Great Journey: Whims of Fate

The training continued as Bastion had predicted. Elyra beat him mercilessly. More accurately, she treated him like a pin cushion. He was stabbed so many times, he lost count.

He tried grappling, but she was too slippery. He tried magic, but she evaded or countered. He tried to take the offense, but she evaded him at every turn. Overall, she had him beat at every angle he could think of.

After lunch when his afternoon training session was about to start, Bastion was informed that his lessons would begin.

"Young Master, now that you are fifteen, it's time you begin presenting yourself properly within high society," Sibelle announced. "This means we must refine your etiquette, management, communication, and artistic skills to ensure you can fulfill your duties as the heir to the Diamondhart Dukedom."

Apparently, high society does not begin for the children of nobility until they reach adulthood at the age of eighteen, when they receive their first Class. Because of this, formal lessons begin at fifteen and continue for the next three years. The main reason is that they are still heavily focused on their training.

Unlike commoners, noble children inherit talents from their bloodlines that surpass anything commoners can achieve through effort alone. It is estimated that, through training, the children of nobility become up to three times more powerful than commoners. These talents are typically fully awakened by the time they reach twenty years of age.

For this reason, the Royal Academy accepts students at the age of twenty, rather than eighteen when they first receive their Class.

"We'll begin with etiquette lessons today."

Thus, Bastion was given a new schedule that included memorizing noble crests, family trees, traditions, and etiquette, as well as learning how to present himself properly before the royal family.

His education then expanded into the arts: painting, sculpting, music, dancing, flower arranging, tea ceremonies, etc.

In addition, he received instruction on how to conduct himself as the future Duke of the kingdom, particularly on asserting his superiority over most other nobles at aristocratic gatherings. This was to ensure he does not bring shame to their noble heritage.

He was also taught how to ride a horse, with the understanding that it was best to begin training after reaching a certain height. 

When Bastion first saw his supposed horse, he immediately understood why he needed to be at least six feet tall before training could begin. The beast was massive, well over seven feet at the shoulder, with a thick horn jutting from its forehead.

"These are called Stoneblood Horses," Sibelle explained. "They possess an earth affinity and can ride for an entire month without rest, food, or losing their breath so long as their hooves touch the ground."

"You will be training with them over the next few years, young master."

"Um… sure," Bastion said while looking up at the horse in question.

Unlike his initial impression, Bastion found them to be quite docile and cooperative. Apparently, they had already been tamed. Tamed in the sense that magic was used so their minds would always remain obedient and subservient.

He named his noble steed Steve, simply because he thought it was amusing. Sibelle, however, did not seem to share his sense of humor.

As part of his training, Bastion was also briefed on the complete financial situation of the dukedom. This included detailed records of the nobles under their command, their lands, produce, taxes, military strength, imports, exports, and more.

The dukedom oversaw roughly thirty percent of the kingdom's territory, covering the entire eastern region from north to south. Most of this land was dedicated to farmland.

This also included jurisdiction over the only carriage-accessible route in and out of the kingdom, the northeastern pass nestled between the northern mountain range and the forest's northern edge to the east.

The dukedom collected 80% of all profit, not gross income, from various sources, including beast corpses from the forest, agricultural yield, tariffs from the northeastern pass, taxes from wealthy local businesses, and more. 

While the rate might seem extreme, the system was surprisingly sustainable. Since the taxation was based on net profit rather than total income, the dukedom still retained substantial wealth for its own needs. 

They were easily able to write off all their servants, the army, their farmers, and all their employees thus retaining enough wealth to pay for their substantial manpower. They were also able to use the remaining 20% to increase productivity as necessary which was still a significant sum after all the deductions.

This structure wasn't unique to the dukedom either. 

Similar arrangements applied throughout the entire kingdom. Each noble house extracted 80% of the profits generated by its subjects. The royal family then claimed 80% of the profits from each noble house. Finally, the central empire, which ruled over the heartlands of the continent, collected 80% of the kingdoms' profits as tribute.

Despite how heavy-handed it sounded, the system was considered fair because it only applied to those above a certain income bracket. Regular people did not suffer the immense collection of their hard-earned wealth.

The central empire's lands were incredibly fertile, and the produce was said to be redistributed to the four surrounding empires, which lacked such rich farmland.

Bastion wasn't given further details, such as the names of the empires involved, and was informed that even heirs were restricted from accessing certain information. 

For example, he had not been shown a map of the entire continent; so far, he had only seen a strategic map of the kingdom and knew nothing of the neighboring lands.

Bastion had his suspicions about such an extreme form of governance, but ultimately chose not to question it, at least not until he became Duke. After all, they were wealthy enough as it was, so in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter much.

