A New Beginning

Chapter 9

THE SHIELDMASTER KNIGHT (1)

The victory celebration party continued well into the night, but I returned to my room much earlier.

It was one thing for me to stay up the whole night reading my favorite books. But at least I learned that parties were not really my cup of tea.

I was still too tired to process what happened by the end of the banquet fully, and the surprise gift I received from Athena was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Now I had the title of the baroness of Oakhart and had become a part of the nobility of this kingdom.

It's not like I detested the idea, as long as I get to be close to Athena. But now I had to take care of the land and also govern the people there.

And even if they were a small handful of people in the countryside of this kingdom, the idea of making a mistake and bringing trouble to the lives of these people scared me.

But wouldn’t that also mean I would have to go away from this place where Athena is?

Is she for some reason trying to… No that can’t be.

But reality only kicked in for me the next day.

"Alicia, you should get ready for your trip to Valoria," Athena reminded me, and yesterday's events came rushing back to me.

“Can’t I just skip going to Valoria? The nightshade members are already keeping a good eye on my safety and needs. So, um, I think I'm good without a knight.” I tried to plead to Athena.

“No, that won’t do.” Athena responded firmly, sounding a bit upset by my response.

“But miss Cassa, the leader of Nightshade seems very capable.”

“I said no. You should know how much Cassa is busy and how they need to go on secret missions and stuff. So, they will be a lot busy at this time of year.” Athena again twisted things around. For some reason, she seemed adamant about getting me a knight after handing me the title out of the blue yesterday.

“But is there really a reason for me to have a knightage of my own?”

“You will at least need some knights now to protect your land. Oakhart is very close to the place that you protected when the orc army attacked. So, I am sure they will welcome you with open arms.” Athena seemed too casual with how things were proceeding.

“But aren’t I plenty strong to look after them by myself?” I objected. I wish Athena would trust my abilities a bit more.

Was the small demonstration of my magic powers I showed while taking out the orc army not enough for her?

“No way. The lord of the land always needs to be the one to be protected for their lands to flourish. Didn’t you say you wanted to learn the ways of this world? Just think of it as a part of it.” Athena preached to me in my own words.

“But I don’t think even if I do select a knight I could just bring myself to trust a stranger.” I told Athena my true thoughts.

Usually, I wouldn’t try to be so vocal. But I knew I could at least tell Athena what I felt.

“I know. So, I won’t force you to select a knight. But I at least want you to participate in the knight’s selection tournament. And if someone does catch your attention you can make them your knight. Don’t worry no one could ever refuse to become the knight of a pretty girl like you. Or could it be you want my brother to be your knight by any chance?” Athena somehow succeeded in mischievously whispering the final line in my ear.

”Come on. I can’t ask the future king of this nation to be my knight.” I profusely refused and hurriedly stepped back. “What I would like to know is that how are you so sure I would really need a knight of my own at some point.”

I am sure Athena for no reason would ask me to do something.

There really must be a great reason behind this.

“It’s simple. Remember the day when you came to save me. How I was surrounded by a myriad of monsters, isolated and all helpless. The situation was hopeless. Thoughts of death started flashing through my mind. And then suddenly you came and protected me, just like a knight would, and held me closely...” Athena cuddled her arms around herself as she frisked around her body sounding extremely excited by her actions.

“Is that really how it went when you went to save Miss Alice from the orc army?” A curious voice interjected, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Of course not, Regis. Alice is just exaggerating. Tell them, Alice.” I requested Athena for her help.

"It's exactly what happened that day. Alicia also told me not to fear anything because she was there for me. That's how it happened. I remember it as clearly as the sky was on that day," Athena said confidently, though I couldn't tell if she was being serious or just having fun.

“But you were in danger that time, so I had to make sure that you were safe…” I tried to remove any misunderstanding even if I was not much sure what it was exactly.

“And did I mention that Valoria is renowned for its moonberry tarts? These delightful treats are made from sweet magical berries that only grow in that region. You can't find them anywhere else.” Athena knew exactly how to draw me in, like a fly to honey.

“I'll go.” I agreed immediately.

