Soul of the Warrior

The officer nodded his head to Lance and turned to face Reivyn and his friends. Reivyn still stood over Lance's bodyguard, sword at his throat, and he calmly watched the officer walk over toward his group. He didn't waver and continued to give an impassive look as if he wasn't involved in the situation at all. The officer frowned as he noted Reivyn didn't move his sword away even after he obviously knew the reason he was walking over to confront them.

"Fighting in the Military Base, attacking a veteran of the Army on Army grounds, assaulting a noble," the officer listed several infractions as he came to a stop in front of the group. "I, Lieutenant Pawl, hereby place you under arrest. Relinquish your weapons, and subject yourselves to detention. Men, come confiscate their persons and gear."

Reivyn looked at Lieutenant Pawl and didn't move a muscle. He kept standing there with his sword at the bodyguard's throat, and his friends took their cue from him. They remained still and silent, watching the officer. Tom, Vane, and Trick were a little more nervous on the surface than Teilon and Kimberly, but they recalled that Reivyn mentioned he had a powerful friend, so they decided to trust his judgment in the situation. That didn't stop sweat from beading their brows and their hearts racing.

"Put your weapon down, now," Lieutenant Pawl said, his frown deepening as Reivyn ignored his commands.

Some of the soldiers under his command stepped forward to follow his orders, and as soon as they took one step past where the Lieutenant stood, Reivyn pushed his sword forward, the tip embedding itself in the man's throat. Blood started to seep out of the prick in his throat, but Reivyn's sword didn't shake or vibrate at all as he casually threatened the man's life with his actions.

The soldiers stopped moving forward and looked toward the Lieutenant for orders. Lance stood a few steps back, and the sneer on his face warped into joy. He obviously viewed Reivyn's actions as a death sentence, uncaring for the life of his bodyguard. Reivyn noted the look on his face and frowned. This guy would rather I kill one of his own to dig a deeper hole for myself. Disgusting.

"How dare you!" The Lieutenant screamed. "Get some Bowmen to come and fill this ingrate full of arrows. He's resisting arrest and threatening escalation. Take him down, life or death."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" A languid voice reached everyone's ears. Reivyn looked towards where it came from and spotted a cloaked man leisurely lying upon a tree branch on a tree off to the side of the Dungeon entrance. Reivyn recognized him as the Adventurer who specialized in hiding in people's shadows that was with his parents' group.

Everyone was taken aback at the intrusion of the man. Nobody had noticed his presence at all, and he had apparently been there the entire time. Lieutenant Pawl grit his teeth as he addressed the new person.

"Who are you to interfere in military affairs? I'll have you arrested along with these other criminals," he growled. The cloaked rogue shook his head before he jumped down from the branch. His body seemed to fade out of existence and back in, and instead of falling several feet to the ground, he was just on the ground after moving from his spot.

"I don't think you understand the situation you're in," the man sighed. Reivyn noticed several of the more experienced soldiers, as well as Lieutenant Pawl and the other two bodyguards who had finally taken their place next to Lance again, paled at the casual display. Instant movement Skills were something exclusive to Tier 4 Classes at a minimum.

"Just because you're strong doesn't give you the right to act at will," Lieutenant Pawl gulped. Things were quickly getting out of hand, and if he needed to call for assistance to deal with this strong intruder, things might not go so well for him. Sweat now beaded his brow as he became nervous, and Tom, Vane, and Trick seemed to relax.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about," the man chuckled. He lifted his hand next to himself where the tree cast a deep shadow underneath itself. He activated some sort of Skill, and the deep shadows appeared to part, and a group of people was revealed to be standing in the shadows.

A group concealing Skill, Reivyn appraised. That has to be super useful. He looked over at Teilon, and his friend's eyes were practically shining at the display of the Skill.

"C-C-C-Commander!" Lieutenant Pawl stammered out, throwing a hasty salute toward the group of men. Reivyn looked over and saw that there were four people revealed from the rogue's Skill. One was clearly older than everyone else with a salt and pepper beard and hair. His lined face told a story of long years of conflict and turmoil. He stood impassively gazing at the proceedings, a young man standing a step behind and to the side. I bet that guy's the Aide, Reivyn thought. He's giving me that kind of vibe, and his youth compared to the other three makes him stand out even when off to the side.

There was another middle-aged soldier standing next to the older man, and he had a frown on his face as he looked at the Lieutenant. He was likewise accompanied by another soldier standing in a similar position as the Aide to the older man, but his age made it unlikely he was also an Aide. Probably a similar relationship as Knight-Captain Reifold and Knight-Lieutenant Brand, Reivyn surmised.

