NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Daniel
Rachel looked around and sighed. "It has been a few days, and nobody has come. It seems they aren't searching for the demon," she thought.
She was deeply upset by Owen's death, which had been pointless and sudden.
She had grown accustomed to his presence.
"But why did that demon die? I don't understand," she pondered.
She remained hidden within the demon's pocket, shielded from view.
The demon emitted a significant amount of dark energy, contaminating its surroundings and driving away all animals.
Fortunately, the dark energy didn't negatively affect her, so she waited patiently.
...
The seasons changed, shifting from spring to winter, and everything was blanketed in ice.
The dark energy had already destroyed and corrupted the land surrounding Rachel, and the demon's body had also decayed.
Rachel, for some inexplicable reason, remained unfazed by her prolonged loneliness.
She mused to herself, "It's bizarre. If this were Earth, I would have likely died of boredom by now, but I don't really feel bored for some reason!" She was amazed.
Years continued to pass, and after several centuries, Rachel gradually lost consciousness without realizing it.
…
The seventh day of the second month in the year 999905
Daniel Horne served as a knight attendant and was part of the Army of the great Robels Empire. He had been dispatched to map unknown areas with a group of 100 people.
"Daniel, look over there!" Corey, one of his friends, exclaimed.
"What is that?" Daniel asked.
"That's Ayers City, the site of the great war," Corey explained.
Daniel observed the ancient-looking ruins.
Corey, with enthusiasm, added, "In that year, the mages battled, causing immense destruction!"
"You must have paid great attention to history lessons at the knight academy," Daniel remarked.
"Yeah, history is fascinating," Corey replied with excitement. "Let's go take a look!"
"Our mission is to follow this road, so please..." Before Daniel could finish his sentence, Corey had already set off.
Left with no choice, Daniel followed Corey, and they reached Ayers City, a vast and magnificent place, leaving much to the imagination about its state before destruction.
"Is there anybody here?" Daniel shouted.
"Nobody is here, so relax," Corey reassured him, engrossed in studying some stones.
"What's so fascinating about history?" Daniel asked.
Corey explained as if stating the obvious, "Every historical event harbors numerous interesting and useful secrets. For instance, do you know why the war happened? It is said to be because the Orange Light Academy was taken over by a dark elf who made deals with demons. The White Light Academy launched an attack while the Black Light Academy remained neutral."
"However, this is only the surface story! According to my guess, the real reason for the White Light Academy's invasion was that the Orange Light Academy's dean was on the verge of breaking through to Rank 6 with the help of demons! This is also likely why the Black Light didn't come to the Orange Light's aid."
"The matter of the Orange Light Academy's dealings with demons and non-humans had been known by the deans of every academy for thousands of years, but they suddenly decided to attack. Don't you think that's strange?" Corey asked with enthusiasm.
"Yeah," Daniel said while yawning.
"So you agree! Excellent. Now, let's explore and see if we can find any clues!" Corey urged.
"Hey, we have a mission here," Daniel reminded him.
He specialized in mapping and was responsible for it.
Although the main group wasn't far away, Daniel was keen on completing his task as swiftly as possible because while this area wasn't considered dangerous, it wasn't entirely safe either.
Corey, however, paid no heed and continued running around, examining various objects.
"What is this?" Corey exclaimed, inspecting a broken stone.
"What are you talking about?" Daniel approached and looked closely.
"Something is inside this stone! Let's break it!" Corey unsheathed his sword and began striking the stone.
"Ahh," Rachel felt a slight pain and woke up.
"Oh, someone finally found me! I wonder what year it is? I feel like I slept for a few years! Wait, I didn't know I can sleep!"
Corey excitedly retrieved the pill container.
"It looks very beautiful! It might be from some ancient noble! You see? Looking at ruins is very profitable!"
"Oh wait, it opens!" Corey peered inside the pill container and discovered numerous pills. He took one out and showed it to Daniel. "Look! It's a pill!"
"What kind of pill? Let me see." Daniel picked up one of the pills, and his eyes widened.
"This is... nothing, worthless," he remarked.
"Really? Let me take a closer look." Corey grabbed another pill and examined it carefully with a magnifier.
Meanwhile, Daniel slowly approached Corey, drew his knife, and pierced Corey's heart.
Corey screamed and collapsed to the ground, gasping, "What... why?"
Daniel stared at him with cold eyes and remained silent. A few moments later, Corey succumbed to his injuries.
Daniel seized the pill container with excitement.
"These are precious mage pills! Only the wealthiest nobles can afford this kind of pill! If I sell it, I can purchase a noble title!" he thought.
Nobility could be purchased in the great Robels Empire. Initially dismantled by the Great King Owen, the current king's father, it was later reintroduced by King Doris.
However, the new nobility wasn't hereditary; it could be bought with money, and those who held titles had to pay to maintain them.
Rachel observed all of this with discomfort.
