Soul of the Warrior

Reivyn sat in Meditation as he circulated the different Affinities he had unlocked to finally begin improving them again. It had taken him a long time to enter the state of Meditation, much longer than normal. He had a lot on his mind after his talk with his mother and the strange dinner they had had afterward with his friends.

The information that his mother had given him about the circumstances behind them settling in a Tier 1 Region made him realize there was a lot more going on in the world behind the scenes that he wasn't aware of.

"Well, we weren't just randomly fleeing from the higher Tier Regions. We had spent a couple of years traveling between the different Vassal States to find anyone still loyal enough to mount a rescue on our territory.

"Most of the time had been wasted in the first, closest Tier 3 Kingdom that we fled to after the destruction of our capital: Geledrud." Ameliyn paused for a moment in her story and shuddered.

"They used soft tactics, at first, to alienate me from the other nobles. The biggest, worst thing they tried to do was alienate me from your father. At first, because of the resentment I had for the way we had escaped, I let my emotions cloud my judgment.

"They almost succeeded in their endeavor, but luckily for me, your father was the epitome of a knight in shining armor. He never once doubted me or gave me any reason, beyond the rumors that snake First Prince Gallen and his subordinates fed me, to doubt him in turn. He worked diligently in the background to build a network of loyalists.

"I have always deeply regretted the suffering I caused him on top of everything piled on top of him from the outside influence. Once I came to my senses, my adoration for his conduct is probably what led to me eventually falling in love with him." Ameliyn sighed wistfully at the recollection. She came to herself again with a start. "Oh, but that's another story for another time.

"After we left the Court of Geledrud, we went to the other surrounding Tier 3 Kingdom that nominally swore fealty to our Vynn Bloodline. We met more of the same everywhere we went.

"The other Kingdoms had taken the time to form their own alliances, and by the time we visited the third Tier 3 Kingdom, they had fallen into open Civil War across the Empire. The Tier 3 Kingdoms leveraged their own Tier 2 Vassals as the main battlefronts, and vice versa all the way down to their Tier 1 subordinates.

"We had been almost completely ignored by that point as they squabbled among themselves. We were going to try one more time to see if we could establish a foothold, but First Prince Gallen had apparently never given up on his ambitions of making me his wife and using that relationship to secure the Vynnish Throne for himself. He ambushed us and tried to use force." Ameliyn leveled a gaze at Reivyn. "Your father didn't appreciate that very much. Not at all.

"I've seen your father in a rage before, but all of those other times paled in comparison. Let's just say that Prince Gallen wishes your father had killed him.

"Refix had always been pretty unassuming around the other nobility, and the lesson we learned from that was to always hide our strength in case it was needed. Nobody expected your father, including me, to be nearly as powerful as he was.

"We escaped from the ambush and headed to the nearest teleportation point - they're common in Tier 3 and above Kingdoms, how else do you expect empires to form and be able to move across such vast distances. We loaded it up with the remainder of our Mana Crystals, much more power than was necessary, and we rigged it to send us to a random location.

"Well, random location isn't quite right. We chose a direction to be sent. You see, over the years of trying to build a base of loyalists, the ones we did manage to recruit didn't stay idle. That's where we learned about the possibility of outside interference and maybe a traitor. We learned that the ones involved in the Dungeon Breaks of the capital had certain ties to ancient cults, and we sent our subordinates out across the vast lands to find traces of them."

"The Dungeon in the mountains?" Reivyn said with realization. Ameliyn nodded her head.

"Exactly. We didn't know about the Dungeon for a long time, after all, it was only recently 'found by Adventurers,' but we knew about the cavern system. Your father, along with his 'employer' - one of the loyalists - went in there long before you and the Count's men went and laid Claim to it. They cleared out the remnants of the Revenants and cultist remains, which is one of the reasons I was surprised to hear about the battle you guys had with the demon.

"Your story of that battle is what actually tipped us off to the fact that there were active cultists in the area. We were looking for a suitable excuse to move the family to the Capital while still giving you room to grow and do your own thing, which is how we found out about the supplementary school attached to the Academies. Even if Kailey and Riley weren't nearly as talented as they are, we still would have manufactured a way to get them into the school."

