he might stand a chance. ¡°What is the reward split for the mine?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Twenty - twenty - sixty.¡± the king answered. ¡°With the country gaining half and the representative the other half.¡± ¡°I accept, King Terenas.¡± Ajax said with a deep bow. ¡°That is great news.¡± the king smiled. ¡° With that being handled now, you are dismissed Baron Hearthbound.¡± Ajax¡¯s future just came into a much clearer focus, from the blur of nebulous possibilities it had been a few weeks ago he had now gained a title, a home as well as a target to aim for. All of that in mind Ajax made his way home as quickly as he could while still looking somewhat graceful in his fancy clothes. This was something he would want to share with his family and celebrate. ¡°Are you sure letting him compete is wise Terenas?¡± the first Squads commander and the king¡¯s best friend asked him. ¡°I doubt anyone but you has a chance to take the open competition from the elves.¡± the king answered instead. ¡°And I am not willing to risk you over a mine filled with luxuries. Seeing as their witch was also married into their royal family they will owe a majority of the mine regardless.¡± ¡°Then what is it you are after?¡± the commander asked. ¡°The biggest play is to have him associated as a representative of Gryndor.¡± the king said. ¡°Should he actually manage to win his part of the reward will provide income for his noble family should he have trouble securing a revenue stream, or preferably a bargaining coin he can use to gain a delve in one of our neighbors'' capital dungeons.¡± ¡°You think a single delve will be worth that much?¡± the king''s friend asked. ¡°He cleared up to the eighth floor as a level thirty-two old friend.¡± the king said. ¡°That single delve in a capital dungeon will give him seven to all his stats even if he doesn¡¯t grow the level gap he can delve in the next few years.¡± ¡°That much power will make him dangerous in the future, is it wise to have him continue like this without a tie to the royal family?¡± the squad leader asked. ¡°You heard the rumors just as I have, the beastkin dichotomy is being unified. With two capital dungeons under a single nation, how long do you think it will be before they declare war once again, one hundred years? Two hundred?¡± the king asked. ¡°Worse yet what if they decide not to push towards the rest of us but try to expand outside oh humping territory, who knows what they might bring down on us?¡± ¡°They really did pick their timing well.¡± the squad commander was forced to admit. ¡°Having started their unification on the heels of a peace treaty as tenuous as this one was means that nobody will be willing to go to war with them unprovoked. All for the simple reason as we don¡¯t trust each other enough to leave an opening to our own allies.¡± While Ajax had gone to finalize the noble title his family had received an arguable overdue visit for Silvia¡¯s parents, the only issue being that they had made it a surprise visit not knowing today will also be the day Ajax was going to the royal palace. ¡°Grandmother, grandfather.¡± Judy said coldly. ¡°Grandmother, grandfather.¡± Tom repeated the same greeting. ¡°Mother, father, these are my children : Tom and Judy.¡± Silvia introduced them trying her best to make the effort she said she would back when she accepted her parents'' apology. ¡°Beside them is Katy, Tom¡¯s spouse, as well as Alana, Judy¡¯s business partner.¡± ¡°Where is young Ajax?¡± Sebastian said as he tried to ease the tension, his presence here was helping as he had made a good impression on both Judy and Alana as he helped them with the move. ¡°I heard he just returned from his delve today.¡± ¡°Ajax is at the royal palace.¡± Sam said. ¡°Accepting his noble title and land.¡± Sebastian winced a little as his attempt to move the topic of conversation along wound up with them in even more uncomfortable territory. Thankfully the awkwardness was quickly shattered by the sound of the door being all but slammed open. ¡°Why this couldn¡¯t wait until tomorrow I still don¡¯t know.¡± Ajax could be heard complaining despite his tone revealing he wasn¡¯t feeling as annoyed as his words originally sounded. ¡°Oh, am I interrupting something?¡± Ajax stopped as he caught sight of the packed dining table they had recently gotten. ¡°Not at all, sweetheart.¡± His mother was quick to stand up, hug him, and then drag him towards a seat reserved for him at the table. ¡°How did it go?¡± Her question reflected the thoughts of everyone else seated as they looked at Ajax filled with curiosity. Chapter 228 Ajax was surprised to find that his grandparents were also there, less surprising was the tense atmosphere that he could cut with a knife from the moment he walked in the door. It was also pretty clear that everybody wanted a new topic of conversation, not only that but all were also interested in finding out how the meeting had gone. ¡°We¡¯re officially nobles.¡± Ajax said. The announcement was met with sighs of relief from Judy, Alana, Silvia and Sebastian who had been taking it in the teeth for the last few days as every one of their competitors was getting their licks in before the announcement. ¡°We are officially house Hearthbound and have been given plot A231.¡± Ajax continued. ¡°From what I understand its an empty plot so that celebration party will have to be an open one.¡± ¡°What plot did you say?!¡± While that number might not have meant much to everyone who came from Lessis, Aurora Elija and Sebastian were all quick to react. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the plot?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong with it exactly¡­¡± Aurora said as she chose her words thinking carefully how to phrase it. ¡°But it neighbors a recently vacated Viscount plot, the king essentially announced he plans to grant him a ducal title in ten years as long as he doesn¡¯t mess this up too badly.¡± Ajax had mentioned something like this beforehand but having it be confirmed in such an obvious way got everyone to go and hug Ajax, congratulating him on his success. ¡°How did the meeting go?¡± Silvia was curious about everything. It took some convincing before Ajax took a seat with a mug of ale in his hand as he started to narrate his experience inside the royal palace. His family did show quite a bit of a surprise when Ajax mentioned that he met the members of the Eighth who saved his life from the vampire before. Both of his grandparents found a very interesting spot on the floor to focus on as the family reminisced their encounter with a vampire. It was in a way partly their fault as Ajax wouldn¡¯t have met that vampire had they not been ousted from the capital. ¡°So apparently house sigils aren¡¯t usually as detailed as the one we have.¡± Ajax said while scratching the back of his head, he had been the one to reject the more simple designs his father had first presented him. ¡°I told you so¡­¡± Sam muttered under his breath. ¡°I know, I know.¡± Ajax raised his hands in surrender. ¡°But wait, how were you given the name without a sigil?¡± Judy asked. ¡°Well the king did accept the sigil.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°He just suggested that we keep it for letter seals and other important markers and that we get a more simple designed one to use for marking everything.¡± ¡°There are quite a few noble houses that do this.¡± Elija weighed in. ¡°Mostly it is seen in houses that had battles over inheritance, each side of the family chose a new simple sigil to show their allegiance and those marks remained even after the new house head was elected.¡± ¡°With this official announcement and the honey you should have no problem setting down a good foundation.¡± Ajax said as he grinned towards Judy and Alana. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Do you think it is time?¡± Judy asked. ¡°The hives are almost full already.¡± Ajax stated. ¡°What bees?¡± Aurora asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯ll still be another month and a half until the hives will have enough to be worth gathering. ¡°Not if you are farming bees.¡± Ajax said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯re farming the bees!?¡± Sebastian exclaimed. ¡°Are you sure you should have shared that?¡± Alana asked as she eyed the two experienced merchants. ¡°It¡¯s not like it makes all that much of a difference.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Even if they wanted to get in on the market it¡¯s a little late to start importing it now and the locally sourced stuff will be hard to find.¡± ¡°Honey isn¡¯t that hard to find in the forests near the capital actually.¡± Elija said. ¡°I¡¯m sure it hasn¡¯t been in the past.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Give it two to five years and it will be again, but I pretty much took over most of the bee population when I set up my hives and that will take time to replenish. The supply of honey from outside our hives is going to take a massive dive.¡± ¡°With that being said.¡± Ajax brought the conversation back to the original point. ¡°I was hoping to take a step back from direct leadershing in the near future.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± His brother asked. ¡°The king has offered me a way to earn a spot in the next under fifty tournament in about six years.¡± Ajax told them. ¡°You¡¯ll barely be older than twenty at that time!¡± Silvia was horrified at the prospect. ¡°I know.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Which is why I will need to focus on getting as strong as I can for that time.¡± ¡°The riches from one tournament aren¡¯t worth the danger.¡± Aurora backed up her daughter. ¡°It¡¯s not the riches that I am hoping to get out of the tournament.¡± Ajax said with a slight shake of his head. ¡°Then what is it?¡± his grandmother asked. ¡°You want a chance to delve.¡± Elija answered instead with his blank calculating look, his eyes however weren¡¯t focused and were moving around following a train of thought only he could see. ¡°You want a chance to delve at least one, maybe two more capital dungeons.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°The more different dungeon floors I can clear while I am so low level the higher my cap will grow.¡± ¡°And do you think they will leave you alone if you are to do that?¡± Tom asked. ¡°Actually they will.¡± It was Elija who spoke up again, to Ajax¡¯s surprise. ¡°Why?¡± Silvia was the one who asked though everyone focused on the the merchant wanting to know his explanation, Ajax included since he didn¡¯t know the answer. ¡°Because he is only one man.¡± Elija said. ¡°One man can beat an entire army if he is strong enough.¡± Tom argued. ¡°That he can, but he can¡¯t be in two places at once.¡± Elija acknowledged. ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Tom asked ¡°Where do you think the strongest fighters are positioned during a war?¡± Elija asked. ¡°On the front lines.¡± Tom said. ¡°Protecting the king.¡± Alana also guessed. ¡°No,¡± Elija said with a weak shake of the head. ¡°The strongest fighters are always guarding the dungeons. All of those defenses surrounding the dungeons aren¡¯t just to handle the monsters that sometimes slip out, but also to allow the kingdom to decide who enters.¡± ¡°The most devastating tacting that can be employed in a war is to have one man infiltrate the capital dungeon of the other nation and delve as deep as they can and unleash a full floor from that point.¡± Aurora joined in. ¡°The strongest fighter in the kingdom right now is a little north of level two hundred and twenty.¡± Elija picked up again. ¡°Even if you cut off twenty levels because he is diving solo in the dungeon can you imagine what would happen if a full level two hundred floor was unleashed right next to the capital?¡± ¡°Despite the practice being outlawed and condemned by every nation, the possible tragedy should it be used is so impactful that all nations have their strongest people guarding the dungeons each and every time war is called.¡± Aurora said. ¡°That¡¯s why the other nations would be willing to tolerate one anomaly, because all he will be is a strong defender. This certainly explained a lot to Ajax as to why all the wars always ended with a treaty, nobody wanted to push the other side far enough to attempt something like this, it was the war equivalent of flipping the board and a strategy everyone had access to since the five level floor difference dungeons were just so important the were always next to if not inside the capital. ¡°With that looming on the horizon, Mom, do you think you can take care of setting up the celebration party we are supposed to hold for receiving the title? I will provide you with a few names that we have to invite from the Academy but other than that you can invite whoever you want for whatever reason.¡± Ajax¡¯s party planning skills were sub-par to say the least. ¡°HRRR¡± Fluffy rubbed her head into Ajax''s lap at that news. ¡°Of course you are invited, you overgrown fur ball.¡± Ajax said as he started scratching the shadow cat. ¡°Ajax, at least get changed from those clothes before you play with Fluffy.¡± Silvia was quick to point out. These were his best clothes after all and while it wasn¡¯t much Fuffy still she the occasional hair every now and then. Chapter 229 As Ajax woke up the following morning he felt more refreshed than he had been in months. With the tournament looming in the future like a black cloud he finally had a goal to charge towards and a good reason for getting stronger in the near future. Before he got to that however he still needed to settle a few matters. That morning Ajax had spread out most of the duties that came from being the head of the household. He had left his sister in charge of the money, the bee hives should be enough to let her establish herself and from there the backing of her own noble name should help her prosper. As for the party he was supposed to hold, he let his mother and grandparents work on that together. The event represented an opportunity not only for the three of them to reconnect but also one where they could present a united front. ¡°If you need me to give out any invitations in person do let me know and I¡¯ll do it but I need to be focused on this.¡± he had told them before turning to his brother. Ajax knew that his brother and Kate still had their commitments to the guards and the Healing Union respectively, the only thing he asked them for was to keep an eye out for anyone they could recruit into to work for their house. Ideally he would have Tom be the leader of his guards and fighters and Kate would be their head healer. All that was left was his father. Ajax had asked him to look into recruiting any craftsmen. Despite taking time away from heavily pursuing his craft their family had lived off Sam¡¯s crafting for a long time meaning that his skills were still decently high. Not only that but he had started out as an apprentice in the capital so might still have a few connections that he could reach out to. The only thing Ajax had left for himself was the design of their official home. Having been an architecture major back on Earth he would find the project as the perfect way to relax after a long day of pushing himself. With that Ajax picked up his training gear and headed towards the Academy, it was time to see if instructor Gatecrasher¡¯s open invitation still held up. Finding the instructor took no time at all and the man was eager to help him train as well. One thing Ajax quickly realized was how different it was having someone as good as instructor Gatecrasher instruct you as an individual instead of as part of a class. With the instructor being close to level one hundred Ajax didn¡¯t need to hold back at all during their training. Anything he could throw out was easily dodged or parried, so far none of his strikes had even managed to make decent contact with the instructor''s guard. Twenty minutes into their training and sweat was pouring down Ajax¡¯s forehead and back. ¡°Your new form works much better for you.¡± the instructor praised, though it didn¡¯t come off as genuine with him not having broken a sweat despite staying on the defensive for their entire spar. ¡°You¡¯ll have to find an outlet for your stamina however.¡± One of the biggest problems Ajax¡¯s fighting style suffered from was that his mana would dry up a lot quicker than his stamina, and that was without taking his [Berserker] into account as the skill would let him get more stamina as he got injured. The issue wouldn¡¯t be as pronounced once Ajax started incorporating his [cursed slash] into his attacks but that alone wouldn¡¯t fix the issue entirely. ¡°What do you suggest?¡± he asked between heaving breaths. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°There are two ways you can go with this, one is simpler to achieve than the other but there is no guarantee you have the aptitude for either choice. In that case I would suggest that you progress deeper down your magic path relying on your enhancement to keep you relevant in terms of physical ability.¡± the instructor said. ¡°The easier path, and the one I can already see you made some steps towards is a more rogue focused physical style.¡± the instructor explained. ¡°How would that work to help me?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I see, you view fighting beasts and monsters as totally separate from fighting other people.¡± the instructor nodded. ¡°Not the worst idea as trying to approach humanoid combat in the same way one would a monster has gotten a lot of good adventurers killed, but in your case it is holding you back a bit.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten all that good of a look at you fighting the beasts on the first floor of the dungeon but it matches up with your origins as a hunter, you don¡¯t so much fight them as you hunt them down, traps, ambushes, ranged attacks.¡± the instructor said. ¡°Now you just need to adapt that to your style against people. Like this¡± With that the instructor finally went on the offensive, instead of the powerful swings and tight defense he usually held up during class his movements were very different. He had changed from a longsword and shield to a double shortsword style and his movements were intentionally tricky. His center of mass was never well placed until the moment his blow made contact and he needed to back it up with power. More than that his usually useless bright red cloak had started taking an active role in his offense by concealing the angle of his strikes. In seconds Ajax had been put on the backfoot as lots of little nicks and pokes started appearing on his arms and legs. The one angle he had managed to finally read had ended up being a trap as [Danger Sense] yelled at him for his foolishness. His parry was perfect but there was no pressure from the instructor''s sword, it got tossed easily to the side as Ajax felt a knife press to his throat, a small drop of blood shoving that the instructor didn¡¯t quite have the same mastery over this style as to stop before he drew blood on the fight ending strike. ¡°Despite your mobile leather armor, when you fight people you fight like a warrior or a berserker. You can get away with that for now but ideally you would lean into more tricky movements and hidden weapons. The high stamina cost that comes with the isn¡¯t as big a burden to you as it would be to others.¡± the instructor Gatecrasher said. ¡°That is to say nothing of the potential for poisoning targets this style would give you, seeing how you have also decided to pursue Alchemy.¡± Ajax put down his weapons as he let himself fall to the ground and started healing all the open cuts the last minute of fighting had left him with. ¡°And what is the other way?¡± Ajax asked, despite feeling like this path is one that seemed suited for him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± the instructor asked, slightly confused. ¡°You said I have to clear paths,¡± Ajax reminded him. ¡°This is one of them, what about the other?¡± ¡°The other isn¡¯t as realistic.¡± the instructor said. ¡°It''s the same path that the captain of the Tenth squad has taken. As a fully physically focused warrior he doesn¡¯t stand out all that much from others of his level. Everyone who surpasses level one hundred and fifty has a quality all of their own but among them he isn¡¯t special like the other squad leaders are.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a skill.¡± Ajax surmised. ¡°Indeed,¡± the instructor nodded. ¡°And a Legendary skill at that, [Hero¡¯s moment]. One of the very few Legendary combat skills possessed by anyone in our kingdom. Despite it being a Legendary skill it still comes with a massive drain on one¡¯s stamina. In exchange however it grants a massive corresponding spike in power, speed and dexterity.¡± That was a less appealing way to go but one that was simpler to achieve. His unique and overpowered trait would most likely make this path much easier to achieve than the instructor thought. ¡°It is also a very poor choice for you specifically.¡± the instructor dashed his hopes. ¡°How so?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Besides the massive increase in stamina the skill comes with another downside, a strong backlash.¡± the instructor explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, such a powerful skill shouldn¡¯t also inflict a backlash and have a massive cost.¡± Ajax argued, he knew that Legendary skills were much stronger than ordinary ones. ¡°This backlash doesn¡¯t come from the skill but from the squad commander¡¯s body. Using that skill puts such a pressure on his body that he is weakened once he releases it. The length of the backlash is proportional to the length of time and how hard he pushed his body while using the skill. In fact the only reason I suspect you haven¡¯t been feeling similar effects from your own empowerment skill is because your physical stats are still high enough that your body can handle it.¡± ¡°Adding a skill like that on top would probably make the backlash much worse for me.¡± Ajax murmured as he understood the implications. ¡°Exactly.¡± the instructor nodded. ¡°If you don¡¯t manage to get the skill required for a more rogue inspired combat I suggest focusing on your magic and getting a recuperation skill to help with the backlash your own skill will end up causing you.¡± Chapter 230 Ajax¡¯s whole body was sore. He had spent the last few days sparring with instructor Gatecrasher as the man pushed him with the very skills Ajax was hoping to pick up for a rogue styled combat. The only issue there was that rogues focused more on shallow cuts meant to push their advantage as well as killing blows with not much in between. Furthermore his instructor had the skills and knew how to use them but wasn¡¯t good enough to do so without having some of the blows land on Ajax. His training was pushed even further by Ajax practicing his [Cursed Slash] attacks with any leftover stamina he had once his mana ran out. The only reason he was taking a break now was because he was doing some alchemy. Much as he might want to ignore crafting he knew that wouldn¡¯t turn out well in the long term so Ajax kept on at it doing his best to master the skill. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise he found that none of his family members were having any difficulties as they started to adapt to their new roles as part of a noble house. A lot of this was thanks to his grandparents who not only understood this world but were trying their best to get into their good graces. Sleep came easily to him after he filled three vials with the resulting potion. His success rate had improved by leaps and bounds, he was no longer getting any failed potions, most of them came out at common quality with one in ten being inferior and one in ten being Uncommon. This was true for all of the basic potions he had learned how to craft, it was now time to start trying to have them maintain their quality as hu upped the quality of the ingredients. This was going to be an expensive process and one he will not start before a few dedicated discussions with professor Vilethorn. As Ajax got downstairs the following morning he found his family was already awake. Much like in the past few days his grandparents had joined them all for breakfast as it also served as the daily family gathering to discuss anything that had happened throughout the previous day. ¡°I had another five people approach me yesterday.¡± Tom said as he loaded up his plate. Out of everybody seated at the table Tom¡¯s daily work was the only one actively improved by having been named a noble. The guard was filled to the brim with people who would be finished with their service in a year, two or five and they were always looking to make a good impression on any noble family that might employ them afterwards. Kate¡¯s whole social status had also flipped with the announcement. With the vast scarcity of healers however the change wasn¡¯t an upward move on the social ladder like Toms but a lateral one. Whereas before she was being groomed for taking an official position as a member of the Healing Union she was now being moved over to the rest of the noble learners. ¡°Things are almost ready, are you sure Ajax should be giving a few samples as gifts?¡± Alana asked. Judy and Alana had spent all of the free time that came from the announcement preparing for the first honey honey harvest. Most of the work was done by them and a few trusted people so the news wouldn¡¯t be leaked ahead of time. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Aurora responded. ¡°We must first make a big deal launching the product and only after will we have Ajax give out a few samples. Doing it this way will give all the nobles a chance to overlook the initial launch and regard it as another failed new noble house attraction before being brought back to it. Doing it like this will have them reevaluate everything else you are selling as well and will help you build a loyal customer base in all the high quality things you sell.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°These are the invitations you will give out today sweetheart¡± his mother said as Ajax sat down. She had already loaded up his plate and had four invitations on the table already. ¡°Only four?¡± Ajax asked, slightly confused. ¡°Houses Manashaper, Silvertongue, Goldmance and Steelblade.¡± his mother explained. ¡°They were the first to send their congratulations and did so in an open and supportive manner.¡± ¡°No invitation for the royal family?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That invitation will be sent out separately via messenger.¡± his grandfather shared ¡°It is customary to have it delivered by a messenger with a gift and it invites a representative of the royal family to attend. The gift is given as a show of thanks for the received title.¡± Today was the first class day since he received his title that Ajax will meet the rest of his classmates and the changes were already clear. First of all Ajax was no longer wearing his usual uniform but instead he wore a fashionable suit his grandparents had made for him. Being only a baron he would go back to wearing the usual uniform after the first day but this was a show of pride. Everything about the day would be more of an inconvenience to Ajax. After he had given out the invitations he had been bombarded by congratulations from all sides. Despite the positive attitude of his classmates Ajax was simply not that much of a social person. This was especially solidified as he got the skill [Feigned interest] before the first class had even started. The Uncommon skill was a lifesaver as it allowed Ajax to still retain some of the information despite not really paying much attention to any boring topics such as the latest fashion. Much like the students the teachers also took a moment upon entering the class to congratulate Ajax on his new title. Thankfully that was the only acknowledgement they had made regarding it and had treated him exactly the same after that. It was two hours before dark that Ajax had finally said his final goodbyes to his classmates for the day. Following their usual day at the Academy Ajax had taken a good part of the class, with the exception of a few people who had been openly antagonistic towards him ever since discovery was made public, and shouldered the bill for a visit to the tavern following classes. Ajax now knew more about the noble current noble gossip than he had ever cared to. Sure he had picked up a few interesting topics before he had received his title but now he was being actively engaged on some of these subjects. Not all of the topics were uninteresting to him however. He had quickly perked up the moment he heard talk about how a few different houses had started pushing their under fifty representatives to start training harder. Ajax knew the reason for this was the tournament the king had also mentioned to him so he kept his ears open for any scrap of information he could gather about his future competition. It was sadly too early to gather anything solid. The tournament was six years out at least and right now a lot of people were being trained, nobody that knew about it would put all their eggs in one basket so a lot of the people being discussed now wouldn¡¯t even be selected to participate. Nevertheless it was a topic Ajax enjoyed much better than the discussion about single or double lined garments. Having placed a rather heavy coin bag in the hand of the happy bartender, Ajax finally let out a long sigh as he made his way towards the Academy. The day was almost over yet he had one more invitation to give out. Unlike the others this one wasn¡¯t one he was making a public spectacle of and it wasn¡¯t in return to any open show of support. As he entered the library Ajax heated straight towards the ancient man sitting at the far desk and placed the invitation scroll he had personally written in front of him. ¡°Oh, what is this?¡± Balthazar chuckled as he took a look at the scroll, not needing to open it to know exactly what it was. ¡°I see congratulations are in order.¡± ¡°No need to get all mushy on me now old man.¡± Ajax enjoyed the banter that had developed between the two across the long days of getting the discovery ready. ¡°Are you sure you want an ¡®old man¡¯ like me to come to something like this?¡± he asked as he took the scroll and opened it simply to get the specifics. ¡°You did a good 20% of the work writing up that discovery, if anyone deserves an invitation it¡¯s you.¡± Ajax said with a teasing smirk. ¡°What do you mean 20%?¡± the librarian quickly took the bait ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m responsible for at least 40% of it.¡± ¡°40% is a bit much, I can go up to 30%.¡± Ajax countered. ¡°But that still means you should come take part in the celebration of the achievement.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll be there.¡± Balthazar relented. ¡°I can expect you to continue showing up for some more experimentation with that curse mana now that all of this has blown over?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back here at the usual time starting tomorrow.¡± Ajax responded as he started making his way back home. Chapter 231 Today had started much the same for Ajax as all the other days but that all changed once he got to the Academy. The changes started from their meeting place which was on the training grounds instead of inside the classroom. ¡°Today is the day you will all be given a chance to form a bond.¡± Professor Silvertongue stated. ¡°Your usual classes have been canceled and you will all be dismissed once all of you have gone through the process.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but notice that the prince was conspicuously absent today. Thinking back on everything had learned about bonds back when his brother had gotten one he remembered that the reason for this was that one of the few privileges that the royal family kept was their specific beast groomers. Members of the royal family would have their options of trying to bond with slightly older magically weak creatures at a later time in their development. While the first bond being a magical creature didn¡¯t affect their power that much it was still a boost the royal family kept for themselves. Being the TA for the class Ajax will be the last one to be given a chance at forming a bond, despite this he was intently watching everyone else as getting a bond of his own was something he very much wanted. The first one up was Benedict and he approached the first of many cages that had been lined up. All of the creatures inside had not only been born to bonded parents but had grew up around them and their bonds, now they were approaching their prime and it was the best time for them to be bonded. The beasts were trained to not attack humans, this made the prospect a lot safer than the normal way of getting a bond which was trying to find it in the wild. None of the creatures in the cage would show any aggression towards a human with a single exception, a challenge would be extended if they found them to be a potential bond. Being challenged wasn¡¯t enough to guarantee you a bond. Neither was winning that challenge, winning was a requirement but simply not enough, the fighting style had to be a match and this was a place where the bond made the decision. Benedict was halfway through the cages that were presented before any creature had done more than look at him. The bear was the first to approach the bars of the cage so Benedict stopped there for a moment. Sadly the bear decided Benedict wasn¡¯t quite what he was looking for and returned to the far side of the cage. The young noble was nearing the end of the line but he didn¡¯t look at all disheartened and kept projecting the same steadfast presence he had at the start of the line. His resilience was rewarded by the third to last cage. The massive gray wolf inside hadn¡¯t even waited until Benedict stood in front of him before he started growling and clawing the corner bars of the cage. Benedict''s face took on a gratified smirk but his eyes narrowed in concentration. Blade at the ready he stepped in front of the cage as he unlocked the lock and jumped back when he opened the door wide. The wolf''s extremely aggressive demeanor changed once he stepped outside of his cage. The threatening snarl was still present but the reckless aggression was gone as both he and Benedict started circling each other, both were ready to lunge at a moment''s notice. The moment the wolf''s paw found itself slightly swallowed by the sandy ground as it stepped into one of the small depressions that were prevalent throughout the area Benedict charged towards it. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise Benedict''s fighting style was ever so slightly different from his usual one. This one seemed both more decisive as well as more careful than what he was used to. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The engagement didn¡¯t last long. The creatures were around level twenty-four and as such the wolf didn¡¯t stand a chance against the scion of an archduke''s house. The wolf admirably managed to defend the opening slash with a claw but could do nothing to the kick that followed. The boot took the wolf in the neck before the man back off leaving the wolf coughing, it only took ten seconds for the fight to leave the wolf as it realized the blow crushed his throat and Benedict was back on the defensive waiting for him to make another mistake. It seems that Benedict passed the wolf''s criteria as it bowed his head in recognition and Benedict closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he felt the bond take hold. One of the healers present was quick to move to the wolf''s side once the match had ended and started to heal the beast. ¡°Why did you change your style?¡± Ajax asked Benedict as he came back towards the group of students. ¡°I changed it to better match the style of the creature I was trying to bond with.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°They are more likely to bond with people more similar to themselves, a wolf stalks his prey, takes any opening to land a blow and leaves his prey to struggle or bleed to death.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t keeping true to your style help you find a better bond?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It would.¡± Benedict confirmed as he watched his bond get up and move to his side. ¡°But when making a temporary bond like this, forming the bond and treating it well is more important compared to how compatible we are.¡± To Ajax¡¯s surprise Lexi was the next one to stand before the cages, Anna and another student were both standing off to the side. Ajax knew the boy already had a bond as he had previously bragged as such, it was a fish that lived in the lake close to his family''s mansion. This did however beg the question of what bond Anna had and why he hadn¡¯t seen it before. For the next few hours all of the students had moved in front of the cages in order of their noble rank. The reason for this was clear, any creature that was bonded would be one less chance they would have to bond and the higher nobles were given the best chances. Lexi had gotten herself a weird lizard bond. The creature very much reminded Ajax of an ostridge, with its long legs and crushing stomp attacks, as well as the small T-rex arms, the only difference was the slightly larger head with sharp teeth and the slightly smaller and thicker neck. Almost half of the students had gotten a chance at a challenge and less than a third of them had managed to walk away with a bond. Despite all of them winning the challenge some worth found unsuitable by the creature, this lend itself nicely to Benedicts words about the manner in which the challenge is fought and why he changed his style when fighting the wolf he had affectionately called Step, in memory of the wrong step it took that sealed its fate. Not all of the challenges had been direct combat either, while most of them had been the bison had made his a contest of strength, much to his own surprise as the mountain of a boy he challenged had cleverly leveraged his strength by applying it to only one side causing the bison to tip over and admit defeat. The oddest and least interesting ones were the ones given by the rat that was present. The rat had the biggest cage of them all and its challenge had been to find him in the tall grass covered maze that made up its cage. The challenge was boring to watch and the fact that it had been given out twice had annoyed the class to no end. The first challenger had used a wind spell to flatten out all the grass and quickly found the rat but that method hadn¡¯t been appreciated. The second more methodical tracking had been enough for Whisker to earn the acceptance of his new bond. As far as Ajax¡¯s attempt to walk down the line it was the strangest of them all. More than any other student it had quite a few creatures approach him when he stood in front of their cage. Each and every one of them had only evaluated him for a few moments before they backed away with their heads held low in submission. ¡°I suggest you try bonding with some stronger creatures should you find any in the wild.¡± Professor Silvertongue suggested. ¡°Quite a few different breeds seemed interested in you which comes as a surprise since that doesn¡¯t usually happen, but clearly your level of power is too high for any of the ones here to extend a challenge.¡± ¡°Finding a creature that has this level would mean that I am looking for a permanent bond from the start.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°Anything else at my level would be either too old and stubborn to bond or would have so many more years to live getting another once it dies would be too late.¡± ¡°That is true, it would seem like your first bond will have to be a magical creature if you are to have one.¡± The professor said, before continuing with a grin ¡°Let¡¯s hope that trait runs in the family.¡± Chapter 232 Ajax was a bit disappointed in not being able to form a bond. Not only that he knew that in order to find any creature that would be of an acceptable level he would need to head out towards the edge of humanoid lands as creatures strong enough to bond with him would have been culled already. This disappointment was quickly suppressed by the dedicated training and research he was conducting with Balnazar as well as Evelyn. Finding out about Evelyn¡¯s official promotion was a cause of celebration only she didn¡¯t see it that way, instead she focused on pushing him harder so that she could be ready for the rematch that would soon follow. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need some healing boy?¡± Balthazar asked as they finished for the day. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°I have [Curse Resistance] and it¡¯d be best to let that work a little.¡± A look of pure jealousy flashed over Evelyn¡¯s face hearing that but she simply shook her head and decided it to accept it as just another oddity of his, she did however decided to not cleanse the few specs of cursed mana that had infected her and instead let them run their course in hopes of getting the skill. Ajax¡¯s hands we both blanketed in cursed mana. He had spent a good part of his stamina for today trying to adapt him [Cursed Slash] into a [Cursed Shot] for his bow. Much like the beginning of cursed slash he was doing this by transforming cursed mana from a stamina sacrifice and simply releasing it. As it turns out Ajax¡¯s natural talent for archery is lower than his talent for blades, not only that but in order to unlock cursed slash he can release the cursed mana at any point before the slash makes contact, for his cursed shot to work the timing needs to be much cleaner coinciding perfectly with the moment the arrow is released. Generating cursed mana without the guidance of the skill was not only more dangerous for Ajax but it also consumed a lot more stamina, once he got home he gave a tired greeting before crawling into his bead and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Going to sleep that early had a few benefits as Ajax woke up a lot sooner than he would otherwise feel refreshed. Not only that but the remnants of the cursed mana were fully gone from his arms after a good night''s sleep. Ajax made good use of the extra time and took a quick trip to his hives where he used up half of his mana pool injecting the plants that had started to run a bit low, it had been longer than a week since Ajax last paid the place a visit. It also came as no surprise to Ajax to find that people were already collecting honey from the hives as he instructed his sisters that it was time. What was surprising was that a few of these trusted aides had no idea what he looked like and started walking towards him telling him to go away only to be dragged to one side by of the other workers who recognised him. A few people were left very embarrassed that day but Ajax didn¡¯t mind it as he appreciated how seriously his sister¡¯s people took their jobs. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°CAN EVERYBODY PLEASE CALM DOWN AND TAKE A SEAT!¡± for the first time since Ajax had met professor Silvertongue he had felt the man angrily flare his aura. Having a bond was a reason for celebration but the early days of a bond were fragile, this meant that separating the person from their bond wasn¡¯t ideal and as such class now had to happen with numerous bonds also taking part. Ajax clearly remembered just how energetic Fluffy had been back when Tom had first bonded, now while the current bonds weren¡¯t as young as Fluffy had been but some of them were also much larger. Benedict¡¯s bond was the picture of obedience, he laid down at his feet as it calmly looked over the chaos of the class. Lexi however was very much getting a taste of the own medicine, her scaly bond wasn¡¯t being too much of a nuisance to the rest of the class but it had taken a personal mission to poke and prod her new bond every time Lexi stopped paying attention to it. The most unruly bond of them all had to be the rat, despite it not being very disruptive Ajax had counted and the rodent had already taken five whole laps around the classroom, each time having taken a different route as it looked to be doing its own version of parkour. The problem and the reason for professor Silvertongue¡¯s anger was the second most energetic bond of the lot. Unlike the rat who could reasonably burn off the excess energy without being too much of a headache, the bison had a much tougher time moving around. Ajax had come to dread their upcoming Alchemy lesson as it seemed the idiom bull in a china shop was going to be reenacted by the bison and the shelves filled with ingredients. Despite the fact that all the students had plenty of experience being exposed to auras the same could not be said for their new bonds. All of them instantly froze before cowering submissively as they placed their new bond between themselves and the professor. In a twist of irony it was Benedict''s bond, the one who was causing no trouble at all, that was most affected by the blast of aura. Its instinct to submit to the much stronger presence warred with the instinct to help protect its new alpha causing the bond to agitated for the first time since it walked in the door. ¡°Those of you who cannot keep your bonds under control please take them outside and ensure they dispense their energy, you will have to make up today''s lesson on your own, a repeat of what happened here will not be acceptable in your next class.¡± the professor quickly regained his composure following his outburst. Lexi was the first to stand up and lead her bond out the door, the malevolent glint in her eye as well as the teasing smirk however betrayed the fact that she was doing so in order to get back at her bond and not because she couldn¡¯t keep it under control. Quietly three other people also left the classroom with the rat, bison and playful fox following them out. Benedict and his wolf as well as the girl with a falcon were the only one to remain. The rest of the class had passed without any more incidents and Ajax was sent ahead by the professor to warn professor Vilethorn about the incoming bonds. As it turns out this wasn¡¯t needed as the professor had fully expected this and had prepared for today''s class to be a lesson on how to gather ingredients in the wild. The professor had set up all sorts of different flowers, vines, moss or bushes that needed to be properly collected. Not only that but quite a bit of thought had clearly gone into making a special set-up for Ajax. At first glance his set-up wasn¡¯t that much different but at a closer look he would be forced to careful manoeuvre in enclosed space as well as carefully dig out roots in a rocky area. ¡°This is perhaps one of the most important things I can teach you.¡± professor Vilethorn said as she tapped him on the shoulder almost making him flinch and ruing the flowerhead he was collecting. ¡°Thank you, professor.¡± Ajax said a little awkwardly as he wasn¡¯t sure how to tell the professor not to bother him as he needed to concentrate. ¡°Gathering things inside the dungeon as a dungeon crafter is not only your best source of plants for experiments but you will often fight ingredients in odd spots that would almost never naturally occur in nature.¡± She continued. ¡°Learning to collect them while remaining vigilant of being ambushed is also something you must pick up.¡± It was only after the last sentence that Ajax realised he had never noticed when the professor approached him. He was fully focused on not ruining the extraction of the plant that he had fully dropped his guard. This was not something that was acceptable in the dungeon. Chapter 233 Increasing amounts of pressure started to be applied to all the students of the Academy. The end of the year exams and tournament were quickly approaching and it was starting to show. The students in the first year who managed to bond had it the worst as they needed to not only focus on getting in sync with their bond but also not become too reliant on it as it was not something they could bring with them for the tournament. Ajax was initially surprised that the bond couldn¡¯t take part alongside its partner but the theory behind it quickly made sense as his brother would have had a decent chance at winning the third year tournament off simply letting Fluffy do all the work. If Ajax thought the week in the class was bad with the new bonds the delve that followed it was an even bigger headache. Not so much because the students couldn¡¯t work well in tandem with their own bonds but because the new bonds were all beasts commonly found in the forest. Complaints of friendly fire started from the first day and by the second a few fights had almost broken out, if it wasn¡¯t for professor Silvertogue quick intervention more than one or two people would have gotten hurt. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise Annabeth had also brought her companion with her. Much to his surprise the creature was magical in nature despite its small size, not only that but it looked like a massive chipmunk with a kangaroo pouch. ¡°What is that?¡± Ajax asked as he looked at the creature curiously. ¡°You brought Grubby?¡± Lexi excitedly bounced around her friend before picking up the tiny creature. ¡°Who¡¯s a good boy? Yes you are, yes you are.¡± As she said Ajax could see her taking out a silver coin, polishing it on her tunic before offering it to the little guy. Grubby having Lexi¡¯s undivided attention didn¡¯t sit well with her own bonded companion who tried taking a chunk out of the furball. ¡°No! No!¡± Lexi was quick to rebuke the reptile. ¡°Grubby is not food.¡± It was at that point that Ajax felt a very strange mana come off Grubby as he put the silver coin in the pouch he had. ¡°What was that?¡± Ajax as he peered close to the little creature. ¡°What was what?¡± Lexi asked as she refocused on the furball. ¡°I sensed a strange mana when he placed the coin in his pouch.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That would be space mana.¡± Annabeth filled it as she recuperated her bond. ¡°But I thought the whole idea of getting a non magical first bond was to prepare the skill for bonding a stronger magical greacture later on.¡± Ajax said without taking his eyes off the creature. ¡°Hoarders are one of the few exceptions in that regard.¡± Annabeth said. ¡°Despite being magical creatures their lifespan is only sixty years.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°How is their lifespan so low?¡± Ajax was surprised since he knew Fluffy¡¯s lifespan was already at least over two centuries. ¡°Their lifespan is actually very similar to a human.¡± Lexi answered as she petted her own bond. ¡°It¡¯s just that their natural instincts focus only on gaining and hoarding wealth, there are very few skills that can be gained for such a task and this usually results in them never getting past level ten.¡± ¡°As a first bond they are actually one of the best you can get.¡± Lexi continued. ¡°Not only can they only be bonded as a baby and that will help your skill develop faster and further as you accompany it throughout their entire lifetime but you also make yourself look more favorable to any other bonds with magic. The jackpot however is the chance at getting space mana affinity, more than any of their treasure related skills.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Ajax asked, now a lot more keen on trying to figure out the creatures trick with the disappearing coin. ¡°Space mana is a Legendary affinity.¡± Annabeth explained. ¡°Not only that but it is one of the best defensive affinities to have.¡± ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Lexi said as she nodded her head. ¡°Trying to defend against attacks by creating a space shield isn¡¯t all that effective as they are easily overwhelmed and broken, redirecting attacks through a portal in the enemies blind-spot is however a top tier ability.¡± Ajax found himself fully agreeing with that, he had no idea how mana expensive it was to open a short range portal like that but he could definitely see the appeal. ¡°There are also a few downsides to being bonded to one.¡± Annabeth said with a sigh. ¡°Oh?¡± Ajax was curious about that. ¡°First of all they are extremely expensive to keep happy, they are constantly appropriating anything shiny from their environment and get easily depressed if they haven¡¯t had anything new in a while. Not only that but by bonding one of them you essentially become their babysitter as they aren¡¯t all that self-sufficient and bonding young makes them heavily dependent on their bond, failing to care for them will also mark you as a bad bond.¡± Annabeth said. Ajax couldn¡¯t help but agree with the sentiment, spending sixty years as a babysitter for a greedy baby seemed like a pretty big commitment to make for simply improving one¡¯s bond skill. ¡°Ajax I heard a very interesting rumor in the last few days.¡± Benedict said as he approached, his wolf loyalty following a step behind. ¡°Are you going to participate in the 6th year¡¯s tournament?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that word had gotten around, with him being granted a seeded spot among the rest of the 6th year class he knew that quite a few people had been made aware of his participation. ¡°Yes I will be.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Oooohhh, are you looking to break His Highness''s record?¡± Lexi asked conspirationaly. ¡°What record?¡± Ajax asked not having looked into anything like that. ¡°The crown prince¡¯s older brother had joined the academy at sixteen but from the time he was twenty to the time he was twenty-six he participated in the sixth year tournament and won every time giving him the record for winning it six years in a row.¡± Benedict explained. ¡°Exactly!¡± Lexi said as she nodded her head. ¡°If you win this one while still being only sixteen you have a chance to double his record.¡± ¡°Seventeen¡± Ajax said by instinct. ¡°I will be turning seventeen before the tournament begins¡± he explained when they all turned to look at him.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s right you have your birthday coming up.¡± Lexi said doing her best to infect everyone else with her boundless energy. ¡°What are you planning to do for that?¡± ¡°Nothing all that special¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lexi said sounding a little confused. ¡°Besides the tenth birthday, which is a pretty big one, I haven¡¯t had all that large celebrations for my birthdays before.¡± Ajax explained. Benedict looked a little awkward hearing that while Annabeth gave him a sympathetic look, having been kept isolated for most of her childhood she had at least a small point of reference to relate with. Lexi however looked downright horrified at the prospect. ¡°Oh no, no, no, no, no, no.¡± She said as she shook her head more in an attempt to deny such a reality. ¡°You are a baron now, you can¡¯t just not celebrate your birthday.¡± ¡°It really isn¡¯t that big a deal.¡± Ajax tried to convince her. ¡°I know, this year I will throw you a birthday party.¡± she grinned victoriously at the idea. ¡°It falls perfectly as a way to destress before the tournament.¡± Ajax looked like he wanted to attempt to talk her out of it but Annabeth patted him on the shoulder with a slight shake of the head. ¡°Don¡¯t try to talk her out of it, it will only make it worse.¡± From the looks of it it seemed like she was talking from experience. Just great, that will be two parties that he will have to attend in the near future. Ajax could only hope that one of them would actually end up being a little relaxing for him, for all her eccentricities Lexi was actually very insightful. If anyone could end up throwing a party where he might actually have fun it would be her. Chapter 234 Training and alchemy weren¡¯t the only places where Ajax was pushing himself as much as he could in order to advance, delving had also been taken one step further as he pushed heavily into the 4th floor of the Highlands, but his limits were starting to show. Much as Ajax might not like it, fighting groups of level sixty monsters was not something he could do safely just yet. It wasn¡¯t so much that he didn¡¯t have the necessary level of power as he could very much hold his own in comparison to the rest of the party. What Ajax lacked was the experience of working in a team at that level. His time with The Collectors were a good first step for him to get the hang of fighting as part of a delving team, in fact what he had learnt with them was more than enough for him to freelance as an open adventurer. The reason for this was that someone of his power level wouldn¡¯t be able to get a freelance job anywhere higher than the sixth floor of the Goldmine. Changing teams so frequently meant that Ajax got to delve a lot more often than almost anybody in the capital but this came at a price of never getting to find his place with any of house Silvertongue¡¯s teams. Teamwork was something that allowed people to push almost an entire floor higher than they would otherwise inside the Goldmine. It was this exact strength however that caused Ajax to witness his first death inside the dungeon. While delving into the Goldmine the team had pushed all the way to the 8th floor when they got one of the worst possible themes. They had gotten a maze floor, not only that however they had gotten a mirror maze. This type of floor was known as a slow killer. The floor didn¡¯t start out any more dangerous than any other, the problem came with the mirrored surroundings and the light elementals that called the floor home. In their sixties the elementals still had a very low level of intelligence and consciousness, they acted more like a venus fly trap that would try and eat anything that stepped into its trap regardless of what it was. The mirrored surroundings not only let the elementals bounce their offensive attacks off the reflective surfaces but it also led to non-magical fighters to stop focusing on their sight all that much. Just because it looked like an elemental was right in front of you didn¡¯t mean that was always the case, unlike mages who could trust their stronger [Sense Mana], [Detect Mana] wasn¡¯t good enough to give them the position of the elementals. By the end of the fourth day clearing out the floor most of the team had their brains fried from the constant focus required, all of them got jumpy from the slightest sound as that was one of the senses that the elementals couldn¡¯t mess with. The tragedy happened at a large intersection. A large reflective pillar signaled the center where seven different paths converged. Not only that but there were two different arches placed around the pillar so the team knew both would come with their own guardian boss. What the team hadn¡¯t expected was that one of the two bosses would be a shadow elemental instead of a light elemental. Unlike most other opposite elements, light and shadow elementals were often found in the same environment in the outside world. This however wasn¡¯t the case in a dungeon floor that was entirely created of mirrors. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The team had created a solid strategy of smashing any mirrors surrounding them in the event of a fight, sure the dungeon floor would repair them in a few minutes but at least they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the light elemental attacks coming from beneath them and above them at the same time. It was that exact assurance that had given the shadow elemental the opportunity it needed to gut one of their rangers from navel to chin in a smooth strike that none of them had been quick enough to react to. The elemental itself had even gotten itself killed from the incoming strike of the light elemental that the ranger had been prepared to dodge. It was that experience that had gotten Ajax to not push so far into the dungeon too quickly, he needed to build up a rapport with some of the teams delving higher before he could push any further, ideally it would also be after the upcoming tournament where he would be get a few more stat potions for himself to increase his power further. When it came to the crafting teams Ajax¡¯s spot had been cemented. Every single one of house Silvertongue¡¯s crafters knew of the furnace salamander egg that Nina had gotten, not only that but the little bugger had also hatched and bonded with the master smith. What was more surprising to Ajax however was just how closely Nina had bonded with the salamander. Every time he had seen Nina after the egg had hatched he could also see the baby carrier that housed the little lizard strapped to her chest. This included the one time that she had gone delving with them. Ajax thought it was insanity to bring such a low level creature into and delve into the dungeon because of how fragile it was. What he hadn¡¯t taken into consideration was that the lizard consumes any mana infused reagents inside the dungeon in the same way that he could brew potions out of the plants. Taking young magical companions into safe dungeon delves like the ones done by the crafting team was a cheap, if random way that noble houses hunted for a few pieces of mana enhanced food for them. Sadly none of the floors they had delved that day had contained anything that would be beneficial to the little lizard. Ajax however had seen a few things Fluffy could have used and a plant started to take shape in his mind. The first step was to apply for a delve slot. He had been told that it would take months before he would get his chance but that was fine by him, the whole idea was to go alone with Fluffy into the dungeon and then rely on his [Syphon Mana] and ensure all of the floors would end up being shadow themed floors. A single delve could be worth upwards of a thousand gold even if they stopped on the fourth floor of the Goldmine. But for now all of that had to wait. Ajax¡¯s noble title party had become one of the most opportunistic events in decades. With the title he was receiving being only that of Baron the event was open to all noble houses, something that most had wanted desperately to attend since all three of the Archdukes were going to send representatives to if not come in person. This one little party would grant low Barons and Knights a chance to make connections with Viscounts as well as Dukes. The low rung nobility weren¡¯t the only ones chomping at the bit to get an invite to the party. Most affluent merchant commoners wanted to get an invitation more than the low nobles did, not only that but unlike the nobles they had a way in. Every single merchant company that had any relation with Ajax¡¯s grandparents or his sister had started coming out of the woodwork looking to get themselves an invite. Needless to say that from the moment that the three archdukes had RSVPed his grandparents had taken both Judy and Alana to one side and had a talk with them about the mountain of people that would come and ask for a favor. In an odd twist of fate the biggest unquestionable reason that they had to reject people was the harsh opening week they had when they first got to town. Much like Ajax they had a few people who were owed a first day invite for the show of solidarity they had put up in helping them find their feet but after that the invites dried up faster than a desert after a light rain. Ajax himself was hoping to just get the party over with, the only thing he was looking forward to was that the whole thing stood a good chance of helping him get another social skill. Well that and the chance to watch his brother squirm for once as he would get assaulted by people looking to try and get a match between their magical feline companions and Fluffy. Chapter 235 Judy P.O.V. I had to admit that the way nobles lived was starting to get to me at this point a little bit and I had only been a noble for less than a month. The access we had going into any section of the city, the interconnected network helping each other profit, but what really pushed it over the top was how Duke Manashaper had just decided for the rain cloud to go around the plot where we were hosting the party. I knew that that was more of a power status then a noble one but having the weather accommodate for the outdoor party you were throwing was not something I could have ever imagined. ¡°So you must be Jude.¡± A man that looked to be my fathers age asked as he offered me a cup of wine. If there was one thing that quickly confirmed that becoming a noble wasn¡¯t a dream was the constant marriage proposals I had been getting during this announcement. Most of them came from people like him who were easily one and a half to two centuries old. Nobles usually lived to four hundred or higher depending on how much they focused on leveling. ¡°I am, thank you.¡± I responded as politely as I could before leaning into my social skills as much as possible to convey how much I wasn¡¯t interested in his courtship. Ajax and Tom both had it easy. Tom was already engaged and not many noble women were willing to play second fiddle to a commoner, much less a beastkin one at that, despite the peace treaty acceptance was still a work in progress. As for Ajax he was the head of the family and had often been seen in the company of both Annabeth Goldmance as well as Alexis Manashaper, not many people could compete with either of them and nobody wanted to make and enemy of either house, since neither of the family heads had denied the idea of a union there everyone was being careful not to step on any toes. With that most of the pressure for marriage was on myself, mom and dad. With both of them being so young by noble standards and monogamy being in minority, though by no means rare, in noble circles both of them had to fend off quite a few proposals themselves. The other big surprise my grandparents had helped Ajax pull off was managing to attach Alana to our family as one of the branch families despite there not being a blood relation, something about all of us growing up in the same village and being closer than some real noble siblings allowed her to take the family name and gain the noble title for herself. This of course meant that she was hounded with marriage proposals as well. Speaking of my grandparents I turned around to see my grandfather eyeing a plate of food not two feet from where Ajax was talking to my grandmother. The latest of my little brother''s surprises had ended up being a rather odd if very successful idea, one that came to him on a whim yesterday. He had gone out and bought a staggering amount of oil, not even the refined olive oil but basic vegetable or flower oil, he then filled a pot with some of it and let it heat up on the fire before cooking potatoes and small chunks of meat coated in flour and egg. The result was surprisingly good, while not as good as the food provided by our skilled caterers, its novelty allowed it to stand out without coming off as lesser. Something truly remarkable considering not only the lower cooking skill used in making it but also how cheap the ingredients were. For safety it was agreed beforehand that both of our grandparents would hover around Ajax for the day. This would not only allow our family to be seen as more stable by having two merchants established in the capital for decades advising the young family head but it would also let them intercept any mistakes Ajax might end up making after having focused so much on his training and studies. ¡°It was a pleasure meeting you Judy.¡± the noble finally took his leave, at least having actually learnt my name during the conversation. ¡°The pleasure was all mine Baron Oakenshield.¡± All of my social skills urged me to use his family name as a very polite but clear way to cut off any future talk of marriage. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. It took no more than five seconds since my last ¡®suitor¡¯ departed before another started to head towards. A prim and proper voice with just a hint of shyness making it way through however cut him off before he could speak. ¡°You¡¯re Judy, yes?¡± she asked. ¡°I just met Alana and I wanted to make your acquaintance as well.¡± ¡°I am, your Majesty.¡± I said as I did my best to curtsy. My attempt was clearly good enough as I unlocked the skill [Noble Manners]. This was the third non-Common social skill I had unlocked since I was granted the Trait Baron. The royal family representative hadn¡¯t ended up being just one of the head butlers like we expected after Ajax explained the bad relationship he had with the son of the crown prince in his class. We were instead surprised by the appearance of the youngest royal princess, apparently Ajax had previously met both her and her mother. Her showing up already had my grandparents questioning if the king was looking to tie Ajax to the royal family through marriage. ¡°It¡¯s so great to meet you.¡± she smiled and returned the courtesy with one of her own. ¡°It''s so great to have a few more people joining our generation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, how do you mean?¡± I asked, confused. ¡°Usually nobles, or at least high nobles, try to keep their generations together.¡± she explained. ¡°To discourage any issues regarding seniority most houses wait a good few years before having children following the royal family and the other large houses.¡± ¡°The current generation is based around my cousin, as well as Benedict Steelblade. Annabeth was a surprise pregnancy that happened to coincide, whereas the Manashapers took a lot less time to get pregnant than is expected of people their level.¡± The princess continued. ¡°This is all well and good, but most of the people from this generation are still only six or seven years old, as such it will be a while before they are mature enough.¡± The next hour or so I spent absorbing all the stress the princess had experienced from dealing with her brother in the wake of Ajax¡¯s discovery, while she helped let out all the stress I had accumulated since moving to the capital. Not only that but nobody else approached me while I was talking to the princess which was a welcome reprieve, one Alana joined us for halfway through. With dusk finally starting to set the desert was finally being brought out and my stress started to build up again. As we had initially expected, out of season honey was quickly overlooked by most and the higher than normal price tag meant that there were few buyers. Those that did buy however turned into repeat customers and word was slowly spreading. Most of the deserts served today featured honey we had supplied to the caterers and we were hoping that this would be the big spread we would need to really drive up demand as well as traffic to our shop. The initial talk with the caterers had them asking for us to sell them more honey, though that was mainly because it had helped more than one of the cooks push their skill level up. The problem was that we didn¡¯t know if that was because the honey was slightly mana infused from the plants, because it was harder to work with or if the taste of the end result was that much better. All of us had tried it of course and we all agreed it was good but none of us had anything to compare it to. I could feel my stress melt away as loud compliments started flying once the guests started trying out the deserts. It seems that my grandparents'' planning had worked out and we could expect quite a few more customers starting tomorrow. ¡°How could you say that!?¡± the words rang out above the chatter and I turned with dread to see that the voice came from the noble talking to Ajax. ¡°I demand a duel from house Hearthbound, I will be representing myself.¡± ¡°I acc-¡± Ajax¡¯s frown deepened but he stopped talking as my grandmother placed a hand on his shoulder and he seemed to calm himself. ¡°House Hearthbound accepts your challenge.¡± he said in a calm cold tone afterward. ¡°I will accept any extent except a duel to the death and only ask that it be done to the limit of our abilities.¡± the noble responded before turning around and leaving. The party wound down quickly after that with most of the guests still gossiping about the interaction. All of us were tired as we made our way back home, the party had gone as well as could be expected except for the ending. ¡°What was he trying to do?¡± Ajax asked after we got home. ¡°Most likely, raise his status by having you fight him yourself.¡± grandfather said. ¡°He miscalculated badly though.¡± ¡°The boy is young, not even twenty-five, this should be a move made to further himself in his own family''s situation and you are simply the one he targeted to use.¡± grandmother explained. ¡°How did he misscalculate?¡± Dad asked. ¡°Even I know someone only twenty-five years old can¡¯t expect to beat Ajax regardless how self-impressed he is.¡± ¡°Because Ajax won¡¯t be the one fighting him.¡± Grandmother said with a smile. ¡°Tom will be.¡± ¡°I will?¡± Tom asked, surprised. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because a duel without limits allows your bond to join you!¡± I exclaimed as I put the pieces together. ¡°They didn¡¯t know Tom was young enough to also accept.¡± ¡°Hear that?¡± Tom said as he scratched Fluffy behind the ears. ¡°You¡¯re going to be good for something other than breeding.¡± It seems he was still a little resentful of the amount of people who had been approaching him about his bond siring the new generation. It was also something that wouldn¡¯t happen for a while as doing so now would affect Fluffy¡¯s growth with the amount of mana it would drain from him. Chapter 236 Ajax¡¯s whole family was taking the day off to relax following the party as all of them had been mentally exhausted by the end of it. Ajax had been the least pressured seeing as all he had to do was basically greet people and socialize as any of the hard questions were taken by his grandmother who never left his side. Despite all of this he still hadn¡¯t managed to get through the event without a challenge being issued but everybody had accepted that it simply wasn¡¯t something feasible and having just one challenge was seen as a win. As Ajax and Tom were making their way through the city Ajax was surprised at just how much livelier the city seemed at this time of the year. Everyone he looked he could see young men and women lining up at one stall or another to get their gear patched up or buy some potions. ¡°Were there always so many people here?¡± Ajax asked rhetorically. ¡°No, it¡¯s because the tournaments are happening soon.¡± Tom answered him. ¡°The tournaments are in a month and half, that isn¡¯t soon.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Maybe the big official ones are in a month and a half.¡± Tom said. ¡°And for prestige those are the ones that matter. But for people like them the real tournaments start next week.¡± ¡°How is that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The official tournaments are more of a noble show to pass the time, very expensive to get in and watch and a way for young nobles to show their house¡¯s power. A good showing there might affect a noble house but it won¡¯t change things too much.¡± Tom explained ¡° For them the tournaments that start next week are the real opportunity. If they do well enough they might just have a noble house interested in recruiting them and that will mean that not only are they pretty much employed for life but that their family also don¡¯t have to worry about all that much either.¡± Ajax could see how that would work out and why these tournaments, despite not being at the same skill level as the ones hosted by the academy, were much more important to the populace. ¡°GRRR¡± Fluffy growled as he floored a man that was running past Tom placing both paws on his back. Much more interesting to Tom however was the coin pouch the man dropped that looked surprisingly like his own. A quick tap at him confirmed what he suspected, the pouch was indeed his. ¡°Oh, look at that Fluffy, what have you got there?¡± Tom asked in a childish tone that he was sure would annoy the thief. ¡°Get this¡­ goddamn thing¡­ off of me.¡± the thief heaved out from under the weight of Fluffy¡¯s front paws. ¡°I will, but first how about you tell me where did you get such an interesting coin pouch?¡± Tom said with a bit of a malicious grin. ¡°I could have sworn I had one just like it, had being the keyword there.¡± ¡°Guards help, I¡¯m being robbed.¡± the man quickly shouted when he saw a patrol unit coming around the corner. The guards were quick to respond to the shout but they also froze the moment they got a good look at what was happening and all of them broke out into a laugh, all but one who had a pitying look directed at the man. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°I¡¯m not going to claim that you are lying but if you are I suggest you just admit the truth.¡± the man said. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, the cat just pounced on me and he wants to take the pouch.¡± The man was quick to defend himself, Ajax also noticed that his statement was technically correct. Fluffy did just pounce on him and Tom did intend to get his pouch back, if nothing else the man was experienced enough to get past basic lie detection. ¡°Let the man dig his own grave.¡± one of the other guards said. ¡°I heard they needed more people down at the mine since the curse business meant less people went there.¡± ¡°Down at the mine?¡± Ajax asked, confused, drawing the attention of the rest of the guards. ¡°Simple theft gets you two weeks of slave labor as a lumberjack for the capital.¡± Tom said. ¡°Accusing a noble guard of a crime however always comes with an inquiry and lying on that means three years in the mines, at least. With the current shortage I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see him get four.¡± The man on the ground paled as he heard noble guard, Ajax however focused on another part of the sentence. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the punishment be commensurate with the crime, why does there being shortage matter?¡± It wasn¡¯t like Ajax actually cared about the thief but he was interested in how the system worked in case he ever needed to make use of it for his own ends. ¡°Three of four years is mostly discretionary, not to mention that an argument could be made that making a false accusation within a month of me becoming a noble is damaging to our reputation that could even push it up to five.¡± Tom explained. ¡°As for the reason, it¡¯s better for the city if thieves are sent to work rather than sent back out to steal again.¡± Ajax could definitely see that line of thinking, after all it wasn¡¯t like this was a little kid who had no other choice, from the looks of it the man seemed to even be a higher level than Tom, seeing as he got the pouch without him reacting in time, though not high enough to measure up to Fluffy. ¡°It was a lie, I¡¯m the thief, I¡¯ll take my two weeks.¡± The man was quick to backpedal once the stakes were laid out. ¡°We¡¯ll take it from here, Tom.¡± one of the guards said as he picked the man up and tied his hands. ¡°So this your little brother Tom?¡± another one asked. ¡°Not so sure about that ¡®little¡¯ part.¡± another chimed in, it was a fair question seeing as Ajax was the tallest of them all. All of them had a good quick laugh at that before they turned to Ajax in unison and bowed slightly. ¡°Greetings to you Baron Hearthbound.¡± Ajax noticed no mockery in their bows but he was glad for their joking attitude which got him to relax before they greeted him. ¡°Also Tom, I know it''s your day off but you should see about going by to see the boss I hear he wants to talk to you.¡± one guard said as they took their leave prisoner in tow. It was at that point that Tom and Ajax parted ways. Ajax continued his shopping as he made his way over to the carpenter who made his beehive, Ajax thought it was only fair to give the man a heads up about his upcoming business seeing as once the hives were public knowledge he might want to have a few in stock ready to sell, it was the least he could do for the man after he had agreed to take on the work back when he needed it done at a fair price. As for Tom he quickly made his way to their barracks where he was quickly let up to the Commander''s office. ¡°You wanted to see me sir?¡± Tom asked after he was asked to enter. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that urgent that you had to come in on your day off.¡± the commander said as he looked at Tom and sighed. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to get used to being a noble, unlike commoners, people will always expect you to have things planned for at least a week unless something is urgent.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°That aside, congratulations on getting through the party without sticking your food in your mouth, I have to say I didn¡¯t expect it. Some of those bastards are crafty and always looking for a reason to level a challenge.¡± ¡°The people coming to me were more interested in asking about Fluffy¡¯s¡­ availability.¡± Tom said as he scratched his head in embarrassment. ¡°Not to say there weren¡¯t a few who tried to get a duel but they were all told to ¡®get lost and let them talk business¡¯ by the rest. In the end Ajax still ended up challenged.¡± ¡°Yes, I can see why that would happen.¡± the Commander said as he stroked his beard. ¡°Anyway, your house''s challenge is the reason I wanted to talk to you. I assume you will be the one representing?¡± ¡°I will, sir. Is that an issue?¡± Tom asked. ¡°No, just the opposite.¡± the man said as he stood up from behind the desk. ¡°With it happening at the same time as the tournaments I wanted to ask if your house was open to having you fight while in your guard uniform. Might get us a few talented recruits¡± ¡°I am open to the idea but I will have to discuss this.¡± Tom answered. ¡°That is fine,now go enjoy your day off.¡± Tom knew a dismissal when he heard one so he headed on out. Chapter 237 Tom P.O.V. I woke up much earlier than normal and I couldn¡¯t help but be a bit anxious. Today was the day of the duel and no matter how many other matches I may have seen with the commoner tournaments that started I was still a little antsy about my own match. Unlike me Fluffy seemed to not care at all as he was sleeping without a care in the world laid up next to our bed. I took extra care not to wake Kate up as I got out of bed, flicked Fluffys ear and headed downstairs. The outcome of the duel was almost a foregone conclusion and both sides knew it. My opponent had made quite a few attempts to call off the match once he learned that not only was he not going to be facing Ajax but that the level forty-two shadow cat was going to stand opposite him in the ring. With the amount of gossip the event had generated however Ajax had let my grandparents handle the negotiations about calling the whole thing off. Needless to say a deal wasn¡¯t struck so I will be going ahead with the fight. I made sure to do my research into my opponent and despite him being only a few months older than me he had three levels on me. He clearly wasn¡¯t good enough to get into the academy but those three levels, equipment and any stat potions he may have drunk would give him a massive advantage. The only issue being that he didn¡¯t have a bond and there was no way for him to deal with Fluffy. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± Ajax asked as I took a seat at the table. I¡¯m not sure how he managed to keep such a tight training schedule, between his classes at the Academy, curse mana training and alchemy he still took time to care for the flowers and trees surrounding the beehives. ¡°A little. I know the match heavily favors me but I can¡¯t help it.¡± I admitted. ¡°I know just how you feel.¡± Ajax said. ¡°My own tournament is going to start in about a week, I shouldn¡¯t have any problems with anyone from the 6th year but I am already anxious about it.¡± Even the strongest 6th years were at best level forty-five, Ajax had been delving and fighting level sixties so there was no real pressure on him from them but everything could change because of an enchanted item. ¡°You¡¯re already awake!¡± Aurora said as she entered followed by Elija. Ajax and myself seemed to be the slowest to warm up to our grandparents, my mother seemed happy to have her own parents back in her life and Judy and dad had been worn down with the amount of help they provided, going even as far as to get dad set up with a section in their own shop for his smithing works. As for the reason Ajax and myself were slower to adapt it simply came from the reduced exposure. With Ajax constantly training and me doing my job as a guard we simply didn¡¯t have the time to spend with them, even Kate had gotten closer to them than I had and I was her connection to them. ¡°Here you are Fluffy, it took us a while to find a concentrated shadow core but we got one in time.¡± Aurora said as she brought out a small black crystal that seemed to be sucking in the light around it. ¡°What is that?¡± Ajax and I both asked as we noticed Fluffy¡¯s eyes lock on to the gem. ¡°You could call it a natural potion for a beast.¡± Elija explained. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Beasts can take potions?¡± Ajax seemed very interested at this development. ¡°Yes and no.¡± Aurora explained. ¡°Unlike humanoids beasts aren¡¯t quite as adaptable and their bodies are much more rigid as a result. ¡° ¡°A humanoid can receive an extra 10% of their stats in potions.¡± Ajax said, something that was well known. ¡°A beast can only get 5%?¡± ¡°No, quite the opposite.¡± Aurora answered. ¡°A beast can get close to 20% by the time they reach adulthood.¡± ¡°Then how are they not as adaptable?¡± I asked. ¡°Because they need to constantly build their way up to it.¡± she continued. ¡°Unlike us humans who can take the potions at any point after we gain our stats a beast would have to constantly get them as they grow.¡± ¡°Despite only being one year old this little guy is already entering his juvenile phase.¡± Elija jumped in. ¡°he received his newborn treasure from the cores he got from his mother as well as that bear and fish Ajax killed. Sadly he didn¡¯t have a chance to receive his boost as a child, but this crystal should take care of his juvenile phase.¡± ¡°What about all the cores we fed him?¡± I asked surprised. ¡°A steady diet of cores would be enough for their regular growth, the supplement needs to not only be of a higher density than their current phase but it also needs to be elementally similar.¡± Aurora said. ¡°This crystal is the equivalent of a level one hundred core and heavily shadow infused.¡± ¡°As long as he gets his adult supplement in the next ten years and his peak one in the next half a century he should still end up with over 15% of his stats as a bonus, but it will be very expensive.¡± Elija said as they watched Fluffy swallow the crystal. It took a moment where we all watched before all of us could see small wisps of shadow start to emanate from Fluffy. I would have been worried if I hadn¡¯t been able to feel his contentment through our bond, that and the loud pur he emanated as I scratched his ears. The next few hours were a blur for me as everyone woke up, I got geared up and we all headed towards one of the fancier arenas. Being watched by what had to be at least two thousand people was nerve racking, even more so was the expensive look of the armor my opponent wore. ¡°I expect you both know the rules.¡± the barrier mage that will be refereeing the duel said. ¡°I will be here to intervene should any lethal blows be made. That said don¡¯t rely on me fully and defend yourselves at all times, not only that but should I intervene on your behalf I will hear no argument about you having lost the duel.¡± I simply nodded at the words. The reluctant look my opponent had as he kept glancing at Fluffy was doing wonders for me and helped me calm down as we both started walking towards our starting spots. ¡°Ready?¡± the mage shouted. ¡°Begin.¡± Fluffy dashed towards my opponent at the signal, but despite the level advantage he wasn¡¯t the one to make the first move. My opponent pulled a crossbow, a heavily enchanted one at that from what my [Detect mana] was saying and fired the first attack of the match. My training paid off as I raised my shield cleanly placing it in the arrows path. What was unexpected was the strength of the pushed my shield aside, merely deflected off the metal before breaking through my shoulder pad and embedding itself in my shoulder. It took a moment for me to realize what happened but after than the pain came in clear as I felt it spread like wildfire from the point of impact. Thankfully, despite the arrow having gone all the way through, its shaft was still lodged in my shoulder and kept my bleeding to a minimum. Whatever that crossbow was, it had to be pushing the boundaries of what could be used by someone of our level. This was perfectly shown as firing that single shot was enough to throw my opponent cleanly off his feet and into a backwards roll, the crossbow loose from his grip and dropped on the sand of the arena. With my main arm injured I wouldn¡¯t be able to use a bow and arrow as I hoped to help Fluffy, so once my bond got close enough that I was sure another long range attack wouldn¡¯t come towards me I dropped my shield along with my bow and quiver and brought out the a short one handed spear as I made my approach. Fluffy was quick to make the difference in power between them obvious. His regular swipes creating long dents almost cutting right through his enchanted amor and that was just the beginning. Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn¡¯t paying much attention to me once I started to approach I uncorked a flask at my belt and tossed it high into the air above us after dropping a small ball inside. My aim was far from good considering the arrow sticking out from my shoulder but as the large black cloud exploded above us and started rising higher it created a large shadow around both Fluffy and my opponent. Fluffy had been jumping through shadow ever since he was a cub, what had once been uncoordinated playful games turned into thrashing ambushes from an unexpected angle. By the time I had made it in range for my spear to play any part in the battle Fluffy had already jumped three times each resulting in a slash that drew blood. My spear thrust once I got close enough didn¡¯t achieve much as he took a solid stance and knocked it aside with a shield of his own. But that moment of paying attention to me was all Fluffy needed to jump on his back clamping his jaws down on his shoulder, his teeth going straight through the enchanted metal and tearing a chunk out as he launched himself off my opponent''s back. The match ended on the next attack as a barrier came to life stopping Fluffy from repeating his bite on my opponent''s undefended neck, a gap left open by him clutching his now shredded shoulder. ¡°The match is over.¡± the mage announced. As much as I wanted to celebrate at that moment I had my one working hand full trying to keep Fluffy from liking my face and smearing it with blood. Chapter 238 Despite being ready for their most likely tactic Tom had still taken a solid blow to the shoulder and that alone had left Ajax feeling furious. The referees had inspected what was left from the crossbow after the match and had found that it technically didn¡¯t violate any of the duel rules. The way they achieved this is by creating the crossbow to be a specifically single shot use, none of the runes were meant to do anything but give more power to the shot resulting in the crossbow breaking in more than one place after the arrow was shot. The single focused creation added on to the fact that it was clearly a one use item and not technically a weapon meant it just made it under the rules for a level twenty five duel. The weapon however didn¡¯t just surprise one side of the duel as numerous members of the other side seemed to have no idea that such a weapon was going to be used. As much as Tom was patched up right after the duel ended by a skilled healer, their opponent''s reputation was going to suffer much worse and there was no quick way to mend it. The real repercussions of the duel however weren¡¯t seen until the next day when dozens of somewhat talented commoners swarmed the guards barracks looking to join up. Tom had worked wonders for the guards PR team, and as a reward he would spend his last remaining two years building trust with some of the guards most talented members and looking to recruit them once their service was finished. The rest of the week had felt somewhat mundane for Ajax following the duel, he had spent most of his time training, very little of his time was dedicated to his alchemy nowadays. The reason for that was that he was finally past the beginner phase. He now needed to work with mana infused ingredients and that simply wasn¡¯t something he could afford all that often outside the dungeon. With the new week starting, Ajax''s academy classes had come to an end for the year. All they had left were their exams but those wouldn¡¯t happen for another month as all the focus was now on the tournaments that will be starting up. For once Ajax and the rest of his class were separated. With the first year tournament being the first to start Ajax was given ample free time to watch them as he waited for the sixth year tournament to begin. The first round of matches did exactly what it was supposed to do. With commoners being limited to twenty-one years of age to join for the first year tournament none of the people who made it to the twenty-five spots were even level twenty-three. Every single match had been a blowout. That¡¯s not to say that there weren¡¯t a few surprises among the commoners. While most were finished in the first two or three attacks, there were three who made it all the way to six and one who made it to seven before finally losing. Three of them had promptly been given offers for joining the retinue of quite a few noble houses. The biggest surprise there however was one of the three who took six attacks to bring down. The surprise was that he was only eighteen years of age. The boy was offered a position from a lot of houses as they hoped to spend the next year training and pushing him so that he could join the 1st year academy class when he turned nineteen. Ajax could see the appeal of this system, and while he did agree that it worked there was also a darker side to it. It was pretty obvious from the look of the commoner stand-out. The reason why he had made it that far at such a young age was simple. He didn¡¯t focus all that many of his stat points into Vitality. This would give him a much stronger fighting base but it also made everything far riskier as his health was much lower. Not only that but his next two levels worth of points would need to be put into Vitality so while his level might grow his combat prowess did not. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The second round of the tournament was much more engaging however. With all of the students now facing each other the matches started to branch out in terms of outcome. Since the brackets weren¡¯t randomized but based off of their scores in training a few matches ended very quickly. Benedict, Annabeth and Lexi all finished their opponents in dominating fashion. It was the princes¡¯ match that caught Ajax¡¯s attention however. Despite being the youngest in the class by almost two years, if one didn¡¯t count Ajax, the prince was definitely up there in terms of strength. What surprised Ajax was the mirage illusion magic that the prince employed. The princes¡¯ opponent was a mage and despite being able to tell when a mirage was used with him [Mana Sense] that didn¡¯t help all that much. Being a spellblade meant that faces were much harder to tell apart from genuine casts. By the time the first few exchanges happened the prince had already managed to land a few slices on his opponents arms. ¡°Whatever that marriage spell is has to be based on a Rare skill at least.¡± Ajax murmured as he watched the fight. ¡°He isn¡¯t chanting anything so it isn¡¯t a spell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a decent first guess.¡± a voice to his left surprised Ajax. ¡°Headmaster!¡± Ajax jumped a little. ¡°The skill is one he gained from his bond,¡± headmaster Manashaper continued without even acknowledging Ajax¡¯s surprise at his presence. ¡°It¡¯s too early to tell if the skill is a Rare or an Epic variant but it certainly is perfectly suited to a hybrid spellblade.¡± The match below sung heavily into the prince''s favor once his opponent started panicking and blasting out all of his mana in wider spells that the prince couldn¡¯t dodge. The potency lost by spreading the spell out so much meant that it wouldn¡¯t be enough to make it past the defense provided by the high quality gear the prince had. ¡°Looking at it you could say that it''s the opposite solution to your style.¡± the headmaster continued as they both watched the prince lower his somewhat battered shield to reveal that nothing did more than lightly dent and scratch the first layer of defense. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°A hybrid spellblades worst problem is being forced to exchange spells with a true mage on even ground.¡± the headmaster explained. ¡°A physical fighter would rarely be a match for an equally powerful spellblade, their only chance being staying defensive until their endurance wins out. In the battle with a mage the roles are usually reversed.¡± ¡°The hybrid tries to stall out the mage.¡± Ajax put two and two together. ¡°Exactly, something that illusion skill is perfect for.¡± the headmaster went on ¡°Your solution is more unique. You force the situation back into the first scenario even against a mage. What your spells lack in power they make up for in flexibility and casting speed. Essentially allowing you to outmuscle a mage with a multitude of weaker spells at the cost of a large mana cost.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my only choice.¡± Ajax said, a little defensively. ¡°Oh but it is, from what I¡¯ve seen anyway. Your boosting skill relies on your mana just as much though the conflicting reports I''ve seen on it so far haven¡¯t let me work out why the end result is still the same. You burn through your mana quicker than normal mages do. If you run out before your opponent is dead, or before you escape, you lose.¡± the headmaster said. ¡®Not exactly seeing as I can use his spells and mana to fuel my physical enhancement¡¯ Ajax made sure not to say that however, clearly the king had kept his Legendary skill under wraps so Ajax wasn¡¯t going to spread it further just yet. ¡°I do have to say however that out of everyone in the first year class, besides you maybe, Lady Goldmacer is the scariest to have as an opponent.¡± the headmaster said as he got up and left towards his daughter who finally entered the viewing stands, changed from her battle gear to a more luxurious attire. Ajax couldn¡¯t help but agree with the headmaster. Few people had figured it out and by the time they did it was too late to stop it. Annabeth had a few trusted member of their circle intentionally hold back during their practice sessions or go all out even with the tournament approaching. Her plan was finally revealed in the second to last day of classes as the brackets for the tournament were revealed. She had not only managed to work out how the classes were scored but by changing the result of a few people she had managed to set up favorable match-ups for group, not only that but she had even managed to set herself on the opposite side of the bracket from both Benedict and Lexi, who would most likely meet in the semi-finals and push each other to show any hidden tricks. Chapter 239 Ajax was lookie out at the sand in the arena. All of the other years had already started their tournaments and now it would be time for him to start his as well. His breathing was quick, his hands grasped his sword and axe tightly as he prepared himself for the first round. Ajax wasn¡¯t at all nervous, he had no doubts that he could beat every single person that was taking part in the tournament. Ajax was angry at what he had found out this morning but there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it. Already entering the sands in a furious charge was his opponent. An eight and a half foot tall mountain of a person who despite his height managed to still look short in proportion to the width of his muscled body. Two horns on his head as well as the cloven legs were the biggest features the beastkin took from his animal side, replacing his human face with that of a bull would be all that it took and he would pass for a minotaur. The reason Ajax was angry was that he found out that he would be the beastkins first opponent. Ajax knew that the nobles would be given a strategic placement in the tournament brackets to keep the matches interesting, on that account he was happy to have been placed away from any of the top three spots, meeting them only in finals or semi-finals. What angered Ajax was that the commoners who fought to win a chance to fight in this tournament were supposed to be given a random opponent. As one of the people who had scoured the commoner tournaments looking for any people that he might want to recruit he knew that this match wasn¡¯t a random coincidence. The bull beastkin was by far the best commoner this year. Being twenty-seven years of age this was the only tournament he could enter but the man was already at level thirty-six, even higher than Ajax¡¯s own level. More than that his beastkin body gave him a strong strength advantage, one that while not enough to beat out some of the stronger people in the 6th year it was more than enough to at least give any of them a good match. This first round of the tournament was meant as a show of strength. To exemplify the difference between nobles and commoners. That isn¡¯t to say that there hadn¡¯t been one or two matches already this year that had been close, or that some commoners hadn¡¯t gone on to win a round in the past. Three times, twice in the first year tournament and once in the second year a commoner had won the whole thing. Any commoner who won their first round match had always had at least one offer of marriage into a Baron¡¯s house. What annoyed Ajax most however was that they sought to rig the brackets so that he would face the beastkin. This bull-man was the first beastkin since the treaty had been signed and their acceptance had been pushed into law that had a chance at a good showing and they rigged the match so that he wouldn''t. As he stepped out onto the sands Ajax could see his opponents eyes tracking him. The man wasn¡¯t handsome by any means, while his face was human his bull lineage could be seen in the smaller and spread apart eyes as well as his large flared nose. Ajax was a large man himself, his muscles were large and corded across his body from years upon years of training but looking at the beastkin across from him Ajax knew that if they had an equal strength stat he would avoid taking any direct blows from the massive axe he held. ¡°BEGIN¡± The referee shouted the moment Ajax got into position. The beastking charged forward at full speed. Despite the obvious power-focused strategy Ajax had watched the man enough in the past month to know he wasn¡¯t a dumb brute that many thought he was because of his looks. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Sadly for the beastkin however Ajax wasn¡¯t going to be holding back. One thing that all of the competitors of the tournament took seriously was that nobody was to hold back. The only exception to this was lethal blows as well as any aces they were hiding for whatever reason in their regular spars. Ajax flared his [Syphon Mana] at full power. This brought his physical stats from the low thirties range to the mid fifties. Ajax copied his opponent by going into a direct charge. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise and to his slight regret his opponent had managed to react to his movement. The beastkin had noticed not only the difference in their speed but also the difference in their power from the way the sand had shifted as Ajax started his charge. He even managed to get his axe into a good position but none of that mattered. Ajax¡¯s lightning infused blade knocked the axe aside, the lightning making its way through the handle and jolting the beastkin¡¯s body left him defenseless as Ajax planted the sole of his food in the center of his opponents chest knocking him on his back and placing own smaller one-handed axe at his throat. ¡°FINISHED¡± The referee was quick to call the match, Ajax even noticing the barrier that had appeared between the blade of his axe and the beastkin¡¯s throat, even if he hadn¡¯t pulled stopped the swing the barrier was angled up to that the swing off course. ¡°WINNER : AJAX!¡± As customary the winner had stayed for a few minutes in the arena waving at the crowd. All of them cheered despite the quick fish as this was exactly what they were here for, they all knew today was the day that a long match would be an odd find and despite the quick ending Ajax¡¯s match was entertaining. The moment he left the arena however Ajax had made his way to look for his opponent. It didn¡¯t take long to find him as he had just finished getting dressed in his regular clothes after finishing a shower following his defeat. ¡°You¡¯re good¡± Ajax said, drawing the beastkin¡¯s attention to him. The man¡¯s face changed from defeat to anger, acceptance and then humility. ¡°Clearly not good enough, you brought me down in an instant.¡± A little quieter, something that Ajax thought the man hadn¡¯t meant for him to hear ¡°A man at least five years my junior.¡± ¡°I¡¯m what you might call¡­ a special case.¡± Ajax said not knowing how to answer that without making it seem like he was looking down on him. ¡°Had it been anyone else you would¡¯ve pushed them, probably could beat about half of them.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kind words, milord.¡± Ajax was ready to believe the accepting tone if it wasn¡¯t for his social skills telling him he didn¡¯t really mean it. ¡°My name¡¯s Ajax.¡± he said as he offered the beastkin his. ¡°And I¡¯m willing to prove it to you.¡± A skeptical look entered the man¡¯s eyes as he looked down at Ajax. ¡°How will you do that.¡± A little more of the aggression making it into his tone. ¡°As a participant I can make sure you have a seat in for all my future matches. I¡¯ll show you that all of them will fall to me in a similar manner that you did.¡± Ajax said with a smirk as an idea took hold in his mind. ¡°But let''s make this a wager.¡± ¡°What sort of wager?¡± then beastkin frowned at the extended hand. ¡°If in any of the upcoming matches anyone so much as puts up a fight against me I¡¯ll split half the winnings from any place I get with you.¡± Ajax said. ¡°What if you win?¡± the man asked. ¡°If I win, you join my House as a retainer.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Hmph.¡± the beastkin flared his nostrils as a cocky grin crept slowly on his face. ¡°That¡¯s a deal I can take.¡± ¡°I look forward to having you sign up, Theron.¡± Ajax said as they shook and he took his leave. The beastkin looked shocked that Ajax knew his name considering the names for the commoner challengers weren¡¯t announced. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think.¡± Professor Silvertongue surprised Ajax as he rounded the corner out of the changing rooms. ¡°What¡¯s not what I think?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t nobles who rigged the match-up.¡± the professor said. ¡°Really now?¡± Ajax said. ¡°They couldn¡¯t.¡± the professor continued ¡°the rules are made in such a way that they can¡¯t.¡± ¡°If they didn''t, who did?¡± Ajax questioned. ¡°The bookies.¡± the professor said with a shake of the head. ¡°They¡¯ve been bleeding money this year. There have been close to no upsets, do you know what happens when the favorite wins almost all the time?¡± ¡°So they rigged what was supposed to be the blind match?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°They did, the odds that Theron would not only lose but get stomped were one hundred and fifty to one.¡± Silvertongue continued. ¡°You made a few people a lot of money and got most of the bookies out of the red with that single win.¡± Chapter 240 As Ajax was working on getting a handle on his anger, something that came much easier to him as he thought about the quality of the first retainer he gained, he was unaware of the issues that the bookies he was angry at were going through. All of the gambling leaders had been in the arena to watch that match, despite all they had heard about the child prodigy who had been named a noble at the age of sixteen very little was leaked of his actual power outside the academy. To say that their meddling was a success was an understatement as they all watched him crush the beastkin. It was only once they had gotten back to their offices that the victory turned to ashes in their mouth. All of them had massively profited from the latest fight, so much so that even with some unusually bad outcomes they would still end up with a decent gain by the end of the tournament. There was just one thing that they hadn¡¯t accounted for. As they looked at the one thing had become clear, nobody would be able to actually stand up to Ajax. Their best chance to minimize their losses there was to give out absurd odds for him to lose and hope to recoup the losses they will have from everyone that was betting on him to win. Their issue however came from the post announcement bets. While no betting house would allow people to be on the nobles winning in the first round of the tournament, it would be a pure money sink for them, other types of bets were allowed once the noble participant list was made available. To their shock all of them had bets on their books made for Ajax to win the whole tournament, not only that but those bets were many and made in sizable amounts, not enough to draw too much attention but not cheap by any means. Add that on to the high odds that a complete unknown had to win the whole tournament and they could forget about staying in the black, they¡¯d be lucky to even remain open after the tournament ended. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about those gamblers getting too comfortable.¡± Alana said after she listened to Ajax complain about the set-up Theron had to endure. ¡°Oh?¡± Elija was the most interested in whatever scheme she had cooked up, after the last few months he had started to recognise her talent for strategy. ¡°I¡¯ve bet almost one thousand gold in total on you winning the whole thing, and this was back when the odds of you doing so were fifty to one.¡± she said with a smile. ¡°That should get us enough working capital to help us procure any of the more rare items that the customers we gain from the honey sales might request.¡± ¡°That is very well executed.¡± Elija said as he stroked his chin slightly frowning as he thought over the situation. ¡°A bit too excessive but seeing as they meddled with the tournament themselves it¡¯s not something that will result in a backlash.¡± ¡°But if this was something that would work, why didn¡¯t you do it as well?¡± Sam asked the same question Ajax was pondering. ¡°We weren¡¯t in a position to do it.¡± Aurora explained. ¡°The only reason why Alana managed to pull it off is because none of her trusted people are widely known yet. Had we tried to do the same thing they would have recognised our people by the first day, or one of the intermediary people we used would sell the plan out.¡± ¡°Speaking of retainers, is there anyone else you would want to get?¡± Tom asked. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The biggest issue their family had when gathering retainers was that none of them were strong enough to try and entice any strong retired adventurers. This left them with two options: either they would slowly build up their retainers over the next century at the fastest, or they would have a strong enough person marry into the family and have them control any unstable retainers they try to get. Needless to say all of them were leaning more towards the first option ¡°I can¡¯t think o¡­¡± Ajax trailed off as he thought of all the teams he had gone into dungeons with over the last few months but none of them would join his house as retainers. ¡°There would be one team.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± Tom asked. ¡°That duel has given me some leeway to use my time and position to help along with recruiting.¡± ¡°The Collectors.¡± Ajax said as he fondly remembered his first delving team. ¡°The Collectors?¡± Elija mumbled as he thought he heard the name before. ¡°Yes¡­, new team¡­, arrived in the capital in the last year. They were already approached by both house Goldmancer as well as Manashaper.¡± ¡°I thought you got along with both of those houses.¡± Aurora said. ¡°Yes, it would be a good idea to get them as our retainers.¡± Tom acknowledged as he thought about it. ¡° Houses Goldmancer and Manashaper were simply paying out a reward, not only that but they have a very good idea of your fighting style, it would be best if they were to join us.¡± They were a solid team with good fundamentals that had already proven they could help them start building up strong retainer force. Not only that but they already knew about Ajax¡¯s prodigious talent and wouldn¡¯t take all that much convincing that their currently weak house was one that will grow quickly. From there on the tournament continued for Ajax in very much the same way as it started. Everybody he was up against would get bodied in the opening moments of the fight, a mage had attempted to go for a strong shield chant but quickly found out that there wasn¡¯t enough time to set up the shield before Ajax crossed the small distance separating the combatants. ¡°And he does it again.¡± the commentator shouted as Ajax had the mage on the ground with a sword point at his neck. ¡°The head of House Hearthbound in truly unstoppable.¡± ¡°Not only that but as he is only age seventeen he will be eligible to participate in the tournament for the next ten years as well.¡± The other commentator picked up. ¡°He will be the first to break the former crown princes¡¯ record of six consecutive victories. Not only that but he might push that record all the way to eleven!¡± Whereas the sixth year tournament was only halfway through at this point the first year tournament was almost finished. With Annabeth having claimed one of the final spots, Benedict and Lexi were set to fight for the other. Benedict knew that this was a fight he wasn¡¯t likely to win. Alexis Manashaper was a gifted and powerful mage, not only that but she was someone who, despite her somewhat aloof persona, was a first class analyst. She might not have had a mind for schemes and strategy like Annabeth but she could take apart a person''s fighting style in moments. Despite all of his hard training Benedict was at a massive disadvantage by having to fight a mage in a straight up duel. Seeing as both fighters would be coming into the fight well rested and with their resources topped up. From the moment the referee started the match Benedict had the urge to start cursing. The first thing Lexi did was put up a strong wind cocoon around herself to ensure she wouldn¡¯t be taken out by a stray ranged projectile. Not only that but her defensive layers only expanded from there as she created a small moat that she filled with fire around herself in her next two casts before she started peppering Benedict with spells. For his side Benedict had tried to replicate Ajax¡¯s successful strategy of rushing the mage before they managed to get their defenses up but he was simply not fast enough, he had barely covered half the distance between them before the wind wall as well as the fire ring were put in place. From there the match simply came down to whether Benedict could outlast Lexi¡¯s remaining mana pool or not. This wasn¡¯t the first time Benedict was faced with this situation in the tournament but there was one big difference between Lexi and every other mage in their class. Whereas all the other mages in their class had taken to focusing on one, maybe two elements, Lexi had the advantage of having her grandfather teach her his wide repertoire of spells that span across multiple elements. In much the same way Benedict¡¯s family Steelblade had a wide array of weapons that could counter specific elements but Benedict simply couldn¡¯t bring all of them with him. By the end of the fight Benedicts armor had patches frozen over, scorched black, soaked wet, entirely missing(thanks to a nasty little ball of acid Lexi had thrown at him). What brought him down in the end however had been a shadow spell. By pelting him with all sorts of different elements Lexi had forced him to take a defensive position behind his enchanted tower shield. Benedict hadn¡¯t seen the shadow chains coming before locked around his body letting Lexi walk around his shield and finally end the fight. Chapter 241 Annabeth P.O.V ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you. Sorry I couldn¡¯t make it in time for your other matches.¡± Dad said with excitement that dropped off because of the implications. Dad had been gone from the capital for almost two months. In fact he left about a week after Ajax¡¯s discovery was made public. But I knew just how important this auction was. I tried hard to keep the guilt I was feeling off my face, hopefully I had gotten a better handle on it with my social skill leveling. This had been the third auction in the last five years that had contained one of the fruits of Longevity. The fruits came in four varieties: apples, cherries, pears and coconuts. The fruits were extremely rare, as for their value it could range from priceless to less than nothing depending on who they were for. All four of the fruits did the same thing, they reduced one of the four mental stats of the person eating them in exchange for making them slightly younger. The last two auctions had offered apples and coconuts respectively. One lowered a person''s Wisdom and the other their Intellect. This latest one however announced that they would be offering not one but two cherries, the most valuable one of the four fruits seeing as it would trade Perception for youthfulness. Dad¡¯s representatives hadn¡¯t managed to win either one of the fruits in the previous two auctions and I knew it was the work of one of my cousins. My being born and dad wanting to pass the family head position over to me meant that he was trying to push back the clock as far as he could and they were working against him, all because of me. ¡°Now, now.¡± he said as he placed a hand on my head and stroked me gently. ¡°None of this is your fault. How about you tell me more about this last match of yours.¡± ¡°Lexi is the worst match-up in my entire class¡­¡± I pause for a moment at that. ¡° With the exception of Ajax, but he isn¡¯t taking part in this tournament.¡± The idea that someone younger than me was already so far ahead of me that he was winning the 6th year tournament without anyone to provide even a challenge was a little disheartening. Not only that but from what our people have noticed over the last year his rate of improvement seemed to match mine despite him already being so much higher. At least if the teams he was joining on his sponsored delves were any indication. ¡°Focus on the match.¡± father gently admonished. ¡°Right¡­ As I was saying she is a bad match-up.¡± I got back on track. ¡°She is a mage, that already makes it harder to prepare against compared to a physical fighter, what really gets to me however is her versatility. Despite not having the same amount of power behind her spells as I can put behind my fire she knows the chants for all sorts of different elements.¡± ¡°Yes, I imagine her grandfather has been extra generous with her.¡± dad said, and he was right. Lexi had gone through a bit of slump shortly after the start of the year. Not enough for anyone who didn¡¯t know her to notice but Ajax¡¯s versatility as a spellsword had made her question her own path. Her attitude changed, back to the same mischievous one she had before, if a little more competitive, after a few extra lessons with her grandfather over the course of a month. ¡°She¡¯s never shown me those shadow chains before, I couldn¡¯t even feel them as the spell traveled.¡± I exclaimed a little as I thought back to how the other semi-finale ended. ¡°Yes, a more advanced application.¡± father said. ¡°The spell actually started at her location the moment she finished her cast. Shadow magic has always been one more focused on subterfuge, as long as there are shadows connecting the start and end point of a spell feeling them travel is much harder. ¡°Do you have a plan in mind?¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll¡­¡± I didn¡¯t get to finish my sentence as the door opened. ¡°Apologies for the interruption , my lord.¡± My fathers head informant said as he and one of his people entered. ¡°What is it?¡± my father asked. ¡°We have a more detailed report on the recent change in the market for honey,¡± he said. ¡°The report is extensive and the situation is both delicate and rather urgent. Not only that but our details are incomplete.¡± That wasn¡¯t a great situation, an urgent situation without complete details is a bad spot for one to be, though it isn¡¯t something unusual for him to be informed about as the current head of the Goldmancer family. ¡°Go on.¡± Father prompted, and his head informant nodded to the other man. ¡°Yes.. Yes, sir.¡± the man faltered when he didn¡¯t see me leave the room, he must be one of the juniors as dad has been having me attend these meeting for a while now. ¡°As reported on previously almost the entire capital¡¯s supply is coming from a single organization, one led by Judy Hearthbound.¡± I felt my spine straighten slightly at the mention of her last name. ¡°Not only that but we have also confirmed that the honey they sell is in fact mana infused. A similar result to the elve¡¯s mana rich tea leaves if not to the same extent.¡± ¡°Is a confirmation all we have after a week of investigation?¡± there was nothing in his voice or tone that showed any annoyance though I could tell he didn¡¯t like being interrupted for just this. ¡°No, my lord.¡± the informant bowed. ¡°We have also learnt that their stranglehold on the market comes from having the beehives stored in wooden crates in the middle of the farming plots. Further inquiries have confirmed that the bees were gathered from the surrounding forest and¡­ effectively rehoused there.¡± ¡°The mechanism for the container is not that complicated.¡± the informant continued. ¡°We have purchased one from the same carpenter that has created all of his, much like a lot of other people, he has been making a killing selling them at almost twenty silvers each, yet none of us have had any success in getting any bees to actually stay there.¡± ¡°You are dismissed.¡± the head informant said and only continued once the three of us were alone. ¡°This seems to have given House Hearthbound a monopoly on the market, our information suggests that stealing one of the hives off his land will have the bees remain regardless of their relocation, though everyone is wary of doing so.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I ask not seeing how all the pieces fit together. ¡°All information suggests that the hive must remain in an open place.¡± the informant continues. ¡°With nobody else succeeding anybody that steals it will also be essentially announcing that they are the thieves.¡± I cut him off as my mind worked putting the puzzle together. ¡°A new noble house having a legitimate sustainment methold stolen from them within months of being granted the title will have everyone looking to get their two licks at punishing the thief.¡± I left out that some wouldn¡¯t be condemning the thief out of honor or duty but because they want to see what they could learn about the method by questioning the thief. ¡°Exactly so, my lady.¡± the head informant said. ¡°That would be all sir.¡± With that the informant awaited my father¡¯s signal and took his leave with a deep bow once it was given. ¡°Well, how would you approach this situation?¡± dad asked me once the door closed. ¡°The market for honey is too small and not profitable enough to be worth angering an entire faction.¡± I think aloud. There were quite a few viscounts and barons who were granted a title and almost saw their houses fall from thieves like that, not only that but they were almost exclusively granted their titles as a reward for combat making quick to violence now that they were more established and could get their hands on another thief. ¡°The real prize is the method of enhancing the honey, if it is like the elven method and can be replicated that is the real prize. I would approach and see about trying to extract that method in exchange for protection and guarantee of leaving the honey market for them.¡± ¡°Not a bad approach.¡± father said. ¡°From the reports however it seems like there are two different unknown factors at play here. One is the enhancing method and the other is the bee taming method.¡± ¡°How does that affect us?¡± I asked, unsure of why we would be interested in the bee taming method, it wasn¡¯t something big enough to affect us especially once others got back into the market once the bee population recovered. ¡°We could approach them in regards to their bee method with a generous deal. Having them share that method with us and having us use our reach to profit outside the capital while sharing a large portion of the profits would buy us good will. Not only that but it would build a working relationship that we can use to work our way to trying to get the enhancing method.¡± dad explained. ¡°Not only that but who knows, we might even be able to figure out the enhancing method just from learning about the bee method.¡± DONG! The bell from the central tower of the capital rang. ¡°That¡¯s enough for today.¡± dad said hearing the bell. ¡°Are you all set for tomorrow?¡± ¡°I am.¡± I confirmed. ¡°I have a plan that I am 70% sure will work.¡± ¡°That is good.¡± he said with a smile. ¡°Now off to bed, you need to be rested.¡± Chapter 242 Ajax battered his way through to the semifinals with a quick application on overwhelming power. Much like his previous matches there simply wasn¡¯t anything that his opponent was able to do against the monstrous stats Ajax was sporting. It also didn¡¯t help that he had won his previous match with a quick arrow shot before switching to a close combat strategy for this one. ¡°You¡¯re making quite the name for yourself, kid.¡± an old man said as he took a seat in the stands next to Ajax. It took Ajax a moment to place the sigil on his extremely high quality, if not overly flash, clothing before Ajax put a name with the old man, Goldmancer. ¡°No need to tense up so much, I am just here to watch my daughter¡¯s match.¡± the old man reassured once he saw the Ajax tense a little. While those words were meant to be reassuring any ease of mind the lack of specific focus on him had been wiped away as Ajax confirmed the man''s Identity as The Archduke Goldmancer. ¡°Making a name for myself?¡± Ajax asked with a little caution. ¡°Oh yes, your repeated nearly effortless victories are getting your name out there.¡± the archduke answered. Ajax had already been informed by his brother that quite a few of his fellow guards whose contracts were close to finishing had asked about him. Apparently they were very interested if joining his house would get them some training time with the ¡®Prodigy Child¡¯. Most were left disappointed when they were informed that Ajax was focusing heavily on his own progression and that the only training from him they would get would come in the form of group delves in the delve slots granted to his family every other month. A few had taken the news in stride, praising Ajax for continuing his dedicated training despite his success and chose to put their name up for consideration as retainers. ¡°They weren''t effortless.¡± Ajax mumbled, he hadn¡¯t held back anything beside his void element and [Cursed Slash], every one of those battles had his full effort put into it. ¡°Yes¡­ effortless might not be the best way to phrase it.¡± the archduke surprised Ajax having heard him. ¡°Quick is much better.¡± An awkward pause in the conversation had started to form for a moment there when archduke Goldmancer changed the subject. ¡°I also have to say I am quite impressed with how quickly your noble house has gotten a foundation. It¡¯s not solid by any stretch but even a shaky foundation is quite the achievement in a few weeks.¡± ¡°Most of that was thanks to the support of my family.¡± Ajax said with a bit of embarrassment at how little he had contributed to the day to day activities of his own noble house. ¡°Delegation is definitely important.¡± the archduke admitted, Ajax also thought he saw a deep frown cover his face but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. ¡°But I heard that you started working with those bees almost from the moment you got to the capital.¡± ¡°Beekeeping is one of the least time intensive agricultural pursuits.¡± Ajax said, unaware that his words had already slipped up and revealed a very relevant piece of information. ¡®Beekeeping¡¯, the archduke thought, scouring the deep retches of his memory back to his lessons regarding any form of farming. Never heard of such a skill before, not only that but he gained Trailblazer title only after he arrived in the capital, most assumed that it came from his odd application of magic, but what if it was from simple bees? Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Low time investment and a limited market.¡± the archduke nodded , not giving away any sign of his conjectures. ¡°Though a profitable one due to the buyers. I would be very interested in offering your house a partnership for a share of the profits in exchange for the method of setting up the hives.¡± The offer sounded extremely good to Ajax, a good upside of not having to look into expanding themselves and one that promised almost guaranteed and consistent income in a quick timeframe. ¡°This is no place for business.¡± a voice interrupted them before Ajax could respond. ¡°Besides such techniques should first be studied before they are spread to ensure that the most efficient forms are spread.¡± ¡°Headmaster!.¡± Ajax bowed politely to the man who joined them at the front of the stands. ¡°Duke Manashaper.¡± the archduke greeted with a smile. ¡°I wanted to congratulate you on your granddaughter¡¯s dominating run through the tournament. Though you¡¯ll have to excuse me if I hope that she loses this latest match.¡± ¡°Not at all archduke Goldmancer, in fact I could say the same thing about your daughter.¡± the headmaster replied. Ajax had to admit that he was thankful for the headmaster¡¯s timely appearance. It didn¡¯t take long for him to realize that the open-ended deal the archduke had proposed was very much open to interpretation and not the promised jackpot he had initially thought. Ajax was also much more wary of the man¡¯s skills as with the immensely favorable feeling he had gotten towards the deal Ajax knew he didn¡¯t want to sit opposite the man at the negotiating table. ¡°My Lords and Ladies.¡± the conversation was cut short by the announcer as he used a skill to project his voice over the entire arena. ¡°Thank you for coming to the Finals of the first year tournament.¡± The crowd was suitably hyped up for the match, many of them could be seen wearing the the sigil of house Goldmancer and house Manashaper in support of their preferred contestant. ¡°I will have to ask you to pay very close attention to this year¡¯s match. Both contestants are aggressively focused mages and as such the match could end at any moment.¡± the crowd roared its approval for an action-packed match. ¡°Despite needing no introduction it is my pleasure to announce this year''s finalists : Alexis Manashaper and Annabeth Goldmancer.¡± The crowd reached a deafening level that made Ajax glad for his higher than average Perception allowing him to reduce his ear¡¯s sensitivity to the noise. Both Anna and Lexi had entered the arena in a very different set of armor compared to what they had worn in the semi-finals. Not only that but the gear heavily contrasted from one competitor to the other, with Lexi sporting the classical mage robes and Anna bedding encased in a solid plate suit or armor. ¡°ARE. YOU. READY?¡± The Announcer''s voice could be heard through the weak sound enhancements placed around the arena despite only addressing the two people closest to him. Both fighters simply nodded, neither taking their eyes off the other. ¡°BEGIN!¡± Both casters instantly brought their staves forward as they started chanting their opening spell. Despite both of the fighters aggressive nature Lexi had started the fight with a defensive water wall that sprung up to meet the blazing fireball that Anna had tossed out. The power advantage was clearly in Anna¡¯s favor as even with an elemental counter a few embers from the fireball had made it to Lexi forcing her to sidestep out of the way. From there on their styles started to diverge even further. Where Lexi had started throwing out one element after the other Anna had doubled down with one fiery attack after another. As the fight progressed Ajax found himself doubting Anna¡¯s fire centered strategy. With elemental combinations such as earth and water Lexi was starting to take control of the match. Nevertheless Ajax got a feeling deep in his gut that he was missing something It had taken Ajax almost two full minutes to realize what it was that felt odd about the battle. From the very start Anna had not used a single defensive spell, instead every time a spell got to her one of the indicated designs on her armor would light up slightly before disappearing along with a good chunk of the armor itself. ¡°She¡¯s really going to be kicking herself over this one.¡± the headmaster said with a resigned sigh. ¡°This was her match to lose and she knew, it¡¯s why she was being more restrained than usual.¡± Ajax did have to admit that Lexi wasn¡¯t usually this defensive but he had thought that to be a reaction to the opponent and not a change in approach. ¡°A risky all or nothing approach.¡± the headmaster continued. ¡°Though one that will pay off this time, I do believe congratulations are in order.¡± ¡°Much appreciated.¡± the archduke replied but the headmaster had already started to mutter a chant as Ajax felt Anna dumb a massive amount of mana all at once just as a lightning bolt caused the enchantment on her helmet to activate revealing her face as it disappeared. As Anna slammed the butt of her staff into the ground Ajax could feel a pillar of fire mana fight to erupt from beneath Lexi, not only that but he also felt a quick release of mana from his right as a shield formed beneath Lexi¡¯s feet nullifying the attack. Despite the attack being fully blocked Lexi still lowered her head in defeat as Anna lifted her staff victoriously. Chapter 243 Ajax watched the result of the match with surprise, he had quickly managed to figure out that Anna had bet everything on this being a short match. Her armor basically ate chunks of itself in order to provide a shield. Not only was such craftsmanship not cheap but even the metal that it was created from was nothing to sneeze at, she probably spent at least two hundred gold just winning this single match. But while Anna¡¯s defense had made perfect sense her offense had not. Ajax couldn¡¯t get his head around how someone lower than level thirty like her had managed to launch a single spell strong enough to even harm him. ¡°What do you think ladies and gentlemen?¡± The announcer tried his hardest to take the spotlight from Anna but wasn¡¯t having much success. ¡°Was that [Delayed Release] or a combination of [Gap Casting] and [Overinflate].¡± Of the three skills Ajax only knew about [Overinflate], a Rare chanting skill that allows mages to supercharge weaker spells by repeating the chant over and over and pumping the spells with more mana. The issue was that Anna wasn¡¯t stuck casting fire pillar ten times to get that result, she had been constantly throwing out one fireball after another. [Gap Casting] and [Delayed Release] are pretty self explanatory from the context that the announcer made. [Gap Casting] allows one to pause on chant and pick in later, unknown to Ajax this is an Epic skill much like the other possible culprit [Delayed Release], allowing a mage to set a timer after which an already cast spell goes off. Going just by what he had been able to feel the moment the attack was released Ajax was pretty sure Anna had gone with the combination of [Gap Casting] and [Overinflate], as he hadn¡¯t felt multiple small spells join together but a single big blast being released all at once. ¡°Annabeth Goldmancer is the first Champion for this year¡¯s tournaments.¡± the announcer shouted. ¡°Join me in congratulating the young Lady for her hard work, dedication and cunning.¡± Ajax wholeheartedly joined in, much to the surprise of a few lower nobles who were watching him for a negative reaction. To them Annabeth¡¯s armor strategy was similar enough to the crossbow strategy that had been used on Tom. Ajax however didn¡¯t see it that way. First of all the expensive piece of gear was defensive only, secondly it had a short shelf life with chunks of the armor corroding away to create a defense, and finally she had forgone wearing any other type of enchanted armor, had Lexi managed to prolong the match she might have ended with not only and advantage in spell flexibility but even damage from her own armor amplification. With that Ajax made his own way down from the stands and went over to congratulate both of the finalists. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see just how quickly Lexi was back to her joyous hyper self skipping around the group, that was just how she showed herself. Ajax did however manage to pick up on a few tells that showed she was a little disheartened at the loss, afterall he had spent almost an entire year around her and his Perception was high enough to pick up on it. Ajax didn¡¯t stick around for long after the fight however. Unlike the rest of his classmates the tournament wasn¡¯t over for him, he still had both the semi-finals and finals left. On top of all that there was also the deal that archduke Goldmancer had offered him, Ajax was going to take that straight to Judy, Alana, his mother as well as his grandparents. He knew that a good deal could be reached, he just had to make sure he wasn¡¯t the one representing his house and that the archduke wasn¡¯t who any of them had to haggle against. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Later that night Ajax house was filled by multiple voices as five people surrounded the main table, unlike the usual food that was served on the table however it was entirely covered in scrolls and maps. ¡°I still think they are fishing for something, otherwise giving us a long term profit share seems a little too good.¡± Alana said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying they¡¯re not, the only problem is I can¡¯t see what it is they are angling to get. So either they think we have something we don¡¯t, in which case we get the better end of the deal.¡± Elija responded. ¡°Or we really are in possession of a valuable technique and we¡¯re not aware of it, who''s to say we can¡¯t also make use of it later after we see what they get up to?¡± ¡°How do you get the bees to stay in the hives?¡± Tom asked as he sat on the bench outside watching Ajax and Fluffy spar. ¡°Simple, they have a hive mind.¡± Ajax answers. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Tom asked. ¡°There are multiple different types of bees that make up hive.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°What does that matter?¡± Tom still wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°One of them is unique, there is only one like it in the entire hive, not only that but it rules over the rest of the hive, a queen.¡± Ajax said. ¡°The whole trick is to catch that one in a small cage and relocate her in the wooden hive. From there the rest of the bees will move in on their own.¡± Despite Tom¡¯s initial instinct to say that it can¡¯t really be just that simple, he did remember just how some other types of insect based monsters have an alpha that they never challenge and even sacrifice themselves for. ¡°MREOW!¡± Fluffy joined the conversation loudly as Ajax had managed to somehow get him from the side and performed an underpowered yet extremely satisfying suplex on the unsuspecting feline. ¡°That should be enough for today.¡± Ajax announced as he made his way to bed knowing that he had a match tomorrow. Standing across from Ajax in the arena the next morning was last year''s champion, come back to defend his title as is tradition for the last champion of the 6th year tournament so long as he is young enough to qualify for the event. For the first time in the entire tournament Ajax¡¯s opening charge wasn;t enough to outright win him the match. Ajax hadn¡¯t gone for a bow shot opening and he complimented himself on that decision once he saw what was in store for him. His opponent managed to parry away his sword and still withstood the lightning enhancement that coursed through their body to intercept the axe with the shield. Despite the opening attack not ending the match outright, that isn¡¯t to say that Ajax¡¯s attack was worthless. The perfect block had still transmitted enough momentum to fly his opponent clean off his feet and toss him into a hard landing. Just because his opponent was down however didn¡¯t mean that Ajax was going to give him a chance to get back up, following the heavy blow by pulling out his trusty bow and letting an arrow fly. A bright flash covered the arena as the former champion¡¯s medallion cracked and shattered while producing a barrier that managed to block the arrow. Having survived the arrow, the former champion had been quick to go back to offense, throwing lightning and ice spells alike. Ajax was paying very much attention to the lightning spells. Just because his stats were higher didn¡¯t mean that an electric shock wouldn¡¯t hurt him. The round went downhill from that point fairly quickling. Now that Ajax had actually seen how he plans to fight getting inside the man''s guard was rather easy. Pulling a trick out of Lexi book Ajax had used shows to grasp at the man. Despite his shadow not being strong enough to restrict his opponents movement fully all Ajax needed was a moment before he rested his axe on his opponent''s shoulder with the blade digging into his flesh. ¡°And we have our first finalist for the 6th year tournament.¡± the announcer yells out, he had figured it out pretty quick that he simply didn¡¯t have time to comment on Ajax¡¯s fights before the fight was over. ¡°The final will be held four days from now once the rest of the tournaments have also concluded. And don¡¯t forget to come tomorrow to see who Ajax will be facing for the title!¡± Chapter 244 Despite having beaten last years winner Ajax knew the final will end being a more difficult match, it wasn¡¯t so much that the person he was fighting would in any way be at the same level that Ajax is, after all they were barely level forty and Ajax had been able to clear dungeon floors with monsters going all the way up to level sixty-five. The difficulty came from a multitude of factors, first and foremost being that the mage he was going to be up against was a runic mage, his ability to quickly dump all his mana into attacks might actually result in something Ajax would have to look out for. The second issue was that he was an earth and wind mage and the sand in the arena would give him a slight edge. The biggest problem however was that he came from a ducal house. Not only that but he was one from their main family so he will have quite a bit invested in gear to specifically counter Ajax. ¡°So, do you think that is a deal we should make?¡± Ajax asked as he was training his [Inject Mana] on the plants. ¡°The market for honey is small, that said most of the demand comes from the high end of society so there is quite a bit of money to be made.¡± Elija explained. ¡°How do you get the bees to stay in these hives?¡± ¡°Why does that matter?¡±Judy asked. ¡°One of the biggest things to take in consideration if we should take the deal is how likely it is that others will figure out how to do it.¡± Alana said. ¡°Just because nobody has done it yet despite knowing it is possible only means the method isn¡¯t obvious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not hard,¡± Ajax said and everyone present focused on him. ¡°All you have to do is carefully relocate the queen and momentarily trap her inside.¡± ¡°The bees have a queen?¡± Aurora asked. ¡°Every hive is built around a queen.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It¡¯s the one that looks a lot bigger than every other bee in the hive, here let me show you.¡± With that Ajax approached the closest hive and after smoking it for a little while he opened it up from above. It took him a few moments to find the queen in the mass of bees but once he locked on to it he pointed it out. ¡°There, see that one that is bigger than all the rest.¡± Everyone else had also gathered around the hive. ¡°That¡¯s a queen?¡± his mother asked. ¡°I thought you said you had to trap it.¡± ¡°You do at first,¡± Ajax explained as he pointed to the little wooden cage that was now covered in wax and stuck to the bottom of the hive. ¡°After about a week you can let it go free since they will have already settled in.¡± ¡°I definitely recommend making a deal with the Goldmancer¡¯s.¡± Aurora said. ¡°It isn¡¯t going to take people all that long to figure that they just need to take the big bee to get the others to stick around.¡± ¡°Say nothing about the mana infused plants.¡± Elija said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how you even got them to be mana infused but that is something we are not going to let get out.¡± ¡°Is it that important?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°We¡¯ve had every single bigger organization that we owe a favor to come and try to use the favor we owe them in an attempt to know you got the honey to even have the small mana infusion it has.¡± Aurora explained. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Getting anything to take mana infusion was a massive pain. Ajax had quickly found that out as he had grown his plants and bees. Firstly not only did anything living need to be injected with mana from an early age, but everything surrounding it had to be as well. For the Bees that meant individual infusion in small doses as well as the mana infused plants. For plants you also had to ensure to infuse the soil regularly. All this had to be done without overloading, Ajax theorized that over a few generations you could get more than just the slightest amount of mana to stick but you had to take everything gradually. ¡°I think that House Goldmancer is more interested in learning how to get any mana infusion to stick to something than the honey market itself.¡± Elija said. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing too.¡± ¡°Why is that a good thing?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Because it means they¡¯ll give you a good deal on the bees hoping to figure it out by themselves from there.¡± Aurora said. ¡°And even a fair deal on such a large scale would set us up as one of the bigger unlanded Baron houses. A good deal we might end up as top five for the next few years while the monopoly will hold and the wild bee population recovers.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Anna about it.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Hopefully we can get a negotiation meeting with someone who isn¡¯t her father.¡± Ajax still felt a chill run down his back when he thought back to how much of an effect the archduke¡¯s skill had had on him during their simple conversation. ¡°You just worry about your fight.¡± Judy said. ¡°We¡¯ll worry about the deal.¡± Ajax very much appreciated how quickly his family had taken to his delegation of tasks. With that he focused back on his training and made sure to get enough rest so that his Mana and Stamina would be full in the morning. The next morning the arena stands were filled up once again. Ajax was glad to see that almost his entire class had shown up to watch the match, though some of them were there to cheer on his opponent (All of those however had come by and told him it was because of a family relationship with the ducal house). As he stepped into the arena Ajax could clearly feel the mana in the gems that studded his opponents armor. Unlike the first year tournament, the 6th year allowed for some much more complex gear to be brought in and people always paid up for the finals. Unlike in all the previous matches Ajax¡¯s opponent¡¯s cocky personality was nowhere to be seen. He was fully focused on Ajax and had already taken a fighting stance, he didn¡¯t even look away when the referee asked him if he was ready and had simply given a nod. The moment the fight began Ajax had started with a metal infused arrow before moving to close the gap. For the first time in the tournament however his opponent was just as quick as he was with getting an attack going as wind blades launched towards him. None of that mattered much to Ajax as he simply started to syphon extra mana from the incoming attacks as he dodged them with his increased physical stats. As soon as Ajax got in melee range of his opponent however the staff he had been using was swapped out for two shields. It was then that Ajax got a taste of how annoying a prepared runic mage could be on the defensive. Despite Ajax switching his [Mana Augmentation] on every strike his opponent seemed to have a defensive shield of the opposite element ready go. This was the second time that his opening charge was repelled. But Ajax wasn¡¯t discouraged, if a frontal assault wouldn¡¯t work he would just have to keep adding pressure. Besides his [Mana Augmentation] he now started adding some environmental magic into the mix. His first attempt at messing with the sand below his opponents feet had almost let him decapitate the man, the only thing that protected him was a wind enchanted necklace that triggered a strong wind burst separating the two fighters. The moment his opponent had Ajax at range he quickly swapped out his shields for the staff again and started to go on the offensive again, his slightly pale expression did however show just how close Ajax had gotten with that surprise attack. Ajax knew he could simply outlast his opponent, with the amount of spells he was throwing out Ajax was not even paying half the cost of [Mana Syphon] from his own mana pool. He did however want to put a quick end to the match so he charged again. The simplest way Ajax had to finish the match quickly was to finally show one of the aces he normally kept hidden. As soon as he got back into striking range and his opponents brought out the shields Ajax used a solid amount of mana to launch a fireball. His opponent was quick to bring up a water wall but that simply wasn¡¯t enough as Ajax used his [Cursed slash] to turn the fire black. Despite the flames going out quickly once they made it through the water wall they had already done their job and applied the curse. From there all Ajax did was release a pulse of holy cleansing magic. More than one of the experienced fighters had winced sympathetically once they saw Ajax¡¯s plan, despite the weak curse that was applied the amount of pain inflicted from the clash of curses and holy mana was something they all knew. Oddly enough the ones who best dealt with this combo were those who had a high Perception stat as that allowed them to minimize the amount of pain they felt. Ajax¡¯s opponent had been lucky to fall unconscious a moment after the pain hit, he hadn¡¯t even managed to let out a proper scream as all that came out was a short grunt before he dropped like a rock. ¡°And there you have my Lords and Ladies.¡± The commentator was quick to jump in after the match had finished. ¡°Another interesting surprise from our champion Ajax Hearthbound. At only seventeen years of age I am expecting we will see a lot more of him in the coming years.¡± Chapter 245 The reaction from the arena to Ajax¡¯s casual use of [Cursed Slash] was very different from what he had originally expected. While he knew that enough time had passed and that the stigma associated with cursed attacks should have gone down, he certainly didn¡¯t expect the enthusiasm displayed by the crowd watching. Ajax had failed to take into account that most of the population watching now was all part of the nobility, while a few of them might carry a grudge against curses that would also be true about almost all of the different elements. On the whole almost all of them were excited about someone else getting access to cursed attacks mainly because they didn¡¯t rely on mana. All of them hoped to find a method to reliably teach cursed attacks. Professor Silvertongue was the only one in the stands who could say he was disappointed with the end of the match. While he certainly hadn¡¯t expected to see a cursed attack there was little that the combat mage could gain from something like that. He had secretly been hoping to get a glimpse at the odd element his family had learnt Ajax had access to a while back. Unfortunately that element seemed to be one of his last resorts. The king and crown prince both had been present for the match and both turned a matching grin towards Evelyn who was in attendance by their side. Both had known about her work researching cursed mana but now her source would be out in the open. Crown Prince P.O.V. Father and I both turned a grin on Evelyn. She had informed both of us of this kid''s ability to use cursed attacks, not only that but he was actively trying to find ways of combining it with other elemental mana. His black flames weren¡¯t all that devastating but as a surprise attack the cleanly set up a combo with a wide range holy purification. Not only that but almost none of the shielding enchantments currently used would do anything to stop the purification, seeing it as a purely beneficial effect. ¡°So he¡¯s the one?¡± I asked my son. ¡°Yes,¡± he sounded a little defeated. I could certainly understand how that could happen, he had been praised for his talent for years now and despite all that he had only pushed harder. Despite all that effort here was a child the same age as him who could easily take him apart if he got serious. ¡°It¡¯s not just luck and hard work.¡± my older brother finally commented. Unlike his usual self there was no joking tone and his relaxed attitude was nowhere to be seen. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s had plenty of both but his talent is monstrous.¡± ¡°What do you mean brother?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ve had him investigated right?¡± he asked. ¡°You said he had no social skills to speak of before he got to the capital, yet he is already level thirty-four.¡± He must have used his identification skill on Ajax, it seems his [Enigma] isn¡¯t yet at the point where it can block out his level from someone with a decently high Epic inspection skill, his request for confirmation on the skill means that he couldn¡¯t even get a glimpse at those. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re positive he had no social skills before he got to the capital.¡± I confirmed, not sure what he was getting at. ¡°Do you know if he had a skill at level fifty before the age of ten?¡± he asked, the question seemed to fall like a ton of bricks on my oldest son¡¯s head. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°We¡¯ve had no way to confirm it, why do you suspect he did?¡± I asked, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to hear that the kid had achieved that as well. ¡°I¡¯m now sure which would be scarier, if he did or if he didn¡¯t.¡± my brother said, during all this time he hadn¡¯t once taken his eyes off Ajax, the kid was standing awkwardly in the middle of the arena being congratulated on his victory. ¡°How could him not having a skill at level fifty be scarier than if he did?¡± my son certainly didn¡¯t take that any better than the initial question. For the first time my brother took his eyes off of Ajax and gave my son his usual grin. ¡°This isn¡¯t a comment on your talent kid, it is a fact that you are talented.¡± he affectionately rubbed his head before his face turned serious again as he regarded Ajax. ¡°Think about it, he is barely turned seventeen and he has gained two levels a year since he was born. Not only that but he did it without social skill.¡± ¡°Is it that big of a deal?¡± my niece asked, she had barely turned ten and despite her positive interaction with Ajax there was someone else she had taken a shine to as a role model. ¡°Lady Goldmancer might not have achieved quite the same level but she did it without social skills either.¡± ¡°What Lady Goldmancer lacked in social skills she made up for with merchant ones¡± my brother replied. ¡°That¡¯s not to say that they don¡¯t take a lot of talent as well but they also require a fortune to properly gain experience past the first few levels, not only that but she is also two years older.¡± ¡°There are other ways to gain experience, there is a reason why leveling speed increases tremendously once people start delving.¡± My sister backed up her daughter with a solid point. ¡°Despite the downsides of the backwater part of the kingdom he grew up in he did have ready access to a dungeon, he wouldn¡¯t have needed anything past the first floor to really get going.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the sticking point.¡± my brother said as he frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t the method he presented to the court rely on not spending your free points until the small sweet spot of retaining the Apprentice buff but still being fifteen?¡± His words plunged the booth into a deafening silence as all of us processed the information. All of it was something we had previously but only in isolation, we simply hadn¡¯t connected it that way. ¡°He was level thirty-one when he arrived here.¡± my brother continued as we were all still pondering his earlier words, ¡°in less than a year where he had so many other things to deal with he gained three levels. Even assuming he did more than double in the year before that, that still leaves him with reaching level twenty-four before he spent a single one of his free stat points.¡± And that¡¯s where all his questions started to tie back in, he reached level twenty-four in fifteen years without social skill and without any heavily used merchant skills either. All this without having spent a single one of his free skill points. His earlier question started to make a lot more sense, if he didn¡¯t have a single level fifty skill when he was ten, just how many different skills did he have in order to level that much? ¡°From the looks of it his magic acts a lot like runic magic, if a lot weaker.¡± my brother''s next words had all of us focusing on him again. He was the only one of us to have spent an extended period of time in one of the dwarven kingdoms and they were the main users of runic magic, beastkin also used it but more as amplifiers of their own racial strengths than as a form of pure magic. This was all topped off by the fact that he himself focused on runic magic instead of the chanted version as a spellblade. ¡°From what he¡¯s said his method apparently clashes with both chanting and runic based usage.¡± Evelyn interjected. ¡°I¡¯ve verified it and sadly we can¡¯t have our own mages learn that style without hurting their chanting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a real shame.¡± he said and I could see the disappointment in not being able to integrate the discovery in his own repertoire to make himself stronger. ¡° But that¡¯s not all I am getting at.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re more focused on chanted magic so you don¡¯t notice it as much, but intent plays a big role in controlling the spells we cast outside of a set path.¡± my brother explained. ¡°For a chanted spell, regardless how short that chant is, you have a lot more time to infuse that intent compared to a runic caster.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of the drawbacks of runic magic, you give up flexibility for speed.¡± my son chimed in, he took it as a point of pride in trying to become a chanting spellblade. ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s not using runes either.¡± my brother answered. ¡°While his method does seem to sacrifice power for flexibility and speed it still shouldn¡¯t work. I suspect that he has the affinity for every single type of magic he uses.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying he already has six different Rare skills and five more Epic ones already!?¡± My sister''s outburst mirrored my own inner thoughts. ¡°Six epic skills, that cursed attack has to be at least Epic since the mana generated mixed with the fire mana so freely.¡± Our own curse skill user added on. ¡°Has he shown any indication of his willingness to marry into the royal family?¡± my brother asked. I found that same question being the first to jump in my mind as I turned to my father, he had taken a special interest in Ajax so his handling had been one of the things I left for him as I had plenty of others to focus on as I got ready to take over as King. A seventeen year old boy with at least eleven mana affinities, access to curse attacks as well as two Legendary skills. I would have to take a much closer interest in him. Chapter 246 Ajax had just finished his non-combat exams, all in all the subjects weren¡¯t all that hard but he knew that Alchemy was the only subject he was getting a perfect score on. With these exams out of the way his class only had their final dungeon delve to go through before the Academy would take a three month break before the start of the new year. ¡°How come we are given such a long break?¡± Ajax asked as they moved through the city. ¡°The break is mainly for the third years and above.¡± Benedict chimed in. ¡°They have this time to set up trips to the other dungeons where they can get the benefit of clearing some floors.¡± Benedict, Ajax, Lexi, and Anna were all heading towards the royal palace where they will be receiving their prizes for the tournaments. Quite a few people had thrown some curious glances towards their group but not a single person had dared to even approach them. The reason why everyone was keeping a respectful distance was the tall and wide bodyguard that followed them. Ajax had recognised the man as the same person who had accompanied Lexi and Annabeth back at the improvised war. Ajax was able to better approximate his level compared to last time but he was still sure that the man was over level one hundred and someone he didn¡¯t want to mess with. ¡°I think we are being followed.¡± Ajax said. He had caught glances and it seemed like quite a few people were following them. ¡°Of course we¡¯re being followed.¡± Lexi laughed. ¡°Interesting that you caught on to them.¡± the bodyguard said. ¡°Most likely because of how many there are.¡± Anna filled in. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°I always have at least two people watching over me.¡± Anna explained. ¡°Because of my family situation my father insists on it.¡± ¡°Then there''s you and I who just became prime targets for every other nation.¡± Lexi said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Benedict also had a personal guard.¡± ¡°Wait what?¡± Ajax was confused. ¡°There is no way that at least one noble who watched the tournament didn¡¯t sell the information to a foreign nation by now.¡± Benedict said. ¡°And you and Lexi and new priority number one and two to be eliminated. Though I do have to admit I am curious which of you ranks higher.¡± ¡°Why the two of us?¡± Ajax asked, though he didn¡¯t stop tracking the people following them. ¡°Your potential would mark you as a target nobody would like to let grow but I doubt all that much came out besides your age and weird fighting style. That was a really good choice you made getting [Enigma].¡± Benedict said. ¡°As for Lexi, she is a pure multi elemental mage, nobody wants to meet one of those on the battlefield.¡± Ajax knew why that was, unlike when multiple mages casted together a mage proficient in multiple elements could cast over a wide area without having their spells interfere with one another if they were just a little careful. For all of Anna¡¯s firepower with her fire magic armies could take some precautions against her beforehand. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised the royal family has people following us.¡± Lexi said with a laugh. ¡° I bet there are also specific counter-intelligence people following you and me looking to catch assassins and get information out of them, though good luck trying to find them.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°They¡¯d be at least level one hundred and twenty and focused on stealth.¡± Annabeth commented. Ajax was very conflicted about the information. On the one hand he didn¡¯t like it that the royal family had put him under constant watch, on the other hand he did feel a lot better about having some high level people looking over his shoulder just in case assassins were sent out after him. He knew that this was one of the most vulnerable times in his life as he was pushing to grow his power. Unlike his previous visits to the royal palace Ajax found that today his entire group was ushered inside without having to go through all the usual security measures. He also quickly found out that this was because they weren¡¯t taken deep into the palace but just to one of the greeting halls. ¡°The crown prince himself is giving out our rewards.¡± Lexi exclaimed in her usual manner once they entered the hall. They weren¡¯t the first ones there as the crown prince was already talking to the top places from the second and fourth year tournaments. The prince however didn¡¯t miss their entrance, his eyes hovering over the four of them, lingering a split second longer on Ajax, before he invited them inside with a nod and returned to the conversation. While Ajax knew that his rewards had been substantially increased as part of the bribe to keep him from entering all six tournaments and winning all of them he was still surprised to see that everyone got their own personalised rewards. ¡°Welcome,¡± The crown prince said to them once they approached their little group. ¡°I also believe that I owe your entire class a small apology on behalf of my son. He now agrees that he should have waited an extra year and not forced his way into this year¡¯s class.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to apologise for Your Majesty.¡± Benedict responded as all four of them bowed in greeting. From there the prince made a bit of small talk about the exam they had all just taken as well as the upcoming delve exam, all the while he handed out the rewards to Benedict, Anna and Lexi. ¡°Ajax if you¡¯ll please follow me for your rewards.¡± the prince said. ¡°Got something to hide?¡± the fourth year winner asked Ajax. ¡°Something to do with those curse attacks?¡± While the words seemed confrontational the tone they were delivered in only showed pure curiosity and no aggression. That wasn¡¯t to say that there weren¡¯t a few antagonistic glares thrown his way from some of the other competitors but none of them would be willing to bring it up with the crown prince present. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Ajax responded honestly. He doubted there was anything there connected to his curse skill but he did suspect that it might be something like that considering that they weren¡¯t giving them out to him openly. ¡°The reason for the privacy is the amount of his winnings,¡± the crown prince explained. ¡°A wager of sorts was placed with him in regards to winning the whole thing.¡± ¡°What sort of wager.¡± another of the participants asked, clearly jealous he hadn¡¯t been afforded that opportunity. ¡°In exchange for an increased prize as well as his seeded spot in the tournament, the Baron agreed to only take part in the sixth year tournament.¡± the prince admitted. ¡°Why would the royal family agree to that?¡± the first boy asked. ¡°You have to have known how strong he was.¡± ¡°That we did, but we were looking to avoid him carving a path through all six tournaments from an open entry position.¡± the prince explained. ¡°As it is the sixth year tournament seems to have its winner locked in for the next ten years, we wanted to avoid having all the tournaments end up like that.¡± That statement left the greeting hall quiet as a graveyard as everyone present thought quietly thanked the royal family for their foresight. Having Ajax dominate all six tournaments would have been a slap to the face to all of noble society and nothing good would have come of it. While Ajax was collecting his tournament rewards, his exam results were already being analysed in a room by a number of powerful figures. ¡°He certainly has a knack for alchemy.¡± the king said as he looked at the perfect score along with the glowing recommendation professor Vilethorn had written. ¡°Though he could do a bit better on his history.¡± Ajax had just barely scraped by in history. ¡°It¡¯s not his knowledge of history that needs work, it''s his attitude.¡± The king¡¯s oldest son said as he looked over the test. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Balthazar asked, while both the king and duke Manashaper looked on with interest. ¡°He knows what happened and when, he just doesn¡¯t know who.¡± The prince said with a laugh. ¡°You had to break me of the same habit back when I was seven, never cared much for which general came up with the plan but I knew when the battle took place and what the plan was.¡± ¡°His etiquette was also unfavourable.¡± Duke Manashaper chimed in. ¡°His introduction and greeting were spot on, but anything more advanced went right past him.¡± ¡°Not like he¡¯d need them all that much.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°That greeting and introduction will get him by for a while as everyone will let the rest of the things go since he was born a commoner. By the time that passes he¡¯ll be strong enough that people won¡¯t care anyway.¡± ¡°Perfect scores on both physical and magical combat, but that was expected.¡± the king continued. ¡°A lot of near perfect marks in all crafting classes, that''s certainly odd.¡± ¡°Previous experience.¡± Duke Manashaper said. ¡°Overprotective parents from a young age, they had him go through every single profession he could apprentice under before they let him try out as a hunter.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s new¡± the prince jumped in again. ¡°Could explain his quick levelling if he gained a few skills from all of them. Good to see that he is focusing on Alchemy and not stretching himself too thin.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to keep an eye on him now that he is done with his exams.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°If he decided to go on a trip to other dungeons we need to have someone there in case he is targeted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s already been handled.¡± the king said, though he turned a look to duke Manashaper ¡°You¡¯re having him skip the delve exam?¡± ¡°No point in him taking it, at least not this year.¡± the dean said. ¡°In that case I will let his house have an early delve slot for the coming week, best to give him options.¡± the king said. Chapter 247 ¡°Welcome to the final exam, this also marks the end of your first year at the Academy.¡± Professor Silvertongue said as he entered the class. ¡°Before we begin does anyone have any questions?¡± ¡°How are the grades going to be imparted since the teams aren¡¯t equally balanced?¡± The question was asked without fail every year as not everyone was informed by their family or backers. ¡°While each team will have an examiner following them, they will be grading each and every one of you individually.¡± Professor Silvertongue explained. ¡°Your individual contribution as part of the team will be scored for your results. I do hope that those of you who have tried to join people much stronger than yourselves have something to provide.¡± As this was an individual evaluation everyone was allowed to bring their companions with them. While bringing them was heavily encouraged they had all been warned that any who brought will have their dynamic with the bonded companion subject to evaluation as part of the exam. ¡°If there are no more preliminary questions?¡± the professor said as he looked around the room. ¡°First order of business, Ajax will not be participating in this exam.¡± Ajax had been informed of this change beforehand so he wasn¡¯t at all surprised. From the looks of more than a few people they had also been informed or they had outright expected this to be the case. ¡°Why is he exempt from this?¡± The question was quick to follow the announcement. ¡°The exam requires you to tackle the dungeon in the most efficient way possible while maintaining personal and team safety¡± one of the proctors answered this time. ¡°It does not require you to take into account the safety of other teams.¡± ¡°Leaving aside the imbalance that will be formed in any team that actually has Ajax as part of it, even having him by himself will make scoring the rest of you a nightmare as he will actively be hunting down everything around him in moments.¡± the professor said, ¡°Not to even mention that his most efficient route at this point will be to simply trigger the obelisk from inside a cave or with his back to a cliff and simply kill everything as it rushes towards him.¡± Nobody had anything to say when that point was brought up. If they were taking the exam in the first floor of the Goldmine a similar strategy might be feasible from the top two teams, seeing as the Exam was not in the Goldmine and that the level of the enemies ranged from thirty to thirty-five everything changed drastically. ¡°Secondly, the entire team will be subject to a major point deduction should your scorer ever be forced to intervene to save any member of the team.¡± the professor continued. ¡°What if someone is purposefully trying to lower their team''s score?¡± Ajax very much agreed with the question. ¡°Then it will be a good thing that the rest of the team learned the lesson about properly vetting their team members and all it cost them was the score on the exam and not their lives.¡± one of the proctors gave the harsh response but it had the desired effect as everyone fell silent and reviewed their choices. ¡°That being said the teams aren¡¯t finalized until you set foot inside the dungeon.¡± Unlike most exams there was no such thing as a set group size, at most there was a ten person limit to the group sizes but everyone knew the maximum size was a pitfall that would make it impossible to show off enough for a good score. There was no lower limit however and someone could go in by themselves should they choose to do so. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Thirdly : should the floor take on the feeder variant, a three day limit shall be placed on the exam. Otherwise there will be no time limit, though a penalty will start to accumulate should the team not leave in an appropriate time frame.¡± the professor continued. ¡°And it saddens me that this has to be pointed out, not to mention that I will be actively trying to expel any who fall under this category but if you any one you persist in remaining in the exam past the point where your scores have dropped to zero as a result of overstaying your examiner will notify your team to simply leave the dungeon.¡± Abbot Silvertongue was particularly peeved on this point as there had actually been a team to do just that the year he had taken the exam, the annoyance he felt at waiting an extra two weeks for the exam results because of them was something he still hadn¡¯t managed to fully forget. With all of that out of the way the entire class started making their way towards the dungeon entrance. It could be argued that some of the students weren¡¯t quite ready to delve the stronger of the capital''s two dungeons, having started the year as level twenty-threes some had only managed to improve three levels meaning they could end up with a nine level difference. At the same time some of them had progressed as many as five levels after starting at twenty-four. Despite most classmates starting with a two level difference at most at the start of the first year in the academy the gap had been known to increase as high as ten levels by the third year between the highest and lowest in the class. ¡°Are you coming to cheer us on?¡± Benedict asked Ajax as he moved together with the class towards the dungeon. ¡°No,¡± Ajax denied. ¡°That was the initial plan I had in mind, but my house was given the delve slot after the exam so I will be making use of that.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t get how you delve so often through random dungeon floors.¡± Lexi complained. ¡°You go every chance you get, with both crafter and clearance teams. Don¡¯t you get tired of delving?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be going past the first floor today either.¡± Ajax tried to reassure her. ¡°I¡¯m just taking some of the potential retainers my brother and his wife have managed to round up for a trial delve.¡± ¡°I still think you spend way too much time in the dungeons.¡± Lexi said, it was a point of view that was shared by both Sam and Silvia. Ajax had only managed to appease them by telling them he will be halving the time he spent delving once the Academy took a break seeing as he won¡¯t be joining the class delves every cycle. ¡°Is that Theron?¡± Benedict asked as he spotted the bull beastkin that stood two heads taller than most of the crowd. ¡°How did you manage to convince him to join you? I know for a fact a few other houses were aiming for him.¡± ¡°Talked with him after our fight, made a small wager about me being able to crush the rest of the tournament in a similar manner to what I did to him" Ajax admitted openly. ¡°It could be argued that you didn¡¯t outright stomp the semifinals and the finals.¡± Anna jumped in, analyzing the situation from a merchant''s point of view. One that she was familiar with as a lot of betting houses had been having the same argument, each betting house taking the side that cost them the least money overall. Some even trying to argue both sides with different customers. ¡°He said it was good enough, but that I¡¯d have to make sure his terms were a bit better since it was a bit murky.¡± Ajax said, he had been glad the bull beastkin had not only made the choice to join his house, despite being able to argue against it, but that he was also smart enough to try and gouge them for a better deal. ¡°Is that Fluffy?¡± Lexi quickly locked on to the massive shadow cat bringing the discussion to a halt. She had of course had a chance to see Fluffy back during Ajax¡¯s party but at that time she was not just the granddaughter of duke Manashaper but the representative of House Manashaper and it would have been unseemly for her to play around with a bond instead of conversing with other nobles. This was not a restriction she was under now as she took off like a shot straight towards the massive black feline under the curious gaze of the rest of the class. ¡°Fluffy!¡± she exclaimed as she threw her arms around the neck of the beast. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up so much! Do you remember me? I was there around the time you got your bond.¡± Despite Fluffy having grown in size and power he was still very much a young kitten in spirit as it took him only a few moments to recognize Lexi from as the girl who would fawn over him every time Tom took him into the command tent before he flipped down on his belly and managed to score himself a few treats from her spatial storage. ¡°Those are your rations for the exam, you shouldn¡¯t be giving them to Fluffy.¡± Anna chastised her best friend. It came across as very hypocritical as she herself had also sneaked Fluffy a large steak from her own provisions. While Fluffy was getting reacquainted with Lexi and Anna, Ajax had gotten to thanking the potential retainers for coming. He had already met them once for an interview but was now getting a much better lay of the land as they were now fully geared up for a delve. Chapter 248 Both groups swiftly merged as they started to make their way towards the dungeon. Ajax¡¯s entire class had their eyes trained on Fluffy. An elemental attuned inferior version of a feline or a wolf is considered the peak as a starting companion. While Fluffy is far too young to be considered optimal as well as surpassing being an inferior version, his current age does represent what a mature inferior version like his parents were. This added on to the playful personality he displayed towards Anna and Lexi on top of his soft coat made him the centre of attention. While the rest of his classmates were fawning over the shadow cat, Tom introduced Ajax to all the possible retainers and there was quite a lot to be said about the variety he was presented with. In terms of strength not a single one of the guards could stand up to Theron, this despite half of them being older than eighty with a strong focus on Vitality. One of the former guards did stand out to him however. Ogre, was the complete opposite of his namesake. He was a slim man with sharp eyes and was the only one to notice that Ajax had used [Judge Threat] on them. That isn¡¯t to say that he managed to stop the skill, however the result did surprise Ajax. Ogre¡¯s power level was around level thirty-five, one of the lowest of all the guards present and certainly no threat to Ajax. Oddly enough the skill also imparted the feeling that the man was slippery, most likely a stealth specialist that would even give Ajax trouble. He was naturally a dedicated scout. Where the guard recruits were more mediocre, as a result of all who were slightly talented usually having already joined a different house, the two healer recruits that Kate had managed to persuade were not only younger but seemed to be decently talented, not only that but they were also younger and as such had more time to grow in their potential. Once they finally entered the dungeon Ajax could see the change in all of the former guards. Despite their lack of outstanding talent all of them did have plenty of experience with dangerous situations as a result of a long service as part of the capitals guards. Fluffy did seem a little upset that Tom would have to remain outside, his level simply not being high enough to safely enter the dungeon. While Tom was slightly underleveled for the dungeon Fluffy was already strong enough to head towards the next floor so Ajax sent the feline forward together with Ogre to scout for them. It was here that the dungeon floor layout proved problematic for Ogre. Despite his high Perception and a long time spent practising his skills, he had very little experience in how to scout through the tall grass on the hilly open planes. His skill could barely find any footing to grasp onto the structured tunnels dug underground by snakes, spiders or rats. Ajax could only sigh as they didn¡¯t get the feeder floor variant. The extra levels the creatures would gain would be a good opportunity to allow for a small increase in difficulty without having to go up a full floor. Not only that but he would have been able to make a good impression on the potential recruits by sending them all home with a sack full of high quality meat from the rabbits as the floor ended. Theron was quick to show his prowess once the first battle began. The bull beastkin had managed to catch a decent size snake by the back of the head mid leap with his massive size. Even more impressive was the fact that he looked to be squeezing the life out it. The rest of the guards also showed their expertise, their teamwork was flawless as they formed a solid perimeter around the two healers making sure nothing could get to them. Their experience protecting civilians during brawls showed as they didn¡¯t let a single rat break through their formation. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Whereas the healers had a lot more potential it quickly became clear that they didn¡¯t have all the needed combat experience, their only known tactics being to close ranks with Ajax as he was the only mage currently present. Ajax didn¡¯t make a single motion to join the fight. The people here were stronger than needed to handle the first floor and he was mainly here to observe them and would only interfere under dire circumstances. Just as the rat numbers were starting to lower Ajax started hearing odd whistles coming from somewhere. Oddly enough he could only narrow down the general direction, he should probably look into working on his tacking skills once more as he had neglected them ever since he had first spent his free stat points. The whistles were obviously coming from Ogre and the rest of the guards properly changed their formation to intercept incoming attacks. Theron stood out like a sore thumb when compared to the practised movements of the rest of the guards. Despite his massive size and power he wasn¡¯t getting anywhere close to his full efficiency being unused to fighting as part of a group. The first wave swiftly ended and Ajax noticed that it was larger than the usual packs that this floor was covered with. Despite that the beast all came in as a smooth flow instead of as a crushing wave and he counted enough there to mark three full groups. Once the fighting was over the healers finally had a chance to show their own skills. With most of the beasts being rats and moles each guard had more than one or two scratches to show for it but none of them were deep. It took barely a cast to have all of the wounds swiftly close up but Ajax noticed that there wasn¡¯t anything done for the small amount of blood loss. That wouldn¡¯t be an issue with how small the wounds were now but it was something to keep track of. From morning until night the group had fought through another five more similar battles. They mostly played out the same way but with every single encounter Theron was getting more and more included into the team dynamic. Their first attempt at including him had ended in an almost disaster as they tried to include the beastkin into their formation as a normal guard. Theron¡¯s size and fighting style however did not mesh well with the tight formation and ended with more than a few close calls where Theron''s heavy blow cut cleanly through the rat hound sized rat but the blow carried forward embedding the axe into the shield of the guard next to him. Their formation evolved from there to a more wavy circle shield formation that sported Theron on the outside, this let the bull charge around the circle formation and attack any beat from the side while the rest of the guards made sure nothing attacked him from behind. Ajax¡¯s first show of magic came when the light dimmed and the dungeon turned to night. He quickly used his ability to summon magma and water to create a large solid plane on which they set up their camp. Not only that but Ajax also stored all the provisions for this trip in his spatial storage. Tom had told Ajax that he was only looking to recruit about half of the guards he had brought today, those that hadn¡¯t yet given up on advancing in level and were still looking to push. A few of them were clearly done with progressing and were now only looky for a cushy job to partially retire on. The night had been uneventful with nothing trying to get at them and everyone changing shifts without too much complaining. The one problem that did creep up on them was that Theron snored loudly, not only that but he had also been part of the first shift meaning that after he fell asleep everyone else also had a much harder time doing so. Ajax made a note to ensure there were some silencing runes placed on Theron''s tent for next time. The second day played out much differently than the first. The team had only gone through two fights before they had reached the obelisk. It was there that Ajax had them set up a defensive position in a cave and told the healers to look into restoring the blood the guards had lost. Most of the team looked a little worried when Ajax activated the obelisk despite a large portion of the floor still not being cleared. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of most of them, take up a defensive position just in case a few run past me.¡± Ajax said as he strode to the front of the cave. All of the guards shared a few concerned looks with both healers going a little pale when they started seeing the wave of rodents rush towards them. The only one calm and collected beside Ajax was Theron. ¡°He¡¯s got this.¡± the large beastkin reassured them. What followed next was something that left a deep impression in the minds of the guards and the two healers as Ajax perceded to single handedly lay waste to everything the dungeon threw at him. Both Tom and Kate had told them that Ajax was special but there was a difference between being told and being shown. His weird fighting style combined with the fluent change from one element to the other was a mesmerising experience. Their trance was only broken by the thunderclap that came from Ajax¡¯s final and overcharged lightning spell that finished off the last of the beasts using the large puddle he had spread in front of the cave. ¡°That should be¡­ all of them.¡± Ajax heaved out, despite not getting hit he had run through most of his mana as well as a good two thirds of his stamina. ¡°We can¡­ head out.¡± Chapter 249 Ajax could still make out the hushed whispers that the rest of his team were trying to slip by him as they headed towards the exit of the dungeon, his performance at the end seemed to have convinced at least one of the two healers that his house would be a good one to join, especially if they could get in before it grew. This would be the shortest delve Ajax had ever been on, lasting only a day and a half in total to clear out the first floor of the dungeon before leaving. With a simple nod after exiting Ajax let the guards know that they cleared the floor and there was nothing expecting to come out the arch. A closer look at the battlements that surrounded the dungeon brought back one of the final lessons he had been given in his first year at the academy. ¡°Champion and hero always somehow end up dying in battle.¡± Professor Silvertongue had said. ¡°This would normally convince the strongest to hide their strength out of a desire to live longer but that is not the case.¡± Ajax remembered the confusion he had felt back then as he took in the layout that was officially there to keep anything from coming out of the dungeon and into the capital. ¡°The absolute strongest teams in the kingdom will always be left at the capital.¡± Professor Silvertongue had said. ¡°Their post will be to safeguard the dungeon entrances. Because one of the worst things that can happen is a level one hundred and sixty enemy fighter getting inside and unleashing a whole floor of level one hundred and forties or fifties in the heart of the capital.¡± The idea hadn¡¯t even entered Ajax''s mind until that lesson but it made perfect sense. Any country on the edge of ruing could attempt to simply ruin the capital of their opponent by unleashing a full floor of high leveled creatures and all it would take is one man. ¡°The whole reason why the Republic managed to establish a peace contract with all four of its neighbors in under a decade of the first treaty being signed is that their top talent revealed themselves to be a level one hundred and ninety stealth specialist.¡± The professor had explained. That¡¯s what Ajax wanted for himself. One person that had enough personal power that it could make a whole kingdom wary of them. And best of all it seemed like the royal family was planning for the same as it actively looked for ways to help him push himself further faster. ¡°Thank you all for coming.¡± Ajax said once they cleared the dungeon defensive surrounding. ¡°My brother and Kate will be getting in touch with most of you in the next few days. It was a pleasure to meet you all.¡± Ajax was careful not to indicate to any of them except Theron who was already accepted that he was leaning towards accepting them. After a quick goodbye he headed towards the small outpost the school had outside the dungeon for the delving examinations. ¡°Anyone made it out yet?¡± Ajax asked his instructor Gatecrasher who he saw waiting outside the dungeon battlements. ¡°Not just yet. It¡¯s only been a day.¡± Instructor Gatecrasher responded. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you got out so quickly.¡± ¡°Today was as much about drawing them in as it was about testing them.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°I cleaned up a good portion of the floor by activating the obelisk.¡± With a quick goodbye Ajax headed straight back home. When he got there he was surprised by the small surprise party that had been prepared for him. Besides his family both Luna and Hatched were also in attendance, as well as Theron who had somehow gotten there not only faster than him but also without him noticing. Despite him graduating the first year at the academy, as well as any other year to be fair, being a foregone conclusion at this point it still felt nice to celebrate. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Any of them catch your eye?¡± his brother had asked him after the party had run its course and they were the last ones awake in the middle of the night. ¡°The scout¡­¡± Ajax slurred out having had a bit too much to drink and trusting his [Poison Resistance] a bit too much. ¡°Ogre.¡± ¡°He is a crafty one, that''s for sure.¡± Tom said as he nodded. ¡°We¡¯re lucky to be getting him even if he is a bit old for his level.¡± ¡°How are we getting him anyway?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°There has to be others that want someone with his experience if nothing else.¡± Finding someone with that much city scouting experience was valuable even if they were close to past their prime and low level. ¡°Same way we are getting anyone besides Theron interested.¡± Tom answered as he swayed a little himself. ¡°We are still a small enough house that we offer family inclusion to all. Ogre was a bit of a playboy for most of his life. Only got tied down a year ago and he¡¯s got a kid on the way. We¡¯re the best chance he can give that kid.¡± Having a noble house promise that your family will be taken care of even should something happen to you was something only very talented people usually got and it was the promise that paved the way for new houses to gather any retainers at all. ¡°How many of them are joining us after all?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Five.¡± Tom said. ¡°Possibly seven if the healers decide to tag along.¡± ¡°One of them seemed sure they were going to as we were leaving the dungeon. The other could go either way.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad start.¡± Tom said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll have my work cut out for me turning them from guards into retainers, especially since I have no experience of what that entails.¡± ¡°Any news about the Collectors?¡± Ajax prodded. ¡°I haven¡¯t approached them yet. They¡¯re still getting their feet under them in the capital.¡± Tom said. ¡°Is it taking them that long?¡± Ajax was surprised. ¡°I know they are more adaptable than that. ¡°They haven¡¯t been in the capital as long as you have.¡± Tom said. ¡°A month after they arrived they took off again with a contingent from House Goldmancer. Everyone is saying they did a round to all the dungeons inside the kingdom and got boosted for some extra stat points. But that long a journey took them months. They¡¯ve only been back for four months now.¡± ¡°That makes sense, I should look into doing a round like that as well sometime, maybe next summer break.¡± Ajax pondered aloud as he took another gulp of his drink. It was close to sunrise by the time Ajax and Tom had dragged themselves to bed. This was the first time since Ajax had come to the capital that he finally relaxed and simply enjoyed himself without worrying about the future for a while. It was past noon by the time Ajax woke up later that day. He had a pounding headache as he washed himself and grabbed a small lunch before he headed off to the dungeon. He had planned to show up early in the morning and wait with instructor Gatecrasher for his classmates to finish the exam for the next few days, but last night''s surprise party had gotten in the way of that. ¡°Still haven¡¯t had anyone finish?¡± Ajax asked surprised as he got there. ¡°Not yet, we usually have a team that drops out by this point and they come out early but maybe everyone will pass this year.¡± instructor Gatecrasher said. The dungeon delve exam was the only one of the three exams that a student could fail without having them be kicked out of the academy. The tournament was too luck dependent to count losing a round as a failure and most people could put up enough of a fight that almost nobody ever failed that exam. The written exam was given in such a way that a low level of common knowledge was required to gain a passing mark with the higher grades requiring exponentially more. All who failed the delve exam still passed the year but if they failed two years in a row they would be kicked out all the same. It was close to dusk by the time the first team came out of the dungeon. Unlike their pristine and clean gear when they went in Ajax could see the scratches and teeth marks that the rats and ferrets had left of them. Most telling of all however Ajax could see that three out of four sported multiple twin holes in key areas of the body. ¡°First group to be eliminated.¡± the examiner said as he brought up the rear. ¡°They all pass though.¡± That last remark made the frowns all of them were sporting vanish in an instant as they started congratulating each other. ¡°Any key remarks?¡± the instructor asked. ¡°Yeah, they need to be exposed to more monster variety.¡± They got so used to the defensive fighting of the wolves, stags and griffins as well as the humanoid style of the kobolds that all four of them were poisoned in the first two hours by the hidden ambush style of the snakes.¡± The words were like a bucket of cold water dropped on their heads, though that did little more than internalize their joy at passing the exam. ¡°They solidly dealt with pushing forward after getting poisoned and managed it well but even the antivenom wasn¡¯t enough as they kept getting bit.¡± the examiner continued. ¡°They were smart and realized that much on their own and retreated before their combat ability was too compromised.¡± That was the only team to come out of the dungeon today and Ajax returned home and got to bed at a reasonable hour determined to show up in the morning the next day. Chapter 250 Teams continued to exit the dungeon every couple of hours for the next two days. Depending on the skill of the team they would have more or less scratches covering the armor, some even sporting some partially healed wounds. The one constant Ajax had noticed however was that all teams had at least half their members with snakes bites on their ankles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, by the second half of next year we¡¯ll start delving the second floor of the Goldmine, that should help with their lack of experience.¡± instructor Gatercrasher said as he noticed where Ajax was looking. ¡°Ajax, good to see you here.¡± Professor Silvertongue said as he also came by. ¡°Your delve tomorrow will be the last one you will be doing as my teaching assistant until the next year starts, you¡¯ll of course be welcomed on delves just as usual in between but you¡¯ll be doing that as part of the group not as a guest.¡± While the difference between delving as a guest and delving as part of the team wasn¡¯t all that big it did mean that Ajax would no longer have a few of the benefits he currently did, most notably his right of refusal on claiming anything that he killed or found as part of his share at the end of the dungeon. ¡°Well there we have it, the perfect delve.¡± Instructor gatecrasher exclaimed as he inspected Anna¡¯s and Lexi¡¯s team. ¡°Not a single scratch on you.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t say that he didn¡¯t expect this as both of the mages had exceptional gear and a good head on their shoulders to go with their strong magic it was still very impressive. ¡°Hmm, it does look like the battle for first place will not be as close as usual this time around.¡± professor Silvertongue said as he looked over the scores. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure, Benedict, Rick and the prince aren¡¯t back yet.¡± instructor Gatecrasher said. As the words left his mouth Ajax spotted the trio approaching them. While their gear was in very good condition and none of them looked to have taken any serious hits, a few marks here and there could be seen from an errant claw strike. ¡°It does seem like I was wrong.¡± the professor said as he took a look at the team''s results. ¡°Maybe this year will be even closer than most.¡± With all the calculations done however it did seem like the test had ended with Benedict, Rick and the prince winning by a not insignificant amount. ¡°I will have to talk with the headmaster a little about these point values.¡± the professor muttered as he looked over the results with Ajax. ¡°There should be different scoring sections for physical fighters, mages and hybrids.¡± Ajax very much agreed with the statement. Benedict¡¯s team won mostly because they were a three man group with one and a half physical fighters, this allowed them to keep pushing further and getting a lot more kills than the other teams who had at most on physical fighter. The biggest problem however came from how little the perfect delve counted for Anna and Lexi. For a mage not taking a single hit was a lot more important and should be scored higher. The whole class had managed to finish with the delve by the second day and all of them had decided to go to a tavern and celebrate. Ajax had joined them but he had learnt a lesson from his own recent celebration and had called it quits early in the evening as he still had a delve scheduled for tomorrow. ¡°We should really look into getting you a uniform.¡± Trevor II said as he saw Ajax join them. ¡°I¡¯ve led more delves with you as part of the team than without.¡± Ajax really did feel like part of the team, he had already synergised with the team, added on to his [Teamwork] skill and Ajax reacted as part of the team to set up everyone else and cover for them. The lack of skill did mean that the rest of the team wasn¡¯t on quite the same level when covering for Ajax but they were getting closer with every delve. ¡°What do you say boss, should we go up a floor?¡± one of the frontliners asked. ¡°I want to see what a level seventy can do.¡± The man was quickly booed for making such a suggestion. With the exception of Ajax the rest of the team¡¯s average level was in the early sixties. With their gear and enhancements they would definitely be able to clear out another floor up if it housed regular monsters. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The issue was that as they were pushing higher more and more creatures were now available to the dungeon to populate its floors with. While humanoids were the most balanced of the races, with monsters sacrificing intelligence in exchange for stats, things like elementals were a whole different matter. Elementals sacrificed a big weakness for blanket protection. A water elemental was extremely weak to cold magic as well as lightning magic , but in exchange it did decent against other types of magic and was nearly immune to physical attacks. Getting another mirror world floor at level seventy would be all but a death sentence for the team to attempt. Once everyone was there and ready the team began its quick accent through the early levels. As much as Ajax found the process borning and wasteful when he was delving with the pushing team he knew just how important it was for the crafting teams as they collected different ingredients from different floors. The mana concentration difference in the ingredients did start to cause issues if there was a more than two floor difference between them but that extra level of challenge did wonders for increasing skill level. Nothing much happened as they climbed up towards the eighth floor, the only thing of note was the arch boss on the fourth floor being extractable, allowing them to store the twenty foot long snake corpse into a storage ring to be taken out of the dungeon. The snake was an ambush predator and Ajax wanted to get a hold of that level forty-five shadow infused core for Fluffy as part of his split. The other big discovery was a massive diamond the size of a fist that one of their scouts found on the seventh floor. That was surely going to cause an argument between house Silvertongue¡¯s smiths who could use it to purify the mana in their forge and enchanters who could use it as the core of a powerful staff. ¡°Looks like it''s going to be easy to clear.¡± the same cock frontliner exclaimed after their first few encounters into the jungle themed eighth floor. Ajax had to bite his tongue as every ounce of his being wanted to chide the man for jinxing them. He knew it was very superstitious and that jinxing didn¡¯t really exist as many times when things had been jinxed they had gone perfectly fine. That wasn¡¯t how the human mind worked however as every instance of jinxing that had gone wrong instantly jumped to the forefront of his mind as soon as he heard the words. The jungle floor had a rather complex ecosystem where they encountered lizards, fishes in rivers, small birds that could maneuver throughout the treeline and, most annoying of all, monkeys. Despite monkeys not being the strongest of the creatures, their habit of throwing their shit as their primary engagement method quickly brought them to the top of the eradication list. ¡°Anyone else think something fishy is going on here?¡± Ajax asked on the third day as they worked their way killing throughout the floor. From the start of the floor Ajax hadn¡¯t seen a single boss monster. The arch guardians were usually slightly empowered versions of the monsters themselves yet Ajax hadn¡¯t seen a single one since the floor started. ¡°I think this is what they call a swarm floor.¡± one of their healers shared their opinion. Different floor models started to appear as one ventured deeper into the dungeon. Besides the regular floor and the environment there were multiple others, though hitting a swarm type floor was a one in fifty chance at level sixty-five. Not only that but Ajax felt that the numbers of enemies were too low for it to be a swarm floor. ¡°My first time seeing one.¡± Trevor chimed in. ¡°I have to say that it doesn¡¯t feel like there are that many more monsters than usual. But it could be because of the dense vegetation that makes each encounter so separated from the next.¡± ¡°Lone humanoid approaching.¡± one of their scouts returned to warn them. ¡°Humanoids on this floor as well, I have to say it has a lot of variety.¡± Trevor said as he waited for more information. ¡°Fox beastkin from the looks of it.¡± The second scout came in. ¡°Female, wielding a staff, white hair and fur that ends in red coloring at the end.¡± ¡°Careful with her speed and watch out for freights, foxes are tricky.¡± Trevor reiterated, the one good part about dungeon beastkin was that they actually resembled their beast side. ¡°Open with a volley.¡± Both Ajax and the other two archers loaded their arrows and fired the moment they had visual of the humanoid. Oddly enough however instead of dodging the fox beastking simply raised their hand as a mana shield shimmered into existence and the arrows bounced off. The front line was ready to charge the caster when the beastkin took a fighting stance and flared her twin tails, one to each side. ¡°RUN!¡± Trevor instantly shouted as his face paled looking at the kitsune. ¡°Everyone clear line to the arch, we¡¯re getting out of here now!¡± Even Ajax felt the pressure as mana started to surge towards the kitsune. ¡°What were the fucking chances¡± Ajax swore as the whole team ran for the arch. ¡° Getting a floor boss at level sixty-five is a one in ten thousand.¡± Despite the extremely low chance to spawn everyone on the team knew about floor bosses. Most often taking the form humanoid beastkin with extremely developed beast sides or additionally evolved monsters. They became a staple of every floor after the top monster level reached one hundred and only spawned after half the floor had been cleared out. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it have been a minotaur?¡± one of the team complained as they all ran. ¡°That one we at least had a chance with.¡± Floor bosses were known for their abilities to take on whole teams but kitsunes were known as team killers. Very few people had the required defensive measures to pierce the illusions they used and their mystical flames had always had fire mages looking on enviously. The whole team had managed to make it to the entrance. Thankfully despite their insane mastery over mana, kitsunes were slow. One after another the team piled through the arch coming out the other side heaving. ¡°Incoming¡­ eighth floor¡­ a quarter or so left uncleared, jungle theme.¡± Trevor heaved out towards the guard. ¡°There¡¯s a¡­ two tailed kitsune¡­ with them.¡± The guard had been listening from the moment Trevor started reporting but at the word kitsune he quickly straightened up and started calling out orders. Ajax felt the change as everyone waiting in line was pushed back further than usual and a team strong enough that [Judge Threat] had four out of five of them as : they will kill you quickly, with the last one being immune to the skill as a whole. Chapter 251 Ajax and his team had made it past the security barrier that had appeared to surround the arch, isolating everyone but the team of five from the arch as they prepared to handle the upcoming floor boss. It only took a minute more before the first jungle creatures started to pour out of the arch. To call what happened to them anything but a slaughter would not do it justice as waves of flames erupted and turned all of them to ash. The arrival of the kitsune was memorable as the wave of orange flames suddenly gathered around the floor boss¡¯s silhouette before they turned green and blue exploding outwards. The five man team were quick to gather behind the massive tower wall shield of their guardian. Ajax watched in awe as the ephemeral flames latched on to the barrier. His [Sense Mana] told him clearly that the flames weren¡¯t actually doing any physical damage to the barrier but were instead burning the barrier mold. He could feel as the flames focused in small areas looking to make a hole. The five guardians were quick to respond, as soon as the flames passed them their archer quickly shot the arrow he had drawn back. Ajax could even keep track of the arrow as it cut through the air but he clearly felt as the kitsune put up a manashield to block it. The arrow shattered the shield but the trajectory of the arrow sent tilted sending it into the kitsune¡¯s shoulder instead of her heart. The floor boss¡¯s next move even left him confused as the boss split into multiple copies of itself, all of them looking identical as they spread out. He logically knew from his previous information that these weren¡¯t actual clones but an illusion, yet nothing he had could tell the difference. His [Sense Mana], [Judge Threat], even his [Mana Syphon] felt like it could pull mana from all of the kitsune¡¯s present. The protection team was clearly suffering the same issue as him as the swords went cleanly through illusion after illusion, their spells not being able to take any of them. The only one to seem different was the archer as his second arrow cleanly sunk into the kitsune¡¯s leg. Ajax assumed he had a way of tracking his previous arrow and picked out the correct target that way. Ajax¡¯s enjoyment of the fight quickly disappeared as the first holes in the barrier finally appeared, not from the fire damage but from the barrier structure no longer being there. Had he been able to focus on the holes he would have seen the barrier trying to pump mana into them only for it to be released harmlessly into the surroundings. Ajax¡¯s focus was quickly brought back onto himself as his sense of balance all but disappeared. If he thought walking had been difficult a few days back when he had gotten drunk, he could even stand on his feet as he felt the world start spinning quickly. He quickly activated his [Mana Syphon] but all it did was weaken the illusion to the point where he could bring himself up on one knee. Ajax had barely had enough time to get his bearing again, looking around at all the people who had also dropped from the mass illusion that was released before its effects completely disappeared. A quick glance towards the arch let him see the kitsune¡¯s head flying through the air, the body crumbling beneath the body of a plated warrior wielding a two handed sword. The fight couldn¡¯t have taken longer than ten seconds. The level difference between the party and the floor boss was too large for it to truly stand a chance. The power of a floor boss was something that was no longer just information given to him. Kitsune¡¯s definitely deserved their name as team killers as Ajax looked around to see people still on the floor more than a few of the puking from the illusion assault on their senses. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Everyone, okay?¡± Ajax asked the rest of the team as he stood back up. ¡°Good as can be expected.¡± Trevor answered as he slowly got to his feet as well. ¡°I see now why the illusion protection enchantment is mandatory for anyone delving floors with levels into the nineties.¡± The chance for a floor boss to spawn quickly grew, from a one in a hundred thousand at level sixty to a one in two at ninety five and a sure thing once levels reached the triple digits. All floor bosses were specialized with few and small weaknesses, but one thing they all had in common was that they were apt in dealing with large groups of people. ¡°Ugh, did we have to get a kitsune though?¡± another one of their party members complained as they got to their feet. ¡°Why not give us a monster variant, something we could fight.¡± ¡°Stop complaining.¡± Trevor said. ¡°We got lucky, it could have been an elemental variant or worse yet a werewolf.¡± Elemental floor bosses were a lot weaker individually than their counterparts but they had the nasty effect of instantly changing the entire floor to an environmental one based on their element. This sometimes came with nasty combos like a water floor with a lightning elemental. Ajax shivered slightly as he thought about a werewolf variant. While it might make for an actually favorable matchup for him in particular, the werewolf had had its secondary focus on speed with a primary one on its venom. If the venom was anything on the level of the illusion powers of a kitsune Ajax could see why nearly all encounters with that boss variant ended in at least one casualty. ¡°What the hell happened to it?¡± Ajax subconsciously muttered as he approached the edge of the barrier where he could see bits and pieces of the enchantment melted from the stone it was inscribed on. ¡°Spirit fire.¡± The mage from the guardian team said with a mix of disgust and admiration. ¡°It doesn¡¯t burn anything on a physical level, it instead burns through the raw mana and any connection it forms. One of the beastkin champions had managed to get the Legendary Affinity about two thousand years ago. No mages fighting them could use shields on the army out of fear the shield would be hit by it and burn them from the inside out. Nasty stuff.¡± ¡°Did you happen to lose anyone?¡± the mage asked with a measure of concern one she got a look at the crest most of the teams had. ¡°All of us made it out.¡± Trevor answered. ¡°Thankfully we had a clear run away from the boss and towards the arch, if anyone had been close enough to it that they got hit with that illusion we would have had to leave them behind.¡± ¡°A kitsune in a jungle floor, without an illusion enchantment.¡± the mage shook her head. ¡°If you were even one floor higher the range on the illusion would have been big enough that some of you might have been in range on sight.¡± ¡°If the spirit fire is already legendary, then would that illusion be similar to what a Mythic skill would be like?¡± Ajax asked, still looking at the burn marks on the stone. He was trying to remember how the flames felt in his mana sense but the illusion had hit him before he had a chance to get more than a moment to feel it. ¡°People have claimed that but nobody¡¯s seen a Mythic skill in their life.¡± the mage said. ¡°Speaking of the illusion, how did you resist it? I saw it take a hold on you fully, so it wasn¡¯t a passive skill but you somehow weakened it, enough to start getting up.¡± ¡°I gained [Illusion Resistance].¡± Ajax said, and while he wasn¡¯t lying as he had in fact gotten the skill, his first Uncommon resistance skill both of them knew that wasn¡¯t all there was to it. Not only that Ajax had also gotten the rare skill [Impervious Senses]. He wasn¡¯t going to mention that or his [Mana Syphon] however. ¡°I see.¡± the mage nodded and let the matter drop. With that the entire protection team quickly made their exit, returning to their surveillance duty. Ajax and the Silvertongue team did much the same, though a few of them were still wobbly on their feet much like the rest of the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault.¡± the scout complained as they were making their way out. ¡°Oh yes it is.¡± one of the top mages said. ¡°It¡¯s just like you to find a diamond the size of your fist and the moment you take it out of the dungeon you throw up on it.¡± ¡°You threw up as well.¡± the scout complained. ¡°I did, but did you notice how none of it got on my bags or gear.¡± the mage boasted. ¡°That¡¯s because you fell on your front with your face to one side.¡± the scout complained. ¡°Yes I did so skillfully.¡± the mage countered as he rubbed the small bruise forming on his chin. Ajax agreed with the scout that it had all been down to luck that the mage hadn¡¯t soiled himself, but that didn¡¯t mean that he mentioned that or that he skipped out on the good natured jokes made at the scout¡¯s expense. Chapter 252 The encounter with a floor boss had Ajax change his focus now that he had a few months all to himself while the academy let out for break. After seeing just how powerful a floor boss was he had first looked into traveling, the kingdom had two more dungeons and he didn¡¯t want to waste the first floor stats by clearing it later. This turned out to not be that big of a challenge, both the other dungeons had their base floors cover level thirty-four to thirty-nine nad thirty-five to forty, this along with a floor jump of eleven and fifteen respectively made the dungeons all but forgotten, but it also meant he could be level forty-one at the highest and still get those extra stat points. Even with his new pace and hard work Ajax doubted he would get a whole eight levels in a single year. With the dungeon trip left by the wayside Ajax changed his focus to Alchemy and research. While he still maintained his daily training routine that just emptied his stamina and mana pools. His study in alchemy started to branch out. From his original focus on stat potions Ajax started to branch out into boss counter consumables as well. While there was nothing even close to the anti-illusion enchantment when it came to the kitsune, the same couldn¡¯t be said about other floor bosses. Elemental resistance potions were the top of that list and something that would be useful in any environmental floor as well. ¡°Why are you so obsessed with floor bosses?¡± Tom asked him one day. ¡°Because of how unique they are.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I think that the dungeon grants all of them a Legendary skill as well as a pseudo-Mythic one.¡± ¡°What do you mean by a pseudo-Mythic skill?¡± Tom questioned. ¡°The kitsune¡¯s illusions¡± Ajax said thinking back. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything to her illusions, but I could weaken the ones she placed directly on me. If they worked like a normal skill I should have either been able to affect both applications or neither. I think the dungeon restricts the Mythic skill it grants somehow.¡± ¡°That makes sense, still don¡¯t get why you are so interested in floor bosses.¡± Tom mentioned. ¡°It¡¯s not the pseudo-Mythic skill that I am interested in.¡± Ajax denies. ¡°As far as I can tell it is given to them like a racial skill, not something that would help me all that much. But the Legendary skills are true skills.¡± ¡°I first learned how to use mana by copying monsters.¡± Ajax continued. ¡°I got my Legendary skill by trying to copy a high level monster, what if I can adapt some more of their Legendary skills? All I need is a chance to fight them and observe.¡± As far as he could tell from his research the biggest downside of the Legendary skills the floor bosses used was the large amount of mana, stamina or health they drained from the user. Floor bosses offset this by naturally having near bottomless reserves on resources naturally. But they would also fit well in his tool kit. ¡°How can you even tell that you¡¯ll be able to pick up those skills?¡± Tom was a little worried as it seemed his little brother was now actively looking to face floor bosses. This was where Ajax¡¯s answer got stuck in his throat. He had told his family about most of his secrets, the only one that remained was his inborn trait ¡®Divine Witness¡¯. It was one thing he didn¡¯t plan on sharing with anyone. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Ajax admitted in the end. ¡° But there are a lot of different floor bosses, I don¡¯t see why I wouldn¡¯t be compatible with one or two of them. Besides, it''s not like I am planning to go after them now.¡± This was a long term project he had started working on because he now had the time. One other thing Ajax was actively on the lookout for was any appearance of high level monster nests. Ajax knew that he wanted to try his hand at a companion but for that he would need one that was already partially grown or one that would quickly grow to catch up. Tom P.o.V. It still feels like I am letting Ajax down. I know he doesn¡¯t see it that way but it sure feels like it. At first I thought it was the whole nobility thing, then it was the end of the school year, but even now that he has some free time he is still pushing himself so hard. ¡°Do you know where I can find the collectors?¡± I asked the guild receptionist. With the indication given I made my way towards their table. This was the best thing I could do to lower the pressure on Ajax. Thankfully I had managed to get my hands on one of the guard¡¯s delve slots so I could set up this job as an interview. ¡°Hey Jones, how¡¯ve you been?¡± I ask the leader of the Collectors as I approach their table. ¡°You know this guy boss?¡± Bobby asks as he gets up in my face. He was doing a good job being intimidating seeing as he was a head and a half taller than me but he picked the wrong target. ¡°Yes the boss knows him¡± Nelly answers as she stands up and closes the distance to us. ¡° I know him, even you know him, so sit your ass back down.¡± with that she has to stretch but she manages to cuff the back of his head. ¡°How¡¯ve you been Tom?¡± ¡°Tom?¡± Bobby murmured a bit confused as he looked me up and down. ¡°Wait, Ajax¡¯s older brother Tom?!¡± ¡°One and the same.¡± Jones nodded to me with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing good Tom, not as well as you but then again few have.¡± ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Bobby said, sitting down and scratching the back of his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t recognise you with those clothes on, we¡¯ve been hounded lately by quite a few noble houses.¡± That I already knew. Once both houses Manashaper and Goldmancer made it clear they weren¡¯t looking to recruit the Collectors they had been swarmed with recruiting offers from all the small houses. Then again that was also partially why I was there. ¡°That¡¯s not all that unrelated to why I am here.¡± I said, but the atmosphere turned more tense and serious once the words left my mouth. ¡°You¡¯re here to recruit us?¡± Jones asked with a small frown. ¡°I would have expected Ajax in that case, heard he did the delve with those guard recruits.¡± ¡°Ajax is already stretched thin.¡± I said trying to cover the guilt I felt at that. ¡°Only reason he could even do that much was because he was given a free pass on his delving exam at the Academy.¡± ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not just here to ask you to join us.¡± I changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯m here with a request.¡± ¡°Oh, what have you got for us?¡± the frown disappeared from Jones¡¯s face. ¡°I have a delve slot, and I was looking to get the first floor stat point for both myself and one of our retainers.¡± I said as I slid the written request to Jones. ¡°You want us to join your House?¡± Nelly asked while Jones looked over the request. ¡°You know you¡¯re not the best offer we have.¡± ¡°Not in the short term, no.¡± I agree. ¡°But you¡¯ve all seen how Ajax improves and pushes, I think we are your best offer longer term. Not only that but you¡¯ve gotten to know pretty much all of us that half a year you spent delving with Ajax, do you trust any offer as much as you¡¯d trust ours.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Nelly said but then deflated a little. ¡°But those offers aren¡¯t that much better than yours in the short term either.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how you¡¯ll kill a level thirty-five to meet the requirements for that stat point Tom.¡± Jones said as he finished reading the request. ¡°I got a trick for that.¡± I answered with a grin. ¡°Turns out you can have your familiar help you and you still get the point because of the link with the bond. As long as I do something besides sitting and watching I¡¯ll get the credit.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll definitely take the request, then,¡± Jones said. ¡°Any extra delve to the second floor is one we¡¯ll take, our new healer could use it.¡± Nelly¡¯s son was just a few years older than me and he had only managed to start delving a year ago just as Ajax left for the capital, I knew the team would want any extra delve they could get their hands on so they could help him catch up with them. ¡°Think of this request as an interview¡± I said as I stood up. ¡°Me and the beastkin will be the ones you¡¯ll have to work with if you decide to join us.¡± ¡°One more thing.¡± Jones said as I started to walk away. ¡°What¡¯s with the fancy clothes, I can¡¯t even blame Bobby for not recognising you.¡± ¡°My grandparents insisted on it when I am out of the guard uniform.¡± I answered back to his grinning face, there was also no way I was going to admit that while my grandparents had insisted on my clothing it was also so much more comfortable. Chapter 253 Ajax¡¯s constant work and experimentation with Alchemy took most of a week before it finally paid off. His obsession with floor bosses led him to mixing all different sorts of plants in absolutely asinine combinations, most leading to nothing more than a horrible tasting sludge. His success came in one of the most unexpected forms however. Since their finances weren¡¯t yet all that solid Ajax was left to experiment with only plain plants, none of them having an ounce of mana. Ajax¡¯s big discovery came in the way of a poison. Not just any ordinary poison, as his new skill informed Ajax [Alchemist¡¯s Examination] was his second inspection skill, unlike his [Judge Threat] however this one was Rare ranked and highly specialised. The skill worked best with potions, followed closely by alchemical ingredients, anything after that however was pretty much dead in the water, used on monsters or other people Ajax would only get their species. The poison Ajax had managed to brew had been his first ever Rare alchemical craft, [Minor Pacifist Royal(Rare)] his skill had informed him as he examined the result carefully. Minor was to be expected , it took a master to get anything of a higher grade than that when using mana deficit ingredients. The Pacifist Royal was a well known poison as one progressed up into higher levels becoming one of the must have potions when delving into the higher floors of the dungeon. Though the name did a poor job of explaining the concoction. The Pacifist Royal had a clear progression of symptoms when used on anyone of appropriate power for the grade it was made to. It started with headaches, stomachaches, diarrhea, severe shortness of breath and finally death. The symptoms were by no means mild but what was special about the poison was that it progressed through the symptoms only according to the amount of poison ingested. The poison¡¯s other notable trait was that it disdained any other poison, essentially making the user immune to the same quantity of any other poison of the same grade. The poison¡¯s title came from the fact that it was one of the strongest broad range antidotes for weak to mediocre poisons, requiring an Epic poison to surpass it. ¡°Well ,that¡¯s something.¡± Ajax muttered as he grinned at his result. The recipe for the pacifist Royal was public, at least for the lesser version. The same was true for the non-lesser version. The greater and especially the major recipes however were guarded secrets to the few alchemists who could brew them. Ajax was sure that he wasn¡¯t the first to discover a way to brew the minor variant of the poison. The reason why this recipe wasn¡¯t being spread was most likely because its targeted range wasn¡¯t all that useful. The minor variant of the poison was only effective up to just before level thirty, this meant it wasn''t even useful in what was the first floor for most dungeons. Theron P.o.V It was a weight off my shoulders when I heard that already a second delve had been planned, not only that but that it would be one going to the second floor of the dungeon. I had been starting to doubt the decision of joining House Hearthbound after Lord Ajax had retreated into his training and alchemy after only doing a single delve. It did make sense however if I stayed and thought about it. Lord Ajax was far above my level, even the family pet was above me in strength, though the same could be said about most of the house members. There was no way someone on his level would consistently go with someone on mine. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The team that was joining us for this delve however were a much better match. I wasn¡¯t sure if the Collectors had agreed to formally join House Heathbound but from their interactions with Lord Tom it seemed that they were on good terms with the family. The Collectors were a very physically focused group, something truly common when it came to commoner formed adventure teams. In fact it was surprising to see that they not only had their own healer but also a mage. From the looks of things however they were very capable people. Entering the first floor of the dungeon it doesn¡¯t take me long to find a boss level ferret and kill it. The fights had been even harder the last time I was here as back then I didn¡¯t have people stronger than me assuring a one on one fight. Much more interesting was to see Lord Tom and Fluffy fight their own boss threat. Despite the Systems loosening the rules when it came to contribution Lord Tom couldn¡¯t just rely on Fluffy to take care of the creature, he truly needed to take part in the fight. Their chosen opponent was a boss version of the snakes that could be found on this floor. Their tactic relied on Fluffy taking up most of the snake''s focus while Lord Tom tried to run interference from outside the snake¡¯s reach. Despite Lord Tom only being a couple of years younger than me the difference in our strength was easy to see. Even with this I could tell that he knew how to take advantage of his bonded companion. The snake didn¡¯t stand much of a chance. It took Lord Tom three strikes before the snake made the fatal mistake of placing fluffy in its blind spot in order to strike out towards the person that was hammering on its tail with a literal hammer. From there Fluffy delivered the killing blow in moments. With the first floor of the dungeon out of the way it was finally time for the real reason we all came here. The second floor of the dungeon started all of us in the face as we stood before the archway the snake had guarded. As I stepped through the arch I could feel the small power boost that came from conquering a new floor. That small +1 to all stats quickly added up and it could end up making the difference between a good fighter and a great one. This was the third time I had felt it, having already cleared the first and second floor of the Goldmine. The floor that greeted us as we exited the arch wasn¡¯t all that much different from the one we just left. Whereas the previous floor was a massive stretch of open hills with a smattering of trees, the savannah biome we found ourselves in looked very much the same, save for the omnipresent green having turned to yellow and the temperature having risen substantially. Despite the nine level increase in the monster on this floor it seemed obvious two fights in that this floor didn¡¯t really pose a problem for the Collectors. They had obviously lost any of the carefree attitude they had put on during the first floor but the only one that seemed to be struggling was the young healer of the group. While the monsters found here ranged from a decent fight to difficult for me to take on, it was clear that Lord Tom had finished what he had set out to do. He had carefully taken his place next to the mage of the group and had taken more of a commander role to the battlefield. As for it was he was ordering around, that would be the second one of us with a massive change in style. Fluffy had gone from the proud upfront feline that had kept the snake focused on itself while Lord Tom gave it an opening to a black blur of fur, claws and fangs. I had watched the feline fight multiple times prior to this delve, I had even sparred against it myself a few times and hadn¡¯t found it to be all that impressive for its level. Sure I had lost those battles but I was also behind about eight levels. This was something completely different. Now that it was no longer forced to act as the frontline or participate in a one on one fight the shadow cat was a true ambush predator. It, no not it, he, Fluffy was quick to move around the battle, jumping from one shadow to another as Tom gave him clear instructions on where and who to maul. Nothing on this floor was equipped to deal with the shadow cat, not only that but the tall dried grass and the setting sun were turning the battlefield into the feline''s favor with every passing moment as shadows stretched across the floor. Not even the elephants we had run into had a thick enough hide to be safe from Fluffy¡¯s claws, though they were the first to survive a bite to the neck. As much as their size and endurance was an advantage they were by far the worst suited to fight Fluffy. The feline was quick to jump up on their unprotected backs and quickly bleed them out from there. This delve had truly shown me just how much a favorable position in a team can change someone''s threat level, not only that but I was truly glad that in the future when Fluffy would be lunging out of the shadows it would be towards my enemies and not me. Chapter 254 Recruiting the Collectors as retainers didn¡¯t take that much more after the delve had finished. Unlike their other retainers they did get to have a sit down with Ajax¡¯s grandparents to ensure that they would have some exclusive access to a few of the more exclusive things the established merchants had access to, but after they were reassured none of them had any real reservations about joining. The Collectors also knew that they needed to join a House if they wanted to keep progressing at a decent pace, with the Goldmancers and Manashapers having given them a boost in power with their favors that brought them up to the top class of their levels for adventurers. By doing all that and not recruiting them however they also took them off the list for any of the strong houses as they could have been spies. For the remainder of the Academy break everything seemed to have slowed down and set into a rhythm. Ajax had still joined House Silvertongue on their delves in order to push himself further. All four of their delves had been uneventful, with general biomes spawning for the 8th floor, they didn¡¯t run into anything more than a few nasty injuries that their healers had to path up with a bit of speed. While his deep delving had been kept on pace without his position as a teaching assistant Ajax didn¡¯t get to join House Silvertongue for their crafting dungeons, in exchange Ajax had managed to score a delve slot in each of the capitals dungeon for his own House. He joined his retainers for both runs but while the Collectors and the guards were focused on pushing themselves and clearing the appropriate floors Ajax had focused on his crafting. Despite his slow progress into Alchemy Ajax had managed to successfully and consistently output +1 strength potions that worked all the way up to two hundred strength. This wasn¡¯t something that he could use himself but plenty of his new retainers had been more than happy to grab the extra few potions he had been able to make during the delves, not only that but all of them were bragging about the outlandish bonuses House Hearthbound were giving. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Aurora was quick to slap Ajax¡¯s hand away from the new shipment of herbs they just received. ¡°The Academy is starting again next week.¡± Alana joined in. ¡°You¡¯ve cost us enough over the summer.¡± His two crafting delves hadn¡¯t been enough to sate Ajax¡¯s need for alchemy reagents. Despite being much more conservative with ingredients procured by his sister and grandparents Ajax still didn¡¯t have a high enough mastery that his potions and elixirs would sell for more than the sum of their parts. More than anything his constant consumption on reagents had helped build a lasting bond between Alana and Aurora as both had taken on the job of protecting their stock from Ajax¡¯s stick fingers. ¡°Fine, fine!¡± Ajax relented and headed for out towards their hives. In the end Ajax had managed to strike a good bargain with house Goldmancer and had shared their bee raising techniques. From what his grandfather had said after he returned from the meeting with their representative the archduke had pressed on the scales in order to give them a better deal than they would otherwise get. Despite the good deal they had gotten all of their upfront payment was used for the cost of the families noble estate inside the capitol, this meant that they would need to until the following year for a cut of the honey profits. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. That had made Ajax feel a little guilty when he noticed just how many experts had shown up along with the archduke himself when Ajax came by to teach them in person. Despite both Annabeth and the archduke having maintained their composure, some of their experts couldn¡¯t hide the disappointment that came when Ajax taught them how to identify a queen and how to relocate a hive. That small amount of guilt however wasn¡¯t enough for Ajax to spill any more secrets though he did drop by a few days later with a few jars of honey that had a tinge of mana to them. As he headed towards their beehives Ajax could see the spectacular harvest that was coming in all around his specific plot. His grandparents had made a very lucrative investment buying up everything around his plot as the relocation of the bees and their slight mana infusion had clearly helped turn the land plots from some of the least favorable to ones able to compete for the best plot status. More than that his grandparents had confirmed to him that the farmers they had hired to tend those lands had seen a noticeable increase in their farming skills. ¡°You¡¯re already back, sir?¡± Theron called out as Ajax approached their small training corner made out of a rock patch of ground. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you until later tonight.¡± Once Theron had officially joined his House he had started treating Ajax very differently, gone was the casual and friendly address. This was something that Ajax had spent the summer breaking down into a more informal and friendly interaction in private. Despite that, Theron had always maintained a respectful tone and always addressed Ajax as sir or Lord Ajax. ¡°I¡¯ve apparently cost them enough profits and I am to give Alchemy a break until the Academy starts back up.¡± Ajax grinned as he joined a few of his retainers in the small training arena they carved out for themselves. Their small training corner was only temporary, once their official residence was finished they would have a proper training field inside the city and their temporary time here was dubbed as rock removal to expand the flower fields some more. ¡°You ready?¡± Ajax asked as he took the field opposite the bull beastkin. ¡°Always, sir.¡± Theron responded as he took up a battle stance. Despite how their initial battle back during the tournament had gone, the summer had seen the match-up flipped on its head. That wasn¡¯t to say that Theron could now thrash Ajax, but rather that Ajax had taken to training against Theron without using his mana and relying only on his skills and stamina. Theron still had quite a bit of room left to grow his raw stats with potions, despite this and all the increases Ajax had accumulated through his training and dungeon boosts he still came out behind when it came to raw physical stats. The physical stat difference added on to Theron bull beastkin physiology on top of his years of training meant that Ajax was below him in both skill and stats. The one equalizer Ajax had was more of a double edged sword. His [Cursed Slash] showed why high rarity skills were so important, despite his inability to use it frequently due to the high Stamina cost the simple fact that Ajax could use it forced Theron to fight extremely defensively. As they started their spar Ajax quickly leaned into his [Berserker Style], as it turned out the style was almost a perfect match with [Cursed Slash], not only that but Ajax had finally started to get some use out of his [Berserker] skill, with [Cursed Slash] eating up so much of his stamina the stamina regeneration it provided every time he got hit did wonders in keeping him from tiring out. Ajax however wasn¡¯t the only one to gain a lot from these spars. Theron had been forced on the defensive by a slower and weaker opponent for the first time in his life, his defensive skills with the massive two handed axe had grown immensely over the summer as he battled against Ajax¡¯s duel-wielding style. The biggest winners of the spars however had to be Kate and the two healers who both decided to join Ajax house, they would always be needed after Ajax and Theron finished one of their spars and healing either fighter brought with it more knowledge and experience. Healing Ajax would mean getting a feel for his own self-healing, as it turned out healing someone at the same time they were healing themselves made for good training as the healer had to be careful not to disrupt the patient''s mana. For Theron on the other hand the healers had gotten the chance to work actual battle inflicted curses for the first time. Since Ajax¡¯s knowledge of curses was still nearly non-existent the extent of his [Cursed Slash] boiled down to simply infecting someone with cursed mana. This inefficiency proved to be a solid training method for their healer to try and heal cursed injuries without the use of Holy affinity healing spells. The process was slow and required extreme focus but it allowed them to build up their techniques. Kate and both of the healers were actively working on a paper to share this discovery with the Healing Union on behalf of house Hearthbound. Chapter 255 Council of the Republic ¡°What is old Gryndor up to now?¡± one of the beastkin high councilors asked. ¡°What does he stand to gain by putting on a show for us?¡± ¡°Are we sure this is a show, what if the boy¡¯s skills are true?¡± an elven high councilor responded. ¡° ¡¯Course it be a show.¡± the dwarven high councilor said. ¡°Ain¡¯t nobody dum¡¯ enough to show their tricks like tis.¡± ¡°I heard whispers that they might have figured out the elves technique for saturating mana into their products.¡± one of the human councilors offered. ¡°Perhaps they are trying to put so many rumors out there just to mask it.¡± ¡°The lad be no immediate threat to us.¡± the dwarf pushed forward. ¡°With our reliable High Shadow, I say we focus on getting out hands on anything new they have to offer, did you ¡®ear about their possible war training method?¡± The councilors discussed the sparse spy information for hours before dispersing. ¡°What do you think, old friend?¡± the beastkin councilor asked the High Shadow as they were walking away. ¡°Too many rumors to say for sure¡± the High Shadow responded. ¡°But I doubt the boy is a toothless pup propped up for show, his power might be exaggerated but not by much.¡± ¡°You think old Gryndor is making use of the stalemate you provide to all out war to train his own asset with less secrecy, giving him more opportunities?¡± The beastkin¡¯s eye widened slightly. ¡°Yes, that would be something old Gryndor would do.¡± Diamondbeard Castle ¡°Me king, there be no need to fear the humans, the Republic will buy us time even if they decide on war.¡± A member of the council of hammers addressed the dwarf king Dimondbeard. ¡°But think of the opportunity, a new magic similar to our own runic one, we should focus on learning more about it.¡± ¡°Forget the magic, everybody and their mother knows that all magic styles compete with one another,¡± Another member of the council chimed in quickly. ¡°My king, it is their new secret soldier training method that we should focus on. After all, look at what a specimen it produced.¡± ¡°One talent is not enough to prove a methodology correct.¡± King Diamondbeard himself interjected. ¡°The overall method can be put to the side for now, the Republic will buy us times if there is to be war with them, focus on their new industries.¡± The Proudrock ¡°I WANT THE LEAK FOUND!¡± the lion beastkin roared ¡°I WANT THEM BROUGHT BEFORE ME SO I CAN RIP OUT THEIR ENTRAILS MYSELF¡± ¡°There is no leak.¡± the tiger beastkin said with disdain. ¡°If there was the kingdom of Gryndor wouldn¡¯t be the only ones making preparations for war. Though the so-called ¡®golden child¡¯ seems to have an affinity for beastkin, maybe we can plant a deep spy in that house.¡± ¡°That would be a waste of spies.¡± the rat beastkin offered, though he kept his head bowed to the king and duke. ¡°What old Gryndor lacks in personal strength he makes up for in cunning. He¡¯s already been burned by spies and informants, no way he will let them foil his final act as king.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Waiting until he retires will be advantageous.¡± the tiger nodded. ¡°If only that useless son of his had remained the crown prince.¡± the rat lamented. ¡°Do. Not. Call. That. Bastard. Useless.¡± the lion beastkin said as he grabbed the rat beastking with one arm, slowly applying pressure to the joint. ¡°He may not have his fathers mind for politics but he is worthy of respect for his power.'''' The lion beastking rubbed a long scar that worked its way up from his shoulder to the neck and ended cutting into part of the cheek. ¡°I look forward to getting my vengeance.¡± ¡°Focus on learning what you can about this new soldier training they are doing.¡± the tiger beastkin smiled. ¡°We might have time to implement it ourselves before all of this gets into motion.¡± Capital City of Sylvanthal ¡°As productive as this long piece has been for commerce it is lousy for gathering information.¡± the elven king lamented. ¡°Such is the price and benefits of peace my friend.¡± another elf sat at the table that held the goblets of wine. ¡° This is the beginning of a long protracted peace.¡± ¡°That damn High Shadow.¡± the king sneered. ¡°There is nothing wrong with peace in and of itself. I just have a disdain for peace ensured by mutual destruction, it allows the unprepared and the weak to rise. You sure you cannot beat the High Shadow.¡± ¡°Oh I can beat him alright.¡± the elf at the table said as he flexed his wiry muscles. ¡°Problem is I can¡¯t stop him from running. I would rather try to catch a space element aspected eel dipped in grease.¡± ¡°We need this upcoming tournament.¡± the king sighed. ¡°Loathe as I am to speak ill of my father, he was a solid figurehead and a pillar of inspiration, but he had no mind for management and ruling.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the tournament, inside the arena Gryndor and the Republic don¡¯t have anyone that can match me¡± the elf said as he gracefully sipped his wine. ¡°Not to mention that your niece is a force to be reckoned with. Even if the boy is everything old Gryndor is propping him up to be he is way too young to present a threat in the upcoming tournament.¡± ¡°There is still too much uncertainty.¡± the king sighed. ¡°Not to mention the political freedom a king gets in his last few years before he abdicates.¡± ¡°You just need to make sure we take the rewards¡± the elf said as he filled up both goblets to the lip and brought the king one of them. ¡°After all, you can always try and haggle for the winners'' shares, not everyone is as devoted to their kingdom''s unity as we are.¡± The Empire ¡°Emperor,¡± one of the advisors enters the throne chamber in a slight rush. ¡°House Goldmancer has offered a trade.¡± ¡°Regarding what?¡± the emperor frowned from his high polished seat. ¡°They are willing to trade the secrets of beekeeping, Your Majesty.¡± the advisor said. ¡°And what do they want in return?¡± the emperor asked. ¡°They asked for one tenth of the honey we will harvest in the next decade.¡± the advisor said. ¡°That is a good deal your majesty.¡± the spymaster chimed in from the shadows of the room, startling half the guards who didn¡¯t know he was there. ¡°I have it on good authority that baron Hearthbound obtained a trailblazing beekeeping skill, we might be able to gain one from the more rare ones as well.¡± ¡°So be it!¡± The emperor declared. ¡°Have you learned anything more about their new so-called soldier training method?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not yet your majesty.¡± the spymaster said with dejection. ¡°How can this be, we have one kingdom we need to spy on and you can¡¯t even do that properly.¡± the emperor¡¯s patience was at its end with his spymaster after all these surprises that came from their only neighbor. ¡°The problem isn¡¯t getting information related to the training method, its finding out which information is reliable.¡± The spymaster fought with every instinct to not spit on the throne room floor in disgust at the tactics their neighbors used. ¡°They know that if they are to employ the method in high numbers there will be leaks long before their first squads are ready, so instead they shared four or five different so called methods, all of them are equally ridiculous and we have no idea which one is the correct one yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s most likely a combination, each of the fakes holds a bit of the truth that makes it harder to decipher.¡± the emperor nodded as his anger lessened slightly. ¡°Why are you still here?¡± ¡°One tenth of the honey was not their only demand, my lord.¡± the advisors fought to keep his legs from trembling at attracting the emperor¡¯s ire. ¡°What else did they want, it''s a fair deal?¡± the emperor sounded outraged at the Goldmancers greed. ¡°They asked for a writ of safe passage and a delve for each of our capitals dungeons for one team of people under level forty.¡± the advisor quickly said. ¡°I¡¯ll allow it so long as they do not break the law.¡± the emperor said. ¡°I will not have any of the inferior races step foot inside our capitals dungeons. Us humans are above them, there is a reason why the word used to describe them is humanoid.¡± ¡°Honestly, I used to respect the conniving Gryndor until he made peace with the inferiors.¡± the emperor said as the rest of the room nodded. Chapter 256 It had taken the entire Academy break for House Hearthbound to have their mansion finally ready but with two days before the Academy¡¯s first day back Ajax and his family had started moving over. That wasn¡¯t to say that they were the first to move in as priority had been given to one of their small barracks buildings and their few retainers had already moved in a week prior. This move was also very different from their arrival in the capital as they weren¡¯t the ones to do any of the actual work. Ajax¡¯s grandparents had hired the people who made sure that the manor was fully furnished and then transported most of the family''s personal possessions. It would be unseemly for nobles to do their own carrying after all. As for Ajax¡¯s grandparents themselves, they had been given their own room inside the manor, that said they still hadn¡¯t moved in there. While their presence was much more accepted now compared to a few months back there was still a bit to go before they would be fully integrated. That wasn¡¯t to say that the entire manor had been finished, there were still two more barracks to be built, the training field hadn¡¯t had more than its foundation set up. Most importantly Fluffy¡¯s specific stable hadn¡¯t been finished either so for now the oversized feline was wandering the halls of the manor full time. ¡°Just take a seat.¡± Tom said. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it, you take it easy.¡± Tom hadn¡¯t been all that attentive to Fluffy for a short while now as Kate¡¯s pregnancy had started to show and as a first time parent he was fussing over every little thing. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m not due for another two months and I can still do some things around here.¡± Kate complained though she did remain seated to placate him. ¡°I was just like that the first time Silvia was pregnant.¡± Sam said as he remembered back to fond times. ¡°Thankfully that turned out well, he will calm down by the second and third children.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking there will be a bit of a break before we have anymore.¡± Kate said as she rubbed her extended belly. ¡°With the resources we have now our lifespan is large enough that we can leave that for a bit later, I don¡¯t want to put anymore pressure on Ajax by extending the family.¡± ¡°Extending the family won¡¯t put any pressure on Ajax.¡± Luna said as she came in and took a seat at the table. ¡°In fact, seeing as he is being prepped for an advancement to Duke in a decade or so having a larger family would in fact take some of the pressure off.¡± Luna had become a more common sight around the family ever since Ajax received his noble status. Hatchet had formally joined Luna as one of her trusted retainers and Luna¡¯s house and Ajax¡¯s had become allies formally. ¡°How so?¡± Kate asked. ¡°The higher a family¡¯s status the bigger it is expected to be.¡± Luna explained. ¡°But your House basically only has you.¡± Tom said. ¡°My title comes with the position as head of the Healing Union¡± Luna answered. ¡°For a Baron your family is on the small side but still acceptable. For a duke you are all way too small and there will be pressure on you to extend it through marriage.¡± ¡°House Manashaper is one that rose in a similar manner.¡± Aurora said. ¡° The key difference there was that the Duke was much older when he got his title and he had a few children, it was their marriages that grew the family to the size it is now by adding a Viscount and Baron to the fold.¡± Both Aurora and Elija had been orbiting Kate more as of late as well. Unlike Tom they weren¡¯t overly concerned about the pregnancy as they had gone through something like that before, instead they were adamant about not missing the chance to spend some quality time with their first great-grandchild in the same way they did with all three of their grandchildren. ¡°Nice to see you take a day off, I know you were always pushing yourself but make sure you don¡¯t go overboard.¡± Hatchet said as he saw Ajax enter the room. ¡°It was only a bit of beekeeping.¡± Ajax defended himself, not mentioning that he also emptied out most of his mana in the ground and plants surrounding the bees. Ajax had taken it a bit easier on the training ever since he heard that house Goldmancer had started talks with the Empire and that a possible delve in their capital¡¯s dungeons was potentially on the table. He wanted to make sure he didn¡¯t push past level thirty seven just in case the delve would only happen halfway through the year at the Academy. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Name : Ajax Level :34 Experience : 42860/65000 Traits: Divine Witness, Baron Health: 2480/2480 Mana: 2510/2510 Stamina :1950/1950 Vitality : 248 Strength :208 Endurance :195 Dexterity : 208 Intellect : 251 Wisdom : 251 Mind : 251 Perception : 195 Stat Points : 0 Skills : New : Illusion Resistance 0 -> 1 Impervious senses 0 -> 2 Alchemist¡¯s Examination 0 -> 5 Upgrades: Stealth 37 -> 38 Athleticism 38 -> 39 Running 38 ->39 Gardening 24 -> 27 Axes 45 -> 46 Hammers 45 -> 46 Deception 28 -> 30 Swords 45 -> 46 Shield 45 -> 46 Bow 45 -> 46 Spear 45 -> 46 Throwing 37 -> 38 Unarmed combat 36 -> 38 Knives 45 -> 46 Skinning 37 -> 39 Dismantle 42 -> 43 Heat Resistance 21 -> 23 Poison Resistance 25 -> 29 Pain Resistance 25 -> 26 Cold Resistance 15 -> 18 Meditation 50 -> 51 Sense Mana 50 -> 51 Expel Mana 50 -> 51 Mana farming 21 -> 23 Danger Sense 33 -> 34 Alchemy 30 -> 34 Mana Milling 21 -> 24 Precise Cut 37 -> 38 Precise Blow 37 -> 38 Judge Threat 32 -> 33 Piercing Shot 38 -> 39 Berserker 17 -> 20 Cooperation 27 -> 28 Berserker Style 11 -> 19 Manipulate Mana 40 -> 42 Inject Mana 40 -> 42 Spot Weakness 31 -> 32 Mana Skin 25 -> 27 Teamwork 20 -> 21 Mana Conjuration 25 -> 27 Water Aspect Mana 40 -> 41 Fire Aspect Mana 40 -> 41 Air Aspect Mana 40 -> 41 Earth Aspect Mana 40 -> 41 Shadow Aspect Mana 40 -> 41 Light Aspect Mana 40 -> 41 Lightning Aspect Mana 23 -> 24 Metal Aspect Mana 23 -> 24 Ice Aspect Mana 23 -> 24 Magma Aspect Mana 23 -> 24 Holy Aspect Mana 17 -> 20 Mana Syphon 28 -> 29 Beekeeping Trailblazer 7 -> 9 Enigma 10 -> 12 Curse Resistance 15 -> 17 Curse Slash 11 -> 13 Mana Augmentation 30 -> 31 Mana Conjuration 25 -> 27 Battlemage Style 1 -> 9 Dungeon Crafter 1 -> 10 Despite not gaining all that much experience, Ajax had finally seen some progress that reignited his excitement. Many of his mana skills had managed to break through their most recent bottlenecks. He finally had skills that pushed beyond level fifty. His physical skills had made some gains but outside of his [Berserker Style] that had gotten quite a bit of practice against Theron most were small as they too approached the same bottlenecks. [Enigma] had not only broken through its first bottleneck but had also already started to progress further. This was a more recent development as Ajax had started to feel more inspection attempts on him almost every time he walked through the city. So far none of them came from people that had any power and even the strongest inspection skill hadn¡¯t managed to get anything more than his name but Ajax knew there were more eyes on him. He will approach his teachers at the academy to find out if it was something he should be worried about. Chapter 257 Despite it being the first day back the Academy didn¡¯t have the small introductory period that it started with last year and got right to work in teaching its students. The basic homeroom and general knowledge classes still fell to Abbot Silvertongue to teach. ¡°Moving forward this class will also start to delve into some of the secrets that the kingdom of Gryndor is keeping from the general public.¡± Professor Silvertogue said as the lesson approached the end. ¡°The first one being that the first year in the academy is also the time when you are vetted for whether or not you are a spy. I highly suggest that you do not miss out on these lessons as they are most likely something even most of your prodigious families were not allowed to tell you.¡± Ajax had a feeling that the word most wasn¡¯t part of that speech usually but given that two possible archduke heirs and a prince were part of the class amends had needed to be made. Despite this he had no intention of missing any classes. Despite him passing off most of the responsibilities that came with nobility to his family, it was his job as the head of the House to gather important information like national secrets. ¡°Ajax, a word.¡± The professor held him back as the rest of the class dispersed. ¡°As you have been made aware, the two periods you have free from now until your afternoon combat training are for your own chosen study.¡± the professor reiterated. ¡°Sadly, your scores on the written test was not high enough to get you off the remedial list.¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t?¡± Ajax sounded surprised as his scores weren¡¯t the lowest of the class yet he was the only one that would be taking them. ¡°Overall your scores in the crafting disciplines were more than enough to put you in the top end of the class however with crafting taken out you were dead last.¡± the professor explained. ¡°Your reluctance to learn historic names has been particularly flagged. ¡°Why are the names important?¡± Ajax questioned. ¡°I know where it happened and how.¡± ¡°Because of noble pride.¡± the professor answered and Ajax couldn¡¯t fight the impulse to roll his eyes. ¡°No, you will learn.¡± the professor cut him off harshly, Ajax could feel the professors aura press down on him. ¡°This is not noble pride that we want people to learn our names. There is a reason why we only focus on the last two thousand years my seriously than anything that came before, regardless of the difference in the scale of the achievements.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You will not be required to learn the name of great tacticians. For them your current approach is fine, learn from their actions. It is the naturally gifted that you have to study, they form Houses and dynasties that work in a similar manner. Not only that but noble pride demands that they display their sigil.¡± the professor said. ¡°Take me as the best example.¡± the professor pointed out. ¡°Anyone taking the field against an army led by me will always be wary of their own allies because of my families widespread political achievements. A scout¡¯s glimpse of a sigil can tell you that the enemy commander is a strong fire caster, or a powerful swordsman. But that is only if you know what to look for.¡± Ajax had to lower his head at that chastisement. The professor was objectively right and he knew it. With the tendency of high nobles to live for more than a few centuries it could happen that a standout hero from a battle that happened five hundred years ago would be the one leading in a battle they were about to take part in. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°That said, going forward this year you will be spending one or two of your days from each cycle with me. If you can prove to be self-reliant in this these lessons will stop and we will simply provide you the information and test you on it.¡± the professor said. ¡°Speaking of scouting.¡± Ajax said. ¡°As of late I have been having a lot more people try to inspect me as I make my way through the city.¡± ¡°Did any of them gather anything important through [Enigma]?¡± the professor was suddenly serious and on edge. ¡°No, most are blocked outright, but one or two managed to confirm my name.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The professor relaxed. ¡°That would just be the regular spies.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being spied on?!¡± Ajax reacted. ¡°Investigated is more the way I would put it.¡± the professor said, but at Ajax¡¯s maintained frown he went deeper. ¡°Your sudden appearance and dominance of the tournaments as well as your ascension to nobility is public knowledge, add your other achievements on top and it makes sense that you would be investigated.¡± ¡°Why would it take this long then?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Because it''s other nations that are investigating you. It takes time for their spies to get the information back and get new orders so you had a somewhat quiet break but by now all of their spies should have you near the top of their ¡®find out what is going on with him¡¯ list.¡± the professor explained. ¡°That¡¯s not to say that the royal family has hung you out to dry,¡± the professor reassured him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have a constant defense team following you in public. This is why it¡¯s important, if you ever feel someone managed to break through your [Enigma] and gather something sensitive lock your gaze on to him and look startled and panicked. That will mark them for capture or elimination.¡± ¡°That would be enough?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Well, this is lesson was scheduled for the middle of the year but I guess I can move it up to tomorrow. Essentially it boils down to this : as royals reach the end of their reign they get a lot more freedom. Even if the crown is passed down peacefully internally, externally it can be used as a piece of theater to get certain unsavory things done.¡± the professor said. ¡°Things like what?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The most recent example is the elves. They had their king step down shortly after peace with the republic was reached. Their royal family had him step down, hated by the populace because he struck trade deals with the republic. The current king keeps those deals intact as a sign of respect to his fathers final actions as king.¡± the professor said. ¡°And our own king is nearing the time when he will be passing on the crown to his son.¡± Ajax said as he put it all together. ¡°Oh that¡¯s not even the half of it.¡± the professor said. ¡° Uncle Gryndor was known for his conniving tricks. Hell if I hadn¡¯t ended up as your teacher and only heard of you from the tournaments I would think that you are definitely a planned centerpiece in his final actions as king.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You¡¯re not planned, that part is true.¡± the professor nodded along. ¡°I wonder just how many plans you derailed for Uncle Gryndor, but let me assure you, you are the centerpiece now. There might have been some doubt but the simple fact that you have [Enigma] and are so well protected against spies because of it makes you the perfect point of focus.¡± ¡°I can feel the headache this conversation is giving me.¡± Ajax complained as he rubbed his forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it all right now, you¡¯re going to be late to your next class.¡± the professor said as he usher Ajax towards the door. ¡°If you want one positive take away from all this however, know that you have the king backing you for now. As long as you don¡¯t do something completely unacceptable you¡¯ll find that you can get away with a thing or two.¡± ¡°Something like what?¡± Ajax asked as he exited the class and started heading towards the Alchemy room. ¡°First thing that comes to mind is that when the inspectors come to look over your farming plots, you can tell them all to take a hike. Everyone knows you¡¯re doing something there and I wouldn¡¯t bet against one of them leaking it. But a noble refusing an inspection is always brought up to the king for review.¡± the professor said. ¡°I can already hear Uncle Gryndor scoffing at the request to sanction you just for refusing an inspection.¡± That bit of news did help Ajax¡¯s mood as he entered the Alchemy room. ¡°Ajax there you are, I was beginning to worry.¡± Professor Vilethorn was quick to greet him. ¡°Now that we are all here, let me begin by welcoming you all and informing you that on the third and ninth day of the cycle the class will not be held on the account of the first years.¡± Ajax took a look around the class to see that it had students from all classes, starting from the second and all the way to the sixth. Crafting classes following the mandatory first year schedule worked more like clubs where the different grades interacted with each other and students picked one or two of them to focus on in depth instead of the previous variety approach. ¡°Second year, you are all going to be taking a test.¡± the professor continued. ¡°Those of you who do not pass will not be welcome in this class.¡± Chapter 258 While Ajax and both of his classmates were given the exact same opening exam he could see that all of the other students were given exams that were completely different, with there being more than a dozen people there had to be at least two from the same class so it confused him as to why nobody was taking the same exam as their classmates like he was. The exam had been very easy for Ajax, he had pushed his Alchemy both inside a dungeon and outside on top of his experiments throughout the summer. The potions he was asked to make had a number of steps but could easily be brewed at the same time if you knew what you were doing and could pay attention to it. ¡°These are acceptable,¡± professor Vilethorn said as Ajax turned in his exam. ¡°Though I have to say you might have wanted not to do so well from the beginning. The professor¡¯s ominous warning was filled in by her teaching assistant as he helped Ajax set up a personal workstation that would be his going forward until he was kicked out of Alchemy class or he finished at the Academy. ¡°Your first exam sets the baseline.¡± the teaching assistant said ¡°going forward your exams and goals will be structured so that you are constantly pushing yourself and not slacking off due to previous hard work.¡± Ajax could admit that it was a good system, doubly so since all the classes were coming together so there was no way to have a class for everyone''s skill level so a more individualistic system was halfway required anyway. The rest of the class had also finished the exam, his classmates turning in their own potions not long after Ajax himself as they had the easiest test by far. While nobody had failed the exam, two people were told that their creations were subpar and that they would be expected to cover the difference between what the potions they made sold for and the price the academy paid for the ingredients. ¡°I thought he was a teaching assistant, why is he taking class with the rest of us?¡± Ajax¡¯s Perception was high enough that he could pick up the questions that the other students were asking his classmates. ¡°They did that as a formality to handle a few of the issues he would have presented as a regular student.¡± one of his classmates answered. ¡°Why not just have him enroll sooner, or put him in a higher class?¡± by this point that entire section of the class was interested in the topic of conversation while the professor was grading the last few potions. ¡°He only recently became a noble, he¡¯s not got a lot of the education we have grown up with and he still needs to make up for it.¡± The answer came surprisingly from someone outside his class. ¡°I still think they should have just enrolled him in a higher class, no need to make such an exception just for one commoner.¡± one of the nobles in the conversation said. ¡°And where would you want him placed?¡± the same noble who knew his situation spoke up again. ¡°He put down most of last year¡¯s sixth grade without breaking a sweat. This is a better solution that also gives us the chance to build a relationship with him.¡± ¡°You might want to have that talk later,¡± one of his classmates said looking at the noble who called him a commoner. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen his limits yet but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his perception was high enough to hear us clearly.¡± As one the entire group turned to look at him warily. ¡°Now that you are all done with your exams we will simply take the short remainder of this lesson to look over a simple concept of Alchemy¡± the professor drew all of the attention back to herself. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°As your alchemy skill grows and you start working with higher mana concentration in your ingredients you will find that the temperature of your mixture will start to vary.¡± the professor started her lecture. ¡°Not only will there be variation in temperature during different stages of the boiling process but different ingredients that are added in will need to be at different temperatures despite being added at the same time.¡± ¡°How can that happen?¡± Ajax murmured as he thought about it, while the requirements did seem possible as he knew different ingredients had different optimal temperatures adding multiple at the same time at their peak temperature seemed irrational. ¡°A good question.¡± the professor nodded. ¡°It is here that mages, specifically those favoring the fire element, have an innate advantage as they can control the flame that powers their cauldron a lot better if they generate it, but that can be replicated with time and effort.¡± As she mentioned this professor Viletorne slid her hand under the small coudron on her desk where, after a quiet incantation, a flame ignited and started to heat it up. Ajax could sense the waves of mana that the professor put out to control the flame, not only that but he could sense how the fire focused more on one side of the cauldron than the other. ¡°As the mana concentration starts to rise so does the importance of temperature.¡± the professor continued. ¡°While initially the lack of controlled heat application can be made up for by pre-heating or cooling the ingredients before adding them, that will take away from the quality of the resulting mixture.¡± ¡°From ingredients beyond the point in the dungeon where the monsters reach level one hundred, alchemists who do not possess the fire control for the potion they are making will often end up having custom made cauldrons for specific recipes.¡± the teaching assistant said as he passed an odd cauldron with multiple chambers around. ¡°To this day these cauldrons are by far the most expensive crafting tools out of any profession.¡± the professor continued, pausing every so often to chant again switching the flames in a bit way underneath the couldron. ¡°The precise form and sometimes specific make-up of their alloy make them so infuriating that there are blacksmiths with above uncommon skills who have taken specific bottleneck choices to focus on their creations.¡± For the remainder of the class each of the students was provided with a different recipe that they were to attempt, despite the skill required by each recipe all of them focused on the temperature aspect of the craft in one way or another. ¡°As your skill and power grows this topic is one that you will find particularly limiting.¡± the professor said to Ajax and two other students towards the end of the class, all three of them being positioned closely together. ¡°As all of you are also dungeon crafters you will have to take the ambient mana density as well as its elemental composition into account when calculating the temperature variations.¡± ¡°Is this why you openly discourage any alchemist that is not comfortable with fire magic from doing alchemy in the dungeon?¡± one of the other two students asked. ¡°Very much so.¡± the professor nodded, ¡°The quick temperature changes that need to happen at that level are simply beyond them, I am in fact quite curious to see just how adaptable your form of magic is for it, Ajax.¡± ¡°Your lack of efficiency between power and mana cost is more of a positive than a negative in this regard.¡± the teaching assistant said. ¡°It gives you a much easier control of the temperature, especially without a repeated chant that needs to be corrected through intent and manipulation.¡± As Ajax heard this he knew he had made the correct choice by going into alchemy, not only because of his casting method but also because with a refined enough application he can use [Mana Syphon] to somewhat control the ambient mana inside a dungeon making alchemy there that much easier for himself. ¡°Baron Hearthbound.¡± one of the students called after him as they exited the class. Ajax turned to look at the man and found his face both familiar yet foreign. ¡°Yes?¡± Ajax dragged on the word as he finally placed where he recognised the face from, it was early similar to the one his opponent in the second round of the tournament had. Despite that Ajax could tell that this man and his opponent were closely related. ¡°As a member of House Stonewall I would like to thank you.¡± the man said as he walked with Ajax towards the training fields. ¡°What for?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Your victory over my twin brother. It left a lasting impression on him.¡± came the answer. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ajax didn¡¯t know what to say to that, the match had ended quickly with him utterly dominating his opponent. Not only that he had still been angry on Theron¡¯s behalf and had taken it out on his opponent, making the battle end more humiliatingly for the noble than the beastkin. ¡°It took him a week to get over the loss.¡± his fellow student picked up on the reason for Ajax¡¯s awkwardness. ¡°But the results from his training since then have been better than ever before. His drive to improve has increased manifold. As such my grandfather has asked me to thank you, not only that but also offer you his support should you require it.¡± ¡°That is too much.¡± Ajax knew that the support of a Viscount¡¯s house such as House Stonewall was not something to take for granted, especially not to be won over a simple duel in a tournament. Obviously the support wouldn¡¯t be endless but it essentially meant that so long what he was doing wasn¡¯t negatively impacting House Stonewall they would at least put the weight of their name behind him. ¡°His support also with a request and an apology.¡± the conversation quickly became slightly awkward. ¡°The apology is for the duels that my brother will challenge you to in the coming years, with the request that you do not finish them as decisively to crush his spirit a second time.¡± Chapter 259 Ajax was shocked by the request. It was at once both something rather basic as well as something annoying. The idea that he would be hounded for duels from people looking to prove they had improved sounded tiring, at the same time having a few well placed noble houses owe him a favor or two wouldn¡¯t be the worst thing in the world. ¡°Don¡¯t look all that pleased.¡± Stonewall said when he examined Ajax¡¯s face. ¡°While most noble houses wouldn¡¯t bother with it or would just accept the outcome of a fight in the tournament there are two other options in the minority that remain. The first is the one my grandfather has chosen but the second would be to return the perceived humiliation in kind.¡± Ajax silently cursed at that. Despite knowing that almost all noble houses tried their best to have the most capable heir take over the position as house head there would always be some that were starved for a good choice. These people sometimes also ended up with a lot of power depending on how their ancestored ruled. Ajax and his classmate went their separate ways as they approached the training fields. Much like their homeroom classes their afternoon combat training was done in their respective classes. Not only that but it also seemed that their instructors hadn¡¯t changed from the previous year. As Ajax stepped onto the training field for the second year he could clearly see the difference in set-up between their new field and the first year one. Where they had previously been given a lot of open space, targets and a robust selection of weaponry, their new training grounds were very different. The large selection of weapons and targets had remained, their open space however had been replaced by a small firing range as well as a tiny dueling circle, a large part of the area was taken up by a small forest that measured a little more than the size of a football field. ¡°Going forward your training field will change daily.¡± instructor Gatecrasher''s voice resounded once everyone had arrived. ¡°There are a few specific biomes that have been carefully nurtured on the grounds of the academy and you will be using them.¡± As Ajax listened he also noticed that a few of his classmates already had a few scuffs and scratches on their gear, not only that but they also had built up a bit of sweat, most notable of them the prince who¡¯s blade even looked to have drawn a sliver of blood as well as Benedict. They must be the ones who chose to forgo a crafting profession in exchange for more combat training. ¡°Going forward your training will be focused more on group tactics compared to individual operations.¡± Instructor Gatecrasher continued. ¡°And no this is not to prepare you for future delves.¡± Ajax seemed surprised by that. Why would you have them prioritizing group combat as well as well as different biomes if not to prepare them for dungeon delves. ¡°Your dungeon training will mostly be happening inside the Goldmine, with all delves happening on the second floor of the dungeon this year you will have the chance to experience the randomness of a dungeon floor at that time.¡± The instructor explained have seen some skeptical looks at his previous announcement. ¡°The different biomes you will be training on have been carefully created to resemble the biomes from every single battle this kingdom has fought in the last thousand years with the exception of open fields.¡± the instructor ignored the looks of understanding that dawned on the faces of some of the students. ¡°For the next five years all of you will be training to survive and thrive on a battlefield.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Instructor Gatecrasher, is it true that we will have wargames against the third years?¡± one of the students asked excitedly. ¡°That is correct.¡± the instructor confirmed. ¡°Unlike in your first year your cycle will no longer be a ten day academy, ten day delve and ten day free time. Moving forward you will have three different types of cycles one after the other : one will be the same as your first years giving you at least ten open days to get anything you need done.¡± ¡°The other two however will have that free time replaced with a deep chaperoned delve as deep as the sixth floor of the dungeon with the specific intent of having you craft or they will have the free time replaced with a delve to the first floor of the hillside dungeon.¡± the instructor explained ¡° That delve will see the floor quickly cleared by the instructors of the second and third years before a small war simulation will follow. Do keep in mind that each simulation will be given a scenario that won¡¯t always be a straight forward clash.¡± ¡°We may end up being the first second year class to clean sweep the third years.¡± Ajax heard one of his classmates whisper. As if having heard the whisper their magic instructor was quick to cut that idea down. ¡°In order to maintain a balanced field the third years will be given a level sixty asset during these simulations, not only that but Ajax will also not be allowed to take a main or secondary leadership role.¡± Ajax frowned at that, not because he disagreed with what they were doing. He knew very well just how unfair it would be to have the third years go up against him without anything to keep him in check, he was glad that they were letting him participate. The part that Ajax had a problem with was that the third years were given a level sixty asset, sure that might be close enough to match him as he was now but Ajax very much expected them to need a level sixty-five by the time half the school year had gone by at the latest. ¡°I suppose I should mention that while all crafting classes will have the option of joining the crafting delve, only students that actively practice dungeon crafting will be allowed to attend.¡± the instructor said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°How is that fair?¡± A few of the students were quick to take issue with the last second announcement. Dungeon crafting was much more difficult than regular crafting, at least without a skill to make up for it and even then it was still harder. Depending on the profession the number of crafters who could do it varied between one in ten and one in a hundred. ¡°This decision was made years ago.¡± the professor continued raising his voice over the protests ¡°It was made to ensure sufficient crafting ingredients for the students who actively pursue dungeon crafting. The rest of you will be offered extended lessons during these delves from your professors.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the professors be delving?¡± was a question that quickly came. ¡°No.¡± The response didn¡¯t come with any explanation. Ajax, of course, knew the exact reason why there would be no professor. Dungeon crafters needed to be creative and be able to make the best with what they could find and adapt, it was better for them to go through the process without an experienced teacher that would be nothing more than a crutch. For the remainder of the class the instructors had them practice small squad movements throughout the forest biome. While the students had little issue keeping in formation for basic marching as soon as some speed was added in their formations quickly broke down. After finishing his combat training Ajax took his time getting himself cleaned up before heading for the library. Despite the time he had spent up there during the break Ajax had done so alone on the fact that Balthazar had returned to his estate. ¡°You sure took your time getting up here.¡± the old librarian taunted Ajax as soon as he stepped in. ¡°Next time I¡¯ll make my way here right after combat training.¡± Ajax quickly responded with a malicious smile. ¡°On second thought you¡¯re not that late you can take the time to clean yourself first.¡± The old man quickly backtracked, Ajax had figured out that while old age had diminished the old man¡¯s sight and hearing a little he still got the full effect of his Perception when it came to smell. After a few thousand years, even with mostly forcibly increasing the stat it had to be up there. ¡°What is this?¡± Ajax asked as he looked at the sole scroll sitting on the librarians desk. ¡°This is a very basic curse.¡± the old man said. ¡°The first that you will learn.¡± Ajax was ecstatic to hear that. Right now his [Cursed Slash] simply generated cursed mana, but with training he should be able to learn some non-complex curses to channel that mana into. This would not only make the curses more efficient that basic curse mana infusion but it would also allow him to specialize them. Applying a curse of reduced speed to one arm and reduced strength to the other could ruin a two handed weapon wielder style completely compared to just having both arms hurt while moving and be a little bit slower and weaker. Chapter 260 Ajax was dripping with sweat as he returned home. Hours of training and yet he had almost nothing to show for it. For the first time since he came to this new world Ajax had finally hit a wall. He had previous experience with lack of talent, even after three weeks of apprenticeship he hadn¡¯t unlocked the [Farming] skill, in fact he didn¡¯t have it even after all the farming he¡¯d done with mana all this time. The difference this time however was that Ajax very much wanted to learn how to wield curse mana into more complex curses but he simply didn¡¯t have the talent for it, not only that but because of the nature of his curse mana generation his Divine Witness trait didn¡¯t help him with getting started at all. While this didn¡¯t mean that Ajax would give up on his work with curses he did realize that it won¡¯t be anything more than a small part of his toolset. He still planned to learn some basic curses to improve the damage done by his cursed slash but his hopes of having curses be as big a part of his style as [Mana Augmentation] were cut short. Ajax''s ideal path to increased power, beside an increase in stats, was all of the scientific knowledge he had learned back on Earth. There was a lot to being an architect and physics was a good chunk of it, even if it did focus more on the mechanical side he had been forced to learn a much wider range during his college days. The problem there was that he had a lot of things that he would need to not only relearn but actually rediscover in this world. Just as mana and mana concentration affected the speed required to break through the sound barrier so could it affect the rest of the physics he had learnt, this would mean that all he really had was solid guessed and not actual hard facts. The second issue here was with the things that were so basic that they must be classified as their own category of magic. Ajax was willing to bet his left arm that gravity mana was thing, even with mana messing with things he had experienced gravity all his life and in all sorts of mana concentration and found it to work similarly in all of them. The problem here was that he had no idea what gravity mana felt like in the first place. All of his current mana types came from either directly copying the mana type used by a monster or mage, or by playing around with his existing mana types in order to create new ones. It was already a minor miracle that he had stumbled upon void mana from shadow but currently there was nothing to help him gain gravity mana. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Theron asked as picked up on Ajax¡¯s mood. ¡°The different mana types.¡± Ajax made sure to keep his answer ambiguous enough as he thought about it. ¡°Trying to figure out how I can get a better look to understand some of them.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you do the same thing you did with the bees?¡± Theron asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax was confused how his bees were the answer to different mana types. ¡°Well you got a little mana infused honey from infusing raw mana into the creation process, can you do the same thing to say wood and then set it ablaze to see if the mana turns into fire mana?¡± Theron asked. Ajax slightly froze at that remark. While the process for fire wouldn¡¯t work since the mana in the wood would affect the wood¡¯s properties and not transform the idea into sound, Theron''s mistake was in trying to apply it to a process that wasn¡¯t natural to the infused item. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The more he thought about it the more he realized that the idea itself had a lot of potential, so much so that Ajax was close to kicking himself for not having thought about it before. Sure there were few things it would actually work on but the things that it would work on should give him a lot to work with. Ajax didn¡¯t know if it was because he was thinking about it beforehand or just random chance because he now had an idea of how to get gravity mana. The answer was in how gravity worked, though its practical application was having things fall down gravity worked by having two things attract one another. There was one other force that had two objects attract one another, magnetism. Sure enough there were natural magnets in this world but infusing one of them with mana would only affect its output directly without actually changing the mana into magnetic mana. An electromagnet hower was a natural process formed by metals when electricity ran through them. If Ajax could learn magnetic mana he could eventually work it to find gravitational mana. This was clearly a long term project but one that he almost could wait to get started on. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea.¡± Ajax said as he quickly picked up speed as he headed towards the house. ¡°Thank¡­ you.¡± Theron was left slightly confused as he watched Ajax dash off in a hurry. Despite the confusion however Theron was proud, even if he didn¡¯t know exactly how he had clearly helped his Lord. ¡°Hi grandpa!.¡± Ajax excitedly greeted Elija as he plowed into his office. ¡°Quick question, in which of your warehouses do you keep your metal ores and ingots.¡± Despite the joy Elija felt when seeing his grandson''s joy while coming to see him the question quickly brought him up short as a small pit in his stomach quickly grew bigger. ¡°Now, Ajax I am sure you are very talented but I think its a bit early to be thinking about trying this.¡± Elija said after a long moment of silence. ¡°What?¡± Ajax was very confused, not only by the fact that his grandfather claimed to know what he wanted to do but that he also thought he wasn¡¯t skilled enough to do it. ¡°What is going on?¡± Judy asked as she, Alana and Aurora were quick to follow Ajax here as they saw him dashing through the mansion. ¡°Ajax here is asking about our supply of ores and ingots.¡± Elija said as he felt a bit of cold sweat start to drip down his back. ¡°Now honey, are you sure you want to be focusing on that now.¡± Aurora tried a more diplomatic form of denial, her attempts were quickly dashed however as her granddaughter joined the conversation. ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Judy said as she looked at Ajax. ¡°You are not trying your hand at transmutation!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve started learning alchemy seriously for almost a year, most people have at least a decade of experience before they try it, and it''s almost always a failure.¡± Alana tried a logical explanation. ¡°Trying to work at it now would just be a waste of ingots, ores and other expensive ingredients.¡± ¡°But, I don¡¯t want to try my hand at transmutation yet.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You don¡¯t?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?!¡± While Alana, Aurora and Judy had the exact same reaction Elija was quick to move the conversation away from transmutation, just in case the conversation would lead his grandson to once again start hounding them for ingredients as he did over the summer. ¡°What is it that you need to know about the ingot and ore warehouse for then?¡± ¡°I need a few samples from different metals and ores so I can experiment with them using mana.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say so,¡± Elija said as he heaved out a relieved sigh. ¡°No need to go to a warehouse for that, just go to our main shop and ask Sebastian for what you need, we should have a few samples of most ores and ingots to use as show pieces when making deals.¡± ¡°I was going to explain if all of you didn¡¯t jump to conclusions.¡± Ajax grumbled to himself as he headed back out of the estate and towards his grandfather''s shop. The more Ajax thought about the process of getting access to gravity mana the more he realized that he had been neglecting a lot of his knowledge when forming his mental images when casting some of his elemental spells. The biggest failure of this being his ice magic, he knew perfectly well that it was the molecules lack of movement that represented the cold and that the best way to make his ice magic colder was to have that as the basis of his image and intent, yet he hadn¡¯t been doing that. The same could be said for fire but Ajax knew that there were multiple types of flames and that mana had a bigger say there than it did when creating ice. Nevertheless there was a lot more he could be doing now to increase his power and the first step for it would be getting those samples. Chapter 261 ¡°Today¡¯s lesson will focus on trade regulations, specifically on trades with other kingdoms.¡± professor Silvertongue said as class started. ¡°Now while our kingdom tries to stay out of it and respect the autonomy of its noble houses when not at war, there are a few regulations that are kept quiet from the public.¡± Ajax could see that almost half the class had been just as clueless as him when it came to these unpublished laws. There were also those who already knew the information and were just sitting in for a refresher. Anna however had almost completely tuned out the lesson and was reading through a scroll. The professor was clearly aware but chances were that she already knew all of this. ¡°Now while any individual sales are not subject to scrutiny, sales that involve a noble house as a whole are. The main reason for this is obviously so that anything that could be considered a national secret or resource can¡¯t be traded away. The second reason is for fair taxation purposes.¡± ¡°What does fair taxation have to do with it?¡± Ajax asked, he clearly understood the first part but this didn¡¯t make sense for him. ¡°Taxation is not always straightforward.¡± the professor explained. ¡°Take the deal that the Goldmancers are making with the Empire right now as an example.¡± Ajax felt a bit awkward considering just how personal that deal was, not only that but he could also see that Anna looked up and focused on the conversation. ¡°That deal isn¡¯t finalized yet but I can guarantee that a member of the royal family or one of the king''s advisors is a silent participant in those discussions.¡± the professor said. ¡°His involvement here will be minimal if the whispers going around are anything close to the deal being put in place.¡± ¡°I hear that there is talk that the Goldmancers will get 20% of all honey gathered in the Empire for the next ten years.¡± another noble spoke up. ¡°Yes, and that is something that would make taxation easy for the kingdom.¡± the professor nodded. ¡°Seeing as how a farming method is being traded and the talk hasn''t been shut down it means the kingdom doesn¡¯t deem it to be a national secret, otherwise the royal family representative would have shut down the discussion.¡± ¡°On that note I highly advise that all of you have a discussion with a royal family representative before even starting talks of selling anything that isn¡¯t already widely known, whether that be a farming method, an unique item or even the first output of a new mine.¡± the professor said, ¡°Charges of treason can be brought for doing so.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t the royal family just get whatever information we are trading for free in that case?¡± one of the students asked. ¡°No,¡± it was Anna who spoke up. ¡°All royal representatives take an oath to not divulge anything learnt in that session, it is heavily enforced, each representative has at least ten active contracts binding that promise of secrecy.¡± Depending on the strength of the skill, breaking ten contracts at once could be fatal for almost anyone and Ajax doubted the economic advisors and other representatives were all that high of a level. ¡°As I was saying, taxation on this contract would be easy as the 5% would be easily taken from the honey that house Goldmancer would collect.¡± The professor refocused the discussion. ¡°But what if they were trading it for a new family heirloom? The crown can¡¯t take away 5% of an item.¡± ¡°The amount taxed would be something that the representative would discuss separately with the House before the agreement is finalized. Do any of you know what the current punishment is for finalizing a deal without notifying the royal family.¡± the professor asked. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°The taxed amount is doubled.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°And what if the deal was for a single item?¡± the professor prodded. ¡°The House in question would be asked to place a value on the item.¡± Anna said. ¡°From there it would be up to the royal family to decide whether to buy the item or accept double the taxes on the valuation.¡± The whole premise was that while giving you the opportunity to name the price made it seem like the royal family wasn¡¯t in control it actually stuck the House in question between a rock and a hard place. A too low value and the royal family would pay 90% of it and take the item in question, too high and you¡¯d end up paying 10% of it. ¡°A big incentive to have said meetings supervised is included in taxation.¡± the professor continued. ¡°Things like a ten man delve in another countries dungeon, or usage of a natural treasure can be baked into the deal where they are then relinquished to the crow in exchange for taxes.¡± From there the lesson continued down the rabbit hole of edge cases and beneficial reasons to have the meetings monitored. While Ajax could see the incentives he also recognised that this lesson focused a lot on the downsides of getting caught and the upsides of being upfront. ¡°There is one exception to this.¡± the professor said as the class time was running out. ¡°Any asset obtained as a reward from an international tournament can be traded away tax free within two weeks of it being obtained provided the royal family is given the chance to counter on the price.¡± ¡°Why are tournament prizes exempt?¡± one student asked. ¡°Mainly because of how many commoner winners there have been.¡± the professor said. ¡°The exception is put in place to stop them from trying to hide the deal in fear of taxation and end up severely undercharging for it.¡± The kingdom was smart here, using that same greed that would lead someone to hide the deal to get them to bring it forward, after all there was no downside if the crown didn¡¯t want it but they could always offer to pay even more for it. ¡°Do you have a moment?¡± Anna asked Ajax after the class. ¡°Sure.¡± Ajax nodded, today would be one of the days where the first years would have an alchemy class and as such he will be having his one on one remedial lesson with professor Silvertongue. ¡°Since the deal my family is making was brought up anyway I thought I''d give you an update on it.¡± Anna said . ¡°The deal is almost finished and the plan was to let you know once it was all done but I don¡¯t want you to feel like we are hiding anything.¡± One of the things Ajax had learned about Anna during all the time that he knew her was that despite the calculated and calm strategist and business women she had been raised as, whenever it came down to regular social interaction her isolated childhood started to show. Ajax himself hadn¡¯t been all that social during his childhood and this manifested in a more quiet and reserved personality. Anna on the other hand tended to babble and go on tangents to fill the air and prevent any awkward silences. ¡°I wasn''t,¡± Ajax said with a smile. The deal they had made when they sold the farming method to the Goldmancers was good and according to his grandparents they had gotten enough upfront that even if they were shafted on a resell to other kingdoms they would still have gotten a good enough deal for something that would be reverse engineered quickly. ¡°Dad managed to get them up to 22% of all honey produced.¡± Anna said and even Ajax could see how proud she was of her father, he also wasn¡¯t all that interested in the raw amount since his House wouldn¡¯t be getting any of that but he didn¡¯t let that show. ¡°As for the dungeon delves he managed to get a slot for both of their capitals dungeons.¡± This is what Ajax was interested in. More than anything he wanted to delve as many of the small floor gapped dungeons as quickly as he could for the extra stats. He knew that all kingdoms placed level caps on how long people could delve and foreign nations would never let anyone even remotely close to their cap from another nation attempt the delve. ¡°For their main Dungeon, it¡¯s a five level floor gap and it starts with a level twenty -nine max level on floor one, we have a five man delve team made up of under level forty members. Your House will nominate one of the five people.¡± Anna continued. ¡°I¡¯ll be going with you.¡± Lexi who had quickly followed after them jumped into the conversation. ¡°So will Anna. The prince will most likely claim the spot given to the royal family and one of Anna¡¯s nephews or nieces will also join us.¡± It was almost a foregone conclusion that Ajax would be the member of his family to claim the spot but he was surprised to see that four out of the five people going would be from his class. He had obviously expected Anna to get one of the spots as the head of House Goldmancer wanted her to take over but the other two were a surprise. ¡°Only a five man delve?¡± Ajax asked as he refocused on the main bit of information. Delves were usually at least a dozen people and could be as many as three dozen depending on the purpose of the delve. ¡°For their main dungeon, yes.¡± Anna confirmed. ¡°The secondary dungeon, it has a ten level floor gap and starts at level thirty-three, we have a twenty man delve team and your house will be given three spots, they are to be under level eighty.¡± Ajax could feel his eyebrows reaching for his forehead at the level cap, that was surprising to say the least. He couldn¡¯t help but feel like there was something odd about the deal. ¡°This is why we didn¡¯t want to tell you about the deal until it was finished.¡± Anna let out a sigh. ¡°Dad said the only reason he could push so hard with his skills on the rest of the deal was because you are targeted here, the delve on their main dungeon is there to essentially analyze your strength.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t know what to think here. On the one hand he was already in the crosshairs of a neighboring kingdom, on the other the way they were going about investigating him also provided him with a great opportunity to get stronger. Chapter 262 Ajax¡¯s remedial lessons turned out to be a lot more concentrated than he had thought. He had only been to two of them so far and already they had covered one third of the previous year''s curriculum. All of this was built on the back of Ajax¡¯s previous knowledge but he now found that he could identify important names. All of that was nothing compared to everything else he had picked up in the previous days. His new combat training focused a lot more on learning how to lead, unlike their first year where the class was divided into mages and physical fighters they were now fully integrated and focused on learning how to lead a squad. Exciting as the new training was, Ajax was also quick to pick up that he was a terrible squad leader. It wasn¡¯t so much the power difference or that he wasn¡¯t good at planning, the issue came from Ajax¡¯s perfectionism and micromanagement of the squad as a whole. His previous experience with strategy games had shown him to be a decent strategist but in the field he always found himself front and centre of the formation. ¡°Your best chance is going to be leading as a result of your position.¡± the mage instructor had told him. ¡°You have no problem hatching a plan, good ones at that, but the moment anything goes wrong you micromanage too much and focus too much on getting everything back to the way it should have been.¡± What Ajax lacked as a leader however he made up for in spades as a second in command. On all of the different biomes they had run drills on Ajax had quickly shown both the issues with his leadership over a squad as well as his value as a right hand man. Both Anna and Benedict had clearly noticed his value in the chain of command. So long as Ajax had someone to make the overall decisions he could freely focus and obsess over his own specific task. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m surprised.¡± Benedict said as he was talking with Anna and Lexi. ¡°How so?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°Are you both aware of what method he used to get so much stronger for his level?¡± he asked, not wanting to speak out of turn. ¡°Yes.¡± Both of them confirmed. ¡°Think about it.¡± He said. ¡°Not only that but out of all the professions he could have chosen he picked alchemy. Biggest surprise I have is that he doesn¡¯t suffer from an obsessive compulsive disorder seeing how he does things.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen quite a few obsessive squad leaders.¡± Lexi said.¡± In fact they are some of the better ones I have seen.¡± ¡°And they are.¡± Anna said. ¡°Being obsessive is a good trait in a planner and a squad leader in means you make back-up plans. His issue is that he also has another trait that makes for a good leader, one that when combined with an obsessive turns a squad leader into a tyrant.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Lexi sighed, ¡°He is a bit paranoid isn¡¯t he.¡± ¡°Considering his life before he came to the capital I¡¯m pretty sure he would have been dead if he wasn¡¯t.¡± Benedict nodded. ¡°But where an obsessive leader is good and a paranoid leader is good, an obsessive and paranoid leader will lead a squad to ruin.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°First person I¡¯d want as a second in command.¡± Anna continued. ¡°He¡¯s the kind of person who does well when watching the big picture in small glimpses between focused tasks. Once you give him something to do you can rest assured that it will get done.¡± ¡°Think he¡¯s going to be joining a team again?¡± Lexi asked as they all walked towards the dungeon for their first delve on the second floor. ¡°Doubt he will give up the chance to practise his alchemy some more.¡± Benedict answered and Anna nodded along. The class cut a very different sight as they made their way towards the dungeon. Unlike their first year when everyone had been similarly equipped when heading to the dungeon a clear status distinction could be seen when watching the class head towards the dungeon now. The difference came from a simple item, a storage ring. Students whose families had given them a storage ring for their school delves had only a regular suit of gear on, some kept a weapon on them as well but that was it. Those without a ring however could be seen carrying big heavy packs where consumables as different gear sets were held for anything a random floor might throw at them. Much to his surprise Ajax had been asked to take a more active role during their delves. ¡°You want me to go around with a group again?¡± Ajax asked professor Silvertongue. ¡°At least for the first two or three delves, yes.¡± the professor said. ¡°But why me?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°If you needed another person to watch out for them I¡¯m sure you could have gotten them.¡± ¡°Because, for a few of them, you feel like a classmate and not a watcher.¡± the professor explained. ¡°Having you go with them won¡¯t make them feel like they are being watched over and will give them the genuine feeling of delving without a safety net.¡± ¡°Benedict, Lexi, Anna, Rick and to a certain extent prince Xavier.¡± Ajax rattled off the names. ¡°Outside of them everyone else has been a lot more wary of me since they saw me take part in the tournament.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t understand why prince Xavier seemed to be so reactive to him, he had no way of knowing that this was all because of Xavier¡¯s uncle who had clearly marked Ajax as someone who had the potential to become the strongest champion across all the kingdoms. ¡°That¡¯s the group.¡± the professor confirmed. ¡°You can still pick up anything useful for alchemy that you find along the way and you¡¯ll have time in the last day when they will all be waiting as a group to craft in peace.¡± With his crafting time assured Ajax had no more real objections so once the class entered the dungeon they quickly made their way to the closest arch and one on the other side they split into their groups. ¡°Ajax,¡± the prince said once they were on their own, him speaking up caused the entire group to freeze for a moment as all of them knew there had been some tensions between Ajax and the prince towards the end of last year. ¡°First let me apologise for last time we talked, it seems I was a bit harsh and spoke without a good understanding of the facts.¡± ¡°What gave you a better understanding since then?¡± Lexi was quick to jump into the conversation after Ajax accepted the apology with a nod. ¡°My uncle, he dispelled some of the wrong assumptions I had jumped to when I learned about his stat gaining method.¡± the prince said. ¡°He was more than impressed with you when he saw you fight in the tournament.¡± Benedict was quick to turn towards the prince. More than anyone else here besides prince Xavier he knew just what that meant. The king¡¯s oldest son might not be the kingdom¡¯s strongest fighter, yet anyway, but he was its most gifted fighter. According to his father the only person stronger for their level that he had seen was Ajax himself. ¡°Firstly?¡± Ajax said, curious about what else the prince had to say besides the apology. ¡°I also bring a request from my grandfather.¡± the prince said. Those words were quick to focus Ajax¡¯s attention. So long as the request was nothing too excessive Ajax very much wanted to get on the king''s good side. ¡°Is this about the dungeon delves in the Empire?¡± Anna asked, it was the only reason why the prince would approach Ajax about the request in this group instead of when he was alone. ¡°Yes.¡± the prince confirmed. ¡°You managed to get a delve slot in the Empire?¡± Rick was the only one shocked at the news, despite the rumours about the deal that house Goldmancer was making with the Empire getting a delve slot was something very rare. ¡°Rick!¡± Benedict was quick to chastise his friend. ¡°My house will be very interested in talking about a possible deal regarding any delve slots you may acquire.¡± ¡°I can set up a meeting.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°What is the request?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The request is for the main dungeon delve.¡± the prince said. ¡°He asks that you accompany me, as well as anyone else delving, and give us a fair chance to push as high as we can with you keeping us safe. We might be able to get one floor higher if we can focus on the boss and we never know if we will get another chance to delve that dungeon.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound too bad.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°He also wants you to fully clear the last floor you delve to if at all possible.¡± the prince continued. ¡°The Empire will certainly make assurance of having them clear anything that comes out after you but ideally you wouldn¡¯t give them any indication of how high you reached.¡± Chapter 263 That request had brought not only Ajax up short but also the rest of their party, all four of them sported frowns on their faces but Lexi and Rick had theirs trained on the prince while Anna and Benedict were looking at Ajax. ¡°You expect him to leave at least a floor¡¯s worth of stats if not two?¡± Rick sounded offended on Ajax¡¯s behalf. ¡°That¡¯s all some people get when they get a chance to delve in another kingdom¡¯s dungeon.¡± ¡°Doing it that way is actually the smart move¡± Anna cut in, though from the look Lexi threw at her she agreed with Rick. ¡°Not doing so could put a very big target on your back.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Benedict agreed. ¡° House Slivertongue has done a great job of keeping how deep you delve secret but just from the party you are going with you have to be at least able to handle floors holding level fifties.¡± Ajax was surprised at that, House Silvertongue had done a really good job if all Benedict could be sure about was that he delved up to level fifty instead of the sixty five he had been to multiple times, dubbly so considering the incident with the kitsune. ¡°If the word spread that you can delve that high up to enemy nations you will have assassins going after you.¡± Benedict said. ¡°Would they do that with the recent peace that was just established?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I thought nobody wanted to make a move because of that stealth users the Republic had.¡± ¡°They¡¯re more likely to do it because of him.¡± Anna cut in. ¡° With war taken off the table tournaments are the way that any point of conflict will be resolved. There is no way your current level hasn¡¯t already been leaked, a simple check of the Adventurer Guild will have that pretty accurately and at your level of growth you may very well dominate both the under fifty years old and the under level one hundred for a good long while.¡± ¡°Not to mention that you will extend your own period of forced peace if you grow strong enough.¡± Benedict added on. ¡°And that¡¯s if they see you doing only floors with level fifties.¡± the prince spoke again. ¡°ONLY!?¡± Rick was the only one to exclaim but everyone now had their eyes trained on him, clearly the royal family had much better information and knew that Ajax had cleared floors with level sixty-fives on it. ¡°In exchange my grandfather will be willing to sell you a spot for the team that will be delving the Republic¡¯s dungeon when you go there for the tournament.¡± the prince continued. ¡°Despite that delve being a few years away you¡¯ll be going in with level one hundreds and will have no reason to hold back there.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be able to push as hard as you want in their secondary dungeon.¡± Anna seemingly saw his inner conflict and tried to placate him. ¡°The cap for that one seems to be eighty so you¡¯ll be able to push as far as you can go.¡± It was here that Ajax had to realize that despite how much this world felt like a game he couldn¡¯t simply min-max everything. Ideally he would get to delve into each and every dungeon and get the bonuses from every single floor but that simply wasn¡¯t feasible. Not only that but it would also be the highest floors that he wouldn¡¯t be collecting, he would have quite a bit of time to gain a delve into that dungeon before he passed the level where they wouldn¡¯t be giving him the stat points any further. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ajax said finally. ¡°I make no promises but I¡¯ll do my best to try and not leak just how far I can go.¡± Ajax was pretty sure that the king would give him a spot in upcoming delve in the Republic dungeon regardless of how his first foreign delve would go, that said it didn¡¯t mean that he didn¡¯t want to be on the good side of the royal family, so far they had been straightforward with him and had given him a space to built his own place in their kingdom. For the remainder of the day the group had decided to stick to small talk following the serious discussion. Rick, Benedict and to a lesser extent Lexi and Anna had been throwing looks at Ajax as they made their way through the swamp biome that the dungeon had thrown at them. The revelation that what he displayed during the tournament wasn¡¯t his full power had been a lot to take in. Ajax was also drawing quite a bit of attention to himself by intercepting everything that got close to any of them. He was given clear instructions to be more protective of them on the first day while they got used to the theme, especially once they saw it was a swamp. As for Ajax himself he was beyond pleased with the floor theme. The specific swamp biome that the dungeon had spawned was filled with poisonous and venomous creatures, Ajax had counted at least three different types: a giant wasp, large toads and massive snakes. Not only that but the floor had also presented him with specific plants and fungi that he could use in his alchemy. When creating an alchemical antidote to a poison the temperature of the ingredients was very important as the poison was usually only effective at specific temperatures. This floor coming after days spent in class practicing and discussing this exact phenomenon was the perfect dungeon floor. ¡°What are you doing?¡± professor Silvertongue asked him once all of their group got back to the meeting spot before night fully fell. ¡°I thought we agreed you would be doing alchemy at the end of the delve.¡± ¡°The toads are poisonous, not only that but the snakes and wasps are venomous.¡± Ajax said as he kept setting up his dungeon alchemy station. ¡°I wanted to try make an antidote for them.¡± ¡°We have antidotes.¡± the professor said as he pointed towards the rings. ¡°I know we gave you a few specific supplies just in case a weird floor theme showed up.¡± ¡°Those are too good.¡± Ajax said as he now started pulling out all of the things he had collected throughout the day. ¡°They¡¯ll cure the poison the moment they are taken like it was never there. The best I can do is make one on short notice that will partially work.¡± ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I said you can do it at the end of the delve.¡± the professor said with a little exasperation in his tone. ¡°If it will only partially work it will give them a proper experience of how it will be delving without a chaperone, not only that but taking a partial antidote will also give them a good chance of developing [Poison Resistance].¡± Ajax countered. ¡°Fine.¡± the professor relented after he stopped to think things over for a moment. ¡°But only until the first watch is over, after that you go to sleep as well you need to be rested for tomorrow.¡± Ajax was tempted to argue but he just opened his mouth and closed it again simply nodding his acceptance of the terms. With the floors being bigger and uncharted, their delve here would last longer than the simple three to four days they did in the first year, he could look forward to five, six or maybe seven depending on how hard the floors were to fully clear. By the time the first shift had ended Ajax had already made ten attempts at creating an antidote for each of the three poisons he encountered. Twenty-four of those attempts had been complete failures, learning to improvise with the ingredients available was one of the main challenges when crafting in the dungeon and the first twelve attempts had been wasted just on figuring out which ingredients definitely didn¡¯t go together well. Of his six successful five of them were [Minor Antidotes] and one of them had advanced a stage to a [Lesser Antidote] according to his [Alchemist¡¯s Examination]. Despite that they weren¡¯t evenly spread, he had only managed to get one of the minor antidotes for the wasp¡¯s sting, never having dealt with this type of poison before. He had a little more success with the toad¡¯s paralytic poison having two successful minor antidotes. His biggest success by far was with the snake hemotoxic poison as he had a better understanding of what the poison was doing, essentially just not allowing blood to clot and managed to make two minor and one lesser antidote for it. Come morning Ajax had kept four of his creations to himself though he did give one of the minor snake and frog antidotes to professor Silvertongue. Not only that but all of the helpers were going to be taking a big step back going forward now that the students had had a full day to get used to the unfamiliar floor theme. Ajax wondered if it was mean for him to hope that someone in his group got poisoned just to see how effective his antidotes were. Chapter 264 Ajax didn¡¯t have to wait too long before somebody got poisoned, that isn¡¯t to say that they weren¡¯t trying but without Ajax giving them a heads up about where the enemies were it would always be just a matter of time before one of the snakes managed to land an opening ambush bite. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise however it was the prince that got bit. Ajax had put prince Xavier as one of the least likely to be poisoned simply because of how much more useful physical stats were when reacting to an ambush. To be fair however he did get bit as he intercepted the snake that was diving towards Rick. The fight ended within seconds of their enemies making themselves known, despite the lower levels this was still a group that had multiple mages all of whom were not only skilled but also supplied with some of the best gear and preparation possible. ¡°How are you still moving around?¡± Rick exclaimed, pointing at the prince. ¡°Because the snake¡¯s poison is a hemotoxin you knucklehead.¡± Benedict grumbled through clenched teeth as he gave Rick a light tap to the back of the head. ¡°I¡¯ll tell your father you need a refresher on the different types of poison.¡± Rick¡¯s good mood quickly plummeted as his face turned a little pale and he dragged Benedict off to one side quickly in an attempt to persuade him that it wasn¡¯t something worth bringing up with his father. ¡°Do you have [Poison Resistance]?¡± Ajax asked the prince as he approached. ¡°No.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°You have two options then.¡± Ajax offered the choice to the prince between his lesser antidote and the one provided by the teachers. Both would counteract the poison and get the blood clotting again the only difference was the time it would take to happen. ¡°Well three technically but I¡¯m not risking the minor one.¡± The problem with the bite was that it had been close enough that Ajax was sure it nicked a major blood vessel in the leg and the minor antidote would be too slow before severe anemia would creep up on them. ¡°I¡¯ll take the weak one.¡± the prince quickly grabbed the antidote Ajax made before he looked at it oddly. ¡°Is this an antidote you drink or one you apply?¡± ¡°It should work either way but with how shallow the wound is I think direct application would work best.¡± Ajax responded. The prince simply nodded as he doused the wound with the antidote, the action followed quickly by a sharp draw of breath as he felt like his thigh caught on fire as the antidote started to neutralize the poison. ¡°Damit¡± Ajax cursed slightly as he started inspecting the surroundings after seeing the prince¡¯s reaction to applying the antidote. ¡°There needs to be something like a yarrow root around here.¡± He mumbled as he started inspecting the nearby trees for anything that would work to make the poisons reaction when meeting the antivenom have a small numbing sensation as opposed to the clearly painful one. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Can you walk?¡± Anna asked. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay.¡± the prince nodded ¡°I¡¯ll stick to just defending the mages until the bleeding stops however.¡± The rest of the day moved slowly with two more snake bites and one wasp sting happening before the group called it a day and headed back to the camp spot. Ajax was slightly disappointed nobody had been poisoned by the frogs since he wanted to see the result of his antidote, his best bet right now was to hope another group had had a mild poisoning and they refused the antidote initially since this poison was only a local paralytic. The delve continued in much the same fashion for the next four days as the class slowly but surely started to clear out the entire floor. Ajax¡¯s antidote production had improved with each passing night, by the last day he was consistently creating lesser versions of all three antidotes, his crowning achievement however had been a snake antivenom that had surpassed lesser and was simply marked as [Antidote] by his skill. Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one to see progress throughout this delve, both the prince and the son of a Baron had both managed to gain the [Poison Resistance] skill after using Ajax¡¯s antidotes and just putting up with mild poisoning for extended periods of time. The princes success had been called a fluke but once the second [Poison Resistance] was gained the observers had all been driven to their witt¡¯s end, actively having to step in just to stop people from intentionally letting themselves get poisoned just so they would have a better shot at gaining the skill. ¡°Why did you let them know you gained [Poison Resistance]?¡± Ajax asked the prince as they were all heading out of the dungeon. The concept of openly revealing skills was a totally foreign one to Ajax who had spent years hiding as many skills as he could, even now there wasn¡¯t a single person who knew all of Ajax¡¯s skills. ¡°Because it¡¯s much safer for me to have it be known that I have [Poison Resistance].¡± the prince said. ¡°How, wouldn¡¯t people just try to kill you in different ways if they knew that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Subtle applied poisons are the last resort when it comes to killing high nobles.¡± Anna said. ¡°If you have any other alternatives you would go with those regardless of the fact that the target had [Poison Resistance] or not.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t see how that makes having the skill known helpful.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Because it''s a Common skill.¡± Lexi joined in. ¡°Common skill are hardly more than padding, they don¡¯t offer the best protection, not only that but they are also limited. It¡¯s that limitation that makes it an asset you want others to know about.¡± ¡°The skill works a lot better on slow acting poisons.¡± the prince cut straight to the point. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t matter to an assassin who coated his weapons if I had the skill or not he would add poison anyway. But having the skill be known would make it so people were more likely to use fast acting poisons when trying to slip me something since they work better against the skill.¡± ¡°And how are fast acting poisons better?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Taste testers would exhibit symptoms sooner, reducing the chance to have it slip by testing.¡± the prince said. Ajax remained silent at the cold remark. Ajax imagined that the prince¡¯s food taster was going to be cursing his name once he found out that he had helped the prince gain the skill. The idea however also made him consider if there were any skills that he would benefit from putting out there about himself. ¡°I want to congratulate all of you.¡± Professor Silvertongue said as they all got back to the academy. ¡°Despite the high number of mistakes and accidents all of you performed very well. The floor theme was one of the harder ones to tackle while underleveled and all of you showed great progress as you adapted to it better and better day by day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s debateable considering everyone¡¯s suicidal tendacies on the last day.¡± one of the observers whispered loudly, clearly intending for everyone to hear him. ¡°Yes I do have to admit your surprising dedication to trying to unlock [Poison Resistance] has surprised and inspired me.¡± Ajax had a shiver run down his spine as he watched the malicious smirk creep on the professor¡¯s face. ¡°As such I will do my best to help you unlock it by offering you a mild poison you can take every day during our first lesson.¡± Ajax had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing as he watched most of the students turn a shade whiter at the announcement, he was glad to have already unlocked the skill and was looking forward to what the first poison would be. He was also silently deciding if he should provide a mild laxative for the professor to use. As soon as they were all dismissed however Ajax bade his goodbyes quickly before he hurried towards his manor as quickly as he could without alarming anyone. He finally had a little over twelve days all to himself and with the help of his sister and grandparents he had gathered all the samples needed so that he could begin testing his theory about magnetic mana. Chapter 265 Ajax P.O.V. I could barely pay any attention to the last few announcements the professor made before he dismissed us, something about us being allowed to bring our companions on school delves going forward along with a long speech about how the school takes no responsibility should something happen to them inside the dungeon if we do decide to bring them. It didn¡¯t really matter or apply to me as I didn¡¯t have a bonded companion and I was too excited about finally getting to try out my theories for magnetic mana. I all but dashed through the noble section of the capital as I made my way towards our estate. I was so absorbed into my own theories about what could and hopefully would work that I didn¡¯t even notice how many people were following me, that there were more than there should be inside the noble district or that they were getting a lot closer to me than usual. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± A man said as we bumped into each other as I turned a corner. The man made to move along like it was no big deal but that small contact was all it took to bring me back to the present at the speed of light. [Enigma] triggered defensively the moment he touched me and despite that he still managed to get a full read on everything but my skills, he had my name, level, stats and even my age and for the first time from somebody else¡¯s skill that I was a human. I didn¡¯t hesitate for a moment longer as I quickly pulled both my axe and my hammer from my spacial ring and swung both as I turned [Mana Syphon] up to its maximum setting. My axe was aiming to take his head off his shoulders whereas my hammer was trying to cave in his chest. The spy, as there was no way he was anything else, didn¡¯t even hesitate the moment I made my move and stopped his acting as he broke off at a run. My [Judge Threat] quickly returned a medium threat designation on the man letting me know that while he wasn¡¯t somebody who could kill me in a straight up fight I definitely won¡¯t be catching up to him any time soon considering his stats would be skewed towards speed and perception. The spy hadn¡¯t made it more than two steps away from me, I hadn¡¯t even finished the swing with my weapons when I felt a mana membrane spread out all around us, not knowing what it was or who cast it I didn¡¯t use [Mana Syphon] to drain it just yet. From the spy¡¯s reaction to the membrane it clearly wasn¡¯t something he was happy with. ¡°Damn it¡± I swore as I withdrew both weapons into my ring and quickly brought out my bow and one arrow. Hopefully I would be able to land a good shot that would allow me to catch up. I drew back the arrow and held almost nothing back, for the first time ever I supercharged the arrow by dumping a full one thousand mana in a lightning enchantment as I fired it, anything so much as a scratch and it should send his whole body into an electric seizure. Unfortunately it seems that I was too slow to come to that decision, by the time I loosed the arrow the spy was already more than a dozen feet away from me, not only that but his accomplices had also made a suicidal dash in hopes of slowing me down. One of them even threw themselves in front of the arrow. Even with the power tradeoff that my casting style suffered from one thousand mana was a large amount to pump into a single spell, not only that but I had fully envisioned the lightning enhancement as a paralyzing current rather than a penetrative force, the moment the arrow sunk into the accomplice¡¯s shoulder lightning arcs started to spread out from the point of impact. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. One of the arcs even managed to hit the spy but unfortunately it didn¡¯t do more the have him almost trip and lower the speed his was building up to in his mad dash. The poor sod who got hit dropped to the ground and started shaking uncontrollably while the third one came straight towards me. ¡°ARRGGHH¡± I swapped out my bow and arrow for my hammer and axe once more but as I went to infuse them magma and iron I felt my mana channels revolt in protest. The one thousand mana arrow I launched had clearly been a step too far, I wasn¡¯t used to outputting that much mana all in one go and never mind doing it without any build up. At least I could maintain [Mana Syphon] as I leaned into my [Berserker Style] and lashed out with a curse slash. It seemed that this lackey had learned from his downed friend as he was prepared for me to retaliate, despite that he was simply not strong enough or fast enough. He might have dodged a meaningful hit but he still got hit by my curse. It was a valiant effort, sadly for him even the light scratch was too much of a hit for someone of his level. I quickly stored my hammer again and light channeled as little holy mana as I could while still getting a cleansing spell to gather in my hand. The pain was quick to reappear but with the lower mana amount it was still manageable. A wail of agony greeted me the moment I made contact with the lacky, his legs gave out from under him as the curse was swiftly cleansed. Considering the small amount of curse mana that I managed to inflict on him I knew the pain didn¡¯t last for more than an instant and he would be back to normal shortly, that moment of weakness however would be too much for him as I swung my axe towards his throat. ¡°How much did they learn?¡± a cold voice sounded off to my left as I felt an iron grip take a hold of my hand stopping me from decapitating my attacker. I quickly turned my eyes to look at the person holding my hand, [Judge threat] put him solidly above me, definitely someone I should think about fighting currently, it was only the royal family sigil on his leather armor that let me calm down and look around for the spy. I found two more royal assassins each standing next to one of the other two spies. The runner had two spears going through his thighs and was tied up in chains. I was feeling a bit smug to see that the third assassins hadn¡¯t done anything more than tie the hands and feet of the spy I hit with my lightning arrow. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked after I took in the situation. ¡°His Majesty''s orders regarding any spies that make contact with you are clear, we are to get your approval before taking them in for interrogation.¡± the assassin said. ¡°The barrier we deployed stopped them from transmitting whatever they gathered to anyone else but he might have already passed it along to the two of them, your privacy skill should let you know what information they managed to take, how important was it?¡± I took a moment to process what he was telling me. It seems the king was well aware that I was still keeping a few things from him despite revealing my second Legendary skill to him. I have to admit I appreciated that he let me make the decision on the interrogation just in case they might have collected something sensitive that I was keeping from him. Then again I had no way of knowing if they had already learned all of it from when they interrupted his attempt at communication but my gut told me they didn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯re fine to take them.¡± I said as I came to a decision. ¡°The king already knows everything they managed to get a peek at, though I am surprised how much they managed to get a look at.¡± ¡°Two Epic skills will do that.¡± the assassin that stopped the running spy said as he dragged the man across the ground by the chains that tied him up. ¡°This here is one of our own knights that seems to have betrayed the kingdom, he has the epic skill [Investigation] as well as [Empowering Restriction]. He must have limited his skill to a touch requirement to boost its power.¡± I let out a low whistle as I thought about the potential of such a skill especially in combination with my already varied kit. ¡°Thanks for the help there.¡± ¡°Do take it easy for the rest of the day, you really overtaxed your mana channels with that arrow.¡± the third assassin finally chimed in. ¡°Hard to argue with the results though.¡± he said as he prodded the spy who was still twitching here and there from the lightning in his system. That comment nearly sent me into a fit of curses as I thought that I will have to postpone some of the experiments with magnetic mana until tomorrow at the earliest and I would be relegated to simply so light observation of phenomenon for the rest of today. Chapter 266 Ajax P.O.V. I spent a few more minutes talking to the three guardian assassins to find out as much as I can about this incident and anything I can about future incidents that may happen. ¡°We are actually expecting them to happen a few more times in the next month or two now that the first attempt has been made.¡± the assassin says. ¡°Even with them being captured?¡± I asked, surprised. ¡°It''s because of this quick reaction.¡± the assassin says as he shakes his head. ¡°Unfortunately the information that you have [Enigma] has already been leaked.¡± ¡°How?¡± I questioned him, despite [Enigma] not being something that I was invested in keeping secrets there were very few people that knew it was the specific privacy skill I had. ¡°It¡¯s because of an Achievement.¡± the assassins answers. ¡° The achievement is called ¡®Poor Detective¡¯, the requirements are for your first twenty uses of the inspection skill to be on different people and for all of them to be resisted. The Achievement makes it so if your attempt to inspect is resisted you know the exact skill that blocked you.¡± I felt my face scrunch up at that, annoyed that I didn¡¯t have a chance to pick up that achievement simply because the information was restricted. ¡°It''s a lot harder to get than you think.¡± the assassin says. ¡°When unlocking a skill the action usually has a massive success increase, not only that but receiving it is almost dependent on success. Those who have the achievement are extremely inclined towards the skill but they unlock its use against someone with a privacy skill that is like yours or a high ranked Epic. Not only that but they then have to resist the urge to use the skill until they have it resisted by twenty people.¡± ¡°Most people who get the achievement got their inspect skill before the age of ten and even then they received a Common version like [Inspection], they are then trained for low level spy work.¡± a second assassin says. ¡°Every nation has a few of them but they never go deep undercover, with you walking in public it was only a matter of time until one of them was sent.¡± ¡°If they know I have [Enigma] why would they be trying more often now?¡± I stick back to the main point. ¡°How high is your level in [Enigma]?¡± the third assassin asks, I must have had quite the glare as he quickly followed up. ¡°Don¡¯t answer, just think about it, this guy has two Epic skills in the high thirties or low forties, even with them working together they still couldn¡¯t break past your skill fully. This is the only chance they have before you get too many levels in it.¡± When he put it like that it did make a good point, they all had a small window that was closing quickly. ¡°Not only that but our reaction to the attempt has been seen so now they will know there is something to hide.¡± another adds on. ¡°Going forward you will still have at least two of us shadowing you but we will also get one of the squad leaders to stay close in case we need to call them in¡± one of them says. I thank them for the intervention one more time before I continue making my way home, despite this little distraction there is still a lot for me to do today, not only that but this interaction also added another entry to my to-do list, I have to look into how I can get [Empowering Restriction], the skill sounds just too versatile to not pick up. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. As I walk I try to ignore the dull ache that has spread throughout my body, it is specifically focused on my right arm and isn¡¯t anything more than a mild annoyance but it clearly marks another point for improvement. I need to do something about my vulnerability to extreme mana discharges. Using more than a third of your mana in a single moment is not something realistic for most mages but my style is perfectly built for exactly those kinds of power bursts. Mana channels work very much like other muscles and it¡¯s clear than despite the constant pressure I put on them with my fighting style there is little in the way of heavy exertion. The altercation earlier also has my guard up as I travel the last hundred feet towards the gates of my mansion. I am keeping track of everyone who is following me and am glad to see that one of the three assassins didn¡¯t leave with the prisoners but instead continued to shadow me. ¡°How was the delve?¡± my father asks me as he sees me enter the compound. ¡°It was fine, we stuck to the second floor of the Goldmine so there was no danger for me.¡± I answer. ¡°Did you find anything for me to use?¡± he asks as he wipes the sweat from his brow. I chuckle at that, it seems obvious that I wasn¡¯t the only one to throw myself into my crafting over the summer. With my mother taking up such a big role in coordinating my sisters and grandparents merchant enterprises dad focused on his [Blacksmithing], unlike his time back in the village he now had much more challenging work and metals that he could use so his skills started improving much quicker. ¡°It was a jungle biome.¡± I say and I can see the disappointment spread across his face. ¡°See if you can make anything useful out of this.¡± His expression changes as I toss a good chunk of snake skin at his feet. ¡°The snake could have it camouflage with the surroundings, see if you can get it to retain that aspect while turning it into a piece of armor.¡± It¡¯s still early enough in the day that my father is the only one who is home: mom, Judy, Alana, my grandparents, even Tom and Kate are all still out working. It''s the perfect time for me to get started on my trials with Magnetic mana. As I enter the Alchemy lab that I have set up in the mansion I find a nice pile of different metals all set up to one side, ¡®This is all you¡¯re getting, don¡¯t come asking for more for at least a month¡± Judy¡¯s handwritten note sits on the top of the pile. I smile as I toss the note and start setting up my first trials. One thing I am extremely wary of is the presence of mana. I already know how it can mess with the laws of physics so I have to take that into account at every step of the process. I had initially thought I would try to run some of my own spell cenerated current through the metal to see if it would generate the magnetic effect but the arrow for earlier put that plan on the back burner. It was times like these in my new life that made me appreciate some of the things I had considered useless or a waste of time back in my old life, more than anything however it turned out that some obscure college classes turned out a lot more useful as I still remembered a few interesting facts. This world was both rather advanced yet medieval at the same time compared to Earth, the presence of mana greatly hindering yet at the same time driving innovation meant I didn¡¯t have easy access to an outlet to simply plug in for electricity. I quickly started creating small discs made from silver and zinc I had so I could create my own battery. The small tower of salty water soaked cloth and metal discs should produce a low if stable current that I can then run through the metals to see if they produce any magnetic field, and more importantly magnetic mana. My first experiment proved to be both a success and a failure at the same time. While the homemade batter worked well enough to power the magnetic piece of metal and did in fact cause a small magnetic field to appear there was no change in the mana that I could notice. At the very least it seems that the small amount of mana in the atmosphere didn¡¯t prevent the electromagnet from forming it wasn¡¯t enough to generate any mana. My second test was to swap out the regular piece of metal connected to the battery and replace it with one that was mana infused. The change was immediately obvious as the power of the magnetic field increased, sadly the nature of the mana in the metal didn¡¯t change one bit. Creating a batter from mana infused metals I replaced my original battery and used a normal bit of metal. The power of the magnetic field increased this time as well but that was because the amount of current generated was much higher. Despite my lessons telling me that the current produced by these sort of batteries was supposed to be low this one even produced a few sparks in the circuit. When I replace the piece of metal with a mana infused metal however I finally felt I serious change with my [Sense Mana], both the battery and the piece of metal were slowly being drained of their mana and a new mana type was being emitted out from the metal. Not only that but the power of the electromagnet grew again, to the point that I had to intercept the rest of my samples just so they wouldn¡¯t get drawn in from across the table. It was a success. Chapter 267 Ajax¡¯s first success was short lived, the moment he could feel the new type of mana being produced he quickly disconnected the circuit. A quick reorganizational break followed where he secured that nothing will actually be drawn in by the magnet this time around he reconnected the circuit and started to focus heavily on his [Sense Mana]. The first thing Ajax noticed was that magnetic mana had a much fainter presence in his senses, it wasn¡¯t quite as light as the space mana he felt coming off Anna¡¯s companion but it was a middle ground between it and other mana. The second thing Ajax picked up was that the mana infused metals were quickly running through their mana as more magnetic mana was released into the air where it would break down into ambient mana. While this might not seem like that big a deal Ajax did notice that the amount of ambient mana generated by the magnetic mana breakdown was ten to twenty times higher than the amount that the metals were losing. As the mana kept dropping lower and lower Ajax could feel that the rate of transfer wasn¡¯t being affected in the slightest. While with a regular batter you would have a slow drop-off in output as the charge was getting lower the circuit formed by the mana was maintaining it at a constant speed. This maintained transfer of current started to form cracks throughout the metal piece that became a magnet. As it turned out it was the small metallic tower that made up the battery that ran out of mana first and that is where things took a big turn away from regular Earth based physics. Despite the absence of new incoming mana current still flowed through the circuit, if at a lower speed. The lack of magnetic mana being produced caused the metal sample to explode. The power of the explosion wasn¡¯t all that great, the shock wave generated didn¡¯t throw away the broken chunks off metal at great speed, though it did knock the rest of the circuit including the batter off the table, it was what came next that brought with it a lot of potential. Ajax¡¯s [Sense Mana] felt something that felt akin to a small black hole that formed in the place where the magnet had been and it was sucking up all of the ambient mana it could. Worse yet Ajax could feel the suction force take hold of his own personal mana, it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to actually drain him in any way but that extra pressure exacerbated his already stressed mana channels and increased the dull pain to a searing sting. The whole process took no more than two seconds and Ajax silently cursed as he had been distracted by the increased pain, on the table however Ajax could see a small bit of metal inside the small creator the initial explosion produced. The original sample had been the size of his pointer finger, what was left was barely the size of his fingernail, despite that this remaining piece had twice as much mana infused in it than the full sized original piece. As Ajax picked up the small new piece carefully he could sense the instability in the structure, whereas before it had been a well produce ingot this nes piece would break further into pieces even from a light tap with his hammer. Despite the lack of immediately useful outcomes Ajax knew that with a bit of research into the topic this could lead to some very big discoveries in Blacksmithing, so much so that once he got a bit more of a handle on things Ajax planned to pass off the entire project to his father to focus on. Ajax¡¯s time with Balthazar showed once more as the first thing he did after examining what remained from the aftermath of the experiment was to quickly grab a piece of parchment and start to scribble down what he had observed in as much detail as possible. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Once he got to the portion on the formation of the new metal Ajax paused for several minutes where he vented by cursing the entire lineage going back a few thousand years for the stupid spies that forced him to damage his mana channels earlier in the day. As he finished writing down a full accounting of the experiment Ajax felt a little lost on what to continue with. He had gotten a good long look at magnetic mana but unlike any of his previous instances of picking up a new mana type this one was simply being generated instead of actively channelled and used in a spell, even his Epic affinities had been picked up as he discovered them while channelling spells from their component or related affinities and not from simply observing them get created and break down. To make matters worse Ajax wasn¡¯t yet willing to try and channel any more mana for the day without a good reason so he decided to simply call it a day for now. The setup for all of the experiments had taken a couple of hours already and it was just about dinner time, he could pick all of this back up tomorrow after his mana channels had a chance to recover. _________________________________________________________________________ King Gryndor P.O.V ¡°So the first attempt took place?¡± I ask one of my trusted shadows. ¡°It did your majesty.¡± the shadow confirmed. ¡°And he let us interrogate them even after they got something from him?¡± I am pleasantly surprised at this turn of events, first he willingly revealed his second Legendary skill and now this, even if it was all information we had it went a long way to showing we had built back some of the trust the nobles in Lessis had torn down. ¡°He did, while they didn¡¯t bring much new information on the Baron we did manage to gather quite a bit about some other matters.¡± the shadow confirmed. ¡°Wait, there was something new on the Baron?¡± that was interesting, is this his way of sharing something else with me, was it something that he had just overlooked? ¡°What was it that you found out?¡± ¡°Comparing his stats from our original information there is a disparity that is hard to account for.¡± the shadow continued. ¡°It seems there are six stat points that can¡¯t be justified.¡± ¡°Let me see that.¡± I say and take a side by side comparison of Ajax¡¯s stats from the time he came to the Academy and first unlocked [Enigma] to now. ¡° He levelled three times, I am not seeing any disparity.¡± ¡°None of our reports show him as having used any stat potions since that time, this despite him receiving some after the tournament.¡± the shadow says. ¡°It seems odd that he would use potions only on the stats he gained from levelling.¡± That was a good point, this was also something that could have slipped Ajax¡¯s mind, or maybe he had discovered a way to push his stat points further even after he spent his free points, did he only give us the first half of the method? ¡°Make a full report of this discrepancy and have it brought to me, after that do a thorough clearing of any other records mentioning this, furthermore nobody is to look into this any further.¡± This could very well be a test from him to see if we will hound him for answers, even if it isn¡¯t he has more than earned a bit of trust from our side as well and he will share when he is ready or not, that is all there is to it. ¡°What other information were you able to retrieve?¡± ¡°We got the identities of seven more spies that made up their unit.¡± the shadow says. ¡°Sadly they were all working for the Empire.¡± Damn. The Empire''s view on human supremacy means that their spies will never make contact with those of any other nation, at least for those working inside our borders, those working even further out will work with some of ours at times but that means the information train will stop with this. ¡°We also managed to discover that the tomes on curses that were used in the previous outbreaks were brought over from the Empire.¡± the shadow says. ¡°Apparently they were part of a bigger plot to smuggle them into the republic in hopes that a resurgence of curse users would break the fragile peace and restart the war. We were truly unfortunate that the nobles who intercepted the illegal transport started using them here instead of destroying them or turning them over. I smother down a wave of frustration that rises at that piece of information. ¡°Thank you for your report, dismissed.¡± I dismiss the shadow and go back to thinking of the other request that was made of me. House Steelblade has managed to buy three of the fifthteen slots for the lesser of the Empires dungeon in the deal with the Goldmancers but they want my help with putting pressure in getting young Benedict one of the few coveted spots in their main dungeon. The problem is that doing so will remove the only person in the group that outlevels Ajax and that will strip away the already weak information protection that he will have while delving at that time. To do so after I already asked Ajax to hold back in the hopes that no information will be leaked will be quite the backtracking. Chapter 268 Goldmancer P.O.V. The news of the altercation that happened earlier today is being suppressed from all sides, the royals don¡¯t want to risk an incident that will gain them nothing, Ajax is being his usual reclusive self despite the fact that he could use attack to gain some concessions and the Empire is trying to get as far away from the whole thing as possible. It¡¯s a good thing I had one of our own people follow the kid and just report on what happens. ¡°A pleasure to see you again, ambassador.¡± I greet the man visiting my mansion, despite the warmness in my voice we both know that all of it is more for show and because it is expected of me. ¡°If you¡¯ll join me.¡± We both enter one of the secure and warded meeting rooms that are dotted around the estate, it is almost spartan with the expectation of two plain looking if extremely comfortable chairs. The other expectation of course being the two representatives of the royal families that are here to monitor the exchange. ¡°Are you any closer to lowering those ridiculous demands of yours?¡± he asks. I can feel as his skills try to influence me, bargaining is a lot harshers in the Empire, it mostly stems from the fact that they are surrounded on all sides except from one by untamed wilds where monsters ruled. This gives them a more plentiful access to higher level monsters but it also makes their merchants a lot gruffer from dealing with the frontier scavengers as the vultures are called. ¡°I was actually leaning that way when I woke up this morning.'''' This isn¡¯t a lie as I really had been willing to lower my requests on the terms he deemed as ridiculous but I was also planning on asking for a lot in return by increasing the demands he thought weren¡¯t ridiculous, just excessive. ¡°However I¡¯m sad to say that things have changed since then.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they have.¡± he harrumphed, good, that reaction means he doesn¡¯t have any skill that is able to detect lies strong enough to get my measure, his response wouldn¡¯t have come like this otherwise. ¡°Let''s get on with it.¡± I have to admit I do admire their sense of expediency, unlike most merchants in this kingdom who gained their starting fortunes from birth, the phrase time is money rings doubly true in the Empire. ¡°There is the small matter of today¡¯s altercation to consider.¡± I say. I feel myself pressured as both representatives lock their eyes on me and I feel the pressure of their skills push down on me. They do so for only a moment before they stop the pressure long enough to take each other¡¯s measure, notice they are in agreement before redoubling their efforts on me. Unfortunately enough for them whatever skills they have do nothing but alert me of their attention, all of the pressure is easily washed away by [Golden Opportunity] the first Epic skill I gained and the only Epic skill I have to surpass the second bottleneck and surpass level one hundred. ¡°Your men have tried to steal away the secrets of beekeeping without paying for them by going directly to the source, that is categorically against the spirit of this negotiation.¡± I exclaim in outrage. The king has already informed me of the information he managed to get from the spies who targeted Ajax, not only that but one of them even happens to report directly to the ducal family I am trading with. The information didn¡¯t come for free of course as the king traded it in exchange for some extra weight put on gaining some more cover for Ajax¡¯s delve if at all possible. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Or are you saying that isn¡¯t why you targeted Baron Hearthbound?¡± I ask and feel my trap snap into place. Despite their political skills I can clearly see the confusion that spreads across all three of the people in the room. All of them know that what happened earlier today had nothing to do with bees, not only that but they also know that I know it too. My only regret here is that I can¡¯t have Anna with me in this meeting so she can learn from this. It takes no more than a moment for the confusion to develop into something else, here however is where they each go down their own path. The crown¡¯s representative¡¯s look quickly turns to glee as his skill stops working on me and he turns to enjoy the look on the ambassador¡¯s face. The Empire¡¯s representative frowns but also turns to put more pressure on the ambassador whose face shows dread at what he knows is coming. It would be all too easy for him to deny that this is the reason they target Ajax but by doing so he would risk a full blown political incident, not only that but he would effectively be forced to blame the Empire¡¯s ruling family for the attempt. ¡°So what are your new terms?¡± he says with a sigh of defeat. ¡°In consideration for your earlier request I am willing to lower my end of the bargain to 20% of the honey harvested for the first ten years.¡± I say as I feel a greedy grin cross my face as I turn towards the royal representatives. ¡°All I ask in return is that the delve inside your main dungeon come with an included booster to clear the final floor.¡± This was one of the few times that people would willingly let someone above level one hundred and twenty enter the dungeon, so long as the contracts were well written he wouldn¡¯t be allowed to attempt to delve past whatever floor the highest boostie could successfully reach on his own. It would also fully unleash Ajax to delve as far as he wants without exposing anything to the Empire. The ambassador''s look of defeat morphs into one of joy as not only had my demands of his House lessened but the Empire was taking the full brunt of the cost for my concession. ¡°That is unacceptable.¡± the representative¡¯s voice slices through the offer. I can¡¯t fight the frown that works its way on my face, [Golden Opportunity] is still telling me I have a perfect deal that I can finalize here yet I can¡¯t seem to see one. ¡°While the Empire is willing to compromise given the situation, the terms for the delve into our main dungeon are considered fixed.¡± the representative continues. I find it most troubling as the finality of the statement doesn¡¯t just not weaken the feeling coming from [Golden Opportunity] but it in fact makes it even stronger. There has to be something I am missing, an angle that not only lets me get what the King wants but now something that would also let me profit much more. I feel as time slows down as my other Epic skills take effect, I know that this last offer from the crown is the key to figuring out the golden deal that is on the table. It¡¯s time to break it down and analyze everything that I can gain from it. Firstly it is clear that the Empire is very interested in Ajax, that doesn¡¯t seem at all surprising considering their human supremacy rhetoric and the importance that Ajax would have in showing humanity''s superiority. This also means that his other statement is also ironclad, the rules for this delve won¡¯t change since they need them in place to evaluate Ajax. Secondly, the representative said that the Empire as a whole is willing to compromise, this means that they see this deal going through as a national objective, surely it isn¡¯t the taxes on the honey that has drawn them in so this once more comes around to Ajax. No, not only that but also into seeing if they can get any insight into king Gryndor¡¯s plans and schemes. The third and subtle part that comes across is the clear bribe offered to me specifically, trying to get me to use my newfound leverage in order to gain something for myself. A tempting offer, certainly one King Gryndor wouldn¡¯t mind me taking seeing as his request is clearly beyond reach now. The thing that stops me is the simple question, would Ajax also see it that way? If he finds out I used the leverage of his ambush for my own family when he had already facilitated this deal. While I hope he would be open minded enough to do so he was also very young and unpredictable. I feel all my skills fizzle out and time resumes its normal pace as an idea strikes me, not only that but I can feel [Golden Opportunity] gain a level and I know I have the perfect answer. ¡°What if I were to add another rule to the ones regarding the first delve without changing any already in place?¡± I ask, a glint of greed must be shining in my eyes but I simply can¡¯t help it, the return on this deal is way too good, not only that but the Empire won¡¯t be able to help themselves and they will have to take it. ¡°And what do you have in mind?¡± the representative asks. ¡°What if I request that the same team that delves the dungeon gets to do a second delve twenty years down the line.¡± I offer a chance not only to observe Ajax now but also compare it to twenty years down the line, they can¡¯t pass this up. ¡°It¡¯s acceptable.¡± the representative says, though his tone sounds a lot more like the words are ¡®it¡¯s a deal¡¯. Chapter 269 Ajax wakes up the following morning almost as tired as he was when he went to sleep, despite going to bed relatively early and sleeping in; he still feels like his body is moving underwater as he gets out of bed. A quick look at his mana and the 1780/2510 tells him everything he needs to know. Taking a small amount of mana Ajax quickly brings up a small flame on the top of his fingers, he sighs in relief as he feels the mana smoothly pass through his channels without causing any pain or discomfort. It seems like it may have taken most of the night for his body to recover and his mana rezerves haven¡¯t had time to fill back up yet. ¡°You look dreadful.¡± Hatchet says as Ajax sits down at the breakfast table. ¡°OW!¡± Hatchet throws Luna an offended look as he moves to massage the leg she just kicked. ¡°Is this to do with what happened yesterday?¡± Luna asks as she ignores her ex-teammate and focuses on Ajax. ¡°Can I help?¡± ¡°It¡¯s from yesterday.¡± Ajax confirms, and that has his mother drop the papers she was looking at and focused on him protectively. ¡°But there is nothing you can do, the problem is already fixed. And it was self inflicted¡± he then quietly murmurs but everyone at the table hears him clearly. ¡°What did you do to yourself?¡± his brother asks him. ¡°I overtaxed my mana channels.¡± Ajax says and both Kate and Luna freeze for a moment before looking at him more intensely. ¡°How much mana did you put in one spell?¡± Kate asked. ¡°And how quickly did you channel it?¡± Luna follows up without giving him time to answer. ¡°About one thousand, in¡­ a quarter of a second.¡± Ajax says slowly as he thinks back to the fight. ¡°What was the most you ever used in one spell before that?¡± While Luna seemed more hesitant to ask as this was very personal information Kate had no such filter and she was very concerned with the wellbeing of her extended family. ¡°Four hundred.¡± Ajax responded and Kate let out a sigh of relief. ¡°In about one second.¡± Both Luna and Kate wince a little at the massive drop off in time-frame. ¡°Okay¡­¡± Kate says as her eyes unfocus and she starts thinking up the correct treatment. ¡°Your channels should have repaired themselves with a good night¡¯s rest but they are still fragile, for the next week don¡¯t exceed the four hundred in one second.¡± ¡°Healers are the most prone to mana channel damage.¡± Luna fills in. ¡°Lack of exact knowledge, need for improvisation and the sometimes instant application required means that we are often overloading spells with mana so we try and train our mana channels to support such efforts.¡± ¡°If you want I can work with you and set up a training schedule to safely increase your limits.¡± Kate offers. ¡°But only after your week of rest.¡± Ajax is quick to agree, happy that he has someone he can trust leading him down a known path instead of having to make it up along as he goes. Speaking of making things up as he goes, Ajax quickly finishes his food and with a polite, if rushed, farewell he makes for his alchemy lab. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Without any strain on his mana channels Ajax quickly goes through the exact same experiments as yesterday, the only difference today is that he is able to pay much more attention to the mana emitted. Upon the electromagnets shattering Ajax now has a clear feel for the mana generated, much to his surprise at the moment of the shattering the shockwave is actually formed by a sudden release of Void mana. The small remaining piece of metal sucks up all the mana in its surrounding and turns it into two other types, one of them is pure space mana, and the second is of a type he does not recognise. These revelations are all useful, first and foremost because he now has a source to exemplify Void mana should it ever come out that he has a new element and secondly he has a source of space mana that he can observe independent of the whims of Anna¡¯s bond. Despite all this Ajax clearly recognises that space is a much too complex mana type, it clearly deserves its Legendary rating and Ajax is forced to accept that the cost to truly study it by recreating the phenomenon is simply too exorbitant for now. This doesn¡¯t discourage him however as he focuses on his initial task of attaining magnetic mana. He now has a good feel for the mana, despite not having seen it be used in a spell he focuses on channeling it himself. The channel is two seconds long and Ajax only uses two hundred mana for it, easily staying within the parameters set by Kate. Much to his surprise nothing happens as his mana gathers, at the end of the channel it simply changes into magnetic mana and Ajax quickly finds himself pelted by every single piece of metal that wasn¡¯t tied down inside the lab. A few things become clear following his first trial with magnetic mana, the first is that he gathers every piece of of metal and makes sure it is secured, he doesn¡¯t want a repeat of the ineffective firing squad. Secondly, for the first time ever Ajax had used a mana type without possessing the skill for its affinity. ¡°Is this what it¡¯s like to cast without having a skill for the affinity?¡± Ajax thinks aloud as he replays the trial in his mind. ¡°No wonder chanted spells have all their intent transmitted during the chant itself and that runic spells have it preset by the runes.¡± Trials two and three don¡¯t work any better, in fact Ajax can¡¯t see any improvement compared to his first attempt. He had thankfully reduced the mana used to one hundred in each but this clearly wasn¡¯t working. ¡°If I can¡¯t copy it outright, what if I can recreate it piece by piece.¡± Ajax mumbles as he brings out the metal samples once more. Despite magnetic mana clearly only being a Rare mana type it was oddly enough created by two Epic mana types, Lightning and Metal. Not only that but Ajax had access to both. Ajax quickly recreated the circuit but this time intentionally didn¡¯t use a mana infused metal to act as the electromagnet, instead he gently infused his own metal affinity and felt it interact with the natural electric mana. Despite the magnetic mana still being produced Ajax could feel that the process wasn¡¯t exactly the same, this was extremely obvious when the metal didn¡¯t shatter once he withdrew his metal mana. His next task was to recreate the other half of the fusion, using a mana infused piece of metal Ajax skipped the improvised battery completely and powered the circuit by directly generating Lightning mana. Unlike the first trial this one proved much trickier, whereas before all that mattered was that he provided mana, doing the battery half of the equation meant that he needed to maintain a steady and stable current in order for the experiment to be of any use. It took up three hundred of his mana before he managed to get a handle on it but Ajax also noticed the biggest difference between the experiment when it used his mana and when it didn¡¯t. The biggest difference was clearly the lack of explosion but a more subtle one was that when his mana took up one half of the creation process the mana released in the surroundings was barely a fifth of what mana infused metals could output. Having gotten consistent results with both half Ajax then moved on to both providing the current and infusing regular metal with his metal attuned mana at the same time. This did result in some magnetic mana being generated but the amount was pitiful, barely a fifteenth of what the mana infused metals produced, though in hindsight this did make some sense, he was actually surprised at how high his efficiency was. Once he got a handle at generating the magnetic mana through the intermediary the next step was to generate the mana without the help of the circuit. Much like when he experimented and gained his Ice and Magma affinities Ajax mixed his Metal and Lightning mana directly. This direct fusion finally resulted in a source of magnetic mana that Ajax could actively mold, with a quick movement he brought out his shield and carefully infused the combination into it, after all what could be more useful than a shield that actively drew your opponent''s weapon to it. The initial augmentation was clearly inefficient, despite this Ajax kept going and tried to increase the power of the magnet only to then lower it in a controlled manner. His mana had run dry in ten minutes and Ajax all but collapsed onto a chair heaving out breaths of exhaustion. Despite all this a victorious smirk was etched on his face as his eyes unfocused at locked onto the text present in his Status screen [Magnetic Aspect Mana]. Chapter 270 Ajax started working with Magnetic mana the next day, the only reason he didn¡¯t start sooner was because he had run his mana dry getting it. That night he had gotten some very much needed rest after how tired he had been that morning. In the following days Ajax started to get a very clear understanding of why Magnetic mana was only Rare, not only that but he was glad that this was only a stepping stone as he tried to approach Gravity, and in the future Attraction and Repulsion. He had been a little disappointed when he didn¡¯t receive a Trailblazer achievement for gaining the skill but he had held little hope of doing so considering that there had to be a metal elemental out there that had managed to obtain it before him. Once he obtained the skill for magnetic mana affinity his ability to manipulate magnetic mana started to mirror what he was able to with all of his other Rare mana types when they were first obtained. The problem with magnetic mana was one that all fire users also dealt with, while they may be able to control the fire, not only in terms of direction and power but also intensity they were unable to exert any control over the heat that fire released. Much like his experiment Ajax was capable of creating magnetic mana by simply molding his own mana into it but magnetic mana would very quickly deaspect and simply break down into the ambient mana. This could be countered by increasing the amount generated but that presented a whole different issue. His biggest challenge with magnetic mana was that Ajax was unable to affect the magnetic field it generated. This was immediately obvious as he saw his own weapons stick together the moment he tried to augment one of them with a powerful enough magnetic mana. By the same token trying to use magnetic mana with a strong enough field anywhere close to him would cause all the metal pieces in his armor to get dragged towards the source as well. These initial results had almost resulted in Ajax excluding magnetic mana from his melee fighting repertoire if not for an obvious interaction he had initially overlooked. While simply creating one magnet that was close to him was clearly not going to work without massive amounts of training, creating two magnets was something else entirely. Magnets had the same attraction properties towards all metals around them, but they had a more complex relationship towards other magnets that entered their magnetic field, namely they could work together and attract each other or they could repel each other. It took a few tries but Ajax found that with the use of mana he could create magnets that had no south and north pole but were entirely made up of one pole. The only issue with this approach was that right now it took Ajax almost ten seconds to change the pole alignment of his mana, this was currently far too long to be useful in combat but he hoped that the time would get lower as he got more experienced and the skill level grew. Unlike the application in melee combat, magnetic mana did have an immediately useful application for his ranged combat. Much like his massively overcharged electric arrow from a few days prior firing an overcharged magnet could prove highly beneficial. Sure the arrow was all but guaranteed to hit armor, making precision strikes all but impossible sticking two heavily plated knights together with one arrow was something he could see himself doing. Loathe as he did to admit it Ajax had been forced to concede that magnetic mana would most likely become highly popular should he spread his existence. The reason for this was fairly obvious, it gave mages, who traditionally wear little to no metal on their combat gear, a great way to deal with physical fighters that managed to close the distance. The practicality that a powerful magnetic bolt didn¡¯t actually have to hit the target to knock them off balance and pin them to ground with their own armor would raise its popularity even higher among combat mages. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. There was only one issue with this line of thinking, despite having generated the mana type and successfully copying it Ajax had no idea what rune would signify magnetic mana let alone any chanted spells with it. Determined not to get too focused on his new mana type Ajax had picked up his usual training after a few days and just slotted magnetic mana as another mana type to regularly practice. Not only that but Ajax was paying very close attention using his [Sense Mana] to see if he couldn¡¯t find a way to achieve Gravity mana. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Theron cursed as he felt his axe swing going off course. ¡°I felt it too,¡± Bobby said as the two stopped sparing. ¡°Is this what you meant when you said you wanted to try something out?¡± Donnie asked Ajax as the three plate wearers were called out to help him with his training. ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°What was that?¡± Nelly was obviously the most shocked person there. Unlike the others Nelly had a well developed [Sense Mana] skill, she was not only able to follow Ajax¡¯s invisible projectile but she also noticed that it only affected the metal armor they were all wearing, she herself had felt a decent tug on her buckles as the bolt left Ajax¡¯s hand. ¡°It felt like a weird wind spell,¡± Bobby said. ¡°I could feel my swing being pushed to one side. It wasn¡¯t all that powerful and it definitely didn¡¯t have the slicing power that wind spells usually come with.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t a wind spell.¡± Theron said, unlike Bobby who used a sword, Theron had gotten a much better idea of what happened from his axe as it had a wooden handle. ¡°It¡¯s like it only messed with my axehead.¡± ¡°It did a lot more than that.¡± Nelly turned to them once she noticed Ajax¡¯s wasn¡¯t going to answer her question just yet. ¡°It might have been too faint for you to notice in the moment but it also affected your armor, there was just too little mana in the bolt for it to have a large effect.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± Jackson asked, also curious about the development. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what spell that was but he basically launched a ball of mana that had no color, it was invisible to the eye I could only track it with [Sense Mana].¡± Nelly explained. ¡°That ball seemed to suck all metal towards it, not only that but the closer the metal got to it the harder it pulled on it. It almost knocked me off my feet just by pulling on my buckles when he launched it.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t feel that strong.¡± Bobby said. ¡°The bolt went over your heads.¡± Nelly said. ¡°Not only that but it seemed to get weaker the further it traveled.¡± ¡°Not quite.¡± Ajax finally decided to answer. ¡°It has nothing to do with distance, the mana just breaks down once it is released so it gets weaker.¡± Stepping into the dual area Ajax grabbed a wooden hammer off one of the training racks before he squared off against Donnie who was also in full gear. ¡°You sure it''s a good idea, Ajax?¡± Donnie asked, unlike his brother Donnie had his large shield and small sword. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, just fight to the first clean strike.¡± Ajax said. The mismatch in the fight was obvious, if Ajax was to use his [Mana Syphon] Donnie would be the one at a disadvantage but without it he had Ajax beat in terms of both Strength and Dexterity not to mention Endurance. As both fighters charged Ajax quickly started to channel his mana, unlike his previous fifty mana bolt Ajax was putting a whole two hundred mana into this next one, not only that but he was also increasing the output at the expense of longevity. Right as they were about to enter striking distance Ajax launched the bolt right at Donnie''s feet. The large fighter had been around mana long enough to get a feel for the projectile that Ajax launched but was utterly confused when he saw it wasn¡¯t aimed at him. That confusion cleared up very quickly as he felt himself topple forward as his shield and armor were sucked towards the mana. Unlike the previous bolt this one stopped a few inches off the ground right in front of him. By the time he had regained his balance he had already dropped to one knee. The horrible stop to his charge wasn¡¯t the worst of his problems however, with all the extra weight he couldn¡¯t even bring up his shield in time and Ajax got a clean open shot as the wooden hammer rattle his head inside the metal helmet. Despite the seriousness of the situation everyone had a hard time not laughing as mere moments after the spar ended Donnie launched himself from a kneeling position a good few inches off the ground and onto his ass once when the force pulling him down abruptly disappeared. ¡°That is one hell of a trick.¡± Jones said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Too bad I can¡¯t use it when I have anything made of metal on me.¡± ¡°You should look into getting some weapons made of bones or claws, just on the off chance.¡± Jackson suggested giving Ajax a lot to think about. Chapter 271 Jones¡¯s suggestion was something Ajax hadn¡¯t thought about, not because he forgot but because of the financial impracticality of the idea. Sure monster parts were known to have an extreme value when it came to crafting, their high mana density was renowned, the only issues with the idea was that they were only useful as a partial ingredient. With extreme mana affinities they made for a great addition to potions, alloy mixes and especially mana conduits. Using only monster parts however was not only extremely expensive but also seen as wasteful, from the tooth or claw used to fashion a single sword you could have made at least five superior swords so long as you mixed them with a metal of equal quality. It was this knowledge however that convinced Ajax that he should in fact be actively sharing his discovery of Magnetic mana. Sure he had no way for other casters to use it directly as he didn¡¯t know any chant or rune but that was hardly a hard limit. More than that Ajax was actually hoping that word of his magnetic mana would spread. Unlike all his other types of magic, magnetic mana was harmless by itself, sure it could immobilize an opponent but that was also the extent of what it could do. A really obvious counter to this would be a very strong defense that wouldn¡¯t care if someone was immobilized. After all its limited offensive uses were as likely to spread as the extremely high mana cost that came with using it like this. All of this would culminate with the reveal of his ¡®secrete¡¯ mana type being easily countered by strong armor. While the idea was good, in reality anyone attempting this tactic against him would run head first into his actual hidden ace : Void mana. Void would simply ignore all of the armor and let him dispatch people with relative ease. By the time the first day of the next cycle came around Ajax had practiced teaching his magnetic mana to Nelly. Unlike with Void, Ajax might not be able to formulate a chant or a rune with magnetic mana but he did know how to create it artificially. Despite this being even more mana inefficient. ¡°How did you come up with this?¡± Nelly asked in awe after they finished their lesson. She had managed to not ask this exact question in their first or second lessons as she was in shock with the new application but now she couldn¡¯t hold herself back. ¡°Unlike chanting mages, I can use two different mana types at the same time.¡± Ajax answered as he called Lightning mana in his left hand and Metal mana in his right. ¡°Rune mages can do that as well.¡± Nelly countered. ¡°True, but rune magic has little to no time for intent to be imparted, not only that the runes'' rigidity would mean the resulting mana type would be rigid and brittle.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I¡¯m sure magnetic mana had been noticed before, however it would most likely have happened when users of metal and lightning mana fought each other.¡± As Ajax walked towards the Academy he was resolute in his decision to share magnetic mana. His recreation of a battery however was something Ajax would keep to himself. The creation of consistent current wouldn¡¯t be all that big of a discovery in this world, with mana taking the role as societies main source of fuel it would do little in terms of inventions. What it would do however is allow others to recreate the same experiment that Ajax hoped to use later on to learn about space and whatever that other mana type was, and that he did not want to share just yet. The school day passed quickly as Ajax focused on his studies, leaving the new topic for after they were all finished with their training. One thing that did stick out to him was that Anna seemed to be a little nervous about something. She was maintaining her composure well, Ajax doubted anyone else had noticed but whatever it was seemed to concern him as well from the way she kept stealing glances at him. ¡°Ajax, a word?¡± Anna asked once they were dismissed from their physical training. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Sure, but is it sensitive?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not very, why?¡± Anna confirmed. ¡°Could we talk as we make our way to the headmaster, there is something I want to talk to him about.¡± Ajax answered. When it came to a new mana type the headmaster would be the most interested as he could then attempt to create chants for it with his Legendary skill, especially so since this mana type wasn¡¯t all that violent. ¡°Grandpa?¡± Lexi, who had been with Anna quickly perked up. ¡°Of course we¡¯ll join you.¡± ¡°My father has finished the negotiations with the Empire¡± Anna began when they started making their way up the stairs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear about your¡­ incident with some empire spies the other day but it seems that gave him quite a bit of leverage in the negotiation.¡± Both Ajax and Lexi twitched a little at the awkwardness that rose as Anna mentioned the incident. ¡°Well, at least somebody got something good out of that.¡± Ajax said, unaware that the king had already squeezed quite a bit of information out of the captured spies. ¡°It seems like the Empire is also very interested in what you can do.¡± Anna continued. ¡°They were adamant on the conditions they outlined for their main dungeon, this rigidity let dad push for a lot more.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Ajax perked up a bit at this. ¡°How much of this am I getting?¡± he asked, unable to keep the greed from his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t drool now.¡± Lexi teased as she picked up on it. ¡°You get will get exactly what I outlined last time.¡± Anna said, and Ajax frowned as he was expecting he would get at least a taste of these unexpected extras. ¡°The only change is that the team delving their main dungeon will get two delves.¡± ¡°What does that matter?¡± Lexi asked while Ajax processed the information. ¡°So what if he can delve it two times, if he can¡¯t take a booster with him the second time it¡¯s going to be almost the same thing as only going once.¡± Ajax¡¯s thoughts went in the same direction as Lexi¡¯s but one idea stood out to him that would make this second delve a lot more valuable. ¡°When?¡± The single word was all that Ajax said. ¡°The first delve is going to be three months from now, we¡¯ll leave for the Empire in one month.¡± Anna said. ¡°The second will be in six years.¡± There it was. Just like Ajax thought he was going to get a chance to collect the extra stats from a lot more floors than he had expected. It was such a good deal that Ajax berated himself for the moment of doubt and ungratefulness he had felt towards the Goldmancer patriarch moments before when Anna said he would only get delve slots. ¡°Dad tried to get the second delve in twenty years but it seems the Empire wants to take a look at what you can do after they see you in action in the tournament as well.¡± Anna quickly tried to explain when she interpreted Ajax¡¯s silence as displeasure with the timeline. Ajax was actually ecstatic with the six year timeline, a twenty year timeline would have actually been detrimental to him. The reason for this was simple, access to the dungeon became extremely limited as one got higher in level. Considering his leveling speed Ajax thought he would be able to reach level eighty, maybe eighty-five, in twenty years so long as things went his way. At that point, considering his stats after all of the extra floors he would be able to clear in his two delves in the empire now and the delve in the Republic, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise for the Empire to break the agreement justify it by claiming that allowing him to delve could pose a serious security threat to the capital. ¡°That''s a great deal.¡± Ajax said with a smile, one that brought a wave of relief for Anna. ¡°You¡¯re done right?¡± Lexi asked as they all stopped in front of the headmaster¡¯s door. At their nod Lexi simply burst into the room without even a short knock. ¡°Grandpa, how are you? Did you miss me?¡± Ajax could swear he could see the vein on the headmaster¡¯s forehead pulsing before he let out a long sigh and calmed down. ¡°How many times have I asked you to at least knock once before you open the door?¡± With his Perception Ajax managed to make out a long line that cut across the parchment in front of the headmaster and even continued off the paper and onto the desk, not only that but its starting point was from the last word written on the page. ¡°Yes grandpa, sorry grandpa.¡± Despite the words it was clear to all that Lexi was only pretending to be chastised. ¡°Ajax said he had something he wanted to discuss with you.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it?¡± the headmaster asked. ¡°It¡¯ll cost you a coin.¡± Ajax said with a small smirk as he had practiced the unveiling of his new mana type. The headmaster raised an intrigue eyebrow but nevertheless pulled out a large gold silver coin. Once the coin was in his hand Ajax released a strong pulse of magnetic mana from his own hand and towards the coin making it jump from the headmaster''s palm towards his own. While his trick worked perfectly on the coin, Ajax hadn¡¯t expected that the large candle stand that was pulled off balance was also falling towards him now. Ajax¡¯s reflexes were quick enough that he managed to catch the candle stand without making a mess in the office and he quickly apologized. ¡°Sorry about that, I¡¯m still getting used to using it.¡± The headmaster was staring wide eyed at him as he fumbled to stabilize the candle stand. ¡°Forget the candle stand, what was that?¡± The calm and composed voice was gone and in its place was one that reminded Ajax of the old librarian when they were experimenting with cursed mana. Chapter 272 ¡°What is going on here?¡± Balthazar had made his way into the room before Ajax had a chance to answer the headmaster¡¯s question. ¡°I felt some weird mana coming out of here, I thought you knew better than to experiment on the premises, Manashaper, let alone with students nearby.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t me.¡± Manashaper waved the former headmaster of the academy off without taking his eyes off Ajax. ¡°More importantly I have no idea what that was, I am hoping you are willing to share something regarding it and aren¡¯t just here to show off.¡± Despite the annoyed sounding words the headmaster''s tone still gave away his excitement. ¡°You didn¡¯t bring this to me?¡± Balthazar asked, a little taken aback by the development. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a good fit for you.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Not only that but what is needed for this is advanced magic theory.¡± ¡°And what do you think I can provide?¡± Balthazar sounded a little offended. ¡°You have a vast experience but for anything than isn¡¯t based off of Vitality you simply don¡¯t have the stats to match up to that experience.¡± Ajax said honestly. ¡°You are who I would go to if I was ever starting the first few steps into a known field, like I did with curses. You have the experience and the skill to help a novice but this requires more advanced knowledge.¡± At this Ajax lightly tossed the coin towards Balthazar before releasing two more light bursts of magnetic mana, the first stopped the forward momentum of the coin and the second drew it threw it back towards his palm. This time he made sure to keep a good hold on the candle stand so that it wouldn¡¯t fall. ¡°If this is something that can be researched beyond just my ability to use I would have invited you as well.¡± Ajax reassured the old librarian. ¡°What do you mean beyond just your ability to use?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°What even is that? I never felt that kind of mana before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called magnetic mana.¡± Ajax said, the odd looks he was given at that let him know he should add some context. ¡°It¡¯s what the affinity skill called it anyway.¡± ¡°A new mana type?¡± the headmaster muttered his eyes wide. ¡°That great where did you find it? Was it from a monster inside the dungeon? Did he use chants, or maybe runes? Please tell me it was humanoid.¡± Ajax was quickly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions but he did his best to answer them. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a new mana type. No it wasn¡¯t from the dungeon. It was a humanoid. And the chants and runes question is why I came to you.¡± ¡°Where did you find a humanoid monster that has this kind of magic outside the dungeon?¡± Both Balthazar and Manashaper dropped their curiosity in the new mana type and focused on the possible threat to the kingdom. ¡°I never said it was a monster.¡± Ajax shot back. ¡°What?¡± Manashaper looked confused. ¡°Then how?¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ajax let out a long sigh and conjured metal mana in his right hand and lightning mana in his left. When he put his hands together a pulse of magnetic mana stronger than any before was released and a number of metal pieces around the office fell off their shelves. ¡°This is another reason I didn¡¯t bring this to you.¡± Ajax said as he looked towards Balthazar. ¡°I remember you saying that you don¡¯t have Lightning mana affinity.¡± ¡°A weird interaction.¡± the headmaster said as he looked at the objects that fell around his office. ¡°Only metallic objects were affected yet not all of them equally, proximity seems to be a factor but it''s not the only one.¡± ¡°As far as I can tell there are three factors that determine how reactive a metal is to this mana.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Distance, the metal itself and how much mana it contains.¡± ¡°What is the best metal you found and which one is the worst?¡± the headmaster asked. ¡°Iron is the best and gold is the worst, the higher the mana infused in the metal the more powerful the attraction.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I didn¡¯t do all that many tests with highly concentrated mana.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re coming out with it.¡± Anna spoke for the first time since Ajax revealed the new mana type. ¡°It''s not just for the recognition and for their expertise, you need funding to really look into it.¡± Ajax chose not to say anything to that. Sure he had a few other reasons but he couldn¡¯t disclose those without also hinting at his void affinity that he was hoping to keep truly secret. ¡°Well you certainly made the right decision coming to me.¡± the headmaster said as he nodded at Anna¡¯s reasoning. ¡°With the absence of runes or chants others might not be so willing to sink too much money into it. But Duke Young is right, this is not the right place to look into this.¡± At that the headmaster covered his mouth and all Ajax and everyone else could hear was the muffle whisper of what had to be a long cast. A short minute later Ajax saw a clone of the headmaster appear next to him and this time it was his turn to be shocked. ¡°There now we can go.¡± the headmaster started to herd everyone out of his office. ¡°How did you do that?¡± Ajax asked as they were all leaving. ¡°I¡±m sorry to say that it isn¡¯t as impressive as it may look.¡± the headmaster said. ¡°That is a combination of Illusion magic with a little Life magic to give it some sentience. The projection isn¡¯t capable of exerting more force than a person with twenty in their physical stats, not only that but it is also bound to the room and unable to leave until the mana eventually runs out and it will disappear.¡± ¡°Without the affinity for life magic that clone won¡¯t have the mental faculties to do anything more than tidy up the office and maybe grade some multiple choice tests or such boring activities.¡± Balthazar also jumped in. That extra information flipped Ajax¡¯s entire thought process when it came to Life mana. Previously he had thought the mana type was lifestyle focused one as it came with the ability to create and raise crops but with the idea of granting even basic and temporary sentience to a construct he realized that it truly did deserve its Legendary rating. From there the odd group of five made their way to a secluded area where they could more thoroughly test the new mana type. Unfortunately despite testing the mana type until Ajax was almost out of mana they had made little progress in terms of anything besides some more concrete numbers on its effectiveness. ¡°You¡¯re definitely right.¡± The headmaster said at the end. ¡°This mana type will definitely prove to be a mage¡¯s go to spell when dealing with a surprise assassin, since we usually wear so little to no metal at all. Unfortunately it will be useless until we can learn a few chants for it.¡± ¡°I think there is a way it could be useful now?¡± Ajax pressed. ¡°Sometimes I forget just how young you are.¡± the headmaster said with a laugh that the old librarian shared. ¡°It''s when your impatience like that shows up that reassures me of your age. Sure you can use the mana type by combining metal and lightning mana but unlike you other mages can¡¯t cast two spells at the same time.¡± ¡°If there is only one mage, sure.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°But what if there are two mages? I remember Lexi and Anna combining their air and fire magic back during the mock war, since the two mana types react so well together wouldn¡¯t it just take both of them being put together for it to appear. I thought that this would actually be easier since magnetic mana is much more stable than a combination of air and fire.¡± The laughter of the two dukes died off at that, not only that but both Anna and Lexi perked up and came close from the edges of the room where they stood to watch the testing. ¡°We can try it.¡± Lexi said with excitement. ¡°I think some more testing would be best before we try something like that.¡± the duke''s concern for his granddaughter showed up. ¡°Well there won¡¯t be any more from Ajax, he¡¯s run through his mana reserves.¡± Anna said. ¡°Besides we know that magnetic mana isn¡¯t harmful so as long as we start off with a small amount we should be fine.¡± It took a few more minutes before Lexi and Anna were able to convince the headmaster that letting them try wouldn¡¯t be dangerous. The girls did make a few mistakes when they first tried generating the mana, the main issue they had was that they generated too much lightning mana and not enough metal resulting in stray small bolts striking them after they generated the mana. Chapter 273 Manashaper P.O.V What sort of monster is this kid? I can¡¯t help but ask myself as I look at him sitting on the side lines drawing in deep breaths. Balthazar is helping Lexi and Anna with the safety precautions before they try their hand at the new mana type so I can focus on Ajax. I knew that he had an odd and possibly new mana type at his disposal. I couldn¡¯t do much with the knowledge since my silence on the matter was part of the favor that I owed to house Silvertongue and they asked me about something he managed to pull of during one of their delves but this ¡®Magnetic¡¯ mana as he calls it seems nothing like what they described. So the question is were they lying to me and trying to throw me off the scent? That theory makes no sense, why would they do something like that only for him to come to me like this. There is ofcourse a second option, one that seems just as unlikely but that is only if common sense is applied. What if he gained two new affinities that haven¡¯t been explored by humanoids. I know exactly how difficult something like that is to pull off. After all I managed it once myself, though my achievement was arguably harder to succeed in, Cold Flames were still just a Rare affinity. Managing to keep the easy generation and spread of fire with the cold attribute of ice proved to be a true headache, and even then I only achieved it after the inspiration I gained from an Elemental floor boss with the attribute. What is even more ingenious, the perfect defense against this ¡®Magnetic mana¡¯ is clear, simply wear nothing metallic. Besides that however the next best thing is to bring up a strong defense the moment you are hit by it. That would be too extreme a weakness for anyone to pick this up as anything more than a last ditch option. From what the Silvertongues told me however he has a way to bypass defenses with his other affinity. By revealing this one to the world he is setting up the perfect trap for all who would go after him directly. ¡°Are you girls ready?¡± I hear Balthazar ask and I refocus on them. ¡°How much mana should we put into it?¡± Lexi asks. ¡°Let''s start small.¡± I say. ¡°See if you can generate together only ten mana each.¡± The outcome isn¡¯t ideal but it is a success. While they did succeed in generating magnetic mana, the use of two people clearly shows the issue with approach, ten mana from each did not generate an equal amount of the affinity mana and a bit of Anna¡¯s leftover Lightning mana shocked Lexi. ¡°Ow¡± Lexi exclaimed. ¡°Well at least it worked, kind of.¡± ¡°You definitely got it.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You just need a bit of practice to ensure you are each outputting the same amount of attuned mana and not initial mana.¡± The small tests go off without anything else of note, a few more shocks here and there but nothing all that big. Where the first big difference happens is when the girls start putting in a lot more mana. ¡°I¡¯ll put in three hundred.¡± Anna says. ¡°I¡¯ll do four hundred then, just to be safe.¡± Lexi nodded. The result there was surprising to say the least. Despite a few bits of metallic mana being wasted by the wayside I suspect they put about six hundred and seventy mana into that combination. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Unlike any of Ajax¡¯s previous demonstrations however this is a lot stronger of a release. The most Ajax ever put in was three hundred mana but the power is more than double in size, close to five times as strong. Whereas that preview managed to pull the training weapons off the rack this sent all of the flying towards the girls at high speed. ¡°Rhamb Sus¡± I mutter as I spawn a windwall blocking all of the weapons. ¡°Does it scale that well with more mana?¡± Balthazar asks after everyone stays staring at the pile of weapons now on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s not so much a matter of scale.¡± Ajax says. ¡°They used a bit more than double the amount of mana you did but the effect is four times as strong, how do you explain it?¡± he asked, but I already knew the answer there. ¡°That¡¯s the downside of your casting style,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t it? You get the flexibility, speed, even multicasting. But you sacrifice power.¡± Ajax simply let out a sigh as he nodded in confirmation. Despite the massive upsides there are also strong downsides. If the king¡¯s oldest son is to be believed those downsides also extend to limiting the caster to only using mana types they received an affinity skill towards. If that is true however the difficulty and compatibility will mean that his leveling pace will slow down much slower, he might even manage to keep a three level a year average for the next decade. ¡°Since you came to me with this so openly I am guessing you are willing to share it beyond just the two of us?¡± I ask. ¡°Sharing this is just me being through.¡± The kid surprises me once again. ¡°I mean I obviously want to add this mana type to my abilities but they way I discovered it is something that I will not only keep the whole credit for but also something the king may want to keep more tightly controlled.¡± ¡°They way you discovered it?¡± Balthazar asks. ¡°I know I¡¯m not always a model of efficiency when training but not even I spent my time randomly mixing my mana types to see what would happen.¡± Ajax says this is clearly related to their previous work together on curses. Knowing how much the old man cares about efficiency I can see why someone so young would take a chance to fire back. ¡°So then how did you come up with it?¡± Lexi asks. ¡°I was training, after the latest incident, I focused on something that seemed to work particularly well and came upon the odd interaction.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Do you have a full set of armor here that is made out of mana enhanced metal?¡± ¡°I do, but it''s not all that high of a mana concentration.¡± I answer. ¡°That¡¯s perfect, I wouldn¡¯t want to use an expensive one for this anyway.¡± Ajax says and that has me more interested. After I bring out the suit Ajax quickly puts it on one of the target mannequins. ¡°Go ahead and use a lightning strike on it.¡± I do as he says. Even without putting all that much mana into the strike I still knock the helmet off with a precise blow. This clearly surprises Ajax and it was obviously not what he expected me to do. ¡°Can you do a more prolonged spell with the intent to immobilize instead of strike down.¡± he says after he puts the helmet back in place. I see why he was surprised now, for him Lightning is much more of a control affinity than one used for pure power. The effect of lightning on muscles is one that is well known and used when dealing with large creatures, though mages prefer the penetrating power it offers in conflicts with other humanoids. Nevertheless I do as he says. ¡°I still don¡¯t see what you mean.¡± I say following my second use of lightning mana. ¡°You will now.¡± he says after he takes a fully metal mace and places both hands of the mannequin on it. ¡°Hit it again.¡± I do so again but this time something is different. Unlike my previous attack I actively shift away from my intended pattern. Instead of radiating outward from the point of impact the Lightning mana travels in repeated circles through the armor and the metal warhammer. Not only that but I can also feel the release of magnetic mana. A very interesting phenomenon, with this mages would just need to carry a piece of mana infused metal and they can simply strike it with lightning mana to achieve the desired effect. Though I can¡¯t help but feel there is too much magnetic mana being released from the small lightning I sent. ¡°That sure is a more convenient way of generating it than training two mages to cast in synch at a moment''s notice.¡± Balthazar says. ¡°But I don¡¯t see why the king would care about keeping it hidden.¡± ¡°It takes both Metal and Lightning mana to generate Magnetic mana.¡± Ajax says and I get a bad feeling. ¡°If we are getting it from here despite only casting lightning, where does the metal one come from?¡± I¡¯m the first one to catch on as I focus my [Sense Mana] on the suit of armor. Just as I feared, the density of the mana is lower now. Not only that but I¡¯m not the only one to catch on. ¡°You¡¯re taking it from the mana infused in the metal.¡± Lexi exclaims, she was always a quick study. ¡°The king will definitely want to keep this quiet.¡± I say. A way to weaken any pieces of equipment that contain mana infused metal, with proper precautions and good timing in place this could be used to turn a war on its head. I know for a fact the king will have me researching this as well as a way to stop it from being used against us the moment he hears about it. Chapter 274 Following Ajax¡¯s revelation and with a clear example in front of them about the truth of his allegations both the headmaster and the librarian quickly started walking the three students away from the secure training grounds and towards the royal castle. Neither of the older men were acting in their capacity as faculty; however, both had taken out a clear sigil of their house, placed it visibly on their chest. They were now being escorted by Duke Manashaper and Duke Young. More than that Duke Manashapr placed a powerful illusion over them before they even made it out of the training grounds. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Something you should have learned in your fourth year.¡± Duke Young said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be informing the king of this discovery, right now.¡± Duke Manashaper said. ¡°This is too big.¡± Anna explained for him and Lexi. ¡°The ability to wear down armor like that is already powerful enough in a war setting, but there it is even more terrifying in a revolt.¡± ¡°You will all be made aware of this in your fourth year, it is one of the more undisclosed rules that the kingdom has.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°What it boils down to is that no more than two houses can share access to a specific technique or skill while also maintaining it as a secret.¡± ¡°It is there so that the royal family doesn¡¯t change with every new discovery of a powerful trick, a few large noble houses would share it and then they would start a revolt.¡± Duke Manashaper chimed in. ¡°Even if we were to overlook House Hearthbound as a new Baron house we already have two Ducal houses and one of the three archdukes.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°It is usually the first lesson taught in the fourth year of the Academy since around that time is when most prodigies hit level thirty-five and start experimenting with creating their own style and niche skills.¡± Everyone threw Ajax a look at that. Funnily enough he hadn¡¯t broken the mold there as he was around level thirty-five now that the innovations started, he simply did it a whole two years early. As they made their way through the city Ajax had plenty of time to get a good look at the illusion magic used by Duke Manashaper. He was sad to admit that it wasn¡¯t the best he¡¯d ever seen, that honor went to the kitsune, but this was a solid second place. Despite not being the target of the illusion and spending the entire trip towards the castle looking at it he couldn¡¯t find any weak point in it. His only answer to it would be to simply brute-force it with [Mana Syphon]. ¡°Halt.¡± the palace guards called out once Duke Manashaper removed the illusion surrounding them. The five of them stopped, none of them said a word but Duke Young threw an obvious look behind them before turning to glare at the guards. ¡°You may wait inside but don¡¯t approach the second gate before one of the squads comes to get you.¡± the guard said after a few seconds. It took no longer than five minutes before one of the Squads Ajax didn¡¯t know opened the second gate and made their way towards them, all of them were in their combat gear and had stern looks on their faces. The gear they had on marked them as the Fifth. In contrast to them the king¡¯s oldest son was sporting a cheeky grin as he made his way towards the group of five. ¡°Well this was rather unexpected. What good thing have you found out?¡± Oddly enough despite never having met him before the prince was talking to Ajax. ¡°How did you¡­?¡± Ajax trailed off at that. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°One of the people we had protectively tailing you reported in about your meeting.¡± the prince said. ¡°You then show up right here under an illusion, clearly you found something good and shared it, the only question I have is if you didn¡¯t know the implication of what you found or if you had a few questions you wanted to ask them about it.¡± ¡°He had questions.¡± Balthazar replied with a wide grin. ¡° It may have taken a while but I think I finally found a student that¡¯s more of a problem child than you.¡± ¡°What?¡± the prince said with clearly faked outrage. ¡°You¡¯ve always been an old man but I think it''s finally starting to catch up to you. Nobody is more of a problem than me.¡± Anna, Lexi and Ajax all stared in shock at the prince while Duke Manashaper who was clearly experienced in dealing with the prince and his eccentricities was simply rubbing his forehead in an attempt to prevent the oncoming headache. ¡°We have something that needs to be brought to the king¡¯s attention.¡± Duke Manashaper said. ¡°Follow us, the King has granted you a private audience.¡± the leader of the Fifth said, he was just as eager to get past the initial stages of this interaction where a bit of suspicion had to be maintained. All of them walked in a heavy silence as they made their way towards the throne room. Or at least most of them did, the seriousness of the situation was heavily undermined by the prince and Balthazar catching up with each other completely ignoring the situation at hand. ¡°I was right.¡± the prince declared the moment he set foot in the throne room. ¡°He simply had questions!¡± ¡°None of us disagreed with you.¡± the crown prince said as he looked to be having a much tougher time fighting off the same headache that Duke Manashaper was combating. The audience for this meeting was both larger and at the same time smaller than the previous time Ajax had come to report to the king. Whereas previously there were three full squads in attendance this time it was only the Fifth and the leader of the First. Besides them and the king all three of the king¡¯s children, the queen, Xavier and the king¡¯s only granddaughter were all in attendance. ¡°I take it that this is something different than last time, Ajax?¡± the king asked. It was Balthazar, Anna, Lexi and duke Manashaper who were surprised at that question. They all understood that Ajax had to have shared something with the king that he was looking to keep secret. ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Why not bring it to us first?¡± the leader of the first Squad asked. ¡°The main research is still far from ready to be applied.¡± Duke Manashaper answered. ¡°Ajax came to me with questions that I know will at least take years for me to find answers to.¡± ¡°Then why did you rush here?¡± the king asked. ¡°One of the steps involved in the discovery has more immediate and more serious consequences.¡± the duke answered. ¡°Ajax himself already refused to share more than a basic demonstration with me before you were informed of it and even that was to answer an obvious question regarding his discovery.¡± From there the Duke went on to explain in detail everything he had learnt in the past few hours about Magnetic mana. It¡¯s applications, it¡¯s strengths, it¡¯s weaknesses as well as the most obvious uses. They even had Ajax show them examples of it both being directly created as well as fused from metal and lightning. Lexi and Anna both did their part too in showing how it could be used by two mages even without the affinity in question. ¡°Without any known runes or chants this mana affinity currently has little potential to be developed. What we know so far has provided me with a clear path for testing. In a few years I hope to develop at least one chant that successfully implements it.¡± the Duke finished. ¡°Certainly noteworthy, and I can see why you are the one he would approach with this.¡± the king nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t see the immediate and dire impact however.¡± It was then that Duke Manashaper explained the process that Ajax claimed led to him discovering the existence of magnetic mana. The air in the room turned instantly shifted once he was done explaining the previous congratulatory and somewhat relaxed mood was now serious and focused. ¡°What effects can this have on mana infused metals that are already sporting runic magic?¡± the prince asked, for the first time since meeting them at the gate he had lost his cheery attitude and looked on edge. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± the duke admitted. ¡° Other than the most basic of requirements for the magnetic mana generation to occur I have done no testing.¡± ¡°With two ducal families as well as one of the three archduke we thought it prudent that the royal family be informed.¡± Balthazar said. ¡°You have done well.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°This is indeed something that must be considered carefully. Duke Manashaper if I could ask that you focus your research on this primarily for at least the next few months so that we can get a foundational understanding.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± the duke responded. With everything explained Ajax took the opportunity to change the subject, everyone was too on edge with the previous revelation but there was nothing they could about it before more testing was done. ¡°Your Majesty, about your request to me¡­.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± the king appreciated the change in subject. ¡°Would it be possible for me to have access to a few attempts at solodelving before the trip to the Empire. I would like to at least be prepared so that I can reach as high a floor as possible.¡± Ajax requested. ¡°Yes, that is a reasonable request.¡± the king nodded. ¡°I must insist however that you have someone escorting you while you do so, I do not want to see you kill yourself over this.¡± the king said. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ajax found himself speechless at that since he didn¡¯t have anyone that was strong enough to act as minder for him. ¡°I¡¯ll go with him.¡± the king¡¯s firstborn, having regained his cheery attitude with the change in subject was quick to involve himself in the discussion. ¡°We can head out tomorrow." Chapter 275 While all of the strong people in the room had a very good poker face, the same thing could not be said for the royal family''s younger generation. Besides Xavier¡¯s jealous glance towards Ajax the king¡¯s granddaughter was also looking shocked at the statement. ¡°Why you?¡± Duke Manashaper asked. ¡°You¡¯re going to be busy looking into this new potential discovery, not to mention that so long as he wears a little bit of a disguise before he enters the dungeon nobody will question it and they will just play it off as one of my whims.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said. ¡°Besides I also want to see what he can do in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± the crown prince let out a deep sigh. ¡°In terms of power and cover he is indeed the best candidate to let you have your training without anyone else finding out.¡± ¡°Also one of the best to analyze anything I might have kept to myself.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°I am fine with signing a contract about no revealing anything I find out about you.¡± the excited prince continued. ¡°And what happens if you break it?¡± Anna asked, knowing full well that there anything he might guarantee that might harm him could be counteracted by a good enough skill. ¡°His family gets a hundred million gold coins.¡± the prince said offhandedly ¡®Ack¡¯ Ajax choked when he heard the number. Not even a decade ago Ajax had become the richest person in the village he grew up in because he had received a hundred gold coins, a hundred million would be enough to rocket his family into contention for the title of archduke Goldmancer. ¡°Monetary deals are the best to make.¡± Anna murmured. ¡°No skill will let him skip out on the tab.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s settled then.¡± the prince clapped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll come get you in two days.¡± _________________________________________________________________________ Two days later Ajax found himself standing in queue for the dungeon alongside the king¡¯s oldest son. Even with a few days to discuss this with his family he hadn¡¯t managed to find a better option. The sole limitation that Ajax put on himself for this delve was that he was going to be keeping Void mana concealed no matter what happened. The plan was for him to delve all the way to the sixth floor of the dungeon and no further. Despite having delved even as deep as the eighth floor as part of a team, solo delving was a lot more risky and required different skills. ¡°Finally.¡± Ajax said as they entered the dungeon and he removed the mask from his head. ¡°This thing is so stuffy.¡± ¡°It might be but with the enchantments it carries it made sure that nobody got a read on you.¡± the Prince said as he also changed from his common clothing to his battle gear. It was now Ajax¡¯s turn to be shocked. The prince''s gear easily ranked as some of the best gear he had ever seen. The only ones that could compete with it was the one he saw some of the royal squad members wearing. Even then the prince¡¯s gear was completely different from the others he had seen due to the numerous runes that were etched on every open surface of the armor. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°First time seeing a good runic set?¡± the prince asked. Ajax didn¡¯t open his mouth to respond and simply nodded his head. ¡°Well don¡¯t look too impressed two third of the runes you are seeing are illusions and even the rest are a little distorted to all senses.¡± Ajax knew the reason why that was, much like how chanting mages made sure to muffle and cover their mouth when chanting runic mages did much the same thing with illusion magic to protect their runes from being copied. ¡°Well go on then.¡± the prince said ." The first few floors will be a snoozefest anyway. Ajax was quick to prove the prince correct as he easily cleared the way to the closest arch he could feel and then simply overwhelmed the boss guarding it. The same scene also played out on the second, third and fourth floors. Ajax did make sure to get accurate readings on the arches he chose, he even ended up clearing four different arches on the fourth floor before he got to one that he felt good about. His ability to at least somewhat narrow down what type of floor he will be facing next will be one of the key abilities he will rely on to ensure that the floor he wants to fully clear out won¡¯t be something that would counter him. The quick dispatching of monsters and bosses ground to a halt in a very fast manner once Ajax got to the fifth floor. Even with the monsters only being level fifty at most he now found himself on the other side of the numbers game. Whereas on his previous delves a group of fifteen to twenty people took on each pack of monsters he was facing similar odds against him from those very same small packs. ¡°Wow so you really can keep on sucking up mana from the air without even getting tired.¡± The prince let out a low whistle once the fight Ajax was having with an ogre patrol group ended. ¡°You are definitely going to be a menace when delving the dungeon as it naturally provides you with denser and denser mana at each floor. Well at least so long as you don¡¯t hit a mana drought floor.