Silence reigned over the temporary battlefield for a few seconds, and Reivyn could see that Lieutenant Pawl was visibly shaking. None of the new men had returned his salute, so he limply lowered his hand and waited for one of them to speak. Reivyn still maintained his position with the sword tip cutting into the bodyguard's throat, and he could perceive that the cloaked escort his parents had assigned him seemed to grin at him from within the shadowed cowl of his hood.

The oldest member turned his head to his Aide and signaled with his eyes. The young man was paying attention to every move of the older gentleman, and he immediately reacted.

"Commander Ulvar, handle the situation in-house," the Aide said. The man standing next to the older gentleman took a step back and faced him, offering a salute. He didn't address the Aide, and acted like the older man had issued the order personally. Well, that's technically what happened, Reivyn internally chuckled. There might be a reason why he didn't issue the command personally.

Commander Ulvar stepped forward, the other man - He's probably a bit older than the bodyguards that Lance brought with him - followed behind, maintaining the same position. He stopped at the edge of the area of conflict and surveyed the soldiers. He turned his head and addressed the man standing behind him.

"Vice-Commander, go and get Lieutenant Vicks," he commanded. "Have him come assume command here." The Vice-Commander gave a salute to the Commander's back and strode off towards the officer's quarters. The Commander turned his attention back to Lieutenant Pawl, who was visibly pale and sweaty by this point. Commander Ulvar shook his head. "Lieutenant Pawl, you are derelict in your duty.

"You abandoned your post, took orders from an outsider, and attempted to make an arrest without ascertaining the facts. It doesn't matter if this young man is a noble, or not. Even if his father were here, you should know that he can't issue you a lawful order.

"Men, place Lieutenant Pawl under arrest, and escort him to the stockade," the soldiers who were originally moving to place Reivyn and his friends under arrest saluted the Commander and carried out the order. The Lieutenant kept his mouth shut as the soldiers removed his sidearm and Marched him away. Commander Ulvar watched them go for a second before turning his attention toward Lance, whose expression had finally turned into one of worry.

"Sir, I can explain..." Lance began before being cut off by Commander Ulvar raising his hand to stop him. Reivyn finally pulled his sword away from the downed man's throat now that the situation was finally turning in his favor. He didn't sheathe the sword just yet, though, and he held it at his side as he watched the proceedings.

He stole a glance toward where the men had originally appeared, and he saw that the three men - the older gentleman, his aide, and the rogue - were walking away like they had nothing to do with anything anymore. The rogue seemed to sense Reivyn's gaze, and he turned to give a two-finger salute/wave as he departed.

"Young man, you're not a member of the military and you're a member of a noble house, so I can't arrest you," Commander Ulvar began, drawing Reivyn's attention back to the immediate concern. Lance's expression relaxed a bit. "That being said, you did try and throw your weight around in my Army base, and you employed one of my officers to carry out your scheme. You are banished from this military base until further notice, and your access to the Dungeon is hereby revoked. I'll also be contacting your father and the Knight Academy."

The blood drained from his face at the proclamation. He finally realized that he had screwed up big time. The Shadow Fort Dungeon was the best place for him and his friends to currently grind their Skills and Levels, and now he would have to beg someone to allow him re-entry. And it wasn't a guarantee that Commander Ulvar would agree to the request without serious pressure from his own superiors.

"Go, leave the premises," Commander Ulvar ordered. He looked at the bodyguards standing behind Lance and indicated for them to lead the stunned man away. He turned toward Lance's companions. "I witnessed the entire thing, and I know that you weren't part of the usurpation of authority; however, you did participate. I won't banish you from the base or revoke your access to the Dungeon, but I will be sending notification to your families and the Knight Academy." He glanced at Jaret and the others from the Magic Academy. "I'll be telling the Magic Academy, as well, but I'll tell the whole truth of the matter and how you didn't participate in the conflict."

The other students with Lance nodded their heads, expressions of gratitude that they hadn't also lost the opportunity to run the Dungeon as well. They turned and followed Lance and his guards' departure, limping from the injuries they had sustained once more from their conflict with Reivyn's group. Reivyn and the others watched them go, but something tickled the back of Reivyn's mind as he watched them leave.

His Danger Sense suddenly exploded, and he acted out of complete instinct. He didn't have time to gauge the situation with his Battlefield Awareness or Spatial Awareness abilities, and his body moved almost entirely on its own.

Reivyn spun about in place, and a shadow of an object flew past his face that he was barely aware of. He lifted his sword to swipe in the direction the Danger Sense Skill indicated. He felt some resistance from his sword, but he had acted at full capacity, and whatever it was that had been in his way was completely slashed through.

The soldiers hadn't had time to react, and they all stared with wide eyes at Reivyn. Commander Ulvar also hadn't reacted in time, and he gave an appraising look to Reivyn before waving some soldiers over.