"But that means you sent me off to the Dungeon when you knew about the dangers," Reivyn pointed out. "I mean, nothing ended up happening, but that seems a little irresponsible on your part, don't you think."

"Reivyn," Ameliyn said with a small smile, "you were never in any danger. Well, outside of your own delves, that is. Let me tell you, the man we had in charge of your security almost broke into the infirmary and kidnapped you when you were brought out of the Dungeon unconscious. Luckily, the team healer was able to assess you from a distance and let him know that you were going to be fine."

"How many subordinates do you guys have?" Reivyn tilted his head. Ameliyn just gave a coy smile. "Are the Adventurers that saved the day at Magron your subordinates?"

"Partly," Ameliyn nodded. "I'm sure you've realized it by now, but the leaders of that Party were your father and me. It was actually a huge coincidence that your father was there for the beast tide the first time you ran into him. Remember, he had gone off on a 'business trip?' We had learned that the Count was going to mount an expedition to the Dungeon, but we didn't realize he was going to conscript you.

"The fact that I knew you were going to run across each other - and a message to your father guaranteed that - was the main reason I didn't throw a fuss and have you exempted. It would be child's play to put the right kind of pressure on the Count of Magron."

Reivyn sat in silence as he moved the Affinities throughout his body. That part of the conversation had finally put to rest his suspicions about his parents not doing more to keep him safe at home.

I always knew there was something strange about the circumstances of my mother, an Imperial Princess, allowing her firstborn son to be conscripted without much of a fight. I had been so caught up in my own little world, though, that I just subconsciously accepted it.

Reivyn finally knew why his parents had settled in the Tier 1 Region: Partly because he and his sisters had been born, and partly because they were chasing after the mastermind of their own empire's demise.

All of that gives me a lot to think about, but that's not the real reason I've been so out of sorts after the conversation.

The real reason he had been so distracted, from noticing his friends' arrival and his struggles in entering Meditation, had come soon after.

"Then how come I didn't recognize your voices? You guys spoke plenty while I was right there, but you didn't sound anything like you do now," Reivyn said. Not seeing their faces was one thing, but hearing completely different voices and accents had been the real reason he had been hesitant in declaring the Adventurers were his parents a long time ago.

"Haha, just listen to me," Ameliyn said with a laugh, her voice matching that of the petite Caster he had seen conjure the magical tornado. "Your father and I have had years to practice our deception Skills, and modulating one's voice isn't so hard. Your father and I have also traveled to many different places and heard even more dialects and accents to mimic. It's really not that surprising if you think about it."

"Yeah, it does make sense," Reivyn nodded. "Speaking of, what was the element you used to conjure that Spell to wipe out the Revenant army? It looked like Light, but my gut tells me it wasn't."

"Your gut is right," Ameliyn said, a look of pride on her face. "It's a half-step Tier 5 Affinity - which is a fancy way of saying a more powerful Tier 4 Affinity - and it's called the Celestial Affinity.

"Divine mana isn't necessarily Light or Holy, or anything like that. Divine mana is literally just mana empowered through a contractual relationship with an Ascended being. Mierna, the Goddess of Light, is actually just an Ascended being, and she was one who lived in the same time and was an acquaintance of the same Ascended who we get our Akashic Record Skill from.

"Vynndin, as we call him - we actually don't have records of his true name - was the Ascended we're descended from, and it was one of his more powerful grandchildren that founded the Vynndin Empire.

"Don't expect a lot of answers from me on the subject, we had to flee the empire before I finished my education on the matter.

"Anyway, back on topic of the Affinity. The Celestial Affinity is one that is powerful in its own right - it's a combination of Light, Fire, and Lightning, among some other things - and it's particularly powerful against undead and other demonic forms of mana.

"It doesn't get bonuses against all other Realm mana, like the Verdant Realm isn't particularly demonic, though it is technically Heretical. And the Abyss isn't the only demonic Realm, either."