¡± No adventurer in their right mind like drought floors. While all of the books Ajax had read on the subject had reinforced that the drought floor challenge effect didn¡¯t mix with other environmental challenges that was only true for the lower floors. One thing that all drought floors did have in common however was the fact that the monsters spawned there would have at least one adept mana consuming ability so that they could keep a hold of their mana. Ajax was glad for the praise and gave a shallow nod at the compliment while he caught his breath/ ¡°This next floor will be the one I clear out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going up another floor?¡± despite the questioning structures the princes tone made it clear that not only was he not against the idea but that he was a strong supporter Ajax took his time on the fifth floor hunting for a suitable archway. He made sure to play it off as a luck based skill to the prince, that turned out to be a splendid idea as the prince himself had a luck skill and it was one he relied on whenever he went delving in deeper floors to pick a good floor theme. ¡°A forest?¡± the prince asked as he took in his surroundings once they got to the sixth floor. ¡°Forests are my best biomes.¡± Ajax said with confidence. ¡°Oh how come?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I spent five years training to be a hunter and an adventurer in a forest before my leveling speed really picked up.¡± Ajax shared. Besides the much stronger density of mana in the air the forest seemed exceedingly normal to Ajax as he started exploring it. That is until he almost bumped into a eight foot tall hairy bipedal monster that seemed to resemble some descriptions of Big Foot from back on Earth. Unlike on earth however this specimen wasn¡¯t a solitary one but instead traveled in packs of five. Oddly enough the forest was dense enough that the space between trees was small enough to give the large monster issues when maneuvering. Ajax took full advantage of this as he quickly made short work of two of them. His sword and hammer were finding their mark and easily made it past the thick protective layer of fur they had. Or is that just thicker body hair? Despite their apparent intelligence the remaining three Big Foot¡¯s didn¡¯t try to escape and instead focused on attacking Ajax. Their plan was quickly foiled as Ajax used his Ice mana to no only slow them down with the cold but to create a very slippery surface on the ground resulting in the monsters not able to keep their footing while also attacking him. Once there was only one monster left, the survivor decided he had seen enough and tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately for him he followed his instincts to get away from Ajax as quickly as possible. Even with the tight spacing of the trees this meant that he had taken off in a straight-ish line away from him. This made landing a headshot with an arrow almost too easy for Ajax. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad.¡± the prince said as he inspected the bodies Ajax left in his wake. ¡°They don¡¯t really have the agility needed to fight you in a place light this. Let''s hope that there is something interesting for you to fight on this floor.¡± ¡°AAAAAUUUUUOOOOOO¡­. GRRRR¡­.AAAAUUUU¡± Ajax didn¡¯t get a chance to respond as a strong howling and growling filled the air. More than that Ajax could tell that this howl didn¡¯t come from a wolf and that was making him second guess his life¡¯s choices. ¡°No need to look so scared.¡± the prince waved him off. ¡°These are wendigos, not a werewolf boss. Ajax did let out a sigh of relief at that reassurance, he still remembered well the power that the kitsune had wielded and didn¡¯t want to end up facing another floor boss just yet. With that he swapped out his sword for his axe as he prepared to engage with the cannibalistic creatures. Chapter 276 ¡°They won¡¯t be approaching us.¡± the prince said as he and Ajax stood around the fire. ¡°You can keep cooking that would more likely turn them away since they only eat raw meat.¡± After the fight with the big foots they finally decided it was time to make camp. Unlike the previous floors that all passed in a couple hours at best this floor would be one Ajax was going to fully clear out all by himself so they were going to be spending at least two or three days here. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Monsters inside the dungeon mimic their behavior on the outside.¡± the prince said. ¡°Or the ones outside mimic the behavior of the ones inside depending on where you stand on the theory that everything is a descendant of a being from the dungeon.¡± ¡°Wendigos would hunt us in a forest.¡± Ajax said, briefly remembering what he once skimmed over on the creatures. ¡°If you were alone maybe.¡± The prince said. ¡°Wendigos are the werewolves'' weak, sickly and twisted cousins. They don¡¯t like fire and they always try to separate their prey, with two of us here and a fire the only way they would attack is if I started using my stealth skills.¡± ¡°Had to deal with some before?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Yes, both inside and outside the dungeon.¡± the prince said. ¡°The dungeon makes everything more aggressive but it doesn¡¯t change them that much.¡± ¡°Why did you volunteer for this?¡± Ajax extended a plate of food. ¡°You are perhaps the most talented person ever.¡± the prince answered as he took a bite. ¡°Hey this is actually pretty good. Besides your talent you are different from everyone else with potential I met.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Ajax was curious. ¡°Everyone else I met were either already past level one hundred when I met them or they were just like me when I grew up, surrounded by a protective bubble.¡± the prince explained. ¡°I feel like watching you will give me a chance to make a breakthrough, if nothing else it¡¯s an easy time to be earning good will from you, something that will become a lot harder as you grow in power.¡± After he finished eating Ajax got started on putting up elaborate defenses. ¡°Why are you doing that?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Because I¡¯ll have you start using those stealth skills once I am done.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I won¡¯t have anyone with me to keep watch so I need to practice setting up temporary denses for when I rest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good idea.¡± the prince acknowledged. ¡°So how do you plan to clear out this floor?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax was confused. ¡°I¡¯ll just go around and clear as much as I can before using the obelisk to clear out whatever remains.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the slowest safe option you have, not only that but its not even the safest of them all.¡± the prince complained. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing too many crafting and training delves. It doesn¡¯t help that the team you joined when you first started delving in that backwater dungeon faced little to no threat on that floor.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Ajax got defensive. ¡°You missed out on any floor progression delves.¡± the prince answered. ¡°It¡¯s what pushes the adventurers who make it to the top and hit the wall where they are getting restricted from entering the dungeon strong enough to compete with noble grown talent. It¡¯s also what kills most adventurers as they try the climb.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯ve faced hard floors before.¡± Ajax said as he thought back to the magma floor where they almost got soaked in lava by salamanders. ¡°It¡¯s different.¡± the prince said. ¡°Without backers adventurers are forced to go into bad floor matchups, not only that but they also go to floors where they are outleveled just because the spot was open and they can¡¯t afford to just retreat and hope for a better theme next week.¡± ¡°But what¡¯s that got to do with now?¡± Ajax asked as he conceded the point, he did remember a few delves where after a few hours on the final floor the team simply decided to retreat since the risk was too high. ¡°You haven¡¯t learnt to use the restrictions and environment of a floor to their fullest.¡± the prince says. ¡°You can scout pretty well, but what can you tell me about this environment and how it relates to clearing the floor?¡± ¡°We are in a dense forest.¡± Ajax started. ¡°Besides the regular animals we have run into two more humanoid monsters meaning there likely isn¡¯t anything else. No birds of prey. Great for hit and run tactics.¡± ¡°That is pretty much a textbook answer.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°But you left out a few key details, let me know if you see an answer when I frame it for you a bit differently. You are in a zoned off, dry forest. You are facing physically enhanced monsters that mostly hunt in packs yet are antagonistic to one another. The forest is filled with mana infused trees, and none of those monsters are resistant to fire, most are in fact weak to it.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes went wide at that. Was the prince suggesting that he start a massive forest fire? Not only that but it could actually work, there was no need to worry about the fire spreading too far the floor was closed off. Sure the mana in the trees would make them resistant to weak fire but once he started a fire with a powerful flame it would also consume that man infused wood to keep its strength and spread. ¡°See, that¡¯s what you are missing, what almost every powerhouse raised by a noble house is missing. They wouldn¡¯t consider such a strategy because it is too risky when the floor is of appropriate strength for the party or because it would cost them almost all their profit from it when they are with high level watchers.¡± the prince said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m starting to be glad you volunteered.¡± Ajax said with a smirk. ¡°But I¡¯ll need you to start using your stealth skills.¡± ¡°You call this a defensive position?¡± the prince said looking around at the small amount of defenses Ajax set up. ¡°No point training when I have as much time as I want to set it all up.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°With you here I can afford to see how well I can defend myself when my preparations are more bare bones.¡± With a simple nod the prince completely disappeared from Ajax¡¯s senses and once he jumped out of his line of sight he lost him completely. All there was to do now was wait. Ajax took a few of the stockier branchez and used his magma mana to set the ablaze. Just because he was expecting an attack didn¡¯t mean he would give up the advantage that a big fire would give him. The snap of a twig close by woke Ajax up. It couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty minutes since he had fallen asleep and now the forest was eerily quiet. The fire was the only sound he heard but he still decided to get up to take a look. Him getting up seemed to be the signal that they were discovered as the wendigoes attacked. The monsters were tall, easily nine feet if they weren¡¯t standing so hunched over. Their bony frames certainly not what Ajax was expecting as he could see they had almost no muscle on their bodies. What they did have was two rows of sharp triangular teeth, a prominent nose and claws on their hands and feet. Despite their wiry frames deep claw marks could be seen on the trees as they launched off them and towards Ajax. A quick application of [Mana Syphon] easily made Ajax a match for them in speed and gave him a solid step up in strength. First things first however Ajax had to make sure he wasn¡¯t surrounded. He charged straight for the closest wendigo, looking to break out of the encirclement by forcing the fight to turn into a one on one for a quick moment. The action didn¡¯t seem to surprise the wendigo but the small pit managed to get him to stumble. A clean swipe of his magma infused axe easily cut its way through the ribcage and made it a good halfway through the torso before it lost its momentum, the blow killed the monster but Ajax knew he didn¡¯t have much time as he threw the corpse behind him and turned to face advance further away from the remaining four enemies. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise none of the other four wendigos were charging for him as he turned. Instead they had all latched on to the body of their fallen packmate and started tearing into it looking to devour it. It was surprising to Ajax to see how the flesh ripped and blood and organs were spread. Worst of all however was the smell of burnt flesh that came from the wound that killed the monster. Despite having butchered things before the combination of the gory sight and smell made him hesitate for a moment. That time all the other wengoes needed to strip the little flesh and skin from the body though none of them approached the charred part of the corpse. Even with the stick thin body shared to all four Ajax could see their stomach now bulging out of their abdomens. This was when he felt the curse mana radiate from them. Their red eyes started to glow and their stomachs started to shrink as they all growled and charged towards Ajax once more, this time faster than before. The growl knocked Ajax out of his disgust-induced shock and he used a good amount of mana to freeze the ground around him. Despite mana''s weird interaction with physics there were some aspects that he could still use to his advantage so long as a skill didn¡¯t actively reverse the process. The high speed and low weight of the wendigos meant they quickly slipped on the ice and Ajax took the opportunity to kill two of them right there. Much like before the wendigos fully ignored him and went straight for the new corpses. This time however Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised by that reaction so he quickly brought out his bow and killed one with an arrow to head. The final wendigo reacted quickly to the range attack, Ajax¡¯s second arrow only managed to ember in the monster¡¯s thigh as it jumped away, the curse quickly consuming the new food and turning it into more power was simply not enough as Ajax¡¯s hammer made swung with a metal augmentation broke clean through the arm the monster was using as defense and crushed the skull. Chapter 277 ¡°That was pretty good¡± Ajax jumped as he didn¡¯t sense the prince at all despite hearing the voice coming from within three feet of him. ¡°Freezing up after you took out the first one was pretty bad but you recovered well.¡± ¡°I knew they were cannibals,¡± Ajax said as he looked at the two half eaten corpses ¡° I just didn¡¯t know they would eat a fallen before dealing with a threat.¡± ¡°Despite the lacking power compared to most other curses the wendigo is one of the worst possible fates for someone to succumb to.¡± the prince said his usual cheery mood was gone. ¡°It¡¯s why curse users are so limited in all civilized places and any curse mage is kept under surveillance.¡± ¡°People can be turned into things like these?¡± Ajax asked, horrified. ¡°No, the ones created from actual people would be a lot stronger as they would still have access to all the skills they did beforehand.¡± the prince said. ¡°You really should start burning the bodies before they attract all the other packs.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t need to be told twice as he quickly gathered up all the remains and tossed them in the fire. He also made sure to use one of the backup pairs of gloves he brought with him and simply tossed them in the fire as well once he was done. The rest of the night passed quietly and Ajax managed to finish building up a strong defensive position and then managed to get a few good hours of undisturbed sleep. But once the light returned to the dungeon floor Ajax awoke. It was time to hunt. Taking the advice of the prince, Ajax first scouted a good portion of forest around where he built his defensive base of operations. Once he found a small pack of big foots, a pack of wolves as well as some wendigo¡¯s in the distance it was time to try using the floor to his advantage. He carefully lit the forest ablaze, he made sure the fire wouldn¡¯t be extending towards his own base and also started it in such a way that it would lead the pack of bigfoots into a direct confrontation with the wolves. Lighting the forest wasn¡¯t nearly as easy as TV shows back on earth had made it seem where one errant match could set off an inferno. Ajax had used up more than four hundred mana with his magma affinity before the fire had really taken off. But once it did it started to spread quickly. Each new tree that caught the flames would quickly explode with heat. When the two packs came face to face an odd little staredown happened. Both the wolves and the big foots were part of the monster ecology of the floor. Under normal circumstances in the outside world the wolves would simply join the big foots in their evacuation. But inside the dungeon the creatures were much more aggressive, the only reason they hadn¡¯t attacked each other yet was because of the small suggestion the dungeon floor also provided them with that they should work together to kill the intruders. That stalemate was broken once the flames got a little closer and the two packs engaged. The wolves were on the losing side at the start, the much bigger size of the big foots, not to mention their more humanoid frame and tool use let them score a few strong opening attacks. The wolves however were not to be underestimated, what they lacked in individual strength they made up for in numbers. Following the strong start of the big foots the wolves were quick to respond by throwing bodies at the problem and ambushing their bigger foes. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ajax watched in surprise for about ten minutes as the dungeon floor was clearing itself and all he had to do was start one little fire. By this point a quarter of the wolves and big foots had died and those that were still standing were by no means in top condition. The fight however was brought to a close as each force slowly backed away recognising the others power. That was when seven wendigos dashed into the middle all going for the corpses that littered the battlefield. Unlike their first meeting both packs were quick to charge towards the third party, even inside the dungeon the monsters had a good enough understanding of each other to know that the wendigo would just hunt them down once they finished the corpses and gained more power. Not for the first time Ajax had a front row seat to the absolute lack of teamwork that the wendigos displayed. They weren¡¯t a pack, no they were simply a collection that stuck together for intimidation. A wendigo would only fight if it was attacked, otherwise it would keep on feasting on the fresh meals provided. ¡°Can curse mages control the wendigo they create?¡± Ajax asked as he watched the wolves and big foots systematically take the wendigos apart. ¡°Not through the original curse.¡± the prince responded. ¡°There are, however, examples in history of curse mages who managed to combine other control curses to achieve a similar effect.¡± The second to last wendigo had its spine snapped over the knee of a bigfoot while a wolf dangled from his neck with its jaw locked. That¡¯s when the battle took an unexpected turn. The last remaining wendigo wasn¡¯t just a normal mob like all the rest that Ajax had faced so far. No he was a mini-boss variant that had an arch to defend. With its stomach filled the mini-boss finally went on the the attack. It¡¯s speed was even quicker than what Ajax could manage, though there was quite a bit to be said about the accuracy or grace of his movements. For the wolves and big boots however that didn¡¯t matter the miniboss had to have consumed at least five corpses before it engaged and was now a menace tearing through the survivors. Worse yet Ajax could see that the mini-boss clearly didn¡¯t care about self preservation. It simply existed to eat, each time he would attack he would ensure to take a good size bite of his target before retreating to swallow the mouthful and attacking again. After ten more minutes the wendigo was the only one standing as he ferociously started devouring the new corpses. That wasn¡¯t to say that he had come on top unscathed, he had lost half of the teeth on his jaw, one of his arms all the way down from the shoulder, his left knee was bent the wrong way and both his ears had been bitten off. Much like last time Ajax took full advantage of the wendigos unending gluttony and took out his bow. Unlike his opening shot last time, the mini-boss had good enough reflexes from the empowered curse that he managed to dodge a perfectly aimed headshot. Unfortunately for him the arrow still managed to embed itself in his stomach. The holy augment on the arrow was quick to come into conflict with the wendigo¡¯s cursed mana as the already thin body was sent into what had to be the most violent seizure Ajax could imagine. The shaky movement was powerful enough to pop one of the mini-bosses'' eyes right out of its socket before Ajax brought down his hammer and crushed his head. ¡°Not bad at all for your first time.¡± the prince said as he slowly clapped from the side. ¡°But for next time you would do better to scout the edges of the floor closest to you before putting such a plan in action.¡± A pained battlecry announced the coming of the second wave of monsters. Despite the forest fire heading away from Ajax¡¯s position the monsters could only run away so far as the floor design allowed. Ajax now found himself with at least seven monster groups coming towards him, most of them suffering from a severe burn or two. That was when the prince jumped into action. Ajax could have debated that he didn¡¯t really require the prince''s help, he could always outrun the monster wave and pick it off one by one. Still he had to agree that doing things that way wouldn¡¯t have been all that good for his training. Despite the intervention Ajax was fully focused on analyzing the way the prince fought. To say that his style was mesmerizing was an understatement. Unlike the expectation that a prince would come with back on Earth the prince¡¯s style was in no way elegant. While calm elegant movements of a knight or samurai were usually depicted with an underscore of classical music, the prince¡¯s style was a clear example of heavy metal. Runes were being activated one after another from any part of his suit as he chaotically maneuvered through the beast wave killing everything that entered his range. Chapter 278 Watching how quickly the prince wiped out all the incoming packs, Ajax knew he still had a long way to go before he got close to his level. That said, the prince would actually be a very good match-up for Ajax if they were even close in power level. While the prince clearly had more power in the small spells he used compared to Ajax¡¯s, [Mana Syphon] would work wonders on messing up the precise outputs all those small spells the runes were constantly putting out. ¡°Not bad for your first attempt.¡± the prince praised. ¡°Next time however make sure you don¡¯t have so many of them coming back to get you.¡± Ajax actually agreed with the prince¡¯s evaluation. He spent the next two days perfecting his approach as it came to setting sections of the dungeon floor ablaze in a more controlled manner. While not all of the attempts he made were a resounding success his failures didn¡¯t manage to gather a strong enough group of monsters to overwhelm him at any point. While his days didn¡¯t present much of a problem for Ajax, his nights were a completely different issue. With the prince activating his stealth skills Ajax was left all alone to fend for himself. That wasn¡¯t all that big of a issue as Ajax could easily handle a single group of monsters it did present him with a new challenge. By the end of their third night there Ajax was starting to really feel the fatigue setting in. While his stats might mean that he could stay awake for a few days straight it was by no means a good idea. Ajax had little problem actually falling asleep, it was actually staying asleep that posed the challenge. After two close calls during the first night where he woke up just as the monsters were closing in on him, Ajax¡¯s sleep became very light. So light in fact that a strong breeze rustling more than a branch at a time would wake him up. The lack of sleep wasn¡¯t just a challenge for his mental state however. While sleeping a person recovered both mana and stamina a lot faster compared to when they were awake, a clear solution to that would be to use his high level [Meditation] to make up for it but that posed a very similar issue by blocking off his senses from the outside world. ¡°We¡¯ll definitely need to make sure you take an alarm formation with you.¡± the prince said as he looked Ajax up and down on the fourth day. ¡°That way you should be able to at least get one night of sleep.¡± ¡°That would help.¡± Ajax agreed as he got to work starting the fourth and final day on the floor. ¡°Are they all that expensive?¡± ¡°Depends what floor you need them to work on.¡± the prince said. ¡°For something like this they aren¡¯t cheap but I¡¯m sure we can provide you with one seeing as how not only are you not pushing yourself as far as you can be even clearing the entire floor at our request.¡± Ajax just nodded in appreciation and chose to focus on clearing out the floor rather than making conversation. Unfortunately for him the prince clearly had gotten a bit bored over the last few days. ¡°Have you decided which dungeon you will tackle first?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Their main dungeon.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°Oh?¡± The prince was surprised at that. ¡°How come, you could make it easier for yourself by going to the other one first and getting a few floors worth of stats.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Because with the stats from the floors I clear in their main one I am hoping I can push one floor higher in the other.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°My leveling speed isn¡¯t fast enough that I will end up surpassing level sixty-two in the next five years so I¡¯ll be able to clear all of those floors in my second delve.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± the prince exclaimed as the idea clicked. ¡°I forgot your level is only in the mid thirties. With this you¡¯ll be able to gain quite a substantial number of bonus stats, especially seeing as you will also be getting a chance to delve into the Republic dungeons before the tournament.¡± ¡°You have any useful advice regarding that?¡± Ajax asked, more out of a desire to change the topic than actually expecting something insightful from the prince, their styles were just too different. ¡°The competition itself might actually pose a problem to you.¡± the prince said. ¡°I was already level eighty by the time I turned fifty so you can expect the competition to be at least around level seventy-five.¡± Ajax did a quick bit of math in his head, he was almost level thirty-five now, if he kept up a three level a year average he would be around level fifty-one or fifty-two by the time the tournament came around. Not an insurmountable level difference but by no means an easy one. ¡°Our styles are too different to me to help you there.¡± the prince continued. ¡°All I could suggest is to make sure you get every last stat point you can from potions before it starts. After the tournament however you might have a nice opportunity.¡± ¡°What opportunity is that?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°The elves are broke.¡± the prince said without sugarcoating it. ¡°Everyone knows they are going to win the main competition since nobody is willing to face their champion in a straight up fight. If you win your bracket I can guarantee you¡¯ll be able to make a deal selling the rights to the elves for something that includes a delve in their main dungeon as well.¡± Ajax had to physically stop at that. Would it be worth it? Sure he wanted to gain as much power as possible but would he be able to justify spending all that money he would win in the tournament on just one delve? ¡°Don¡¯t look so focused, you¡¯ll make a decent bit upfront just from selling the other spots on that delve to other interested parties.¡± the prince spoke up once again. ¡°Oh look here they come.¡± WIth that the prince blended into the shadows and Ajax turned to look at the monsters that escaped the inferno. There were more of them than usual getting close to a full dozen coming towards him but all of them had severe burns. The wolves and bigfoots were clearly limping and none of them had all four limbs functional, the biggest danger came from the stags as both of them still sported their antlers. Ajax was quick to cull their numbers using his bow, even with a light retreat he managed to kill half of the incoming enemies before they even made it into melee range. From there he made short work of them with his axe and sword, he had no need to use the hammer considering all the easily accessible weak spots that were given to him from the severe burns. ¡°That was very well executed but I do have a question.¡± the prince said after Ajax finished all of the attackers and started to head towards the obelisk. ¡°What is it?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Why do you always channel your magic through your glove when you are fighting in melee?¡± the prince asked. Ajax almost stumped over a tree root after hearing the question. He should have expected the prince to find out about that, the only reason nobody else had managed to figure out that he was doing that was because he made sure not to use his glove in front of anyone that was all that skilled with [Sense Mana]. ¡°Oh, is it something good?¡± The prince seemed happy at that reaction. That was when Ajax realized that he had no reason not to admit the reason, the prince had promised to keep anything he found out during this delve a secret, Ajax was sure he would be kicking himself soon enough. ¡°It¡¯s so that the mana won¡¯t erode the weapons.¡± Ajax shared. ¡°There are a number of small elementally attuned gems in the glove and by channeling the mana through there first it doesn¡¯t harm the weapons regardless of which mana type I use to infuse them.¡± It was the prince who almost tripped hearing this. ¡°Wait, so you mean you can use different mana types to empower the same weapon without damaging it so long as you channel them through a correct elemental stone first?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± the prince exclaimed. ¡°You can make runic pieces so much more flexible with this, even if it would cost you a bit in maximum output.¡± It didn¡¯t take more than five more steps before the elation on the prince''s face turned into dread. ¡°Nooooo, why did you answer me?¡± the prince cried out as he turned on Ajax. ¡°I could have figured that out in time if I just thought about it. Ajax had a hard time keeping a straight face at the prince''s antics, the deal the prince made specifically stated that he couldn¡¯t directly or indirectly reveal anything he learnt from Ajax during this delve. While he could apply ideas to his own style and training he couldn¡¯t share the discovery with a crafter to make him different gear as that would be indirectly sharing Ajax¡¯s secret. This wouldn¡¯t have applied if he came to the same conclusion without Ajax spelling it out. Chapter 279 Activating the obelisk didn¡¯t do much more than draw in the last few stragglers, fortunately enough for Ajax those last few stragglers were enough to give him the last push he needed to get to level thirty five. ¡°Besides the one big group following your first attempt at burning the forest you weren¡¯t in any serious danger.¡± the prince said. ¡°Are you looking to try the next floor to see if you can solo that?¡± ¡°No, this is enough for now.¡± Ajax said. ¡°This whole training is about making sure I can safely clear the entire floor, if even with a good match-up like this I still had a close call there is no point in pushing further.¡± ¡°Whatever you say.¡± the prince shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ll have one more delve to get used to this before you depart.¡± With the floor finally cleared Ajax put his mask and cloak back on as they excited the dungeon. He was tired and more than ready to just get back home and sleep for two days straight before he had to go back for the start of the new school cycle. When Ajax got home he was welcomed and quickly questioned by his mother. ¡°Are you hurt anywhere?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°No.¡± Ajax responded, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°Because you look like someone that died, my lord.¡± Theron answered. Theron''s straightforward demeanor was something that Ajax very much appreciated. Despite his newfound nobility the bull beastkin simply added a respectful form of address but nothing else changed. This approach, while very much encouraged by Ajax, was one that had to be curtailed in any social gathering. This meant that the beastkin, much to his delight, had been excluded from the list of guards to be present for social events. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just because I haven¡¯t gotten a good night¡¯s sleep since the day I left.¡± Ajax waved away their concern. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how important sleep is?¡± his mother scolded him. ¡°How do you expect to keep your edge, especially in a dungeon if you don¡¯t get any proper sleep?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for lack of trying.¡± Ajax defend himself. ¡°I was waking up every time the wind rustled some branches because I was too on edge about anything sneaking up on me. For next time and for the actual delve I¡¯ll be given a proper alarm barrier that should help with this.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± With that Silvia had the wind taken out her sails, ¡°In that case let''s have a bit of an early dinner and then send you off to bed.¡± Dinner was a quick affair where Ajax silently demolished a small heap of food while being reassured that nothing requiring his attention had happened in the time that he was away. A quick cleaning later and Ajax was asleep in his bed. As Ajax woke up a little late in the next morning he got to experience the upside of high stats, namely that once he got a few decent hours of sleep to rejuvenate his mind his body perked back up to peak performance. ¡°Ajax! You¡¯re up great, mother wouldn¡¯t let anyone wake you up.¡± Ajax hadn¡¯t taken more than a few steps outside his room before Judy quickly ambushed him. ¡°Follow me.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The details of the deal were made public by the royal family yesterday.¡± Judy informed him ¡°According to Elija some of these meetings need to be handled by you personally, not only that but he also needs your input on what our plan as a family is.¡± ¡°What do you mean, what deal? I thought we all knew about the details of the deal for a while.¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Yes, we did.¡± Judy nodded. ¡°However our House now has one of the five delve slots for the Empire¡¯s main dungeon and another four out of the twenty-one for their secondary one, and every other noble family also knows this. A few have already sent representatives to discuss buying one of them.¡± That¡¯s when it clicked for Ajax. Of course the royal family will make anything they agreed to in the deal public, that would allow a fair market where the noble houses could trade fairly with one another. Ajax was quickly ushered past the halfway filled with representatives and into his grandfather¡¯s office. ¡°I thought Silvia said not to wake him up.¡± Aurora said when she saw Judy bring Ajax in. ¡°Though it¡¯s great that you brought him.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t wake him up.¡± Judy quickly denied. ¡°May have been stalking outside his room.¡± she whispered out the second part. ¡°Judy told me what was going on¡± Ajax said as he took a seat. ¡°Do you need me to sit in on any of these meetings?¡± ¡°No.¡± Elija answered. ¡°But I thought you said¡­¡± Judy frowned at her grandfather. ¡°I thought we agreed that his presence would be needed, just from a social point.¡± Aurora said. ¡°All of the houses just sent representatives.¡± Elija explained. ¡°They all also just saw Ajax walk in here that should be enough. The bigger question is how many of the three slots do you want to keep and what do you want to sell them for.¡± Ajax very much appreciated that his grandfather knew him well enough to put aside his spot knowing there was no chance he would be giving any of those up. ¡°I was planning on having Tom take one slot but he¡¯s not strong enough to clear even the first floor of the secondary dungeon yet.¡± Ajax said. The secondary dungeon started off with a floor of level Twenty-nine to thirty-four. Unfortunately the mini-bosses that needed to be defeated were all level thirty-four and Tom didn¡¯t have a chance against them. ¡°I think I should keep one for Theron, he is still level thirty-six so he can take full advantage of that.¡± Ajax said, at level thirty-six Theron would still gain the stat points for clearing the first floor and he would still stand a chance at killing one of the level forty-four mini-bosses on the second floor so long as he got a good match-up and started with a good ambush to gain two floors worth of stats. ¡°That leaves us with two slots to sell, what are you looking to trade them for, anything specific, pure monetary value, some influence or favors?¡± Elija focused on the merchant side not even questioning Ajax¡¯s decision. ¡°I¡¯d like to focus one on getting a better footing in alchemy, be that in terms of recipes or rare ingredients to experiment with.¡± Ajax said. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure what else to get, this is not my strong suit.¡± Aurora gave an encouraging nod as Ajax was leaning on her and her husband''s experience and expertise. ¡°Investing in your future as an alchemist is bound to pay off for us in the long run.¡± Aurora agreed. ¡°Just from the rate you are growing at now you¡¯ll be able to offset the cost of your training in half a century at most by delving with our retainers and making potions for them inside the dungeon out of whatever you can find.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you the best deal I can for your alchemy. What about the second delve slot? Are you in need of armor and weapons?¡± his grandfather asked. ¡°Right now I am just starting to outgrow my weapons and armor.¡± Ajax nodded, despite the high level craftsmanship none of his equipment had mana-infused materials and he was starting to use more power than his weapons could handle. ¡°Is that really the best use for it?¡± Alana, who had been inside the room from the start finally entered the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that getting Ajax improved equipment shouldn¡¯t be a priority.¡± Alana was quick to add once Judy Elija and Aurora quickly frowned at her. ¡°Just should we really be selling a delve slot for it at this time, almost anything that he can use now he will quickly outgrow in the next few years.¡± It was hard for Ajax to find fault with her logic, especially when he was taking into account all of the possible extra stats he would be gaining from dungeons. ¡°I think it would be much better to sell the delve slot in exchange for influence to grow both of our trading companies and than simply spend some more gold in getting him some better equipment even if it''s not the best for his current power level.¡± Alana finished. ¡°Yes, that is a better choice.¡± Elija nodded as he thought things over. Despite his extensive experience from his years as a successful merchant he had overlooked the speed of Ajax¡¯s growth. He knew just how hard truly top end equipment was to obtain so he had focused on that instead of how long it would remain top grade in Ajax¡¯s hands. ¡°It would put us in a bit of bind financially with both buying the equipment and expanding into the new opportunity but that should be covered by the gold influx from the honey deal.¡± With the plan made Ajax and Judy left as Alana Elija and Aurora prepared to receive the representatives. Judy had initially wanted to also remain for the discussions but it was agreed that since nothing would be finalized in any of the upcoming interaction her presence there would actually prove as a hindrance since here close familial relationship with Ajax, the head of the noble house, would give her seniority and undermine Elija¡¯s authority. Chapter 280 The days started to blend together for Ajax following that meeting. He was very busy all day every day from there forward as he attended the Academy. After most school days ended he would be spirited away by the headmaster as he started his experimenting with Magnetic mana. Oddly enough for him Ajax found that the king had put almost no pressure on the headmaster in terms of how quickly he was to make headway, the only thing the king was adamant on was the secrecy of the project. On the days that he did have off Ajax found himself split between his Alchemy or his curse training. He was pushing himself so hard that the most relaxed days Ajax had were the ones where he joined the class for a delve and was stuck on a low level floor of the dungeon. His second delve with the prince went much better than the first. Despite the dungeon floor biome not being as good for him as the forest had been, all of the preparations and equipment that he had been given prior to entering had allowed him to slowly but surely clear out the floor without having a close call. Before Ajax knew it the day of departure had snuck up on him. He had been so focused in getting together everything he could that he only realized he was leaving the next day when he walked in on a farewell party set up by his family at dinner. That night Ajax had gotten very little sleep, he had spent a good portion of the evening and night reassuring each of his family members as well as a few close friends that he would be careful, only to have to do it all again the next morning. As Ajax and Theron got to their departure spot they quickly found out that what they had thought to be a small caravan had turned into a rather sizable convoy. Beside the already numerous fifty people that were set to travel it seemed that the crown prince had decided to take this chance as one of the last few trips he would be able to take before he would be crowned as king. ¡°He didn¡¯t have to go that far, I think I¡¯m relatively safe.¡± Ajax mumbled, unlike his last long term trip he now had a storage ring meaning all of his belongings were already packed and placed on his finger. ¡°This isn¡¯t for your protection.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said as he heard Ajax¡¯s mumble. ¡°The crown prince is going to ensure the safety of his own son.¡± ¡°How does him going with a few non-too high level guards ensure anyone''s safety?¡± Theron asked the question Ajax was thinking. ¡°Because everyone knows that the crown prince won¡¯t leave the empire without his son.¡± the archduke said. ¡°Your classmate is only good as a hostage if his father stays here and ascends the throne so him going with you means there is no value in capturing him.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just capture the crown prince?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°They could, but that would start a war they would quickly lose.¡± the Archduke explained. ¡°If I could have a word in private Ajax.¡± ¡°Yes, sir?¡± Ajax asked as he and the archduke moved to a more reclusive spot and the archduke placed a privacy screen. ¡°I am here to make a request of you.¡± Archduke Goldmancer started. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°What kind of request?¡± Ajax asked, unsure of what he could achieve that the man couldn¡¯t easily get for himself. ¡°I''d like to ask you to take care of Anna.¡± the archduke said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say that if anyone can get past your guards there is nothing I could do to stop them.¡± Ajax said as he looked towards the three guards that were in the high nineties and were coming along to act as the boost crew for the final floor of the Empire¡¯s secondary dungeon. ¡°It¡¯s not there that I am worried about.¡± the archduke said. ¡°It¡¯s inside the dungeon.¡± ¡°I can assure you that Anna is more than capable of handling anything that the first or second floor of the dungeon can throw at her.¡± Ajax said. ¡°With a good biome she might even be able to clear the third.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also worried about Oliver.¡± The archduke said. Ajax now realized what the old man was getting at. Oliver was the fifth and final person taking a slot in their delve and he was a level forty mage, not only that but Oliver was also Anna¡¯s nephew and Ajax could understand the trepidation of his father asking Oliver to kill Anna inside the dungeon for a better chance at taking over the family once the Archduke dies. ¡°Please always make sure they are not on the same floor without you there.¡± the Archduke requested. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Ajax reassured him. ¡°What was that about?¡± Tom asked after Ajax came to rejoin his family before the convoy started to move. ¡°He wanted to make sure of a few last details on the delve.¡± Ajax was careful to watch his words so he wouldn¡¯t give anything away to anyone eavesdropping. ¡°Be careful, alright darling.¡± Ajax¡¯s mother said for what had to be the tenth time that morning as she gave him a hug. ¡°I will be.¡± Ajax reassured her. ¡°Don¡¯t be overconfident, there is no shame in retreating from a bad position.¡± Hatched said the advice meant so much more coming from him since Ajax knew just how long it had taken him to take that same advice following the near complete wipe-out of his team. ¡°HHHHHHRRRRRR.¡± Fluffy, not one to be left out was quick to cuddle up to Ajax. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Ajax said as he stroked the massive feline. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to bring you back something good.¡± With that Ajax and Theron climbed in one of the carriages and shortly after that the convoy started to move. Unlike a usual caravan the convoy not only wasn¡¯t transporting heavy merchandise via carts but consisted only of carriages and riders meaning their pace was much quicker than Ajax¡¯s last journey. ¡°We¡¯re moving quickly.¡± Ajax noticed. ¡°Will the trip really take a whole month?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be making a few stops on the way, the crown prince and his son won¡¯t be able to simply pass through some of the Dukes and Viscount territories without spending a day or two.¡± Lexi said. Ajax had ended up sharing a carriage with Lexi, Anna, Theron, Oliver and one of the three Goldmancer guards. Out of all of them Oliver seemed to be the most displeased with the arrangement because while none of them were squeezed in too tightly he ended up sharing a side of the carriage with Ajax and Theron. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why we had to share a carriage.¡± Oliver complained. ¡°Even as a newly promoted Baron surely you could afford one.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be nicer to Ajax if I were you.¡± Lexi was quick to cut in. ¡°And why is that?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°Sure his status as a Baron might place him higher than me as an individual but I doubt he would mess with someone from the Goldmancer family.¡± ¡°Because it will be up to Ajax if he will help you fight to clear the fifth floor.¡± Lexi said. ¡°I have heard that he won the sixth year tournament but I assure you I am stronger than the previous sixth year class, even if they do approach me in level.¡± Oliver said. It was here that talent seemed to weaken people compared to their peers in terms of level. For most people who were talented and gained their level quickly it usually meant they had done so through multiple skills meaning they are more spread out compared to someone older who focused on a smaller number. This spread of skills required for quick leveling was why the Academy only took people in if they qualified as first years. As a mage Oliver was definitely stronger than the sixth years but he was also older than them by at least a decade. Not only that but in another decade those same sixth years would outlevel Olvier. ¡°Ajax would at least be aiming for the fifth floor.¡± Lexi stated confidently, she in fact knew that the plan was for Ajax to fully clear out the sixth floor. ¡°Ajax hardly broke a sweat as he swept through the tournament.¡± Anna joined the discussion. ¡°I¡¯d be more careful about insulting him if I were you, after all what was it you said to me ¡®anything can happen inside the dungeon¡¯.¡± Both Oliver and the guard went still at those words. Oliver was now trying to steal a glimpse at Ajax who was hidden behind Theron¡¯s size, the guard had quickly moved his hand towards the sword and was now trying to burn a hole in Oliver¡¯s head with his stare. ¡®Why does everything have to be so complicated.¡¯ Ajax silently lamented as he tried to catch up on some sleep. Chapter 281 It took only until the first stop before Oliver made a quick change of carriage. Not only that but Theron also decided to borrow a horse for a part of the travel as sitting inside a carriage did not suit his massive size. Everyone was more than happy to accommodate the beastkin, especially considering that all of them had some expectation of how he would be treated inside the Empire for his race alone. Left with only Anna, Lexi and their guard Ajax found himself picking Anna¡¯s brain about the Alchemy market, he was trying to find the best way to progress while also obtaining recipes for on demand potions and elixirs. With the advantage of comfortable carriages and a trip mainly funded by the royal family on account of the crown prince tagging along, the first stop they made was three days later at a Viscount¡¯s home. Seeing how they would only be staying for the evening and morning, Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised to see that the Viscount in question had taken the opportunity to throw a party in honor of their visit. What did take Ajax by surprise was the number of people who knew about him. Despite being a new Baron it was clear that even the nobles that weren¡¯t staying in the capital had learnt of him and his apparent rising star as a potential powerhouse of the kingdom. Even more shocking was the number of women that were interested in him. It took him all of an hour before he realized what was going on after about five dances and decided to stick together with Anna and Lexi just to get a reprieve. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax muttered as he finally caught a break just by being in Anna¡¯s and Lexi¡¯s presence. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Anna asked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t like this in the capital.¡± Ajax said. ¡°There were a few families who approached with an offer but nothing this direct.¡± He had already gotten at least four proposals from the women themselves. ¡°That¡¯s because you never go to social events.¡± Lexi explained while she giggled. ¡°You are already a Baron, over 80% of nobles never even get close to having the title in leadership. You not only have the title but you are very young and single.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t the same be said for Anna?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Sure she doesn¡¯t have the title yet but from what I hear her father is looking to pass it to her in the near future.¡± ¡°The difference is that my father will have to approve any marriage offer for it to count as legitimate.¡± Anna answered. ¡°As far as your position is concerned so long as you give the go ahead the deal is as good as struck.¡± ¡°Even now the only reason they aren¡¯t approaching you is because they don¡¯t want to offend our families in case either of us are in the running.¡± Lexi said. Following the revelation Ajax began to look at the dance invitations a little differently. Sure he was tempted by more than one or two of the women but he knew better than to make a decision that would have such far reaching consequences based only on a few minutes of talking. Ajax was sure to officially meet and thank the Viscount that was hosting them before he made an early retreat to bed. Going to bed early after a day of not doing much more than sitting in a carriage however also meant that Ajax had gotten up early the next morning. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°You¡¯re already awake, your Lordship.¡± one of the three Goldmancer guards greeted him as he walked outside. It took Ajax a moment to realize he was being addressed, despite Theron also making a point of always using his title with respect when talking to him Ajax still had a hard time getting his head around actually being a noble. Ajax simply gave the guard a nod in response. ¡°I hope it isn¡¯t presumptuous of me but with you being awake already this would be a great opportunity.¡± the guard said as he took a careful look around them. ¡°The royal family has provided some equipment that they are willing to let you borrow. Would you like to go over it now?¡± ¡°I thought the whole point of me using my old equipment was so that they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell just how powerful I really was.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°They will obviously be checking any spacial ring or bag I take with me.¡± ¡°This equipment isn¡¯t for the Empire¡¯s main dungeon.¡± the guard explained. ¡° It was given in the hopes that you can use it to clear an extra floor in their secondary dungeon, nobody would question a spare set of equipment that is carried inside that dungeon since the level ranges of people going there is much wider.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes widened at the news. With the secondary dungeon¡¯s first floor having enemies from level 29-34 and a floor level jump of ten levels Ajax had fully expected to only be able to clear four floors, even with the extra stats from the main dungeon killing a level seventy-four by himself would be too much even with a good match-up. Some stronger gear however might just be enough to push him over the edge and get him an extra floor. ¡°Why go over it now?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that risk it being discovered?¡± ¡°There are a few crafters at our next two stops before we get to the Empire where we could take the items you select for some last minute fittings.¡± the guard said. As Ajax and the guard moved to an out of the way room and the guard ensured their privacy he quickly produced a much more ornate spacial ring than the one Ajax himself had. It was there that Ajax found himself shocked with the amount of gear that the royal family had decided to loan him. There were five different longswords each made with a differently attuned metal that would not only better handle a specific Elemental augmentation but it would actually further empower it. They had also provided an assortment of axes, hammer, shields, spears and daggers. There were only two bows however there were more than a few arrows present each having a specially made shaft and tip to further enhance an element that was channeled through it. When it came to armor Ajax was surprised to find that the royal family had provided everything from light mage robes to a full paladin plate set-up, though there were only three different sets of each and all of them were defensively enchanted. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t bringing all this gear bring too much attention?¡± Ajax asked as he evaluated the gear to be extremely high level equipment for somebody between the levels fifty to sixty. ¡°The royal family has basically loaned the gear out to the entire team delving the secondary dungeon, it is common with boosting groups to bring specialized gear like this in hopes of encountering a favorable match-up that might push the boostie one floor higher.¡± the guard explained. Seeing how this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to enter another nations secondary dungeon Ajax should have guessed that high end nobles wouldn¡¯t even blink at spending a ridiculous amount of gold just to push their hopefuls even one floor higher, after all these were extra stats with no downside or cap. The first thing Ajax checked were the sets of leather armor. It greatly pleased him to find that unlike most of the gear he had seen when window shopping more than a one or two of the defensive enchantments placed on this gear weren¡¯t simple barriers but actual bursts of speed that could be activated by the wearer at a moments notice, though with a hefty recharge time. ¡°Is there any way that these leather sets can be made with a little more flexibility in mind?¡± Ajax asked. Because of consistently using the same set of unenchanted gear Ajax had gotten used a set of armor that had not only been regularly used but also pushed by somebody for whom it had long been time to upgrade. This meant that his gear had a lot more give and that made these higher quality sets feel a lot more restrictive. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely have to look into changing my armor once I get back as I now see that my is in need of an upgrade but mobility is more important when for a leather wearer when facing something on the level I will be up against and I¡¯d rather not be adjusting to a more restrictive set.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°I¡¯ll see what can be done at our next two stops.¡± the guard nodded as he made notes of not only Ajax¡¯s requests but also certain measurements where the gear had been restricting his movement. Ajax had only had the time to test out the two bows before the rest of the convoy had woken up and their absence would be felt. Both of them had felt a little heavy on the draw even with [Mana Syphon] at full power. The guard assured him that this was something they could adjust at least a little and he would get a chance to fine tune it as the crafters at both stops were skilled enough to handle it. Chapter 282 Oliver P.O.V. Do these people have no eyes? How oblivious can he be? Just how special is he? All these questions go through my mind all night throughout the party. Ajax Hearthbound, newly elevated Baron, and a genius of combat yet besides all that there isn¡¯t much there at all. The half a day we spent together in the carriage on the way here was more than enough for me to take his measure. He is without a doubt a peasant born brute who at best belongs as a head knight to a true noble. He doesn¡¯t have the upbringing to enter our world. Despite all that he was pointed out to me as the biggest impediment in my mission to kill Annabeth. It is a true shame that someone of her standing has to die. Unlike the brute she has a constant poker-face, none of her inner emotions are showing. She was raised to not just be one of us but even lead us, if she wasn¡¯t an obstacle to my father taking over as the head of the house she would have been showered with support by every single branch of our family. Killing her is by no means a difficult task, sure I only have a dozen or so levels on her but that is close to half her level, not to mention that she has to have spread herself in multiple directions to level so quickly so her powers as a mage shouldn¡¯t even approach mine. The problem is that I will only have one chance to do so, inside the dungeon. ¡°He certainly is¡­ unique.¡± The Viscount, our host, mentions to the crown prince as he watches Ajax dance his fourth dance with a different potential spouse for him. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask that you forgive young Baron Heathbound.¡± the prince says with a wry chuckle. ¡°His first brush with nobility came barely a year ago when he was accepted into the Academy. Despite that he has provided tremendous gains to our kingdom in this short amount of time.¡± The crown prince is burning goodwill like kindling and the peasant can¡¯t even mask his own leering. Almost all of the house would dance with one maiden after another in such a fashion as a great slight yet all of them look to be understanding thanks to the crown prince¡¯s words. ¡°What¡­¡± even with my training his next actions are enough to pull the words from my throat before I regain my composure. To think that after that he would simply go and attach himself to Alexis and Annabeth, even if he finally figured out what all those dances were actually for doing this is almost like using our family as a shield. Thankfully he doesn¡¯t linger around for much longer before he approaches the Viscount. ¡°Good evening.¡± He greets our host. ¡°I would like to thank you for your hospitality this evening. I am Ajax Hearthbound.¡± Despite his previously disastrous behavior his meeting with the Viscount is at least passible, the polite and humbled greeting followed by an apology for any uncouth behavior before an early end to the evening is about as good an outcome that can be expected. ¡°He is certainly polite.¡± the Viscount comments following his exit. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°He not only has a talent for combat and discovery but also a passion.¡± one of the members of house Silvertongue who joined managed to buy a slot in the secondary dungeons joins the conversation. ¡°He will have time to learn our more intricate customs but to halt his upward trajectory would be a crime just to have him do so sooner.¡± I walk away at this point, there is only so much I can stand hearing all of them defend the bumbling idiot. I quickly make my way towards my aunt looking to question her own actions this evening. ¡°Why did you allow him to use our family as a shield?¡± I don¡¯t bother beating around the bush, we both know how antagonistic my fathers branch has been towards her so all we need to worry about is the perception of our interaction from the rest of the guests. ¡°Because he clearly needed it.¡± she answers simply. ¡°It¡¯s not just your own value as a bride that you lower with something like this but that of any young woman in our family.¡± Despite my calm tone I can feel the anger burning inside me. ¡°And you would do well to remember that our family owes him.¡± she responded. ¡°And we don¡¯t turn on our allies.¡± ¡°What does our family owe him?¡± I ask instead. ¡°Do you not realize just how much we gained from this deal?¡± she asks, a brief moment of surprise flashing in her eyes. That more than anything enrages me as it clearly shows her belief that I am an idiot. ¡°We owe him nothing for this deal.¡± I say back. ¡°He gained his part.¡± ¡°His part?¡± She maintains her composure but I alone can feel the sarcasm in the statement, clearly a result of her skills. ¡°He provided everything of value, despite us only being middle men for selling his discovery in a timely manner we walked away with 80% of the benefits.¡± There it is, despite his exquisite mind and talent, this sense of fairness and loyalty is what stopped our family from taking the seat of Goldmancer at least a century earlier than we did. It seems Annabeth had gotten that from her father as well. ¡°Getting any more than that would make them a target.¡± I responded. ¡°This is also the best outcome for him.¡± ¡°He could have gotten nearly as good a deal from any of the top twenty noble merchant houses, and he knows that. Despite all that he chose us and didn¡¯t try to bind us with any long term favors.¡± She says, her skill letting me know how much she disapproves of my view on things. ¡°His lack of experience in negotiations is not our burden to bear.¡± If he could have made a more favorable deal he should have. The conversation ends there as she simply walks away. At least now that he left the event I can finally enjoy myself. This would be a perfect time to try and make some contacts regarding my own value. The evening progresses well from there, despite my lack of a mind for the merchants trade my skill with magic more than makes up for it. I even managed to make a few good impressions on a few Baron houses, father should be able to use this connection to set up a good supply line should they be called for a war or skirmish. By the time I wake up the sun is already high in the sky and our convoy is starting to make its preparations to leave. My biggest issue is that I can¡¯t seem to locate Ajax anywhere, it¡¯s like he straight up vanished despite us being less than half an hour from departure. I knew he would wake up earlier than me but where could he have gone? To my surprise I quickly catch a glimpse of Ajax and one of our family boosters coming out of a little out of the way shack all ready for travel. Relief fills me but only for a moment. Despite their rather common appearance there are a few details that don¡¯t add up. Why would Ajax be sweating? More than that, why is there a small but clear dent in one of the guards shoulder pads? Most pressing of all however is the guard wearing the storage ring that the crown prince had when he showed up before we took off from the capital. I know exactly what that ring contains, inside that spacial ring are the weapons and armor that the royal family so generously are going to loan out to all the people who will be entering the secondary dungeon. But that is peak gear for levels fifty to sixty, so how can he even properly wield it. More than that, how can he make a dent on the armor of a level ninety-five. Perhaps he will turn out to be a much harder obstacle in my mission to kill Anna than I originally thought. With every passing day on this journey I grow more and more sure that engaging him in battle inside the dungeon will end with my death not his. Such thoughts are disgraceful, a peasant born boy, lower level than me and a third of my age can not just pose a threat to me but is actually favored to win? It doesn¡¯t matter. I quickly try to regain my composure. This sort of talent would be the reason why so many high nobles would be willing to overlook his many blunders and unintended insults. I can¡¯t focus on my pride now. If the direct approach won¡¯t work like we thought, it means I only have a couple of weeks to come up with a new plan to kill Anna inside the dungeon. Chapter 283 The convoy spent another week and a half traveling through the kingdom before they made it to the border with the Empire. In this time Ajax had a good chance to get a good look at all of the gear the royal family made available for him and in their two spots along the way the leather armor as well as the weapons were given an once over so that they would fit him better. Much like their first stop the other two stops had also prepared a welcoming party for the crown prince. Unlike his first stumble into a noble party Ajax was quick to move away from the young people his age and approach the heads of Houses. To his surprise most of the heads of the noble families were more than happy to have him join the conversation. In those two parties Ajax had gotten a very quick overview lesson on party etiquette, he could barely suppress a wince as he was all but pointed out about all the missteps he had made during his first party. The noble families were likewise very interested in discussing early development and stat distribution with Ajax, though they did avoid specifically asking about Ajax¡¯s training method in detail. Many of them were surprised by Ajax''s encouragement of manual labor for their young offsprings. ¡°Surely you jest?¡± a noblewoman exclaimed when Ajax mentioned it. ¡°Farming, mining and wood cutting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying they should be doing all of that.¡± Ajax was quick to explain. ¡°But those three are the most widespread jobs among villagers, though it¡¯s rare to find one that has any two or by some coincidence all three. This means that there is a good chance anyone can gain the skill for at least one of them.¡± ¡°And how would that help them?¡± another noble asked. ¡°The first few levels of those skills are all easy to gain. The bigger advantage is in the amount of effort that needs to be put into them. Regardless of skill level for a child, doing any of them for a two to three hour period will strain their strength, dexterity and endurance.¡± Ajax said. ¡°This will not only reward them with decent experience but also with a solid way to increase their stats.¡± While not everyone was willing to push their offsprings into such training from an early age, they would however be more than happy to push their private soldiers to do so from an early age. ¡°Ajax , a word.¡± the crown prince approached him as they took their last rest stop before crossing the border. ¡°Yes, your highness?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It would be for the best if you had Theron drive one of the carriage from here on.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°A beastkin riding on horseback or inside a carriage would just antagonize the empire needlessly.¡± Despite Ajax very much wanting to antagonize the empire for their racist views he knew very well that doing so at this moment wasn¡¯t a smart thing to do so he acquiesced with the prince''s request. Theron himself didn¡¯t seem surprised and had no issue going along with it. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t stay for longer than two weeks inside the empire capital. Not to mention that you¡¯ll be inside a dungeon for a portion of that.¡± Ajax said to the bull beastkin. ¡°Are they even going to let me enter?¡± Theron asked the one question that had been on his mind the entire trip. ¡°They hadn¡¯t said anything to deny this in the deal we brokered so you should be fine.¡± the Goldmancer guard said. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. It was a pleasant surprise to see that despite a few raised eyebrows from the border guards there were no real comments on Theron¡¯s presence in the convoy. What did come as a surprise was the commotion that followed their clearance of the checkpoint. Not twenty seconds after they had started inspecting the final carriage a group of twenty beastkin emerged from the forest and made a mad dash for the border. The best Ajax could make out most seemed to be some sort of equine beastkin, either horses, deer, zebras or gazelles. Most telling however were the thick black collars they all wore around their necks as they darted towards the kingdom. ¡°Dammit Edgar.¡± the guard that was closest to Ajax cursed as he looked out at the fleeing slaves. ¡°Sorry, Sir.¡± a younger voice came from the watchtower. ¡°I¡¯ll go after them, sir.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do no such thing.¡± the guard was quick to ignore the carriage. The moment that a young man in a guard uniform exited the tower and took two steps toward the runaways he was tackled and his head was pushed down into the ground. ¡°Are you trying to cause an international incident?¡± ¡°But sir¡­¡± the young man started. ¡°But sir, nothing. You¡¯ll never catch them before they cross the border.¡± the guard cut him off then leaned much closer to whisper in his ear. ¡°We might have some leeway on the border to chase them for a short distance usually but you want to do that with their crown prince right here, are you daft boy!?¡± ¡°Gods damned sympathizers.¡± the other older checkpoint guard swore as he spit off to one side. ¡°Don¡¯t let it get to you kid, they do it all of us, every time there is a new sentry they always find out their watch schedule to get a few groups past. If it¡¯s any consolation you¡¯ll be building those scouting skills quickly.¡± Ajax waited until they were once again on their way past the checkpoint before he started to ask Anna and Lexi questions about what just happened. ¡°How come we don¡¯t have a checkpoint at the border crossing?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°We do.¡± Lexi answered. ¡°We passed about three miles back.¡± ¡°What¡­ but¡­¡± Ajax could get his head around that logic. ¡°The royal family decided to pull back our checkpoint with the Empire border close to a century ago.¡± Anna explained. ¡°The royal family claimed it was to show goodwill and friendly relations towards the empire but it was mostly the opposite.¡± ¡°How is pulling back the checkpoint the opposite?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Because runaways like the group we just saw wouldn¡¯t happen with our checkpoint on the border.¡± Anna continued. ¡°Now the group will still be spotted at our checkpoints but since they are only spotted inside our borders there is deniability in sheltering them. That decision is what opened peace talks so quickly with the Republic.¡± ¡°From the sound of it seems like they regularly cross the border to chase down anyone fleeing.¡± Theron commented from the driver¡¯s seat. With the silencing enchantment down he could still partake in the conversation. ¡°They do,¡± the guard answered. ¡°So long as they don¡¯t go too deep into the kingdom¡¯s lands we don¡¯t make an issue of it so we don¡¯t antagonize the Empire.¡± ¡°How is defending the border antagonistic?¡± Theron asked, though Ajax could hear some anger in his voice. ¡°I did a punishment stint at the border early in my career before I got picked up by House Goldmander, so trust me when I say we are always watching the border. But if we react every time their guards cross it a little we can¡¯t turn a blind eye to any of the slaves that cross either since it would mean we knew they came from the empire.¡± the guard said. Ajax, Lexi and Anna spent the rest of the trip in silence following that downward turn in the conversation. They instead decided to focus on their magical training as they all burnt through half their mana pool as they practiced. It was already getting dark by the time they made it to the first city inside the Empire and unlike inside their own kingdom they wouldn¡¯t be traveling throughout the night here. Thankfully they had already sent people ahead to make sure they all had accommodations for the night. Ajax was surprised as he first got a look at an Empire city. Unlike the cities in the kingdom of Gryndor the Empire¡¯s not only had walls surrounding it but high towers that even now looked manned and even a small moat with a drawbridge. The moat wouldn¡¯t do anything to stop anyone above level fifty from scaling the wall but it would stop any siege vehicle from getting to the wall. The layout of the city was also very different. Whereas the cities in Gryndor were obviously overgrown villages that just kept expanding until they were large enough for a wall to be built with a bit of extra room for expansion. This city had a much more standard layout, all of the buildings seemed to be built in their own quadrants with large open streets but no small back alleys anywhere. ¡°All of their cities are built around former military bases as humanoids pushed further and further to expand their territories.¡± the guard said as he saw Ajax look around. ¡°Following their civil wars even the cities closer to other kingdoms follow the same model.¡± Pushing further to expand their territories sent a shiver up Ajax¡¯s spine as he remembered the dragon¡¯s warning about humanoids who pushed outside their territories and challenged any of the other recognised races. ¡°Best get a good night¡¯s sleep, we¡¯ll be in the capital tomorrow late in the evening and I guarantee you won¡¯t be able to slink away early from whatever party is waiting for us.¡± Lexi jokes with Ajax. Chapter 284 Ajax woke up the following morning after his first uneasy night¡¯s sleep in a while. He had been keeping one ear open the entire night to ensure the wouldn¡¯t be any attempts at having him identified by a spy in the night. ¡°I thought I told you to get a good night¡¯s rest.¡± Lexi chastised him as he yawned while eating his breakfast. ¡°Kept tossing and turning in my sleep, more than a few times I felt like there was someone targeting me.¡± Ajax complained as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s not wrong.¡± one of the guards that overheard them said. ¡°We caught at least three spies trying to sneak in.¡± ¡°What do you mean at least three?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°There is a question on if the forth was a spy or really as drunk as he acted.¡± the guard admitted with a good chuckle. As they left the city Ajax had to admit that he could come around with the Empire architecture, there was practically no line at the gate for inspection and people were quickly getting checked and sent on their way. He couldn¡¯t get a real appreciation for their efficiency however as something else grabbed his attention. ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± Ajax exclaimed as he almost stuck his head outside the window of the carriage . Outside the carriage there was a fifty foot long, ten foot wide worm that was loaded with crates casually following the road after their convoy. ¡°Are those the still-worms?¡± Anna¡¯s voice betrayed a bit of her excitement as she joined Ajax near the window. ¡°They are my lady.¡± the guard confirmed. ¡°What are still-worms?¡± Lexi asked just as confused as Ajax. ¡°They are a new monster that appeared not far from the Empire¡¯s frontier.¡± The guard provided. ¡°The worms are surprisingly docile and despite the somewhat large diet they will eat anything, meaning feeding them just becomes waste disposal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not even the best part.¡± Anna cut off the guard with excitement. ¡°They keep on growing until their original set of back legs are cut off, so they can get longer and wider than the one following us. They move as fast as a horse of the same level would but because of their multitude of spider-like legs terrain doesn¡¯t affect them. Best of all however is that their back stays perfectly level during movement!¡± Ajax took another look at the monstrosity following them and realized that the few hundred pairs of spider legs were in fact maintaining the body of the worm in a steady position very much in the same way a chicken head would stay perfectly still on a boat in the sea. ¡°If trained properly they are some of the most reliable mode of transportation for a merchant besides a spacial ring.¡± Anna was keen to try and get her hands on one of them during their visit. ¡°Do you think they will have any for sale?¡± ¡°They were only discovered five years ago, my lady.¡± the guard said. ¡°Not only that but apparently while the common worms are tameable their matriarchs are not so there is no breeding program available for them.¡± The entire caravan got a front and center look at the worm in action when the merchant behind them decided they were moving too slowly and the worm got off the road and simply moved past them. Despite the scary looking shell Ajax did have to agree that it made a very useful transport. Following the excitement with the worm, Ajax actually got to catch up on some sleep for the reminder of the journey only being woken up as they got to the gate of the capital. Unlike their entrance in their last city however this time they were quickly welcomed by the royal guards and their entire convoy was quickly marshaled towards the imperial palace. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Members of the imperial family were also waiting for them once they arrived. While Ajax hadn¡¯t had a too in depth lesson on imperial nobility he knew enough to recognise their own crown prince, his wife, as well as their children who were waiting surrounded by guards to welcome them. By the time Ajax¡¯s carriage got to the gate the crown princes had both already entered along with the Xavier and the eldest son and daughter of the imperial crown prince. That did leave them with the prince¡¯s wife as well as their youngest children, a set of twins a boy and a girl that were the same age as Lexi and Anna. As far as Ajax was concerned the less members of the imperial family there were to greet him the better, more than that however Ajax was wondering what it is that Theron will be doing now since he doubted they would allow a beastkin to enter the palace. Theron himself had taken to wearing a scarf around his neck to avoid drawing attention, not only that but he had actually managed to pick up the [Carriage driver] skill on their way here so he had no problem controlling the horses to drop off Ajax and company. ¡°Welcome, Lady Manashaper, Lady Goldmancer, Baron Hearthbound.¡± the imperial princess greeted them. ¡°Thank you, your Highness.¡± the three replied in unison. Ajax took a look back towards Theron unsure what to do about him. ¡°Unfortunately your beastkin will have to leave along with most of your guards for today, Baron Hearthbound. My grandfather is already making quite the exception by allowing him to delve, he will not host him in the palace.¡± The young imperial princess said as she followed Ajax¡¯s gaze. ¡°Not to worry my lord, we¡¯ll take care of Theron for the evening.¡± A group of royal guards who didn¡¯t follow the crown prince into the palace offered and Ajax felt more at ease leaving Theron with them. From the looks Theron was receiving from the three imperials Ajax guessed that not all of the imperial family held such humanist views, that didn¡¯t mean that they would go against their emperor¡¯s word. _________________________________________________________________________ Theron P.O.V. After lord Hearthbound entered the palace I followed the rest of the guards and stowed the carriage at the large inn that was reserved for our stay here. Thankfully it seems that my participation in the delve was already ensured through from the wording of it, It sounds like the imperial representative who forgot to mention not to include beastkin will be publicly lashed. ¡°Let''s go to this one next.¡± I have a hard time remembering the name of the guards seeing as they all look so similar in their official armor however this has to be the fifth bar we¡¯ve entered tonight. All of the others have sent us away not long after we entered but this one is a lot bigger. Surprisingly this wasn¡¯t because they insisted that I also be served a drink but because a group for twenty high level soldiers made short work of their supply of alcohol and moved to their next target. ¡°I pity the commander,¡± one of the guards said. ¡°He has to stay on guard in the imperial palace while we all get the night off.¡± The bar seems to have a massive fighting arena built underneath it. ¡°No more bets, no more bets.¡± the announcer yells as we enter the bar and see two brawlers with their faces already swollen square up to one another in a ring. ¡°Final round, FIGHT!¡± For the next three minutes the brawlers take turns slugging at each other, it¡¯s fairly clear that both have little left in them and they are both just about ready to fall over, the only question is who will get the lucky punch. ¡°And Ironjaw is your winner tonight!¡± the announcer exploded after one of the fighters collapsed. ¡°The rookie has done it.¡± While our entire group is being seated and taking up a whole quarter of the room I see the next two fighters being brought forward. ¡°And now for the main event. Will our reigning champion Toothy finally meet his match, or will he rack up his ninth consecutive win?¡± the announcer exclaimed. Toothy seems to be a tiger beastkin, a rather old one but from the cold fury in his eyes one I certainly wouldn¡¯t fight without a good reason. His opponent however is a speed based fighter, from [Measure Opponent] it seems like the human has a few levels on the beastkin. ¡°Place your best now, who will win?How many rounds? Remember that this fight¡¯s biggest payout also leaves with our fabulous mystery prize.¡± the announcer tried to rile up the crowd. Ajax made sure I have enough coins for myself and when I see how many people are betting on the human I can¡¯t help but try and stick up for one of my own. I put down a whole two gold coins on Toothy winning the match in the first round. Unlike most feline beastkins tigers traded away most of their stealth and endurance for upfront power, if he is to win this fight despite the level disadvantage it will be by rushing him down in the first round. ¡°FIGHT!¡± the moment the words are out the beastkin launches himself at his opponent with ferocity. The quick rogue however manages to easily duck under one of the beastkin¡¯s arms and tried to create some distance only to stumble over the beastkin¡¯s tail. It¡¯s only a moment of vulnerability but that is already too much. Most beastkin fighters lean into their animal¡¯s parts strength, I myself rely on the power and endurance that comes with a bull, so the tiger is quickie to pounce on the opening. Once he actually has a hold of him the fight ends in seconds as the beastkin¡¯s claws leave the human with some nasty marks. ¡°Well now, nobody could have expected this!¡± the announcer says with glee. ¡°Toothy wins in the first round!¡± boo¡¯s sound from the entire bar as people curse out at the result, it seems this isn¡¯t the first time this bar managed to pull one over on the ods using the beastkin fighter. I can¡¯t wipe the smug grin from my face as I walk to collect my winning, there was a ten to one odds on the beastkin winning in the first round and I was going to collect my twenty gold. ¡°Congratulations to our big winner tonight!¡± the bookie says once I turn in my ticket, you walk away not only with your bet but also with tonight¡¯s mystery prise, two infant still-worms!¡± With that two foot-long worms with spider legs are also placed in my arms alongside the bag of gold. What am I going to do with those? Lord Hearthbound seemed interested in the one that went past us, maybe he¡¯ll like them. Chapter 285 Ajax had to admit to himself that while the imperial parties were by all accounts a lot more brutal than the ones held by his own kingdom the lack of required decorum was much more his wheelhouse. The partygoers watched intrigued as two participants battled in the center of the ballroom over a perceived slight followed by a few sharp words. The imperial ways were not all that different on paper from what they were in the kingdom of Gryndor, a simple change that made demanding immediate conflict resolution through combat at a noble level meant that almost all parties developed into a combat portion towards the middle and end of the evening. Parties that welcomed foreigners did not force them into combat but since most kingdom nobles did have one or two good connections in the Empire their friends would usually step in to accept any challenge that was thrown. Ajax knew that the rules demanded that the combatants actually taking part be no higher level than seventy and within three levels of each other for the sake of fairness but the two level sixty fighters going at it didn¡¯t make this seem like a simple disagreement. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why I can¡¯t just challenge him.¡± the young imperial prince complained to both his sister and his mother. ¡°Grandfather would be pleased to see his views supported and we¡¯ll even get a look at what he¡¯s been hiding.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do no such thing.¡± His mother was quick to interject. ¡° He hasn¡¯t been taught of our old way of doing things, not only that but from what I hear that bull beastkin is one of his only retainers with some high potential. There is a reason we make exceptions for newer nobles.¡± ¡°Not to mention in terms of combat it wouldn¡¯t even be a fight.¡± the young imperial princess piled on her brother. Her comment however did draw the attention of not only her father, the imperial crown prince but also her elder brother, the visiting crown prince and Xavier. ¡°What do you mean?¡± the imperial crown prince asked. ¡°Did your skill catch something?¡± It was well known that the young princess had access to an Epic inspection skill. ¡°Just barely, not only that but he also noticed I peeked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impolite, darling.¡± Her mother chided. ¡°And what did your skill say?¡± her elder brother pressed. ¡°That I¡¯d have a better chance fighting you than I would him.¡± she answered. The answer was certainly eye opening for the imperial family considering that the eldest of the crown prince¡¯s children was no only twenty-five years old but he was also already level forty and by no means weak. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to stand in for him if you are looking for a match closer to your level.¡± Xavier joined the conversation. Despite being almost two years younger than the imperial prince Xavier was actually two levels up on him and was confident in winning the fight. ¡°You¡¯ll lose this one too.¡± his sister tried to warn him but that warning only pushed him further into agreeing to the fight. ¡°Sure I¡¯ll accept that challenge.¡± the prince smiled. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Ajax hadn¡¯t been close enough to listen to the conversation so he was taken by surprise when he saw Xavier and the young imperial facing off in the center of the room once the first battle ended. He also wasn¡¯t the only one surprised as all the nobles present were a lot more interested in this fight compared to the previous one. Despite the fighters being much weaker it was still one royal family against the other. As the battle started Xavier quickly found out that his opponent had him beat in terms of raw physical stats. That wasn¡¯t much of a surprise to him since he knew his opponent was a fully physical fighter who wasn¡¯t talented in using mana. Despite the lower physical stats, Xavier had no issues keeping pace with his opponent. His [Longsword] skill was closing in on level sixty and there was a reason why he was seen as the star of his generation before Ajax showed himself. ¡°You do know we aren¡¯t dancing.¡± the imperial prince taunted as Xavier maintained a safe distance and deflected his attacks. ¡°Well, if you insist.¡± Xavier replied as he jumped back and started chanting. The retreat surprised the imperial, he hadn¡¯t had almost any experience fighting hybrid fighters at this level for the sole reason that most would only be able to fight as weaker mages the difference in physical stats too much for them to overcome. By the time he realized what was going on and attacked Xavier was most of the way through his chant, all it took was two more deflections before he launched his fireball at almost point blank range. Ajax was surprised to see the spell had similar power to what he might be able to unleash if he were to try and release a direct fireball, chanting would make up for the stat difference between the two spellblade fighters. Xavier was good enough that he didn¡¯t miss point blank and the fireball also marked the end of the match as it put the imperial on his back. ¡°Should have listened to your sister.¡± Xavier said with a cocky grin as he pointed his sword at the undefended chest of his opponent. ¡°I see he takes after his uncle.¡± the emperor said with chuckle as he watched the wry smile form on Xavier¡¯s father. ¡°Hopefully not too much, your majesty.¡± the crown prince replied. ¡°While I do hope he has my brother''s sense for combat I hold on to hope that he will pick up my sense for politics.¡± While the fight was ending nobody saw a frazzled servant sneak his way into a party and approach one of the viscounts. ¡°My lord, there has been a small issue at the Ring.¡± ¡°So deal with it.¡± the Viscount said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it''s a bit more complicated than that, my lord.¡± the servent started to fidget with fingers. ¡°It¡¯s about the mystery prize.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± the viscount asked. ¡°Is someone complaining about two juvenile worms that will take at least a year before they can carry anything. Whoever is complaining can just go buy their own. They may be rare but it shouldn¡¯t be that hard to find one.¡± ¡°My lord, the problem is that a foreigner won the prize.¡± the servant explained. ¡°WHAT?!¡± the noble quickly glanced around to notice that his little conversation has attracted quite a bit of attention. ¡°I specifically told you to simply exclude any foreigner bets from winning the mystery prize.¡± ¡°The bookies didn¡¯t know they were a foreigner until after they already gave out the prize.¡± the servant tried to explain his side. ¡°The emperor made a point to not sell the worms to foreigners, how could they not know they were a foreigner.¡± the viscount was getting angrier by the minute. ¡°It was a beastkin, my lord.¡± the servent said. ¡°Everybody thought it was a slave that was placing the bet for his master, who would¡¯ve thought that it would be part of the visiting convoy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me that not only did you give the worms to a foreigner but that you gave them a non-human as well?!¡± The viscount made sure to whisper that last part though that didn¡¯t help much with the people who already seemed interested in the conversation. Especially as the servent could only nod in affirmation. ¡°Theron, how the hell did you manage that?¡± Ajax mumbled as he was one of the people eavesdropping on the conversation. ¡°What did Theron manage?¡± Xavier asked as he came to grab Ajax as his father requested to introduce him to the emperor. Ajax quickly explained what he overheard to Xavier as he was led over to where the emperor was consoling his grandson for a well fought battle. Greeting the emperor was actually surprisingly swift, despite a few comments about bringing a beastkin the emperor actually dismissed Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Olvier since they would start their delve tomorrow and simply insisted that they have a longer talk after they are done with both of their delves. ¡°What were you laughing at?¡± Lexi asks Xavier who could barely hold his laughter when the comment about Theron came. ¡°Apparently Theron managed to win two young still-worms tonight.¡± Xavier said as he finally laughed openly. ¡°What how?¡± Oliver was quick to focus at that since he knew the worms weren¡¯t supposed to be exported outside the empire. ¡°Something about a bet at a fighting ring.¡± Ajax said as he chuckled along with the prince. ¡°Apparently they thought he was a slave so they just gave them to him as a bonus on top of the winnings for his bet.¡± Chapter 286 ¡°A full year¡­¡± Ajax murmured, unlike everyone else here, a year was a decent chunk of time for him to plan out.Ajax and the rest of the team delving tomorrow weren¡¯t the only ones who decided to call it an early night. While Theron might not have had the political know-how to know what it meant that he received those infant warms the rest of the royal guards were a bit more in the know so they all collectively left for the small courtyard the kingdom was renting out. By the time Ajax and the rest made it back they came upon a very strange sight in front of the stables. Theron was surrounded by the rest of the guards as they all took their turns feeding anything they could get their hands on to two worms the size of Ajax¡¯s arms. ¡°What is going on here?¡± Xavier asked, as a member of the royal family he did have some authority over the guards. ¡°Look, your highness, they¡¯ll eat anything.¡± One of the youngest guards said with excitement as they fed a small chunk of unprocessed ore to one of the worms. A quick elbow to the side from one of his buddies did make him realize who he was talking to however. ¡°I mean, we are keeping an eye on a potential political incident.¡± ¡°And I thought we had a potential political incident with us.¡± Xavier laughed good naturedly at the guards words as he also stepped closer to get a better look at the worms. ¡°They¡¯re so young.¡± Xavier wasn¡¯t the only one interested as Anna quickly approached the worms, her usual aloof attitude nowhere to be seen. ¡°You still have around three months before they need to start with their taming. Also if you can get them some earth or life attuned cores to eat they will start their growth phase a lot quicker and you can get them into circulation in under a year.¡± ¡°A year is not that bad¡± Anna quickly picked up. ¡°If our sources are correct the Empire is looking to maintain their monopoly on the worms for at least another decade. You¡¯ll be able to get a few delivery contracts for them just for the prestige of other companies having their goods delivered by still-worm.¡± ¡°A year is still a little too long-term for me to plan out in advance.¡± Ajax said as he rubbed the back of his head slightly. ¡°About a year and a half ago I hadn¡¯t even set foot inside the capital.¡± ¡°Well you better start.¡± Oliver said with distaste. ¡°A noble always looks not only to their future but that of their house as well.¡± Ajax frowned at the combative attitude but chose to ignore him, instead he focused on Theron. ¡°What are you planning to do with them?¡± he asked the beastkin. ¡°I won them as a bonus for a bet I placed with the money you gave me.¡± Theron said with a bewildered look. ¡°I was planning to just give them to you, my Lord.¡± Ajax was very much tempted to leave the worms with Theron, but that simply wasn¡¯t how things worked in this world. Theron was his retainer, and while that meant that Ajax and the rest of his noble house supported him, it did mean that they also got to profit from his accomplishments. Seeing as Theron was initially getting a slot to delve into a dungeon that was very much in demand there was no reason for him to reject the worms. ¡°Judy and Alana are going to throw you a party when we get back.¡± Ajax said with a grin. ¡°Interesting as they are, however I best turn in for the night.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Xavier nodded before turning to the guards and Theron. ¡°Keep an eye out for the worms, make sure to keep them fed, I also suggest not taking them outside the compound before it¡¯s time to leave.¡± ¡°Thank you and have a good evening, your highness.¡± Theron nodded back politely while the guards all snapped a quick salute to the royal. Unlike their previous stay in the Empire, Ajax didn¡¯t have any issues getting to sleep on this night. With a full compound secured by the guards there was nobody that could get past them, or at least nobody that he could do anything about, so he simply fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning he quickly washed up and put on his proper equipment. Despite the lack of enchantment the gear still looked to be very high end for a level thirty-five, it was actually very much in line with what a baron¡¯s main heir might actually use. ¡°Are you all ready?¡± two of the guards that the Goldmancer family sent with them were going to be escorting them to and from the dungeon. While Ajax didn¡¯t really feel any more stress than he normally did, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the other four people. For three of them this would be the first time they will be entering a dungeon without a dedicated guard shadowing them at all times, for the forth he had a mission to fulfill that could very well get him killed if he wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°It looks so similar.¡± The silence that had stretched out during the walk to the dungeon was broken by Ajax as he looked at the defenses that surrounded the dungeon arch. To the untrained eye the defenses looked very similar to the ones the kingdom had set up around their own dungeons through Ajax was pretty sure that they were in fact quite different. ¡°Ah the quests of honor.¡± The guard captain in charge of the dungeon was there to greet them as they moved past the line to the front. ¡°Please pass all storage devices to my companion here for examination.¡± Ajax was careful to pass his storage ring to one of the two Goldmancer guards. No way he was risking making any sort of contact with a trained analyst, he had learnt his lesson from the first spying attempt he had had to deal with. The analyst actually took his time to go through all the spacial rings before he returned them to the guard and whispered in the guard captain''s ear. ¡°While everything seems to be in order, you did seem to have quite a bit of camping equipment. Be assured that you can exit the dungeon at any time and we will clear out anything that comes out after you.¡± the guard captain addressed all of them but his eyes were fixed on Ajax. ¡°Thank you for the offer.¡± Xavier responded with a polite tone that also marked the end of the conversation as he headed for the arch. While the prince was the first of them to enter, Ajax was actually the first to follow. This could be seen as a little rude considering that everyone else was part of a ducal family both of the guards were actually pleased that Oliver wouldn¡¯t even get a moment unsupervised with Anna. ¡°Mannerless commoner¡­¡± Oliver cursed under his breath as he followed Lexi and Anna into the arch. Inside the dungeon the first thing that hit them was the warmth of the desert biome. Much as it added insult to injury, not only did the Empire not have good trading relations with most other nations on account of their more radical views, the first floor of their main dungeon was also based on a desert biome leading to very little consistent gatherable resources to train the craftsmen in. ¡°Well, I guess it''s time to find the three of you a mini-boss to clear.¡± Ajax said as he quickly took a look around. Unfortunately he already surpassed the level thirty-two limit that would grant him the stat point for clearing this floor. ¡°I doubt there is anything here that can threaten any of you.¡± That was very much not the case as while the prince, Lexi and Anna would have no problem killing anything here in solo combat they could easily be overwhelmed through numbers. It didn¡¯t take them long to find the first arch to the next floor and Xavier made quick work of the scorpion defending it while Ajax wiped out the rest of the pack. ¡°There is another mini-boss in the oasis.¡± Ajax nodded towards the decently concealed alligator. With it being submerged in water Lexi was the one to handle it since Anna was more of a fire focused fighter. The final mini-boss of the first floor was a camouflage salamander which was actually half coiled around the arch it was defending, blending in perfectly with the surrounding rock. Unfortunately it¡¯s perfect camouflage did very little to fool any of their sense mana from picking up on the constant heat spell it had active around its body. Ajax was actually glad to see Anna use ice to kill the reptile as the surrounding temperature rapidly cooled to a much more pleasant range. It was here that the group seemed to face the first issue, who would be the first to enter the next floor. Objectively it should be either Oliver or Ajax to ensure that there wasn¡¯t any roaming monster near the entrance that could ambush them; however neither of them made a move to approach the arch, both looking at the other. Chapter 287 The whole group seems to feel the tension, yet only Xavier is confused on what could be causing it. Despite that Oliver is the first to back down as he simply enters the archway without a word once he realizes that there is nothing he can do. ¡°What was all that about?¡± Xavier asks. ¡°We¡¯re not letting Anna alone with Oliver.¡± Lexi got out through clenched teeth. ¡°Oh right¡­¡± Xavier said awkwardly. ¡°The whole next head of House Goldmancer thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tempted to just go to another arch and be done with it.¡± Ajax offers. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything on this floor that worries me but the next floor and if any of you want to try the one after that I might need to intervene with the person under attack and I can¡¯t keep an eye on him all the time.¡± ¡°No chance I am clearing the third floor.¡± Xavier said with a shake of his head. As an hybrid fighter it did also mean that Xavier was more spread out so he couldn¡¯t push a specific weakness of a monsters as much as a pure mage might in a good match-up. ¡°We can¡¯t just leave him.¡± Anna said. ¡°He would be able to use that against you.¡± With that everyone entered the arch one by one with Anna going last. The second floor biome turned out to be a multitude of snowy and icy mountain peaks. The cold wasn¡¯t as extreme as the heat from the last floor but the change in temperature got all of them to change their outfits in a hurry. Oliver is already standing there bundled up in a warmer set of clothes. ¡°Is this an elemental floor?¡± Xavier asks with a tinge of hope. ¡°¡°No¡±¡± Both Ajax and Olvier respond at the same time. ¡°It would be much colder if it was an elemental floor, this is just a cold biome.¡± Ajax continues. ¡°Don¡¯t go near any cave entrances, most mountainous biomes have either a bear or humanoid inhabitants.¡± Oliver cautioned as all of them started to move from the entrance arch once they finished getting dressed. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± Ajax quickly turned and looked up to see a large eagle easily twice his size coming towards them from above. ¡°It feels like a miniboss, I¡¯ll handle the rest of the pack if one of you wants to get their fight out of the way.¡± With that Ajax started to fire arrows towards the other three birds accompanying the mini-boss. As much as Xavier wanted to get his fight out of the way he knew that a flying enemy wasn¡¯t a good match-up for him until his magic got a bit stronger so he let Anna take care of it. The eagle quickly focused on Ajax after he let loose two arrows that easily put down two of its pack, unfortunately that left it unprepared for the large fireball Anna threw at it. The eagle did manage to react and a strong beat of its wings infused with mana conjured a small wind shield but that wasn¡¯t enough to block the entire fireball. Ajax used the explosion as a smoke cover to take out the last of the smaller eagles and put away his bow as he watched Anna engage with the eagle. For her part Anna didn¡¯t let up on the attack and threw two fire lances one after the other. The first was the eagle managed to evade as it started its dive towards her but the second one connected and scorched its right wing leading it to crash into the ground and taking away its flight. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The eagle wasn¡¯t ready to quit with just that as it fired a wind blade towards Anna that was powerful enough to have Ajax reaching for his mana. Anna was prepared however as she quickly put up an earthen wall. This is where the difference in levels shows however as despite using a good counter the wall still crumbled and a few of the rocks were blasted back towards Anna, fortunately she intercepted the attack far enough away that they didn¡¯t reach all the way to her. From there it was just a matter of a few more spells before the eagle burned away. As they all moved further into the floor it was actually Ajax who took out the next mini-boss as his required kill to clear the floor. The reason for this was that it was a polar fox that snuck dangerously close to them before any of them detected it and Ajax responded with his full power as he crushed its head with his hammer. ¡°I¡¯ll take the bear.¡± Lexi volunteered once they found their first cave on the mountain and she was eager to get her required kill. What followed was a perfect example of why a mage with good versatility is a menace to deal with even when you are up in levels. She utilized earth to trip up the bear and ice to slow its movement further, lightning to make approaching her even harder and finished by slowly bleeding it out with cuts from her wind attacks. Despite the relative safety of her attempt she did run through a full three quarters of her mana taking the mini-boss down. From there they were attacked three more times by eagles and foxes but none of those attacks had a mini-boss with them so Ajax and Oliver were quick to take them out. Despite finding an arch to the next floor, and also the obelisk by a sheer stroke of luck they still needed one more mini-boss for Xavier before they were done. ¡°There is another fox here.¡± Ajax said as he picked up on the sound. ¡°Feels like a mini-boss you want to take it?¡± ¡°Yeah, let''s get this over with.¡± Xavier said as he pulled out his sword. Ajax was quick to throw a water balloon filled with bright green paint at the fox. This did nothing to harm the creature however it severely hampered its stealth capabilities without taking anything away from Xavier should he defeat it in single combat. Even with that advantage the fight wasn¡¯t as straightforward as Lexi¡¯s. Xavier had a bigger level gap to overcome and a melee fight didn¡¯t allow him to put the mini-boss in quite the same bad spot that Lexi and Anna had put their respective opponents. His skill with the sword did shine through however as he managed to kill the boss with only a few mild scratches. ¡°Should we go back to the arch we saw?¡± Lexi asked once the fox was dead. ¡°I think I see an arch there that¡¯s closer.¡± Ajax denied, this time he did check the arch and what he felt was a lot of water mana, it definitely wouldn¡¯t have affected him enough but there was almost no chance for Anna or Lexi to clear another floor if the bosses they had to kill were submerged. There was another bear guarding this arch but Ajax was having none of it so while Oliver distracted it with an opening ranged attack Ajax was quick to get close and slam his axe into its skull killing it quickly. Ajax was ready for a confrontation about who would go through this arch first since with the monsters on the other side being close to level forty there was a good argument for him being the first one through. ¡°Come on already, just go, I want to get out of here.¡± Xavier made sure the argument didn¡¯t take place by simply pushing Oliver through the arch and following behind him. The mage was surprised and simply didn¡¯t have the physical stats to respond as he was pushed through the arch. The three of them left on this floor shared a quick laugh at Xavier¡¯s quick thinking and Oliver''s surprised expression that they got to see for all of two seconds, before they followed them to the next floor. ¡°What the hell?¡± Ajax muttered as he took a look around at the new floor while also dismissing the prompt letting him know he gained an extra +1 to all stats. The odd layout of the floor did explain why he hadn¡¯t recognized the primary mana that he felt in the arch. ¡°I think we just found a jeweler''s wet dream.¡± Lexi joked as she also stared out the the spacious cavern made of crystals. ¡°Well this is where I leave you.¡± Xavier said while ignoring the deathly glare Oliver was sending him following his stunt of pushing him through the arch. ¡°There is no way I am killing anything that is level forty and made of rock or crystal. I¡¯ll see you all soon.¡± Following that simple declaration he quickly made his way towards the arch they just entered the floor from and stepped through it to get back outside. The words however were very on point for Anna and Lexi as well, despite them not being in quite as bad a spot as Xavier who would have to get into melee range of his enemies crystal and rock monsters were known for their high defense and endurance which could make this a futile effort for both mages. ¡°How about you, do you think you can kill a miniboss?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Of course she can, there has to be one or two golems here with an obvious core that they can destroy from range, even if it does take them an attempt or two we can just let them try a few times.¡± Oliver didn¡¯t even give Anna and Lexi a chance to respond as he desperately tried to put on a supportive face, he couldn¡¯t let them back down and exit the dungeon here and now. Chapter 288 ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± Ajax asked before he lowered his tone a whisper only for Anna and Lexi. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have as much freedom on this floor, the monsters here will be level forty so he will also have to be on guard against them.¡± ¡°I want to keep going.¡± Lexi was the first to answer, unlike Anna she wasn¡¯t as disadvantaged by the crystal nature of the monsters on this floor. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a go as well.¡± Anna finally decided after a few drawn out seconds of silence. It was all Oliver could do to not let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Now what?¡± she asked ¡°Now we pick a direction and go.¡± Ajax said as he looked out towards the three large tunnels their chamber split opened into. ¡°Stay close to me, I don¡¯t know if they can dig through the crystal yet.¡± The large crystal cavern was a little disorienting to the team of four, first and foremost because while the cavern didn¡¯t lack a source of light with the wall all shining they were also letting out colored light that changed as they progressed. A large upside to the cavern however was the loud sound that echoed from the monster''s movement. ¡°Something is coming this way.¡± Ajax and everyone else could clearly hear the screeching sound of crystal dragging across crystal. A large crystalline worm made out of connected rings was what quickly approached them. It wasn¡¯t all that large, its thickness about the same as a regular person with a length of about twelve feet. Ajax however was very surprised that he couldn¡¯t feel the presence of a core inside of it. Despite not feeling a core he was still clear that crystals like this were weak to blunt force damage so he quickly pulled out his hammer as well as his shield and prepared to engage. With the monsters being level forty they were finally getting to the point where Ajax had to use his mana in order to fight, this meant that he could be worn down. Using [Mana Syphon] with the mana concentration on this floor meant that he could maintain a high stat advantage for cheap. The worm was composed of about forty rings that moved together and Ajax¡¯s fight swing of his hammer shattered five of them straight away while also sending the monster flying backwards. This also led to some good news for the team as they watched the monster prepare to charge again. ¡°It¡¯s not healing.¡± Lexi pointed out. ¡°They are golems not elementals.¡± Anna also breathed out a sigh of relief as golems could be worn down by breaking down their bodies without them simply regenerating from the environment. Once Ajax knew he was dealing with a golem and not an elemental he flat out charged the worm all but launching himself at it. The impact of the shield easily crashing through another eight rings and the hammer swing that followed took out another seven. With half its body smashed to pieces the rest of the worm finally stilled and died. It was one of the advantages of the golems that they could keep going regardless of what they lost so long as enough of them was still left intact. ¡°That didn¡¯t look so hard.¡± Lexi said as she examined the crystals the worm had broken down into. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Too bad it wasn¡¯t a miniboss, I expect them to be a bit harder.¡± Ajax shared his view on it. With that the team kept on moving, for the first time since they entered the dungeon however Oliver was sticking a lot closer to Ajax. Unlike the young Baron the level forty mage was much more susceptible to being overrun especially when faced with their next group of foes. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming, and it''s either a centipede or there is more than one of them.¡± Ajax called out as his hearing locked on the constant tapping that seemed to approach them. What rushed towards them were a large group of four legged spiders. They legs much thicker than a regular spider and placed in a square formation allower the two feet tall monsters to move around quickly. The bigger issue was the eight feet tall fully eight legged miniboss that was following in their wake. ¡°I can take this miniboss.¡± Anna was quick to call out once she saw the big spider. Despite the bosses much bigger size the eight legs it had were all rather thin. With such an obvious target Anna was quick to launch some exploding fireballs aiming for the joints in hopes of immobilizing the boss. As for Ajax he was quick to react to Anna''s claim on the boss. Armed with his hammer and his axe he got to work thinning out the dozen or so smaller spiders while making sure not to engage the boss at all. The tiny spiders however weren¡¯t his main worry as he periodically glance towards Oliver, thankfully he wasn¡¯t the only one as clearly Lexi had the same idea of keeping an eye on the caster. The miniboss was quick to move but evidently slow to adapt, once Anna took out its first leg she had a much easier time all but immobilizing the spider within the first six attacks by taking out all of the legs on one side of its body, and even those two attacks that failed to take out one leg had managed to connect on the body of the creature slowly chipping away at it. ¡°How are you doing, do you need a potion?¡± Lexi offered, she knew that despite the clear effectiveness of the exploding fireballs they weren¡¯t cheap to cast by any means. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Anna said as she heaved in breaths before using an ice lance spell to crush the head of the spider as well as a good part of the torso, with the spider being imobile she had no problem aiming and killing the creature. The next mini-boss they encountered was a rainbow colored version of the worm they had first found on the floor, not only that but this worm was also twice the size of his predecessor, In the end however its size didn¡¯t mean much as Ajax took it apart in much the same manner as the first worm if only this one taking a whole five swings of the hammer before dying instead of two. ¡°Hey this can be taken outside the dungeon.¡± Ajax exclaimed in surprised as his senses washed over the corpse of the worm. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Oliver sounded outraged as he watched Ajax shove the entire body of the worm into his spacial ring. ¡°The whole reason you are clearing out an entire floor is so that they can¡¯t figure out which you cleared, you do know they will check your ring on your way out.¡± ¡°Exactly¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°If all they find are some third floor gems they will think the reason I stuck inside to clear the floor was because I was greedy, especially since there are so many colors here. I don¡¯t care if they think I only got to the third floor, in fact I prefer it.¡± It didn;t take long for them to find another spider miniboss for Lexi to kill however Ajax was sure to stay within two feet of Anna as they all got close to clearing the floor. As for Lexi, she very much copied Anna¡¯s trick of taking out the legs before killing the boss. ¡°There is a worm boss up ahead guarding an arch, kill it and let''s go.¡± Ajax nodded towards Oliver as he made sure to always put himself between Anna and Oliver. Unlike what he expected Oliver simply nodded at his instructions before he entered smaller cavern. Despite the man¡¯s attitude Ajax did have to admit that Oliver did have some talent for ice magic. It didn¡¯t take long for Oliver to shatter enough of the worm for it to be considered killed. ¡°I¡¯ll go through first.¡± Ajax said much to Olivers surprise, his smile however fell off his face as he saw Ajax leading Anna with an arm around his shoulder towards the arch. ¡°She apparently used too much mana.¡± Ajax¡¯s excuse was a clear lie to all four of them however since Anna was going with it there was nothing Oliver could say. Despite turning his back to Oliver Ajax didn¡¯t release his [Mana Syphon]. In fact he extended its range as far as he could. It was a good thing he did as he was able to syphon off a good bit of mana off the ice lance that was heading straight for Anna just in time for him to pull out his shield and shatter the ice as it closed in on them with a shield bash. ¡°So you¡¯re finally showing your true colors.¡± Ajax said as he turned to face off against Oliver as Lexi and Anna both raised their staffs against him. ¡°Come now Ajax,¡± Oliver started. ¡°This can still end up going in your favor in a big way. All you have to do is help me out here.¡± Chapter 289 Anna P.O.V. My heart rate jumped as I felt the mana gather behind me and then approach quickly. I had been told more than once that it was a possibility, the standoff at the first arch had also been a nudge in the right direction but I never thought it would actually come to this. When Ajax suggested that I pretend to have hurt my leg so that he would carry me through the arch I thought he was going too far. ¡°So you¡¯re finally showing your true colors.¡± Ajax seemed calm, his voice even despite having just shattered the projectile coming for me like it was nothing. Both Lexi and myself raised our staff instinctively, years of training shining through despite my emotional turmoil and shock. But all of this was nothing more than posturing, almost moved as well all looked to one another while Lexi slowly stepped closer to me. ¡°Come now Ajax,¡± Oliver started. ¡°This can still end up going in your favor in a big way. All you have to do is help me out here.¡± Well at least Oliver was quite as far gone as I thought, the ambush was one thing but it seems he isn¡¯t that narcissistic as to think he can actually fight Ajax. ¡°My father has a good chance to take over the family once she is out of the way. Your family will be rich, we¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± Oliver continues to tempt him. ¡°You can name your price.¡± To my great surprise a sinister chuckle rose from Ajax, at that moment I could feel [Emotionless] struggle with all its might to suppress the surprise and slight fear that he could actually be tempted. Should I make a counter offer, is he actually considering this? We were no more than fifty feet from the arch, once we passed through it all we had to do was pass through the one we came out of on the next floor and we would be free. With Lexi next to me now we might have a chance to get out of here alive against Oliver who exhausted some of his mana with the mini-boss and was quite a bit away from us. But it would all come down to Ajax''s choice, even if he wasn¡¯t right next to me and across the room it wouldn¡¯t matter since he would still be able to stop us. Ajax¡¯s chuckle cut off abruptly as the coldest tone I ever heard from him was spit out from behind clenched teeth. ¡°It¡¯s clear why the Goldmancers had you only focus on magic combat, even without the other skills. How you can be this dumb with all those points in Intellect and Wisdom is shocking to me.¡± His words instantly calm me down, without my emotions running so high I internally berate myself for even thinking that Ajax would even consider the bribe. ¡°Are you that attached to her?¡± Oliver¡¯s desperation rose with every word. ¡°Do you know what it would mean to choose your own reward from a family like the Goldmancers?¡± ¡°Do you see me as a greedy short sighted fool?¡± Ajax asked back, his rage regressing or just being suppressed as the conversation continued. ¡°Do you even process the offer you just made me?¡± ¡°Even if I was a greedy psychopath who would be willing to kill two friends on the word of someone he met a month ago this deal would be just bad all the way through.¡± Ajax continued with disgust. ¡°Even in the best case scenario I still lose out.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong there, this is why it is so surprising to me that Oliver would even try anything. Ajax taking any bribe here would make absolutely no sense, I knew Oliver looked down on common born people but this much? Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°You could ask for more gold than the average ducal house has and you think this is a bad offer?¡± Oliver sounded shocked by the refusal. ¡°Let''s assume that the offer would hold true, let''s also assume your father takes over the House next and honors that promise, lets also assume that killing both Anna and Lexi, since just killing one wouldn¡¯t be a kept secret, wouldn¡¯t get traced back to me in any way. That still has me losing out.¡± Ajax took out his hammer and made a step towards Oliver. ¡°You think saving her would get you more?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°They¡¯ll just say it was expected of you and give you a pat on the back.¡± ¡°Nothing changing in my current situation is better than taking your deal.¡± Ajax shook his head as he continued to advance while Oliver was slowly backing away. ¡°Your father would at best take the head position in three decades. What I need is for my relationships to hold strong now, at this moment.¡± Ajax was definitely right there, now was when he needed support the most. With his once in a lifetime talent and potential he just needed help now to set solid foundations, what good was a promise to him thirty years in the future, not that the estimate was even close to correct since I knew dad had at least another half a century in him. A big questionable disaster like this would cut off most of Ajax¡¯s allies from him just from him not having stopped it regardless of what other blame gets put on him. ¡°I tire of this conversation.¡± Ajax started his charge, sudden change in speed almost more than I could keep track of, I should raise my Perception at least a little. I start channeling my own mana to help only for Lexi to put her hand on my wrist. ¡°No need to bother the fight won¡¯t be long and chances are we might get in the way just as much as we help.¡± Lexi¡¯s comforting smile did a lot to help with the feelings of betrayal I was pushing down as I thought through how my own family ordered me killed. I chose to focus on the fight just to take my mind off it. Oliver started retaliating, despite being overmatched without a doubt, he was still a very talented fighter. His casting speed was faster than anything I have ever seen from anyone so low level. I knew chanting was his best skill but to think he broke through the level 75 barrier already and even unlocked the ability to shorten the phrase. Walls of ice sprung up between him and Ajax as ice lances started to take form. The most shocking thing of all however was what I was feeling from Ajax. I knew he had a way to empower his body with magic, I also knew from our first meeting during the skirmish he had a way to wipe away mana residue. But my [Sense Mana] was telling me he was actively weakening Oliver¡¯s spells and using the mana he took from them to empower himself. I had never heard of any skill that could do anything close to that. It had to be a Legendary skill since he was always using it without any drawbacks and it granted him so much power. It also finally made sense why he always seemed to get better the deeper in the dungeon we got, with more ambient mana to take the less he would use his own mana. Ajax stored away his shield and axe and took out his bow as the sightline was broken by one of the ice walls, he drew back an arrow and infused it with wind mana as he stepped back into view and released. The arrow would have pierced Oliver through the throat if it wasn¡¯t for his defensive amulet that knocked the arrow aside and into his shoulder. The outcome that was all but guaranteed from the start was now upon us. Despite his skill and power with magic Oliver didn¡¯t seem to have had any training in managing pain as he simply crumpled to the floor wailing as he held his shoulder in pain. I should look into getting a skill like [Pain Resistance] or even better [Ignore Pain]. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him.¡± Lexi¡¯s interruption surprised me. ¡°Tie him up so we can bring him back out.¡± ¡°Why not just kill him here and be done with it?¡± Ajax asked, he showed pure confusion however as if the difference between killing Oliver and restraining him was just the annoyance the second would be for the extra effort. ¡°If we take him out he can be interrogated.¡± Lexi said. ¡°Stopping the assassination is one thing but if you help them root out the conspiracy publicly you¡¯ll give old man Goldmancer the excuse he needs to give you a reward.¡± Lexi was right, dad did mention that he asked Ajax to look out for me but this way no other branch could complain about him giving him a reward without also looking complicit. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing this for the reward.¡± Ajax said as he shrugged but also turned away, was that a bit of embarrassment I saw. ¡°Stupid idiot actually thought I could be tempted to kill some of my only friends.¡± We probably weren¡¯t supposed to hear that second part but we had walked closer, I could also see Ajax deliberately squeezing the shoulder that still had an arrow stuck inside as he tied and gagged Oliver. Too bad Oliver would still get the point for this floor as we all passed through the arch but it would be too much of a hustle to drag him to the entrance of this floor and then come back just so he won¡¯t get the reward. Ajax dragged the tied up Oliver through the arch and Lexi and I followed. ¡°Thanks for the help, and good luck!¡± Lexi gave Ajax a hug that only slightly lingered, I wonder when she will finally admit that she has a crush on him? ¡°Good luck¡± I also wished him with a smile as I grabbed Oliver and the three of us exited through the arch. Chapter 290 Ajax wished that we could keep Oliver¡¯s betrayal under wraps but unfortunately that would be too much of a security risk. Without the option to descend back down to lower floors they would have to exit the dungeon or follow Ajax and exit together to make sure they all came out at the same time. Since following him past this floor was clear suicide for the both sub level thirty casters they all just chose to exit now and deal with the consequences of a more public betrayal. Ajax quickly shook his head and turned away from the exit, the public perception and politics would have their turn but for now he was to be focused on getting this dungeon over with. The biome of the fourth floor wasn¡¯t all that great for him, a dark shadowy landscape filled with jagged edges. It was what he imagined hell would look like if someone extinguished all the fire and just let the place fall to darkness. None of this matters to Ajax however as the strongest monster to be found on this floor would only be level forty-five, unless he did something monumentally stupid like activating the obelisk the risk to him on this floor was minimal. More than that he didn¡¯t even have to care about the theme of the next floor since he would be going one above that so all he needed to do was find the first arch, kill the mini-boss defending it and push forwards. Much like Ajax expected it didn¡¯t take him all that long to find the first arch, the only problem was that he could feel just how much curse mana was in the ambient mana so for once he wouldn¡¯t have all that much time to use [Mana Syphon]. Unwilling to suck in curse mana he would have to rely purely on his own reserves to kill his enemies this time. The shadowy creatures turned out to be very similar to cephalopods, the only difference being that they were pitch black and they had a massive maw in the center of their head they could use to swallow a dog in one bite. Ajax¡¯s fist hit on them quickly got him to switch his weapons from the more defensive heavy hitting shield and hammer to his axe and sword. The slimy shadowy fiends all but shrugged off his initial hammer blow, the heavy metal gliding off their skin. His attempts with a bladed edge turned out much better as he quickly cleaved through the small minions as the main boss stumbled to create some distance with three of the tentacles sliced off. Despite their speed and resistance to blunt attacks the small wind mana blades his swing released had gone through them like a hot knife through butter. ¡°This is why an adventurer always brings different weapons to a fight.¡± Ajax muttered one of the rules Hatchet had drilled into his head all those years ago, ¡°specializing in one area means opening a weakness in another.¡± Ajax passed through the arch without another thought after he sensed an odd combination of metal and lightning that he shouldn¡¯t have any problem fighting against. He was going to have to spend some time on the fifth floor as he hunted for a good arch from which to enter the sixth and final floor he planned to step on. As he took in his new surroundings Ajax could only stare slack jawed as he carelessly dismissed the screen informing him of the extra stat points he received for clearing another floor. How was this possible, was it because of him? Is it the gods playing a prank on him? Standing in front of him was a droid, one that very much reminded him of the ones he had seen in the Star Wars prequels if they were made a bit more solid, complete with a blaster and everything. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Intruder! Intruder!¡± The droid turned on him and opened fire, real blaster fire actually coming out from the rifle. Thankfully Ajax could only thank whoever was playing this sick game with him that despite the somewhat clear resemblance to the droids fighting in a galaxy far far away, this droid not only had a level of forty-eight but his blaster fire lacked not only in accuracy but also in power, the two shots he had taken when caught by surprise had done barely more than heat up his armor and give him a small circular second degree burn on the exposed skin it hit. ¡°Is this because this is the first time I am truly alone on a floor?¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but mumble as he brought his hammer and shield back out. The droid didn¡¯t even have a chance to recover for a response as Ajax vaulted over his cover to come rushing towards the droid shield first pinning it to the wall before a well placed hammer swing left it without a head. Ajax wasn¡¯t done there though as he wasn¡¯t taking any chances as he separated every limb from the torso of the droid before he could finally relax, and even that proved to be a moment too soon as [Danger Sense] howled at him. ¡°Chances of success 0% initiating self-destruct¡± the bashed in head of the droid got out before every piece exploded, fortunately Ajax was quick enough to get away without being hurt any further. ¡°You¡¯re fine, you¡¯re fine¡± Ajax kept whispering to himself as he started to explore the labyrinth of tunnels that, surprisingly enough, were nice enough to open the doors for him. His moment of peace and quiet was very much short lived as the rolling ball of death he knew as a droidicar rolled out from the next door only to spring up from the ball shape, snap on its force field and begin blasting at him. Despite the novelty of his new enemy Ajax was more than ready for a fight to break out this time, he wasted no time blocking the blaster fire with his shield as he approached the droid. Much to his surprise the droid had no issue with the insignificant damage it was doing to the shield and even refused to back away. His answer as to why that was was made clear when he felt his hammer swing lose close to a third of its momentum the instant it made contact with the force field. Even that wasn¡¯t enough however as the force field proved to be good enough that the droid simply bounced four times off the walls like a pinball before turning to return fire. ¡°Too overconfident¡± Ajax was quick to mumble as he once again close the distance from behind his shield with the droid doing nothing more than scratching at the shield Ajax was using to protect himself. As Ajax swung the hammer a second time, unlike the first however this blow completely stopped the moment it made contact with the force field. Not only that but the hammer¡¯s dark purplish radiance vanished at the moment of contact as well only for the droidicar to crumple to the floor in a pile of bent metal as the void blow finished it off in one swing. ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing to hide if there is none to see it¡± he said smiling as he examined the half-crushed round droid. Much to Ajax¡¯s pleasure the rifle from the first droid he had met on this floor was still very much in a working condition as Ajax picked it up and fired off a few practice shots. Despite the first one going relatively straight the second third fourth and fifth all went far astray as the blaster clearly had some severe recoil that also came in from odd angles on every consecutive shot. ¡°I take back everything I said about bad aim in the movies.¡± Ajax silently begged as he still carried the blaster everywhere with him. ¡°If they were shooting with anything that even resembles this it¡¯s no wonder they can¡¯t hit anything.¡± Four doors and three basic droids later Ajax was once again carefully exploring the layout of the dungeon floor. ¡°Easy does it, just don¡¯t run into a Jedi or a Sith.¡± Ajax tried to encourage himself as he continued looking for the next arch. Ajax¡¯s bad luck seemed to continue as he made his way through the tunnels as he left behind a pile of scrap metal, surprisingly his [Mana Syphon] had no effect on the droids at all, it seemed despite their clear use of magic that presented in the way of magically enhanced short from the blaster. The same couldn¡¯t be said for his lightning as more than one or two droids were sent into a sporadic seizure as he shot them with a lightning arrow. The droids fragile nature being only displayed further when the jerks from the current passing through them leads to them breaking their own limbs off as they hit them against the floors and walls. It takes Ajax two more hours to finally find an arch he is happy with as he senses a balance of Earth and Life in the arch as well as a bit of water. Instead of entering the next floor however Ajax decides to rest here for the night before heading into the new floor soon. Chapter 291 As he stands in front of the arch Ajax can¡¯t help but look back down the corridors that make up the labyrinth that is this floor. The high tech panels on the walls, the constant whirr of machinery, before his parents died in his first life experiencing something like this dungeon floor biome was something he had always wished for. He was also very much tempted to stay on the floor until he finally found one droid that could be taken outside so that he could keep that blaster. It wasn¡¯t even for the sake of power, Ajax didn¡¯t know how the dungeon or the system did it but the blasters fire here was more of an irritant than anything else. Sure if you could handle the kickback and continue to aim the fast fire rate, almost instantaneous projectile speed and lack of ammo would make the weapon very powerful for a level fifty but it was clearly balanced so as to not be overpowering. The main reason why Ajax decided not to try getting that blaster was because he knew it would simply be taken away from him. There is no way the Empire would allow him to keep it once they saw it in the inspection his storage ring would go through and he would much rather not get his hopes up only to see them dashed. ¡°At leasts the fun¡¯s not over yet¡± Ajax murmured as he ran his hand down the best blaster he managed to find on his way to this arch. Sure the blaster would burst into mana motes after he felt the dungeon but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t keep it for one more floor as he climbed, not only that but he might even be able to push his skills further by seeing how his magic interacted when it was used to amplify a blaster. As he stepped past into the arch and onto the next floor Ajax felt the familiar pull on his body for an instant before appearing in front of another arch. What awaited him on the sixth floor of the dungeon was nothing as novel as the fifth floor. Despite that Ajax was if anything much more content with this floor theme as he took a look around. Surrounding him were miles and miles of glass greenhouses as far as the eye could see. All neatly arranged in a grid layout with pathways connecting all of them. He all but shouted in joy as his [Sense Mana] took in the world around him and he felt all the different mana herbs and plants that were being grown, the only thing that stopped him was the fear of attracting whatever monsters were on this floor. ¡°Good to know that I can start a fire here if I really need it.¡± Ajax said to himself, though he could feel the pain that doing something like that to all these alchemical ingredients would cause him. With a careful step the first thing Ajax did was go back to the arch and start focusing his [Mana Syphon] on it. He was going to do this absolute best to remember the mana makeup of this type of floor. With all of his portable alchemy lab stored away neatly in his spacial ring Ajax stepped away from the arch with a silent apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I am going to worry all of you for a little while.¡± Despite there being none to hear him Ajax knew it would take him at about three days to clear out the floor but he planned on spending at least a week in here if not more just to progress his [Alechemy] as much as he can with the variety of mana infused herbs that are around the same level and the mana rich atmosphere of the dungeon floor. His moment of silent apology was interrupted by a sharp ping from [Danger Sense], most troubling was that the danger was coming from below him. Ajax quickly jumped and launched himself into the air only to feel the power of his jump be the final straw causing a small collapse of the ground he was just standing on. What he saw there under the ground sent a frosty chill down his back. Two hippo sized moles with claws the size of longswords were shifting through the rubble and looking for him. The chill that went down his back had nothing to do with being attacked, that much he expected from the dungeon. The problem that came up was that the moles could and would destroy some if not most of the garden if they were left alone. Ajax simply wouldn¡¯t stand for that as he summoned his axe and swords before he charged down the moles looking to follow down their tunnels and quickly clean up the entire mole population of the floor before they destroyed too many of his precious ingredients. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was only twelve hours later that Ajax finally decided to take a break from his hunt. He carefully made sure to set up his base camp and barriers before he got ready for a good night¡¯s sleep. He didn¡¯t even get a proper chance to wash out his gear from the layers of mole blood and dust that he had built up in his tireless crusade before he fell on top of his bedroll and went to sleep. It took four hours before the next mole stumbled upon his little haven but to Ajax it felt like barely seconds had passed between laying his head down and the alarm barrier waking him back up. The only thing confirming the passage of time to him was the refilled mana and stamina he had. He quickly took care of his uninvited guests before repacking everything and for the first time since he entered the floor he once again headed towards the surface. Despite only spending three hours underground Ajax knew that he had done serious damage to the mole population, from the looks of things this seemed to be a fairly standard if very rewarding floor biome so he should have killed more than half the moles present on the floor already with his initial hunt. ¡°Might as well start on some alchemy now¡± Ajax muttered to himself. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to keep any of the potions I make anyway so I might as well make something that will help me clear the rest of this floor quicker.¡± Once he finally found an exit to the underground tunnels Ajax had to face his next challenge on the floor, one however that he was more than happy to have. He was spoilt for choice in terms of what plants to use for his alchemy session. Being on such a high floor all of them approached the quality of some of the best ingredients Ajax had ever worked with before now, add on the natural interference from the ambient mana and Ajax found his first three attempts to all end in failure. ¡°Professor Vilethorn told me that the more mare rich the ingredients were the harder it would be to prevent a failure but I definitely didn¡¯t expect this.¡± Ajax complained to himself as he emptied out his latest failed attempt. Despite having previously used ingredients of this mana concentration before, the biggest difference here was that he had always used them in combination with other inferior ingredients. Even in his previous delves he would collect different plants from different floors before starting his alchemy. Now all of the ingredients being this high quality meant that there was no low quality ingredient that he would have to compensate for and saturate with the mana of the better ones as he did before. His fourth attempt finally saw a success as he carefully poured the completed potion into a vial for his [Alchemist''s Examination] to inspect. Much to his shock the [Mana Potion - Common] was one of the best potions he had ever created. Despite the imperfect brewing this potion would still grant the drinker an instant infusion of two hundred mana as well as an increase in their mana regeneration of twenty times over the next minute. His moment of celebration was quickly interrupted as he heard voices coming from the glass greenhouse he had collected his ingredients from. He had no idea what language they were speaking but from the sounds of it this floor definitely would have some humanoid monsters that he was going to have to take care of. This was the perfect chance to practice with his blaster. As Ajax carefully approached the sound of the conversation he leaned into his [Stealth] skill as much as he could, with only a Common skill however his progress was relatively slow he would definitely need to look into getting a few higher rarity skills that would synergise with this one. Despite it taking him a bit of time he silently climbed one of the trees outside the greenhouse to where he had a clear view of the orcs that seemed to be having an argument while pointing to the empty plot inside the greenhouse from where he had collected his ingredients. To start with Ajax didn¡¯t use any mana augmentation on the blaster as he wanted to get a baseline for the weapon against these enemies, despite this he turned [Mana Syphon] all the way up to max and even used the tree he was sitting in to help with the recoil. Beside the initial shot which accurately took one of the orcs right in its left eye Ajax felt like at most ten of the next thirty shots even hit his target however they did seem to do some burn damage. It was then that he tried his first [Mana Augmentation] on the the blaster as he infused it with void mana. Much to his surprise the blaster bolts had turned from a bright red to a pitch black, unfortunately they also went from low damage to no damage at all. In hindsight that might have made sense seeing as void helped bypass armor after the point of impact but the bolts carried no force to speak of to damage the orcs. Changing the augment to magma however turned out to be a great success as the bolts now left small patches of magma on impact that the orcs had to quickly wipe off. His fun and experimentation quickly came to an end however as he felt [Danger Sense] let him know to store the blaster and pull out his shield just in time for the third orc, a shaman by the looks of it, to throw a wind bomb at him. He managed to syphon enough mana from it that the wind blast released on contact with the shield did nothing more than violently remove him from the tree he was in. Back on ground he saw the two orcs marred with wounds from the blaster charging towards him as he took out his hammer from the spacial ring. Experimenting and trying to increase skills was all well and good but you always went back to the basics. Chapter 292 Changing back to wielding his usual melee weapons Ajax wasted no time in taking out all three orcs in moments. The only reason he was able to dispatch level fifties quite that easy was because of the irritating damage he had done with the blaster but also because they weren¡¯t expecting him to dash into a melee frontal assault after a ranged sneak attack. Once he was done with the orcs Ajax chose to continue playing around with the blaster instead of starting a second round of alchemy. This latest combat had shown him just how much some of his skill could go. For all intents and purposes the blaster was simply a weapon that focused small bursts of radiance magic. Ajax had known that such enchanted wands and staff did exit but he had been told in no uncertain terms that they suck. This wasn¡¯t a wrong opinion to have either, considering that enchantments use an external mana source unlike runes it means that with all the different variety of attacks creating one static way to attack wasn¡¯t all that useful. Though the blaster had clearly proven that so long as you pushed enough you could come up with something decent. What surprised Ajax however was the interaction between the blaster and his [Mana Augmentation] skill. It seemed that he could use the skill in order to create a stable mix of radiance and whatever mana type he added afterwards. The results were marginally useful for the amount of mana they cost but their experience of mixing mana like that with his skills was invaluable. Aiming the blaster at one of the orc corpses nearby Ajax went ahead and proceeded to fire an Ice augmented shot. The result was much as expected, the shot itself was unaffected in its travel time but upon contect it released a small flash freeze. Just as there were certain mana types that mixed very poorly with radiance some were a perfect fit, both magma and holy were great choices as the holy would purify anything in the small area of the shot while the magma had its slow travel time covered. The unruly kickback of the blaster also helped Ajax unlock the Uncommon skill [Focused Aim], not only that but he could actively feel his mana control improving as he started fine tuning how powerful the augmentations on each blast are. He finally stopped when his mana dropped to one quarter, from there he had moved on to collecting the ingredients for his next [Alchemy] session. _________________________________________________________________________ While Ajax was slowly working his way through his ideal dungeon floor biome things on the outside of the dungeon weren¡¯t going quite as smoothly. A small wave of panic went through the guards waiting outside the arch when Lexi and Anna exited together with a tied up Olvier. Thankfully for all of them the Empire guards were more than understand about political assassination attempts inside dungeons, this meant that while they offered them the courtesy of not interrogating Oliver they did scour through every single spacial item that exited the dungeon. ¡°There was one more with you when you went in.¡± the guard finally said as he was handing everything back. ¡°Did he die?¡± ¡°I thought it would be a good idea to make sure we had time to properly process everything by the book considering the situation, he is still alive inside so no monsters came out when we exited.¡± Anna said diplomatically. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°He also mentioned something about hunting for crystals.¡± Lexi jumped in with the cover story already established. Oliver simply remained silent throughout the entire process. It wasn¡¯t just the depression coming from the failed mission that was making him so obedient. Rather it was his desire to not bring an international incident to his father¡¯s doorstep along with the failed mission. Having been cleared Lexi, Anna and Oliver were escorted by one guard through the city towards their courtyard while the other guard remained to wait for Ajax should he deem to exit the dungeon. Little did the poor guard know that they would be waiting a fair amount of time for this. _________________________________________________________________________ ¡°You don¡¯t seem all that surprised by the assassination attempt.¡± The emperor addressed Xavier as he had joined his father for lunch with the imperial family. ¡°We were warned ahead of time that something like it may happen during our trip and stay here.¡± Xavier answered neutrality, inside however he was cursing the emperor for using his high social skills against someone so young in order to get a better hold of the situation. ¡°That¡¯s good, one unexpected surprise is as much as any trip requires.¡± the emperor sneered as he referred to Theron¡¯s lucky break. Multiple offers had been made by the empire to the beastkin in hopes to recover the worms. Unfortunately for them all that did was lead to a few angry merchants as they were forced to treat the beastkin with respect while making their offers only to be rejected. ¡°Is there anything you would be willing to share about the tournament coming in a few years?¡± This time the emperor addressed the crown prince much to Xavier¡¯s relief. ¡°The elves are expected to win it.¡± the crown prince offered. ¡°They are simply in too deep of a financial hole following their most recent monarch. Seeing how their champion is yet to follow its king into retirement their victory is all but assured. The only question remaining is how much we can get from them for it.¡± None of this information was new to the imperial family, their spies had kept them well in the loop concerning the big moves. ¡°What are you hoping to get from them?¡± the imperial crown prince asked. ¡°We are looking to see about obtaining delves into their dungeon as well.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of dungeons your nation will be visiting in the next few years.¡± the emperor chimed in. ¡°Our dungeon here, the elf¡¯s, I¡¯ve heard rumors about your father finally cashing in that dungeon delve favor from the republic and you will be coming back to mine after all that.¡± ¡°With how fresh this peace is and the somewhat assured longevity of it based on their champions'' good health now is the time to start preparing our next generation of champions and giving them a good start should help keep them motivated to push forward.¡± the crown prince answered. Xavier felt a small pang of jealousy at that. He had mostly gotten over it after being repeatedly exposed to Ajax¡¯s talent and hard work. That didn¡¯t change the fact that there had already been a plan in the works to help strengthen the kingdoms next champion, with Ajax¡¯s appearance he had been moved down from the central position. Oddly enough Xavier knew that focusing on Ajax was the correct choice yet he still failed to smother every last ounce of jealousy. His earlier combat win did a lot to appease his own ego. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear.¡± the emperor praised. ¡°I do wish all of your talented youths the best of luck.¡± Despite the emperor¡¯s opinion on other races he still knew very well that if even two or three were to ally together they would be able to beat them due to sheer numbers. This meant that the stronger the human kingdom next to them was, the stronger their defense was since that was the only way to reach them. Just like that three whole days had passed without Ajax showing any intention of exiting the dungeon. Suffice to say that the imperials had started worrying about him trying to do something on the inside that they had missed in the inspection. After the fourth day ended with still no sign of Ajax the kingdom¡¯s people were starting to get worried as well and outright dread had started to set in by the fifth day. The entire breakfast table was eerily quiet as Xavier, Anna, Lexi, the crown prince and a few other nobles ate. ¡°Do you think something happened to him?¡± Lexi asked anxiously. ¡°Something definitely happened.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°Most likely it was something good and he is simply taking advantage of the opportunity, according to my brother the risk of him actually dying is very low.¡± ¡°What sort of opportunity takes so long?¡± Lexi didn¡¯t give up. ¡°I remember a recent abandoned city floor theme where they managed to find an Alchemist¡¯s shop that had potions that increased skill growth for an hour when drunk.¡± The crown prince offered. ¡°They sadly weren¡¯t able to get any clue as to what the recipe to make them was but they took five days on that floor alone as they ran through the entire¡¯s city supply of the potion and all of the team members broke through at least one skill bottleneck.¡± During all this time Ajax could only guess at how much he worried people but he had only just managed to finish killing every monster on this floor. Despite that he had gone through only half of the ingredients that could be found in the various greenhouses and that was despite his extremely wasteful approach to experiments. Chapter 293 ¡°So stupid.¡± Ajax mutters a little downcast as he rubs his left shoulder. It had been about ten days since he first entered the dungeon as part of the group of five and Ajax was planning to exit the dungeon today. Ideally he would have liked to stay a lot longer on this floor theme but he knew that even coming out like he planned he would just get the night to relax before the delve into the next dungeon began. As for why Ajax''s shoulder hurt, he had nobody to blame but himself. After having activated the obelisk four days ago he had spent ten hours killing everything that was left on the floor before he started back up on his Alchemy. Turns out one of the orc patrols was far enough away that they had gotten the drop on him when he was just setting up his equipment and nailed him with a well placed arrow. Not only had Ajax not been running his [Mana Syphon] at the time but his defense was much more focused on evading rather than blocking so the arrow reached deep. It wasn¡¯t enough to actually do more than inconvenience him when he was taking out the remaining patrol but the poison on the arrow made it so he could still feel some discomfort despite the healing potions and rest time he had. Before he steps out of the arch to exit the dungeon Ajax takes another look around to see the greenhouses he picked clean. Despite spending almost a week just practicing his alchemy in one of the most wasteful ways possible he has still just barely managed to go through all of the ingredients. Before he stepped through the arch he made sure to once again place his hand on it and try his best to memorize the mana he felt from it. When Ajax excited the place he had made sure to make it look like his alchemy set was totally unused why his armor and pickaxe would be damaged and dirty. All this was done to better convince the Empire that he had stopped on the third floor out of greed. ¡°Ajax!¡± It took a moment for the one guard that was left to watch the dungeon to realize who he was looking at after most people on the expedition had already written Ajax off as dead due to not coming out in so long. ¡°What took you so long boy? Do you know how worried we were?¡± The guard made to approach him but was quickly intercepted. ¡°Stay back, not before we examine him.¡± The dungeon guards quickly made sure nothing could be passed or hidden. Ajax knew to expect something like this. Even now every last bit of space in his special ring was filled with the ore from the rainbow mini-boss he killed on the third floor. Everybody expected that he either died or found something special and they wanted to see what it was. The guard was shocked when he took the ring and looked inside it. Like most spacial items he got an instant knowledge of what was inside and he felt a headache coming in from how full it was. Most shocking however was that most of it was taken up with jewels. Not ore that may contain jewels but the straight up gems with a lot of them being on the very large side of the scale as far as gems went being bigger than his fist. ¡°That is quite the find you made there, I can see why you would stay inside so long for this.¡± the inspector says, despite the gems only being from the third floor their quality is still something else to normal people. Not only that but the amount he brought out is about equal to the amount that gets brought out of both dungeons in total in two months, let alone the fact that it is made up from a large variety of gems. ¡°There is of course the tax the empire places on goods taken from the dungeon.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The amount of gems brought out by one person would be enough to speed two or three jewelers and enchanters through some of their early level bottlenecks. ¡°The deal states that there is no tax to be placed on this delve.¡± The Goldmancer guard finally manages to approach as he also motions for the spacial ring to be returned to Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re going to have a lot of questions to answer and not much time to do it when we get back.¡± the guard whispers to Ajax once they finally start moving away from the dungeon. ¡°Was it worth it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± This is the only word Ajax actually spoke since he exited the dungeon but the conviction he had when he said it along with the gems collected let him know the young man had made great strides. Ajax barely made it four steps into the compound the kingdom was using for their base of operations before he was slammed into and hugged. ¡°What took you so long?¡± Lexi, who had been slightly depressed from the floating rumor that Ajax had died, wasted no time before quickly letting him go before it got awkward. ¡°Yes, I will have to insist that you answer Lady Manashaper¡¯s question.¡± The crown prince along with Xavier and Anna stand not too far away looking at him with slight frowns marred with a hint of relief. ¡°Though it might be best if we do it somewhere a bit more private.¡± Once they made it to the private room the first thing the crown prince asked Ajax was for a confirmation of the story Anna and Lexi had presented him with, despite fully trusting their version of events he had a duty to verify everything. ¡°The dungeon guards really looked like they bought the cover story, Your Highness.¡± the guard mentions once Ajax mentions how he stored most of the body of the miniboss in his ring for the crystals. ¡°It helps that he all but stumbled on a literal fortune.¡± From there Ajax makes some slight mentions of the next two floors all but glossing over them and making sure not to mention the droid or blaster. The crown prince had high enough social skills to see that he was masking something but not he simply decided to let it go as simply some word opportunity the dungeon presented him with. ¡°There was what?¡± Everyone was left slack-jawed however once Ajax described the theme of the sixth floor. ¡°I couldn¡¯t just let the opportunity slip away, that was tens, maybe even hundreds of thousands of gold worth of alchemy reagents.¡± Ajax defended his actions. ¡°The alternative was to come back here and attend some noble parties.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t wipe the grin off his face as he thought about the progress he made in alchemy, the experience he gained and especially the two Rare skill [Stabilize Mixture] and [Mass Production]. ¡°I won¡¯t argue you made the wrong decision, you clearly haven¡¯t.¡± the crown prince says. ¡°But you do know you can¡¯t just keep avoiding social events, it isn¡¯t that big a deal doing it here in the Empire but once we get back you may have to attend a few more.¡± Ajax knows the crown prince is right in his assessment, he even gets more than one or two commiseratory looks from Lexi and Xavier both of whom have had to put up with social events they wanted no part in. With the interrogation over, Ajax quickly makes the rounds of the compound in order to find Theron. He is not surprised to find out that Theron had already made arrangements to have the worms looked after while he is in the dungeon. He could clearly see the anticipation in his retainer as he looked forward to delving the dungeon for extra stats after spending the better part of two weeks in the compound being haunted by merchants looking to buy his prize. ¡°Great to see that reports of your death were greatly exaggerated, my lord.¡± Theron greeted Ajax with a voice that sounded extremely respectful despite the amusing memories the words brought Ajax from his previous life. Everyone delving in the morning got to bed early and Ajax all but collapsed onto the bed and was out like a light before his head even hit the pillow after so many days of extreme concentration. He was so tired that he ended up getting woken up by one of the servants before quickly getting geared and heading out. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry this delve will only take two, maybe three days.¡± The Goldmancer booster guards grin as they take in his tired state. Ajax simply nods his thanks but he knows that it¡¯s in this dungeon that the true challenge truly lies. The first day won¡¯t be anything special; they might get through two or three floors if they move quickly as the lower leveled people get their stats. The second day however Ajax knows he will have to face a level sixty-four and if he gets a decent match-up on the next floor maybe even a level seventy-four. Chapter 294 The full twenty people entered the first floor of the dungeon, despite Oliver now being locked up and awaiting a trial once they returned to the kingdom it was clear that a substitute had been found to take his spot. Despite there being twenty people altogether only five of them could actually gain anything from the first floor, with the monsters highest level being thirty-four Anna, Lexi, Xavier, Ajax and Theron were the only ones who could gain the stat points for the floor. Unfortunately for Anna and Lexi they would both have to step out with Xavier on the next floor as while they might have been able to take out a level forty they simply don¡¯t have enough mana to kill a level forty-four even with a good match-up. The fights against the bosses on this floor ranged from hard won battles for Xavier Lexi and Anna, to a weak resistance the monsters managed against Theron who was thirty-six and Ajax who all but one shotted his own opponent without issue. Going from the first floor to the second still took them a couple of hours as they did have to search for five different mini-bosses but it was a relatively short journey. Entering the second floor of the dungeon the team was ready to grow smaller. ¡°Don¡¯t linger around this time as well or I¡¯ll get the impression you just don¡¯t like us.¡± Xavier joked with Ajax before he, Lexi and Anna stepped out. The young prince had started making an effort to befriend Ajax ever since he came back from his perceived demise inside the dungeon. The second floor theme wasn¡¯t all that special, a rocky mountain range much like Ajax had encountered in the previous dungeon, this one however wasn¡¯t set in such a high altitude as to have snow and that cold of a weather. Much like in the previous floor Ajax had no trouble killing the level forty-four miniboss, the challenge would only start to ramp up from the next floor. Two more of participants were only level forty so this was the only floor they could gain stats from but despite the four level difference they had no problems killing a bear and an eagle respectively. The big challenge on this floor came down to Theron. As a full physical fighter fighting up eight levels was a lot tougher for him than it was for a mage like Lexi and Anna or even a spellblade like Xavier. Not only that but he simply didn¡¯t have a high enough proficiency with ranged weapons in order to use them in such high level combat. It took the team almost three hours before they finally managed to find a mountain goat miniboss scaling one of the cliffs. The reason for picking a mountain goat was simply that is was Theron most favorable match-up in this environment, despite the eagle being weaker and more fragile Theron had no way to deal with its flight and a bear was too offensively inclined to take on in melee combat. Throughout the entire battle Theron showed off his great reflexes as he continuously dodge the goat¡¯s charge while also landing a blow as it zoomed past him. It only took six hits before he managed to cripple one of the legs and sent the goat face planting into the rocky floor. From there Theron kept the pressure up as it used the cripled leg as a way to keep his stance from the sharp horns. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. It took Theron ten minutes before he finally brought down the oversized mountain goat and he had an open gash on his left arm from where the goat managed to graze him with a horn on one of the charges. ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re only level thirty-six and you can handle something like this.¡± some of the other nobles commented as they measured Theron¡¯s performance. ¡°Too bad you¡¯ve already joined a house.¡± Despite the words paying lip service to Ajax¡¯s presence he was sure that once they exited the floor Theron would be presented with at least one offer to join another house. Ajax wasn¡¯t worried about him taking the offer so he didn¡¯t even mention it when he congratulated the bull beastkin on his fight. As they entered the third floor the group lost another three of its members, of the remaining fourteen people eight of them were going to be leaving after they cleared this floor. This would just leave Ajax, the three guards and one other person going on to push past the fourth floor. These people were all considered to be young having just barely passed forty years of age and being already above level fifty they were the next generation of noble talents that every house was giving every opportunity they could to grow stronger in a time of peace. Without Ajax checking the arches they used to go up a floor in the dungeon a small issue cropped up when the third floor turned out to be one of the dreaded water dominant biomes. If there was one silver lining it was that there were plenty of birds flying above the hundreds of small islands and that with the increased aggressiveness it only took ten hours before everyone managed to get a solo kill on a miniboss of their own. It was only once they entered the fifth floor and most of the party left that things turned serious between the remaining five people. ¡°You do understand your role in here Rex?¡± one of the Goldmancer guards asked the last member of their team, he was the one to receive Oliver''s spot in the dungeon. ¡°I do, after I get the upgrade for this floor I¡¯m to stick around for another twenty hours near the next floor¡¯s arch and only exit after that.¡± Rex replied with a grin at his fortune to be selected for the newly opened spot. Ajax had spent most of the time on the second floor skinning the minibosses so that he would have something to show for himself as a reason to stick around inside the dungeon, after his previous stunt it was believable enough that he would just need someone else to cover as being the last person boosted. For the first time since entering the dungeon Ajax was finally also given the stronger gear that had been prepared for him ahead of time as the mini-bosses on this floor would be level sixty-four. Ajax could feel the enchantments on the gear as the armor though much sturdier than his usual set felt even lighter, not only that but he had been given a metal mana attuned warhammer, this meant that he would be able to use a metal augmentation without feeding it through his gauntlet. The same applied to the wind attuned sword, fire attuned axe and ice attuned shield that had been loaned to him. Ajax was used to fighting level sixty-four monsters but he had only done so as a part of a team in a group battle, while the guards would ensure that the battle remained a one versus one with the miniboss it should still prove a good warm-up unlike the rest of the floors. Funnily enough the floor seemed to be of a similar biome to the first floor of the Goldmine dungeon back in Gryndor. Despite the much larger floor size the forest surrounding a mountain with griffins flying up above was a very familiar sight for all of them. Ajax was slightly disappointed with encountering such a biome on this floor instead of the next, despite how deadly they are as a pack wolves are one of the best monsters to find on a floor for boosting as a lot of their power comes from their group tactics while boosters can isolate the boss in a one versus one. It didn¡¯t take the group long before they ran into the first pack of deer on the floor but Ajax was content to simply let Rex take this mini-boss as he simply watched. Rex more than lived up to his level sixty-five expectations. The man was a full on rogue with two daggers that he used to slowly bleed out the stag while always keeping well away from the reinforced antlers. The fight lasted about twenty minutes, unlike Theron¡¯s however the Rex was the one on the offensive throughout the entire fight simply content to keep prodding the stag until it got slower and slower due to blood loss before he slit its throat. ¡°We¡¯ll make camp here for now.¡± the guards said after the battle. ¡°That should give you some time to rest before you have to fight. Even with us being level ninety-fives we won¡¯t risk setting up a camp on the next floor.¡± Despite higher level people being able to stay awake for a few days straight Ajax knew that it would still affect them so taking a break now seemed like a very good idea. Tomorrow he would have a wolf to fight and hopefully a good biome for a level seventy-four. Chapter 295 Ajax woke up refreshed the next morning. The booster had made sure that anything they needed to take care of was killed quietly without disturbing the two people they brought with them who would need their rest. ¡°Are you ready?¡± The Goldmancer guard asked him. ¡°We have been tailing a small pack with a wolf mini-boss.¡± Ajax simply nodded as hu stuffed a few rations into his mouth before he quickly secured his loaned armor and followed after the booster. Now that he was quickly moving through the forest Ajax started to feel the difference between his loaned gear and his usual one. Despite the one he had on now being substantially better it still felt odd to him as he didn¡¯t have a chance to break it in. ¡®That¡¯s what this fight is for.¡¯ Ajax thought to himself as he called upon the wind enhanced sword and the fire axe. There was an argument to be made for the shield but the hammer definitely wasn¡¯t the weapon to use against a speedy opponent like a wolf. ¡°There they are.¡± The guard pointed out the pack of six wolves. The miniboss stood half a head taller than the rest and seemed to be scanning the surroundings. Despite having a common more strength focused warrior build the booster had no problem attacking and wiping out the other five wolves, with a thirty level lead on them they proved easy pickings as Ajax tried to ambush the alpha. For the first time in a long time his opening shot from the bow was dodged, this was even more impressive considering that the wolf wasn¡¯t even focusing on him when he attacked but on the booster who killed the other five. As soon as Ajax engaged the booster backed off making sure to take none of the credit in the eyes of the system. With the high ambient mana on this floor Ajax had no issue keeping his [Mana Syphon] turned all the way up with only a small amount being provided from his own mana supplies, despite this he was barely landing small glancing blows against the wolf. It was easy to see that he had the wolf on the back foot but this was slightly troubling as this was merely the warm up fight. The wolf was doing its best looking for any opening Ajax might present but there was simply nothing. All it could do was try and get out of the way in time as the flaming axe and the wind blade were getting more and more hits in. A minute in, Ajax managed to land a more deep cut on the inside of the wolf¡¯s front leg, from there all it took was a well timed application of his earth mana to get the wolf to slip placing even more pressure on the injured leg. Ajax was sure not to miss that opening as he lodged the axe straight into the wolf¡¯s skull. ¡°Not bad¡± the booster congratulated him. ¡°We might want to make sure the one on the next floor isn¡¯t so dexterity focused.¡± Ajax could only nod as they headed back to their makeshift camp before heading towards the next floor. ¡°How long am I to wait?¡± Rex asked as he stood by the arch leading to the next floor. ¡°About ten hours should be enough.¡± one of the three boosters answered. ¡°He¡¯ll most likely be done in an hour or two but if anything too dangerous comes for you here just leave.¡± Ajax had gotten a chance to evaluate the arch with his [Mana Syphon] and found it eerily similar to the mana from this floor, there was something strange about it however that he couldn¡¯t place his finger on. Entering the new floor Ajax and the boosters found themselves in the oddest jungle Ajax had ever seen. They were surrounded by large green trees that seemed oddly thin for how wide they were. ¡°Dammit, the foliage is thick here.¡± one of the guards cursed. ¡°I¡¯ll be here for about ten hours.¡± Rex confirmed as he stood leaning against the arch ready to jump through at any moment. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The more they moved through the massive jungle the more Ajax felt there was something odd about it, it seemed like he recognised his surroundings somewhat but he didn¡¯t know why. That¡¯s why it all seemed so weird, we aren¡¯t in a jungle.¡± Ajax exclaimed as they came upon the first monster on this floor. The monster in question was an oversized ant about the size of a dog. ¡°I hate supresized floor.¡± one of the guards complained, clearly this wasn¡¯t the first time they had to fight on a floor where the dungeon increased the size of everything but the people entering. The others also seemed ready to complain but Ajax felt his [Dangers Sense] go off. Two of the boosters also seemed to have a similar reaction as while Ajax quickly jumped aside from his current position both of them launched an attack in the direction the danger was coming from. The spider that tried to jump Ajax was quickly killed off, its landing had been slightly off as the prey he expected to land on had moved out of reach and two attacks met it instead. ¡°Great, they have ambush predators.¡± Ajax silently cursed his luck. ¡°Let¡¯s find a mini-boss and get off this floor quickly.¡± Ajax very much agreed with the guards suggestion. It took no more than another fifteen minutes before they managed to find the first mini-boss on the floor. ¡°That one¡¯s no good.¡± The booster shook his head as he looked towards the centipede. ¡°That one should work actually.¡± Ajax surprised them. For most people a defensive type monster with some form of magically increased defense like they were sensing from the centipede would be a non-starter to push their limits against. For Ajax however this was most likely his ideal match-up as with the massive amount of ambient mana he would spend next to nothing on [Mana Syphon], more than that he could actively use the same skill to also weaken the monster''s defensive skill. ¡°Are you sure?¡± The boosters double checked with him. At Ajax¡¯s nod they were quick to move and surround the centipede, they wanted to make sure nothing else would get the jump on Ajax during the fight. Much like with the wolf Ajax opening attack was fired from his bow, unlike the wolf however the centipede didn¡¯t have the same awareness and took the opening arrow right through one of its eyes. Considering how little centipedes relied on eyesight this wouldn¡¯t do much to limit its senses but it was the perfect weakpoint to ensure his lightning infused arrow didn¡¯t just bounce off the armored exoskeleton. Much like he expected the centipede wasted no time using the two large antennas to sweep in his general direction, the jerky spasms and awkward movements showed that the lightning arrow had done its job in affecting its movement. What he didn¡¯t expect was the way mana radiated off the antennas as his [Sense Mana] let him know exactly how the centipede was taking in its surroundings. Ajax tried firing a few more arrows as the centipede advanced on him but now that it was paying attention to him he could do little more than bounce them off the durable exoskeleton. Much like the arrows Ajax knew that a wind enhanced sword wasn¡¯t likely to do much better against that thick armor, the warhammer was the clear option the only question was would he use a shield or the axe with it. In the end Ajax went with the shield, with the mana potential of the monster there was no reason to go all in on offense only to be blindsided by a spell. The fight played out in an odd mirror of the one he had earlier in the day against the wolf. Just like against the wolf Ajax was the faster of the two, where the fight differed was that Ajax was now the one who was spending most of his time dodging attacks while looking for an opening to land a few strikes. Every time his hammer managed to connect Ajax made sure to augment the strike with a solid bit of metal mana. The attacks were effective as they were slowly but surely cracking through the tough shell that protected the head of the centipede. The only issue was that Ajax couldn¡¯t maintain his offense without the centipede trading a few blows back. Each of the blows Ajax took he made sure to try and redirect. Despite that even the glancing blows he was taking caused the defensive enchantments on his shield and gear to activate. Ajax could actively feel himself bruising despite the extra protection and he knew that had he still been using his own gear he wouldn¡¯t be able to outlast the centipede. Five minutes into the fight and Ajax¡¯s started heaving his breaths, he had gone through half of his entire mana pool and a third of his stamina. His health was doing much better, still sitting high above 80%. The centipede on the other hand looked like a vase that was glued back together, the exoskeleton on its head was now a large series of cracks. ¡®This would be so much simpler with void¡¯ Ajax silently complained to himself but that was one secret he wasn¡¯t ready to let slip just yet. Despite all this Ajax was still grinning, he knew that the fight was going his way, all he had to do was continue like this and it wouldn¡¯t be long until the centipede died. The centipede was obviously of the same opinion as it started fighting more and more recklessly. Ajax could feel each blow he knocked aside with his shield reverberate through his bones, each attack was now more telegraphed but at the same time carried more of the centipede''s body weight. Thick blue blood started pouring out through the cracks in the exoskeleton as Ajax had focused most of his strikes there. A surge of mana was quickly released, it was a trick Ajax recognised as usually he was the one messing with the ground beneath his opponents feet, unfortunately even with [Mana Syphon] and his own casting he wasn¡¯t able to overpower the centipedes manipulation entirely. For the first time during the fight Ajax was now in range of the centipedes fangs, he pushed a solid two hundred ice mana through his shield letting it withstand one side of the bite while his chest piece dented and his ribs broke on the other side. Sadly for the centipede that simply wasn¡¯t enough, despite the pain Ajax endured and now had an open shot and buried his warhammer straight through the broken exoskeleton and crushed the head of the centipede. ¡°Easy there kid.¡± The boosters were quick to come after he tanked that last attack. ¡°You killed it. Good job, because if you hadn¡¯t we would have after you took that hit.¡± Ajax said nothing but simply focused on his light magic as he left his safety in the hands of the boosters as he focused on patching up his broken ribs. Chapter 296 Ajax was focusing on his healing and holy magic as the guards surrounded him looking ready to move on. ¡°I don¡¯t know which part is more unbelievable: that you are seventeen and you brought down a level seventy-four or that you are only level thirty-six and did the same thing.¡± One of the guards said as he looked over the dead mini-boss. Ajax was surprised to see a flashing system icon in the bottom right of his vision. While keeping up his healing spell to mend his ribs from where the centipede crushed him Ajax opened it up. Achievement : Pick on someone your own size Solo kill a dungeon mini-boss that is more than twice your level without using the environment or a temporary boosting consumable (At least a thirty level difference) Requires no Discoveries Pick a skill to gain : [Aura Immunity] [Enigma] [Inspectors Eye] [Pain Immunity] [Truth Sense] Cost : For the next twenty levels (reaching level 56) combat with enemies twenty levels above you or less grants vastly reduced experience Ajax was shocked reading what the rewards for his Achievement was, it was clear all those skills were Legendary ones and the cost that came with getting them wasn¡¯t all that high for him, the only question was which one should he get? ¡°Let''s get moving.¡± The three boosters started herding Ajax towards the arch the centipede was protecting. Ajax hesitated for a moment before he decided to make his decision. While all of the skills seemed very good there was one that would always be useful to him and he had little hope of unlocking on his own. Before he went through the arch to the sixth floor Ajax made sure to change back into his regular gear and give the borrowed one back to the boosters. With nothing else to do on the floor they all passed through the arch. Once on the sixth floor Ajax wasted no time dismissing the +1 to all stats notification before heading back straight back through the arch and out of the dungeon. Unlike last time since Ajax came out of the dungeon on schedule he found quite a few Kingdom personnel waiting for him, not only that but he didn¡¯t even blink when the Empire demanded to check his spacial ring he had something much more important to check. Name : Ajax Level :35 Experience : 67890/68500 Traits: Divine Witness, Baron Health: 1000/2600 Mana: 530/2630 Stamina :615/2030 Vitality : 260 Strength :219 Endurance :203 Dexterity : 219 Intellect : 263 Wisdom : 263 Mind : 263 Perception : 203 Stat Points : 0 Skills : Stolen novel; please report. New : Focused Aim 0 -> 2 Stabilize mixture 0 -> 5 Mass Production 0 -> 3 Inspector¡¯s eye 0 -> 1 Upgrades: Stealth 38 -> 40 Athleticism 39 -> 40 Running 39 ->40 Gardening 27 -> 30 Axes 46 -> 48 Hammers 46 -> 48 Deception 30 -> 31 Swords 46 -> 48 Shield 46 -> 48 Bow 46 -> 48 Skinning 39 -> 40 Dismantle 43 -> 44 Pain Resistance 26 -> 28 Cold Resistance 18 -> 20 Conversationalist 6 -> 9 Meditation 51 -> 52 Sense Mana 51 -> 52 Expel Mana 51 -> 52 Mana farming 23 -> 31 Danger Sense 34 -> 35 Alchemy 34 -> 45 Mana Milling 24 -> 35 Precise Cut 37 -> 40 Precise Blow 38 -> 40 Judge Threat 33 -> 34 Piercing Shot 39 -> 40 Berserker 17 -> 20 Cooperation 28 -> 30 Berserker Style 19 -> 20 Manipulate Mana 42 -> 45 Inject Mana 42 -> 45 Spot Weakness 32 -> 33 Mana Skin 27 -> 28 Teamwork 21 -> 23 Mana Conjuration 27 -> 29 Water Aspect Mana 41 -> 46 Fire Aspect Mana 41 -> 46 Air Aspect Mana 41 -> 46 Earth Aspect Mana 41 -> 46 Shadow Aspect Mana 41 -> 46 Light Aspect Mana 41 -> 46 Lightning Aspect Mana 24 -> 29 Metal Aspect Mana 24 -> 29 Ice Aspect Mana 24 -> 29 Magma Aspect Mana 24 -> 29 Holy Aspect Mana 20 -> 27 Void Aspect Mana 23 -> 27 Mana Syphon 29 -> 30 Enigma 12 -> 15 Mana Augmentation 31 -> 36 Mana Conjuration 27 -> 31 Battlemage Style 9 -> 11 Dungeon Crafter 10 -> 23 Illusion Resistance 0 -> 1 Impervious senses 2 -> 3 Alchemist¡¯s Examination 5 -> 15 His status had made great strides since the last time he checked it. His level had been barely a couple thousand experience points into level thirty-five and after only two delves he was almost level thirty-six. His resources showed just how difficult the fight against the centipede had been but his stats showed the biggest change and the prize he had come here for, after two delves all of his stats grew by nine points just from the floor clearance bonus. The battle with centipede could be seen in the increase to his physical combat skills while his research into different applications of mana could be seen in the leap all of his mana skills made. The biggest winner by far had to be [Alchemy] and the related skills. The week-long extended trip was clearly showing its worth as the skills progressed by leaps and bounds. When he was given back the ring Ajax noticed that the skin from the monster he killed on the second floor was missing. Ajax didn¡¯t know how they knew which one belonged to the monster he killed but he knew they would be analyzing it to try to find out more about it but decided not to make a fuss about it here. Once he got back to their compound Ajax found himself taken straight to the crown prince, not only that but this time nobody else was taken along with him. ¡°Yes, your highness?¡± Ajax asked once he was brought in. The crown prince waited until they were left alone in the room before he took out an amulet to create a privacy screen around them. ¡°What were the rewards like?¡± his voice giddy with anticipation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Ajax sounded confused. ¡°We know that killing a dungeon boss that is twice your level on your own grants you your pick from a selection or Rare skills. Doing so without making use of a boosting potion or the environment grants you an Epic skill, the cost of taking that skill however is too high as most are unable to keep on leveling at a steady pace unless they are crafters. Does doing so without either grant you a Legendary skill?¡± Ajax was shocked to have that question brought straight up. ¡°Ehh¡­ It¡­¡± ¡°So it does!¡± The prince exclaimed. ¡°Not only that but if a social skill is part of the selection you clearly didn¡¯t take it.¡± ¡°Yes, it does grant that offer .¡± Ajax admitted once he saw the crown prince already put it together. ¡°That is all I wanted to know.¡± The royal cut him off before Ajax could tell him any more. ¡°My father may ask you more about the options you were given but not even my privacy screen is secure enough that I would go into detail about what you may have selected while inside the Empire capital. I will say congratulations.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°I would like to mention that the empire did take the skin from the monster I killed on the second floor after I came out of the dungeon.¡± ¡°That is quite unfortunate.¡± the prince frowned at that new, his excitement gone replaced by a calculating look like flipping a switch. ¡°Ideally you wouldn¡¯t have brought that particular skin out with you even if it would have looked suspicious.¡± ¡°Nevermind, what¡¯s done is done.¡± The frown only showed on his face for an instant before it was replaced with a smirk. ¡°That little overextension actually gives us the perfect excuse to have you miss tonight''s party on account of you being tired.¡± Ajax was over the moon at the news that he wouldn¡¯t have to attend another party with the Empire¡¯s nobility. ¡°I really am tired.¡± Ajax dropped any pretense of hiding his exhaustion after the fight and even played it up with his few social skills. ¡°You better get a good night''s rest since we are leaving tomorrow at noon,¡± the crown prince said before he dismissed Ajax. Chapter 297 The trip back was very much like the trip to the Empire yet for Ajax they might as well have been completely different. The only part that hadn¡¯t changed for him was the noble parties that he dreaded to attend. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what you want to focus on now?¡± The Goldmancer guard that had joined them in the carriage asked. ¡°If I wait any longer than this coming summer break I know I¡¯ll lose out on a floor worth of rewards.¡± Ajax was adamant. ¡°You do know those dungeons have an insane floor leap, there is a reason why no villages have survived anywhere near them.¡± the guard asked again. ¡°I know.¡± Ajax confirmed. Ajax had spent a good portion of the trip trying to plan his progression into the two remaining dungeons that the kingdom had. Both dungeons started higher than the regular 30-35 with them being 31-36 and 32-37 for their first floors but their real challenge came from the fifteen and twenty respective level leap between floors. This made progressing from one floor to the next an impossibility for any delver, it was also the reason why the dungeon arches were always surrounded by the monsters left by the last group of people to go and gain their extra stat points. Ajax was hoping to be able to gain a three floor bonus from the twenty level leap dungeon and four floor bonuses from the fifteen level leap dungeon. This however would mean that he would need to be able to defeat a level eighty-one level monster by summer time. The seven level leap might not seem all that insurmountable in half a year but Ajax couldn¡¯t surpass level thirty-eight if he wanted the reward from the first floor. ¡°As long as you can afford it I¡¯m sure House Goldmancer will let you hire their booster, but don¡¯t expect me to come do it.¡± the guard shrugged with helplessness. Even now Ajax could see that the boosters had a much tougher challenge than expected, sure they were all level ninety-five but the three of them had managed to clean an entire level 79-84 floor in less than twenty-four hours which was truly impressive. ¡°Dad will probably get you a really good deal.¡± Anna joined the conversation. ¡°Will he though? I all but promised him I would take care of anything that would happen to you inside the dungeon.¡± Ajax replied but his tone made it clear it was a joke, his confidence actually stemming from the fact that he had done House Goldmancer another big favour. ¡°Saving me was part of the deal, but you also managed to get him a gift wrapped prisoner to interrogate about who was involved, that¡¯s worth a bonus at the very least.¡± Anna decided to go along with his joke. ¡°My lord do I really have to hold them?¡± Theron complained again. Since the second trip of their return journey the worms had hit their first growth spurt. This wouldn¡¯t have usually been a problem however along with that growth spurt came a large release of slime as they constantly outgrew the soft exoskeletons for the next two months. Already they had grown to be almost as thick as Theron¡¯s legs and had his height in length. ¡°Yes, Theron.¡± Ajax sighed having had this discussion before. ¡°It¡¯s only one more day before we get home¡­ and you¡¯re already slimed.¡± he only whispered the second part as he really did feel a little guilty for what Theron had to put up, he¡¯d make sure both July and his grandfather would learn of his plight and have them reward him for bringing back the worms. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. _________________________________________________________________________ Emperor P.O.V. as Ajax was departing ¡°Well? What did we manage to find out about the boy?¡± I asked my advisors. ¡°There is definitely something special.¡± my spymaster said. ¡°Despite their best efforts to hide what he can do we are confident he can fight as well as a level fifty.¡± ¡°An almost fifteen level jump in power from a seventeen year old, that certainly is something.¡± I comment. ¡°Are we any closer to figuring out how he did it?¡± ¡°Yes, sire!¡± my head advisor chimes in. ¡°We¡¯ve uncovered that he somehow managed to hold back on assigning any points in his stats until he almost turned fifteen.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be everything.¡± I say. ¡°It actually fits pretty well.¡± I am surprised to see the general answer. ¡°Go on.¡± I urged him. ¡°Most nobles only manage to gain an extra twenty stats through sheer effort between the ages of ten and fifteen.¡± The general says. ¡°Commoners manage twenty-five to thirty. If he found a way to hold on to those points it means that not only his challenge in gaining extra points didn¡¯t spike like most people does when they reach ten but as a spellblade fighter he would have been pushing all of his stats daily.¡± The argument certainly got more traction when you looked at it like that. How much would it be worth, an extra twenty points in every stat maybe. Add on stats from potions and dungeons, as long as he is a talented combatant it makes sense that he would be able to hit fifteen levels above even at his age. ¡°Find out the method he used, if it is easy to replicate we need to start teaching it.¡± I order. ¡°And what about the boy?¡± the spymaster asks. ¡°Leak the information about his performance.¡± I decided after a moment to think about it. ¡°Mention nothing of his technique but let the pointy ears and the animals know what he can do. If we¡¯re lucky they might just make a move and push him straight to us with a more understanding outlook on our views.¡± _________________________________________________________________________ Sylvanthal as Ajax was arriving in Gryndor¡¯s capital ¡°So the empire is hoping we will bite?¡± the elven king asked his old friend and champion. ¡°It certainly seems that way.¡± the champion responded. ¡°The boy will be a problem.¡± The king sighed. ¡°He will be outmatched by more than fifteen levels in the tournament, some of our people will be above eighty by that time.¡± the champion sounded shocked. ¡°Maybe he will not play a big part in this contest.¡± the king admitted. ¡°But he is young, give him another two decades and Gryndor will have him win everything under fifty years of age.¡± ¡°Are you suggesting we kill the boy?¡± the champion frowned at the idea. ¡°No, disgusted as I am to say it, we might just use the boy to make sure we extend this forcefully peaceful.¡± the king laments. ¡°We just need to make a good impression on him.¡± _________________________________________________________________________ The Proudrock as Ajax was arriving back in Gryndor¡¯s capital. ¡°We have news on the boy, my king.¡± the rat beastkin said as he bowed to the lion and tiger beastkin. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear!¡± The king said with a roar. ¡°The imperials managed to confirm that he is able to fight fifteen levels above himself.¡± the spymaster squeaked out. ¡°And where did you get this information?¡± the duke asked, his mind already running through different scenarios. ¡°It was actually surprisingly easy to gather, it came from at least ten sources.¡± The rat beastkin revealed. ¡°You think it isn¡¯t accurate?¡± the king asked, his enthusiasm dampened. ¡°No, it¡¯s accurate.¡± the duke responded quietly as he began to pace as his tail flicted. ¡°It might be a lowball actually, but the empire is leaking the information.¡± ¡°Why would they?¡± the king asked. ¡°They want us to make an attempt on his life.¡± the duke answered. ¡°We either kill him for them or push him more towards their views where they might recruit him.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying we should leave him alone?¡± the spymaster asked surprised, knowing the duke¡¯s usual tactics. ¡°Unfortunately, yes.¡± the duke let out a remorseful sigh. ¡°It was a good plan by the imperials, under normal circumstances I would still recommend that we eliminate him early due to his potential but doing so would tip our hand too early, maybe we will get lucky and one of the other kingdoms will take him out for us.¡± Chapter 298 After his return from the Empire Ajax¡¯s day to day life settles into a repetitive schedule of studying and training that is only interrupted by delves and the occasional party. He had a clear goal, the tournament, and this time his opponents will be the best of the best selected from people twice his age. Whereas Ajax¡¯s life got a lot simpler the exact opposite is true for Judy, Alana, Elija, Aurora and Silvia. Ajax¡¯s return from his months-long trip marked the end of their new noble protection. The reason for this was obvious, simple greed. While Ajax¡¯s exploits in the dungeon were considered a secret to protect, the massive influx of crystals along with the acquisition of not one but two of the Empire¡¯s exclusive transport worms was too much. Unlike Ajax¡¯s battles when a merchant faction engaged in a fight it was usually stretched out over months as many small moves were being constantly made by one side then the next. It all started with a united front by most factions to make it hard for them to quickly make a profit on the new crystals they had just gotten for themselves. Fluffy reserving all the shadow attuned ones for eating didn¡¯t help matters much either. For the first time in decades Elija had started to see a quantitative increase in his experience gain as the casual game he used to play with most of his contacts turned serious at every negotiation. The only large faction to stay completely neutral in this affair was the Goldmancers. This trial by fire was a hallmark that all noble merchant companies that operated on a scale larger than a single city went through, if they survived they were good enough to join the big leagues. Having a house be considered at that level so soon after receiving their title however was unusual. The first big challenge that House Hearthbound faced was finding a tamer to work with their newly acquired worms once they were sufficiently grown. While the worm''s novelty made them a huge attraction it also meant that only the higher level and skilled tamers could actually train them, a commodity that was easy for others to deny them. Elija still had to physically restrain his eye from twitching every time he thought of the amount he paid for the tamer in the end. The other great change that the nobility as a whole had to deal with was first attempts at replicating Ajax¡¯s success when it comes to forcefully increasing stats. The exact method was being kept secret for as long as possible so it hadn¡¯t yet been spread to the common populace but Ajax was assured that it was only a matter of time in order to give their upcoming generation an edge over other kingdoms who would surely copy them once it was public knowledge. This particular change was met with mixed results from the nobility. While some were ecstatic to try out a way to get stronger, most of the children weren¡¯t pleased when told to wait five more years before spending their hard earned points. The biggest reaction however came from the families that had their own coming of age traditions that now became impossible without spending the stat points. Another big change that came to the Hearthbound House during the end of Ajax¡¯s second year was that both his brother¡¯s and Kate¡¯s mandatory service period came to an end and they took a much bigger step in not only building and training their combat and healing retainers but also leading them. Both of them gained a couple Uncommon leadership skills. Over the course of his time in the Academy the biggest change for the family was still Ajax himself. While he had always been a bottomless pit when it came to grabbing mana infused resources but as he got more and more practice and his skills increased the bottomless pit started to give back. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. It had started off slow with the beginning of Ajax¡¯s third year in the Academy as he became able to refund half of the cost of the materials he used in his alchemy experiments by selling the successes. By the end of the third year Ajax had gotten good enough that his work would break even every time. By the middle of his fourth year at the Academy Ajax had finally gotten consistent enough that he was being headhunted as a delving alchemist. His extensive experience with crafting inside dungeons complimented by an ever increasing track record of successes had more than one or two noble families offer Ajax expensive materials and a spot inside their delve slot in exchange for him crafting them stat potions. That wasn¡¯t to say that Ajax wasn¡¯t still emptying his Houses coffers as during both the end of his second and third year he raided the family vault in order to hire boosters so he could delve as far as he could in every single dungeon that existed inside the borders of the Empire. Despite their individual growth, House Hearthbound was still one of the weakest noble houses in terms of actual power. The collectors were still their strongest retainers as they simply hadn¡¯t found any others that were stronger and they were willing to trust. Theron had also emulated his lord with his daily training and was actively closing the gap, getting closer and closer to being good enough to earn a permanent spot in the Collectors line up. One of the funnier changes that were seen throughout the years came in the form of Ajax¡¯s odds when it came to the end of the year tournament. Betting houses were giving insane odds for him to lose but by his third year his odds given by betting on him to win the whole thing from the start were less than a 10% extra on your money. The spectacle was interesting during the second year tournament and it still got a few chuckles during the third year. By the fourth year tournament the nobles had started complaining about Ajax not only winning but doing so effortlessly. More threatening being that he would be able to keep up this dominance for another seven more years. ¡°Do you really intend for the boy to represent us in the upcoming tournament?¡± one of the dukes asked during the weekly meeting of the court. With the tournament approaching the king''s announcement made a few years back has turned from a joke used to motivate a talented youth into reality, a reality not all nobles were ready to embrace. ¡°I have no issue with granting Baron Hearthbound one of our three spots for the tournament.¡± The king said softly. ¡°Should you have a more worthy candidate I will give him the spot.¡± ¡°What makes a candidate more worthy?¡± another noble chimed in. ¡°The Baron has already made substantial contributions to the kingdom.¡± During the past five years Ajax had gained more than one or two supporters in the political arena. Even more surprisingly was the fact that his father was the one who did most the work in obtaining these supporters. Unlike everyone else in the family Sam wasn¡¯t talented enough or that dedicated to blacksmith that he could simply dive in it for the last five years. Instead Sam had focused on keeping the family united and connected while they each did their own thing. During this time he would invite one or two of the young nobles who were trying Ajax technique to visit and get a few tips from the source. ¡°All they have to do is beat Ajax in single combat.¡± the king said looking to placate. A long moment of silence passed over the camp that objected to Ajax¡¯s participation. Much as they might not like him some rumours of how deep in the dungeon he was delving were starting to pop up here and there and they were terrifying. ¡°Your Highness, he is not even twenty-five years old. It would be seen as an insult.¡± Seeing their main avenue of attack cut off the nobles tried another way. ¡°It may seem like it at first but all doubt should be washed away after the first battle.¡± the king¡¯s eldest son chimed it. ¡°What about the balance?¡± another noble tried. ¡°Someone in their twenties even competing could damage the fragile balance we have now.¡± ¡°The nations are more stable than they have ever been.¡± The fear of war argument had been made plenty of times in the last few months as the departure drew near and it had never been successful but they were running out of reasons. ¡°The elves need this win, everyone knows they are still hurting for gold after their last king. Is provoking them such a good idea?¡± A new angle was brought forth, ignoring most of the other nations and focusing only on one. ¡°All our participants will be encouraged to trade away any winning to the elves in exchange for some benefits.¡± the king wasn¡¯t placating here as his tone showed his decision was final. ¡°It seems like Baron Heathbound will be maintaining his spot as no challengers were put forward.¡± Chapter 299 Ajax felt a deep sense of accomplishment as he looked towards the Academy. Despite still being welcome to come in as his position had been that of a teaching assistant instead of a student Ajax knew that he probably won¡¯t be coming by all that often unless it was to scour the library for something specific. Looking back at the life he spent on Earth and the one he spent here they felt like almost mirrors of themselves. Whereas his life on Earth had started with him breezing through school without a care in the world before tragedy struck and the end of his highschool and college days had been rough. Here his early life was spent always alone and training as his mature mind and young body didn¡¯t match properly for him to have a normal childhood. That all go fixed as his days in the academy had provided for him the college life experience he had missed out on during his time back on Earth. He was now ready to take the next step as his life moved forward, he had a loving family that was counting on him, friends he could rely on, mentors he was hoping to one day surpass. His days at the Academy had ended with him even having a girlfriend. The relationship between him and Lexi had an awkward start to say the least. Both of them had been dancing around each other whenever they interacted following their return from the Empire. Ajax out of concern for his status and ability to maneuver in the political landscape and Lexi because this was the first she had any such feelings towards another person. Who knows how long their little drama would have played out for if it hadn¡¯t been for Anna putting an end to at the start of their third year after Ajax returned from his first trip delving into the kingdom¡¯s less favorable dungeons. That wasn¡¯t to say that it had been smooth sailing from that point onward. While Ajax and Lexi had started being comfortable moving forward with their relationship into courting, Lexi¡¯s overprotective grandfather was not all that on board with the idea. It also didn¡¯t help that Ajax was spending at least two afternoons a week working with the man as they tried to further the research on magnetic mana. It had taken Duke Manashaper most of the third year to accept the relationship between the two fully but Ajax¡¯s respectful attitude and their attendance as a courting couple to the few parties Ajax did attend outside his training schedule meant that most of the nobility had accepted their courting. Despite his more active social life, most of Ajax¡¯s time had still been spent training and studying. Most of his family''s gold income was spent on the same thing if he was honest, between the boosters who joined him for delves every summer and the few stat potions he needed that he couldn¡¯t yet create himself Ajax was a bottomless pit. His status sheet however showed all the work that he had put into it. Name : Ajax Level :51 Experience : 16790/133000 Traits: Divine Witness, Baron Health: 3400/3400 Mana: 3430/3430 Stamina : 2630/2630 Vitality : 340 Strength :298 Endurance :263 Dexterity : 298 Intellect : 343 Wisdom : 343 Mind : 343 Perception : 262 Stat Points : 0 Skills : New : A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Magnetic Aspect Mana 0 -> 15 Upgrades: Mathematics 30 -> 35 Stealth 40 -> 51 Drawing 35 -> 40 Athleticism 40 -> 50 Running 40 -> 50 Reading 24 -> 30 Writing 24 ->30 Cooking 30 ->40 Sewing 20 -> 22 Cleaning 20 -> 28 Haggling 23 -> 25 Gardening 30 -> 40 Axes 48 -> 65 Hammers 48 -> 65 Sword 48 -> 65 Shield 48 -> 65 Bow 48 -> 65 Spear 46 -> 60 Throwing 38 -> 50 Unarmed Combat 38 -> 50 Knives 46 -> 60 Persuasion 23 -> 35 Deception 31 -> 41 Skinning 40 -> 51 Tanning 20 -> 23 Dismantle 44 -> 55 Climbing 31 -> 42 Tracking 35 -> 47 Trapping 26 -> 31 Heat Resistance 23 -> 35 Poison Resistance 29 -> 41 Pain Resistance 28 -> 39 Cold Resistance 20 -> 31 Conversationalist 9 -> 15 Meditation 52 -> 67 Sense Mana 52 ->67 Expel Mana 52 -> 68 Sprinting 40 -> 50 Mining 21 -> 35 Lumberjack 10 -> 21 Smelting 15 -> 20 Blacksmithing 10 -> 15 Chanting 11 -> 12 Mana Farming 31 -> 42 Increase Price 15 -> 16 Lower Price 15 -> 18 Danger Sense 35 -> 47 Leatherworking 25 -> 29 Alchemy 45 -> 58 Mana Milling 35 -> 49 Precise Cut 40 -> 53 Precise Blow 40 -> 53 Piercing Shot 40 -> 52 Judge threat 34 -> 45 Berserker 20 -> 27 Cooperation 30 -> 39 Berserker Style 20 -> 25 Unnatural Balance 3 -> 19 Feigned Interest 1 -> 13 Illusion Resistance 1 -> 10 Focused aim 2 -> 15 Manipulate Mana 45 -> 55 Water Aspect Mana 46 -> 54 Fire Aspect Mana 46 ->54 Air Aspect Mana 46 -> 54 Earth Aspect Mana 46 ->54 Light Aspect Mana 46 -> 54 Shadow Aspect Mana 46 -> 54 Inject Mana 45 -> 50 Spot Weakness 33 ->41 Residue Recognition 23 -> 31 Mana Skin 28 -> 40 Teamwork 23 -> 34 Beekeeping Trailblazer 9 -> 21 Curse Resistance 19 -> 25 Dungeon Crafter 23 -> 40 Battlemage Style 11 -> 29 Impervious senses 3 -> 11 Alchemist''s Examination 15 ->31 Stabilize Mixture 5 -> 19 Mass Production 3 -> 12 Mana Augmentation 36 -> 45 Mana Conjuration 31 -> 41 Lightning Aspect Mana 29 -> 41 Metal Aspect Mana 29 -> 41 Ice Aspect Mana 29 -> 41 Magma Aspect Mana 29 -> 41 Holy Aspect Mana 27 -> 40 Void Aspect Mana 27 -> 40 Curse Slash 13 -> 29 Mana Syphon 30 -> 37 Enigma 15 -> 25 Inspector¡¯s Eye 1 -> 21 Each and every one of his skills had seen some measure of growth throughout the last few years. His focus on combat and alchemy could clearly be seen however as most other crafting skills had barely moved. His gathering skills had all seen some growth as he would always make sure to gather anything that the dungeon provided him on his delves. His combat skills however were the true winners. Despite the clear difference in the quality of his physical skills and his magic ones both saw tremendous growth over the past few years. His biggest achievement by far however had been the year and a half he had spent pushing [Manipulate Mana] and each of his rare Mana Aspects past the level fifty barrier. Unlike [Mana Syphon] that presented many different upgrades his Rare skills initially presented none, it took a lot of hard work to get [Manipulate Mana] to upgrade, increasing the amount of influence his intent had on how any spell he cast reacted. The mana aspects were all easier to upgrade as continued use eventually allowed all of them to get the increased potency upgrade that somewhat made up for the weakness that was inherent to his casting style. This change had actually made it so his Rare affinities actually packed more of a punch than his Epic ones until they would even the playing field. And both [Inject Mana] and [Enigma] were stuck on that same wall. Looking again at his raw stats Ajax noticed that his distribution had finally started to show as his Vitality, Mind, Intellect and Wisdom pulled ahead of the rest they were getting four points every time he leveled. Strength and Dexterity were sitting middle of the pack as they received three points for every level. His potion stats of Endurance and Perception were down at the bottom. Throughout the last few years Ajax had made sure to push each dungeon as far as he could, managing to gain the bonus from any floor where the mini-bosses were level one hundred or lower. This resulted in him clearing an extra twenty-four floors spread across the kingdom¡¯s five dungeons. The final floors of each of the dungeons still sent shivers through Ajax when he thought about those battles. Each time he had taken enough boosting potions that in the aftermath of the fight his [Poison Resistance] got a good workout trying to oppose the weakness period that followed the boost. ¡°Are you ready, son?¡± Ajax heard his father ask. ¡°All packed.¡± Ajax confirmed as he showed off the spacial ring. Unlike their short delve trip to the Empire this next outing would be made by a much larger group. The king himself was going to spectate the tournament and many people would be joining the massive envoy into Republic lands. Ajax¡¯s sister and grandparents were coming with him leaving his mother and Alana back home to keep everything running smoothly. A few different noble houses were sending entire retinues in support of the nine tournament participants. Unlike the previous short trip this expedition was expected to last more than six months, it not only included the tournament but also Ajax¡¯s delve into the Republic¡¯s main two dungeons. ¡°You best get going then, Lexi is probably already waiting for you.¡± his father said. Much to both Ajax¡¯s and Lexi¡¯s joy Duke Manashaper would be staying behind to run the Academy, as such the couple would be left with much less stern supervision on this trip and they were both looking to get more in that an hour or two stolen away here and there. Ajax hugged his father before he left but as he moved to pull away he felt his father squeeze a little harder. ¡°Do your best in the tournament but don¡¯t risk your life, the prizes aren¡¯t worth it.¡± Ajax knew what he meant, despite the tournament being a more friendly way to distribute resources during a time of war deaths during it were common. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful, I promise.¡± Ajax said as he left his family estate. Chapter 300 While Ajax left his father at the estate as he was working on something, the rest of his family was either going to be joining him or were waiting to say goodbye at the convoy. Both Kate and Tom would be staying behind, Ajax¡¯s nephew wasn¡¯t yet old enough to travel and neither would handle being away from their only child for months at a time well. Ajax had taken a great interest in his nephew Jake. Not only did he want to give him as good of a head start as was possible but he was also keeping a close eye on him to see if he was also a reincarnation like was. As much as Ajax knew that the chances of that were slim it wasn¡¯t something he was going to overlook. Being half beastkin it wasn¡¯t that much of a surprise to Ajax when he noticed that Jake had managed to sense mana after he had been using it around the child for the first few years of his life. Ajax had taken to play with his nephew in hopes of him unlocking as many skills as possible. ¡°There you are!¡± Aurora scolded Ajax once he finally arrived. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you don¡¯t take meetings all that often; your punctuality would be the nail in the coffin for our reputation.¡± Much as Ajax wanted to refute that he knew very well how accurate the statement was. He would always get absorbed into one thing or another, his schedule was more of a guideline of where people could find him throughout the day than an accurate list of what he was doing. ¡°You be careful out there.¡± his mother said as she crushed him in a hug. ¡°I know what happened last time you went into a foreign dungeon so don¡¯t take any chances, and no going past level one hundred.¡± Ajax was still kicking himself for leaving Lexi alone with his mother so early in their relationship. Lexi had spilled the beans on just how Oliver had tried to kill Anna in the dungeon and Ajax had been hearing about it to no end. The level one hundred warning was a prudent one however. Once the monster level range passed one hundred the level jump between floors doubled, even worse it would happen even if it was by a single level, a dungeon with a nine level jump between floors would go from a 87-92 floor straight to a 105-110. This big increase in floor ramp up was why most nations didn¡¯t let people past level one hundred and five into dungeons, the reward was too small and the risk of something going wrong too high, especially when considering that all floors had a floor boss waiting to be unleashed. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful, I am only doing a single delve of each dungeon in the Republic and it will most likely be with some very high level people going along for the ride.¡± Ajax tried to placate her. Unlike most other nations the Republic was the only one to only have four dungeons instead of five. Much like the other they had two high step dungeons with sixteen and eighteen levels between floors but also two very small step dungeons with the five and eight floor dungeons. ¡°We¡¯ll be sure to take care of him.¡± Ajax¡¯s grandfather tried to help him, considering his usually silent nature a whole sentence was already him going above and beyond. Ajax¡¯s section of the convoy was the strangest by far, or it was more fair to say that his Judy¡¯s and his grandparent¡¯s section was the strangest as the worms belonged to them. The empire had only started distributing extremely limited amounts of worms to the other nations using Gryndor as an intermediary about two months ago so the king had requested that the Hearthbound family bring both of their worms with them as it would add to the prestige. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Ajax did have to admit that now that they were more grown the two hundred-feet long worms were quite the sight. Unlike their previous slimy and squishy nature they had a tough layer of skin and a very flat back where goods could be loaded on. Despite the number of people going, the worms going one after the other made up a quarter of the length of the entire convoy. ¡°Bye-bye uncle Ajax, bye aunt Judy¡± Jake gave both of them a hug before returning to stand by Kates side holding her arm. It wasn¡¯t even noon by the time the convoy departed. This however didn¡¯t mean that Ajax could just sit in a carriage and relax like last time. He quickly left his sister and grandparents to worry about the cargo as he made his way over to the kings moving palace of a carriage. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Ajax bowed as he entered. ¡°Welcome Baron Hearthbound, take a seat.¡± the king joyfully invited him inside. Despite the king¡¯s carriage looking like an unimpressive 9 foot sided cube on wheels from the outside with a few decorations placed around it the inside was easily ten times that big. Ajax had known about the carriage that came from a dungeon floor where the top level was 167 but it was still a very impressive sight. Despite being in the royal family for millenia now no enchanter had figured out how it worked. Inside the carriage about half of the tournament participants had already gathered. The members of the first squad we obviously inside but so were quite a few members of the Steelblade family, including the patriarch himself. ¡°Ajax, take a seat.¡± Benedict offered the open seat next to him and Ajax took it. Throughout their years at the academy Ajax had gotten along great with Benedict, even Xavier had become a lot more friendly once he stopped looking at Ajax as a potential rival, at least not for the time being ¡°Baron Heathbound, I heard you were also participating.¡± Benedict''s cousin Richard greeted. Richard Steelblade had turned forty-eight earlier this year and was one of the deadliest fighters of the new generation. A person was considered an elite when their leveling speed by the time they turned fifty averaged one and a half levels a year, true geniuses approached the one and three quarters mark. As a level seventy-eight was decently into that camp with most of his levels coming directly from combat. ¡°Lord Steelblade.¡± Ajax nodded in return. Despite not having met Richard before today Ajax knew that there was nothing to wary about with him like there had been with Oliver. The Steelblade family¡¯s succession wasn¡¯t as tumultuous as the Goldmancers. Much like most members of the Steelblade family Richard was a combat nut. He specifically specialized in leading small elite strike squads and was a very versatile burst caster. He was also not someone Ajax was worried about when it came to the tournament, a glass cannon caster would be dangerous but without the element of surprise Ajax was confident in keeping his distance and taking him out from range while he used [Mana Syphon] to weaken his spells. ¡°Professor Silvertongue!¡± Ajax was surprised to see his previous ¡®boss¡¯ also present in the carriage. ¡°Did you miss me, Ajax?¡± Despite the pleasant and relaxed tone Ajax could help but give the professor a pitying look. Both of them knew that House Silvertongue had dragged Abbot Silvertongue into this due to his connection to Ajax, Benedict, Lexi, Anna and Xavier who were all going but after six years being forced to teach Abbot wanted nothing more than to go back adventuring. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you to also be coming.¡± Ajax replied honestly. The pristine poker face Abbot Silvertongue had on dropped for a moment at those words and an expression of helplessness showed for a moment. ¡°We finally got moving eh father?¡± the king¡¯s oldest son came barreling into the carriage. He was dressed in his full heaviest runic gear that Ajax could help but marvel at. Despite having his own set of highly enchanted and improved gearset it was nothing compared to the former crown prince. He would also be one of the participants for the tournament but he was going to be part of the unrestricted bracket, his style was the one Ajax was most looking forward to watching. ¡°Close the door and come in, Your Highness.¡± the leader of the first squad said as the king was rubbing his bridge of his nose in an attempt to avoid facepalming at his son¡¯s actions. ¡°I¡¯m not alone so that would be rude.¡± With an obnoxious had gesture the prince cleared the entrance and Archduke Goldmancer, Anna and Lexi entered the carriage. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± They all greeted politely with a bow. Lexi quickly made her way to sit next to Ajax and Anna and her father followed. Anna because she wanted to sit next to her friends and her father because she wanted to seat next to Anna. ¡°Now that most of us are here I think it¡¯s time to discuss why we are leaving four months before the tournament is set to begin.¡± the king spoke once the door close. Chapter 301 With the king¡¯s oldest son in attendance all of the main tournament participants were in the enchanted carriage. Only a single participant from the under level one hundred was here, the other two choosing to stay in their own carriages, the king didn¡¯t much care as this didn¡¯t pertain to them as much. All three of the under fifty year old participants were here however as this was mainly about them. ¡°This here is the peace treaty I signed decades ago when accepting the Republic¡¯s offer for peace.¡± the king started. ¡°Many thought that I got the worse end of the bargain and there is a reason that I never made the treaty public. That reason is the opportunity we have now to fortify our future.¡± As the king said this all of the participants were listening closely. Ajax, having already been promised a delve inside the Republic''s dungeon, could guess what the intangible the king bargained for were. ¡°There are quite a few details but it all boils down to this. We are allowed an almost full raid group to enter each of the Republic¡¯s four dungeons. The only restrictions on the group is that one of the participants is a booster, that they are under level one hundred, and that one of their people joins the group inside.¡± the king explained. Half the carriage erupted at the news, despite the golden opportunity most were in fact outraged at the fact that a spy would be sent along. Ajax¡¯s initial reaction was also one of rejection, his ingrained habit of hiding his ability rising back up. But after a moment that rejection diminished. His hard work over the last few years as he attended the Academy had allowed him to reach a high enough level of power that he wasn¡¯t the easily removable target he had been before. Sure there were plenty of people who would have no problem killing him but doing so in a quick or quiet manner was no longer the case. More than that Ajax knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back during the tournament and he didn¡¯t plan on it, so what if the Republic got a bit of a preview if it meant more dungeons to clear and more stats to gain. ¡°SILENCE!¡± the king''s oldest son didn¡¯t have to shout, the glowing locket around his neck amplified the word making everyone shut up. In all the years Ajax had known the eccentric prince this was the first time he had seen him drop his usual jocking persona in exchange for the veteran warrior he was. ¡°The forty-eight spots have already been assigned, my son has offered his services as the sole booster we will be sending.¡± the king continued in a calm tone after the silence had settled. ¡°These individuals are the most promising talents, some of which have already managed to visit more foreign dungeons and I am hoping will build stronger foundations than even our current champions.¡± Much as he appreciated the words Ajax knew they were only partially true. It¡¯s true that doing this had been the king¡¯s initial plan when he signed the agreement but his current actions weren¡¯t in line with the plan. In order to build the strongest foundation for a new generation of champions Ajax knew the king should have waited another few decades before chasing in. Nobody else besides Ajax and the royal family were aware of just how successful Ajax¡¯s method had been with the young nobles and the first batch that started practicing it when Ajax first published it were now turning fifteen and spending their points. Before he had spent his points Ajax had managed to close in on getting seventy points in every single stat. Nobody has yet even come close, and most likely nobody would but the general consensus was that almost all had managed an average of forty in each stat with hard working ones getting as high as forty-five. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. While that may not seem that high in increased on the average the nobles would get of seventeen in each stat by age ten by twenty-three points. Even if one accounted for the twenty to thirty points nobles would get during the apprentice period it was still close to a hundred and fifty more stats in total. The crown was now making plans to spread this out from high nobility to all nobility in the next decade and to all commoners within the next century. The reason the king wasn¡¯t waiting to prop up this upcoming generation with higher stats was simple: he was betting a lot on Ajax, how powerful he would become, how strong of a deterrent he would be, and what kind of leverage having someone like him will allow him to provide for the others following behind. The one regret Ajax had when it came to having shared his training method was the extra pressure it was placing on Anna. Unlike Benedict who would have his father be the head of the House before him, or Lexi who¡¯s family head position didn¡¯t matter that much as they weren¡¯t landed Dukes and their power came from the spells they had knowledge of. Anna would have to face pressure from experienced and older branch family as well as the next generation growing stronger from the extra stats. He was glad she was able to take advantage of an opportunity like this to close the gap. ¡°These spots weren¡¯t sold.¡± the king continued. ¡°Each of you have been awarded a position based on your reputation and feats. That said all of your spots have been insured by your families.¡± This took Ajax by surprise. He was the head of his House, no way something like that would go down without him being told. Even more so nobody from his family would accept the contract and then not tell him about it. He didn¡¯t know what was going on. ¡°What do you mean the spots are insured?¡± The son and heir of a small Baron asked. The man was in his fifties though he didn¡¯t look older than his late twenties. His progress had come, managing to reach level seventy-six before turning fifty. This despite his less than stellar family financial situation. ¡°Depending on your level each of you is expected to clear and gain the reward from one or two floors from the Republic more unfavorable dungeons and two or three from their main dungeon.¡± the king continued. ¡°Boosting potions will be provided for you as will gear should you need it, but failing to earn the expected minimum would mean that your family will be charged for the full price for the slot you took up.¡± This threat sobered up most of the youth present. The joy they had experienced moments before at gaining an opportunity that would bankrupt a Viscount for free was washed away with the cold knowledge that failing to show results meant their families would need to pay. The sole exception to this was Ajax, he now realized why he wasn¡¯t included. There was no chance he was going to stop with one, two or even three floors. While some were looking to gain the stats from seven cleared dungeon floors to maybe ten if they were lucky Ajax was hoping to get that many just from the main dungeon. The punishment conditions all but didn¡¯t even apply to him. ¡°With that said, is there anything else of immediate concern?¡± the king asked. A few of the youth had questions about how the expectations would be set, clearly expecting them to clear two floors from a dungeon with a eighteen level jump would be suicidal for some of them depending on where on their current level fell in regards to the floor benchmark. Ajax ignored these questions, they simply didn¡¯t apply to him and he instead focused on Lexi leaning against him. With the meeting over about half of the nobles were getting ready to leave the royal carriage, despite the opulence and comfort present here it also came with the pressure of being in the presence of the king and some of them would rather relax their mind on their journey even if the trip was a bit more bumpy. ¡°One last warning before you leave.¡± The king said as the first nobles neared the door. ¡°I know that some of you have your own views on things and that is your right. For the duration of MY stay in the Republic, any of you who are found to be using any form of racial slurs will be unceremoniously sent back to our kingdom.¡± This warning actually made Ajax frown. Not because it was in any way addressed to him but because of the memories it brought up of the last few years. Despite most of his time during parties being taken up by his classmates as the head of a House he had been expected to mingle with some of the older nobles on more than one occasion. It wasn¡¯t very often but a few times during his discussions with some of the older and lower ranked nobles that he had found out that some in the kingdom still held similar views to the Empire rhetoric. He had learned enough about noble etiquette to not make a scene at the party but he had quickly removed any dealings he or the rest of the family had with any of the nobles who made any views towards Kate or Jake. It only took a few months before his stance was widespread and nobody brought it up again around him but even those few encounters left a bad taste in his mouth. Chapter 302 There was more than a little grumbling at the king''s threat. While the majority of the kingdom had adapted over the decades since the peace treaty nobility tended to live for much longer. Even then the ones most resistant to the change were the old low rank nobles who were already approaching their death at the age of only three hundred years. They had been born into nobility but didn¡¯t amount to much so thinking of the other races as inferior brought them up higher in their eyes. Ajax spent the majority of the trip swapping between his own carriage, the Goldmancer carriage that Lexi and Anna shared and the king¡¯s mobile reception room. The first big revelation of the trip had been when they first arrived at a city. Despite having already been told that the Republic was a melting pot for the four humanoid races, the layout of a city took him completely by surprise. Unlike the usual fully stone buildings he had expected, the city was spread into three different areas. The first area was the usual stone housing Ajax was familiar with. This took up about a full half of the city. The more awe-inspiring half of the city was the sparse forest that took up the other half of the city, it was filled with massive trees that had their trunks hollowed out in order to provide housing. Even more surprising was that those trees were still alive despite the dwellings that were carved inside them. The final part of the city was the dwarven undercity that sprawled out beneath both parts of the city, it was indigenous to see how the dwarven population had used the roots from the elven trees to secure their own habitat inside the city. ¡°We¡¯re only a few hours away from the first dungeon.¡± Lexi said as they traveled through the elven part of the city taking in the odd nature filled city. Despite the city basically being a sparse forest it still very much had the foot traffic and ambiance of the city. ¡°I think we will be delving into it tomorrow.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°We are simply waiting for whoever the other booster is to come.¡± ¡°Who do you think it will be?¡± Lexi asked. Ajax had thought this over many times and there was only one clear answer. ¡°They¡¯ll send their champion.¡± Ajax was sure of it. The stealth based powerhouse was the perfect selection to both scout out new talent and ensure that no funny business is happening inside the dungeon. A very odd sight entered the pair¡¯s eyes as they turned the corner. A large worm with spidelike legs was wrapped around one of the housing trees. ¡°What are they doing?¡± Lexi looked at the same time both curious and a little worried. ¡°As it turns out the worms ability to remain perfectly level is highly desirable when making delivery inside the woodland part of the city, especially so since they can easily deliver to any floor they need to without taking it up the stairs.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It took Judy about thirty minutes since we arrived to have four days worth of work for the worms already fully booked.¡± As much as Ajax was joking about his sister''s mercantile nature the truth wasn¡¯t very far off. The potential the worms represented was quickly shown off and then capitalized on. It wasn¡¯t just his sister that had been quick to do so but his grandfather as well, most interestingly they had gone as far as to auction off time slots and this worked with a raging success. ¡°Oh sorry, excuse me sir!¡± An elf with light brown hair murmured as she bumped into Ajax. She did her best to assume a submissive posture asking for forgiveness while extenuating her rather large bust before turning to walk away. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She didn¡¯t get very far however as Ajax¡¯s had clamped on to her wrist like an iron manacle. ¡°My pouch¡± he said threateningly, ¡°now¡±. The elf didn¡¯t waste any time producing his small pouch that barely held more than half a gold coin in silver and copper. The meek demeanor was gone however, she put up no resistance to him taking back his money but instead of the usual apologetic tirade that came from pickpockets she just sneered back at him knowing he won¡¯t be taking this any further. As for the reason Ajax bothered with a coin pouch, the answer was very simple: almost all street vendors had issues with young people that openly used a spacial storage item anywhere near their stalls. Ajax very much agreed with their logic so he had taken to having a small pouch with a bit of money around. Since the pouch wasn¡¯t part of his regular outfit however it stood out and this wasn¡¯t the first pickpocket he stopped today and he knew it won¡¯t be the last. ¡°It still seems very odd to me every time I see it.¡± Ajax complained to Lexi, not for the first time. ¡°It took me a bit to adapt to it as well but that¡¯s just how elves are.¡± Lexi said. Ajax wasn¡¯t talking about the attempted theft, instead he was talking about what he learned about the elven aging process. Apparently while elves had the same life expectancy as humans their bodies aged very differently, they would mature as normal until the age of ten, meaning they would look like an eighteen to twenty year old back on Earth. After that however their bodies simply stopped aging until the final few years of life where they aged all at once. The way to track an elves'' age was by the color of their hair. At birth all elves had pristine snow white hair. As they aged however their hair would start turning more and more the same color as their eyes. While this made them very suited for physical builds as they would essentially remain in their prime condition for most of their life it did come with the disadvantage that their bodies were more suited to magical and hybrid paths that pure physical ones. The rest of the day proceed in much the same manner for the couple as they explored the city, their evening entertainment however was taken up by an urgent meeting inside the king¡¯s carriage. ¡°I do not know what gave you the impression I was not being serious but I hope this is the only example I will need to make.¡± the king seethed as two of his guards held on to one of the barons. ¡°Referring to elves as ¡®knife-ears¡¯ on the first day since we arrived in the city.¡± the king continued angrily. ¡°He was a thief,¡± the baron defended himself. ¡°Would you have me give my coin pouch to a pickpocket?¡± ¡°I would have you capture him and take him to the guards.¡± the king snarled. ¡°Cut off his hand if you want to meet out justice yourself. The only things I commanded of you was no killing and no racial slurs!¡± ¡°With that unpleasantness out the way we also asked you here to let you know that our other booster arrived earlier tonight.¡± The king¡¯s oldest son changed the topic once the baron was escorted out, being sent back to the kingdom with his carriage and any people he brought with him. ¡°Who is it that they sent?¡± The patriarch of house Steelblade asked. ¡°The shadow.¡± despite the price all but whispering the words they carried though the entire room and pandemonium descended. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°You¡¯re expecting us to go into a dungeon with him?¡± ¡°I am not going into a dungeon with a foreign master assassin!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Unlike previously the prince didn¡¯t use a skill to instantly silence the room, he recognised that their complaints were valid so he let them settle down on their own, but the decision was already made. ¡°This is the way it will be. I will be along with you to keep an eye on things but anyone who wants to drop out of their spot can do so now with no repercussions.¡± Despite all the complaining and more than one fearful look from the selected delvers not a single one volunteered to give up their spot. Giving up four foreign dungeon spots wasn¡¯t that easy and everyone knew that some rewards were simply worth the risk. The chances that the elite assassin would actually do something were very small. ¡°Good.¡± The prince said when he saw that nobody was complaining further. ¡°We will be leaving tomorrow morning after sunrise.¡± With that the meeting was dispersed and Ajax exited the carriage and started to make his way towards the inn he had booked with Anna and Lexi coming with him. He had only made it a few steps outside the carriage before he felt [Enigma] activate. Unlike the other times it had activated throughout the day [Enigma] was actually broken through for the first time in a while. Ajax was quick to turn and survey his surroundings but despite his quick reaction he couldn¡¯t find anything. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lexi asked also on high alert. ¡°Someone broke through [Enigma]¡± Ajax answered. ¡°They didn¡¯t get my skills and my exact stat numbers but they got my level, name, age and even how my stat distribution presents. More than that I don¡¯t have any idea who did it or where they did it from.¡± ¡°That was quite rude of me, I apologize.¡± all three of them jumped a little as a tall panther beastkin materialized behind them. None of them had any idea how he got there. ¡°It was indeed rude, though I remember you letting me slide on more egregious offenses.¡± The prince was out of the carriage with a smile on his face as he approached the beastkin, his eyes however were on Ajax silently asking if he was okay. ¡°You just couldn¡¯t wait until tomorrow, Shadow.¡± Chapter 303 Ajax P.O.V. It had been a good while since I had ever felt so vulnerable. From the looks of it there was no real danger as the panther beastkin in front of us was the very champion that everyone was expecting to show up so in theory there was nothing to fear. Not only that but the information he had gathered wasn¡¯t all that valuable since I was more than willing to show what I was capable of in the upcoming dungeons and the tournament, I had thought I was strong enough to handle it. I couldn¡¯t follow the pleasantries between the two kingdom level fighters as the prince and the beastkin were still having a casual conversation. While I had told both Lexi and Anna what happened to me I left out a few things. First thing I left out was the process. Sure his identification skill only managed to get my name, age, level and stat distribution. What I left out was that he got that on a casual use of his skill, [Enigma] was good enough to give me feedback on how any battle with a skill targeting me went. If this person inspected me again and focused on getting my skills I knew he would get them. This meant a lot of things but the clearest one of them all was that he had a Legendary Inspection skill. No doubt about it, a casual use left [Enigma] in the same state a rock leaves a window with a gaping hole and cracks throughout. Despite that crushing defeat I could feel that [Enigma] also finally broke through the bottleneck, soon I will have to make a decision on its advancement. The second big thing that happened was that I instinctively used [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on him the moment he appeared. While he might have a Legendary inspection skill his own privacy skill was clearly not in the same league. One of the most valuable things we had been taught as part of the Academy, one that was still strictly kept away from commoners, was the difference in skill quality. The gaps between qualities were very different. The difference in power between a Common skill and an Uncommon one was big, this came at the price of breadth, most easily exemplified with the weapon variations [Swords] were common [Short Swords], [Long Swords], [Great Swords] were all Uncommon. It could also be seen in the regular mana applications [Farming] was Common and [Mana Farming] was Uncommon, this despite the latter being included in the former. This meant that the difference in grade accounted for about thirty skill levels. The difference in power between an Uncommon skill and a Rare one was medium. The change being that with that jump in power the skills recovered their wide breadth [Swords Master] and other such variations. The difference between such skills was about twenty skill levels. Between a Rare and an Epic skill the difference in power was small. What made the difference here was complexity. While Rare skills had breadth they were simple in their execution usually only including one action, Epic skills weren¡¯t that much stronger but each was more of a combination of actions. The difference in power here was only about ten skill levels. Between Epic and Legendary however the gap was massive. Legendary skills got nothing except power over Epic ones, but that power was overwhelming. It equated to about forty-five skill levels. Now obviously when skipping more than one grade it wasn¡¯t a simple process of adding the average difference in power, for every grade you jumped past the first we were taught to decrease the gap by about five levels. That still meant that a Common skill like [Swords] would need to be ninety skill levels above [Sword Legend] in order to equal it. This didn¡¯t take into account the bottleneck bonuses but it drove the point home. Name : Whisker ¡®Shadow¡¯ Blackclaw This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Level : 209 Age : 679 Difficulty : Lethal Traits : blocked Resources : blocked Stats : blocked Skills : blocked Whatever the champion''s privacy skill was, I had managed to get some information on him. I wasn¡¯t sure what surprised me most, that such a deadly figure was called Whisker, that it was the first time I was seeing a situation where the system added a nickname to a person as a middle name of sorts. Or most likely the most important part, I finally laid eyes on a humanoid above level two hundred. ¡°You can also lay off me.¡± The beastkin¡¯s words brought me back to the present. ¡°The kid might not have gotten as much as I did but he also inspected me, color me surprised that he broke through.¡± Being called a kid frustrated me a little, there were very few people who still called me that to my face. The only people who still used it were the king and the librarian. Then again I suppose I couldn¡¯t get all too upset about it seeing as the person was close to thirty times my own age. ¡°Sorry about being so impatient.¡± the beastkin was now addressing me directly. ¡°I just wanted to see you for myself, there is a wave of people who are starting to believe and depend on you so I wanted to make my own opinion.¡± ¡°People who would depend on me for what?¡± I ask. ¡°To become my successor of course.¡± the beastkin smirked, showing off a long sharp canine. ¡° Right now it¡¯s just a bit of hope but based on your track record there is some legitimacy to it. Who knows in a couple of centuries when I¡¯m truly past my prime you mind end up being the war deterrent. And like any good successor you¡¯re on track to be a much better version of the original. ¡± ¡°How so?¡± I ask. ¡°If I were to ask you, out of all the prodigies who are seen to be on the rise, which gets targeted for elimination the most?¡± Shadow asked. ¡°Area caster.¡± My answer was instant, it had been drilled into us in every single class on war strategy, if the enemy has a talented area of effect caster you don¡¯t let him grow even if you have to lose the battle, because he might cost you the war. ¡°Hmph¡± he chuckled slightly. ¡°That¡¯s certainly the ¡®correct¡¯ answer.¡± ¡°Stealth prodigies, assassins.¡± Anna answered right after me. ¡°Point for the lady.¡± Shadow nods to her. ¡° In times of war they have an equal ranking as both can swing the tide one way or the other. Area casters are openly touted as the priority because the nobles want the populace to look on them favorably.¡± ¡°The reality is if an assassin prodigy ever springs up any kingdom will do their absolute best to keep them under wraps.¡± The prince decided to explain it to all of us after activating one of his items to create a privacy bubble around us. ¡°Because if one manages to reach their prime like Shadow here it all but forces mutual assured destruction for their enemies.¡± ¡°A good mage might kill half your army but you can just send your ten best people after him and know you will kill him. If he is very strong you make an alliance and have two or three kingdoms do the same.¡± Shadow explained. ¡°Someone like me, however, if any kingdom managed to win the war against the Republic. My first move will be to sneak into their main dungeon and get as far as I can before going one floor higher and unleashing it all in the heart of their kingdom. We get hunted and killed off even in times of peace.¡± ¡°It also doesn¡¯t help that the people in charge are sometimes selfish enough that they are willing to let a threat to the people live since they are safe but an assassin could be a threat especially to them.¡± Lexi chimed in. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong there.¡± Shadow acknowledged. ¡°Which brings us back to you, some people think that you have the potential to grow so powerful that you might be able to enforce the same peace I do without having to unleash a dungeon on a kingdom.¡± ¡°I already know I need to watch my back.¡± I answered. ¡°That was pretty obvious from your reaction to me.¡± Shadow said. ¡°You seem to have your guard pretty high up, it¡¯s also not what I wanted to imply, I already know you know to look out for yourself.¡± ¡°Then what are you implying?¡± I asked. ¡°That there are people who are looking to examine you more closely than a person with one thousand Perception.¡± he said. ¡°But half of them, if not more, are looking at your character and personality. So long as you prove to them that you are peaceful and want to keep the peace they would be more than happy to help you get that power because they want to keep the peace.¡± This wasn¡¯t something I had considered before. I knew that more than one noble in the kingdom was getting behind me as I will be a good war deterrent or asset. I had never considered however, that there might be nobles from other kingdoms who would be willing to help me just as long as they are assured I will be looking to keep the peace and not head to war. Chapter 304 Ajax slept a lot better that night after the conversation with Shadow. It led him to make a lot of realizations about who might be a potential ally. Of course his subconscious chose that exact night to prove just how wrong he could be. Two nightmares back to back where he was chased down by the dwarves and elves from their Empire equivalent kingdoms left him panting in cold sweat. Despite the bad dreams Ajax still managed to get enough sleep that he wasn¡¯t more than grumpy in the morning and he was definitely ready for the dungeon. An entire procession of the best young fighters in Gryndor marched up to the dungeon that morning. With a floor jump of sixteen Ajax was planning on clearing four floors. With the way the jumps should play out the final boss was going to be the only challenge and he was only going to be a level ninety-seven, not the biggest level difference he had taken on but definitely not something he was going to attempt without a temporary boost potion. Much like last time they did a dungeon like this the group started bleeding members as soon as they passed from one floor onto the next. With a high start of a full fifty man raid team the weaker members started being dropped off once they cleared their assigned floor, What was new was that there were four people besides the boosters that were going to try the floor instead of only a single one. This clearly must have been a special occasion that the dungeon didn¡¯t want Ajax to miss out on as the floor that spawned around them took all of them by surprise, not all for the same reason however. Much like how the dungeon had managed to create a star wars themed floor before when Ajax was all alone, it had somehow decided that this floor will be a steampunk theme. The worst part was that Ajax hadn¡¯t even had a clue that the floor would end up like this or that the dungeon could pull in things from his world into this new one. Unlike the sci-fi machines from star wars steam powered machines are something that would actually do a lot better integrating in the technology of this medieval world, mainly because all steampunk does is turn water into energy which is a cheaper and more tedious way of turning mana into energy. ¡°What are these humanoids?¡± Richard Steelblade asks as he takes in the site of the sprawling steampunk city that took up the entire floor. ¡°Are they all infected by metal?¡± Much like Ajax read in his sci-fi when he was young, steampunk upgrades tended to slowly and methodically replace as much of their body as they could with working appendages. The constant hissing caused by the numerous steam based machineries did no do a lot to put most of the party at ease. The prince and Shadow were the most excited about the floor as they had never seen anything like it before and they had already started hunting for anything permanent that they could take out with them. Underestimating the brawler minibosses turned out to be a very big mistake. While they were all a lot slower than usual humanoid bosses would be at their level, their steampunk armor provided a turtle like defense as well as a power killer blow every time enough steam had built up. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Neither of Ajax¡¯s other two tournament competitors had managed to kill a miniboss. The prince had ended up intervening both times to ensure the survival of the bosstee. ¡°Alright kid you¡¯re up.¡± Shadow nodded to Ajax. ¡°I expected you to call it quits after that last floor but it seems like you are going all the way.¡± The reason why they were taking turns fighting the minibosses they ran upon was simple. It was the most efficient way to manage downtime after having already used an enhancement potion. Ajax wasted no time chugging a potion of his own. His entire body felt so light and responsive all of a sudden. His brain worked overtime catching each and every small twitch of all the other people around him. Both of his competitors looked like death and Ajax was finally ready for combat. Ajax¡¯s opening move might be a controversial one as he had never done this before. Instead of infusing his arrow with a strong penetrative force that he knew had next to no chance of hitting it. No he had infused the arrow with as much cold mana as he could manage The effects of the arrow were immediate as the holder was covered in a small sheet of snow that was already melting off, the steel engine had dropped its high temperature and the pressure powering the bosses armor was starting to run low. Without the pressure there the armor stopped being as effective in aiding its wearer to fight others . The strong defense it provided was still there and not to be underestimated but without a high amount of steam his speed was almost non-existent. Unfortunately the humanoid was still strong enough to ruin Ajax¡¯s day if he played around too much and his potion ran out and he entered the weakening period. The fight was by no means easy but it did turn out rather simple. Ajax¡¯s chosen method of winning was death by a thousand curts and he slowly cut deeper and in more dangerous places as he was simply keeping up the pressure until he ran out of blood. ¡°How did you do that?¡± his competitors were still picking their jaws off the ground as the fight ended. ¡°I simply made his armor as useless as I could.¡± Ajax replied What followed was a two hour conversation on the state''s water can be found in and any way to exploit it. Despite the quick and rushed lesson everyone remaining knew that the secret to beating the humanoids was to cool down their exotic armor rendering it dead weight. It took Ajax another two hours to get past the backlash of the potion he used, unlike him his two competitors didn¡¯t look all that well as they were forced to take a second potion when they tried for the second time, the backlash compounded with such potions so even drinking only two granted rather debilitating fatigue. Walking through the final arch and passing the level one hundred monsters Ajax made sure not to step away from the arch. Both boosters would be clearing this following floor themselves and AJax very much intended to be long gone by then. ¡°You did very well.¡± Shadow congratulated him. ¡°That was four floors just here. I am almost afraid to let you go through our main seeing how many stats that would gain you. You will definitely make quite the showing at the tournament.¡± ¡°Are you looking to back out of the deal?¡± The prince was quick to pounce on the topic. ¡°Not at all.¡± Shadow says with a shake of his head. ¡°I think I will find the experience a motivational one.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t stay to listen to them bicker, as soon as he swiped the increase in stats by one from clearing the floor he was quick to back out. He knew these monsters would be way out of his range in terms of what he can deal with. ¡°He is definitely something.¡± Shadow says once he and the prince are the only ones left as they look to kill the entire floor to ensure nothing too powerful is released outside. ¡°Any chance he is prejudiced towards other races?¡± Shadow continued to ask. ¡°No!¡± the prince responded as the two were methodically smashing through each monsters as it got in their way. ¡°Of what makes you so sure?¡± he asked. ¡°Because his brother¡¯s wife is a feline beastkin and his niece is also part beastkin. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, a lot of people are going to be happy to hear that.¡± Shadow let out another sigh of relief. ¡°The Empire was thrilled.¡± The prince threw it out there. ¡°I am looking forward to seeing how the elves react to him.¡± Shadow smirked. ¡°I can see however why you decided to go through the dungeon first, even as strong as he is right now I still think he has a bit to go until he can stand up against the ice princess. Who knows maybe those extra stats would be enough. Chapter 305 ¡°What¡¯s our next stop?¡± Ajax asked once he entered the carriage of the Goldmancer family. All of the guards knew he had a standing invitation so he didn¡¯t have to bother with formalities. ¡°The initial plan was to head straight to the other¡­ lesser dungeon, the whole plan was to get them out of the way so that we would get as much time as possible in the capital for all of the politics.¡± Archduke Goldmancer answered. ¡°From your wording I am guessing that changed?¡± Ajax asked a little worried about what could cause a change of plans. ¡°Your unique semi-final floor is to blame for that, the thi-.¡± the archduke was quickly cut off by his own daughter. ¡°You, the prince and the champion pulled out some one of a kind collection pieces.¡± Anna cut in swiftly with a dull tone but an accusing glare at her father. ¡°Everyone that got their hands on one and is looking to sell it asked for an audience with the king to change our route so we pass through Darkcavern.¡± Ajax knew that despite the Republic being a full melting pot there were still a few cities that weren¡¯t as inclusive in their architecture. Darkcavern was a fully dwarven city that was built upon an old giant ant colony tunnel structure. While it wasn¡¯t on the other side of the kingdom it was pretty out of the way for them. ¡°What is in Darkcavern?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Their century auction.¡± Lexi provided. ¡°The plan is to sell a few in the auction to build up their price for when they will sell them around the tournament.¡± Now that he thought about it Ajax had heard both his grandfather and sister mention Darkcavern more than once or twice in their recent plotting so it did make sense. After all of the sixty-seven total pieces of steampunk gear that were recovered from the dungeon Ajax had managed to claim fifteen of them just from stumbling onto them inside what looked to be a golem assembly plant. Both the prince and shadow had collected a lot more from the defeated enemies as they all but cleared out the floor with twenty-three and twenty-eight respectively, a single piece was taken by one of the other people who had joined them on the floor. The big difference was that all of Ajax¡¯s pieces were in pristine condition while most of the others were damaged in some way from the fight to kill their users. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised if that¡¯s what¡¯s going down there.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a predatory look on my sister''s face since she saw the worms we brought back from the Empire. Did you manage to snag any of them cheap?¡± ¡°We got our hands on ten of them.¡± The archduke replied. Since the run had been a boost none of the boosters were allowed to keep anything they got from the delve, they had to sell them to the highest bidder from the people who participated in the run. While this may have meant that the prince could sell most of them to the royal family through Xavier¡¯s participation he still had to spread a few around along with Shadow as a sign of good faith. Ajax was under no such restriction. ¡°Your performance was quite something once you showed what you had.¡± Lexi giggled as she teased him. Ajax had been very quick on the uptake when the loot show and tell was done. It had taken him two seconds of feeling every merchant''s skill land on the weakest link in the group before he loudly and repeatedly declared that ¡®I will be having these appraised and handled by my grandfather as the head merchant of my House¡¯. Not even his grandfather could get away with keeping all of them but he could get a much better deal and save Ajax the headache. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Your grandfather did admirably, managed to hold onto all but three pieces without building up too much resentment.¡± the archduke complimented. ¡°Though he could have done without losing the full leg prosthetic.¡± Considering that this was coming from the best merchant the kingdom had to offer Ajax took it as high praise. Sure the leg was a rather interesting piece but the two arm prosthetics he had held on to were fully functional limb replacements and since they were around level ninety-seven they were the next best thing after limb regrowth available. ¡°Seeing as the arms he kept actually work I think he did pretty well.¡± Ajax responded with a smirk. ¡°You know how these work?¡± Lexi exclaimed as she pulled the aforementioned leg prosthetic out of her spacial ring. She also wasn¡¯t the only one to focus on him at that. ¡°I know how to get them to work, not how they work.¡± While Ajax knew the basic principles of steampunk he was no inventor. ¡°Much more in the way that knowing how to swing a sword doesn¡¯t make you a blacksmith.¡± A privacy enchantment was activated and the outside world fell away from the carriage. ¡°Would you mind giving us a demonstration?¡± the archduke asked, a predatory gleam in his eye.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Ajax said as he took the leg from Lexi. ¡°The hard part is getting them properly attached.¡± Ajax explained as he topped up the water canister. Pressing a button on the leg started the boiling process and heated up the water. Ajax had no idea where the energy for that came from but it was done by the adjustment the system made to the steampunk idea when it brought it over. ¡°You see while the leg looks like a normal leg it has much more limited options of movement but they come with a greater range.¡± Ajax demonstrated as he showed that the knee and ankle were the only joints on the leg, followed by showing that they could fully rotate, the hip attachment was rigid. ¡°That and the nerve connections are pretty tricky.¡± The medical industry had discovered that the human body operated based on electricity from the prevalence of lightning mages throughout history, the small currents that ran from the brain to get muscles to move were already well known. Using his lightning mana Ajax gently applied some to the sensors at the top of the leg once the steam started pumping the machine. The leg jerked in his hand at that and on its own rotated fully slamming into the side of the carriage with a loud THUMP leaving behind a dent. Not strong enough to do any serious damage to an archduke¡¯s carriage but certainly not harmless. ¡°That does seem like it will take some getting used to.¡± the archduke looked wide eyed at the leg and the dent. ¡°It also seems like quite the addition and surprise for any mage to have.¡± The archduke wasn¡¯t wrong there, without the help of full body movement even the level ninety-seven equipment could only output a level eighty¡¯s raw power it was a hell of a surprise for a mage to suddenly spring a level eighty physical build level of melee combat. ¡°The only question is when should we do a live demonstration?¡± the archduke mumbled lost in his own world as he calculated market fluctuations all over again with the new variable. ¡°What does he mean?¡± Ajax asks. ¡°He is wondering if we should keep the secret a bit longer and only show it in the capital or if we should reveal how they work in Darkcavern.¡± Anna let out an exhausted sigh. ¡°Lets go tell your grandfather about this since he will want to know. My dad is going to be at it for a while.¡± ¡°He should know that not all of them would be functional.¡± Ajax mentioned offhand as he made to stand up. ¡°What now?¡± Both daughter and father quickly focused on him. ¡°They might be high level equipment but the insides are fragile.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°I got mine raiding a spare parts armory but the others, the prince and the champion, took them off the bodies they killed. They weren¡¯t going all out but I wouldn¡¯t accuse them of being gentle, wouldn¡¯t surprise me if half of theirs don¡¯t work as intended anymore.¡± ¡°Let''s keep that between us for now shall we.¡± Anna got a sneaky look in her eye. ¡°I might want to go see what pieces I might be able to trade with the others.¡± ¡°Try to find out how many working ones there are.¡± the archduke asked her as he got back into his calculations. ¡°My lady, did something happen?¡± The archduke¡¯s right hand man asked as Anna, Lexi and Ajax exited the carriage. Despite the privacy enchantment someone sitting on the carriage would have felt the impact from the leg. ¡°Dad just found a new variable.¡± Anna said nonchalantly and the guard simply nodded as he looked inside the carriage before the door closed. ¡°Yes, that will be a few hours.¡± he spoke from experience. Ajax spent the remainder of the trip to Darkcavern with his grandfather and sister. They had first put him to work trying to find out how much he could figure out about their merchandise before keeping an eye on him to make sure the information didn¡¯t spread any further. ¡°You do know I can keep a secret.¡± Ajax complained on the third day of being under strict watch. ¡°We weren¡¯t even the first people you told about this.¡± Ajax had nothing to say to his sister¡¯s retort so he silently decided to just try and sleep. The beds installed on the worms were some of the most comfortable in the entire convoy as they didn¡¯t sway at all. Chapter 306 Darkcavern¡¯s layout was very different from any other city Ajax had seen. Having first been a giant ant hive it made perfect sense that its topside landscape would look like a small hill filled with holes, there were a few human houses dotted around but it mostly looked like two or three villages surrounded by holes. The underground however was a much more expansive series of tunnels that rivaled even the dwarven capital in structure if not in size. The convoy made good time as it managed to arrive an entire two days before the auction giving everyone time to add whatever steampunk item they wanted to the festivities. ¡°Which one do you think we should put up for sale?¡± Elija asked Ajax. ¡°Come on now, don¡¯t pout.¡± Judy poked Ajax in the side as he remained silent at the question. ¡°Three whole days you kept me in here.¡± Ajax complained though he wasn¡¯t all that upset as Lexi and Anna just changed to spending most of their time in this carriage instead. ¡°But fine, I¡¯d say you should sell this.¡± The piece Ajax selected was part of a half mask that covered one eye. It was the smallest of all the items he had collected but also the most technologically advanced as evidenced from the eye it sported. ¡°Does that one not work?¡± his grandfather asked. ¡°It does seem to work but that¡¯s not the issue with it.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°The problem with all of them is that we don¡¯t know how to attach them and that will take some trial and error. Doing so with hands, arms, legs , even shoulder and back armor isn¡¯t all that dangerous, if the connections are implanted incorrectly all you do is remove them, heal up and retry.¡± ¡°The same could be done with the eye.¡± Judy said. ¡°The person that will be getting it would be blind in that eye already anyway.¡± ¡°Yeah but the optic nerve is too close to the brain for comfort.¡± Ajax pointed out. ¡°You make a mistake connecting it you might hit the brain and just kill the person, as far as I know there is no healing that.¡± ¡°So the mask goes.¡± his grandfather agreed with that logic, especially since they, and duke Goldmancer, decided to keep their functionally secret until they got to the capital. ¡°Too bad it''s so risky, it seems to have a filtration system.¡± Ajax let out a sigh. ¡°How do you mean?¡± Judy asked. ¡°The mask covers the mouth and nose so it has to let air enter. It also seems to be filtrating it when it is powered up. I am not sure just how many types of poisonous or deadly fumes it would keep out but I think a few of them at least.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Any way we can separate the mask into the eye and the lower face cover?¡± his grandfather was quick to look for ideas. ¡°Maybe?¡± Ajax answered with a shrug. ¡°But I don¡¯t know how we would do it and you might just ruin both if you try. At worst you could just not connect the eye at all and just have it sit in the socket and you can use the filtration part.¡± ¡°Alright, come on then.¡± his grandfather nodded. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us to add it to the auction and after that you can go explore the city.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Why do you need me to come with you?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Because you collected them, you can vouch for their uniqueness, or at least their source, under a truthstone, that will increase the value.¡± Judy explained. The three of them weren¡¯t the first to show up at the auction house, already there were four other nobles in line to get their items added so Ajax just headed towards the back of the line. ¡°Oh please go ahead.¡± the noble in front of the quickly spotted who he was and was quick to get out the way. The same thing happened over again as Ajax and company jumped to the front of the line. All of the others hoped to increase their value after having him authenticate the item¡¯s source. The organizers were more than happy to add their item to the auction. Their audience did seem a little strange to Ajax however as halfway through a second representative entered. Ajax could see from his clothing that he was of a higher rank than the one currently assisting them. This representative drew attention from the others in the room but with a simple hand signal they all ignored him and got back to haggling. ¡°Three thousand gold seems like a fair starting bid.¡± The first representative finally finished the agreement with Elija and Judy. ¡°As for our cut we would take a modest f-¡± This was when the higher ranked representative stepped in. ¡°It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Baron Hearthbound.¡± he bowed slightly towards Ajax. ¡°As a thank you for your testimony and a meeting gift we will lower our cut to 1% of the final price. We do hope that you have a successful run in the upcoming tournament.¡± ¡°He¡¯s taking part in the tournament, why he can¡¯t be older than thirty-fiv¡­¡± The employee that had come in carrying the truth stone slowly lost his voice as he figured out what Ajax¡¯s participation meant about how strong he was. More frightening was the glare both representatives had locked onto him. ¡°Do enjoy your visit to Darkcavern and this is an entry ticket for you to attend the auction.'''' The representative¡¯s voice was a little strained following their employee''s outburst but he maintained a pleasant smile until Ajax and the rest of his family left the room. With his freedom finally gained, Ajax and Lexi took to exploring Darkcavern on their own. They would have taken Anna with them but instead she joined Elija and Judy as they went to scope out the local markets. Unlike a normal city the tunnels dug by the ants made the underground city have a very different structure to even other dwarven cities. The biggest difference was the complete absence of side streets. All of the houses were built into the side of the tunnels. This meant that instead of their being a bad side of town there were only tunnels that the locals knew to keep away from unless they wanted trouble. ¡°Look what we have here boys.¡± A voice came out from in front as three dwarves approached Ajax and Lexi. ¡°A couple foreigners who look like they could use a guide.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be happy to offer our services, in exchange for something in return.¡± A voice came from behind the pair as two more dwarves approached. Ajax was quick to identify all of the dwarves, all of them had their levels in the mid to late fifties, certainly impressive for a commoner living in the city but not enough to pose any sort of threat to him. He casually summoned his sword from his spacial ring, instead of having it come out in his hand however he just summoned it on his hip sheath and all. Frowns followed the appearance of the sword as all five dwarves got into combat position. Despite how young Ajax and Lexi clearly were, Ajax commended them on not underestimating them that much, a lesson that the five had learnt long ago the hard way. Ajax finally felt an inspection skill land on him, surprisingly enough it was one he knew well as [Enigma] let him know it was [Judge Threat]. Instead of blocking the skill Ajax simply let the skill pass, it wasn¡¯t as if it would gather any in depth information on him. One of the dwarves froze as dread worked its way over his features and his skin paled a few shades. ¡°Now, now. We don¡¯t want this to get ugly in front of the pretty lady.¡± Despite the change in body language the leader still spoke with a surecocked tone. The words however caused the dwarf frozen in fear to move as his head jerked towards his boss with a ¡®what the fuck are you doing he¡¯ll kill us all expression¡¯. ¡°H-how about w-we just le-let them go, boss.¡± the dwarf managed to shakily get out. ¡°What are you on about?¡± one of the others shouted but the leader simply turned and looked at the speaker with a serious yet questioning look. ¡°I judge this to be a very bad idea.¡± he said, trying his hardest not to give away what happened, having no idea Ajax already knew. The leader took no time to catch on and quickly course corrected. ¡°Actually it seems that you know exactly where you are going, please have a pleasant evening.¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Ajax said as they slowly started backing away causing them all to freeze as all five had understood the situation. ¡°Which way was the auction house? We would hate to miss the start.¡± Ajax was having a bit of fun as he put his hand on the sword handle. The leader was quick to give some very precise directions before the five quickly got away from the scene. ¡°What did you do to them?¡± Lexi asked once they were out of earshot. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± Ajax said as he showed the most innocent expression he could. ¡°One of them had [Judge Threat] so I simply had [Enigma] let the skill through.¡± Both had a bit of chuckle at that as they made their way towards the auction house. Chapter 307 Once inside the auction house Ajax had no use for his ticket. Despite them being received as a show of good will for his testimony of the steampunk gear Ajax, Lexi, Judy and Elija had all been invited to the Goldmancer private balcony. Due to the instability that had been dragged out of Oliver the archduke was a bit light on people he trusted as far as mercantile people went. Those he did trust he left behind to keep watch over the others. This left him with a space for a few friendly faces to join him in enjoying the auction. ¡°You two finally made it, I was sure it was going to start without you!¡± Ajax was surprised to see the king¡¯s oldest son in the room as he was brought in by the attendant. ¡°What are you¡­?¡± Lexi left the question unfinished but it was pretty clear to everyone what the question was. ¡°Dad¡¯s room has all those nobles in there, he and my brother can deal with that.¡± the prince shamelessly said. ¡°I can actually enjoy the auction from here.¡± Most of the nobles that had come from the kingdom were actually expected to socialize a little, it had been one of the king''s requests in exchange for making the detour that the nobles were not focused as merchants try to create some favorable connections with the Republic. As the sole experienced merchant from his family this meant that archduke Goldmancer was allowed to take the opportunity and teach Anna about how to handle auctions in other countries so he was exempt. Ajax was exempted for the very simple reason that it was better for all involved, while he had made great strides in handling social situations he was barely at the point where he could attend any event without unintentionally insulting at least a few participants. ¡°Welcome my lords and ladies¡­¡± the host began the welcoming speech up on the stage only to be silenced as the prince pressed on an enchantment near the glass window. ¡°I doubt any of you are interested in the opening speech.¡± the prince said as he retook his seat. Both Elija and Judy looked like they wanted to complain, neither doing so because the person who drew their ire was a prince, instead they were focused on the presenter and trying to lipread the welcoming speech hoping to gather any extra information they could about the local situation and any extra tidbit about the items in the list they were given. ¡°So what is your impression about old Whisker?¡± the prince asked Ajax. The question drew more than a few frowns from the Goldmancer guards present in the room, despite him being a foreign champion his strength did inspire respect from all of them. ¡°He¡¯s definitely something else, very scary.¡± Ajax said honestly. ¡°Managed to get any information on him?¡± For the first time this evening the prince lost his joking mood, this time it was the champion of Gryndor asking the question not the aloof prince who threw away his position as heir. ¡°Don¡¯t worry the room is secure.¡± Ajax took another short look around before he answered the question. ¡°He¡¯s got a Legendary inspection skill, high leveled too. If he wanted to he could break right through [Enigma] and take a look at any part of my status.¡± At least he could before Ajax chose the upgrade to provide a reinforced defense to the more guarded sections of his status, though he kept the part about the upgrade to himself. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°He didn¡¯t take a look at anything that others haven¡¯t already gotten, but he could have.¡± Ajax continued to calm down his family and friends who were surprised at the reveal. ¡°His defense to being inspected is much lower quality, I would guess it''s a high Uncommon or a middle of the way Rare.¡± ¡°From the way you knew who I was talking about I am guessing you got his name. What else?¡± the prince nodded. ¡°He is a lethal threat to me, level 209¡± there were a few sharp breaths drawn in at that but the prince didn¡¯t seem surprised in the least. ¡°And he is 679 years old.¡± That last remark caused both the archduke and the prince to stare at him with wide eyes. ¡°You¡¯re sure about that?¡± the both asked at the same time, sparing a small glance at each other for a split second before focusing on Ajax once more. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Why does that matter?¡± ¡°Because the Republic has been leaking out that he is closer to nine hundred.¡± archduke Goldmancer answered. ¡°If he is only 679 years old, and looks as old as he does, that means he doesn¡¯t have as much time left as a deterrent as they want, it does explain why they are so interested in you and your succession as the war deterrent.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let father know but other than that the information doesn¡¯t leave this room, by royal command.¡± The prince unleashed his aura to punctuate those words and everyone in the room felt the pressure. The solemn air in the room was dispersed as the opening speech ended and the auction began in truth. The prince returned to his relaxed, carefree state and the silent enchantment on the glass was turned off. The items being auctioned off were a solid mix of actually useful items, items meant for vanity and prestige as well as curiosities obtained from one of the other kingdoms. While none of the items were anything Ajax was especially interested in he found himself in awe of what he was seeing. From the start of the auction fifteen items had gone by and there was only one that the archduke hadn¡¯t made a bet on, that item had been won by kind Gryndor. On every other item brought up the archduke had been very active, despite all that he didn¡¯t win a single item. This might seem like a poor showing to the untrained eye but both Elija and Judy were looking at him like they wanted to ask for his autograph but didn¡¯t dare disturb him while he was working. Ajax assumed that he had already raised the princes on the items he had been active on by 30-40%. The archduke was so good that Ajax was at the same time thankful for the chance to see him in action but also a little worried, he silently promised himself to leave this balcony before the end of the auction so that nobody would associate him with the raised prices. ¡°That¡¯s the one you put up, what¡¯s it do?¡± Anna asked as the half mask with an eye was brought out, this was also the first of the steampunk items. ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s it do?¡± The prince interjected before Ajax got a chance to answer. ¡°Some of the items were still usable.¡± Lexi said with a smirk as she brought out the steampunk leg, started the steam process and caused it to jerk with a small eclectic pulse at the connection. ¡°Depending on how damaged they were, some are still usable as prosthetics, with a bit of a learning curve.¡± Ajax did his best to ignore the dumbfounded look on the prince''s face and answered. ¡°No idea what the eye is good for, I wouldn¡¯t try attaching that since messing up has a good chance to kill the wearer. The lower portion however should be some kind of filtration system for gasses and poisons.¡± ¡°Woah there, back up. Some of the things there might still work.¡± The prince was still catching up. ¡°Is there anything in the pile that me or Shadow had that might be very useful?¡± ¡°Uh, I think so.¡± Ajax said as he thought back through any of the things they had taken for anything that might be useful. ¡°That connected suit from the mini-boss who didn¡¯t fully replace anything on his body. You took off his head so I think the suit should still be whole and functional.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so good about that suit?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Not sure how long it can keep going since you killed the boss pretty quick.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But since it''s an exoskeleton with all four limbs and chest connection with the steam engine on the back it should be usable by anyone, not only that but it would increase anyones physical capacity up to a level sixty-five physical fighter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very good for an enchanted piece of gear.¡± the prince exclaimed. ¡°It does have some drawbacks.¡± Ajax warned him. ¡°When not powered up it should be quite heavy. Not only that but you saw how this gear works, much better at short burst releases of power than continued use.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, their opening attacks were a lot deadlier than anything else they had.¡± the prince nodded as he pondered the suit in question. ¡°I hope that thing still works, my niece wanted to be a mage but with those extra stats she got from your training method the extra weight shouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem.¡± Ajax was very much surprised to see his grandfather enter a bidding war for a small ruby gemstone. ¡°I know someone looking for one of those back home, it¡¯ll bring us quite a bit of profit.¡± Elija''s smile didn¡¯t show that he had spent over 40000 gold coins on a single rock. ¡°Okay kid come on time to move.¡± The prince started to lead Ajax and Lexi towards the door. ¡°This thing is almost over and the last time I came out from the same balcony as old Goldmancer I had to spend five parties mending fences with the nobility in that city.¡± Chapter 308 Ajax was mentally exhausted by the end of the night. The prince had managed to spare him and Lexi the wrath of the nobles who lost their money to archduke Goldmancer¡¯s schemes, he did so by taking them to the king¡¯s balcony where they were exposed more than a few nobles What Ajax had lost in willpower that evening however his grandfather''s people had managed to gain in terms of alchemy reagents. Having left the kingdom of Gryndor Ajax now had access to some different common reagents than the ones he was used to for alchemy. The idea of trying out new recipes all the way to the next dungeon filled him with energy. It had already been a month since the convoy left Gryndor by the time that they made it to the next dungeon and this was their first mail stop. Any non-emergency mail was going to be coming for everyone that was part of the convoy and with the amount of nobles here most would be getting an update on their estates or families. All Ajax got was an indepth update from his mother and father about how his niece was growing up and how Tom and Kate were keeping on top of their responsibilities. Even with such mundane information it had been a long ten page letter that had come. Elija, Aurora and Judy got a whole stack of papers from Alana and Silvia who had remained in charge back in the kingdom. It seems that the massive gap that formed in the market from the absence of everyone who had left wasn¡¯t something they had appropriately planned for and now they were playing catch-up. Their planning issue thankfully was one of oversaturation of the market, while still a screw up it was something easily overcome by simply not selling at the current prices and waiting for the market to pick back up. It would mean that they would be left with a lot less liquid capital than they would have liked but the situation was manageable which it is why it was a non-priority mail. ¡°It¡¯s been decades since the last tournament we took part in.¡± Aurora let out a sigh. ¡°We only looked at the market changes after the last tournament held but since we didn¡¯t take part in that one we didn¡¯t account for the amount of crafters that would be leaving or losing their customers.¡± ¡°At least we know we aren¡¯t the only ones to make this mistake. Almost everyone else reacted the same.¡± Elija let out a breath. ¡°Ajax come on, they finally caved and they are going to let us take a look.¡± Lexi burst into the small boxy room on top of the worm. ¡°Really? I¡¯m coming too.¡± Judy was quick to join up, even Ajax dropped the preparations he was making for his next potion and headed out. The main attraction of the auction and the one item that Ajax was disappointed not to see being auctioned off from the Goldmancer balcony had been a griffin egg. Much like the salamander egg he had helped house Silvertongue secure way back when this one had a very high chance of hatching, the hatchling would then have a high chance of bonding the person who raised it. Unlike the salamander however the griffin was not only an almost exclusively combat bond, it also doubled as a flying mount making it one of the best choices out there. The winner of the very heated finale to the evening had been House Steelblade. It had cost them a substantial sub of 150k gold but Benedict¡¯s cousin and fellow tournament competitor had recently had his bonded fox pass away and was in prime age to pick up a baby griffin that would all but surely last him the remainder of his life. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°You all got here so quick.¡± Benedict teased them as Lexi, Anna, Judy and Ajax all arrived at the carriage that now exclusively housed Benedict¡¯s cousin and the egg. ¡°Make sure you all clamp down on your mana emission, there should be no leakage.¡± Surrounding the eggs in their mana was something that a lot of monsters did, griffins being among their numbers, it had also been heavily researched that following the same pattern after obtaining the egg by the one who is looking to bond it increases the chance of a bond forming by 30%. Despite there being no tests done to see what happens if multiple different types of mana were used to surround the egg nobody was willing to risk their investment and good luck by allowing others to leave their mana around it. The egg in question was much bigger than the salamander egg Ajax had seen, while the salamander egg had been the size of an ostrich egg this one was easily four times as big. More than that this egg wasn¡¯t red in color it was instead a silvery gray and it stood nestled against Benedict''s cousin. Ajax could feel the mana surrounding the egg, this time however he had more than a few skills he didn¡¯t have last time he saw an egg and was quick to put them to good use. [Inspector¡¯s Eye] was quickly used and the information it brought was quite good. Name : Swiftwing Griffin Egg Level : N/A Age : 12 months Hatchling : Healthy Incubation time left : 1 month Alchemical uses : Strong mana catalyst, unstable mana catalyst, high quality sample. ¡°How long is he going to stay with the egg like that?¡± Ajax asked as it seemed rather uncomfortable. ¡°For as much time as he can until it hatches.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°Apparently it was retrieved four months ago so he¡¯s got a good long while. At least our appraisers tell us its a viable egg.¡± Ajax had to bite his cheek to not let it slip that it only had a month to go. Despite the friendship he had developed with Benedict it wasn¡¯t as close as his connection with House Goldmancer or Manashaper, this meant that he wasn¡¯t willing to reveal his high tier inspection skill on something so irrelevant. ¡°There are more than one type of griffin?¡± Ajax asked instead. ¡°There are. This one is a swiftwing.¡± Benedict confirmed. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°[Alchemist¡¯s Examination]¡± Ajax answered, it was something he didn¡¯t mind people knowing he had and provided a good cover. ¡°It¡¯s also a strong mana catalyst, an unstable mana catalyst, as well as a high quality ingredient.¡± ¡°That is not an ingredient!!!¡± Everyone present had joined in on that, if not all for the same reason. While Benedict, his cousin and Lexi were all outraged at the idea of using a potential baby griffin as part of a fancy omelet and calling it alchemy Anna and Judy were outraged on having something that costs 150k gold be used as part of an experiment in a fancy omelet hoping it would turn out well. ¡°Come on now don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m just telling you what the skill told me.¡± Even Ajax wasn¡¯t that wasteful as to actually use something so expensive in one of his alchemy projects. More than that however Ajax very much wanted to find a Bond for himself and from the looks of things it seemed that raising one from a baby might just be his only choice as his power was starting to dwarf anything he could find wandering humanoid areas. ¡°Are you bringing it into the dungeon?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Benedict''s cousin confirmed. ¡°The prince offered to safeguard it and keep it isolated from outside mana while I fight.¡± Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the delve that took place over the next three days was nothing out of the ordinary. With a level difference of eighteen between floors even Ajax had only managed to gain a stat boost for three floors. One of the only highlights of the delve was that the second floor had been a feeder floor and the group had managed to grab a rather sizable amount of meat and fur. The animal in question seemed to be a giant version of chinchilla as far as Ajax could tell. While he wasn¡¯t keen on eating the giant rodent he was forced to admit that it had some of the softest fur he had ever felt and made sure to skin as many of them as he could before they left that floor. With the second dungeon cleared and no other reason for a detour the convoy finally started heading towards the capital where the last two dungeons awaited and the tournament was getting closer with each passing day. Chapter 309 The Republic was the most intimidating city Ajax had ever laid eyes on. Deep down he had always known that it would be impressive, the history lessons had made that perfectly clear but to see it now a mix of beastkin, dwarves, elves and humans all working to build an impenetrable city, followed by settlements slowly springing up around the external walls over time. Ajax knew that at one point in time all humanoids had been part of a massive empire that spanned further than the current kingdoms; the dragon had informed him of that history. But of the current eight kingdoms the Republic is the second oldest of them all. The only reason for this is that officially the beastkin kingdom hasn¡¯t yet split into two like all the other races, for all that their people had. This city had been the beginning of the Republic millenia ago. Formed by a council of likeminded people from different races they stood against four other kingdoms all deadset on their race''s supremacy and carved out their piece of land from the center of the battlefield. ¡°Greed and hate is the only reason any of this was possible.¡± Ajax still shuddered after all this time when Shadow appeared next to him like this. ¡°Strong as the first councilors were, the only reason the city held was because they managed to convince the enemies to fight each other first and then only the winner would fight them for the city. Obvious as the poly had been even to the generals back in those times there was simply no better alternative. Attacking the city state without fighting off the other armies was asking to get ambushed and crushed from two sides. The winners had never been strong enough to take the city afterwards so the Republic persevered into the full kingdom it was now. ¡°Are those the dungeons?¡± Ajax asked as he looked towards the two secondary smaller forts that could be seen on either side of the capital. ¡°They are.¡± Shadow nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll get your chance to see them as well.¡± Ajax was excited thinking about the dungeons. The previous two had only given him +7 to all stats in total but these two would be a much bigger boost. The smaller of the two would give him +7 seven to all stats all by itself while the Republic¡¯s main dungeon would give him +11 to all stats. That was more than seven levels worth of stats. ¡°Do you think I have a chance?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°To win that is.¡± ¡°Not from what I¡¯ve seen from you so far.¡± Shadow said. ¡°You are a balanced fighter, you might get lucky and beat our dwarven fighter, but the beastkin will rip you apart and from what I hear even he is a long shot for beating the elve¡¯s ice princess.¡± Ajax felt the pressure mounting, despite wanting to disregard the words because he had made sure not to show his hand; he knew that the panther beastkin had a pretty good assessment of his strength. ¡°That said you¡¯re about to gain a lot of stats from those two dungeons.¡± Ajax knew Shadow knew his level and he couldn¡¯t help but grin at that. ¡°With those you¡¯ll beat the dwarf, have an even match with the beastkin as well. If it¡¯s enough to beat the princess however only time will tell. Time and whatever tricks you are keeping hidden.¡± As they entered the city the convoy was quickly routed towards the Gryndor estates. Because of their central position on the map and as the host of almost all resource tournaments the embassies located in the Republic capital were large enough to house an entire convoy despite usually being manned by a very minimal political group. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Oh no.¡± Archduke Goldmancer was quick to put his hand on Lexi''s shoulder as they were all going to get settled into their new accommodations. ¡°You¡¯ll be rooming with us, officially at least. It¡¯s the least I promised your grandfather.¡± ¡°What¡­ but¡­¡± Lexi started. ¡°I would be-¡± Ajax also started but stopped when the archduke raised a hand. ¡°I don¡¯t particularly care where it is you actually sleep, in fact I would actually prefer it if I didn¡¯t know.¡± the archduke continued. ¡°But your luggage and official residence will be with House Goldmancer. This will ensure the reputation of both your houses as you are both only courting officially. Not only that but it will also keep the protections house Hearthbound still benefits from.¡± Neither Ajax nor Lexi had anything to say to that. Despite there being almost no nobles who actually maintained the same standards when it came to purity and marriage the facade still had to be maintained in public. More than that a simple Baron House hosting a Duke¡¯s granddaughter despite the number of higher ranked or older Houses present would paint a target on them. The Gryndor estates were a small district in the noble section of the city. It was highly secure like all other embassies and had plenty of suitable accommodations for all of the members of the convoy such that each House almost got their own actual residence as long as they had three or more members present. House Hearthbound had barely arrived before Elija, Aurora and Judy all dashed off towards the market looking to get the lay of the land. Much as their spot on this convoy had come because of Ajax the three had joined in order to lay foundations of their international trades as well as earn some serious profit. Much like the rest of his family Ajax was also eager to explore the capital city. Unlike their focus on its market he was simply looking forward to the break he would finally be getting here. Unlike with their previous dungeon stops Ajax would have a couple of weeks before he would be delving into these dungeons. With the capital being their final destination there was no need to rush through and get moving again so Ajax decided to simply take a walk with Lexi through the city. ¡°Is this your first time here as well?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°No, I¡¯ve been here before when I was five.¡± Lexi answered. ¡°Grandpa was finally allowed in the city and he brought me along, I do want to see how different it will seem to me from back then.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he be allowed in the city?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Most high level mages like that aren¡¯t allowed into such highly populated areas during time of war. Someone like him can charge up a self detonation spell as much as he can and still be sure to survive thanks to a skill however. It took some time after the treaties were signed before he was welcomed.¡± Ajax simply nodded as he let Lexi lead him around the city. Despite her already having been through there once before more than a decade ago the sights were still very much new to her, despite the boost her mental stats granted her the sheer change in perspective from a young child to an adult was enough to make this a whole new experience for her as well. It was late in the afternoon when the pair finally stopped exploring the city and went to a restaurant to eat. While Ajax might not have had the upbringing and would have been fine with just having some food from a street vendor as they explored, Lexi did drag him to a more fancy looking place in the Elven section of the noble part of the city. ¡°The wait time for a table is twenty minutes.¡± the hostess informed them as they got to the front of the line. The two of them didn¡¯t even have the chance to walk to the side before an elf all but materialized at the hostess¡¯s side. The elf looked very young like almost all of them did but her deep crimson hair gave away that she was well past her prime, combined with the aura around her Ajax knew that she was not only strong but at least half a millenia old. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can find them a table Berry dear.¡± the woman said, from the way the hostess¡¯s eyes bulged, Ajax knew they would be getting a table in seconds. ¡°It¡¯s great to see you again Alexis, it feels like only yesterday you and your grandfather were exploring the city.¡± ¡°Of course, milady.¡± The hostess was quick to adjust and didn¡¯t make a scene despite a few drops of sweat being visible on her forehead. ¡°Right this way.¡± ¡°Are you staying in the city for a while or just passing through?¡± the elf asked. ¡°Ajax here will be competing in the tournament so we¡¯ll be around Lady Brightash.¡± Lexi responded with a soft smile and a nod of thanks. ¡°What was all that about?¡± Ajax asked as they were led away from the entrance to the displeased murmur of some of the others that were in line before them. ¡°You don¡¯t see it as much in the kingdom since the king regulates it but how much influence do you think a family who¡¯s patriarch is constantly working on new spells has?¡± Lexi asked him. ¡°Last time I was here grandpa made a deal with Lady Brightash for two spells. And her family wasn¡¯t the only one.¡± Despite the king and crown prince of Gryndor being in the city, Ajax just got the distinct impression that Lexi was actually the noble with the most positive relations among the Republic nobility. Chapter 310 Ajax barely dodged the incoming sword slash. Much as he preferred his hammer and axe to his sword he did have to admit that swords were the preferential choice for the tournament. Despite his preference to the other weapon type he most often ended up using a sword in his main or off-hand simply because of how versatile it was. ¡°Almost¡­¡± His opponent hissed out in a breath as he charged again. Ajax could feel his stamina and mana both reaching their limit, he barely had anything left. He couldn¡¯t drop [Mana Syphon] or he would be overwhelmed by the sheer difference in physical movement. This next exchange will determine the fight. Ajax used the last of his mana to shoot out a wave of ice looking to freeze his opponent''s feet as well as a bolt of lightning in hopes that the small paralysis would buy him enough time. With the spells thrown out he dashed to the left looking to dodge the tower shield. Ajax brought down his sword only to have it parried after a small cut to his opponent''s arm. His hammer was fully neutralized as the tower shield was back in position just in time. Ajax pulled out his final ace as he dropped [Mana Syphon] and threw out a holy purification wave hoping the cursed slash he landed earlier would be debilitating enough. ¡°AGRHHHH¡± Ajax¡¯s opponent fell to one knee from the spike of pain radiating from his right arm. Despite the pain however the tower shield in his left arm fully blocked off any opening Ajax might have had. As the wave of holy mana faded so did the pain it generated and Ajax¡¯s opponent was on the move again. Without his augmented stats Ajax could barely deflect the incoming longsword, not daring to attempt a parry out of fear it would overpower him and cut straight through. Three swing was all it took for Ajax to find himself with a sword at his exposed throat. ¡°That makes it four to three for you.¡± Ajax let out an exhausted breath as he collapsed where he was from the lack of mana and stamina. Despite technically winning the bout Richard Steelblade knew it was simply a false victory. This was training for the upcoming tournament and despite winning four rounds to Ajax¡¯s three he knew it wouldn¡¯t matter in the tournament. All Richard could do in the first bout of the training session was try and hold out against the onslaught that Ajax brought out, the sheer number of types and their applications left him simply trying to buy time. The second round had felt much better but that was simply because Ajax had started to conserve his resources. In the third round Richard had managed his first victory. He had spent year training his fighting style and his opponent was clearly more used to fighting monsters than humanoid opponents. The fourth round had been the exact opposite of the third where Richard had the lead only to be surprised by Ajax as he took the win. The final three fights were a slow repeat of Ajax bleeding down his resources until he had nothing left. ¡°I hope I don¡¯t meet you in the tournament.¡± Richard said as he offered Ajax a hand to get up from where he all but collapsed once the spar ended. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything against you at the start.¡± Ajax just showed a polite smile as he thought of the 1500 mana he had used in that first bout. Physical fighters were simply at a disadvantage in the tournament format, with only one fight a day mages could always recharge their mana and spent their entire pool every single fight. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°That was very well done, from both of you.¡± the oldest prince clapped as he had been watching the fight. ¡°There are a few things we need to go over but overall a very solid performance.¡± As Richard helped Ajax walk off the field he couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. Richard had spent the last decade of his life before the tournament both training and overseeing the kingdom''s open border. During this time he had faced a variety of different monsters that approached from the untamed lands but he had also heard stories about the talented prince that was born and as of late the baron prodigy. At first he had believed it all to be an exaggeration but now he thought if anything they had underestimated Ajax. They were both set to delve both of the Republic''s main dungeons but as where he could at best hope to gain +7 in all stats from both Ajax was looking at more than double that. The prince gave both of them some general feedback on their fighting style. Despite neither Ajax or Richard using the same style as the prince he was experienced enough to at least see their flaws and point them out. ¡°Alright, level with me here, what is going on?¡± the prince asked Ajax as he pulled him aside after they left the sparring area. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you in the dungeons, you don¡¯t get tired that quick so what is going on?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Are you taking it easy on Richard, because you shouldn¡¯t be.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Ajax said as he noticed the disconnect. ¡°There simply isn¡¯t any other mana than my own to fuel [Mana Syphon] out here. In the dungeon the concentration is high enough that I can mostly just pull it from the air, even after that I can take it away from the monsters on the floor, he doesn¡¯t have any mana for me to syphon.¡± Ajax had been pretty open with what he could do, the only trump card he was keeping up his sleeve right now was Void mana, that said he hadn¡¯t given anyone but the king a breakdown on how his Legendary skill worked and even that had been a brief overview. ¡°Wait, so you can just take your physical power from your opponent?¡± The prince was surprised as he pulled out his sword and started channeling mana through a rune that caused the edge to heat up until it was red hot. Ajax had figured out what the prince wanted to check so he cooperated and started siphoning his mana directly from the runic spell that was working on the sword. He could feel his body strengthen as his skill drank the mana coming from the spell, it was still harder to syphon from an active spell than a mana rich environment but he still could draw quite a lot. ¡°He he he¡± the prince chuckled as he released the spell. ¡°Those elves are going to hate you so much.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Because none of the ones they have competing against you use Earth.¡± the prince said with a malicious grin. ¡°Elves love using their high mana affinity to conjure up large shields when dealing with physical fighters or spellblades like us. From what I can see however you siphon can draw in more the larger the area the spell covers. You¡¯ll bleed their mages dry just running around their shields.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but smirk in return. Ever since he headed out for this tournament he had heard that the elves were the ones to beat and that he would be hard pressed to beat their ice princess as he was now. Ajax had intimate knowledge of how ice magic worked and knew he could syphon the mana from conjured ice without issue. ¡°This does raise a few issues about the beastkin however.¡± The prince brought Ajax back down as quickly as he raised him up. ¡°I took a look at him and he focused on a number of boosting skills, mana and stamina based. I had thought you¡¯d have no problem outlasting him but that might prove to be an issue so you need to look into another way of beating him just in case.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t stop the frown that appeared on his face. He had tried for the last few years to get himself a stamina based boosting skill but none of them had seemed compatible with him. The only explanation the professors could come up with was that they all overlapped too much with his Legendary skill, despite using a different resource, and that made gaining them impossible. If he was to gain a stamina based boosting skill it would have to be a Legendary one. ¡°Anyway off you go, you have to suffer through tonight, and tomorrow you get to enjoy yourself all day on your date.¡± the prince patted him on the back as he led him towards the exit. ¡°The day after that however you get to delve the first dungeon in the capital.¡± It was all Ajax could do to stop himself from cursing aloud. He had managed to avoid any large noble gatherings since arriving at the capital by always using his training for the tournament as a deflection. That wasn¡¯t to say he hadn¡¯t interacted with foreign nobility but it was always in small groups with Lexi at his side when they went out and to visit. Unfortunately this upcoming feast was in welcoming the kingdom''s tournament competitors and he couldn¡¯t just skip out on a dinner in his honor, much to his chagrin this wouldn¡¯t be the only one he would be expected to attend as another would be held once the elven participants arrived. Chapter 311 As Ajax entered the large ball room he was surprised by the variance he could see in attendance at the party. Even after all this time in the Republic he was still used to a more segregated split between the races. This wasn¡¯t out of need but preference since most elves would stick to the elven side of the city, dwarves to the underground and so on. While humans were the most numerous at this event there were a large number of noble elves, dwarves and beastkin as well. It was the elves in this mix that really threw him off, since elves didn¡¯t really physically age after their teen years besides their hair color; a lot of the older groups of noblemen simply contained what looked to him like teenage elves with deep hair colors. ¡°That¡¯s going to take some getting used to.¡± Ajax mumbled as he walked in with Lexi. ¡°I thought you did fine when we met with the elves.¡± Lexi asked as she looked at him confused. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a contrast for their age then, it''s odd looking at someone who seems so young and knowing they are the same age as the old man next to them.¡± ¡°If it helps, the prince is older than most of the people here and he looks to be middle aged.¡± Lexi said with a teasing smirk. ¡°That doesn¡¯t help and you know it.¡± Ajax complained. As they made their way towards the center of the room where the other four tournament fighters were waiting Ajax asked another question that had been bothering him. ¡°How come the republic only gets two spots while both we and the elves get three?¡± ¡°It makes the tournament easier to arrange if there are only eight participants. Not only that but since they get a spot in any tournament that happens since they have a border with each of the other races they agreed to only get two spots.¡± Lexi explained. While this might seem like a pretty large detriment it wasn¡¯t all that big a loss. The prize only went to the winner of each section so they weren¡¯t giving up much by only sending their best and second best representatives. Tonight was also the first chance Ajax got to see the Republic representatives in person. Both the dwarf and the feline beastkin looked young, this was almost a given considering their age was only fifty and their levels closing on eighty. His eyes however weren¡¯t on his competition. His sight was drawn towards the next tier of competition instead, those under level one hundred. All of these people people looked old, Ajax knew that it was because they had specifically trained and even invested their stat points around being representative champions for their nation. Their builds were focused around a few combat skills that were trained obsessively to increase the amount of power gained within the limited one hundred levels, next was their stats that were less focused on vitality meaning they had a much shorter lifespan and much lower health pool for increased power. With most of them being full mages, Ajax was legitimately worried that a stiff breeze could kill one of them if it managed to make contact. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The last people in the center were the no limit champions. This included the prince as well as the leader of the first and second squads from Gryndor as well as Shadow and an elf Ajax didn¡¯t know from the Republic. These were the true powerhouses and strongest people in their respective nations and people Ajax did not want to piss off until he got stronger. ¡°Thank you all for coming.¡± An old man joined by a beastkin, an elf, a dwarf and king Gryndor himself loudly announced one Ajax had joined the other tournament competitors. ¡°It is our great pleasure to celebrate the best that our nations have to offer in our champions that will be taking part in the tournament. I invite all of you to celebrate and enjoy yourselves tonight.¡± Ajax recognised the four with the king as the members of the council that rules the Republic. He also silently cursed the old man about the ¡®enjoy yourselves¡¯ part of his speech. Ajax knew for a fact half the champions would much rather be doing something else tonight than attend a party. This was easy to spot as well as the level one hundred limited champions didn¡¯t have the social skills to mask their emotions. ¡°Oh noooo¡­.¡± the prince complained as he pulled Ajax and the other two young participants close once they accepted their applause from the guests. ¡°I really hoped he wouldn¡¯t show up tonight.¡± ¡°Who -¡± was all Ajax got to get out before the prince pointed all of them towards a table. Sitting at the table was a kind looking older man that seemed to draw no attention to himself talking animatedly with the beastkin opposite him. The dog beastkin made for a comedic sight as he had numerous empty beer tankards and a chicken leg in each hand as he chewed. ¡°That right there is Archduke Goldenmouth, the best politician in the Republic.¡± the prince said. ¡°It is widely known that he is more than nine hundred years old and in that time he managed to get the Legendary [Talker] skill past the level 100 bottleneck.¡± ¡°I heard about him.¡± Richard Steelblade said as a small shiver ran up his spine. ¡°It¡¯s said that even the best politicians have to constantly be eating and drinking when talking with him so that they don¡¯t accidentally let something slip.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how rude it comes off as, you Ajax are not to talk with him without the king or my brother present and by your side, if he approaches you a polite greeting and a hasty exit from the conversation is exactly what you will do.¡± the prince said. At first the instruction surprised Ajax until he realized that it wasn¡¯t any of the secrets he was still keeping to himself that they wanted to hide, it was the secret behind his training method. Over the years all the other nations had managed to find out almost all the information behind Ajax¡¯s method to strengthen their young nobles despite all the false information the kingdom spread. The last line of defense the kingdom had used however was that only the children in question were taught how to specifically make their system screen transparent. The information of what they were doing was out there in detail but the linchpin was still secret after all these years because so few people knew it. Considering the ages of the people here Ajax suspected that it was only him, the king, the crown prince as well as Archduke Goldmancer that actually knew the trick and could leak it. As Ajax headed off in the opposite direction from the Archduke and towards Lexi he felt [Enigma] activate. He quickly turned towards the direction he felt the inspection skill coming from wondering who would be using an inspection skill on him at such an event. As he turned his gaze met that of the feline beastkin competitor. [Enigma] let him know that the inspection got nothing but his threat level, from the confident walk and smirk on the beastkin¡¯s face Ajax couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he was really that strong or if somehow [Enigma] managed to fool his skill. ¡°Good, you¡¯re a real threat.¡± the beastkin said as he stopped a foot away from Ajax. ¡°When I heard someone younger than twenty-five was going to be competing I thought it was a joke but you¡¯ve got the strength to take part. I hope I get to face you in the ring.¡± That¡¯s when it clicked for Ajax, it wasn¡¯t that [Enigma] fooled the skill, it was that the beastkin was happy Ajax was strong, he was looking forward to the fight. ¡°You might end up regretting that after we fight.¡± ¡°Nonsense, the only thing I might regret is if one of us is knocked out before we get to meet.¡± the beastkin responded. ¡°Win or lose I can tell the fight will be a close one, two or three hundred years from now I¡¯ll be able to claim I stood against the monster you¡¯ll become in the ring and put up a fight. That¡¯s an honor I¡¯ll be happy to risk losing for.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help the smile that broke out on his face at that. He was starting to like the beastkin and could clearly tell that he was part of the faction that was hoping he would become the future war deterrent. ¡°In that case how about we agree to a duel after the tournament if we don¡¯t get to face each other in the ring?¡± Ajax extended his hand towards the beastkin. The beastkin champion gave him as strong a handshake as he had felt from a pure mage before showing his race¡¯s enhanced physical prowess. ¡°That just made my night.¡± Chapter 312 Ajax woke up with the worst hangover he had ever had in this life or his past life. Archduke Goldenmouth had managed to interject himself into a conversation he was part of and Ajax could actually feel himself slipping up. While he wasn¡¯t normally a fan of wine that was the only thing that was close at hand and he had ended up eight glasses deep by the time he had managed to extricate himself from the conversation. Ajax frowned even more as he remembered the awkward meeting he had with the Republic''s second representative in his group. The dwarf was the first pure runic caster he had met, unlike the prince who was a spellblade he was a pure mage with the power and speed that runes offered. ¡°What happened to him?¡± the beastkin asked Lexi after he noticed that Ajax¡¯s demeanour had changed from earlier in the evening when they first met. ¡°He had an encounter with the archduke and only the strong wine was close at hand.¡± Lexi explained with an awkward smile. Neither of the competitors seemed to take offence of the fact, in fact the brief look of fear that crossed their faces followed by the pitying look they gave Ajax let everyone know that they knew exactly what he was going through. More than that it seemed that everyone he met at the party afterward seemed to be very understanding of his situation. Despite the hangover Ajax was more than ready for the dungeon delve they were going to in the afternoon. Since they were starting later Ajax would only have to fight on the second floor since they were going to camp out before going to the third floor. ¡°How come we haven¡¯t yet held an auction for the rest of the steampunk gear?¡± Ajax asked his sister as they were on their way to the dungeon. Word had gotten out about the unique items their team had pulled out of the dungeon. ¡°We¡¯re waiting for the elves to arrive.¡± Judy told him. ¡°Just because their kingdom as a whole is currently hurting for money that isn¡¯t true of their high nobles. More than that because elves are so focused on magic they will place more value on them.¡± It was a cruel twist of nature, despite the elves retaining their physical prime for most of their life they were also naturally inclined towards magic, the few fully physical champions they had throughout the years had all gone down in history, not for their feats so much as for the amount of time they remained active. ¡°Do you think you can get me something for them?¡± Ajax asked. It was well know that since their entire nation was almost entirely made up of a large forest elves had access to a much larger sample and variety of alchemical ingredients, more than that they were vastly different from the ones Ajax could find in the Republic, Gryndro or the Empire since all three were mostly dominated by large open grasslands. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be looking into setting up a long term trade route with one of the elven nobles so you can get your roots and leaves.¡± Judy teased him. Ajax was ecstatic at the news, with a regular route even if the deliveries were months apart he would have regular access to what he had previously considered exotic ingredients. ¡°How do you plan on setting up a route, we are too small a noble house for that.¡± Ajax was slightly skeptical. ¡°With their help.¡± Judy said as she pointed towards the fully grown worm that was curled around one of the elven treehouses. ¡°Alana and I had both gotten our start by being traveling merchants. Our organization and grandpas are both slowly combining under our noble house. Much as it raised us to a new level Alana and I are simply outmatched.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Ajax now understood the problem, Judy and Alana weren¡¯t ready to be dealing at that level. While the initial move up had proven useful for their skills as it was a new and challenging experience they hadn¡¯t caught up yet in terms of skills and levels and the novelty has worn off. They were actually being stifled at the top and forced to rely on Elija and Aurora. ¡°Any trade route to the elves will have to pass through the Republic as well.¡± Ajax said more to himself. ¡°You and Alana will be going back to traveling merchants but you won¡¯t simply be going a step back down, as international merchants I feel a few more skills may open up to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all, hopefully with us traveling so far so often we should be able to make a few connections with foreign nobles for our house.¡± Judy said. ¡°It won¡¯t be long until we gain that ducal title after all.¡± Ajax knew she was right, it had been six years since Ajax had gotten his Baron title and he knew the king planned on granting him a ducal title in four years. While nobody expected a baron to have connections across national lines, dukes were an entirely different matter. Duke Manashaper was a prime example of a duke who had more political currency than the royal family with nobles of other kingdoms. All of this turned out to be too much for Ajax to think about so soon after a night of heavy drinking so he simply relaxed and hoped the headache would go away as he got ready to head to the dungeon. Unlike the previous two dungeons Ajax noticed that almost all the participants were now fully equipped with enhancement potions, with the jump between floors being only eight levels it was possible that the potion could make enough of a difference for all of them to get one more floor. The fifty man procession got a lot of attention, especially with the prince and Shadow leading it and heading towards the dungeon. [Enigma] had gotten a good workout, Ajax had stopped counting the failed inspection attempts on him after he got to thirty but none of them managed to get anything more than his name. While Ajax wasn¡¯t as bothered by the attention, not everyone shared his outlook on the issue. More than once a spy had ended up being chased down the busy streets hoping to pass on whatever information they had managed to collect. Unlike the other dungeons they had gone to despite the small level gap on the floors, the first floor started with the level thirty-six to forty-one range. All of Ajax¡¯s former classmates were at the level forty-two or forty-three meaning it took a lot longer than usual to get past the first floor. The level of difficulty on the second floor wasn¡¯t that much higher, the boss monsters were only at level forty-nine the number of people who could benefit from them was much larger and they ended up clearing a good portion of the floor by the time everyone who needed a kill got it. It was after they finished with the second floor that the first issue cropped up for Ajax. The arch they decided to use for the third floor was one that was full of metal mana, Ajax was almost sure that it would house metal elementals and even with the help of boosting potions Lexi, Anna, Benedict and Xavier wouldn¡¯t be able to kill a metal elemental at level fifty seven. ¡°We¡¯re not using this arch.¡± Ajax approached the prince when they made camp for the night. ¡°Why not?¡± The prince was surprised, he wasn¡¯t against using a different arch but he didn¡¯t know why Ajax cared. ¡°Too much metal mana in it.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Metal elementals are a bad match-up for everyone that is down a fair number of levels.¡± ¡°And how do you know th-...¡± he stopped midway through his question. ¡° [Mana Syphon].¡± It wasn¡¯t a question but Ajax nodded his confirmation all the same. ¡°You just lost me a bet.¡± the prince said. ¡°What?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one surprised. Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict were all still in shock when they figured out Ajax could somewhat determine the theme of the next floor. ¡°You got too many plant based floors during your delves over the years.¡± the prince explained. ¡°I bet my brother you had an intuition or a specific dungeon skill to increase your odds. Never thought it¡¯d be something like this.¡± Lexi was the first of the others present to react. She quickly stood up, walked over to Ajax and gave him a hug and a kiss. ¡°Thank you.¡± She realized that he was sharing a secret to make sure that she and the others would clear an extra floor. ¡°I¡¯m thanking you too but don¡¯t expect a kiss from me.¡± Xavier broke the ice as he patted Ajax on the back. ¡°You¡¯re going to be the most requested person for crafting delves when we get back.¡± Everyone had a chuckle at that. ¡°That explains why you were heading for specific arches in the previous dungeons.¡± Shadow grunted. ¡°Though I¡¯ll appreciate it if you can keep us away from wet floors going forward.¡± Shadow had noticed how in the later floors Ajax had been heading towards specific arches after finishing the last miniboss even if they weren¡¯t the closest ones. It made perfect sense why now that he knew he could intuit the type of floor they would house even a little. Chapter 313 The reveal of Ajax¡¯s ability put all of his former classmates in a much better mood causing them to try and turn the night of rest between delves into one of celebration. This idea was quickly shut down, just because they only had one more floor to clear tomorrow didn¡¯t mean that others had just as little to do. This didn¡¯t stop Lexi from attempting to sneak over to Ajax¡¯s tent once or twice but the difference in stats and skills meant that she couldn¡¯t take two steps outside her tent without the oldest prince knowing about it. ¡°Can¡¯t you just turn a blind eye?¡± Lexi asked as she was led back to her tent. ¡°His tent has a silencing enchantment.¡± ¡°No.¡± the prince replied firmly as he pulled open her tent flap. ¡°Now go to sleep.¡± Lexi huffed as she retreated into her tent. How was she going to get any sleep when she was so excited and happy? The prince simply rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. ¡°What¡¯s the harm in just turning a blind eye?¡± Shadow asked as he appeared next to the prince. ¡°My sources haven¡¯t told me that Gryndor cares all that much about remaining ¡®pure¡¯ for marriage, well besides a few families.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the issue.¡± The prince said. ¡°Everyone knows they are together, almost everyone knows they aren¡¯t waiting either. The problem is everyone else with us.¡± ¡°They¡¯re the best of the new generation, what¡¯s so bad about that?¡± Shadow asked. ¡°You heard what is going on with the generation after them?¡± the prince answered with a question. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re somehow getting them to hold their points until fifteen before spending them with no drawbacks.¡± Shadow answered. ¡°Care to share how?¡± The prince just gave him a ¡®nice try¡¯ smile at that and didn¡¯t bother to answer that question. ¡°We are, that means that their generation will slowly be surpassed. Maybe not them since they are getting these extra stats but their friends, their siblings. Both Ajax and Lexi will end up leaders.¡± ¡°I see the issue now.¡± Shadow nodded. ¡°Ajax was the source of this discovery, it¡¯s what got him his title, and its success is what would see it upgraded. Some might resent him for it and having sex in the dungeon, during a boost in a foreign dungeon of all times, that could be used against them.¡± It was the prince¡¯s turn to be surprised. He knew that it had gotten out that Ajax was the source of the discovery long ago but from the way Shadow talked he was sure of Ajax¡¯s short term path to Duke and that was something that was a closely guarded secret. ¡°I¡¯m more worried that his less talented peers will band together against him out of envy.¡± the prince let out a sigh. ¡°He was born a commoner, but became a duke. He has more than one Legendary skill. He made more than one discovery. We both know how some members of the nobility feel about people reaching above their station and the less acceptable objections they have to him the better.¡± The morning after had gone about as Ajax expected it to, when they got to the next arch he was all but interrogated about what to expect from the floor, after all despite them trusting his word they were curious just how accurate his ability was. ¡°So what will it be?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ajax said with a frown as he looked at the arch. ¡°There is a bit of air mana, some life as well, the rest however is all plant.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Sounds like a forest.¡± The prince said. ¡°It''s not a forest.¡± Ajax said with surety. ¡°There is no Earth mana I could feel there, at all.¡± ¡°That ever happened before?¡± Shadow asked curiously. ¡°Yes, a few times. Frozen floors set on ice, flooded floors, even happened upon a floor made up entirely of mirrors.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°That can¡¯t have been that hard.¡± One of the younger people with them tried to join the conversation, his words however caused both the older prince, Shadow and the more experienced delvers among them to wince. ¡°How bad was it?¡± Shadow asked instead, his serious mood let the others know that such floors were no joking matters. ¡°Bad, light elementals mostly.¡± Ajax shared. ¡°Turns out there were shadow elementals too, we lost someone thinking we were safe after we smashed the mirrors underneath us.¡± ¡°Should we be going here then?¡± the same person asked. ¡°Yes, plant life and wind. All of them should make it easy to get a kill with fire based attacks.¡± Ajax nodded towards the arch. ¡°If this was a normal delve and not a boost I would stay away but nothing there should be a threat to us with them around.¡± With the decision made the whole party started walking through the arch. Exiting out the other side however came as a real surprise to most of them, as they swiped the system notification about extra stat points away and came face to face with a long drop. ¡°It''s a tree.¡± Ajax whispered in awe as he looked up at the massive tree that stretched out and covered his entire field of vision. ¡°The whole floor is happening on a giant tree.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was what Yggdrasil would look like from up close. While everyone else was marveling at the odd floor they got, the two boosters were staring intently at one another, the serious atmosphere slowly spread as everyone slowly backed away from them and towards the arch just in case something happened. ¡°Seventy - thirty.¡± The prince said at last, breaking the silence. ¡°Too much.¡± Shadow responded. ¡°Fifty - fifty.¡± ¡°It¡¯s our run and our boost.¡± the prince countered. ¡°It¡¯s our dungeon, runs have been halted and postponed for less.¡± Shadow didn¡¯t back down. ¡°Ajax led us to it.¡± Ajax felt himself start to sweat as Shadow glanced at him when the prince brought that up. ¡°Sixty - forty.¡± Shadow finally got out after a long moment of pause. He raised his hand when he saw the prince go to speak again. ¡°And we round in your favor.¡± ¡°Deal¡± the prince¡¯s serious face was replaced with his usual friendly smile as he extended his arm towards the beastkin. ¡°Deal.¡± Shadow said as he took the arm. ¡°Alright everyone, sorry about that.¡± the prince said as he turned towards the group. ¡°SOrry for the inconvenience but we will be fully clearing this floor.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°Well at least it¡¯s an interesting floor.¡± ¡°Floors like this are just too rare to pass up I¡¯m afraid.¡± the prince said. ¡°You will be free to keep anything you can get, the only exceptions are any seeds from the tree that can be taken outside. Those will all be collected and retained as a national resource. There are usually twenty to thirty of them on a floor this size.¡± ¡°I heard about these.¡± Xavier whispered conspiratorially to his former classmates. ¡°The seeds are an emergency measure.¡± ¡°Emergency measures for what?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°For famine.¡± Xavier answered. ¡°It''s pretty obvious but no matter what if you plant a seed from this tree you won¡¯t get a tree this size.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good thing,¡± Benedict pointed out. ¡°If you could get it to grow it would be a national weapon. All you have to do is plant it by the border and cut it down while making sure it falls on your enemy. I don¡¯t see what you can do about something like that.¡± ¡°The seeds basically dissolve in the soil.¡± Xavier waved away talk of a super weapon. ¡° It takes about a hundred of them to replace an entire kingdom¡¯s harvest. So long as you have the fields and workers you can plant and harvest every farmland in the kingdom in about a month.¡± Ajax could see how the seeds weren¡¯t all that valuable to an individual if that was all they were good for. They were too situational even if a noble could use one to massively increase his yield they were more useful as an emergency measure. ¡°Are there seeds that we can¡¯t take out of the dungeon?¡± Ajax asked as his mind fixed on the wording of the prince¡¯s announcement. ¡°There should be, why? What do you want those for?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°I want to see what they can do in alchemy, from the sounds of it they could be used to amplify the potency of a potion by empowering the ingredients during the brewing process.¡± As always Ajax had his alchemy tools on him as well as a few sets of supplies for some specific recipes he knew well. He was eager to see if he could document a solid result, especially if the kingdom had hundreds of such seeds in its coffers for a rainy day. ¡°I suggest we all watch our step.¡± Anna¡¯s serious tone brought their focus to her. ¡°We¡¯re some of the weakest here and while the monsters might not be an issue this whole floor is much like a labyrinth, there could be a trap anywhere. Even worse since it''s all plant life the trap might be instinctually smart enough not to go for the first person that passes over it and try to aim for someone more fragile.¡± Chapter 314 ¡°Am I going to be fine using fire here?¡± Anna asked as they got ready to start exploring the floor. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± The prince said. ¡°This is a healthy tree not some dried out husk, I suggest you get your fire as hot as you can in hopes of making your enemy catch fire, don¡¯t worry about it spreading.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but agree, one other thing however was on his mind as he looked down at all the branches. ¡°What happens if we fall out of the tree?¡± he asked. ¡°You die.¡± Both Shadow and the prince answered instantly. ¡°What if I have a way to stop my momentum before I reach the ground?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Won¡¯t matter, besides the fact that you can¡¯t see the limit of the floor and you will smash into it before you reach the base of the tree, it''s not the fall that will kill you.¡± Xavier said. ¡°I mentioned it before but there are detailed texts on this type of dungeon. Once you get low enough on the main trunk of the tree where no more branches grow you will find intense bouts of wind. The lower you climb the stronger the wind will become until it rips you apart.¡± That answer left Ajax with an unpleasant visual in his mind, this made him somewhat restless. Luckily enough they soon ran into a perfect outleft for his energy as the team found their first boss. It shouldn¡¯t have been surprising that treents would be a thing on this floor but the hulking wood humanoids were much bulkier than he had originally expected. ¡°There, you see that there.¡± the prince pointed behind the Treents and to the side of the arch next to them. ¡°That¡¯s what a seed looks like. Now who wants this mini-boss?¡± While the prince was talking Shadow showed his exceptional prowess, all the treents but the miniboss were dissected from top to bottom, more impressively however was that Ajax hadn¡¯t been able to catch a glimpse of his weapons. He had been able to somewhat track him with his eyes as a blur covered in shadow mana dashed through the group but he didn¡¯t see even the gleam of a blade. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Ajax offered happy for the fight even though a monster at level fifty-seven wasn¡¯t much of a challenge for him. Despite being able to take the monster out with sheer force Ajax wanted to see just how effective fire would be against the plant based enemies. ¡°Already?¡± the prince was surprised to see his go first since he usually waited until others had their shot and would take the harder variants. ¡°That seed you pointed out, is it one we can take outside?¡± Ajax answered with a question. ¡°No, why?¡± the answer came. ¡°Because I want to see what happens when you use one of them for alchemy.¡± Ajax said with a hungry smile. ¡°How wasteful and greedy can you be?¡± one of the other nobles with them asked. ¡°Those are natural resources and you want to waste them on alchemy?¡± ¡°That one isn¡¯t.¡± Ajax pointed out. ¡°I wonder just how much that will help me increase my skills. Would it be less wasteful to leave it behind on this floor?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­ uh¡± the noble quickly backpedaled. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Fine, go for it.¡± the prince said. ¡°Just don¡¯t make any of your explosive vials.¡± Ajax had developed a big fascination with the more combat focused applications of alchemy outside of potions, he had been looking into using alchemy to create flash bangs as well as dynamite. Everyone besides his classmates were quick to give Ajax an extra few feet of space when they heard that. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Ajax defended himself. ¡°Not to start off with anyway.¡± He followed up as he looked away. With all of its friends dead the treent didn¡¯t take all that long to find the group and come charging towards it. Ajax had no intention of trying traditional fire to kill it, it would simply use up too much mana. He instead charged straight ahead and using his axe left a long deep slash on the chest of the treent, the entire gash was filled with magma that quickly started to burn its way deeper while also cooling and forming a crust on the outside that proved to be an inconvenience for the mini-boss¡¯s movements. Another thing Ajax quickly noticed was that the treents used mana to move. It was quite obvious when he thought about it since bark while more durable was much more rigid than muscle, he quickly also latched [Mana Syphon] and the treent slowed down considerably. With its movement slowed Ajax quickly got behind it and went to work with his axe, the fight lasted no longer than thirty seconds before Ajax turned the treent into a large pile of magma covered kindling. ¡°Probably best you don¡¯t take on a treent Anna.¡± The prince said after watching the fight. ¡°With the level difference I doubt you will be able to kill it before you run out of mana.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to kill then?¡± Anna asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find some birds or lizards here somewhere.¡± The prince reassured her. That information appeased the fire mage but Ajax was already closing in on the seed. The seed was covered with a thin veil but Ajax still found the basketball sized object a little big for an ingredient. ¡°Whatever you do, don''t cut it.¡± Shadow said, when he saw the weird look Ajax gave him he decided to be more clear. ¡°The moment you cut it you will release all its power into the surroundings, the seeds are valuable and contain a lot of energy but they are barely stable.¡± Ajax nodded and slowly picked up the seed but he was quickly interrupted by the prince. ¡°Oh no, not now. Put that in your storage and come on, you can play with it once we set up camp.¡± For the rest of the day the team focused on clearing as much of the floor as they could. With the prince and Shadow there it went much quicker than a normal floor clear would go and Ajax was pretty sure they had cleared away half the floor already. Out of all the people who needed to get a kill however Xavier was the only odd man out. He didn¡¯t have the mages burst potential nor the physical fighters endurance to face a monster that many levels above him, the first fight had been close but he simply ran out of both mana and stamina before he could finish it. ¡°Fine, yes we¡¯ll set up the camp so you can play with the seeds now.¡± The prince said with exasperation as he found Ajax looking at him. They had managed to find twelve seeds they could take outside so far so he was happy with it considering they were only halfway through. Ajax wasted no time stepping aside and pulling out his alchemy crafting set. This was a newer set he had gotten about a year ago when he outgrew his beginner set and had set him back almost a full one thousand gold coins. The first trial he wanted to run was going to be for a rejuvenation elixir. The portions were supposed to restore stamina mana and health and the recipe was one of the most stable ones he knew. Ajax also made sure to use the exact ingredients required with no substitutes, not only that but he wasn¡¯t making a single potion but a large batch of twenty as he wanted to dilute the seed as much as his cauldron could allow. The final reason he chose this specific recipe for his first trial was that each ingredient had a separate preparation and they all came together at the same time instead of slowly being added to the mix one after another, that would be the perfect moment to add the seed. As the ingredients came together Ajax removed the seeds protective layer and added it to the cauldron. He could feel every ingredient soak in the mana the seed practically pulsed as the potion started to come together. It was then that Ajax realized there was a small problem. While he realized that the seeds held a lot of power he didn¡¯t take into account how he would deal with all that power being released into the mixture. It wasn¡¯t a problem at the start as the ingredients were soaking up most of it but once they got all they could take Ajax realized the seed was not only still producing more mana but it was still growing in the amount in released every second. Ajax quickly started using [Mana Syphon] to drain the excess mana of the seed while also using his own mana supplies to smother the seed but none of it was enough. It was pure hubris to think that he could control that large amount of mana after all it took a hundred of them to revitalize the entire farmland of a kingdom. Ajax kept pushing until [Danger Sense] started screaming at him, at that point it was all he could do to kick away the cauldron as he jumped back towards the camp. The lid had been securely placed so the bouncing cauldron drew the attention of the entire camp as they had just finished setting up the tents. The cauldron had almost fallen off the wide branch they were on when its enchantments had finally given up and it exploded. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± The prince said as they all watched chunks embedded into the area around them, the most embarrassing one for Ajax was the one he saw Shadow holding in his hand, though he didn¡¯t know if it would have hit someone or not. ¡°I thought I told you no explosive stuff.¡± ¡°That was the most stable recipe I knew.¡± Ajax responded in a daze. Despite his expensive cauldron exploding and danger he was in, Ajax was focused on the notifications he received. Chapter 315 ¡°If that was the most stable recipe you know how do you explain the cauldron exploding?¡± the prince asked more than a little annoyed at Ajax¡¯s vacant stare. Ajax didn¡¯t even hear the prince¡¯s follow up question as his eyes were locked to the change in his status screen. [Sense Mana] grew by four levels, [Expel Mana] grew by three, [Manipulate Mana] Grew by three, [Alchemy] grew by a whopping six levels, [Mana Syphon] grew by two, [Danger sense] grew only by one. But these were just the tip of the iceberg. The meat of his reward were two Epic skills [Reckless Researcher] and [Unstable Alchemist], while the first one would prove hard to level and won¡¯t show massive benefits in the short term it was something to consider for the long term and his future in alchemy once he started getting access to ingredients others simply couldn¡¯t get because of the difficulty required. His second Epic skill on the other hand was one that was bound to prove useful and see a lot of use straight out the gate. Almost all crafting done with substituted ingredients or inside the dungeon was inherently unstable and the more substitutions made and the deeper you delved the more unstable things got. Ajax would be ecstatic with the gains he sacrificed his cauldron for if this was the end of it. But there was still the crown jewel. [Life Aspect Mana]. His first Legendary mana aspect. Ajax had felt the life mana as tried to syphon away as much as he could, not only that but with his senses trained on the mixture he got to see it in action as all of the ingredients slowly absorbed the infusion of life mana. Despite having no previous knowledge on this type of mana from his previous life Ajax felt that he had a solid foundation on which to start exploring the latest addition to his arsenal. As great as life aspect mana was Ajax had also gotten a clear showing in why it won¡¯t do much to increase his combat capacity in the short term. The short answer was his mana pool simply couldn¡¯t support it, sure he might be able to create a few short lived elementals by combining his life mana with his other aspects but the amount of mana he had couldn¡¯t create anything truly threatening at a moments notice. In terms of his Alchemy and to a certain extent beekeeping however the sky was the limit. His daydream was unfortunately cut short rather abruptly by a sharp hit to the back of the head. ¡°Did you hear me?¡± the irate prince asked his face two inches away from Ajax¡¯s own. ¡°What? No! Oh¡­ sorry.¡± Ajax started startled and ended with a sheepish apology. ¡° Can you repeat the question?¡± ¡°I asked : If that was the most stable recipe you know how do you explain the cauldron exploding?¡± The prince took a deep breath to calm down. ¡°The seed had too much mana.¡± Ajax said as he replayed and reviewed the brewing process. ¡°Everything was going fine at the start, the problems started once the ingredients couldn¡¯t accept any more from the seed, it had nowhere to go except for ¡­ out.¡± ¡°I hope this teaches you a lesson about being more careful in the future.¡± Lexi said as she started examining him for injuries. Ajax could guess how guilty he must have looked from the way Lexi¡¯s expression changed the moment she looked at his face. ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t learn anything from it, because why would you?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that¡¯s an accurate assumption.¡± Shadow spoke as he brought the shard of cauldron to Ajax. ¡°If I were to guess I would say that the gains he made from this¡­ experience would actually tempt him into doing it again rather than staying away.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Lexi felt a shiver run down her back at that and her eyebrows scrunched up as she scrutinized Ajax¡¯s face more closely. ¡°Oh god! I think you¡¯re right, if he could he¡¯d absolutely do it again.¡± The words washed over Ajax like a bucket of ice water, not just because he wasted the expensive cauldron but because he now no longer had a cauldron to experiment with any other seeds he had collected. ¡°Does anyone happen to have a cauldron they would be willing to sell to me?¡± Ajax asked, he wasn¡¯t shameless enough to only ask to borrow one as he knew very well that anything he might try to brew with a seed would end up exactly the same as this attempt, the sheer practice of using the seed was invaluable however. ¡°They don¡¯t.¡± the prince said. ¡°You¡¯re not only the only alchemist here but also the only dungeon crafter, so nobody would have spare tools for you, even if they would be willing to let you break them.¡± Ajax had the good sense to look a little embarrassed at those words but he didn¡¯t deny anything, instead he nodded as he made his way to inspect what was left of his cauldron. It was a testament to just how well made the his cauldron had been made when he found the entire one third of it still in one piece. More importantly however there was liquid still inside it. The batch he tried to create should have resulted into thirty potions. What little was left in the remains of his cauldron could barely fill up three potion flasks but even that was more than enough for him. [Inspector¡¯s Eye] and [Alchemist¡¯s Examination] told him exactly why his skills had grown so much. Spectacular elixir of rejuvenation - level 55. Ajax had studied for years and even after all that training the best he had been able to create was Major potion. In the racking it went minor, lesser, plain, superior, major, greater, excellent, spectacular and flawless. His personal best had skipped greater and excellent and landed all the way at spectacular. He knew that his skill had nothing to do with this and that it was the overflow of mana but it was still technically his creation. More importantly however was the reason why his creation was Spectacular, like all other Spectacular creations it had a unique attribute courtesy of the method in which it was created, for his elixir that was something his skills told him was overgrowth. His elixir wouldn¡¯t trigger the usual potion restriction, this meant that he could empty his mana out four times in a row since he could down them one after another. It was such a shame they couldn¡¯t be brought out of the dungeon for they would definitely have been useful for the tournament. ¡°Hey Xavier.¡± Ajax called out as he started carefully recovering the small amount of liquid inside the ruins of his cauldron. ¡°I think I have a solution for your fight tomorrow.¡± ¡°You want me to drink something that not only exploded but did so in a violent enough manner as to tear apart a cauldron created for dungeon crafting?¡± Xavier asked skeptically. ¡°Did you by any chance hit your head when you jumped away from the explosion.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t, I checked.¡± Lexi cut in. Unlike the prince she had full faith in Ajax¡¯s assessment. ¡°How good are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re my first spectacular creation.¡± Ajax said with pride. ¡°Spectacular!¡± Lexi cheered. ¡°That¡¯s like three whole tiers better than your previous best!¡± ¡°What is the extra effect?¡± Anna asked she also closed in to congratulate Ajax. A born merchant she knew very well that while all Spectacular creations were valuable, certain effects were simply better than others. ¡°Overgrowth.¡± Ajax answered. Most people didn¡¯t react, it was a rare effect, one exclusive to alchemy so it was normal that even most of the elite nobles wouldn¡¯t know of it. The prince and Shadow however joined Anna in widening their eyes and locking their sight on the vials. ¡°Those elixirs¡­ they don¡¯t trigger the¡­ potion cooldown.¡± Anna said mechanically before she recovered. ¡°It¡¯s too bad you can¡¯t take them outside but I still think they would go for a fair amount even here.¡± While the rest of the nobles might not know what overgrowth was they all knew exactly what having a refill of their stamina and mana could mean inside the dungeon. Those three little vials could make the difference in whether they cleared an extra floor or not. ¡°Thank you so much for the offer Ajax.¡± Xavier quickly turned around on his previous stance. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to drink my explosives.¡± Ajax threw him a shit eating grin. ¡°That was just a joke, how could I insult you like that?¡± Xavier didn¡¯t even stumble showing his social skills as he went with the flow. ¡°You can peddle your ware tomorrow for now all of us need to get some sleep. We have the rest of the floor to clear and the rest of the delve to follow it.¡± the prince said as he waved everyone back towards their tents. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss the gains you made from this after the dungeon.¡± Ajax nodded to the second part that was whispered only to him. He had followed along with the prince and quickly moved the conversation away from his gains. Unlike before he didn¡¯t fear discussing his newly gained skill with the royal family or even his friends, that didn;t mean that he was willing to go yelling about his new Legendary skill however. Chapter 316 Ajax had a lot to think about as he lay awake in his tent unable to get to sleep. The most painful thing for him was the wasted opportunity when it came to the seeds, if he had another cauldron he could have tried different ways of infusing part of the seeds since it didn¡¯t matter how much waste there was as they would become worthless after the delve anyway. His next biggest worry was just how useful was this Legendary mana aspect. Unlike his [Mana Syphon] that could passively boost his combat ability by leaps and bounds in the dungeon or against mages, Life affinity came with a cost. So long as he was using it to amplify his own healing the gains weren¡¯t massive but there was some improvement. When it came to actually creating life Ajax barely managed to create a ringer sized Earth golem for around fifty mana. That might sound impressive, and in terms of entertainment maybe it was, but this golem had the same strength to size ratio as a human meaning it could do almost nothing, more than that the life mana ran out in about a minute. He was clearly going to mold his future fighting style around this but the tournament was too close to make any large changes now. For his two new Epic skills Ajax currently faced the same problem as with the seeds, he simply lacked the tools to try them. Unlike the seeds however both skills had clear pathways and both will have their moment to shine in the future. One big upside to a Legendary mana aspect was that despite its rarity, because of its power it was almost a sure fact that it had been previously studied and the kingdom would be able to give him a starting point for it. WIth that positive thought Ajax finally fell asleep. ¡°What do you want for the three vials?¡± Anna wasted no time the following morning once Ajax was awake. ¡°You want to buy them?¡± Ajax sounded confused since there was no way Anna could do another floor even if she used a boosting potion and all three elixirs, the level difference would just be too big. ¡°I want to sell them for you.¡± Anna said. ¡°This is a perfect opportunity to push my skills in a way that my father¡¯s fortune won¡¯t diminish the difficulty.¡± ¡°I see now.¡± Ajax caught on quickly. ¡°I want my cauldron replaced once outside.¡± Anna winced at the initial ask. The cauldron would be very expensive and just three elixirs that had to be used inside this delve would have trouble gathering such an amount. Once she thought about it a little more she smiled however as this would be the perfect challenge to push herself against future noble powerhouses. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Anna said as she took the three elixirs, she kept true to her father¡¯s number one rule : ¡®never promise unless you are sure you can deliver¡¯. While Anna got to work getting Ajax a deal on those elixirs he fully joined in the floor clearing effort. It came as almost no surprise that Xavier bought one of the elixirs very quickly and got his mini-boss kill out of the way, everything became a lot simpler when you had a lot more mana and stamina to burn. As the floor was finally finished and Shadow was doing a final lap to make sure no seeds were missed, Ajax started on his new idea for using the seeds. Without a cauldron to somewhat control the release of mana and without the ingredients to soak up the initial release the seeds were going to become unstable almost as soon as their protective film broke. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Without anything to lose Ajax simply stood on the edge of the tree next to the regular earth water wind and light arch Ajax had identified as a good option for a regular floor. From there he would break open the seeds and then use both [Mana Syphon] and [Manipulate Mana] in hopes of delaying the explosion. For the first seed Ajax had only held on to it for two seconds after opening it up before he dropped it off the tree where it exploded and released a potent wave of Life and plant mana. Despite Ajax trying his best to get a feel for the plant mana he could only barely feel it as an afterthought after the seed detonated, he couldn¡¯t get so much as a hint of it while the seed was in his hands. Ajax theorized that this was because the plant mana was in the core of the seed. By the time he got to the twentieth seed his time had improved considerably from two seconds all the way to seven. ¡°Are you seeing any results?¡± Both the prince and Lexi got close after he dropped his latest seed. ¡°Not much,¡± Ajax admitted. ¡° The first time I was able to keep a hold of it and direct the mana for a lot longer, doing this seems almost pointless in comparison. The only reason my time increased so much is because I am working out a puzzle on how the seed tries to explode and I patch it up for a bit first.¡± ¡°Then why do you keep doing it?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°I thought about giving it up after the third one.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°But then I realized that it was affecting me.¡± ¡°Affecting you how?¡± Both the prince and Lexi stepped closer. ¡°You both know how I discovered curse mana.¡± Ajax went off on a tangent instead. ¡°I was constantly siphoning it from the air until it built up inside me.¡± ¡°Are you trying to do that with plant mana?¡± Lexi sounded worried. ¡°You should really stop, unlike curse mana, plant mana has a very real physical element: you could be growing things inside your own muscles.¡± Of course she had insight into plant mana, Ajax made a small mental note to bring Lexi in on the experiments with life mana from the start. ¡°It¡¯s not the plant mana.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That¡¯s too deep inside the seed, it only comes out when it explodes.¡± ¡°Then, the life mana?¡± Lexi gasped a little since she knew that was a Legendary mana type. ¡°Then you should definitely stop.¡± the prince chimed in. ¡°Unlike curse mana, life mana won¡¯t poison you but it also won¡¯t go away. You¡¯ll keep gathering more and more until you explode just like a seed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I also thought would happen until just before I dropped the third seed.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°What changed?¡± The prince threw up a privacy veil seeing that Ajax had no intention of stopping messing with the seeds. ¡°If I was absorbing the mana like I usually do in a fight that might be the result.¡± Ajax continued. ¡°But just like with the gates I can pull the mana a lot better if I have direct contact with what I am siphoning. This also changes the entrance point so that all the mana enters my body through my hands.¡± ¡°That would be too much for you.¡± Lexi said with confidence as she had been training with him for years now. ¡°I felt how much mana you are pulling your channels can¡¯t hold up against that much.¡± ¡°No they can¡¯t.¡± Ajax agreed. ¡°But they also wouldn¡¯t just burst, since the mana is still being spread throughout my body it''s just moving around my body slower than I bring it in my channels it just forms cracks.¡± ¡°That might be a good way to reinforce your channels but you are doing too much too quickly.¡± Lexi said as she took his hands in hers. ¡°No he isn¡¯t.¡± the prince said as he looked towards Ajax with an odd look that bordered on admiration. ¡°The life mana does nothing to him because he is in perfect health, if his channels crack the life mana would then start working to repair those cracks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re increasing the strain your hands can take when charging mana!¡± Lexi exclaimed, she even covered her mouth after the shout in embarrassment and looked around to see if anyone heard her, forgetting completely about the privacy barrier. ¡°That will certainly help in the tournament.¡± the prince chuckled. ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± ¡°Yeah, more cauldrons.¡± Ajax said a little dejectedly. ¡°While this might still be useful it is still a waste compared to what I could have used them for. Also Lexi after you exit the dungeon on the next floor see what you can gather for me on life mana.¡± This last piece of information causes both Lexi¡¯s and the prince¡¯s jaws to drop. Lexi was the first to recover as Ajax caught her in a hug and a kiss as she excitedly cheered ¡°You got a Legendary mana aspect. I¡¯ll see what I can find, though grandfather always complained that it was very mana intensive to try anything other than healing with it.¡± ¡°This certainly explains the look on your face after the cauldron exploded.¡± with that the prince dropped the silence barrier as they all moved to join the other as they made their way to the next floor. Ajax still kept hold of about ten more useless seeds since he could play with them anytime before he left the dungeon. Chapter 317 For the next few floors the entire team pretty much took it easy. The prince and Ajax decided that there was no use in going for the more exotic floors when they didn¡¯t have the equipment to take advantage of it so they focused on getting as normal of a floor as possible. One thing Ajax noticed over time was that on average a floor became more valuable as the number of many types on it decreased. There were of course exceptions to the rule like the garden floor he had found back in the empire but on average that was a good sign. ¡°So we should focus on floors that have a mana or two dominating the spread?¡± The prince asked. ¡°No,¡± Ajax corrected him. ¡°You can find a floor that is 90% water, and 8% air, if you can feel another dozen mana types mixed in that won¡¯t be a good floor. If you find a floor that has a four way split of 25% that''s the floor you want, with as little variety as possible. As a side note I advise avoiding floors with over 50% water mana because you may end up on a lake floor.¡± ¡°The simple fact that you can guarantee no floor will be one of those flooded ones is something that will make you a staple of any crafter''s delve.¡± the prince chuckled as he thought the idea through. Just like before there were hardly any people left when they got to the arch leading to the final floor of the boost. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked as Ajax frowned after he touched the arch. ¡°There is a mana type that I don¡¯t recognise.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Is that unusual?¡± Shadow asked, curious just how wide a breadth Ajax had. ¡°No, I mostly have a feel for what things relate to but there are a lot of mana types out there. The odd thing is that this time it takes up 40% of the floor, and I can¡¯t seem to connect it to anything I know.¡± These situations should show less and less as Ajax¡¯s spectrum got wider but he had noticed that certain affinities don¡¯t show up until certain levels and he barely had any delves that went into the high nineties. ¡°I say we go for it.¡± The prince said. ¡°There are plenty of other mana types so there should be enough things you can kill there and getting more information for you is valuable. Not to mention that I doubt there is anything that would pose a challenge for me on such a low floor.¡± It was easy to forget with his laid back attitude but the prince had over one hundred levels on everyone in the dungeon besides Shadow. Ordinary people died by the time they got to level sixty, soldiers on average died at level eighty, nobles averaged level eighty-five. High nobles like dukes and royals averaged level one hundred and ten. The highest bracket was actually retired adventurers, they died around level one hundred and twenty five, but they were all veterans who survived centuries as adventurers so it wasn¡¯t a fair comparison. As everyone stepped onto the next floor Ajax could feel the wrongness of the mana in the air. Much like how curse mana felt unpleasant this mana type felt much worse than that. Ajax knew there was no chance he would be using a syphon on this floor. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°So that¡¯s the mana you felt.¡± Shadow said as he took a deep breath. ¡°Gods damn it.¡± the prince cursed. ¡°An undead floor.¡± ¡°Undeath?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That must be the mana I didn¡¯t recognise.¡± The prince¡¯s eyes flashed wide as he turned to look at Ajax before he rushed over to him. To Ajax it almost looked like the prince teleported to his side as he leaned in close. ¡°Whatever you do, don''t syphon the mana on this floor.¡± The prince whispered. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on it.¡± Ajax was firm. ¡°The undead mana feels wrong to me.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t like the curse mana you could play with before.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°Undeath is a Legendary mana type, not only that but unlike curse mana if any of it enters your body it will slowly start to increase by itself. Even with holy mana you can barely purify it down to a decay mana that is resistant to holy. You¡¯d need li-¡± The prince stopped before he finished the words. Ajax realized what they were, however, he¡¯d need life mana to undo any damage undeath did to him. But he did have life mana, that said undeath was the first mana type Ajax encountered he categorically wanted nothing to do with. He knew even if he had a perfect affinity with it and by some miracle got the skill he still wouldn¡¯t use it, his body¡¯s rejection to the mana type was that strong. It did lead him to wonder if that had anything to do with the Life man skill he had recently gained. ¡°Let¡¯s get through this quickly.¡± Richard spoke up. ¡°I heard too much exposure to such a high concentration of undeath mana is very bad for you.¡± ¡°We will be out of here in four hours at the most.¡± the prince commanded. ¡°If you haven¡¯t gotten your kills in that time, too bad.¡± ¡°You should also make sure that any undead creatures don¡¯t scratch, bite or spit on you.¡± Shadow added. ¡°They are known for spreading their mana type.¡± The forest they ended up in had plenty of decayed trees, worse than that however was the fact that their enemies seemed to be undead animals. Unlike the usual ghouls, undead wolves still maintained their pack mentality, this added on to their toxic claws and jaws made them a nightmare for normal delvers. Much as they disliked the undeath mana aspect it was universally agreed as one of the best aspects to get for a boosted floor. Unlike most zombie movies Ajax had seen back on earth the undead monstrosities here actually suffered from the amount of muscle and flesh that they were missing. Sure the level ninety-seven wolf alpha he was squaring off against had toxic claws and fangs but he was also missing half the musculature on one of his front legs making him wildly unbalanced. Ajax didn¡¯t even hesitate as he took out one of the three seeds he had remaining and after destabilizing it threw it at the wolf. He had gone through with the idea so fast that he hadn¡¯t even had time to hear the prince yell at him not to do it. The explosion from the seed turned the wolf into a massive version of itself three times its previous size with none of the flesh missing. He didn¡¯t have a chance to notice anything else about it as a massive pillar of fire obliterated the area as the prince dropped on top of the creature impaling its head with his spear. ¡°What were you thinking?¡± The prince asked Ajax. ¡°I thought the life mana would hurt it.¡± Ajax said, still in shock at the wolf¡¯s transformation, he was under no illusion that he could actually take on the enhanced wolf in single combat. ¡°Life and undeath mana mirror the relationship that curse and holy mana have but you got them mixed up.¡± The prince calmed down once he saw Ajax''s surprise at the result and explained. ¡°But here undeath mana is the one that counters life. Life mana gets corrupted by undeath mana. If you are infected with undeath mana you have to first purify it, then cut away the area before you can regrow it with life mana. Simply adding life mana will actually make the undeath mana spread faster.¡± Ajax very much took that lesson to heart. For his next opponent he chose to stick with the undead despite having the option of fighting a normal flying bird mini-boss. This fight turned out very differently as Ajax focused and infused holy mana into his weapons for the first time. His strikes were devastating to the undead stag. Each blow would purify sections of the beast turning the flesh from undead to simply rotten dead meat. Everyone was keeping a good distance from Ajax after he finished off his fight however. ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind staying downwind from me please.¡± Shadow said from a distance, his sensitive nose reacting to the stench that the purified undead had also spread to Ajax. When the team exited the final floor they had no trouble getting out from the busy area of the dungeon, in fact they were all but escorted out of there will haste seeing as the entire team smelled of the final undeath floor. ¡°Get yourself cleaned up and then after that bring your grandfather and Lexi, we have a few things to discuss regarding your recent gains and revelations.¡± the prince said to him. Chapter 318 Despite the parting words impling speed was of the essence Ajax was sure nobody would complain if he spent a good amount of time washing the stink of undeath off himself. His usual bathing routine took only fifteen minutes but Ajax had to go through it five times before he finally felt like the smell was gone. ¡°You finally came out.¡± Judy greeted him as he entered their common room after he got dressed. ¡°What were you doing in there?¡± ¡°Undeath floor.¡± was all Ajax said and both Elija and Aurora winced. ¡°I think it''s best that he took his time.¡± Aurora said placatingly. ¡°You haven¡¯t yet had to deal with any merchandise that comes from undeath but trust me when I say you want to make sure it''s properly packaged.¡± ¡°It took us weeks to air out the shop.¡± Elija shuddered at the memory. ¡°You didn¡¯t bring anything back from that floor did you?¡± Anna asked. ¡°No, the prince was very clear when he said that even if we found something we were to leave it there.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Speaking of the prince he requested my presence tonight, as well as grandfather¡¯s and Lexi¡¯s.¡± ¡°That can wait a moment.¡± Judy said. ¡°What is this I hear about you blowing up the cauldron we found for you?¡± Alana and Judy had searched the capital thoroughly to get his dungeon crafting cauldron that should have been able to handle anything he would need for the next half a decade or so. Neither had imagined the kind of things Ajax would be willing to toss in there however. ¡°I managed to make enough with it to get it replaced.¡± Ajax quickly defended himself as he pointed to the cauldron he saw next to Anna, she had quickly gotten the new cauldron ready in the two days Ajax had been inside the dungeon. ¡°Is this about¡­¡± Anna looked around warily since they had no silencing enchantments on the room. ¡°The other use of your skill?¡± She had been there when he revealed what [Mana Syphon] could do to floor arches. ¡°That and some things I found out while on that tree floor.¡± Ajax answered and Lexi just nodded as she knew what a big deal his Legendary mana aspect was. ¡°I think we can all go as you¡¯re all going to learn about what''s being discussed anyway.¡± The group quickly made their way to the royal family¡¯s accommodations. The guards looked surprised to see all of them but they said nothing as they let them pass and the maid waiting by the entrance led them inside. The embassy had a room that while much smaller than Gryndor¡¯s throne room filled much the same purpose, it was here that they were all received. As the group entered, Ajax took note of who was present. The king and both of his sons were in attendance. The entirety of squad one as well as Xavier¡¯s mother and future queen were also there, all people he expected to be present. Besides them there were two people he didn¡¯t expect, one of them was Xavier, the other he didn¡¯t know yet. ¡°Thank you for coming so quickly, Baron Hearthbound.'''' The king welcomed him. ¡°I am sadly familiar with the aftermath of an undeath floor.¡± Both Ajax and the king¡¯s oldest son still had wet hair from their recent bathing. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Ajax bowed politely followed by everyone else who came with him. ¡°Please come take a seat.¡± he offered as the entire party moved to sit down at a rather large round meeting table that was set up. ¡°My son has brought forth lots of exciting news following what was supposed to be a regular boost delve. Before we go any further however I don¡¯t believe you have my good friend and royal treasurer.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The man in question took the que as he approached Ajax and extended his hand. ¡°Lord Percival Vaultmore, it is a my great pleasure to meet you Baron Hearthbound.¡± Ajax shook the man¡¯s hand. ¡°Is the name a coincidence or?¡± Ajax asked as he took in the man. ¡°I would like to think of it more as a self fulfilling prophecy.¡± Percival quipped. ¡°But I am the first in my family to hold this position and have always had this name.¡± Ajax got a good first impression from the man though he would still be a little wary since he wasn¡¯t sure if he had a skill for that or not. With the introductions out of the way however everyone except squad one took a seat at the table with Ajax sitting close to the king. ¡°Let''s start with the simplest issue,¡± the king offered. ¡°The seeds collected from the tree. We were able to gain twenty of them. They will all be taken to the royal vault, but I was informed that you attempted to use them in alchemy, to some¡­ well I wouldn¡¯t call it an outright success but some results.¡± ¡°I have some brief documentation that I wrote inside the dungeon after my attempt but it is something I will need to go over later as they are just notes at this point.¡± Ajax said as he produced a small stack of papers. ¡°Would you mind us making a copy of those?¡± one of the members of squad one asked. ¡°Not at all.¡± Ajax said as he offered the notes. ¡°I will have to advise that the seeds not be used for alchemical experimentation, Your Majesty.¡± Percival jumped in. ¡°Despite the recent gain they are very rare and when they are required we use them in large numbers.¡± ¡°Rest assured Percival, I have no intention of using the seeds in our treasury for experiments.¡± the king said. ¡°Their rarity however may not be as large an issue anymore. The second topic would be your ability to predict the type of floors that are hidden behind the different arches.¡± ¡°That is not, strictly speaking, correct, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I do have the ability to feel the mana types present inside the arches, which corresponds to the mana present on their floor. I do not know what form that mana takes.¡± ¡°If that is true how did you enter an undeath floor?¡± one of the members of squad one asked with suspicion. Ajax didn¡¯t explain and instead summoned a small amount of magnetic mana in his palm. ¡°What kind of mana was that?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± the man answered with a frown. ¡°It is the same in my case. While I could feel the undeath mana before entering the arch it was also the first time I came across undeath mana so I didn¡¯t know what it was.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°What I can say is that I will no longer be going onto those floors in the future.¡± ¡°And is this ability something you are looking to keep for your own House?¡± the king asked. ¡°I am sure we will be able to come to an understanding regarding my grandson¡¯s presence in helping more than just our house when it comes to favorable floors,¡± Elija said. ¡° Any research into more accurately predicting the exact floor based on the mana types in the arches however is something I will keep for our own house. Should we find more skills capable of perceiving mana in the future that is something we will be keeping to ourselves.¡± Ajax was pleasantly surprised at the interjection. Despite the well maintained poker face Ajax could see a little sweat form as Elija was suddenly the center of attention. Ajax had never even thought about such an option. He knew he could continue to keep the ability for himself alone but he stood to gain a lot more by sharing it with others since that meant more delve slots. When the eyes turned back to him Ajax simply nodded in support of his grandfather. ¡°That is an agreeable offer.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°But Your Highness.¡± Percival tried to interject. ¡°Noble houses are allowed their secrets in our kingdom, Lord Vaultmore.¡± the crown prince talked over the treasurer. ¡°Now there are of course exceptions when the benefits are too high to allow one house to hoard them all, a good example of this would be the training method Baron Hearthbound shared for increasing stats during a child''s youth.¡± ¡°Being able to predict the next floor of the dungeon is something I would argue is on the same scale as that, husband.¡± Xavier¡¯s mother said. ¡°It most certainly is.¡± the crown prince agreed. ¡°However they don¡¯t have a way of sharing the method. We all already know it¡¯s a Legendary skill. Keeping research regarding such a skill a House secret is within their prerogative.¡± Both the treasurer and the future queen nodded at that explanation. Ajax felt his own insecurities regarding secrecy rise up at the way the conversation had gone but he pushed them down, he knew they were simply looking out for the kingdom¡¯s best interests. ¡°This brings us to the last topic of the evening.¡± the king said. ¡°Percival, I¡¯d like to thank you for your presence here but this final topic doesn¡¯t concern the treasury.¡± Ajax wanted to disagree with that statement. From what he had seen with the seed he theorized that life mana could be used in alchemy to help create massively improved potions that would then be stored in the treasury. He said nothing however as all that was still conjecture and guesswork and simply watched as Percival took his leave. ¡°It is with great surprise and my heartfelt congratulations that I say this, Ajax.¡± the king said after Percival left. ¡°You have gained a fourth Legendary skill, not only that but [Life Aspect Mana].¡± Almost everyone in the room stared slack-jawed at Ajax. It seems that the king was informed in private about his latest achievement so only Lexi, the king and his oldest son were the only ones not surprised by the news. Chapter 319 The more experienced people recovered a lot quicker, Elija, Aurora, the crown prince as well as his wife broke out of their shock almost as quickly as it hit. The four of them had known the seeds weren¡¯t a big enough reason to set up the meeting and the floor guessing hadn¡¯t been focused on enough to be the focus of the evening. Xavier and a few non-politically inclined members of the first hadn¡¯t even picked their jaws up even after a good few seconds. ¡°I have.¡± Ajax confirmed the king''s words. ¡°That particular floor made for a particularly eye opening experience.¡± ¡°The first of many I hope.¡± the king said as he waved his hand and a stack of notes appeared out of his ring. ¡°Unlike [Mana Syphon], [Life Aspect Mana] is not only a skill we have heard about before but as a mana aspect one that has been studied in depth.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes were drawn to the documents. He instinctively knew they held information that would speed up his training with his newest mana type tenfold. Ajax was surprised to see the king pass the papers not to him but to the crown prince, the meaning was clear to him. So far Ajax had mostly interacted with the king and his oldest son as members of the royal family, it was finally time to set the foundations for a relationship with the future king as well. ¡°It is our custom to try and educate any Legendary skill owner on the use of said skill.¡± Despite the entire situation being a clear surprise the crown prince instantly shifted gears, beginning his explanation to Ajax as he skimmed the papers for any information he may need right now. ¡°Do you know how many Legendary skill users there are in our kingdom?¡± Ajax stopped to think for a moment. He was almost positive the king¡¯s oldest son had a Legendary skill, it was the only way he would be able to even fight on the same level as Shadow. Next he obviously knew about the squad captain that had the stamina draining empowerment as well. With him and maybe one more hidden user Ajax was fairly confident in his guess. ¡°Four or so?¡± ¡°Not a bad guess.¡± the crown prince nodded. ¡°However the actual number that we know of is ten. ¡°There are ten people like Uncle?¡± Xavier asked, sounding as shocked by the answer as Ajax felt. He quickly covered his mouth as he realized what he had just exposed. ¡°Sorry,¡± he offered lamely. Despite the slip-up nobody was worried about it, they had thoroughly investigated the characters of everyone present at this meeting and they knew none of them would cause an issue with the knowledge. ¡°While all people who gain a Legendary skill are extremely talented, you can break them into three different groups.¡± The crown prince kept the discussion on topic despite the outburst. ¡°The ones who are driven, the ones who are desperate and the ones who are both.¡± Ajax knew he clearly fell in the first category. ¡°The first and the third category sadly make up less than half of the people.¡± the crown prince continued. ¡° Those who come by them out of desperation usually find themselves stalling as the power of the skill eases the pressure that caused its creation.¡± Ajax now realized why his guess had been so far off the mark, difficulty and danger were weighed heavily by the System but of those who barely made the cut to gain such a skill how many would be willing to push even close to those same skills to their limits in the pursuit of more power. ¡°Over half of our Legendary skill users wallow in mediocrity.¡± the crown prince sighed. ¡°Nevertheless we always strive our best to help those who look to push further. We are finally in a position to help you with at least one of your Legendary Skill.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Before we begin on the skill itself, is there anything you can share about how you got it?¡± Xavier¡¯s mother asked with a small frown as she was reading the same information her husband just skimmed over. ¡°I gained the skill from experimenting with the seeds.¡± Ajax started as he continued with a short retelling of how his alchemy experiment started. ¡°When the seed started to release a lot more mana than I knew what to do with I started siphoning it. The exposure and understanding from the experiment granted me the mana aspect as well as two Epic skills.¡± ¡°What skills?¡± the king¡¯s oldest son butted in with enthusiasm at the new information. ¡°[Reckless Researcher] and [Unstable Alchemist].¡± Ajax had no reason to hide them. ¡°Both are sure to become pillars of my future progress in alchemy.¡± While his brother all but lost his interest at the answer the crown prince was jumping for joy on the inside, with these skills it was finally reinforced that Ajax wouldn¡¯t just be dropping alchemy after he squeezed it for the levels it would grant him and he would instead become a very talented crafter as well, more than that a crafters path was one the royal family was more than capable of helping one walk down. ¡°That does explain the anomaly.¡± the future queen said. ¡°What anomaly?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°We have records of six previous users of your Legendary skill in our history.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°Three elves, one human, one beastkin and one dwarf. Five of them were also plant casters while the dwarf was an earth caster, all six of them however were ritual casters.¡± Ajax understood now why he was the anomaly, thinking it over in fact he recognised that rituals were in fact the perfect way to take advantage of Life mana. Regardless if one used runic or chanted magic ritual magic offered the same advantage to both. In exchange for increasing the minimum amount of mana used for each spell to an insane degree it allowed for a spell to be cast over multiple sessions or by multiple casters, giving the caster or casters time to recharge their mana and launch a final spell with a lot more mana than their entire mana pool should allow. ¡°That perfectly leads into the first issue I ran into with life mana.¡± Ajax piggy backed off the idea and took out a few pebbles he had brought in preparation for this example. As he used his new Life mana with just a touch of Earth mana to fuse the pebbles into a small golem that moved around by itself. ¡°Even something as simple as this golem took three hundred mana.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t match with your fighting style one bit, what was the System thinking?¡± the king¡¯s oldest son all but shouted in outrage. ¡°It does seem less than ideal.¡± the crown prince said more politically. ¡°That said, I do hope this information does help with your progress.¡± he pushed the paper towards Ajax. ¡°They mostly outline generalities and any weaknesses we have found, once we return home more specific details that we have on any of their spells will also be made available to you.¡± Ajax now understood why the information was so limited to a few pieces of paper. This was simply the barebones information they had on how to counter a life mana used that the king had on him in case he ran into one that was aggressive. He now looked forward to what more specific knowledge the kingdom had back in the royal library. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± the king asked as he saw Ajax¡¯s frown deepen more and more as he quickly read through the information. ¡°There is no mention here of alchemy.¡± Ajax complained, there were pages here used to describe how life mana could lie dormant before activating in plantlife leading to many unexpected ambushes but nothing on what Ajax had experienced during his crafting. ¡°Not even as a side note.¡± ¡°Attempts were made.¡± the king answered. ¡°Unfortunately any invigoration or infusion didn¡¯t persist through the crafting process and any spell used during the process interfered with the alchemy. The process unfortunately does not work.¡± Despite not having anyone who had a life aspect mana skill there were one or two spells left over that talented mages could cast with enough practice. The king had previously attempted to have them increase the quality of ingredients for his alchemists with life based spells but none had worked. ¡°It does.¡± Ajax said with conviction. ¡°It worked with the seed. What little remained of the elixir maintained the benefits of the life mana the seed released. It may be that infusion does not work without disturbing the alchemy however by simply adding the life mana it would be naturally absorbed during the brewing.¡± ¡°To do this successfully, at least for anything more than the most basic of potions, you would not only need someone with the skill to generate the pure life mana that has no direction but you would also need them to work in perfect unison with the alchemist so as to not disturb them.¡± one of the squad mages said. ¡°Or you would need the alchemist to add in the life mana themselves.¡± Ajax answered with a grin. ¡°As excited as I am about the results I am sure you will produce, could I ask that you focus on the upcoming tournament for the time being.¡± the crown prince interjected. ¡°In the following three weeks you will have the final and main dungeon of the Republic to delve, the elves'' arrival and their welcoming ball. The tournament will start in less than a month.¡± Chapter 320 Ajax took the king''s request to heart as he fully focused on combat for the upcoming tournament. More than that however he also focused on gathering as much information as he could about his future opponents. It came as no surprise to find out that of the eight competitors Richard would be the only physical fight and he was the only hybrid fighter. At this point mages simply had an advantage that was hard to beat in a tournament setting. As for the mages, Ajax was pretty sure that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the last of Gryndor¡¯s representatives making it out of the first round so he discarded him. That left him with one rune caster dwarf, a close range caster beastkin and three elves. A fire mage, a wind mage and the ice princess. Ajax was pulling out all the stops for this. Winning here would most likely give him access to five more dungeons so that was a boost he wouldn¡¯t be passing up. His delve in the Republic¡¯s main dungeon was as straightforward as boosts ever got. The prince wasn¡¯t willing to risk anything so they moved from one forest biome to an open field and back again the entire way. Ajax still gained the +11 to all stats from the dungeon even if the level one hundred final mini-boss didn¡¯t feel all that challenging as the one he fought months ago back in Gryndor. More than that Ajax even made sure to take some extra potions for another twenty stats that became available from his dungeon gains he was squeezing every once of power he could. Name : Ajax Hearthbound Level :51 Experience : 120790/133000 Traits: Divine Witness, Baron Health: 3650/3650 Mana: 3680/3680 Stamina : 2980/2980 Vitality : 365 Strength :323 Endurance :298 Dexterity : 323 Intellect : 368 Wisdom : 368 Mind : 368 Perception : 298 Stat Points : 0 Besides his Alchemy skills there wasn¡¯t much change to his skills from before the start of this trip but his stats got a solid upgrade. Even with all that Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit down about how close he was to another level up. So close yet he knew that there wasn¡¯t enough time to push the rest of the way there. ¡°Why so serious?¡± the king¡¯s eldest son asked him as he joined him on the training ground. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll show you how it''s done before you get out there.¡± Ajax had been shocked to his core to find out that the main tournament was just the opening act. It made sense once he thought about it a bit more but the fact that the champions would be the first to fight to warm up the crowd seemed absurd. ¡°It won¡¯t be much of a show for most people¡± Shadow had told him when he asked. ¡°Unlike the two limited brackets, champions do have to hold back to ensure they don¡¯t kill their opponent and start a war. More than that however the fights are simply too quick for the spectators to properly take in.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Thinking about it that way it made sense why the main tournament wasn¡¯t the main attraction for the spectators. If the champions were the warm-up the youngsters were the antre. Their fights would be the easiest to follow but would still be grounded in a level of power that was normal as far as common people were concerned. The level one hundred bracket was the main attraction. Unlike both the champions and youngsters the competitors here weren¡¯t the cream of the crop geniuses. They were dedicated fighters who molded their entire build around fighting in such a tournament, from the low amount of skills taken so they could be pushed further to the low Vitality investment to increase their power. Ajax wouldn¡¯t have been surprised to hear that those competitors could actually delve twenty-five to thirty-five levels up inside dungeons had they been allowed. ¡°Did you find out if any of them have bonds?¡± Ajax answered the smug prince. Bonds were allowed to participate however they weren¡¯t offered the same protection as the participants, meaning they were fair game when it came to getting killed. For that reason most youngsters wouldn¡¯t have any with them as the risk didn¡¯t match the rewards, at their age getting a strong combat bond was too hard and taking in a subpar one would be a liability as the backlash from the bond being killed would take out both. ¡°The dwarf has a mole and the beastkin a mountain lion.¡± The prince got serious when he provided the information. ¡°Both are below level sixty so they won¡¯t be making an appearance.¡± ¡°What about the elves?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°We¡¯ve heard nothing, but they only arrived yesterday, there is still a week until the first round takes place.¡± The prince shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve got a party to go to tonight.¡± Ajax groaned at the reminder, he wished he could skip the entire event. One thing he knew for sure was that he would take extra care to make sure Archduke Goldenmouth didn¡¯t corner him again, he could already feel the hangover headache coming on just from thinking about it. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that.¡± the prince patted him on the back so hard he almost sent him face first in the dirt. ¡°Parties like that are great fun, besides the Archduke will mostly be focusing on the newcomers.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± Ajax said half heartedly as he turned to walk away and get ready. ________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Are you sure you want to come?¡± Ajax asked his sister as he, Lexi, Anna and Judy were getting ready to enter the palace. ¡°You might have convinced me to mix one chance at making connections with a foreign country but no way I am passing up the chance where there are two of them.¡± Judy gave him a slight glare. ¡°It¡¯s your funeral.¡± Ajax mumbled. ¡°What was that?¡± Judy still caught his words. ¡°I said stay away from Archduke Goldenmouth.¡± All three girls chuckled as they remembered what happened to Ajax last time the Archduke was involved. For the first time ever humans weren¡¯t the majority as Ajax entered the massive ballroom. While they still had a solid representation it was clear that less people showed up tonight from their convoy and a lot of elves were present. Different from the last party was also the fact that Ajax wasn¡¯t the last of the tournament participants to show up, none of the elven champions had arrived yet with the exception of their main champion. A seven foot tall elf with wide shoulders, gray eyes and pitch black hair. Much like the first time he saw Shadow, Ajax didn¡¯t need to use his inspection skill on the elf to know not to provoke him. Tempted as he was to try and inspect the elf however Ajax knew better than to set that precedent at the party. It didn¡¯t take long for the beastkin champion to find Ajax and attach himself to the group. The closer the tournament got the more excited the feline beastkin became. The group moved around the room together greeting all the relevant parties while making sure to not get too entangled in the conversation. A quiet fell upon the room however when the elven competitors arrived. Ajax¡¯s attention however was quickly taken by the first old elf he¡¯d ever seen. Despite looking as old as Archduke Goldmancer the elf with hair that was such a deep shade of blue you¡¯d think it was black stepped forward with pride and confidence. The elf was one of the level one hundred participants and despite Ajax having killed level one hundred mini-bosses he wanted no part of fighting the elf, at least not yet. The elf met his eyes across the room and Ajax felt a deep desire for him to live long enough for them to have a fairly matched fight. ¡°Woah¡± Judy exclaimed as she switched Ajax¡¯s focus from the old elf to the last participant that was escorted by the elven king. The ice princess had to be the most beautiful woman Ajax had ever seen. It shocked him for a moment before he shook himself out of it. Ajax made sure to squeeze slightly on Lexi¡¯s hand. Despite the initial shock Ajax still preferred the company of his girlfriend and didn¡¯t want her feeling self conscious. ¡°Hrrr.¡± the beastkin purred slightly. ¡°I guess it¡¯s true what they say about Blackthorn women.¡± ¡°Blackthorn?¡± Ajax was sure the family name for the royals was Sylvian. ¡°Her mother¡¯s side.¡± Anna explained in a whisper. ¡°The Blackthorns were a notorious bandit group that raided both elven kingdoms at the time of the split. They were nomadic and powerful enough to survive for a few thousand years until they backed the correct family in a coup and had their crimes forgiven and a ducal title granted for their support.¡± ¡°They were also known for stealing some of the women of the places they raided.¡± the beastkin chimed in but he still hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off the princess. ¡°As the old saying goes ¡®the Blackthorns didn¡¯t bring back the ugly ones¡¯.¡± Chapter 321 Arianwyn Sylvian P.O.V. The Republic is nothing like I had expected. Despite there being ample representation of the other humanoid races in Sylvanthal they aren¡¯t enough to even form a minority, here however all four of the humanoid races live with balanced representation. The first larger settlement had shocked me with their different districts but nothing could prepare me for the capital. Unlike the other places we had visited the capital had a multitude of districts each split up in their own little districts of elven, dwarfish, human or beastkin architecture. For all of its beauty two locations still drew my attention like nothing else. ¡°No.¡± my father said as he let out a sigh. I had made sure to mask my interest, he didn¡¯t even have to look up to know that I was planning to sneak into the dungeons. ¡°Fine,¡± I answered with a pout. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to add another problem to the pile my father was working through. Much as he had always made it a point to speak with respect of my grandfather in front of me, I had managed to overhear him a few times when he didn¡¯t know I was listening. For all of his good qualities he had been afraid to let go of his power at the end. He held on to the crown even as his aging mind was diverging further and further away from reality. He had thankfully retained enough of his faculties as to not spoil the relations with our neighbors but he hadn¡¯t just blown the vault of the royal treasury open, he had left a crater in its floor as well. ¡°I¡¯ll look into getting an expedition together for you after the tournament, princess.¡± Aranor Starfury said. Father¡¯s right hand man and our strongest warrior. ¡°We still have a few maps that lead to dungeons stranded out past civilization.¡± The promise put me at ease while also flooding me with excitement. I hadn¡¯t been allowed to leave the safety of our borders until now, I had asked in the past but I was always told I needed to grow stronger, that anything could happen out there. A dragon could descend and kill everyone. ¡°Thank you.¡± I offered before relaxing back in the comfort of the carriage. ¡°Has there been any unexpected changes with the tournament?¡± I had spent the last year going through the right of passage. Every Blackthorn goes through it the year before they turn fifty, while I was technically not a Blackthorn they were more than happy to make an exception for the princess not to mention my mother was the daughter of the duke. With the tournament falling so closely I had to go a bit sooner but that left me devoid of any recent information on the tournament. ¡°Yes,¡± Aranor surprised me. ¡°It seems the humans have called in a rather shocking favor. They spent the last few months delving into all four of the Republic''s dungeons.¡± ¡°They did what!?¡± I shouted. Despite my yell it wasn¡¯t anger that fueled it, it was jealousy. I wanted something like that. If we weren¡¯t in such dire financial straits I would have happily traded anything I won in this tournament for such an opportunity. ¡°At least we finally know what that blacked out favor was.¡± Father said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was under so much stress lately, I was seriously worrying about him being the first elf to develop frown lines before the final aging started. ¡°Maybe the humans will at least put up a challenge.¡± The previous information had told me that the only person I should be worried about was the Republic¡¯s melee caster. He was a true prodigy and someone I had spent countless hours preparing a various number of counters for. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Arrange for a meeting with Xandor.¡± Father said as he opened his eyes and drew his hand away from his face. ¡°He¡¯s here and it would be good to get a feel for what he is planning.¡± ¡°Why do you think he is planning something?¡± I asked. ¡°Because apparently their training method isn¡¯t a bluff.¡± father said. ¡°It makes no sense to call in their favor for this generation when the next one will outstrip them. Unless he needs them to be stronger for something.¡± I spent the rest of the trip to the embassy in silence. Fighting with the small amount of guilt I felt. Despite how the news seemed to worry and stress father I couldn¡¯t help but be happy that the humans were stronger. They might make it interesting for me, I had always had problems finding worthy opponents in my age group and the problem only escalated as I got older. _________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Pleaseeee¡± I tried a final attempt at getting father to budge as we were getting ready to walk into the ballroom. ¡°No.¡± his answer was the same. ¡°You are to not engage Archduke Goldmouth under any circumstances.¡± I loved events like this one almost as much as I enjoyed fighting. I had to have gotten it from my mother''s side but I simply enjoy confrontations. It doesn¡¯t matter if they are handled with words or with spells. To think that it all started with the simplest of bullying. Back home more than one of the noble families that had made the transition and offered fealty to the new rulers my mother¡¯s family had helped crown had always disliked me. Explaining that to a four year old who was upset about comments made about her was difficult however so mother taught me to treat it like a game I could win, and win I did. The moment we entered the ballroom my eyes were drawn to the other tournament participants. Shadow was the first one I focused on, he and Aranor were the benchmark I was trying to surpass. One was the strongest person in single combat and the other the most feared ace up his nation''s sleeve. ¡°Why did he dye his hair?¡± I was surprised as I finally turned my eyes to the competitors in my own bracket. ¡°More importantly why is an elf fighting for Gryndor?¡± Among the Gryndor representatives had to be one of the most built elf I had ever seen, his shoulders were far too wide. His hair covered his ears and the black coloring made it seem like he was hundreds of years old instead of fifty but he could only be in my bracket since I already knew everyone else there in the other brackets. But there was no way to hide the ageless features of an elf. ¡°He¡¯s not an elf.¡± Father said as he noticed who I was staring at. ¡°What is a human who put more than one thousand points in Vitality doing in this competition?¡± I asked bewildered, he¡¯ll be crushed. ¡°I intend to find out.¡± Father said as we separated, he was going to join the other high nobles as I took my own spot among the celebrated participants. Curious as I was to get to the bottom of who that human was and why he was competing I made no move to approach and confront him. It took no time at all to notice just how much he disliked being here, much as I like a verbal spar. It was no fun beating someone that was so far outclassed. ¡°Welcome, princess.¡± Shortly after the participants disbanded I was approached by a young elf who looked to be about my age. ¡°Though I suppose you¡¯d feel more welcome if you came uninvited during the night and fled by morning leaving chaos in your wake.¡± A quick look at the House sigil prominently displayed on the elf¡¯s suit explained his hostility. He was part of the few noble houses who fled to the Republic during the rebellion. They would have a grudge not only with my family but with the royal family as well. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what you mean, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been in the Republic before.¡± I say as innocently as I can and I watch his satisfaction grow. ¡°After all, I wouldn¡¯t be a coward who runs from my home when trouble comes.¡± I delight in the way the smile drops from his face. Despite managing to keep the blood from rushing to his face I still notice the way his vein is throbbing in anger at the insult. ¡°If I could borrow you for a moment princess.¡± Aranor pulls me away. ¡°Aaaww¡± I tease Uncle Aranor. ¡°It¡¯s just like you to ruin my fun.¡± ¡°My mistake, princess.¡± The tone in his voice tells me I made a mistake teasing him. I''m as excited to find out why as I am dreading my upcoming defeat. ¡°And here I had assumed you''d be interested in Baron Hearthbound seeing as you may end up fighting him in a few days.¡± I never heard of Baron Hearthbound before but it isn¡¯t hard to make the connection. ¡° What can you tell me about him?¡± I¡¯m surprised to see Aranor drop the joking demeanor. ¡°He¡¯s human, around level fifty but his stats and power surpass anything we can expect from that. He¡¯s a hybrid fighter who at only twenty-three years of age has managed to defeat a level one hundred mini-boss inside the dungeon.¡± My jaw drops, for the first time in a decade, as all my willpower is focused on keeping me from scanning the room so I can zero in on the human. He¡¯s better than me, sure I may have defeated a level one hundred and ten mini-boss and cleared an extra floor but I didn¡¯t do that at level fifty. More than that I was barely forty at age twenty-three. I want to fight him, all the years I was called a genius and now I finally get a chance to fight someone who now only makes me feel like I don¡¯t deserve the title, but is so far ahead that he belongs in a class of his own. Chapter 322 While Ajax did his best to keep to himself as much as possible throughout the evening there were members of his little group for whom that was very much not the case. Both the beastkin and Xavier all but made a beeline for the elven princess not long after the presentation was done. Seeing them approach Arianwyn kept her guard up but was hoping for a pleasant interaction. While she normally would have maintained an air of superiority both of the people approaching her were at her level in one way or another. The beastkin was the second favorite to win his tournament and Xavier was the son of the crown prince that would be taking the throne in a couple of decades at the most. ¡°Greetings princess.¡± They both greeted her as they approached. While Xavier also went on to greet the other elven participants as they were still children of high ranking nobles the beastkin solely focused on the single elf he saw as competition. This annoyed both of them but they were in no position to say anything about it, both had fought him in previous matches in the last decade and the beastkin had beaten them soundly. The two royals quickly burnt through the small talk about the woes of traveling to the tournament before the first dangerous question was lobbed in like a grenade by one of the two elven competitors. ¡°How was running the dungeons on your way here, your highness.¡± The conversation fell silent, all of them waiting for Xavier¡¯s answer. Gryndor not only hadn¡¯t bothered keeping their delving secret, they had all but advertised it to everyone else. While all the nations knew the peace treaty Gryndor and the Republic had made had a big favor blacked out they were all suspicious, them calling it in would calm things further. ¡°Everyone made substantial gains.¡± Xavier answered diplomatically after a brief silence. Normally Xavier wouldn¡¯t be so on edge about the question but during those delves they not only gained more than a handful of giant tree seeds, but Ajax had revealed his ability to narrow the scope of floor designs and gained a Legendary mana affinity. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to what I suspect would be an entertaining tournament.¡± At the mention of the tournament, the princess¡¯s hand went to her belt, almost as if reaching for something. Xavier did notice the action but thought nothing of it. ¡°It is most definitely shaping up to be an interesting tournament.¡± The beastkins eyes narrowed into slits as his competitive spirit bore down on the princess. ¡°I am sure it will be one that will be remembered for a long time.¡± The princess was a bit surprised at how quickly the beastkin went from 0 to 60. She had known that unlike her cold calculated and composed fighting style the beastking was more of a berserker. He would charge recklessly using his family''s signature close range spells to devastating effect. ¡°I should have guessed, you battle nut.¡± one of the elves shook his head disparagingly. Despite both being exemplary fighters neither of the elven competitors enjoyed fighting. For them fighting had always been a chore, something that was part of their responsibilities and they just happened to be skilled at. It was the reason why princess Arianwyn was cordial but not actually friends with them. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you are hoping to face the princess in the finals?¡± the other elf chimed in. ¡°To make it poetic.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter when we fight, only luck can determine the order.¡± the beastkin replied with a ferocious smile. ¡°But if I were to choose I wouldn¡¯t want to meet her in the final.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Are you really so impatient as to hope we fight in the very first round?¡± the princess asked, slightly insulted at his lack of forethought and unwillingness to scout an opponent. ¡°Not the first. The second.¡± the beastkin replied. ¡°Much as I would like to get two rounds to pick apart your style, there is someone in this tournament more shrouded in mystery than you and I put together. I would save him for the final.¡± ¡°So he¡¯s not just a stunt.¡± the princess murmured as she turned her gaze back towards Xavier. ¡°I do have to admit that the change to your roster to bring in somebody younger than twenty-three was surprising.¡± ¡°He came as a surprise to me too the first time I met him.¡± Xavier said as he thought back to when he first started at the Academy. ¡°Back then he was still a nobody, not in terms of talent or power, just recognition. People used to compare my talent to you actually princess, when he showed up that spotlight just fell off me.¡± ¡°Clearly your people were wrong, I haven¡¯t heard much about your talent and Her Highness was renowned throughout the kingdoms at your age.¡± the elven competitor spoke up. ¡°Oh I wouldn¡¯t be quite so sure.¡± Xavier said with a small smile. He had a lot to be proud of, despite being two years younger he had already gotten to the point where his spars with Lexi or Anna could go either way. Considering the advantage pure mages had at lower levels it showed that his hard work over the years at the Academy had also paid off. ¡°Ajax is just simply on a different level.¡± ¡°That almost sounded jealous.¡± the princess said with a smirk as she recognised in Xavier the same competitive drive she had. ¡°Oh I was.¡± Xavier admitted. ¡°For longer than I¡¯d like to admit, even now there is a small part of me that hopes he doesn¡¯t beat the odds to win this whole tournament. It took my uncle months before he got me to stop comparing myself to him.¡± ¡°That sounds exciting.¡± the princess said with the first true smile she had worn all evening, though it was indistinguishable from the practiced one. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to this tournament even more. It was a pleasure to meet both of you but if you¡¯d excuse me I do have to go greet our host.¡± It was at this point in the evening that Ajax could finally withdraw from the event. He had managed to avoid most of the politicians this time around and had kept a solid twenty feet between himself and Archduke Goldenmouth. The final week passed in a whirl as all of the participants focused on consolidating the last few gains they had made. Inside the small training courtyard of Gryndor embassy two men clashed covered in sweat. ¡°That bad, eh?¡± Ajax said after he knocked Richard off his feet and placed his axe at his throat for the sixth time since they started. The most recent dungeon had gone to expand the gap between the two fighters but even that wasn¡¯t enough to account for the lack of concentration Richard was showing. ¡°He was the worst match-up I could have gotten.¡± Richard heaved out as he thought back to the announcement that was made two hours ago regarding the drawing. ¡°The only worse match-up for me in the entire tournament is you and we can¡¯t fight in the first round.¡± The tournament brackets had been pretty much forced the moment the first pick was made. With the first match selected being Richard and the Republic¡¯s beastkin, the other three matches had the elves split up amongst the remaining competitors. The beastkin¡¯s hopes had ended up coming true as princess Arianwyn had drawn Gryndor¡¯s second representative as the other spot in the first half of the brackets. This left Ajax along with the Republic¡¯s dwarven representative each facing their own elf on the other side of the brackets. ¡°I know you won¡¯t lose in the first round.¡± Richard said as he stood back up but made no move to get into a fighting stance. ¡°But you better beat the dwarf and gain a spot in the finals at least.¡± ¡°You worry about your own match.¡± Ajax answered, more sure of himself as he knew that he actually countered every single mage to some extent thanks to [Mana Syphon]. ¡°You¡¯re also aiming too low, I don¡¯t just plan to make it to the final. I plan to win the whole thing.¡± While Richard was in a bad mood, Gryndor¡¯s final representative was in an even worse state. Unlike Richard who would at least have a chance to get a lucky strike on his opponent who would be coming in close, the fire mage was going up the most prodigious ice caster in the last few thousand years. He knew for a fact that he was going into the fight down in levels, down in mana aspect tier, and if rumors were to be believed down in terms of skill as well. ¡°How much are you planning to show?¡± the king whispered to Ajax the following day as they were heading towards the arena. ¡°As much as it takes to win.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer was short and full of conviction, it brought a smile on the king¡¯s face. Chapter 323 Being one of the participants Ajax got a really good seat to watch as the main tournament got underway. The first match would see the king¡¯s oldest son competing with one of the elven champions. All three elves were mages, as they were naturally inclined towards magic. The Republic was fielding a hybrid in Shadow and a mostly physical fighter in a dwarf. Besides the Prince Gryndor was fielding a mage and a mostly physical fighter in the leader of the first squad. ¡°What are the expectations?¡± Ajax asked as he took a seat in Gryndor¡¯s section of the stands. ¡°We got lucky with the draw.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°Neither Shadow nor Arnor picked my brother or the leader of the first. All four matches should be fairly one sided.¡± The discussion cut off there as the prince walked onto the sands decked out in his black gear mired in colorful runes. His opponent looked almost equally impressive as Ajax¡¯s mana sense could feel the enchantments all but bursting from his gear. Most eyecatching however was that this mage wasn¡¯t wearing a mouthguard. ¡°I thought all mage¡¯s wore mouthguards?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not once you get [Chanting] past 75.¡± Xavier answered. ¡°There is an upgrade there that lets you shorten the cast by skipping words. It not only removes the need for mouthguards but also makes hybrid chanters viable.¡± For the sake of fairness the start of the fight was marked with a thrown stone. Neither fighter could do anything before the stone hit the ground but both tensed in preparation as the announcer threw it up in the air. Unlike the other tournaments this one didn¡¯t have referee¡¯s and would be taken on good faith of the participants and the people actually able to see what was going on. The moment the rock landed on the ground Ajax didn¡¯t even get to hear the sound it made as the prince sprung into action. Ajax felt a good number of the runes on his armor light up as he pumped them with almost as much mana as Ajax had in his entire mana pool. Ajax''s eyes could barely track the black blur that charged towards the elf, yet he could keep focused only on the prince. The elf had already started chanting the instant the stone hit the ground. Independently from that however he also slammed the butt of his staff into the group. Everyone in attendance was forced to cover their ears from the sonic attack despite the dampeners and protective wards that surrounded the field. This was the first time Ajax saw such a pure sound based attack. The initial vibrations seemed to be powerful enough that they managed to stop the prince in his tracks. Slowing down Ajax could once again make out the details of the armor adorning the prince¡¯s body as different runes activated. Oddly enough however while Ajax could tell that different runes were activated he saw the same ones light up. Was this a defensive measure, was this an advanced runic formation. He didn¡¯t know what to think. Whatever it was it clearly seemed to have worked as the prince was once again on the move, the distance between the two fighters less than twenty paces now. Ajax was actually starting to worry about the amount of mana the elf was chanting as it was closing in on twice his mana pool. Unfortunately the elf wouldn¡¯t get a chance to use it as a shadow spike took him in the shoulder. The attack had come from behind the elf and Ajax hadn¡¯t even felt the mana being sent out by the rune when the prince first started his charge. The surprise attack from behind wasn¡¯t enough to end the match but it was more than enough to let the prince skewer the mage straight through the stomach with his sword. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Just like that the match was over. It could have hardly been more than a few seconds since the start. Ajax had barely been able to process everything he was seeing and that was with [Sense Mana] at seventy one and almost three hundred points in Perception. ¡°What happened?¡± Xavier had, unfortunately for himself, closed his eyes when he covered his ears in reaction to the sound attack and missed the rest of the fight. ¡°Is it over already?¡± ¡°It is, son.¡± the crown prince nodded. ¡°But he didn¡¯t do anything.¡± It was a good thing there was a privacy barrier around the royal family''s balcony or Xavier''s observation would have been very rude. ¡°I told you before, the outcome of these matches are all but known.¡± Xavier¡¯s mother chided him. ¡°The mage was clearly banking on his big spell as his only way of victory, he just didn¡¯t get to cast it.¡± Healers were inside the arena in moments, they healed both the shoulder and around the sword while the prince was slowly pulling the weapon out of his opponent. The elf didn¡¯t seem to be all that bothered by the wounds anymore, clearly some form of pain nullification skill or spell, if anything he looked as bothered by his defeat as Xavier was to have missed his uncle''s whole fight. Once the wounds were patched up everybody cleared the field of the arena. It took barely any time at all as the arena not only started to mend itself but was actively changing the layout of the field. Gone was the sandy gladiator field, in its stead there were two small hills separated by a small river. ¡°How does that work?¡± Ajax asked as he started at the field. ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± the king answered. ¡°And the damn council refuses to share.