Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 76: Cultural Affiliation?

The sun began to set as Reivyn sat near the entrance to the Dungeon. He had only killed a few more monsters that spawned near him on his way out after witnessing the prince with Ren and his entourage. He was lost in thought and didn't even activate his Mana Sight with Veridical Affinity in order to find monsters more efficiently.

It's a good thing the recording devices, like all of the other magical devices mass produced for the students, are geared towards students and only have functionality up to Tier 3 Affinities and Spells, Reivyn thought. I wouldn't have been able to find monsters before they spawn or witness the conspiracy, or whatever it is, involving the prince and his people otherwise.

Reivyn didn't have to wait long until he heard the banter between his friends as they made their way out of the Dungeon. He had spent most of the three hours they had designated for solo exploration in his concentrated state of hunting, and it was almost time to leave the Dungeon anyway by the time he finished eavesdropping on the prince's Party.

"...probably killed a couple hundred monsters," Trick's voice reached Reivyn's ears. He perked up and watched his friends stride into view. "I only killed 30 monsters in the whole three hours."

"Better than me," Vane said. "I got 26."

"There he is, let's just ask him," Tom said as the friends spotted Reivyn sitting alone on a broken stone brick. "Hey, Reivyn! How many monsters did you kill after you banished us from your presence?" Reivyn frowned as he thought about it.

"I don't know," Reivyn said. "I didn't keep track, honestly." He opened his Experience tab and took a glance. "Going by my Experience gains, I killed an additional 160 monsters."

"Look at this guy," Trick said, turning to the other two. "Disgusting." Reivyn shrugged.

"So we going to pick up where we left off in the morning? Get some additional hunting in before we leave to head back to The Capital?" Tom asked as they turned and headed for the designated student quarters.

"No," Reivyn said. "I plan on leaving at first light. Something came up and I need to go talk to my parents. You guys are welcome to come with me, or you can stay here and keep going on your own; up to you." The three friends looked at each other and shrugged.

"We'll go back with you," Tom said. "We got enough in the records to get a decent amount of School Credits for the Dungeon. Most students come here and kill about 50 or so monsters per trip, and we definitely got more than that even if we divvy up the credit for when we went in as a Party."

"Alright, let's get some dinner and then sleep," Reivyn said. "It'll be an early morning."

"Sure," Vane said.

Reivyn woke up feeling refreshed. He had only spent a little bit of time working on his Mana Skills and Affinities the previous night, as he was serious about getting up early and leaving right at dawn.

He got dressed, grabbed his gear, and headed downstairs to the common room to get breakfast. As he descended the stairs, he suddenly came face to face with Ren. Ren saw him and frowned as Reivyn took him and the others in.

Ren had been heading up the stairs, presumably to get something from a room, and the prince and the others he had been with the previous day all sat at a table. Reivyn took a quick glance around and noticed three men, obviously not students, standing at various places in the room watching the surroundings.

The prince saw the two young men stop and stare at each other, and recognition flashed in his eyes as he noticed Reivyn. He stood up and walked over to the two with a smile on his face.

"Judging by the reactions you both displayed, you two must know each other," the prince said. Reivyn glanced at the prince as he walked up, not knowing what to make of the situation. "So, Ren, are you going to tell me who this is?"

"I dare not keep anything from you, Your Excellency," Ren said, head bowed. "He's the one I was punished over from my time in the Lord's Retinue." The prince looked Reivyn up and down with a thoughtful look on his face. The three men, who were obviously bodyguards, zeroed their attention in on Reivyn and stood ready to jump in to interfere if Reivyn attempted to do anything to their charge.

"I see," the prince said. "I know you said you were already punished - Court Martialed, jailed for a time, and kicked out of the Count's private Retinue - but," the prince held a finger up to draw Ren's attention, "have you ever actually apologized?" The prince maintained his smile as he looked back and forth between the two young men.

"No, Your Excellency," Ren answered. "This is the first time we've run into each other since the incident at the skirmish."

"Perfect!" The prince clapped his hands. "Then this is the perfect opportunity. Apologize. Now." The smile left the prince's face as he commanded Ren. Reivyn frowned in confusion.

"Reivyn," Ren stood up straight and looked Reivyn directly in the eyes, "I sincerely apologize to you for my actions before. I made a mistake, and I won't do it again." There was no deceit that Reivyn could detect in his expression or tone of voice, but he did notice that Ren clenched his fists until the knuckles went white. The prince also seemed to notice, but he just smiled once again. Reivyn considered the men standing before him for a moment before he replied.

