Chương 209: Assertion

During our next Labyrinth run, I kept working on my Memory Palace. Although I'd practiced throughout the week, now was my chance to fully turn it into a Skill. Moonhand might not have thought it could become a Skill, but by his own admittance, he just didn't know enough about Dupes. Obviously, though, he'd spent enough time around us. He seemed well-versed enough with Gate, and he had the same accent as the rest of the men here. Perhaps he'd spent centuries in the nation.

I didn't really know what the deal with elves was, or where they were from. I was tempted to ask Sage as we patrolled a route through the Labyrinth, slaying what we could, but I was too busy working on my memory palace. I had to split my attention as I walked, ensuring that I kept my attention outward. Sure, the effort exhausted me, but what was new? I could keep pushing, so I did. My lungs heaved as I walked, sucking in more dirty Labyrinth air than necessary, and my heart raced to keep up with the strain.

When there was a threat, I continued working on my memory palace. I needed it to form up into a proper sphere. It drew some of my attention as I fought, but we didn't face anything higher than Silver. I could handle the strain for today. The only times I stopped trying to form up the sphere was when I just couldn't anymore. When I was about to fall or fail, or endanger my squad, I stopped. I would wait a few minutes, catching my breath, then continue on. Alright, alright, there was one other time when I stopped.

We searched a tower for loot, hunting through it for anything valuable. While Anchor checked the amphoras, I headed up to the top with Sage and Brawl, hoping to catch a glimpse of what remained of the Labyrinth. To the right, we'd cleared out most of the plazas and open spaces in the city. Though more monsters would routinely fill them up from other parts of the city, they were generally weaker.

"We have not gone after any Golds yet, brother," Brawl told me.

"I'm not sure if we can take a Gold all on our own, yet," I replied.

"We needed three squads and a powerful Black Captain to take down the level guardian, a few months ago. We don't have that here."

"We have gotten stronger," Brawl replied.

"Anchor is a Silver now. Sage is close, as am I."

"Perhaps," I said. I stepped over to the tower's merlons, and Sage and Brawl followed close behind. I looked to the left, where the majority of the unhunted monsters still lay.

"We should pick one Gold and make a plan to defeat it."

"We should pick one with loot that we need," Sage said.

"Over the next few weeks, we can investigate, figure out what these monsters drop, and attack them."

"A sound plan," I replied.

"But we don't have time this week. Next week, we'll scope out our target, decide, then attack." ~ ~ ~ After our Labyrinth run, we brought our recovered loot to Drywsone, then tried to relax for the rest of the day. I took the opportunity to return to my room and check my attributes with the reading slate. Vitality: 141 Agility: 154(+4) Strength: 146(+10) Perception: 97(+1) Focus: 160 Presence: 161 I nodded, seeing about the rate I expected.

Everything was on track to help me reach Gold by the time our training was over, except for Presence. I would need to hope my lands could harvest enough Presences to push me over the edge. Of course, just as I was about to put down the reading slate, something rapped on my window. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I leaned over and pulled it open.

"Croak." The raven stared at me. He tapped one foot on the windowsill, then squished a rolled-up letter that Alis had sent me.

"You always find me at the worst times," I told him.

"And somehow, always while I'm trying to use me reading slate." Croak gave a low trill, almost like he was laughing.

"You do it on purpose, don't you?" No response.

"You know, it's been a few weeks since I've seen you. Did I say something wrong? Did Alis not like my letter?" Croak squished the rolled-up scroll again with his foot, as if to say, Just read the letter, idiot. So I did. Dear Levi, I apologize for the time between my responses. I have been under watch at nearly all hours of the day for the past few weeks while the suitors have made their formal introductions. My guards have been watching every inch of my room, and Croak has not been able to land until now.

Needless to say, this letter may come out shorter than I was expecting. It is not your fault. I trust you have not yet scared away Arnulf. I know he may be a little intense, but if he is still interviewing you, then you are doing a good job. As for my advice? Well, I suspect you have already learned a great deal about him. However, he values results above all. If you cannot get the task done, he will seek someone else.

You must convince him of your willingness to do whatever it takes to complete the task he has set out for you. Hearing of your successful adventures, however, does put a smile on my face. You have begun phase two of your training, and soon you will reach phase three? Is that correct? I look forward to hearing of your progress. I agree, I would very much like to meet with you again. While you may, at times, be quite simple, it's far better than the needs of these suitors.

They irritate me to no end, but I will weather the storm, as I always have. Looking forward to our next meeting (however far away it might be), Alis I exhaled, satisfied by the explanation of why she hadn't written in a while. It meant she wasn't in danger, and that was the best I could hope for at the moment. Immediately, I began drafting my reply. I wrote, Dear Alis, Thank you for your reply. Please, if there is trouble, let me know, and I will do my best to help.

Arnulf has arrived, and I have caught inklings of his plan. It seems he has someone in mind to take the role of king once the Warlord is gone. Do you know who that might be? Do you trust him? I know this might be a result of my Soulstealer-ness, but I have to admit, I was taken aback when he suggested that we should simply swap the Warlord for a king. I'm curious if you can sway me on this point, but I dream of a world where kings don't rule absolutely. As for our training: we have almost reached the third phase.

I'm dealing with a tough instructor. Maybe it's just hope, though something tells me he's starting to like me a little more. Or maybe I'm just starting to reach his high standards. However, there is something that concerns me. I believe the Warlord is about to enact his plan to destroy our lands and use it to seize more power up north. With the orcs building up, and the front lines threatening to crumble, the attack could come any day.

I continued to summarize my training to her for the rest of the page, then ended the letter with: I hope your boredom ends soon. Perhaps your father will free you from your room soon. There's always something to look forward to. Best regards, Levi I finished off the letter and sent it away with Croak, then leaned back and groaned. Was she sending hints? Or was she just being friendly? Should I send more flowers? I shouldn't have stopped. Next time, I promised myself, I'd send more.

~ ~ ~"He's a relatively skilled alchemist," Cuthward said, his voice rippling through the leaves of the plant.

"His teacher—this Brother Trawald from the Dun Altir Order—is making him give you a massive discount on the finished product, seeing how long he has spent, and how he is using additional resources of yours here."" 'Relatively skilled'?" Hardric exclaimed.

"He's just a boy. Perhaps seventeen years old, though it's hard to say. For that age, he is quite skilled. His potions are almost Gold-tier." I chuckled.

"Thanks for the update, then."

"There's one other thing, Levi…" Cuthward said. He'd already given his weekly summary, and for the most part, things were going fine, except one of the Greencloaks had gone missing. Either he'd died, or he'd ventured far from camp, but there was no confirmation yet of exactly what his fate was. I leaned forward, heart accelerating.

"What else happened?"

"It's not as much of a problem. We have thegns from Hinlaw's domain," Cuthward whispered.

"A few of them have requested to visit, and we've given them guest rights, of course. Some are asking what we're doing."

"They claim to want to know how we've become as productive as we have in such a short time," Hardric added. I shrugged.

"I don't see why we can't tell them the general idea. Check their portreeves, free up their people. Start using their lands."

"They could be spies," Cuthward said.

"Or they could be loyal allies," I suggested.

"Don't reveal everything. But you can tell them a little. There's no reason we can't start becoming an example for the rest of the Domain, considering I'm going to be taking it over."

"You know that for certain, my boy?" Cuthward asked.

"I'm being hopeful. Working on asserting myself. All that."

"I welcome the attitude, then."