¡± Clearly he was a little peeved about that. Once the arena finished establishing itself the second set of competitors stepped out onto the field. Despite winning the first match everyone in the royal family¡¯s section could only look at the two figures with helplessness. Gryndor¡¯s mage combatant stood on one of the hills staring across at Shadow, the beastkin was this time covered head to toe in leathers so black they seemed to draw in the light. Much as the prince was all but sure to win this next fight Ajax was pretty sure Shadow had even better odds to win his match. ¡°This won¡¯t be pretty will it?¡± Ajax asked as he looked out at the field. ¡°No it won¡¯t.¡± The king¡¯s oldest son had managed to already make his way to the seating. He was now out of his armor as he was finished for the day but he looked just as serious as he observed the match. As the referee threw the stone into the air Ajax watched both combatants tense up. As soon as the stone plopped into the water however, Shadow¡¯s figure dispersed like a mirage. Ajax wasted no time as he pushed every one of his sense and detection skills to their limit yet he got nothing in return. If he didn¡¯t know for sure this wasn¡¯t the case he would have thought that the Shadow standing there second before was an illusion that was simply dispelled. Unlike almost everyone in the stands the mage already started chanting and quickly released a weak fire nova. The idea of trying to locate the assassin was clear. As the nova was halfway across the arena Ajax¡¯s senses were finally able to pinpoint something, more than that however they managed to find two things. The first was a dagger that went straight through the fire nova and headed towards the mage at a speed Ajax wasn¡¯t even able to track. The second however was Shadow as he dashed straight through the fire nova before once again dissolving into thin air. The mage had managed to use his staff¡¯s defensive enchantments to swat the knife out of the air but he hadn¡¯t managed to do anything else in the brief moment Shadow was visible. Undeterred by the first failure the mage quickly chanted and released a second nova. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± Ajax barely heard the prince¡¯s comment as he felt Shadow appear once more, this time much closer to the mage at the edge of the nova. More surprising than that however was the fact that Ajax was sensing a decent amount of mana being expended by Shadow. He estimated it to be around four hundred which was a pretty big chunk to use all at once for a mainly physical fighter. In the next instant Shadow wasn¡¯t on the edge of the nova, he had appeared from the mages own shadow as his dagger left a splatter of gore on the burned grass as it cut six inches deep into the mages shoulder. It was only now that Ajax actually noticed the mage¡¯s shadow had elongated. Whatever magic Shadow had used clearly needed there to be a direct path through the shadows, so it wasn¡¯t direct teleportation but it was obviously a close second. Ajax had barely gotten the chance to think that mages seemed to be as disadvantaged by this format as they were in the youth tournament before the prince not only guessed his thoughts but brought them up short. ¡° Mages do just fine, you¡¯ll get to see it in the next match.¡± The next match would have the strongest elven competitor, the one who was favored to win the whole thing taking the field against the physically focused dwarf. Chapter 324 It took almost no time at all for the healers to appear on the field and patch up the mangled shoulder before both of the fighters cleared the ring. Just like last time all of the damage the arena had taken disappeared as the scene was replaced with a large slope that depicted a side of a snowy mountain. Various ice spikes dotted the slope. Both fighters took thief positions hallways up the slope staring at each other. While the elf wore the customary caster cloth the dwarf was the first high level fighter to wear full plate. More than that Ajax could feel that the plate was very thick as he could feel an extra layer of enchantments engraved in the core of the armor. As soon as the rock was tossed Ajax expected the dwarf to bull rush the opponent much like the other two non-mages had done. He was proven correct as the moment the stone hit the snowy ground the dwarf was off to the races, his heavy armor making him slower than the prince, to the point Ajax could still catch his outline and it wasn¡¯t all just a blur of color. ¡°What?¡± Ajax was left speechless however as a ice lance that held about a tenth of his mana smashed into the dwarfs heavy tower shield. Ajax didn¡¯t know how such a strong spell was cast so quickly. Despite there not being a single scratch on the shield the laws of physics were only bent and not broken as the impact sent the dwarf sliding back on the snow. ¡°[Empowered Repetition]¡± Lexi was the one who whispered the name of the skill with awe and a hint of jealousy. ¡°What does it do?¡± Ajax asked interested to know how the mage had followed the powerful ice lance with a scorching fireball that melted all of the snow in its path and sent a heat wave strong enough to pass through the wards so that the spectators could feel it. ¡°It makes weak but short spells viable even in fights well above the level they were intended for.¡± the prince answered. ¡°The skill gives you the option to delay spells you finished chanting for a few seconds.¡± Lexi added more detail. ¡° For each time the chant is completed again during that delay the spell gets stronger at no extra mana cost.¡± ¡°That must work wonders with that [Chanting] upgrade.¡± Ajax mused to himself. As they were talking the dwarf had managed to finally make it past the original halfway mark as he charged the caster. Despite the success however the dwarf was desperate, the only reason he made it that far was because the mage had been busy casting his next spell for much longer than any of the previous ones. The axe in the dwarf¡¯s hand was hurled end over end with such force that Ajax thought it might actually break the mana improved sound barrier. Unfortunately for the dwarf the enchantments on the mage¡¯s robes and staff activated creating an oddly shaped shield. It was only after the axe shattered the shield on impact that Ajax recognised the true brilliance of the enchantments. The shape of the shield wasn¡¯t preset, it was instead created to deflect the attack should it break through. The axe had gone through the shield with no issue but it was harmlessly deflected off the side. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Despite the first failure the dwarf hadn''t given up, he was now within ten paces of the mage as he raised his tower shield for a shield charge. Unfortunately for the dwarf the shield never had a chance to connect as the mountainside surged around the dwarf trapping him in earth before settling down again. The match was over at that. Despite the small hill that had swallowed the dwarfs body already starting to shake and crack, everybody knew that being that close to a mage with your head only covered by your helmet was a death sentence. For the first time the healers weren¡¯t required at the end of the match as the dwarf simply powered through taking an extra fifteen seconds before the cracks that had been spreading around him crunched as his earthen prison turned to rubble as he freed himself. As the dwarf took a few steps however Ajax was surprised to see some decent sized dents in his armor. Clearly that earth spell wasn¡¯t for containment but for crushing of the victims, it was only the dwarfs sizeable defensive power that allowed him to walk it off. ¡°Three clean victories.¡± Ajax said as the arena started to change the environment for a fourth time. ¡°Will the last one also be so straight forward?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The king answered. ¡°Proud as I am of my son¡¯s accomplishments he hasn¡¯t yet gotten to the point where he is on the level of our champion.¡± ¡°He¡¯s almost half a millennium older than I am.¡± the prince said with mock outrage. ¡°Old man has barely started to weaken due to age in the last year.¡± The leader of the first squad walked out along with the final elven champion. While the elf wore his own set of extremely enchanted robes and staff, the human was decked out in enchanted mail armor with a few pieces of plate on his gauntlets, shoulderpads and boots. Most impressive of all however was the six and a half food long spear that glowed with enchantments. The ring set-up for them was another variation on the original open sandy ring where the first fight took place. ¡°Not the worst option.¡± the king commented as he took it all in. ¡°You¡¯ll want to pay attention to anything the mage casts.¡± the crown prince told Ajax. ¡°Who knows what insights you might gain.¡± Ajax simply nodded at that. It went without saying that he had already gotten a few ideas to try out from watching the other three fights so why was this one singled out specifically. As with all the other fights both fighter¡¯s tensed up as the stone was thrown into the air by the announcer. The moment it landed the leader of the first squad charged out much like the prince and dwarf had before him. The strategy was currently sitting on one win and one loss so it could go either way. Surprisingly enough the elf not only chanted but he also threw down a handful of small pellets at his feet. Ajax didn¡¯t even have a chance to wonder what they were before a powerful surge of Plant mana and a few hints of Life were released by the caster and what must have been seeds quickly grew into thick vines that shot out to meet the spearman. Ajax was focused on the fight but the outcome was now only secondary to him. Interpreting the readings he got from [Sense Mana] on that spell took priority. The first thing Ajax could take off the list was the idea that this elf also had Life mana. While there was Life mana present, it was a rigid part of the spell simply created and not guided in any way following the spells instructions. Despite the rigidity of the Life mana however Ajax could see just how freely the Plant mana was being used. More than that it seemed like the elf had not only not stopped chanting but he was also continually feeding mana into the spell. ¡°[Channeled Casting].¡± Lexi explained. ¡°A favorite of plant and puppeteer mages, it works extremely well in combination with a farsight spell that might let the mage fight from extreme distances. It has a number of weaknesses that make it not ideal for the tournament.¡± The spearman had barely been slowed down by the thorny thick vines as he trimmed the ends that reached him. Despite not slowing down enough for Ajax to even get a clear view of him he could clearly see his handiwork in the amount of chopped up vines that were leaving a trail behind the blur of white mail armor. The leader of the first was pushed a little off the direct path towards his opponent but once he got within twenty paces he quickly threw a dagger straight towards the root of the vines. Once the dagger landed Ajax¡¯s [Sense Mana] was blinded by the amount of pure mana released. The dagger did little more than interrupt the channeled spell for a second. For that second however the vines not only stopped growing but they also fell limp to the floor. Without the protection of his plant the mage was quickly impaled straight through the stomach and lifted off the ground. The strike had interrupted the mages casting and the winner was declared. It couldn¡¯t have been more than fifteen minutes yet already the entire first round of the main tournament had ended. It was now clear why they were the first ones to take the field as there was no way to make their tournament the main event. As the arena started to change the environment once more Ajax looked towards Richard who stood up and started heading down as he would be in the first match. Richard met his eyes as Ajax gave him a nod of encouragement. Chapter 325 In a shocking surprise for Ajax the spectators cheered a lot louder for Richard and the beastkin as they took their place in the arena than they had for any of the previous matches. He knew the reason for that was that this match wouldn¡¯t be over after thirty seconds of people blurring around and they could actually enjoy it but it pushed the point. Richard got into his fighting stance and waited for the signal. Unlike the previous matches this tournament and the next would have actual referees that were meant to stop anything lethal from landing and deciding the winner. The sparse trees that were part of this fight¡¯s geography helped Richard as he quickly dashed behind a tree. Just because the beastkin specialized in close quarters magic didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t bombard a physical fighter from range. Ajax could feel Benedict tense up as a few long range spells thrown in a blind curve exploded around Richard. The spells weren¡¯t all that strong, menat only to ensure Richard wouldn¡¯t get a chance to see the beastkin approach but Ajax didn¡¯t think that telling that to his former classmate would be of any help. The beastkin wasted no time charging towards the tree Richard was hiding behind. The crowd loudly cheered at this as without any points specifically put into his physical stats the beastking could actually be followed by every spectator as he closed the distance. Despite not getting a chance to look Richard wasn¡¯t oblivious to what his opponent was doing. He had spent years fighting monsters on Gryndor¡¯s untamed border and throughout all of that he had pushed any skill that heightened his senses, after all the most common monster found so close to the border was an ambusher. As soon as the beastkin was close enough Richard charged out, flaring his stamina charge skill as well as the enchantments on his gear as he rounded the tree where he found the mage chanting, he couldn¡¯t see the beastkin¡¯s mouth because of the faceguard he wore but he knew from the look in his eyes that he was in trouble. Richard instinctively raised his shield hoping to block as much of the spell that he knew was coming. It was the correct move as he felt a large impact put a dent in his shield. Despite not taking much direct damage from the attack thanks to his gear¡¯s enchantments Richard was still thrown back. Ajax watched the fight like a hawk. Every spell the beastkin threw Ajax was analyzing. Richard was holding up very well considering he had never lasted more than five minutes against Ajax in their first sparring round and the beastkin¡¯s spells hit harder than what Ajax usually threw around. Ajax was surprised by the breadth of spells the beastkin had at his disposal. Earth, water, fire, wind, ice and lightning all came out, not only that but he had two or three different spells for each element. Despite all this however Ajax knew that the beastkin only had the affinity for Earth mana as part of his skills. This explained how the beastkin moved so quickly on his feet as he was using a earth slide spell to increase his mobility as he pelted Richard with spells while still keeping outside the range of his longsword. ¡°Those movements seem odd.¡± Ajax mentioned as he watched the beastkin circle Richard while he constantly chanted out weak spells. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Both Benedict and Lexi were intrigued, though one sounded a lot more desperate than the other. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°More than once he used his earth movement spell despite having enough space and time to dodge the sword with his regular speed.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Not only that but it seems odd how wasteful he is with his Earth spell considering he has the Earth mana affinity.¡± ¡°Are you sure Earth is his affinity?¡± Lexi asked, she was also monitoring the spells and knew what inefficiency he was talking about. ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax affirmed. ¡°Feel how flexible his earth spells are compared to all the others after he finished his chant.¡± As Ajax was trying to help his girlfriend with her [Sense Mana] acuity, Anna frowned as she watched the fight. ¡°He¡¯s not using the earth spells to move around¡± She said. ¡°The movement component is there as a distraction. I can¡¯t tell what he is aiming for however.¡± Both Lexi and Ajax tried to overlay every single earth movement spell that was used in the fight to backtrack what it could all be for, they didn¡¯t get a chance to put any theories together as Benedict gripped his seat as he shouted at his cousin despite knowing all too well he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him. ¡°Get away from there!¡± Benedict called out, even while knowing that even if Richard realized the trap the beastkins attacks would make any attempt at retreat painful if not actually lethal. ¡° He¡¯s creating a massive pitfall.¡± Anna, Lexi and Ajax all felt their eyes widen at the revelation. With the answer in front of them all of the spells made perfect sense but it was too late for Richard. The beastkin¡¯s next earth spell put in three times as much mana, instead of move him away however the human felt the earth give way under his feet as fell towards pointy stone spikes. Despite perfectly springing his trap the beastkin even went the extra mile to launch a quick follow-up lightning attack, this made sure Richard would be briefly paralyzed with no hope of reacting to the perfectly executed combo. An instant before Richard was impaled on the stone spikes Ajax felt a strong windspell that had been charged and waiting in the background to be released. Both fighters were securely captured inside their respective wind spheres as they were taken out of the ring signifying RIchard¡¯s loss. Ajax wasn¡¯t happy with the result of the match but he did feel happy with Richard¡¯s performance. The physical fighter had been on the backfoot from the start, yet despite never managing to surprise the beastkin his defensive effort had allowed Ajax to get a very good look at his future competitions style and more importantly he got a decent idea about how the mage¡¯s stats were distributed across his Mind Intellect and Wisdom. The crowd was ecstatic. The whole fight lasted around five minutes, more than the four previous fights combined but it had been full of action from start to finish. With the tournament being hosted by the Republic it was clear that the beastkin was the crowd favorite. Despite all that Ajax did notice that the nobles of all three nations didn¡¯t see the fight as one sided as it appeared. All of them knew the situation favored the mage heavily and Richards performance marked him as someone to look out for in the future. ¡°He did well.¡± Ajax patted his friend on the shoulder, Benedict¡¯s eyes still trained on the tunnel Richard disappeared in after the wind orb pulled him out. The action seemed to reset Benedict as he got himself under control, the future heir of house Steelblade regained his composure. ¡°He did a lot better than I expected when it comes to his endurance and defense. I will see to it that he gets a lot more experience when it comes to strategy, he spent too long with only monsters for opponents.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the best way to grow in levels, besides constantly delving dungeons anyway.¡± Lexi said. ¡°He made great gains.¡± Benedict nodded. ¡°After the extra stat points from the dungeons we ran I think it¡¯s time he comes back home, he''ll join me in consolidating the gains I made in the academy.¡± As Ajax and his friends were chatting, the next match was being prepared. Ajax hoped to get just as much information on the ice princess in this next match as he did the beastkin but it seems that fate wasn¡¯t as kind to the human mage. The arena had reshaped into a snowy open field. As they entered the arena the mage frowned, Ajax even noticed slight shivers run up his arms and while most common spectators with a high enough Perception to catch them would assume they come from the cold Ajax knew the mage felt warm enough. The human was going into this fight afraid. Arianwyn imperiously entered the arena. She glided along the snowy field as the undisputed ruler of the cold. More than that Ajax noticed just how high quality her mage robes were as their enchantments were clearly trying to draw in power from the ice and snow surrounding her. ¡°This match will end quickly.¡± Ajax said with a sigh, he had deeply hoped someone would contradict his somewhat inappropriate statement. The silence that answered him felt like the final nail in the coffin. Chapter 326 The moment the match started both mages began their chanting. Seeing as this was the first chanter vs chanter match of the day it was a little anticlimactic as both fighters simply tensed up as they started their chants for the first few seconds of the match. Ajax could almost feel the excitement drain out of most commoners who were watching. Anyone who could sense the mana that was being focused in those chants was fully engaged. Ajax was surprised to see the human was the first to finish his chant, the moment he released his spell however the princess was already moving. She was slow, maybe fast compared to regular mages but after watching the beastkin Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel she would be too slow to dodge the incoming fireball. The fireball was halfway to its target when the elf finished chanting and an immense amount of mana was released. Ajax had initially thought she had a skill that allowed her to bluff the amount of mana she was conjuring but now there was no doubt. She had used almost as much mana as Ajax had in his entire mana pool to release a blizzard around the arena. ¡°[Ice Aspect Mana], [Snow Aspect Mana], [Water Aspect Mana] and [Wind Aspect Mana].¡± the king''s oldest son let out a low whistle. ¡°And to top it all off she has [Winter Domain] too.¡± ¡°What¡¯s [Winter Domain]?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°An Epic skill that allows you to maintain control of any Ice, Wind or Snow mana you release.¡± Lexi said. ¡°It¡¯s very rare since in order to develop a Domain type skill you not only need to spend absurd amounts of mana all at once but also possess at least three compatible mana aspects.¡± ¡°So she can basically use that to mimic my casting form without the power drawback?¡± Ajax asked more than a little peeved at the idea. ¡°No.¡± Lexi answered. ¡°It isn¡¯t you she is mimicking with the domain, it¡¯s the elven champion.¡± ¡°She must have some extreme level of concentration to keep that much mana under control.¡± The prince said. ¡°She is now probably going to be using one or two word spells and reinforce them with the mana she released.¡± Ajax watched as their predictions turned true. The princess followed up the initial mana release with a quick ice wall spell to protect herself from the roaring fireball. The wall was very thin for a split second as it appeared but the surrounding mana quickly poured in to thicken it to the point it could stand up to the fireball. Following the ice wall the princess started tossing one ice lance after another at the human mage. The poor mage in question had little choice but to bring up one small earth wall after another in order to protect himself. Fire was usually all but worthless on defense by itself so he was forced to go with a generic defense spell he had no affinity for. ¡°How much mana does she have?¡± Ajax muttered though quite a few people picked up on it. ¡°She has to have used more than five thousand mana already and she isn¡¯t heaving her lungs out.¡± ¡°All mages that unlock the domain skill are split into two types. The Mind - Intellect focus and the Mind - Wisdom focus.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°From the power I see in her spells I am guessing she is Mind - Intellect. I bet she¡¯ll be downing potions to get her reserves back in time for tomorrow¡¯s match.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°They all start out putting almost all their points into Mind.¡± Benedict continued, he was also familiar with the fighter type. ¡°Funnily enough by doing so they manage to achieve a decently close result to your child training method where they end up with significantly more stats since the rest of their attributes grow through the low levels without points for quite a long time.¡± The princess looked quite bored to Ajax now that she had set up the field. A few more ice lances later Benedict pointed out that she was throwing them in such a way that the earth walls her opponent used to block them ended up trapping him in one spot. The match then ended when she summoned an avalanche on top of his head as Ajax felt almost another thousand mana flow from the princess before it was increased by her [Winter Domain]. In what ended up as a rather big shock to Ajax the following match looked somewhat similar to this one. The moment the match started the elf started chanting a long spell before he released a large amount of fire looking to cover the arena. ¡°He has a Domain skill as well?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°That¡¯s not a Domain¡± Lexi said. ¡°This is the elves putting all their eggs in one basket.¡± Richard said from behind Ajax. The man had been assessed by the healers and returned near the end of the previous match. ¡°Both the other elves are there to see how their opponents react to her fighting style, just in case there is anything she needs to look out for.¡± The explanation made a lot of sense but Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad for the elf in question. The fire he released onto the field at the start of the match did nothing more than get the dwarf to repeatedly use a water rune on his gear that doused him and his surroundings in water. Not only was the initial spell all but useless now it also left the elf with next to mana as he scrounged up everything he had left and threw it at the dwarf. In terms of raw power it seems the elf was no slouch as Ajax could feel the fireball packed a serious punch. It was here that Ajax got a good look at the dwarf¡¯s defenses as multiple runes lit up. Ajax counted a water bolt, Ice shield and wind wall. The dwarf had to spend quite a bit more mana to neutralize the fire attack. That didn¡¯t matter however as the dwarf then showcased why people used runes as he struck back with three earth spikes in quick succession, even faster than the elven princess had managed to launch her ice ones. Much like the human mage the elven fire user was woefully lacking in terms of defense as he barely managed to deflect the first spear before the other two stuck him in the shoulder and hip. Unlike the high end tournament those wounds weren¡¯t enough to call an end to the match. The dwarf ended up sending a fourth spike that impaled him through the stomach before the match was finally called. As the arena started to reshape itself Ajax stood up and headed for the tunnels. ¡°I know you don¡¯t need it but good luck¡± Benedict said as he patted Ajax on the shoulder. ¡°Show them what Gryndor can really do.¡± Richard nodded to him. ¡°Be careful out there.¡± Lexi offered as she gave him a quick hug and a kiss before Ajax finally descended the stairs. ¡°He¡¯ll be alright.¡± Xavier tried to reassure the noble girl as she still looked in the direction her boyfriend had gone. ¡°Ha, only alright.¡± the prince laughed at the idea. ¡°I have to say this next match-up is the most skewed one out of your entire tournament.¡± ¡°They all have at least twenty levels up on him, how can you be so calm?¡± Lexi lashed out. ¡°Because his opponent will use up at least half his mana pool and all he will accomplish is to make Ajax stronger.¡± the prince grinned as he looked across to the elven seats. The prince didn¡¯t even plan to watch the match until he saw the expression on the elves'' faces once they realized what Ajax could do to the mana Domain their princess was so proud of. ¡°I know I can¡¯t call him my apprentice but he really seems to be following in my footsteps.¡± ¡°You can hardly look at it like that.¡± the crown prince countered his brother. ¡°You were giving it your all to create incidents that left foreign nobles gaping, he¡¯s not going out of his way.¡± ¡°End result will still be the same so it counts.¡± the prince said with a cheery voice. As odd as the argument seemed to be it did work in the sense that it put almost all of Lexi¡¯s worries to rest. Ajax was unaware of the discussion as he looked out at the open grassy space the arena had turned into from the exit of the tunnel. He finally placed his helmet on his head and took the first step onto the grass ready for the fight to come. Chapter 327 Arianwyn Sylvian P.O.V I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad as I watched Firandel lose. I knew I was our best chance to win this tournament but even so, him being forced into wasting so much of his mana just for my sake left a bad taste in my mouth.I hadn¡¯t really gotten to know him but he was friendly the few times we did talk. As I watched the arena take the form of an open grassland I felt a lot better about Elara¡¯s chances. Unlike Firandel, Elara was actively working towards forming a domain of her own, she might not have gotten to that point yet but with her Wind, Water and Lightning mana affinity skills she was all set to form [Storm Domain]. ¡°Have we found out anything about this Ajax?¡± I ask for what had to have been the fifth time today. ¡°Nothing more than what we knew before.¡± Aranor answers me. ¡°He has some capacity for magic, be that as a hybrid or an all out mage. He is barely above level fifty but he is around the same level of power as a level eighty elite. He has delved into at least nine dungeons, three of them being capital dungeons.¡± We knew the most barebone information. This upcoming fight was going to be eye opening but I simply felt bad sending Elara into it blind even if she should be on even footing at the very least. Both of them entered the arena. I recognised Elara¡¯s armor, her robes and staff all enchanted to provide different types of shields so she could focus on offense. She had more options than even I did when it came to offense as she used her wind for light slashing attack, her lightning for armor penetration and her water for control. Baron Ajax Hearthbound on the other side of the field was covered in a full suit of enchanted leather armor. Oddly enough the armor seemed at the same time too heavy for him and a perfect fit, his legs clearly straining too much for him to move into position. Why wouldn¡¯t they give him better armor even if only as a loan for the tournament? ¡°What can you see?¡± Father asked the royal treasurer. It was one of the few loopholes that could be used during the tournament. Having anyone use an inspection skill on the human would have caused a political shitstorm but there was nothing wrong with us inspecting the gear he was using. ¡°Enchanted leather. Good for level seventies I would guess, he is clearly some form of hybrid fighter. The gear looks too heavy for him but I can¡¯t be sure it¡¯s not an act.¡± the treasurer responded. ¡°The defensive enchantments seem focused on flat damage mitigation, I can¡¯t make anything else out past the privacy enchantments.¡± That is so contradictory, he is slow in his armor but it''s almost as if he is only worried about smaller hits. Does he really think he can dodge the stronger ones? Especially against a lightning user? The starting stone is tossed into the air and I see the human take an odd defensive stance. What could he be thinking showing that side profile while wielding a sword and a hammer. He should know he has a few moments at the start to close the distance while Elara releases her domain mimic. The stone lands on the grass and Elara begins her casting. I feel my eyelids pop however as the hammer and sword disappear into a spacial ring to be replaced by a bow and arrow. His stance makes a lot more sense now and it takes everything I have for my jaw not to drop as I feel him channel mana into the arrow before he releases it. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The arrow disappears from my sight the moment he releases it. ¡°Shadow mana.¡± Elara¡¯s father spits out while I see Elara¡¯s eyes widen for a moment as she loses sight of the arrow. It is only a moment later that I see the enchantment on her staff light up as the arrow slams into the shield that springs up. I have to give Elara credit, despite the surprise and despite the somewhat slow dash the human is making towards her she managed to keep her cool and maintain the chant perfectly. He isn¡¯t even halfway across the ring when she releases a decent amount of wind, lightning and water mana that spreads itself around the arena. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you do on the defensive.¡± I can hear a small amount of malevolence in Elara¡¯s father¡¯s voice. It is odd since the duke is usually a lot more composed but I can¡¯t say I blame him after that starting shadow arrow. The human is barely past the halfway mark as Elara finishes her second chant and I feel the wind mana circulate around the arena as it picks up speed, that leather won¡¯t be enough to stop those slashes, when it comes to Wind mana she has better control than I do. Looking at the human however I see him smirk as the spell starts, what could he be planning that wind covers a large area so he won¡¯t be able to simply dodge it like he would be able to with devastating lightning strike. The next moment however is when I feel something very bad is happening. Something is wrong with Elara¡¯s spells. I can feel the mana weakening, it''s happening uniformly all over the ring, her spells are gradually losing mana density and power but I don¡¯t feel anything interfering with it. Turning my eyes back to the human he is flying across the second half of the field. ¡°He was holding back¡± Elara¡¯s father growls in outrage. ¡°What a dirty trick, human¡¯s and their honorless fighting.¡± I don¡¯t agree with the racist part of his comment and while I agree with the strategy I don¡¯t think it belongs in a tournament for resources like this one. ¡°He wasn¡¯t holding back.¡± Aranor''s voice is frigid. Looking at him I see he isn¡¯t looking at the fight right now but across to Gryndor¡¯s royal family. ¡°How can you say he wasn¡¯t holding back when he just sped up like that!¡± Elana¡¯s father argues back. He hasn¡¯t taken his eyes off the fight and is too focused on it to pick up the oddities in Aranor¡¯s behavior. Looking at Gryndor¡¯s balcony however I can see their champion is looking straight towards us. The prince in fact seems to be staring Aranor straight in the eyes, but where I had seen a playful grin throughout the ball a few days ago there is now a smug challenging grin. ¡°Because he was always moving as fast as his body could.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°His body just got a boost in what it could do.¡± ¡°And how did he do that?¡± the duke asked with sarcasm. ¡°I would have felt a stamina boosting skill and he hasn¡¯t gathered any mana or taken any potion.¡± The human is now in range of Elara but she is clearly unsettled by whatever is weakening her spells, she quickly slams her staff into the ground and I can see all the remaining mana power the enchantment as a strong wild bubble forces the human to retreat for a moment. Even that bubble is weaker than it should be however. ¡°Because he is using Elara¡¯s mana for his power increase.¡± It takes me a moment to process what Aranor said but I feel my jaw drop as everything clicks in my mind. I am not the only one taken by surprise as I can see everyone else has a similar reaction as everyone in the privacy bubble slowly turns to look at Aranor, looks back at the human and then turns to look at Aranor again. Not everyone is showing the surprise on their faces as their social skills manage to suppress it but there are plenty of open mouths beside my own. A cold shiver descends down my spine as I look towards Gryndor¡¯s prince once more to find him openly laughing. He clearly knew about all of this and while he is polite enough not to point he was clearly looking forward to our realization of what the young Baron could do. Turning back to the fight I spot Elara finally managing to get a spell to connect with the human. The wind blade however is far too weak to leave more than a small scratch on the leather after the enchantments activate. Those enchantments make so much more sense to me now. ¡°How is he doing it?¡± My father asks as the human is closing in on Elara once more, not only that but I also feel him imbuing his weapons with two more mana types. More than that he is using two Epic types as Magma and Metal mana infuse each weapon. ¡°It¡¯s a Legendary skill.¡± Aranor whispers softly, yet all of us hear it all the same. ¡°It looks like their prince has taken up a disciple, another hybrid fighter that will surely surpass his master as a mage killer.¡± I can¡¯t help but agree with that description as I watch Elara flail about as not only her spells but even her enchantments fail her. The human however has no issue throwing magic around not only with his weapons but even freely channeling it through the earth at his feet. Schee. I hear Aranor¡¯s sword click from its sheath slightly as the fight is called. For a moment there the human had even been draining the protection spell but he quickly stopped once he realized what it was. Elara has a burnt and shattered elbow as the molten hammer had crushed it straight through her enchantment¡¯s protection before the fight was called. ¡°He¡¯s the real deal.¡± Father says as we all watch the young human walk away to the cheers of the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you know what you are up against Arianwyn.¡± I couldn¡¯t agree with him more, fighting him in the first round would have been devastating for me but at least now I can prepare. I look forward to returning the favor for my friend, before that however there is a beastkin I have to take down. Chapter 328 Ajax made sure to walk tall and show no weakness as he made his way out of the arena. From an outside perspective the fight would have looked totally dominated by him but Ajax was actively using his Light and Life mana to patch up the massive bruises that were extending on his arm and torso. Unlike the initial fire mage elf this storm wielder clearly knew what she was doing using the initially released mana to empower her follow up attacks. Despite Ajax draining some of their power and the enchantments taking a bite out of their damage Ajax was sure he would be sporting these bruises for a few hours if he wasn¡¯t heading to a healer right now. In the healing ward I could see my opponent getting patched up. Her arm was still bent at an unnatural angle but there was nothing the healer could do as they first had to remove the small crust of magma that had formed on her arm and ribs. ¡°What is he doing here?¡± an outraged elf came shouting from behind me, closely followed by the elven princess and their champion Aranor. ¡°Come here to gloat?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure what to do in this situation, his initial instinct was to defuse the situation even if it meant apologizing but he didn¡¯t need advanced social skills to know that showing any kind of weakness in front of the enraged elf would only escalate the situation. ¡°All contestants have to come here after the match.¡± Ajax replied slowly in a neutral tone. ¡°You better watch yourself you little ¡­¡± The outraged elf began but he never got to finish his sentence. ¡°Or what?¡± The king¡¯s eldest son had just shown up from the opposite end of the tunnels, not only that but he wasn¡¯t alone as both the leader of the first squad and Shadow were with him as they all stepped into the infirmary. The smug grin still on his face. ¡°What will you do?¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but notice that both the leader of the first squad and Aranor took on the same defeated and resigned expression, clearly it wasn¡¯t the first time either of them had to deal with the walking political disaster that was the prince. ¡°Let''s stop this pissing contest early.¡± Shadow took the middle ground before things could get any traction. ¡°You¡¯re no fun Shadow.¡± the prince complained with faux disappointment. While all this was going on the healer had finished healing Elara. ¡°You¡¯re done. I made sure there were no issues but like with all newly restored joints take it easy on that elbow for the next day or two.¡± Elara simply nodded at the healer as she got up off the table and the healer focused on Ajax. ¡°Anything wrong with you?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t want to mention anything but the leader of the first squad beat him to it. ¡°You can go ahead and show it, Ajax, both Aranor and Shadow got a good look at you taking those impacts, even if the rest haven¡¯t caught on they can just tell them.¡± While Shadow, the prince and Aranor were not surprised at the two massive bruises Ajax sported. Elara, her father and the princess were shocked to see them, before the elf could brag in any way about Ajax¡¯s wounds however the healer nipped that in the bud. ¡°Large but almost superficial bruising, whatever runes you are using must have spread the damage well over the area, I can heal these fully in a minute.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. While she had been present since the start princess Arianwyn didn¡¯t say a word in the entire discussion, she had been pleasantly surprised to see that the human prodigy wasn¡¯t the unwavering frontline anti-mage she had thought of him after she watched the match. ¡°Let¡¯s go darling, no need to stay here any longer.¡± Elara¡¯s father tried to lead her towards the door but to the surprise of the elves she didn¡¯t take a step as she focused on Ajax as he was getting healed. ¡°How much did you see?¡± Elara asked Ajax. The question confused most of the people in the room but it redoubled the grin on the prince¡¯s face. ¡°No it doesn¡¯t matter, I am out of the tournament, can you keep whatever you saw to yourself?¡± Unlike anything else about the duel only Elara and Ajax were actually aware of [Inspector¡¯s Eye] being used at the start of the match. Even then Elara was barely informed by her Uncommon [Privacy Veil] that an inspection skill tore right through her privacy and got a good look at her information, she didn¡¯t even know just how much he had gotten. ¡°Ajax you naughty boy, did you sneak a peek at the noble elf?¡± The prince was right back to his usual shenanigans but from the looks of it the leader of the first was considering joining the enraged elf in pummeling the upstart royal. ¡°We¡¯ll keep any of your status private enough.¡± The leader of the first squad quickly joined the conversation hoping to stop it from escalating but it was already too late. ¡°An inspection skill?!¡± The duke would usually have a much better handle on his emotions but the fight had opened the panel and the prince was pushing all the right buttons. ¡°We¡¯ll best make sure things are even on that front.¡± While the duke had a fairly level Epic inspection skill it was also one that was focused on items instead of people, this meant that he ran face first into [Enigma]. With the recent bottleneck the skill had broken through [Enigma] was stronger than ever so the duke barely managed to get Ajax¡¯s name, age and level before his skill was rebuffed along with a spike of pain. ¡°What?!¡± the duke muttered as he massaged the bridge of his nose. ¡°I apologize for the rude behavior, we¡¯d be happy to discuss recompense for this overstep after the tournament when tempers cool.¡± Aranor took control of the situation as he grabbed the duke and all but marched him out of the room. ¡°Have you lost it? Every spy worth a damn already knows the kid has [Enigma].¡± Ajax was sure the Aranor had meant for them to hear that and it gave him a much better impression of the stoic champion. It was moments later that his own healing was done and he joined the prince as they headed towards the king¡¯s balcony to enjoy the final tournament set to take place today. ¡°How was it?¡± the prince asked him, a lot of the provocation in his voice gone but not all of it. ¡°Easier than I expected in terms of strategy.¡± Ajax answered as he analyzed the fight. ¡°A lot harder when it came to the hits I took.¡± Ajax had been surprised just how much [Mana Syphon] and [Inspector¡¯s Eye] had thrown the elf off her battle plan, tactically he had been expecting the fight to go on longer than this and he was almost sure he¡¯d be forced to reveal more. In terms of pure power he was now sure he couldn¡¯t let the princess get a clean hit on him. Even with [Mana Syphon] as long as one of those ice lances was empowered by her domain it would be more than enough to pierce into him. Ajax spent the remainder of the afternoon enjoying the main tournament. Despite it being the least impactful one for him overall it was definitely the most interesting to watch. All of the participants were at a much higher level than him in terms of combat, not only that but their proficiency with their skills actually matched those of Shadow and the rest of the champions from the first tournament. More than that however without the massive stats and support skills Ajax got a much better look at how those skills had been developed. For most people this tournament still had people moving as a blur, the only difference was that it was a blur they could at least keep track of. More than that however the power level of the fighters was close enough that they would regularly deadlock. Each of the fights took at least fifteen minutes to conclude from start to finish and it had been a masterpiece of strategy and skill between each fighter. ¡°Ajax, would you be joining us for dinner?¡± the crown prince asked once they arrived back at the embassy. ¡°Fighting in the tournament is draining, brother, you should just let him go to sleep.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son just became Ajax¡¯s favorite person as he quickly pushed both him and Lexi towards his bedroom before quickly closing the hallway door behind them. The young couple didn¡¯t need more encouragement than that to turn in for the night. Chapter 329 Ajax woke up late the following morning as the sun was already bathing the entire room in sunlight through the window. Despite he had no desire to move Lexi who was still sleeping with her head on his chest. He let her have five extra minutes before he finally gently nudged her awake. ¡°Is it morning already?¡± She asked while yawning. ¡°I think we¡¯re already late.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°You can¡¯t be late today.¡± Despite the urgency in her words her tone and actions had her moving in slow motion as she got out of bed and Ajax did take the time to appreciate that sight before he followed her and quickly got washed and dressed. As he was heading downstairs Ajax couldn¡¯t help but think back a little on the small secret his inspection spell had found on Elara. It was the first time a person he was inspecting had a trait that ranked so highly. Witch Increases mana based curse skills limit by 40. Small increase in affinity and progression of mana based curse skills. Increases mana skills limit by 20. Minor increase in affinity and progression of mana skills. Increased bond affinity with felines and toads. The only traits that he saw which surpassed it in his opinion were Royal, increasing the limit of all skills by 50. And his own Divine Witness, which was head and shoulders above everything. Now Ajax hadn¡¯t seen so much as a spec of curse mana during their entire fight so he was guessing that she either didn¡¯t have any curse skills or that she might have picked up a few early in life for the experience and didn¡¯t push them much after that as she focused on her storm domain. The main theory right now was that she was focusing on removing curses, such skills would also benefit from her trait after all as they were curse skills. ¡°Good morning Ajax. Good morning Lexi.¡± Xavier greeted them as they joined the royal family for breakfast. Both Lexi and Ajax were a bit embarrassed at arriving late to breakfast together like this but they simply blushed slightly, nodded back in greeting and pushed through it. Breakfast was light since Ajax, the king¡¯s oldest son and the first squad captain would all have to fight today, not only that but all of their fights were going to be much harder than the first round had been. As they finished breakfast everyone left with the exception of Ajax, the king and the crown prince. ¡°You managed to find something damaging about Elara?¡± the king asked. Ajax was a little surprised that it was only the three of them here for this discussion, then again it was only concerning a young noble who won¡¯t be a concern for some time so it was best to limit access to this information as much as possible. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s damaging, but in the right circumstances it could provide a lot of distrust.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°She has the Witch trait.¡± Both the prince and the king were a little surprised at what the news turned out to be. ¡°A witch.¡± the prince started thinking out loud. ¡°There is almost no way that she managed to push her magic so much while also focusing on curses, at best she might have dabbled a bit and found it not to her liking or she focuses on dispelling curses.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Having so recently had their own issue with a rogue noble curse user they both knew that the trait wouldn¡¯t make that much of a stir, but the moment any curse related outbreak happened she would always be the first suspect and the one the common people would first focus on. ¡°Thank you for that.¡± the king said. ¡°Keep this confidential.¡± Ajax simply nodded and the three of them walked out of the room. Ajax went to grab his gear while the two royals went to make their own preparations for watching day two of the tournament. The small trip to the arena was a lot more somber today than it had been yesterday. Yesterday nobody had known who it was they would be fighting, today would see the prince fight Shadow, and the captain of the first squad fight Aranor. Both of them were going in as the underdogs. Ajax¡¯s match was actually the one where the people representing Gryndor had the best odds of winning. Seeing as how in the level one hundred tournament yesterday only one of their three representatives had managed to win and they would be fighting the old elf in their second round today. The biggest change could be seen in the king¡¯s oldest son. Gone was his careless attitude and gone were the jokes, he was now serious and marching with perfect posture towards the arena. He still sported a grin on his face but instead of the smug or teasing grin he usually had on this was one of excitement he barely ever showed as he knew he would be fighting a strong opponent. ¡°You got this uncle.¡± Xavier had caught on to the negative atmosphere but despite it he still pushed through it and continued to believe in his idol. The king¡¯s oldest son didn¡¯t answer the encouragement from his nephew with fake bravado, he knew most of all how the fight was most likely going to play out. ¡°It¡¯s going to be fun.¡± As everyone was entering the arena Ajax felt [Enigma] spring to life. He had been targeted by about ten very weak inspection skills. None of them had managed to even break Enigma¡¯s thin wall protecting his name, but that wasn¡¯t the point. Ajax knew that this was a warning sent by both the elves and the Republic about Ajax¡¯s own inspection skill and what he does with any information he gains on their next generation of elites. ¡°Should I not be using my inspection skill any further?¡± Ajax asked. He knew it was way too strong, he had gotten everything about Elara except her skill list in their previous match. ¡°You can keep using it.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°Just be sure that after the tournament is over you are willing to make a promise about disclosing any of the information you found out. That way if the information ever does leak they¡¯ll be forced to target our kingdom as a whole for retaliation and not just you.¡± ¡°May I have a word?¡± Elara¡¯s father the Duke intercepted Ajax before they all got to the Gryndor seats. Elara was also there as was Aranor. Seeing as how the oldest prince was going to be taking part in the first match the captain of the first squad looked questioningly towards his kings. At the king¡¯s nod he, Ajax and crown prince all moved to a more private location to the side. ¡°I would like to apologize about my behavior yesterday.¡± the duke started. ¡°I had gotten a bit emotional especially towards the end of the match. I would be in your debt Baron Hearthbound if you were to forgive me.¡± ¡°Your apology is accepted, Duke.¡± Ajax responded, he had already talked with people he trusted and all of them had told him not to make a big deal about the Duke¡¯s behavior and accept any apology gift he offers. A blank favor like this was on the high end of what they expected him to offer. ¡°Would you be willing to spar with me after the tournament?¡± Elara asked, much to the surprise of her father who was turning to walk away. ¡°I don¡¯t see how sparring against me would be beneficial to you.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind but my style is unique and almost a perfect counter to your own.¡± ¡°I want to experience your mana drain field again.¡± Elara confessed. ¡°I felt so close to gaining my domain as I was struggling to maintain control of the mana as you were drawing it.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t all that surprised to hear her reasoning. More than a few mages had expressed a small increase in their mana control skills for a short while as they adapted to fighting against [Mana Syphon]¡¯s constant pull. None of the mages had managed to even slow down the drain but they did succeed in keeping their spells stable as they were drained away. ¡°I would be willing to help¡­¡± Ajax left it open ended as he turned towards the crown prince just to see if there was anything the royal wanted to add. ¡°A few days of joint training between the promising youths that came here for the tournament would probably be the best way to do this.¡± the prince offered. ¡°I¡¯m sure they all have a lot to learn from one another.¡± The duke managed to keep his face neutral as he nodded to the prince¡¯s request before everyone went back to their seats. The arena was the same sloped mountainside Aranor had fought on the previous day, the only difference was the lack of snow. It seems that the arena was a lot more limited in terms of layout and it only tried to make up for it with different weather. Chapter 330 Ajax was excited about this match. Unlike the previous four matches this match and the following one would actually show how people at the highest level fought, sure the match would still be one sided but it was not too bad. As the two fighters took the field the situation seemed to be reversed. The prince was the one with a serious and focused expression while Shadow was sporting a confident smirk. Then the stone was tossed. Both of them had high enough Perception and experience to only glance at it before focusing on their opponent once more and flexing ready to move. The stone hit the rocky mountain face and splintered but nobody was giving it any attention. Shadow seemed to disperse like a mirage just like he did in his previous fight but the prince wouldn¡¯t stand for that. He blasted forwards leaving a trail of fire on the ground, at this speed Ajax could only keep up with him by focusing on his [Sense Mana] to know where to look. The movement spell wasn¡¯t the only one used by the prince however. A mini blizzard was released from his hand in a wide arc towards the area where the beastkin had started the fight. It was then that Ajax once more found where the beastkin was. It wasn¡¯t that he was good enough to see through the advanced stealth, nor was his perception high enough to tell where the artificial wind encountered an invisible obstacle. The way Ajax found Shadow¡¯s location was by focusing on the mana of the blizzard spell. The mana had an odd almost person shaped hole in it, he couldn¡¯t sense anything about any mana present there but there was no wind or ice mana there. Ajax was clearly not the only person able to lock on to Shadow¡¯s position as the prince course corrected his charge and headed straight for it. More fascinating to Ajax however was the fact that Shadow was somehow acclimating to the mana surrounding him as the person shaped spot slowly adjusted, Ajax was sure in a few moments there would be no mana irregularity. Ajax didn¡¯t get a chance to see that change as the prince was already on top of Shadow. An audible clash sounded out as the sword came down. Surprisingly however as Shadow once more came into view he wasn¡¯t standing upright. Instead he was doing a handstand with a shield attached to his legs that he used to redirect the prince¡¯s opening swing as he went for a slash of his own towards the prince¡¯s waist. Despite Ajax being very much taken aback by the odd stance the beastkin was in, the prince had no issue responding with a flying knee and a quick rune activation that released a strong wind blast. The attack wasn¡¯t directed but it was enough to create a bit of distance between the two. While the prince was looking to reset Shadow was very much on the attack. He gracefully backflipped away from the wind blast into a low crouch, his tail seeming to help with his balance. He quickly launched himself towards the prince. The prince was quick to swap out one of his two swords for a shield he quickly raised. Ajax could feel the runes all activating as the prince was forced into turtling as Shadow started to abuse his physical stat advantage. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he doing anything?¡± Xavier hadn¡¯t even realized the question slipped out as he watched with apprehension as his idol was put on the back foot. The prince was now simply reacting, the speed of runic magic was enough to let him keep up with the Shadow¡¯s high speed, not only that but he had the skill and experience to keep himself safe. That however wasn¡¯t enough to take the initiative in the fight once more. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°His spells aren¡¯t strong enough to make up for the difference in levels.¡± the captain of the first squad explained. ¡°Shadow has somewhere close to twenty levels up on him.¡± ¡°That much?¡± Even Ajax was surprised at the difference. ¡°The higher you get in levels the less a single level matters.¡± the captain explained. ¡°While this means that larger level gaps can be surpassed with skill it is not easy to do.¡± ¡°He¡¯s looking for an opening.¡± Ajax guessed. ¡°He¡¯ll stay on the defensive until he runs out of mana or he sees a reasonable chance to win the match.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± the captain agreed, slightly impressed with Ajax instincts for combat. ¡°If he ever was to fight Shadow like this outside the arena he would simply retreat, with nowhere to run however Shadow can just run him out of mana.¡± This was the disadvantage hybrid fighters faced, they didn¡¯t have the stats to keep up with physical fighters so if they couldn¡¯t use their magic to give them a good opening they would be crushed. On the flip side their magic also didn¡¯t pack the same power mages had to force a quick resolution. ¡°Is this what your fight will look like as well?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°No.¡± the captain responded. ¡°If I get that close to a chant mage the fight is over. This fight could last for a few more minutes, mine will be over in seconds. Either I can get close or he takes me out.¡± The prince was feeling the pressure. Shadow was renowned for his stealth but this battle was giving him a clear look at what made that stealth so good. The people in the stands probably couldn¡¯t realize this but Shadow¡¯s higher rarity skills didn¡¯t focus on wide range stealth, they focused on target stealth. The people watching from the stance, at least the ones who had enough stats in Perception and mind to follow the speed of the fight, had no problem following Shadow¡¯s moves. The prince however could barely keep track of him. Every time his shield blocked his direct line of sight it was like all his senses would lose track of the beastkin. Ajax was confused. For the past ten seconds Shadow had started to gather the small reserves of mana he had but the prince wasn¡¯t reacting to it in any way. Ajax didn¡¯t know that the prince¡¯s sensory skills were being crushed by the beastkin¡¯s Legendary skill. ¡°Now¡¯s his chance.¡± Ajax said, even if he logically knew the outcome of the match he couldn¡¯t help but get a bit emotionally invested in the prince¡¯s victory after the number of times the man had helped him with his training over the years. ¡°Why is he not going for it?¡± ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t see it coming.¡± the king answered with a resigned sigh. ¡°Could you do anything about him?¡± The question was for the captain of the first. ¡°I don¡¯t have a way to force him out of [Camouflage].¡± the captain answered. ¡°If I was in the prince¡¯s spot this instant I would be able to not just keep up with him physically but even push him back and beat him. From the start of the match however I wouldn¡¯t see him, he would keep ambushing me then running away until I was sufficiently weakened.¡± Shadow had finished chanting his spell. Ajax could feel how the mana stopped gathering around Shadow, worse yet it was shadow aspect mana he was feeling and he wasn¡¯t evening trying to hide it since the prince couldn¡¯t use his [Sense Mana] on Shadow at all. Ajax was deeply focused on the shadows to see if they moved in any strange way. For a moment there Shadow backed off and the prince took his chance. Multiple runes were lighting up in quick succession. Ajax could feel fire, wind and earth coming but he couldn¡¯t help but grimace as he saw the shadows of both fighters deepen slightly before they moved and connected. A large blast shot out of the prince¡¯s shield targeting Shadow¡¯s arms and a few stone spikes emerged going for his legs. Unfortunately for the prince Shadow was no longer there as he teleported behind the prince, his swords swinging towards the joints. The prince¡¯s armor had no enchantments but it seems that whatever he was wearing underneath did. Ajax could feel a small shield pop into place but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop the swing from someone of Shadow¡¯s caliber. The prince had half his shoulder cut through as well as a quick slice to the back of the knees that ended the fight. Healers were quickly in motion moving to help the fallen combatant but from the look on the prince¡¯s face after he took off his helmet with his good hand he wasn¡¯t so worried about the pain. Instead it looked more like he was upset that he fell for Shadow¡¯s trap. ¡°He lost¡­¡± Xavier had gone through an emotional rollercoaster in the last moments. He had thought his idol was about to catch a break and change the momentum of the fight, he even saw the powerful magic attack launch. All for it to end with Shadow only carrying a few scratches on his legs from where the stone spikes started to pierce. Chapter 331 The fighters left the arena quickly and the change in setting for the next fight began. Xavier was still staring at the arena with a blank gaze as the open gladiator sandpit took the place of the mountain landscape. ¡°Don¡¯t be disheartened.¡± the king called out to his grandson as he patted him on the shoulder. ¡°It was an expected outcome. In true combat your uncle would always be able to retreat instead of getting pinned down like that.¡± Xavier seemed to perk up at the words, determined to grow stronger replacing the blank hopelessness that had been there before. Ajax chose not to mention that in a real fight Shadow could also get the drop on anyone participating in this tournament and stand a good chance to actually assassinate them. Aranor and the captain of the first squad both took to the sands quickly. Unlike the first match he fought, the captain was actually sporting a tower shield alongside his spear, showing the increased need for defensive capabilities. The moment the stone hit the group the captain charged. Arnor also wasted no time as he started chanting. The spearman was halfway to the mage when the ice lance was thrown. Ajax knew just how much power those things packed from the amount of mana he felt went into it. What Ajax hadn¡¯t expected was for the captain to toss his shield at the ice lance. Enchantments activating midair as the shield knocked the spell off target. For the first time this tournament it became relevant that the entire arena was surrounded by protective shielding. Both the shield and the ice lance smashed into the barrier with extreme force following their collision, the ice lance even leaving a few cracks around the point of impact. Ajax had no time to marvel at the power of the spell however as the mage was almost in striking range of the spear. The captain however wasn¡¯t the only one with enchanted gear. For the first time Ajax saw an enchantment structure that was large enough to encompass not just the entire surface of the staff but also a full sleeve of the robe the mage wore. As the elf activated the enchantment and slammed the staff onto the sand at his feet a tornado formed around him. The powerful wind not just knocked away the spear but even lifted the captain off his feet and threw him thirty feet. The captain adapted quickly to his change in momentum as a backflip had him landing on bent knees ready to spring towards the mage. All of it was a little too late however as the mage had time to chant throughout all of this. The renewed spear charge was met by a powerful bolt of lightning. The enchantments on the captain''s armor were strong enough to disperse a lot of the force that hit him in the center of his chest but the attack still threw him to the edge of the arena. From there the fight was all but over. It took five more ice lances before the captain was defeated however he didn¡¯t get a chance to close the gap again. Ajax had to admit that Aranor¡¯s ability to control ice even after finishing the chant was something scary. Ajax was pretty sure he didn¡¯t have the same level of control over his own spells once they got that far from him and from what he saw of the spell none of it came from the innate chant. His skill level with [Ice Aspect Mana] had to be above 100. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± Lexi protested as the members of the first squad all threw glances her way. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even born when grandpa sold him that ice lance spell.¡± Ajax now realized why his girlfriend was feeling self conscious so he leaned into her as he gave her a supportive side hug. ¡°Nobody blames.¡± Ajax meant the words to be comforting but he wasn¡¯t sure his tone had managed to convey that after seeing some of the glances. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°A lot of the morale is riding on you now Ajax.¡± the crown prince said as they all watched the sandpit turn into a sparse forest. ¡°We lost both fights, Gryndor doesn¡¯t have a representative in this next one so you¡¯ll be up next.¡± Ajax nodded in reply. With both the princess and the beastkin entering the arena Ajax was once again focused on the fight happening in front of him. He didn¡¯t want to miss anything as the winner of this match was the person who will be waiting for him in the finals. ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°The beastkin will win it.¡± The king¡¯s oldest son had been released by the healers and he had already changed and made his way here. His relaxed attitude was back, from all appearances it looked like Xavier took his loss harder than he did. ¡°He got a good look at her Domain in the first match, I think he¡¯ll be ready.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure.¡± the king answered. ¡°Mages already have an advantage this early and inside the arena the Domain leans into that a lot more, he¡¯s not a physical fighter who could try to outlast her.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to outlast her.¡± the prince said as the tossed stone was falling towards the ground. ¡°They might both be mages and her elven physique might let her keep up with him in terms of speed but he still far outclasses her in terms of strength.¡± The prince finished his words just as the stone landed and while both mages had already started chanting the beastkin started a quick dash towards the elf. Ajax was curious what type of spell he would use for his opening attack. Everyone already knew what the princess was going to open up with. As the beastkin finishes his chant six fireballs sprung into existence around him, one of them headed straight for the princess while the other five seemed to surround his right hand. ¡°Not a bad choice.¡± the king commented as he watched. ¡°He is giving himself a way to put her under pressure while also weakening her domain around her position.¡± Ajax hadn¡¯t had time to do any deep research into domains just yet so he didn¡¯t know how that would work, thankfully Lexi was there to explain it for him. ¡°That fire spell will let him start to chant his follow up spell while he slowly launches the remaining five fireballs.¡± Lexi said. ¡°The spell isn¡¯t very powerful in terms of output but it is one all fire mages want since after the initial attack the remaining five fireballs have their trajectory dictated by the throwing motion made.¡± Her statement was being proven true by Anna who had her eyes fixed on the five rotating fireballs. ¡°The fire mana from the explosion of the attack would also weaken her winter domain, it will be quickly suppressed but every little bit helps.¡± As she said that the first fireball exploded against the enchanted shields of the princess, the attack wasn¡¯t strong enough to push through the shields but she did feel an increase in temperature. What Lexi didn¡¯t mention was that her grandfather was also slightly obsessed with the spell. Not because he wanted to use it for himself like the fire mages, however, the reason he wanted the spell was because he wanted to work out which part of the chant was responsible for linking the arm movement with the subsequent attacks. The princess wasn¡¯t foolish and she had also started moving away from her initial starting position all while chanting. The second fireball had already landed and the third was in the air as she finally unleashed her domain. Just like the first time he saw it Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by the winter domain. The large amount of mana that was at the same time released into the surrounding yet still connected to the will of the caster was something to see. More than that the domain also granted the princess passive increased defense. Ajax could see how the domain actively fought against the earth spell the beastkin had cast. The ground around the princesses feet wanted to turn into a wet sloshing mud yet the presence of the domain weakened that. ¡°Even with the spell weakened he¡¯s going to catch up to her quickly.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son grinned as his prediction was getting closer to becoming reality. As the princess threw her first offensive spell of the match she quickly found it intercepted by all three remaining fireballs. It wasn¡¯t enough to match the domain infused spell but it did weaken it enough that the beastkin¡¯s own defensive enchantments were able to tank the rest. As the distance between the two of them dwindled to a mere six feet the beastkin proved his preparation for the match. Both of them used a wind spell, but where the princess was looking to create distance and throw her opponent away the beastkin had launched a spell specifically to counteract another wind spell. The princess¡¯s spell was empowered by her domain however the beastkin had enough time to chant a powerful enough spell to match her. It was all over now, neither had enough time to cast anything else and once the beastkin physically got his hands on the elf he could ensure she didn''t get a chance to chant anything else. So why was Ajax feeling like it wasn¡¯t over and what was the odd mana he was feeling being channeled? Chapter 332 Ajax didn¡¯t know why the mana he was sensing felt so odd. It was clearly an affinity he hadn¡¯t felt before but neither fighter had the time to chant anything, more than that however the mana wasn¡¯t a rigid spell the way enchantments activated either. ¡°Seriously?¡± the king¡¯s oldest son sounded a little shocked, he had figured out what was going on, Ajax wouldn¡¯t have the time to put the pieces together before the reveal. The leather belt that was securing the princess¡¯s robes turned out not to be a belt at all. As the snake wriggled loose and launched itself towards the beastkin it started to grow mid leap, the original two foot long snake was visibly growing. ¡°She has a bond?¡± Lexi quickly put together why the officials hadn¡¯t interfered. ¡°She has a sizing python?¡± Anna was a lot more composed but she hadn¡¯t expected the surprise either. To his credit the beastkin did well reacting to the bond joining the fight from such a close range, he had managed to dodge the bite by twisting his body out of the way. Unfortunately for him however the snake went from two feet long and the girth of a baseball bat to triple that in the space of the jump, making the follow up tail strike to the stomach break through the enchantments and knock the beastkin away. ¡°What the fuck is a sizing python?¡± Ajax asked, it was hard for him not to break the rules and use his inspection skill on the bond. ¡°An extremely rare creature.¡± Anna began to explain as the snake continued to grow at the princess¡¯s feet. ¡°Almost impossible to bond unless the bond is formed as the snake is born, not only that but they have a slow initial growth period for the first two years where they require high amounts of mana rich food.¡± ¡°They make up for it with a very quick increase in power during their adolescence.¡± the prince continued, not taking his eyes off the fight. ¡°This one here is at about halfway mark, I¡¯d guess a little lower than level seventy.¡± ¡°That must be why she wasn¡¯t openly flaunting it.¡± Ajax thought aloud. ¡°The snake by itself is very vulnerable to the other contestants.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the biggest reason.¡± Anna corrected him. ¡°While sizing pythons do have great control over their mana their core is also very specialized. In exchange for that power the snake gives up on most of the innate benefits monsters gain from mana cores, like shoring up elemental weaknesses.¡± The beastkin was already back on his feet and chanting but so was the princess, not only that but she had actually started chanting before him, with the quicker chant and the power of her domain it was looking like the match just swung in her favor. ¡°You mean her snake is affected by the winter domain?¡± Ajax asked as the princess unleashed a small avalanche that forced the beastkin to retreat further. ¡°Until she has better control over her domain, yes.¡± the prince answered. ¡°So what can that snake do besides grow?¡± Ajax asked as the snake was now fifty feet long and coiled defensively around the princess. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°It can shrink.¡± The prince answered. ¡°Hiding away as a belt was most likely as small as it can get.¡± ¡°When the snake grows it¡¯s mana core focuses on reinforcing the body, making it a lot stronger and sturdier.¡± Anna continued the explanation. ¡°When it shrinks the mana is mostly focused on empowering its venom. From there the fight quickly shifted further and further into the princess¡¯s favor as she used her spells power and quick chanting to slowly corner the beastkin until she landed a devastating ice lance to his liver ending the match. The crowd went wild as the two fighters left the arena, the snake had shrunk down but only until it was ten feet long, it remained fully visible as it coiled around the princess as she returned to her seat in the stands. Much as he wanted to ponder on those revelations Ajax pushed everything to the back of his mind as he started making his way down to the arena, he had his own fight now against a powerful rune mage. As he stepped into the arena Ajax silently cursed as he saw the gladiator sandpit be the layout. As much as he didn¡¯t want to stereotype people it was simply a fact that the dwarf was naturally inclined towards earth magic, so giving him access to sand without grass or trees on top of it was to his advantage. ¡°They look so odd facing off against each other.¡± The king¡¯s oldest son couldn¡¯t help but laugh as he looked at the two fighters. Ajax was two feet taller than the dwarf yet he was fully geared in leather, the dwarf on the other hand was bulked up in thick plate armor covered in runes. As the starting stone hit the group the oddness of the match really showed. While Ajax was the hybrid fighter who would usually look to close up on a mage he simply took out his bow and began aiming. The dwarf on the other hand started pumping his short legs looking to close the distance. ¡°Why is he trying to get close to Ajax?¡± Xavier sounded surprised. ¡°Rune mages cast spells a lot faster than chanters.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son replied. ¡°If he closes the distance he will limit how much Ajax can weaken his spells.¡± Ajax was very tempted to put an end to the fight early by firing a void mana infused arrow, Against such a heavy defense something like that would guarantee him a win but Ajax wanted to keep that up his sleeve for the finals. Not only that but a well placed Void arrow stood a good chance at actually killing the dwarf as he had no physical stats to endure the blow. The first arrow Ajax shot bounced harmlessly against the wind shield the dwarf created. Ajax hadn¡¯t even empowered his physical stats with [Mana Syphon] before shooting it. The moment the dwarf activated his wind wall however Ajax started draining it. Looking to conserve as much mana as possible the dwarf lowered his wind wall as soon as the arrow stopped. What he didn¡¯t expect was for the arrow he was stepping over to suddenly detonate, soaking him in water while also tripping him. ¡°Why would he bother with that?¡± Anna asked, confused. ¡°To make him mad.He wants him as enraged as possible so he won¡¯t notice it coming.¡± Lexi answered. ¡°That and water makes using lightning a lot easier.¡± ¡°Wait, he wants to do that?¡± the king turned shocked towards Lexi. He hadn¡¯t expected Ajax would show off his magnetic mana discovery so publicly while using the dwarfs high quality metal armor in the process. The second arrow Ajax shot bounced off the wind wall the same as his first. The dwarf however didn¡¯t get a chance to prevent his earlier mistake as the arrow released a burst of water while it was still falling to the ground. This sent a wave of water directly through the slits in his helmet. Much like Ajax had hoped the dwarf had gotten quite angry by this point after two attacks that on the surface seemed like nothing more than a joke. At last however he had managed to get close enough to Ajax that he could start using his runic weapons. Unlike chanters a runic mage is actually a lot deadlier in close combat compared to at range. The runes inscribed on their swords, axes or hammers are fully specialized to increase the power of an attack with almost no control since the target is the point of impact. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± the king¡¯s oldest son felt a little self conscious as he watched the dwarf pull out a rather large one handed hammer out of his spacial ring. He was reliving a memorable spar against Ajax where he had agreed to limit his power, he had a feeling the dwarf was about to do the same thing he had done. As soon as the dwarf started the motion for his swing Ajax quickly withdrew his bow and arrow and focused on releasing two spells. While his spells were weaker they were just as fast as the runic ones which meant that his magnetic bolt and lightning bolt quickly made contact with the dwarf. The dwarf hadn¡¯t expected Ajax to free cast magic, the wind wall shield he brought up did almost nothing as the lightning and magnetic mana passed straight through and both hit his non-dominant arm. The lightning bolt wasn¡¯t all that strong, barely managing to cause a small jerk in half the dwarf¡¯s body making him turn at an unnatural angle. That odd pivot added to the magnetic bolt that hit him however was enough to bring the hammer swing back into his own body. The impact launched the dwarf backwards as he felt the bone in his non dominant arm snap from the blow. Chapter 333 The reveal of a new mana aspect might not have been that impactful to the dwarf who was now trying to recover from his own blow, the same couldn¡¯t be said of the numerous people who were watching the fight. ¡°What was that?¡±Arianwyn asked as she tried to comprehend what happened. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Aranor said, surprising the princess. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt a humanoid use that mana type before.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve seen it somewhere else?¡± the king asked. ¡°Only inside the dungeon, even then it is extremely rare.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°The mana affects metals, sometimes drawing them towards it, sometimes pushing them away.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t let the opportunity in front of him slip, with the dwarf on the ground from his own strike Ajax was quick to launch a follow up attack. Ideally he would land a decisive blow from close range but despite the hit he¡¯d taken Ajax wasn¡¯t yet comfortable being anywhere near the dwarf and his runes. Ajax decided to attack with more direct magic. Creating his best Darth Sidious impersonation, Ajax launched a stream of lightning from both arms towards the dwarf. Despite the attack looking dangerous Ajax intent had nothing to do with actually harming the dwarf, instead he used his full focus on getting the lightning to circulate through the dwarf¡¯s armor as quickly as possible. The dwarf was quick to react to his new circumstance. Even without seeing the new lightning attack coming at him he quickly activated his last line of defense. A shield made of unaspected mana formed around his flesh, the shield was very durable however its efficiency was rock bottom. The moment Ajax felt the shield snap into place he started his [Mana Syphon] once more. In the heat of the battle Ajax was actually hoping the dwarf wouldn¡¯t realize how little damage the lightning was actually doing thanks to the additional drain of his Legendary skill. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he standing up?¡± Xavier asked confused as he looked at the dwarf waddle around on the ground. ¡°Because his balance and movements are all thrown off.¡± the prince replied with a predatory grin as he looked at the struggling dwarf. ¡°His shield might be protecting him from the lightning¡¯s muscle spasms but Ajax just made his entire set of armor attracted to itself. Not only that but the force of attraction isn¡¯t constant, the closer two pieces are together the stronger the pull.¡± This technique had taken Ajax two years before he was confident in using it against a live opponent. The whole reason why Ajax wanted to get the dwarf soaked was so that he could fire off multiple chains of lightning, turning each individual piece of armor struck into its own magnet as opposed to the entire armor set becoming a giant magnet. On the upside despite the extreme concentration required the mana cost was not that exorbitant. ¡°That is really impressive, or maybe it¡¯s a trick¡­¡± Aranor mumbled as he took in the odd scene. ¡°What trick?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°It seems like he is holding up ten different spells at once.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°Five separate bolts of lightning and using that odd mana type on five different pieces of armor, perhaps he needs the lightning there to be able to use the new mana type?¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ajax didn¡¯t know it but by using lightning in combination with magnetic mana for the first attack had actually given all the high level mages watching him the idea that lightning mana was required in order for magnetic mana to activate. It took the dwarf almost an entire minute before he was able to finally get back on his feet. For the first time since the start of the tournament the common people had actually gotten a little bored of one of the fights. SInce almost all of them couldn¡¯t properly analyze what was happening between the two fighters, all they had seen for the last minute was a mage trying to break a shield with lightning. For his part Ajax was more than happy with the result. As he saw the dwarf finally gain some stability on his feet he simply took a few steps back to give himself more time as he continued releasing his lightning. By this point he had burned through half his mana pool but he was finally ready to meet the dwarf head on in melee combat. The dwarf slowly approached with careful steps moving only slightly faster than Ajax who was slowly back away. As soon as there was only three feet between them however Ajax dropped his lightning spell and quickly pulled out his axe and his shield. Much as he preferred his aggressive dual wielding style, not using a shield here would have taken much of a risk. Even as he was expecting it the dwarf was still caught on the backfoot by the sudden change. That split second it took him to adjust from the presence of magnetic mana back to normal was enough to force him on the defensive as Ajax began swinging his heavy axe infused with Magma. Now just because both fighters had started fighting within arms reach of each other didn¡¯t mean that any of their blows actually connected. If it ever came down to a contest of physical strength Ajax empowered by his [Mana Syphon] would see the dwarven mage squashed in less than a second. Each swing of the axe did however land heavily on the shields the dwarf was generating. It was here that Ajax found himself on the backfoot for the first time in this fight. Despite his prodigious talent Ajax had almost no experience fighting a rune mage in close combat, his only sparring partner being a prince more than three times his level. The dwarf on the other hand had faced plenty of hybrid close ranged fighters, even if they used runes instead of Ajax¡¯s more unique casting methods. Exchange after exchange Ajax was slowly being caught scuffed more and more, either by the swing of the hammer or by the edge of a spell, it was nothing all that serious his enchantments being enough to weaken the glancing blows to something that his healing could manage but Ajax was being pushed back. A minute of constant clashing was all it took for Ajax to finally make a big mistake and give the dwarf an opening. The dwarf didn¡¯t hesitate, he saw the opening and went for a match ending blow. As the mana channeled through the rune on his right gauntlet the dwarf hadn¡¯t expected for the metal to shatter. The metal had been severely weakened during the minute that Ajax had spent channeling his lightning into it, all it had taken was for the rune to be pushed with a bit of mana for a larger blow for the armor to break. This came as a surprise to everyone, even to Ajax, but while it was still surprising that it happened now it was something he was expecting to happen. The situation had flipped on its head from Ajax being vulnerable to him gaining a massive advantage, one he didn¡¯t waste as he pushed himself to land a deep cut down the now exposed arm of the dwarf. ¡°It ain¡¯t over yet.¡± The dwarf growled as he saw Ajax¡¯s victorious smirk bloom on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say but it is.¡± Ajax responded as he relaxed his combat stance in order to bring up his arm and release a wave of Holy mana. For the second time in this match the dwarf dropped to the floor. Whereas the first time was from his own blow he now crumbled due to the excruciating pain that radiated from the cut on his arm. ¡°He¡¯s a curse mage?¡± the elven king scowled as he took in the scene. ¡°Not a mage.¡± Aranor''s voice was soft, the complete opposite to the deep frown as he took in the end of the match. ¡°He generated the curse mana from his Stamina.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more interested in why the dwarf¡¯s armor shattered.¡± one of the elven royal guards spoke. ¡°There is no way it was in anything other than peak condition before the match started, for it to have a critical failure like that is absurd.¡± ¡°He caused it.¡± Arianwyn said, her eyes still wide open in surprise as she saw the match end with Ajax placing his axe to the throat of the dwarf. ¡°He didn¡¯t know when it would happen but he was expecting the armor to shatter. It¡¯s why he reacted so fast when it did.¡± ¡°It would seem so.¡± the elven king nodded as he processed his daughter¡¯s words. ¡°We will have to visit Gryndor for dinner tonight, too many odd things have happened in this fight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t be the only ones there.¡± Aranor said as he watched the dwarven member of the Republic¡¯s Council send a messenger to Gryndor¡¯s king. Chapter 334 Ajax was tired as he moved to exit the arena. Despite being the more heavily injured of the two fighters the healers weren¡¯t prioritizing him. Ajax didn¡¯t know if this was favoritism because he was one of the Republics champions, because he was the loser of the fight, or just because he experienced excruciating pain tear through his body towards the end of the fight. It wasn¡¯t long until the healers agreed that there was nothing they could do for the dwarf other than let him try and process the pain he had felt and they all moved to patch Ajax up. ¡°What are you doing to help us along?¡± one of the healers asked as they were almost finished with his injuries. ¡°It¡¯s like I hardly need to focus and my healing spells go right where they should.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be keeping that to himself.¡± the crown prince said as he arrived at the healing quarters, half of the members of the first squad behind him. ¡°You alright, kid?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ajax responded, normally he¡¯d be a bit peeved at still being called a kid but the crown prince was older than four hundred years old so he more than qualified as a kid in his eyes. ¡°Got a killer headache.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± the healers asked as they moved to try and inspect him. ¡°Because there¡¯s nothing you can do about it.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°It¡¯s self-inflicted by overuse of complicated spells.¡± All of the healers winced at that. Focus headaches passed a lot quicker than low mana headaches and most casters weren¡¯t familiar with them as most spells didn¡¯t require that much focus. Any healer however was more than familiar with focus headaches and every one of them knew the only thing worse than a focus headache was to have both a low mana and a focus headache at the same time. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Ajax asked after they left the healing ward. ¡°You just relax for now.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°Best to go over the shitstorm you caused once you have a clear head.¡± Ajax returned to the royal seating to thunderous cheers. Everyone was content to let him relax for a while as they prepared for the final tournament. For the first time since the start of the tournament Ajax was actually going to watch the remaining fights as a normal spectator. With his headache there was no point in trying to break down the fight using his mana sense in search of any small bit of insight. ¡°How are you?¡± Lexi whispered to him as she pulled harder into the hug. ¡°I¡¯m just fine.¡± Ajax tried to assure her but they both knew that last fight had been very close, if the dwarf¡¯s armor would have held up to the pressure the rune output the match could have ended very differently. By the end of the day Ajax was the final representative Gryndor had in the tournament. In the end the finals would be elf versus beastkin, elf versus human and elf versus dwarf. The old elf was a wonder to behold, Ajax was honestly shocked how he had managed to get so good when he focused solely on wind magic. ¡°Are you better now?¡± Lexi asked as she tried her best to get Ajax to lean on her as they walked back. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Just a little tired¡± Ajax said as his stomach rebelled and decided to inform everyone that he was also in need of maintenance. ¡°A bit hungry as well.¡± ¡°Sorry to say this but you won¡¯t get to pull your disappearing act again tonight.¡± The king burst Ajax¡¯s bubble. ¡°Why not?¡± it took everything in his power to get the question to come out without sounding like a whimper. ¡°More than a few people have questions after what you pulled off in the arena today.¡± the king said. ¡°We might have been able to postpone the magnetic mana until after the tournament but since you also showed your [Cursed Slash] they focused on that to get at least a small glimpse tonight over dinner.¡± ¡°How could they do that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I thought there was nothing wrong with Stamina based curse attacks.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± the crown prince confirmed. ¡°But you¡¯re the first hybrid fighter to ever gain a stamina based curse skill, most other hybrids or mages just focus too much on magic for that to happen.¡± This was why Ajax hated politics. Everyone who was important knew that Ajax hadn¡¯t used something that was over the line. His situation could be used to make it look like he could have access to something that was forbidden and they used that as leverage. ¡°What¡¯s the plan for tonight?¡± Ajax asked with a defeated sigh. The king actually deferred to the crown prince for this one. This meeting was something that would most likely not affect anything in the short term so as future king it was up to him how he wanted to play this. ¡°I was actually thinking of revealing some of the facts about your specific training method.¡± the crown prince revealed. ¡°What?¡± Both Ajax and the king turned in surprise to look at the crown prince. ¡°I have to say that your training method managed to both overperform and underperform what I expected from it when I first heard about it.¡± the crown prince confessed. ¡°How could it do both?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You were the initial end result, the only end result we had seen until two years ago when the first people who followed in your footsteps spent their free stat points.¡± the crown prince confessed. ¡°The increase in power is significant, easily five levels worth of stats even in some of the worst cases, but nothing like the increase you¡¯ve shown.¡± ¡°Okay, so if that¡¯s where it underperformed, where did it overperform?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That was with the fact that anyone who tried got results.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°I was expecting it to work on one in five people, maybe one in four and one in three when it came to nobility. Yes the results varied on effort but all but the laziest of people got to reap the main chunk of the reward.¡± ¡°So if it¡¯s so good then why are you going to reveal it?¡± Ajax tilted his head questioningly. ¡°Because it¡¯s going to get out, so we might as well choose how it does and profit from it.¡± the crown prince explained. ¡°Every single child born into nobility has access to your method by now, there is no way it won¡¯t leak in the next year or so. But if we release it to everyone now every other nation will have a big problem that we don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You want them worried about rebellions.¡± Anna spoke up as she looked towards the crown prince. ¡°Our noble lines have all had years to get ahead of the commoners'' talents who would come after. You let everyone know how it¡¯s done now we¡¯d still have a group of nobles older than the commoners who will keep their lead enough to curtail any revolt. Everyone else however will have to put in a lot of effort to make sure there won¡¯t be an uprising in a century or two.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be very long, about a decade at most but it should keep their focus away from you.¡± the crown prince nodded to Ajax. ¡°You were planning on heading outside the kingdom after your delve in the Empire, that should ensure the big players aren¡¯t too focused on you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re planning on going on an expedition?¡± Lexi asked him, a pang of regret in her voice as she knew she couldn¡¯t join him. The next decade would be essential for her to set her foundations by learning and mastering as many of her grandfather¡¯s spells as she could, sure she could postpone all that but it would simply continue to grow the gulf of power between her and Ajax. ¡°I want to try for a bond of my own.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°There is nothing inside the kingdoms that is a strong enough variant to bond with me, my only chance would be to hope for an egg to drop in a dungeon, that¡¯s not even to mention the gains I could make by delving dungeons that are spread outside any kingdom¡¯s borders.¡± What Ajax didn¡¯t mention was how he knew that all the ruins he saw as landmarks on the maps he studied during his time at the academy came from a humanoid empire. The royals of the nation seemed to be under the impression that the humanoid kingdoms were slowly expanding. While that was technically true, what they didn¡¯t know was that their empires were pushed back millennia of development every time a ruler decided to challenge one of the superior races and give it justification to strike back at humanity. ¡°Who are you expecting to come tonight?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Three members of the Council, the elven royal family, and a few dukes from both countries.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son flippantly said with a sadistic smile as he watched Ajax take a mental blow after each mention. ¡°We managed to exclude Archduke Goldenmouth, if that is any reassurance.¡± the king offered, and as much as Ajax didn¡¯t want to admit it the words were like a security blanket to him. Chapter 335 Arianwyn Sylvian P.O.V There was a lot I didn¡¯t understand about the human champion called Ajax Hearthbound his Legendary skill was unlike anything I had ever seen, his way of casting was a passing curiosity but even combined it didn¡¯t seem like it would be something I would need to worry about for this tournament. All of that changed in his last fight, the reveal of an unusual mana type we had little to no knowledge of was already troubling even with the diminished effect it would have on my non-metallic gear. The ability to use not only curse but also holy mana was a much bigger problem, I knew I would fold just as the dwarf had done if he ever got to use them on me at the same time. ¡°You are to be polite and respectful.¡± Father was talking to Elara¡¯s dad who would be joining us for this impromptu questioning disguised as dinner. ¡°And if you find your willpower slipping step away from the boy.¡± Father had made it very clear where he stood when it came to Ajax. While he may be a little below my level at the moment this would not be the case in a few decades, as long as his attitudes towards non-humans continued to be opposed to that of the Empire having him take over Shadow¡¯s position as a war deterrent would be the best outcome for us, if only because war wouldn¡¯t come as we were struggling to regain our financial footing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked Elara. Elara had been feeling down since yesterday, I had initially thought that it was just from losing in the first round but while the disappointment in herself had abated she seemed to sink deeper into the start of a depression. ¡°He saw it.¡± she whispered so quietly I barely heard it. ¡°Who saw what?¡± I whispered back, trying to figure out what she meant. ¡°He saw it in the m-match yesterday.¡± her voice quivered a little in fear. Then it clicked, Ajax had seen her trait. Somehow the human prodigy had a good enough inspect skill that he managed to get a look at her Witch trait. Now it made sense, why the duke was ready to assassinate Ajax, the only reason he didn¡¯t do it without consulting with father was because by now the Gryndor royals all knew about it so there would be no point aside from misguided revenge. ¡°It¡¯ll all be okay.¡± I gave her a hug as I tried my best to reassure her but deep inside where my skills didn¡¯t affect the words I could feel how hollow they were. ¡°We won¡¯t mention his use of cursed attack.¡± Father now spoke to the entire party. ¡°If the republic brings it up we will stay quiet on the issue and that is all.¡± Elara¡¯s eyes fell to her feet. She knew why we were all to stay away from that issue, humans had a very apt saying about this situation ¡®he who lives in a glass house shouldn¡¯t throw stones¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have to ask you of this considering the circumstances but the more we know the better.¡± Father said to both Elara and me. ¡°Try to get to know him during this dinner, ignore the tournament and whatever it is that he is hiding and try to see what kind of person he is.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. As the only people even close in age to Ajax who were going to the party I could see why it fell to us to investigate, the situation rubbed me the wrong way anyhow. Not just because I should be focused on tomorrow¡¯s match but also because I knew Elara would have wanted to keep her distance and I would have joined her. My nervous tick of running my finger along Regalia¡¯s scales as she stayed wrapped around my waist returned as we made our way to Gryndor¡¯s embassy. The ballroom we were led to once we arrived to the party was on the smaller size compared to what I was used to, in terms of attendance however this was the most exclusive dinner I had ever been to. That wasn¡¯t to say I hadn¡¯t been to other events that just as many high status people but they were always diluted by lower nobles. The guest list only saw names that belonged to one of the royal families, the council, ducal families or champions like Shadow and Aranor, the only exception was Ajax. I quickly scanned the room in search of Ajax, unsurprisingly he was off to one side with most of the youth in attendance: Goldmancer, Manashaper Steelblade, Xavier Gryndor and Darkclaw, the beastkin I defeated earlier today. As much as father may have said that today wasn¡¯t a competition and it had nothing to do with tomorrow¡¯s match I wasn¡¯t sure Ajax saw it the same way. Elara and I made our way toward the group as I got ready for a confrontation. ¡°Good evening¡± Elara offered as neutrally as her skills let her as we approached. ¡°Evening¡± I can¡¯t say I was surprised by the short and abrupt way Ajax greeted us, what did surprise me was the reserved attitude and the short glimpse of guilt that crossed over his features as he looked at Elara. ¡°Good evening.¡± Darkclaw greeted us before he singled me out. ¡°Princess, that was one hell of surprise you pulled on me earlier today.¡± It seems like his personality matches his reputation to a T. The beastkin was a battle maniac who wouldn¡¯t hold a grudge over a defeat. Some people might call pulling out a bond like I had with Regalia a cheap dirty move but he just seemed excited and already planning on how he would approach our next fight. ¡°Now, I won¡¯t leave today before we schedule a fight.¡± Darkclaw turned back to Ajax. ¡°I¡¯d be more than happy to schedule a fight for you.¡± Goldmancer offered. From the merchant smile on her face I knew agreeing to such an open ended statement would ensure that fight never saw the light of day, it seems like the beastkin was of the same opinion as he quickly amended his statement.¡± schedule a fight before you leave the Republic.¡± As I watched the discussion I initially thought that Ajax might have an issue with Darkclaw, perhaps because of his beastkin heritage, but the more I watched the more that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. It was almost like he didn¡¯t feel comfortable with the event as a whole. More than that it was like he wasn¡¯t used to being in this type of gathering, sure he didn¡¯t do anything insulting but he was clearly out of place. ¡°He¡¯s not used to it.¡± Xavier Gryndor said from next to me. ¡°What?¡± I asked surprised. ¡°You¡¯re trying to get a read on Ajax and it isn¡¯t going well.¡± Xavier said with confidence. ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s not used to it and he doesn¡¯t like attending events such as this.¡± It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise that he caught on to what Elara and I were doing, with his upbringing he would have figured it out easily, even if he hadn¡¯t his father would have warned him about it. ¡°How can he not be?¡± I focused on the part I couldn¡¯t make sense of. ¡°Someone as talented as him?¡± Despite being born a commoner I couldn¡¯t piece together how he would still be uncomfortable at a party after being given a noble title and living in Gryndor¡¯s capital for the last almost seven years. ¡°The nobles who ruled his original home didn¡¯t have a good attitude towards commoners.¡± Xavier admitted with a grimace, one I almost sympathetically mimicked as my mind jumped straight to a few nobles back home that had the same attitude. ¡°He tries to avoid things like this as much as possible.¡± I could see it, he was clearly in a relationship with Manashaper (that match was something I would definitely be informing father of) and she was fielding most of the nobles who drifted by our little group to greet the man of hour. ¡°He has been a Baron for six years and lived in your capital during that time how did he not get used to parties?¡± I asked Xavier, a little frustrated now that I couldn¡¯t engage Ajax in a battle of words. ¡°I used to think I was special.¡± Xavier¡¯s words confused me a bit. ¡°I know I¡¯m talented but before I got to know Ajax I used to think I was very special, almost unique.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with it?¡± I asked. ¡°As talented as Ajax is, you don¡¯t get to where he has gotten so quickly without a lot of hard work.¡± Xavier said. ¡°By the time he made his first splash in the capital he had shown his potential. It was simply agreed to allow him his privacy to focus on whatever he wanted. In the last six year I would be surprised if Ajax attended more than thirty noble parties.¡± Only five events per year?! I attended at least fifty. ¡°Surely you can at least reveal a little as to what happened to the enchanted armor.¡± my trail of thought was interrupted by the loud dwarven council member who was talking to king Gryndor, he had evidently had enough of beating around the bush. Chapter 336 Shadow P.O.V Something was definitely going on with the kid called Ajax. Everyone could see he was talented even just from the Legendary skill that he had unlocked at such a young age. But what was extremely strange was for him to have access to physical based cursed attacks. There was a good reason that history wasn¡¯t filled with hybrid fighters who could curse their opponents then bring them to their knees with a wave of holy mana. Physical generated cursed attacks almost required a full investment into physical stats. Whatever was up with the kid it must have lowered the requirements for him to gain skills. This would also explain the number of different mana types he has access to, the question was how. ¡°We need to find out what it was that he did to weaken that armor.¡± Councilor Deepforge explained for the fifth time as we were making our way to Gryndor¡¯s embassy. ¡°And if it was that odd mana type we need to figure out how to protect against it.¡± He had nearly blown a gasket after he examined the armor following Ajax¡¯s match. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t understand his point of view, he was a blacksmith for the past seven hundred years, one so good with enchantments and runic magic that he had worked his way onto the council after having been born a commoner. But I did think he was pushing his influence too much over this matter. In the end Gryndor didn¡¯t actually do anything wrong and there was nothing they had to explain to us. ¡°Maybe we should still bring Goldenmouth with us.¡± he sounded confident in the statement, after all it wasn¡¯t himself he was trying to convince. ¡°They were clear that he wouldn¡¯t be welcomed at this dinner.¡± I stepped in, there was no reason to provoke them after they agreed to the last minute party by breaking their sole request. ¡°What do you¡­¡± I could see the moment his mind caught up to his mouth as it remained open for a few moments before snapping shut and letting the point drop. This was why I liked the Republic over any of the other kingdoms. As The Champion here I wasn¡¯t more important than I would be in any other kingdom, however no council member was as important by themselves as a king was everywhere else. This meant that if I was insulted the beating I would give out would be overlooked. ¡°Let''s just get moving.¡± the counselor said at last. Once we arrived at the embassy I could see from the arrangement what the plan was. With the way people were spread around the room it was clear that they were looking to keep anyone with too high social skills away from Ajax by placing him with the young people. Any answers we would be getting would be from the royal family. ¡°Your brother seems a little flustered.¡± I nodded towards the crown prince as I spoke to his brother. ¡°I take it this evening came as a surprise for you as well.¡± ¡°Ajax is not someone we are looking to limit.¡± the prince replied. ¡°I will admit we did know he could do what he did in the arena today, but it certainly wasn¡¯t the plan to provide a demonstration. Your fighter took a lot out of him.¡± The words of praise took some of the sting out of the fact that we went from having two fighters in the semifinals of that tournament to nobody in the final. ¡°My brother needs practice anyway.¡± the prince said with a grin. ¡°I think this is the first time such a big political incident happened without warning and it''s good that he gets to go through it with father by his side. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Practice, eh?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°So there is already a plan for how tonight is going to play out.¡± ¡°What can I say?¡± the prince said as he looked towards the far side of the room. ¡°For all the headaches the kid causes he hands out just as many tricks to put up your sleeve.¡± The elves were surprisingly neutral throughout the evening. I had expected the duke who¡¯s daughter had lost in the first round to be just as aggressive as the counselor was, but despite the clear irritation on his face he remained a neutral party. It was almost like the elves had come today as spectators, they sent their princess to get a look at Ajax and their king to monitor the remaining royalty. ¡°Surely you can at least reveal a little as to what happened to the enchanted armor.¡± Deepforge finally lost what had remained of his patience after he had tried to gently lead the conversation back towards this topic indirectly. ¡°The aftereffects of the magic was known to us.¡± king Gryndor admitted. ¡°However the specifics are currently a specialty of House Hearthbound, they are not something we will be making public.¡± And there it was the line in the sand. I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t expect it, let''s hope it wouldn¡¯t be too much work for me to keep everything here civil. ¡°For a house that uses cursed mana to also keep those kinds of secrets to themselves¡± Deepforge pressed on regardless of how rude it was. ¡°You expect us to accept that when that house has no history or reputation to ease our worries.¡± I tried my best to tune out the bullshit that was being spewed and turned to look at how Ajax was reacting to all this now that the topic was brought into the spotlight for everyone. I was glad to see that he didn¡¯t look any more uncomfortable now than he was a second ago, clearly he had been prepped for this. ¡°House Hearthbound has already made considerable contributions over their admittedly short history.¡± the crown prince said with a smile that told me Gryndor was now putting their plan in action. ¡°I know that a lot of you have been trying to find out about Ajax¡¯s initial training method that led to his rise. We will be making that method public one we return home from this tournament.¡± Out of everything they could have said this was not something I or anyone else was expecting. Everyone quickly threw their glances towards Ajax and then back towards the prince. ¡°You are saying that you will give all of us a method of training that will make our future generations fight against an over 50% level disadvantage?¡± The elven king truly joined the conversation for the first time. ¡°While the specifics on the method do have to wait I can tell you what the results of it were when practiced by our youths.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°Much as he has proven time and again Ajax is a special case on a far extreme. The average increase in stats is around five or six levels worth.¡± ¡°What determines how effective the method is?¡± I ask as something doesn¡¯t feel quite right. ¡°Effort and dedication.¡± king Gryndor answers. ¡°The lazier people saw an increase of only three levels while the dedicated people saw seven or eight. There are extremes at both ends of only one level or a full nine levels worth of stats.¡± I couldn¡¯t see what their play was. Yes that was a large variance and a large number of stats but I can¡¯t see how this improves their situation. Even if the younger generation have something to focus on soon the older generation will still be focused on the new mana type and its war applications. ¡°Is there a way to sort out who is eligible for this training method?¡± the elven king asks once again. ¡°Yes, and no.¡± king Gryndor replies with a cheshire smile. ¡°Everyone can use this training method.¡± And there it was. Just like that their entire plan clicked. This was how they were forcing us to focus on something else. For the next few decades every single other kingdom will be forced to keep a very close eye on their commoners so that a rebellion doesn¡¯t start a civil war. ¡°Why are they all looking so serious?¡± I could hear Darkclaw ask, the battle maniac not putting everything together just yet. ¡°Everyone gaining about five levels worth of stats won¡¯t make that much of a difference at higher levels.¡± ¡°Not for nobles maybe.¡± For the first time Ajax sounded cold, it seems that there was some truth in the information about him having an initial bad interaction with nobles. ¡°An extra five levels worth of stats at the start would mean commoners would be able to get a few dungeon floor clear bonuses even without paying for a boost.¡± I could see it as the realization hit Darkclaw and the two young elves. In a few generation the power gap between the nobles and commoners was going to close dramatically all on the back of this one discovery. ¡°He was only made a Baron after such a big discovery, even if it was only a theory that seems underwhelming.¡± the words slipped from my lips without meaning to, it''s a good thing almost nobody heard me. ¡°We didn¡¯t want to toss him in the deep end.¡± the prince next to me commented. ¡°The original plan was to wait a decade for his ducal title but I think those plans have been sped up a little.¡± Chapter 337 While Ajax hadn¡¯t quite yet made the correlation his training method was a lot more impactful for humans than it was for any of the other races. Unlike humans most other races all had regular access to mana. Since hybrid builds were extremely rare this meant that they all practiced Ajax technique on their non focused stats unintentionally. The extra points in their more valued Stats however were going to be much more valuable. The sole Empire ambassador in the room looked like he wasn¡¯t sure if he should be jumping for joy or trying to pull his hair out in rage. While on the one hand this technique would work wonders in bridging the small gap in power that existed between the average soldier it would no doubt also spread like wildfire. The empire knew that a few of their nobles were sympathizers and all it would take was one of them to get a good rebelion launched. More than that it wasn¡¯t like they could even say anything to Ajax about this since he did in theory keep this discovery for humans almost exclusively until it got too big to keep hidden. One by one a multitude of nobles slowly shuffled by the youth gathering, all looking to meet Ajax and congratulate him on his discovery. Everything had been going according to plan until the elven ambassador made his way over. Unlike most of the elves here he wasn¡¯t from Sylvanthal, he was the ambassador from Deepwood, the elven version of the Empire. ¡°Congratulations on such a big discovery young man.¡± the elf said as he offered his hand with a friendly smile. ¡°What led you to make it?¡± There had been plenty of people around Ajax that were looking for foul play at that time but the question had seemed innocent to all of them, after all Ajax had answered the exact question before and the answer had always been he had seen not doing it as a waste of stats. While this was true it wasn¡¯t his driving motive. ¡°The increased effectiveness of my Prodigal Apprentice Trait.¡± Ajax answered casually under the effects of the elf¡¯s social skills. As soon as the words had left his mouth Ajax¡¯s mind cleared of the influence and a deep frown took over his face. Everyone around him was shocked by the words only the elf sported a victorious smirk on his face. The elf didn¡¯t get to keep that smirk on his face for long as Ajax pushed [Mana Syphon] to its maximum as he squeezed his hand as hard as he could. The loud POP was enough to bring everyone else out of their surprise as the elf dropped to his as his other hand went to grab his wrist while Ajax tried his best to turn every bone in his grip to dust. The exchange was over in a moment as Shadow himself separated the pair but the damage was done. Ajax¡¯s social skills did nothing to hide the anger that was clear across his face, he had wanted to do much more than just crush the bastard¡¯s hand. The elf on the other hand was finally getting himself under control as he adjusted to the influx of pain. ¡°He assaulted me!¡± the elf shrieked. ¡°I demand justice.¡± ¡°The boy did nothing but defend himself.¡± king Gryndor himself said as he approached, his face a mirror of Ajax¡¯s own rage. ¡°Defended himself from what social skills are perfectly allowed during social engagements.¡± the sneered back, the triumphant smile only held back by the pain he felt. ¡°The treaties state that quite clearly.¡± ¡°The treaties also offer protection to children.¡± the king¡¯s voice boomed in the silence that had gripped the ballroom. ¡°As a boy who has not yet reached the age of twenty-five using any social skills to compel an answer is seen as a direct attack, he only defended himself.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. That specific section of the Treaty was the exact reason why Archduke Goldenmouth was such a menace, his [Talker] skill didn¡¯t actually compel an answer but seeing as it was such a high level Legendary skill the difference was only a technicality. This was also the reason Ajax only spent a little time with most older nobles as they also had skills that would slowly get answers out of him without compelling them. The king¡¯s accusation had an immediate effect as the elf¡¯s slightly pale face and victorious demeanor quickly took a turn into a ghostly-white horrified one. With Ajax¡¯s participation in the under fifty tournament he had overlooked Ajax¡¯s actual age provided him the extreme safeguards. ¡°Do you fool even realize what you may have cost your nation?¡± Shadow asked as he tried his best not to let guilt grab a hold of him. With Shadow as a deterrent for war every nation could collectively take this opportunity to start a war and gang up on Deepwood. Even Sylvanthal would join in if for the sole reason that they would be the ones who get to take control of their dungeons after the nation is destroyed. The beastkin knew that it wasn¡¯t his fault that all those people would die but emotions weren¡¯t always logical. Watching the look of horror appear on the elf¡¯s face did a lot to calm the inferno that was Ajax¡¯s rage. As the rage withdrew however Ajax was finally able to take in the looks of everyone else in the room. Everybody seemed outraged but with the exception of a certain few they all also looked grim. The Empire¡¯s envoy made no attempt to keep himself from looking like he just won his weight in gold ten times over. ¡°Ajax¡­¡± Lexi whispered as he turned and looked her in the eyes. Despite everyone having a much harsher outlook on the value of life on this world compared to Earth that didn¡¯t mean everyone was ruthless. This war would cost countless innocents their lives. ¡°I demand that Deepwood grant me a free boosted delve in their dungeons.¡± Ajax¡¯s words came out as an unsure whisper but they had everyone around him turn to him in confusion. ¡°I demand that Deepwood grant me a free boosted delve in their dungeons as reparation for this grievance.¡± Ajax¡¯s words were not just louder but filled with a lot more confidence the second time. ¡°I will take ten people of my choosing and my own booster.¡± Everyone in attendance now bounced their eyes from looking at Ajax to looking at the elven emissary. For a moment there they were all shocked. Technically the treaty was broken but Ajax had just offered the elf a way to make amends for his transgression to the only aggrieved party. ¡°Deepwood accepts your generous offer.¡± The ambassador was the first of the stunned nobles to react as his mind had already been running through every scenario it could to stop the war from happening. What Ajax offered cost Deepwood almost nothing. ¡°You have both my deepest apologies and most sincere thanks Baron Hearthbound.¡± Despite the broken hand the elf quickly produces a parchment and printed out the terms of the deal before signing it. As an official ambassador he had the authority to make promises in the name of Deepwood¡¯s royal family meaning that something like a delve in the dungeons couldn¡¯t be contested later even if the royals wouldn¡¯t want to agree. While his actions may have been selfish from a certain point of view as Ajax both the people of the Republic and Sylvanthal just had most of their doubts regarding Ajax¡¯s attitude towards non-humans laid to rest in the brief exchange. The party wouldn¡¯t recover from this and everyone in attendance recognised that. While the elven ambassador was the first to leave, all but scurrying out the door after he handed Ajax the signed document while making sure their hands made no contact. The party had certainly been eventful, almost everyone leaving was both displeased by how it all ended yet very happy with the result of the evening as a whole. The Empire¡¯s ambassador was one of the clear exceptions, even all of his social skills could do nothing to prevent his face from looking like it just bit into the world''s most sour lemon. ¡°Thanks kid.¡± Shadow said to Ajax. ¡°Your quick thinking is probably the only reason I¡¯ll get a good night¡¯s sleep tonight.¡± The remaining elves quickly bid their own goodbyes from a distance, the princess not even taking a parting shot regarding their match tomorrow like she had planned. It took less than ten minutes before the only people remaining in the ballroom were members of the royal family, the royal families attendants or friends of Ajax. ¡°That was some great quick thinking there, Baron.¡± The crown prince praised Ajax. ¡°This was a favorable outcome.In the future I do however recommend consulting with me before making a decision of such magnitude, you could have asked for a lot more before they might have even considered not immediately accepting.¡± Out of the corner of his eye Ajax could see Anna nodding along with the prince¡¯s words. ¡°That was some quick thinking there.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said with his usual carefree smile. ¡°I thought you might be walking in my footsteps but you already surpassed me by far, I hadn¡¯t managed to be involved in an incident like this until I was a century old.¡± The king¡¯s oldest son soaked in the groans everyone else let out as they no doubt remembered the incident he was referring to. ¡°I do have to say however I am quite curious about this Prodigal Apprentice trait.¡± the prince continues as he pointed out the big elephant in the room. Chapter 338 Just like that Ajax was once again the center of attention in a room where you could hear a pin drop. Unlike when he first revealed something like this, Ajax was now much stronger than the average soldier but in this room he was still the small fish in the big pond. ¡°That sounds different from the ¡®Genius Apprentice¡¯ trait I got.¡± Xavier threw in his two cents. ¡°It is different.¡± the crown prince confirmed. ¡°In fact I never heard of a Prodigal Apprentice before. Is it from pushing a skill to seventy-five? I haven¡¯t seen anything from you that would suggest you have a skill at level one hundred now let alone twelve years ago.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not skill related.¡± Ajax put an early stop to the guessing game. ¡°What does Genius apprentice grant?¡± Ajax tried not to show his envy as asked about the opportunity he lost just because he didn¡¯t know about it, he was sure he would have been able to push one of his mana skills all the way to level fifty if he knew to focus on it. Genius Apprentice - Temporary trait Status points allocated increased by 10% Aging stopped for the duration. Ease of forcibly increasing stat points increased. Ease of forcibly increasing stat points related to skills above level fifty greatly increased. Experience earned for activities related to skills above level increased. Ease of adapting to increase in stat points increased. Ease of adapting to increase in stat points related to skills above level fifty massively increased. Ease of unlocking new skills related to skills above level fifty greatly increased. As Ajax was told the increases granted he couldn¡¯t help but compare it to his own apprentice trait. Prodigal Apprentice - Temporary trait Status points allocated increased by 20% Aging stopped for the duration. Ease of forcibly increasing stat points greatly increased. Experience earned for doing skill related activities slightly increased. Ease of adapting to increase in stat points massively increased. Ease of unlocking new skills on the basis of skills earned before gaining this trait slightly increased. Status becomes harder to reveal or approximate making appraisal and scan abilities harder to use. Of the two it was clear that his own was the superior title, at the same time it was a lot harder to reach level ten before the age of ten compared to getting just one skill to level fifty. What really irked Ajax was that he was sure the two traits would have stacked. Sure maybe the allocated stat points wouldn¡¯t have added but he would have absolutely double dipped in the massive increase to forcibly increasing stats. Not to mention the increase in experience earned. Most valuable however was the great increase in gaining related skills, there was a good chance Ajax would have had a few extra general Epic tier magic skills if not an extra Legendary one had he gotten the trait. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°This is more focused.¡± Ajax broke the silence as he thought over the Genius Apprentice trait. ¡°My trait was gained based on my level.¡± ¡°Based on your level?¡± The crown prince was surprised that he hadn¡¯t considered that option. ¡°Level ten before the age of ten.¡± Ajax said to the surprised gasp of many in attendance. ¡°How many skills¡­¡± Xavier¡¯s words died out before he finished his sentence but he had simply given voice to what everyone else was thinking. If Ajax had managed to get to level ten without having a single skill over level fifty, just how many skills had he had at such a young age. As Ajax shared the details of his own trait he noticed one of the members of the first squad jotting it all down furiously on a piece of parchment before rolling it up and placing it inside his spacial storage. ¡°It¡¯s a lot more focused on short term gains.¡± the king¡¯s eldest son rejoined the conversation. ¡°It¡¯s quite a bit stronger as well. I can see why you would think of hoarding all of your stat points if you received a massive increase to just working for all of them.¡± Xavier couldn¡¯t help but be surprised at the spark of envy that reappeared in him at the reveal. He had thought he was completely past comparing himself to Ajax but it seems having his own trait compared like this pressed on an old wound. His biggest regret however was not taking advantage of Ajax¡¯s training method, his Strength and Dexterity could have gained a much bigger increase if he hadn¡¯t used his free points right as he turned ten years old. ¡°This certainly explains why your results were so much better than anyone we had using your method.¡± the king nodded. ¡°Sadly it is also something that is near impossible to recreate, after all it isn¡¯t like we weren¡¯t already trying to get our children to as high a level as possible at an early age.¡± ¡°With how publicly the information was revealed I doubt we will be able to gain all that much from sharing it with the other nations.¡± the crown prince scratched his chin. ¡°They will all put some pressure into finding the answer but it was never something we could have really sold. Getting a delve in each of Deepwood¡¯s five dungeons is a better price than we could have expected for something like this.¡± ¡°Not to mention with this out in the open people will stop spying so closely.¡± Lexi said quietly. Unlike usual she was actually keeping a fair distance between her and Ajax. Despite understanding why he hadn¡¯t volunteered the secret she was still slightly upset that he hadn¡¯t shared it with her. She knew it was hypocritical of her considering how many family secrets she had from him but this one wouldn¡¯t affect anything. ¡°I can safely say that nobody is going to be suspecting you of developing another Legendary skill that¡¯s for sure.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said with an upbeat tone. ¡°At least the end results were what we wanted, even if we didn¡¯t get there exactly as we planned.¡± While most of the people couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh at the prince¡¯s antics there were a few people who almost choked at the words. ¡°YOU HAVE ANOTHER LEGENDARY SKILL?¡± Benedict had the good sense the blush and cover his mouth at the outburst, he had managed to contain himself the entire evening, he had even been quite pleased with himself for some of the verbal sparring he had managed with the elven princess but finding out that Ajax had gained a fourth Legendary skill broke the dam. While Ajax wasn¡¯t keeping the fact that he had Life mana a guarded secret after the discussion he previously had with the royal family about it he still gave the prince the stick eye for revealing it like this. Benedict hadn¡¯t been the only one whose skill finally gave up as the crown prince failed to resist the urge to facepalm. ¡°Oh, oops I forgot that some people didn¡¯t know about that yet.¡± the prince said with a strained laugh that fooled absolutely nobody. Ajax was sure that the prince was just trying to stir the pot since while he did let the cat out the bag he didn¡¯t actually say what the skill Ajax gained was. ¡° My bad, I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± While most people were ready to accept that this was simply the prince¡¯s attitude and there was nothing they could do about it there was one person he wasn¡¯t about to let him get away with this free of charge at her friend¡¯s expense. ¡°It¡¯s so kind of you to volunteer as the booster for Ajax¡¯s delves in Deepwood as an apology, Your Highness¡± Anna said with such a pure and innocent smile that anyone who didn¡¯t truly know her would have thought was genuine. ¡°For someone in his position he might have needed to give up two of the ten spots just to secure an adequate booster considering just how high the floors he would reach might be.¡± ¡°That wasn-¡± the prince didn¡¯t even get to object before he was cut off. ¡°How truly generous of you my son.¡± The king joined in and sealed the prince¡¯s fate. This wasn¡¯t because he wanted to do Ajax a favor or because he wanted to punish his son a little, those were simply perks. The real gain would be having an excuse to send his son into Deepwood with what amounted to full immunity. ¡°I fully approve of your idea.¡± The prince¡¯s reputation for outlandishness combined with the fact that actually attacking any member of the party without an ironclad reason would absolutely lead to war considering how the delves were gained meant that it would be the perfect opportunity to send him in as reconnaissance. ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡± the prince knew he had flown too close to the sun and burnt his wings so he decided to let the matter drop. ¡°Oh whatever, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± Ajax was very much of the same opinion considering that he had a fight tomorrow, the hardest fight of the entire tournament. He was going to pull out all the stops for that one. Chapter 339 Unlike the previous night Ajax went to sleep alone, something he very much needed as the previous day had drained him both physically and mentally with the fight and the dinner after. While he was physically fully replenished after a good eight hours of sleep the same could not be said about him mental fatigue. ¡°Baron Hearthbound, if you have a moment¡­¡± ¡°Good morning Baron, about¡­¡± ¡°Baron¡­¡± Ajax hadn¡¯t taken more than two steps inside the ballroom for breakfast when he was accosted by a number of high ranking nobles. ¡°Any discussion regarding the delve spots for the Deepwood dungeons are to wait until after the tournament.¡± the king¡¯s voice boomed from the head of the table silencing all the nobles. ¡°Oh thank the gods!¡± Ajax was surprised to see his grandfather worn out for the first time ever. It seemed that haggling with multiple of the country''s high nobility was too much even for the veteran merchant. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Judy said as she looked just as haggard as her grandfather. ¡°Telling them that you haven¡¯t made any decision on the spots was the only way to get the more insistent of them to drop it.¡± ¡°Why are they in so much of a rush?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°It''s not like I¡¯ll be going for at least a month, they have plenty of time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding right?¡± Judy asked. ¡°Your visit to Deepwood will be as official guests.¡± his grandfather explained. ¡°Anyone you bring with you will be able to buy and bring back as many rare goods as they can afford and manage to carry back. Those were all merchants who will most likely sell the spot to another house with the condition that whoever they send acts as their merchant while there.¡± Much the same as in the Empire Deepwood was speciest, this meant they exported very little, the opportunity for non-elves to enter and be welcomed was one no merchant wanted to pass on. From there breakfast was a quiet affair and that let Ajax get his mind back on his upcoming fight, everything else could wait until this evening. But while everyone did let him focus and get himself ready for the fight, luck just wasn¡¯t on his side that day. On the way to the arena he spotted an odd familiar looking object in the window of a store. ¡°Excuse me sir but what do you think you are doing?¡± The store clerk threw an accusing glare at Ajax as he had dashed in off the street and bee lined it for the display. It was only with this interruption that Ajax realized what he had done, it couldn¡¯t be helped however as that was simply the reaction the object produced, in an attempt to salvage what remained of his coin purse Ajax quickly picked up the mana core near the object and pretended to inspect it for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. ¡°My apologies, I thought this was of a different mana type.¡± He said as he put the mana stone back. ¡°How much is it for this?¡± He then picked up the item he wanted. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°That came from a level seventy floor, it would have to be at least two hundred gold.¡± the merchant said. Ajax knew he was overpricing the item, they clearly didn¡¯t know what it was and despite his act he hadn¡¯t managed to throw the merchant completely off. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± He said as he produced the bag of gold coins and placed it in the merchant''s open hand as he stared at him slack-jaw as he left the store without even trying to haggle the price. Once back outside Ajax rejoined the small procession that was heading towards the arena. He was a bit embarrassed by the fact that all of them had stopped and waited for him, this was also why he hadn¡¯t tried to haggle, he wanted to complete the transaction before people realized who was interested in the item and it¡¯s price would soar. ¡°Something catch your eye?¡± the prince asked smugly. ¡°It just gave me an idea.¡± Ajax said as he placed the taser into his spacial ring. ¡®How come the dungeons produced a floor where a taser would be found without me there?¡¯ Ajax couldn¡¯t help but ask himself. He had previously been under the impression that the floors inspired by his Earth knowledge required his presence but that was clearly not true. The dungeons did in fact require his presence to obtain the knowledge, but once the knowledge and ideas were obtained the dungeon could then use it in any floor created after his delve. ¡°So what does it do?¡± the prince asked. ¡°It produces lightning.¡± Ajax saw no need to try and hide what the taser did. The whole reason he bought besides sentimental value was in the hopes that the kingdom could recreate it and apply their magnetic degradation with it. ¡°We could have gotten you an enchanted staff or wand that does the same thing.¡± the prince said. ¡°Hold out your shield¡± Ajax said to one of the armed guards traveling with them. The guard looked confused but did as he was told. Ajax wasted no time in pulling the trigger and everyone was surprised to see the two probes slammed and connected with the shield. As the current passed through the wires the shield started emitting a decent amount of magnetic mana. Ajax didn¡¯t hold the trigger for more than a second but that was enough for everyone to figure out why he had made such a big deal out of it. ¡°Metal armor prices will plummet in the coming century, best focus on leather or chitin armor.¡± Anna muttered to herself. ¡°Scour the city, discreetly.¡± the crown prince told one of his people. ¡°If there are any more of those, buy them all.¡± With the demonstration over, Ajax reloaded the taser and placed it back into his spacial ring. He very much doubted it would be of any use against the elven princess however it could prove useful against that snake of hers. Before he had to step out onto the field however he would get to enjoy the fight between the two strongest people inside the city. Aranor versus Shadow promised to be a longer match than any of the others had been as far as their tournament went. A fast casting mage wouldn¡¯t be forced in the same position that the prince had been where he had to keep Shadow engaged or risk being unable to find him, at the same time he wouldn¡¯t be caught between casts the same way Shadow¡¯s first opponent had been after he managed to find the assassin. As Ajax looked across at the elven seating area he was surprised to see the princess¡¯s bond was no longer playing an innocent belt. Yes the snake was still wrapped around her waist but its head now rested up on her shoulder in clear view of everyone. ¡°No point in keeping it hidden anymore.¡± Ajax said with a hint of jealousy, he wanted to have a bond of his own. ¡®After the delves I¡¯ll go out and look for one of my own.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find an egg for you.¡± Lexi said as she leaned into Ajax¡¯s side as she followed his line of sight. ¡°These things just take time.¡± She knew that Ajax was looking for a bond, almost all of his friends around his age had one including his older brother. Both of them knew that there was no way Ajax would be able to find anything that was strong enough to bond inside the kingdom borders. Ajax was also sure that if he wanted a bond he wouldn¡¯t be able to get one from an egg, at least not the eggs that were sold. Those bonds just wouldn¡¯t grow fast enough to catch up with him in any form of reasonable time frame. Ajax simply nodded noncommittally as he watched the arena ground take the shape of the sand filled arena once more. ¡°Who¡¯s the arena better for?¡± Ajax could see how each could take advantage of the sand filled open field but he didn¡¯t have the experience to know who had the advantage. ¡°Aranor,¡± the prince said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for Shadow to put between him and any spells.¡± Both fighters stepped onto the field at the same time. The cheering section for Shadow far outnumbered those that cheered for Aranor, they were in the Republic capital after all. As soon as the match started Shadow once again dispersed into dust as he activated his stealth skills. Aranor¡¯s answer to this was to release a massive shockwave after chanting a few words. The shockwave traveled almost as fast as a lightning attack as it quickly made contact with the beastkin and broke his stealth skill. ¡°Was that sound?¡± Ajax asked, shocked. One of the things he had overlooked when he noticed that people didn¡¯t break the sound barrier as easily was that sound actually traveled faster as well. Since all sound was actually vibrations that would make for a very powerful mana type. Chapter 340 ¡°Yes, it was sound.¡± The king heaved a long sigh as he responded to Ajax¡¯s awed remark. ¡°As far as we can work out Sonic mana is a Legendary mana type, a rather devastating one at that.¡± ¡°Legendary?!¡± Ajax was even more surprised and slightly more ashamed that he had overlooked this for so long. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the affinity.¡± Ajax¡¯s follow up statement was very sure of himself. ¡°Nobody has managed to get that affinity in any of the records we possess.¡± the king said. ¡°Despite that there are more than one or two spells that have been recovered from ruins throughout the years that have allowed mages to use the mana type.¡± ¡°After a certain volume sound causes vibrations.¡± Lexi tried her best to help Ajax understand the basics of what made the mana type so dangerous, not knowing that he knew some things even better than she did. ¡°More than that sound actually travels faster the denser the mana is in an area.¡± As the conversation was going on both fighters were going for one another. After his stealth had been broken Shadow was forced to rely on his throwing knives in order to keep pressure on the mage as he closed the distance as best he could. Aranor had fallen back to his trusty overchanted ice lances as he fired them one after another. Aranor quickly realized that his tactic wasn¡¯t sustainable, for every three lances he threw out only one connected with the beastkin. Under normal circumstances this would be a good outcome for him but the ice lances that missed smashed full strength into the arena¡¯s defensive barrier and that couldn¡¯t take too much of a pounding. ¡°But how does the world sync up with sound travels faster in mana dense regions?¡± Ajax knew that the world as they saw it was a lie, it was something that his highschool physics teacher had done a memorable demonstration on. Sound traveled much slower than light and it was the brain that picked up the information and processed it correctly to make the sound line up with the movie his eyes recorded. Not only that but could sound spells be stopped with a shell devoid of air? Would the mana powering the spell allow it to travel through space even? ¡°Impressive that you figured so much out yourself.¡± the crown prince said with a raised eyebrow. ¡°But you underestimate your own body. There is a reason why everybody can feel when they are in a highly dense mana zone or one that is dry. Your body learns to make the adjustment, though big sudden changes have been known to cause migraines as the brain adapts to the change.¡± As Shadow managed to slowly close the gap he had finally gotten close enough to pull out his favorite trick. A quick release of the shadow mana he had been gathering influenced both his own shadow and Aranor¡¯s to shift and combine. Unlike every other time he did this however Aranor was not only expecting it but he had a counter in place. The enchantment on his staff surged with mana as a shower of powerful rays of light emitted from the top of the staff, more than one of which shined down on the combined shadows. ¡°RRRRGGGGGHHHHHH¡± Shadow roared in pain as he was violently ejected from his shadow travel. His advanced mobility spell clearly came with a few drawbacks when it came to vulnerability. This was clearly evidenced by the few chunks of flesh that were missing across his body. Unlike a normal cut or burn the wound simply looked as if the flesh that was there was simply erased from existence. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°That was risky.¡± Xavier said as he looked at the bleeding beastkin. ¡°It seems he could have done some serious damage with that.¡± ¡°It was controlled.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son corrected. ¡°Every single one of those light beams only hit the edges of the shadows, you can see the wounds are limited to his limbs.¡± It was so easy for Ajax to forget that despite the fierce battle going on both fighters were actually giving each other a good safety margin. Seeing how the topic of the conversation shifted, Ajax returned to an early point as he whispered to Lexi ¡°What did you mean sound causes vibrations when it¡¯s loud enough?¡± ¡°Just what I said.¡± Lexi doubled down. ¡°We don¡¯t know why but a loud enough sound will generate vibrations.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Ajax said as he shook his head. ¡°Why do you say only when it¡¯s loud enough, I thought all sound was vibrations.¡± Despite being whispered their conversation was easily heard by everyone in attendance with a high enough Perception stat, Ajax¡¯s observation drew odd looks from all of them. ¡°Wait, not only do you think that all sound produces vibrations.¡± Lexi said as she frowned a little. ¡°You say that all sound is vibrations. You¡¯ll have to explain that to me sometime.¡± Lexi wasn¡¯t the only person there that was interested by Ajax¡¯s theory, especially considering his previous accomplishments, but everyone knew now wasn¡¯t the time to ask for an explanation, the fight was moving into its final stages. Now that the fighters were so close to one another they both had to focus on speed. Shadow¡¯s slashes barely had any power behind them focusing more on making contact in time. Aranor on the other hand could barely do a single chant of his spells before releasing them. This essentially turned the offensive abilities of both opponents into wet noodles. Neither of their attacks was strong enough to make it past the enchanted protections runes they each wore but the with every landed attack the momentum of the blow let them gain a better position while also slowly draining through the enchantments of their adversary. ¡°Why is he using such wide attacks?¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but asked as he watched Aranor release a wind burst that covered everything in front of him. ¡°He was so precise at the start.¡± ¡°Because his body can¡¯t keep up.¡± Anna answered. ¡°Most spells, especially the shorter variations, have the hands as a launch point. Sure any fine tuning is done with your mana control but the general direction is decided by where you point your hand.¡± ¡°When Shadow was far away his hand would just need to point in his general direction and he would be able to use his mana to target the spell correctly.¡± Lexi said with a hint of bitterness that told Ajax she had gone through something similar during her training. ¡°Right now Shadow is moving around faster than Aranor can turn his hand.¡± This was the advantage of physical fighters. Even from ten paces away Shadow could actually run halfway around Aranor before the man could rotate his body and arm in the same manner. Then it happened, for the first time since the fight started Shadow had managed to actually draw blood from Aranor as his knife slashed across the elf¡¯s open palm. Despite the pain however Aranor was smiling. A wave of frost traveled up the bloody blade over Shadow¡¯s hand and halfway up his arm, all the way to the elbow. The move clearly surprised Shadow and in the moment of shock as the beastkin registered his frozen limb Aranor was quick to release a frost nova that locked Shadow¡¯s feet to the ground. ¡°The elves must be more desperate than we thought.¡± the king said as he watched Shadow break his feet free of the ice. ¡°To use frozen touch in the arena.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that spell?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°It bypasses defensive enchantments.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said. ¡°Certain rules are there for safety that we have to follow. The only reason the match wasn¡¯t stopped was because Aranor used that spell passively as his hand was slashed.¡± Despite Shadow reacting too quickly he was put fully on the defensive. With his left hand now frozen it was only a matter of how long he could hold out as the mage started to ramp up the volley of spells he was churning out. It didn¡¯t take long for Shadow to signal his surrender. Unlike the other matches in this tournament, despite the official match ending the fight wasn¡¯t as clear cut. In an open field Shadow would have been able to disengage and recover without issue. Still rules were rules and both fighters silently walked out of the arena, for once the healers waited on the sidelines with no massive injury requiring them to dash in the arena. Ajax didn¡¯t even wait for the arena to start remodeling as he stood up. He looked across the field towards his next opponent as she also stood up at the same time. The challenge was clear in her eyes, even her snake was staring at Ajax and though he couldn¡¯t hear it from so far away he was sure it was hissing. Chapter 341 Arianwyn P.O.V. I hadn¡¯t been able to focus all day. Ever since last night I was all over the place, Ajax had gained something different than I had. I had managed to push my [Meditation] skill all the way to level fifty before the age of ten and gained the Genius Apprentice trait, but it sounds like he achieved something even better. I wished that would have been the end of it but his quick thinking following the reveal saved all of us a war. Father was beyond pleased with the results of yesterday evening, not only because he had gained a lot of information at no personal cost but also because it showed that Ajax had chosen to spare an entire kingdom of elves despite the fury he had to have felt at that moment. This boded well for all of us considering that following last night¡¯s reveal of the training method for extra stats everybody would be too busy to try and take out Gryndor. Even uncle Aranor¡¯s fight was barely keeping my attention. He can¡¯t be happy about having had to use frozen touch in order to win but the kingdom couldn¡¯t afford to not win the main tournament so he didn¡¯t have the leeway to take risks in the fight. It was now time for my fight. I stood up and looked across the arena at my opponent. I was slightly surprised to see our eyes met, I felt all the chaos and concerns about the future settle down. All that mattered now was this upcoming fight, everything else could wait until after. As I stepped down the stairs and into the tunnel heading for the arena I could already make out the map that was chosen. It was the same rocky mountain scape that I had been used to but it was all slick with water. This was one of the best environments that I could have gotten, with only the snow covering being a better fit. The moment I set foot into the arena I felt Regalia uncoil. The element of surprise was gone, even without that I would most likely have kept her with me under normal circumstances but this fight was anything but normal. My bond already started to grow to her full size as she distanced herself from me. Regalia gave my hand a final squeeze with her tail before she put some distance between us. I knew that this was our best chance to win this but I couldn¡¯t help but be worried. Regalia was still only level sixty-eight, she wasn¡¯t even fully grown, most of all however unlike me killing her was frowned upon but an accepted strategy. The backlash from her death would knock me unconscious at the very least. I couldn¡¯t make out the human¡¯s expression underneath his helmet but if the way his head moved between Regalia and me was any indication he was surprised to see we had separated. We both gave the official a nod that we were ready and I could feel my grasp tighten around my staff, my mouth slightly open ready to begin casting as soon as the stone hit the ground. The human didn¡¯t have any of his weapons out, not looking to show his hand as he could summon any of them the moment the match began. Both of our eyes followed the stone as it was tossed into the air, time felt like it slowed down more and more the closer the rock got to the ground until it almost stopped right before it splashed down in the small puddle. As soon as it hit the water however it sped right back up as I started the chant for my domain. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. By the time my eyes were raised to my opponent he had already taken out his bow and was pulling back an arrow. I could even feel his strengthening skill already at work, it didn¡¯t come as that much of a shock as he had already revealed that he could power it himself instead of relying on outside mana when he crushed the ambassador¡¯s hand. Everything was going according to plan. Before he got a chance to take aim and release the arrow he was pelted by a multitude of rocks that Regalia had smashed and thrown sent at him. He was far too strong for her to charge at him head on without my support but even something like this would be enough to slow him down and not give him the chance to end the fight before I raise my domain. The surprise attack didn¡¯t faze him for long, he nimbly dodged all the rocked as he pulled his arrow back once more, an odd mana type I could recognise was infused into it as the tip started to glow slightly purple before he released it. It must have been his Shadow mana, that mana type always feels different depending on the person who is using it and its stealthy nature. I didn¡¯t even bother trying to track the arrow as I knew my Perception wasn¡¯t high enough for that, I simply trusted in my bond and my armor. Unlike me however Regalia was more than capable of tracking the arrow, more than that with her Perception, Intelligence and instincts she had even managed to knock the arrow out of the air with a barrage of rocks thrown right in front of me, looks like my enchantments won¡¯t be tested so quickly. The spike of worry I felt through the bond however had me confused however as I could feel Regalia wanted nothing more than to return to me and smother me in her coils. Ajax seemed to have realized that his bow wouldn¡¯t be enough to win this fight so he swapped over to a shield and hammer as he started making his approach. His early advantage was gone however as I poured out a quarter of my mana as my spell finished and I established my domain. Unlike the previous match where I spent half my mana pool to cover the entire arena, spending a quarter to cover less than an eighth of the arena around myself made the mana density inside my domain higher than I was used to. According to Elara he mana stealing is dependent on the amount of area mana is spread throughout so this should make it so my domain will be drained a lot slower. By making the domain so much smaller it also meant that Regalia could stay out of it, much as I didn¡¯t like admitting it my control over my domain was even close to good enough to exclude her from the low temperatures that came with winter, at least not yet. As soon as my domain sprung up I could already feel something latch on to it and start draining it. Elara had mentioned it felt weird but she hadn¡¯t yet managed to gain her own domain skill. To me it felt like my will was fighting a battle to keep my domain as intact as it could as it was slowly being drained away. This wasn¡¯t a contest of will however, Aranor had mentioned that when two domain images both try to unleash their domains in the same space it can feel like a tug of war between the wills as one starts to subjugate the other. This was more like trying to hold a cracked glass. My palms surrounded it and tried to cover all the leaks in hopes of slowing down the inevitable trickle of water. There was no contest about who was superior, just a question of how long I can hold out. With my domain in place I wasted no time starting my chants as I launched a quick ice lance towards Ajax. If Elara''s wind had managed to leave bruises on him through those defensive enchantments he had I knew he shouldn¡¯t be able to take a direct hit from my ice lances. I was fully surprised to him not even attempt to dodge as he instead brought up the heavy tower shield and I felt magma mana envelope it as my ice lance smashed into it. The spell was strong enough to force him to stop and brace himself but other than that it did nothing. As he lowered his shield he looked just as surprised as I did by how little the attack affected him. Instead of continuing to advance towards me he now simply stood ready. I threw two more lances that were just as effective as the first as I realized his strategy was now to outlast me by draining away my domain. He didn¡¯t even need to get close to me and risk entering inside the domain. It was a smart plan I granted him, if he could simply withstand my spells by draining them as they fly and using magma the match would be his. But that was only the case when it came to my quickly thrown ice lances, if he wasn¡¯t advancing towards me and my domain I could also take a bit more time to build a stronger spell. The moment my mana started to gather he was on the move again. I expected he would realize what I was doing but the direction he took off in sent a cold shiver down my back. Instead of charging towards me he had taken off straight for Regalia who was stuck outside my domain thanks to her weakness to the cold. Chapter 342 Ajax P.O.V. I had been prepared to end the match before it began with a well placed Void infused arrow. I have to say I was rather surprised when that didn¡¯t work, the way the snake hissed right after it intercepted my arrow told me she realized the danger even if the princess hadn¡¯t. I was ready to bite the bullet and rush into the small dense domain the elf created but I was surprised by how well my magma infused shield managed to hold up to an ice lance. Unlike Elara the princess had limited her domain to conserve mana, not only that but her ice lances had to start from her palms unlike the unpredictable wild slashes so I could easily just outlast her. My plan there was to force her to get close to me, that way I wouldn¡¯t have that far to go inside her domain before I got in range. It is unfortunate to say the least that she quickly figured out how useless it was to keep throwing ice lances, worse yet instead of getting closer to me she took advantage of the fact that I stopped moving in order to cast a stronger spell. Was I back to square one? Did I have to charge into her domain after all? It took her seconds to adapt to my strategy, do I have to risk brute forcing a win? Can I even do it? There has to be some vulnerability. Should I try another Void arrow? Even with her domain active she most likely will only create a small ice shield in front of herself instead of intercepting the arrow. Since Void works by moving the point of impact I¡¯ll just have to infuse this arrow with more mana to make up for the difference. No that won¡¯t work, if I try that the snake would still knock the arrow out of the air with a wave of rocks. Wait, the snake! I can force her hand by going after the snake. The whole thought process must have looked like it took no more than an instant, I have to say there is something to be said about investing heavily into your mental stats. Going after the snake wasn¡¯t a sure way to victory, unlike us the snake can retreat from the arena without disqualifying the fighter. I stopped my [Mana Syphon] from dipping into my own mana supply and simply used the generous amount the princess had donated. Without my own mana I felt myself grow a bit slower and a bit weaker, this might mean I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the snake as quickly as I¡¯d like but it should give me some longevity into the fight. It would do me no good to just run the snake out of the fight and face the elf without any mana. The snake itself isn¡¯t all that dangerous. Barely level seventy is something that I should be able to handle with ease by this point, especially when it isn¡¯t even fully grown. The snake itself seems to recognise my plan so it launches another wave of rocks towards me with its tail while at the same time digging a small moat in front of itself. Dodging the rocks from such a close distance is a lot harder but still something I can manage. The same cannot be said by the small cyclone that hits me from the side as the princess finishes her stronger spell. Damn it, Winter also contains wind, she''s not just limited to ice. Thanks to my defensive enchantments I am only slightly inconvenienced by the attack, unfortunately this also means that my mana expenditure grows once more as I start using my Light and Life mana to start healing the bruises I will no doubt be forming as a result of that attack. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. During this entire time the snake has been slowly retreating towards the exit gate of the arena at the behest of the princess. Despite her telling it to just run however the snake has never taken its eyes off me, sensing that I would pounce the moment it showed any vulnerability. I¡¯m almost at the snake when I abruptly stop as an ice lance much stronger than any of the previous ones flies by centimeters in front of me. It¡¯s a good thing that my [Sense Mana] can keep track of all the princesses'' attacks as I close it on the snake with it only thirty feet from safety. Realizing it won¡¯t be able to simply escape the snake wastes no time slamming its heavy tail into my shield. I have to admit that it packs quite a punch, unlike the ice lances the princess was sending at me, however this attack isn¡¯t going to push me back only to the side so I have no issues using the attack''s momentum to get closer to the head of the snake. I fully infused my hammer with metal mana as I went for a heavy swing. There is an argument to be made for using Void instead however with how slippery the snake is I¡¯m more worried about only landing a glancing blow that Void wouldn¡¯t be able to contact after, with the increased weight from metal even a glancing blow should be enough to finish the snake. As I take the swing I feel the snake start activating its own mana, it is currently trying to make itself smaller while also leaning back to dodge the attack. I waste no time using [Mana Syphon] to slow the process as much as I can. My swing cleanly connects with one of the snake''s large fangs as his still too large head is too slow moving back. I had briefly flashed the full power of my [Mana Syphon] for this blow so it comes as no sunrise to me when I see the fang shatter as the snake''s head is propelled into the wall of the arena only two feet away from safety. ¡°Regalia!¡± The princesses voice is filled with anguish and rage and that is the only warning I get as I juice my shield with magma and hold it up as a small avalanche falls on top of me. The power of the avalanche smashes me into the side of the arena as well and I can feel my legs give out from underneath me as I sit down hard. Is it over? Will I lose? It takes me a moment to reorientate after the power of the blow and only then do I realize why the fight isn¡¯t over. The spell had consumed the last of the mana in the princesses domain so she has nothing left to attack for now. I got to my feet as quickly as I could, unfortunately the snake managed to get out of here in time. This leaves it as a battle between me and the princess. She is casting as quickly as she can looking to establish another domain, unfortunately she was smart enough to leave a wind wall separating us so I can¡¯t just take her out with an arrow. I waste no time taking my shield and my hammer back into my spacial storage and flare my [Mana Syphon] back to full power as I charge straight for the mage. I can feel how hard I¡¯m pushing both my [Running] and [Sprinting] skills. I am halfway to her when she releases her domain for a second time. It is clear that her fight has taken a toll on her, while there is the same amount of mana packed into this domain as the one she used at the start of the fight, this was much larger and less dense. With the return of her domain however I also have to bring my hammer and shield back out, slowing me down slightly. As I see her casting I slow down and brace myself for an ice lance that never comes. I feel more mana gathering and quickly pick up more speed as I realize she is going to try and finish this with another powerful spell, her second domain was less dense because she plans to run through it much quicker, it wasn¡¯t a mistake. I¡¯m one step away from her when she unleashes a frost nova with at least two thousand mana poured into it. My magma infused shield is quickly cooled and frozen over as it hangs limply in my hand yet it managed to protect my top half from the spell. The same unfortunately cannot be said about my legs as the ice roots me to the floor all the way up past my knees. Just a step away from her but the fight isn¡¯t over yet. I pour as much mana as I can spare, using magma, fire and even ice to break my legs free in a final struggle to get my last swing to land. My hammer is fully infused with every last drop of mana I can squeeze out. Eight hundred mana turns out to be more than my gauntlet can handle as I feel the Void gem inside the dragon¡¯s gift crack as I throw my hammer as a projectile over hoping to cover the last foot of distance and slam into her ribs. The wall of ice quickly rises in the path of my hammer and stops it almost as soon as I threw it. The deep purple glow surrounding it winks out as soon as it makes contact with the wall of ice, as does all the momentum it carried. I see the princesses face start to form a triumphant smile when her robes enchantment activates. There was enough Void mana in that blow to move the point of impact past all of the magical shields and ice landing cleanly on the princesses left ribs. The elf is sent flying by the impact as I hear her ribs snap from the blow and the all too familiar protective orb forms around both of us as she coughs out blood signifying my victory. The healers are rushing towards at breakneck speed and I feel a surge of mana surround me as Shadow, and the captain of the first squad both all but teleport next to me as I feel Aranor¡¯s mana surgeon threateningly on the side lines. Chapter 343 The whole situation turned into a powder keg soaked in kerosene. Aranor¡¯s magic and rage washed over the entire arena as his mana churned while Shadow and the captain of the first both stood protectively over the bubble Ajax was encased in. None of them moved or spoke but the arena was garbled by noise anyway. The air was filled with shouts of joy and dismay from the spectators who had started cheering as soon as the match ended and didn¡¯t notice the reaction of the powerhouses. All of this was contrasted to the despair that filled the voices who saw this as the start of a new war. ¡°Calm down Aranor.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said as he stood only a few dozen steps away from the elven royal family box. ¡°This isn¡¯t the way any of us wants this to go.¡± ¡°You would say th-¡± Aranor started to retort only to be cut off. ¡°Stand down, Aranor.¡± the elven king commanded. ¡°But¡­¡± Aranor turned to protest yet the sight that greeted him when he turned to look at his king took away his words. The young king had an expressionless face, a result of all his social skill, that did little to help however as despite addressing the situation his eyes never once left his daughter and the splitters of the ruined armrest started to fall to the ground one after another as his hands slowly loosened their deathgrip. The following final was supposed to start soon after this one had ended yet it was understandably delayed. While the elven princess had been quickly evacuated to the healer chambers she was swiftly followed by Ajax, Shadow, as well as most of the present leadership of all three countries. ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine.¡± The head healer was more nervous than she had ever been in her life up to that point as she addressed the two royal families as well as three councilors. ¡°What caused the initial problems when healing her?¡± the elven king asked calmly. ¡°Was it a curse?¡± ¡°No, Your Majesty.¡± the healer answered with a quiver in her voice. ¡°It was her own enchantments that interfered with the healing spells we were trying to apply. She will need rest, the injuries were substantial.¡± ¡°I - I¡¯ll be fine.¡± the princess struggled to as she slowly started to rise off the bed, only for a spike of pain from her ribs to force her back down. ¡°Stop moving.¡± the healer wailed in a mixture of command and fear. ¡°You had two broken ribs as well as two shattered ribs that went on to shred your lungs and even damage your heart a little. There is a limit to how much we can heal at one time.¡± As she had attempted to stand the princess had dislodged the blanket covering her slightly as she showed a massive bruise that covered her entire left side from hip to armpit. Despite the ugly wound however the mood in the hallway improved considerably as the princesses outlook was no longer in question. ¡°Get to his back-¡± the head healer began to direct everyone as Ajax had been left wholly untreated as everyone was hands on with helping the princess survive. ¡°Start with my legs.¡± Ajax gasped out through the labored breaths and pain. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you can¡¯t feel it because of a skill or because of the battlelust but that avalanche that slammed you into the wall of the arena would have paralyzed you had it not been for your armor, your legs can wait.¡± the healer regained more of her composure as she had experienced this situation more often than she wanted, everyone thought they knew better than the healers. ¡°My own healing can slowly deal with that, I can¡¯t do anything to stop the frostbite.¡± Ajax growled, the last fumes of his mana using the Life aspect to fix his back. Both Aranor and king Sylvian felt much better seeing just how hurt Ajax was as the healers slowly chipped away at the ice that still encased his legs. They knew it shouldn¡¯t make them feel any better, revenge wasn¡¯t worth it, but they just couldn¡¯t help it. It barely took the healers a minute to unfreeze Ajax¡¯s legs and while they were still a little frostbitten in parts the healing could now start. A large gasp went out from a few of combatants that had gathered in the hallway as Ajax¡¯s leather chest piece was removed. If they thought the princess was sporting a big bruise Ajax¡¯s entire back was a solid shade of purple that deepened in certain parts. ¡°Now that we know that both of them will be fine, how about we continue this discussion elsewhere and let the two of them rest?¡± one of the councilors suggested. With no further objections everyone made a slow retreat after a few well wishes given out to the two competitors, much to the relief of the healers. The group had barely made two turns down the corridors when Shadow silently grabbed the king¡¯s oldest son by the shoulder right as he was about to take the corner and pushed him back against the wall. ¡°Was that Life mana I felt from Ajax?¡± The cat beastkin hissed as quietly as he could hoping not to draw the attention of everyone else yet too impatient to wait for a more opportune moment. ¡°He has a Legendary affinity?¡± The prince didn¡¯t so much as twitch at the mention of Life mana, a credit to his composure. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you expect me to-¡± his answer was one that all members of the royal family had rehearsed to the point no Epic or below skill could read anything into it. ¡°Right, why did I even ask, I know my sense.¡± Shadow shook his head and didn¡¯t even let the prince finish the script. ¡°Let me phrase that differently, I know he has Life mana. Did he get that in the dungeon when he was playing with the seeds?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure wh-¡± the prince started once again. ¡°You can either confirm it for me and I will keep it to myself, or I will have to ask people if such a thing is possible.¡± Shadow said. ¡°The people who even have a chance at giving me a somewhat reliable answer will also be smart enough to put together why I am asking that question.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± The prince clicked his tongue in annoyance. That was the problem with scholars, you went to them to get an answer to a theory and all of a sudden they were hip deep into your businesses looking at why you would ask a question like that. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°He must be the first person to gain that skill without being a ritual caster.¡± Shadow murmured to himself. ¡°Just how widespread is his talent?¡± With that Shadow and the prince both got moving again as they followed and entered the meeting room where both of them moved to blend into the background. Neither of the them had the right skill sets to be at the forefront of this meeting and even the prince knew better than to play around after how close to disaster this had gotten. ¡°Can we now let this be?¡± the crown prince asked king Sylvian. With everything calming down king Gryndor gladly took a step back and gave his son an opportunity to build a rapport with the elven king, after all they will most likely be dealing with each other shortly. ¡°You both have my apologies for the way I reacted.¡± king Sylvian said as he inclined his head slightly towards both the crown prince and the councilmen. ¡°Now that I know my daughter will be fine I do agree it wasn¡¯t the best reaction.¡± ¡°That said, my reaction was still appropriate.¡± the king continued. ¡°The tournament is held as a peaceful resolution. That attack falls outside those bounds.¡± ¡°The under fifty tournament does not hold the same safety minded restrictions as the true tournament.¡± the crown prince responded. ¡°We¡¯ve always had the young treat the fight as a true battle where we simply intervened. In terms of damage caused, the princesses'' avalanche spell and her frost nova were much more powerful.¡± ¡°It is not a question of power.¡± Aranor joined the discussion. ¡°It is a question of intent. There was no interference with either of those spells because Ajax was deemed to be able to take them. Which of you made the judgment that the princess could take that final strike?¡± In an effort to keep abilities hidden, each nation had their own representative that could initiate the protective spheres, they were meant to judge how destructive their own representatives'' attacks were and intervene if it was the case. ¡°What even was that last attack?¡± Aranor asked the question everyone in the room was thinking. At that same moment the same exact question was being asked in the now almost empty healing ward. ¡°What was that?¡± the princess asked once she and Ajax were alone. ¡°You tried to use it with an arrow first¡­ I still don¡¯t know what happened.¡± As Ajax sat in silence not knowing if or how he should answer the question the princess couldn¡¯t bring herself to look away from him. She couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at how his body was slowly fixing itself, any remnant of racial superiority she had towards the other races faded away at that moment. Chapter 344 Ajax was more than happy to discuss most of the match with the princess. A fighter on her level would be an ideal person to bounce ideas off of. ¡°You left yourself too open when you attacked Regalia.¡± the princess said. ¡°It would have been well worth it to bring up even a very thin earth wall that would block my vision so I couldn¡¯t drop that avalanche on you. Quite a lot of mages rely on direct line of sight for their spells until they get better and have a lot more experience.¡± Ajax nodded in acceptance as he thought over the fight. ¡°You should have depleted your first domain faster, or at least not infused as much mana into it.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Following the opening of the fight, having Regalia with you after you set up a second domain would have made it all but impossible for me to get close enough for a solid blow.¡± A brief moment of silence passes through the room as both of them digest the feedback. ¡°That just leaves the final exchange.¡± the princess said as she tried her best to sound nonchalant. ¡°I¡¯m still not telling you what that was.¡± Ajax said with a sigh, he had spent the first ten minutes of their conversation just getting that point across. ¡°Why not?!¡± if she could have the princess would have stomped her foot in tandem with that statement. Bits and pieces of her how spoiled she had been by her grandfather, the previous elven king, started to peek through. ¡°That¡¯s something we would all like to know.¡± Aranor said from the entrance to the healing ward. ¡°I¡¯m not that curious.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said as he walked between Shadow and Aranor towards Ajax. ¡°Yeah right,¡± Shadow said. ¡°A gold coin says the moment he gets in the embassy he is getting sat down and asked how he did it.¡± ¡°Is it over?¡± Ajax asked, referring to the finals of the final tournament. ¡°It is.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°The elves won two out of three.¡± The prince said that with a wide smile as he accentuated Ajax victory in one of the tournaments. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ll be spending a lot more time with the elves sharing that mine.¡± ¡°We would be interested in setting up a meeting with you regarding perhaps selling your share of it.¡± Aranor said quickly. ¡°Not with me you won¡¯t¡± Ajax¡¯s statement surprised all of them, even the prince seemed shocked at the remark. ¡°With my trading skills I might as well give it all away for free and it won¡¯t be too much of a difference. You¡¯ll be discussing that sale with my grandfather and sister.¡± Both the princess and Aranor breathed out a sigh of relief hearing that Ajax was willing to bargain for his share of the winnings. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think that the Goldmancers should look into marrying your sister into their family.¡± the prince commented with a chuckle. ¡°The amount of pressure this entire trip put on her merchant skills I¡¯d be surprised if she didn¡¯t gain five or so levels in the last few months.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t correct the prince that Judy had only gained four levels, after all with this latest appointment she might just get to five. ¡°Can you walk?¡± The prince asked as he offered Ajax a hand. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Just barely¡± Ajax said as he slowly got out of bed, his knees shook under the pressure of his own weight but after a few seconds they proved strong enough to hold him up. ¡°You seem well on your way to recovery.¡± Shadow said with a knowing grin. ¡°Darkclaw will be ecstatic to hear that your spar with him won¡¯t have to be postponed too much.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t suppress the groan as he heard that, it wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t looking forward to the fight with the beastkin but after the last two fights even he could use a bit of a break. The only silver lining was that even with his Life mana it would take him at least a week before he would be more or less recovered and by that time he should be pretty restless from being bedridden for a while. Shadow¡¯s prediction turned out almost exactly on point. The moment Ajax stepped inside the embassy he was quickly directed to a room with the royal family, the first squad, members of his own family as well as most of his friends. ¡°There is quite a lot we have to discuss.¡± the kings said as he wearily rubbed his forehead. ¡°It¡¯s not that much is it?¡± Ajax asked sheepishly. ¡°Well lets see, there is the somewhat settled question of what you are looking to trade your tournament winnings for.¡± the king said as they had already gone over the fact that Ajax was looking to get as many alchemy ingredients as he could in addition to delving through all of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons. ¡°After that we have your new mana affinity that apparently makes enchantments malfunction without even making contact, your theory on sonic affinity mana, and last but certainly not least the ten slots you have for a boost in every single dungeon in Deepwood.¡± Ajax tried his best but he still looked pretty guilty after everything that happened in less than the last twenty four hours got listed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make enchantments malfunction.¡± Ajax said with as much of an affronted tone as he could manage. ¡°What does it do?¡± the king¡¯s oldest son asked, he was one of the most interested in the odd mana affinity since from the way it bypassed defenses it was something that he would love to get a rune of. ¡°It¡­ moves the point of impact.¡± Ajax struggled to find a way to explain Void. ¡°You saw how the hammer didn¡¯t leave so much as a scratch on the wall of ice right, it simply dropped as soon as it touched it.¡± ¡°Yes, that was the part that didn¡¯t fit with the enchantment disability theory we had going.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°The blow certainly wasn¡¯t all that hard considering how it bypassed almost all the enchantments yet still didn¡¯t kill a full mage, this despite all of the mana you put into it. Something we are all very glad about¡± the prince added the last part in a hurry as both the king and his younger brother were glaring at him. ¡°Void doesn¡¯t strengthen the blow at all.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°Void?¡± Lexi interrupted his explanation. ¡°It''s what the mana affinity is called.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°The more mana you put into it the further it moves the impact point from the point of contact.¡± ¡°Considering you put that much mana into it and it barely moved the point of impact by a foot I guess this would be a rather niche use mana type.¡± the crown prince pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t normally use it to get around a mage¡¯s shield.¡± Ajax said defensively. ¡°What do you use it for?¡± the captain of the first asked. ¡°Mostly it is for anything that has very strong armor or skin.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Works wonders against insect type monsters, it only takes a regular blow amount of mana to put the point of impact right past their shell. Most powerful defenses really focus a lot on the initial layer actually.¡± ¡°That sounds a lot like Space affinity.¡± the captain of the first squad said. ¡°Instead of using a spell to hit the exact place you want it¡¯s a lot more restrictive and relies on the power coming from the physical swing. I shudder to think what even a light blow to the head from it would do.¡± Ajax did his best not to remember the nausea inducing experiments he had done with Void when it came to crushing a brain inside a skull, he did however give a nod in confirmation to the man¡¯s guess. ¡°Void is something I will want to keep to my own House, at least for the time being.¡± Ajax added on. ¡°With it being an Epic affinity with no known runes or spells it¡¯s not like there is much to go on.¡± ¡°Yet you think that there is someone in your House that can use it?¡± Benedict was quick on the uptake of Ajax¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that they can but I am optimistic about it.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°Who?¡± Judy asked. ¡°I know that Kate doesn¡¯t cast like you and all the other mages that we have are chanters.¡± ¡°Fluffy doesn¡¯t.¡± Ajax said in a quiet voice that carried throughout the room leaving most people confused as they placed the odd name. ¡°Let me get this straight.¡± Benedict said as his face paled for a moment. ¡°You want to try and teach an ambush predator that can already teleport through shadows how to effectively bypass the armor of its prey?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also hoping that if Fluffy gets the skill he might pass it onto Tom through their bond afterward.¡± Ajax offered. ¡°We will ask that you keep a monitoring spell on the bond at all times if it does pick up the affinity.¡± the crown prince said. ¡°The rest of this is up to the scholars, same as the sonic theory.¡± ¡°That just leaves the nine spots in the Deepwood dungeons.¡± Ajax shifted in his chair closer to his grandfather in hopes that the merchant will do most of the heavy lifting in the upcoming discussion. Chapter 345 Elija Hearthbound P.O.V. In the past seven years since I first met the boy named Ajax I have been more nervous and stressed than I had been in all the decades as a merchant before that. Not only that but the amount of work I put in rivaled some of my busiest seasons. The profits I made however were bigger than I ever expected I could make in my lifetime. I had apologized to Silvia and Sam the day I met after their return to the capital but I still didn¡¯t think I did enough to make up for my earlier mistakes. Having watched Ajax in the arena yesterday almost gave me a heart attack from the way my blood pressure jumped. Still he had done his part, he won the tournament, he prevented the war and he had gotten us the spoils. It was now up to me and Judy to make the most of them. A slight nod from her as we stole a glance at each other was all the communication we needed as Ajax leaned back in his chair to relax after passing the attention of the nobles onto me. It¡¯s for exactly moments like this that I wish I could have brought Aurora with us but somebody had to stay behind to ensure everything ran smoothly, Alana and Silvia simply didn¡¯t have the experience necessary yet. Of the nine spots we had to trade, a few of them were already spoken for, Xavier, Anna, Benedict and of course Lexi would be getting one of those spots. The only question was just how much they would pay for them. Judy was the first to make a move as she simply took Lexi off to one side. That negotiation was going to be easiest of them all but it would also go very differently from any other. It wasn¡¯t hard to admit that when it came to the matters of how nobles'' houses traded in exchange for magical knowledge she had me beat. ¡°Lord Steelblade.¡± I greeted the first of my first trading partners and the easiest one to handle by a long shot. ¡°Lord Hearthbound.'''' The older man greeted me in return with both his son Richard and his nephew Benedict at his sides. ¡°I was looking to discuss purchasing two of those dungeon spots from you today.¡± That was simply a non-starter, no family was going to be getting two of those spots. We were already down to five and giving two to any family would also mean we would have to sell two to the royal family just so it wouldn¡¯t look like we were playing favorites. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you but we will be limiting the transactions to one spot only.¡± I could see Richard hold in the disappointed sigh, getting to join in on the delves throughout the Republic before the tournament had helped him make great progress but he knew that Benedict as an heir for the position of house head would be prioritized. ¡°That is disappointing, yet not entirely unexpected.¡± lord Steelblade nodded. ¡°What are you looking to gain in exchange for the spot?¡± While the Steelblade family would be the easiest to negotiate with in terms of the negotiator they presented a bigger difficulty in terms of things we needed. As such a martial house they had plenty of skilled warriors, impressive armor and dangerous weapons they had stockpiled throughout millenia, the problem was that we had nobody who could truly make use of them. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Trading them for retainers would be beyond foolish as anyone we gained would instantly become our strongest people. Any armor and weapons we could get would either not be valuable enough or so powerful that they would become crutches for our own retainers and limit their growth by getting them so early. I focused first on settling on a minimum amount of money that would be part of the agreement as I thought about something more exclusive that I could trade for. ¡°Twenty thousand gold coins should be a decent sum to cover the monatery part of the deal.¡± I offered. ¡°Twenty thousand is something that we would be agreeable to, depending of course on what the non-monetary part is.¡± The man in front of me gave away nothing, he hardly even took a moment to consider my ask. His experience as a supply officer in the family army was showing. ¡°We would like House Steelblade to share their knowledge in regards to the expeditions they have made outside our kingdom''s borders into the untamed lands.¡± I finished my offer. I knew that Ajax was going to be heading out in search of a bond of his own after he finished delving into every dungeon he had access to. As such a militaristic house the Steelblades had kept their people sharp by sending out more expeditions in the untamed lands than all the other noble houses in the kingdom combined. Their maps and scout work should not only make it easier for Ajax to travel but it would also give him a direction to head in as he searched for his bond. ¡°That¡­¡± I could see that my request had taken them by surprise. This wasn¡¯t a request they had expected. Even Ajax was surprised at my request, I was also glad that he was still sitting in his chair out of sight of the Steelblades as his face would have given away just how valuable this part of the deal was for our House. ¡°Is something we can agree to. On the condition that your house doesn¡¯t spread the information further.¡± A handshake sealed the deal, Ajax also standing from his chair and joining us for this to finalize the agreement. It was hard to gloat a little when I saw the Steelblades victorious mood drop after he noticed how excited Ajax was about the information he had traded, no doubt he realized he could have asked for us to drop the monetary amount by half and we would have accepted. With the first discussion finished I moved towards the next house. Annabeth Goldmancer would be bartering for her own spot yet I had no doubt that despite being more than five times her age she was not someone I could take lightly. Unlike the previous conversation this one was much longer as the discussion moved from one offer to the next. Halfway through Judy joined us having finished her own bargain with Lexi who went to help Ajax relax after the stressful day he had. ¡°Fifteen thousand gold coins as well as help with setting up your international trade roots seems like a fair deal.¡± Anna said after more than half an hour of us going back and forth. That help was something we would surely need. With Ajax¡¯s renown throughout the Republic and Sylvanthal following this tournament it was vital that we establish trade with both as a way of showing Ajax¡¯s willingness to work with others and help take a target off his back. Even with all that it still felt like the deal favored the Goldmancers even if just slightly. Judy seemed ready to accept the deal but I wanted a little more. ¡°You¡¯ll also let us buy the best growth elixir your family has in store for Fluffy at a fair price.¡± After a certain point scarcity of certain goods became so high that while the market price for them wasn¡¯t obscene because of how niche their use was, it always took favors to be able to buy them. There was a good chance that almost all of the money we got from the Goldmancers on this deal would be returned for their growth elixir. With two three slots already traded I was starting to already feel the fatigue. When I saw the crown prince approaching it took everything I had not slump a little. ¡°Perhaps it would be best if we end the dealings here for the night.¡± the prince said. ¡°Relax for the rest of the evening so that you can be well rested when dealing with Sylvanthal tomorrow regarding the tournament winnings. Our offer for a delving slot can wait until after that.¡± Despite the soft words the prince¡¯s voice carried throughout the room and swayed everyone else in attendance from attempting to approach us for a deal for the remainder of the evening. This afterparty was the first time I actually got to see Ajax enjoy a noble party. While not everyone was pleased with our results when it came to the tournaments nobody had anything to complain about Ajax. He had spent the evening eating, drinking, dancing and being congratulated on his performance by everybody he talked to. ¡°Where did your brother go?¡± I asked Judy after I lost track of Ajax. ¡°Lexi pulled him away half an hour ago.¡± She answered. ¡°OH!.¡± I chuckled at that thought. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you''re thinking.¡± she said, but then corrected herself. ¡°At least not right away, her patience ran out and she pulled him away to talk to him about his theory on the sonic mana affinity.¡± Chapter 346 ¡°So what did you mean when you said that all sounds are vibrations?¡± Lexi asked once she finally had Ajax alone in his room, both of them were on his bed with Ajax laying his head in her lap as he relaxed from a stressful day. ¡°Just as I said, I think all sounds are actually vibrations, each different sound is slightly different just the same as we see different colors.¡± Ajax was thinking as he tried to piece together how this discovery wasn¡¯t already made. ¡°I think it''s easier to see it if you remove as much mana from the surroundings as possible.¡± Ajax¡¯s primary theory on why this information wasn¡¯t common despite them already putting together that loud noises produced vibrations most likely had to do with the affect mana had on sound, if every researcher was using enchanted equipment for their projects that could very well affect measurements that had to do with low levels of sound. ¡°You can see it in the way commoners try to soundproof rooms.¡± Ajax went on to explain. ¡°They put as much padding as possible around the walls so that the vibrations don¡¯t make it out the other side. I doubt it would do much to a sonic spell since that would also be using mana to deliver the sound.¡± ¡°But if sound really is all vibrations how could Sonic mana be Legendary?¡± Lexi asked. This was also something that Ajax had issues with, Sonic mana was supposed to be Legendary according to the texts they had found yet if it was limited to only sound would that make Vibration mana Mythic? ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°But you can also tell that all sound is vibration by looking at how it reacts. Think of an army marching, if they are just walking at their own pace the result is much subdued. If all of them are marching in step, placing their feet down at the same time the vibration builts, a large enough army could even cause the ground to shake as they pass.¡± Lexi started to mutter a spell as she threw her mind back to her grandfather¡¯s lesson on sonic spells. As the premier researcher he had access to copies of the texts where the spells had been written down and then translated. While she was doing that Ajax was trying his best to think how to build a tunic fork. A really easy way to prove that all sound traveled through vibrations and all the different frequencies would be to hit one tuning fork and show how that low sound gets the second one to vibrate. As Lexi released her spells she couldn¡¯t help but fix her eyes on the glass that sat on Ajax¡¯s night stand. Ajax had mentioned that different sounds vibrated differently and that how high or low pitched they were could also affect the vibrations. The high pitch beep that Lexi released surprised Ajax yet when he leaned his head back to look at her he noticed how focused she was on the glass. With his high perception Ajax managed to see in real time how the glass started to vibrate from the sound produced by the spell. ¡°It really does work.¡± It took Lexi a moment longer to notice the vibration yet despite the beep not being loud the high frequency did get the glass to vibrate slightly. ¡°In that case what if the translation was wrong? What if Vibrations as a whole is the Legendary mana and not just Sonic?¡± ¡°The presence of mana and its effect on sound and vibrations makes it really hard to study.¡± Ajax continued to try and give out hits. ¡°You can hardly even create shockwaves consistently because how mana affects the speed sound travels at.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°What do shockwaves have to do with sound?¡± Lexi was confused by the link. ¡°Shockwaves are formed when something travels faster than the speed of sound.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It''s why whips make that sound in low mana areas, with a low mana density the speed sound travels at is low enough that the end of the whip travels faster than sound when flicked releasing a small shockwave.¡± Ajax¡¯s words finally made everything click for Lexi as she thought back to the one spell that her grandfather couldn¡¯t understand why it didn¡¯t work. From the descriptions the spell was supposed to release a powerful shockwave, yet the spell never worked. What if it didn¡¯t work because their intent was all wrong? What if in order to create a powerful shockwave the spell had to first create a very low mana density at the point of origin in order to lower the speed of sound as much as possible? Lexi¡¯s mind was now running a thousand miles an hour and she didn¡¯t even realize that she had lifted one of her palms as she started whispering the words for the useless spell that never worked. In her focused state Lexi didn¡¯t realize how much mana she was pushing into the spell since she never had a frame of reference for it. When the chant finished Ajax was almost thrown off the bed as a powerful shockwave was released turning Ajax¡¯s room upside down, the doors were rattled and almost taken off their hinges and the windows didn¡¯t stand a chance as they all got smashed and thrown outwards. ¡°Lexi what the fuck?¡± Ajax shouted in surprise as he turned to look a little angry towards his lover. Lexi however hadn¡¯t heard a word as her eyes were unfocused as she stared at something no more than a few inches in front of her nose. For more than a few moments her brain was still playing catch-up with everything that happened before she finally rebooted and started to process everything. ¡°It worked, you were right¡­ I¡­ I got it.¡± the words came out staggered and softly yet Ajax could make them out clearly. ¡°What worked?¡± Ajax said calming down not that he noticed that Lexi didn¡¯t intend to do what she did. ¡°What did you get?¡± Ajax words got Lexi to focus on him for a moment and she quickly leapt to give him a hug. ¡°The spell even grandpa could get to cast, it worked. You were right vibration and sounds it''s all connected." Then in a small voice that Ajax barely heard as she leaned in with her arms going around his neck and he lips close to his right ear she whispered. ¡°I have the Legendary mana affinity for Vibrations.¡± It was now Ajax¡¯s turn to slowly process everything that happened, his body however was much quicker on the uptake than his brain as his arms quickly went around Lexi waist and back as he returned the hug. Ajax didn¡¯t even get a moment to process everything that had happened as the door that had barely survived the shockwave was shattered, throwing splitters everywhere as both princes and a good number of members from the first squad piled into the room ready for battle. ¡°Fweeuuu ?¡± the king¡¯s oldest son whistled as he took in the room. ¡°Must have been quite the argument, though it¡¯s great to see that you made up so quickly.¡± ¡°What the hell happened?¡± the crown prince said as he threw his brother an accusatory glare for his joking comment. ¡°It looks like an explosion went off in here. Both Lexi¡¯s and Ajax¡¯s faces were a little red from the first comment but Ajax was surprised how accurate the crown prince¡¯s comment was since a shockwave was exactly what a bomb going off would have caused. It was at that moment that Anna squeezed her way past all of the high-level people gathered in the door and dashed over to her best friend''s side and started looking her over. ¡°What happened? Are you hurt? Do you need a potion?¡± Lexi¡¯s excitement redoubled in the presence of her best friend and her answers returned to the excitable drivel that had come right after she had read her notifications. ¡°Ajax was right! The spell finally worked! I got it, I won¡¯t be left behind.¡± Different people focused on different parts of her answer. While Anna was relieved by the fact that her friend was okay, both princes started looking at Ajax with interest when they heard he was right, the casters perked up at hearing the spell worked and Ajax focused on the small insecurity Lexi had felt about being left behind that he hadn¡¯t picked up on until now. ¡°What was Ajax right about?¡± the crown prince asked. ¡°And what did you get?¡± his brother continued. ¡°Sonic mana, Ajax was exactly right.¡± Lexi praised as she started to get her excitement under control. ¡°I have a Legendary mana affinity.¡± No sooner had the words left her mouth that the king¡¯s oldest son and all members of the first squad jumped into motion, some were heading for the broken windows while others took a small step back out into the corridor. ¡°My most heartfelt congratulations.¡± the crown prince said as he was also moving to herd Ajax, Lexi and Anna out of the room. ¡°But not another word until we are in a more secure location than one with windows that were just shattered.¡± Lexi quickly realized her mistake and nodded her acceptance as all three of them were led back to the party room. Ajax and Lexi couldn¡¯t help but feel a little guilty as they watched every single guard on high alert following their mishap. Chapter 347 As they entered the party room Ajax could see that everything looked very different from how it was when they left. All of the tables had been moved against a wall as the remaining members of the first squad had formed a protective circle around the king and the nobles that remained in the room, Judy and Elija were not exempt as everyone looked very worried. ¡°Everything is¡­ well it''s not fine but under control.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son told his father as they entered the room. ¡°Brother is going to await the inevitable visit from the Republic to explain that we can handle this on our own.¡± ¡°There is no danger.¡± one of the members of the first reported to their captain who was staying by the king¡¯s side. Only at those words did the defensive ring break as the group huddle started spreading out throughout the room. ¡°You¡¯re at the center of this aren¡¯t you?¡± Judy accused Ajax as soon as he, Lexi and Anna joined them. ¡°It wasn¡¯t his fault.¡± Lexi quick stepped in to defend him. ¡°Great, he¡¯s center adjacent.¡± Lexi complained as she figured out who the center was from the guilty look on Lexi¡¯s face. ¡°I swear boy.¡± Elija let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Most days I thank the gods for the opportunities you provide and how much my level has grown as of late. But on days like this I can¡¯t help but think you will be the death of me.¡± Despite the all clear being given it was clear that the party mood was gone, add the fact that the prince was doing his best to clear most of the nobles from the room it wasn¡¯t long until the royal family, the first squad, Ajax and his friends as well as their family members were the only ones to remain inside the room. ¡°What did you do this time?¡± the king asked, unlike the accusatory tone his sister had previously had, the king could barely contain his excitement. ¡°Is it another Legendary skill?¡± ¡°It is.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son answered before anyone had a chance, the sly grin he had when he said that confirmed to Ajax that he was looking for a bit of entertainment from the situation. ¡°A fifth Legendary skill?¡± Both Benedict hissed out in disbelief. ¡°Oh, not a Legendary skill¡­¡± The king¡¯s excitement quickly dampened as unlike most people he had plenty of experience with his son''s jokes so he could tell from his grin and the way everyone had looked at him that he was up to something. ¡°There is a Legendary skill.¡± Ajax began. ¡°It just¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who got it.¡± Lexi finished. ¡°Which one?¡± The king¡¯s excitement was back so quick Ajax was surprised it didn¡¯t give the man whiplash. ¡°[Vibration Aspect Mana]¡± Lexi answered. ¡°Ajax was right in his theory about sonic spells and sound.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called vibration? Not sonic?¡± the crown prince asked surprised as he entered the room after ensuring all the Republic officials that everything was fine. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. From there everyone quieted down as Ajax and Lexi went through the explanation of sound vibrations and the effect they suspected mana had on sonic booms. The first part had everyone nodding along as all of them had heard Ajax¡¯s theory at the arena, the second part however was something new all around. ¡°So this [Vibration Aspect Mana] is not a skill you are inclined to?¡± the king asked Ajax after they had finished with the explanation. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°I only saw my first sonic spells today, I haven¡¯t tried to use vibration mana before. It was seconds from when Lexi released her spell and everyone barged into the room.¡± While Ajax did answer that as carefully as he could, he was a bit nervous that it would take him a while to unlock the skill as his second Legendary affinity. On the upside he doubted he would have any issues convincing Lexi to share the chants for a few sonic spells with him so he could try to get the affinity as well. For the first time in years his [Chanting] skill was about to be useful once again. ¡°That is true, just because you know the theory is still a Legendary skill, chances are Lexi will be the only one with the affinity in the entire kingdom.¡± the crown prince nodded as the hope that it would be a skill more people would be able to unlock crumbled. From there everyone was headed off to bed after a full day. Even with his room in shambles Lexi had dragged Ajax off to her room to end the day with a final celebration and thanks before they both fell asleep. Ajax had the best sleep he¡¯d had in a while. He only woke up once the sun was high up in the sky and his legs seemed to have made a full recovery overnight. His back was still one big bruise and tender to the touch but he should be fully healed in another day or so. As Ajax went to lunch he met his grandfather and Judy who already looked a little drained. They had just finished the negotiations with the Royal family, and while they had managed to get a lot more than they had initially expected, mostly based on Ajax¡¯s contribution on the vibration mana, they still had to work for it. ¡°Ajax, I hope you had a restful night.¡± the king greeted him as he took a seat at the table. ¡°I did Your Highness.¡± Ajax responded as he piled his plate high with food. ¡°My legs have recovered and my back should heal by tomorrow.¡± ¡°That is good.¡± the crown prince nodded. ¡° I hate to spring this on you first thing after you wake up but today will already be pretty busy and it¡¯s best for you to know in advance. Once we return to Gryndor we will be making the official announcement of your rise from Baron to Duke.¡± It was a good thing Ajax didn¡¯t have anything in his mouth at the time as he would have surely choked. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ being made¡­ a Duke?¡± Ajax was shocked at the development, he had expected that it wouldn¡¯t be long until he ascended to Viscount but a jump from Baron to Duke in six years was unheard of outside of war. ¡°The original plan was for it to wait ten years, give you enough time to build a foundation.¡± the crown prince explained. ¡°With how big a mark you left here however plans have to be moved up.¡± Elija was awestruck by this development, the fork in his left hand frozen halfway to his still open mouth as he processed what was happening. For decades he had worked trying to better himself, deep inside he had hoped he would become a noble but he had never imagined being part of a ducal House. ¡°Wait, what is happening later today?¡± Ajax¡¯s mind circled back to the earlier statement. ¡°The festival is starting of course.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son said with a wide smile. ¡°After every tournament there is a festival to celebrate the peaceful resolution. As one of the victors it is expected that you at least have a noticeable presence for the first couple of days.¡± ¡°Usually people would give you more time to enjoy your victory before approaching you about your winnings, especially when it¡¯s all but agreed that Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family will be the ones to purchase the rights from you.¡± the crown prince explained. ¡°With how many witnesses saw your agreement about ten delve slots for Deepwood¡¯s dungeons however I expect they will all be in a hurry.¡± Elija took the news in stride as he reached over and added another helping to Judy¡¯s plate. ¡°Eat up darling, it seems it will be another long day.¡± Following lunch Elija and Judy were invited to join Percival Vaultmore, the crown prince, Anna and, much to his chagrin, Xavier. They were all going to discuss the five remaining slots that Ajax will be selling. This wasn¡¯t the royal family angling for another spot, it was instead a discussion on what rare resources they should be on the lookout for from foreign nobles. Ajax chose to simply lean into tradition as he took Lexi out on a date as they went out to experience everything the festival had to offer. Every time he was approached about business he would point whoever it was in the direction of his grandfather. Much to Ajax¡¯s surprise not only were all of the nobles accommodating of dealing with his grandfather despite him not being the head of the house, his delegating had actually earned him even more approval from them. ¡°Best not get used to this.¡± Anna burst his bubble. ¡°They only accept this now because they want something you have and because you are so young.¡± Ajax nodded at the words, deep inside his heart however he reinforced his wish to grow stronger. Strong enough that nobody will have any problems with him delegating. ¡°You¡¯re thinking something rude.¡± Lexi poked him in the side as she dragged him down the street towards the next stall. Chapter 348 Ajax spent the next two days enjoying the festival and recuperating. That isn¡¯t to say that there weren¡¯t a lot of people looking for a moment of his time but Ajax skillfully directed all of them towards his grandfather and sister. Darkclaw had done his best to restrain himself and give Ajax time to recover but the dam finally burst and a spar was scheduled to take place at the end of the week. It was on the evening of the second day that a small conference formed to discuss his options for the remaining five spots. ¡°Did any royal family approach you about a deal?¡± the crown prince asked as he joined Elija, Judy, Lexi, Anna and Ajax. ¡°None of them so far.¡± Elija shook his head. ¡°We do have a meeting with the Sylvian family tomorrow morning to discuss Ajax¡¯s tournament winnings. You¡¯ll need to be there for that by the way.¡± ¡°Closest we have is a member of the Council, they offered a really good deal to get Darkclaw one of the spots.¡± Judy nodded. It seemed that the best case scenario just wasn¡¯t meant to be. Ajax had also hoped to be able to trade one or maybe even two of the spots to the beastkin or the dwarves in exchange for another kingdom¡¯s dungeons to delve but even he knew it was a long shot. ¡°What are the best offers we have so far?¡± Ajax asked, curious. ¡°So far there are two offers that far surpass all the others we have gotten. The Council¡¯s offer for Darkclaw was generous enough that it will push our house into the top ten merchant Houses in Gryndor.¡± Elija said with a look that told Ajax his grandfather was ready to accept that deal. ¡°The second offer comes from Elara.¡± Ajax was slightly surprised to hear that house had made such a big offer considering how their interactions had gone. ¡°While it wasn¡¯t as valuable as the Councilor¡¯s offer for Darkclaw they will be making their payment almost exclusively in rare alchemy ingredients.¡± ¡°There are still offers that should be coming in over the next few days.¡± The prince gave his own opinion. ¡° Quite a few of the present representatives simply don¡¯t have the authority to make such large offers but I can assure you that all of them sent out ravens days ago the moment you gained that deal.¡± ¡°You should accept the top two offers.¡± Anna offered her counsel. ¡°Doing so will not only improve the dispositions of our hosts with us and repair your relationship with a ducal house, but by also lowering the supply it will loosen everyone else''s purse strings.¡± Ajax found himself very much in agreement with Anna¡¯s suggestion. Accepting the top two offers would increase the price of the remaining spots but it will also show them as reasonable since they aren¡¯t holding and squeezing people dry. ¡°That¡¯s a solid proposal.¡± Ajax nodded in affirmation. ¡°But when do you think I should go?¡± ¡°As soon as possible.¡± The crown prince didn¡¯t miss a beat. ¡°Going straight there from here would be best. The more time passes from when the incident occurred the less protected you will be. Not to mention that going into dungeons at a lower level is always better since you will have more floors available to you.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go through the Deepwood dungeons and on the way back I¡¯ll delve into Sylvanthal''s dungeons depending on how the negotiations go tomorrow. After I return to Gryndor I¡¯ll go to the empire for the final delve before I head out to find a companion.¡± ¡°Good luck explaining that to your mother.¡± Elija threw out there with a shake of the head. The words sent a cold shiver up Ajax¡¯s spine as he thought through the timetable. They had already been gone for almost half a year, in his initial plan he would have had time to delve one kingdom¡¯s worth of dungeons before returning home and spending a month in Gryndor before heading to the Empire at least. With two kindom¡¯s worth of dungeons Ajax would need to travel quickly as they delved from one dungeon to the next just to get back to the Empire dungeon in time. ¡°See if you can add a nice gift for my parents in the deals for the last three spots.¡± Ajax asked his grandfather before he went to his new room to sleep. While most people from that meeting went to sleep as it was getting rather late the crown prince was meeting with his father and brother. ¡°Something is going on with Arborea and Predator¡¯s Pride.¡± the crown prince said as he referenced the two beastkin kingdoms to the south of the Republic. Unlike the human, elven and dwarven kingdoms the beastkin had split themselves differently. Where the other races split themselves between those who thought themselves the superior race and those who didn¡¯t the beastkins split themselves more along whether their animal counterparts were herbivores or carnivores. Not only that but because of the savannah and desert geography of their kingdoms the borders between them were not as clear cut. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± king Gryndor asked. ¡°Ajax hasn¡¯t received a significant offer from a noble family from there for one of the spots in the Deepwood dungeons.¡± the crown prince explained. While the same was true of the dwarven kingdoms, the dwarves as a society were much more focused on craftsmen and pure skill. The stat points from a dungeon wouldn¡¯t be so alluring to them as they were to the beastkin¡¯s more brutal and physical society. ¡°We have lost contact with an unusual number of our agents there in the past decade as well.¡± the king said as he rubbed his temple in hopes of preventing the headache he felt coming. ¡°We will have to send more people to take a closer look at what is going on.¡± _________________________________________________________________________ Ajax started the following morning with a quick training session with Lexi. He spent the first half an hour doing his best to get a feel for it as he used both [Syphon Mana] and [Sense Mana] to get a good look and feel for the spells Lexi was using. Much to her credit Lexi was not limiting herself to sound spells only as she also tried to add the mana to her earth spells in hopes of creating an earthquake like effect. ¡°This is a lot harder than I remember.¡± Ajax complained after his tenth attempt at chanting the sonic spell fizzled out in a waste of mana. ¡°You hardly practiced chanting in the last few years.¡± Lexi said. ¡°These spells are a lot more advanced and we both know that different casting methods interfere with one another.¡± Ajax knew she was right. He only ever used chants for cleaning, he was still a little peeved that he hadn¡¯t figured out how that particular spell worked and couldn¡¯t replicate it with pure mana control. ¡°How about that shockwave spell?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I think I have a better visualization of that one, not to mention that it relies more on mana control to create a small area that is very mana sparse. Ajax¡¯s guess had been right, it had only taken him eight attempts until he finally got the spell to cast. Unlike Lexi¡¯s first cast of the spell he only fed the spell with a bit of mana creating a shockwave that only kicked up the dust in their training area. ¡°You did it!¡± Lexi congratulated him. ¡°How did it feel?¡± ¡°Odd.¡± Ajax answered. The advantage with casting the spell himself was that he could get a much clearer picture of how his mana changed from neutral into the Vibration mana so that he could try and replicate the process. ¡°It felt odd.¡± Just like Life mana, Vibration mana was superior compared to the normal affinities Ajax used, there was a reason they were Legendary after all. Unlike Life mana however, Vibration was very much an aggressive and offensive mana type and he could feel the raw power the mana type could bring to his kit once he mastered it. ¡°You might as well end this session on a high note.¡± Lexi said as she started herding him out the training area. ¡°Best you go get ready for your meeting.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t put up more than a token struggle as he headed to take a shower and a change of clothes. His mana pool was also quite depleted from the numerous failed casts. Lexi was right he should focus on the upcoming negotiations, there would be plenty of time for him to train as he traveled from one dungeon to the next over the next few months. Chapter 349 Ajax entered the negotiation room joined by his grandfather, Judy and both of Gryndor¡¯s princes. The room was empty at the moment but the elves were expected to join them momentarily. The crown prince was there as both advisor and as a representative of the royal family, his older brother however was there as protection. The door to the opposite side of the room opened and four elves stepped inside. The elven king, Arianwyn and Aranor were all known to Ajax; he suspected the fourth man to be an advisor, most likely working for the kingdom¡¯s treasury. As both sides silently lined up to greet each other the first move was definitely not one Ajax expected. Regalia the princess¡¯s snake was quick to stretch out slightly and hiss at Ajax. ¡°Regalia, no!¡± Arianwyn tried her best to grab a hold of her bond and bring her back as she flushed in embarrassment. Ajax simply entered a combat stance as he prepared himself to pull his hammer out of his spacial ring, his grandfather and sister however were a lot more panicked. The relaxed attitude displayed by Aranor, the king and the crown prince did a lot to calm Ajax down. ¡°Quite the bond you¡¯ve got there.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son commented. ¡°Despite the beating it took, it''s not feeling intimidated at all, if anything it seems almost curious.¡± Unlike his usual attitude the prince remained professional as he took his role as security seriously in front of another nation. With Regalia in her grasp Arianwyn was doing her best to regain her own composure as both sides took their seats around the table, Aranor and the prince the only people that remained on their feet. ¡°You are full of surprises Baron Heathbound.¡± the king opened. ¡°Is it still Baron Hearthbound?¡± ¡°For now.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°Though I am not sure how full I am after this tournament.¡± Ajax went into the tournament fully prepared that he might not win even with all the advantages he had. What he hadn¡¯t been all that prepared for was for how he would feel now he had shown every trick he had kept in reserve. He was feeling a little vulnerable without an ace up his sleeve, that was the main driving force behind him putting all his mana into trying to train and unlock Vibration mana. ¡°We do foresee a celebratory announcement once we finally return home.¡± the prince responded. ¡°But that is not what you are here for now.¡± The king nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°You are correct, and I do imagine all of us have a few pressing matters that we can¡¯t postpone too much longer so let us begin.¡± with that the king brought out his own copy of the mana rich mine that was the prize for the tournaments. ¡°We evaluate your 20% of the mine to be worth in the neighborhood of one hundred thousand gold coins. What would you like in exchange for it?¡± ¡°That seems like a low valuation.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°For a more established house I would agree, Your Highness.¡± the fourth elf joined the conversation. ¡°House Hearthbound simply doesn¡¯t have the infrastructure to warrant a higher valuation, for his House the asset would represent a large drain on their funds and it will be years before they recuperate their investment and start turning a profit.¡± The argument was one nobody could disagree with. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Our main ask for this would be a full access delve into all of the dungeons that Sylvanthal has.¡± Elija joined the negotiation. Ajax might not have been all that skilled in negotiations but even he noticed a look of relief on the unknown elf¡¯s face, clearly everyone would be happy to give Ajax access to the dungeons he wanted. ¡°That is something we are prepared to agree to.¡± the king nodded towards his treasurer. ¡°I think you would find that a valuation of eighty thousand gold coins would be a fair ask for something of that nature.¡± Ajax had been prepared for the cost to be a lot higher than the average twenty thousand gold coins he had been getting in exchange for his own delving spots but eighty thousand was more than he expected. ¡°Now that seems like a high valuation.¡± the prince said with a small smile of his own. ¡°That valuation is one that is often given to a round of delves when they are part of a trade.¡± the king argued. ¡°That may be true, but just as you pointed out that young Ajax is not in a position to make use of his newly gained asset, you are not in a position to spend large amounts of material wealth.¡± the crown prince responded. ¡°Something more immaterial that comes at no direct cost to your kingdom would have a proportionally lower value, say seventy thousand.¡± From there the negotiation shifted into high gear as the king and treasurer battled Elija and the crown prince with the occasional offer from Judy. For once Ajax was fully invested as he saw one offer after another being thrown out there by each side as they ever so slowly moved the value of their offers closer and closer to somewhere in the middle. The negotiation lasted for almost two full hours, surprisingly enough the two hardest negotiators had been the treasurer and the crown prince. Ajax was sure that despite the exhausted smile the treasurer was sporting after an agreement was reached the real winner was the crown prince, maybe not in terms of the deal they struck but certainly in terms of the information he managed to gain about the elves'' financial situation. The end agreement had been for Ajax to receive his delves, five thousand gold coins worth of different elemental mana gems native to Sylvanthal as well as a deal for House Heathbound to be distributor of a few regulated export goods from Sylvanthal to Gryndor. ¡°It was a pleasure doing business with you, Your Majesty.¡± The crown prince said with a smile as the final terms were agreed upon, Arianwyn was unable to fully suppress a small glare, not so much for how much the prince had cost but more for how long the negotiation had gone on for. ¡°So it was.¡± the king nodded towards the crown prince with a matching smile before he turned to Ajax. ¡°On to the next item, what would it take for my daughter to join her friend Elara?¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be slightly surprised. It couldn¡¯t have been more than an hour before the meeting that his grandfather and sister finalized the deal with Elara¡¯s father and the king already knew that it had been accepted, that was quite the loyalty the ducal house had for the royal family, doubly so considering that they only bought a spot and not placed Elara¡¯s name on it. That question seemed to kickstart the negotiations once again. Unlike the previous discussion however the elven treasurer found himself contending with Elija while the crown prince had mostly settled in to watch, throwing a word or two of support every now and then. Half an hour later and Ajax was starting to feel the tension building in the room. Despite the previous negotiation taking longer both parties had simply been taking the smallest steps they could as they worked towards the middle, that was not the case this time. Because of the extremely diminished reserves of the elven treasury and the previously agreed upon bargain Elija couldn¡¯t find a single offer he could reasonably accept. Ajax had mentioned that he wouldn¡¯t be against gaining some good will from the elven royals but none of their offers were even close to some of the best ones they had already gotten. ¡°This is taking too long.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son let out a giant sigh, finally breaking his serious guard persona. ¡°Brother, this is not the time.¡± the crown prince tried to stop his older sibling from interfering. ¡°They are simply going in circles. Elija, you¡¯ll accept the best offer out of the ones they already made.¡± The prince¡¯s words brought joy to the tired treasurer but neither Aranor nor the king relaxed as they awaited their part of the compromise. ¡°You¡¯ll add two tree of life seeds on top of the offer.¡± ¡°Tree of life seeds?¡± the king asked, surprised by the request. It took everything he had for Ajax not to show any reaction. He had been explicitly told that there was no way the royal family could sell him any for a long while. Sooner or later it was going to get out that Ajax had managed to gain his Legendary Life mana affinity with help of a seed and if it was found out that the royal family then sold some to him despite their restricted status as a kingdom resource there would be serious consequences. ¡° ¡®Baron¡¯ Hearthbound.'''' The prince accentuated the word baron. ¡°May find himself in need of revitalizing any lands he may or may not gain in the near future. As the facilitators of this meeting the royal House Gryndor will not lay claim to the obtained seeds as a kingdom resource.¡± There was a long moment of silence before the king agreed to the proposal. Chapter 350 Ajax was very happy with the deal he had made, not as happy as his grandfather and Judy were however as they had made some great gains in their skills after their hard work. ¡°I got an Epic skill.¡± Judy tried to keep her excited whisper as quiet as possible as they were making their way through the hall. ¡°What did you get?¡± Elija asked, interested. ¡°[Firm Price].¡± Judy said with excitement. ¡°That¡¯s one of the best seller skills out there!¡± [Firm Price] was one of the more limited Epic merchant skills. It did only one thing minimize the effect of any other skill on getting a seller to lower their price. It was also one of the most coveted skills by any merchant organization, though mostly they looked for it in their lower level employees who were selling items with a posted price instead of a haggled trade. ¡°That will be really good if we ever start creating high end items with any regularity.¡± Elija said as he stroked his beard. ¡°Once we get back home you should probably spend a few months behind the counter to grab the easy levels for it, that way once your brother starts making high end potions you can keep some healthy margins selling them.¡± ¡°How do you think we did on the deal?¡± Judy asked Ajax now that they were alone. Ajax didn¡¯t even have a chance to start answering before Elija cut him off. ¡°Not on the second one, we know how you feel about getting those seeds, the first deal the one we actually reached an agreement without going outside the normal conventions.¡± Ajax took a moment to consider that. The end deal got them some valuable trade agreements and a decent amount of mana gems. Both of those were good for their future, if a little lackluster in the short term. The trade agreements would grow their budding merchant organization internationally and the gems would eventually be used by any promising non-alchemy focused crafters to improve, like his father¡¯s smithing. Both of those things were good. The delves were the main prize. Because the agreement had been for each of the dungeons in Sylvanthal instead of just the best three as most people cared about, Ajax had only gotten nine slots. ¡°I think we made out rather well, three slots in each dungeon along with the gems and trade agreement should be enough to help us prepare for the future as well.¡± Ajax answered the question. The kingdom had taken their share of the reward, since they had little use for the trade agreements at a national levels and the royal family had plenty of mana gems they had taken a bigger share of the slots, in exchange for providing the booster the royal family had walked away with five of the remaining slots while Ajax was left with three. The only question was who could they sell the two empty slots for the most? ¡°You two should go and relax for the rest of the day, I¡¯ll go do some physical training.¡± Ajax said as he took off towards the training grounds, his mana hadn¡¯t yet recovered from his pre meeting training. ¡°He¡¯s right grandpa, you should go rest.¡± Judy said with a caring innocent voice. ¡°You did most of the heavy lifting in that meeting.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°And what are you going to do?¡± he asked with an eyebrow raised suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m going to go train my skills as well¡± Judy said with as much determination as she could muster. ¡°Not my new one since we don¡¯t have all that much to sell on hand but my others should work just fine here.¡± Judy was gone before Elija had time to object to her. ¡°Aurora, you shouldn¡¯t have thought her about that at this age.¡± Elija stayed there shaking his head for a moment before he started making his way to his own room to relax. As for the training Judy was going to be doing she was heading straight for the local casinos. Unlike her grandfather or her partner Alana Judy wasn¡¯t a strategist merchant. What she specialized in was finding the hidden value in what seemed to be ordinary items at first glance and her skills helped her in that endeavor. None of the skills would help with any of the house games, casinos would have quickly gone bankrupt or banned merchants if that was the case. They did however work in poker, if only slightly. With her value appraisal skills Judy could get a sense for how good a hand was, not only that but she could use her skills on other players cards as well. The only issue was that she could only determine the current value, more than once she had been sure of victory only for a bad beat on the river to cause her to lose most of her winnings. ¡°Ten gold coins.¡± Judy said as she handed the employee a small back and picked up a rather full rack of chips. With chips in hand Judy quickly made her way over to the Texas hold¡¯em tables in the casino. With her youthful looks and large amount of chips she was quickly welcomed by the players at the table, all of them happy she had come, for the moment at least. Judy settled in ready to spend the next few hours training ¡°Can I get a cherry cocktail please!¡± ¡°So what¡¯s it going to be?¡± the muscled adventurer asked as he looked towards Judy as she furrowed her brows and looked at her cards. In the past hour Judy had managed to grow her pile of chips from ten gold worth to twelve and the bet was heads up to her on a one gold coin to call. ¡°I call.¡± she finally said as she threw a chip towards the pot much to the adventurer¡¯s disappointment. ¡°Gods damn it.¡± the adventurer mucked his bluff without even checking what Judy had. ¡°That¡¯s it I¡¯m done for the day.¡± he stood up from his chair and walked away. ¡°You¡¯re a pretty good merchant for someone so young.¡± An elven woman to her right said as she racked in the chips. Despite her best efforts to hide it the more experienced players had picked up that Judy was a merchant, she had done her best to hide it giving her social skills a true workout but even if she didn¡¯t give the game away with her reactions the facts would do that for her. After all, merchants would never call a value bet on the river and lose. ¡°You¡¯re a better scout.¡± Judy answered back, the elf in question had taken a few of Judy¡¯s chips over the past hour. Merchants weren¡¯t the only ones that had an advantage at the poker tables. It wasn¡¯t feasible to swap out the deck for every single hand that was played so while they did go through four separate decks in the past hour a good scout would be able to surreptitiously mark a few cards and use that to their advantage before the deck was replaced. Not only that but with their high perception they could better read their opponent. ¡°You¡¯ll get better returns at the lower tables.¡± the elf suggested. ¡°They aren¡¯t as good, not only that but they¡¯ll underestimate you because of your age you¡¯ll be able to get away with more of your bluffs.¡± While betting when you had the better hand was simply a matter of merchant skills, there were situations when a skilled merchant could win with the worse hand as well. So long as they knew the winning hand was also low value, just a better low value they could bluff their way into getting them to fold it. ¡°I¡¯m here to train,¡± Judy answered as she shook her head. ¡°The money is just a bonus.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± the elf said as she looked at the two new cards she had gotten leaving a small nail scratch on the corner of one of them that only her and the other scout player at the table would be able to notice. This was actually a trap she was making since she had hidden her hand from the sight of the other scout as she made the marking in the exact same spot as the mark he had made on a different card the previous hand. ¡°But you¡¯d best get that skill under control.¡± ¡°What?¡± Judy was actually surprised since she didn¡¯t know what the elf meant. ¡°It¡¯s subtle, but by your reaction it is also probably new.¡± the elf said. ¡°It¡¯s a subtle instinct to all call instead of raising against you.¡± ¡°Would you like to make a complaint?¡± the dealer asked instantly. The rules of these tables were clear, the house even warned you, you can observe anything and you can mess with the cards so long as it¡¯s not anything obvious but any skill that influenced the bets made would get you kicked out quickly. ¡°No complaint.¡± the elf waved her off with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m just helping with her training.¡± Chapter 351 Ajax focused on his training until his spar with Darkclaw. He had no issues getting the shockwave spell to cast after getting it right the first time but getting used to the vibration mana in order to learn how to use it without an incantation was taking a while. While that was happening Elija and Judy finished the sale on all of the remaining delve slots for decent profits. Of the two slots he had for Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons one was sold to Lexi for a fair price and the other the Council bought for Darkclaw by overpaying. As for the final two slots for Deepwood¡¯s dungeons one was sold at a lower price to the Silvertongue family who called in a few favors that they had earned by helping Ajax out over his years as a teaching assistant and the other the Republic bought out for their second under fifty fighter. As for Xavier, Anna and Benedict all of them had managed to gain a slot from the five the kingdom had gotten out of the deal. Ajax¡¯s extended trip was taking a turn and becoming an extended post graduation trip for his academy class. ¡°I see you got so attached you decided to join our little trip to the forest.¡± Ajax teased Darkclaw as they took their stance in the sparring ground. ¡°What can I say, you¡¯ve all just grown on me.¡± the beastkin responded as he stretched out his claws. The moment the spar started Ajax shot directly towards his opponent, he knew the beastkin would be too quick to hit with an arrow that he was expecting so he decided to close the distance to the point where his faster movements would give him the advantage. Unlike his fights in the arena Darkclaw stuck to his starting spot and used his first few casts to prepare the terrain around him by turning it into a slippery mud pit that was infused with his mana. This would make it almost impossible for Ajax to use his usual earth casting for a short while, until his [Mana Syphon] took away all of that mana. The strategy didn¡¯t surprise Ajax as he knew that it was one of the most basic things any caster did if they were ever up against a hybrid fighter so he was prepared. While Ajax already started siphoning the mana he wasted no time freezing the top layer mud. ¡°What the¡­¡± Darkclaw¡¯s battle hungry smile faltered for a moment as he placed his foot down on the ice. While an icy surface is usually slippery the ice blanket Ajax put down was intentionally a little bumpy. The entire area looked like the sole of a studded football boot with very small studs, not only that but the studs weren¡¯t all that strong and they were easily crushed underfoot. This gave the ice patch enough grip that Ajax could continue his speedy approach without issue. Ajax wasn¡¯t underestimating his opponent, he quickly went straight to void mana for his opening attack hoping to end the fight quickly. His hammer picked up the ominous violet glow as soon as Ajax was two steps away from melee range. It was there that Darkclaw made his move. The beastkin released a small wind wall and put it two steps forward straight in the path of Ajax¡¯s hammer. Despite the wall being weak it wasn¡¯t weak enough for Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon] to completely disrupt over such a small distance. As the hammer made contact with the wind wall one of Void mana¡¯s weaknesses was revealed. Every single nation besides Gryndor had spent a considerable amount of time following the tournament finals trying to analyze Void mana. Ajax¡¯s spar with Darkclaw was the clear opportunity to test their theories and the first one employed was one that Shadow had theorized. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Despite the extremely weak obstacle Ajax¡¯s hammer instantly lost all momentum as the void blow was generated. Darkclaw couldn¡¯t help the smile that was forming on his face as he saw his plan working, but the smile wouldn¡¯t last for long. The sudden loss of momentum from his heavy hammer quickly unbalanced Ajax, that combined with the still slippery surface of the ice turned Ajax into a human projectile that the beastkin wasn¡¯t expecting. Darkclaw could only thank his defensive enchantments as they not only mitigated the impact of Ajax crashing into him but it also ensured that the two of them didn¡¯t fall over in a pile following the impact. Had Ajax managed to grab a hold of the beastkin right there the fight would have been all but over. It was only thanks to the years of extensive training that Darkclaw had managed to continue his chanting despite the unplanned collision. A quick jump brought the beastkin back to his feet from where he lay on his back on the ground right as his chant finished and he released a large wave of fire towards Ajax. Ajax wasted no time bringing up his shield and using both an ice coating as well as the shield''s enchantments to protect himself. Darkclaw was extremely surprised by the amount of mana he felt pouring out of Ajax as he protected himself from the spell. Darkclaw was sure Ajax had spent two thirds of his mana in the last few moments. Emboldened by the amount of mana Ajax had just lost, Darkclaw quickly looked to press the attack while Ajax was still on the defensive. He brought up two lightning bolts looking to break through Ajax¡¯s defenses. Lightning was extremely good at penetrating through wards so he was hoping this would be enough to finish the match. Ajax reacted just as quickly, wasting no time in tossing the shield at the beastkin. The shield was batted aside by the first lightning bolt but because Ajax had thrown it there was no path for the current to take to reach Ajax as he rushed towards Darkclaw. As Darkclaw was throwing the second lightning bolt at the defenseless Ajax he felt his foot get dragged out from underneath him. The unexpected movement sent the lightning blast way off target as the beastkin was sent falling forwards and towards Ajax. Darkclaw didn¡¯t understand what had happened. He knew that Ajax hadn¡¯t yet siphoned all of the mana that he infused into the ground around them so there was no way he should have managed to trip him up like this. The answers came with a shocking revelation as midfall the beastkin looked towards his legs. The sight of a bulky mud golem no taller than Darkclaw¡¯s knee that had grabbed onto the beastkin¡¯s leg as he pulled it out from under him explained everything. The massive amount of mana Ajax used as he blocked his fire attack now made a lot more sense. The beastkin didn¡¯t have enough time to put together that Ajax had a Legendary mana affinity before his face met the ground. Darkclaw had no time to waste being shocked. He quickly tried to push himself up but he had barely gotten his face a few inches from the frozen mud as a strong impact from Ajax¡¯s hammer crushed through the ice having missed his head by less than an inch as it showered him with mud. ¡°I win.¡± Ajax announced with a victorious grin on his face. ¡°Yes yo-¡± Darkclaw didn¡¯t manage to finish his sentence as the golem had pulled further on his leg, the unexpected movement dragged the beastkin off his hands and gave him a mouthful of mud for his troubles. ¡°Hey, hey. Let go of him, little guy.¡± Ajax quickly sprung into action to help his friend as he realized that he needed to add controlling the golems created by his Life mana to his already busy training schedule. ¡°It¡¯s over, we won.¡± The golem clearly wasn¡¯t the brightest as he let go off the leg and looked towards Ajax with a confused frown as the last of the mana in him was consumed. ¡°Ha ha ha ha ha ha.¡± the king¡¯s oldest oldest son appeared next to them as he approached from his vantage point watching the spar. ¡°Did you see that!?¡± ¡°Hmph hmph hmph.¡± Even Shadow who followed him had a hard time but at least he was trying to restrain his laughter. ¡°It''s not¡­ that funny.¡± ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not that funny.¡± the prince sounded almost outraged. ¡°The way you could see it on his face as he accepted his defeat and at the same time you could see the golem getting ready to give his leg another good pull. It was a masterpiece, the way all but bit right into the mud.¡± ¡°Argh ¡­ kuh .. kuh¡± the beastking in question started coughing as he was trying to spit out all of the mud he just ate. ¡°You okay there?¡± Ajax asked, his tone a mixture of concern and the laughter he himself was trying to hold back at the situation. ¡°He¡¯ll live.¡± Shadow said as he dragged the beastkin up to his feet before he proceeded to pound on his back lightly with his palm. ¡°Not¡­ kuh kuh¡­ not like ¡­ kuh kuh¡­ this.¡± Darkclaw coughed out his next sentence. ¡°What?¡± Ajax lost all of his amusement as he thought something was genuinely wrong with the beastkin. ¡°We¡¯re fighting again.¡± the beastkin got out. ¡°There is no way my story of fighting on even footing with the future strongest man in the world ends like this. I¡¯ll be a laughing stock to all of my children and grandchildren.¡± Chapter 352 The spar between Darkclaw and Ajax had no stakes, despite this by the end of the match most of the notable figures that had shown up to watch left with one less worry on their mind. If the tournament finals had shown just how powerful Void mana was this spar had shown that it was also situational. ¡°What is the name of this mana type?¡± Shadow asked Ajax. ¡°Void.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Curious,¡± Shadow pondered. ¡°It seems to be a mix of Shadow mana and Space mana. The result is a weaker mana type than Space but a stronger one than Shadow.¡± Ajax had spent countless days while attending the academy working with headmaster Manashaper where the theory regarding mana types was drilled into his head. The higher rank the mana affinity skill was the more powerful the mana was. This didn¡¯t mean that higher mana types were always the better choice; the ranking was simply a correlation between cost and control requirements. Magnetic mana was only Rare despite both Metal and Lightning being Epic, this was because of how simple it was to control as well as the low mana draw to keep active. In the same way Void was cheaper to use than Space and more easily controlled though it did sacrifice power and versatility for that. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was intentional or not but your display here today did a lot to calm people.¡± Shadow praised Ajax. Ajax didn¡¯t comment on that, he had used Void in an honest attempt to end the match quickly, he was also looking to give them a second look at it, with more information it would stop people from putting a target on his back. ¡°You should both get ready to leave.¡± The prince addressed both Darkclaw and Ajax. ¡°All of the delve slots had been sold so we will be leaving with the elves in a few days.¡± Ajax knew the route for their trip was planned for optimal speed, they would go start with two dungeons in Sylvanthal as they traveled to Deepwood, they would then do a full circle in Deepwood before returning to finish the last three Sylvanthal had to offer. He did not know that they were leaving that quickly. ¡°Then we should have our second fight tomorrow morning while we still have a chance.¡± Darkclaw was quick to adapt. ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of time for that as you travel.¡± Shadow cuffed the back of the beastkin¡¯s head. Ajax was quick to retreat back to the embassy after that as Darkclaw tried to argue his point about a rematch. Once back he went to find his sister and grandfather, since he now had a more concrete timeline it was best to get their opinions on it. ¡°So we are splitting up?¡± Judy asked, not all that happy at the premise. ¡°We have to.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Only the people actually delving will be allowed to enter Deepwood.¡± ¡°Not only that but both the king and the crown prince have been gone for more than a few months.¡± Elija continued. ¡°They can¡¯t extend their stay here to wait for them to return. With the amount of valuables we managed to get traveling back without a full escort is just asking to get robbed.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Fine¡­¡± Judy reluctantly agreed. ¡°But you best just keep your head down and do the delves, no more international stunts or you really will start a war.¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Ajax assured her before quickly switching the subject. ¡°What have the two of you been doing the last few days?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been training my skills.¡± Judy answered for herself. ¡°There was something all of these nobles missed in the market?¡± Ajax was shocked, with how many merchants there were, that was quite the accomplishment. ¡°Oh no, everything was picked clean already.¡± Judy¡¯s shoulders dropped a little since that was the first thing she checked. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing in the casino¡¯s, so far I am up to ten gold.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how he should react. His life back on Earth had taught him that going into the casino for anything other than counting cards or poker was a sucker¡¯s move. Then again training her skills head to head like this was definitely worth losing a few gold coins over, that she had managed to not just break even but actually win some he was tempted to send her back to the casino for extra practice. ¡°Adjusting the plans for the next few years to now include everything we gained after selling the delve spots.¡± Elija answered. ¡°Your grandma is going to be especially pleased with the opportunity to travel to the Republic and Sylvanthal, her skills have been stagnating with Gryndor¡¯s market.¡± Much like Judy, Aurora was more of an appraiser merchant, the chance to put her skills to work in two new totally different markets is something that she will jump at. ¡°We¡¯ll try and time it so that Alana and grandma can meet you at the end of your delves in Sylvanthal¡¯s capital.¡± That was a smart move. It would ensure that for their first trip not only would Ajax be there as additional support but even the king¡¯s oldest son as well as Anna who could provide a strong shield should anything happen. Following the talk with his family Ajax went looking for Lexi. Besides simply wanting to spend time with her there was also something he wanted to ask her following the earlier spar, specifically related to the intelligence of the golem he created. The only instance of animation via Life mana Ajax had seen was in the form of the headmaster¡¯s clone spell and while he was sure that spell was more complex the difference in the intelligence of the two creations was too big. ¡°Baron Heathbound.¡± a voice called out to Ajax as he was moving through the embassy. ¡°Lord Ironwhisper.¡± Ajax politely greeted the man who approached. To nobody¡¯s surprise House Silvertongue had managed to secure three of the initial spots for the Republic delves where they sent all of their most promising people. What was surprising however was that only one of those spots was taken by someone holding the name Silvertongue, the other two went to House Ironwhisper who was their known vassal house. The strongest and most promising of the three people House Silvertongue sent was Harold Ironwhisper, he was fifty five years of age and already a level eighty physical fighter with a speciality in assassination. Harold was a small wiry man that one could easily underestimate, a mistake Ajax hadn¡¯t made ever since the first time he saw the man in action inside a dungeon. ¡°I would like to express my gratitude as well as be the one to inform you that I will be joining you for your extended trip.¡± the man said with a deep bow. ¡°Why gratitude?¡± Ajax asked. If there was one thing he had learnt after years of hearing Abbot Silvertongue complain was to always clarify anything ambiguous when dealing with House Silvertongue or any of their retainers. ¡°House Silvertongue paid for your spots.¡± ¡°Because without your actions not even House Silvertongue would have been able to buy me a spot for delving into all these dungeons.¡± Lord Ironwhisper said. ¡° It seems Instructor Abbot was right about you, I even have a place in the Generation of Prodigies.¡± ¡°The what now?¡± Ajax suddenly stopped as he heard the words. ¡°It¡¯s what the nobles are calling the group that is delving into so many dungeons.¡± Lord Ironwhisper explained. ¡°They are mainly referring to yourself, Lady Manashaper, Lady Goldmancer and Prince Xavier since the four of you will have delved into the dungeons of four different nations at such a young age that you are all expected to reach very high levels. Lord Benedict and myself were also added since we are only one dungeon off.¡± Ajax supposed it made sense that the nobles would look to separate them from everyone else. After all, after delving an additional sixteen dungeons compared to others of their generation would skew any comparison greatly. Even if they assumed they only cleared on average two floors per dungeon that would still be an extra +32 to all stats. ¡°In that case you are very welcome.¡± Ajax restarted his search for Lexi with renewed motivation. ¡°I look forward to your company on our journey.¡± Despite the words Ajax was really hoping that having an assassin in training along with them wouldn¡¯t cause any issues once they got to Deepwood. It didn¡¯t take Ajax much longer as he found Lexi in one of the sitting rooms along with Anna, Xavier and Benedict. Ajax wasted no time as he sat down next to her and clung to her as he tried to restore his depleted social batteries. ¡°Ajax? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lexi could tell that whatever it was wasn¡¯t a big deal but something was certainly bothering Ajax. ¡°Did you hear what the nobles are calling us?¡± Ajax asked as he forcefully stopped himself from cringing. ¡°Sadly yes.¡± Benedict answered with a sigh as Anna and Lexi nodded. ¡°I like it.¡± Xavier said with an upbeat attitude as the other four people groaned. Chapter 353 As he was preparing for his journey Ajax had learnt from his mistakes, despite having a rather large spacial ring Ajax was also carrying a pack that had a very similar enchantment. Ajax wasn¡¯t going to let a chance similar to the one that slipped through his fingers before go, besides a wide variety of alchemical ingredients that he could use for different experiments Ajax had packed no less than four cauldrons, two of them however were of a much lower quality and just in case he was going to try something that a cauldron wasn¡¯t likely to survive. After the goodbyes to his grandfather and sister Ajax and the rest of their group was approached by the crown prince. ¡°Stick close to Arianwyn while you are in Deepwood.¡± This advice was met by a collective frown. ¡°My brother will find himself busy and while we can only send him with you there will be no issue with another elf joining your group as protection. Make no mistake, just because targeting you is not the smart play doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t radicals in Deepwood who would take their chances rather than watch you all grow.¡± The words were like a bucket of ice water to all of them, the only racist extremists any of them had ever had to interact with came from the Empire, while those were bad enough they weren¡¯t a target there, they couldn¡¯t take any chances. With that their journey started. While Gryndor had also sent out two carriages to join the elven convoy for their trip, those would be waiting for them in Sylvanthal¡¯s capital once they finished their delves and they were returning to Gryndor. Despite the presence of Gryndor¡¯s carriages the only one to make use of them was Ajax who stashed his pack on one of them before taking king Sylvanthal up on his offer to join him in the royal carriage. Unlike the Gryndor royal carriage that was simply a spatially expanded room that took the form of a carriage the elven carriage was a twenty foot tall tree with a thick trunk placed on wheels while the branches formed a large room on top of the trunk complete with seating. Ajax had a hard time grasping how the carriage was so stable with what had to be a very high center of gravity and a relatively small base. ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon reward.¡± the prince said as he noticed Ajax staring at the carriage confused. ¡°I prefer our carriage but this one does have a better visual impact.¡± Ajax had to agree with the prince there, while Gryndor¡¯s spatially expanded and gave the travelers a lot more room it still looked like a box on wheels, the elven carriage on the other hand looked like a tree with a massive dome made of branches that moved. ¡°Welcome¡± The king waved them in as they climbed into the room. ¡°Please take a seat.¡± Having less space there were a lot less people in this royal carriage than Ajax had come to expect from their initial trip. Besides the ten people who would be delving, only the king, four guards led by Aranor and Elara¡¯s father were there. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Lord Ironwhisper was the first to put together the political powder keg that awaited him inside the carriage. Despite his entire house being more combat focused they were still tied to the Silvertongues so his entire childhood was an exercise in social games and manipulation. One look at the rather revealing and decidedly human specific attire the elven princess was wearing was all it took for him to start putting the pieces together. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The king couldn¡¯t help with but sympathize with the whispers that he was no doubt not meant to hear. He had had the same reaction a few days ago when he realized his daughter¡¯s sudden curiosity in Ajax following their fight. Worse was that despite all his tactical and social skill he couldn¡¯t yet decide if he hoped his daughter¡¯s curiosity was a passing fascination or the start of something real. The princesses'' outfit had the desired effect as Ajax stopped moving once he laid eyes on her, while he had no designs on taking multiple partners and was more than happy with Lexi; he was still a young man who could appreciate the elf¡¯s beauty. A quick prod from Anna¡¯s elbow was all it took to get him moving again and seated next to Lexi on the comfy leaf covered branches. While Ajax had only been momentarily surprised by the princess, he took the prince, giving Xavier a good shove from behind to get him moving once more after he looked at the princess. ¡°Thank you for the hospitality.¡± the king¡¯s oldest son responded as he did his best to cover for the awkwardness that was quickly filling up the room. ¡°She is pretty.¡± Lexi muttered to herself as she watched Darkclaw all but mimic Xavier¡¯s reaction to seeing the elven princess, her mood was instantly improved by Ajax taking her hand and leaning into her slightly as he took his seat beside her. Arianwyn was extremely pleased with Ajax¡¯s initial reaction. It had taken her a few days to admit but she was certainly interested in Ajax. She was smart enough to know that this might just be a passing fling brought on by her defeat but she did want to give it a chance to see what could develop. The start of the journey might have gone exactly as the princess had wanted it certainly didn¡¯t stay that way for long. She had been hoping to engage Ajax in conversation; she quickly realized that politics were very much not his topic as her father and Lord Ironwhisper were the main participants in that discussion. Realizing Ajax had next to no interest when it came to politics Arianwyn slowly maneuvered the conversation into economics. This showed a slight success as Ajax actively participated when the topic came to Alchemy ingredients but sadly her own knowledge regarding Alchemy didn¡¯t move past the bare minimum. Three hours into the trip the king¡¯s oldest son took pity on the princess as he could all but feel her disappointment and decided to throw her a bone as he swapped the conversation topic towards dungeon delving. Much to the princesses delight it seemed like Ajax started being a much more active participant once the topic changed to dungeon delivering. ¡°You made a very good choice joining such a stable and experienced team.¡± The king praised Ajax as he learned how Ajax got his start in dungeon delving alongside the Collectors. ¡°Dungeons are usually safe as long as you don¡¯t push too high and are careful with the floor bosses but a bad floor theme can easily kill off even the more powerful teams.¡± The prince was quick to put a restraining arm on Xavier¡¯s shoulder after that comment. He could sense Xavier¡¯s wish to brag about Ajax¡¯s ability to at least narrow down the floor themes, while it was inevitable that his ability to do so would be discovered in their first dungeon; now wasn¡¯t the time to just throw it out there. ¡°I do have to admit, I am curious why you are so focused on dungeons.¡± Elara¡¯s father asked Ajax. ¡°You could have gotten your nascent House in a much more stable position if you were to focus your trading on that.¡± ¡°My House¡¯s growth is tied to myself¡± Ajax responded. ¡°Delving these dungeons now represents a unique opportunity to gain permanent stats that I will quickly lose based on my leveling speed.¡± ¡°Your house also needs to settle into its growth.¡± Anna joined. ¡°Taking on too much at once is a good way for a house to overextend.¡± ¡°Was there anything you would have taken instead of the delves?¡± Elara asked, looking for anything she could use to get Ajax to agree to help her form her Domain. ¡°Only a Bond.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Bonds that can keep up with more talented people are truly a rarity.¡± Aranor commented, he himself had managed to form a bond when he was young but after his bond passed away he wasn¡¯t able to form another with a powerful enough creature that would have been able to keep up with him. ¡°It isn¡¯t uncommon for nobles to have a bond but for elites a bond that can keep up is very much a rarity.¡± Almost everyone turned towards Regalia at those words, she was exactly one such bond, so long as she was provided with plenty of goodies to help along her growth she would not only catch up to the princess but would even keep up with her all the way to the top. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that your chance has passed.¡± the king said. ¡°With how quickly you grow even if you do manage to find a young beast willing to bond, I doubt they will ever catch up to you.¡± Ajax decided not to say anything to that. Despite the trust he was building with the elves he wasn¡¯t going to even hint that he was planning on going into the untamed lands to look for a bond after he was done with the dungeons. Chapter 354 As the journey continued Ajax started spending more and more time in Gryndor¡¯s carriage as he worked on his alchemy. While he wasn¡¯t yet brave enough to try brewing mixtures in a wobbly carriage he had started infusing his available ingredients with as much life mana as he could manage every day. The first thing he found out was the limit of how much mana his more plentiful ingredients could hold before they started to deteriorate, he had spent a good few days worth of mana finding that out and ruining a few sets of plants. The second thing he learned was that Life mana didn¡¯t have all that good of a shelf life in what were essentially dead plants, as time passed more and more of the mana would slowly leak, the upside there was that when the mana all leaked away the ingredient was of slightly higher quality than before the infusion. So Ajax¡¯s daily grind of infusing large amounts of mana into ingredients only for it to slowly ebb away and leave them slightly better than they started, all this only to repeat the process as he tried to improve the quality of his available materials. Infusion of mana was a very mana intensive process, this meant that while Ajax was draining his mana pool every morning and evening it only took about an hour each time, the rest of the time would be spent in the royal carriage at the king¡¯s open invitation. While Ajax¡¯s dedication to alchemy was fully exemplified the princess¡¯s infatuation had started to ebb away. She still felt a certain interest in Ajax as a member of the opposite sex but as the days went by she started to notice more and more how incompatible they would be. While Arianwyn enjoyed the social game nobles played Ajax was very much not a fan of it, this big disconnect between the two of them as well as her position as a princess and Ajax¡¯s future role as the head of a ducal House would damn any relationship between them to nothing more than a short fling as the differences between them would push them away. As the princess started to realize that there was no romantic future for them her repeated attempts at approaching Ajax had laid the foundation of a solid friendship between the two. Not only that but the princess¡¯s budding friendship with Lexi as the former had resigned herself to only befriending Ajax pushed her to change her goals. Much to everyone¡¯s surprise however as the chances of a match between Ajax and the princess were becoming more and more a thing of the past a new unplanned relationship was forming between Benedict and Elara. ¡°This should be my brother¡¯s problem to deal with.¡± the eldest prince of Gryndor complained as he privately met with the elven king. ¡°I would also prefer to discuss this with your brother but as the sole royal representative it falls onto you to handle this.¡± the elven king agreed with a sigh. ¡°This relationship could be the foundation of a long fruitful cooperation between our kingdoms or the start of a disaster.¡± While Elara¡¯s family still only held a ducal title they were not far from claiming the Archducal Bladeleaf position, with the close relationship between Elara and the princess as well as Elara¡¯s combat proficiency and budding Domain it was all but a matter of time until they claimed the position. A relationship between the heirs of both kingdom¡¯s most prominent military families was something that had to be handled delicately. ¡°I still think it¡¯s a bit too early but I¡¯ll send a message to my brother and father about any future steps.¡± the prince said with an exhausted sigh as he made his exit to send out a message. ¡°The only time sensitive issue is her father, I¡¯ll leave that one to you.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°That is¡­¡± the king started to object. ¡°I am not known for my discreet and politically sound accomplishments.¡± the prince cut him off. ¡°In fact I am sure I built a reputation for the exact opposite, I will play messenger but any immediate action is best done outside my influence.¡± The king had nothing to say to that as he knew full well just how reasonable the statement was. Elara¡¯s father was something that he needed to handle, the elf was usually at the very least politically competent but not even the king could blame him for his recent instability. The elf¡¯s previous beliefs of elven superiority had been all but shattered by Ajax¡¯s sheer existence, the man¡¯s dislike for the boy however would influence his opinion towards humans in the near future until he regained his balance. ¡°A relationship between Benedict and Elara?!¡± king Gryndor didn¡¯t even try to hide the exasperation from his tone as he got the report from his eldest son through the enchanted communication device. ¡°What about Ajax and the princess?¡± the crown prince asked, while Ajax may have been oblivious to the initial signs back during their negotiations the prince had picked up on them. ¡°That was a more one sided infatuation on the side of the princess.¡± the eldest prince reported. ¡°Not only that but it seems to be cooling down, though a strong friendship seems to be forming between her, Ajax, Lexi, Elara, Anna, Benedict, Xavier and Darkclaw.¡± ¡°Thank the gods for small mercies.¡± the crown prince let out a relieved sigh. Even the brief prospect of there being a relationship between both Elara and Benedict as well as Arianwyn and Ajax was terrifying. In such a situation not only would all the other kingdoms be more inclined to cut them off at the knees but they would also be in danger of internal conflict depending on how Ajax¡¯s existing relationship with Lady Manashaper was going. ¡°Have Ajax try and soothe any ruffled feathers.¡± the king suggested. ¡°And how would that happen?¡± the eldest prince asked. ¡°Even if the duke would be willing to hear him out with an open mind Ajax is at best as politically inclined as I was at his age.¡± ¡°See if you can convince Ajax to help Elara with forming her Domain.¡± the king explained. ¡°That¡­ could work.¡± the eldest prince acknowledged as he considered the idea. ¡°I¡¯ll see how that works out, we are almost at the first dungeon, I¡¯ll be in contact again two days after we exit the dungeon to report on their reactions to Ajax¡¯s ability to navigate dungeon floors.¡± With that the prince cut the communications as he didn¡¯t want to waste any more mana. The first dungeon dungeon they were approaching had monsters on its base floor ranging from levels twenty-nine to thirty-four, not only that but the dungeon also had an eleven level jump between floors. This would mean a five floor clear bonus for Ajax and a two floor clear for everyone else. Before the caravan arrived there however it would take two more days. ¡°Ajax,¡± the prince greeted Ajax as he exited one of Gryndor¡¯s carriages following his daily mana dump into alchemical ingredients. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Ajax greeted back. ¡°Something I can do for you.¡± ¡°There is actually, I would like you to start helping Elara with forming her Domain with your Legendary skill.¡± The prince then proceeded to explain the delicate situation and why Ajax helping Elara would help the situation. ¡°Would that be a problem?¡± ¡°I can do that.¡± Ajax nodded, since using [Mana Syphon] wouldn¡¯t drain his mana it wouldn¡¯t interfere with his daily training, if anything it would give him a chance to see if he can somehow use his Legendary skill to not only strengthen his body but maybe even help regenerate his own mana. Before he went ahead and offered Elara help he first went to discuss it with Lexi. Ajax had been impressed with how maturely Lexi had handled Arianwyn¡¯s initial approach, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would have been able to do the same if someone would have tried making a move on her. As such he first wanted to let her know what was going on. ¡°You should have Benedict extend the offer.¡± Anna said after she had also heard the plan as Ajax brough Lexi up to speed. ¡°Why is that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°A few reasons.¡± Anna answered. ¡°For starters the Duke would be less suspicious if the offer came from anyone other than you, not only that but this would also improve the Duke¡¯s opinion of Benedict.¡± Ajax was nodding along with Anna¡¯s reasoning however Lexi had known Anna for way too long. ¡°And the merchant¡¯s reasoning?¡± Lexi asked her friend with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Never do something for free when you can get something for it.¡± Anna whispered softly as her cheeks blushed in slight embarrassment. ¡°You can get Benedict to owe you a favor depending on how you present the idea to him.¡± Benedict had quickly agreed to the idea, much like Anna had mentioned he had even offered Ajax a personal favor. With that Ajax¡¯s and Elara¡¯s training was set to start as they made their approach to the first dungeon. Chapter 355 ¡°I can feel it¡­, it¡¯s so close.¡± Elara heaved out as she took a seat to catch her breath after emptying out her mana pool. ¡°Are you sure it works and that it¡¯s not your imagination?¡± her father asked her. ¡°No, it does work.¡± Arianwyn answered as she took Elara spot standing in the open space to release her own domain. This was the second evening in a row that this training was happening. After the prince¡¯s suggestion that Ajax help Elara with her domain all it took was Lexi mentioning something about it around Benedict for him to connect the dots to a favorable outcome and asked Ajax to help her train. The training was actually proving helpful to Ajax as well who could now do his physical training under the full effects of his [Mana Syphon] as he wouldn¡¯t be using his own mana to power the skill. Seeing what was going on Arianwyn was quick to get in on that and train her own domain. ¡°How can you be sure?¡± the duke asked, ¡°Are you starting to resist his skill?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t resist his skill.¡± The princess¡¯s words came from behind clenched teeth as she tried her best to control her domain as it was slowly drained away. ¡°It¡¯s like a water flask that was poked full of holes. I can cover the holes and slow the drain with enough effort but I can¡¯t stop the leak.¡± For his own part Ajax could actually feel a little resistance from the princess¡¯s Domain. There were only two other things he had ever felt a resistance to [Mana Syphon] from. The first was elementals, but their resistance didn¡¯t come in the form of slowing of the drain but as a form of mental pressure which made some sense since he was effectively draining their life force. The other was a much more advanced form of what he was feeling from the princess and came from the dungeon arches, what the princess was doing was a far cry from the touch base drain only resistance of the arches but it was similar in its resistance. ¡°Also, I¡¯m sure it works¡­ because¡­ between the tournament fight and¡­ yesterday, my skill went up three levels.¡± the princess barely got the words out. Ajax didn¡¯t know it but trying to resist his skill had the same effect on the princess that draining elementals had for him. In the middle of a short fight it was an inconvenience but only holding out against the drain meant that her domain would last for more than ten minutes and that was a lot of pressure. ¡°It¡¯ll work, dad.¡± Elara said, her voice containing a joking undertone like she was laughing at a joke only she was aware of. The answers were enough to silence the duke to look at his exhausted daughter that was laying down next to Benedict as he tried to help recover from mana exhaustion. Despite his initial dislike of the coupling he couldn¡¯t help but approve of the young man¡¯s actions. Since she wasn¡¯t yet actively fighting Ajax like the princess she didn¡¯t have to deal with the mental pressure as she tried to control her mana to mix and form her domain under Ajax¡¯s skill. ¡°That¡¯s enough for tonight.¡± the prince said as he approached the impromptu training area. ¡°We¡¯re going in the dungeon first thing tomorrow so all of you best get as much rest as you can.¡± The princess had been so focused on controlling her domain she hadn¡¯t even heard the prince; it came as a surprise to her when Ajax abruptly stopped his skill. ¡°I could have kept going.¡± She said despite the breath of relief she took. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Apparently training time is over, we still have a delve in the morning.¡± Ajax said as he nodded towards the prince. The prince in question however was looking at Arianwyn with a very perplexed look, one that was explained by Aranor¡¯s words as he quickly approached. ¡°How did you do that?¡± he asked the princess. ¡°Do what?¡± the princess asked, surprised. ¡°You pulled in your Domain.¡± The prince followed Aranor¡¯s curiosity. ¡°The area it covers is a lot smaller but it has the same density as back when you cast it.¡± the ¡®how did you get it to do that¡¯ was left unsaid. ¡°Not even Viscount Embercrest can do that.¡± Aranor followed up. Viscount Embercrest was the elf¡¯s current strongest Domain user, his was a desert storm domain made from earth wind and fire but his skill with it was undeniable even if his overall strength as a mage wasn¡¯t enough to put him in contention for the title of champion. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Arianwyn said with a hint of confusion as she once again tried to affect her domain only for it to react the same as it always had. ¡°You¡¯ll have to try and recreate the effect.¡± Aranor said seriously. The ability to adjust the density of a domain would be a huge advantage for the princess in the future. Mages that used a Domain focused on spells that were quickly cast and then empowered as they traveled through the domain, as a domain¡¯s density became sparser the defense it offered against spells that looked to manipulate anything already inside the domain like the earth at the caster¡¯s feet weakened. If the princess was able to spread out her domain when she attacked to give her spells a bigger distance in which to be strengthened and then pull her domain back in for defense it would give her unparalleled flexibility, not to mention if she was somehow able to learn how to move her domain through a similar trick. ¡°Let go again.¡± the princess said with renewed vigor as she thought about her potential. ¡°We can continue as we travel to the next dungeon.¡± Ajax said as he approached Lexi. ¡°Do you mind, I¡¯m still low on mana.¡± Lexi simply nodded as she conjured a small waterfall above Ajax and he quickly used it as an impromptu shower to wash away the sweat he had worked up during his physical training. ¡°But¡­¡± the princess started but was quickly cut off. ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Aranor siad. ¡°You¡¯ll have months traveling all over the kingdom from dungeon to dungeon. It¡¯s best if you just try and remember the feeling for now instead of trying to recreate it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome.¡± Elara whispered to Arianwyn as they both retreated to their sleeping carriage. ¡°Once you figure it out you can help me learn how to do that as well.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to get your own Domain first,¡± Arianwyn said, trying not to bring down her friend''s excitement. ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡± Elara tried to cover the true reason of her excitement but Arianwyn saw straight through it. ¡°YOU GOT YOUR DOMAIN!¡± Arianwyn¡¯s shout made the two of them the center of attention for everyone who was slowly going their own way for the night as they stopped and stared at the two of them. ¡°I was trying to keep that to myself¡­¡± Elara said though her tone didn¡¯t sound like she was blaming her friend at all. ¡°But yes I got [Storm Domain], it¡¯s only level one but I have it.¡± This had to have been the first time Ajax saw the elven duke look at all happy since the first time he met him, for a second there he looked like he wanted to run over and pick his daughter up in celebration before his social skills kicked in and hid his emotions. Following the duke¡¯s initial joy overload Ajax could see as his eyes traveled from his daughter to Benedict and himself before repeating the cycle. The duke slowly approached both, his movements stiffened further as he slowly bowed his head towards both of them and offered them a heartfelt ¡°Thank you.¡± before making his retreat towards the royal carriage, no doubt to celebrate the birth of another Domain wielding mage with the king. ¡°Thanks for this, Ajax.¡± Benedict said as his grip around Ajax¡¯s shoulders tightened for a moment after they got back to their carriage. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± Ajax found it a little awkward how serious Benedict was being, as far as he was concerned this was just a favor he was doing to the royal family, it wasn¡¯t even anything all that significant for him and he would have done it anyway had only Benedict asked, there was no reason for his friend to feel so indebted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be that thankful if I were you.¡± Ajax said, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°You have a long way to go if you are going to catch up with her now.¡± Seeing that this wasn¡¯t enough to dissuade Benedict he also added ¡°Plus it¡¯s not like it was a great effort on my part, it¡¯s just what friends do.¡± Benedict took a moment to internalize what Ajax said before giving him an understanding nod while at the same time promising himself to return Ajax¡¯s friendship if he was ever in the position to. Chapter 356 The first thing Ajax noticed as they passed by the town on their way to the dungeon the next morning was that this Town was a lot bigger than Lessis. This was strange as outside of the capitals almost all towns near dungeons were specifically smaller so that there wouldn¡¯t be that big a loss should a higher floor be released, by mistake or deliberately. Ajax didn¡¯t give this much thought as it was but a passing curiosity, what captured most of his focus was Elara¡¯s father who was doing his best to act in a much more engaging manner with Ajax. The only issue was that despite the nobles now having a different opinion of Ajax than he had initially he hadn¡¯t quite overcome the initial feelings of dislike he had making any interaction between the two of them more awkward. Benedict¡¯s interactions with the Duke had improved by leaps and bounds following Elara¡¯s breakthrough, this was mainly helped by the fact that both of them were part of military families giving them lots of talking points where they could agree or intelligently argue their opinion. It got to the point that both the elven king and the prince had to step in a few times during their discussion as both of them and Elara approached some sensitive internal matters during their discussions. ¡®That¡¯s also strange.¡¯ Ajax thought as they arrived at the dungeon arch, unlike the small circle of trees that surrounded the dungeon in Lessis and all other non capital arches Ajax had seen, this dungeon had a well maintained road leading straight back to the city. More than that some basic defenses were set up around the dungeon and some more permanent stalls instead of the usual tents. Nobody gave them any issues as the group quickly made its way to the dungeon. Their delve had been scheduled in advance and while some of the adventurers waiting for their turn did throw them a few jealous and displeased looks nobody did anything as they all got ready to enter the arch. ¡°You¡¯re coming as well?¡± Ajax was surprised to see Elara and Arianwyn getting ready to enter. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we be?¡± Elara asked. ¡°Because you already gained the bonus from this dungeon.¡± Lexi supported Ajax¡¯s question. ¡°We want to see what the delves would be like with you before we get to Deepwood.¡± Arianwyn said and she brought out her staff. Nobody could argue that point and it wasn¡¯t like they would lose anything by allowing them to tag along, Aranor was already joining them as a representative of Sylvanthal to ensure they weren¡¯t creating a massive dungeon break. ¡°Let¡¯s go already.¡± The prince said as he simply walked straight into the dungeon not waiting to see if anyone had anything to say. It barely took a few seconds after he arrived on the dungeon¡¯s first floor for Ajax to quickly put together why the area outside the dungeon as well as the city were so different from what he had previously seen. The big reason was that the first floor of the dungeon was a veritable treasure trove of alchemical ingredients. ¡°Seriously?¡± Ajax murmured as his senses took in the large amounts of different ingredients that were scattered around their entrance point throughout the slightly dry marshland. Ajax hadn¡¯t taken the time to research the first floor of dungeons for a long time, there was simply no point as with his power it was simply a formality. The same way that Lessis was gaining high quality wood from the dungeon that was near it, this dungeon was providing high quality ingredients for alchemists. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°What is it?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°There are so many alchemy ingredients here.¡± Ajax answered. Ajax wasn¡¯t tempted to go around and collect everything this time around, for the first time ever his alchemy skill had already surpassed the point where the abundant ingredients could be used to further his training, he would need to find ingredients on a floor with at least level forty-fives for them to draw his attention but he was still slightly jealous. ¡°Ah yes,¡± Anna spoke up. ¡°Smokeleaf is commonly also called the boiling cauldron of Sylvanthal because all of their alchemists get their start here. Each variation of the first floor had different ingredients on it so all the alchemists had a much longer road before they hit the drought of resources that inevitably slows the progress of all alchemists.¡± Xavier spent the short two minutes it took the group to find the first arch by ribbing Ajax about his time obsessively practicing alchemy during their first year at the Academy. Since none of them were low level enough to actually benefit from the first floor they dispatched the boss guardian and simply walked through to the second floor. The second floor let all of them out on a sandy beach. Ajax hadn¡¯t bothered with trying to locate a good floor combination since Benedict, Xavier, Lexi and Anna could all easily take care of a level forty-five even if they were to have a bad match-up. It was here however that Ajax started his alchemical ingredient collection. Being as landlocked as they were, Ajax was quick to dive into the salty water and start collecting the saltwater plants in hopes of using them, as far as he was concerned this was the only thing that such water floors were good for. ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± Elara was shocked to see Ajax just split off and dive into the water after he pulled off most of his gear. ¡°It¡¯s saltwater.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°Very specific plants grow in saltwater so he is going to grab a few for his alchemy. Dungeon crafting alchemists like him are the only ones who can reliably use saltwater plants as they are otherwise too rare for the usual alchemist to have any experience with them.¡± Xavier, Benedict, Lexi and Anna all had no issue killing the crab, shark, seagull and even pather bosses they found scattered around as they all circled the island. With their skills and stats they were a true menace for monsters that were around their own levels, even dungeon mini-bosses. ¡°Not this one.¡± Ajax shook his head after he touched the arch that was closest to them. ¡°What?¡± Darkclaw asked, surprised at the turn of events. ¡°Why not?¡± Elara followed up. ¡°High concentration of light mana.¡± Ajax answered as if it was no big deal. ¡°The floor that this arch leads to isn¡¯t a good one for them since it''s hard to defend against a light mana based enemy when you are down levels.¡± Darkclaw, Elara and Arianwyn were all left slack jawed for a few seconds before Arianwyn broke out of it and asked ¡°And how do you know that?¡±. ¡°My Legendary skill.¡± Ajax answered knowing that putting the reason out there would mean less headaches in the future as they no doubt would have spies try to corroborate the information and that will just be a pain in the ass for him. ¡°Same way I drain the mana from your spells I can also drain mana from the arch, depending on the mana type I drain I know what mana types the floor it leads to is based on.¡± Throughout his explanation Ajax had approached Arianwyn, right as he finished he grabbed her by the wrist making sure to make skin contact and used [Mana Syphon]. Pulling mana directly from a living being was something he hadn¡¯t been able to do in the past regardless of contact but with the recent training against both of their domains he felt more confident, not only that but other people he had tried it with before had all been able to feel something when he tried and failed to drain them directly. ¡°You¡­¡± Arianwyn stuttered at the odd sensation that passed through her as she felt two points of mana being drained from her at the point of contact. ¡°You drained mana directly from me.¡± ¡°It worked?¡± Xavier exclaimed. ¡° Do it to me next, I want to know what it feels like.¡± Xavier quickly rushed over to Ajax and extended his arm. ¡°Which arch should we head to?¡± the prince asked as he was gleefully patting Aranor on the arm as the mage had managed to close his own gaping jaw after finding out about Ajax¡¯s ability to somewhat predict the next dungeon floor. ¡°Third one we found¡± Ajax said as he started to drain Xavier a little. ¡°Has a good mix of everything but is primarily earth and plant.¡± ¡°Woah, that feels weird.¡± Xavier said with a shiver as he watched his own mana slowly drop. Unlike with Arianwyn, Ajax kept up the drain on Xavier for longer than just two mana points, as he got closer to fifty being drained Xavier spoke again. ¡°I can feel my hand going numb.¡± Both the prince and Aranor raised their eyebrows at that statement. Both had been in the situation of facing a monster in the higher floors of the dungeon that could more reliably drain their resources, be they mana or stamina. Both were wondering if Ajax¡¯s skill could be used to help gain a resistance skill since very few people who ran into those types of monsters lived to tell the tale. Chapter 357 As the group made their way to the arch Ajax recommended the prince was quick to come to his side. ¡°Try draining my mana.¡± the prince said as he offered his hand. Ajax attempted to do the same thing he had done with Xavier and Arianwyn but to no avail. The prince felt exactly the same as everyone else did before Ajax¡¯s latest training in draining Domains. ¡°It¡¯s not working.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± the prince nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Now try again.¡± As Ajax attempted to use [Mana Syphon] a second time he actually felt it latch on to something and began slowly pulling mana from the prince. The rate it worked at was much slower however, barely managing to pull three points of mana in the same amount of time it took to take thirty from Xavier. Not only that but the prince was able to stop it as soon as the fourth point was taken. ¡°Even when it works it''s much slower on you.¡± Ajax said, thinking back it was also slower on Arianwyn compared to Xavier but the difference wasn¡¯t this big. ¡°That¡¯s because I know how to defend myself against drain skills.¡± the prince said. ¡°They start to appear in dungeons at level one hundred and thirty and above, they are one of the main reasons why high level people aren¡¯t allowed to delve.¡± ¡°They are that big a problem?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°Unlike you, those monsters are all very specialized in draining. They are almost exclusively without another form of offense, on their own one of them wouldn¡¯t be that big of an issue but they are all swarm monsters and they don¡¯t have your touch requirement limitation.¡± The prince explained. ¡°They are still rather rare in dungeons but the mortality rate when first encountered is above 80%, and that is just from the groups that had someone survive to report what killed them. A big reason why is because people can¡¯t figure out what it is that is draining them, they exploit stealth and all of the drained resources are funneled into a defensive skill.¡± Ajax could imagine it. A couple dozen chameleons following you around slowly draining you of your stamina mana or health as they empowered their shields. He knew from experience just how debilitating going below the final hundred points of mana was for him and if something was to keep draining after there was nothing left he would survive for long. ¡°You instinctively learn to fight it and slow down the drain as you experience it, not only that but the more total stats you have the harder you are to drain, it¡¯s why even when I am not fighting you it takes so much time to drain from me.¡± the prince said. ¡°As the difference in stats between us closes I won¡¯t be able to shut you out fully.¡± ¡°Doubt I¡¯ll be using this in combat.¡± Ajax said honestly, while the ability to drain mana from people was interesting it didn¡¯t have any current practical applications, not unless he would choose to pick a specialization based on it on his next upgrade of the skill. ¡°It won¡¯t do you much good in combat but be careful when using it around commoners and children.¡± the prince advised. ¡°They mostly don¡¯t have all that much mana and you should outlevel them handedly by now. Draining them can be a really elegant way of subduing them but it can also be very harmful if you drain too much, and it¡¯s not easy to know how much mana someone has left. The big problem they cause is that if they are released from the dungeon a single hive can kill an entire city in a few hours with the swarm just passing through.¡± ¡°Is there a resistance skill to it?¡± Ajax asked. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°There is but it¡¯s hard to unlock, once you thin out the swarm enough it flees and stops draining so you can¡¯t just keep one alive in hopes of unlocking the skill.¡± the prince said. ¡°Most who have it now also have mental scars from unlocking it as they are the sole survivors of the team that got overwhelmed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if I can help people unlock the skill.¡± Ajax said, a little said that he couldn¡¯t help himself unlock it. ¡°The Adventurer¡¯s Guild will want you to help its high end teams experience a drain.¡± the prince said. ¡°Even if none of them get the skill there are so few adventurer parties that are allowed to delve at that level that they will be willing to invest in giving them the experience to fight back against the drain at all.¡± As Ajax was left to think on that the group quickly made it to the correct arch and crossed over to the third floor of the dungeon. A sickly green hue illuminated the otherwise dark tunnels of the third floor as the party entered. ¡°Damn it, I was hoping for a dry forest.¡± Ajax swore as he took in the floor setting. ¡°Should have realized there wasn¡¯t enough light mana for that.¡± ¡°I hate underground floors.¡± Anna muttered as she pulled an enchanted item from her spacial ring to light up her surroundings. ¡°Fire is so much harder to use.¡± Fire spells weren¡¯t as reliant on oxygen to work since they could simply use mana as a fuel instead, this didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t use up all the oxygen available first however if the caster wasn¡¯t being careful. ¡°Most of the monsters here are probably plant based.¡± Ajax informed them as he was busy scraping some of the moss off the wall. ¡°There was too much plant mana in the arch for it to be explained just by this glowing moss.¡± Despite knowing that the moss was probably nothing special Ajax just couldn¡¯t resist taking a small sample to mess around with. From his memories of Earth he couldn¡¯t help but associate the green glowing moss with radiation and found himself fascinated. It didn¡¯t take more than ten minutes of walking down the tunnel before the group found their first arch, interestingly enough it looked completely undefended but none of them were stupid enough to actually believe it. ¡°Here we are, who wants the first boss? it¡¯s looking like a tough one.¡± the prince said with a cheery voice as he looked towards Anna, Lexi, Xavier and Benedict. ¡°What is it?¡± Anna didn¡¯t buy into the prince¡¯s game and much to his disappointment looked to strategize. ¡°A vine predator.¡± Aranor answered her, clearly also looking to get through this as quickly as possible. ¡°The root and stem are a few meters buried behind that wall but the vines surround this tunnel and can come from all sides.¡± he said pointing to their right. ¡°How stable is this tunnel?¡± Lexi asked as she excitedly thought of something. Ajax quickly caught on to her plan and sent out a wave of mana through the ground looking to reinforce the tunnel before answering her. ¡°It feels pretty stable, I say go for it and I¡¯ll make sure it doesn¡¯t come down on our heads.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Xavier asked as he looked with more trepidation towards the cracks in the walls. Lexi however wasn¡¯t going to stand around and already began chanting as she slowly started to walk towards the wall Aranor indicated. Once she was twenty feet away all of them became aware of the slowly slithering vines that had started coming out of the cracks and were slowly heading towards her. ¡°That¡¯s quite a bit of mana.¡± Aranor commented as he felt Lexi gather more than five hundred mana in her spell. The vines started moving slightly quicker as they closed in on the mage but they hadn¡¯t yet given up on their attempt at stealth, the monster unaware that it had already been spotted. It was only when Lexi was two steps away from the wall that the monster finally sensed the mana Lexi was channeling and the vines lost any attempt at subtlety and darted straight for her. ¡°Too late.¡± Ajax muttered with a grin as he channeled his own mana ready to react once Lexi cast her spells. Lexi finished her chant right as her arm extended and made contact with the wall, following the large release of mana the entire tunnel started to shake and Lexi released a powerful shockwave straight towards the root and stem of the plant. Rubble started to fall from the ceiling as the plant abandoned any already created pathways and the vines pushed as hard as they could towards Lexi but it was already too late as the shockwave squashed the plant while a massive spider web of cracks formed from the point where Lexi touched the wall. Ajax wasted no time, as soon as he felt the plant die with his [Sense Mana] he quickly released a five hundred mana spell of his own to stabilize to tunnel, he couldn¡¯t do it beforehand as he wanted to make sure Lexi got the solo kill and he reinforcing it earth beforehand could have been counted as interference with the vines. ¡°That was awesome, how did you do that?¡± Elara was surprisingly the first person to react as everything stopped shaking. ¡°Was that sound mana? That would fit so well in my storm Domain, thunder is sound after all.¡± she quickly got a hold of herself as soon as she finished talking and followed up with a slightly embarrassed voice. ¡°We should discuss a deal in private after this dungeon.¡± Chapter 358 It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to find a boss and finish this floor. Unlike the previous floor they weren¡¯t so picky about the specific nature of the next floor and they just went with whatever arch was closest. ¡°This is where we part ways.¡± Aranor said as he turned towards the low leveled members of the group. Lexi, Anna, Benedict and Xavier already knew that they were exiting this floor as soon as they set foot on it. They had no chance against a level sixty-seven and they all knew it. ¡°I¡¯m going as well.¡± Elara said cheerfully as she quickly approached Lexi, already eager to try and get any information about Vibration mana. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll make a deal?¡± The prince asked Ajax after all of them exited the dungeon. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I know what Lexi will ask for, the only question is if they¡¯ll accept.¡± ¡°What will she ask for?¡± Aranor was curious as well since this was a Legendary mana type they were talking about. ¡°Information on forming a Domain.¡± Ajax answered. Ajax knew that humans as a whole didn¡¯t have all that much information about Domains. The main reason for this was because of how rare mages were for humans, forming a Domain wasn¡¯t so much about having affinity with a specific skill as it was about forming a synergy between at least three different mana types you already had the skills for. ¡°They¡¯ll take it.¡± The princess said confidently. ¡°Information on a Legendary mana type is too important for them, even if Elara doesn¡¯t unlock it all they need is for anyone from their house to be able to use it and they will be guaranteed to rise as the next Archduke house.¡± ¡°Let''s get this done.¡± Ajax said as he headed away from the entrance arch of the dungeon. The delve team had an odd split amongst its people. Lexi, Benedict, Xavier and Anna were all around level forty-five, everyone else besides Ajax was at or slightly below level eighty. This meant that only Ajax needed a miniboss on this floor. They quickly found out and moved on to the next floor. ¡°It¡¯s all rock elementals.¡± Harold Ironwhisper whispered with a dejected sigh, as a fully physical fighter rock elementals were a pain for him to deal with. Ajax didn¡¯t much like this floor either though he did take a moment between minibosses to try his hand at using some of the plants he had found on the earlier floor. With the help of Life mana Ajax found that alchemy changed completely. Having his ingredients be so infused made them not only much more valuable but also a lot harder to work with. Out of the four attempts at an underwater breathing potion only one was successful. ¡°Finally made one that works.¡± Ajax said proudly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead after a good half an hour of hovering over a cauldron. ¡°Was it worth it?¡± Harold asked, he had paid enough attention to tell that Ajax was doing something to the ingredients he was using even if he didn¡¯t know what. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Ajax said as he inspected the potion, his [Inspector¡¯s Eye] worked together with [Alchemist¡¯s Examination] to get the information on his most recent creation. ¡°The time it works for is the same but it also improves eyesight and hearing underwater as well.¡± Despite the result of this test not being clearly worth the extra investment it did answer Ajax¡¯s question on whether or not it was worth trying to work with Life mana for [Alchemy]. Just these four attempts got him an additional level in the skill, not to mention that having such additional effects that were related to the initial effect was something he would have to look into for each of his recipes to see if there was anything truly outstanding that could be made. ¡°What options do we have for the next floor?¡± Darkclaw asked excitedly as soon as he noticed Ajax had finished with his Alchemy. Darkclaw had been fascinated with Ajax¡¯s ability to gain insight into different floors. Darkclaw¡¯s style as a melee range caster while usually advantageous against other humanoids put him at a disadvantage against most different type of monsters, the reason for his specialization was that the Republic was surrounded on all four sides by humanoid nations and didn¡¯t do much monster fighting outside of the dungeon. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°This arch here is leaning towards wind and lightning, the previous one is more of a fire and earth attuned one.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I am guessing this one is elemental of some sort and the other is a desert, take your pick.¡± ¡°What about the first arch?¡± Darkclaw asked not liking either of the options all that much. ¡°Undeath.¡± That was all Ajax had to say for everyone else to quickly disregard it as an option. ¡°You figure out how to create something based on your skill that can detect when an arch will lead to an undeath floor and your house will forget about any financial issues.¡± Aranor said as he threw Ajax an envious look. ¡°Desert is better than elementals.¡± Darkclaw said as he looked towards everyone else, when nobody objected he started making his way back to the previous arch. Ajax¡¯s guess was spot on this time around as the floor ended up actually being a desert floor. ¡°How accurate is he?¡± Aranor asked the prince when they entered the floor. The elf¡¯s question was understandable, he had only seen Ajax predict floors two times and while he had been right both times when it came to the dominant mana type he had only guessed the correct theme to the floor once. ¡°He¡¯s pretty good.¡± the prince replied. ¡°It depends a lot on which mana types are present.¡± Ajax chose to explain. ¡°There are only so many choices when you have Fire and Earth but no Magma. Plant water and earth can be any type of forest or swamp.¡± What Ajax didn¡¯t mention was that the higher the level of the monsters on the next floor the more resistant the arch became and the more limited the information he had to work with became. Ajax wasted no time on the desert floor. He had nothing to gain here so as soon as he found the first miniboss on the floor he went straight for it. The monster in question was a rather large rattlesnake. Ajax pulled out his hammer and using a combination of a quickly lightning bolt to paralyze and Void to enhance his hammer turned the snake¡¯s brain into mush. Noticing that the miniboss was one whose body he could actually take outside Ajax went to work using his [Skinning] and [Dismantle] skills to break the monster down into useful components for the first time in the last few months. ¡°HHHHSSSS¡± Regalia hissed at Ajax as he started skinning the snake. ¡°Now, now, Regalia.¡± the princess cooed towards her bond. ¡°I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t do that to you.¡± ¡°I dunno.¡± Ajax said as he threw Regalia a pondering look. ¡°I think boots in that color would look pretty good.¡± ¡°No!¡± the princess jumped defensively between Ajax and her bond. The snake''s emotions coming through the bond made it so she didn¡¯t realize it was only a joke until she noticed everyone else laughing. ¡°That¡¯s not funny.¡± the princess said with a pout. ¡°It¡¯s a little funny.¡± Darkclaw followed up. As they moved on the heat started to be a more serious issue. While all of them were used with high temperature a desert floor always had an environmental component as part of its difficulty and since they were all below the level of the mana present in the environment despite their high combat power it was taking its toll on them. Arianwyn quickly became the center of the group as her ice magic, while less effective in terms of combat power, was ideal for combating the environment. The next miniboss they came upon was based on an animal only Ajax recognized, a camel. ¡°That one doesn¡¯t look all that dangerous.¡± Harold said as he drew his sword. ¡°The legs aren¡¯t all that muscular and the skin doesn¡¯t look all that armored.¡± Ajax wanted to warn the man about his suspicion on the animal¡¯s abilities but he had no way to explain his guesses. Camels were known for their strong bites and despite their slim looking legs they still packed a serious punch. Both of those were things that Ajax expected Harold to be on the lookout for nonetheless it was something else that he was wary about. As soon as Harold moved to engage, Ajax''s fears came true as the camel wasted no time spitting straight at Harold. ¡°Fuck, they spit acid.¡± Harold swore as he heard the slight sizzle as the spit started to eat through his shield. Despite the surprise the camel stood no chance, Harold had the skills, gear and additional stats following delving in the Republic to quickly bring the animal down even if his shield could use some maintenance. The end of the floor came when Darkclaw made short work of a second camel miniboss they happened upon. The beastkin¡¯s managed to simply nuke the monster by quickly draining his mana pool. From there the group as a whole started preparing for the final floor of the dungeon, this was the most dangerous one where they will face a level one hundred mini-boss. ¡°That¡¯s predominantly a crystal floor.¡± Ajax said with a shake of his head, he remembered the mana type from his time in the Empire dungeon. ¡°Best go for a different one.¡± Crystal based monsters were very annoying to fight since while their health was low they made up for that with a very high defense and comparable attack power. Aranor shot the arch a longing look, he would have very much wanted to clear that floor for the amount of wealth that could be found there. ¡°This one is our best bet.¡± Ajax said as he pointed them towards a different arch. ¡°It is a humanoid floor.¡± Humanoid floors had monsters take the form of the actual humanoid races, also including orcs or goblins. The floors were a nightmare to progress through with a team of appropriate level but they were a godsend for boosts since the boosters could isolate the miniboss and the boostee, as a stand alone the humanoids were a lot easier to kill than other boss monsters especially in a favorable match-up. The floor turned out to be a second mine tunnel only this time it was one inhabited by dwarves instead of carnivorous plant life. Ajax, Harold and Darkclaw had no issue ambushing their own minibosses with the help of boosting potions as both Aranor and the prince made sure nothing interfered to help the minibosses. From there Ajax was kind enough to identify both of the arches they found and let their boosters pick which one they would clear after they exited the dungeon. Ajax was happy with the five extra stat points to each of his attributes, this was a good start. As they exited the dungeon Ajax and the delve team were getting ready to separate from the rest of the royal escort. They had been fine traveling together up until this point but the king would be going towards the capital while they would make their way towards the next dungeon and Deepwood. Chapter 359 Ajax, Harold, Darkclaw and Arianwyn quickly made their way away from the dungeon. Unlike the rest of his companions Ajax took his time walking up to all the different potion stalls that were dotted around the small outpost. As he walked around Ajax was being avoided by everyone, even the vendors seemed worried as he approached their stalls. This had nothing to do with Ajax himself and more with the quality of the gear he was wearing. Just by his gear everyone saw him as a well off noble and that is not the kind of attention adventurers and commoners wanted to draw out of the blue. A lot of the merchants breathed a sigh of relief two hours later after Ajax left though a few of them were still worried about the small piece of parchment he had been walking around with and taking notes. As he returned to the convoy Ajax could see that everyone was getting ready to camp out for the night. The sun was already getting low and Ajax knew the prince and Aranor would take at least ten more hours clearing the final floor of the dungeon. Aranor hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to find a second crystal themed floor but one of the ones they did find led to a high metal mana floor, which should also be rather valuable in a kingdom that was essentially dominated by only forests. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Ajax asked Benedict as he saw his friend watching over a meeting held by Lexi, Anna, Elara and Elara¡¯s father. ¡°So far pretty good, the king gave the duke permission to trade the secrets of forming a Domain for a favourable exchange, that was hours ago and since then they¡¯ve been going back and forth.¡± Benedict reported. Ajax didn¡¯t know the two elves well enough to read their body language but he could tell that Lexi had run out of steam for the negotiation a while ago already, Anna on the other hand could probably go for another few hours without issue. Ajax said a quick hello to Lexi and Anna before he went to grab a quick nap. He was still waiting out the backlash from the boosting potion he used on the last floor and he wanted to sleep off the last of the effects. Two hours later Ajax woke up and drained most of his mana pool into his alchemy ingredients. Much to his excitement Ajax managed to push his [Inject Mana] past the level fifty threshold with that. Now he had a decision to make about which way he would take his skill. Unlike his Legendary skills he was only presented with two options, increased efficiency for short term or increased efficiency for long term. The branching choices each represented one of the ways he used his skills. The short term infusion he used for combat and the more recent addition of long term infusion that he was doing for crafting. ¡°Aaargh.¡± Ajax grunted as he couldn¡¯t make up his mind. ¡°I guess it¡¯ll have to wait for the prince.¡± The reason for Ajax¡¯s indecision wasn¡¯t his passion for alchemy. If the choice was down to fighting or alchemy he would have already selected the short term efficiency increase, after all it would just take him a bit longer to prepare his ingredients. The hesitation came with the combat applications of long term efficiency increases combined with Life mana. A small golem already took about a third of his mana pool and it barely lasted twenty or so seconds, even with the increase in efficiency he was bound to get from practice he wasn¡¯t sure if that would be enough to make his Life mana combat viable outside of helping with healing. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Walking out of the carriage where he took his nap Ajax went around to find Lexi. He was a little worried when he found Lexi, Anna, Elara and her father still sitting together but he relaxed once he saw that Benedict, Xavier and Arianwyn were with them and none of them looked all that serious, at least the negotiations were over. ¡°So how did it go?¡± Ajax asked her as he took a seat next to Lexi and gave her a hug. ¡°We had to share the information regarding Vibration mana upfront but we will have a lot of information regarding Domain formation and Elara and I will even help each other during this trip.¡± Lexi answered with a bright smile. ¡°How about you, do you want to try and form a Domain?¡± ¡°Nah.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t even take a moment to think about it since he had already come to that conclusion a while ago. ¡°A Domain wouldn¡¯t fit my fighting style at all. I also doubt it will be compatible with my syphon skill.¡± Ajax had left the answer specifically a little vague. While the elves may have thought that Ajax said that because it wouldn¡¯t work because of him syphoning his own domain, which would be a problem it wasn¡¯t one that couldn¡¯t be solved with the correct threshold upgrade. The issue Ajax had with Domains was that it used up too much mana, if he ever had to fight against anything that was physical based and tried to use a Domain and [Mana Syphon] without syphoning the Domain he would run out of mana in minutes. ¡°What Domain are you going for?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You have a few mana types to choose from.¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting with Fire, Wind, Water and Vibration mana to form a [Disaster Domain].¡± Lexi was smiling brightly despite the fearsome declaration. ¡°That Domain should be wide enough in definition that I can add any other mana types I may want later.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be a little worried about the Domain she had chosen. Once they were alone he would talk to her at length about the decision. The reason for his worry was that a Disaster Domain wouldn¡¯t be able to empower long term defensive spells. Much like how a Winter domain wouldn¡¯t be able to empower a fire spell, a Disaster happened quickly, the aftereffects could last for a long time but an earthquake, a tsunami or a tornado didn¡¯t last all that long in one place, an inferno might be useful for a prolonged period but fire was never all that great of a defensive element. ¡°I think your grandfather will be very jealous of you if you manage that.¡± Ajax said with a grin as he could already imagine the old headmaster questioning Lexi for hours as he would no doubt want to form a similar domain, after all with the help of a Domain to empower them a lot of weak spells he had managed to discover over the years would become viable. ¡°If you need help getting it to work just ask.¡± Elara and her father showed no reaction to that, clearly they had thought this through already, however Ajax could see the surprise on Arianwyn''s face as she put together what Lexi might have access to if she formed a Domain. The small group broke apart shortly as Lexi and Ajax went off on their own as did Elara and Benedict, they left Anna, Xavier, Arianwyn and the duke talking about something political that Ajax had no interest in. It was late into the following morning and almost noon by the time Aranor and the prince returned from the dungeon. From the look of Aranor¡¯s robes and the jokes that the prince was making Ajax could guess that the elf had spent a good amount of time since he last saw him digging out metal. The tables had quickly turned on the prince however, as soon as they entered the camp site a messenger quickly informed both of them that the king wanted to hold a quick meeting before the delve group separated. Ajax had no doubt that he was the topic of that discussion. Arianwyn would have surely given her father a full report on his ability to predict floor themes, if anything he was rather appreciative of the elven king for having left him out of the meeting. ¡°He¡¯s waiting until you visit the capital for your delves.¡± Anna said from beside him. ¡°What?¡± Ajax asked, confused at what she meant. ¡°The king probably wants to ask you for something but considering the time table we are under he will want to ask you about your ability and his request when you are a guest in his home.¡± Anna explained. ¡°This will let him gather more information about how it works from the delves Aranor, Arianwyn and Elara will join you on and give him time to make a plan.¡± ¡°What do you think he will ask for?¡± Ajax asked, trusting Anna to have a good sense for these things. ¡°Something small at first, have the royal family owe you a little that way you¡¯ll be more inclined to reach out to them about something you want or need.¡± Anna answered. ¡°I think he¡¯ll ask for collection teams to join you during your delves in the capital. ¡°You¡¯ll probably send two or three people to separate floors each targeting something else. It¡¯ll cost you nothing but maybe an extra day on the last floor but they will stand to gain a lot, especially if you start pushing past the level one hundred jump in power in dungeons.¡± Ajax had to admit it was a win-win situation. And one he would take the king up on if he asked, no reason not to build some good will with the royal family. Chapter 360 As soon as the meeting between the elven king, Aranor and the prince was over the convoy started to move. Both Aranor and the prince joined the rest of the delve group but both went straight to sleep after the long hours they spent awake. Having nothing better to do after he finished draining his mana into his Alchemy ingredients yet again Ajax quilt got to work on making a checkers board. He planned on introducing chess as well but for starters checkers was much more relaxing and easier to understand. ¡°Does this mean I win?¡± Anna asked with an innocent voice after doing a ten jump move to eliminate all of Ajax¡¯s pieces. After having completed his game board Ajax taught Lexi the game and proceeded to play and win three games as she learned to play, Anna had been watching them all that time and decided to give it a go after Lexi¡¯s third loss. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Ajax whispered still a little in shock at how quickly he lost his competitive edge. A little defeated by losing to someone playing for the first time. Ajax relinquished his place and let others attempt to beat Anna. It wasn¡¯t all that surprising to find that Benedict was at the same level as Anna, games between the two of them always ending way before anyone lost all their pieces as they surrendered a game they knew was lost. As the prince woke up he took a curious look at what Xavier and Arianwyn were playing before he dragged Ajax to another carriage for a private talk. ¡°Okay, this is important.¡± the prince said as he activated a number of privacy items. ¡°First of all, you can recognise floors with humanoids on them?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t know why that was so important. ¡°Most of them anyways.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± the prince let out a long sigh. ¡°Do you know what that mana type is? More importantly if you pick it up do you think you could use it and Life mana to create people?¡± Now Ajax saw why the need for secrecy. It wasn¡¯t even that much of a leap to make but Ajax only knew the answer to one of those questions. ¡°No idea what mana type it is.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°I also don¡¯t know if it could be used together with Life mana to create new people.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t know what type of mana it is how do you know that humanoids were on that level?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Because humanoids have a specific mana type, in fact if you look into it deep enough you can probably find the specific combination for any creature on any floor.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°On a low enough floor with enough time to experiment I think I might be able to even pin down what type of humanoid there is.¡± ¡°Why only humanoids?¡± the prince asked. ¡°For the same reason I can only tell that some floors have humanoids.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Specifically the ones where you can only find humanoids.¡± ¡°What if there is something else as well?¡± the prince asked. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Depending on how varied the something else is and how low the floor I might still be able to tell but definitely not on a high floor.¡± Ajax said. ¡°One thing humanoids have in common both in the dungeon and outside of it is that they don¡¯t allow anything else of equivalent power to live amongst them.¡± ¡°We do.¡± the prince said as he thought about a few specific bonds that even he kept his guard up around. ¡°One or two examples maybe, but not another species as a whole.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°We take over the entire ecosystem and have it rebuilt with us on top. The floors that have humanoids but also have something else are floors that have all of the rest of the monsters living on a separate part of the floor from the humanoids. With that little diversity I managed to learn and recognise the mana type that means humanoids are there since it is so exclusionary. Took hundreds of delves to do it as well.¡± The prince took a moment to think on Ajax¡¯s answer. He thought back to the thousands of delves he had done in his long life and while he could remember one or two examples that were different from Ajax¡¯s statements but they were more the exception to the rule. ¡°Okay, good.¡± The prince lost his serious demeanor and the cheeky smirk he usually sported was back. ¡°We can go back to the others now, when you get stronger however I want you to lead me to a few of these high end humanoid floors, I want to see just how good the weapons the dungeon can come up with are.¡± Considering that if you wanted to find a weapon in the dungeon it had to be one that was wielded by a dungeon humanoid Ajax realized that his ability to identify humanoid floors was a lot more valuable than any other single floor type. What need would you have for high quality materials if you could already grab the finished item directly. ¡°There is something I wanted to ask you about.¡± Ajax said as the prince started to take down the privacy items. ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that?¡± the prince asked. Ajax spent the next few minutes explaining the choice that he had to make in regards to [Inject Mana]. His crossroads choice of increasing his combat power now and giving his Life mana a chance to become much more of a centerpiece in his planned ambushes or defensive holdouts. ¡°That¡¯s a good question.¡± the prince said after Ajax finished explaining. ¡°It¡¯s also one that possibly has a correct answer however. What level is your [Mana Augmentation]?¡± ¡°Why does that matter?¡± Ajax asked, while he had been more open about his skills, giving out the exact level of his combat skills was not something he was willing. ¡°Because [Inject Mana] has become a feeder skill in terms of your combat.¡± The prince answered, not pushing to find the exact level. ¡°Once you upgrade [Mana Augmentation] , taking the short term upgrade for [Inject Mana] will be almost inconsequential. Threshold upgrades stack if the skills are of the same rarity but in similar upgrades from different ranks, the lower skill makes almost no difference.¡± Ajax nodded as he took in the information. [Mana Augmentation] was almost at level fifty. Given that Ajax couldn''t help but agree with the prince that there was a correct answer. With that thought he finalized the selection and [Inject Mana] leveled to fifty-one with the long term efficiency upgrade. ¡°Not for nothing but I think you should definitely go with the long term upgrade.¡± the prince continued, not knowing Ajax had just done that. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Because after you get back from running the Empire¡¯s dungeon you will be named a Duke.¡± the prince said. ¡°Even with the help you will receive early on you will still need to stand on your own two feet eventually, with your spreading reputation that will be sooner than later. I can¡¯t think of anything making a better statement that your house is not to be fucked with that having the first people who dare attack your estate crushed by a giant golem created from Life mana. Or maybe an entire squad of just large golems? Or maybe both, a small squad with a large commander.¡± Ajax found himself very much in agreement with the prince there. Every nobles estate had the usual defensive enchantments but his family deserved the best, of course he would create a ritual for Life mana to create protectors for his own estate. This was made even easier by the fact that all his ritual would have to do is store large amounts of his mana that he would then direct when activating and creating the defenders. ¡°Thanks.¡± Ajax said as he nodded towards the prince who finished taking down the privacy equipment. With that the two of them returned back to the main carriage where they found an odd sight. Anna, Elara, Benedict and Arianwyn were all huddled together on one side of the checkers board discussing in hushed whispers. On the other side Aranor was sitting in a relaxed posture not looking all that interested in the game. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ajax asked Lexi. ¡°Aranor started playing and he beat everyone.¡± Lexi answered him as Benedict finished the discussion and reached out to move a piece. As soon as the move was finished Aranor instantly made his own move. ¡°It¡¯s always like that he takes almost no time to answer any move.¡± Ajax looked at the old elf in a new light. He knew that the game of checkers had technically been proven as solved back on Earth, but it had taken a team of people working with AI computers sixteen years to prove it. Was it possible that the elven champion could do something similar regarding the board state? Could he possibly think that many moves in advance? Ajax wasn¡¯t sure if that was the case but he was suddenly a lot more wary of ever taking part in a war where the elven champion would be on the other side. Chapter 361 Silvia Hearthbound P.O.V. Even after all these years, whenever I find myself a free moment I always end up looking out the window over the courtyard trying to convince myself it¡¯s all real. It¡¯s been more than six years now since we moved to the capital and since our family was officially declared nobles but to me it still feels like I¡¯m behind and just catching up with my own life. This was brought into sharp focus just recently as the crown prince¡¯s sister and her daughter arrived to give us a surprise a couple of weeks ago. As it turns out Ajax had managed to gain delve spots in Deepwood¡¯s dungeons, not only that but he did so rather publicly so their visit was more of a show of force to ensure nobody got any ideas. ¡°Already looking for them?¡± Alana asks me as she sees me looking out the window. Alana and Judy were inseparable since they were children. Even now she is one of the fixtures that helps me keep track of the quick changes that happen as we work together with my mother to manage the business. ¡°They should arrive today.¡± I answer, referring to Judy and my father. Both had left with Ajax and they were supposed to accompany him for his entire journey, only coming back around two months from now. Like any meticulously laid plan however it lasted until the first major event. Ajax¡¯s pass into Deepwood for the delves meant they would have to separate for a few months so it was simply better for them to return and for us to go out and meet him in Sylvanthal¡¯s capital as he was on his way back. ¡°Is that them?¡± Alana asks as we hear the gate open. ¡°No, it¡¯s Tom and his delve team.¡± I respond as I move to welcome Tom back after a few days when he went delving. Tom has fulfilled his duty as a city guard a while ago but instead of slowing down he pushed himself forward taking his role as a commander of our house guards very seriously. Two years ago he even managed to have his level surpass his age as he and the rest of our retinue delved into the dungeons as often as possible. ¡°How was it?¡± I do my best not to let worry and anxiety I feel looking at his roughed up clothes and the few dents in his armor that weren¡¯t there a few days ago when he left for the delve creep into my voice. ¡°Everything went well,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t even have any close calls thanks to Fluffy and Theron.¡± Even with Tom¡¯s surge in levels he has only barely begun to put a dent in the gap that opened up between him and Fluffy. The large shadow cat still being more than enough to handle almost anything that might show up on the floor Tom delves. ¡°Daddy! You¡¯re back.¡± We are quickly interrupted as the one thing Tom puts more effort into than being a commander dashes straight at him. ¡°Hey there kiddo!¡± He said as he picks up his child. ¡° Have you been good while I was gone?¡± ¡°Of course I was!¡± Despite the conviction the answer was given with it didn¡¯t last long. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Kate asked as she walked up, her hands already glowing with a spell ready to make sure that her husband wasn¡¯t just pushing through any injuries he sustained. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I thought I was quite clear when I said to listen to your mother.¡± Tom said in a fake upset tone. He didn¡¯t even get an answer as the child already ran back inside the mansion looking to escape a second punishment. ¡°Welcome home.¡± Kate said as followed up with a wide area heal that went over the remainder of the retainers who were unloading their delving packs. ¡°It¡¯s great to be home,¡± he replied. ¡°Are they back yet?¡± ¡°No but they should be here today.¡± Kate answers him as she helps him unbuckle the armor. As if called by the words at that exact moment I see the head of one of our two large transport worms start to push its way past the open gates. ¡°Seems they were waiting for you to welcome them yourself.¡± I tease Tom. The rest of the afternoon until dinner is spent welcoming them back and just letting Judy and Elija settle back in after being away for so long. All of us do our best to give them some time before we set upon them with questions about everything that happened. The letters we got simply weren¡¯t enough. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe how different their cities look.¡± Judy gushed as she described the Republic''s capital. ¡°The dwarven tunnels and the elven tree houses, not to mention the more basic beastkin huts and tents, all seamlessly interwoven. As the story moves on to the tournament I can¡¯t help but praise Sam¡¯s idea of reinforcing the chairs in our dining room, the incredibly detailed recount of Ajax¡¯s fight in the final has my knuckles turning white as they clench onto the armrest. ¡°That was when he showed a new mana type.¡± all of us were drawn in to Judy¡¯s retelling. ¡° He threw his hammer only for it to bounce stop dead into the ice, a moment later however the princess was tossed like a ragdoll across the rocky arena.¡± Despite the pride I feel in Ajax I can¡¯t help a small part of myself from wishing that he would just slow down and not take so many risks. For a small moment there I daydream of what it would be if Ajax would just focus on his Alchemy going forward. The daydream is broken however by a large wave of laughter. ¡°That¡¯s when the golem pulled on his leg a second time dragging Darkclaw¡¯s face through the mud right as he was talking.¡± Judy finished regaling us with Ajax¡¯s post tournament spar. ¡°Speaking of his Life mana.¡± Father said in a sobering tone. ¡°There are a few things that he has asked us to get started on once we return home. Things that wouldn¡¯t have been safe to entrust via a letter.¡± For the next ten minutes or so Elija explained how Ajax had passed a message through the royal family to have them bring back home in preparation for his return. ¡°So he wants us to start decorating?¡± Tom said with a hint of amusement. ¡°This will be a lot of work.¡± mother said as she rubbed her forehead in thought. ¡°We¡¯ll have to throw a celebratory party, one where the royal family is invited.¡± ¡°What, why?¡± Judy asked, taken aback, considering how much the high quality statues Ajax requested would cost. I can see why she would be worried about an extravagant party on top. ¡°We need a justifiable reason as to why we are getting the statues.¡± Alana explained to her friend. ¡°Otherwise every nosy merchant and gossipy noble will be looking into why we are getting statues made from mana rich stone.¡± ¡°Ughhh, fine.¡± Judy relented. ¡°But in that case all of them have to be cute.¡± ¡°That might not play out the way you want.¡± I will try to point out . ¡°You do remember they will be killing machines. Do you really want to be cute?¡± My question brings Judy¡¯s enthusiasm to a complete stop. ¡°Now that I think about it¡­¡± ¡°We should have Kate go and place the order.¡± Tom suggests. ¡°Why Kate?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Because it would be best if the statues were of beastkin or monsters.¡± Tom explains. ¡°Sharp claws and fags would work much better than a dull stone edge on a sword.¡± ¡°MREOW!¡± ¡°Of course we¡¯ll have a statue made in dedication to you!¡± Kate quickly pacified the large shadow cat while scratching him behind his ears. ¡°We can always attach metal to the claws and fangs later.¡± Sam says. Sam¡¯s work as a blacksmith has seen a similar increase in progress as Tom¡¯s level has ever since he started working with higher quality materials that Ajax and our retainers were pulling out of the dungeon. His work could now comfortably be used by a level seventy adventurer. ¡°It¡¯s nice to at least see that Ajax is at least consistent, we only need to worry about his absurd skills.¡± I laugh as I shake my head thinking of this. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that¡­¡± Father says with a bit of an awkwards smile. ¡°Oh what¡¯s he done now?¡± Tom said with an overly dramatic sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not so much something he did¡­¡± Father has me a little worried with how much he is beating around the bush. ¡°It¡¯s just that, a certain elven princess seemed to have taken a strong liking to him¡­¡± My thoughts grind to a halt. ¡°What do you mean an elven princess?¡± Kate sounds a little aggressive as she and Lexi had been getting along very well. ¡°It seems to be entirely one sided,¡± Father quickly backpedals. ¡° I doubt he is even aware of her intentions, at least he wasn¡¯t during the meeting where we sold his tournament winnings.¡± ¡°And he better keep it that way.¡± Kate said with a small huff. ¡°Lexi is such a nice girl.¡± ¡°He could always have two.¡± Sam says. ¡°Could he now?¡± his eyes instantly widen at my tone as he begins his own backpedaling. I can¡¯t wait until my little boy comes back. Chapter 362 Without a large caravan the group''s travel speed increased considerably, not only that but with them not making stops at every city and taking a much more direct route it also meant that their usual training time was cut down and adapted to be practiced inside the carriage as much as possible. While Ajax wasn¡¯t glad about the loss of his physical training he had no issues dumping his mana into his Alchemy ingredients twice a day. Lexi was also in the same boat as she had no issues dumping out her own mana in repeated attempts of forming her Domain. ¡°Come with me.¡± The prince told Ajax in a commanding voice the first time they stopped to renew their provisions. ¡°What are we doing?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°Starting your training.¡± The prince said, a small smile on his otherwise serious face. ¡°Originally this was supposed to have waited until you accepted your position as Duke and had a much deeper tie with Gryndor, considering the amount of good will you managed to create in the last few months however it¡¯s been accepted that you can begin earlier.¡± ¡°What training?¡± Ajax was confused as he was already training for multiple things. ¡°I was informed that a few years ago you showed a high level of interest in learning [Empowering Restriction].¡± the prince explained. ¡°As one of my most used skills I can see why a hybrid fighter would be interested in that.¡± Ajax was a little conflicted at the news. One the one hand he was extremely eager to learn the skill, on the other he couldn¡¯t help but question if they really needed to wait this long. ¡°The first thing I need to tell you about this skill is that it will also be detrimental to you.¡± The prince¡¯s words brought Ajax out of his internal debate. ¡°Unlike most other skills [Empowering Restriction] actively slows the progress your skills will make, this is another reason it isn¡¯t taught too early. The only reason why you are even a candidate at your current age is that you have an abnormal number of different skills already.¡± That was a reason Ajax agreed with a lot more but there was one thing he wanted to clarify first considering the possible downsides. ¡°Does it also make it harder for me to gain new skills?¡± Ajax was aiming for things like Vibration mana and most likely a number of additional mana types, he wasn¡¯t ready to sacrifice all that just yet. ¡°Yes and no.¡± the prince answered with one of the least useful answers there was. ¡°Skills brand new to you like for example an additional mana type will not be affected. Derivative skills however that are in part recreated with the use of this skill will be almost impossible to gain and if gained even harder to level.¡± ¡°Derivative skills? Like what?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You currently have [Sense Mana].¡± The prince explained. ¡°That is an Uncommon skill. [Mana Sight], [Mana Scent], [Mana Touch] are all Rare examples of Derivative skills that you can recreate by using [Empowering Restriction] on [Sense Mana].¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it just be better to get [Empowering Restriction] since they can be recreated?¡± Ajax questioned as he thought about it. ¡°As a stand alone skill yes.¡± The prince nodded. ¡°I however have both [Sense Mana] and [Mana Sight]. The way [Empowering Restriction] works after it is initially gained is that only a short restriction can be placed on a skill, it is only after it passes level fifty that a more detailed or multiple restrictions can be used. Restricting [Mana Sight] from both eyes to only one would create a much stronger skill than simply restricting [Sense Mana] to sight only.¡± Ajax took a moment to think through the consequences of getting such a skill this early when he was already pretty sure he would live for millenia. In the end however the answer he always came back to was that at worst all this would do would be to offset the advantage his Divine Witness trait gave him in acquiring certain skills. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I¡¯m ready to start training.¡± Ajax said with determination. ¡°Allright.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°The best way to unlock this skill is by adding non-beneficial restrictions to your skills.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that something that anyone can figure out?¡± Ajax sounded a little bummed out as that was something he had already tried back when he first heard about the skill. ¡°The skill isn¡¯t that easy to figure out.¡± the prince said with a pitying smile, no doubt guessing he had already tried that. ¡°Unlike most other skills [Empowering Restriction] is meant to be exclusively a support skill. Focusing on the restriction you voluntarily place on your skill won¡¯t help you unlock it.¡± ¡°Then why are we doing it if I am not focusing on it?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°So that you can also add a punishment.¡± Ajax could swear that the prince¡¯s smile turned a little sadistic as he answered. ¡°The restriction isn¡¯t meant to be focused on since maintaining it is what the skill will do once you gain it. You must instead strive to show you can use a restricted skill as intended by adding a restriction, not focusing on it, and finally paying a penalty every time you break your own restriction.¡± ¡°Okayyyy¡± Ajax didn¡¯t sound so trusting but he was willing to give this a go. ¡°The first and easiest skill to start this with is an [Inspect] skill.¡± the prince continued. ¡°It is very often used and the touch only restriction is very limiting while also being relatively simple.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°Now the most important part.¡± the prince explained. ¡°The penalty has to be something either challenging or personally unpleasant. You don¡¯t have to tell me what you decided to go with. I always make it a small game every time I teach someone this skill to figure out what their penalties are. It also works better if the penalties get worse at each breach.¡± Ajax had just been about to start a brainstorming session for just what his penalty should be but stopped once he heard the prince¡¯s explanation. ¡°Once you are able to go three days without breaking the condition let me know and we can get started on the next one.¡± the prince said as he turned to leave. ¡°The next one?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°Oh yes, once you get the hang of one restriction you add another different restriction to a second skill.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°The restrictions also have to be as diverse as possible, after three days of no penalties you add another. The quickest anyone I ever taught gained the skill was after adding the fifth restriction. The average for those who actually gain the skill is usually ten.¡± With that both Ajax returned to the carriage in silence as Ajax tried to think of a good penalty for himself. Initially he had wanted to add some form of training punishment similar to one hundred push ups but that wasn¡¯t something he considered a true penalty any more, rather it was just quality training. By the time they returned to the carriage Ajax finally settled on a comfort penalty. Every time he broke the restriction he would have to go one night without sleep. Considering how all of his stats were already past three hundred going a few days without sleep in a row wouldn¡¯t be dangerous for him it but it would place additional mental pressure on him, he could only hope that since the penalty would also make it harder for him to remember the restriction it would help in unlocking the skill. With that settled Ajax tried his best to put his restriction out of his mind as he focused on interacting with the others as they each returned and got ready to leave, their next stop wouldn¡¯t be until they reached the next dungeon. The first day back on the road it hadn¡¯t been all that hard for Ajax to stick to his restriction, on the second day however he had caught sight of an odd movement through the trees on the side of the road and he had activated [Inspector¡¯s Eye] more by reflex than anything else. Name : N/A Speciase : Stufftailed Squirrel Level : 14 Health : 500/500 Mana : 200/200 Stamina : 760/1000 Vitality : 50 Strength : 40 Endurance : 100 Dexterity : 105 Intelect : 20 Wisdom : 19 Mind : 20 Perception : 80 Skills : [Climbing][Running][Danger Sense][Grooming] Ajax managed to hold in the curse as he realized he had broken his restriction. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lexi asked him, noticing him tense up for a moment. ¡°Nothing¡­¡± he said a little dejectedly. ¡°Just failed at something.¡± Lexi had learned over the years they had been together that Ajax was always doing something or other odd, she had also learned to not always question it until he was ready to share as it was usually something odd that most of the time ended up working out for him. ¡°And so my watch begins.¡± Ajax mumbled later that same night as he stayed looking out the window of the moving carriage. He had at first been tempted to move away from the window so that he wouldn¡¯t fail again on a twitch reaction but that would go against the focusing on the restriction part of the training. Chapter 363 It took Ajax two whole weeks, basically the entire way to their second dungeon before he was finally able to go three days while following the touch restriction he had imposed on his [Inspector¡¯s Eye]. ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as you think, is it?¡± the prince asked as Ajax notified him of his success. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be that hard.¡± Ajax admitted, he had almost always found himself failing towards the end of the third day just as he was about to finish. ¡°That¡¯s the whole point of starting with an Inspect skill.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°You need to get used to breaking ingrained habits when using this skill. The second skill we are going to be working with is your [Mana Syphon].¡± ¡°Right as we are about to go into a delve?¡± Ajax was surprised and a little worried at that. ¡°Yes.¡± the prince confirmed. ¡°The added pressure should help you unlock the skill faster.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t want me to use the skill on anything I¡¯m not touching?¡± Ajax was more than a little skeptical of that. ¡°The exact opposite actually.¡± The prince shook his head. ¡°You can use the skill on anything except something or someone that is making contact with you.¡± Ajax was surprised at that. He had expected the limitation to go towards his tactile since it mirrored his first restriction and it was something he just learned he could use on people. ¡°The point of this restriction is to teach you that more niche restrictions can also be a source of power for you when you are sure you will not need them.¡± the prince explained. ¡°A similar example for me is by limiting my own [Runic Casting] skill to now work with certain elements when fighting certain opponents. At my level you can know who you¡¯ll be facing and give yourself an edge this way.¡± Ajax found that to be a really good tip. There were many times when using certain elements wouldn¡¯t make sense almost at all, limiting himself would actually make a lot of sense. ¡°Remember, your first restriction hasn¡¯t gone away.¡± the prince reminded him. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll be able to get some sleep in the next few days.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little at the obvious nudge, the prince having figured out his self imposed punishment. With a simple shake of the head he headed towards the next dungeon. The starting range for this one was thirty three to thirty seven with a fourteen level floor jump and he was looking forward to the four extra stat points in each of his stats. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Ajax asked Lexi. Lexi was feeling much better about this dungeon. While she would only be able to gain stats from two floors as long as she had a good matchup, that second floor wouldn¡¯t be that much of a challenge compared to the previous dungeon. Two levels may not seem like that much but it was quite a bit. ¡°I am.¡± Lexi confirmed. ¡°You¡¯re not going to try for it yet are you?¡± Lexi had been getting progressively more worried about Ajax. She knew that he wanted to push past the level one hundred barrier that he had been stuck at for a while now, especially after all of the stats he gained back in the Republic. She knew however just how big a jump in difficulty this was. ¡°Not just yet.¡± Ajax reassured her. ¡°I¡¯ll wait until Deepwood¡¯s capital dungeon.¡± The capital dungeon in Deepwood would be the second dungeon they would reach after this one, this gave Ajax about another month and half or two until they would get there in which to get stronger. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. As the team made it close to the dungeon entrance they found this dungeon to be a lot more in line with the others that weren¡¯t close to their kingdom¡¯s capital. The dungeon was out of the way, well removed from nearby settlements and with a wall of trees forming a physical barrier to discourage any monsters that leaked out from going towards the village. ¡°What do you think is happening?¡± Xavier asked as they saw elves coming running out through the trees from the direction of the dungeon. Aranor wasted no time as he quickly approached one of the people in uniform that were running away. ¡°Soldier, report what happened.¡± ¡°We h-have to¡­ to run.¡± the soldier babbled as he tried to work his way free from Aranor¡¯s grasp. This wasn¡¯t the first time Aranor had dealt with a panicked person evacuating so he moved slightly away from the group before he fully released his aura and directed all of it at the guard. Ajax had been in the presence of auras for a while now but everyone who had passed level one hundred and a bit had started to learn how to control them. The full pressure of someone who had passed level two hundred was enough to make all of them except the prince hold their breath as their bodies momentarily froze. Surprisingly enough this massive burst of existential dread that quickly passed over the guard before Aranor restrained his aura once again managed to stop the mans panicking and he took in the situation he was in. ¡°S-s-sorrrry a-ab-about th-that, s-sir.¡± The man did his best to give Aranor a proper salute as while his mind was playing catch up the fear hadn¡¯t yet cleared his system. ¡°Report.¡± Aranor simply asked again. ¡°A vis-visiting team just got w-wiped, sir.¡± the guard answered, starting to calm down the more he talked. ¡°They were going up to the third floor and their scout just came out the self p-proclaimed lone survivor. He had to go up a floor to escape.¡± Ajax just put together why everyone was so worried as he heard the hissing coming from the direction of the dungeon. That was the issue with out of the way dungeons like this, just the same as the one near Lessis where he first started as an Adventurer. ¡°Mid to high seventies.¡± Arianwyn mumbled as she took out her combat robe from her spacial ring. Once the level jump between floors rose over ten most people who were consistently delving the dungeon didn¡¯t delve higher than the actual second floor of the dungeon. The collectors back in Lessis were the same, once they managed to surpass the second floor the jump to the third would be too large and they were good enough to move to the capital. The second floor here was level fifty one, the guards on duty weren¡¯t going to be able to handle a full floor worth of level seventies, running was actually a good response. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure none of them get too far away if you take care of them.¡± The prince offered. ¡°Thank you.¡± as soon as the first word left Aranor¡¯s lips the prince was already gone looking to make sure nothing got too far from the dungeon arch. ¡°I want to help.¡± Arianwyn said as she got ready to fight. ¡°Your Highness, are you cert-¡± Aranor didn¡¯t even get to finish his question as he was interrupted. ¡°So do I.¡± Elara also followed up ready to join her friend. Seeing that he would only be wasting time trying to take them out of it, Aranor could only give up and accept it. ¡°Stay close to me, they might just be in the mid to low seventies but there will be a lot of them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help as well.¡± Darkclaw offered as he cracked his neck pulling his battle robe out of his own spacial ring. ¡°I¡¯ll guard the rest of them, just in case anything slips through.¡± As much as Ajax would have also wanted to help his melee combat style would have hindered as much as helped with such a powerful mage already doing the main clean-up. He knew his biggest contribution would be making sure Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict were safe as the escaped monsters posed a serious threat to them. Aranor was pleasantly surprised by Ajax''s cool and collected response, he had honestly expected the young human to have jumped head first into the fight but instead he calmly analyzed the situation and assigned himself in the best position even if it was the least glamorous one. The whole interaction took a grand total of twenty seconds, the guard was still gathering himself following Aranor¡¯s aura blast when the entire group got moving. Aranro had already dashed ahead and Ajax could feel the largest amount of mana he had felt from one person gathering. ¡°Stand back a little.¡± Arianwyn said as they were approaching the trees and following in Aranor¡¯s footsteps. ¡°What spell is that?¡± Xavier asked, what they were all thinking as all of them could feel the massive amount of mana gathering. ¡°Chill breath.¡± Arianwyn said quietly. ¡°What now?!¡± Everyone except Elara looked at her with shock. The question had been a rhetorical one that had just slipped out, nobody had expected an answer. ¡°The spell to make your drink cold?¡± Ajax asked, since he didn¡¯t rely on chanted magic as much he wanted to make sure he wasn¡¯t mixing them up. ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± Elara said. As the group slowly moved through the last few threes before the wide open clearing surrounding the arch they got to see Aranor open his mouth and blow a huge wall of air that froze the lizard type monsters that were swarming the clearing from the dungeon. ¡°How many times did he chant it?¡± Ajax asked as he remembered Aranor¡¯s skill to repeatedly stack the same spell on top of itself by repeating the chant before finally releasing it; it had barely been two minutes. ¡°It¡¯s only a two word chant so, with his [Chanting] lowering that to one.¡± Elara took a moment to think. ¡°About two hundred, maybe a bit more.¡± The opening cast had easily taken care of at least half the monsters that were loose but there were still plenty more left as the three fighters joined the mage on the offensive while Ajax started creating a defensive position around his friends just in case something sneaked up on them. Chapter 364 The massive wave of frost pulled the attention of all the reptiles. Unlike inside the dungeon where they would be attracted to anything foreign there was nothing on the outside to suppress that lizard brain reaction of getting away from something that dangerous. ¡°So it begins.¡± The prince said as he felt the mana bomb go off as he decapitated another lizard. With that the prince started to pick up speed as he pumped the runes on his armor looking to get as much speed as possible as he circled the woods killing the lizards as they ran away. With the lizards running in all directions a good number headed for the rest of the group. Elara and Arianwyn wasted no time in putting a little bit of distance between themselves before both of them released their domains. Ajax mostly stayed on the defensive, besides hardening the earth beneath their feet and creating a small earth wall he purely focused on using [Mana Syphon] on as many lizards as he could, pushing its range further and further. Elara and Arianwyn started firing off spell after spell, their domains letting them bombard the wave of lizards. Unlike Aranor the two elves give off the same impression of danger to the lizards so instead of running from them the lizards charged right for them. Darkclaw wasted no time jumping in to play protector for Elara, he would have done the same for Arianwyn but not only did she already have Regalia filling that role but her winter domain was much better defensively than a storm one and the cold would also negatively affect him. ¡°We¡¯ve got fliers.¡± Benedict called out as he pointed towards the arch as a wave of flying lizards that Ajax would call pterodactyls took to the air. The pterodactyls were much more fragile than their ground locked brothers, in exchange however they were not only faster but from the wind mana Ajax could feel surrounding their wings they wouldn¡¯t even need to slow down as they attacked. Elara was quick to change her priority. While Arianwyn continued to focus on the giant lizards on the ground she almost exclusively started to shoot the fliers out of the sky with bolts of lightning. With the increasing number of enemies something finally made it past Ajax''s small perimeter and headed towards the group. Being only a level seventy five non miniboss monsters Ajax had no issue dodging the bite attack before crushing a molten infused axe straight into its skull. The problem there came when Ajax tried to exclude the lizard from his [Mana Syphon]. Not wanting to use his skill while technically making contact with the lizard, Ajax tried to stop his skill from working on it. The flash exclusion however not only removed the lizard itself but all of the other lizards as well for a brief moment. The brief boost in power from Ajax flashing his [Mana Syphon] off then back on once he killed his enemy came as a big surprise to the rest of the lizards as most of them ended up tripping and face planting into the dirt before they started moving once again. Not everything ended up going well however as Ajax himself suffered the reverse effect, with his physical enhancement going away for the brief moment his skill excluded the lizards, Ajax front foot ended up twisting his ankle as it tried to support the momentum Ajax had built up. Aranor had finally managed to make it to the arch in this time, this was lucky for the team that happened to be exiting the dungeon at this exact time. A group of twenty people with their levels in the low fifties were shocked at what awaited them on the outside, they had just finished clearing the second floor of the dungeon and they were not ready for something like this. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Is there anything coming out after you?¡± Aranor asked them in a strict tone. ¡°No, sir, I don¡¯t think so.¡± The leader quickly grasped the situation and adapted. ¡°We triggered the obelisk and cleared the last of them.¡± with that he turned his attention back to his team. ¡°Form a defensive perimeter to protect the mages and Caelithra.¡± The entire battle lasted no more than twenty minutes from the moment Aranor and the prince joined in culling the beast, not only that but nobody had died following that moment. Darkclaw had his shield integrity lowered to about 50% and Regalia was missing a few scales here and there. Ajax had only faced four more lizards following his first encounter and he took care of all of them with his bow as he used his Light and Life mana to fix his leg and Harold took the job of the frontman. This didn¡¯t mean that nobody had died as a result of the break. Aranor and the team that came out during the battle had started looking for survivors but had so far only found the torn up leftovers of what had been the elves not fast enough to evacuate. ¡°Well that was a good warm up, '''' the prince said as he joined Ajax and the rest of the people from Gryndor, his armor was governed in lizard blood but Ajax couldn¡¯t see a single scratch on it. ¡°Good thing there was no floor boss.¡± Ajax was amazed as he looked out over the battlefield, since the lizards were just monsters breaking out from the dungeon they left behind no bodies, more than a few of them did however leave behind empty shells of ice when they had died to Aranor¡¯s initial attack. ¡°How was your first dungeon break?¡± The prince asked all of them. ¡°This wasn¡¯t my first.¡± Ajax answered as he thought back to the kitsune floor boss that forced his entire team to run. ¡°It''s the first one you saw outside of the capital, they are almost common there with how many people delve, but we also have proper defenses in place.¡± the prince said as he looked with pity down at the corpse of what remained of an elf. ¡°Far fewer casualties there.¡± An elf sprinted past their group as Elara, Darkclaw and Arianwyn were returning. From afar Ajax could also see Aranor and the group that exited moving towards them as well. ¡°He¡¯s probably the scout.¡± the prince said. ¡°They sent him to let the others know it''s safe to return.¡± That was a dark thought for Ajax. He had gotten a lot more used to death as he lived on this world but even then he had been sheltered from most of his second life as well. The people returning now wouldn¡¯t be any safer the second time around if a break happened. With a shake of his head he put the thought out of his mind, it wasn¡¯t his issue to solve, everyone knew the risks all he was responsible for was clearing the last floor when he was not being boosted. ¡°We can go ahead and bring the carriages inside the clearing.¡± Aranor said as he joined them. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to enter until tomorrow as they will be reestablishing order.¡± ¡°Did the guards make it?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Most of them did, I didn¡¯t see many uniforms.¡± Aranor replied. ¡°I doubt they¡¯ll be the ones coming back.¡± All in all there were less than twenty casualties in total thanks to the quick response from Aranor and the prince. Messengers were sent out to all the small villages in the surroundings warning about there possibly being lizards still out there if they had made it past the perimeter the prince had kept. Ajax moved on to the newest notification blinking for his attention in the corner of his vision. As it turns out it had been well worth the twisted ankle he had gotten by following his restriction. He had managed to gain the skill [Empowering Restriction]. ¡°What is it?¡± the prince asked as Ajax pulled him aside. It was Ajax¡¯s turn to throw him the same cocky smirk he was usually on the receiving end of. ¡°There is a new record for the number of restrictions it takes to unlock [Empowering Restriction].¡± The prince¡¯s face first saw a shadow of confusion fall over it before his eyes opened wide in realization and shock. ¡°You already got it?!¡± The prince tried his best to keep his voice low as he quickly activated a privacy item. Ajax knew that there was no chance he would have managed this with his Trait but he didn¡¯t let that keep him from basking in his success. ¡°I did, it happened when I twisted my ankle by following the restriction on [Mana Syphon].¡± ¡°That makes no sense, your restriction wasn¡¯t that big.¡± the prince said as he stroked his chin. Ajax blushed a little in embarrassment. ¡°When I tried to stop using [Mana Syphon] on one lizard for just a brief moment I ended up stopping it from working on all of them.¡± The prince quickly put together what happened and even matched it to the moment all of the lizards tripped during the battle, still something wasn¡¯t adding up for him. ¡°Is it because both skills you limited were Legendary?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but wonder since unlocking the skill after only two restrictions was unheard of. ¡°Now that you have the skill however we need to talk about how you will use it.¡± Publishing News I have joined Mango Media and will be having looking to publish. There are a few changes that will take place but nothing major that should affect anyone currently up to date. I. Title change - One of the things I was really not happy with was the title of Ajax''s story so that has been updated along with the cover art. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. II. The first 95 will soon be updated to reflect the changes as they will appear in the published work before being taken down when the book is released on Kindle Unlimited. III. The Monday Wednesday Friday schedule will not change. IV. All chapters will be first released here on Royal Road and will stay available for at least one month before for everyone to have a chance to read them for free. Thank you so much for reading my story and I look forward to writing more of it Chapter 365 Gaining the skill Ajax could intrinsically feel a lot of what the ability could do, he knew that he could put a restriction, and he could set a time, he could even influence what the buff provided. That is where the innate information stopped however. ¡°First thing we need to talk about is how the restriction works.¡± The prince said. ¡°One thing people mistake about this is that the restriction works as a limit placed on your system as a whole, that¡¯s not correct.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± Ajax asked ¡°Your restriction for [Mana Syphon], when you tried to turn it off for that one lizard you turned it off for all of them.¡± The prince pointed out. ¡°Putting up that same restriction with the skill won¡¯t magically make you able to exclude just one person because they are touching you.¡± ¡°How does it work then?¡± Ajax was confused since that¡¯s how he had assumed the skill would work. ¡°The skill works by adding a command in your own mind.¡± the prince explained. ¡°This means that you would instinctively turn off [Mana Syphon] just to make sure you wouldn¡¯t use it on anything you make contact with. If you have the skill to exclude only one lizard then it would do that, otherwise it would do it for all of them.¡± ¡°Does that mean that I could still use the skill on something that was touching me so long as I didn¡¯t know they were touching me.¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Yep.¡± the prince confirmed. ¡°A good example of that is putting a restriction not to attack an elf. If an elf covered head to toe in bulky plate armor fights you, until you find out they are an elf you would gain the benefit of the restriction despite breaking it.¡± Ajax was at once both happy and sad, the skill working this way would mean that he had a way of creating loopholes for himself but he couldn¡¯t use the skill to make the system verify things for him. ¡°Next, the duration of the restriction.¡± the prince continued. ¡°There are three important points. The first is the soft minimum, one day. Any restriction that is shorter than that can be placed, however the benefit would be nearly zero.¡± That made sense to Ajax, switching restrictions from one to another was clearly not in line with the way the skill was intended to work having close to no effect before a minimum time limit would fix that though it would still let him use the restriction part of the skill for shorter periods of time if that was what he needed. ¡°The second is a week.¡± the prince continued. ¡°This is similarly the longest duration you should be placing a restriction for, you can do it for longer but the increase in time past that point makes the increase in power minimal.¡± That was good to know, Ajax imagined that he would be spending a lot of time playing around with the restrictions as he got a better feel for it. ¡°Is the last one a middle point? The best time to power ratio.¡± ¡°No.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°The last one is a permanent restriction. This is only a last resort.¡± ¡°Why is that a last resort?¡± Ajax questioned, he knew why it wouldn¡¯t work well for his purposes but depending on the power it could lead people to forming a whole style based upon multiple such restrictions. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°The most obvious reason is that the skill can only handle one restriction at a time.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Sure the power gain from a permanent restriction is pretty big but unless you pushed the skill past the first threshold and managed to get the ability to place more restrictions at the same time you will basically lose the skill.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that you could grow this skill specifically so that you could place multiple permanent restrictions later for a big boost in power?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°In theory, yes.¡± the prince acknowledged. ¡°The skill is however very hard to level, not to mention that actively working to level it could limit your other skills. There are two reasons I am mentioning the permanent restriction, one so that you don¡¯t place one by accident when playing with the skill. And the second so that you actually do know it is a big power boost there for you to use in order to survive something. Any questions so far?¡± Ajax could think of a few on how the restriction worked in terms of the loopholes he could use regarding not being aware he was breaking the restriction but that could all wait. ¡°Okay now for the more varied portion.¡± the prince said. ¡°You can use the skill to place many different types of restrictions but they all fall into two types. Restrictions placed on yourself as a person, and restrictions placed on your skills.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± Ajax asked, if he placed a restriction not to use mana it would obviously affect his skills as well. ¡°It could have the same effect but the way it is achieved makes the skill work differently.¡± The prince explained. ¡°A restriction to wield anything but a sword and one to only use the [Sword] weapon skill will both do the same thing, you can only use a sword. A restriction on yourself however can be channeled into any type of bonus even if it has nothing to do with the restriction in question. A restriction on a skill however can only boost the skill restricted, though the bonus is much better.¡± ¡°So if I use a restriction to only use fire mana I could put the bonus of that into increasing my physical power, but if I limit [Mana Augmentation] to only work with fire mana I can only use the boost to strengthen the skill.¡± Ajax caught on. ¡°Exactly.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°For now I suggest you play around with only restrictions on yourself.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Ajax thought he was missing something. ¡°Because of how [Empowering Restriction].¡± the prince answered. ¡°While a restriction is active the skill will slow down any other skill from leveling, but if placed specifically on a skill it will slow that specific skill down a lot more and it can even affect the threshold options offered. This is not a skill you want to use while training or practicing to increase other skills.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t happy to hear that, how was he supposed to get used to using the skill if he couldn¡¯t practice with it? Then again the skill would be useful when it came to results, he might not use it when he was practicing [Alchemy] but he would definitely use it if he was making something important to make the result better. In the end Ajax currently decided that the skill would best fit as a reactionary element of his fighting style. If he was facing an ice elemental and he needed the power boost he would restrict his ice magic, or if he broke an arm he would restrict use of that arm. Until the skill gained a few levels it wouldn¡¯t be all that powerful anyway. With that Ajax and the prince returned to the group as Ajax had a lot of things to consider. He was very happy that he managed to unlock the skill he had been interested in for a few years now, he would just have to find a way to practice the skill without it crippling the rest of his progress. It was interesting to see all the elves streaming back into the clearing now that the danger had passed. The guard outpost by the arch was already back up and a few more teams had returned from the delve, two of which brought with them a few monsters that needed to be killed but nothing as strong or as numerous as the lizards. The first thing Ajax did after his talk with the prince was to let Lexi know about his new skill, the reaction he got was not one he had expected. ¡°Don¡¯t use it on any of your mana aspect skills.¡± Lexi all but shouted at him once she heard about the skill. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on it, the prince already warned me not to use it on skills as a whole.¡± Ajax tried to reassure her. ¡°Using it on skills isn¡¯t ideal but using it on mana aspect skills can get you stuck at a threshold.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°The first threshold for most mana types is the level fifty, that¡¯s relatively early and almost everyone breaks through it with the efficiency upgrade since it¡¯s the only one you unlock. Using [Empowering Restriction] on aspect skills can make it so that option isn¡¯t there and it will get you stuck at level fifty until you manage to get another option.¡± Ajax was feeling quite smug as he knew all of his Rare mana types had already gotten past that threshold so that wouldn¡¯t be an issue but he would make sure to be careful with his Epic ones. He wasn¡¯t worried about his Legendary affinity as Life was so versatile he was expecting to be spoiled for choice when it came time for that Threshold. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Ajax promised her. ¡°Good.¡± Lexi hugged him. ¡° Congratulations on unlocking the skill, it can be very powerful despite the downsides it brings.¡± Chapter 366 The team had no issues entering the dungeon the following morning, the guards at the entrance in fact insisted that the Viscount responsible for the land surrounding the dungeon had been sent a message about what happened and there was every chance a gift would be waiting for them as they exited. Ajax had started playing around with his newest skill as they were walking through the first floor of the dungeon. There wasn¡¯t enough time for him to place any proper restrictions so that he could see how the benefit behaved but he could place ten second restrictions to see how they would feel. The first trick Ajax noticed as they were moving was that the restriction for having an arm fall limp had the same beneficial effect as the one for him not being able to move the arm. In essence the restrictions were pretty much the same thing if his arm was by his side, if he was holding his shield however the second restriction would still prove rather useful while providing the same benefit. The first floor was an easy clear where they found the first arch and went through it. The prince had been so impatient Ajax didn¡¯t even get a chance to see what the miniboss guarding the arch was as the prince had already dealt with it by the time they got there. The second floor was where the progression truly began. ¡°Some sort of metal and fire floor.¡± Ajax let them know, while Benedict, Lexi, Xavier and Anna should have had no issues even with a bad match-up against a level fifty one he still wanted them to know what they were walking into. Anna frowned a little hearing the dominant mana types, her preferred fire style was particularly bad against either element at a similar level, still with all the extra stats she had gather from the extra dungeons she did in the Empire and the Republic she was confident a five level difference would actually mean she outmatched the monsters. The floor they walked in on looked to Ajax like they had just stepped into a giant¡¯s forge. Oddly enough he could actually see a good amount of the entire floor from his position on the table where he saw a mug the same size as himself. ¡°It has been at least a decade since I last saw an enlarged contained floor.¡± the prince commented as he looked around. ¡°Twice that for me.¡± Aranor mentioned. ¡°I just hope the blacksmith doesn¡¯t show up.¡± Ajax said as he warily looked towards the closed door. ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± the prince assured him as the group moved towards the first arch that was by one of the many tool boxes scattered around. ¡°Though I will tell you to be careful if you find floors like this at higher level ranges, once the levels go past one hundred and fifty bigger objects are acceptable as monsters, even something like the table we are walking on.¡± Even though Ajax knew that bigger didn¡¯t always mean better he was still a little wary when it came to fighting a monster the size of a small city, for all that he may very well be able to chip away at it while the behemoth could barely move against something in that weight class a single minor mistake would be enough to kill you. The first thing to engage onto them was a hammer. Unlike the cartoons he had seen back on earth the hammer didn¡¯t open a set of eyes, it simply used mana to launch itself towards them. ¡°It¡¯s all metal.¡± Xavier said as everyone had plenty of time to get out of the way before the hammer actually landed on any of them. ¡°How are we supposed to kill it?¡± ¡°All monsters on this floor are golems.¡± Anna said. ¡°There has to be a core inside it, since it¡¯s made of a solid material the core can¡¯t change position. All you have to do is break it.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I want this one.¡± Lexi said with glee, she knew exactly what to do to destroy something that was stuck inside a hard shell. ¡°Careful it¡¯s going to spin!¡± Ajax called out as he felt the hammer pull another load of mana. At around the same time a pair of tongues also jumped from the tool box and looked to enter the fight. ¡°Here comes the second one, who wants this one?¡± The prince asked with a wide smile. ¡°The core is at the screw point.¡± Aranor provided. ¡°I¡¯ll grab that one.¡± Benedict said, happy to find something a physical based fighter had a good chance against. Lexi wasted no time dashing towards the handle of the hammer after it missed its spell and sending a powerful shockwave through it and killing it the same way she did with the plant back in the previous dungeon. ¡°Thank you so much for helping me get this, I love it.¡± Lexi dashed back towards Ajax and gave him a hug after she finished her encounter, it was a testament to both her skill as a mage and how strong Vibration mana was that she had managed to kill something like this in a single hit. ¡°Do you see anything you want to fight?¡± Ajax asked Anna as he started looking around for something that fire might be decent against. ¡°Right there.¡± Anna pointed across the room as they waited for Benedict to finish his own battle. The place where Anna pointed was a sack of what Ajax could only assume to be coal. He quickly got what his friend was thinking, it didn¡¯t happen often but it was in moments like this one that he was reminded of Anna¡¯s pyromaniac streak, the size of the coal bag had to be at least as big as some of the largest mansions he had seen. It would of course take more than an errant spark to light it all up but once the fire was started the amount of heat it would radiate would surely match if not beat out the worst deserts and volcanoes Ajax had encountered even on higher level floors. ¡°What about you?¡± Ajax asked Xavier. ¡°A fire elemental.¡± Xavier said as he pointed close to where the coal bag was. As Ajax looked more carefully he saw a very high quality crucible that he would bet his entire fortune his father would love to work with. Next to the crucible however was a stack of many different already smelted bars of metal. ¡°I say we go for the elemental first.¡± Elena suggested, Ajax could absolutely understand her reasoning, coming from an elf who lived in a forest. The way she was looking at the bag of coal suggested she didn¡¯t like the way Anna was looking at the bag. Once Benedict smashed the core of the tongs the group as a whole made its way towards the crucible. ¡°How come there aren¡¯t more golems or elementals?¡± Ajax asked as they carefully made their way towards the other side of the enormous room. ¡°Because the floor is much smaller than a usual floor would be, there are only mini boss level monsters.¡± Anna explained. ¡°This is one of the worst floor types for boosts because of how strong the monster types are, it is however one of the best ones for regular clearing. The mortality rate on these types of floors is one tenth of what it usually is.¡± Ajax had to agree, even if the entire floor was almost as large as the capital that was on the extremely small side when it came to dungeon floors, even just looking around he could also see at least ten different arches already, something that definitely wouldn¡¯t be the case with a regular floor. As they approached the crucible Ajax could see multiple elementals there. Besides the pure three pure fire elementals Ajax counted at least four ember elementals and one molten elemental that was inside the crucible. ¡°I¡¯ll leave one of the fire ones for you.¡± Aranor said before he began one shotting all the other elementals with ice lances that matched the power of the ones he used in the tournament. The molten elemental was one Ajax found rather troublesome to deal with, it didn¡¯t have the usual weakness of a liquid based elemental because of the high density of the liquid but it kept the benefits of a liquids flexibility. It was also however particularly weak against the cold and ice specifically which meant Aranor made short work of it. As Xavier took on the final remaining elemental Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be curiously drawn towards the large stack of smelted ingots off to the side. He was even more surprised when his [Sense Mana] picked up on one that he could actually take outside the dungeon buried deep at the bottom of the stack. Ajax squeezed his way to the ingot and tried to draw it into his storage ring only to find out he didn¡¯t have the space for it. He quickly headed back and started pulling things out of his ring and handing them to Lexi to hold before he returned to collect the ingot. ¡°What did you find?¡± Lexi asked curiously once Ajax returned with a triumphant smile. Instead of answering, Ajax simply pulled out the ingot and patted it proudly. ¡°My father is going to love this.¡± The ingot was close to the size their house was back in the village. ¡°Oh!¡± Anna made a pained sound as she looked at the ingot. ¡°Who would do something so wasteful? That¡¯s a steel magicite alloy, the magicite would be much better used for enchanting and runic engraving.¡± ¡°Is it any good for a blacksmith?¡± Ajax asked, a little worried about the souvenir he was taking for his father. ¡°It would actually be very useful in helping to grow their skill level since making the alloy is so wasteful they almost never work with it.¡± Anna answered, her voice still a little pained at the waste of magicite. ¡°We should make up our minds regarding which floor to head to next quickly.¡± Lexi whispered as she saw Anna heading towards the pile of coal. The mage knew her friend well enough that instead of looking for an elemental she was going to take out her outrage at the waste of valuable materials by setting the whole pile of coal ablaze. Chapter 367 ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± Ajax asked Anna as they made their way through the next floor. Anna had proven her mastery over the element of fire as she not only lit the mountain of coal but also followed it up with a spell to make them burn faster releasing a heat wave that would have done quite a bit of damage had it not been for his [Mana Skin]. You don¡¯t understand how wasteful it would be to make a bar that size.¡± Anna defended herself as she blushed in embarrassment at her own actions. ¡°Magicite has no mana concentration, there isn¡¯t high or low quality which is why it is used sparingly in enchanting and runes.¡± ¡°Surely someone has used it before to make this alloy before.¡± Ajax reasoned since not even Anna would know about it if it was such a niche application. ¡°Yes, there are times when using it is worth it.¡± Anna let out a long sigh. ¡°The resulting alloy however always matches the steel used, you used the same amount of magicite for steel around level fifty like the one you have or steel at level one hundred and fifty. Only at the higher levels is it ever acceptable financially to form the alloy.¡± Now this was something that Ajax could understand, Alchemy had a similar situation with the use of catalysts, curtain catalysts would work for almost any level mixture but using it on something with low end materials would be nothing but a waste. ¡°Is this type of steel any good for anything?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Besides getting a few skill points in [Blacksmithing] ¡°Very much so.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°Since the steel is of lower quality it can be molded by lower level blacksmiths, since the alloy is already part magicite it will take enchantments and runes a lot better than normal materials, it would be ideal in helping any journeyman or higher blacksmith in unlocking the [Engraving] skill that is needed for enchantments and runic spells.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but wonder why they wouldn¡¯t create such an alloy in small amounts if that was the case. People could keep resmelting the same piece in order to unlock the skill. ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡± Anna said as she looked at him. ¡°You only get one chance after melting this alloy to work it, if it sets for a second time and you melt it down it will lose its properties, that¡¯s why it takes a journeyman blacksmith.¡± ¡°Let me know if there is anything left of this bar after your father unlocks the skill.¡± Lexi said as she listened to their conversation. ¡°Dad is in charge of the blacksmiths in our House and he will very much want to buy whatever you have left from you.¡± As they were talking Ajax quickly picked up on a small pack of shadow wolves that was launching towards them, the stealthy predators had made it surprisingly close before their stealth failed them as it was drained by Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon]. The wolves were normal level sixty-three monsters, not even minibosses but they were too quick for Ajax to have time to warn Lexi and Anna, all he managed to do was take defensive position in front of Lexi to intercept the wolf heading for her while launching a spell at the one heading for Anna. With his sword and axe Ajax wasted no time killing both the wolf that attacked Lexi and the one that was going for him, outside of their stealth and speed the level sixty three wolves didn¡¯t really pose a threat to Ajax at all. ¡°This is not the place for a casual chat.¡± the prince said from in front of Anna where he took care of the final wolf before Ajax¡¯s spell even made contact. ¡°Especially on a floor theme like this.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The floor theme the group had decided to go with for their third floor of the dungeon had been one that had what Ajax recognised as the usual forest distribution with an overwhelming amount of shadow mana. The group decided that this would be the best choice as shadow mana was mostly focused on stealth meaning that once the enemy was located taking down one that was several levels higher wouldn¡¯t pose as much of an issue. ¡°Sorry.¡± Lexi and Anna said at the same time as they retreated more towards the center of the group. Ajax had already killed a miniboss on this floor, so had Anna, Lexi and Xavier. They were simply looking for a final one for Benedict before they could leave the floor. ¡°Found one up ahead.¡± Aranor said. ¡°It¡¯s a snake.¡± All of the monsters on this floor had been a half beast half elemental hybrid, these creatures were similar to the phoenix in that while they did have the physical form of a creature their bodies were entirely made up of elemental magic, in this case shadow magic. Benedict took out his own flask of boosting potion as he prepared his enchanted sword and shield. Since the creatures were formed of shadows attacking them with regular physical attacks would be pointless, using a weapon crafted from magic infused components was the only way a physical user could fight them. The fight started as Benedict threw a torch at the location of the snake and used the light to finally locate his enemy. Despite being a physical fighter Benedict did still have magic skills, most notably [Sense Mana] that he used to lock onto the snake as he dashed towards it, not letting it get in position to lunge. The snake was coiled around a few different branches and had to be at least forty feet long, despite its nimble reflexes Benedict had caught it unaware and managed to land a good opening slash on one of its eyes. Ajax didn¡¯t know how but apparently even partially elemental creatures still relied on their sensory organs, unlike full fledged elementals who didn¡¯t. From there Benedict pressed his advantage beautifully as he stuck to the snake''s blind side as it jumped from branch to branch following the head and looking to finish the battle quickly. It was here that the level difference showed, The snake had about twenty levels on Benedict, not only that but unlike Lexi, Anna and Xavier Benedict had missed out on three floors worth of additional stats in the Empire, not only that but the disadvantage had compounded on floors in their previous dungeon runs through the Republic where his physical fighter limitation stopped him one floor sooner that the mages. The snake was quick enough to keep retreating while only taking shallow wounds. Despite the disadvantage in speed Benedict showed his genius in carefully leading the snake right where he wanted as he finally trapped it and dropped down to impale it right through the head. The snake had nowhere to go as its body was tangled around the branches all around them. Feeling the snake expel a large amount of mana, Ajax suddenly worried for Benedict as the snake phased its shadowy coils right through the branches that were restricting it and tightened its coils right on Benedict as he was dropping towards the head. It was only thanks to the protective enchantments on Benedicts armor that the snake didn¡¯t have enough time to crush Benedict in its grip as his sword penetrated straight through the snake''s skull dispersing the body into shadowy fumes. ¡°That was close.¡± Benedict said with a grin as he approached the group. All of them congratulated him, none of them making any mention of the blood that was dripping from his nose, clearly some of the blow from that final attack had made it past the defensive enchantments. ¡°What floor next?¡± Ajax asked as he presented the options while Elara cast a few healing spells on Benedict. With Benedict, Xavier, Lexi and Anna bowing out at this point the next floor was an earth floor, selected more for its valuable potential instead of any ease of clearing, the floors inhabitants would all be below level eighty and nighter Harold, Darkclaw or Ajax would have any problem dispatching them. They quickly made their way through the earth golems, unfortunately they hadn¡¯t managed to find anything they could take back out by the time they cleared all the minibosses they needed. ¡°So we have a light and fire floor, a lightning and wind floor or a plant and something you don¡¯t recognise.¡± the prince Harold asked as he took in their options. Out of the three of them Harold was the weakest and he would have the hardest time killing the level ninety fives. ¡°I say we go for the plant one, at least that should have something I can kill.¡± Nobody else had any reason to object as the group made their way onto the next floor. Ajax barely had enough time to clear the +1 to all stats notification before the smell hit him like a ton of bricks. ¡°Urgh.¡± it took a lot out of the princess to not retch at the stench. ¡°What is that?¡± Elara asked as she covered her own nose. ¡°Holy shit.¡± Ajax mumbled as he looked out over what he could see of the floor. ¡°You¡¯re only half right there.¡± the prince said, his usual grin unaffected by the smell, on a closer look however Ajax noticed the prince was in fact holding his breath. ¡°I guess we found out what that mana type you didn¡¯t recognise was, Decay.¡± Ajax cursed under his breath, just his luck to find a floor based around natural plant fertilizer. Chapter 368 Ajax¡¯s initial reaction to the floor was negative but that quickly changed as he looked towards the look on the elves'' faces. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked as he saw the princess and Elara look gleefully towards the floor. ¡°Nothing.¡± Aranor said as they all put on a neutral expression. ¡°So this is how you do it.¡± Harold said as he let out a low whistle he quickly regretted because it caused him to take a deep breath. ¡°Do what?¡± even the prince was curious what Harold had pieced together. Aranor, Elara and Arianwyn kept their neutral look on their faces but all of them turned towards Harold. ¡°Every merchant House has been wondering for years how the established elven households have such prosperous access to specific high quality plants.¡± Harold explained. ¡°What was specific about it however was that it was mostly quick growing plants or collectable parts of older plants. They have been trying for years to get their spies to learn those secrets.¡± Ajax quickly put together why Harold was aware of this, something this big would be of great importance in a political arena so of course House Silvertongue would be aware of it, the question was what could they get for it. ¡°What is it?¡± the prince asked, he was also aware of the secrets but he wasn¡¯t all that invested in the crafting or procurement side of the nobles. Darkclaw had the good sense to understand that this wasn¡¯t something that would simply be handed out so he wasn¡¯t surprised when the prince put up a privacy screen around all of them, the elves were included just to confirm Harold''s hypothesis. ¡°They harvest anything with the decay attribute they come across in high dungeon floors and use it to rejuvenate a small garden where they can actually grow the higher end ingredients or just nurture some high end trees.¡± Harold laid out his theory. ¡°Finding decay floors isn¡¯t reliable but they would only need one twice a decade at most just to rejuvenate their gardens, if the floor is as plentiful as this one can be they can probably stretch it out for longer.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t someone have figured this part out if that was all there was to it?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°They probably have gardeners with specific skills tenting them.¡± Harold explained. ¡°Without a large amount of fertilizer it would take a long time on incremental improvement to raise a garden like this while also raising the farmers and gardeners, everyone who has tried it was going for a quick version.¡± ¡°I remember that.¡± the prince exclaimed as he remembered being part of a ¡®boring¡¯ briefing regarding the subject. ¡°They had some success with the first and second harvests but the garden lost its mana concentration soon after.¡± After listening to the explanation Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be a little mad at his own oversight of this. For years now he had been pumping a lot of his own mana into his garden by topping up the plants, infusing it into the ground and even releasing it into the air around them to increase the mana concentration but he had completely overlooked adding highly mana infused fertilizer. ¡°We should scour this floor then and see if we can get any results with this theory.¡± the prince said. ¡°It won¡¯t do you that much good.¡± Arianwyn spoke for the first time since entering the floor. ¡°The mana level here is too high to start with, trying it with this would just be a waste.¡± ¡°The statement is truthful but she¡¯s trying to cover something with it.¡± Harold advised the prince, clearly his relation to House Silvertongue was paying dividends. Thinking about the situation Ajax could see the problem they would have, it was the same problem he encountered every time he infused more mana in one area too quickly where the mana would burn out anything living in the area. While this discovery will help along his own gardens progress it will take time before he could use anything with mana levels equivalent to the low to mid nineties as they were on this floor. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°It won¡¯t work for us because you have to slowly work up to the point they can handle this level of mana.¡± Ajax offered his insight. ¡°You¡¯ve been trying this in your little farming plot?¡± The prince¡¯s question moved the elves'' stares from Harold to him, a bit of surprise briefly showing on Arianwyn and Elara¡¯s faces. ¡°No, I was trying to get the same result without anything but regular fertilizer, this is what I was missing.¡± Ajax silently cursed his oversight. ¡°It¡¯s been really slow going and the few attempts I had in trying to speed things up set me back.¡± ¡°So it''s worthless to us?¡± the prince asked. ¡°No.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer quickly put a damper on the elves'' happy thoughts. ¡°We can still use what we take to grow some high end ingredients for one or two harvests, it won¡¯t help us long term but it''s still useful.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Arianwyn started to talk but Aranor cut her off. ¡°What do you want for it?¡± Aranor asked instead, quickly picking up on Ajax¡¯s plan. ¡°This is high quality, we can¡¯t make best use of it but it''s not worthless.¡± The prince also picked up on Ajax¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Since it''s not a restricted resource however it belongs to us, well to the crown and Ajax since the delve spots are ours. You want to sell it to them, what for?¡± ¡°People delving this high up is pretty rare.¡± Ajax thought aloud. ¡°With how restricted the dungeons are for high end delves I doubt there are more than one decay floor a month even being spawned in a kingdom at this level range. Since this is still kept secret I would guess a lot of those go to waste since the people who get them don¡¯t know what to collect.¡± Ajax could also feel the satisfaction at learning of this, with his ability to determine the floor types and lower floors with any decent amount of Decay mana on them could be something he could collect from. ¡°Let''s trade whatever they can collect on this floor.¡± Ajax offered. ¡°In exchange they can give us five times the amount in less mana infused fertilizer they have stockpiled, the best we can use.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Ten times.¡± Both Aranor and the prince spoke at the same time. A staredown starting between the two. ¡°Six times.¡± Aranor said and at this moment Ajax deeply wished that Anna was still there with them. ¡°Nine.¡± the prince rebutted. ¡°Seven.¡± ¡°Eight.¡± ¡°Seven.¡± Aranor repeated and Ajax could see the prince concentrating, neither of them were merchants but clearly the both had at least one merchant skill they had trained at least a little, unfortunately for Ajax Aranor was almost twice the princes age and he had traded far more. ¡°Seven.¡± The prince agreed in defeat as his own skills lost out. ¡°You need to start with level forty stuff, any higher and it won¡¯t work.¡± the princess said. ¡°I need something higher.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°My garden is already above standard, I am thinking level fifty should do.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Arianwyn started to say only to stop as she went over the deal one more time. The terms were they would be traded for the best that Ajax can use, since Ajax could use higher quality they would need to provide that higher quality. ¡°What will you be doing while they scour the floor to collect all of it?¡± the prince asked since it would probably take Aranor a while to do that. ¡°I¡¯ll get the miniboss out of the way first but after that I will use as much as I can for alchemy. I might be able to make something that should help Harold kill something on this floor as well.¡± Ajax said. Harold looked excited at the prospect, fifteen levels was a lot for him to jump considering he wasn¡¯t quite as much of an outlier in terms of combat as Lexi, Benedict, Xavier or Anna. Not to mention he hadn¡¯t delved the same number of floors relative to his level as them either. Despite the large Decay presence on the floor the main element was still Plant mana. More than that Ajax found that the plants on this floor seemed to have a much sturdier base and they could take more of his Life mana before they were in danger of disintegrating. ¡°Fuck!¡± Ajax exclaimed as he dived for cover putting a large tree between himself and the cauldron he was working with, an instant later to cauldon detonated like a grenade throwing shrapnel everywhere. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the prince asked as he inspected the blast site to see that it was one of Ajax¡¯s cauldrons specifically for explosive ingredients. ¡°Overfilled the explosive ingredients.¡± Ajax said as he came out from behind the tree. ¡°Turns out even if the ingredient can handle that much mana without disintegrating it becomes too unstable to work with.¡± ¡°What were you making?¡± Harold asked curiously. ¡°Herbicide.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Since it¡¯s made from this floor the dungeon should have no issues with you using it to kill a plant miniboss.¡± ¡°Did you make anything successful?¡± Harold regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth but he was a little disappointed in the failure. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Ajax said without even noticing the unintended criticism in his excitement as he pulled out two flasks. ¡° This is a physical booster, it will grant about a 10% increase in physical stats for five minutes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost twice as good as the ones I have.¡± Harold exclaimed and even the prince looked interested since that was the same effect as some of the best boosting potions the royal family had access to. ¡°Yeah but the backlash is twice as bad, lasts twice as long and it also causes diarrhea for the duration.¡± Ajax said. ¡°This other one is a quick acting short term paralytic. Takes about two seconds after the poison is applied to fully paralyze something for five seconds. Subsequent applications take longer to take effect but the paralysis period should be consistent up to four applications.¡± ¡°That should be enough time for me to kill something.¡± Harold said with glee. ¡°It won¡¯t work on plants, only on flesh sadly, and it¡¯s for something as large as an adult human needing a larger dose for something bigger.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I¡¯ll give the herbicide another go, I know where I went wrong.¡± with that Ajax took out his second cheaper cauldron and got to work, Harold quickly backing off to a respectful distance just in case it exploded again. Chapter 369 It took Ajax multiple attempts before he was finally able to create a herbicide he was happy with, thankful none of his other failures ended in an explosive manner, despite this Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel that he was lacking. No matter what he did Ajax didn¡¯t think he was getting everything out of the ingredients he was using. ¡°This should be good enough to help you kill a miniboss.¡± Ajax said as he passed the herbicide and the booster potion to Harold. ¡°What went wrong?¡± the prince asked as Ajax was collecting his alchemy equipment. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ajax said a little exasperation leaked through as he got to the core of the matter. ¡°I tried multiple different approaches until I ran out of prepared ingredients but it never felt right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not unexpected.¡± the prince said with an understanding smile. ¡°If anything that you managed to even make something as good as you already did is a reason for celebration. Most people take at least half a century of dedication after they finish their apprenticeship before they can properly use ingredients from this high a floor.¡± Looking at it that way Ajax could see how he was expecting too much from himself. He could feel his alchemy skill being pushed to the edge as he tried to adapt and react during the brewing process just to keep the mixtures stable. His [Dungeon Crafter] skill was almost at its first threshold as well. ¡°Unlike your combat prowess your crafting doesn¡¯t scale as much off stats, give yourself time to grow your skills.¡± The prince knew that Ajax had recently gained two Epic alchemy crafting skills that will speed up his progression. ¡°I know it might not seem like it because of how young you are but you have centuries to go before you even hit your physical prime, let alone start to grow old.¡± That was something Ajax still had issues coming to terms with. Unlike most other things his experience from Earth was actually more of a detriment in this case as his previous perspective on age didn¡¯t match the one present in this world. He was not even twenty five and he would easily live another forty times that long considering how quickly he had raised his Vitality and how it would continue to grow. Watching Harold as he battled the miniboss was relaxing. With the boosting potion and herbicide the battle actually favored Harold, the only thing he needed to look out for was the five minute timer on the boost but he managed to win with twenty seconds to spare as he opened up a large gash in the center stem of the giant venus flytrap looking plant where he poured his remaining half a vial of herbicide. ¡°That was closer than I would have liked.¡± Harold heaved out as he returned to Ajax, Darkclaw and the prince. ¡°You still had plenty of time left.¡± the prince said. ¡°If you were down to the last ten seconds I would have started to worry.¡± ¡°Here.¡± Ajax said as he extended another vial to the man. ¡°You¡¯re giving me this now?¡± Harold asked while accepting the potion. ¡°It¡¯s an antidote.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Won¡¯t do anything for the backlash of the potion but it should negate the diarrhea.¡± Harold looked like he wanted to comment on that but five minutes since he took the boost had elapsed and an ominous gurgle from his guts was all it took for him to uncork the flash and down the potion. ¡°UGHHHH¡­¡± Harold tried his best to hold it down. ¡°Can¡¯t you do something about the taste?¡± ¡°Once I can make them consistently I¡¯ll worry about that.¡± Ajax responded. With that taken care of the group moved back to the rendezvous spot where they would meet the three elves, seeing how they were the first ones back despite the almost twenty hour long session alchemy they had clearly found something worthwhile. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Do you think something happened?¡± Ajax asked after two hours of waiting. ¡°Nothing here on this floor could pose even a mild threat to me, let alone someone like Aranor.¡± The prince reassured him. ¡°Collecting might be taking them a while however as mages are not known for their physical stats.¡± Half an hour later the first change they felt in a while happened. A massive heatwave washed over all of them, it wasn¡¯t quite as strong as the one Anna unleashed on the lower floor but it was comparable. ¡°They¡¯ll be coming soon.¡± the prince said as he activated a rune that formed a small win barrier around them. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax asked, a little surprised. ¡°Floor boss spawned.¡± the prince answered. ¡°Is this your first time seeing how an elemental floor boss affects the floor?¡± Darkclaw asked. Ajax simply nodded in affirmation. Over the years he had seen twenty floor bosses after the kitsune. Despite the higher chance for them to appear as the floors got close to level one hundred it wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Of those twenty he had even killed four of them, the others forcing them to retreat and have the dungeon guards kill them on the outside. None of those twenty encounters had been with an elemental type boss. He had learnt about them and knew that they would affect the climate of the entire floor but it was his first time seeing it. ¡°The heat wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± Harold said as he waved his hand towards the wind bubble. ¡°It¡¯s not for the heat.¡± the prince said, a small shiver traveling through him. ¡°It¡¯s for the smell, if you thought it was bad before, imagine how it would be after warming it all up.¡± Nobody made any other mention of the barrier but they all threw grateful looks towards the prince as their noses scrunched up at even the idea of the repulsive smell. It only took ten more minutes before the elves finally made their appearance confirming the prince¡¯s prediction. ¡°I take it you found something?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Half the ring.¡± Aranor said as he passed the ring over for the prince to inspect. ¡°Does that have a preservation enchantment?¡± Ajax asked as he looked closely at the ring. ¡°It has to.¡± Arianwyn explained, ¡°Decay mana naturally wants to spread and ¡­ well decay. Even with the enchantment it will only prolong the time until it takes for the mana density to lower.¡± This made sense to Ajax, the enchantment wasn¡¯t temporal in nature after all it worked to keep things fresh by keeping them isolated from outside influences, this wouldn¡¯t matter all that much to something that was already decaying. ¡°Let''s get out of here¡± Elara said as she looked around for an arch. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay on this floor any longer than I have to, even as valuable as it may be.¡± ¡°What choices do we have for the final floor?¡± the prince asked Ajax as they started moving. ¡°Earth, fire, lightning.¡± Ajax answered as he nodded in the direction of each respective arch, he kept his answer down to a whisper, since the next floors would have levels as high as one hundred and twenty three Ajax could only get the dominant mana type. ¡°Earth it is.¡± the prince nodded and took the lead towards the first arch. ¡°We¡¯ll wait for the both of you at the nearest city.¡± Arianwyn said as they made their way towards the arch. ¡°All of us could do with a shower.¡± Nobody objected to that and Ajax was sure that as soon as the people outside got one whiff of them as they exited there would be no objections from them either. As they got to the next floor and Harold Ajax and Darkclaw got their increased stats they all left Aranor and the prince to clear the floor. ¡°Finally you¡¯re back, I was so worried.¡± Lexi wasted no time tackling Ajax as he exited the arch, something she very much regretted as her nose protested Ajax¡¯s new fragrance. ¡°What happened?¡± Anna asked. ¡°We¡¯ll explain on the way.¡± Harold said as he started moving towards the carriages, everyone around the arch gave them a wide breadth after Elara reported the status to the dungeon guards. ¡°Some of us could use a shower and we¡¯ll wait for the two in the nearest village.¡± Ajax spent the way towards the village explaining what happened to Anna and Lexi, he had also offered to share with Benedict and Xavier but both of them were content to wait and not get closer to Ajax than they had to. ¡°That is very interesting.¡± Anna nodded as she also quickly put together the same theory Harold had once she heard that the floor that delayed them was a Plant and Decay floor. ¡°So what is the next dungeon?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That would be the first Deepwood dungeon and also their worst one.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°It¡¯s one of the worst ones with a nineteen level floor jump and it starts with a thirty one to thirty six range.¡± Ajax could help but agreed, even for him the dungeon would only provide three stat points to all stats while everyone else would be limited to one because of how the floors jumped. ¡°We¡¯re going into Deepwood.¡± Ajax said with a small frown as he remembered the start of his interaction with Deepwood¡¯s ambassador. ¡°In Deepwood we must stick together.¡± Elara said. ¡°All of you will have assassins after you, it¡¯s too big of an opportunity for some of the more bigoted nobles to let slip.¡± ¡°Will it be that bad?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Aranor won¡¯t be able to join us in the dungeons since we don¡¯t have the spots for him, once you all exit early stick close to him.¡± Elara warned. ¡°Not only that but always exit with a shield up and ready for an attack, other races aren¡¯t allowed to delve their dungeons so humans coming out will get a dungeon break reaction.¡± The conversation continued on the topic as they made their way to the village as all of them started mentally preparing themselves for how Deepwood would be. Chapter 370 The delve team had enough time to get cleaned up and get a good night¡¯s sleep before Aranor and the prince returned and they started their journey towards the Deepwood border. On the way there they were met by another two carriages that were coming from the capital all filled with retainers from the royal family. ¡°Why did they send them?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Since I am with you it is a good enough excuse that I have my own staff that will be looking after my accommodations, and yours by extension. That way they won¡¯t have easy access to try anything.¡± Arianwyn explained. Ajax also noticed that quite a few of the retainers that among the housekeepers and cooks that showed up there were also two or three combatants, though their power level wasn¡¯t anywhere close to Aranor. With the number of carriages doubling from two to four their travel speed slowed down a little but they were still making good time. It had been two weeks of travel but they would soon make it to the border and another three days from there to the dungeon. Despite not stopping and relaxing for a good amount of the day every one of them also spent a few hours training each day. ¡°It¡¯s so close.¡± Lexi said as she ran her mana dry trying to create a Domain with Ajax¡¯s help. ¡°I can feel it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I am getting any closer.¡± Ajax said as he also used up half his mana pool trying to unlock Vibration mana for himself. ¡°I wish there was a way to tell how compatible you are with skills.¡± ¡°Legendary skills almost always take extreme circumstances.¡± Elara said from besides them, she had also joined Ajax in trying to unlock the Legendary affinity. ¡°Affinities even more so.¡± Ajax wished he could say that wasn¡¯t true but he remembered just what kind of energies he was messing with and how close he had gotten to blowing himself up when he unlocked the Life affinity, did he need to try using the spells in combat for it to work better? He was hesitant to do so since his combat style didn¡¯t mix all that well with chanted spells. One of the things the king had sent for Arianwyn and Elara was a sealed scroll that only Aranor could open that contained a few sonic combat spells for them; once they learnt them they could try using them in combat in hopes of unlocking the affinity for themselves. ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± Aranor¡¯s voice was heard from outside. Poking their heads out the carriage windows all of them took in the armed unit that awaited them at the border. Looking over them with [Inspector¡¯s Eye] and [Judge Threat] Ajax found that each of the twenty elves were a major threat to him, the few he could get a level for were up in the late eighties, not something he had no chance against especially with the extra stats he had gained from his most recent dungeons but each was about as strong as Arianwyn, Elara and Darkclaw. And those were the weakest of them. ¡°Does this mean King Swiftleaf rejects the agreement made by his ambassador?¡± The prince asked as he stepped forward and came face to face with the armed unit. While they were all elite none of those elves posed a threat to him. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Queen Swiftleaf will be honoring the agreement.¡± A new voice answered. Ajax was surprised that he had completely missed the elf despite her openly standing in front of the entire unit. A quick use of his skills on her however and the only thing Ajax got back from his skills was that he stood no chance against her, even more surprisingly she stared right at him after he inspected her, letting him know she had sensed it. ¡°Queen Swiftleaf?¡± Aranor. ¡°His Highness stepped down three months ago.¡± the elven ranger responded. ¡°Sylvaris Swiftleaf has taken the throne and now rules Deepwood.¡± A quiet settled on the forest as everyone took a moment to digest that piece of information. ¡°Is this a good thing?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Most likely yes.¡± Elara responded. ¡°Sylvaris was always smart and starting a war right as you take the throne is never a good idea. From what father told me of her she also isn¡¯t that strong of a believer in elven supremacy as her father was.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not to say she likes the other races.¡± Arianwyn followed up. ¡°She was a general during the last war and she lost a few of her best friends to the dwarves. I¡¯m not sure what her views on humans or beastkin is since they were fighting each other mostly for the last war.¡± ¡°Long may she reign.¡± Aranor responded. ¡°How is meeting us with an armed force meant to convey her support of the agreement?¡± ¡°We are here for your protection.¡± the ranger said. ¡°While she has publicly denounced any attempt on the lives of our visitors, not all high nobles are so quick to settle following a change in leadership, as I¡¯m sure you are aware.¡± The last remark had a bit of bite to it. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°That was meant for us.¡± Arianwyn whispered, her ears drooping down a little. ¡°A few of the more affluent nobles chose my father¡¯s rise to the throne as the perfect moment to push and put extra pressure on long standing trade agreements. Our trade with Deepwood was most affected.¡± Aranor, the prince and the rest of the delve group congregated in one of the carriages. ¡°I believe she is telling the truth.¡± Aranor opened first. ¡°There is no reason to meet us at the border otherwise, instead of simply ambushing us after we crossed. Still it is your decision.¡± Elara, Arianwyn and Aranor wouldn¡¯t be the ones at risk in Deepwood so while they offered their point of view the decision lay with everyone else. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± the prince said. ¡°Sylvaris was always a great planner but her strategies were always more than a little crazy when the odds were stacked against her.¡± The prince had only met Sylvaris a few times, most of those times being during tournaments, while the princess had never been strong enough to take to the field herself; she had been there to coach a few of her friends. When the odds were stacked against her plans made almost no sense at first glance, about three quarters of them had also failed straight away. The last quarter however were successful and recognised as brilliant. ¡°We always knew this was a possibility before we came here.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Does her now being queen change things? Also does it change them for the worse?¡± ¡°It does change them.¡± Harold answered, as this change messed with a lot of the preparation house Silvertongue had given him before the start of the trip. ¡°I hate to say it, but things might be better.¡± the prince said as he let out a sigh. ¡° for our situation as a whole anyway, we will need to take extra precautions.¡± ¡°How is our situation better if we need extra precautions?¡± Anna asked, the statement making no sense. ¡°King Swiftleaf ruled with an iron fist.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°Anybody that I would have problems protecting you from would only be taking orders from him, this narrowed the options down to either we would be hit hard or not at all, there used to actually be a decent chance that no attempt on your lives would be made.¡± ¡°With Sylvaris on the throne the chance that she orders us to be killed is close to zero. We will almost certainly be attacked however.¡± the prince finished. ¡°I think we continue.¡± Ajax had no personal insight into the situation but he trusted the prince¡¯s judgment, before he made a decision however he turned towards Lexi to see her take on all of this. Lexi met his gaze and after a short moment she nodded her agreement. ¡°Then let''s keep going.¡± Ajax said with a nod as well. ¡°Don¡¯t eat or drink anything that hasn¡¯t been tasted.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°One of my maids has a very high level [Poison Resistance] and [Toxin Detection]. Don¡¯t take any chances.¡± With their decision made the group finally entered Deepwood. Ajax was very much surprised to see that despite being joined by a group traveling mostly on foot with only a single carriage their speed didn¡¯t slow at all. Their small convoy was constantly surrounded day and night as their new escorts slept in shifts as they made their way to the first dungeon. Chapter 371 As the group approached the dungeon they started running into a fair number of different types of monsters. They were all fairly weak for the most part around the low fifties but every now and then a stronger one around level seventy would show up. ¡°Why are there so many of them?¡± Ajax asked, confused, no kingdom should have a section filled with monsters of this level just out in the open. ¡°It¡¯s because of the level jump between floors.¡± the prince answered. ¡°We have a dungeon with a twenty level jump but I never saw anything like this there.¡± Ajax said as he thought back to that dungeon, he had to admit that the entire area around it was rather deserted. ¡°That¡¯s because it is more centrally located.¡± the prince said. ¡°The monsters are routinely cleared out as punishments given out by the Adventure society. There is no reason for Deepwood to clear out the monsters in this area, in fact it¡¯s better for them if they don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I doubt these monsters would slow down any invasion force.¡± Ajax said. ¡°We are cutting through them with no problem and there are so few of us.¡± ¡°They aren''t a deterrent for invasion, it''s for runaways.¡± Benedict chimed in. ¡°Our border with the empire is mostly open plains, and runaway slaves are an issue. In a forest like this just leaving the monsters alone will be a strong enough deterrent for anyone under level fifty.¡± Despite his disdain for their methods Ajax had to agree that it was a smart move. Why waste resources to deal with something that not only isn¡¯t a problem but is actually a benefit. ¡°The quicker we get through these dungeons the better.¡± Lexi said darkly. Arriving at the dungeon arch Ajax saw that it very much resembled the dungeon from back in Gryndor. There were no people setting up small stands in the surrounding area, simply a small guard outpost that was there to register anyone entering and send out an emergency signal should there be a dungeon break. ¡°There are eleven of you.¡± The ranger leader of their new protection detail said as they poured out of the carriages next to the dungeon. ¡°The agreement is access for ten.¡± ¡°I will be staying outside.¡± Aranor said simply. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± one of the guards on duty at the dungeon said as he saw the group head towards the arch. His glare filled with disgust as he looked towards the humans and Darkclaw. The man was quickly pulled aside and silenced by his partner who covered his mouth while lowering his head to the elf. ¡°Are you suicidal? She¡¯s a queensguard, just record and report anything else is going to be handled way above us.¡± With his Perception Ajax had no issues hearing the rushed whispers, but he paid them no mind as they all stepped inside the arch. The first floor they entered was a massive cornfield that surrounded a large fortress town. It didn¡¯t take long for them to find the first arch that was guarded by an oversized raccoon. The beast didn¡¯t even stand a chance as Harold decapitated it with a swift swing of his sword as it tried to jump him. ¡°Earth, Water and Darkness.