Reivyn looked back at what had caused his Skill to go haywire, and the corpse of the bodyguard he had previously pinned with his sword to his throat entered his vision. His head and one of his arms had been completely severed, and blood pooled on the ground around the body. His hand that hadn't been severed held one of the concealed throwing daggers that Reivyn had initially noticed upon Inspecting the man.

That shadow that flew past me as I spun out of the way was another throwing dagger, Reivyn's heart beat really fast as he realized the full extent of the danger he had been in. I might have a lot of Stats and Health for my Level, but a dagger landing a lethal blow will still kill me. This is probably the closest I've ever actually been to actual death, before.

If my Danger Sense Skill hadn't practically overridden my own reaction...

If I hadn't spun to avoid the dagger already thrown...

If I had sheathed my sword already...

If, if, if, Reivyn shook his head as he wiped the blood off his sword before sheathing it. All that matters is that those things did happen, and I was able to neutralize the threat.

Reivyn vaguely noticed that there was no feeling of Euphoria from killing the man, but there was also no Misery. The lack of Euphoria meant that his own body had to deal with all of the emotions and chemical reactions raging through his body without any System help. His bile rose in the back of his throat as he looked down at the dead body, and he gagged once before mastering himself.

"First time?" Commander Ulvar asked, placing a hand on Reivyn's shoulder. Reivyn nodded his head.

"I've killed a lot of monsters and beasts, and I've fought other people many times," Reivyn said. "But this is the first time I've actually killed another person."

"I won't say you did the right or wrong thing," Commander Ulvar said, patting Reivyn's shoulder before removing his hand. "But this was my failing. I'll report this matter to the Magic Academy and my superiors. Letting someone attempt to kill a student - especially one standing right next to me - is a serious issue. You'll be justly compensated."

"Thank you," Reivyn said. "Don't beat yourself up, though. I can't expect others to always take care of me, and I also let my guard down even though I knew he had hidden weapons on his person and that he was slimy when he targeted my vitals during our battle." Commander Ulvar gave Reivyn a strange look, and Reivyn chuckled. "Are you wondering why I would say such a thing after accepting help from someone else to take care of me?"

"I didn't say anything," Commander Ulvar denied with a shake of his head, a rueful smile on his face.

"There are some things that I can't do on my own," Reivyn explained. "Handling the provocation of my contemporaries, even the attacks from their higher Tier guards, I can handle. Them abusing their authority or background... Those things are out of my reach at the moment. I have some connections to protect myself from those things, though. I don't consider it relying on outside help when all they do is negate the other party's own outside help." Commander Ulvar gave Reivyn a serious look as he processed the words.

"I don't know what your relationship with that man is, but even if you didn't have one, I would hold you in high esteem from that attitude, alone," he said. "If you ever find yourself lost for what to do after you graduate, know that I'd be more than happy to recommend you to the Officer Candidate Training. Your combat abilities, both magical and martial, as well as your attitude... we could always use a young talent like you in our ranks."

"Thank you, sir," Reivyn said with a smile. "I'll keep that in mind in the future."

The soldiers had taken the body of the guard away and cleaned up the blood as Reivyn and Commander Ulvar had their conversation. The Vice-Commander returned with another young Lieutenant in tow. The young officer saluted the Commander and took charge of the soldiers, assuming the responsibilities that Lieutenant Pawl was previously in charge of.

Commander Ulvar gave a final nod in farewell to Reivyn, and he and the Vice-Commander walked off in the direction the others had departed previously. Reivyn turned to his friends. Tom, Vane, and Trick were staring at him with slack jaws, but Teilon and Kimberly were smiling. Reivyn walked over and his roommates snapped their mouths shut.

"First you casually speak to the Prince from Eldiar, and now you're having a conversation with one of the Commanders of the Army," Tom shook his head. "And you weren't lying when you said you had a powerful friend. Do you know who that old man was?" Reivyn shook his head. "He was the General of the Army... the entire Army. The head honcho. And your protector was apparently on equal standing with him."

"A mysterious Tier 4 protector, not fazed by a prince, having a casual conversation with high ranking officers, not worried about nobles..." Trick ticked off his fingers before looking up at Reivyn. "Who are you, really?"

"I'm Reivyn," Reivyn replied with a smile. "I'm just a Magic Academy student."

"Sure, sure," Trick said, unconvinced. "What about you?" He turned toward Teilon. "Did you know about any of this? Did you know about the Tier 4 protector?" Teilon shrugged.

"I grew up with Reivyn, and he's never been anything other than what he's shown," Teilon said. "And Kimberly and I have seen that protector before, but he's actually pretty average compared to the companions he was with the last time we saw him."

"Pretty average..." Vane said. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ok, well... let's go?" Tom, Trick, and Vane all shared a look and shrugged.