“Wait that’s what it all took?” Regis was utterly surprised.

Since arriving in this world, I haven't had the chance to try anything sweet, especially something as unique that can only be found here in this world. How could I resist something this sweet?

Either way, I now knew I had no choice but to see what this knight selection tournament was exactly. And I could simply just decide not to select a knight.

“That’s great, I knew you could do it. You can be ready to leave tomorrow to reach the place on time. And I will be coming with you too.” Athena explained as if she was going to keep an eye on me so that I wouldn’t try to run away.

“But didn’t you say that I had to do a lot to prepare myself to travel?” I asked.

“That’s why I had all the preparations already made. I took care of everything to the last detail.” Athena smiled back at me.

I see I never had a choice to start with.

***

HART PALACE

“Wait! Where are you going? And what was that?” Regis called out.

Regis ran through the corridor and quickly caught up to princess Alice after she and Alicia parted. She at least wanted to keep this conversation away from Alicia.

“What do you mean miss Regis?” Alice stopped to hear out what Regis had to say, surprised by her sudden visit.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice what you are trying to do. You say you are Alicia’s long-lost friend. So, why are you running away from her and distancing yourself now.” Regis raised her voice unhappy with Alice’s decision.

“I don’t understand what do you mean?” Alice looked straight at Regis.

“I know it. I know it better than anyone because I know exactly how it feels. When people push away someone they care about thinking it’s the best thing to do to keep them safe. Sending her to a remote domain, asking her to hire knights. What does that all even mean?” Regis questioned Alice’s intention.

“Do you think Alicia wouldn’t know what I am trying to do. She might look and sound naive. But she is more than capable to understand what I want for her. She just might already know what I am trying to do. And she is still ready to go with it.” Athena's voice was filled with sorrow as if she was already regretting what she was about to do.

“Is it because you don’t trust how strong Alicia is.” Regis stared back into Alice’s eyes, trying to learn what she really thought about Alicia.

“I do not doubt Alicia’s abilities. I have known her for a far much longer time than you have and I know just how strong she can be. But that’s what scares me the most.”

“Then what is it then? Huh.” Regis got confused.

“Alicia told me everything about her journey and I am proud of her. What I was not able to do in years she did it in a matter of weeks and found me despite having no knowledge of this world. My desire to keep her safe has grown even stronger after I finally found her. I heard about all her fights in detail and I no longer want for her to continue fighting. You must have seen it too and realized that.” Athena asked Regis.

“I too don’t want her to fight if it can be avoided…” Regis realized this fact too after she remembered Alicia fighting the dungeon goddess.

“As long as she decides to use those swords or her magic at large she is not safe.” Alice cut in between as if asking Regis to help her do so.

“Alice just what are you trying to do? Both you and my aunt asked me to do the same. But I don’t understand why.” Regis still could not understand Alice’s motivation.

“It’s alright. Sometimes not knowing everything about a person might be the right choice. All you need to know is that I simply wish for Alicia to continue with the peaceful and normal life she has today. She should have the life she wants.”

“I would too want the same thing for her.” Regis spoke timidly, her expression twisting with uncertainty.

“It’s getting late you should prepare as well for us to leave early tomorrow. We can continue this talk later as well.” Athena drifted the conversation. As she continued to walk, leaving Regis behind.

After meeting Alicia, one thing had become clear to Athena, that she had to do it no matter what.

She had only one thought running through her mind. To not let Alicia come in contact with any of the reincarnates or other gods. Especially those who were trying to target other reincarnates.

And until Athena could herself confirm who was behind all of this.

‘I will do anything to keep Alicia safe.’

***

ALICIA ASCALON ASHBORN

The next morning as scheduled, Athena, Regis, Hana and I together stood near the palace gate while our luggage was being loaded inside the carriage.

The queen, Athena’s mother, had herself come to bid us farewell. As for prince Leon, he immediately left the next day after the banquet to handle administrative matters in the southern ports.

“Safe journey to you all.” The queen wished us well as we left.

The Knight Kingdom of Valoria was situated to the northeast of the Hart Kingdom. In between we crossed through several borders and small dukedoms.