¡± Ajax said as he touched the arch. ¡°No light at all so I¡¯m thinking some type of cave themed floor. ¡°Let''s look for another one.¡± the prince said. ¡°A flooded cave is one of the few things I am not certain I can protect you from.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. There was no argument there as nobody wanted to risk drowning and they moved on to the next arch, one defended by a small pack of coyotes that quickly followed the raccoon¡¯s fate. ¡°Plant, Life, Water, Earth.¡± Ajax said as he touched the arch. ¡°Some light as well, this should be a swamp or a forest or field with a river going through it.¡± There were no objections to this theme so the team entered and found themselves in a swamp. ¡°Be on the lookout for mud golems, there was quite a bit of Life mana.¡± Ajax warned them as he took in his surroundings. Everyone nodded as Lexi, Anna, Benedict, Xavier and Ajax started their hunt for a miniboss. _________________________________________________________________________ Aranor P.O.V. It would only be two or three hours before the low leveled nobles would return, this dungeon would be one of the quickest the team would boost since there would only be five total floors including the quickly passed first floor and the final one that the prince would clear by himself. Even then Ajax was the only one who needed to kill a miniboss on the second floor and that would speed everything up even more. ¡°Spread out and search the surrounding areas.¡± Lioriel Shadowstrider commanded, I didn¡¯t know the girl all that well but I remember fighting her father on multiple occasions. Their House had always produced skilled rangers and while she wasn¡¯t yet at the same level as me she was still young. Half of the elite guard force she was commanding headed into the forest to check. It was clear to me at a glance as they split themselves into teams of two that this guard force was thrown together last minute. They were all competent but they didn¡¯t have the fluidity that came from working together for a long time, they had likely been selected for their strength and the fact that they had no issues with humans. ¡°What is going on?¡± the smarter of the two dungeon guards asked me after he got nowhere with Lioriel following his partner¡¯s insulting questioning of the queen¡¯s decision to allow non-elves into the dungeon. ¡°The ambassador in the Republic almost caused a war when they used a skill on a human child during a feast.¡± My answer was calculated to share specific information that was not sensitive and would only build goodwill. ¡°The head of their House was quick in asking for access to Deepwoods dungeon for the slight.¡± ¡°Why are there so many humans then, and why only one beastkin and no dwarves?¡± the guard asked. ¡°The House in question came from Gryndor not the Republic.¡± I responded. ¡°They sold a few spots to Sylvanthal and the Republic but most of them went to their own kingdom.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Lioriel said as she approached and sent the guard back to his post. ¡°Those were some misleading answers.¡± ¡°Everything I said was true.¡± I said. ¡°You also left out that the child in question was the head of the House, let alone his¡­ unique situation.¡± she said as joined me in watching the arch. ¡°Just assuring the political importance of our short trip here is reported.¡± I contine. ¡°It is also undermining the royal family''s credibility.¡± her tone now accusing. ¡°Hardly,¡± I waive my hand. ¡° The mistake will simply be one more thing reinforcing the reason why the king stepped down from the throne and let his daughter take over as it was his decision to send that ambassador.¡± I could tell that while she didn¡¯t much like my reasoning she accepted it. After a minute of silence she moved on the next point, one I knew would be coming. ¡°Is everything they¡¯re saying about the human true?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what rumors have made it all the way here.¡± I say nothing and preempt any further questioning on this topic. ¡°Nor would it be my place to share any information on this topic. All I will say is that he is still a child, by noble standards anyway, and that he won the tournament.¡± ¡°What about his views on elves?¡± She moved on accepting my answer. ¡°He has no issues with elves as far as I could tell over the weeks we traveled together.¡± This was a point His Majesty had asked me to make sure was made perfectly clear. ¡°A bad encounter here so early in his development is the biggest risk.¡± Our conversation was cut short as a group of twelve elves exited the dungeon, two of them were above level one hundred. ¡°Identify yourselves.¡± Lioriel said as her hand snapped to her bow. What followed was a tense half an as Lioriel verified that the people who exited were who they claimed to be, the youngsters among them were Academy students from the fourth year and the two veterans were guards of a ducal house whose scion was part of the class. I also tuned out the ten minutes Lioriel spent chastising the guards for not informing her that there was already a boost happening. ¡°There is nothing in the surrounding areas.¡± At that moment the teams that surveyed the surrounding returned, their words putting the two veterans on guard. ¡°Is something going on?¡± the senior of the two veterans asked. ¡°And may I ask why you have a spell ready?¡± The second question was addressed to me. ¡°That¡¯s Aranor Starfury.¡± the second veteran said, recognising me, his words putting the first veteran on a hair trigger. It was at that moment that the four humans I was expecting stepped out of the arch. I wasted no time releasing the spell and creating a protective wind wall around them. My actions were well timed as one of the students was quick to fire an arrow as he saw humans exit the dungeon. ¡°You are to stand down!¡± Lioriel shouted as she notched an arrow of her own. I quickly made my way over to the four while silently cursing. Why is it that anything that can go wrong always does. Chapter 372 The situation was tense, thankfully the attack had been launched by an academy student whose level was in the early thirties and could be ignored as a reflexive attack since he had his bow in hand. ¡°What are humans doing in the dungeon?¡± One of the more racist students directed his question towards Lioriel, that she had also just commanded him also didn¡¯t sit well with the young noble. ¡°Their party has been given permission to delve the dungeon by the queen herself.¡± Lioriel didn¡¯t bother to explain further even when the silence stretched uncomfortably. ¡°At what cost can we have other races enter the dungeon?¡± The silence was broken by an elven boy who didn¡¯t look at the four humans with distaste. While the boy wasn¡¯t racist he had no issue letting slavery work out positively for his own fortune. His family had built a rather sizable wealth by buying and training slaves, it was simply what they were good at. They also had one of the largest stand alone armies, it was mainly formed of commoners who signed the right for the noble house to conscript them into a militia in exchange for training. This had been their way for years and almost all of the commoners who had entered the contract never ended up being called upon, the simple threat of being able to call them was worth a lot more to the family than the cost to train them. ¡°This was a one time dispensation.¡± Lioriel quickly crushed his hopes. ¡°So this is the group from Gryndor.¡± the duke''s son finally joined the conversation as he cut short his examination of the four humans. ¡°Mother told me that they would be coming.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not even slaves and they are in our kingdom and delving our dungeons.¡± The racist elf began to heat up again. ¡°What possible price would move our queen to accept such an insult?¡± ¡°I suggest you calm down Thaniel.¡± the duke¡¯s son said coldly. ¡°This special dispensation was given to prevent all out war.¡± Both Aranor and Lioriel frowned at just how well informed the student was, despite that neither said anything as the boy was clearly smart and helping the situation go smoothly. The young noble had quickly herded his classmates and guards and moved them to one side of the clearing. While thankful for his actions Lioriel was feeling a little troubled by the fact that they weren¡¯t leaving. The whole situation had blown over and for over two hours and thirty minutes nothing seemed to be amiss before one of the students once again approached the humans, the rest of the group following behind her with a variety of different looks on their faces. ¡°Are you Xavier Gryndor?¡± The girl asked Xavier. ¡°I am.¡± While Xavier hadn¡¯t joined in the previous interaction he wasn¡¯t at all intimidated by the elves. ¡°Did you really already graduate from the Academy?¡± The girl¡¯s excitement grew as she stared at Xavier¡¯s classically handsome face and the blonde locks that framed it. ¡°Who cares if he graduated from the Academy?¡± one of the elven boys asked jealousy not giving Xavier a chance to speak. ¡°He¡¯s half a year younger than I am and I still have two more years, he qualified at the age of sixteen!¡± The girl defended Xavier. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°The human academy is just a lot easier.¡± The boy said as he nodded towards the humans with a sneer. ¡°Barely any of them can use magic so they have to make it easier. He¡¯s the same age as me but I could beat him, same as I could any other human my age.¡± The boy¡¯s had meant the statement as a challenge and an insult, however the reaction he got from the humans was one that nobody had expected. Instead of being offended and outraged or dismissive all four of them broke out into laughter. Their reaction even caught Aranor and Lioriel by surprise as they had been prepared to end any conflict. ¡°You think I am a joke.¡± The boy yelled as he took an aggressive step towards them. ¡°I very much doubt you could beat me.¡± Xavier said his face once more stoic an intimidating look contrasted to his previous laughter. ¡°We just cleared the second floor of this dungeon while I am guessing you were here for the achievement of clearing the first. That however is not the reason I¡¯m laughing.¡± The change in Xavier¡¯s deminor combined with his social skills was enough to intimidate the elf into retreating a step backwards unconsciously. That act in and of itself once registered only fueled the boy¡¯s rage further. ¡°You think so little of me you -¡± The boy''s words were cut off as the duke¡¯s son put a hand on his shoulder to silence him. This brought the entire group''s attention on the duke¡¯s son for a quick moment before it shifted back to Xavier as he started talking once more. ¡°From what my inspection skill is telling me you¡¯d have maybe a one in twenty chance to beat me in a fight, one in fifteen if I¡¯m being generous. I know for a fact however that you wouldn¡¯t be able to give Ajax a fight even if he took it easy on you.¡± ¡°Oh is that so?¡± the boy angrily yelled as he used his inspection skill on Xavier only for it to be blocked so he turned towards Benedict and tried it again. On Benedict the skill managed to take hold enough to let him know that challenging Benedict was a colossally stupid idea, just not yet a suicidal one. ¡°Are you this Ajax?¡± As if on queue following the words five more people stepped out from the arch, two elves, two humans and one beastkin. All five of them had a combat ready stance with three of them also holding a mana power shield around them. Their entrance should have been a simple curiosity but the identity of one of the people was too much for the academy students to ignore. ¡°Is that¡­¡± one of them whispered. ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± another barely got the words out as she stared in awe. ¡°The ice princess.¡± As princess of their neighboring kingdom Arianwyn had previously made a trip into Deepwood about five years ago. On that trip she had taken part in a tournament and despite being five years younger than the tournament limit she had managed to pull out a hard fought win. The students'' trance-like states were broken by a slightly panicked scream ¡°Ajax!¡± Lexi cried out as she dashed towards him, her eyes focused on a rather nasty looking cut that adorned his left arm. ¡°What happened? Are you alright?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to catch Lexi in a hug with his good arm while being careful to keep her away from his injured one. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just got a little careless.¡± Ajax waved away her concern. ¡°This mantis type monster however had a very interesting poison. It¡¯s hemorrhagic but its strength is based around disrupting healing magic.¡± for the next part Ajax leaned in even closer to her ear and activated the privacy enchantment on her earring. ¡°It¡¯s right at the edge of my [Poison Resistance]. Both my Light healing and [Poison Resistance] should progress nicely.¡± Ajax knew that he could easily heal straight through the poison by simply adding a Life mana based healing spell, he had in fact done that exact thing to heal Harold who had gotten more than a single cut during his own battle with a similar monster that gave Ajax his souvenir. But since the poison was actually inflicted during proper and appropriate combat Ajax¡¯s skills would benefit from it a lot more than any self ingested poison so he was content to take advantage of it. ¡°So you¡¯re Ajax.¡± the elf who had been previously screaming at Xavier murmured as he tried his inspect skill on Ajax only to be rewarded with a sharp jolt of pain that further fueled his rage. As the elf took a step towards Ajax he was quickly obstructed by every single female in his class. His murmur hadn¡¯t been as quiet as he had thought and none of the girls wanted to risk having this idiot attitude affecting Arianwyn¡¯s impression of them. ¡°So that¡¯s him?¡± the duke¡¯s son addressed Xavier as he looked towards Ajax. ¡°I have to admit he looks intimidating enough.¡± Ajax¡¯s taller frame with wide shoulders but still slender build combined with his pitch black hair were rather intimidating.A brief twitch of pain cued Xavier in that he attempted to inspect Ajax. ¡°The human prodigy who beat the ice princess.¡± Those words sent another ripple through the group of students as they not all watched Ajax closely, most of them wincing in pain as they tried to inspect him. ¡°I thought humans aged like dwarves, is he half-elf?¡± Thaniel asked the duke¡¯s son, he had calmed down following his first outburst and seeing how their enraged classmate had done when confronting Xavier he was glad his friend had calmed him down. ¡°He isn¡¯t and they do.¡± The duke¡¯s son said. ¡°But just like prince Xavier mentioned earlier he is younger than us.¡± Those words caused a blanket silence to land upon the group before a flurry of whispers broke out amongst the elves. The duke¡¯s son didn¡¯t miss the opportunity he was looking to create as he approached Lioriel. ¡°Would it be possible for us to accompany you on your way to the capital, with their presence here I feel that the roads would be more dangerous than usual.¡± Chapter 373 The first reaction to the question had been a resounding no. Both Aranor and the prince knew that there was no way it was a coincidence that the students were here. After thinking on it for a bit however they decided to allow them to tag along but only if they could keep up. As a whole the group wanted to spend as little time as possible in the kingdom of Deepwood so they would be heading straight for the capital from here. Their timeline would have them exiting the kingdom in under two months. So they started their ten day journey towards the capital. It didn¡¯t take long for the first radical to make the first attempt on the group. Two days into their journey as they were passing through the lands of a small-time Baron whose house had fallen from Viscount three generations ago the group was charged by a small army numbering two hundred people. ¡°We¡¯re under attack.¡± The prince calmly relayed as he entered the large carriage. ¡°By what?¡± Elara asked uncertain how to take the prince¡¯s nonchalance. ¡°Baron¡­ I didn¡¯t pay attention to the name.¡± the prince said with a shrug after a moment of silence. ¡°Small force of two hundred.¡± It was here that Ajax got to see countries put so much emphasis on their elites. The group that was escorting them was formed of twenty one people, with the exception of Lioriel they ranged in level from the high eighties to the early hundred. The people ambushing them were just common guards of failing House most being in their high fifties with a few standouts reaching higher. The fighting Ajax had seen before as part of the skirmish between two local nobles was nothing compared to what he was seeing now. Outnumbered ten to one their escorts had no issues carving a bloody path through their ambushers. The difference in stats and skills was too high for there to even be a question of who would come out ahead. Shortly after the fighting started the students also joined the rest of the group in the spacious carriage as the most defensible position, though both Aranor and the prince insisted that their guards remain outside as a security precaution. Despite them being on the losing side Ajax couldn¡¯t help but pay very close attention to the ambushers'' fighting style. It was clear that despite some of them not being mages, or even hybrid fighters they were still using spells as part of their combat. One archer summoned a small fire in front of himself that he used to ignite the arrows he had dipped in some sort of accelerant. A warrior had used a weak wind spell centered on himself that caused a swift breeze to flow towards him from all directions giving himself a way to know if someone was behind him. As he watched Ajax made a small note to himself to spar a few of the physically focused elves once he got to Sylvanthal to see if he could pick up a few tricks that humans might not have come up with because of how rare magic was for them. ¡°Did the baron not come himself?¡± Ajax asked after watching the carnage for a few minutes. ¡°He did.¡± the prince said as he pointed towards the man in the center of a defensive circle formed by the remaining forty ambushers. ¡°The idiot who can¡¯t cast focus well enough to cast a spell properly.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ajax was utterly unimpressed by the noble. During his time in the capital he did learn that most low nobles and commoners weren¡¯t all that different, the big difference came that nobles were given a big push early in life to level, that they were boosted through dungeons and had access to stat increasing potions. Nobles who lived in the capital were more refined by their environment. With peers and external pressure the quality rose. Out in the countryside the only difference between nobles and commoners were a few extra social skills and a large number of points added to Vitality that was compensated for by bought stats. ¡°Will they just kill him?¡± Ajax asked as he watched the defensive formation be taken apart with almost no effort. ¡°No, it¡¯ll be a public execution.¡± The duke¡¯s son answered. ¡°They¡¯ll capture him and the royal family will make it a spectacle to outline their stance on any attacks on your group.¡± The flicker in Anna¡¯s expression as she digested the information was missed by almost everybody, it was only her best friend who caught it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Anna?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to feel about this development.¡± Anna answered honestly. ¡°He was a sacrificial pawn.¡± As Ajax thought about what that could mean it dawned on him. If students in the academy hadn¡¯t known they were here how would a nobody baron? He was clearly leaked the information. Considering the presence of the escort and the public execution it was all planned out by the royal family. ¡°Though that does beg the question, are you here as part of the plan or is your father playing a different angle?¡± Anna asked the duke¡¯s son. The man in question didn¡¯t have the social skills high enough to hide the apologetic look he threw his classmates as some of them stared daggers at him for dragging them into something without letting them know. Ajax also made note of the three of them he picked out that had not been surprised by the revelation, either they knew in advance or put the pieces together before Anna pointed it all out. ¡°It¡¯s a different angle.¡± Harold said the Silvertongues had given him a full debrief on the royal families, archdukes and dukes of both Sylvanthal and Deepwood. While they didn¡¯t have perfectly up to date information as shown by the surprise news of a chance in ruler. ¡°Father is looking to make use of your visit to take care of a few problematic minor nobles in his lands.¡± the duke¡¯s son didn¡¯t hold back the information. ¡°Us traveling with you like this would give me the pretext of being ¡®offended¡¯ at any disparaging remarks about some new friends I might have recently made.¡± The whole plan relied solely on them making the journey to the capital together, something that had already happened. ¡°And do you have anything to provide for us?¡± The prince didn¡¯t even skip a beat as he asked for payment for their part in the plan. ¡°I was hoping to pass this along once we arrived in the capital but I see no reason not to tell you now.¡± the duke¡¯s son answered. ¡°There is a kidnapping planned for one of the nights you are in the capital. I am not sure who is the target or whose plan it is but I do know they are using the Fade Leaf mercenaries who have more than one person working for them at the Springwood inn.¡± There was a deep silence as the group was slightly surprised to hear the name of the inn they had actually planned to stay at instead of their decoy arrangement. ¡°That¡¯ll do.¡± the prince nodded with a grin not giving away any effect the information had despite the lacking poker faces of the rest of them. Ajax would have had trouble holding in a laugh when confronted with some of the expressions that some of the students had when they heard the exchange of information between. This was all overshadowed however by the realization that he might very well not be the target. He subconsciously got closer to Lexi and placed his arm protectively over her shoulder. ¡°The threat has been dealt with and their leader captured.¡± Lioriel¡¯s voice broke the silence. ¡°We can continue on our way.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Ajax asked, probing to see what she would say. ¡°The crown has removed an inconvenience while strengthening the security of your group.¡± Ajax was pleasantly surprised to see that Lioriel didn¡¯t try to hide that they expected the ambush. ¡°Did they also order this attack?¡± Ajax¡¯s voice turned a little flinty. Much as he despised certain types of nobles he also took issue with betrayal. ¡°No,¡± Lioriel answered. ¡°All nobles whose lands we would be passing through have been notified of your arrival. They were not notified of my presence, we expect at least another ambush before we reach the capital, possibly two. The road we are taking specifically goes through the lands of nobles whose personal forces don¡¯t pose a threat to your escort and whose financial situation would not allow them to hire more experienced people.¡± Ajax was satisfied with that answer, he couldn¡¯t be sure if it was the truth but while it wasn¡¯t a situation he endorsed it was one he could accept. ¡°Why go through all this to remove them?¡± Ajax asked after he returned to his seat. ¡°Couldn¡¯t the queen just take away their lands?¡± ¡°In theory she could.¡± Arianwyn answered. ¡°Unfortunately it is an unwritten rule that a king or queen who removes lands from nobles for simple mediocrity and slight incompetence sets a precedent that would see them removed. She just needed them to give her a better reason.¡± Chapter 374 Having an escort and a group of academy students tagging along hadn''t been that much of an inconvenience at first but that was solely down to the fact that it had only been a few days. Being accompanied at all times meant that Lexi couldn¡¯t practice forming her Domain, and neither could Ajax practice to unlock his Vibration mana. It was a blessing for Ajax that he could keep practicing his Alchemy or he would have gone a little stir crazy. The second ambush the small convoy met had gone down far differently than the first. Unlike the first Baron they happened upon this one had at least scouted the people he was looking to ambush and had wisely chosen to forgo hostilities. ¡°Baron, what a surprise to see you here.¡± Lioriel greeted him and his three hundred fighters. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you again, Lady Shadowstrider.'''' While the Baron¡¯s words were polite his delivery was wooden. ¡°May I ask why you are traveling through my lands?¡± ¡°The Queen has tasked me with escorting our guests to ensure no international incidents occur.¡± Lioriel answered. ¡°Is there something going on in your lands that you have such a force with you?¡± ¡°We are merely ensuring that there are no thieves lying in wait.¡± Even Ajax could spot the lie a mile out but nobody called the Baron out on it. ¡°I do wish you safe travels.¡± ¡°Looks like the plan failed.¡± Ajax mentioned once they were out of the Baron¡¯s earshot. ¡°Not entirely.¡± Harold said. ¡°It¡¯s the beauty of a plan like this, even though the Baron still lives, that was a very harsh warning he just got. Either he cleans up his act or, considering he could very well have died today already, there most likely won¡¯t be a third chance.¡± Their convoy was halfway to the capital by the time the students had managed through sheer persistence to convince Arianwyn to give them a small personal demonstration. Elara was also roped into helping by having a little spar. Ajax was watching the two of them face each other with deep seated interest. Despite this being a short spar where neither would even be seriously fighting it would still be the first time Ajax would see two Domains overlap in direct confrontation. The moment both Domains were deployed Ajax felt how the Storm and Winter fought for supremacy. The blizzard surrounding Arianwyn could be seen taking the lead, no doubt helped by the fact that she had a higher level in her Domain skill. More interesting however was what Ajax noticed was happening as spells started flying. The whole point of a domain was to have weaker spells travel through it to absorb mana and gain power. With two domains overlapped however when a spell drew power from the Domain by draining the mana along its path it would allow the opposite domain to take dominance. The clearest example of this happening was when Elara opened with a lightning bolt that cut across the battlefield and cracked the ice wall Ariawyn had opened with. Not one to let go of an opening however the elven princess was quick to send a powerful gust of wind down the same path the lightning bolt took and air blast perfectly connected to send Alara flying backwards into a tree. As the fight dragged on it became clear that Elara not only didn¡¯t have the same experience with using her domain as Arianwyn but the princess had experience fighting against other Domain users as well. After a few exchanges the spar ended but the power both of the elves had wielded left a deep impression on the students that were watching them. Almost all of them promised themselves to talk to their family about finding a way to incorporate a Domain into their fighting style. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°We¡¯ve entered the final Viscountcy before we reach the capital.¡± Lioriel warned them as they were only a little over a day away from the capital. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what she meant by that so everyone traveled more compactly into the main carriage for protection. The third ambush seemed to follow the theme of the first where the ambushers didn¡¯t bother to talk and just attacked. This group was a bit stronger than the first but what they had in quality they lacked in numbers. The attack was only fifty people, this wasn¡¯t enough to succeed and it was something the Viscount leading them also figured out quickly as he tried his best to retreat. Lioriel and the rest of her escort wasn¡¯t about to let the Viscount live as they moved to chase down the retreating stragglers. She hadn¡¯t made it more than one hundred paces from the carriage when her attention was drawn back to it by the door being ripped open. Ajax could barely track what was happening as [Danger Sense] started yelling at him. A foot in front of him Ajax could clearly see the hand of an elf dressed in full black leather holding a longer dagger that was pointed towards him. Holding the elf by the wrist was the prince whose runes were flooded with mana. The assassin tried tossing the knife at Ajax as soon as his wrist was caught but the prince blasted the dagger off course with a quick spell that left a sizable dent in the walls of the carriage. The assassin¡¯s next move however caught Ajax by surprise. The assassin didn¡¯t even try to free his hand from the prince¡¯s iron grip, he instead drew another knife and cut himself free by sacrificing everything from the elbow down. The assassin made a concentrated effort to have some of the blood spill towards Ajax as yelled out a command. ¡°MARKED!¡± the assassin yelled before he exploded into shadows. Ajax recognised the technique used as it was the same one Shadow had used for moving through the shadows. He also wasn¡¯t the only one to do so as Aranor blasted the area with a powerful light spell as the assassin retreated out the already ripped open door. As the assassin exited the shadows and ran for his life Ajax could see the trail of blood that he left in his wake. Everything happened in but a few moments. Ajax had been left feeling a little defenseless as he was barely able to do anything to defend himself. Still as he looked towards his right hand that still held another needle ready to throw Ajax couldn¡¯t help but smile a little at having fought back against someone so much stronger than him. ¡°What did you hit him with?¡± Aranor asked as he had noticed Ajax throwing the needle without any hesitation. ¡°Poison I came up with.¡± Ajax said proudly. ¡°Oh!¡± The prince looked like he forgot all about the attack as he quickly put up a privacy barrier around him and Ajax. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡± ¡°The opposite of a hemorrhagic poison.¡± Ajax tried to explain his creation. ¡°So his wounds would stop bleeding quickly?¡± the prince frowned as he didn¡¯t seem to understand. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t get it treated quickly enough there is a good chance that a clot will form in his heart or brain.¡± Ajax''s smile looked a little evil as he explained his poison. ¡°It might look like it''s actually helping him right up to the point he has a heart attack or a stroke.¡± ¡°Can you do something about the mark?¡± The prince said after a short moment to process. ¡°The mark?¡± Ajax asked unsure what the prince was talking about. He had heard the assassin yell ¡®MARKED!¡¯ but he didn¡¯t know what he could do about the skill. ¡°It¡¯s a Rare skill that works off of Shadow mana.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Focus on where the blood landed on you and see if you can remove it with [Mana Syphon].¡± Despite his best effort Ajax didn¡¯t manage to sense any mana, surprisingly however his [Mana Syphon] did find something to drain so Ajax kept at it until there was nothing else there. ¡°Did you catch him?¡± the prince asked as he lowered the privacy barrier and looked towards Lioriel who was standing in the doorway of the carriage. ¡°No, he got away.¡± Lioriel said as she lowered her head slightly in shame. ¡°He got away from you after the beating he took despite leaving a long and deep trail of blood?¡± even Aranor raised a brow at the ranger. ¡°I prioritized killing the Viscount before he could escape.¡± Lioriel didn¡¯t feel guilty about that, her orders were clear and she knew that with both the prince and Aranor here, there was nothing she could personally do to stop an assassin from succeeding that they couldn¡¯t. ¡°I see.¡± The prince said with a frown. ¡°In that case you best send one of your men ahead to make sure we can enter the dungeon when we arrive tomorrow.¡± ¡°The delve wasn¡¯t sch-¡± She started to answer but didn¡¯t get to finish. ¡°He was marked.¡± the prince said as he pointed to the blood spots on Ajax, while Ajax might have gotten rid of the mark nobody else knew that. ¡°The quicker we finish the trip the better. Lioriel had nothing to rebut there and she silently cursed the assassin as she sent one of her people to make sure there were no issues when they arrived at the dungeon. Chapter 375 ¡°What is this mark?¡± Ajax asked, it wasn¡¯t something he had heard about before. ¡°It¡¯s an assassin group thing.¡± The prince said darkly. ¡°Pretty much every assassin group picks it up.¡± Benedict chose to explain. ¡°It also becomes part of their initiation along with some blood ritual and hunting. Hardest part is the initial hunt to unlock the skill for the founders.¡± ¡°You get marked with the blood of one of them.¡± Elara joined in. ¡°That basically puts a tracker on you and marks you so that any attacks coming from the group become stronger. Not only that but with every failed attempt the mark can stack up.¡± ¡°Any way to get rid of it?¡± Ajax asked. He was pretty sure that he had gotten rid of the tracking part of the mark but the damage amp was still there. ¡°The mark only fades when the last group member dies.¡± Aranor answered before he turned darkly towards Lioriel. ¡°The mark does lose half its power if the person who marked you is killed however.¡± ¡°So they won¡¯t stop?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°No chance for that.¡± Benedict said with a scowl. ¡°There is a reason why despite the almost guaranteed way to get a rare skill that stacks like that almost all nobility avoid it like the plague. Every single person in the group just became allergic to your survival, it won¡¯t mean anything for a few weeks but after that it will start with rashes, then flashes of pain, migraines. It will keep escalating until you die or they all do.¡± Hearing that Ajax got a malicious thought. ¡°What would happen if I just decided to enter a dungeon and live there for a few years.¡± Ajax had no sympathy for the assassins. ¡°That¡¯s one of the crueler ways to deal with the skill.¡± Elara said. ¡°We have records of assassin groups going mad and killing their employer for putting them through this after five years of torment after their target did exactly what you are suggesting.¡± As much as Ajax would love to give karma a chance to serve the group their just deserts, he simply couldn¡¯t afford to waste a few years in a dungeon even if he spent the time practicing his skills. At that moment Ajax could once more feel the mark on him pulse one more time before dimming down and fading away into the background once more. His poison worked, together with all damage the prince and Aranor did it was enough to finish off the assassin. ¡°The crown will add a few more high level guards to your escort following this development.¡± Lioriel promised. ¡°I assure you we will do our best to finish your trip as quickly and safely as we can make it. As the convoy made it to the dungeon the students finally all went their own separate ways. Most of the students were extremely friendly towards Arianwyn and Elara with a few of them even being friendly with the non-elven members of the group. By the same token a few were ecstatic to be able to finally get away from them and they didn¡¯t bother to hide it. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ajax and the rest didn¡¯t care all that much, they were all focused on the arch in the middle of all the defensive formations. A capital dungeon, the initial floor started from twenty-five all the way to thirty with five level increments per floor. Ajax was doing his best not to drool as he thought about the +11 to all stats that were waiting for him, hell with such a low increment he was willing to try for a +12 and go past the level one hundred threshold. As the humans and beastkin made their way towards the arch confidently they were greeted by the jeers of the crowd. If he had to find a way to describe what it was like the best Ajax could have come up with was a peaceful protest. A small contingent of guards opened up a path for them to reach the arch but on either side of that pathway elven adventurers were spitting out vitriol towards them. Despite the hate and outrage nobody even tried to escalate things to a physical or magical altercation and the group simply ignored as they entered the dungeon. The first three floors were a joke. Since none of them could gain any stats from them they simply barreled through the first arch they saw. On the second floor Arianwyn didn¡¯t even bother killing the miniboss guardian simply freezing its feet in place as the entire team walked through the arch. The fourth fifth and sixth floors were a steady step up in difficulty for all of Ajax¡¯s classmates but none of them were a true issues for any of them. The floors took a lot longer to clear since they had to travel and find one miniboss for each of them to take on alone so they called it a day at the end of the sixth floor and set up their camp in front of the arch that would take them to the seventh floor. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Ajax asked Lexi as he snuggled into her around the campfire they had set up. ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about tomorrow.¡± Lexi admitted as she returned his affectionate gesture. ¡°You¡¯ve got nothing to worry about.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t just trying to reassure her he genuinely meant it. ¡°The eighth floor should only go up to level sixty-five, as long as you don¡¯t choose to go into a bad fight I have no doubt you should be able to win with Vibration mana.¡± ¡°I want to clear the ninth floor.¡± Lexi whispered, almost like she was admitting it to herself. That confession struck Ajax silent for a moment. He wanted to tell her not to risk it, that there was no need for that but the words died in his throat as he thought about the risk he was taking by going past the level one hundred barrier for the same increase. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you get a good match up.¡± Ajax promised her. With that all of Ajax¡¯s classmates called it an early night as the following day was going to be much tougher for them than it would be for Ajax since with the number of floors left to clear they would take at least another two days. ¡°The assassin died.¡± Ajax told the prince now that everyone else was asleep. ¡°That¡¯s good, did you get a skill from killing him?¡± The prince asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± Ajax said and he saw the confusion on the prince¡¯s face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I guess it was too much assistance.¡± the prince said with a light sigh. ¡°Seems like your poison isn¡¯t as lethal as I thought it was. That doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t want to buy a batch once we get back to Gryndor, imagine that a poison that makes your opponent overconfident by seemingly slowing their blood loss only for it to give you an opening a little later.¡± ¡°Hold on a minute there, What do you mean by too much assistance?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You just killed a trained fighter that was almost three times your level who was trying to kill you.¡± The prince¡¯s voice was low and serious. ¡°Even if you had help you landed the killing blow yourself. About what level would you say the plants you used to make the poison were?¡± ¡°Before I started topping them up, mid to high fifties.¡± Ajax wondered where he was going with this. ¡°Do you have the ingredients to make a stronger one?¡± the prince pushed on. ¡°Might have to substitute a small bit on one of them but I can get a mid to high sixties one.¡± Ajax said as he looked through his special ring. ¡°If I can get it to work at that level.¡± the second part he whispered to himself as he remembered how many failures it took to get the working variant he had now. ¡°Great, see if you can finish it before we leave the capital.¡± The prince''s grin turned a little evil. ¡°We might be able to get you a good skill off the next idiot that comes after you.¡± Leaving it at that Ajax went to join Lexi in the tent their shared, seems like tomorrow would also be a difficult day for him as well as he only had three attempts to get the poison right before his ingredients ran out. Chapter 376 As the team woke up they quickly made the transition to the seventh floor, while this floor wasn¡¯t a breeze for any of Ajax¡¯s classmates the level sixties could only be counted as a good warm up. Ajax had carefully chosen the eighth dungeon to make sure he got one where he could find a few alchemy reagents so that he could get in the swing of things before he started his attempts at the poison using the ingredients he brought in with him. Not only that but he was hoping that whatever he could make to help give Lexi a better shot on the ninth floor. ¡°What are you making?¡± Harold asked Ajax as he saw him slaving over the cauldron while everyone else was hunting in the jungle that was the eighth floor. ¡°This is a strong freezing agent.¡± Ajax said as he carefully bottled the mixture while using his air magic to ensure there was no contact with the air. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel cold.¡± Arianwyn said as she picked up one of the flasks he bottled. ¡°It isn¡¯t cold.¡± Ajax confirmed as he sealed the third flask. ¡°The mixture doesn¡¯t stay in liquid form when it is in contact with the air. While evaporating it draws in all the heat it can from the surroundings so quickly that it freezes everything. It¡¯s why the flasks are so big and sealed.¡± ¡°You mean to say you don¡¯t even open it, you just throw it and smash the flask?¡± Elara nodded as she looked at the flask Arianwyn was holding. ¡°I¡¯ve used ones that exploded before but I have heard there are freezing ones as well.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t mention that the freezing ones were a lot trickier to create. The difference between the two was that the explosive one became unstable in contact with air and exploded, while the freezing one was stable in both stages, this meant that a skilled alchemist could use his mana to stabilize the explosive mix during the creation process even if it made contact with the air. After he had five flasks filled with the freezing potion Ajax swapped over to make a very sticky substance. The main reason for this was that the arch guarded by the miniboss he had defeated had a very strong earth mana present. Using both the freezing and sticky mixture Ajax was pretty sure that Lexi could use her Vibration mana to best an earth golem. Ajax only needed to make two flasks of the sticky mixture before he finally decided to give the poison a try. Unlike the two previous mixtures the difficulty when making the poison didn¡¯t come from how the mixture reacted to the outside but from getting the ingredients to properly mix. Ajax silently worked for over thirty minutes as he blocked out everything that was happening around them as he trusted Harold to keep an eye out for him. Unfortunately even that wasn¡¯t enough as the mixture separated instead of neatly fusing. Much as he wanted to give it another go it was time to get going as he finally noticed that everyone had returned. ¡°Here you are.¡± Ajax said as he passed the flasks over to Lexi. ¡°What are these for?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°That arch there leads to a primarily earth dominant floor.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the arch. ¡°Not only that but I can also feel a good amount of Life mana as well so we should be able to find earth golems there, these should let you stick them in one place, freeze them and then you can use your Vibration spells to shatter them.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lexi quickly stored the flasks in her spacial ring and wrapped Ajax in a very tight hug. ¡°You¡¯re going for one more?¡± Xavier asked incredulously. Lexi simply nodded as all her classmates looked at her supportively and with a very slight hint of envy. Out of all of them Lexi was the only one who stood a chance on the next floor as she was the only one with something as powerful as a Legendary skill to make up the twenty-five level gap. As the team stepped onto the floor Ajax noticed that they found themselves on a hillside covered by white marble. Everywhere he looked Ajax could see massive temples with white coulombs that reminded him of the Acropolis of Athens with the surrounding filled by moving statues of all different sizes made from the same material. ¡°Woah!¡± Xavier exclaimed as he closed the notification for getting an extra boost in stats from clearing the floor and took in the architecture all around them. ¡°It¡¯s certainly something.¡± Arianwyn said as she also looked interested in the odd buildings. ¡°Seems very similar to the way dwarves build their underground support pillars but with the stark white color and the non-cramped space squeezed beneath the earth.¡± Seeing as none of them could recognise the Greek architecture made Ajax a little worried about what that could mean. Was he the reason that certain odd floors kept popping up? It had happened before, the most obvious example had been the floor that belonged in a galaxy far far away but he had left that aside as a technological understanding. This however was basic stone work. One thing was for certain Ajax had no intention of clearing this floor any more than they had to on the slight chance that the floor boss was actually a medusa. It didn¡¯t take long for the first group of statues to attack them, just like Ajax had expected however they weren¡¯t any harder to handle than the usual earth golems he was used to fighting, the only difference was that these had a much sleeker frame that depicted a very fit human instead of a vaguely humanoid shaped mound of earth or rock. ¡°There is your target.¡± Ajax said as he pointed Lexi towards a small temple inside of which a statue was guarding an arch. ¡°Why that one? It¡¯s rather big.¡± Lexi questioned the one Ajax selected for her. ¡°It¡¯s too big to squeeze between the coulombs.¡± Ajax explained his plan. ¡°Throw the sticky mixture through the door and then use A shockwave on one side of the temple to bring the whole structure down on it.¡± ¡°Then I can use the opening when it¡¯s digging itself out to toss the freezing flasks and set up my spells.¡± Lexi quickly caught on to his plan and was fully on board. Knowing she wouldn¡¯t have much time once the fight began, Lexi accurately tossed the flasks so that the sticky mixture would spread just past the entrance to the small temple. She then moved to the right side where she could see the statue had started following her movement. Lexi took out her boosting potion and downed it before she quickly began the chant for her Domain. This wouldn¡¯t be a battle of attrition like the one on the previous floor where she chose a defensive monster and slowly whittled it down, either she could kill this statue before it got to her or the prince would intervene before it killed her. As soon as she unleashed her Domain the statue started sprinting for the exit of the temple as she started the chant for the shockwave she planned to use to know the temple down. It was frightening to see the large rock giant dash so quickly towards the exit, but her fear subsided slightly as the giant tripped right at the entrance as her cast was almost finished because its leg got stuck in the black tar-like substance Ajax had provided. Seeing the crater that formed where the statue¡¯s knees made contact with the temple floor convinced Lexi that there was no way she could take a direct hit. Her shockwave spell was finally ready and she tried to help it along as much as she could with the mana from her domain spell as she unleashed it towards the support coulombs. The spell worked even better than she hoped as not only did it bring down the coulombs but it also caused the statue to lose its balance right as the roof collapsed on top of it. Despite the elation at her success Lexi moved on straight to the next spell that she would prepare to unleash as soon as the statue dug itself out. With a flask at the ready in hand Lexi carefully approached the pile of rubble that was moving as the statue broke its way to the surface. The previous pristinely sculpted muscles were now chipped and scratched, a thick layer of dust covering everything. Lexi didn¡¯t hesitate as she tossed three flasks of the freezing mixture Ajax had given her and was prepared to unleash her spell as soon as it finished taking effect. What Lexi hadn¡¯t expected however was that the statue would mimic her plan and toss a rock from the rubble towards her before even standing up properly. It was only thanks to her defensive enchanted equipment that the rock was deflected to only clip her shoulder, shattering the joint in the process. Anna and Harold both worked together to keep Ajax from rushing in there as soon as he heard her shoulder crunch from the impact. Despite the pain Lexi grit her teeth and watched to see the head, neck and top right part of the statue freeze as an odd steam rose from where the flasks spilled their contents. She carefully aimed her spell and unleashed a powerful shockwave that crushed the frozen part of the statue to small pebbles. Lexi was able to hold on to her consciousness long enough to make sure the statue didn¡¯t get back up before she succumbed to the pain and lack of mana. The whole world started going black and Lexi was sure she was out before she hit the ground. Chapter 377 Ajax panic left just as quickly as it arrived, the moment he felt the statue die he knew that Lexi wasn¡¯t in anymore danger. Despite knowing that it didn¡¯t make him any slower in pushing himself to make sure he caught his girlfriend before she dropped to the ground after she passed out. Lexi was only unconscious for a few seconds as Ajax used his Light and Life mana to help her enchanted items in healing her following the battle. As she woke Ajax could see the confusion as her memories of the fight were reviewed, despite that he was happy that even when waking up like this she made jerky motions to stand up, simply learning even more into his embrace. ¡°How are you doing?¡± he asked her after she got her bearings. ¡°I¡¯ve got a killer mana headache.¡± Lexi said in a quiet whisper before her voice picked up some volume and pride. ¡°But I did it.¡± ¡°I never doubted you.¡± Ajax¡¯s lie was almost perfect, nothing about him gave away that he had almost crushed that statue the moment the blow on Lexi landed, the same could not be said of Harold and Xavier who were right next to him. ¡°Yeah, right.¡± Harold who had held him back mumbled. ¡°Bullshit.¡± Xavier delivered the least believable cough of all time. Lexi kindly chose to ignore the two of them as she got back to her feet before checking her notification and breaking out in an exclamation. ¡°I did it!¡± ¡°Lexi?¡± Ajax¡¯s tone now had a quiver of concern as he examined her head for any injury he might have missed. ¡°No, not that.¡± Lexi waved him off. ¡°I got my Domain, the skill is finally there [Domain - Dizaster(Fire, Wind, Water, Vibration)].¡± A new wave of congratulatory cheer went out from all of them as Lexi did her best to overcome the exhaustion she was feeling. ¡°Anyone else want to try and clear this floor?¡± the prince asked after he gave them a moment. Nobody spoke up, Anna knew that she didn¡¯t have the defense required to take a direct attack and fire just couldn¡¯t kill anything fast enough for them not to retaliate. Xavier looked like he was thinking about it but in the end he decided not to push it and simply shook his head no. ¡°Fine then, Ajax go take out your frustration because we need to get moving.¡± the prince said. ¡°Actually we aren¡¯t in that big of a rush.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You do remember we are trying to get out of Deepwood as quickly as possible?¡± the prince said with a serious voice. ¡°I know but this floor is perfect for my Alchemy¡± Ajax said. ¡°Earth and Life mana perfectly compliment my poison, I only have two attempts so it will be two hours at most before we move on to the next floor, it''s just not that big of a rush.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Following his comment Ajax dashed off in search of his own mini boss to kill in order to bleed off some of the restless energy that had built up as he watched Lexi¡¯s fight. It didn¡¯t take him long to find a target and with it being only level seventy Ajax used his hammer and Metal mana infusion to turn the hydra statue into a massive pile of rubble. As soon as he was finished with that Ajax let out a relieved sigh before taking out his cauldron and reagents. The first mixture Ajax started with was a simple healing potion, he was only making it to get a good sense of the ambient mana before he tried the poison. While the healing potion came out great the same could not be said for his first attempt at the poison. Sure the abundant earth mana in the surrounding air had made it a lot easier for Ajax to get his ingredients to combine; he hadn''t accounted for the side effect of so much Earth type mana. While his mixture did come out just as toxic as he would have liked it to be it also came out with the same consistency of honey. There was no way to use it as a poison since it would more likely than not simply plug the wound it was applied to than enter the bloodstream. His second attempt did wind up better than the first but it was still nothing he could proudly call a success. The second try had come out as an inferior version of the poison to his identification skill, it was still stronger than the original poison he had used to kill the first assassin, but only marginally so despite the much better reagents used. ¡°How did it go?¡± The prince asked once he saw that Ajax was finished. ¡°Not great.¡± Ajax said with a sigh as he tossed a small tin with the first result. ¡°That should work as an antidote to hemorrhagic poisons that are resistant to healing, just make sure to only apply a little, wipe it away quickly afterwards and don¡¯t use it for any wounds above the neck or close to the heart.¡± ¡°I thought it was a poison opposite the hemo-¡± the prince cut off his own sentence as he opened the tin and saw the viscosity of the mixture that might as well be a cream. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will have its uses, what about the other attempt?¡± ¡°That one went better.¡± Ajax said as he showed a small vial of the poison. ¡°Still very close to a failure but it''s a little stronger than the one I had previously.¡± ¡°That will have to do unless you find some other ingredients in the dungeon that you can take outside.¡± The prince followed that with an evil smirk. ¡°You still finished off the last kill, we''ll just have to make sure not to hurt the next one that badly once he starts running.¡± After the team stepped on to the tenth floor all of Ajax¡¯s classmates exited the dungeon. With only Ajax being able to gain anything from this floor he made quick work of it and moved on to the eleventh. It was here that the delving speed started to slow down for the first time since they started their trip. With Arianwyn and Elara also needing the floor clears they now had two more people scouting and soloing bosses. While the eleventh, twelfth and even the thirteenth floor weren¡¯t all that hard to handle, the same could not be said about the fourteenth floor that pushed Harold to the limit. ¡°I got this.¡± Harold grunted even as the snake he was fighting sank its fangs into his leg. The prince respected Harold''s determination and watched as Harold brought down his sword with so much power that it went straight through the snake''s scales, brain and flesh to pierce out the snake''s mouth and into Harold''s own leg. As soon as the snake was dead the prince was there to apply a tourniquet to Harold¡¯s leg to both stop the blood loss and to stop the poison from spreading. ¡°It¡¯s a hemorrhagic poison.¡± Ajax quickly analyzed what remained of the venom sac from the snake corpse. ¡°It won¡¯t stop the healing but make sure you keep the tourniquet in place until the wound is sealed or he will lose too much blood.¡± The prince nodded as he gave Harold a supplement snack to eat, that should help him replace the blood he lost without interacting with the boosting potion he took before the fight. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your poison cream work as well?¡± Darkclaw asked as he prodded Ajax jokingly about his failed attempt. ¡°In theory, yes.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°But it was still an attempt to make a poison, I wouldn¡¯t try it out without a proper healer present and especially not on someone who can¡¯t take a potion.¡± Once Harold was stable the team moved on to the fifteenth floor where Harold bowed out and the rest of them remained to battle the level one hundred. Since Ajax had managed to find a humanoid floor none of them were that worried about the upcoming fights. Yes, they wouldn¡¯t be easy but all four of them had already cleared similar floors in the main dungeons of their own respective kingdoms. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Arianwyn asked Ajax once they were all standing in front of the arch to the sixteenth floor. ¡°The jump in power is a lot bigger than just the ten levels, the dungeon becomes a lot harder, the monsters are stronger if more solitary.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said as he followed the prince onto the sixteenth floor. Once there everyone but Ajax and the prince exited while Ajax took a deep breath feeling the increase in ambient mana as he swiped away the extra stat notification to take in his new surroundings. The sixteenth floor was forest themed. Out of all the options they found on the previous floor this was the best one, not only that but it seemed like fate for Ajax considering the first floor of the first dungeon he entered was forrest themed so his first floor past level one hundred should be the same. Chapter 378 Ajax P.O.V. The dense forest stretching out all around us is completely unfamiliar, [Danger Sense] is constantly pulsing despite the fact that I haven¡¯t moved from the spot right in front of the exit arch. ¡°I know this was briefly covered in the Academy but you haven¡¯t yet faced a monster above level one hundred, take your time to inspect and analyze them.¡± the prince reminds me as I scan the trees surrounding us. The academy did a deep dive on monsters but even then they mostly focused on monsters that can be found inside the kingdom or the lower floors of the dungeon. The main progression of a monster is the stages of growth, from infant to young, adolescent, adult and finally peak. While the beating heart of a monster''s power, its mana core, was covered in depth as it forms early on, monsters also have a level dependent evolution, the mana channels that connect the mana core to every inch of the body. This happens at level one hundred and comes with a massive jump in power. It is that jump in power that keeps almost all adventurers from making the push past level 100 inside the dungeon. A few stomps and snapping branches behind me along with a much stronger pulse from [Danger Sense] lets me know that something is approaching quickly. I don¡¯t waste the time to look behind me as I roll out of the way, I move quickly enough that I have time to really take in the stag that tried to gore me with its large antlers. ¡°It''s level 107.¡± the prince tells me. ¡°Should be good for a warm up. If you can¡¯t take this on you won¡¯t kill a mini boss.¡± As I dash in with my shield held firm I bash the stag¡¯s head away as I open a clean path for my axe to open up its throat. I can feel the mana pulsing through the stag''s body, more than that because it''s all happening internally [Mana Syphon] can¡¯t touch any of it. The stag doesn¡¯t just feel like seven levels higher it feel more like twenty seven levels higher. My axe slashes down covered in wind magic to help cleave straight through and while it does manage to break through the fur and skin the wound isn¡¯t as deep as I¡¯d like it to be. The stag¡¯s mana pulses much harder, I can see it gathering in its antlers. During the fight the prince has already started his duty. My battle with stag must have drawn some outside attention since I can feel the prince¡¯s mana being channeled as he dashes through the trees surrounding us. I can¡¯t focus on that just yet, I need to first kill my opponent. As soon as the mana starts to level the stag¡¯s antlers [Mana Syphon] find a hold and I can feel my own mana reserve not being emptied so quickly. The attack is clearly wind mana, a massive wind blast is being sent towards me but my drain is clearly something the stag didn¡¯t anticipate as it takes him far too long to channel the attack, by the time he launches it I am already moving out of the way. Impressively enough the stag has the ability to dual cast. While charging up his wind attack he was also managing to keep me from binding his feet into the ground with my Earth magic. The stag isn¡¯t all that skilled however as while I might not be able to cover his feet and I did manage to form a large hole under him by pushing three hundred mana into it. Our second clash happens as the stag is trying to leap out of the hole, this time however I have a better idea about how to handle the exchange. I am clearly not the only one as a small puff of air is released right before the antlers make contact with my shield, killing a lot of my momentum and not forcing the stag to expose his neck. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The defensive maneuver works perfectly as I have no opening to strike at its neck a second time, unfortunately for the stag that wasn¡¯t my plan at all as I swing my hammer glowing with the eerie glow of Void mana. The hammer connects cleanly on the stags ribcage to the right of its mana core. The split second longer it takes the void attack to travel from the point of impact is enough for the stag¡¯s front leg to slam into my thigh breaking straight through my defensive enchantments and still hitting hard enough that I can feel my bones crack. The battle however is over as soon as the void attack finishes its travel. I can see the bug eyed expression as the internal damage forces the stag to vomit a mouthful of blood and its previous study stance starts to lose its balance. I¡¯m not willing to let this chance go as I launch myself off my good leg and follow up with a second void strike to head. The stag tries its best to put up a defensive wind wall but with its mana core cracked the power and control over its own magic diminished greatly and with [Mana Syphon] still working away the spell can¡¯t take form. The battle ends with a gentle tap of my hammer and a brief look of confusion crosses the stag¡¯s eye before blood gushes out of its eyeballs and nostrils as it falls to the ground, dead. ¡°That was harder than I expected.¡± I say to the prince who returned as I use my Light and Life spells to heal my leg, I¡¯m sure I have a massive bruise where the hoof connected with my thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll need maybe two or three hours to recover but I¡¯m confident in taking on a miniboss.¡± ¡°You did well.¡± the prince says as he examines the wounds on the stag. ¡°Wind was a bad choice to use for your first attack, those mana channels let it answer your wind mana with its own so it did almost nothing.¡± We spend the next twenty minutes waiting for me to finish healing my leg before we start moving and searching for my target. As we move through the forest I can see the monsters finally putting up some resistance against the prince. It isn¡¯t anything impressive, all of them are killed with a single attack but they are at least able to perceive and try to react to him now before they are killed. One wolf even managed to dodge his initial attack as it channeled Earth mana and tried burrowing through the ground. It takes only another hour before we find the miniboss we were looking for. A small pack of three wolves surrounds a large alpha that is guarding an arch to the next floor. ¡°I¡¯ll distract the three of them while you deal with the mini boss.¡± the prince offers. As soon as I am in position the prince launches an attack at one of the wolves by throwing a dagger at it. As soon as the attack connects I follow up in the moment of distraction and launch an lightning infused arrow straight towards the alpha. The distraction was enough for the three wolves to ignore me as the alpha yelped as the lightning surged through him. A pair of beady black eyes locked onto me, despite the obvious pained yelping I could see the anger and hate in its eyes. Unlike the stag I don¡¯t want to give the wolf any chance and draw a second arrow. This one is infused with magma. I can see the wolf tracking the projectile yet despite its best efforts it still can¡¯t seem to move its body well enough because of the lightning coursing through it. The arrow doesn¡¯t strike the head as I planned but it does take it in the shoulder releasing magma insides the wolf body. The fight is almost over but the large amount of mana being channeled unsettles me as the wolf releases a howl and I brace myself by switching to my shield. I¡¯m surprised to feel that nothing happened. In my confusion I lower my shield to take a look and see the wolf crouching on its back legs right before it leaps and disappears as it finally uses the mana it was channeling. My [Danger Sense] screams at me as the wolf jumps from my own shadow going straight for my throat. This isn¡¯t good, I can¡¯t stop it, the best I can do is try to minimize the damage. I flood as much mana as I can into summoning an ice shield around my neck while also swinging both my hammer and shield looking to make sure I kill it after its attack lands. None of that happens however as the wolf¡¯s skull is shattered by a flying knee from the prince as he intercepts its ambush. ¡°This is why I told you to be careful.¡± the prince chides me. ¡°Until you get a sense for what mana type a monster favors don¡¯t leave openings like not infusing your own shadow with mana.¡± I have nothing to say to that, not that it would matter as the ice surrounding my throat wouldn¡¯t let me open my mouth anyway. I got ahead of myself, the last few dungeons had been getting easier and easier as my stats kept increasing, I wasn¡¯t expecting such a last ditch effort. ¡°Good reaction.¡± the prince says as he makes sure the alpha is dead while I remove the ice surrounding my throat. ¡°Good chance you might have won that even if I didn¡¯t interfere, but it was too close for me to chance it. How long do you need before we try again?¡± ¡°An hour for my mana to regenerate.¡± I answer as I take a potion to help me with my regeneration. I won¡¯t mess up next time, I promise myself. Chapter 379 Ajax wasn¡¯t taking any chances with his second fight, both him and the prince had wandered through the forest as they waited for Ajax¡¯s mana to recharge back to full and they both searched for the next mini boss. ¡°That eagle looks like a good choice.¡± The prince said as he pointed to a bird with a wing span of twice Ajax¡¯s height. Ajax nodded in agreement as he saw the bird using a Wind affinity spell. With the knowledge of the monster''s mana affinity he felt a lot more sure of his chances, not only that but while birds were usually more dangerous than other animals they were also more fragile. Unlike last time Ajax now had the opportunity to take a potion before the fight began since the timing wouldn¡¯t be so close as it had been when the prince needed to distract the three wolves that had surrounded the alpha. As he drank the potion Ajax felt his muscles flex as he felt light as air and pulled out his bow as he loaded his first arrow. Rather than go for his usual opening shot of Lightning mana, Ajax decided to go with Magma. He had learnt early on in his days with The Collectors that flying enemies were best grounded with a sneak attack, while lightning might also achieve that having one wing covered in magma was a much surer way of achieving this. As Ajax pulled back the arrow he could feel the bow starting to struggle under his strength. The gear he had been given by the crown was supposed to see him through his delves in the Republic and maybe Sylvanthal but with the stats he had now after going through so many dungeons already as well as a boosting potion he was reaching the limit of his bow. Ajax combined [Inspector¡¯s Eye],[Spot Weakness] and [Dismantle] to find the best spot to place aim his arrow before using [Focused Aim],[Piercing Shot][Mana Augmentation] and [Mana Syphon] to put as much power behind his arrow as he pumped three hundred mana into the Magma augmentation. To the eagle¡¯s credit it did well in trying to use a wind wall to deflect the arrow and while it still managed to land on its wing the blow didn¡¯t hit the spot Ajax was aiming for. As soon as the arrow embedded itself in the wing a large amount of magma was released covering half the wing around the center where the arrow embedded. The eagle was quick to take to the air, though its previous swift and refined movement was now clumsy, slow and discoordinated. Ajax wasted no time pulling back his second arrow, now was the perfect time for him to switch to his Lightning as the eagle started to gain more altitude, even if the paralysis was only temporary it would still send it crashing into the ground. Unlike his first shot Ajax was no longer aiming for any specific point and instead he was doing his best to predict the eagles flight path as all he needed was for the arrow to make contact for his augment to do its job. Unlike his opening attack Ajax only used a hundred and fifty mana for his second shot. The second barely missed as the eagle was able to deflect it by an inch using its wind magic before locking on to Ajax as the enemy that was attacking it. Ajax wasn''t deterred and fired a third shot identical to the second, this one was much easier to land as the eagle was doing its best to dive towards him. The third shot almost suffered the same fate as the second due to the eagle much smaller form as it dove towards Ajax, the arrow barely made contact with one of the eagles large sharp claws but that was enough for the Lightning to discharge and the muscles spasms ruined the dive as the eagle plummeted the last thirty feet straight into the ground only a dozen feet away from Ajax. Ajax didn¡¯t waste a single moment as he pulled out his hammer and axe as he charged. He had felt the eagle using its magic even as its body refused to listen and it created a small air cushion to brace its landing, the spell had been made less efficient by [Mana Syphon] but it was still enough that the eagle was mostly just inconvenienced by the crash. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Unlike most other monsters Ajax didn¡¯t choose to go with his Void mana, instead he infused both his hammer and axe with Metal mana. Birds had hollow bones so crushing damage was highly effective and its feathers would be almost negligible in terms of defense. Ajax could feel the bones snap and shatter as his hammer landed on the eagles'' already injured wing. Instead of being able to follow up with his axe for a second strike however Ajax was forced to roll out of the way as the eagle¡¯s beak shot forward the moment the hammer knocked the defensive wing out of the way. The eagles attack was still too fast to fully dodge however what it gained in speed had been lost in raw power, the attack had managed to break past the enchanted shields on the armor it wasn¡¯t enough to more than leave a nasty scratch on the leather. Unlike the stag Ajax had fought as he entered this floor the eagle wasn¡¯t as used with being wary of the ground beneath its feet and Ajax managed to use his control over Earth mana to bury one of the eagle claws into the ground while also solidifying the earth following that. With the eagle stuck to the ground Ajax quickly switched his hammer for his shield as he went straight for the injured wing. Following the hammer strike Ajax could now clearly see the hollow white bones breaking out through the skin and swung his axe looking to cleanly sever the wing. Neither the eagle¡¯s remaining free claw nor its beak were able to break past Ajax¡¯s Ice infused shield as the axe imbued with Wind mana made a clean cut taking the wing cleat off. The sudden loss of weight unbalanced the trapped eagle further giving Ajax an opening for an open attack to the body that he infused with Fire mana and added [Cursed Slash] leaving a trail of burning black flames on the eagle¡¯s chest. With the curse applied Ajax quickly switched to his Holy mana as he started to remove the curse directly from the eagle while also switching back to his dual-wield hammer and axe. This proved to be Ajax¡¯s first serious miscalculation as unlike the humanoid opponents he had previously hit with the combo it seems the monster was able to much better handle the agony inflicted by the curse removal with a clean claw strike breaking through Ajax¡¯s defensive enchantments, cutting through the leather and leaving a nasty cut on his shin that reached all the way to the bone. Ajax was glad for [Pain Resistance], as he molded the earth to temporarily give himself the support he lost as his leg started to give out under him while also starting to apply Light and Life mana to the wound. Despite his crumbling form Ajax relied on [Unnatural Balance] to push forward with his attack as he brought his Metal infused hammer with [Precise Blow] down on the eagle¡¯s skull while his axe was following it with a Wind augmentation and [Precise Cut] to the throat. The eagle was able to lessen the hammer strike by raising its beak and spreading the blow between the skull and beak but the blow was strong enough that combined with [Mana Syphon] it completely disrupted the eagle''s ability to control its mana. This meant that Ajax¡¯s axe swing was able to cleanly decapitate the eagle bringing the rough fight to an end. Once he was sure the eagle was dead Ajax stood back up and leaned on his intact leg as he heaved lungfuls of air. The battle had lasted no more than a minute since his opening arrow but it was intense, Ajax had burnt through a third of his mana quicker than he had ever done outside of using Life mana to animate anything. ¡°That was a good fight.¡± the prince complimented him. ¡°Something you might want to keep in mind for the future however is that mini bosses past level one hundred, with the exception of humanoids, almost always have some form of [Berserker Rage] and inflicting pain isn¡¯t all that effective.¡± a nod towards the closing cut on Ajax¡¯s shin made his point. ¡°I¡¯ll remember that.¡± Ajax huffed as he cleaned the wound and pushed more mana into healing it. The only thing Ajax could pick out about the two arches he had come across was that the first led to a floor where Water mana was dominant and the second to one where Lightning mana ruled. The prince preferred to deal with the lightning floor rather than spend days swimming and looking for the obelisk. Ajax didn¡¯t even waste time to properly take in the next floor as he turned back around and exited the dungeon as soon as he confirmed the notification for extra stats. Despite the hurry Ajax was careful to exit the dungeon with his helmet on and his shield in hand. The helmet was mostly there to hide the fact he wasn¡¯t an elf and buy himself some extra time before anyone trigger happy enough thought he was a monster exiting the dungeon. This time there was no issue as he exited the dungeon, Lioriel was on the lookout and quickly picked him up and dragged him away from the dungeon arch and towards the rest of his group. It was there however that the issues began. As they approached the group Ajax could hear an irate elf spewing hateful comments. While Ajax had no way of knowing one of the elves that had been part of the group of students had had family die at the hands of Duke Manashaper a few hundred years ago. With the news of the Duke¡¯s granddaughter being in the capital one of the student¡¯s slightly older cousins made a beeline for her. Ajax had no idea what the situation was or what was going, he had expected he would have to ignore such behavior as they made their way here, tired as he was however Ajax¡¯s hadn¡¯t even known he had done anything before everyone in the area turned towards him suddenly. While Ajax slowly made his way towards Lexi, the elf¡¯s mouth had snapped shut. The elf was barely over level sixty and his face rapidly paled as he looked towards Ajax. Lexi had turned towards him as well both having felt the same thing though they were reacting to it very differently. Despite being on the weak side as far as these things go Ajax¡¯s disdain for the elf and protectiveness of Lexi could clearly be felt as his aura pushed out without Ajax even realizing. Chapter 380 While Ajax might not have felt or even noticed his own Aura he quickly registered the two Auras that sprung up and smothered his own. Lioriel had unleashed her Aura looking to suppress Ajax seeing his use of it as a method of intimidation, her efforts however were in vain as both her Aura and Ajax¡¯s were completely smothered by Aranor¡¯s Aura that was pushing his stoicism and crushing everything else. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Lioriel hissed out, offended at how heavy handed Aranor had been. ¡°That was clearly an attack.¡± ¡°What?...¡± Ajax was dumbfounded at what was happening all around him. ¡°That was undirected Aura.¡± Aranor said calmly. ¡°It is also the first time I have seen the boy use it, I am guessing he just unlocked it and it reacted to the way he saw his beloved being treated.¡± Lioriel took a moment to consider what Aranor had said, that moment was enough for her to process the true extent of what Ajax having an Aura truly meant. ¡°He is not even twenty five years of age, he is barely past level fifty. This is unheard off.¡± Lioriel muttered to herself so quietly only Aranor and Ajax heard her. While Lioriel awe wasn¡¯t heard by everyone they were all independently aware of what Ajax possessing an Aura meant. Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw all threw Ajax piercing looks as they were trying to pry out his secrets. ¡°His skill levels can¡¯t be that high if he is not yet twenty five years of age.¡± Elara whispered to Arianwyn and Aranor. ¡°Just how high are his stats, the previous record for unleashing an aura was just under level eighty but it was done with some very high skills, was he holding back his stats the entire time?¡± ¡°He might be making up for skill levels with both quantity and quality.¡± Arianwyn whispered back. ¡°Sure his skills aren¡¯t absurdly high but he must have a lot of them and there should be quite a few Rare and higher.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t so much concerned with the whispering as he was with inspecting his Status to see what had happened. Name : Ajax Hearthbound Level :53 Experience : 20355/143300 Traits: Divine Witness, Baron, Aura Health: 3650/3650 Mana: 3680/3680 Stamina : 2980/2980 Vitality : 397 Strength :353 Endurance :322 Dexterity : 353 Intellect : 400 Wisdom : 400 Mind : 400 Perception : 322 Stat Points : 0 Skills : New : Empowering Restriction 0 -> 2 Life Aspect Mana 0 -> 7 This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Upgrades: Mathematics 35 -> 37 Stealth 51 -> 59 Athleticism 50 -> 53 Running 50 -> 53 Cleaning 28 -> 29 Haggling 25 -> 29 Axes 65 -> 70 Hammers 65 -> 70 Sword 65 -> 70 Shield 65 -> 70 Bow 65 -> 70 Throwing 50 -> 53 Knives 60 -> 62 Persuasion 35 -> 39 Deception 41 -> 43 Skinning 51 -> 52 Dismantle 55 -> 58 Climbing 42 -> 43 Tracking 47 -> 48 Heat Resistance 35 -> 40 Poison Resistance 41 -> 46 Pain Resistance 39 -> 43 Cold Resistance 31 -> 35 Conversationalist 15 -> 21 Meditation 67 -> 69 Sense Mana 67 ->75 Expel Mana 68 -> 75 Increase Price 16-> 20 Lower Price 18 -> 20 Danger Sense 47 -> 55 Alchemy 58 -> 67 Mana Milling 49 -> 55 Precise Cut 53 -> 58 Precise Blow 53 -> 58 Piercing Shot 52 -> 56 Judge threat 45 -> 50 Unnatural Balance 19 -> 25 Feigned Interest 13 -> 15 Illusion Resistance 1 -> 10 Focused aim 15 -> 20 Manipulate Mana 55 -> 63 Water Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Fire Aspect Mana 54 ->59 Air Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Earth Aspect Mana 54 ->59 Light Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Shadow Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Inject Mana 50 -> 55 Spot Weakness 41 -> 46 Mana Skin 40 -> 48 Curse Resistance 25 -> 27 Dungeon Crafter 40 -> 51 Battlemage Style 29 -> 36 Impervious senses 11 -> 13 Alchemist''s Examination 31 -> 40 Stabilize Mixture 19 -> 28 Mass Production 12 -> 15 Mana Augmentation 45 -> 50 Mana Conjuration 41 -> 46 Lightning Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Metal Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Ice Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Magma Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Holy Aspect Mana 40 -> 47 Void Aspect Mana 40 -> 48 Curse Slash 29 -> 32 Reckless Researcher 1 -> 9 Unstable Alchemist 1 -> 13 Mana Syphon 37 -> 43 Enigma 25 -> 28 Inspector¡¯s Eye 21 -> 25 Magnetic Aspect Mana 15 -> 20 Seeing his progress following the brief engagement with the wolf alpha and the fight eagle was satisfying but the addition of Aura to his traits had his focus. Ajax had expected that he would break the record for the earliest Aura unlock but he had still expected to be around level sixty before that happened. While Ajax was watching his status and the rest of his group was considering the implication of what Ajax unlocking his Aura already meant the elf berating Lexi and the rest of his entourage finally got a hold of themselves after being subjected to Aranor¡¯s full Aura, even as friendly as he had deployed it. Not only that but they had also put together that the first Aura they felt, the one that had destain and slight malice towards them came from one of the humans. ¡°You dare attack us?!¡± The elf prepared himself to go on a tirade. Lioriel cut him off at the knees as she had her entire squad surround Ajax¡¯s entire group, instead of doing so protectively however all of the guards were facing inwards with hands on their weapons. The guards however made no further movement, the two closest to Aranor even had a slight tremor in their hands as the elven champion raised a brow at their actions. ¡°Is that it?¡± The elf lost the mocking grin once he saw that nothing else happened. ¡°They were allowed entrance by the grace of her Majesty.¡± Lioriel answered him. ¡°They are now under arrest and it will be up to her how to handle this incident.¡± This answer annoyed the elf and his entourage to no end as they all knew nothing will come of it, they had looked into the reason for the group¡¯s presence before they came to antagonize them. While attacking a Deepwood citizen would be just cause for having their protections removed and Aura attack from someone who had just unlocked it and towards someone who was openly antagonistic would never hold up. ¡°Are you certain that is the best course of action?¡± One of the elves'' guards asked as he slowly extended a small sack with a bribe towards Lioriel. ¡°We would be happy resolving things ourselves, no need to bother the queen.¡± ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Lioriel¡¯s blunt attitude was clearly not what anyone had expected but she continued to berate them. ¡°Starfury would turn you into an extremely realistic ice exhibit within seconds.¡± ¡°L-Lord Starfury isn¡¯t who we have some to settle with,¡± the guards voice quivered a little at even the idea of fighting the elven champion. ¡°It''s the human.¡± ¡°Baron Hearthbound as well as everyone else in our group is under my protection.¡± Aranor cut the conversation off there. ¡°I would insist on hearing the queen¡¯s decision regarding the incident. Unlesssss¡­¡± The last drawn out word got a lot of surprised looks. Elara, Arianwyn and Lioriel especially looked surprised at what almost everyone interpreted as asking for a bribe. ¡°Yes of course, you would be compensated for your trouble my lord.¡± The guard was quick to pounce. ¡°You misunderstand me.¡± Aranor answered with a grin. ¡°A duel to settle the incident would be acceptable to me, so long as it takes place between the two parties in question.¡± Everyones surprised and for the most part slightly resentful looks at Aranor turned straight towards the previously mouthy elf with schadenfreude. They all knew exactly what would happen in a fight between him and Ajax. ¡°You would have the young lord fight someone close to level one hundred? ¡° The guard asked in mock outrage. ¡°He is barely level sixty two and the aggrieved here.¡± ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t stand for such an unfair fight.¡± Aranor responded, his social skill pulling their wait as he seemed offended by the implication. ¡°I swear on my name that the human is not only younger but also lower level than the young lord.¡± That statement left the entire group of elves stunned, their faces turning from shock to horror as one by one they turned towards Ajax who had now moved on from the event and was ignoring them in favor of trying to cheer Lexi up. With the situation at an impasse the group of elves retreated and Lioriel now approached the Aranor. ¡°As soon as the prince comes out of the dungeon you will all be taken before the queen to deal with this¡­ encounter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be a problem, though I will have to ask that one of your guards is sent to make arrangements for our accommodations.¡± Aranor agreed. ¡°Following our audience with the queen we would need a good night¡¯s rest before we move on to the second dungeon.¡± Lioriel agreed to the offer with a nod and the rest of her squad flared out a little around them isolating them to ensure another incident doesn¡¯t happen Chapter 381 Waiting for the prince was usually a boring affair where the team would normally already have headed towards their next destination but that wasn¡¯t an option in Deepwood and especially not in their capital. This wait was also an exception however as there was something very interesting that everyone was invested in, namely Ajax¡¯s Aura. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± Ajax said, ¡°I thought you could only have one trait.¡± Ajax¡¯s mother had mentioned that to him at the beginning, he hadn¡¯t questioned it when he got his noble title since his mother mentioned that those titles usually combine with others but not only was the noble title temporary there was nothing it could do to boost Divine Witness¡¯s effects like it would do for other Traits, that and the trait also mention it couldn¡¯t be detected so maybe it couldn¡¯t combine at all. ¡°That is the commoner view on it but not correct.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°It¡¯s just the one that applies most often. Any traits that have overlaps will combine to provide a boost that is stronger than the individual effects of either trait. An Aura or a Bond however have nothing to do with the skill level cap so they are separate. Oddly enough Aura and Bond also combine, providing not only a stronger Aura for both parties but it also lets the both parties know their exact location over short distances when the Aura is extended.¡± ¡°Why do they combine?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°What do they have in common?¡± ¡°An aura is an expression of your soul, which is why one only gains it when their stats and skills are high enough.¡± Elara explained. ¡°A bond is formed between the soul of two beings.¡± ¡°Congratulations on breaking the record for unlocking your Aura.¡± Xavier said as he patted Ajax on the back. ¡° I was hoping for that myself but I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll hold on to both the Age and Level records for a long time.¡± That remark prompted a few more congratulations before the group settled in to wait once more. Unlike their last dungeon, the floor the prince would have to solo would only go up to level one hundred and twenty so it shouldn¡¯t take all that long. They in fact didn¡¯t need to wait all that much as the prince was done in just under three hours, as soon as he exited the dungeon however the group was marched towards the royal palace. The palace itself was unlike anything Ajax had ever seen before. He had seen the royal palace of Gryndor which looked like an overly large medieval European castle and he had seen the massive council building of the Republic that looked a lot like the house of Parliament without the big clocktower, the elven royal palace was unlike anything could compare to what existed on Earth. How the elves had gotten so many trees to merge their tree trunks was a true mystery, more than that he could feel just how potent the mana that was though he was unable to feel anything else about it, most likely because of the wards that no doubt littered the place. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look all that secure.¡± Ajax muttered as they walked over the roots that took the position of stairs, he couldn¡¯t see any gate or a perimeter wall. All there was was guards all over the place. ¡°Elves don¡¯t rely on structural obstacles for defenses like the rest of the humanoids.¡± Arianwyn whispered to Ajax as all of their escorts turned amused gazes at him hearing his words. ¡°Because we live in trees our guards have ways to access an extra source of mana from the trees themselves.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Ajax stopped dead in his tracks hearing that, almost causing the soldiers behind him to run him over but he couldn¡¯t pay attention to that at the moment as he was processing that new piece of information as it fit like a piece of a puzzle he didn¡¯t know was missing. In hindsight it also made sense that there wouldn¡¯t be that great a need for walls and gates when all elven cities were just trees that were part of a very large forest, the difference between the regular trees and the trees where the elves lived was that the cities were influenced by the elves that lived there. Another big implication of this discovery however had to do with the fertilizer Ajax and the prince had so generously provided to the elves. He had initially though that the elves would just use it for their high end resource gardens but there was nothing stopping them from using it to grow the mana level of the trees their own palace was grown out of, essentially increasing security as a whole. ¡°Come on.¡± Lexi said as she lovingly intertwined their arms and started pulling Ajax along as the group restarted their pace towards the palace. ¡°You can walk and have and have a revelation about what that means at the same time.¡± ¡°What revelation?¡± Lioriel asked quickly, her voice harsher that she had used previously. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lexi answered honestly with a smile. ¡°He¡¯ll most likely share after he finishes organizing everything he¡¯s realized.¡± ¡°This happens often?¡± Aranor asked curiously, he hadn¡¯t gotten to experience the event besides the first time Ajax realized about the use of fertilizer. ¡°He just views the world differently, I think.¡± Lexi said. ¡°He was already far above his peers when he joined the Academy and coming from a backwater region he had a few revelations that have caused similar reactions.¡± As he continued walking Ajax paid no attention to the conversation happening around him. Instead his mind went through all the new possibilities that could apply when it came to dealing with high end trees as the basis for a defensive position. His first thought had been towards how mages could use the increased mana pool. It was now no wonder that none of the other races had managed to encroach on the elves, he was ready to bet that there were similar fortresses set up all around the entrance of the forest where a war would be fought and few things were as terrifying to an army as artillery mages with an increased mana pool. The second thought his mind drifted to was how this extreme advantage could also turn into an achilles heel. If something like a lizard bond with a venomous bite that could infect plants and travel through their mana then a single spy could get the defenders to poison themselves as soon as the attack started. The final and biggest revelation came to how different the approach to defenses could be. Booby traps could take on a whole new meaning if they were linked to the trees themselves, the usual problem with everyone not aware of a trap triggering it could be bypassed by making use of the plants own instincts to anchor it while also supplying the mana required. As Ajax thought about this possibility something else came up that he hadn¡¯t considered before, could a plant become a Bond? He turned to ask the prince but he was quickly shut down before he could even open his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t say a word.¡± the prince said. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss whatever it is in private later.¡± Ajax opened his mouth to protests when he took in his surroundings to find that he was now deep inside the palace and they were heading towards a large set of doors that reminded him of the smaller private throne room King Gryndor had for official meetings that had to happen outside of the more public throne room where the nobles of the court usually gathered. ¡°Wait to be called upon.¡± one of the guards at the door said as the group approached. Ajax was very tempted to take a deeper look at the wards and see if he could use that as a catalyst for a breakthrough for [Inspector¡¯s Eye] but he was almost certain that not only would his actions be noticed but also that they wouldn¡¯t be looked upon as simple curiosity and chance for improvement. It took five minutes before the doors were opened and an elf called them in ¡°The Queen will see you now.¡± The elf didn¡¯t seem all that remarkable to Ajax but from the reactions of both the prince and Aranor there was clearly something he was missing as both of them had much stronger reactions to him than they had to Lioriel. Ajax was also very tempted to use [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on the elf as well but could tell that would be even less well received than using it on surrounding wards. As Ajax entered the small throne room there were multiple things that fought for his focus. The armed guards spread throughout the room, reminiscent of the squads that were ever present whenever he met King Gryndor. The non-combatants that should have been members of the royal family or trusted advisors. Most of all however was the throne that looked to be grown out of the floor upon which stood the elven queen, an intricate crown on her head that was actually connected to the throne and through it to the entire palace. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what surprises me more.¡± the queen said as they entered. ¡°That there has already been an incident of this nature despite the recent arrival in the capital, or that it wasn¡¯t Gryndor¡¯s eldest prince who caused it.¡± Chapter 382 The queen stood stoic on the throne and while her words were not friendly and her tone neutral it wasn¡¯t her that Ajax was the most wary about. That honor would go to the a few members of the group he suspected to be the royal family. There was no defining trend on those that looked at him and the rest of the non-elves with hostility, there were both young and old that disliked them and that were indifferent. ¡°I would hardly qualify that as an incident, Sylvaris.¡± the prince responded, his non-respectful address drew annoyed and even hateful glances from everyone in the room apart from their group and the queen herself. ¡°The first time someone awakens their aura it¡¯s always unstable.¡± The prince knew he had no reason to hide the fact that Ajax had only now managed to awaken his Aura, it takes people with a weak Aura decades to learn to fully suppress it so Lioriel would know exactly what happened since she hadn¡¯t felt it during their entire trip from the border. The queen herself was well acquainted with the prince and his antics so she wasn¡¯t surprised by his informality, nor did she really consider what had happened an ¡®incident¡¯ she only wanted to get a read on the group. From their reactions she could tell that the boy Ajax was a little worried but trusted the prince¡¯s judgment, the beastkin was slightly worried as well but not because he didn¡¯t recognise her game it was simply because he had no champion from his own country there to back him up. The rest of the humans and the elves all knew exactly what she was trying to do and their social skills prevented them leaking anything. ¡°While this is a more private matter I am here in my official capacity as queen, you would do well to address me as such prince.¡± The queen said imperiously as she activated the runed ring she wore that released a wind blade, the attack passed an inch away from the prince¡¯s face doing nothing but ruffling his hair before it harmlessly dispelled as it hit the wards on the walls in the back of the room. An awkward silence filled the room at that and the queen was happy to let it last for a few moments before her stoic face morphed into a grin Ajax recognised as one similar to the one the prince oftentimes wore. ¡°Or if you prefer a more relaxed atmosphere I¡¯m sure Nimerien Corroder would be happy to catch up with you.¡± The prince nearly flinched as he heard the name. Nimerien was one of Deepwood¡¯s current champions, more than that he and the prince were only a couple years apart in terms of age. While the prince had always been a step ahead of Nimerien in terms of strength, Nimeriens fighting style focused on the use of acidic compounds that were a direct counter to the prince¡¯s reliance on runed equipment. ¡°It would be best that we keep this formal, we are in a bit of a time crunch.¡± the prince said before adding a delayed. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± the queen nodded, a spark of anger briefly flashing in the back of her mind as she was reminded of Ajax¡¯s status as a ¡®Marked¡¯ target. While she had planned to use his visit to reinforce her foundations early in her rule by eliminating a few troublesome nobles she had also made it crystal clear to the more powerful that the boy wasn¡¯t to be in any real danger. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure your escort is sufficiently upgraded to make up for the circumstances.¡± While the queen and the prince were talking one of the royal family members with green hair so dark it was almost black approached the group, his eyes briefly passing over the humans and beastkin with disdain before finally landing on Arianwyn. ¡°Arianwyn dear, it has been so long since I last saw you.¡± the elf said in warm voice. ¡°Almost a decade, Your Highness.¡± Arianwyn replied with a bow. The elf in question was the former king of Deepwood, he was now technically a prince since he stepped down from the throne but only someone politically incompetent would not recognise the amount of sway he still held. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Far too long.¡± the former king nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve even managed to develop a Domain now, not only that but second place in a tournament is nothing to be embarrassed about.¡± As the king said the last part he threw Ajax another disgruntled look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say that I underestimated the tournament, not only did I lose in the final-¡± ¡°Just barely.¡± the king quickly said, clearly he had been well informed of what happened in the tournament. ¡°But the semi-final was also much closer than I would have liked.¡± Arianwyn finished and the king now turned his hostile looks onto Darkclaw. ¡°It¡¯s nothing that you should let get you down¡± the king reassured her. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d do better now that she won¡¯t be surprised by Baron Heathbound¡¯s unusual fighting style.¡± one of the guards near them joined in with the conversation. Arianwyn couldn¡¯t help but wince slightly at the statement. She was fairly certain that she could still beat Darkclaw despite the few extra dungeons floor he had gained in her kingdom but she was now sure the distance between her and Ajax had in fact increased. The king caught the wince as well as the slightly guilty look she turned towards Ajax for a brief moment before her social skills masked it with the usual noble poker face. During the entire interaction Lioriel had briefly approached the queen to whisper something to her. ¡°You are quite the bright young man.¡± the queen said as she rose from her chair and approached Ajax. ¡°More than your talent, even an extremely important discovery is credited to you. One that is so poorly mistimed for my own rise to the throne.¡± The queen was finally getting to the point she wanted. She would have assured a meeting with Ajax even without the excuse of an incident but this provided her the best leverage to try and pressure the method of increased stats out of Gryndor so that she would have some extra time to prepare before everything was made public and the noble hierarchy was thrown into chaos. ¡°That is something that will be shared to all in time.¡± the prince tried to intercept. ¡°Gryndor will also be making it an official public announcement as a show of good faith so there will be no misinformation through spies.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± the former king snorted at the prince¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s just like you humans. A discovery of this magnitude and the advantage of it being discreetly provided to your royalty and he is barely rewarded with the title of Baron.¡± Ajax and the prince briefly traded glances before the prince gave Ajax a brief nod to answer the accusation. ¡°My title as Baron is only the initial part of my reward.¡± Ajax said and drew the attention of the former king to himself. ¡°As I was the only one to successfully implement my method some more testing was required to prove I wasn''t a unique occurrence. Not only will my title be increased to Duke upon my return to Gryndor but the title of Baron was in itself a way to help me and my family lay down solid foundations for my House.¡± The former king looked like he had just bit into a particularly sour lemon as he had nothing to rebuke to that, the queen however had latched on to a certain part of his answer. ¡°I very much do believe you are a ¡®unique occurrence¡¯. Why I¡¯m told you had an epiphany just by walking into my palace.¡± The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as all the guards zeroed in on Ajax at this new revelation, the prince was quick on the uptake however and tried to intervene. ¡°This is not an interrogation, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°It may not be but this could pose a very serious threat to not only my life but also that of the entire royal family.¡± the queen countered with a steely voice. ¡°What would your father or brother do if they were in my situation?¡± For once the prince had no response as he knew very well that if the situation was reversed and he was in her place he would also insist on answers, he wouldn¡¯t actually harm a guest but he would demand some answers. ¡°I will not be unfair, if the information is valuable he will be fairly compensated. Even if the information is something I was already aware of so long as it is even somewhat sensitive he will be rewarded." The queen¡¯s words displeased her father as he didn¡¯t believe the human to deserve that much consideration but he still kept quiet. Ajax didn¡¯t say a word to that, instead he turned towards the prince and waited to see what decision he made. As much as the prince would have wanted a chance to curate what Ajax had to say he knew he wouldn¡¯t be given that chance and there was no way to fight their way out of it. With a resigned sigh he simply nodded to Ajax. ¡°It was the first time I was informed of your mages ability to tap into an additional source of mana from the tree that forms the palace itself.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was possible for someone to form a Bond with a plant, like the tree itself for example.¡± As Ajax finished his sentence a deadly silence settled on the room. The prince, Ajax¡¯s classmates, Harold and Darkclaw looked at him intrigued by the possibility. Elara, Arianwyn and Aranor looked at him with the same wide-eye look the Queen and most of the elves in the room did. The big shock however was the furtive glances some of the younger members of the royal family were throwing towards one specific guard that had stayed at the queen¡¯s right shoulder when she was on the throne and now followed behind her like an attendant. That in and of itself was enough to answer Ajax¡¯s question. Chapter 383 ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± Ajax broke the silence and everyone focused on him once again. ¡°Seeing as I never heard of any such bonds it probably takes some very special plants or some farmer somewhere would have already shared it.¡± All of the elves present focused on Ajax as he spoke, even Elara, Arianwyn and Aranor had been shocked since having an elf bonded to tree fortresses was the way the elves not held their capital palaces but even secured their border fortresses, this was one of the reasons their borders hadn¡¯t grown all that much since they were established, it took ages for a new fortress to be grown. ¡°Since I went through a few elf cities on my way here I am going to guess that this specific species of tree is the only one you have that you can actually bond with.¡± Ajax continued to explain his train of thought. ¡°Seeing as there were some young looking roots around the outside of the palace whose thin trucks had barely started to merge I am guessing that the supply for seeds isn¡¯t an issue. That leaves either a question of bonding to them extremely difficult or that the resources to nurture them are rare and valuable, or both.¡± Aranor looked at Ajax with renewed respect. He had long since respected Ajax as a fighter but after watching him in a social setting his opinion of him had somewhat settled, his skill when it came to any strategy based game also let him know that he would never be a master strategist. With this however Aranor marked Ajax not only as the future powerhouse of Gryndor but the most important person even at the current moment. Queen Swiftleaf could only blame herself as she did her best to not look towards the beastkin that was in the room.She had pushed for the interrogation but that was all she could do. With Ajax cooperating so readily she didn¡¯t even have grounds for aggressively confirming he wasn¡¯t holding anything back, she knew he wasn¡¯t because of her Epic truth telling skill that had passed its second threshold. All she could do was ask herself ¡®why didn¡¯t I tell the beastkin to wait outside for this, now The Republic would also have access to information about the Fortress guardians. Elara was impressed with Ajax¡¯s deductive reasoning. He had been right on all accounts so far. The last guess was a little off, he was technically correct. It was extremely resource intensive to not only grow but even maintain the fortress trees and that bonding with one was hard and only got harder as the tree aged. The last point was moot however as the elves had figured out a way to guarantee the tree would accept a bond but preparations needed to start from the birth of the new fortress guardian and those could only begin after the last guardian died. Her own younger cousin was the new Fortress guardian for their own estate after all and she had witnessed the process. ¡°You are correct.¡± the queen said with a sigh. ¡°My nephew is the fortress Guardian for the palace.¡± ¡°Nephew?¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, with a single sentence the queen tore down a lot of his theories and started a new bunch in their place. ¡°Ugh!¡± the queen groaned as she realized her own slip-up moments too late. ¡°You have a way to get someone bonded with the tree.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t paying attention to his surroundings any more as he started thinking aloud as he had done many times over the years when researching anything with Balthazar or duke Manashaper. ¡°From the title however there can only be one person bonded at a time, since your nephew holds the position despite being in the same generation as Arianwyn it suggests the preparation has to be started early in life, not only that but it can¡¯t be started until the previous guardian has died. If the guardian was to be killed it would be a while until the next one could step up.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. That was a very dangerous realization to come to, and while most people present were smart enough to have schooled their expression after the queen¡¯s little slip-up the prince had good enough social skills that not all of them could guard their expressions well enough from him. By focusing on the younger members of the royal family the prince was getting all the confirmations he needed. The prince hadn¡¯t initially been happy about the interrogation but he was very satisfied with the results, they wouldn¡¯t even need to test Ajax¡¯s theories now since he was confirming them all as they left his mouth. ¡°But why?¡± Ajax continued. ¡°Does the tree need to be old enough before it can bond? Can it not be moved after it was bonded? What would happen if the small sapling that was added to the main tree had someone bonded to it? Would one of the bonds be broken? Would it be like the smaller tree died?¡± ¡°Wait what?¡± Ajax was interrupted as one of the younger elves in the royal family turned confused towards his own family. ¡°Does that work?¡± The queen herself was starting to get a little flustered now, it was only her father¡¯s presence next to her that helped her keep her composure as she thought about the possibilities of Ajax¡¯s theories. The elves knew the answers to some of the questions Ajax had posed but others hadn¡¯t ever been attempted. The queen could almost feel the pain from her vaults at the cost of the experiments. ¡°You never tried?¡± The previous outburst had brought Ajax back to the present and he had enough awareness to not question the queen so the question was posed to Arianwyn. ¡°It''s very difficult to get a new tree to grow outside of the area where one is already present.¡± Arianwyn explained. ¡°It would take years to even attempt the experiment.¡± Left unsaid was that it would obviously be tried as soon as she returned to her kingdom. Despite the exorbitant costs it represented a chance that the elves could remove the period of vulnerability that came as fortress guardians died and were replaced. ¡°Well, that was a rather interesting theory.¡± the prince said with a grin so smug he was almost radiating. ¡°I think it¡¯ll be worth a lot.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± The former king nodded wisely. ¡°The boy just proved he deserves the greatest reward we can offer someone like him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t accept.¡± Anna¡¯s voice was barely a whisper meant for Ajax but quite a few other people also heard it and turned to her in turn. ¡°Why?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°You¡¯re human.¡± Anna didn¡¯t hesitate and now that everyone was focused on her she didn¡¯t bother to whisper. ¡°The greatest reward they can offer a human is their freedom since all humans here are slaves. You accept and you walk away with nothing.¡± The look of wise benevolence on the former king¡¯s face was briefly replaced by a snarl for a moment as his scheme was revealed. The queen was quick to take control of the situation. ¡°That is enough for today.¡± the queen spoke as she returned to her throne. ¡°You are dismissed. An appropriate reward for your information will be prepared and presented to you before you leave following your delve.¡± The group was more than happy to take the queen up on her offer. Ajax himself was all but leading as he hurried to get out of the palace and he was not the only one. For the last few days the entire team had either been inside the dungeon or waiting around right outside the arch. The prince and Aranor were both strong enough that they could go days without sleep and even they were starting to get affected let alone everyone else. ¡°Thanks for that.¡± Ajax told Anna once they were a decent distance away from the throne room. ¡°No need for thanks, my consulting fee is 10%.¡± Anna replied without skipping a beat. Her delivery was so good Ajax had thought she was serious for a moment before a smile replaced the stoic emotionless look she always used during a negotiation. ¡°That went about as well as I could have hoped for.¡± The prince tried to bring up everyone¡¯s spirits. ¡°Though Xavier you best prepare for a duel after the delve.¡± ¡°What why?¡± Xavier sounded surprised. ¡°The royal family will want a chance to prove their might, that will be with a duel.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Now while it is Ajax who showed them up they know for a fact there is no way a duel with him will show that. As a prince of Gryndor you will be the target.¡± ¡°We can deal with that when it happens.¡± Lexi said as she wrapped herself around Ajax¡¯s arm once more but there was no need to drag him this time. ¡°I just want to get some sleep.¡± Chapter 384 As the group went to sleep in their inn surrounded by Lioriel and her guards that night only one person remained awake. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Aranor responded. ¡°She is just fine.¡± ¡°What about Ajax?¡± the king asked. ¡°He¡­ He caused quite a bit of trouble.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°He did?¡± the king sounded surprised considering what he knew about Ajax. ¡°You sure the prince didn¡¯t just use him as a scapegoat?¡± ¡°One of the noble brats here was insulting Lady Manashaper, you see.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°Ajax unlocked his Aura at that scene.¡± ¡°An Aura so young!¡± the king exclaimed. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a big problem, Sylvaris isn¡¯t her father at most she¡¯ll push a little for some information on Gryndor¡¯s mystery technique.¡± ¡°She already tried that, the prince didn¡¯t budge.¡± Aranor summed up. ¡°She did get a sneak peak at Ajax¡¯s thinking after the first time he saw a fortress tree however.¡± ¡°Oh, what was his reaction to seeing one like? It''s always funny to see Alchemists seeing one for the first time, especially when it''s the palace.¡± the king asked with excitement. ¡°He was shocked¡­ shocked and inspired.¡± Aranor said. ¡°Inspired?¡± the king sounded a little confused at the tone Aranor said that with. ¡°He figured out that fortress guardians could exit.¡± Aranor couldn¡¯t see the king but in such a private setting he would bet his own estate the king¡¯s jaw had fallen. ¡°More than that he questioned what would happen if we were to add a young tree that is already bonded to the fortress when it already has a guardian.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± the king now experienced the same shock Deepwood¡¯s royal family had earlier in the day. ¡°I¡¯m guessing we have no records on this matter?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°None that I remember seeing.¡± The king regained his composure quickly as he started putting a plan in action. ¡°I¡¯ll have the archives scoured and will contact you if we find anything. If you don¡¯t hear back from me before you have to leave the capital, offer Sylvaris a partnership, we share the results of the experiment and we will provide the sapling.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± the lack of formal address meant that Aranor wasn¡¯t questioning his king as a champion but merely showing concern for his friend. ¡°A sapling is very valuable and costs a lot to grow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure my friend.¡± the king¡¯s voice was filled with warmth at the concern. ¡°My father used a lot of the wealth he spent on growing the royal palace, a few years without growth during my reign won¡¯t matter, especially if it can potentially save the life of one of my people.¡± Aranor was ready to argue a little but the king¡¯s final thought made the words stick in his throat. In all the excitement about the possibility of multiple fortress guardians Aranor had overlooked the possibility that the guardian attempting to join the bond through the sapling could very well suffer, he would not physically die but the mental or spiritual harm that was possible could be just as bad if not worse. Before the conversation could continue Aranor¡¯s attention was drawn to the noise he heard coming from the outside. A battle was taking place, something he very much expected to happen but had hoped wouldn¡¯t. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll never hear the end of it¡­¡± Aranor mumbled before bidding the king a short emergency goodbye and already started moving. The entire group was sleeping in a single large room that was partially sectioned off by multiple dividers. The prince had insisted that this was the best way to not only protect them but to also let them rest properly even in the event of an attack. Aranor had been ready to argue the point but fell quiet when both Arianwyn and Elara agreed with the prince. In the end it turned out he was right. A short activation of the communication device was all it took for him to wake up the prince, the four hours of sleep the prince had gotten wouldn¡¯t be a lot but it was enough for someone of his level to push through the rest of the night and the following delve in the morning. With the prince awake and on alert Aranor could now go outside and see what was going on. Much like he had interpreted from the noise he heard the streets surrounding the inn had been turned into a battlefield. Lioriel as well as three more champion candidates the queen had assigned to their protection detail and the other twenty elite soldiers they already had escorting them were fully engaged in combat against eight elves. The attackers were all dressed in black but that was just a simple covering, with his Perception if he squirted hard enough he could almost make out the House sigil that was covered by the dark paint on the armor the attackers wore. Something he found deeply disturbing as anyone who was doing so little to conceal their identity wasn¡¯t afraid of the queen finding out what they had done, the disguises were simply for the benefit of the commoners. The battle had been heading towards a slow victory for the eight attackers before Aranor joined. The moment Aranor unleashed his fist volley of ice lances the tides turned immediately. Powerful as the attackers were, Aranor was something more, his experience in such high level battles showed as he threw out his spells while not only accurately predicting his opponents moves but even those of their allies despite not having fought side by side with them before. ¡°Thank you.¡± Lioriel said as she caught her breath now that the tides were turning, her voice however quivered with shame. ¡°What is it?¡± Aranor asked harshly, he was in no mood for a conversation during the fight and he could feel Lioriel wasn¡¯t done with just the appreciation. ¡°Try not to kill them if you can.¡± Lioriel said, not even able to meet his gaze as she made her request. Anger rolled through Aranor and the elf made no effort to stop the emotion from filling his voice as he figured out what had happened. ¡°The former king sanctioned this.¡± Aranor sneered at Lioriel. ¡°And you want me to try and preserve the young talented elves he sent to do his dirty work.¡± Despite the anger coursing through him, Aranor''s fighting style didn¡¯t change. He had long ago learnt that anger didn¡¯t make you stronger regardless of how much it felt like it would. More than that however he had also changed where he was aiming his spells, he knew that his anger was only tangentially targeted at the people he was fighting now and most of it was reserved for the former king. With Aranor¡¯s change in focus the sounds that dominated the battlefield had also changed. Whereas before the sound of spells being thrown dominated the background of clashing metal it now all took a backseat to the whimpering, crying and anguish filled cries. Aranor was no longer trying to kill the attacker, he was instead trying to inflict as much pain as he could while debilitating them. ¡°Did you learn?¡± Aranor asked coldly as he put as much pressure as he could to stop the bleeding he himself had caused on the final attacker that remained. The bandages he was using to stop the bleeding were special in that not only were they enchanted to help stop bleeding but they also nullified any Common rank pain resistance skill in the area they covered. ¡°Yes, yes!¡± the attacker said as he tried to rip his hand away from Aranor¡¯s iron grip. ¡°Go after the last one!¡± the elf tried anything to get him to let go. ¡°The last one?¡± Aranor made a show of looking around what was left of the ruins around the inn where all the other combatants were strewn about in a similar situation to the one he was holding. Aranor was thankful that whoever was behind this at least had the good sense to evacuate the civilians so there were no innocent casualties. ¡°She was meant to kidnap the Manashaper girl while we distracted you.¡± The elf howled as the pressure exerted as he tried to pull his hand free from Aranor increased the pain. Aranor didn¡¯t even have enough time to process the information as he felt a large amount of mana coming from the inn behind him before a body crashed into the street no more than three feet away from him showering both him and his captive with rubble and dust. Unlike the other eight attackers this one was different. The initial difference was that she wasn¡¯t wearing the black outfit but instead was dressed like one of the maids at the inn, the other more important difference was that unlike the punishing way in which the attackers were handled she wasn¡¯t given the same care. ¡°Marycell!¡± one of the other attackers cried out as he laid eyes on what was left of the elf. The maid uniform was all covered in blood and the elf in it was just as unrecognizable. Her skull and fave were both caved in and her torso mangled by straight cuts that went four inches deep going in all directions and crossing each other over her heart. Looking in the direction she came flying from Aranor could see the prince in his armor standing behind a broken window and looking down, some of his runes still glowing slightly from the mana he had just pushed through them. In his right hand the prince held a sword that despite having just carved through a person didn¡¯t have a drop of blood on it, his left gauntlet however had blood dripping from the clenched fingers. ¡°Why?¡± Lioriel couldn¡¯t help but ask, slightly shocked at the sudden turn in the narrative. With Aranor¡¯s help they had managed to cleanly capture all the attackers. ¡°Former king Swiftleaf isn¡¯t the only one who was looking to send a message tonight.¡± Aranor said, much to Lioriel surprise the elven champion¡¯s voice held no sympathy for the talented elf that had died. Chapter 385 Despite everything going on during the night the team had slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of what was happening outside thanks to the silencing runes the room was equipped with. ¡°How many years?¡± Aranor asked. He knew exactly what was going to happen to the survivors of the attack. All of them were going to be found guilty in court but their punishments would be replaced with voluntary enlistment. During this time they would be closely monitored and answer to the queen or her representative. ¡°Fifty years.¡± Lioriel said as she looked a little disappointed in the direction of the small crater the ninth attacker had left before she died. ¡°It would have been one hundred if none of them had died.¡± ¡°Are there going to be any more known threats coming?¡± Aranor asked, his patience starting to run low after the number of times the royal family has used their small delving expedition to handle their political affairs. ¡°This was the last one.¡± Lioriel answered while shaking her head. ¡°The only one we know about will be the followers of the ¡®Mark¡¯ on Ajax.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± one of the new members of their security awkwardly looked to join the conversation. ¡°Prince Xavier will be challenged after he exits the dungeon.¡± ¡°What why?¡± Aranor couldn¡¯t understand the reasoning behind a duel. ¡°The ¡­ more racially proud among the nobility heard the interaction in front of the dungeon played out,¡± he explained. ¡°The duel will be fair and honorable¡­ I¡¯m just not sure the challenge will be extended in the same way.¡± This news left deep frowns on the elves keeping the perimeter outside the inn but for the prince who was listening carefully outside the door where the team slept a plan started to form, a plan for Gryndor¡¯s royal family to get their hands on a fortress tree sapling to go with the high mana manure they had already secured. When the team finally woke up none of them had any idea what happened that night though Elara, Anna and Benedict all suspected that something had happened and they simply hadn¡¯t been made aware of it. ¡°Are you going to be pushing past level one hundred on this one as well?¡± the prince asked Ajax privately. The dungeon started from level twenty eight to level thirty three on the first floor, with a nine level jump per floor Ajax would be able to gain the stats from six floors before it would pass level one hundred and the final floor would have him facing against level one hundred and fourteen. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ajax said confidently, despite the big step up in power at level one hundred the rest of the growth was consistent with previous growth, having won against something at level one hundred and ten Ajax was confident one hundred and fourteen wouldn¡¯t be all that difficult. The group¡¯s trip to the dungeon was slowed down slightly as the passed through the merchant quarter of the city. Anna had moved to spend the favor she only guessed they were owed after whatever had happened last night. She had used one of the members of their escort to buy certain unique products that she thought her family could reverse engineer. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. When they got to the dungeon they were quickly led to the front of the line where they entered without any further issues. As soon as they entered Aranor moved off to one side where he wouldn¡¯t be in the way, popped up a privacy screen and quickly activated his communication item to finalize the report he had been making last night as well as update it with everything else that happened. Inside the dungeon the prince had a very similar reaction, once they were inside and out of earshot of anyone else the prince didn¡¯t even bother with a privacy screen as he pulled Xavier to one side before the team could start heading for the first arch. The prince quickly explained what the elves were planning in regards to Xavier and he quickly proposed that Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict would finish their floor and get a good night¡¯s rest before exiting the dungeon. Following that they were to play how tired they were as they exited so that Xavier would have a better chance of getting whoever they sent to challenge him in offering him a blanc prize for winning a duel right there and then. ¡°You think we might be able to get our hands on one of those trees?¡± Xavier asked, excited at the opportunity to do something meaningful to help his family and kingdom. ¡°Are you sure that is a good idea?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± Xavier asked quickly, energized by the chance to do something meaningful and unique. ¡°With the prince here with us and Aranor preoccupied with the duel who would be guarding Benedict, Anna and Lexi?¡± Arianwyn pointed out. ¡°That could be an issue.¡± the prince acknowledged Arianwyn''s point, ¡°Especially if we take into consideration the kidnapping attempt from last night.¡± ¡°There was a kidnapping attempt last night!?¡± Ajax was the only one truly surprised at the revelation. He wasn¡¯t surprised that there had been an attempt since they had been preparing for one, what surprised Ajax was that he had slept through it without ever realizing. ¡°He can push the duel until after we come out.¡± Elara suggested. ¡°All Xavier needs to do is insist that the duel happen when ¡®his revered uncle¡¯ is there to watch him fight.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to spend an extra night in the dungeon for us.¡± Anna pointed out. With everything sorted the group started their search for the nearest arch that would take them to the second floor. The search wasn¡¯t long but this time there was no guardian patrolling around the arch. ¡°A roaming guardian on the first floor?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That can be pretty dangerous for people who are at the appropriate level for the floor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a guardian.¡± the prince said as he inspected the area surrounding the arch. As the prince finally found what he was looking for he took an exaggerated step as he activated a few runes causing a very minor earthquake to take place around them. As the ground started to shake decently sized moat gave way around the arch, the small layer of thing rocks dropping down on the sharp points of the spikes below. ¡°A trap arch.¡± Ajax said with a raise of his eyebrows. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen one of those in a while.¡± Almost all the arches one could find in the dungeon were defended by a guardian. One tenth of those had a roaming guardian but that still left a very small minority that were only protected by a trap or in even rarer cases the arch would have a locked set of doors that needed a key to open before that specific arch could be used. Lexi wasted no time in chanting an earth manipulation spell to create a small crossing over the spike. ¡°Let go.¡± Xavier was the most excited of them all to get to the second floor of the dungeon. Having joined the academy so young Xavier had started off at a lower level than the rest of his classmates. While he had managed to surpass most of the more mediocre students in the class he hadn¡¯t been able to close the distance with Anna, Lexi and Benedict. This time his lower level would benefit him since he was still level forty four he was still eligible for the extra stat point from this floor. Ajax hadn¡¯t bothered to check what the theme of the second floor would be since they would simply be pushing straight through with the first arch they found. This was something he had immediately regretted as soon as he stepped foot on the second floor and promptly face planted. ¡°What type of spell is this?¡± Harold asked, annoyed as he picked himself off the ground having tripped as soon as he had entered the floor as well. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I haven¡¯t encountered anything like this before.¡± the prince said as he carefully took a few steps while raising and lowering his arms to get a feel for the new sensation. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling any spell structure.¡± Lexi said as she focused on her surroundings as Ajax offered her a hand to help her up after she had tripped as well. As he helped Lexi to her feet Ajax was carefully examining the mana prevalent throughout the floor and found that it was of a type he hadn¡¯t encountered before. Despite that he had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Taking out his hammer from his spacial ring Ajax held it out to one side and dropped it to the ground to confirm his theory. Watching the speed at which the hammer fell confirmed exactly what Ajax had though was happening. If he was fair with himself Ajax had been expecting a floor like this since he started delving but he had finally found a floor where the strength of gravity was different that what it was outside. Chapter 386 Despite the initial shock the prince was nothing if not an experienced warrior. He might not understand what was happening, how it was happening, or even why it was happening. What he could do however was assess what the effects on him were and how to compensate for them. A few runes activated and the prince felt power surge through him the power boost was precise enough that it almost perfectly counteracted the additional gravity ¡°Is this a trap?¡± Harold asked as he covered himself with his shield on the floor where he hadn''t bothered getting up. ¡°Did the elves figure out how to mess with the dungeons?¡± Ajax was very surprised at the angle Harold¡¯s mind went to, though to be fair Harold was still deeply linked to House Silvertongue so it was only natural for his first instinct to be a political plot when something didn¡¯t add up. ¡°It¡¯s the dungeon floor doing this.¡± Ajax said as he placed his hand on the arch and used [Mana Syphon] to confirm his theory, just like he expected he recognised the main elements of the floor, all but the primary one which he now guessed to be mana. ¡°A new mana type.¡± ¡°There was a Legendary mana type like this that we didn¡¯t know about?¡± Xavier sounded shocked and he regained his feet, Arianwyn nodding along with his words. ¡°¡°It¡¯s not Legendary.¡±¡± Both the prince and Ajax spoke at once surprising everyone else and each other into silence. For a few moments the two of them just looked at each other silently inviting the other to explain, the silence was broken by Lexi who was too impatient when it came to anything related to a new mana type like this. ¡°One of you explain already!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too weak to be Legendary.¡± Lexi''s words startled the prince a little and he explained. ¡°This is Rare or Epic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Epic.¡± Ajax said and everyone turned their eyes to him. ¡°How do you know that?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Did you encounter this before inside the dungeon?¡± ¡°No, I never felt this type of mana before.¡± Ajax denied. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been searching for it.¡± That was as much as Ajax would volunteer as he turned towards the Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw. The meaning behind his action was clear as he returned his gaze to the prince and tilted his head questioningly. ¡®How much should I say?¡¯ Arianwyn however was in no mood to wait for permission as something just didn¡¯t add up to her. ¡°The mana type you were researching has to do with metals, mainly getting them to stick together or push themselves apart. What does that have to do with this?¡± Both Ajax and the prince turned surprised looks on to the elven princess while Lexi threw her a more hostile look as she came to the obvious conclusion. The existence and research or Magnetic mana was spearheaded by her grandfather and kept relatively secret, Arianwyn having knowledge of it and to this extent meant that there were spies infiltrated rather deep with decent access to House Manashaper. The further they got along their journey the more and more Ajax had started to consider Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw as simply friends. It felt odd for him to keep things like this from them despite giving them fully to the royal family who would then distribute them further. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Just a bare bones explanation.¡± the prince finally relented under the elf¡¯s gaze as he weighed the pros and cons. ¡°The other mana I use is Rare, it works in all directions but only on metal.¡± Ajax tried to explain the link he conceptualized between magnetism and gravity without explaining gravity itself. ¡°Whatever this is works on everything but only has a single direction. If it was a Legendary mana type it would work on everything in any direction.¡± Ajax had personally dubbed that mana type Attraction/Repulsion and it was something he very much wanted to get his hands on. ¡°I still don¡¯t see how it¡¯s working.¡± Xavier said as he processed Ajax¡¯s explanation. ¡°I have a decent enchantment meant to repel outside spell influences and it wasn¡¯t triggered by this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it''s not us that are affected.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You ate dirt just like the rest of us, how are we not affected?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°If a skill increases the strength of your muscles it will also increase the strength of your swing.¡± Ajax tried to explain. ¡°When you throw something up it falls down, when you jump you fall back down. You don¡¯t notice this because its been happening to you ever since you were born, if whatever it is that is dragging you down suddenly increases though it would feel like a spell applied to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you dropped your hammer.¡± Lexi perked up as she started looking at this from the same perspective her grandfather had drilled into her from a young age. ¡°You tested to see if it would fall faster than it did outside!¡± Ajax simply nodded in confirmation. ¡°Fascinating as all of this is, what do we do now?¡± Darkclaw asked, he was a researcher or an inventor he stuck with what was tested and knew it worked. This odd mana type would have to be reported back to the Republic but he wasn¡¯t as invested as the others. ¡°Nothing much, most of us will just head for the closest arch and have Xavier get his clear of the floor and move on to the third floor.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Why only most of us?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°This floor is low enough that nobody is in any real danger on it.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°While you accommodate to the changes and get the kill you need I am hoping your uncle can scour the floor and find me something infused with this mana type that I can study on the outside.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± the prince nodded and got ready to dash away as his runes sucked up more mana. ¡°Sylvanthal would also be very interested in buying such a sample.¡± Arianwyn called out as the prince started to run. ¡°As would the Republic¡± Darkclaw left no pretense as he followed the elf¡¯s example and yelled after the prince. What happened next was an exercise in frustration for Ajax. Unlike everyone else here he was the only one who had spent years training to manage a continuous changing physical boost. He wasn¡¯t as skilled as the prince who took seconds to adapt but after five minutes he had [Mana Syphon] providing him a strong enough boost to simply counteract the increased gravity. This wasn¡¯t what frustrated Ajax however. What frustrated him to no end was that despite the massive presence of gravity mana on the floor as a whole he hadn¡¯t found any monster capable of using it. It was just passively there in the ambient mana and he could barely analyze it when it was doing nothing more than existing ¡°How the fuck did my uncle adapt so quickly?¡± Xavier cursed. Out of everyone Xavier was having the hardest time adjusting as he was also a hybrid fighter, he had no issues walking normally but his combat ability had suffered. ¡°Curse users.¡± Benedict replied nonchalantly. ¡°What?!¡± Ajax, Lexi and Xavier turned towards him at that flippant answer. ¡°He faced a lot of curse users during the wars.¡± Benedict explained. ¡°In the field hybrid fighters are mage killers, unlike in a tournament there is no arena limiting them and giving a clear start. Their biggest weakness is that their stats are spread across six stats plus Vitality and Perception where everyone else spreads theirs across three and Vitality and Perception.¡± ¡°Curse fighters are mostly physical so they can react and curses would target the lower stats best since they apply a flat reduction.¡± Elara continued for him. ¡°Your uncle had specific squads that had people who could use cursed attack hunting after him during the war.¡± As she said this, Elara''s eyes unintentionally flashed over to Ajax for a moment. He was also a hybrid fighter but from the way he was going he wouldn¡¯t have the same weakness. This wasn¡¯t something the others missed so the discussion dropped off there as everyone returned to their exercises to adapt to the increased gravity. It was only once Xavier felt ready and the group started their search for an arch leading to the third floor that the silence was broken. ¡°If you ever figure out how to work with this mana type I¡¯ll want to hire you. It would work wonders for military training.¡± Funnily enough Benedict wasn¡¯t addressing Ajax but rather Lexi. Out of the two of them Ajax had a higher chance of getting the affinity but that wouldn¡¯t help with anything outside of him using it. If Lexi learnt if on the other hand there was a much better chance she and her family could figure out how to enchant an area to mimic the effects of the floor. It didn¡¯t take more than half an hour before they found the arch and its guardian, halfway through Xavier¡¯s fight the prince had also returned with a nod of confirmation at having succeeded in his task. Not wanting to be surprised again Ajax didn¡¯t even wait for Xavier to finish killing the mini boss as he beelined towards the arch to check the mana type of the next floor. Chapter 387 There was no issue with the next floor, from what Ajax could feel it seemed to be a standard fire and earth based floor, either a desert or a volcano depending on how the properties were applied. If he had to bet Ajax would have gone for desert for the simple reason that it was missing any metal mana that was usually found in any volcanic themed floor. ¡°Did you find any creatures that can use this mana type?¡± Ajax asked the prince as they watched Xavier fight. ¡°No, though I do have to say some of the creatures on this floor look¡­ I can¡¯t quite find the words¡­ odd.¡± the prince answered. ¡°Odd how?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Their bodies were misshapen.¡± the prince said. ¡°More pudgy and with denser muscles.¡± ¡°Adaptations to the increased downward force.¡± Ajax pondered. ¡°The dungeon added monsters that would be uniquely suited to the environment.¡± The prince instantly pulled up a privacy screen before he frowned a little as he turned to Ajax. ¡°This is the second time you do that. I am not sure what you know about this downward force but you do know something.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyebrows made a break for his forehead in surprise as he looked towards the others with a little trepidation. ¡°I doubt any of them has a good enough lie detection skill at a high enough level to pick up on that since everything you said was technically truthful.¡± the prince reassured him. ¡°Maybe Harold, despite being a fighter it would all depend on how gifted he is in the political arena. That doesn¡¯t matter since he knows discretion. Do make sure you keep this in mind however because I assure you Aranor would also see through it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain more later but it''s rather complicated¡­¡± Ajax started but as soon as the word complicated left his mouth the prince quickly cut him off. ¡°In that case you best just prepare to give a presentation once we are back in Gryndor.¡± Despite the prince¡¯s fascination with magic he was not a researcher or a scholar. ¡°Can I see one of the samples?¡± Ajax asked as he extended his hand towards the prince. Instead of a single item the prince placed two pieces of rock in his hand. Both were about the same size but one felt much heavier than the other. Both of the chunks were filled with Gravity mana, in fact they looked almost identical to Ajax¡¯s senses. ¡°Does one of them amplify the force while the other diminishes it?¡± Ajax was shocked as he realized what was happening. ¡°You think so too?¡± the prince grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll be selling only one sample type to the elves and the Republic so keep quiet about the second.¡± The prince¡¯s voice was much sterner as he took back the samples and lowered the privacy field just as Xavier was finishing his fight. The mini-boss was two levels lower than Xavier and while he didn¡¯t pose a real threat to him in terms of offense the mini boss''s mobility combined with the increased gravity let it survive a lot longer than it otherwise would have. ¡°Finally!¡± Xavier gave a frustrated cry as his sword cut open to the monsters hearth and the spell he followed it up with froze the monsters internal organs. Once he saw how close Ajax was to the next floor he quickly followed up with a question. ¡°Tell me the next floor is normal.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Should be a desert or a volcano.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°Seemed regular enough.¡± The next floor was nothing out of the ordinary but the one after that did have something a little more special. The first was a desert floor just like Ajax had guessed while the second was an open plain that housed large herds of pack animals that very much resembled the bison¡¯s of Earth only the were much larger. It was one of the few times where the non-mini boss groups on the floor were actually a lot more dangerous than even the arch guardians due to the sheer numbers. Thankfully for all of Ajax¡¯s classmates the floor also had small groups of beastkin guarding each arch. Nobody had a hard time clearing either of the floors, the desert floor was too small of a level difference for their increased stats to not make up for it and for the second floor the humanoid combatants were easily dealt, they simply ambushed the mini bosses while the prince took out all of the others leaving it to a one on one. Despite the ease with which they cleared both floors it had taken them a decently long time to do so. Both a desert and an open plane had two things in common. One, neither needed much vertical space leaving the floor to expand horizontally a lot more, and two clear lines of sight meant that the arches were even more spread out so it took the group a while go from one to the next. ¡°Remember they will most likely challenge you but they could also try Benedict depending on which nobles decides to make their move first.¡± The prince cautioned his nephew. Benedict wasn¡¯t happy to be excluded based on the fact that mana had almost no place in his fighting style, nevertheless it was something that elves emphasized and the more racist ones saw a human that chose not to use mana heavily as less than. Lexi and Anna however were excluded because of other reasons. For Lexi it was clear that nobody wanted to become the cautionary tale for whatever new spell her grandfather had come up with in the years since he had last been seen on a battlefield. That she had openly shown her affinity for multiple different elements only served to further push the same narrative. The reason why Anna was going to be left alone was very different. The wealth of Archduke Goldmancer was widely known, not only that but his affection for his only daughter and his overprotective tendencies were as well. None of the noble families were willing to risk an open contract put out just for a little pride by defeating her, not when there were better targets available. ¡°I know.¡± Xavier nodded with conviction. ¡°I¡¯ll get us one of those trees.¡± Despite Xavier¡¯s ego being reigned in a lot since his teenage years, both by the maturity that followed adolescence and the simple fact of Ajax¡¯s presence, he still retained a healthy ego regarding his combat prowess. Once the lower leveled in the group exited the dungeon the rest of the group had a decision to make. ¡°Do we stop to sleep now or do we push on?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Only you have anything to gain from this floor and it won¡¯t even take you long to dispatch a mini boss.¡± Harold offered. ¡°That will also be true after we wake up.¡± Darkclaw said as he spread his arms wide and took a deep breath as he looked towards the trees that surrounded them. ¡°I say we rest here where we know what the floor theme is.¡± ¡°We¡¯re resting here.¡± the prince said, putting an end to the discussion. The reason the prince wanted them to rest here was simple, nobody was in any danger on this floor. With even the highest levels being only at level sixty the prince was sure any of them could solo the floor, the only question would be how many were good enough to solo it by finding and using the obelisk instead of slowly clearing it out. With such a safety margin the prince could actually relax and sleep as well to catch up on some of the sleep he missed thanks to the attack the night before. As Xavier and the other exited the dungeon they were pleasantly surprised not to be attacked by any of the elves despite more than a few drawing their weapons at their presence. The arch guardians seemed pretty peeved at not getting to interrogate them about what happened to the rest of their party and what floor they had gotten to but Lioriel was quick in intercepting them and bringing the team to Aranor. Unlike previously the elven champion wasn¡¯t alone while he was waiting for them, rather he was caught in an rather animated discussion with a number of other elves. That in and of itself wasn¡¯t an issue, the issue was that Benedict, Lexi, Anna and Xavier all recognized most of the elves surrounding them. It wasn¡¯t that they had met them before but that they had been part of their education as each was a very powerful fighter in their own right. Despite the elven kingdoms being rivals the same did not always apply to their champions, adding that the two kingdoms hadn¡¯t gone to war with each other in the last two generations of rulers and it meant that Deepwood¡¯s champions didn¡¯t have any bad blood with Aranor and in fact some of them were quite friendly. ¡°Look at that, what do we have here?¡± one of the elves asked as he turned towards the four humans. Lioriel tensed at that. She knew she wasn¡¯t strong enough to beat any of the three newcomers but she still moved her hand towards her weapon just in case, she wasn¡¯t going to fail her queen without at least trying. ¡°Let the children handle the children''s games.¡± Aranor waved the elf off. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you had such a soft spot for humans, Aranor.¡± One of the other elves said. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of race but one of honor.¡± Aranor shut down the teasing. ¡°We all know why the challenge will come before Ajax exits the dungeon, just let the young ones sort it out.¡± Despite the frown Xavier was giving Aranor on the inside he was singing the elf¡¯s praises. By keeping the older elves out of the interaction Aranor was making it easier for Xavier to set the stakes such that he could walk away with a fortress tree if he won. Chapter 388 The situation quickly turned a little awkward for the noble elves once their powerful supporters followed Aranor¡¯s suggestion, clearly they hadn¡¯t expected it to go this way. ¡°Not even a shred of courage.¡± Xavier commented with a snicker to his friends as he saw the nobles their own age look to each other to make the first move. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean mana-starved?¡± The most hotheaded of the elves sniped back. Xavier¡¯s eye twitched at the racial slur. Despite his extensive training as a talented member of the royal family there were things that he just hadn¡¯t experienced, it took all of his willpower to hide the anger and push on with the script he was playing out. ¡°It¡¯s clear none of you are courageous to the point of stupidity.¡± Xavier continued as he put on a smirk reminiscent of his uncle. ¡°They would have come before we entered the dungeon, challenged Ajax and been sent to the infirmary.¡± The elves could do nothing but look around awkwardly at that, all of them knew it was true. Some of them had in fact had family members or friends that had wanted to challenge the human genius but their families went as far as to imprison them to ensure that wouldn¡¯t happen. ¡°But to not even have enough courage to challenge one of us without any support.¡± Xavier continued while shaking his head in mock disappointment. ¡°You might as well leave now.¡± This was what Xavier¡¯s entire plan hinged on, he would need to be challenged and not the challenger. While the challenger had an advantage in deciding the stage where the fight took place the challenged could set the terms for the prizes. ¡°You¡¯ll regret those words mana-starved.¡± the same hotheaded elf responded. ¡°I, Ruffius Leafblade, grandson of Duke Leafblade, challenge you to a duel!¡± ¡°What are the terms of the duel?¡± Xavier asked. Xavier was smart enough not to jump into this head first, a duel to first blood would not be one he would accept against a family of wind mages who specialized in long range attacks with wind currents that carried poisonous leaves. ¡°Duels are traditionally to first blood of course.¡± Ruffius said with an evil grin. ¡°Is that so?¡± Xavier seemed to ponder, Lioriel was on the verge of challenging that claim but the looks coming from the elves around Aranor quickly stopped her in her tracks. Clearly they wanted to enforce Aranor¡¯s words on any help the humans would receive as well. ¡°Is that also the most prominent format in the last ten duels you took part in?¡± Xavier¡¯s question turned Ruffius¡¯s grin into a scowl as he admitted that eight out of his last ten duels had been under the rules of surrender or unconsciousness with no lethal attempts. Ruffius further spent another ten minutes trying to change the format but none of his arguments held any sway and it quickly became clear that this format was the only one Xavier would accept from someone slightly older than him. Ruffius was prepared to push more on the matter but he quickly changed his tune once he noticed one of the others with him was willing to take his chance away from him. ¡°So be it, have the format you prefer, not like it will change the results.¡± Riffius said. ¡°Lets go and settle this in the closest arena.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You don¡¯t seriously expect me to follow you right now?¡± Xavier sounded outraged at the premise.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Ruffius took his refusal as a sign of fear. ¡°Scared you will lose?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving Aranor¡¯s size without my uncle present, and I know he won¡¯t leave this courtyard until my uncle exits the dungeon.¡± Xavier said. ¡°You insult my honor by suggesting I would have you attacked on the street.¡± Ruffius¡¯s face went a little red as he growled the words, clearly his social skills left a little to be desired. ¡°Who said anything about you?¡± Xavier waved away his complaint. ¡°My inn was attacked just last night!¡± Ruffius had nothing he could say to that, any attempt to have the fight now was lost, he could now only hope that his father would be understanding if Ajax chose to challenge him that he will refuse that duel. ¡°Fine!¡± Ruffius said as he turned to walk away. ¡°We will have our duel after your uncle exits the dungeon.¡± ¡°Lord Leafblade, aren¡¯t you forgetting the stakes for the duel?¡± Xavier asked pushing his social skills to the limit to make himself sound simply confused, from the looks the elves around Aranor trained on him he wasn¡¯t as successful as he thought. ¡°And what do you think we should wager?¡± Ruffius asked more reserved than before, despite his ego he knew that his family''s wealth paled compared to any royal family. ¡°We are still young members of our family so the prize shouldn¡¯t be all that high.¡± Xavier said as he tried to make his request sound more reasonable. ¡°The winner can choose one renewable resource from the loser¡¯s family.¡± Ruffius¡¯ eyebrows rose as he was shocked by the opportunity. A royal family had access to all the resources of a country, the elf was tempted to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming. Even the elves around Aranor seemed pleasantly surprised by the terms Xavier offered. Lioriel on the other hand saw straight through Xavier¡¯s plan, after all they had just learnt about fortress tree¡¯s the previous night with her there to witness it! And despite their great value, fortress saplings were technically a renewable resource that each high placed noble family had access to in order to maintain and grow their own house¡¯s main estate. She was however unable to put a stop to this as Aranor had slowly made his way next to her, a simple hand placed on her shoulder allowed him to unleash his full aura on her alone keeping her from reacting for a few moments. ¡°Those terms are agreeable!¡± Ruffius quickly agreed to the terms out of fear that Xavier would change his mind and left the area. ¡°That was almost too easy.¡± Xavier said as he turned back to his friends. ¡°You best make sure not to lose.¡± Anna''s words sounded like a bucket of ice water. ¡°The same way something like a fortress tree can be considered a renewable resource so can the next hatchling of your family''s griffins.¡± Those words brought Xavier up short as he spotted the mistake he made as he focused on keeping anyone from suspecting that everything had already been planned out. His uncle had told him to make the best for a renewable resource currently in the family vault as the mated pair of wild griffins the royal family kept only mated once a century and even the only one offspring would appear. The next one was still two decades away but with the wording of the prize the next griffin pup could be claimed. Xavier was still sure of his victory but this added pressure was something he wasn¡¯t looking forward to for the next day until his uncle exited the dungeon and he could put all of this behind himself. Inside the dungeon the group¡¯s sleep break extended to over ten hours as they looked to push to the finish for most of them before another break would be needed. The next three floors didn¡¯t pose a challenge for any of them, even Harold breezed straight through the level eighty seven mini boss. The strength gained from their previous dungeons was starting to show more and more. ¡°What¡¯s with the sad face?¡± the prince asked Ajax as he noticed him looking a little dejected as they traveled to the arch for the next floor. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°I was just hoping for an achievement but it seems this isn¡¯t one of them.¡± ¡°What achievement?¡± The prince was excited now. ¡°The previous floor I cleared marked my one hundredth dungeon floor clear.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I was hoping there was a bonus for it but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything.¡± The prince started coughing as he choked on his gasp of surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve cleared one hundred floors.¡± the prince said as he looked at Ajax intently. ¡°I guess I was aware that you just kept stacking more and more but it feels different now to hear you have an extra one hundred to all stats just from dungeons.¡± Ajax agreed that the number was extreme, made even more so by the fact that it could be increased further by 10% just from potions since stats gained from dungeons also increase the amount of potions you can take, more than that those 10% could be allocated however you wanted so long as you had powerful enough potions. ¡°I know it¡¯s already a lot.¡± Ajax said with a wistful sigh. ¡°I just hoped there would be a bonus for the hundredth one, even something as small as it giving +2 to all stats instead.¡± ¡°You should just be grateful there is no diminishing returns on it.¡± the prince said. ¡°The system sometimes limits progressive gains like this, I have to imagine there is one for this as well but further along than one hundred. For your sake I hope it is as far away as possible.¡± Chapter 389 Ajax and the prince were the only two to remain on the seventh floor of the dungeon, despite the increase in stats Arianwyn, Elara and Darkclaw didn¡¯t yet feel up to challenging such a high floor though everyone knew once they made it to Sylvanthal¡¯s capital all three of them would be taking on the level one hundred and ten mini bosses. The floor theme was a large mountainside that was filled with caves that lead into a mine shaft. In the skies above Ajax could feel the mana coming off the griffins that were circling them. ¡°So what will it be, the griffins or whatever we find in the mine?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances with the mine.¡± Ajax said as he threw a wary look towards the sky because of the weak pulse [Danger Sense] sent out. The pulse disappeared as soon as he looked up and made eye contact with one of the griffins. Unlike the lower floor this mine was not only dark to Ajax¡¯s eyes but even his [Mana Sense] didn¡¯t let him identify any creatures as if any where there they all seamlessly integrated with the ambient mana. ¡°I don¡¯t like this floor.¡± Ajax lamented as they made their way deeper into the mine by torchlight. ¡°Then you best get out of here quickly.¡± the prince said as they descended deeper into the cave without any sign of hostility. The two of them continued their walk for another thirty minutes and while they hadn¡¯t made contact with any form of life they had been attacked numerous times by the traps that were laid out all around their path. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense, how can there be inbuilt traps in the walls when the shaft is naturally formed and no humanoids are part of the floor.¡± Ajax complained as he bandaged a cut on his leg.¡± Even the prince couldn¡¯t save Ajax from the damage as the traps had a quick activation with minimal movement, more than that they didn¡¯t use any mana, just a simple cause and effect based on the trigger. ¡°Quit complaining, look we already found an arch.¡± the prince said as he pointed at the chamber at the end of the tunnel they were moving through. ¡°Let''s hope it has a miniboss guarding it and we¡¯ll be done with this.¡± Ajax and the prince carefully approached the arch carefully checking for any guardian but there was none to be seen. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a trap?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I can¡¯t see any lock for it to be a key passage.¡± The prince didn¡¯t have a chance to respond as Ajax stepped too close to the arch and a massive hand made of stone ripped itself seemingly from the floor to come swinging in his direction. Despite the surprise attack Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to jump out of the way as he took a boosting potion out of his spacial storage, removed the cork and chugged. The guardian didn¡¯t give Ajax any time to spare however the confines of the mine and the size of the mini boss meant that it couldn¡¯t move all that well in the space given. Ajax wasted no time as he brought out his hammer and charged it with Void mana. ¡°Earth golem!¡± Ajax hissed, figuring out why he hadn¡¯t sensed it. Earth golems were known for their durability however their defenses based themselves on the attack landing on their outermost layer that distributed the impact evenly in a large area. Ajax¡¯s void strike bypassed that defense and took the golem¡¯s arm from the elbow down. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. An earth golem would have been a good match for Ajax given their environment. It was only wishful thinking on his part to be facing a golem. As the guardian stepped towards Ajax its leg sank into the ground as its mana started flooded out. It was only Ajax¡¯s [Danger Sense] that let him react in time to bring out his shield to lessen the impact and the guardian sent Ajax flying into the wall with a powerful enough punch that he left a small outline of his body on impact. ¡°Not a golem.¡± Ajax coughed as he spit out a mouth full of blood staring at the earth elemental with a mix of determination and slight trepidation. Fighting a full fledged elemental is something Ajax had done before however none of those elementals had been past level one hundred. To make matters even worse he was fighting an earth elemental in an underground mine, this put him on a timer as the elemental had practically endless resources to reform its body regardless of the damage he took. Ajax¡¯s only chance was to destroy the core inside of the body. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to give the griffins a go?¡± the prince asked from the sidelines where he had finished taking out another earth elemental that had been drawn by the fighting. ¡°No.¡± Ajax response was short but on the inside he felt a little doubt that perhaps it was the smarter idea to not face the elemental. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± the prince said as he settled himself in a stance to interfere should there be a need. ¡°At least we figured out how the traps were made.¡± That realization did nothing to help Ajax currently as he flooded his body with Light and Life mana to heal the damage he had taken as he prepared to charge the mini boss. For the next three minutes Ajax danced around the elemental as he smashed through his arms, legs, torso and even its head one after another in search of the elemental¡¯s core to no avail. ¡®This isn¡¯t working¡¯ Ajax thought as he watched the elemental restore the lost mass by simply taking it from the rock around them. ¡®Normally an elemental¡¯s core is easy to sense as it is the source of their mana, not only that but it takes much more for an earth elemental to move their core inside their body, but I can¡¯t sense it anywhere. The mini boss¡¯s entire body is infused to the point the core could be anywhere.¡¯ ¡°Get ready to pull me out.¡± Ajax shouted as he formulated a new plan. ¡°If this doesn¡¯t work we¡¯ll go for the griffins.¡± The prince tensed up at those words, even more so when he noticed that Ajax was charging the elemental head on with only his shield. The elemental didn¡¯t seem to be disturbed or surprised or suspicious as to why his recently slippery opponent changed to a forward charged and simply threw a punch with all its power just as it had been doing since the start. As the punch made contact with his shield Ajax was sent flying towards the walls once more, this time the impact was even stronger than the one he endured at the start of the fight. More than that his shield had shattered moments after the impact and the prince was already moving towards Ajax. Unlike the first punch Ajax endured in the fight he wasn¡¯t the only one hurt this time. The elemental and the entire mine shaft as a whole vibrated violently from the impact. ¡°Crazy kid.¡± the prince cursed as he picked Ajax up while the kid in question was trying to regain his bearings. Ajax¡¯s plan had been similar to the one Lexi had used to defeat the massive plant inside the cave a few dungeons ago, since he didn¡¯t have a good enough handle on Vibration magic to use it naturally he had planned to tank the impact from an attack on his shield and then use his magic to amplify that resulting vibration. The plan had not only worked but it had in fact worked too well. With Ajax pushing over seven hundred mana in just amplifying the vibration instead of also creating it the result of the attack was much stronger than even he intended, this was the reason that his shield had shatter, it was the reason the elemental had died and most importantly it was also the reason the prince was rushing with Ajax towards the arch in the middle of the room before the entire mountain came down on their heads following the local earthquake Ajax had just unleashed underground. Ajax was still a little disoriented as the prince laid him down on the next floor before getting him to sit up. ¡°You best have gotten the stats for that.¡± The prince said with a bit of harshness in his voice that Ajax¡¯s couldn¡¯t condemn seeing as he had almost gotten both of them killed. ¡°I got it.¡± Ajax said as he closed the notification and looked at a second one that made a shit eating grin bloom on his face. After all the hours of training Ajax had finally managed to gain [Vibration Aspect Mana]. ¡°I really got it!¡± his voice going slightly higher the second time. The prince had been nodding in acceptance but when he heard Ajax repeat himself his eyes narrowed as he took in the young Baron¡¯s slightly battered body. ¡°You also got Vibration mana didn¡¯t you?¡± it didn¡¯t come across as a question so much as it did an accusation. Ajax didn¡¯t even need to respond, all he did was make eye contact with the prince and maintain it while his already large grin seemed to grow even more. The prince let out a series of expletives that would have had drill sargent¡¯s reaching for a pen and paper to take notes. Ajax¡¯s amusement only seemed to grow as he took in the prince¡¯s reaction and closed the notification for his new skill when his entire body froze as he took in another notification that he hadn¡¯t expected. Chapter 390 After he didn¡¯t receive an Achievement for pushing his dungeons stat bonus to +100 Ajax hadn¡¯t expected to get one but there it was sitting right in front of his face. Achievement : Truly Skilled Gain 100 skills Reward : Each skill grants +1 to the stat they rely on most. Each skill grants an additional +1 to the stat they rely on most for each threshold passed. Slight increase to obtain skills based on already earned skills. Slight increased speed of skill increase. (Experience gained through skill application increased to compensate for faster leveling skill with less effort.) ¡°What is it?¡± the prince asked, slightly worried about Ajax¡¯s reaction. ¡°Nothing.¡± Ajax simply waved his question away. As much as Ajax trusted the royal family with some of his more sensitive secrets he wasn¡¯t yet ready to give away the exact number of skills he had. Ajax was pretty sure they already knew about this achievement anyway, sure it would be extremely unusual for someone as young as him to have it but with hundreds of years people had plenty of time to gain skills. ¡°Was that something to do with Legendary skills?¡± the prince pushed a little but when Ajax didn¡¯t answer he just let the topic drop. ¡°Okay, wait here and drink another potion so you recover, there is no rush.¡± Ajax simply nodded as he took out another healing potion and put it on the ground near him. It was too soon since his last potion so he would have to wait a short while before it would be safe to take another. To take his mind off the pain Ajax instead chose to focus on his newest affinity, Vibration. Unlike Life affinity there were so many different ways that Vibration affinity could be used in combat. Unlike regular mages he wasn¡¯t so locked in to the casted spell aspect so he could use Vibration in many different ways. The main way Ajax planned to add Vibration to his fighting style had nothing to do with anything he had used to unlock the affinity. His plan was to make his sword and axe vibrate really quickly to increase their cutting power, this would require the sword and axe in question to be specifically built for it otherwise they would quickly end up just like his shield had. The next thing Ajax did once he thought of that was to check if the gauntlet he still had even could channel his Vibration mana, for the first time since he tried Ajax finally found a mana type that the dragon hadn¡¯t added to the glove. After checking Vibration Ajax thought to also check Life mana, since there was no use in channeling Life mana through his items he hadn¡¯t thought to check before but the glove was also missing a Life mana stone. Ajax was pretty sure now that no Legendary mana types would be there since a Life one would be one of the easier ones to get considering the number of stories he heard about Life based natural treasures. As soon as Ajax took his potion he also got up, he wasn¡¯t fully healed yet but it was good enough for him to exit the dungeon. He placed his helmet back on his head to hide his ears and he took out a spare shield from his spacial ring. This shield was much weaker than the one he used previously but with the rate his strength was increasing he would need to update his items shortly anyway, especially so considering the increased stats from his Achievement. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. As Ajax left the prince to clear the final floor of the dungeon he exited and found himself back in the center of the large containment area built around the dungeon. For once nobody paid him too much attention as he exited the dungeon, the guards simply approached him to get their statement. Lioriel was quick to intercept them and then lead Ajax towards the rest of his group. As soon as Xavier caught sight of Ajax he started bouncing from foot to foot in excitement, Ajax took this to mean that the plan had worked and now Xavier was both excited and a little nervous about the upcoming duel and had nowhere to channel all the energy before he could confirm his suspicion however he felt [Enigma] activate. The identification attempt had come from multiple sources, Ajax usually ignored most of the Inspection attempts on himself but something was different about these ones. The most important part was that all of them broke through [Enigma] to certain success. The identification skills had all come from the group of elves that were around Aranor and while none of them had gotten access to his skill list or stats Ajax felt that two of them were close to getting access to the latter. Naturally Ajax¡¯s first response was to return the favor as he used his own identification skill [Inspector¡¯s Eye]. For two of the elves Ajax hadn¡¯t managed to get much more than their names, ages and levels. The last one however must have had a weaker privacy skill, more than that [Inspector¡¯s Eye Lvl 25] had managed to pass its threshold after the first two identifications so on the third one Ajax was able to get his entire stat list. Getting that was a welcome surprise that made the entire interaction much more pleasant so Ajax chose to ignore the elven Champions for now and went to talk to his friends instead, or at least that was his plan. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± the last elf asked in a more controlled voice than Ajax would have expected, he guessed the man¡¯s social skills must be working overtime since he hadn¡¯t blown a gasket in anger yet. ¡°He¡¯s doing the same thing we did to him.¡± one of the other champions surprisingly took Ajax¡¯s side. ¡°I do have to say his identification skill is stronger than I expected.¡± The brief look of embarrassment that passed over the angered elf¡¯s face was all Ajax needed to put the situation together, the others hadn¡¯t caught on that he had seen the man¡¯s stats and was now torn between exposing that fact himself or letting Ajax off the hook. Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one who put that together as both Anna and Benedict had their eyes open wide as their eyebrows made a break for their hairlines for a brief moment as the second elf¡¯s words made them realized that Ajax had gotten access to something more before they also schooled their expressions. ¡°Best keep to those on your level, kid.¡± The last elven champion addressed Ajax directly. ¡°You may be an unmatched prodigy but right now any of us could crush you like a bug.¡± Ajax wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and simply nod in acknowledgement however all of the other elves surrounding them gasped as they looked between Ajax and the last champion. For them to hear someone of his status call Ajax an unmatched prodigy was shocking. ¡°How long do you think it will be until my uncle comes out?¡± Xavier who had barely reigned in his nervous and excited energy enough that he wasn¡¯t hopping from one foot to the other hadn¡¯t really caught the finer details of the exchange and was laser focused on something else. ¡°It should still be a couple of hours.¡± Ajax said but he wasn¡¯t completely sure, that would all come down to what the floor boss would be, none of the floor bosses would pose a threat to the prince since they would only be level one hundred and thirty two but depending on what they were it could take him a while to take them down. ¡°I take it from the excitement that the plan worked?¡± ¡°It sure did.¡± Xavier bragged. While Harold, Arianwyn, Elara and Lioriel were surprised to hear Ajax expose that everything had been planned out, Benedict, Lexi, Anna and even Aranor had caught onto what Ajax was doing as both Lexi and Benedict activated a privacy field around the delving group. ¡°Except for the small part where he put more on the line if he loses.¡± Anna quickly cut Xavier down. ¡°What happened in there, you look pretty rough.¡± To accentuate Anna¡¯s words Lexi was already giving Ajax a look over as she inspected every dent on his armor to make sure he was really okay. ¡°I may have taken one or two direct hits from an earth elemental¡± Ajax waved it off. ¡°Nothing that will kill me.¡± ¡°What about the champion?¡± Elara asked. ¡°What did you learn about him?¡± As someone who had felt quite vulnerable under Ajax¡¯s identification skill she had managed to put everything together. The elf¡¯s reaction, Ajax¡¯s exposure of the plan as a misdirection and an excuse to put up a privacy shield all while playing into the stereotype that he was a commoner who didn¡¯t know how to play the noble¡¯s game by revealing the existence of the plan. ¡°Got a look at his stats.¡± Ajax said as he didn¡¯t think there was a need to keep that hidden now that Elara had all but called him out for looking. ¡°In my defense they all tried to identify me first.¡± The topic quickly changed from there to Xavier¡¯s upcoming duel. Still while Elara simply listened to the conversation she couldn¡¯t help but evaluate Ajax once more. He didn¡¯t have the social skills of a noble and he definitely wasn¡¯t used to the social aspect of nobility, when it came down to thinking like a noble however Ajax was one of the best among their peers. Chapter 391 As he recovered more and more Ajax found himself feeling odd in his own skin, it wasn¡¯t enough for him to have any real issues but it just felt a little odd. It took him a few minutes to realize that this was because of his latest Achievement. He had just gained a little over one hundred and ten stats all at once on top of the eight he got for the final floor of the dungeon. While this wasn¡¯t a big enough change to affect him as much as the first time he took potions, now that his body was getting back to his peak condition he would need a short while to get used to everything. This usually wasn¡¯t an issue with dungeon floor rewards as they came one point at a time evenly spread and he got an entire floor to get used to it before the next ones came. ¡°Are you going to hold back?¡± Harold asked Xavier. This was an interesting question, as a prince and more than that a future powerhouse of Gryndor the prince wouldn¡¯t be keen on showing everything, then again it was likely that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back if he was hoping to win. ¡°No.¡± Xavier said as his excitement died down a little at the question and his expression turned serious. ¡°What we stand to gain from having a sapling of our own far outstrips what we stand to lose from me showing everything I can do now. I¡¯d be more worried if I was the strongest in my generation but¡­¡± Nobody needed him to finish that statement to know what he meant. Ajax''s existence gave the kingdom of Gryndor and especially their younger talented combatants so much more freedom in what they had to keep close to their chests. This in turn would mean that he should have kept his own powers secret and not displayed them during the tournament, the problem with that was that Ajax was so versatile and his casting style was new enough that having it be seen when he is younger isn¡¯t that much of a hindrance either. As they lowered the privacy bubble the conversation turned towards other more mundane topics like their impression on Deepwood¡¯s capital. One of the things Ajax was secretly curious about was the slave auctions, while not as numerous as they were in the Empire they still existen and Ajax hoped to get a look at them in hopes of not only freeing a few people that seemed more talented with the help of Arianwyn, Elara or Aranor but maybe to even recruit some new people for his own House that would bring with them any information they had gleaned from Deepwood. It was only a few hours later that the prince finally exited the dungeon. To Ajax¡¯s surprise the prince was highly frustrated and annoyed, despite his armor not being damaged it was covered in a thick layer of a shiny substance that looked both slimy and sticky. Even more than that his [Sense Mana] could feel one of his runes still active as he made his way towards them. ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± All of the elven champions present except Aranor broke into laughter as they took in the prince. ¡°A slime floor boss?¡± Aranor asked his look a combination of both pity and slight amusement. ¡°Yes¡­¡± the prince let out a sigh. Looking at it more closely Ajax could even tell how the slime that covered the prince was disintegrating into mana and being released into the atmosphere so there was no use in trying to store any of it. It was curious to him why the process took longer than others since most things that exited the dungeon straight up dissolved into mana in under a second once they were dead. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°You¡¯re finally done.¡± Xavier said as he approached his uncle and looked to pat him on the back. ¡°You can finally come see my duel.¡± At the same time the prince dodged out of the way and Harold caught Xavier by the wrist. ¡°Wait for the slime to disappear.¡± the latter instructed the prince. ¡°Slime floor bosses can give their bodies any properties they want, it¡¯s why its also dissolving so much slower it counts as an attack, most likely a corrosive one.¡± Ajax was now much warrier of the slime since it came from a very high level floor boss. At the same time he was also very interested in it so he started inspecting it with every skill at his disposal. Over the next five minutes the group made its way out of the dungeon¡¯s protective perimeter while the slime also finished dissolving. The prince also joined Aranor¡¯s conversation with the other elven champions though he did pick up on the fact that one of the champions was shooting Ajax a glare every time he looked in his direction. ¡°Finally, how long does it take to come out of a dungeon.¡± the same elf that had previously challenged Xavier to a duel ambushed them right outside the exit. Ajax wasted no time using [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on him, unlike with the champions however he didn¡¯t focus so much on learning what the elf could do but rather on his identification going unnoticed. Seeing how nobody batted an eye it must have been successful through Ajax had to frown a little when he saw that the elf was not only four years older than Xavier but also five levels higher at forty nine. Both of those things were definitely pushing what was acceptable for a duel of youngsters in terms of both levels and age. Ajax could see that the prince wanted to step forward and help his nephew stare down the group of House guards and other younger elves that were backing up the loudmouthed elf but couldn¡¯t do so without the other elven champions present also stepping in. ¡°What issues do you have with my friend?¡± Ajax asked as he stepped forward to show his support. With his six foot six frame Ajax even towered over the elves by an inch or two. The identification attempts came in quickly but all of them were swatted aside by [Enigma] after getting nothing more than his name, more than that they also came with a spike of pain. Ajax returned the favor without trying to be discreet only to find that the guards in question were barely level eighty despite being close to one hundred and fifty years old, more than that neither of them cave even close to the threat level his skill responded when it evaluated Arianwyn, Darkclaw or even Elara after gaining her Domain. ¡°Who told you to get involved?¡± The elf snapped back but while his words were haughty and aggressive his body instinctively took a step back from Ajax. ¡°Not only are you a manastarved retch but you¡¯re a commoner too.¡± Ajax¡¯s stern look broke out into a predatory grin as he couldn¡¯t have asked for a better response from the elf. ¡°Why only a few hours ago I was told to stick to my own level. I¡¯m more than willing to prove I am in no way inferior, or did you perhaps mean to say you are inferior?¡± The whole area went quiet, while Ajax¡¯s provocation didn¡¯t have any of the fineness that was expected of a noble and clearly showed that he still had much to learn in that respect his words were very well chosen as none of the younger elves could challenged him and none of the champions could interfere right after they told him to do exactly that. ¡°Ajax, that¡¯s enough. The duel has already been arranged¡± Aranor was the one who broke the silence. He didn¡¯t end with that however as he looked towards the young duke¡¯s son. ¡°As for you young lord, I¡¯d advise against trying to start conflicts you are unable to face.¡± Ajax had no qualms about stepping back at that. He had achieved exactly what he had wanted, the lack of any aura response from him throughout the entire exchange showed that everything had gone as he expected and nothing surprised him. He had managed to not only raise Xavier¡¯s confidence while crushing the elf¡¯s but he also publicly showed Aranor respect by backing down without any fuss. ¡°Think we¡¯ll get to see it?¡± Harold whispered to Ajax. ¡°See what?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The royal family''s dueling trick.¡± Harold answered. ¡°Only one out of every five members gains enough of the required skills to pull it off, even his uncle can¡¯t use it. It¡¯s not very useful against multiple opponents or opponents who have much higher stats than you.¡± ¡°He can use it.¡± Benedict joined in absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder as a memory of a duel between him and Xavier flashed to the front of his mind. ¡°The only question is if he will be pushed to use it.¡± That was something Ajax hadn¡¯t know about but it simply made the upcoming fight even more interesting. Chapter 392 The walk to the duelling field wasn¡¯t long but with the suspense building Ajax felt it took forever. Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how the royal family had kept an entire style to themselves, especially when it took a combination of skills big enough that only one in five people who were taught could actually gain it. When they arrived at the small arena they were allowed to enter without a single word in explanation, not only that but Ajax also noticed that they were not alone, two people wearing the sigil of the royal family were waiting for them, one of them led the group to the stands as the other led the two combatants to the field and prepared to referee the match. ¡°The format favors Xavier doesn¡¯t it?¡± Ajax asked. It wasn¡¯t the surround or unconsciousness that favored Xavier so much as it was the lack of killing attacks that Ajax assumed would favor Xavier. ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡± Arianwyn shook her head. ¡°The Leafblade scion is a physical fighter, or at least as much of a physical fighter as we elves tend to go.¡± While it was only in humans that being born with magic was the rarity instead of being born without it like the other humanoid races both the dwarves and the beastkin had people that chose to focus on physical combat and invested most if not all of their stats in that domain. Elves were unique in that even their heavy physical based fighters spent at least 20%-30% of their stats in mental stats. With both fighters being hybrid fighters the format wouldn¡¯t favor either of them. Thankfully the arena was set on hard ground instead of a sand pit, Leafblade would have had an advantage with his wind by using the sand as a way to obscure Xavier''s vision otherwise. As they stood across from each other both fighters took out a sword. While Xavier held a longsword with a two handed grip Ajax knew he was proficient in wielding the weapon in a one handed grip with either of his hands. Leafblade on the other hand held a rapier with his right hand, his left hand was empty but Ajax noticed multiple small knives sheathed all around his body where they could easily be reached. One thing that Ajax very much took note of was that the rapier lacked the large handguard he had seen back on Earth in a museum and instead sported a regular cross guard. Ajax saw this very much as a downgrade not only because of the exposed hand and less pleasing aesthetics but also because the handguard could be shaped into an enchantment. Ajax would wait until he saw Leafblade in action before passing judgment just in case his fighting style would clash with a more elaborate handguard. Once the duel began Ajax was surprised to see Leafblade back away with a defensive posture while Xavier charged forward. That surprise was instantly replaced by understanding as Leafblade finished his first spell and Ajax could now feel a physical boost that had the same efficiency as his own [Mana Syphon] surrounding the elf. Using his first spell for a boost however left Leafblade wide open for Xavier who wasted no time swinging while also releasing a bolt of lightning from his one hand. ¡°There are empowerment spells that continue without being channeled?¡± Ajax asked very much surprised since he hadn¡¯t been given the option to learn any of them. ¡°There are very few.¡± the prince said as he watched Leafblade neutralize the lightning bolt by throwing one of his knives in its path. ¡°Of the ones we are aware of, the elves have at least two different ones among their nobles, the beastkin have one used by certain feline nobles and the dwarves also have one that focuses much more on increasing strength and durability. So far no human has a non channeled spell to physically boost themselves.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t need to look at the rest of Leafblade¡¯s entourage to know they were smiling at them with a gloating expression as the heard Ajax¡¯s remark. That look of superiority made Ajax want to follow up the question with ¡®but why is it so much worse than my skill¡¯ but he knew better than to give away so much information about [Mana Syphon]. And there was no way that [Mana Syphon] wasn¡¯t far superior to whatever spell Leafblade was using, they may have had the same efficiency when it came to mana spent for boost but Ajax could use any mana near him, including that of enemies, while Leafblade was forced to provide his own only. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As the fight progressed Xavier was being driven back more and more. Both of them were using quick short spells to try and unbalance each other but while Xavier¡¯s spells were a bit stronger and he seemed to be the more skilled swordsman it wasn¡¯t enough to make up for the increase in power and speed the elf had. ¡°Is the difference in their effective stats too big now for the technique to work?¡± Ajax asked with a little worry as Xavier took a cut on his right arm, one that was thankfully shallow. Both Harold and Benedict remained silent at the question, neither of them knew the answer but both of them were afraid of the same thing. ¡°No, it just takes a bit for it to get going.¡± The prince said as he watched the fight with a small smile that was starting to grow. Seeing the smile Ajax focused back on the fight and looked for what he missed. In the next thirty seconds Xavier took two more cuts that were not all that shallow but Ajax finally figured out what to look for. Slowly but surely it looked more and more like Xavier wasn¡¯t simply reacting to Leafblade, in fact Xavier was starting to take control of the entire fight. He was slower, and he was weaker but with every exchange Xavier started to gain ground and force Leafblade back. It wasn¡¯t through power or speed but rather the location of where the contact happened. As he noticed that his blade wasn¡¯t finding its mark any longer, Leafblade tried to rely more on his magic but it had been clear from the start that Xavier¡¯s magic stats were higher than Leafblade and that his spells perfectly neutralized Leafblade¡¯s. Then it happened, Ajax could see the exact moment that seemed like everything fell into place.The fight turned from one where it looked like Xavier was going to slowly push Leafblade into one mistake after another into a slow but inevitable victory to one of total dominance. Xavier hadn¡¯t gotten any faster or any stronger but Leafblade¡¯s form when their swords crossed went from less than ideal to outright atrocious. More than that however Xavier started to step in with confidence and perfect timing as he scored two more deep cuts one on Leafblade thigh and the other on his ribs pushing straight through the defensive enchantments. Everything came to a head for Ajax when he saw Xavier duck under a swing in order to retaliate with a cut across the stomach. The move initially seemed bad to Ajax as it left Xavier exposed to the knife in Leafblade¡¯s other hand but he simply twisted out of the way, though this did leave his back exposed to the elf. When Xavier had managed to perfectly deflect Leafblade¡¯s follow up strike while swinging his sword behind him Ajax had a theory of what was happening. As he turned to look at the prince Ajax¡¯s words died in his throat as he saw the previous smirk be replaced by a look of surprise and the prince leaned forward as if trying to get close to the fight so he could see it better. Ajax decided to wait a moment as he tried to fully digest his realization as he watched Xavier finish the fight in the next few moments putting the edge of his blade to Leafblade¡¯s throat as the latter was forced to surrender. Once the match was called and the group was left waiting for Xavier to join them in the stands Ajax approached the prince, a look more pointed look was all it took for the prince to activate a privacy bubble before Ajax¡¯s started laying out his thought process. ¡°He¡¯s predicting him!¡± The prince said nothing as Ajax pushed forward. ¡°That¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t work with too big of a difference in stats, if the speed and strength is too far apart being able to predict the next move won¡¯t help since you can¡¯t keep up, too big a difference in mental stats and the opponent will be relying on magic more and they will be able to think and process everything quickly enough that they can change their next move after you started reacting to the prediction. But how can he be so good at it?!¡± The last question came out as more of an accusation as Ajax was slightly angry at how Xavier hadn¡¯t even tried to use the style against him even once. ¡°Xavier was worse than most who had learnt this fighting style.¡± the prince answered. ¡°Worse!!¡± Ajax was shocked to hear that what he had seen was the inferior version. ¡°I said ¡®was worse¡¯.¡± the prince corrected. ¡°While I won¡¯t explain how everything works I can tell you that pulling it off relies on a number of different skills that all come together to create a battle style skill. Up until now Xavier had gained a version of all the types of skill needed for the style but he hadn¡¯t gained the style skill. I think that changed during this very duel.¡± That answer was enough to snuff out the small amount of anger Ajax had felt as it all started making more sense to him. Thinking back to how the predictive fighting style was when Xavier first started pushing back he could see how it wouldn¡¯t have helped the prince even a little versus Ajax, hell it wouldn¡¯t have been useful against Anna or Lexi either as they relied more on big spells. WIth that out of the way however Ajax chose to focus on the two other things the prince had said. First was that the style was based on multiple types of skills but different versions of those types could be used, meaning there wasn¡¯t one set skill that was needed. The other thing he mentioned was that Xavier had just formed his style. Seeing how big the difference was from one moment to the next as Ajax himself had taken note of when Ajax¡¯s approach gained a boost he couldn¡¯t help but wonder just what rarity was the style that Xavier had gotten. Chapter 393 Everyone present to watch the duel started to make their way towards the infirmary where Xavier and his opponent were being treated. On the way there one of the other young elves kept throwing looks towards Benedict, clearly looking to return the favor by challenging him. Ajax put a stop to that immediately as he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time and they were going to leave the capital. As soon as the elf took even one step towards their group and mirrored him. The challenge died on the elf¡¯s tongue as he came face to face with Ajax, his victory over Arianwyn already made the rounds and since the first incident after he exited the primary dungeon everything had been clearly discussed by all the local nobility. ¡°You mana starved, half orcen cur.¡± They were close to the infirmary when the obscenities started flying. ¡°That was not part of the wager!¡± ¡°Oh please, like you wouldn¡¯t have asked for the next griffin cub had you won.¡± Xavier''s voice wasn¡¯t as loud but had a hint of schadenfreude. ¡°The stakes were clear and concise.¡± ¡°What did you bet?¡± the prince¡¯s voice boomed as he entered the infirmary, finally finding out about the slight mishap it a very unexpected way Xavier¡¯s smug smile died on his face as he slinked back into the bed to make himself look smaller as he turned to face his uncle. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, it hasn¡¯t come to pass.¡± Xavier quickly moved to leave the past behind. ¡°I did win us a fortress tree.¡± All of the elves from Leafblade¡¯s entourage gasped as they heard that before turning an almost fearful expression on the elf that was still being healed. ¡°The wager and the duel have been witnessed by agents of the queen herself.¡± the prince turned towards Leafblade¡¯s guards. ¡°I assume the duke has a specimen on hand?¡± ¡°He does.¡± Lioriel provided. ¡°Perfect, contact the estate and have it delivered to us as we are about to leave the capital.¡± The prince didn¡¯t even wait for Xavier to get healed as he dragged his nephew out of the bed slapped him on the back roughly to channel of his healing runes through him and started marching him outside. We will see what your punishment will be later.¡± After that he wraps one arm around Xaviers shoulder as he gives him an affectionate side hug. ¡°As well as the reward for your spoils.¡± Their quick ride through the city wasn¡¯t as peaceful as everyone had hoped. As they were stopped at the checkpoint between the merchant and noble quarter all of them were required to exit their carriage. That¡¯s when the attack happened. The prince moved to protect Xavier, thinking that this was Duke Leafblade reacting after hearing what had happened but that wasn¡¯t the case. There wasn¡¯t just one attacker either, there were in fact three elves donning fully black outfits, two of them leather and one of them cloth, their target was Ajax. [Danger Sense]¡¯s warning wasn¡¯t enough for Ajax to be able to react to the first spell that broke all of the shields his enchanted equipment provided him but it was enough to give him time to use [Mana Syphon] on the other two assassins. Both the leather wearers were using physical enchantment spells but unlike Leafblade¡¯s theirs were much stronger but also channeled. The pressure exerted by [Mana Syphon] was enough to cause one of their spells to break as the user simply wasn¡¯t good enough to maintain it. Ajax¡¯s first reaction to seeing that was to react to the elf still charging at him but he dismissed that line of thought once he realized [Danger Sense] no longer gave him a reaction to the more skilled assassin. A moment later he could feel the mana coming off of Aranor coalescing in the direction of the assassin so he focused the two remaining threats. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He quickly discarded the mage, even with a perfect ambush his spell had barely managed to break through the admitted numerous shields he had around himself. While that level of power was a danger to him on his own, he knew the mage wasn¡¯t strong enough to launch any attack with any real strength before the prince took care of him. That left him with the final assassin whose boosting spell he had broken. Ajax was sure he could dodge the attack but that wasn¡¯t good enough for him, instead he took advantage of the small moment of disorientation the assassin suffered to use every one of mana he had recovered since exiting the dungeon. In total Ajax spent just a little over one thousand five hundred mana, even with all of the training he had undergone to build his mana veins resistance this was still over what he could handle, Ajax knew there would be a price to pay for choosing this path. Those fifteen hundred points of mana however weren¡¯t used in a single spell but in multiple. The first had made the earth around Ajax mushy like wet mud, this wouldn¡¯t give the elf anything to find good purchase. The second sent out a lighting bolt towards the assassin. The third infused his own armor with Metal mana to ensure it provided better defense now that his shield enchantments were gone. The fourth and final spell however Ajax was channeling through his dagger, it was a Vibration spell that he hoped would be enough to bypass the assassin¡¯s defenses. Time seemed to slow down for Ajax as both him and the assassin struck. It was a good thing he had infused his armor with metal mana as while the assassin¡¯s sword still cleaved through it the armor forces the attack from slicing over his heart to a four inch deep gash into his shoulder. The armor and the elf¡¯s failing footwork was all that saved Ajax¡¯s life. Ajax¡¯s attack on the other hand wasn¡¯t as successful, his dagger shattered as it tore through the assassin¡¯s leather and shielding enchantments. Despite that thanks to the amount of Vibration mana infused into the stab some of the pieces still managed to break through the skin and imbed themselves into the assassin¡¯s flesh, it wasn¡¯t too deep but it was right over his heart. ¡°Marked!¡± The word resounded in the wake of the assassin as he dashed straight past to run away, not even giving a thought to his allies or even the condition of his target, all that mattered now was escape. Ajax felt the mark on himself return stronger than before, he would have to excise curse mana that provided the assassins his location but there was nothing he could do to the vulnerability effect. Right now however he couldn¡¯t care about that, his first reaction would have been to heal himself but he had just spent the last of his mana. Ajax would have bet anything that there was a powerful poison on the Assassin¡¯s blade so he wasted no time grabbing a small container from his spacial storage and carefulling covering his wound with a layer of magma. The pain from the burning sludge was enough to cause Ajax to falter, thankfully Lexi was quick enough to react as she quickly scraped the small layer of magma away from his now charred wound and started chanting a healing spell, all the while she was also feeding Ajax a mana potion so that he would regain access to his Life mana quicker. Both of the other assassin¡¯s had already died. The more skilled leather wearer was encased in a two inch thick layer of ice, as for the mage she sported two of Lioriel¡¯s arrows embedded in her chest as well as having been cleaved in two from her midsection by the prince. ¡°After him!¡± Lioriel commanded. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t engage!¡± Ajax heaved out as he was using every ounce of mana that he was regenerating to heal his wound with Life mana. Lioriel and everyone else turned to Ajax with shocked looks, all of them silently demanding an explanation. ¡°Chase him but¡­¡± Ajax took another deep breath as he had to focus his mind through the pain that was radiating off his shoulder. ¡°But don¡¯t engage, don¡¯t let him slow down or recuperate but give it ten¡­ no, fifteen minutes before you attack him.¡± ¡°You poisoned him!¡± both Aranor and the prince exclaimed at the same time, remembering what had happened to the first assassin. ¡°Arrest the perpetrator.¡± Lioriel shouted after her people that had dashed off not even slowing down when Ajax tried to stop them from engaging. Her command would have the soldiers attempt to get the assassin to surrender first before attacking him, that time was all the leeway she would allow for Ajax¡¯s plan before he people would engage. ¡°How are you?¡± the prince said as he kneel next to Ajax who was sitting on the ground while activating a number of runes on his armor, a considerable amount of mana passing through the runes as more healing spell started to take effect. ¡°I got him right over his heart.¡± Ajax said with a mix of pride and anger. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the assassin.¡± the prince erupted. ¡°You did all you could now forget about him and focus on healing yourself.¡± Ajax took the prince¡¯s advice to heart and used [Meditation] to increase his focus while overcoming the pain, two minutes after the pursuit had started however a small smile crept over Ajax¡¯s face as a notification demanded his attention at the corner of his vision. He chose to ignore it for now as he focused on healing himself but a few more minutes later his suspicion was confirmed. ¡°He just dropped and started shaking on the ground.¡± one of the elves said as he held the assassin¡¯s corpse. ¡° A minute later he was dead.¡± ¡°Take the body to the royal alchemist, he¡¯ll want to examine it.¡± Lioriel commanded, the prince turned to object but she cut him off before he could speak. ¡°Baron Hearthbound¡¯s request not to engage was respected, we would however claim the body as the price. He did just get as much of an unassisted kill as is possible on a level one hundred and fifty seven.¡± The prince accepted the compromise as fair by closing his mouth and giving a nod. Chapter 394 Ajax¡¯s [Pain Resistance] was getting the best workout it had ever gotten as his arm sent a spike of pain every time he moved the massive cast that encased the entire right side of his torso. ¡®Two damn levels off¡¯. Even though the attack had happened four whole days ago Ajax couldn¡¯t help but still curse the assassin, not for the attempt on his life so much as for being only two levels off from increasing Ajax¡¯s achievement of killing something triple his level without assistance. ¡°Just let it go already.¡± Lexi broke Ajax out of his musing as she carefully wrapped him in a hug without jostling his injured side. ¡°What?¡± Ajax was surprised by her words. ¡°You were daming that assassin again for not being two levels higher weren¡¯t you?¡± Lexi could calmly state that since they were alone in a worded carriage. ¡°Don¡¯t deny it, I can see it from the look on your face. Just be grateful about the skills you did gain and focus on getting better before we make it to the next dungeon. I want to get out of this country as quickly as possible.¡± Ajax wanted to put up at least a token of resistance but couldn¡¯t help but agree with her. Her latter point about getting out of this country was a solid one as with a second application of the Mark on him the assassin would feel the side effects stronger quicker and would be more motivated to kill him. More than that however Ajax was also severely inconvenienced by the wound that still lingered. The poison the assassin had used was of a very high grade as well as magical in nature. Not only would it have killed him in seconds had he not doused the area in magma but even the small amount of time it had to work on his wound before he could burn it out was enough to make the area very resistant to healing magic. It wasn¡¯t to the point where it could repel his Life mana but it was still taking him time and care as he carefully worked his Life mana to remove all traces of the poison as well as any of the scarring on the wound. Once all of that was done the rest could be healed in one go with the usual healing magic. Going back to her first point Ajax could accept that despite not improving his achievement he was happy enough with the results of his victory. The system had seen fit to give him five skills as reward for his accomplishment. [Focused Mind] was an Uncommon skill he had gained most likely from the concentration he pulled off in quickly reacting to his own wound and for not only maintaining consciousness but accurately and effectively working towards his own treatment despite the pain, exhaustion and blood loss he was faced with. The Rare skill [Assassinate] was just as easy to see the reason for. He had essentially killed his target with a single well placed strike, one that sacrificed his weapon for, to simply inject the poison into the assassin. Both of these skills were well documented by the kingdom of Gryndor, while the first was mostly prevalent among crafters instead of soldier combat healers were also known for getting it. [Assassinate] was a skill everyone was aware of and while gaining it was objectively a good thing it would best be kept under wraps that the head of a future ducal family had it so as to not influence the nobility''s perception of them as the royal family¡¯s personal hit men. The third skill wasn¡¯t as well documented or seen as that particularly impressive. The Epic skill [Limit Suppression] was one that allowed people to push past their own limits. They speculated that Ajax received this because of how far he had pushed with the number of concurrent spells he used, the amount of mana he pushed out in the initial exchange and for the way he maintained his consciousness and continued to spend his renewed mana following the exchange. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. [Limit Suppression] was also the skill Ajax was most excited about. It hadn¡¯t started out that way but one piece of information he had received from the prince about the skill had raised its value in Ajax¡¯s eyes. At a threshold the skill could be upgraded to allow the user to suppress their usual limitation for a different cost instead of the normal period of weakness. Ajax''s whole plan for the skill was to lead it so that he could burn through his stamina so he could bypass the amount of mana he could push through at any one time. This build wouldn¡¯t have him leaning so much into the physical boosting narrative he had initially envisioned by acquiring a boosting skill that ran off of stamina similar to the way he could power [Mana Syphon] with his own mana. This change would make it a lot easier for him to overwhelm people with multiple different affinities as it would allow him to take full advantage of the fact he could simultaneously cast multiple spells so long as he could bring forth enough mana for all of them. [Vibration Strike] was the most common sounding of all the skills he gained. The Epic skill was simply a different version of [Precise Cut] and [Precise Blow] that was based off his newest Legendary mana type. That wasn¡¯t a negative in his eyes however as he could see multiple ways to push the skill further by applying the VIbration mana in multiple ways, not only that but by using the skill he hoped he could apply Vibration mana to his attacks without having to sacrifice the durability of his weapons. [Creative Application] was the fifth and final skill Ajax had received in the wake of the encounter and it was one that perplexed him the most. The Epic skill seemed more like a crafter skill but he couldn¡¯t realize what had led to him getting it. Was it the use of magma to sear the wound and burn out the poison? ¡°Stop questioning why you got the skill.¡± Lexi once more read him like a book and broke his trance once his mana got low enough that he stopped using his Life mana. ¡°Let''s go join the others.¡± Lexi was very careful to help Ajax along, so as to not trigger his injury, as they moved from the private carriage back into Sylvanthal¡¯s royal carriage to join the others. ¡°The valiant hero finally graces us with his presence.¡± The prince was quick to make a joke as soon as Ajax entered the carriage. Once they had gotten past the checkpoint Ajax had been moved to the carriage where only Lexi and the prince had seen him for the past four days. ¡°You just had to upstage me.¡± Xavier joined in as he shook his head in mock disappointment as he slapped Ajax on the back, despite being careful enough to do so on the opposite side of his injury he had still put too much strength behind the friendly slap and Ajax flinched as his wound pulsed. ¡°Sorry.¡± Xavier said with remorse as he saw his friend flinch. He was also quick to put some distance between him and Lexi as he didn¡¯t need his new fighting style skill to tell him how she would respond to his negligence. ¡°How did you do it?¡± Lioriel¡¯s voice was ice cold as she entered behind Ajax and Lexi. ¡°Do what?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Are you sure you want me to say that aloud?¡± Lioriel asked but her gaze didn¡¯t leave Ajax''s surprised face as he took his seat to look at the elf. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are implying.¡± Ajax took a moment to gather himself before he presented a united front with the prince. ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡± Lioriel shrugged, her posture turning a little aggressive as she interpreted their confusion for a cover story. ¡°It took the royal alchemists and medics three days to figure out what happened but you used an antidote to kill the assassin. So again I ask, how did you come up with that?¡± More than a few people gasped at the implication while Ajax¡¯s mind was already running at a hundred miles an hour after he seemingly received the missing piece of the puzzle. This was why his ¡®poison¡¯ had felt different to his skills compared to the weaker first iteration, this was also why he had gained the skill [Creative Application] that he hadn¡¯t disclosed to anyone else. Most importantly however this was also why almost every person in the carriage was looking at him with a slightly worried expression. Coming from Earth Ajax was already aware that a lot of medicines could end up being poison if taken in too large a dose or when taken in absence of the sickness or poison they were supposed to counteract. This was not the case in this new life. Creating an antidote that could function as a poison was groundbreaking not because of the new application but because the system recognised the concoction as an antidote certain skills wouldn¡¯t work on it. Skills like [Detect Poison] or [Poison Resistance]. The way most antidotes work in this world was that they targeted the ¡®bad¡¯ agent affecting the body and removed it. Ajax¡¯s clotting ¡®poison¡¯ worked by forcing the blood to clot despite any other interference, this making it act like an antidote for a powerful hemorrhagic poison that would dissolve in the blood of the victim. ¡°You made a deadly antidote?¡± Aranor found himself shocked at the possibility, despite all his powerful and highly leveled social skill his jaw was hanging low in acknowledgement of the achievement. As Ajax processed all of this he turned to look at the prince, silently asking what their response to this would be. Ajax knew for sure that this wasn¡¯t something that he could cover under the guise of House secret, more than that it wasn¡¯t even something he would be able to keep hidden from the other two kingdoms, the only question was what could they get in return for the sensitive information. Chapter 395 Ajax was glad that Lioriel had at least waited until he had recovered and rejoined the others before she started asking questions but he was in no mood to be answering them. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I did it.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°This result was a happy accident.¡± From the way Lioriels face went from a frown to surprise Ajax guessed she had a decently good truth telling skill that confirmed what he just told her. ¡°Really?¡± The question was rhetorical as it just slipped out before Lioriel moved on. ¡°What poison were you trying to make that counts as an antidote? Whatever you are working with is new to us.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that, long term poisons that have no immediate symptoms are rare but not unheard of, a poison that actively helps the victim in the short term while also being deadly is a much larger leap that hadn¡¯t yet been made. Ajax was looking forward to how the system would count his discovery of this whole debacle? From the lack of achievement he wasn¡¯t the first ever to discover the interaction but he was hoping for more than a single discovery to come from this. ¡°A novel poison.¡± the prince responded, his continued silence being an answer in and of itself. ¡°Are you willing to sell the initial poison to them?¡± Anna¡¯s question drew everyone¡¯s eyes towards her however she didn¡¯t waver her gaze from Ajax. ¡°That could cause some issues regarding safety.¡± the prince went to say but Anna cut him off with a shake of her head. ¡°He¡¯s not selling the recipe, and he¡¯s not selling the improved version that is treated as an antidote. By selling the initial poison he can get in front of any questionable political intentions, after all even if your poison is seen as an antidote by the system they will have a version that works like a poison so it won¡¯t be this nebulous unsee killer.¡± ¡°What would you ask for in exchange?¡± Lioriel was quick to adapt and latched on to Anna¡¯s idea so she could at least get something. ¡°Alchemy ingre-.¡± Ajax was ready to jump straight into it but was cut off by Anna¡¯s hand on his non injured shoulder. ¡°Samples of some more exotic alchemy reagents native to deepwood.¡± Anna said in Ajax¡¯s stead, her merchant skills pushing as hard as they could. ¡°Live samples that can be transplanted.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be impressed with Anna¡¯s foresight. If he had a few samples to transplant into his own fields he might be able to grow his own depending on what conditions they required. ¡°The ones with the least specific environmental factors required for their development and growth would be best.¡± Anna pushed on. Lioriel stood silent for a moment as she activated her privacy barrier. It took her no more than ten seconds to drop the barrier. ¡°Three species, one sample of each.¡± Lioriel¡¯s offer closed off the first part of the negotiation and opened the second. ¡°Seven species, three of each.¡± Anna countered. ¡°Four species, two samples of each.¡± Lioriel shot back. Anna opened her mouth for her next counter but no words came out. Ajax looked at her in surprise while she seemed to contemplate what was happening with a look of deep concentration. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. It was only then that Ajax realized that Lioriel was most likely one of their most gifted merchants, at least among the queen¡¯s combatants. The reason she got the job of being the leader for their protection detail wasn¡¯t because her strength was perfect for it, it was because her strength was high enough to qualify her and she had the merchant skill to negotiate. ¡°Five species, two samples of each to transplant and one of the end result.¡± Anna¡¯s counter took Lioriel by surprise as she had expected her skill to assure her victory in the negotiation. ¡°Fine.¡± Lioriel said as she let out a sigh after thinking over the terms of the agreement. ¡°But you are paying up front.¡± With a nod from Anna Ajax took out a vial full of his initial clotting poison and offered it to Lioriel. ¡°Why give it up so easily?¡± the prince asked after Lioriel exited. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t take them all that long to figure out how the poison works if they keep examining the body of the assassin.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Even more so if they get their hands on the body of the other assassin I killed and see the similarities.¡± Both bodies had died because of blood clots, they might have been initially dismissed since it would be common from blood to clot in an injured person that then succumbed to poison but it wouldn¡¯t be long until they realized the clots could also be the means of killing, more so since hemorrhagic poison was one of the most well known. ¡°So, how about that royal technique of yours?¡± Ajax asked Xavier eager to no longer be the focus of the conversation. Xavier¡¯s smile widened at the question. ¡°Once your wound heals up I look forward to showing you.¡± ¡°But I thought¡­¡± Ajax stopped himself there realizing he was about to mention how it didn¡¯t work on too big a stat difference. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± was all that Xavier said with a smirk reminiscent of his uncle¡¯s. The next week of the journey Ajax spent finalizing his healing. That wasn¡¯t to say that the journey was uneventful, two times the assassin had tried to ambush them. Unlike their previous attempts however both of these attempts were a shameful display. Both of the ambushes were simple attempts of opportunity based on proximity and terrain, there was no other distraction, there was no clear shot to Ajax. Their target hadn¡¯t even been aware of one of the attacks until after everything was already handled by Lioriel and the rest of their escort. One thing both ambushes did have in common however was that the attackers were all sporting rashes all over their bodies. It was clear that their side of the bargain with the Mark was coming due and it clearly wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Ajax asked Xavier as he entered a combat stance. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Xavier answered as he also took a combat stance. The prince was there to monitor the spar while also providing a privacy bubble large enough to keep their spar from prying eyes. ¡°Begin already, the item eats a lot of mana to extend the bubble so much.¡± Xavier needed no further encouragement as he charged towards Ajax. Ajax on the other hand was taking it easy, he wasn¡¯t using the boost from [Mana Syphon] and even then he was also holding back on his speed and strength as he wanted to work on his skill and not dominate the fight through his stats. The fight started off pretty even. With Ajax constantly swapping between his sword, axe, hammer, shield and dagger constantly he was able to cycle through a large variety of attacks despite not having used more than one spell at a time to counter Xavier¡¯s chanting. As the fight continued however Ajax could feel Xavier pushing him harder and harder. Despite his skill with the weapons he was wielding it almost looked like his form was crumbling more and more with every exchange. Ajax was already expecting this however. The prince had even partially confirmed his guess about how the fighting style worked so he knew what to look for. By holding himself back in terms of speed and strength Ajax had plenty of time to analyze both his and Xavier¡¯s movements to see that Xavier was more and more reacting to Ajax¡¯s move before he even made it. Sure if Ajax wanted he could focus on reacting to Xavier¡¯s moves instead and the sheer difference in dexterity and intelligence would allow him to gain the upper hand. The big surprise came when Ajax felt [Danger Sense] faintly hum almost four minutes into the spar as sweat ran down Xavier¡¯s forehead as he pushed himself. Ajax had intended to start using a second spell and swapping over to his spear for the first time to take Xavier by surprise. It was instead he who was surprised as he found himself with his sword in his hand while only canceling out Xavier¡¯s own spell. Ajax stopped holding back his stats and even pushed a little with [Mana Syphon] to react, his high Intelligence giving him plenty of time to make the decision. What happened next surprised Ajax even more as his body seemed to move almost on autopilot as he pushed himself closer to his body''s limits. The axe in his other hand had swapped over to a hammer, Ajax had made the choice to use an air augment instead of the metal one to specifically soften the impact before he sent Xavier sprawling. ¡°What was that?¡±Ajax in surprise. ¡°It felt almost like my body wasn¡¯t listening to me.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Xavier groaned as he picked himself off the ground. ¡°Almost done in by my own skill.¡± Ajax hadn¡¯t meant to hit Xavier so hard, only now did he realize that his body had actually been moving exactly as he had throughout their entire spar despite him wanting to switch it up on Xavier. ¡°Are you not just predicting my movements but enforcing a pattern?¡± Ajax asked as he firmly situated Xavier skill as a Legendary one. ¡°Not a pattern, a rhythm.¡± Xavier said as he stored his own armor and weapons. ¡°It will probably get easier to spot the more you are exposed to it but if you analyze the fight with that in mind I think you will see just how repetitive your attacks get on a seven attack loop. Sure the weapon is different but every seventh attack you¡¯ll see it has the same purpose. It even held out once you stopped holding back, I just couldn¡¯t react to it.¡± Chapter 396 Ajax was very impressed with Xavier¡¯s new style. From what little he had shared about his breakthrough it seems that besides the usual five skill types that were used as the basis for this style, he had also added the Uncommon skill [Battle Rhythm]. Before getting his battle style skill Xavier had used [Battle Rhythm] to help predict an opponent''s next move but now he could not just react, but by carefully orchestrating the fight to happen on his terms he could rely on his opponents own ingrained movements from training to get them to stick to the rhythm he was dictating even when they initially wanted to diverge. What was even scarier was that he had done the same thing to Ajax and he hadn¡¯t even realized for how long he had been going with it. That one spar was the only one Ajax took part in before they arrived at the next dungeon. He had spent the rest of his time working on his Vibration mana with Lexi, though he could tell something was up with her ever since he showed her he had gained the same affinity. It wasn¡¯t that she wasn¡¯t happy for him but something was eating away at her. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ajax asked as they retired for the evening the night before they arrived at the dungeon. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Lexi said. Despite Ajax not being the most perspective person when it came to social situation he could tell it most certainly wasn¡¯t nothing. ¡°It¡¯s not nothing. You can tell me.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± Lexi let out a deep sigh as she turned to look Ajax in the eye, as she took in a deep breath Ajax could tell she was building up the courage to admit what was wrong. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you are going to just leave me behind.¡± Lexi admitted. Ajax¡¯s instinctual reaction was to deny that he would ever do that but he caught himself. He took a moment to digest what Lexi had just said. Throughout their entire relationship Ajax had always been a few steps stronger than Lexi, that hadn¡¯t been a problem for them then so what was it that caused it to be a problem now. There were two things that Ajax¡¯s mind went to. The first was that not only was Ajax stronger still but that the gap between them was actively increasing as time passed. Had the gap between them stayed the same Lexi wouldn¡¯t have started to have these feelings of inadequacy. The second thing was that Ajax had gained the same Legendary affinity Lexi had. Before they had gone on the expedition outside of Gryndor Ajax had access to all the affinities Lexi had and even a few more on top of that. For a moment there both of them had also gained a Legendary affinity each but now not only had Ajax gained two affinities one of them was the same one Lexi had. This on top of all the extra stats Ajax was gaining with each dungeon not to mention his most recent Achievement, as he thought about all this Ajax felt a pit form in his own stomach about how he might actually pull too far ahead of Lexi to the point she couldn¡¯t join him on any of his future adventures. ¡°You see it too¡­¡± Lexi whispered as she noticed Ajax¡¯s eyes widened, a small part of her had hoped that he would just deny it, while this response was better for them in the long run in the short term it increased the pressure she was feeling. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to help...¡± Ajax finally said as he hugged Lexi closer. ¡°But don¡¯t give up hope, after this trip your stats will have increased enough that your grandfather may be able to teach you further.¡± Ajax¡¯s words actually brought Lexi¡¯s spirits up. Before they left Gryndor Lexi had hit a wall in terms of what her grandfather could teach her because she simply couldn¡¯t push her skills any further because of her limited stats. This was one of the big issues many people who were extremely talented faced in that their skill would grow too quickly, once they capped out due to stats they had a much harder time gaining the experience to level to push the cap further out. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Ajax was actually one of the best examples for this. Despite the fact that his skills were actually a little under the level expected of someone as talented as he was, at least for his level, he had only gotten to that high of a level because he had about three times as many skills. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll get to delve more in the future as well.¡± Ajax promised as much to Lexi as he did to himself. ¡°It will be a decade, maybe two, before you reach the point where you¡¯ll lose out on the stats any of these dungeons can provide for you and I¡¯ll make sure there is another delve ready for you to push further.¡± Ajax¡¯s promise helped not only with his own determination but it also helped ease Lexi¡¯s own fears a little as they both cuddled together before going to sleep. Tomorrow they would be delving and they needed to be as rested as possible. The fourth dungeon in Deepwood had a thirteen level jump between floors and started with a floor that housed monsters between levels thirty two and thirty seven. Ajax was slightly disappointed by how the math worked out as he would only be able to get the clear stats for only four floors. More than that everyone was slightly more relaxed as they got ready to enter this dungeon because of how the breakpoints worked out. While none of them were going to be leaving their guards down, the floors worked out in such a way that all of them would be fighting a few levels below the highest floor they had already cleared in other dungeons. This was especially true of Lexi who had managed to just barely defeat a level seventy and would now only be fighting a level sixty three. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not thinking-¡± Ajax said as they stood before the entrance of the dungeon. ¡°No, I¡¯m not thinking of trying to kill the level seventy six.¡± Lexi cut him off before he finished, she had entertained the idea for longer than she¡¯d like to admit and while she knew the danger she would be exposed to would be limited with the prince there to interfere the gap was just too big. ¡°I would need to be pushing the limits of my abilities to even try something like that.¡± While running through all of the dungeons like this one after the other was a big boost for each of them because of the stats they gained it did also mean that as they went further and further along their journey they were also losing out on just what percentage of their full power they could bring to bear. Before she had left Gryndor Lexi was confident that she had mastered what she was capable of and could bring out close to one hundred percent of what her stats, skills and spells could do. While she was stronger now than when she began the added stats, skills were not yet fully mastered. More than that because they were doing so many dungeons the increase in power was one of the largest ones she had ever experienced in such a short span of time. Lexi had only seen such a dramatic change in her stats two times before, the first was when she reached the age of ten and had finally gotten to spend all of the stats she had been gathering, the second was when she had first consumed all of the potion she could get a use out of across four months under her grandfather¡¯s guidance. Both times it had taken her years with her family''s support to once again be able to leverage all of the power she was capable of. ¡°Ajax, a word.¡± The prince approached Ajax once they entered the dungeon. ¡°Yes?¡± Ajax was confused why the prince would want a private word like this. Lexi¡¯s recent confession had him worried that it would also be something bad. ¡°I am not sure what happened as you cleared the last dungeon, nor am I sure just what the new skills you gained from killing the assassin mean in terms of your full abilities.¡± the prince was deadly serious as he spoke, not an ounce of his usual joking attitude could be seen. ¡°But you are not attempting the seventh floor.¡± Ajax was surprised by what the prince said. In a moment of stunned silence Ajax redid the math to make sure he wasn¡¯t mistaken but no, the prince was saying that Ajax shouldn¡¯t try killing a level one hundred and forty one miniboss. Something he had no intention of trying anyway. ¡°I had no intention of trying that.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I do so if I could?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t clear the eighth floor.¡± the prince responded. ¡° The risk is just too great.¡± The eighth floor would have level one hundred and sixty seven minibosses on it, while they would be strong Ajax had no doubt that the prince would be able to clear all of them in time without much issue, at worst they might have to spend some extra time on the seventh floor to make sure the main mana type of the floor was favorable for the prince. The big problem was the floor boss, since a floor boss of that level could very much kill even the prince if a bad matchup came up. ¡°I see.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°No need to worry, I¡¯m not there just yet.¡± In an odd twist it was Ajax making the joke with cocky grin and the prince that was looking at him with a serious air. Chapter 397 The team started clearing the dungeon at a breakneck pace. Only two hours into the delve and already most of the group had already finished their kills for the third floor. The only holdout was Benedict, unfortunately for him the monsters on this floor were very defensively focused so he was at a disadvantage being a physical fighter. ¡°Found a frog type!¡± Elara returned to the group with a wide smile. Most of the monsters they had been facing had been earth or rock based turtles with very hard shells for their levels, while a frog type would be much faster and more offensively dedicated; it was something Benedict would have no issue handling. The fight between the two didn¡¯t take all that long. Benedict focused on taking out the frog''s knees first and once its mobility was crippled it was easy to catch up and finish it. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± the prince asked the group as they headed for the next floor. ¡°It all just seemed¡­¡± Lexi started unsure how to express what she felt without sounding delusional. ¡°Too easy.¡± It was Xavier who finished the sentence. ¡°It feels too easy, at the same time it also feels like a bit of a waste.¡± ¡°If we spent even a few months easing into our gains we probably could have pushed one floor further.¡± Anna also threw in her own contribution. ¡°You¡¯re looking at it all wrong.¡± Elara said as she shattered the melancholy atmosphere that was starting to form. ¡°This might feel like you are wasting a priceless opportunity but that isn¡¯t exactly the case.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± even Arianwyn was confused by her friend. ¡°For a long time now access to another countries'' dungeons has always been very limited.¡± Elara explained. ¡°All of this has been for a very good reason but I have a feeling all of that is going to change soon. And it¡¯s all because of you.¡± Everyone turned to Ajax who she was looking at. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to not only give yourself a big head start in terms of stats at an early level but fate or good planning also granted you access to almost five countries worth of dungeons. You¡¯re missing a few floors here and there but not much else.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Benedict caught on to what she was saying. ¡°Just to have people who in the future could at least join together to at least confront Ajax countries would work together in an exchange more often, with us getting all of the lower floors now even though we would be higher level later on when the exchanges start we will be simply picking up where we left off.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel a swell of pride fill his chest with just a hint of guilt. On the one hand he was pushing the humanoid nations to work together and increase the powers of humanoids overall just through his own dedication to getting better. A small part of him however felt guilty that this progress mostly came by due to fear, he pushed the guilt aside knowing that it was a byproduct of Earth¡¯s view of dictators who rules with an iron fist that caused it. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°If anything I would advise all of you to ensure you don¡¯t try and leverage your stats into leveling as quickly as possible.¡± Elara continued. ¡°As with almost all things, politics will still take a long time to work out.¡± Anna and Xavier were the most excited by this potential future. With their families influence the two of them were all but guaranteed to have a spot on the first such deals that went through. Lexi was also excited at the prospect of eventually catching up to the stats Ajax gained from dungeon floors even if it would take her a while to do so. While Ajax¡¯s classmates were all uplifted by the news the same couldn¡¯t be said of everyone else. Elara, Arianwyn, Darkclaw, Harold and even the prince couldn¡¯t help but feel a touch of envy that they were simply born at the wrong time to take advantage of such an opportunity. More than that for Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw the new state of affairs would meant that they might just have to stagnate their own leveling for a short while just so they will get at least a taste of the same opportunity, otherwise in a century or two they will simply be left behind by the new generation. Once they entered the fourth floor all of Ajax¡¯s classmates exited the dungeon and the prince felt no trepidation sending Ajax by himself to quickly clear the floor while he stood behind to talk. ¡°I can talk to my brother and father about getting a head start with the exchange delving.¡± the prince offered the three of them while Harold watched with practiced disinterest. ¡°The three of you won¡¯t have to delay yourselves for too long but it will be expensive.¡± Both Elara and Arianwyn couldn¡¯t help but grimace at that, their kingdom was in a very poor financial situation at the moment, that was the entire reason why Ajax had even gotten his own chance at delving their dungeons. There was no way they would be able to pay a premium just to speed up the process. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, it won¡¯t be materially expensive.¡± The prince was quick to catch on to what they were thinking. ¡°To everyone else it will play out as more of a courtesy and goodwill for having helped Ajax, probably a part of the original deal that allowed him to delve. The price for it however will be more along the lines of a binding defensive pact.¡± One thing nobody but the prince knew about was that both king Gryndor and the crown prince would all but jump at any chance to set up a binding mutual defense pact. The reason for this was that everyone will very soon see the true extent of Ajax¡¯s power in a very clear way. The last dungeon on Ajax¡¯s delving route is the Empire¡¯s capital dungeon, unlike all the others he won¡¯t have a booster to join him for that one and while he can boost Xavier, Lexi and Anna he would be forced to unleash a dungeon break after he squeezes out as many stats as he can out of it. ¡°That would be up to my father.¡± ¡°That decision lies with the Council.¡± Both Arianwyn and Darkclaw answer at the same time neither looking to undermine their own countries'' leadership. Elara however is sure that once her father hears of the opportunity he will push in favor of accepting the deal, it¡¯ll most likely mean some concessions for their family to ensure that she is one of the few chosen for the opportunity and the concession may even be so far as a political marriage for herself. ¡°I¡¯m not here to pressure you into a decision.¡± the prince lifted his hands defensively. ¡°I myself don¡¯t have the authority to put forward such a deal but I can at least mention it. I should also mention that we should leave this kingdom as soon as possible. It won¡¯t be long until others start putting together what little Elara did.¡± This was the biggest fear the prince had right now. He himself hadn¡¯t put the pieces together as well as Elara did but once he saw the whole picture it put him on edge. While a future of delving exchanges seemed to be to the benefit of all on the surface that wasn¡¯t exactly the truth. There were a few nations that would be left out in the cold. The Empire, Deepwood and Highmountain were all supremacist nations, at best they might form an exchange with their non-supremacist neighbors but that was it. It wouldn¡¯t take longer than a millennium, maybe two before the four more central nations would grow too strong for them to even contend with. Should Deepwood decide that they would prefer a decisive fight over a slow death they may just break the agreement and get rid of Ajax now to put a stop to anything and take their chances with rebuilding after the war. ¡°That¡­¡± Arianwyn¡¯s eyes open wide, a flicker of fear passing through them. For the first time she feels that her own life is also in danger on this expedition as Deepwood would definitely eliminate all of them and not just the non-elves, worse yet they might hold her and Elara hostage to try and strong arm her father in keeping Sylvanthal neutral. ¡°We¡¯ll stay behind on the sixth floor.¡± Elara suggested. ¡°We¡¯ll set a countdown for us to exit so that we come out at the same time as Ajax before you clear the last floor, that way we will downplay his abilities. He barely stumbled out of the dungeon the last time so it would look better if he isn¡¯t pushing a floor above us consistently. ¡°That might buy us some time.¡± Harold nodded. ¡°Even if they catch on to what we are doing, figuring out what is going on might add a day or two before they put everything together.¡± Chapter 398 For the first time in a while Ajax actually had a rather easy time in all the floors of the dungeon. Even the final floor didn¡¯t pose that much of a challenge for him because of the extra stats he gained from his skills. If anything the floor was the perfect wet stone for him to get a decent handle on how his spells worked with all the extra stats. ¡°That was quite the increase in power.¡± the prince said as they waited together in front of the arch. ¡°Can you tell me if it''s replicable?¡± Ajax remained silent for a moment as he debated what to do. ¡°In a way.¡± He finally answered. ¡°But it''s not practical.¡± ¡°The increase looks close to one hundred stats.¡± the prince raised an eyebrow. ¡° That¡¯s a rather big increase that practicality can be left aside.¡± Ajax chose to remain silent and the prince respected that, he had something else on his mind. ¡°Once you exit the dungeon I have a mission for you.¡± the prince decided to switch topics. ¡°What are those?¡± Ajax asked as he saw the prince take out two items that shined to his mana sense showing they contained a fair amount in their storage. ¡°My privacy shield and the communicator for my father.¡± the prince said. ¡°You, Elara and Arianwyn will all exit at the same time, it will be almost a day before I exit and I need to make sure no deal is struck at that time.¡± In actuality it would take the prince two to three days to clear the following floor, it was only thanks to the dungeon¡¯s time anomaly that it would seem like only a single day to the outside world. Past the mana level to house level one hundred time passed two times as fast inside the dungeon and with each level after that it ramped up further and further. This helped combat the issues of floors also growing in size meaning that level one hundred and fifty going for a delve didn¡¯t spend a whole month just clearing the floor. ¡°What kind of deal?¡± hearing who was involved and the time sensitive nature of the agreement he couldn¡¯t put together what could have happened. The prince took a moment to explain the situation and ramifications to Ajax. Ajax very much understood everyone¡¯s point of view, in terms of both politics and simply from the innate urge to progress further as a species and an individual such an agreement would make perfect sense. More than that it would also provide the nobility a way to ensure they maintain a stat advantage once the commoner¡¯s baseline power grows thanks to Ajax¡¯s training method. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked as he took in Ajax¡¯s awkward expression. ¡°Nothing.¡±Ajax waved it off. ¡°I just didn¡¯t think I would become such a catalyst for change.¡± His thoughts however also added ¡®Am I really going to be the evil overlord who is defeated by the power of friendship?¡¯. The most important part of the agreement was that Ajax himself wouldn¡¯t really be able to take advantage of the delving since he had already cleared most of those floors and no country would let outsiders delve floors past level one hundred and fifty. The sheer number of high level monsters unleashed by a dungeon break at that level would be enough to level a capital even if their elites would survive and eventually even kill off the monsters that escape. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°But why is this so time sensitive?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I don¡¯t see your father and brother rushing headlong into a deal without waiting to run it by you.¡± ¡°I doubt they realized just how quickly you would grow on this trip.¡± the prince answered. ¡°They both have a great mind for ruling and even some of the more advanced combat strategy is well understood but they don¡¯t have the same grasp when it comes to one person¡¯s ability to progress.¡± Ajax was taken aback by that but as he thought about it more he realized that the prince was right. The king was close to twice the same age as his son, he was a higher level and Ajax was certain he even possessed more overall stats, despite this the prince registered as the stronger of the two to his [Judge Threat]. This was the difference between someone who leveled as a combatant and someone who only dabbled in combat. ¡°I expect Elara¡¯s little revelation to come as a surprise to them.¡± the prince continued. ¡°That in and of itself will be enough to rattle them as had they realized the risk they may not have been so enthusiastic about the extension to your trip. Accepting the delve exchange and allowing other to delve our dungeons first with no collateral should they break the deal would a great political move to show goodwill.¡± ¡°I think just going for the goodwill might be the better way of going about it.¡± Ajax as he thought about it. ¡°In an ideal, hell even in an okay scenario, I¡¯d fully agree with you.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°But in those cases you would anyway have enough time to grow and progress. Having those defensive agreements in place would be paramount if something unexpected should happen.¡± With that Ajax let the topic drop. With nothing else to do Ajax decided to scrounge up any or the flora present and try his hand at [Alchemy] using such mana dense ingredients. They still had another three hours before it would finally be time for him to exit the dungeon since the plan was made to allow for the case that Ajax didn¡¯t kill the first miniboss he faced and needed to find a second. ¡°Will we take our time a little more once we step back into Sylvanthal?¡± Ajax asked. While he had initially been prepared for an extended trip the addition of Deepwood had turned what was supposed to be normal dungeon circuit into a driveby where they hit the dungeon as they raced passed. Ajax had expected the journey to be a lot more like the lap they did of the Republic where they would spend a few days in the city around each dungeon before moving on. The danger of Deepwood as well as the timer with the Empire delve had meant all of them had spent the last three months on the road with barely a few days stopped and even those were only to delve. ¡°You¡¯ll have about ten days to relax in Sylvanthal¡¯s capital on top of the days you will be delving for, for the other two dungeons we will stop for a day to rest before and after we all exit the dungeon.¡± the prince reassured him. With the time to depart rapidly approaching Ajax and the prince stepped onto the next floor. Ajax didn¡¯t take the time to look over his new surroundings, he barely spared a second to give [Mana Syphon] a chance to take in the ambient mana to see if he could push the skill¡¯s ability to predict dungeon floors before he exited the dungeon with the prince¡¯s privacy and communication items. As Ajax exited the dungeon and took in his surrounding it occurred to him that they hadn¡¯t taken one thing into account, they had accounted for the difference in the speed of time as it related between the dungeon and the outside but not between the two floors of the dungeon. Since Ajax and the prince were one floor higher time would pass slightly faster for them and Ajax who was supposed to be the last to exit by a few seconds found himself all alone outside the dungeon hoping for the other to exit quickly. Unlike the dungeons in the capital there was nobody around this dungeon that could pose a threat to him besides Aranor and their own escorts, even the dungeon guards weren¡¯t strong enough to pose a threat to him so he simply did his best not to show his distress at having messed up the plan. ¡°What happened?!¡± Another deviation from the original plan was Aranor¡¯s reaction. Since the plan had been hatched inside the dungeon he couldn¡¯t have been informed, having Ajax be the first to exit despite Arianwyn and Elara having almost always excited a floor earlier caused some serious distress to the elven champion. While Ajax had actually gotten to the level where he could comfortably track the champion¡¯s movements as he was a full mage it did little to help with the mana that was leaking from the arms that were fastened to Ajax¡¯s shoulders, the elves previous question hanging ominously in the air. Fortunately enough for Ajax the rest of his team exited before he had a moment to give his best attempt at an explanation. Harold, Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw were all very surprised to find Ajax waiting for them outside the dungeon with Aranor¡¯s Aura exuding a murderous presence. Their reactions to the situation were different. Harold and Darkclaw looked on confused while Arianwyn quickly moved to sooth Aranor and Elara facepalmed as she quickly figured out what happened and couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed at her past self for failing to noticed the hidden variable. Chapter 399 The situation quickly calmed down once everyone exited the dungeon. Elara muttered a very quiet curse, disappointed at herself for not having thought about a temporal difference with something so precise. Ajax knew their plan had failed but even in failure it would still do its job in confusing people. As Arianwyn took Aranor to one side so she could use a privacy screen where she could explain everything Ajax contemplated doing the same in order to get in touch with king Gryndor. As soon as the privacy bubble went up around Aranor and Arianwyn [Danger Sense] started losing its shit. Ajax had no idea what was going on so he maximized [Mana Syphon]¡¯s defensive potential in a way he very rarely did; he let it drain everything around him at maximum capacity with the exception of his own gear. There was no way the skill could convert as much mana as it was drawing in into a physical boost but it should weaken any form of magical attack before it made contact. More than that Arianwyn lowered her privacy bubble as soon as they sensed that something was going on. While a privacy bubble did mostly isolate the people inside from those outside it did work the other way around to a much lower effectiveness. As soon as the bubble lowered Aranor turned straight away to the confluence of mana he was sensing gathering in the distance and started chanting. Ajax followed Aranor¡¯s gaze but there was nothing he could see, not even the elven champion could see anyone yet he knew their position solely from the mana gathering. Then the mana was gone from Aranor¡¯s senses. He braced for a large effect and released a good amount of mana into the earth at their feet to at least interfere with any attack that looked to take control of it. Ajax¡¯s initial defense of [Mana Syphon] was what saved him in the end. His skill had managed to drain the shadow mana of the arrow fired towards him revealing it a moment before it made contact. With his legs already braced that moment was all Ajax needed to try and jump out of the way of the arrow. His attempt at escape wasn¡¯t a total success, funnily enough he didn¡¯t yet feel the pain and more noticed the wound from his [Sense Mana] as he montiered his defensive equipment. A chunk of flesh about four inches in diameter was missing out of Ajax¡¯s left side and blood was gushing out at a prodigious rate. Ajax wasted no time casting his Life regeneration as well as three different Light based spells in order to get the wound under control. Throughout all this however he was sporting a grin. Multiple elves from their escort quickly rushed towards the predicted position of the shooter though none of them expected to be able to find him. ¡°No!¡± Lioriel''s voice was a mix between denial and rage, she was standing next to where the arrow was embedded five feet deep into the earth despite it being reinforced by the presence of Aranor¡¯s mana. A final quiet whisper passed her lips ¡°We have failed.¡± It took a moment for Lioriel to regain her composure before he gave the signal and the pursuit of the attacker was called off by her second in command. ¡°Why did you stop the pursuit?¡± Xavier demanded in anger. ¡°Because they won¡¯t be able to catch him, and that¡¯s even if they are able to track him.¡± Lioriel answered in a measured tone, she buried her outrage at being commanded by a visitor so much younger and weaker than herself in light of the circumstances. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You know who attacked?¡± Anna interjected. ¡°I know who¡¯s calling mark that arrow is, it even lets us know which assassin group was targeting your friend.¡± Lioriel said as she pointed towards it. ¡°The leader of Shadeblossom is the one who attacked.¡± The name of the group didn¡¯t mean much to the delving group but Aranor fixed the elf with a look once the name passed her lips. He clearly recognised the name of the ¡®weakest assassin¡¯. ¡°That coward is behind this?¡± Aranor cursed. Seeing the looks of confusion Aranor explained who the assassin was. ¡°He is an assassin with next to no engagement skills. His entire kit is based around hiding, shooting, running and poisoning. He would lose to people even thirty levels lower than himself in a straight fight, his ability to poison someone with an arrow is next to unmatched.¡± A flurry of concerned looks turned towards Ajax who could help but chuckle a little at the situation. ¡°You best say your goodbyes, he doesn¡¯t have long.¡± Lioriel offered in a remorseful tone. As soon as the group gathered around Ajax he activated the prince¡¯s privacy bubble. The drain on his mana was unexpected so he also quickly turned it off only for Arianwyn to bring up her own privacy bubble. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Arianwyn quickly apologized, she felt extremely guilty for thoughtlessly dragging Aranor into a privacy bubble while the prince was still inside the dungeon. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ajax tried to wave her off. ¡°You won¡¯t.¡± Aranor said though his words contained some doubt as he notice Ajax¡¯s situation seemed to be improving instead of deteriorating. ¡°His poison is very potent and his skills should nullify any skill you have to help you. With just your stats and healing you won¡¯t survive the poison.¡± ¡°I might not.¡± Ajax nodded in assent. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t poisoned.¡± Ajax¡¯s words suddenly drew everyone¡¯s undivided attention to the wound they had all been unconsciously avoiding. A pink fresh layer of skin was visible around the edges of the armor that looked to have torn off. Since his initial chest plate was ruined following his previous assassination attempt Ajax had fallen back on using his own armor. His was very much inferior to the one the royal family provided in nearly all respects but it did have one very odd attribute. ¡°That¡¯s the armor Kate, Luna and my grandfather worked on.¡± Lexi sobbed as she rushed to run her hands over the edges of the armor around the wound with tears still in her eye. ¡°It worked.¡± she finally gasped with a laugh as she launched into a hug and gave Ajax a deep kiss. As much as Ajax would like to take credit for the armor he was at best tangentially involved. It had all started from a discussion Ajax had with Kate in terms of whether there was ever a moment where it would be better for him to simply take an attack and heal it instead of trying to block it. The timing of the talk had matched up with Kate¡¯s lessons on dealing with poisons. From there Kate and Luna approached Duke Manashaper with help in their little project. Their idea had been to add an enchantment to plate armor that was centered around the Detect Poison enchantment. They had worked for a long time before they finally managed to come up with a set of enchantments that would have the armor intentionally break and reinforce only at the point in contact with the weapon. In this way the small patch of reinforced armor would wrap itself around the weapon and tear through the flesh, more than likely doing more damage than the blow itself would have but preventing poison from being effective. It had taken Luna, Kate and the few of the people Duke Manashaper had assigned to the project two years before they had finally finished the enchantment. Despite their work being a success, its uses were too niche to compete with the multitude of enchantments already available for the amount of space it took up. This wasn¡¯t to say that it was a failure as multiple sets of armor were created as they were ideal for weaker people to wear when defending from assassins but it wasn¡¯t revolutionary on a large scale. ¡°The only question remaining now is how do we react to this?¡± Ajax asked. The following conversation took thirty minutes, all of which Ajax had spent in silence as he knew he wasn¡¯t the most skilled person in those matters. With the decision finally made Ajax asked for a moment of privacy as he pulled out the prince¡¯s communication device intent on fulfilling his promise to the prince as well as reporting the newest development and getting the king¡¯s take on their situation. Almost everyone agreed to Ajax¡¯s demand but Lexi simply remained silent as she still clung to him and just gave a shake of the head ¡®no¡¯ while tightening her grip on him. Despite the fact that his wound was already fully healed, a simple pink shade all that differentiated the skin where the wound had been from the surrounding area, it had been a close call. As Ajax activated the prince¡¯s privacy bubble once more and the communication device he was surprised to find it took a few moments before the line connected. Even more surprising were the words that came from the other side, it was a voice he recognised in a tone he hadn¡¯t heard before. ¡°Who are you? And my son better be alive!¡± king Gryndor voice came out as a growl. Chapter 400 King Gryndor P.O.V. The last few months had me considering investing a decent amount of my own wealth into Luna. The royal healer had told me that my headaches were psychosomatic or something like that, essentially I was doing this to myself, so there was nothing to heal but like her recent discovery with poisons she might be able to find something with enough funds. A single glance at my desk was enough to double the strength of the pulsing in my head. Dozens of letters stood there, all of them from some of the highest Dukes and Viscounts in the kingdom, all of them clamoring about favoritism and their own share. Much like all things as of late they all tied back to Ajax. The kid¡¯s first reward of getting access to the dungeons in the Empire wasn¡¯t something anyone looked at too closely, it was the first time it had happened and technically it was all handled by the Goldmancers on the logistical level, a few people were upset a Baron had gotten two slots in the less important dungeon but it wasn¡¯t that hard to swallow considering the circumstances. The delves into the Republic were something nobody could complain about. Not only were there plenty of spots, so many that all of the most talented people in the kingdom had gotten a chance to go, every important noble had managed to secure a spot if they had a very promising fighter. It was what came after that kicked off this shitshow. Even worse, I was still traveling back when it started so I couldn¡¯t snuff it out before it grew too large. If there was a saving grace it was that the people Ajax had chosen to take with him from our kingdom were connected to the three Archdukes and that the young Manashaper¡¯s relationship with Ajax was well known in the capital¡¯s social circles. On a more bittersweet note my son and the rest of the convoy had been repeatedly attacked during their trip through Deepwood. While they hadn¡¯t always escaped unscathed nobody had died yet and with every attack that managed to break through the escort they were followed by, it meant a larger and larger payday for me from Deepwood. WIth what they had endured so far I would receive more than enough of a variety of resources that my initial plan of having Ajax be a simple Duke with a large manor in the capital was changed. On his return Ajax would become a landed Duke, more than that I would see to it that his lands would include the city of Lessis, the dungeon and its surrounding mountain range. This would give them enough space to grow and expand. More than that with access to a dungeon so close to home and away from most prying eyes it would be a while before anyone would suspect Ajax¡¯s ability to predict floor themes. The one worry I did have was that having them so close to a dungeon could lead to an orchestrated dungeon break in the near future could wipe them before they had a chance to properly settle. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± the door to my study was flung open and both of the guards stationed outside it were securing my head of intelligence. ¡°What is it?¡± A cold chill went down my spine as I knew the man was one who respected social obligations. For him not to knock and wait it meant something dire must have happened. ¡°It¡¯s your son, Your Majesty.¡± The man struggled to wave his restrained arm which grasped a communication device that was pulsing with mana. ¡°Someone else is using his communication device.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. My blood ran cold. It took every ounce of my social skills to get both my fear and anger under control. The device wasn¡¯t sophisticated enough for us to tell who was using it, in fact I couldn¡¯t even tell if it was my son or not but my head spy had a high enough Perception and skills that he could tell minute differences and the person on the other end was not my son. This was not a situation in which I could show weakness, perhaps the elves were considering the remunerations they would need to pay too much and they wanted to negotiate them with my son capture but I would not let that stand. ¡°Who are you? And my son better be alive!¡± My voice wasn¡¯t as controlled as I hoped, thankfully it was the anger and not the fear that showed. The whole room went silent as we all waited for an answer. With every second that passed my anger died as fear took over, fear and a good amount of guilt for sending my son out there. ¡°I¡¯m Baron Ajax Hearthbound, Your Majesty. The prince should be alive and well.¡± The words killed my anger and put most of my fears to rest but I had to know more. ¡°Ajax, why do you have my son¡¯s communication tool? Was he captured?¡± Over the next five minutes Ajax explained what my son had discussed with Arianwyn and Elara inside the dungeon, during that time my other son and heir had also joined us and we couldn¡¯t help but trade guilty looks as Ajax explained the reasoning behind him getting in touch with us so quickly. ¡°I hate to say it but he was right.¡± my heir said with a sigh. ¡°A chance to look less warmongering by giving others a chance to catch up with Ajax early, I¡¯d have jumped at it.¡± A single glance was enough for all of us to agree we would have mishandled the situation without this early warning. That being said this wasn¡¯t the time to discuss this, it would be debated over the next few hours at length but there was no reason to have Ajax burn through his mana as he waited for that. ¡°Other than that, how have you been following the assassination attempt, I heard they got quite close.¡± The question was one I asked both as a king worried about a very important future asset of the kingdom but also as an old man who looked at Ajax as somewhat of a nephew. Our families might not yet be tied together by marriage but considering how small his family was and how close he worked with us over the last few years I had developed a fondness for the boy. The answer that came was entirely unexpected and plunged the room into silence as all of us sat with baited breath as Ajax detailed the latest attempt on his life that happened no more than minutes ago. This was simply too much. The discussion about Sylvanthal¡¯s offer would have to wait for a few hours. As soon as my talk with Ajax was over I would be sending Deepwood¡¯s new queen a very pointed message containing a barely veiled threat about the safety of my people in her kingdom. Ajax hadn¡¯t even finished speaking and I was already drafting the message in my head.¡°Try and bring back the arrow.¡± The words of my head spy brought me back to the present. ¡°That along with your newest discoveries into poisons will let us take a big leap forward when it comes to the field.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Ajax responded, but from the tone he said it with I knew exactly what it meant, he¡¯d pass the negotiation off to Annabeth Goldmancer. Good, those particular bastards deserved everything she would dish out and more. With that Ajax cut off the connection and the room was silent once more. ¡°At least you won¡¯t have to worry about his safety for a while once he returns if he brings back that arrow.¡± My head spy chuckled. ¡°And knowing young Ms. Goldmancer I am confident we will have it.¡± My head spy was right about Ajax¡¯s safety. Dark as his humor might be about half of the assassins that worked under him were all psychopaths. Seeing as they had no emotions we trained them from an early age with a deep sense of loyalty and a code. Ajax pushing the field of poisons this far would have them all bound to repay the favor. In fact I might need to make sure none of the other nobles try anything out of jealousy once he returns since my own assassins might just react once the catch wind of it. ¡°I thought we couldn¡¯t get headaches once our stats got this high.¡± my heir said as he massaged the bridge of his nose. ¡°Perhaps we should have someone check the breakfast we had.¡± I nodded in agreement. ¡°That or it might be genetic.¡± ¡°Should we discuss the Sylventhal offer?¡± my son asked as he retook his seat. ¡°Gather our strategists.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We need to take into consideration how all the other friendly nations would react to such an agreement.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving this up to me?¡± My son was slightly surprised as I stood up and went to exit the room. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you, father!¡± ¡°I trust you and it should be you who makes this decision, you¡¯re the one who¡¯ll have handle the fallout.¡± I nodded towards him. ¡°I¡¯ll join you shortly in an advisory position but first I have a message to send to Deepwood.¡± Chapter 401 Ajax felt a lot better after he finished his report to the king, despite that however he was starting to get more and more worried. With every attempt the assassin got closer and closer to killing him. The only reason the last one didn¡¯t kill him was because the poison never made contact with him. As he lowered the privacy bubble Ajax was prepared to grab Anna, he knew he would need her help to have any chance at getting the arrow. Much to his surprise Anna was already in what looked like a heated discussion with Lioriel and Benedict was standing next to her. ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?¡± Ajax asked Lexi as he subtly nodded towards the exchange. ¡°Benedict was quick to grab Anna and head that way once we knew you were okay.¡± Lexi informed him. ¡°He started arguing that we should retrieve the arrow since not only does it have part of your armor wrapped around it but there is also your blood which we wouldn¡¯t want to let them get their hands on. Rare as curse users are, it''s frightening what they can sometimes do with the blood of their target even across such ranges.¡± For once Ajax wasn¡¯t all that worried about the prospect of being targeted like that. Despite the flexibility of how curses worked they still relied on the most basic layer of all magic, mana. His [Mana Syphon] would allow him to neutralize any long range attack that came in the form of a curse. ¡°I trust them.¡± Ajax chose to be specifically vague outside of a privacy field, he didn¡¯t want to give away information and undermine Anna and Benedict while reassuring Lexi. Ajax tried to move closer to the negotiations but he found his arm snared as Lexi hadn¡¯t let go of him, if anything her grip had tightened. ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that again.¡± Lexi whispered as she blinked away the tears that were blurring her vision. Ajax pulled Lexi back into a hug. While he had been the main target of the assassination attempts it seems he had forgotten just how those incidents affected those close to him. ¡°I can¡¯t make that promise.¡± Ajax whispered back. ¡°But we¡¯ll be away from here soon and once we are back home I¡¯ll be able to take it easy for a few years.¡± Left unsaid was that he was planning to use those few years to not only help stabilize the foundation of his new Ducal house but also prepare for his trip outside the kingdom¡¯s borders and into the untamed lands. Over the next few hours Ajax developed a small sense of respect towards Lioriel. The elf and Anna had been negotiating for hours and everyone could see that the facts gave Anna a dominating edge when it came to the negotiations. The simple fact that Lioriel hadn¡¯t yet been forced to capitulate or add more blame to Deepwood by claiming the arrow and poison as a national secret. Four hours in and the haggling mercifully came to an end. For her part Lioriel didn¡¯t even seem to take the loss as a defeat, it seemed more like she was resigned to just let nature take its course. The mangled flesh, armor and arrow were all stored by Xavier as he had the best ring to preserve everything while also keep it secure in a ring that was only accessible to him. ¡°Thank you.¡± Ajax said to Anna as she was taking a drink following the hours of verbal sparring. ¡°Oh no, no no no no no.¡± Anna said as she shook her head. ¡°It is me who should thank you! You have no idea what this negotiation has meant for my skills. This is the best progress I have ever made as a merchant. The only thing that even came close was the trading games I played with father.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Over the course of the negotiation Anna had managed to gain two Rare skills and one Epic skill. This had been the first time she had ever been in a situation where everything was real and not just a manufactured incident, her opposition outmatched to such an extent but the facts backed her up enough to overcome the difference in skills. The atmosphere had barely settled down over the next five or so hours when everything was thrown back into chaos as two elves wearing the royal sigil all but materialized next to their group. Ajax¡¯s stats had grown enough to where he was able to not only track their movements but even understand them, one thing he knew for sure however was that whoever these two were they were above Lioriel in terms of combat. ¡°What¡¯s the emergency?¡± Lioriel asked. Her neutral tone and voice were all thanks to her social skills, seeing the two of them so drenched in sweat. ¡°We are here as reinforcements.¡± one of the two answered her. ¡°Her Majesty has decided that an increase in our manpower here is now required.¡± Ajax was slightly worried about the presence of the two. Sure they would be a stronger protective force against the assassins but with their presence he was worried that for the remainder of their time in this kingdom their escort would actually be strong enough to take down Aranor and the prince. Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one worried by their presence however, Lioriel had reported the last attack as soon as it happened. Looking at the two champion candidates in front of her she could tell they had been sent out at most one hour after she finished her report, more than that they had to have sprinted over here to cover a quarter of the kingdom in under half a day. ¡°Baron¡± the second elf bowed shallowly towards Ajax as he approached him. ¡°Her Majesty has sent you what you are owed along with a small remuneration for the suffering you have endured as of late.¡± With that the elf extended an armguard towards Ajax. It didn¡¯t take long for Ajax to realize that it was spatially enchanted, though he did question why they didn¡¯t just use a ring instead. Ajax¡¯s question was quickly answered when he sensed just how large the spatial storage was. It was a hoarder¡¯s wet dream being half the size of a warehouse Judy used in the capital, while most of the space was empty Ajax was surprised to find that not only were there a lot of alchemical ingredients but there were a lot more samples of each type of reagent that they had agreed upon, it was more than double the amount. ¡°Only for his suffering?¡± Aranor asked as he raised an eyebrow. Both of the newcomers frowned at the elven champion for interfering, clearly they disagreed with his actions. After a moment of silence however one of them answered. ¡°Only for his suffering, the Queen still plans to make amends for the attacks themselves as well.¡± The conversation ended there and Ajax proceeded to spend the rest of the time they spent waiting for the prince to exit examining the new alchemical reagents he had at his disposal. He had to admit he was most pleased to see that not only had the elves given him the raw form of the plant be they even included the finished process reagent for a few of them. He was slightly dejected when he realized they hadn¡¯t also included instructions for the refining process but he was sure the alchemists in Gryndor would be more than happy to help him figure it all out. Once the prince exited the dungeon the ever growing convoy was on the move once again. Ajax was quick to tell the prince everything that happened since he exited the dungeon when he returned the communication and privacy items to him. The more Ajax said the more he could see the prince slump ever so slightly. It was only then that Ajax had realized he had overlooked just how much strain the prince was under. Unlike him and everyone else delving the dungeon he was always on guard while outside the dungeon, more than that he had been like that for months on end now while also being forced to solo high end dungeon floors, everything was starting to add up and for a brief moment Ajax even considered if doing the last dungeon was worth it over just leaving this kingdom. ¡°You did well.¡± the prince said with a smile as he patted Ajax on the shoulder. ¡°I expect the reason why those two dashed over here so quickly is because my father sent a message of his own to the Queen.¡± The prince''s smile widened ever so slightly as he knew his father had acted so quickly because he was feeling overly protective from even the idea that his son might have died. ¡°Are you worried about them?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not for now.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°Right now they will actually provide protection. It is only after the last dungeon as we start heading towards the border that we will need to keep a more wary eye on them.¡± Over the next three weeks of travel the prince¡¯s words had proven true. There had been five more attacks by the assassins during this time yet with the new reinforcements to the protection detail as well as the increasingly unhinged behavior of the assassins none of those attempts had even made it close to Ajax and the rest of his group. Chapter 402 Looking at the captured assassins gave Ajax a much better understanding of why the skill they had all gained was only considered Rare. A tracking mark with increased damaged to the target that can be used by any member of the organization as long as one of them applies it is something that should be a Legendary skill. The assassins that were captured weren¡¯t starving but that was the only difference he saw between them and the portrails he saw of drug users going through withdrawal in movies back on Earth. All of them had bloodshot and baggy eyes, messy hair, rashes, uncontrollable twitches. Each and every one of them however was sensitive to his presence. If they happened to catch a glimpse of Ajax they would focus on him, their uncontrollable twitches would continue but all their struggles would change from just random escape to a way to get closer to him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they just killing them?¡± Ajax asked. Ajax wasn¡¯t feeling any sort of sympathy for the assassins, he just didn¡¯t see the value of keeping them alive. Usually criminals this high level that were caught were kept alive for one of two reasons, either they could be talked into accepting a forceful conscription in a time of need or they needed a public execution. Neither reason seemed plausible here to Ajax. These people could never be released and expected to do anything other than mindlessly try and chase after Ajax so that ruled out conscription. A public execution of high level elves for attacking a human inside of Deepwood so close after a change in ruler would almost certainly spark riots from the more indoctrinated citizens. ¡°Two reasons I can think of.¡± the prince answered. ¡°The first is that it gives them a sure way to know if you died. As long as their backlash is enforced it means that you are alive, after another year I doubt they would be able to recover their minds even if you did die but the signs that the backlash ended would still be visible.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Testers.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°Perfect way to see how a high level reacts to a skill or a poison. The usual problem with keeping such a high level prisoner is that the method of restrain affects the tests or you risk them escaping. Their backlash is one of the best restraint methods though you do need to account for its effects in the test results.¡± That went a bit far for Ajax¡¯s taste. His sense of morality had changed dramatically since he arrived on this world but keeping a tortured prisoner as a lab rat was something he wouldn¡¯t do. ¡°Any word about their leader?¡± Ajax asked, looking to change the topic. ¡°Nothing so far but we have sent one of our squads in the area to secure the last dungeon; that way he won¡¯t be able to set up an ambush there.¡± Lioriel shared. With every day that passed the danger the assassin represented to Ajax got lower and lower. The backlash was now starting to affect their fighting prowess and even someone as strong as their leader would be severely weakened because of how much his style relies on precision. Both stealth and long range sniping become a lot harder with tremors, twitches and unending itchiness. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Ajax wasn¡¯t at all worried about the last dungeon they had planned. The dungeon had a sixteen level jump between floors and started with a floor at level thirty one to thirty six. This unfortunately meant that the highest floor Ajax could clear would be the fifth floor of the dungeon spanning levels ninety five to one hundred. Trying the sixth floor was out of the question since the seventh would push the prince into clearing a floor with a level one hundred and sixty floor boss. What Ajax was more worried about was the third floor of the dungeon. Lexi had already defeated a level seventy floor boss but that had been a close call, the one she will be facing now would only be two levels lower, more than that he was sure that Lexi wouldn¡¯t be the only one to try and push to clear that one. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi said as she came to take a seat next to Ajax who was watching her practice. ¡°I gained a few stats since the last boss and this one will be a couple of levels lower. And if anything goes wrong you¡¯ll be there to step in.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this but I can¡¯t wait until we get back to delving dungeons to clear out entire floors instead of just pushing for the stats.¡± Ajax answered as he leaned into Lexi. ¡°I also got word back from my family.¡± Lexi said excitedly. ¡°Grandpa thinks there might be a way to speed up my progress with certain skills by practicing them on floors where the ambient mana of the same type is prevalent.¡± Ajax had to admit that it sounded like a solid idea. The only reason it hadn¡¯t been tried before was that in order for ambient mana to increase progress it would have most likely needed to be at a concentration surpassing the level of the user. This meant sending the trainee into dungeon floors that outleveled them, all for a chance at getting the right theme. With his use of [Mana Syphon] the chance became guaranteed so every time Ajax would take a crafting team into the dungeon he could also grab Lexi so she could practice the mana type that matched the floor theme they were hunting. Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud thunderclap that echoed from nearby. In order to not slow down everyone did their training as they moved alongside the caravan. Everyone¡¯s skillset was fairly well known to each other and since both Lexi and Ajax were trying to keep Vibration mana from Deepwood they hadn¡¯t been using it in public. ¡°THAT WAS SO LOUD!¡± Elara was all but yelling as she excitedly jumped up and down once she realized that the notification in front of her eyes was real. ¡°Elara, darling, you¡¯re shouting.¡± Arianwyn tried to calm her friend down while also pushing down her own excitement for her success. ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?¡± Elara asked a little quieter now as she started to hear some light ringing. ¡°That should be better.¡± Aranor said as he used a healing spell on her. ¡° Can you hear now?¡± ¡°I CA-¡± Elara started to say loudly but stopped as she realized just how loudly she was talking and blushed in embarrassment. ¡°I can hear you.¡± she whispered. Elara had taken a different approach to unlocking Vibration mana that Lexi and Ajax had. Since her family didn¡¯t have any easily accessible shockwave spell she had instead focused on using her domain and recreating a natural lightning bolt with her lightning bolt spell. ¡°I know a storm domain isn¡¯t all that defensively focused but you might want to make sure you protect yourself from your own attacks.¡± Ajax suggested. Unlike the lightning bolt the thunderclap went out in all directions, even if the owner of the domain was slightly more resistant to their own spells while inside it thanks to the skill it didn¡¯t make them immune by any means. Once their protectors returned to their post Arianwyn quickly put up a privacy bubble, she hadn¡¯t bothered excluding anyone from Gryndor as they were already in the know before she asked the important question. ¡°Did you get the mana affinity?¡± Elara was nodding her head so rapidly that Ajax was glad the dungeons provided +1 to all stats, having seen her stats before that he would have been worried she would snap her own neck if her Endurance hadn¡¯t increased since their duel. ¡°Did you manage to integrate it in your Domain at the same time?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± Elara answered. ¡°But I¡¯ll get there.¡± The last two days of their trip to the dungeon passed without any excitement. Once they arrived there however Ajax was slightly worried to see that instead of the usual makeshift market area that sprung up around the non-capital dungeons of a country this dungeon seemed to be surrounded by a temporary army base. This change gave him the confidence the assassins wouldn¡¯t be trying anything but it did make him more worried about what would happen when he exited the dungeon while the prince stayed to clear the final floor. The thought of unleashing a dungeon break themselves and making use of the chaos to ensure they weren¡¯t attacked was a tempting one. They were less than a weeks ride from the border and they could cover that distance much faster if they were were all running there instead of traveling by carriage Chapter 403 Ajax¡¯s idea about unleashing a dungeon break was quickly shut down. It wasn¡¯t so much about the damage that doing this would do to Deepwood or the loss of any compensation Gryndor was due for their ill fated encounters. The sole reason the idea was vetoed without so much as a discussion was that it would be breaking one of the core principles signed in their most recent peace treaty, having a prince of Gryndor be party to that would all but invalidate that treaty. ¡°It still feels like they are getting away with too much.¡± Ajax complained after how quickly his idea had been shot down even if he hadn¡¯t been all that keen to go through with it. ¡°They will pay for a lot of this.¡± the prince said as he tried to calm Ajax down. ¡°You also have to remember that while the Queen did set up a few ¡®attacks¡¯ her own guards took care of those, these assassins weren¡¯t sent by her.¡± ¡°That her father is responsible doesn¡¯t make this any better.¡± Ajax huffed. The group quickly made their way through the first jungle themed floor with no issue. Ajax checked the first arch they reached. What stood out the most was that while there was a plethora of different mana types present there they were all sparse out rather evenly, only Life mana took a big chunk being almost half the dominant mana type. Entering the next floor they quickly found themselves on an endless expanse of dirt that was studded with pits. Each of the pits seemed to contain a different Element with some of the larger ones also containing an arch. ¡°Why would there be such a large concentration of Life mana if there is no life?¡± Ajax was very upset as he had hoped this would provide him with a perfect floor to practice his [Alchemy]. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say there is no life.¡± the prince said as he crushed the earth at his feet with a powerful stomp, picked up a rock that had formed and tossed it into the closest pit. ¡°I do have to say I am surprised these floors are very rare, the only reason they are known is that they can appear at any level range.¡± The rock crashed into what initially seemed to be a small crystal clear pond with a large splash sending out ripple. The ripples however became stronger and stronger as they traveled away from the rock''s impact point until they reached the edges of the pit and the slimes climbed out of the pit. ¡°Too bad we got this floor theme so early.¡± the prince said. ¡°It would have been perfect for the next one.¡± One of the things that was known about the golem floor was that it never had anything that could be taken outside the dungeon. Every time one had appeared people had scoured it for a chance to gain access to some of the more unique elements but all had come up empty. The amount of wealth a single of the diamond golems would have been able to bring left many a delver salivating with greed. The other agreed upon fact was that the floor represented the best chance a person had at finding both a challenging encounter, an easy encounter and a perfect counter. With so many different elements present it was simple for everyone to find what they were looking for, even more so at the higher levels of this theme where elementals started to make an appearance, storm elementals alone were prized for the amount of insight one could gain in mixing different elements. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°I wish we could have gotten this for the next floor.¡± Anna said as she looked towards the seemingly endless pits knowing there was an ice one among them where her flames could really shine. The floor was by no means difficult with the highest level being only fifty two, to make things more interesting for themselves Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict all chose to go up against their own elements. Anna was the first to suggest this as she faced off against a fire golem while pushing her spells to burn as hot as possible. This approach let the elemental get a good attack in forcing her to rely on her enchanted gear before the heat of Anna¡¯s spell overcame what the golem could withstand. Lexi faced an ice golem with her ice mana to similar results. Due to the lack of elementals she knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to find a wind or lightning one variant on such a low floor. Benedict''s fight against the steel golem left his warhammer fairly deformed by the time he claimed victory. Xavier¡¯s hybrid style didn¡¯t leave him with any equivalent element to take on, despite that everyone stayed well away from the sewage slime pit despite a few good natured jokes that the prince take on one of the slimes. Once everyone killed their own miniboss the discussion began focused upon which would be the perfect theme for their next floor from the ones they had available. The big issue came that none of the six arches they had found offered them a clear advantage. The closest one was one that had a strange combination of fire light and earth with the presence of humanoids. The presence of humanoids was what ended up being the deciding factor as the group entered the third floor of the dungeon. Ajax was slightly surprised to find that while the floor did appear to be a desert theme it wasn¡¯t one that was flooded with sand. This floor was a vast expanse of earth with a bright sun above them but other than some large cracks the dry ground beneath their boots was solid. ¡°I thought you said there would be humanoids, all I¡¯m seeing are those birds up above.¡± Xavier said as they started to explore the floor. The large vultures overhead and the cacti dotted across the gave Ajax an odd feeling he couldn¡¯t place until they reached the first fence. The wooden fence was much taller and sturdier than the ones he remembered and they were capped with barbed wire but the resemblance was too uncanny not to recognise as he spotted the large bovines that were walking around the field munching on whatever small patch of grass they could find. ¡°Now that is more like it.¡± Xavier said with enthusiasm. ¡°I could go for a stake.¡± As Xavier started to make his way past the fence Ajax caught some movement off to the side. It took him a moment to recognise what he was looking at but the brief flash of mana was all the warning he got before the crack of the rifle pulled the attention of the rest of the group. Ajax hadn¡¯t been the only one to feel the brief flash of mana so he wasn¡¯t the only one to take defensive measures as he pulled Lexi close to his chest and raised his shield to cover them both. Surprisingly there was no sound of impact. ¡°Interesting.¡± the prince said as he held the small steel bullet between his index finger and thumb. As Ajax lowered his shield he noticed the prince was no longer by their side and instead he was now standing between Xavier and the man with the rifle inspecting the bullet he had caught out of the air. Ajax turned and saw the look of utter surprise the rifleman sported for a brief moment before a look of fury took over. Ajax could once more feel as the rifleman channeled his mana into the gun before taking aim towards the prince as he pumped the rifle for the next shot. The man didn¡¯t get to fire his second shot as with a flick of his wrist the prince sent a knife flying towards the man with almost the same speed as the bullet he had just caught. The knife embedded itself in the man¡¯s neck. Being close to level seventy the man didn¡¯t die straight away, the sheer fact he was still standing despite the momentum of the knife showed he had some serious physical stats. He did however drop his rifle as both his hands went to his neck trying to stem the bleeding to no avail. Two unsteady steps forward were all he managed before he dropped down face first onto the ground. Ajax quickly focused on the iconic wide-brimmed and high-crowned felt cowboy hat the man was wearing. Everything was too big of a coincidence so he had to fight every instinct in his body to not dash towards the weapon to see if he could find some new technology. First things first Ajax took a good look around making sure there was no other shooter that could threaten them. The prince himself was doing the same thing before he went over to cuff Xavier around the back of the head for leaving his guard down on such a high floor. Only once he was sure there were no other shooters did Ajax go over and pick up the gun. He made sure to be careful, reminding himself that while it looked like what he remembered, the fact that it used mana in some form meant that it wasn¡¯t a gun as he knew it. More importantly he also didn¡¯t want to seem too familiar with the weapon as that would lead to some very pointed questions being asked. Chapter 404 Few people truly paid any attention to anything inside a dungeon that they couldn¡¯t take with them. It was a defense mechanism so that they wouldn¡¯t regret all the wealth they had to leave behind. While Ajax was playing with the rifle they had found Xavier took on the bull mini boss. After ten minutes of examining the rifle Ajax finlay brought the sight up to his eye and aimed for the cowboy hat he placed on top of one of the fence posts. BANG! The sound distracted everyone from Harold who was putting his limited skill as a chef to use searing a chunk of the mini boss. Some of the people there however were already looking towards Ajax since before the sound came, an instant before a strong pulse of mana could be felt. ¡°You figured out how to use it?¡± Lexi was very interested in that. ¡°You squeeze this and it releases the projectile.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the trigger. ¡°Works a lot like a crossbow.¡± What was a lot more interesting to Ajax was that the bullets didn¡¯t have any sort of gun powder packed, they did however have a small gem attached at the end that was packed with mana. Looking towards the hat Ajax could see that he missed his target by a few inches despite not being more than fifty feet away from it. Wanting to see if this could increase his [Aim] skill Ajax slowly loaded the next bullet, took aim, and finally pressed the trigger. ¡°What happened?¡± Lexi asked as the bullet''s mana was released in a burst into the surroundings. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Ajax said confused, how did the dungeon break guns? They weren¡¯t all that hard to figure out in his old world. Hammer hits bullet, gunpowder ignites, bullet is launched out the barrel by the tiny contained explosion. ¡°The runes on the inside of the barrel are all damaged¡± Lexi said as she examined the rifle¡¯s other end while Ajax was inspecting the hammer. ¡°Maybe it only works a few times.¡± That could very well be the case but Ajax doubted it. The floor theme was clearly based on the historical West and that should mean that as long as you had ammo and took care of your gun it would shoot, this wasn¡¯t the era of muskets. Thinking back to what the cowboy had done, Ajax realized he had missed a step. The cowboy had infused the gun with mana, Ajax had thought that he was loading the bullet but all of the bullets were already loaded so where did the mana go? Inspecting the handle of the gun Ajax found a set of runes that were intact. Even more interesting was the fact that they were clearly part of the gun however he couldn¡¯t find any way for them to connect to the mana released by the bullet. Ajax slowly started to inject a small amount of his own mana into the runes. He went much slower than the cowboy had done both out of wariness as well as curiosity as he paid very close attention to what the enchantment did.¡±It restored the runes!¡± Lexi was happy as she saw the runes inside the barrel of the gun look usable again. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Looking to see if that was what he was missing Ajax loaded another bullet and this time the rifle fired when he pressed the trigger. Once again however the runes inside the barrel were damaged, oddly enough however it wasn¡¯t the bullet that damaged them. Instead the mana that was released to activate them was more than the runes could handle, effectively burning out the runes after every shot. After restoring the runes a second time Ajax carefully removed the barrel of the gun and split it in two so that he could get a closer look at the runes. ¡°What an odd take.¡± Lexi murmured as she inspected the runes. ¡°It¡¯s almost like they are the same runes but not quite.¡± Lexi had spent a long time with her father looking at runes and while some of the ones inscribed inside the barrel were similar to ones she had seen before they weren¡¯t exactly the same. If she were to guess the difference would be that while the runes she had available focused on the integrity of the rune structure and material it was inscribed on surviving an overinfusion these runes would instead focus on completing the activation regardless of the damage to the structure and the material. Lexi wasted no time taking out an empty scroll as she started carefully and meticulously copying the runes. None of the others had realized what was going on but as soon as they saw Lexi so focused on copying the runes they figured out that there must be something special about them. Darkcalw and Elara wasted no time joining Lexi as they did their best to perfectly copy the runes on their own pieces of parchment. ¡°What¡¯s so special about these runes?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°They work based on a different fundamental principle.¡± Lexi squealed with excitement. ¡°At least that¡¯s what I think. Grandpa and dad would need to try them out a few times once we get back so that we can do some tests but it''s looking pretty likely.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference between them and normal runes?¡± Arianwyn asked. Lexi took a moment to think as she finished copying the last of the individual runes on the barrel and moved over to start copying the restoration enchantment that was on the handle. ¡°The inscribed rune on an enchanted object works like the mana vein of a mage. Our usual enchantments are created so that if more mana than the enchantment can handle is pushed through the enchantment fails at the first step doing little damage to the rune and the material it''s inscribed in while also releasing the mana outwards.¡± ¡°These runes however activate the enchantment with as much power as they can regardless of the damage to the runes themselves.¡± Lexi said as she pointed towards the barrel. ¡°It is like Lord Starfury¡¯s overloading of spells. Since the runes aren¡¯t backed by a Legendary skill they break but they do manage to put out an overloaded spell.¡± ¡°The enchantment on the handle looks to be made to repair the damage done.¡± Elara said as she thought about the process. ¡°Every time its activated however more and more of the material is lost in recreating the runes.¡± ¡°So after enough uses you¡¯re saying that there won¡¯t be enough material to recreate the runes?¡± Ajax asked, interested in how his old world¡¯s technology was recreated. ¡° From what I saw it wouldn¡¯t take all that many uses before the integrity of the material would fail.¡± Elara confirmed. With so much new information available the remainder of the floor turned out to be a cakewalk for Benedict, Anna and Lexi. All three of them knew to focus on disarming their human targets of their guns. Without the firearms they had little problems finishing them off. On more than one occasion however the prince was forced to step in. Anna had been the first to try her hand at fighting a human miniboss and while she had managed to expertly ambush him so that he would lose his rifle the pistol he drew surprised all of them. Another of the mini bosses had a spring loaded pistol up his sleeve, thankfully Lexi¡¯s hastily created ice wall was strong enough to slow the bullets enough that they didn¡¯t pierce through her enchanted shields. In the end the prince had ended up scouring the entire floor trying to find a gun that he could take outside the dungeon but he still couldn¡¯t find one. He did manage to find a rather sizeable mound of manure that he stuffed into one of his spacial rings but there was no gun to be had. As they headed on to the next floor the group wasn¡¯t at all worried about the theme, Harold would be the only one who would be troubled by the theme of their last floor but other than that all of them were more than strong enough to demolish a level eighty four. While the prince pushed on with Ajax, Arianwyn, Elara, Darkclaw and Harold to the fourth floor, Lexi, Anna, Benedict and Xavier all exited the dungeon. All four of them were prepared for things to have gone sideways, seeing Aranor waiting for them as they exited let them relax for a brief moment before they realized the chaos they found themselves in as they took in the military camp that surrounded the dungeon arch. Chapter 405 ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xavier asked as he saw the elves setting up large defensive structures. ¡°We¡¯re expecting another attack, only this time it might be more than one or two assassins.¡± Aranor said with a dark look crossing his face. ¡°A mercenary group was found and stopped by our reinforcements as they were about to cross over into Deepwood.¡± ¡°Mercenaries?¡± Benedict asked, surprised. ¡°Turns out it wasn¡¯t the old king behind the assassins.¡± Aranor said with a sigh. ¡°The beastkins are making a move. Some of their people inside our own kingdom hired mercenaries. Their target was Ajax but it was mostly a target of opportunity; their main job was making sure a war kicked off.¡± It was easy for all of them to understand the point of view for the people who took the job. They were simple mercenaries, more than that their target was a pontiac future tyrant from another kingdom. From Aranor¡¯s explanation the mercenaries were upfront when questioned but it seemed like the plan had almost succeeded anyway. ¡°Ajax needs to do a better job of spreading some information about himself.¡± Lexi huffed in annoyance as she had tried to get him to do some outreach events in the past five years but any sort of social function, whether they contained nobles or commoners was something Ajax treated like a cold, he couldn¡¯t always avoid them but he could take precautions. ¡°Right now only the important nobles have any decent information about him and even that is brand new from the tournament, he needs to undercut any fear mongering that can be caused.¡± ¡°More importantly Deepwood is innocent?¡± Anna asked, very much surprised at the turn of events. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly call them innocent.¡± Aranor said with a shake of the head. ¡°The did take a very relaxed attitude to our safety and all but invited the attempts on Ajax¡¯s life by taking advantage of the visit to scour their own nobility. But it¡¯s more down to negligence and indifference than anything malicious.¡± With the time dilatation everyone knew that the final two floors wouldn¡¯t take the group more than five hours on the outside to clear. Following that it would be another half a day or so before the prince finished clearing the final floor and they could finally start to move. ¡°What reinforcements are waiting for us at the border?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°Two ranger teams, the equivalent of your squads.¡± Aranor said after a moment to think if he should disclose that. That answer wasn¡¯t one any of them had expected but it did clear up the reason why they were waiting by the border and didn¡¯t advance into Deepwood to meet them halfway. ¡°As long as we make it to the border we¡¯ll be safe. One more week.¡± Lexi said as she calmed herself to better analyze their situation. That was when the first attack hit. The attacking force was only ten people but their levels allowed them launch a brutal initial offensive against the defensive perimeter the army had set up before quickly retreating. The two new high level guards the queen had sent didn¡¯t sit idly by as this happened however. The attack was well placed as far away from where the two of them were keeping watch but both covered the distance in seconds before dashing into the woods after the attackers. ¡°If the mercenaries were stopped at the border, who is attacking now?¡± Xavier asked. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°One is a mercenary company that has gone rogue.¡± Lioriel who had been close enough to listen in on their discussion finally chose to join in. ¡°This was their first move against Ajax, they are also few in number which is why the royal family wasn¡¯t keeping such a close eye on them before. That said the limited members that they do have are all decently high leveled and have combat experience.¡± ¡°What about the other assassins? Figure out who they were?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Underground syndicate that we have tried to find for years.¡± Lioriel nodded in confirmation. ¡°Formed by the remanence of a noble family the previous king dismantled early into his reign. It seems that some of the survivors were more capable than initially anticipated. They took this job not only for the payday but also in hopes that once the war wipes out the royal family they can regain a high position in what¡¯s left of Deepwood.¡± ¡°What are the beastkins up to?¡± Anna murmured her rhetorical question as she tried to fit all the information she had into something that made sense. Unlike all the other races the beastkin didn¡¯t have two separate kingdoms. Because of the sheer variety that beastkins as a race came with, racism wasn¡¯t an issue for them. Their country was divided between two spheres of influence, the herbivores and the carnivores. With ten dungeons at their disposal instead of the usual five the average adventurer with the means to travel had a much stronger baseline. The bigger problem for the beastkins was that a good 60% of their country was a sandy desert, the rest of their lands weren¡¯t all that rich in high quality resources. The poor stretch of land meant that they were almost never the target for an invasion. Because of the large amount of desert and lack of resources however their own army didn¡¯t have the population or the equipment to start a war for conquest. At best they would invade during or after the end of a war to try and extort or steal. This could have all changed in the last few decades from what Anna knew. Her father had mentioned that in the last forty years trade with the beastkins had slowed to a crawl, for a country that was so reliant on trade that had been surprising. According to the Gryndor royal family a spy purge had also taken place twenty years ago and infiltrating additional spies hadn¡¯t bore any fruit yet. Now they were trying to cause a war. ¡°It does seem like they are up to something.¡± Aranor acknowledged. ¡°With the latest treaty signed with the Republic nobody has been too keen on sending all that many spies to infiltrate.¡± The republic acted like a big shield for the beastkin. Unlike the untamed area that separated the elves from the humans or the elves from the dwarves the beastkin had big mountain ranges followed by long stretches of desert; any movement against them would need to pass through the Republic. In much the same way however the beastkin themselves would need to go through the Republic to attack any of the others. This sense of safety let them relax their vigilance a little and it seemed like now they were paying the prince. ¡°Those animals are going to pay for this.¡± One of the two elven champions said as he approached Lioriel while throwing the decapitated head of one of their attackers. Lexi frowned as she heard the insulting term, she had grown close to Kate in the past few years, knowing that they would become sisters-by-law once she married Ajax she had spent a lot of time getting to know the healer and her daughter. In the end however she chose to say nothing, there was no point antagonizing the elves any further at this point. The hit and run tactics continued for the next few hours, each attack killing anywhere between five and ten soldiers. The two champions had also managed to get two more of the attackers as they chased after them but on their last chase an ambush awaited them in the forest and one of them came back missing his left hand from the wrist down. ¡°The coward is with them.¡± was all he growled as he bandaged the stump. It was easy for all of them to put together what happened. The champion had managed to block the arrow with his hand but was then forced to cut it off at the wrist to prevent the poison from spreading. It wasn¡¯t long until Ajax, Darkclaw, Elara, Harold and Arianwyn all came out of the dungeon. Harold looked battered and bruised, obviously the final floor mini boss had done quite a number on him, from the smile on his face however everyone could tell he had come out victorious in the end. Getting all of them up to speed on what was happening didn¡¯t take long. The news that it wasn¡¯t Deepwood¡¯s royal family or even their nobles that were behind everything but the beastkin made Ajax frown deeply. It wasn¡¯t that he was feeling guilty for having blamed the Deepwood nobility, he still did, if to a lesser degree. What troubled Ajax was how easily he had overlooked the possibility. He had been so focused on the danger and his anger at the elves that he hadn¡¯t considered the possibility that someone was using them to start a war. It hadn¡¯t even been two minutes since Ajax exited the dungeon that Aranor reacted. This time however Ajax¡¯s [Danger Sense] didn¡¯t react at all, he only registered the attack once the arrow slammed into the ice wall Aranor had put up. ¡°The backlash is getting to him.¡± one of the elven champions chuckled as they examined the arrow. ¡°Serves the coward right.¡± From the angle the arrow hit the wall it was clear that the attack would have missed Ajax by half a foot, that was why his [Danger Sense] hadn¡¯t reacted. The drop in skill didn¡¯t do much to reassure Ajax as he also saw just how desperate the assassin had become. He couldn¡¯t wait for the prince to finish the dungeon so that they could leave and reach the protection of the two ranger squads waiting at the border. Chapter 406 The longer the battle drew on for the more hateful glares the group received. Surprisingly enough however Aranor was on the receiving end of most of the glares, the elves were blaming him for their casualties since he stood by guarding the group rather than respond to the attacks. As the hours dragged on the losses started to lessen, every attack claiming less and less lives. The two champions had done their job well as they picked off half of the enemies highest level combatants. ¡°Start uprooting the camp and get ready to move.¡± Lioriel commanded. ¡°You can be serious?!¡± one of her commanders yelled back. ¡°We¡¯re still under attack here.¡± One of the things that have picked up in frequency as time slowly ticked by was the number of yelling matches Lioriel had found herself in. While her advanced social skill did wonders in calming down each commander, that didn¡¯t help as much when a new one would show up more enraged than the last half an hour later. The prince had managed to come out slightly quicker than they expected, it only took him eleven hours on the outside to clear the floor though that was closer to two whole days on the inside. ¡°What¡¯s happening out here?¡± the prince asked as he saw the elves moving with the edges of the camp armed and ready. It took about two minutes before a quick overview of the situation was briefly explained. ¡°You¡¯re back, perfect.¡± Lioriel was clearly on edge as some of her sarcasm made it through despite her social skills. ¡°Let''s get moving the quicker we get you out of here the fewer of my people get hurt.¡± Nobody had any objections to the plan. Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be slightly troubled by how tired the prince was. More than that he wouldn¡¯t even get a chance to rest until they crossed the border and were safely under the ranger squads¡¯ protection. ¡°Not going to contact the king?¡± Ajax asked once he saw that the prince didn¡¯t excuse himself in a privacy bubble when they finally got moving. ¡°This isn¡¯t all that time sensitive.¡± the prince responded, surprising Ajax a little. ¡°Chances are he already knows about this as the Queen would be quick to prove her innocence. Even if he doesn¡¯t however my mana reserves are best saved for any combat we might get caught up in.¡± Three days later and the group was very much behind schedule but nobody complained about that. Moving a convoy guarded by over a hundred soldiers in such a dense forest was touch work on the best of times, even more so when they were getting attacked. ¡°The mercenaries gave up.¡± Lioriel updated them. Despite the constant fighting Aranor had only needed to interfere once when an ambush on a tight portion of the road got near the carriage. ¡°The attacks are over?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± Lioriel shook her head. ¡°There is still the syndicate and their assassins. They are the strongest of the bunch but they just lost most of their support. More than that the mercenaries turned on them when they gave up to earn some good will.¡± ¡°More likely a requirement of accepting their surrender so conveniently.¡± Harold piped up knowing how politics worked. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Along with a very discounted contract signed to enlist with the military for the next century.¡± Benedict also joined in. ¡°Leadership also had to give up their employer, that won¡¯t look good for them going forward.¡± Elara finished. ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny the terms of their capitulation.¡± Lioriel said diplomatically ¡°I am only here to inform you that the following attack or the one after will be their most desperate attempts.¡± Both Aranor and the prince gave a thankful nod before Lioriel moved back into formation. ¡°Its a waiting game now.¡± the prince said. ¡°They have one more chance and they¡¯re not going to hold anything back so be ready.¡± Ajax was in a tough situation right now. His instinct was to unleash his [Mana Syphon] to weaken any sneak attack heading for him, especially since he knew that they had a stealth and ambush specialist. The issue was that doing so would hinder the soldiers all around him and even Aranor who was already preparing himself. It was only a minute later when Ajax realized that Aranor¡¯s chant changed. He couldn¡¯t clearly make up the words of his spells but he noticed that they weren¡¯t the same ones he was saying until just now. ¡°[Spell Storage].¡± Lexi gasped as she picked up on the same thing. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°It''s an Epic skill that allows the caster to prepare spells in advance. You can hold an extra spell for every threshold.¡± Arianwyn gave him a quick rundown. ¡°Expect the spells slowly lose the mana they are charged with the longer they remained stored.¡± Lexi continued unhappy with the incomplete explanation. ¡°It takes about a week for a high mage¡¯s spell to fully drain. The mana cap each spell can hold, how quickly it drains and even the strain releasing them puts on the body can be shored up through the thresholds on top of the increase in capacity.¡± ¡°You seem to know it well.¡± Elara pointed out. ¡°Grandpa has spent centuries on that skill.¡± Lexi made sure to remain vague on the subject, her grandfather hadn¡¯t actually managed to unlock the skill but that wasn¡¯t something she wanted to confirm for anyone, even those from Gryndor. ¡°Be sure not to hurt yourself.¡± Lexi¡¯s final statement was directed towards Aranor who had started chanting his third spell. Unleashing all three of his charged up spells at once would undoubtedly wreck the mage¡¯s mana channels seeing as each spell held more than one thousand mana. The attack came as the caravan was getting around a turn in the road. Three people were all that remained of the initial ten that had started harassing the elven army days ago. The attack wasn¡¯t too much of a surprise, they had expected it to come here since it was one of the most exposed positions on the road. ¡°Remember they have a long range archer still out there.¡± Lioriel called as the assassins charged straight for the carriage. None of the three elves had bothered with their face coverings any more, instead sporting helmets that while exposing some of their features provided better protection for their heads. WIth their faces more uncovered it was easy to see the crazed eyes and the patches of rashes that each of them had even from the neck up. The opening defensive move went to Aranor who bought time for their protectors to get to work. In an instant the elven champion unleashed a massive amount of mana with a single word. From his extended hand and fingertips a powerful wall of wind and snow pushed back against the attackers not only stopping their forward momentum but sending them backwards until they made contact with a tree. None of the assassin were injured but that wasn¡¯t the point of the spell. Their momentum had been stalled and now the two other elven champions could finally engage them on even footing. WIthout the element of surprise and their numbers reduced to only three the battle was lopsided to the extreme. It only took three exchanges before one of the assassins lost an arm and two more before another of them died. With the numbers now even the elven champions had no issues working together to kill one of them off but they remained wary of the hidden archer. As soon as he was alone the final assassin took out a few potions and chugged them. Even from inside the carriage Ajax was monitoring the fight with [Mana Sense] and he could tell that something very wrong was happening. The assassin¡¯s body was clearly rejecting the alchemical mixture but the assassin didn¡¯t care and instead focused on sending a powerful of a final attack towards the carriage before his body gave out. The attack had easily two thousand mana enhancing it and more a more physically oriented fighter that was a lot, but it wasn¡¯t enough to phase the elven champions. They had known what he was doing the moment he pulled out the potions and they perfectly deflected the powerful wind slice off to one side where it felled twenty trees easily before it stuck the ground. That was the moment the final assassin had been waiting for. Knowing his arrows wouldn¡¯t be able to hit their mark he had instead chosen to rely on his stealth and with his accomplice drawing all their attention he moved past Aranor and broke his way into the carriage. Unfortunately for him the first thing he saw as the door gave way was also the last thing he would ever see. The prince had been ready for him, the moment the door gave way his sword was already in motion, the assassin¡¯s body was sliced in two so quickly the momentum of the strike sent both halves out the door. ¡°Why do all this for a human?¡± In his final moments the assassin glared hatefully towards Aranor. ¡°Sylvanthal could have had four dungeons.¡± Aranor didn¡¯t even have a chance to answer as the light went out in his eyes as soon as the final words left his lips. Chapter 407 For their final few days in Deepwood everyone was on edge, despite that nothing more came of it. They were safely escorted all the way to the border where two ten man squads of some of the strongest elves in Sylvanthal were waiting for them. ¡°Do take care of yourself Baron.¡± Lioriel addressed Ajax as they were crossing the border. ¡°I hope you take no offense if I don¡¯t invite you to visit in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be up to her Majesty.¡± Ajax responded with a small grin. ¡°She is the one who decides who her ambassadors are.¡± ¡°Lord Starfury.¡± Lioriel gave a deep bow towards the Sylvanthal¡¯s champion. ¡°Your next visit is eagerly anticipated.¡± Aranor only answered with a deep nod of confirmation as the group continued into Sylvanthal. Ajax chose to ignore the exchange taking it as a small bit of payback for his last comment but Anna wasn¡¯t so quick to overlook it. ¡°What trade agreement did they offer?¡± Anna asked as soon as they were outside of earshot of the border. ¡°What makes you so sure we were off-¡± Arianwyn tried to cut her off but Anna interrupted her as she explained her reasoning. ¡°Your kingdom is in financial straits, despite this your and Elara¡¯s existence as future powerhouses bodes well for your father¡¯s reign.¡± Anna said. ¡°Since they only offered a deal now I suspect the Queen learnt of your agreements to delve Gryndor¡¯s dungeons and of the reciprocal deal for more of the nobles to delve multiple dungeons.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t want to be left out so they are offering to pay you to pass off some of the royal family''s potential powerhouses as your own.¡± Lexi snapped her fingers as she put things together. As everyone turned towards her at her outburst she blushed slightly ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Deepwood, the Empire and Highmountain can¡¯t publicly take part in the exchange. Their radical views on other races would cause a civil uprising if they were to accept others in their own dungeons.¡± Xavier reasoned. ¡°Even with that being the case it would be too much to miss out on.¡± ¡°While they won¡¯t be able to send anyone who is already well known, that is not really an issue for any of their royal families. The royal families purposefully keep their prodigies secret, so they could all pay their nearest kingdom handsomely to add a few people to their rosters.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°Gryndor, Sylvanthal and Brightstone all have a rather sizable source of income in their grasp.¡± While Gryndor and Brightsone were more financially secure Sylvanthal were much more likely to accept taking the deal. Seeing how Deepwood had lost some potential assets already as they attempted to kill Ajax they would be that much more hard pressed to increase the potential of their next generation. ¡°Interesting as this all is, I''m going to get some sleep.¡± the prince cut into the conversation. The financials aspects as well as the political relations between kingdoms weren¡¯t all that interesting to him, there was a reason he didn¡¯t even try to hold on to his original position as crown prince and passed it to his younger brother. ¡°Wake me up in a day or two.¡± The groups next stop would be Sylvanthal¡¯s capital but that was weeks away. Without the added danger they were in while in Deepwood the group had no issues going slower and stopping here and there on their trip instead of keeping the carriage moving 24/7. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Ajax in particular was excited to be back in Sylvanthal, if for no other reason than the simple fact that the prince would no longer be their only booster, Aranor had joined them inside the first two dungeons and he had no doubt he and maybe even some of members of the ranger squads would also join them now. With some many high level people there Ajax will no longer have to give up on certain floors just because the following one could pose a threat to their booster. Sure the agreement they had didn¡¯t state that they would help with the boost but Ajax was sure they would be agreeable if he could help them with the floor¡¯s dominant mana. Without the haste the group now also had much more freedom with their training. Considering all of the stats they had gained from Deepwood¡¯s dungeon it wasn¡¯t a surprise that they would be looking to shore up their defenses. It didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise to Ajax that Darkclaw, Arianwyn and Elara were all spending numerous hours working on their physical training. While all of them were mages and extremely focused on their mental stats this also meant that their physical stats had the largest percentage increase from the recent dungeons. Ajax himself was more focused on the [Alchemy] side of this. With his most recent gift from the Queen of Deepwood Ajax knew he wasn¡¯t yet prepared for all the possibilities these reagents could provide him with. Considering the number of ingredients he hadn¡¯t even heard of before and Divine Witness he was all but sure he could gain a Rare skill just from experimenting. This would all have to wait until he was back in Gryndor, until then all he could do was reserve most of his mana for infusing a large amount of his new reagents with Life mana. Months spent on guard had finally come to an end and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. This became all the more obvious when one of the ranger squad leaders reported to Aranor. ¡°Aranor, there are about fifty people two and a half miles ahead.¡± Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Benedict, Xavier, Darkclaw and even Harold all tensed at the news hands going for their weapons. ¡°Assassins?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°Common bandits, even the kids could take them, some of the higher level ones are close to level sixty. They are about to ambush the merchant caravan ahead of us.¡± the leader said with a wave of his hand. ¡°My squad is already moving to handle the situation.¡± This showed the difference in their escorts between here and Deepwood. Ajax couldn''t help but feel the difference, back in Deepwood they had had twenty people who were around the same level of power as himself led by Lioriel who was much stronger. Here however they had twenty or so people around Lioriel¡¯s power level led by people who were around the prince¡¯s level of power. Unlike back in Deepwood their guardians weren¡¯t even worried about their mission, simply mentioning the bandits while they were already being dealt with. As they continued their travels Ajax had more and more time to think about his House. This most recent expedition had made him certain that he wanted to help push his own people higher. Even with how new his own ducal House would be they did have something very valuable that they could trade. Ajax was sure that he would be able to sell his services as a dungeon floor detector to Sylvanthal and the Republic in exchange for some of his own people and family delving the dungeons. The deals would be pretty easy to close since the people getting access to the dungeon weren¡¯t future powerhouses but instead just slightly talented people who had connections. ¡°Are you looking forward to seeing your family again?¡± Ajax asked Arianwyn as she took a break from her training. ¡°I¡¯m glad I made it back before my cousin¡¯s tenth birthday.¡± Arianwyn said with a smile. ¡°I promised him the tournament would be over well before his party but with this trip we would be cutting it close.¡± This cousin wasn¡¯t part of the royal family. Arianwyn¡¯s mother had married into the royal family and it was her sister¡¯s son that was turning ten soon. ¡°You¡¯re all invited to the festivities of course.¡± she followed up as she finished her break and started her training again. This news left Ajax with a small conundrum. Should he make an exception and tell Arianwyn''s cousin about the trick to increasing his Stats slowly until the age of fifteen? The king of Gryndor had made an announcement that it would all be public soon enough, there was no doubt that if he told Arianwyn¡¯s cousin that the royal family of Sylvanthal would find out as well. Then again did that really matter as much considering there was no going back once the free Stat points were spent. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Xavier asked as he noticed Ajax was struggling with the choice. Ajax asked Xavier to put up his privacy bubble before he explained the situation. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to undermine your grandfather, or worse cause a political incident by letting the cat out of the bag early with Sylvanthal. On the other hand this is a great opportunity for me to not only build some international connections for my House and prevent some bad blood.¡± Both Ajax and Xavier knew there would be some pretty strong resentment coming from everyone who had turned ten close to when the announcement was officially made. Not sharing this would upset Arianwyn a lot, not so much that it would endanger their budding friendship but she wouldn¡¯t let this go easily either. Chapter 408 The discussion quickly expanded from just Ajax and Xavier to include the prince and through the communication device the king and the crown prince as well. ¡°I want this to be my present.¡± Ajax stated. ¡°It will only be shared with the boy, Arianwyn and their king.¡± Ajax wanted to make a good impression and while he had plenty of valuables he could use as a more than worthy gift from a somewhat newly titled Baron all of those items were also valuable to him, not to mention that the information he wanted to share would be infinitely more valuable to the boy. ¡°Fine, but make sure they keep it to themselves.¡± King Gryndor said. ¡°If they have any other very promising kids, have them do what we did where we only tell the child and swear them to secrecy, at such a young age even a weak contract would be fully binding.¡± The king wasn¡¯t happy with the turn of events, in his initial plan the news would have become public before the boy¡¯s tenth birthday, Ajax¡¯s extended trip however messed up their schedule, sharing the trick early would undermine the royal family a little, but after discussing it with his son the crown prince he agreed that the loss would be balanced out by reinforcing their alliance with Sylvanthal. Unlike in Deepwood the group didn¡¯t head straight for the dungeon as soon as they arrived, instead they all headed for the royal palace. They would be spending at least two weeks in the capital outside of their designated delves so they weren¡¯t in a rush. Only seeing it from the window of their carriage the capital city looked a lot like the one in Deepwood this time however Ajax was looking forward to exploring the city to get a feel for how the day to day life of the elves living here was. As they arrived at the royal palace Ajax didn¡¯t even feel it when his jaw dropped as he took in the majestic fortress tree. While the royal palace of Deepwood had been impressive in Ajax¡¯s opinion Sylvanthal¡¯s was superior. The most glaring difference was that where the trunk of the massive tree spread into large thick roots to enter the ground, Sylvanthal''s palace towered over a crystal clear pond. Ajax could follow the multitude of roots as they twisted around each other deeper and deeper until they reached the bottom of the pond and entered the ground at the bottom. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Ajax was at a loss for words as he took in the gigantic tree. The awe he was feeling taking in the palace as well as the weeks of unwinding on the road had led to Ajax dropping his guard enough that he hadn¡¯t even noticed someone was approaching him until he heard the steps no more than two feet away from him. As Ajax quickly turned it was only the lack of reaction from [Danger Sense] as well as his high Intelligence allowing him to quickly process the information that stopped him from striking his own mother as she hugged him. ¡°I missed you so much.¡± she muttered as she buried her head into his chest. Silvia and Alana had arrived a few day before them and they had been fully informed of most of Ajax¡¯s adventures in Deepwood, seeing her child again after that news made Silvia ignore the decorum of nobility she and the rest of the family had been trying to integrate over the past few years and rushed to hug Ajax. Alana was a few steps behind her doing her best to suppress her giggle. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Hi, mom,¡± Ajax said as he returned the hug. ¡°I see you made it here before us, I hope they didn¡¯t tell you anything that made you too worried.¡± Both of the guards that had been escorting Silvia and Alana developed a sudden interest in the boots as soon as they heard Ajax words. ¡°Maybe you should slow down and stop getting into trouble, that way when people tell us what you¡¯ve been up to we don¡¯t get all worried.¡± Alana chided him with a smile. In the past five years Alana had joined house Hearthbound as its top retainer, while her father and brother had returned to the village after the ground had been retaken. Every noble living in the capital knew that Alana had taken on the families last name and was treated as Judy¡¯s sister. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been enjoying your time here.¡± Ajax said with a smile, ignoring her prodding. ¡°You already received a tour of the palace?¡± ¡°We did and it¡¯s beautiful.¡± Alana nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure they saved the really interesting part for when you came, however, they haven¡¯t shown us the tunnels beneath the ground yet.¡± ¡°What?¡± Arianwyn words startled Alana but it also froze the two guards who were closing in on her. ¡°How do you know about those?¡± Aranor asked, his usual stoic face sporting an eyebrow raised in intrigue. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alana¡¯s assured voice cracked with fear, she wasn¡¯t used to this level of pressure. ¡°Who told you about those tunnels?¡± Aranor pressed. ¡°Is this really necessary?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s rather important, those tunnels should be secret.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°We¡¯d rather their existence not leak, we know she isn¡¯t a spy but we do want to know where she learnt of them.¡± ¡°It was a fair guess.¡± Alana said fear leaving her voice now that she saw the elves weren¡¯t angry at her so much as the fact they thought the information was out there. ¡°None of our spies show any of the other nations other than Deepwood even suspect their existence.¡± Elara joined in, more interested in her logic process than that she had the information. ¡°How did you make that fair guess?¡± ¡°Well Ajax¡¯s message told us how we messed up by not considering mana infused fertilizer for his own garden.¡± Alana explained. ¡°Our farmers would also till the land and put fertilizer before that, the whole point was that it needed to reach the roots so the plant could feed on it. Since the pond is so clean it must mean that there are tunnels underneath to feed the tree.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Ajax had a hard time holding back his laughter as Alana left Aranor at a loss for words. ¡°I suggest you do a whole overhaul of your defenses.¡± Ajax suggested. ¡°With the fortress tree Xavier won I¡¯m sure there will be more than a few experiments done and since it will be something too big to keep hidden, spies will have access to it.¡± ¡°How about we give you that tour now?¡± Arianwyn changed the topic. ¡°It will be the same one I¡¯m sure Alana received but I still think you¡¯ll enjoy it more than the one you got in Deepwood.¡± Ajax nodded, a little absentminded as his [Mana Sense] examined the small pond. The mana density of the water was something he had only felt in floors that had level seventies on them, he was very tempted to gather a few flasks for his [Alchemy] when another thought hit him. ¡°Xavier, is there a spot already planned for the fortress tree to be planted?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Maybe?¡± Xavier answered unsure. ¡°Father¡¯s researchers might already be preparing a spot. Why?¡± ¡°Because I just thought of a perfect little pond with a small patch of land in the center where it would really flourish.¡± Both Lexi and Anna were quick to catch on to what Ajax was suggesting as his discovery of the mana rich pond had caused waves with the nobles, both those directly involved with the skirmish as well as all of the gossip mongers in the capital upon their return. ¡°That might not work out as well as you¡¯d like.¡± Anna said. ¡°The noble that owns those lands leaks more than a sieve.¡± She knew this because with the amount of information her father¡¯s spies gained he was able to perfectly predict all their moves on the market and profit. ¡°It¡¯s worth considering.¡± the prince said with a smile as he knew what they were referring to and was also aware of the plan for Ajax¡¯s future dukedom to include the land. With consideration for the recent defensive agreement their two nations had recently made, the elves of Sylvanthal were much more open to discussing the fortress tree¡¯s defensive capabilities with Ajax. While none of the guards got very specific about what they could do individually they did answer general questions he had. Much like in Deepwood Ajax and the rest of their group was received a small private throne room by the royal family as well as many of their high tiered retainers. Unlike the tense atmosphere in Deepwood upon their entrance in the room they were welcomed like guests instead of accused to be interrogated, with one exception. From the moment he entered the room Ajax could feel the queen¡¯s gaze flicker from him to Lexi and to Arianwyn. It didn¡¯t take more than a moment for him to realize why that was as he remembered Arianwyn had had a crush on him when they had parted ways with the king, who doubtlessly shared the situation with his wife. His wife, who was now analyzing their every move. Chapter 409 The group received a warm welcome , the king took a moment to hug his daughter before he welcomed the rest of them and invited them to help themselves to the buffet that waited for them on the table along the side of the room. The queen was quick to realize that there was nothing going on between her daughter and Ajax as it took less than a minute for her to stop analyzing them, at the same time her attitude warmed up considerably now that she only saw them as friends of her daughter. The same could not be said for Elara¡¯s father who had also been in the room and was now judging every move Benedict made. Just as it was obvious to the queen from their interaction that there was nothing going on between Ajax and Arianwyn it was equally obvious that Benedict and Elara were circling each other. ¡°Should we help him?¡± Ajax asked in a whisper. ¡°It won¡¯t do any good.¡± the queen said with a warm smile. ¡°He¡¯s a lot like me and it will just take some time until he reaches his own decision on how he feels about their relationship. Once he reaches that decision and if he doesn¡¯t approve then you can help.¡± ¡°Any chance you can skip that next time you think I am in a relationship.¡± Arianwyn called out her mother as she had also noticed the way she had been sizing up Ajax and Lexi after they entered. ¡°No, darling.¡± the queen said with the same warm smile, the cheerful tone making Ajax feel a little sorry for whoever dated Arianwyn. ¡°Get a good acting skill and pretend to date a really bad match for a month before starting to date the person you¡¯re really interested in.¡± Anna said with a deadpan face. ¡°The positive emotions from dropping the walking disaster and the size of the upgrade should be enough to override the vigilance period out of sheer relief.¡± Arianwyn looked at Anna with a look of awe while the queen had a look of mixed outrage and dred at the idea. ¡°You are not doing that.¡± the king said with a perfect poker face, the fact that he wasn¡¯t even looking towards Anna giving away just how hard his social skills were working to maintain said poker face. For most of the evening nobody ventured into any important topics, the royal family had realized quickly how stressed the journey into Deepwood had made everyone and decided there was enough time for them to have a night to just settle in. ¡°I would like to apologize for my previous behavior, Baron Heathbound.¡± Once Elara¡¯s father stopped his deep interrogation of Benedict he moved towards Ajax. ¡°I took no offense, Duke.¡± Ajax said with a wry smile. Ajax¡¯s defeat of Elara in their fight during the tournament combined with him sharing that she had the Witch Trait with the Gryndor royal family had made the Duke very hostile throughout their initial joint travel towards the first of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons. ¡°It was still very inappropriate of me, especially after you sold my family one of the slots for delving Deepwood¡¯s dungeons.¡± the duke pressed on. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I think you will find such chances are going to become more abundant in the near future.¡± Ajax said as he tried to downplay his actions, his discomfort in the social situation was so obvious that Lexi was holding herself back from simply interjecting and acting as a middle man between all of Ajax¡¯s conversations for the rest of the evening. ¡°Oh?¡± The Duke was very interested in this. ¡°Why is that?¡± Benedict was quick to answer the question as he not only noticed Ajax¡¯s discomfort but also sensed an opportunity to improve the Duke¡¯s impression of himself. He went on to quickly explain their thoughts on the delve exchange between Sylvanthal, the Republic, Gryndor and possibly Brightstone. The queen had also taken notice of Ajax¡¯s awkwardness and asked her daughter about it. ¡°Does he have an issue with elves? Or is he just shy?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± the prince suppressed a chuckle. ¡°No, he didn¡¯t strike me as shy and he definitely doesn¡¯t have a problem with elves.¡± Arianwyn blushed a little in embarrassment as she remembered the outfit she wore back when she was trying to seduce Ajax and the way it had drawn his attention. ¡°Best enjoy that while it lasts.¡± the prince said with his trademark smirk. ¡°Oh,¡± the queen said with a challenging tone, showing her Blackthorn heritage and not backing down. ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°Ajax was born a commoner.¡± the prince let out a dejected sigh. ¡°Not only that but the nobles that were ruling over the area weren¡¯t ideal.¡± ¡°Is it nobles he has an issue with?¡± A slight bit of panic entered the king¡¯s voice. ¡°He wasn¡¯t mistreated, I hope.¡± ¡°Not directly, there was an issue with management but there wasn¡¯t anything specific to him, thank the gods. His upbringing just steered him towards an admittedly healthy level of paranoia that took a while for him to overcome, even now I doubt he has fully outgrown it.¡± The prince explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like paranoia.¡± the queen nodded towards the conversation Ajax was having. ¡°Oh no, like I said he has mostly outgrown that.¡± the prince said as his smirk returned in full force, even growing a little predatory. ¡°It¡¯s the overly polite and indirect way nobles interact at these events that make him uncomfortable. Something I am sure he will overcome once he has the power to ignore any perceived slights. With the speed he is growing at I don¡¯t see that taking too long.¡± The longer the party went on the more relaxed Ajax got as everyone started to drop the formalities more and more. While Ajax hadn¡¯t realized that this was all led by exampled by the king and queen most everyone else did with Lexi even pulling Arianwyn aside to thank her for it. As Ajax¡¯s sociability grew it didn¡¯t take him long until he found himself talking with the fortress guardian. The elf was on the younger side being only one hundred and fifty years old with a level of one hundred. It didn¡¯t take long for Ajax to start talking about the maintenance of mana infused plants and the elf was more than excited to discuss the subject. The situation ended up as a small issue for the king and queen, Ajax and the fortress guardian had slowly retreated to one side of the room and while they would welcome anyone in their discussion about growing mana dense plants nobody else was that interested in the topic to listen for more than a minute. As the night had started to drag on the king and queen were looking to bring the small welcoming party to an end but Ajax looked so animated talking off to one side that they didn¡¯t want to send him away like that after how the evening started. ¡°You can call an end to the evening.¡± Lexi even went to reassure them as she noticed the glances they kept throwing at him. ¡°He¡¯ll keep going well into the late hours of the morning if you let him.¡± ¡°We can have the royal alchemist set aside a few hours to teach him about some of our more area specific ingredients and recipes.¡± Arianwyn also joined in, she had seen just how dedicated Ajax was to the profession. ¡°He also won¡¯t mind, as soon as he leaves he¡¯ll just be glad it''s over and think that this wasn¡¯t such a bad party.¡± The king was just about to call an end to the evening now that he was reassured it won¡¯t be making a bad impression when everyone¡¯s attention was drawn towards the pair discussing things off to one side. ¡°WHAT?!¡± the fortress guardian exclaimed in shock. ¡°BEES?!¡± Nobody had any issue¡¯s reading the clear look of ¡®I fucked up¡¯ on Ajax¡¯s face. Silvia, Alana and Anna were working very hard not facepalm as Ajax slipped up and revealed something in his excitement. The prince didn¡¯t even attempt to resist as he brought his hand up to his forehead and started shaking his head. ¡°We were so close to the end,¡± he muttered. In the end the king didn¡¯t have to call an end to the evening as the groups started reforming after the outburst and it wasn¡¯t long before their guest from Gryndor and Darkclaw departed. Unlike Deepwood both the Republic and Gryndor had a staffed embassy in Sylvanthal so there was no need to go to an inn. Ajax spent the entire trip to the embassy with Alana glaring accusingly at him for revealing something for free and Lexi reassuring him that it wasn¡¯t that big a deal. Chapter 410 The knowledge that bees help with polarization was new to the elves, they knew that bees were attracted to flowers but they hadn¡¯t pieced together that the flowers had adapted to make use of the bees. One of the things Ajax was more cognizant of needing to keep a secret was that he had figured out how to infuse mana into the bees. During his time in the academy the hives were now on their third queen. The first had only lasted between a year or two depending on the hive but the second queen had lasted almost four years for all the hives. More important however was the fact that with every new queen the amount of mana each bee was infused with seemed to grow. Their study into this was still new but Ajax theorized that if everything surrounding a creature was infused with mana their offsprings would naturally be better adapted to mana. Bees were the perfect test subjects for this since they had enough hives for variety and every queen would birth thousands of bees before the new generation. The latest generation of worker bees had become active only a couple of weeks before Ajax had left yet it was clear that these bees were different from the hives he had initially brought, the only question remaining however was what would happen once the bees crossed the level twenty threshold that seemed to differentiate animals and monsters? Even now the stings from the latest bees had started to actually cause some damage to some of their non-combat retainers and they were only level five. Thankfully none of the hives were aggressive, one of the things Ajax had known to look out for every time a hive changed its queen was if the new queen was aggressive towards humans, twice now he had had to remove and kill said queen and simply wait for the hive to provide a replacement. As they arrived at the embassy Ajax noticed that it wasn¡¯t as nice or as large as the one Gryndor had in the Republic, he was sure this would change in the coming decades as nobles would start traveling more often but even now the building was a definite step up to their housing in Deepwood. ¡°How do you want to do this?¡± the prince asked once Ajax took a seat. ¡°The Blackthorn heir¡¯s birthday party is in five days and we are invited to attend.¡± This was a true invitation that Ajax could reject if he wanted to without causing a political incident. The easiest way to do so would be to simply delve Sylvanthal¡¯s main dungeon starting tomorrow. Like all other main dungeons it started with a base floor from level twenty five to thirty and grew by five levels per floor. Given the chance Ajax would most likely push all the way to challenging a level one hundred and thirty miniboss, that would be on the eighteen floor of the dungeon. There was no way they would clear all that in time for the party. ¡°We¡¯ll delve their secondary dungeon tomorrow.¡± Ajax said after taking a moment to think about it. ¡°Do you know who will join us?¡± Their secondary dungeon started with levels thirty one to thirty six and had a nine level jump each floor. The group would only have to clear as many as ten floors, and the tenth floor was already a stretch seeing as the miniboss there would be level one hundred and thirty five. Even with a favorable match-up Ajax was worried about it. ¡°Aranor, Arianwyn and Elara will all join us.¡± the prince said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if they will tag along for the final dungeon in Sylvanthal but they¡¯ll delve with us for both of the ones here in the capital. Along with them two of the ranger squads will also join to help clear the final floor, or on the off chance that two arches on the final floor have a valuable element for their main theme they will split up to clear both.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Despite knowing that Sylvanthal made a very compelling reason for sending two ranger squads, Ajax''s initial thought when he heard was tinged with a bit of speculation about how much power they were sending. In an odd twist of fate it was the idea that a single ranger squad was enough to handle all of them inside a dungeon that calmed Ajax down, what would be the point of sending two if that was their aim. With that settled nobody spent any more time as they headed straight to bed. Ajax and Lexi simply cuddled together as they both prepared for the trying fights they would face in the coming days. Of them all Anna was the most nervous, despite heading straight to bed she spent the first hour twisting and turning in her bed before she finally fell asleep. The reason for this was the fear she felt. It wasn¡¯t the upcoming fight she was afraid of however, it was that Lexi would leave her behind. Anna and Lexi had been best friends from the age of ten, more than that however Lexi had been Anna¡¯s only true friend until they had joined the Academy. Throughout all this time they had been inseparable and while Lexi had almost always been the better mage they were still relatively close in terms of power. As of late this dynamic had started to change. It had started with Lexi gaining a Domain, followed quickly by her gaining the Legendary affinity for Vibration mana. This had been a massive jump in power but because of how offensive both gains were Anna hadn¡¯t truly grasped the difference because Lexi couldn¡¯t truly bring them to bear in their sparring without putting Anna in danger. The realization came when Lexi managed to push one floor further than any of them. Anna¡¯s sleep that night was anything but restful, she had barely gotten five hours of sleep before she woke covered in a sheen of sweat. ¡°I¡¯ll do it...¡± she promised to herself in a whisper between deep breaths. ¡°No matter what, I''ll bring down the level seventy two.¡± Despite knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fall back asleep Anna laid back down in bed as she tried her best to relax, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be long until sunrise. The news that they would be delving Sylvanthal¡¯s secondary dungeon brought a big smile on Arianwyn¡¯s face. She knew that if they were delving them main dungeon not only would she possibly need to leave early so that she would not miss her cousin¡¯s party but also that Ajax, and by extension everyone else, would also attend. That night the queen and king had questioned Arianwyn as to why she was so attached to this group. It wasn¡¯t like she hadn¡¯t had friends before, there weren¡¯t all that many of them on account of both her position as princess and her sheer talent, but that didn¡¯t seem to be a problem for her here. Other than Darkclaw, everyone else was either a lot younger or much weaker than her, in most cases it was both. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Arianwyn admitted. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I know that they all have the potential to catch up with me. You always told me that a few decades wouldn¡¯t matter as we got older, I guess I just realized that now.¡± Both the queen and king had shared those words in hopes of having Arianwyn befriend some of the older elves who could spar with her when she was younger but they were still very happy with this turn of events. It was clear as day to both of them that not only Ajax but Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict would all become future champions, seeing their daughter make lifelong friends who would live that long brought them both so much joy. The group that entered the dungeon was a lot bigger than usual. A total of thirty one people entered and as soon as they were inside one of them couldn¡¯t hold back any more. ¡°Can you really do it?¡± one of the widest elves Ajax had ever seen asked him before he even had a chance to look around the floor. ¡°Rimthel!!¡± the ranger squad leader shouted to chastise his subordinate before turning an apologetic look towards Ajax. ¡° Forgive him, he¡¯s very passionate about smithing and it has been more than twelve delves since he has seen any floor with quality metals above level ninety.¡± Ajax was surprised to hear the elf was a smith. He knew that there were elven smiths just the same as there were human mages or dwarves farmers but that one of them was not only a good enough smith to work with such mana dense metals as well as being strong enough to be part of the ranger squads was not something he expected. Once the squad leader turned away Rimthel slowly crept close to Ajax and whispered so softly Ajax could barely hear it. ¡°Can you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± Ajax responded with a grin the prince would have been proud of. Chapter 411 The first floor of the dungeon wasn¡¯t all that special of a setting, the rather common forest theme was one Ajax had grown very used to. What made this floor different from most he had seen was that the trees grew about twice as thick and four to five times as tall, more than that this floor also had elven enemies defending it. ¡°I can see now why so few crafters get their start in the capital.¡± Ajax mentioned as he looked around. The presence of humanoids on the first floor all but guaranteed that the market would be flooded with weapons and armor that was collected from them, since a decent number of teams would clear the first floor there would always be a steady supply of items people were looking to unload quickly. ¡°Has the royal family or the Guild tried to stop the flood?¡± Anna asked, curious about how something like this would affect the market. ¡°Both have tried.¡± Arianwyn answered. ¡°It has failed every time for the same reason, directly or indirectly.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s always the same reason why not fix that before trying again?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s hard to fix the nobility.¡± the prince joined in clueing Ajax in on what the reason was. ¡°Almost every ruler tries but it takes many generations of rulers doing their best to put a decent dent in the corruption of nobles and if the line is ever broken by one bad or incompetent ruler all the work must start again.¡± ¡°Also how do nobles ruin things when the royals attempt it.¡± Ajax knew that nobles could band together to oppose the royal family but he doubted they would do so for something as trivial as low to mid level thirty weapons and armor, he could see them uniting against the guild for the same reason just on principle. ¡°Only way to stop the flood on the market is for all the spoils to be bought before they can enter it.¡± Anna explained. ¡°That means everyone¡¯s storage is checked when they leave. If everyone¡¯s storage is getting checked as they leave it won¡¯t take long for nobles to bribe the ones checking to find out about any other valuables commoners are taking out. Once that happens the system soon collapses because the Guild will oppose it in order to protect its members.¡± The first arch they found on the first floor was guarded by a giant beaver. Ajax felt rather bad about the poor thing as Aranor dispatched it before it even made a move to defend the arch. With the guard handled Ajax wasted no time placing his hand on the arch. ¡°Well?¡± the leader of one ranger squad asked with a raised eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t so much that they doubted Aranor¡¯s word about Ajax¡¯s ability as the claim was so outrageous they still didn¡¯t fully believe it was possible despite the reliability of the source. ¡°Earth and Magma primarily.¡± Ajax said. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be much Air or Plant. I¡¯m guessing either an underground cave system or the inside of a volcano.¡± Ajax felt a shiver go up his spine when he remembered the last time he had been on a floor theme that imitated the inside of a volcano. At some points the ledges got very thin and more than once one of his teammates was thrown off the sides and left dangling by the ropes everyone had tied around themselves above a lake of magma. That floor had had level ninety enemies however and he wasn¡¯t at all worried about one with enemies half that level. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I¡¯ll be, he was actually right.¡± Rimthel looked on with a mix of awe and glee. ¡°So you can just go to whatever theme you want?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ajax shook his head in denial. ¡°I can feel the mana types dominant on the floors, but I don¡¯t know how they will be expressed, more than that if I don¡¯t recognise the mana type it will be useless. Also the higher we delve the fewer mana types I can see.¡± ¡°More importantly is that the arch is already set.¡± Arianwyn spoke up as she fixed the ranger squads with a warning look. ¡°He can¡¯t change it, only see what it is.¡± ¡°What she means is don¡¯t blame him for the themes we get later on, he can¡¯t change them.¡± Aranor translated, left unsaid was the ¡®or else¡¯ Arianwyn implied about anyone harassing her new friend. The second floor turned out to be a multitude of tunnels that were dug around a few rivers of magma. Because of how low level the floor was there were always light mana rocks embedded in the walls to provide visibility. The monsters on this floor were also basic worms and other digging animals, while all of them had some sort of fire affinity none of them were strong enough yet to handle the heat of the magma. With Benedict, Lexi, Anna and Xavier needing to kill something on the second floor they now had a number of different arch options to choose from, at least initially. Once the third arch was identified to have Crystal mana as its third most common mana on the floor with Life and Earth as the top two it was a foregone conclusion what arch they would choose. Gems were always in short supply no matter the mana density, more than that they were used by all types or armor and weapon crafters meaning a very high demand for a very low supply, it wasn¡¯t uncommon to find master crafters who were still novices in working with gems because of their poor beginnings and lack of backers. ¡°Hopefully the next floor theme isn¡¯t a cave.¡± one of the rangers complained as they moved through the third floor. ¡°Speak for yourself, I just hope it has some ore deposits.¡± Rimthel responded. Up until this point the ranger squads hadn¡¯t seen anything to be impressed by. They could admit that the Ajax¡¯s classmates were stronger than any other people their level they had seen but that was to be expected considering the number of different dungeons they had delved so far. This changed however as Lexi faced off against her crystal scorpion. With the miniboss being only level fifty four Lexi didn¡¯t consider it strong enough to even be a warm up. The rangers had all tensed a little when they saw that Lexi allowed the crystalline arachnid close in but seeing nobody else react they didn¡¯t interfere. When Lexi unleashed a full power shockwave that turned the miniboss into rubble the rangers were impressed. Not only were they impressed with the power of the spell but also with the control Lexi showed as her attack demolished the miniboss yet didn¡¯t do more than leave a few small cracks on the wall of the tunnel. ¡°That was an affinity.¡± one of the mages broke out of their shock first. ¡°You have the affinity for shockwaves?¡± All of the casters and even some of the more melee focused rangers were very much interested in this development. Shockwave was one of the spells all of them made use of regularly because of how versatile it was, depending on which variation of the spells was used it could be a defensive spell to intercept a projectile, a defensive spell to force an enemy away or an offensive spell as Lexi had just demonstrated. There had been many attempts to unlock the affinity but so far none of them had succeeded. ¡°What rarity is it?¡± another ranger followed up, the question was innocent in his mind, he had asked because he had a long standing bet with his teacher on if the affinity was Rare or Epic. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary.¡± Lexi answered with a sweet smile. The answer floored both squads, not so much for the power of the affinity but rather by the admission of possessing a Legendary affinity. ¡°Wh - why would you admit something like that?¡± ¡°Because Elara has it as well.¡± Lexi¡¯s answer was flippant but the effect on the rangers was immediate, a wave of congratulations fell on Elara. ¡°I see the Baron is not the only future powerhouse.¡± The ranger leaders approached Aranor, the three of them knew they would be ranger leaders for most of their new king¡¯s reign so being up to date about such powerful people would be a requirement for them even if they were allies. ¡°This defensive agreement is looking like a better deal with every day that passes.¡± ¡°All five of them have the foundations to become more powerful than anyone currently alive.¡± Aranor warned them. ¡°I will admit Lady Manashaper has started to pull ahead of the others and Baron Hearthbound is like nothing I¡¯ve ever seen before.¡± ¡°You think he needs to be taken care of?¡± the other squad leader whispered. ¡°Gods no.¡± Aranor shook his head. ¡°Despite some glaring weaknesses when it comes to social interactions the boy¡¯s mind is just as valuable as his personal combat prowess.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± the squad leader asked. ¡°I have a feeling that we are living in a historic time.¡± Aranor said as his gaze focused on Ajax. ¡°With the discoveries he has made and the change his very presence is causing on the nations I foresee us all expanding our borders in the coming centuries.¡± Chapter 412 For the fifth floor of the dungeon the team collectively decided to go with one of the random arches. The reason it was random wasn¡¯t that Ajax couldn¡¯t feel what the predominant mana types were, it was simply that he didn¡¯t know those represented. He had felt them in present in small quantities on other floors but he hadn¡¯t been able to get a clear reading on what they represented. Since the floor would only have levels up to sixty two it would be a perfect warm-up for Anna, Lexi and Xavier. Benedict knew that with his physically focused build he wouldn¡¯t have a chance at tackling the following floor, it wasn¡¯t something he was happy about but it was something he had accepted, as a melee physical combatant the fight would simply last too long for any boosting potion to remain effective and the level difference was too much to overcome for him. ¡°What is this?¡± one of the rangers asked as they noticed a sticky substance on the ground. ¡°Ajax, is this what I think it is?¡± Lexi asked as she took in her surroundings, she was pretty sure she was right with her guess but wanted Ajax to confirm it for her. ¡°Yes it is.¡± Ajax confirmed excitement and awe in his voice. ¡°Judging by the size of the honeycomb I¡¯d say we should be expecting them to be about four feet in length.¡± ¡°Honeycomb?¡± Anna asked confused for a moment before her eyes opened wide in surprise. ¡°Is this entire floor a big hive?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the entire floor but this part of it certainly seems to be.¡± Ajax said as he looked at the sheen of what he very much suspected to be honey glistening on the walls. ¡°Anna also do be careful with your fire, pure honey like this is flammable.¡± ¡°You think the minibosses might be swarm types?¡± the prince asked Ajax. ¡°Could be.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°That would mean that their defense and endurance is low so they should be no issue for any of us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an interesting floor I¡¯ll grant you but can we get going.¡± Aranor said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in an anthill version of this floor and they are dangerous, after a certain point it''s like the obelisk was activated on you and the entire floor swarms you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they have a hive mind.¡± Ajax said. ¡°If you¡¯re careful that won¡¯t happen.¡± For the next five minutes Ajax very loosely explained how a hive worked as one organism and that if they wouldn¡¯t let any bees live long enough they wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate their presence throughout the hive. ¡°Anything you want off this floor Ajax?¡± the prince asked, knowing that Ajax¡¯s ideas could be a little out there.¡± ¡°Oh yes.¡± Ajax nodded rapidly. ¡°There has to be some honey we can take out and I¡¯ll want some of that. Less likely to be found are eggs or royal jelly.¡± That comment brought everyone up short, not because of the food or the presence of a type of jelly they hadn¡¯t heard about but the eggs. ¡°You think there could be eggs?¡± Aranor asked, his words coming out slowly one at a time.¡± ¡°Most likely not ones we could take with us.¡± Ajax sighed as he admitted, he had found floors that seemed to have shrunk the person entering before and while they had found eggs of creatures on those floors they weren¡¯t ever able to take them out. ¡°The dungeons don¡¯t seem to allow that.¡± ¡°Then what do you want to honey?¡± one of the rangers asked. ¡°Or the¡­ what is royal jelly?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Lexi was quick to catch on why Ajax wanted both the honey and the royal jelly. Ajax had explained how bees worked before and she knew that if Ajax managed to get any of the honey from this hive and feed it to his bees he might be able to get them to integrate the mana infusion quicker, the royal jelly would be especially valuable since that would should be able to boost a future queen helping speed up the process by a few generations. ¡°He¡¯s an alchemist, you know how they are about odd mana-rich ingredients.¡± Another ranger whispered to the nod of everyone who heard. Even Lexi was nodding along not just because she didn¡¯t want to explain everything she knew about bees but she actually agreed with the statement and knew that Ajax would also keep some of the honey for his [Alchemy]. ¡°We¡¯re clearing the entire floor anyway so what does it matter.¡± the ranger squad leader said, all the royal ranger squads had standing orders to scour floors where there was a reasonable suspicion that eggs of magical creatures could be found. ¡°What does this royal jelly look like?¡± ¡°It should look similar to regular honey only instead of the golden color it would be more like milk it''s surprisingly sour, it¡¯s actually how the bees-¡± Ajax started to explain only to be interrupted. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for a lesson on bees Ajax.¡± Lexi said. ¡°So white honey.¡± the ranger leader nodded. ¡°No offense but if I find some white sticky substance I won¡¯t be tasting it.¡± With a few chuckles both rangers'' squad started to head out and clear the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to leave a few of the arch guardians alive, some of them still need to clear the floor.¡± the prince called out. ¡°Anything we should watch out for?¡± Benedict asked Ajax, recognizing that this time his friend might actually know a lot more about their enemies. ¡°Yeah the stinger.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± Xavier chuckled along with Anna and Lexi. ¡°I mean it.¡± Ajax said in a serious tone. ¡°Judging by the size of the hive these bees are maybe sixty times larger than the normal ones, bee stings hurt and itch for so long because they inject venom. With this much more venom and the mana concentration one sting might not be immediately fatal but it would incapacitate any of you, two or more would be fatal regardless what body part they hit.¡± This information brought the joking to a halt, a swarm type enemy with this strong of a weapon was a real threat for all of them. ¡°Anything else, weak point?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°Yeah their jaws.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Bees have an exoskeleton, if you put a sword or spear through their mouth you won¡¯t hit bone so you can crush their brain. Ice magic should also work well but I¡¯m not sure how that works with the mana they have access to now.¡± Ajax was the first of them to go up against the bees to see what they could do. A miniboss swarm seemed to be made up of seven four and a half feet long bees. Ajax wasted no time and made short work of them, with his speed and power half of the bees were dead before they even had a chance to react to his attack. Before killing the last bee however he did let it sting him in the thigh, it wasn¡¯t often that he could find a chance to expose his [Poison Resistance] to such an odd venom. ¡°Argh.¡± Ajax groaned as he endured the pain while also crushing the final bee with his hammer. ¡°Are you sure that was a good idea?¡± the prince asked Ajax, only slightly worried about him willingly being hit with a venom. ¡°Actually I¡¯m starting to regret this already.¡± Ajax said while keeping his voice as emotionless as possible yet his hands had started clenching and unclenching. ¡°Are you in danger?¡± the prince was a little worried but because of the calm look on Ajax¡¯s face he hadn¡¯t started panicking. ¡°No, I just failed to consider the aftereffects of the poison.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh god it must itch like crazy.¡± Lexi exclaimed as she remembered how the pain from the sting wasn¡¯t pleasant but it faded quickly. Anna and Lexi had no issue dealing with their own swarms. While Vibration wasn¡¯t all that good against an exoskeleton, both of the girls were powerful mages that had a very strong advantage by opening the fight with a very powerful spell that hit the entire swarm. Lexi went with ice while Anna stuck with her trademark fire Xavier and Benedict didn¡¯t have such an easy time, both of them started with a very aggressive opening attack and then switched into a defensive fighting style as the slowly killed off one bee at a time while keeping well away from the stingers. Both of them were a bit roughed up from where the bees had managed to gnaw on them a little but neither of them had gotten stung. The ranger squads had also shown their prowess as it barely took four hours for them to clear and scout the entire floor. ¡°You were right, no eggs.¡± the rangers said as they returned. ¡°At least none that we can take out.¡± ¡°What about the honey and royal jelly?¡± Ajax asked, only slightly disappointed with the news about the eggs since he had been expecting them. ¡°We did manage to find about ten¡­ honeycombs, you called them, of honey and one of the royal jelly that we can take with us.¡± the ranger nodded. ¡°The honey ones were scattered all over the floor.¡± The amount was something Ajax was very happy with. Each honeycomb could hold about fifteen gallons so that was a lot. ¡°Anything specific you are planning?¡± the prince asked him as he could tell Ajax was holding something back. ¡°Yeah, we need to be careful with the royal jelly.¡± Ajax said. ¡°With it a dedicated farmer could raise his own queen, with the right skills they might be able to tame it even if they won¡¯t Bond with it and through it they would control the entire hive.¡± ¡°As long as they grow to this size I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡± the prince said. ¡°Lets go to the next floor.¡± Chapter 413 Anna P.O.V. Fighting the bees on the previous floor had been a great way to warm up and it was something I very much needed if I was to kill a miniboss in this frozen hellscape. The fifth floor of the dungeon was a land of eternal winter. While I had seen snow outside the dungeon it never got any higher than my knees, father told me the worst winter he ever experienced it got as high as his waist. ¡°This is amazing.¡± Arianwyn shouted with glee as continued to practice her Domain. This was the perfect place for it, her winter domain was right at home with the theme of the floor. Oddly enough the presence of her domain was the only reason the wind had slowed down around us and we weren¡¯t pelted by hail. ¡°Let''s go find some of the minibosses.¡± Ajax said with a relaxed posture, it was as if the cold didn¡¯t affect him at all while I could feel it burrowing through my enchantments with every moment that passed. ¡°Since the floor is environmental we the minibosses might be weaker than usual.¡± I appreciated the heartwarming encouragement, while Ajax¡¯s lack of subtlety wasn¡¯t something I appreciated there was something to be said about his willingness to support his friends. The encouragement was mainly geared towards Benedict who had all but given up on clearing this floor before we even stepped foot on it, but it was also slightly directed towards me. The winter theme of the floor wasn¡¯t a disadvantage for me, while snow and ice could both easily put out a fire so could a fire melt them. This would all come down to one thing for me, could I be efficient enough with my mana to bring down my enemy before they got to me or not. I know I could blow all my mana quickly but that might not be efficient enough to kill something at level seventy two, I also knew with enough time I could use my mana efficiently enough to bring it down. The problem with the second scenario was that I was alone and a full on mage so I had to win before they got too close to me. Am I even a full on mage anymore? I know I spent every one of my free stat points in either my Vitality or my Mental stats but I had also delved more than fifteen dungeons. All of my stats had more than an extra fifty added on just from clearing floors, my body wasn¡¯t as weak any more. I know for a fact Benedict is planning on working out a deal with Elara¡¯s family to help build his foundation more like the elven physical fighter after his Metal stats had increased so much from delving. Once I returned home I would need to work hard to get accustomed to my new limits, especially when it comes to my physical attributes which will have all gained almost a 50% increase in under a year. As soon as we crossed the boundary of Arianwyn¡¯s Domain the chilling wind returned with a vengeance. I bundled myself tighter with the fur coat my father had gifted me, more than that I could also admit that he was right. Despite the presence of the soft fur not doing anything to keep me warmer than regular leather would have with the same enchantments the fur just made it feel like it was keeping out the cold and even that little bit helped. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± Ajax warned us but I knew none of us would even lift a finger unless there was a miniboss. There were more than twenty people above level one hundred and fifty on this floor, even if half of them split off so they could stay with Arianwyn as she practiced her domain, nothing would get the jump on us. ¡°What is it?¡± Benedict asked curiously, the nature of the enemy was important to see if it was a favorable match-up for him. ¡°Foxes.¡± Ajax answered, a little sadness in his tone. It didn¡¯t take me long to see why he wasn¡¯t pleased. While the monsters the elves were toying with did resemble foxes they were also only slightly smaller than an average horse, not only that but they were pure white, their fur would sell for a premium. Their increased size didn¡¯t seem to affect their usual quickness and to make matters worse they could somehow dig through the snow in the same way a mole monster would through the earth. I could feel their mana working but that small bit of warning wasn¡¯t enough for any of us except Ajax to even consider fighting them. ¡°There¡¯s a miniboss there for you Ajax¡± The prince said, he obviously agreed with my assessment of the monsters. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to engage, I could feel him activating [Mana Syphon], my own [Sense Mana] painted a clear picture of a vortex centered on Ajax where all mana would surge towards as he consumed it to increase his own physical prowess. As Ajax engaged the fox I braced myself for the wall of Aura that washed over us. It wasn¡¯t all that powerful, I¡¯ve felt many more powerful Aura¡¯s but all of those had been constrained or offset by another Aura. Nobody else other than Ajax was unleashing his Aura now and while it wasn¡¯t intentional I could tell Xavier, Benedict, Lexi and myself were all slightly pressured by it. With his sword in hand Ajax¡¯s hand turned into a blur. I knew his hand hadn¡¯t actually turned invisible, it was simply moving faster than my eyes could track, a single exchange with the fox was enough to bring it down. The only reason I knew he had made five cuts was by counting the wounds on the fox. ¡°You¡¯re getting sloppy.¡± the prince teased Ajax. Despite getting a lot stronger in the past half a year, even more than all of us, it was getting more and more obvious that Ajax wasn¡¯t used to his own stats. The cuts that covered the fox¡¯s body weren¡¯t precisely grouped. Back when we left Gryndor Ajax wouldn¡¯t have needed to sacrifice any of his speed for his cuts to land exactly where he wanted them to. It didn¡¯t take more than five more minutes before we found our first arch on this floor. The guardian was a creature I hadn¡¯t seen before but one I had read about as being relatively common in frozen floors. A penguin. ¡°I¡¯ll fight it.¡± [Noble Bearing] keeps my face emotionless and my voice even as I lay claim to the miniboss. Penguins are slow, and not particularly tough. Their threat comes mostly from their magic and their pack tactics. This whole fight will come down to how quickly I can overpower the penguin¡¯s defensive magic while ensuring my own defenses aren¡¯t breached. While getting in position I get a round of nods from the rangers as three of them have their bows drawn, ready to kill all the surrounding penguins and leave only the miniboss for me to fight. I bring out the potion and remove the cork before downing it in one gulp. The moment after I swallow I begin to chant. The potion is one specifically made to influence the drinker¡¯s mana towards fire. I can feel the potion take effect as the cold and wind stop bothering me entirely as a wave of warmth radiates out from my core, with this my fire spells would pack that much heat. Halfway through my chant the penguin¡¯s feel my mana gathering and move to engage me. A few brief but powerful flashes of mana spring up in my surroundings as this happens but I force myself to ignore them as the rangers remove the minibosses¡¯ helpers. The surprise attack confuses the miniboss and that is the last of the help I will get as I channel almost a tenth of my entire mana pool into a single flame lance that I sent hurtling towards the penguin. I don¡¯t even wait to see the effects as I already start chanting my second spell. My [Sense Mana] is locked on to my lance, as soon as it gets within ten feet of the penguin it¡¯s met with a frozen barrier. My lance loses its form as it breaks through the barrier and the flames wash over the penguin. The miniboss whines in pain as the flames flow over it and for a moment it seems like it wants to run away. If this was a real penguin I¡¯m sure it would attempt to flee but in the dungeon the monster''s base instincts are suppressed and the angry creature starts to retaliate. The brief moment of indecision it had was enough for me to finish chanting my wall of flames. A defensive spell isn¡¯t something I would normally use to follow up my initial attack with but in this case it is essential as the flood of fire mana very much limits my opponents range. Over the past six years I have become increasingly proficient in dealing with caster type monsters, in fact I am sure there are very few people at my level that can claim the same mastery as Lexi, Xavier and I have. The reason for this is our constant sparring with Ajax, my friend¡¯s casting is almost identical to the way monsters cast their spells. With my defenses established I quickly turn up the aggression with a few quick spells, I can¡¯t allow the penguin to channel a powerful attack or it will break straight through my defensive enchantments. The next few minutes feel like an eternity as a deadlock form where both of us are launching a volley of spells at one another. While the penguin¡¯s spells aren¡¯t strong enough to outright shatter my defensive enchantments I can feel the barriers starting to crack with every shard of ice and frostbolt. At the same time my own spells have managed to break through the penguin¡¯s renewed ice shell and I¡¯m finally starting to deepen the initial burns it suffered. I¡¯m down to a fifth of my mana but that¡¯s more than enough to finish this, that¡¯s when I feel an icy shiver pass through my body. My potion has finally run out and my spells have started to lose some of their heat. While the boost in power wasn¡¯t enormous without it the damage my spells would do to the monsters has dropped considerably, without the added heat the penguin¡¯s own magical defenses smother them too much. I was so close. No, I won¡¯t give up, this isn¡¯t over yet. A brief flash of Ajax and Lexi leaving me behind as they push forward and I can feel my emotions burn as they refuse to allow it to become reality. Then everything clicks into place. I¡¯m not sure what changed but as i release my next fireball I can feel the heat of the flames almost strong enough to burn my own hand as I launch it, it¡¯s more than powerful enough to break though the penguin¡¯s defenses and as the attack lands the flames persistently latch on to the creature, almost like they are enforcing my will for it to burn. The battle ends with my next attack as the creature dies while my flames continue burning through the blizzard without a care in the world as they turn the corpse into ash. I quickly open up my status looking for an explanation of what happened. There it is, down at the bottom, my news skill, my only Legendary skill. [Pyromancer] Chapter 414 The group watched Anna¡¯s battle with the penguin with bated breath. It was obvious when her potion ran out and Ajax could feel Lexi¡¯s grip on his hand tighten, they all knew that with the backlash of the potion the best Anna could hope for was a slow defensive struggle until the monster twenty five levels above her would finish her off. The next fireball Anna released showed her lack of power, Ajax was tempted to end the fight there just to spare Anna the despair of fighting an inevitable loss. Mid-flight however the fireball¡¯s heat shot up, so much so that it was now even hotter than before the potion ran out so much so Ajax was worried if the spell had burnt Anna¡¯s fingers. Her fireball wasn¡¯t the only thing to get hotter as the small wall of flames surrounding Anna also increased in heat as the penguin struggled to put out the flames that would soon claim its life. With the penguin¡¯s attention on putting out the flames Anna has enough time to chant one of her stronger spells and her flame pillar spell leaves the miniboss a half charred lump that is slowly turning to ash. As soon as the battle is over Anna collapses to her knees, her eyes glazed with a faraway look consistent with someone inspecting their status. The prince wastes no time as he snuffs out the intense flames surrounding her before applying first aid. Anna¡¯s hands suffered some second degree burns that are at odds with the few patches of frostbite that adorn her body. By the time Lexi managed to cover the distance and wrap her arms around Anna she had finished inspecting her status, with a tired smile Anna leaned into her friend''s hug ¡°I did it.¡± falling unconscious after getting the words out. ¡°She¡¯s out of mana, but otherwise fine.¡± the prince said. ¡°Whatever happened at the end her mana usage spiked very high.¡± Lexi had a much easier time dealing with the following penguin they met, by leaning into her domain and overall aggressive strategy the fight was over much quicker than Anna¡¯s. Going all in on offense did have its price however and Lexi¡¯s right arm had turned entirely blue after she used it to block one of the penguin¡¯s frostbolts. Ajax hovered around Lexi like a worried mother hen while the healer of the ranger squad worked to reverse the frostbite. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi reassured him but they all knew that the fight had been just as close as Anna¡¯s, had the frostbolt hit her head or chest she would have died. Benedict knew he had no chance against a fox or a penguin, there were chances they could find an ice golem or a weak elemental on this floor but he wouldn¡¯t do any better against one of those either. His only chance was to try and take on the behemoth polar bears they had seen traveling alone. His first attempt was also his last, Benedict understood quickly that he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring down a polar bear. WIth their thick muscles and touch skin covered in layers of fur combined with an enormous body meant that he would need to fight flawlessly until he was almost entirely out of stamina to bleed them out. All the bear needed to win was to land anything more than a glancing blow. ¡°Your chances will improve once you start to integrate some magic into your fighting style.¡± Elana reassured him. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°I don¡¯t think I stand a much better chance that he did.¡± Xavier said as he took in the outcome of the fight. As a fellow melee fighter Xavier would be hard pressed to keep up with the speed of the bear, even if he did have the damage to kill it the stat difference was just too high for him as a hybrid fighter. ¡°You could try it.¡± Ajax said as he examined the polar bear. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be attuned to the ice mana at all.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°You could manage to remove a large amount of fur with your opening attack, the bear would lose its insulation, slowly the cold would kill it by itself.¡± Ajax explained his theory, he knew that Benedict couldn¡¯t remove enough fur without magic but Xavier had a chance. Ajax¡¯s plan worked well in theory but as they soon found out Xavier simply didn¡¯t have the stats to keep up on the defensive long enough for the cold to start having enough of an effect. ¡°No need to look so down.¡± the prince patted Xavier on the back. ¡°I can barely kill something twenty five levels higher than myself and that¡¯s a much smaller difference for me than it is for you.¡± They had already been on the floor for more than six hours by the time all of them had finished or admitted they wouldn¡¯t be able to clear the floor and they moved to return to Arianwyn who was still practicing her Domain. On the way there Anna had regained consciousness but kept silent about what had given her the increase in power. ¡°Has she taken a break at all?¡± Elara asked Aranor as she looked at just how tired Arianwyn looked and the fact that her Domain was still active. ¡°Not yet.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°She used up the mana in her first Domain in about two hours and after releasing it a second time she has just focused on drawing in the Air, Ice and Water mana from the ambient mana into her Domain.¡± All of them could feel that Arianwyn was successful but this was a slow process. This wouldn¡¯t be something that would help increase her combat power directly but it would instead only slightly increase her reserves in a prolonged fight so long as she could draw on specific mana types from the surroundings. ¡°Any interesting arches for the next floor?¡± Arianwyn asked as she finally stopped practicing after noticing their return. ¡°Hard to say.¡± Ajax answered, with the level of the arch¡¯s so high he could only glimpse the top two mana types present, maybe a third if they were all above 20% of the arch split. Of the five arches they had found none of them had three overly dominant mana types, what¡¯s worse was that all of them had either Plant or Earth as one of the two he could see with two of them having both. This did very little to narrow anything down. ¡°We¡¯re not going for the water one.¡± Ajax said as he excluded the arch that was 50% water. ¡°I say we go for the Earth and Shadow.¡± Rimthel suggested hoping very much it would lead to an underground cave system that would have some metal ores. ¡°We¡¯ve had too many underground floors in this run already.¡± Aranor shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll also be clearing the floor and leaving it in a few hours at most, let''s just go for the Plant and Light.¡± None of them were worried about taking on the level eighty one minibosses, even the level nineties on the next floor wouldn¡¯t really pose a challenge to any of them, Harold would be the only one who would have serious issues against the level ninety nines and Ajax would be the only person trying anything past level one hundred. Support quickly built up around the idea of the Plant and Light floor, with it also being the floor where the group would camp for a night of sleep. Anna, Lexi, Benedict and Xavier didn¡¯t waste any time and exited the dungeon as soon as they got on the next floor Elara and Arianwyn also joined them. The former was looking to spend time with Benedict while the latter was going to make preparations for her cousin¡¯s upcoming birthday party. The following floor turned out to be a simple hilly plain covered by deep grass. It was exactly what the group had hoped for as it was easy for them to clear a large enough patch to set up camp where they all got a few hours of sleep, Ajax Harold and Darkclaw getting a full eight hours so they would be ready for finishing this floor and then clearing out the next two as well. ¡°We might need to change our plans.¡± Aranor said to the two ranger squads once they made camp. ¡°It might not be worth keeping both of you just to clear two floors around level one hundred and fifty. It might be better to break one of you up and send you one or two at a time in some of these lower floors where we know two mana types.¡± Chapter 415 The level nineties didn¡¯t turn out to be that much more of a challenge either, the most eye opening thing about the floor was a deeper understanding into how the mana affected different floors of the dungeon. The floor they had chosen Ajax had recognised as a primarily humanoid floor, which was technically true. What was unexpected was that Wendigo¡¯s were classified as humanoids despite their bestial natures and lack of tools or armor. ¡°I was expecting elves or beastkins when you said Plant and humanoids.¡± the prince said as Ajax and Darkclaw were watching Harold finish his own fight for the floor. ¡°So was I.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But at least now we know this is also a possibility.¡± Ajax had already experienced that goblins, orcs and even kobolds were listed as humanoids by the dungeons, while he had never seen orcs or goblins outside of dungeons he had some experiences with kobolds and they were pretty much feral. This did lead him to question if orcs or goblins would be similar to their aggressive dungeon counterparts or if they could be reasoned with, if any of them existed outside of dungeons at all. Harold didn¡¯t take long to finish his fight. Back when they started fighting a level ninety wendigo would have been a hard fight for him, not something wouldn¡¯t be confident in handling but certainly not easy, now it was only a good warm up for him despite only increasing his level by one during this time. ¡°Let''s see which floor we want to try next.¡± Harold said as he sheathed his sword after wiping the blood off of it. ¡°Actually Ajax, could I trouble you to take a look at a few other floor options.¡± Aranor said seeing that they were finished. ¡°We cleared a few more.¡± Ajax certainly didn¡¯t mind, so far their options were a Metal Fire floor, an Air Lightning floor and whatever this final arch ended up being, he even said as much, these floors were all horrible options for Harold. ¡°Which one is the Metal Fire?¡± One of the ranger leaders asked. ¡°The first one we found.¡± Ajax responded, with a single nod two rangers dashed away, no doubt to clear the floor and scour it for anything useful. Ajax had barely touched the lates arch as he felt an icy shiver travel down his spine as he recognised the mana types and pulled his hand away like he had been burnt. ¡°Definitely not this one, where is the next one?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Never seen you have that reaction to a floor.¡± ¡°Undeath and Curse.¡± Ajax¡¯s words were said very lightly but every member heard him clearly, all of them giving the arch a wary glance. Nobody wanted to enter that floor even if it hardly posed a threat for most of them. ¡°Maybe we should clear that one.¡± one of the rangers said, he then defended his opinion when everyone collectively threw him a ¡®why would you say that¡¯ look. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen what happens when undead and curse mix, there could be some very powerful things in there.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Nobody is going in there.¡± Aranor said with finality. ¡°There very well might be something very powerful there, but even in the best case scenario it would be something that empowers a curse user. I don¡¯t want to imagine what tragedies might come from a weapon that draws the user to both curses and necromancy.¡± The conversation fell quiet with that and Ajax was slowly led around to three other arches. An Ice Wind floor, a Plant Decay floor and finally a Plant Earth floor. ¡°Seems like we are all going to the Plant Earth floor.¡± One of the ranger leaders said. ¡°I suggest you clear out the Decay floor.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Good chances to find fertilizer.¡± It was funny for Ajax to watch the rangers process that information, they went from confusion, to happiness, to realization and finally to acceptance. Unlike last time it wasn¡¯t as simple as a nod before two rangers walked in, nobody wanted the ¡®shit¡¯ floor even if said shit was valuable. It took five minutes for the remaining rangers to settle who was going with a game similar to rock paper scissors, the losers having a resigned look on their faces as they entered. The Plant Earth floor turned out to be a mountainous forest area, it also turned out to have a very deep Shadow influence that as almost every creature there seemed to be a forest animal that could tap into Shadow magic. Ajax had no issues as he dealt with a shadow wolf, his [Mana Syphon]¡¯s weakening of the wolf¡¯s magic caught the beast by surprise giving Ajax a basically free hit when the wolf failed to jump through the shadows. With his strike taking out one of the wolves¡¯ legs the fight quickly ended without Ajax even breaking a sweat. Darkclaw had a much tougher time handling one of the eagles that called the mountain peak home. The fight took almost ten minutes to complete and Darkclaw almost ran out of mana by the end of it, on the upside the eagle hadn''t managed to even get Darkclaw to move from the spot where he started or even land a blow past his shields. ¡°You managed to pull that off without even using a potion.¡± Ajax praised him. ¡°I think you might be ready to try to push past the level one hundred floors.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Darkclaw said with a smile and a nod, he was excited, he very much wanted to try pushing to the level one hundred and ten in their next dungeon. Harold had a much tougher time fighting a shadow wolf compared to Ajax. As a fully physical fighter he had no way to prevent the creature¡¯s mobility. This led to more than one instance where the wolf managed to grab a hold of his ankle and tried to use his leg as a chew toy. ¡°Wolves are rather intelligent hunters.¡± Ajax had to respect the creature''s cunning. ¡°They might not have a bear¡¯s raw strength but they accurately target their opponents mobility and a single opening is all they need to go for the throat.¡± The biggest problem for the wolf was that Harold was also very well acquainted with their fighting tactics. Every time he would feel the wolf bite down on his legs following a shadow just he would quickly jerk the leg while also swiping with his sword behind him. Unlike Ajax and Darkclaw, Harold was much more resilient as a result of having invested all his points into his physical stats meant that he could take a beating from a creature that relied so much on its magic even if it was almost twenty levels higher. ¡°I need a minute.¡± Harold said after he finally killed the wolf. As soon as he had made sure the wolf was dead he collapsed on the ground and took off his helmet as he sucked in as much air as he could. The fight had taken almost thirty minutes. Harold boots and arm guards were riddled with teeth marks and covered by a good amount of blood. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about getting your armor repaired.¡± Ajax mentioned as he examined the damage. Ajax, Benedict and Xavier¡¯s gear would also need to be repaired after how hard they pushed it over the last ten dungeons. Unlike their caster companions it was much more likely that their armor would take a glancing blow, when those glancing blows came from enemies twenty levels higher than them it would slowly wear it down. With the amount of stats he had gained Ajax¡¯s gear was actually in need of a full on upgrade. When it came time to take a look for their next floor Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised that he could only see one of the mana types present on the floor. The only exception to this was one arch that had both Life and Plant mana and the two of them took up 85% of the mana in the arch. Since the other six arches he looked at all had Plant, Air or Water as their main mana the entire group decided to go with the Life and Plant floor. ¡°Don¡¯t walk out right away.¡± Ajax asked Harold before they went up to the next floor. ¡°Why not?¡± Harold asked, confused. ¡°I need to take a look to see if the next floor is any good for alchemy and I want you to let them know we might be a while if it is.¡± Harold was happy to agree to that and the group quickly made its way to the next floor. Chapter 416 The ninth floor of the dungeon was a wild jungle that provided Ajax with a large variety of ingredients to use in his [Alchemy]. It didn¡¯t take long for him to set up his cauldron and portable lab equipment and he began working while ignoring the rest of the world. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked as he approached Ajax after a few hours. Ajax was starting to look more and more defeated every time he took a small break to grab new ingredients, despite this he never moved to store any of the resulting potions. ¡°I got too arrogant.¡± Ajax said with a defeated tone. ¡°All seven of my attempts at brewing something failed.¡± It had been a very long time since Ajax had experienced something like this. The last time this happened was more than a decade ago in his old village when he was attempting to unlock the [Alchemy] skill. It wasn¡¯t just that he had failed to brew a potion seven times in a row that made Ajax feel so defeated, it was that he recognised this for what it was, a lack of skill on his part. Unlike combat his massively inflated stats didn¡¯t compensate enough when it came to alchemy. The same was true of his Legendary skills, Ajax simply wasn¡¯t yet ready for ingredients of this quality. ¡°Why not try a more stable recipe?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I have no clue what to try with ingredients like these.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°The only thing I can do with them is mix them with some of my existing ingredients, their quality will only ease the creation of the recipes I already know, it won¡¯t increase the quality of the outcome. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this.¡± The prince waved away Ajax¡¯s concerns. ¡°You¡¯ll have years to practice your alchemy skill as you get used to your increased stats. Most alchemists back home were actually very surprised that your skill with alchemy remained proficient within one floor or what you could consistently delve. At your level most crafting adventurers are barely now getting used to consistently using mana infused reagents.¡± The encouragement helped Ajax a little but it was by no means enough to cancel out the frustration he was feeling. Luckily enough for him he still had to clear this floor so he was planning on taking all his frustration out on the miniboss he would have to face. Battling an ent turned out to be exactly what Ajax needed. While unlike most depictions of the living trees back on Earth these ents were rooted to the ground, the control over the ground still forced Ajax to adapt. While Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon] was good enough to weaken any spells the ent tried to unleash the ent¡¯s own large underground mana networked left Ajax with no options but to slowly whittle away with [Mana Augmentation]. By the time he won Ajax was down to a little under half his mana pool, not only that but his armor also sported a few tears here and there where one branch or another had broken through his defenses. During the time that Ajax fought the prince and Aranor watched over him, the rest of the elves had spent all the time Ajax spent crafting and killing one miniboss scouring the floor for anything they could take back out, the jungle was filled with exotic ingredients that might be novel enough to help push the skill of some high end alchemists. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. More than a few of the elves didn¡¯t seem happy to split their spoils 50 - 50 with Ajax upon their return. None of them complained however, all of them were aware of the agreement that the simple fact they got to keep everything they found on the floors Ajax wasn¡¯t clearing would make up for it. For his final floor Ajax surprised everyone when he decided to go with the fire theme. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea?¡± the prince asked him once he heard his decision. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Even with how dangerous fire is there are plenty of ways for me to weaken it with water and ice, not only that but it''s also the only element that wouldn¡¯t be instantly lethal for me when wielded by a level one hundred and thirty five.¡± With such a large level difference almost every other element could end the fight pretty much instantly, that was something Ajax had been made keenly aware of when he was fighting against the assassins back in Deepwood. The Plant floor could lead to a poison he had no way of counteracting, the earth floor could see him crushed with a single swing, Lightning, Shadow and Light each came with their own big issues. ¡°You do make a good point.¡± the prince nodded before he turned towards his newest live entertainment. ¡°How about you Rimthel, have you made a decision?¡± The prince made no effort to mask the glee in his voice. Rimthel was stuck with a very hard decision. One of the arches Ajax had inspected as he was looking for a good floor did end up being primarily Metal mana. The only question left was if Rimthel would be part of the clear team sent there, where he would most likely spend days on end smithing away at the mountains of metal they couldn¡¯t take outside, or if he would pass on this arch and hope that another primarily Metal floor was available after the next floor. Unlike the last floor this time all the remaining members of the second ranger squad split up into two man squads along with Rimthel as they each chose one floor to go clear. Ajax didn¡¯t pay much attention to that as he also moved on to the next floor where his next challenge awaited. The first thing Ajax noticed as he stepped through the arch was the way the air seemed to burn his lungs as he drew breath. The floor layout was a stretched out hilly landscape that was covered in geyser-like holes that periodically released a column of flames. ¡°Well this is certainly a strange floor.¡± the prince said as he took in the surroundings. ¡°Let''s find you something to kill other than an elemental.¡± Ajax very much agreed with the sentiment, while an elemental would be among some of the more fragile creatures they were likely to find, the sheer versatility and mobility of a flame elemental would quickly overwhelm him. That wasn¡¯t even mentioning the issues pure physical attacks would have on doing any damage at all to the creature. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to be attacked by a roaming pack or worms. Or better said worm-like creatures, while the monsters did have the same body type as a worm that is where the similarities ended. The creature''s heads could split along an X shape revealing rows of serrated teeth and their flesh open like a blooming flower revealing a direct express access to their stomach in the center. Unlike the normal fleshy skin he was used to, these worms were covered in large scales with small gaps here and there from where they could release a flame jet. ¡°Those look promising.¡± the prince said as the ranger squad jumped into action. There wasn¡¯t a miniboss present in the roaming group that attacked them so there was no need for Ajax to take part in the fighting. That wasn¡¯t to say his eyes weren¡¯t fixed on the fight to examine the worms for any strengths they might show and more importantly the weaknesses that would be made obvious. ¡°Yes they do.¡± Ajax agreed after a short while where he examined the creatures as they were being taken apart by the rangers. The worms were more physically focused than Ajax would have wanted but the limitations of their large body with no appendages was enough to make up for it. It took the team a few tries to find the first worm mini boss. The first two arches they found were both guarded by elementals. ¡°Third time¡¯s the charm.¡± Ajax said with a smile as they finally found a larger worm easily measuring thirty five feet long and five feet wide coiled around an arch. Unlike his usual fights Ajax didn¡¯t start by drinking a potion, instead he placed an opened flask in his spacial storage, with just how physically imposing the creature was if he started the fight with the potion he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish it before the backlash kicked in. Ajax¡¯s opening move was an empowered Lightning arrow, he very much wanted to see what effect lightning would have on the giant worm and he was not disappointed. As soon as the arrow made contact the worm wriggled unnaturally exactly as Ajax expected, what was unexpected however was the large discharge of mana as flame jets erupted all around the creatures. ¡®Its magic is somehow linked to its organs!¡¯ Ajax was almost too shocked by the discovery to continue with his plan. He hadn¡¯t even thought it was possible to directly link a part of your body with a magical reaction and that was something he was very much looking forward to try. But first he had flaming giant worm shooting towards him like a freight train to deal with. Chapter 417 Ajax P.O.V. The worm was coming for me faster than I had expected. This meant that it would find it hard to change its strike area, the lack of limbs also meant that once I was out of the way of its charge I shouldn¡¯t have to worry about its physical attacks. Right as I prepared to jump off to my right I felt my [Danger Sense] flare for a moment so I changed the angle of my jump and launched myself to the right and high above the ground. The decision turned out to be the correct one as the moment I jumped the worm opened its massive maw and managed to turn right to follow me by munching on the ground, the only reason it didn¡¯t barrel into me was that I was above it. Just because it missed a direct collision didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t land an attack. Flame jests much hotter than before rushed out of the worm''s side in my direction, thankfully the creature''s magical potential was low enough that between [Mana Syphon], my enchantments and a small coating of ice around me I fully mitigated the fire. This wasn¡¯t an opportunity I was willing to give up however and I used a small blast of air to send myself towards the worm¡¯s body as it passed under me while preparing a Void mana infused strike with my hammer. Like always the moment my hammer made contact with the worm¡¯s scales it killed my entire momentum without any obvious effects, the surprise came a moment later when the worm¡¯s body jolted slightly during its charge. ¡°RRRRRGGGGHHHHH¡± The monster took about thirty feet to stop its momentum before it turned and roared at me. Oddly enough this didn¡¯t seem to be a roar of pain, like I had experienced many times following my Void attacks, it seemed like I had just made it angry. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with Void.¡± the prince¡¯s voice came from afar. ¡°Even if it bypasses the scales all you¡¯ll hit is a dense layer of muscle.¡± That¡¯s when I realized it, the worm¡¯s internal organs were all deep inside in the center of the massive tube of meat, the amount of mana I would need to infuse into Void to bypass all the muscle and scales would be enormous, more than that with the size of the organs even hitting its brain once might not be enough to outright kill it since Void didn¡¯t actually bolster the strength of my attack. The worm was charging at me again, for all its defensive ability it was very much a one trick pony. This time I launched myself upwards towards the left side only for the worm to open its maw, eat a chunk of the ground and pass right under me again. This time I infused my axe with Metal mana as I launched myself through the flame jets to land a blow on its scales. Unlike my previous attack there was a clear action and reaction at the moment of impact. I could feel tremors coming up my arm as well as see how the scale cracked slightly. As the worm slowed down to a stop again it didn¡¯t seem all that impressed by my attack. For the first time in a long time it seemed like my axe, hammer and sword wouldn¡¯t be viable. It was times like this that I congratulated myself for so diligently training with my spear despite my preference for the shorter reach weapons. This was clearly going to be a battle of attrition whether i like it or not, the extra foot or so of reach the two handed spear would give me wouldn¡¯t be as impactful as the amount of mana I would save by using a shield so I swapped my weapons for the trusty commoner combination. On the worm''s third charge I didn¡¯t bother with right or left and simply jumped straight up, this turned out to be a mistake as [Danger Sense] started humming the moment my legs extended. It didn¡¯t take long for me to figure out why that was as I could see the worm already rising the tail end of its body, more than that it didn¡¯t have to slow down at all since it wasn¡¯t using its mouth to turn. I had to channel a big blast of air through my shield to move myself out of the way, limiting the impact to a glancing blow on my shield that sent me flying to one side. This wasn¡¯t good, I was already down a third of my mana and I had barely managed to do any damage to this thing, the only upside I could see was that the worm didn¡¯t seem to have any other option than tiring me out, I would need to make the most out of every strike. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Without waiting I took out my enhancing potion out of my storage space and chugged it all as the worm charged for me once again. I jumped out of the way to the left once again. As the worm rushed by beneath me slowing down slightly as its now open maw gnawed on the rocky surface my opportunity to strike came. With the longer reach of the spear I had more options, I infused it with Lightning mana and this time I aimed my spear for one of the opening the worm was using to launch its flame. The tip of the spear went about eight inches deep before I even felt any resistance, the thickness of the scales was more than a little surprising. Once it bit into the flesh however it discharged a powerful current but, it was half as strong as the one created by my opening arrow but it seemed to be just as effective since it was administered directly to the flesh and past the scales of the mini boss. While the damage the lightning did was good, more impressive was the damage the worm did to itself. The sudden jolt of lightning caused its body to spasm mid charge, with its maw already digging slightly into the rock the uncoordinated movements sent its entire head crashing into the ground and the rest of its body launched upwards from the sudden stop. This wasn¡¯t an opportunity I was going to let slip. Not only was the worm¡¯s maw stuck underground but it had also only stopped ten feet or so from me so I dashed straight for it and stuck my spear through another of the openings in the creature''s scales. This time my attack was infused with Ice mana. ¡°RRRRRRGGGGGEEEEE¡± THe worm¡¯s screech this time seemed to be one of agonizing pain. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of how effective Ice mana was against it or just because of how much it hated the cold. I managed to get two more stabs in with Ice mana in the same area before the worm dug itself out of the ground and I was forced to back away once more. The mini bosses¡¯ next charge was a lot slower, maybe half as fast as the previous ones were, not only that but its head was no longer close to the ground but lifted about two feet off the ground. Despite its simple attacks the creature was clearly somewhat intelligent as it realized the damage potential of my lightning and altered its pattern to something that wouldn¡¯t leave it so exposed to it With the speed of its charge reduced and the head no longer being close to the ground however I had no more issues dodging directly to the left or right of the creature. The next five charges I alternated between Lightning and Ice, it was clear from the marks on the worms body that Ice was much more effective as the scales surrounding the point where I had stabbed it three time were scraped off in the subsequent charges leaving an open section of mangled flesh that was started to bleed more and more as the ice thawed from the flame jets. The only issue remaining was that despite the damage I was doing the mini boss would still most likely outlast me. The creature had over eighty levels on me and as I dodged it¡¯s latest charge I made sure to time my attack to land in the already wounded area. I needed to focus my attacks and break through the wall of muscles in one spot so I could go for the kill. Two charges later and the entire area was now frozen solid. I briefly swapped over to my hammer for its next charge and augmenting it with Magma mana I scraped broke away chunks a large two feet wide section of flesh about one foot deep. Seemingly sensing the danger the worm didn¡¯t charge towards me again, it instead raised its head like a snake and opened its maw wide, [Danger Sense] flared stronger than ever before and [Sense Mana] let me know exactly what it was trying to do. I kneeled down and curled myself into as small a ball as I could manage behind my shield. Not only that but I also infused the shield with Ice mana while using Earth mana to bring up the rock around me. I couldn¡¯t see it but I felt it when the worm spit a massive column on fire directly on top of me. I was casting spells with Ice and Wind to prop up my shield while also focusing my [Mana Syphon] to take as much power away from the attack. The attack seemed to go on forever, by the time it ended it felt like a few minutes had gone by even if I knew it couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty seconds. The small patch of blacked rock I now stood on was surrounded by a small two feet wide moat of magma and I was forced to toss my shield to one side as the rock I had brought up to shield myself also melted as now covered my shield. I could feel the burns on my arms and legs, the only upside seemed to be that the attack had taken a lot out of the worm as well. As he came for me once more I couldn¡¯t even call what it was doing a charge, more of a dash in my direction. My problem was that I only had about five hundred mana left, casting continuously with three spells at the same time had eaten up a large chunk of my mana. I wasn¡¯t ready to give up yet however. I would put everything I had into this last attack. I held nothing back as I used [Empowering Restriction] to not only boost the power of my [Mana Augmentation] by limiting it to only one more use in the next week but I also limited myself to only using my Ice affinity for the same amount of time. Without my shield available I swapped out my hammer for my two handed spear, getting out of the way of the monsters attack was comparatively easy as I pushed four hundred and fifty mana into my spear lunging straight for the open gash that left a long trail of blood. [Empowering Restriction] had definitely earned its name, I felt the ice affinity gem in my gauntlet not just crack but shatter as the mana I pushed through it was imbued into the tip of my spear. Once the tip made contact I felt a chilly breeze as a wall of ice seemed to explode from the point of impact. Unlike my previous attacks I didn¡¯t have the strength to pull back the spear after the attack, despite the relatively slow speed the worm moved at I was thrown off my feet and to one side as my spear remained stuck in the side of the creature. The last thing I saw before my vision went black were the prince¡¯s boots, a soft ringing in my ears not letting me hear anything, my consciousness faded before I knew the outcome of the fight. Chapter 418 Ajax wasn¡¯t unconscious for long, especially with the prince healing him quickly after they confirmed the worm had died. He woke up two minutes later with a headache that would put any hangover to shame. ¡°Ugh,¡± Ajax groaned as he rubbed his forehead in a futile attempt to lessen the throbbing pain. ¡°What happened?¡± Even with the pain he was still quick to look around and survey his surroundings. Sadly the surroundings didn¡¯t tell him anything, sure he could see a good portion of the worm corpse but he didn¡¯t know if he had gotten the kill or if they had been forced to intervene after he lost consciousness. ¡°You did it.¡± the prince confirmed for him with a grin. ¡° It was closer than I would have liked, next time let''s not go for something with that much vitality and endurance. But you did it.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t suppress the wide smile that broke out on his face, the smile didn¡¯t last long as it turned in a wince following a particularly powerful pulse of pain from his head. ¡°I¡¯m dry on mana.¡± he rasped out. ¡°Well you have at least ten more minutes before you can take a potion to help with that so you¡¯ll just have to bear with it.¡± Aranor said as he approached him. During his fight the ranger scout had left to cover as large a portion of the floor as he could. Much like on the other floors he wasn¡¯t looking to kill anything but simply looking for anything that could be brought out of the dungeon, the rest of the squad had watched his fight however. This fight raised their opinion of Ajax considerably, they had all seen aristocats being boosted, even those who had talent, it was Ajax¡¯s attitude and dedication to accept the duel of attrition that impressed the rangers. As he went to stand up Ajax was glad to see that his physical body was fully healed, the burns he had before had been healed, the same couldn¡¯t be said about his mana channels, his final blow had over-stressed them. ¡°Where¡¯s my spear?¡± Ajax asked as he got to his unsteady feet. ¡°I got it.¡± the prince said as he pulled out the two handed spear and the shield Ajax had tossed aside out of his spacial ring. ¡°You did quite a number on them.¡± The shield looked exactly how Ajax expended it would, deformed from the pressure and heat, the deformation rendering its enchantments broken and even a few patches of rock stuck to the surface where the molten rock had cooled. The spear on the other hand came as a surprise for Ajax. While he had fully expected the shaft to be in rough shape he hadn¡¯t expected the structural damage the tip had suffered. It was only then that he remembered that his glove had failed partway through that final attack, with the gemstone shattered his weapon ended up channeling the Ice mana without a buffer to prevent the structural damage. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Ajax had a back-up shield but he didn¡¯t have a back-up spear, it simply wasn¡¯t a weapon he expected he would have to use all that often, not only that but in the situations where he would have to use it he very much didn¡¯t expect for it to be damaged. He was also partially right, he simply hadn¡¯t expected the gauntlet to fail on him. It was only now that Ajax realized he had become overly reliant on the gauntlet, sure he had initially made plans to have his weapons crafted with material that had the same affinity as the mana he most often used with them but he had kept pushing those plans back further and further, the materials would have been expensive and he hadn¡¯t really needed them. ¡°I¡¯m surprised there¡¯s anything left of that spear tip.¡± Aranor said as he examined the weapon. ¡°With the amount of mana you pushed through it and the fact that this is barely steel from a level ninety floor I honestly expected it would freeze during the attack and shatter as well.¡± None of the elves there commented on how the spear was actually a little weak to be Ajax¡¯s weapon. All of them knew that it had been not just adequate but in fact towards the limit of what he could use back before he left Gryndor, this just perfectly exemplified how much Ajax had grown during the last year. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this last arch is, hopefully for your sake it''s better than the Water and Shadow we found before.