"Out of consideration for my slight friendship with your sister, I will consider the matter finished," Reivyn said with a magnanimous nod. He looked at the prince, "but you can't expect us to ever be friends."

"Not everyone has to be friends," the prince said, the small smile still on his face. "This is a satisfactory step, though, in my book. You've probably already guessed who I am, but allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Prince Galwit from Eldiar. I heard Ren, here, address you as Reivyn. I've heard of you in my time at the Academy. I'll be watching your progress with interest. You're likely to meet the quota to move up to Eldiar, and maybe we can get more acquainted at that time.

"As it is, I can see that you want to get your breakfast before heading out, so I won't keep you any longer," Galwit faced Ren once more. "Go about your task, Ren."

"Yes, Your Excellency," Ren ducked his head and made his way past Reivyn, up the stairs.

"I'll be seeing you," Prince Galwit said over his shoulder as he returned to his table. Reivyn noticed the three bodyguards relax their stances as Galwit resumed his seat. Reivyn shook his head and made his way to a table to order some breakfast. His companions hadn't made it down yet, so he sat alone.

What is happening? Reivyn was thoroughly confused. After seeing them yesterday, I had a preconceived idea of what his personality would be like, but he definitely didn't act like how I imagined. I would have guessed he would have stood up for his man and tried to make things difficult for me, not force Ren to apologize to my face.

There's something weird going on. I really need to discuss this with my parents.

Reivyn kept glancing at the table the prince and his people sat at, and he noticed that he conversed with those following him in a friendly, companionable way. The more he watched, the more he was confused

Everything I know about those associated with the Abyss, myself excluded, is that they're sadistic and murderous, Reivyn shook his head. Either this guy hides it really well, or there's more truth to mom's statement about Affinities not being inherently evil. I just don't know enough.

Reivyn didn't have to wait long until his friends began descending the stairs. Tom was the first to come down and join him, shortly followed by Vane. The two of them seemed like they had also gotten a decent rest, but Trick didn't show up until they were almost done with their breakfast, rubbing his eyes and barely paying attention to his surroundings as he stumbled over.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Vane said. "Grab a quick bite. It's almost time to go."

"Sure," Trick said with a large yawn. He simply grabbed some biscuits and bacon that sat discarded on the others' plates, not bothering to even place his own order. The dinner and breakfast for traveling students were free for the basic fare, but Trick realized they were tight on time, not money.

The four were soon finished and got up to leave. Reivyn threw one more glance over his shoulder to the table with the prince and his Party as he left, and the prince was likewise watching him depart. The man smiled and gave a nod to Reivyn as he stepped through the doors to the outside.

"Who was that?" Tom asked. "Seemed a little weird to be paying attention to you so much."

"Oh, was he?" Reivyn asked. "I hadn't noticed. Anyway, I spoke to him briefly before you guys came down. That was Prince Galwit from Eldiar."

"What?!" Tom said, stopping in his tracks. "That was the prince? You're just going to drop that on us nonchalantly and act like it's perfectly normal?"

"What's abnormal about it?" Reivyn asked back. Tom threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"If you knew he was the prince, it would have been proper to bow and give a farewell as we left," Vane pointed out.

"Why do I need to bow to him?" Reivyn asked, genuinely confused. "I'm not a citizen of Eldiar, and he's a cousin to the royal family."

"Eh, technically, we are citizens of Eldiar," Trick said. "Our kingdom is a vassal state to theirs, and he is a member of the royal family, even if just a cousin."

"He didn't seem to mind," Reivyn shrugged. "And neither did any of his bodyguards. If they had a problem with it, I'm guessing one of them would have stepped forward to say something."

"Maybe," Tom said, shaking his head. "Or maybe they felt it wasn't their place to interfere with a situation the prince didn't care about. Either way, you probably left a bad impression on them."

"Guys, listen," Reivyn said, stopping in place, "it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it so much. Now let's go get our horses and get going." Reivyn resumed his walk to the stables. The other three friends shared a look and shrugged.

"If you say so," Trick said.

The trip back to The Capital was uneventful, but the traffic in the city was much heavier as it was around noon on a weekend once they arrived. Reivyn came to a stop outside the stables he used from the Adventurer's Guild and addressed his roommates.