I couldn’t help but notice that every time I traveled, I realized I was now living in a different world—a magical one at that. The enchanted forests, the magical beasts, the old towns, and the people were all different from my previous world.

It would still take us about a day and a half to reach Valoria even if we traveled non-stop.

During the night, we stayed in an inn, where Athena told us more about the Valoria kingdom.

According to history, the founding of the Knight Kingdom of Valoria dates back to around the same time when the Great War concluded.

It was a kingdom formed by astray knights who had lost their masters in the Great War. Usually, they don’t have a named king but a roundtable of the strongest knights governed the Knight Kingdom.

Soon after, the founding of the Knight Kingdom, they started a ceremony for knights who wanted to choose new worthy masters no matter where they hailed from.

Whether it was in their blood or instincts, these knights couldn’t find meaning in their lives until they were able to serve a master and dedicate their life to.

As long as the knights could consider someone to be worthy of becoming their masters they would then pledge their allegiance.

That’s how the Knight’s Selection came into existence, evolving year after year. It ultimately became a stage for the knights of this kingdom to showcase their prowess.

However, the founding principle of this selection remained the same. Nobles who couldn’t find their own knights would come to this kingdom to participate in the knight’s selection.

A stage was set where nobles who wanted to hire knights as their masters would challenge the knights to a battle.

The outcome of the battle did not matter much, as long as the contender could prove during the fight that they could be worthy masters to the knight.

This way, each party had an equal say in forming the master and knight pact.

Athena had already got me registered as one of the contenders as the new Baroness of Oakhart.

The knight selection tournament was supposed to start the next day, when we entered through the first check post of the Valoria Kingdom.

It was late at night when we reached the capital Valoria.

Now I had to sadly wait till the knight selection tournament got over to try those special moon berry tarts.

The next morning Athena took us to the stadium where the ceremony was taking place. It was a huge colosseum built around the same time as the formation of this Kingdom.

Coincidentally, we arrived at the perfect time, as the manager there informed me that it would soon be my turn to fight the knights.

There was no fixed number of rounds. It was up to the knights to volunteer to fight and test me.

Typically, knights would step forward in order of their ranking, starting with the lower ranks. The more rounds I fought, the stronger the knights I would face, increasing my chances of securing the allegiance of a powerful knight.

Athena, Regis, and Hana went to take their seats in the audience after wishing me the best of luck and leaving.

I was taken to a waiting room, and while sitting there I could sense people observing me from the other side of the wall.

Most probably they were knights participating in the tournament, assessing the powers of the contenders.

So, as long as I finish the fights as quickly as possible and leave this selection, I will get to eat the tarts sooner. From what I heard yesterday back at the inn, the tarts were so famous that they would be gone by evening.

And because a large volume of people came from outside to attend this event, my chance of getting to eat the tarts further dwindled.

When I was called to enter the Colosseum, there was a huge audience cheering but all of them quieted down as soon as they saw me.

It was reasonable that they didn’t know me so they had no reason to cheer.

“Doesn’t matter. I will make sure to end this as quickly as possible and get to try those tarts no matter what. Just you wait.” I convinced myself.

I had already thought of a plan to take care of the knights as quickly as possible without hurting them.

Contrarily when a knight entered, the audience went mad with cheering. He was covered in thick silver armor from top to bottom. And he held a big sword in his right hand.

“I never imagined, I would be fighting a baby girl in this ring for my first match. Sorry if you get hurt but I will try my best not to scare you.” The knight said to me.

I was a bit taken aback by his arrogance, especially when he called me a baby since I happen to be much older. Are knights supposed to really talk like that?

I believe the knights I met in the Stark Kingdom and the Hart Kingdom were much more polite and honorable. I saw no reason to reply to him and took my position for the referee to start the match.

But the knight would not stop talking, “You don’t even have a weapon. Did you think a magician could survive here? I would cut you down faster than you could complete your incantation or magic circle. They call me the light-speed saber, after all. And what’s with that weird mask you're wearing? Is it a new fashion to hide a lady’s tears when she loses?” the knight laughed.