¡± Ajax said as he headed towards the arch the worm had been coiled around. As Ajax put his hand on the arch he could parley pry any mana away from it with [Mana Syphon], the floor it would lead to would contain level one hundred and fifty three creatures, Ajax had barely managed to get a read on the mana primary mana type but he had no idea about how prevalent even that would be, it could be 10% or 80% and he would be none the wiser. ¡°You¡¯re in luck, Plant.¡± Ajax said with a small smile before the entire group pushed on to the next floor. The floor seemed to be some sort of jungle theme at a glance but Ajax didn¡¯t really care, as soon as he confirmed his +1 to all stats both him, the prince and Aranor quickly exited the dungeon leaving the ranger squad to scour the floor for anything useful as well as fully clearing it. As they exited the Dungeon the guards surrounding it moved towards them for a moment before they recognised who they were, once they saw Aranor however they quickly saluted and resumed their posts while letting them leave. They were almost all the way out of the area before the dungeon started spitting out monsters. ¡°Leave it.¡± the prince said as he saw Ajax turn. The monsters weren¡¯t even all that strong, barely level eighty, meaning the delvers had died on the sixth floor. ¡°They have it handled and you need to sleep, you have a party to go to tomorrow.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t argue, he had noticed Aranor had gone back to help so he knew there was nothing he could do to help, hell even without Aranor¡¯s help this was one of the capital¡¯s dungeons and there were plenty of protections put in place to stop any monster outbreak from happening. Once Ajax arrived at the embassy he found himself congratulated by everyone once they heard that he managed to clear the tenth floor. They were also understanding about his need to sleep despite it being the middle of the day, while nobody said it Ajax was well aware he looked like the worm had chewed him up and spat him back out even if he did win the fight. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you barely even had the chance to try [Alchemy] with level ninety five reagents consistently,¡± Lexi comforted Ajax as he got ready for bed once he told her about his failure to make even one successful potion. ¡°Now that the royal family knows about your ability to predict floor themes I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have more than enough chances.¡± With that Ajax crawled into bed and put his head on the pillow, Lexi had stayed and cuddled with him until he fell asleep but she then carefully left the room without waking him to join everyone else. The party would start tomorrow around noon, everyone was attending and they all had a lot to do in preparation, everyone except Silvia and Alana. Since both of them were part of Ajax¡¯s house they would usually be the ones in charge of preparing a gift for the birthday boy, with House Hearthbound¡¯s gift being knowledge both of them could relax and simply enjoy themselves. Alana however had taken it upon herself to help Benedict as he was looking to make a good impression on Sylvanthal¡¯s nobility considering his intentions with Elara. Ajax woke up late the next morning feeling refreshed, gone was the mana headache and even his mana channels were doing much better than before. His good mood didn¡¯t last all that long however as he had to quickly make himself presentable as they would be leaving the embassy in about one hour to go to the party, a party that would last well into the evening. ¡°A headache just passed and here comes another.¡± Ajax muttered as he got dressed. Chapter 419 The party was held at House Blackthorn¡¯s manor, with the manor only being House Blackthorn¡¯s residence in the capital it wasn¡¯t a fortress tree but it was easy to see how hard they had tried to recreate one, in aesthetics if not in function. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s not one of their special trees, it looks a lot like the palace?¡± Alana asked as she took in the grandeur of the many trees that intertwined themselves. Having so much more freedom in Sylvanthal one of the first things Ajax did was explore, he was very surprised to find that the capital city was smaller than both Gryndor¡¯s capital as well as the Republics. At the same time however the capital was a lot taller, unlike the elven section of the Republic almost every tree in the capital was at least five stories tall with the capital being built more like a series of apartment flats. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax confirmed as he looked upwards towards the tangled mess of tree trunks that somehow managed to look artful. ¡°The trees barely have any mana going through them, it''s why there are so many fixtures added to the exterior, they needed a place to put their enchantments since the bark won¡¯t support them.¡± Their entire group was welcomed into the estate by polite servants that led them towards the large ballroom. Much like Deepwood the nobility were dominated by elves, the only difference here was the odd human, dwarf or beastkin was a lower noble instead of a slave. Arianwyn was quick to go and greet them once they arrived. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you made it.¡± she said in greeting. ¡°I was worried you would miss it when I heard you wanted to stay behind and try your hand at alchemy.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have missed this.¡± Ajax said with a smile as he lied through his teeth. ¡°Cough*Cough*¡± Alana was forced to hide her laughter at his words under a fake cough though it was clear from Arianwyn¡¯s face she hadn¡¯t done that good of a job in her deception. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Arianwyn laughed good naturedly at the looks of doubt the rest of them were throwing Ajax. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask that you forgive my son,¡± Silvia said as she bowed to the princess. ¡°While his older brother seems to have taken after both of his parents, his sister has taken after me and he after his father.¡± Everyone here had done their research on Ajax and knew that his father had always been a blacksmith, one that worked alone in a village for most of his life following his quick apprenticeship in the capital. It was no surprise that Ajax would inherit his less than social minded attitude. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to apologize for.¡± Arianwyn reassured her. It took no time at all for Arianwyn to be joined by her mother as well as her uncle and cousin, while Ajax wasn¡¯t yet important enough to be greeted promptly by the hosts the same could not be said about Xavier and the prince, even Anna, Lexi and Darkclaw couldn¡¯t be left waiting too long without political ramification. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to have you here, Your Highness.¡± Duke Blackthorn said with a bow towards Xavier and the prince. The exchange of greeting alone between such a diverse group of nobles took almost two minutes and Ajax could already feel the toll it was taking on his social energy, luckily enough he had found a kindred spirit in the young Blackthorn. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Ajax congratulated the youth once he caught his eye as he was standing off to one side. ¡°Thank you.¡± The boy''s response had initially been prim and proper showing his extensive lessons in social interactions, it was all quickly undermined by his excited follow up. ¡°Is it true you managed to beat my cousin using a new type of mana?¡± Ajax had initially felt a little awkward discussing his fight against Arianwyn but as the discussion moved away from the fight and more to his hybrid fighting style in general he became more and more engaged in the conversation. ¡°Is your son looking to become a hybrid combatant?¡± the prince asked duke Blackthorn as he kept a close ear on the conversation not looking for a repeat of the royal meeting where Ajax let slip a bit of information. ¡°It is more of a fascination. Unfortunately he doesn¡¯t possess the talent for the physical combat side.¡± the duke responded. The prince couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at this as he inspected the elf¡¯s solid body. ¡° What he lacks in combat prowess however he makes up for as a crafter, he just might become one of the few smiths our people can be truly proud of.¡± It took all of the young¡¯s elf power to hold back a whimper as his father and aunt dragged him away from Ajax to greet the nobles his mother was greeting thirty minutes after Ajax¡¯s arrival at the party. ¡°What did you say to him?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°I disagreed with him.¡± Ajax said as he scratched his head also somewhat sad that their conversation had been cut short. ¡°And it seems he was receptive to my argument.¡± ¡°What about?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°He maintains that the best hybrid fighter would be one that was reliant on stamina skill for a boost in physical power and spells for attack enhancers.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That is the widely accepted point of view.¡± Arianwyn nodded. ¡°Not all hybrid fighters follow that model simply because they don¡¯t all have the talent for a stamina based boosting skill, what do you think would be better?¡± ¡°Both a mana and stamina based boosting skill, as well as stamina based curse attack enhancers to compliment the use of spells.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Though I will admit they wouldn¡¯t be able to remain active for long.¡± ¡°The chances that someone would be able to unlock so many different skills is so slim.¡± Arianwyn said as she shook her head. ¡°I can see why he was so excited about the possibilities.¡± For the majority of the evening Ajax had mainly stayed by his mother¡¯s or Alana¡¯s side as he greeted some of the more enterprising elven nobles, when he wasn¡¯t socializing with them he was talking with the birthday boy or with the royal gardener who had joined the party closer towards the evening. ¡°The king is here.¡± the prince whispered so that Ajax would hear him as the time was nearing midnight. Ajax quickly extricated himself from the discussion and joined the prince as they headed for the monarchs. ¡°Could you grab your cousin for a moment.¡± Ajax asked Arianwyn as they made their way across the ballroom. ¡°Now?¡± she seemed a little surprised but once she saw the serious look on both Ajax and the prince¡¯s face she simply nodded. ¡°¡°Your Majesty¡±¡± Both Ajax and the prince greeted the king. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± The king asked a little suspiciously as he saw his daughter bringing the birthday boy towards them with a serious face. ¡°If we could have a more private talk.¡± the prince requested. The king took a moment to think about it before he nodded to his wife who led them out of the ballroom and to one of the adjacent small rooms. ¡°What is this about?¡± the queen asked, a little more suspicious than her husband as she hadn¡¯t had much of a chance to interact with Ajax previously and suspected him of being up to something. The prince stepped back and let Ajax take the lead as this was still his gift. ¡°Thank you for this,¡± Ajax said. ¡°This is regarding my gift, it is a rather sensitive matter.¡± ¡°The gifts are to be opened in a few hours.¡± the queen said, a little frosty. ¡°It can also be time sensitive I¡¯m afraid.¡± Ajax said, peeking the elves'' curiosities. Ajax then turned towards the birthday boy with a smile and proceeded to explain the method for manipulating his status so that he can preserve his free stat points for later use and how that would maximize the natural stat point gained during the Apprentice period. ¡°I would like to ask that you don¡¯t share this as the method will only be made public in two months or so.¡± Ajax finished his explanation. ¡°That¡­¡± While the queen¡¯s face didn¡¯t give anything away her lack of words spoke volumes as the room decedened into silence. ¡°It works!¡± the young boy exclaimed with a happy voice as he had started trying to change his status interface once Ajax explained how it works. ¡°That is quite the gift Baron.¡± the king said with a shallow nod of acknowledgement. ¡°And quite a lot of trust to put in us not to share it early, I thank you for that.¡± With that out of the way the six of them returned to the party and the queen headed straight for Duke and Duchess Blackthorn to explain what had happened. It was important for the two of them to know since they had been planning for their son to give a performance of his newfound strength after he spent his points but that would need to be prevented for obvious reasons. Chapter 420 Following the party Ajax had plans to put in a lot of time and effort into his Alchemy, he had almost an entire week before he could delve into the other dungeon. His plans didn¡¯t have a good chance to get underway before they were interrupted the following morning. ¡°What did you do last night?¡± Both Silvia and Alana sprung on him the moment he took a seat at the breakfast table. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked, confused as he filled his plate with food. ¡°A representative of House Blackthorn just left.¡± his mother said. ¡°They were here to finalize a few contracts that we would take over to help establish a stable route to Sylvanthal.¡± Alana continued. ¡°What did you do at that party?¡± ¡°They move quick.¡± Ajax was surprised at how quickly House Blackthorn seemed to move, clearly they appreciated the gift Ajax had given them a lot more than he had thought. ¡°I shared my training technique with their son, this way he won¡¯t be among the weaker of his generation.¡± In the coming months Ajax very much expected that his family as well as the Gryndor royal family would receive several letters all but declaring open hostilities from families whose main heirs missed out on being able to hold their points by a few months. ¡°With the four contracts we picked up just from them we have enough to break even on sending out a regular caravan all the way here every four months.¡± Alana said with a smile. ¡°Those worms are going to be worth their weight in gold over the next few years with how much we will save on actually buying the carriages and carts and maintaining them.¡± ¡°We also have an invitation from Elara to visit her manor later this afternoon.¡± Silvia reminded him after he finished his meal. Unlike what Ajax expected there wasn¡¯t a party at Elara¡¯s house, thankfully for Benedict¡¯s sake her father wasn¡¯t present either. The only people present were the rest of Elara¡¯s family as well as the delving party. ¡°Why not just do all this at the party yesterday?¡± Ajax asked as he recognised most of the people from yesterday¡¯s festivities. ¡°The invitation was mainly about having Benedict visit to meet her family.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°Only inviting him however would be the same as telling everyone that the two of them were courting so they invited the rest of us as cover.¡± The visit turned out to be very interesting for Ajax once they moved on to their training area, as a primarily military based House just like House Steelblade. The way they trained their retainers as well as the amenities was something Ajax was taking mental notes on for how his own House could do things. ¡°These are our sharpwing falcons.¡± Elara¡¯s mother beamed as she presented the aviary. ¡°Every one of our retainers has to raise their own from the moment their training begins.¡± ¡°Are you looking for them to form bonds?¡± Ajax asked as he watched the younger retainers call their falcons to them. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°We do encourage any bonds to form but they are more of a secondary objective.¡± Elara said with a sad tone. ¡°The average sharpwing falcon only lives for a total of ten years, while most of our potential retainers are recruited at the age of nine.¡± ¡°There is a lot we can¡¯t know about a potential retainer given the short time we observe them for when scouting them.¡± Elara¡¯s mother continued the explanation. ¡°As for once they arrive at our estate the militaristic atmosphere can cover up some daming character flaws. How well they take care of their falcon as well as how well trained it is tells a lot about a person.¡± ¡°For most who don¡¯t fail earlier in their training the falcon can also become something of a final test.¡± Elara said with her head bowed. ¡°You have them kill them?¡± Ajax¡¯s voice was very accusatory. ¡°We most certainly do not.¡± Elara¡¯s mother responded quickly. ¡°We are training loyal retainers not spies and assassins. Most falcons do die around the end period of the training, the test is on how they handle the grief of losing someone they care about so much.¡± Ajax had to admit that this was a very good way for young children to be both trained and tested, more than that with such a low life expectancy the falcons made for the ideal first bond preparing the retainer for bonding a young more magically infused creature early in life. Ajax made a mental note to inform Alana about a potential buyer for any of the kits Fluffy might have in the future once they find one or multiple suitable mates for the shadow cat. The visit ended with a series of spars between Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict and some of the younger retainers, though all of them were four to five years older than Benedict. ¡°I must say, while I had heard about the so-called Generation of Prodigies, you do live up to the name.¡± Elara¡¯s mother complimented them after Lexi took her sparring partner out with just four spells. ¡°Most shocking is that I can still see room for improvement despite the overwhelming victories.¡± ¡°The large consistent influx of stats over the last year will take us some time to get accustomed to.¡± Ajax said as he watched from the sidelines as Benedict finally took the field. ¡°I expect all of us will stagnate a little in our levels for a few months as well fully adapt to our increased stats before we start pushing our limits once again fully clearing out dungeon floors.¡± Benedict¡¯s advantage over his opponent showed more than any of the others, while all of them had won handedly they all did so through the use of spells. Benedict, still being a fully physically based fighter up against an elf who while mostly physical, had also invested a little in his mental stats, could truly show their superiority. Benedict showed his own genius in that he didn¡¯t engage the trained retainer in a display of skill, knowing he hadn¡¯t adapted to his stats just yet he instead forced the fight into a series of engagements where he would exchange a blow or two before backing away and circling his opponent once more. It only took five exchanges in the span of twenty seconds before the retainer¡¯s footwork failed him and Benedict rested the blade of his sword on the man''s shoulder next to his exposed neck. ¡°That will be enough.¡± Elara said as the fifth retainer stepped up with his eyes locked on Ajax. She was very happy with Benedict¡¯s showing as a potential suitor and wanted that to be the match her family remembered. Elara knew that these were some of their most promising retainers, having them defeated by Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict who were younger than them would push them to train harder and curtail any overconfidence that might have developed. In the same vein however, showing them the difference between them and Ajax could very well have the opposite effect and demotivate them as the gap was just that big. ¡°I am still recovering from my latest delve.¡± Ajax tried to let the guy down gently, the retainer nodded at his words and stepped back. As they were walking away from the training grounds Ajax could hear Elara¡¯s mother talking to the older retainer in charge of training. ¡°Best increase their training in recognising deception.¡± ¡°My Lady?¡± the retainer asked, confused. ¡°Was the baron lying?¡± ¡°No, which does surprise me since he doesn¡¯t strike as hindered in any way, but we won¡¯t be looking into that.¡± the duchess shook her head. ¡°But while it might not have been a lie, it was an excuse.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t want to fight?¡± the retainer asked. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to offend or embarrass us.¡± the duchess explained. ¡°He is the one who defeated Elara in the tournament and since then he has been through eight more dungeons, any fight would have ended in an instant or he would have had to hold back considerably.¡± While the retainer had good enough social skills to not show how surprised he was that did nothing for his curiosity. His curiosity earned him a sharp spike of pain as his inspection skill hit the wall that is [Enigma]. Ajax had enjoyed this visit much more than the usual parties he was invited to; his day took a turn for the worse as he arrived back at the embassy to find an elf waiting for him. ¡°Baron Hearthbound.¡± the elf greeted with a nod. ¡°I am Viscount Deeproot, I am here to discuss the possibility of an arranged marriage between our houses.¡± Ajax was so shocked by what he heard that for a moment he doubted if the treats they had been served before leaving weren¡¯t laced with something extra. Chapter 421 Ajax¡¯s jaw dropped and he remained silently shocked by the offer, the elf clearly interpreted the silence as a positive view of his offer. The same thing could not be said about his girlfriend who had been right behind him as he entered the embassy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Viscount Deeproot I think I misheard you, what was it you said?¡± Lexi¡¯s words and tone were sweet and polite but the cold look on her face and the piercing stare in her eyes revealed her true emotions. Viscount Deeproot opened his own mouth to respond before he took a look at Lexi¡¯s face and froze with a facial expression similar to Ajax. The elf knew exactly who she was but he couldn¡¯t see a reason why she would be so upset until he thought back to the exact words he said. ¡°M-My apologies for t-the m-misunderstanding Lady Manashaper.¡± Viscount Deepwood staggered out before he composed himself. ¡°I can see how my words could be construed, what I meant was arranging a marriage between one of my family members with one of yours, perhaps your sister, Baron.¡± Lexi¡¯s frosty demeanor cleared up along with the misunderstanding though she was very much invested in the conversation that was sure to follow. ¡°I see Viscount.¡± Lexi nodded with an infectious smile. ¡°Then perhaps it''s best if we continue this discussion inside.¡± The viscount had no objection, not to the change in location to a more private area nor to Lexi inviting herself along. When they reached the first private room that had refreshments ready Lexi invited the viscount to enter. ¡°If you¡¯ll give us a moment we¡¯ll be right with you.¡± Lexi made a small gesture pointing out the combat attire both her and Ajax were wearing following the visit to Elara¡¯s manor. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax whispered having recovered from his shock but wisely staying silent while Lexi was handling the situation. ¡°A mixture of ambition and inexperience.¡± Lexi said as they both headed to get changed. ¡°Grab your mother, she should also be part of the discussion.¡± Ajax nodded and went to put on one of the sets of clothes he had that were purely meant for social events and were emblazoned with his House¡¯s mark. He didn¡¯t have to go looking for his mother as Silvia found him as he stepped out of his room followed not a moment later by Lexi who stepped out of her room opposite his. ¡°So what does this Viscount want?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°An arranged marriage between our families.¡± Ajax wasted no time and felt a little vindicated to see his mother¡¯s jaw drop in the same way his did a few moments earlier. ¡°He¡¯s actually being rather¡­ friendly.¡± Lexi said as she struggled to find the right words. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Viscount Deepwood is rather young, only a hundred and fifty years old but because of the passing of his father he is now the head of his House.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°My guess is that he is not as well informed as he should be but he is trying to build a good relationship with you.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s planning to do that by having my son marry a girl he¡¯s never met?¡± Silvia asked, rather shocked. ¡°No, we already cleared up that the marriage won¡¯t include Ajax.¡± Lexi corrected her. ¡°Even the most cursory look into Ajax would find my relationship with him and I am the granddaughter of a duke.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Then how is he trying to be friendly as you put it?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°Take a step back first, arranged marriages are common among the nobility, don¡¯t take the offer as an insult because it isn¡¯t one.¡± Lexi said as she started leading them towards the room the viscount was waiting for them. ¡°My guess is that he doesn¡¯t know that Ajax will become a duke in his own right once we return to Gryndor.¡± ¡°A brand new Baron marrying the talented granddaughter of a duke, that does seem rather hard to believe.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°Especially with you joining my family instead of the other way around.¡± ¡°I see, a marriage with a viscount would lend more support behind Ajax.¡± Silvia nodded as she understood the situation. ¡°Not only that but Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family have been very welcoming with us since we arrived, not only that but rumors of a deeper alliance between Sylvanthal and Gryndor are starting to circle in noble circles. An interkingdom marriage would help secure those relations.¡± Lexi said. ¡°He very much believes you will go far and he wants to secure a strong bond between your Houses while also helping you as much as he can.¡± ¡°So we should let him down gently.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh, I think you can push the decision on to your sister.¡± Silvia said with a smile. ¡°I think she has a thing for elves.¡± With that the three of them joined the viscount, Ajax and Silvia were both much more relaxed as they settled in to talk with the elf. Their impression of the viscount improved as he didn¡¯t push the discussion towards talks of marriage but instead chose to get to know more about Ajax and even showed some interest in finding more about Silvia. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t take this in a different way than I intend but I also believe that a marriage between our houses would help pave the path for your own relationship with Lady Manashaper to continue.¡± The viscount mentioned after he praised Ajax for his results in the most recent tournament. ¡°There is no need to worry about anything in that regard.¡± Lexi said with a warm smile. ¡°My dear Ajax has a ducal title waiting for him once we return to Gryndor.¡± The news clearly shocked the viscount but he revered much quicker than Ajax. ¡°Congratulations!¡± The viscount toasted to the news. ¡°In light of those news I do see how an arranged marriage between our families might not be the best way forward for your own House.¡± ¡°While I won¡¯t be committing to an arranged marriage from this meeting today it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯d be opposed to a marriage between our Houses.¡± Ajax said with a kind smile. ¡°As I am sure you already know I am a first generation noble so at least for now the marriage prospects of any of my family members would always require the direct input of said family members.¡± The rest of the meeting didn¡¯t last much longer with the Viscount bidding his goodbyes but not before he secured an agreement from Silvia regarding a delivery from their merchant company to ensure future interaction between their representatives at the very least. ¡°That was a rather enjoyable meeting.¡± Ajax commented as he stretched as he rose from his seat following the viscount¡¯s departure. ¡°He looks to be someone I wouldn¡¯t mind meeting and talking to at parties.¡± Ajax could even see himself becoming more friendly with the elf as time went on but for now the age difference between them still made interactions quite troublesome, even accounting for his time on Earth the elf was more than three times older than Ajax. ¡°I hope so because this won¡¯t be the last such meeting you¡¯ll have to have this week.¡± Lexi said with a teasing smile. The smile on Ajax¡¯s face froze as he turned and looked at Lexi with horror. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Viscount Deeproot wasn¡¯t the most well informed which is why he approached you so quickly despite not knowing about your future ducal title.¡± Lexi said. ¡°His youthful approach as head of the house also meant he was the first to move but there will be many more.¡± ¡°He also didn''t think too deeply about how Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family would feel about the connection, basing everything on rumors.¡± Silvia said as she took a sip of her tea. ¡°Those who are better informed will soon find out about the trade agreements I have recently obtained from House Blackthorn and put it together with your short disappearance where you met with the king and queen as well as the young Lord Blackthorn during the party.¡± Those words seemed to be prophetic in nature as Ajax found his training interrupted almost every hour in the coming days, so much so that he even considered changing his sleep schedule so he could train during the night and sleep in the day. Not only that but while none of the nobles approaching him with an arranged marriage had any malicious intentions very few of them were as well meaning as Viscount Deeproot had been, most of them were much more greedy and self serving. The more foolish among them even offered a daughter, niece, sister or three to Ajax in hopes of tempting him, they quickly found themselves escorted outside the embassy at Ajax¡¯s request for offending Lady Manashaper. ¡°Finally.¡± Ajax said as the group got ready to delve into the capital¡¯s main dungeon. ¡°I can finally have some peace.¡± This caused some amusement among the ranger teams joining them. ¡°It can¡¯t have been that bad.¡± Xavier said with a laugh as he patted Ajax on the back. ¡°It was, at least by the end.¡± Lexi mumbled though everyone clearly heard her. It was telling how trying this must have been for Ajax if even Lexi¡¯s social energy had been so diminished. Book Launch - This is not a chapter Ajax''s Ascension : The Divine Witness is live starting today. Reborn on Gryndor with the mythical trait [Divine Witness], Ajax swears to live a life of no regrets. This time, he will seize every opportunity, fight every monster, and plunder every treasure as he enjoys life to the fullest, while remaining wary of human nature he learnt about in his first life. If only it were that easy. Humanoids are suppressed as one of the weakest sentient races by dragons, elementals among others. Being confined to their patch of land but that hasn''t changed their nature as they fight amongst themselves forced to split their sources of power instead of uniting for the greater whole. In order to see the entire vast richness of the world, Ajax must practice and train with ancient weapons of war as well magic, gaining levels and forcing the other races to acknowledge his and humanoids worth. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Ajax¡¯s ascension to the top will not be quick or easy. I started writing Ajax''s Ascension over two years ago as a way to relax and it has grown from that more than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to all who read and supported my work I look forward to continue bringing you Ajax''s adventures. Amazon book link. Amazon audiobook link. Chapter 422 Since none of the party could gain anything from the first three floors of the dungeon the group went through them all in under one hour by simply finding the first arch and going through it to the next floor. ¡°I look forward to clearing floors once more after we finish with the boosting.¡± Lexi said as she stepped foot on the fourth floor. ¡°You do know that you¡¯ll also be doing this when we get back to Gryndor as well?¡± Ajax whispered in her ear with a teasing smile. ¡°You¡¯ll most likely be delving the seventh or eighth floor in the Goldmine so you¡¯ll be passing through floors like this every time.¡± Ajax had experience in this since he had already been doing that for a few years. ¡°On the upside can see a lot more floor themes and can choose to clear a lower floor if you think it has a chance of getting you something you want.¡± The biggest prize for those floors were chances at a bond egg that could be taken outside the dungeon but adventurer groups often cleared any odd floor just for the chance at something unique that they could then sell. What Ajax didn¡¯t know was that the amount of ¡®odd¡¯ floor had increased dramatically since he arrived in the capital of Gryndor and entered the dungeons; the same was being observed in theEmpire, the Republic and Deepwood. The fourth and fifth floor each took close to one hour to get through simply because four people needed to kill a miniboss and that meant they had to find four of them, this meant finding three arches and they would stumble upon one of the roaming minibosses in their search. It was with the seventh floor that things started to slow down, not because there was any doubt that the creatures would be killed but not only did Ajax also need to kill his own miniboss but Anna, Lexi, Xavier and Benedict couldn¡¯t just one hit kill their enemies at this point with a well placed ambush attack, or at least they shouldn¡¯t have been able to. ¡°Is that really infernal pillar?¡± Xavier asked in shock as he watched Anna turn the miniboss into ash with a single spell. ¡°What was that?¡± Benedict was also surprised but instead of being awed he quickly switched to curiosity. ¡°That was amazing.¡± Lexi was just as curious as the rest of them if not even more but for her that curiosity could wait for later as her best friend just showed she had taken a big step forward. ¡°There¡¯s not even bones left, you turned everything to ash.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes were locked onto Anna but for a different reason, after he was sure that the boss had been killed Ajax had used his [Mana Syphon] wanting to get a better understanding as to why her flames were that much stronger. To his shock he actually felt a level of resistance from the flames to his skill, that hadn¡¯t happened even when he used the skill on Legendary mana types. Breaking out of his shock Ajax also joined Lexi in congratulating Anna, once they started moving on in search of the next miniboss he put up a privacy bubble around him, Anna and Lexi. ¡°You have a Legendary skill as well.¡± Ajax hugged Anna, unable to contain his excitement any longer. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary?!¡± Lexi quickly joined the hug with renewed excitement. ¡°W-what, h-how could you tell?¡± It was Anna¡¯s turn to be shocked. ¡°I tried using [Mana Syphon] on the remnants of your infernal pillar, it worked maybe three quarters as well as it usually does, if your new skill was the same level as my [Mana Syphon] I bet it would only be half as effective as it usually is.¡± Ajax explained. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Well I couldn¡¯t have you leave me behind.¡± Anna muttered, her surprise and embarrassment mixed were enough to shine through her social skill and leave her a little flushed in the cheeks. ¡°With your flames so much stronger I think you have a chance at killing a level seventy five.¡± Ajax continued, he knew that since this skill was purely a boosting one gaining it would add a lot more direct damage than obtaining a Legendary mana type would since it didn¡¯t really offer the user any flexibility. ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask that!¡± Lexi chastised him but from how weak her objection sounded she also wanted to know. ¡°You both know the name of all five of my Legendary skills.¡± Ajax defended himself. ¡°It¡¯s [Pyromancer].¡± Anna was quick to share with her friends as she was swept up by the excitement the two of them exuded. ¡°I got it at the end of the fight with the penguin, when I pushed my flames to be¡­ more.¡± Anna¡¯s words reminded Ajax of how he gained his first Legendary skills all those years ago. Back then he had been helpless against a vampire that he could now kill in moments but not only had he been trying to copy what the vampire was doing to syphon the shield protecting the crystal he had smashed but he had also been pushed to the very limit. All of the other Legendary skills he had gained since then had come from either an achievement or were mana affinities, maybe will and dire straits were a prerequisite for gaining other Legendary skills. ¡°Your father is going to be so proud when you tell him.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯ll also be worried.¡± Anna said with a wry smile. ¡°He always wanted me to focus more on being a merchant than a mage or a noble. I¡¯ll just have to gain a Legendary merchant skill as well.¡± ¡°You think that¡¯ll be easy?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Can¡¯t be that hard.¡± Anna said with a teasing grin. ¡°You¡¯ve got five of them.¡± Ajax just laughed at that as he lowered the privacy bubble and joined the rest of the delve group as they watched Benedict make short work of his own mini boss. While the physical fighter didn¡¯t manage to kill it in a single attack he had no trouble running circles around the creature as he landed one devastating slash after another. The fight was over quickly and the best the creature had been able to do was put a few scratches on Benedict¡¯s shield. ¡°Anything you want to share?¡± the prince asked as he noticed the privacy bubble dropped. Both Ajax and Lexi kept quiet, while they had both put a bit of pressure on Anna to share the skill with them neither would share anything without Anna¡¯s express permission to do so. Anna remained silent for a moment as she glanced at Aranor, the ranger teams with them and finally her gaze landed on Arianwyn and Elara. ¡°I¡¯ll say that it¡¯s a Legendary skill, but nothing more.¡± Anna said. ¡°Thank you for the confirmation.¡± Aranor gave a thankful nod of the head. ¡°I had my suspicions that it was when the spell didn¡¯t pack all that much more mana than your previous infernal pillars but it''s nice to have it confirmed.¡± The team took two hours to get past the sixth floor, three hours to push past the seventh and almost five hours for all of them to get their kills on the eighth floor before they all decided to make camp and recuperate before the ninth floor. The fights had steadily been getting harder but with a carefully selected forest themed floor for their eighth floor none of them had any real issues killing the level sixty five mini boss. ¡°I want to try the tenth floor.¡± Anna said as they gathered around the fire. ¡°I feel like I can do it.¡± ¡°So do I.¡± Lexi joined in. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Aranor asked them. ¡°You know there is no rush, you¡¯ll have more chances to delve this dungeon, there is no need to push yourselves. Anna and Lexi shared a glance before they both spoke as one ¡°We¡¯re sure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be there to intervene if anything goes wrong but with an almost thirty level difference there will be some actual risk.¡± the prince warned them. ¡°Are you sure you want to take it?¡± When Anna and Lexi just nodded the prince turned towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re inspiring more and more people to push their limits.¡± ¡°I actually want to try to clear the sixteenth floor.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°Me too.¡± Elara joined in. ¡°I -¡± Ajax didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence before the prince cut him off. ¡°If I hear you want to try the twentieth floor I will come over there and knock some sense into you.¡± the prince waved his fist menacingly ¡°You might stand a chance against a well chosen one hundred and forty but even that is a stretch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was going to suggest.¡± Ajax said defensively before he murmured ¡°Though I doubt you¡¯ll think much better of my actual idea.¡± ¡°Well go on then, spit it out.¡± the prince said as he prepared himself for whatever hairbrained idea Ajax had come up with. ¡°For the sixteenth floor, I want to kill the floor boss on my own.¡± Ajax¡¯s words had everyone focus on him. ¡°I could bet there is a very good achievement for killing a floor boss twice your level.¡± A silence descended on the group broken only by the roar of the fire they were all gathered around. ¡°Depends on what the floor boss is.¡± the prince said after a couple of minutes thinking it over. ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t something like a werewolf where even a scratch could be lethal I¡¯m willing to let you try.¡± Chapter 423 Ajax was happy with the compromise, he also didn¡¯t want to risk it by going against anything that had the chance to kill him with even a glancing blow and was focused on speed. It wasn¡¯t long until everyone but the night watch went to sleep. ¡°So Aranor, what do you think of them?¡± the captain of the ranger squad asked. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°How much of a problem are they, politically? The captain asked. ¡°There might have been a small issue or two when we first started, we did target Goldmancer merchants during the last war for supplies, but after traveling with us for months I¡¯d say all of them are making fast friends.¡± Aranor gave his opinion. ¡°At this rate they might even become personal connections that Arianwyn can call on as favors.¡± ¡°And what about their power, I know they are all promising after all the stats they just gained but you know that those kinds of leads don¡¯t always last, people stagnate and rest on their laurels.¡± another ranger asked. ¡°Unless something extremely traumatic happens all of them will become champions.¡± Aranor said with a focused expression. ¡°With the dedication they are showing they might just all do so in a century and a half.¡± ¡°That quick?¡± all of the rangers looked towards the tents with a troublesome expression. For someone to be considered a champion they would usually be around level one hundred and seventy five, it wasn¡¯t the level that determined it but the power so some gained it a few levels quicker and some later depending on the synergy of their skills and fighting style, anyone who made it that far had the skills to back it up. Most champions achieved that around the age of five hundred with the prince of Gryndor being a relatively young champion having gained the title at only four hundred and twenty three years of age. The thought that troubled the rangers however wasn¡¯t just the number of champions Gryndor might stack up with the addition of six champions it was also that by achieving such a high level this quickly and with the amount of dungeon stats they were gaining already these champions could very well live to be one and half millenia or older, and they would have all that time to push themselves further. ¡°If you think that¡¯s quick you shouldn¡¯t dig any deeper into Ajax.¡± Aranor said with a snort. ¡°He¡¯s the catalyst for all this, I feel that all of them apart from the Ironwhisper lad are only pushing so hard to keep up with him.¡± ¡°I might regret asking this but how soon until he reaches the level of a champion?¡± the captain asked as focused some mana in his eyes with his Epic skill to look through the fabric of the tent and focus on Ajax¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Aranor was forced to admit. ¡°We¡¯re not asking for an exact time frame here, teach.¡± one of the rangers who had actually once been Aranor¡¯s student exclaimed. ¡°You gave us a time frame for the other, why can¡¯t you do that for him?¡± ¡°Because his strength is so far outside of what I know.¡± Aranor said with a sigh. ¡°At the longest it¡¯ll take him four decades, more likely in a bit over three.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying he¡¯ll be around Arianwyn¡¯s age when he becomes a champion, I heard he barely fought a level one hundred and thirty five to a draw?¡± the captain said. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°He did.¡± Aranor nodded. ¡°But he is also barely past level fifty, in three decades I fully expect him to have gained fifty levels.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re this sure why even bother saying you don¡¯t know, teach?¡± the ranger asked. ¡°Because he could very well reach that point much quicker.¡± Aranor¡¯s words left a total silence among the rangers as he went to sleep. The following day the rangers got a front row seat at seeing what Ajax¡¯s former classmates could do, since these were different squads than the ones who had joined them for the last dungeon; all of them had only seen what little the four of them had shown when punching down on the previous floors. ¡°Damn, you were right again.¡± the ranger said as he took in the ogres that were roaming the dark foggy marsh. ¡°You have a way to teach someone else how to do anything similar? I¡¯ll pay fifty thousand gold to teach my nephew, he¡¯s good with mana.¡± Ajax had shown his ability to predict floors yesterday as well but showing he could find floors that had humanoid enemies was much more valuable and showed just how much detail he could gather about floors, at least when they were so low in the dungeon. ¡°Haven¡¯t figured that one out.¡± Ajax shook his head much to the ranger¡¯s disappointment. Benedict was the first to take on the ten foot tall blue skinned humanoids and he quickly found out that while they were slow and not all that durable they made up for it with a lot of strength, earth magic and a seemingly passive regeneration spell. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s talented or dumb.¡± one of the rangers muttered as he watched on five minutes after the fight had started. ¡°It¡¯s talent.¡± Elara said with a cutting tone. ¡°Before his journey to delve all these dungeons he was purely physical fighter, all of the mana that you no doubt saw is from naturally pushing his mental stats and dungeon stat increases, he already knows he¡¯ll have to take some time and angle himself towards a more hybrid build to get everything out of the stats he has now.¡± ¡°Their healing is based on being in contact with the mud.¡± Ajax said with a bit of disappointment as he watched Benedict wisely predict a wave of mud being launched at his position and stepping around it to land a deep cut across the ogres belly. ¡°I think he¡¯s also figured that out but he can¡¯t do anything to cut off the connection so he just has to rely on the enchantment to do the heavy lifting.¡± Benedict was almost out of stamina and barely standing on his feet twenty minutes later, he wasn¡¯t as comfortable with the bastard sword he had wielded as he was with his usual short sword but this was the weapon that had the strongest anti healing enchantment from the ones he brought. While Benedict had impressed the rangers with his tenacity and focus by not making a single misstep in a twenty five minute fight his strength didn¡¯t strike the rangers as something all that impressive. ¡°How is he doing that?¡± This was the third time the question had been asked in sixty seconds but nobody answered it. Xavier¡¯s fighting style was now backed by a Legendary skill, having analyzed the ogre¡¯s fighting style during Benedict''s battle he had no issue fully predicting their next move, his fight barely lasted two minutes and while he was heaving from the mana expenditure the whole fight had looked choreographed as Xavier dodged everything by less than an inch and the ogre seemed to jump into the path of his blade. As dominant as Xavier¡¯s showing was, he still had nothing on Anna. Unlike both Xavier and Benedict, Anna¡¯s approach hadn¡¯t taken advantage of the more fragile nature of humanoid fighters and their reliance on using armor for protection. With help from her own Legendary skill she had pushed so much heat into the surrounding that the ogre¡¯s earth based regeneration had been cut off because the ground beneath his feet had all the water evaporated and then melted into lava, the ogre itself was burnt to ash with only a few red hot pieces of armor floating on the magma to mark his presence. ¡°Easy there.¡± Ajax said as he propped Anna up as she was about to fall over. ¡°You pushed way too much of your mana out in thirty seconds.¡± While Anna still had a third of her mana left over and her mana channels were used to handle the strain of her more costly spells, using two thirds of your mana in thirty seconds would leave anyone lightheaded. Lexi had followed the lead of her best friend and dealt with her own ogre quickly, unlike Anna however Lexi had not only leaned into the ogre¡¯s humanoid fragility she had also made use of her Domain to spread out the use of her mana and amplify her attack, her wind spells inside of the Domain were strong enough they had actually lifted the ogre fully off the ground until she managed to get a killing blow. ¡°That has to be one of the most aggressive domains I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± the ranger captain let out a low whistle. ¡°And I¡¯ve seen a storm domain in action.¡± Even with all these fine showings there was still no question about who had the most dominating performance on the floor. Ajax¡¯s fight ended in seconds as he blitzed the ogre with an ambush using his axe and Air mana to decapitate the creature. He then sealed the stumpy neck with lava while frying the loose head with a lightning bolt killing the beast. ¡°Hmph, show off.¡± Xavier grumbled with a smile as he reached on his toes to put his arm around Ajax¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s in his mid twenties and his level is in the low fifties?¡± The ranger captain approached Aranor. ¡° I can see how you think he¡¯d be champion level before he¡¯s fifty if he¡¯s already become this strong.¡± Chapter 424 The tenth floor of the dungeon was a common hillside meant to make things as easy as possible for Anna, Lexi and Xavier, Benedict knew he didn¡¯t stand a chance as he was now a full physical build like his simply didn¡¯t have a way to deal enough damage at this much of a stat discrepancy while remaining safe. ¡°Why is everything getting bigger?¡± Ajax complained as he watched a mole the size of a bus get dispatched. ¡°Stats.¡± Aranor responded. ¡°You see this less in humanoids but it gets pretty noticeable with the few physical champions, after a certain point physical stats need to increase your size to keep your power increasing in line with the numbers.¡± ¡°If you ever find yourself past the borders into the Wildlands and you see anything that is above level two hundred and smaller than you know that it is very heavily focused on magic and can most likely wipe you from existence.¡± Anna¡¯s battle against a falcon that was three times larger than her was very different from the quick match she had on the last floor. The bird was clearly heavily invested into wind mana and this made it less physically sturdy than the ogre had been but wind also provided a bit of a defense against Anna¡¯s flames. ¡°I hate boosting these kinds of stat differences.¡± one of the rangers gripped. ¡°You¡¯re forced to fight aggressive creature because you¡¯ll simply run out of resources against the defensive ones.¡± Anna¡¯s only upside was that her new flames seemed to be able to consume the wind mana from the attack the falcon launched, this wasn¡¯t the case with normal fire attacks and drew everyone¡¯s attention. In the end Anna was lucky she had managed to focus her flames on the birds eyes so that the creature''s final dive missed her by a few feet and crashed straight into the ground where she was able to finish it off. ¡°Those flames of yours are really something.¡± Aranor congratulated her. ¡°But I suggest you stop focusing on any other magic type outside of raw mana barriers, you need to come up with proper defenses for when your enemy is well suited to fighting you instead of you being their weakness.¡± Xavier was the next one to try their hand against a snake, unfortunately for him even with his Legendary skill he simply didn¡¯t have a way to fight against anything that could fly or tunnel underground. The fight had started off well, he had taken the time to watch Ajax dance his way around a non-mini boss version of the snake and got a good read on its fighting style. In the opening exchanges not only was he perfecting his understanding but he had also managed to land a good few slashes backed by some powerful spells. Unfortunately for Xavier the snake had caught on to his strategy before enough damage had been done and instead of going for precise devastating hits it started throwing its entire body in hope of connecting a blow. Xavier had been able to predict the change in movement but with his stats split between mental and physical he still couldn¡¯t keep up and dodge. The prince had interfered and killed the snake once the snake¡¯s body threw Xavier to the ground and the tail was following up with another wide swipe. ¡°I saw it coming.¡± Xavier¡¯s fist struck the ground in frustration as he got back up. ¡°I just can¡¯t keep up.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Ajax didn¡¯t want to put any salt on Xavier wounded pride so he handled the next snake miniboss they ran up against by ambushing it with a void empowered hammer blow straight to the brain. The snake barely had a chance to coil ready to strike once Ajax¡¯s hammer made contact with its scales before its eyes bugged out a little and blood started seeping from its eyes and nose as the brain was squashed. ¡°That affinity is something else.¡± Arianwyn said as her hand instinctively went to her ribs that were shattered in a similar manner when his void infused hammer had stuck past her ice wall. Lexi had a much easier time against her falcon than Anna did. While her Vibration affinity didn¡¯t have the same raw damage that Anna¡¯s [Pyromancer] did, its versatility showed when she was able to batter the bird left and right with well placed shockwaves. Her fight had taken longer than Anna¡¯s and she was nearly out of mana by the end with her Domain entirely drained but at no point did she let the falcon within five feet of her. ¡°You think she could have been louder if she tried?¡± one of the rangers grumbled, Lexi¡¯s shockwaves had sounded like thunder and drew in monsters from every direction that they all had to deal with to ensure her fight wasn¡¯t interrupted. Xavier had tried a second attempt against a snake but it ended up much like his first. After an even better start than his first encounter the snake had eventually given up on precise attacks and the fight ended once it switched to wide sweeping attacks that Xavier had no way to dodge. He had managed to jump over the snake¡¯s first tail swipe by seeing it coming but the second time the snake reacted to his jump and while the tail had only managed to clip his legs it was still enough to send him to the ground and unable to react to the follow up attack. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to leave this floor for next time.¡± Benedict said as he tried to comfort Xavier. Benedict knew that he wasn¡¯t as close to being a match for these creatures as Xavier was but he was also the only other person in the group who hadn¡¯t been able to kill them. What made this even more frustrating for Xavier however was that he could reliably best both Lexi and Anna in a duel, his build simply wasn¡¯t as effective in covering such a large gap in levels even with a favorable match-up. Once the group got past the tenth floor and Xavier, Lexi, Anna and Benedict left the floor clear time shrunk considerably. Floors eleven, twelve, thirteen and even fourteen barely took a two to three hours each as Ajax, Darkclaw and Harold cleared their mini bosses relatively easily, a less than ideal match-up did mean that harold had needed two tried on the fourteenth floor but even with that he was confident that a better match-up would mean he would be capable enough even against a level one hundred on the fifteenth floor. Before that however it was time for their second night in the dungeon. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Elara asked Ajax. ¡°After you are done delving in our kingdom.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be passing through home before I head to the Empire to delve their main dungeon.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You got them to let you go into that again?¡± Arianwyn asked surprised, she had found out he had already had that chance once a few years ago but it had been essentially a solo delve and not a boost for him. ¡°Part of the same deal actually.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Archduke Goldmacer managed to get us two delves into the main dungeon, sadly I won¡¯t be able to push as far into that one as I can here.¡± Ajax was comfortable enough going up against a level one hundred and thirty, he knew it would be extremely close if he was to face a level one hundred and forty, when it came to actually delving into a dungeon he wouldn¡¯t go past level one hundred and twenty with a group of people at the same level, on his own he would stay one floor below that to one hundred and ten since multiple enemies and sneak attacks would be enough to get him killed. ¡°What did he give them in exchange for that?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°And how come you got a spot?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t answer that and just smiled, while he wasn¡¯t the most politically apt person he knew not to give away information for free. ¡°It¡¯ll be a short trip, I should be back by the time you make your way to Gryndor to delve.¡± While the trip would take a couple of months there and back Ajax knew it would take longer than that to finish ironing out the current exchange in dungeon delving. Both royal families knew that whatever agreement they would make now would become the basis for the nobles exchanges that would take place to keep nobles above commoners so they would need to be much more thorough than any usual deal between countries with a solid alliance. ¡°And after that?¡± Elara asked. ¡°What will you do once you get back and get your ducal title?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t just be a title.¡± the prince said with a smirk. Ajax had trouble containing his surprise as he realized that he would become one of the few landed dukes of Gryndor. He knew that it would be a possibility further down the line as he got stronger and became much more influential but it was coming now. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll be quite busy.¡± Ajax said as he watched the others try and hide their own surprise, all the while he was making plans to take care of everything that needed his personal presence while he was adjusting to the influx of stats and delegate everything while leaving for his trip to the Wild Lands in search of a bond. Chapter 425 Ajax was silently freaking out on the inside, there were a total of twenty two ducal families in Gryndor right now but out of those only five of them were landed. While he was sure he wouldn¡¯t be given any of their territories even having an actual dukedom would paint a target on his family for at least 15 other ducal families that wanted to earn their own large swath of land. Not only that but the current five landed ducal families were so entrenched in their lands that it was actually easier to grow the families influence to replace one of the three archdukes at the moment than to get any of the current five evicted without a massive mess up on their part. Ajax¡¯s saving grace was that he had very good connections to two of the archdukes and a solid one to the third, not only that but his relationship with Lexi actually pulled all of House Manashaper into his corner since Lexi would become the Duchess Hearthbound. ¡°Focus damnit.¡± the prince growled as he pulled Ajax out of the way of an errant spine from the massive porcupine Harold was fighting. ¡°If I knew it would throw you off so bad I would have waited until after the dungeon to tell you.¡± Harold was a much better match against the porcupine despite the monster¡¯s proclivity for launching spines infused with wind or shadow mana. The creature¡¯s fighting style actually provided a rather novel way of defeating it, by clearing away the spines on its back to open up new patches where you could land an attack. Harold had thrown aside his seventh shield after he intentionally got as many spines to embed themselves in it. ¡°How many of them does he have?¡± Ajax asked curious how many shields Harold¡¯s spacial item held, seeing as none of the ones he used so far were his primary shield. The porcupine now had an odd bold spot a little larger than two shield widths on its back. It clearly wasn¡¯t used to fighting with such an exposed weakness as it didn¡¯t take much longer for Harold to embed a spear in the creature. While the attack wasn¡¯t enough to end the fight by itself it was enough to freak out the monster. Surprised by something actually making it past its quills, the creature tried to turn and examine its own back leaving Harold with a perfect opening to dive to the side and stab his spear through the creature¡¯s neck. Unlike the wound on its back that was intended for piercing damage Harold went for a wide slash at the neck aiming to bleed out the creature. Over the next two minutes the creature continued to slow down further and further as Harold switched back to his defensive fighting style only taking the occasional poke to speed up the process. ¡°Any preference?¡± Ajax asked Elara and Arianwyn once the fight was over. ¡°Nothing underground.¡± Elara said as she wanted to make use of her new Storm Domain and for best results that required clouds. ¡°No fire or ice.¡± Arianwyn similarly didn¡¯t want to contend with the creature''s own affinity for ice or have her own domain suppressed by the natural fire mana of the floor. ¡°Anything for you?¡± Ajax asked Darkclaw. ¡°I¡¯ll hold back for now.¡± Darkclaw said. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get another chance to delve another time when I am better prepared.¡± Being a primarily melee ranged mage did have some advantages when it came to the mana efficiency of your spells but against creatures close to thirty levels above you that was worth far less than the safety some distance might provide. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Alright then.¡± Ajax nodded as the group started moving towards a specific arch. Ajax didn¡¯t bother trying to select a specific floor theme for himself, nine times out of ten the floor boss had nothing to do with the floor theme and any elemental boss that spawned would twist the floor theme to suit itself. ¡°This one is earth and air.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to an arch. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be underground and I¡¯m not feeling any Ice or Water mana and no Fire either.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a bad match-up we could always try again next time.¡± Arianwyn said with a noncommittal shrug. As they set foot on the floor they were met with a powerful wind current that cut across them. The floor theme seemed to have placed them into a mountain range, none of the mountains had snow on them but you could see numerous peaks as they extended for miles. ¡°Oh this is perfect.¡± Elara said with a cunning smile as she appreciated just how close she was to the clouds. ¡°I should be able to make this work.¡± Arianwyn said. Harold and Darkclaw both exited the floor at this point and Aranor chose to warn his charges. ¡°Remember while your domains might grant you superiority over an area any creature living here could still have a better control of the Wind element that is present in both your Domains.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± one of the rangers called out. ¡°What are those things?¡± Another followed up as they took a defensive position around Ajax, Elara and Arianwyn. Ajax was the sole member of the group to recognise the creatures that were flying towards them, back on Earth they were known as harpies, humanoid creatures with wings instead of arms and claws instead of feet. Despite the lack of knowledge on the creatures the rangers had no issue taking them out, they were after all punching down a large number of levels. ¡°They seem to share the humanoid weakness of a body with multiple kill spots.¡± ¡°The lack of fingers and toes means they can¡¯t use weapons and if we were outside the dungeon I would very much question not only how they formed their armor but also how they managed to put it on¡± Aranor said as he inspected the corpses. ¡°They are however very proficient with not only Wind mana but a few of them also had Ice, Fire, Earth, Light, Shadow and even Lightning.¡± ¡°Might have something to do with the males.¡± Ajax said, drawing everyone''s attention. ¡°What? I can¡¯t be the only one who noticed they are all female.¡± Ajax¡¯s theory was quickly proven true the first time they came across an outpost the harpies had made. Unlike the females the males were larger and sturdier, not only that but they were fully covered in feathers, had humanoid hands with only slightly sharper nails and most noticeably the head of a bird. It took a few outposts but neither Elara nor Arianwyn had any big issues in dealing with a harpy mini boss. It took a while to find one that would prove a favorable match-up in terms of the elements they used: Wind, Earth and Fire for Elara and Wind, Earth and Light for Arianwyn. While the fights were rather clear cut it didn¡¯t mean they were easy. Arianwyn had to use up 80% of her mana in setting up her Domain and even then it had almost run out by the end of the fight breaking through the perpetual tornado that circled the mini boss. Elara had opted for a different approach where she set up her domain a good distance away from the boss before opening the fight with the biggest lightning bolt Ajax had ever seen. The spell must have had more than two and a half thousand mana poured into it between the cast and the empowerment it received from the Domain. ¡°These creatures are ideal for boosting.¡± one of the rangers said. ¡°They would also be a nightmare for anyone of appropriate level doing this floor, they seem to be able to combine their spell casting. I will have a full report delivered to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild once we exit.¡± Ajax had also killed his own harpy miniboss without much fuss, his [Mana Syphon] had worked perfectly to weaken the creature¡¯s defenses and allow him to break through with sheer stats as a magma infused axe was embedded in the harpie¡¯s head. During this time one of the rangers teams was running wild clearing any monster they came upon looking to spawn the floor boss. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should fight it if it ends up being a Wind elemental.¡± the prince said as he took in the surroundings. ¡°RAAAAGGGHHH¡± ¡°ROOOGGGGHH¡± Two wails echoed across the mountain range before Ajax had a chance to respond. ¡°Don¡¯t seem to be a Wind elemental.¡± Ajax said. ¡°If that¡¯s what I think it is, it might be one of the best ones for you to fight.¡± Aranor said as he frowned in the direction the roars seemed to be coming from. ¡°What do you think it is?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Based on there being two shouts I think the floor boss is-¡± Aranor was interrupted as the scout from the clearing ranger team arrived. ¡°We¡¯ve spawned the floor boss¡± He said with a cocky grin towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re in luck kid, it''s an ettin.¡± Chapter 426 Aranor P.O.V. The boy¡¯s luck strikes once more, an ettin. Those two headed behemoths are some of the most straightforward floor bosses, not only that but depending on the type it might be a perfect match up for him as well. ¡°What type?¡± I ask as we all head towards the source of the previous bellows. ¡°Hybrid.¡± the scout answers. Well, the boy¡¯s luck doesn¡¯t seem to be quite that good, a pure mage would have been an ideal match-up for him even if it is the most dangerous ranked version by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and for good reason. ¡°Do you think the hybrid is a better match up or the warrior?¡± I ask the prince. ¡°The mage would have been the best.¡± The prince agrees with my own assessment. Ettins are basically dual classes in the same body. This might initially seem like two warrior classes or two mage classes would be far inferior to a warrior and mage combined in the same body but that¡¯s not always the case. Each type of ettin has its own niche. Two warrior classes might seem to have a lot to complement each other at first but that is a clear example of short sightedness. A pure offensive berserker combined with an indomitable guardian can cause a world of issues. This combination is however the easiest ranked by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for the simple fact that a group of five or more has a much easier time containing it. The mage is on the other side of the coin, two mage classes. Nobody out there underestimates this version, the creature can have one head channeling massive spells while the other pumps out continuous casts, multiple different types of mana and most dangerous of all spell overload, despite its humanoid body this version retains the monster ability to cast magic in the same way Ajax does allowing it to fire dozens of spells at once . While this version is by far the most fragile and fights against it always end in under two minutes it almost always causes casualties. Finally there is the hybrid. It is more of a misnomer however since unlike a true hybrid like Ajax it doesn¡¯t have to sacrifice the physical or the magical getting the full benefit of both. Both the warrior and mage half of the creature would be a balanced version of the class unlike the extremes the classes take with the other variants. It¡¯s biggest strength come from the augmented magic it casts to empower the physical attacks, much in the same way Ajax fights. ¡°I think the warrior would be harder for him to fight, though not by much.¡± The prince answers the question. ¡°Inside the dungeon at least.¡± I agree with him that it''s close, I¡¯m not sure what being inside or outside the dungeon has to do with anything. Despite being only level one hundred and ten the ettin will have Ajax beat in all stats, it will come down if Ajax can overcome that gap with his skill and Skills. It''s not long until we catch sight of the creature, we can clearly see it on the other mountain peak as it wanders aimlessly. ¡°Do you want to fight it on the side of the mountain or in one of the valleys?¡± The ranger captain asks. ¡°On the side but low enough that I can jump down to the valley below without wasting too much mana.¡± Ajax answers instantly, I can see his eyes tracking the creature so intensely I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he trips over a rock. ¡°I cloaked us.¡± I nod towards the mage. ¡°We can get much closer now before it can find us, no closer than a hundred yards though, it will sense the disturbance in the mana at that range.¡± Unlike the warrior type the hybrid isn¡¯t encased in armor but all of its vitals are covered. The creature is easily thirty five feet tall and in its hand is a massive bone club that is easily fifteen feet long, a direct hit from that would be enough to seriously threaten anyone present here, even me. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. As we slowly descend down the mountain''s side I see Ajax break off a chunk of rock from the ground. Smart, he¡¯s analyzing the terrain to see how to best use it, at least I hope that¡¯s what he¡¯s doing and he¡¯s not just going to chuck it at the floor boss. ¡°This is perfect.¡± Ajax says as he takes in the small flat area between two peaks. ¡°We¡¯ll start the fight up there and finish it here.¡± Looking at where he is pointing I notice that halfway up to that mountain road there is a tree branch growing out of the side of the mountain. The initial walkway isn¡¯t all that wide so I am expecting the fight won¡¯t stay there for long but I can see what he is planning. We are two hundred feet from the boss when I see Ajax freeze mid step. ¡°Is ¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I ask concerned since I haven¡¯t noticed what changed. ¡°Is that staff something we can take outside the dungeon?¡± Ajax asks as he points towards the boss. My instinct is to instantly tell the boy no, everyone knows that the body of a floor boss can never be taken outside the dungeon but then I stop and replay his question in my mind. ¡®The staff¡¯ , the ettin is one of the few floor bosses that actually uses weapons or equipment and in very rare cases people have been able to take some of those outside the dungeon. I instantly focus my [Sense Mana] on the staff and I am shocked to see that it can indeed be taken outside. It seems like a moot point since like most items wielded by floor bosses it''s simply not something any humanoid can use. Regardless I still use my Epic [Item Appraisal] on the weapon bound to the creature''s back, if nothing else the gem the size of a small cart is going to be worth a lot. Ritualist Ettin Staff Can transform the Stamina of the users into mana at a 3:1 ratio. Acts as a focus for the caster. Allows multiple users to power the spell with a 75% efficiency for all outside the caster, limited to ten casters and one user at most contact must be maintained with the staff. I instinctively swipe by hand around my mouth to make sure I¡¯m not drooling. The staff is a treasure! Being able to transform mana to stamina is okay, not particularly great if it''s 3:1 but not bad. Allowing eleven mages to power one spell with only a 25% loss for ten of them is great, even the best combined spells by people who have trained together for decades only have a 70% efficiency for all involved. If that was it the item would be an interesting curiosity and most likely broken down for parts since it would be more useful that way. But squirreled aways in the item description are those four little words ¡®acts as a focus¡¯. The staff would handle the strain of any spell channeled through it, with the size of that crystal I have no doubt that it could handle a 100000 mana spell, the best I my own mana channels can do with my longest cast slowly pulling the mana through is 10000. That makes it priceless!!! ¡°How am I going to transport something that big?¡± Ajax¡¯s words bring me crashing back down to the present. From the looks of some of the rangers I can tell I¡¯m not the only one who inspected the staff. ¡°It¡¯s got to be forty feet long. Doesn¡¯t matter, an issue for later, though I should take care not to break it.¡± Before any of us can even question his words Ajax quickly pulls out his bow and goes to stand behind the rock. ¡°Looks like this is as far as it wants to come so I¡¯ll shoot it from here and get it to follow me back. Can you drop the illusion I don¡¯t want to attack from inside it just in case it counts that as help.¡± Still in shock all of us pull back as the illusion drops and we all feel Ajax start to summon up his mana for a powerful opening shot but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m focused on now. ¡°If he kills it by himself the staff is his.¡± The prince¡¯s voice marks the start of the argument we all knew was coming from the moment we inspected the staff. ¡°That¡¯s-¡± The ranger captain doesn¡¯t get more than a word out before he is interrupted. ¡°He will be head of landed ducal House, this is his boosted delve and he is fighting a floor boss more than twice his level alone.¡± The prince¡¯s voice is cold. ¡°If he kills it alone the staff is his.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about the staff?¡± Arianwyn asks. I take a brief moment to explain. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± Both her and Elara are shocked, as well they should be. ¡°What if we have to intervene?¡± I ask, there is at least a 50% chance Ajax won¡¯t be winning this fight. I need to lay the groundwork. ¡°You can take the staff, in whatever condition it is.¡± I am very much surprised the prince is willing to concede the staff. ¡°And you pay Gryndor ten times the cost of the materials.¡± I almost choke when I hear that, the amount of high quality wood and the gem stone would be at least ten thousand gold coins. The staff is surely worth the one hundred thousand but the deal is to pay that much regardless of the condition of the staff. ¡°Done.¡± Elara says before anyone else has a chance. ¡°Elara¡­¡± Arianwyn is a bit shy as she tugs on her friend¡¯s hand, the royal family is in no position to be paying out such a sum on a whim. ¡°That might be a bit too much.¡± ¡°My family would buy, we¡¯re in a position to take that bet.¡± she says with confidence. ¡°Though I doubt we¡¯ll have the chance to claim it since Ajax will kill the ettin, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± I turn my focus back to Ajax as he finally releases the arrow, I am surprised at how little mana is there compared to what he usually puts into his opening shot. To no surprise the mage half of the ettin senses the arrow in time and the arrow hits a shield right it front of one of the two heads and stops dead before falling to the ground. An instant later one of the ettin¡¯s eye balls bursts in a shower of blood. ¡°RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHH!¡± ¡°AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!¡± With a bellow of rage and one of pain the battle begins as the ettin charges after Ajax who is already lining up a second shot while also retreating down the mountain towards the valley. Chapter 427 Much like Ajax expected it wasn¡¯t going to be easy to land an attack on the ettin. His main objective right now was to conserve his own mana all while trying to draw blood and poison the boss. As he was running away Ajax fired two more arrows this time however he empowered one with Wind and one with Shadow mana. The Wind arrow was much quicker but it met the same fate as the Void arrow, this time however the barrier was put up further away from the ettin¡¯s body costing more mana to keep it active, not only that but the power of the arrow was also much higher. The impact of the Shadow arrow even managed to crack the mana shield by striking in the same spot. ¡°Good, come on.¡± Ajax smiled as he ran, he could feel it when the ettin changed from a bubble shield to a tower wall separating the two of them. ¡°Keep following me.¡± It had been a long time since Ajax had last used his [Trapping] skill, none of his most recent fights were a good fit yet the skill was part of the foundation Ajax¡¯s entire fighting style had been built upon during his first few years of combat training with Hatchet. Ajax knew that by continuing to fire arrows that had some mana infused into them at the ettin it would not only force the creature to keep up its shield so that he could use [Mana Syphon] on it but it would also make it less likely to look for any attacks that had no mana infused into them. As they raced down the narrow mountain path Ajax was forced further and further on the defensive as the mage started tossing one fireball after another, the attacks didn¡¯t have all that much mana infused into them so Ajax could almost syphon them entirely before they even reached him. The chase ended when Ajax arrived at his prepared spot and the crude traps managed to stab two spears into the ettins legs. The traps had barely enough power to break the skin and draw blood but that was enough for them to poison the boss. ¡°GRRHHH¡± one of the heads growled as it dislodged the weapons with a swipe of its hand. ¡°Too late now, the poison¡¯s already in your blood.¡± Ajax¡¯s smile died on his face however when he focused his mana sense on the boss¡¯s eye, specifically the eye he took out with his opening shot. ¡°So you¡¯ve got [Regeneration].¡± While the eye wasn¡¯t yet fully restored he could feel the mana healing it slowly, it wasn¡¯t the first time Ajax had come up against a creature with that skill but he hated dealing with them. There weren¡¯t all that many differences between a healing spell and [Regeneration], both of them healed the user and both of them cost mana to use, the big difference was that while [Regeneration] was a bit slower the entire process was internal so Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon] couldn¡¯t weaken the effects. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do.¡± Ajax stored his bow and pulled out his hammer and his axe as he suddenly dashed towards the ettin. Engaging the monster in melee combat had been inevitable, Ajax knew he simply didn¡¯t have the power to kill it from range, despite this Ajax was very much on the back foot, his only saving grace was that the size difference between him and the boss helped him in terms of speed as much as it helped the ettin in terms of raw strength. ¡°Is it petty that I¡¯m a little glad he¡¯s getting a taste of his own medicine.¡± Despite Arianwyn¡¯s scathing words her tone showed how worried she was about the danger her new friend found himself in every time the ettin¡¯s club swept by inches away from connecting with Ajax¡¯s body. Despite the joking element of Arianwyn¡¯s comment the prince couldn¡¯t help but agree with her that Ajax was very much getting a taste of his own medicine, the boss¡¯s fighting style perfectly matched his own only it was pushed to a higher level. The only reason Ajax¡¯s hadn¡¯t yet been knocked off the edge or smashed into the cliff side was that the ettin was forced to adapt to how much weaker its spells were while under the effect of Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon]. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ajax was not only also aware of this but he was milking it for everything he could. Despite the creature¡¯s second head the ettin still had a humanoid body and Ajax was playing into that as much as he could by trying to keep himself dancing between the boss¡¯s feet. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it just kick at him?¡± Elara asked, she could feel both Ajax and the ettin were fighting for mana control of their immediate surroundings, meaning that neither could use an earth spell to shape the ground underneath them. ¡°Too risky.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°While Ajax might be a ways behind the beast in terms of raw strength, if it tried to kick him it would mean putting all of its weight on one leg, it''s what Ajax is trying to bait it into doing so that he can knock it down.¡± Ajax was getting frustrated as he danced around the creature¡¯s legs trying to bait it into a kick, this led to his first mistake. While Ajax knew the creature was decently skilled he had still fallen for his own prejudice in assuming the ettin was a dumb creature based on its representation in games back on Earth. ¡°He messed up.¡± Aranor called it when he felt the ettin empower the club much more than he did during any of the previous swing. Ajax felt to increase in mana and managed to perfectly dodge the swing, what he didn¡¯t account for was the air blast released that close to him from the impact of the club against the ground. The blast was enough to send him airborne for an instant. That instant where his legs were no longer touching the ground was all the ettin needed to safely and accurately line up a kick. ¡°Not yet.¡± the prince said as he saw Ajax swap his hammer for a shield in time to tank the kick. Ajax¡¯s body was sent skidding across the ground like a ragdoll bouncing three times before the skidded to a stop thirty feet from the ettin on one knee with his shield raised in the direction of the spells that were now raining towards him. Ajax was back on his feet in an instant, his eyes locked onto the body of the ettin. He could feel his body protesting the intense movement so close to the massive impact he suffered, his Light and Life mana were already hard at work repairing the internal bleeding yet as he paused to spit a mouthful of blood off to the side Ajax grinned a bloody smile. Despite the initial wounds closing, Ajax could see a black roadmap forming across the skin of the ettin from the initial wounds as the poison started to spread through the creature¡¯s system. As Ajax dashed towards the ettin once more the creature had finally stopped throwing spells at him, it had finally realized how worthless the numerous weak spells were and it instead focused on augmenting the physical attacks with magic or going for much fewer but stronger spells that [Mana Syphon] wouldn¡¯t be able to disperse. ¡°The poison is working.¡± Arianwyn smiled as she noticed the black veins that were popping out on the boss¡¯s legs from the initial trap. Ajax knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to get a large enough dose of poison into the boss that any quick acting poison would be effective. Instead he had decided to go for a paralyzing poison that got stronger over time if left untreated looking to capitalize on his speed advantage, with the ettin¡¯s legs being sluggish Ajax was finally able to get into position and land a solid blow with his axe to the boss¡¯s knee. The [Mana Skin] the boss had returned to using following the trap had shattered like glass as the Magma infused swing embedded the axe into the back of the knee. The strike carried so much force that it even sent the behemoth stumbling forward on one knee. Despite the creature¡¯s crumbling form Ajax had overextended himself by throwing his entire weight behind his axe. The club swing was horrible to begin with, aiming for a low spot behind the wielder, falling forward had sent the swing low but it had still managed to get a glancing blow onto Ajax as the end of the club smashed into the ground beside him and it sent him flying into the side of the cliff. Both Ajax and the boss took a moment to recover, Ajax exited the small outline his body had dented into the side of the cliff and the ettin climbed back to his feet as the squared off once again. For once the ettin didn¡¯t roar of charge towards him. Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate as he felt the large amount of mana the boss was channeling and he charged. The boss tried the same trick a second time as it empowered a powerful blow aimed at sending Ajax airborne, instead of fighting it however Ajax played into it and used the blow to launch himself into the air and towards one of the boss¡¯s heads. The boss quickly leaned out of the way but it wasn¡¯t far enough, Ajax may left his axe stuck in the boss¡¯s leg but he was quick to pull out his one handed spear. As he flew by the boss¡¯s head he faked going for the eye causing the boss to toss its head backwards trying to take the blow on the chin and instead stuck his spear into the freshly exposed neck. The strike was infused with Lightning mana and the shock was powerful enough that the ettin lost control of its muscles causing its arm to miss swatting Ajax out of the air. With that Ajax went over the edge of the cliff, aiming for the small tree branch he knew was waiting for him before he slowly dropped down to the valley below. ¡°Time for round two.¡± Ajax said as he pulled out his boosting potion and focused on healing his body as much as he could while he waited for the boss to limp after him. Chapter 428 At this distance Ajax knew better than trying to land any meaningful damage with an arrow, the arrows he did fire weren¡¯t even infused with mana but they were simply there to force the ettin to keep its shield up so that he could use [Mana Syphon] on it. Unlike before the ettin took no chance as he swung his club around every single corner or rock to ensure there were no other traps awaiting it as it charged towards Ajax. Once the ettin went around a bend as it ran down the mountain Ajax stopped firing arrows and started applying poison to all his weapons. Another of [Regeneration]¡¯s downsides was that the healing worked as a sped up version of the natural process while also preventing any scars or permanent damage like loss of eyesight from taking root. This meant that as long as Ajax used his hemorrhagic poison the wounds wouldn¡¯t close as fast and they would be bleeding profusely until the flesh would eventually reconnect. As the boss came into view once more Ajax could see that the wound on its neck had already closed and all but disappeared, without a moment of hesitation Ajax uncorked his flask and downed his empowerment potion. Unlike his previous fight against the worm this potion was meant to increase his physical aspects, boosting his magic wouldn¡¯t be enough of a boost to overpower the boss¡¯s caster side but a physical boost will put it on an almost even footing with its physical half. With this his countdown also started, he had three minutes to finish the fight before the potion boosting effect would run out and he had to deal with the backlash. ¡°RRRRAAAGGHHHH!¡± The warrior head roared in approval as it noticed Ajax charging into a melee confrontation. The excitement didn¡¯t last long as not only was Ajax faster than before his strength had also increased enough that a well aimed shield block was enough to get Ajax past the club and into range to damage the boss¡¯s body. Ajax¡¯s sword didn¡¯t cut all that deeply into the ettin¡¯s thigh, most of the momentum having been used up in breaking the magical barrier, but the whole point of the blow was to simply land. Not only did Ajax inject his hemorrhagic poison into the boss but the edges of the wound glowed slightly purple from his [Curse Slash]. With only a three minute timer Ajax knew there was no point in preserving his stamina so he would liberally apply his [Curse Slash] while focusing the curse to weaken the boss as much as possible. The elves had known that Ajax was a curse user, his fight in tournament semi-finals had made the knowledge common for all of the emissaries in attendance. What was not yet known however was Ajax¡¯s ability to fuse his curse magic with his regular magic, one of the most potent combinations being the black flames that acted very much like uncontrolled flames that also spread curses to whatever they scorched. ¡°I thought he was a stamina sacrifice curse user?¡± The accusation came quickly with more than one elf placing their hands on their weapons and ready to put an end to what they saw as a future tragedy. ¡°He is a stamina sacrifice curse user.¡± the prince said, he didn¡¯t reach for a weapon as he knew he had no chance against two ranger squads and Aranor so his only option here was words. ¡°Pay attention to the moment he conjures the flames.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not using his Holy spells.¡± one of the rangers commented ¡°He knows it won¡¯t work against the ettin?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°He¡¯s made that mistake before.¡± The prince confirmed with a nod and a smile as he remembered when Ajax learned that monsters didn¡¯t always respond to pain the same way people did and most could and would ignore it during a battle. ¡°Woah, you can do that?¡± one of the rangers exclaimed as they witnessed Ajax¡¯s black flames unleashed upon the ettin''s back. Having looked closely someone at his level could notice the fire spell and the curse slash activating independently before mixing. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°It takes impeccable timing, but yes curses can be infused into magic by mixing them at the right time.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Leader seven will be very interested to hear about this.¡± one of the ranger captains smirked as he imagined his friend¡¯s reaction. The leader of squad seven was one of the few elves who hadn¡¯t managed to unlock the use of mana skills, unlike most who suffer his fate he had pushed down the physical path in an effort to prove himself. Besides his usage of stamina sacrifice curse magic he was also known for taking advantage of his squads casters, from buffs and heals to attack spells. ¡°Do be careful when practicing.¡± the prince warned them. ¡°Once the curse is infused not only will the mage no longer control the spell but the spell itself will not continue as usual, more than that each element interacts differently with cursed energy.¡± For the first time since the beginning of the fight the ettin was firmly on the back foot. Ajax¡¯s paralytic poison had gained enough of a foothold to hinder the ettin¡¯s footwork and with overly enhanced physical ability he was now buzzing around the boss slashing away with his sword and occasionally poking him with his spear. The curse of weakness was spreading all over the ettin¡¯s body along with the hemorrhagic poison, every swing or stab Ajax executed was backed by [Curse Slash] or [Mana Augmentation]. Both Ajax¡¯s Mana and his Stamina reserves were being drained very quickly. The onslaught only ended when the boss finally managed to finish a cast. Ajax was very much surprised to find the boss had gone for an element he hadn¡¯t encountered in combat before outside of elementals. The ettin¡¯s entire body released high pressure steam pumping violently outwards. Unlike the few steam elementals he had faced before who also contained a decent amount of Life mana this steam was a pure mix of Fire and Water, the spell as a whole however also added Wind which forced Ajax to disengage. The spell had to have been extremely mana intensive as Ajax could feel how big of a chunk his [Mana Syphon] had taken out of it, despite that he had still suffered some nasty burns on his arms through his armor, enchantments and even [Mana Skin], thankfully the damage wasn¡¯t debilitating. As soon as he noticed that the burn damage didn¡¯t truly hinder his ability to swing his weapons Ajax forewent healing it, he didn¡¯t have the Mana to spare and more than that the constant pain and small amount of damage produced by his every movement actually slowed the drain on his Stamina thanks to [Berserker]. As much as Ajax wanted to dash straight for the ettin he held back and tried to use a Wind spell of his own to clear the steam. While he knew the position of the boss thanks to his [Sense Mana] he couldn¡¯t track the boss¡¯s body outline. Ajax¡¯s caution had paid off as the Wind spell revealed the boss too late for Ajax to dodge the swing of the club. Ajax barely had enough time to bring up his shield and tank the blow feeling the rocks crack beneath his feet under the pressure. ¡°He can tank a blow!¡± Elara was shocked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t empowered by magic.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°It¡¯s how the club remained hidden in the steam, I¡¯m also pretty sure his arm is broken.¡± Aranor was right, Ajax¡¯s shield arm hung limply by his side even after the shield was returned to his spacial ring. Ajax had already started using Light mana in an attempt to mend the break and regain use of arm before he noticed something had changed. He stopped healing his arm and charged straight towards the boss. The boss¡¯s heavy use of mana had finally caught up with it. Ajax had been using [Mana Syphon] on its mana barrier since the fight began and after that last spell even the ettin¡¯s prodigious mana pool was starting to run dry. While the boss didn¡¯t dispel its barrier it did stop infusing its mana into the ground below its feet. Ajax didn¡¯t know if the boss felt safe because of the mana it had released into the ground before or if it forgot that he was specifically using his [Mana Syphon] to prevent the ettin from shaping the rock but he now had an opening where his mana alone affected the ground beneath them. Down to his last five hundred mana Ajax used two hundred of it to split the earth beneath one of the boss¡¯s legs while at the same time building a small step to launch himself off of as well. The ettin was caught completely off guard by the sudden tilting of his body, more than that Ajax¡¯s oddly angled jump hadn''t even made sense to it until Ajax¡¯s sword powered by one hundred and fifty mana took one of the boss¡¯s heads clean off. The change was immediate, Ajax felt the boss¡¯s mana barrier being quickly devoured by his [Mana Syphon], the mage was dead, all that was left now was the warrior. Unfortunately for Ajax his potion had also run out and a wave of exhaustion hit him like a tsunami, but he wasn¡¯t ready to give in just yet. With the boss¡¯s leg still trapped in the whole Ajax surged forward, he knew he had gotten lucky, if he had killed the warrior the mage could have used the staff to repurpose the remaining stamina into mana and most likely overwhelm him. The ettin¡¯s final head was protected by the metallic helm but without the mana barrier acting as an outer shell Ajax finally had a chance to use his hammer. He didn¡¯t have enough mana to empower a strong enough Void attack to ensure it would go past both the helm and the ettin¡¯s undoubtedly thick skull, fortunately he didn¡¯t need to. Ajax pushed as much mana as he could into his most recent Legendary acquisition, Vibration mana. More than that he also stacked [Precise Blow] on top of [Vibrating Strike], he could feel the muscles of his unbroken arm protesting but [Limit Suppression] allowed him to hit so hard that his muscles tore even before the hammer blow landed. The gong like sound of metal striking metal marked the end of the fight. Unlike his fight against the worm Ajax had managed to remain conscious but he was splayed out on his back without the power to move a muscle as he could feel the bruise form down his hammer arm where his muscles ripped apart. None of that mattered to him however as his lips struggled to lift into a smile as his eyes took in a sight only he could see. The Achievement confirmed that the boss was dead. Chapter 429 ¡°Hey princess, which do you think looks more gruesome?¡± the prince asked as Arianwyn approached Ajax and by extent the body of the fallen ettin. Arianwyn wasn¡¯t squamish, she had long dealt with the gruesome aftermath of combat, despite that the crushed and burst remains of the ettin¡¯s head still encased in its metal helmet attached to the rest of the body did remove her plans of a celebratory feast for finally surpassing the level one hundred dungeon bottle neck. Despite his joking mood the prince was quick to carefully pack up the ettin¡¯s staff, sadly the because of its sheer size the item could never be anything more than a location defense artifact or a one shot ambush opening. ¡°He¡¯s still conscious.¡± Aranor¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t hide the surprise. ¡°A lot of good that does him.¡± one of the healers said with a chuckle as he inspected Ajax¡¯s condition. ¡°I doubt he could get one of his toes to twitch if he wanted to.¡± As invested as he was by the invisible screens in front of him Ajax wasn¡¯t about to let that go. While the elf may have been technically correct at the moment he made the statement he hadn¡¯t factored in Ajax¡¯s pettiness. By relaxing and contracting specific muscles Ajax was able to exacerbate his injuries just enough that [Berserker] gave him enough stamina to get his arm to turn over and raise a single finger. ¡°Looks like he disagrees.¡± Elara didn¡¯t even try to conceal her laughter as she watched the healer glance back towards Ajax before his jaw dropped as he noticed the raised middle finger. Ajax made a few attempts to talk but nothing more than a grunt made it past his lips. ¡°I deserved that one kid, but no need to keep pushing yourself.¡± the healer said as he approached Ajax and started casting, once the first spell was activated Ajax could feel his body mending and a drowsiness overcome him. ¡°Get some sleep, you''ll be able to talk once you awaken.¡± With that Ajax¡¯s consciousness finally stopped holding on and he closed his eyes. ¡°This was a very even fight.¡± Aranor said as he examined the battered body of the ettin as well as the rough shape of Ajax¡¯s own armor. ¡°We finally have a decent benchmark to compare him to since his fighting style is so similar to the hybrid ettin.¡± ¡°Let''s get going.¡± The prince said as he balanced the now wrapped up staff on his shoulder. Not even the prince¡¯s spacial storage was enough to hold the staff, sure in terms of volume it could easily hold ten of them, the problem was the staff was simply too tall to fit inside the cube dimension. ¡°Do you think this will give him a Mythic skill?¡± Arianwyn finally addressed the elephant in the room. All of them were silently thinking about the very same thing but nobody wanted to point it out. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait until he wakes up to find out.¡± Aranor said as the group continued away from the battle site in silence. When Ajax awoke he found himself in a comfortable spot surrounded by blankets near a roaring campfire close to an arch, one he was sure would lead them to the Metal floor they had decided to head for next. ¡°How are you feeling sleepy head?¡± the prince greeted him. ¡°Like a convoy failed to notice I was laid up in the road and rolled right over me.¡± Ajax complained as he stretched his stiff muscles as his body protested the movement despite his health being full. ¡°The phantom pain will pass quickly.¡± the healer said. ¡° Since you weren¡¯t awake for the healing your mind hasn¡¯t caught up to the fact that your body was healed even if the body acts like it has.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ajax was very familiar with the process, not from having experienced all that often but more from his discussions with Kate about her studies. Phantom pain was one of the most dangerous things to consider when healing injured low level people, especially the ones who had pushed themselves well past their limits before passing out, without a solid investment in physical stats the shock from waking up could be enough to kill them. Those people had to be slowly awakened a little at a time so the brain could keep up with the body. ¡°So was it worth it?¡± the prince¡¯s question drew a few frowns from the elves, not because he asked but because of how ambiguous an answer could be given. Reminded of his reward Ajax was quick to bring the Achievement back up now that he had a clear mind to take everything in. Achievement: I¡¯m the Boss now. (Earned through defeating an warrior - mage Ettin) Defeat a floor boss at more than two times higher level than you without help while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 20. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150. Trait : Warrior - Mage (Stamina can now be used to power spells at a 1 : 1 efficiency of mana and Mana can be used to power Stamina based skills at a 1:1 efficiency) Dungeon Boon : Solo collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in each floor of the dungeon, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon. Enemies must be defeated alone.) ! (lesser or equal versions of the achievement can no longer be obtained.) Achievement: I¡¯m the Boss now. (Earned through defeating any floor boss) Defeat a floor boss more than two times higher level than you without help while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 20. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150. Trait : Boosted trait dependent on floor boss defeated. Dungeon Boon : Solo collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in each floor of the dungeon, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon. Enemies must be defeated alone.) Achievement: And you call yourself a Boss. (Earned through defeating any floor boss) Defeat a floor boss more than two times higher level than you while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. None of the entities helping you may be above half the boss''s level. Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 10. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150. Trait : Trait based on the boss defeated Dungeon Boon : Collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in the floor of the dungeon one exits, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon.) Achievement: You¡¯re not that tough. (Earned through defeating any floor boss) Defeat a floor boss higher level than you alone while inside a dungeon. Requires three Discoveries to earn. Reward : Choose a skill you possess, gain a random skill of each lesser rarity that supports said skill. (Skills received level two times faster while at a lower level than the chosen skill) ¡°It was.¡± Ajax answered as he took in the information. ¡°Though I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not disappointed at not being able to gain ¡®You¡¯re not that tough.¡¯ I could have used four more skills.¡± In truth Ajax was a little disappointed in the Rewards he did get. Doubtless a large part of the reward was focused on the 20 skill level cap increase but he had already reached the 150 cap thanks to Divine Witness. ¡°Did you gain a Mythic skill?¡± Aranor asked, unable to curb his own curiosity. ¡°Unfortunately not.¡± Ajax said, and he meant it, he had hoped that maybe, just maybe the reward would be a Mythic skill, given the same type of non-combat options he had been offered for his Legendary selection he would have taken the social one. ¡°The rewards are very different from ¡®You¡¯re not that tough.¡¯,I think it is treated as one of the lesser achievements just so it won¡¯t be awarded.¡± ¡°One of them?¡± Aranor was quick to latch onto any piece of information that slipped out. ¡°Yep, there is a variation for killing a floor boss in a group while everyone taking part is under half the boss¡¯s level.¡± Ajax teased them, he knew that there were no records of any group ever attempting to delve a floor over twice their level, though he very much believed that with enough training and another load of dungeon floors a forty man team of people like Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict would stand a chance once they all reached level fifty four, at least against a favorable matchup like a pure warrior Ettin but even then it would be close. While he was talking Ajax also pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled down the group achievement before handing it to the prince. ¡°What do you think?¡± The prince¡¯s eyes bulged out as he read the rewards section before showing the piece of parchment to the elves. He knew that any attempt at gaining the achievement would have to be a collaboration by the most talented of the younger of multiple kingdoms. ¡°It gave you a Trait and a Boon?¡± ¡°Wait, you know that Boons are a thing?¡± Ajax was quick to answer back. ¡°How come I never heard of them before?¡± ¡°Because the only one we know about comes from the Achievement ¡®Are you lost?¡¯.¡± the prince explained. ¡°You have to stay on the same dungeon floor for over half a century to get it. The Boon allows you to teleport to the exit arch.¡± ¡°If this is the lesser achievement, what did you get?¡± Arianwyn asked but her eyes remained transfixed on the piece of parchment as she reread the information over and over again. Ajax took great pleasure in watching their expressions as he shared his rewards with the exception of what his Trait did. Chapter 430 ¡°Stop looking so glum, this achievement might not be as immediately impactful as it could have been but you will see just how important it is in the long run.¡± the prince said as he watched Ajax as he was recovering before pushing on to finish the rest of the delve. The prince was very much right and Ajax knew it. People who could push past level one hundred were considered elite, more than that it was the hardest to find them outside of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or the army. Crafters were the next most common but it was by an order of magnitude lower than combatants or healers. The averages among the elites said that their Common skills would usually be 20 levels above their level, their Uncommon 10 levels above, their Rare skills around the same level and their Epic skills five levels lower. This caused massive problems with skill leveling, especially for Champion fighters who at level one hundred and seventy had most of their combat skills capped out unless they were from a ducal or the royal family. ¡°I know, it''s just that I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be this.¡± Ajax chose his words carefully as he knew he the prince had a lie detection skill, he didn¡¯t want to let slip that the extra 20 skill levels were worthless for him since Divine Witness already boosted everything to the 150 limit for him. ¡°Say how much do you think is needed to contribute?¡± Ajax¡¯s question stopped everyone in their tracks. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± The prince looked a little baffled. ¡°It¡¯s just that, I know contribution to a kill differs when delving into a dungeon.¡± Ajax said as he remembered being taught this during his time in the academy. ¡°To clear a floor at or under your level and gain the reward you only need to meaningfully contribute in a group of up to four people to killing a mini boss. As soon as you try to get the extra stats on a floor higher than your level you have to do it solo, what do you think contributing would mean for this achievement?¡± Most non combat nobles and rich merchants would group up as a team of three and pay people to escort them, they would also have a more talented fighter their level that could effectively tank the creature while the three would slowly kill it even with their ineffective attacks. Ajax was familiar with the practice since he had escorted his parents and even grandparents through the dungeons in the capital to ensure they would get the extra stats. ¡°It won¡¯t work the same way we do it with clearing floors for the¡­ less combat capable.¡± Aranor said politically. ¡°Everyone taking part would need to be under half the level of the boss, no way to have someone hand-holding a group through it.¡± ¡°But I could.¡± Ajax said and he quickly felt everyone¡¯s gazes lock on to him once more. ¡°Against something like the ettin having Lexi and Anna casting from range would actually be helpful, would something like that even count?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that is something we want to test out.¡± the prince said after a long moment of silence. ¡°You are close to level fifty four already and you barely held out, if they make one mistake that hinders you it could even get you killed.¡± And there was the crux of the issue, Ajax barely made it by himself if the others slowed him down in any way it could prove fatal for all of them. ¡°What about that?¡± Ajax asked as he pointed towards the massive staff. ¡°What if we use that, they give their entire mana and stamina pools for a strong opening spell and then I kill the boss, would that work?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Ajax very much wanted to give his friends a better chance at the Achievement. ¡°That¡¯s something that¡¯s worth trying.¡± the prince said after a long moment of silence, the value of the staff having risen exponentially even if it was only theoretical. ¡°Are you feeling well enough to get going?¡± Aranor asked, looking to move the conversation on from the staff, he knew just how much of a headache it would become already when certain noble Houses found out it wasn¡¯t stolen to be used by their kingdom. ¡°I¡¯m better now but I¡¯m not ready just yet to leave the floor.¡± Ajax said as he started to resharpen his axe, the blade had a small dent from where it made contact with the ettin¡¯s knee and Ajax was trying to smooth it out. ¡°I still have something to do here.¡± ¡°What now?¡± one of the rangers mumbled but he was quickly shushed by Arianwyn. ¡°That smile always means he¡¯s up to something and I want to find out what.¡± Arianwyn cut them off. ¡°When I told you about my improved Achievement, you know how I mentioned it gave the Solo collector boon?¡± Ajax asked while trying to sound as innocent as possible. ¡°Well, besides having the requirement that I solo the creature I want to take out and the boon being limited to the individual as well as the group, it also lets me take something from every floor I¡¯ve cleared, not just the last one.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± The group let out a collective groan as four people took out their parchments to start making an addendum to the explanations they had already recorded. ¡°Alright then what type of harpy do you want?¡± Aranor asked, since most harpies had some sort of equipment that slightly enhanced their specific elements. ¡°Oh I don¡¯t want a harpy.¡± Ajax said with a shake of the head. ¡°I want to see if any of their crafters are alchemists, if not I¡¯ll have to settle for a blacksmith. Even if it is a bit crude this is level one hundred and ten crafting equipment.¡± The group ransacked ten encampments before they finally gave up on finding an alchemist, their logic was there were simply not enough plants in the environment for them to appear among the population. ¡°Are you sure you want to stick with the blacksmith?¡± The prince tried to convince Ajax for the fifth time. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said resolutely. After the tenth camp the group had decided to call it a day and headed for an arch to the next floor. ¡°We¡¯ll probably be another day or so, I¡¯ll need to be at full strength to clear the nineteenth floor.¡± Ajax said as Arianwyn and Elara were getting ready to leave. As he cleared the next two floors Ajax started to experiment with his new trait, one of the most interesting things he discovered was that Stamina worked very differently to Mana. He hadn¡¯t noticed it before since he barely ever depleted his Stamina and when he did it would be a full body exercise. Ajax had even made the excuse of wanting to try out the staff so he would have a basis for his questions without revealing his trait. ¡°Why does my arm feel so dead?¡± Ajax complained after unleashing a strong spell. ¡°While Stamina as a resource is similar to Mana it doesn¡¯t get stored the same way.¡± the prince explained. ¡°It''s not usually an issue for you since not only do you use it pretty evenly across your whole body but it also actively tries to normalize and level as time passes. You¡¯ll see your arm will recover before too long.¡± ¡°It¡¯s mostly a problem for high level blacksmiths who are working with a hard to shape metal.¡± Aranor said. ¡°They have large amounts of stamina but since most of the work is done by their dominant hand in swinging the hammer they deplete the stamina and need a few short breaks for it to even out before they can finally call it a day when their total stamina runs out.¡± While this information didn¡¯t have much application in combat outside of trying to tire out someone''s shield arm it was now vital for Ajax. With mana he was used to directing it through his arms or legs but he would need to be much more careful when using stamina since in the later stages of a fight when he was already low on it he could fully empty out a limb and have just hang limply by his side for a while. The seventeenth floor felt rather easy for Ajax after the fight with the ettin and even after all the problems the worm had caused him the extra +12 to all stats as well as the new trait made fighting a level one hundred and twenty mini boss feel like a warm up spar instead of a battle where he pushed his limits. The eighteenth floor proved tougher but Ajax hadn¡¯t even needed a proper rest, he had simply been forced to down a potion and almost fully expend both his mana and stamina but the fight wasn¡¯t all that close. After Ajax found out he could overcharge as spell without damaging his mana channels by powering the spell with a combination of his Mana and Stamina the fight was quickly over after two powerful hits. Sadly both attacks had taken a toll on his gauntlet as he shattered both his Air and Fire gems by pushing that much power through it at once. Chapter 431 ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked Ajax as they made camp for the final time in this dungeon. ¡°I will need to change.¡± Ajax said with a bit of disappointment as he looked down towards his gauntlet, already four of his germs had shattered and his other elements weren¡¯t fat behind. ¡°I appreciate how long you kept your silence regarding my gauntlet but once we return to Gryndor I will look into having some new more specific weapons commissioned.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at specialization as a bad thing.¡± The prince said, he could clearly see the problem Ajax had with replacing his gauntlet: his extreme versatility would now become limited or he would be forced to sacrifice his weapons. ¡°It could in fact push you forwards instead.¡± ¡°How would it do that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The gems in your gauntlet are all so very small.¡± The prince had insisted that he wear something to magically mask the gauntlet for as long as he couldn¡¯t make use of the discovery as well. ¡°Despite being mana gems with a specific affinity the break under your spells, in terms of raw power that is less than what a level ninety mage can output.¡± ¡°And how would specialising help?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You might not be aware of it yourself but you are already limiting yourself to one or two elements per weapon, it''s a simple fact that certain elements are better wielded by specific weapons.¡± The prince said. ¡°With the bigger gems and the correct enchantments added those weapons would be able to even further augment your attacks instead of barely maintaining the weapon. That¡¯s to say nothing of the skills you will gain that will stack with your [Augmentation] skill.¡± ¡°That could work.¡± Ajax said, unconsciously he had started to smile as he appreciated the prince¡¯s advice of this being a better way forward for him. ¡°Do you know any craftsmen who would be willing to work with me on this new approach?¡± ¡°I do, but I will say that it''s a good thing your boon will allow you such an increase in wealth.¡± the prince said with a smile. ¡°The only way you¡¯ll be able to buy yourself a priority on their backlog of orders will be with some of the more rare resources and materials they desire.¡± Following their talk Ajax was more hyped for the upcoming fight and he was ready to push as far as it took to win. ¡°This is the strongest opponent I will fight before my style is forced to evolve.¡± Ajax muttered to himself. ¡°I have to win.¡± While Ajax would have one more dungeon to delve in Sylvanthal and the Empire¡¯s main dungeon as well neither would present him with a stronger opponent. The last of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons had a first floor with level thirty eight mini bosses and an eighteen level floor gap. The strongest fight he would face in there would be a level one hundred and twenty eight with no chance of challenging a one hundred and sixty four. As for the Empire he wouldn¡¯t have a boost group with him ensuring that he could guarantee a one versus one with the mini boss so he will stop his delving much sooner. The only element they knew about the final floor was the fire element. Ajax had chosen it in hopes of coming upon an environmental floor as that would be trivialised by his escort while the monsters would be just a little bit weaker. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Ajax got his wish much to the rangers disappointment. While the floor environment didn¡¯t pose an actual challenge to them most of them could just disregard the heat at such a high floor. If he was asked to describe the floor Ajax would be able to do so with a single word, ¡®hell¡¯. The entire floor looked like a wide open plane of grass with a tree or two dotted around and set ablaze and this is what remained. The floor was covered with ash and the skeletal blacked trees were the only point of reference in their small depression. The heat wasn¡¯t even the worst part of the floor''s environment, much worse were the segregations of air that not even Aranor could understand, the humidity would change from above 90% to under 10%. The hot air would feel like a lungful of water one moment before it scorched your throat as you moved forward. Much to everyone''s relief it didn¡¯t take long for them to run into the first mini boss as the pack was running around the hellscape. ¡°Are you sure you want to fight a hellhound?¡± the prince asked with some concern. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said with a nod. One of the things Ajax had miscalculated was how well curse mana would go in addition to fire for creating a floor theme. While the percentage of the curse mana was much lower than on most floors he had found it on before the sheer density of the mana in the air meant to this time Ajax wouldn¡¯t have the luxury of relying on [Mana Syphon] and drawing out the fight or he would get himself infected with too much curse mana. ¡°After you kid.¡± Most of the rangers had their bows drawn ready to put down the entire pack with the exception of the boss as soon as Ajax engaged. It was easy to figure out which one was the boss, not only was it larger than the others, going from the size of a hippo to that of an elephant but the mini boss also had two heads. Ajax very much wondered if there was a three headed Cerberus model for a Floor boss but he very much doubted it since he had already faced a boss with two heads, unless the three heads weren¡¯t as independent as the ettin had been. The hellhound¡¯s heads resembled a doberman but the body wasn¡¯t as lean, looking more like the jacked frame of a rottweiler. Unlike the ettin Ajax could tell that the hellhound would be less durable but at the same time much faster, but with his new Trait there was no need to push this into a battle of attrition as he now had a much larger resource pool to force the fight to end quickly. Ajax drank a potion before the fight would even begin, he knew regardless of the outcome the fight wouldn¡¯t last as long as the potion so there was no need to wait. He next drew his bow and fired a heavily infused ice arrow. With his ice gem shatter Ajax noticed how the bow had suffered minor damage from his spell, not only that but his arrow had actually missed its mark because one of the fletchings had frozen from the spell, instead of hitting the hellhound in the eye it got him in the snout. The opening shot was like the opening of the flood gates as arrows rained down onto the unsuspecting pack killing all but the mini boss. In a favorable twist it actually seemed like Ajax¡¯s arrow hitting the snout was actually a better outcome than hitting the eyeball. While the ice magic wasn¡¯t able to last all that long with the internal furnace the hellhound had the unexpected drop in temperature momentarily froze the mini boss. The elves had quickly backed off after taking out the pack leaving only Ajax for the boss to focus on. Ajax felt a sense of instinctual fear as he watched the elephant sized monster dash towards him with the same agility he had seen in dog races on the internet. The two heads were locked onto him and the one that had been hit by the arrow now had flamin snot mixing with some blood slowly dripping down as the ice melted. Ajax quickly dismissed his fear, he had long since learned to suppress the instinctual fear that came from fighting something so much bigger, the system was the great equalizer and levels were much more important than physical size. Ajax had also forgone taking out his shield, against a boss like this there were only two things he really needed to worry about. One was the boss¡¯s claws, but his armor''s enchantments should be enough that any hit he takes from them would only leave a nasty cut and wouldn¡¯t actually snag him.The other was the jaws and there was no point in using a shield against that since would only give them a better place to grab a hold of, he couldn¡¯t even use his shield to remove the bite attack from the fight as the beast had two heads. Ajax charged towards the beast with his axe and sword while also starting to exert his control over the burnt ashy ground, unlike the ettin the hellhound was doing nothing to stop him from molding the battleground to his whims. Chapter 432 Ajax was holding nothing back as he charged the mini boss, the ground shaped beneath their feet with Ajax barely able to keep up with the speed of the hellhound. More than that he could feel the beast charge up a flaming breath in its lungs and for one [Mana Syphon] wasn¡¯t going to help him weaken it since he would be syphoning all that curse mana. Worse yet was that Ajax didn¡¯t know which head was about to spew the cursed flames. One thing that did work however was a blast of Holy mana, the cleansing energy leaving a nasty burn like wound on the monster¡¯s side and causing it to howl in pain even breaking its spell. Ajax didn¡¯t have time to ask himself why this monster felt pain when most others didn¡¯t, if he had time to think about it he would have realized it was because the curse mana was a part of the hellhound and removing it would be like vaporising a part of it. The beast was clearly intelligent enough that Ajax doubted another Holy blast would disrupt its spell casting but it was great to know he had such an effective weapon against it. ¡°He¡¯s being quite reckless.¡± Aranor pointed out as he watched the fight from the side lines. ¡°Drinking the potion so early and not using his syphoning skill on the beast¡¯s magic. You sure he¡¯s not taking it too lightly?¡± The prince didn¡¯t answer the question but he partially agreed with Aranor. He knew why Ajax wasn¡¯t using [Mana Syphon] to its full extent but he didn¡¯t know why he was so determined on ending the fight quickly, in fact he wasn¡¯t sure why he decided to take on a hellhound at all since the creatures speed and flexibility was a bad match-up to Ajax¡¯s usual slow and methodical kill by a thousand cuts he usually displayed when facing enemies so far above his level. Ajax could feel that he would only have one chance at this, because of the curse mana present on this floor there was simply nothing he could do to win against any mini boss in a drawn out fight, with that he doubled down and used [Empowering Restriction]. Ajax didn¡¯t want to limit his options even further and he was already hesitant to restrict another skill as he didn¡¯t want to cut off their potential, with that Ajax placed the restriction instead on his own mana regeneration. For the next week Ajax wouldn¡¯t be able to regenerate a single point of mana and in exchange he wanted to increase the potency of all the mana he currently had. The change was immediately noticeable, to him as he could feel his own mana channels pushed to accommodate his mana as he stabbed his sword with an Lightning attack in an attempt to widen the moment of opportunity the Holy blast had bought him. The hellhound and everyone watching was also instantly aware that something had changed as Ajax¡¯s power spiked considerably. The ground stopped slowly covering the hound¡¯s legs and instead started behaving like a slime quickly crawling up the beast''s paws. The sword¡¯s Lightning augmentation was so powerful that not only did it cause the mini boss to twitch uncontrollably but small burn marks could be seen on the edges of the cut from the intensity of the current. ¡°What was that?¡± the remaining ranger commander asked, one squad having already been split up and sent to different floors in search of high quality goods. ¡°[Empowering Restriction]¡± one of the rangers was quick to answer his captain but his eyes remained locked on Ajax. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what he just gave up, but whatever it was it was big.¡± The captain trusted his friend and subordinate, more than that he knew the man would recognise the skill since he had it as well. Their experience with it was also the reason they knew the timer on the fight just got a lot more enforced, there was no way such an increase in power would last for more than a few minutes, not unless the restriction was a permanent restriction and he didn¡¯t judge Ajax as someone stupid enough to use something like that just to clear the floor. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. With his mana regeneration cut off Ajax also dropped his [Mana Skin], not only would this make his mana last longer but it would allow [Berserker] to replenish his stamina pool and with his new trait mitigate some of the restriction. One thing Ajax quickly caught on to was that [Empowering Restriction] didn¡¯t improve the power of the spells he cast with Stamina so he quickly adapted to use his Stamina for any of his more auxiliary magic spells like his manipulation of the rock beneath their feet and save his Mana for any direct attack against the boss. Unlike the ettin he had fought the hellhound was too fast for Ajax to stay clear of it at all times, he could barely ensure that the heads never had a good enough opportunity to bite him but even with his earth manipulation trying to slow down the hound¡¯s claws they were still leaving deep scratches on his arms and legs imbuing curse magic into directly into him. ¡°Is that a consuming restriction? I thought you had to select that once you passed one of the bottlenecks¡± the ranger captain asked as he observed only some of Ajax¡¯s spells were enhanced, he focused on the prince as he asked his next question. ¡°Is his [Empower Restriction] already past level 50?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a consuming restriction.¡± the ranger said before the prince could. Consuming restrictions were a way to pay more for an increase in power, the most common being paying the same amount in Stamina or Health to increase the power of a spell, the advantage of such a restriction and the reason the type as a whole needed a bottleneck to unlock was that it was a restriction that could be toggled on and off for specific spells. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how he¡¯s doing it but it is not a consuming restriction.¡± ¡°It¡¯s most likely the Trait he got.¡± for the first time the prince¡¯s eyes left Ajax as they moved to Aranor whose words mirrored his own thoughts. ¡°He got a trait from a hybrid ettin, I think it has something to do with his resources and that¡¯s why the restriction isn¡¯t affecting everything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s¡­ genius.¡± The ranger could hardly gather his thoughts as he looked upon Ajax with a mix of awe and envy. The kid had managed to essentially recreate something he had needed to invest a bottleneck skill evolution within days of getting the Trait, he had no idea that Ajax had made the discovery by accident. The fight had barely been going on for three minutes and Ajax was already down to a quarter of his Mana and his Stamina, the armor on his arms and legs was hanging off him in shreds and shallow cuts criss crossed his limbs. The curse mana inside his body was starting to gain a foothold but Ajax was keeping a slow but constant application of Life mana to heal himself and the Legendary mana type worked wonders on keeping the negative aspects of the curse in check even if it didn¡¯t cleanse it. While Ajax was in a sorry state the somewhat manic grin on his face exemplified the phrase ¡®you should see the other guy¡¯. The hellhound had taken markedly less hits than Ajax had but all of those had been infused with enough power to leave deep and lasting damage. Holy mana had played a central role during the fight with Ajax using it for every other swing as it worked so well at breaking through the leathery skin of the monster. The fight took a turn for the worse when Ajax infused his axe with holy mana as he went for an overconfident strike to one of the heads. The blow was well placed but Ajax had failed to take into account that Holy mana didn¡¯t fortify his weapon, as the hounds teeth bit down on the axe the blade shattered. The axe had been a high end weapon Ajax could just barely wield back when he left Gryndor, but it was made for fighting Level one hundred enemies which had been Ajax¡¯s limit back then, without something to strengthen it the hellhound¡¯s teeth were just too much especially after all the wear and tear the axe had gone through in the battle against the ettin. The silver lining came in the form of the mini boss swallowing the Holy mana infused shards of the broken blade, the infusion had barely lasted for more than a few seconds but that had been enough to leave a few nasty wounds on the organs of the monster. Ajax¡¯s [Mana Sense] was strong enough that he could follow the shards as they passed through the hellhound¡¯s throat and he could also feel the concentration of curse Mana inside the mini boss enough that he finally had a good idea of where its heart was. With the time limit fast approaching Ajax knew it was now or never. He spent almost all of his remaining stamina in launching a lightning bolt at the boss while also redirecting his body with a wind spell to save his crumbling form, he had no need for the broken axe handle in his hand so he dropped it and pulled out his spear before pushing as much Holy mana as his channels could handle into augmenting the stab to the monsters heart. The attack was successful as the beast died with a whiny roar as the spear penetrated its chest before its giant body collapsed on top of the spent Ajax. Ajax¡¯s saving grace here was that he still had some mana remained as he pushed as much life mana into healing his body while also molding the earth to prevent himself from taking the whole weight of the corpse. His mana wouldn¡¯t last for longer than a few seconds but that is all that the onlookers needed to move the corpse off Ajax. ¡°That was closer than I''d have liked.¡± Ajax barely mumbled as he heaved in deep breaths of air as he looked up towards the people who had removed the corpse from on top of him. Chapter 433 After Ajax finally got back up and he was counting the seconds before he could down a stamina regeneration potion. He had the potion as a counter to specific types of enemies who leeched Stamina but for him it was much better than a mana regeneration potion, not just because of the restriction he was under but because the regeneration potion increased one¡¯s natural regeneration and Stamina regenerated about three times quicker in than mana in humanoids with equal Dexterity and Wisdom. ¡°We are not taking all of that.¡± While Ajax was getting his feet back under him and relaxing from the harsh battle Aranor and the prince had started a small argument about the hellhound¡¯s corpse. ¡°Do you know what that level of curse mana could do to civilians?¡± Much like every other medieval city Sylvanthal¡¯s capital naturally had a slums area where some of the city¡¯s most unfortunate people resided. The hound being infused with curse mana meant that its flesh was useless for anything and taking it outside the dungeon with Ajax¡¯s new boon could cause widespread disease depending on how it was disposed of. ¡°Get the fangs.¡± Ajax piped in. ¡°They¡¯ll make for a solid dagger base that should be able to inflict a curse without a skill. In the end Ajax did end up collecting the fangs before the group started clearing out some of the rest of the floor in hopes of finding some good floor themes for themselves. ¡°Hey kid, what level is your [Empowering Restriction] at?¡± one of the rangers asked him as they were traveling. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t try to hide his skepticism. ¡°Never thought anyone so young could have an Epic skill above level fifty.¡± the ranger answered. While Ajax didn¡¯t answer the question his confused expression was enough to confirm something for the elves, Ajax¡¯s level with that skill was not above fifty. ¡°Stop fishing.¡± The prince cut off the discussion. ¡°They are trying to figure out how you pulled off what they think is a consuming restriction.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a consuming restriction?¡± Ajax felt that he wasn¡¯t giving anything away asking that question after he had all but told them that his skill level wasn¡¯t above fifty. ¡°One of the bottleneck options for [Empowering Restriction].¡± the ranger answered. ¡°Almost all restrictions you can currently use have their power bound by the amount of time they must be active for, usually a day at the least and a week at the most for efficient use of the skill. A restriction that only lasts for a few seconds isn¡¯t going to give you any measurable boost.¡± ¡°And how does a consuming restriction change that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It''s called a consuming restriction because you add one of your resources as the basis for powering instead of a condition.¡± the ranger explained. ¡°Most commonly they are used to link Mana and Stamina, Mana and Health or Stamina and Health, when using one resource a certain amount of the one linked is also used to serve as the fuel for making the effect stronger.¡± ¡°That sounds awesome.¡± Ajax¡¯s mind was already running through all the possibilities such an upgrade could provide to the skill. ¡°Can you also use it to increase something else, like spending Mana Stamina and Health to increase one specific stat for a short time?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± the ranger said, confused. He then took a moment to try out the suggestion, afterwards he sounded a little surprised as he waved his hand in front of his face. ¡°Looks like you can, but the exchange rate is not good enough for this to actually be useful in combat, just a twenty point increase is about ten mana a second and it looks like mana cost grows faster than stat increase, good try though.¡± ¡°So this is what you meant when you said he looks at the world differently, eh Aranor.¡± the ranger commander said as he listened in on the conversation. ¡°The discoveries aren¡¯t always useful but sometimes they could be.¡± ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not useful?¡± Ajax was slightly outraged at their lack of imagination. He calmed himself down as he remembered the old adage about old dogs and new tricks. ¡°Go on, give me a useful scenario for it, spending large amounts of resources for a tiny increase in one stat is not going to be useful in a fight, if it was useful it would be a bad investment and those resources could be better used in dealing with the situation.¡± the ranger commander said. ¡°Woah now,¡± the prince cut it before Ajax answered. ¡°Lets at least make this interesting, how about a wager.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it.¡± Aranor said as he watched the grin on the prince¡¯s face. ¡°I know that look.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand,¡± the prince said with a mocking understanding tone. ¡°Not willing to back up your words.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± the ranger commander growled the words. ¡°Ajax what do you want?¡± the prince asked. Ajax took a minute to think, it was easy to ask for something material but with his new Boon the value of anything that could be wagered on a whim like this just dropped substantially to him. ¡°Training.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°All of us rangers have a healthy ego, kid.¡± The ranger¡¯s mood improved by Ajax¡¯s request. ¡°But with your style there isn¡¯t a single ranger that could actually train you in anything but a specific skill. I¡¯m not willing to wager any of my skills for that.¡± ¡°Not for me.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°When Arianwyn comes to Gryndor, she¡¯ll have a ranger squad with her. That squad will take, say, a week to train my retainers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll be my squad that goes with her.¡± the ranger said. ¡°You can work it out with them to make the time I¡¯m sure.¡± the prince said. ¡°Okay, fine.¡± the ranger said as he nodded in agreement. ¡°Go on then, what¡¯s a useful use of the skill.¡± ¡°Crafters.¡± Ajax was quick to spit out the answer he already had loaded. ¡°Pretty sure blacksmiths will be more than willing to spend their Mana, Stamina and even Health to increase their Dexterity by a even a small margin when crafting.¡± ¡°Oh boy.¡± The prince couldn¡¯t help but say after he heard Ajax¡¯s answer, he knew Ajax would have enough people holding a small grudge against him for how his training method affected their offsprings. Now he will have old crafters who no longer had the opportunity to take consuming restriction be pissed off for losing business. ¡°Hey kid, we were talking about uses for a combatant.¡± the ranger commander gripped, though his spirit wasn¡¯t in it. He knew the information was well worth a week of training for some retainers. ¡°Double or nothing?¡± Ajax asked as he thought of another application. ¡°This time it will be an application for a combatant.¡± ¡°Sure why not.¡± The elves were taking a liking to Ajax the more time they spent with him. ¡°Prisoner escapes.¡± Ajax said his words coming out as quickly as his mind put the idea together. ¡°Most war prisoners are pure mages since they are relatively easy to restrain, a large increase in Strength could let them break out of their restraints, even if it costs them most of their mana over a few moments.¡± ¡°This information doesn¡¯t become public knowledge.¡± the prince instantly turned towards Aranor who also looked like he was about to say the same thing. ¡°The final decision remains to the king but I agree.¡± Aranor nodded, while Ajax¡¯s idea was good it would only work if the captors didn¡¯t know about it. The information becoming public would all but sentence countless mages to death in the future since their captors would be unwilling to risk them having the skill. ¡°Your people will get more than the bare minimum of training, I promise you that.¡± the ranger with [Empowering Restriction] told Ajax. He was already planning on experimenting with this new application of his skill to ensure that he wouldn¡¯t incapacitate himself if he ever had to rely on it. ¡°Kate is going to be so happy, she tried looking into some of the non-standard healing spells but they are so hard to come by.¡± Ajax was very pleased with the deal they just made. Healing was a domain where both Gryndor and the Empire were very much on the back foot compared to the other nations. The rarity of magic in humans meant that most were pushed towards becoming combat mages, Gryndor had been catching up slightly after Luna worked to spread the information and train more healers but they were still a long way off. Chapter 434 The elves couldn¡¯t believe their luck, Ajax couldn¡¯t either so he triple checked the arch but it was a Crystal mana arch. If they got lucky enough that even a single creature could be taken out of the dungeon they might have access to a massive amount of level one hundred and fifty mana crystals. ¡°Good luck.¡± Aranor wished the ranger squad before he, Ajax and the prince all exited the dungeon. Both Aranor and the prince were skipping out on clearing the final floor as they both had a lot to report to their respective kings. ¡°Looks like my boon does have some downsides compared to the regular one.¡± Ajax lamented right before they exited the dungeon. Ajax had the important parts of all the creatures he had killed on floors nineteen, eighteen, seventeen and the blacksmithing set from floor sixteen. With the non-solo boon however he would have been able to just take part in killing any crystal monster on this floor and take that with him. ¡°Oh chin up, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find more crystal floors in the future.¡± the prince said as he patted him on the back. ¡°Now here, hold this. It¡¯s yours after all.¡± With that the prince passed Ajax the massive staff belonging to the ettin. Ajax had no issue with the weight of the staff, the massive metal bar he was bringing his father was much heavier and had a larger total volume than the staff, it''s just the items'' unseemly length that posed an issue. The staff was covered all over with the tents the group had brought with them, this was simply done so that nobody could identify the object as they moved it through the street. ¡°Hold it right there¡­¡± The guards outside the dungeon were quick to spring into action as soon as they noticed Ajax exit the dungeon, he was the last of the three to do so but the massive staff in his hands and on his shoulder quickly drew their attention. The guards were just as quick to stop in their tracks as they saw Aranor. ¡°Champion Starfury, reporting sir!¡± ¡°Let the boy pass with his spoils.¡± Aranor waved them off casually. The guards were a little starstruck to see the elven champion. They were all elite soldiers but just barely their levels having just passed one hundred. To them Aranor was a living legend having hit his peak right as they were growing up around two hundred years ago. ¡°...Sir, is¡­ is that a staff?¡± One of the guards managed to get the courage to ask as Ajax was slowly making his way away from the dungeon with care, the logistics of moving through the streets with his new family treasure slowing the process a little. At Aranor¡¯s slight nod the guard continued. ¡°And is the head a single massive managem?¡± The massive mesh of tents covering the staff was pulled tight so as to not allow any identification attempt through, the downside of this was that the outline of the staff made it perfectly clear what it was. Passing through the streets on the way to the embassy was difficult and took close to an hour. While a lot of guards approached the trio they quickly backed off as soon as they saw the sigil on Aranor¡¯s robes. That however didn¡¯t stop a few of the more daring merchants from attempting to buy the staff, they were all quickly turned down but just their presence in the road made the travel slower. ¡°I always knew you were a blessing but sometimes I can¡¯t help but wonder if you were also a test from the Gods.¡± Silvia from the door of the embassy as she waited for Ajax, her anxiety eased now that he was done with the dungeon. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I made plans for how to load our worms on the way home, you know.¡± Alana complained. ¡°We¡¯re leaving in two days and you drop that in our lap and we¡¯re just supposed to find a place for it?¡± Aranor chose that moment to add insult to injury as he quickly dumped out a sizeable pile of loot from his own storage ring as soon as he stepped inside the embassy. ¡°I can assure you the royal family will be very interested in seeing if you are willing to part with any four of the hound teeth.¡± Aranor said knowing the value the innate curse infused weapons could provide for one of the ranger commanders before he quickly took his leave. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡± Lexi said as she drew Ajax into a deep hug as soon as he placed the staff down. She then proceeded to lightly punch him in the stomach. ¡°What was that for?¡± Ajax complained as he rubbed him abdomen mostly out of habit rather than any pain. ¡°For making me lose one hundred gold to Arianwyn in a bet.¡± Lexi said as she ran her arm through his and pulled him deeper into the embassy. ¡°You got off cheap.¡± Alana joked. ¡°I think I''m going to lose twice that just making space for that thing.¡± ¡°Well that thing is easily worth fifty thousand gold so I wouldn¡¯t be complaining if I were you.¡± Ajax¡¯s words caused everyone to freeze, their eyes the size of dinner plates as they focused on the wrapped up staff. ¡°We could be convinced to pay twice that if you even think about selling it.¡± The prince was quick to back Ajax up in shocking everyone. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t just say that out loud.¡± Alana warily eyed everyone present, most of the people here with them strangers who were at the embassy and not part of their group. ¡°I doubt that¡¯s something someone is going to try and steal from here.¡± Ajax laughed as he imagined a thief trying to make a quick get away with the staff in hand. ¡°Is that a blacksmithing equipment set?¡± Silvia asked curiously. Once she was sure her son was fine she gave him a hug before starting to inspect the pile Aranor had left behind. ¡°Yeah, a really good one too.¡± Ajax said with a wry smile. ¡°Unfortunately we might need to sell or at least rent that out for a while. I doubt dad will be able to properly use it for a few decades.¡± With that Ajax joined his family and friends for a nice meal to relax for the evening. The prince had quickly excused himself to make a report to the king, once he returned he came with a royal order. ¡°Ajax, it''s official.¡± the prince said in a serious and official tone. ¡°The crafting use of [Empowering Restriction] can be shared.¡± Left unsaid was clearly that the other use of the skill was clearly off limits. The following day was the group''s final day in the capital so Arianwyn, her cousin, Elara and even the king and queen came to pay them a visit. Arianwyn and Elara would be joining them to the final dungeon but it was a very public endorsement of Gryndor for the king and queen to visit them at the embassy a day before they left. ¡°So this is it for you for now?¡± the king asked Ajax. ¡°For now.¡± Ajax agreed. ¡°Once I have time to get used to my increased Stats as well as practice my Skills some more as well I will be looking to push further than level one hundred and forty but that will be a couple of years I expect.¡± ¡°Is that really your staff?¡± Arianwyn¡¯s cousin asked after he spotted the wrapped up weapon. ¡°Well I remembered you telling me that any good mage had to have a staff, so I went and got one.¡± The prince nearly did a spit take as he heard that any mage needed a staff that big was laughable but for Arianwyn¡¯s cousin he simply nodded in understanding and agreement. Silvia and Alana both had the chance to negotiate with the king directly for a few of the spoils Ajax had managed to bring out of the dungeon. In the end the elves had ended up buying six of the hellhound teeth, not only that but Alana had also worked out a deal for House Hearthbound to work as an intermediary between Sylvanthal and whoever the smith that would end up buying or renting the smithing setup as well. ¡°Is that going to be an issue?¡± Ajax whispered to the prince as he pointed towards the corner of the room. In the corner of the room sitting closely together on an ornate loveseat were Xavier and Arianwyn, both of whom had had a little to drink that night and both of whom were getting along almost a little too well. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± the prince said with a sadistic grin as he imagined the headache this would cause his father and younger brother. He was truly glad not to be the one who needed to work out this potential political alchemical bomb. ¡°It¡¯ll end up being something really good, or a total disaster.¡± Chapter 435 Both Arianwyn and Xavier kept a bit of a distance between themselves as they set off from the capital. Nobody had said anything to either of them it''s just that without the social lubricant of alcohol they had a hard time figuring out how to approach one another. ¡°You could help them, you know.¡± Ajax whispered to Benedict, he was self aware enough to know that he didn¡¯t have the social skills to help. ¡°I would, but this is actually for the best.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°An official alliance and my relationship with Elara would already draw scrutiny from the other kingdoms, for them to actually have a shot they would need to wait at least until Arianwyn comes to Gryndor.¡± ¡°Also I think you should focus more on the other budding relationship.¡± Elara said teasingly. Elara was referring to Darkclaw and Alana. They hadn¡¯t known each other for long, more than that they had hardly spent any time together since Darkclaw had stayed at the Republic¡¯s embassy most of the time but they got along very well once the trip started. Unlike Arianwyn and Xavier, Alana and Darkclaw were chatting with each other and Ajax knew that leaving them to themselves was the best thing that he could do. While his relationship with Alana was years ago by this point he didn¡¯t want to be hovering over them with that past like a black cloud. ¡°Fine, you don¡¯t want to talk about that just yet.¡± Benedict read his silence perfectly. ¡°Let''s move on to your lack of storage.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t hide a wince at that accusation. He had commandeered one of the two worms that Alana and his mother had brought with them, most of that was the staff but there were a number of other items packed away that they had picked up during their delves that they simply ran out of room for in the storage rings they brought with them. ¡°Further investments into more spacial storage are already allocated.¡± Silvia reassured Benedict. Ajax had shared his Boon with his mother, Alana as well as Lexi, Xavier, Benedict and Anna. It was one of the few times he had seen Anna so shocked, it had taken her almost three minutes before she managed to take in the information. The following discussion with Alana and Silvia went much better as he explained that his weapon budget would need to expand exponentially once they returned to Gryndor, without his new Boon it would have been a very heavy anchor to tie to the House so early in their establishment as a duchy. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to get something of that size that has to be kept intact.¡± Ajax defended himself, he had managed to handle the massive bar of magical alloy for his father by all but giving up all the space in his own personal spacial ring. ¡°And it¡¯ll probably get worse.¡± Ajax very much expected that he will return to wearing a spacial enchanted backpack once again during his delves. Not because they are cheaper, the one he will be wearing will be even more expensive than spacial rings, but because they are much easier to enchant to truly massive sizes that are required for storing a couple mammoth size bodies. The trip to the next dungeon took about two weeks, while the distance wasn¡¯t that large now that they were in Sylvanthal there was no rush and they had briefly stopped for the night at a village or a city to rest. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. By the time they arrived at the dungeon the awkwardness between Arianwyn and Xavier had diminished to the point where they could talk to each other without issue as long as they weren¡¯t alone. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± the prince said as Ajax was fighting an internal struggle. ¡°But¡­¡± Ajax was cut off quickly. ¡°She hasn¡¯t done anything like that before, using such large amounts of mana takes practice, all you can do is watch.¡± the prince¡¯s argument put the nail in the coffin for Ajax¡¯s internal debate. Ajax had been thinking of letting Lexi use the staff to face the level seventy two miniboss on the third floor. He knew that she managed to fight similar levels before but maybe this could make it easier for her. ¡°Once we return to Gryndor from the Empire I very much encourage you in reaching out to Duke Manashaper about how to safely train with such amounts of mana.¡± the prince continued. ¡°Let me be very clear, an item like that is extremely valuable because it can take the pressure of wielding that much mana away from the caster, but in doing so it also makes it that much easier for you to hurt or even kill yourself with a spell.¡± Ajax was slightly reluctant but in the end he agreed with the prince that the staff would be best left with the convoy, he was sure that the worms had drawn the attention of more than one or two thieves but none of them should be stupid enough to try and steal from the group containing royalty of two different kingdoms. With that the group entered the dungeon. The first floor was quickly bypassed as nobody could gain anything from it, more than that everyone was comfortable in clearing the second floor regardless of what enemy it spawned so they took the first arch they found, the only difference from how they usually did things up until now was that Ajax was the one to kill the arch guardian so that he could bring the body of the bull outside. ¡°Do normal animals ever start feeling too small?¡± Ajax asked Aranor and the prince. The bull was maybe on the large side for the breed but by no means out of the ordinary compared to the domesticated animal, it was much stronger and the mana infused meat would have a much nicer flavour but the size was still normal. ¡°I can¡¯t help but compare it to the worm, and I know worms should be smaller than bulls.¡± Almost all of the monsters that could be of a threat to him were many times larger than he was, at least the ones he had seen here. That his latest fights included, an elephant sized hellhound, an ettin and a carnivorous worm that had no danger of choking when swallowing him whole didn¡¯t help. ¡°It¡¯s more of an issue for high level adventurers.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°We don¡¯t delve all that often. Your recent delving spree aside, it is always a risk for people like me to delve. While the chances that I might die in the dungeon even when delving at an appropriate floor are one in a hundred, if I do fall the capital could be wiped out.¡± ¡°This was something that I would have had to talk to you about once we returned but with your new Boon I don¡¯t see your delving slowing all that much from the monthly delve you did during your time at the Academy.¡± the prince said. ¡°I would usually do one delve a year and there have been years where I simply didn¡¯t delve.¡± ¡°At our level of skill there is nothing to be gained from constant delves.¡± Aranor continued. ¡°Not unless we are pushing ourselves into dangerous situations. While that would help with our level, the risk is simply unmanageable and unacceptable.¡± The second floor turned out to be a boon for Elara. The entire floor seemed to be a wide open field that was under the heaviest storm he had ever seen. Lightning flashed every few seconds and the roar of thunder was a constant companion. ¡°I¡¯m staying on this floor.¡± Elara had been on the floor for all of five minutes before she let everyone know. ¡°There is so much I can gain from this.¡± Unlike even the strongest natural storms in Sylvanthal this storm was perfectly accompanied by a heavy infusion of water, wind and lightning mana. Ajax could even feel pulses of Vibration mana every time the thunder cracked in the ears. Fighting the wind and water wielding predator birds was pretty easy for all of them, Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict all managed to take them out in short order. The ones that wielded Lightning were still a bit of an issue for both Xavier and Benedict who liked to get in close. ¡°I¡¯ll also stay here.¡± Benedict said once everyone cleared the floor. ¡°Even if she heavily outpowers the place she could still run out of mana if she¡¯s not careful.¡± ¡°But what about the next floor?¡± Elara was the first to object. ¡°I know I won¡¯t be killing a level seventy two.¡± Benedict shook his head. ¡°Xavier has a chance but until I grow my skills and my experience to match my new stats this is as far as I go.¡± Unlike previously they no longer had any rangers with them. They would be leaving them two of them alone, with their relationship status being what it was; this was a political problem. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with them.¡± Arianwyn volunteered. ¡°It might not be a blizzard but there is still quite a bit I can learn from a magical storm.¡± With that everyone else left the three of them as they entered the third floor of the dungeon. Chapter 436 The third floor of the dungeon had a Plant and Earth mana dominance with the presence of humanoids, what Ajax hadn¡¯t expected was that the humanoids would take the form of eight feet tall ents that could perfectly blend in with the jungle around them. ¡°This floor would be a death trap for anyone that has an appropriate level.¡± Anna said as she suppressed a shiver of delving into a floor like this without someone much higher level to watch over her. Ajax very much agreed with her, the normal way to deal with ambush predators was to take out their cover, cutting down the entire forest however would take months and trying to burn it all down would simply cause a swarm of enemies to overwhelm the party. Ajax was the first to clear the floor, he had no issues in dispatching a level seventy two but he did find that while the ents looked and fought like humanoids their bodies worked a lot more like plants. ¡°Taking out the head won¡¯t work.¡± Ajax cautioned Lexi, Anna and Xavier. ¡°It¡¯s almost like the head is there to act as bait, they have no functioning eyes, no functioning ears, no functioning nose.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t all that interested in biology back on Earth, he couldn¡¯t remember all the different names for every single plant or body part. Evolution was however something that had always fascinated him, not human evolution but animal and plant evolution in how each species changed to better adapt and survive. These ents clearly evolved a head to better balance the body and to act as bait. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about burning down the rest of the forest.¡± Aranor reassured Anna, ¡°Just make sure they won¡¯t trap you.¡± While the ents fought very much like regular physical fighters in terms of their body movement, to the point they even had armor and weapons made out of bark that were fused to their bodies, they also possessed the ability to surge their mana through any of the regular nearby trees to get them to move. Anna nodded with confidence as she stepped up, it wasn¡¯t hard for the prince to find where the ents were hidden so once Anna found one she wanted to fight she could take advantage of their predatory nature by starting with an attack the ent would surely feel but ignore in hopes of her not noticing its presence. The pillar of flames consumed the ent and the five regular trees that were surrounding, the flames were so bright that Xavier and Lexi didn¡¯t have the Perception to comfortably look directly at them. ¡°It¡¯s too bad these trees are all so healthy.¡± Ajax mentioned as he watched the fight. ¡°Hard for something that green with that much water to burn.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s an issue she is having.¡± Aranor pointed out. Ajax was surprised to see that the elven champion was right, Anna¡¯s flames were powerful enough that not only was the bark of the five trees flickering ablaze once the pillar of flames subsided but even some of the ent¡¯s body was still alight. More than that Anna was given the perfect chance to press her advantage. The ent¡¯s first move was to quickly reach for the trees near it but touching them had no effect, the trunks didn¡¯t lean one way or another, the branches didn¡¯t swing for Anna and the roots didn¡¯t snap up like tentacles to trap her. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The ent seemed stunned for a moment when nothing happened and that wasn¡¯t something Anna was going to miss. It¡¯s easy to think that [Pyromancer] only affected the flames but that wasn¡¯t quite right, it affected all fire type spells. The fiery explosion of Anna¡¯s fire bomb detonation was a shock to everyone present, including Anna herself. ¡°She seems fine, and she has a moment to recover.¡± The prince said after they watched Anna get thrown off her feet by the blast, that same blast had also sent the ent flipping head over heels backwards until it struck the trunk of a tree fifty feet away. ¡°That was quite the explosion, I am surprised it didn¡¯t even try to dodge.¡± ¡°It¡¯s spell didn¡¯t work¡± Ajax said, his casting style being very similar to that of most monsters that he understood that sometimes things like that could happen unlike when using chants or runes. ¡°I think the burnt bark doesn¡¯t let their Skill worm to channel their mana into the trees and it was shocked by the outcome.¡± Whatever these ents were they clearly acted humanoid even if their bodies worked like plants. Anna had managed to get to her feet but by then the ent was already charging for her with its shield held un high.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they can feel pain either.¡± Ajax mentioned as he pointed to the still flickering flames that covered one of the ents legs. ¡°It didn¡¯t even try to put it out.¡± Anna was much more careful with her second fire bomb, the not only was the power slightly diminished but she made sure to partially hide herself behind a tree trunk to weather part of the blast. More than that she had also picked up on the ents inability to control trees that were covered in burnt bark so she started building up her flaming defenses in such a way that the trees around her were all set ablaze. The ent was already starting to slow down, its body starting to break down as the outer layers of its bark covered form started crumbling to ash as Anna continued to keep up an unending shower of flames. Despite her vastly inferior physical stats Anna had long ago learnt that the best way to make up for not investing in her physical stats was to perfect her positioning. Her increased physical stats following the delving spree made repositioning that much easier as her body flowed naturally and traversing the terrain didn¡¯t distract her from her opponent. It was those smarts that cost Anna in the end, she had ensured that there was always a tree trunk between her and ent being sure that it couldn¡¯t be used against her. When the ent stuck its spear straight into the tree she was caught completely off guard as the trees blazing branches swept around and not only broke her flaming shields but also her enchanted shield before sending her flying while breaking the arm that took the brunt of the impact and cracking a few ribs behind it as well. ¡°These are still level seventy trees, the outside might char but the inside is still healthy.¡± Aranor nodded calmly as he simply analyzed the fight as everyone else started to panic slightly. ¡°Their ability to control them remains if they can break past the layer of char, since their weapons are fused with them it also allows them to channel their mana directly.¡± Anna¡¯s lucky break came from her strategy panning out at the right time. While the ents trees might not function the same way normal humanoids did that didn¡¯t change that their bodies still moved in the same way from a mechanical point. While her flames affected the entirety of the ents body she was careful to focus as much damage as she could into the joints. The ents left knee giving out completely and the leg detaching right as it launched forward after the tree knocked Anna to one side. Seeing the state of the ent Anna knew it was on its last legs and didn¡¯t hesitate to launch a fire bomb as powerful as she could make before also rolling behind another tree trunk to cover herself from the blast. The explosion was so violent that Aranor had created a shield to protect Lexi and Xavier from the blast as it would have reached the group as well. ¡°You did it¡± Lexi ran towards her best friend as soon as Anna got up and started to hobble towards them, marking the fight as finished. ¡°It could¡­ caught¡­ could have won.¡± Anna weakly coughed out some blood, her body clearly dealing with internal damage following the impact of the tree branches. Despite her damaged body her spirit as a battle mage was clearly upset. ¡°If it used the roots to entangle me instead of swatting me it could have won.¡± Lexi and Xavier took her warning to heart. Out of all of them Anna had the best match-up against the ents by far and she still only won because of a wrong choice made by the creature. ¡°Let me know if you see one with flowers.¡± Ajax said, after he started healing Anna with Life and Light mana, distracting everyone from the tense moment. ¡°Why do you want one with flowers?¡± Aranor asked with a frown while Lexi blushed a little thinking the flowers were for her. ¡°If I kill it I can take the body, flowers should have seeds and I want to see if I can get one to grow.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°What? what¡¯s that look for?¡± Lexi covered her embarrassment by turning around and walking away from him without another word. ¡°What did I do?¡± Ajax asked confused. ¡°I think you should get her some flowers after we''re done here.¡± Xavier suggested. Chapter 437 Xavier chose to lean into his hybrid fighting style for his fight while depriving the ents of their own. The prince and Aranor had deforested a large area before Xavier started his fight with a ranged attack after which he retreated. Without any trees to use for their magic the ent fell back on its reliable fighting style, the only issue was that without the option of using trees the ent¡¯s fighting style was fairly linear, this made it a child''s play for Xavier to use his Legendary fighting style to perfectly dodge every single attack thrown at him. The few times the ent did manage to connect an attack it was always a glancing blow that Xavier chose to take on his own terms without leaving himself open to any follow up. The fight ended up taking three times longer than Anna¡¯s and Xavier was almost out of mana by the end, despite all this his victory was much cleaner and he had taken far less damage than Anna did. The final person to clear the floor was Lexi and she wasn¡¯t holding back. Her Destruction Domain was not ideal for fighting the ents seeing as they had both enough durability to survive her initial attacks and were physical based fighters which meant the fight was essentially over if they ever got in melee range or Lexi. Lexi learnt from Anna¡¯s fight and ensured that she charred the outside of all the trees inside of her Domain before she engaged the ent. More than that she had done so by walking up to each tree individually and touching it to set it ablaze. This led the ent to a false sense of security that allowed Anna to finish her preparations. Lexi started the fight with a fire attack, the element was clearly the optimal option for fighting ents. Unlike Anna however her flames weren¡¯t backed by a Legendary Skill so they were far less effective. This was easily offset by Lexi¡¯s use of VIbration mana, every time the ent got within twenty paces of her it was blasted away by a strong shockwave. It didn¡¯t take long for the ent to die, about halfway between Anna¡¯s and Xavier¡¯s battle duration. What was surprising was that despite Lexi being almost out of mana by the end of the fight and having used a potion to empower her spells she had perfectly controlled the fight, to the point where she hadn¡¯t taken a single hit. It took a while for Ajax to scour the floor but he did eventually find an ent that had flowers alongside leaves, and more importantly seeds. ¡°Do you expect anything to come of those?¡± Aranor asked him as he watched Ajax carefully collect the seeds. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll be able to actually grow ents.¡± Ajax admitted as he carefully collected as many seeds as he could. ¡°But I am pretty sure I can get these seeds to take root and grow for a while before the small tree inevitably dies before the ent ever awakens.¡± ¡°What would be the point?¡± Aranor asks. ¡°Look at how these trees are affecting the soil here.¡± Ajax pointed all around. ¡°It''s harder to feel since the dungeon floods every element of the floor with mana but these trees seem to contain the mana into the ground. I am hoping they are the answer to speeding up the formation of a high mana infused soil from the fertilizer I have.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The following floor was a walk in the park for Ajax, Darkclaw and even Harold. Unlike everyone else from Gryndor Harold¡¯s stat increases were a lot lower as a portion of his total stats so he was having an easier time adapting to them. For his final floor of the dungeon Ajax had turned out unlucky. While the dominant element for the floor was Earth Ajax hadn¡¯t expected the monster to be Earth golems made of basic rocks. The fight against the level one hundred and twenty eight felt a bit disappointing to Ajax following on the heels of his battle with the hellhound and the ettin. The golem far surpassed Ajax in durability and sheer strength but it was simply not quick enough to keep up with Ajax. More than that the golem was particularly susceptible to Vibration Mana. By the end of the fight Ajax¡¯s hammer had also crumbled from the amount of degradation it suffered from [Mana Augmentation] had pushed through it. ¡°Would one hundred gold coins be enough for the body?¡± Aranor asked once the fight was over. One hundred gold was a little on the low end considering that the rocks were still infused with a level one hundred and twenty eight worth of mana, Ajax nevertheless was quick to accept the deal. Out here in the middle nowhere where the dungeon was located finding a buyer would have been nearly impossible, more than that he simply didn¡¯t have the space to transport the rocks elsewhere so Aranor buying them up was essentially free money for him. Since there were only five floors that had to be cleared the group hadn¡¯t even needed to set up camp inside the dungeon, they had spent a good eighteen hours inside but they had finished the dungeon before fatigue got a chance to play a factor. Ajax was do so quickly in fact that he ended up coming out ahead of Arianwyn, Elara and Benedict. Elara had really taken her time soaking in the feeling of the storm, the three of them had taken longer to exit the dungeon than the prince and Aranor took to clear the sixth floor. ¡°How was it?¡± Aranor asked one the three exited the dungeon. ¡°It was truly something else.¡± Elara beamed as she gushed about the experience. This was the first true storm Elara had experienced following gaining her Domain, the storm inside the dungeon dwarfed anything that had appeared in the last few milenia on the outside and more than that it was also infused with mana. This provided Elara with the perfect opportunity to learn about her Domain and where she should focus to improve over the next few years. ¡°So this is goodbye.¡± Lexi said as she gave both Elara and Arianwyn a hug. ¡°Not for long.¡± Arianwyn assured her. ¡° We¡¯ll be coming to Gryndor in half a year at most.¡± Despite only knowing each other for about half a year to everyone except the prince and Aranor it seemed like so much longer. Their delving circuit was something unheard of in living memory but it was looking like it will become the start of a new trend for nobility as they wrestle to keep their raw stat superiority over commoners following the widespread information of Ajax¡¯s methods and the increased ability to delve and clear floors for regular adventurers that comes with it. Following the dungeon the group was splitting up into three. Arianwyn, Elara and Aranor would head back towards Sylvanthal¡¯s capital. Ajax along with everyone else from Gryndor will tag along with Alana and Silvia as they lead their merchant caravan back to Gryndor. Finally Darkclaw would join an escort that was sent to meet him here and head straight for the capital of the Republic. ¡°Take a few days to relax.¡± The prince advised Ajax once they got back on the road. ¡°What why?¡± Ajax was already eager to start his training. ¡°Your stats give you the ability to push through the fatigue on very little rest and the immediacy of the next challenge pushed your mind to keep ready.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Your next delve will be in the Empire but that journey alone would take almost three months. For the last half a year you¡¯ve been traveling from dungeon to dungeon tackling them every few weeks. Before that you had the tournament and before that there was another round of fast delving. You need time to let yourself recover.¡± Ajax¡¯s initial instinct was to reject the advice. His body was feeling better than it ever had, but he noticed that the instinct to reject the advice came from the mentality that he needed to push as far as he could in a short period of time in order to not lose out on an opportunity. Ajax¡¯s mind had been running on fumes for a while now kept on track by the immediacy of the next challenge. He accepted the prince¡¯s advice and chose to take a few days to simply relax and catch up with his mother and Alana. This was a perfect chance for him to finally find out everything that had happened back in Gryndor over the last year. Chapter 438 While Ajax was relaxing and taking a well deserved break the same could not be said about his brother. After finishing his term with the guard Tom had become a lot more politically savvy by necessity. Even now he was attending court in the royal palace as the representative of House Hearthbound. ¡°Your Majesty, you must reconsider.¡± One of the newer Baron families cried out. ¡°The training method for the youth should be refined by the nobility before it is spread throughout the kingdom to the commoners.¡± The Baron¡¯s words did nothing to convince anyone that he in any way cared about the commoners or that he believed the ideas he spouted with such ¡®conviction¡¯. ¡°That decision is already set in stone.¡± the king refuted the attempt. ¡°We are here to discuss other changes that are coming.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, are you sure it is wise to raise House Hearthbound from Baron straight to Duke.¡± Another noble changed the subject. For one it was something Tom very much agreed with, his family wasn¡¯t ready to settle one of the larger compounds in the capital with anything more than a bare bones crew. ¡°House Hearthbound must be amongst one of the ducal houses, their contribution to the greater good are remarkable.¡± Tom would have been a lot more flattered by the remarks had he not realised that the noble was an ass kisser through and through and was now looking for a new master to provide him with benefits. News that they were going to be raised to landed dukes had spread like a wildfire through dry grass. This in turn had caused a few issues for them, especially Judy. Though she might not even admit it to herself, the reason why Judy pushed so hard to make the company a success was that she felt afraid of ending up like her mother had been when they lived in Open Caves. Judy had been the only one to see her mothers passion die slowly day by day. Tom had seen her raising young children so she was too preoccupied to focus on anything else and Ajax had been so tunnel focused on his training he had missed the signs. Once they were finally well established in the capital Judy was finally able to let loose, so she naturally started the rebellious phase she skipped during her teen years. This manifested itself in the form of flirting with some of the more interesting noble boys she came across. The discovery of the duchy had been the beginning of the end for Judy. Every single noble son she had interacted with was now being pressured by their elders to get close to her. ¡°We need to stop bickering amongst ourselves and start preparing for our foreign guests.¡± Duke Manashaper¡¯s voice cut through the noise despite the gentle yet strong tone he used. ¡°This is our chance to make history, for the first time in millenia humanoids are taking a step forward in evolution.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Court was going to be held well into the night but none of the topics were all that interesting to Tom. Having done his job as a representative Tom quietly departed from the royal palace and instead started to head towards their growing fields and the forest beyond them to look for his bond. Over the years Fluffy had finally reached his full height when he was about the size of an average horse. Unlike Tom, Fluffy hadn¡¯t branched out into politics and had remained a regularly active predator that roamed the borders of the forest. One time he even dragged home a broken and slightly chewed body of a bear. Once he collected his bond he quickly returned to their current estate. Not much had changed on the inside but there was a massive change when one looked at the outer edges of the Villa. Dotted all around were carefully crafted statues all from some mana infused rock. Tom quickly found his father, sister as well as Hatchet and Luna in one of the tea rooms as they were called. ¡°Is it going any better?¡± he asks his sister though he already expects that not much had changed in her situation. ¡°We¡¯ve got some news.¡± Judy sprang at the distraction from the disaster that was her suitors. ¡°Dad, look we¡¯re getting out home back.¡± The message that Ajax had sent them shared which portion of the kingdom House Hearthbound would rule over. ¡°It would be good to return.¡± Hatchet said with a nod as he stroked the thick beard that had grown in. ¡°I wonder if there is anything left of Open Caves, did someone rebuild or was it left as it was, a destroyed town carrying with it the horrifying memory of what happened that night when the lizards descended on the village.¡± As he spoke Hatchet was massaging his arm subconsciously reliving the moment he had lost his original arm, the movements were so small that they could only be there to ensure that the regrown arm was there and not just a figment of his imagination. ¡°He¡¯ll finally be held accountable.¡± Sam said referring to the foolish young noble who triggered the lizard migration by steeling one of the eggs. ¡°This can¡¯t be right.¡± Luna said as she took a look at the map Judy had spread out. ¡°You have control over a dungeon?¡± Up until now dungeons had always been owned by crown, they all wondered why the were being given official ownership of the dungeon and what responsibilities they were going to get along with the reward. The person most pleased by how things were going was King Gryndor. The man was old and starting a year ago he had started feeling his power and prowess decline as time passed. The feeling of passing on the throne and leaving Gryndor in the best position they had ever been in. It was too long after Tom had made his hasty exit that the king followed suit, right now everything was going his way but he had too much experience to think that it would last. More than that he was starting to get worried about whatever it was that the beastkin were planning, he very much hoped that their dreams of expansion would head outwards into the wastelands rather than inwards and towards dominating his peers. Unfortunately for the king he simply didn¡¯t have the time to personally focus on the beastkin. He had enough going in between solidifying the alliance with Sylvanthal, keeping everything peaceful at home in regards to Ajax¡¯s promotion to duke. Finally both the Empire and the Republic had started to reach out to him to enquire about getting on the delving exchange. The king had quickly replied to both nations with noncommittal answers. The ones sent to the Republic were a lot more honest but King Gryndor was unwill to cement any deal until he saw how the first attempt turned out. Or rather this would be the second attempt as Ajax was the first to do this but he didn¡¯t feel it would be fair or accurate to use Ajax as the comparison for all who came after. It wouldn¡¯t be long until Ajax returned and the king was looking forward not only to see how much he had grown over the course of his journey but also because he couldn¡¯t wait to see how Ajax would manage a duchy. It was easy to always give the ¡®correct¡¯ answer in a hypothetical in class and another thing entirely to make decisions on the spot that could completely change the direction of their lives. ¡°Only a few more weeks.¡± the king whispered to himself with a wide smile. Chapter 439 Ajax was surprised how tired he had felt for the first week where he stopped his training. He spent most of the day sleeping as his body recovered, with Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict doing much the same. Harold had only needed a couple of days to recover but he was older and more experienced with such things as he had spent time at the border with the Wild lands. Once he had finally recovered, his mother and Alana decided it was time to bring him up to speed on what he could expect when he got back to Gryndor. ¡°A lot will have changed since we left.¡± Silvia warned him. ¡°When we left the news that you would become a Duke upon your return was only a rumor and even then it wouldn¡¯t be a landed Duke.¡± ¡°It¡¯s honestly a good thing that you are heading straight to the Empire.¡± the prince said, drawing everyone''s attention. ¡°You will get your title and your lands as we stop by the capital, you¡¯ll have a few days at best to handle the most pressing issues yourself before your family can start the relocation to your new homestead.¡± The idea was simple but it basically allowed Ajax and his family to skirt a lot of the political fuss that came with his new title. Under normal circumstances Ajax would have been expected to spend time in the capital following his ascension in title while his family established a manor in their territory. With his trip to the Empire Ajax can simply bypass his time handling the politics of the capital and return from the Empire straight to his own lands where his family would have finished the initial steps to start actively managing their territory. ¡°Are you sure it''s wise to grant him a Dungeon?¡± Anna asked with a note of concern. ¡°Even if managed fairly it will still cause endless complaining.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the best of all the bad options we have.¡± The prince said with a sigh. ¡°By strictly enforcing his fair management of the dungeon we hope to keep the nobility squabbling over his management of that instead of on the absurd amount of targeted resources he will be pulling out of it with his new Boon.¡± Ajax¡¯s ability to somewhat predict floor combined with his Boon wouldn¡¯t be something that he could keep to just his family, it was simply too polarising, not just because of what it could mean for House Hearthbound but because of how it would affect the high end goods market in the kingdom and the power relationship between noble houses. It wouldn¡¯t be anything all that drastic immediately but the smart nobles thought in terms of centuries down the line. ¡°Won¡¯t they notice the deception?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s not like we are trying to cover it from everyone.¡± His mother explained as she quickly caught on to what the plan was. ¡°You already have a good relationship with a number of important noble Houses as well as the royal family. They will know what is going on and will help you keep things under wraps in exchange for some more favorable terms in any deals we will make with them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we expect this to work long term.¡± the prince admitted. ¡°We are just trying to buy you time to get established, there is a good chance my brother will ask you to start accepting requests for somewhat targeted goods in a decade or so openly from most high end noble houses.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that. On the one hand he didn¡¯t like that he would be socially pressured to share his ability like that, on the other hand he could understand why someone possessing such an ability, even if earned entirely through the hard work of the person, couldn¡¯t be allowed to hoard it. ¡°The noble houses were already divided in their opinion of you even before you finished the academy.¡± Benedict mentioned. ¡°I think it speaks highly that most of the ones whose members you interacted with regularly during your time at the academy support you. But that still leaves almost half the nobles in the kingdom being hostile to a commoner of your strength being raised into the ranks of the nobility as an independent.¡± ¡°The lands you are being given will also exacerbate the issue.¡± the prince said. ¡°The Barons and Viscount that rule there have had numerous issues of abusing their people in subtle and not so subtle ways in the last century or so.¡± ¡°Are you so sure that I¡¯ll be better?¡± Ajax asked as he digested the information. From the odd looks he was receiving from everyone around him Ajax clarified. ¡°I don¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t try to be better but I don¡¯t know how to rule a duchy, a good intention can sometimes lead to a worse outcome.¡± Ajax knew that the royal family was taking a huge risk by backing him like this, to the point that they are very well risking a civil uprising if things go wrong. He very much intended to repay their trust in him but at the same time he also wanted to ensure that the people he would end up ruling over would have their lives improved. ¡°There is no need to be so worried about all this.¡± the prince smiled. ¡°It will take you a while before you change your outlook on life but it''s important that you understand there won¡¯t be so much pressure coming on you so soon. For all your power you still show your age.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You think that everything has to go perfectly right away.¡± The prince shook his head. ¡°When you think of the future you look at the next decade, that is one of the things that will have to change. A decade is the short term.¡± ¡°Ajax, this is one of the flaws that the nobles who disagree with your rise are right and something you will have to work on.¡± Lexi said as she took his arm. ¡°You are not yet twenty five years old but with the amount of Vitality you already have and the amount you are sure to gain in the future you will rule your lands for the next two millenia.¡± Lexi''s words broke through to Ajax and he froze as he tried to process the scale they were talking about. As much of an advantage as his life on Earth had been for Ajax so far, it had also came with the downside of rooting his mindset from the beginning in the short life of humans. Two thousand years was something Ajax could understand logically but not something he could fully appreciate, the advances in technology that were made in the last two hundred years on Earth when he¡¯d lived there certainly didn¡¯t help. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why you¡¯re granting him his own title like this.¡± Harold¡¯s words drew a number of glares, some so sharp that he raised his hands in surrender. ¡°What I mean is why not grant him the title under his relationship with Lady Manashaper.¡± Harold did have a solid point. Had Ajax married into house Manashaper none of the nobles would have had any serious issues. It was a long standing tradition that generational talents would usually be bound by marriage into the nobility, their issues were with Ajax being granted the title without any tie to an existing family. ¡°It is paramount that Ajax is able to make decisions for himself, that is the reason.¡± The prince instantly disagreed. ¡°Had Ajax simply joined another House instead of being granted his own he wouldn¡¯t have been the head of the House and it risked too much.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Lexi said as she squeezed Ajax¡¯s hand in her own. ¡°You won¡¯t be dealing with this by yourself.¡± Lexi was quick to pick up on Ajax¡¯s worries and was quick to reassure him. While she knew that there was no way she was going to catch up to him in terms of combat power she was confident in her ability to help him as a newly landed Duke. ¡°You¡¯ll also be mostly dealing with the big picture.¡± Alana cut in. ¡°Tom¡¯s started to prepare himself to take up the role of mayor for the city your estate would neighbour.¡± Alana¡¯s words were the ones that brought most comfort to Ajax, he had a lot of ideas about how he could improve things from his Earth knowledge but putting it all into practice was not something he saw going well. Giving the idea and having someone else who better understood how to implement it would work out much better and free up his time to continue pushing himself as a fighter and as an alchemist. ¡°Of course you first have to deal with the royal court for a few days once you arrive and are granted the title.¡± the prince said, his kind smile shifting to his trademarked smirk. Chapter 440 The trip back to Gryndor started as a much needed break and than turned into a slow return to his regular on the road training for Ajax. It was now the seventh week and Ajax was starting to get a little stir-crazy, they had entered Gryndor a couple of days ago and were only now approaching the capital. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about getting you some flying transportation.¡± Xavier said as he picked up on Ajax¡¯s state. ¡°It can wait until after our territory is well established.¡± Alana cut in. Xavier nodded, thinking the reason for her delay was that Ajax would be too far away to manage his own lands and not the devastating blow obtaining a flying mount that could travel long distances would be. Alana was planning to delay so that Ajax would first build up their treasury before he started with anything too expensive. ¡°You can take the rest of the day to settle in but my father would like to see you at first light tomorrow.¡± the prince said as they passed through the city gates. ¡°You¡¯ll only be in the capital for a week before we head towards the empire so you¡¯ll receive your title tomorrow in open court.¡± With that everyone went their own way once they entered the inner noble section of the city. As they neared the Hearthbound estate Ajax had his eyes fixed on the two large feline statues that now anchored either side of the main gate. While the amount of detail left a little to be desired by Duke standards it was more than made up for by the quality of the stone they were chiseled from, Ajax would place the stone at around level sixty and he knew that it would be further reinforced by his Life mana should they be animated. Past the gates the carriage circled the large fountain inside the inner courtyard before stopping and letting Ajax get off. Flanking either side of the carriage door in straight lines all the way to the door of the mansion were retainers House Hearthbound had hired over the last years. Ajax recognised most of them though there were a few towards the middle that he didn¡¯t recognise, some of the more recent recruits. Being received like this made Ajax feel more like a noble than all the fancy parties he went to in all this time. So naturally the picture perfect ceremonious welcome was quickly shattered by a Shadow cat leaping down from the third story window, landing cleanly on the ground before leaping towards Ajax. ¡°Fluffy no!¡± Tom¡¯s voice could be heard from the open window but his bond didn¡¯t pay any attention to it. Fluffy¡¯s growth had hit its peak in the last year and had only now started slowing down as the shadow cat reached level seventy. The now adult shadow cat could still progress and was nowhere near its peak but its growth would now be a lot slower. ¡°I missed you too, big guy.¡± Much to Fluffy¡¯s shock despite all its growth Ajax still had no problem manhandling him. The doors of the mansion opened and Sam, Tom, Judy, Kate, Aurora and Elija were all there walking towards Ajax. They all took turns hugging Ajax, Silvia and Alana welcoming them back home. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°What is that?¡± Judy was the first to move on from the greetings as she pointed to the massive staff that was wrapped up and taking almost all the space on the back of one of the worms. ¡°That is now the most valuable possession of our House.¡± Ajax declared with a challenging grin, daring his sister to complain about it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure.¡± Judy chimed with a triumphant tone before bringing out a purple crystal the size of a ping pong ball. ¡°This little beauty cost me ten thousand gold coins and even that is because I don¡¯t think anyone knew what the affinity was.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes widened as they greedily took in the sight of the large Void crystal, from the mana density he could sense that it had come from a level ninety dungeon floor. Considering the issues he was running into with his gauntlet this would be the perfect base for a new hammer specifically made not just to be able to handle his Void attacks but by specialising to only one affinity it would even amplify them. Seeing the gift his sister had gotten for him Ajax didn¡¯t have the heart to ruin her excitement, the same could not be said for Alana who put her arm around her friends shoulder and leaned close before stage whispering loudly enough that everyone could hear. ¡°There is a standing offer of one hundred thousand gold as the starting bid for that.¡± ¡°...¡± Judy was left staring at the large bundle slack jawed with everyone else who heard Alana. ¡°What ¡­ What is it?¡± ¡°That is the first heirloom of house Hearthbound.¡± Ajax declared loudly enough for everyone to hear clearly. ¡°Before that it was the staff of a level one hundred and ten ettin.¡± The welcoming moved on from that point to a more thorough inspection of all the spoils Ajax had managed to collect throughout all of the delves. Most of them were passed on to Alana and Judy with a directive to sell them or to Aurora and Elija for the pieces they wanted to have looked over by skilled crafters. ¡°You did well boy.¡± Sam patted Ajax on the back, Ajax¡¯s frame was now too tall for Sam to comfortably wrap his arm over his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t think I forgot about you.¡± Ajax said with a grin as he headed towards his father¡¯s smithy. Ajax took great pleasure in watching his father¡¯s eyes bulge more and more as he slowly took out the high level smithing equipment he took from the harpies. ¡°This ¡­ this is too much.¡± Sam said as he took it all in, he then let out a deep sigh. ¡°It¡¯s also not something I can use, it¡¯ll be for the best if we sell it for now.¡± While Sam didn¡¯t have the talent required to use mana he had spent enough time around Ajax as a child and Kate after Ajax departed to develop [Detect Mana], even with his low skill level and his much newer [Blacksmith¡¯s Eye] he could tell that he was still a long way from being able to even use all of this. ¡°We won¡¯t be selling it.¡± Ajax reassured his father, he could feel the reluctance in his father¡¯s words. ¡°We¡¯ll be renting it out until you¡¯re able to use it. To help you get there I got you this.¡± With that Ajax dropped the massive alloy bar right outside the smithy. The weight of the ingot was too much and the whole bar sunk a good four inches into the earth before it finally stopped. ¡°This is perfect.¡± Sam exclaimed as he examined the ingot, the alloy and mana density were at the upper limit of what he could currently use and a perfect place for him to push his skill further. ¡°There¡¯s enough here that¡¯ll be at least a year before I use it all.¡± The family spent the rest of the evening relaxing together, Ajax had told them all that he would be named a landed Duke tomorrow as well as the initial outline of the plan for them to start the move to their new lands during his time in the Empire. Everyone agreed that it was something they could start worrying about and planning for tomorrow, that tonight was a small welcome home party. The following morning Ajax was standing outside the royal palace before the first rays of dawn. The guards wasted no time asking Ajax why he was there, they had been clearly expecting him and quickly ushered him inside and towards the smaller and more private throne room he had visited before. As he entered the room Ajax took in everyone who was present. The king, the queen, the crown prince and the king¡¯s eldest son were all expected. Unexpected were Archduke Goldmancer, Archduke Steelblade, Archduke Silvertongue and Duke Manashaper. ¡°Ajax, you¡¯ve finally made it.¡± Duke Manashaper welcomed him with a hug. Having worked on researching the magnetic affinity with Ajax as well as the blossoming relationship between Ajax and Lexi, the Duke had become rather familiar with Ajax. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve gotten a chance to rest.¡± ¡°Now, that we¡¯re all here we can begin.¡± The king cut their reunion short and prepared to start the early meeting he had called them all here for. Chapter 441 The meeting began with a quick recount of Ajax¡¯s exploits during his trip, his gaining two Legendary affinities drew a lot of attention and from the composed look Duke Manashaper wore Lexi had already told him about that beforehand. More than that however what draws their attention is the amount of dungeon floors Ajax has cleared. ¡°There have been a handful who have cleared one hundred dungeon floors, so we know that there is no Achievement but what about one hundred and fifty?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. Ajax was still a little wary of the archduke''s Steelblade and Silvertongue, unlike Goldmancer Ajax had only met the two of them a couple of times in the past and while they were backing him their relationship wasn¡¯t as close as the one he had with the Goldmancer family. ¡°There is no point in getting into hypotheticals.¡± the crown prince cut off the tangent. ¡°We will find out when he gets there. ¡°This meeting was called for another reason.¡± ¡°Then why recount his exploits?¡± Silvertongue argued amiably. ¡°Because they affect the situation at hand.¡± the king said. ¡°I have to admit I never expected him to try a floor boss.¡± With that he explained Ajax¡¯s solo fight with the ettin. Hearing that Ajax took on an ettin more than twice his level left all of them staring at him wondering if he wasn¡¯t crazy. ¡°What were the rewards?¡± Archduke Steelblade was the one who asked. ¡°First is the one I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all already heard rumours about.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°The ettin¡¯s staff could be taken out of the dungeon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what was wrapped up?¡± Archduke Goldmancer became much more animated. Ajax went on to explain the staff¡¯s effects. Unlike what he expected, the four high nobles took the staff¡¯s effects in stride. ¡°That is certainly a powerful heirloom for your House.¡± Duke Manashaper praised. ¡°I would caution you about relying on it too much, however. What was the achievement?¡± It was the prince who explained what the achievement for killing a floor boss twice your level was, though he made sure to leave out even the small guesses he had made about what Ajax¡¯s reward Trait had been. He then also explained all the other Achievements they found out about. ¡°This has the potential to be an unmitigated disaster.¡± Archduke Silvertongue was the first to break the silence that lasted for a few minutes after the prince finished the explanation. ¡°We¡¯re all but forced to form an expedition to attempt a forty something team to kill a floor boss but one saboteur and we could lose the most talented young combatants of the next generation.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how we can pass that up, risky as it is.¡± Archduke Steelblade said. ¡°This is where the staff becomes much more relevant.¡± Ajax said, drawing their attention back to him. ¡°In theory before I reach level fifty five I could take nine people with me and have them power my opening spell with all their mana and stamina before killing the floor boss in a one on one. It¡¯s possible the System wouldn¡¯t count it because of my solo Achievement but it''s just as likely that it would.¡± Ajax very much expected that the System wouldn¡¯t allow such a big loophole , still he was more than willing to play into the possibility in order to secure even a short period of peace and prosperity for his new territory. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The next thirty minutes were spent strategizing how to best rope in the most influential Houses into silencing their objections to Ajax¡¯s duchy and title. ¡°You do know you¡¯ll have to at least propose before my granddaughter can join you at your new estate.¡± Duke Manashaper¡¯s Aura pressed down menacingly on Ajax¡¯s shoulders for a brief moment. ¡°I was already planning for it.¡± Ajax said honestly, he was planning to propose on their return from the Empire. Duke Manashaper gave a nod of agreement and dropped the topic before the crown prince moved on to the next. ¡°This brings us to the next volatile topic.¡± the crown prince announced. ¡°Ajax¡¯s lands will upset the already fragile balance of landed nobles in Gryndor. To counteract this we will have to expand our borders and a few landed nobles, including some of you here, will need to move their borders to adapt.¡± A chill so cold it could jumpstart an ice age ran down Ajax¡¯s back as he heard the proposal. He made no effort to hide the dread that came over him for a moment at those words. ¡°What¡¯s wrong boy?¡± Duke Manashaper was quick to pick up on Ajax¡¯s reaction. ¡°You need to be careful when expanding.¡± Ajax barely whispered the warning but everyone heard it clearly. ¡°Of course we will be careful.¡± Despite Archduke Steelblade¡¯s respect for Ajax he still scoffed at Ajax¡¯s fear of expansion when he hadn¡¯t yet even set foot on the border to the Wild Lands. ¡°While expansion can be dangerous its not that scary, we know for a fact the beastkin had started a few decades ago back when we still had spies reporting back with frequent updates.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the monsters that trouble me.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°It''s the ascended races.¡± ¡°Scary and powerful as they may be, dragons and phoenixes have been felled before by powerful expeditions.¡±Archduke Goldmancer tried to reassure Ajax. ¡°Some of the most powerful heirlooms of the nobles come from their remains.¡± ¡°A battle during an expedition wouldn¡¯t break the agreement.¡± Ajax jerked his head in short movements signifying his disagreement. ¡°Invading the territory of an Ascended race while expanding the kingdom could result in the doom of Gryndor.¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± The king unconsciously used his social skills on Ajax for a moment before he restrained himself and gave him a brief apologetic look before motioning for him to speak. Ajax went on to explain the short history lesson the dragon had given him all those years ago and how he had come to learn of it as well. None of them would have believed Ajax if it wasn¡¯t for their truth telling skills, all saying he believed every word. The crown prince excused himself for a moment to send a few servants to the library to fetch every single recorded instance of an ascended race attacking humanoids they had. ¡°They¡¯re all toying with us?¡± Anger and frustration could be heard in Archduke Steelblade¡¯s voice as he finished digesting the news. ¡°You met a dragon!¡± Duke Manashaper was focused on a completely different aspect. ¡°Were you able to get a glimpse into their magic? Did you manage to recreate any of it?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not.¡± Ajax''s answer, while disappointing, did nothing to dampen the excitement Duke Manashaper felt. ¡°I have to say that there is quite a lot of support for agreement to be real.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said, his eyes unfocused as he tried his hardest to remember conversations he had long ago looking for facts he had initially dismissed as not important. ¡°And what evidence is that?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. ¡°The ruins.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said. ¡°Almost every ruin that could belong to previous humanoids bears a long scar of rampant destruction coming from the direction where ascended races are thought to reside. We always wondered why they would stop with one kingdom or empire and leave the rest to live but with the agreement it makes sense that they are only targeting the kingdom that overstepped.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the time or the information to hold this discussion.¡± the king¡¯s eldest son said with finality. ¡°It will take time to comb through our records and Ajax¡¯s time in court quickly approaches, as important as this revelation is now is not the time.¡± ¡°Do you have anything from the dragon?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked, out of all the nobles here he was the one most dubious of the encounter. Not because he thought Ajax a liar but because he knew how easy it could be to confuse a young boy of only ten right after a horrifying incident like being kidnapped by a vampire. Ajax¡¯s eyes instantly darted to the gauntlet on his hand before they went to the eldest prince. The prince was the only one who knew how he managed to avoid destroying his weapons through his casting style but he had always remained silent on anything regarding the gauntlet. ¡°That¡¯s where you got it!¡± It gave Ajax great satisfaction as he saw him put the pieces together, the prince¡¯s eyes wide with a look of realization. Ajax could only give a helpless shrug in return but made sure to flash a grin reminiscent of the one the prince always gave him when he got one over on him. ¡°This has been a most enlightening discussion, much more than I had first thought it would be.¡± the king said before everyone could focus on exactly what item the prince was referring to. ¡°Nevertheless we don¡¯t have the time to continue today, Ajax¡¯s rise to a landed Duke is supposed to happen in twenty minutes and we¡¯re all to be in attendance. We¡¯ll pick up where we left this in two days at dusk, you¡¯re all invited back here.¡± Chapter 442 Tom P.O.V. Watching Ajax kneel in front of the king as he accepted his title as Duke had me feeling a mixture of feelings. The clothes he was wearing now were worth more than our entire house back in the village. He was always so driven and he pulled us all along with him. For the past few years I had unconsciously been building up resentment for him, with every meeting where I was dismissed and every duty I picked up for our family while he trained and studied I had been growing more and more annoyed. But that all ended last night. ¡°We can¡¯t operate like a normal noble family.¡± He had said. ¡°I don¡¯t have the training, Skills, or the time to act like a normal head of the House and that will remain so until I step down and let someone prepared take the position in the same way the other Houses of Gryndor operate.¡± It was only then that I realized that Ajax wasn¡¯t going to become a normal head of House Hearthbound. He was fully going to let us handle our duties as we saw fit and he would only support us while providing a general direction we should strive for. I took a good look at the sea of nobles around me, a few of them had dismissed me out of hand thinking they just needed to wait to talk to Ajax but they would soon find out that I am as high as it goes. ¡°Rise Duke Hearthbound.¡± the kings said as he offered Ajax his hand. The room exploded into cheers as Ajax took the king''s hand and rose to his full height, a good head taller than the king, not everyone was happy with the turn of events but they all wore happy smiles as they applauded and cheered. A few years ago I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see through that, now I had [Social Understanding] and [Read Intention], both of them were only uncommon but they worked well with each other. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax¡¯s voice resounded throughout the court, unlike the king''s; however his was propagated by his stats and not a social skill so the nobles closest to him had probably felt like he was shouting. ¡°Your family will always be welcome at my estate near Lessis.¡± The news that our family estate would be just outside of Lessis in the direction of the dungeon had been a very welcome piece of news last night. Knowing that I will become the ruling mayor of Lessis, the city where I grew up from a village boy into a man and a guard was the cherry on top. All of my connections would make it that much easier for us to establish ourselves and with the current noble rulers being as disliked as they were it wouldn¡¯t take much to win the populace¡¯s approval. ¡°Duke Hearthbound¡¯s promotion is not the only announcement I have today.¡± the king said as Ajax stepped away from the throne and made his way back to me. The room quickly fell quiet as they all awaited the king¡¯s announcement. I pushed my skills as hard as I could but I could read nothing from the king other than a slight sense of amusement as he dragged out the silence while watching the nobles. ¡°This will be my last act as king before I pass the crown to my son.¡± The tension in the room grew tenfold. It was common for a king¡¯s final act to be something unpopular that the nobles would be forced to swallow. ¡°In a decade from now Gryndor will resume its expansion into the Wild Lands.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The silence only lasted for long enough to ensure the king had nothing else to say before the whole room broke out into whispers. ¡°Do you know anything about this?¡± I asked Ajax as he joined me. ¡°I found out this morning.¡± Ajax said. ¡°With me becoming a landed Duke there are now two landed barons and a landed Viscount who no longer have lands to rule, the king is looking to expand and provide new lands for replacement families. It will also give me a public reason to head into the Wild Lands that will appease the nobles as I scout the territory for expansion.¡± We all already knew that Ajax would spend two or maybe three years at most consolidating his gains as setting up his duchy before he would head out to explore the Wild Lands in search of a Bond. The king¡¯s move was also very inspired. Rumors of war with the beastkin¡¯s had started to circulate as a few spies had finally started to infiltrate the desert kingdom once again, by naming an expansion ten years down the line as his final act he could actively begin the process of having his son take over as king while keeping the ability to return to the throne in case of a war. The king¡¯s announcement caused a big wave of excitement and would change the plans of numerous Houses but it was nothing they would act on at the moment. As the excitement of the last announcement faded and the king sat down on his throne many of the nobles turned and started to approach Ajax. If anything I was thankful that all of the Archdukes were in attendance as they drew a lot of attention so we weren''t swarmed. ¡°Duke, a pleasure to finally meet you.¡± Viscount Cecil said as he approached with an arm extended for a handshake. Viscount Cecil wasn¡¯t the only one to approach Ajax and it was clear from the way Ajax handled himself in meeting the Viscount that his time outside of Gryndor had helped with his political training. Something that nobody missed however was that Ajax was fully taking his cues from me in how he regarded each noble. All of those who had dismissed me in the past had found themselves quickly dismissed in turn. Today was a day of celebration and it was to be spent with those who had treated our family well even when we were a brand new Baron House. ¡°Your Grace.¡± Knight Bonehammer greeted Ajax before he turned to me. ¡°Lord Hearthbound.¡± Knight Bonehammer was an old man, not so much in age as in body. At a little over three hundred years old he was barely past his prime for a noble. Knight Bonehammer hadn¡¯t been born a noble however he had gained his Knighthood at the end of the last war. The man had been very talented for a commoner, he had no skill with magic but he had trained hard and joined the army at an early age. He had had a family and lived the life of a normal soldier, when the war came his talent and luck had shone through, he had survived numerous battles, so many that he was still in his prime by the time his wife passed, the couple had no kids as there had never been a good time to have them. After being granted the title of Knight the man remarried, with peace settling in he instead focused on raising a family and then began the search for a noble family to pledge his services. ¡°Knight Bonehammer.¡± I greeted the man with a smile and a firm handshake, I would have also given him a hug but it wouldn¡¯t have been appropriate anymore with Ajax¡¯s new standing as a Duke. ¡°How is your family?¡± Both of Knight Bonehammer¡¯s sons were older than I was but they had become great friends. Being raised as semi-nobles and with their father sparing no expense they had shown the same talent that had gotten their father to knighthood on top of all the advantages a noble would usually have.At the age of fifty the boys still looked on the younger side and with their levels being at sixty five they were well on their way to becoming elite soldiers. ¡°The boys are doing great, though Grace and myself are moving slower and need a hand every now and then.¡± he answered, a glimmer of joy in his eyes as he noticed he wasn¡¯t dismissed like many nobles of much higher station were. Despite Grace being more than a hundred years younger than her husband she didn¡¯t have his level of Vitality, both of them were getting old. It was dad who had first met Knight Bonehammer and introduced us and I knew he had been getting out measure on whether we were a good House to pledge to, he had all but decided over the eight months we had known each other but held off until he met Ajax. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Knight Bonehammer.¡± Ajax greeted the man. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come by tomorrow night.¡± I invited the man, Hatchet and Luna were already coming and I knew a few of Ajax¡¯s friends would be by as well, as much as I wanted to give both of them a chance to take each others measure the open court wasn¡¯t the place to do it. Chapter 443 The royal court was a trying experience for Ajax, unlike previous appearances he had to stay until the court cleared at dusk, throughout that time he met with at least a representative of almost all noble families in Gryndor, he was glad for his high Mental stats or he wouldn¡¯t have been able to recall who was who two hours in. ¡°Is it always that bad?¡± Ajax asked Tom as they sat in the carriage taking them to their mansion. ¡°It¡¯s been mostly different in my experience.¡± Tom answered. ¡°I find it hard to get anyone¡¯s attention but that works against me whenever I want something.¡± Ajax could tell Tom had enjoyed a good portion of today¡¯s events. His brother had learnt not to show his glee but Ajax could almost feel it every time one of the Houses who dismissed any of his previous requests for a meeting to a later unspecified date had come asking to talk they had also been met with a similar response. ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough for dealing with this.¡± Ajax said as he bowed his head to his brother. ¡°I¡¯m actually glad this fell to me.¡± Tom¡¯s words surprised Ajax. ¡°You are?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I would have thought with this taking up your time you¡¯d be slow to level, all your hard work with the guard will stop mattering.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lose a lot of the lead I built up over the average guard.¡± Tom acknowledged. ¡°But I¡¯ll get to make that up, my level stagnating in the early forties now will mean I will get to clear other countries'' dungeons fully, at the same time I get to do a lot more good.¡± Tom sat forward in his seat. ¡°My time as a guard let me see a lot of problems I couldn¡¯t solve or that I was a part of. Now I am in a position to solve them, not to mention just how much more time this gives me to spend with my family.¡± If Tom had tried to push his early talent in combat he would have been forced to travel constantly, while he still spent a large portion of his time dealing with other nobles and will probably spend even longer dealing with other matters as mayor he would be able to carve out a few hours a day for his wife and child. ¡°How much is expected of me¡­ of us now that I have earned this title.¡± Ajax asked, happy to see his brother enjoying his new role. ¡°Only to be available for meetings.¡± Tom¡¯s answer surprised him as the carriage stopped in front of their mansion. ¡°The celebration is expected in one year''s time once you¡¯ve had time to establish your estate.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve ruined everything!¡± Judy pulled open the carriage door to yell at Ajax. ¡°I was able to flirt and drink with people and it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, now they are ready for a commitment at the slightest bit of interest.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll get over it soon.¡± Lexi who had followed behind Judy said as they exited the carriage. ¡°Did everything go as you expected?¡± ¡°Not quite.¡± Ajax said before gathering everyone. Ajax spent the next hour explaining everything he had told the king and the archdukes. They weren¡¯t as shocked by the presence of a dragon inside the kingdom¡¯s borders and the treaty didn¡¯t mean all that much to them, they were however much more interested in his gauntlet. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It was made by a dragon?¡± his father asked as he scrutinized the workmanship like never before. ¡°It¡¯s a beginner¡¯s tool.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It was meant to help me not destroy my own weapons with my spells.¡± ¡°Can I take it apart to see how it does that?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Not just yet.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°I still need it for the delve in the Empire but after that it¡¯s all yours.¡± ¡°How did you outgrow it if all it does is channel your mana?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°Because it does so through mana affinity gems.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Back when I first got it my spells were so weak that it even enhanced them. As my spells got stronger however they started to reach the limit of how much mana the gems could handle at once, some have already cracked.¡± ¡°Is that why you want to go out in the Wild lands?¡± Silvia asked instead. ¡°You want to bond with a dragon?¡± Silvia still wasn¡¯t fully on board with Ajax¡¯s idea of searching for a bond in the Wild Lands, thinking it too dangerous and was hoping to talk her son out of it in the months he would spend establishing their rule over their duchy. ¡°I won¡¯t deny I hadn¡¯t thought about it once or twice.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°But I don¡¯t think that would work out.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Lexi and Kate both asked at the same time. ¡°Because dragons are ascended races.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what we are but we are below them, both parties of a bond gain benefits but with a dragon, I¡¯d be Fluffy in that partnership.¡± While they wouldn¡¯t admit it all of them were relieved to hear Ajax¡¯s words, they now knew he wouldn¡¯t be walking into the lands of an ascended creature of his own accord so that would mean he should be protected by the agreement from the strongest predators that rule the Wild Lands. ¡°Before you start thinking about the Wild Lands you should focus on our duchy.¡± Alana said. ¡°I for one am glad to be finally settling down somewhere long term.¡± ¡°Except this time we¡¯re actually going to be the princesses in the keep, just like we used to pretend when we were kids.¡± Judy joked. ¡°Think your brother¡¯s going to be kicking himself that he didn¡¯t join you in the capital?¡± Alana¡¯s brother and father had chosen to return to rebuild their small village, this meant that they didn¡¯t have the same connection to House Hearthbound as Alana did where she was considered a member of the family. Judy¡¯s words set off a spark in Ajax¡¯s mind. It was literally a life time ago for him be he had once been an architecture student back on Earth. True he had died before he finished his degree but most of his early classes had focused on old castles and bridges. His duchy would be the perfect place to start integrating some of the advanced building concept he knew with the medieval world and magic he found himself in. That night Ajax hadn''t gone to sleep until the sun started to rise on the horizon. He had spent the entire night drawing schematics for their estate. His starting point and inspiration was Alnwick Castle, in a world with magic what better starting point was there than Hogwards, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. What truly drew him into the designs was the numerous hidden passages he remembered existing that he very much wanted to recreate. The size of the castle was overkill for his current family but it was exactly what was expected of for a Duke. With the average lifespan for someone in a ducal household being four hundred and fifty years and the main branch pushing above seven hundred he was sure that it probably wouldn¡¯t take all that long for his House to grow in size. Especially since those were the numbers before Ajax¡¯s method was implemented, a good number of the nobles would most likely use the extra stats as just an excuse to increase their Vitality early in their lives so those numbers were bound to increase. As Ajax lay down to finally get some sleep as he reached a good stopping point in his designs he felt very content. The design was halfway complete, his increased stats and skills had helped him transfer his ideas to the paper much quicker than he would have done back on Earth. Ajax didn¡¯t sleep for very long, just a few hours before he was back at his desk. Instead of continuing his design however he was wracking his mind to remember something from his time back on Earth. The recipe for cement wasn¡¯t hard, one part cement two parts sand and three parts gravel. But even with skills that would require constant maintenance, what Ajax wanted was the long lasting cement the romans had used. He remembered reading that the recipe had been reverse engineered but he had a hard time remembering the differences. Not to mention that this would only be the first step before he would have to use his knowledge of Alchemy to find the appropriate substitutes to create this world''s version of the cement powder. He foresaw the death of many rock and earth golems in his future as he searched for the correct rock type. ¡°You¡¯re already awake, why didn¡¯t you come to breakfast?¡± Lexi asked as she entered his room before she took a look at the papers scattered across his desk. ¡°Already making plans for a keep, you know we have mason¡¯s that will do the little details all you need are general designs.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want them making the hidden passages.¡± Ajax said offhandedly. ¡°Means I have to work out the little details so that I know they can be added in without anyone outside the family knowing about them.¡± Ajax was on a time crunch, at best he would have three to four weeks, that was counting the time on the road towards the Empire, before he would need to have the general plans finished so that his family could get started while he went for his delve. There was simply no way to use concrete for their castle, it was still something he wanted to look into for the future. Chapter 444 ¡°One week, you couldn¡¯t hold out for one week!¡± The crown prince sounded exasperated as he made his way into Ajax¡¯s lab followed by his laughing brother. Ajax had tried his best in his meetings with his fellow nobles, for about two days. For every noble that was willing to try and work out something mutually beneficial there were five that were looking to trick the new young Duke into a very one sided agreement. In their defense Ajax wasn¡¯t able to spot the issue with over half the deals that were offered to him, the issue was always in the details and the deal looked fine at first glance. Ajax also hadn¡¯t been stupid enough to take those meetings alone. His grandfather had been with him every step of the way and was quick to call out the issue much to the nobles displeasure. ¡°I really tried.¡± Ajax said as he took his attention off the chemical mixture. The final straw had been when a Baron tried to push his deal through by making a play at Ajax¡¯s ego. ¡°Who is the real head of your House?¡± the Baron had asked when Ajax looked to his grandfather. ¡°Can¡¯t you do anything yourself?¡± The baron¡¯s red face as anger threatened to overcome him as Ajax responded was worth the time wasted on that meeting. ¡°If you think I got from a commoner born in a small village to the head of my own ducal house at my age by focusing on business you are dumber than you look. Of course I will lean on my grandfather when discussing how to rule my duchy.¡± From there Ajax had taken to starting the meetings with his grandfather, mother or Alana by his side and depending on the noble¡¯s attitude during the first five minutes he would excuse himself and let them finish the meeting or engage further. ¡°Did they come and complain to you?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Of course they came and complained.¡± the crown prince let out a defeated sigh. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here now, you seem to have forgotten that we had a meeting scheduled, that¡¯s what we¡¯re here for.¡± ¡°He thought you were entrenched in an important meeting with a fellow Duke and with both of us coming to get you it would smooth over any ruffled feathers.¡± the oldest prince said as he looked over Ajax¡¯s vials and cauldrons. ¡°What are you trying to make this doesn¡¯t look like potions?¡± ¡°Something that just doesn¡¯t seem to work.¡± Ajax said with a defeated voice as he watched his latest mixed batch harden far too quickly and the solid was almost as crumbly as a good cheddar. It had taken Ajax hours of focus where he leaned heavily on his [Meditation] skill but he managed to remember three big differences the Greeks had used for their cement. The first was unslaked lime, he had no idea how that differed from regular lime stone but since he needed to find a substitute rock for that here it was simply a question of trial and error. The second and third ingredients were both a lot easier and a lot harder to find. Volcanic ash and sea water wouldn¡¯t take too much testing to figure out the proper amounts for. The issue with those was that there was no Volcano in any of the humanoid lands and more than that if this world had a sea Ajax hadn¡¯t even heard of it yet. Ajax wasn¡¯t discouraged however. He knew what the end result should be, knew the creation process and the basics of the materials involved, it might take a while to reverse engineer proper base reagents but he was confident in his [Alchemy] skills. Ajax left the mansion and joined the princes in the carriage that would take them to the royal palace where the meeting was to take place. Ajax had also brought with him his gauntlet but he wasn¡¯t yet willing to part with it. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Oh yes, before I forget.¡± The crown prince turned to Ajax once the door to the carriage closed. ¡°Our blacksmith is very interested in perhaps buying five regular size ingots from the massive bar you brought back.¡± ¡°The royal blacksmith?¡± Ajax was surprised, the steel used in his alloy was only the level fifty range, perfect to push his father but hardly worth it to a grandmaster. ¡°I would have thought he had access to steel magicite alloy with a much higher quality steel.¡± ¡°He does.¡± The crown prince said before wincing a bit. ¡°At least when we need something made from it he has plenty, but not even we have access to that much magicite that we¡¯d waste it on low mana density steel. He wants it to be used as a prize and motivation for his apprentices.¡± Five standard ingots weren¡¯t nothing but they also weren¡¯t a lot considering the size of the ingot he had brought home. Nevertheless Judy would have been proud of Ajax when he haggled them down. ¡°I¡¯d be willing to part with three of them, my father really does need them to push himself forward as a crafter.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t even lying, his father had only tried to work the metal for one day and half of his blacksmithing related skills had already gone up one level. At the same time he had also exhausted himself thoroughly throughout the day, he was barely awake at dinner after emptying his Stamina pool several times over the course of one day. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to sell them, I¡¯ll trade them for a commision.¡± Ajax said. ¡°A commision from him is worth much more than three ingots.¡± the crown prince frowned. ¡°Even if it comes with a new crafting design?¡± Ajax asked and he could see the eldest prince¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°You already have a crystal?¡± he asked Ajax with excitement. In response Ajax just pulled out the gift Judy had gotten him. The ping pong ball sized Void crystal with level ninety mana density. ¡°With this as a base I think it can last me a good while, maybe even until I reach your level of power.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Void as well, so that will be a hammer.¡± the eldest prince said as he examined the gem. All three of them put the discussion on hold as they got out of the carriage and entered the royal palace. The guards instantly saluted and opened the way as they all headed straight for the small throne room. ¡°Silvertongue, you owe me five gold coins.¡± The eldest prince¡¯s voice resounded throughout the room as soon as he stepped in. The king didn¡¯t even attempt to hide the facepalm or the dispirited sigh that came. Ajax was sure that this was all on account of his son¡¯s antics but the king was actually reacting to what they bet on, whether or not Ajax had ditched the meetings with the nobles and he was late because he was training or doing Alchemy instead. Ajax had yet to meet with any representatives of the three Archdukes. It was customary to let the smaller nobles meet with any newly landed nobles to give them a chance at closing some business deals in their specific niche before the large well established Houses swept up everything, this was all the more important when it came to the amount of land a duchy would cover. Seeing that the meeting was already off the rails, Duke Manashaper no longer showed any restraint as he quickly assaulted Ajax with a few rapid fire questions regarding Vibration Mana. ¡°... I still can¡¯t seem to make the transition between getting my sound spells to work like shockwaves, do you have any guesses why that is?¡± the duke asked. ¡°It might be because of how the sound based spells work.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Unlike a shockwave they disperse their energy to amplify a word or even a whole sentence. A shockwave is so concentrated that while it technically also has a sound you could only hear it for an instant like the crack of a whip.¡± ¡°Interesting and important as Vibration mana is, especially with two users in our kingdom, the topic we are gathered here for is arguably even more so.¡± the king interrupted them. ¡°I¡¯ve had all of our historic records regarding the ascended races scoured and while there was no obvious pattern it all matches perfectly with the agreement you last mentioned was in place.¡± ¡°I have also had my family scour our own records.¡± Archduke Steelblade said. ¡°Out of twelve encounters with the ascended races we have, two of them are retaliatory in nature based on ruins. Nine are encounters found in the Wild Lands where the group stayed well away. The last however is the most valuable.¡± ¡°Someone else spoke with one of the ascended races?¡± Ajax was surprised at that. ¡°No, nothing like that. The records were recovered from the ruins in the Wild Lands, but they mention the unprovoked attack by a hydra.¡± the archduke said. ¡°Unprovoked?¡± Archduke Silvertongue questioned. ¡°Is this a report disproving the agreement?¡± ¡°No.¡± The archduke shook his head. ¡°The reason we have the record is because the civilisation lived to record it. The hydra was killed by a quick response from a dragon, phoenix and chimera working together before they left the kingdom¡¯s territory.¡± Ajax very much agreed with Archduke Steelblade, even if it was a record from a doomed civilization and not as reliable as the others it was a sliver of proof for the agreement being enforced by the ascended races. Chapter 445 ¡°That leaves the question, what do we do with this information?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. Ajax was surprised. ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked. ¡°I suggest we stay away from the dwelling of any ascended being while expanding. No reason to risk it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± the archduke assured him. ¡°But do we share this with other kingdoms? As soon as we start expanding the Empire will follow suit, the way our border works demands it or we will start to surround them. The beastkin have been expanding in search of dungeons for the last century.¡± ¡°Not only that but why would they believe us if we do tell them?¡± Archduke Steelblade asked. ¡°Admitting that you talked with a dragon when you were ten, few would believe something like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll share it with Arianwyn when she comes.¡± Xavier offered. ¡°I won¡¯t tell her how we know, just that we suspect there is something like that, they¡¯ll look in their own records to confirm it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Archduke Steelblade nodded as he rubbed his chin. ¡°I¡¯ll have Benedict do the same thing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s settled then, depending on what Sylvanthal¡¯s records say we could share this further with the other kingdoms.¡± the crown prince nodded. ¡°Now, the gauntlet the dragon gave you.¡± Everyone''s eyes focused on Ajax as he brought out the gauntlet. It had been with him for more than half his life and even though it was carefully maintained everyone could tell that it was getting worn out. ¡°Interesting, looks like a shielded gauntlet.¡± Duke Manashaper examined the defensive enchantment that covered the bulky cover. ¡°There is also something to disguise and hide, my [Sense Mana] can¡¯t penetrate it.¡± ¡°Underneath that cover there are lots of tiny mana gems, each with a different affinity.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°By channeling my augmentation spells through them before imbuing them into my attacks it has allowed me to not wear away at my weapons.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about that effect.¡± Archduke Goldmancer looked closely at the gauntlet. ¡°It would certainly make His Highness''s runic hybrid fighting style a lot more viable for the masses who don¡¯t have the money to replace their weapons every four or five engagements.¡± ¡°Is there no increase in power?¡± Archduke Steelblade asked. ¡°Not any more.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°There was a substantial increase back when I first got it, before I spent my free stats. Because the gems hidden are so small however it takes everything they have to just handle my current spells. During my last few encounters on the top dungeon floors I¡¯ve felt a few of the gems shatter when I put too much power behind an attack.¡± ¡°How much power would be too much?¡± Archduke Manashaper asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell.¡± Ajax quickly raised his hands in surrender so they wouldn¡¯t protest. ¡°My best guess is that for whatever size the gems in there are about the strength of a strong spell for a level seventy mage would be too much. It¡¯s hard to tell since even if the gem shatters from the attack it still partially works, taking the brunt of my mana and leaving little damage to my weapons.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°That is something we can test later.¡± Duke Manashaper nodded. ¡°But I am guessing this would need some specific enchantments or runes to work like this or we¡¯d have figured this out before when we used the gems to simply amplify the spells.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been curious about it for years myself but finding out is very likely to break the gauntlet and I still need it for now.¡± Ajax said. ¡°After my delve in the Empire will be a perfect time to take a look as not only will I have outgrown the gauntlet but there will also be enough time to create new weapons in preparation for my trip in the Wild Lands as I get my duchy settled.¡± ¡°I still think this trip to the Wild Lands is too risky.¡± Duke Manashaper mumbled but from his tone everyone could tell that he wasn¡¯t going to push the subject at this time. ¡°That brings us to the final topic for this meeting.¡± the king said. ¡°Visiting the Empire now is much riskier than it was five years ago.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll try something while we¡¯re there?¡± Ajax asked worriedly, he wouldn¡¯t be going alone. At the very least Xavier, Anna and most importantly Lexi would all be going with him, he didn¡¯t care all that much about Anna¡¯s nephew Oliver who had surprisingly survived his return to House Goldmancer. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell.¡± the king sighed. ¡°Even with how strong you¡¯ve grown in such a little time it wouldn¡¯t be worth it for them to try anything.¡± ¡°That changes if they have deep enough informants to have found out about the plan we have in place with Sylvanthal to share Dungeons among the nobility.¡± Archduke Silvertongue said. ¡°We¡¯ve already sent out missives to every noble family that carry your method of waiting to spend your Free Stats.¡± ¡°Nobles will still have their advantages.¡± Ajax argued. ¡°Not to mention that this only affects the new generation. Ajax¡¯s method was being widely spread throughout Gryndor to all commoners as well. It was one of the things Ajax had insisted upon and the king very much agreed with him. There were more than a few nobles who objected to this but many changed their tune when the king started hinting at the Dungeon exchange. ¡°You¡¯re missing a very important point, Ajax.¡± Duke Goldmancer said. ¡°You¡¯re only looking at what your training will mean from the prospect of a fighter, a soldier or a delver. There have always been and will always be commoners who have the power to rival the nobles, now there will just be more and those will need to be managed more carefully but despite your experience the nobles that care about their people are still in the majority.¡± ¡°What do you think will be the biggest change to come from you sharing this training with the commoners?¡± The crown prince asked Ajax. ¡°Everyone will grow stronger, they¡¯ll all be able to delve and be comfortable getting the floor clear for most dungeons, maybe not those above a fifteen floor jump but those below.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°That is true for maybe, at most, a twentieth of the population.¡± the crown prince explained. ¡°And that is counting the standing army and soldiers. Very few people have the drive to push for more and risk like that. Most are content with the lives they live.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying it won¡¯t make that much of a difference in their lives?¡± Ajax was a little dejected to hear that. ¡°That most won¡¯t even make use of it?¡± ¡°Oh no, it will make a big difference.¡± the crown prince shook his head. ¡°Children almost always have that drive to push themselves, in fact I¡¯ll do my best to help foster an attitude to help that along. But by saving their points until they are almost fifteen it also means they¡¯ll spend them with more care.¡± Archduke Steelblade didn¡¯t have the patience to let Ajax come to the correct conclusion by himself and just gave him the answer. ¡°By age fifteen most have found their lot in life. Having twenty to thirty extra Strength, Dexterity and Endurance won¡¯t change things all that much for a farmer, and they¡¯ll know it. It might make things easier but so will skills. Having an extra eighty to one hundred Vitality at such an early age however will increase their lifespan by more than a century and a half.¡± Ajax knew that all of the physical stats affect a person¡¯s lifespan, they just did so in different amounts, Dexterity the least followed by Strength and then Endurance. Vitality however was almost four times more effective than Endurance in terms of lifespan alone. Ajax had never looked at it like that but even if the effect he had on the population at large wouldn¡¯t be exactly what he had hoped he was still happy to have given everyone an extra century of life. ¡°It¡¯s not all good.¡± Archduke Silvertongue¡¯s words dropped on Ajax like a bucket of cold water. ¡°For many this will double their life span, the population will grow like never before, along with that so will the need for food and homes. Kingdoms will be forced to expand. I still think we need to look at influencing commoners regarding their children.¡± ¡°No.¡± Both the king and the crown prince said at the same time. They shared a look before the king nodded for the crown prince to continue. ¡°Changes will need to happen to keep the population from growing too much but not yet. We could benefit from an initial increase before we slow it down.¡± It was only then that Ajax processed just what he had almost caused. With double the lifespan but not much other changes it could lead to a catastrophe for the masses. Much as he disliked it, in the end it did fall on the nobles to lead the people. Commoners now averaged three to four children a family, and the population was kept in check by common causes of death. With double the lifespan the number of children per family would grow exponentially and lead to starvation or war. Contraception wasn¡¯t widely available but it was something they needed to look into for their new duchy. Chapter 446 ¡°So, are we planning to use this information to harm other kingdoms?¡± the oldest prince asked once everybody left and he was left alone with his father and younger brother. ¡°Ajax is still young and a little too idealistic to even suggest something like this around.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely something worth considering but at the same time it¡¯s also risky.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°We know that the ascended races are smart but we are also inferior to them. If they took the time to look they would surely be able to tell the Empire is a different kingdom from us or they might just wipe us both out if one of us breaks the agreement.¡± ¡°That would just be playing with fire.¡± The king shook his head as he scratched a small scar on the back of his left hand, one he had gotten as a young child from the aforementioned activity and his own father had requested the healer leave it there as a lesson. He had initially resented that but in time came to appreciate the lesson of consequences over a perfect complexion of his arm. ¡°Because of our deal with the elves that only leaves the dwarves and the beastkin, if we do decide to try.¡± ¡°Something to consider and discuss with the elves at our next face to face meeting.¡± The crown prince nodded. With the meeting over Ajax returned home and took part in a few meetings with noble families, as their rank increased there were more and more meetings that he didn¡¯t leave early as those nobles were looking for a genuinely mutually beneficial deal. By the time he had to depart Ajax had barely managed to create a somewhat worse version of the concrete that was available on Earth. It was still a great discovery and one he planned on putting to use immediately, just not what he was looking for in terms of buildings. The new mixture produced the same quality concrete as back on earth but took almost three times longer to set and required six times as much water to not crack when drying. The one upside was that the rock required was plentiful in the mountain range surrounding Lessis. For the last day before he departed for the Empire Ajax had already begun making a stockpile of the powder. ¡°What is that for?¡± Tom asked as Ajax was demonstrating how the concrete formation worked to his family. ¡°This is what I have been working on the last week.¡± Ajax said proudly. ¡°It isn¡¯t ready for long term buildings but since the rock used for this is so plentiful it should be good enough for roads.¡± ¡°You want to turn the roads into a swamp?¡± Kate asked hesitantly as she looked at the gooey bowl of wet cement. ¡°It takes a bit of time to set, and you¡¯ll probably need a few mages on rotation summoning water to make keep it wet as it does so but this is what the end result is.¡± Ajax said as he produced an already set cube. ¡°What did you use to cut it?¡± His father asked as he ran his fingers over the edge of the cube. ¡°It''s very rough like it was broken off but the edge seems too straight for a break.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t cut it.¡± Ajax said as he drew their attention to the still drying cement in the bowl. ¡°Think of this mixture like the rock version of molten steel, only it isn¡¯t hot. Once it sets it won¡¯t be easy to shape, it just needs to be kept wet until it does so that cracks don¡¯t form.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°And you want to put this all on the road?¡± Judy asked. ¡°I want to cover all roads between cities in our duchies with it.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°It will take at least a decade, probably two, to get it done, not to mention that maintenance will be a headache but it will be worth it.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Elija asked as he studied both the bowl and the finished product. ¡°How much faster could a wagon move if it was moved over a flat road like this than the beaten trails we have now?¡± Ajax could see his idea getting traction as Elija¡¯s and Alana¡¯s eyes grew wider at the implication. ¡°With how central our duchy would be in the kingdom we could have a toll that will pay for everything in a few years.¡± ¡°Alright so what do you want us to do with it right now?¡± his mother asked. ¡°I have a few wagons worth of the powder already made, while they are setting the foundations for our estate I want you to set the road in the direction of Lessis, something to work as a proof of concept.¡± Ajax explained. Ajax wasn¡¯t all that much of a fan of using Earth magic for their foundation but it was something he could use Earth magic to replace with better concrete once he was finished developing it. ¡°You should stay focused on the dungeon.¡± his mother chided him. ¡°You won¡¯t have anyone in there looking after you this time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mom.¡± Ajax reassured her. ¡°I won¡¯t be going past level one hundred and ten, even then I won¡¯t be clearing the entire floor, so I shouldn¡¯t be in too much danger.¡± Ajax knew he sounded far too arrogant for someone facing monsters twice his level but that was simply the level he was at. To help put his mother at ease Ajax went and joined his family¡¯s retainers at the training grounds for the last few hours before his departure. His reception at the training grounds was mixed. For more than half of their retainers this would be their first time actually meeting him instead of just seeing him from afar, their numbers had swelled once rumours of the duchy had started to spread. For the other half they welcomed him with the respect and an attitude reserved for a teacher. Over the two hours Ajax had brushed up on how the people he knew had progressed since the last time he trained with them more than a year ago. More than that he had also proven beyond any doubt to the newcomers that despite his young age the respect he was given came from his skill and power and not his title. With his bags already packed beforehand and stored in the largest spacial ring they had, Ajax simply took a quick shower before he said his goodbyes and headed off. Unlike last time he went to the Empire he wasn¡¯t taking anyone from his House with him. It wasn¡¯t just Ajax that was approaching this trip differently than the last. Their group was much smaller than it was last time but their combat prowess was much larger. Three of the eight royal squads were going with them along with the eldest prince. More than that the Goldmancer¡¯s top retainer was joining them as well. ¡°Won¡¯t this be seen as aggressive?¡± Ajax asked as he looked over everyone present. ¡°The deal we have with Sylvanthal and the ones we are trying to make with the Republic and Brightstone already formed an antagonistic relationship.¡± Xavier explained. ¡°This is a show of force to stop the Empire from getting any ideas.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you should be worried about anyway, Duke Hearthbound.¡± Ajax¡¯s head spun as he recognised the voice but didn¡¯t know where from. ¡°Oliver? Is that you?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure as while the man in front of him resembled the Oliver he had seen five years ago it was only barely. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you remember me.¡± Oliver said with a bow. ¡°Though I do believe I owe you some apologies after our last meeting.¡± Oliver¡¯s life had taken a drastic turn following their last trip to the Empire. While Archduke Goldmancer had spared his life following the attempt on Anna there were dire consequences. Oliver¡¯s quality of life for the following three years had been non-existent, he had been given the choice of renouncing the family or redeeming himself. His years of training and hard work for the family had broken him of any entitlement he had in him. ¡°What should I be worried about?¡± Ajax had picked up a few things about interacting with nobles, by not acknowledging the apology he signified that he had not made up his mind about whether to accept it or not. Oliver showed a slight smile seeing that he was even being given a chance to earn Ajax¡¯s forgiveness. ¡°You¡¯ll be the most eligible bachelor in the Empire for the duration of your stay. Add that to the short stay and your widely known dislike for noble gatherings I would expect the attempts for your favor to be rather¡­ aggressive.¡± Oliver¡¯s words had Ajax debating if it wouldn¡¯t be better to propose to Lexi before they reached the Empire rather than on the way back. He had already prepared a ring but with the uncertainty that hovered over the trip he decided to stick with his original plan. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. This trip will be a lot quicker than your last one since we won¡¯t be stopping to meet with every noble on our way there.¡± the eldest prince said as he herded them towards the carriages that looked more like an armored transport than fancy transportation. Chapter 447 One of the big differences from the group set up compared to five years ago was that Oliver was no longer the second strongest of the group. While he wasn¡¯t an easy fight for anyone other than Ajax; Lexi, Anna, and Xavier could all win the fight. His level was still higher than all of theirs but nothing that could make up for the stat difference from dungeons. ¡°This reminds me of Deepwood.¡± Ajax mentioned on the third day of the trip. ¡°High speed travel with no stop even during the night.¡± Lexi groaned as she snuggled her head into Ajax¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I was hoping we were done with this.¡± ¡°Accommodations have also gotten worse.¡± Xavier grumbled, the secure transport was not comparable to Sylvanthal¡¯s royal carriage in terms of comfort, even if it was much sturdier. ¡°What¡¯s your plan for when you return to your new duchy?¡± Anna asked Ajax. ¡°Figuring out what our exports will be.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer drew inquisitive stares. ¡°That and training to get a better handle on these increased stats.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t plan to rule?¡± Oliver asked surprised, having grown up in a branch of an Archduke¡¯s family he couldn¡¯t imagine someone not wanting the power and control that came with being a duke. ¡°I do¡­¡± Ajax took a moment to think how to best word it. ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want to, nor am I good at, to be honest, ruling directly.¡± ¡°How do you plan to rule indirectly?¡± Xavier was interested in this, while he was very much interested in one day being king his recent trips through three other countries brought into full focus just how difficult ruling could be. ¡°I¡¯m pretty good when it comes to setting the goal and outlining the rules, not so much when it comes to the implementation.¡± Ajax admitted as he thought back to how the recruitment and training of their Houses¡¯s retainers went. ¡°That makes no sense when it comes to ruling.¡± Xavier said. ¡°If you make the rules then you are ruling, who do you think will do all that for you?.¡± ¡°Right now I¡¯m thinking my brother, his wife and my grandparents.¡± Ajax said before he looked down towards Lexi who was snuggled into his shoulder. ¡°Most likely Lexi as well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t your grandparents have their own merchant company to worry about?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°My grandfather saw this coming years ago, about the end of my first year in the Academy he started transitioning his company under Alana and Judy.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°He¡¯s been freeing himself up to help run the day to day operations of the House until Tom was ready, nobody was expecting a duchy so Tom will have to do some learning on the job.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t see how this saves you any time.¡± Xavier said. ¡°Let¡¯s use this as an example.¡± Ajax said as he brought out a handful of prepared herbs. ¡°If I decided that one of our exports was going to be growing some mana infused plants. I would figure out how to grow them, where to best grow them and then pass it off. Getting the right tax structure and incentives and everything else with getting it running, that would be on my grandfather.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. One such export potential was the cement Ajax had them setting up near their estate, Ajax would figure out the recipe and everything else would be for Tom to set up production in and around Lessis. ¡°When you say learning on the job¡­¡± Anna was a bit skeptical as she knew better than anyone else there how difficult running a duchy was as she accompanied her father as he started showing her to ropes years ago. ¡°He¡¯ll be taking over Lessis and the surrounding areas.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°It¡¯s a backwater region whose only attraction is the dungeon. We won¡¯t be doing anything to mess with that area so he won¡¯t be facing all that much pressure. My grandparents with probably some help from my mother will be taking over the other barony and the viscounty, they are larger and more connected to the rest of the kingdom.¡± His entire plan with building proper roads actually relied on how convenient traveling through his lands was already. He had already been warned that he would need to work on security and that would also need to be worked out with his neighboring nobles as well since they would also need to beef up security around their borders with him. ¡°You do realize that change won¡¯t happen overnight?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°You¡¯re used to making progress and acting on it but this won¡¯t work on the level of a duchy. It¡¯ll take time to implement, for something like a plant farm to be set up it will be a decade or more before they finally start breaking even.¡± ¡°That is another reason why I won¡¯t be directly in charge of introducing anything that affects or needs the people.¡± Ajax said with a nod. ¡°I don¡¯t have the patience or the focus to make sure it gets done properly.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen you spend twenty hours a day on alchemy for five days straight.¡± Xavier said. ¡°That takes a lot of focus and some patience.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem though.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°I do things like that, for something short that can be set up in a week I am a good choice, but if I had to just read reports and numbers to make sure things are still going well a month in I would get wrapped up into something else and things will start to fall through the cracks.¡± ¡°Are you going to be looking into any other odd or new mana types?¡± Lexi asked, with the number of different spells she had learnt she was always eager to try out different mana types to see if she could earn the skill for them. ¡°I am.¡± Ajax said with a smile, his mind quickly going to Gravity Mana. Ajax had made a few attempts over the years before he left for the tournament but he just couldn¡¯t get a handle of Gravity Mana. A big reason for that he supposed was his Void Mana and Magnetic Mana, both Void and Gravity Mana were directly related to Space Mana and Magnetic mana covered a big area of what gravity mana could provide as well. He was planning to introduce Anna to Gravity Mana hoping it would provide a helpful step on the way to Space Mana with the help of her bond. ¡°What have you been working on lately?¡± Lexi asked as she knew Ajax had been spending every spare hour in his alchemy lab before they left. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait until we come back to see that.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s not finished yet but I think I have a¡­ working prototype.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± Xavier said. ¡°Hopefully it¡¯ll be something interesting for me to do while I wait.¡± Ajax knew exactly what Xavier was referring to, despite getting the lands for the dungeon there was a small patch of land that the crown had kept in his duchy. Specifically the high mana concentration lake he had discovered back during the skirmish, Xavier was the royal family member in charge of overseeing the attempt at growing a fortress tree outside the elven forest. Xavier¡¯s only issue with the assignment was that he would literally be watching a tree grow. ¡°Are you planning for any revenge once you return?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°Revenge?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°The son of the Baron currently in charge of Lessis was responsible for an¡­ unfortunate incident where his mentor lost his arm.¡± Oliver explained. Ajax was a little startled at how much Oliver knew, it was a good reminder he supposed that in his absence a lot of nobles had taken a very keen interest in his personal history. ¡°He did that?¡± Anna was surprised, ¡°He didn¡¯t seem that bad when I met him, a little arrogant maybe.¡± ¡°Different son,¡± Oliver explained. ¡°The one you met was the eldest, this was the youngest.¡± ¡°I am planning an expedition into the mountain of my own, though I will be making sure it doesn¡¯t cause any issues.¡± Ajax was very eager in raiding the caves and culling the lizard population. Not simply for revenge but like the baron had proved the lizards made for good mounts and if raised properly even made for a good bond, something he was sure the sons of Knight Bonehammer will very much appreciate. ¡°I have long thought that those mountains weren¡¯t properly explored for their resources.¡± ¡°And the baron¡¯s son?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°The matter has already been dealt with by the authorities at the time.¡± Ajax answered politically while he clenched the fist opposite the one Lexi was leaning on. ¡°I am sure however that any more current infractions will be properly addressed.¡± This answer didn¡¯t surprise Xavier, in fact he was happy with it. The royal family had also investigated the issue and while they were ready to handle injustice from up high the crown prince had decided that it would be best to let Ajax handle the matter personally. As far as they were concerned anything short of ordering a public hit on the man was acceptable, it would also double as a test case to see how Ajax would handle such matters in the future. Chapter 448 Ajax took full advantage of the trip to find out what the others nobles were thinking of doing as a reaction to him being named duke. Between everybody that was there they had plenty of informants and a good idea of the situation. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be too worried.¡± Lexi said as she saw him tense up when he heard about the more violent intentions some nobles were panning for in an effort to gain a few favours. ¡°My father has already sent some letters to enquire about the health of those Houses.¡± While Duke Manashaper was the head of the House he was also a researcher who didn¡¯t have the time to micromanage the running of the House, it was his model that Ajax was planning on not just copying but taking to an even further extreme, after all the Duke was a lot older and more experienced with less room to develop than Ajax is when he got the title. ¡°Won¡¯t that make my House seem weak?¡± Ajax asked he knew that was a reason the royal family and the archdukes didn¡¯t sent and threats to assure his position. ¡°It would if he was doing it as a friend.¡± Lexi nodded. ¡°But our relationship is in the open, my family is expected to have a stance on this development. Despite being the most gifted in my generation of Manashapers I wasn¡¯t likely to become head of my House. Dad is ecstatic at my opportunity to become a duchess.¡± Despite their intentions for his House Ajax¡¯s first reaction for anyone who crossed Darrius Manashaper was pity, it was a fleeting feeling but one he hid anyway. Darrius Manashaper wasn¡¯t and couldn¡¯t be the next head of House Manashaper for the simple fact he didn¡¯t have the ability to use mana. While that in and of itself would not prevent someone from becoming the head of a House the circumstances were different in a House as new as the Manashapers and the reason for their title being directly related to magic research. Despite not having access to mana Darrius Manashaper was the youngest of his siblings and had gotten a full noble education that he then leveraged into political aptitude. Even now he was handling the brunt of the day to day management of his family, not in any specific field but as the coordinator of his siblings who handled their interests. If Duke Manashaper was the captain of the ship then Darrius was the helmsman. Right as Ajax was about to pass the border he was surprised by a notification. Achievement : Researcher Be the first to make a discovery and prove it. Requires one Discovery(Has to be a first discovery) to earn: Recipe for cement. Reward : Skill [Alchemical Researcher], next two achievements earned have no discovery requirement, insight added to [Alchemy] skill regarding cement. Ajax didn¡¯t know that he was the first to discover cement, more than that he had no idea why the system was rewarding it or why it was a discovery and finally why was he getting this notification now when he had stopped his experiments weeks ago. The second question was the one he deduced the answer to. The achievement also had the requirement to prove it, he guessed that a small proof of concept experiment wouldn¡¯t suffice and that he only got the achievement weeks later now because his family had started putting it into practice. ¡°Planning something?¡± Lexi asked Ajax. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°No, why do you ask?¡± Ajax was still a little distracted by the notification and its implications. ¡°You have that look on your face.¡± Lexi said. ¡°You¡¯re proud of something but still not sure about it.¡± That got Ajax¡¯s attention and he felt very glad to have found Lexi, someone who could read him so well. ¡°I¡¯m officially a Researcher.¡± Ajax said with a smile as he gave her a hug and a kiss. The entire convoy stopped dead. Since the only people joining them on the trip were three of the squads and the eldest prince they hadn¡¯t bothered with privacy enchantments, if anyone spying on them could remain undetected by their escorts they could bypass the enchantments. ¡°You¡¯ve made a first Discovery?¡± the eldest prince asked as he opened the door to their carriage. ¡°The system gave you the Achievement for it?¡± ¡°Yes¡­.¡± Ajax dragged the word out unsure of why that was important. ¡°It¡¯s incredibly hard to be the first to discover something.¡± the prince explained, understanding the confused look on Ajax¡¯s face. ¡°We believe that this is because of the ascended races also being smart enough to look into anything system related and having more power and time to learn about it. The only way we realistically have of gaining that Achievement is through discovery of designs or recipes.¡± ¡°So anything new can grant it?¡± Ajax asked, a little down that it wasn¡¯t as unique as he had thought. ¡°Not just anything.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°It has to be something new that is different enough from anything previously made, a new more potent nightshade poison won¡¯t be good enough. It also has to be practical.¡± ¡°Why all the interest then?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°The reward is good, but I doubt I can help anyone gain it.¡± ¡°Was it a new weapon?¡± The prince pressed. ¡°I thought you were an alchemist but I know your dad is a blacksmith, tell me it wasn¡¯t armor.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ajax got more confused by the minute. ¡°Trailblazer titles.¡± Xavier said, filling him in. ¡°We have records of two weapons being invented and one new armor type, neither are all that effective but have their place. But the skills for new inventions will also come with Trailblazer Achievements. Armor skills are a pain to gain.¡± ¡°No, it was a new alchemy mixture.¡± Ajax said and he watched the prince¡¯s face drop a little but he didn¡¯t care, he was now thinking of how he could get a message to his family as quickly as possible to ensure it was one of them or their retainers that experimented with cement to get any trailblazer skills associated with it. ¡°That thing you were working on before we left.¡± Anna tilted her head a little confused. ¡°But why did you get the Achievement now? You weren¡¯t doing any alchemy, did you leave an experiment running?¡± Ajax was about to answer but she just kept on going thinking aloud. ¡°No, you would have waited to see the result for yourself. What happened right around now that could trigger it?¡± she kept going, her words coming out so fast Ajax was concerned she wasn¡¯t breathing anymore. ¡°Your family should have finally made it to Lessis! You gave your rough success to them, they put it in practice, whatever it is it works.¡± ¡°Are they in danger?¡± Lexi asked, scared that whatever Ajax had come up with was something dangerous and they used it as a last resort. ¡°It isn¡¯t anything combat related.¡± Ajax reassured her, his reassurance also seemed to make the prince and every other squad member a bit more depressed since they wouldn¡¯t have a chance at getting a Trailblazer Achievement. ¡°Okay we can get back on the road.¡± the prince called out as he slowly closed the carriage door. ¡°Is whatever you made hard to transport? Does it take someone with very specific skills to use?¡± As uninterested as the prince was in a non-combat discovery Anna was curious enough to cost a cat all nine lives. Despite that she didn¡¯t push anything about the discovery itself and was more curious if he wanted help selling it. _______________________________________________________________________ At around the same time near Lessis where the new Hearthbound estate was being built all of House Hearthbound¡¯s retainers that had the [Builder] skill were hard at work. While the more experienced and higher level retainers were working on the foundation and the supports for the estate, the young ones were all working with Ajax¡¯s cement. ¡°They¡¯re just like all the other nobles.¡± Joe grumbled as he sloppily worked to ensure the cement road was flat. ¡°Sure they might now look at us the same way those other nobles did but we¡¯re still doing the grunt work.¡± ¡°You should pay more attention.¡± Bob said as he carefully went over Joe¡¯s work to ensure the road was as flat. ¡°Besides, while we might not be working on the mansion this is still better we¡¯re working with mages on this.¡± ¡°They¡¯re also apprentice mages, just practicing their water spells to keep it all wet, if we had a river close by they might make us carry the water.¡± Joe continued to complain. ¡°You¡¯re just happy because Lady Kate talked to us and said we were working on something important.¡± Bob was only seventeen years old and his whole face flushed red at the mention of Kate. He had developed a bit of a crush on the beastkin. He tried to stumble out a few words to deny it while also trying to put more effort into his work when he froze. In front of his face was a system notification letting him know he not only gained an Achievement but he had also gained his first Epic skill, he didn¡¯t even have a Rare skill before that moment, [Cement Builder Trailblazer]. Chapter 449 The group¡¯s reception as they crossed the border was not something Ajax had expected. There had to be at least fifty other carriages, each of them had their door open and a beautiful woman waiting and looking in their direction. ¡°I know you warned me about this, but I can¡¯t be that much in demand.¡± Ajax said with a gulp as he swallowed down the dread of their remaining journey to the Empire¡¯s capital. ¡°It¡¯s not just you.¡± Oliver told him. ¡°You are a target of opportunity, if the Empire can get you they¡¯ll be happy but you are not why they¡¯re all here.¡± ¡°I am.¡± Xavier said with a resigned sigh. Despite nobody really knowing about the feeling that had been developing between Xavier and Arianwyn, everyone was very much in the know that Xavier had spent months in the presence of both her and Elara. As far as the Empire was concerned any marriage between Xavier and a noble elf from Sylvanthal was a disaster. ¡°This is quite the force you brought with you in our country.¡± An impeccably dressed man greeted them, someone Ajax recognised as the crown prince of the Empire, Solderon. ¡°I do hope your intentions are peaceful.¡± ¡°You can cut the act, Solderon.¡± The king¡¯s eldest son was quick to answer. ¡°You know the reason why.¡± Xavier opened the carriage door and the delve group exited the carriage to greet their hosts. Now that he was a Duke Ajax was left with no excuses in dodging any social events in the Empire, the best he could hope was that they got out of here as quickly as possible. ¡°Duke Hearthbound.¡± Solderon quickly focused on Ajax. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I paid you the proper attention last time you visited the Empire.¡± The emperor was a couple hundred years younger than king Gryndor, as such his son was only around two hundred and fifty years of age. Solderon wasn¡¯t a talented combatant, his excellence stemmed simply from the amount of resources invested in his growth, something that became clear to Ajax when he [Judge Threat] backed by [Inspectors¡¯s Eye] was not only undetected but also labeled the prince as a medium threat. ¡°It¡¯s an honour to be greeted at the border by you, Your Highness.¡± Ajax¡¯s response was perfect, complete with the small bow that showed only respect and not submission as was right for a Duke of Gryndor towards other royals. The lack of difference displeased Solderon but he didn¡¯t show it, he instead chose to focus on something else. ¡°Prince Xavier, as well as Lady Goldmancer and Lady Manashaper. With the Empire this would make the fifth county whose dungeon you have delved. Truly you are the generation of prodigies.¡± Xavier, Anna and Lexi all ignored the barb. All of them were more than comfortable with their talent and they had proven to themselves that they were special beyond the stats given by clearing dungeon floors. When all three of them repeated Ajax¡¯s greeting, Solderon was quick to move away and make way for the veritably army of eligible nobles to swarm the four youngsters. While Ajax had his hand intertwined with Lexi¡¯s at the elbows it felt to him more like a lifeline to a man overboard on the open sea. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. With the opening greetings out of the way, Solderon moved to the more pressing matters and the reason he had come to welcome them in person. He quickly approached the eldest prince before deploying a sound barrier. ¡°Is Gryndor looking for open war?¡± Solderon asked, his voice devoid of any warmth. ¡°For you to share the training method openly like that.¡± ¡°There was never any way to keep it hidden.¡± the prince countered. ¡°Believe me, I spent months trying to figure one out.¡± Despite his attitude the eldest prince was a war veteran and someone who took his responsibilities as a Champion of Gryndor seriously. When he first found out about Ajax¡¯s method he had spent considerable time and effort in figuring out a way to keep it for themselves. ¡°Of course it would have leaked, young teens leak more than a sieve but there is a big difference in sharing it with the nobility and sharing it with every commoner.¡± Solderon spat back. ¡°You¡¯d best hope we aren¡¯t struck by famine in two centuries time or war will be the only way to stop civil wars from taking place over food.¡± This was a big concern that the prince actually shared with Solderon. While Gryndor¡¯s capital will never have to fear starvation thanks to one of its dungeons having a one in seven chance of spawning food supplies on the first floor the same was not true of the rest of the kingdom or their neighbors. ¡°We are looking into solutions or ways to overcome a bad year in terms of food. Not only that but we are also looking into ways to slow down the population increase.¡± the prince shared. ¡°Every single one of our dukes and viscounts have been tasked with this.¡± What the prince didn¡¯t mention was that the population issue had been something the dukes and viscounts had been tasked with for a couple of years now, as soon as the nobles who had been given the technique had confessed to having their less talented children spent the majority of their points in Vitality. Even Ajax had been informed of his duty during the trip. The prince was shocked at the amount of ideas that Ajax had of how to approach it. For someone so dedicated to increasing his personal power on top of his study of both magic and alchemy Ajax had presented numerous ideas off the top of his head. Ajax ideas had naturally come from Earth. Because of his study of architecture Ajax had also become somewhat familiar with a few of the issues some countries had suffered from back on earth. The layout of a city was dependent on its population and that was influenced by its birth rates. He had information on the downsides of trying to outlaw large families from China¡¯s attempt at a one child policy as well as a brief overview of how Korea was trying to increase the birth rates of its slowly aging population. ¡°There is also no point in discussing this further, not like we can take it back.¡± the prince knew better than to mention that Ajax had requested the information be made available to commoners. ¡°At this point the only way forward is through.¡± ¡°This is not the end of this.¡± Solderon warned. ¡°I have also brought along a piece offering in the form of another more sensitive piece of information that I will be relaying to your father upon our departure.¡± The prince couldn¡¯t resist provoking Solderon. With the discussion between royalty finished everyone took the hint and got back into their carriages to begin their trip towards the Empire¡¯s capital. As they got back onto the carriages Ajax, Xavier and Oliver could be seen blushing. ¡°I never expected seduction skills to work like that.¡± Ajax confessed after the carriage door closed. Seduction skills didn¡¯t work like mind control, in the same way that merchant skills couldn¡¯t mind control someone into a lower price. Despite the lack of mind control Ajax had found a few of the women present very attractive, his focus on them had been the giveaway of seduction skills. ¡°This isn¡¯t even their full extent.¡± Oliver said in a rush as he loosened his collar in an attempt to lower the temperature of his neck. ¡°Rare and Epic skills can actually cause slight changes in the body of the user to better match the preferences of the target.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get out of here and back to Gryndor.¡± Ajax said as he laid back and tried to get some sleep, despite the encounter being brief Ajax felt more tired than he did after a few hours of training. Unfortunately for Ajax the convoy¡¯s travel speed slowed down significantly now that they were joined by numerous carriages that had no intention of traveling throughout the night. They also couldn¡¯t just leave since they now had to match Solderon¡¯s pace. This meant that they would be stopping at certain cities or villages as they made their way to the capital. It was in the first city they stopped in that Ajax finally saw one of the unintended consequences of making his training method not only publicly available but also widespread. Ajax felt a wave of nausea hit him as he took in the slave market, more specifically the advertisements they were making about training their slaves for optimal stats. In a way it made sense, only the most foolish of slavers wouldn¡¯t see the need to act quickly on the new information or be quickly run out of business, but that didn¡¯t make it any easier for Ajax to accept. ¡°I need to leave.¡± Ajax whispered as he retreated back to the inn before he did something he couldn¡¯t take back. Chapter 450 Ajax had returned to his room alone leaving everyone else worried for him. He didn¡¯t know how to handle seeing the darker side of his actions and needed time to process it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your prodigy?¡± Solderon asked. ¡°He¡¯s just coming to terms with the realities of the world.¡± While the prince¡¯s words sounded cold he had full trust in Ajax not being affected too much by this. In his room, now that he had some time to think it through logically, Ajax had come to the conclusion that what he did didn¡¯t affect slaves that much, they were already slaves before and they were already being ¡®trained¡¯ before he ever made anything public. Once he reached that conclusion he went to sleep, tired from the emotional response. The next day Ajax returned to the slave markets with a new goal. He wanted to purchase a few slaves that he would later free while also hopefully gaining a few retainers out of it. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± Anna asked him once she heard he wanted to return to the slave markets. ¡°You could spend your entire fortune and you wouldn¡¯t even put a sizable dent in the slave market.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to spend everything in hopes of atoning for something.¡± Ajax reassured her as he quickly passed the older slaves and headed for the area that sold children. One thing Ajax had realized as he thought about it was that slaves actually had some of the best foundations. Not even nobles put their children through such rigorous and torturous training regimen from such an early age, for obvious reasons. Ajax had focused his search on children around the ages of seven years old. His [Inspector¡¯s Eye] being a great tool as he could look into what skills the children already had as well as their stats. ¡°Why are you looking at slaves this young?¡± Oliver asked, there was no judgement in his tone, simply curiosity. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t some closer to ten years old be better since they endured the training longer?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°They will have specialized too much by that age and their resentment will most likely also transfer to me.¡± One thing Ajax picked up on was that some of the poorer slavers had some of the more resilient slaves. Without the money to care for their product as well some of the slaves had developed skills like [Regeneration] or [Enhanced Nutrient Absorption]. The second skill was relatively useless if he was going to acquire them since he would make sure they were well fed but the first was a very rare skill that many physical warriors spent decades training in hopes of getting it. ¡°I see he is a lot more accepting of our ways compared to the last time he was here.¡± Solderon said with a smile as he watched the two slaves Ajax had acquired before as they departed from the city. Both slaves were beastkin, not only that but both had their bodies very well developed for their age along with five and four skills respectively. Ajax had gotten them relatively cheaply, he was sure the slaver would have wanted to charge a lot more but while Ajax¡¯s hadn¡¯t seen it happen he was sure the Empire had pressured the negotiations to ensure Ajax had a more pleasant experience. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look at them in the same way you do.¡± The prince corrected. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°They are a good investment.¡± Solderon glossed over the prince¡¯s objection. ¡°He must have a decent inspection skill if he managed to look at their skills.¡± ¡°They are a gamble.¡± the prince corrected. ¡°Getting slaves young is always a gamble.¡± Solderon said. ¡°You only gable on their talent.¡± the prince explained. ¡°As soon as they arrive at his dutchie they will be free. He is not only gambling on their talent but also on their character in that they will choose to join his House as retainers.¡± ¡°That is a foolish way of doing things¡± Solderon scowled in disgust. ¡°Increased risk with no reward.¡± ¡°There is a reward.¡± the prince responded with his trademark smirk. ¡°If you have their loyalty you don¡¯t need to limit their potential to retain control over them.¡± Over the next week and a half the convoy slowly made its way towards the Empire¡¯s capital. Much to the prince¡¯s surprise Ajax had visited the slave market in every village and small town they stopped in. While he hadn¡¯t yet acquired any more slaves Ajax¡¯s mood seemed to improve with every single stop. Much to the concern of Lexi, Anna, Xavier and even the prince. ¡°Ajax what is going on?¡± Xavier asked as they departed their most recent stop early in the morning. Xavier, Lexi, Anna, the prince and Oliver were all inside the carriage while the squads made sure nobody interrupted, the prince was even using an item to ensure the privacy of their discussion. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°Your first reaction to what your training meant for the slaves was a bit more extreme than I expected but understandable.¡± the prince answered him. ¡°But you¡¯ve gone from stone-faced acceptance to increasingly happy with every visit to the slave market. You¡¯re worrying us.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t see it?¡± Ajax asked, surprised that not even the prince had seen what he put together. ¡°See what?¡± Lexi asked, she was the most distraught at Ajax¡¯s new attitude. ¡°That the Empire will most likely fall.¡± Ajax¡¯s words cause everyone to gape at him with wide eyes the size of dinner plates. ¡°Gryndor will likely take it as a vassal or conquer it outright.¡± ¡°How do you see that happening?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Because they are too greedy.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°Unlike commoners or nobles slaves won¡¯t really have the option of putting most of their excess points into Vitality. With the increased amount of stat points they will become stronger and stronger. In a century or two the small slave outbreaks they have now will expand into full on revolts. Even if the Empire manages to contain them it will leave them far too weak to defend themselves.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± the prince asked, now no longer concerned about Ajax but intrigued by his prediction. ¡°It wasn¡¯t as obvious in the big cities but villages have to deal with rogue slaves every couple of years.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Those incidents are clearly swept under the rug, my guess is that it will all kick off from the villages that neighbor the three other dungeons away from the capital.¡± Even if it didn¡¯t happen naturally Ajax was going to induce a civil war in two centuries. The plan to do so was simple, have a few of his people infiltrate the villages surrounding the dungeons and have his spies help the slaves plan. One big advantage the dungeons granted them besides an increase of power was a safe place to stay if they found a favorable floor until the time was right. Entire groups were wiped out in dungeons every day so a few groups of slaves not exiting wouldn¡¯t draw too much attention, until they all exited at once. ¡°The population is increasing.¡± Anna said as everything clicked. ¡°Their focus will be on expanding into the Wild Lands, especially once they see that we are starting to do so. To do that they will train more well rounded combat slaves to help them expand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to inform my brother of this.¡± the prince said as he also realized that Ajax¡¯s vision was no longer had just a small chance of happening but was a likely scenario. One thing he did leave usaid was that it was his brother that will also be making the decision on if they warned the Empire of the peril they were in or let things play out. ¡°Do you think the same thing will happen in Deepwood and Highmountain?¡± Ajax asked, a little hopeful that he might have given the slaves a chance to fight back and free themselves. ¡°No.¡± It was Oliver who answered. ¡°Deepwood and Highmountain not only have much fewer slaves but they also rely on their slaves much less for combat. A big reason why the Empire focuses so much on slaves is because us humans have such a low affinity for magic.¡± ¡°It is a relief to know what it was that improved your mood.¡± the prince said. ¡°I do want to caution you about letting it show like that however.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be in the capital in a few days.¡± Xavier said. ¡°After a welcome party with the royal family we can delve the day after and be on our way home soon after that.¡± For the first time ever Ajax was looking forwards to a dungeon but not for the reward the delve would give him. Outside the possibility of an Achievement awaiting him after getting one hundred and fifty stats from clearing floors there was nothing that exciting awaiting him in the dungeon. Back in his duchy however he had so many things he wanted to do and that was all before accounting for his exploratory trip into the Wild Lands. Chapter 451 Emperor P.O.V. ¡°So Xavier is finally coming back and he is bringing what amounts to an army?.¡± My grandson said as we all ate dinner around the table. ¡°Best make sure you don¡¯t challenge him again.¡± His sister Denisa teased him. ¡°I know better than that now.¡± Despite how humiliating it was to lose to someone who was two years younger, that loss to Xavier did Sandor a lot of good. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in the two slaves the young duke bought.¡± I say as I look towards my advisor. ¡°What did you find out about them?¡± ¡°Two beastkin, a seven year old monkey type boy and a six year old lizard type girl.¡± the advisor answered and he pulled out a report from him spacial storage. ¡°Both were malnourished but tall for their age.¡± ¡°Why would he buy malnourished slaves?¡± My granddaughter asked. ¡°Easier to build loyalty.¡± My wife explained. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be slaves when they cross over into Gryndor, much easier to gain the loyalty of a child who wasn¡¯t properly fed by making sure they always have enough to eat.¡± ¡°Not just that, but they both seemed to have gained some rare skills due to their less than ideal conditions.¡± the advisor added. ¡°The boy gained [Regeneration], the girl¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Sandor asked as he notices my advisor go silent as his eyes scan the document. ¡°The slaver didn¡¯t keep a good enough eye on his slaves.¡± Roger tsked his tongue. ¡°Missed a skill the girl developed before he sold her, an Epic skill.¡± ¡°A slave with an epic skill? That should have been pretty obvious, especially at that age, was it mana related?¡± my wife asked just as intrigued as I was now. ¡°No, it related to her bestial heritage.¡± Roger answered as he continued to scan the report, his frown growing the further he got. ¡°One of her eyes adapted to hunt in darkness, [Heat Vision], her right eye doesn¡¯t see colors any more but rather how hot or cold something is.¡± ¡°Hunt in the darkness?¡± Sandor asked. Roger was so focused on getting through the report now that he flippantly answered. ¡°Their store room wasn¡¯t all that great, she would hunt and eat mice and rats at night to compensate for the lack of food.¡± I could see all of us lose our appetite at the thought of eating raw rat or mouse. All it took was me clearing my throat and Roger broke out of his focused reading giving all of us his full attention once more. Much as I appreciated Rogers'' talents, his lack of social skills was the reason I didn¡¯t allow his presence in open court. ¡°My apologies.¡± he quickly caught on to his mistake. ¡°Both slaves also picked up [Sense Mana] on the road to the capital with the help of Duke Hearthbound as well as Lady Manashaper.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Those beasts, gods curse them, why do they deserve such an easy access to mana. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Both of the salves had crafting skills.¡± Roger said. ¡°The girl picked up leatherworking from trying to make herself a blanket from the skin of the rats she¡­¡± he stopped himself before finishing. ¡°The boy [Mining] from being rented out to mine some rock from a nearby quarry.¡± ¡°They both sound like combat slaves, why bother paying extra for ones with professions.¡± Denisa asked. ¡°He wants to train them as delving crafters just like he is.¡± I share my own thoughts on the matter as an answer. ¡°He is a talented alchemist, from what my son said he reacted badly to seeing the results of his work on the slave market and bought the two of them the day after. Might want to raise them as atonement and mold them after himself.¡± ¡°That cursed training method.¡± Sandor grumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad about it.¡± I chastised him. ¡°It is the reason you have a chance to become Emperor.¡± I warned my son about having children when he was so young and why that would be a mistake. Thankfully Sandor and Denisa were still low level enough to take advantage of the dungeon craze that was about to follow in the wake of Ajax¡¯s own delving spree. With the added Vitality of them would still live long enough to take the throne when their father steps down. ¡°How strong do you think Ajax is?¡± My youngest son Zilfallon asked, finally joining the conversation as he stopped eating. He was the only one whose appetite wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest at the previous mention of eating rats. At only a hundred and fifty years old my son had grown powerful enough to call himself an elite soldier. He wasn¡¯t a prodigy by any stretch but with the amount of resources he had access to and his dedication he was actually a better fighter than Solderon despite the fifty year age gap. ¡°Hard to say.¡± I truly didn¡¯t know how powerful Ajax was now, I looked forward to seeing him so I could judge that very thing for myself. ¡°What do you think, uncle Roger?¡± Zilfallon asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know but if I had to guess I would say he is stronger than your older brother.¡± Roger and Zilfallon had always gotten along well, it was probably because Roger had become my advisor around the time Zilfallon was born. Roger was well aware of his lack of social skills even back then and had looked to ingratiate himself by bonding with my son, becoming uncle Roger. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Sandor stood up so fast his chair fell over backwards. ¡°You think he¡¯s stronger than father?¡± He regained his composure as one of the guards quickly lifted the chair and he sat back down. ¡°I know better than to think I can compare but he is still younger than me, how could you say he is stronger than father.¡± ¡°Well we know that Arianwyn, the elven princess is around level eighty and she is a genius of her generation who developed a Domain.¡± Much as I disliked those haughty pointy eared tree lovers I couldn¡¯t disagree with Rogers assessment. ¡°Despite her Bond helping her she still lost in the tournament.¡± ¡°My father could also beat her, even if he isn¡¯t a dedicated fighter like uncle Zilfallon.¡± Denisa said as she placed her had to calm down her older brother. It was these interactions between the two of them that made me think Denisa would make for a better successor to Solderon than Sandor. He was simply too hot headed. ¡°True as that may be, Duke Hearthbound has to have gained I would say more than five hundred Stats since he won that duel.¡± Roger¡¯s defended his assessment. I could see Roger¡¯s words shocked not only Denise and Sandor but also Zilfallon. It was easy to forget that between Deepwood and Sylvanthal Ajax had delved ten dungeons, even if we assume he never pushed past the level one hundred barrier that would still mean he cleared fifty five floors and I would be willing to be a large amount he cleared at least the level one hundred and ten floors as well. Fifty five floors would mean four hundred and forty stats, add another 10% from potions and that is a four hundred and eighty four stats without a single level up. ¡°Such incredible growth.¡± Zilfallon murmured as his eyes lost focus. I knew this was a hard time for him, he had always loved fighting, though he enjoyed fighting humanoids more than beasts. Zilfallon had come to accept from an early age that while he didn¡¯t have the talent to be the best he could make up for some of that with hard work and the amount of resources he had as an imperial prince. I¡¯ve seen him be jealous of others'' talent before but this was the first time I saw him jealous of someone else''s opportunities. ¡°Do you think he would duel me?¡± Zilfallon asked. ¡°I very much doubt it.¡± My wife said as she shook her head no. ¡°He was almost a recluse last time he was here and I expect Gryndor will want to leave as soon as possible.¡± I didn¡¯t blame them for that, it was simply the smart move. Despite my decision not to take action I still had two different plans ready in case I decided it was best that the three future champions, Annabeth Goldmancer, Alexis Manashaper and Xavier Gryndor needed to die along with the most talented human in recorded history Ajax Hearthbound. ¡°Roger, double security while they are here.¡± I said as I thought more about it. ¡°I have already done so, Your Majesty.¡± Roger said. ¡°As you have commanded.¡± ¡°Increase it again.¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think those beasts are going to try something.¡± I¡¯ve always thought that those half animal abominations were up to something in that desert of theirs, the appearance of Ajax had to have at least messed up some of their plans and I didn¡¯t want them to take advantage of this trip to have Gryndor attack us while removing what could be the best chance at humans taking over all the kingdoms. I will have to see if Denise has a chance to marry into the Hearthbound family, maybe now that he has grown a little and become a Duke he will be open to multiple wives. Need to be careful not to push it too hard and offend him however. They arrive tomorrow after all. Chapter 452 ¡°How did you know they would be able to learn how to use their mana?¡± Xavier asked Ajax as they approached the capital. While almost all beastkin could learn to use their mana, getting the skill was a different matter. That both of the slaves Ajax bought had managed to gain [Sense Mana] in a week under his and Lexi¡¯s guidance was something very important to question. ¡°Desperation.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°You most often gain skills when you are under pressure. I am sure both of them must have been pushed so close to death from their bad living conditions that they instinctively used mana. A little dedicated effort to use it consciously was all it took.¡± Ajax was very happy with his investment into new retainers. While both of the slaves still looked at him and Lexi with wariness after a week they stopped flinching whenever they raised their hand while in striking distance. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in that eye the little gal¡¯s got.¡± one of their guards said as he looked towards the painfully thin beastkin that was still wearing her collar. ¡°I know about [Heat Vision], quite a few monsters with it but this is the first time I met a person with it and they can explain what they see with it.¡± Ajax himself was also very interested in [Heat Vision]. Initially he had hope she had the ability to shoot lasers from her eyes but he realized the absurdity and wasn¡¯t disappointed. ¡°Wish I could take those collars off them.¡± Ajax said, he wanted to start working on building trust and in his eyes those collars were the first wall he would have to knock down. ¡°Those collars are important for their protection.¡± Oliver repeated himself, he had made the same observation a couple of times since the slaves had joined the convoy. ¡°As long as they belong to someone much fewer people would dare do anything when they are in town.¡± Ajax¡¯s next idea to build trust was to have the slaves join them for their meals. That also backfired however as the two children wouldn¡¯t touch any of the food before they were expressly told they could eat. After they were told they could eat, Ajax saw them practically inhale the food, almost certainly afraid someone would take it from them if it wasn¡¯t gone as soon as possible. ¡°It¡¯ll take time.¡± Lexi reassured him. ¡°Some things just take time.¡± Lexi herself had grown a little attached to the two slaves as she saw them as her own students after helping them learn [Sense Mana]. Something she surprised herself with as she hadn¡¯t expected to enjoy teaching as much as she had. She very much planned to help train House Hearthbound¡¯s retainers in the future. ¡°At least there is no welcoming gala.¡± Ajax said as the convoy entered the capital. The whole place looked very much the same as it did five years ago. ¡°They don¡¯t want their nobles to get comfortable around you.¡± The prince said with his trademark smirk. ¡°There will be a party you can¡¯t skip out on after you exit the dungeon.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they want people to get comfortable around me?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not that I¡¯m complaining.¡± ¡°Because of Kate.¡± The prince answered. ¡°That someone of your status has a beastkin as a sister-in-law is outrageous to them.¡± The prince had been purposefully loud enough that both slaves heard him and their wide eyes locked onto Ajax. They couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard, they quickly looked at each other thinking they must have heard wrong only to be met by the same incredulous gaze. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You really should name them something else.¡± Xavier whispered. Neither of the slaves¡¯s former owners had that many slaves to look after so the two of them had been named with a placeholder names, Snake and Monkey. Their new masters were supposed to provide them with new names after they purchased them. ¡°I¡¯ll have them choose their own names once we cross back into Gryndor and I remove the collars.¡± Ajax whispered back as they arrived at their accommodations. The same mansion that housed them during their previous visit to the Empire, though their ambassador had changed in the past five years. Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver all went to bed relatively quickly. All of them wanted to prepare for their delve tomorrow. While none of them would be pushing their limits as they had done in previous delves they wanted to be at their best. The lack of safety due to not having anyone boosting them meant they always needed to be on guard during the delve. Once he was sure that all of them had settled in and a squad had set up their surveillance, the eldest prince of Gryndor took one squad and headed for the imperial palace. Unlike their previous delves he didn¡¯t need to stick so close to his charges this time around, not only that but he other duties on this trip besides the safety of the new generation. ¡°Took you long enough to get here.¡± Zilfallon provoked the prince as soon as he arrived at the palace. The prince took a moment to examine Zilfallon, instead of responding to his words or offering a greeting he showed his trademark smirk before answering the provocation with a simple backhanded compliment. ¡°You¡¯ve closed the gap some. But you¡¯re still not ready.¡± The prince¡¯s words had the desired effect as Zilfallon clenched his teeth. ¡°Enough of this.¡± Solderon tsked in annoyance. ¡°You said you have a message for father, come deliver it and you two can play your childish games after.¡± ¡°Lead on.¡± The prince regained his serious expression as he and the ten man squad of elite warriors was led into the palace. The small throne room they were led to was similar to the one the king of Gryndor used for important meetings. It was also pretty packed. Besides the immediate imperial family, there were at least forty other people there, only a little over half of them being guards there for the protection of the emperor. ¡°Welcome, boy.¡± The emperor greeted the prince with a wide smile and open arms. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since the war.¡± ¡°My father thinks you¡¯re a bad influence on me.¡± the prince responded. Back during the latest war the Empire had allied with Gryndor. The prince had met with the emperor frequently during that campaign. The emperor had been pushing for a royal marriage between the empire and Gryndor to build a stronger bond between the two nations. An idea that hadn¡¯t been without merit before Shadow¡¯s rise to prominence and the forced peace that followed. ¡°And yet here you are.¡± the emperor¡¯s smile widened. ¡°My father sent me with a sensitive piece of information.¡± the prince responded as he made a show of taking in everyone present. ¡°One not even my guards know about yet.¡± The emperor¡¯s face turned stoic as he took a moment to come to a decision. ¡°Leave us.¡± The command sent everyone but the guards, the empress as well as their sons and grandchildren out of the room. ¡°Go on then, what¡¯s so important.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about expansion into the Wild Lands.¡± His words instantly provoked a gasp from Sandor. ¡°We have a very likely theory on how to expand safely into the Wild Lands.¡± Everyone present knew that expansion into the Wild Lands will become very important in the near future to accommodate the increase in population. ¡°A theory?¡± Solderon sounded outraged at the waste of time. ¡°Why not test it out then come here and share if it is important.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have wasted your time.¡± the prince quickly answered. ¡°Anything concrete will most likely take a while to verify but we will let you know as soon as we do. After all only a fool would rush anything to do with the ascended races.¡± The room became so quiet even someone with a Perception of five could hear a pin drop. ¡°You¡¯ve gained insight into the ascended races?¡± the emperor sat forward on his throne as he asked. The prince provided a quick explanation of what the agreement made between the ascended races regarding humanoids was, he didn¡¯t share any of their sources however. ¡°I would like to request access to any of your records that connect to this matter.¡± ¡°Ha, I thought you were lying at first.¡± Zilfallon laughed, drawing piercing glares from the squad there to protect the prince. ¡°You¡¯re only sharing this with us because if we poke the sleeping dragon it might not bother to check before it wipes you out as well.¡± ¡°What my son means to say is thank you.¡± the emperor said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to share anything we find that is relevant. Have you shared your theory with any other nation?¡± While the question sounded innocent enough the real intent was clear as day to everyone ¡®can we use this to provoke another nation into self-destruction¡¯. ¡°Not yet.¡± the prince said. ¡°You¡¯ve given me quite a lot to think about,¡± the emperor said. ¡°Not in the least being how you came upon this theory. Do have a good evening, I look forward to seeing you again in a couple of days.¡± As they prepared to take their leave the prince turned back, his trademark grin causing Zilfallon and Solderon to brace themselves. ¡°Oh, before I forget. I highly recommend increasing the guard around your dungeon for a short while.¡± the prince¡¯s gaze becoming more predatory with every word. ¡°Something to handle a level on hundred and twenty floor break at the very least.¡± Chapter 453 ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± Lexi warned Ajax as soon as they entered the dungeon. ¡°What¡­ but¡­¡± Ajax was left speechless. ¡°I know it¡¯s been a long time for you since you entered a dungeon. But for most people it''s normal to spend a few months without delving.¡± Lexi sighed. Ajax knew Lexi was right. The only people who delved as often as he did during the academy were adventurers that were freelancing to multiple noble families as they tried to save up a nest egg for something. ¡°Fine, let''s just go.¡± Ajax said as he started looking for the closest arch to the next floor. Since all of them had completed the first three floors already there was simply no need to kill any of the mini bosses there, they all made their way to the closest arch and simply moved on to the next floor. Ajax made sure to solo the boss and collect the body, no point in wasting his ability. The fourth floor represented new ground for Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver. None of them were pressured by the level forty fives, more than that Oliver had no use for the floor since he had already surpassed level forty seven. ¡°Are you sure you want to push as far as the eighth floor?¡± Ajax asked. Considering that Lexi had already killed a level seventy two the answer should be obvious, but this wasn¡¯t a boost. As much as Ajax could act as a booster there was still a big difference between Ajax and the real thing. It was easy to forget that while Ajax was starting to rapidly close in on being able to kill monsters close to the same level as the highest level humanoids around, the difference is power between him and those elites was much bigger. Each humanoid that made it to level one hundred and fifty was a generational talent, in one way or another. They couldn¡¯t be compared to to monster of the same level. Where Ajax needed a favorable matchup to be able to win with a perfect fight, they would need a bad matchup to lose. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi reassured him as they made their way around the fourth floor looking for another miniboss. ¡°We just need to find a floor where I can isolate a miniboss easily. If we don¡¯t find one we can always just walk out.¡± The fifth floor would be the last one they could blindly walk into. While Lexi, Anna and Xavier were all comfortable against pretty much any level fifty five, the same could not be said for Oliver. When Ajax checked the last arch they found as they cleared the minibosses he was a little surprised. ¡°That is odd.¡± Ajax said as he tried to focus [Mana Syphon] as much as he could to get a better read on the mana inside the arch.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Lexi asked him. ¡°I can only feel one mana type.¡± Ajax said as he kept trying to see deeper. ¡°I thought you could tell apart about four or five when they are around this level.¡± Xavier said confused. ¡°Usually the top three once we reach level fifty, four if the fourth one is close to the third in prevalence.¡± Ajax corrected him. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Then why can you only see one.¡± ¡°Because it is more than 90% of the floor.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It''s masking everything else.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Lexi was quick to say. Oliver, Xavier and even Anna looked at Lexi with odd expressions. It wasn¡¯t like her to blindly jump head first like this, especially as she hadn¡¯t even asked what said dominant mana type was. Ajax on the other hand was very touched by Lexi¡¯s gesture. The first time Ajax had ever lost a party member had been inside a floor dominated by the light element. It was something that Ajax still felt a little guilty about to this day since he had kept the information to himself so as to not disclose his ability to predict floors. Lexi was the only one of them he had shared that with and she was eager to jump at the opportunity of helping Ajax feel a bit better about the incident in any way, even if it was something as simple as clearing another one element floor. ¡°What element is it?¡± Oliver asked, he wasn¡¯t certain about killing a level fifty miniboss that aligned so strongly with some elements. ¡°Metal.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°How much above 90% is it?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°A bit over 93% not quite 94%.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Is this the highest you¡¯ve seen like this?¡± Anna asked. ¡°No, I once came across a 99% Light floor.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°That was brutal but the enemies were also above level fifty.¡± ¡°I say we do it.¡± Xavier nodded. ¡°Could maybe find some decent quality metal to take out.¡± Anna was also on board. ¡°I can handle metal.¡± Oliver confirmed. With everyone in agreement they all collectively entered the fifth floor of the dungeon. As they entered the floor nobody said a word. Everyone but Ajax was dismissing the update about +1 to all stats but even after that they couldn¡¯t do anything but stare as their jaws dropped and they took in the sights of the floor. The floor design wasn¡¯t all that special. It looked like a primitive city in the center of which was a large Aztec temple. Clearly the city was meant to be used by humanoids, the issue was that Ajax was simply unable to pick out the specific combination of Life mana and a few other mana types he had come to recognise only as a group representing humanoids. ¡°Is that¡­ Is that what I think it is?¡± Oliver asked, his voice shaking with disbelief. ¡°I think it is.¡± Xavier said as he stomped his foot leaving a good size dent on the floor near the exit arch. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a floor like this.¡± Lexi said as she took in everything with wide eyes. Anna was left speechless, she opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to say something, anything but nothing came out. While Ajax was just as shocked at what he was seeing as everyone else, he wasn¡¯t as clueless. There was a very good reason why such a floor theme should be technically impossible, since it made no sense. But there were other floors that also made no sense but existed because of something else, myths and legends. And Ajax was familiar with this particular myth as it came from earth. ¡°El Dorado.¡± Ajax¡¯s whisper was so soft nobody could make out what he said. The entire city was made out of gold. This floor alone represented more wealth than all eight kingdoms did together, this city however was much larger than any interpretation Ajax had ever heard with the buildings extending past the horizon. The floor also confirmed something for Ajax, he hadn¡¯t heard a single story about a city of gold since he came to this world, if floors like this existed there would surely be a story. The only possible answer was that the dungeons was borrowing something from him. ¡°I doubt there would be an elemental with only level fifty but do you think there is a golem somewhere on this floor?¡± Anna¡¯s first words were calm and her tone composed, but her face still showed the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling. ¡°Also how big do you think it is?¡± Nobody had an answer to that. While Oliver was a little confused at the question since he didn¡¯t know about Ajax¡¯s ability both Lexi and Xavier locked their eyes onto Ajax. This was mana infused gold, in one fell swoop House Hearthbound might end up becoming one of the top five richest Houses in Gryndor after Ajax exits the dungeon. _________________________________________________________________________ Outside the dungeon Zilfallon and Solderon were both in attendance with two of the seven imperial hands. Much like the ten squads of Gryndor the Empire had seven hands, each hand was a group of five people who were not only extremely powerful but also worked perfectly together. Each finger was at least level one hundred and sixty five and each leader above level one hundred and eighty. ¡°He was just trying to mess with us, wasn¡¯t he.¡± Solderon grumbled as he looked towards Zilfallon. As much as Zilfallon wanted to agree with his older brother he just couldn¡¯t help but remember the confident grin and challenging eyes the prince of Gryndor had when he threw out those parting words. As a level one hundred and twenty five Zilfallon wouldn¡¯t be confident enough to venture past the level one hundred floor by himself. In an unknown floor he could easily be swarmed and killed my a patrol of level one hundred and ten creatures. ¡°All we can do is wait.¡± Zilfallon said with his eyes fixed on the large arch of the dungeon. ¡° We still have a while to go, the others haven¡¯t yet come out.¡± Chapter 454 ¡°Are they beastkin?¡± Lexi asked a little confused as she saw the Aztec warriors with war paint and feathered helmets charge down the street towards them. ¡°No.¡± Ajax said before he sprung into action, level fifty combatants barely qualified as a threat to Lexi, Anna and Xavier so Ajax had no issue wiping out the small patrol. ¡°This has to be the weirdest sword design I have ever seen.¡± Xavier said as he picked up the macuahuitl, ¡°Or is it a hammer, maybe an odd axe?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a club.¡± Ajax provided. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing as a hammer?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°A club has the weight more evenly distributed across the length of the weapon, makes it less useful against a heavy armor but it¡¯s easier to maneuver and deals decent damage even if the end of the weapon isn¡¯t the part that makes contact.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Clubs are also usually longer than hammers because they don¡¯t have all the weight on the end.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still a bad weapon.¡± Lexi said as she examined the weapons. ¡°All of these seem of bad quality.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they are old.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°What do you mean old?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Old as in before humanoids learned to use heat to shape metal. They are wood and stone made to fit together.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Keep your guard up and focus on your [Sense Mana].¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°None of us should have a problem on this floor, its why we risked the odd mana distribution.¡± ¡°Something that pays off really well if we find a way to grab a wall and take it with us.¡± Anna said. ¡°You should be careful because we came from people like this¡± Ajax explained ¡°If they managed to survive and develop ways to melt metal and forge it it means they had ways to fight off threats, I¡¯m guessing that means magic. Could be a good chance to learn something new.¡± Ajax really hoped none of them could tell how nervous he was. Sure everything he said was technically true from what he knew about the Aztecs origin, as for the magic part he was mostly guessing that the System would make the old Aztec magic rituals adapt for use in their world. If that happened like it did with the blasters from the futuristic space floor it should happen here as well. ¡°What about the gold?¡± Anna asked as she noticed Xavier and Lexi be instantly excited by the possibility of any new magic. ¡°I¡¯m hoping the temple has larger statues, golems that we can fight.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the statue of a jaguar placed on a nearby street. ¡°The bigger the better.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes also shone with a hint of greed that put a smile on Anna¡¯s face. ¡°What are you doing with that?¡± Xavier asked as Ajax quickly moved and ripped the closest doorway off its hinges before stuffing it into his spacial ring. ¡°Experiments.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Lots of materials have unknown uses but how often can you play around with gold to see if something happens in alchemy.¡± ¡°I now see why you brought four storage rings with you.¡± Oliver says as he watches Ajax pull a second door loose. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As they ventured deeper into the city the group started to head straight for the temple. ¡°Why are we going there and not just heading for the next floor?¡± Oliver asked. That put the group in a bit of a pickle. Ajax didn¡¯t want to share his ability with Oliver, while they trusted him not to do anything stupid like trying to kill Anna again they didn¡¯t trust him to keep his mouth shut in the long term, so far he hadn¡¯t been there to see Ajax loot the corpse of whatever he killed on the previous floors. ¡°Because it''s a temple made of gold.¡± the way Xavier said that made it sound like Oliver was the unreasonable one for not wanting to go see it. ¡°Also they might have some old runes carved there for protection, my grandfather would love those.¡± Lexi also brought her own support. For the next half an hour the group covered a good amount of distance towards the temple, they encountered another two patrols but just like the first one these were simple physical warriors with odd weapons that Ajax had no issue wiping out. He had even intentionally played around with one of them to see if they could do something else but nothing came of it. This changed when they ran into the fourth patrol. Like the previous three patrols this was a seven man group but only six of them were purely physical fighters. Ajax was the first to feel it but as he wiped out the first six with practiced ease Ajax felt the mana gather around the seventh member. ¡°He¡¯s doing something.¡± Lexi said with excitement. ¡°Cuauhtli tlahtoani, tlahuizcalpanecatl, In ch¨©ch¨©ltik tlap¨¡ni, Huey teotl mitoa, iuhqui tonameyotl.¡± The warrior chanted without taking his eyes off the group, he clearly seemed confused as to why they didn¡¯t just attack him but he continued his chant. ¡°That¡¯s a really impractical chant.¡± Lexi said as she looked on with curiosity. ¡°It even rivals some of the longest combat casts I know of and all mages who use those often end up dead because of messing up the chant mid combat.¡± T¨¥cuani tzonpantli, In tl¨¡ltikpak ohuaya ohuaya! Xochitl, yaoyotl, in Cuauhtli icuic!¡± As the warrior got close to the end Ajax notices he pulled out a more ornate knife, slashed his palm open before retrieving something that looked alarmingly like the heart of an animal and a mana core. The warrior stacked the items on the ground before dripping his blood over them and finally stabbing the knife down crushing the mana core and piercing the heart. ¡°Kreeeeeee-ahh!¡± Nobody knew where the high pitched eagle cry came from but they were all lucky Ajax was so much stronger than the level fifties. The moment of confusion caused by the cry of the eagle was all the warrior needed to charge towards them. Ajax could feel the mana infusing the warrior with power. No longer did it move like a level fifty, it now moved more like a level seventy. Ajax could feel using his [Sense Mana] how the mana infused the warriors body. It worked totally differently that how [Mana Syphon] raised his own physical strength. Ajax made sure not to drain the warrior¡¯s spell of mana as he moved to clash with him. Even with the power boost there was still no threat to Ajax. The battle between the two of them looked more like a spar between a child and their teacher as Ajax put the warrior through his paces. It was less than a minute later when the effects of the enhancement began to fail, but not because of lack of mana. ¡°That¡¯s just wrong.¡± Oliver said as he watched the warrior¡¯s bicep burst in a shower of blood when Ajax pressed into his parry trying to see just how much strength he could handle. The warrior¡¯s knee was the next to go, snapping as he tried to pivot quickly enough to hit Ajax from the side with a surprise attack. It was all of nought as Ajax had no problem keeping up and blocking the strike. The fight ended when Ajax delivered a rather light kick to the mans ribs looking to make a bit of distance but he felt the ribs snap sending the warrior to the floor. The man¡¯s chest now looked horrifying, despite no bones having broken the skin Ajax could tell how the snapped fragments were now poking at odd angles. It took another five seconds of the man screaming on the ground before the magic empowering finally ran its course. With his curiosity satisfied Ajax felt there was no need to let the man suffer and he put him out of his misery by taking the head clean off. ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of a sacrifice spell like that.¡± Lexi said as she looked at the man¡¯s body. ¡°But that spell could be something very useful.¡± ¡°Useful?¡± Anna asked with a raised eyebrow as she took in the ravaged body of the warrior, most of the damage had been self inflicted by the man pushing his body too far with the use of the boosting spell. ¡°What are those items?¡± Lexi answered Anna¡¯s question with her own as she pointed to the small pile a few ways off where the knife stood impaled into the heart with four shattered pieces of a mana core strewn around them. ¡°Heart of an eagle, around level forty eight, it¡¯s mana core too.¡± Anna answered. ¡°The items had too much power for his body.¡± Lexi explained ¡°The spell would work much better with lower level reagents, though the duration leaves a lot to be desired.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is useful. Mages have weak and frail bodies, we wouldn¡¯t be able to handle anything that would give us a worthwhile boost.¡± Oliver pointed out. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work for me either.¡± Ajax said as he finished putting his thoughts on the magic together, I am already pushing my body with my boosting skill stacking another one on top that pays no regard to the damage will hurt more than help.¡± ¡°But it would be great for Benedict.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°While he can use mana he is fully focused on physical fighting, he may have used a bit of mana to start the spell but there was no continuous cost. I bet it would work pretty well for hybrid fighters too.¡± ¡°It seems like a good last resort to have.¡± Xavier joined in now intrigued by the possibilities. ¡°Shame the cost seems pretty high, that heart also seemed fresh so getting the sacrificial reagents will not be easy or easily available.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s keep going to see if we can find another.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Never a good idea to draw a conclusion from a single example.¡± Chapter 455 The group continued to head towards the temple. On the way there they encountered a lot more patrols. Ajax was careful to contain any of their empowered casters while Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver each got their own. ¡°They are all using the same chant. Not sure if it is specific to the animal heart involved or if that is the only spell they know.¡± Lexi said as she had examined the spell. ¡°It also seems to work by empowering the knife not themselves.¡± ¡°You mean that anyone could use the empowerment if they swung the knife?¡± Ajax asked. As good as Ajax was at dealing with mana Lexi still surpassed him in terms of theory and he was inclined to trust her judgement. The spell also looked fragile enough that he was confident in smothering it with [Mana Syphon]. The next patrol with a caster they came across Ajax wasted no time in dispatching all of them, leaving only the chanter to finish his spell, before he had a chance to stab the knife through the heart and mana core Ajax rushed him. He caught the warrior¡¯s wrist before he could stab the knife while at the same time also taking off his head. ¡°Are you going to try it?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°I¡¯d much rather someone else do so, but if I am right about their bodies being too weak to handle the empowerment none of you can.¡± Ajax said before he stabbed the knife through the mana core and heart. Ajax had made sure to cut off the empowerment of [Mana Syphon] before he gained another boost. The boost he received wasn¡¯t as strong as the one [Mana Syphon] could provide, but his body still felt weird despite being used to handling even more power. ¡°Woah.¡± Ajax suddenly exclaimed as his perception changed. His vision suddenly came in and out of focus as his sight improved, he was forced to close his eyes to maintain his balance.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lexi asked worriedly. ¡°Is the spell attacking you?¡± ¡°No, but I am more and more certain that the hearts belonged to birds.¡± Ajax said as he slowly peaked through a partially open eyelid as he tried to control his improved perception. ¡°The spell must be boosting the strongest aspects of the heart.¡± Lexi ventured a guess. ¡°Birds are fast and powerful but they have little to no endurance or defence. They make up for it with flight and good eyesight.¡± ¡°Maybe the spell is just unbalanced like that?¡± Anna said. ¡°It could be but I doubt it.¡± Ajax said, ¡°The mana changed slightly when the knife stabbed the heart, I would guess it''s based on the heart used.¡± ¡°It can also be used by someone other than the initial caster.¡± Oliver pointed out. ¡°This could be a big breakthrough for humans since we have so few magic users.¡± Ajax had barely managed to get a handle on keeping one eye open without his body swaying in an attempt to compensate for his new eyesight when the boost ran out. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Xavier asked eager to find out anything about this potential new source of power. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I¡¯m fine, there doesn¡¯t seem to be an inherent backlash built in to the spell but I could feel how only certain muscles were being enhanced.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°If I had been pushing myself I¡¯m sure my body would suffer, my joints and even some muscle groups especially so.¡± ¡°I have the chant written phonetically, I won¡¯t try it but my grandpa can once I get back.¡± Lexi said as she started doing another sketch of the knife from a different angle making sure to get the runes perfectly in terms of proportion and shape. ¡°Are we ready to leave this floor?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°I think the Earth, Plant Wind floor would be a decent choice for our next floor.¡± ¡°Not just yet.¡± Ajax said with a grin on his face as he stared towards the temple. He couldn¡¯t make it out anymore but with his previously improved eyesight Ajax could make out the shape of the twenty foot tall Aztec statue with an arch between its legs. He was willing to bet that it was a golem guardian. ¡°That golem is massive.¡± Xavier exclaimed, as the person with the second highest Perception there he was able to make out the form of the golem before any of the others. The animal face complete with a beak as well as the wings that ended in palms with fingers made clear this floor''s obsession with birds. ¡°How is that golem only level fifty?¡± Oliver asked, his voice slightly shaking as he took in the size of the statue. ¡°I¡¯m guessing its because of how soft gold is.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°All it has is weight and power, it¡¯ll be slow and soft to compensate.¡± Ajax was proven correct when he engaged the golem. He had no problem locating the core and he made sure to use a precisely aimed Void empowered strike to shatter it. He didn¡¯t want to damage the golem, his efforts were somewhat wasted as the golem deformed pretty heavily from the impact it made when it fell flat on its face after the core was destroyed. ¡°I¡¯ve never butchered a statue before.¡± Ajax said with humor as he approached the fallen lump of gold with feet. Being already so close to the ground the feet still maintained their definition even after the fall. Ajax made a clean strike cutting the golem in two at the waist before storing both halves into his ring. ¡°Now we can go to the next floor.¡± ¡°You know Oliver will figure out what you can do when you take that golem out of the dungeon.¡± Lexi whispered as they made their way back towards their selected arch. ¡°I initially wanted to hide it but there is no point now, we took too long to find the golem.¡± Ajax said as he let out a sigh. ¡°Oliver will figure out at least part of what I can do anyway. It¡¯s more important that the Empire doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know the Empire let you skip out on paying taxes the last time when you came out with a bag of mana gems but I very much doubt they won¡¯t at least fight you for some of this gold.¡± Lexi said. ¡°They already set the precedent last time¡­¡± Ajax¡¯s words had no conviction behind them. He knew very well that despite what the initial agreement may have said special circumstances would be weighed differently. A twenty feet tall statue of a muscular broad shouldered beastkin with wings made out of solid mana infused gold was not something he would get to keep to himself. ¡°My duchy¡¯s financial situation has certainly improved.¡± Ajax decided to change the subject. ¡°That¡¯s an understatement if I ever heard one.¡± Anna laughed as she had slowed down to walk alongside the two and join the conversation. ¡°With that much gold your house is competing for the fourth richest in Gryndor.¡± Ajax already knew the economical landscape of Gryndor enough to know that the top three Houses in Gryndor in terms of financial power were the royals, House Goldmancer, and House Smithmade. House Smithmade was one of the oldest Houses, they focused on crafters and had been raised to Goldmancer twice before, once for a single century and another time for a milenia and a half. They were always a contender for the position of Archduke due to their influence on the crafter population. Many in fact were sure that once the current head of House Goldmancer passes it won¡¯t be long before Smithmade regains the title once again. The next dungeon floor wasn¡¯t anything all that exciting. A forest on the side of a mountain with a hellish wind blowing constantly but often changing directions on whim. Oliver struggled to kill his mini boss and wisely opted to stop his climb at this point. He had managed to gain +2 to all stats and he was happy with the results. The seventh floor was cleared in a similar manner, the only difference was that Ajax was now starting to show his limits when it came to ensuring his friends and girlfriend got a one on one fight with a mini boss. The level sixties were more resilient and Ajax had to be careful not to hit the mini boss while taking out its guards. The eighth was much harder, both Lexi and Xavier had to kill a second mini boss after Ajax was forced to enter the fight as he hadn¡¯t been able to intercept all the minions. Anna¡¯s pyromancer style naturally lent itself to isolation as her opening attack forced everyone and everything to spread out, from there Ajax could easily pick off all the enemies with the exception of the mini boss. ¡°This should be safe enough, go to sleep.¡± Lexi chastised Ajax as they made camp in front of one of the arches leading to the ninth floor. ¡°You won¡¯t get another chance to have someone watching out for you.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Ajax said as he laid down to sleep. ¡°Just remember to let the prince know I might have some trouble with taxes after I exit.¡± Chapter 456 ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± Lexi hugged Ajax one more time before they got ready to leave the dungeon. ¡°I¡¯ll only be here for a few hours.¡± Ajax tried to reassure her ¡°It''s not like I am clearing any of these floors. The team spent a bit longer than intended on the previous floor but Ajax insisted on it since it was the best chance for him to experiment with alchemy on the gold he collected that he couldn¡¯t take outside. The results of those experiments were interesting, gold was one of the worst products he had ever used when trying to create a potion or elixir. He did find out however that gold did make the more unstable mixtures go out of control almost on contact every time. That was something that might be useful in the future, certainly not something he would put large amounts of gold into. ¡°I have an idea about how to deal with the gold.¡± Anna said. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get the prince to try and get you out of the way of the dungeon break once you come out. You are carrying multiple storage rings, maybe you can slip it to him in the chaos.¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to try it if he is.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°If we get caught it¡¯s not like they can say anything about it since they technically shouldn¡¯t be taxing me at all.¡± With that the group parted ways as Lexi, Anna and Xavier exited the dungeon. Ajax was dead set on speeding through the floors, it would take something very out of the ordinary to get him to prolong his stay, especially on the higher floors where the danger was very much real. As soon as Lexi, Anna and Xavier exited the dungeon they were quickly pulled off to one side. Anna had made sure to wear a small necklace made of gold that she had in her spacial ring before entering the dungeon. Wearing it now was a test to see if the Empire knew anything about the golden city floor they had delved. The imperial soldiers that greeted them as they exited the dungeon surprised them a little. A small army was gathered at the entrance of the dungeon and they looked ready for battle. It didn¡¯t take long for them to realize that the army was there to prepare for Ajax¡¯s dungeon break. The guards were upon them in moments and they were quickly escorted away from the entrance of the dungeon. While the guards were very impatient they all kept a respectful distance and their words were very polite as they moved the trio to where the prince of Gryndor was waiting for them. ¡°How was it?¡± He greeted them with a smile from where he was sitting next to a pale looking Oliver. ¡°We were expecting you a few hours ago.¡± ¡°Ajax found something he wanted to experiment with so we stuck around until he got done playing with his cauldron.¡± Xavier explained with a sigh. ¡°Hope you didn¡¯t threaten Oliver too much.¡± ¡°Only once or twice.¡± the prince said with a calm smile. ¡°How long do you think Ajax will be?¡± ¡°A couple of hours at most, time moves faster in those higher density floors and he will be running straight from one floor to the next.¡± Lexi answered. ¡°Might take a bit longer on the sixteenth floor just to not pick a hard battle.¡± Lexi was trying to hide Ajax¡¯s ability to pick out floors, the time he would be spending on the sixteenth floor would most likely be a lot shorter than the time he spent on the fifteenth as he would be looking for the most suitable mana type for the level one hundred and tens to be. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°There is the matter of your spacial rings.¡± the imperial crown prince mentioned with a nod towards the three new arrivals. ¡°Anything we gain from the dungeon belongs to us.¡± Anna said in a cold voice. ¡°That does not apply to national resources.¡± Solderon pointed out. ¡°We do need to check.¡± Everyone knew that it was only an excuse for them to check since they wanted information more than anything else, more specifically they wanted to know just how far the pushed into the dungeon before being forced to exit. Much to the imperial¡¯s displeasure, they weren¡¯t able to find a single item from the dungeon among the groups spacial rings. ¡°You didn¡¯t take anything?¡± Sandor asked, trying to help his father. ¡°Were you that unlucky?¡± ¡°Just ask the question you want to ask.¡± Xavier dodged the obvious bait. ¡°How far did you delve?¡± Denisa asked straight forward. ¡°We exited on the ninth floor.¡± Anna answered much to everyone¡¯s surprise. They didn¡¯t know why she was giving away such vital information. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± while her face was expressionless the tone of her words didn¡¯t convey any regret. While nothing could be read on Solderon¡¯s face the same could not be said for Sandor and Denisa. Both of them winced when they heard Anna¡¯s answer. The Empire was relying on Gryndor¡¯s need to send their people into the Empire¡¯s dungeons as a way to trade spots for any future access Gryndor might gain in other nation¡¯s dungeons. The news that the most promising of the new generation won¡¯t need access to the Empire¡¯s main dungeon for at least a couple of decades was soul crushing for both Sandor and Denisa who would be forced to choose between stagnating their level or giving up floors. ¡°The situation is slated so far in your favor you don¡¯t even need to hide your hand.¡± Solderon finally showed some emotion as he let out a defeated sigh. The empire was at the mercy of Gryndor. ¡°Do you have an estimate?¡± ¡°No, my brother will handle that.¡± the prince answered. Gryndor couldn¡¯t push the Empire too far when it came to the price. If the Empire thought they were falling too far behind they would turn to war rather than wait for Gryndor to simply conquer them in a few centuries when their champions all vastly outstated the Empires. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel good, does it?¡± Sandor whispered to Xavier. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°Knowing you won¡¯t become king.¡± Sandor clarified. ¡°I made my piece with it a few years ago. My father is too young, the chance to delve into dungeons like this is my first ray of hope of having a chance at the crown.¡± Xavier could sympathise with Sandor¡¯s feelings on this matter. He felt very much the same way when he first found out about Ajax¡¯s training method. The chance to delve so many dungeons had also reignited his own hopes of becoming king of Gryndor one day though he knew he would have to keep pushing himself to remain competitive in terms of strength with his younger cousins and any other siblings his parents might give him. ¡°It¡¯s hard.¡± Xavier nodded. ¡°It must be even harder for you.¡± ¡°You do know you have to change your focus, don¡¯t you?¡± Anna asked Sandor. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sandor asked. ¡°You¡¯re not going to be able to compete in terms of combat prowess, you simply missed out on too much for your level.¡± Anna clarified, Sandor was already level fifty and it was true he had already missed out on the rewards from a lot of dungeon his competition might have access to. ¡°You¡¯ll certainly need to remain a viable fighter to continue pushing through floors but you should focus on learning to rule if you want a chance at the crown. I think Denisa has a better chance of being crowned queen as things stand.¡± Unlike her brother Denisa had focused a lot on learning everything she could about ruling and developing her skills in the same direction as well. She was a competent fighter but at best average for a royal. ¡°It¡¯s not a comp-¡± Solderon cut himself off, as much as he wanted to say it wasn¡¯t a competition that was no longer the case. Denisa had never had any ambition for the crown but that was because she had realized a long time ago it was out of reach for her. Now that it was no longer the case she could have changed her mind. Over the next hour or so Xavier, Anna and Lexi talked with Denisa and Sandor. Over the course of the discussion Xavier, Anna and Lexi cemented their previous conclusion that they couldn¡¯t become friends with the imperials, this all stemmed from their different views towards the other humanoids. But they could be allies and trade partners. ¡°He¡¯s out!¡± The shout was picked up by every platoon leader and carried over to the group. The prince stood as he and the squad that was present prepared in case they needed to extract Ajax. It turned out there was no need as Ajax was led to them in seconds, unfortunately for their plan to hide the ring in the chaos it seemed the empire were prepared enough to lead Ajax away before the dungeon broke. ¡°What¡¯s the floor?¡± Zilfallon said, appearing out of nowhere with an excited smile and his sword drawn. ¡°Some kind of massive lake.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°The Aquatic monsters should be easier to handle away from the water but they are still between level one hundred and fifteen and one hundred and twenty.¡± Chapter 457 ¡°You want us to help out?¡± The leader of the squad asked the prince. The dungeon started spitting out all sorts of aquatic monsters at that moment. ¡°No need, they are prepared for it.¡± the prince said as he eyed the elite fighters that were all around them. This was the most dangerous time for them. Being so close to the dungeon they were limited to only one of the three squads that came with them. Not only that but the chaos of a dungeon break of this level was the perfect cover for anything to happen. ¡°There¡¯s no assassination attempt.¡± Zilfalon¡¯s words made the prince twitch. ¡°Why would you say that?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Oh we discussed it.¡± Zilfalon admitted with not an ouch of guilt or remorse. ¡°Your dad¡¯s too old for us to try that. Your brother wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the peace. Between Manashaper and Goldmancer a deal would be worked out with other kingdoms to at least cause a change in the ruling family here in the Empire.¡± The prince was about to respond to that when a chilling sound echoed across the courtyard. One so dreaded that a moment of silence descended on the battlefield, every soldier suddenly much more aware of their surroundings as they backed up in fear. ¡°AAAAWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO¡± ¡°Werewolf¡± The word was spoken as one by everyone above level one hundred. One of, if not the most lethal floor bosses. It was a known fact that a werewolf¡¯s venom could kill even people thirty levels higher even through a highly leveled [Poison Resistance]. Ajax quickly brought his focus back to the battlefield no further than two hundred feet from him. A hulking creature, eight feet tall with sleek black fur held its head high as it howled with its muzzle raised towards the sky. Ajax felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the creature move. It¡¯s movements were wild and unpredictable, dashing to the left and right without a discernable pattern as it charged towards the line of soldiers. Despite the constant change of direction the creature was still faster than Ajax¡¯s top speed in a straight line. Before the beast could clash with the soldiers a massive tower shield smashed straight into it. Ajax hadn¡¯t even seen the man approach until the shield made contact with the werewolf. As the werewolf was ragdolled bag Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of an American football player. Despite its eight foot tall stature the beast''s legs were all wiry muscle, from the waist up however the amount of muscle increased so much it almost looked like it was wearing shoulder pads underneath all that fur. ¡°You bring the worst luck, you know that?¡± Zilfallon said as he took in the werewolf. ¡°We were hoping to give our more talented soldiers a good work out against a floor boss. One around their level should have been enough to push a few of them to develop some new skills. All this without the dungeon restriction of fifty people and defensive position where the terrain was in their advantage.¡± ¡°But nooooo.¡± Zilfallon continued to complain. ¡°It just had to be a werewolf, one of the worst possible outcomes, we let that thing loose inside our ranks and we¡¯ll lose a tenth of the soldiers before the rest manage to bring it down.¡± Seeing how injured the werewolf was as it got back up Ajax started to feel more confident in facing the creature. He wouldn¡¯t be stupid to face it alone, but with a team of ten other people around level one hundred and twenty he was confident in bringing it down. Stolen story; please report. The warrior in full plate with a massive tower shield didn¡¯t need ten more people. It rushed towards the floor boss without a single worry. Despite the heavy plate armor that Ajax was sure weighed a lot based on the footprints that were left in the metal floor that housed the defensive enchantments the warrior was moving even faster than the werewolf. Not only that but the club he swung had no issues crushing the beast''s arm to the point white bone could be seen sticking out past the fur. With the floor boss handled it didn¡¯t take long for the soldiers to regain their composure and finish off the remaining monsters without any casualties. The aquatic creatures weren¡¯t strong enough on dry land to take advantage of the chance granted to them by the appearance of the werewolf. ¡°So you said no assassination?¡± the prince returned the conversation to the point they were interrupted. ¡°Nope.¡± Zilfallon confirmed. ¡°There¡¯s too many important people here for that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you¡¯re afraid of.¡± Xavier said as he looked Zilfallon in the eye. ¡°You know that if you do it dad will make deals with the elves and dwarves about delving Gryndor¡¯s dungeon when he becomes king while freezing out the Empire.¡± Zilfallon and Solderon gave nothing away but the truth of the matter could be clearly read on both Sandor¡¯s and Denisa¡¯s faces. In a way it made sense, the entire political landscape of every kingdom was now in flux thanks to Ajax¡¯s technique doing the rounds as well as the new status quo of nobles potentially delving into multiple nations'' dungeons. ¡°You¡¯ve got a better head on your shoulders than I gave you credit for.¡± Solderon said with a sigh once he saw there was no point denying anything. ¡°This makes me feel much better about the future talk I will have to have with your father.¡± Xavier''s face flushed crimson at that. He knew that Solderon was referring to an arranged marriage that the Empire would try to use to solidify their ties to Gryndor. ¡°Can we go now?¡± Anna asked. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get away from dungeons for a while.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve yet to inspect Ajax¡¯s spacial storage.¡± Denisa said as she looked towards the rings that adorned Ajax¡¯s fingers. Ajax fought back a curse, he had been so focused on the werewolf that he had messed up the plan of trying to pass off the ring to the prince. ¡°You already know how far he got.¡± the prince said with a disinterested voice, one that was good enough to almost convince Ajax he didn¡¯t care about the matter if he didn¡¯t know better. ¡°At best he picked up a trinket or two from the floors, call it a keepsake of the Empire.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind him keeping it, but we should at least know how he¡¯ll remember our Empire.¡± ZIlfallon said as he latched on any way to be combative. With that Ajax knew it was over. Any further attempts at not having his rings inspected would only make them more suspicious. One by one Ajax passed the rings over to be inspected. The first three drew a few interested whistles as the corpses of each creature he had killed on each floor were brought out. Ajax was glad Olvier had been warned beforehand to keep his expression guarded as he was sure the man was smart enough to put together that Ajax could somehow remove monsters from the dungeon. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad haul, notice there seems to be one monster from each floor, any chance you have a skill that helps you find them on the floor?¡± Solderon asked as he inspected the contents. ¡°We¡¯ll be very generous for any info-¡± ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± the assessor started choking as he looked inside Ajax¡¯s last ring and cut off the imperial prince. Ajax let out a defeated sigh at that whereas Zilfallon became much more interested. ¡°What is it? Something good?¡± The assessor came to his senses and moved a little away from the group to get some space before taking out one half of the golem. Everything from the waist down was still ten feet tall, the massive amount of gold caused everyone to stare slack jawed for a moment. ¡°We¡­.. we agreed that there was no taxes.¡± not even the prince had known what was in Ajax¡¯s ring and he was just as surprised as the imperials to see the massive amount of mana rich gold. ¡°NO TAXES?! THIS IS ONLY HALF.¡± The prince¡¯s words had been enough to awaken the inspector from his trance-like state before he realized who he was addressing. ¡°Apologies for my rudeness, Your Highness, I¡¯m not sure what came over me.¡± ¡°That was our deal.¡± Ajax pressed on, hoping to take advantage of the shock all of them had to be feeling at seeing this much wealth come out of one single delve. ¡°This is not a normal circumstance.¡± Sandor argued back his eyes not leaving the mountain of gold. ¡°Gold is not a national treasure.¡± Lexi came to Ajax¡¯s support. ¡°You can have one leg, everything under the knee.¡± Ajax¡¯s words surprised everyone. ¡°Done!¡± Solderon was quick to agree, it might not be as much as he wanted but getting that much without creating any waves was a win for him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t done.¡± Ajax said, causing the imperial prince to frown. ¡°In exchange I want to delve your other dungeon.¡± ¡°So you can cause a bigger dungeon break than this one?, that one would be at level one hundred and thirty four!¡± Solderon balked. ¡°I¡¯ll stop one floor before that.¡± Ajax said, that would be enough to give him two more floor clears, enough for him to get a total +150 to all stats from dungeon floors alone. ¡°An entire leg.¡± Solderon countered. Ajax could feel his meager merchant skills getting crushed, as much as he wanted to counter the words simply refused to leave his mouth. ¡°Halfway up the thigh.¡± Anna chimed in. Solderon open his mouth but took out look in Anna¡¯s determined eyes and before he closed his mouth, nodded and offered Ajax a handshake to seal the deal. Chapter 458 ¡°Does it really need to be like this?¡± Ajax asked as looked on at all the gathered nobles in the imperial throne room. ¡°It¡¯s a big power move for the emperor.¡± Anna explained. ¡°Because the Empire can only openly trade with Gryndor and for a lot of those trade products we are only acting as intermediaries they have to spend large amounts of gold. The addition of this much gold into their market is a show of strength that dilutes the buying power of all the other nobles.¡± ¡°They have to do it like this as a show of good faith to the nobles.¡± Xavier also joined in. ¡°It explains where all the gold came from and that it¡¯s not just the royals intentionally pulling a trick on everyone else and just a lucky break they caught.¡± ¡°Thank you all for coming today.¡± the emperor¡¯s voice silenced all the whispers and conversations taking place. ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to share with you today the fortune of a young man many of you have heard about. Duke Ajax Hearthbound.¡± The whispering started immediately as the name was announced. With every passing second as Ajax entered from the side entrance and he approached the throne the pressure continued to build like a powder keg. While most nobles had a neutral stance of Ajax, there were few who hated him and almost none who liked him. ¡°During his delve this week this young man came upon an unprecedented floor.¡± the emperor continued. ¡°A city made entirely of gold!¡± Like a lit fuse the room exploded, the silent whispers became much louder as everyone suddenly became very interested in the announcement. This only became worse when both halves of the golem were taken out of the spacial ring and presented before the court. ¡°I hope you plan to send an escort with us to the border.¡± the prince addressed Solderon as the emperor waited for the excitement to die down and the information to settle. ¡°That can certainly be arranged.¡± Solderon grinned back with a merchant¡¯s grin. ¡°Wipe that smile off.¡± the prince said as he threw him his trademark smirk. ¡°We won¡¯t pay for it, either you do it or you better not complain about how we handle anyone who tries to rob us upon our departure.¡± The prince¡¯s words had the intended effect. With three whole squads present along with the prince, Solderon knew that any would-be robbers would only head towards an early grave. Usually that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing as nobles who would risk such an incident over gold were ones the crown would like to keep weak, the timing wasn¡¯t good for it however. They needed as many elite combatants as they could get their hands on for their upcoming territory expansion projects, especially with the information they had received regarding the interference of the ascended races. ¡°While this young man is entitled by our agreements to keep anything he gains from the delve outside of national resources as stated in the deal that granted him the delve, he has decided to honor the tax the Empire places on all adventurers.¡± Ajax had to push his social skills as hard as he could to keep his face from showing the surprise he felt as the emperor started spinning his tale. ¡°20% of the treasure, about one leg from the mid thigh down has been accepted.¡± At those words one of the royal guards unsheathed his sword and with a precise cut that most of the audience couldn¡¯t even track the leg in question was separated. The royal advisor then placed all of Ajax¡¯s gold back in the spacial ring before publicly returning it to him. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°As a show of thanks for his honor and character the crown has granted him another delve in ...¡± Ajax stopped listening to the king¡¯s words and instead focused on how the nobles were reacting to the news. It was easy to see that a number of them saw through the charade, while the king was making a big show of how generous both him and Ajax were and how close the future powerhouse was with the imperial family the trade was obvious. Another delve in their lesser dungeon for 20% of the gold and no problems regarding the obtained loot. ¡°You realize the emperor just screwed you.¡± Anna whispered to both the prince and Xavier. ¡°How?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°What?¡± the prince asked, though from the shit eating grin he now saw back on Solderon¡¯s face he knew that Anna was right. ¡°The deal we made at the dungeon wasn¡¯t written down.¡± Anna explained. ¡°He just publicly announced that Ajax willingly paid this as a tax, the laws of Gryndor take into account any taxes paid on goods obtained in other kingdoms to allow merchants to make a solid profit.¡± This was where the emperor¡¯s genius really showed. While the heads of important houses would be able to see past the clear twisting of events they would also put together that the emperor just saved Ajax literal pile of gold upon his return to Gryndor, something that would solidify a strong relationship between the rising ducal House and the imperial family. More than anything they probably also saw through Ajax¡¯s social skills and were aware he was taken aback by the announcement this was a gift from the emperor. It was now Xavier and the prince¡¯s turn to play up their frustrations. In reality neither of them cared a lick about Ajax not paying taxes on this pile of gold. His ability to reliably harvest select items from dungeons and lead parties to favorable floors would more than make up for any upfront infusion of gold. Anna¡¯s words had been intended to ensure everyone was aware of the Empire¡¯s move. A celebratory party followed the announcement. With the golden leg standing in the center of the throne room for all to admire. With the emperor¡¯s support behind Ajax almost every noble in attendance made it their mission to approach him, many of them looking to secure a trade agreement so they could also gain an infusion of gold to their own coffers. It was here that the emperor¡¯s plan slightly backfired on him. He could only watch with a forced smile on his face as Lexi and Anna clearly favored the more progressive nobles of the Empire, Ajax¡¯s input on the deals themselves was tangential at best. One thing he did put in for was any abundant cheap resource that was more exclusive to the empire. ¡°Why the focus on abundant cheap resources?¡± Anna asked him after they departed from the palace. The deals Anna had made spent the remaining half a thigh and half a hip from the golem in exchange for goods that Ajax would need to settle his duchy, with all payment to be made upon delivery of the goods to his lands. ¡°I plan to experiment with them.¡± Ajax said honestly. ¡°Because of how isolated the Empire trading is it means that any goods seen as worthless aren¡¯t really traded.¡± ¡°The reason they are useless is because they have already checked if they are good for anything.¡± Anna countered. ¡°The first thing you look for as a landed nobles is a use for anything plentiful in your lands.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t check if they are good in combination with other cheap and plentiful resources from other kingdoms.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°They might be useless on their own but who knows what they could do if added to other similar resources found in the Republic or Sylvanthal.¡± Ajax planned to raise a number of alchemists to satisfy the demand for cement, he was now looking for any other novelty product those same alchemists could use to train their skills on while also providing further exports for his duchy. The following morning Ajax was joined by Xavier, Lexi and Anna as they stood in front of the dungeon. While the deal technically only mandated that Ajax was able to delve it seemed the Empire was looking to change the details slightly. ¡°Why is he going with us?¡± Ajax asked as he eyed the Empire champion. ¡°A second dungeon break of such a magnitude in the same week is not something we want.¡± Zilfallon answered honestly much to Solderon¡¯s displeasure. ¡° Prince Xavier, Lady Manashaper and Lady Goldmancer as well as any one of your guards are welcome to accompany you as well. We¡¯ll just rather avoid another dungeon break by having Clark here clear the last floor.¡± Clark was the youngest of the Empire¡¯s champions, Ajax hadn¡¯t used his inspections skills on him but from what the prince said they were about the same in terms of strength and all two of the three squad leaders they had with them somewhat countered his skills set. Either of them would be more than enough to easily put the man down if he tried something inside the dungeon. ¡°Alright.¡± Ajax agreed, since he wasn¡¯t pushing that far into the dungeon it wasn¡¯t like he would be showcasing his full power. He was slightly disappointed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to choose his floors or that he would have to forfeit the bodies of the kills he made on these floors to keep his ability a secret but that was a price he was willing to pay in order to give his friends and lover another two floors worth of stats. Like him they had also delved this dungeon five years ago while boosted, without the ability to select their foe none of them were confident in fighting a level seventy four so they would have to limit themselves to only a two floor gain the same as Ajax. Chapter 459 From the moment they entered the dungeon this was one of their fastest delves ever. They had no reason to stay too long and at most they would have had seven floors to clear. With nobody having anything to gain from the first and second floors they simply took the first arch they came across on both floors. ¡°You go last.¡± The squad captain informed the empire champion as Ajax made his way through the arch. It had been all but agreed upon that the Empire would have had an open kill order on Ajax inside the dungeon. Sure they wouldn¡¯t risk killing the entire expedition but if they had a chance to take out Ajax by himself that wouldn¡¯t draw the full ire of House Goldmancer or Manashaper. This probably wasn¡¯t even a personal decision, just a target of opportunity. ¡°That¡¯s quite the power you¡¯re all packing.¡± Clark complimented once he saw Xavier, Anna and Lexi in action. The monsters they had defeated had been more than five levels higher than them yet none of them had even been pushed at all. ¡°Just wait, next floor you¡¯ll see what we can really do.¡± Xavier said with a smirk that was reminiscent of his uncle. All three of them had agreed to put on a bit of a show for the Empire. As future powerhouses of their respective Houses all three of them had their safety assured. Considering the moves the beastkin were making everyone was expecting that sooner or later a war would break out so they were hoping to show that the next generation of Gryndor was more than just Ajax. The group had entered barely two hours ago and they had already made it on to the fourth floor. The fourth floor had one of the more distinctive natural environments that Ajax had seen. The group found themselves at the bottom of a long canyon with barely more than two hundred feet from the wall on their left to the one on their right. The walls seemed to stretch up forever and the hot sun was beating down on them from above. ¡°Keep your eyes on the walls.¡± Xavier warned them. ¡°I went through a similar floor before and there were small caves in the walls from where lizards that could throw spikes attacked. Ajax was mildly surprised to find out that the prince had seen a floor layout that he had yet to come across. ¡°Should we climb up and check what¡¯s at the top?¡± Ajax asked as he scanned the walls for a path to climb. ¡°No point.¡± the squad captain said. ¡°These floors have a ceiling before you reach the top. Just like you can¡¯t reach the roots on a floor where you are on a big ass tree.¡± he made sure to give Ajax an example he could relate to. As they neared the first cavern inside one of the walls Ajax threw a rock as deep as it would go before the tunnel turned. From the sound of the impact he put together that these tunnels went deeper in the wall of stone than he had expected. ¡°The other arches have to be around here.¡± the Empire champion said, haven¡¯t seen any of them on the outside. Once inside the cave it didn¡¯t take long before they reached the first arch. It was hidden inside a small chamber off on the side of the main tunnel along with dozens of eggs and one large salamander guardian. ¡°I¡¯ve got this one.¡± Anna said with confidence before she started chanting. The pyro mage held nothing back as she turned the entire room into an inferno the moment her first spell finished. The eggs had all been ready to hatch, part of the fight being dealing with the small and fragile creatures suddenly swarming you but none of that mattered as the flames had started melting the rock let alone the eggs and hatchlings. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The mini boss was still alive but Anna didn¡¯t even let it get close to her. She had already finished chanting her second spell by the time the salamander managed to get its bearings and jump towards her. An explosive fireball was enough to not only put a stop to the mini bosses momentum but it also sent it flying back towards the other side of the room. The injured mini boss was clearly very injured by the first two attacks; it had barely managed to get back up before Anna launched her third and final attack, killing the creature. ¡°I¡¯m done, we can go for the next one.¡± Anna said with a smile as the stunned champion could only stare with wide eyes at the scorched chamber. Xavier wasn¡¯t one to be left behind. He was the second to take on a mini boss and he proved just how good he was as a hybrid fighter. While his fight took longer than Anna¡¯s he showed his power through the control he showcased over his opponent. He didn¡¯t bother to block a single attack from the mini boss, simply dodging out of the way at the last second while scoring another deep cut of landing a spell. In the eyes of the Empire champion Xavier¡¯s performance was much more meaningful than Anna¡¯s, he knew just how many dungeons Xavier had cleared recently, to still have enough control over himself after gaining that many stats to pull that off was something to take note of. The most shocking display out of all of them however went to Lexi. The champion hadn¡¯t been able to help himself from exclaiming when she deployed her Domain. ¡°She knows how to use a Domain?!¡± The champion¡¯s surprise was understandable since not even Lexi¡¯s grandfather had managed to gain a Domain, though Ajax was sure that as soon as Lexi returned the old man would pester her about learning. Lexi''s fight ended even quicker than Anna¡¯s. Her opening fire spell cleared the room and provoked the mini boss into a reckless attack only for it to be killed by her follow up lightning strike. Unlike Ajax Lexi put a lot more power into her Lightning attacks and focused them for their penetration power instead of the paralysis effect Ajax instinctively went for. ¡°You¡¯re sure none of you want to try the fifth floor?¡± the squad leader asked. ¡°It¡¯s fine we can do it next time we are here.¡± Lexi responded. She was sure there would be a next time since now that the Empire would have a first hand account of how strong even the three of them had gotten they would spare no expense to ensure some of their own people got to delve multiple dungeons. In truth all three of them felt they could handle a level seventy four mini boss; it just needed to be a good match up. The problem was that if they made a mistake the squad leader would be forced to intercede and help them. The empire champion could take that opportunity to attack Ajax. More than that without Ajax hand picking the floors it was much harder to get favorable matchups. ¡°Finally caught up, at least a bit.¡± Lexi said as she gave Ajax a hug before they stepped onto the next floor. ¡°I¡¯m about as strong as you were five years ago.¡± Five years ago Ajax had managed to kill a level seventy four mini boss, just barely. He was sure that Lexi as she was now could actually beat him as he was five years ago if she had enough time to unleash her Domain before he got close to her. Her sheer offensive power was not something he would have been able to deal with back then. The same might be true of the reverse but his effective range was a lot smaller than hers. Xavier, Lexi and Anna all left the dungeon as soon as they got on the fifth floor. With their departure the traveling speed of the group increased a lot. They had been previously keeping themselves to the travel speed set by Anna and Lexi who were both pure mages. It took barely five minutes to come upon the first arch. ¡°Didn¡¯t you need that one?¡± the Empire champion asked when the squad leader took out the mini boss as they approached. ¡°I already cleared this floor five years ago.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer had shocked the man, while the Empire had been able to somewhat gauge how far Ajax had delved in their main dungeon they had no idea how far he had gotten in his boosted run. The next two floors were no surprise to anyone, Ajax had managed to make it up to level one hundred and twenty all by himself so clearing the next two floors in under half an hour was expected. ¡®Here it goes¡¯ Ajax thought to himself as he stood before the arch. ¡®Time to see if something happens after clearing one hundred and fifty floors.¡¯ As he stepped onto the eighth floor Ajax received the expected announcement congratulating him for clearing another floor and receiving another +1 to all stats. That wasn¡¯t all there was to it however as he also felt a shiver travel throughout his entire body followed by a wave of energy. Racial Evolution Awakend Humanoid (Human) -> Ascended Humanoid (Human) Requirements: Gain 150 to all stats from Humanoid Achievement Delver. Rewards : Remaining lifespan doubled. Gain +10 to all stats Achievement : Rapid Evolution Evolve your race before the age of 50. Requires ten Discoveries to earn: Requirement fulfilled by Researcher Reward : All experience gains increased by 200%. !(lesser versions of the achievement can no longer be obtained.) Achievement : Evolution Evolve your race. Requires five Discoveries to earn. Reward : All experience gains increased by 150%. Chapter 460 There was a lot Ajax had hoped would happen when he hit the +150 to all stats, he was also just as prepared for there to be nothing to gain. A racial evolution progressing him to Ascendant was not something he had expected in the least. That is to say nothing of the double life span he gained or the massive increase in experience that meant he would now be gaining triple experience. Ajax almost jumped when he felt an arm settle on his shoulder. ¡°You okay, kid?¡± the squad leader asked him as he looked towards him with concern. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Ajax managed to get out. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± That was all Ajax needed to say as he and the squad leader both entered the arch and left the Empire champion alone on the floor with even more questions. ¡°What was that all about?¡± The champion couldn¡¯t help but ask with nobody around to answer him. The more important question however was what was that oppressive feeling he felt from Ajax¡¯s Aura? He hadn¡¯t felt it before they stepped on this floor and while the Aura wasn¡¯t stronger all of a sudden it did have a more domineering feel to it, one that made him feel inferior. Unlike the previous delve the prince was waiting for Ajax at the entrance this time, more than that there was no reason for them to search Ajax since he had been escorted throughout the entire delve. ¡°The triumphant Duke returns.¡± the prince made a spectacle as he quickly moved to hug Ajax and whispered in his ear. ¡°Get a hold of your Aura, now!¡± The prince¡¯s words were exactly what Ajax needed to snap out of the endless questions now burrowing through his mind. He quickly tried to suppress his Aura and in doing so could feel the prince¡¯s own Aura being pushed out and forming a cover for him. ¡°Tone it down.¡± For the first time since Ajax met him Zilfallon wasn¡¯t the cheery battle maniac he had always presented himself as. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we were just about to leave.¡± The prince responds as he complies with the request and subdues his own Aura. With a moment to himself Ajax quickly took a look at his Status. Name : Ajax Hearthbound Level :53 Experience : 122395/143300 Traits: Divine Witness, Duke, Aura Health: 4700/4700 Mana: 4840/4840 Stamina : 3970/3970 Vitality : 397 -> 470 Strength :353 -> 426 Endurance :322 -> 397 Dexterity : 353 -> 438 Intellect : 400 -> 484 Wisdom : 400 -> 471 Mind : 400 -> 485 Perception : 322 -> 398 Stat Points : 0 Skills : New : Empowering Restriction 0 ->5 Creative Application 0 -> 2 Vibrating Strike 0 -> 2 The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Assassinate 0 -> 1 Limit Suppression 0 -> 2 Alchemical Researcher 0 -> 1 Vibration Aspect Mana 0 -> 2 Focused Mind 0 -> 2 Upgrades: Stealth 59 -> 60 Athleticism 53 -> 55 Running 53 -> 55 Haggling 29 -> 30 Axes 70 -> 71 Hammers 70 -> 71 Sword 70 -> 71 Shield 70 -> 71 Bow 70 -> 71 Spear 60 -> 62 Persuasion 39 -> 41 Deception 43-> 45 Pain Resistance 43 -> 44 Conversationalist 21-> 22 Meditation 69-> 73 Alchemy 67-> 70 Precise Cut 58 -> 60 Precise Blow 58 -> 60 Piercing Shot 56 -> 57 Feigned Interest 15 -> 17 Focused aim 20 -> 21 Manipulate Mana 63 -> 64 Water Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Fire Aspect Mana 59 ->60 Air Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Earth Aspect Mana 59 ->60 Light Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Shadow Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Inject Mana 55 -> 56 Spot Weakness 46 -> 48 Mana Skin 48 -> 50 Battlemage Style 36 -> 38 Impervious senses 13 -> 14 Alchemist''s Examination 40 -> 41 Stabilize Mixture 28 -> 31 Mass Production 15 -> 17 Magnetic Aspect Mana 20 -> 21 Mana Conjuration 46 -> 47 Lightning Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Metal Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Ice Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Magma Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Holy Aspect Mana 47 -> 48 Void Aspect Mana 48 -> 50 Curse Slash 32 -> 34 Reckless Researcher 9 -> 10 Unstable Alchemist 13 -> 15 Mana Syphon 43 -> 45 Enigma 28 -> 30 Life Aspect Mana 7 -> 9 It had been a bit over five months since he had gained his Aura, the last big change he had gone through and his improvement told the story of what he had been through during this time. The massive jump in stats that came from dungeons, his one hundred skills achievement as well as his recent evolution showed growth that was unimaginable to most people at his level of power. His skill growth however told another story. While most of his combat skills had been given the leeway to grow in his constant battles not all of them had fit the model. Most of his resistance skills weren¡¯t pushed with the protection he was given, the same could be said for tracking and analysis. [Spot Weakness] was an exception. Most telling however was the number of skills that had gotten stuck at their Threshold. Without a good chance to properly dedicate his training to them Ajax had felt better about leaving them there to wait until this was all over and he would return to his duchy where he could give each of them the proper undivided attention and make the best selection for their threshold perk. Surprisingly enough his experience gain had kept up with his two levels a year standard, having gained most of a level in about one third of a year showing that he had truly been pushing himself when he challenged the top floors as well as the Ettin. ¡°Did Clark try something?¡± The prince asked the moment all of them were inside one of their carriages and the privacy enchantments were functional. ¡°Nothing.¡± the squad leader that went with Ajax said. ¡°This happened when the kid got to the final floor.¡± ¡°He feels¡­ different.¡± Lexi said as cuddled closer and brough Ajax¡¯s arm around her shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s still Ajax but there¡¯s something different about him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in his Aura.¡± The prince explained. ¡°What floor would this have been for him?¡± ¡°It was the 150th floor I cleared.¡± Ajax''s mind finally caught up to the conversation and he answered while giving Lexi a light squeeze with the arm that enveloped her and throwing all of them a warm smile. ¡°Sorry about that, it was a lot to take in.¡± ¡°So there is an Achievement for clearing 150 floors, I knew it.¡± the prince grinned victoriously, now that Ajax was back to being himself he calmed down quickly. ¡°Not quite.¡± Ajax said drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Either there is an Achievement or there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t strictly speaking an Achievement for clearing 150 floors.¡± Ajax hesitated for a moment as he debated on sharing the exact minutia of what happened, doing so would deprive them of one maybe even two discoveries. In the end he decided that the information was well worth the loss. ¡°What there is however is an evolution.¡± ¡°Evolution?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°Evolution of what?¡± ¡°A race evolution.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°From Awakened Humanoid to Ascended Humanoid.¡± The entire carriage fell silent as the grave as everyone processed Ajax¡¯s words. Two very important pieces of information were shared, the first was that clearing 150 floors would evolve humans to the level of an ascended, the second less clear discovery was that, as they were, they were already considered Awakened Humanoids, this meant there should also be something that came before. This was one of the lines of thought Ajax had fallen into back when he had first gotten the notification. His gut reaction was that there should be inferior humanoids, most likely kobolds, goblins, maybe even orcs who didn¡¯t count as awakened but that would need further research to prove. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain how there kind of is an Achievement.¡± one of the squad mages pointed out. ¡°Well, there is an Achievement for evolving.¡± Ajax said with a smug grin. ¡°What is it?¡± The small back and forwards between the Ajax and the mage was enough to bring the prince back into the conversation and focused on gathering as much information they could verify and not ponder on what ifs. ¡°I gained an improved version.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°By evolving before the age of fifty. I increased my experience gain by 200%. I am essentially gaining experience at three times the rate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane!¡± Xavier exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Lexi joined in at the same time. ¡°What is the reward for the base Achievement?¡± the prince asked. ¡°An increase of 150%, essentially a two and a half times gain.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But the Discoveries requirement was different between them as well. Mine took ten Discoveries while the base one needed only five. I fulfilled mine with the Researcher reward but what would happen if you only had five Discoveries available and you got the better Achievement?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember but I¡¯m sure we have that answer.¡± the prince said after he took a moment to think about it. ¡°Still a superior racial evolution, that would explain the domineering aspect of your Aura. As an evolved version it¡¯s only natural that the instinctual response to your presence would feel like that to the rest of us. ¡°That¡¯s not all the evolution gave me.¡± Ajax said, the prince eyebrows rose as he took in Ajax¡¯s grin. ¡°What else was there?¡± Xavier asked, getting even more excited as he knew he was also on track to gain the achievement in due time. ¡°It doubled my remaining lifespan and it increased all of my stats by 10.¡± Ajax¡¯s words caused another round of celebrations for Xavier, Anna and Lexi as all of them were on track to gaining the same reward. The prince and the squad members present remained silent however with frowns working their way onto their faces. ¡°We¡¯ll head straight for the capital.¡± the prince announced. ¡°My father and brother need to make the decision on this, until then nobody is to speak a word of this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ajax asked, he and his friends were taken aback by the turn in the prince¡¯s mood. ¡°This news could cause a war to start.¡± the prince said with a heavy sigh. ¡°You don¡¯t see it yet but you Ajax were already on you way to becoming an unbeatable existence, more than that your lifespan was already heading towards three thousand. It just jumped, not to six thousand but closer to eight maybe even more. This needs to be shared, but it needs to be done slowly and with care. Or you will be seen as a future tyrant.¡± Book 2 Launch
Ajax''s Ascension (Formerly Gamer Reborn) Book 2 chapters stubbed March 9th Returning from his time in the cities¡¯ militia, Ajax comes to find out his village was destroyed and his mentor was injured due to the whims of a spoiled noble. He knows there is nothing that can be done, as he is now, but luckily for him a dungeon nearby offers the perfect opportunity to train before heading to the Capital. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. But once he gets there what will he find? A way to heal his mentor? Support to grow even stronger? Nobles who want to use him for their own ends? Maybe all of the above. Kindle Link Book 2 Audible Link Book 2 With new releases every little bit helps especially in the first few days. If you happen to have a Kindle Unlimited account any support would be appreciated.