"We can get together for dinner or something, later, with my other friends from the Knight Academy," Reivyn said. "I'm going to go home and discuss some things with my parents. I'll introduce you guys next time."

"Ok," Tom said, nodding. "It's not a big deal. We figured you wanted to see them in private from what you said earlier, so don't sweat it. We can meet up in the market square later and figure out what to do then"

"Do you need one of us to deliver a message to the Knight Academy?" Vane asked.

"No," Reivyn shook his head, "I sent a message before we left telling them to come to my house in the afternoon today. I'll see you guys tonight." The other three waved and departed for their own estates as Reivyn took his horse back into the stables. He topped up the payment for the next couple of months, a bit less than it had been at first due to his increased Adventurer Rank, and walked home.

His parents were sitting in the living area of the house as he got home, and his sisters weren't around. Probably playing out back, like usual, Reivyn thought as he nodded to his parents before sitting down opposite them.

"Well, how was it?" Ameliyn asked with interest, setting aside the little weaving project she had been working on in the comfort of her husband's presence. Refix also focused his attention on his son, waiting for his answer.

"It was nothing special," Reivyn said. "Though something 'special' did happen while I was there." Ameliyn and Refix looked at each other before turning back to Reivyn.

"What's this 'something special?'" Ameliyn asked. "Tell us everything."

"I ran into Ren in the Dungeon," Reivyn said. His parents sat up straighter at the revelation. "He wasn't alone, either..."

Ameliyn and Refix sat in silence as they contemplated the information Reivyn had just given them.

"Do you think I should take this information to the church?" Reivyn asked. "I have the Token of Friendship with them, so they're likely to listen to me."

"It's not necessarily a bad idea to inform them," Ameliyn said, "but don't expect an inquisition or anything like that. The churches aren't in power in these kingdoms. They might span multiple Regions and have a strong influence and power in many places in the Realm, but when it comes to the royalty and nobles of the local areas they're in, they have to follow the rules just like everyone else. They're more likely to investigate quietly."

"You also said this prince gave the people a token that blocked the influence of the Abyss Mana from spreading, and you needed to infuse the Abyss Affinity into your Mana Sight in order to see anything," Refix added. "Most likely, they don't have anyone or anything with a similar level of power to discover the Abyss Mana in this remote Region. Probably not even in Eldiar or Pernius. Tier 5 Affinities are rare even in Tier 4 empires."

"If Tier 5 Affinities are so rare, then how is he spreading the Abyss Mana?" Reivyn asked, confused. This had been one of the issues on his mind the most as he traveled back to The Capital.

"Think about it," Ameliyn said. "When you gained the Tier 5 Abyss Affinity, it no longer appeared as heretical Mana on you. If they're blocking it from spreading out, that means they don't have the Tier 5 Affinity making it not appear heretical. One doesn't have to have the Affinity in order to use the Abyss Mana."

"Then how are they not being corrupted or getting sick?" Reivyn asked further.

"That's the real question," Refix answered. "Maybe they are being corrupted? We don't know. Or maybe they're being steered toward only using Abyss Mana as a bolster and not going down the route of full heretic Classes. One thing is likely, though, from what you've described: This prince doesn't seem to be a member of the cult."

"Why would you say that?" Reivyn asked, confused.

"The cult that we've been following has always shown the same pattern," Ameliyn stepped in to answer. "They have a core group that uses force to spread the Abyss influence, and they cause mass destruction wherever they go. If it's the prince's family, which is more likely than it being him alone, then they are attempting to spread their influence in a completely different way."

"The Abyss is an entire Realm, like ours," Refix said. "They're not a unified front. There are many factions just like in our Realm, and they're likely just a different group also associated with the Abyss.

"We'll still send people to investigate and keep an eye on them, but we'll have to get more information before taking any concrete actions. We can't just assume that everyone who uses Abyss Mana is the enemy we're looking for. If they're not affiliated with the cult, and they're not hostile to us... Well, then, we'll have to go from there."

"Who knows, this might be a good opportunity for you to learn something about it," Ameliyn said. "It's good to be suspicious and to maintain some distance to figure things out first, of course, and we're going to do our due diligence to determine if he or they are associated with the cult we're chasing. I'm just saying, don't jump into anything before we know everything."