His entire focus was on the cheers of the audience. He must be pretty famous to garner such attention.

While I was waiting for the referee to raise the flag signal.

The moment the match started. I formed a blue dome over a small area to cover me and the knight. There was no reason for me to reveal my powers to the outside people watching.

Since I did not want to hire any knight, I did not need to prove my powers to anyone.

The knight was suddenly taken aback. But I moved ahead with executing the next step in my plan.

However….

I did not expect the match to get over so soon.

After ten seconds, I lowered the dome, seeing that the knight had already passed out. He lay on the ground, writhing and dazed, his face covered in dust.

From the audience’s perspective, their mouths were left wide open.

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to leave the colosseum unless all the knights who wanted to fight me had taken their turn.

Time passed and the number of rounds kept on increasing with the outcome being the same.

All of them had to say something about me. Either pointing out that I might have been using a cheap trick or forbidden magic or some kind of a secret weapon.

Some even went so far as to claim that they would be the ones to bring the curtain down on my cheating.

But all of them met the same fate.

“Yeahhhh….”

“Look there…..”

“Woaaaahhhhh….”

The audience finally gave out a large cheer. I knew well that in a knight kingdom, people would value swordsmanship skills more than magic.

Did they finally realise my magic too is worthy of their praise?

“Is he the real one….”

Wait, they weren’t talking about me.

The noise became louder, until, they stopped all at once.

And at that time, a young man entered the ring. He did not wear any kind of fancy armor like the previous knights.

Or flail around weapons much larger than the size of the user’s body, as some of the knights tried to. He had no words or stunts to address the vigor of the audience.

The referee introduced the man, but I think the audience already knew who he was.

He quietly took his place on the ground, and with the intensity he entered, it was as if he had just stepped into some kind of battlefield.

I could tell at a glance he was different from all of them.

“He is strong.” I instinctively knew.

He looked straight at me, but I only wanted to get the match over as soon as possible.

So, when the referee gave the signal for the match to start, I went back to executing my strategy by raising the blue magic field around us.

***

VALORIA KINGDOM – COLOSSEUM

After Izek Valoria was requested by all the knights to participate in the Knight’s selection tournament to protect their honour from losing to a magician.

It would be highly humiliating if all the top knights participating would lose this year, to a magician at that.

It would also have a bad effect on the reputation of the hired Valorian knights which could be unfavourable for this kingdom as well.

Izek Valoria, whose family held one of the most important seats at the Valorian round-table, had no choice but to step in.

“I am sure sir Izek could win this. I heard he is the strongest here.” Said one of the newly participating knights watching.

“I did too. But I have never seen him fight, is he that strong.”

“That would be true as of now, but he was considered the second strongest here until his big brother left the kingdom to serve the Hero emperor.”

“Oh! You must be talking about the Knight Hero.” Said one of the knights excitedly as if speaking about some kind of legend.

“Shhhh. Sir, Izek might not like what you are talking about if he heard this.”

“Why is that?”

“No one knows, but after Izek’s big brother left, Sir Izek refused to wield the sword any longer. He even stopped participating in the monthly tournaments where he could have finally claimed the title of the strongest in Valoria.” One of the knights explained.

“Move.”

The single word, spoken with quiet authority, sent a ripple through the assembled knights. They hesitated only for a heartbeat before parting to clear a path.

“That was sir Izek…”

The knights gasped, their respect for Sir Izek evident in their swift obedience.

Izek took his position on the ground, unaffected by the loud cheers of the crowd or the expectations of his peers. He wore lightweight armor that allowed for agility and carried his usual sword and shield.

What truly captured the audience’s attention and set Sir Izek apart from any Valorian knight was the golden arm gauntlet around his wrist, extending halfway down his palm.

Some rumors around the golden gauntlet claimed that they were weapons that were once used by the angels during the Great Wars. But no one ever saw them in action in public.

Sir Izek glanced at his opponent to see what they were capable of. But he only found a girl standing in front of him with a mask hiding her face.

“She is so little.” Izek thought to himself.