Chapter 461 In Gryndor¡¯s Capital. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The crown prince asked, wondering why his father had summoned him. ¡°Your brother is on his way back, something big must have happened.¡± King Gryndor replied as he took a look at all the official correspondence that covered his desk. Nobles from the Empire, the Republic, Sylvanthal and even Brightstone had reached out. ¡°Whatever happened he didn¡¯t share so it isn¡¯t imminent and it will take a while to talk about.¡± ¡°You think the Empire might be imploding?¡± the crown prince asked. ¡°No.¡± King Gryndor denied it. ¡°He might be a stubborn bigot but the emperor was a true talent in our generation. He¡¯ll outlive me for sure and it won¡¯t be close. He still has time to let his children grow before he has to pass on the crown.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s Ajax then.¡± the prince said with a resigned sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early to¡­¡± the king started but let out a similar sigh. ¡°Most likely, it''s something to do with Ajax.¡± The prince went to the cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out two crystal glasses and one bottle before taking a seat opposite his father and pouring both of them a drink. ¡°I swear that kid took half a century from us, the amount of work he causes¡­¡± ¡°The situation may be delicate but at least it¡¯s in our favor.¡± the king said as he accepted his glass and picked out a few specific letters and offered them to his son. ¡°Your position as king will be a lot better than the one I was in when I put on the crown.¡± In the Imperial palace. ¡°So, something happened as he entered the final floor?¡± The emperor asked as he looked towards his two children, grandchildren and Clark the champion who was there to witness it. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Clark confirmed. ¡°He seemed surprised when I entered the floor before he got lost in thought. Most telling however was his Aura, it was very unstable. Whatever he was feeling must have been pretty strong to unbalance him like that. Not only that but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± The emperor¡¯s own ever present Aura lost its usual benevolence and pressed down on the people present. The Aura was barely an inconvenience to Solderon and Zilfallon and Clark¡¯s own Aura was close in strength to the emperors, the same could not be said for Sandor and Denisa who felt suffocated. ¡°His Aura was different, despite it being weaker than my own it somehow made me feel¡­ inferior.¡± Clark admitted. ¡°Should we go after him?¡± Zilfallon asked. ¡°No point.¡± the emperor waved his hand in dismissal as he regained control over his emotions. ¡°They left in a hurry two days ago as soon as the Duke exited the dungeon. They¡¯ll be at the border in hours.¡± ¡°We need to play nice, Gryndor is our only chance to remain relevant in the newest generation.¡± Solderon was used to dealing with his fathers more unstable emotions, he knew they were a side effect of his combat skills so he paid them no mind and focused on providing the best counsel he could. ¡°They¡¯ll also be looking to expand towards the Wild Lands. We won¡¯t have to worry about a war with them unless we start it.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Zilfallon, take Sandor and Denisa.¡± the emperor said. ¡°The three of you will be in charge of ensuring our personal forces are not only adapting well to the surge of power present in the new generation but that they also remain loyal. Solderon come with me, we must ensure the rest of the nobility doesn¡¯t start getting ideas.¡± In Sylvanthal¡¯s capital. ¡°Father!¡± Arianwyn opened the door to her father¡¯s private office to find both the king and Aranor in deep discussion. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sweetheart?¡± the king as he looked towards his daughter. ¡°Something¡¯s happened in the Empire.¡± Arianwyn said with a hint of worry. ¡°Do we know what?¡± The king was also concerned as he knew that Ajax was there at the moment and anything related to him could shift the balance of power. ¡°The spy¡¯s couldn¡¯t find out anything but the Gryndor¡¯s people departed in a hurry the moment Ajax exited the dungeon...¡± Arianwyn trailed off as she considered sharing her own thoughts on the matter. ¡°I am also pretty sure that it was after he cleared what would have been his 150th floor.¡± A bit of simple math was enough for Arianwyn to put that conjecture together. While she had never been privy to the specifics of the floors Ajax had cleared she had spent enough time with him delving and knew how far he had pushed in before the tournament that it was easy to piece everything together. ¡°That is interesting.¡± Aranor nodded as he considered her words. ¡°You¡¯re still a long way off reaching that point, you¡¯ll have time to ask questions about that when you visit Gryndor in a few months, until then don¡¯t push your level any higher, you want to get as much out of the dungeons you¡¯ll be delving as you can.¡± ¡°We should also have our ambassador in Gryndor sent a gift to Ajax¡¯s duchy.¡± The king said with a laugh as he looked at the latest letter sent by Queen Swiftleaf. ¡°His delving expedition solved all of our money problems, Deepwood is more than willing to pay to ensure their own future nobles have the stats to measure up to their peers.¡± Inside the council chamber in the Rupublic ¡°We should charge them for passage.¡± one of the eight councilors pressed. ¡°Most of the nobles will have to send their offsprings through our lands to get to the other kingdoms, this is golden opportunity for us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll only be inciting them to war.¡± Archduke Goldenmouth didn¡¯t raise his voice yet everyone heard his words. ¡°We¡¯ve not even had peace last for a century, I say we push them for more favorable deals in regards to our own people. The more we can send to delve the better.¡± ¡°Do we have any news about what happened in the Empire?¡± Shadow asked, startling a few of the councilors who had forgotten about his presence. ¡°Do we know the reason for their rushed departure?¡± ¡°There was supposedly something that happened to do with Ajax¡¯s Aura.¡± one of the councilors said as he rifled through the reports. Being the only kingdom with equal representation among the four races their spy network had the widest reach being able to infiltrate easier. ¡°The boy has an Aura?¡± the first councilor exclaimed. ¡°He¡¯s not even twenty five years old! You should check your sources.¡± ¡°You¡¯d do well to check reports besides those that concern the economy.¡± Shadow growled his limited tolerance towards the councilman¡¯s lack of competency. ¡°Darkclaw reported that Ajax unleashed his Aura back in Deepwood and that it has been gaining more and more control over it as he continues to delve.¡± ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± Goldenmouth asked Shadow. ¡°Abandon any short term investments we have.¡± Shadow said. ¡°There is no way we can get through changes this vast without someone starting another war. Focus on getting our people ready and prepare some longer term investments. However this next war turns out there will be a long peace that follows it.¡± In Brightstone¡¯s capital ¡°I hereby strip you of your title and of your position.¡± King Bronzebeard¡¯s words echoed in the ears of everyone present. ¡°Furthermore I punish you, sober. For ten whole years you¡¯re not to touch a drop of ale. Guards get him out of my sight.¡± Some of the nobles present winced sympathetically at the final part of the punishment yet nobody was inclined to say a word in the defence of the ambassador. He had foolishly turned down the offered Ajax had made that could have given one of their people the chance to delve not only Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons but also Deepwoods. Brightstone was now behind both Sylvanthal and the Republic whose young talents had managed to secure one or even two spots along with Ajax. ¡°Your Highness.¡± the advisor leaned over to whisper in the king¡¯s ear. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten word that Duke Hearthbound seems to have taken an interest in mining in his lands. It¡¯s the perfect opportunity for us to make amends for spurning his generous offer.¡± ¡°Ensure some quality mining gear is sent.¡± King Bronzebeard nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that king Gryndor isn¡¯t petty, he¡¯s offering us a similar deal to the Republic.¡± ¡°There are five spots in the upcoming delving expedition.¡± King Bronzebeard announced to the court at large. ¡°An open tournament shall be held in a month''s time with the winner getting one of the spots!¡± Out in the Wild Lands ¡°To think that the little whelp has not only outgrown the gauntlet so quickly but that he also managed to evolve.¡± the dragon¡¯s voice rumbled as it looked over another gauntlet that looked identical to Ajax¡¯s. ¡°He¡¯s now able to form an equal bond with the ascended races.¡± ¡°Rrrghhh¡± the small dragon next to her growled. ¡°No little one, you¡¯re far too young to form a bond.¡± the dragon chuckled as it growled back. ¡°We do need to go back, word that a humanoid has evolved should be spread.¡± Chapter 462 ¡°You know that once this gets out it will change everything.¡± The prince said after he sent the message to his father to prepare for an important discussion as soon as they return. ¡°And news of it will get out now that all talented nobles will be delving all the dungeons their families can arrange.¡± ¡°That is not up to me.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I am fine keeping quiet about this.¡± ¡°I know you are already planning ways to get your family to delve as their level increases.¡± the prince said. ¡°The advantage of their level being so low is that they have plenty of time and space to progress and they can delve as they grow, do you think nobody will notice what you did once the news breaks.¡± Ajax¡¯s parents were now lower level than he was. More than that Judy, Alana, Tom and Kate were lower level than Lexi so all of them had more than enough floors to safely reach the same point as Ajax as long as they leveled at a consistent rate. ¡°Your Highness.¡± one of the squad members called out. ¡°We¡¯re approaching the border.¡± While passing the border mattered very little for any of them it was in fact very important for the two slaves Ajax had picked up. As soon as they crossed that border for the first time in their lives they would no longer be slaves, and Ajax wanted to ensure that he turned the moment into a memory they would one day look upon with fondness, even if their initial reaction was to reject it. ¡°Get us to the border checkpoint on our side before we stop.¡± the prince called back. ¡°You do know that you can¡¯t just go off into the Wild Lands now that you are a Duke.¡± Lexi asked, it was one of the things she was actually worried about. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that, I know.¡± Ajax responded with a warm teasing smile. ¡°There are a few things I want to make sure we are at least starting on implementing before I leave. And starting everything could take a year, maybe two.¡± ¡°Speaking of your plans,¡± the prince said as he focused back on Ajax. ¡° Is there anything you need from the royal family to help you with in the near future?¡± ¡°There are a few things.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°The first and biggest is that I would need to dip into your permanent potion supplies.¡± ¡°How much do you need?¡± the prince asked, already wincing at the cost. ¡°No need to look that hurt.¡± Ajax chuckled. ¡°I can now afford to pay for them without it hurting too much. I will need eighty eight points worth, and most of them will need to be potions that can raise stats past 400 and even 450.¡± Ajax¡¯s current total stats was 3569, with one more level that would grow to 3591, and the last time he had consumed potions his total stats were 2711. The number of stats he was growing was less than the amount he increased the first time he ever used the potions but because of his much higher stats these would no doubt cost a lot more. ¡°That can be arranged,¡± the prince nodded. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°I will need some help gathering skilled craftsmen in my duchy.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°They don¡¯t need to be the best, just good and willing to take on more than one apprentice. All this without bankrupting my own family by cutting taxes to nothing.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°That will be up to my father and brother to arrange for you.¡± the prince said with a solemn nod. ¡°I can handle the potions but everything else is up to them.¡± ¡°Why are we in such a dire need of craftsmen?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°Because kids need motivation to study.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Establishing a required amount of schooling everyone needs to attend will mean nothing if they aren¡¯t motivated to learn. By having the use their results in school to select their apprentices it will motivate them to actually learn what we try to teach them.¡± ¡°I hope you realize the amount of oversight establishing something like this requires.¡± Xavier said with a serious look on his face. ¡°Some nobles do something similar by having their children study together as a way to motivate them to learn. The competition causes an odd social dynamic between them that can lead to the development and use of skills you don¡¯t want them to have. [Cheating] and [Sabotage] being top amongst them.¡± ¡°It can also lead to the development of some that are more useful.¡± Lexi spoke from experience. Her own [Hidden Emotions] and [Social Mask] were just two of the examples that children could gain in such environments that she was a part of. ¡°But you will want to ensure they aren¡¯t used on each other.¡± ¡°Not to mention that teaching your commoners like this is not sustainable.¡± Anna pointed out. ¡°Even if everything works out as you expect most of the people who succeed will move away to work for other nobles because of how saturated the positions will be in your own duchies and how much they will pay them.¡± Anna knew that Ajax wasn¡¯t looking to tie people down with binding contracts to attend the schools he hoped to create. This was also one thing Ajax hadn¡¯t thought about. With the impending population increase it was highly likely that he would be able to hold on to the best and brightest of his students, but most near the top and middle of the pack would leave his lands, after all why stay to be a medium fish in a big pond when you can leave to be the biggest fish in a smaller pond. ¡°I encourage you to do it.¡± the prince said with an honest smile. There was no reason to ponder why the royal family would be in favor of such a program. If it worked it was something they would be able to copy, more than that most of the newly developed citizens would end up working in service of the crown. Much in the same way that the royal family benefited from the creation of the Healing Union by Luna they would do the same from Ajax¡¯s school system. It¡¯s true that they would not be able to gather the interest of the highest talents since noble houses would invest heavily in individuals but they would happily scoop up plenty of those who weren¡¯t particularly talented but put in the effort to learn for a chance at a better life. Ajax in fact did have a plan in how he would convince his commoners to stay, it revolved around the idea of improving the lands of his duchy so much that leaving to stay in another duchy would not be desired even if it came with a large increase in social standing. The discussion didn¡¯t have time to move much further as the carriage stopped, they had returned to Gryndor. Ajax and Lexi quickly stepped out of the carriage and looked for the two slaves. ¡°Master.¡± Both slaves greeted Ajax in unison as he approached, drawing curious looks from the soldiers present. It pushed Ajax¡¯s social skills not to cringe at the form of address. ¡°Snake, Monkey.¡± Ajax greeted them. ¡°I have a task for you.¡± ¡°What can we do?¡± Snake asked. Both of the slaves looked much healthier now that they had had plenty to eat for an entire week. They were still what Ajax would call dangerously thin but their cheeks didn¡¯t look sunken in and more and their muscles were starting to fill in to match their rigorous training. ¡°I want you to choose new names for yourselves.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Slavery is outlawed in Gryndor, as of now you are free, Snake and Monkey are what your Master named you. I want you to pick something for yourself.¡± Both slaves froze in fear at his words. ¡°Are y-you abandoning us?¡± Snake¡¯s shaky tone broke Lexi¡¯s heart. ¡°No.¡± Ajax was gentle when he responded. ¡°You are both welcome to remain with me and come work for me and my family. But that is a decision you must make on your own, even if you choose to work as retainers of House Hearthbound you will have more freedom than you ever did in the Empire.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be free.¡± Snake said. ¡°I want to work for Master.¡± Where Snake reacted to the new world she was experiencing with denial, Monkey instead saw a way to adapt. ¡° I am now Jari, and I choose to pledge my service to House Hearthbound.¡± As he said this he didn¡¯t fall to his knees in the way his old masters had forced him to, he instead went down to one knee and kept his head high with his eyes fixed on Ajax. Ajax was grateful for Jari¡¯s adaptability, it gave him a way to show Snake what he wanted without denying her further. ¡°I accept your service Jari.¡± Ajax said with a nod. Snake took a moment to process what just happened. Her eyes flickered between Jari and Ajax before she took a knee as well. ¡°As of today I choose the name Nashara, and I too pledge my service to House Hearthbound.¡± ¡°I accept your service Nashara.¡± Ajax nodded to her as well. Ajax knew that this wouldn¡¯t be enough to change their attitudes towards themselves, but it was a start. ¡°You will now accompany me back to my duchy.¡± As he moved to return to the carriage Ajax discreetly accepted a small item the prince slipped into his hand. It was a two week journey back to the capital and during this time he would need to find the perfect moment to propose to Lexi. Chapter 463 ¡°Why do you want us to stop by Lessis?¡± the prince asked after Ajax informed him of his request. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on returning to the capital originally.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°There are things I at least need to put in motion, not to mention that I have to drop off certain people and resources I picked up along the way.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t wait to see the reaction his family would have to the mountain of gold he was about to drop on their laps. Unlike everything else he had brought back from a dungeon previously this resource didn¡¯t need to be traded to a specialised buyer. He was directly boosting their coffers. ¡°A delay now won¡¯t be good.¡± the prince pressed. ¡°Lessis would be less than a day out of the way.¡± Ajax argued back. ¡°Not to mention I have to pick up my staff.¡± ¡°Why would you need that?¡± the prince asked confused. ¡°Because I am almost level fifty four.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Once I return to my duchy I will be catching up with a lot of Skills I haven¡¯t practiced for a while, not to mention what I could probably gain from my first true exposure to ruling. I think my leveling will keep the same place it has so far¡­¡± ¡°Before the experience boost.¡± The prince swore under his breath once he realized what that meant. He had planned to have at least another year before Ajax would be close to reaching level fifty six and their attempt to gain an achievement from the level one hundred and ten floor boss would need to happen. That timeline had just moved up a lot. This change in his travel plans also solidified Ajax¡¯s decision of proposing to Lexi only after they returned from their attempt at the Achievement. They¡¯d be in the capital then and he could do it at her family¡¯s estate. The only question Ajax had remaining was how much should he share with her before that happens. It was not news to anyone that he had a lot of secrets, but while Lexi had taken every revelation in stride so far there could be some things that pushed too far and he wanted her to make an informed decision when he asked the question. ¡°Do we want to try this with just ten people or go for a group of forty?¡± The prince asked. Unlike the other decisions this was something he could make without having to consult his father and brother. Since the delve could happen again if it was needed and it worked. ¡°Best you stick with just ten.¡± Oliver said , trying to be objective. ¡°Gathering forty promising people under level fifty five will draw a lot of attention. Not something you want to disappoint on if it doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Benedict should still be in the Capital.¡± Ajax suggested, he was already unhappy that his friend had missed out on delving in the Empire¡¯s main dungeon for a second time; he didn''t want him to fall any further behind. ¡°We¡¯ll stick with ten then.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°WIth the four of you that brings us up to five. We need five more.¡± ¡°I say you take a few of the specialists.¡± one of the squad commanders said. The specialists were combatants that focused a more restricted number of skills, all relating to combat and pairing well together. This meant that their leveling was particularly slower than others, even those that were less talented and lazier. It did however mean that they were a menace to face at an equal level for anyone other than Ajax. Even with all the dungeon they had just delved, while they were certainly favored, Lexi, Anna and Xavier would all need to be careful in a fight against them. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Their value is about to go up a lot.¡± Xavier agreed. ¡°With the access to dungeons we are about to have their lifespans are going to increase, especially if they manage to reach the evolution. They will have a lot more time to grow their skills.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the best argument.¡± Ajax disagreed. ¡°The foreign delve spots should be focused on the talented young people. They would get much more out of the experience increase, especially if they manage to get the same Achievement I did.¡± ¡°You forget how many DIscoveries that Achievement requires.¡± Anna stepped in. ¡°I am unsure if I will be able to amass enough of them by the time I reach that point. Some might even be forced to stop pushing their delves until after they turn fifty just so they can get the worse Achievement since it is half the cost in Discoveries.¡± Unlike most things Discoveries weren¡¯t something that someone could track, Ajax was pretty certain that this was to ensure that nobody could abuse the system in such a way as to perfectly track and pave the way for someone to get specific Achievements. Unless you had a reward like the ones Ajax had for both Enigma and the evolution you were always at risk of not being deemed eligible for an Achievement that required Discoveries. The discussion continued as the group tried to reason out who would be a better investment, the older stronger but more limited specialists or the younger more talented but currently weaker prodigies. In the end it was decided that it would be best to get a mix of them for their first try at getting the Achievement. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not pushing to have your family join.¡± Lexi said. ¡°No point for them to join now.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work then we would all have wasted a few weeks right at the moment when we need them the most to get settled. If it does work I¡¯ll just have to take them later, the other Dungeon in the capital has a floor boss at level one hundred and eighteen. I¡¯ll be able to get them that Achievement all the way until I am level sixty.¡± Ajax was sure that by that point he would have grown strong enough to handle a variety of floor bosses. He was already quite a bit stronger than he was back in Sylvanthal and his power would continue to increase for a while yet, between the potions and getting used to his new limits an eight level increase in the floor boss would still be something he could handle, the only issue would be if his family would be able to endure it. Any elemental floor boss would be able to kill them with its sheer presence. Their arrival in Lessis surprised a lot of people. The guards were quick to let them enter the city but it was clear they were scrambling to inform their superiors about the arrival of three out of the eight royal squads as well as the oldest prince. ¡°Have them take us to one of the barracks.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Someone there has to know where to find my family.¡± Ajax was surprised how quickly the large carriages maneuvered through the city streets, clearly it paid to be so important that the guards ensured you quick passage. Once they entered the courtyard of one of the barracks the group started to disembark from the carriages. It was odd for Ajax. While he didn¡¯t recognise most of the people that were lining up to welcome them there was one person he knew well, from the rank on his uniform it seems that Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one to move up in the world since the last time they saw each other. ¡°Your Highness! It¡¯s an honour to welcome you to Lessis.¡± the warden said with a respectful salute. ¡°I apologise for the poor reception, we were not aware of your visit.¡± ¡°No need to fret warden, it was an unplanned visit.¡± the prince responded. ¡°If you could have one of your men lead us to House Hearthbound¡¯s temporary residence we¡¯ll be out of your way.¡± ¡°Commander Grievous.¡± Ajax¡¯s voice was a mixture of joy and surprise, he hadn¡¯t thought about the old guard officer in a while so his presence came as a surprise even though it probably shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°Or should I say warden now. It seems you¡¯ve moved up in the world.¡± ¡°Ajax!¡± The warden was so focused on the prince that he didn¡¯t register Ajax¡¯s presence until he spoke. He visibly winced as soon as the word left his mouth however and he quickly corrected himself. ¡°Welcome, Duke Hearthbound.¡± ¡°No need for all that warden.¡± Ajax waved off his formal greeting. ¡°We¡¯ll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming months. For now we are in a bit of a hurry so if you could point us in the direction of my family.¡± ¡°Ofcourse!¡± Grievous nodded and turned to the only commander present. ¡°Lead them to the temporary Hearthbound estate. Unfortunately it seemed that the group hadn¡¯t moved quickly enough. It had barely been a minute since they exited the carriages but already there seemed to be another commotion happening at the entrance to the barracks. ¡°I am here to talk to the prince.¡± a loud but strong voice said. ¡°Out of my way.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the owner of the voice to push its way into the courtyard with a few threats, followed in his wake by a few people. Some of them Ajax recognised and one specific person quickly turned smothered his happiness as being back in Lessis. ¡°Your Highness.¡± the loud voice called out as they approached with a deep and respectful bow. ¡°Please excuse me but I ask to be heard. I am Baron Nestor, and these lands should belong to my family.¡± Chapter 464 Warden Grievous P.O.V. I wasn¡¯t ready for what happened, even though I was handling it a lot better than most of the people around me. It had been almost seven years since I last saw Ajax and I had only known the kid for a little more than a decade, that was less than a third of the time I had spent in my position as commander of the city. I still remember the willful but utterly helpless boy I noticed back then. I used to think he was very weak, unlucky since he was so determined to improve. Putting that together with the new training method that was spreading like wildfire around the kingdom and his rise as a noble it was easy to see why he had been so weak back when he was ten years old. He had simply not spent his points. The growth the kid had gone through was beyond monstrous however. I had spent some real time as a soldier and part of the army and met so called geniuses before but they all paled before him, to become so much stronger in such a short time put Ajax in a class of his own. What I had first assumed was his presence, an air of authority from how he carried himself now that he was a Duke turned out to be his decently controlled Aura. An Aura that was now flaring with rage and trying to crush everyone around him. ¡°Easy kid.¡± The captain of Squad seven said. It was only for a brief moment but the pressure of the Aura had made it seem like a lot longer, it was so domineering, worse than any other Aura I had experienced before even if it was weaker in strength. It was a good thing there were plenty of people traveling with him now that could smother his Aura with their own. ¡°You¡¯ll need to keep calm until you can control your Aura, it seems it can now do more harm to those unprepared.¡± When I saw Ajax take a step towards the members of House Nestor I was even more glad for the presence of the prince and the squads. From the power of his Aura I knew I could no longer stop him. I had made it to level ninety and managed to clear most of the dungeon floors at the appropriate time as part of my time in the army but he was now stronger than me ¡°Why don¡¯t you all go and take care of your preparations.¡± the prince said as he locked eyes with Ajax. ¡°We need to leave for the capital before sunset. I¡¯ll take care of things here.¡± Ajax took a deep breath and I could feel his Aura return to the same controlled almost suppressed form it had been in before he nodded towards the prince. At that point Lady Manashaper quickly turned towards my Commande Levi and with a sweet smile that worked wonders to cover the small beads of sweat that had started to form at the top of her forehead from the Aura bomb Ajax previously released. ¡°You were going to show us the way to House Hearthbound¡¯s temporary accommodations.¡± ¡°Y-yes m-m-my L-Lady.¡± Commander Levi was less subtle in his recovery, he was the youngest of all my Commanders and having only made his way up through the guards in a time of peace he hadn¡¯t been part of the army, as such his experience with Aura¡¯s was almost nonexistent in this backwater territory. ¡°R-Right this way.¡± I suppressed the small burst of annoyance I felt at Ajax¡¯s departure. I had a lot of questions for the young Duke, most pressing of all being what he was doing right outside of Lessis with that miracle mud of theirs that seemed to harden perfectly. I had talked to our new mayor, and my former subordinate, Tom. All he said though was it was something only Ajax knew about and he had his instructions to follow. It wasn¡¯t something I needed to push, he¡¯d return in a couple of weeks at the latest and I could wait that long. It was only once Ajax had exited the courtyard that the prince had turned his attention towards the Baron. ¡°Baron Nestor I believe you said it was.¡± It was clear from the pale faces of House Nestor that they had quickly figured out who the unleashed Aura had belonged to. Despite being very loud in their objections about losing their lands, House Nestor had fully complied with the crown¡¯s decree and allowed House Hearthbound to take over the land while they prepared their appeal. They just jumped on the opportunity to make it heard earlier when their people must have spotted the prince enter the city. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Baron Nestor had clearly been previously exposed to Aura¡¯s, while he had crumbled under Ajax¡¯s Aura in the same way Commander Levi had done; his recovery was much quicker. ¡°And you are saying that these lands should continue to be ruled by your family?¡± Even a young child could perfectly understand what the curt tone of voice the prince was using meant about his point of view on the matter. ¡°... yes, Your Majesty.¡± the words were barely a whisper, almost unheard compared to his earlier shouts, his defence came a little stronger. ¡°The land has prospered under my family¡¯s rule, especially in the last five years since my oldest has started sharing my burden and training in his role as my heir.¡± I was just about to interrupt but the malevolent grins that spread across a few of the remaining squad member¡¯s faces told me there was no need to do so. The main reason for the improvement seen across the Baron¡¯s lands were the rewards they received for the crown following the discovery of the mana dense lake in the skirmish more than half a decade ago. ¡°Oh really?¡± the prince asked. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting take on the events that happened, I have to say. You see I have looked into all the reports that came out of this barony over the last two decades.¡± ¡°You have?¡± I could hear the dread past all of his social skills. ¡°Yes, you see I had recently gotten involved with training a historical talent unlike anything our kingdom or any other for that matter has seen before.¡± the prince continued. ¡°Him coming from this region of the kingdom alone made it worth investigating, it was his extreme dislike of nobles and secretive nature that made me dig further to look for a cause.¡± I didn¡¯t even bother to hide the pleasure I was taking in seeing House Nestor finally having to own up to their misdeeds. The decades of using their influence to secure an income from the merchants that operated in Lessis and cruelty of their malformed child on the civilians was finally coming back to bite them, it was worth waiting a few weeks to talk to Ajax just to see this. ¡°We have operated within our rights as awarded by the crown.¡± Baron Nestor said with a straight face. ¡°Your extortion of the merchants is pushing heavily on the boundary of what is acceptable.¡± the prince said with a cutting voice. ¡°The amount of dismissed complaints of harassment and minor assault push far beyond, the destruction of multiple villages following the raid of a salamander den however is enough to relieve your family of your title.¡± ¡°All of this over the boy?¡± It was the baroness that asked as the Baron was left speechless by the threat. ¡°Hah hah¡± A dark chuckle escaped the prince that sent a frosty shiver up my spine. ¡°Of course it''s all over the boy. Do you know why noble families like yours can usually get away with a bit of abuse of power? Not that the salamander beastwave wouldn¡¯t have caused an intervention even without Ajax, but do you?¡± We all stood in silence as the prince gave them a chance to answer. ¡°Because our family line is better.¡± Baron Nestor¡¯s oldest son and heir answered. ¡°Wrong.¡± the prince cut down the answer. ¡°You receive that benefit because of your status as landed nobles. You see land is given as a reward, in your family case it was your great-great grandfather whose service was rewarded. You are given power and authority over the commoners because the crown cannot rule alone. It is a show of good faith to the other noble families to support the crown with the promise that even with a subpar generation their House will live on.¡± The prince¡¯s words made me look at things from an angle I hadn¡¯t considered even back during my time in the army. I never understood why despite most nobles being kind the crown allowed tyrants to rule. They were doing it to ensure the loyalty of the other Houses, as long as you don¡¯t push it too far your House¡¯s future transgression can be overlooked in return for loyalty. ¡°Then why wait so long?¡± the Baron asked. ¡°Because it took a while for your transgressions to reach us.¡± the prince said. ¡°While we do care for our people, out of the way places like this I am said to say take a while to come to our attention. By the time it did Ajax had already shared his discovery, it was then decided that he would take over your lands when the time came.¡± ¡°Then why give them all that money?¡± I looked towards my aid with wide eyes at his outburst. ¡°If you were going to replace them, why send them all that wealth?¡± ¡°Because with reward comes scrutiny.¡± the prince explained, not at all looking upset by the interruption. ¡°For the last few years they have let the people prosper, even though I have no doubt they didn¡¯t treat them any better. This would make the land prosper in turn while diluting the populace general dislike for nobles. Making this a perfect time for a change in the nobles ruling.¡± I could see the disagreement on my aid¡¯s face even as he kept quiet. It was easy to understand his point of view but I agreed with the prince. While it did seem like a cruel way to do things this was simply the lesser evil. ¡°Oh, and I wouldn¡¯t bother trying to appeal the decree in open court.¡± The prince said as he turned and started to walk out of the courtyard. ¡°All it would do is make you enemies with every House looking to earn the favour of the new Duke.¡± With that final word of warning the prince and the rest of the squad members left to follow after Ajax and those who had gone ahead. Chapter 465 As the prince leaves he takes with him the last of the stoicism Baron Nestor has. His straight posture haunches over, his controlled breaths turn into a rapid pant more than that warden Grievous can almost visibly see him age. ¡°Hmph.¡± One of the remaining guards can¡¯t help it and a chuckle bursts out as he takes in the state of House Nestor. ¡°YOU THINK YOU CAN LAUGH AT US?¡± The baron¡¯s young child rages, his uneven feet making his gain odd as he approaches the guard. ¡°You¡¯d best stop right there.¡± The warden steps in front. ¡°You no longer rule these lands.¡± ¡°We are still nobles.¡± Baron Nestor says, though the fight has fled from his body after the small exchange with the prince. ¡°Not for long.¡± The warden¡¯s words strike House Nestor like the nails sealing a coffin. ¡°Your House hasn¡¯t produced a single elite fighter in three generations, the people haven¡¯t prospered under your rule and you offended a landed Duke. You should be glad the loss of a title is the worst that is happening to most of you.¡± While the baron and his sons were struggling to form an answer to the warden¡¯s words it was the baroness that spoke first, her voice quivering with fear. ¡°Most of us?¡± ¡°Despite your subpar treatment of the people most of you have only applied pressure in your dealing with the people and looked down on them.¡± the warden explained. ¡°Your eldest even manage to form some positive relationship with our current mayor some years ago. Your youngest however will have to pay for his crimes.¡± ¡°His crimes have already been judged.¡± the baron said. ¡°Not his latest two.¡± the warden pointed out. ¡°That was a bar brawl.¡± the baron pointed out. ¡°A bar brawl does not involve having three retainers beat a man unconscious, especially after your son initiated the conflict.¡± the warden pointed out. ¡°The second so-called offence was a whore in a brothel.¡± The baroness also joined in. ¡°Yes, but Gryndor doesn¡¯t have slavery.¡± the warden pointed out. ¡°She has the right to refuse a client without a beating.¡± ¡°Both of those happened a month ago.¡± The oldest of the baron¡¯s sons said as he started to put together just how bad things were looking. ¡°In the same way your family rushed his previous trials to ensure a favorable punishment, these ones are merely being delayed, not dismissed.¡± the warden explained. ¡°The trials will take place after the loss of his title, as well as any protections it may have given him.¡± ¡°That lowlife peasant thinks he ca-¡± the disfigured man started to rage. ¡°If I were you I would take this as the moment to prepare for things to change.¡± Grievous warned House Nestor. ¡°Even if your title is taken away you will still remain some of the highest leveled people in the area. Trying to get any so called revenge on House Hearthbound will see all of you dead.¡± ¡°Even if they are a ducal house they are brand new.¡± The eldest son said. ¡°I doubt they can wipe us out.¡± ¡°You felt it earlier didn¡¯t you?¡± The question caught all of them off guard. ¡°After I saw how that boy changed I pushed harder than ever over the last decade. I even delved the fourth floor on my own a few times and I will soon be ready to try the same on the fifth. I gained over twenty levels doing so.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. All of House Nestor knew how strong the warden was, the only people stronger than him in Lessis were the Guild leader of the Adventurer¡¯s guild and the previous warden that had now retired. ¡°In that same time the boy didn¡¯t just catch up, he is now so powerful I doubt beating me is even a challenge at this point.¡± the warden said with a grim chuckle. ¡°If I were you Baron, I¡¯d make use of the lead I had while I could, because there will soon be a lot of people more talented than you or I coming here hoping to draw the attention of our new Duke.¡± ¡°As always, I thank you for your council, warden.¡± the Baron said with a nod to his eldest son and heir. The man quickly got the message and subdued his disfigured brother as they started to make their own way out of the courtyard. _________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Ajax what is this I hear about special mud?¡± The prince asked as soon as he entered House Hearthbound¡¯s temporary residence. ¡°Does it have anything to do with your discovery?¡± ¡°You shared that?¡± Tom was the one to ask the question but Ajax¡¯s entire family was shocked to find out Ajax had shared the information on an experiment. ¡°I kind of got a good Achievement out of it.¡± Ajax said as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°It actually happened about the time you should have started trying it out. We have to leave in a few hours but do you think we could go see the result?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± His mother said as she turned towards the small meet and greet happening off to one side. ¡°Theron, could you bring the carriages around?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It took a moment for the minotaur beastkin to react. He was so engrossed in meeting Jari and Nashara. ¡°Yes, Lady Hearthbound.¡± ¡°Fluffy go grab Bob.¡± Tom asked his bond. ¡°Who is Bob?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Someone very eager and very excited to meet you.¡± Judy replied vaguely. As they all exited the inn turned residence the carriages quickly turned the corner, following behind them was Fluffy with a young man held from behind by his tunic in the shadow cat''s mouth. Before Ajax could even get a word in, one of the scout¡¯s from the royal squads asked two questions that cleared everything up for Ajax. ¡°What¡¯s cement? And why would you waste your Trailblazer Achievement on a social skill?¡± It was easy for the scout to put together that the man was a builder by trade, from the low level and age it was also clear that the man was decently talented in the profession, he could think of at least two other Achievements that would have helped him improve as a crafter even if they wouldn¡¯t have given him an Epic skill. ¡°Ajax ,this is Bob.¡± Kate made the introduction, much to Bob¡¯s embarrassment as his face flushed red in her presence. ¡°He is dedicated and has an affinity for working with cement. Bob, meet Duke Ajax Hearthbound.¡± All the embarrassment fled from Bob¡¯s mind and the blood rushed from his face as he quickly dropped to one knee once he realized who he was being presented to. ¡°A social skill.¡± Ajax said as he also examined Bob¡¯s skills, without any privacy skills [Inspector¡¯s Eye] had no issue laying everything bare. ¡°You¡¯re heading down the path of a foreman.¡± Out of the corner of his eye Ajax caught Lexi approving nod. While he was under no illusion that his retainers would get to know the real him once he returned and started living at the estate Lexi had drilled into him the importance of a first impression. One that would help cement his image in their mind while also inspiring them to push forward. ¡°Yes, my Lord.¡± Bob replied, his skill working overtime to ensure he didn¡¯t stutter out his words. The trip outside the city walls was quick, no longer did Ajax have to wait at the city gates to be let out, the guards cleared a path for their carriages as soon as they saw the approach. The manor was going to be built by the road leading to the capital so in the opposite direction from which they arrived at Lessis. The manor was clearly only half done. The stone walls standing tall even unfinished at the end of the concrete road wide enough to fit five wagons side by side. The first thing Ajax noticed about the manor was that stones were layers with cement as a binder, while his current mix wasn¡¯t ideal for such use it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to replace it at a later time slowly with the help of magic. ¡°This isn¡¯t mud at all.¡± The prince said as he inspected the road. ¡°It really took you less than two months to get all this done?¡± The road only stretched from the manor halfway to Lessis, the latter half of their short trip however was noticeably faster as the carriages and horses picked up more speed on the perfectly level road. ¡°The locals call it mud because of the substance¡¯s consistency before it sets, Your Highness.¡± Bob answered, his excitement in cement and his social skill working together to help him address the royal. ¡°Also this didn¡¯t take us two months to create.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± One of the squad mages pointed out. ¡°There is no way you could have gotten here fast enough to have more than two months to work on it.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Bob said as he bowed his head in apology. ¡°We did this in three weeks, we would have done more but we ran out of cement.¡± ¡°How long did it take for it to set?¡± Ajax asked while the prince and everyone else was processing the words Bob just said. ¡°And how much water did it need?¡± ¡°It took about two weeks for a section to be set.¡± Bob responded dutifully. ¡°As for the water, that is harder to estimate. Mages aren¡¯t used to releasing water without a lot of force behind it so more than a few times we had to restart a section after holes were created. Your instruction keeping it just slightly damp at all times, especially while the sun was out worked perfectly however.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°As soon as I return from the capital I need to make some more, how are we doing on setting up local production of the reagents?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already started mining the rock.¡± Ajax¡¯s father said with a proud smile. ¡°We have almost a full warehouse of the reagents ready for you.¡± ¡°A full warehouse?¡± the prince asked finally coming back to the conversation. ¡°How much of this stuff do you need?¡± Ajax enjoyed the look of shock on the prince¡¯s face as well as the one of realization on Anna¡¯s as he answered. ¡°Enough to pave all the roads in my duchy like this.¡± Chapter 466 Ajax watched in fascination as Bob managed to talk with the members of the royal squads about his work with cement. While it was clear none of the squad members were all that familiar with building they were all trained in gathering information and reporting anything relevant to the crown. j¡°Maybe I should use my other Achievement slot to gain [Social Understanding] as well.¡± Ajax murmured as he watched someone younger than him that was raised as a commoner in Lessis handle a social situation he would have no doubt tripped up in a few years ago. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Lexi said from beside him. ¡°Though you should consider all your options, there are Achievements that can help with crafting and your Alchemy might need a bit of a boost if it is to keep up.¡± As much as Ajax might be jealous of [Social Understanding] it wasn¡¯t enough to make him feel the tiniest bit of regret about choosing [Enigma] back when he did. The privacy skill had proven itself invaluable so far and that was a trend that was likely to continue. ¡°This is certainly interesting.¡± The prince said as he approached them with a chunk of concrete in each hand that he broke off from the edge of the road. ¡°Not all that solid.¡± As he said the last word his right hand clenched slightly and large cracks spread through the chunk as small dust started to fall. ¡°It¡¯s not infused with any mana at all.¡± Ajax chided him. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not solid for someone like you. Not to mention that I told you this wasn¡¯t really a finished recipe.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d done it but it seems that Bob had heard his words and he all but materialized next to them. ¡°You¡¯re going to improve it?¡± there was no masking the excitement in his voice, Ajax could also see the moment [Social Understanding] won over the excitement as he hastily followed with a cough and a bow of the head.¡°My Lord¡± ¡°Not for roads.¡± Ajax made sure to clarify. ¡°There is no practical way to make it durable enough for road building without expensive materials. I will be experimenting with it to see how it handles mana infused reagents but what I have now is what I will be using to pave all the main roads in the duchy.¡± Ajax could see the war of emotions on Bob¡¯s face, before it settled into apprehension. ¡°All the roads in the duchy, My Lord?¡± Ajax could guess that the young man just saw the next few decades of his life flash before his eyes and he was second guessing his choices for a brief moment. ¡°Yes, it will take a few decades.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°But road building is an easy first step for training builders, the number of skilled builders in the duchy will steadily increase over the next half a century.¡± This was something that Ajax considered a major necessity considering the expected population growth. ¡°Is it really worth it to have so many roads built?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Did you notice how much quicker the carriage moved once we got on the concrete?¡± Ajax answered with another question. ¡°I bet merchants will be willing to pay a modest fee to shorten their trips, and with how centrally located my Duchy is, not to mention that all who go towards the Empire from the capital will pass through.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°You stand to make a lot of money.¡± Anna joined the conversation. ¡°More than that you will also increase the merchant activity in your duchy providing a competitive market that will lower cost for your people as well as easier access to exotic goods.¡± ¡°You said you won¡¯t improve it for road building, what about for something else?¡± the prince asked as he looked towards the half built manor where the mana dense stones were secured with concrete. ¡°There is a lot I want to change when it comes to cement for any structure building.¡± Ajax said as he walked towards the edge of the road next to where the prince plucked his two chunks of rock. ¡°You see roads will always deteriorate, with enough use. A cheap, plentiful and easy to repair road mixture is what you need.¡± As he said that Ajax ripped another chunk off the side of the road. ¡°Repairing this damage won¡¯t take all that long, with how malleable cement is before it hardens it¡¯ll also make it easy to fix and sort of odd damage¡± ¡°The same can be said for building.¡± the prince pointed out. ¡°It might take longer but they still get damaged all the same.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same.¡± Ajax said as he shook his head. ¡°Damage to a road can come from anything, a fight breaking out, a monster running by, a heavy cart breaking a wheel and dropping. That all causes large damage on a specific point in a short amount of time.¡± ¡°For buildings, outside of a siege the damage is always gradual.¡± Anna pointed out. ¡°It might all collapse at once but for that to happen cracks will have formed over time.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°The mixture I am planning for construction is one that will slowly reactivate when wet.¡± ¡°Reactivate?¡± Bob asked, intrigued by the idea. ¡°The base rock we currently use for cement fuses together permanently once it dries. I am planning to have a mixture that will slowly reseal any cracks naturally as getting the set product wet will partially return it to a more malleable state where it will reset once again resealing it.¡± Ajax spoke with passion as he shared the information he learned a life time ago back in his architecture lessons, he planned to let a whole new world experience the wonders he felt the first time he saw pictures of the roman coliseum, the greek parthenon, and maybe one day even the pyramids. That last one was more questionable as even in modern day Earth they hadn¡¯t figured out how they were built. ¡°And how do you expect to pay for all that?¡± Judy asked as she listened from one side. ¡°It might be profitable in the long term but we first need to get the duchy settled before we invest our more modest wealth into such projects. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Ajax¡¯s cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°About that, you see I had a slightly fortunate encounter when I delved in the Empire.¡± As he said this Ajax produced what remained of the lower half of the golem from his storage ring. Everyone who joined him on his journey to the Empire knew what to expect, his family however was all shocked, staring wide eyed at the massive pile of gold. Judy was the first to break out of her stupor. ¡°It¡¯s missing a whole leg, did the Empire fleece you?¡± Her joking tone made it clear it wasn¡¯t an actual dig at her brother but just her way of handling the odd situation. ¡°That is quite the find there, dear.¡± his grandmother Aurora said as she approached the gold and pressed a finger to it. ¡°It has decent mana infusion as well. This solves all our short term solvency issues and we can even start taking some long term projects outside of this road idea of yours.¡± ¡°The Empire did take the leg, taxes they said.¡± Ajax chuckled. ¡°They did let me delve their other dungeon as well for it though. I wouldn¡¯t say I made it out too bad, especially with this.¡± With that Ajax produced the other half of the golden golem, though still misshapen from the fall it had taken it was clearly a bit larger than the legs portion had been even before a leg was chopped off. If the first half shocked Judy, the second half seemed to break something. ¡°But¡­ but¡­was it all for nothing¡± Alana was quicker to recover and was at her friend¡¯s and partner¡¯s side in a moment whispering comforting words. ¡°What we do is still very important. We are the ones who will now get to spend all that gold. It will be just like it was back when we first started, we¡¯ll take his gold and invest it. Instead of one hundred gold pieces, it¡¯s now a massive pile of mana infused gold.¡± the joke seemed to be enough to break through to Judy as she turned a fiery look on Ajax. ¡°If you think you can spend most of our wealth on stat enhancement potion in five years you better think again.¡± It was at that moment that Ajax decided he could wait a while before telling his sister he had already promised a part of the gold for potions already. ¡°At least the greedy imperials called it tax so we won¡¯t have to pay that again.¡± Elija said with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m sure my father won¡¯t tax you on.¡± Xavier said. ¡°Though you might receive a royal request to not suddenly flood the market with gold.¡± While Gryndor wasn¡¯t as light on gold as the Empire was, inflation would still shoot through the roof if so much gold was suddenly unloaded on the market all at once. WHACK. The crack of skin on skin contact echoed slightly drawing everyone¡¯s attention to Bob whose left cheek was starting to turn a deep red. ¡°This can¡¯t be¡­ I¡¯m sure I¡¯m dreaming.¡± Chapter 467 Everyone gave a good natured chuckle at how large Bob¡¯s eyes got as he couldn¡¯t look away from the mountain of gold. Nobody blamed him, that was more gold than most nobles spent over their lifetimes, it was only the higher nobles and the heads of Houses that dealt with large amounts of gold. With a flick of his wrist Ajax pulled the top half of the golem back into a ring before tossing the ring to his grandfather. ¡°It¡¯s such a relief not to have all that gold with me at one time.¡± Ajax said with a sigh as he stored the other piece. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m not giving this one to you.¡± Ajax teased his sister. ¡°I¡¯m going to the capital, just let me know if there is something there you want me to get you while you help grandfather invest what I gave him.¡± WIth that Ajax stepped off to the side while his family started making plans on how to spend some of their newly found fortune. He instead approached the three beastkin that had been left slack jawed since the first pile of gold was shown. ¡°Why only them?¡± Theron asked, while the question was vague Ajax understood what he meant. ¡°We had to leave the Empire unexpectedly quickly.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I had initially planned on freeing a few more on the way back.¡± ¡°Does it have anything to do with the change in your aura?¡± Ajax was surprised at that. ¡°You can feel that?¡± Ajax asked, he also noticed their conversation drew the attention of the squad members and the prince. ¡°You¡¯ve only felt my Aura for a brief time when I passed through before I went to the Empire.¡± ¡°Much as I hate to agree with the imperials in any way, they are right about one thing.¡± Theron explained. ¡°The difference is more than just physical. We do have traces of the instincts similar to those of animals. When I first felt your Aura, it provided a sense of comfort. Now, while the comfort is still there, deep down inside I feel inferior in a way that has nothing to do with strength.¡± Ajax knew exactly why Theron would be feeling that way, what surprised him however was that he could tell all that even though he was keeping his Aura under control. He didn¡¯t even need to ask the question, a simple flick of his eyes prompted the two former slaves who had been taught to be attentive to their masters to answer the question. ¡°I still don¡¯t feel anything.¡± Jari said. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel a difference.¡± Nashara¡¯s answer showed just how smart she was, she had only had a few hints but from the way they left in a hurry after the second dungeon delve and Ajax¡¯s earlier admittance that it was an unexpected departure she put together when the change happened. ¡°They don¡¯t have high enough Perception to feel Aura¡¯s.¡± The prince said as he joined the conversation. ¡°There is a hard break point at twenty five Perception, I expect that once they reach it the reaction will be exaggerated.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t explain what happened tonight, there is not enough time for all the implications that will come up.¡± Ajax said. ¡°It¡¯ll have to wait a couple of weeks until I return from the capital. Theron, you¡¯ll be starting their training.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Both Jari and Nashara winced at the word. Training was something they were used to as their former masters, despite being poor slave merchants were aware that slaves needed to have useful skills to sell better. It was simply lucky of them to have developed their skills before Ajax¡¯s visit but after their last regular inspection. ¡°You¡¯ll start with their diet.¡± Ajax¡¯s words surprised them however. ¡°It will take their bodies a while to adapt to the change, work with Kate to ensure they don¡¯t eat too much but make sure they have enough.¡± With a joking grin he added. ¡°After all, you saw we can afford it.¡± ¡°Where can I help?¡± Ajax¡¯s father asked, his voice carrying an undertone of fear. Everyone else had something they could provide but as far as he could see there was nothing he could provide to help, and it would be that way for a while yet until his [Blacksmithing] skill got higher. ¡°You can start preparing our workforce.¡± Ajax said, he knew what his father was afraid of but that wouldn¡¯t matter for what he had planned. ¡°You might not have the [Blacksmithing] skill to make anything I can use but I still learned quite a lot from you when I was younger. We are going to need people with the [Mining] skill, a lot of them since I plan to explore what riches we can extract from the mountains we have.¡± Before they returned to Lessis Ajax made sure to spend the majority of his mana to start the remodeling of the earth underneath his manor in preparation for the secret tunnels he hoped to make. ¡°Will House Nestor try anything?¡± Ajax asked the prince as they returned to the city. ¡°No,¡± the prince denied. ¡° At least nothing the Warden won¡¯t be able to predict and stop before it even gets close to your family.¡± ¡°They were still the ruling noble family for the last few centuries, I wouldn¡¯t want to underestimate them.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Not with my family on the line.¡± ¡°You have nothing to worry from most of them.¡± the prince reassured Ajax. ¡°While they might have seemed domineering from the outside, deep down they are cowards. The only one who might try anything is their youngest and he is far too weak and stupid to outmaneuver the Warden.¡± ¡°They are still nobles, cowards can react unpredictably when someone unworthy takes what¡¯s theirs.¡± Ajax raised an eyebrow at that, he had seen many examples of this happening in the history lessons he had attended at the Academy. ¡°They won¡¯t be nobles for much longer, and they know it.¡± the prince said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯ll be returning with a royal decree to strip them of their title. They¡¯ll keep the wealth they have amassed but since most of that is tied up within the city their only chance at regaining a noble title is being knighted by your House.¡± Ajax¡¯s instincts wanted him to buy out House Nestor from their investments in Lessis before they paid out tenfold once the duchy¡¯s value increased, but he quashed that instinct. He would get his revenge when he¡¯ll deliver the decree taking away their titles. Tom¡¯ll get his revenge as mayor of Lessis, he¡¯ll leave Judy and Alana to have their own revenge as they remove House Nestor¡¯s influence from the city while without paying a copper more than they have to. ¡°Has your plan changed?¡± the prince¡¯s words get a questioning rise out of Ajax¡¯s eyebrows. ¡°With your increased lifespan do you still plan to go out in the Wild Lands so soon?¡± ¡°If anything, what happened only makes me want to leave sooner.¡± Ajax said, surprising the prince. ¡°With how much faster I¡¯m going to be leveling and how much stronger I¡¯ve gotten if I don¡¯t go soon I doubt I¡¯ll be able to find a bond.¡± ¡°Not everyone can form a bond.¡± the prince said with a shake of his head. ¡°It¡¯s not something to do with talent either, it''s about finding a creature whose personality and power matches yours. It¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard for the talented to get bonds outside of newly born creatures.¡± ¡°If the newly born can bond won¡¯t that make it not true.¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s more about perception, you see their potential which is at the limit for their species before any of their actual potential can be shown, they are too young to understand the difference in power.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Since newborns are so malleable in terms of personality it gives even the talented a much better chance of forming a bond, for you however even a newborn won¡¯t be able to form a bond because you already know even if they fulfil their potential they still won¡¯t be able to catch up.¡± Ajax had to fight to keep back the denial, while the prince thought the struggle was Ajax trying to come to terms with his words Ajax was holding himself back from retorting that he could find a bond, among the ascended races. That however was something he couldn¡¯t say or he won¡¯t be allowed to leave the kingdom for as long as the crown could keep him inside. With their recent discovery of how they maintained their safety from the ascended races, it would even be the correct reaction when hearing someone wanted to go looking for them. Chapter 468 With the speed they were moving at it hardly took more than half a day before the group left Ajax¡¯s duchy. Ajax¡¯s lands covered a long stretch of land from the mountain range all the way to the lake that acted as a border between Gryndor and the Empire, his new duchy now isolated one of the other dukes as well as a viscount and two barons from the rest of Gryndor. j With the size of the lake and the otherwise limited bodies of water that were available to the humanoids nobody had yet bothered to invent any boat larger than a small paddle boat. One of the things Ajax was planning on doing in a few years was to establish a port on the lake and start trading with the Empire directly, especially considering how close their capital was to the other shore. ¡°Do I even want to know what you¡¯re planning now?¡± Lexi asked as she looked at his face through heavy eyelashes as she stretched awake. ¡°Just a passing thought.¡± Ajax waved her off. ¡°Nothing that will be put in practice for a decade at least.¡± The only reason Ajax was willing to delay the invention of ships was that he knew the humanoid civilization had stretched much further in the past, most of the skills related to ships had to have been obtained already and that there wouldn¡¯t be a bounty of trailblazer skills waiting. On the small off chance that he was wrong he wanted to wait until his family was in a better position to monopolize them once the first ships were ready to sail and direct commerce with the Empire¡¯s capital could take place. ¡°You should prepare yourselves.¡± the prince said to them. ¡°Ajax won¡¯t be in the capital for long so that means that you¡¯ll be delving for the floor boss within the week. Ajax could already feel the time pressure. It had been less than two weeks since he evolved but he could already feel the increase in his experience gain, and that was with the minimal training he could do on the trip. ¡°I¡¯ll be coming back with you.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°No way grandpa will stay away considering you have access to not only Vibration Mana but also Life Mana.¡± The way Lexi said this made it seem that it was her grandfather who would push for this but Ajax knew that it was Lexi who had. By having Duke Manashaper visit them so soon it would all but scream the connection between their houses providing House Hearthbound with strong support as they established themselves. Ajax did his best to hide a smile. Once he proposed the visit would surely turn into a celebration of their engagement instead of just a normal visit. As much as he hated politics he knew that the party would have to have an expanded invite list. If he was to invite only his friends it would be incredibly imbalanced seeing as they would mostly cover some of his Academy class and instructor as well as Luna. Excluding that many nobles from an event that would be attended by the three archduke Houses as well as the royal family would cause waves. The trip to the capital wasn¡¯t entirely boring, on the second of day they had managed to run into a band of thieves. Nobody made a move on their fast moving carriages but the encampment had been spotted by one of the scouts and an entire squad had taken a little detour to clear them out. ¡°It''s hard to believe there are still roaming bands of thieves like that out there.¡± Ajax said. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°It happens more and more as people leave the guard units of towns away from the capital.¡± Xavier explained. ¡°It¡¯s one of the few downsides of this period of peace we¡¯ve had.¡± ¡°How is peace responsible for this?¡± Ajax was surprised. ¡°The high position in the guard of a city requires some high levels, levels a normal guard wouldn¡¯t have unless they joined the army. Most cities don¡¯t have access to a dungeon close by so all the commander and warden positions have been going to guards from the capital who have pushed themselves in dungeons and are looking to settle down with a family.¡± Xavier said. ¡°In the past local guards would join the army and return with higher levels as well as a chance to move up but with the peace that hasn¡¯t been the case for the last two generations.¡± ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain how you go from guard to bandit.¡± Ajax frowned. ¡°Guards are afforded a certain level of authority.¡± Anna said. ¡°Once they leave they lose that, something they had for at least a decade or more. The only way to regain that feeling is to turn to banditry, after all it''s the ambitious ones who leave like that and then they gather others.¡± Ajax realized that this would be something else he would have to look into fixing when settling his own duchy. Not so much the guard issues since he would be adding a new duchy wide guard unit for his roads that would give the more ambitious people a way to move up and with access to a dungeon a way to progress. But with the increased lifespan that was going to affect the new generation he would need to add a number of stepping stone positions to current industries to ensure people didn¡¯t stagnate waiting for a way to progress. ¡°Won¡¯t this affect a lot more industries soon with the increased lifespan and projected increase in the population?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It will,¡± the prince confirmed. ¡°It one of the biggest problems we are trying to address. Funnily enough the elves have a head start on all of us with half the issue.¡± ¡°What issue is that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Elves hardly age, physically at least until the end of their lifespan.¡± the prince explained. ¡°This means that their society had developed in a way that somewhat restricts having children to a certain time. We don¡¯t have that, with people being young so much longer we will end up having siblings that are fifteen years apart in commoner families as they have more children after the first ones move out.¡± Hearing this only reinforced Ajax¡¯s conviction about the necessity of standardizing education and forcefully moving his duchy forward in terms of technology. A more informed population was less likely to grow so out of control like that, the best example being the current nobles. Despite their average lifespans exceeding even what the commoner would reach after adapting to his technique they still remained a small percentage of the population. ¡°What are your plans after meeting with the king?¡± Anna asked Ajax as they neared the capital. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°With your family no longer living in the capital, will you return your estate here?¡± Anna clarified. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to see a family friend.¡± Ajax said with a smile. Ajax was planning on visiting Luna and his former mentor Hatchet. He wanted to extend an invitation to Luna to expand the Healing Union¡¯s presence in his duchy. More than that however he wanted to offer her the option of opening a research base in his duchy where both her and Hatchet could have a second home. Over his time in the capital Luna had been one of the closest friends for his family and they didn¡¯t want the relationship to deteriorate because of the distance between them now. ¡°How is Hatchet doing?¡± Lexi asked. Unlike Luna who still looked like she was in her early forties for somebody from Earth, Hatchet was now reaching the end of his life. He had stagnated his level hiding away in their little village and without the increase in levels his low stats were starting to get to him. Despite only being a little over one hundred years old his body was getting old. ¡°He¡¯s slowing down.¡± Ajax said as he lowered his head. ¡°It won¡¯t be long now until he won¡¯t be able to go hunting any more.¡± Seeing Hatchet like this was hard for Ajax. He hadn¡¯t realized it when he surpassed him because he hadn¡¯t been there to compare himself with the old hunter as his progress soared. It hadn¡¯t even been a decade since Ajax was slow and weak compared to the man. Ajax didn¡¯t have long to dwell on the matter as they were quickly let into the capital and headed straight for the palace. Once there they were quickly ushered into the small throne room where the rest of the royal family was waiting for them and an explanation for the message the prince had sent them. ¡°Well, what is it?¡± the king said as soon as the doors shut following their entrance into the room. ¡°The next step for humanoids.¡± Ajax said. ¡°After clearing one hundred and fifty floors we evolve.¡± Chapter 469 The room fell silent at Ajax¡¯s words. For a moment all of them were processing what Ajax had said. Ajax knew there was a lot riding on this though he promised himself he would keep quiet about the ability to bond Ascended races. ¡°What do you mean, evolve?¡± the king asked. ¡°Is that why your Aura is so different now?¡± The young princess barely fifteen years of age asked, she had recently spent her stat points after following Ajax¡¯s advice, with her Perception over twenty five she was finally able to perceive Aura¡¯s, while she had gotten used to them Ajax¡¯s oppressive superiority affected her in a way she wasn¡¯t used to. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why my Aura is a little different.¡± Saying that Ajax flared his Aura to give everyone a good feel for the change. ¡°As for what I mean by evolution, the System was pretty clear in its notification, my race evolved from Awakened Human to Ascended Human.¡± There were a few sharp hisses of breaths at the word Ascended, the races that claimed said title being able to wipe kingdoms from the map over a weekend at a whim. ¡°What did you gain from evolving?¡± the king asked. ¡°It doubled my remaining life span.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°Not only that but it also added +10 to all my stats.¡± ¡°That is a very strong Achievement.¡± the crown prince nodded as he stroked his chin. ¡°One that will cause even further competition between the noble Houses.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t the Achievement, little brother.¡± the oldest prince said with a smirk. ¡°You would do well to listen more carefully.¡± the smugness that radiated off him at getting one over on his brother who was usually leagues ahead of him in terms of communication would last for a while. ¡°Not the Achievement?¡± the king asked. ¡°The system was just informing me of what the evolution did, almost like it was outside the system''s influence.¡± Ajax explained, something he was pretty sure about considering it had taken two weeks since he was born before he gained access to the system. ¡°There was also an Achievement attached to evolving.¡± ¡°Like always our new Duke is always pushing for greater things.¡± the eldest prince said with pride as he patted Ajax on the shoulder. ¡°He got a prestige version of the Achievement for evolving before the age of fifty.¡± ¡°The prestige version increases my gained experience by 200%. Effectively tripling my experience gain.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°The regular version is only a 150% increase. Where it gets a little dicey is that the prestige version requires 10 Discoveries while the normal version only five.¡± ¡°Ten discoveries is very steep, especially for an Achievement that is to be earned by the age of fifty.¡± the king nodded. ¡°I assume you bypassed the requirement with your reward from your Researcher Achievement.¡± Ajax nodded at that. ¡°One thing that doesn¡¯t make sense to me is what did the system mean when it said Awakened Human?¡± the crown prince asked. Ajax had the very same question for a long time, now that there was an opportunity to find out he focused his [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on the young princes focusing on only uncovering her race. Sure enough the message he got in return said [Awakened Human]. She was the easiest to test this on as she had no privacy skills just yet. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I am not sure,¡± Ajax prefaced his words. ¡°But I think there is lower version of humanoids, inferior or basic.¡± ¡°And you think that they are weaker than us?¡± the king asked. ¡°No, if anything I think they might even be stronger on an individual basis.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°The reason they are inferior would be that they lack choice when it comes to choosing their build. Humanoid races like kobolds, goblins or orcs. Stronger in terms of pure stats compared to a human of the same level but with a set distribution of stats and skills.¡± Ajax had been thinking on this for a good part of the trip back from the empire, once he returned to his duchy he would go and scour the salamander nest as well as try out his theory by inspecting one of the kobolds. ¡°Then how come we are born awakened?¡± the king asked. ¡°I think it¡¯s because both parents are awakened humans.¡± Ajax said The implication that two Ascended humans could give birth to an Ascended human left the room quiet. ¡°That is a dangerous speculation.¡± the king said. Almost all humans invested a good portion of their stats into Vitality. While Endurance also increased a human¡¯s lifespan slightly the returns on investment were much lower compared to Vitality. News of the evolution was sure the see young nobles skip out on early investments in Vitality all in hopes of clearing dungeon floors fast enough to gain their evolution. ¡°You have given us a lot to think about.¡± the king said as he stroked his white beard. ¡°On a lighter note, what can you tell us about your magic mud?¡± the eldest prince asked. ¡°Magic mud?¡± the crown prince asked, confused. ¡°It¡¯s called cement.¡± Ajax was sure the prince knew exactly what it was called and was only calling it magic mud to needle at him. ¡°What is this cement?¡± The king also asked intrigued and also happy for a small distraction from the big implications of human¡¯s ability to evolve. ¡°It''s what gained me my Researcher Achievement¡± Ajax said. ¡°A new alchemical substance that when mixed with water will turn into a viscous mud like substance that will then slowly dry out, by consistently keeping it wet during the setting period it will eventually harden. Currently the timeline is about two weeks.¡± Both the king and the crown prince looked to the royal adviser. While they both had plenty of knowledge they weren¡¯t that specified as to understand what effect such a discovery would have on the kingdom. ¡°Interesting,¡± the advisor said. ¡°Depending on how durable the hardened end product is, it would make building homes much easier.¡± ¡°The current endurance isn¡¯t good enough for building homes.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°At best it would work as a binder for stornes, I am currently working on developing a more durable and possibly self repairing version for building. The current use of the substance is for building roads.¡± ¡°Roads are not a bad idea.¡± the advisor nodded. ¡°Considering what you said about it being mudlike in the beginning I would guess it would be easy to repair any damage by adding another layer. Depending on how expensive it is to make it seems like a feasible plan. Though I do not see the use of such things, we already have roads.¡± ¡°Traveling on a flat even surface is much faster, the number of broken down carts would be lower.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Our carriages managed to almost double their speed on the small bit he had built around his future manor.¡± one of the squad captains reported. ¡°That would be very valuable.¡± the advisor nodded. ¡°Especially with your duchy¡¯s location all but barring one of the two roads that lead to the Empire. I imagine merchants will rejoice to hear this.¡± Ajax smiled as he thought about his plan to build a harbor. With a direct way to reach the Empire¡¯s capital in a much shorter time frame as well as the increased amount a large ship could carry he expected merchants will be flooding his duchy. ¡°I appreciate your timely visit to inform us of these developments Duke Hearthbound.¡± the crown prince nodded his head towards Ajax. ¡°I imagine you wouldn¡¯t be staying in the capital for too much longer?¡± ¡°Actually I plan on staying for about a week.¡± Ajax said, surprising them. ¡°With the increased experience gain, the timeline for attempting to get others the Achievement of defeating a floor boss twice their level is quickly closing. I am planning on delving in next week if you could lend me a few of your men to ensure the safety of everyone. Not only that but I also plan to invite Luna to open a research base for the Healing Union in my duchy.¡± What Ajax didn¡¯t say was that he was hoping to pick Luna¡¯s brain about how to best propose to Lexi. It had been a long time coming and while he was pretty sure she would say yes there was a small part of him that worried she would say no. ¡°That would be fine.¡± The king said, with the Healing Union ruled by the crown in all but name, it was the royals who needed to approve of Ajax¡¯s request. Still, because ostensibly Luna was running the Healing Union politics demanded that Ajax ask in a roundabout way. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you being more comfortable in your position as Duke.¡± ¡°By your leave, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax bowed his head and everyone was subsequently dismissed, exiting the palace and heading for their family¡¯s manors, all except Ajax who was heading towards Luna¡¯s manor. Chapter 470 It barely takes a couple of minutes for Ajax to cover the distance from the royal palace to Luna¡¯s mansion. When he first arrived at the royal palace he had sent word via a servant that would be visiting as soon as his meeting with the king was finished, there was no surprise that Luna and Hatchet were waiting for him. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Ajax.¡± Luna greeted him as he took a seat at her table, a cup of hot tea being served to him. ¡°Though I do have to say you really wasted no time, do you know how many rumors there are about what you did in the Empire?¡± While Luna might not have been a particularly influential or powerful noble, she had lived most of life in the capital as a Viscountess with the silent backing of the royal family. She had long since learned how to navigate the political water and more importantly how to gather the latest gossip. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad now can it?¡± Ajax asked, though he felt a little stifled. ¡°I hardly did all that much.¡± ¡®At least in terms of what was publicly known.¡¯ Ajax finished the sentence in his mind. ¡°It hardly matters what actually happened.¡± Luna chuckled as she stirred a teaspoon of honey into her own tea. ¡°With the distance to the Empire right now the rumors need to only lightly touch on the facts, after that they can make up whatever they want. For example there is one going around that you robbed the emperor¡¯s vault and then paid him a tax on the gold you stole.¡± Ajax had trouble not choking on his tea as he heard that. It was so far removed from what actually happened the only things truthful about it were that he had returned with a large amount of gold and that he paid the Empire taxes on it. ¡°That¡¯s not at all what happened.¡± Ajax defended himself. ¡°I did manage to get a particularly large amount of gold out of the dungeon, and sure I did pay the Empire taxes on it but that was only because they also gave me access to the other dungeon in their capital.¡± ¡°Oh, so that means the gold you have has some mana infused into it.¡± Luna nodded as she picked up a new piece of information. ¡°But it¡¯s probably best if you don¡¯t listen to what the rumors are saying right now.¡± ¡°How bad can it get?¡± Ajax asked, a little scared to find out just how active of an imagination the bored nobles of the capital had, especially now that they were left a little more off the leash with all the competent ones focusing on handling all the changes the kingdom was going through. ¡°There¡¯s a theory that you bedded the Emperor¡¯s granddaughter and high tailed it out of the Empire right after.¡± Hatched could barely hold his laughter as he finished his sentence, Ajax¡¯s face however sent him into a full bellied laugh, even Luna couldn¡¯t hide a smile. ¡°You¡¯re right, I didn¡¯t want to know.¡± Ajax said as he dropped his face in his palms. ¡°But that¡¯s not what I¡¯m here to talk to you two about today. I have two things that are both far more pressing to discuss with you.¡± ¡°Two things?¡± Luna sounded surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°The first is in regards to the Healing Union. I have already talked it over with the royal family and they have agreed with my plan so you don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Luna said enthusiastically, ¡°What are we researching?¡± In all the time they had known each other Luna had figured out what sort of person Ajax was, if he wanted something to do with the healing union personally that it would no doubt have something to do with some new research he was trying out. Between him and Kate they had already made five discoveries, though a few were minor. Two of their attempts had also ended up without any conclusive results but none of their attempts had yet to be proven false. ¡°I was thinking of setting up a larger research base for the Healing Union in my duchy.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°I am expecting there to be a large infusion of novice alchemists and I am hoping to find alchemical concoctions that help with healing indirectly.¡± ¡°How would that work?¡± Luna sounded interested. ¡°There already are healing potions and they work just fine without a healer.¡± ¡°Think about it differently, instead of the potion being a pure benefit it could be a mix of positive and negative, where it would then be the healer''s job to counteract the known negative of the potion.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°We already know that some poisons are powerful enough to invalidate other poisons, what if we can discover one that a healer can handle the symptoms of while an unknown and potentially lethal poison is suppressed.¡± Luna was already nodding at this. She did in fact know that there were plenty of alchemists who tried to sell such poisons, the issue with them was that anything that got too overbearing for other poisons came with lethal consequences for the victim. Adding a healer to simply manage the symptoms wasn¡¯t something she had even considered. ¡°That¡¯s just one of the things that can be researched, the broadest field would be potions that prepare a body for healing.¡± Ajax continued. ¡°We all know that healing spells put a strain on the body, the few that don¡¯t are so mana intensive even senior healers can barely cast it once or twice before being fully drained.¡± ¡°Most of this wouldn¡¯t help much with healing houses as they are now. But if they manage to make any discoveries they would be worth a lot should the rumors of war turn out to be true.¡± Luna speculated. Luna knew very well that on the battlefield healing was always a battle of efficiency. ¡°Not only that, but this would also give a solid reason for both you and hatchet to stay in my duchy for at least a few months out of the year.¡± Ajax said, his more selfish motive revealed, he wanted to keep his friends close. ¡°How can you be smart, yet at the same time so oblivious.¡± Hatchet huffed at Ajax. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°If we also leave the capital to stay back home for a couple of months a year, who will look after your land here in the capital. Your hives, plants and trees aren¡¯t all too difficult but they do require attention a few times a week.¡± Hatchet said as he shook his head in disappointment at Ajax. Ajax¡¯s family had assured him that his blossoming garden would be looked after so he never questioned the minutia of the solution they had found. In hindsight it should have been obvious that they asked someone else to step in and help, someone local since they were taking all of their retainers to help establish their duchy. More than that Ajax wanted to keep pushing his garden, the mana level of the plants was growing, slowly but it was growing. At most he would have taken one hive of mana infused bees and maybe a few queens to help establish some more hives in his own duchy that would start from the same mana infusion his current bees had reached. ¡°I¡¯m sure the crown would be happy to step in.¡± Luna reassured Ajax. ¡°They bought out every plot of land surrounding yours and have seen record numbers year after year. They will have no issue taking care of things for you.¡± Luna¡¯s solution was actually the one Ajax would have guessed his family had also reached. What he failed to understand was how different Ajax and the rest of his family looked at the royal family. Unlike Ajax they hadn¡¯t been almost constantly in the presence of royalty for years so despite settling well in their new stations something like asking the royal family to help care for a gardening plot was not something they would consider. ¡°It does seem to me like a good idea for my presence to be more permanent in your duchy, though that is more selfish of me.¡± Luna said, having a base in the lands of a landed Duke would rapidly increase Luna¡¯s position in the noble hierarchy of the capital. ¡°And I would also like to still see you more regularly even now that you are a Duke, I have missed you over this past year.¡± ¡°Now what¡¯s the other thing you wanted to ask about?¡± Hatchet asked. Ajax¡¯s cheeks blushed slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°I wanted some advice about proposing to Lexi.¡± Ajax was very thankful that neither Luna nor Hatchet laughed at his request, he spoke about asking the royal family for a favor as if he was asking a neighbor for a glass of water so he could see the irony. They spent the next twenty minutes discussing how and when Ajax should pop the question. Chapter 471 The following morning Ajax had breakfast with Luna and Hatchet before he left towards the Academy. It had been a while since he had been back there but there were more than a couple of people he wanted to talk to there. ¡°Welcome back my lord.¡± The guards on duty bowed politely, easily recognising Ajax. Having shaved this morning Ajax now looked like he would fit right in with the current third or fourth year students, age wise he was actually younger than some of them, though most of the teachers knew exactly who he was as they had taught him at one point or another in his time at the Academy. ¡°My wayward pupil has returned.¡± Professor Vilethorn chuckles as Ajax enters her laboratory. ¡°Here for another of your odd mixtures.¡± Cement hadn¡¯t been Ajax¡¯s first attempt at recreating Earth¡¯s discoveries even if it was one of his few Alchemical successes. His numerous failures at recreating TNT had caused a few issues in the professor¡¯s over the years yet she was never upset and always encouraged him to experiment. ¡°Sorry for interrupting your class. I have a working prototype this time.¡± Ajax responded with a smile as he approached the desk. ¡°Looking to create variations on it, your knowledge on substitutes is unparalleled.¡± Ajax was laying it on a bit thick since there were other Alchemy Masters in the capital who also had the same skill set and deep knowledge base but there was no chance they would work with him without wanting to keep the recipe. ¡°Greet your senior.¡± the teaching assistant hissed at the students. ¡°He¡¯s our senior?¡± One of the students asked, unsure if he believed it, they were second years and the person who entered while tall looked to be their age, certainly not someone who was more than five years their senior. ¡°Duke Hearthbound.¡± While most of the students didn¡¯t recognise there were a few who were passionate enough that they followed Ajax¡¯s winning spree of tournaments during his time in the Academy, and recognised him even if he was clean shaven. ¡°Oh yes, congratulations are in order.¡± Professor Vilethorn nodded. ¡°You did go and get yourself that duchy. Though most of us teaching you knew it would always be just a matter of time until you would, it took you a lot less time than we expected.¡± Now that they knew who he was the rest of the class was quick to greet him but other than a passing wave Ajax didn¡¯t pay them too much attention, in that respect he had quickly acclimated to his position as a Duke. Instead he pulled out a vial of cement and starting explaining the problems he was having to professor Vilethorn Ten minutes into their discussion the professor was now committed to the research of the odd grey dust. ¡°This is very different to any other substance I have worked with. There had been some adhesives potions I have made before that are best compared to this but even they are far off.¡± ¡°I would guess that¡¯s why the System saw fit to grant me the ¡®Researcher¡¯ Achievement for creating it.¡± Ajax bragged a little. ¡°You managed to get that Achievement, and you¡¯re only telling me now?¡± the professor complained good naturedly. ¡°Do you know that I can request a larger budget allocation for ingredients now that one of my students has successfully earned such an Achievement?¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The next half hour the professor spent examining the setting of the concrete, trying to understand how the mixture progressed as it absorbed water. ¡°It¡¯s not drying out, it¡¯s curing, you¡¯re saying that after a couple of weeks the process finishes but you want to change the recipe so that the process can restart at any point if it gets moist enough again.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°I have found that the same rock at level twenty of mana infusion would act as the perfect base since it can perfectly absorb the water to slightly expand its volume and as such cover up any minor losses due to small cracks that may form.¡± Finding large enough sources of the mana infused rock was something very high up on his to do list. He didn¡¯t want to have to scour the dungeons for it so he would instead be starting to dig a little deeper into the mountain around Lessis to see if he can find some pockets of mana infused rocks that have formed over the millenia under pressure. ¡°I can think of three different additions that can be put in at the mixing stage with water that should be able to do what you want.¡± the professor said as she got up and walked towards the warehouse of ingredients she had at the Academy. ¡°This is the first, and most likely to work. Volcanic ash, this is a level sixty two version very hard to find however since we are dependent on dungeon floors for it.¡± Ajax nodded as he accepted the small sample baggie. It was something he was also pretty sure would work but it came with the same sourcing issue. ¡°Your second option is slightly easier to find but much more expensive.¡± the professor continued as she produced a small earthen mana gem. ¡°The core of a mud golem, crushed up should also provide the same effect though it could come with a slight loss of toughness while wet.¡± Ajax hadn¡¯t considered that as an option, but the professor was right, it would certainly not be cheap, while mud golem cores were found a lot more often than volcanic ash they also had several uses even outside of Alchemy. ¡°The last option is one I think would work best for you.¡± the professor said as she pulled out a specific dried plant. ¡°Dried algae, considering your success with growing your own mana infused plant right here in the capital I imagine you could produce your own supply. I do imagine that you¡¯d have to add some salt, probably in the water, before you mix the concrete to ensure it still binds properly.¡± Ajax was surprised at this, he hadn¡¯t seen this specific species of algae before but with his [Inspector¡¯s Eye] and [Alchemist¡¯s Examination] he was quickly able to get a breakdown on its uses. A few shallow artificial lakes were something he could build throughout his duchy to perfectly farm the algae. ¡°Thanks for this.¡± Ajax nodded as he pocketed the sample for trial. ¡°Of course,¡± the professor nodded with a smile. ¡°You are always welcome to visit.¡± With that Ajax bade his goodbyes before he headed up to the top floor of the Academy, towards the library where he hoped to find a few texts that would help him with the issues that were now popping up surrounding his Aura. He was sure he wasn¡¯t the first person in history whose Aura had a unique presence, seeing how one¡¯s skills and stats influenced the Aura, there had to be others whose Aura had an odd affect on others and how they dealt with it. ¡°There you are, boy.¡± Balthazar Young all but shouted the moment he entered the library. Like Ajax the man¡¯s Aura wasn¡¯t fully suppressed, unlike Ajax however this was because the man¡¯s power surpassed the point where the Aura could be fully suppressed, the sheer amount of stats and skill levels backing the Aura was too high. ¡°Finally come to peek at my wisdom?¡± The question took Ajax aback. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to be alive for a long time now, finally someone who will live across millenia just like I did.¡± The old librarian and former headmaster of the Academy was a living fossil closing in on his fourth millennium. ¡°With the investments into Vitality and Endurance you are making at your age and with how fast you are going to keep leveling I think you¡¯ll get to see your third millenia.¡± ¡°Only three thousand years? Old man, I plan to still look young when I reach your age.¡± Ajax gleefully ribbed his friend and mentor before he explained about his recent discovery of evolution and the changes to both his lifespan and leveling speed. ¡°So I was wrong.¡± Balthazar said with a chuckle, ¡°Took you battle maniacs almost my entire life to prove that my way wasn¡¯t the path to living the longest life but you did it. Still with three times the experience gain and twice the lifespan I dare say you have a chance at seeing your ten thousandth birthday. If you work hard enough.¡± The next three hours Ajax spent talking with Balthazar about ways to better control his Aura while trying different exercises to help him suppress it. They found some success but Ajax would still need to practice them for a while before he¡¯d be able to fully suppress his Aura. With his departure from the library Ajax headed towards the headmaster¡¯s office. The last person he was here to see and someone he was hoping to rope into helping him with his plan to propose to Lexi. Chapter 404 Few people truly paid any attention to anything inside a dungeon that they couldn¡¯t take with them. It was a defense mechanism so that they wouldn¡¯t regret all the wealth they had to leave behind. While Ajax was playing with the rifle they had found Xavier took on the bull mini boss. After ten minutes of examining the rifle Ajax finlay brought the sight up to his eye and aimed for the cowboy hat he placed on top of one of the fence posts. BANG! The sound distracted everyone from Harold who was putting his limited skill as a chef to use searing a chunk of the mini boss. Some of the people there however were already looking towards Ajax since before the sound came, an instant before a strong pulse of mana could be felt. ¡°You figured out how to use it?¡± Lexi was very interested in that. ¡°You squeeze this and it releases the projectile.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the trigger. ¡°Works a lot like a crossbow.¡± What was a lot more interesting to Ajax was that the bullets didn¡¯t have any sort of gun powder packed, they did however have a small gem attached at the end that was packed with mana. Looking towards the hat Ajax could see that he missed his target by a few inches despite not being more than fifty feet away from it. Wanting to see if this could increase his [Aim] skill Ajax slowly loaded the next bullet, took aim, and finally pressed the trigger. ¡°What happened?¡± Lexi asked as the bullet''s mana was released in a burst into the surroundings. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Ajax said confused, how did the dungeon break guns? They weren¡¯t all that hard to figure out in his old world. Hammer hits bullet, gunpowder ignites, bullet is launched out the barrel by the tiny contained explosion. ¡°The runes on the inside of the barrel are all damaged¡± Lexi said as she examined the rifle¡¯s other end while Ajax was inspecting the hammer. ¡°Maybe it only works a few times.¡± That could very well be the case but Ajax doubted it. The floor theme was clearly based on the historical West and that should mean that as long as you had ammo and took care of your gun it would shoot, this wasn¡¯t the era of muskets. Thinking back to what the cowboy had done, Ajax realized he had missed a step. The cowboy had infused the gun with mana, Ajax had thought that he was loading the bullet but all of the bullets were already loaded so where did the mana go? Inspecting the handle of the gun Ajax found a set of runes that were intact. Even more interesting was the fact that they were clearly part of the gun however he couldn¡¯t find any way for them to connect to the mana released by the bullet. Ajax slowly started to inject a small amount of his own mana into the runes. He went much slower than the cowboy had done both out of wariness as well as curiosity as he paid very close attention to what the enchantment did.¡±It restored the runes!¡± Lexi was happy as she saw the runes inside the barrel of the gun look usable again.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Looking to see if that was what he was missing Ajax loaded another bullet and this time the rifle fired when he pressed the trigger. Once again however the runes inside the barrel were damaged, oddly enough however it wasn¡¯t the bullet that damaged them. Instead the mana that was released to activate them was more than the runes could handle, effectively burning out the runes after every shot. After restoring the runes a second time Ajax carefully removed the barrel of the gun and split it in two so that he could get a closer look at the runes. ¡°What an odd take.¡± Lexi murmured as she inspected the runes. ¡°It¡¯s almost like they are the same runes but not quite.¡± Lexi had spent a long time with her father looking at runes and while some of the ones inscribed inside the barrel were similar to ones she had seen before they weren¡¯t exactly the same. If she were to guess the difference would be that while the runes she had available focused on the integrity of the rune structure and material it was inscribed on surviving an overinfusion these runes would instead focus on completing the activation regardless of the damage to the structure and the material. Lexi wasted no time taking out an empty scroll as she started carefully and meticulously copying the runes. None of the others had realized what was going on but as soon as they saw Lexi so focused on copying the runes they figured out that there must be something special about them. Darkcalw and Elara wasted no time joining Lexi as they did their best to perfectly copy the runes on their own pieces of parchment. ¡°What¡¯s so special about these runes?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°They work based on a different fundamental principle.¡± Lexi squealed with excitement. ¡°At least that¡¯s what I think. Grandpa and dad would need to try them out a few times once we get back so that we can do some tests but it''s looking pretty likely.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference between them and normal runes?¡± Arianwyn asked. Lexi took a moment to think as she finished copying the last of the individual runes on the barrel and moved over to start copying the restoration enchantment that was on the handle. ¡°The inscribed rune on an enchanted object works like the mana vein of a mage. Our usual enchantments are created so that if more mana than the enchantment can handle is pushed through the enchantment fails at the first step doing little damage to the rune and the material it''s inscribed in while also releasing the mana outwards.¡± ¡°These runes however activate the enchantment with as much power as they can regardless of the damage to the runes themselves.¡± Lexi said as she pointed towards the barrel. ¡°It is like Lord Starfury¡¯s overloading of spells. Since the runes aren¡¯t backed by a Legendary skill they break but they do manage to put out an overloaded spell.¡± ¡°The enchantment on the handle looks to be made to repair the damage done.¡± Elara said as she thought about the process. ¡°Every time its activated however more and more of the material is lost in recreating the runes.¡± ¡°So after enough uses you¡¯re saying that there won¡¯t be enough material to recreate the runes?¡± Ajax asked, interested in how his old world¡¯s technology was recreated. ¡° From what I saw it wouldn¡¯t take all that many uses before the integrity of the material would fail.¡± Elara confirmed. With so much new information available the remainder of the floor turned out to be a cakewalk for Benedict, Anna and Lexi. All three of them knew to focus on disarming their human targets of their guns. Without the firearms they had little problems finishing them off. On more than one occasion however the prince was forced to step in. Anna had been the first to try her hand at fighting a human miniboss and while she had managed to expertly ambush him so that he would lose his rifle the pistol he drew surprised all of them. Another of the mini bosses had a spring loaded pistol up his sleeve, thankfully Lexi¡¯s hastily created ice wall was strong enough to slow the bullets enough that they didn¡¯t pierce through her enchanted shields. In the end the prince had ended up scouring the entire floor trying to find a gun that he could take outside the dungeon but he still couldn¡¯t find one. He did manage to find a rather sizeable mound of manure that he stuffed into one of his spacial rings but there was no gun to be had. As they headed on to the next floor the group wasn¡¯t at all worried about the theme, Harold would be the only one who would be troubled by the theme of their last floor but other than that all of them were more than strong enough to demolish a level eighty four. While the prince pushed on with Ajax, Arianwyn, Elara, Darkclaw and Harold to the fourth floor, Lexi, Anna, Benedict and Xavier all exited the dungeon. All four of them were prepared for things to have gone sideways, seeing Aranor waiting for them as they exited let them relax for a brief moment before they realized the chaos they found themselves in as they took in the military camp that surrounded the dungeon arch. Chapter 405 ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xavier asked as he saw the elves setting up large defensive structures. ¡°We¡¯re expecting another attack, only this time it might be more than one or two assassins.¡± Aranor said with a dark look crossing his face. ¡°A mercenary group was found and stopped by our reinforcements as they were about to cross over into Deepwood.¡± ¡°Mercenaries?¡± Benedict asked, surprised. ¡°Turns out it wasn¡¯t the old king behind the assassins.¡± Aranor said with a sigh. ¡°The beastkins are making a move. Some of their people inside our own kingdom hired mercenaries. Their target was Ajax but it was mostly a target of opportunity; their main job was making sure a war kicked off.¡± It was easy for all of them to understand the point of view for the people who took the job. They were simple mercenaries, more than that their target was a pontiac future tyrant from another kingdom. From Aranor¡¯s explanation the mercenaries were upfront when questioned but it seemed like the plan had almost succeeded anyway. ¡°Ajax needs to do a better job of spreading some information about himself.¡± Lexi huffed in annoyance as she had tried to get him to do some outreach events in the past five years but any sort of social function, whether they contained nobles or commoners was something Ajax treated like a cold, he couldn¡¯t always avoid them but he could take precautions. ¡°Right now only the important nobles have any decent information about him and even that is brand new from the tournament, he needs to undercut any fear mongering that can be caused.¡± ¡°More importantly Deepwood is innocent?¡± Anna asked, very much surprised at the turn of events. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly call them innocent.¡± Aranor said with a shake of the head. ¡°The did take a very relaxed attitude to our safety and all but invited the attempts on Ajax¡¯s life by taking advantage of the visit to scour their own nobility. But it¡¯s more down to negligence and indifference than anything malicious.¡± With the time dilatation everyone knew that the final two floors wouldn¡¯t take the group more than five hours on the outside to clear. Following that it would be another half a day or so before the prince finished clearing the final floor and they could finally start to move. ¡°What reinforcements are waiting for us at the border?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°Two ranger teams, the equivalent of your squads.¡± Aranor said after a moment to think if he should disclose that. That answer wasn¡¯t one any of them had expected but it did clear up the reason why they were waiting by the border and didn¡¯t advance into Deepwood to meet them halfway. ¡°As long as we make it to the border we¡¯ll be safe. One more week.¡± Lexi said as she calmed herself to better analyze their situation. That was when the first attack hit. The attacking force was only ten people but their levels allowed them launch a brutal initial offensive against the defensive perimeter the army had set up before quickly retreating. The two new high level guards the queen had sent didn¡¯t sit idly by as this happened however. The attack was well placed as far away from where the two of them were keeping watch but both covered the distance in seconds before dashing into the woods after the attackers. ¡°If the mercenaries were stopped at the border, who is attacking now?¡± Xavier asked. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°One is a mercenary company that has gone rogue.¡± Lioriel who had been close enough to listen in on their discussion finally chose to join in. ¡°This was their first move against Ajax, they are also few in number which is why the royal family wasn¡¯t keeping such a close eye on them before. That said the limited members that they do have are all decently high leveled and have combat experience.¡± ¡°What about the other assassins? Figure out who they were?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Underground syndicate that we have tried to find for years.¡± Lioriel nodded in confirmation. ¡°Formed by the remanence of a noble family the previous king dismantled early into his reign. It seems that some of the survivors were more capable than initially anticipated. They took this job not only for the payday but also in hopes that once the war wipes out the royal family they can regain a high position in what¡¯s left of Deepwood.¡± ¡°What are the beastkins up to?¡± Anna murmured her rhetorical question as she tried to fit all the information she had into something that made sense. Unlike all the other races the beastkin didn¡¯t have two separate kingdoms. Because of the sheer variety that beastkins as a race came with, racism wasn¡¯t an issue for them. Their country was divided between two spheres of influence, the herbivores and the carnivores. With ten dungeons at their disposal instead of the usual five the average adventurer with the means to travel had a much stronger baseline. The bigger problem for the beastkins was that a good 60% of their country was a sandy desert, the rest of their lands weren¡¯t all that rich in high quality resources. The poor stretch of land meant that they were almost never the target for an invasion. Because of the large amount of desert and lack of resources however their own army didn¡¯t have the population or the equipment to start a war for conquest. At best they would invade during or after the end of a war to try and extort or steal. This could have all changed in the last few decades from what Anna knew. Her father had mentioned that in the last forty years trade with the beastkins had slowed to a crawl, for a country that was so reliant on trade that had been surprising. According to the Gryndor royal family a spy purge had also taken place twenty years ago and infiltrating additional spies hadn¡¯t bore any fruit yet. Now they were trying to cause a war. ¡°It does seem like they are up to something.¡± Aranor acknowledged. ¡°With the latest treaty signed with the Republic nobody has been too keen on sending all that many spies to infiltrate.¡± The republic acted like a big shield for the beastkin. Unlike the untamed area that separated the elves from the humans or the elves from the dwarves the beastkin had big mountain ranges followed by long stretches of desert; any movement against them would need to pass through the Republic. In much the same way however the beastkin themselves would need to go through the Republic to attack any of the others. This sense of safety let them relax their vigilance a little and it seemed like now they were paying the prince. ¡°Those animals are going to pay for this.¡± One of the two elven champions said as he approached Lioriel while throwing the decapitated head of one of their attackers. Lexi frowned as she heard the insulting term, she had grown close to Kate in the past few years, knowing that they would become sisters-by-law once she married Ajax she had spent a lot of time getting to know the healer and her daughter. In the end however she chose to say nothing, there was no point antagonizing the elves any further at this point. The hit and run tactics continued for the next few hours, each attack killing anywhere between five and ten soldiers. The two champions had also managed to get two more of the attackers as they chased after them but on their last chase an ambush awaited them in the forest and one of them came back missing his left hand from the wrist down. ¡°The coward is with them.¡± was all he growled as he bandaged the stump. It was easy for all of them to put together what happened. The champion had managed to block the arrow with his hand but was then forced to cut it off at the wrist to prevent the poison from spreading. It wasn¡¯t long until Ajax, Darkclaw, Elara, Harold and Arianwyn all came out of the dungeon. Harold looked battered and bruised, obviously the final floor mini boss had done quite a number on him, from the smile on his face however everyone could tell he had come out victorious in the end. Getting all of them up to speed on what was happening didn¡¯t take long. The news that it wasn¡¯t Deepwood¡¯s royal family or even their nobles that were behind everything but the beastkin made Ajax frown deeply. It wasn¡¯t that he was feeling guilty for having blamed the Deepwood nobility, he still did, if to a lesser degree. What troubled Ajax was how easily he had overlooked the possibility. He had been so focused on the danger and his anger at the elves that he hadn¡¯t considered the possibility that someone was using them to start a war. It hadn¡¯t even been two minutes since Ajax exited the dungeon that Aranor reacted. This time however Ajax¡¯s [Danger Sense] didn¡¯t react at all, he only registered the attack once the arrow slammed into the ice wall Aranor had put up. ¡°The backlash is getting to him.¡± one of the elven champions chuckled as they examined the arrow. ¡°Serves the coward right.¡± From the angle the arrow hit the wall it was clear that the attack would have missed Ajax by half a foot, that was why his [Danger Sense] hadn¡¯t reacted. The drop in skill didn¡¯t do much to reassure Ajax as he also saw just how desperate the assassin had become. He couldn¡¯t wait for the prince to finish the dungeon so that they could leave and reach the protection of the two ranger squads waiting at the border. Chapter 406 The longer the battle drew on for the more hateful glares the group received. Surprisingly enough however Aranor was on the receiving end of most of the glares, the elves were blaming him for their casualties since he stood by guarding the group rather than respond to the attacks. As the hours dragged on the losses started to lessen, every attack claiming less and less lives. The two champions had done their job well as they picked off half of the enemies highest level combatants. ¡°Start uprooting the camp and get ready to move.¡± Lioriel commanded. ¡°You can be serious?!¡± one of her commanders yelled back. ¡°We¡¯re still under attack here.¡± One of the things that have picked up in frequency as time slowly ticked by was the number of yelling matches Lioriel had found herself in. While her advanced social skill did wonders in calming down each commander, that didn¡¯t help as much when a new one would show up more enraged than the last half an hour later. The prince had managed to come out slightly quicker than they expected, it only took him eleven hours on the outside to clear the floor though that was closer to two whole days on the inside. ¡°What¡¯s happening out here?¡± the prince asked as he saw the elves moving with the edges of the camp armed and ready. It took about two minutes before a quick overview of the situation was briefly explained. ¡°You¡¯re back, perfect.¡± Lioriel was clearly on edge as some of her sarcasm made it through despite her social skills. ¡°Let''s get moving the quicker we get you out of here the fewer of my people get hurt.¡± Nobody had any objections to the plan. Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be slightly troubled by how tired the prince was. More than that he wouldn¡¯t even get a chance to rest until they crossed the border and were safely under the ranger squads¡¯ protection. ¡°Not going to contact the king?¡± Ajax asked once he saw that the prince didn¡¯t excuse himself in a privacy bubble when they finally got moving. ¡°This isn¡¯t all that time sensitive.¡± the prince responded, surprising Ajax a little. ¡°Chances are he already knows about this as the Queen would be quick to prove her innocence. Even if he doesn¡¯t however my mana reserves are best saved for any combat we might get caught up in.¡± Three days later and the group was very much behind schedule but nobody complained about that. Moving a convoy guarded by over a hundred soldiers in such a dense forest was touch work on the best of times, even more so when they were getting attacked. ¡°The mercenaries gave up.¡± Lioriel updated them. Despite the constant fighting Aranor had only needed to interfere once when an ambush on a tight portion of the road got near the carriage. ¡°The attacks are over?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± Lioriel shook her head. ¡°There is still the syndicate and their assassins. They are the strongest of the bunch but they just lost most of their support. More than that the mercenaries turned on them when they gave up to earn some good will.¡± ¡°More likely a requirement of accepting their surrender so conveniently.¡± Harold piped up knowing how politics worked. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Along with a very discounted contract signed to enlist with the military for the next century.¡± Benedict also joined in. ¡°Leadership also had to give up their employer, that won¡¯t look good for them going forward.¡± Elara finished. ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny the terms of their capitulation.¡± Lioriel said diplomatically ¡°I am only here to inform you that the following attack or the one after will be their most desperate attempts.¡± Both Aranor and the prince gave a thankful nod before Lioriel moved back into formation. ¡°Its a waiting game now.¡± the prince said. ¡°They have one more chance and they¡¯re not going to hold anything back so be ready.¡± Ajax was in a tough situation right now. His instinct was to unleash his [Mana Syphon] to weaken any sneak attack heading for him, especially since he knew that they had a stealth and ambush specialist. The issue was that doing so would hinder the soldiers all around him and even Aranor who was already preparing himself. It was only a minute later when Ajax realized that Aranor¡¯s chant changed. He couldn¡¯t clearly make up the words of his spells but he noticed that they weren¡¯t the same ones he was saying until just now. ¡°[Spell Storage].¡± Lexi gasped as she picked up on the same thing. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°It''s an Epic skill that allows the caster to prepare spells in advance. You can hold an extra spell for every threshold.¡± Arianwyn gave him a quick rundown. ¡°Expect the spells slowly lose the mana they are charged with the longer they remained stored.¡± Lexi continued unhappy with the incomplete explanation. ¡°It takes about a week for a high mage¡¯s spell to fully drain. The mana cap each spell can hold, how quickly it drains and even the strain releasing them puts on the body can be shored up through the thresholds on top of the increase in capacity.¡± ¡°You seem to know it well.¡± Elara pointed out. ¡°Grandpa has spent centuries on that skill.¡± Lexi made sure to remain vague on the subject, her grandfather hadn¡¯t actually managed to unlock the skill but that wasn¡¯t something she wanted to confirm for anyone, even those from Gryndor. ¡°Be sure not to hurt yourself.¡± Lexi¡¯s final statement was directed towards Aranor who had started chanting his third spell. Unleashing all three of his charged up spells at once would undoubtedly wreck the mage¡¯s mana channels seeing as each spell held more than one thousand mana. The attack came as the caravan was getting around a turn in the road. Three people were all that remained of the initial ten that had started harassing the elven army days ago. The attack wasn¡¯t too much of a surprise, they had expected it to come here since it was one of the most exposed positions on the road. ¡°Remember they have a long range archer still out there.¡± Lioriel called as the assassins charged straight for the carriage. None of the three elves had bothered with their face coverings any more, instead sporting helmets that while exposing some of their features provided better protection for their heads. WIth their faces more uncovered it was easy to see the crazed eyes and the patches of rashes that each of them had even from the neck up. The opening defensive move went to Aranor who bought time for their protectors to get to work. In an instant the elven champion unleashed a massive amount of mana with a single word. From his extended hand and fingertips a powerful wall of wind and snow pushed back against the attackers not only stopping their forward momentum but sending them backwards until they made contact with a tree. None of the assassin were injured but that wasn¡¯t the point of the spell. Their momentum had been stalled and now the two other elven champions could finally engage them on even footing. WIthout the element of surprise and their numbers reduced to only three the battle was lopsided to the extreme. It only took three exchanges before one of the assassins lost an arm and two more before another of them died. With the numbers now even the elven champions had no issues working together to kill one of them off but they remained wary of the hidden archer. As soon as he was alone the final assassin took out a few potions and chugged them. Even from inside the carriage Ajax was monitoring the fight with [Mana Sense] and he could tell that something very wrong was happening. The assassin¡¯s body was clearly rejecting the alchemical mixture but the assassin didn¡¯t care and instead focused on sending a powerful of a final attack towards the carriage before his body gave out. The attack had easily two thousand mana enhancing it and more a more physically oriented fighter that was a lot, but it wasn¡¯t enough to phase the elven champions. They had known what he was doing the moment he pulled out the potions and they perfectly deflected the powerful wind slice off to one side where it felled twenty trees easily before it stuck the ground. That was the moment the final assassin had been waiting for. Knowing his arrows wouldn¡¯t be able to hit their mark he had instead chosen to rely on his stealth and with his accomplice drawing all their attention he moved past Aranor and broke his way into the carriage. Unfortunately for him the first thing he saw as the door gave way was also the last thing he would ever see. The prince had been ready for him, the moment the door gave way his sword was already in motion, the assassin¡¯s body was sliced in two so quickly the momentum of the strike sent both halves out the door. ¡°Why do all this for a human?¡± In his final moments the assassin glared hatefully towards Aranor. ¡°Sylvanthal could have had four dungeons.¡± Aranor didn¡¯t even have a chance to answer as the light went out in his eyes as soon as the final words left his lips. Chapter 407 For their final few days in Deepwood everyone was on edge, despite that nothing more came of it. They were safely escorted all the way to the border where two ten man squads of some of the strongest elves in Sylvanthal were waiting for them. ¡°Do take care of yourself Baron.¡± Lioriel addressed Ajax as they were crossing the border. ¡°I hope you take no offense if I don¡¯t invite you to visit in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be up to her Majesty.¡± Ajax responded with a small grin. ¡°She is the one who decides who her ambassadors are.¡± ¡°Lord Starfury.¡± Lioriel gave a deep bow towards the Sylvanthal¡¯s champion. ¡°Your next visit is eagerly anticipated.¡± Aranor only answered with a deep nod of confirmation as the group continued into Sylvanthal. Ajax chose to ignore the exchange taking it as a small bit of payback for his last comment but Anna wasn¡¯t so quick to overlook it. ¡°What trade agreement did they offer?¡± Anna asked as soon as they were outside of earshot of the border. ¡°What makes you so sure we were off-¡± Arianwyn tried to cut her off but Anna interrupted her as she explained her reasoning. ¡°Your kingdom is in financial straits, despite this your and Elara¡¯s existence as future powerhouses bodes well for your father¡¯s reign.¡± Anna said. ¡°Since they only offered a deal now I suspect the Queen learnt of your agreements to delve Gryndor¡¯s dungeons and of the reciprocal deal for more of the nobles to delve multiple dungeons.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t want to be left out so they are offering to pay you to pass off some of the royal family''s potential powerhouses as your own.¡± Lexi snapped her fingers as she put things together. As everyone turned towards her at her outburst she blushed slightly ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Deepwood, the Empire and Highmountain can¡¯t publicly take part in the exchange. Their radical views on other races would cause a civil uprising if they were to accept others in their own dungeons.¡± Xavier reasoned. ¡°Even with that being the case it would be too much to miss out on.¡± ¡°While they won¡¯t be able to send anyone who is already well known, that is not really an issue for any of their royal families. The royal families purposefully keep their prodigies secret, so they could all pay their nearest kingdom handsomely to add a few people to their rosters.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°Gryndor, Sylvanthal and Brightstone all have a rather sizable source of income in their grasp.¡± While Gryndor and Brightsone were more financially secure Sylvanthal were much more likely to accept taking the deal. Seeing how Deepwood had lost some potential assets already as they attempted to kill Ajax they would be that much more hard pressed to increase the potential of their next generation. ¡°Interesting as this all is, I''m going to get some sleep.¡± the prince cut into the conversation. The financials aspects as well as the political relations between kingdoms weren¡¯t all that interesting to him, there was a reason he didn¡¯t even try to hold on to his original position as crown prince and passed it to his younger brother. ¡°Wake me up in a day or two.¡± The groups next stop would be Sylvanthal¡¯s capital but that was weeks away. Without the added danger they were in while in Deepwood the group had no issues going slower and stopping here and there on their trip instead of keeping the carriage moving 24/7.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ajax in particular was excited to be back in Sylvanthal, if for no other reason than the simple fact that the prince would no longer be their only booster, Aranor had joined them inside the first two dungeons and he had no doubt he and maybe even some of members of the ranger squads would also join them now. With some many high level people there Ajax will no longer have to give up on certain floors just because the following one could pose a threat to their booster. Sure the agreement they had didn¡¯t state that they would help with the boost but Ajax was sure they would be agreeable if he could help them with the floor¡¯s dominant mana. Without the haste the group now also had much more freedom with their training. Considering all of the stats they had gained from Deepwood¡¯s dungeon it wasn¡¯t a surprise that they would be looking to shore up their defenses. It didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise to Ajax that Darkclaw, Arianwyn and Elara were all spending numerous hours working on their physical training. While all of them were mages and extremely focused on their mental stats this also meant that their physical stats had the largest percentage increase from the recent dungeons. Ajax himself was more focused on the [Alchemy] side of this. With his most recent gift from the Queen of Deepwood Ajax knew he wasn¡¯t yet prepared for all the possibilities these reagents could provide him with. Considering the number of ingredients he hadn¡¯t even heard of before and Divine Witness he was all but sure he could gain a Rare skill just from experimenting. This would all have to wait until he was back in Gryndor, until then all he could do was reserve most of his mana for infusing a large amount of his new reagents with Life mana. Months spent on guard had finally come to an end and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. This became all the more obvious when one of the ranger squad leaders reported to Aranor. ¡°Aranor, there are about fifty people two and a half miles ahead.¡± Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Benedict, Xavier, Darkclaw and even Harold all tensed at the news hands going for their weapons. ¡°Assassins?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°Common bandits, even the kids could take them, some of the higher level ones are close to level sixty. They are about to ambush the merchant caravan ahead of us.¡± the leader said with a wave of his hand. ¡°My squad is already moving to handle the situation.¡± This showed the difference in their escorts between here and Deepwood. Ajax couldn''t help but feel the difference, back in Deepwood they had had twenty people who were around the same level of power as himself led by Lioriel who was much stronger. Here however they had twenty or so people around Lioriel¡¯s power level led by people who were around the prince¡¯s level of power. Unlike back in Deepwood their guardians weren¡¯t even worried about their mission, simply mentioning the bandits while they were already being dealt with. As they continued their travels Ajax had more and more time to think about his House. This most recent expedition had made him certain that he wanted to help push his own people higher. Even with how new his own ducal House would be they did have something very valuable that they could trade. Ajax was sure that he would be able to sell his services as a dungeon floor detector to Sylvanthal and the Republic in exchange for some of his own people and family delving the dungeons. The deals would be pretty easy to close since the people getting access to the dungeon weren¡¯t future powerhouses but instead just slightly talented people who had connections. ¡°Are you looking forward to seeing your family again?¡± Ajax asked Arianwyn as she took a break from her training. ¡°I¡¯m glad I made it back before my cousin¡¯s tenth birthday.¡± Arianwyn said with a smile. ¡°I promised him the tournament would be over well before his party but with this trip we would be cutting it close.¡± This cousin wasn¡¯t part of the royal family. Arianwyn¡¯s mother had married into the royal family and it was her sister¡¯s son that was turning ten soon. ¡°You¡¯re all invited to the festivities of course.¡± she followed up as she finished her break and started her training again. This news left Ajax with a small conundrum. Should he make an exception and tell Arianwyn''s cousin about the trick to increasing his Stats slowly until the age of fifteen? The king of Gryndor had made an announcement that it would all be public soon enough, there was no doubt that if he told Arianwyn¡¯s cousin that the royal family of Sylvanthal would find out as well. Then again did that really matter as much considering there was no going back once the free Stat points were spent. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Xavier asked as he noticed Ajax was struggling with the choice. Ajax asked Xavier to put up his privacy bubble before he explained the situation. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to undermine your grandfather, or worse cause a political incident by letting the cat out of the bag early with Sylvanthal. On the other hand this is a great opportunity for me to not only build some international connections for my House and prevent some bad blood.¡± Both Ajax and Xavier knew there would be some pretty strong resentment coming from everyone who had turned ten close to when the announcement was officially made. Not sharing this would upset Arianwyn a lot, not so much that it would endanger their budding friendship but she wouldn¡¯t let this go easily either. Chapter 408 The discussion quickly expanded from just Ajax and Xavier to include the prince and through the communication device the king and the crown prince as well. ¡°I want this to be my present.¡± Ajax stated. ¡°It will only be shared with the boy, Arianwyn and their king.¡± Ajax wanted to make a good impression and while he had plenty of valuables he could use as a more than worthy gift from a somewhat newly titled Baron all of those items were also valuable to him, not to mention that the information he wanted to share would be infinitely more valuable to the boy. ¡°Fine, but make sure they keep it to themselves.¡± King Gryndor said. ¡°If they have any other very promising kids, have them do what we did where we only tell the child and swear them to secrecy, at such a young age even a weak contract would be fully binding.¡± The king wasn¡¯t happy with the turn of events, in his initial plan the news would have become public before the boy¡¯s tenth birthday, Ajax¡¯s extended trip however messed up their schedule, sharing the trick early would undermine the royal family a little, but after discussing it with his son the crown prince he agreed that the loss would be balanced out by reinforcing their alliance with Sylvanthal. Unlike in Deepwood the group didn¡¯t head straight for the dungeon as soon as they arrived, instead they all headed for the royal palace. They would be spending at least two weeks in the capital outside of their designated delves so they weren¡¯t in a rush. Only seeing it from the window of their carriage the capital city looked a lot like the one in Deepwood this time however Ajax was looking forward to exploring the city to get a feel for how the day to day life of the elves living here was. As they arrived at the royal palace Ajax didn¡¯t even feel it when his jaw dropped as he took in the majestic fortress tree. While the royal palace of Deepwood had been impressive in Ajax¡¯s opinion Sylvanthal¡¯s was superior. The most glaring difference was that where the trunk of the massive tree spread into large thick roots to enter the ground, Sylvanthal''s palace towered over a crystal clear pond. Ajax could follow the multitude of roots as they twisted around each other deeper and deeper until they reached the bottom of the pond and entered the ground at the bottom. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Ajax was at a loss for words as he took in the gigantic tree. The awe he was feeling taking in the palace as well as the weeks of unwinding on the road had led to Ajax dropping his guard enough that he hadn¡¯t even noticed someone was approaching him until he heard the steps no more than two feet away from him. As Ajax quickly turned it was only the lack of reaction from [Danger Sense] as well as his high Intelligence allowing him to quickly process the information that stopped him from striking his own mother as she hugged him. ¡°I missed you so much.¡± she muttered as she buried her head into his chest. Silvia and Alana had arrived a few day before them and they had been fully informed of most of Ajax¡¯s adventures in Deepwood, seeing her child again after that news made Silvia ignore the decorum of nobility she and the rest of the family had been trying to integrate over the past few years and rushed to hug Ajax. Alana was a few steps behind her doing her best to suppress her giggle. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Hi, mom,¡± Ajax said as he returned the hug. ¡°I see you made it here before us, I hope they didn¡¯t tell you anything that made you too worried.¡± Both of the guards that had been escorting Silvia and Alana developed a sudden interest in the boots as soon as they heard Ajax words. ¡°Maybe you should slow down and stop getting into trouble, that way when people tell us what you¡¯ve been up to we don¡¯t get all worried.¡± Alana chided him with a smile. In the past five years Alana had joined house Hearthbound as its top retainer, while her father and brother had returned to the village after the ground had been retaken. Every noble living in the capital knew that Alana had taken on the families last name and was treated as Judy¡¯s sister. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been enjoying your time here.¡± Ajax said with a smile, ignoring her prodding. ¡°You already received a tour of the palace?¡± ¡°We did and it¡¯s beautiful.¡± Alana nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure they saved the really interesting part for when you came, however, they haven¡¯t shown us the tunnels beneath the ground yet.¡± ¡°What?¡± Arianwyn words startled Alana but it also froze the two guards who were closing in on her. ¡°How do you know about those?¡± Aranor asked, his usual stoic face sporting an eyebrow raised in intrigue. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alana¡¯s assured voice cracked with fear, she wasn¡¯t used to this level of pressure. ¡°Who told you about those tunnels?¡± Aranor pressed. ¡°Is this really necessary?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s rather important, those tunnels should be secret.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°We¡¯d rather their existence not leak, we know she isn¡¯t a spy but we do want to know where she learnt of them.¡± ¡°It was a fair guess.¡± Alana said fear leaving her voice now that she saw the elves weren¡¯t angry at her so much as the fact they thought the information was out there. ¡°None of our spies show any of the other nations other than Deepwood even suspect their existence.¡± Elara joined in, more interested in her logic process than that she had the information. ¡°How did you make that fair guess?¡± ¡°Well Ajax¡¯s message told us how we messed up by not considering mana infused fertilizer for his own garden.¡± Alana explained. ¡°Our farmers would also till the land and put fertilizer before that, the whole point was that it needed to reach the roots so the plant could feed on it. Since the pond is so clean it must mean that there are tunnels underneath to feed the tree.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Ajax had a hard time holding back his laughter as Alana left Aranor at a loss for words. ¡°I suggest you do a whole overhaul of your defenses.¡± Ajax suggested. ¡°With the fortress tree Xavier won I¡¯m sure there will be more than a few experiments done and since it will be something too big to keep hidden, spies will have access to it.¡± ¡°How about we give you that tour now?¡± Arianwyn changed the topic. ¡°It will be the same one I¡¯m sure Alana received but I still think you¡¯ll enjoy it more than the one you got in Deepwood.¡± Ajax nodded, a little absentminded as his [Mana Sense] examined the small pond. The mana density of the water was something he had only felt in floors that had level seventies on them, he was very tempted to gather a few flasks for his [Alchemy] when another thought hit him. ¡°Xavier, is there a spot already planned for the fortress tree to be planted?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Maybe?¡± Xavier answered unsure. ¡°Father¡¯s researchers might already be preparing a spot. Why?¡± ¡°Because I just thought of a perfect little pond with a small patch of land in the center where it would really flourish.¡± Both Lexi and Anna were quick to catch on to what Ajax was suggesting as his discovery of the mana rich pond had caused waves with the nobles, both those directly involved with the skirmish as well as all of the gossip mongers in the capital upon their return. ¡°That might not work out as well as you¡¯d like.¡± Anna said. ¡°The noble that owns those lands leaks more than a sieve.¡± She knew this because with the amount of information her father¡¯s spies gained he was able to perfectly predict all their moves on the market and profit. ¡°It¡¯s worth considering.¡± the prince said with a smile as he knew what they were referring to and was also aware of the plan for Ajax¡¯s future dukedom to include the land. With consideration for the recent defensive agreement their two nations had recently made, the elves of Sylvanthal were much more open to discussing the fortress tree¡¯s defensive capabilities with Ajax. While none of the guards got very specific about what they could do individually they did answer general questions he had. Much like in Deepwood Ajax and the rest of their group was received a small private throne room by the royal family as well as many of their high tiered retainers. Unlike the tense atmosphere in Deepwood upon their entrance in the room they were welcomed like guests instead of accused to be interrogated, with one exception. From the moment he entered the room Ajax could feel the queen¡¯s gaze flicker from him to Lexi and to Arianwyn. It didn¡¯t take more than a moment for him to realize why that was as he remembered Arianwyn had had a crush on him when they had parted ways with the king, who doubtlessly shared the situation with his wife. His wife, who was now analyzing their every move. Chapter 409 The group received a warm welcome , the king took a moment to hug his daughter before he welcomed the rest of them and invited them to help themselves to the buffet that waited for them on the table along the side of the room. The queen was quick to realize that there was nothing going on between her daughter and Ajax as it took less than a minute for her to stop analyzing them, at the same time her attitude warmed up considerably now that she only saw them as friends of her daughter. The same could not be said for Elara¡¯s father who had also been in the room and was now judging every move Benedict made. Just as it was obvious to the queen from their interaction that there was nothing going on between Ajax and Arianwyn it was equally obvious that Benedict and Elara were circling each other. ¡°Should we help him?¡± Ajax asked in a whisper. ¡°It won¡¯t do any good.¡± the queen said with a warm smile. ¡°He¡¯s a lot like me and it will just take some time until he reaches his own decision on how he feels about their relationship. Once he reaches that decision and if he doesn¡¯t approve then you can help.¡± ¡°Any chance you can skip that next time you think I am in a relationship.¡± Arianwyn called out her mother as she had also noticed the way she had been sizing up Ajax and Lexi after they entered. ¡°No, darling.¡± the queen said with the same warm smile, the cheerful tone making Ajax feel a little sorry for whoever dated Arianwyn. ¡°Get a good acting skill and pretend to date a really bad match for a month before starting to date the person you¡¯re really interested in.¡± Anna said with a deadpan face. ¡°The positive emotions from dropping the walking disaster and the size of the upgrade should be enough to override the vigilance period out of sheer relief.¡± Arianwyn looked at Anna with a look of awe while the queen had a look of mixed outrage and dred at the idea. ¡°You are not doing that.¡± the king said with a perfect poker face, the fact that he wasn¡¯t even looking towards Anna giving away just how hard his social skills were working to maintain said poker face. For most of the evening nobody ventured into any important topics, the royal family had realized quickly how stressed the journey into Deepwood had made everyone and decided there was enough time for them to have a night to just settle in. ¡°I would like to apologize for my previous behavior, Baron Heathbound.¡± Once Elara¡¯s father stopped his deep interrogation of Benedict he moved towards Ajax. ¡°I took no offense, Duke.¡± Ajax said with a wry smile. Ajax¡¯s defeat of Elara in their fight during the tournament combined with him sharing that she had the Witch Trait with the Gryndor royal family had made the Duke very hostile throughout their initial joint travel towards the first of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons. ¡°It was still very inappropriate of me, especially after you sold my family one of the slots for delving Deepwood¡¯s dungeons.¡± the duke pressed on. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I think you will find such chances are going to become more abundant in the near future.¡± Ajax said as he tried to downplay his actions, his discomfort in the social situation was so obvious that Lexi was holding herself back from simply interjecting and acting as a middle man between all of Ajax¡¯s conversations for the rest of the evening. ¡°Oh?¡± The Duke was very interested in this. ¡°Why is that?¡± Benedict was quick to answer the question as he not only noticed Ajax¡¯s discomfort but also sensed an opportunity to improve the Duke¡¯s impression of himself. He went on to quickly explain their thoughts on the delve exchange between Sylvanthal, the Republic, Gryndor and possibly Brightstone. The queen had also taken notice of Ajax¡¯s awkwardness and asked her daughter about it. ¡°Does he have an issue with elves? Or is he just shy?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± the prince suppressed a chuckle. ¡°No, he didn¡¯t strike me as shy and he definitely doesn¡¯t have a problem with elves.¡± Arianwyn blushed a little in embarrassment as she remembered the outfit she wore back when she was trying to seduce Ajax and the way it had drawn his attention. ¡°Best enjoy that while it lasts.¡± the prince said with his trademark smirk. ¡°Oh,¡± the queen said with a challenging tone, showing her Blackthorn heritage and not backing down. ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°Ajax was born a commoner.¡± the prince let out a dejected sigh. ¡°Not only that but the nobles that were ruling over the area weren¡¯t ideal.¡± ¡°Is it nobles he has an issue with?¡± A slight bit of panic entered the king¡¯s voice. ¡°He wasn¡¯t mistreated, I hope.¡± ¡°Not directly, there was an issue with management but there wasn¡¯t anything specific to him, thank the gods. His upbringing just steered him towards an admittedly healthy level of paranoia that took a while for him to overcome, even now I doubt he has fully outgrown it.¡± The prince explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like paranoia.¡± the queen nodded towards the conversation Ajax was having. ¡°Oh no, like I said he has mostly outgrown that.¡± the prince said as his smirk returned in full force, even growing a little predatory. ¡°It¡¯s the overly polite and indirect way nobles interact at these events that make him uncomfortable. Something I am sure he will overcome once he has the power to ignore any perceived slights. With the speed he is growing at I don¡¯t see that taking too long.¡± The longer the party went on the more relaxed Ajax got as everyone started to drop the formalities more and more. While Ajax hadn¡¯t realized that this was all led by exampled by the king and queen most everyone else did with Lexi even pulling Arianwyn aside to thank her for it. As Ajax¡¯s sociability grew it didn¡¯t take him long until he found himself talking with the fortress guardian. The elf was on the younger side being only one hundred and fifty years old with a level of one hundred. It didn¡¯t take long for Ajax to start talking about the maintenance of mana infused plants and the elf was more than excited to discuss the subject. The situation ended up as a small issue for the king and queen, Ajax and the fortress guardian had slowly retreated to one side of the room and while they would welcome anyone in their discussion about growing mana dense plants nobody else was that interested in the topic to listen for more than a minute. As the night had started to drag on the king and queen were looking to bring the small welcoming party to an end but Ajax looked so animated talking off to one side that they didn¡¯t want to send him away like that after how the evening started. ¡°You can call an end to the evening.¡± Lexi even went to reassure them as she noticed the glances they kept throwing at him. ¡°He¡¯ll keep going well into the late hours of the morning if you let him.¡± ¡°We can have the royal alchemist set aside a few hours to teach him about some of our more area specific ingredients and recipes.¡± Arianwyn also joined in, she had seen just how dedicated Ajax was to the profession. ¡°He also won¡¯t mind, as soon as he leaves he¡¯ll just be glad it''s over and think that this wasn¡¯t such a bad party.¡± The king was just about to call an end to the evening now that he was reassured it won¡¯t be making a bad impression when everyone¡¯s attention was drawn towards the pair discussing things off to one side. ¡°WHAT?!¡± the fortress guardian exclaimed in shock. ¡°BEES?!¡± Nobody had any issue¡¯s reading the clear look of ¡®I fucked up¡¯ on Ajax¡¯s face. Silvia, Alana and Anna were working very hard not facepalm as Ajax slipped up and revealed something in his excitement. The prince didn¡¯t even attempt to resist as he brought his hand up to his forehead and started shaking his head. ¡°We were so close to the end,¡± he muttered. In the end the king didn¡¯t have to call an end to the evening as the groups started reforming after the outburst and it wasn¡¯t long before their guest from Gryndor and Darkclaw departed. Unlike Deepwood both the Republic and Gryndor had a staffed embassy in Sylvanthal so there was no need to go to an inn. Ajax spent the entire trip to the embassy with Alana glaring accusingly at him for revealing something for free and Lexi reassuring him that it wasn¡¯t that big a deal. Chapter 410 The knowledge that bees help with polarization was new to the elves, they knew that bees were attracted to flowers but they hadn¡¯t pieced together that the flowers had adapted to make use of the bees. One of the things Ajax was more cognizant of needing to keep a secret was that he had figured out how to infuse mana into the bees. During his time in the academy the hives were now on their third queen. The first had only lasted between a year or two depending on the hive but the second queen had lasted almost four years for all the hives. More important however was the fact that with every new queen the amount of mana each bee was infused with seemed to grow. Their study into this was still new but Ajax theorized that if everything surrounding a creature was infused with mana their offsprings would naturally be better adapted to mana. Bees were the perfect test subjects for this since they had enough hives for variety and every queen would birth thousands of bees before the new generation. The latest generation of worker bees had become active only a couple of weeks before Ajax had left yet it was clear that these bees were different from the hives he had initially brought, the only question remaining however was what would happen once the bees crossed the level twenty threshold that seemed to differentiate animals and monsters? Even now the stings from the latest bees had started to actually cause some damage to some of their non-combat retainers and they were only level five. Thankfully none of the hives were aggressive, one of the things Ajax had known to look out for every time a hive changed its queen was if the new queen was aggressive towards humans, twice now he had had to remove and kill said queen and simply wait for the hive to provide a replacement. As they arrived at the embassy Ajax noticed that it wasn¡¯t as nice or as large as the one Gryndor had in the Republic, he was sure this would change in the coming decades as nobles would start traveling more often but even now the building was a definite step up to their housing in Deepwood. ¡°How do you want to do this?¡± the prince asked once Ajax took a seat. ¡°The Blackthorn heir¡¯s birthday party is in five days and we are invited to attend.¡± This was a true invitation that Ajax could reject if he wanted to without causing a political incident. The easiest way to do so would be to simply delve Sylvanthal¡¯s main dungeon starting tomorrow. Like all other main dungeons it started with a base floor from level twenty five to thirty and grew by five levels per floor. Given the chance Ajax would most likely push all the way to challenging a level one hundred and thirty miniboss, that would be on the eighteen floor of the dungeon. There was no way they would clear all that in time for the party. ¡°We¡¯ll delve their secondary dungeon tomorrow.¡± Ajax said after taking a moment to think about it. ¡°Do you know who will join us?¡± Their secondary dungeon started with levels thirty one to thirty six and had a nine level jump each floor. The group would only have to clear as many as ten floors, and the tenth floor was already a stretch seeing as the miniboss there would be level one hundred and thirty five. Even with a favorable match-up Ajax was worried about it. ¡°Aranor, Arianwyn and Elara will all join us.¡± the prince said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if they will tag along for the final dungeon in Sylvanthal but they¡¯ll delve with us for both of the ones here in the capital. Along with them two of the ranger squads will also join to help clear the final floor, or on the off chance that two arches on the final floor have a valuable element for their main theme they will split up to clear both.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Despite knowing that Sylvanthal made a very compelling reason for sending two ranger squads, Ajax''s initial thought when he heard was tinged with a bit of speculation about how much power they were sending. In an odd twist of fate it was the idea that a single ranger squad was enough to handle all of them inside a dungeon that calmed Ajax down, what would be the point of sending two if that was their aim. With that settled nobody spent any more time as they headed straight to bed. Ajax and Lexi simply cuddled together as they both prepared for the trying fights they would face in the coming days. Of them all Anna was the most nervous, despite heading straight to bed she spent the first hour twisting and turning in her bed before she finally fell asleep. The reason for this was the fear she felt. It wasn¡¯t the upcoming fight she was afraid of however, it was that Lexi would leave her behind. Anna and Lexi had been best friends from the age of ten, more than that however Lexi had been Anna¡¯s only true friend until they had joined the Academy. Throughout all this time they had been inseparable and while Lexi had almost always been the better mage they were still relatively close in terms of power. As of late this dynamic had started to change. It had started with Lexi gaining a Domain, followed quickly by her gaining the Legendary affinity for Vibration mana. This had been a massive jump in power but because of how offensive both gains were Anna hadn¡¯t truly grasped the difference because Lexi couldn¡¯t truly bring them to bear in their sparring without putting Anna in danger. The realization came when Lexi managed to push one floor further than any of them. Anna¡¯s sleep that night was anything but restful, she had barely gotten five hours of sleep before she woke covered in a sheen of sweat. ¡°I¡¯ll do it...¡± she promised to herself in a whisper between deep breaths. ¡°No matter what, I''ll bring down the level seventy two.¡± Despite knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fall back asleep Anna laid back down in bed as she tried her best to relax, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be long until sunrise. The news that they would be delving Sylvanthal¡¯s secondary dungeon brought a big smile on Arianwyn¡¯s face. She knew that if they were delving them main dungeon not only would she possibly need to leave early so that she would not miss her cousin¡¯s party but also that Ajax, and by extension everyone else, would also attend. That night the queen and king had questioned Arianwyn as to why she was so attached to this group. It wasn¡¯t like she hadn¡¯t had friends before, there weren¡¯t all that many of them on account of both her position as princess and her sheer talent, but that didn¡¯t seem to be a problem for her here. Other than Darkclaw, everyone else was either a lot younger or much weaker than her, in most cases it was both. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Arianwyn admitted. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I know that they all have the potential to catch up with me. You always told me that a few decades wouldn¡¯t matter as we got older, I guess I just realized that now.¡± Both the queen and king had shared those words in hopes of having Arianwyn befriend some of the older elves who could spar with her when she was younger but they were still very happy with this turn of events. It was clear as day to both of them that not only Ajax but Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict would all become future champions, seeing their daughter make lifelong friends who would live that long brought them both so much joy. The group that entered the dungeon was a lot bigger than usual. A total of thirty one people entered and as soon as they were inside one of them couldn¡¯t hold back any more. ¡°Can you really do it?¡± one of the widest elves Ajax had ever seen asked him before he even had a chance to look around the floor. ¡°Rimthel!!¡± the ranger squad leader shouted to chastise his subordinate before turning an apologetic look towards Ajax. ¡° Forgive him, he¡¯s very passionate about smithing and it has been more than twelve delves since he has seen any floor with quality metals above level ninety.¡± Ajax was surprised to hear the elf was a smith. He knew that there were elven smiths just the same as there were human mages or dwarves farmers but that one of them was not only a good enough smith to work with such mana dense metals as well as being strong enough to be part of the ranger squads was not something he expected. Once the squad leader turned away Rimthel slowly crept close to Ajax and whispered so softly Ajax could barely hear it. ¡°Can you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± Ajax responded with a grin the prince would have been proud of. Chapter 411 The first floor of the dungeon wasn¡¯t all that special of a setting, the rather common forest theme was one Ajax had grown very used to. What made this floor different from most he had seen was that the trees grew about twice as thick and four to five times as tall, more than that this floor also had elven enemies defending it. ¡°I can see now why so few crafters get their start in the capital.¡± Ajax mentioned as he looked around. The presence of humanoids on the first floor all but guaranteed that the market would be flooded with weapons and armor that was collected from them, since a decent number of teams would clear the first floor there would always be a steady supply of items people were looking to unload quickly. ¡°Has the royal family or the Guild tried to stop the flood?¡± Anna asked, curious about how something like this would affect the market. ¡°Both have tried.¡± Arianwyn answered. ¡°It has failed every time for the same reason, directly or indirectly.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s always the same reason why not fix that before trying again?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s hard to fix the nobility.¡± the prince joined in clueing Ajax in on what the reason was. ¡°Almost every ruler tries but it takes many generations of rulers doing their best to put a decent dent in the corruption of nobles and if the line is ever broken by one bad or incompetent ruler all the work must start again.¡± ¡°Also how do nobles ruin things when the royals attempt it.¡± Ajax knew that nobles could band together to oppose the royal family but he doubted they would do so for something as trivial as low to mid level thirty weapons and armor, he could see them uniting against the guild for the same reason just on principle. ¡°Only way to stop the flood on the market is for all the spoils to be bought before they can enter it.¡± Anna explained. ¡°That means everyone¡¯s storage is checked when they leave. If everyone¡¯s storage is getting checked as they leave it won¡¯t take long for nobles to bribe the ones checking to find out about any other valuables commoners are taking out. Once that happens the system soon collapses because the Guild will oppose it in order to protect its members.¡± The first arch they found on the first floor was guarded by a giant beaver. Ajax felt rather bad about the poor thing as Aranor dispatched it before it even made a move to defend the arch. With the guard handled Ajax wasted no time placing his hand on the arch. ¡°Well?¡± the leader of one ranger squad asked with a raised eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t so much that they doubted Aranor¡¯s word about Ajax¡¯s ability as the claim was so outrageous they still didn¡¯t fully believe it was possible despite the reliability of the source. ¡°Earth and Magma primarily.¡± Ajax said. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be much Air or Plant. I¡¯m guessing either an underground cave system or the inside of a volcano.¡± Ajax felt a shiver go up his spine when he remembered the last time he had been on a floor theme that imitated the inside of a volcano. At some points the ledges got very thin and more than once one of his teammates was thrown off the sides and left dangling by the ropes everyone had tied around themselves above a lake of magma. That floor had had level ninety enemies however and he wasn¡¯t at all worried about one with enemies half that level. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I¡¯ll be, he was actually right.¡± Rimthel looked on with a mix of awe and glee. ¡°So you can just go to whatever theme you want?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ajax shook his head in denial. ¡°I can feel the mana types dominant on the floors, but I don¡¯t know how they will be expressed, more than that if I don¡¯t recognise the mana type it will be useless. Also the higher we delve the fewer mana types I can see.¡± ¡°More importantly is that the arch is already set.¡± Arianwyn spoke up as she fixed the ranger squads with a warning look. ¡°He can¡¯t change it, only see what it is.¡± ¡°What she means is don¡¯t blame him for the themes we get later on, he can¡¯t change them.¡± Aranor translated, left unsaid was the ¡®or else¡¯ Arianwyn implied about anyone harassing her new friend. The second floor turned out to be a multitude of tunnels that were dug around a few rivers of magma. Because of how low level the floor was there were always light mana rocks embedded in the walls to provide visibility. The monsters on this floor were also basic worms and other digging animals, while all of them had some sort of fire affinity none of them were strong enough yet to handle the heat of the magma. With Benedict, Lexi, Anna and Xavier needing to kill something on the second floor they now had a number of different arch options to choose from, at least initially. Once the third arch was identified to have Crystal mana as its third most common mana on the floor with Life and Earth as the top two it was a foregone conclusion what arch they would choose. Gems were always in short supply no matter the mana density, more than that they were used by all types or armor and weapon crafters meaning a very high demand for a very low supply, it wasn¡¯t uncommon to find master crafters who were still novices in working with gems because of their poor beginnings and lack of backers. ¡°Hopefully the next floor theme isn¡¯t a cave.¡± one of the rangers complained as they moved through the third floor. ¡°Speak for yourself, I just hope it has some ore deposits.¡± Rimthel responded. Up until this point the ranger squads hadn¡¯t seen anything to be impressed by. They could admit that the Ajax¡¯s classmates were stronger than any other people their level they had seen but that was to be expected considering the number of different dungeons they had delved so far. This changed however as Lexi faced off against her crystal scorpion. With the miniboss being only level fifty four Lexi didn¡¯t consider it strong enough to even be a warm up. The rangers had all tensed a little when they saw that Lexi allowed the crystalline arachnid close in but seeing nobody else react they didn¡¯t interfere. When Lexi unleashed a full power shockwave that turned the miniboss into rubble the rangers were impressed. Not only were they impressed with the power of the spell but also with the control Lexi showed as her attack demolished the miniboss yet didn¡¯t do more than leave a few small cracks on the wall of the tunnel. ¡°That was an affinity.¡± one of the mages broke out of their shock first. ¡°You have the affinity for shockwaves?¡± All of the casters and even some of the more melee focused rangers were very much interested in this development. Shockwave was one of the spells all of them made use of regularly because of how versatile it was, depending on which variation of the spells was used it could be a defensive spell to intercept a projectile, a defensive spell to force an enemy away or an offensive spell as Lexi had just demonstrated. There had been many attempts to unlock the affinity but so far none of them had succeeded. ¡°What rarity is it?¡± another ranger followed up, the question was innocent in his mind, he had asked because he had a long standing bet with his teacher on if the affinity was Rare or Epic. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary.¡± Lexi answered with a sweet smile. The answer floored both squads, not so much for the power of the affinity but rather by the admission of possessing a Legendary affinity. ¡°Wh - why would you admit something like that?¡± ¡°Because Elara has it as well.¡± Lexi¡¯s answer was flippant but the effect on the rangers was immediate, a wave of congratulations fell on Elara. ¡°I see the Baron is not the only future powerhouse.¡± The ranger leaders approached Aranor, the three of them knew they would be ranger leaders for most of their new king¡¯s reign so being up to date about such powerful people would be a requirement for them even if they were allies. ¡°This defensive agreement is looking like a better deal with every day that passes.¡± ¡°All five of them have the foundations to become more powerful than anyone currently alive.¡± Aranor warned them. ¡°I will admit Lady Manashaper has started to pull ahead of the others and Baron Hearthbound is like nothing I¡¯ve ever seen before.¡± ¡°You think he needs to be taken care of?¡± the other squad leader whispered. ¡°Gods no.¡± Aranor shook his head. ¡°Despite some glaring weaknesses when it comes to social interactions the boy¡¯s mind is just as valuable as his personal combat prowess.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± the squad leader asked. ¡°I have a feeling that we are living in a historic time.¡± Aranor said as his gaze focused on Ajax. ¡°With the discoveries he has made and the change his very presence is causing on the nations I foresee us all expanding our borders in the coming centuries.¡± Chapter 412 For the fifth floor of the dungeon the team collectively decided to go with one of the random arches. The reason it was random wasn¡¯t that Ajax couldn¡¯t feel what the predominant mana types were, it was simply that he didn¡¯t know those represented. He had felt them in present in small quantities on other floors but he hadn¡¯t been able to get a clear reading on what they represented. Since the floor would only have levels up to sixty two it would be a perfect warm-up for Anna, Lexi and Xavier. Benedict knew that with his physically focused build he wouldn¡¯t have a chance at tackling the following floor, it wasn¡¯t something he was happy about but it was something he had accepted, as a melee physical combatant the fight would simply last too long for any boosting potion to remain effective and the level difference was too much to overcome for him. ¡°What is this?¡± one of the rangers asked as they noticed a sticky substance on the ground. ¡°Ajax, is this what I think it is?¡± Lexi asked as she took in her surroundings, she was pretty sure she was right with her guess but wanted Ajax to confirm it for her. ¡°Yes it is.¡± Ajax confirmed excitement and awe in his voice. ¡°Judging by the size of the honeycomb I¡¯d say we should be expecting them to be about four feet in length.¡± ¡°Honeycomb?¡± Anna asked confused for a moment before her eyes opened wide in surprise. ¡°Is this entire floor a big hive?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the entire floor but this part of it certainly seems to be.¡± Ajax said as he looked at the sheen of what he very much suspected to be honey glistening on the walls. ¡°Anna also do be careful with your fire, pure honey like this is flammable.¡± ¡°You think the minibosses might be swarm types?¡± the prince asked Ajax. ¡°Could be.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°That would mean that their defense and endurance is low so they should be no issue for any of us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an interesting floor I¡¯ll grant you but can we get going.¡± Aranor said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in an anthill version of this floor and they are dangerous, after a certain point it''s like the obelisk was activated on you and the entire floor swarms you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they have a hive mind.¡± Ajax said. ¡°If you¡¯re careful that won¡¯t happen.¡± For the next five minutes Ajax very loosely explained how a hive worked as one organism and that if they wouldn¡¯t let any bees live long enough they wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate their presence throughout the hive. ¡°Anything you want off this floor Ajax?¡± the prince asked, knowing that Ajax¡¯s ideas could be a little out there.¡± ¡°Oh yes.¡± Ajax nodded rapidly. ¡°There has to be some honey we can take out and I¡¯ll want some of that. Less likely to be found are eggs or royal jelly.¡± That comment brought everyone up short, not because of the food or the presence of a type of jelly they hadn¡¯t heard about but the eggs. ¡°You think there could be eggs?¡± Aranor asked, his words coming out slowly one at a time.¡± ¡°Most likely not ones we could take with us.¡± Ajax sighed as he admitted, he had found floors that seemed to have shrunk the person entering before and while they had found eggs of creatures on those floors they weren¡¯t ever able to take them out. ¡°The dungeons don¡¯t seem to allow that.¡± ¡°Then what do you want to honey?¡± one of the rangers asked. ¡°Or the¡­ what is royal jelly?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Lexi was quick to catch on why Ajax wanted both the honey and the royal jelly. Ajax had explained how bees worked before and she knew that if Ajax managed to get any of the honey from this hive and feed it to his bees he might be able to get them to integrate the mana infusion quicker, the royal jelly would be especially valuable since that would should be able to boost a future queen helping speed up the process by a few generations. ¡°He¡¯s an alchemist, you know how they are about odd mana-rich ingredients.¡± Another ranger whispered to the nod of everyone who heard. Even Lexi was nodding along not just because she didn¡¯t want to explain everything she knew about bees but she actually agreed with the statement and knew that Ajax would also keep some of the honey for his [Alchemy]. ¡°We¡¯re clearing the entire floor anyway so what does it matter.¡± the ranger squad leader said, all the royal ranger squads had standing orders to scour floors where there was a reasonable suspicion that eggs of magical creatures could be found. ¡°What does this royal jelly look like?¡± ¡°It should look similar to regular honey only instead of the golden color it would be more like milk it''s surprisingly sour, it¡¯s actually how the bees-¡± Ajax started to explain only to be interrupted. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for a lesson on bees Ajax.¡± Lexi said. ¡°So white honey.¡± the ranger leader nodded. ¡°No offense but if I find some white sticky substance I won¡¯t be tasting it.¡± With a few chuckles both rangers'' squad started to head out and clear the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to leave a few of the arch guardians alive, some of them still need to clear the floor.¡± the prince called out. ¡°Anything we should watch out for?¡± Benedict asked Ajax, recognizing that this time his friend might actually know a lot more about their enemies. ¡°Yeah the stinger.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± Xavier chuckled along with Anna and Lexi. ¡°I mean it.¡± Ajax said in a serious tone. ¡°Judging by the size of the hive these bees are maybe sixty times larger than the normal ones, bee stings hurt and itch for so long because they inject venom. With this much more venom and the mana concentration one sting might not be immediately fatal but it would incapacitate any of you, two or more would be fatal regardless what body part they hit.¡± This information brought the joking to a halt, a swarm type enemy with this strong of a weapon was a real threat for all of them. ¡°Anything else, weak point?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°Yeah their jaws.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Bees have an exoskeleton, if you put a sword or spear through their mouth you won¡¯t hit bone so you can crush their brain. Ice magic should also work well but I¡¯m not sure how that works with the mana they have access to now.¡± Ajax was the first of them to go up against the bees to see what they could do. A miniboss swarm seemed to be made up of seven four and a half feet long bees. Ajax wasted no time and made short work of them, with his speed and power half of the bees were dead before they even had a chance to react to his attack. Before killing the last bee however he did let it sting him in the thigh, it wasn¡¯t often that he could find a chance to expose his [Poison Resistance] to such an odd venom. ¡°Argh.¡± Ajax groaned as he endured the pain while also crushing the final bee with his hammer. ¡°Are you sure that was a good idea?¡± the prince asked Ajax, only slightly worried about him willingly being hit with a venom. ¡°Actually I¡¯m starting to regret this already.¡± Ajax said while keeping his voice as emotionless as possible yet his hands had started clenching and unclenching. ¡°Are you in danger?¡± the prince was a little worried but because of the calm look on Ajax¡¯s face he hadn¡¯t started panicking. ¡°No, I just failed to consider the aftereffects of the poison.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh god it must itch like crazy.¡± Lexi exclaimed as she remembered how the pain from the sting wasn¡¯t pleasant but it faded quickly. Anna and Lexi had no issue dealing with their own swarms. While Vibration wasn¡¯t all that good against an exoskeleton, both of the girls were powerful mages that had a very strong advantage by opening the fight with a very powerful spell that hit the entire swarm. Lexi went with ice while Anna stuck with her trademark fire Xavier and Benedict didn¡¯t have such an easy time, both of them started with a very aggressive opening attack and then switched into a defensive fighting style as the slowly killed off one bee at a time while keeping well away from the stingers. Both of them were a bit roughed up from where the bees had managed to gnaw on them a little but neither of them had gotten stung. The ranger squads had also shown their prowess as it barely took four hours for them to clear and scout the entire floor. ¡°You were right, no eggs.¡± the rangers said as they returned. ¡°At least none that we can take out.¡± ¡°What about the honey and royal jelly?¡± Ajax asked, only slightly disappointed with the news about the eggs since he had been expecting them. ¡°We did manage to find about ten¡­ honeycombs, you called them, of honey and one of the royal jelly that we can take with us.¡± the ranger nodded. ¡°The honey ones were scattered all over the floor.¡± The amount was something Ajax was very happy with. Each honeycomb could hold about fifteen gallons so that was a lot. ¡°Anything specific you are planning?¡± the prince asked him as he could tell Ajax was holding something back. ¡°Yeah, we need to be careful with the royal jelly.¡± Ajax said. ¡°With it a dedicated farmer could raise his own queen, with the right skills they might be able to tame it even if they won¡¯t Bond with it and through it they would control the entire hive.¡± ¡°As long as they grow to this size I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡± the prince said. ¡°Lets go to the next floor.¡± Chapter 413 Anna P.O.V. Fighting the bees on the previous floor had been a great way to warm up and it was something I very much needed if I was to kill a miniboss in this frozen hellscape. The fifth floor of the dungeon was a land of eternal winter. While I had seen snow outside the dungeon it never got any higher than my knees, father told me the worst winter he ever experienced it got as high as his waist. ¡°This is amazing.¡± Arianwyn shouted with glee as continued to practice her Domain. This was the perfect place for it, her winter domain was right at home with the theme of the floor. Oddly enough the presence of her domain was the only reason the wind had slowed down around us and we weren¡¯t pelted by hail. ¡°Let''s go find some of the minibosses.¡± Ajax said with a relaxed posture, it was as if the cold didn¡¯t affect him at all while I could feel it burrowing through my enchantments with every moment that passed. ¡°Since the floor is environmental we the minibosses might be weaker than usual.¡± I appreciated the heartwarming encouragement, while Ajax¡¯s lack of subtlety wasn¡¯t something I appreciated there was something to be said about his willingness to support his friends. The encouragement was mainly geared towards Benedict who had all but given up on clearing this floor before we even stepped foot on it, but it was also slightly directed towards me. The winter theme of the floor wasn¡¯t a disadvantage for me, while snow and ice could both easily put out a fire so could a fire melt them. This would all come down to one thing for me, could I be efficient enough with my mana to bring down my enemy before they got to me or not. I know I could blow all my mana quickly but that might not be efficient enough to kill something at level seventy two, I also knew with enough time I could use my mana efficiently enough to bring it down. The problem with the second scenario was that I was alone and a full on mage so I had to win before they got too close to me. Am I even a full on mage anymore? I know I spent every one of my free stat points in either my Vitality or my Mental stats but I had also delved more than fifteen dungeons. All of my stats had more than an extra fifty added on just from clearing floors, my body wasn¡¯t as weak any more. I know for a fact Benedict is planning on working out a deal with Elara¡¯s family to help build his foundation more like the elven physical fighter after his Metal stats had increased so much from delving. Once I returned home I would need to work hard to get accustomed to my new limits, especially when it comes to my physical attributes which will have all gained almost a 50% increase in under a year. As soon as we crossed the boundary of Arianwyn¡¯s Domain the chilling wind returned with a vengeance. I bundled myself tighter with the fur coat my father had gifted me, more than that I could also admit that he was right. Despite the presence of the soft fur not doing anything to keep me warmer than regular leather would have with the same enchantments the fur just made it feel like it was keeping out the cold and even that little bit helped. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± Ajax warned us but I knew none of us would even lift a finger unless there was a miniboss. There were more than twenty people above level one hundred and fifty on this floor, even if half of them split off so they could stay with Arianwyn as she practiced her domain, nothing would get the jump on us. ¡°What is it?¡± Benedict asked curiously, the nature of the enemy was important to see if it was a favorable match-up for him. ¡°Foxes.¡± Ajax answered, a little sadness in his tone. It didn¡¯t take me long to see why he wasn¡¯t pleased. While the monsters the elves were toying with did resemble foxes they were also only slightly smaller than an average horse, not only that but they were pure white, their fur would sell for a premium. Their increased size didn¡¯t seem to affect their usual quickness and to make matters worse they could somehow dig through the snow in the same way a mole monster would through the earth. I could feel their mana working but that small bit of warning wasn¡¯t enough for any of us except Ajax to even consider fighting them. ¡°There¡¯s a miniboss there for you Ajax¡± The prince said, he obviously agreed with my assessment of the monsters.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to engage, I could feel him activating [Mana Syphon], my own [Sense Mana] painted a clear picture of a vortex centered on Ajax where all mana would surge towards as he consumed it to increase his own physical prowess. As Ajax engaged the fox I braced myself for the wall of Aura that washed over us. It wasn¡¯t all that powerful, I¡¯ve felt many more powerful Aura¡¯s but all of those had been constrained or offset by another Aura. Nobody else other than Ajax was unleashing his Aura now and while it wasn¡¯t intentional I could tell Xavier, Benedict, Lexi and myself were all slightly pressured by it. With his sword in hand Ajax¡¯s hand turned into a blur. I knew his hand hadn¡¯t actually turned invisible, it was simply moving faster than my eyes could track, a single exchange with the fox was enough to bring it down. The only reason I knew he had made five cuts was by counting the wounds on the fox. ¡°You¡¯re getting sloppy.¡± the prince teased Ajax. Despite getting a lot stronger in the past half a year, even more than all of us, it was getting more and more obvious that Ajax wasn¡¯t used to his own stats. The cuts that covered the fox¡¯s body weren¡¯t precisely grouped. Back when we left Gryndor Ajax wouldn¡¯t have needed to sacrifice any of his speed for his cuts to land exactly where he wanted them to. It didn¡¯t take more than five more minutes before we found our first arch on this floor. The guardian was a creature I hadn¡¯t seen before but one I had read about as being relatively common in frozen floors. A penguin. ¡°I¡¯ll fight it.¡± [Noble Bearing] keeps my face emotionless and my voice even as I lay claim to the miniboss. Penguins are slow, and not particularly tough. Their threat comes mostly from their magic and their pack tactics. This whole fight will come down to how quickly I can overpower the penguin¡¯s defensive magic while ensuring my own defenses aren¡¯t breached. While getting in position I get a round of nods from the rangers as three of them have their bows drawn, ready to kill all the surrounding penguins and leave only the miniboss for me to fight. I bring out the potion and remove the cork before downing it in one gulp. The moment after I swallow I begin to chant. The potion is one specifically made to influence the drinker¡¯s mana towards fire. I can feel the potion take effect as the cold and wind stop bothering me entirely as a wave of warmth radiates out from my core, with this my fire spells would pack that much heat. Halfway through my chant the penguin¡¯s feel my mana gathering and move to engage me. A few brief but powerful flashes of mana spring up in my surroundings as this happens but I force myself to ignore them as the rangers remove the minibosses¡¯ helpers. The surprise attack confuses the miniboss and that is the last of the help I will get as I channel almost a tenth of my entire mana pool into a single flame lance that I sent hurtling towards the penguin. I don¡¯t even wait to see the effects as I already start chanting my second spell. My [Sense Mana] is locked on to my lance, as soon as it gets within ten feet of the penguin it¡¯s met with a frozen barrier. My lance loses its form as it breaks through the barrier and the flames wash over the penguin. The miniboss whines in pain as the flames flow over it and for a moment it seems like it wants to run away. If this was a real penguin I¡¯m sure it would attempt to flee but in the dungeon the monster''s base instincts are suppressed and the angry creature starts to retaliate. The brief moment of indecision it had was enough for me to finish chanting my wall of flames. A defensive spell isn¡¯t something I would normally use to follow up my initial attack with but in this case it is essential as the flood of fire mana very much limits my opponents range. Over the past six years I have become increasingly proficient in dealing with caster type monsters, in fact I am sure there are very few people at my level that can claim the same mastery as Lexi, Xavier and I have. The reason for this is our constant sparring with Ajax, my friend¡¯s casting is almost identical to the way monsters cast their spells. With my defenses established I quickly turn up the aggression with a few quick spells, I can¡¯t allow the penguin to channel a powerful attack or it will break straight through my defensive enchantments. The next few minutes feel like an eternity as a deadlock form where both of us are launching a volley of spells at one another. While the penguin¡¯s spells aren¡¯t strong enough to outright shatter my defensive enchantments I can feel the barriers starting to crack with every shard of ice and frostbolt. At the same time my own spells have managed to break through the penguin¡¯s renewed ice shell and I¡¯m finally starting to deepen the initial burns it suffered. I¡¯m down to a fifth of my mana but that¡¯s more than enough to finish this, that¡¯s when I feel an icy shiver pass through my body. My potion has finally run out and my spells have started to lose some of their heat. While the boost in power wasn¡¯t enormous without it the damage my spells would do to the monsters has dropped considerably, without the added heat the penguin¡¯s own magical defenses smother them too much. I was so close. No, I won¡¯t give up, this isn¡¯t over yet. A brief flash of Ajax and Lexi leaving me behind as they push forward and I can feel my emotions burn as they refuse to allow it to become reality. Then everything clicks into place. I¡¯m not sure what changed but as i release my next fireball I can feel the heat of the flames almost strong enough to burn my own hand as I launch it, it¡¯s more than powerful enough to break though the penguin¡¯s defenses and as the attack lands the flames persistently latch on to the creature, almost like they are enforcing my will for it to burn. The battle ends with my next attack as the creature dies while my flames continue burning through the blizzard without a care in the world as they turn the corpse into ash. I quickly open up my status looking for an explanation of what happened. There it is, down at the bottom, my news skill, my only Legendary skill. [Pyromancer] Chapter 414 The group watched Anna¡¯s battle with the penguin with bated breath. It was obvious when her potion ran out and Ajax could feel Lexi¡¯s grip on his hand tighten, they all knew that with the backlash of the potion the best Anna could hope for was a slow defensive struggle until the monster twenty five levels above her would finish her off. The next fireball Anna released showed her lack of power, Ajax was tempted to end the fight there just to spare Anna the despair of fighting an inevitable loss. Mid-flight however the fireball¡¯s heat shot up, so much so that it was now even hotter than before the potion ran out so much so Ajax was worried if the spell had burnt Anna¡¯s fingers. Her fireball wasn¡¯t the only thing to get hotter as the small wall of flames surrounding Anna also increased in heat as the penguin struggled to put out the flames that would soon claim its life. With the penguin¡¯s attention on putting out the flames Anna has enough time to chant one of her stronger spells and her flame pillar spell leaves the miniboss a half charred lump that is slowly turning to ash. As soon as the battle is over Anna collapses to her knees, her eyes glazed with a faraway look consistent with someone inspecting their status. The prince wastes no time as he snuffs out the intense flames surrounding her before applying first aid. Anna¡¯s hands suffered some second degree burns that are at odds with the few patches of frostbite that adorn her body. By the time Lexi managed to cover the distance and wrap her arms around Anna she had finished inspecting her status, with a tired smile Anna leaned into her friend''s hug ¡°I did it.¡± falling unconscious after getting the words out. ¡°She¡¯s out of mana, but otherwise fine.¡± the prince said. ¡°Whatever happened at the end her mana usage spiked very high.¡± Lexi had a much easier time dealing with the following penguin they met, by leaning into her domain and overall aggressive strategy the fight was over much quicker than Anna¡¯s. Going all in on offense did have its price however and Lexi¡¯s right arm had turned entirely blue after she used it to block one of the penguin¡¯s frostbolts. Ajax hovered around Lexi like a worried mother hen while the healer of the ranger squad worked to reverse the frostbite. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi reassured him but they all knew that the fight had been just as close as Anna¡¯s, had the frostbolt hit her head or chest she would have died. Benedict knew he had no chance against a fox or a penguin, there were chances they could find an ice golem or a weak elemental on this floor but he wouldn¡¯t do any better against one of those either. His only chance was to try and take on the behemoth polar bears they had seen traveling alone. His first attempt was also his last, Benedict understood quickly that he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring down a polar bear. WIth their thick muscles and touch skin covered in layers of fur combined with an enormous body meant that he would need to fight flawlessly until he was almost entirely out of stamina to bleed them out. All the bear needed to win was to land anything more than a glancing blow. ¡°Your chances will improve once you start to integrate some magic into your fighting style.¡± Elana reassured him. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I don¡¯t think I stand a much better chance that he did.¡± Xavier said as he took in the outcome of the fight. As a fellow melee fighter Xavier would be hard pressed to keep up with the speed of the bear, even if he did have the damage to kill it the stat difference was just too high for him as a hybrid fighter. ¡°You could try it.¡± Ajax said as he examined the polar bear. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be attuned to the ice mana at all.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°You could manage to remove a large amount of fur with your opening attack, the bear would lose its insulation, slowly the cold would kill it by itself.¡± Ajax explained his theory, he knew that Benedict couldn¡¯t remove enough fur without magic but Xavier had a chance. Ajax¡¯s plan worked well in theory but as they soon found out Xavier simply didn¡¯t have the stats to keep up on the defensive long enough for the cold to start having enough of an effect. ¡°No need to look so down.¡± the prince patted Xavier on the back. ¡°I can barely kill something twenty five levels higher than myself and that¡¯s a much smaller difference for me than it is for you.¡± They had already been on the floor for more than six hours by the time all of them had finished or admitted they wouldn¡¯t be able to clear the floor and they moved to return to Arianwyn who was still practicing her Domain. On the way there Anna had regained consciousness but kept silent about what had given her the increase in power. ¡°Has she taken a break at all?¡± Elara asked Aranor as she looked at just how tired Arianwyn looked and the fact that her Domain was still active. ¡°Not yet.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°She used up the mana in her first Domain in about two hours and after releasing it a second time she has just focused on drawing in the Air, Ice and Water mana from the ambient mana into her Domain.¡± All of them could feel that Arianwyn was successful but this was a slow process. This wouldn¡¯t be something that would help increase her combat power directly but it would instead only slightly increase her reserves in a prolonged fight so long as she could draw on specific mana types from the surroundings. ¡°Any interesting arches for the next floor?¡± Arianwyn asked as she finally stopped practicing after noticing their return. ¡°Hard to say.¡± Ajax answered, with the level of the arch¡¯s so high he could only glimpse the top two mana types present, maybe a third if they were all above 20% of the arch split. Of the five arches they had found none of them had three overly dominant mana types, what¡¯s worse was that all of them had either Plant or Earth as one of the two he could see with two of them having both. This did very little to narrow anything down. ¡°We¡¯re not going for the water one.¡± Ajax said as he excluded the arch that was 50% water. ¡°I say we go for the Earth and Shadow.¡± Rimthel suggested hoping very much it would lead to an underground cave system that would have some metal ores. ¡°We¡¯ve had too many underground floors in this run already.¡± Aranor shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll also be clearing the floor and leaving it in a few hours at most, let''s just go for the Plant and Light.¡± None of them were worried about taking on the level eighty one minibosses, even the level nineties on the next floor wouldn¡¯t really pose a challenge to any of them, Harold would be the only one who would have serious issues against the level ninety nines and Ajax would be the only person trying anything past level one hundred. Support quickly built up around the idea of the Plant and Light floor, with it also being the floor where the group would camp for a night of sleep. Anna, Lexi, Benedict and Xavier didn¡¯t waste any time and exited the dungeon as soon as they got on the next floor Elara and Arianwyn also joined them. The former was looking to spend time with Benedict while the latter was going to make preparations for her cousin¡¯s upcoming birthday party. The following floor turned out to be a simple hilly plain covered by deep grass. It was exactly what the group had hoped for as it was easy for them to clear a large enough patch to set up camp where they all got a few hours of sleep, Ajax Harold and Darkclaw getting a full eight hours so they would be ready for finishing this floor and then clearing out the next two as well. ¡°We might need to change our plans.¡± Aranor said to the two ranger squads once they made camp. ¡°It might not be worth keeping both of you just to clear two floors around level one hundred and fifty. It might be better to break one of you up and send you one or two at a time in some of these lower floors where we know two mana types.¡± Chapter 415 The level nineties didn¡¯t turn out to be that much more of a challenge either, the most eye opening thing about the floor was a deeper understanding into how the mana affected different floors of the dungeon. The floor they had chosen Ajax had recognised as a primarily humanoid floor, which was technically true. What was unexpected was that Wendigo¡¯s were classified as humanoids despite their bestial natures and lack of tools or armor. ¡°I was expecting elves or beastkins when you said Plant and humanoids.¡± the prince said as Ajax and Darkclaw were watching Harold finish his own fight for the floor. ¡°So was I.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But at least now we know this is also a possibility.¡± Ajax had already experienced that goblins, orcs and even kobolds were listed as humanoids by the dungeons, while he had never seen orcs or goblins outside of dungeons he had some experiences with kobolds and they were pretty much feral. This did lead him to question if orcs or goblins would be similar to their aggressive dungeon counterparts or if they could be reasoned with, if any of them existed outside of dungeons at all. Harold didn¡¯t take long to finish his fight. Back when they started fighting a level ninety wendigo would have been a hard fight for him, not something wouldn¡¯t be confident in handling but certainly not easy, now it was only a good warm up for him despite only increasing his level by one during this time. ¡°Let''s see which floor we want to try next.¡± Harold said as he sheathed his sword after wiping the blood off of it. ¡°Actually Ajax, could I trouble you to take a look at a few other floor options.¡± Aranor said seeing that they were finished. ¡°We cleared a few more.¡± Ajax certainly didn¡¯t mind, so far their options were a Metal Fire floor, an Air Lightning floor and whatever this final arch ended up being, he even said as much, these floors were all horrible options for Harold. ¡°Which one is the Metal Fire?¡± One of the ranger leaders asked. ¡°The first one we found.¡± Ajax responded, with a single nod two rangers dashed away, no doubt to clear the floor and scour it for anything useful. Ajax had barely touched the lates arch as he felt an icy shiver travel down his spine as he recognised the mana types and pulled his hand away like he had been burnt. ¡°Definitely not this one, where is the next one?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Never seen you have that reaction to a floor.¡± ¡°Undeath and Curse.¡± Ajax¡¯s words were said very lightly but every member heard him clearly, all of them giving the arch a wary glance. Nobody wanted to enter that floor even if it hardly posed a threat for most of them. ¡°Maybe we should clear that one.¡± one of the rangers said, he then defended his opinion when everyone collectively threw him a ¡®why would you say that¡¯ look. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen what happens when undead and curse mix, there could be some very powerful things in there.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Nobody is going in there.¡± Aranor said with finality. ¡°There very well might be something very powerful there, but even in the best case scenario it would be something that empowers a curse user. I don¡¯t want to imagine what tragedies might come from a weapon that draws the user to both curses and necromancy.¡± The conversation fell quiet with that and Ajax was slowly led around to three other arches. An Ice Wind floor, a Plant Decay floor and finally a Plant Earth floor. ¡°Seems like we are all going to the Plant Earth floor.¡± One of the ranger leaders said. ¡°I suggest you clear out the Decay floor.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Good chances to find fertilizer.¡± It was funny for Ajax to watch the rangers process that information, they went from confusion, to happiness, to realization and finally to acceptance. Unlike last time it wasn¡¯t as simple as a nod before two rangers walked in, nobody wanted the ¡®shit¡¯ floor even if said shit was valuable. It took five minutes for the remaining rangers to settle who was going with a game similar to rock paper scissors, the losers having a resigned look on their faces as they entered. The Plant Earth floor turned out to be a mountainous forest area, it also turned out to have a very deep Shadow influence that as almost every creature there seemed to be a forest animal that could tap into Shadow magic. Ajax had no issues as he dealt with a shadow wolf, his [Mana Syphon]¡¯s weakening of the wolf¡¯s magic caught the beast by surprise giving Ajax a basically free hit when the wolf failed to jump through the shadows. With his strike taking out one of the wolves¡¯ legs the fight quickly ended without Ajax even breaking a sweat. Darkclaw had a much tougher time handling one of the eagles that called the mountain peak home. The fight took almost ten minutes to complete and Darkclaw almost ran out of mana by the end of it, on the upside the eagle hadn''t managed to even get Darkclaw to move from the spot where he started or even land a blow past his shields. ¡°You managed to pull that off without even using a potion.¡± Ajax praised him. ¡°I think you might be ready to try to push past the level one hundred floors.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Darkclaw said with a smile and a nod, he was excited, he very much wanted to try pushing to the level one hundred and ten in their next dungeon. Harold had a much tougher time fighting a shadow wolf compared to Ajax. As a fully physical fighter he had no way to prevent the creature¡¯s mobility. This led to more than one instance where the wolf managed to grab a hold of his ankle and tried to use his leg as a chew toy. ¡°Wolves are rather intelligent hunters.¡± Ajax had to respect the creature''s cunning. ¡°They might not have a bear¡¯s raw strength but they accurately target their opponents mobility and a single opening is all they need to go for the throat.¡± The biggest problem for the wolf was that Harold was also very well acquainted with their fighting tactics. Every time he would feel the wolf bite down on his legs following a shadow just he would quickly jerk the leg while also swiping with his sword behind him. Unlike Ajax and Darkclaw, Harold was much more resilient as a result of having invested all his points into his physical stats meant that he could take a beating from a creature that relied so much on its magic even if it was almost twenty levels higher. ¡°I need a minute.¡± Harold said after he finally killed the wolf. As soon as he had made sure the wolf was dead he collapsed on the ground and took off his helmet as he sucked in as much air as he could. The fight had taken almost thirty minutes. Harold boots and arm guards were riddled with teeth marks and covered by a good amount of blood. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about getting your armor repaired.¡± Ajax mentioned as he examined the damage. Ajax, Benedict and Xavier¡¯s gear would also need to be repaired after how hard they pushed it over the last ten dungeons. Unlike their caster companions it was much more likely that their armor would take a glancing blow, when those glancing blows came from enemies twenty levels higher than them it would slowly wear it down. With the amount of stats he had gained Ajax¡¯s gear was actually in need of a full on upgrade. When it came time to take a look for their next floor Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised that he could only see one of the mana types present on the floor. The only exception to this was one arch that had both Life and Plant mana and the two of them took up 85% of the mana in the arch. Since the other six arches he looked at all had Plant, Air or Water as their main mana the entire group decided to go with the Life and Plant floor. ¡°Don¡¯t walk out right away.¡± Ajax asked Harold before they went up to the next floor. ¡°Why not?¡± Harold asked, confused. ¡°I need to take a look to see if the next floor is any good for alchemy and I want you to let them know we might be a while if it is.¡± Harold was happy to agree to that and the group quickly made its way to the next floor. Chapter 416 The ninth floor of the dungeon was a wild jungle that provided Ajax with a large variety of ingredients to use in his [Alchemy]. It didn¡¯t take long for him to set up his cauldron and portable lab equipment and he began working while ignoring the rest of the world. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked as he approached Ajax after a few hours. Ajax was starting to look more and more defeated every time he took a small break to grab new ingredients, despite this he never moved to store any of the resulting potions. ¡°I got too arrogant.¡± Ajax said with a defeated tone. ¡°All seven of my attempts at brewing something failed.¡± It had been a very long time since Ajax had experienced something like this. The last time this happened was more than a decade ago in his old village when he was attempting to unlock the [Alchemy] skill. It wasn¡¯t just that he had failed to brew a potion seven times in a row that made Ajax feel so defeated, it was that he recognised this for what it was, a lack of skill on his part. Unlike combat his massively inflated stats didn¡¯t compensate enough when it came to alchemy. The same was true of his Legendary skills, Ajax simply wasn¡¯t yet ready for ingredients of this quality. ¡°Why not try a more stable recipe?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I have no clue what to try with ingredients like these.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°The only thing I can do with them is mix them with some of my existing ingredients, their quality will only ease the creation of the recipes I already know, it won¡¯t increase the quality of the outcome. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this.¡± The prince waved away Ajax¡¯s concerns. ¡°You¡¯ll have years to practice your alchemy skill as you get used to your increased stats. Most alchemists back home were actually very surprised that your skill with alchemy remained proficient within one floor or what you could consistently delve. At your level most crafting adventurers are barely now getting used to consistently using mana infused reagents.¡± The encouragement helped Ajax a little but it was by no means enough to cancel out the frustration he was feeling. Luckily enough for him he still had to clear this floor so he was planning on taking all his frustration out on the miniboss he would have to face. Battling an ent turned out to be exactly what Ajax needed. While unlike most depictions of the living trees back on Earth these ents were rooted to the ground, the control over the ground still forced Ajax to adapt. While Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon] was good enough to weaken any spells the ent tried to unleash the ent¡¯s own large underground mana networked left Ajax with no options but to slowly whittle away with [Mana Augmentation]. By the time he won Ajax was down to a little under half his mana pool, not only that but his armor also sported a few tears here and there where one branch or another had broken through his defenses. During the time that Ajax fought the prince and Aranor watched over him, the rest of the elves had spent all the time Ajax spent crafting and killing one miniboss scouring the floor for anything they could take back out, the jungle was filled with exotic ingredients that might be novel enough to help push the skill of some high end alchemists.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. More than a few of the elves didn¡¯t seem happy to split their spoils 50 - 50 with Ajax upon their return. None of them complained however, all of them were aware of the agreement that the simple fact they got to keep everything they found on the floors Ajax wasn¡¯t clearing would make up for it. For his final floor Ajax surprised everyone when he decided to go with the fire theme. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea?¡± the prince asked him once he heard his decision. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Even with how dangerous fire is there are plenty of ways for me to weaken it with water and ice, not only that but it''s also the only element that wouldn¡¯t be instantly lethal for me when wielded by a level one hundred and thirty five.¡± With such a large level difference almost every other element could end the fight pretty much instantly, that was something Ajax had been made keenly aware of when he was fighting against the assassins back in Deepwood. The Plant floor could lead to a poison he had no way of counteracting, the earth floor could see him crushed with a single swing, Lightning, Shadow and Light each came with their own big issues. ¡°You do make a good point.¡± the prince nodded before he turned towards his newest live entertainment. ¡°How about you Rimthel, have you made a decision?¡± The prince made no effort to mask the glee in his voice. Rimthel was stuck with a very hard decision. One of the arches Ajax had inspected as he was looking for a good floor did end up being primarily Metal mana. The only question left was if Rimthel would be part of the clear team sent there, where he would most likely spend days on end smithing away at the mountains of metal they couldn¡¯t take outside, or if he would pass on this arch and hope that another primarily Metal floor was available after the next floor. Unlike the last floor this time all the remaining members of the second ranger squad split up into two man squads along with Rimthel as they each chose one floor to go clear. Ajax didn¡¯t pay much attention to that as he also moved on to the next floor where his next challenge awaited. The first thing Ajax noticed as he stepped through the arch was the way the air seemed to burn his lungs as he drew breath. The floor layout was a stretched out hilly landscape that was covered in geyser-like holes that periodically released a column of flames. ¡°Well this is certainly a strange floor.¡± the prince said as he took in the surroundings. ¡°Let''s find you something to kill other than an elemental.¡± Ajax very much agreed with the sentiment, while an elemental would be among some of the more fragile creatures they were likely to find, the sheer versatility and mobility of a flame elemental would quickly overwhelm him. That wasn¡¯t even mentioning the issues pure physical attacks would have on doing any damage at all to the creature. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to be attacked by a roaming pack or worms. Or better said worm-like creatures, while the monsters did have the same body type as a worm that is where the similarities ended. The creature''s heads could split along an X shape revealing rows of serrated teeth and their flesh open like a blooming flower revealing a direct express access to their stomach in the center. Unlike the normal fleshy skin he was used to, these worms were covered in large scales with small gaps here and there from where they could release a flame jet. ¡°Those look promising.¡± the prince said as the ranger squad jumped into action. There wasn¡¯t a miniboss present in the roaming group that attacked them so there was no need for Ajax to take part in the fighting. That wasn¡¯t to say his eyes weren¡¯t fixed on the fight to examine the worms for any strengths they might show and more importantly the weaknesses that would be made obvious. ¡°Yes they do.¡± Ajax agreed after a short while where he examined the creatures as they were being taken apart by the rangers. The worms were more physically focused than Ajax would have wanted but the limitations of their large body with no appendages was enough to make up for it. It took the team a few tries to find the first worm mini boss. The first two arches they found were both guarded by elementals. ¡°Third time¡¯s the charm.¡± Ajax said with a smile as they finally found a larger worm easily measuring thirty five feet long and five feet wide coiled around an arch. Unlike his usual fights Ajax didn¡¯t start by drinking a potion, instead he placed an opened flask in his spacial storage, with just how physically imposing the creature was if he started the fight with the potion he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish it before the backlash kicked in. Ajax¡¯s opening move was an empowered Lightning arrow, he very much wanted to see what effect lightning would have on the giant worm and he was not disappointed. As soon as the arrow made contact the worm wriggled unnaturally exactly as Ajax expected, what was unexpected however was the large discharge of mana as flame jets erupted all around the creatures. ¡®Its magic is somehow linked to its organs!¡¯ Ajax was almost too shocked by the discovery to continue with his plan. He hadn¡¯t even thought it was possible to directly link a part of your body with a magical reaction and that was something he was very much looking forward to try. But first he had flaming giant worm shooting towards him like a freight train to deal with. Chapter 417 Ajax P.O.V. The worm was coming for me faster than I had expected. This meant that it would find it hard to change its strike area, the lack of limbs also meant that once I was out of the way of its charge I shouldn¡¯t have to worry about its physical attacks. Right as I prepared to jump off to my right I felt my [Danger Sense] flare for a moment so I changed the angle of my jump and launched myself to the right and high above the ground. The decision turned out to be the correct one as the moment I jumped the worm opened its massive maw and managed to turn right to follow me by munching on the ground, the only reason it didn¡¯t barrel into me was that I was above it. Just because it missed a direct collision didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t land an attack. Flame jests much hotter than before rushed out of the worm''s side in my direction, thankfully the creature''s magical potential was low enough that between [Mana Syphon], my enchantments and a small coating of ice around me I fully mitigated the fire. This wasn¡¯t an opportunity I was willing to give up however and I used a small blast of air to send myself towards the worm¡¯s body as it passed under me while preparing a Void mana infused strike with my hammer. Like always the moment my hammer made contact with the worm¡¯s scales it killed my entire momentum without any obvious effects, the surprise came a moment later when the worm¡¯s body jolted slightly during its charge. ¡°RRRRRGGGGHHHHH¡± The monster took about thirty feet to stop its momentum before it turned and roared at me. Oddly enough this didn¡¯t seem to be a roar of pain, like I had experienced many times following my Void attacks, it seemed like I had just made it angry. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with Void.¡± the prince¡¯s voice came from afar. ¡°Even if it bypasses the scales all you¡¯ll hit is a dense layer of muscle.¡± That¡¯s when I realized it, the worm¡¯s internal organs were all deep inside in the center of the massive tube of meat, the amount of mana I would need to infuse into Void to bypass all the muscle and scales would be enormous, more than that with the size of the organs even hitting its brain once might not be enough to outright kill it since Void didn¡¯t actually bolster the strength of my attack. The worm was charging at me again, for all its defensive ability it was very much a one trick pony. This time I launched myself upwards towards the left side only for the worm to open its maw, eat a chunk of the ground and pass right under me again. This time I infused my axe with Metal mana as I launched myself through the flame jets to land a blow on its scales. Unlike my previous attack there was a clear action and reaction at the moment of impact. I could feel tremors coming up my arm as well as see how the scale cracked slightly. As the worm slowed down to a stop again it didn¡¯t seem all that impressed by my attack. For the first time in a long time it seemed like my axe, hammer and sword wouldn¡¯t be viable. It was times like this that I congratulated myself for so diligently training with my spear despite my preference for the shorter reach weapons. This was clearly going to be a battle of attrition whether i like it or not, the extra foot or so of reach the two handed spear would give me wouldn¡¯t be as impactful as the amount of mana I would save by using a shield so I swapped my weapons for the trusty commoner combination. On the worm''s third charge I didn¡¯t bother with right or left and simply jumped straight up, this turned out to be a mistake as [Danger Sense] started humming the moment my legs extended. It didn¡¯t take long for me to figure out why that was as I could see the worm already rising the tail end of its body, more than that it didn¡¯t have to slow down at all since it wasn¡¯t using its mouth to turn. I had to channel a big blast of air through my shield to move myself out of the way, limiting the impact to a glancing blow on my shield that sent me flying to one side. This wasn¡¯t good, I was already down a third of my mana and I had barely managed to do any damage to this thing, the only upside I could see was that the worm didn¡¯t seem to have any other option than tiring me out, I would need to make the most out of every strike.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Without waiting I took out my enhancing potion out of my storage space and chugged it all as the worm charged for me once again. I jumped out of the way to the left once again. As the worm rushed by beneath me slowing down slightly as its now open maw gnawed on the rocky surface my opportunity to strike came. With the longer reach of the spear I had more options, I infused it with Lightning mana and this time I aimed my spear for one of the opening the worm was using to launch its flame. The tip of the spear went about eight inches deep before I even felt any resistance, the thickness of the scales was more than a little surprising. Once it bit into the flesh however it discharged a powerful current but, it was half as strong as the one created by my opening arrow but it seemed to be just as effective since it was administered directly to the flesh and past the scales of the mini boss. While the damage the lightning did was good, more impressive was the damage the worm did to itself. The sudden jolt of lightning caused its body to spasm mid charge, with its maw already digging slightly into the rock the uncoordinated movements sent its entire head crashing into the ground and the rest of its body launched upwards from the sudden stop. This wasn¡¯t an opportunity I was going to let slip. Not only was the worm¡¯s maw stuck underground but it had also only stopped ten feet or so from me so I dashed straight for it and stuck my spear through another of the openings in the creature''s scales. This time my attack was infused with Ice mana. ¡°RRRRRRGGGGGEEEEE¡± THe worm¡¯s screech this time seemed to be one of agonizing pain. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of how effective Ice mana was against it or just because of how much it hated the cold. I managed to get two more stabs in with Ice mana in the same area before the worm dug itself out of the ground and I was forced to back away once more. The mini bosses¡¯ next charge was a lot slower, maybe half as fast as the previous ones were, not only that but its head was no longer close to the ground but lifted about two feet off the ground. Despite its simple attacks the creature was clearly somewhat intelligent as it realized the damage potential of my lightning and altered its pattern to something that wouldn¡¯t leave it so exposed to it With the speed of its charge reduced and the head no longer being close to the ground however I had no more issues dodging directly to the left or right of the creature. The next five charges I alternated between Lightning and Ice, it was clear from the marks on the worms body that Ice was much more effective as the scales surrounding the point where I had stabbed it three time were scraped off in the subsequent charges leaving an open section of mangled flesh that was started to bleed more and more as the ice thawed from the flame jets. The only issue remaining was that despite the damage I was doing the mini boss would still most likely outlast me. The creature had over eighty levels on me and as I dodged it¡¯s latest charge I made sure to time my attack to land in the already wounded area. I needed to focus my attacks and break through the wall of muscles in one spot so I could go for the kill. Two charges later and the entire area was now frozen solid. I briefly swapped over to my hammer for its next charge and augmenting it with Magma mana I scraped broke away chunks a large two feet wide section of flesh about one foot deep. Seemingly sensing the danger the worm didn¡¯t charge towards me again, it instead raised its head like a snake and opened its maw wide, [Danger Sense] flared stronger than ever before and [Sense Mana] let me know exactly what it was trying to do. I kneeled down and curled myself into as small a ball as I could manage behind my shield. Not only that but I also infused the shield with Ice mana while using Earth mana to bring up the rock around me. I couldn¡¯t see it but I felt it when the worm spit a massive column on fire directly on top of me. I was casting spells with Ice and Wind to prop up my shield while also focusing my [Mana Syphon] to take as much power away from the attack. The attack seemed to go on forever, by the time it ended it felt like a few minutes had gone by even if I knew it couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty seconds. The small patch of blacked rock I now stood on was surrounded by a small two feet wide moat of magma and I was forced to toss my shield to one side as the rock I had brought up to shield myself also melted as now covered my shield. I could feel the burns on my arms and legs, the only upside seemed to be that the attack had taken a lot out of the worm as well. As he came for me once more I couldn¡¯t even call what it was doing a charge, more of a dash in my direction. My problem was that I only had about five hundred mana left, casting continuously with three spells at the same time had eaten up a large chunk of my mana. I wasn¡¯t ready to give up yet however. I would put everything I had into this last attack. I held nothing back as I used [Empowering Restriction] to not only boost the power of my [Mana Augmentation] by limiting it to only one more use in the next week but I also limited myself to only using my Ice affinity for the same amount of time. Without my shield available I swapped out my hammer for my two handed spear, getting out of the way of the monsters attack was comparatively easy as I pushed four hundred and fifty mana into my spear lunging straight for the open gash that left a long trail of blood. [Empowering Restriction] had definitely earned its name, I felt the ice affinity gem in my gauntlet not just crack but shatter as the mana I pushed through it was imbued into the tip of my spear. Once the tip made contact I felt a chilly breeze as a wall of ice seemed to explode from the point of impact. Unlike my previous attacks I didn¡¯t have the strength to pull back the spear after the attack, despite the relatively slow speed the worm moved at I was thrown off my feet and to one side as my spear remained stuck in the side of the creature. The last thing I saw before my vision went black were the prince¡¯s boots, a soft ringing in my ears not letting me hear anything, my consciousness faded before I knew the outcome of the fight. Chapter 418 Ajax wasn¡¯t unconscious for long, especially with the prince healing him quickly after they confirmed the worm had died. He woke up two minutes later with a headache that would put any hangover to shame. ¡°Ugh,¡± Ajax groaned as he rubbed his forehead in a futile attempt to lessen the throbbing pain. ¡°What happened?¡± Even with the pain he was still quick to look around and survey his surroundings. Sadly the surroundings didn¡¯t tell him anything, sure he could see a good portion of the worm corpse but he didn¡¯t know if he had gotten the kill or if they had been forced to intervene after he lost consciousness. ¡°You did it.¡± the prince confirmed for him with a grin. ¡° It was closer than I would have liked, next time let''s not go for something with that much vitality and endurance. But you did it.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t suppress the wide smile that broke out on his face, the smile didn¡¯t last long as it turned in a wince following a particularly powerful pulse of pain from his head. ¡°I¡¯m dry on mana.¡± he rasped out. ¡°Well you have at least ten more minutes before you can take a potion to help with that so you¡¯ll just have to bear with it.¡± Aranor said as he approached him. During his fight the ranger scout had left to cover as large a portion of the floor as he could. Much like on the other floors he wasn¡¯t looking to kill anything but simply looking for anything that could be brought out of the dungeon, the rest of the squad had watched his fight however. This fight raised their opinion of Ajax considerably, they had all seen aristocats being boosted, even those who had talent, it was Ajax¡¯s attitude and dedication to accept the duel of attrition that impressed the rangers. As he went to stand up Ajax was glad to see that his physical body was fully healed, the burns he had before had been healed, the same couldn¡¯t be said about his mana channels, his final blow had over-stressed them. ¡°Where¡¯s my spear?¡± Ajax asked as he got to his unsteady feet. ¡°I got it.¡± the prince said as he pulled out the two handed spear and the shield Ajax had tossed aside out of his spacial ring. ¡°You did quite a number on them.¡± The shield looked exactly how Ajax expended it would, deformed from the pressure and heat, the deformation rendering its enchantments broken and even a few patches of rock stuck to the surface where the molten rock had cooled. The spear on the other hand came as a surprise for Ajax. While he had fully expected the shaft to be in rough shape he hadn¡¯t expected the structural damage the tip had suffered. It was only then that he remembered that his glove had failed partway through that final attack, with the gemstone shattered his weapon ended up channeling the Ice mana without a buffer to prevent the structural damage. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Ajax had a back-up shield but he didn¡¯t have a back-up spear, it simply wasn¡¯t a weapon he expected he would have to use all that often, not only that but in the situations where he would have to use it he very much didn¡¯t expect for it to be damaged. He was also partially right, he simply hadn¡¯t expected the gauntlet to fail on him. It was only now that Ajax realized he had become overly reliant on the gauntlet, sure he had initially made plans to have his weapons crafted with material that had the same affinity as the mana he most often used with them but he had kept pushing those plans back further and further, the materials would have been expensive and he hadn¡¯t really needed them. ¡°I¡¯m surprised there¡¯s anything left of that spear tip.¡± Aranor said as he examined the weapon. ¡°With the amount of mana you pushed through it and the fact that this is barely steel from a level ninety floor I honestly expected it would freeze during the attack and shatter as well.¡± None of the elves there commented on how the spear was actually a little weak to be Ajax¡¯s weapon. All of them knew that it had been not just adequate but in fact towards the limit of what he could use back before he left Gryndor, this just perfectly exemplified how much Ajax had grown during the last year. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this last arch is, hopefully for your sake it''s better than the Water and Shadow we found before.¡± Ajax said as he headed towards the arch the worm had been coiled around. As Ajax put his hand on the arch he could parley pry any mana away from it with [Mana Syphon], the floor it would lead to would contain level one hundred and fifty three creatures, Ajax had barely managed to get a read on the mana primary mana type but he had no idea about how prevalent even that would be, it could be 10% or 80% and he would be none the wiser. ¡°You¡¯re in luck, Plant.¡± Ajax said with a small smile before the entire group pushed on to the next floor. The floor seemed to be some sort of jungle theme at a glance but Ajax didn¡¯t really care, as soon as he confirmed his +1 to all stats both him, the prince and Aranor quickly exited the dungeon leaving the ranger squad to scour the floor for anything useful as well as fully clearing it. As they exited the Dungeon the guards surrounding it moved towards them for a moment before they recognised who they were, once they saw Aranor however they quickly saluted and resumed their posts while letting them leave. They were almost all the way out of the area before the dungeon started spitting out monsters. ¡°Leave it.¡± the prince said as he saw Ajax turn. The monsters weren¡¯t even all that strong, barely level eighty, meaning the delvers had died on the sixth floor. ¡°They have it handled and you need to sleep, you have a party to go to tomorrow.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t argue, he had noticed Aranor had gone back to help so he knew there was nothing he could do to help, hell even without Aranor¡¯s help this was one of the capital¡¯s dungeons and there were plenty of protections put in place to stop any monster outbreak from happening. Once Ajax arrived at the embassy he found himself congratulated by everyone once they heard that he managed to clear the tenth floor. They were also understanding about his need to sleep despite it being the middle of the day, while nobody said it Ajax was well aware he looked like the worm had chewed him up and spat him back out even if he did win the fight. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you barely even had the chance to try [Alchemy] with level ninety five reagents consistently,¡± Lexi comforted Ajax as he got ready for bed once he told her about his failure to make even one successful potion. ¡°Now that the royal family knows about your ability to predict floor themes I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have more than enough chances.¡± With that Ajax crawled into bed and put his head on the pillow, Lexi had stayed and cuddled with him until he fell asleep but she then carefully left the room without waking him to join everyone else. The party would start tomorrow around noon, everyone was attending and they all had a lot to do in preparation, everyone except Silvia and Alana. Since both of them were part of Ajax¡¯s house they would usually be the ones in charge of preparing a gift for the birthday boy, with House Hearthbound¡¯s gift being knowledge both of them could relax and simply enjoy themselves. Alana however had taken it upon herself to help Benedict as he was looking to make a good impression on Sylvanthal¡¯s nobility considering his intentions with Elara. Ajax woke up late the next morning feeling refreshed, gone was the mana headache and even his mana channels were doing much better than before. His good mood didn¡¯t last all that long however as he had to quickly make himself presentable as they would be leaving the embassy in about one hour to go to the party, a party that would last well into the evening. ¡°A headache just passed and here comes another.¡± Ajax muttered as he got dressed. Chapter 419 The party was held at House Blackthorn¡¯s manor, with the manor only being House Blackthorn¡¯s residence in the capital it wasn¡¯t a fortress tree but it was easy to see how hard they had tried to recreate one, in aesthetics if not in function. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s not one of their special trees, it looks a lot like the palace?¡± Alana asked as she took in the grandeur of the many trees that intertwined themselves. Having so much more freedom in Sylvanthal one of the first things Ajax did was explore, he was very surprised to find that the capital city was smaller than both Gryndor¡¯s capital as well as the Republics. At the same time however the capital was a lot taller, unlike the elven section of the Republic almost every tree in the capital was at least five stories tall with the capital being built more like a series of apartment flats. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax confirmed as he looked upwards towards the tangled mess of tree trunks that somehow managed to look artful. ¡°The trees barely have any mana going through them, it''s why there are so many fixtures added to the exterior, they needed a place to put their enchantments since the bark won¡¯t support them.¡± Their entire group was welcomed into the estate by polite servants that led them towards the large ballroom. Much like Deepwood the nobility were dominated by elves, the only difference here was the odd human, dwarf or beastkin was a lower noble instead of a slave. Arianwyn was quick to go and greet them once they arrived. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you made it.¡± she said in greeting. ¡°I was worried you would miss it when I heard you wanted to stay behind and try your hand at alchemy.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have missed this.¡± Ajax said with a smile as he lied through his teeth. ¡°Cough*Cough*¡± Alana was forced to hide her laughter at his words under a fake cough though it was clear from Arianwyn¡¯s face she hadn¡¯t done that good of a job in her deception. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Arianwyn laughed good naturedly at the looks of doubt the rest of them were throwing Ajax. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask that you forgive my son,¡± Silvia said as she bowed to the princess. ¡°While his older brother seems to have taken after both of his parents, his sister has taken after me and he after his father.¡± Everyone here had done their research on Ajax and knew that his father had always been a blacksmith, one that worked alone in a village for most of his life following his quick apprenticeship in the capital. It was no surprise that Ajax would inherit his less than social minded attitude. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to apologize for.¡± Arianwyn reassured her. It took no time at all for Arianwyn to be joined by her mother as well as her uncle and cousin, while Ajax wasn¡¯t yet important enough to be greeted promptly by the hosts the same could not be said about Xavier and the prince, even Anna, Lexi and Darkclaw couldn¡¯t be left waiting too long without political ramification. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to have you here, Your Highness.¡± Duke Blackthorn said with a bow towards Xavier and the prince. The exchange of greeting alone between such a diverse group of nobles took almost two minutes and Ajax could already feel the toll it was taking on his social energy, luckily enough he had found a kindred spirit in the young Blackthorn.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Ajax congratulated the youth once he caught his eye as he was standing off to one side. ¡°Thank you.¡± The boy''s response had initially been prim and proper showing his extensive lessons in social interactions, it was all quickly undermined by his excited follow up. ¡°Is it true you managed to beat my cousin using a new type of mana?¡± Ajax had initially felt a little awkward discussing his fight against Arianwyn but as the discussion moved away from the fight and more to his hybrid fighting style in general he became more and more engaged in the conversation. ¡°Is your son looking to become a hybrid combatant?¡± the prince asked duke Blackthorn as he kept a close ear on the conversation not looking for a repeat of the royal meeting where Ajax let slip a bit of information. ¡°It is more of a fascination. Unfortunately he doesn¡¯t possess the talent for the physical combat side.¡± the duke responded. The prince couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at this as he inspected the elf¡¯s solid body. ¡° What he lacks in combat prowess however he makes up for as a crafter, he just might become one of the few smiths our people can be truly proud of.¡± It took all of the young¡¯s elf power to hold back a whimper as his father and aunt dragged him away from Ajax to greet the nobles his mother was greeting thirty minutes after Ajax¡¯s arrival at the party. ¡°What did you say to him?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°I disagreed with him.¡± Ajax said as he scratched his head also somewhat sad that their conversation had been cut short. ¡°And it seems he was receptive to my argument.¡± ¡°What about?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°He maintains that the best hybrid fighter would be one that was reliant on stamina skill for a boost in physical power and spells for attack enhancers.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That is the widely accepted point of view.¡± Arianwyn nodded. ¡°Not all hybrid fighters follow that model simply because they don¡¯t all have the talent for a stamina based boosting skill, what do you think would be better?¡± ¡°Both a mana and stamina based boosting skill, as well as stamina based curse attack enhancers to compliment the use of spells.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Though I will admit they wouldn¡¯t be able to remain active for long.¡± ¡°The chances that someone would be able to unlock so many different skills is so slim.¡± Arianwyn said as she shook her head. ¡°I can see why he was so excited about the possibilities.¡± For the majority of the evening Ajax had mainly stayed by his mother¡¯s or Alana¡¯s side as he greeted some of the more enterprising elven nobles, when he wasn¡¯t socializing with them he was talking with the birthday boy or with the royal gardener who had joined the party closer towards the evening. ¡°The king is here.¡± the prince whispered so that Ajax would hear him as the time was nearing midnight. Ajax quickly extricated himself from the discussion and joined the prince as they headed for the monarchs. ¡°Could you grab your cousin for a moment.¡± Ajax asked Arianwyn as they made their way across the ballroom. ¡°Now?¡± she seemed a little surprised but once she saw the serious look on both Ajax and the prince¡¯s face she simply nodded. ¡°¡°Your Majesty¡±¡± Both Ajax and the prince greeted the king. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± The king asked a little suspiciously as he saw his daughter bringing the birthday boy towards them with a serious face. ¡°If we could have a more private talk.¡± the prince requested. The king took a moment to think about it before he nodded to his wife who led them out of the ballroom and to one of the adjacent small rooms. ¡°What is this about?¡± the queen asked, a little more suspicious than her husband as she hadn¡¯t had much of a chance to interact with Ajax previously and suspected him of being up to something. The prince stepped back and let Ajax take the lead as this was still his gift. ¡°Thank you for this,¡± Ajax said. ¡°This is regarding my gift, it is a rather sensitive matter.¡± ¡°The gifts are to be opened in a few hours.¡± the queen said, a little frosty. ¡°It can also be time sensitive I¡¯m afraid.¡± Ajax said, peeking the elves'' curiosities. Ajax then turned towards the birthday boy with a smile and proceeded to explain the method for manipulating his status so that he can preserve his free stat points for later use and how that would maximize the natural stat point gained during the Apprentice period. ¡°I would like to ask that you don¡¯t share this as the method will only be made public in two months or so.¡± Ajax finished his explanation. ¡°That¡­¡± While the queen¡¯s face didn¡¯t give anything away her lack of words spoke volumes as the room decedened into silence. ¡°It works!¡± the young boy exclaimed with a happy voice as he had started trying to change his status interface once Ajax explained how it works. ¡°That is quite the gift Baron.¡± the king said with a shallow nod of acknowledgement. ¡°And quite a lot of trust to put in us not to share it early, I thank you for that.¡± With that out of the way the six of them returned to the party and the queen headed straight for Duke and Duchess Blackthorn to explain what had happened. It was important for the two of them to know since they had been planning for their son to give a performance of his newfound strength after he spent his points but that would need to be prevented for obvious reasons. Chapter 420 Following the party Ajax had plans to put in a lot of time and effort into his Alchemy, he had almost an entire week before he could delve into the other dungeon. His plans didn¡¯t have a good chance to get underway before they were interrupted the following morning. ¡°What did you do last night?¡± Both Silvia and Alana sprung on him the moment he took a seat at the breakfast table. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked, confused as he filled his plate with food. ¡°A representative of House Blackthorn just left.¡± his mother said. ¡°They were here to finalize a few contracts that we would take over to help establish a stable route to Sylvanthal.¡± Alana continued. ¡°What did you do at that party?¡± ¡°They move quick.¡± Ajax was surprised at how quickly House Blackthorn seemed to move, clearly they appreciated the gift Ajax had given them a lot more than he had thought. ¡°I shared my training technique with their son, this way he won¡¯t be among the weaker of his generation.¡± In the coming months Ajax very much expected that his family as well as the Gryndor royal family would receive several letters all but declaring open hostilities from families whose main heirs missed out on being able to hold their points by a few months. ¡°With the four contracts we picked up just from them we have enough to break even on sending out a regular caravan all the way here every four months.¡± Alana said with a smile. ¡°Those worms are going to be worth their weight in gold over the next few years with how much we will save on actually buying the carriages and carts and maintaining them.¡± ¡°We also have an invitation from Elara to visit her manor later this afternoon.¡± Silvia reminded him after he finished his meal. Unlike what Ajax expected there wasn¡¯t a party at Elara¡¯s house, thankfully for Benedict¡¯s sake her father wasn¡¯t present either. The only people present were the rest of Elara¡¯s family as well as the delving party. ¡°Why not just do all this at the party yesterday?¡± Ajax asked as he recognised most of the people from yesterday¡¯s festivities. ¡°The invitation was mainly about having Benedict visit to meet her family.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°Only inviting him however would be the same as telling everyone that the two of them were courting so they invited the rest of us as cover.¡± The visit turned out to be very interesting for Ajax once they moved on to their training area, as a primarily military based House just like House Steelblade. The way they trained their retainers as well as the amenities was something Ajax was taking mental notes on for how his own House could do things. ¡°These are our sharpwing falcons.¡± Elara¡¯s mother beamed as she presented the aviary. ¡°Every one of our retainers has to raise their own from the moment their training begins.¡± ¡°Are you looking for them to form bonds?¡± Ajax asked as he watched the younger retainers call their falcons to them. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°We do encourage any bonds to form but they are more of a secondary objective.¡± Elara said with a sad tone. ¡°The average sharpwing falcon only lives for a total of ten years, while most of our potential retainers are recruited at the age of nine.¡± ¡°There is a lot we can¡¯t know about a potential retainer given the short time we observe them for when scouting them.¡± Elara¡¯s mother continued the explanation. ¡°As for once they arrive at our estate the militaristic atmosphere can cover up some daming character flaws. How well they take care of their falcon as well as how well trained it is tells a lot about a person.¡± ¡°For most who don¡¯t fail earlier in their training the falcon can also become something of a final test.¡± Elara said with her head bowed. ¡°You have them kill them?¡± Ajax¡¯s voice was very accusatory. ¡°We most certainly do not.¡± Elara¡¯s mother responded quickly. ¡°We are training loyal retainers not spies and assassins. Most falcons do die around the end period of the training, the test is on how they handle the grief of losing someone they care about so much.¡± Ajax had to admit that this was a very good way for young children to be both trained and tested, more than that with such a low life expectancy the falcons made for the ideal first bond preparing the retainer for bonding a young more magically infused creature early in life. Ajax made a mental note to inform Alana about a potential buyer for any of the kits Fluffy might have in the future once they find one or multiple suitable mates for the shadow cat. The visit ended with a series of spars between Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict and some of the younger retainers, though all of them were four to five years older than Benedict. ¡°I must say, while I had heard about the so-called Generation of Prodigies, you do live up to the name.¡± Elara¡¯s mother complimented them after Lexi took her sparring partner out with just four spells. ¡°Most shocking is that I can still see room for improvement despite the overwhelming victories.¡± ¡°The large consistent influx of stats over the last year will take us some time to get accustomed to.¡± Ajax said as he watched from the sidelines as Benedict finally took the field. ¡°I expect all of us will stagnate a little in our levels for a few months as well fully adapt to our increased stats before we start pushing our limits once again fully clearing out dungeon floors.¡± Benedict¡¯s advantage over his opponent showed more than any of the others, while all of them had won handedly they all did so through the use of spells. Benedict, still being a fully physically based fighter up against an elf who while mostly physical, had also invested a little in his mental stats, could truly show their superiority. Benedict showed his own genius in that he didn¡¯t engage the trained retainer in a display of skill, knowing he hadn¡¯t adapted to his stats just yet he instead forced the fight into a series of engagements where he would exchange a blow or two before backing away and circling his opponent once more. It only took five exchanges in the span of twenty seconds before the retainer¡¯s footwork failed him and Benedict rested the blade of his sword on the man''s shoulder next to his exposed neck. ¡°That will be enough.¡± Elara said as the fifth retainer stepped up with his eyes locked on Ajax. She was very happy with Benedict¡¯s showing as a potential suitor and wanted that to be the match her family remembered. Elara knew that these were some of their most promising retainers, having them defeated by Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict who were younger than them would push them to train harder and curtail any overconfidence that might have developed. In the same vein however, showing them the difference between them and Ajax could very well have the opposite effect and demotivate them as the gap was just that big. ¡°I am still recovering from my latest delve.¡± Ajax tried to let the guy down gently, the retainer nodded at his words and stepped back. As they were walking away from the training grounds Ajax could hear Elara¡¯s mother talking to the older retainer in charge of training. ¡°Best increase their training in recognising deception.¡± ¡°My Lady?¡± the retainer asked, confused. ¡°Was the baron lying?¡± ¡°No, which does surprise me since he doesn¡¯t strike as hindered in any way, but we won¡¯t be looking into that.¡± the duchess shook her head. ¡°But while it might not have been a lie, it was an excuse.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t want to fight?¡± the retainer asked. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to offend or embarrass us.¡± the duchess explained. ¡°He is the one who defeated Elara in the tournament and since then he has been through eight more dungeons, any fight would have ended in an instant or he would have had to hold back considerably.¡± While the retainer had good enough social skills to not show how surprised he was that did nothing for his curiosity. His curiosity earned him a sharp spike of pain as his inspection skill hit the wall that is [Enigma]. Ajax had enjoyed this visit much more than the usual parties he was invited to; his day took a turn for the worse as he arrived back at the embassy to find an elf waiting for him. ¡°Baron Hearthbound.¡± the elf greeted with a nod. ¡°I am Viscount Deeproot, I am here to discuss the possibility of an arranged marriage between our houses.¡± Ajax was so shocked by what he heard that for a moment he doubted if the treats they had been served before leaving weren¡¯t laced with something extra. Chapter 421 Ajax¡¯s jaw dropped and he remained silently shocked by the offer, the elf clearly interpreted the silence as a positive view of his offer. The same thing could not be said about his girlfriend who had been right behind him as he entered the embassy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Viscount Deeproot I think I misheard you, what was it you said?¡± Lexi¡¯s words and tone were sweet and polite but the cold look on her face and the piercing stare in her eyes revealed her true emotions. Viscount Deeproot opened his own mouth to respond before he took a look at Lexi¡¯s face and froze with a facial expression similar to Ajax. The elf knew exactly who she was but he couldn¡¯t see a reason why she would be so upset until he thought back to the exact words he said. ¡°M-My apologies for t-the m-misunderstanding Lady Manashaper.¡± Viscount Deepwood staggered out before he composed himself. ¡°I can see how my words could be construed, what I meant was arranging a marriage between one of my family members with one of yours, perhaps your sister, Baron.¡± Lexi¡¯s frosty demeanor cleared up along with the misunderstanding though she was very much invested in the conversation that was sure to follow. ¡°I see Viscount.¡± Lexi nodded with an infectious smile. ¡°Then perhaps it''s best if we continue this discussion inside.¡± The viscount had no objection, not to the change in location to a more private area nor to Lexi inviting herself along. When they reached the first private room that had refreshments ready Lexi invited the viscount to enter. ¡°If you¡¯ll give us a moment we¡¯ll be right with you.¡± Lexi made a small gesture pointing out the combat attire both her and Ajax were wearing following the visit to Elara¡¯s manor. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax whispered having recovered from his shock but wisely staying silent while Lexi was handling the situation. ¡°A mixture of ambition and inexperience.¡± Lexi said as they both headed to get changed. ¡°Grab your mother, she should also be part of the discussion.¡± Ajax nodded and went to put on one of the sets of clothes he had that were purely meant for social events and were emblazoned with his House¡¯s mark. He didn¡¯t have to go looking for his mother as Silvia found him as he stepped out of his room followed not a moment later by Lexi who stepped out of her room opposite his. ¡°So what does this Viscount want?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°An arranged marriage between our families.¡± Ajax wasted no time and felt a little vindicated to see his mother¡¯s jaw drop in the same way his did a few moments earlier. ¡°He¡¯s actually being rather¡­ friendly.¡± Lexi said as she struggled to find the right words. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Viscount Deepwood is rather young, only a hundred and fifty years old but because of the passing of his father he is now the head of his House.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°My guess is that he is not as well informed as he should be but he is trying to build a good relationship with you.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s planning to do that by having my son marry a girl he¡¯s never met?¡± Silvia asked, rather shocked. ¡°No, we already cleared up that the marriage won¡¯t include Ajax.¡± Lexi corrected her. ¡°Even the most cursory look into Ajax would find my relationship with him and I am the granddaughter of a duke.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Then how is he trying to be friendly as you put it?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°Take a step back first, arranged marriages are common among the nobility, don¡¯t take the offer as an insult because it isn¡¯t one.¡± Lexi said as she started leading them towards the room the viscount was waiting for them. ¡°My guess is that he doesn¡¯t know that Ajax will become a duke in his own right once we return to Gryndor.¡± ¡°A brand new Baron marrying the talented granddaughter of a duke, that does seem rather hard to believe.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°Especially with you joining my family instead of the other way around.¡± ¡°I see, a marriage with a viscount would lend more support behind Ajax.¡± Silvia nodded as she understood the situation. ¡°Not only that but Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family have been very welcoming with us since we arrived, not only that but rumors of a deeper alliance between Sylvanthal and Gryndor are starting to circle in noble circles. An interkingdom marriage would help secure those relations.¡± Lexi said. ¡°He very much believes you will go far and he wants to secure a strong bond between your Houses while also helping you as much as he can.¡± ¡°So we should let him down gently.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh, I think you can push the decision on to your sister.¡± Silvia said with a smile. ¡°I think she has a thing for elves.¡± With that the three of them joined the viscount, Ajax and Silvia were both much more relaxed as they settled in to talk with the elf. Their impression of the viscount improved as he didn¡¯t push the discussion towards talks of marriage but instead chose to get to know more about Ajax and even showed some interest in finding more about Silvia. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t take this in a different way than I intend but I also believe that a marriage between our houses would help pave the path for your own relationship with Lady Manashaper to continue.¡± The viscount mentioned after he praised Ajax for his results in the most recent tournament. ¡°There is no need to worry about anything in that regard.¡± Lexi said with a warm smile. ¡°My dear Ajax has a ducal title waiting for him once we return to Gryndor.¡± The news clearly shocked the viscount but he revered much quicker than Ajax. ¡°Congratulations!¡± The viscount toasted to the news. ¡°In light of those news I do see how an arranged marriage between our families might not be the best way forward for your own House.¡± ¡°While I won¡¯t be committing to an arranged marriage from this meeting today it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯d be opposed to a marriage between our Houses.¡± Ajax said with a kind smile. ¡°As I am sure you already know I am a first generation noble so at least for now the marriage prospects of any of my family members would always require the direct input of said family members.¡± The rest of the meeting didn¡¯t last much longer with the Viscount bidding his goodbyes but not before he secured an agreement from Silvia regarding a delivery from their merchant company to ensure future interaction between their representatives at the very least. ¡°That was a rather enjoyable meeting.¡± Ajax commented as he stretched as he rose from his seat following the viscount¡¯s departure. ¡°He looks to be someone I wouldn¡¯t mind meeting and talking to at parties.¡± Ajax could even see himself becoming more friendly with the elf as time went on but for now the age difference between them still made interactions quite troublesome, even accounting for his time on Earth the elf was more than three times older than Ajax. ¡°I hope so because this won¡¯t be the last such meeting you¡¯ll have to have this week.¡± Lexi said with a teasing smile. The smile on Ajax¡¯s face froze as he turned and looked at Lexi with horror. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Viscount Deeproot wasn¡¯t the most well informed which is why he approached you so quickly despite not knowing about your future ducal title.¡± Lexi said. ¡°His youthful approach as head of the house also meant he was the first to move but there will be many more.¡± ¡°He also didn''t think too deeply about how Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family would feel about the connection, basing everything on rumors.¡± Silvia said as she took a sip of her tea. ¡°Those who are better informed will soon find out about the trade agreements I have recently obtained from House Blackthorn and put it together with your short disappearance where you met with the king and queen as well as the young Lord Blackthorn during the party.¡± Those words seemed to be prophetic in nature as Ajax found his training interrupted almost every hour in the coming days, so much so that he even considered changing his sleep schedule so he could train during the night and sleep in the day. Not only that but while none of the nobles approaching him with an arranged marriage had any malicious intentions very few of them were as well meaning as Viscount Deeproot had been, most of them were much more greedy and self serving. The more foolish among them even offered a daughter, niece, sister or three to Ajax in hopes of tempting him, they quickly found themselves escorted outside the embassy at Ajax¡¯s request for offending Lady Manashaper. ¡°Finally.¡± Ajax said as the group got ready to delve into the capital¡¯s main dungeon. ¡°I can finally have some peace.¡± This caused some amusement among the ranger teams joining them. ¡°It can¡¯t have been that bad.¡± Xavier said with a laugh as he patted Ajax on the back. ¡°It was, at least by the end.¡± Lexi mumbled though everyone clearly heard her. It was telling how trying this must have been for Ajax if even Lexi¡¯s social energy had been so diminished. Book Launch - This is not a chapter Ajax''s Ascension : The Divine Witness is live starting today. Reborn on Gryndor with the mythical trait [Divine Witness], Ajax swears to live a life of no regrets. This time, he will seize every opportunity, fight every monster, and plunder every treasure as he enjoys life to the fullest, while remaining wary of human nature he learnt about in his first life. If only it were that easy. Humanoids are suppressed as one of the weakest sentient races by dragons, elementals among others. Being confined to their patch of land but that hasn''t changed their nature as they fight amongst themselves forced to split their sources of power instead of uniting for the greater whole. In order to see the entire vast richness of the world, Ajax must practice and train with ancient weapons of war as well magic, gaining levels and forcing the other races to acknowledge his and humanoids worth.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Ajax¡¯s ascension to the top will not be quick or easy. I started writing Ajax''s Ascension over two years ago as a way to relax and it has grown from that more than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to all who read and supported my work I look forward to continue bringing you Ajax''s adventures. Amazon book link. Amazon audiobook link. Chapter 422 Since none of the party could gain anything from the first three floors of the dungeon the group went through them all in under one hour by simply finding the first arch and going through it to the next floor. ¡°I look forward to clearing floors once more after we finish with the boosting.¡± Lexi said as she stepped foot on the fourth floor. ¡°You do know that you¡¯ll also be doing this when we get back to Gryndor as well?¡± Ajax whispered in her ear with a teasing smile. ¡°You¡¯ll most likely be delving the seventh or eighth floor in the Goldmine so you¡¯ll be passing through floors like this every time.¡± Ajax had experience in this since he had already been doing that for a few years. ¡°On the upside can see a lot more floor themes and can choose to clear a lower floor if you think it has a chance of getting you something you want.¡± The biggest prize for those floors were chances at a bond egg that could be taken outside the dungeon but adventurer groups often cleared any odd floor just for the chance at something unique that they could then sell. What Ajax didn¡¯t know was that the amount of ¡®odd¡¯ floor had increased dramatically since he arrived in the capital of Gryndor and entered the dungeons; the same was being observed in theEmpire, the Republic and Deepwood. The fourth and fifth floor each took close to one hour to get through simply because four people needed to kill a miniboss and that meant they had to find four of them, this meant finding three arches and they would stumble upon one of the roaming minibosses in their search. It was with the seventh floor that things started to slow down, not because there was any doubt that the creatures would be killed but not only did Ajax also need to kill his own miniboss but Anna, Lexi, Xavier and Benedict couldn¡¯t just one hit kill their enemies at this point with a well placed ambush attack, or at least they shouldn¡¯t have been able to. ¡°Is that really infernal pillar?¡± Xavier asked in shock as he watched Anna turn the miniboss into ash with a single spell. ¡°What was that?¡± Benedict was also surprised but instead of being awed he quickly switched to curiosity. ¡°That was amazing.¡± Lexi was just as curious as the rest of them if not even more but for her that curiosity could wait for later as her best friend just showed she had taken a big step forward. ¡°There¡¯s not even bones left, you turned everything to ash.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes were locked onto Anna but for a different reason, after he was sure that the boss had been killed Ajax had used his [Mana Syphon] wanting to get a better understanding as to why her flames were that much stronger. To his shock he actually felt a level of resistance from the flames to his skill, that hadn¡¯t happened even when he used the skill on Legendary mana types. Breaking out of his shock Ajax also joined Lexi in congratulating Anna, once they started moving on in search of the next miniboss he put up a privacy bubble around him, Anna and Lexi. ¡°You have a Legendary skill as well.¡± Ajax hugged Anna, unable to contain his excitement any longer. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary?!¡± Lexi quickly joined the hug with renewed excitement. ¡°W-what, h-how could you tell?¡± It was Anna¡¯s turn to be shocked. ¡°I tried using [Mana Syphon] on the remnants of your infernal pillar, it worked maybe three quarters as well as it usually does, if your new skill was the same level as my [Mana Syphon] I bet it would only be half as effective as it usually is.¡± Ajax explained. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Well I couldn¡¯t have you leave me behind.¡± Anna muttered, her surprise and embarrassment mixed were enough to shine through her social skill and leave her a little flushed in the cheeks. ¡°With your flames so much stronger I think you have a chance at killing a level seventy five.¡± Ajax continued, he knew that since this skill was purely a boosting one gaining it would add a lot more direct damage than obtaining a Legendary mana type would since it didn¡¯t really offer the user any flexibility. ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask that!¡± Lexi chastised him but from how weak her objection sounded she also wanted to know. ¡°You both know the name of all five of my Legendary skills.¡± Ajax defended himself. ¡°It¡¯s [Pyromancer].¡± Anna was quick to share with her friends as she was swept up by the excitement the two of them exuded. ¡°I got it at the end of the fight with the penguin, when I pushed my flames to be¡­ more.¡± Anna¡¯s words reminded Ajax of how he gained his first Legendary skills all those years ago. Back then he had been helpless against a vampire that he could now kill in moments but not only had he been trying to copy what the vampire was doing to syphon the shield protecting the crystal he had smashed but he had also been pushed to the very limit. All of the other Legendary skills he had gained since then had come from either an achievement or were mana affinities, maybe will and dire straits were a prerequisite for gaining other Legendary skills. ¡°Your father is going to be so proud when you tell him.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯ll also be worried.¡± Anna said with a wry smile. ¡°He always wanted me to focus more on being a merchant than a mage or a noble. I¡¯ll just have to gain a Legendary merchant skill as well.¡± ¡°You think that¡¯ll be easy?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Can¡¯t be that hard.¡± Anna said with a teasing grin. ¡°You¡¯ve got five of them.¡± Ajax just laughed at that as he lowered the privacy bubble and joined the rest of the delve group as they watched Benedict make short work of his own mini boss. While the physical fighter didn¡¯t manage to kill it in a single attack he had no trouble running circles around the creature as he landed one devastating slash after another. The fight was over quickly and the best the creature had been able to do was put a few scratches on Benedict¡¯s shield. ¡°Anything you want to share?¡± the prince asked as he noticed the privacy bubble dropped. Both Ajax and Lexi kept quiet, while they had both put a bit of pressure on Anna to share the skill with them neither would share anything without Anna¡¯s express permission to do so. Anna remained silent for a moment as she glanced at Aranor, the ranger teams with them and finally her gaze landed on Arianwyn and Elara. ¡°I¡¯ll say that it¡¯s a Legendary skill, but nothing more.¡± Anna said. ¡°Thank you for the confirmation.¡± Aranor gave a thankful nod of the head. ¡°I had my suspicions that it was when the spell didn¡¯t pack all that much more mana than your previous infernal pillars but it''s nice to have it confirmed.¡± The team took two hours to get past the sixth floor, three hours to push past the seventh and almost five hours for all of them to get their kills on the eighth floor before they all decided to make camp and recuperate before the ninth floor. The fights had steadily been getting harder but with a carefully selected forest themed floor for their eighth floor none of them had any real issues killing the level sixty five mini boss. ¡°I want to try the tenth floor.¡± Anna said as they gathered around the fire. ¡°I feel like I can do it.¡± ¡°So do I.¡± Lexi joined in. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Aranor asked them. ¡°You know there is no rush, you¡¯ll have more chances to delve this dungeon, there is no need to push yourselves. Anna and Lexi shared a glance before they both spoke as one ¡°We¡¯re sure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be there to intervene if anything goes wrong but with an almost thirty level difference there will be some actual risk.¡± the prince warned them. ¡°Are you sure you want to take it?¡± When Anna and Lexi just nodded the prince turned towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re inspiring more and more people to push their limits.¡± ¡°I actually want to try to clear the sixteenth floor.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°Me too.¡± Elara joined in. ¡°I -¡± Ajax didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence before the prince cut him off. ¡°If I hear you want to try the twentieth floor I will come over there and knock some sense into you.¡± the prince waved his fist menacingly ¡°You might stand a chance against a well chosen one hundred and forty but even that is a stretch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was going to suggest.¡± Ajax said defensively before he murmured ¡°Though I doubt you¡¯ll think much better of my actual idea.¡± ¡°Well go on then, spit it out.¡± the prince said as he prepared himself for whatever hairbrained idea Ajax had come up with. ¡°For the sixteenth floor, I want to kill the floor boss on my own.¡± Ajax¡¯s words had everyone focus on him. ¡°I could bet there is a very good achievement for killing a floor boss twice your level.¡± A silence descended on the group broken only by the roar of the fire they were all gathered around. ¡°Depends on what the floor boss is.¡± the prince said after a couple of minutes thinking it over. ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t something like a werewolf where even a scratch could be lethal I¡¯m willing to let you try.¡± Chapter 423 Ajax was happy with the compromise, he also didn¡¯t want to risk it by going against anything that had the chance to kill him with even a glancing blow and was focused on speed. It wasn¡¯t long until everyone but the night watch went to sleep. ¡°So Aranor, what do you think of them?¡± the captain of the ranger squad asked. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°How much of a problem are they, politically? The captain asked. ¡°There might have been a small issue or two when we first started, we did target Goldmancer merchants during the last war for supplies, but after traveling with us for months I¡¯d say all of them are making fast friends.¡± Aranor gave his opinion. ¡°At this rate they might even become personal connections that Arianwyn can call on as favors.¡± ¡°And what about their power, I know they are all promising after all the stats they just gained but you know that those kinds of leads don¡¯t always last, people stagnate and rest on their laurels.¡± another ranger asked. ¡°Unless something extremely traumatic happens all of them will become champions.¡± Aranor said with a focused expression. ¡°With the dedication they are showing they might just all do so in a century and a half.¡± ¡°That quick?¡± all of the rangers looked towards the tents with a troublesome expression. For someone to be considered a champion they would usually be around level one hundred and seventy five, it wasn¡¯t the level that determined it but the power so some gained it a few levels quicker and some later depending on the synergy of their skills and fighting style, anyone who made it that far had the skills to back it up. Most champions achieved that around the age of five hundred with the prince of Gryndor being a relatively young champion having gained the title at only four hundred and twenty three years of age. The thought that troubled the rangers however wasn¡¯t just the number of champions Gryndor might stack up with the addition of six champions it was also that by achieving such a high level this quickly and with the amount of dungeon stats they were gaining already these champions could very well live to be one and half millenia or older, and they would have all that time to push themselves further. ¡°If you think that¡¯s quick you shouldn¡¯t dig any deeper into Ajax.¡± Aranor said with a snort. ¡°He¡¯s the catalyst for all this, I feel that all of them apart from the Ironwhisper lad are only pushing so hard to keep up with him.¡± ¡°I might regret asking this but how soon until he reaches the level of a champion?¡± the captain asked as focused some mana in his eyes with his Epic skill to look through the fabric of the tent and focus on Ajax¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Aranor was forced to admit. ¡°We¡¯re not asking for an exact time frame here, teach.¡± one of the rangers who had actually once been Aranor¡¯s student exclaimed. ¡°You gave us a time frame for the other, why can¡¯t you do that for him?¡± ¡°Because his strength is so far outside of what I know.¡± Aranor said with a sigh. ¡°At the longest it¡¯ll take him four decades, more likely in a bit over three.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying he¡¯ll be around Arianwyn¡¯s age when he becomes a champion, I heard he barely fought a level one hundred and thirty five to a draw?¡± the captain said.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°He did.¡± Aranor nodded. ¡°But he is also barely past level fifty, in three decades I fully expect him to have gained fifty levels.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re this sure why even bother saying you don¡¯t know, teach?¡± the ranger asked. ¡°Because he could very well reach that point much quicker.¡± Aranor¡¯s words left a total silence among the rangers as he went to sleep. The following day the rangers got a front row seat at seeing what Ajax¡¯s former classmates could do, since these were different squads than the ones who had joined them for the last dungeon; all of them had only seen what little the four of them had shown when punching down on the previous floors. ¡°Damn, you were right again.¡± the ranger said as he took in the ogres that were roaming the dark foggy marsh. ¡°You have a way to teach someone else how to do anything similar? I¡¯ll pay fifty thousand gold to teach my nephew, he¡¯s good with mana.¡± Ajax had shown his ability to predict floors yesterday as well but showing he could find floors that had humanoid enemies was much more valuable and showed just how much detail he could gather about floors, at least when they were so low in the dungeon. ¡°Haven¡¯t figured that one out.¡± Ajax shook his head much to the ranger¡¯s disappointment. Benedict was the first to take on the ten foot tall blue skinned humanoids and he quickly found out that while they were slow and not all that durable they made up for it with a lot of strength, earth magic and a seemingly passive regeneration spell. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s talented or dumb.¡± one of the rangers muttered as he watched on five minutes after the fight had started. ¡°It¡¯s talent.¡± Elara said with a cutting tone. ¡°Before his journey to delve all these dungeons he was purely physical fighter, all of the mana that you no doubt saw is from naturally pushing his mental stats and dungeon stat increases, he already knows he¡¯ll have to take some time and angle himself towards a more hybrid build to get everything out of the stats he has now.¡± ¡°Their healing is based on being in contact with the mud.¡± Ajax said with a bit of disappointment as he watched Benedict wisely predict a wave of mud being launched at his position and stepping around it to land a deep cut across the ogres belly. ¡°I think he¡¯s also figured that out but he can¡¯t do anything to cut off the connection so he just has to rely on the enchantment to do the heavy lifting.¡± Benedict was almost out of stamina and barely standing on his feet twenty minutes later, he wasn¡¯t as comfortable with the bastard sword he had wielded as he was with his usual short sword but this was the weapon that had the strongest anti healing enchantment from the ones he brought. While Benedict had impressed the rangers with his tenacity and focus by not making a single misstep in a twenty five minute fight his strength didn¡¯t strike the rangers as something all that impressive. ¡°How is he doing that?¡± This was the third time the question had been asked in sixty seconds but nobody answered it. Xavier¡¯s fighting style was now backed by a Legendary skill, having analyzed the ogre¡¯s fighting style during Benedict''s battle he had no issue fully predicting their next move, his fight barely lasted two minutes and while he was heaving from the mana expenditure the whole fight had looked choreographed as Xavier dodged everything by less than an inch and the ogre seemed to jump into the path of his blade. As dominant as Xavier¡¯s showing was, he still had nothing on Anna. Unlike both Xavier and Benedict, Anna¡¯s approach hadn¡¯t taken advantage of the more fragile nature of humanoid fighters and their reliance on using armor for protection. With help from her own Legendary skill she had pushed so much heat into the surrounding that the ogre¡¯s earth based regeneration had been cut off because the ground beneath his feet had all the water evaporated and then melted into lava, the ogre itself was burnt to ash with only a few red hot pieces of armor floating on the magma to mark his presence. ¡°Easy there.¡± Ajax said as he propped Anna up as she was about to fall over. ¡°You pushed way too much of your mana out in thirty seconds.¡± While Anna still had a third of her mana left over and her mana channels were used to handle the strain of her more costly spells, using two thirds of your mana in thirty seconds would leave anyone lightheaded. Lexi had followed the lead of her best friend and dealt with her own ogre quickly, unlike Anna however Lexi had not only leaned into the ogre¡¯s humanoid fragility she had also made use of her Domain to spread out the use of her mana and amplify her attack, her wind spells inside of the Domain were strong enough they had actually lifted the ogre fully off the ground until she managed to get a killing blow. ¡°That has to be one of the most aggressive domains I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± the ranger captain let out a low whistle. ¡°And I¡¯ve seen a storm domain in action.¡± Even with all these fine showings there was still no question about who had the most dominating performance on the floor. Ajax¡¯s fight ended in seconds as he blitzed the ogre with an ambush using his axe and Air mana to decapitate the creature. He then sealed the stumpy neck with lava while frying the loose head with a lightning bolt killing the beast. ¡°Hmph, show off.¡± Xavier grumbled with a smile as he reached on his toes to put his arm around Ajax¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s in his mid twenties and his level is in the low fifties?¡± The ranger captain approached Aranor. ¡° I can see how you think he¡¯d be champion level before he¡¯s fifty if he¡¯s already become this strong.¡± Chapter 424 The tenth floor of the dungeon was a common hillside meant to make things as easy as possible for Anna, Lexi and Xavier, Benedict knew he didn¡¯t stand a chance as he was now a full physical build like his simply didn¡¯t have a way to deal enough damage at this much of a stat discrepancy while remaining safe. ¡°Why is everything getting bigger?¡± Ajax complained as he watched a mole the size of a bus get dispatched. ¡°Stats.¡± Aranor responded. ¡°You see this less in humanoids but it gets pretty noticeable with the few physical champions, after a certain point physical stats need to increase your size to keep your power increasing in line with the numbers.¡± ¡°If you ever find yourself past the borders into the Wildlands and you see anything that is above level two hundred and smaller than you know that it is very heavily focused on magic and can most likely wipe you from existence.¡± Anna¡¯s battle against a falcon that was three times larger than her was very different from the quick match she had on the last floor. The bird was clearly heavily invested into wind mana and this made it less physically sturdy than the ogre had been but wind also provided a bit of a defense against Anna¡¯s flames. ¡°I hate boosting these kinds of stat differences.¡± one of the rangers gripped. ¡°You¡¯re forced to fight aggressive creature because you¡¯ll simply run out of resources against the defensive ones.¡± Anna¡¯s only upside was that her new flames seemed to be able to consume the wind mana from the attack the falcon launched, this wasn¡¯t the case with normal fire attacks and drew everyone¡¯s attention. In the end Anna was lucky she had managed to focus her flames on the birds eyes so that the creature''s final dive missed her by a few feet and crashed straight into the ground where she was able to finish it off. ¡°Those flames of yours are really something.¡± Aranor congratulated her. ¡°But I suggest you stop focusing on any other magic type outside of raw mana barriers, you need to come up with proper defenses for when your enemy is well suited to fighting you instead of you being their weakness.¡± Xavier was the next one to try their hand against a snake, unfortunately for him even with his Legendary skill he simply didn¡¯t have a way to fight against anything that could fly or tunnel underground. The fight had started off well, he had taken the time to watch Ajax dance his way around a non-mini boss version of the snake and got a good read on its fighting style. In the opening exchanges not only was he perfecting his understanding but he had also managed to land a good few slashes backed by some powerful spells. Unfortunately for Xavier the snake had caught on to his strategy before enough damage had been done and instead of going for precise devastating hits it started throwing its entire body in hope of connecting a blow. Xavier had been able to predict the change in movement but with his stats split between mental and physical he still couldn¡¯t keep up and dodge. The prince had interfered and killed the snake once the snake¡¯s body threw Xavier to the ground and the tail was following up with another wide swipe. ¡°I saw it coming.¡± Xavier¡¯s fist struck the ground in frustration as he got back up. ¡°I just can¡¯t keep up.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ajax didn¡¯t want to put any salt on Xavier wounded pride so he handled the next snake miniboss they ran up against by ambushing it with a void empowered hammer blow straight to the brain. The snake barely had a chance to coil ready to strike once Ajax¡¯s hammer made contact with its scales before its eyes bugged out a little and blood started seeping from its eyes and nose as the brain was squashed. ¡°That affinity is something else.¡± Arianwyn said as her hand instinctively went to her ribs that were shattered in a similar manner when his void infused hammer had stuck past her ice wall. Lexi had a much easier time against her falcon than Anna did. While her Vibration affinity didn¡¯t have the same raw damage that Anna¡¯s [Pyromancer] did, its versatility showed when she was able to batter the bird left and right with well placed shockwaves. Her fight had taken longer than Anna¡¯s and she was nearly out of mana by the end with her Domain entirely drained but at no point did she let the falcon within five feet of her. ¡°You think she could have been louder if she tried?¡± one of the rangers grumbled, Lexi¡¯s shockwaves had sounded like thunder and drew in monsters from every direction that they all had to deal with to ensure her fight wasn¡¯t interrupted. Xavier had tried a second attempt against a snake but it ended up much like his first. After an even better start than his first encounter the snake had eventually given up on precise attacks and the fight ended once it switched to wide sweeping attacks that Xavier had no way to dodge. He had managed to jump over the snake¡¯s first tail swipe by seeing it coming but the second time the snake reacted to his jump and while the tail had only managed to clip his legs it was still enough to send him to the ground and unable to react to the follow up attack. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to leave this floor for next time.¡± Benedict said as he tried to comfort Xavier. Benedict knew that he wasn¡¯t as close to being a match for these creatures as Xavier was but he was also the only other person in the group who hadn¡¯t been able to kill them. What made this even more frustrating for Xavier however was that he could reliably best both Lexi and Anna in a duel, his build simply wasn¡¯t as effective in covering such a large gap in levels even with a favorable match-up. Once the group got past the tenth floor and Xavier, Lexi, Anna and Benedict left the floor clear time shrunk considerably. Floors eleven, twelve, thirteen and even fourteen barely took a two to three hours each as Ajax, Darkclaw and Harold cleared their mini bosses relatively easily, a less than ideal match-up did mean that harold had needed two tried on the fourteenth floor but even with that he was confident that a better match-up would mean he would be capable enough even against a level one hundred on the fifteenth floor. Before that however it was time for their second night in the dungeon. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Elara asked Ajax. ¡°After you are done delving in our kingdom.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be passing through home before I head to the Empire to delve their main dungeon.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You got them to let you go into that again?¡± Arianwyn asked surprised, she had found out he had already had that chance once a few years ago but it had been essentially a solo delve and not a boost for him. ¡°Part of the same deal actually.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Archduke Goldmacer managed to get us two delves into the main dungeon, sadly I won¡¯t be able to push as far into that one as I can here.¡± Ajax was comfortable enough going up against a level one hundred and thirty, he knew it would be extremely close if he was to face a level one hundred and forty, when it came to actually delving into a dungeon he wouldn¡¯t go past level one hundred and twenty with a group of people at the same level, on his own he would stay one floor below that to one hundred and ten since multiple enemies and sneak attacks would be enough to get him killed. ¡°What did he give them in exchange for that?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°And how come you got a spot?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t answer that and just smiled, while he wasn¡¯t the most politically apt person he knew not to give away information for free. ¡°It¡¯ll be a short trip, I should be back by the time you make your way to Gryndor to delve.¡± While the trip would take a couple of months there and back Ajax knew it would take longer than that to finish ironing out the current exchange in dungeon delving. Both royal families knew that whatever agreement they would make now would become the basis for the nobles exchanges that would take place to keep nobles above commoners so they would need to be much more thorough than any usual deal between countries with a solid alliance. ¡°And after that?¡± Elara asked. ¡°What will you do once you get back and get your ducal title?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t just be a title.¡± the prince said with a smirk. Ajax had trouble containing his surprise as he realized that he would become one of the few landed dukes of Gryndor. He knew that it would be a possibility further down the line as he got stronger and became much more influential but it was coming now. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll be quite busy.¡± Ajax said as he watched the others try and hide their own surprise, all the while he was making plans to take care of everything that needed his personal presence while he was adjusting to the influx of stats and delegate everything while leaving for his trip to the Wild Lands in search of a bond. Chapter 425 Ajax was silently freaking out on the inside, there were a total of twenty two ducal families in Gryndor right now but out of those only five of them were landed. While he was sure he wouldn¡¯t be given any of their territories even having an actual dukedom would paint a target on his family for at least 15 other ducal families that wanted to earn their own large swath of land. Not only that but the current five landed ducal families were so entrenched in their lands that it was actually easier to grow the families influence to replace one of the three archdukes at the moment than to get any of the current five evicted without a massive mess up on their part. Ajax¡¯s saving grace was that he had very good connections to two of the archdukes and a solid one to the third, not only that but his relationship with Lexi actually pulled all of House Manashaper into his corner since Lexi would become the Duchess Hearthbound. ¡°Focus damnit.¡± the prince growled as he pulled Ajax out of the way of an errant spine from the massive porcupine Harold was fighting. ¡°If I knew it would throw you off so bad I would have waited until after the dungeon to tell you.¡± Harold was a much better match against the porcupine despite the monster¡¯s proclivity for launching spines infused with wind or shadow mana. The creature¡¯s fighting style actually provided a rather novel way of defeating it, by clearing away the spines on its back to open up new patches where you could land an attack. Harold had thrown aside his seventh shield after he intentionally got as many spines to embed themselves in it. ¡°How many of them does he have?¡± Ajax asked curious how many shields Harold¡¯s spacial item held, seeing as none of the ones he used so far were his primary shield. The porcupine now had an odd bold spot a little larger than two shield widths on its back. It clearly wasn¡¯t used to fighting with such an exposed weakness as it didn¡¯t take much longer for Harold to embed a spear in the creature. While the attack wasn¡¯t enough to end the fight by itself it was enough to freak out the monster. Surprised by something actually making it past its quills, the creature tried to turn and examine its own back leaving Harold with a perfect opening to dive to the side and stab his spear through the creature¡¯s neck. Unlike the wound on its back that was intended for piercing damage Harold went for a wide slash at the neck aiming to bleed out the creature. Over the next two minutes the creature continued to slow down further and further as Harold switched back to his defensive fighting style only taking the occasional poke to speed up the process. ¡°Any preference?¡± Ajax asked Elara and Arianwyn once the fight was over. ¡°Nothing underground.¡± Elara said as she wanted to make use of her new Storm Domain and for best results that required clouds. ¡°No fire or ice.¡± Arianwyn similarly didn¡¯t want to contend with the creature''s own affinity for ice or have her own domain suppressed by the natural fire mana of the floor. ¡°Anything for you?¡± Ajax asked Darkclaw. ¡°I¡¯ll hold back for now.¡± Darkclaw said. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get another chance to delve another time when I am better prepared.¡± Being a primarily melee ranged mage did have some advantages when it came to the mana efficiency of your spells but against creatures close to thirty levels above you that was worth far less than the safety some distance might provide. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Alright then.¡± Ajax nodded as the group started moving towards a specific arch. Ajax didn¡¯t bother trying to select a specific floor theme for himself, nine times out of ten the floor boss had nothing to do with the floor theme and any elemental boss that spawned would twist the floor theme to suit itself. ¡°This one is earth and air.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to an arch. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be underground and I¡¯m not feeling any Ice or Water mana and no Fire either.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a bad match-up we could always try again next time.¡± Arianwyn said with a noncommittal shrug. As they set foot on the floor they were met with a powerful wind current that cut across them. The floor theme seemed to have placed them into a mountain range, none of the mountains had snow on them but you could see numerous peaks as they extended for miles. ¡°Oh this is perfect.¡± Elara said with a cunning smile as she appreciated just how close she was to the clouds. ¡°I should be able to make this work.¡± Arianwyn said. Harold and Darkclaw both exited the floor at this point and Aranor chose to warn his charges. ¡°Remember while your domains might grant you superiority over an area any creature living here could still have a better control of the Wind element that is present in both your Domains.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± one of the rangers called out. ¡°What are those things?¡± Another followed up as they took a defensive position around Ajax, Elara and Arianwyn. Ajax was the sole member of the group to recognise the creatures that were flying towards them, back on Earth they were known as harpies, humanoid creatures with wings instead of arms and claws instead of feet. Despite the lack of knowledge on the creatures the rangers had no issue taking them out, they were after all punching down a large number of levels. ¡°They seem to share the humanoid weakness of a body with multiple kill spots.¡± ¡°The lack of fingers and toes means they can¡¯t use weapons and if we were outside the dungeon I would very much question not only how they formed their armor but also how they managed to put it on¡± Aranor said as he inspected the corpses. ¡°They are however very proficient with not only Wind mana but a few of them also had Ice, Fire, Earth, Light, Shadow and even Lightning.¡± ¡°Might have something to do with the males.¡± Ajax said, drawing everyone''s attention. ¡°What? I can¡¯t be the only one who noticed they are all female.¡± Ajax¡¯s theory was quickly proven true the first time they came across an outpost the harpies had made. Unlike the females the males were larger and sturdier, not only that but they were fully covered in feathers, had humanoid hands with only slightly sharper nails and most noticeably the head of a bird. It took a few outposts but neither Elara nor Arianwyn had any big issues in dealing with a harpy mini boss. It took a while to find one that would prove a favorable match-up in terms of the elements they used: Wind, Earth and Fire for Elara and Wind, Earth and Light for Arianwyn. While the fights were rather clear cut it didn¡¯t mean they were easy. Arianwyn had to use up 80% of her mana in setting up her Domain and even then it had almost run out by the end of the fight breaking through the perpetual tornado that circled the mini boss. Elara had opted for a different approach where she set up her domain a good distance away from the boss before opening the fight with the biggest lightning bolt Ajax had ever seen. The spell must have had more than two and a half thousand mana poured into it between the cast and the empowerment it received from the Domain. ¡°These creatures are ideal for boosting.¡± one of the rangers said. ¡°They would also be a nightmare for anyone of appropriate level doing this floor, they seem to be able to combine their spell casting. I will have a full report delivered to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild once we exit.¡± Ajax had also killed his own harpy miniboss without much fuss, his [Mana Syphon] had worked perfectly to weaken the creature¡¯s defenses and allow him to break through with sheer stats as a magma infused axe was embedded in the harpie¡¯s head. During this time one of the rangers teams was running wild clearing any monster they came upon looking to spawn the floor boss. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should fight it if it ends up being a Wind elemental.¡± the prince said as he took in the surroundings. ¡°RAAAAGGGHHH¡± ¡°ROOOGGGGHH¡± Two wails echoed across the mountain range before Ajax had a chance to respond. ¡°Don¡¯t seem to be a Wind elemental.¡± Ajax said. ¡°If that¡¯s what I think it is, it might be one of the best ones for you to fight.¡± Aranor said as he frowned in the direction the roars seemed to be coming from. ¡°What do you think it is?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Based on there being two shouts I think the floor boss is-¡± Aranor was interrupted as the scout from the clearing ranger team arrived. ¡°We¡¯ve spawned the floor boss¡± He said with a cocky grin towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re in luck kid, it''s an ettin.¡± Chapter 426 Aranor P.O.V. The boy¡¯s luck strikes once more, an ettin. Those two headed behemoths are some of the most straightforward floor bosses, not only that but depending on the type it might be a perfect match up for him as well. ¡°What type?¡± I ask as we all head towards the source of the previous bellows. ¡°Hybrid.¡± the scout answers. Well, the boy¡¯s luck doesn¡¯t seem to be quite that good, a pure mage would have been an ideal match-up for him even if it is the most dangerous ranked version by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and for good reason. ¡°Do you think the hybrid is a better match up or the warrior?¡± I ask the prince. ¡°The mage would have been the best.¡± The prince agrees with my own assessment. Ettins are basically dual classes in the same body. This might initially seem like two warrior classes or two mage classes would be far inferior to a warrior and mage combined in the same body but that¡¯s not always the case. Each type of ettin has its own niche. Two warrior classes might seem to have a lot to complement each other at first but that is a clear example of short sightedness. A pure offensive berserker combined with an indomitable guardian can cause a world of issues. This combination is however the easiest ranked by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for the simple fact that a group of five or more has a much easier time containing it. The mage is on the other side of the coin, two mage classes. Nobody out there underestimates this version, the creature can have one head channeling massive spells while the other pumps out continuous casts, multiple different types of mana and most dangerous of all spell overload, despite its humanoid body this version retains the monster ability to cast magic in the same way Ajax does allowing it to fire dozens of spells at once . While this version is by far the most fragile and fights against it always end in under two minutes it almost always causes casualties. Finally there is the hybrid. It is more of a misnomer however since unlike a true hybrid like Ajax it doesn¡¯t have to sacrifice the physical or the magical getting the full benefit of both. Both the warrior and mage half of the creature would be a balanced version of the class unlike the extremes the classes take with the other variants. It¡¯s biggest strength come from the augmented magic it casts to empower the physical attacks, much in the same way Ajax fights. ¡°I think the warrior would be harder for him to fight, though not by much.¡± The prince answers the question. ¡°Inside the dungeon at least.¡± I agree with him that it''s close, I¡¯m not sure what being inside or outside the dungeon has to do with anything. Despite being only level one hundred and ten the ettin will have Ajax beat in all stats, it will come down if Ajax can overcome that gap with his skill and Skills. It''s not long until we catch sight of the creature, we can clearly see it on the other mountain peak as it wanders aimlessly. ¡°Do you want to fight it on the side of the mountain or in one of the valleys?¡± The ranger captain asks. ¡°On the side but low enough that I can jump down to the valley below without wasting too much mana.¡± Ajax answers instantly, I can see his eyes tracking the creature so intensely I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he trips over a rock. ¡°I cloaked us.¡± I nod towards the mage. ¡°We can get much closer now before it can find us, no closer than a hundred yards though, it will sense the disturbance in the mana at that range.¡± Unlike the warrior type the hybrid isn¡¯t encased in armor but all of its vitals are covered. The creature is easily thirty five feet tall and in its hand is a massive bone club that is easily fifteen feet long, a direct hit from that would be enough to seriously threaten anyone present here, even me. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. As we slowly descend down the mountain''s side I see Ajax break off a chunk of rock from the ground. Smart, he¡¯s analyzing the terrain to see how to best use it, at least I hope that¡¯s what he¡¯s doing and he¡¯s not just going to chuck it at the floor boss. ¡°This is perfect.¡± Ajax says as he takes in the small flat area between two peaks. ¡°We¡¯ll start the fight up there and finish it here.¡± Looking at where he is pointing I notice that halfway up to that mountain road there is a tree branch growing out of the side of the mountain. The initial walkway isn¡¯t all that wide so I am expecting the fight won¡¯t stay there for long but I can see what he is planning. We are two hundred feet from the boss when I see Ajax freeze mid step. ¡°Is ¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I ask concerned since I haven¡¯t noticed what changed. ¡°Is that staff something we can take outside the dungeon?¡± Ajax asks as he points towards the boss. My instinct is to instantly tell the boy no, everyone knows that the body of a floor boss can never be taken outside the dungeon but then I stop and replay his question in my mind. ¡®The staff¡¯ , the ettin is one of the few floor bosses that actually uses weapons or equipment and in very rare cases people have been able to take some of those outside the dungeon. I instantly focus my [Sense Mana] on the staff and I am shocked to see that it can indeed be taken outside. It seems like a moot point since like most items wielded by floor bosses it''s simply not something any humanoid can use. Regardless I still use my Epic [Item Appraisal] on the weapon bound to the creature''s back, if nothing else the gem the size of a small cart is going to be worth a lot. Ritualist Ettin Staff Can transform the Stamina of the users into mana at a 3:1 ratio. Acts as a focus for the caster. Allows multiple users to power the spell with a 75% efficiency for all outside the caster, limited to ten casters and one user at most contact must be maintained with the staff. I instinctively swipe by hand around my mouth to make sure I¡¯m not drooling. The staff is a treasure! Being able to transform mana to stamina is okay, not particularly great if it''s 3:1 but not bad. Allowing eleven mages to power one spell with only a 25% loss for ten of them is great, even the best combined spells by people who have trained together for decades only have a 70% efficiency for all involved. If that was it the item would be an interesting curiosity and most likely broken down for parts since it would be more useful that way. But squirreled aways in the item description are those four little words ¡®acts as a focus¡¯. The staff would handle the strain of any spell channeled through it, with the size of that crystal I have no doubt that it could handle a 100000 mana spell, the best I my own mana channels can do with my longest cast slowly pulling the mana through is 10000. That makes it priceless!!! ¡°How am I going to transport something that big?¡± Ajax¡¯s words bring me crashing back down to the present. From the looks of some of the rangers I can tell I¡¯m not the only one who inspected the staff. ¡°It¡¯s got to be forty feet long. Doesn¡¯t matter, an issue for later, though I should take care not to break it.¡± Before any of us can even question his words Ajax quickly pulls out his bow and goes to stand behind the rock. ¡°Looks like this is as far as it wants to come so I¡¯ll shoot it from here and get it to follow me back. Can you drop the illusion I don¡¯t want to attack from inside it just in case it counts that as help.¡± Still in shock all of us pull back as the illusion drops and we all feel Ajax start to summon up his mana for a powerful opening shot but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m focused on now. ¡°If he kills it by himself the staff is his.¡± The prince¡¯s voice marks the start of the argument we all knew was coming from the moment we inspected the staff. ¡°That¡¯s-¡± The ranger captain doesn¡¯t get more than a word out before he is interrupted. ¡°He will be head of landed ducal House, this is his boosted delve and he is fighting a floor boss more than twice his level alone.¡± The prince¡¯s voice is cold. ¡°If he kills it alone the staff is his.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about the staff?¡± Arianwyn asks. I take a brief moment to explain. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± Both her and Elara are shocked, as well they should be. ¡°What if we have to intervene?¡± I ask, there is at least a 50% chance Ajax won¡¯t be winning this fight. I need to lay the groundwork. ¡°You can take the staff, in whatever condition it is.¡± I am very much surprised the prince is willing to concede the staff. ¡°And you pay Gryndor ten times the cost of the materials.¡± I almost choke when I hear that, the amount of high quality wood and the gem stone would be at least ten thousand gold coins. The staff is surely worth the one hundred thousand but the deal is to pay that much regardless of the condition of the staff. ¡°Done.¡± Elara says before anyone else has a chance. ¡°Elara¡­¡± Arianwyn is a bit shy as she tugs on her friend¡¯s hand, the royal family is in no position to be paying out such a sum on a whim. ¡°That might be a bit too much.¡± ¡°My family would buy, we¡¯re in a position to take that bet.¡± she says with confidence. ¡°Though I doubt we¡¯ll have the chance to claim it since Ajax will kill the ettin, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± I turn my focus back to Ajax as he finally releases the arrow, I am surprised at how little mana is there compared to what he usually puts into his opening shot. To no surprise the mage half of the ettin senses the arrow in time and the arrow hits a shield right it front of one of the two heads and stops dead before falling to the ground. An instant later one of the ettin¡¯s eye balls bursts in a shower of blood. ¡°RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHH!¡± ¡°AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!¡± With a bellow of rage and one of pain the battle begins as the ettin charges after Ajax who is already lining up a second shot while also retreating down the mountain towards the valley. Chapter 427 Much like Ajax expected it wasn¡¯t going to be easy to land an attack on the ettin. His main objective right now was to conserve his own mana all while trying to draw blood and poison the boss. As he was running away Ajax fired two more arrows this time however he empowered one with Wind and one with Shadow mana. The Wind arrow was much quicker but it met the same fate as the Void arrow, this time however the barrier was put up further away from the ettin¡¯s body costing more mana to keep it active, not only that but the power of the arrow was also much higher. The impact of the Shadow arrow even managed to crack the mana shield by striking in the same spot. ¡°Good, come on.¡± Ajax smiled as he ran, he could feel it when the ettin changed from a bubble shield to a tower wall separating the two of them. ¡°Keep following me.¡± It had been a long time since Ajax had last used his [Trapping] skill, none of his most recent fights were a good fit yet the skill was part of the foundation Ajax¡¯s entire fighting style had been built upon during his first few years of combat training with Hatchet. Ajax knew that by continuing to fire arrows that had some mana infused into them at the ettin it would not only force the creature to keep up its shield so that he could use [Mana Syphon] on it but it would also make it less likely to look for any attacks that had no mana infused into them. As they raced down the narrow mountain path Ajax was forced further and further on the defensive as the mage started tossing one fireball after another, the attacks didn¡¯t have all that much mana infused into them so Ajax could almost syphon them entirely before they even reached him. The chase ended when Ajax arrived at his prepared spot and the crude traps managed to stab two spears into the ettins legs. The traps had barely enough power to break the skin and draw blood but that was enough for them to poison the boss. ¡°GRRHHH¡± one of the heads growled as it dislodged the weapons with a swipe of its hand. ¡°Too late now, the poison¡¯s already in your blood.¡± Ajax¡¯s smile died on his face however when he focused his mana sense on the boss¡¯s eye, specifically the eye he took out with his opening shot. ¡°So you¡¯ve got [Regeneration].¡± While the eye wasn¡¯t yet fully restored he could feel the mana healing it slowly, it wasn¡¯t the first time Ajax had come up against a creature with that skill but he hated dealing with them. There weren¡¯t all that many differences between a healing spell and [Regeneration], both of them healed the user and both of them cost mana to use, the big difference was that while [Regeneration] was a bit slower the entire process was internal so Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon] couldn¡¯t weaken the effects. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do.¡± Ajax stored his bow and pulled out his hammer and his axe as he suddenly dashed towards the ettin. Engaging the monster in melee combat had been inevitable, Ajax knew he simply didn¡¯t have the power to kill it from range, despite this Ajax was very much on the back foot, his only saving grace was that the size difference between him and the boss helped him in terms of speed as much as it helped the ettin in terms of raw strength. ¡°Is it petty that I¡¯m a little glad he¡¯s getting a taste of his own medicine.¡± Despite Arianwyn¡¯s scathing words her tone showed how worried she was about the danger her new friend found himself in every time the ettin¡¯s club swept by inches away from connecting with Ajax¡¯s body. Despite the joking element of Arianwyn¡¯s comment the prince couldn¡¯t help but agree with her that Ajax was very much getting a taste of his own medicine, the boss¡¯s fighting style perfectly matched his own only it was pushed to a higher level. The only reason Ajax¡¯s hadn¡¯t yet been knocked off the edge or smashed into the cliff side was that the ettin was forced to adapt to how much weaker its spells were while under the effect of Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon]. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Ajax was not only also aware of this but he was milking it for everything he could. Despite the creature¡¯s second head the ettin still had a humanoid body and Ajax was playing into that as much as he could by trying to keep himself dancing between the boss¡¯s feet. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it just kick at him?¡± Elara asked, she could feel both Ajax and the ettin were fighting for mana control of their immediate surroundings, meaning that neither could use an earth spell to shape the ground underneath them. ¡°Too risky.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°While Ajax might be a ways behind the beast in terms of raw strength, if it tried to kick him it would mean putting all of its weight on one leg, it''s what Ajax is trying to bait it into doing so that he can knock it down.¡± Ajax was getting frustrated as he danced around the creature¡¯s legs trying to bait it into a kick, this led to his first mistake. While Ajax knew the creature was decently skilled he had still fallen for his own prejudice in assuming the ettin was a dumb creature based on its representation in games back on Earth. ¡°He messed up.¡± Aranor called it when he felt the ettin empower the club much more than he did during any of the previous swing. Ajax felt to increase in mana and managed to perfectly dodge the swing, what he didn¡¯t account for was the air blast released that close to him from the impact of the club against the ground. The blast was enough to send him airborne for an instant. That instant where his legs were no longer touching the ground was all the ettin needed to safely and accurately line up a kick. ¡°Not yet.¡± the prince said as he saw Ajax swap his hammer for a shield in time to tank the kick. Ajax¡¯s body was sent skidding across the ground like a ragdoll bouncing three times before the skidded to a stop thirty feet from the ettin on one knee with his shield raised in the direction of the spells that were now raining towards him. Ajax was back on his feet in an instant, his eyes locked onto the body of the ettin. He could feel his body protesting the intense movement so close to the massive impact he suffered, his Light and Life mana were already hard at work repairing the internal bleeding yet as he paused to spit a mouthful of blood off to the side Ajax grinned a bloody smile. Despite the initial wounds closing, Ajax could see a black roadmap forming across the skin of the ettin from the initial wounds as the poison started to spread through the creature¡¯s system. As Ajax dashed towards the ettin once more the creature had finally stopped throwing spells at him, it had finally realized how worthless the numerous weak spells were and it instead focused on augmenting the physical attacks with magic or going for much fewer but stronger spells that [Mana Syphon] wouldn¡¯t be able to disperse. ¡°The poison is working.¡± Arianwyn smiled as she noticed the black veins that were popping out on the boss¡¯s legs from the initial trap. Ajax knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to get a large enough dose of poison into the boss that any quick acting poison would be effective. Instead he had decided to go for a paralyzing poison that got stronger over time if left untreated looking to capitalize on his speed advantage, with the ettin¡¯s legs being sluggish Ajax was finally able to get into position and land a solid blow with his axe to the boss¡¯s knee. The [Mana Skin] the boss had returned to using following the trap had shattered like glass as the Magma infused swing embedded the axe into the back of the knee. The strike carried so much force that it even sent the behemoth stumbling forward on one knee. Despite the creature¡¯s crumbling form Ajax had overextended himself by throwing his entire weight behind his axe. The club swing was horrible to begin with, aiming for a low spot behind the wielder, falling forward had sent the swing low but it had still managed to get a glancing blow onto Ajax as the end of the club smashed into the ground beside him and it sent him flying into the side of the cliff. Both Ajax and the boss took a moment to recover, Ajax exited the small outline his body had dented into the side of the cliff and the ettin climbed back to his feet as the squared off once again. For once the ettin didn¡¯t roar of charge towards him. Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate as he felt the large amount of mana the boss was channeling and he charged. The boss tried the same trick a second time as it empowered a powerful blow aimed at sending Ajax airborne, instead of fighting it however Ajax played into it and used the blow to launch himself into the air and towards one of the boss¡¯s heads. The boss quickly leaned out of the way but it wasn¡¯t far enough, Ajax may left his axe stuck in the boss¡¯s leg but he was quick to pull out his one handed spear. As he flew by the boss¡¯s head he faked going for the eye causing the boss to toss its head backwards trying to take the blow on the chin and instead stuck his spear into the freshly exposed neck. The strike was infused with Lightning mana and the shock was powerful enough that the ettin lost control of its muscles causing its arm to miss swatting Ajax out of the air. With that Ajax went over the edge of the cliff, aiming for the small tree branch he knew was waiting for him before he slowly dropped down to the valley below. ¡°Time for round two.¡± Ajax said as he pulled out his boosting potion and focused on healing his body as much as he could while he waited for the boss to limp after him. Chapter 428 At this distance Ajax knew better than trying to land any meaningful damage with an arrow, the arrows he did fire weren¡¯t even infused with mana but they were simply there to force the ettin to keep its shield up so that he could use [Mana Syphon] on it. Unlike before the ettin took no chance as he swung his club around every single corner or rock to ensure there were no other traps awaiting it as it charged towards Ajax. Once the ettin went around a bend as it ran down the mountain Ajax stopped firing arrows and started applying poison to all his weapons. Another of [Regeneration]¡¯s downsides was that the healing worked as a sped up version of the natural process while also preventing any scars or permanent damage like loss of eyesight from taking root. This meant that as long as Ajax used his hemorrhagic poison the wounds wouldn¡¯t close as fast and they would be bleeding profusely until the flesh would eventually reconnect. As the boss came into view once more Ajax could see that the wound on its neck had already closed and all but disappeared, without a moment of hesitation Ajax uncorked his flask and downed his empowerment potion. Unlike his previous fight against the worm this potion was meant to increase his physical aspects, boosting his magic wouldn¡¯t be enough of a boost to overpower the boss¡¯s caster side but a physical boost will put it on an almost even footing with its physical half. With this his countdown also started, he had three minutes to finish the fight before the potion boosting effect would run out and he had to deal with the backlash. ¡°RRRRAAAGGHHHH!¡± The warrior head roared in approval as it noticed Ajax charging into a melee confrontation. The excitement didn¡¯t last long as not only was Ajax faster than before his strength had also increased enough that a well aimed shield block was enough to get Ajax past the club and into range to damage the boss¡¯s body. Ajax¡¯s sword didn¡¯t cut all that deeply into the ettin¡¯s thigh, most of the momentum having been used up in breaking the magical barrier, but the whole point of the blow was to simply land. Not only did Ajax inject his hemorrhagic poison into the boss but the edges of the wound glowed slightly purple from his [Curse Slash]. With only a three minute timer Ajax knew there was no point in preserving his stamina so he would liberally apply his [Curse Slash] while focusing the curse to weaken the boss as much as possible. The elves had known that Ajax was a curse user, his fight in tournament semi-finals had made the knowledge common for all of the emissaries in attendance. What was not yet known however was Ajax¡¯s ability to fuse his curse magic with his regular magic, one of the most potent combinations being the black flames that acted very much like uncontrolled flames that also spread curses to whatever they scorched. ¡°I thought he was a stamina sacrifice curse user?¡± The accusation came quickly with more than one elf placing their hands on their weapons and ready to put an end to what they saw as a future tragedy. ¡°He is a stamina sacrifice curse user.¡± the prince said, he didn¡¯t reach for a weapon as he knew he had no chance against two ranger squads and Aranor so his only option here was words. ¡°Pay attention to the moment he conjures the flames.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not using his Holy spells.¡± one of the rangers commented ¡°He knows it won¡¯t work against the ettin?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°He¡¯s made that mistake before.¡± The prince confirmed with a nod and a smile as he remembered when Ajax learned that monsters didn¡¯t always respond to pain the same way people did and most could and would ignore it during a battle. ¡°Woah, you can do that?¡± one of the rangers exclaimed as they witnessed Ajax¡¯s black flames unleashed upon the ettin''s back. Having looked closely someone at his level could notice the fire spell and the curse slash activating independently before mixing.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It takes impeccable timing, but yes curses can be infused into magic by mixing them at the right time.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Leader seven will be very interested to hear about this.¡± one of the ranger captains smirked as he imagined his friend¡¯s reaction. The leader of squad seven was one of the few elves who hadn¡¯t managed to unlock the use of mana skills, unlike most who suffer his fate he had pushed down the physical path in an effort to prove himself. Besides his usage of stamina sacrifice curse magic he was also known for taking advantage of his squads casters, from buffs and heals to attack spells. ¡°Do be careful when practicing.¡± the prince warned them. ¡°Once the curse is infused not only will the mage no longer control the spell but the spell itself will not continue as usual, more than that each element interacts differently with cursed energy.¡± For the first time since the beginning of the fight the ettin was firmly on the back foot. Ajax¡¯s paralytic poison had gained enough of a foothold to hinder the ettin¡¯s footwork and with overly enhanced physical ability he was now buzzing around the boss slashing away with his sword and occasionally poking him with his spear. The curse of weakness was spreading all over the ettin¡¯s body along with the hemorrhagic poison, every swing or stab Ajax executed was backed by [Curse Slash] or [Mana Augmentation]. Both Ajax¡¯s Mana and his Stamina reserves were being drained very quickly. The onslaught only ended when the boss finally managed to finish a cast. Ajax was very much surprised to find the boss had gone for an element he hadn¡¯t encountered in combat before outside of elementals. The ettin¡¯s entire body released high pressure steam pumping violently outwards. Unlike the few steam elementals he had faced before who also contained a decent amount of Life mana this steam was a pure mix of Fire and Water, the spell as a whole however also added Wind which forced Ajax to disengage. The spell had to have been extremely mana intensive as Ajax could feel how big of a chunk his [Mana Syphon] had taken out of it, despite that he had still suffered some nasty burns on his arms through his armor, enchantments and even [Mana Skin], thankfully the damage wasn¡¯t debilitating. As soon as he noticed that the burn damage didn¡¯t truly hinder his ability to swing his weapons Ajax forewent healing it, he didn¡¯t have the Mana to spare and more than that the constant pain and small amount of damage produced by his every movement actually slowed the drain on his Stamina thanks to [Berserker]. As much as Ajax wanted to dash straight for the ettin he held back and tried to use a Wind spell of his own to clear the steam. While he knew the position of the boss thanks to his [Sense Mana] he couldn¡¯t track the boss¡¯s body outline. Ajax¡¯s caution had paid off as the Wind spell revealed the boss too late for Ajax to dodge the swing of the club. Ajax barely had enough time to bring up his shield and tank the blow feeling the rocks crack beneath his feet under the pressure. ¡°He can tank a blow!¡± Elara was shocked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t empowered by magic.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°It¡¯s how the club remained hidden in the steam, I¡¯m also pretty sure his arm is broken.¡± Aranor was right, Ajax¡¯s shield arm hung limply by his side even after the shield was returned to his spacial ring. Ajax had already started using Light mana in an attempt to mend the break and regain use of arm before he noticed something had changed. He stopped healing his arm and charged straight towards the boss. The boss¡¯s heavy use of mana had finally caught up with it. Ajax had been using [Mana Syphon] on its mana barrier since the fight began and after that last spell even the ettin¡¯s prodigious mana pool was starting to run dry. While the boss didn¡¯t dispel its barrier it did stop infusing its mana into the ground below its feet. Ajax didn¡¯t know if the boss felt safe because of the mana it had released into the ground before or if it forgot that he was specifically using his [Mana Syphon] to prevent the ettin from shaping the rock but he now had an opening where his mana alone affected the ground beneath them. Down to his last five hundred mana Ajax used two hundred of it to split the earth beneath one of the boss¡¯s legs while at the same time building a small step to launch himself off of as well. The ettin was caught completely off guard by the sudden tilting of his body, more than that Ajax¡¯s oddly angled jump hadn''t even made sense to it until Ajax¡¯s sword powered by one hundred and fifty mana took one of the boss¡¯s heads clean off. The change was immediate, Ajax felt the boss¡¯s mana barrier being quickly devoured by his [Mana Syphon], the mage was dead, all that was left now was the warrior. Unfortunately for Ajax his potion had also run out and a wave of exhaustion hit him like a tsunami, but he wasn¡¯t ready to give in just yet. With the boss¡¯s leg still trapped in the whole Ajax surged forward, he knew he had gotten lucky, if he had killed the warrior the mage could have used the staff to repurpose the remaining stamina into mana and most likely overwhelm him. The ettin¡¯s final head was protected by the metallic helm but without the mana barrier acting as an outer shell Ajax finally had a chance to use his hammer. He didn¡¯t have enough mana to empower a strong enough Void attack to ensure it would go past both the helm and the ettin¡¯s undoubtedly thick skull, fortunately he didn¡¯t need to. Ajax pushed as much mana as he could into his most recent Legendary acquisition, Vibration mana. More than that he also stacked [Precise Blow] on top of [Vibrating Strike], he could feel the muscles of his unbroken arm protesting but [Limit Suppression] allowed him to hit so hard that his muscles tore even before the hammer blow landed. The gong like sound of metal striking metal marked the end of the fight. Unlike his fight against the worm Ajax had managed to remain conscious but he was splayed out on his back without the power to move a muscle as he could feel the bruise form down his hammer arm where his muscles ripped apart. None of that mattered to him however as his lips struggled to lift into a smile as his eyes took in a sight only he could see. The Achievement confirmed that the boss was dead. Chapter 429 ¡°Hey princess, which do you think looks more gruesome?¡± the prince asked as Arianwyn approached Ajax and by extent the body of the fallen ettin. Arianwyn wasn¡¯t squamish, she had long dealt with the gruesome aftermath of combat, despite that the crushed and burst remains of the ettin¡¯s head still encased in its metal helmet attached to the rest of the body did remove her plans of a celebratory feast for finally surpassing the level one hundred dungeon bottle neck. Despite his joking mood the prince was quick to carefully pack up the ettin¡¯s staff, sadly the because of its sheer size the item could never be anything more than a location defense artifact or a one shot ambush opening. ¡°He¡¯s still conscious.¡± Aranor¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t hide the surprise. ¡°A lot of good that does him.¡± one of the healers said with a chuckle as he inspected Ajax¡¯s condition. ¡°I doubt he could get one of his toes to twitch if he wanted to.¡± As invested as he was by the invisible screens in front of him Ajax wasn¡¯t about to let that go. While the elf may have been technically correct at the moment he made the statement he hadn¡¯t factored in Ajax¡¯s pettiness. By relaxing and contracting specific muscles Ajax was able to exacerbate his injuries just enough that [Berserker] gave him enough stamina to get his arm to turn over and raise a single finger. ¡°Looks like he disagrees.¡± Elara didn¡¯t even try to conceal her laughter as she watched the healer glance back towards Ajax before his jaw dropped as he noticed the raised middle finger. Ajax made a few attempts to talk but nothing more than a grunt made it past his lips. ¡°I deserved that one kid, but no need to keep pushing yourself.¡± the healer said as he approached Ajax and started casting, once the first spell was activated Ajax could feel his body mending and a drowsiness overcome him. ¡°Get some sleep, you''ll be able to talk once you awaken.¡± With that Ajax¡¯s consciousness finally stopped holding on and he closed his eyes. ¡°This was a very even fight.¡± Aranor said as he examined the battered body of the ettin as well as the rough shape of Ajax¡¯s own armor. ¡°We finally have a decent benchmark to compare him to since his fighting style is so similar to the hybrid ettin.¡± ¡°Let''s get going.¡± The prince said as he balanced the now wrapped up staff on his shoulder. Not even the prince¡¯s spacial storage was enough to hold the staff, sure in terms of volume it could easily hold ten of them, the problem was the staff was simply too tall to fit inside the cube dimension. ¡°Do you think this will give him a Mythic skill?¡± Arianwyn finally addressed the elephant in the room. All of them were silently thinking about the very same thing but nobody wanted to point it out. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait until he wakes up to find out.¡± Aranor said as the group continued away from the battle site in silence. When Ajax awoke he found himself in a comfortable spot surrounded by blankets near a roaring campfire close to an arch, one he was sure would lead them to the Metal floor they had decided to head for next. ¡°How are you feeling sleepy head?¡± the prince greeted him. ¡°Like a convoy failed to notice I was laid up in the road and rolled right over me.¡± Ajax complained as he stretched his stiff muscles as his body protested the movement despite his health being full. ¡°The phantom pain will pass quickly.¡± the healer said. ¡° Since you weren¡¯t awake for the healing your mind hasn¡¯t caught up to the fact that your body was healed even if the body acts like it has.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ajax was very familiar with the process, not from having experienced all that often but more from his discussions with Kate about her studies. Phantom pain was one of the most dangerous things to consider when healing injured low level people, especially the ones who had pushed themselves well past their limits before passing out, without a solid investment in physical stats the shock from waking up could be enough to kill them. Those people had to be slowly awakened a little at a time so the brain could keep up with the body. ¡°So was it worth it?¡± the prince¡¯s question drew a few frowns from the elves, not because he asked but because of how ambiguous an answer could be given. Reminded of his reward Ajax was quick to bring the Achievement back up now that he had a clear mind to take everything in. Achievement: I¡¯m the Boss now. (Earned through defeating an warrior - mage Ettin) Defeat a floor boss at more than two times higher level than you without help while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 20. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150. Trait : Warrior - Mage (Stamina can now be used to power spells at a 1 : 1 efficiency of mana and Mana can be used to power Stamina based skills at a 1:1 efficiency) Dungeon Boon : Solo collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in each floor of the dungeon, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon. Enemies must be defeated alone.) ! (lesser or equal versions of the achievement can no longer be obtained.) Achievement: I¡¯m the Boss now. (Earned through defeating any floor boss) Defeat a floor boss more than two times higher level than you without help while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 20. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150. Trait : Boosted trait dependent on floor boss defeated. Dungeon Boon : Solo collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in each floor of the dungeon, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon. Enemies must be defeated alone.) Achievement: And you call yourself a Boss. (Earned through defeating any floor boss) Defeat a floor boss more than two times higher level than you while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. None of the entities helping you may be above half the boss''s level. Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 10. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150. Trait : Trait based on the boss defeated Dungeon Boon : Collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in the floor of the dungeon one exits, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon.) Achievement: You¡¯re not that tough. (Earned through defeating any floor boss) Defeat a floor boss higher level than you alone while inside a dungeon. Requires three Discoveries to earn. Reward : Choose a skill you possess, gain a random skill of each lesser rarity that supports said skill. (Skills received level two times faster while at a lower level than the chosen skill) ¡°It was.¡± Ajax answered as he took in the information. ¡°Though I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not disappointed at not being able to gain ¡®You¡¯re not that tough.¡¯ I could have used four more skills.¡± In truth Ajax was a little disappointed in the Rewards he did get. Doubtless a large part of the reward was focused on the 20 skill level cap increase but he had already reached the 150 cap thanks to Divine Witness. ¡°Did you gain a Mythic skill?¡± Aranor asked, unable to curb his own curiosity. ¡°Unfortunately not.¡± Ajax said, and he meant it, he had hoped that maybe, just maybe the reward would be a Mythic skill, given the same type of non-combat options he had been offered for his Legendary selection he would have taken the social one. ¡°The rewards are very different from ¡®You¡¯re not that tough.¡¯,I think it is treated as one of the lesser achievements just so it won¡¯t be awarded.¡± ¡°One of them?¡± Aranor was quick to latch onto any piece of information that slipped out. ¡°Yep, there is a variation for killing a floor boss in a group while everyone taking part is under half the boss¡¯s level.¡± Ajax teased them, he knew that there were no records of any group ever attempting to delve a floor over twice their level, though he very much believed that with enough training and another load of dungeon floors a forty man team of people like Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict would stand a chance once they all reached level fifty four, at least against a favorable matchup like a pure warrior Ettin but even then it would be close. While he was talking Ajax also pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled down the group achievement before handing it to the prince. ¡°What do you think?¡± The prince¡¯s eyes bulged out as he read the rewards section before showing the piece of parchment to the elves. He knew that any attempt at gaining the achievement would have to be a collaboration by the most talented of the younger of multiple kingdoms. ¡°It gave you a Trait and a Boon?¡± ¡°Wait, you know that Boons are a thing?¡± Ajax was quick to answer back. ¡°How come I never heard of them before?¡± ¡°Because the only one we know about comes from the Achievement ¡®Are you lost?¡¯.¡± the prince explained. ¡°You have to stay on the same dungeon floor for over half a century to get it. The Boon allows you to teleport to the exit arch.¡± ¡°If this is the lesser achievement, what did you get?¡± Arianwyn asked but her eyes remained transfixed on the piece of parchment as she reread the information over and over again. Ajax took great pleasure in watching their expressions as he shared his rewards with the exception of what his Trait did. Chapter 430 ¡°Stop looking so glum, this achievement might not be as immediately impactful as it could have been but you will see just how important it is in the long run.¡± the prince said as he watched Ajax as he was recovering before pushing on to finish the rest of the delve. The prince was very much right and Ajax knew it. People who could push past level one hundred were considered elite, more than that it was the hardest to find them outside of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or the army. Crafters were the next most common but it was by an order of magnitude lower than combatants or healers. The averages among the elites said that their Common skills would usually be 20 levels above their level, their Uncommon 10 levels above, their Rare skills around the same level and their Epic skills five levels lower. This caused massive problems with skill leveling, especially for Champion fighters who at level one hundred and seventy had most of their combat skills capped out unless they were from a ducal or the royal family. ¡°I know, it''s just that I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be this.¡± Ajax chose his words carefully as he knew he the prince had a lie detection skill, he didn¡¯t want to let slip that the extra 20 skill levels were worthless for him since Divine Witness already boosted everything to the 150 limit for him. ¡°Say how much do you think is needed to contribute?¡± Ajax¡¯s question stopped everyone in their tracks. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± The prince looked a little baffled. ¡°It¡¯s just that, I know contribution to a kill differs when delving into a dungeon.¡± Ajax said as he remembered being taught this during his time in the academy. ¡°To clear a floor at or under your level and gain the reward you only need to meaningfully contribute in a group of up to four people to killing a mini boss. As soon as you try to get the extra stats on a floor higher than your level you have to do it solo, what do you think contributing would mean for this achievement?¡± Most non combat nobles and rich merchants would group up as a team of three and pay people to escort them, they would also have a more talented fighter their level that could effectively tank the creature while the three would slowly kill it even with their ineffective attacks. Ajax was familiar with the practice since he had escorted his parents and even grandparents through the dungeons in the capital to ensure they would get the extra stats. ¡°It won¡¯t work the same way we do it with clearing floors for the¡­ less combat capable.¡± Aranor said politically. ¡°Everyone taking part would need to be under half the level of the boss, no way to have someone hand-holding a group through it.¡± ¡°But I could.¡± Ajax said and he quickly felt everyone¡¯s gazes lock on to him once more. ¡°Against something like the ettin having Lexi and Anna casting from range would actually be helpful, would something like that even count?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that is something we want to test out.¡± the prince said after a long moment of silence. ¡°You are close to level fifty four already and you barely held out, if they make one mistake that hinders you it could even get you killed.¡± And there was the crux of the issue, Ajax barely made it by himself if the others slowed him down in any way it could prove fatal for all of them. ¡°What about that?¡± Ajax asked as he pointed towards the massive staff. ¡°What if we use that, they give their entire mana and stamina pools for a strong opening spell and then I kill the boss, would that work?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Ajax very much wanted to give his friends a better chance at the Achievement. ¡°That¡¯s something that¡¯s worth trying.¡± the prince said after a long moment of silence, the value of the staff having risen exponentially even if it was only theoretical. ¡°Are you feeling well enough to get going?¡± Aranor asked, looking to move the conversation on from the staff, he knew just how much of a headache it would become already when certain noble Houses found out it wasn¡¯t stolen to be used by their kingdom. ¡°I¡¯m better now but I¡¯m not ready just yet to leave the floor.¡± Ajax said as he started to resharpen his axe, the blade had a small dent from where it made contact with the ettin¡¯s knee and Ajax was trying to smooth it out. ¡°I still have something to do here.¡± ¡°What now?¡± one of the rangers mumbled but he was quickly shushed by Arianwyn. ¡°That smile always means he¡¯s up to something and I want to find out what.¡± Arianwyn cut them off. ¡°When I told you about my improved Achievement, you know how I mentioned it gave the Solo collector boon?¡± Ajax asked while trying to sound as innocent as possible. ¡°Well, besides having the requirement that I solo the creature I want to take out and the boon being limited to the individual as well as the group, it also lets me take something from every floor I¡¯ve cleared, not just the last one.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± The group let out a collective groan as four people took out their parchments to start making an addendum to the explanations they had already recorded. ¡°Alright then what type of harpy do you want?¡± Aranor asked, since most harpies had some sort of equipment that slightly enhanced their specific elements. ¡°Oh I don¡¯t want a harpy.¡± Ajax said with a shake of the head. ¡°I want to see if any of their crafters are alchemists, if not I¡¯ll have to settle for a blacksmith. Even if it is a bit crude this is level one hundred and ten crafting equipment.¡± The group ransacked ten encampments before they finally gave up on finding an alchemist, their logic was there were simply not enough plants in the environment for them to appear among the population. ¡°Are you sure you want to stick with the blacksmith?¡± The prince tried to convince Ajax for the fifth time. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said resolutely. After the tenth camp the group had decided to call it a day and headed for an arch to the next floor. ¡°We¡¯ll probably be another day or so, I¡¯ll need to be at full strength to clear the nineteenth floor.¡± Ajax said as Arianwyn and Elara were getting ready to leave. As he cleared the next two floors Ajax started to experiment with his new trait, one of the most interesting things he discovered was that Stamina worked very differently to Mana. He hadn¡¯t noticed it before since he barely ever depleted his Stamina and when he did it would be a full body exercise. Ajax had even made the excuse of wanting to try out the staff so he would have a basis for his questions without revealing his trait. ¡°Why does my arm feel so dead?¡± Ajax complained after unleashing a strong spell. ¡°While Stamina as a resource is similar to Mana it doesn¡¯t get stored the same way.¡± the prince explained. ¡°It''s not usually an issue for you since not only do you use it pretty evenly across your whole body but it also actively tries to normalize and level as time passes. You¡¯ll see your arm will recover before too long.¡± ¡°It¡¯s mostly a problem for high level blacksmiths who are working with a hard to shape metal.¡± Aranor said. ¡°They have large amounts of stamina but since most of the work is done by their dominant hand in swinging the hammer they deplete the stamina and need a few short breaks for it to even out before they can finally call it a day when their total stamina runs out.¡± While this information didn¡¯t have much application in combat outside of trying to tire out someone''s shield arm it was now vital for Ajax. With mana he was used to directing it through his arms or legs but he would need to be much more careful when using stamina since in the later stages of a fight when he was already low on it he could fully empty out a limb and have just hang limply by his side for a while. The seventeenth floor felt rather easy for Ajax after the fight with the ettin and even after all the problems the worm had caused him the extra +12 to all stats as well as the new trait made fighting a level one hundred and twenty mini boss feel like a warm up spar instead of a battle where he pushed his limits. The eighteenth floor proved tougher but Ajax hadn¡¯t even needed a proper rest, he had simply been forced to down a potion and almost fully expend both his mana and stamina but the fight wasn¡¯t all that close. After Ajax found out he could overcharge as spell without damaging his mana channels by powering the spell with a combination of his Mana and Stamina the fight was quickly over after two powerful hits. Sadly both attacks had taken a toll on his gauntlet as he shattered both his Air and Fire gems by pushing that much power through it at once. Chapter 431 ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked Ajax as they made camp for the final time in this dungeon. ¡°I will need to change.¡± Ajax said with a bit of disappointment as he looked down towards his gauntlet, already four of his germs had shattered and his other elements weren¡¯t fat behind. ¡°I appreciate how long you kept your silence regarding my gauntlet but once we return to Gryndor I will look into having some new more specific weapons commissioned.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at specialization as a bad thing.¡± The prince said, he could clearly see the problem Ajax had with replacing his gauntlet: his extreme versatility would now become limited or he would be forced to sacrifice his weapons. ¡°It could in fact push you forwards instead.¡± ¡°How would it do that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The gems in your gauntlet are all so very small.¡± The prince had insisted that he wear something to magically mask the gauntlet for as long as he couldn¡¯t make use of the discovery as well. ¡°Despite being mana gems with a specific affinity the break under your spells, in terms of raw power that is less than what a level ninety mage can output.¡± ¡°And how would specialising help?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You might not be aware of it yourself but you are already limiting yourself to one or two elements per weapon, it''s a simple fact that certain elements are better wielded by specific weapons.¡± The prince said. ¡°With the bigger gems and the correct enchantments added those weapons would be able to even further augment your attacks instead of barely maintaining the weapon. That¡¯s to say nothing of the skills you will gain that will stack with your [Augmentation] skill.¡± ¡°That could work.¡± Ajax said, unconsciously he had started to smile as he appreciated the prince¡¯s advice of this being a better way forward for him. ¡°Do you know any craftsmen who would be willing to work with me on this new approach?¡± ¡°I do, but I will say that it''s a good thing your boon will allow you such an increase in wealth.¡± the prince said with a smile. ¡°The only way you¡¯ll be able to buy yourself a priority on their backlog of orders will be with some of the more rare resources and materials they desire.¡± Following their talk Ajax was more hyped for the upcoming fight and he was ready to push as far as it took to win. ¡°This is the strongest opponent I will fight before my style is forced to evolve.¡± Ajax muttered to himself. ¡°I have to win.¡± While Ajax would have one more dungeon to delve in Sylvanthal and the Empire¡¯s main dungeon as well neither would present him with a stronger opponent. The last of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons had a first floor with level thirty eight mini bosses and an eighteen level floor gap. The strongest fight he would face in there would be a level one hundred and twenty eight with no chance of challenging a one hundred and sixty four. As for the Empire he wouldn¡¯t have a boost group with him ensuring that he could guarantee a one versus one with the mini boss so he will stop his delving much sooner. The only element they knew about the final floor was the fire element. Ajax had chosen it in hopes of coming upon an environmental floor as that would be trivialised by his escort while the monsters would be just a little bit weaker.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ajax got his wish much to the rangers disappointment. While the floor environment didn¡¯t pose an actual challenge to them most of them could just disregard the heat at such a high floor. If he was asked to describe the floor Ajax would be able to do so with a single word, ¡®hell¡¯. The entire floor looked like a wide open plane of grass with a tree or two dotted around and set ablaze and this is what remained. The floor was covered with ash and the skeletal blacked trees were the only point of reference in their small depression. The heat wasn¡¯t even the worst part of the floor''s environment, much worse were the segregations of air that not even Aranor could understand, the humidity would change from above 90% to under 10%. The hot air would feel like a lungful of water one moment before it scorched your throat as you moved forward. Much to everyone''s relief it didn¡¯t take long for them to run into the first mini boss as the pack was running around the hellscape. ¡°Are you sure you want to fight a hellhound?¡± the prince asked with some concern. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said with a nod. One of the things Ajax had miscalculated was how well curse mana would go in addition to fire for creating a floor theme. While the percentage of the curse mana was much lower than on most floors he had found it on before the sheer density of the mana in the air meant to this time Ajax wouldn¡¯t have the luxury of relying on [Mana Syphon] and drawing out the fight or he would get himself infected with too much curse mana. ¡°After you kid.¡± Most of the rangers had their bows drawn ready to put down the entire pack with the exception of the boss as soon as Ajax engaged. It was easy to figure out which one was the boss, not only was it larger than the others, going from the size of a hippo to that of an elephant but the mini boss also had two heads. Ajax very much wondered if there was a three headed Cerberus model for a Floor boss but he very much doubted it since he had already faced a boss with two heads, unless the three heads weren¡¯t as independent as the ettin had been. The hellhound¡¯s heads resembled a doberman but the body wasn¡¯t as lean, looking more like the jacked frame of a rottweiler. Unlike the ettin Ajax could tell that the hellhound would be less durable but at the same time much faster, but with his new Trait there was no need to push this into a battle of attrition as he now had a much larger resource pool to force the fight to end quickly. Ajax drank a potion before the fight would even begin, he knew regardless of the outcome the fight wouldn¡¯t last as long as the potion so there was no need to wait. He next drew his bow and fired a heavily infused ice arrow. With his ice gem shatter Ajax noticed how the bow had suffered minor damage from his spell, not only that but his arrow had actually missed its mark because one of the fletchings had frozen from the spell, instead of hitting the hellhound in the eye it got him in the snout. The opening shot was like the opening of the flood gates as arrows rained down onto the unsuspecting pack killing all but the mini boss. In a favorable twist it actually seemed like Ajax¡¯s arrow hitting the snout was actually a better outcome than hitting the eyeball. While the ice magic wasn¡¯t able to last all that long with the internal furnace the hellhound had the unexpected drop in temperature momentarily froze the mini boss. The elves had quickly backed off after taking out the pack leaving only Ajax for the boss to focus on. Ajax felt a sense of instinctual fear as he watched the elephant sized monster dash towards him with the same agility he had seen in dog races on the internet. The two heads were locked onto him and the one that had been hit by the arrow now had flamin snot mixing with some blood slowly dripping down as the ice melted. Ajax quickly dismissed his fear, he had long since learned to suppress the instinctual fear that came from fighting something so much bigger, the system was the great equalizer and levels were much more important than physical size. Ajax had also forgone taking out his shield, against a boss like this there were only two things he really needed to worry about. One was the boss¡¯s claws, but his armor''s enchantments should be enough that any hit he takes from them would only leave a nasty cut and wouldn¡¯t actually snag him.The other was the jaws and there was no point in using a shield against that since would only give them a better place to grab a hold of, he couldn¡¯t even use his shield to remove the bite attack from the fight as the beast had two heads. Ajax charged towards the beast with his axe and sword while also starting to exert his control over the burnt ashy ground, unlike the ettin the hellhound was doing nothing to stop him from molding the battleground to his whims. Chapter 432 Ajax was holding nothing back as he charged the mini boss, the ground shaped beneath their feet with Ajax barely able to keep up with the speed of the hellhound. More than that he could feel the beast charge up a flaming breath in its lungs and for one [Mana Syphon] wasn¡¯t going to help him weaken it since he would be syphoning all that curse mana. Worse yet was that Ajax didn¡¯t know which head was about to spew the cursed flames. One thing that did work however was a blast of Holy mana, the cleansing energy leaving a nasty burn like wound on the monster¡¯s side and causing it to howl in pain even breaking its spell. Ajax didn¡¯t have time to ask himself why this monster felt pain when most others didn¡¯t, if he had time to think about it he would have realized it was because the curse mana was a part of the hellhound and removing it would be like vaporising a part of it. The beast was clearly intelligent enough that Ajax doubted another Holy blast would disrupt its spell casting but it was great to know he had such an effective weapon against it. ¡°He¡¯s being quite reckless.¡± Aranor pointed out as he watched the fight from the side lines. ¡°Drinking the potion so early and not using his syphoning skill on the beast¡¯s magic. You sure he¡¯s not taking it too lightly?¡± The prince didn¡¯t answer the question but he partially agreed with Aranor. He knew why Ajax wasn¡¯t using [Mana Syphon] to its full extent but he didn¡¯t know why he was so determined on ending the fight quickly, in fact he wasn¡¯t sure why he decided to take on a hellhound at all since the creatures speed and flexibility was a bad match-up to Ajax¡¯s usual slow and methodical kill by a thousand cuts he usually displayed when facing enemies so far above his level. Ajax could feel that he would only have one chance at this, because of the curse mana present on this floor there was simply nothing he could do to win against any mini boss in a drawn out fight, with that he doubled down and used [Empowering Restriction]. Ajax didn¡¯t want to limit his options even further and he was already hesitant to restrict another skill as he didn¡¯t want to cut off their potential, with that Ajax placed the restriction instead on his own mana regeneration. For the next week Ajax wouldn¡¯t be able to regenerate a single point of mana and in exchange he wanted to increase the potency of all the mana he currently had. The change was immediately noticeable, to him as he could feel his own mana channels pushed to accommodate his mana as he stabbed his sword with an Lightning attack in an attempt to widen the moment of opportunity the Holy blast had bought him. The hellhound and everyone watching was also instantly aware that something had changed as Ajax¡¯s power spiked considerably. The ground stopped slowly covering the hound¡¯s legs and instead started behaving like a slime quickly crawling up the beast''s paws. The sword¡¯s Lightning augmentation was so powerful that not only did it cause the mini boss to twitch uncontrollably but small burn marks could be seen on the edges of the cut from the intensity of the current. ¡°What was that?¡± the remaining ranger commander asked, one squad having already been split up and sent to different floors in search of high quality goods. ¡°[Empowering Restriction]¡± one of the rangers was quick to answer his captain but his eyes remained locked on Ajax. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what he just gave up, but whatever it was it was big.¡± The captain trusted his friend and subordinate, more than that he knew the man would recognise the skill since he had it as well. Their experience with it was also the reason they knew the timer on the fight just got a lot more enforced, there was no way such an increase in power would last for more than a few minutes, not unless the restriction was a permanent restriction and he didn¡¯t judge Ajax as someone stupid enough to use something like that just to clear the floor. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! With his mana regeneration cut off Ajax also dropped his [Mana Skin], not only would this make his mana last longer but it would allow [Berserker] to replenish his stamina pool and with his new trait mitigate some of the restriction. One thing Ajax quickly caught on to was that [Empowering Restriction] didn¡¯t improve the power of the spells he cast with Stamina so he quickly adapted to use his Stamina for any of his more auxiliary magic spells like his manipulation of the rock beneath their feet and save his Mana for any direct attack against the boss. Unlike the ettin he had fought the hellhound was too fast for Ajax to stay clear of it at all times, he could barely ensure that the heads never had a good enough opportunity to bite him but even with his earth manipulation trying to slow down the hound¡¯s claws they were still leaving deep scratches on his arms and legs imbuing curse magic into directly into him. ¡°Is that a consuming restriction? I thought you had to select that once you passed one of the bottlenecks¡± the ranger captain asked as he observed only some of Ajax¡¯s spells were enhanced, he focused on the prince as he asked his next question. ¡°Is his [Empower Restriction] already past level 50?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a consuming restriction.¡± the ranger said before the prince could. Consuming restrictions were a way to pay more for an increase in power, the most common being paying the same amount in Stamina or Health to increase the power of a spell, the advantage of such a restriction and the reason the type as a whole needed a bottleneck to unlock was that it was a restriction that could be toggled on and off for specific spells. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how he¡¯s doing it but it is not a consuming restriction.¡± ¡°It¡¯s most likely the Trait he got.¡± for the first time the prince¡¯s eyes left Ajax as they moved to Aranor whose words mirrored his own thoughts. ¡°He got a trait from a hybrid ettin, I think it has something to do with his resources and that¡¯s why the restriction isn¡¯t affecting everything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s¡­ genius.¡± The ranger could hardly gather his thoughts as he looked upon Ajax with a mix of awe and envy. The kid had managed to essentially recreate something he had needed to invest a bottleneck skill evolution within days of getting the Trait, he had no idea that Ajax had made the discovery by accident. The fight had barely been going on for three minutes and Ajax was already down to a quarter of his Mana and his Stamina, the armor on his arms and legs was hanging off him in shreds and shallow cuts criss crossed his limbs. The curse mana inside his body was starting to gain a foothold but Ajax was keeping a slow but constant application of Life mana to heal himself and the Legendary mana type worked wonders on keeping the negative aspects of the curse in check even if it didn¡¯t cleanse it. While Ajax was in a sorry state the somewhat manic grin on his face exemplified the phrase ¡®you should see the other guy¡¯. The hellhound had taken markedly less hits than Ajax had but all of those had been infused with enough power to leave deep and lasting damage. Holy mana had played a central role during the fight with Ajax using it for every other swing as it worked so well at breaking through the leathery skin of the monster. The fight took a turn for the worse when Ajax infused his axe with holy mana as he went for an overconfident strike to one of the heads. The blow was well placed but Ajax had failed to take into account that Holy mana didn¡¯t fortify his weapon, as the hounds teeth bit down on the axe the blade shattered. The axe had been a high end weapon Ajax could just barely wield back when he left Gryndor, but it was made for fighting Level one hundred enemies which had been Ajax¡¯s limit back then, without something to strengthen it the hellhound¡¯s teeth were just too much especially after all the wear and tear the axe had gone through in the battle against the ettin. The silver lining came in the form of the mini boss swallowing the Holy mana infused shards of the broken blade, the infusion had barely lasted for more than a few seconds but that had been enough to leave a few nasty wounds on the organs of the monster. Ajax¡¯s [Mana Sense] was strong enough that he could follow the shards as they passed through the hellhound¡¯s throat and he could also feel the concentration of curse Mana inside the mini boss enough that he finally had a good idea of where its heart was. With the time limit fast approaching Ajax knew it was now or never. He spent almost all of his remaining stamina in launching a lightning bolt at the boss while also redirecting his body with a wind spell to save his crumbling form, he had no need for the broken axe handle in his hand so he dropped it and pulled out his spear before pushing as much Holy mana as his channels could handle into augmenting the stab to the monsters heart. The attack was successful as the beast died with a whiny roar as the spear penetrated its chest before its giant body collapsed on top of the spent Ajax. Ajax¡¯s saving grace here was that he still had some mana remained as he pushed as much life mana into healing his body while also molding the earth to prevent himself from taking the whole weight of the corpse. His mana wouldn¡¯t last for longer than a few seconds but that is all that the onlookers needed to move the corpse off Ajax. ¡°That was closer than I''d have liked.¡± Ajax barely mumbled as he heaved in deep breaths of air as he looked up towards the people who had removed the corpse from on top of him. Chapter 433 After Ajax finally got back up and he was counting the seconds before he could down a stamina regeneration potion. He had the potion as a counter to specific types of enemies who leeched Stamina but for him it was much better than a mana regeneration potion, not just because of the restriction he was under but because the regeneration potion increased one¡¯s natural regeneration and Stamina regenerated about three times quicker in than mana in humanoids with equal Dexterity and Wisdom. ¡°We are not taking all of that.¡± While Ajax was getting his feet back under him and relaxing from the harsh battle Aranor and the prince had started a small argument about the hellhound¡¯s corpse. ¡°Do you know what that level of curse mana could do to civilians?¡± Much like every other medieval city Sylvanthal¡¯s capital naturally had a slums area where some of the city¡¯s most unfortunate people resided. The hound being infused with curse mana meant that its flesh was useless for anything and taking it outside the dungeon with Ajax¡¯s new boon could cause widespread disease depending on how it was disposed of. ¡°Get the fangs.¡± Ajax piped in. ¡°They¡¯ll make for a solid dagger base that should be able to inflict a curse without a skill. In the end Ajax did end up collecting the fangs before the group started clearing out some of the rest of the floor in hopes of finding some good floor themes for themselves. ¡°Hey kid, what level is your [Empowering Restriction] at?¡± one of the rangers asked him as they were traveling. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t try to hide his skepticism. ¡°Never thought anyone so young could have an Epic skill above level fifty.¡± the ranger answered. While Ajax didn¡¯t answer the question his confused expression was enough to confirm something for the elves, Ajax¡¯s level with that skill was not above fifty. ¡°Stop fishing.¡± The prince cut off the discussion. ¡°They are trying to figure out how you pulled off what they think is a consuming restriction.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a consuming restriction?¡± Ajax felt that he wasn¡¯t giving anything away asking that question after he had all but told them that his skill level wasn¡¯t above fifty. ¡°One of the bottleneck options for [Empowering Restriction].¡± the ranger answered. ¡°Almost all restrictions you can currently use have their power bound by the amount of time they must be active for, usually a day at the least and a week at the most for efficient use of the skill. A restriction that only lasts for a few seconds isn¡¯t going to give you any measurable boost.¡± ¡°And how does a consuming restriction change that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It''s called a consuming restriction because you add one of your resources as the basis for powering instead of a condition.¡± the ranger explained. ¡°Most commonly they are used to link Mana and Stamina, Mana and Health or Stamina and Health, when using one resource a certain amount of the one linked is also used to serve as the fuel for making the effect stronger.¡± ¡°That sounds awesome.¡± Ajax¡¯s mind was already running through all the possibilities such an upgrade could provide to the skill. ¡°Can you also use it to increase something else, like spending Mana Stamina and Health to increase one specific stat for a short time?¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I¡­I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± the ranger said, confused. He then took a moment to try out the suggestion, afterwards he sounded a little surprised as he waved his hand in front of his face. ¡°Looks like you can, but the exchange rate is not good enough for this to actually be useful in combat, just a twenty point increase is about ten mana a second and it looks like mana cost grows faster than stat increase, good try though.¡± ¡°So this is what you meant when you said he looks at the world differently, eh Aranor.¡± the ranger commander said as he listened in on the conversation. ¡°The discoveries aren¡¯t always useful but sometimes they could be.¡± ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not useful?¡± Ajax was slightly outraged at their lack of imagination. He calmed himself down as he remembered the old adage about old dogs and new tricks. ¡°Go on, give me a useful scenario for it, spending large amounts of resources for a tiny increase in one stat is not going to be useful in a fight, if it was useful it would be a bad investment and those resources could be better used in dealing with the situation.¡± the ranger commander said. ¡°Woah now,¡± the prince cut it before Ajax answered. ¡°Lets at least make this interesting, how about a wager.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it.¡± Aranor said as he watched the grin on the prince¡¯s face. ¡°I know that look.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand,¡± the prince said with a mocking understanding tone. ¡°Not willing to back up your words.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± the ranger commander growled the words. ¡°Ajax what do you want?¡± the prince asked. Ajax took a minute to think, it was easy to ask for something material but with his new Boon the value of anything that could be wagered on a whim like this just dropped substantially to him. ¡°Training.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°All of us rangers have a healthy ego, kid.¡± The ranger¡¯s mood improved by Ajax¡¯s request. ¡°But with your style there isn¡¯t a single ranger that could actually train you in anything but a specific skill. I¡¯m not willing to wager any of my skills for that.¡± ¡°Not for me.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°When Arianwyn comes to Gryndor, she¡¯ll have a ranger squad with her. That squad will take, say, a week to train my retainers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll be my squad that goes with her.¡± the ranger said. ¡°You can work it out with them to make the time I¡¯m sure.¡± the prince said. ¡°Okay, fine.¡± the ranger said as he nodded in agreement. ¡°Go on then, what¡¯s a useful use of the skill.¡± ¡°Crafters.¡± Ajax was quick to spit out the answer he already had loaded. ¡°Pretty sure blacksmiths will be more than willing to spend their Mana, Stamina and even Health to increase their Dexterity by a even a small margin when crafting.¡± ¡°Oh boy.¡± The prince couldn¡¯t help but say after he heard Ajax¡¯s answer, he knew Ajax would have enough people holding a small grudge against him for how his training method affected their offsprings. Now he will have old crafters who no longer had the opportunity to take consuming restriction be pissed off for losing business. ¡°Hey kid, we were talking about uses for a combatant.¡± the ranger commander gripped, though his spirit wasn¡¯t in it. He knew the information was well worth a week of training for some retainers. ¡°Double or nothing?¡± Ajax asked as he thought of another application. ¡°This time it will be an application for a combatant.¡± ¡°Sure why not.¡± The elves were taking a liking to Ajax the more time they spent with him. ¡°Prisoner escapes.¡± Ajax said his words coming out as quickly as his mind put the idea together. ¡°Most war prisoners are pure mages since they are relatively easy to restrain, a large increase in Strength could let them break out of their restraints, even if it costs them most of their mana over a few moments.¡± ¡°This information doesn¡¯t become public knowledge.¡± the prince instantly turned towards Aranor who also looked like he was about to say the same thing. ¡°The final decision remains to the king but I agree.¡± Aranor nodded, while Ajax¡¯s idea was good it would only work if the captors didn¡¯t know about it. The information becoming public would all but sentence countless mages to death in the future since their captors would be unwilling to risk them having the skill. ¡°Your people will get more than the bare minimum of training, I promise you that.¡± the ranger with [Empowering Restriction] told Ajax. He was already planning on experimenting with this new application of his skill to ensure that he wouldn¡¯t incapacitate himself if he ever had to rely on it. ¡°Kate is going to be so happy, she tried looking into some of the non-standard healing spells but they are so hard to come by.¡± Ajax was very pleased with the deal they just made. Healing was a domain where both Gryndor and the Empire were very much on the back foot compared to the other nations. The rarity of magic in humans meant that most were pushed towards becoming combat mages, Gryndor had been catching up slightly after Luna worked to spread the information and train more healers but they were still a long way off. Chapter 434 The elves couldn¡¯t believe their luck, Ajax couldn¡¯t either so he triple checked the arch but it was a Crystal mana arch. If they got lucky enough that even a single creature could be taken out of the dungeon they might have access to a massive amount of level one hundred and fifty mana crystals. ¡°Good luck.¡± Aranor wished the ranger squad before he, Ajax and the prince all exited the dungeon. Both Aranor and the prince were skipping out on clearing the final floor as they both had a lot to report to their respective kings. ¡°Looks like my boon does have some downsides compared to the regular one.¡± Ajax lamented right before they exited the dungeon. Ajax had the important parts of all the creatures he had killed on floors nineteen, eighteen, seventeen and the blacksmithing set from floor sixteen. With the non-solo boon however he would have been able to just take part in killing any crystal monster on this floor and take that with him. ¡°Oh chin up, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find more crystal floors in the future.¡± the prince said as he patted him on the back. ¡°Now here, hold this. It¡¯s yours after all.¡± With that the prince passed Ajax the massive staff belonging to the ettin. Ajax had no issue with the weight of the staff, the massive metal bar he was bringing his father was much heavier and had a larger total volume than the staff, it''s just the items'' unseemly length that posed an issue. The staff was covered all over with the tents the group had brought with them, this was simply done so that nobody could identify the object as they moved it through the street. ¡°Hold it right there¡­¡± The guards outside the dungeon were quick to spring into action as soon as they noticed Ajax exit the dungeon, he was the last of the three to do so but the massive staff in his hands and on his shoulder quickly drew their attention. The guards were just as quick to stop in their tracks as they saw Aranor. ¡°Champion Starfury, reporting sir!¡± ¡°Let the boy pass with his spoils.¡± Aranor waved them off casually. The guards were a little starstruck to see the elven champion. They were all elite soldiers but just barely their levels having just passed one hundred. To them Aranor was a living legend having hit his peak right as they were growing up around two hundred years ago. ¡°...Sir, is¡­ is that a staff?¡± One of the guards managed to get the courage to ask as Ajax was slowly making his way away from the dungeon with care, the logistics of moving through the streets with his new family treasure slowing the process a little. At Aranor¡¯s slight nod the guard continued. ¡°And is the head a single massive managem?¡± The massive mesh of tents covering the staff was pulled tight so as to not allow any identification attempt through, the downside of this was that the outline of the staff made it perfectly clear what it was. Passing through the streets on the way to the embassy was difficult and took close to an hour. While a lot of guards approached the trio they quickly backed off as soon as they saw the sigil on Aranor¡¯s robes. That however didn¡¯t stop a few of the more daring merchants from attempting to buy the staff, they were all quickly turned down but just their presence in the road made the travel slower. ¡°I always knew you were a blessing but sometimes I can¡¯t help but wonder if you were also a test from the Gods.¡± Silvia from the door of the embassy as she waited for Ajax, her anxiety eased now that he was done with the dungeon. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°I made plans for how to load our worms on the way home, you know.¡± Alana complained. ¡°We¡¯re leaving in two days and you drop that in our lap and we¡¯re just supposed to find a place for it?¡± Aranor chose that moment to add insult to injury as he quickly dumped out a sizeable pile of loot from his own storage ring as soon as he stepped inside the embassy. ¡°I can assure you the royal family will be very interested in seeing if you are willing to part with any four of the hound teeth.¡± Aranor said knowing the value the innate curse infused weapons could provide for one of the ranger commanders before he quickly took his leave. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡± Lexi said as she drew Ajax into a deep hug as soon as he placed the staff down. She then proceeded to lightly punch him in the stomach. ¡°What was that for?¡± Ajax complained as he rubbed him abdomen mostly out of habit rather than any pain. ¡°For making me lose one hundred gold to Arianwyn in a bet.¡± Lexi said as she ran her arm through his and pulled him deeper into the embassy. ¡°You got off cheap.¡± Alana joked. ¡°I think I''m going to lose twice that just making space for that thing.¡± ¡°Well that thing is easily worth fifty thousand gold so I wouldn¡¯t be complaining if I were you.¡± Ajax¡¯s words caused everyone to freeze, their eyes the size of dinner plates as they focused on the wrapped up staff. ¡°We could be convinced to pay twice that if you even think about selling it.¡± The prince was quick to back Ajax up in shocking everyone. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t just say that out loud.¡± Alana warily eyed everyone present, most of the people here with them strangers who were at the embassy and not part of their group. ¡°I doubt that¡¯s something someone is going to try and steal from here.¡± Ajax laughed as he imagined a thief trying to make a quick get away with the staff in hand. ¡°Is that a blacksmithing equipment set?¡± Silvia asked curiously. Once she was sure her son was fine she gave him a hug before starting to inspect the pile Aranor had left behind. ¡°Yeah, a really good one too.¡± Ajax said with a wry smile. ¡°Unfortunately we might need to sell or at least rent that out for a while. I doubt dad will be able to properly use it for a few decades.¡± With that Ajax joined his family and friends for a nice meal to relax for the evening. The prince had quickly excused himself to make a report to the king, once he returned he came with a royal order. ¡°Ajax, it''s official.¡± the prince said in a serious and official tone. ¡°The crafting use of [Empowering Restriction] can be shared.¡± Left unsaid was clearly that the other use of the skill was clearly off limits. The following day was the group''s final day in the capital so Arianwyn, her cousin, Elara and even the king and queen came to pay them a visit. Arianwyn and Elara would be joining them to the final dungeon but it was a very public endorsement of Gryndor for the king and queen to visit them at the embassy a day before they left. ¡°So this is it for you for now?¡± the king asked Ajax. ¡°For now.¡± Ajax agreed. ¡°Once I have time to get used to my increased Stats as well as practice my Skills some more as well I will be looking to push further than level one hundred and forty but that will be a couple of years I expect.¡± ¡°Is that really your staff?¡± Arianwyn¡¯s cousin asked after he spotted the wrapped up weapon. ¡°Well I remembered you telling me that any good mage had to have a staff, so I went and got one.¡± The prince nearly did a spit take as he heard that any mage needed a staff that big was laughable but for Arianwyn¡¯s cousin he simply nodded in understanding and agreement. Silvia and Alana both had the chance to negotiate with the king directly for a few of the spoils Ajax had managed to bring out of the dungeon. In the end the elves had ended up buying six of the hellhound teeth, not only that but Alana had also worked out a deal for House Hearthbound to work as an intermediary between Sylvanthal and whoever the smith that would end up buying or renting the smithing setup as well. ¡°Is that going to be an issue?¡± Ajax whispered to the prince as he pointed towards the corner of the room. In the corner of the room sitting closely together on an ornate loveseat were Xavier and Arianwyn, both of whom had had a little to drink that night and both of whom were getting along almost a little too well. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± the prince said with a sadistic grin as he imagined the headache this would cause his father and younger brother. He was truly glad not to be the one who needed to work out this potential political alchemical bomb. ¡°It¡¯ll end up being something really good, or a total disaster.¡± Chapter 435 Both Arianwyn and Xavier kept a bit of a distance between themselves as they set off from the capital. Nobody had said anything to either of them it''s just that without the social lubricant of alcohol they had a hard time figuring out how to approach one another. ¡°You could help them, you know.¡± Ajax whispered to Benedict, he was self aware enough to know that he didn¡¯t have the social skills to help. ¡°I would, but this is actually for the best.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°An official alliance and my relationship with Elara would already draw scrutiny from the other kingdoms, for them to actually have a shot they would need to wait at least until Arianwyn comes to Gryndor.¡± ¡°Also I think you should focus more on the other budding relationship.¡± Elara said teasingly. Elara was referring to Darkclaw and Alana. They hadn¡¯t known each other for long, more than that they had hardly spent any time together since Darkclaw had stayed at the Republic¡¯s embassy most of the time but they got along very well once the trip started. Unlike Arianwyn and Xavier, Alana and Darkclaw were chatting with each other and Ajax knew that leaving them to themselves was the best thing that he could do. While his relationship with Alana was years ago by this point he didn¡¯t want to be hovering over them with that past like a black cloud. ¡°Fine, you don¡¯t want to talk about that just yet.¡± Benedict read his silence perfectly. ¡°Let''s move on to your lack of storage.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t hide a wince at that accusation. He had commandeered one of the two worms that Alana and his mother had brought with them, most of that was the staff but there were a number of other items packed away that they had picked up during their delves that they simply ran out of room for in the storage rings they brought with them. ¡°Further investments into more spacial storage are already allocated.¡± Silvia reassured Benedict. Ajax had shared his Boon with his mother, Alana as well as Lexi, Xavier, Benedict and Anna. It was one of the few times he had seen Anna so shocked, it had taken her almost three minutes before she managed to take in the information. The following discussion with Alana and Silvia went much better as he explained that his weapon budget would need to expand exponentially once they returned to Gryndor, without his new Boon it would have been a very heavy anchor to tie to the House so early in their establishment as a duchy. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to get something of that size that has to be kept intact.¡± Ajax defended himself, he had managed to handle the massive bar of magical alloy for his father by all but giving up all the space in his own personal spacial ring. ¡°And it¡¯ll probably get worse.¡± Ajax very much expected that he will return to wearing a spacial enchanted backpack once again during his delves. Not because they are cheaper, the one he will be wearing will be even more expensive than spacial rings, but because they are much easier to enchant to truly massive sizes that are required for storing a couple mammoth size bodies. The trip to the next dungeon took about two weeks, while the distance wasn¡¯t that large now that they were in Sylvanthal there was no rush and they had briefly stopped for the night at a village or a city to rest. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. By the time they arrived at the dungeon the awkwardness between Arianwyn and Xavier had diminished to the point where they could talk to each other without issue as long as they weren¡¯t alone. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± the prince said as Ajax was fighting an internal struggle. ¡°But¡­¡± Ajax was cut off quickly. ¡°She hasn¡¯t done anything like that before, using such large amounts of mana takes practice, all you can do is watch.¡± the prince¡¯s argument put the nail in the coffin for Ajax¡¯s internal debate. Ajax had been thinking of letting Lexi use the staff to face the level seventy two miniboss on the third floor. He knew that she managed to fight similar levels before but maybe this could make it easier for her. ¡°Once we return to Gryndor from the Empire I very much encourage you in reaching out to Duke Manashaper about how to safely train with such amounts of mana.¡± the prince continued. ¡°Let me be very clear, an item like that is extremely valuable because it can take the pressure of wielding that much mana away from the caster, but in doing so it also makes it that much easier for you to hurt or even kill yourself with a spell.¡± Ajax was slightly reluctant but in the end he agreed with the prince that the staff would be best left with the convoy, he was sure that the worms had drawn the attention of more than one or two thieves but none of them should be stupid enough to try and steal from the group containing royalty of two different kingdoms. With that the group entered the dungeon. The first floor was quickly bypassed as nobody could gain anything from it, more than that everyone was comfortable in clearing the second floor regardless of what enemy it spawned so they took the first arch they found, the only difference from how they usually did things up until now was that Ajax was the one to kill the arch guardian so that he could bring the body of the bull outside. ¡°Do normal animals ever start feeling too small?¡± Ajax asked Aranor and the prince. The bull was maybe on the large side for the breed but by no means out of the ordinary compared to the domesticated animal, it was much stronger and the mana infused meat would have a much nicer flavour but the size was still normal. ¡°I can¡¯t help but compare it to the worm, and I know worms should be smaller than bulls.¡± Almost all of the monsters that could be of a threat to him were many times larger than he was, at least the ones he had seen here. That his latest fights included, an elephant sized hellhound, an ettin and a carnivorous worm that had no danger of choking when swallowing him whole didn¡¯t help. ¡°It¡¯s more of an issue for high level adventurers.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°We don¡¯t delve all that often. Your recent delving spree aside, it is always a risk for people like me to delve. While the chances that I might die in the dungeon even when delving at an appropriate floor are one in a hundred, if I do fall the capital could be wiped out.¡± ¡°This was something that I would have had to talk to you about once we returned but with your new Boon I don¡¯t see your delving slowing all that much from the monthly delve you did during your time at the Academy.¡± the prince said. ¡°I would usually do one delve a year and there have been years where I simply didn¡¯t delve.¡± ¡°At our level of skill there is nothing to be gained from constant delves.¡± Aranor continued. ¡°Not unless we are pushing ourselves into dangerous situations. While that would help with our level, the risk is simply unmanageable and unacceptable.¡± The second floor turned out to be a boon for Elara. The entire floor seemed to be a wide open field that was under the heaviest storm he had ever seen. Lightning flashed every few seconds and the roar of thunder was a constant companion. ¡°I¡¯m staying on this floor.¡± Elara had been on the floor for all of five minutes before she let everyone know. ¡°There is so much I can gain from this.¡± Unlike even the strongest natural storms in Sylvanthal this storm was perfectly accompanied by a heavy infusion of water, wind and lightning mana. Ajax could even feel pulses of Vibration mana every time the thunder cracked in the ears. Fighting the wind and water wielding predator birds was pretty easy for all of them, Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict all managed to take them out in short order. The ones that wielded Lightning were still a bit of an issue for both Xavier and Benedict who liked to get in close. ¡°I¡¯ll also stay here.¡± Benedict said once everyone cleared the floor. ¡°Even if she heavily outpowers the place she could still run out of mana if she¡¯s not careful.¡± ¡°But what about the next floor?¡± Elara was the first to object. ¡°I know I won¡¯t be killing a level seventy two.¡± Benedict shook his head. ¡°Xavier has a chance but until I grow my skills and my experience to match my new stats this is as far as I go.¡± Unlike previously they no longer had any rangers with them. They would be leaving them two of them alone, with their relationship status being what it was; this was a political problem. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with them.¡± Arianwyn volunteered. ¡°It might not be a blizzard but there is still quite a bit I can learn from a magical storm.¡± With that everyone else left the three of them as they entered the third floor of the dungeon. Chapter 436 The third floor of the dungeon had a Plant and Earth mana dominance with the presence of humanoids, what Ajax hadn¡¯t expected was that the humanoids would take the form of eight feet tall ents that could perfectly blend in with the jungle around them. ¡°This floor would be a death trap for anyone that has an appropriate level.¡± Anna said as she suppressed a shiver of delving into a floor like this without someone much higher level to watch over her. Ajax very much agreed with her, the normal way to deal with ambush predators was to take out their cover, cutting down the entire forest however would take months and trying to burn it all down would simply cause a swarm of enemies to overwhelm the party. Ajax was the first to clear the floor, he had no issues in dispatching a level seventy two but he did find that while the ents looked and fought like humanoids their bodies worked a lot more like plants. ¡°Taking out the head won¡¯t work.¡± Ajax cautioned Lexi, Anna and Xavier. ¡°It¡¯s almost like the head is there to act as bait, they have no functioning eyes, no functioning ears, no functioning nose.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t all that interested in biology back on Earth, he couldn¡¯t remember all the different names for every single plant or body part. Evolution was however something that had always fascinated him, not human evolution but animal and plant evolution in how each species changed to better adapt and survive. These ents clearly evolved a head to better balance the body and to act as bait. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about burning down the rest of the forest.¡± Aranor reassured Anna, ¡°Just make sure they won¡¯t trap you.¡± While the ents fought very much like regular physical fighters in terms of their body movement, to the point they even had armor and weapons made out of bark that were fused to their bodies, they also possessed the ability to surge their mana through any of the regular nearby trees to get them to move. Anna nodded with confidence as she stepped up, it wasn¡¯t hard for the prince to find where the ents were hidden so once Anna found one she wanted to fight she could take advantage of their predatory nature by starting with an attack the ent would surely feel but ignore in hopes of her not noticing its presence. The pillar of flames consumed the ent and the five regular trees that were surrounding, the flames were so bright that Xavier and Lexi didn¡¯t have the Perception to comfortably look directly at them. ¡°It¡¯s too bad these trees are all so healthy.¡± Ajax mentioned as he watched the fight. ¡°Hard for something that green with that much water to burn.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s an issue she is having.¡± Aranor pointed out. Ajax was surprised to see that the elven champion was right, Anna¡¯s flames were powerful enough that not only was the bark of the five trees flickering ablaze once the pillar of flames subsided but even some of the ent¡¯s body was still alight. More than that Anna was given the perfect chance to press her advantage. The ent¡¯s first move was to quickly reach for the trees near it but touching them had no effect, the trunks didn¡¯t lean one way or another, the branches didn¡¯t swing for Anna and the roots didn¡¯t snap up like tentacles to trap her. Stolen story; please report. The ent seemed stunned for a moment when nothing happened and that wasn¡¯t something Anna was going to miss. It¡¯s easy to think that [Pyromancer] only affected the flames but that wasn¡¯t quite right, it affected all fire type spells. The fiery explosion of Anna¡¯s fire bomb detonation was a shock to everyone present, including Anna herself. ¡°She seems fine, and she has a moment to recover.¡± The prince said after they watched Anna get thrown off her feet by the blast, that same blast had also sent the ent flipping head over heels backwards until it struck the trunk of a tree fifty feet away. ¡°That was quite the explosion, I am surprised it didn¡¯t even try to dodge.¡± ¡°It¡¯s spell didn¡¯t work¡± Ajax said, his casting style being very similar to that of most monsters that he understood that sometimes things like that could happen unlike when using chants or runes. ¡°I think the burnt bark doesn¡¯t let their Skill worm to channel their mana into the trees and it was shocked by the outcome.¡± Whatever these ents were they clearly acted humanoid even if their bodies worked like plants. Anna had managed to get to her feet but by then the ent was already charging for her with its shield held un high.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they can feel pain either.¡± Ajax mentioned as he pointed to the still flickering flames that covered one of the ents legs. ¡°It didn¡¯t even try to put it out.¡± Anna was much more careful with her second fire bomb, the not only was the power slightly diminished but she made sure to partially hide herself behind a tree trunk to weather part of the blast. More than that she had also picked up on the ents inability to control trees that were covered in burnt bark so she started building up her flaming defenses in such a way that the trees around her were all set ablaze. The ent was already starting to slow down, its body starting to break down as the outer layers of its bark covered form started crumbling to ash as Anna continued to keep up an unending shower of flames. Despite her vastly inferior physical stats Anna had long ago learnt that the best way to make up for not investing in her physical stats was to perfect her positioning. Her increased physical stats following the delving spree made repositioning that much easier as her body flowed naturally and traversing the terrain didn¡¯t distract her from her opponent. It was those smarts that cost Anna in the end, she had ensured that there was always a tree trunk between her and ent being sure that it couldn¡¯t be used against her. When the ent stuck its spear straight into the tree she was caught completely off guard as the trees blazing branches swept around and not only broke her flaming shields but also her enchanted shield before sending her flying while breaking the arm that took the brunt of the impact and cracking a few ribs behind it as well. ¡°These are still level seventy trees, the outside might char but the inside is still healthy.¡± Aranor nodded calmly as he simply analyzed the fight as everyone else started to panic slightly. ¡°Their ability to control them remains if they can break past the layer of char, since their weapons are fused with them it also allows them to channel their mana directly.¡± Anna¡¯s lucky break came from her strategy panning out at the right time. While the ents trees might not function the same way normal humanoids did that didn¡¯t change that their bodies still moved in the same way from a mechanical point. While her flames affected the entirety of the ents body she was careful to focus as much damage as she could into the joints. The ents left knee giving out completely and the leg detaching right as it launched forward after the tree knocked Anna to one side. Seeing the state of the ent Anna knew it was on its last legs and didn¡¯t hesitate to launch a fire bomb as powerful as she could make before also rolling behind another tree trunk to cover herself from the blast. The explosion was so violent that Aranor had created a shield to protect Lexi and Xavier from the blast as it would have reached the group as well. ¡°You did it¡± Lexi ran towards her best friend as soon as Anna got up and started to hobble towards them, marking the fight as finished. ¡°It could¡­ caught¡­ could have won.¡± Anna weakly coughed out some blood, her body clearly dealing with internal damage following the impact of the tree branches. Despite her damaged body her spirit as a battle mage was clearly upset. ¡°If it used the roots to entangle me instead of swatting me it could have won.¡± Lexi and Xavier took her warning to heart. Out of all of them Anna had the best match-up against the ents by far and she still only won because of a wrong choice made by the creature. ¡°Let me know if you see one with flowers.¡± Ajax said, after he started healing Anna with Life and Light mana, distracting everyone from the tense moment. ¡°Why do you want one with flowers?¡± Aranor asked with a frown while Lexi blushed a little thinking the flowers were for her. ¡°If I kill it I can take the body, flowers should have seeds and I want to see if I can get one to grow.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°What? what¡¯s that look for?¡± Lexi covered her embarrassment by turning around and walking away from him without another word. ¡°What did I do?¡± Ajax asked confused. ¡°I think you should get her some flowers after we''re done here.¡± Xavier suggested. Chapter 437 Xavier chose to lean into his hybrid fighting style for his fight while depriving the ents of their own. The prince and Aranor had deforested a large area before Xavier started his fight with a ranged attack after which he retreated. Without any trees to use for their magic the ent fell back on its reliable fighting style, the only issue was that without the option of using trees the ent¡¯s fighting style was fairly linear, this made it a child''s play for Xavier to use his Legendary fighting style to perfectly dodge every single attack thrown at him. The few times the ent did manage to connect an attack it was always a glancing blow that Xavier chose to take on his own terms without leaving himself open to any follow up. The fight ended up taking three times longer than Anna¡¯s and Xavier was almost out of mana by the end, despite all this his victory was much cleaner and he had taken far less damage than Anna did. The final person to clear the floor was Lexi and she wasn¡¯t holding back. Her Destruction Domain was not ideal for fighting the ents seeing as they had both enough durability to survive her initial attacks and were physical based fighters which meant the fight was essentially over if they ever got in melee range or Lexi. Lexi learnt from Anna¡¯s fight and ensured that she charred the outside of all the trees inside of her Domain before she engaged the ent. More than that she had done so by walking up to each tree individually and touching it to set it ablaze. This led the ent to a false sense of security that allowed Anna to finish her preparations. Lexi started the fight with a fire attack, the element was clearly the optimal option for fighting ents. Unlike Anna however her flames weren¡¯t backed by a Legendary Skill so they were far less effective. This was easily offset by Lexi¡¯s use of VIbration mana, every time the ent got within twenty paces of her it was blasted away by a strong shockwave. It didn¡¯t take long for the ent to die, about halfway between Anna¡¯s and Xavier¡¯s battle duration. What was surprising was that despite Lexi being almost out of mana by the end of the fight and having used a potion to empower her spells she had perfectly controlled the fight, to the point where she hadn¡¯t taken a single hit. It took a while for Ajax to scour the floor but he did eventually find an ent that had flowers alongside leaves, and more importantly seeds. ¡°Do you expect anything to come of those?¡± Aranor asked him as he watched Ajax carefully collect the seeds. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll be able to actually grow ents.¡± Ajax admitted as he carefully collected as many seeds as he could. ¡°But I am pretty sure I can get these seeds to take root and grow for a while before the small tree inevitably dies before the ent ever awakens.¡± ¡°What would be the point?¡± Aranor asks. ¡°Look at how these trees are affecting the soil here.¡± Ajax pointed all around. ¡°It''s harder to feel since the dungeon floods every element of the floor with mana but these trees seem to contain the mana into the ground. I am hoping they are the answer to speeding up the formation of a high mana infused soil from the fertilizer I have.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The following floor was a walk in the park for Ajax, Darkclaw and even Harold. Unlike everyone else from Gryndor Harold¡¯s stat increases were a lot lower as a portion of his total stats so he was having an easier time adapting to them. For his final floor of the dungeon Ajax had turned out unlucky. While the dominant element for the floor was Earth Ajax hadn¡¯t expected the monster to be Earth golems made of basic rocks. The fight against the level one hundred and twenty eight felt a bit disappointing to Ajax following on the heels of his battle with the hellhound and the ettin. The golem far surpassed Ajax in durability and sheer strength but it was simply not quick enough to keep up with Ajax. More than that the golem was particularly susceptible to Vibration Mana. By the end of the fight Ajax¡¯s hammer had also crumbled from the amount of degradation it suffered from [Mana Augmentation] had pushed through it. ¡°Would one hundred gold coins be enough for the body?¡± Aranor asked once the fight was over. One hundred gold was a little on the low end considering that the rocks were still infused with a level one hundred and twenty eight worth of mana, Ajax nevertheless was quick to accept the deal. Out here in the middle nowhere where the dungeon was located finding a buyer would have been nearly impossible, more than that he simply didn¡¯t have the space to transport the rocks elsewhere so Aranor buying them up was essentially free money for him. Since there were only five floors that had to be cleared the group hadn¡¯t even needed to set up camp inside the dungeon, they had spent a good eighteen hours inside but they had finished the dungeon before fatigue got a chance to play a factor. Ajax was do so quickly in fact that he ended up coming out ahead of Arianwyn, Elara and Benedict. Elara had really taken her time soaking in the feeling of the storm, the three of them had taken longer to exit the dungeon than the prince and Aranor took to clear the sixth floor. ¡°How was it?¡± Aranor asked one the three exited the dungeon. ¡°It was truly something else.¡± Elara beamed as she gushed about the experience. This was the first true storm Elara had experienced following gaining her Domain, the storm inside the dungeon dwarfed anything that had appeared in the last few milenia on the outside and more than that it was also infused with mana. This provided Elara with the perfect opportunity to learn about her Domain and where she should focus to improve over the next few years. ¡°So this is goodbye.¡± Lexi said as she gave both Elara and Arianwyn a hug. ¡°Not for long.¡± Arianwyn assured her. ¡° We¡¯ll be coming to Gryndor in half a year at most.¡± Despite only knowing each other for about half a year to everyone except the prince and Aranor it seemed like so much longer. Their delving circuit was something unheard of in living memory but it was looking like it will become the start of a new trend for nobility as they wrestle to keep their raw stat superiority over commoners following the widespread information of Ajax¡¯s methods and the increased ability to delve and clear floors for regular adventurers that comes with it. Following the dungeon the group was splitting up into three. Arianwyn, Elara and Aranor would head back towards Sylvanthal¡¯s capital. Ajax along with everyone else from Gryndor will tag along with Alana and Silvia as they lead their merchant caravan back to Gryndor. Finally Darkclaw would join an escort that was sent to meet him here and head straight for the capital of the Republic. ¡°Take a few days to relax.¡± The prince advised Ajax once they got back on the road. ¡°What why?¡± Ajax was already eager to start his training. ¡°Your stats give you the ability to push through the fatigue on very little rest and the immediacy of the next challenge pushed your mind to keep ready.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Your next delve will be in the Empire but that journey alone would take almost three months. For the last half a year you¡¯ve been traveling from dungeon to dungeon tackling them every few weeks. Before that you had the tournament and before that there was another round of fast delving. You need time to let yourself recover.¡± Ajax¡¯s initial instinct was to reject the advice. His body was feeling better than it ever had, but he noticed that the instinct to reject the advice came from the mentality that he needed to push as far as he could in a short period of time in order to not lose out on an opportunity. Ajax¡¯s mind had been running on fumes for a while now kept on track by the immediacy of the next challenge. He accepted the prince¡¯s advice and chose to take a few days to simply relax and catch up with his mother and Alana. This was a perfect chance for him to finally find out everything that had happened back in Gryndor over the last year. Chapter 438 While Ajax was relaxing and taking a well deserved break the same could not be said about his brother. After finishing his term with the guard Tom had become a lot more politically savvy by necessity. Even now he was attending court in the royal palace as the representative of House Hearthbound. ¡°Your Majesty, you must reconsider.¡± One of the newer Baron families cried out. ¡°The training method for the youth should be refined by the nobility before it is spread throughout the kingdom to the commoners.¡± The Baron¡¯s words did nothing to convince anyone that he in any way cared about the commoners or that he believed the ideas he spouted with such ¡®conviction¡¯. ¡°That decision is already set in stone.¡± the king refuted the attempt. ¡°We are here to discuss other changes that are coming.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, are you sure it is wise to raise House Hearthbound from Baron straight to Duke.¡± Another noble changed the subject. For one it was something Tom very much agreed with, his family wasn¡¯t ready to settle one of the larger compounds in the capital with anything more than a bare bones crew. ¡°House Hearthbound must be amongst one of the ducal houses, their contribution to the greater good are remarkable.¡± Tom would have been a lot more flattered by the remarks had he not realised that the noble was an ass kisser through and through and was now looking for a new master to provide him with benefits. News that they were going to be raised to landed dukes had spread like a wildfire through dry grass. This in turn had caused a few issues for them, especially Judy. Though she might not even admit it to herself, the reason why Judy pushed so hard to make the company a success was that she felt afraid of ending up like her mother had been when they lived in Open Caves. Judy had been the only one to see her mothers passion die slowly day by day. Tom had seen her raising young children so she was too preoccupied to focus on anything else and Ajax had been so tunnel focused on his training he had missed the signs. Once they were finally well established in the capital Judy was finally able to let loose, so she naturally started the rebellious phase she skipped during her teen years. This manifested itself in the form of flirting with some of the more interesting noble boys she came across. The discovery of the duchy had been the beginning of the end for Judy. Every single noble son she had interacted with was now being pressured by their elders to get close to her. ¡°We need to stop bickering amongst ourselves and start preparing for our foreign guests.¡± Duke Manashaper¡¯s voice cut through the noise despite the gentle yet strong tone he used. ¡°This is our chance to make history, for the first time in millenia humanoids are taking a step forward in evolution.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Court was going to be held well into the night but none of the topics were all that interesting to Tom. Having done his job as a representative Tom quietly departed from the royal palace and instead started to head towards their growing fields and the forest beyond them to look for his bond. Over the years Fluffy had finally reached his full height when he was about the size of an average horse. Unlike Tom, Fluffy hadn¡¯t branched out into politics and had remained a regularly active predator that roamed the borders of the forest. One time he even dragged home a broken and slightly chewed body of a bear. Once he collected his bond he quickly returned to their current estate. Not much had changed on the inside but there was a massive change when one looked at the outer edges of the Villa. Dotted all around were carefully crafted statues all from some mana infused rock. Tom quickly found his father, sister as well as Hatchet and Luna in one of the tea rooms as they were called. ¡°Is it going any better?¡± he asks his sister though he already expects that not much had changed in her situation. ¡°We¡¯ve got some news.¡± Judy sprang at the distraction from the disaster that was her suitors. ¡°Dad, look we¡¯re getting out home back.¡± The message that Ajax had sent them shared which portion of the kingdom House Hearthbound would rule over. ¡°It would be good to return.¡± Hatchet said with a nod as he stroked the thick beard that had grown in. ¡°I wonder if there is anything left of Open Caves, did someone rebuild or was it left as it was, a destroyed town carrying with it the horrifying memory of what happened that night when the lizards descended on the village.¡± As he spoke Hatchet was massaging his arm subconsciously reliving the moment he had lost his original arm, the movements were so small that they could only be there to ensure that the regrown arm was there and not just a figment of his imagination. ¡°He¡¯ll finally be held accountable.¡± Sam said referring to the foolish young noble who triggered the lizard migration by steeling one of the eggs. ¡°This can¡¯t be right.¡± Luna said as she took a look at the map Judy had spread out. ¡°You have control over a dungeon?¡± Up until now dungeons had always been owned by crown, they all wondered why the were being given official ownership of the dungeon and what responsibilities they were going to get along with the reward. The person most pleased by how things were going was King Gryndor. The man was old and starting a year ago he had started feeling his power and prowess decline as time passed. The feeling of passing on the throne and leaving Gryndor in the best position they had ever been in. It was too long after Tom had made his hasty exit that the king followed suit, right now everything was going his way but he had too much experience to think that it would last. More than that he was starting to get worried about whatever it was that the beastkin were planning, he very much hoped that their dreams of expansion would head outwards into the wastelands rather than inwards and towards dominating his peers. Unfortunately for the king he simply didn¡¯t have the time to personally focus on the beastkin. He had enough going in between solidifying the alliance with Sylvanthal, keeping everything peaceful at home in regards to Ajax¡¯s promotion to duke. Finally both the Empire and the Republic had started to reach out to him to enquire about getting on the delving exchange. The king had quickly replied to both nations with noncommittal answers. The ones sent to the Republic were a lot more honest but King Gryndor was unwill to cement any deal until he saw how the first attempt turned out. Or rather this would be the second attempt as Ajax was the first to do this but he didn¡¯t feel it would be fair or accurate to use Ajax as the comparison for all who came after. It wouldn¡¯t be long until Ajax returned and the king was looking forward not only to see how much he had grown over the course of his journey but also because he couldn¡¯t wait to see how Ajax would manage a duchy. It was easy to always give the ¡®correct¡¯ answer in a hypothetical in class and another thing entirely to make decisions on the spot that could completely change the direction of their lives. ¡°Only a few more weeks.¡± the king whispered to himself with a wide smile. Chapter 439 Ajax was surprised how tired he had felt for the first week where he stopped his training. He spent most of the day sleeping as his body recovered, with Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict doing much the same. Harold had only needed a couple of days to recover but he was older and more experienced with such things as he had spent time at the border with the Wild lands. Once he had finally recovered, his mother and Alana decided it was time to bring him up to speed on what he could expect when he got back to Gryndor. ¡°A lot will have changed since we left.¡± Silvia warned him. ¡°When we left the news that you would become a Duke upon your return was only a rumor and even then it wouldn¡¯t be a landed Duke.¡± ¡°It¡¯s honestly a good thing that you are heading straight to the Empire.¡± the prince said, drawing everyone''s attention. ¡°You will get your title and your lands as we stop by the capital, you¡¯ll have a few days at best to handle the most pressing issues yourself before your family can start the relocation to your new homestead.¡± The idea was simple but it basically allowed Ajax and his family to skirt a lot of the political fuss that came with his new title. Under normal circumstances Ajax would have been expected to spend time in the capital following his ascension in title while his family established a manor in their territory. With his trip to the Empire Ajax can simply bypass his time handling the politics of the capital and return from the Empire straight to his own lands where his family would have finished the initial steps to start actively managing their territory. ¡°Are you sure it''s wise to grant him a Dungeon?¡± Anna asked with a note of concern. ¡°Even if managed fairly it will still cause endless complaining.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the best of all the bad options we have.¡± The prince said with a sigh. ¡°By strictly enforcing his fair management of the dungeon we hope to keep the nobility squabbling over his management of that instead of on the absurd amount of targeted resources he will be pulling out of it with his new Boon.¡± Ajax¡¯s ability to somewhat predict floor combined with his Boon wouldn¡¯t be something that he could keep to just his family, it was simply too polarising, not just because of what it could mean for House Hearthbound but because of how it would affect the high end goods market in the kingdom and the power relationship between noble houses. It wouldn¡¯t be anything all that drastic immediately but the smart nobles thought in terms of centuries down the line. ¡°Won¡¯t they notice the deception?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s not like we are trying to cover it from everyone.¡± His mother explained as she quickly caught on to what the plan was. ¡°You already have a good relationship with a number of important noble Houses as well as the royal family. They will know what is going on and will help you keep things under wraps in exchange for some more favorable terms in any deals we will make with them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we expect this to work long term.¡± the prince admitted. ¡°We are just trying to buy you time to get established, there is a good chance my brother will ask you to start accepting requests for somewhat targeted goods in a decade or so openly from most high end noble houses.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that. On the one hand he didn¡¯t like that he would be socially pressured to share his ability like that, on the other hand he could understand why someone possessing such an ability, even if earned entirely through the hard work of the person, couldn¡¯t be allowed to hoard it. ¡°The noble houses were already divided in their opinion of you even before you finished the academy.¡± Benedict mentioned. ¡°I think it speaks highly that most of the ones whose members you interacted with regularly during your time at the academy support you. But that still leaves almost half the nobles in the kingdom being hostile to a commoner of your strength being raised into the ranks of the nobility as an independent.¡± ¡°The lands you are being given will also exacerbate the issue.¡± the prince said. ¡°The Barons and Viscount that rule there have had numerous issues of abusing their people in subtle and not so subtle ways in the last century or so.¡± ¡°Are you so sure that I¡¯ll be better?¡± Ajax asked as he digested the information. From the odd looks he was receiving from everyone around him Ajax clarified. ¡°I don¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t try to be better but I don¡¯t know how to rule a duchy, a good intention can sometimes lead to a worse outcome.¡± Ajax knew that the royal family was taking a huge risk by backing him like this, to the point that they are very well risking a civil uprising if things go wrong. He very much intended to repay their trust in him but at the same time he also wanted to ensure that the people he would end up ruling over would have their lives improved. ¡°There is no need to be so worried about all this.¡± the prince smiled. ¡°It will take you a while before you change your outlook on life but it''s important that you understand there won¡¯t be so much pressure coming on you so soon. For all your power you still show your age.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You think that everything has to go perfectly right away.¡± The prince shook his head. ¡°When you think of the future you look at the next decade, that is one of the things that will have to change. A decade is the short term.¡± ¡°Ajax, this is one of the flaws that the nobles who disagree with your rise are right and something you will have to work on.¡± Lexi said as she took his arm. ¡°You are not yet twenty five years old but with the amount of Vitality you already have and the amount you are sure to gain in the future you will rule your lands for the next two millenia.¡± Lexi''s words broke through to Ajax and he froze as he tried to process the scale they were talking about. As much of an advantage as his life on Earth had been for Ajax so far, it had also came with the downside of rooting his mindset from the beginning in the short life of humans. Two thousand years was something Ajax could understand logically but not something he could fully appreciate, the advances in technology that were made in the last two hundred years on Earth when he¡¯d lived there certainly didn¡¯t help. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why you¡¯re granting him his own title like this.¡± Harold¡¯s words drew a number of glares, some so sharp that he raised his hands in surrender. ¡°What I mean is why not grant him the title under his relationship with Lady Manashaper.¡± Harold did have a solid point. Had Ajax married into house Manashaper none of the nobles would have had any serious issues. It was a long standing tradition that generational talents would usually be bound by marriage into the nobility, their issues were with Ajax being granted the title without any tie to an existing family. ¡°It is paramount that Ajax is able to make decisions for himself, that is the reason.¡± The prince instantly disagreed. ¡°Had Ajax simply joined another House instead of being granted his own he wouldn¡¯t have been the head of the House and it risked too much.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Lexi said as she squeezed Ajax¡¯s hand in her own. ¡°You won¡¯t be dealing with this by yourself.¡± Lexi was quick to pick up on Ajax¡¯s worries and was quick to reassure him. While she knew that there was no way she was going to catch up to him in terms of combat power she was confident in her ability to help him as a newly landed Duke. ¡°You¡¯ll also be mostly dealing with the big picture.¡± Alana cut in. ¡°Tom¡¯s started to prepare himself to take up the role of mayor for the city your estate would neighbour.¡± Alana¡¯s words were the ones that brought most comfort to Ajax, he had a lot of ideas about how he could improve things from his Earth knowledge but putting it all into practice was not something he saw going well. Giving the idea and having someone else who better understood how to implement it would work out much better and free up his time to continue pushing himself as a fighter and as an alchemist. ¡°Of course you first have to deal with the royal court for a few days once you arrive and are granted the title.¡± the prince said, his kind smile shifting to his trademarked smirk. Chapter 440 The trip back to Gryndor started as a much needed break and than turned into a slow return to his regular on the road training for Ajax. It was now the seventh week and Ajax was starting to get a little stir-crazy, they had entered Gryndor a couple of days ago and were only now approaching the capital. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about getting you some flying transportation.¡± Xavier said as he picked up on Ajax¡¯s state. ¡°It can wait until after our territory is well established.¡± Alana cut in. Xavier nodded, thinking the reason for her delay was that Ajax would be too far away to manage his own lands and not the devastating blow obtaining a flying mount that could travel long distances would be. Alana was planning to delay so that Ajax would first build up their treasury before he started with anything too expensive. ¡°You can take the rest of the day to settle in but my father would like to see you at first light tomorrow.¡± the prince said as they passed through the city gates. ¡°You¡¯ll only be in the capital for a week before we head towards the empire so you¡¯ll receive your title tomorrow in open court.¡± With that everyone went their own way once they entered the inner noble section of the city. As they neared the Hearthbound estate Ajax had his eyes fixed on the two large feline statues that now anchored either side of the main gate. While the amount of detail left a little to be desired by Duke standards it was more than made up for by the quality of the stone they were chiseled from, Ajax would place the stone at around level sixty and he knew that it would be further reinforced by his Life mana should they be animated. Past the gates the carriage circled the large fountain inside the inner courtyard before stopping and letting Ajax get off. Flanking either side of the carriage door in straight lines all the way to the door of the mansion were retainers House Hearthbound had hired over the last years. Ajax recognised most of them though there were a few towards the middle that he didn¡¯t recognise, some of the more recent recruits. Being received like this made Ajax feel more like a noble than all the fancy parties he went to in all this time. So naturally the picture perfect ceremonious welcome was quickly shattered by a Shadow cat leaping down from the third story window, landing cleanly on the ground before leaping towards Ajax. ¡°Fluffy no!¡± Tom¡¯s voice could be heard from the open window but his bond didn¡¯t pay any attention to it. Fluffy¡¯s growth had hit its peak in the last year and had only now started slowing down as the shadow cat reached level seventy. The now adult shadow cat could still progress and was nowhere near its peak but its growth would now be a lot slower. ¡°I missed you too, big guy.¡± Much to Fluffy¡¯s shock despite all its growth Ajax still had no problem manhandling him. The doors of the mansion opened and Sam, Tom, Judy, Kate, Aurora and Elija were all there walking towards Ajax. They all took turns hugging Ajax, Silvia and Alana welcoming them back home. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°What is that?¡± Judy was the first to move on from the greetings as she pointed to the massive staff that was wrapped up and taking almost all the space on the back of one of the worms. ¡°That is now the most valuable possession of our House.¡± Ajax declared with a challenging grin, daring his sister to complain about it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure.¡± Judy chimed with a triumphant tone before bringing out a purple crystal the size of a ping pong ball. ¡°This little beauty cost me ten thousand gold coins and even that is because I don¡¯t think anyone knew what the affinity was.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes widened as they greedily took in the sight of the large Void crystal, from the mana density he could sense that it had come from a level ninety dungeon floor. Considering the issues he was running into with his gauntlet this would be the perfect base for a new hammer specifically made not just to be able to handle his Void attacks but by specialising to only one affinity it would even amplify them. Seeing the gift his sister had gotten for him Ajax didn¡¯t have the heart to ruin her excitement, the same could not be said for Alana who put her arm around her friends shoulder and leaned close before stage whispering loudly enough that everyone could hear. ¡°There is a standing offer of one hundred thousand gold as the starting bid for that.¡± ¡°...¡± Judy was left staring at the large bundle slack jawed with everyone else who heard Alana. ¡°What ¡­ What is it?¡± ¡°That is the first heirloom of house Hearthbound.¡± Ajax declared loudly enough for everyone to hear clearly. ¡°Before that it was the staff of a level one hundred and ten ettin.¡± The welcoming moved on from that point to a more thorough inspection of all the spoils Ajax had managed to collect throughout all of the delves. Most of them were passed on to Alana and Judy with a directive to sell them or to Aurora and Elija for the pieces they wanted to have looked over by skilled crafters. ¡°You did well boy.¡± Sam patted Ajax on the back, Ajax¡¯s frame was now too tall for Sam to comfortably wrap his arm over his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t think I forgot about you.¡± Ajax said with a grin as he headed towards his father¡¯s smithy. Ajax took great pleasure in watching his father¡¯s eyes bulge more and more as he slowly took out the high level smithing equipment he took from the harpies. ¡°This ¡­ this is too much.¡± Sam said as he took it all in, he then let out a deep sigh. ¡°It¡¯s also not something I can use, it¡¯ll be for the best if we sell it for now.¡± While Sam didn¡¯t have the talent required to use mana he had spent enough time around Ajax as a child and Kate after Ajax departed to develop [Detect Mana], even with his low skill level and his much newer [Blacksmith¡¯s Eye] he could tell that he was still a long way from being able to even use all of this. ¡°We won¡¯t be selling it.¡± Ajax reassured his father, he could feel the reluctance in his father¡¯s words. ¡°We¡¯ll be renting it out until you¡¯re able to use it. To help you get there I got you this.¡± With that Ajax dropped the massive alloy bar right outside the smithy. The weight of the ingot was too much and the whole bar sunk a good four inches into the earth before it finally stopped. ¡°This is perfect.¡± Sam exclaimed as he examined the ingot, the alloy and mana density were at the upper limit of what he could currently use and a perfect place for him to push his skill further. ¡°There¡¯s enough here that¡¯ll be at least a year before I use it all.¡± The family spent the rest of the evening relaxing together, Ajax had told them all that he would be named a landed Duke tomorrow as well as the initial outline of the plan for them to start the move to their new lands during his time in the Empire. Everyone agreed that it was something they could start worrying about and planning for tomorrow, that tonight was a small welcome home party. The following morning Ajax was standing outside the royal palace before the first rays of dawn. The guards wasted no time asking Ajax why he was there, they had been clearly expecting him and quickly ushered him inside and towards the smaller and more private throne room he had visited before. As he entered the room Ajax took in everyone who was present. The king, the queen, the crown prince and the king¡¯s eldest son were all expected. Unexpected were Archduke Goldmancer, Archduke Steelblade, Archduke Silvertongue and Duke Manashaper. ¡°Ajax, you¡¯ve finally made it.¡± Duke Manashaper welcomed him with a hug. Having worked on researching the magnetic affinity with Ajax as well as the blossoming relationship between Ajax and Lexi, the Duke had become rather familiar with Ajax. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve gotten a chance to rest.¡± ¡°Now, that we¡¯re all here we can begin.¡± The king cut their reunion short and prepared to start the early meeting he had called them all here for. Chapter 441 The meeting began with a quick recount of Ajax¡¯s exploits during his trip, his gaining two Legendary affinities drew a lot of attention and from the composed look Duke Manashaper wore Lexi had already told him about that beforehand. More than that however what draws their attention is the amount of dungeon floors Ajax has cleared. ¡°There have been a handful who have cleared one hundred dungeon floors, so we know that there is no Achievement but what about one hundred and fifty?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. Ajax was still a little wary of the archduke''s Steelblade and Silvertongue, unlike Goldmancer Ajax had only met the two of them a couple of times in the past and while they were backing him their relationship wasn¡¯t as close as the one he had with the Goldmancer family. ¡°There is no point in getting into hypotheticals.¡± the crown prince cut off the tangent. ¡°We will find out when he gets there. ¡°This meeting was called for another reason.¡± ¡°Then why recount his exploits?¡± Silvertongue argued amiably. ¡°Because they affect the situation at hand.¡± the king said. ¡°I have to admit I never expected him to try a floor boss.¡± With that he explained Ajax¡¯s solo fight with the ettin. Hearing that Ajax took on an ettin more than twice his level left all of them staring at him wondering if he wasn¡¯t crazy. ¡°What were the rewards?¡± Archduke Steelblade was the one who asked. ¡°First is the one I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all already heard rumours about.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°The ettin¡¯s staff could be taken out of the dungeon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what was wrapped up?¡± Archduke Goldmancer became much more animated. Ajax went on to explain the staff¡¯s effects. Unlike what he expected, the four high nobles took the staff¡¯s effects in stride. ¡°That is certainly a powerful heirloom for your House.¡± Duke Manashaper praised. ¡°I would caution you about relying on it too much, however. What was the achievement?¡± It was the prince who explained what the achievement for killing a floor boss twice your level was, though he made sure to leave out even the small guesses he had made about what Ajax¡¯s reward Trait had been. He then also explained all the other Achievements they found out about. ¡°This has the potential to be an unmitigated disaster.¡± Archduke Silvertongue was the first to break the silence that lasted for a few minutes after the prince finished the explanation. ¡°We¡¯re all but forced to form an expedition to attempt a forty something team to kill a floor boss but one saboteur and we could lose the most talented young combatants of the next generation.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how we can pass that up, risky as it is.¡± Archduke Steelblade said. ¡°This is where the staff becomes much more relevant.¡± Ajax said, drawing their attention back to him. ¡°In theory before I reach level fifty five I could take nine people with me and have them power my opening spell with all their mana and stamina before killing the floor boss in a one on one. It¡¯s possible the System wouldn¡¯t count it because of my solo Achievement but it''s just as likely that it would.¡± Ajax very much expected that the System wouldn¡¯t allow such a big loophole , still he was more than willing to play into the possibility in order to secure even a short period of peace and prosperity for his new territory.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The next thirty minutes were spent strategizing how to best rope in the most influential Houses into silencing their objections to Ajax¡¯s duchy and title. ¡°You do know you¡¯ll have to at least propose before my granddaughter can join you at your new estate.¡± Duke Manashaper¡¯s Aura pressed down menacingly on Ajax¡¯s shoulders for a brief moment. ¡°I was already planning for it.¡± Ajax said honestly, he was planning to propose on their return from the Empire. Duke Manashaper gave a nod of agreement and dropped the topic before the crown prince moved on to the next. ¡°This brings us to the next volatile topic.¡± the crown prince announced. ¡°Ajax¡¯s lands will upset the already fragile balance of landed nobles in Gryndor. To counteract this we will have to expand our borders and a few landed nobles, including some of you here, will need to move their borders to adapt.¡± A chill so cold it could jumpstart an ice age ran down Ajax¡¯s back as he heard the proposal. He made no effort to hide the dread that came over him for a moment at those words. ¡°What¡¯s wrong boy?¡± Duke Manashaper was quick to pick up on Ajax¡¯s reaction. ¡°You need to be careful when expanding.¡± Ajax barely whispered the warning but everyone heard it clearly. ¡°Of course we will be careful.¡± Despite Archduke Steelblade¡¯s respect for Ajax he still scoffed at Ajax¡¯s fear of expansion when he hadn¡¯t yet even set foot on the border to the Wild Lands. ¡°While expansion can be dangerous its not that scary, we know for a fact the beastkin had started a few decades ago back when we still had spies reporting back with frequent updates.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the monsters that trouble me.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°It''s the ascended races.¡± ¡°Scary and powerful as they may be, dragons and phoenixes have been felled before by powerful expeditions.¡±Archduke Goldmancer tried to reassure Ajax. ¡°Some of the most powerful heirlooms of the nobles come from their remains.¡± ¡°A battle during an expedition wouldn¡¯t break the agreement.¡± Ajax jerked his head in short movements signifying his disagreement. ¡°Invading the territory of an Ascended race while expanding the kingdom could result in the doom of Gryndor.¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± The king unconsciously used his social skills on Ajax for a moment before he restrained himself and gave him a brief apologetic look before motioning for him to speak. Ajax went on to explain the short history lesson the dragon had given him all those years ago and how he had come to learn of it as well. None of them would have believed Ajax if it wasn¡¯t for their truth telling skills, all saying he believed every word. The crown prince excused himself for a moment to send a few servants to the library to fetch every single recorded instance of an ascended race attacking humanoids they had. ¡°They¡¯re all toying with us?¡± Anger and frustration could be heard in Archduke Steelblade¡¯s voice as he finished digesting the news. ¡°You met a dragon!¡± Duke Manashaper was focused on a completely different aspect. ¡°Were you able to get a glimpse into their magic? Did you manage to recreate any of it?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not.¡± Ajax''s answer, while disappointing, did nothing to dampen the excitement Duke Manashaper felt. ¡°I have to say that there is quite a lot of support for agreement to be real.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said, his eyes unfocused as he tried his hardest to remember conversations he had long ago looking for facts he had initially dismissed as not important. ¡°And what evidence is that?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. ¡°The ruins.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said. ¡°Almost every ruin that could belong to previous humanoids bears a long scar of rampant destruction coming from the direction where ascended races are thought to reside. We always wondered why they would stop with one kingdom or empire and leave the rest to live but with the agreement it makes sense that they are only targeting the kingdom that overstepped.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the time or the information to hold this discussion.¡± the king¡¯s eldest son said with finality. ¡°It will take time to comb through our records and Ajax¡¯s time in court quickly approaches, as important as this revelation is now is not the time.¡± ¡°Do you have anything from the dragon?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked, out of all the nobles here he was the one most dubious of the encounter. Not because he thought Ajax a liar but because he knew how easy it could be to confuse a young boy of only ten right after a horrifying incident like being kidnapped by a vampire. Ajax¡¯s eyes instantly darted to the gauntlet on his hand before they went to the eldest prince. The prince was the only one who knew how he managed to avoid destroying his weapons through his casting style but he had always remained silent on anything regarding the gauntlet. ¡°That¡¯s where you got it!¡± It gave Ajax great satisfaction as he saw him put the pieces together, the prince¡¯s eyes wide with a look of realization. Ajax could only give a helpless shrug in return but made sure to flash a grin reminiscent of the one the prince always gave him when he got one over on him. ¡°This has been a most enlightening discussion, much more than I had first thought it would be.¡± the king said before everyone could focus on exactly what item the prince was referring to. ¡°Nevertheless we don¡¯t have the time to continue today, Ajax¡¯s rise to a landed Duke is supposed to happen in twenty minutes and we¡¯re all to be in attendance. We¡¯ll pick up where we left this in two days at dusk, you¡¯re all invited back here.¡± Chapter 442 Tom P.O.V. Watching Ajax kneel in front of the king as he accepted his title as Duke had me feeling a mixture of feelings. The clothes he was wearing now were worth more than our entire house back in the village. He was always so driven and he pulled us all along with him. For the past few years I had unconsciously been building up resentment for him, with every meeting where I was dismissed and every duty I picked up for our family while he trained and studied I had been growing more and more annoyed. But that all ended last night. ¡°We can¡¯t operate like a normal noble family.¡± He had said. ¡°I don¡¯t have the training, Skills, or the time to act like a normal head of the House and that will remain so until I step down and let someone prepared take the position in the same way the other Houses of Gryndor operate.¡± It was only then that I realized that Ajax wasn¡¯t going to become a normal head of House Hearthbound. He was fully going to let us handle our duties as we saw fit and he would only support us while providing a general direction we should strive for. I took a good look at the sea of nobles around me, a few of them had dismissed me out of hand thinking they just needed to wait to talk to Ajax but they would soon find out that I am as high as it goes. ¡°Rise Duke Hearthbound.¡± the kings said as he offered Ajax his hand. The room exploded into cheers as Ajax took the king''s hand and rose to his full height, a good head taller than the king, not everyone was happy with the turn of events but they all wore happy smiles as they applauded and cheered. A few years ago I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see through that, now I had [Social Understanding] and [Read Intention], both of them were only uncommon but they worked well with each other. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax¡¯s voice resounded throughout the court, unlike the king''s; however his was propagated by his stats and not a social skill so the nobles closest to him had probably felt like he was shouting. ¡°Your family will always be welcome at my estate near Lessis.¡± The news that our family estate would be just outside of Lessis in the direction of the dungeon had been a very welcome piece of news last night. Knowing that I will become the ruling mayor of Lessis, the city where I grew up from a village boy into a man and a guard was the cherry on top. All of my connections would make it that much easier for us to establish ourselves and with the current noble rulers being as disliked as they were it wouldn¡¯t take much to win the populace¡¯s approval. ¡°Duke Hearthbound¡¯s promotion is not the only announcement I have today.¡± the king said as Ajax stepped away from the throne and made his way back to me. The room quickly fell quiet as they all awaited the king¡¯s announcement. I pushed my skills as hard as I could but I could read nothing from the king other than a slight sense of amusement as he dragged out the silence while watching the nobles. ¡°This will be my last act as king before I pass the crown to my son.¡± The tension in the room grew tenfold. It was common for a king¡¯s final act to be something unpopular that the nobles would be forced to swallow. ¡°In a decade from now Gryndor will resume its expansion into the Wild Lands.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The silence only lasted for long enough to ensure the king had nothing else to say before the whole room broke out into whispers. ¡°Do you know anything about this?¡± I asked Ajax as he joined me. ¡°I found out this morning.¡± Ajax said. ¡°With me becoming a landed Duke there are now two landed barons and a landed Viscount who no longer have lands to rule, the king is looking to expand and provide new lands for replacement families. It will also give me a public reason to head into the Wild Lands that will appease the nobles as I scout the territory for expansion.¡± We all already knew that Ajax would spend two or maybe three years at most consolidating his gains as setting up his duchy before he would head out to explore the Wild Lands in search of a Bond. The king¡¯s move was also very inspired. Rumors of war with the beastkin¡¯s had started to circulate as a few spies had finally started to infiltrate the desert kingdom once again, by naming an expansion ten years down the line as his final act he could actively begin the process of having his son take over as king while keeping the ability to return to the throne in case of a war. The king¡¯s announcement caused a big wave of excitement and would change the plans of numerous Houses but it was nothing they would act on at the moment. As the excitement of the last announcement faded and the king sat down on his throne many of the nobles turned and started to approach Ajax. If anything I was thankful that all of the Archdukes were in attendance as they drew a lot of attention so we weren''t swarmed. ¡°Duke, a pleasure to finally meet you.¡± Viscount Cecil said as he approached with an arm extended for a handshake. Viscount Cecil wasn¡¯t the only one to approach Ajax and it was clear from the way Ajax handled himself in meeting the Viscount that his time outside of Gryndor had helped with his political training. Something that nobody missed however was that Ajax was fully taking his cues from me in how he regarded each noble. All of those who had dismissed me in the past had found themselves quickly dismissed in turn. Today was a day of celebration and it was to be spent with those who had treated our family well even when we were a brand new Baron House. ¡°Your Grace.¡± Knight Bonehammer greeted Ajax before he turned to me. ¡°Lord Hearthbound.¡± Knight Bonehammer was an old man, not so much in age as in body. At a little over three hundred years old he was barely past his prime for a noble. Knight Bonehammer hadn¡¯t been born a noble however he had gained his Knighthood at the end of the last war. The man had been very talented for a commoner, he had no skill with magic but he had trained hard and joined the army at an early age. He had had a family and lived the life of a normal soldier, when the war came his talent and luck had shone through, he had survived numerous battles, so many that he was still in his prime by the time his wife passed, the couple had no kids as there had never been a good time to have them. After being granted the title of Knight the man remarried, with peace settling in he instead focused on raising a family and then began the search for a noble family to pledge his services. ¡°Knight Bonehammer.¡± I greeted the man with a smile and a firm handshake, I would have also given him a hug but it wouldn¡¯t have been appropriate anymore with Ajax¡¯s new standing as a Duke. ¡°How is your family?¡± Both of Knight Bonehammer¡¯s sons were older than I was but they had become great friends. Being raised as semi-nobles and with their father sparing no expense they had shown the same talent that had gotten their father to knighthood on top of all the advantages a noble would usually have.At the age of fifty the boys still looked on the younger side and with their levels being at sixty five they were well on their way to becoming elite soldiers. ¡°The boys are doing great, though Grace and myself are moving slower and need a hand every now and then.¡± he answered, a glimmer of joy in his eyes as he noticed he wasn¡¯t dismissed like many nobles of much higher station were. Despite Grace being more than a hundred years younger than her husband she didn¡¯t have his level of Vitality, both of them were getting old. It was dad who had first met Knight Bonehammer and introduced us and I knew he had been getting out measure on whether we were a good House to pledge to, he had all but decided over the eight months we had known each other but held off until he met Ajax. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Knight Bonehammer.¡± Ajax greeted the man. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come by tomorrow night.¡± I invited the man, Hatchet and Luna were already coming and I knew a few of Ajax¡¯s friends would be by as well, as much as I wanted to give both of them a chance to take each others measure the open court wasn¡¯t the place to do it. Chapter 443 The royal court was a trying experience for Ajax, unlike previous appearances he had to stay until the court cleared at dusk, throughout that time he met with at least a representative of almost all noble families in Gryndor, he was glad for his high Mental stats or he wouldn¡¯t have been able to recall who was who two hours in. ¡°Is it always that bad?¡± Ajax asked Tom as they sat in the carriage taking them to their mansion. ¡°It¡¯s been mostly different in my experience.¡± Tom answered. ¡°I find it hard to get anyone¡¯s attention but that works against me whenever I want something.¡± Ajax could tell Tom had enjoyed a good portion of today¡¯s events. His brother had learnt not to show his glee but Ajax could almost feel it every time one of the Houses who dismissed any of his previous requests for a meeting to a later unspecified date had come asking to talk they had also been met with a similar response. ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough for dealing with this.¡± Ajax said as he bowed his head to his brother. ¡°I¡¯m actually glad this fell to me.¡± Tom¡¯s words surprised Ajax. ¡°You are?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I would have thought with this taking up your time you¡¯d be slow to level, all your hard work with the guard will stop mattering.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lose a lot of the lead I built up over the average guard.¡± Tom acknowledged. ¡°But I¡¯ll get to make that up, my level stagnating in the early forties now will mean I will get to clear other countries'' dungeons fully, at the same time I get to do a lot more good.¡± Tom sat forward in his seat. ¡°My time as a guard let me see a lot of problems I couldn¡¯t solve or that I was a part of. Now I am in a position to solve them, not to mention just how much more time this gives me to spend with my family.¡± If Tom had tried to push his early talent in combat he would have been forced to travel constantly, while he still spent a large portion of his time dealing with other nobles and will probably spend even longer dealing with other matters as mayor he would be able to carve out a few hours a day for his wife and child. ¡°How much is expected of me¡­ of us now that I have earned this title.¡± Ajax asked, happy to see his brother enjoying his new role. ¡°Only to be available for meetings.¡± Tom¡¯s answer surprised him as the carriage stopped in front of their mansion. ¡°The celebration is expected in one year''s time once you¡¯ve had time to establish your estate.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve ruined everything!¡± Judy pulled open the carriage door to yell at Ajax. ¡°I was able to flirt and drink with people and it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, now they are ready for a commitment at the slightest bit of interest.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll get over it soon.¡± Lexi who had followed behind Judy said as they exited the carriage. ¡°Did everything go as you expected?¡± ¡°Not quite.¡± Ajax said before gathering everyone. Ajax spent the next hour explaining everything he had told the king and the archdukes. They weren¡¯t as shocked by the presence of a dragon inside the kingdom¡¯s borders and the treaty didn¡¯t mean all that much to them, they were however much more interested in his gauntlet.Stolen story; please report. ¡°It was made by a dragon?¡± his father asked as he scrutinized the workmanship like never before. ¡°It¡¯s a beginner¡¯s tool.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It was meant to help me not destroy my own weapons with my spells.¡± ¡°Can I take it apart to see how it does that?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Not just yet.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°I still need it for the delve in the Empire but after that it¡¯s all yours.¡± ¡°How did you outgrow it if all it does is channel your mana?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°Because it does so through mana affinity gems.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Back when I first got it my spells were so weak that it even enhanced them. As my spells got stronger however they started to reach the limit of how much mana the gems could handle at once, some have already cracked.¡± ¡°Is that why you want to go out in the Wild lands?¡± Silvia asked instead. ¡°You want to bond with a dragon?¡± Silvia still wasn¡¯t fully on board with Ajax¡¯s idea of searching for a bond in the Wild Lands, thinking it too dangerous and was hoping to talk her son out of it in the months he would spend establishing their rule over their duchy. ¡°I won¡¯t deny I hadn¡¯t thought about it once or twice.¡± Ajax admitted. ¡°But I don¡¯t think that would work out.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Lexi and Kate both asked at the same time. ¡°Because dragons are ascended races.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what we are but we are below them, both parties of a bond gain benefits but with a dragon, I¡¯d be Fluffy in that partnership.¡± While they wouldn¡¯t admit it all of them were relieved to hear Ajax¡¯s words, they now knew he wouldn¡¯t be walking into the lands of an ascended creature of his own accord so that would mean he should be protected by the agreement from the strongest predators that rule the Wild Lands. ¡°Before you start thinking about the Wild Lands you should focus on our duchy.¡± Alana said. ¡°I for one am glad to be finally settling down somewhere long term.¡± ¡°Except this time we¡¯re actually going to be the princesses in the keep, just like we used to pretend when we were kids.¡± Judy joked. ¡°Think your brother¡¯s going to be kicking himself that he didn¡¯t join you in the capital?¡± Alana¡¯s brother and father had chosen to return to rebuild their small village, this meant that they didn¡¯t have the same connection to House Hearthbound as Alana did where she was considered a member of the family. Judy¡¯s words set off a spark in Ajax¡¯s mind. It was literally a life time ago for him be he had once been an architecture student back on Earth. True he had died before he finished his degree but most of his early classes had focused on old castles and bridges. His duchy would be the perfect place to start integrating some of the advanced building concept he knew with the medieval world and magic he found himself in. That night Ajax hadn''t gone to sleep until the sun started to rise on the horizon. He had spent the entire night drawing schematics for their estate. His starting point and inspiration was Alnwick Castle, in a world with magic what better starting point was there than Hogwards, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. What truly drew him into the designs was the numerous hidden passages he remembered existing that he very much wanted to recreate. The size of the castle was overkill for his current family but it was exactly what was expected of for a Duke. With the average lifespan for someone in a ducal household being four hundred and fifty years and the main branch pushing above seven hundred he was sure that it probably wouldn¡¯t take all that long for his House to grow in size. Especially since those were the numbers before Ajax¡¯s method was implemented, a good number of the nobles would most likely use the extra stats as just an excuse to increase their Vitality early in their lives so those numbers were bound to increase. As Ajax lay down to finally get some sleep as he reached a good stopping point in his designs he felt very content. The design was halfway complete, his increased stats and skills had helped him transfer his ideas to the paper much quicker than he would have done back on Earth. Ajax didn¡¯t sleep for very long, just a few hours before he was back at his desk. Instead of continuing his design however he was wracking his mind to remember something from his time back on Earth. The recipe for cement wasn¡¯t hard, one part cement two parts sand and three parts gravel. But even with skills that would require constant maintenance, what Ajax wanted was the long lasting cement the romans had used. He remembered reading that the recipe had been reverse engineered but he had a hard time remembering the differences. Not to mention that this would only be the first step before he would have to use his knowledge of Alchemy to find the appropriate substitutes to create this world''s version of the cement powder. He foresaw the death of many rock and earth golems in his future as he searched for the correct rock type. ¡°You¡¯re already awake, why didn¡¯t you come to breakfast?¡± Lexi asked as she entered his room before she took a look at the papers scattered across his desk. ¡°Already making plans for a keep, you know we have mason¡¯s that will do the little details all you need are general designs.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want them making the hidden passages.¡± Ajax said offhandedly. ¡°Means I have to work out the little details so that I know they can be added in without anyone outside the family knowing about them.¡± Ajax was on a time crunch, at best he would have three to four weeks, that was counting the time on the road towards the Empire, before he would need to have the general plans finished so that his family could get started while he went for his delve. There was simply no way to use concrete for their castle, it was still something he wanted to look into for the future. Chapter 444 ¡°One week, you couldn¡¯t hold out for one week!¡± The crown prince sounded exasperated as he made his way into Ajax¡¯s lab followed by his laughing brother. Ajax had tried his best in his meetings with his fellow nobles, for about two days. For every noble that was willing to try and work out something mutually beneficial there were five that were looking to trick the new young Duke into a very one sided agreement. In their defense Ajax wasn¡¯t able to spot the issue with over half the deals that were offered to him, the issue was always in the details and the deal looked fine at first glance. Ajax also hadn¡¯t been stupid enough to take those meetings alone. His grandfather had been with him every step of the way and was quick to call out the issue much to the nobles displeasure. ¡°I really tried.¡± Ajax said as he took his attention off the chemical mixture. The final straw had been when a Baron tried to push his deal through by making a play at Ajax¡¯s ego. ¡°Who is the real head of your House?¡± the Baron had asked when Ajax looked to his grandfather. ¡°Can¡¯t you do anything yourself?¡± The baron¡¯s red face as anger threatened to overcome him as Ajax responded was worth the time wasted on that meeting. ¡°If you think I got from a commoner born in a small village to the head of my own ducal house at my age by focusing on business you are dumber than you look. Of course I will lean on my grandfather when discussing how to rule my duchy.¡± From there Ajax had taken to starting the meetings with his grandfather, mother or Alana by his side and depending on the noble¡¯s attitude during the first five minutes he would excuse himself and let them finish the meeting or engage further. ¡°Did they come and complain to you?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Of course they came and complained.¡± the crown prince let out a defeated sigh. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here now, you seem to have forgotten that we had a meeting scheduled, that¡¯s what we¡¯re here for.¡± ¡°He thought you were entrenched in an important meeting with a fellow Duke and with both of us coming to get you it would smooth over any ruffled feathers.¡± the oldest prince said as he looked over Ajax¡¯s vials and cauldrons. ¡°What are you trying to make this doesn¡¯t look like potions?¡± ¡°Something that just doesn¡¯t seem to work.¡± Ajax said with a defeated voice as he watched his latest mixed batch harden far too quickly and the solid was almost as crumbly as a good cheddar. It had taken Ajax hours of focus where he leaned heavily on his [Meditation] skill but he managed to remember three big differences the Greeks had used for their cement. The first was unslaked lime, he had no idea how that differed from regular lime stone but since he needed to find a substitute rock for that here it was simply a question of trial and error. The second and third ingredients were both a lot easier and a lot harder to find. Volcanic ash and sea water wouldn¡¯t take too much testing to figure out the proper amounts for. The issue with those was that there was no Volcano in any of the humanoid lands and more than that if this world had a sea Ajax hadn¡¯t even heard of it yet. Ajax wasn¡¯t discouraged however. He knew what the end result should be, knew the creation process and the basics of the materials involved, it might take a while to reverse engineer proper base reagents but he was confident in his [Alchemy] skills. Ajax left the mansion and joined the princes in the carriage that would take them to the royal palace where the meeting was to take place. Ajax had also brought with him his gauntlet but he wasn¡¯t yet willing to part with it.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Oh yes, before I forget.¡± The crown prince turned to Ajax once the door to the carriage closed. ¡°Our blacksmith is very interested in perhaps buying five regular size ingots from the massive bar you brought back.¡± ¡°The royal blacksmith?¡± Ajax was surprised, the steel used in his alloy was only the level fifty range, perfect to push his father but hardly worth it to a grandmaster. ¡°I would have thought he had access to steel magicite alloy with a much higher quality steel.¡± ¡°He does.¡± The crown prince said before wincing a bit. ¡°At least when we need something made from it he has plenty, but not even we have access to that much magicite that we¡¯d waste it on low mana density steel. He wants it to be used as a prize and motivation for his apprentices.¡± Five standard ingots weren¡¯t nothing but they also weren¡¯t a lot considering the size of the ingot he had brought home. Nevertheless Judy would have been proud of Ajax when he haggled them down. ¡°I¡¯d be willing to part with three of them, my father really does need them to push himself forward as a crafter.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t even lying, his father had only tried to work the metal for one day and half of his blacksmithing related skills had already gone up one level. At the same time he had also exhausted himself thoroughly throughout the day, he was barely awake at dinner after emptying his Stamina pool several times over the course of one day. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to sell them, I¡¯ll trade them for a commision.¡± Ajax said. ¡°A commision from him is worth much more than three ingots.¡± the crown prince frowned. ¡°Even if it comes with a new crafting design?¡± Ajax asked and he could see the eldest prince¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°You already have a crystal?¡± he asked Ajax with excitement. In response Ajax just pulled out the gift Judy had gotten him. The ping pong ball sized Void crystal with level ninety mana density. ¡°With this as a base I think it can last me a good while, maybe even until I reach your level of power.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Void as well, so that will be a hammer.¡± the eldest prince said as he examined the gem. All three of them put the discussion on hold as they got out of the carriage and entered the royal palace. The guards instantly saluted and opened the way as they all headed straight for the small throne room. ¡°Silvertongue, you owe me five gold coins.¡± The eldest prince¡¯s voice resounded throughout the room as soon as he stepped in. The king didn¡¯t even attempt to hide the facepalm or the dispirited sigh that came. Ajax was sure that this was all on account of his son¡¯s antics but the king was actually reacting to what they bet on, whether or not Ajax had ditched the meetings with the nobles and he was late because he was training or doing Alchemy instead. Ajax had yet to meet with any representatives of the three Archdukes. It was customary to let the smaller nobles meet with any newly landed nobles to give them a chance at closing some business deals in their specific niche before the large well established Houses swept up everything, this was all the more important when it came to the amount of land a duchy would cover. Seeing that the meeting was already off the rails, Duke Manashaper no longer showed any restraint as he quickly assaulted Ajax with a few rapid fire questions regarding Vibration Mana. ¡°... I still can¡¯t seem to make the transition between getting my sound spells to work like shockwaves, do you have any guesses why that is?¡± the duke asked. ¡°It might be because of how the sound based spells work.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Unlike a shockwave they disperse their energy to amplify a word or even a whole sentence. A shockwave is so concentrated that while it technically also has a sound you could only hear it for an instant like the crack of a whip.¡± ¡°Interesting and important as Vibration mana is, especially with two users in our kingdom, the topic we are gathered here for is arguably even more so.¡± the king interrupted them. ¡°I¡¯ve had all of our historic records regarding the ascended races scoured and while there was no obvious pattern it all matches perfectly with the agreement you last mentioned was in place.¡± ¡°I have also had my family scour our own records.¡± Archduke Steelblade said. ¡°Out of twelve encounters with the ascended races we have, two of them are retaliatory in nature based on ruins. Nine are encounters found in the Wild Lands where the group stayed well away. The last however is the most valuable.¡± ¡°Someone else spoke with one of the ascended races?¡± Ajax was surprised at that. ¡°No, nothing like that. The records were recovered from the ruins in the Wild Lands, but they mention the unprovoked attack by a hydra.¡± the archduke said. ¡°Unprovoked?¡± Archduke Silvertongue questioned. ¡°Is this a report disproving the agreement?¡± ¡°No.¡± The archduke shook his head. ¡°The reason we have the record is because the civilisation lived to record it. The hydra was killed by a quick response from a dragon, phoenix and chimera working together before they left the kingdom¡¯s territory.¡± Ajax very much agreed with Archduke Steelblade, even if it was a record from a doomed civilization and not as reliable as the others it was a sliver of proof for the agreement being enforced by the ascended races. Chapter 445 ¡°That leaves the question, what do we do with this information?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. Ajax was surprised. ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked. ¡°I suggest we stay away from the dwelling of any ascended being while expanding. No reason to risk it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± the archduke assured him. ¡°But do we share this with other kingdoms? As soon as we start expanding the Empire will follow suit, the way our border works demands it or we will start to surround them. The beastkin have been expanding in search of dungeons for the last century.¡± ¡°Not only that but why would they believe us if we do tell them?¡± Archduke Steelblade asked. ¡°Admitting that you talked with a dragon when you were ten, few would believe something like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll share it with Arianwyn when she comes.¡± Xavier offered. ¡°I won¡¯t tell her how we know, just that we suspect there is something like that, they¡¯ll look in their own records to confirm it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Archduke Steelblade nodded as he rubbed his chin. ¡°I¡¯ll have Benedict do the same thing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s settled then, depending on what Sylvanthal¡¯s records say we could share this further with the other kingdoms.¡± the crown prince nodded. ¡°Now, the gauntlet the dragon gave you.¡± Everyone''s eyes focused on Ajax as he brought out the gauntlet. It had been with him for more than half his life and even though it was carefully maintained everyone could tell that it was getting worn out. ¡°Interesting, looks like a shielded gauntlet.¡± Duke Manashaper examined the defensive enchantment that covered the bulky cover. ¡°There is also something to disguise and hide, my [Sense Mana] can¡¯t penetrate it.¡± ¡°Underneath that cover there are lots of tiny mana gems, each with a different affinity.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°By channeling my augmentation spells through them before imbuing them into my attacks it has allowed me to not wear away at my weapons.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about that effect.¡± Archduke Goldmancer looked closely at the gauntlet. ¡°It would certainly make His Highness''s runic hybrid fighting style a lot more viable for the masses who don¡¯t have the money to replace their weapons every four or five engagements.