"Ok, so then is there anything I should be doing?" Reivyn asked. Ameliyn and Refix shared another look once more.

"Just keep focused on your studies," Ameliyn said. "Don't worry about it too much for now. We'll contact our people in Eldiar in the meantime."

"And don't feel like you have to tip-toe around this guy," Refix said. "We're not concerned with Eldiar and their royal family." Reivyn nodded his head.

"Now that that's out of the way, for now, I had another thing I wanted to discuss with you," Reivyn said. "Do you think it's a good idea for me to accompany my roommates back to the Revenant Dungeon when they go in the future? Or does it make more sense to spread myself out and go for the variety of experiences I haven't had already?"

"Let me ask you this, in return," Refix said. "Did you fully clear the Dungeon already?" Reivyn shook his head. "Then you should obviously take the opportunity to do so before you leave for Eldiar or any other higher Tier Region. If you can't form a competent enough group from your friends and acquaintances to clear the full Dungeon on your own, I can give you a way to contact your protectors, and you can go in with them."

"Won't that defeat the purpose?" Reivyn asked.

"No," Refix denied. "The amount of Experience and Life Experience the System calculates for you is based off of contribution. If they hold themselves back to only perform at the Level required for you to contribute at your maximum potential, there shouldn't be any problems.

"The reason I'm not taking you into the Dungeon we have access to is not because we would interfere with the contributions you could potentially make. You wouldn't be able to make them anyway, and, even with us there, it could still be fatally dangerous to you at your current power."

"We'll let you go off and do things on your own," Ameliyn said, "but we're not going to leave you completely unprotected or let you take stupid unnecessary risks. The Revenant Dungeon's lower floors should be a great place for you, still."

"And that leads me to my last question," Reivyn said. "What about the vast amount of Experience I still need to fully unlock my Bloodline? You previously said there was something you might be able to do to help me out with that."

"Yes, we've gotten several materials that will be of great benefit to you," Ameliyn nodded her head. "But unlocking your Bloodline fully will shoot your Stats up pretty high, based on what you said. It's better for you, while you're still at the Academy and participating in weak Dungeon explorations, to do so at your current level of power. We'll unlock your Bloodline before you head back to the Revenant Dungeon or any other higher Tier Region or Dungeon."

"Ok, thanks," Reivyn smiled as he got up to give his parents a hug. "Teilon and Kimberly are going to come by in a little while, and we're all going to go get some dinner or something with my roommates."

"Sure," Ameliyn said as she took up her project once more. "It's good to introduce your friends to each other. Especially for when you do go back to the Revenant Dungeon or move to a higher Tier Region in the future. You can all be assured that you'll have friends at your back."

"I'm going to go get some practice in while I wait for them to come around," Reivyn said. He bid his parents farewell and headed to his room.

"This is interesting," Ameliyn said to Refix as she resumed her project. She was making another shirt for the twins. They weren't short on clothes or anything, but after doing such things for years, Ameliyn found herself making things for her family whenever she had free time. It was an enjoyable thing to do, and it was something she could look upon with pride.

"Yeah," Refix agreed. "We've been so focused on chasing the cult down that we haven't actually run into any other factions from the Abyss until now. We know for a fact that they exist, of course, but this might be a new experience for us."

"That prince and his family better have some tact when it comes to Reivyn," Ameliyn said nonchalantly. "I'm not really interested in being the cause for upheaval if they need to be replaced."

"Even after so many years of living low-key, you still talk about these things so casually," Refix chuckled. Ameliyn gave him a look over her weaving.

"I'm not being casual about this," Ameliyn refuted. "This is about our son. If this prince didn't show an obvious interest in him, I would never consider getting involved at all. The premise being that they're not actually associated with the cult, that is."

"Of course, of course," Refix said. "You know what I mean, though." Ameliyn snorted.

"I suppose so," she replied. "We can't change who we are. I might not have stripes, but I'm a fierce tigress if anyone wants to mess with me or mine."

"That's what I love about you," Refix said with a smile.

"Oh? Is that what you love about me?" Ameliyn quirked an eyebrow at her husband. "You think I'm a fierce tigress?"

"Definitely," Refix said with a grin. Ameliyn snorted before laughing. She leaned up against her husband as she continued her weaving.

"You know me best. Am I a tiger, or a house cat?" Refix threw an arm over her shoulder and hugged her close to him.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "Either way, you have sharp claws."