Reivyn nodded his head and led his friends to the stable to retrieve their horses.

"Why was Lance so upset that he can't run the Dungeon here?" Reivyn asked as they walked. "I mean, yeah we got an Achievement for clearing all of the main-line Dungeons, but there's still the Revenant Dungeon he has access to."

"It's about honor," Tom answered. "Accepting help from one's family or outsiders is deemed perfectly acceptable during the formative years before one achieves their second Tier Class, but everyone is expected to work towards their own achievements as much as possible. It's one of the main reasons a lot of the students don't get advanced training and instruction from their families and learn in the Academies.

"There's a progression to how things are done. We would have done all the same things that you're having us do - go to all the Dungeons, do the Adventurer Guild quests - eventually, but we would have gone at a much slower pace. Now that Lance has been barred from completing the last main-line Dungeon on his own merit, he'll have to accept help in the form of gear from his family, or assistance from Casters to fight the Revenants."

"He would have had to do that anyway," Reivyn pointed out. "The Revenants are immune to mundane damage, so he would have always had to rely on Casters or magic gear."

"Yes, but he would have progressed to that point on his own," Trick said. "It doesn't matter that he's teamed up with Casters, as they're not carrying him through the other Dungeons, and he would have properly made it to the Revenant Dungeon along with them. Now he'll be seen as breaking the chain and jumping over where he should be. It'll affect his reputation more than trying to scheme against us and get us arrested by the military."

"It all harks back to Life Experience," Vane said. "If we rely too much on our families to help us along, it'll stunt our growth. That eventually turned into culture over time, and it's seen as a faux pax to not work for your achievements on your own." Reivyn nodded at the explanation.

"There's another thing I don't understand, though," Reivyn said. "Commander Ulvar said he couldn't arrest Lance because he wasn't a member of the military, but that Lieutenant Pawl was going to arrest us?"

"It's not as serious as that," Tom said with a shrug. "Lance was playing it up, but we would have simply been detained for causing trouble in the military base. We would have had to send notice to our families and the Academies, and we would have most likely been required to issue a public apology. It would have been a political win for Lance, and an embarrassment for us.

"You resisting the order was most likely unexpected, and Lance was probably happy that you were making the apparent wrong move."

"If you'll notice," Vane added, "the punishment the Commander issued for everyone else other than Lance was along the same lines. He did it personally, though, and that's seen as slightly worse than someone doing it themselves. Even though he didn't give them the opportunity to send the notices and apologies on their own, it will be viewed as if they refused to do so when coming from the Commander."

"I see," Reivyn said. They arrived at the stables and notified the soldiers in charge that they were retrieving their mounts. "So it was basically bravado and Lance trying to besmirch our honor more than anything else."

"Exactly," Tom said. "He probably felt like we had insulted him by not getting our butts beat by him and his goons. He's small-minded like that."

"What's really going to suck for him later, though, is the fact that his number one bodyguard tried to assassinate you," Trick said. "It's very likely that Lance didn't actually order him to do so, and it was extremely foolish of him to attempt it when he did. His mindset was probably that you were too dangerous to Lance to let you live, and he was either going to accept the responsibilities all on his own, or hope that Lance's dad would use his political influence to lessen his sentence."

"Since he failed and died, though, he won't be able to accept all the blame," Tom said. "Some of the responsibility will fall on Lance's head, maybe even his entire family, for raising such a pernicious guard."

"What do you think will happen to that Lieutenant?" Reivyn asked.

"Normally, abandoning your post is a serious crime," Tom answered. "But the General of the Army was here and he recognized it wasn't a true abandonment, which is why he ordered the Commander to handle it in-house.

"He'll most likely be detained for a short time, and he'll have his pay confiscated. He's politically aligned with Lance's group, though, so he'll most likely only get a reprimand and moved to a lesser position while retaining his rank. My guess is that he'll be perfectly behaved for a long time in order to make up for his mistake. If he steps out of line again, even at the behest of a political ally, he'll risk getting dismissed, which is the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge for enlisted personnel."

"I bet that protector gets reamed, too," Teilon smirked. "He took off before everything was taken care of, and he wasn't there when it really mattered."

"I'll put in a good word for him," Reivyn said. "It wasn't entirely his fault. I'll have to learn how to deal with these things on my own eventually, anyway."

"Oh, yeah? And who's going to get onto this mysterious protector?" Trick asked. "Your 'insane' dad? And what's his name, anyway?"

"I have no idea," Reivyn shrugged. "I've only seen him twice before. And yes, it's my dad that's going to get onto him."

Reivyn and his friends got their horses and mounted up, heading towards the exit of the military base to head back to The Capital. Reivyn turned and faced his roommates as they rode.

"You guys want to go with me and finally meet him?"