¡± ¡°Is there no increase in power?¡± Archduke Steelblade asked. ¡°Not any more.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°There was a substantial increase back when I first got it, before I spent my free stats. Because the gems hidden are so small however it takes everything they have to just handle my current spells. During my last few encounters on the top dungeon floors I¡¯ve felt a few of the gems shatter when I put too much power behind an attack.¡± ¡°How much power would be too much?¡± Archduke Manashaper asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell.¡± Ajax quickly raised his hands in surrender so they wouldn¡¯t protest. ¡°My best guess is that for whatever size the gems in there are about the strength of a strong spell for a level seventy mage would be too much. It¡¯s hard to tell since even if the gem shatters from the attack it still partially works, taking the brunt of my mana and leaving little damage to my weapons.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°That is something we can test later.¡± Duke Manashaper nodded. ¡°But I am guessing this would need some specific enchantments or runes to work like this or we¡¯d have figured this out before when we used the gems to simply amplify the spells.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been curious about it for years myself but finding out is very likely to break the gauntlet and I still need it for now.¡± Ajax said. ¡°After my delve in the Empire will be a perfect time to take a look as not only will I have outgrown the gauntlet but there will also be enough time to create new weapons in preparation for my trip in the Wild Lands as I get my duchy settled.¡± ¡°I still think this trip to the Wild Lands is too risky.¡± Duke Manashaper mumbled but from his tone everyone could tell that he wasn¡¯t going to push the subject at this time. ¡°That brings us to the final topic for this meeting.¡± the king said. ¡°Visiting the Empire now is much riskier than it was five years ago.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll try something while we¡¯re there?¡± Ajax asked worriedly, he wouldn¡¯t be going alone. At the very least Xavier, Anna and most importantly Lexi would all be going with him, he didn¡¯t care all that much about Anna¡¯s nephew Oliver who had surprisingly survived his return to House Goldmancer. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell.¡± the king sighed. ¡°Even with how strong you¡¯ve grown in such a little time it wouldn¡¯t be worth it for them to try anything.¡± ¡°That changes if they have deep enough informants to have found out about the plan we have in place with Sylvanthal to share Dungeons among the nobility.¡± Archduke Silvertongue said. ¡°We¡¯ve already sent out missives to every noble family that carry your method of waiting to spend your Free Stats.¡± ¡°Nobles will still have their advantages.¡± Ajax argued. ¡°Not to mention that this only affects the new generation. Ajax¡¯s method was being widely spread throughout Gryndor to all commoners as well. It was one of the things Ajax had insisted upon and the king very much agreed with him. There were more than a few nobles who objected to this but many changed their tune when the king started hinting at the Dungeon exchange. ¡°You¡¯re missing a very important point, Ajax.¡± Duke Goldmancer said. ¡°You¡¯re only looking at what your training will mean from the prospect of a fighter, a soldier or a delver. There have always been and will always be commoners who have the power to rival the nobles, now there will just be more and those will need to be managed more carefully but despite your experience the nobles that care about their people are still in the majority.¡± ¡°What do you think will be the biggest change to come from you sharing this training with the commoners?¡± The crown prince asked Ajax. ¡°Everyone will grow stronger, they¡¯ll all be able to delve and be comfortable getting the floor clear for most dungeons, maybe not those above a fifteen floor jump but those below.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°That is true for maybe, at most, a twentieth of the population.¡± the crown prince explained. ¡°And that is counting the standing army and soldiers. Very few people have the drive to push for more and risk like that. Most are content with the lives they live.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying it won¡¯t make that much of a difference in their lives?¡± Ajax was a little dejected to hear that. ¡°That most won¡¯t even make use of it?¡± ¡°Oh no, it will make a big difference.¡± the crown prince shook his head. ¡°Children almost always have that drive to push themselves, in fact I¡¯ll do my best to help foster an attitude to help that along. But by saving their points until they are almost fifteen it also means they¡¯ll spend them with more care.¡± Archduke Steelblade didn¡¯t have the patience to let Ajax come to the correct conclusion by himself and just gave him the answer. ¡°By age fifteen most have found their lot in life. Having twenty to thirty extra Strength, Dexterity and Endurance won¡¯t change things all that much for a farmer, and they¡¯ll know it. It might make things easier but so will skills. Having an extra eighty to one hundred Vitality at such an early age however will increase their lifespan by more than a century and a half.¡± Ajax knew that all of the physical stats affect a person¡¯s lifespan, they just did so in different amounts, Dexterity the least followed by Strength and then Endurance. Vitality however was almost four times more effective than Endurance in terms of lifespan alone. Ajax had never looked at it like that but even if the effect he had on the population at large wouldn¡¯t be exactly what he had hoped he was still happy to have given everyone an extra century of life. ¡°It¡¯s not all good.¡± Archduke Silvertongue¡¯s words dropped on Ajax like a bucket of cold water. ¡°For many this will double their life span, the population will grow like never before, along with that so will the need for food and homes. Kingdoms will be forced to expand. I still think we need to look at influencing commoners regarding their children.¡± ¡°No.¡± Both the king and the crown prince said at the same time. They shared a look before the king nodded for the crown prince to continue. ¡°Changes will need to happen to keep the population from growing too much but not yet. We could benefit from an initial increase before we slow it down.¡± It was only then that Ajax processed just what he had almost caused. With double the lifespan but not much other changes it could lead to a catastrophe for the masses. Much as he disliked it, in the end it did fall on the nobles to lead the people. Commoners now averaged three to four children a family, and the population was kept in check by common causes of death. With double the lifespan the number of children per family would grow exponentially and lead to starvation or war. Contraception wasn¡¯t widely available but it was something they needed to look into for their new duchy. Chapter 446 ¡°So, are we planning to use this information to harm other kingdoms?¡± the oldest prince asked once everybody left and he was left alone with his father and younger brother. ¡°Ajax is still young and a little too idealistic to even suggest something like this around.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely something worth considering but at the same time it¡¯s also risky.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°We know that the ascended races are smart but we are also inferior to them. If they took the time to look they would surely be able to tell the Empire is a different kingdom from us or they might just wipe us both out if one of us breaks the agreement.¡± ¡°That would just be playing with fire.¡± The king shook his head as he scratched a small scar on the back of his left hand, one he had gotten as a young child from the aforementioned activity and his own father had requested the healer leave it there as a lesson. He had initially resented that but in time came to appreciate the lesson of consequences over a perfect complexion of his arm. ¡°Because of our deal with the elves that only leaves the dwarves and the beastkin, if we do decide to try.¡± ¡°Something to consider and discuss with the elves at our next face to face meeting.¡± The crown prince nodded. With the meeting over Ajax returned home and took part in a few meetings with noble families, as their rank increased there were more and more meetings that he didn¡¯t leave early as those nobles were looking for a genuinely mutually beneficial deal. By the time he had to depart Ajax had barely managed to create a somewhat worse version of the concrete that was available on Earth. It was still a great discovery and one he planned on putting to use immediately, just not what he was looking for in terms of buildings. The new mixture produced the same quality concrete as back on earth but took almost three times longer to set and required six times as much water to not crack when drying. The one upside was that the rock required was plentiful in the mountain range surrounding Lessis. For the last day before he departed for the Empire Ajax had already begun making a stockpile of the powder. ¡°What is that for?¡± Tom asked as Ajax was demonstrating how the concrete formation worked to his family. ¡°This is what I have been working on the last week.¡± Ajax said proudly. ¡°It isn¡¯t ready for long term buildings but since the rock used for this is so plentiful it should be good enough for roads.¡± ¡°You want to turn the roads into a swamp?¡± Kate asked hesitantly as she looked at the gooey bowl of wet cement. ¡°It takes a bit of time to set, and you¡¯ll probably need a few mages on rotation summoning water to make keep it wet as it does so but this is what the end result is.¡± Ajax said as he produced an already set cube. ¡°What did you use to cut it?¡± His father asked as he ran his fingers over the edge of the cube. ¡°It''s very rough like it was broken off but the edge seems too straight for a break.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t cut it.¡± Ajax said as he drew their attention to the still drying cement in the bowl. ¡°Think of this mixture like the rock version of molten steel, only it isn¡¯t hot. Once it sets it won¡¯t be easy to shape, it just needs to be kept wet until it does so that cracks don¡¯t form.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°And you want to put this all on the road?¡± Judy asked. ¡°I want to cover all roads between cities in our duchies with it.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°It will take at least a decade, probably two, to get it done, not to mention that maintenance will be a headache but it will be worth it.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Elija asked as he studied both the bowl and the finished product. ¡°How much faster could a wagon move if it was moved over a flat road like this than the beaten trails we have now?¡± Ajax could see his idea getting traction as Elija¡¯s and Alana¡¯s eyes grew wider at the implication. ¡°With how central our duchy would be in the kingdom we could have a toll that will pay for everything in a few years.¡± ¡°Alright so what do you want us to do with it right now?¡± his mother asked. ¡°I have a few wagons worth of the powder already made, while they are setting the foundations for our estate I want you to set the road in the direction of Lessis, something to work as a proof of concept.¡± Ajax explained. Ajax wasn¡¯t all that much of a fan of using Earth magic for their foundation but it was something he could use Earth magic to replace with better concrete once he was finished developing it. ¡°You should stay focused on the dungeon.¡± his mother chided him. ¡°You won¡¯t have anyone in there looking after you this time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mom.¡± Ajax reassured her. ¡°I won¡¯t be going past level one hundred and ten, even then I won¡¯t be clearing the entire floor, so I shouldn¡¯t be in too much danger.¡± Ajax knew he sounded far too arrogant for someone facing monsters twice his level but that was simply the level he was at. To help put his mother at ease Ajax went and joined his family¡¯s retainers at the training grounds for the last few hours before his departure. His reception at the training grounds was mixed. For more than half of their retainers this would be their first time actually meeting him instead of just seeing him from afar, their numbers had swelled once rumours of the duchy had started to spread. For the other half they welcomed him with the respect and an attitude reserved for a teacher. Over the two hours Ajax had brushed up on how the people he knew had progressed since the last time he trained with them more than a year ago. More than that he had also proven beyond any doubt to the newcomers that despite his young age the respect he was given came from his skill and power and not his title. With his bags already packed beforehand and stored in the largest spacial ring they had, Ajax simply took a quick shower before he said his goodbyes and headed off. Unlike last time he went to the Empire he wasn¡¯t taking anyone from his House with him. It wasn¡¯t just Ajax that was approaching this trip differently than the last. Their group was much smaller than it was last time but their combat prowess was much larger. Three of the eight royal squads were going with them along with the eldest prince. More than that the Goldmancer¡¯s top retainer was joining them as well. ¡°Won¡¯t this be seen as aggressive?¡± Ajax asked as he looked over everyone present. ¡°The deal we have with Sylvanthal and the ones we are trying to make with the Republic and Brightstone already formed an antagonistic relationship.¡± Xavier explained. ¡°This is a show of force to stop the Empire from getting any ideas.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you should be worried about anyway, Duke Hearthbound.¡± Ajax¡¯s head spun as he recognised the voice but didn¡¯t know where from. ¡°Oliver? Is that you?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure as while the man in front of him resembled the Oliver he had seen five years ago it was only barely. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you remember me.¡± Oliver said with a bow. ¡°Though I do believe I owe you some apologies after our last meeting.¡± Oliver¡¯s life had taken a drastic turn following their last trip to the Empire. While Archduke Goldmancer had spared his life following the attempt on Anna there were dire consequences. Oliver¡¯s quality of life for the following three years had been non-existent, he had been given the choice of renouncing the family or redeeming himself. His years of training and hard work for the family had broken him of any entitlement he had in him. ¡°What should I be worried about?¡± Ajax had picked up a few things about interacting with nobles, by not acknowledging the apology he signified that he had not made up his mind about whether to accept it or not. Oliver showed a slight smile seeing that he was even being given a chance to earn Ajax¡¯s forgiveness. ¡°You¡¯ll be the most eligible bachelor in the Empire for the duration of your stay. Add that to the short stay and your widely known dislike for noble gatherings I would expect the attempts for your favor to be rather¡­ aggressive.¡± Oliver¡¯s words had Ajax debating if it wouldn¡¯t be better to propose to Lexi before they reached the Empire rather than on the way back. He had already prepared a ring but with the uncertainty that hovered over the trip he decided to stick with his original plan. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. This trip will be a lot quicker than your last one since we won¡¯t be stopping to meet with every noble on our way there.¡± the eldest prince said as he herded them towards the carriages that looked more like an armored transport than fancy transportation. Chapter 447 One of the big differences from the group set up compared to five years ago was that Oliver was no longer the second strongest of the group. While he wasn¡¯t an easy fight for anyone other than Ajax; Lexi, Anna, and Xavier could all win the fight. His level was still higher than all of theirs but nothing that could make up for the stat difference from dungeons. ¡°This reminds me of Deepwood.¡± Ajax mentioned on the third day of the trip. ¡°High speed travel with no stop even during the night.¡± Lexi groaned as she snuggled her head into Ajax¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I was hoping we were done with this.¡± ¡°Accommodations have also gotten worse.¡± Xavier grumbled, the secure transport was not comparable to Sylvanthal¡¯s royal carriage in terms of comfort, even if it was much sturdier. ¡°What¡¯s your plan for when you return to your new duchy?¡± Anna asked Ajax. ¡°Figuring out what our exports will be.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer drew inquisitive stares. ¡°That and training to get a better handle on these increased stats.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t plan to rule?¡± Oliver asked surprised, having grown up in a branch of an Archduke¡¯s family he couldn¡¯t imagine someone not wanting the power and control that came with being a duke. ¡°I do¡­¡± Ajax took a moment to think how to best word it. ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want to, nor am I good at, to be honest, ruling directly.¡± ¡°How do you plan to rule indirectly?¡± Xavier was interested in this, while he was very much interested in one day being king his recent trips through three other countries brought into full focus just how difficult ruling could be. ¡°I¡¯m pretty good when it comes to setting the goal and outlining the rules, not so much when it comes to the implementation.¡± Ajax admitted as he thought back to how the recruitment and training of their Houses¡¯s retainers went. ¡°That makes no sense when it comes to ruling.¡± Xavier said. ¡°If you make the rules then you are ruling, who do you think will do all that for you?.¡± ¡°Right now I¡¯m thinking my brother, his wife and my grandparents.¡± Ajax said before he looked down towards Lexi who was snuggled into his shoulder. ¡°Most likely Lexi as well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t your grandparents have their own merchant company to worry about?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°My grandfather saw this coming years ago, about the end of my first year in the Academy he started transitioning his company under Alana and Judy.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°He¡¯s been freeing himself up to help run the day to day operations of the House until Tom was ready, nobody was expecting a duchy so Tom will have to do some learning on the job.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t see how this saves you any time.¡± Xavier said. ¡°Let¡¯s use this as an example.¡± Ajax said as he brought out a handful of prepared herbs. ¡°If I decided that one of our exports was going to be growing some mana infused plants. I would figure out how to grow them, where to best grow them and then pass it off. Getting the right tax structure and incentives and everything else with getting it running, that would be on my grandfather.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. One such export potential was the cement Ajax had them setting up near their estate, Ajax would figure out the recipe and everything else would be for Tom to set up production in and around Lessis. ¡°When you say learning on the job¡­¡± Anna was a bit skeptical as she knew better than anyone else there how difficult running a duchy was as she accompanied her father as he started showing her to ropes years ago. ¡°He¡¯ll be taking over Lessis and the surrounding areas.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°It¡¯s a backwater region whose only attraction is the dungeon. We won¡¯t be doing anything to mess with that area so he won¡¯t be facing all that much pressure. My grandparents with probably some help from my mother will be taking over the other barony and the viscounty, they are larger and more connected to the rest of the kingdom.¡± His entire plan with building proper roads actually relied on how convenient traveling through his lands was already. He had already been warned that he would need to work on security and that would also need to be worked out with his neighboring nobles as well since they would also need to beef up security around their borders with him. ¡°You do realize that change won¡¯t happen overnight?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°You¡¯re used to making progress and acting on it but this won¡¯t work on the level of a duchy. It¡¯ll take time to implement, for something like a plant farm to be set up it will be a decade or more before they finally start breaking even.¡± ¡°That is another reason why I won¡¯t be directly in charge of introducing anything that affects or needs the people.¡± Ajax said with a nod. ¡°I don¡¯t have the patience or the focus to make sure it gets done properly.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen you spend twenty hours a day on alchemy for five days straight.¡± Xavier said. ¡°That takes a lot of focus and some patience.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem though.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°I do things like that, for something short that can be set up in a week I am a good choice, but if I had to just read reports and numbers to make sure things are still going well a month in I would get wrapped up into something else and things will start to fall through the cracks.¡± ¡°Are you going to be looking into any other odd or new mana types?¡± Lexi asked, with the number of different spells she had learnt she was always eager to try out different mana types to see if she could earn the skill for them. ¡°I am.¡± Ajax said with a smile, his mind quickly going to Gravity Mana. Ajax had made a few attempts over the years before he left for the tournament but he just couldn¡¯t get a handle of Gravity Mana. A big reason for that he supposed was his Void Mana and Magnetic Mana, both Void and Gravity Mana were directly related to Space Mana and Magnetic mana covered a big area of what gravity mana could provide as well. He was planning to introduce Anna to Gravity Mana hoping it would provide a helpful step on the way to Space Mana with the help of her bond. ¡°What have you been working on lately?¡± Lexi asked as she knew Ajax had been spending every spare hour in his alchemy lab before they left. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait until we come back to see that.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s not finished yet but I think I have a¡­ working prototype.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± Xavier said. ¡°Hopefully it¡¯ll be something interesting for me to do while I wait.¡± Ajax knew exactly what Xavier was referring to, despite getting the lands for the dungeon there was a small patch of land that the crown had kept in his duchy. Specifically the high mana concentration lake he had discovered back during the skirmish, Xavier was the royal family member in charge of overseeing the attempt at growing a fortress tree outside the elven forest. Xavier¡¯s only issue with the assignment was that he would literally be watching a tree grow. ¡°Are you planning for any revenge once you return?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°Revenge?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°The son of the Baron currently in charge of Lessis was responsible for an¡­ unfortunate incident where his mentor lost his arm.¡± Oliver explained. Ajax was a little startled at how much Oliver knew, it was a good reminder he supposed that in his absence a lot of nobles had taken a very keen interest in his personal history. ¡°He did that?¡± Anna was surprised, ¡°He didn¡¯t seem that bad when I met him, a little arrogant maybe.¡± ¡°Different son,¡± Oliver explained. ¡°The one you met was the eldest, this was the youngest.¡± ¡°I am planning an expedition into the mountain of my own, though I will be making sure it doesn¡¯t cause any issues.¡± Ajax was very eager in raiding the caves and culling the lizard population. Not simply for revenge but like the baron had proved the lizards made for good mounts and if raised properly even made for a good bond, something he was sure the sons of Knight Bonehammer will very much appreciate. ¡°I have long thought that those mountains weren¡¯t properly explored for their resources.¡± ¡°And the baron¡¯s son?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°The matter has already been dealt with by the authorities at the time.¡± Ajax answered politically while he clenched the fist opposite the one Lexi was leaning on. ¡°I am sure however that any more current infractions will be properly addressed.¡± This answer didn¡¯t surprise Xavier, in fact he was happy with it. The royal family had also investigated the issue and while they were ready to handle injustice from up high the crown prince had decided that it would be best to let Ajax handle the matter personally. As far as they were concerned anything short of ordering a public hit on the man was acceptable, it would also double as a test case to see how Ajax would handle such matters in the future. Chapter 448 Ajax took full advantage of the trip to find out what the others nobles were thinking of doing as a reaction to him being named duke. Between everybody that was there they had plenty of informants and a good idea of the situation. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be too worried.¡± Lexi said as she saw him tense up when he heard about the more violent intentions some nobles were panning for in an effort to gain a few favours. ¡°My father has already sent some letters to enquire about the health of those Houses.¡± While Duke Manashaper was the head of the House he was also a researcher who didn¡¯t have the time to micromanage the running of the House, it was his model that Ajax was planning on not just copying but taking to an even further extreme, after all the Duke was a lot older and more experienced with less room to develop than Ajax is when he got the title. ¡°Won¡¯t that make my House seem weak?¡± Ajax asked he knew that was a reason the royal family and the archdukes didn¡¯t sent and threats to assure his position. ¡°It would if he was doing it as a friend.¡± Lexi nodded. ¡°But our relationship is in the open, my family is expected to have a stance on this development. Despite being the most gifted in my generation of Manashapers I wasn¡¯t likely to become head of my House. Dad is ecstatic at my opportunity to become a duchess.¡± Despite their intentions for his House Ajax¡¯s first reaction for anyone who crossed Darrius Manashaper was pity, it was a fleeting feeling but one he hid anyway. Darrius Manashaper wasn¡¯t and couldn¡¯t be the next head of House Manashaper for the simple fact he didn¡¯t have the ability to use mana. While that in and of itself would not prevent someone from becoming the head of a House the circumstances were different in a House as new as the Manashapers and the reason for their title being directly related to magic research. Despite not having access to mana Darrius Manashaper was the youngest of his siblings and had gotten a full noble education that he then leveraged into political aptitude. Even now he was handling the brunt of the day to day management of his family, not in any specific field but as the coordinator of his siblings who handled their interests. If Duke Manashaper was the captain of the ship then Darrius was the helmsman. Right as Ajax was about to pass the border he was surprised by a notification. Achievement : Researcher Be the first to make a discovery and prove it. Requires one Discovery(Has to be a first discovery) to earn: Recipe for cement. Reward : Skill [Alchemical Researcher], next two achievements earned have no discovery requirement, insight added to [Alchemy] skill regarding cement. Ajax didn¡¯t know that he was the first to discover cement, more than that he had no idea why the system was rewarding it or why it was a discovery and finally why was he getting this notification now when he had stopped his experiments weeks ago. The second question was the one he deduced the answer to. The achievement also had the requirement to prove it, he guessed that a small proof of concept experiment wouldn¡¯t suffice and that he only got the achievement weeks later now because his family had started putting it into practice. ¡°Planning something?¡± Lexi asked Ajax. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°No, why do you ask?¡± Ajax was still a little distracted by the notification and its implications. ¡°You have that look on your face.¡± Lexi said. ¡°You¡¯re proud of something but still not sure about it.¡± That got Ajax¡¯s attention and he felt very glad to have found Lexi, someone who could read him so well. ¡°I¡¯m officially a Researcher.¡± Ajax said with a smile as he gave her a hug and a kiss. The entire convoy stopped dead. Since the only people joining them on the trip were three of the squads and the eldest prince they hadn¡¯t bothered with privacy enchantments, if anyone spying on them could remain undetected by their escorts they could bypass the enchantments. ¡°You¡¯ve made a first Discovery?¡± the eldest prince asked as he opened the door to their carriage. ¡°The system gave you the Achievement for it?¡± ¡°Yes¡­.¡± Ajax dragged the word out unsure of why that was important. ¡°It¡¯s incredibly hard to be the first to discover something.¡± the prince explained, understanding the confused look on Ajax¡¯s face. ¡°We believe that this is because of the ascended races also being smart enough to look into anything system related and having more power and time to learn about it. The only way we realistically have of gaining that Achievement is through discovery of designs or recipes.¡± ¡°So anything new can grant it?¡± Ajax asked, a little down that it wasn¡¯t as unique as he had thought. ¡°Not just anything.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°It has to be something new that is different enough from anything previously made, a new more potent nightshade poison won¡¯t be good enough. It also has to be practical.¡± ¡°Why all the interest then?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°The reward is good, but I doubt I can help anyone gain it.¡± ¡°Was it a new weapon?¡± The prince pressed. ¡°I thought you were an alchemist but I know your dad is a blacksmith, tell me it wasn¡¯t armor.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ajax got more confused by the minute. ¡°Trailblazer titles.¡± Xavier said, filling him in. ¡°We have records of two weapons being invented and one new armor type, neither are all that effective but have their place. But the skills for new inventions will also come with Trailblazer Achievements. Armor skills are a pain to gain.¡± ¡°No, it was a new alchemy mixture.¡± Ajax said and he watched the prince¡¯s face drop a little but he didn¡¯t care, he was now thinking of how he could get a message to his family as quickly as possible to ensure it was one of them or their retainers that experimented with cement to get any trailblazer skills associated with it. ¡°That thing you were working on before we left.¡± Anna tilted her head a little confused. ¡°But why did you get the Achievement now? You weren¡¯t doing any alchemy, did you leave an experiment running?¡± Ajax was about to answer but she just kept on going thinking aloud. ¡°No, you would have waited to see the result for yourself. What happened right around now that could trigger it?¡± she kept going, her words coming out so fast Ajax was concerned she wasn¡¯t breathing anymore. ¡°Your family should have finally made it to Lessis! You gave your rough success to them, they put it in practice, whatever it is it works.¡± ¡°Are they in danger?¡± Lexi asked, scared that whatever Ajax had come up with was something dangerous and they used it as a last resort. ¡°It isn¡¯t anything combat related.¡± Ajax reassured her, his reassurance also seemed to make the prince and every other squad member a bit more depressed since they wouldn¡¯t have a chance at getting a Trailblazer Achievement. ¡°Okay we can get back on the road.¡± the prince called out as he slowly closed the carriage door. ¡°Is whatever you made hard to transport? Does it take someone with very specific skills to use?¡± As uninterested as the prince was in a non-combat discovery Anna was curious enough to cost a cat all nine lives. Despite that she didn¡¯t push anything about the discovery itself and was more curious if he wanted help selling it. _______________________________________________________________________ At around the same time near Lessis where the new Hearthbound estate was being built all of House Hearthbound¡¯s retainers that had the [Builder] skill were hard at work. While the more experienced and higher level retainers were working on the foundation and the supports for the estate, the young ones were all working with Ajax¡¯s cement. ¡°They¡¯re just like all the other nobles.¡± Joe grumbled as he sloppily worked to ensure the cement road was flat. ¡°Sure they might now look at us the same way those other nobles did but we¡¯re still doing the grunt work.¡± ¡°You should pay more attention.¡± Bob said as he carefully went over Joe¡¯s work to ensure the road was as flat. ¡°Besides, while we might not be working on the mansion this is still better we¡¯re working with mages on this.¡± ¡°They¡¯re also apprentice mages, just practicing their water spells to keep it all wet, if we had a river close by they might make us carry the water.¡± Joe continued to complain. ¡°You¡¯re just happy because Lady Kate talked to us and said we were working on something important.¡± Bob was only seventeen years old and his whole face flushed red at the mention of Kate. He had developed a bit of a crush on the beastkin. He tried to stumble out a few words to deny it while also trying to put more effort into his work when he froze. In front of his face was a system notification letting him know he not only gained an Achievement but he had also gained his first Epic skill, he didn¡¯t even have a Rare skill before that moment, [Cement Builder Trailblazer]. Chapter 449 The group¡¯s reception as they crossed the border was not something Ajax had expected. There had to be at least fifty other carriages, each of them had their door open and a beautiful woman waiting and looking in their direction. ¡°I know you warned me about this, but I can¡¯t be that much in demand.¡± Ajax said with a gulp as he swallowed down the dread of their remaining journey to the Empire¡¯s capital. ¡°It¡¯s not just you.¡± Oliver told him. ¡°You are a target of opportunity, if the Empire can get you they¡¯ll be happy but you are not why they¡¯re all here.¡± ¡°I am.¡± Xavier said with a resigned sigh. Despite nobody really knowing about the feeling that had been developing between Xavier and Arianwyn, everyone was very much in the know that Xavier had spent months in the presence of both her and Elara. As far as the Empire was concerned any marriage between Xavier and a noble elf from Sylvanthal was a disaster. ¡°This is quite the force you brought with you in our country.¡± An impeccably dressed man greeted them, someone Ajax recognised as the crown prince of the Empire, Solderon. ¡°I do hope your intentions are peaceful.¡± ¡°You can cut the act, Solderon.¡± The king¡¯s eldest son was quick to answer. ¡°You know the reason why.¡± Xavier opened the carriage door and the delve group exited the carriage to greet their hosts. Now that he was a Duke Ajax was left with no excuses in dodging any social events in the Empire, the best he could hope was that they got out of here as quickly as possible. ¡°Duke Hearthbound.¡± Solderon quickly focused on Ajax. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I paid you the proper attention last time you visited the Empire.¡± The emperor was a couple hundred years younger than king Gryndor, as such his son was only around two hundred and fifty years of age. Solderon wasn¡¯t a talented combatant, his excellence stemmed simply from the amount of resources invested in his growth, something that became clear to Ajax when he [Judge Threat] backed by [Inspectors¡¯s Eye] was not only undetected but also labeled the prince as a medium threat. ¡°It¡¯s an honour to be greeted at the border by you, Your Highness.¡± Ajax¡¯s response was perfect, complete with the small bow that showed only respect and not submission as was right for a Duke of Gryndor towards other royals. The lack of difference displeased Solderon but he didn¡¯t show it, he instead chose to focus on something else. ¡°Prince Xavier, as well as Lady Goldmancer and Lady Manashaper. With the Empire this would make the fifth county whose dungeon you have delved. Truly you are the generation of prodigies.¡± Xavier, Anna and Lexi all ignored the barb. All of them were more than comfortable with their talent and they had proven to themselves that they were special beyond the stats given by clearing dungeon floors. When all three of them repeated Ajax¡¯s greeting, Solderon was quick to move away and make way for the veritably army of eligible nobles to swarm the four youngsters. While Ajax had his hand intertwined with Lexi¡¯s at the elbows it felt to him more like a lifeline to a man overboard on the open sea.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. With the opening greetings out of the way, Solderon moved to the more pressing matters and the reason he had come to welcome them in person. He quickly approached the eldest prince before deploying a sound barrier. ¡°Is Gryndor looking for open war?¡± Solderon asked, his voice devoid of any warmth. ¡°For you to share the training method openly like that.¡± ¡°There was never any way to keep it hidden.¡± the prince countered. ¡°Believe me, I spent months trying to figure one out.¡± Despite his attitude the eldest prince was a war veteran and someone who took his responsibilities as a Champion of Gryndor seriously. When he first found out about Ajax¡¯s method he had spent considerable time and effort in figuring out a way to keep it for themselves. ¡°Of course it would have leaked, young teens leak more than a sieve but there is a big difference in sharing it with the nobility and sharing it with every commoner.¡± Solderon spat back. ¡°You¡¯d best hope we aren¡¯t struck by famine in two centuries time or war will be the only way to stop civil wars from taking place over food.¡± This was a big concern that the prince actually shared with Solderon. While Gryndor¡¯s capital will never have to fear starvation thanks to one of its dungeons having a one in seven chance of spawning food supplies on the first floor the same was not true of the rest of the kingdom or their neighbors. ¡°We are looking into solutions or ways to overcome a bad year in terms of food. Not only that but we are also looking into ways to slow down the population increase.¡± the prince shared. ¡°Every single one of our dukes and viscounts have been tasked with this.¡± What the prince didn¡¯t mention was that the population issue had been something the dukes and viscounts had been tasked with for a couple of years now, as soon as the nobles who had been given the technique had confessed to having their less talented children spent the majority of their points in Vitality. Even Ajax had been informed of his duty during the trip. The prince was shocked at the amount of ideas that Ajax had of how to approach it. For someone so dedicated to increasing his personal power on top of his study of both magic and alchemy Ajax had presented numerous ideas off the top of his head. Ajax ideas had naturally come from Earth. Because of his study of architecture Ajax had also become somewhat familiar with a few of the issues some countries had suffered from back on earth. The layout of a city was dependent on its population and that was influenced by its birth rates. He had information on the downsides of trying to outlaw large families from China¡¯s attempt at a one child policy as well as a brief overview of how Korea was trying to increase the birth rates of its slowly aging population. ¡°There is also no point in discussing this further, not like we can take it back.¡± the prince knew better than to mention that Ajax had requested the information be made available to commoners. ¡°At this point the only way forward is through.¡± ¡°This is not the end of this.¡± Solderon warned. ¡°I have also brought along a piece offering in the form of another more sensitive piece of information that I will be relaying to your father upon our departure.¡± The prince couldn¡¯t resist provoking Solderon. With the discussion between royalty finished everyone took the hint and got back into their carriages to begin their trip towards the Empire¡¯s capital. As they got back onto the carriages Ajax, Xavier and Oliver could be seen blushing. ¡°I never expected seduction skills to work like that.¡± Ajax confessed after the carriage door closed. Seduction skills didn¡¯t work like mind control, in the same way that merchant skills couldn¡¯t mind control someone into a lower price. Despite the lack of mind control Ajax had found a few of the women present very attractive, his focus on them had been the giveaway of seduction skills. ¡°This isn¡¯t even their full extent.¡± Oliver said in a rush as he loosened his collar in an attempt to lower the temperature of his neck. ¡°Rare and Epic skills can actually cause slight changes in the body of the user to better match the preferences of the target.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get out of here and back to Gryndor.¡± Ajax said as he laid back and tried to get some sleep, despite the encounter being brief Ajax felt more tired than he did after a few hours of training. Unfortunately for Ajax the convoy¡¯s travel speed slowed down significantly now that they were joined by numerous carriages that had no intention of traveling throughout the night. They also couldn¡¯t just leave since they now had to match Solderon¡¯s pace. This meant that they would be stopping at certain cities or villages as they made their way to the capital. It was in the first city they stopped in that Ajax finally saw one of the unintended consequences of making his training method not only publicly available but also widespread. Ajax felt a wave of nausea hit him as he took in the slave market, more specifically the advertisements they were making about training their slaves for optimal stats. In a way it made sense, only the most foolish of slavers wouldn¡¯t see the need to act quickly on the new information or be quickly run out of business, but that didn¡¯t make it any easier for Ajax to accept. ¡°I need to leave.¡± Ajax whispered as he retreated back to the inn before he did something he couldn¡¯t take back. Chapter 450 Ajax had returned to his room alone leaving everyone else worried for him. He didn¡¯t know how to handle seeing the darker side of his actions and needed time to process it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your prodigy?¡± Solderon asked. ¡°He¡¯s just coming to terms with the realities of the world.¡± While the prince¡¯s words sounded cold he had full trust in Ajax not being affected too much by this. In his room, now that he had some time to think it through logically, Ajax had come to the conclusion that what he did didn¡¯t affect slaves that much, they were already slaves before and they were already being ¡®trained¡¯ before he ever made anything public. Once he reached that conclusion he went to sleep, tired from the emotional response. The next day Ajax returned to the slave markets with a new goal. He wanted to purchase a few slaves that he would later free while also hopefully gaining a few retainers out of it. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± Anna asked him once she heard he wanted to return to the slave markets. ¡°You could spend your entire fortune and you wouldn¡¯t even put a sizable dent in the slave market.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to spend everything in hopes of atoning for something.¡± Ajax reassured her as he quickly passed the older slaves and headed for the area that sold children. One thing Ajax had realized as he thought about it was that slaves actually had some of the best foundations. Not even nobles put their children through such rigorous and torturous training regimen from such an early age, for obvious reasons. Ajax had focused his search on children around the ages of seven years old. His [Inspector¡¯s Eye] being a great tool as he could look into what skills the children already had as well as their stats. ¡°Why are you looking at slaves this young?¡± Oliver asked, there was no judgement in his tone, simply curiosity. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t some closer to ten years old be better since they endured the training longer?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°They will have specialized too much by that age and their resentment will most likely also transfer to me.¡± One thing Ajax picked up on was that some of the poorer slavers had some of the more resilient slaves. Without the money to care for their product as well some of the slaves had developed skills like [Regeneration] or [Enhanced Nutrient Absorption]. The second skill was relatively useless if he was going to acquire them since he would make sure they were well fed but the first was a very rare skill that many physical warriors spent decades training in hopes of getting it. ¡°I see he is a lot more accepting of our ways compared to the last time he was here.¡± Solderon said with a smile as he watched the two slaves Ajax had acquired before as they departed from the city. Both slaves were beastkin, not only that but both had their bodies very well developed for their age along with five and four skills respectively. Ajax had gotten them relatively cheaply, he was sure the slaver would have wanted to charge a lot more but while Ajax¡¯s hadn¡¯t seen it happen he was sure the Empire had pressured the negotiations to ensure Ajax had a more pleasant experience. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look at them in the same way you do.¡± The prince corrected. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°They are a good investment.¡± Solderon glossed over the prince¡¯s objection. ¡°He must have a decent inspection skill if he managed to look at their skills.¡± ¡°They are a gamble.¡± the prince corrected. ¡°Getting slaves young is always a gamble.¡± Solderon said. ¡°You only gable on their talent.¡± the prince explained. ¡°As soon as they arrive at his dutchie they will be free. He is not only gambling on their talent but also on their character in that they will choose to join his House as retainers.¡± ¡°That is a foolish way of doing things¡± Solderon scowled in disgust. ¡°Increased risk with no reward.¡± ¡°There is a reward.¡± the prince responded with his trademark smirk. ¡°If you have their loyalty you don¡¯t need to limit their potential to retain control over them.¡± Over the next week and a half the convoy slowly made its way towards the Empire¡¯s capital. Much to the prince¡¯s surprise Ajax had visited the slave market in every village and small town they stopped in. While he hadn¡¯t yet acquired any more slaves Ajax¡¯s mood seemed to improve with every single stop. Much to the concern of Lexi, Anna, Xavier and even the prince. ¡°Ajax what is going on?¡± Xavier asked as they departed their most recent stop early in the morning. Xavier, Lexi, Anna, the prince and Oliver were all inside the carriage while the squads made sure nobody interrupted, the prince was even using an item to ensure the privacy of their discussion. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked, surprised. ¡°Your first reaction to what your training meant for the slaves was a bit more extreme than I expected but understandable.¡± the prince answered him. ¡°But you¡¯ve gone from stone-faced acceptance to increasingly happy with every visit to the slave market. You¡¯re worrying us.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t see it?¡± Ajax asked, surprised that not even the prince had seen what he put together. ¡°See what?¡± Lexi asked, she was the most distraught at Ajax¡¯s new attitude. ¡°That the Empire will most likely fall.¡± Ajax¡¯s words cause everyone to gape at him with wide eyes the size of dinner plates. ¡°Gryndor will likely take it as a vassal or conquer it outright.¡± ¡°How do you see that happening?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Because they are too greedy.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°Unlike commoners or nobles slaves won¡¯t really have the option of putting most of their excess points into Vitality. With the increased amount of stat points they will become stronger and stronger. In a century or two the small slave outbreaks they have now will expand into full on revolts. Even if the Empire manages to contain them it will leave them far too weak to defend themselves.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± the prince asked, now no longer concerned about Ajax but intrigued by his prediction. ¡°It wasn¡¯t as obvious in the big cities but villages have to deal with rogue slaves every couple of years.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Those incidents are clearly swept under the rug, my guess is that it will all kick off from the villages that neighbor the three other dungeons away from the capital.¡± Even if it didn¡¯t happen naturally Ajax was going to induce a civil war in two centuries. The plan to do so was simple, have a few of his people infiltrate the villages surrounding the dungeons and have his spies help the slaves plan. One big advantage the dungeons granted them besides an increase of power was a safe place to stay if they found a favorable floor until the time was right. Entire groups were wiped out in dungeons every day so a few groups of slaves not exiting wouldn¡¯t draw too much attention, until they all exited at once. ¡°The population is increasing.¡± Anna said as everything clicked. ¡°Their focus will be on expanding into the Wild Lands, especially once they see that we are starting to do so. To do that they will train more well rounded combat slaves to help them expand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to inform my brother of this.¡± the prince said as he also realized that Ajax¡¯s vision was no longer had just a small chance of happening but was a likely scenario. One thing he did leave usaid was that it was his brother that will also be making the decision on if they warned the Empire of the peril they were in or let things play out. ¡°Do you think the same thing will happen in Deepwood and Highmountain?¡± Ajax asked, a little hopeful that he might have given the slaves a chance to fight back and free themselves. ¡°No.¡± It was Oliver who answered. ¡°Deepwood and Highmountain not only have much fewer slaves but they also rely on their slaves much less for combat. A big reason why the Empire focuses so much on slaves is because us humans have such a low affinity for magic.¡± ¡°It is a relief to know what it was that improved your mood.¡± the prince said. ¡°I do want to caution you about letting it show like that however.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be in the capital in a few days.¡± Xavier said. ¡°After a welcome party with the royal family we can delve the day after and be on our way home soon after that.¡± For the first time ever Ajax was looking forwards to a dungeon but not for the reward the delve would give him. Outside the possibility of an Achievement awaiting him after getting one hundred and fifty stats from clearing floors there was nothing that exciting awaiting him in the dungeon. Back in his duchy however he had so many things he wanted to do and that was all before accounting for his exploratory trip into the Wild Lands. Chapter 451 Emperor P.O.V. ¡°So Xavier is finally coming back and he is bringing what amounts to an army?.¡± My grandson said as we all ate dinner around the table. ¡°Best make sure you don¡¯t challenge him again.¡± His sister Denisa teased him. ¡°I know better than that now.¡± Despite how humiliating it was to lose to someone who was two years younger, that loss to Xavier did Sandor a lot of good. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in the two slaves the young duke bought.¡± I say as I look towards my advisor. ¡°What did you find out about them?¡± ¡°Two beastkin, a seven year old monkey type boy and a six year old lizard type girl.¡± the advisor answered and he pulled out a report from him spacial storage. ¡°Both were malnourished but tall for their age.¡± ¡°Why would he buy malnourished slaves?¡± My granddaughter asked. ¡°Easier to build loyalty.¡± My wife explained. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be slaves when they cross over into Gryndor, much easier to gain the loyalty of a child who wasn¡¯t properly fed by making sure they always have enough to eat.¡± ¡°Not just that, but they both seemed to have gained some rare skills due to their less than ideal conditions.¡± the advisor added. ¡°The boy gained [Regeneration], the girl¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Sandor asked as he notices my advisor go silent as his eyes scan the document. ¡°The slaver didn¡¯t keep a good enough eye on his slaves.¡± Roger tsked his tongue. ¡°Missed a skill the girl developed before he sold her, an Epic skill.¡± ¡°A slave with an epic skill? That should have been pretty obvious, especially at that age, was it mana related?¡± my wife asked just as intrigued as I was now. ¡°No, it related to her bestial heritage.¡± Roger answered as he continued to scan the report, his frown growing the further he got. ¡°One of her eyes adapted to hunt in darkness, [Heat Vision], her right eye doesn¡¯t see colors any more but rather how hot or cold something is.¡± ¡°Hunt in the darkness?¡± Sandor asked. Roger was so focused on getting through the report now that he flippantly answered. ¡°Their store room wasn¡¯t all that great, she would hunt and eat mice and rats at night to compensate for the lack of food.¡± I could see all of us lose our appetite at the thought of eating raw rat or mouse. All it took was me clearing my throat and Roger broke out of his focused reading giving all of us his full attention once more. Much as I appreciated Rogers'' talents, his lack of social skills was the reason I didn¡¯t allow his presence in open court. ¡°My apologies.¡± he quickly caught on to his mistake. ¡°Both slaves also picked up [Sense Mana] on the road to the capital with the help of Duke Hearthbound as well as Lady Manashaper.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Those beasts, gods curse them, why do they deserve such an easy access to mana.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Both of the salves had crafting skills.¡± Roger said. ¡°The girl picked up leatherworking from trying to make herself a blanket from the skin of the rats she¡­¡± he stopped himself before finishing. ¡°The boy [Mining] from being rented out to mine some rock from a nearby quarry.¡± ¡°They both sound like combat slaves, why bother paying extra for ones with professions.¡± Denisa asked. ¡°He wants to train them as delving crafters just like he is.¡± I share my own thoughts on the matter as an answer. ¡°He is a talented alchemist, from what my son said he reacted badly to seeing the results of his work on the slave market and bought the two of them the day after. Might want to raise them as atonement and mold them after himself.¡± ¡°That cursed training method.¡± Sandor grumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad about it.¡± I chastised him. ¡°It is the reason you have a chance to become Emperor.¡± I warned my son about having children when he was so young and why that would be a mistake. Thankfully Sandor and Denisa were still low level enough to take advantage of the dungeon craze that was about to follow in the wake of Ajax¡¯s own delving spree. With the added Vitality of them would still live long enough to take the throne when their father steps down. ¡°How strong do you think Ajax is?¡± My youngest son Zilfallon asked, finally joining the conversation as he stopped eating. He was the only one whose appetite wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest at the previous mention of eating rats. At only a hundred and fifty years old my son had grown powerful enough to call himself an elite soldier. He wasn¡¯t a prodigy by any stretch but with the amount of resources he had access to and his dedication he was actually a better fighter than Solderon despite the fifty year age gap. ¡°Hard to say.¡± I truly didn¡¯t know how powerful Ajax was now, I looked forward to seeing him so I could judge that very thing for myself. ¡°What do you think, uncle Roger?¡± Zilfallon asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know but if I had to guess I would say he is stronger than your older brother.¡± Roger and Zilfallon had always gotten along well, it was probably because Roger had become my advisor around the time Zilfallon was born. Roger was well aware of his lack of social skills even back then and had looked to ingratiate himself by bonding with my son, becoming uncle Roger. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Sandor stood up so fast his chair fell over backwards. ¡°You think he¡¯s stronger than father?¡± He regained his composure as one of the guards quickly lifted the chair and he sat back down. ¡°I know better than to think I can compare but he is still younger than me, how could you say he is stronger than father.¡± ¡°Well we know that Arianwyn, the elven princess is around level eighty and she is a genius of her generation who developed a Domain.¡± Much as I disliked those haughty pointy eared tree lovers I couldn¡¯t disagree with Rogers assessment. ¡°Despite her Bond helping her she still lost in the tournament.¡± ¡°My father could also beat her, even if he isn¡¯t a dedicated fighter like uncle Zilfallon.¡± Denisa said as she placed her had to calm down her older brother. It was these interactions between the two of them that made me think Denisa would make for a better successor to Solderon than Sandor. He was simply too hot headed. ¡°True as that may be, Duke Hearthbound has to have gained I would say more than five hundred Stats since he won that duel.¡± Roger¡¯s defended his assessment. I could see Roger¡¯s words shocked not only Denise and Sandor but also Zilfallon. It was easy to forget that between Deepwood and Sylvanthal Ajax had delved ten dungeons, even if we assume he never pushed past the level one hundred barrier that would still mean he cleared fifty five floors and I would be willing to be a large amount he cleared at least the level one hundred and ten floors as well. Fifty five floors would mean four hundred and forty stats, add another 10% from potions and that is a four hundred and eighty four stats without a single level up. ¡°Such incredible growth.¡± Zilfallon murmured as his eyes lost focus. I knew this was a hard time for him, he had always loved fighting, though he enjoyed fighting humanoids more than beasts. Zilfallon had come to accept from an early age that while he didn¡¯t have the talent to be the best he could make up for some of that with hard work and the amount of resources he had as an imperial prince. I¡¯ve seen him be jealous of others'' talent before but this was the first time I saw him jealous of someone else''s opportunities. ¡°Do you think he would duel me?¡± Zilfallon asked. ¡°I very much doubt it.¡± My wife said as she shook her head no. ¡°He was almost a recluse last time he was here and I expect Gryndor will want to leave as soon as possible.¡± I didn¡¯t blame them for that, it was simply the smart move. Despite my decision not to take action I still had two different plans ready in case I decided it was best that the three future champions, Annabeth Goldmancer, Alexis Manashaper and Xavier Gryndor needed to die along with the most talented human in recorded history Ajax Hearthbound. ¡°Roger, double security while they are here.¡± I said as I thought more about it. ¡°I have already done so, Your Majesty.¡± Roger said. ¡°As you have commanded.¡± ¡°Increase it again.¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think those beasts are going to try something.¡± I¡¯ve always thought that those half animal abominations were up to something in that desert of theirs, the appearance of Ajax had to have at least messed up some of their plans and I didn¡¯t want them to take advantage of this trip to have Gryndor attack us while removing what could be the best chance at humans taking over all the kingdoms. I will have to see if Denise has a chance to marry into the Hearthbound family, maybe now that he has grown a little and become a Duke he will be open to multiple wives. Need to be careful not to push it too hard and offend him however. They arrive tomorrow after all. Chapter 452 ¡°How did you know they would be able to learn how to use their mana?¡± Xavier asked Ajax as they approached the capital. While almost all beastkin could learn to use their mana, getting the skill was a different matter. That both of the slaves Ajax bought had managed to gain [Sense Mana] in a week under his and Lexi¡¯s guidance was something very important to question. ¡°Desperation.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°You most often gain skills when you are under pressure. I am sure both of them must have been pushed so close to death from their bad living conditions that they instinctively used mana. A little dedicated effort to use it consciously was all it took.¡± Ajax was very happy with his investment into new retainers. While both of the slaves still looked at him and Lexi with wariness after a week they stopped flinching whenever they raised their hand while in striking distance. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in that eye the little gal¡¯s got.¡± one of their guards said as he looked towards the painfully thin beastkin that was still wearing her collar. ¡°I know about [Heat Vision], quite a few monsters with it but this is the first time I met a person with it and they can explain what they see with it.¡± Ajax himself was also very interested in [Heat Vision]. Initially he had hope she had the ability to shoot lasers from her eyes but he realized the absurdity and wasn¡¯t disappointed. ¡°Wish I could take those collars off them.¡± Ajax said, he wanted to start working on building trust and in his eyes those collars were the first wall he would have to knock down. ¡°Those collars are important for their protection.¡± Oliver repeated himself, he had made the same observation a couple of times since the slaves had joined the convoy. ¡°As long as they belong to someone much fewer people would dare do anything when they are in town.¡± Ajax¡¯s next idea to build trust was to have the slaves join them for their meals. That also backfired however as the two children wouldn¡¯t touch any of the food before they were expressly told they could eat. After they were told they could eat, Ajax saw them practically inhale the food, almost certainly afraid someone would take it from them if it wasn¡¯t gone as soon as possible. ¡°It¡¯ll take time.¡± Lexi reassured him. ¡°Some things just take time.¡± Lexi herself had grown a little attached to the two slaves as she saw them as her own students after helping them learn [Sense Mana]. Something she surprised herself with as she hadn¡¯t expected to enjoy teaching as much as she had. She very much planned to help train House Hearthbound¡¯s retainers in the future. ¡°At least there is no welcoming gala.¡± Ajax said as the convoy entered the capital. The whole place looked very much the same as it did five years ago. ¡°They don¡¯t want their nobles to get comfortable around you.¡± The prince said with his trademark smirk. ¡°There will be a party you can¡¯t skip out on after you exit the dungeon.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they want people to get comfortable around me?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not that I¡¯m complaining.¡± ¡°Because of Kate.¡± The prince answered. ¡°That someone of your status has a beastkin as a sister-in-law is outrageous to them.¡± The prince had been purposefully loud enough that both slaves heard him and their wide eyes locked onto Ajax. They couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard, they quickly looked at each other thinking they must have heard wrong only to be met by the same incredulous gaze. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°You really should name them something else.¡± Xavier whispered. Neither of the slaves¡¯s former owners had that many slaves to look after so the two of them had been named with a placeholder names, Snake and Monkey. Their new masters were supposed to provide them with new names after they purchased them. ¡°I¡¯ll have them choose their own names once we cross back into Gryndor and I remove the collars.¡± Ajax whispered back as they arrived at their accommodations. The same mansion that housed them during their previous visit to the Empire, though their ambassador had changed in the past five years. Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver all went to bed relatively quickly. All of them wanted to prepare for their delve tomorrow. While none of them would be pushing their limits as they had done in previous delves they wanted to be at their best. The lack of safety due to not having anyone boosting them meant they always needed to be on guard during the delve. Once he was sure that all of them had settled in and a squad had set up their surveillance, the eldest prince of Gryndor took one squad and headed for the imperial palace. Unlike their previous delves he didn¡¯t need to stick so close to his charges this time around, not only that but he other duties on this trip besides the safety of the new generation. ¡°Took you long enough to get here.¡± Zilfallon provoked the prince as soon as he arrived at the palace. The prince took a moment to examine Zilfallon, instead of responding to his words or offering a greeting he showed his trademark smirk before answering the provocation with a simple backhanded compliment. ¡°You¡¯ve closed the gap some. But you¡¯re still not ready.¡± The prince¡¯s words had the desired effect as Zilfallon clenched his teeth. ¡°Enough of this.¡± Solderon tsked in annoyance. ¡°You said you have a message for father, come deliver it and you two can play your childish games after.¡± ¡°Lead on.¡± The prince regained his serious expression as he and the ten man squad of elite warriors was led into the palace. The small throne room they were led to was similar to the one the king of Gryndor used for important meetings. It was also pretty packed. Besides the immediate imperial family, there were at least forty other people there, only a little over half of them being guards there for the protection of the emperor. ¡°Welcome, boy.¡± The emperor greeted the prince with a wide smile and open arms. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since the war.¡± ¡°My father thinks you¡¯re a bad influence on me.¡± the prince responded. Back during the latest war the Empire had allied with Gryndor. The prince had met with the emperor frequently during that campaign. The emperor had been pushing for a royal marriage between the empire and Gryndor to build a stronger bond between the two nations. An idea that hadn¡¯t been without merit before Shadow¡¯s rise to prominence and the forced peace that followed. ¡°And yet here you are.¡± the emperor¡¯s smile widened. ¡°My father sent me with a sensitive piece of information.¡± the prince responded as he made a show of taking in everyone present. ¡°One not even my guards know about yet.¡± The emperor¡¯s face turned stoic as he took a moment to come to a decision. ¡°Leave us.¡± The command sent everyone but the guards, the empress as well as their sons and grandchildren out of the room. ¡°Go on then, what¡¯s so important.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about expansion into the Wild Lands.¡± His words instantly provoked a gasp from Sandor. ¡°We have a very likely theory on how to expand safely into the Wild Lands.¡± Everyone present knew that expansion into the Wild Lands will become very important in the near future to accommodate the increase in population. ¡°A theory?¡± Solderon sounded outraged at the waste of time. ¡°Why not test it out then come here and share if it is important.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have wasted your time.¡± the prince quickly answered. ¡°Anything concrete will most likely take a while to verify but we will let you know as soon as we do. After all only a fool would rush anything to do with the ascended races.¡± The room became so quiet even someone with a Perception of five could hear a pin drop. ¡°You¡¯ve gained insight into the ascended races?¡± the emperor sat forward on his throne as he asked. The prince provided a quick explanation of what the agreement made between the ascended races regarding humanoids was, he didn¡¯t share any of their sources however. ¡°I would like to request access to any of your records that connect to this matter.¡± ¡°Ha, I thought you were lying at first.¡± Zilfallon laughed, drawing piercing glares from the squad there to protect the prince. ¡°You¡¯re only sharing this with us because if we poke the sleeping dragon it might not bother to check before it wipes you out as well.¡± ¡°What my son means to say is thank you.¡± the emperor said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to share anything we find that is relevant. Have you shared your theory with any other nation?¡± While the question sounded innocent enough the real intent was clear as day to everyone ¡®can we use this to provoke another nation into self-destruction¡¯. ¡°Not yet.¡± the prince said. ¡°You¡¯ve given me quite a lot to think about,¡± the emperor said. ¡°Not in the least being how you came upon this theory. Do have a good evening, I look forward to seeing you again in a couple of days.¡± As they prepared to take their leave the prince turned back, his trademark grin causing Zilfallon and Solderon to brace themselves. ¡°Oh, before I forget. I highly recommend increasing the guard around your dungeon for a short while.¡± the prince¡¯s gaze becoming more predatory with every word. ¡°Something to handle a level on hundred and twenty floor break at the very least.¡± Chapter 453 ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± Lexi warned Ajax as soon as they entered the dungeon. ¡°What¡­ but¡­¡± Ajax was left speechless. ¡°I know it¡¯s been a long time for you since you entered a dungeon. But for most people it''s normal to spend a few months without delving.¡± Lexi sighed. Ajax knew Lexi was right. The only people who delved as often as he did during the academy were adventurers that were freelancing to multiple noble families as they tried to save up a nest egg for something. ¡°Fine, let''s just go.¡± Ajax said as he started looking for the closest arch to the next floor. Since all of them had completed the first three floors already there was simply no need to kill any of the mini bosses there, they all made their way to the closest arch and simply moved on to the next floor. Ajax made sure to solo the boss and collect the body, no point in wasting his ability. The fourth floor represented new ground for Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver. None of them were pressured by the level forty fives, more than that Oliver had no use for the floor since he had already surpassed level forty seven. ¡°Are you sure you want to push as far as the eighth floor?¡± Ajax asked. Considering that Lexi had already killed a level seventy two the answer should be obvious, but this wasn¡¯t a boost. As much as Ajax could act as a booster there was still a big difference between Ajax and the real thing. It was easy to forget that while Ajax was starting to rapidly close in on being able to kill monsters close to the same level as the highest level humanoids around, the difference is power between him and those elites was much bigger. Each humanoid that made it to level one hundred and fifty was a generational talent, in one way or another. They couldn¡¯t be compared to to monster of the same level. Where Ajax needed a favorable matchup to be able to win with a perfect fight, they would need a bad matchup to lose. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi reassured him as they made their way around the fourth floor looking for another miniboss. ¡°We just need to find a floor where I can isolate a miniboss easily. If we don¡¯t find one we can always just walk out.¡± The fifth floor would be the last one they could blindly walk into. While Lexi, Anna and Xavier were all comfortable against pretty much any level fifty five, the same could not be said for Oliver. When Ajax checked the last arch they found as they cleared the minibosses he was a little surprised. ¡°That is odd.¡± Ajax said as he tried to focus [Mana Syphon] as much as he could to get a better read on the mana inside the arch.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Lexi asked him. ¡°I can only feel one mana type.¡± Ajax said as he kept trying to see deeper. ¡°I thought you could tell apart about four or five when they are around this level.¡± Xavier said confused. ¡°Usually the top three once we reach level fifty, four if the fourth one is close to the third in prevalence.¡± Ajax corrected him. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Then why can you only see one.¡± ¡°Because it is more than 90% of the floor.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°It''s masking everything else.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Lexi was quick to say. Oliver, Xavier and even Anna looked at Lexi with odd expressions. It wasn¡¯t like her to blindly jump head first like this, especially as she hadn¡¯t even asked what said dominant mana type was. Ajax on the other hand was very touched by Lexi¡¯s gesture. The first time Ajax had ever lost a party member had been inside a floor dominated by the light element. It was something that Ajax still felt a little guilty about to this day since he had kept the information to himself so as to not disclose his ability to predict floors. Lexi was the only one of them he had shared that with and she was eager to jump at the opportunity of helping Ajax feel a bit better about the incident in any way, even if it was something as simple as clearing another one element floor. ¡°What element is it?¡± Oliver asked, he wasn¡¯t certain about killing a level fifty miniboss that aligned so strongly with some elements. ¡°Metal.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°How much above 90% is it?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°A bit over 93% not quite 94%.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Is this the highest you¡¯ve seen like this?¡± Anna asked. ¡°No, I once came across a 99% Light floor.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°That was brutal but the enemies were also above level fifty.¡± ¡°I say we do it.¡± Xavier nodded. ¡°Could maybe find some decent quality metal to take out.¡± Anna was also on board. ¡°I can handle metal.¡± Oliver confirmed. With everyone in agreement they all collectively entered the fifth floor of the dungeon. As they entered the floor nobody said a word. Everyone but Ajax was dismissing the update about +1 to all stats but even after that they couldn¡¯t do anything but stare as their jaws dropped and they took in the sights of the floor. The floor design wasn¡¯t all that special. It looked like a primitive city in the center of which was a large Aztec temple. Clearly the city was meant to be used by humanoids, the issue was that Ajax was simply unable to pick out the specific combination of Life mana and a few other mana types he had come to recognise only as a group representing humanoids. ¡°Is that¡­ Is that what I think it is?¡± Oliver asked, his voice shaking with disbelief. ¡°I think it is.¡± Xavier said as he stomped his foot leaving a good size dent on the floor near the exit arch. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a floor like this.¡± Lexi said as she took in everything with wide eyes. Anna was left speechless, she opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to say something, anything but nothing came out. While Ajax was just as shocked at what he was seeing as everyone else, he wasn¡¯t as clueless. There was a very good reason why such a floor theme should be technically impossible, since it made no sense. But there were other floors that also made no sense but existed because of something else, myths and legends. And Ajax was familiar with this particular myth as it came from earth. ¡°El Dorado.¡± Ajax¡¯s whisper was so soft nobody could make out what he said. The entire city was made out of gold. This floor alone represented more wealth than all eight kingdoms did together, this city however was much larger than any interpretation Ajax had ever heard with the buildings extending past the horizon. The floor also confirmed something for Ajax, he hadn¡¯t heard a single story about a city of gold since he came to this world, if floors like this existed there would surely be a story. The only possible answer was that the dungeons was borrowing something from him. ¡°I doubt there would be an elemental with only level fifty but do you think there is a golem somewhere on this floor?¡± Anna¡¯s first words were calm and her tone composed, but her face still showed the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling. ¡°Also how big do you think it is?¡± Nobody had an answer to that. While Oliver was a little confused at the question since he didn¡¯t know about Ajax¡¯s ability both Lexi and Xavier locked their eyes onto Ajax. This was mana infused gold, in one fell swoop House Hearthbound might end up becoming one of the top five richest Houses in Gryndor after Ajax exits the dungeon. _________________________________________________________________________ Outside the dungeon Zilfallon and Solderon were both in attendance with two of the seven imperial hands. Much like the ten squads of Gryndor the Empire had seven hands, each hand was a group of five people who were not only extremely powerful but also worked perfectly together. Each finger was at least level one hundred and sixty five and each leader above level one hundred and eighty. ¡°He was just trying to mess with us, wasn¡¯t he.¡± Solderon grumbled as he looked towards Zilfallon. As much as Zilfallon wanted to agree with his older brother he just couldn¡¯t help but remember the confident grin and challenging eyes the prince of Gryndor had when he threw out those parting words. As a level one hundred and twenty five Zilfallon wouldn¡¯t be confident enough to venture past the level one hundred floor by himself. In an unknown floor he could easily be swarmed and killed my a patrol of level one hundred and ten creatures. ¡°All we can do is wait.¡± Zilfallon said with his eyes fixed on the large arch of the dungeon. ¡° We still have a while to go, the others haven¡¯t yet come out.¡± Chapter 454 ¡°Are they beastkin?¡± Lexi asked a little confused as she saw the Aztec warriors with war paint and feathered helmets charge down the street towards them. ¡°No.¡± Ajax said before he sprung into action, level fifty combatants barely qualified as a threat to Lexi, Anna and Xavier so Ajax had no issue wiping out the small patrol. ¡°This has to be the weirdest sword design I have ever seen.¡± Xavier said as he picked up the macuahuitl, ¡°Or is it a hammer, maybe an odd axe?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a club.¡± Ajax provided. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing as a hammer?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°A club has the weight more evenly distributed across the length of the weapon, makes it less useful against a heavy armor but it¡¯s easier to maneuver and deals decent damage even if the end of the weapon isn¡¯t the part that makes contact.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Clubs are also usually longer than hammers because they don¡¯t have all the weight on the end.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still a bad weapon.¡± Lexi said as she examined the weapons. ¡°All of these seem of bad quality.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they are old.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°What do you mean old?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Old as in before humanoids learned to use heat to shape metal. They are wood and stone made to fit together.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Keep your guard up and focus on your [Sense Mana].¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°None of us should have a problem on this floor, its why we risked the odd mana distribution.¡± ¡°Something that pays off really well if we find a way to grab a wall and take it with us.¡± Anna said. ¡°You should be careful because we came from people like this¡± Ajax explained ¡°If they managed to survive and develop ways to melt metal and forge it it means they had ways to fight off threats, I¡¯m guessing that means magic. Could be a good chance to learn something new.¡± Ajax really hoped none of them could tell how nervous he was. Sure everything he said was technically true from what he knew about the Aztecs origin, as for the magic part he was mostly guessing that the System would make the old Aztec magic rituals adapt for use in their world. If that happened like it did with the blasters from the futuristic space floor it should happen here as well. ¡°What about the gold?¡± Anna asked as she noticed Xavier and Lexi be instantly excited by the possibility of any new magic. ¡°I¡¯m hoping the temple has larger statues, golems that we can fight.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the statue of a jaguar placed on a nearby street. ¡°The bigger the better.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes also shone with a hint of greed that put a smile on Anna¡¯s face. ¡°What are you doing with that?¡± Xavier asked as Ajax quickly moved and ripped the closest doorway off its hinges before stuffing it into his spacial ring. ¡°Experiments.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Lots of materials have unknown uses but how often can you play around with gold to see if something happens in alchemy.¡± ¡°I now see why you brought four storage rings with you.¡± Oliver says as he watches Ajax pull a second door loose. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. As they ventured deeper into the city the group started to head straight for the temple. ¡°Why are we going there and not just heading for the next floor?¡± Oliver asked. That put the group in a bit of a pickle. Ajax didn¡¯t want to share his ability with Oliver, while they trusted him not to do anything stupid like trying to kill Anna again they didn¡¯t trust him to keep his mouth shut in the long term, so far he hadn¡¯t been there to see Ajax loot the corpse of whatever he killed on the previous floors. ¡°Because it''s a temple made of gold.¡± the way Xavier said that made it sound like Oliver was the unreasonable one for not wanting to go see it. ¡°Also they might have some old runes carved there for protection, my grandfather would love those.¡± Lexi also brought her own support. For the next half an hour the group covered a good amount of distance towards the temple, they encountered another two patrols but just like the first one these were simple physical warriors with odd weapons that Ajax had no issue wiping out. He had even intentionally played around with one of them to see if they could do something else but nothing came of it. This changed when they ran into the fourth patrol. Like the previous three patrols this was a seven man group but only six of them were purely physical fighters. Ajax was the first to feel it but as he wiped out the first six with practiced ease Ajax felt the mana gather around the seventh member. ¡°He¡¯s doing something.¡± Lexi said with excitement. ¡°Cuauhtli tlahtoani, tlahuizcalpanecatl, In ch¨©ch¨©ltik tlap¨¡ni, Huey teotl mitoa, iuhqui tonameyotl.¡± The warrior chanted without taking his eyes off the group, he clearly seemed confused as to why they didn¡¯t just attack him but he continued his chant. ¡°That¡¯s a really impractical chant.¡± Lexi said as she looked on with curiosity. ¡°It even rivals some of the longest combat casts I know of and all mages who use those often end up dead because of messing up the chant mid combat.¡± T¨¥cuani tzonpantli, In tl¨¡ltikpak ohuaya ohuaya! Xochitl, yaoyotl, in Cuauhtli icuic!¡± As the warrior got close to the end Ajax notices he pulled out a more ornate knife, slashed his palm open before retrieving something that looked alarmingly like the heart of an animal and a mana core. The warrior stacked the items on the ground before dripping his blood over them and finally stabbing the knife down crushing the mana core and piercing the heart. ¡°Kreeeeeee-ahh!¡± Nobody knew where the high pitched eagle cry came from but they were all lucky Ajax was so much stronger than the level fifties. The moment of confusion caused by the cry of the eagle was all the warrior needed to charge towards them. Ajax could feel the mana infusing the warrior with power. No longer did it move like a level fifty, it now moved more like a level seventy. Ajax could feel using his [Sense Mana] how the mana infused the warriors body. It worked totally differently that how [Mana Syphon] raised his own physical strength. Ajax made sure not to drain the warrior¡¯s spell of mana as he moved to clash with him. Even with the power boost there was still no threat to Ajax. The battle between the two of them looked more like a spar between a child and their teacher as Ajax put the warrior through his paces. It was less than a minute later when the effects of the enhancement began to fail, but not because of lack of mana. ¡°That¡¯s just wrong.¡± Oliver said as he watched the warrior¡¯s bicep burst in a shower of blood when Ajax pressed into his parry trying to see just how much strength he could handle. The warrior¡¯s knee was the next to go, snapping as he tried to pivot quickly enough to hit Ajax from the side with a surprise attack. It was all of nought as Ajax had no problem keeping up and blocking the strike. The fight ended when Ajax delivered a rather light kick to the mans ribs looking to make a bit of distance but he felt the ribs snap sending the warrior to the floor. The man¡¯s chest now looked horrifying, despite no bones having broken the skin Ajax could tell how the snapped fragments were now poking at odd angles. It took another five seconds of the man screaming on the ground before the magic empowering finally ran its course. With his curiosity satisfied Ajax felt there was no need to let the man suffer and he put him out of his misery by taking the head clean off. ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of a sacrifice spell like that.¡± Lexi said as she looked at the man¡¯s body. ¡°But that spell could be something very useful.¡± ¡°Useful?¡± Anna asked with a raised eyebrow as she took in the ravaged body of the warrior, most of the damage had been self inflicted by the man pushing his body too far with the use of the boosting spell. ¡°What are those items?¡± Lexi answered Anna¡¯s question with her own as she pointed to the small pile a few ways off where the knife stood impaled into the heart with four shattered pieces of a mana core strewn around them. ¡°Heart of an eagle, around level forty eight, it¡¯s mana core too.¡± Anna answered. ¡°The items had too much power for his body.¡± Lexi explained ¡°The spell would work much better with lower level reagents, though the duration leaves a lot to be desired.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is useful. Mages have weak and frail bodies, we wouldn¡¯t be able to handle anything that would give us a worthwhile boost.¡± Oliver pointed out. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work for me either.¡± Ajax said as he finished putting his thoughts on the magic together, I am already pushing my body with my boosting skill stacking another one on top that pays no regard to the damage will hurt more than help.¡± ¡°But it would be great for Benedict.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°While he can use mana he is fully focused on physical fighting, he may have used a bit of mana to start the spell but there was no continuous cost. I bet it would work pretty well for hybrid fighters too.¡± ¡°It seems like a good last resort to have.¡± Xavier joined in now intrigued by the possibilities. ¡°Shame the cost seems pretty high, that heart also seemed fresh so getting the sacrificial reagents will not be easy or easily available.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s keep going to see if we can find another.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Never a good idea to draw a conclusion from a single example.¡± Chapter 455 The group continued to head towards the temple. On the way there they encountered a lot more patrols. Ajax was careful to contain any of their empowered casters while Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver each got their own. ¡°They are all using the same chant. Not sure if it is specific to the animal heart involved or if that is the only spell they know.¡± Lexi said as she had examined the spell. ¡°It also seems to work by empowering the knife not themselves.¡± ¡°You mean that anyone could use the empowerment if they swung the knife?¡± Ajax asked. As good as Ajax was at dealing with mana Lexi still surpassed him in terms of theory and he was inclined to trust her judgement. The spell also looked fragile enough that he was confident in smothering it with [Mana Syphon]. The next patrol with a caster they came across Ajax wasted no time in dispatching all of them, leaving only the chanter to finish his spell, before he had a chance to stab the knife through the heart and mana core Ajax rushed him. He caught the warrior¡¯s wrist before he could stab the knife while at the same time also taking off his head. ¡°Are you going to try it?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°I¡¯d much rather someone else do so, but if I am right about their bodies being too weak to handle the empowerment none of you can.¡± Ajax said before he stabbed the knife through the mana core and heart. Ajax had made sure to cut off the empowerment of [Mana Syphon] before he gained another boost. The boost he received wasn¡¯t as strong as the one [Mana Syphon] could provide, but his body still felt weird despite being used to handling even more power. ¡°Woah.¡± Ajax suddenly exclaimed as his perception changed. His vision suddenly came in and out of focus as his sight improved, he was forced to close his eyes to maintain his balance.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lexi asked worriedly. ¡°Is the spell attacking you?¡± ¡°No, but I am more and more certain that the hearts belonged to birds.¡± Ajax said as he slowly peaked through a partially open eyelid as he tried to control his improved perception. ¡°The spell must be boosting the strongest aspects of the heart.¡± Lexi ventured a guess. ¡°Birds are fast and powerful but they have little to no endurance or defence. They make up for it with flight and good eyesight.¡± ¡°Maybe the spell is just unbalanced like that?¡± Anna said. ¡°It could be but I doubt it.¡± Ajax said, ¡°The mana changed slightly when the knife stabbed the heart, I would guess it''s based on the heart used.¡± ¡°It can also be used by someone other than the initial caster.¡± Oliver pointed out. ¡°This could be a big breakthrough for humans since we have so few magic users.¡± Ajax had barely managed to get a handle on keeping one eye open without his body swaying in an attempt to compensate for his new eyesight when the boost ran out. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Xavier asked eager to find out anything about this potential new source of power. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°I¡¯m fine, there doesn¡¯t seem to be an inherent backlash built in to the spell but I could feel how only certain muscles were being enhanced.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°If I had been pushing myself I¡¯m sure my body would suffer, my joints and even some muscle groups especially so.¡± ¡°I have the chant written phonetically, I won¡¯t try it but my grandpa can once I get back.¡± Lexi said as she started doing another sketch of the knife from a different angle making sure to get the runes perfectly in terms of proportion and shape. ¡°Are we ready to leave this floor?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°I think the Earth, Plant Wind floor would be a decent choice for our next floor.¡± ¡°Not just yet.¡± Ajax said with a grin on his face as he stared towards the temple. He couldn¡¯t make it out anymore but with his previously improved eyesight Ajax could make out the shape of the twenty foot tall Aztec statue with an arch between its legs. He was willing to bet that it was a golem guardian. ¡°That golem is massive.¡± Xavier exclaimed, as the person with the second highest Perception there he was able to make out the form of the golem before any of the others. The animal face complete with a beak as well as the wings that ended in palms with fingers made clear this floor''s obsession with birds. ¡°How is that golem only level fifty?¡± Oliver asked, his voice slightly shaking as he took in the size of the statue. ¡°I¡¯m guessing its because of how soft gold is.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°All it has is weight and power, it¡¯ll be slow and soft to compensate.¡± Ajax was proven correct when he engaged the golem. He had no problem locating the core and he made sure to use a precisely aimed Void empowered strike to shatter it. He didn¡¯t want to damage the golem, his efforts were somewhat wasted as the golem deformed pretty heavily from the impact it made when it fell flat on its face after the core was destroyed. ¡°I¡¯ve never butchered a statue before.¡± Ajax said with humor as he approached the fallen lump of gold with feet. Being already so close to the ground the feet still maintained their definition even after the fall. Ajax made a clean strike cutting the golem in two at the waist before storing both halves into his ring. ¡°Now we can go to the next floor.¡± ¡°You know Oliver will figure out what you can do when you take that golem out of the dungeon.¡± Lexi whispered as they made their way back towards their selected arch. ¡°I initially wanted to hide it but there is no point now, we took too long to find the golem.¡± Ajax said as he let out a sigh. ¡°Oliver will figure out at least part of what I can do anyway. It¡¯s more important that the Empire doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know the Empire let you skip out on paying taxes the last time when you came out with a bag of mana gems but I very much doubt they won¡¯t at least fight you for some of this gold.¡± Lexi said. ¡°They already set the precedent last time¡­¡± Ajax¡¯s words had no conviction behind them. He knew very well that despite what the initial agreement may have said special circumstances would be weighed differently. A twenty feet tall statue of a muscular broad shouldered beastkin with wings made out of solid mana infused gold was not something he would get to keep to himself. ¡°My duchy¡¯s financial situation has certainly improved.¡± Ajax decided to change the subject. ¡°That¡¯s an understatement if I ever heard one.¡± Anna laughed as she had slowed down to walk alongside the two and join the conversation. ¡°With that much gold your house is competing for the fourth richest in Gryndor.¡± Ajax already knew the economical landscape of Gryndor enough to know that the top three Houses in Gryndor in terms of financial power were the royals, House Goldmancer, and House Smithmade. House Smithmade was one of the oldest Houses, they focused on crafters and had been raised to Goldmancer twice before, once for a single century and another time for a milenia and a half. They were always a contender for the position of Archduke due to their influence on the crafter population. Many in fact were sure that once the current head of House Goldmancer passes it won¡¯t be long before Smithmade regains the title once again. The next dungeon floor wasn¡¯t anything all that exciting. A forest on the side of a mountain with a hellish wind blowing constantly but often changing directions on whim. Oliver struggled to kill his mini boss and wisely opted to stop his climb at this point. He had managed to gain +2 to all stats and he was happy with the results. The seventh floor was cleared in a similar manner, the only difference was that Ajax was now starting to show his limits when it came to ensuring his friends and girlfriend got a one on one fight with a mini boss. The level sixties were more resilient and Ajax had to be careful not to hit the mini boss while taking out its guards. The eighth was much harder, both Lexi and Xavier had to kill a second mini boss after Ajax was forced to enter the fight as he hadn¡¯t been able to intercept all the minions. Anna¡¯s pyromancer style naturally lent itself to isolation as her opening attack forced everyone and everything to spread out, from there Ajax could easily pick off all the enemies with the exception of the mini boss. ¡°This should be safe enough, go to sleep.¡± Lexi chastised Ajax as they made camp in front of one of the arches leading to the ninth floor. ¡°You won¡¯t get another chance to have someone watching out for you.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Ajax said as he laid down to sleep. ¡°Just remember to let the prince know I might have some trouble with taxes after I exit.¡± Chapter 456 ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± Lexi hugged Ajax one more time before they got ready to leave the dungeon. ¡°I¡¯ll only be here for a few hours.¡± Ajax tried to reassure her ¡°It''s not like I am clearing any of these floors. The team spent a bit longer than intended on the previous floor but Ajax insisted on it since it was the best chance for him to experiment with alchemy on the gold he collected that he couldn¡¯t take outside. The results of those experiments were interesting, gold was one of the worst products he had ever used when trying to create a potion or elixir. He did find out however that gold did make the more unstable mixtures go out of control almost on contact every time. That was something that might be useful in the future, certainly not something he would put large amounts of gold into. ¡°I have an idea about how to deal with the gold.¡± Anna said. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get the prince to try and get you out of the way of the dungeon break once you come out. You are carrying multiple storage rings, maybe you can slip it to him in the chaos.¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to try it if he is.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°If we get caught it¡¯s not like they can say anything about it since they technically shouldn¡¯t be taxing me at all.¡± With that the group parted ways as Lexi, Anna and Xavier exited the dungeon. Ajax was dead set on speeding through the floors, it would take something very out of the ordinary to get him to prolong his stay, especially on the higher floors where the danger was very much real. As soon as Lexi, Anna and Xavier exited the dungeon they were quickly pulled off to one side. Anna had made sure to wear a small necklace made of gold that she had in her spacial ring before entering the dungeon. Wearing it now was a test to see if the Empire knew anything about the golden city floor they had delved. The imperial soldiers that greeted them as they exited the dungeon surprised them a little. A small army was gathered at the entrance of the dungeon and they looked ready for battle. It didn¡¯t take long for them to realize that the army was there to prepare for Ajax¡¯s dungeon break. The guards were upon them in moments and they were quickly escorted away from the entrance of the dungeon. While the guards were very impatient they all kept a respectful distance and their words were very polite as they moved the trio to where the prince of Gryndor was waiting for them. ¡°How was it?¡± He greeted them with a smile from where he was sitting next to a pale looking Oliver. ¡°We were expecting you a few hours ago.¡± ¡°Ajax found something he wanted to experiment with so we stuck around until he got done playing with his cauldron.¡± Xavier explained with a sigh. ¡°Hope you didn¡¯t threaten Oliver too much.¡± ¡°Only once or twice.¡± the prince said with a calm smile. ¡°How long do you think Ajax will be?¡± ¡°A couple of hours at most, time moves faster in those higher density floors and he will be running straight from one floor to the next.¡± Lexi answered. ¡°Might take a bit longer on the sixteenth floor just to not pick a hard battle.¡± Lexi was trying to hide Ajax¡¯s ability to pick out floors, the time he would be spending on the sixteenth floor would most likely be a lot shorter than the time he spent on the fifteenth as he would be looking for the most suitable mana type for the level one hundred and tens to be. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°There is the matter of your spacial rings.¡± the imperial crown prince mentioned with a nod towards the three new arrivals. ¡°Anything we gain from the dungeon belongs to us.¡± Anna said in a cold voice. ¡°That does not apply to national resources.¡± Solderon pointed out. ¡°We do need to check.¡± Everyone knew that it was only an excuse for them to check since they wanted information more than anything else, more specifically they wanted to know just how far the pushed into the dungeon before being forced to exit. Much to the imperial¡¯s displeasure, they weren¡¯t able to find a single item from the dungeon among the groups spacial rings. ¡°You didn¡¯t take anything?¡± Sandor asked, trying to help his father. ¡°Were you that unlucky?¡± ¡°Just ask the question you want to ask.¡± Xavier dodged the obvious bait. ¡°How far did you delve?¡± Denisa asked straight forward. ¡°We exited on the ninth floor.¡± Anna answered much to everyone¡¯s surprise. They didn¡¯t know why she was giving away such vital information. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± while her face was expressionless the tone of her words didn¡¯t convey any regret. While nothing could be read on Solderon¡¯s face the same could not be said for Sandor and Denisa. Both of them winced when they heard Anna¡¯s answer. The Empire was relying on Gryndor¡¯s need to send their people into the Empire¡¯s dungeons as a way to trade spots for any future access Gryndor might gain in other nation¡¯s dungeons. The news that the most promising of the new generation won¡¯t need access to the Empire¡¯s main dungeon for at least a couple of decades was soul crushing for both Sandor and Denisa who would be forced to choose between stagnating their level or giving up floors. ¡°The situation is slated so far in your favor you don¡¯t even need to hide your hand.¡± Solderon finally showed some emotion as he let out a defeated sigh. The empire was at the mercy of Gryndor. ¡°Do you have an estimate?¡± ¡°No, my brother will handle that.¡± the prince answered. Gryndor couldn¡¯t push the Empire too far when it came to the price. If the Empire thought they were falling too far behind they would turn to war rather than wait for Gryndor to simply conquer them in a few centuries when their champions all vastly outstated the Empires. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel good, does it?¡± Sandor whispered to Xavier. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°Knowing you won¡¯t become king.¡± Sandor clarified. ¡°I made my piece with it a few years ago. My father is too young, the chance to delve into dungeons like this is my first ray of hope of having a chance at the crown.¡± Xavier could sympathise with Sandor¡¯s feelings on this matter. He felt very much the same way when he first found out about Ajax¡¯s training method. The chance to delve so many dungeons had also reignited his own hopes of becoming king of Gryndor one day though he knew he would have to keep pushing himself to remain competitive in terms of strength with his younger cousins and any other siblings his parents might give him. ¡°It¡¯s hard.¡± Xavier nodded. ¡°It must be even harder for you.¡± ¡°You do know you have to change your focus, don¡¯t you?¡± Anna asked Sandor. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sandor asked. ¡°You¡¯re not going to be able to compete in terms of combat prowess, you simply missed out on too much for your level.¡± Anna clarified, Sandor was already level fifty and it was true he had already missed out on the rewards from a lot of dungeon his competition might have access to. ¡°You¡¯ll certainly need to remain a viable fighter to continue pushing through floors but you should focus on learning to rule if you want a chance at the crown. I think Denisa has a better chance of being crowned queen as things stand.¡± Unlike her brother Denisa had focused a lot on learning everything she could about ruling and developing her skills in the same direction as well. She was a competent fighter but at best average for a royal. ¡°It¡¯s not a comp-¡± Solderon cut himself off, as much as he wanted to say it wasn¡¯t a competition that was no longer the case. Denisa had never had any ambition for the crown but that was because she had realized a long time ago it was out of reach for her. Now that it was no longer the case she could have changed her mind. Over the next hour or so Xavier, Anna and Lexi talked with Denisa and Sandor. Over the course of the discussion Xavier, Anna and Lexi cemented their previous conclusion that they couldn¡¯t become friends with the imperials, this all stemmed from their different views towards the other humanoids. But they could be allies and trade partners. ¡°He¡¯s out!¡± The shout was picked up by every platoon leader and carried over to the group. The prince stood as he and the squad that was present prepared in case they needed to extract Ajax. It turned out there was no need as Ajax was led to them in seconds, unfortunately for their plan to hide the ring in the chaos it seemed the empire were prepared enough to lead Ajax away before the dungeon broke. ¡°What¡¯s the floor?¡± Zilfallon said, appearing out of nowhere with an excited smile and his sword drawn. ¡°Some kind of massive lake.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°The Aquatic monsters should be easier to handle away from the water but they are still between level one hundred and fifteen and one hundred and twenty.¡± Chapter 365 Gaining the skill Ajax could intrinsically feel a lot of what the ability could do, he knew that he could put a restriction, and he could set a time, he could even influence what the buff provided. That is where the innate information stopped however. ¡°First thing we need to talk about is how the restriction works.¡± The prince said. ¡°One thing people mistake about this is that the restriction works as a limit placed on your system as a whole, that¡¯s not correct.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± Ajax asked ¡°Your restriction for [Mana Syphon], when you tried to turn it off for that one lizard you turned it off for all of them.¡± The prince pointed out. ¡°Putting up that same restriction with the skill won¡¯t magically make you able to exclude just one person because they are touching you.¡± ¡°How does it work then?¡± Ajax was confused since that¡¯s how he had assumed the skill would work. ¡°The skill works by adding a command in your own mind.¡± the prince explained. ¡°This means that you would instinctively turn off [Mana Syphon] just to make sure you wouldn¡¯t use it on anything you make contact with. If you have the skill to exclude only one lizard then it would do that, otherwise it would do it for all of them.¡± ¡°Does that mean that I could still use the skill on something that was touching me so long as I didn¡¯t know they were touching me.¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Yep.¡± the prince confirmed. ¡°A good example of that is putting a restriction not to attack an elf. If an elf covered head to toe in bulky plate armor fights you, until you find out they are an elf you would gain the benefit of the restriction despite breaking it.¡± Ajax was at once both happy and sad, the skill working this way would mean that he had a way of creating loopholes for himself but he couldn¡¯t use the skill to make the system verify things for him. ¡°Next, the duration of the restriction.¡± the prince continued. ¡°There are three important points. The first is the soft minimum, one day. Any restriction that is shorter than that can be placed, however the benefit would be nearly zero.¡± That made sense to Ajax, switching restrictions from one to another was clearly not in line with the way the skill was intended to work having close to no effect before a minimum time limit would fix that though it would still let him use the restriction part of the skill for shorter periods of time if that was what he needed. ¡°The second is a week.¡± the prince continued. ¡°This is similarly the longest duration you should be placing a restriction for, you can do it for longer but the increase in time past that point makes the increase in power minimal.¡± That was good to know, Ajax imagined that he would be spending a lot of time playing around with the restrictions as he got a better feel for it. ¡°Is the last one a middle point? The best time to power ratio.¡± ¡°No.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°The last one is a permanent restriction. This is only a last resort.¡± ¡°Why is that a last resort?¡± Ajax questioned, he knew why it wouldn¡¯t work well for his purposes but depending on the power it could lead people to forming a whole style based upon multiple such restrictions. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°The most obvious reason is that the skill can only handle one restriction at a time.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Sure the power gain from a permanent restriction is pretty big but unless you pushed the skill past the first threshold and managed to get the ability to place more restrictions at the same time you will basically lose the skill.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that you could grow this skill specifically so that you could place multiple permanent restrictions later for a big boost in power?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°In theory, yes.¡± the prince acknowledged. ¡°The skill is however very hard to level, not to mention that actively working to level it could limit your other skills. There are two reasons I am mentioning the permanent restriction, one so that you don¡¯t place one by accident when playing with the skill. And the second so that you actually do know it is a big power boost there for you to use in order to survive something. Any questions so far?¡± Ajax could think of a few on how the restriction worked in terms of the loopholes he could use regarding not being aware he was breaking the restriction but that could all wait. ¡°Okay now for the more varied portion.¡± the prince said. ¡°You can use the skill to place many different types of restrictions but they all fall into two types. Restrictions placed on yourself as a person, and restrictions placed on your skills.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± Ajax asked, if he placed a restriction not to use mana it would obviously affect his skills as well. ¡°It could have the same effect but the way it is achieved makes the skill work differently.¡± The prince explained. ¡°A restriction to wield anything but a sword and one to only use the [Sword] weapon skill will both do the same thing, you can only use a sword. A restriction on yourself however can be channeled into any type of bonus even if it has nothing to do with the restriction in question. A restriction on a skill however can only boost the skill restricted, though the bonus is much better.¡± ¡°So if I use a restriction to only use fire mana I could put the bonus of that into increasing my physical power, but if I limit [Mana Augmentation] to only work with fire mana I can only use the boost to strengthen the skill.¡± Ajax caught on. ¡°Exactly.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°For now I suggest you play around with only restrictions on yourself.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Ajax thought he was missing something. ¡°Because of how [Empowering Restriction].¡± the prince answered. ¡°While a restriction is active the skill will slow down any other skill from leveling, but if placed specifically on a skill it will slow that specific skill down a lot more and it can even affect the threshold options offered. This is not a skill you want to use while training or practicing to increase other skills.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t happy to hear that, how was he supposed to get used to using the skill if he couldn¡¯t practice with it? Then again the skill would be useful when it came to results, he might not use it when he was practicing [Alchemy] but he would definitely use it if he was making something important to make the result better. In the end Ajax currently decided that the skill would best fit as a reactionary element of his fighting style. If he was facing an ice elemental and he needed the power boost he would restrict his ice magic, or if he broke an arm he would restrict use of that arm. Until the skill gained a few levels it wouldn¡¯t be all that powerful anyway. With that Ajax and the prince returned to the group as Ajax had a lot of things to consider. He was very happy that he managed to unlock the skill he had been interested in for a few years now, he would just have to find a way to practice the skill without it crippling the rest of his progress. It was interesting to see all the elves streaming back into the clearing now that the danger had passed. The guard outpost by the arch was already back up and a few more teams had returned from the delve, two of which brought with them a few monsters that needed to be killed but nothing as strong or as numerous as the lizards. The first thing Ajax did after his talk with the prince was to let Lexi know about his new skill, the reaction he got was not one he had expected. ¡°Don¡¯t use it on any of your mana aspect skills.¡± Lexi all but shouted at him once she heard about the skill. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on it, the prince already warned me not to use it on skills as a whole.¡± Ajax tried to reassure her. ¡°Using it on skills isn¡¯t ideal but using it on mana aspect skills can get you stuck at a threshold.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°The first threshold for most mana types is the level fifty, that¡¯s relatively early and almost everyone breaks through it with the efficiency upgrade since it¡¯s the only one you unlock. Using [Empowering Restriction] on aspect skills can make it so that option isn¡¯t there and it will get you stuck at level fifty until you manage to get another option.¡± Ajax was feeling quite smug as he knew all of his Rare mana types had already gotten past that threshold so that wouldn¡¯t be an issue but he would make sure to be careful with his Epic ones. He wasn¡¯t worried about his Legendary affinity as Life was so versatile he was expecting to be spoiled for choice when it came time for that Threshold. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Ajax promised her. ¡°Good.¡± Lexi hugged him. ¡° Congratulations on unlocking the skill, it can be very powerful despite the downsides it brings.¡± Chapter 366 The team had no issues entering the dungeon the following morning, the guards at the entrance in fact insisted that the Viscount responsible for the land surrounding the dungeon had been sent a message about what happened and there was every chance a gift would be waiting for them as they exited. Ajax had started playing around with his newest skill as they were walking through the first floor of the dungeon. There wasn¡¯t enough time for him to place any proper restrictions so that he could see how the benefit behaved but he could place ten second restrictions to see how they would feel. The first trick Ajax noticed as they were moving was that the restriction for having an arm fall limp had the same beneficial effect as the one for him not being able to move the arm. In essence the restrictions were pretty much the same thing if his arm was by his side, if he was holding his shield however the second restriction would still prove rather useful while providing the same benefit. The first floor was an easy clear where they found the first arch and went through it. The prince had been so impatient Ajax didn¡¯t even get a chance to see what the miniboss guarding the arch was as the prince had already dealt with it by the time they got there. The second floor was where the progression truly began. ¡°Some sort of metal and fire floor.¡± Ajax let them know, while Benedict, Lexi, Xavier and Anna should have had no issues even with a bad match-up against a level fifty one he still wanted them to know what they were walking into. Anna frowned a little hearing the dominant mana types, her preferred fire style was particularly bad against either element at a similar level, still with all the extra stats she had gather from the extra dungeons she did in the Empire and the Republic she was confident a five level difference would actually mean she outmatched the monsters. The floor they walked in on looked to Ajax like they had just stepped into a giant¡¯s forge. Oddly enough he could actually see a good amount of the entire floor from his position on the table where he saw a mug the same size as himself. ¡°It has been at least a decade since I last saw an enlarged contained floor.¡± the prince commented as he looked around. ¡°Twice that for me.¡± Aranor mentioned. ¡°I just hope the blacksmith doesn¡¯t show up.¡± Ajax said as he warily looked towards the closed door. ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± the prince assured him as the group moved towards the first arch that was by one of the many tool boxes scattered around. ¡°Though I will tell you to be careful if you find floors like this at higher level ranges, once the levels go past one hundred and fifty bigger objects are acceptable as monsters, even something like the table we are walking on.¡± Even though Ajax knew that bigger didn¡¯t always mean better he was still a little wary when it came to fighting a monster the size of a small city, for all that he may very well be able to chip away at it while the behemoth could barely move against something in that weight class a single minor mistake would be enough to kill you. The first thing to engage onto them was a hammer. Unlike the cartoons he had seen back on earth the hammer didn¡¯t open a set of eyes, it simply used mana to launch itself towards them. ¡°It¡¯s all metal.¡± Xavier said as everyone had plenty of time to get out of the way before the hammer actually landed on any of them. ¡°How are we supposed to kill it?¡± ¡°All monsters on this floor are golems.¡± Anna said. ¡°There has to be a core inside it, since it¡¯s made of a solid material the core can¡¯t change position. All you have to do is break it.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°I want this one.¡± Lexi said with glee, she knew exactly what to do to destroy something that was stuck inside a hard shell. ¡°Careful it¡¯s going to spin!¡± Ajax called out as he felt the hammer pull another load of mana. At around the same time a pair of tongues also jumped from the tool box and looked to enter the fight. ¡°Here comes the second one, who wants this one?¡± The prince asked with a wide smile. ¡°The core is at the screw point.¡± Aranor provided. ¡°I¡¯ll grab that one.¡± Benedict said, happy to find something a physical based fighter had a good chance against. Lexi wasted no time dashing towards the handle of the hammer after it missed its spell and sending a powerful shockwave through it and killing it the same way she did with the plant back in the previous dungeon. ¡°Thank you so much for helping me get this, I love it.¡± Lexi dashed back towards Ajax and gave him a hug after she finished her encounter, it was a testament to both her skill as a mage and how strong Vibration mana was that she had managed to kill something like this in a single hit. ¡°Do you see anything you want to fight?¡± Ajax asked Anna as he started looking around for something that fire might be decent against. ¡°Right there.¡± Anna pointed across the room as they waited for Benedict to finish his own battle. The place where Anna pointed was a sack of what Ajax could only assume to be coal. He quickly got what his friend was thinking, it didn¡¯t happen often but it was in moments like this one that he was reminded of Anna¡¯s pyromaniac streak, the size of the coal bag had to be at least as big as some of the largest mansions he had seen. It would of course take more than an errant spark to light it all up but once the fire was started the amount of heat it would radiate would surely match if not beat out the worst deserts and volcanoes Ajax had encountered even on higher level floors. ¡°What about you?¡± Ajax asked Xavier. ¡°A fire elemental.¡± Xavier said as he pointed close to where the coal bag was. As Ajax looked more carefully he saw a very high quality crucible that he would bet his entire fortune his father would love to work with. Next to the crucible however was a stack of many different already smelted bars of metal. ¡°I say we go for the elemental first.¡± Elena suggested, Ajax could absolutely understand her reasoning, coming from an elf who lived in a forest. The way she was looking at the bag of coal suggested she didn¡¯t like the way Anna was looking at the bag. Once Benedict smashed the core of the tongs the group as a whole made its way towards the crucible. ¡°How come there aren¡¯t more golems or elementals?¡± Ajax asked as they carefully made their way towards the other side of the enormous room. ¡°Because the floor is much smaller than a usual floor would be, there are only mini boss level monsters.¡± Anna explained. ¡°This is one of the worst floor types for boosts because of how strong the monster types are, it is however one of the best ones for regular clearing. The mortality rate on these types of floors is one tenth of what it usually is.¡± Ajax had to agree, even if the entire floor was almost as large as the capital that was on the extremely small side when it came to dungeon floors, even just looking around he could also see at least ten different arches already, something that definitely wouldn¡¯t be the case with a regular floor. As they approached the crucible Ajax could see multiple elementals there. Besides the pure three pure fire elementals Ajax counted at least four ember elementals and one molten elemental that was inside the crucible. ¡°I¡¯ll leave one of the fire ones for you.¡± Aranor said before he began one shotting all the other elementals with ice lances that matched the power of the ones he used in the tournament. The molten elemental was one Ajax found rather troublesome to deal with, it didn¡¯t have the usual weakness of a liquid based elemental because of the high density of the liquid but it kept the benefits of a liquids flexibility. It was also however particularly weak against the cold and ice specifically which meant Aranor made short work of it. As Xavier took on the final remaining elemental Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be curiously drawn towards the large stack of smelted ingots off to the side. He was even more surprised when his [Sense Mana] picked up on one that he could actually take outside the dungeon buried deep at the bottom of the stack. Ajax squeezed his way to the ingot and tried to draw it into his storage ring only to find out he didn¡¯t have the space for it. He quickly headed back and started pulling things out of his ring and handing them to Lexi to hold before he returned to collect the ingot. ¡°What did you find?¡± Lexi asked curiously once Ajax returned with a triumphant smile. Instead of answering, Ajax simply pulled out the ingot and patted it proudly. ¡°My father is going to love this.¡± The ingot was close to the size their house was back in the village. ¡°Oh!¡± Anna made a pained sound as she looked at the ingot. ¡°Who would do something so wasteful? That¡¯s a steel magicite alloy, the magicite would be much better used for enchanting and runic engraving.¡± ¡°Is it any good for a blacksmith?¡± Ajax asked, a little worried about the souvenir he was taking for his father. ¡°It would actually be very useful in helping to grow their skill level since making the alloy is so wasteful they almost never work with it.¡± Anna answered, her voice still a little pained at the waste of magicite. ¡°We should make up our minds regarding which floor to head to next quickly.¡± Lexi whispered as she saw Anna heading towards the pile of coal. The mage knew her friend well enough that instead of looking for an elemental she was going to take out her outrage at the waste of valuable materials by setting the whole pile of coal ablaze. Chapter 367 ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± Ajax asked Anna as they made their way through the next floor. Anna had proven her mastery over the element of fire as she not only lit the mountain of coal but also followed it up with a spell to make them burn faster releasing a heat wave that would have done quite a bit of damage had it not been for his [Mana Skin]. You don¡¯t understand how wasteful it would be to make a bar that size.¡± Anna defended herself as she blushed in embarrassment at her own actions. ¡°Magicite has no mana concentration, there isn¡¯t high or low quality which is why it is used sparingly in enchanting and runes.¡± ¡°Surely someone has used it before to make this alloy before.¡± Ajax reasoned since not even Anna would know about it if it was such a niche application. ¡°Yes, there are times when using it is worth it.¡± Anna let out a long sigh. ¡°The resulting alloy however always matches the steel used, you used the same amount of magicite for steel around level fifty like the one you have or steel at level one hundred and fifty. Only at the higher levels is it ever acceptable financially to form the alloy.¡± Now this was something that Ajax could understand, Alchemy had a similar situation with the use of catalysts, curtain catalysts would work for almost any level mixture but using it on something with low end materials would be nothing but a waste. ¡°Is this type of steel any good for anything?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Besides getting a few skill points in [Blacksmithing] ¡°Very much so.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°Since the steel is of lower quality it can be molded by lower level blacksmiths, since the alloy is already part magicite it will take enchantments and runes a lot better than normal materials, it would be ideal in helping any journeyman or higher blacksmith in unlocking the [Engraving] skill that is needed for enchantments and runic spells.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but wonder why they wouldn¡¯t create such an alloy in small amounts if that was the case. People could keep resmelting the same piece in order to unlock the skill. ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡± Anna said as she looked at him. ¡°You only get one chance after melting this alloy to work it, if it sets for a second time and you melt it down it will lose its properties, that¡¯s why it takes a journeyman blacksmith.¡± ¡°Let me know if there is anything left of this bar after your father unlocks the skill.¡± Lexi said as she listened to their conversation. ¡°Dad is in charge of the blacksmiths in our House and he will very much want to buy whatever you have left from you.¡± As they were talking Ajax quickly picked up on a small pack of shadow wolves that was launching towards them, the stealthy predators had made it surprisingly close before their stealth failed them as it was drained by Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon]. The wolves were normal level sixty-three monsters, not even minibosses but they were too quick for Ajax to have time to warn Lexi and Anna, all he managed to do was take defensive position in front of Lexi to intercept the wolf heading for her while launching a spell at the one heading for Anna. With his sword and axe Ajax wasted no time killing both the wolf that attacked Lexi and the one that was going for him, outside of their stealth and speed the level sixty three wolves didn¡¯t really pose a threat to Ajax at all. ¡°This is not the place for a casual chat.¡± the prince said from in front of Anna where he took care of the final wolf before Ajax¡¯s spell even made contact. ¡°Especially on a floor theme like this.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The floor theme the group had decided to go with for their third floor of the dungeon had been one that had what Ajax recognised as the usual forest distribution with an overwhelming amount of shadow mana. The group decided that this would be the best choice as shadow mana was mostly focused on stealth meaning that once the enemy was located taking down one that was several levels higher wouldn¡¯t pose as much of an issue. ¡°Sorry.¡± Lexi and Anna said at the same time as they retreated more towards the center of the group. Ajax had already killed a miniboss on this floor, so had Anna, Lexi and Xavier. They were simply looking for a final one for Benedict before they could leave the floor. ¡°Found one up ahead.¡± Aranor said. ¡°It¡¯s a snake.¡± All of the monsters on this floor had been a half beast half elemental hybrid, these creatures were similar to the phoenix in that while they did have the physical form of a creature their bodies were entirely made up of elemental magic, in this case shadow magic. Benedict took out his own flask of boosting potion as he prepared his enchanted sword and shield. Since the creatures were formed of shadows attacking them with regular physical attacks would be pointless, using a weapon crafted from magic infused components was the only way a physical user could fight them. The fight started as Benedict threw a torch at the location of the snake and used the light to finally locate his enemy. Despite being a physical fighter Benedict did still have magic skills, most notably [Sense Mana] that he used to lock onto the snake as he dashed towards it, not letting it get in position to lunge. The snake was coiled around a few different branches and had to be at least forty feet long, despite its nimble reflexes Benedict had caught it unaware and managed to land a good opening slash on one of its eyes. Ajax didn¡¯t know how but apparently even partially elemental creatures still relied on their sensory organs, unlike full fledged elementals who didn¡¯t. From there Benedict pressed his advantage beautifully as he stuck to the snake''s blind side as it jumped from branch to branch following the head and looking to finish the battle quickly. It was here that the level difference showed, The snake had about twenty levels on Benedict, not only that but unlike Lexi, Anna and Xavier Benedict had missed out on three floors worth of additional stats in the Empire, not only that but the disadvantage had compounded on floors in their previous dungeon runs through the Republic where his physical fighter limitation stopped him one floor sooner that the mages. The snake was quick enough to keep retreating while only taking shallow wounds. Despite the disadvantage in speed Benedict showed his genius in carefully leading the snake right where he wanted as he finally trapped it and dropped down to impale it right through the head. The snake had nowhere to go as its body was tangled around the branches all around them. Feeling the snake expel a large amount of mana, Ajax suddenly worried for Benedict as the snake phased its shadowy coils right through the branches that were restricting it and tightened its coils right on Benedict as he was dropping towards the head. It was only thanks to the protective enchantments on Benedicts armor that the snake didn¡¯t have enough time to crush Benedict in its grip as his sword penetrated straight through the snake''s skull dispersing the body into shadowy fumes. ¡°That was close.¡± Benedict said with a grin as he approached the group. All of them congratulated him, none of them making any mention of the blood that was dripping from his nose, clearly some of the blow from that final attack had made it past the defensive enchantments. ¡°What floor next?¡± Ajax asked as he presented the options while Elara cast a few healing spells on Benedict. With Benedict, Xavier, Lexi and Anna bowing out at this point the next floor was an earth floor, selected more for its valuable potential instead of any ease of clearing, the floors inhabitants would all be below level eighty and nighter Harold, Darkclaw or Ajax would have any problem dispatching them. They quickly made their way through the earth golems, unfortunately they hadn¡¯t managed to find anything they could take back out by the time they cleared all the minibosses they needed. ¡°So we have a light and fire floor, a lightning and wind floor or a plant and something you don¡¯t recognise.¡± the prince Harold asked as he took in their options. Out of the three of them Harold was the weakest and he would have the hardest time killing the level ninety fives. ¡°I say we go for the plant one, at least that should have something I can kill.¡± Nobody else had any reason to object as the group made their way onto the next floor. Ajax barely had enough time to clear the +1 to all stats notification before the smell hit him like a ton of bricks. ¡°Urgh.¡± it took a lot out of the princess to not retch at the stench. ¡°What is that?¡± Elara asked as she covered her own nose. ¡°Holy shit.¡± Ajax mumbled as he looked out over what he could see of the floor. ¡°You¡¯re only half right there.¡± the prince said, his usual grin unaffected by the smell, on a closer look however Ajax noticed the prince was in fact holding his breath. ¡°I guess we found out what that mana type you didn¡¯t recognise was, Decay.¡± Ajax cursed under his breath, just his luck to find a floor based around natural plant fertilizer. Chapter 368 Ajax¡¯s initial reaction to the floor was negative but that quickly changed as he looked towards the look on the elves'' faces. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked as he saw the princess and Elara look gleefully towards the floor. ¡°Nothing.¡± Aranor said as they all put on a neutral expression. ¡°So this is how you do it.¡± Harold said as he let out a low whistle he quickly regretted because it caused him to take a deep breath. ¡°Do what?¡± even the prince was curious what Harold had pieced together. Aranor, Elara and Arianwyn kept their neutral look on their faces but all of them turned towards Harold. ¡°Every merchant House has been wondering for years how the established elven households have such prosperous access to specific high quality plants.¡± Harold explained. ¡°What was specific about it however was that it was mostly quick growing plants or collectable parts of older plants. They have been trying for years to get their spies to learn those secrets.¡± Ajax quickly put together why Harold was aware of this, something this big would be of great importance in a political arena so of course House Silvertongue would be aware of it, the question was what could they get for it. ¡°What is it?¡± the prince asked, he was also aware of the secrets but he wasn¡¯t all that invested in the crafting or procurement side of the nobles. Darkclaw had the good sense to understand that this wasn¡¯t something that would simply be handed out so he wasn¡¯t surprised when the prince put up a privacy screen around all of them, the elves were included just to confirm Harold''s hypothesis. ¡°They harvest anything with the decay attribute they come across in high dungeon floors and use it to rejuvenate a small garden where they can actually grow the higher end ingredients or just nurture some high end trees.¡± Harold laid out his theory. ¡°Finding decay floors isn¡¯t reliable but they would only need one twice a decade at most just to rejuvenate their gardens, if the floor is as plentiful as this one can be they can probably stretch it out for longer.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t someone have figured this part out if that was all there was to it?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°They probably have gardeners with specific skills tenting them.¡± Harold explained. ¡°Without a large amount of fertilizer it would take a long time on incremental improvement to raise a garden like this while also raising the farmers and gardeners, everyone who has tried it was going for a quick version.¡± ¡°I remember that.¡± the prince exclaimed as he remembered being part of a ¡®boring¡¯ briefing regarding the subject. ¡°They had some success with the first and second harvests but the garden lost its mana concentration soon after.¡± After listening to the explanation Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be a little mad at his own oversight of this. For years now he had been pumping a lot of his own mana into his garden by topping up the plants, infusing it into the ground and even releasing it into the air around them to increase the mana concentration but he had completely overlooked adding highly mana infused fertilizer. ¡°We should scour this floor then and see if we can get any results with this theory.¡± the prince said. ¡°It won¡¯t do you that much good.¡± Arianwyn spoke for the first time since entering the floor. ¡°The mana level here is too high to start with, trying it with this would just be a waste.¡± ¡°The statement is truthful but she¡¯s trying to cover something with it.¡± Harold advised the prince, clearly his relation to House Silvertongue was paying dividends. Thinking about the situation Ajax could see the problem they would have, it was the same problem he encountered every time he infused more mana in one area too quickly where the mana would burn out anything living in the area. While this discovery will help along his own gardens progress it will take time before he could use anything with mana levels equivalent to the low to mid nineties as they were on this floor. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°It won¡¯t work for us because you have to slowly work up to the point they can handle this level of mana.¡± Ajax offered his insight. ¡°You¡¯ve been trying this in your little farming plot?¡± The prince¡¯s question moved the elves'' stares from Harold to him, a bit of surprise briefly showing on Arianwyn and Elara¡¯s faces. ¡°No, I was trying to get the same result without anything but regular fertilizer, this is what I was missing.¡± Ajax silently cursed his oversight. ¡°It¡¯s been really slow going and the few attempts I had in trying to speed things up set me back.¡± ¡°So it''s worthless to us?¡± the prince asked. ¡°No.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer quickly put a damper on the elves'' happy thoughts. ¡°We can still use what we take to grow some high end ingredients for one or two harvests, it won¡¯t help us long term but it''s still useful.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Arianwyn started to talk but Aranor cut her off. ¡°What do you want for it?¡± Aranor asked instead, quickly picking up on Ajax¡¯s plan. ¡°This is high quality, we can¡¯t make best use of it but it''s not worthless.¡± The prince also picked up on Ajax¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Since it''s not a restricted resource however it belongs to us, well to the crown and Ajax since the delve spots are ours. You want to sell it to them, what for?¡± ¡°People delving this high up is pretty rare.¡± Ajax thought aloud. ¡°With how restricted the dungeons are for high end delves I doubt there are more than one decay floor a month even being spawned in a kingdom at this level range. Since this is still kept secret I would guess a lot of those go to waste since the people who get them don¡¯t know what to collect.¡± Ajax could also feel the satisfaction at learning of this, with his ability to determine the floor types and lower floors with any decent amount of Decay mana on them could be something he could collect from. ¡°Let''s trade whatever they can collect on this floor.¡± Ajax offered. ¡°In exchange they can give us five times the amount in less mana infused fertilizer they have stockpiled, the best we can use.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Ten times.¡± Both Aranor and the prince spoke at the same time. A staredown starting between the two. ¡°Six times.¡± Aranor said and at this moment Ajax deeply wished that Anna was still there with them. ¡°Nine.¡± the prince rebutted. ¡°Seven.¡± ¡°Eight.¡± ¡°Seven.¡± Aranor repeated and Ajax could see the prince concentrating, neither of them were merchants but clearly the both had at least one merchant skill they had trained at least a little, unfortunately for Ajax Aranor was almost twice the princes age and he had traded far more. ¡°Seven.¡± The prince agreed in defeat as his own skills lost out. ¡°You need to start with level forty stuff, any higher and it won¡¯t work.¡± the princess said. ¡°I need something higher.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°My garden is already above standard, I am thinking level fifty should do.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Arianwyn started to say only to stop as she went over the deal one more time. The terms were they would be traded for the best that Ajax can use, since Ajax could use higher quality they would need to provide that higher quality. ¡°What will you be doing while they scour the floor to collect all of it?¡± the prince asked since it would probably take Aranor a while to do that. ¡°I¡¯ll get the miniboss out of the way first but after that I will use as much as I can for alchemy. I might be able to make something that should help Harold kill something on this floor as well.¡± Ajax said. Harold looked excited at the prospect, fifteen levels was a lot for him to jump considering he wasn¡¯t quite as much of an outlier in terms of combat as Lexi, Benedict, Xavier or Anna. Not to mention he hadn¡¯t delved the same number of floors relative to his level as them either. Despite the large Decay presence on the floor the main element was still Plant mana. More than that Ajax found that the plants on this floor seemed to have a much sturdier base and they could take more of his Life mana before they were in danger of disintegrating. ¡°Fuck!¡± Ajax exclaimed as he dived for cover putting a large tree between himself and the cauldron he was working with, an instant later to cauldon detonated like a grenade throwing shrapnel everywhere. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the prince asked as he inspected the blast site to see that it was one of Ajax¡¯s cauldrons specifically for explosive ingredients. ¡°Overfilled the explosive ingredients.¡± Ajax said as he came out from behind the tree. ¡°Turns out even if the ingredient can handle that much mana without disintegrating it becomes too unstable to work with.¡± ¡°What were you making?¡± Harold asked curiously. ¡°Herbicide.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Since it¡¯s made from this floor the dungeon should have no issues with you using it to kill a plant miniboss.¡± ¡°Did you make anything successful?¡± Harold regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth but he was a little disappointed in the failure. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Ajax said without even noticing the unintended criticism in his excitement as he pulled out two flasks. ¡° This is a physical booster, it will grant about a 10% increase in physical stats for five minutes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost twice as good as the ones I have.¡± Harold exclaimed and even the prince looked interested since that was the same effect as some of the best boosting potions the royal family had access to. ¡°Yeah but the backlash is twice as bad, lasts twice as long and it also causes diarrhea for the duration.¡± Ajax said. ¡°This other one is a quick acting short term paralytic. Takes about two seconds after the poison is applied to fully paralyze something for five seconds. Subsequent applications take longer to take effect but the paralysis period should be consistent up to four applications.¡± ¡°That should be enough time for me to kill something.¡± Harold said with glee. ¡°It won¡¯t work on plants, only on flesh sadly, and it¡¯s for something as large as an adult human needing a larger dose for something bigger.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I¡¯ll give the herbicide another go, I know where I went wrong.¡± with that Ajax took out his second cheaper cauldron and got to work, Harold quickly backing off to a respectful distance just in case it exploded again. Chapter 369 It took Ajax multiple attempts before he was finally able to create a herbicide he was happy with, thankful none of his other failures ended in an explosive manner, despite this Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel that he was lacking. No matter what he did Ajax didn¡¯t think he was getting everything out of the ingredients he was using. ¡°This should be good enough to help you kill a miniboss.¡± Ajax said as he passed the herbicide and the booster potion to Harold. ¡°What went wrong?¡± the prince asked as Ajax was collecting his alchemy equipment. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ajax said a little exasperation leaked through as he got to the core of the matter. ¡°I tried multiple different approaches until I ran out of prepared ingredients but it never felt right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not unexpected.¡± the prince said with an understanding smile. ¡°If anything that you managed to even make something as good as you already did is a reason for celebration. Most people take at least half a century of dedication after they finish their apprenticeship before they can properly use ingredients from this high a floor.¡± Looking at it that way Ajax could see how he was expecting too much from himself. He could feel his alchemy skill being pushed to the edge as he tried to adapt and react during the brewing process just to keep the mixtures stable. His [Dungeon Crafter] skill was almost at its first threshold as well. ¡°Unlike your combat prowess your crafting doesn¡¯t scale as much off stats, give yourself time to grow your skills.¡± The prince knew that Ajax had recently gained two Epic alchemy crafting skills that will speed up his progression. ¡°I know it might not seem like it because of how young you are but you have centuries to go before you even hit your physical prime, let alone start to grow old.¡± That was something Ajax still had issues coming to terms with. Unlike most other things his experience from Earth was actually more of a detriment in this case as his previous perspective on age didn¡¯t match the one present in this world. He was not even twenty five and he would easily live another forty times that long considering how quickly he had raised his Vitality and how it would continue to grow. Watching Harold as he battled the miniboss was relaxing. With the boosting potion and herbicide the battle actually favored Harold, the only thing he needed to look out for was the five minute timer on the boost but he managed to win with twenty seconds to spare as he opened up a large gash in the center stem of the giant venus flytrap looking plant where he poured his remaining half a vial of herbicide. ¡°That was closer than I would have liked.¡± Harold heaved out as he returned to Ajax, Darkclaw and the prince. ¡°You still had plenty of time left.¡± the prince said. ¡°If you were down to the last ten seconds I would have started to worry.¡± ¡°Here.¡± Ajax said as he extended another vial to the man. ¡°You¡¯re giving me this now?¡± Harold asked while accepting the potion. ¡°It¡¯s an antidote.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Won¡¯t do anything for the backlash of the potion but it should negate the diarrhea.¡± Harold looked like he wanted to comment on that but five minutes since he took the boost had elapsed and an ominous gurgle from his guts was all it took for him to uncork the flash and down the potion. ¡°UGHHHH¡­¡± Harold tried his best to hold it down. ¡°Can¡¯t you do something about the taste?¡± ¡°Once I can make them consistently I¡¯ll worry about that.¡± Ajax responded. With that taken care of the group moved back to the rendezvous spot where they would meet the three elves, seeing how they were the first ones back despite the almost twenty hour long session alchemy they had clearly found something worthwhile. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Do you think something happened?¡± Ajax asked after two hours of waiting. ¡°Nothing here on this floor could pose even a mild threat to me, let alone someone like Aranor.¡± The prince reassured him. ¡°Collecting might be taking them a while however as mages are not known for their physical stats.¡± Half an hour later the first change they felt in a while happened. A massive heatwave washed over all of them, it wasn¡¯t quite as strong as the one Anna unleashed on the lower floor but it was comparable. ¡°They¡¯ll be coming soon.¡± the prince said as he activated a rune that formed a small win barrier around them. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax asked, a little surprised. ¡°Floor boss spawned.¡± the prince answered. ¡°Is this your first time seeing how an elemental floor boss affects the floor?¡± Darkclaw asked. Ajax simply nodded in affirmation. Over the years he had seen twenty floor bosses after the kitsune. Despite the higher chance for them to appear as the floors got close to level one hundred it wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Of those twenty he had even killed four of them, the others forcing them to retreat and have the dungeon guards kill them on the outside. None of those twenty encounters had been with an elemental type boss. He had learnt about them and knew that they would affect the climate of the entire floor but it was his first time seeing it. ¡°The heat wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± Harold said as he waved his hand towards the wind bubble. ¡°It¡¯s not for the heat.¡± the prince said, a small shiver traveling through him. ¡°It¡¯s for the smell, if you thought it was bad before, imagine how it would be after warming it all up.¡± Nobody made any other mention of the barrier but they all threw grateful looks towards the prince as their noses scrunched up at even the idea of the repulsive smell. It only took ten more minutes before the elves finally made their appearance confirming the prince¡¯s prediction. ¡°I take it you found something?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Half the ring.¡± Aranor said as he passed the ring over for the prince to inspect. ¡°Does that have a preservation enchantment?¡± Ajax asked as he looked closely at the ring. ¡°It has to.¡± Arianwyn explained, ¡°Decay mana naturally wants to spread and ¡­ well decay. Even with the enchantment it will only prolong the time until it takes for the mana density to lower.¡± This made sense to Ajax, the enchantment wasn¡¯t temporal in nature after all it worked to keep things fresh by keeping them isolated from outside influences, this wouldn¡¯t matter all that much to something that was already decaying. ¡°Let''s get out of here¡± Elara said as she looked around for an arch. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay on this floor any longer than I have to, even as valuable as it may be.¡± ¡°What choices do we have for the final floor?¡± the prince asked Ajax as they started moving. ¡°Earth, fire, lightning.¡± Ajax answered as he nodded in the direction of each respective arch, he kept his answer down to a whisper, since the next floors would have levels as high as one hundred and twenty three Ajax could only get the dominant mana type. ¡°Earth it is.¡± the prince nodded and took the lead towards the first arch. ¡°We¡¯ll wait for the both of you at the nearest city.¡± Arianwyn said as they made their way towards the arch. ¡°All of us could do with a shower.¡± Nobody objected to that and Ajax was sure that as soon as the people outside got one whiff of them as they exited there would be no objections from them either. As they got to the next floor and Harold Ajax and Darkclaw got their increased stats they all left Aranor and the prince to clear the floor. ¡°Finally you¡¯re back, I was so worried.¡± Lexi wasted no time tackling Ajax as he exited the arch, something she very much regretted as her nose protested Ajax¡¯s new fragrance. ¡°What happened?¡± Anna asked. ¡°We¡¯ll explain on the way.¡± Harold said as he started moving towards the carriages, everyone around the arch gave them a wide breadth after Elara reported the status to the dungeon guards. ¡°Some of us could use a shower and we¡¯ll wait for the two in the nearest village.¡± Ajax spent the way towards the village explaining what happened to Anna and Lexi, he had also offered to share with Benedict and Xavier but both of them were content to wait and not get closer to Ajax than they had to. ¡°That is very interesting.¡± Anna nodded as she also quickly put together the same theory Harold had once she heard that the floor that delayed them was a Plant and Decay floor. ¡°So what is the next dungeon?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That would be the first Deepwood dungeon and also their worst one.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°It¡¯s one of the worst ones with a nineteen level floor jump and it starts with a thirty one to thirty six range.¡± Ajax could help but agreed, even for him the dungeon would only provide three stat points to all stats while everyone else would be limited to one because of how the floors jumped. ¡°We¡¯re going into Deepwood.¡± Ajax said with a small frown as he remembered the start of his interaction with Deepwood¡¯s ambassador. ¡°In Deepwood we must stick together.¡± Elara said. ¡°All of you will have assassins after you, it¡¯s too big of an opportunity for some of the more bigoted nobles to let slip.¡± ¡°Will it be that bad?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Aranor won¡¯t be able to join us in the dungeons since we don¡¯t have the spots for him, once you all exit early stick close to him.¡± Elara warned. ¡°Not only that but always exit with a shield up and ready for an attack, other races aren¡¯t allowed to delve their dungeons so humans coming out will get a dungeon break reaction.¡± The conversation continued on the topic as they made their way to the village as all of them started mentally preparing themselves for how Deepwood would be. Chapter 370 The delve team had enough time to get cleaned up and get a good night¡¯s sleep before Aranor and the prince returned and they started their journey towards the Deepwood border. On the way there they were met by another two carriages that were coming from the capital all filled with retainers from the royal family. ¡°Why did they send them?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Since I am with you it is a good enough excuse that I have my own staff that will be looking after my accommodations, and yours by extension. That way they won¡¯t have easy access to try anything.¡± Arianwyn explained. Ajax also noticed that quite a few of the retainers that among the housekeepers and cooks that showed up there were also two or three combatants, though their power level wasn¡¯t anywhere close to Aranor. With the number of carriages doubling from two to four their travel speed slowed down a little but they were still making good time. It had been two weeks of travel but they would soon make it to the border and another three days from there to the dungeon. Despite not stopping and relaxing for a good amount of the day every one of them also spent a few hours training each day. ¡°It¡¯s so close.¡± Lexi said as she ran her mana dry trying to create a Domain with Ajax¡¯s help. ¡°I can feel it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I am getting any closer.¡± Ajax said as he also used up half his mana pool trying to unlock Vibration mana for himself. ¡°I wish there was a way to tell how compatible you are with skills.¡± ¡°Legendary skills almost always take extreme circumstances.¡± Elara said from besides them, she had also joined Ajax in trying to unlock the Legendary affinity. ¡°Affinities even more so.¡± Ajax wished he could say that wasn¡¯t true but he remembered just what kind of energies he was messing with and how close he had gotten to blowing himself up when he unlocked the Life affinity, did he need to try using the spells in combat for it to work better? He was hesitant to do so since his combat style didn¡¯t mix all that well with chanted spells. One of the things the king had sent for Arianwyn and Elara was a sealed scroll that only Aranor could open that contained a few sonic combat spells for them; once they learnt them they could try using them in combat in hopes of unlocking the affinity for themselves. ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± Aranor¡¯s voice was heard from outside. Poking their heads out the carriage windows all of them took in the armed unit that awaited them at the border. Looking over them with [Inspector¡¯s Eye] and [Judge Threat] Ajax found that each of the twenty elves were a major threat to him, the few he could get a level for were up in the late eighties, not something he had no chance against especially with the extra stats he had gained from his most recent dungeons but each was about as strong as Arianwyn, Elara and Darkclaw. And those were the weakest of them. ¡°Does this mean King Swiftleaf rejects the agreement made by his ambassador?¡± The prince asked as he stepped forward and came face to face with the armed unit. While they were all elite none of those elves posed a threat to him. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Queen Swiftleaf will be honoring the agreement.¡± A new voice answered. Ajax was surprised that he had completely missed the elf despite her openly standing in front of the entire unit. A quick use of his skills on her however and the only thing Ajax got back from his skills was that he stood no chance against her, even more surprisingly she stared right at him after he inspected her, letting him know she had sensed it. ¡°Queen Swiftleaf?¡± Aranor. ¡°His Highness stepped down three months ago.¡± the elven ranger responded. ¡°Sylvaris Swiftleaf has taken the throne and now rules Deepwood.¡± A quiet settled on the forest as everyone took a moment to digest that piece of information. ¡°Is this a good thing?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Most likely yes.¡± Elara responded. ¡°Sylvaris was always smart and starting a war right as you take the throne is never a good idea. From what father told me of her she also isn¡¯t that strong of a believer in elven supremacy as her father was.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not to say she likes the other races.¡± Arianwyn followed up. ¡°She was a general during the last war and she lost a few of her best friends to the dwarves. I¡¯m not sure what her views on humans or beastkin is since they were fighting each other mostly for the last war.¡± ¡°Long may she reign.¡± Aranor responded. ¡°How is meeting us with an armed force meant to convey her support of the agreement?¡± ¡°We are here for your protection.¡± the ranger said. ¡°While she has publicly denounced any attempt on the lives of our visitors, not all high nobles are so quick to settle following a change in leadership, as I¡¯m sure you are aware.¡± The last remark had a bit of bite to it. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°That was meant for us.¡± Arianwyn whispered, her ears drooping down a little. ¡°A few of the more affluent nobles chose my father¡¯s rise to the throne as the perfect moment to push and put extra pressure on long standing trade agreements. Our trade with Deepwood was most affected.¡± Aranor, the prince and the rest of the delve group congregated in one of the carriages. ¡°I believe she is telling the truth.¡± Aranor opened first. ¡°There is no reason to meet us at the border otherwise, instead of simply ambushing us after we crossed. Still it is your decision.¡± Elara, Arianwyn and Aranor wouldn¡¯t be the ones at risk in Deepwood so while they offered their point of view the decision lay with everyone else. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± the prince said. ¡°Sylvaris was always a great planner but her strategies were always more than a little crazy when the odds were stacked against her.¡± The prince had only met Sylvaris a few times, most of those times being during tournaments, while the princess had never been strong enough to take to the field herself; she had been there to coach a few of her friends. When the odds were stacked against her plans made almost no sense at first glance, about three quarters of them had also failed straight away. The last quarter however were successful and recognised as brilliant. ¡°We always knew this was a possibility before we came here.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Does her now being queen change things? Also does it change them for the worse?¡± ¡°It does change them.¡± Harold answered, as this change messed with a lot of the preparation house Silvertongue had given him before the start of the trip. ¡°I hate to say it, but things might be better.¡± the prince said as he let out a sigh. ¡° for our situation as a whole anyway, we will need to take extra precautions.¡± ¡°How is our situation better if we need extra precautions?¡± Anna asked, the statement making no sense. ¡°King Swiftleaf ruled with an iron fist.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°Anybody that I would have problems protecting you from would only be taking orders from him, this narrowed the options down to either we would be hit hard or not at all, there used to actually be a decent chance that no attempt on your lives would be made.¡± ¡°With Sylvaris on the throne the chance that she orders us to be killed is close to zero. We will almost certainly be attacked however.¡± the prince finished. ¡°I think we continue.¡± Ajax had no personal insight into the situation but he trusted the prince¡¯s judgment, before he made a decision however he turned towards Lexi to see her take on all of this. Lexi met his gaze and after a short moment she nodded her agreement. ¡°Then let''s keep going.¡± Ajax said with a nod as well. ¡°Don¡¯t eat or drink anything that hasn¡¯t been tasted.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°One of my maids has a very high level [Poison Resistance] and [Toxin Detection]. Don¡¯t take any chances.¡± With their decision made the group finally entered Deepwood. Ajax was very much surprised to see that despite being joined by a group traveling mostly on foot with only a single carriage their speed didn¡¯t slow at all. Their small convoy was constantly surrounded day and night as their new escorts slept in shifts as they made their way to the first dungeon. Chapter 371 As the group approached the dungeon they started running into a fair number of different types of monsters. They were all fairly weak for the most part around the low fifties but every now and then a stronger one around level seventy would show up. ¡°Why are there so many of them?¡± Ajax asked, confused, no kingdom should have a section filled with monsters of this level just out in the open. ¡°It¡¯s because of the level jump between floors.¡± the prince answered. ¡°We have a dungeon with a twenty level jump but I never saw anything like this there.¡± Ajax said as he thought back to that dungeon, he had to admit that the entire area around it was rather deserted. ¡°That¡¯s because it is more centrally located.¡± the prince said. ¡°The monsters are routinely cleared out as punishments given out by the Adventure society. There is no reason for Deepwood to clear out the monsters in this area, in fact it¡¯s better for them if they don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I doubt these monsters would slow down any invasion force.¡± Ajax said. ¡°We are cutting through them with no problem and there are so few of us.¡± ¡°They aren''t a deterrent for invasion, it''s for runaways.¡± Benedict chimed in. ¡°Our border with the empire is mostly open plains, and runaway slaves are an issue. In a forest like this just leaving the monsters alone will be a strong enough deterrent for anyone under level fifty.¡± Despite his disdain for their methods Ajax had to agree that it was a smart move. Why waste resources to deal with something that not only isn¡¯t a problem but is actually a benefit. ¡°The quicker we get through these dungeons the better.¡± Lexi said darkly. Arriving at the dungeon arch Ajax saw that it very much resembled the dungeon from back in Gryndor. There were no people setting up small stands in the surrounding area, simply a small guard outpost that was there to register anyone entering and send out an emergency signal should there be a dungeon break. ¡°There are eleven of you.¡± The ranger leader of their new protection detail said as they poured out of the carriages next to the dungeon. ¡°The agreement is access for ten.¡± ¡°I will be staying outside.¡± Aranor said simply. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± one of the guards on duty at the dungeon said as he saw the group head towards the arch. His glare filled with disgust as he looked towards the humans and Darkclaw. The man was quickly pulled aside and silenced by his partner who covered his mouth while lowering his head to the elf. ¡°Are you suicidal? She¡¯s a queensguard, just record and report anything else is going to be handled way above us.¡± With his Perception Ajax had no issues hearing the rushed whispers, but he paid them no mind as they all stepped inside the arch. The first floor they entered was a massive cornfield that surrounded a large fortress town. It didn¡¯t take long for them to find the first arch that was guarded by an oversized raccoon. The beast didn¡¯t even stand a chance as Harold decapitated it with a swift swing of his sword as it tried to jump him. ¡°Earth, Water and Darkness.¡± Ajax said as he touched the arch. ¡°No light at all so I¡¯m thinking some type of cave themed floor. ¡°Let''s look for another one.¡± the prince said. ¡°A flooded cave is one of the few things I am not certain I can protect you from.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. There was no argument there as nobody wanted to risk drowning and they moved on to the next arch, one defended by a small pack of coyotes that quickly followed the raccoon¡¯s fate. ¡°Plant, Life, Water, Earth.¡± Ajax said as he touched the arch. ¡°Some light as well, this should be a swamp or a forest or field with a river going through it.¡± There were no objections to this theme so the team entered and found themselves in a swamp. ¡°Be on the lookout for mud golems, there was quite a bit of Life mana.¡± Ajax warned them as he took in his surroundings. Everyone nodded as Lexi, Anna, Benedict, Xavier and Ajax started their hunt for a miniboss. _________________________________________________________________________ Aranor P.O.V. It would only be two or three hours before the low leveled nobles would return, this dungeon would be one of the quickest the team would boost since there would only be five total floors including the quickly passed first floor and the final one that the prince would clear by himself. Even then Ajax was the only one who needed to kill a miniboss on the second floor and that would speed everything up even more. ¡°Spread out and search the surrounding areas.¡± Lioriel Shadowstrider commanded, I didn¡¯t know the girl all that well but I remember fighting her father on multiple occasions. Their House had always produced skilled rangers and while she wasn¡¯t yet at the same level as me she was still young. Half of the elite guard force she was commanding headed into the forest to check. It was clear to me at a glance as they split themselves into teams of two that this guard force was thrown together last minute. They were all competent but they didn¡¯t have the fluidity that came from working together for a long time, they had likely been selected for their strength and the fact that they had no issues with humans. ¡°What is going on?¡± the smarter of the two dungeon guards asked me after he got nowhere with Lioriel following his partner¡¯s insulting questioning of the queen¡¯s decision to allow non-elves into the dungeon. ¡°The ambassador in the Republic almost caused a war when they used a skill on a human child during a feast.¡± My answer was calculated to share specific information that was not sensitive and would only build goodwill. ¡°The head of their House was quick in asking for access to Deepwoods dungeon for the slight.¡± ¡°Why are there so many humans then, and why only one beastkin and no dwarves?¡± the guard asked. ¡°The House in question came from Gryndor not the Republic.¡± I responded. ¡°They sold a few spots to Sylvanthal and the Republic but most of them went to their own kingdom.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Lioriel said as she approached and sent the guard back to his post. ¡°Those were some misleading answers.¡± ¡°Everything I said was true.¡± I said. ¡°You also left out that the child in question was the head of the House, let alone his¡­ unique situation.¡± she said as joined me in watching the arch. ¡°Just assuring the political importance of our short trip here is reported.¡± I contine. ¡°It is also undermining the royal family''s credibility.¡± her tone now accusing. ¡°Hardly,¡± I waive my hand. ¡° The mistake will simply be one more thing reinforcing the reason why the king stepped down from the throne and let his daughter take over as it was his decision to send that ambassador.¡± I could tell that while she didn¡¯t much like my reasoning she accepted it. After a minute of silence she moved on the next point, one I knew would be coming. ¡°Is everything they¡¯re saying about the human true?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what rumors have made it all the way here.¡± I say nothing and preempt any further questioning on this topic. ¡°Nor would it be my place to share any information on this topic. All I will say is that he is still a child, by noble standards anyway, and that he won the tournament.¡± ¡°What about his views on elves?¡± She moved on accepting my answer. ¡°He has no issues with elves as far as I could tell over the weeks we traveled together.¡± This was a point His Majesty had asked me to make sure was made perfectly clear. ¡°A bad encounter here so early in his development is the biggest risk.¡± Our conversation was cut short as a group of twelve elves exited the dungeon, two of them were above level one hundred. ¡°Identify yourselves.¡± Lioriel said as her hand snapped to her bow. What followed was a tense half an as Lioriel verified that the people who exited were who they claimed to be, the youngsters among them were Academy students from the fourth year and the two veterans were guards of a ducal house whose scion was part of the class. I also tuned out the ten minutes Lioriel spent chastising the guards for not informing her that there was already a boost happening. ¡°There is nothing in the surrounding areas.¡± At that moment the teams that surveyed the surrounding returned, their words putting the two veterans on guard. ¡°Is something going on?¡± the senior of the two veterans asked. ¡°And may I ask why you have a spell ready?¡± The second question was addressed to me. ¡°That¡¯s Aranor Starfury.¡± the second veteran said, recognising me, his words putting the first veteran on a hair trigger. It was at that moment that the four humans I was expecting stepped out of the arch. I wasted no time releasing the spell and creating a protective wind wall around them. My actions were well timed as one of the students was quick to fire an arrow as he saw humans exit the dungeon. ¡°You are to stand down!¡± Lioriel shouted as she notched an arrow of her own. I quickly made my way over to the four while silently cursing. Why is it that anything that can go wrong always does. Chapter 372 The situation was tense, thankfully the attack had been launched by an academy student whose level was in the early thirties and could be ignored as a reflexive attack since he had his bow in hand. ¡°What are humans doing in the dungeon?¡± One of the more racist students directed his question towards Lioriel, that she had also just commanded him also didn¡¯t sit well with the young noble. ¡°Their party has been given permission to delve the dungeon by the queen herself.¡± Lioriel didn¡¯t bother to explain further even when the silence stretched uncomfortably. ¡°At what cost can we have other races enter the dungeon?¡± The silence was broken by an elven boy who didn¡¯t look at the four humans with distaste. While the boy wasn¡¯t racist he had no issue letting slavery work out positively for his own fortune. His family had built a rather sizable wealth by buying and training slaves, it was simply what they were good at. They also had one of the largest stand alone armies, it was mainly formed of commoners who signed the right for the noble house to conscript them into a militia in exchange for training. This had been their way for years and almost all of the commoners who had entered the contract never ended up being called upon, the simple threat of being able to call them was worth a lot more to the family than the cost to train them. ¡°This was a one time dispensation.¡± Lioriel quickly crushed his hopes. ¡°So this is the group from Gryndor.¡± the duke''s son finally joined the conversation as he cut short his examination of the four humans. ¡°Mother told me that they would be coming.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not even slaves and they are in our kingdom and delving our dungeons.¡± The racist elf began to heat up again. ¡°What possible price would move our queen to accept such an insult?¡± ¡°I suggest you calm down Thaniel.¡± the duke¡¯s son said coldly. ¡°This special dispensation was given to prevent all out war.¡± Both Aranor and Lioriel frowned at just how well informed the student was, despite that neither said anything as the boy was clearly smart and helping the situation go smoothly. The young noble had quickly herded his classmates and guards and moved them to one side of the clearing. While thankful for his actions Lioriel was feeling a little troubled by the fact that they weren¡¯t leaving. The whole situation had blown over and for over two hours and thirty minutes nothing seemed to be amiss before one of the students once again approached the humans, the rest of the group following behind her with a variety of different looks on their faces. ¡°Are you Xavier Gryndor?¡± The girl asked Xavier. ¡°I am.¡± While Xavier hadn¡¯t joined in the previous interaction he wasn¡¯t at all intimidated by the elves. ¡°Did you really already graduate from the Academy?¡± The girl¡¯s excitement grew as she stared at Xavier¡¯s classically handsome face and the blonde locks that framed it. ¡°Who cares if he graduated from the Academy?¡± one of the elven boys asked jealousy not giving Xavier a chance to speak. ¡°He¡¯s half a year younger than I am and I still have two more years, he qualified at the age of sixteen!¡± The girl defended Xavier. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°The human academy is just a lot easier.¡± The boy said as he nodded towards the humans with a sneer. ¡°Barely any of them can use magic so they have to make it easier. He¡¯s the same age as me but I could beat him, same as I could any other human my age.¡± The boy¡¯s had meant the statement as a challenge and an insult, however the reaction he got from the humans was one that nobody had expected. Instead of being offended and outraged or dismissive all four of them broke out into laughter. Their reaction even caught Aranor and Lioriel by surprise as they had been prepared to end any conflict. ¡°You think I am a joke.¡± The boy yelled as he took an aggressive step towards them. ¡°I very much doubt you could beat me.¡± Xavier said his face once more stoic an intimidating look contrasted to his previous laughter. ¡°We just cleared the second floor of this dungeon while I am guessing you were here for the achievement of clearing the first. That however is not the reason I¡¯m laughing.¡± The change in Xavier¡¯s deminor combined with his social skills was enough to intimidate the elf into retreating a step backwards unconsciously. That act in and of itself once registered only fueled the boy¡¯s rage further. ¡°You think so little of me you -¡± The boy''s words were cut off as the duke¡¯s son put a hand on his shoulder to silence him. This brought the entire group''s attention on the duke¡¯s son for a quick moment before it shifted back to Xavier as he started talking once more. ¡°From what my inspection skill is telling me you¡¯d have maybe a one in twenty chance to beat me in a fight, one in fifteen if I¡¯m being generous. I know for a fact however that you wouldn¡¯t be able to give Ajax a fight even if he took it easy on you.¡± ¡°Oh is that so?¡± the boy angrily yelled as he used his inspection skill on Xavier only for it to be blocked so he turned towards Benedict and tried it again. On Benedict the skill managed to take hold enough to let him know that challenging Benedict was a colossally stupid idea, just not yet a suicidal one. ¡°Are you this Ajax?¡± As if on queue following the words five more people stepped out from the arch, two elves, two humans and one beastkin. All five of them had a combat ready stance with three of them also holding a mana power shield around them. Their entrance should have been a simple curiosity but the identity of one of the people was too much for the academy students to ignore. ¡°Is that¡­¡± one of them whispered. ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± another barely got the words out as she stared in awe. ¡°The ice princess.¡± As princess of their neighboring kingdom Arianwyn had previously made a trip into Deepwood about five years ago. On that trip she had taken part in a tournament and despite being five years younger than the tournament limit she had managed to pull out a hard fought win. The students'' trance-like states were broken by a slightly panicked scream ¡°Ajax!¡± Lexi cried out as she dashed towards him, her eyes focused on a rather nasty looking cut that adorned his left arm. ¡°What happened? Are you alright?¡± Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to catch Lexi in a hug with his good arm while being careful to keep her away from his injured one. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just got a little careless.¡± Ajax waved away her concern. ¡°This mantis type monster however had a very interesting poison. It¡¯s hemorrhagic but its strength is based around disrupting healing magic.¡± for the next part Ajax leaned in even closer to her ear and activated the privacy enchantment on her earring. ¡°It¡¯s right at the edge of my [Poison Resistance]. Both my Light healing and [Poison Resistance] should progress nicely.¡± Ajax knew that he could easily heal straight through the poison by simply adding a Life mana based healing spell, he had in fact done that exact thing to heal Harold who had gotten more than a single cut during his own battle with a similar monster that gave Ajax his souvenir. But since the poison was actually inflicted during proper and appropriate combat Ajax¡¯s skills would benefit from it a lot more than any self ingested poison so he was content to take advantage of it. ¡°So you¡¯re Ajax.¡± the elf who had been previously screaming at Xavier murmured as he tried his inspect skill on Ajax only to be rewarded with a sharp jolt of pain that further fueled his rage. As the elf took a step towards Ajax he was quickly obstructed by every single female in his class. His murmur hadn¡¯t been as quiet as he had thought and none of the girls wanted to risk having this idiot attitude affecting Arianwyn¡¯s impression of them. ¡°So that¡¯s him?¡± the duke¡¯s son addressed Xavier as he looked towards Ajax. ¡°I have to admit he looks intimidating enough.¡± Ajax¡¯s taller frame with wide shoulders but still slender build combined with his pitch black hair were rather intimidating.A brief twitch of pain cued Xavier in that he attempted to inspect Ajax. ¡°The human prodigy who beat the ice princess.¡± Those words sent another ripple through the group of students as they not all watched Ajax closely, most of them wincing in pain as they tried to inspect him. ¡°I thought humans aged like dwarves, is he half-elf?¡± Thaniel asked the duke¡¯s son, he had calmed down following his first outburst and seeing how their enraged classmate had done when confronting Xavier he was glad his friend had calmed him down. ¡°He isn¡¯t and they do.¡± The duke¡¯s son said. ¡°But just like prince Xavier mentioned earlier he is younger than us.¡± Those words caused a blanket silence to land upon the group before a flurry of whispers broke out amongst the elves. The duke¡¯s son didn¡¯t miss the opportunity he was looking to create as he approached Lioriel. ¡°Would it be possible for us to accompany you on your way to the capital, with their presence here I feel that the roads would be more dangerous than usual.¡± Chapter 373 The first reaction to the question had been a resounding no. Both Aranor and the prince knew that there was no way it was a coincidence that the students were here. After thinking on it for a bit however they decided to allow them to tag along but only if they could keep up. As a whole the group wanted to spend as little time as possible in the kingdom of Deepwood so they would be heading straight for the capital from here. Their timeline would have them exiting the kingdom in under two months. So they started their ten day journey towards the capital. It didn¡¯t take long for the first radical to make the first attempt on the group. Two days into their journey as they were passing through the lands of a small-time Baron whose house had fallen from Viscount three generations ago the group was charged by a small army numbering two hundred people. ¡°We¡¯re under attack.¡± The prince calmly relayed as he entered the large carriage. ¡°By what?¡± Elara asked uncertain how to take the prince¡¯s nonchalance. ¡°Baron¡­ I didn¡¯t pay attention to the name.¡± the prince said with a shrug after a moment of silence. ¡°Small force of two hundred.¡± It was here that Ajax got to see countries put so much emphasis on their elites. The group that was escorting them was formed of twenty one people, with the exception of Lioriel they ranged in level from the high eighties to the early hundred. The people ambushing them were just common guards of failing House most being in their high fifties with a few standouts reaching higher. The fighting Ajax had seen before as part of the skirmish between two local nobles was nothing compared to what he was seeing now. Outnumbered ten to one their escorts had no issues carving a bloody path through their ambushers. The difference in stats and skills was too high for there to even be a question of who would come out ahead. Shortly after the fighting started the students also joined the rest of the group in the spacious carriage as the most defensible position, though both Aranor and the prince insisted that their guards remain outside as a security precaution. Despite them being on the losing side Ajax couldn¡¯t help but pay very close attention to the ambushers'' fighting style. It was clear that despite some of them not being mages, or even hybrid fighters they were still using spells as part of their combat. One archer summoned a small fire in front of himself that he used to ignite the arrows he had dipped in some sort of accelerant. A warrior had used a weak wind spell centered on himself that caused a swift breeze to flow towards him from all directions giving himself a way to know if someone was behind him. As he watched Ajax made a small note to himself to spar a few of the physically focused elves once he got to Sylvanthal to see if he could pick up a few tricks that humans might not have come up with because of how rare magic was for them. ¡°Did the baron not come himself?¡± Ajax asked after watching the carnage for a few minutes. ¡°He did.¡± the prince said as he pointed towards the man in the center of a defensive circle formed by the remaining forty ambushers. ¡°The idiot who can¡¯t cast focus well enough to cast a spell properly.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Ajax was utterly unimpressed by the noble. During his time in the capital he did learn that most low nobles and commoners weren¡¯t all that different, the big difference came that nobles were given a big push early in life to level, that they were boosted through dungeons and had access to stat increasing potions. Nobles who lived in the capital were more refined by their environment. With peers and external pressure the quality rose. Out in the countryside the only difference between nobles and commoners were a few extra social skills and a large number of points added to Vitality that was compensated for by bought stats. ¡°Will they just kill him?¡± Ajax asked as he watched the defensive formation be taken apart with almost no effort. ¡°No, it¡¯ll be a public execution.¡± The duke¡¯s son answered. ¡°They¡¯ll capture him and the royal family will make it a spectacle to outline their stance on any attacks on your group.¡± The flicker in Anna¡¯s expression as she digested the information was missed by almost everybody, it was only her best friend who caught it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Anna?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to feel about this development.¡± Anna answered honestly. ¡°He was a sacrificial pawn.¡± As Ajax thought about what that could mean it dawned on him. If students in the academy hadn¡¯t known they were here how would a nobody baron? He was clearly leaked the information. Considering the presence of the escort and the public execution it was all planned out by the royal family. ¡°Though that does beg the question, are you here as part of the plan or is your father playing a different angle?¡± Anna asked the duke¡¯s son. The man in question didn¡¯t have the social skills high enough to hide the apologetic look he threw his classmates as some of them stared daggers at him for dragging them into something without letting them know. Ajax also made note of the three of them he picked out that had not been surprised by the revelation, either they knew in advance or put the pieces together before Anna pointed it all out. ¡°It¡¯s a different angle.¡± Harold said the Silvertongues had given him a full debrief on the royal families, archdukes and dukes of both Sylvanthal and Deepwood. While they didn¡¯t have perfectly up to date information as shown by the surprise news of a chance in ruler. ¡°Father is looking to make use of your visit to take care of a few problematic minor nobles in his lands.¡± the duke¡¯s son didn¡¯t hold back the information. ¡°Us traveling with you like this would give me the pretext of being ¡®offended¡¯ at any disparaging remarks about some new friends I might have recently made.¡± The whole plan relied solely on them making the journey to the capital together, something that had already happened. ¡°And do you have anything to provide for us?¡± The prince didn¡¯t even skip a beat as he asked for payment for their part in the plan. ¡°I was hoping to pass this along once we arrived in the capital but I see no reason not to tell you now.¡± the duke¡¯s son answered. ¡°There is a kidnapping planned for one of the nights you are in the capital. I am not sure who is the target or whose plan it is but I do know they are using the Fade Leaf mercenaries who have more than one person working for them at the Springwood inn.¡± There was a deep silence as the group was slightly surprised to hear the name of the inn they had actually planned to stay at instead of their decoy arrangement. ¡°That¡¯ll do.¡± the prince nodded with a grin not giving away any effect the information had despite the lacking poker faces of the rest of them. Ajax would have had trouble holding in a laugh when confronted with some of the expressions that some of the students had when they heard the exchange of information between. This was all overshadowed however by the realization that he might very well not be the target. He subconsciously got closer to Lexi and placed his arm protectively over her shoulder. ¡°The threat has been dealt with and their leader captured.¡± Lioriel¡¯s voice broke the silence. ¡°We can continue on our way.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Ajax asked, probing to see what she would say. ¡°The crown has removed an inconvenience while strengthening the security of your group.¡± Ajax was pleasantly surprised to see that Lioriel didn¡¯t try to hide that they expected the ambush. ¡°Did they also order this attack?¡± Ajax¡¯s voice turned a little flinty. Much as he despised certain types of nobles he also took issue with betrayal. ¡°No,¡± Lioriel answered. ¡°All nobles whose lands we would be passing through have been notified of your arrival. They were not notified of my presence, we expect at least another ambush before we reach the capital, possibly two. The road we are taking specifically goes through the lands of nobles whose personal forces don¡¯t pose a threat to your escort and whose financial situation would not allow them to hire more experienced people.¡± Ajax was satisfied with that answer, he couldn¡¯t be sure if it was the truth but while it wasn¡¯t a situation he endorsed it was one he could accept. ¡°Why go through all this to remove them?¡± Ajax asked after he returned to his seat. ¡°Couldn¡¯t the queen just take away their lands?¡± ¡°In theory she could.¡± Arianwyn answered. ¡°Unfortunately it is an unwritten rule that a king or queen who removes lands from nobles for simple mediocrity and slight incompetence sets a precedent that would see them removed. She just needed them to give her a better reason.¡± Chapter 374 Having an escort and a group of academy students tagging along hadn''t been that much of an inconvenience at first but that was solely down to the fact that it had only been a few days. Being accompanied at all times meant that Lexi couldn¡¯t practice forming her Domain, and neither could Ajax practice to unlock his Vibration mana. It was a blessing for Ajax that he could keep practicing his Alchemy or he would have gone a little stir crazy. The second ambush the small convoy met had gone down far differently than the first. Unlike the first Baron they happened upon this one had at least scouted the people he was looking to ambush and had wisely chosen to forgo hostilities. ¡°Baron, what a surprise to see you here.¡± Lioriel greeted him and his three hundred fighters. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you again, Lady Shadowstrider.'''' While the Baron¡¯s words were polite his delivery was wooden. ¡°May I ask why you are traveling through my lands?¡± ¡°The Queen has tasked me with escorting our guests to ensure no international incidents occur.¡± Lioriel answered. ¡°Is there something going on in your lands that you have such a force with you?¡± ¡°We are merely ensuring that there are no thieves lying in wait.¡± Even Ajax could spot the lie a mile out but nobody called the Baron out on it. ¡°I do wish you safe travels.¡± ¡°Looks like the plan failed.¡± Ajax mentioned once they were out of the Baron¡¯s earshot. ¡°Not entirely.¡± Harold said. ¡°It¡¯s the beauty of a plan like this, even though the Baron still lives, that was a very harsh warning he just got. Either he cleans up his act or, considering he could very well have died today already, there most likely won¡¯t be a third chance.¡± Their convoy was halfway to the capital by the time the students had managed through sheer persistence to convince Arianwyn to give them a small personal demonstration. Elara was also roped into helping by having a little spar. Ajax was watching the two of them face each other with deep seated interest. Despite this being a short spar where neither would even be seriously fighting it would still be the first time Ajax would see two Domains overlap in direct confrontation. The moment both Domains were deployed Ajax felt how the Storm and Winter fought for supremacy. The blizzard surrounding Arianwyn could be seen taking the lead, no doubt helped by the fact that she had a higher level in her Domain skill. More interesting however was what Ajax noticed was happening as spells started flying. The whole point of a domain was to have weaker spells travel through it to absorb mana and gain power. With two domains overlapped however when a spell drew power from the Domain by draining the mana along its path it would allow the opposite domain to take dominance. The clearest example of this happening was when Elara opened with a lightning bolt that cut across the battlefield and cracked the ice wall Ariawyn had opened with. Not one to let go of an opening however the elven princess was quick to send a powerful gust of wind down the same path the lightning bolt took and air blast perfectly connected to send Alara flying backwards into a tree. As the fight dragged on it became clear that Elara not only didn¡¯t have the same experience with using her domain as Arianwyn but the princess had experience fighting against other Domain users as well. After a few exchanges the spar ended but the power both of the elves had wielded left a deep impression on the students that were watching them. Almost all of them promised themselves to talk to their family about finding a way to incorporate a Domain into their fighting style. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°We¡¯ve entered the final Viscountcy before we reach the capital.¡± Lioriel warned them as they were only a little over a day away from the capital. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what she meant by that so everyone traveled more compactly into the main carriage for protection. The third ambush seemed to follow the theme of the first where the ambushers didn¡¯t bother to talk and just attacked. This group was a bit stronger than the first but what they had in quality they lacked in numbers. The attack was only fifty people, this wasn¡¯t enough to succeed and it was something the Viscount leading them also figured out quickly as he tried his best to retreat. Lioriel and the rest of her escort wasn¡¯t about to let the Viscount live as they moved to chase down the retreating stragglers. She hadn¡¯t made it more than one hundred paces from the carriage when her attention was drawn back to it by the door being ripped open. Ajax could barely track what was happening as [Danger Sense] started yelling at him. A foot in front of him Ajax could clearly see the hand of an elf dressed in full black leather holding a longer dagger that was pointed towards him. Holding the elf by the wrist was the prince whose runes were flooded with mana. The assassin tried tossing the knife at Ajax as soon as his wrist was caught but the prince blasted the dagger off course with a quick spell that left a sizable dent in the walls of the carriage. The assassin¡¯s next move however caught Ajax by surprise. The assassin didn¡¯t even try to free his hand from the prince¡¯s iron grip, he instead drew another knife and cut himself free by sacrificing everything from the elbow down. The assassin made a concentrated effort to have some of the blood spill towards Ajax as yelled out a command. ¡°MARKED!¡± the assassin yelled before he exploded into shadows. Ajax recognised the technique used as it was the same one Shadow had used for moving through the shadows. He also wasn¡¯t the only one to do so as Aranor blasted the area with a powerful light spell as the assassin retreated out the already ripped open door. As the assassin exited the shadows and ran for his life Ajax could see the trail of blood that he left in his wake. Everything happened in but a few moments. Ajax had been left feeling a little defenseless as he was barely able to do anything to defend himself. Still as he looked towards his right hand that still held another needle ready to throw Ajax couldn¡¯t help but smile a little at having fought back against someone so much stronger than him. ¡°What did you hit him with?¡± Aranor asked as he had noticed Ajax throwing the needle without any hesitation. ¡°Poison I came up with.¡± Ajax said proudly. ¡°Oh!¡± The prince looked like he forgot all about the attack as he quickly put up a privacy barrier around him and Ajax. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡± ¡°The opposite of a hemorrhagic poison.¡± Ajax tried to explain his creation. ¡°So his wounds would stop bleeding quickly?¡± the prince frowned as he didn¡¯t seem to understand. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t get it treated quickly enough there is a good chance that a clot will form in his heart or brain.¡± Ajax''s smile looked a little evil as he explained his poison. ¡°It might look like it''s actually helping him right up to the point he has a heart attack or a stroke.¡± ¡°Can you do something about the mark?¡± The prince said after a short moment to process. ¡°The mark?¡± Ajax asked unsure what the prince was talking about. He had heard the assassin yell ¡®MARKED!¡¯ but he didn¡¯t know what he could do about the skill. ¡°It¡¯s a Rare skill that works off of Shadow mana.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Focus on where the blood landed on you and see if you can remove it with [Mana Syphon].¡± Despite his best effort Ajax didn¡¯t manage to sense any mana, surprisingly however his [Mana Syphon] did find something to drain so Ajax kept at it until there was nothing else there. ¡°Did you catch him?¡± the prince asked as he lowered the privacy barrier and looked towards Lioriel who was standing in the doorway of the carriage. ¡°No, he got away.¡± Lioriel said as she lowered her head slightly in shame. ¡°He got away from you after the beating he took despite leaving a long and deep trail of blood?¡± even Aranor raised a brow at the ranger. ¡°I prioritized killing the Viscount before he could escape.¡± Lioriel didn¡¯t feel guilty about that, her orders were clear and she knew that with both the prince and Aranor here, there was nothing she could personally do to stop an assassin from succeeding that they couldn¡¯t. ¡°I see.¡± The prince said with a frown. ¡°In that case you best send one of your men ahead to make sure we can enter the dungeon when we arrive tomorrow.¡± ¡°The delve wasn¡¯t sch-¡± She started to answer but didn¡¯t get to finish. ¡°He was marked.¡± the prince said as he pointed to the blood spots on Ajax, while Ajax might have gotten rid of the mark nobody else knew that. ¡°The quicker we finish the trip the better. Lioriel had nothing to rebut there and she silently cursed the assassin as she sent one of her people to make sure there were no issues when they arrived at the dungeon. Chapter 375 ¡°What is this mark?¡± Ajax asked, it wasn¡¯t something he had heard about before. ¡°It¡¯s an assassin group thing.¡± The prince said darkly. ¡°Pretty much every assassin group picks it up.¡± Benedict chose to explain. ¡°It also becomes part of their initiation along with some blood ritual and hunting. Hardest part is the initial hunt to unlock the skill for the founders.¡± ¡°You get marked with the blood of one of them.¡± Elara joined in. ¡°That basically puts a tracker on you and marks you so that any attacks coming from the group become stronger. Not only that but with every failed attempt the mark can stack up.¡± ¡°Any way to get rid of it?¡± Ajax asked. He was pretty sure that he had gotten rid of the tracking part of the mark but the damage amp was still there. ¡°The mark only fades when the last group member dies.¡± Aranor answered before he turned darkly towards Lioriel. ¡°The mark does lose half its power if the person who marked you is killed however.¡± ¡°So they won¡¯t stop?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°No chance for that.¡± Benedict said with a scowl. ¡°There is a reason why despite the almost guaranteed way to get a rare skill that stacks like that almost all nobility avoid it like the plague. Every single person in the group just became allergic to your survival, it won¡¯t mean anything for a few weeks but after that it will start with rashes, then flashes of pain, migraines. It will keep escalating until you die or they all do.¡± Hearing that Ajax got a malicious thought. ¡°What would happen if I just decided to enter a dungeon and live there for a few years.¡± Ajax had no sympathy for the assassins. ¡°That¡¯s one of the crueler ways to deal with the skill.¡± Elara said. ¡°We have records of assassin groups going mad and killing their employer for putting them through this after five years of torment after their target did exactly what you are suggesting.¡± As much as Ajax would love to give karma a chance to serve the group their just deserts, he simply couldn¡¯t afford to waste a few years in a dungeon even if he spent the time practicing his skills. At that moment Ajax could once more feel the mark on him pulse one more time before dimming down and fading away into the background once more. His poison worked, together with all damage the prince and Aranor did it was enough to finish off the assassin. ¡°The crown will add a few more high level guards to your escort following this development.¡± Lioriel promised. ¡°I assure you we will do our best to finish your trip as quickly and safely as we can make it. As the convoy made it to the dungeon the students finally all went their own separate ways. Most of the students were extremely friendly towards Arianwyn and Elara with a few of them even being friendly with the non-elven members of the group. By the same token a few were ecstatic to be able to finally get away from them and they didn¡¯t bother to hide it. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ajax and the rest didn¡¯t care all that much, they were all focused on the arch in the middle of all the defensive formations. A capital dungeon, the initial floor started from twenty-five all the way to thirty with five level increments per floor. Ajax was doing his best not to drool as he thought about the +11 to all stats that were waiting for him, hell with such a low increment he was willing to try for a +12 and go past the level one hundred threshold. As the humans and beastkin made their way towards the arch confidently they were greeted by the jeers of the crowd. If he had to find a way to describe what it was like the best Ajax could have come up with was a peaceful protest. A small contingent of guards opened up a path for them to reach the arch but on either side of that pathway elven adventurers were spitting out vitriol towards them. Despite the hate and outrage nobody even tried to escalate things to a physical or magical altercation and the group simply ignored as they entered the dungeon. The first three floors were a joke. Since none of them could gain any stats from them they simply barreled through the first arch they saw. On the second floor Arianwyn didn¡¯t even bother killing the miniboss guardian simply freezing its feet in place as the entire team walked through the arch. The fourth fifth and sixth floors were a steady step up in difficulty for all of Ajax¡¯s classmates but none of them were a true issues for any of them. The floors took a lot longer to clear since they had to travel and find one miniboss for each of them to take on alone so they called it a day at the end of the sixth floor and set up their camp in front of the arch that would take them to the seventh floor. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Ajax asked Lexi as he snuggled into her around the campfire they had set up. ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about tomorrow.¡± Lexi admitted as she returned his affectionate gesture. ¡°You¡¯ve got nothing to worry about.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t just trying to reassure her he genuinely meant it. ¡°The eighth floor should only go up to level sixty-five, as long as you don¡¯t choose to go into a bad fight I have no doubt you should be able to win with Vibration mana.¡± ¡°I want to clear the ninth floor.¡± Lexi whispered, almost like she was admitting it to herself. That confession struck Ajax silent for a moment. He wanted to tell her not to risk it, that there was no need for that but the words died in his throat as he thought about the risk he was taking by going past the level one hundred barrier for the same increase. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you get a good match up.¡± Ajax promised her. With that all of Ajax¡¯s classmates called it an early night as the following day was going to be much tougher for them than it would be for Ajax since with the number of floors left to clear they would take at least another two days. ¡°The assassin died.¡± Ajax told the prince now that everyone else was asleep. ¡°That¡¯s good, did you get a skill from killing him?¡± The prince asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± Ajax said and he saw the confusion on the prince¡¯s face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I guess it was too much assistance.¡± the prince said with a light sigh. ¡°Seems like your poison isn¡¯t as lethal as I thought it was. That doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t want to buy a batch once we get back to Gryndor, imagine that a poison that makes your opponent overconfident by seemingly slowing their blood loss only for it to give you an opening a little later.¡± ¡°Hold on a minute there, What do you mean by too much assistance?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You just killed a trained fighter that was almost three times your level who was trying to kill you.¡± The prince¡¯s voice was low and serious. ¡°Even if you had help you landed the killing blow yourself. About what level would you say the plants you used to make the poison were?¡± ¡°Before I started topping them up, mid to high fifties.¡± Ajax wondered where he was going with this. ¡°Do you have the ingredients to make a stronger one?¡± the prince pushed on. ¡°Might have to substitute a small bit on one of them but I can get a mid to high sixties one.¡± Ajax said as he looked through his special ring. ¡°If I can get it to work at that level.¡± the second part he whispered to himself as he remembered how many failures it took to get the working variant he had now. ¡°Great, see if you can finish it before we leave the capital.¡± The prince''s grin turned a little evil. ¡°We might be able to get you a good skill off the next idiot that comes after you.¡± Leaving it at that Ajax went to join Lexi in the tent their shared, seems like tomorrow would also be a difficult day for him as well as he only had three attempts to get the poison right before his ingredients ran out. Chapter 376 As the team woke up they quickly made the transition to the seventh floor, while this floor wasn¡¯t a breeze for any of Ajax¡¯s classmates the level sixties could only be counted as a good warm up. Ajax had carefully chosen the eighth dungeon to make sure he got one where he could find a few alchemy reagents so that he could get in the swing of things before he started his attempts at the poison using the ingredients he brought in with him. Not only that but he was hoping that whatever he could make to help give Lexi a better shot on the ninth floor. ¡°What are you making?¡± Harold asked Ajax as he saw him slaving over the cauldron while everyone else was hunting in the jungle that was the eighth floor. ¡°This is a strong freezing agent.¡± Ajax said as he carefully bottled the mixture while using his air magic to ensure there was no contact with the air. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel cold.¡± Arianwyn said as she picked up one of the flasks he bottled. ¡°It isn¡¯t cold.¡± Ajax confirmed as he sealed the third flask. ¡°The mixture doesn¡¯t stay in liquid form when it is in contact with the air. While evaporating it draws in all the heat it can from the surroundings so quickly that it freezes everything. It¡¯s why the flasks are so big and sealed.¡± ¡°You mean to say you don¡¯t even open it, you just throw it and smash the flask?¡± Elara nodded as she looked at the flask Arianwyn was holding. ¡°I¡¯ve used ones that exploded before but I have heard there are freezing ones as well.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t mention that the freezing ones were a lot trickier to create. The difference between the two was that the explosive one became unstable in contact with air and exploded, while the freezing one was stable in both stages, this meant that a skilled alchemist could use his mana to stabilize the explosive mix during the creation process even if it made contact with the air. After he had five flasks filled with the freezing potion Ajax swapped over to make a very sticky substance. The main reason for this was that the arch guarded by the miniboss he had defeated had a very strong earth mana present. Using both the freezing and sticky mixture Ajax was pretty sure that Lexi could use her Vibration mana to best an earth golem. Ajax only needed to make two flasks of the sticky mixture before he finally decided to give the poison a try. Unlike the two previous mixtures the difficulty when making the poison didn¡¯t come from how the mixture reacted to the outside but from getting the ingredients to properly mix. Ajax silently worked for over thirty minutes as he blocked out everything that was happening around them as he trusted Harold to keep an eye out for him. Unfortunately even that wasn¡¯t enough as the mixture separated instead of neatly fusing. Much as he wanted to give it another go it was time to get going as he finally noticed that everyone had returned. ¡°Here you are.¡± Ajax said as he passed the flasks over to Lexi. ¡°What are these for?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°That arch there leads to a primarily earth dominant floor.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the arch. ¡°Not only that but I can also feel a good amount of Life mana as well so we should be able to find earth golems there, these should let you stick them in one place, freeze them and then you can use your Vibration spells to shatter them.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lexi quickly stored the flasks in her spacial ring and wrapped Ajax in a very tight hug. ¡°You¡¯re going for one more?¡± Xavier asked incredulously. Lexi simply nodded as all her classmates looked at her supportively and with a very slight hint of envy. Out of all of them Lexi was the only one who stood a chance on the next floor as she was the only one with something as powerful as a Legendary skill to make up the twenty-five level gap. As the team stepped onto the floor Ajax noticed that they found themselves on a hillside covered by white marble. Everywhere he looked Ajax could see massive temples with white coulombs that reminded him of the Acropolis of Athens with the surrounding filled by moving statues of all different sizes made from the same material. ¡°Woah!¡± Xavier exclaimed as he closed the notification for getting an extra boost in stats from clearing the floor and took in the architecture all around them. ¡°It¡¯s certainly something.¡± Arianwyn said as she also looked interested in the odd buildings. ¡°Seems very similar to the way dwarves build their underground support pillars but with the stark white color and the non-cramped space squeezed beneath the earth.¡± Seeing as none of them could recognise the Greek architecture made Ajax a little worried about what that could mean. Was he the reason that certain odd floors kept popping up? It had happened before, the most obvious example had been the floor that belonged in a galaxy far far away but he had left that aside as a technological understanding. This however was basic stone work. One thing was for certain Ajax had no intention of clearing this floor any more than they had to on the slight chance that the floor boss was actually a medusa. It didn¡¯t take long for the first group of statues to attack them, just like Ajax had expected however they weren¡¯t any harder to handle than the usual earth golems he was used to fighting, the only difference was that these had a much sleeker frame that depicted a very fit human instead of a vaguely humanoid shaped mound of earth or rock. ¡°There is your target.¡± Ajax said as he pointed Lexi towards a small temple inside of which a statue was guarding an arch. ¡°Why that one? It¡¯s rather big.¡± Lexi questioned the one Ajax selected for her. ¡°It¡¯s too big to squeeze between the coulombs.¡± Ajax explained his plan. ¡°Throw the sticky mixture through the door and then use A shockwave on one side of the temple to bring the whole structure down on it.¡± ¡°Then I can use the opening when it¡¯s digging itself out to toss the freezing flasks and set up my spells.¡± Lexi quickly caught on to his plan and was fully on board. Knowing she wouldn¡¯t have much time once the fight began, Lexi accurately tossed the flasks so that the sticky mixture would spread just past the entrance to the small temple. She then moved to the right side where she could see the statue had started following her movement. Lexi took out her boosting potion and downed it before she quickly began the chant for her Domain. This wouldn¡¯t be a battle of attrition like the one on the previous floor where she chose a defensive monster and slowly whittled it down, either she could kill this statue before it got to her or the prince would intervene before it killed her. As soon as she unleashed her Domain the statue started sprinting for the exit of the temple as she started the chant for the shockwave she planned to use to know the temple down. It was frightening to see the large rock giant dash so quickly towards the exit, but her fear subsided slightly as the giant tripped right at the entrance as her cast was almost finished because its leg got stuck in the black tar-like substance Ajax had provided. Seeing the crater that formed where the statue¡¯s knees made contact with the temple floor convinced Lexi that there was no way she could take a direct hit. Her shockwave spell was finally ready and she tried to help it along as much as she could with the mana from her domain spell as she unleashed it towards the support coulombs. The spell worked even better than she hoped as not only did it bring down the coulombs but it also caused the statue to lose its balance right as the roof collapsed on top of it. Despite the elation at her success Lexi moved on straight to the next spell that she would prepare to unleash as soon as the statue dug itself out. With a flask at the ready in hand Lexi carefully approached the pile of rubble that was moving as the statue broke its way to the surface. The previous pristinely sculpted muscles were now chipped and scratched, a thick layer of dust covering everything. Lexi didn¡¯t hesitate as she tossed three flasks of the freezing mixture Ajax had given her and was prepared to unleash her spell as soon as it finished taking effect. What Lexi hadn¡¯t expected however was that the statue would mimic her plan and toss a rock from the rubble towards her before even standing up properly. It was only thanks to her defensive enchanted equipment that the rock was deflected to only clip her shoulder, shattering the joint in the process. Anna and Harold both worked together to keep Ajax from rushing in there as soon as he heard her shoulder crunch from the impact. Despite the pain Lexi grit her teeth and watched to see the head, neck and top right part of the statue freeze as an odd steam rose from where the flasks spilled their contents. She carefully aimed her spell and unleashed a powerful shockwave that crushed the frozen part of the statue to small pebbles. Lexi was able to hold on to her consciousness long enough to make sure the statue didn¡¯t get back up before she succumbed to the pain and lack of mana. The whole world started going black and Lexi was sure she was out before she hit the ground. Chapter 377 Ajax panic left just as quickly as it arrived, the moment he felt the statue die he knew that Lexi wasn¡¯t in anymore danger. Despite knowing that it didn¡¯t make him any slower in pushing himself to make sure he caught his girlfriend before she dropped to the ground after she passed out. Lexi was only unconscious for a few seconds as Ajax used his Light and Life mana to help her enchanted items in healing her following the battle. As she woke Ajax could see the confusion as her memories of the fight were reviewed, despite that he was happy that even when waking up like this she made jerky motions to stand up, simply learning even more into his embrace. ¡°How are you doing?¡± he asked her after she got her bearings. ¡°I¡¯ve got a killer mana headache.¡± Lexi said in a quiet whisper before her voice picked up some volume and pride. ¡°But I did it.¡± ¡°I never doubted you.¡± Ajax¡¯s lie was almost perfect, nothing about him gave away that he had almost crushed that statue the moment the blow on Lexi landed, the same could not be said of Harold and Xavier who were right next to him. ¡°Yeah, right.¡± Harold who had held him back mumbled. ¡°Bullshit.¡± Xavier delivered the least believable cough of all time. Lexi kindly chose to ignore the two of them as she got back to her feet before checking her notification and breaking out in an exclamation. ¡°I did it!¡± ¡°Lexi?¡± Ajax¡¯s tone now had a quiver of concern as he examined her head for any injury he might have missed. ¡°No, not that.¡± Lexi waved him off. ¡°I got my Domain, the skill is finally there [Domain - Dizaster(Fire, Wind, Water, Vibration)].¡± A new wave of congratulatory cheer went out from all of them as Lexi did her best to overcome the exhaustion she was feeling. ¡°Anyone else want to try and clear this floor?¡± the prince asked after he gave them a moment. Nobody spoke up, Anna knew that she didn¡¯t have the defense required to take a direct attack and fire just couldn¡¯t kill anything fast enough for them not to retaliate. Xavier looked like he was thinking about it but in the end he decided not to push it and simply shook his head no. ¡°Fine then, Ajax go take out your frustration because we need to get moving.¡± the prince said. ¡°Actually we aren¡¯t in that big of a rush.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You do remember we are trying to get out of Deepwood as quickly as possible?¡± the prince said with a serious voice. ¡°I know but this floor is perfect for my Alchemy¡± Ajax said. ¡°Earth and Life mana perfectly compliment my poison, I only have two attempts so it will be two hours at most before we move on to the next floor, it''s just not that big of a rush.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Following his comment Ajax dashed off in search of his own mini boss to kill in order to bleed off some of the restless energy that had built up as he watched Lexi¡¯s fight. It didn¡¯t take him long to find a target and with it being only level seventy Ajax used his hammer and Metal mana infusion to turn the hydra statue into a massive pile of rubble. As soon as he was finished with that Ajax let out a relieved sigh before taking out his cauldron and reagents. The first mixture Ajax started with was a simple healing potion, he was only making it to get a good sense of the ambient mana before he tried the poison. While the healing potion came out great the same could not be said for his first attempt at the poison. Sure the abundant earth mana in the surrounding air had made it a lot easier for Ajax to get his ingredients to combine; he hadn''t accounted for the side effect of so much Earth type mana. While his mixture did come out just as toxic as he would have liked it to be it also came out with the same consistency of honey. There was no way to use it as a poison since it would more likely than not simply plug the wound it was applied to than enter the bloodstream. His second attempt did wind up better than the first but it was still nothing he could proudly call a success. The second try had come out as an inferior version of the poison to his identification skill, it was still stronger than the original poison he had used to kill the first assassin, but only marginally so despite the much better reagents used. ¡°How did it go?¡± The prince asked once he saw that Ajax was finished. ¡°Not great.¡± Ajax said with a sigh as he tossed a small tin with the first result. ¡°That should work as an antidote to hemorrhagic poisons that are resistant to healing, just make sure to only apply a little, wipe it away quickly afterwards and don¡¯t use it for any wounds above the neck or close to the heart.¡± ¡°I thought it was a poison opposite the hemo-¡± the prince cut off his own sentence as he opened the tin and saw the viscosity of the mixture that might as well be a cream. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will have its uses, what about the other attempt?¡± ¡°That one went better.¡± Ajax said as he showed a small vial of the poison. ¡°Still very close to a failure but it''s a little stronger than the one I had previously.¡± ¡°That will have to do unless you find some other ingredients in the dungeon that you can take outside.¡± The prince followed that with an evil smirk. ¡°You still finished off the last kill, we''ll just have to make sure not to hurt the next one that badly once he starts running.¡± After the team stepped on to the tenth floor all of Ajax¡¯s classmates exited the dungeon. With only Ajax being able to gain anything from this floor he made quick work of it and moved on to the eleventh. It was here that the delving speed started to slow down for the first time since they started their trip. With Arianwyn and Elara also needing the floor clears they now had two more people scouting and soloing bosses. While the eleventh, twelfth and even the thirteenth floor weren¡¯t all that hard to handle, the same could not be said about the fourteenth floor that pushed Harold to the limit. ¡°I got this.¡± Harold grunted even as the snake he was fighting sank its fangs into his leg. The prince respected Harold''s determination and watched as Harold brought down his sword with so much power that it went straight through the snake''s scales, brain and flesh to pierce out the snake''s mouth and into Harold''s own leg. As soon as the snake was dead the prince was there to apply a tourniquet to Harold¡¯s leg to both stop the blood loss and to stop the poison from spreading. ¡°It¡¯s a hemorrhagic poison.¡± Ajax quickly analyzed what remained of the venom sac from the snake corpse. ¡°It won¡¯t stop the healing but make sure you keep the tourniquet in place until the wound is sealed or he will lose too much blood.¡± The prince nodded as he gave Harold a supplement snack to eat, that should help him replace the blood he lost without interacting with the boosting potion he took before the fight. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your poison cream work as well?¡± Darkclaw asked as he prodded Ajax jokingly about his failed attempt. ¡°In theory, yes.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°But it was still an attempt to make a poison, I wouldn¡¯t try it out without a proper healer present and especially not on someone who can¡¯t take a potion.¡± Once Harold was stable the team moved on to the fifteenth floor where Harold bowed out and the rest of them remained to battle the level one hundred. Since Ajax had managed to find a humanoid floor none of them were that worried about the upcoming fights. Yes, they wouldn¡¯t be easy but all four of them had already cleared similar floors in the main dungeons of their own respective kingdoms. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Arianwyn asked Ajax once they were all standing in front of the arch to the sixteenth floor. ¡°The jump in power is a lot bigger than just the ten levels, the dungeon becomes a lot harder, the monsters are stronger if more solitary.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said as he followed the prince onto the sixteenth floor. Once there everyone but Ajax and the prince exited while Ajax took a deep breath feeling the increase in ambient mana as he swiped away the extra stat notification to take in his new surroundings. The sixteenth floor was forest themed. Out of all the options they found on the previous floor this was the best one, not only that but it seemed like fate for Ajax considering the first floor of the first dungeon he entered was forrest themed so his first floor past level one hundred should be the same. Chapter 378 Ajax P.O.V. The dense forest stretching out all around us is completely unfamiliar, [Danger Sense] is constantly pulsing despite the fact that I haven¡¯t moved from the spot right in front of the exit arch. ¡°I know this was briefly covered in the Academy but you haven¡¯t yet faced a monster above level one hundred, take your time to inspect and analyze them.¡± the prince reminds me as I scan the trees surrounding us. The academy did a deep dive on monsters but even then they mostly focused on monsters that can be found inside the kingdom or the lower floors of the dungeon. The main progression of a monster is the stages of growth, from infant to young, adolescent, adult and finally peak. While the beating heart of a monster''s power, its mana core, was covered in depth as it forms early on, monsters also have a level dependent evolution, the mana channels that connect the mana core to every inch of the body. This happens at level one hundred and comes with a massive jump in power. It is that jump in power that keeps almost all adventurers from making the push past level 100 inside the dungeon. A few stomps and snapping branches behind me along with a much stronger pulse from [Danger Sense] lets me know that something is approaching quickly. I don¡¯t waste the time to look behind me as I roll out of the way, I move quickly enough that I have time to really take in the stag that tried to gore me with its large antlers. ¡°It''s level 107.¡± the prince tells me. ¡°Should be good for a warm up. If you can¡¯t take this on you won¡¯t kill a mini boss.¡± As I dash in with my shield held firm I bash the stag¡¯s head away as I open a clean path for my axe to open up its throat. I can feel the mana pulsing through the stag''s body, more than that because it''s all happening internally [Mana Syphon] can¡¯t touch any of it. The stag doesn¡¯t just feel like seven levels higher it feel more like twenty seven levels higher. My axe slashes down covered in wind magic to help cleave straight through and while it does manage to break through the fur and skin the wound isn¡¯t as deep as I¡¯d like it to be. The stag¡¯s mana pulses much harder, I can see it gathering in its antlers. During the fight the prince has already started his duty. My battle with stag must have drawn some outside attention since I can feel the prince¡¯s mana being channeled as he dashes through the trees surrounding us. I can¡¯t focus on that just yet, I need to first kill my opponent. As soon as the mana starts to level the stag¡¯s antlers [Mana Syphon] find a hold and I can feel my own mana reserve not being emptied so quickly. The attack is clearly wind mana, a massive wind blast is being sent towards me but my drain is clearly something the stag didn¡¯t anticipate as it takes him far too long to channel the attack, by the time he launches it I am already moving out of the way. Impressively enough the stag has the ability to dual cast. While charging up his wind attack he was also managing to keep me from binding his feet into the ground with my Earth magic. The stag isn¡¯t all that skilled however as while I might not be able to cover his feet and I did manage to form a large hole under him by pushing three hundred mana into it. Our second clash happens as the stag is trying to leap out of the hole, this time however I have a better idea about how to handle the exchange. I am clearly not the only one as a small puff of air is released right before the antlers make contact with my shield, killing a lot of my momentum and not forcing the stag to expose his neck. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The defensive maneuver works perfectly as I have no opening to strike at its neck a second time, unfortunately for the stag that wasn¡¯t my plan at all as I swing my hammer glowing with the eerie glow of Void mana. The hammer connects cleanly on the stags ribcage to the right of its mana core. The split second longer it takes the void attack to travel from the point of impact is enough for the stag¡¯s front leg to slam into my thigh breaking straight through my defensive enchantments and still hitting hard enough that I can feel my bones crack. The battle however is over as soon as the void attack finishes its travel. I can see the bug eyed expression as the internal damage forces the stag to vomit a mouthful of blood and its previous study stance starts to lose its balance. I¡¯m not willing to let this chance go as I launch myself off my good leg and follow up with a second void strike to head. The stag tries its best to put up a defensive wind wall but with its mana core cracked the power and control over its own magic diminished greatly and with [Mana Syphon] still working away the spell can¡¯t take form. The battle ends with a gentle tap of my hammer and a brief look of confusion crosses the stag¡¯s eye before blood gushes out of its eyeballs and nostrils as it falls to the ground, dead. ¡°That was harder than I expected.¡± I say to the prince who returned as I use my Light and Life spells to heal my leg, I¡¯m sure I have a massive bruise where the hoof connected with my thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll need maybe two or three hours to recover but I¡¯m confident in taking on a miniboss.¡± ¡°You did well.¡± the prince says as he examines the wounds on the stag. ¡°Wind was a bad choice to use for your first attack, those mana channels let it answer your wind mana with its own so it did almost nothing.¡± We spend the next twenty minutes waiting for me to finish healing my leg before we start moving and searching for my target. As we move through the forest I can see the monsters finally putting up some resistance against the prince. It isn¡¯t anything impressive, all of them are killed with a single attack but they are at least able to perceive and try to react to him now before they are killed. One wolf even managed to dodge his initial attack as it channeled Earth mana and tried burrowing through the ground. It takes only another hour before we find the miniboss we were looking for. A small pack of three wolves surrounds a large alpha that is guarding an arch to the next floor. ¡°I¡¯ll distract the three of them while you deal with the mini boss.¡± the prince offers. As soon as I am in position the prince launches an attack at one of the wolves by throwing a dagger at it. As soon as the attack connects I follow up in the moment of distraction and launch an lightning infused arrow straight towards the alpha. The distraction was enough for the three wolves to ignore me as the alpha yelped as the lightning surged through him. A pair of beady black eyes locked onto me, despite the obvious pained yelping I could see the anger and hate in its eyes. Unlike the stag I don¡¯t want to give the wolf any chance and draw a second arrow. This one is infused with magma. I can see the wolf tracking the projectile yet despite its best efforts it still can¡¯t seem to move its body well enough because of the lightning coursing through it. The arrow doesn¡¯t strike the head as I planned but it does take it in the shoulder releasing magma insides the wolf body. The fight is almost over but the large amount of mana being channeled unsettles me as the wolf releases a howl and I brace myself by switching to my shield. I¡¯m surprised to feel that nothing happened. In my confusion I lower my shield to take a look and see the wolf crouching on its back legs right before it leaps and disappears as it finally uses the mana it was channeling. My [Danger Sense] screams at me as the wolf jumps from my own shadow going straight for my throat. This isn¡¯t good, I can¡¯t stop it, the best I can do is try to minimize the damage. I flood as much mana as I can into summoning an ice shield around my neck while also swinging both my hammer and shield looking to make sure I kill it after its attack lands. None of that happens however as the wolf¡¯s skull is shattered by a flying knee from the prince as he intercepts its ambush. ¡°This is why I told you to be careful.¡± the prince chides me. ¡°Until you get a sense for what mana type a monster favors don¡¯t leave openings like not infusing your own shadow with mana.¡± I have nothing to say to that, not that it would matter as the ice surrounding my throat wouldn¡¯t let me open my mouth anyway. I got ahead of myself, the last few dungeons had been getting easier and easier as my stats kept increasing, I wasn¡¯t expecting such a last ditch effort. ¡°Good reaction.¡± the prince says as he makes sure the alpha is dead while I remove the ice surrounding my throat. ¡°Good chance you might have won that even if I didn¡¯t interfere, but it was too close for me to chance it. How long do you need before we try again?¡± ¡°An hour for my mana to regenerate.¡± I answer as I take a potion to help me with my regeneration. I won¡¯t mess up next time, I promise myself. Chapter 379 Ajax wasn¡¯t taking any chances with his second fight, both him and the prince had wandered through the forest as they waited for Ajax¡¯s mana to recharge back to full and they both searched for the next mini boss. ¡°That eagle looks like a good choice.¡± The prince said as he pointed to a bird with a wing span of twice Ajax¡¯s height. Ajax nodded in agreement as he saw the bird using a Wind affinity spell. With the knowledge of the monster''s mana affinity he felt a lot more sure of his chances, not only that but while birds were usually more dangerous than other animals they were also more fragile. Unlike last time Ajax now had the opportunity to take a potion before the fight began since the timing wouldn¡¯t be so close as it had been when the prince needed to distract the three wolves that had surrounded the alpha. As he drank the potion Ajax felt his muscles flex as he felt light as air and pulled out his bow as he loaded his first arrow. Rather than go for his usual opening shot of Lightning mana, Ajax decided to go with Magma. He had learnt early on in his days with The Collectors that flying enemies were best grounded with a sneak attack, while lightning might also achieve that having one wing covered in magma was a much surer way of achieving this. As Ajax pulled back the arrow he could feel the bow starting to struggle under his strength. The gear he had been given by the crown was supposed to see him through his delves in the Republic and maybe Sylvanthal but with the stats he had now after going through so many dungeons already as well as a boosting potion he was reaching the limit of his bow. Ajax combined [Inspector¡¯s Eye],[Spot Weakness] and [Dismantle] to find the best spot to place aim his arrow before using [Focused Aim],[Piercing Shot][Mana Augmentation] and [Mana Syphon] to put as much power behind his arrow as he pumped three hundred mana into the Magma augmentation. To the eagle¡¯s credit it did well in trying to use a wind wall to deflect the arrow and while it still managed to land on its wing the blow didn¡¯t hit the spot Ajax was aiming for. As soon as the arrow embedded itself in the wing a large amount of magma was released covering half the wing around the center where the arrow embedded. The eagle was quick to take to the air, though its previous swift and refined movement was now clumsy, slow and discoordinated. Ajax wasted no time pulling back his second arrow, now was the perfect time for him to switch to his Lightning as the eagle started to gain more altitude, even if the paralysis was only temporary it would still send it crashing into the ground. Unlike his first shot Ajax was no longer aiming for any specific point and instead he was doing his best to predict the eagles flight path as all he needed was for the arrow to make contact for his augment to do its job. Unlike his opening attack Ajax only used a hundred and fifty mana for his second shot. The second barely missed as the eagle was able to deflect it by an inch using its wind magic before locking on to Ajax as the enemy that was attacking it. Ajax wasn''t deterred and fired a third shot identical to the second, this one was much easier to land as the eagle was doing its best to dive towards him. The third shot almost suffered the same fate as the second due to the eagle much smaller form as it dove towards Ajax, the arrow barely made contact with one of the eagles large sharp claws but that was enough for the Lightning to discharge and the muscles spasms ruined the dive as the eagle plummeted the last thirty feet straight into the ground only a dozen feet away from Ajax. Ajax didn¡¯t waste a single moment as he pulled out his hammer and axe as he charged. He had felt the eagle using its magic even as its body refused to listen and it created a small air cushion to brace its landing, the spell had been made less efficient by [Mana Syphon] but it was still enough that the eagle was mostly just inconvenienced by the crash. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Unlike most other monsters Ajax didn¡¯t choose to go with his Void mana, instead he infused both his hammer and axe with Metal mana. Birds had hollow bones so crushing damage was highly effective and its feathers would be almost negligible in terms of defense. Ajax could feel the bones snap and shatter as his hammer landed on the eagles'' already injured wing. Instead of being able to follow up with his axe for a second strike however Ajax was forced to roll out of the way as the eagle¡¯s beak shot forward the moment the hammer knocked the defensive wing out of the way. The eagles attack was still too fast to fully dodge however what it gained in speed had been lost in raw power, the attack had managed to break past the enchanted shields on the armor it wasn¡¯t enough to more than leave a nasty scratch on the leather. Unlike the stag Ajax had fought as he entered this floor the eagle wasn¡¯t as used with being wary of the ground beneath its feet and Ajax managed to use his control over Earth mana to bury one of the eagle claws into the ground while also solidifying the earth following that. With the eagle stuck to the ground Ajax quickly switched his hammer for his shield as he went straight for the injured wing. Following the hammer strike Ajax could now clearly see the hollow white bones breaking out through the skin and swung his axe looking to cleanly sever the wing. Neither the eagle¡¯s remaining free claw nor its beak were able to break past Ajax¡¯s Ice infused shield as the axe imbued with Wind mana made a clean cut taking the wing cleat off. The sudden loss of weight unbalanced the trapped eagle further giving Ajax an opening for an open attack to the body that he infused with Fire mana and added [Cursed Slash] leaving a trail of burning black flames on the eagle¡¯s chest. With the curse applied Ajax quickly switched to his Holy mana as he started to remove the curse directly from the eagle while also switching back to his dual-wield hammer and axe. This proved to be Ajax¡¯s first serious miscalculation as unlike the humanoid opponents he had previously hit with the combo it seems the monster was able to much better handle the agony inflicted by the curse removal with a clean claw strike breaking through Ajax¡¯s defensive enchantments, cutting through the leather and leaving a nasty cut on his shin that reached all the way to the bone. Ajax was glad for [Pain Resistance], as he molded the earth to temporarily give himself the support he lost as his leg started to give out under him while also starting to apply Light and Life mana to the wound. Despite his crumbling form Ajax relied on [Unnatural Balance] to push forward with his attack as he brought his Metal infused hammer with [Precise Blow] down on the eagle¡¯s skull while his axe was following it with a Wind augmentation and [Precise Cut] to the throat. The eagle was able to lessen the hammer strike by raising its beak and spreading the blow between the skull and beak but the blow was strong enough that combined with [Mana Syphon] it completely disrupted the eagle''s ability to control its mana. This meant that Ajax¡¯s axe swing was able to cleanly decapitate the eagle bringing the rough fight to an end. Once he was sure the eagle was dead Ajax stood back up and leaned on his intact leg as he heaved lungfuls of air. The battle had lasted no more than a minute since his opening arrow but it was intense, Ajax had burnt through a third of his mana quicker than he had ever done outside of using Life mana to animate anything. ¡°That was a good fight.¡± the prince complimented him. ¡°Something you might want to keep in mind for the future however is that mini bosses past level one hundred, with the exception of humanoids, almost always have some form of [Berserker Rage] and inflicting pain isn¡¯t all that effective.¡± a nod towards the closing cut on Ajax¡¯s shin made his point. ¡°I¡¯ll remember that.¡± Ajax huffed as he cleaned the wound and pushed more mana into healing it. The only thing Ajax could pick out about the two arches he had come across was that the first led to a floor where Water mana was dominant and the second to one where Lightning mana ruled. The prince preferred to deal with the lightning floor rather than spend days swimming and looking for the obelisk. Ajax didn¡¯t even waste time to properly take in the next floor as he turned back around and exited the dungeon as soon as he confirmed the notification for extra stats. Despite the hurry Ajax was careful to exit the dungeon with his helmet on and his shield in hand. The helmet was mostly there to hide the fact he wasn¡¯t an elf and buy himself some extra time before anyone trigger happy enough thought he was a monster exiting the dungeon. This time there was no issue as he exited the dungeon, Lioriel was on the lookout and quickly picked him up and dragged him away from the dungeon arch and towards the rest of his group. It was there however that the issues began. As they approached the group Ajax could hear an irate elf spewing hateful comments. While Ajax had no way of knowing one of the elves that had been part of the group of students had had family die at the hands of Duke Manashaper a few hundred years ago. With the news of the Duke¡¯s granddaughter being in the capital one of the student¡¯s slightly older cousins made a beeline for her. Ajax had no idea what the situation was or what was going, he had expected he would have to ignore such behavior as they made their way here, tired as he was however Ajax¡¯s hadn¡¯t even known he had done anything before everyone in the area turned towards him suddenly. While Ajax slowly made his way towards Lexi, the elf¡¯s mouth had snapped shut. The elf was barely over level sixty and his face rapidly paled as he looked towards Ajax. Lexi had turned towards him as well both having felt the same thing though they were reacting to it very differently. Despite being on the weak side as far as these things go Ajax¡¯s disdain for the elf and protectiveness of Lexi could clearly be felt as his aura pushed out without Ajax even realizing. Chapter 380 While Ajax might not have felt or even noticed his own Aura he quickly registered the two Auras that sprung up and smothered his own. Lioriel had unleashed her Aura looking to suppress Ajax seeing his use of it as a method of intimidation, her efforts however were in vain as both her Aura and Ajax¡¯s were completely smothered by Aranor¡¯s Aura that was pushing his stoicism and crushing everything else. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Lioriel hissed out, offended at how heavy handed Aranor had been. ¡°That was clearly an attack.¡± ¡°What?...¡± Ajax was dumbfounded at what was happening all around him. ¡°That was undirected Aura.¡± Aranor said calmly. ¡°It is also the first time I have seen the boy use it, I am guessing he just unlocked it and it reacted to the way he saw his beloved being treated.¡± Lioriel took a moment to consider what Aranor had said, that moment was enough for her to process the true extent of what Ajax having an Aura truly meant. ¡°He is not even twenty five years of age, he is barely past level fifty. This is unheard off.¡± Lioriel muttered to herself so quietly only Aranor and Ajax heard her. While Lioriel awe wasn¡¯t heard by everyone they were all independently aware of what Ajax possessing an Aura meant. Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw all threw Ajax piercing looks as they were trying to pry out his secrets. ¡°His skill levels can¡¯t be that high if he is not yet twenty five years of age.¡± Elara whispered to Arianwyn and Aranor. ¡°Just how high are his stats, the previous record for unleashing an aura was just under level eighty but it was done with some very high skills, was he holding back his stats the entire time?¡± ¡°He might be making up for skill levels with both quantity and quality.¡± Arianwyn whispered back. ¡°Sure his skills aren¡¯t absurdly high but he must have a lot of them and there should be quite a few Rare and higher.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t so much concerned with the whispering as he was with inspecting his Status to see what had happened. Name : Ajax Hearthbound Level :53 Experience : 20355/143300 Traits: Divine Witness, Baron, Aura Health: 3650/3650 Mana: 3680/3680 Stamina : 2980/2980 Vitality : 397 Strength :353 Endurance :322 Dexterity : 353 Intellect : 400 Wisdom : 400 Mind : 400 Perception : 322 Stat Points : 0 Skills : New : Empowering Restriction 0 -> 2 Life Aspect Mana 0 -> 7 Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Upgrades: Mathematics 35 -> 37 Stealth 51 -> 59 Athleticism 50 -> 53 Running 50 -> 53 Cleaning 28 -> 29 Haggling 25 -> 29 Axes 65 -> 70 Hammers 65 -> 70 Sword 65 -> 70 Shield 65 -> 70 Bow 65 -> 70 Throwing 50 -> 53 Knives 60 -> 62 Persuasion 35 -> 39 Deception 41 -> 43 Skinning 51 -> 52 Dismantle 55 -> 58 Climbing 42 -> 43 Tracking 47 -> 48 Heat Resistance 35 -> 40 Poison Resistance 41 -> 46 Pain Resistance 39 -> 43 Cold Resistance 31 -> 35 Conversationalist 15 -> 21 Meditation 67 -> 69 Sense Mana 67 ->75 Expel Mana 68 -> 75 Increase Price 16-> 20 Lower Price 18 -> 20 Danger Sense 47 -> 55 Alchemy 58 -> 67 Mana Milling 49 -> 55 Precise Cut 53 -> 58 Precise Blow 53 -> 58 Piercing Shot 52 -> 56 Judge threat 45 -> 50 Unnatural Balance 19 -> 25 Feigned Interest 13 -> 15 Illusion Resistance 1 -> 10 Focused aim 15 -> 20 Manipulate Mana 55 -> 63 Water Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Fire Aspect Mana 54 ->59 Air Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Earth Aspect Mana 54 ->59 Light Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Shadow Aspect Mana 54 -> 59 Inject Mana 50 -> 55 Spot Weakness 41 -> 46 Mana Skin 40 -> 48 Curse Resistance 25 -> 27 Dungeon Crafter 40 -> 51 Battlemage Style 29 -> 36 Impervious senses 11 -> 13 Alchemist''s Examination 31 -> 40 Stabilize Mixture 19 -> 28 Mass Production 12 -> 15 Mana Augmentation 45 -> 50 Mana Conjuration 41 -> 46 Lightning Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Metal Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Ice Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Magma Aspect Mana 41 -> 48 Holy Aspect Mana 40 -> 47 Void Aspect Mana 40 -> 48 Curse Slash 29 -> 32 Reckless Researcher 1 -> 9 Unstable Alchemist 1 -> 13 Mana Syphon 37 -> 43 Enigma 25 -> 28 Inspector¡¯s Eye 21 -> 25 Magnetic Aspect Mana 15 -> 20 Seeing his progress following the brief engagement with the wolf alpha and the fight eagle was satisfying but the addition of Aura to his traits had his focus. Ajax had expected that he would break the record for the earliest Aura unlock but he had still expected to be around level sixty before that happened. While Ajax was watching his status and the rest of his group was considering the implication of what Ajax unlocking his Aura already meant the elf berating Lexi and the rest of his entourage finally got a hold of themselves after being subjected to Aranor¡¯s full Aura, even as friendly as he had deployed it. Not only that but they had also put together that the first Aura they felt, the one that had destain and slight malice towards them came from one of the humans. ¡°You dare attack us?!¡± The elf prepared himself to go on a tirade. Lioriel cut him off at the knees as she had her entire squad surround Ajax¡¯s entire group, instead of doing so protectively however all of the guards were facing inwards with hands on their weapons. The guards however made no further movement, the two closest to Aranor even had a slight tremor in their hands as the elven champion raised a brow at their actions. ¡°Is that it?¡± The elf lost the mocking grin once he saw that nothing else happened. ¡°They were allowed entrance by the grace of her Majesty.¡± Lioriel answered him. ¡°They are now under arrest and it will be up to her how to handle this incident.¡± This answer annoyed the elf and his entourage to no end as they all knew nothing will come of it, they had looked into the reason for the group¡¯s presence before they came to antagonize them. While attacking a Deepwood citizen would be just cause for having their protections removed and Aura attack from someone who had just unlocked it and towards someone who was openly antagonistic would never hold up. ¡°Are you certain that is the best course of action?¡± One of the elves'' guards asked as he slowly extended a small sack with a bribe towards Lioriel. ¡°We would be happy resolving things ourselves, no need to bother the queen.¡± ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Lioriel¡¯s blunt attitude was clearly not what anyone had expected but she continued to berate them. ¡°Starfury would turn you into an extremely realistic ice exhibit within seconds.¡± ¡°L-Lord Starfury isn¡¯t who we have some to settle with,¡± the guards voice quivered a little at even the idea of fighting the elven champion. ¡°It''s the human.¡± ¡°Baron Hearthbound as well as everyone else in our group is under my protection.¡± Aranor cut the conversation off there. ¡°I would insist on hearing the queen¡¯s decision regarding the incident. Unlesssss¡­¡± The last drawn out word got a lot of surprised looks. Elara, Arianwyn and Lioriel especially looked surprised at what almost everyone interpreted as asking for a bribe. ¡°Yes of course, you would be compensated for your trouble my lord.¡± The guard was quick to pounce. ¡°You misunderstand me.¡± Aranor answered with a grin. ¡°A duel to settle the incident would be acceptable to me, so long as it takes place between the two parties in question.¡± Everyones surprised and for the most part slightly resentful looks at Aranor turned straight towards the previously mouthy elf with schadenfreude. They all knew exactly what would happen in a fight between him and Ajax. ¡°You would have the young lord fight someone close to level one hundred? ¡° The guard asked in mock outrage. ¡°He is barely level sixty two and the aggrieved here.¡± ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t stand for such an unfair fight.¡± Aranor responded, his social skill pulling their wait as he seemed offended by the implication. ¡°I swear on my name that the human is not only younger but also lower level than the young lord.¡± That statement left the entire group of elves stunned, their faces turning from shock to horror as one by one they turned towards Ajax who had now moved on from the event and was ignoring them in favor of trying to cheer Lexi up. With the situation at an impasse the group of elves retreated and Lioriel now approached the Aranor. ¡°As soon as the prince comes out of the dungeon you will all be taken before the queen to deal with this¡­ encounter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be a problem, though I will have to ask that one of your guards is sent to make arrangements for our accommodations.¡± Aranor agreed. ¡°Following our audience with the queen we would need a good night¡¯s rest before we move on to the second dungeon.¡± Lioriel agreed to the offer with a nod and the rest of her squad flared out a little around them isolating them to ensure another incident doesn¡¯t happen Chapter 381 Waiting for the prince was usually a boring affair where the team would normally already have headed towards their next destination but that wasn¡¯t an option in Deepwood and especially not in their capital. This wait was also an exception however as there was something very interesting that everyone was invested in, namely Ajax¡¯s Aura. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± Ajax said, ¡°I thought you could only have one trait.¡± Ajax¡¯s mother had mentioned that to him at the beginning, he hadn¡¯t questioned it when he got his noble title since his mother mentioned that those titles usually combine with others but not only was the noble title temporary there was nothing it could do to boost Divine Witness¡¯s effects like it would do for other Traits, that and the trait also mention it couldn¡¯t be detected so maybe it couldn¡¯t combine at all. ¡°That is the commoner view on it but not correct.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°It¡¯s just the one that applies most often. Any traits that have overlaps will combine to provide a boost that is stronger than the individual effects of either trait. An Aura or a Bond however have nothing to do with the skill level cap so they are separate. Oddly enough Aura and Bond also combine, providing not only a stronger Aura for both parties but it also lets the both parties know their exact location over short distances when the Aura is extended.¡± ¡°Why do they combine?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°What do they have in common?¡± ¡°An aura is an expression of your soul, which is why one only gains it when their stats and skills are high enough.¡± Elara explained. ¡°A bond is formed between the soul of two beings.¡± ¡°Congratulations on breaking the record for unlocking your Aura.¡± Xavier said as he patted Ajax on the back. ¡° I was hoping for that myself but I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll hold on to both the Age and Level records for a long time.¡± That remark prompted a few more congratulations before the group settled in to wait once more. Unlike their last dungeon, the floor the prince would have to solo would only go up to level one hundred and twenty so it shouldn¡¯t take all that long. They in fact didn¡¯t need to wait all that much as the prince was done in just under three hours, as soon as he exited the dungeon however the group was marched towards the royal palace. The palace itself was unlike anything Ajax had ever seen before. He had seen the royal palace of Gryndor which looked like an overly large medieval European castle and he had seen the massive council building of the Republic that looked a lot like the house of Parliament without the big clocktower, the elven royal palace was unlike anything could compare to what existed on Earth. How the elves had gotten so many trees to merge their tree trunks was a true mystery, more than that he could feel just how potent the mana that was though he was unable to feel anything else about it, most likely because of the wards that no doubt littered the place. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look all that secure.¡± Ajax muttered as they walked over the roots that took the position of stairs, he couldn¡¯t see any gate or a perimeter wall. All there was was guards all over the place. ¡°Elves don¡¯t rely on structural obstacles for defenses like the rest of the humanoids.¡± Arianwyn whispered to Ajax as all of their escorts turned amused gazes at him hearing his words. ¡°Because we live in trees our guards have ways to access an extra source of mana from the trees themselves.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Ajax stopped dead in his tracks hearing that, almost causing the soldiers behind him to run him over but he couldn¡¯t pay attention to that at the moment as he was processing that new piece of information as it fit like a piece of a puzzle he didn¡¯t know was missing. In hindsight it also made sense that there wouldn¡¯t be that great a need for walls and gates when all elven cities were just trees that were part of a very large forest, the difference between the regular trees and the trees where the elves lived was that the cities were influenced by the elves that lived there. Another big implication of this discovery however had to do with the fertilizer Ajax and the prince had so generously provided to the elves. He had initially though that the elves would just use it for their high end resource gardens but there was nothing stopping them from using it to grow the mana level of the trees their own palace was grown out of, essentially increasing security as a whole. ¡°Come on.¡± Lexi said as she lovingly intertwined their arms and started pulling Ajax along as the group restarted their pace towards the palace. ¡°You can walk and have and have a revelation about what that means at the same time.¡± ¡°What revelation?¡± Lioriel asked quickly, her voice harsher that she had used previously. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lexi answered honestly with a smile. ¡°He¡¯ll most likely share after he finishes organizing everything he¡¯s realized.¡± ¡°This happens often?¡± Aranor asked curiously, he hadn¡¯t gotten to experience the event besides the first time Ajax realized about the use of fertilizer. ¡°He just views the world differently, I think.¡± Lexi said. ¡°He was already far above his peers when he joined the Academy and coming from a backwater region he had a few revelations that have caused similar reactions.¡± As he continued walking Ajax paid no attention to the conversation happening around him. Instead his mind went through all the new possibilities that could apply when it came to dealing with high end trees as the basis for a defensive position. His first thought had been towards how mages could use the increased mana pool. It was now no wonder that none of the other races had managed to encroach on the elves, he was ready to bet that there were similar fortresses set up all around the entrance of the forest where a war would be fought and few things were as terrifying to an army as artillery mages with an increased mana pool. The second thought his mind drifted to was how this extreme advantage could also turn into an achilles heel. If something like a lizard bond with a venomous bite that could infect plants and travel through their mana then a single spy could get the defenders to poison themselves as soon as the attack started. The final and biggest revelation came to how different the approach to defenses could be. Booby traps could take on a whole new meaning if they were linked to the trees themselves, the usual problem with everyone not aware of a trap triggering it could be bypassed by making use of the plants own instincts to anchor it while also supplying the mana required. As Ajax thought about this possibility something else came up that he hadn¡¯t considered before, could a plant become a Bond? He turned to ask the prince but he was quickly shut down before he could even open his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t say a word.¡± the prince said. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss whatever it is in private later.¡± Ajax opened his mouth to protests when he took in his surroundings to find that he was now deep inside the palace and they were heading towards a large set of doors that reminded him of the smaller private throne room King Gryndor had for official meetings that had to happen outside of the more public throne room where the nobles of the court usually gathered. ¡°Wait to be called upon.¡± one of the guards at the door said as the group approached. Ajax was very tempted to take a deeper look at the wards and see if he could use that as a catalyst for a breakthrough for [Inspector¡¯s Eye] but he was almost certain that not only would his actions be noticed but also that they wouldn¡¯t be looked upon as simple curiosity and chance for improvement. It took five minutes before the doors were opened and an elf called them in ¡°The Queen will see you now.¡± The elf didn¡¯t seem all that remarkable to Ajax but from the reactions of both the prince and Aranor there was clearly something he was missing as both of them had much stronger reactions to him than they had to Lioriel. Ajax was also very tempted to use [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on the elf as well but could tell that would be even less well received than using it on surrounding wards. As Ajax entered the small throne room there were multiple things that fought for his focus. The armed guards spread throughout the room, reminiscent of the squads that were ever present whenever he met King Gryndor. The non-combatants that should have been members of the royal family or trusted advisors. Most of all however was the throne that looked to be grown out of the floor upon which stood the elven queen, an intricate crown on her head that was actually connected to the throne and through it to the entire palace. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what surprises me more.¡± the queen said as they entered. ¡°That there has already been an incident of this nature despite the recent arrival in the capital, or that it wasn¡¯t Gryndor¡¯s eldest prince who caused it.¡± Chapter 382 The queen stood stoic on the throne and while her words were not friendly and her tone neutral it wasn¡¯t her that Ajax was the most wary about. That honor would go to the a few members of the group he suspected to be the royal family. There was no defining trend on those that looked at him and the rest of the non-elves with hostility, there were both young and old that disliked them and that were indifferent. ¡°I would hardly qualify that as an incident, Sylvaris.¡± the prince responded, his non-respectful address drew annoyed and even hateful glances from everyone in the room apart from their group and the queen herself. ¡°The first time someone awakens their aura it¡¯s always unstable.¡± The prince knew he had no reason to hide the fact that Ajax had only now managed to awaken his Aura, it takes people with a weak Aura decades to learn to fully suppress it so Lioriel would know exactly what happened since she hadn¡¯t felt it during their entire trip from the border. The queen herself was well acquainted with the prince and his antics so she wasn¡¯t surprised by his informality, nor did she really consider what had happened an ¡®incident¡¯ she only wanted to get a read on the group. From their reactions she could tell that the boy Ajax was a little worried but trusted the prince¡¯s judgment, the beastkin was slightly worried as well but not because he didn¡¯t recognise her game it was simply because he had no champion from his own country there to back him up. The rest of the humans and the elves all knew exactly what she was trying to do and their social skills prevented them leaking anything. ¡°While this is a more private matter I am here in my official capacity as queen, you would do well to address me as such prince.¡± The queen said imperiously as she activated the runed ring she wore that released a wind blade, the attack passed an inch away from the prince¡¯s face doing nothing but ruffling his hair before it harmlessly dispelled as it hit the wards on the walls in the back of the room. An awkward silence filled the room at that and the queen was happy to let it last for a few moments before her stoic face morphed into a grin Ajax recognised as one similar to the one the prince oftentimes wore. ¡°Or if you prefer a more relaxed atmosphere I¡¯m sure Nimerien Corroder would be happy to catch up with you.¡± The prince nearly flinched as he heard the name. Nimerien was one of Deepwood¡¯s current champions, more than that he and the prince were only a couple years apart in terms of age. While the prince had always been a step ahead of Nimerien in terms of strength, Nimeriens fighting style focused on the use of acidic compounds that were a direct counter to the prince¡¯s reliance on runed equipment. ¡°It would be best that we keep this formal, we are in a bit of a time crunch.¡± the prince said before adding a delayed. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± the queen nodded, a spark of anger briefly flashing in the back of her mind as she was reminded of Ajax¡¯s status as a ¡®Marked¡¯ target. While she had planned to use his visit to reinforce her foundations early in her rule by eliminating a few troublesome nobles she had also made it crystal clear to the more powerful that the boy wasn¡¯t to be in any real danger. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure your escort is sufficiently upgraded to make up for the circumstances.¡± While the queen and the prince were talking one of the royal family members with green hair so dark it was almost black approached the group, his eyes briefly passing over the humans and beastkin with disdain before finally landing on Arianwyn. ¡°Arianwyn dear, it has been so long since I last saw you.¡± the elf said in warm voice. ¡°Almost a decade, Your Highness.¡± Arianwyn replied with a bow. The elf in question was the former king of Deepwood, he was now technically a prince since he stepped down from the throne but only someone politically incompetent would not recognise the amount of sway he still held. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Far too long.¡± the former king nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve even managed to develop a Domain now, not only that but second place in a tournament is nothing to be embarrassed about.¡± As the king said the last part he threw Ajax another disgruntled look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say that I underestimated the tournament, not only did I lose in the final-¡± ¡°Just barely.¡± the king quickly said, clearly he had been well informed of what happened in the tournament. ¡°But the semi-final was also much closer than I would have liked.¡± Arianwyn finished and the king now turned his hostile looks onto Darkclaw. ¡°It¡¯s nothing that you should let get you down¡± the king reassured her. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d do better now that she won¡¯t be surprised by Baron Heathbound¡¯s unusual fighting style.¡± one of the guards near them joined in with the conversation. Arianwyn couldn¡¯t help but wince slightly at the statement. She was fairly certain that she could still beat Darkclaw despite the few extra dungeons floor he had gained in her kingdom but she was now sure the distance between her and Ajax had in fact increased. The king caught the wince as well as the slightly guilty look she turned towards Ajax for a brief moment before her social skills masked it with the usual noble poker face. During the entire interaction Lioriel had briefly approached the queen to whisper something to her. ¡°You are quite the bright young man.¡± the queen said as she rose from her chair and approached Ajax. ¡°More than your talent, even an extremely important discovery is credited to you. One that is so poorly mistimed for my own rise to the throne.¡± The queen was finally getting to the point she wanted. She would have assured a meeting with Ajax even without the excuse of an incident but this provided her the best leverage to try and pressure the method of increased stats out of Gryndor so that she would have some extra time to prepare before everything was made public and the noble hierarchy was thrown into chaos. ¡°That is something that will be shared to all in time.¡± the prince tried to intercept. ¡°Gryndor will also be making it an official public announcement as a show of good faith so there will be no misinformation through spies.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± the former king snorted at the prince¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s just like you humans. A discovery of this magnitude and the advantage of it being discreetly provided to your royalty and he is barely rewarded with the title of Baron.¡± Ajax and the prince briefly traded glances before the prince gave Ajax a brief nod to answer the accusation. ¡°My title as Baron is only the initial part of my reward.¡± Ajax said and drew the attention of the former king to himself. ¡°As I was the only one to successfully implement my method some more testing was required to prove I wasn''t a unique occurrence. Not only will my title be increased to Duke upon my return to Gryndor but the title of Baron was in itself a way to help me and my family lay down solid foundations for my House.¡± The former king looked like he had just bit into a particularly sour lemon as he had nothing to rebuke to that, the queen however had latched on to a certain part of his answer. ¡°I very much do believe you are a ¡®unique occurrence¡¯. Why I¡¯m told you had an epiphany just by walking into my palace.¡± The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as all the guards zeroed in on Ajax at this new revelation, the prince was quick on the uptake however and tried to intervene. ¡°This is not an interrogation, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°It may not be but this could pose a very serious threat to not only my life but also that of the entire royal family.¡± the queen countered with a steely voice. ¡°What would your father or brother do if they were in my situation?¡± For once the prince had no response as he knew very well that if the situation was reversed and he was in her place he would also insist on answers, he wouldn¡¯t actually harm a guest but he would demand some answers. ¡°I will not be unfair, if the information is valuable he will be fairly compensated. Even if the information is something I was already aware of so long as it is even somewhat sensitive he will be rewarded." The queen¡¯s words displeased her father as he didn¡¯t believe the human to deserve that much consideration but he still kept quiet. Ajax didn¡¯t say a word to that, instead he turned towards the prince and waited to see what decision he made. As much as the prince would have wanted a chance to curate what Ajax had to say he knew he wouldn¡¯t be given that chance and there was no way to fight their way out of it. With a resigned sigh he simply nodded to Ajax. ¡°It was the first time I was informed of your mages ability to tap into an additional source of mana from the tree that forms the palace itself.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was possible for someone to form a Bond with a plant, like the tree itself for example.¡± As Ajax finished his sentence a deadly silence settled on the room. The prince, Ajax¡¯s classmates, Harold and Darkclaw looked at him intrigued by the possibility. Elara, Arianwyn and Aranor looked at him with the same wide-eye look the Queen and most of the elves in the room did. The big shock however was the furtive glances some of the younger members of the royal family were throwing towards one specific guard that had stayed at the queen¡¯s right shoulder when she was on the throne and now followed behind her like an attendant. That in and of itself was enough to answer Ajax¡¯s question. Chapter 383 ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± Ajax broke the silence and everyone focused on him once again. ¡°Seeing as I never heard of any such bonds it probably takes some very special plants or some farmer somewhere would have already shared it.¡± All of the elves present focused on Ajax as he spoke, even Elara, Arianwyn and Aranor had been shocked since having an elf bonded to tree fortresses was the way the elves not held their capital palaces but even secured their border fortresses, this was one of the reasons their borders hadn¡¯t grown all that much since they were established, it took ages for a new fortress to be grown. ¡°Since I went through a few elf cities on my way here I am going to guess that this specific species of tree is the only one you have that you can actually bond with.¡± Ajax continued to explain his train of thought. ¡°Seeing as there were some young looking roots around the outside of the palace whose thin trucks had barely started to merge I am guessing that the supply for seeds isn¡¯t an issue. That leaves either a question of bonding to them extremely difficult or that the resources to nurture them are rare and valuable, or both.¡± Aranor looked at Ajax with renewed respect. He had long since respected Ajax as a fighter but after watching him in a social setting his opinion of him had somewhat settled, his skill when it came to any strategy based game also let him know that he would never be a master strategist. With this however Aranor marked Ajax not only as the future powerhouse of Gryndor but the most important person even at the current moment. Queen Swiftleaf could only blame herself as she did her best to not look towards the beastkin that was in the room.She had pushed for the interrogation but that was all she could do. With Ajax cooperating so readily she didn¡¯t even have grounds for aggressively confirming he wasn¡¯t holding anything back, she knew he wasn¡¯t because of her Epic truth telling skill that had passed its second threshold. All she could do was ask herself ¡®why didn¡¯t I tell the beastkin to wait outside for this, now The Republic would also have access to information about the Fortress guardians. Elara was impressed with Ajax¡¯s deductive reasoning. He had been right on all accounts so far. The last guess was a little off, he was technically correct. It was extremely resource intensive to not only grow but even maintain the fortress trees and that bonding with one was hard and only got harder as the tree aged. The last point was moot however as the elves had figured out a way to guarantee the tree would accept a bond but preparations needed to start from the birth of the new fortress guardian and those could only begin after the last guardian died. Her own younger cousin was the new Fortress guardian for their own estate after all and she had witnessed the process. ¡°You are correct.¡± the queen said with a sigh. ¡°My nephew is the fortress Guardian for the palace.¡± ¡°Nephew?¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, with a single sentence the queen tore down a lot of his theories and started a new bunch in their place. ¡°Ugh!¡± the queen groaned as she realized her own slip-up moments too late. ¡°You have a way to get someone bonded with the tree.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t paying attention to his surroundings any more as he started thinking aloud as he had done many times over the years when researching anything with Balthazar or duke Manashaper. ¡°From the title however there can only be one person bonded at a time, since your nephew holds the position despite being in the same generation as Arianwyn it suggests the preparation has to be started early in life, not only that but it can¡¯t be started until the previous guardian has died. If the guardian was to be killed it would be a while until the next one could step up.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. That was a very dangerous realization to come to, and while most people present were smart enough to have schooled their expression after the queen¡¯s little slip-up the prince had good enough social skills that not all of them could guard their expressions well enough from him. By focusing on the younger members of the royal family the prince was getting all the confirmations he needed. The prince hadn¡¯t initially been happy about the interrogation but he was very satisfied with the results, they wouldn¡¯t even need to test Ajax¡¯s theories now since he was confirming them all as they left his mouth. ¡°But why?¡± Ajax continued. ¡°Does the tree need to be old enough before it can bond? Can it not be moved after it was bonded? What would happen if the small sapling that was added to the main tree had someone bonded to it? Would one of the bonds be broken? Would it be like the smaller tree died?¡± ¡°Wait what?¡± Ajax was interrupted as one of the younger elves in the royal family turned confused towards his own family. ¡°Does that work?¡± The queen herself was starting to get a little flustered now, it was only her father¡¯s presence next to her that helped her keep her composure as she thought about the possibilities of Ajax¡¯s theories. The elves knew the answers to some of the questions Ajax had posed but others hadn¡¯t ever been attempted. The queen could almost feel the pain from her vaults at the cost of the experiments. ¡°You never tried?¡± The previous outburst had brought Ajax back to the present and he had enough awareness to not question the queen so the question was posed to Arianwyn. ¡°It''s very difficult to get a new tree to grow outside of the area where one is already present.¡± Arianwyn explained. ¡°It would take years to even attempt the experiment.¡± Left unsaid was that it would obviously be tried as soon as she returned to her kingdom. Despite the exorbitant costs it represented a chance that the elves could remove the period of vulnerability that came as fortress guardians died and were replaced. ¡°Well, that was a rather interesting theory.¡± the prince said with a grin so smug he was almost radiating. ¡°I think it¡¯ll be worth a lot.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± The former king nodded wisely. ¡°The boy just proved he deserves the greatest reward we can offer someone like him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t accept.¡± Anna¡¯s voice was barely a whisper meant for Ajax but quite a few other people also heard it and turned to her in turn. ¡°Why?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°You¡¯re human.¡± Anna didn¡¯t hesitate and now that everyone was focused on her she didn¡¯t bother to whisper. ¡°The greatest reward they can offer a human is their freedom since all humans here are slaves. You accept and you walk away with nothing.¡± The look of wise benevolence on the former king¡¯s face was briefly replaced by a snarl for a moment as his scheme was revealed. The queen was quick to take control of the situation. ¡°That is enough for today.¡± the queen spoke as she returned to her throne. ¡°You are dismissed. An appropriate reward for your information will be prepared and presented to you before you leave following your delve.¡± The group was more than happy to take the queen up on her offer. Ajax himself was all but leading as he hurried to get out of the palace and he was not the only one. For the last few days the entire team had either been inside the dungeon or waiting around right outside the arch. The prince and Aranor were both strong enough that they could go days without sleep and even they were starting to get affected let alone everyone else. ¡°Thanks for that.¡± Ajax told Anna once they were a decent distance away from the throne room. ¡°No need for thanks, my consulting fee is 10%.¡± Anna replied without skipping a beat. Her delivery was so good Ajax had thought she was serious for a moment before a smile replaced the stoic emotionless look she always used during a negotiation. ¡°That went about as well as I could have hoped for.¡± The prince tried to bring up everyone¡¯s spirits. ¡°Though Xavier you best prepare for a duel after the delve.¡± ¡°What why?¡± Xavier sounded surprised. ¡°The royal family will want a chance to prove their might, that will be with a duel.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Now while it is Ajax who showed them up they know for a fact there is no way a duel with him will show that. As a prince of Gryndor you will be the target.¡± ¡°We can deal with that when it happens.¡± Lexi said as she wrapped herself around Ajax¡¯s arm once more but there was no need to drag him this time. ¡°I just want to get some sleep.¡± Chapter 384 As the group went to sleep in their inn surrounded by Lioriel and her guards that night only one person remained awake. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Aranor responded. ¡°She is just fine.¡± ¡°What about Ajax?¡± the king asked. ¡°He¡­ He caused quite a bit of trouble.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°He did?¡± the king sounded surprised considering what he knew about Ajax. ¡°You sure the prince didn¡¯t just use him as a scapegoat?¡± ¡°One of the noble brats here was insulting Lady Manashaper, you see.¡± Aranor explained. ¡°Ajax unlocked his Aura at that scene.¡± ¡°An Aura so young!¡± the king exclaimed. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a big problem, Sylvaris isn¡¯t her father at most she¡¯ll push a little for some information on Gryndor¡¯s mystery technique.¡± ¡°She already tried that, the prince didn¡¯t budge.¡± Aranor summed up. ¡°She did get a sneak peak at Ajax¡¯s thinking after the first time he saw a fortress tree however.¡± ¡°Oh, what was his reaction to seeing one like? It''s always funny to see Alchemists seeing one for the first time, especially when it''s the palace.¡± the king asked with excitement. ¡°He was shocked¡­ shocked and inspired.¡± Aranor said. ¡°Inspired?¡± the king sounded a little confused at the tone Aranor said that with. ¡°He figured out that fortress guardians could exit.¡± Aranor couldn¡¯t see the king but in such a private setting he would bet his own estate the king¡¯s jaw had fallen. ¡°More than that he questioned what would happen if we were to add a young tree that is already bonded to the fortress when it already has a guardian.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± the king now experienced the same shock Deepwood¡¯s royal family had earlier in the day. ¡°I¡¯m guessing we have no records on this matter?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°None that I remember seeing.¡± The king regained his composure quickly as he started putting a plan in action. ¡°I¡¯ll have the archives scoured and will contact you if we find anything. If you don¡¯t hear back from me before you have to leave the capital, offer Sylvaris a partnership, we share the results of the experiment and we will provide the sapling.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± the lack of formal address meant that Aranor wasn¡¯t questioning his king as a champion but merely showing concern for his friend. ¡°A sapling is very valuable and costs a lot to grow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure my friend.¡± the king¡¯s voice was filled with warmth at the concern. ¡°My father used a lot of the wealth he spent on growing the royal palace, a few years without growth during my reign won¡¯t matter, especially if it can potentially save the life of one of my people.¡± Aranor was ready to argue a little but the king¡¯s final thought made the words stick in his throat. In all the excitement about the possibility of multiple fortress guardians Aranor had overlooked the possibility that the guardian attempting to join the bond through the sapling could very well suffer, he would not physically die but the mental or spiritual harm that was possible could be just as bad if not worse. Before the conversation could continue Aranor¡¯s attention was drawn to the noise he heard coming from the outside. A battle was taking place, something he very much expected to happen but had hoped wouldn¡¯t. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I¡¯ll never hear the end of it¡­¡± Aranor mumbled before bidding the king a short emergency goodbye and already started moving. The entire group was sleeping in a single large room that was partially sectioned off by multiple dividers. The prince had insisted that this was the best way to not only protect them but to also let them rest properly even in the event of an attack. Aranor had been ready to argue the point but fell quiet when both Arianwyn and Elara agreed with the prince. In the end it turned out he was right. A short activation of the communication device was all it took for him to wake up the prince, the four hours of sleep the prince had gotten wouldn¡¯t be a lot but it was enough for someone of his level to push through the rest of the night and the following delve in the morning. With the prince awake and on alert Aranor could now go outside and see what was going on. Much like he had interpreted from the noise he heard the streets surrounding the inn had been turned into a battlefield. Lioriel as well as three more champion candidates the queen had assigned to their protection detail and the other twenty elite soldiers they already had escorting them were fully engaged in combat against eight elves. The attackers were all dressed in black but that was just a simple covering, with his Perception if he squirted hard enough he could almost make out the House sigil that was covered by the dark paint on the armor the attackers wore. Something he found deeply disturbing as anyone who was doing so little to conceal their identity wasn¡¯t afraid of the queen finding out what they had done, the disguises were simply for the benefit of the commoners. The battle had been heading towards a slow victory for the eight attackers before Aranor joined. The moment Aranor unleashed his fist volley of ice lances the tides turned immediately. Powerful as the attackers were, Aranor was something more, his experience in such high level battles showed as he threw out his spells while not only accurately predicting his opponents moves but even those of their allies despite not having fought side by side with them before. ¡°Thank you.¡± Lioriel said as she caught her breath now that the tides were turning, her voice however quivered with shame. ¡°What is it?¡± Aranor asked harshly, he was in no mood for a conversation during the fight and he could feel Lioriel wasn¡¯t done with just the appreciation. ¡°Try not to kill them if you can.¡± Lioriel said, not even able to meet his gaze as she made her request. Anger rolled through Aranor and the elf made no effort to stop the emotion from filling his voice as he figured out what had happened. ¡°The former king sanctioned this.¡± Aranor sneered at Lioriel. ¡°And you want me to try and preserve the young talented elves he sent to do his dirty work.¡± Despite the anger coursing through him, Aranor''s fighting style didn¡¯t change. He had long ago learnt that anger didn¡¯t make you stronger regardless of how much it felt like it would. More than that however he had also changed where he was aiming his spells, he knew that his anger was only tangentially targeted at the people he was fighting now and most of it was reserved for the former king. With Aranor¡¯s change in focus the sounds that dominated the battlefield had also changed. Whereas before the sound of spells being thrown dominated the background of clashing metal it now all took a backseat to the whimpering, crying and anguish filled cries. Aranor was no longer trying to kill the attacker, he was instead trying to inflict as much pain as he could while debilitating them. ¡°Did you learn?¡± Aranor asked coldly as he put as much pressure as he could to stop the bleeding he himself had caused on the final attacker that remained. The bandages he was using to stop the bleeding were special in that not only were they enchanted to help stop bleeding but they also nullified any Common rank pain resistance skill in the area they covered. ¡°Yes, yes!¡± the attacker said as he tried to rip his hand away from Aranor¡¯s iron grip. ¡°Go after the last one!¡± the elf tried anything to get him to let go. ¡°The last one?¡± Aranor made a show of looking around what was left of the ruins around the inn where all the other combatants were strewn about in a similar situation to the one he was holding. Aranor was thankful that whoever was behind this at least had the good sense to evacuate the civilians so there were no innocent casualties. ¡°She was meant to kidnap the Manashaper girl while we distracted you.¡± The elf howled as the pressure exerted as he tried to pull his hand free from Aranor increased the pain. Aranor didn¡¯t even have enough time to process the information as he felt a large amount of mana coming from the inn behind him before a body crashed into the street no more than three feet away from him showering both him and his captive with rubble and dust. Unlike the other eight attackers this one was different. The initial difference was that she wasn¡¯t wearing the black outfit but instead was dressed like one of the maids at the inn, the other more important difference was that unlike the punishing way in which the attackers were handled she wasn¡¯t given the same care. ¡°Marycell!¡± one of the other attackers cried out as he laid eyes on what was left of the elf. The maid uniform was all covered in blood and the elf in it was just as unrecognizable. Her skull and fave were both caved in and her torso mangled by straight cuts that went four inches deep going in all directions and crossing each other over her heart. Looking in the direction she came flying from Aranor could see the prince in his armor standing behind a broken window and looking down, some of his runes still glowing slightly from the mana he had just pushed through them. In his right hand the prince held a sword that despite having just carved through a person didn¡¯t have a drop of blood on it, his left gauntlet however had blood dripping from the clenched fingers. ¡°Why?¡± Lioriel couldn¡¯t help but ask, slightly shocked at the sudden turn in the narrative. With Aranor¡¯s help they had managed to cleanly capture all the attackers. ¡°Former king Swiftleaf isn¡¯t the only one who was looking to send a message tonight.¡± Aranor said, much to Lioriel surprise the elven champion¡¯s voice held no sympathy for the talented elf that had died. Chapter 385 Despite everything going on during the night the team had slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of what was happening outside thanks to the silencing runes the room was equipped with. ¡°How many years?¡± Aranor asked. He knew exactly what was going to happen to the survivors of the attack. All of them were going to be found guilty in court but their punishments would be replaced with voluntary enlistment. During this time they would be closely monitored and answer to the queen or her representative. ¡°Fifty years.¡± Lioriel said as she looked a little disappointed in the direction of the small crater the ninth attacker had left before she died. ¡°It would have been one hundred if none of them had died.¡± ¡°Are there going to be any more known threats coming?¡± Aranor asked, his patience starting to run low after the number of times the royal family has used their small delving expedition to handle their political affairs. ¡°This was the last one.¡± Lioriel answered while shaking her head. ¡°The only one we know about will be the followers of the ¡®Mark¡¯ on Ajax.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± one of the new members of their security awkwardly looked to join the conversation. ¡°Prince Xavier will be challenged after he exits the dungeon.¡± ¡°What why?¡± Aranor couldn¡¯t understand the reasoning behind a duel. ¡°The ¡­ more racially proud among the nobility heard the interaction in front of the dungeon played out,¡± he explained. ¡°The duel will be fair and honorable¡­ I¡¯m just not sure the challenge will be extended in the same way.¡± This news left deep frowns on the elves keeping the perimeter outside the inn but for the prince who was listening carefully outside the door where the team slept a plan started to form, a plan for Gryndor¡¯s royal family to get their hands on a fortress tree sapling to go with the high mana manure they had already secured. When the team finally woke up none of them had any idea what happened that night though Elara, Anna and Benedict all suspected that something had happened and they simply hadn¡¯t been made aware of it. ¡°Are you going to be pushing past level one hundred on this one as well?¡± the prince asked Ajax privately. The dungeon started from level twenty eight to level thirty three on the first floor, with a nine level jump per floor Ajax would be able to gain the stats from six floors before it would pass level one hundred and the final floor would have him facing against level one hundred and fourteen. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ajax said confidently, despite the big step up in power at level one hundred the rest of the growth was consistent with previous growth, having won against something at level one hundred and ten Ajax was confident one hundred and fourteen wouldn¡¯t be all that difficult. The group¡¯s trip to the dungeon was slowed down slightly as the passed through the merchant quarter of the city. Anna had moved to spend the favor she only guessed they were owed after whatever had happened last night. She had used one of the members of their escort to buy certain unique products that she thought her family could reverse engineer. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. When they got to the dungeon they were quickly led to the front of the line where they entered without any further issues. As soon as they entered Aranor moved off to one side where he wouldn¡¯t be in the way, popped up a privacy screen and quickly activated his communication item to finalize the report he had been making last night as well as update it with everything else that happened. Inside the dungeon the prince had a very similar reaction, once they were inside and out of earshot of anyone else the prince didn¡¯t even bother with a privacy screen as he pulled Xavier to one side before the team could start heading for the first arch. The prince quickly explained what the elves were planning in regards to Xavier and he quickly proposed that Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict would finish their floor and get a good night¡¯s rest before exiting the dungeon. Following that they were to play how tired they were as they exited so that Xavier would have a better chance of getting whoever they sent to challenge him in offering him a blanc prize for winning a duel right there and then. ¡°You think we might be able to get our hands on one of those trees?¡± Xavier asked, excited at the opportunity to do something meaningful to help his family and kingdom. ¡°Are you sure that is a good idea?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± Xavier asked quickly, energized by the chance to do something meaningful and unique. ¡°With the prince here with us and Aranor preoccupied with the duel who would be guarding Benedict, Anna and Lexi?¡± Arianwyn pointed out. ¡°That could be an issue.¡± the prince acknowledged Arianwyn''s point, ¡°Especially if we take into consideration the kidnapping attempt from last night.¡± ¡°There was a kidnapping attempt last night!?¡± Ajax was the only one truly surprised at the revelation. He wasn¡¯t surprised that there had been an attempt since they had been preparing for one, what surprised Ajax was that he had slept through it without ever realizing. ¡°He can push the duel until after we come out.¡± Elara suggested. ¡°All Xavier needs to do is insist that the duel happen when ¡®his revered uncle¡¯ is there to watch him fight.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to spend an extra night in the dungeon for us.¡± Anna pointed out. With everything sorted the group started their search for the nearest arch that would take them to the second floor. The search wasn¡¯t long but this time there was no guardian patrolling around the arch. ¡°A roaming guardian on the first floor?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°That can be pretty dangerous for people who are at the appropriate level for the floor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a guardian.¡± the prince said as he inspected the area surrounding the arch. As the prince finally found what he was looking for he took an exaggerated step as he activated a few runes causing a very minor earthquake to take place around them. As the ground started to shake decently sized moat gave way around the arch, the small layer of thing rocks dropping down on the sharp points of the spikes below. ¡°A trap arch.¡± Ajax said with a raise of his eyebrows. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen one of those in a while.¡± Almost all the arches one could find in the dungeon were defended by a guardian. One tenth of those had a roaming guardian but that still left a very small minority that were only protected by a trap or in even rarer cases the arch would have a locked set of doors that needed a key to open before that specific arch could be used. Lexi wasted no time in chanting an earth manipulation spell to create a small crossing over the spike. ¡°Let go.¡± Xavier was the most excited of them all to get to the second floor of the dungeon. Having joined the academy so young Xavier had started off at a lower level than the rest of his classmates. While he had managed to surpass most of the more mediocre students in the class he hadn¡¯t been able to close the distance with Anna, Lexi and Benedict. This time his lower level would benefit him since he was still level forty four he was still eligible for the extra stat point from this floor. Ajax hadn¡¯t bothered to check what the theme of the second floor would be since they would simply be pushing straight through with the first arch they found. This was something he had immediately regretted as soon as he stepped foot on the second floor and promptly face planted. ¡°What type of spell is this?¡± Harold asked, annoyed as he picked himself off the ground having tripped as soon as he had entered the floor as well. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I haven¡¯t encountered anything like this before.¡± the prince said as he carefully took a few steps while raising and lowering his arms to get a feel for the new sensation. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling any spell structure.¡± Lexi said as she focused on her surroundings as Ajax offered her a hand to help her up after she had tripped as well. As he helped Lexi to her feet Ajax was carefully examining the mana prevalent throughout the floor and found that it was of a type he hadn¡¯t encountered before. Despite that he had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Taking out his hammer from his spacial ring Ajax held it out to one side and dropped it to the ground to confirm his theory. Watching the speed at which the hammer fell confirmed exactly what Ajax had though was happening. If he was fair with himself Ajax had been expecting a floor like this since he started delving but he had finally found a floor where the strength of gravity was different that what it was outside. Chapter 386 Despite the initial shock the prince was nothing if not an experienced warrior. He might not understand what was happening, how it was happening, or even why it was happening. What he could do however was assess what the effects on him were and how to compensate for them. A few runes activated and the prince felt power surge through him the power boost was precise enough that it almost perfectly counteracted the additional gravity ¡°Is this a trap?¡± Harold asked as he covered himself with his shield on the floor where he hadn''t bothered getting up. ¡°Did the elves figure out how to mess with the dungeons?¡± Ajax was very surprised at the angle Harold¡¯s mind went to, though to be fair Harold was still deeply linked to House Silvertongue so it was only natural for his first instinct to be a political plot when something didn¡¯t add up. ¡°It¡¯s the dungeon floor doing this.¡± Ajax said as he placed his hand on the arch and used [Mana Syphon] to confirm his theory, just like he expected he recognised the main elements of the floor, all but the primary one which he now guessed to be mana. ¡°A new mana type.¡± ¡°There was a Legendary mana type like this that we didn¡¯t know about?¡± Xavier sounded shocked and he regained his feet, Arianwyn nodding along with his words. ¡°¡°It¡¯s not Legendary.¡±¡± Both the prince and Ajax spoke at once surprising everyone else and each other into silence. For a few moments the two of them just looked at each other silently inviting the other to explain, the silence was broken by Lexi who was too impatient when it came to anything related to a new mana type like this. ¡°One of you explain already!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too weak to be Legendary.¡± Lexi''s words startled the prince a little and he explained. ¡°This is Rare or Epic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Epic.¡± Ajax said and everyone turned their eyes to him. ¡°How do you know that?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Did you encounter this before inside the dungeon?¡± ¡°No, I never felt this type of mana before.¡± Ajax denied. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been searching for it.¡± That was as much as Ajax would volunteer as he turned towards the Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw. The meaning behind his action was clear as he returned his gaze to the prince and tilted his head questioningly. ¡®How much should I say?¡¯ Arianwyn however was in no mood to wait for permission as something just didn¡¯t add up to her. ¡°The mana type you were researching has to do with metals, mainly getting them to stick together or push themselves apart. What does that have to do with this?¡± Both Ajax and the prince turned surprised looks on to the elven princess while Lexi threw her a more hostile look as she came to the obvious conclusion. The existence and research or Magnetic mana was spearheaded by her grandfather and kept relatively secret, Arianwyn having knowledge of it and to this extent meant that there were spies infiltrated rather deep with decent access to House Manashaper. The further they got along their journey the more and more Ajax had started to consider Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw as simply friends. It felt odd for him to keep things like this from them despite giving them fully to the royal family who would then distribute them further. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Just a bare bones explanation.¡± the prince finally relented under the elf¡¯s gaze as he weighed the pros and cons. ¡°The other mana I use is Rare, it works in all directions but only on metal.¡± Ajax tried to explain the link he conceptualized between magnetism and gravity without explaining gravity itself. ¡°Whatever this is works on everything but only has a single direction. If it was a Legendary mana type it would work on everything in any direction.¡± Ajax had personally dubbed that mana type Attraction/Repulsion and it was something he very much wanted to get his hands on. ¡°I still don¡¯t see how it¡¯s working.¡± Xavier said as he processed Ajax¡¯s explanation. ¡°I have a decent enchantment meant to repel outside spell influences and it wasn¡¯t triggered by this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it''s not us that are affected.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You ate dirt just like the rest of us, how are we not affected?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°If a skill increases the strength of your muscles it will also increase the strength of your swing.¡± Ajax tried to explain. ¡°When you throw something up it falls down, when you jump you fall back down. You don¡¯t notice this because its been happening to you ever since you were born, if whatever it is that is dragging you down suddenly increases though it would feel like a spell applied to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you dropped your hammer.¡± Lexi perked up as she started looking at this from the same perspective her grandfather had drilled into her from a young age. ¡°You tested to see if it would fall faster than it did outside!¡± Ajax simply nodded in confirmation. ¡°Fascinating as all of this is, what do we do now?¡± Darkclaw asked, he was a researcher or an inventor he stuck with what was tested and knew it worked. This odd mana type would have to be reported back to the Republic but he wasn¡¯t as invested as the others. ¡°Nothing much, most of us will just head for the closest arch and have Xavier get his clear of the floor and move on to the third floor.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Why only most of us?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°This floor is low enough that nobody is in any real danger on it.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°While you accommodate to the changes and get the kill you need I am hoping your uncle can scour the floor and find me something infused with this mana type that I can study on the outside.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± the prince nodded and got ready to dash away as his runes sucked up more mana. ¡°Sylvanthal would also be very interested in buying such a sample.¡± Arianwyn called out as the prince started to run. ¡°As would the Republic¡± Darkclaw left no pretense as he followed the elf¡¯s example and yelled after the prince. What happened next was an exercise in frustration for Ajax. Unlike everyone else here he was the only one who had spent years training to manage a continuous changing physical boost. He wasn¡¯t as skilled as the prince who took seconds to adapt but after five minutes he had [Mana Syphon] providing him a strong enough boost to simply counteract the increased gravity. This wasn¡¯t what frustrated Ajax however. What frustrated him to no end was that despite the massive presence of gravity mana on the floor as a whole he hadn¡¯t found any monster capable of using it. It was just passively there in the ambient mana and he could barely analyze it when it was doing nothing more than existing ¡°How the fuck did my uncle adapt so quickly?¡± Xavier cursed. Out of everyone Xavier was having the hardest time adjusting as he was also a hybrid fighter, he had no issues walking normally but his combat ability had suffered. ¡°Curse users.¡± Benedict replied nonchalantly. ¡°What?!¡± Ajax, Lexi and Xavier turned towards him at that flippant answer. ¡°He faced a lot of curse users during the wars.¡± Benedict explained. ¡°In the field hybrid fighters are mage killers, unlike in a tournament there is no arena limiting them and giving a clear start. Their biggest weakness is that their stats are spread across six stats plus Vitality and Perception where everyone else spreads theirs across three and Vitality and Perception.¡± ¡°Curse fighters are mostly physical so they can react and curses would target the lower stats best since they apply a flat reduction.¡± Elara continued for him. ¡°Your uncle had specific squads that had people who could use cursed attack hunting after him during the war.¡± As she said this, Elara''s eyes unintentionally flashed over to Ajax for a moment. He was also a hybrid fighter but from the way he was going he wouldn¡¯t have the same weakness. This wasn¡¯t something the others missed so the discussion dropped off there as everyone returned to their exercises to adapt to the increased gravity. It was only once Xavier felt ready and the group started their search for an arch leading to the third floor that the silence was broken. ¡°If you ever figure out how to work with this mana type I¡¯ll want to hire you. It would work wonders for military training.¡± Funnily enough Benedict wasn¡¯t addressing Ajax but rather Lexi. Out of the two of them Ajax had a higher chance of getting the affinity but that wouldn¡¯t help with anything outside of him using it. If Lexi learnt if on the other hand there was a much better chance she and her family could figure out how to enchant an area to mimic the effects of the floor. It didn¡¯t take more than half an hour before they found the arch and its guardian, halfway through Xavier¡¯s fight the prince had also returned with a nod of confirmation at having succeeded in his task. Not wanting to be surprised again Ajax didn¡¯t even wait for Xavier to finish killing the mini boss as he beelined towards the arch to check the mana type of the next floor. Chapter 387 There was no issue with the next floor, from what Ajax could feel it seemed to be a standard fire and earth based floor, either a desert or a volcano depending on how the properties were applied. If he had to bet Ajax would have gone for desert for the simple reason that it was missing any metal mana that was usually found in any volcanic themed floor. ¡°Did you find any creatures that can use this mana type?¡± Ajax asked the prince as they watched Xavier fight. ¡°No, though I do have to say some of the creatures on this floor look¡­ I can¡¯t quite find the words¡­ odd.¡± the prince answered. ¡°Odd how?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Their bodies were misshapen.¡± the prince said. ¡°More pudgy and with denser muscles.¡± ¡°Adaptations to the increased downward force.¡± Ajax pondered. ¡°The dungeon added monsters that would be uniquely suited to the environment.¡± The prince instantly pulled up a privacy screen before he frowned a little as he turned to Ajax. ¡°This is the second time you do that. I am not sure what you know about this downward force but you do know something.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyebrows made a break for his forehead in surprise as he looked towards the others with a little trepidation. ¡°I doubt any of them has a good enough lie detection skill at a high enough level to pick up on that since everything you said was technically truthful.¡± the prince reassured him. ¡°Maybe Harold, despite being a fighter it would all depend on how gifted he is in the political arena. That doesn¡¯t matter since he knows discretion. Do make sure you keep this in mind however because I assure you Aranor would also see through it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain more later but it''s rather complicated¡­¡± Ajax started but as soon as the word complicated left his mouth the prince quickly cut him off. ¡°In that case you best just prepare to give a presentation once we are back in Gryndor.¡± Despite the prince¡¯s fascination with magic he was not a researcher or a scholar. ¡°Can I see one of the samples?¡± Ajax asked as he extended his hand towards the prince. Instead of a single item the prince placed two pieces of rock in his hand. Both were about the same size but one felt much heavier than the other. Both of the chunks were filled with Gravity mana, in fact they looked almost identical to Ajax¡¯s senses. ¡°Does one of them amplify the force while the other diminishes it?¡± Ajax was shocked as he realized what was happening. ¡°You think so too?¡± the prince grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll be selling only one sample type to the elves and the Republic so keep quiet about the second.¡± The prince¡¯s voice was much sterner as he took back the samples and lowered the privacy field just as Xavier was finishing his fight. The mini-boss was two levels lower than Xavier and while he didn¡¯t pose a real threat to him in terms of offense the mini boss''s mobility combined with the increased gravity let it survive a lot longer than it otherwise would have. ¡°Finally!¡± Xavier gave a frustrated cry as his sword cut open to the monsters hearth and the spell he followed it up with froze the monsters internal organs. Once he saw how close Ajax was to the next floor he quickly followed up with a question. ¡°Tell me the next floor is normal.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Should be a desert or a volcano.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°Seemed regular enough.¡± The next floor was nothing out of the ordinary but the one after that did have something a little more special. The first was a desert floor just like Ajax had guessed while the second was an open plain that housed large herds of pack animals that very much resembled the bison¡¯s of Earth only the were much larger. It was one of the few times where the non-mini boss groups on the floor were actually a lot more dangerous than even the arch guardians due to the sheer numbers. Thankfully for all of Ajax¡¯s classmates the floor also had small groups of beastkin guarding each arch. Nobody had a hard time clearing either of the floors, the desert floor was too small of a level difference for their increased stats to not make up for it and for the second floor the humanoid combatants were easily dealt, they simply ambushed the mini bosses while the prince took out all of the others leaving it to a one on one. Despite the ease with which they cleared both floors it had taken them a decently long time to do so. Both a desert and an open plane had two things in common. One, neither needed much vertical space leaving the floor to expand horizontally a lot more, and two clear lines of sight meant that the arches were even more spread out so it took the group a while go from one to the next. ¡°Remember they will most likely challenge you but they could also try Benedict depending on which nobles decides to make their move first.¡± The prince cautioned his nephew. Benedict wasn¡¯t happy to be excluded based on the fact that mana had almost no place in his fighting style, nevertheless it was something that elves emphasized and the more racist ones saw a human that chose not to use mana heavily as less than. Lexi and Anna however were excluded because of other reasons. For Lexi it was clear that nobody wanted to become the cautionary tale for whatever new spell her grandfather had come up with in the years since he had last been seen on a battlefield. That she had openly shown her affinity for multiple different elements only served to further push the same narrative. The reason why Anna was going to be left alone was very different. The wealth of Archduke Goldmancer was widely known, not only that but his affection for his only daughter and his overprotective tendencies were as well. None of the noble families were willing to risk an open contract put out just for a little pride by defeating her, not when there were better targets available. ¡°I know.¡± Xavier nodded with conviction. ¡°I¡¯ll get us one of those trees.¡± Despite Xavier¡¯s ego being reigned in a lot since his teenage years, both by the maturity that followed adolescence and the simple fact of Ajax¡¯s presence, he still retained a healthy ego regarding his combat prowess. Once the lower leveled in the group exited the dungeon the rest of the group had a decision to make. ¡°Do we stop to sleep now or do we push on?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Only you have anything to gain from this floor and it won¡¯t even take you long to dispatch a mini boss.¡± Harold offered. ¡°That will also be true after we wake up.¡± Darkclaw said as he spread his arms wide and took a deep breath as he looked towards the trees that surrounded them. ¡°I say we rest here where we know what the floor theme is.¡± ¡°We¡¯re resting here.¡± the prince said, putting an end to the discussion. The reason the prince wanted them to rest here was simple, nobody was in any danger on this floor. With even the highest levels being only at level sixty the prince was sure any of them could solo the floor, the only question would be how many were good enough to solo it by finding and using the obelisk instead of slowly clearing it out. With such a safety margin the prince could actually relax and sleep as well to catch up on some of the sleep he missed thanks to the attack the night before. As Xavier and the other exited the dungeon they were pleasantly surprised not to be attacked by any of the elves despite more than a few drawing their weapons at their presence. The arch guardians seemed pretty peeved at not getting to interrogate them about what happened to the rest of their party and what floor they had gotten to but Lioriel was quick in intercepting them and bringing the team to Aranor. Unlike previously the elven champion wasn¡¯t alone while he was waiting for them, rather he was caught in an rather animated discussion with a number of other elves. That in and of itself wasn¡¯t an issue, the issue was that Benedict, Lexi, Anna and Xavier all recognized most of the elves surrounding them. It wasn¡¯t that they had met them before but that they had been part of their education as each was a very powerful fighter in their own right. Despite the elven kingdoms being rivals the same did not always apply to their champions, adding that the two kingdoms hadn¡¯t gone to war with each other in the last two generations of rulers and it meant that Deepwood¡¯s champions didn¡¯t have any bad blood with Aranor and in fact some of them were quite friendly. ¡°Look at that, what do we have here?¡± one of the elves asked as he turned towards the four humans. Lioriel tensed at that. She knew she wasn¡¯t strong enough to beat any of the three newcomers but she still moved her hand towards her weapon just in case, she wasn¡¯t going to fail her queen without at least trying. ¡°Let the children handle the children''s games.¡± Aranor waved the elf off. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you had such a soft spot for humans, Aranor.¡± One of the other elves said. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of race but one of honor.¡± Aranor shut down the teasing. ¡°We all know why the challenge will come before Ajax exits the dungeon, just let the young ones sort it out.¡± Despite the frown Xavier was giving Aranor on the inside he was singing the elf¡¯s praises. By keeping the older elves out of the interaction Aranor was making it easier for Xavier to set the stakes such that he could walk away with a fortress tree if he won. Chapter 388 The situation quickly turned a little awkward for the noble elves once their powerful supporters followed Aranor¡¯s suggestion, clearly they hadn¡¯t expected it to go this way. ¡°Not even a shred of courage.¡± Xavier commented with a snicker to his friends as he saw the nobles their own age look to each other to make the first move. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean mana-starved?¡± The most hotheaded of the elves sniped back. Xavier¡¯s eye twitched at the racial slur. Despite his extensive training as a talented member of the royal family there were things that he just hadn¡¯t experienced, it took all of his willpower to hide the anger and push on with the script he was playing out. ¡°It¡¯s clear none of you are courageous to the point of stupidity.¡± Xavier continued as he put on a smirk reminiscent of his uncle. ¡°They would have come before we entered the dungeon, challenged Ajax and been sent to the infirmary.¡± The elves could do nothing but look around awkwardly at that, all of them knew it was true. Some of them had in fact had family members or friends that had wanted to challenge the human genius but their families went as far as to imprison them to ensure that wouldn¡¯t happen. ¡°But to not even have enough courage to challenge one of us without any support.¡± Xavier continued while shaking his head in mock disappointment. ¡°You might as well leave now.¡± This was what Xavier¡¯s entire plan hinged on, he would need to be challenged and not the challenger. While the challenger had an advantage in deciding the stage where the fight took place the challenged could set the terms for the prizes. ¡°You¡¯ll regret those words mana-starved.¡± the same hotheaded elf responded. ¡°I, Ruffius Leafblade, grandson of Duke Leafblade, challenge you to a duel!¡± ¡°What are the terms of the duel?¡± Xavier asked. Xavier was smart enough not to jump into this head first, a duel to first blood would not be one he would accept against a family of wind mages who specialized in long range attacks with wind currents that carried poisonous leaves. ¡°Duels are traditionally to first blood of course.¡± Ruffius said with an evil grin. ¡°Is that so?¡± Xavier seemed to ponder, Lioriel was on the verge of challenging that claim but the looks coming from the elves around Aranor quickly stopped her in her tracks. Clearly they wanted to enforce Aranor¡¯s words on any help the humans would receive as well. ¡°Is that also the most prominent format in the last ten duels you took part in?¡± Xavier¡¯s question turned Ruffius¡¯s grin into a scowl as he admitted that eight out of his last ten duels had been under the rules of surrender or unconsciousness with no lethal attempts. Ruffius further spent another ten minutes trying to change the format but none of his arguments held any sway and it quickly became clear that this format was the only one Xavier would accept from someone slightly older than him. Ruffius was prepared to push more on the matter but he quickly changed his tune once he noticed one of the others with him was willing to take his chance away from him. ¡°So be it, have the format you prefer, not like it will change the results.¡± Riffius said. ¡°Lets go and settle this in the closest arena.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You don¡¯t seriously expect me to follow you right now?¡± Xavier sounded outraged at the premise.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Ruffius took his refusal as a sign of fear. ¡°Scared you will lose?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving Aranor¡¯s size without my uncle present, and I know he won¡¯t leave this courtyard until my uncle exits the dungeon.¡± Xavier said. ¡°You insult my honor by suggesting I would have you attacked on the street.¡± Ruffius¡¯s face went a little red as he growled the words, clearly his social skills left a little to be desired. ¡°Who said anything about you?¡± Xavier waved away his complaint. ¡°My inn was attacked just last night!¡± Ruffius had nothing he could say to that, any attempt to have the fight now was lost, he could now only hope that his father would be understanding if Ajax chose to challenge him that he will refuse that duel. ¡°Fine!¡± Ruffius said as he turned to walk away. ¡°We will have our duel after your uncle exits the dungeon.¡± ¡°Lord Leafblade, aren¡¯t you forgetting the stakes for the duel?¡± Xavier asked pushing his social skills to the limit to make himself sound simply confused, from the looks the elves around Aranor trained on him he wasn¡¯t as successful as he thought. ¡°And what do you think we should wager?¡± Ruffius asked more reserved than before, despite his ego he knew that his family''s wealth paled compared to any royal family. ¡°We are still young members of our family so the prize shouldn¡¯t be all that high.¡± Xavier said as he tried to make his request sound more reasonable. ¡°The winner can choose one renewable resource from the loser¡¯s family.¡± Ruffius¡¯ eyebrows rose as he was shocked by the opportunity. A royal family had access to all the resources of a country, the elf was tempted to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming. Even the elves around Aranor seemed pleasantly surprised by the terms Xavier offered. Lioriel on the other hand saw straight through Xavier¡¯s plan, after all they had just learnt about fortress tree¡¯s the previous night with her there to witness it! And despite their great value, fortress saplings were technically a renewable resource that each high placed noble family had access to in order to maintain and grow their own house¡¯s main estate. She was however unable to put a stop to this as Aranor had slowly made his way next to her, a simple hand placed on her shoulder allowed him to unleash his full aura on her alone keeping her from reacting for a few moments. ¡°Those terms are agreeable!¡± Ruffius quickly agreed to the terms out of fear that Xavier would change his mind and left the area. ¡°That was almost too easy.¡± Xavier said as he turned back to his friends. ¡°You best make sure not to lose.¡± Anna''s words sounded like a bucket of ice water. ¡°The same way something like a fortress tree can be considered a renewable resource so can the next hatchling of your family''s griffins.¡± Those words brought Xavier up short as he spotted the mistake he made as he focused on keeping anyone from suspecting that everything had already been planned out. His uncle had told him to make the best for a renewable resource currently in the family vault as the mated pair of wild griffins the royal family kept only mated once a century and even the only one offspring would appear. The next one was still two decades away but with the wording of the prize the next griffin pup could be claimed. Xavier was still sure of his victory but this added pressure was something he wasn¡¯t looking forward to for the next day until his uncle exited the dungeon and he could put all of this behind himself. Inside the dungeon the group¡¯s sleep break extended to over ten hours as they looked to push to the finish for most of them before another break would be needed. The next three floors didn¡¯t pose a challenge for any of them, even Harold breezed straight through the level eighty seven mini boss. The strength gained from their previous dungeons was starting to show more and more. ¡°What¡¯s with the sad face?¡± the prince asked Ajax as he noticed him looking a little dejected as they traveled to the arch for the next floor. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°I was just hoping for an achievement but it seems this isn¡¯t one of them.¡± ¡°What achievement?¡± The prince was excited now. ¡°The previous floor I cleared marked my one hundredth dungeon floor clear.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I was hoping there was a bonus for it but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything.¡± The prince started coughing as he choked on his gasp of surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve cleared one hundred floors.¡± the prince said as he looked at Ajax intently. ¡°I guess I was aware that you just kept stacking more and more but it feels different now to hear you have an extra one hundred to all stats just from dungeons.¡± Ajax agreed that the number was extreme, made even more so by the fact that it could be increased further by 10% just from potions since stats gained from dungeons also increase the amount of potions you can take, more than that those 10% could be allocated however you wanted so long as you had powerful enough potions. ¡°I know it¡¯s already a lot.¡± Ajax said with a wistful sigh. ¡°I just hoped there would be a bonus for the hundredth one, even something as small as it giving +2 to all stats instead.¡± ¡°You should just be grateful there is no diminishing returns on it.¡± the prince said. ¡°The system sometimes limits progressive gains like this, I have to imagine there is one for this as well but further along than one hundred. For your sake I hope it is as far away as possible.¡± Chapter 389 Ajax and the prince were the only two to remain on the seventh floor of the dungeon, despite the increase in stats Arianwyn, Elara and Darkclaw didn¡¯t yet feel up to challenging such a high floor though everyone knew once they made it to Sylvanthal¡¯s capital all three of them would be taking on the level one hundred and ten mini bosses. The floor theme was a large mountainside that was filled with caves that lead into a mine shaft. In the skies above Ajax could feel the mana coming off the griffins that were circling them. ¡°So what will it be, the griffins or whatever we find in the mine?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances with the mine.¡± Ajax said as he threw a wary look towards the sky because of the weak pulse [Danger Sense] sent out. The pulse disappeared as soon as he looked up and made eye contact with one of the griffins. Unlike the lower floor this mine was not only dark to Ajax¡¯s eyes but even his [Mana Sense] didn¡¯t let him identify any creatures as if any where there they all seamlessly integrated with the ambient mana. ¡°I don¡¯t like this floor.¡± Ajax lamented as they made their way deeper into the mine by torchlight. ¡°Then you best get out of here quickly.¡± the prince said as they descended deeper into the cave without any sign of hostility. The two of them continued their walk for another thirty minutes and while they hadn¡¯t made contact with any form of life they had been attacked numerous times by the traps that were laid out all around their path. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense, how can there be inbuilt traps in the walls when the shaft is naturally formed and no humanoids are part of the floor.¡± Ajax complained as he bandaged a cut on his leg.¡± Even the prince couldn¡¯t save Ajax from the damage as the traps had a quick activation with minimal movement, more than that they didn¡¯t use any mana, just a simple cause and effect based on the trigger. ¡°Quit complaining, look we already found an arch.¡± the prince said as he pointed at the chamber at the end of the tunnel they were moving through. ¡°Let''s hope it has a miniboss guarding it and we¡¯ll be done with this.¡± Ajax and the prince carefully approached the arch carefully checking for any guardian but there was none to be seen. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a trap?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I can¡¯t see any lock for it to be a key passage.¡± The prince didn¡¯t have a chance to respond as Ajax stepped too close to the arch and a massive hand made of stone ripped itself seemingly from the floor to come swinging in his direction. Despite the surprise attack Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to jump out of the way as he took a boosting potion out of his spacial storage, removed the cork and chugged. The guardian didn¡¯t give Ajax any time to spare however the confines of the mine and the size of the mini boss meant that it couldn¡¯t move all that well in the space given. Ajax wasted no time as he brought out his hammer and charged it with Void mana. ¡°Earth golem!¡± Ajax hissed, figuring out why he hadn¡¯t sensed it. Earth golems were known for their durability however their defenses based themselves on the attack landing on their outermost layer that distributed the impact evenly in a large area. Ajax¡¯s void strike bypassed that defense and took the golem¡¯s arm from the elbow down. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. An earth golem would have been a good match for Ajax given their environment. It was only wishful thinking on his part to be facing a golem. As the guardian stepped towards Ajax its leg sank into the ground as its mana started flooded out. It was only Ajax¡¯s [Danger Sense] that let him react in time to bring out his shield to lessen the impact and the guardian sent Ajax flying into the wall with a powerful enough punch that he left a small outline of his body on impact. ¡°Not a golem.¡± Ajax coughed as he spit out a mouth full of blood staring at the earth elemental with a mix of determination and slight trepidation. Fighting a full fledged elemental is something Ajax had done before however none of those elementals had been past level one hundred. To make matters even worse he was fighting an earth elemental in an underground mine, this put him on a timer as the elemental had practically endless resources to reform its body regardless of the damage he took. Ajax¡¯s only chance was to destroy the core inside of the body. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to give the griffins a go?¡± the prince asked from the sidelines where he had finished taking out another earth elemental that had been drawn by the fighting. ¡°No.¡± Ajax response was short but on the inside he felt a little doubt that perhaps it was the smarter idea to not face the elemental. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± the prince said as he settled himself in a stance to interfere should there be a need. ¡°At least we figured out how the traps were made.¡± That realization did nothing to help Ajax currently as he flooded his body with Light and Life mana to heal the damage he had taken as he prepared to charge the mini boss. For the next three minutes Ajax danced around the elemental as he smashed through his arms, legs, torso and even its head one after another in search of the elemental¡¯s core to no avail. ¡®This isn¡¯t working¡¯ Ajax thought as he watched the elemental restore the lost mass by simply taking it from the rock around them. ¡®Normally an elemental¡¯s core is easy to sense as it is the source of their mana, not only that but it takes much more for an earth elemental to move their core inside their body, but I can¡¯t sense it anywhere. The mini boss¡¯s entire body is infused to the point the core could be anywhere.¡¯ ¡°Get ready to pull me out.¡± Ajax shouted as he formulated a new plan. ¡°If this doesn¡¯t work we¡¯ll go for the griffins.¡± The prince tensed up at those words, even more so when he noticed that Ajax was charging the elemental head on with only his shield. The elemental didn¡¯t seem to be disturbed or surprised or suspicious as to why his recently slippery opponent changed to a forward charged and simply threw a punch with all its power just as it had been doing since the start. As the punch made contact with his shield Ajax was sent flying towards the walls once more, this time the impact was even stronger than the one he endured at the start of the fight. More than that his shield had shattered moments after the impact and the prince was already moving towards Ajax. Unlike the first punch Ajax endured in the fight he wasn¡¯t the only one hurt this time. The elemental and the entire mine shaft as a whole vibrated violently from the impact. ¡°Crazy kid.¡± the prince cursed as he picked Ajax up while the kid in question was trying to regain his bearings. Ajax¡¯s plan had been similar to the one Lexi had used to defeat the massive plant inside the cave a few dungeons ago, since he didn¡¯t have a good enough handle on Vibration magic to use it naturally he had planned to tank the impact from an attack on his shield and then use his magic to amplify that resulting vibration. The plan had not only worked but it had in fact worked too well. With Ajax pushing over seven hundred mana in just amplifying the vibration instead of also creating it the result of the attack was much stronger than even he intended, this was the reason that his shield had shatter, it was the reason the elemental had died and most importantly it was also the reason the prince was rushing with Ajax towards the arch in the middle of the room before the entire mountain came down on their heads following the local earthquake Ajax had just unleashed underground. Ajax was still a little disoriented as the prince laid him down on the next floor before getting him to sit up. ¡°You best have gotten the stats for that.¡± The prince said with a bit of harshness in his voice that Ajax¡¯s couldn¡¯t condemn seeing as he had almost gotten both of them killed. ¡°I got it.¡± Ajax said as he closed the notification and looked at a second one that made a shit eating grin bloom on his face. After all the hours of training Ajax had finally managed to gain [Vibration Aspect Mana]. ¡°I really got it!¡± his voice going slightly higher the second time. The prince had been nodding in acceptance but when he heard Ajax repeat himself his eyes narrowed as he took in the young Baron¡¯s slightly battered body. ¡°You also got Vibration mana didn¡¯t you?¡± it didn¡¯t come across as a question so much as it did an accusation. Ajax didn¡¯t even need to respond, all he did was make eye contact with the prince and maintain it while his already large grin seemed to grow even more. The prince let out a series of expletives that would have had drill sargent¡¯s reaching for a pen and paper to take notes. Ajax¡¯s amusement only seemed to grow as he took in the prince¡¯s reaction and closed the notification for his new skill when his entire body froze as he took in another notification that he hadn¡¯t expected. Chapter 390 After he didn¡¯t receive an Achievement for pushing his dungeons stat bonus to +100 Ajax hadn¡¯t expected to get one but there it was sitting right in front of his face. Achievement : Truly Skilled Gain 100 skills Reward : Each skill grants +1 to the stat they rely on most. Each skill grants an additional +1 to the stat they rely on most for each threshold passed. Slight increase to obtain skills based on already earned skills. Slight increased speed of skill increase. (Experience gained through skill application increased to compensate for faster leveling skill with less effort.) ¡°What is it?¡± the prince asked, slightly worried about Ajax¡¯s reaction. ¡°Nothing.¡± Ajax simply waved his question away. As much as Ajax trusted the royal family with some of his more sensitive secrets he wasn¡¯t yet ready to give away the exact number of skills he had. Ajax was pretty sure they already knew about this achievement anyway, sure it would be extremely unusual for someone as young as him to have it but with hundreds of years people had plenty of time to gain skills. ¡°Was that something to do with Legendary skills?¡± the prince pushed a little but when Ajax didn¡¯t answer he just let the topic drop. ¡°Okay, wait here and drink another potion so you recover, there is no rush.¡± Ajax simply nodded as he took out another healing potion and put it on the ground near him. It was too soon since his last potion so he would have to wait a short while before it would be safe to take another. To take his mind off the pain Ajax instead chose to focus on his newest affinity, Vibration. Unlike Life affinity there were so many different ways that Vibration affinity could be used in combat. Unlike regular mages he wasn¡¯t so locked in to the casted spell aspect so he could use Vibration in many different ways. The main way Ajax planned to add Vibration to his fighting style had nothing to do with anything he had used to unlock the affinity. His plan was to make his sword and axe vibrate really quickly to increase their cutting power, this would require the sword and axe in question to be specifically built for it otherwise they would quickly end up just like his shield had. The next thing Ajax did once he thought of that was to check if the gauntlet he still had even could channel his Vibration mana, for the first time since he tried Ajax finally found a mana type that the dragon hadn¡¯t added to the glove. After checking Vibration Ajax thought to also check Life mana, since there was no use in channeling Life mana through his items he hadn¡¯t thought to check before but the glove was also missing a Life mana stone. Ajax was pretty sure now that no Legendary mana types would be there since a Life one would be one of the easier ones to get considering the number of stories he heard about Life based natural treasures. As soon as Ajax took his potion he also got up, he wasn¡¯t fully healed yet but it was good enough for him to exit the dungeon. He placed his helmet back on his head to hide his ears and he took out a spare shield from his spacial ring. This shield was much weaker than the one he used previously but with the rate his strength was increasing he would need to update his items shortly anyway, especially so considering the increased stats from his Achievement. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. As Ajax left the prince to clear the final floor of the dungeon he exited and found himself back in the center of the large containment area built around the dungeon. For once nobody paid him too much attention as he exited the dungeon, the guards simply approached him to get their statement. Lioriel was quick to intercept them and then lead Ajax towards the rest of his group. As soon as Xavier caught sight of Ajax he started bouncing from foot to foot in excitement, Ajax took this to mean that the plan had worked and now Xavier was both excited and a little nervous about the upcoming duel and had nowhere to channel all the energy before he could confirm his suspicion however he felt [Enigma] activate. The identification attempt had come from multiple sources, Ajax usually ignored most of the Inspection attempts on himself but something was different about these ones. The most important part was that all of them broke through [Enigma] to certain success. The identification skills had all come from the group of elves that were around Aranor and while none of them had gotten access to his skill list or stats Ajax felt that two of them were close to getting access to the latter. Naturally Ajax¡¯s first response was to return the favor as he used his own identification skill [Inspector¡¯s Eye]. For two of the elves Ajax hadn¡¯t managed to get much more than their names, ages and levels. The last one however must have had a weaker privacy skill, more than that [Inspector¡¯s Eye Lvl 25] had managed to pass its threshold after the first two identifications so on the third one Ajax was able to get his entire stat list. Getting that was a welcome surprise that made the entire interaction much more pleasant so Ajax chose to ignore the elven Champions for now and went to talk to his friends instead, or at least that was his plan. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± the last elf asked in a more controlled voice than Ajax would have expected, he guessed the man¡¯s social skills must be working overtime since he hadn¡¯t blown a gasket in anger yet. ¡°He¡¯s doing the same thing we did to him.¡± one of the other champions surprisingly took Ajax¡¯s side. ¡°I do have to say his identification skill is stronger than I expected.¡± The brief look of embarrassment that passed over the angered elf¡¯s face was all Ajax needed to put the situation together, the others hadn¡¯t caught on that he had seen the man¡¯s stats and was now torn between exposing that fact himself or letting Ajax off the hook. Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one who put that together as both Anna and Benedict had their eyes open wide as their eyebrows made a break for their hairlines for a brief moment as the second elf¡¯s words made them realized that Ajax had gotten access to something more before they also schooled their expressions. ¡°Best keep to those on your level, kid.¡± The last elven champion addressed Ajax directly. ¡°You may be an unmatched prodigy but right now any of us could crush you like a bug.¡± Ajax wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and simply nod in acknowledgement however all of the other elves surrounding them gasped as they looked between Ajax and the last champion. For them to hear someone of his status call Ajax an unmatched prodigy was shocking. ¡°How long do you think it will be until my uncle comes out?¡± Xavier who had barely reigned in his nervous and excited energy enough that he wasn¡¯t hopping from one foot to the other hadn¡¯t really caught the finer details of the exchange and was laser focused on something else. ¡°It should still be a couple of hours.¡± Ajax said but he wasn¡¯t completely sure, that would all come down to what the floor boss would be, none of the floor bosses would pose a threat to the prince since they would only be level one hundred and thirty two but depending on what they were it could take him a while to take them down. ¡°I take it from the excitement that the plan worked?¡± ¡°It sure did.¡± Xavier bragged. While Harold, Arianwyn, Elara and Lioriel were surprised to hear Ajax expose that everything had been planned out, Benedict, Lexi, Anna and even Aranor had caught onto what Ajax was doing as both Lexi and Benedict activated a privacy field around the delving group. ¡°Except for the small part where he put more on the line if he loses.¡± Anna quickly cut Xavier down. ¡°What happened in there, you look pretty rough.¡± To accentuate Anna¡¯s words Lexi was already giving Ajax a look over as she inspected every dent on his armor to make sure he was really okay. ¡°I may have taken one or two direct hits from an earth elemental¡± Ajax waved it off. ¡°Nothing that will kill me.¡± ¡°What about the champion?¡± Elara asked. ¡°What did you learn about him?¡± As someone who had felt quite vulnerable under Ajax¡¯s identification skill she had managed to put everything together. The elf¡¯s reaction, Ajax¡¯s exposure of the plan as a misdirection and an excuse to put up a privacy shield all while playing into the stereotype that he was a commoner who didn¡¯t know how to play the noble¡¯s game by revealing the existence of the plan. ¡°Got a look at his stats.¡± Ajax said as he didn¡¯t think there was a need to keep that hidden now that Elara had all but called him out for looking. ¡°In my defense they all tried to identify me first.¡± The topic quickly changed from there to Xavier¡¯s upcoming duel. Still while Elara simply listened to the conversation she couldn¡¯t help but evaluate Ajax once more. He didn¡¯t have the social skills of a noble and he definitely wasn¡¯t used to the social aspect of nobility, when it came down to thinking like a noble however Ajax was one of the best among their peers. Chapter 391 As he recovered more and more Ajax found himself feeling odd in his own skin, it wasn¡¯t enough for him to have any real issues but it just felt a little odd. It took him a few minutes to realize that this was because of his latest Achievement. He had just gained a little over one hundred and ten stats all at once on top of the eight he got for the final floor of the dungeon. While this wasn¡¯t a big enough change to affect him as much as the first time he took potions, now that his body was getting back to his peak condition he would need a short while to get used to everything. This usually wasn¡¯t an issue with dungeon floor rewards as they came one point at a time evenly spread and he got an entire floor to get used to it before the next ones came. ¡°Are you going to hold back?¡± Harold asked Xavier. This was an interesting question, as a prince and more than that a future powerhouse of Gryndor the prince wouldn¡¯t be keen on showing everything, then again it was likely that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back if he was hoping to win. ¡°No.¡± Xavier said as his excitement died down a little at the question and his expression turned serious. ¡°What we stand to gain from having a sapling of our own far outstrips what we stand to lose from me showing everything I can do now. I¡¯d be more worried if I was the strongest in my generation but¡­¡± Nobody needed him to finish that statement to know what he meant. Ajax''s existence gave the kingdom of Gryndor and especially their younger talented combatants so much more freedom in what they had to keep close to their chests. This in turn would mean that he should have kept his own powers secret and not displayed them during the tournament, the problem with that was that Ajax was so versatile and his casting style was new enough that having it be seen when he is younger isn¡¯t that much of a hindrance either. As they lowered the privacy bubble the conversation turned towards other more mundane topics like their impression on Deepwood¡¯s capital. One of the things Ajax was secretly curious about was the slave auctions, while not as numerous as they were in the Empire they still existen and Ajax hoped to get a look at them in hopes of not only freeing a few people that seemed more talented with the help of Arianwyn, Elara or Aranor but maybe to even recruit some new people for his own House that would bring with them any information they had gleaned from Deepwood. It was only a few hours later that the prince finally exited the dungeon. To Ajax¡¯s surprise the prince was highly frustrated and annoyed, despite his armor not being damaged it was covered in a thick layer of a shiny substance that looked both slimy and sticky. Even more than that his [Sense Mana] could feel one of his runes still active as he made his way towards them. ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± All of the elven champions present except Aranor broke into laughter as they took in the prince. ¡°A slime floor boss?¡± Aranor asked his look a combination of both pity and slight amusement. ¡°Yes¡­¡± the prince let out a sigh. Looking at it more closely Ajax could even tell how the slime that covered the prince was disintegrating into mana and being released into the atmosphere so there was no use in trying to store any of it. It was curious to him why the process took longer than others since most things that exited the dungeon straight up dissolved into mana in under a second once they were dead. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°You¡¯re finally done.¡± Xavier said as he approached his uncle and looked to pat him on the back. ¡°You can finally come see my duel.¡± At the same time the prince dodged out of the way and Harold caught Xavier by the wrist. ¡°Wait for the slime to disappear.¡± the latter instructed the prince. ¡°Slime floor bosses can give their bodies any properties they want, it¡¯s why its also dissolving so much slower it counts as an attack, most likely a corrosive one.¡± Ajax was now much warrier of the slime since it came from a very high level floor boss. At the same time he was also very interested in it so he started inspecting it with every skill at his disposal. Over the next five minutes the group made its way out of the dungeon¡¯s protective perimeter while the slime also finished dissolving. The prince also joined Aranor¡¯s conversation with the other elven champions though he did pick up on the fact that one of the champions was shooting Ajax a glare every time he looked in his direction. ¡°Finally, how long does it take to come out of a dungeon.¡± the same elf that had previously challenged Xavier to a duel ambushed them right outside the exit. Ajax wasted no time using [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on him, unlike with the champions however he didn¡¯t focus so much on learning what the elf could do but rather on his identification going unnoticed. Seeing how nobody batted an eye it must have been successful through Ajax had to frown a little when he saw that the elf was not only four years older than Xavier but also five levels higher at forty nine. Both of those things were definitely pushing what was acceptable for a duel of youngsters in terms of both levels and age. Ajax could see that the prince wanted to step forward and help his nephew stare down the group of House guards and other younger elves that were backing up the loudmouthed elf but couldn¡¯t do so without the other elven champions present also stepping in. ¡°What issues do you have with my friend?¡± Ajax asked as he stepped forward to show his support. With his six foot six frame Ajax even towered over the elves by an inch or two. The identification attempts came in quickly but all of them were swatted aside by [Enigma] after getting nothing more than his name, more than that they also came with a spike of pain. Ajax returned the favor without trying to be discreet only to find that the guards in question were barely level eighty despite being close to one hundred and fifty years old, more than that neither of them cave even close to the threat level his skill responded when it evaluated Arianwyn, Darkclaw or even Elara after gaining her Domain. ¡°Who told you to get involved?¡± The elf snapped back but while his words were haughty and aggressive his body instinctively took a step back from Ajax. ¡°Not only are you a manastarved retch but you¡¯re a commoner too.¡± Ajax¡¯s stern look broke out into a predatory grin as he couldn¡¯t have asked for a better response from the elf. ¡°Why only a few hours ago I was told to stick to my own level. I¡¯m more than willing to prove I am in no way inferior, or did you perhaps mean to say you are inferior?¡± The whole area went quiet, while Ajax¡¯s provocation didn¡¯t have any of the fineness that was expected of a noble and clearly showed that he still had much to learn in that respect his words were very well chosen as none of the younger elves could challenged him and none of the champions could interfere right after they told him to do exactly that. ¡°Ajax, that¡¯s enough. The duel has already been arranged¡± Aranor was the one who broke the silence. He didn¡¯t end with that however as he looked towards the young duke¡¯s son. ¡°As for you young lord, I¡¯d advise against trying to start conflicts you are unable to face.¡± Ajax had no qualms about stepping back at that. He had achieved exactly what he had wanted, the lack of any aura response from him throughout the entire exchange showed that everything had gone as he expected and nothing surprised him. He had managed to not only raise Xavier¡¯s confidence while crushing the elf¡¯s but he also publicly showed Aranor respect by backing down without any fuss. ¡°Think we¡¯ll get to see it?¡± Harold whispered to Ajax. ¡°See what?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The royal family''s dueling trick.¡± Harold answered. ¡°Only one out of every five members gains enough of the required skills to pull it off, even his uncle can¡¯t use it. It¡¯s not very useful against multiple opponents or opponents who have much higher stats than you.¡± ¡°He can use it.¡± Benedict joined in absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder as a memory of a duel between him and Xavier flashed to the front of his mind. ¡°The only question is if he will be pushed to use it.¡± That was something Ajax hadn¡¯t know about but it simply made the upcoming fight even more interesting. Chapter 392 The walk to the duelling field wasn¡¯t long but with the suspense building Ajax felt it took forever. Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how the royal family had kept an entire style to themselves, especially when it took a combination of skills big enough that only one in five people who were taught could actually gain it. When they arrived at the small arena they were allowed to enter without a single word in explanation, not only that but Ajax also noticed that they were not alone, two people wearing the sigil of the royal family were waiting for them, one of them led the group to the stands as the other led the two combatants to the field and prepared to referee the match. ¡°The format favors Xavier doesn¡¯t it?¡± Ajax asked. It wasn¡¯t the surround or unconsciousness that favored Xavier so much as it was the lack of killing attacks that Ajax assumed would favor Xavier. ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡± Arianwyn shook her head. ¡°The Leafblade scion is a physical fighter, or at least as much of a physical fighter as we elves tend to go.¡± While it was only in humans that being born with magic was the rarity instead of being born without it like the other humanoid races both the dwarves and the beastkin had people that chose to focus on physical combat and invested most if not all of their stats in that domain. Elves were unique in that even their heavy physical based fighters spent at least 20%-30% of their stats in mental stats. With both fighters being hybrid fighters the format wouldn¡¯t favor either of them. Thankfully the arena was set on hard ground instead of a sand pit, Leafblade would have had an advantage with his wind by using the sand as a way to obscure Xavier''s vision otherwise. As they stood across from each other both fighters took out a sword. While Xavier held a longsword with a two handed grip Ajax knew he was proficient in wielding the weapon in a one handed grip with either of his hands. Leafblade on the other hand held a rapier with his right hand, his left hand was empty but Ajax noticed multiple small knives sheathed all around his body where they could easily be reached. One thing that Ajax very much took note of was that the rapier lacked the large handguard he had seen back on Earth in a museum and instead sported a regular cross guard. Ajax saw this very much as a downgrade not only because of the exposed hand and less pleasing aesthetics but also because the handguard could be shaped into an enchantment. Ajax would wait until he saw Leafblade in action before passing judgment just in case his fighting style would clash with a more elaborate handguard. Once the duel began Ajax was surprised to see Leafblade back away with a defensive posture while Xavier charged forward. That surprise was instantly replaced by understanding as Leafblade finished his first spell and Ajax could now feel a physical boost that had the same efficiency as his own [Mana Syphon] surrounding the elf. Using his first spell for a boost however left Leafblade wide open for Xavier who wasted no time swinging while also releasing a bolt of lightning from his one hand. ¡°There are empowerment spells that continue without being channeled?¡± Ajax asked very much surprised since he hadn¡¯t been given the option to learn any of them. ¡°There are very few.¡± the prince said as he watched Leafblade neutralize the lightning bolt by throwing one of his knives in its path. ¡°Of the ones we are aware of, the elves have at least two different ones among their nobles, the beastkin have one used by certain feline nobles and the dwarves also have one that focuses much more on increasing strength and durability. So far no human has a non channeled spell to physically boost themselves.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t need to look at the rest of Leafblade¡¯s entourage to know they were smiling at them with a gloating expression as the heard Ajax¡¯s remark. That look of superiority made Ajax want to follow up the question with ¡®but why is it so much worse than my skill¡¯ but he knew better than to give away so much information about [Mana Syphon]. And there was no way that [Mana Syphon] wasn¡¯t far superior to whatever spell Leafblade was using, they may have had the same efficiency when it came to mana spent for boost but Ajax could use any mana near him, including that of enemies, while Leafblade was forced to provide his own only. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. As the fight progressed Xavier was being driven back more and more. Both of them were using quick short spells to try and unbalance each other but while Xavier¡¯s spells were a bit stronger and he seemed to be the more skilled swordsman it wasn¡¯t enough to make up for the increase in power and speed the elf had. ¡°Is the difference in their effective stats too big now for the technique to work?¡± Ajax asked with a little worry as Xavier took a cut on his right arm, one that was thankfully shallow. Both Harold and Benedict remained silent at the question, neither of them knew the answer but both of them were afraid of the same thing. ¡°No, it just takes a bit for it to get going.¡± The prince said as he watched the fight with a small smile that was starting to grow. Seeing the smile Ajax focused back on the fight and looked for what he missed. In the next thirty seconds Xavier took two more cuts that were not all that shallow but Ajax finally figured out what to look for. Slowly but surely it looked more and more like Xavier wasn¡¯t simply reacting to Leafblade, in fact Xavier was starting to take control of the entire fight. He was slower, and he was weaker but with every exchange Xavier started to gain ground and force Leafblade back. It wasn¡¯t through power or speed but rather the location of where the contact happened. As he noticed that his blade wasn¡¯t finding its mark any longer, Leafblade tried to rely more on his magic but it had been clear from the start that Xavier¡¯s magic stats were higher than Leafblade and that his spells perfectly neutralized Leafblade¡¯s. Then it happened, Ajax could see the exact moment that seemed like everything fell into place.The fight turned from one where it looked like Xavier was going to slowly push Leafblade into one mistake after another into a slow but inevitable victory to one of total dominance. Xavier hadn¡¯t gotten any faster or any stronger but Leafblade¡¯s form when their swords crossed went from less than ideal to outright atrocious. More than that however Xavier started to step in with confidence and perfect timing as he scored two more deep cuts one on Leafblade thigh and the other on his ribs pushing straight through the defensive enchantments. Everything came to a head for Ajax when he saw Xavier duck under a swing in order to retaliate with a cut across the stomach. The move initially seemed bad to Ajax as it left Xavier exposed to the knife in Leafblade¡¯s other hand but he simply twisted out of the way, though this did leave his back exposed to the elf. When Xavier had managed to perfectly deflect Leafblade¡¯s follow up strike while swinging his sword behind him Ajax had a theory of what was happening. As he turned to look at the prince Ajax¡¯s words died in his throat as he saw the previous smirk be replaced by a look of surprise and the prince leaned forward as if trying to get close to the fight so he could see it better. Ajax decided to wait a moment as he tried to fully digest his realization as he watched Xavier finish the fight in the next few moments putting the edge of his blade to Leafblade¡¯s throat as the latter was forced to surrender. Once the match was called and the group was left waiting for Xavier to join them in the stands Ajax approached the prince, a look more pointed look was all it took for the prince to activate a privacy bubble before Ajax¡¯s started laying out his thought process. ¡°He¡¯s predicting him!¡± The prince said nothing as Ajax pushed forward. ¡°That¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t work with too big of a difference in stats, if the speed and strength is too far apart being able to predict the next move won¡¯t help since you can¡¯t keep up, too big a difference in mental stats and the opponent will be relying on magic more and they will be able to think and process everything quickly enough that they can change their next move after you started reacting to the prediction. But how can he be so good at it?!¡± The last question came out as more of an accusation as Ajax was slightly angry at how Xavier hadn¡¯t even tried to use the style against him even once. ¡°Xavier was worse than most who had learnt this fighting style.¡± the prince answered. ¡°Worse!!¡± Ajax was shocked to hear that what he had seen was the inferior version. ¡°I said ¡®was worse¡¯.¡± the prince corrected. ¡°While I won¡¯t explain how everything works I can tell you that pulling it off relies on a number of different skills that all come together to create a battle style skill. Up until now Xavier had gained a version of all the types of skill needed for the style but he hadn¡¯t gained the style skill. I think that changed during this very duel.¡± That answer was enough to snuff out the small amount of anger Ajax had felt as it all started making more sense to him. Thinking back to how the predictive fighting style was when Xavier first started pushing back he could see how it wouldn¡¯t have helped the prince even a little versus Ajax, hell it wouldn¡¯t have been useful against Anna or Lexi either as they relied more on big spells. WIth that out of the way however Ajax chose to focus on the two other things the prince had said. First was that the style was based on multiple types of skills but different versions of those types could be used, meaning there wasn¡¯t one set skill that was needed. The other thing he mentioned was that Xavier had just formed his style. Seeing how big the difference was from one moment to the next as Ajax himself had taken note of when Ajax¡¯s approach gained a boost he couldn¡¯t help but wonder just what rarity was the style that Xavier had gotten. Chapter 393 Everyone present to watch the duel started to make their way towards the infirmary where Xavier and his opponent were being treated. On the way there one of the other young elves kept throwing looks towards Benedict, clearly looking to return the favor by challenging him. Ajax put a stop to that immediately as he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time and they were going to leave the capital. As soon as the elf took even one step towards their group and mirrored him. The challenge died on the elf¡¯s tongue as he came face to face with Ajax, his victory over Arianwyn already made the rounds and since the first incident after he exited the primary dungeon everything had been clearly discussed by all the local nobility. ¡°You mana starved, half orcen cur.¡± They were close to the infirmary when the obscenities started flying. ¡°That was not part of the wager!¡± ¡°Oh please, like you wouldn¡¯t have asked for the next griffin cub had you won.¡± Xavier''s voice wasn¡¯t as loud but had a hint of schadenfreude. ¡°The stakes were clear and concise.¡± ¡°What did you bet?¡± the prince¡¯s voice boomed as he entered the infirmary, finally finding out about the slight mishap it a very unexpected way Xavier¡¯s smug smile died on his face as he slinked back into the bed to make himself look smaller as he turned to face his uncle. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, it hasn¡¯t come to pass.¡± Xavier quickly moved to leave the past behind. ¡°I did win us a fortress tree.¡± All of the elves from Leafblade¡¯s entourage gasped as they heard that before turning an almost fearful expression on the elf that was still being healed. ¡°The wager and the duel have been witnessed by agents of the queen herself.¡± the prince turned towards Leafblade¡¯s guards. ¡°I assume the duke has a specimen on hand?¡± ¡°He does.¡± Lioriel provided. ¡°Perfect, contact the estate and have it delivered to us as we are about to leave the capital.¡± The prince didn¡¯t even wait for Xavier to get healed as he dragged his nephew out of the bed slapped him on the back roughly to channel of his healing runes through him and started marching him outside. We will see what your punishment will be later.¡± After that he wraps one arm around Xaviers shoulder as he gives him an affectionate side hug. ¡°As well as the reward for your spoils.¡± Their quick ride through the city wasn¡¯t as peaceful as everyone had hoped. As they were stopped at the checkpoint between the merchant and noble quarter all of them were required to exit their carriage. That¡¯s when the attack happened. The prince moved to protect Xavier, thinking that this was Duke Leafblade reacting after hearing what had happened but that wasn¡¯t the case. There wasn¡¯t just one attacker either, there were in fact three elves donning fully black outfits, two of them leather and one of them cloth, their target was Ajax. [Danger Sense]¡¯s warning wasn¡¯t enough for Ajax to be able to react to the first spell that broke all of the shields his enchanted equipment provided him but it was enough to give him time to use [Mana Syphon] on the other two assassins. Both the leather wearers were using physical enchantment spells but unlike Leafblade¡¯s theirs were much stronger but also channeled. The pressure exerted by [Mana Syphon] was enough to cause one of their spells to break as the user simply wasn¡¯t good enough to maintain it. Ajax¡¯s first reaction to seeing that was to react to the elf still charging at him but he dismissed that line of thought once he realized [Danger Sense] no longer gave him a reaction to the more skilled assassin. A moment later he could feel the mana coming off of Aranor coalescing in the direction of the assassin so he focused the two remaining threats. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! He quickly discarded the mage, even with a perfect ambush his spell had barely managed to break through the admitted numerous shields he had around himself. While that level of power was a danger to him on his own, he knew the mage wasn¡¯t strong enough to launch any attack with any real strength before the prince took care of him. That left him with the final assassin whose boosting spell he had broken. Ajax was sure he could dodge the attack but that wasn¡¯t good enough for him, instead he took advantage of the small moment of disorientation the assassin suffered to use every one of mana he had recovered since exiting the dungeon. In total Ajax spent just a little over one thousand five hundred mana, even with all of the training he had undergone to build his mana veins resistance this was still over what he could handle, Ajax knew there would be a price to pay for choosing this path. Those fifteen hundred points of mana however weren¡¯t used in a single spell but in multiple. The first had made the earth around Ajax mushy like wet mud, this wouldn¡¯t give the elf anything to find good purchase. The second sent out a lighting bolt towards the assassin. The third infused his own armor with Metal mana to ensure it provided better defense now that his shield enchantments were gone. The fourth and final spell however Ajax was channeling through his dagger, it was a Vibration spell that he hoped would be enough to bypass the assassin¡¯s defenses. Time seemed to slow down for Ajax as both him and the assassin struck. It was a good thing he had infused his armor with metal mana as while the assassin¡¯s sword still cleaved through it the armor forces the attack from slicing over his heart to a four inch deep gash into his shoulder. The armor and the elf¡¯s failing footwork was all that saved Ajax¡¯s life. Ajax¡¯s attack on the other hand wasn¡¯t as successful, his dagger shattered as it tore through the assassin¡¯s leather and shielding enchantments. Despite that thanks to the amount of Vibration mana infused into the stab some of the pieces still managed to break through the skin and imbed themselves into the assassin¡¯s flesh, it wasn¡¯t too deep but it was right over his heart. ¡°Marked!¡± The word resounded in the wake of the assassin as he dashed straight past to run away, not even giving a thought to his allies or even the condition of his target, all that mattered now was escape. Ajax felt the mark on himself return stronger than before, he would have to excise curse mana that provided the assassins his location but there was nothing he could do to the vulnerability effect. Right now however he couldn¡¯t care about that, his first reaction would have been to heal himself but he had just spent the last of his mana. Ajax would have bet anything that there was a powerful poison on the Assassin¡¯s blade so he wasted no time grabbing a small container from his spacial storage and carefulling covering his wound with a layer of magma. The pain from the burning sludge was enough to cause Ajax to falter, thankfully Lexi was quick enough to react as she quickly scraped the small layer of magma away from his now charred wound and started chanting a healing spell, all the while she was also feeding Ajax a mana potion so that he would regain access to his Life mana quicker. Both of the other assassin¡¯s had already died. The more skilled leather wearer was encased in a two inch thick layer of ice, as for the mage she sported two of Lioriel¡¯s arrows embedded in her chest as well as having been cleaved in two from her midsection by the prince. ¡°After him!¡± Lioriel commanded. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t engage!¡± Ajax heaved out as he was using every ounce of mana that he was regenerating to heal his wound with Life mana. Lioriel and everyone else turned to Ajax with shocked looks, all of them silently demanding an explanation. ¡°Chase him but¡­¡± Ajax took another deep breath as he had to focus his mind through the pain that was radiating off his shoulder. ¡°But don¡¯t engage, don¡¯t let him slow down or recuperate but give it ten¡­ no, fifteen minutes before you attack him.¡± ¡°You poisoned him!¡± both Aranor and the prince exclaimed at the same time, remembering what had happened to the first assassin. ¡°Arrest the perpetrator.¡± Lioriel shouted after her people that had dashed off not even slowing down when Ajax tried to stop them from engaging. Her command would have the soldiers attempt to get the assassin to surrender first before attacking him, that time was all the leeway she would allow for Ajax¡¯s plan before he people would engage. ¡°How are you?¡± the prince said as he kneel next to Ajax who was sitting on the ground while activating a number of runes on his armor, a considerable amount of mana passing through the runes as more healing spell started to take effect. ¡°I got him right over his heart.¡± Ajax said with a mix of pride and anger. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the assassin.¡± the prince erupted. ¡°You did all you could now forget about him and focus on healing yourself.¡± Ajax took the prince¡¯s advice to heart and used [Meditation] to increase his focus while overcoming the pain, two minutes after the pursuit had started however a small smile crept over Ajax¡¯s face as a notification demanded his attention at the corner of his vision. He chose to ignore it for now as he focused on healing himself but a few more minutes later his suspicion was confirmed. ¡°He just dropped and started shaking on the ground.¡± one of the elves said as he held the assassin¡¯s corpse. ¡° A minute later he was dead.¡± ¡°Take the body to the royal alchemist, he¡¯ll want to examine it.¡± Lioriel commanded, the prince turned to object but she cut him off before he could speak. ¡°Baron Hearthbound¡¯s request not to engage was respected, we would however claim the body as the price. He did just get as much of an unassisted kill as is possible on a level one hundred and fifty seven.¡± The prince accepted the compromise as fair by closing his mouth and giving a nod. Chapter 394 Ajax¡¯s [Pain Resistance] was getting the best workout it had ever gotten as his arm sent a spike of pain every time he moved the massive cast that encased the entire right side of his torso. ¡®Two damn levels off¡¯. Even though the attack had happened four whole days ago Ajax couldn¡¯t help but still curse the assassin, not for the attempt on his life so much as for being only two levels off from increasing Ajax¡¯s achievement of killing something triple his level without assistance. ¡°Just let it go already.¡± Lexi broke Ajax out of his musing as she carefully wrapped him in a hug without jostling his injured side. ¡°What?¡± Ajax was surprised by her words. ¡°You were daming that assassin again for not being two levels higher weren¡¯t you?¡± Lexi could calmly state that since they were alone in a worded carriage. ¡°Don¡¯t deny it, I can see it from the look on your face. Just be grateful about the skills you did gain and focus on getting better before we make it to the next dungeon. I want to get out of this country as quickly as possible.¡± Ajax wanted to put up at least a token of resistance but couldn¡¯t help but agree with her. Her latter point about getting out of this country was a solid one as with a second application of the Mark on him the assassin would feel the side effects stronger quicker and would be more motivated to kill him. More than that however Ajax was also severely inconvenienced by the wound that still lingered. The poison the assassin had used was of a very high grade as well as magical in nature. Not only would it have killed him in seconds had he not doused the area in magma but even the small amount of time it had to work on his wound before he could burn it out was enough to make the area very resistant to healing magic. It wasn¡¯t to the point where it could repel his Life mana but it was still taking him time and care as he carefully worked his Life mana to remove all traces of the poison as well as any of the scarring on the wound. Once all of that was done the rest could be healed in one go with the usual healing magic. Going back to her first point Ajax could accept that despite not improving his achievement he was happy enough with the results of his victory. The system had seen fit to give him five skills as reward for his accomplishment. [Focused Mind] was an Uncommon skill he had gained most likely from the concentration he pulled off in quickly reacting to his own wound and for not only maintaining consciousness but accurately and effectively working towards his own treatment despite the pain, exhaustion and blood loss he was faced with. The Rare skill [Assassinate] was just as easy to see the reason for. He had essentially killed his target with a single well placed strike, one that sacrificed his weapon for, to simply inject the poison into the assassin. Both of these skills were well documented by the kingdom of Gryndor, while the first was mostly prevalent among crafters instead of soldier combat healers were also known for getting it. [Assassinate] was a skill everyone was aware of and while gaining it was objectively a good thing it would best be kept under wraps that the head of a future ducal family had it so as to not influence the nobility''s perception of them as the royal family¡¯s personal hit men. The third skill wasn¡¯t as well documented or seen as that particularly impressive. The Epic skill [Limit Suppression] was one that allowed people to push past their own limits. They speculated that Ajax received this because of how far he had pushed with the number of concurrent spells he used, the amount of mana he pushed out in the initial exchange and for the way he maintained his consciousness and continued to spend his renewed mana following the exchange. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Limit Suppression] was also the skill Ajax was most excited about. It hadn¡¯t started out that way but one piece of information he had received from the prince about the skill had raised its value in Ajax¡¯s eyes. At a threshold the skill could be upgraded to allow the user to suppress their usual limitation for a different cost instead of the normal period of weakness. Ajax''s whole plan for the skill was to lead it so that he could burn through his stamina so he could bypass the amount of mana he could push through at any one time. This build wouldn¡¯t have him leaning so much into the physical boosting narrative he had initially envisioned by acquiring a boosting skill that ran off of stamina similar to the way he could power [Mana Syphon] with his own mana. This change would make it a lot easier for him to overwhelm people with multiple different affinities as it would allow him to take full advantage of the fact he could simultaneously cast multiple spells so long as he could bring forth enough mana for all of them. [Vibration Strike] was the most common sounding of all the skills he gained. The Epic skill was simply a different version of [Precise Cut] and [Precise Blow] that was based off his newest Legendary mana type. That wasn¡¯t a negative in his eyes however as he could see multiple ways to push the skill further by applying the VIbration mana in multiple ways, not only that but by using the skill he hoped he could apply Vibration mana to his attacks without having to sacrifice the durability of his weapons. [Creative Application] was the fifth and final skill Ajax had received in the wake of the encounter and it was one that perplexed him the most. The Epic skill seemed more like a crafter skill but he couldn¡¯t realize what had led to him getting it. Was it the use of magma to sear the wound and burn out the poison? ¡°Stop questioning why you got the skill.¡± Lexi once more read him like a book and broke his trance once his mana got low enough that he stopped using his Life mana. ¡°Let''s go join the others.¡± Lexi was very careful to help Ajax along, so as to not trigger his injury, as they moved from the private carriage back into Sylvanthal¡¯s royal carriage to join the others. ¡°The valiant hero finally graces us with his presence.¡± The prince was quick to make a joke as soon as Ajax entered the carriage. Once they had gotten past the checkpoint Ajax had been moved to the carriage where only Lexi and the prince had seen him for the past four days. ¡°You just had to upstage me.¡± Xavier joined in as he shook his head in mock disappointment as he slapped Ajax on the back, despite being careful enough to do so on the opposite side of his injury he had still put too much strength behind the friendly slap and Ajax flinched as his wound pulsed. ¡°Sorry.¡± Xavier said with remorse as he saw his friend flinch. He was also quick to put some distance between him and Lexi as he didn¡¯t need his new fighting style skill to tell him how she would respond to his negligence. ¡°How did you do it?¡± Lioriel¡¯s voice was ice cold as she entered behind Ajax and Lexi. ¡°Do what?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Are you sure you want me to say that aloud?¡± Lioriel asked but her gaze didn¡¯t leave Ajax''s surprised face as he took his seat to look at the elf. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are implying.¡± Ajax took a moment to gather himself before he presented a united front with the prince. ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡± Lioriel shrugged, her posture turning a little aggressive as she interpreted their confusion for a cover story. ¡°It took the royal alchemists and medics three days to figure out what happened but you used an antidote to kill the assassin. So again I ask, how did you come up with that?¡± More than a few people gasped at the implication while Ajax¡¯s mind was already running at a hundred miles an hour after he seemingly received the missing piece of the puzzle. This was why his ¡®poison¡¯ had felt different to his skills compared to the weaker first iteration, this was also why he had gained the skill [Creative Application] that he hadn¡¯t disclosed to anyone else. Most importantly however this was also why almost every person in the carriage was looking at him with a slightly worried expression. Coming from Earth Ajax was already aware that a lot of medicines could end up being poison if taken in too large a dose or when taken in absence of the sickness or poison they were supposed to counteract. This was not the case in this new life. Creating an antidote that could function as a poison was groundbreaking not because of the new application but because the system recognised the concoction as an antidote certain skills wouldn¡¯t work on it. Skills like [Detect Poison] or [Poison Resistance]. The way most antidotes work in this world was that they targeted the ¡®bad¡¯ agent affecting the body and removed it. Ajax¡¯s clotting ¡®poison¡¯ worked by forcing the blood to clot despite any other interference, this making it act like an antidote for a powerful hemorrhagic poison that would dissolve in the blood of the victim. ¡°You made a deadly antidote?¡± Aranor found himself shocked at the possibility, despite all his powerful and highly leveled social skill his jaw was hanging low in acknowledgement of the achievement. As Ajax processed all of this he turned to look at the prince, silently asking what their response to this would be. Ajax knew for sure that this wasn¡¯t something that he could cover under the guise of House secret, more than that it wasn¡¯t even something he would be able to keep hidden from the other two kingdoms, the only question was what could they get in return for the sensitive information. Chapter 395 Ajax was glad that Lioriel had at least waited until he had recovered and rejoined the others before she started asking questions but he was in no mood to be answering them. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I did it.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°This result was a happy accident.¡± From the way Lioriels face went from a frown to surprise Ajax guessed she had a decently good truth telling skill that confirmed what he just told her. ¡°Really?¡± The question was rhetorical as it just slipped out before Lioriel moved on. ¡°What poison were you trying to make that counts as an antidote? Whatever you are working with is new to us.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that, long term poisons that have no immediate symptoms are rare but not unheard of, a poison that actively helps the victim in the short term while also being deadly is a much larger leap that hadn¡¯t yet been made. Ajax was looking forward to how the system would count his discovery of this whole debacle? From the lack of achievement he wasn¡¯t the first ever to discover the interaction but he was hoping for more than a single discovery to come from this. ¡°A novel poison.¡± the prince responded, his continued silence being an answer in and of itself. ¡°Are you willing to sell the initial poison to them?¡± Anna¡¯s question drew everyone¡¯s eyes towards her however she didn¡¯t waver her gaze from Ajax. ¡°That could cause some issues regarding safety.¡± the prince went to say but Anna cut him off with a shake of her head. ¡°He¡¯s not selling the recipe, and he¡¯s not selling the improved version that is treated as an antidote. By selling the initial poison he can get in front of any questionable political intentions, after all even if your poison is seen as an antidote by the system they will have a version that works like a poison so it won¡¯t be this nebulous unsee killer.¡± ¡°What would you ask for in exchange?¡± Lioriel was quick to adapt and latched on to Anna¡¯s idea so she could at least get something. ¡°Alchemy ingre-.¡± Ajax was ready to jump straight into it but was cut off by Anna¡¯s hand on his non injured shoulder. ¡°Samples of some more exotic alchemy reagents native to deepwood.¡± Anna said in Ajax¡¯s stead, her merchant skills pushing as hard as they could. ¡°Live samples that can be transplanted.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be impressed with Anna¡¯s foresight. If he had a few samples to transplant into his own fields he might be able to grow his own depending on what conditions they required. ¡°The ones with the least specific environmental factors required for their development and growth would be best.¡± Anna pushed on. Lioriel stood silent for a moment as she activated her privacy barrier. It took her no more than ten seconds to drop the barrier. ¡°Three species, one sample of each.¡± Lioriel¡¯s offer closed off the first part of the negotiation and opened the second. ¡°Seven species, three of each.¡± Anna countered. ¡°Four species, two samples of each.¡± Lioriel shot back. Anna opened her mouth for her next counter but no words came out. Ajax looked at her in surprise while she seemed to contemplate what was happening with a look of deep concentration. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It was only then that Ajax realized that Lioriel was most likely one of their most gifted merchants, at least among the queen¡¯s combatants. The reason she got the job of being the leader for their protection detail wasn¡¯t because her strength was perfect for it, it was because her strength was high enough to qualify her and she had the merchant skill to negotiate. ¡°Five species, two samples of each to transplant and one of the end result.¡± Anna¡¯s counter took Lioriel by surprise as she had expected her skill to assure her victory in the negotiation. ¡°Fine.¡± Lioriel said as she let out a sigh after thinking over the terms of the agreement. ¡°But you are paying up front.¡± With a nod from Anna Ajax took out a vial full of his initial clotting poison and offered it to Lioriel. ¡°Why give it up so easily?¡± the prince asked after Lioriel exited. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t take them all that long to figure out how the poison works if they keep examining the body of the assassin.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Even more so if they get their hands on the body of the other assassin I killed and see the similarities.¡± Both bodies had died because of blood clots, they might have been initially dismissed since it would be common from blood to clot in an injured person that then succumbed to poison but it wouldn¡¯t be long until they realized the clots could also be the means of killing, more so since hemorrhagic poison was one of the most well known. ¡°So, how about that royal technique of yours?¡± Ajax asked Xavier eager to no longer be the focus of the conversation. Xavier¡¯s smile widened at the question. ¡°Once your wound heals up I look forward to showing you.¡± ¡°But I thought¡­¡± Ajax stopped himself there realizing he was about to mention how it didn¡¯t work on too big a stat difference. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± was all that Xavier said with a smirk reminiscent of his uncle¡¯s. The next week of the journey Ajax spent finalizing his healing. That wasn¡¯t to say that the journey was uneventful, two times the assassin had tried to ambush them. Unlike their previous attempts however both of these attempts were a shameful display. Both of the ambushes were simple attempts of opportunity based on proximity and terrain, there was no other distraction, there was no clear shot to Ajax. Their target hadn¡¯t even been aware of one of the attacks until after everything was already handled by Lioriel and the rest of their escort. One thing both ambushes did have in common however was that the attackers were all sporting rashes all over their bodies. It was clear that their side of the bargain with the Mark was coming due and it clearly wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Ajax asked Xavier as he entered a combat stance. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Xavier answered as he also took a combat stance. The prince was there to monitor the spar while also providing a privacy bubble large enough to keep their spar from prying eyes. ¡°Begin already, the item eats a lot of mana to extend the bubble so much.¡± Xavier needed no further encouragement as he charged towards Ajax. Ajax on the other hand was taking it easy, he wasn¡¯t using the boost from [Mana Syphon] and even then he was also holding back on his speed and strength as he wanted to work on his skill and not dominate the fight through his stats. The fight started off pretty even. With Ajax constantly swapping between his sword, axe, hammer, shield and dagger constantly he was able to cycle through a large variety of attacks despite not having used more than one spell at a time to counter Xavier¡¯s chanting. As the fight continued however Ajax could feel Xavier pushing him harder and harder. Despite his skill with the weapons he was wielding it almost looked like his form was crumbling more and more with every exchange. Ajax was already expecting this however. The prince had even partially confirmed his guess about how the fighting style worked so he knew what to look for. By holding himself back in terms of speed and strength Ajax had plenty of time to analyze both his and Xavier¡¯s movements to see that Xavier was more and more reacting to Ajax¡¯s move before he even made it. Sure if Ajax wanted he could focus on reacting to Xavier¡¯s moves instead and the sheer difference in dexterity and intelligence would allow him to gain the upper hand. The big surprise came when Ajax felt [Danger Sense] faintly hum almost four minutes into the spar as sweat ran down Xavier¡¯s forehead as he pushed himself. Ajax had intended to start using a second spell and swapping over to his spear for the first time to take Xavier by surprise. It was instead he who was surprised as he found himself with his sword in his hand while only canceling out Xavier¡¯s own spell. Ajax stopped holding back his stats and even pushed a little with [Mana Syphon] to react, his high Intelligence giving him plenty of time to make the decision. What happened next surprised Ajax even more as his body seemed to move almost on autopilot as he pushed himself closer to his body''s limits. The axe in his other hand had swapped over to a hammer, Ajax had made the choice to use an air augment instead of the metal one to specifically soften the impact before he sent Xavier sprawling. ¡°What was that?¡±Ajax in surprise. ¡°It felt almost like my body wasn¡¯t listening to me.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Xavier groaned as he picked himself off the ground. ¡°Almost done in by my own skill.¡± Ajax hadn¡¯t meant to hit Xavier so hard, only now did he realize that his body had actually been moving exactly as he had throughout their entire spar despite him wanting to switch it up on Xavier. ¡°Are you not just predicting my movements but enforcing a pattern?¡± Ajax asked as he firmly situated Xavier skill as a Legendary one. ¡°Not a pattern, a rhythm.¡± Xavier said as he stored his own armor and weapons. ¡°It will probably get easier to spot the more you are exposed to it but if you analyze the fight with that in mind I think you will see just how repetitive your attacks get on a seven attack loop. Sure the weapon is different but every seventh attack you¡¯ll see it has the same purpose. It even held out once you stopped holding back, I just couldn¡¯t react to it.¡± Chapter 396 Ajax was very impressed with Xavier¡¯s new style. From what little he had shared about his breakthrough it seems that besides the usual five skill types that were used as the basis for this style, he had also added the Uncommon skill [Battle Rhythm]. Before getting his battle style skill Xavier had used [Battle Rhythm] to help predict an opponent''s next move but now he could not just react, but by carefully orchestrating the fight to happen on his terms he could rely on his opponents own ingrained movements from training to get them to stick to the rhythm he was dictating even when they initially wanted to diverge. What was even scarier was that he had done the same thing to Ajax and he hadn¡¯t even realized for how long he had been going with it. That one spar was the only one Ajax took part in before they arrived at the next dungeon. He had spent the rest of his time working on his Vibration mana with Lexi, though he could tell something was up with her ever since he showed her he had gained the same affinity. It wasn¡¯t that she wasn¡¯t happy for him but something was eating away at her. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ajax asked as they retired for the evening the night before they arrived at the dungeon. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Lexi said. Despite Ajax not being the most perspective person when it came to social situation he could tell it most certainly wasn¡¯t nothing. ¡°It¡¯s not nothing. You can tell me.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± Lexi let out a deep sigh as she turned to look Ajax in the eye, as she took in a deep breath Ajax could tell she was building up the courage to admit what was wrong. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you are going to just leave me behind.¡± Lexi admitted. Ajax¡¯s instinctual reaction was to deny that he would ever do that but he caught himself. He took a moment to digest what Lexi had just said. Throughout their entire relationship Ajax had always been a few steps stronger than Lexi, that hadn¡¯t been a problem for them then so what was it that caused it to be a problem now. There were two things that Ajax¡¯s mind went to. The first was that not only was Ajax stronger still but that the gap between them was actively increasing as time passed. Had the gap between them stayed the same Lexi wouldn¡¯t have started to have these feelings of inadequacy. The second thing was that Ajax had gained the same Legendary affinity Lexi had. Before they had gone on the expedition outside of Gryndor Ajax had access to all the affinities Lexi had and even a few more on top of that. For a moment there both of them had also gained a Legendary affinity each but now not only had Ajax gained two affinities one of them was the same one Lexi had. This on top of all the extra stats Ajax was gaining with each dungeon not to mention his most recent Achievement, as he thought about all this Ajax felt a pit form in his own stomach about how he might actually pull too far ahead of Lexi to the point she couldn¡¯t join him on any of his future adventures. ¡°You see it too¡­¡± Lexi whispered as she noticed Ajax¡¯s eyes widened, a small part of her had hoped that he would just deny it, while this response was better for them in the long run in the short term it increased the pressure she was feeling. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to help...¡± Ajax finally said as he hugged Lexi closer. ¡°But don¡¯t give up hope, after this trip your stats will have increased enough that your grandfather may be able to teach you further.¡± Ajax¡¯s words actually brought Lexi¡¯s spirits up. Before they left Gryndor Lexi had hit a wall in terms of what her grandfather could teach her because she simply couldn¡¯t push her skills any further because of her limited stats. This was one of the big issues many people who were extremely talented faced in that their skill would grow too quickly, once they capped out due to stats they had a much harder time gaining the experience to level to push the cap further out. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Ajax was actually one of the best examples for this. Despite the fact that his skills were actually a little under the level expected of someone as talented as he was, at least for his level, he had only gotten to that high of a level because he had about three times as many skills. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll get to delve more in the future as well.¡± Ajax promised as much to Lexi as he did to himself. ¡°It will be a decade, maybe two, before you reach the point where you¡¯ll lose out on the stats any of these dungeons can provide for you and I¡¯ll make sure there is another delve ready for you to push further.¡± Ajax¡¯s promise helped not only with his own determination but it also helped ease Lexi¡¯s own fears a little as they both cuddled together before going to sleep. Tomorrow they would be delving and they needed to be as rested as possible. The fourth dungeon in Deepwood had a thirteen level jump between floors and started with a floor that housed monsters between levels thirty two and thirty seven. Ajax was slightly disappointed by how the math worked out as he would only be able to get the clear stats for only four floors. More than that everyone was slightly more relaxed as they got ready to enter this dungeon because of how the breakpoints worked out. While none of them were going to be leaving their guards down, the floors worked out in such a way that all of them would be fighting a few levels below the highest floor they had already cleared in other dungeons. This was especially true of Lexi who had managed to just barely defeat a level seventy and would now only be fighting a level sixty three. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not thinking-¡± Ajax said as they stood before the entrance of the dungeon. ¡°No, I¡¯m not thinking of trying to kill the level seventy six.¡± Lexi cut him off before he finished, she had entertained the idea for longer than she¡¯d like to admit and while she knew the danger she would be exposed to would be limited with the prince there to interfere the gap was just too big. ¡°I would need to be pushing the limits of my abilities to even try something like that.¡± While running through all of the dungeons like this one after the other was a big boost for each of them because of the stats they gained it did also mean that as they went further and further along their journey they were also losing out on just what percentage of their full power they could bring to bear. Before she had left Gryndor Lexi was confident that she had mastered what she was capable of and could bring out close to one hundred percent of what her stats, skills and spells could do. While she was stronger now than when she began the added stats, skills were not yet fully mastered. More than that because they were doing so many dungeons the increase in power was one of the largest ones she had ever experienced in such a short span of time. Lexi had only seen such a dramatic change in her stats two times before, the first was when she reached the age of ten and had finally gotten to spend all of the stats she had been gathering, the second was when she had first consumed all of the potion she could get a use out of across four months under her grandfather¡¯s guidance. Both times it had taken her years with her family''s support to once again be able to leverage all of the power she was capable of. ¡°Ajax, a word.¡± The prince approached Ajax once they entered the dungeon. ¡°Yes?¡± Ajax was confused why the prince would want a private word like this. Lexi¡¯s recent confession had him worried that it would also be something bad. ¡°I am not sure what happened as you cleared the last dungeon, nor am I sure just what the new skills you gained from killing the assassin mean in terms of your full abilities.¡± the prince was deadly serious as he spoke, not an ounce of his usual joking attitude could be seen. ¡°But you are not attempting the seventh floor.¡± Ajax was surprised by what the prince said. In a moment of stunned silence Ajax redid the math to make sure he wasn¡¯t mistaken but no, the prince was saying that Ajax shouldn¡¯t try killing a level one hundred and forty one miniboss. Something he had no intention of trying anyway. ¡°I had no intention of trying that.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I do so if I could?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t clear the eighth floor.¡± the prince responded. ¡° The risk is just too great.¡± The eighth floor would have level one hundred and sixty seven minibosses on it, while they would be strong Ajax had no doubt that the prince would be able to clear all of them in time without much issue, at worst they might have to spend some extra time on the seventh floor to make sure the main mana type of the floor was favorable for the prince. The big problem was the floor boss, since a floor boss of that level could very much kill even the prince if a bad matchup came up. ¡°I see.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°No need to worry, I¡¯m not there just yet.¡± In an odd twist it was Ajax making the joke with cocky grin and the prince that was looking at him with a serious air. Chapter 397 The team started clearing the dungeon at a breakneck pace. Only two hours into the delve and already most of the group had already finished their kills for the third floor. The only holdout was Benedict, unfortunately for him the monsters on this floor were very defensively focused so he was at a disadvantage being a physical fighter. ¡°Found a frog type!¡± Elara returned to the group with a wide smile. Most of the monsters they had been facing had been earth or rock based turtles with very hard shells for their levels, while a frog type would be much faster and more offensively dedicated; it was something Benedict would have no issue handling. The fight between the two didn¡¯t take all that long. Benedict focused on taking out the frog''s knees first and once its mobility was crippled it was easy to catch up and finish it. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± the prince asked the group as they headed for the next floor. ¡°It all just seemed¡­¡± Lexi started unsure how to express what she felt without sounding delusional. ¡°Too easy.¡± It was Xavier who finished the sentence. ¡°It feels too easy, at the same time it also feels like a bit of a waste.¡± ¡°If we spent even a few months easing into our gains we probably could have pushed one floor further.¡± Anna also threw in her own contribution. ¡°You¡¯re looking at it all wrong.¡± Elara said as she shattered the melancholy atmosphere that was starting to form. ¡°This might feel like you are wasting a priceless opportunity but that isn¡¯t exactly the case.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± even Arianwyn was confused by her friend. ¡°For a long time now access to another countries'' dungeons has always been very limited.¡± Elara explained. ¡°All of this has been for a very good reason but I have a feeling all of that is going to change soon. And it¡¯s all because of you.¡± Everyone turned to Ajax who she was looking at. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to not only give yourself a big head start in terms of stats at an early level but fate or good planning also granted you access to almost five countries worth of dungeons. You¡¯re missing a few floors here and there but not much else.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Benedict caught on to what she was saying. ¡°Just to have people who in the future could at least join together to at least confront Ajax countries would work together in an exchange more often, with us getting all of the lower floors now even though we would be higher level later on when the exchanges start we will be simply picking up where we left off.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t help but feel a swell of pride fill his chest with just a hint of guilt. On the one hand he was pushing the humanoid nations to work together and increase the powers of humanoids overall just through his own dedication to getting better. A small part of him however felt guilty that this progress mostly came by due to fear, he pushed the guilt aside knowing that it was a byproduct of Earth¡¯s view of dictators who rules with an iron fist that caused it. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°If anything I would advise all of you to ensure you don¡¯t try and leverage your stats into leveling as quickly as possible.¡± Elara continued. ¡°As with almost all things, politics will still take a long time to work out.¡± Anna and Xavier were the most excited by this potential future. With their families influence the two of them were all but guaranteed to have a spot on the first such deals that went through. Lexi was also excited at the prospect of eventually catching up to the stats Ajax gained from dungeon floors even if it would take her a while to do so. While Ajax¡¯s classmates were all uplifted by the news the same couldn¡¯t be said of everyone else. Elara, Arianwyn, Darkclaw, Harold and even the prince couldn¡¯t help but feel a touch of envy that they were simply born at the wrong time to take advantage of such an opportunity. More than that for Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw the new state of affairs would meant that they might just have to stagnate their own leveling for a short while just so they will get at least a taste of the same opportunity, otherwise in a century or two they will simply be left behind by the new generation. Once they entered the fourth floor all of Ajax¡¯s classmates exited the dungeon and the prince felt no trepidation sending Ajax by himself to quickly clear the floor while he stood behind to talk. ¡°I can talk to my brother and father about getting a head start with the exchange delving.¡± the prince offered the three of them while Harold watched with practiced disinterest. ¡°The three of you won¡¯t have to delay yourselves for too long but it will be expensive.¡± Both Elara and Arianwyn couldn¡¯t help but grimace at that, their kingdom was in a very poor financial situation at the moment, that was the entire reason why Ajax had even gotten his own chance at delving their dungeons. There was no way they would be able to pay a premium just to speed up the process. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, it won¡¯t be materially expensive.¡± The prince was quick to catch on to what they were thinking. ¡°To everyone else it will play out as more of a courtesy and goodwill for having helped Ajax, probably a part of the original deal that allowed him to delve. The price for it however will be more along the lines of a binding defensive pact.¡± One thing nobody but the prince knew about was that both king Gryndor and the crown prince would all but jump at any chance to set up a binding mutual defense pact. The reason for this was that everyone will very soon see the true extent of Ajax¡¯s power in a very clear way. The last dungeon on Ajax¡¯s delving route is the Empire¡¯s capital dungeon, unlike all the others he won¡¯t have a booster to join him for that one and while he can boost Xavier, Lexi and Anna he would be forced to unleash a dungeon break after he squeezes out as many stats as he can out of it. ¡°That would be up to my father.¡± ¡°That decision lies with the Council.¡± Both Arianwyn and Darkclaw answer at the same time neither looking to undermine their own countries'' leadership. Elara however is sure that once her father hears of the opportunity he will push in favor of accepting the deal, it¡¯ll most likely mean some concessions for their family to ensure that she is one of the few chosen for the opportunity and the concession may even be so far as a political marriage for herself. ¡°I¡¯m not here to pressure you into a decision.¡± the prince lifted his hands defensively. ¡°I myself don¡¯t have the authority to put forward such a deal but I can at least mention it. I should also mention that we should leave this kingdom as soon as possible. It won¡¯t be long until others start putting together what little Elara did.¡± This was the biggest fear the prince had right now. He himself hadn¡¯t put the pieces together as well as Elara did but once he saw the whole picture it put him on edge. While a future of delving exchanges seemed to be to the benefit of all on the surface that wasn¡¯t exactly the truth. There were a few nations that would be left out in the cold. The Empire, Deepwood and Highmountain were all supremacist nations, at best they might form an exchange with their non-supremacist neighbors but that was it. It wouldn¡¯t take longer than a millennium, maybe two before the four more central nations would grow too strong for them to even contend with. Should Deepwood decide that they would prefer a decisive fight over a slow death they may just break the agreement and get rid of Ajax now to put a stop to anything and take their chances with rebuilding after the war. ¡°That¡­¡± Arianwyn¡¯s eyes open wide, a flicker of fear passing through them. For the first time she feels that her own life is also in danger on this expedition as Deepwood would definitely eliminate all of them and not just the non-elves, worse yet they might hold her and Elara hostage to try and strong arm her father in keeping Sylvanthal neutral. ¡°We¡¯ll stay behind on the sixth floor.¡± Elara suggested. ¡°We¡¯ll set a countdown for us to exit so that we come out at the same time as Ajax before you clear the last floor, that way we will downplay his abilities. He barely stumbled out of the dungeon the last time so it would look better if he isn¡¯t pushing a floor above us consistently. ¡°That might buy us some time.¡± Harold nodded. ¡°Even if they catch on to what we are doing, figuring out what is going on might add a day or two before they put everything together.¡± Chapter 398 For the first time in a while Ajax actually had a rather easy time in all the floors of the dungeon. Even the final floor didn¡¯t pose that much of a challenge for him because of the extra stats he gained from his skills. If anything the floor was the perfect wet stone for him to get a decent handle on how his spells worked with all the extra stats. ¡°That was quite the increase in power.¡± the prince said as they waited together in front of the arch. ¡°Can you tell me if it''s replicable?¡± Ajax remained silent for a moment as he debated what to do. ¡°In a way.¡± He finally answered. ¡°But it''s not practical.¡± ¡°The increase looks close to one hundred stats.¡± the prince raised an eyebrow. ¡° That¡¯s a rather big increase that practicality can be left aside.¡± Ajax chose to remain silent and the prince respected that, he had something else on his mind. ¡°Once you exit the dungeon I have a mission for you.¡± the prince decided to switch topics. ¡°What are those?¡± Ajax asked as he saw the prince take out two items that shined to his mana sense showing they contained a fair amount in their storage. ¡°My privacy shield and the communicator for my father.¡± the prince said. ¡°You, Elara and Arianwyn will all exit at the same time, it will be almost a day before I exit and I need to make sure no deal is struck at that time.¡± In actuality it would take the prince two to three days to clear the following floor, it was only thanks to the dungeon¡¯s time anomaly that it would seem like only a single day to the outside world. Past the mana level to house level one hundred time passed two times as fast inside the dungeon and with each level after that it ramped up further and further. This helped combat the issues of floors also growing in size meaning that level one hundred and fifty going for a delve didn¡¯t spend a whole month just clearing the floor. ¡°What kind of deal?¡± hearing who was involved and the time sensitive nature of the agreement he couldn¡¯t put together what could have happened. The prince took a moment to explain the situation and ramifications to Ajax. Ajax very much understood everyone¡¯s point of view, in terms of both politics and simply from the innate urge to progress further as a species and an individual such an agreement would make perfect sense. More than that it would also provide the nobility a way to ensure they maintain a stat advantage once the commoner¡¯s baseline power grows thanks to Ajax¡¯s training method. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked as he took in Ajax¡¯s awkward expression. ¡°Nothing.¡±Ajax waved it off. ¡°I just didn¡¯t think I would become such a catalyst for change.¡± His thoughts however also added ¡®Am I really going to be the evil overlord who is defeated by the power of friendship?¡¯. The most important part of the agreement was that Ajax himself wouldn¡¯t really be able to take advantage of the delving since he had already cleared most of those floors and no country would let outsiders delve floors past level one hundred and fifty. The sheer number of high level monsters unleashed by a dungeon break at that level would be enough to level a capital even if their elites would survive and eventually even kill off the monsters that escape. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°But why is this so time sensitive?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I don¡¯t see your father and brother rushing headlong into a deal without waiting to run it by you.¡± ¡°I doubt they realized just how quickly you would grow on this trip.¡± the prince answered. ¡°They both have a great mind for ruling and even some of the more advanced combat strategy is well understood but they don¡¯t have the same grasp when it comes to one person¡¯s ability to progress.¡± Ajax was taken aback by that but as he thought about it more he realized that the prince was right. The king was close to twice the same age as his son, he was a higher level and Ajax was certain he even possessed more overall stats, despite this the prince registered as the stronger of the two to his [Judge Threat]. This was the difference between someone who leveled as a combatant and someone who only dabbled in combat. ¡°I expect Elara¡¯s little revelation to come as a surprise to them.¡± the prince continued. ¡°That in and of itself will be enough to rattle them as had they realized the risk they may not have been so enthusiastic about the extension to your trip. Accepting the delve exchange and allowing other to delve our dungeons first with no collateral should they break the deal would a great political move to show goodwill.¡± ¡°I think just going for the goodwill might be the better way of going about it.¡± Ajax as he thought about it. ¡°In an ideal, hell even in an okay scenario, I¡¯d fully agree with you.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°But in those cases you would anyway have enough time to grow and progress. Having those defensive agreements in place would be paramount if something unexpected should happen.¡± With that Ajax let the topic drop. With nothing else to do Ajax decided to scrounge up any or the flora present and try his hand at [Alchemy] using such mana dense ingredients. They still had another three hours before it would finally be time for him to exit the dungeon since the plan was made to allow for the case that Ajax didn¡¯t kill the first miniboss he faced and needed to find a second. ¡°Will we take our time a little more once we step back into Sylvanthal?¡± Ajax asked. While he had initially been prepared for an extended trip the addition of Deepwood had turned what was supposed to be normal dungeon circuit into a driveby where they hit the dungeon as they raced passed. Ajax had expected the journey to be a lot more like the lap they did of the Republic where they would spend a few days in the city around each dungeon before moving on. The danger of Deepwood as well as the timer with the Empire delve had meant all of them had spent the last three months on the road with barely a few days stopped and even those were only to delve. ¡°You¡¯ll have about ten days to relax in Sylvanthal¡¯s capital on top of the days you will be delving for, for the other two dungeons we will stop for a day to rest before and after we all exit the dungeon.¡± the prince reassured him. With the time to depart rapidly approaching Ajax and the prince stepped onto the next floor. Ajax didn¡¯t take the time to look over his new surroundings, he barely spared a second to give [Mana Syphon] a chance to take in the ambient mana to see if he could push the skill¡¯s ability to predict dungeon floors before he exited the dungeon with the prince¡¯s privacy and communication items. As Ajax exited the dungeon and took in his surrounding it occurred to him that they hadn¡¯t taken one thing into account, they had accounted for the difference in the speed of time as it related between the dungeon and the outside but not between the two floors of the dungeon. Since Ajax and the prince were one floor higher time would pass slightly faster for them and Ajax who was supposed to be the last to exit by a few seconds found himself all alone outside the dungeon hoping for the other to exit quickly. Unlike the dungeons in the capital there was nobody around this dungeon that could pose a threat to him besides Aranor and their own escorts, even the dungeon guards weren¡¯t strong enough to pose a threat to him so he simply did his best not to show his distress at having messed up the plan. ¡°What happened?!¡± Another deviation from the original plan was Aranor¡¯s reaction. Since the plan had been hatched inside the dungeon he couldn¡¯t have been informed, having Ajax be the first to exit despite Arianwyn and Elara having almost always excited a floor earlier caused some serious distress to the elven champion. While Ajax had actually gotten to the level where he could comfortably track the champion¡¯s movements as he was a full mage it did little to help with the mana that was leaking from the arms that were fastened to Ajax¡¯s shoulders, the elves previous question hanging ominously in the air. Fortunately enough for Ajax the rest of his team exited before he had a moment to give his best attempt at an explanation. Harold, Elara, Arianwyn and Darkclaw were all very surprised to find Ajax waiting for them outside the dungeon with Aranor¡¯s Aura exuding a murderous presence. Their reactions to the situation were different. Harold and Darkclaw looked on confused while Arianwyn quickly moved to sooth Aranor and Elara facepalmed as she quickly figured out what happened and couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed at her past self for failing to noticed the hidden variable. Chapter 399 The situation quickly calmed down once everyone exited the dungeon. Elara muttered a very quiet curse, disappointed at herself for not having thought about a temporal difference with something so precise. Ajax knew their plan had failed but even in failure it would still do its job in confusing people. As Arianwyn took Aranor to one side so she could use a privacy screen where she could explain everything Ajax contemplated doing the same in order to get in touch with king Gryndor. As soon as the privacy bubble went up around Aranor and Arianwyn [Danger Sense] started losing its shit. Ajax had no idea what was going on so he maximized [Mana Syphon]¡¯s defensive potential in a way he very rarely did; he let it drain everything around him at maximum capacity with the exception of his own gear. There was no way the skill could convert as much mana as it was drawing in into a physical boost but it should weaken any form of magical attack before it made contact. More than that Arianwyn lowered her privacy bubble as soon as they sensed that something was going on. While a privacy bubble did mostly isolate the people inside from those outside it did work the other way around to a much lower effectiveness. As soon as the bubble lowered Aranor turned straight away to the confluence of mana he was sensing gathering in the distance and started chanting. Ajax followed Aranor¡¯s gaze but there was nothing he could see, not even the elven champion could see anyone yet he knew their position solely from the mana gathering. Then the mana was gone from Aranor¡¯s senses. He braced for a large effect and released a good amount of mana into the earth at their feet to at least interfere with any attack that looked to take control of it. Ajax¡¯s initial defense of [Mana Syphon] was what saved him in the end. His skill had managed to drain the shadow mana of the arrow fired towards him revealing it a moment before it made contact. With his legs already braced that moment was all Ajax needed to try and jump out of the way of the arrow. His attempt at escape wasn¡¯t a total success, funnily enough he didn¡¯t yet feel the pain and more noticed the wound from his [Sense Mana] as he montiered his defensive equipment. A chunk of flesh about four inches in diameter was missing out of Ajax¡¯s left side and blood was gushing out at a prodigious rate. Ajax wasted no time casting his Life regeneration as well as three different Light based spells in order to get the wound under control. Throughout all this however he was sporting a grin. Multiple elves from their escort quickly rushed towards the predicted position of the shooter though none of them expected to be able to find him. ¡°No!¡± Lioriel''s voice was a mix between denial and rage, she was standing next to where the arrow was embedded five feet deep into the earth despite it being reinforced by the presence of Aranor¡¯s mana. A final quiet whisper passed her lips ¡°We have failed.¡± It took a moment for Lioriel to regain her composure before he gave the signal and the pursuit of the attacker was called off by her second in command. ¡°Why did you stop the pursuit?¡± Xavier demanded in anger. ¡°Because they won¡¯t be able to catch him, and that¡¯s even if they are able to track him.¡± Lioriel answered in a measured tone, she buried her outrage at being commanded by a visitor so much younger and weaker than herself in light of the circumstances. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°You know who attacked?¡± Anna interjected. ¡°I know who¡¯s calling mark that arrow is, it even lets us know which assassin group was targeting your friend.¡± Lioriel said as she pointed towards it. ¡°The leader of Shadeblossom is the one who attacked.¡± The name of the group didn¡¯t mean much to the delving group but Aranor fixed the elf with a look once the name passed her lips. He clearly recognised the name of the ¡®weakest assassin¡¯. ¡°That coward is behind this?¡± Aranor cursed. Seeing the looks of confusion Aranor explained who the assassin was. ¡°He is an assassin with next to no engagement skills. His entire kit is based around hiding, shooting, running and poisoning. He would lose to people even thirty levels lower than himself in a straight fight, his ability to poison someone with an arrow is next to unmatched.¡± A flurry of concerned looks turned towards Ajax who could help but chuckle a little at the situation. ¡°You best say your goodbyes, he doesn¡¯t have long.¡± Lioriel offered in a remorseful tone. As soon as the group gathered around Ajax he activated the prince¡¯s privacy bubble. The drain on his mana was unexpected so he also quickly turned it off only for Arianwyn to bring up her own privacy bubble. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Arianwyn quickly apologized, she felt extremely guilty for thoughtlessly dragging Aranor into a privacy bubble while the prince was still inside the dungeon. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ajax tried to wave her off. ¡°You won¡¯t.¡± Aranor said though his words contained some doubt as he notice Ajax¡¯s situation seemed to be improving instead of deteriorating. ¡°His poison is very potent and his skills should nullify any skill you have to help you. With just your stats and healing you won¡¯t survive the poison.¡± ¡°I might not.¡± Ajax nodded in assent. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t poisoned.¡± Ajax¡¯s words suddenly drew everyone¡¯s undivided attention to the wound they had all been unconsciously avoiding. A pink fresh layer of skin was visible around the edges of the armor that looked to have torn off. Since his initial chest plate was ruined following his previous assassination attempt Ajax had fallen back on using his own armor. His was very much inferior to the one the royal family provided in nearly all respects but it did have one very odd attribute. ¡°That¡¯s the armor Kate, Luna and my grandfather worked on.¡± Lexi sobbed as she rushed to run her hands over the edges of the armor around the wound with tears still in her eye. ¡°It worked.¡± she finally gasped with a laugh as she launched into a hug and gave Ajax a deep kiss. As much as Ajax would like to take credit for the armor he was at best tangentially involved. It had all started from a discussion Ajax had with Kate in terms of whether there was ever a moment where it would be better for him to simply take an attack and heal it instead of trying to block it. The timing of the talk had matched up with Kate¡¯s lessons on dealing with poisons. From there Kate and Luna approached Duke Manashaper with help in their little project. Their idea had been to add an enchantment to plate armor that was centered around the Detect Poison enchantment. They had worked for a long time before they finally managed to come up with a set of enchantments that would have the armor intentionally break and reinforce only at the point in contact with the weapon. In this way the small patch of reinforced armor would wrap itself around the weapon and tear through the flesh, more than likely doing more damage than the blow itself would have but preventing poison from being effective. It had taken Luna, Kate and the few of the people Duke Manashaper had assigned to the project two years before they had finally finished the enchantment. Despite their work being a success, its uses were too niche to compete with the multitude of enchantments already available for the amount of space it took up. This wasn¡¯t to say that it was a failure as multiple sets of armor were created as they were ideal for weaker people to wear when defending from assassins but it wasn¡¯t revolutionary on a large scale. ¡°The only question remaining now is how do we react to this?