He did not possess any kind of analysis magic. But even if he tried to measure the girl’s magical aura he failed to find anything odd.

It was too simple to be true. Izek concluded that his opponent must be hiding her ability.

Either way, it did not matter to Izek as he planned to quickly end the fight and leave the ring.

It might have been months since he participated in a fight. But once he entered the battle arena, the years he spent training did not allow him to lose his touch.

Izek had a determined glint in his eyes and a calm, focused demeanor.

In front of him was an opponent which even the trained knights of Valoria could not handle.

So, how would one go about to defeat an opponent if they had no idea what they were fighting against?

‘Observe, think strategically, and make the winning move with precision and confidence!’ As if the words suddenly resonated inside Izek’s head.

The referee gave the signal, and as planned, Alicia lifted the barrier to cover themselves.

Alicia, as always, expected that even this new opponent, no matter how strong, would try to attack her as soon as the fight started.

But what Alicia saw went beyond all her expectations.

Izek gritted his teeth and, instead of raising his sword to attack her first, he gripped the shield in his hand. Augmenting his body with magic, clusters of wheels in the form of a barrier surrounded him.

Izek did not know whether what he did was the right thing, but all the muscles in his body warned him to protect himself at all costs.

And his fear turned into reality the moment, when a sudden forceful weight hit him, pushing him down on the ground. Izek let out a scream, completely overwhelmed by the magical force that was weighing him down.

It was not just the pressure, but he could feel the weight of his armor on his body increase.

The magical force over him intensified to the point he could see the dense purple magic floating over him. His knees bent as his body came closer to the ground causing ripples and cracks.

Fortunately, for these cases, Izek had anticipatingly activated the ant-magic incantation on his shield and using his barrier magic which he excelled at, pushed past the formation of purple magic over him.

Obliterating the magical flow, the magical attack weakened and disappeared.

“How did you know?” Alicia was surprised for the first time.

Izek silently stood regaining his footing.

His confidence did not come from his instincts alone, but it was because Izek had been observing his opponent closely the moment he decided to fight Alicia.

Rather than trying to just measure the power of his opponent.

He tried to search for clues, that would help him to find his opponent’s weakness.

And from the start, all the answers were right in front of him.

His opponent repeatedly used a barrier to mostly hide her magic because she was casting a repetitive technique.

So, this time too, Izek would most probably face the same magical attack.

All the knights would lose in variable time, which was proportional to the endurance level of the knight.

Meaning the magic itself was a fatal surprise attack but not a one-shot kill.

So, Izek believed that there would be a way to counter the magic attack.

And finally, the most important fact was the knights themselves who lost the matches.

“The right answer was always to defend first. Those fools, couldn’t even figure out this much.”

Izek couldn’t help but blame the knights themselves for their petty loss for being so narrow-minded.

“They all must have made the same mistake to attack first and let their guard own, becoming the prey of your gravity magic.” Izek continued.

The final clue was the pressed bodies of the unconscious knights and their undamaged suits. But no one could identify the magic because of the precise nature with which it was cast.

Gravitation magic was one of the advanced class magics, and to cast it with such precision that the armors did not suffer any damage or creases was unfathomable.

So, no one could tell until now.

But Izek now had more on his mind.

“My name is Izek Valoria. What is your name and where are you from?”

“Alicia. I am the Baroness of Oakhart of the Hart Kingdom.” Alicia looked proud, as she now had a place to belong and did not need to end her introduction with just her name.

“I applaud you on your choice of surprise attack, choosing a fast and instantaneous spell like gravity magic. As the true principles of this Knight’s Selection command me, I won’t look down on you like others did so fight me with all you have got.” Izek, the one they called the Shieldmaster Knight demanded, his voice echoing through the arena.

Alicia was shocked that someone here would appreciate her magic even during a match.

Izek had no doubt in his mind, the magician girl in front of him was formidable.

Even the gravity magic was cast without a magic circle or incantation. It wasn’t just any form of magic; it was as if the forces of nature themselves responded to her will. Izek could feel this and it sent shivers down his spine.

“Now, show me what you can really do, magician.”

***

NOTE FOR READERS

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