The true source of the nobility's income was the farmers. In the kingdom, farmers did not own the land they worked. Instead, they were hired as employees and assigned to a specific plot for a period of ten years.

The contract offered better pay than the average wage, so many people sought the opportunity to work as farmers under the nobility. The nobility, in turn, sent eighty percent of the produce to the royal family, who took their share before forwarding the rest to the empire.

The Diamondhart Dukedom also paid its taxes through its army on top of its farmers. Regular excursions into the forest were scheduled to eliminate as many monsters as possible, with eighty percent of the spoils handed over as tax.

In return, soldiers received substantial wages and training during their service, which also lasted a minimum of ten years, much like the farmers.

The next day, Elyra woke Bastion, bathed him, dressed him in his armor, and escorted him to the training grounds in place of Sibelle. Her duties as his personal maid had officially begun.

When Bastion arrived at the training grounds he was surprised by a familiar face. It was the knight he had first fought all those years ago.

Back then, the man had been an insurmountable wall. Now, eight years later, Bastion was eager to see if that still held true. Then again, it was entirely possible the knight had been holding back during their first bout.

Bastion entered the training ground and prepared for the usual charge, only to be met instead by a wind infused slash aiming to bisect him.

He quickly raised his shield and braced for impact. The blow struck hard, pushing him back several feet. It was powerful, but not overwhelming. If he had used Block, he could have completely negated the force.

His opponent had already closed the gap and was trying to circle around for an ambush. But Bastion was ready this time. With a sharp turn, he intercepted the sneak attack with his shield.

They traded blows, neither using their full strength yet, just testing each other.

Then suddenly, the knight's blade flared with light and shot forward at blinding speed. The glowing sword knocked Bastion's shield aside, exposing a gap that was immediately targeted by a second strike. Instead of relying on a skill, Bastion parried the attack with his sword.

He was pushed back again, but still hadn't used a drop of mana or stamina.

That's when Bastion realized: this match was far more balanced than he'd initially expected.

Growing bolder, Bastion decided to employ some low-level tricks.

He spread his mana across the ground between himself and the knight, softening the dirt beneath their feet.

The knight charged again, only to stumble as his footing gave way. Bastion immediately capitalized on the opening, activating Charge and following it up with Shield Bash.

The knight managed to Parry the charge but had no way to block the forceful bash that followed. The impact sent him flying backward.

Unwilling to waste the opportunity, Bastion channeled mana into his sword and whipped it at the knight's leg. With a Reinforce-empowered yank, he pulled the knight toward him and struck with another Shield Bash, disorienting his opponent before placing his blade at the knight's neck.

"I yield," the knight said, catching his breath.

"Congratulations, Master. You've just claimed your first victory," Elyra said with a proud smile.

"Thank you, Elyra. And thank you as well, knight, for going easy on me."

The knight let out a long sigh. "Overtaken by a whelp in ten years. Maybe it's time I retire and take up farming."

"Nonsense," Bastion replied. "You fought better than you did all those years ago. Your improvement is remarkable."

"Thank you, my lord," the knight said with a chuckle. "Shall we continue? Though this time, I'll have to ask that you go easy on me."

"Sure," Bastion said, grinning.

As the spar continued, Bastion came to a realization, the significant advantage that even low-level magic could provide in combat. Something as simple as softening the soil had been enough to tip the balance and secure his victory.

Sure, free-cast magic at Apprentice Rank was incredibly weak in raw power, but with a bit of creativity, it could become a powerful tool. A concussion grenade made of compressed air and light released in an opponent's face, a slick surface created from smoothened earth and viscous water, or even a gust of sand aimed at the eyes to blind, all were viable tactics.

The applications were limited only by the user's imagination. And as an avid television viewer back on Earth, Bastion was confident his imagination wouldn't let him down.

Their training continued until noon, after which Bastion grabbed a quick lunch and made his way to the stables to visit Steve, his trusted steed.

His current schedule alternated between different lessons everyday and today, he had horse riding lessons which included mounted combat.

After all, what kind of knight couldn't fight on horseback? Especially when Diamond Knights were expected to summon steeds for both battle and travel, making riding skills not just important, but essential.

Bastion spent his afternoon split between running obstacle courses on horseback and sparring in mounted duels against knights trained specifically for cavalry combat.

His primary objective was to unseat his opponent while remaining mounted himself, a completely new challenge. Surprisingly, Bastion took to it with natural skill. He made liberal use of his whip sword, deftly lassoing knights from their saddles with practiced ease.

Altogether, his rigorous new training regimen kept him so occupied that he barely noticed the months slipping by. 

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