¡± Ajax asked. The following conversation took thirty minutes, all of which Ajax had spent in silence as he knew he wasn¡¯t the most skilled person in those matters. With the decision finally made Ajax asked for a moment of privacy as he pulled out the prince¡¯s communication device intent on fulfilling his promise to the prince as well as reporting the newest development and getting the king¡¯s take on their situation. Almost everyone agreed to Ajax¡¯s demand but Lexi simply remained silent as she still clung to him and just gave a shake of the head ¡®no¡¯ while tightening her grip on him. Despite the fact that his wound was already fully healed, a simple pink shade all that differentiated the skin where the wound had been from the surrounding area, it had been a close call. As Ajax activated the prince¡¯s privacy bubble once more and the communication device he was surprised to find it took a few moments before the line connected. Even more surprising were the words that came from the other side, it was a voice he recognised in a tone he hadn¡¯t heard before. ¡°Who are you? And my son better be alive!¡± king Gryndor voice came out as a growl. Chapter 400 King Gryndor P.O.V. The last few months had me considering investing a decent amount of my own wealth into Luna. The royal healer had told me that my headaches were psychosomatic or something like that, essentially I was doing this to myself, so there was nothing to heal but like her recent discovery with poisons she might be able to find something with enough funds. A single glance at my desk was enough to double the strength of the pulsing in my head. Dozens of letters stood there, all of them from some of the highest Dukes and Viscounts in the kingdom, all of them clamoring about favoritism and their own share. Much like all things as of late they all tied back to Ajax. The kid¡¯s first reward of getting access to the dungeons in the Empire wasn¡¯t something anyone looked at too closely, it was the first time it had happened and technically it was all handled by the Goldmancers on the logistical level, a few people were upset a Baron had gotten two slots in the less important dungeon but it wasn¡¯t that hard to swallow considering the circumstances. The delves into the Republic were something nobody could complain about. Not only were there plenty of spots, so many that all of the most talented people in the kingdom had gotten a chance to go, every important noble had managed to secure a spot if they had a very promising fighter. It was what came after that kicked off this shitshow. Even worse, I was still traveling back when it started so I couldn¡¯t snuff it out before it grew too large. If there was a saving grace it was that the people Ajax had chosen to take with him from our kingdom were connected to the three Archdukes and that the young Manashaper¡¯s relationship with Ajax was well known in the capital¡¯s social circles. On a more bittersweet note my son and the rest of the convoy had been repeatedly attacked during their trip through Deepwood. While they hadn¡¯t always escaped unscathed nobody had died yet and with every attack that managed to break through the escort they were followed by, it meant a larger and larger payday for me from Deepwood. WIth what they had endured so far I would receive more than enough of a variety of resources that my initial plan of having Ajax be a simple Duke with a large manor in the capital was changed. On his return Ajax would become a landed Duke, more than that I would see to it that his lands would include the city of Lessis, the dungeon and its surrounding mountain range. This would give them enough space to grow and expand. More than that with access to a dungeon so close to home and away from most prying eyes it would be a while before anyone would suspect Ajax¡¯s ability to predict floor themes. The one worry I did have was that having them so close to a dungeon could lead to an orchestrated dungeon break in the near future could wipe them before they had a chance to properly settle. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± the door to my study was flung open and both of the guards stationed outside it were securing my head of intelligence. ¡°What is it?¡± A cold chill went down my spine as I knew the man was one who respected social obligations. For him not to knock and wait it meant something dire must have happened. ¡°It¡¯s your son, Your Majesty.¡± The man struggled to wave his restrained arm which grasped a communication device that was pulsing with mana. ¡°Someone else is using his communication device.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. My blood ran cold. It took every ounce of my social skills to get both my fear and anger under control. The device wasn¡¯t sophisticated enough for us to tell who was using it, in fact I couldn¡¯t even tell if it was my son or not but my head spy had a high enough Perception and skills that he could tell minute differences and the person on the other end was not my son. This was not a situation in which I could show weakness, perhaps the elves were considering the remunerations they would need to pay too much and they wanted to negotiate them with my son capture but I would not let that stand. ¡°Who are you? And my son better be alive!¡± My voice wasn¡¯t as controlled as I hoped, thankfully it was the anger and not the fear that showed. The whole room went silent as we all waited for an answer. With every second that passed my anger died as fear took over, fear and a good amount of guilt for sending my son out there. ¡°I¡¯m Baron Ajax Hearthbound, Your Majesty. The prince should be alive and well.¡± The words killed my anger and put most of my fears to rest but I had to know more. ¡°Ajax, why do you have my son¡¯s communication tool? Was he captured?¡± Over the next five minutes Ajax explained what my son had discussed with Arianwyn and Elara inside the dungeon, during that time my other son and heir had also joined us and we couldn¡¯t help but trade guilty looks as Ajax explained the reasoning behind him getting in touch with us so quickly. ¡°I hate to say it but he was right.¡± my heir said with a sigh. ¡°A chance to look less warmongering by giving others a chance to catch up with Ajax early, I¡¯d have jumped at it.¡± A single glance was enough for all of us to agree we would have mishandled the situation without this early warning. That being said this wasn¡¯t the time to discuss this, it would be debated over the next few hours at length but there was no reason to have Ajax burn through his mana as he waited for that. ¡°Other than that, how have you been following the assassination attempt, I heard they got quite close.¡± The question was one I asked both as a king worried about a very important future asset of the kingdom but also as an old man who looked at Ajax as somewhat of a nephew. Our families might not yet be tied together by marriage but considering how small his family was and how close he worked with us over the last few years I had developed a fondness for the boy. The answer that came was entirely unexpected and plunged the room into silence as all of us sat with baited breath as Ajax detailed the latest attempt on his life that happened no more than minutes ago. This was simply too much. The discussion about Sylvanthal¡¯s offer would have to wait for a few hours. As soon as my talk with Ajax was over I would be sending Deepwood¡¯s new queen a very pointed message containing a barely veiled threat about the safety of my people in her kingdom. Ajax hadn¡¯t even finished speaking and I was already drafting the message in my head.¡°Try and bring back the arrow.¡± The words of my head spy brought me back to the present. ¡°That along with your newest discoveries into poisons will let us take a big leap forward when it comes to the field.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Ajax responded, but from the tone he said it with I knew exactly what it meant, he¡¯d pass the negotiation off to Annabeth Goldmancer. Good, those particular bastards deserved everything she would dish out and more. With that Ajax cut off the connection and the room was silent once more. ¡°At least you won¡¯t have to worry about his safety for a while once he returns if he brings back that arrow.¡± My head spy chuckled. ¡°And knowing young Ms. Goldmancer I am confident we will have it.¡± My head spy was right about Ajax¡¯s safety. Dark as his humor might be about half of the assassins that worked under him were all psychopaths. Seeing as they had no emotions we trained them from an early age with a deep sense of loyalty and a code. Ajax pushing the field of poisons this far would have them all bound to repay the favor. In fact I might need to make sure none of the other nobles try anything out of jealousy once he returns since my own assassins might just react once the catch wind of it. ¡°I thought we couldn¡¯t get headaches once our stats got this high.¡± my heir said as he massaged the bridge of his nose. ¡°Perhaps we should have someone check the breakfast we had.¡± I nodded in agreement. ¡°That or it might be genetic.¡± ¡°Should we discuss the Sylventhal offer?¡± my son asked as he retook his seat. ¡°Gather our strategists.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We need to take into consideration how all the other friendly nations would react to such an agreement.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving this up to me?¡± My son was slightly surprised as I stood up and went to exit the room. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you, father!¡± ¡°I trust you and it should be you who makes this decision, you¡¯re the one who¡¯ll have handle the fallout.¡± I nodded towards him. ¡°I¡¯ll join you shortly in an advisory position but first I have a message to send to Deepwood.¡± Chapter 401 Ajax felt a lot better after he finished his report to the king, despite that however he was starting to get more and more worried. With every attempt the assassin got closer and closer to killing him. The only reason the last one didn¡¯t kill him was because the poison never made contact with him. As he lowered the privacy bubble Ajax was prepared to grab Anna, he knew he would need her help to have any chance at getting the arrow. Much to his surprise Anna was already in what looked like a heated discussion with Lioriel and Benedict was standing next to her. ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?¡± Ajax asked Lexi as he subtly nodded towards the exchange. ¡°Benedict was quick to grab Anna and head that way once we knew you were okay.¡± Lexi informed him. ¡°He started arguing that we should retrieve the arrow since not only does it have part of your armor wrapped around it but there is also your blood which we wouldn¡¯t want to let them get their hands on. Rare as curse users are, it''s frightening what they can sometimes do with the blood of their target even across such ranges.¡± For once Ajax wasn¡¯t all that worried about the prospect of being targeted like that. Despite the flexibility of how curses worked they still relied on the most basic layer of all magic, mana. His [Mana Syphon] would allow him to neutralize any long range attack that came in the form of a curse. ¡°I trust them.¡± Ajax chose to be specifically vague outside of a privacy field, he didn¡¯t want to give away information and undermine Anna and Benedict while reassuring Lexi. Ajax tried to move closer to the negotiations but he found his arm snared as Lexi hadn¡¯t let go of him, if anything her grip had tightened. ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that again.¡± Lexi whispered as she blinked away the tears that were blurring her vision. Ajax pulled Lexi back into a hug. While he had been the main target of the assassination attempts it seems he had forgotten just how those incidents affected those close to him. ¡°I can¡¯t make that promise.¡± Ajax whispered back. ¡°But we¡¯ll be away from here soon and once we are back home I¡¯ll be able to take it easy for a few years.¡± Left unsaid was that he was planning to use those few years to not only help stabilize the foundation of his new Ducal house but also prepare for his trip outside the kingdom¡¯s borders and into the untamed lands. Over the next few hours Ajax developed a small sense of respect towards Lioriel. The elf and Anna had been negotiating for hours and everyone could see that the facts gave Anna a dominating edge when it came to the negotiations. The simple fact that Lioriel hadn¡¯t yet been forced to capitulate or add more blame to Deepwood by claiming the arrow and poison as a national secret. Four hours in and the haggling mercifully came to an end. For her part Lioriel didn¡¯t even seem to take the loss as a defeat, it seemed more like she was resigned to just let nature take its course. The mangled flesh, armor and arrow were all stored by Xavier as he had the best ring to preserve everything while also keep it secure in a ring that was only accessible to him. ¡°Thank you.¡± Ajax said to Anna as she was taking a drink following the hours of verbal sparring. ¡°Oh no, no no no no no.¡± Anna said as she shook her head. ¡°It is me who should thank you! You have no idea what this negotiation has meant for my skills. This is the best progress I have ever made as a merchant. The only thing that even came close was the trading games I played with father.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Over the course of the negotiation Anna had managed to gain two Rare skills and one Epic skill. This had been the first time she had ever been in a situation where everything was real and not just a manufactured incident, her opposition outmatched to such an extent but the facts backed her up enough to overcome the difference in skills. The atmosphere had barely settled down over the next five or so hours when everything was thrown back into chaos as two elves wearing the royal sigil all but materialized next to their group. Ajax¡¯s stats had grown enough to where he was able to not only track their movements but even understand them, one thing he knew for sure however was that whoever these two were they were above Lioriel in terms of combat. ¡°What¡¯s the emergency?¡± Lioriel asked. Her neutral tone and voice were all thanks to her social skills, seeing the two of them so drenched in sweat. ¡°We are here as reinforcements.¡± one of the two answered her. ¡°Her Majesty has decided that an increase in our manpower here is now required.¡± Ajax was slightly worried about the presence of the two. Sure they would be a stronger protective force against the assassins but with their presence he was worried that for the remainder of their time in this kingdom their escort would actually be strong enough to take down Aranor and the prince. Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one worried by their presence however, Lioriel had reported the last attack as soon as it happened. Looking at the two champion candidates in front of her she could tell they had been sent out at most one hour after she finished her report, more than that they had to have sprinted over here to cover a quarter of the kingdom in under half a day. ¡°Baron¡± the second elf bowed shallowly towards Ajax as he approached him. ¡°Her Majesty has sent you what you are owed along with a small remuneration for the suffering you have endured as of late.¡± With that the elf extended an armguard towards Ajax. It didn¡¯t take long for Ajax to realize that it was spatially enchanted, though he did question why they didn¡¯t just use a ring instead. Ajax¡¯s question was quickly answered when he sensed just how large the spatial storage was. It was a hoarder¡¯s wet dream being half the size of a warehouse Judy used in the capital, while most of the space was empty Ajax was surprised to find that not only were there a lot of alchemical ingredients but there were a lot more samples of each type of reagent that they had agreed upon, it was more than double the amount. ¡°Only for his suffering?¡± Aranor asked as he raised an eyebrow. Both of the newcomers frowned at the elven champion for interfering, clearly they disagreed with his actions. After a moment of silence however one of them answered. ¡°Only for his suffering, the Queen still plans to make amends for the attacks themselves as well.¡± The conversation ended there and Ajax proceeded to spend the rest of the time they spent waiting for the prince to exit examining the new alchemical reagents he had at his disposal. He had to admit he was most pleased to see that not only had the elves given him the raw form of the plant be they even included the finished process reagent for a few of them. He was slightly dejected when he realized they hadn¡¯t also included instructions for the refining process but he was sure the alchemists in Gryndor would be more than happy to help him figure it all out. Once the prince exited the dungeon the ever growing convoy was on the move once again. Ajax was quick to tell the prince everything that happened since he exited the dungeon when he returned the communication and privacy items to him. The more Ajax said the more he could see the prince slump ever so slightly. It was only then that Ajax had realized he had overlooked just how much strain the prince was under. Unlike him and everyone else delving the dungeon he was always on guard while outside the dungeon, more than that he had been like that for months on end now while also being forced to solo high end dungeon floors, everything was starting to add up and for a brief moment Ajax even considered if doing the last dungeon was worth it over just leaving this kingdom. ¡°You did well.¡± the prince said with a smile as he patted Ajax on the shoulder. ¡°I expect the reason why those two dashed over here so quickly is because my father sent a message of his own to the Queen.¡± The prince''s smile widened ever so slightly as he knew his father had acted so quickly because he was feeling overly protective from even the idea that his son might have died. ¡°Are you worried about them?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not for now.¡± the prince shook his head. ¡°Right now they will actually provide protection. It is only after the last dungeon as we start heading towards the border that we will need to keep a more wary eye on them.¡± Over the next three weeks of travel the prince¡¯s words had proven true. There had been five more attacks by the assassins during this time yet with the new reinforcements to the protection detail as well as the increasingly unhinged behavior of the assassins none of those attempts had even made it close to Ajax and the rest of his group. Chapter 402 Looking at the captured assassins gave Ajax a much better understanding of why the skill they had all gained was only considered Rare. A tracking mark with increased damaged to the target that can be used by any member of the organization as long as one of them applies it is something that should be a Legendary skill. The assassins that were captured weren¡¯t starving but that was the only difference he saw between them and the portrails he saw of drug users going through withdrawal in movies back on Earth. All of them had bloodshot and baggy eyes, messy hair, rashes, uncontrollable twitches. Each and every one of them however was sensitive to his presence. If they happened to catch a glimpse of Ajax they would focus on him, their uncontrollable twitches would continue but all their struggles would change from just random escape to a way to get closer to him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they just killing them?¡± Ajax asked. Ajax wasn¡¯t feeling any sort of sympathy for the assassins, he just didn¡¯t see the value of keeping them alive. Usually criminals this high level that were caught were kept alive for one of two reasons, either they could be talked into accepting a forceful conscription in a time of need or they needed a public execution. Neither reason seemed plausible here to Ajax. These people could never be released and expected to do anything other than mindlessly try and chase after Ajax so that ruled out conscription. A public execution of high level elves for attacking a human inside of Deepwood so close after a change in ruler would almost certainly spark riots from the more indoctrinated citizens. ¡°Two reasons I can think of.¡± the prince answered. ¡°The first is that it gives them a sure way to know if you died. As long as their backlash is enforced it means that you are alive, after another year I doubt they would be able to recover their minds even if you did die but the signs that the backlash ended would still be visible.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Testers.¡± Benedict answered. ¡°Perfect way to see how a high level reacts to a skill or a poison. The usual problem with keeping such a high level prisoner is that the method of restrain affects the tests or you risk them escaping. Their backlash is one of the best restraint methods though you do need to account for its effects in the test results.¡± That went a bit far for Ajax¡¯s taste. His sense of morality had changed dramatically since he arrived on this world but keeping a tortured prisoner as a lab rat was something he wouldn¡¯t do. ¡°Any word about their leader?¡± Ajax asked, looking to change the topic. ¡°Nothing so far but we have sent one of our squads in the area to secure the last dungeon; that way he won¡¯t be able to set up an ambush there.¡± Lioriel shared. With every day that passed the danger the assassin represented to Ajax got lower and lower. The backlash was now starting to affect their fighting prowess and even someone as strong as their leader would be severely weakened because of how much his style relies on precision. Both stealth and long range sniping become a lot harder with tremors, twitches and unending itchiness. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Ajax wasn¡¯t at all worried about the last dungeon they had planned. The dungeon had a sixteen level jump between floors and started with a floor at level thirty one to thirty six. This unfortunately meant that the highest floor Ajax could clear would be the fifth floor of the dungeon spanning levels ninety five to one hundred. Trying the sixth floor was out of the question since the seventh would push the prince into clearing a floor with a level one hundred and sixty floor boss. What Ajax was more worried about was the third floor of the dungeon. Lexi had already defeated a level seventy floor boss but that had been a close call, the one she will be facing now would only be two levels lower, more than that he was sure that Lexi wouldn¡¯t be the only one to try and push to clear that one. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi said as she came to take a seat next to Ajax who was watching her practice. ¡°I gained a few stats since the last boss and this one will be a couple of levels lower. And if anything goes wrong you¡¯ll be there to step in.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this but I can¡¯t wait until we get back to delving dungeons to clear out entire floors instead of just pushing for the stats.¡± Ajax answered as he leaned into Lexi. ¡°I also got word back from my family.¡± Lexi said excitedly. ¡°Grandpa thinks there might be a way to speed up my progress with certain skills by practicing them on floors where the ambient mana of the same type is prevalent.¡± Ajax had to admit that it sounded like a solid idea. The only reason it hadn¡¯t been tried before was that in order for ambient mana to increase progress it would have most likely needed to be at a concentration surpassing the level of the user. This meant sending the trainee into dungeon floors that outleveled them, all for a chance at getting the right theme. With his use of [Mana Syphon] the chance became guaranteed so every time Ajax would take a crafting team into the dungeon he could also grab Lexi so she could practice the mana type that matched the floor theme they were hunting. Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud thunderclap that echoed from nearby. In order to not slow down everyone did their training as they moved alongside the caravan. Everyone¡¯s skillset was fairly well known to each other and since both Lexi and Ajax were trying to keep Vibration mana from Deepwood they hadn¡¯t been using it in public. ¡°THAT WAS SO LOUD!¡± Elara was all but yelling as she excitedly jumped up and down once she realized that the notification in front of her eyes was real. ¡°Elara, darling, you¡¯re shouting.¡± Arianwyn tried to calm her friend down while also pushing down her own excitement for her success. ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?¡± Elara asked a little quieter now as she started to hear some light ringing. ¡°That should be better.¡± Aranor said as he used a healing spell on her. ¡° Can you hear now?¡± ¡°I CA-¡± Elara started to say loudly but stopped as she realized just how loudly she was talking and blushed in embarrassment. ¡°I can hear you.¡± she whispered. Elara had taken a different approach to unlocking Vibration mana that Lexi and Ajax had. Since her family didn¡¯t have any easily accessible shockwave spell she had instead focused on using her domain and recreating a natural lightning bolt with her lightning bolt spell. ¡°I know a storm domain isn¡¯t all that defensively focused but you might want to make sure you protect yourself from your own attacks.¡± Ajax suggested. Unlike the lightning bolt the thunderclap went out in all directions, even if the owner of the domain was slightly more resistant to their own spells while inside it thanks to the skill it didn¡¯t make them immune by any means. Once their protectors returned to their post Arianwyn quickly put up a privacy bubble, she hadn¡¯t bothered excluding anyone from Gryndor as they were already in the know before she asked the important question. ¡°Did you get the mana affinity?¡± Elara was nodding her head so rapidly that Ajax was glad the dungeons provided +1 to all stats, having seen her stats before that he would have been worried she would snap her own neck if her Endurance hadn¡¯t increased since their duel. ¡°Did you manage to integrate it in your Domain at the same time?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± Elara answered. ¡°But I¡¯ll get there.¡± The last two days of their trip to the dungeon passed without any excitement. Once they arrived there however Ajax was slightly worried to see that instead of the usual makeshift market area that sprung up around the non-capital dungeons of a country this dungeon seemed to be surrounded by a temporary army base. This change gave him the confidence the assassins wouldn¡¯t be trying anything but it did make him more worried about what would happen when he exited the dungeon while the prince stayed to clear the final floor. The thought of unleashing a dungeon break themselves and making use of the chaos to ensure they weren¡¯t attacked was a tempting one. They were less than a weeks ride from the border and they could cover that distance much faster if they were were all running there instead of traveling by carriage Chapter 403 Ajax¡¯s idea about unleashing a dungeon break was quickly shut down. It wasn¡¯t so much about the damage that doing this would do to Deepwood or the loss of any compensation Gryndor was due for their ill fated encounters. The sole reason the idea was vetoed without so much as a discussion was that it would be breaking one of the core principles signed in their most recent peace treaty, having a prince of Gryndor be party to that would all but invalidate that treaty. ¡°It still feels like they are getting away with too much.¡± Ajax complained after how quickly his idea had been shot down even if he hadn¡¯t been all that keen to go through with it. ¡°They will pay for a lot of this.¡± the prince said as he tried to calm Ajax down. ¡°You also have to remember that while the Queen did set up a few ¡®attacks¡¯ her own guards took care of those, these assassins weren¡¯t sent by her.¡± ¡°That her father is responsible doesn¡¯t make this any better.¡± Ajax huffed. The group quickly made their way through the first jungle themed floor with no issue. Ajax checked the first arch they reached. What stood out the most was that while there was a plethora of different mana types present there they were all sparse out rather evenly, only Life mana took a big chunk being almost half the dominant mana type. Entering the next floor they quickly found themselves on an endless expanse of dirt that was studded with pits. Each of the pits seemed to contain a different Element with some of the larger ones also containing an arch. ¡°Why would there be such a large concentration of Life mana if there is no life?¡± Ajax was very upset as he had hoped this would provide him with a perfect floor to practice his [Alchemy]. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say there is no life.¡± the prince said as he crushed the earth at his feet with a powerful stomp, picked up a rock that had formed and tossed it into the closest pit. ¡°I do have to say I am surprised these floors are very rare, the only reason they are known is that they can appear at any level range.¡± The rock crashed into what initially seemed to be a small crystal clear pond with a large splash sending out ripple. The ripples however became stronger and stronger as they traveled away from the rock''s impact point until they reached the edges of the pit and the slimes climbed out of the pit. ¡°Too bad we got this floor theme so early.¡± the prince said. ¡°It would have been perfect for the next one.¡± One of the things that was known about the golem floor was that it never had anything that could be taken outside the dungeon. Every time one had appeared people had scoured it for a chance to gain access to some of the more unique elements but all had come up empty. The amount of wealth a single of the diamond golems would have been able to bring left many a delver salivating with greed. The other agreed upon fact was that the floor represented the best chance a person had at finding both a challenging encounter, an easy encounter and a perfect counter. With so many different elements present it was simple for everyone to find what they were looking for, even more so at the higher levels of this theme where elementals started to make an appearance, storm elementals alone were prized for the amount of insight one could gain in mixing different elements. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I wish we could have gotten this for the next floor.¡± Anna said as she looked towards the seemingly endless pits knowing there was an ice one among them where her flames could really shine. The floor was by no means difficult with the highest level being only fifty two, to make things more interesting for themselves Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict all chose to go up against their own elements. Anna was the first to suggest this as she faced off against a fire golem while pushing her spells to burn as hot as possible. This approach let the elemental get a good attack in forcing her to rely on her enchanted gear before the heat of Anna¡¯s spell overcame what the golem could withstand. Lexi faced an ice golem with her ice mana to similar results. Due to the lack of elementals she knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to find a wind or lightning one variant on such a low floor. Benedict''s fight against the steel golem left his warhammer fairly deformed by the time he claimed victory. Xavier¡¯s hybrid style didn¡¯t leave him with any equivalent element to take on, despite that everyone stayed well away from the sewage slime pit despite a few good natured jokes that the prince take on one of the slimes. Once everyone killed their own miniboss the discussion began focused upon which would be the perfect theme for their next floor from the ones they had available. The big issue came that none of the six arches they had found offered them a clear advantage. The closest one was one that had a strange combination of fire light and earth with the presence of humanoids. The presence of humanoids was what ended up being the deciding factor as the group entered the third floor of the dungeon. Ajax was slightly surprised to find that while the floor did appear to be a desert theme it wasn¡¯t one that was flooded with sand. This floor was a vast expanse of earth with a bright sun above them but other than some large cracks the dry ground beneath their boots was solid. ¡°I thought you said there would be humanoids, all I¡¯m seeing are those birds up above.¡± Xavier said as they started to explore the floor. The large vultures overhead and the cacti dotted across the gave Ajax an odd feeling he couldn¡¯t place until they reached the first fence. The wooden fence was much taller and sturdier than the ones he remembered and they were capped with barbed wire but the resemblance was too uncanny not to recognise as he spotted the large bovines that were walking around the field munching on whatever small patch of grass they could find. ¡°Now that is more like it.¡± Xavier said with enthusiasm. ¡°I could go for a stake.¡± As Xavier started to make his way past the fence Ajax caught some movement off to the side. It took him a moment to recognise what he was looking at but the brief flash of mana was all the warning he got before the crack of the rifle pulled the attention of the rest of the group. Ajax hadn¡¯t been the only one to feel the brief flash of mana so he wasn¡¯t the only one to take defensive measures as he pulled Lexi close to his chest and raised his shield to cover them both. Surprisingly there was no sound of impact. ¡°Interesting.¡± the prince said as he held the small steel bullet between his index finger and thumb. As Ajax lowered his shield he noticed the prince was no longer by their side and instead he was now standing between Xavier and the man with the rifle inspecting the bullet he had caught out of the air. Ajax turned and saw the look of utter surprise the rifleman sported for a brief moment before a look of fury took over. Ajax could once more feel as the rifleman channeled his mana into the gun before taking aim towards the prince as he pumped the rifle for the next shot. The man didn¡¯t get to fire his second shot as with a flick of his wrist the prince sent a knife flying towards the man with almost the same speed as the bullet he had just caught. The knife embedded itself in the man¡¯s neck. Being close to level seventy the man didn¡¯t die straight away, the sheer fact he was still standing despite the momentum of the knife showed he had some serious physical stats. He did however drop his rifle as both his hands went to his neck trying to stem the bleeding to no avail. Two unsteady steps forward were all he managed before he dropped down face first onto the ground. Ajax quickly focused on the iconic wide-brimmed and high-crowned felt cowboy hat the man was wearing. Everything was too big of a coincidence so he had to fight every instinct in his body to not dash towards the weapon to see if he could find some new technology. First things first Ajax took a good look around making sure there was no other shooter that could threaten them. The prince himself was doing the same thing before he went over to cuff Xavier around the back of the head for leaving his guard down on such a high floor. Only once he was sure there were no other shooters did Ajax go over and pick up the gun. He made sure to be careful, reminding himself that while it looked like what he remembered, the fact that it used mana in some form meant that it wasn¡¯t a gun as he knew it. More importantly he also didn¡¯t want to seem too familiar with the weapon as that would lead to some very pointed questions being asked. Chapter 404 Few people truly paid any attention to anything inside a dungeon that they couldn¡¯t take with them. It was a defense mechanism so that they wouldn¡¯t regret all the wealth they had to leave behind. While Ajax was playing with the rifle they had found Xavier took on the bull mini boss. After ten minutes of examining the rifle Ajax finlay brought the sight up to his eye and aimed for the cowboy hat he placed on top of one of the fence posts. BANG! The sound distracted everyone from Harold who was putting his limited skill as a chef to use searing a chunk of the mini boss. Some of the people there however were already looking towards Ajax since before the sound came, an instant before a strong pulse of mana could be felt. ¡°You figured out how to use it?¡± Lexi was very interested in that. ¡°You squeeze this and it releases the projectile.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to the trigger. ¡°Works a lot like a crossbow.¡± What was a lot more interesting to Ajax was that the bullets didn¡¯t have any sort of gun powder packed, they did however have a small gem attached at the end that was packed with mana. Looking towards the hat Ajax could see that he missed his target by a few inches despite not being more than fifty feet away from it. Wanting to see if this could increase his [Aim] skill Ajax slowly loaded the next bullet, took aim, and finally pressed the trigger. ¡°What happened?¡± Lexi asked as the bullet''s mana was released in a burst into the surroundings. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Ajax said confused, how did the dungeon break guns? They weren¡¯t all that hard to figure out in his old world. Hammer hits bullet, gunpowder ignites, bullet is launched out the barrel by the tiny contained explosion. ¡°The runes on the inside of the barrel are all damaged¡± Lexi said as she examined the rifle¡¯s other end while Ajax was inspecting the hammer. ¡°Maybe it only works a few times.¡± That could very well be the case but Ajax doubted it. The floor theme was clearly based on the historical West and that should mean that as long as you had ammo and took care of your gun it would shoot, this wasn¡¯t the era of muskets. Thinking back to what the cowboy had done, Ajax realized he had missed a step. The cowboy had infused the gun with mana, Ajax had thought that he was loading the bullet but all of the bullets were already loaded so where did the mana go? Inspecting the handle of the gun Ajax found a set of runes that were intact. Even more interesting was the fact that they were clearly part of the gun however he couldn¡¯t find any way for them to connect to the mana released by the bullet. Ajax slowly started to inject a small amount of his own mana into the runes. He went much slower than the cowboy had done both out of wariness as well as curiosity as he paid very close attention to what the enchantment did.¡±It restored the runes!¡± Lexi was happy as she saw the runes inside the barrel of the gun look usable again. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Looking to see if that was what he was missing Ajax loaded another bullet and this time the rifle fired when he pressed the trigger. Once again however the runes inside the barrel were damaged, oddly enough however it wasn¡¯t the bullet that damaged them. Instead the mana that was released to activate them was more than the runes could handle, effectively burning out the runes after every shot. After restoring the runes a second time Ajax carefully removed the barrel of the gun and split it in two so that he could get a closer look at the runes. ¡°What an odd take.¡± Lexi murmured as she inspected the runes. ¡°It¡¯s almost like they are the same runes but not quite.¡± Lexi had spent a long time with her father looking at runes and while some of the ones inscribed inside the barrel were similar to ones she had seen before they weren¡¯t exactly the same. If she were to guess the difference would be that while the runes she had available focused on the integrity of the rune structure and material it was inscribed on surviving an overinfusion these runes would instead focus on completing the activation regardless of the damage to the structure and the material. Lexi wasted no time taking out an empty scroll as she started carefully and meticulously copying the runes. None of the others had realized what was going on but as soon as they saw Lexi so focused on copying the runes they figured out that there must be something special about them. Darkcalw and Elara wasted no time joining Lexi as they did their best to perfectly copy the runes on their own pieces of parchment. ¡°What¡¯s so special about these runes?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°They work based on a different fundamental principle.¡± Lexi squealed with excitement. ¡°At least that¡¯s what I think. Grandpa and dad would need to try them out a few times once we get back so that we can do some tests but it''s looking pretty likely.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference between them and normal runes?¡± Arianwyn asked. Lexi took a moment to think as she finished copying the last of the individual runes on the barrel and moved over to start copying the restoration enchantment that was on the handle. ¡°The inscribed rune on an enchanted object works like the mana vein of a mage. Our usual enchantments are created so that if more mana than the enchantment can handle is pushed through the enchantment fails at the first step doing little damage to the rune and the material it''s inscribed in while also releasing the mana outwards.¡± ¡°These runes however activate the enchantment with as much power as they can regardless of the damage to the runes themselves.¡± Lexi said as she pointed towards the barrel. ¡°It is like Lord Starfury¡¯s overloading of spells. Since the runes aren¡¯t backed by a Legendary skill they break but they do manage to put out an overloaded spell.¡± ¡°The enchantment on the handle looks to be made to repair the damage done.¡± Elara said as she thought about the process. ¡°Every time its activated however more and more of the material is lost in recreating the runes.¡± ¡°So after enough uses you¡¯re saying that there won¡¯t be enough material to recreate the runes?¡± Ajax asked, interested in how his old world¡¯s technology was recreated. ¡° From what I saw it wouldn¡¯t take all that many uses before the integrity of the material would fail.¡± Elara confirmed. With so much new information available the remainder of the floor turned out to be a cakewalk for Benedict, Anna and Lexi. All three of them knew to focus on disarming their human targets of their guns. Without the firearms they had little problems finishing them off. On more than one occasion however the prince was forced to step in. Anna had been the first to try her hand at fighting a human miniboss and while she had managed to expertly ambush him so that he would lose his rifle the pistol he drew surprised all of them. Another of the mini bosses had a spring loaded pistol up his sleeve, thankfully Lexi¡¯s hastily created ice wall was strong enough to slow the bullets enough that they didn¡¯t pierce through her enchanted shields. In the end the prince had ended up scouring the entire floor trying to find a gun that he could take outside the dungeon but he still couldn¡¯t find one. He did manage to find a rather sizeable mound of manure that he stuffed into one of his spacial rings but there was no gun to be had. As they headed on to the next floor the group wasn¡¯t at all worried about the theme, Harold would be the only one who would be troubled by the theme of their last floor but other than that all of them were more than strong enough to demolish a level eighty four. While the prince pushed on with Ajax, Arianwyn, Elara, Darkclaw and Harold to the fourth floor, Lexi, Anna, Benedict and Xavier all exited the dungeon. All four of them were prepared for things to have gone sideways, seeing Aranor waiting for them as they exited let them relax for a brief moment before they realized the chaos they found themselves in as they took in the military camp that surrounded the dungeon arch. Chapter 405 ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xavier asked as he saw the elves setting up large defensive structures. ¡°We¡¯re expecting another attack, only this time it might be more than one or two assassins.¡± Aranor said with a dark look crossing his face. ¡°A mercenary group was found and stopped by our reinforcements as they were about to cross over into Deepwood.¡± ¡°Mercenaries?¡± Benedict asked, surprised. ¡°Turns out it wasn¡¯t the old king behind the assassins.¡± Aranor said with a sigh. ¡°The beastkins are making a move. Some of their people inside our own kingdom hired mercenaries. Their target was Ajax but it was mostly a target of opportunity; their main job was making sure a war kicked off.¡± It was easy for all of them to understand the point of view for the people who took the job. They were simple mercenaries, more than that their target was a pontiac future tyrant from another kingdom. From Aranor¡¯s explanation the mercenaries were upfront when questioned but it seemed like the plan had almost succeeded anyway. ¡°Ajax needs to do a better job of spreading some information about himself.¡± Lexi huffed in annoyance as she had tried to get him to do some outreach events in the past five years but any sort of social function, whether they contained nobles or commoners was something Ajax treated like a cold, he couldn¡¯t always avoid them but he could take precautions. ¡°Right now only the important nobles have any decent information about him and even that is brand new from the tournament, he needs to undercut any fear mongering that can be caused.¡± ¡°More importantly Deepwood is innocent?¡± Anna asked, very much surprised at the turn of events. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly call them innocent.¡± Aranor said with a shake of the head. ¡°The did take a very relaxed attitude to our safety and all but invited the attempts on Ajax¡¯s life by taking advantage of the visit to scour their own nobility. But it¡¯s more down to negligence and indifference than anything malicious.¡± With the time dilatation everyone knew that the final two floors wouldn¡¯t take the group more than five hours on the outside to clear. Following that it would be another half a day or so before the prince finished clearing the final floor and they could finally start to move. ¡°What reinforcements are waiting for us at the border?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°Two ranger teams, the equivalent of your squads.¡± Aranor said after a moment to think if he should disclose that. That answer wasn¡¯t one any of them had expected but it did clear up the reason why they were waiting by the border and didn¡¯t advance into Deepwood to meet them halfway. ¡°As long as we make it to the border we¡¯ll be safe. One more week.¡± Lexi said as she calmed herself to better analyze their situation. That was when the first attack hit. The attacking force was only ten people but their levels allowed them launch a brutal initial offensive against the defensive perimeter the army had set up before quickly retreating. The two new high level guards the queen had sent didn¡¯t sit idly by as this happened however. The attack was well placed as far away from where the two of them were keeping watch but both covered the distance in seconds before dashing into the woods after the attackers. ¡°If the mercenaries were stopped at the border, who is attacking now?¡± Xavier asked. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°One is a mercenary company that has gone rogue.¡± Lioriel who had been close enough to listen in on their discussion finally chose to join in. ¡°This was their first move against Ajax, they are also few in number which is why the royal family wasn¡¯t keeping such a close eye on them before. That said the limited members that they do have are all decently high leveled and have combat experience.¡± ¡°What about the other assassins? Figure out who they were?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Underground syndicate that we have tried to find for years.¡± Lioriel nodded in confirmation. ¡°Formed by the remanence of a noble family the previous king dismantled early into his reign. It seems that some of the survivors were more capable than initially anticipated. They took this job not only for the payday but also in hopes that once the war wipes out the royal family they can regain a high position in what¡¯s left of Deepwood.¡± ¡°What are the beastkins up to?¡± Anna murmured her rhetorical question as she tried to fit all the information she had into something that made sense. Unlike all the other races the beastkin didn¡¯t have two separate kingdoms. Because of the sheer variety that beastkins as a race came with, racism wasn¡¯t an issue for them. Their country was divided between two spheres of influence, the herbivores and the carnivores. With ten dungeons at their disposal instead of the usual five the average adventurer with the means to travel had a much stronger baseline. The bigger problem for the beastkins was that a good 60% of their country was a sandy desert, the rest of their lands weren¡¯t all that rich in high quality resources. The poor stretch of land meant that they were almost never the target for an invasion. Because of the large amount of desert and lack of resources however their own army didn¡¯t have the population or the equipment to start a war for conquest. At best they would invade during or after the end of a war to try and extort or steal. This could have all changed in the last few decades from what Anna knew. Her father had mentioned that in the last forty years trade with the beastkins had slowed to a crawl, for a country that was so reliant on trade that had been surprising. According to the Gryndor royal family a spy purge had also taken place twenty years ago and infiltrating additional spies hadn¡¯t bore any fruit yet. Now they were trying to cause a war. ¡°It does seem like they are up to something.¡± Aranor acknowledged. ¡°With the latest treaty signed with the Republic nobody has been too keen on sending all that many spies to infiltrate.¡± The republic acted like a big shield for the beastkin. Unlike the untamed area that separated the elves from the humans or the elves from the dwarves the beastkin had big mountain ranges followed by long stretches of desert; any movement against them would need to pass through the Republic. In much the same way however the beastkin themselves would need to go through the Republic to attack any of the others. This sense of safety let them relax their vigilance a little and it seemed like now they were paying the prince. ¡°Those animals are going to pay for this.¡± One of the two elven champions said as he approached Lioriel while throwing the decapitated head of one of their attackers. Lexi frowned as she heard the insulting term, she had grown close to Kate in the past few years, knowing that they would become sisters-by-law once she married Ajax she had spent a lot of time getting to know the healer and her daughter. In the end however she chose to say nothing, there was no point antagonizing the elves any further at this point. The hit and run tactics continued for the next few hours, each attack killing anywhere between five and ten soldiers. The two champions had also managed to get two more of the attackers as they chased after them but on their last chase an ambush awaited them in the forest and one of them came back missing his left hand from the wrist down. ¡°The coward is with them.¡± was all he growled as he bandaged the stump. It was easy for all of them to put together what happened. The champion had managed to block the arrow with his hand but was then forced to cut it off at the wrist to prevent the poison from spreading. It wasn¡¯t long until Ajax, Darkclaw, Elara, Harold and Arianwyn all came out of the dungeon. Harold looked battered and bruised, obviously the final floor mini boss had done quite a number on him, from the smile on his face however everyone could tell he had come out victorious in the end. Getting all of them up to speed on what was happening didn¡¯t take long. The news that it wasn¡¯t Deepwood¡¯s royal family or even their nobles that were behind everything but the beastkin made Ajax frown deeply. It wasn¡¯t that he was feeling guilty for having blamed the Deepwood nobility, he still did, if to a lesser degree. What troubled Ajax was how easily he had overlooked the possibility. He had been so focused on the danger and his anger at the elves that he hadn¡¯t considered the possibility that someone was using them to start a war. It hadn¡¯t even been two minutes since Ajax exited the dungeon that Aranor reacted. This time however Ajax¡¯s [Danger Sense] didn¡¯t react at all, he only registered the attack once the arrow slammed into the ice wall Aranor had put up. ¡°The backlash is getting to him.¡± one of the elven champions chuckled as they examined the arrow. ¡°Serves the coward right.¡± From the angle the arrow hit the wall it was clear that the attack would have missed Ajax by half a foot, that was why his [Danger Sense] hadn¡¯t reacted. The drop in skill didn¡¯t do much to reassure Ajax as he also saw just how desperate the assassin had become. He couldn¡¯t wait for the prince to finish the dungeon so that they could leave and reach the protection of the two ranger squads waiting at the border. Chapter 406 The longer the battle drew on for the more hateful glares the group received. Surprisingly enough however Aranor was on the receiving end of most of the glares, the elves were blaming him for their casualties since he stood by guarding the group rather than respond to the attacks. As the hours dragged on the losses started to lessen, every attack claiming less and less lives. The two champions had done their job well as they picked off half of the enemies highest level combatants. ¡°Start uprooting the camp and get ready to move.¡± Lioriel commanded. ¡°You can be serious?!¡± one of her commanders yelled back. ¡°We¡¯re still under attack here.¡± One of the things that have picked up in frequency as time slowly ticked by was the number of yelling matches Lioriel had found herself in. While her advanced social skill did wonders in calming down each commander, that didn¡¯t help as much when a new one would show up more enraged than the last half an hour later. The prince had managed to come out slightly quicker than they expected, it only took him eleven hours on the outside to clear the floor though that was closer to two whole days on the inside. ¡°What¡¯s happening out here?¡± the prince asked as he saw the elves moving with the edges of the camp armed and ready. It took about two minutes before a quick overview of the situation was briefly explained. ¡°You¡¯re back, perfect.¡± Lioriel was clearly on edge as some of her sarcasm made it through despite her social skills. ¡°Let''s get moving the quicker we get you out of here the fewer of my people get hurt.¡± Nobody had any objections to the plan. Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be slightly troubled by how tired the prince was. More than that he wouldn¡¯t even get a chance to rest until they crossed the border and were safely under the ranger squads¡¯ protection. ¡°Not going to contact the king?¡± Ajax asked once he saw that the prince didn¡¯t excuse himself in a privacy bubble when they finally got moving. ¡°This isn¡¯t all that time sensitive.¡± the prince responded, surprising Ajax a little. ¡°Chances are he already knows about this as the Queen would be quick to prove her innocence. Even if he doesn¡¯t however my mana reserves are best saved for any combat we might get caught up in.¡± Three days later and the group was very much behind schedule but nobody complained about that. Moving a convoy guarded by over a hundred soldiers in such a dense forest was touch work on the best of times, even more so when they were getting attacked. ¡°The mercenaries gave up.¡± Lioriel updated them. Despite the constant fighting Aranor had only needed to interfere once when an ambush on a tight portion of the road got near the carriage. ¡°The attacks are over?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± Lioriel shook her head. ¡°There is still the syndicate and their assassins. They are the strongest of the bunch but they just lost most of their support. More than that the mercenaries turned on them when they gave up to earn some good will.¡± ¡°More likely a requirement of accepting their surrender so conveniently.¡± Harold piped up knowing how politics worked. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Along with a very discounted contract signed to enlist with the military for the next century.¡± Benedict also joined in. ¡°Leadership also had to give up their employer, that won¡¯t look good for them going forward.¡± Elara finished. ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny the terms of their capitulation.¡± Lioriel said diplomatically ¡°I am only here to inform you that the following attack or the one after will be their most desperate attempts.¡± Both Aranor and the prince gave a thankful nod before Lioriel moved back into formation. ¡°Its a waiting game now.¡± the prince said. ¡°They have one more chance and they¡¯re not going to hold anything back so be ready.¡± Ajax was in a tough situation right now. His instinct was to unleash his [Mana Syphon] to weaken any sneak attack heading for him, especially since he knew that they had a stealth and ambush specialist. The issue was that doing so would hinder the soldiers all around him and even Aranor who was already preparing himself. It was only a minute later when Ajax realized that Aranor¡¯s chant changed. He couldn¡¯t clearly make up the words of his spells but he noticed that they weren¡¯t the same ones he was saying until just now. ¡°[Spell Storage].¡± Lexi gasped as she picked up on the same thing. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked curiously. ¡°It''s an Epic skill that allows the caster to prepare spells in advance. You can hold an extra spell for every threshold.¡± Arianwyn gave him a quick rundown. ¡°Expect the spells slowly lose the mana they are charged with the longer they remained stored.¡± Lexi continued unhappy with the incomplete explanation. ¡°It takes about a week for a high mage¡¯s spell to fully drain. The mana cap each spell can hold, how quickly it drains and even the strain releasing them puts on the body can be shored up through the thresholds on top of the increase in capacity.¡± ¡°You seem to know it well.¡± Elara pointed out. ¡°Grandpa has spent centuries on that skill.¡± Lexi made sure to remain vague on the subject, her grandfather hadn¡¯t actually managed to unlock the skill but that wasn¡¯t something she wanted to confirm for anyone, even those from Gryndor. ¡°Be sure not to hurt yourself.¡± Lexi¡¯s final statement was directed towards Aranor who had started chanting his third spell. Unleashing all three of his charged up spells at once would undoubtedly wreck the mage¡¯s mana channels seeing as each spell held more than one thousand mana. The attack came as the caravan was getting around a turn in the road. Three people were all that remained of the initial ten that had started harassing the elven army days ago. The attack wasn¡¯t too much of a surprise, they had expected it to come here since it was one of the most exposed positions on the road. ¡°Remember they have a long range archer still out there.¡± Lioriel called as the assassins charged straight for the carriage. None of the three elves had bothered with their face coverings any more, instead sporting helmets that while exposing some of their features provided better protection for their heads. WIth their faces more uncovered it was easy to see the crazed eyes and the patches of rashes that each of them had even from the neck up. The opening defensive move went to Aranor who bought time for their protectors to get to work. In an instant the elven champion unleashed a massive amount of mana with a single word. From his extended hand and fingertips a powerful wall of wind and snow pushed back against the attackers not only stopping their forward momentum but sending them backwards until they made contact with a tree. None of the assassin were injured but that wasn¡¯t the point of the spell. Their momentum had been stalled and now the two other elven champions could finally engage them on even footing. WIthout the element of surprise and their numbers reduced to only three the battle was lopsided to the extreme. It only took three exchanges before one of the assassins lost an arm and two more before another of them died. With the numbers now even the elven champions had no issues working together to kill one of them off but they remained wary of the hidden archer. As soon as he was alone the final assassin took out a few potions and chugged them. Even from inside the carriage Ajax was monitoring the fight with [Mana Sense] and he could tell that something very wrong was happening. The assassin¡¯s body was clearly rejecting the alchemical mixture but the assassin didn¡¯t care and instead focused on sending a powerful of a final attack towards the carriage before his body gave out. The attack had easily two thousand mana enhancing it and more a more physically oriented fighter that was a lot, but it wasn¡¯t enough to phase the elven champions. They had known what he was doing the moment he pulled out the potions and they perfectly deflected the powerful wind slice off to one side where it felled twenty trees easily before it stuck the ground. That was the moment the final assassin had been waiting for. Knowing his arrows wouldn¡¯t be able to hit their mark he had instead chosen to rely on his stealth and with his accomplice drawing all their attention he moved past Aranor and broke his way into the carriage. Unfortunately for him the first thing he saw as the door gave way was also the last thing he would ever see. The prince had been ready for him, the moment the door gave way his sword was already in motion, the assassin¡¯s body was sliced in two so quickly the momentum of the strike sent both halves out the door. ¡°Why do all this for a human?¡± In his final moments the assassin glared hatefully towards Aranor. ¡°Sylvanthal could have had four dungeons.¡± Aranor didn¡¯t even have a chance to answer as the light went out in his eyes as soon as the final words left his lips. Chapter 407 For their final few days in Deepwood everyone was on edge, despite that nothing more came of it. They were safely escorted all the way to the border where two ten man squads of some of the strongest elves in Sylvanthal were waiting for them. ¡°Do take care of yourself Baron.¡± Lioriel addressed Ajax as they were crossing the border. ¡°I hope you take no offense if I don¡¯t invite you to visit in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be up to her Majesty.¡± Ajax responded with a small grin. ¡°She is the one who decides who her ambassadors are.¡± ¡°Lord Starfury.¡± Lioriel gave a deep bow towards the Sylvanthal¡¯s champion. ¡°Your next visit is eagerly anticipated.¡± Aranor only answered with a deep nod of confirmation as the group continued into Sylvanthal. Ajax chose to ignore the exchange taking it as a small bit of payback for his last comment but Anna wasn¡¯t so quick to overlook it. ¡°What trade agreement did they offer?¡± Anna asked as soon as they were outside of earshot of the border. ¡°What makes you so sure we were off-¡± Arianwyn tried to cut her off but Anna interrupted her as she explained her reasoning. ¡°Your kingdom is in financial straits, despite this your and Elara¡¯s existence as future powerhouses bodes well for your father¡¯s reign.¡± Anna said. ¡°Since they only offered a deal now I suspect the Queen learnt of your agreements to delve Gryndor¡¯s dungeons and of the reciprocal deal for more of the nobles to delve multiple dungeons.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t want to be left out so they are offering to pay you to pass off some of the royal family''s potential powerhouses as your own.¡± Lexi snapped her fingers as she put things together. As everyone turned towards her at her outburst she blushed slightly ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Deepwood, the Empire and Highmountain can¡¯t publicly take part in the exchange. Their radical views on other races would cause a civil uprising if they were to accept others in their own dungeons.¡± Xavier reasoned. ¡°Even with that being the case it would be too much to miss out on.¡± ¡°While they won¡¯t be able to send anyone who is already well known, that is not really an issue for any of their royal families. The royal families purposefully keep their prodigies secret, so they could all pay their nearest kingdom handsomely to add a few people to their rosters.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°Gryndor, Sylvanthal and Brightstone all have a rather sizable source of income in their grasp.¡± While Gryndor and Brightsone were more financially secure Sylvanthal were much more likely to accept taking the deal. Seeing how Deepwood had lost some potential assets already as they attempted to kill Ajax they would be that much more hard pressed to increase the potential of their next generation. ¡°Interesting as this all is, I''m going to get some sleep.¡± the prince cut into the conversation. The financials aspects as well as the political relations between kingdoms weren¡¯t all that interesting to him, there was a reason he didn¡¯t even try to hold on to his original position as crown prince and passed it to his younger brother. ¡°Wake me up in a day or two.¡± The groups next stop would be Sylvanthal¡¯s capital but that was weeks away. Without the added danger they were in while in Deepwood the group had no issues going slower and stopping here and there on their trip instead of keeping the carriage moving 24/7. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Ajax in particular was excited to be back in Sylvanthal, if for no other reason than the simple fact that the prince would no longer be their only booster, Aranor had joined them inside the first two dungeons and he had no doubt he and maybe even some of members of the ranger squads would also join them now. With some many high level people there Ajax will no longer have to give up on certain floors just because the following one could pose a threat to their booster. Sure the agreement they had didn¡¯t state that they would help with the boost but Ajax was sure they would be agreeable if he could help them with the floor¡¯s dominant mana. Without the haste the group now also had much more freedom with their training. Considering all of the stats they had gained from Deepwood¡¯s dungeon it wasn¡¯t a surprise that they would be looking to shore up their defenses. It didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise to Ajax that Darkclaw, Arianwyn and Elara were all spending numerous hours working on their physical training. While all of them were mages and extremely focused on their mental stats this also meant that their physical stats had the largest percentage increase from the recent dungeons. Ajax himself was more focused on the [Alchemy] side of this. With his most recent gift from the Queen of Deepwood Ajax knew he wasn¡¯t yet prepared for all the possibilities these reagents could provide him with. Considering the number of ingredients he hadn¡¯t even heard of before and Divine Witness he was all but sure he could gain a Rare skill just from experimenting. This would all have to wait until he was back in Gryndor, until then all he could do was reserve most of his mana for infusing a large amount of his new reagents with Life mana. Months spent on guard had finally come to an end and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. This became all the more obvious when one of the ranger squad leaders reported to Aranor. ¡°Aranor, there are about fifty people two and a half miles ahead.¡± Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Benedict, Xavier, Darkclaw and even Harold all tensed at the news hands going for their weapons. ¡°Assassins?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°Common bandits, even the kids could take them, some of the higher level ones are close to level sixty. They are about to ambush the merchant caravan ahead of us.¡± the leader said with a wave of his hand. ¡°My squad is already moving to handle the situation.¡± This showed the difference in their escorts between here and Deepwood. Ajax couldn''t help but feel the difference, back in Deepwood they had had twenty people who were around the same level of power as himself led by Lioriel who was much stronger. Here however they had twenty or so people around Lioriel¡¯s power level led by people who were around the prince¡¯s level of power. Unlike back in Deepwood their guardians weren¡¯t even worried about their mission, simply mentioning the bandits while they were already being dealt with. As they continued their travels Ajax had more and more time to think about his House. This most recent expedition had made him certain that he wanted to help push his own people higher. Even with how new his own ducal House would be they did have something very valuable that they could trade. Ajax was sure that he would be able to sell his services as a dungeon floor detector to Sylvanthal and the Republic in exchange for some of his own people and family delving the dungeons. The deals would be pretty easy to close since the people getting access to the dungeon weren¡¯t future powerhouses but instead just slightly talented people who had connections. ¡°Are you looking forward to seeing your family again?¡± Ajax asked Arianwyn as she took a break from her training. ¡°I¡¯m glad I made it back before my cousin¡¯s tenth birthday.¡± Arianwyn said with a smile. ¡°I promised him the tournament would be over well before his party but with this trip we would be cutting it close.¡± This cousin wasn¡¯t part of the royal family. Arianwyn¡¯s mother had married into the royal family and it was her sister¡¯s son that was turning ten soon. ¡°You¡¯re all invited to the festivities of course.¡± she followed up as she finished her break and started her training again. This news left Ajax with a small conundrum. Should he make an exception and tell Arianwyn''s cousin about the trick to increasing his Stats slowly until the age of fifteen? The king of Gryndor had made an announcement that it would all be public soon enough, there was no doubt that if he told Arianwyn¡¯s cousin that the royal family of Sylvanthal would find out as well. Then again did that really matter as much considering there was no going back once the free Stat points were spent. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Xavier asked as he noticed Ajax was struggling with the choice. Ajax asked Xavier to put up his privacy bubble before he explained the situation. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to undermine your grandfather, or worse cause a political incident by letting the cat out of the bag early with Sylvanthal. On the other hand this is a great opportunity for me to not only build some international connections for my House and prevent some bad blood.¡± Both Ajax and Xavier knew there would be some pretty strong resentment coming from everyone who had turned ten close to when the announcement was officially made. Not sharing this would upset Arianwyn a lot, not so much that it would endanger their budding friendship but she wouldn¡¯t let this go easily either. Chapter 408 The discussion quickly expanded from just Ajax and Xavier to include the prince and through the communication device the king and the crown prince as well. ¡°I want this to be my present.¡± Ajax stated. ¡°It will only be shared with the boy, Arianwyn and their king.¡± Ajax wanted to make a good impression and while he had plenty of valuables he could use as a more than worthy gift from a somewhat newly titled Baron all of those items were also valuable to him, not to mention that the information he wanted to share would be infinitely more valuable to the boy. ¡°Fine, but make sure they keep it to themselves.¡± King Gryndor said. ¡°If they have any other very promising kids, have them do what we did where we only tell the child and swear them to secrecy, at such a young age even a weak contract would be fully binding.¡± The king wasn¡¯t happy with the turn of events, in his initial plan the news would have become public before the boy¡¯s tenth birthday, Ajax¡¯s extended trip however messed up their schedule, sharing the trick early would undermine the royal family a little, but after discussing it with his son the crown prince he agreed that the loss would be balanced out by reinforcing their alliance with Sylvanthal. Unlike in Deepwood the group didn¡¯t head straight for the dungeon as soon as they arrived, instead they all headed for the royal palace. They would be spending at least two weeks in the capital outside of their designated delves so they weren¡¯t in a rush. Only seeing it from the window of their carriage the capital city looked a lot like the one in Deepwood this time however Ajax was looking forward to exploring the city to get a feel for how the day to day life of the elves living here was. As they arrived at the royal palace Ajax didn¡¯t even feel it when his jaw dropped as he took in the majestic fortress tree. While the royal palace of Deepwood had been impressive in Ajax¡¯s opinion Sylvanthal¡¯s was superior. The most glaring difference was that where the trunk of the massive tree spread into large thick roots to enter the ground, Sylvanthal''s palace towered over a crystal clear pond. Ajax could follow the multitude of roots as they twisted around each other deeper and deeper until they reached the bottom of the pond and entered the ground at the bottom. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Ajax was at a loss for words as he took in the gigantic tree. The awe he was feeling taking in the palace as well as the weeks of unwinding on the road had led to Ajax dropping his guard enough that he hadn¡¯t even noticed someone was approaching him until he heard the steps no more than two feet away from him. As Ajax quickly turned it was only the lack of reaction from [Danger Sense] as well as his high Intelligence allowing him to quickly process the information that stopped him from striking his own mother as she hugged him. ¡°I missed you so much.¡± she muttered as she buried her head into his chest. Silvia and Alana had arrived a few day before them and they had been fully informed of most of Ajax¡¯s adventures in Deepwood, seeing her child again after that news made Silvia ignore the decorum of nobility she and the rest of the family had been trying to integrate over the past few years and rushed to hug Ajax. Alana was a few steps behind her doing her best to suppress her giggle. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Hi, mom,¡± Ajax said as he returned the hug. ¡°I see you made it here before us, I hope they didn¡¯t tell you anything that made you too worried.¡± Both of the guards that had been escorting Silvia and Alana developed a sudden interest in the boots as soon as they heard Ajax words. ¡°Maybe you should slow down and stop getting into trouble, that way when people tell us what you¡¯ve been up to we don¡¯t get all worried.¡± Alana chided him with a smile. In the past five years Alana had joined house Hearthbound as its top retainer, while her father and brother had returned to the village after the ground had been retaken. Every noble living in the capital knew that Alana had taken on the families last name and was treated as Judy¡¯s sister. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been enjoying your time here.¡± Ajax said with a smile, ignoring her prodding. ¡°You already received a tour of the palace?¡± ¡°We did and it¡¯s beautiful.¡± Alana nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure they saved the really interesting part for when you came, however, they haven¡¯t shown us the tunnels beneath the ground yet.¡± ¡°What?¡± Arianwyn words startled Alana but it also froze the two guards who were closing in on her. ¡°How do you know about those?¡± Aranor asked, his usual stoic face sporting an eyebrow raised in intrigue. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alana¡¯s assured voice cracked with fear, she wasn¡¯t used to this level of pressure. ¡°Who told you about those tunnels?¡± Aranor pressed. ¡°Is this really necessary?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s rather important, those tunnels should be secret.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°We¡¯d rather their existence not leak, we know she isn¡¯t a spy but we do want to know where she learnt of them.¡± ¡°It was a fair guess.¡± Alana said fear leaving her voice now that she saw the elves weren¡¯t angry at her so much as the fact they thought the information was out there. ¡°None of our spies show any of the other nations other than Deepwood even suspect their existence.¡± Elara joined in, more interested in her logic process than that she had the information. ¡°How did you make that fair guess?¡± ¡°Well Ajax¡¯s message told us how we messed up by not considering mana infused fertilizer for his own garden.¡± Alana explained. ¡°Our farmers would also till the land and put fertilizer before that, the whole point was that it needed to reach the roots so the plant could feed on it. Since the pond is so clean it must mean that there are tunnels underneath to feed the tree.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Ajax had a hard time holding back his laughter as Alana left Aranor at a loss for words. ¡°I suggest you do a whole overhaul of your defenses.¡± Ajax suggested. ¡°With the fortress tree Xavier won I¡¯m sure there will be more than a few experiments done and since it will be something too big to keep hidden, spies will have access to it.¡± ¡°How about we give you that tour now?¡± Arianwyn changed the topic. ¡°It will be the same one I¡¯m sure Alana received but I still think you¡¯ll enjoy it more than the one you got in Deepwood.¡± Ajax nodded, a little absentminded as his [Mana Sense] examined the small pond. The mana density of the water was something he had only felt in floors that had level seventies on them, he was very tempted to gather a few flasks for his [Alchemy] when another thought hit him. ¡°Xavier, is there a spot already planned for the fortress tree to be planted?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Maybe?¡± Xavier answered unsure. ¡°Father¡¯s researchers might already be preparing a spot. Why?¡± ¡°Because I just thought of a perfect little pond with a small patch of land in the center where it would really flourish.¡± Both Lexi and Anna were quick to catch on to what Ajax was suggesting as his discovery of the mana rich pond had caused waves with the nobles, both those directly involved with the skirmish as well as all of the gossip mongers in the capital upon their return. ¡°That might not work out as well as you¡¯d like.¡± Anna said. ¡°The noble that owns those lands leaks more than a sieve.¡± She knew this because with the amount of information her father¡¯s spies gained he was able to perfectly predict all their moves on the market and profit. ¡°It¡¯s worth considering.¡± the prince said with a smile as he knew what they were referring to and was also aware of the plan for Ajax¡¯s future dukedom to include the land. With consideration for the recent defensive agreement their two nations had recently made, the elves of Sylvanthal were much more open to discussing the fortress tree¡¯s defensive capabilities with Ajax. While none of the guards got very specific about what they could do individually they did answer general questions he had. Much like in Deepwood Ajax and the rest of their group was received a small private throne room by the royal family as well as many of their high tiered retainers. Unlike the tense atmosphere in Deepwood upon their entrance in the room they were welcomed like guests instead of accused to be interrogated, with one exception. From the moment he entered the room Ajax could feel the queen¡¯s gaze flicker from him to Lexi and to Arianwyn. It didn¡¯t take more than a moment for him to realize why that was as he remembered Arianwyn had had a crush on him when they had parted ways with the king, who doubtlessly shared the situation with his wife. His wife, who was now analyzing their every move. Chapter 409 The group received a warm welcome , the king took a moment to hug his daughter before he welcomed the rest of them and invited them to help themselves to the buffet that waited for them on the table along the side of the room. The queen was quick to realize that there was nothing going on between her daughter and Ajax as it took less than a minute for her to stop analyzing them, at the same time her attitude warmed up considerably now that she only saw them as friends of her daughter. The same could not be said for Elara¡¯s father who had also been in the room and was now judging every move Benedict made. Just as it was obvious to the queen from their interaction that there was nothing going on between Ajax and Arianwyn it was equally obvious that Benedict and Elara were circling each other. ¡°Should we help him?¡± Ajax asked in a whisper. ¡°It won¡¯t do any good.¡± the queen said with a warm smile. ¡°He¡¯s a lot like me and it will just take some time until he reaches his own decision on how he feels about their relationship. Once he reaches that decision and if he doesn¡¯t approve then you can help.¡± ¡°Any chance you can skip that next time you think I am in a relationship.¡± Arianwyn called out her mother as she had also noticed the way she had been sizing up Ajax and Lexi after they entered. ¡°No, darling.¡± the queen said with the same warm smile, the cheerful tone making Ajax feel a little sorry for whoever dated Arianwyn. ¡°Get a good acting skill and pretend to date a really bad match for a month before starting to date the person you¡¯re really interested in.¡± Anna said with a deadpan face. ¡°The positive emotions from dropping the walking disaster and the size of the upgrade should be enough to override the vigilance period out of sheer relief.¡± Arianwyn looked at Anna with a look of awe while the queen had a look of mixed outrage and dred at the idea. ¡°You are not doing that.¡± the king said with a perfect poker face, the fact that he wasn¡¯t even looking towards Anna giving away just how hard his social skills were working to maintain said poker face. For most of the evening nobody ventured into any important topics, the royal family had realized quickly how stressed the journey into Deepwood had made everyone and decided there was enough time for them to have a night to just settle in. ¡°I would like to apologize for my previous behavior, Baron Heathbound.¡± Once Elara¡¯s father stopped his deep interrogation of Benedict he moved towards Ajax. ¡°I took no offense, Duke.¡± Ajax said with a wry smile. Ajax¡¯s defeat of Elara in their fight during the tournament combined with him sharing that she had the Witch Trait with the Gryndor royal family had made the Duke very hostile throughout their initial joint travel towards the first of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons. ¡°It was still very inappropriate of me, especially after you sold my family one of the slots for delving Deepwood¡¯s dungeons.¡± the duke pressed on. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I think you will find such chances are going to become more abundant in the near future.¡± Ajax said as he tried to downplay his actions, his discomfort in the social situation was so obvious that Lexi was holding herself back from simply interjecting and acting as a middle man between all of Ajax¡¯s conversations for the rest of the evening. ¡°Oh?¡± The Duke was very interested in this. ¡°Why is that?¡± Benedict was quick to answer the question as he not only noticed Ajax¡¯s discomfort but also sensed an opportunity to improve the Duke¡¯s impression of himself. He went on to quickly explain their thoughts on the delve exchange between Sylvanthal, the Republic, Gryndor and possibly Brightstone. The queen had also taken notice of Ajax¡¯s awkwardness and asked her daughter about it. ¡°Does he have an issue with elves? Or is he just shy?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± the prince suppressed a chuckle. ¡°No, he didn¡¯t strike me as shy and he definitely doesn¡¯t have a problem with elves.¡± Arianwyn blushed a little in embarrassment as she remembered the outfit she wore back when she was trying to seduce Ajax and the way it had drawn his attention. ¡°Best enjoy that while it lasts.¡± the prince said with his trademark smirk. ¡°Oh,¡± the queen said with a challenging tone, showing her Blackthorn heritage and not backing down. ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°Ajax was born a commoner.¡± the prince let out a dejected sigh. ¡°Not only that but the nobles that were ruling over the area weren¡¯t ideal.¡± ¡°Is it nobles he has an issue with?¡± A slight bit of panic entered the king¡¯s voice. ¡°He wasn¡¯t mistreated, I hope.¡± ¡°Not directly, there was an issue with management but there wasn¡¯t anything specific to him, thank the gods. His upbringing just steered him towards an admittedly healthy level of paranoia that took a while for him to overcome, even now I doubt he has fully outgrown it.¡± The prince explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like paranoia.¡± the queen nodded towards the conversation Ajax was having. ¡°Oh no, like I said he has mostly outgrown that.¡± the prince said as his smirk returned in full force, even growing a little predatory. ¡°It¡¯s the overly polite and indirect way nobles interact at these events that make him uncomfortable. Something I am sure he will overcome once he has the power to ignore any perceived slights. With the speed he is growing at I don¡¯t see that taking too long.¡± The longer the party went on the more relaxed Ajax got as everyone started to drop the formalities more and more. While Ajax hadn¡¯t realized that this was all led by exampled by the king and queen most everyone else did with Lexi even pulling Arianwyn aside to thank her for it. As Ajax¡¯s sociability grew it didn¡¯t take him long until he found himself talking with the fortress guardian. The elf was on the younger side being only one hundred and fifty years old with a level of one hundred. It didn¡¯t take long for Ajax to start talking about the maintenance of mana infused plants and the elf was more than excited to discuss the subject. The situation ended up as a small issue for the king and queen, Ajax and the fortress guardian had slowly retreated to one side of the room and while they would welcome anyone in their discussion about growing mana dense plants nobody else was that interested in the topic to listen for more than a minute. As the night had started to drag on the king and queen were looking to bring the small welcoming party to an end but Ajax looked so animated talking off to one side that they didn¡¯t want to send him away like that after how the evening started. ¡°You can call an end to the evening.¡± Lexi even went to reassure them as she noticed the glances they kept throwing at him. ¡°He¡¯ll keep going well into the late hours of the morning if you let him.¡± ¡°We can have the royal alchemist set aside a few hours to teach him about some of our more area specific ingredients and recipes.¡± Arianwyn also joined in, she had seen just how dedicated Ajax was to the profession. ¡°He also won¡¯t mind, as soon as he leaves he¡¯ll just be glad it''s over and think that this wasn¡¯t such a bad party.¡± The king was just about to call an end to the evening now that he was reassured it won¡¯t be making a bad impression when everyone¡¯s attention was drawn towards the pair discussing things off to one side. ¡°WHAT?!¡± the fortress guardian exclaimed in shock. ¡°BEES?!¡± Nobody had any issue¡¯s reading the clear look of ¡®I fucked up¡¯ on Ajax¡¯s face. Silvia, Alana and Anna were working very hard not facepalm as Ajax slipped up and revealed something in his excitement. The prince didn¡¯t even attempt to resist as he brought his hand up to his forehead and started shaking his head. ¡°We were so close to the end,¡± he muttered. In the end the king didn¡¯t have to call an end to the evening as the groups started reforming after the outburst and it wasn¡¯t long before their guest from Gryndor and Darkclaw departed. Unlike Deepwood both the Republic and Gryndor had a staffed embassy in Sylvanthal so there was no need to go to an inn. Ajax spent the entire trip to the embassy with Alana glaring accusingly at him for revealing something for free and Lexi reassuring him that it wasn¡¯t that big a deal. Chapter 410 The knowledge that bees help with polarization was new to the elves, they knew that bees were attracted to flowers but they hadn¡¯t pieced together that the flowers had adapted to make use of the bees. One of the things Ajax was more cognizant of needing to keep a secret was that he had figured out how to infuse mana into the bees. During his time in the academy the hives were now on their third queen. The first had only lasted between a year or two depending on the hive but the second queen had lasted almost four years for all the hives. More important however was the fact that with every new queen the amount of mana each bee was infused with seemed to grow. Their study into this was still new but Ajax theorized that if everything surrounding a creature was infused with mana their offsprings would naturally be better adapted to mana. Bees were the perfect test subjects for this since they had enough hives for variety and every queen would birth thousands of bees before the new generation. The latest generation of worker bees had become active only a couple of weeks before Ajax had left yet it was clear that these bees were different from the hives he had initially brought, the only question remaining however was what would happen once the bees crossed the level twenty threshold that seemed to differentiate animals and monsters? Even now the stings from the latest bees had started to actually cause some damage to some of their non-combat retainers and they were only level five. Thankfully none of the hives were aggressive, one of the things Ajax had known to look out for every time a hive changed its queen was if the new queen was aggressive towards humans, twice now he had had to remove and kill said queen and simply wait for the hive to provide a replacement. As they arrived at the embassy Ajax noticed that it wasn¡¯t as nice or as large as the one Gryndor had in the Republic, he was sure this would change in the coming decades as nobles would start traveling more often but even now the building was a definite step up to their housing in Deepwood. ¡°How do you want to do this?¡± the prince asked once Ajax took a seat. ¡°The Blackthorn heir¡¯s birthday party is in five days and we are invited to attend.¡± This was a true invitation that Ajax could reject if he wanted to without causing a political incident. The easiest way to do so would be to simply delve Sylvanthal¡¯s main dungeon starting tomorrow. Like all other main dungeons it started with a base floor from level twenty five to thirty and grew by five levels per floor. Given the chance Ajax would most likely push all the way to challenging a level one hundred and thirty miniboss, that would be on the eighteen floor of the dungeon. There was no way they would clear all that in time for the party. ¡°We¡¯ll delve their secondary dungeon tomorrow.¡± Ajax said after taking a moment to think about it. ¡°Do you know who will join us?¡± Their secondary dungeon started with levels thirty one to thirty six and had a nine level jump each floor. The group would only have to clear as many as ten floors, and the tenth floor was already a stretch seeing as the miniboss there would be level one hundred and thirty five. Even with a favorable match-up Ajax was worried about it. ¡°Aranor, Arianwyn and Elara will all join us.¡± the prince said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if they will tag along for the final dungeon in Sylvanthal but they¡¯ll delve with us for both of the ones here in the capital. Along with them two of the ranger squads will also join to help clear the final floor, or on the off chance that two arches on the final floor have a valuable element for their main theme they will split up to clear both.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Despite knowing that Sylvanthal made a very compelling reason for sending two ranger squads, Ajax''s initial thought when he heard was tinged with a bit of speculation about how much power they were sending. In an odd twist of fate it was the idea that a single ranger squad was enough to handle all of them inside a dungeon that calmed Ajax down, what would be the point of sending two if that was their aim. With that settled nobody spent any more time as they headed straight to bed. Ajax and Lexi simply cuddled together as they both prepared for the trying fights they would face in the coming days. Of them all Anna was the most nervous, despite heading straight to bed she spent the first hour twisting and turning in her bed before she finally fell asleep. The reason for this was the fear she felt. It wasn¡¯t the upcoming fight she was afraid of however, it was that Lexi would leave her behind. Anna and Lexi had been best friends from the age of ten, more than that however Lexi had been Anna¡¯s only true friend until they had joined the Academy. Throughout all this time they had been inseparable and while Lexi had almost always been the better mage they were still relatively close in terms of power. As of late this dynamic had started to change. It had started with Lexi gaining a Domain, followed quickly by her gaining the Legendary affinity for Vibration mana. This had been a massive jump in power but because of how offensive both gains were Anna hadn¡¯t truly grasped the difference because Lexi couldn¡¯t truly bring them to bear in their sparring without putting Anna in danger. The realization came when Lexi managed to push one floor further than any of them. Anna¡¯s sleep that night was anything but restful, she had barely gotten five hours of sleep before she woke covered in a sheen of sweat. ¡°I¡¯ll do it...¡± she promised to herself in a whisper between deep breaths. ¡°No matter what, I''ll bring down the level seventy two.¡± Despite knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fall back asleep Anna laid back down in bed as she tried her best to relax, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be long until sunrise. The news that they would be delving Sylvanthal¡¯s secondary dungeon brought a big smile on Arianwyn¡¯s face. She knew that if they were delving them main dungeon not only would she possibly need to leave early so that she would not miss her cousin¡¯s party but also that Ajax, and by extension everyone else, would also attend. That night the queen and king had questioned Arianwyn as to why she was so attached to this group. It wasn¡¯t like she hadn¡¯t had friends before, there weren¡¯t all that many of them on account of both her position as princess and her sheer talent, but that didn¡¯t seem to be a problem for her here. Other than Darkclaw, everyone else was either a lot younger or much weaker than her, in most cases it was both. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Arianwyn admitted. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I know that they all have the potential to catch up with me. You always told me that a few decades wouldn¡¯t matter as we got older, I guess I just realized that now.¡± Both the queen and king had shared those words in hopes of having Arianwyn befriend some of the older elves who could spar with her when she was younger but they were still very happy with this turn of events. It was clear as day to both of them that not only Ajax but Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict would all become future champions, seeing their daughter make lifelong friends who would live that long brought them both so much joy. The group that entered the dungeon was a lot bigger than usual. A total of thirty one people entered and as soon as they were inside one of them couldn¡¯t hold back any more. ¡°Can you really do it?¡± one of the widest elves Ajax had ever seen asked him before he even had a chance to look around the floor. ¡°Rimthel!!¡± the ranger squad leader shouted to chastise his subordinate before turning an apologetic look towards Ajax. ¡° Forgive him, he¡¯s very passionate about smithing and it has been more than twelve delves since he has seen any floor with quality metals above level ninety.¡± Ajax was surprised to hear the elf was a smith. He knew that there were elven smiths just the same as there were human mages or dwarves farmers but that one of them was not only a good enough smith to work with such mana dense metals as well as being strong enough to be part of the ranger squads was not something he expected. Once the squad leader turned away Rimthel slowly crept close to Ajax and whispered so softly Ajax could barely hear it. ¡°Can you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± Ajax responded with a grin the prince would have been proud of. Chapter 411 The first floor of the dungeon wasn¡¯t all that special of a setting, the rather common forest theme was one Ajax had grown very used to. What made this floor different from most he had seen was that the trees grew about twice as thick and four to five times as tall, more than that this floor also had elven enemies defending it. ¡°I can see now why so few crafters get their start in the capital.¡± Ajax mentioned as he looked around. The presence of humanoids on the first floor all but guaranteed that the market would be flooded with weapons and armor that was collected from them, since a decent number of teams would clear the first floor there would always be a steady supply of items people were looking to unload quickly. ¡°Has the royal family or the Guild tried to stop the flood?¡± Anna asked, curious about how something like this would affect the market. ¡°Both have tried.¡± Arianwyn answered. ¡°It has failed every time for the same reason, directly or indirectly.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s always the same reason why not fix that before trying again?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s hard to fix the nobility.¡± the prince joined in clueing Ajax in on what the reason was. ¡°Almost every ruler tries but it takes many generations of rulers doing their best to put a decent dent in the corruption of nobles and if the line is ever broken by one bad or incompetent ruler all the work must start again.¡± ¡°Also how do nobles ruin things when the royals attempt it.¡± Ajax knew that nobles could band together to oppose the royal family but he doubted they would do so for something as trivial as low to mid level thirty weapons and armor, he could see them uniting against the guild for the same reason just on principle. ¡°Only way to stop the flood on the market is for all the spoils to be bought before they can enter it.¡± Anna explained. ¡°That means everyone¡¯s storage is checked when they leave. If everyone¡¯s storage is getting checked as they leave it won¡¯t take long for nobles to bribe the ones checking to find out about any other valuables commoners are taking out. Once that happens the system soon collapses because the Guild will oppose it in order to protect its members.¡± The first arch they found on the first floor was guarded by a giant beaver. Ajax felt rather bad about the poor thing as Aranor dispatched it before it even made a move to defend the arch. With the guard handled Ajax wasted no time placing his hand on the arch. ¡°Well?¡± the leader of one ranger squad asked with a raised eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t so much that they doubted Aranor¡¯s word about Ajax¡¯s ability as the claim was so outrageous they still didn¡¯t fully believe it was possible despite the reliability of the source. ¡°Earth and Magma primarily.¡± Ajax said. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be much Air or Plant. I¡¯m guessing either an underground cave system or the inside of a volcano.¡± Ajax felt a shiver go up his spine when he remembered the last time he had been on a floor theme that imitated the inside of a volcano. At some points the ledges got very thin and more than once one of his teammates was thrown off the sides and left dangling by the ropes everyone had tied around themselves above a lake of magma. That floor had had level ninety enemies however and he wasn¡¯t at all worried about one with enemies half that level. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll be, he was actually right.¡± Rimthel looked on with a mix of awe and glee. ¡°So you can just go to whatever theme you want?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ajax shook his head in denial. ¡°I can feel the mana types dominant on the floors, but I don¡¯t know how they will be expressed, more than that if I don¡¯t recognise the mana type it will be useless. Also the higher we delve the fewer mana types I can see.¡± ¡°More importantly is that the arch is already set.¡± Arianwyn spoke up as she fixed the ranger squads with a warning look. ¡°He can¡¯t change it, only see what it is.¡± ¡°What she means is don¡¯t blame him for the themes we get later on, he can¡¯t change them.¡± Aranor translated, left unsaid was the ¡®or else¡¯ Arianwyn implied about anyone harassing her new friend. The second floor turned out to be a multitude of tunnels that were dug around a few rivers of magma. Because of how low level the floor was there were always light mana rocks embedded in the walls to provide visibility. The monsters on this floor were also basic worms and other digging animals, while all of them had some sort of fire affinity none of them were strong enough yet to handle the heat of the magma. With Benedict, Lexi, Anna and Xavier needing to kill something on the second floor they now had a number of different arch options to choose from, at least initially. Once the third arch was identified to have Crystal mana as its third most common mana on the floor with Life and Earth as the top two it was a foregone conclusion what arch they would choose. Gems were always in short supply no matter the mana density, more than that they were used by all types or armor and weapon crafters meaning a very high demand for a very low supply, it wasn¡¯t uncommon to find master crafters who were still novices in working with gems because of their poor beginnings and lack of backers. ¡°Hopefully the next floor theme isn¡¯t a cave.¡± one of the rangers complained as they moved through the third floor. ¡°Speak for yourself, I just hope it has some ore deposits.¡± Rimthel responded. Up until this point the ranger squads hadn¡¯t seen anything to be impressed by. They could admit that the Ajax¡¯s classmates were stronger than any other people their level they had seen but that was to be expected considering the number of different dungeons they had delved so far. This changed however as Lexi faced off against her crystal scorpion. With the miniboss being only level fifty four Lexi didn¡¯t consider it strong enough to even be a warm up. The rangers had all tensed a little when they saw that Lexi allowed the crystalline arachnid close in but seeing nobody else react they didn¡¯t interfere. When Lexi unleashed a full power shockwave that turned the miniboss into rubble the rangers were impressed. Not only were they impressed with the power of the spell but also with the control Lexi showed as her attack demolished the miniboss yet didn¡¯t do more than leave a few small cracks on the wall of the tunnel. ¡°That was an affinity.¡± one of the mages broke out of their shock first. ¡°You have the affinity for shockwaves?¡± All of the casters and even some of the more melee focused rangers were very much interested in this development. Shockwave was one of the spells all of them made use of regularly because of how versatile it was, depending on which variation of the spells was used it could be a defensive spell to intercept a projectile, a defensive spell to force an enemy away or an offensive spell as Lexi had just demonstrated. There had been many attempts to unlock the affinity but so far none of them had succeeded. ¡°What rarity is it?¡± another ranger followed up, the question was innocent in his mind, he had asked because he had a long standing bet with his teacher on if the affinity was Rare or Epic. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary.¡± Lexi answered with a sweet smile. The answer floored both squads, not so much for the power of the affinity but rather by the admission of possessing a Legendary affinity. ¡°Wh - why would you admit something like that?¡± ¡°Because Elara has it as well.¡± Lexi¡¯s answer was flippant but the effect on the rangers was immediate, a wave of congratulations fell on Elara. ¡°I see the Baron is not the only future powerhouse.¡± The ranger leaders approached Aranor, the three of them knew they would be ranger leaders for most of their new king¡¯s reign so being up to date about such powerful people would be a requirement for them even if they were allies. ¡°This defensive agreement is looking like a better deal with every day that passes.¡± ¡°All five of them have the foundations to become more powerful than anyone currently alive.¡± Aranor warned them. ¡°I will admit Lady Manashaper has started to pull ahead of the others and Baron Hearthbound is like nothing I¡¯ve ever seen before.¡± ¡°You think he needs to be taken care of?¡± the other squad leader whispered. ¡°Gods no.¡± Aranor shook his head. ¡°Despite some glaring weaknesses when it comes to social interactions the boy¡¯s mind is just as valuable as his personal combat prowess.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± the squad leader asked. ¡°I have a feeling that we are living in a historic time.¡± Aranor said as his gaze focused on Ajax. ¡°With the discoveries he has made and the change his very presence is causing on the nations I foresee us all expanding our borders in the coming centuries.¡± Chapter 412 For the fifth floor of the dungeon the team collectively decided to go with one of the random arches. The reason it was random wasn¡¯t that Ajax couldn¡¯t feel what the predominant mana types were, it was simply that he didn¡¯t know those represented. He had felt them in present in small quantities on other floors but he hadn¡¯t been able to get a clear reading on what they represented. Since the floor would only have levels up to sixty two it would be a perfect warm-up for Anna, Lexi and Xavier. Benedict knew that with his physically focused build he wouldn¡¯t have a chance at tackling the following floor, it wasn¡¯t something he was happy about but it was something he had accepted, as a melee physical combatant the fight would simply last too long for any boosting potion to remain effective and the level difference was too much to overcome for him. ¡°What is this?¡± one of the rangers asked as they noticed a sticky substance on the ground. ¡°Ajax, is this what I think it is?¡± Lexi asked as she took in her surroundings, she was pretty sure she was right with her guess but wanted Ajax to confirm it for her. ¡°Yes it is.¡± Ajax confirmed excitement and awe in his voice. ¡°Judging by the size of the honeycomb I¡¯d say we should be expecting them to be about four feet in length.¡± ¡°Honeycomb?¡± Anna asked confused for a moment before her eyes opened wide in surprise. ¡°Is this entire floor a big hive?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the entire floor but this part of it certainly seems to be.¡± Ajax said as he looked at the sheen of what he very much suspected to be honey glistening on the walls. ¡°Anna also do be careful with your fire, pure honey like this is flammable.¡± ¡°You think the minibosses might be swarm types?¡± the prince asked Ajax. ¡°Could be.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°That would mean that their defense and endurance is low so they should be no issue for any of us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an interesting floor I¡¯ll grant you but can we get going.¡± Aranor said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in an anthill version of this floor and they are dangerous, after a certain point it''s like the obelisk was activated on you and the entire floor swarms you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they have a hive mind.¡± Ajax said. ¡°If you¡¯re careful that won¡¯t happen.¡± For the next five minutes Ajax very loosely explained how a hive worked as one organism and that if they wouldn¡¯t let any bees live long enough they wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate their presence throughout the hive. ¡°Anything you want off this floor Ajax?¡± the prince asked, knowing that Ajax¡¯s ideas could be a little out there.¡± ¡°Oh yes.¡± Ajax nodded rapidly. ¡°There has to be some honey we can take out and I¡¯ll want some of that. Less likely to be found are eggs or royal jelly.¡± That comment brought everyone up short, not because of the food or the presence of a type of jelly they hadn¡¯t heard about but the eggs. ¡°You think there could be eggs?¡± Aranor asked, his words coming out slowly one at a time.¡± ¡°Most likely not ones we could take with us.¡± Ajax sighed as he admitted, he had found floors that seemed to have shrunk the person entering before and while they had found eggs of creatures on those floors they weren¡¯t ever able to take them out. ¡°The dungeons don¡¯t seem to allow that.¡± ¡°Then what do you want to honey?¡± one of the rangers asked. ¡°Or the¡­ what is royal jelly?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Lexi was quick to catch on why Ajax wanted both the honey and the royal jelly. Ajax had explained how bees worked before and she knew that if Ajax managed to get any of the honey from this hive and feed it to his bees he might be able to get them to integrate the mana infusion quicker, the royal jelly would be especially valuable since that would should be able to boost a future queen helping speed up the process by a few generations. ¡°He¡¯s an alchemist, you know how they are about odd mana-rich ingredients.¡± Another ranger whispered to the nod of everyone who heard. Even Lexi was nodding along not just because she didn¡¯t want to explain everything she knew about bees but she actually agreed with the statement and knew that Ajax would also keep some of the honey for his [Alchemy]. ¡°We¡¯re clearing the entire floor anyway so what does it matter.¡± the ranger squad leader said, all the royal ranger squads had standing orders to scour floors where there was a reasonable suspicion that eggs of magical creatures could be found. ¡°What does this royal jelly look like?¡± ¡°It should look similar to regular honey only instead of the golden color it would be more like milk it''s surprisingly sour, it¡¯s actually how the bees-¡± Ajax started to explain only to be interrupted. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for a lesson on bees Ajax.¡± Lexi said. ¡°So white honey.¡± the ranger leader nodded. ¡°No offense but if I find some white sticky substance I won¡¯t be tasting it.¡± With a few chuckles both rangers'' squad started to head out and clear the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to leave a few of the arch guardians alive, some of them still need to clear the floor.¡± the prince called out. ¡°Anything we should watch out for?¡± Benedict asked Ajax, recognizing that this time his friend might actually know a lot more about their enemies. ¡°Yeah the stinger.¡± Ajax said. ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± Xavier chuckled along with Anna and Lexi. ¡°I mean it.¡± Ajax said in a serious tone. ¡°Judging by the size of the hive these bees are maybe sixty times larger than the normal ones, bee stings hurt and itch for so long because they inject venom. With this much more venom and the mana concentration one sting might not be immediately fatal but it would incapacitate any of you, two or more would be fatal regardless what body part they hit.¡± This information brought the joking to a halt, a swarm type enemy with this strong of a weapon was a real threat for all of them. ¡°Anything else, weak point?¡± Benedict asked. ¡°Yeah their jaws.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Bees have an exoskeleton, if you put a sword or spear through their mouth you won¡¯t hit bone so you can crush their brain. Ice magic should also work well but I¡¯m not sure how that works with the mana they have access to now.¡± Ajax was the first of them to go up against the bees to see what they could do. A miniboss swarm seemed to be made up of seven four and a half feet long bees. Ajax wasted no time and made short work of them, with his speed and power half of the bees were dead before they even had a chance to react to his attack. Before killing the last bee however he did let it sting him in the thigh, it wasn¡¯t often that he could find a chance to expose his [Poison Resistance] to such an odd venom. ¡°Argh.¡± Ajax groaned as he endured the pain while also crushing the final bee with his hammer. ¡°Are you sure that was a good idea?¡± the prince asked Ajax, only slightly worried about him willingly being hit with a venom. ¡°Actually I¡¯m starting to regret this already.¡± Ajax said while keeping his voice as emotionless as possible yet his hands had started clenching and unclenching. ¡°Are you in danger?¡± the prince was a little worried but because of the calm look on Ajax¡¯s face he hadn¡¯t started panicking. ¡°No, I just failed to consider the aftereffects of the poison.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh god it must itch like crazy.¡± Lexi exclaimed as she remembered how the pain from the sting wasn¡¯t pleasant but it faded quickly. Anna and Lexi had no issue dealing with their own swarms. While Vibration wasn¡¯t all that good against an exoskeleton, both of the girls were powerful mages that had a very strong advantage by opening the fight with a very powerful spell that hit the entire swarm. Lexi went with ice while Anna stuck with her trademark fire Xavier and Benedict didn¡¯t have such an easy time, both of them started with a very aggressive opening attack and then switched into a defensive fighting style as the slowly killed off one bee at a time while keeping well away from the stingers. Both of them were a bit roughed up from where the bees had managed to gnaw on them a little but neither of them had gotten stung. The ranger squads had also shown their prowess as it barely took four hours for them to clear and scout the entire floor. ¡°You were right, no eggs.¡± the rangers said as they returned. ¡°At least none that we can take out.¡± ¡°What about the honey and royal jelly?¡± Ajax asked, only slightly disappointed with the news about the eggs since he had been expecting them. ¡°We did manage to find about ten¡­ honeycombs, you called them, of honey and one of the royal jelly that we can take with us.¡± the ranger nodded. ¡°The honey ones were scattered all over the floor.¡± The amount was something Ajax was very happy with. Each honeycomb could hold about fifteen gallons so that was a lot. ¡°Anything specific you are planning?¡± the prince asked him as he could tell Ajax was holding something back. ¡°Yeah, we need to be careful with the royal jelly.¡± Ajax said. ¡°With it a dedicated farmer could raise his own queen, with the right skills they might be able to tame it even if they won¡¯t Bond with it and through it they would control the entire hive.¡± ¡°As long as they grow to this size I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.¡± the prince said. ¡°Lets go to the next floor.¡± Chapter 413 Anna P.O.V. Fighting the bees on the previous floor had been a great way to warm up and it was something I very much needed if I was to kill a miniboss in this frozen hellscape. The fifth floor of the dungeon was a land of eternal winter. While I had seen snow outside the dungeon it never got any higher than my knees, father told me the worst winter he ever experienced it got as high as his waist. ¡°This is amazing.¡± Arianwyn shouted with glee as continued to practice her Domain. This was the perfect place for it, her winter domain was right at home with the theme of the floor. Oddly enough the presence of her domain was the only reason the wind had slowed down around us and we weren¡¯t pelted by hail. ¡°Let''s go find some of the minibosses.¡± Ajax said with a relaxed posture, it was as if the cold didn¡¯t affect him at all while I could feel it burrowing through my enchantments with every moment that passed. ¡°Since the floor is environmental we the minibosses might be weaker than usual.¡± I appreciated the heartwarming encouragement, while Ajax¡¯s lack of subtlety wasn¡¯t something I appreciated there was something to be said about his willingness to support his friends. The encouragement was mainly geared towards Benedict who had all but given up on clearing this floor before we even stepped foot on it, but it was also slightly directed towards me. The winter theme of the floor wasn¡¯t a disadvantage for me, while snow and ice could both easily put out a fire so could a fire melt them. This would all come down to one thing for me, could I be efficient enough with my mana to bring down my enemy before they got to me or not. I know I could blow all my mana quickly but that might not be efficient enough to kill something at level seventy two, I also knew with enough time I could use my mana efficiently enough to bring it down. The problem with the second scenario was that I was alone and a full on mage so I had to win before they got too close to me. Am I even a full on mage anymore? I know I spent every one of my free stat points in either my Vitality or my Mental stats but I had also delved more than fifteen dungeons. All of my stats had more than an extra fifty added on just from clearing floors, my body wasn¡¯t as weak any more. I know for a fact Benedict is planning on working out a deal with Elara¡¯s family to help build his foundation more like the elven physical fighter after his Metal stats had increased so much from delving. Once I returned home I would need to work hard to get accustomed to my new limits, especially when it comes to my physical attributes which will have all gained almost a 50% increase in under a year. As soon as we crossed the boundary of Arianwyn¡¯s Domain the chilling wind returned with a vengeance. I bundled myself tighter with the fur coat my father had gifted me, more than that I could also admit that he was right. Despite the presence of the soft fur not doing anything to keep me warmer than regular leather would have with the same enchantments the fur just made it feel like it was keeping out the cold and even that little bit helped. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± Ajax warned us but I knew none of us would even lift a finger unless there was a miniboss. There were more than twenty people above level one hundred and fifty on this floor, even if half of them split off so they could stay with Arianwyn as she practiced her domain, nothing would get the jump on us. ¡°What is it?¡± Benedict asked curiously, the nature of the enemy was important to see if it was a favorable match-up for him. ¡°Foxes.¡± Ajax answered, a little sadness in his tone. It didn¡¯t take me long to see why he wasn¡¯t pleased. While the monsters the elves were toying with did resemble foxes they were also only slightly smaller than an average horse, not only that but they were pure white, their fur would sell for a premium. Their increased size didn¡¯t seem to affect their usual quickness and to make matters worse they could somehow dig through the snow in the same way a mole monster would through the earth. I could feel their mana working but that small bit of warning wasn¡¯t enough for any of us except Ajax to even consider fighting them. ¡°There¡¯s a miniboss there for you Ajax¡± The prince said, he obviously agreed with my assessment of the monsters.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Ajax didn¡¯t hesitate to engage, I could feel him activating [Mana Syphon], my own [Sense Mana] painted a clear picture of a vortex centered on Ajax where all mana would surge towards as he consumed it to increase his own physical prowess. As Ajax engaged the fox I braced myself for the wall of Aura that washed over us. It wasn¡¯t all that powerful, I¡¯ve felt many more powerful Aura¡¯s but all of those had been constrained or offset by another Aura. Nobody else other than Ajax was unleashing his Aura now and while it wasn¡¯t intentional I could tell Xavier, Benedict, Lexi and myself were all slightly pressured by it. With his sword in hand Ajax¡¯s hand turned into a blur. I knew his hand hadn¡¯t actually turned invisible, it was simply moving faster than my eyes could track, a single exchange with the fox was enough to bring it down. The only reason I knew he had made five cuts was by counting the wounds on the fox. ¡°You¡¯re getting sloppy.¡± the prince teased Ajax. Despite getting a lot stronger in the past half a year, even more than all of us, it was getting more and more obvious that Ajax wasn¡¯t used to his own stats. The cuts that covered the fox¡¯s body weren¡¯t precisely grouped. Back when we left Gryndor Ajax wouldn¡¯t have needed to sacrifice any of his speed for his cuts to land exactly where he wanted them to. It didn¡¯t take more than five more minutes before we found our first arch on this floor. The guardian was a creature I hadn¡¯t seen before but one I had read about as being relatively common in frozen floors. A penguin. ¡°I¡¯ll fight it.¡± [Noble Bearing] keeps my face emotionless and my voice even as I lay claim to the miniboss. Penguins are slow, and not particularly tough. Their threat comes mostly from their magic and their pack tactics. This whole fight will come down to how quickly I can overpower the penguin¡¯s defensive magic while ensuring my own defenses aren¡¯t breached. While getting in position I get a round of nods from the rangers as three of them have their bows drawn, ready to kill all the surrounding penguins and leave only the miniboss for me to fight. I bring out the potion and remove the cork before downing it in one gulp. The moment after I swallow I begin to chant. The potion is one specifically made to influence the drinker¡¯s mana towards fire. I can feel the potion take effect as the cold and wind stop bothering me entirely as a wave of warmth radiates out from my core, with this my fire spells would pack that much heat. Halfway through my chant the penguin¡¯s feel my mana gathering and move to engage me. A few brief but powerful flashes of mana spring up in my surroundings as this happens but I force myself to ignore them as the rangers remove the minibosses¡¯ helpers. The surprise attack confuses the miniboss and that is the last of the help I will get as I channel almost a tenth of my entire mana pool into a single flame lance that I sent hurtling towards the penguin. I don¡¯t even wait to see the effects as I already start chanting my second spell. My [Sense Mana] is locked on to my lance, as soon as it gets within ten feet of the penguin it¡¯s met with a frozen barrier. My lance loses its form as it breaks through the barrier and the flames wash over the penguin. The miniboss whines in pain as the flames flow over it and for a moment it seems like it wants to run away. If this was a real penguin I¡¯m sure it would attempt to flee but in the dungeon the monster''s base instincts are suppressed and the angry creature starts to retaliate. The brief moment of indecision it had was enough for me to finish chanting my wall of flames. A defensive spell isn¡¯t something I would normally use to follow up my initial attack with but in this case it is essential as the flood of fire mana very much limits my opponents range. Over the past six years I have become increasingly proficient in dealing with caster type monsters, in fact I am sure there are very few people at my level that can claim the same mastery as Lexi, Xavier and I have. The reason for this is our constant sparring with Ajax, my friend¡¯s casting is almost identical to the way monsters cast their spells. With my defenses established I quickly turn up the aggression with a few quick spells, I can¡¯t allow the penguin to channel a powerful attack or it will break straight through my defensive enchantments. The next few minutes feel like an eternity as a deadlock form where both of us are launching a volley of spells at one another. While the penguin¡¯s spells aren¡¯t strong enough to outright shatter my defensive enchantments I can feel the barriers starting to crack with every shard of ice and frostbolt. At the same time my own spells have managed to break through the penguin¡¯s renewed ice shell and I¡¯m finally starting to deepen the initial burns it suffered. I¡¯m down to a fifth of my mana but that¡¯s more than enough to finish this, that¡¯s when I feel an icy shiver pass through my body. My potion has finally run out and my spells have started to lose some of their heat. While the boost in power wasn¡¯t enormous without it the damage my spells would do to the monsters has dropped considerably, without the added heat the penguin¡¯s own magical defenses smother them too much. I was so close. No, I won¡¯t give up, this isn¡¯t over yet. A brief flash of Ajax and Lexi leaving me behind as they push forward and I can feel my emotions burn as they refuse to allow it to become reality. Then everything clicks into place. I¡¯m not sure what changed but as i release my next fireball I can feel the heat of the flames almost strong enough to burn my own hand as I launch it, it¡¯s more than powerful enough to break though the penguin¡¯s defenses and as the attack lands the flames persistently latch on to the creature, almost like they are enforcing my will for it to burn. The battle ends with my next attack as the creature dies while my flames continue burning through the blizzard without a care in the world as they turn the corpse into ash. I quickly open up my status looking for an explanation of what happened. There it is, down at the bottom, my news skill, my only Legendary skill. [Pyromancer] Chapter 414 The group watched Anna¡¯s battle with the penguin with bated breath. It was obvious when her potion ran out and Ajax could feel Lexi¡¯s grip on his hand tighten, they all knew that with the backlash of the potion the best Anna could hope for was a slow defensive struggle until the monster twenty five levels above her would finish her off. The next fireball Anna released showed her lack of power, Ajax was tempted to end the fight there just to spare Anna the despair of fighting an inevitable loss. Mid-flight however the fireball¡¯s heat shot up, so much so that it was now even hotter than before the potion ran out so much so Ajax was worried if the spell had burnt Anna¡¯s fingers. Her fireball wasn¡¯t the only thing to get hotter as the small wall of flames surrounding Anna also increased in heat as the penguin struggled to put out the flames that would soon claim its life. With the penguin¡¯s attention on putting out the flames Anna has enough time to chant one of her stronger spells and her flame pillar spell leaves the miniboss a half charred lump that is slowly turning to ash. As soon as the battle is over Anna collapses to her knees, her eyes glazed with a faraway look consistent with someone inspecting their status. The prince wastes no time as he snuffs out the intense flames surrounding her before applying first aid. Anna¡¯s hands suffered some second degree burns that are at odds with the few patches of frostbite that adorn her body. By the time Lexi managed to cover the distance and wrap her arms around Anna she had finished inspecting her status, with a tired smile Anna leaned into her friend''s hug ¡°I did it.¡± falling unconscious after getting the words out. ¡°She¡¯s out of mana, but otherwise fine.¡± the prince said. ¡°Whatever happened at the end her mana usage spiked very high.¡± Lexi had a much easier time dealing with the following penguin they met, by leaning into her domain and overall aggressive strategy the fight was over much quicker than Anna¡¯s. Going all in on offense did have its price however and Lexi¡¯s right arm had turned entirely blue after she used it to block one of the penguin¡¯s frostbolts. Ajax hovered around Lexi like a worried mother hen while the healer of the ranger squad worked to reverse the frostbite. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lexi reassured him but they all knew that the fight had been just as close as Anna¡¯s, had the frostbolt hit her head or chest she would have died. Benedict knew he had no chance against a fox or a penguin, there were chances they could find an ice golem or a weak elemental on this floor but he wouldn¡¯t do any better against one of those either. His only chance was to try and take on the behemoth polar bears they had seen traveling alone. His first attempt was also his last, Benedict understood quickly that he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring down a polar bear. WIth their thick muscles and touch skin covered in layers of fur combined with an enormous body meant that he would need to fight flawlessly until he was almost entirely out of stamina to bleed them out. All the bear needed to win was to land anything more than a glancing blow. ¡°Your chances will improve once you start to integrate some magic into your fighting style.¡± Elana reassured him. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I don¡¯t think I stand a much better chance that he did.¡± Xavier said as he took in the outcome of the fight. As a fellow melee fighter Xavier would be hard pressed to keep up with the speed of the bear, even if he did have the damage to kill it the stat difference was just too high for him as a hybrid fighter. ¡°You could try it.¡± Ajax said as he examined the polar bear. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be attuned to the ice mana at all.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°You could manage to remove a large amount of fur with your opening attack, the bear would lose its insulation, slowly the cold would kill it by itself.¡± Ajax explained his theory, he knew that Benedict couldn¡¯t remove enough fur without magic but Xavier had a chance. Ajax¡¯s plan worked well in theory but as they soon found out Xavier simply didn¡¯t have the stats to keep up on the defensive long enough for the cold to start having enough of an effect. ¡°No need to look so down.¡± the prince patted Xavier on the back. ¡°I can barely kill something twenty five levels higher than myself and that¡¯s a much smaller difference for me than it is for you.¡± They had already been on the floor for more than six hours by the time all of them had finished or admitted they wouldn¡¯t be able to clear the floor and they moved to return to Arianwyn who was still practicing her Domain. On the way there Anna had regained consciousness but kept silent about what had given her the increase in power. ¡°Has she taken a break at all?¡± Elara asked Aranor as she looked at just how tired Arianwyn looked and the fact that her Domain was still active. ¡°Not yet.¡± Aranor answered. ¡°She used up the mana in her first Domain in about two hours and after releasing it a second time she has just focused on drawing in the Air, Ice and Water mana from the ambient mana into her Domain.¡± All of them could feel that Arianwyn was successful but this was a slow process. This wouldn¡¯t be something that would help increase her combat power directly but it would instead only slightly increase her reserves in a prolonged fight so long as she could draw on specific mana types from the surroundings. ¡°Any interesting arches for the next floor?¡± Arianwyn asked as she finally stopped practicing after noticing their return. ¡°Hard to say.¡± Ajax answered, with the level of the arch¡¯s so high he could only glimpse the top two mana types present, maybe a third if they were all above 20% of the arch split. Of the five arches they had found none of them had three overly dominant mana types, what¡¯s worse was that all of them had either Plant or Earth as one of the two he could see with two of them having both. This did very little to narrow anything down. ¡°We¡¯re not going for the water one.¡± Ajax said as he excluded the arch that was 50% water. ¡°I say we go for the Earth and Shadow.¡± Rimthel suggested hoping very much it would lead to an underground cave system that would have some metal ores. ¡°We¡¯ve had too many underground floors in this run already.¡± Aranor shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll also be clearing the floor and leaving it in a few hours at most, let''s just go for the Plant and Light.¡± None of them were worried about taking on the level eighty one minibosses, even the level nineties on the next floor wouldn¡¯t really pose a challenge to any of them, Harold would be the only one who would have serious issues against the level ninety nines and Ajax would be the only person trying anything past level one hundred. Support quickly built up around the idea of the Plant and Light floor, with it also being the floor where the group would camp for a night of sleep. Anna, Lexi, Benedict and Xavier didn¡¯t waste any time and exited the dungeon as soon as they got on the next floor Elara and Arianwyn also joined them. The former was looking to spend time with Benedict while the latter was going to make preparations for her cousin¡¯s upcoming birthday party. The following floor turned out to be a simple hilly plain covered by deep grass. It was exactly what the group had hoped for as it was easy for them to clear a large enough patch to set up camp where they all got a few hours of sleep, Ajax Harold and Darkclaw getting a full eight hours so they would be ready for finishing this floor and then clearing out the next two as well. ¡°We might need to change our plans.¡± Aranor said to the two ranger squads once they made camp. ¡°It might not be worth keeping both of you just to clear two floors around level one hundred and fifty. It might be better to break one of you up and send you one or two at a time in some of these lower floors where we know two mana types.¡± Chapter 415 The level nineties didn¡¯t turn out to be that much more of a challenge either, the most eye opening thing about the floor was a deeper understanding into how the mana affected different floors of the dungeon. The floor they had chosen Ajax had recognised as a primarily humanoid floor, which was technically true. What was unexpected was that Wendigo¡¯s were classified as humanoids despite their bestial natures and lack of tools or armor. ¡°I was expecting elves or beastkins when you said Plant and humanoids.¡± the prince said as Ajax and Darkclaw were watching Harold finish his own fight for the floor. ¡°So was I.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But at least now we know this is also a possibility.¡± Ajax had already experienced that goblins, orcs and even kobolds were listed as humanoids by the dungeons, while he had never seen orcs or goblins outside of dungeons he had some experiences with kobolds and they were pretty much feral. This did lead him to question if orcs or goblins would be similar to their aggressive dungeon counterparts or if they could be reasoned with, if any of them existed outside of dungeons at all. Harold didn¡¯t take long to finish his fight. Back when they started fighting a level ninety wendigo would have been a hard fight for him, not something wouldn¡¯t be confident in handling but certainly not easy, now it was only a good warm up for him despite only increasing his level by one during this time. ¡°Let''s see which floor we want to try next.¡± Harold said as he sheathed his sword after wiping the blood off of it. ¡°Actually Ajax, could I trouble you to take a look at a few other floor options.¡± Aranor said seeing that they were finished. ¡°We cleared a few more.¡± Ajax certainly didn¡¯t mind, so far their options were a Metal Fire floor, an Air Lightning floor and whatever this final arch ended up being, he even said as much, these floors were all horrible options for Harold. ¡°Which one is the Metal Fire?¡± One of the ranger leaders asked. ¡°The first one we found.¡± Ajax responded, with a single nod two rangers dashed away, no doubt to clear the floor and scour it for anything useful. Ajax had barely touched the lates arch as he felt an icy shiver travel down his spine as he recognised the mana types and pulled his hand away like he had been burnt. ¡°Definitely not this one, where is the next one?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Never seen you have that reaction to a floor.¡± ¡°Undeath and Curse.¡± Ajax¡¯s words were said very lightly but every member heard him clearly, all of them giving the arch a wary glance. Nobody wanted to enter that floor even if it hardly posed a threat for most of them. ¡°Maybe we should clear that one.¡± one of the rangers said, he then defended his opinion when everyone collectively threw him a ¡®why would you say that¡¯ look. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen what happens when undead and curse mix, there could be some very powerful things in there.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Nobody is going in there.¡± Aranor said with finality. ¡°There very well might be something very powerful there, but even in the best case scenario it would be something that empowers a curse user. I don¡¯t want to imagine what tragedies might come from a weapon that draws the user to both curses and necromancy.¡± The conversation fell quiet with that and Ajax was slowly led around to three other arches. An Ice Wind floor, a Plant Decay floor and finally a Plant Earth floor. ¡°Seems like we are all going to the Plant Earth floor.¡± One of the ranger leaders said. ¡°I suggest you clear out the Decay floor.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Good chances to find fertilizer.¡± It was funny for Ajax to watch the rangers process that information, they went from confusion, to happiness, to realization and finally to acceptance. Unlike last time it wasn¡¯t as simple as a nod before two rangers walked in, nobody wanted the ¡®shit¡¯ floor even if said shit was valuable. It took five minutes for the remaining rangers to settle who was going with a game similar to rock paper scissors, the losers having a resigned look on their faces as they entered. The Plant Earth floor turned out to be a mountainous forest area, it also turned out to have a very deep Shadow influence that as almost every creature there seemed to be a forest animal that could tap into Shadow magic. Ajax had no issues as he dealt with a shadow wolf, his [Mana Syphon]¡¯s weakening of the wolf¡¯s magic caught the beast by surprise giving Ajax a basically free hit when the wolf failed to jump through the shadows. With his strike taking out one of the wolves¡¯ legs the fight quickly ended without Ajax even breaking a sweat. Darkclaw had a much tougher time handling one of the eagles that called the mountain peak home. The fight took almost ten minutes to complete and Darkclaw almost ran out of mana by the end of it, on the upside the eagle hadn''t managed to even get Darkclaw to move from the spot where he started or even land a blow past his shields. ¡°You managed to pull that off without even using a potion.¡± Ajax praised him. ¡°I think you might be ready to try to push past the level one hundred floors.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Darkclaw said with a smile and a nod, he was excited, he very much wanted to try pushing to the level one hundred and ten in their next dungeon. Harold had a much tougher time fighting a shadow wolf compared to Ajax. As a fully physical fighter he had no way to prevent the creature¡¯s mobility. This led to more than one instance where the wolf managed to grab a hold of his ankle and tried to use his leg as a chew toy. ¡°Wolves are rather intelligent hunters.¡± Ajax had to respect the creature''s cunning. ¡°They might not have a bear¡¯s raw strength but they accurately target their opponents mobility and a single opening is all they need to go for the throat.¡± The biggest problem for the wolf was that Harold was also very well acquainted with their fighting tactics. Every time he would feel the wolf bite down on his legs following a shadow just he would quickly jerk the leg while also swiping with his sword behind him. Unlike Ajax and Darkclaw, Harold was much more resilient as a result of having invested all his points into his physical stats meant that he could take a beating from a creature that relied so much on its magic even if it was almost twenty levels higher. ¡°I need a minute.¡± Harold said after he finally killed the wolf. As soon as he had made sure the wolf was dead he collapsed on the ground and took off his helmet as he sucked in as much air as he could. The fight had taken almost thirty minutes. Harold boots and arm guards were riddled with teeth marks and covered by a good amount of blood. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about getting your armor repaired.¡± Ajax mentioned as he examined the damage. Ajax, Benedict and Xavier¡¯s gear would also need to be repaired after how hard they pushed it over the last ten dungeons. Unlike their caster companions it was much more likely that their armor would take a glancing blow, when those glancing blows came from enemies twenty levels higher than them it would slowly wear it down. With the amount of stats he had gained Ajax¡¯s gear was actually in need of a full on upgrade. When it came time to take a look for their next floor Ajax wasn¡¯t surprised that he could only see one of the mana types present on the floor. The only exception to this was one arch that had both Life and Plant mana and the two of them took up 85% of the mana in the arch. Since the other six arches he looked at all had Plant, Air or Water as their main mana the entire group decided to go with the Life and Plant floor. ¡°Don¡¯t walk out right away.¡± Ajax asked Harold before they went up to the next floor. ¡°Why not?¡± Harold asked, confused. ¡°I need to take a look to see if the next floor is any good for alchemy and I want you to let them know we might be a while if it is.¡± Harold was happy to agree to that and the group quickly made its way to the next floor. Chapter 416 The ninth floor of the dungeon was a wild jungle that provided Ajax with a large variety of ingredients to use in his [Alchemy]. It didn¡¯t take long for him to set up his cauldron and portable lab equipment and he began working while ignoring the rest of the world. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked as he approached Ajax after a few hours. Ajax was starting to look more and more defeated every time he took a small break to grab new ingredients, despite this he never moved to store any of the resulting potions. ¡°I got too arrogant.¡± Ajax said with a defeated tone. ¡°All seven of my attempts at brewing something failed.¡± It had been a very long time since Ajax had experienced something like this. The last time this happened was more than a decade ago in his old village when he was attempting to unlock the [Alchemy] skill. It wasn¡¯t just that he had failed to brew a potion seven times in a row that made Ajax feel so defeated, it was that he recognised this for what it was, a lack of skill on his part. Unlike combat his massively inflated stats didn¡¯t compensate enough when it came to alchemy. The same was true of his Legendary skills, Ajax simply wasn¡¯t yet ready for ingredients of this quality. ¡°Why not try a more stable recipe?¡± the prince asked. ¡°I have no clue what to try with ingredients like these.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°The only thing I can do with them is mix them with some of my existing ingredients, their quality will only ease the creation of the recipes I already know, it won¡¯t increase the quality of the outcome. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this.¡± The prince waved away Ajax¡¯s concerns. ¡°You¡¯ll have years to practice your alchemy skill as you get used to your increased stats. Most alchemists back home were actually very surprised that your skill with alchemy remained proficient within one floor or what you could consistently delve. At your level most crafting adventurers are barely now getting used to consistently using mana infused reagents.¡± The encouragement helped Ajax a little but it was by no means enough to cancel out the frustration he was feeling. Luckily enough for him he still had to clear this floor so he was planning on taking all his frustration out on the miniboss he would have to face. Battling an ent turned out to be exactly what Ajax needed. While unlike most depictions of the living trees back on Earth these ents were rooted to the ground, the control over the ground still forced Ajax to adapt. While Ajax¡¯s [Mana Syphon] was good enough to weaken any spells the ent tried to unleash the ent¡¯s own large underground mana networked left Ajax with no options but to slowly whittle away with [Mana Augmentation]. By the time he won Ajax was down to a little under half his mana pool, not only that but his armor also sported a few tears here and there where one branch or another had broken through his defenses. During the time that Ajax fought the prince and Aranor watched over him, the rest of the elves had spent all the time Ajax spent crafting and killing one miniboss scouring the floor for anything they could take back out, the jungle was filled with exotic ingredients that might be novel enough to help push the skill of some high end alchemists.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. More than a few of the elves didn¡¯t seem happy to split their spoils 50 - 50 with Ajax upon their return. None of them complained however, all of them were aware of the agreement that the simple fact they got to keep everything they found on the floors Ajax wasn¡¯t clearing would make up for it. For his final floor Ajax surprised everyone when he decided to go with the fire theme. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea?¡± the prince asked him once he heard his decision. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°Even with how dangerous fire is there are plenty of ways for me to weaken it with water and ice, not only that but it''s also the only element that wouldn¡¯t be instantly lethal for me when wielded by a level one hundred and thirty five.¡± With such a large level difference almost every other element could end the fight pretty much instantly, that was something Ajax had been made keenly aware of when he was fighting against the assassins back in Deepwood. The Plant floor could lead to a poison he had no way of counteracting, the earth floor could see him crushed with a single swing, Lightning, Shadow and Light each came with their own big issues. ¡°You do make a good point.¡± the prince nodded before he turned towards his newest live entertainment. ¡°How about you Rimthel, have you made a decision?¡± The prince made no effort to mask the glee in his voice. Rimthel was stuck with a very hard decision. One of the arches Ajax had inspected as he was looking for a good floor did end up being primarily Metal mana. The only question left was if Rimthel would be part of the clear team sent there, where he would most likely spend days on end smithing away at the mountains of metal they couldn¡¯t take outside, or if he would pass on this arch and hope that another primarily Metal floor was available after the next floor. Unlike the last floor this time all the remaining members of the second ranger squad split up into two man squads along with Rimthel as they each chose one floor to go clear. Ajax didn¡¯t pay much attention to that as he also moved on to the next floor where his next challenge awaited. The first thing Ajax noticed as he stepped through the arch was the way the air seemed to burn his lungs as he drew breath. The floor layout was a stretched out hilly landscape that was covered in geyser-like holes that periodically released a column of flames. ¡°Well this is certainly a strange floor.¡± the prince said as he took in the surroundings. ¡°Let''s find you something to kill other than an elemental.¡± Ajax very much agreed with the sentiment, while an elemental would be among some of the more fragile creatures they were likely to find, the sheer versatility and mobility of a flame elemental would quickly overwhelm him. That wasn¡¯t even mentioning the issues pure physical attacks would have on doing any damage at all to the creature. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to be attacked by a roaming pack or worms. Or better said worm-like creatures, while the monsters did have the same body type as a worm that is where the similarities ended. The creature''s heads could split along an X shape revealing rows of serrated teeth and their flesh open like a blooming flower revealing a direct express access to their stomach in the center. Unlike the normal fleshy skin he was used to, these worms were covered in large scales with small gaps here and there from where they could release a flame jet. ¡°Those look promising.¡± the prince said as the ranger squad jumped into action. There wasn¡¯t a miniboss present in the roaming group that attacked them so there was no need for Ajax to take part in the fighting. That wasn¡¯t to say his eyes weren¡¯t fixed on the fight to examine the worms for any strengths they might show and more importantly the weaknesses that would be made obvious. ¡°Yes they do.¡± Ajax agreed after a short while where he examined the creatures as they were being taken apart by the rangers. The worms were more physically focused than Ajax would have wanted but the limitations of their large body with no appendages was enough to make up for it. It took the team a few tries to find the first worm mini boss. The first two arches they found were both guarded by elementals. ¡°Third time¡¯s the charm.¡± Ajax said with a smile as they finally found a larger worm easily measuring thirty five feet long and five feet wide coiled around an arch. Unlike his usual fights Ajax didn¡¯t start by drinking a potion, instead he placed an opened flask in his spacial storage, with just how physically imposing the creature was if he started the fight with the potion he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish it before the backlash kicked in. Ajax¡¯s opening move was an empowered Lightning arrow, he very much wanted to see what effect lightning would have on the giant worm and he was not disappointed. As soon as the arrow made contact the worm wriggled unnaturally exactly as Ajax expected, what was unexpected however was the large discharge of mana as flame jets erupted all around the creatures. ¡®Its magic is somehow linked to its organs!¡¯ Ajax was almost too shocked by the discovery to continue with his plan. He hadn¡¯t even thought it was possible to directly link a part of your body with a magical reaction and that was something he was very much looking forward to try. But first he had flaming giant worm shooting towards him like a freight train to deal with. Chapter 417 Ajax P.O.V. The worm was coming for me faster than I had expected. This meant that it would find it hard to change its strike area, the lack of limbs also meant that once I was out of the way of its charge I shouldn¡¯t have to worry about its physical attacks. Right as I prepared to jump off to my right I felt my [Danger Sense] flare for a moment so I changed the angle of my jump and launched myself to the right and high above the ground. The decision turned out to be the correct one as the moment I jumped the worm opened its massive maw and managed to turn right to follow me by munching on the ground, the only reason it didn¡¯t barrel into me was that I was above it. Just because it missed a direct collision didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t land an attack. Flame jests much hotter than before rushed out of the worm''s side in my direction, thankfully the creature''s magical potential was low enough that between [Mana Syphon], my enchantments and a small coating of ice around me I fully mitigated the fire. This wasn¡¯t an opportunity I was willing to give up however and I used a small blast of air to send myself towards the worm¡¯s body as it passed under me while preparing a Void mana infused strike with my hammer. Like always the moment my hammer made contact with the worm¡¯s scales it killed my entire momentum without any obvious effects, the surprise came a moment later when the worm¡¯s body jolted slightly during its charge. ¡°RRRRRGGGGHHHHH¡± The monster took about thirty feet to stop its momentum before it turned and roared at me. Oddly enough this didn¡¯t seem to be a roar of pain, like I had experienced many times following my Void attacks, it seemed like I had just made it angry. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with Void.¡± the prince¡¯s voice came from afar. ¡°Even if it bypasses the scales all you¡¯ll hit is a dense layer of muscle.¡± That¡¯s when I realized it, the worm¡¯s internal organs were all deep inside in the center of the massive tube of meat, the amount of mana I would need to infuse into Void to bypass all the muscle and scales would be enormous, more than that with the size of the organs even hitting its brain once might not be enough to outright kill it since Void didn¡¯t actually bolster the strength of my attack. The worm was charging at me again, for all its defensive ability it was very much a one trick pony. This time I launched myself upwards towards the left side only for the worm to open its maw, eat a chunk of the ground and pass right under me again. This time I infused my axe with Metal mana as I launched myself through the flame jets to land a blow on its scales. Unlike my previous attack there was a clear action and reaction at the moment of impact. I could feel tremors coming up my arm as well as see how the scale cracked slightly. As the worm slowed down to a stop again it didn¡¯t seem all that impressed by my attack. For the first time in a long time it seemed like my axe, hammer and sword wouldn¡¯t be viable. It was times like this that I congratulated myself for so diligently training with my spear despite my preference for the shorter reach weapons. This was clearly going to be a battle of attrition whether i like it or not, the extra foot or so of reach the two handed spear would give me wouldn¡¯t be as impactful as the amount of mana I would save by using a shield so I swapped my weapons for the trusty commoner combination. On the worm''s third charge I didn¡¯t bother with right or left and simply jumped straight up, this turned out to be a mistake as [Danger Sense] started humming the moment my legs extended. It didn¡¯t take long for me to figure out why that was as I could see the worm already rising the tail end of its body, more than that it didn¡¯t have to slow down at all since it wasn¡¯t using its mouth to turn. I had to channel a big blast of air through my shield to move myself out of the way, limiting the impact to a glancing blow on my shield that sent me flying to one side. This wasn¡¯t good, I was already down a third of my mana and I had barely managed to do any damage to this thing, the only upside I could see was that the worm didn¡¯t seem to have any other option than tiring me out, I would need to make the most out of every strike.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Without waiting I took out my enhancing potion out of my storage space and chugged it all as the worm charged for me once again. I jumped out of the way to the left once again. As the worm rushed by beneath me slowing down slightly as its now open maw gnawed on the rocky surface my opportunity to strike came. With the longer reach of the spear I had more options, I infused it with Lightning mana and this time I aimed my spear for one of the opening the worm was using to launch its flame. The tip of the spear went about eight inches deep before I even felt any resistance, the thickness of the scales was more than a little surprising. Once it bit into the flesh however it discharged a powerful current but, it was half as strong as the one created by my opening arrow but it seemed to be just as effective since it was administered directly to the flesh and past the scales of the mini boss. While the damage the lightning did was good, more impressive was the damage the worm did to itself. The sudden jolt of lightning caused its body to spasm mid charge, with its maw already digging slightly into the rock the uncoordinated movements sent its entire head crashing into the ground and the rest of its body launched upwards from the sudden stop. This wasn¡¯t an opportunity I was going to let slip. Not only was the worm¡¯s maw stuck underground but it had also only stopped ten feet or so from me so I dashed straight for it and stuck my spear through another of the openings in the creature''s scales. This time my attack was infused with Ice mana. ¡°RRRRRRGGGGGEEEEE¡± THe worm¡¯s screech this time seemed to be one of agonizing pain. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of how effective Ice mana was against it or just because of how much it hated the cold. I managed to get two more stabs in with Ice mana in the same area before the worm dug itself out of the ground and I was forced to back away once more. The mini bosses¡¯ next charge was a lot slower, maybe half as fast as the previous ones were, not only that but its head was no longer close to the ground but lifted about two feet off the ground. Despite its simple attacks the creature was clearly somewhat intelligent as it realized the damage potential of my lightning and altered its pattern to something that wouldn¡¯t leave it so exposed to it With the speed of its charge reduced and the head no longer being close to the ground however I had no more issues dodging directly to the left or right of the creature. The next five charges I alternated between Lightning and Ice, it was clear from the marks on the worms body that Ice was much more effective as the scales surrounding the point where I had stabbed it three time were scraped off in the subsequent charges leaving an open section of mangled flesh that was started to bleed more and more as the ice thawed from the flame jets. The only issue remaining was that despite the damage I was doing the mini boss would still most likely outlast me. The creature had over eighty levels on me and as I dodged it¡¯s latest charge I made sure to time my attack to land in the already wounded area. I needed to focus my attacks and break through the wall of muscles in one spot so I could go for the kill. Two charges later and the entire area was now frozen solid. I briefly swapped over to my hammer for its next charge and augmenting it with Magma mana I scraped broke away chunks a large two feet wide section of flesh about one foot deep. Seemingly sensing the danger the worm didn¡¯t charge towards me again, it instead raised its head like a snake and opened its maw wide, [Danger Sense] flared stronger than ever before and [Sense Mana] let me know exactly what it was trying to do. I kneeled down and curled myself into as small a ball as I could manage behind my shield. Not only that but I also infused the shield with Ice mana while using Earth mana to bring up the rock around me. I couldn¡¯t see it but I felt it when the worm spit a massive column on fire directly on top of me. I was casting spells with Ice and Wind to prop up my shield while also focusing my [Mana Syphon] to take as much power away from the attack. The attack seemed to go on forever, by the time it ended it felt like a few minutes had gone by even if I knew it couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty seconds. The small patch of blacked rock I now stood on was surrounded by a small two feet wide moat of magma and I was forced to toss my shield to one side as the rock I had brought up to shield myself also melted as now covered my shield. I could feel the burns on my arms and legs, the only upside seemed to be that the attack had taken a lot out of the worm as well. As he came for me once more I couldn¡¯t even call what it was doing a charge, more of a dash in my direction. My problem was that I only had about five hundred mana left, casting continuously with three spells at the same time had eaten up a large chunk of my mana. I wasn¡¯t ready to give up yet however. I would put everything I had into this last attack. I held nothing back as I used [Empowering Restriction] to not only boost the power of my [Mana Augmentation] by limiting it to only one more use in the next week but I also limited myself to only using my Ice affinity for the same amount of time. Without my shield available I swapped out my hammer for my two handed spear, getting out of the way of the monsters attack was comparatively easy as I pushed four hundred and fifty mana into my spear lunging straight for the open gash that left a long trail of blood. [Empowering Restriction] had definitely earned its name, I felt the ice affinity gem in my gauntlet not just crack but shatter as the mana I pushed through it was imbued into the tip of my spear. Once the tip made contact I felt a chilly breeze as a wall of ice seemed to explode from the point of impact. Unlike my previous attacks I didn¡¯t have the strength to pull back the spear after the attack, despite the relatively slow speed the worm moved at I was thrown off my feet and to one side as my spear remained stuck in the side of the creature. The last thing I saw before my vision went black were the prince¡¯s boots, a soft ringing in my ears not letting me hear anything, my consciousness faded before I knew the outcome of the fight. Chapter 418 Ajax wasn¡¯t unconscious for long, especially with the prince healing him quickly after they confirmed the worm had died. He woke up two minutes later with a headache that would put any hangover to shame. ¡°Ugh,¡± Ajax groaned as he rubbed his forehead in a futile attempt to lessen the throbbing pain. ¡°What happened?¡± Even with the pain he was still quick to look around and survey his surroundings. Sadly the surroundings didn¡¯t tell him anything, sure he could see a good portion of the worm corpse but he didn¡¯t know if he had gotten the kill or if they had been forced to intervene after he lost consciousness. ¡°You did it.¡± the prince confirmed for him with a grin. ¡° It was closer than I would have liked, next time let''s not go for something with that much vitality and endurance. But you did it.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t suppress the wide smile that broke out on his face, the smile didn¡¯t last long as it turned in a wince following a particularly powerful pulse of pain from his head. ¡°I¡¯m dry on mana.¡± he rasped out. ¡°Well you have at least ten more minutes before you can take a potion to help with that so you¡¯ll just have to bear with it.¡± Aranor said as he approached him. During his fight the ranger scout had left to cover as large a portion of the floor as he could. Much like on the other floors he wasn¡¯t looking to kill anything but simply looking for anything that could be brought out of the dungeon, the rest of the squad had watched his fight however. This fight raised their opinion of Ajax considerably, they had all seen aristocats being boosted, even those who had talent, it was Ajax¡¯s attitude and dedication to accept the duel of attrition that impressed the rangers. As he went to stand up Ajax was glad to see that his physical body was fully healed, the burns he had before had been healed, the same couldn¡¯t be said about his mana channels, his final blow had over-stressed them. ¡°Where¡¯s my spear?¡± Ajax asked as he got to his unsteady feet. ¡°I got it.¡± the prince said as he pulled out the two handed spear and the shield Ajax had tossed aside out of his spacial ring. ¡°You did quite a number on them.¡± The shield looked exactly how Ajax expended it would, deformed from the pressure and heat, the deformation rendering its enchantments broken and even a few patches of rock stuck to the surface where the molten rock had cooled. The spear on the other hand came as a surprise for Ajax. While he had fully expected the shaft to be in rough shape he hadn¡¯t expected the structural damage the tip had suffered. It was only then that he remembered that his glove had failed partway through that final attack, with the gemstone shattered his weapon ended up channeling the Ice mana without a buffer to prevent the structural damage. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Ajax had a back-up shield but he didn¡¯t have a back-up spear, it simply wasn¡¯t a weapon he expected he would have to use all that often, not only that but in the situations where he would have to use it he very much didn¡¯t expect for it to be damaged. He was also partially right, he simply hadn¡¯t expected the gauntlet to fail on him. It was only now that Ajax realized he had become overly reliant on the gauntlet, sure he had initially made plans to have his weapons crafted with material that had the same affinity as the mana he most often used with them but he had kept pushing those plans back further and further, the materials would have been expensive and he hadn¡¯t really needed them. ¡°I¡¯m surprised there¡¯s anything left of that spear tip.¡± Aranor said as he examined the weapon. ¡°With the amount of mana you pushed through it and the fact that this is barely steel from a level ninety floor I honestly expected it would freeze during the attack and shatter as well.¡± None of the elves there commented on how the spear was actually a little weak to be Ajax¡¯s weapon. All of them knew that it had been not just adequate but in fact towards the limit of what he could use back before he left Gryndor, this just perfectly exemplified how much Ajax had grown during the last year. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this last arch is, hopefully for your sake it''s better than the Water and Shadow we found before.¡± Ajax said as he headed towards the arch the worm had been coiled around. As Ajax put his hand on the arch he could parley pry any mana away from it with [Mana Syphon], the floor it would lead to would contain level one hundred and fifty three creatures, Ajax had barely managed to get a read on the mana primary mana type but he had no idea about how prevalent even that would be, it could be 10% or 80% and he would be none the wiser. ¡°You¡¯re in luck, Plant.¡± Ajax said with a small smile before the entire group pushed on to the next floor. The floor seemed to be some sort of jungle theme at a glance but Ajax didn¡¯t really care, as soon as he confirmed his +1 to all stats both him, the prince and Aranor quickly exited the dungeon leaving the ranger squad to scour the floor for anything useful as well as fully clearing it. As they exited the Dungeon the guards surrounding it moved towards them for a moment before they recognised who they were, once they saw Aranor however they quickly saluted and resumed their posts while letting them leave. They were almost all the way out of the area before the dungeon started spitting out monsters. ¡°Leave it.¡± the prince said as he saw Ajax turn. The monsters weren¡¯t even all that strong, barely level eighty, meaning the delvers had died on the sixth floor. ¡°They have it handled and you need to sleep, you have a party to go to tomorrow.¡± Ajax didn¡¯t argue, he had noticed Aranor had gone back to help so he knew there was nothing he could do to help, hell even without Aranor¡¯s help this was one of the capital¡¯s dungeons and there were plenty of protections put in place to stop any monster outbreak from happening. Once Ajax arrived at the embassy he found himself congratulated by everyone once they heard that he managed to clear the tenth floor. They were also understanding about his need to sleep despite it being the middle of the day, while nobody said it Ajax was well aware he looked like the worm had chewed him up and spat him back out even if he did win the fight. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you barely even had the chance to try [Alchemy] with level ninety five reagents consistently,¡± Lexi comforted Ajax as he got ready for bed once he told her about his failure to make even one successful potion. ¡°Now that the royal family knows about your ability to predict floor themes I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have more than enough chances.¡± With that Ajax crawled into bed and put his head on the pillow, Lexi had stayed and cuddled with him until he fell asleep but she then carefully left the room without waking him to join everyone else. The party would start tomorrow around noon, everyone was attending and they all had a lot to do in preparation, everyone except Silvia and Alana. Since both of them were part of Ajax¡¯s house they would usually be the ones in charge of preparing a gift for the birthday boy, with House Hearthbound¡¯s gift being knowledge both of them could relax and simply enjoy themselves. Alana however had taken it upon herself to help Benedict as he was looking to make a good impression on Sylvanthal¡¯s nobility considering his intentions with Elara. Ajax woke up late the next morning feeling refreshed, gone was the mana headache and even his mana channels were doing much better than before. His good mood didn¡¯t last all that long however as he had to quickly make himself presentable as they would be leaving the embassy in about one hour to go to the party, a party that would last well into the evening. ¡°A headache just passed and here comes another.¡± Ajax muttered as he got dressed. Chapter 419 The party was held at House Blackthorn¡¯s manor, with the manor only being House Blackthorn¡¯s residence in the capital it wasn¡¯t a fortress tree but it was easy to see how hard they had tried to recreate one, in aesthetics if not in function. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s not one of their special trees, it looks a lot like the palace?¡± Alana asked as she took in the grandeur of the many trees that intertwined themselves. Having so much more freedom in Sylvanthal one of the first things Ajax did was explore, he was very surprised to find that the capital city was smaller than both Gryndor¡¯s capital as well as the Republics. At the same time however the capital was a lot taller, unlike the elven section of the Republic almost every tree in the capital was at least five stories tall with the capital being built more like a series of apartment flats. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax confirmed as he looked upwards towards the tangled mess of tree trunks that somehow managed to look artful. ¡°The trees barely have any mana going through them, it''s why there are so many fixtures added to the exterior, they needed a place to put their enchantments since the bark won¡¯t support them.¡± Their entire group was welcomed into the estate by polite servants that led them towards the large ballroom. Much like Deepwood the nobility were dominated by elves, the only difference here was the odd human, dwarf or beastkin was a lower noble instead of a slave. Arianwyn was quick to go and greet them once they arrived. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you made it.¡± she said in greeting. ¡°I was worried you would miss it when I heard you wanted to stay behind and try your hand at alchemy.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have missed this.¡± Ajax said with a smile as he lied through his teeth. ¡°Cough*Cough*¡± Alana was forced to hide her laughter at his words under a fake cough though it was clear from Arianwyn¡¯s face she hadn¡¯t done that good of a job in her deception. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Arianwyn laughed good naturedly at the looks of doubt the rest of them were throwing Ajax. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask that you forgive my son,¡± Silvia said as she bowed to the princess. ¡°While his older brother seems to have taken after both of his parents, his sister has taken after me and he after his father.¡± Everyone here had done their research on Ajax and knew that his father had always been a blacksmith, one that worked alone in a village for most of his life following his quick apprenticeship in the capital. It was no surprise that Ajax would inherit his less than social minded attitude. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to apologize for.¡± Arianwyn reassured her. It took no time at all for Arianwyn to be joined by her mother as well as her uncle and cousin, while Ajax wasn¡¯t yet important enough to be greeted promptly by the hosts the same could not be said about Xavier and the prince, even Anna, Lexi and Darkclaw couldn¡¯t be left waiting too long without political ramification. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to have you here, Your Highness.¡± Duke Blackthorn said with a bow towards Xavier and the prince. The exchange of greeting alone between such a diverse group of nobles took almost two minutes and Ajax could already feel the toll it was taking on his social energy, luckily enough he had found a kindred spirit in the young Blackthorn.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Ajax congratulated the youth once he caught his eye as he was standing off to one side. ¡°Thank you.¡± The boy''s response had initially been prim and proper showing his extensive lessons in social interactions, it was all quickly undermined by his excited follow up. ¡°Is it true you managed to beat my cousin using a new type of mana?¡± Ajax had initially felt a little awkward discussing his fight against Arianwyn but as the discussion moved away from the fight and more to his hybrid fighting style in general he became more and more engaged in the conversation. ¡°Is your son looking to become a hybrid combatant?¡± the prince asked duke Blackthorn as he kept a close ear on the conversation not looking for a repeat of the royal meeting where Ajax let slip a bit of information. ¡°It is more of a fascination. Unfortunately he doesn¡¯t possess the talent for the physical combat side.¡± the duke responded. The prince couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at this as he inspected the elf¡¯s solid body. ¡° What he lacks in combat prowess however he makes up for as a crafter, he just might become one of the few smiths our people can be truly proud of.¡± It took all of the young¡¯s elf power to hold back a whimper as his father and aunt dragged him away from Ajax to greet the nobles his mother was greeting thirty minutes after Ajax¡¯s arrival at the party. ¡°What did you say to him?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°I disagreed with him.¡± Ajax said as he scratched his head also somewhat sad that their conversation had been cut short. ¡°And it seems he was receptive to my argument.¡± ¡°What about?¡± Arianwyn asked. ¡°He maintains that the best hybrid fighter would be one that was reliant on stamina skill for a boost in physical power and spells for attack enhancers.¡± Ajax said. ¡°That is the widely accepted point of view.¡± Arianwyn nodded. ¡°Not all hybrid fighters follow that model simply because they don¡¯t all have the talent for a stamina based boosting skill, what do you think would be better?¡± ¡°Both a mana and stamina based boosting skill, as well as stamina based curse attack enhancers to compliment the use of spells.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Though I will admit they wouldn¡¯t be able to remain active for long.¡± ¡°The chances that someone would be able to unlock so many different skills is so slim.¡± Arianwyn said as she shook her head. ¡°I can see why he was so excited about the possibilities.¡± For the majority of the evening Ajax had mainly stayed by his mother¡¯s or Alana¡¯s side as he greeted some of the more enterprising elven nobles, when he wasn¡¯t socializing with them he was talking with the birthday boy or with the royal gardener who had joined the party closer towards the evening. ¡°The king is here.¡± the prince whispered so that Ajax would hear him as the time was nearing midnight. Ajax quickly extricated himself from the discussion and joined the prince as they headed for the monarchs. ¡°Could you grab your cousin for a moment.¡± Ajax asked Arianwyn as they made their way across the ballroom. ¡°Now?¡± she seemed a little surprised but once she saw the serious look on both Ajax and the prince¡¯s face she simply nodded. ¡°¡°Your Majesty¡±¡± Both Ajax and the prince greeted the king. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± The king asked a little suspiciously as he saw his daughter bringing the birthday boy towards them with a serious face. ¡°If we could have a more private talk.¡± the prince requested. The king took a moment to think about it before he nodded to his wife who led them out of the ballroom and to one of the adjacent small rooms. ¡°What is this about?¡± the queen asked, a little more suspicious than her husband as she hadn¡¯t had much of a chance to interact with Ajax previously and suspected him of being up to something. The prince stepped back and let Ajax take the lead as this was still his gift. ¡°Thank you for this,¡± Ajax said. ¡°This is regarding my gift, it is a rather sensitive matter.¡± ¡°The gifts are to be opened in a few hours.¡± the queen said, a little frosty. ¡°It can also be time sensitive I¡¯m afraid.¡± Ajax said, peeking the elves'' curiosities. Ajax then turned towards the birthday boy with a smile and proceeded to explain the method for manipulating his status so that he can preserve his free stat points for later use and how that would maximize the natural stat point gained during the Apprentice period. ¡°I would like to ask that you don¡¯t share this as the method will only be made public in two months or so.¡± Ajax finished his explanation. ¡°That¡­¡± While the queen¡¯s face didn¡¯t give anything away her lack of words spoke volumes as the room decedened into silence. ¡°It works!¡± the young boy exclaimed with a happy voice as he had started trying to change his status interface once Ajax explained how it works. ¡°That is quite the gift Baron.¡± the king said with a shallow nod of acknowledgement. ¡°And quite a lot of trust to put in us not to share it early, I thank you for that.¡± With that out of the way the six of them returned to the party and the queen headed straight for Duke and Duchess Blackthorn to explain what had happened. It was important for the two of them to know since they had been planning for their son to give a performance of his newfound strength after he spent his points but that would need to be prevented for obvious reasons. Chapter 420 Following the party Ajax had plans to put in a lot of time and effort into his Alchemy, he had almost an entire week before he could delve into the other dungeon. His plans didn¡¯t have a good chance to get underway before they were interrupted the following morning. ¡°What did you do last night?¡± Both Silvia and Alana sprung on him the moment he took a seat at the breakfast table. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked, confused as he filled his plate with food. ¡°A representative of House Blackthorn just left.¡± his mother said. ¡°They were here to finalize a few contracts that we would take over to help establish a stable route to Sylvanthal.¡± Alana continued. ¡°What did you do at that party?¡± ¡°They move quick.¡± Ajax was surprised at how quickly House Blackthorn seemed to move, clearly they appreciated the gift Ajax had given them a lot more than he had thought. ¡°I shared my training technique with their son, this way he won¡¯t be among the weaker of his generation.¡± In the coming months Ajax very much expected that his family as well as the Gryndor royal family would receive several letters all but declaring open hostilities from families whose main heirs missed out on being able to hold their points by a few months. ¡°With the four contracts we picked up just from them we have enough to break even on sending out a regular caravan all the way here every four months.¡± Alana said with a smile. ¡°Those worms are going to be worth their weight in gold over the next few years with how much we will save on actually buying the carriages and carts and maintaining them.¡± ¡°We also have an invitation from Elara to visit her manor later this afternoon.¡± Silvia reminded him after he finished his meal. Unlike what Ajax expected there wasn¡¯t a party at Elara¡¯s house, thankfully for Benedict¡¯s sake her father wasn¡¯t present either. The only people present were the rest of Elara¡¯s family as well as the delving party. ¡°Why not just do all this at the party yesterday?¡± Ajax asked as he recognised most of the people from yesterday¡¯s festivities. ¡°The invitation was mainly about having Benedict visit to meet her family.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°Only inviting him however would be the same as telling everyone that the two of them were courting so they invited the rest of us as cover.¡± The visit turned out to be very interesting for Ajax once they moved on to their training area, as a primarily military based House just like House Steelblade. The way they trained their retainers as well as the amenities was something Ajax was taking mental notes on for how his own House could do things. ¡°These are our sharpwing falcons.¡± Elara¡¯s mother beamed as she presented the aviary. ¡°Every one of our retainers has to raise their own from the moment their training begins.¡± ¡°Are you looking for them to form bonds?¡± Ajax asked as he watched the younger retainers call their falcons to them. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°We do encourage any bonds to form but they are more of a secondary objective.¡± Elara said with a sad tone. ¡°The average sharpwing falcon only lives for a total of ten years, while most of our potential retainers are recruited at the age of nine.¡± ¡°There is a lot we can¡¯t know about a potential retainer given the short time we observe them for when scouting them.¡± Elara¡¯s mother continued the explanation. ¡°As for once they arrive at our estate the militaristic atmosphere can cover up some daming character flaws. How well they take care of their falcon as well as how well trained it is tells a lot about a person.¡± ¡°For most who don¡¯t fail earlier in their training the falcon can also become something of a final test.¡± Elara said with her head bowed. ¡°You have them kill them?¡± Ajax¡¯s voice was very accusatory. ¡°We most certainly do not.¡± Elara¡¯s mother responded quickly. ¡°We are training loyal retainers not spies and assassins. Most falcons do die around the end period of the training, the test is on how they handle the grief of losing someone they care about so much.¡± Ajax had to admit that this was a very good way for young children to be both trained and tested, more than that with such a low life expectancy the falcons made for the ideal first bond preparing the retainer for bonding a young more magically infused creature early in life. Ajax made a mental note to inform Alana about a potential buyer for any of the kits Fluffy might have in the future once they find one or multiple suitable mates for the shadow cat. The visit ended with a series of spars between Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict and some of the younger retainers, though all of them were four to five years older than Benedict. ¡°I must say, while I had heard about the so-called Generation of Prodigies, you do live up to the name.¡± Elara¡¯s mother complimented them after Lexi took her sparring partner out with just four spells. ¡°Most shocking is that I can still see room for improvement despite the overwhelming victories.¡± ¡°The large consistent influx of stats over the last year will take us some time to get accustomed to.¡± Ajax said as he watched from the sidelines as Benedict finally took the field. ¡°I expect all of us will stagnate a little in our levels for a few months as well fully adapt to our increased stats before we start pushing our limits once again fully clearing out dungeon floors.¡± Benedict¡¯s advantage over his opponent showed more than any of the others, while all of them had won handedly they all did so through the use of spells. Benedict, still being a fully physically based fighter up against an elf who while mostly physical, had also invested a little in his mental stats, could truly show their superiority. Benedict showed his own genius in that he didn¡¯t engage the trained retainer in a display of skill, knowing he hadn¡¯t adapted to his stats just yet he instead forced the fight into a series of engagements where he would exchange a blow or two before backing away and circling his opponent once more. It only took five exchanges in the span of twenty seconds before the retainer¡¯s footwork failed him and Benedict rested the blade of his sword on the man''s shoulder next to his exposed neck. ¡°That will be enough.¡± Elara said as the fifth retainer stepped up with his eyes locked on Ajax. She was very happy with Benedict¡¯s showing as a potential suitor and wanted that to be the match her family remembered. Elara knew that these were some of their most promising retainers, having them defeated by Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict who were younger than them would push them to train harder and curtail any overconfidence that might have developed. In the same vein however, showing them the difference between them and Ajax could very well have the opposite effect and demotivate them as the gap was just that big. ¡°I am still recovering from my latest delve.¡± Ajax tried to let the guy down gently, the retainer nodded at his words and stepped back. As they were walking away from the training grounds Ajax could hear Elara¡¯s mother talking to the older retainer in charge of training. ¡°Best increase their training in recognising deception.¡± ¡°My Lady?¡± the retainer asked, confused. ¡°Was the baron lying?¡± ¡°No, which does surprise me since he doesn¡¯t strike as hindered in any way, but we won¡¯t be looking into that.¡± the duchess shook her head. ¡°But while it might not have been a lie, it was an excuse.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t want to fight?¡± the retainer asked. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to offend or embarrass us.¡± the duchess explained. ¡°He is the one who defeated Elara in the tournament and since then he has been through eight more dungeons, any fight would have ended in an instant or he would have had to hold back considerably.¡± While the retainer had good enough social skills to not show how surprised he was that did nothing for his curiosity. His curiosity earned him a sharp spike of pain as his inspection skill hit the wall that is [Enigma]. Ajax had enjoyed this visit much more than the usual parties he was invited to; his day took a turn for the worse as he arrived back at the embassy to find an elf waiting for him. ¡°Baron Hearthbound.¡± the elf greeted with a nod. ¡°I am Viscount Deeproot, I am here to discuss the possibility of an arranged marriage between our houses.¡± Ajax was so shocked by what he heard that for a moment he doubted if the treats they had been served before leaving weren¡¯t laced with something extra. Chapter 421 Ajax¡¯s jaw dropped and he remained silently shocked by the offer, the elf clearly interpreted the silence as a positive view of his offer. The same thing could not be said about his girlfriend who had been right behind him as he entered the embassy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Viscount Deeproot I think I misheard you, what was it you said?¡± Lexi¡¯s words and tone were sweet and polite but the cold look on her face and the piercing stare in her eyes revealed her true emotions. Viscount Deeproot opened his own mouth to respond before he took a look at Lexi¡¯s face and froze with a facial expression similar to Ajax. The elf knew exactly who she was but he couldn¡¯t see a reason why she would be so upset until he thought back to the exact words he said. ¡°M-My apologies for t-the m-misunderstanding Lady Manashaper.¡± Viscount Deepwood staggered out before he composed himself. ¡°I can see how my words could be construed, what I meant was arranging a marriage between one of my family members with one of yours, perhaps your sister, Baron.¡± Lexi¡¯s frosty demeanor cleared up along with the misunderstanding though she was very much invested in the conversation that was sure to follow. ¡°I see Viscount.¡± Lexi nodded with an infectious smile. ¡°Then perhaps it''s best if we continue this discussion inside.¡± The viscount had no objection, not to the change in location to a more private area nor to Lexi inviting herself along. When they reached the first private room that had refreshments ready Lexi invited the viscount to enter. ¡°If you¡¯ll give us a moment we¡¯ll be right with you.¡± Lexi made a small gesture pointing out the combat attire both her and Ajax were wearing following the visit to Elara¡¯s manor. ¡°What is going on?¡± Ajax whispered having recovered from his shock but wisely staying silent while Lexi was handling the situation. ¡°A mixture of ambition and inexperience.¡± Lexi said as they both headed to get changed. ¡°Grab your mother, she should also be part of the discussion.¡± Ajax nodded and went to put on one of the sets of clothes he had that were purely meant for social events and were emblazoned with his House¡¯s mark. He didn¡¯t have to go looking for his mother as Silvia found him as he stepped out of his room followed not a moment later by Lexi who stepped out of her room opposite his. ¡°So what does this Viscount want?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°An arranged marriage between our families.¡± Ajax wasted no time and felt a little vindicated to see his mother¡¯s jaw drop in the same way his did a few moments earlier. ¡°He¡¯s actually being rather¡­ friendly.¡± Lexi said as she struggled to find the right words. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Viscount Deepwood is rather young, only a hundred and fifty years old but because of the passing of his father he is now the head of his House.¡± Lexi explained. ¡°My guess is that he is not as well informed as he should be but he is trying to build a good relationship with you.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s planning to do that by having my son marry a girl he¡¯s never met?¡± Silvia asked, rather shocked. ¡°No, we already cleared up that the marriage won¡¯t include Ajax.¡± Lexi corrected her. ¡°Even the most cursory look into Ajax would find my relationship with him and I am the granddaughter of a duke.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Then how is he trying to be friendly as you put it?¡± Silvia asked. ¡°Take a step back first, arranged marriages are common among the nobility, don¡¯t take the offer as an insult because it isn¡¯t one.¡± Lexi said as she started leading them towards the room the viscount was waiting for them. ¡°My guess is that he doesn¡¯t know that Ajax will become a duke in his own right once we return to Gryndor.¡± ¡°A brand new Baron marrying the talented granddaughter of a duke, that does seem rather hard to believe.¡± Ajax acknowledged. ¡°Especially with you joining my family instead of the other way around.¡± ¡°I see, a marriage with a viscount would lend more support behind Ajax.¡± Silvia nodded as she understood the situation. ¡°Not only that but Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family have been very welcoming with us since we arrived, not only that but rumors of a deeper alliance between Sylvanthal and Gryndor are starting to circle in noble circles. An interkingdom marriage would help secure those relations.¡± Lexi said. ¡°He very much believes you will go far and he wants to secure a strong bond between your Houses while also helping you as much as he can.¡± ¡°So we should let him down gently.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Oh, I think you can push the decision on to your sister.¡± Silvia said with a smile. ¡°I think she has a thing for elves.¡± With that the three of them joined the viscount, Ajax and Silvia were both much more relaxed as they settled in to talk with the elf. Their impression of the viscount improved as he didn¡¯t push the discussion towards talks of marriage but instead chose to get to know more about Ajax and even showed some interest in finding more about Silvia. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t take this in a different way than I intend but I also believe that a marriage between our houses would help pave the path for your own relationship with Lady Manashaper to continue.¡± The viscount mentioned after he praised Ajax for his results in the most recent tournament. ¡°There is no need to worry about anything in that regard.¡± Lexi said with a warm smile. ¡°My dear Ajax has a ducal title waiting for him once we return to Gryndor.¡± The news clearly shocked the viscount but he revered much quicker than Ajax. ¡°Congratulations!¡± The viscount toasted to the news. ¡°In light of those news I do see how an arranged marriage between our families might not be the best way forward for your own House.¡± ¡°While I won¡¯t be committing to an arranged marriage from this meeting today it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯d be opposed to a marriage between our Houses.¡± Ajax said with a kind smile. ¡°As I am sure you already know I am a first generation noble so at least for now the marriage prospects of any of my family members would always require the direct input of said family members.¡± The rest of the meeting didn¡¯t last much longer with the Viscount bidding his goodbyes but not before he secured an agreement from Silvia regarding a delivery from their merchant company to ensure future interaction between their representatives at the very least. ¡°That was a rather enjoyable meeting.¡± Ajax commented as he stretched as he rose from his seat following the viscount¡¯s departure. ¡°He looks to be someone I wouldn¡¯t mind meeting and talking to at parties.¡± Ajax could even see himself becoming more friendly with the elf as time went on but for now the age difference between them still made interactions quite troublesome, even accounting for his time on Earth the elf was more than three times older than Ajax. ¡°I hope so because this won¡¯t be the last such meeting you¡¯ll have to have this week.¡± Lexi said with a teasing smile. The smile on Ajax¡¯s face froze as he turned and looked at Lexi with horror. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Viscount Deeproot wasn¡¯t the most well informed which is why he approached you so quickly despite not knowing about your future ducal title.¡± Lexi said. ¡°His youthful approach as head of the house also meant he was the first to move but there will be many more.¡± ¡°He also didn''t think too deeply about how Sylvanthal¡¯s royal family would feel about the connection, basing everything on rumors.¡± Silvia said as she took a sip of her tea. ¡°Those who are better informed will soon find out about the trade agreements I have recently obtained from House Blackthorn and put it together with your short disappearance where you met with the king and queen as well as the young Lord Blackthorn during the party.¡± Those words seemed to be prophetic in nature as Ajax found his training interrupted almost every hour in the coming days, so much so that he even considered changing his sleep schedule so he could train during the night and sleep in the day. Not only that but while none of the nobles approaching him with an arranged marriage had any malicious intentions very few of them were as well meaning as Viscount Deeproot had been, most of them were much more greedy and self serving. The more foolish among them even offered a daughter, niece, sister or three to Ajax in hopes of tempting him, they quickly found themselves escorted outside the embassy at Ajax¡¯s request for offending Lady Manashaper. ¡°Finally.¡± Ajax said as the group got ready to delve into the capital¡¯s main dungeon. ¡°I can finally have some peace.¡± This caused some amusement among the ranger teams joining them. ¡°It can¡¯t have been that bad.¡± Xavier said with a laugh as he patted Ajax on the back. ¡°It was, at least by the end.¡± Lexi mumbled though everyone clearly heard her. It was telling how trying this must have been for Ajax if even Lexi¡¯s social energy had been so diminished. Book Launch - This is not a chapter Ajax''s Ascension : The Divine Witness is live starting today. Reborn on Gryndor with the mythical trait [Divine Witness], Ajax swears to live a life of no regrets. This time, he will seize every opportunity, fight every monster, and plunder every treasure as he enjoys life to the fullest, while remaining wary of human nature he learnt about in his first life. If only it were that easy. Humanoids are suppressed as one of the weakest sentient races by dragons, elementals among others. Being confined to their patch of land but that hasn''t changed their nature as they fight amongst themselves forced to split their sources of power instead of uniting for the greater whole. In order to see the entire vast richness of the world, Ajax must practice and train with ancient weapons of war as well magic, gaining levels and forcing the other races to acknowledge his and humanoids worth.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Ajax¡¯s ascension to the top will not be quick or easy. I started writing Ajax''s Ascension over two years ago as a way to relax and it has grown from that more than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to all who read and supported my work I look forward to continue bringing you Ajax''s adventures. Amazon book link. Amazon audiobook link. Chapter 422 Since none of the party could gain anything from the first three floors of the dungeon the group went through them all in under one hour by simply finding the first arch and going through it to the next floor. ¡°I look forward to clearing floors once more after we finish with the boosting.¡± Lexi said as she stepped foot on the fourth floor. ¡°You do know that you¡¯ll also be doing this when we get back to Gryndor as well?¡± Ajax whispered in her ear with a teasing smile. ¡°You¡¯ll most likely be delving the seventh or eighth floor in the Goldmine so you¡¯ll be passing through floors like this every time.¡± Ajax had experience in this since he had already been doing that for a few years. ¡°On the upside can see a lot more floor themes and can choose to clear a lower floor if you think it has a chance of getting you something you want.¡± The biggest prize for those floors were chances at a bond egg that could be taken outside the dungeon but adventurer groups often cleared any odd floor just for the chance at something unique that they could then sell. What Ajax didn¡¯t know was that the amount of ¡®odd¡¯ floor had increased dramatically since he arrived in the capital of Gryndor and entered the dungeons; the same was being observed in theEmpire, the Republic and Deepwood. The fourth and fifth floor each took close to one hour to get through simply because four people needed to kill a miniboss and that meant they had to find four of them, this meant finding three arches and they would stumble upon one of the roaming minibosses in their search. It was with the seventh floor that things started to slow down, not because there was any doubt that the creatures would be killed but not only did Ajax also need to kill his own miniboss but Anna, Lexi, Xavier and Benedict couldn¡¯t just one hit kill their enemies at this point with a well placed ambush attack, or at least they shouldn¡¯t have been able to. ¡°Is that really infernal pillar?¡± Xavier asked in shock as he watched Anna turn the miniboss into ash with a single spell. ¡°What was that?¡± Benedict was also surprised but instead of being awed he quickly switched to curiosity. ¡°That was amazing.¡± Lexi was just as curious as the rest of them if not even more but for her that curiosity could wait for later as her best friend just showed she had taken a big step forward. ¡°There¡¯s not even bones left, you turned everything to ash.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes were locked onto Anna but for a different reason, after he was sure that the boss had been killed Ajax had used his [Mana Syphon] wanting to get a better understanding as to why her flames were that much stronger. To his shock he actually felt a level of resistance from the flames to his skill, that hadn¡¯t happened even when he used the skill on Legendary mana types. Breaking out of his shock Ajax also joined Lexi in congratulating Anna, once they started moving on in search of the next miniboss he put up a privacy bubble around him, Anna and Lexi. ¡°You have a Legendary skill as well.¡± Ajax hugged Anna, unable to contain his excitement any longer. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary?!¡± Lexi quickly joined the hug with renewed excitement. ¡°W-what, h-how could you tell?¡± It was Anna¡¯s turn to be shocked. ¡°I tried using [Mana Syphon] on the remnants of your infernal pillar, it worked maybe three quarters as well as it usually does, if your new skill was the same level as my [Mana Syphon] I bet it would only be half as effective as it usually is.¡± Ajax explained. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Well I couldn¡¯t have you leave me behind.¡± Anna muttered, her surprise and embarrassment mixed were enough to shine through her social skill and leave her a little flushed in the cheeks. ¡°With your flames so much stronger I think you have a chance at killing a level seventy five.¡± Ajax continued, he knew that since this skill was purely a boosting one gaining it would add a lot more direct damage than obtaining a Legendary mana type would since it didn¡¯t really offer the user any flexibility. ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask that!¡± Lexi chastised him but from how weak her objection sounded she also wanted to know. ¡°You both know the name of all five of my Legendary skills.¡± Ajax defended himself. ¡°It¡¯s [Pyromancer].¡± Anna was quick to share with her friends as she was swept up by the excitement the two of them exuded. ¡°I got it at the end of the fight with the penguin, when I pushed my flames to be¡­ more.¡± Anna¡¯s words reminded Ajax of how he gained his first Legendary skills all those years ago. Back then he had been helpless against a vampire that he could now kill in moments but not only had he been trying to copy what the vampire was doing to syphon the shield protecting the crystal he had smashed but he had also been pushed to the very limit. All of the other Legendary skills he had gained since then had come from either an achievement or were mana affinities, maybe will and dire straits were a prerequisite for gaining other Legendary skills. ¡°Your father is going to be so proud when you tell him.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯ll also be worried.¡± Anna said with a wry smile. ¡°He always wanted me to focus more on being a merchant than a mage or a noble. I¡¯ll just have to gain a Legendary merchant skill as well.¡± ¡°You think that¡¯ll be easy?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Can¡¯t be that hard.¡± Anna said with a teasing grin. ¡°You¡¯ve got five of them.¡± Ajax just laughed at that as he lowered the privacy bubble and joined the rest of the delve group as they watched Benedict make short work of his own mini boss. While the physical fighter didn¡¯t manage to kill it in a single attack he had no trouble running circles around the creature as he landed one devastating slash after another. The fight was over quickly and the best the creature had been able to do was put a few scratches on Benedict¡¯s shield. ¡°Anything you want to share?¡± the prince asked as he noticed the privacy bubble dropped. Both Ajax and Lexi kept quiet, while they had both put a bit of pressure on Anna to share the skill with them neither would share anything without Anna¡¯s express permission to do so. Anna remained silent for a moment as she glanced at Aranor, the ranger teams with them and finally her gaze landed on Arianwyn and Elara. ¡°I¡¯ll say that it¡¯s a Legendary skill, but nothing more.¡± Anna said. ¡°Thank you for the confirmation.¡± Aranor gave a thankful nod of the head. ¡°I had my suspicions that it was when the spell didn¡¯t pack all that much more mana than your previous infernal pillars but it''s nice to have it confirmed.¡± The team took two hours to get past the sixth floor, three hours to push past the seventh and almost five hours for all of them to get their kills on the eighth floor before they all decided to make camp and recuperate before the ninth floor. The fights had steadily been getting harder but with a carefully selected forest themed floor for their eighth floor none of them had any real issues killing the level sixty five mini boss. ¡°I want to try the tenth floor.¡± Anna said as they gathered around the fire. ¡°I feel like I can do it.¡± ¡°So do I.¡± Lexi joined in. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Aranor asked them. ¡°You know there is no rush, you¡¯ll have more chances to delve this dungeon, there is no need to push yourselves. Anna and Lexi shared a glance before they both spoke as one ¡°We¡¯re sure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be there to intervene if anything goes wrong but with an almost thirty level difference there will be some actual risk.¡± the prince warned them. ¡°Are you sure you want to take it?¡± When Anna and Lexi just nodded the prince turned towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re inspiring more and more people to push their limits.¡± ¡°I actually want to try to clear the sixteenth floor.¡± Arianwyn said. ¡°Me too.¡± Elara joined in. ¡°I -¡± Ajax didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence before the prince cut him off. ¡°If I hear you want to try the twentieth floor I will come over there and knock some sense into you.¡± the prince waved his fist menacingly ¡°You might stand a chance against a well chosen one hundred and forty but even that is a stretch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was going to suggest.¡± Ajax said defensively before he murmured ¡°Though I doubt you¡¯ll think much better of my actual idea.¡± ¡°Well go on then, spit it out.¡± the prince said as he prepared himself for whatever hairbrained idea Ajax had come up with. ¡°For the sixteenth floor, I want to kill the floor boss on my own.¡± Ajax¡¯s words had everyone focus on him. ¡°I could bet there is a very good achievement for killing a floor boss twice your level.¡± A silence descended on the group broken only by the roar of the fire they were all gathered around. ¡°Depends on what the floor boss is.¡± the prince said after a couple of minutes thinking it over. ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t something like a werewolf where even a scratch could be lethal I¡¯m willing to let you try.¡± Chapter 423 Ajax was happy with the compromise, he also didn¡¯t want to risk it by going against anything that had the chance to kill him with even a glancing blow and was focused on speed. It wasn¡¯t long until everyone but the night watch went to sleep. ¡°So Aranor, what do you think of them?¡± the captain of the ranger squad asked. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Aranor asked. ¡°How much of a problem are they, politically? The captain asked. ¡°There might have been a small issue or two when we first started, we did target Goldmancer merchants during the last war for supplies, but after traveling with us for months I¡¯d say all of them are making fast friends.¡± Aranor gave his opinion. ¡°At this rate they might even become personal connections that Arianwyn can call on as favors.¡± ¡°And what about their power, I know they are all promising after all the stats they just gained but you know that those kinds of leads don¡¯t always last, people stagnate and rest on their laurels.¡± another ranger asked. ¡°Unless something extremely traumatic happens all of them will become champions.¡± Aranor said with a focused expression. ¡°With the dedication they are showing they might just all do so in a century and a half.¡± ¡°That quick?¡± all of the rangers looked towards the tents with a troublesome expression. For someone to be considered a champion they would usually be around level one hundred and seventy five, it wasn¡¯t the level that determined it but the power so some gained it a few levels quicker and some later depending on the synergy of their skills and fighting style, anyone who made it that far had the skills to back it up. Most champions achieved that around the age of five hundred with the prince of Gryndor being a relatively young champion having gained the title at only four hundred and twenty three years of age. The thought that troubled the rangers however wasn¡¯t just the number of champions Gryndor might stack up with the addition of six champions it was also that by achieving such a high level this quickly and with the amount of dungeon stats they were gaining already these champions could very well live to be one and half millenia or older, and they would have all that time to push themselves further. ¡°If you think that¡¯s quick you shouldn¡¯t dig any deeper into Ajax.¡± Aranor said with a snort. ¡°He¡¯s the catalyst for all this, I feel that all of them apart from the Ironwhisper lad are only pushing so hard to keep up with him.¡± ¡°I might regret asking this but how soon until he reaches the level of a champion?¡± the captain asked as focused some mana in his eyes with his Epic skill to look through the fabric of the tent and focus on Ajax¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Aranor was forced to admit. ¡°We¡¯re not asking for an exact time frame here, teach.¡± one of the rangers who had actually once been Aranor¡¯s student exclaimed. ¡°You gave us a time frame for the other, why can¡¯t you do that for him?¡± ¡°Because his strength is so far outside of what I know.¡± Aranor said with a sigh. ¡°At the longest it¡¯ll take him four decades, more likely in a bit over three.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying he¡¯ll be around Arianwyn¡¯s age when he becomes a champion, I heard he barely fought a level one hundred and thirty five to a draw?¡± the captain said.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°He did.¡± Aranor nodded. ¡°But he is also barely past level fifty, in three decades I fully expect him to have gained fifty levels.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re this sure why even bother saying you don¡¯t know, teach?¡± the ranger asked. ¡°Because he could very well reach that point much quicker.¡± Aranor¡¯s words left a total silence among the rangers as he went to sleep. The following day the rangers got a front row seat at seeing what Ajax¡¯s former classmates could do, since these were different squads than the ones who had joined them for the last dungeon; all of them had only seen what little the four of them had shown when punching down on the previous floors. ¡°Damn, you were right again.¡± the ranger said as he took in the ogres that were roaming the dark foggy marsh. ¡°You have a way to teach someone else how to do anything similar? I¡¯ll pay fifty thousand gold to teach my nephew, he¡¯s good with mana.¡± Ajax had shown his ability to predict floors yesterday as well but showing he could find floors that had humanoid enemies was much more valuable and showed just how much detail he could gather about floors, at least when they were so low in the dungeon. ¡°Haven¡¯t figured that one out.¡± Ajax shook his head much to the ranger¡¯s disappointment. Benedict was the first to take on the ten foot tall blue skinned humanoids and he quickly found out that while they were slow and not all that durable they made up for it with a lot of strength, earth magic and a seemingly passive regeneration spell. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s talented or dumb.¡± one of the rangers muttered as he watched on five minutes after the fight had started. ¡°It¡¯s talent.¡± Elara said with a cutting tone. ¡°Before his journey to delve all these dungeons he was purely physical fighter, all of the mana that you no doubt saw is from naturally pushing his mental stats and dungeon stat increases, he already knows he¡¯ll have to take some time and angle himself towards a more hybrid build to get everything out of the stats he has now.¡± ¡°Their healing is based on being in contact with the mud.¡± Ajax said with a bit of disappointment as he watched Benedict wisely predict a wave of mud being launched at his position and stepping around it to land a deep cut across the ogres belly. ¡°I think he¡¯s also figured that out but he can¡¯t do anything to cut off the connection so he just has to rely on the enchantment to do the heavy lifting.¡± Benedict was almost out of stamina and barely standing on his feet twenty minutes later, he wasn¡¯t as comfortable with the bastard sword he had wielded as he was with his usual short sword but this was the weapon that had the strongest anti healing enchantment from the ones he brought. While Benedict had impressed the rangers with his tenacity and focus by not making a single misstep in a twenty five minute fight his strength didn¡¯t strike the rangers as something all that impressive. ¡°How is he doing that?¡± This was the third time the question had been asked in sixty seconds but nobody answered it. Xavier¡¯s fighting style was now backed by a Legendary skill, having analyzed the ogre¡¯s fighting style during Benedict''s battle he had no issue fully predicting their next move, his fight barely lasted two minutes and while he was heaving from the mana expenditure the whole fight had looked choreographed as Xavier dodged everything by less than an inch and the ogre seemed to jump into the path of his blade. As dominant as Xavier¡¯s showing was, he still had nothing on Anna. Unlike both Xavier and Benedict, Anna¡¯s approach hadn¡¯t taken advantage of the more fragile nature of humanoid fighters and their reliance on using armor for protection. With help from her own Legendary skill she had pushed so much heat into the surrounding that the ogre¡¯s earth based regeneration had been cut off because the ground beneath his feet had all the water evaporated and then melted into lava, the ogre itself was burnt to ash with only a few red hot pieces of armor floating on the magma to mark his presence. ¡°Easy there.¡± Ajax said as he propped Anna up as she was about to fall over. ¡°You pushed way too much of your mana out in thirty seconds.¡± While Anna still had a third of her mana left over and her mana channels were used to handle the strain of her more costly spells, using two thirds of your mana in thirty seconds would leave anyone lightheaded. Lexi had followed the lead of her best friend and dealt with her own ogre quickly, unlike Anna however Lexi had not only leaned into the ogre¡¯s humanoid fragility she had also made use of her Domain to spread out the use of her mana and amplify her attack, her wind spells inside of the Domain were strong enough they had actually lifted the ogre fully off the ground until she managed to get a killing blow. ¡°That has to be one of the most aggressive domains I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± the ranger captain let out a low whistle. ¡°And I¡¯ve seen a storm domain in action.¡± Even with all these fine showings there was still no question about who had the most dominating performance on the floor. Ajax¡¯s fight ended in seconds as he blitzed the ogre with an ambush using his axe and Air mana to decapitate the creature. He then sealed the stumpy neck with lava while frying the loose head with a lightning bolt killing the beast. ¡°Hmph, show off.¡± Xavier grumbled with a smile as he reached on his toes to put his arm around Ajax¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s in his mid twenties and his level is in the low fifties?¡± The ranger captain approached Aranor. ¡° I can see how you think he¡¯d be champion level before he¡¯s fifty if he¡¯s already become this strong.¡± Chapter 425 Ajax was silently freaking out on the inside, there were a total of twenty two ducal families in Gryndor right now but out of those only five of them were landed. While he was sure he wouldn¡¯t be given any of their territories even having an actual dukedom would paint a target on his family for at least 15 other ducal families that wanted to earn their own large swath of land. Not only that but the current five landed ducal families were so entrenched in their lands that it was actually easier to grow the families influence to replace one of the three archdukes at the moment than to get any of the current five evicted without a massive mess up on their part. Ajax¡¯s saving grace was that he had very good connections to two of the archdukes and a solid one to the third, not only that but his relationship with Lexi actually pulled all of House Manashaper into his corner since Lexi would become the Duchess Hearthbound. ¡°Focus damnit.¡± the prince growled as he pulled Ajax out of the way of an errant spine from the massive porcupine Harold was fighting. ¡°If I knew it would throw you off so bad I would have waited until after the dungeon to tell you.¡± Harold was a much better match against the porcupine despite the monster¡¯s proclivity for launching spines infused with wind or shadow mana. The creature¡¯s fighting style actually provided a rather novel way of defeating it, by clearing away the spines on its back to open up new patches where you could land an attack. Harold had thrown aside his seventh shield after he intentionally got as many spines to embed themselves in it. ¡°How many of them does he have?¡± Ajax asked curious how many shields Harold¡¯s spacial item held, seeing as none of the ones he used so far were his primary shield. The porcupine now had an odd bold spot a little larger than two shield widths on its back. It clearly wasn¡¯t used to fighting with such an exposed weakness as it didn¡¯t take much longer for Harold to embed a spear in the creature. While the attack wasn¡¯t enough to end the fight by itself it was enough to freak out the monster. Surprised by something actually making it past its quills, the creature tried to turn and examine its own back leaving Harold with a perfect opening to dive to the side and stab his spear through the creature¡¯s neck. Unlike the wound on its back that was intended for piercing damage Harold went for a wide slash at the neck aiming to bleed out the creature. Over the next two minutes the creature continued to slow down further and further as Harold switched back to his defensive fighting style only taking the occasional poke to speed up the process. ¡°Any preference?¡± Ajax asked Elara and Arianwyn once the fight was over. ¡°Nothing underground.¡± Elara said as she wanted to make use of her new Storm Domain and for best results that required clouds. ¡°No fire or ice.¡± Arianwyn similarly didn¡¯t want to contend with the creature''s own affinity for ice or have her own domain suppressed by the natural fire mana of the floor. ¡°Anything for you?¡± Ajax asked Darkclaw. ¡°I¡¯ll hold back for now.¡± Darkclaw said. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get another chance to delve another time when I am better prepared.¡± Being a primarily melee ranged mage did have some advantages when it came to the mana efficiency of your spells but against creatures close to thirty levels above you that was worth far less than the safety some distance might provide. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Alright then.¡± Ajax nodded as the group started moving towards a specific arch. Ajax didn¡¯t bother trying to select a specific floor theme for himself, nine times out of ten the floor boss had nothing to do with the floor theme and any elemental boss that spawned would twist the floor theme to suit itself. ¡°This one is earth and air.¡± Ajax said as he pointed to an arch. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be underground and I¡¯m not feeling any Ice or Water mana and no Fire either.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a bad match-up we could always try again next time.¡± Arianwyn said with a noncommittal shrug. As they set foot on the floor they were met with a powerful wind current that cut across them. The floor theme seemed to have placed them into a mountain range, none of the mountains had snow on them but you could see numerous peaks as they extended for miles. ¡°Oh this is perfect.¡± Elara said with a cunning smile as she appreciated just how close she was to the clouds. ¡°I should be able to make this work.¡± Arianwyn said. Harold and Darkclaw both exited the floor at this point and Aranor chose to warn his charges. ¡°Remember while your domains might grant you superiority over an area any creature living here could still have a better control of the Wind element that is present in both your Domains.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming.¡± one of the rangers called out. ¡°What are those things?¡± Another followed up as they took a defensive position around Ajax, Elara and Arianwyn. Ajax was the sole member of the group to recognise the creatures that were flying towards them, back on Earth they were known as harpies, humanoid creatures with wings instead of arms and claws instead of feet. Despite the lack of knowledge on the creatures the rangers had no issue taking them out, they were after all punching down a large number of levels. ¡°They seem to share the humanoid weakness of a body with multiple kill spots.¡± ¡°The lack of fingers and toes means they can¡¯t use weapons and if we were outside the dungeon I would very much question not only how they formed their armor but also how they managed to put it on¡± Aranor said as he inspected the corpses. ¡°They are however very proficient with not only Wind mana but a few of them also had Ice, Fire, Earth, Light, Shadow and even Lightning.¡± ¡°Might have something to do with the males.¡± Ajax said, drawing everyone''s attention. ¡°What? I can¡¯t be the only one who noticed they are all female.¡± Ajax¡¯s theory was quickly proven true the first time they came across an outpost the harpies had made. Unlike the females the males were larger and sturdier, not only that but they were fully covered in feathers, had humanoid hands with only slightly sharper nails and most noticeably the head of a bird. It took a few outposts but neither Elara nor Arianwyn had any big issues in dealing with a harpy mini boss. It took a while to find one that would prove a favorable match-up in terms of the elements they used: Wind, Earth and Fire for Elara and Wind, Earth and Light for Arianwyn. While the fights were rather clear cut it didn¡¯t mean they were easy. Arianwyn had to use up 80% of her mana in setting up her Domain and even then it had almost run out by the end of the fight breaking through the perpetual tornado that circled the mini boss. Elara had opted for a different approach where she set up her domain a good distance away from the boss before opening the fight with the biggest lightning bolt Ajax had ever seen. The spell must have had more than two and a half thousand mana poured into it between the cast and the empowerment it received from the Domain. ¡°These creatures are ideal for boosting.¡± one of the rangers said. ¡°They would also be a nightmare for anyone of appropriate level doing this floor, they seem to be able to combine their spell casting. I will have a full report delivered to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild once we exit.¡± Ajax had also killed his own harpy miniboss without much fuss, his [Mana Syphon] had worked perfectly to weaken the creature¡¯s defenses and allow him to break through with sheer stats as a magma infused axe was embedded in the harpie¡¯s head. During this time one of the rangers teams was running wild clearing any monster they came upon looking to spawn the floor boss. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should fight it if it ends up being a Wind elemental.¡± the prince said as he took in the surroundings. ¡°RAAAAGGGHHH¡± ¡°ROOOGGGGHH¡± Two wails echoed across the mountain range before Ajax had a chance to respond. ¡°Don¡¯t seem to be a Wind elemental.¡± Ajax said. ¡°If that¡¯s what I think it is, it might be one of the best ones for you to fight.¡± Aranor said as he frowned in the direction the roars seemed to be coming from. ¡°What do you think it is?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Based on there being two shouts I think the floor boss is-¡± Aranor was interrupted as the scout from the clearing ranger team arrived. ¡°We¡¯ve spawned the floor boss¡± He said with a cocky grin towards Ajax. ¡°You¡¯re in luck kid, it''s an ettin.¡± Chapter 426 Aranor P.O.V. The boy¡¯s luck strikes once more, an ettin. Those two headed behemoths are some of the most straightforward floor bosses, not only that but depending on the type it might be a perfect match up for him as well. ¡°What type?¡± I ask as we all head towards the source of the previous bellows. ¡°Hybrid.¡± the scout answers. Well, the boy¡¯s luck doesn¡¯t seem to be quite that good, a pure mage would have been an ideal match-up for him even if it is the most dangerous ranked version by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and for good reason. ¡°Do you think the hybrid is a better match up or the warrior?¡± I ask the prince. ¡°The mage would have been the best.¡± The prince agrees with my own assessment. Ettins are basically dual classes in the same body. This might initially seem like two warrior classes or two mage classes would be far inferior to a warrior and mage combined in the same body but that¡¯s not always the case. Each type of ettin has its own niche. Two warrior classes might seem to have a lot to complement each other at first but that is a clear example of short sightedness. A pure offensive berserker combined with an indomitable guardian can cause a world of issues. This combination is however the easiest ranked by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for the simple fact that a group of five or more has a much easier time containing it. The mage is on the other side of the coin, two mage classes. Nobody out there underestimates this version, the creature can have one head channeling massive spells while the other pumps out continuous casts, multiple different types of mana and most dangerous of all spell overload, despite its humanoid body this version retains the monster ability to cast magic in the same way Ajax does allowing it to fire dozens of spells at once . While this version is by far the most fragile and fights against it always end in under two minutes it almost always causes casualties. Finally there is the hybrid. It is more of a misnomer however since unlike a true hybrid like Ajax it doesn¡¯t have to sacrifice the physical or the magical getting the full benefit of both. Both the warrior and mage half of the creature would be a balanced version of the class unlike the extremes the classes take with the other variants. It¡¯s biggest strength come from the augmented magic it casts to empower the physical attacks, much in the same way Ajax fights. ¡°I think the warrior would be harder for him to fight, though not by much.¡± The prince answers the question. ¡°Inside the dungeon at least.¡± I agree with him that it''s close, I¡¯m not sure what being inside or outside the dungeon has to do with anything. Despite being only level one hundred and ten the ettin will have Ajax beat in all stats, it will come down if Ajax can overcome that gap with his skill and Skills. It''s not long until we catch sight of the creature, we can clearly see it on the other mountain peak as it wanders aimlessly. ¡°Do you want to fight it on the side of the mountain or in one of the valleys?¡± The ranger captain asks. ¡°On the side but low enough that I can jump down to the valley below without wasting too much mana.¡± Ajax answers instantly, I can see his eyes tracking the creature so intensely I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he trips over a rock. ¡°I cloaked us.¡± I nod towards the mage. ¡°We can get much closer now before it can find us, no closer than a hundred yards though, it will sense the disturbance in the mana at that range.¡± Unlike the warrior type the hybrid isn¡¯t encased in armor but all of its vitals are covered. The creature is easily thirty five feet tall and in its hand is a massive bone club that is easily fifteen feet long, a direct hit from that would be enough to seriously threaten anyone present here, even me. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. As we slowly descend down the mountain''s side I see Ajax break off a chunk of rock from the ground. Smart, he¡¯s analyzing the terrain to see how to best use it, at least I hope that¡¯s what he¡¯s doing and he¡¯s not just going to chuck it at the floor boss. ¡°This is perfect.¡± Ajax says as he takes in the small flat area between two peaks. ¡°We¡¯ll start the fight up there and finish it here.¡± Looking at where he is pointing I notice that halfway up to that mountain road there is a tree branch growing out of the side of the mountain. The initial walkway isn¡¯t all that wide so I am expecting the fight won¡¯t stay there for long but I can see what he is planning. We are two hundred feet from the boss when I see Ajax freeze mid step. ¡°Is ¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I ask concerned since I haven¡¯t noticed what changed. ¡°Is that staff something we can take outside the dungeon?¡± Ajax asks as he points towards the boss. My instinct is to instantly tell the boy no, everyone knows that the body of a floor boss can never be taken outside the dungeon but then I stop and replay his question in my mind. ¡®The staff¡¯ , the ettin is one of the few floor bosses that actually uses weapons or equipment and in very rare cases people have been able to take some of those outside the dungeon. I instantly focus my [Sense Mana] on the staff and I am shocked to see that it can indeed be taken outside. It seems like a moot point since like most items wielded by floor bosses it''s simply not something any humanoid can use. Regardless I still use my Epic [Item Appraisal] on the weapon bound to the creature''s back, if nothing else the gem the size of a small cart is going to be worth a lot. Ritualist Ettin Staff Can transform the Stamina of the users into mana at a 3:1 ratio. Acts as a focus for the caster. Allows multiple users to power the spell with a 75% efficiency for all outside the caster, limited to ten casters and one user at most contact must be maintained with the staff. I instinctively swipe by hand around my mouth to make sure I¡¯m not drooling. The staff is a treasure! Being able to transform mana to stamina is okay, not particularly great if it''s 3:1 but not bad. Allowing eleven mages to power one spell with only a 25% loss for ten of them is great, even the best combined spells by people who have trained together for decades only have a 70% efficiency for all involved. If that was it the item would be an interesting curiosity and most likely broken down for parts since it would be more useful that way. But squirreled aways in the item description are those four little words ¡®acts as a focus¡¯. The staff would handle the strain of any spell channeled through it, with the size of that crystal I have no doubt that it could handle a 100000 mana spell, the best I my own mana channels can do with my longest cast slowly pulling the mana through is 10000. That makes it priceless!!! ¡°How am I going to transport something that big?¡± Ajax¡¯s words bring me crashing back down to the present. From the looks of some of the rangers I can tell I¡¯m not the only one who inspected the staff. ¡°It¡¯s got to be forty feet long. Doesn¡¯t matter, an issue for later, though I should take care not to break it.¡± Before any of us can even question his words Ajax quickly pulls out his bow and goes to stand behind the rock. ¡°Looks like this is as far as it wants to come so I¡¯ll shoot it from here and get it to follow me back. Can you drop the illusion I don¡¯t want to attack from inside it just in case it counts that as help.¡± Still in shock all of us pull back as the illusion drops and we all feel Ajax start to summon up his mana for a powerful opening shot but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m focused on now. ¡°If he kills it by himself the staff is his.¡± The prince¡¯s voice marks the start of the argument we all knew was coming from the moment we inspected the staff. ¡°That¡¯s-¡± The ranger captain doesn¡¯t get more than a word out before he is interrupted. ¡°He will be head of landed ducal House, this is his boosted delve and he is fighting a floor boss more than twice his level alone.¡± The prince¡¯s voice is cold. ¡°If he kills it alone the staff is his.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so special about the staff?¡± Arianwyn asks. I take a brief moment to explain. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± Both her and Elara are shocked, as well they should be. ¡°What if we have to intervene?¡± I ask, there is at least a 50% chance Ajax won¡¯t be winning this fight. I need to lay the groundwork. ¡°You can take the staff, in whatever condition it is.¡± I am very much surprised the prince is willing to concede the staff. ¡°And you pay Gryndor ten times the cost of the materials.¡± I almost choke when I hear that, the amount of high quality wood and the gem stone would be at least ten thousand gold coins. The staff is surely worth the one hundred thousand but the deal is to pay that much regardless of the condition of the staff. ¡°Done.¡± Elara says before anyone else has a chance. ¡°Elara¡­¡± Arianwyn is a bit shy as she tugs on her friend¡¯s hand, the royal family is in no position to be paying out such a sum on a whim. ¡°That might be a bit too much.¡± ¡°My family would buy, we¡¯re in a position to take that bet.¡± she says with confidence. ¡°Though I doubt we¡¯ll have the chance to claim it since Ajax will kill the ettin, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± I turn my focus back to Ajax as he finally releases the arrow, I am surprised at how little mana is there compared to what he usually puts into his opening shot. To no surprise the mage half of the ettin senses the arrow in time and the arrow hits a shield right it front of one of the two heads and stops dead before falling to the ground. An instant later one of the ettin¡¯s eye balls bursts in a shower of blood. ¡°RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHH!¡± ¡°AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!¡± With a bellow of rage and one of pain the battle begins as the ettin charges after Ajax who is already lining up a second shot while also retreating down the mountain towards the valley. Chapter 431 ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the prince asked Ajax as they made camp for the final time in this dungeon. ¡°I will need to change.¡± Ajax said with a bit of disappointment as he looked down towards his gauntlet, already four of his germs had shattered and his other elements weren¡¯t fat behind. ¡°I appreciate how long you kept your silence regarding my gauntlet but once we return to Gryndor I will look into having some new more specific weapons commissioned.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at specialization as a bad thing.¡± The prince said, he could clearly see the problem Ajax had with replacing his gauntlet: his extreme versatility would now become limited or he would be forced to sacrifice his weapons. ¡°It could in fact push you forwards instead.¡± ¡°How would it do that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°The gems in your gauntlet are all so very small.¡± The prince had insisted that he wear something to magically mask the gauntlet for as long as he couldn¡¯t make use of the discovery as well. ¡°Despite being mana gems with a specific affinity the break under your spells, in terms of raw power that is less than what a level ninety mage can output.¡± ¡°And how would specialising help?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°You might not be aware of it yourself but you are already limiting yourself to one or two elements per weapon, it''s a simple fact that certain elements are better wielded by specific weapons.¡± The prince said. ¡°With the bigger gems and the correct enchantments added those weapons would be able to even further augment your attacks instead of barely maintaining the weapon. That¡¯s to say nothing of the skills you will gain that will stack with your [Augmentation] skill.¡± ¡°That could work.¡± Ajax said, unconsciously he had started to smile as he appreciated the prince¡¯s advice of this being a better way forward for him. ¡°Do you know any craftsmen who would be willing to work with me on this new approach?¡± ¡°I do, but I will say that it''s a good thing your boon will allow you such an increase in wealth.¡± the prince said with a smile. ¡°The only way you¡¯ll be able to buy yourself a priority on their backlog of orders will be with some of the more rare resources and materials they desire.¡± Following their talk Ajax was more hyped for the upcoming fight and he was ready to push as far as it took to win. ¡°This is the strongest opponent I will fight before my style is forced to evolve.¡± Ajax muttered to himself. ¡°I have to win.¡± While Ajax would have one more dungeon to delve in Sylvanthal and the Empire¡¯s main dungeon as well neither would present him with a stronger opponent. The last of Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons had a first floor with level thirty eight mini bosses and an eighteen level floor gap. The strongest fight he would face in there would be a level one hundred and twenty eight with no chance of challenging a one hundred and sixty four. As for the Empire he wouldn¡¯t have a boost group with him ensuring that he could guarantee a one versus one with the mini boss so he will stop his delving much sooner. The only element they knew about the final floor was the fire element. Ajax had chosen it in hopes of coming upon an environmental floor as that would be trivialised by his escort while the monsters would be just a little bit weaker.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ajax got his wish much to the rangers disappointment. While the floor environment didn¡¯t pose an actual challenge to them most of them could just disregard the heat at such a high floor. If he was asked to describe the floor Ajax would be able to do so with a single word, ¡®hell¡¯. The entire floor looked like a wide open plane of grass with a tree or two dotted around and set ablaze and this is what remained. The floor was covered with ash and the skeletal blacked trees were the only point of reference in their small depression. The heat wasn¡¯t even the worst part of the floor''s environment, much worse were the segregations of air that not even Aranor could understand, the humidity would change from above 90% to under 10%. The hot air would feel like a lungful of water one moment before it scorched your throat as you moved forward. Much to everyone''s relief it didn¡¯t take long for them to run into the first mini boss as the pack was running around the hellscape. ¡°Are you sure you want to fight a hellhound?¡± the prince asked with some concern. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ajax said with a nod. One of the things Ajax had miscalculated was how well curse mana would go in addition to fire for creating a floor theme. While the percentage of the curse mana was much lower than on most floors he had found it on before the sheer density of the mana in the air meant to this time Ajax wouldn¡¯t have the luxury of relying on [Mana Syphon] and drawing out the fight or he would get himself infected with too much curse mana. ¡°After you kid.¡± Most of the rangers had their bows drawn ready to put down the entire pack with the exception of the boss as soon as Ajax engaged. It was easy to figure out which one was the boss, not only was it larger than the others, going from the size of a hippo to that of an elephant but the mini boss also had two heads. Ajax very much wondered if there was a three headed Cerberus model for a Floor boss but he very much doubted it since he had already faced a boss with two heads, unless the three heads weren¡¯t as independent as the ettin had been. The hellhound¡¯s heads resembled a doberman but the body wasn¡¯t as lean, looking more like the jacked frame of a rottweiler. Unlike the ettin Ajax could tell that the hellhound would be less durable but at the same time much faster, but with his new Trait there was no need to push this into a battle of attrition as he now had a much larger resource pool to force the fight to end quickly. Ajax drank a potion before the fight would even begin, he knew regardless of the outcome the fight wouldn¡¯t last as long as the potion so there was no need to wait. He next drew his bow and fired a heavily infused ice arrow. With his ice gem shatter Ajax noticed how the bow had suffered minor damage from his spell, not only that but his arrow had actually missed its mark because one of the fletchings had frozen from the spell, instead of hitting the hellhound in the eye it got him in the snout. The opening shot was like the opening of the flood gates as arrows rained down onto the unsuspecting pack killing all but the mini boss. In a favorable twist it actually seemed like Ajax¡¯s arrow hitting the snout was actually a better outcome than hitting the eyeball. While the ice magic wasn¡¯t able to last all that long with the internal furnace the hellhound had the unexpected drop in temperature momentarily froze the mini boss. The elves had quickly backed off after taking out the pack leaving only Ajax for the boss to focus on. Ajax felt a sense of instinctual fear as he watched the elephant sized monster dash towards him with the same agility he had seen in dog races on the internet. The two heads were locked onto him and the one that had been hit by the arrow now had flamin snot mixing with some blood slowly dripping down as the ice melted. Ajax quickly dismissed his fear, he had long since learned to suppress the instinctual fear that came from fighting something so much bigger, the system was the great equalizer and levels were much more important than physical size. Ajax had also forgone taking out his shield, against a boss like this there were only two things he really needed to worry about. One was the boss¡¯s claws, but his armor''s enchantments should be enough that any hit he takes from them would only leave a nasty cut and wouldn¡¯t actually snag him.The other was the jaws and there was no point in using a shield against that since would only give them a better place to grab a hold of, he couldn¡¯t even use his shield to remove the bite attack from the fight as the beast had two heads. Ajax charged towards the beast with his axe and sword while also starting to exert his control over the burnt ashy ground, unlike the ettin the hellhound was doing nothing to stop him from molding the battleground to his whims. Chapter 432 Ajax was holding nothing back as he charged the mini boss, the ground shaped beneath their feet with Ajax barely able to keep up with the speed of the hellhound. More than that he could feel the beast charge up a flaming breath in its lungs and for one [Mana Syphon] wasn¡¯t going to help him weaken it since he would be syphoning all that curse mana. Worse yet was that Ajax didn¡¯t know which head was about to spew the cursed flames. One thing that did work however was a blast of Holy mana, the cleansing energy leaving a nasty burn like wound on the monster¡¯s side and causing it to howl in pain even breaking its spell. Ajax didn¡¯t have time to ask himself why this monster felt pain when most others didn¡¯t, if he had time to think about it he would have realized it was because the curse mana was a part of the hellhound and removing it would be like vaporising a part of it. The beast was clearly intelligent enough that Ajax doubted another Holy blast would disrupt its spell casting but it was great to know he had such an effective weapon against it. ¡°He¡¯s being quite reckless.¡± Aranor pointed out as he watched the fight from the side lines. ¡°Drinking the potion so early and not using his syphoning skill on the beast¡¯s magic. You sure he¡¯s not taking it too lightly?¡± The prince didn¡¯t answer the question but he partially agreed with Aranor. He knew why Ajax wasn¡¯t using [Mana Syphon] to its full extent but he didn¡¯t know why he was so determined on ending the fight quickly, in fact he wasn¡¯t sure why he decided to take on a hellhound at all since the creatures speed and flexibility was a bad match-up to Ajax¡¯s usual slow and methodical kill by a thousand cuts he usually displayed when facing enemies so far above his level. Ajax could feel that he would only have one chance at this, because of the curse mana present on this floor there was simply nothing he could do to win against any mini boss in a drawn out fight, with that he doubled down and used [Empowering Restriction]. Ajax didn¡¯t want to limit his options even further and he was already hesitant to restrict another skill as he didn¡¯t want to cut off their potential, with that Ajax placed the restriction instead on his own mana regeneration. For the next week Ajax wouldn¡¯t be able to regenerate a single point of mana and in exchange he wanted to increase the potency of all the mana he currently had. The change was immediately noticeable, to him as he could feel his own mana channels pushed to accommodate his mana as he stabbed his sword with an Lightning attack in an attempt to widen the moment of opportunity the Holy blast had bought him. The hellhound and everyone watching was also instantly aware that something had changed as Ajax¡¯s power spiked considerably. The ground stopped slowly covering the hound¡¯s legs and instead started behaving like a slime quickly crawling up the beast''s paws. The sword¡¯s Lightning augmentation was so powerful that not only did it cause the mini boss to twitch uncontrollably but small burn marks could be seen on the edges of the cut from the intensity of the current. ¡°What was that?¡± the remaining ranger commander asked, one squad having already been split up and sent to different floors in search of high quality goods. ¡°[Empowering Restriction]¡± one of the rangers was quick to answer his captain but his eyes remained locked on Ajax. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what he just gave up, but whatever it was it was big.¡± The captain trusted his friend and subordinate, more than that he knew the man would recognise the skill since he had it as well. Their experience with it was also the reason they knew the timer on the fight just got a lot more enforced, there was no way such an increase in power would last for more than a few minutes, not unless the restriction was a permanent restriction and he didn¡¯t judge Ajax as someone stupid enough to use something like that just to clear the floor. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. With his mana regeneration cut off Ajax also dropped his [Mana Skin], not only would this make his mana last longer but it would allow [Berserker] to replenish his stamina pool and with his new trait mitigate some of the restriction. One thing Ajax quickly caught on to was that [Empowering Restriction] didn¡¯t improve the power of the spells he cast with Stamina so he quickly adapted to use his Stamina for any of his more auxiliary magic spells like his manipulation of the rock beneath their feet and save his Mana for any direct attack against the boss. Unlike the ettin he had fought the hellhound was too fast for Ajax to stay clear of it at all times, he could barely ensure that the heads never had a good enough opportunity to bite him but even with his earth manipulation trying to slow down the hound¡¯s claws they were still leaving deep scratches on his arms and legs imbuing curse magic into directly into him. ¡°Is that a consuming restriction? I thought you had to select that once you passed one of the bottlenecks¡± the ranger captain asked as he observed only some of Ajax¡¯s spells were enhanced, he focused on the prince as he asked his next question. ¡°Is his [Empower Restriction] already past level 50?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a consuming restriction.¡± the ranger said before the prince could. Consuming restrictions were a way to pay more for an increase in power, the most common being paying the same amount in Stamina or Health to increase the power of a spell, the advantage of such a restriction and the reason the type as a whole needed a bottleneck to unlock was that it was a restriction that could be toggled on and off for specific spells. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how he¡¯s doing it but it is not a consuming restriction.¡± ¡°It¡¯s most likely the Trait he got.¡± for the first time the prince¡¯s eyes left Ajax as they moved to Aranor whose words mirrored his own thoughts. ¡°He got a trait from a hybrid ettin, I think it has something to do with his resources and that¡¯s why the restriction isn¡¯t affecting everything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s¡­ genius.¡± The ranger could hardly gather his thoughts as he looked upon Ajax with a mix of awe and envy. The kid had managed to essentially recreate something he had needed to invest a bottleneck skill evolution within days of getting the Trait, he had no idea that Ajax had made the discovery by accident. The fight had barely been going on for three minutes and Ajax was already down to a quarter of his Mana and his Stamina, the armor on his arms and legs was hanging off him in shreds and shallow cuts criss crossed his limbs. The curse mana inside his body was starting to gain a foothold but Ajax was keeping a slow but constant application of Life mana to heal himself and the Legendary mana type worked wonders on keeping the negative aspects of the curse in check even if it didn¡¯t cleanse it. While Ajax was in a sorry state the somewhat manic grin on his face exemplified the phrase ¡®you should see the other guy¡¯. The hellhound had taken markedly less hits than Ajax had but all of those had been infused with enough power to leave deep and lasting damage. Holy mana had played a central role during the fight with Ajax using it for every other swing as it worked so well at breaking through the leathery skin of the monster. The fight took a turn for the worse when Ajax infused his axe with holy mana as he went for an overconfident strike to one of the heads. The blow was well placed but Ajax had failed to take into account that Holy mana didn¡¯t fortify his weapon, as the hounds teeth bit down on the axe the blade shattered. The axe had been a high end weapon Ajax could just barely wield back when he left Gryndor, but it was made for fighting Level one hundred enemies which had been Ajax¡¯s limit back then, without something to strengthen it the hellhound¡¯s teeth were just too much especially after all the wear and tear the axe had gone through in the battle against the ettin. The silver lining came in the form of the mini boss swallowing the Holy mana infused shards of the broken blade, the infusion had barely lasted for more than a few seconds but that had been enough to leave a few nasty wounds on the organs of the monster. Ajax¡¯s [Mana Sense] was strong enough that he could follow the shards as they passed through the hellhound¡¯s throat and he could also feel the concentration of curse Mana inside the mini boss enough that he finally had a good idea of where its heart was. With the time limit fast approaching Ajax knew it was now or never. He spent almost all of his remaining stamina in launching a lightning bolt at the boss while also redirecting his body with a wind spell to save his crumbling form, he had no need for the broken axe handle in his hand so he dropped it and pulled out his spear before pushing as much Holy mana as his channels could handle into augmenting the stab to the monsters heart. The attack was successful as the beast died with a whiny roar as the spear penetrated its chest before its giant body collapsed on top of the spent Ajax. Ajax¡¯s saving grace here was that he still had some mana remained as he pushed as much life mana into healing his body while also molding the earth to prevent himself from taking the whole weight of the corpse. His mana wouldn¡¯t last for longer than a few seconds but that is all that the onlookers needed to move the corpse off Ajax. ¡°That was closer than I''d have liked.¡± Ajax barely mumbled as he heaved in deep breaths of air as he looked up towards the people who had removed the corpse from on top of him. Chapter 434 The elves couldn¡¯t believe their luck, Ajax couldn¡¯t either so he triple checked the arch but it was a Crystal mana arch. If they got lucky enough that even a single creature could be taken out of the dungeon they might have access to a massive amount of level one hundred and fifty mana crystals. ¡°Good luck.¡± Aranor wished the ranger squad before he, Ajax and the prince all exited the dungeon. Both Aranor and the prince were skipping out on clearing the final floor as they both had a lot to report to their respective kings. ¡°Looks like my boon does have some downsides compared to the regular one.¡± Ajax lamented right before they exited the dungeon. Ajax had the important parts of all the creatures he had killed on floors nineteen, eighteen, seventeen and the blacksmithing set from floor sixteen. With the non-solo boon however he would have been able to just take part in killing any crystal monster on this floor and take that with him. ¡°Oh chin up, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find more crystal floors in the future.¡± the prince said as he patted him on the back. ¡°Now here, hold this. It¡¯s yours after all.¡± With that the prince passed Ajax the massive staff belonging to the ettin. Ajax had no issue with the weight of the staff, the massive metal bar he was bringing his father was much heavier and had a larger total volume than the staff, it''s just the items'' unseemly length that posed an issue. The staff was covered all over with the tents the group had brought with them, this was simply done so that nobody could identify the object as they moved it through the street. ¡°Hold it right there¡­¡± The guards outside the dungeon were quick to spring into action as soon as they noticed Ajax exit the dungeon, he was the last of the three to do so but the massive staff in his hands and on his shoulder quickly drew their attention. The guards were just as quick to stop in their tracks as they saw Aranor. ¡°Champion Starfury, reporting sir!¡± ¡°Let the boy pass with his spoils.¡± Aranor waved them off casually. The guards were a little starstruck to see the elven champion. They were all elite soldiers but just barely their levels having just passed one hundred. To them Aranor was a living legend having hit his peak right as they were growing up around two hundred years ago. ¡°...Sir, is¡­ is that a staff?¡± One of the guards managed to get the courage to ask as Ajax was slowly making his way away from the dungeon with care, the logistics of moving through the streets with his new family treasure slowing the process a little. At Aranor¡¯s slight nod the guard continued. ¡°And is the head a single massive managem?¡± The massive mesh of tents covering the staff was pulled tight so as to not allow any identification attempt through, the downside of this was that the outline of the staff made it perfectly clear what it was. Passing through the streets on the way to the embassy was difficult and took close to an hour. While a lot of guards approached the trio they quickly backed off as soon as they saw the sigil on Aranor¡¯s robes. That however didn¡¯t stop a few of the more daring merchants from attempting to buy the staff, they were all quickly turned down but just their presence in the road made the travel slower. ¡°I always knew you were a blessing but sometimes I can¡¯t help but wonder if you were also a test from the Gods.¡± Silvia from the door of the embassy as she waited for Ajax, her anxiety eased now that he was done with the dungeon. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I made plans for how to load our worms on the way home, you know.¡± Alana complained. ¡°We¡¯re leaving in two days and you drop that in our lap and we¡¯re just supposed to find a place for it?¡± Aranor chose that moment to add insult to injury as he quickly dumped out a sizeable pile of loot from his own storage ring as soon as he stepped inside the embassy. ¡°I can assure you the royal family will be very interested in seeing if you are willing to part with any four of the hound teeth.¡± Aranor said knowing the value the innate curse infused weapons could provide for one of the ranger commanders before he quickly took his leave. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡± Lexi said as she drew Ajax into a deep hug as soon as he placed the staff down. She then proceeded to lightly punch him in the stomach. ¡°What was that for?¡± Ajax complained as he rubbed him abdomen mostly out of habit rather than any pain. ¡°For making me lose one hundred gold to Arianwyn in a bet.¡± Lexi said as she ran her arm through his and pulled him deeper into the embassy. ¡°You got off cheap.¡± Alana joked. ¡°I think I''m going to lose twice that just making space for that thing.¡± ¡°Well that thing is easily worth fifty thousand gold so I wouldn¡¯t be complaining if I were you.¡± Ajax¡¯s words caused everyone to freeze, their eyes the size of dinner plates as they focused on the wrapped up staff. ¡°We could be convinced to pay twice that if you even think about selling it.¡± The prince was quick to back Ajax up in shocking everyone. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t just say that out loud.¡± Alana warily eyed everyone present, most of the people here with them strangers who were at the embassy and not part of their group. ¡°I doubt that¡¯s something someone is going to try and steal from here.¡± Ajax laughed as he imagined a thief trying to make a quick get away with the staff in hand. ¡°Is that a blacksmithing equipment set?¡± Silvia asked curiously. Once she was sure her son was fine she gave him a hug before starting to inspect the pile Aranor had left behind. ¡°Yeah, a really good one too.¡± Ajax said with a wry smile. ¡°Unfortunately we might need to sell or at least rent that out for a while. I doubt dad will be able to properly use it for a few decades.¡± With that Ajax joined his family and friends for a nice meal to relax for the evening. The prince had quickly excused himself to make a report to the king, once he returned he came with a royal order. ¡°Ajax, it''s official.¡± the prince said in a serious and official tone. ¡°The crafting use of [Empowering Restriction] can be shared.¡± Left unsaid was clearly that the other use of the skill was clearly off limits. The following day was the group''s final day in the capital so Arianwyn, her cousin, Elara and even the king and queen came to pay them a visit. Arianwyn and Elara would be joining them to the final dungeon but it was a very public endorsement of Gryndor for the king and queen to visit them at the embassy a day before they left. ¡°So this is it for you for now?¡± the king asked Ajax. ¡°For now.¡± Ajax agreed. ¡°Once I have time to get used to my increased Stats as well as practice my Skills some more as well I will be looking to push further than level one hundred and forty but that will be a couple of years I expect.¡± ¡°Is that really your staff?¡± Arianwyn¡¯s cousin asked after he spotted the wrapped up weapon. ¡°Well I remembered you telling me that any good mage had to have a staff, so I went and got one.¡± The prince nearly did a spit take as he heard that any mage needed a staff that big was laughable but for Arianwyn¡¯s cousin he simply nodded in understanding and agreement. Silvia and Alana both had the chance to negotiate with the king directly for a few of the spoils Ajax had managed to bring out of the dungeon. In the end the elves had ended up buying six of the hellhound teeth, not only that but Alana had also worked out a deal for House Hearthbound to work as an intermediary between Sylvanthal and whoever the smith that would end up buying or renting the smithing setup as well. ¡°Is that going to be an issue?¡± Ajax whispered to the prince as he pointed towards the corner of the room. In the corner of the room sitting closely together on an ornate loveseat were Xavier and Arianwyn, both of whom had had a little to drink that night and both of whom were getting along almost a little too well. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± the prince said with a sadistic grin as he imagined the headache this would cause his father and younger brother. He was truly glad not to be the one who needed to work out this potential political alchemical bomb. ¡°It¡¯ll end up being something really good, or a total disaster.¡± Chapter 440 The trip back to Gryndor started as a much needed break and than turned into a slow return to his regular on the road training for Ajax. It was now the seventh week and Ajax was starting to get a little stir-crazy, they had entered Gryndor a couple of days ago and were only now approaching the capital. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about getting you some flying transportation.¡± Xavier said as he picked up on Ajax¡¯s state. ¡°It can wait until after our territory is well established.¡± Alana cut in. Xavier nodded, thinking the reason for her delay was that Ajax would be too far away to manage his own lands and not the devastating blow obtaining a flying mount that could travel long distances would be. Alana was planning to delay so that Ajax would first build up their treasury before he started with anything too expensive. ¡°You can take the rest of the day to settle in but my father would like to see you at first light tomorrow.¡± the prince said as they passed through the city gates. ¡°You¡¯ll only be in the capital for a week before we head towards the empire so you¡¯ll receive your title tomorrow in open court.¡± With that everyone went their own way once they entered the inner noble section of the city. As they neared the Hearthbound estate Ajax had his eyes fixed on the two large feline statues that now anchored either side of the main gate. While the amount of detail left a little to be desired by Duke standards it was more than made up for by the quality of the stone they were chiseled from, Ajax would place the stone at around level sixty and he knew that it would be further reinforced by his Life mana should they be animated. Past the gates the carriage circled the large fountain inside the inner courtyard before stopping and letting Ajax get off. Flanking either side of the carriage door in straight lines all the way to the door of the mansion were retainers House Hearthbound had hired over the last years. Ajax recognised most of them though there were a few towards the middle that he didn¡¯t recognise, some of the more recent recruits. Being received like this made Ajax feel more like a noble than all the fancy parties he went to in all this time. So naturally the picture perfect ceremonious welcome was quickly shattered by a Shadow cat leaping down from the third story window, landing cleanly on the ground before leaping towards Ajax. ¡°Fluffy no!¡± Tom¡¯s voice could be heard from the open window but his bond didn¡¯t pay any attention to it. Fluffy¡¯s growth had hit its peak in the last year and had only now started slowing down as the shadow cat reached level seventy. The now adult shadow cat could still progress and was nowhere near its peak but its growth would now be a lot slower. ¡°I missed you too, big guy.¡± Much to Fluffy¡¯s shock despite all its growth Ajax still had no problem manhandling him. The doors of the mansion opened and Sam, Tom, Judy, Kate, Aurora and Elija were all there walking towards Ajax. They all took turns hugging Ajax, Silvia and Alana welcoming them back home. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°What is that?¡± Judy was the first to move on from the greetings as she pointed to the massive staff that was wrapped up and taking almost all the space on the back of one of the worms. ¡°That is now the most valuable possession of our House.¡± Ajax declared with a challenging grin, daring his sister to complain about it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure.¡± Judy chimed with a triumphant tone before bringing out a purple crystal the size of a ping pong ball. ¡°This little beauty cost me ten thousand gold coins and even that is because I don¡¯t think anyone knew what the affinity was.¡± Ajax¡¯s eyes widened as they greedily took in the sight of the large Void crystal, from the mana density he could sense that it had come from a level ninety dungeon floor. Considering the issues he was running into with his gauntlet this would be the perfect base for a new hammer specifically made not just to be able to handle his Void attacks but by specialising to only one affinity it would even amplify them. Seeing the gift his sister had gotten for him Ajax didn¡¯t have the heart to ruin her excitement, the same could not be said for Alana who put her arm around her friends shoulder and leaned close before stage whispering loudly enough that everyone could hear. ¡°There is a standing offer of one hundred thousand gold as the starting bid for that.¡± ¡°...¡± Judy was left staring at the large bundle slack jawed with everyone else who heard Alana. ¡°What ¡­ What is it?¡± ¡°That is the first heirloom of house Hearthbound.¡± Ajax declared loudly enough for everyone to hear clearly. ¡°Before that it was the staff of a level one hundred and ten ettin.¡± The welcoming moved on from that point to a more thorough inspection of all the spoils Ajax had managed to collect throughout all of the delves. Most of them were passed on to Alana and Judy with a directive to sell them or to Aurora and Elija for the pieces they wanted to have looked over by skilled crafters. ¡°You did well boy.¡± Sam patted Ajax on the back, Ajax¡¯s frame was now too tall for Sam to comfortably wrap his arm over his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t think I forgot about you.¡± Ajax said with a grin as he headed towards his father¡¯s smithy. Ajax took great pleasure in watching his father¡¯s eyes bulge more and more as he slowly took out the high level smithing equipment he took from the harpies. ¡°This ¡­ this is too much.¡± Sam said as he took it all in, he then let out a deep sigh. ¡°It¡¯s also not something I can use, it¡¯ll be for the best if we sell it for now.¡± While Sam didn¡¯t have the talent required to use mana he had spent enough time around Ajax as a child and Kate after Ajax departed to develop [Detect Mana], even with his low skill level and his much newer [Blacksmith¡¯s Eye] he could tell that he was still a long way from being able to even use all of this. ¡°We won¡¯t be selling it.¡± Ajax reassured his father, he could feel the reluctance in his father¡¯s words. ¡°We¡¯ll be renting it out until you¡¯re able to use it. To help you get there I got you this.¡± With that Ajax dropped the massive alloy bar right outside the smithy. The weight of the ingot was too much and the whole bar sunk a good four inches into the earth before it finally stopped. ¡°This is perfect.¡± Sam exclaimed as he examined the ingot, the alloy and mana density were at the upper limit of what he could currently use and a perfect place for him to push his skill further. ¡°There¡¯s enough here that¡¯ll be at least a year before I use it all.¡± The family spent the rest of the evening relaxing together, Ajax had told them all that he would be named a landed Duke tomorrow as well as the initial outline of the plan for them to start the move to their new lands during his time in the Empire. Everyone agreed that it was something they could start worrying about and planning for tomorrow, that tonight was a small welcome home party. The following morning Ajax was standing outside the royal palace before the first rays of dawn. The guards wasted no time asking Ajax why he was there, they had been clearly expecting him and quickly ushered him inside and towards the smaller and more private throne room he had visited before. As he entered the room Ajax took in everyone who was present. The king, the queen, the crown prince and the king¡¯s eldest son were all expected. Unexpected were Archduke Goldmancer, Archduke Steelblade, Archduke Silvertongue and Duke Manashaper. ¡°Ajax, you¡¯ve finally made it.¡± Duke Manashaper welcomed him with a hug. Having worked on researching the magnetic affinity with Ajax as well as the blossoming relationship between Ajax and Lexi, the Duke had become rather familiar with Ajax. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve gotten a chance to rest.¡± ¡°Now, that we¡¯re all here we can begin.¡± The king cut their reunion short and prepared to start the early meeting he had called them all here for. Chapter 441 The meeting began with a quick recount of Ajax¡¯s exploits during his trip, his gaining two Legendary affinities drew a lot of attention and from the composed look Duke Manashaper wore Lexi had already told him about that beforehand. More than that however what draws their attention is the amount of dungeon floors Ajax has cleared. ¡°There have been a handful who have cleared one hundred dungeon floors, so we know that there is no Achievement but what about one hundred and fifty?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. Ajax was still a little wary of the archduke''s Steelblade and Silvertongue, unlike Goldmancer Ajax had only met the two of them a couple of times in the past and while they were backing him their relationship wasn¡¯t as close as the one he had with the Goldmancer family. ¡°There is no point in getting into hypotheticals.¡± the crown prince cut off the tangent. ¡°We will find out when he gets there. ¡°This meeting was called for another reason.¡± ¡°Then why recount his exploits?¡± Silvertongue argued amiably. ¡°Because they affect the situation at hand.¡± the king said. ¡°I have to admit I never expected him to try a floor boss.¡± With that he explained Ajax¡¯s solo fight with the ettin. Hearing that Ajax took on an ettin more than twice his level left all of them staring at him wondering if he wasn¡¯t crazy. ¡°What were the rewards?¡± Archduke Steelblade was the one who asked. ¡°First is the one I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all already heard rumours about.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°The ettin¡¯s staff could be taken out of the dungeon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what was wrapped up?¡± Archduke Goldmancer became much more animated. Ajax went on to explain the staff¡¯s effects. Unlike what he expected, the four high nobles took the staff¡¯s effects in stride. ¡°That is certainly a powerful heirloom for your House.¡± Duke Manashaper praised. ¡°I would caution you about relying on it too much, however. What was the achievement?¡± It was the prince who explained what the achievement for killing a floor boss twice your level was, though he made sure to leave out even the small guesses he had made about what Ajax¡¯s reward Trait had been. He then also explained all the other Achievements they found out about. ¡°This has the potential to be an unmitigated disaster.¡± Archduke Silvertongue was the first to break the silence that lasted for a few minutes after the prince finished the explanation. ¡°We¡¯re all but forced to form an expedition to attempt a forty something team to kill a floor boss but one saboteur and we could lose the most talented young combatants of the next generation.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how we can pass that up, risky as it is.¡± Archduke Steelblade said. ¡°This is where the staff becomes much more relevant.¡± Ajax said, drawing their attention back to him. ¡°In theory before I reach level fifty five I could take nine people with me and have them power my opening spell with all their mana and stamina before killing the floor boss in a one on one. It¡¯s possible the System wouldn¡¯t count it because of my solo Achievement but it''s just as likely that it would.¡± Ajax very much expected that the System wouldn¡¯t allow such a big loophole , still he was more than willing to play into the possibility in order to secure even a short period of peace and prosperity for his new territory.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The next thirty minutes were spent strategizing how to best rope in the most influential Houses into silencing their objections to Ajax¡¯s duchy and title. ¡°You do know you¡¯ll have to at least propose before my granddaughter can join you at your new estate.¡± Duke Manashaper¡¯s Aura pressed down menacingly on Ajax¡¯s shoulders for a brief moment. ¡°I was already planning for it.¡± Ajax said honestly, he was planning to propose on their return from the Empire. Duke Manashaper gave a nod of agreement and dropped the topic before the crown prince moved on to the next. ¡°This brings us to the next volatile topic.¡± the crown prince announced. ¡°Ajax¡¯s lands will upset the already fragile balance of landed nobles in Gryndor. To counteract this we will have to expand our borders and a few landed nobles, including some of you here, will need to move their borders to adapt.¡± A chill so cold it could jumpstart an ice age ran down Ajax¡¯s back as he heard the proposal. He made no effort to hide the dread that came over him for a moment at those words. ¡°What¡¯s wrong boy?¡± Duke Manashaper was quick to pick up on Ajax¡¯s reaction. ¡°You need to be careful when expanding.¡± Ajax barely whispered the warning but everyone heard it clearly. ¡°Of course we will be careful.¡± Despite Archduke Steelblade¡¯s respect for Ajax he still scoffed at Ajax¡¯s fear of expansion when he hadn¡¯t yet even set foot on the border to the Wild Lands. ¡°While expansion can be dangerous its not that scary, we know for a fact the beastkin had started a few decades ago back when we still had spies reporting back with frequent updates.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the monsters that trouble me.¡± Ajax responded. ¡°It''s the ascended races.¡± ¡°Scary and powerful as they may be, dragons and phoenixes have been felled before by powerful expeditions.¡±Archduke Goldmancer tried to reassure Ajax. ¡°Some of the most powerful heirlooms of the nobles come from their remains.¡± ¡°A battle during an expedition wouldn¡¯t break the agreement.¡± Ajax jerked his head in short movements signifying his disagreement. ¡°Invading the territory of an Ascended race while expanding the kingdom could result in the doom of Gryndor.¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± The king unconsciously used his social skills on Ajax for a moment before he restrained himself and gave him a brief apologetic look before motioning for him to speak. Ajax went on to explain the short history lesson the dragon had given him all those years ago and how he had come to learn of it as well. None of them would have believed Ajax if it wasn¡¯t for their truth telling skills, all saying he believed every word. The crown prince excused himself for a moment to send a few servants to the library to fetch every single recorded instance of an ascended race attacking humanoids they had. ¡°They¡¯re all toying with us?¡± Anger and frustration could be heard in Archduke Steelblade¡¯s voice as he finished digesting the news. ¡°You met a dragon!¡± Duke Manashaper was focused on a completely different aspect. ¡°Were you able to get a glimpse into their magic? Did you manage to recreate any of it?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not.¡± Ajax''s answer, while disappointing, did nothing to dampen the excitement Duke Manashaper felt. ¡°I have to say that there is quite a lot of support for agreement to be real.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said, his eyes unfocused as he tried his hardest to remember conversations he had long ago looking for facts he had initially dismissed as not important. ¡°And what evidence is that?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked. ¡°The ruins.¡± Archduke Goldmancer said. ¡°Almost every ruin that could belong to previous humanoids bears a long scar of rampant destruction coming from the direction where ascended races are thought to reside. We always wondered why they would stop with one kingdom or empire and leave the rest to live but with the agreement it makes sense that they are only targeting the kingdom that overstepped.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the time or the information to hold this discussion.¡± the king¡¯s eldest son said with finality. ¡°It will take time to comb through our records and Ajax¡¯s time in court quickly approaches, as important as this revelation is now is not the time.¡± ¡°Do you have anything from the dragon?¡± Archduke Silvertongue asked, out of all the nobles here he was the one most dubious of the encounter. Not because he thought Ajax a liar but because he knew how easy it could be to confuse a young boy of only ten right after a horrifying incident like being kidnapped by a vampire. Ajax¡¯s eyes instantly darted to the gauntlet on his hand before they went to the eldest prince. The prince was the only one who knew how he managed to avoid destroying his weapons through his casting style but he had always remained silent on anything regarding the gauntlet. ¡°That¡¯s where you got it!¡± It gave Ajax great satisfaction as he saw him put the pieces together, the prince¡¯s eyes wide with a look of realization. Ajax could only give a helpless shrug in return but made sure to flash a grin reminiscent of the one the prince always gave him when he got one over on him. ¡°This has been a most enlightening discussion, much more than I had first thought it would be.¡± the king said before everyone could focus on exactly what item the prince was referring to. ¡°Nevertheless we don¡¯t have the time to continue today, Ajax¡¯s rise to a landed Duke is supposed to happen in twenty minutes and we¡¯re all to be in attendance. We¡¯ll pick up where we left this in two days at dusk, you¡¯re all invited back here.¡± Chapter 446 ¡°So, are we planning to use this information to harm other kingdoms?¡± the oldest prince asked once everybody left and he was left alone with his father and younger brother. ¡°Ajax is still young and a little too idealistic to even suggest something like this around.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely something worth considering but at the same time it¡¯s also risky.¡± the crown prince answered. ¡°We know that the ascended races are smart but we are also inferior to them. If they took the time to look they would surely be able to tell the Empire is a different kingdom from us or they might just wipe us both out if one of us breaks the agreement.¡± ¡°That would just be playing with fire.¡± The king shook his head as he scratched a small scar on the back of his left hand, one he had gotten as a young child from the aforementioned activity and his own father had requested the healer leave it there as a lesson. He had initially resented that but in time came to appreciate the lesson of consequences over a perfect complexion of his arm. ¡°Because of our deal with the elves that only leaves the dwarves and the beastkin, if we do decide to try.¡± ¡°Something to consider and discuss with the elves at our next face to face meeting.¡± The crown prince nodded. With the meeting over Ajax returned home and took part in a few meetings with noble families, as their rank increased there were more and more meetings that he didn¡¯t leave early as those nobles were looking for a genuinely mutually beneficial deal. By the time he had to depart Ajax had barely managed to create a somewhat worse version of the concrete that was available on Earth. It was still a great discovery and one he planned on putting to use immediately, just not what he was looking for in terms of buildings. The new mixture produced the same quality concrete as back on earth but took almost three times longer to set and required six times as much water to not crack when drying. The one upside was that the rock required was plentiful in the mountain range surrounding Lessis. For the last day before he departed for the Empire Ajax had already begun making a stockpile of the powder. ¡°What is that for?¡± Tom asked as Ajax was demonstrating how the concrete formation worked to his family. ¡°This is what I have been working on the last week.¡± Ajax said proudly. ¡°It isn¡¯t ready for long term buildings but since the rock used for this is so plentiful it should be good enough for roads.¡± ¡°You want to turn the roads into a swamp?¡± Kate asked hesitantly as she looked at the gooey bowl of wet cement. ¡°It takes a bit of time to set, and you¡¯ll probably need a few mages on rotation summoning water to make keep it wet as it does so but this is what the end result is.¡± Ajax said as he produced an already set cube. ¡°What did you use to cut it?¡± His father asked as he ran his fingers over the edge of the cube. ¡°It''s very rough like it was broken off but the edge seems too straight for a break.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t cut it.¡± Ajax said as he drew their attention to the still drying cement in the bowl. ¡°Think of this mixture like the rock version of molten steel, only it isn¡¯t hot. Once it sets it won¡¯t be easy to shape, it just needs to be kept wet until it does so that cracks don¡¯t form.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°And you want to put this all on the road?¡± Judy asked. ¡°I want to cover all roads between cities in our duchies with it.¡± Ajax confirmed. ¡°It will take at least a decade, probably two, to get it done, not to mention that maintenance will be a headache but it will be worth it.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Elija asked as he studied both the bowl and the finished product. ¡°How much faster could a wagon move if it was moved over a flat road like this than the beaten trails we have now?¡± Ajax could see his idea getting traction as Elija¡¯s and Alana¡¯s eyes grew wider at the implication. ¡°With how central our duchy would be in the kingdom we could have a toll that will pay for everything in a few years.¡± ¡°Alright so what do you want us to do with it right now?¡± his mother asked. ¡°I have a few wagons worth of the powder already made, while they are setting the foundations for our estate I want you to set the road in the direction of Lessis, something to work as a proof of concept.¡± Ajax explained. Ajax wasn¡¯t all that much of a fan of using Earth magic for their foundation but it was something he could use Earth magic to replace with better concrete once he was finished developing it. ¡°You should stay focused on the dungeon.¡± his mother chided him. ¡°You won¡¯t have anyone in there looking after you this time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mom.¡± Ajax reassured her. ¡°I won¡¯t be going past level one hundred and ten, even then I won¡¯t be clearing the entire floor, so I shouldn¡¯t be in too much danger.¡± Ajax knew he sounded far too arrogant for someone facing monsters twice his level but that was simply the level he was at. To help put his mother at ease Ajax went and joined his family¡¯s retainers at the training grounds for the last few hours before his departure. His reception at the training grounds was mixed. For more than half of their retainers this would be their first time actually meeting him instead of just seeing him from afar, their numbers had swelled once rumours of the duchy had started to spread. For the other half they welcomed him with the respect and an attitude reserved for a teacher. Over the two hours Ajax had brushed up on how the people he knew had progressed since the last time he trained with them more than a year ago. More than that he had also proven beyond any doubt to the newcomers that despite his young age the respect he was given came from his skill and power and not his title. With his bags already packed beforehand and stored in the largest spacial ring they had, Ajax simply took a quick shower before he said his goodbyes and headed off. Unlike last time he went to the Empire he wasn¡¯t taking anyone from his House with him. It wasn¡¯t just Ajax that was approaching this trip differently than the last. Their group was much smaller than it was last time but their combat prowess was much larger. Three of the eight royal squads were going with them along with the eldest prince. More than that the Goldmancer¡¯s top retainer was joining them as well. ¡°Won¡¯t this be seen as aggressive?¡± Ajax asked as he looked over everyone present. ¡°The deal we have with Sylvanthal and the ones we are trying to make with the Republic and Brightstone already formed an antagonistic relationship.¡± Xavier explained. ¡°This is a show of force to stop the Empire from getting any ideas.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you should be worried about anyway, Duke Hearthbound.¡± Ajax¡¯s head spun as he recognised the voice but didn¡¯t know where from. ¡°Oliver? Is that you?¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure as while the man in front of him resembled the Oliver he had seen five years ago it was only barely. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you remember me.¡± Oliver said with a bow. ¡°Though I do believe I owe you some apologies after our last meeting.¡± Oliver¡¯s life had taken a drastic turn following their last trip to the Empire. While Archduke Goldmancer had spared his life following the attempt on Anna there were dire consequences. Oliver¡¯s quality of life for the following three years had been non-existent, he had been given the choice of renouncing the family or redeeming himself. His years of training and hard work for the family had broken him of any entitlement he had in him. ¡°What should I be worried about?¡± Ajax had picked up a few things about interacting with nobles, by not acknowledging the apology he signified that he had not made up his mind about whether to accept it or not. Oliver showed a slight smile seeing that he was even being given a chance to earn Ajax¡¯s forgiveness. ¡°You¡¯ll be the most eligible bachelor in the Empire for the duration of your stay. Add that to the short stay and your widely known dislike for noble gatherings I would expect the attempts for your favor to be rather¡­ aggressive.¡± Oliver¡¯s words had Ajax debating if it wouldn¡¯t be better to propose to Lexi before they reached the Empire rather than on the way back. He had already prepared a ring but with the uncertainty that hovered over the trip he decided to stick with his original plan. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. This trip will be a lot quicker than your last one since we won¡¯t be stopping to meet with every noble on our way there.¡± the eldest prince said as he herded them towards the carriages that looked more like an armored transport than fancy transportation. Chapter 452 ¡°How did you know they would be able to learn how to use their mana?¡± Xavier asked Ajax as they approached the capital. While almost all beastkin could learn to use their mana, getting the skill was a different matter. That both of the slaves Ajax bought had managed to gain [Sense Mana] in a week under his and Lexi¡¯s guidance was something very important to question. ¡°Desperation.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°You most often gain skills when you are under pressure. I am sure both of them must have been pushed so close to death from their bad living conditions that they instinctively used mana. A little dedicated effort to use it consciously was all it took.¡± Ajax was very happy with his investment into new retainers. While both of the slaves still looked at him and Lexi with wariness after a week they stopped flinching whenever they raised their hand while in striking distance. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in that eye the little gal¡¯s got.¡± one of their guards said as he looked towards the painfully thin beastkin that was still wearing her collar. ¡°I know about [Heat Vision], quite a few monsters with it but this is the first time I met a person with it and they can explain what they see with it.¡± Ajax himself was also very interested in [Heat Vision]. Initially he had hope she had the ability to shoot lasers from her eyes but he realized the absurdity and wasn¡¯t disappointed. ¡°Wish I could take those collars off them.¡± Ajax said, he wanted to start working on building trust and in his eyes those collars were the first wall he would have to knock down. ¡°Those collars are important for their protection.¡± Oliver repeated himself, he had made the same observation a couple of times since the slaves had joined the convoy. ¡°As long as they belong to someone much fewer people would dare do anything when they are in town.¡± Ajax¡¯s next idea to build trust was to have the slaves join them for their meals. That also backfired however as the two children wouldn¡¯t touch any of the food before they were expressly told they could eat. After they were told they could eat, Ajax saw them practically inhale the food, almost certainly afraid someone would take it from them if it wasn¡¯t gone as soon as possible. ¡°It¡¯ll take time.¡± Lexi reassured him. ¡°Some things just take time.¡± Lexi herself had grown a little attached to the two slaves as she saw them as her own students after helping them learn [Sense Mana]. Something she surprised herself with as she hadn¡¯t expected to enjoy teaching as much as she had. She very much planned to help train House Hearthbound¡¯s retainers in the future. ¡°At least there is no welcoming gala.¡± Ajax said as the convoy entered the capital. The whole place looked very much the same as it did five years ago. ¡°They don¡¯t want their nobles to get comfortable around you.¡± The prince said with his trademark smirk. ¡°There will be a party you can¡¯t skip out on after you exit the dungeon.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they want people to get comfortable around me?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Not that I¡¯m complaining.¡± ¡°Because of Kate.¡± The prince answered. ¡°That someone of your status has a beastkin as a sister-in-law is outrageous to them.¡± The prince had been purposefully loud enough that both slaves heard him and their wide eyes locked onto Ajax. They couldn¡¯t believe what they had just heard, they quickly looked at each other thinking they must have heard wrong only to be met by the same incredulous gaze. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°You really should name them something else.¡± Xavier whispered. Neither of the slaves¡¯s former owners had that many slaves to look after so the two of them had been named with a placeholder names, Snake and Monkey. Their new masters were supposed to provide them with new names after they purchased them. ¡°I¡¯ll have them choose their own names once we cross back into Gryndor and I remove the collars.¡± Ajax whispered back as they arrived at their accommodations. The same mansion that housed them during their previous visit to the Empire, though their ambassador had changed in the past five years. Ajax, Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver all went to bed relatively quickly. All of them wanted to prepare for their delve tomorrow. While none of them would be pushing their limits as they had done in previous delves they wanted to be at their best. The lack of safety due to not having anyone boosting them meant they always needed to be on guard during the delve. Once he was sure that all of them had settled in and a squad had set up their surveillance, the eldest prince of Gryndor took one squad and headed for the imperial palace. Unlike their previous delves he didn¡¯t need to stick so close to his charges this time around, not only that but he other duties on this trip besides the safety of the new generation. ¡°Took you long enough to get here.¡± Zilfallon provoked the prince as soon as he arrived at the palace. The prince took a moment to examine Zilfallon, instead of responding to his words or offering a greeting he showed his trademark smirk before answering the provocation with a simple backhanded compliment. ¡°You¡¯ve closed the gap some. But you¡¯re still not ready.¡± The prince¡¯s words had the desired effect as Zilfallon clenched his teeth. ¡°Enough of this.¡± Solderon tsked in annoyance. ¡°You said you have a message for father, come deliver it and you two can play your childish games after.¡± ¡°Lead on.¡± The prince regained his serious expression as he and the ten man squad of elite warriors was led into the palace. The small throne room they were led to was similar to the one the king of Gryndor used for important meetings. It was also pretty packed. Besides the immediate imperial family, there were at least forty other people there, only a little over half of them being guards there for the protection of the emperor. ¡°Welcome, boy.¡± The emperor greeted the prince with a wide smile and open arms. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since the war.¡± ¡°My father thinks you¡¯re a bad influence on me.¡± the prince responded. Back during the latest war the Empire had allied with Gryndor. The prince had met with the emperor frequently during that campaign. The emperor had been pushing for a royal marriage between the empire and Gryndor to build a stronger bond between the two nations. An idea that hadn¡¯t been without merit before Shadow¡¯s rise to prominence and the forced peace that followed. ¡°And yet here you are.¡± the emperor¡¯s smile widened. ¡°My father sent me with a sensitive piece of information.¡± the prince responded as he made a show of taking in everyone present. ¡°One not even my guards know about yet.¡± The emperor¡¯s face turned stoic as he took a moment to come to a decision. ¡°Leave us.¡± The command sent everyone but the guards, the empress as well as their sons and grandchildren out of the room. ¡°Go on then, what¡¯s so important.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about expansion into the Wild Lands.¡± His words instantly provoked a gasp from Sandor. ¡°We have a very likely theory on how to expand safely into the Wild Lands.¡± Everyone present knew that expansion into the Wild Lands will become very important in the near future to accommodate the increase in population. ¡°A theory?¡± Solderon sounded outraged at the waste of time. ¡°Why not test it out then come here and share if it is important.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have wasted your time.¡± the prince quickly answered. ¡°Anything concrete will most likely take a while to verify but we will let you know as soon as we do. After all only a fool would rush anything to do with the ascended races.¡± The room became so quiet even someone with a Perception of five could hear a pin drop. ¡°You¡¯ve gained insight into the ascended races?¡± the emperor sat forward on his throne as he asked. The prince provided a quick explanation of what the agreement made between the ascended races regarding humanoids was, he didn¡¯t share any of their sources however. ¡°I would like to request access to any of your records that connect to this matter.¡± ¡°Ha, I thought you were lying at first.¡± Zilfallon laughed, drawing piercing glares from the squad there to protect the prince. ¡°You¡¯re only sharing this with us because if we poke the sleeping dragon it might not bother to check before it wipes you out as well.¡± ¡°What my son means to say is thank you.¡± the emperor said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to share anything we find that is relevant. Have you shared your theory with any other nation?¡± While the question sounded innocent enough the real intent was clear as day to everyone ¡®can we use this to provoke another nation into self-destruction¡¯. ¡°Not yet.¡± the prince said. ¡°You¡¯ve given me quite a lot to think about,¡± the emperor said. ¡°Not in the least being how you came upon this theory. Do have a good evening, I look forward to seeing you again in a couple of days.¡± As they prepared to take their leave the prince turned back, his trademark grin causing Zilfallon and Solderon to brace themselves. ¡°Oh, before I forget. I highly recommend increasing the guard around your dungeon for a short while.¡± the prince¡¯s gaze becoming more predatory with every word. ¡°Something to handle a level on hundred and twenty floor break at the very least.¡± Chapter 455 The group continued to head towards the temple. On the way there they encountered a lot more patrols. Ajax was careful to contain any of their empowered casters while Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Oliver each got their own. ¡°They are all using the same chant. Not sure if it is specific to the animal heart involved or if that is the only spell they know.¡± Lexi said as she had examined the spell. ¡°It also seems to work by empowering the knife not themselves.¡± ¡°You mean that anyone could use the empowerment if they swung the knife?¡± Ajax asked. As good as Ajax was at dealing with mana Lexi still surpassed him in terms of theory and he was inclined to trust her judgement. The spell also looked fragile enough that he was confident in smothering it with [Mana Syphon]. The next patrol with a caster they came across Ajax wasted no time in dispatching all of them, leaving only the chanter to finish his spell, before he had a chance to stab the knife through the heart and mana core Ajax rushed him. He caught the warrior¡¯s wrist before he could stab the knife while at the same time also taking off his head. ¡°Are you going to try it?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°I¡¯d much rather someone else do so, but if I am right about their bodies being too weak to handle the empowerment none of you can.¡± Ajax said before he stabbed the knife through the mana core and heart. Ajax had made sure to cut off the empowerment of [Mana Syphon] before he gained another boost. The boost he received wasn¡¯t as strong as the one [Mana Syphon] could provide, but his body still felt weird despite being used to handling even more power. ¡°Woah.¡± Ajax suddenly exclaimed as his perception changed. His vision suddenly came in and out of focus as his sight improved, he was forced to close his eyes to maintain his balance.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lexi asked worriedly. ¡°Is the spell attacking you?¡± ¡°No, but I am more and more certain that the hearts belonged to birds.¡± Ajax said as he slowly peaked through a partially open eyelid as he tried to control his improved perception. ¡°The spell must be boosting the strongest aspects of the heart.¡± Lexi ventured a guess. ¡°Birds are fast and powerful but they have little to no endurance or defence. They make up for it with flight and good eyesight.¡± ¡°Maybe the spell is just unbalanced like that?¡± Anna said. ¡°It could be but I doubt it.¡± Ajax said, ¡°The mana changed slightly when the knife stabbed the heart, I would guess it''s based on the heart used.¡± ¡°It can also be used by someone other than the initial caster.¡± Oliver pointed out. ¡°This could be a big breakthrough for humans since we have so few magic users.¡± Ajax had barely managed to get a handle on keeping one eye open without his body swaying in an attempt to compensate for his new eyesight when the boost ran out. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Xavier asked eager to find out anything about this potential new source of power. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I¡¯m fine, there doesn¡¯t seem to be an inherent backlash built in to the spell but I could feel how only certain muscles were being enhanced.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°If I had been pushing myself I¡¯m sure my body would suffer, my joints and even some muscle groups especially so.¡± ¡°I have the chant written phonetically, I won¡¯t try it but my grandpa can once I get back.¡± Lexi said as she started doing another sketch of the knife from a different angle making sure to get the runes perfectly in terms of proportion and shape. ¡°Are we ready to leave this floor?¡± Oliver asked. ¡°I think the Earth, Plant Wind floor would be a decent choice for our next floor.¡± ¡°Not just yet.¡± Ajax said with a grin on his face as he stared towards the temple. He couldn¡¯t make it out anymore but with his previously improved eyesight Ajax could make out the shape of the twenty foot tall Aztec statue with an arch between its legs. He was willing to bet that it was a golem guardian. ¡°That golem is massive.¡± Xavier exclaimed, as the person with the second highest Perception there he was able to make out the form of the golem before any of the others. The animal face complete with a beak as well as the wings that ended in palms with fingers made clear this floor''s obsession with birds. ¡°How is that golem only level fifty?¡± Oliver asked, his voice slightly shaking as he took in the size of the statue. ¡°I¡¯m guessing its because of how soft gold is.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°All it has is weight and power, it¡¯ll be slow and soft to compensate.¡± Ajax was proven correct when he engaged the golem. He had no problem locating the core and he made sure to use a precisely aimed Void empowered strike to shatter it. He didn¡¯t want to damage the golem, his efforts were somewhat wasted as the golem deformed pretty heavily from the impact it made when it fell flat on its face after the core was destroyed. ¡°I¡¯ve never butchered a statue before.¡± Ajax said with humor as he approached the fallen lump of gold with feet. Being already so close to the ground the feet still maintained their definition even after the fall. Ajax made a clean strike cutting the golem in two at the waist before storing both halves into his ring. ¡°Now we can go to the next floor.¡± ¡°You know Oliver will figure out what you can do when you take that golem out of the dungeon.¡± Lexi whispered as they made their way back towards their selected arch. ¡°I initially wanted to hide it but there is no point now, we took too long to find the golem.¡± Ajax said as he let out a sigh. ¡°Oliver will figure out at least part of what I can do anyway. It¡¯s more important that the Empire doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know the Empire let you skip out on paying taxes the last time when you came out with a bag of mana gems but I very much doubt they won¡¯t at least fight you for some of this gold.¡± Lexi said. ¡°They already set the precedent last time¡­¡± Ajax¡¯s words had no conviction behind them. He knew very well that despite what the initial agreement may have said special circumstances would be weighed differently. A twenty feet tall statue of a muscular broad shouldered beastkin with wings made out of solid mana infused gold was not something he would get to keep to himself. ¡°My duchy¡¯s financial situation has certainly improved.¡± Ajax decided to change the subject. ¡°That¡¯s an understatement if I ever heard one.¡± Anna laughed as she had slowed down to walk alongside the two and join the conversation. ¡°With that much gold your house is competing for the fourth richest in Gryndor.¡± Ajax already knew the economical landscape of Gryndor enough to know that the top three Houses in Gryndor in terms of financial power were the royals, House Goldmancer, and House Smithmade. House Smithmade was one of the oldest Houses, they focused on crafters and had been raised to Goldmancer twice before, once for a single century and another time for a milenia and a half. They were always a contender for the position of Archduke due to their influence on the crafter population. Many in fact were sure that once the current head of House Goldmancer passes it won¡¯t be long before Smithmade regains the title once again. The next dungeon floor wasn¡¯t anything all that exciting. A forest on the side of a mountain with a hellish wind blowing constantly but often changing directions on whim. Oliver struggled to kill his mini boss and wisely opted to stop his climb at this point. He had managed to gain +2 to all stats and he was happy with the results. The seventh floor was cleared in a similar manner, the only difference was that Ajax was now starting to show his limits when it came to ensuring his friends and girlfriend got a one on one fight with a mini boss. The level sixties were more resilient and Ajax had to be careful not to hit the mini boss while taking out its guards. The eighth was much harder, both Lexi and Xavier had to kill a second mini boss after Ajax was forced to enter the fight as he hadn¡¯t been able to intercept all the minions. Anna¡¯s pyromancer style naturally lent itself to isolation as her opening attack forced everyone and everything to spread out, from there Ajax could easily pick off all the enemies with the exception of the mini boss. ¡°This should be safe enough, go to sleep.¡± Lexi chastised Ajax as they made camp in front of one of the arches leading to the ninth floor. ¡°You won¡¯t get another chance to have someone watching out for you.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Ajax said as he laid down to sleep. ¡°Just remember to let the prince know I might have some trouble with taxes after I exit.¡± Chapter 457 ¡°You want us to help out?¡± The leader of the squad asked the prince. The dungeon started spitting out all sorts of aquatic monsters at that moment. ¡°No need, they are prepared for it.¡± the prince said as he eyed the elite fighters that were all around them. This was the most dangerous time for them. Being so close to the dungeon they were limited to only one of the three squads that came with them. Not only that but the chaos of a dungeon break of this level was the perfect cover for anything to happen. ¡°There¡¯s no assassination attempt.¡± Zilfalon¡¯s words made the prince twitch. ¡°Why would you say that?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Oh we discussed it.¡± Zilfalon admitted with not an ouch of guilt or remorse. ¡°Your dad¡¯s too old for us to try that. Your brother wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the peace. Between Manashaper and Goldmancer a deal would be worked out with other kingdoms to at least cause a change in the ruling family here in the Empire.¡± The prince was about to respond to that when a chilling sound echoed across the courtyard. One so dreaded that a moment of silence descended on the battlefield, every soldier suddenly much more aware of their surroundings as they backed up in fear. ¡°AAAAWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO¡± ¡°Werewolf¡± The word was spoken as one by everyone above level one hundred. One of, if not the most lethal floor bosses. It was a known fact that a werewolf¡¯s venom could kill even people thirty levels higher even through a highly leveled [Poison Resistance]. Ajax quickly brought his focus back to the battlefield no further than two hundred feet from him. A hulking creature, eight feet tall with sleek black fur held its head high as it howled with its muzzle raised towards the sky. Ajax felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the creature move. It¡¯s movements were wild and unpredictable, dashing to the left and right without a discernable pattern as it charged towards the line of soldiers. Despite the constant change of direction the creature was still faster than Ajax¡¯s top speed in a straight line. Before the beast could clash with the soldiers a massive tower shield smashed straight into it. Ajax hadn¡¯t even seen the man approach until the shield made contact with the werewolf. As the werewolf was ragdolled bag Ajax couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of an American football player. Despite its eight foot tall stature the beast''s legs were all wiry muscle, from the waist up however the amount of muscle increased so much it almost looked like it was wearing shoulder pads underneath all that fur. ¡°You bring the worst luck, you know that?¡± Zilfallon said as he took in the werewolf. ¡°We were hoping to give our more talented soldiers a good work out against a floor boss. One around their level should have been enough to push a few of them to develop some new skills. All this without the dungeon restriction of fifty people and defensive position where the terrain was in their advantage.¡± ¡°But nooooo.¡± Zilfallon continued to complain. ¡°It just had to be a werewolf, one of the worst possible outcomes, we let that thing loose inside our ranks and we¡¯ll lose a tenth of the soldiers before the rest manage to bring it down.¡± Seeing how injured the werewolf was as it got back up Ajax started to feel more confident in facing the creature. He wouldn¡¯t be stupid to face it alone, but with a team of ten other people around level one hundred and twenty he was confident in bringing it down. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The warrior in full plate with a massive tower shield didn¡¯t need ten more people. It rushed towards the floor boss without a single worry. Despite the heavy plate armor that Ajax was sure weighed a lot based on the footprints that were left in the metal floor that housed the defensive enchantments the warrior was moving even faster than the werewolf. Not only that but the club he swung had no issues crushing the beast''s arm to the point white bone could be seen sticking out past the fur. With the floor boss handled it didn¡¯t take long for the soldiers to regain their composure and finish off the remaining monsters without any casualties. The aquatic creatures weren¡¯t strong enough on dry land to take advantage of the chance granted to them by the appearance of the werewolf. ¡°So you said no assassination?¡± the prince returned the conversation to the point they were interrupted. ¡°Nope.¡± Zilfallon confirmed. ¡°There¡¯s too many important people here for that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you¡¯re afraid of.¡± Xavier said as he looked Zilfallon in the eye. ¡°You know that if you do it dad will make deals with the elves and dwarves about delving Gryndor¡¯s dungeon when he becomes king while freezing out the Empire.¡± Zilfallon and Solderon gave nothing away but the truth of the matter could be clearly read on both Sandor¡¯s and Denisa¡¯s faces. In a way it made sense, the entire political landscape of every kingdom was now in flux thanks to Ajax¡¯s technique doing the rounds as well as the new status quo of nobles potentially delving into multiple nations'' dungeons. ¡°You¡¯ve got a better head on your shoulders than I gave you credit for.¡± Solderon said with a sigh once he saw there was no point denying anything. ¡°This makes me feel much better about the future talk I will have to have with your father.¡± Xavier''s face flushed crimson at that. He knew that Solderon was referring to an arranged marriage that the Empire would try to use to solidify their ties to Gryndor. ¡°Can we go now?¡± Anna asked. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get away from dungeons for a while.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve yet to inspect Ajax¡¯s spacial storage.¡± Denisa said as she looked towards the rings that adorned Ajax¡¯s fingers. Ajax fought back a curse, he had been so focused on the werewolf that he had messed up the plan of trying to pass off the ring to the prince. ¡°You already know how far he got.¡± the prince said with a disinterested voice, one that was good enough to almost convince Ajax he didn¡¯t care about the matter if he didn¡¯t know better. ¡°At best he picked up a trinket or two from the floors, call it a keepsake of the Empire.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind him keeping it, but we should at least know how he¡¯ll remember our Empire.¡± ZIlfallon said as he latched on any way to be combative. With that Ajax knew it was over. Any further attempts at not having his rings inspected would only make them more suspicious. One by one Ajax passed the rings over to be inspected. The first three drew a few interested whistles as the corpses of each creature he had killed on each floor were brought out. Ajax was glad Olvier had been warned beforehand to keep his expression guarded as he was sure the man was smart enough to put together that Ajax could somehow remove monsters from the dungeon. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad haul, notice there seems to be one monster from each floor, any chance you have a skill that helps you find them on the floor?¡± Solderon asked as he inspected the contents. ¡°We¡¯ll be very generous for any info-¡± ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± the assessor started choking as he looked inside Ajax¡¯s last ring and cut off the imperial prince. Ajax let out a defeated sigh at that whereas Zilfallon became much more interested. ¡°What is it? Something good?¡± The assessor came to his senses and moved a little away from the group to get some space before taking out one half of the golem. Everything from the waist down was still ten feet tall, the massive amount of gold caused everyone to stare slack jawed for a moment. ¡°We¡­.. we agreed that there was no taxes.¡± not even the prince had known what was in Ajax¡¯s ring and he was just as surprised as the imperials to see the massive amount of mana rich gold. ¡°NO TAXES?! THIS IS ONLY HALF.¡± The prince¡¯s words had been enough to awaken the inspector from his trance-like state before he realized who he was addressing. ¡°Apologies for my rudeness, Your Highness, I¡¯m not sure what came over me.¡± ¡°That was our deal.¡± Ajax pressed on, hoping to take advantage of the shock all of them had to be feeling at seeing this much wealth come out of one single delve. ¡°This is not a normal circumstance.¡± Sandor argued back his eyes not leaving the mountain of gold. ¡°Gold is not a national treasure.¡± Lexi came to Ajax¡¯s support. ¡°You can have one leg, everything under the knee.¡± Ajax¡¯s words surprised everyone. ¡°Done!¡± Solderon was quick to agree, it might not be as much as he wanted but getting that much without creating any waves was a win for him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t done.¡± Ajax said, causing the imperial prince to frown. ¡°In exchange I want to delve your other dungeon.¡± ¡°So you can cause a bigger dungeon break than this one?, that one would be at level one hundred and thirty four!¡± Solderon balked. ¡°I¡¯ll stop one floor before that.¡± Ajax said, that would be enough to give him two more floor clears, enough for him to get a total +150 to all stats from dungeon floors alone. ¡°An entire leg.¡± Solderon countered. Ajax could feel his meager merchant skills getting crushed, as much as he wanted to counter the words simply refused to leave his mouth. ¡°Halfway up the thigh.¡± Anna chimed in. Solderon open his mouth but took out look in Anna¡¯s determined eyes and before he closed his mouth, nodded and offered Ajax a handshake to seal the deal. Chapter 458 ¡°Does it really need to be like this?¡± Ajax asked as looked on at all the gathered nobles in the imperial throne room. ¡°It¡¯s a big power move for the emperor.¡± Anna explained. ¡°Because the Empire can only openly trade with Gryndor and for a lot of those trade products we are only acting as intermediaries they have to spend large amounts of gold. The addition of this much gold into their market is a show of strength that dilutes the buying power of all the other nobles.¡± ¡°They have to do it like this as a show of good faith to the nobles.¡± Xavier also joined in. ¡°It explains where all the gold came from and that it¡¯s not just the royals intentionally pulling a trick on everyone else and just a lucky break they caught.¡± ¡°Thank you all for coming today.¡± the emperor¡¯s voice silenced all the whispers and conversations taking place. ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to share with you today the fortune of a young man many of you have heard about. Duke Ajax Hearthbound.¡± The whispering started immediately as the name was announced. With every passing second as Ajax entered from the side entrance and he approached the throne the pressure continued to build like a powder keg. While most nobles had a neutral stance of Ajax, there were few who hated him and almost none who liked him. ¡°During his delve this week this young man came upon an unprecedented floor.¡± the emperor continued. ¡°A city made entirely of gold!¡± Like a lit fuse the room exploded, the silent whispers became much louder as everyone suddenly became very interested in the announcement. This only became worse when both halves of the golem were taken out of the spacial ring and presented before the court. ¡°I hope you plan to send an escort with us to the border.¡± the prince addressed Solderon as the emperor waited for the excitement to die down and the information to settle. ¡°That can certainly be arranged.¡± Solderon grinned back with a merchant¡¯s grin. ¡°Wipe that smile off.¡± the prince said as he threw him his trademark smirk. ¡°We won¡¯t pay for it, either you do it or you better not complain about how we handle anyone who tries to rob us upon our departure.¡± The prince¡¯s words had the intended effect. With three whole squads present along with the prince, Solderon knew that any would-be robbers would only head towards an early grave. Usually that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing as nobles who would risk such an incident over gold were ones the crown would like to keep weak, the timing wasn¡¯t good for it however. They needed as many elite combatants as they could get their hands on for their upcoming territory expansion projects, especially with the information they had received regarding the interference of the ascended races. ¡°While this young man is entitled by our agreements to keep anything he gains from the delve outside of national resources as stated in the deal that granted him the delve, he has decided to honor the tax the Empire places on all adventurers.¡± Ajax had to push his social skills as hard as he could to keep his face from showing the surprise he felt as the emperor started spinning his tale. ¡°20% of the treasure, about one leg from the mid thigh down has been accepted.¡± At those words one of the royal guards unsheathed his sword and with a precise cut that most of the audience couldn¡¯t even track the leg in question was separated. The royal advisor then placed all of Ajax¡¯s gold back in the spacial ring before publicly returning it to him. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°As a show of thanks for his honor and character the crown has granted him another delve in ...¡± Ajax stopped listening to the king¡¯s words and instead focused on how the nobles were reacting to the news. It was easy to see that a number of them saw through the charade, while the king was making a big show of how generous both him and Ajax were and how close the future powerhouse was with the imperial family the trade was obvious. Another delve in their lesser dungeon for 20% of the gold and no problems regarding the obtained loot. ¡°You realize the emperor just screwed you.¡± Anna whispered to both the prince and Xavier. ¡°How?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°What?¡± the prince asked, though from the shit eating grin he now saw back on Solderon¡¯s face he knew that Anna was right. ¡°The deal we made at the dungeon wasn¡¯t written down.¡± Anna explained. ¡°He just publicly announced that Ajax willingly paid this as a tax, the laws of Gryndor take into account any taxes paid on goods obtained in other kingdoms to allow merchants to make a solid profit.¡± This was where the emperor¡¯s genius really showed. While the heads of important houses would be able to see past the clear twisting of events they would also put together that the emperor just saved Ajax literal pile of gold upon his return to Gryndor, something that would solidify a strong relationship between the rising ducal House and the imperial family. More than anything they probably also saw through Ajax¡¯s social skills and were aware he was taken aback by the announcement this was a gift from the emperor. It was now Xavier and the prince¡¯s turn to play up their frustrations. In reality neither of them cared a lick about Ajax not paying taxes on this pile of gold. His ability to reliably harvest select items from dungeons and lead parties to favorable floors would more than make up for any upfront infusion of gold. Anna¡¯s words had been intended to ensure everyone was aware of the Empire¡¯s move. A celebratory party followed the announcement. With the golden leg standing in the center of the throne room for all to admire. With the emperor¡¯s support behind Ajax almost every noble in attendance made it their mission to approach him, many of them looking to secure a trade agreement so they could also gain an infusion of gold to their own coffers. It was here that the emperor¡¯s plan slightly backfired on him. He could only watch with a forced smile on his face as Lexi and Anna clearly favored the more progressive nobles of the Empire, Ajax¡¯s input on the deals themselves was tangential at best. One thing he did put in for was any abundant cheap resource that was more exclusive to the empire. ¡°Why the focus on abundant cheap resources?¡± Anna asked him after they departed from the palace. The deals Anna had made spent the remaining half a thigh and half a hip from the golem in exchange for goods that Ajax would need to settle his duchy, with all payment to be made upon delivery of the goods to his lands. ¡°I plan to experiment with them.¡± Ajax said honestly. ¡°Because of how isolated the Empire trading is it means that any goods seen as worthless aren¡¯t really traded.¡± ¡°The reason they are useless is because they have already checked if they are good for anything.¡± Anna countered. ¡°The first thing you look for as a landed nobles is a use for anything plentiful in your lands.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t check if they are good in combination with other cheap and plentiful resources from other kingdoms.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°They might be useless on their own but who knows what they could do if added to other similar resources found in the Republic or Sylvanthal.¡± Ajax planned to raise a number of alchemists to satisfy the demand for cement, he was now looking for any other novelty product those same alchemists could use to train their skills on while also providing further exports for his duchy. The following morning Ajax was joined by Xavier, Lexi and Anna as they stood in front of the dungeon. While the deal technically only mandated that Ajax was able to delve it seemed the Empire was looking to change the details slightly. ¡°Why is he going with us?¡± Ajax asked as he eyed the Empire champion. ¡°A second dungeon break of such a magnitude in the same week is not something we want.¡± Zilfallon answered honestly much to Solderon¡¯s displeasure. ¡° Prince Xavier, Lady Manashaper and Lady Goldmancer as well as any one of your guards are welcome to accompany you as well. We¡¯ll just rather avoid another dungeon break by having Clark here clear the last floor.¡± Clark was the youngest of the Empire¡¯s champions, Ajax hadn¡¯t used his inspections skills on him but from what the prince said they were about the same in terms of strength and all two of the three squad leaders they had with them somewhat countered his skills set. Either of them would be more than enough to easily put the man down if he tried something inside the dungeon. ¡°Alright.¡± Ajax agreed, since he wasn¡¯t pushing that far into the dungeon it wasn¡¯t like he would be showcasing his full power. He was slightly disappointed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to choose his floors or that he would have to forfeit the bodies of the kills he made on these floors to keep his ability a secret but that was a price he was willing to pay in order to give his friends and lover another two floors worth of stats. Like him they had also delved this dungeon five years ago while boosted, without the ability to select their foe none of them were confident in fighting a level seventy four so they would have to limit themselves to only a two floor gain the same as Ajax. Chapter 459 From the moment they entered the dungeon this was one of their fastest delves ever. They had no reason to stay too long and at most they would have had seven floors to clear. With nobody having anything to gain from the first and second floors they simply took the first arch they came across on both floors. ¡°You go last.¡± The squad captain informed the empire champion as Ajax made his way through the arch. It had been all but agreed upon that the Empire would have had an open kill order on Ajax inside the dungeon. Sure they wouldn¡¯t risk killing the entire expedition but if they had a chance to take out Ajax by himself that wouldn¡¯t draw the full ire of House Goldmancer or Manashaper. This probably wasn¡¯t even a personal decision, just a target of opportunity. ¡°That¡¯s quite the power you¡¯re all packing.¡± Clark complimented once he saw Xavier, Anna and Lexi in action. The monsters they had defeated had been more than five levels higher than them yet none of them had even been pushed at all. ¡°Just wait, next floor you¡¯ll see what we can really do.¡± Xavier said with a smirk that was reminiscent of his uncle. All three of them had agreed to put on a bit of a show for the Empire. As future powerhouses of their respective Houses all three of them had their safety assured. Considering the moves the beastkin were making everyone was expecting that sooner or later a war would break out so they were hoping to show that the next generation of Gryndor was more than just Ajax. The group had entered barely two hours ago and they had already made it on to the fourth floor. The fourth floor had one of the more distinctive natural environments that Ajax had seen. The group found themselves at the bottom of a long canyon with barely more than two hundred feet from the wall on their left to the one on their right. The walls seemed to stretch up forever and the hot sun was beating down on them from above. ¡°Keep your eyes on the walls.¡± Xavier warned them. ¡°I went through a similar floor before and there were small caves in the walls from where lizards that could throw spikes attacked. Ajax was mildly surprised to find out that the prince had seen a floor layout that he had yet to come across. ¡°Should we climb up and check what¡¯s at the top?¡± Ajax asked as he scanned the walls for a path to climb. ¡°No point.¡± the squad captain said. ¡°These floors have a ceiling before you reach the top. Just like you can¡¯t reach the roots on a floor where you are on a big ass tree.¡± he made sure to give Ajax an example he could relate to. As they neared the first cavern inside one of the walls Ajax threw a rock as deep as it would go before the tunnel turned. From the sound of the impact he put together that these tunnels went deeper in the wall of stone than he had expected. ¡°The other arches have to be around here.¡± the Empire champion said, haven¡¯t seen any of them on the outside. Once inside the cave it didn¡¯t take long before they reached the first arch. It was hidden inside a small chamber off on the side of the main tunnel along with dozens of eggs and one large salamander guardian. ¡°I¡¯ve got this one.¡± Anna said with confidence before she started chanting. The pyro mage held nothing back as she turned the entire room into an inferno the moment her first spell finished. The eggs had all been ready to hatch, part of the fight being dealing with the small and fragile creatures suddenly swarming you but none of that mattered as the flames had started melting the rock let alone the eggs and hatchlings. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The mini boss was still alive but Anna didn¡¯t even let it get close to her. She had already finished chanting her second spell by the time the salamander managed to get its bearings and jump towards her. An explosive fireball was enough to not only put a stop to the mini bosses momentum but it also sent it flying back towards the other side of the room. The injured mini boss was clearly very injured by the first two attacks; it had barely managed to get back up before Anna launched her third and final attack, killing the creature. ¡°I¡¯m done, we can go for the next one.¡± Anna said with a smile as the stunned champion could only stare with wide eyes at the scorched chamber. Xavier wasn¡¯t one to be left behind. He was the second to take on a mini boss and he proved just how good he was as a hybrid fighter. While his fight took longer than Anna¡¯s he showed his power through the control he showcased over his opponent. He didn¡¯t bother to block a single attack from the mini boss, simply dodging out of the way at the last second while scoring another deep cut of landing a spell. In the eyes of the Empire champion Xavier¡¯s performance was much more meaningful than Anna¡¯s, he knew just how many dungeons Xavier had cleared recently, to still have enough control over himself after gaining that many stats to pull that off was something to take note of. The most shocking display out of all of them however went to Lexi. The champion hadn¡¯t been able to help himself from exclaiming when she deployed her Domain. ¡°She knows how to use a Domain?!¡± The champion¡¯s surprise was understandable since not even Lexi¡¯s grandfather had managed to gain a Domain, though Ajax was sure that as soon as Lexi returned the old man would pester her about learning. Lexi''s fight ended even quicker than Anna¡¯s. Her opening fire spell cleared the room and provoked the mini boss into a reckless attack only for it to be killed by her follow up lightning strike. Unlike Ajax Lexi put a lot more power into her Lightning attacks and focused them for their penetration power instead of the paralysis effect Ajax instinctively went for. ¡°You¡¯re sure none of you want to try the fifth floor?¡± the squad leader asked. ¡°It¡¯s fine we can do it next time we are here.¡± Lexi responded. She was sure there would be a next time since now that the Empire would have a first hand account of how strong even the three of them had gotten they would spare no expense to ensure some of their own people got to delve multiple dungeons. In truth all three of them felt they could handle a level seventy four mini boss; it just needed to be a good match up. The problem was that if they made a mistake the squad leader would be forced to intercede and help them. The empire champion could take that opportunity to attack Ajax. More than that without Ajax hand picking the floors it was much harder to get favorable matchups. ¡°Finally caught up, at least a bit.¡± Lexi said as she gave Ajax a hug before they stepped onto the next floor. ¡°I¡¯m about as strong as you were five years ago.¡± Five years ago Ajax had managed to kill a level seventy four mini boss, just barely. He was sure that Lexi as she was now could actually beat him as he was five years ago if she had enough time to unleash her Domain before he got close to her. Her sheer offensive power was not something he would have been able to deal with back then. The same might be true of the reverse but his effective range was a lot smaller than hers. Xavier, Lexi and Anna all left the dungeon as soon as they got on the fifth floor. With their departure the traveling speed of the group increased a lot. They had been previously keeping themselves to the travel speed set by Anna and Lexi who were both pure mages. It took barely five minutes to come upon the first arch. ¡°Didn¡¯t you need that one?¡± the Empire champion asked when the squad leader took out the mini boss as they approached. ¡°I already cleared this floor five years ago.¡± Ajax¡¯s answer had shocked the man, while the Empire had been able to somewhat gauge how far Ajax had delved in their main dungeon they had no idea how far he had gotten in his boosted run. The next two floors were no surprise to anyone, Ajax had managed to make it up to level one hundred and twenty all by himself so clearing the next two floors in under half an hour was expected. ¡®Here it goes¡¯ Ajax thought to himself as he stood before the arch. ¡®Time to see if something happens after clearing one hundred and fifty floors.¡¯ As he stepped onto the eighth floor Ajax received the expected announcement congratulating him for clearing another floor and receiving another +1 to all stats. That wasn¡¯t all there was to it however as he also felt a shiver travel throughout his entire body followed by a wave of energy. Racial Evolution Awakend Humanoid (Human) -> Ascended Humanoid (Human) Requirements: Gain 150 to all stats from Humanoid Achievement Delver. Rewards : Remaining lifespan doubled. Gain +10 to all stats Achievement : Rapid Evolution Evolve your race before the age of 50. Requires ten Discoveries to earn: Requirement fulfilled by Researcher Reward : All experience gains increased by 200%. !(lesser versions of the achievement can no longer be obtained.) Achievement : Evolution Evolve your race. Requires five Discoveries to earn. Reward : All experience gains increased by 150%. Chapter 460 There was a lot Ajax had hoped would happen when he hit the +150 to all stats, he was also just as prepared for there to be nothing to gain. A racial evolution progressing him to Ascendant was not something he had expected in the least. That is to say nothing of the double life span he gained or the massive increase in experience that meant he would now be gaining triple experience. Ajax almost jumped when he felt an arm settle on his shoulder. ¡°You okay, kid?¡± the squad leader asked him as he looked towards him with concern. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Ajax managed to get out. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± That was all Ajax needed to say as he and the squad leader both entered the arch and left the Empire champion alone on the floor with even more questions. ¡°What was that all about?¡± The champion couldn¡¯t help but ask with nobody around to answer him. The more important question however was what was that oppressive feeling he felt from Ajax¡¯s Aura? He hadn¡¯t felt it before they stepped on this floor and while the Aura wasn¡¯t stronger all of a sudden it did have a more domineering feel to it, one that made him feel inferior. Unlike the previous delve the prince was waiting for Ajax at the entrance this time, more than that there was no reason for them to search Ajax since he had been escorted throughout the entire delve. ¡°The triumphant Duke returns.¡± the prince made a spectacle as he quickly moved to hug Ajax and whispered in his ear. ¡°Get a hold of your Aura, now!¡± The prince¡¯s words were exactly what Ajax needed to snap out of the endless questions now burrowing through his mind. He quickly tried to suppress his Aura and in doing so could feel the prince¡¯s own Aura being pushed out and forming a cover for him. ¡°Tone it down.¡± For the first time since Ajax met him Zilfallon wasn¡¯t the cheery battle maniac he had always presented himself as. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we were just about to leave.¡± The prince responds as he complies with the request and subdues his own Aura. With a moment to himself Ajax quickly took a look at his Status. Name : Ajax Hearthbound Level :53 Experience : 122395/143300 Traits: Divine Witness, Duke, Aura Health: 4700/4700 Mana: 4840/4840 Stamina : 3970/3970 Vitality : 397 -> 470 Strength :353 -> 426 Endurance :322 -> 397 Dexterity : 353 -> 438 Intellect : 400 -> 484 Wisdom : 400 -> 471 Mind : 400 -> 485 Perception : 322 -> 398 Stat Points : 0 Skills : New : Empowering Restriction 0 ->5 Creative Application 0 -> 2 Vibrating Strike 0 -> 2 If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Assassinate 0 -> 1 Limit Suppression 0 -> 2 Alchemical Researcher 0 -> 1 Vibration Aspect Mana 0 -> 2 Focused Mind 0 -> 2 Upgrades: Stealth 59 -> 60 Athleticism 53 -> 55 Running 53 -> 55 Haggling 29 -> 30 Axes 70 -> 71 Hammers 70 -> 71 Sword 70 -> 71 Shield 70 -> 71 Bow 70 -> 71 Spear 60 -> 62 Persuasion 39 -> 41 Deception 43-> 45 Pain Resistance 43 -> 44 Conversationalist 21-> 22 Meditation 69-> 73 Alchemy 67-> 70 Precise Cut 58 -> 60 Precise Blow 58 -> 60 Piercing Shot 56 -> 57 Feigned Interest 15 -> 17 Focused aim 20 -> 21 Manipulate Mana 63 -> 64 Water Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Fire Aspect Mana 59 ->60 Air Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Earth Aspect Mana 59 ->60 Light Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Shadow Aspect Mana 59 -> 60 Inject Mana 55 -> 56 Spot Weakness 46 -> 48 Mana Skin 48 -> 50 Battlemage Style 36 -> 38 Impervious senses 13 -> 14 Alchemist''s Examination 40 -> 41 Stabilize Mixture 28 -> 31 Mass Production 15 -> 17 Magnetic Aspect Mana 20 -> 21 Mana Conjuration 46 -> 47 Lightning Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Metal Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Ice Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Magma Aspect Mana 48-> 50 Holy Aspect Mana 47 -> 48 Void Aspect Mana 48 -> 50 Curse Slash 32 -> 34 Reckless Researcher 9 -> 10 Unstable Alchemist 13 -> 15 Mana Syphon 43 -> 45 Enigma 28 -> 30 Life Aspect Mana 7 -> 9 It had been a bit over five months since he had gained his Aura, the last big change he had gone through and his improvement told the story of what he had been through during this time. The massive jump in stats that came from dungeons, his one hundred skills achievement as well as his recent evolution showed growth that was unimaginable to most people at his level of power. His skill growth however told another story. While most of his combat skills had been given the leeway to grow in his constant battles not all of them had fit the model. Most of his resistance skills weren¡¯t pushed with the protection he was given, the same could be said for tracking and analysis. [Spot Weakness] was an exception. Most telling however was the number of skills that had gotten stuck at their Threshold. Without a good chance to properly dedicate his training to them Ajax had felt better about leaving them there to wait until this was all over and he would return to his duchy where he could give each of them the proper undivided attention and make the best selection for their threshold perk. Surprisingly enough his experience gain had kept up with his two levels a year standard, having gained most of a level in about one third of a year showing that he had truly been pushing himself when he challenged the top floors as well as the Ettin. ¡°Did Clark try something?¡± The prince asked the moment all of them were inside one of their carriages and the privacy enchantments were functional. ¡°Nothing.¡± the squad leader that went with Ajax said. ¡°This happened when the kid got to the final floor.¡± ¡°He feels¡­ different.¡± Lexi said as cuddled closer and brough Ajax¡¯s arm around her shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s still Ajax but there¡¯s something different about him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in his Aura.¡± The prince explained. ¡°What floor would this have been for him?¡± ¡°It was the 150th floor I cleared.¡± Ajax''s mind finally caught up to the conversation and he answered while giving Lexi a light squeeze with the arm that enveloped her and throwing all of them a warm smile. ¡°Sorry about that, it was a lot to take in.¡± ¡°So there is an Achievement for clearing 150 floors, I knew it.¡± the prince grinned victoriously, now that Ajax was back to being himself he calmed down quickly. ¡°Not quite.¡± Ajax said drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Either there is an Achievement or there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t strictly speaking an Achievement for clearing 150 floors.¡± Ajax hesitated for a moment as he debated on sharing the exact minutia of what happened, doing so would deprive them of one maybe even two discoveries. In the end he decided that the information was well worth the loss. ¡°What there is however is an evolution.¡± ¡°Evolution?¡± Xavier asked. ¡°Evolution of what?¡± ¡°A race evolution.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°From Awakened Humanoid to Ascended Humanoid.¡± The entire carriage fell silent as the grave as everyone processed Ajax¡¯s words. Two very important pieces of information were shared, the first was that clearing 150 floors would evolve humans to the level of an ascended, the second less clear discovery was that, as they were, they were already considered Awakened Humanoids, this meant there should also be something that came before. This was one of the lines of thought Ajax had fallen into back when he had first gotten the notification. His gut reaction was that there should be inferior humanoids, most likely kobolds, goblins, maybe even orcs who didn¡¯t count as awakened but that would need further research to prove. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain how there kind of is an Achievement.¡± one of the squad mages pointed out. ¡°Well, there is an Achievement for evolving.¡± Ajax said with a smug grin. ¡°What is it?¡± The small back and forwards between the Ajax and the mage was enough to bring the prince back into the conversation and focused on gathering as much information they could verify and not ponder on what ifs. ¡°I gained an improved version.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°By evolving before the age of fifty. I increased my experience gain by 200%. I am essentially gaining experience at three times the rate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane!¡± Xavier exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Lexi joined in at the same time. ¡°What is the reward for the base Achievement?¡± the prince asked. ¡°An increase of 150%, essentially a two and a half times gain.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°But the Discoveries requirement was different between them as well. Mine took ten Discoveries while the base one needed only five. I fulfilled mine with the Researcher reward but what would happen if you only had five Discoveries available and you got the better Achievement?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember but I¡¯m sure we have that answer.¡± the prince said after he took a moment to think about it. ¡°Still a superior racial evolution, that would explain the domineering aspect of your Aura. As an evolved version it¡¯s only natural that the instinctual response to your presence would feel like that to the rest of us. ¡°That¡¯s not all the evolution gave me.¡± Ajax said, the prince eyebrows rose as he took in Ajax¡¯s grin. ¡°What else was there?¡± Xavier asked, getting even more excited as he knew he was also on track to gain the achievement in due time. ¡°It doubled my remaining lifespan and it increased all of my stats by 10.¡± Ajax¡¯s words caused another round of celebrations for Xavier, Anna and Lexi as all of them were on track to gaining the same reward. The prince and the squad members present remained silent however with frowns working their way onto their faces. ¡°We¡¯ll head straight for the capital.¡± the prince announced. ¡°My father and brother need to make the decision on this, until then nobody is to speak a word of this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ajax asked, he and his friends were taken aback by the turn in the prince¡¯s mood. ¡°This news could cause a war to start.¡± the prince said with a heavy sigh. ¡°You don¡¯t see it yet but you Ajax were already on you way to becoming an unbeatable existence, more than that your lifespan was already heading towards three thousand. It just jumped, not to six thousand but closer to eight maybe even more. This needs to be shared, but it needs to be done slowly and with care. Or you will be seen as a future tyrant.¡± Book 2 Launch
Ajax''s Ascension (Formerly Gamer Reborn) Book 2 chapters stubbed March 9th Returning from his time in the cities¡¯ militia, Ajax comes to find out his village was destroyed and his mentor was injured due to the whims of a spoiled noble. He knows there is nothing that can be done, as he is now, but luckily for him a dungeon nearby offers the perfect opportunity to train before heading to the Capital. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. But once he gets there what will he find? A way to heal his mentor? Support to grow even stronger? Nobles who want to use him for their own ends? Maybe all of the above. Kindle Link Book 2 Audible Link Book 2 With new releases every little bit helps especially in the first few days. If you happen to have a Kindle Unlimited account any support would be appreciated.
Chapter 461 In Gryndor¡¯s Capital. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The crown prince asked, wondering why his father had summoned him. ¡°Your brother is on his way back, something big must have happened.¡± King Gryndor replied as he took a look at all the official correspondence that covered his desk. Nobles from the Empire, the Republic, Sylvanthal and even Brightstone had reached out. ¡°Whatever happened he didn¡¯t share so it isn¡¯t imminent and it will take a while to talk about.¡± ¡°You think the Empire might be imploding?¡± the crown prince asked. ¡°No.¡± King Gryndor denied it. ¡°He might be a stubborn bigot but the emperor was a true talent in our generation. He¡¯ll outlive me for sure and it won¡¯t be close. He still has time to let his children grow before he has to pass on the crown.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s Ajax then.¡± the prince said with a resigned sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early to¡­¡± the king started but let out a similar sigh. ¡°Most likely, it''s something to do with Ajax.¡± The prince went to the cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out two crystal glasses and one bottle before taking a seat opposite his father and pouring both of them a drink. ¡°I swear that kid took half a century from us, the amount of work he causes¡­¡± ¡°The situation may be delicate but at least it¡¯s in our favor.¡± the king said as he accepted his glass and picked out a few specific letters and offered them to his son. ¡°Your position as king will be a lot better than the one I was in when I put on the crown.¡± In the Imperial palace. ¡°So, something happened as he entered the final floor?¡± The emperor asked as he looked towards his two children, grandchildren and Clark the champion who was there to witness it. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Clark confirmed. ¡°He seemed surprised when I entered the floor before he got lost in thought. Most telling however was his Aura, it was very unstable. Whatever he was feeling must have been pretty strong to unbalance him like that. Not only that but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± The emperor¡¯s own ever present Aura lost its usual benevolence and pressed down on the people present. The Aura was barely an inconvenience to Solderon and Zilfallon and Clark¡¯s own Aura was close in strength to the emperors, the same could not be said for Sandor and Denisa who felt suffocated. ¡°His Aura was different, despite it being weaker than my own it somehow made me feel¡­ inferior.¡± Clark admitted. ¡°Should we go after him?¡± Zilfallon asked. ¡°No point.¡± the emperor waved his hand in dismissal as he regained control over his emotions. ¡°They left in a hurry two days ago as soon as the Duke exited the dungeon. They¡¯ll be at the border in hours.¡± ¡°We need to play nice, Gryndor is our only chance to remain relevant in the newest generation.¡± Solderon was used to dealing with his fathers more unstable emotions, he knew they were a side effect of his combat skills so he paid them no mind and focused on providing the best counsel he could. ¡°They¡¯ll also be looking to expand towards the Wild Lands. We won¡¯t have to worry about a war with them unless we start it.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Zilfallon, take Sandor and Denisa.¡± the emperor said. ¡°The three of you will be in charge of ensuring our personal forces are not only adapting well to the surge of power present in the new generation but that they also remain loyal. Solderon come with me, we must ensure the rest of the nobility doesn¡¯t start getting ideas.¡± In Sylvanthal¡¯s capital. ¡°Father!¡± Arianwyn opened the door to her father¡¯s private office to find both the king and Aranor in deep discussion. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sweetheart?¡± the king as he looked towards his daughter. ¡°Something¡¯s happened in the Empire.¡± Arianwyn said with a hint of worry. ¡°Do we know what?¡± The king was also concerned as he knew that Ajax was there at the moment and anything related to him could shift the balance of power. ¡°The spy¡¯s couldn¡¯t find out anything but the Gryndor¡¯s people departed in a hurry the moment Ajax exited the dungeon...¡± Arianwyn trailed off as she considered sharing her own thoughts on the matter. ¡°I am also pretty sure that it was after he cleared what would have been his 150th floor.¡± A bit of simple math was enough for Arianwyn to put that conjecture together. While she had never been privy to the specifics of the floors Ajax had cleared she had spent enough time with him delving and knew how far he had pushed in before the tournament that it was easy to piece everything together. ¡°That is interesting.¡± Aranor nodded as he considered her words. ¡°You¡¯re still a long way off reaching that point, you¡¯ll have time to ask questions about that when you visit Gryndor in a few months, until then don¡¯t push your level any higher, you want to get as much out of the dungeons you¡¯ll be delving as you can.¡± ¡°We should also have our ambassador in Gryndor sent a gift to Ajax¡¯s duchy.¡± The king said with a laugh as he looked at the latest letter sent by Queen Swiftleaf. ¡°His delving expedition solved all of our money problems, Deepwood is more than willing to pay to ensure their own future nobles have the stats to measure up to their peers.¡± Inside the council chamber in the Rupublic ¡°We should charge them for passage.¡± one of the eight councilors pressed. ¡°Most of the nobles will have to send their offsprings through our lands to get to the other kingdoms, this is golden opportunity for us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll only be inciting them to war.¡± Archduke Goldenmouth didn¡¯t raise his voice yet everyone heard his words. ¡°We¡¯ve not even had peace last for a century, I say we push them for more favorable deals in regards to our own people. The more we can send to delve the better.¡± ¡°Do we have any news about what happened in the Empire?¡± Shadow asked, startling a few of the councilors who had forgotten about his presence. ¡°Do we know the reason for their rushed departure?¡± ¡°There was supposedly something that happened to do with Ajax¡¯s Aura.¡± one of the councilors said as he rifled through the reports. Being the only kingdom with equal representation among the four races their spy network had the widest reach being able to infiltrate easier. ¡°The boy has an Aura?¡± the first councilor exclaimed. ¡°He¡¯s not even twenty five years old! You should check your sources.¡± ¡°You¡¯d do well to check reports besides those that concern the economy.¡± Shadow growled his limited tolerance towards the councilman¡¯s lack of competency. ¡°Darkclaw reported that Ajax unleashed his Aura back in Deepwood and that it has been gaining more and more control over it as he continues to delve.¡± ¡°What do you think we should do?¡± Goldenmouth asked Shadow. ¡°Abandon any short term investments we have.¡± Shadow said. ¡°There is no way we can get through changes this vast without someone starting another war. Focus on getting our people ready and prepare some longer term investments. However this next war turns out there will be a long peace that follows it.¡± In Brightstone¡¯s capital ¡°I hereby strip you of your title and of your position.¡± King Bronzebeard¡¯s words echoed in the ears of everyone present. ¡°Furthermore I punish you, sober. For ten whole years you¡¯re not to touch a drop of ale. Guards get him out of my sight.¡± Some of the nobles present winced sympathetically at the final part of the punishment yet nobody was inclined to say a word in the defence of the ambassador. He had foolishly turned down the offered Ajax had made that could have given one of their people the chance to delve not only Sylvanthal¡¯s dungeons but also Deepwoods. Brightstone was now behind both Sylvanthal and the Republic whose young talents had managed to secure one or even two spots along with Ajax. ¡°Your Highness.¡± the advisor leaned over to whisper in the king¡¯s ear. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten word that Duke Hearthbound seems to have taken an interest in mining in his lands. It¡¯s the perfect opportunity for us to make amends for spurning his generous offer.¡± ¡°Ensure some quality mining gear is sent.¡± King Bronzebeard nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that king Gryndor isn¡¯t petty, he¡¯s offering us a similar deal to the Republic.¡± ¡°There are five spots in the upcoming delving expedition.¡± King Bronzebeard announced to the court at large. ¡°An open tournament shall be held in a month''s time with the winner getting one of the spots!¡± Out in the Wild Lands ¡°To think that the little whelp has not only outgrown the gauntlet so quickly but that he also managed to evolve.¡± the dragon¡¯s voice rumbled as it looked over another gauntlet that looked identical to Ajax¡¯s. ¡°He¡¯s now able to form an equal bond with the ascended races.¡± ¡°Rrrghhh¡± the small dragon next to her growled. ¡°No little one, you¡¯re far too young to form a bond.¡± the dragon chuckled as it growled back. ¡°We do need to go back, word that a humanoid has evolved should be spread.¡± Chapter 462 ¡°You know that once this gets out it will change everything.¡± The prince said after he sent the message to his father to prepare for an important discussion as soon as they return. ¡°And news of it will get out now that all talented nobles will be delving all the dungeons their families can arrange.¡± ¡°That is not up to me.¡± Ajax said. ¡°I am fine keeping quiet about this.¡± ¡°I know you are already planning ways to get your family to delve as their level increases.¡± the prince said. ¡°The advantage of their level being so low is that they have plenty of time and space to progress and they can delve as they grow, do you think nobody will notice what you did once the news breaks.¡± Ajax¡¯s parents were now lower level than he was. More than that Judy, Alana, Tom and Kate were lower level than Lexi so all of them had more than enough floors to safely reach the same point as Ajax as long as they leveled at a consistent rate. ¡°Your Highness.¡± one of the squad members called out. ¡°We¡¯re approaching the border.¡± While passing the border mattered very little for any of them it was in fact very important for the two slaves Ajax had picked up. As soon as they crossed that border for the first time in their lives they would no longer be slaves, and Ajax wanted to ensure that he turned the moment into a memory they would one day look upon with fondness, even if their initial reaction was to reject it. ¡°Get us to the border checkpoint on our side before we stop.¡± the prince called back. ¡°You do know that you can¡¯t just go off into the Wild Lands now that you are a Duke.¡± Lexi asked, it was one of the things she was actually worried about. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that, I know.¡± Ajax responded with a warm teasing smile. ¡°There are a few things I want to make sure we are at least starting on implementing before I leave. And starting everything could take a year, maybe two.¡± ¡°Speaking of your plans,¡± the prince said as he focused back on Ajax. ¡° Is there anything you need from the royal family to help you with in the near future?¡± ¡°There are a few things.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°The first and biggest is that I would need to dip into your permanent potion supplies.¡± ¡°How much do you need?¡± the prince asked, already wincing at the cost. ¡°No need to look that hurt.¡± Ajax chuckled. ¡°I can now afford to pay for them without it hurting too much. I will need eighty eight points worth, and most of them will need to be potions that can raise stats past 400 and even 450.¡± Ajax¡¯s current total stats was 3569, with one more level that would grow to 3591, and the last time he had consumed potions his total stats were 2711. The number of stats he was growing was less than the amount he increased the first time he ever used the potions but because of his much higher stats these would no doubt cost a lot more. ¡°That can be arranged,¡± the prince nodded. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°I will need some help gathering skilled craftsmen in my duchy.¡± Ajax answered honestly. ¡°They don¡¯t need to be the best, just good and willing to take on more than one apprentice. All this without bankrupting my own family by cutting taxes to nothing.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°That will be up to my father and brother to arrange for you.¡± the prince said with a solemn nod. ¡°I can handle the potions but everything else is up to them.¡± ¡°Why are we in such a dire need of craftsmen?¡± Lexi asked. ¡°Because kids need motivation to study.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Establishing a required amount of schooling everyone needs to attend will mean nothing if they aren¡¯t motivated to learn. By having the use their results in school to select their apprentices it will motivate them to actually learn what we try to teach them.¡± ¡°I hope you realize the amount of oversight establishing something like this requires.¡± Xavier said with a serious look on his face. ¡°Some nobles do something similar by having their children study together as a way to motivate them to learn. The competition causes an odd social dynamic between them that can lead to the development and use of skills you don¡¯t want them to have. [Cheating] and [Sabotage] being top amongst them.¡± ¡°It can also lead to the development of some that are more useful.¡± Lexi spoke from experience. Her own [Hidden Emotions] and [Social Mask] were just two of the examples that children could gain in such environments that she was a part of. ¡°But you will want to ensure they aren¡¯t used on each other.¡± ¡°Not to mention that teaching your commoners like this is not sustainable.¡± Anna pointed out. ¡°Even if everything works out as you expect most of the people who succeed will move away to work for other nobles because of how saturated the positions will be in your own duchies and how much they will pay them.¡± Anna knew that Ajax wasn¡¯t looking to tie people down with binding contracts to attend the schools he hoped to create. This was also one thing Ajax hadn¡¯t thought about. With the impending population increase it was highly likely that he would be able to hold on to the best and brightest of his students, but most near the top and middle of the pack would leave his lands, after all why stay to be a medium fish in a big pond when you can leave to be the biggest fish in a smaller pond. ¡°I encourage you to do it.¡± the prince said with an honest smile. There was no reason to ponder why the royal family would be in favor of such a program. If it worked it was something they would be able to copy, more than that most of the newly developed citizens would end up working in service of the crown. Much in the same way that the royal family benefited from the creation of the Healing Union by Luna they would do the same from Ajax¡¯s school system. It¡¯s true that they would not be able to gather the interest of the highest talents since noble houses would invest heavily in individuals but they would happily scoop up plenty of those who weren¡¯t particularly talented but put in the effort to learn for a chance at a better life. Ajax in fact did have a plan in how he would convince his commoners to stay, it revolved around the idea of improving the lands of his duchy so much that leaving to stay in another duchy would not be desired even if it came with a large increase in social standing. The discussion didn¡¯t have time to move much further as the carriage stopped, they had returned to Gryndor. Ajax and Lexi quickly stepped out of the carriage and looked for the two slaves. ¡°Master.¡± Both slaves greeted Ajax in unison as he approached, drawing curious looks from the soldiers present. It pushed Ajax¡¯s social skills not to cringe at the form of address. ¡°Snake, Monkey.¡± Ajax greeted them. ¡°I have a task for you.¡± ¡°What can we do?¡± Snake asked. Both of the slaves looked much healthier now that they had had plenty to eat for an entire week. They were still what Ajax would call dangerously thin but their cheeks didn¡¯t look sunken in and more and their muscles were starting to fill in to match their rigorous training. ¡°I want you to choose new names for yourselves.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Slavery is outlawed in Gryndor, as of now you are free, Snake and Monkey are what your Master named you. I want you to pick something for yourself.¡± Both slaves froze in fear at his words. ¡°Are y-you abandoning us?¡± Snake¡¯s shaky tone broke Lexi¡¯s heart. ¡°No.¡± Ajax was gentle when he responded. ¡°You are both welcome to remain with me and come work for me and my family. But that is a decision you must make on your own, even if you choose to work as retainers of House Hearthbound you will have more freedom than you ever did in the Empire.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be free.¡± Snake said. ¡°I want to work for Master.¡± Where Snake reacted to the new world she was experiencing with denial, Monkey instead saw a way to adapt. ¡° I am now Jari, and I choose to pledge my service to House Hearthbound.¡± As he said this he didn¡¯t fall to his knees in the way his old masters had forced him to, he instead went down to one knee and kept his head high with his eyes fixed on Ajax. Ajax was grateful for Jari¡¯s adaptability, it gave him a way to show Snake what he wanted without denying her further. ¡°I accept your service Jari.¡± Ajax said with a nod. Snake took a moment to process what just happened. Her eyes flickered between Jari and Ajax before she took a knee as well. ¡°As of today I choose the name Nashara, and I too pledge my service to House Hearthbound.¡± ¡°I accept your service Nashara.¡± Ajax nodded to her as well. Ajax knew that this wouldn¡¯t be enough to change their attitudes towards themselves, but it was a start. ¡°You will now accompany me back to my duchy.¡± As he moved to return to the carriage Ajax discreetly accepted a small item the prince slipped into his hand. It was a two week journey back to the capital and during this time he would need to find the perfect moment to propose to Lexi. Chapter 463 ¡°Why do you want us to stop by Lessis?¡± the prince asked after Ajax informed him of his request. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on returning to the capital originally.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°There are things I at least need to put in motion, not to mention that I have to drop off certain people and resources I picked up along the way.¡± Ajax couldn¡¯t wait to see the reaction his family would have to the mountain of gold he was about to drop on their laps. Unlike everything else he had brought back from a dungeon previously this resource didn¡¯t need to be traded to a specialised buyer. He was directly boosting their coffers. ¡°A delay now won¡¯t be good.¡± the prince pressed. ¡°Lessis would be less than a day out of the way.¡± Ajax argued back. ¡°Not to mention I have to pick up my staff.¡± ¡°Why would you need that?¡± the prince asked confused. ¡°Because I am almost level fifty four.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°Once I return to my duchy I will be catching up with a lot of Skills I haven¡¯t practiced for a while, not to mention what I could probably gain from my first true exposure to ruling. I think my leveling will keep the same place it has so far¡­¡± ¡°Before the experience boost.¡± The prince swore under his breath once he realized what that meant. He had planned to have at least another year before Ajax would be close to reaching level fifty six and their attempt to gain an achievement from the level one hundred and ten floor boss would need to happen. That timeline had just moved up a lot. This change in his travel plans also solidified Ajax¡¯s decision of proposing to Lexi only after they returned from their attempt at the Achievement. They¡¯d be in the capital then and he could do it at her family¡¯s estate. The only question Ajax had remaining was how much should he share with her before that happens. It was not news to anyone that he had a lot of secrets, but while Lexi had taken every revelation in stride so far there could be some things that pushed too far and he wanted her to make an informed decision when he asked the question. ¡°Do we want to try this with just ten people or go for a group of forty?¡± The prince asked. Unlike the other decisions this was something he could make without having to consult his father and brother. Since the delve could happen again if it was needed and it worked. ¡°Best you stick with just ten.¡± Oliver said , trying to be objective. ¡°Gathering forty promising people under level fifty five will draw a lot of attention. Not something you want to disappoint on if it doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Benedict should still be in the Capital.¡± Ajax suggested, he was already unhappy that his friend had missed out on delving in the Empire¡¯s main dungeon for a second time; he didn''t want him to fall any further behind. ¡°We¡¯ll stick with ten then.¡± the prince nodded. ¡°WIth the four of you that brings us up to five. We need five more.¡± ¡°I say you take a few of the specialists.¡± one of the squad commanders said. The specialists were combatants that focused a more restricted number of skills, all relating to combat and pairing well together. This meant that their leveling was particularly slower than others, even those that were less talented and lazier. It did however mean that they were a menace to face at an equal level for anyone other than Ajax. Even with all the dungeon they had just delved, while they were certainly favored, Lexi, Anna and Xavier would all need to be careful in a fight against them. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Their value is about to go up a lot.¡± Xavier agreed. ¡°With the access to dungeons we are about to have their lifespans are going to increase, especially if they manage to reach the evolution. They will have a lot more time to grow their skills.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the best argument.¡± Ajax disagreed. ¡°The foreign delve spots should be focused on the talented young people. They would get much more out of the experience increase, especially if they manage to get the same Achievement I did.¡± ¡°You forget how many DIscoveries that Achievement requires.¡± Anna stepped in. ¡°I am unsure if I will be able to amass enough of them by the time I reach that point. Some might even be forced to stop pushing their delves until after they turn fifty just so they can get the worse Achievement since it is half the cost in Discoveries.¡± Unlike most things Discoveries weren¡¯t something that someone could track, Ajax was pretty certain that this was to ensure that nobody could abuse the system in such a way as to perfectly track and pave the way for someone to get specific Achievements. Unless you had a reward like the ones Ajax had for both Enigma and the evolution you were always at risk of not being deemed eligible for an Achievement that required Discoveries. The discussion continued as the group tried to reason out who would be a better investment, the older stronger but more limited specialists or the younger more talented but currently weaker prodigies. In the end it was decided that it would be best to get a mix of them for their first try at getting the Achievement. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not pushing to have your family join.¡± Lexi said. ¡°No point for them to join now.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work then we would all have wasted a few weeks right at the moment when we need them the most to get settled. If it does work I¡¯ll just have to take them later, the other Dungeon in the capital has a floor boss at level one hundred and eighteen. I¡¯ll be able to get them that Achievement all the way until I am level sixty.¡± Ajax was sure that by that point he would have grown strong enough to handle a variety of floor bosses. He was already quite a bit stronger than he was back in Sylvanthal and his power would continue to increase for a while yet, between the potions and getting used to his new limits an eight level increase in the floor boss would still be something he could handle, the only issue would be if his family would be able to endure it. Any elemental floor boss would be able to kill them with its sheer presence. Their arrival in Lessis surprised a lot of people. The guards were quick to let them enter the city but it was clear they were scrambling to inform their superiors about the arrival of three out of the eight royal squads as well as the oldest prince. ¡°Have them take us to one of the barracks.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Someone there has to know where to find my family.¡± Ajax was surprised how quickly the large carriages maneuvered through the city streets, clearly it paid to be so important that the guards ensured you quick passage. Once they entered the courtyard of one of the barracks the group started to disembark from the carriages. It was odd for Ajax. While he didn¡¯t recognise most of the people that were lining up to welcome them there was one person he knew well, from the rank on his uniform it seems that Ajax wasn¡¯t the only one to move up in the world since the last time they saw each other. ¡°Your Highness! It¡¯s an honour to welcome you to Lessis.¡± the warden said with a respectful salute. ¡°I apologise for the poor reception, we were not aware of your visit.¡± ¡°No need to fret warden, it was an unplanned visit.¡± the prince responded. ¡°If you could have one of your men lead us to House Hearthbound¡¯s temporary residence we¡¯ll be out of your way.¡± ¡°Commander Grievous.¡± Ajax¡¯s voice was a mixture of joy and surprise, he hadn¡¯t thought about the old guard officer in a while so his presence came as a surprise even though it probably shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°Or should I say warden now. It seems you¡¯ve moved up in the world.¡± ¡°Ajax!¡± The warden was so focused on the prince that he didn¡¯t register Ajax¡¯s presence until he spoke. He visibly winced as soon as the word left his mouth however and he quickly corrected himself. ¡°Welcome, Duke Hearthbound.¡± ¡°No need for all that warden.¡± Ajax waved off his formal greeting. ¡°We¡¯ll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming months. For now we are in a bit of a hurry so if you could point us in the direction of my family.¡± ¡°Ofcourse!¡± Grievous nodded and turned to the only commander present. ¡°Lead them to the temporary Hearthbound estate. Unfortunately it seemed that the group hadn¡¯t moved quickly enough. It had barely been a minute since they exited the carriages but already there seemed to be another commotion happening at the entrance to the barracks. ¡°I am here to talk to the prince.¡± a loud but strong voice said. ¡°Out of my way.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the owner of the voice to push its way into the courtyard with a few threats, followed in his wake by a few people. Some of them Ajax recognised and one specific person quickly turned smothered his happiness as being back in Lessis. ¡°Your Highness.¡± the loud voice called out as they approached with a deep and respectful bow. ¡°Please excuse me but I ask to be heard. I am Baron Nestor, and these lands should belong to my family.¡± Chapter 464 Warden Grievous P.O.V. I wasn¡¯t ready for what happened, even though I was handling it a lot better than most of the people around me. It had been almost seven years since I last saw Ajax and I had only known the kid for a little more than a decade, that was less than a third of the time I had spent in my position as commander of the city. I still remember the willful but utterly helpless boy I noticed back then. I used to think he was very weak, unlucky since he was so determined to improve. Putting that together with the new training method that was spreading like wildfire around the kingdom and his rise as a noble it was easy to see why he had been so weak back when he was ten years old. He had simply not spent his points. The growth the kid had gone through was beyond monstrous however. I had spent some real time as a soldier and part of the army and met so called geniuses before but they all paled before him, to become so much stronger in such a short time put Ajax in a class of his own. What I had first assumed was his presence, an air of authority from how he carried himself now that he was a Duke turned out to be his decently controlled Aura. An Aura that was now flaring with rage and trying to crush everyone around him. ¡°Easy kid.¡± The captain of Squad seven said. It was only for a brief moment but the pressure of the Aura had made it seem like a lot longer, it was so domineering, worse than any other Aura I had experienced before even if it was weaker in strength. It was a good thing there were plenty of people traveling with him now that could smother his Aura with their own. ¡°You¡¯ll need to keep calm until you can control your Aura, it seems it can now do more harm to those unprepared.¡± When I saw Ajax take a step towards the members of House Nestor I was even more glad for the presence of the prince and the squads. From the power of his Aura I knew I could no longer stop him. I had made it to level ninety and managed to clear most of the dungeon floors at the appropriate time as part of my time in the army but he was now stronger than me ¡°Why don¡¯t you all go and take care of your preparations.¡± the prince said as he locked eyes with Ajax. ¡°We need to leave for the capital before sunset. I¡¯ll take care of things here.¡± Ajax took a deep breath and I could feel his Aura return to the same controlled almost suppressed form it had been in before he nodded towards the prince. At that point Lady Manashaper quickly turned towards my Commande Levi and with a sweet smile that worked wonders to cover the small beads of sweat that had started to form at the top of her forehead from the Aura bomb Ajax previously released. ¡°You were going to show us the way to House Hearthbound¡¯s temporary accommodations.¡± ¡°Y-yes m-m-my L-Lady.¡± Commander Levi was less subtle in his recovery, he was the youngest of all my Commanders and having only made his way up through the guards in a time of peace he hadn¡¯t been part of the army, as such his experience with Aura¡¯s was almost nonexistent in this backwater territory. ¡°R-Right this way.¡± I suppressed the small burst of annoyance I felt at Ajax¡¯s departure. I had a lot of questions for the young Duke, most pressing of all being what he was doing right outside of Lessis with that miracle mud of theirs that seemed to harden perfectly. I had talked to our new mayor, and my former subordinate, Tom. All he said though was it was something only Ajax knew about and he had his instructions to follow. It wasn¡¯t something I needed to push, he¡¯d return in a couple of weeks at the latest and I could wait that long. It was only once Ajax had exited the courtyard that the prince had turned his attention towards the Baron. ¡°Baron Nestor I believe you said it was.¡± It was clear from the pale faces of House Nestor that they had quickly figured out who the unleashed Aura had belonged to. Despite being very loud in their objections about losing their lands, House Nestor had fully complied with the crown¡¯s decree and allowed House Hearthbound to take over the land while they prepared their appeal. They just jumped on the opportunity to make it heard earlier when their people must have spotted the prince enter the city. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Baron Nestor had clearly been previously exposed to Aura¡¯s, while he had crumbled under Ajax¡¯s Aura in the same way Commander Levi had done; his recovery was much quicker. ¡°And you are saying that these lands should continue to be ruled by your family?¡± Even a young child could perfectly understand what the curt tone of voice the prince was using meant about his point of view on the matter. ¡°... yes, Your Majesty.¡± the words were barely a whisper, almost unheard compared to his earlier shouts, his defence came a little stronger. ¡°The land has prospered under my family¡¯s rule, especially in the last five years since my oldest has started sharing my burden and training in his role as my heir.¡± I was just about to interrupt but the malevolent grins that spread across a few of the remaining squad member¡¯s faces told me there was no need to do so. The main reason for the improvement seen across the Baron¡¯s lands were the rewards they received for the crown following the discovery of the mana dense lake in the skirmish more than half a decade ago. ¡°Oh really?¡± the prince asked. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting take on the events that happened, I have to say. You see I have looked into all the reports that came out of this barony over the last two decades.¡± ¡°You have?¡± I could hear the dread past all of his social skills. ¡°Yes, you see I had recently gotten involved with training a historical talent unlike anything our kingdom or any other for that matter has seen before.¡± the prince continued. ¡°Him coming from this region of the kingdom alone made it worth investigating, it was his extreme dislike of nobles and secretive nature that made me dig further to look for a cause.¡± I didn¡¯t even bother to hide the pleasure I was taking in seeing House Nestor finally having to own up to their misdeeds. The decades of using their influence to secure an income from the merchants that operated in Lessis and cruelty of their malformed child on the civilians was finally coming back to bite them, it was worth waiting a few weeks to talk to Ajax just to see this. ¡°We have operated within our rights as awarded by the crown.¡± Baron Nestor said with a straight face. ¡°Your extortion of the merchants is pushing heavily on the boundary of what is acceptable.¡± the prince said with a cutting voice. ¡°The amount of dismissed complaints of harassment and minor assault push far beyond, the destruction of multiple villages following the raid of a salamander den however is enough to relieve your family of your title.¡± ¡°All of this over the boy?¡± It was the baroness that asked as the Baron was left speechless by the threat. ¡°Hah hah¡± A dark chuckle escaped the prince that sent a frosty shiver up my spine. ¡°Of course it''s all over the boy. Do you know why noble families like yours can usually get away with a bit of abuse of power? Not that the salamander beastwave wouldn¡¯t have caused an intervention even without Ajax, but do you?¡± We all stood in silence as the prince gave them a chance to answer. ¡°Because our family line is better.¡± Baron Nestor¡¯s oldest son and heir answered. ¡°Wrong.¡± the prince cut down the answer. ¡°You receive that benefit because of your status as landed nobles. You see land is given as a reward, in your family case it was your great-great grandfather whose service was rewarded. You are given power and authority over the commoners because the crown cannot rule alone. It is a show of good faith to the other noble families to support the crown with the promise that even with a subpar generation their House will live on.¡± The prince¡¯s words made me look at things from an angle I hadn¡¯t considered even back during my time in the army. I never understood why despite most nobles being kind the crown allowed tyrants to rule. They were doing it to ensure the loyalty of the other Houses, as long as you don¡¯t push it too far your House¡¯s future transgression can be overlooked in return for loyalty. ¡°Then why wait so long?¡± the Baron asked. ¡°Because it took a while for your transgressions to reach us.¡± the prince said. ¡°While we do care for our people, out of the way places like this I am said to say take a while to come to our attention. By the time it did Ajax had already shared his discovery, it was then decided that he would take over your lands when the time came.¡± ¡°Then why give them all that money?¡± I looked towards my aid with wide eyes at his outburst. ¡°If you were going to replace them, why send them all that wealth?¡± ¡°Because with reward comes scrutiny.¡± the prince explained, not at all looking upset by the interruption. ¡°For the last few years they have let the people prosper, even though I have no doubt they didn¡¯t treat them any better. This would make the land prosper in turn while diluting the populace general dislike for nobles. Making this a perfect time for a change in the nobles ruling.¡± I could see the disagreement on my aid¡¯s face even as he kept quiet. It was easy to understand his point of view but I agreed with the prince. While it did seem like a cruel way to do things this was simply the lesser evil. ¡°Oh, and I wouldn¡¯t bother trying to appeal the decree in open court.¡± The prince said as he turned and started to walk out of the courtyard. ¡°All it would do is make you enemies with every House looking to earn the favour of the new Duke.¡± With that final word of warning the prince and the rest of the squad members left to follow after Ajax and those who had gone ahead. Chapter 465 As the prince leaves he takes with him the last of the stoicism Baron Nestor has. His straight posture haunches over, his controlled breaths turn into a rapid pant more than that warden Grievous can almost visibly see him age. ¡°Hmph.¡± One of the remaining guards can¡¯t help it and a chuckle bursts out as he takes in the state of House Nestor. ¡°YOU THINK YOU CAN LAUGH AT US?¡± The baron¡¯s young child rages, his uneven feet making his gain odd as he approaches the guard. ¡°You¡¯d best stop right there.¡± The warden steps in front. ¡°You no longer rule these lands.¡± ¡°We are still nobles.¡± Baron Nestor says, though the fight has fled from his body after the small exchange with the prince. ¡°Not for long.¡± The warden¡¯s words strike House Nestor like the nails sealing a coffin. ¡°Your House hasn¡¯t produced a single elite fighter in three generations, the people haven¡¯t prospered under your rule and you offended a landed Duke. You should be glad the loss of a title is the worst that is happening to most of you.¡± While the baron and his sons were struggling to form an answer to the warden¡¯s words it was the baroness that spoke first, her voice quivering with fear. ¡°Most of us?¡± ¡°Despite your subpar treatment of the people most of you have only applied pressure in your dealing with the people and looked down on them.¡± the warden explained. ¡°Your eldest even manage to form some positive relationship with our current mayor some years ago. Your youngest however will have to pay for his crimes.¡± ¡°His crimes have already been judged.¡± the baron said. ¡°Not his latest two.¡± the warden pointed out. ¡°That was a bar brawl.¡± the baron pointed out. ¡°A bar brawl does not involve having three retainers beat a man unconscious, especially after your son initiated the conflict.¡± the warden pointed out. ¡°The second so-called offence was a whore in a brothel.¡± The baroness also joined in. ¡°Yes, but Gryndor doesn¡¯t have slavery.¡± the warden pointed out. ¡°She has the right to refuse a client without a beating.¡± ¡°Both of those happened a month ago.¡± The oldest of the baron¡¯s sons said as he started to put together just how bad things were looking. ¡°In the same way your family rushed his previous trials to ensure a favorable punishment, these ones are merely being delayed, not dismissed.¡± the warden explained. ¡°The trials will take place after the loss of his title, as well as any protections it may have given him.¡± ¡°That lowlife peasant thinks he ca-¡± the disfigured man started to rage. ¡°If I were you I would take this as the moment to prepare for things to change.¡± Grievous warned House Nestor. ¡°Even if your title is taken away you will still remain some of the highest leveled people in the area. Trying to get any so called revenge on House Hearthbound will see all of you dead.¡± ¡°Even if they are a ducal house they are brand new.¡± The eldest son said. ¡°I doubt they can wipe us out.¡± ¡°You felt it earlier didn¡¯t you?¡± The question caught all of them off guard. ¡°After I saw how that boy changed I pushed harder than ever over the last decade. I even delved the fourth floor on my own a few times and I will soon be ready to try the same on the fifth. I gained over twenty levels doing so.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. All of House Nestor knew how strong the warden was, the only people stronger than him in Lessis were the Guild leader of the Adventurer¡¯s guild and the previous warden that had now retired. ¡°In that same time the boy didn¡¯t just catch up, he is now so powerful I doubt beating me is even a challenge at this point.¡± the warden said with a grim chuckle. ¡°If I were you Baron, I¡¯d make use of the lead I had while I could, because there will soon be a lot of people more talented than you or I coming here hoping to draw the attention of our new Duke.¡± ¡°As always, I thank you for your council, warden.¡± the Baron said with a nod to his eldest son and heir. The man quickly got the message and subdued his disfigured brother as they started to make their own way out of the courtyard. _________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Ajax what is this I hear about special mud?¡± The prince asked as soon as he entered House Hearthbound¡¯s temporary residence. ¡°Does it have anything to do with your discovery?¡± ¡°You shared that?¡± Tom was the one to ask the question but Ajax¡¯s entire family was shocked to find out Ajax had shared the information on an experiment. ¡°I kind of got a good Achievement out of it.¡± Ajax said as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°It actually happened about the time you should have started trying it out. We have to leave in a few hours but do you think we could go see the result?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± His mother said as she turned towards the small meet and greet happening off to one side. ¡°Theron, could you bring the carriages around?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It took a moment for the minotaur beastkin to react. He was so engrossed in meeting Jari and Nashara. ¡°Yes, Lady Hearthbound.¡± ¡°Fluffy go grab Bob.¡± Tom asked his bond. ¡°Who is Bob?¡± Ajax asked, confused. ¡°Someone very eager and very excited to meet you.¡± Judy replied vaguely. As they all exited the inn turned residence the carriages quickly turned the corner, following behind them was Fluffy with a young man held from behind by his tunic in the shadow cat''s mouth. Before Ajax could even get a word in, one of the scout¡¯s from the royal squads asked two questions that cleared everything up for Ajax. ¡°What¡¯s cement? And why would you waste your Trailblazer Achievement on a social skill?¡± It was easy for the scout to put together that the man was a builder by trade, from the low level and age it was also clear that the man was decently talented in the profession, he could think of at least two other Achievements that would have helped him improve as a crafter even if they wouldn¡¯t have given him an Epic skill. ¡°Ajax ,this is Bob.¡± Kate made the introduction, much to Bob¡¯s embarrassment as his face flushed red in her presence. ¡°He is dedicated and has an affinity for working with cement. Bob, meet Duke Ajax Hearthbound.¡± All the embarrassment fled from Bob¡¯s mind and the blood rushed from his face as he quickly dropped to one knee once he realized who he was being presented to. ¡°A social skill.¡± Ajax said as he also examined Bob¡¯s skills, without any privacy skills [Inspector¡¯s Eye] had no issue laying everything bare. ¡°You¡¯re heading down the path of a foreman.¡± Out of the corner of his eye Ajax caught Lexi approving nod. While he was under no illusion that his retainers would get to know the real him once he returned and started living at the estate Lexi had drilled into him the importance of a first impression. One that would help cement his image in their mind while also inspiring them to push forward. ¡°Yes, my Lord.¡± Bob replied, his skill working overtime to ensure he didn¡¯t stutter out his words. The trip outside the city walls was quick, no longer did Ajax have to wait at the city gates to be let out, the guards cleared a path for their carriages as soon as they saw the approach. The manor was going to be built by the road leading to the capital so in the opposite direction from which they arrived at Lessis. The manor was clearly only half done. The stone walls standing tall even unfinished at the end of the concrete road wide enough to fit five wagons side by side. The first thing Ajax noticed about the manor was that stones were layers with cement as a binder, while his current mix wasn¡¯t ideal for such use it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to replace it at a later time slowly with the help of magic. ¡°This isn¡¯t mud at all.¡± The prince said as he inspected the road. ¡°It really took you less than two months to get all this done?¡± The road only stretched from the manor halfway to Lessis, the latter half of their short trip however was noticeably faster as the carriages and horses picked up more speed on the perfectly level road. ¡°The locals call it mud because of the substance¡¯s consistency before it sets, Your Highness.¡± Bob answered, his excitement in cement and his social skill working together to help him address the royal. ¡°Also this didn¡¯t take us two months to create.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± One of the squad mages pointed out. ¡°There is no way you could have gotten here fast enough to have more than two months to work on it.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Bob said as he bowed his head in apology. ¡°We did this in three weeks, we would have done more but we ran out of cement.¡± ¡°How long did it take for it to set?¡± Ajax asked while the prince and everyone else was processing the words Bob just said. ¡°And how much water did it need?¡± ¡°It took about two weeks for a section to be set.¡± Bob responded dutifully. ¡°As for the water, that is harder to estimate. Mages aren¡¯t used to releasing water without a lot of force behind it so more than a few times we had to restart a section after holes were created. Your instruction keeping it just slightly damp at all times, especially while the sun was out worked perfectly however.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°As soon as I return from the capital I need to make some more, how are we doing on setting up local production of the reagents?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already started mining the rock.¡± Ajax¡¯s father said with a proud smile. ¡°We have almost a full warehouse of the reagents ready for you.¡± ¡°A full warehouse?¡± the prince asked finally coming back to the conversation. ¡°How much of this stuff do you need?¡± Ajax enjoyed the look of shock on the prince¡¯s face as well as the one of realization on Anna¡¯s as he answered. ¡°Enough to pave all the roads in my duchy like this.¡± Chapter 466 Ajax watched in fascination as Bob managed to talk with the members of the royal squads about his work with cement. While it was clear none of the squad members were all that familiar with building they were all trained in gathering information and reporting anything relevant to the crown. j¡°Maybe I should use my other Achievement slot to gain [Social Understanding] as well.¡± Ajax murmured as he watched someone younger than him that was raised as a commoner in Lessis handle a social situation he would have no doubt tripped up in a few years ago. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Lexi said from beside him. ¡°Though you should consider all your options, there are Achievements that can help with crafting and your Alchemy might need a bit of a boost if it is to keep up.¡± As much as Ajax might be jealous of [Social Understanding] it wasn¡¯t enough to make him feel the tiniest bit of regret about choosing [Enigma] back when he did. The privacy skill had proven itself invaluable so far and that was a trend that was likely to continue. ¡°This is certainly interesting.¡± The prince said as he approached them with a chunk of concrete in each hand that he broke off from the edge of the road. ¡°Not all that solid.¡± As he said the last word his right hand clenched slightly and large cracks spread through the chunk as small dust started to fall. ¡°It¡¯s not infused with any mana at all.¡± Ajax chided him. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not solid for someone like you. Not to mention that I told you this wasn¡¯t really a finished recipe.¡± Ajax wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d done it but it seems that Bob had heard his words and he all but materialized next to them. ¡°You¡¯re going to improve it?¡± there was no masking the excitement in his voice, Ajax could also see the moment [Social Understanding] won over the excitement as he hastily followed with a cough and a bow of the head.¡°My Lord¡± ¡°Not for roads.¡± Ajax made sure to clarify. ¡°There is no practical way to make it durable enough for road building without expensive materials. I will be experimenting with it to see how it handles mana infused reagents but what I have now is what I will be using to pave all the main roads in the duchy.¡± Ajax could see the war of emotions on Bob¡¯s face, before it settled into apprehension. ¡°All the roads in the duchy, My Lord?¡± Ajax could guess that the young man just saw the next few decades of his life flash before his eyes and he was second guessing his choices for a brief moment. ¡°Yes, it will take a few decades.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°But road building is an easy first step for training builders, the number of skilled builders in the duchy will steadily increase over the next half a century.¡± This was something that Ajax considered a major necessity considering the expected population growth. ¡°Is it really worth it to have so many roads built?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Did you notice how much quicker the carriage moved once we got on the concrete?¡± Ajax answered with another question. ¡°I bet merchants will be willing to pay a modest fee to shorten their trips, and with how centrally located my Duchy is, not to mention that all who go towards the Empire from the capital will pass through.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You stand to make a lot of money.¡± Anna joined the conversation. ¡°More than that you will also increase the merchant activity in your duchy providing a competitive market that will lower cost for your people as well as easier access to exotic goods.¡± ¡°You said you won¡¯t improve it for road building, what about for something else?¡± the prince asked as he looked towards the half built manor where the mana dense stones were secured with concrete. ¡°There is a lot I want to change when it comes to cement for any structure building.¡± Ajax said as he walked towards the edge of the road next to where the prince plucked his two chunks of rock. ¡°You see roads will always deteriorate, with enough use. A cheap, plentiful and easy to repair road mixture is what you need.¡± As he said that Ajax ripped another chunk off the side of the road. ¡°Repairing this damage won¡¯t take all that long, with how malleable cement is before it hardens it¡¯ll also make it easy to fix and sort of odd damage¡± ¡°The same can be said for building.¡± the prince pointed out. ¡°It might take longer but they still get damaged all the same.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same.¡± Ajax said as he shook his head. ¡°Damage to a road can come from anything, a fight breaking out, a monster running by, a heavy cart breaking a wheel and dropping. That all causes large damage on a specific point in a short amount of time.¡± ¡°For buildings, outside of a siege the damage is always gradual.¡± Anna pointed out. ¡°It might all collapse at once but for that to happen cracks will have formed over time.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Ajax nodded. ¡°The mixture I am planning for construction is one that will slowly reactivate when wet.¡± ¡°Reactivate?¡± Bob asked, intrigued by the idea. ¡°The base rock we currently use for cement fuses together permanently once it dries. I am planning to have a mixture that will slowly reseal any cracks naturally as getting the set product wet will partially return it to a more malleable state where it will reset once again resealing it.¡± Ajax spoke with passion as he shared the information he learned a life time ago back in his architecture lessons, he planned to let a whole new world experience the wonders he felt the first time he saw pictures of the roman coliseum, the greek parthenon, and maybe one day even the pyramids. That last one was more questionable as even in modern day Earth they hadn¡¯t figured out how they were built. ¡°And how do you expect to pay for all that?¡± Judy asked as she listened from one side. ¡°It might be profitable in the long term but we first need to get the duchy settled before we invest our more modest wealth into such projects. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Ajax¡¯s cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°About that, you see I had a slightly fortunate encounter when I delved in the Empire.¡± As he said this Ajax produced what remained of the lower half of the golem from his storage ring. Everyone who joined him on his journey to the Empire knew what to expect, his family however was all shocked, staring wide eyed at the massive pile of gold. Judy was the first to break out of her stupor. ¡°It¡¯s missing a whole leg, did the Empire fleece you?¡± Her joking tone made it clear it wasn¡¯t an actual dig at her brother but just her way of handling the odd situation. ¡°That is quite the find there, dear.¡± his grandmother Aurora said as she approached the gold and pressed a finger to it. ¡°It has decent mana infusion as well. This solves all our short term solvency issues and we can even start taking some long term projects outside of this road idea of yours.¡± ¡°The Empire did take the leg, taxes they said.¡± Ajax chuckled. ¡°They did let me delve their other dungeon as well for it though. I wouldn¡¯t say I made it out too bad, especially with this.¡± With that Ajax produced the other half of the golden golem, though still misshapen from the fall it had taken it was clearly a bit larger than the legs portion had been even before a leg was chopped off. If the first half shocked Judy, the second half seemed to break something. ¡°But¡­ but¡­was it all for nothing¡± Alana was quicker to recover and was at her friend¡¯s and partner¡¯s side in a moment whispering comforting words. ¡°What we do is still very important. We are the ones who will now get to spend all that gold. It will be just like it was back when we first started, we¡¯ll take his gold and invest it. Instead of one hundred gold pieces, it¡¯s now a massive pile of mana infused gold.¡± the joke seemed to be enough to break through to Judy as she turned a fiery look on Ajax. ¡°If you think you can spend most of our wealth on stat enhancement potion in five years you better think again.¡± It was at that moment that Ajax decided he could wait a while before telling his sister he had already promised a part of the gold for potions already. ¡°At least the greedy imperials called it tax so we won¡¯t have to pay that again.¡± Elija said with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m sure my father won¡¯t tax you on.¡± Xavier said. ¡°Though you might receive a royal request to not suddenly flood the market with gold.¡± While Gryndor wasn¡¯t as light on gold as the Empire was, inflation would still shoot through the roof if so much gold was suddenly unloaded on the market all at once. WHACK. The crack of skin on skin contact echoed slightly drawing everyone¡¯s attention to Bob whose left cheek was starting to turn a deep red. ¡°This can¡¯t be¡­ I¡¯m sure I¡¯m dreaming.¡± Chapter 467 Everyone gave a good natured chuckle at how large Bob¡¯s eyes got as he couldn¡¯t look away from the mountain of gold. Nobody blamed him, that was more gold than most nobles spent over their lifetimes, it was only the higher nobles and the heads of Houses that dealt with large amounts of gold. With a flick of his wrist Ajax pulled the top half of the golem back into a ring before tossing the ring to his grandfather. ¡°It¡¯s such a relief not to have all that gold with me at one time.¡± Ajax said with a sigh as he stored the other piece. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m not giving this one to you.¡± Ajax teased his sister. ¡°I¡¯m going to the capital, just let me know if there is something there you want me to get you while you help grandfather invest what I gave him.¡± WIth that Ajax stepped off to the side while his family started making plans on how to spend some of their newly found fortune. He instead approached the three beastkin that had been left slack jawed since the first pile of gold was shown. ¡°Why only them?¡± Theron asked, while the question was vague Ajax understood what he meant. ¡°We had to leave the Empire unexpectedly quickly.¡± Ajax answered. ¡°I had initially planned on freeing a few more on the way back.¡± ¡°Does it have anything to do with the change in your aura?¡± Ajax was surprised at that. ¡°You can feel that?¡± Ajax asked, he also noticed their conversation drew the attention of the squad members and the prince. ¡°You¡¯ve only felt my Aura for a brief time when I passed through before I went to the Empire.¡± ¡°Much as I hate to agree with the imperials in any way, they are right about one thing.¡± Theron explained. ¡°The difference is more than just physical. We do have traces of the instincts similar to those of animals. When I first felt your Aura, it provided a sense of comfort. Now, while the comfort is still there, deep down inside I feel inferior in a way that has nothing to do with strength.¡± Ajax knew exactly why Theron would be feeling that way, what surprised him however was that he could tell all that even though he was keeping his Aura under control. He didn¡¯t even need to ask the question, a simple flick of his eyes prompted the two former slaves who had been taught to be attentive to their masters to answer the question. ¡°I still don¡¯t feel anything.¡± Jari said. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel a difference.¡± Nashara¡¯s answer showed just how smart she was, she had only had a few hints but from the way they left in a hurry after the second dungeon delve and Ajax¡¯s earlier admittance that it was an unexpected departure she put together when the change happened. ¡°They don¡¯t have high enough Perception to feel Aura¡¯s.¡± The prince said as he joined the conversation. ¡°There is a hard break point at twenty five Perception, I expect that once they reach it the reaction will be exaggerated.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t explain what happened tonight, there is not enough time for all the implications that will come up.¡± Ajax said. ¡°It¡¯ll have to wait a couple of weeks until I return from the capital. Theron, you¡¯ll be starting their training.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Both Jari and Nashara winced at the word. Training was something they were used to as their former masters, despite being poor slave merchants were aware that slaves needed to have useful skills to sell better. It was simply lucky of them to have developed their skills before Ajax¡¯s visit but after their last regular inspection. ¡°You¡¯ll start with their diet.¡± Ajax¡¯s words surprised them however. ¡°It will take their bodies a while to adapt to the change, work with Kate to ensure they don¡¯t eat too much but make sure they have enough.¡± With a joking grin he added. ¡°After all, you saw we can afford it.¡± ¡°Where can I help?¡± Ajax¡¯s father asked, his voice carrying an undertone of fear. Everyone else had something they could provide but as far as he could see there was nothing he could provide to help, and it would be that way for a while yet until his [Blacksmithing] skill got higher. ¡°You can start preparing our workforce.¡± Ajax said, he knew what his father was afraid of but that wouldn¡¯t matter for what he had planned. ¡°You might not have the [Blacksmithing] skill to make anything I can use but I still learned quite a lot from you when I was younger. We are going to need people with the [Mining] skill, a lot of them since I plan to explore what riches we can extract from the mountains we have.¡± Before they returned to Lessis Ajax made sure to spend the majority of his mana to start the remodeling of the earth underneath his manor in preparation for the secret tunnels he hoped to make. ¡°Will House Nestor try anything?¡± Ajax asked the prince as they returned to the city. ¡°No,¡± the prince denied. ¡° At least nothing the Warden won¡¯t be able to predict and stop before it even gets close to your family.¡± ¡°They were still the ruling noble family for the last few centuries, I wouldn¡¯t want to underestimate them.¡± Ajax said. ¡°Not with my family on the line.¡± ¡°You have nothing to worry from most of them.¡± the prince reassured Ajax. ¡°While they might have seemed domineering from the outside, deep down they are cowards. The only one who might try anything is their youngest and he is far too weak and stupid to outmaneuver the Warden.¡± ¡°They are still nobles, cowards can react unpredictably when someone unworthy takes what¡¯s theirs.¡± Ajax raised an eyebrow at that, he had seen many examples of this happening in the history lessons he had attended at the Academy. ¡°They won¡¯t be nobles for much longer, and they know it.¡± the prince said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯ll be returning with a royal decree to strip them of their title. They¡¯ll keep the wealth they have amassed but since most of that is tied up within the city their only chance at regaining a noble title is being knighted by your House.¡± Ajax¡¯s instincts wanted him to buy out House Nestor from their investments in Lessis before they paid out tenfold once the duchy¡¯s value increased, but he quashed that instinct. He would get his revenge when he¡¯ll deliver the decree taking away their titles. Tom¡¯ll get his revenge as mayor of Lessis, he¡¯ll leave Judy and Alana to have their own revenge as they remove House Nestor¡¯s influence from the city while without paying a copper more than they have to. ¡°Has your plan changed?¡± the prince¡¯s words get a questioning rise out of Ajax¡¯s eyebrows. ¡°With your increased lifespan do you still plan to go out in the Wild Lands so soon?¡± ¡°If anything, what happened only makes me want to leave sooner.¡± Ajax said, surprising the prince. ¡°With how much faster I¡¯m going to be leveling and how much stronger I¡¯ve gotten if I don¡¯t go soon I doubt I¡¯ll be able to find a bond.¡± ¡°Not everyone can form a bond.¡± the prince said with a shake of his head. ¡°It¡¯s not something to do with talent either, it''s about finding a creature whose personality and power matches yours. It¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard for the talented to get bonds outside of newly born creatures.¡± ¡°If the newly born can bond won¡¯t that make it not true.¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It¡¯s more about perception, you see their potential which is at the limit for their species before any of their actual potential can be shown, they are too young to understand the difference in power.¡± the prince explained. ¡°Since newborns are so malleable in terms of personality it gives even the talented a much better chance of forming a bond, for you however even a newborn won¡¯t be able to form a bond because you already know even if they fulfil their potential they still won¡¯t be able to catch up.¡± Ajax had to fight to keep back the denial, while the prince thought the struggle was Ajax trying to come to terms with his words Ajax was holding himself back from retorting that he could find a bond, among the ascended races. That however was something he couldn¡¯t say or he won¡¯t be allowed to leave the kingdom for as long as the crown could keep him inside. With their recent discovery of how they maintained their safety from the ascended races, it would even be the correct reaction when hearing someone wanted to go looking for them. Chapter 468 With the speed they were moving at it hardly took more than half a day before the group left Ajax¡¯s duchy. Ajax¡¯s lands covered a long stretch of land from the mountain range all the way to the lake that acted as a border between Gryndor and the Empire, his new duchy now isolated one of the other dukes as well as a viscount and two barons from the rest of Gryndor. j With the size of the lake and the otherwise limited bodies of water that were available to the humanoids nobody had yet bothered to invent any boat larger than a small paddle boat. One of the things Ajax was planning on doing in a few years was to establish a port on the lake and start trading with the Empire directly, especially considering how close their capital was to the other shore. ¡°Do I even want to know what you¡¯re planning now?¡± Lexi asked as she looked at his face through heavy eyelashes as she stretched awake. ¡°Just a passing thought.¡± Ajax waved her off. ¡°Nothing that will be put in practice for a decade at least.¡± The only reason Ajax was willing to delay the invention of ships was that he knew the humanoid civilization had stretched much further in the past, most of the skills related to ships had to have been obtained already and that there wouldn¡¯t be a bounty of trailblazer skills waiting. On the small off chance that he was wrong he wanted to wait until his family was in a better position to monopolize them once the first ships were ready to sail and direct commerce with the Empire¡¯s capital could take place. ¡°You should prepare yourselves.¡± the prince said to them. ¡°Ajax won¡¯t be in the capital for long so that means that you¡¯ll be delving for the floor boss within the week. Ajax could already feel the time pressure. It had been less than two weeks since he evolved but he could already feel the increase in his experience gain, and that was with the minimal training he could do on the trip. ¡°I¡¯ll be coming back with you.¡± Lexi said with a smile. ¡°No way grandpa will stay away considering you have access to not only Vibration Mana but also Life Mana.¡± The way Lexi said this made it seem that it was her grandfather who would push for this but Ajax knew that it was Lexi who had. By having Duke Manashaper visit them so soon it would all but scream the connection between their houses providing House Hearthbound with strong support as they established themselves. Ajax did his best to hide a smile. Once he proposed the visit would surely turn into a celebration of their engagement instead of just a normal visit. As much as he hated politics he knew that the party would have to have an expanded invite list. If he was to invite only his friends it would be incredibly imbalanced seeing as they would mostly cover some of his Academy class and instructor as well as Luna. Excluding that many nobles from an event that would be attended by the three archduke Houses as well as the royal family would cause waves. The trip to the capital wasn¡¯t entirely boring, on the second of day they had managed to run into a band of thieves. Nobody made a move on their fast moving carriages but the encampment had been spotted by one of the scouts and an entire squad had taken a little detour to clear them out. ¡°It''s hard to believe there are still roaming bands of thieves like that out there.¡± Ajax said. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It happens more and more as people leave the guard units of towns away from the capital.¡± Xavier explained. ¡°It¡¯s one of the few downsides of this period of peace we¡¯ve had.¡± ¡°How is peace responsible for this?¡± Ajax was surprised. ¡°The high position in the guard of a city requires some high levels, levels a normal guard wouldn¡¯t have unless they joined the army. Most cities don¡¯t have access to a dungeon close by so all the commander and warden positions have been going to guards from the capital who have pushed themselves in dungeons and are looking to settle down with a family.¡± Xavier said. ¡°In the past local guards would join the army and return with higher levels as well as a chance to move up but with the peace that hasn¡¯t been the case for the last two generations.¡± ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain how you go from guard to bandit.¡± Ajax frowned. ¡°Guards are afforded a certain level of authority.¡± Anna said. ¡°Once they leave they lose that, something they had for at least a decade or more. The only way to regain that feeling is to turn to banditry, after all it''s the ambitious ones who leave like that and then they gather others.¡± Ajax realized that this would be something else he would have to look into fixing when settling his own duchy. Not so much the guard issues since he would be adding a new duchy wide guard unit for his roads that would give the more ambitious people a way to move up and with access to a dungeon a way to progress. But with the increased lifespan that was going to affect the new generation he would need to add a number of stepping stone positions to current industries to ensure people didn¡¯t stagnate waiting for a way to progress. ¡°Won¡¯t this affect a lot more industries soon with the increased lifespan and projected increase in the population?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°It will,¡± the prince confirmed. ¡°It one of the biggest problems we are trying to address. Funnily enough the elves have a head start on all of us with half the issue.¡± ¡°What issue is that?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°Elves hardly age, physically at least until the end of their lifespan.¡± the prince explained. ¡°This means that their society had developed in a way that somewhat restricts having children to a certain time. We don¡¯t have that, with people being young so much longer we will end up having siblings that are fifteen years apart in commoner families as they have more children after the first ones move out.¡± Hearing this only reinforced Ajax¡¯s conviction about the necessity of standardizing education and forcefully moving his duchy forward in terms of technology. A more informed population was less likely to grow so out of control like that, the best example being the current nobles. Despite their average lifespans exceeding even what the commoner would reach after adapting to his technique they still remained a small percentage of the population. ¡°What are your plans after meeting with the king?¡± Anna asked Ajax as they neared the capital. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ajax asked. ¡°With your family no longer living in the capital, will you return your estate here?¡± Anna clarified. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to see a family friend.¡± Ajax said with a smile. Ajax was planning on visiting Luna and his former mentor Hatchet. He wanted to extend an invitation to Luna to expand the Healing Union¡¯s presence in his duchy. More than that however he wanted to offer her the option of opening a research base in his duchy where both her and Hatchet could have a second home. Over his time in the capital Luna had been one of the closest friends for his family and they didn¡¯t want the relationship to deteriorate because of the distance between them now. ¡°How is Hatchet doing?¡± Lexi asked. Unlike Luna who still looked like she was in her early forties for somebody from Earth, Hatchet was now reaching the end of his life. He had stagnated his level hiding away in their little village and without the increase in levels his low stats were starting to get to him. Despite only being a little over one hundred years old his body was getting old. ¡°He¡¯s slowing down.¡± Ajax said as he lowered his head. ¡°It won¡¯t be long now until he won¡¯t be able to go hunting any more.¡± Seeing Hatchet like this was hard for Ajax. He hadn¡¯t realized it when he surpassed him because he hadn¡¯t been there to compare himself with the old hunter as his progress soared. It hadn¡¯t even been a decade since Ajax was slow and weak compared to the man. Ajax didn¡¯t have long to dwell on the matter as they were quickly let into the capital and headed straight for the palace. Once there they were quickly ushered into the small throne room where the rest of the royal family was waiting for them and an explanation for the message the prince had sent them. ¡°Well, what is it?¡± the king said as soon as the doors shut following their entrance into the room. ¡°The next step for humanoids.¡± Ajax said. ¡°After clearing one hundred and fifty floors we evolve.¡± Chapter 469 The room fell silent at Ajax¡¯s words. For a moment all of them were processing what Ajax had said. Ajax knew there was a lot riding on this though he promised himself he would keep quiet about the ability to bond Ascended races. ¡°What do you mean, evolve?¡± the king asked. ¡°Is that why your Aura is so different now?¡± The young princess barely fifteen years of age asked, she had recently spent her stat points after following Ajax¡¯s advice, with her Perception over twenty five she was finally able to perceive Aura¡¯s, while she had gotten used to them Ajax¡¯s oppressive superiority affected her in a way she wasn¡¯t used to. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why my Aura is a little different.¡± Saying that Ajax flared his Aura to give everyone a good feel for the change. ¡°As for what I mean by evolution, the System was pretty clear in its notification, my race evolved from Awakened Human to Ascended Human.¡± There were a few sharp hisses of breaths at the word Ascended, the races that claimed said title being able to wipe kingdoms from the map over a weekend at a whim. ¡°What did you gain from evolving?¡± the king asked. ¡°It doubled my remaining life span.¡± Ajax said with a smile. ¡°Not only that but it also added +10 to all my stats.¡± ¡°That is a very strong Achievement.¡± the crown prince nodded as he stroked his chin. ¡°One that will cause even further competition between the noble Houses.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t the Achievement, little brother.¡± the oldest prince said with a smirk. ¡°You would do well to listen more carefully.¡± the smugness that radiated off him at getting one over on his brother who was usually leagues ahead of him in terms of communication would last for a while. ¡°Not the Achievement?¡± the king asked. ¡°The system was just informing me of what the evolution did, almost like it was outside the system''s influence.¡± Ajax explained, something he was pretty sure about considering it had taken two weeks since he was born before he gained access to the system. ¡°There was also an Achievement attached to evolving.¡± ¡°Like always our new Duke is always pushing for greater things.¡± the eldest prince said with pride as he patted Ajax on the shoulder. ¡°He got a prestige version of the Achievement for evolving before the age of fifty.¡± ¡°The prestige version increases my gained experience by 200%. Effectively tripling my experience gain.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°The regular version is only a 150% increase. Where it gets a little dicey is that the prestige version requires 10 Discoveries while the normal version only five.¡± ¡°Ten discoveries is very steep, especially for an Achievement that is to be earned by the age of fifty.¡± the king nodded. ¡°I assume you bypassed the requirement with your reward from your Researcher Achievement.¡± Ajax nodded at that. ¡°One thing that doesn¡¯t make sense to me is what did the system mean when it said Awakened Human?¡± the crown prince asked. Ajax had the very same question for a long time, now that there was an opportunity to find out he focused his [Inspector¡¯s Eye] on the young princes focusing on only uncovering her race. Sure enough the message he got in return said [Awakened Human]. She was the easiest to test this on as she had no privacy skills just yet. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I am not sure,¡± Ajax prefaced his words. ¡°But I think there is lower version of humanoids, inferior or basic.¡± ¡°And you think that they are weaker than us?¡± the king asked. ¡°No, if anything I think they might even be stronger on an individual basis.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°The reason they are inferior would be that they lack choice when it comes to choosing their build. Humanoid races like kobolds, goblins or orcs. Stronger in terms of pure stats compared to a human of the same level but with a set distribution of stats and skills.¡± Ajax had been thinking on this for a good part of the trip back from the empire, once he returned to his duchy he would go and scour the salamander nest as well as try out his theory by inspecting one of the kobolds. ¡°Then how come we are born awakened?¡± the king asked. ¡°I think it¡¯s because both parents are awakened humans.¡± Ajax said The implication that two Ascended humans could give birth to an Ascended human left the room quiet. ¡°That is a dangerous speculation.¡± the king said. Almost all humans invested a good portion of their stats into Vitality. While Endurance also increased a human¡¯s lifespan slightly the returns on investment were much lower compared to Vitality. News of the evolution was sure the see young nobles skip out on early investments in Vitality all in hopes of clearing dungeon floors fast enough to gain their evolution. ¡°You have given us a lot to think about.¡± the king said as he stroked his white beard. ¡°On a lighter note, what can you tell us about your magic mud?¡± the eldest prince asked. ¡°Magic mud?¡± the crown prince asked, confused. ¡°It¡¯s called cement.¡± Ajax was sure the prince knew exactly what it was called and was only calling it magic mud to needle at him. ¡°What is this cement?¡± The king also asked intrigued and also happy for a small distraction from the big implications of human¡¯s ability to evolve. ¡°It''s what gained me my Researcher Achievement¡± Ajax said. ¡°A new alchemical substance that when mixed with water will turn into a viscous mud like substance that will then slowly dry out, by consistently keeping it wet during the setting period it will eventually harden. Currently the timeline is about two weeks.¡± Both the king and the crown prince looked to the royal adviser. While they both had plenty of knowledge they weren¡¯t that specified as to understand what effect such a discovery would have on the kingdom. ¡°Interesting,¡± the advisor said. ¡°Depending on how durable the hardened end product is, it would make building homes much easier.¡± ¡°The current endurance isn¡¯t good enough for building homes.¡± Ajax shook his head. ¡°At best it would work as a binder for stornes, I am currently working on developing a more durable and possibly self repairing version for building. The current use of the substance is for building roads.¡± ¡°Roads are not a bad idea.¡± the advisor nodded. ¡°Considering what you said about it being mudlike in the beginning I would guess it would be easy to repair any damage by adding another layer. Depending on how expensive it is to make it seems like a feasible plan. Though I do not see the use of such things, we already have roads.¡± ¡°Traveling on a flat even surface is much faster, the number of broken down carts would be lower.¡± Ajax explained. ¡°Our carriages managed to almost double their speed on the small bit he had built around his future manor.¡± one of the squad captains reported. ¡°That would be very valuable.¡± the advisor nodded. ¡°Especially with your duchy¡¯s location all but barring one of the two roads that lead to the Empire. I imagine merchants will rejoice to hear this.¡± Ajax smiled as he thought about his plan to build a harbor. With a direct way to reach the Empire¡¯s capital in a much shorter time frame as well as the increased amount a large ship could carry he expected merchants will be flooding his duchy. ¡°I appreciate your timely visit to inform us of these developments Duke Hearthbound.¡± the crown prince nodded his head towards Ajax. ¡°I imagine you wouldn¡¯t be staying in the capital for too much longer?¡± ¡°Actually I plan on staying for about a week.¡± Ajax said, surprising them. ¡°With the increased experience gain, the timeline for attempting to get others the Achievement of defeating a floor boss twice their level is quickly closing. I am planning on delving in next week if you could lend me a few of your men to ensure the safety of everyone. Not only that but I also plan to invite Luna to open a research base for the Healing Union in my duchy.¡± What Ajax didn¡¯t say was that he was hoping to pick Luna¡¯s brain about how to best propose to Lexi. It had been a long time coming and while he was pretty sure she would say yes there was a small part of him that worried she would say no. ¡°That would be fine.¡± The king said, with the Healing Union ruled by the crown in all but name, it was the royals who needed to approve of Ajax¡¯s request. Still, because ostensibly Luna was running the Healing Union politics demanded that Ajax ask in a roundabout way. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you being more comfortable in your position as Duke.¡± ¡°By your leave, Your Majesty.¡± Ajax bowed his head and everyone was subsequently dismissed, exiting the palace and heading for their family¡¯s manors, all except Ajax who was heading towards Luna¡¯s manor.