"I hope he doesn't become the new host. He seems evil."
Rachel didn't like evil individuals, but if Daniel became her host, she didn't plan on poisoning him unless her own safety was at risk.
She watched as Daniel ventured deeper into the jungle and encountered a lone wolf.
With his knight attendant's physical strength, he led the wolf on a chase. After the wolf discovered Corey's lifeless body, it began to feed.
After a while, a significant portion of the body had been consumed, and Daniel ensured the heart area was unrecognizable. Then, he killed the wolf and used its sharp teeth to create a deep bite mark on his leg.
Throughout the process, he displayed no signs of pain.
He bandaged his wound and carried Corey's corpse back to the main group.
...
Daniel's performance convinced the main group, so they called a doctor to treat his wounds, assigning mapping duty to someone else.
Rachel thought, "This boy is ruthless and evil, but very determined and smart. Let's give him a chance."
She was impressed with his performance, so she defused a rank 2 root mana pill and made 100 rank 0 root mana pills.
Daniel was inside a tent used for injured people and was currently the only person in it.
He opened the pill container and was astonished. "More pills? How could it be?"
Daniel inspected them closely, thinking, "There's no way I didn't see them before. Something is going on with this thing."
He dared not use any of the pills and transferred them into another bottle.
He closed the pill container and opened it again. "More pills?"
He was astonished to find another 100 pills in the container.
Rachel had used her 'storing pills up to 1000' skill, made a rank 2 'vigor' pill, and then defused it into 100 rank 0 vigor pills.
Mages used 'vigor' pills to maintain the health of their bodies.
"These are 'vigor' pills?"Daniel looked at them with awe and struggled to breathe.
Rachel was equally surprised that a mortal could recognize the pills.
Daniel took out the pills and opened and closed the container again, but no more pills appeared.
"How does it work? I must understand, but first..." Daniel looked at the vigor pills with a smile.
These vigor pills were usually given to the best knights to help them advance to the legendary knight stage faster, and they were rewarded through the imperial tournament each year.
"But is it real?" Daniel hesitated and decided to test it on someone else first.
Rachel nodded, realizing, "He is also very cautious. I'm sure he might react like Owen when he hears me talking."
Daniel planned to plant the pill in someone's food.
Nobody would ever doubt that someone placed such a valuable pill in another person's food. At most, they would think the food contained some magical plant.
He executed his plan and ensured the pill was genuine.
The person who consumed it broke through the knight stage during the meal.
Many attendant knights congratulated him, while the person himself appeared confused.
Becoming a knight involves improving the body and tapping into one's potential.
Elevating one's body to the peak of ordinary people could, at most, reach the peak of a knight attendant.
To break through the knight stage, one has to form internal energy.
The formation of internal energy depends on both body strength and luck.
If one's strength is sufficient, they can attain the rank of knight by somehow directing their body to generate internal energy. Some achieve this through strenuous battles, while others resort to precious pills.
Once internal energy is created, the upper limit on body strength is removed, allowing individuals to advance to the ranks of great knight and legendary knight as long as their bodies are strong enough.
The critical distinction between knights and ordinary people is internal energy; once someone becomes a knight, they will never revert to being an ordinary person.
However, the disparity among knights, great knights, and legendary knights lies solely in the strength of their bodies and the amount of internal energy they possess, which means they might regress to lower ranks.
Daniel, who was a knight attendant, examined the pill in his hand.
He took a deep breath and placed the pill in his mouth.
This pill needed to be chewed, not swallowed.
As he chewed the not-so-hard pill, it had a surprisingly delightful taste. He felt as if consuming a feast all at once, overwhelmed as if he might burst from overindulgence.
A sudden sensation, like something breaking within him, was followed by heat gathering in an area below his stomach. "Could this be the legendary aperture?" he wondered with excitement.
"From today onward, I'm a knight!" he thought to himself.
He planned to keep this advancement hidden for now.
Two people breaking through to knighthood in just two days would surely raise suspicions.
Daniel intended to reveal his newfound status after returning to Eversun City, the capital of the Sun State, which was the primary colony of the Great Robels Empire in the south.
The state was named after one of the past deans of Blue Light Academy.
Despite the war, the Orange Light Academy had not been entirely obliterated; it had significantly contracted and even lost territories nearby.
The academy's dean had been slain by the rank 6 dean of the White Light Academy, while the remaining forces retreated to their protective formation.
For a considerable time, these wild territories had been neglected.
However, with the expansion of the Robels Empire, colonies were established, and both human and non-human populations began to flourish here.
Emperor Doris, also known as the Justice Manifestation, was benevolent and permitted non-humans to live in peace and with justice.
Daniel stood up and tested his newfound strength, reveling in the ease with which he moved. "I wonder what it's like to be a great knight," he pondered.
Then he stashed the pill container back in his pocket and went out for a walk.