"So then you know about the Veridical Affinity?" Reivyn asked. "I happened to unlock the Veridical Affinity after that time I was pulled out of the Dungeon you mentioned."

"Really?!" Ameliyn showed genuine surprise on her face at the revelation. "Typically, one unlocks the Veridical Affinity after years and years of studying and refining pretty much all of the Affinities. The one Arch Magus of the Empire that had it unlocked had transcended Level 100 in several of the basic Affinities, and he was at minimum an Expert in all of the others before he unlocked the Veridical Affinity."

Ameliyn gently patted Reivyn on the shoulder and gave him a consoling smile. "Don't worry about your Veridical Affinity for now. In order to train it further, you'll need to get your other Affinities as high as that Arch Magus, so outside of extraordinary circumstances, it's going to sit at Level 1 for a long, long time."

"Ok, I hadn't really noticed anything when I tried to use it before, though I can see a faint shimmer when other people interact with the System," Reivyn nodded his head. "And that leads to another question I have: You're not a Light Weaver, are you?"

"I was a Light Weaver... when I was Tier 2," Ameliyn said. "Remember, your father and I have been in the habit of hiding our strength for so long that we don't even think about it anymore. We've even developed fake Status Pages for anyone that has a sufficiently powerful enough Analyze-type Skill. Here, let me show you."

Your mother has requested to share her Status Page with you.

Familial Bond verified, sharing of intimate details authorized.

Accept Deny

Reivyn was momentarily surprised at the pop-up Notification. I didn't know it was possible to share information like this. I suppose they had always planned on sharing this with me - well, us, Kailey and Riley included - when the time was right. I don't see any reason to Deny the request.

Reivyn mentally selected to Accept the sharing of the Status.

Status Name: Ameliyn Class: Weaver *Light (T2) Lvl 40 Age: 33 Villager (T1) Health: 1,660 Stamina: 2,080 Mana: 530 Physical Stats Mental Stats STR: 42 INT: 78 VIT: 166 MAG: 28 DEX: 44 CLA: 24 CHA: 0 PER: 81 LUK: 0

"That's what everyone who uses an Analyze Skill that isn't at the Master Level will see," Ameliyn said.

"Yeah, you look like you have the Stats of any common Lifestyle Class commoner with a slight Affinity to your Class," Reivyn said, dismissing the Page. "What's your actual Status look like?"

Ameliyn smiled as she mentally did something that Reivyn couldn't perceive. After a moment, he received another pop-up Notification.

Your mother has requested to share her Status Page with you.

Familial Bond verified, sharing of intimate details authorized.

Accept Deny

He once again chose to Accept.

Status Name: Ameliyn Class: Forgotten Celestial Sovereign (T4) Lvl 40 Age: 33 Celestial Elementalist (T3) Light Weaver (T2) Health: 16,000 Stamina: 25,000 Mana: 23,755 Physical Stats Mental Stats STR: 900 INT: 2,281 VIT: 1,600 MAG: 2,470 DEX: 900 CLA: 900 CHA: 249 PER: 900 LUK: 76

What...? Reivyn stared at the Status Page in front of him. All coherent thought completely fled from his mind. He could hardly process the numbers he was seeing.

This... She... I mean... Ameliyn sat back and let Reivyn work through the implications of seeing her true Status Page. Reivyn looked up at his mother and stammered out some nonsense, incapable of speech momentarily.

"Yeah, there's a good reason we keep our strength hidden," Ameliyn gently said. "There are some people in the Capital who might be close to my power level, but they will be few and far between. Knight-Captain Reifold is famous throughout the Kingdom, and he's only a high-Level Tier 3 Paladin. The Sword-Bishop that went to the Dungeon Town was also a relatively well-known, powerful individual.

"The lack of higher Tier Dungeons, along with the minuscule amount of mana density in the Region, is one of the main contributing factors to the power gap between people living in the different Regions.

"The Dungeons that you'll have to go through as part of your curriculum in the Magic Academy will not give you even a fraction of the Experience you can gain in the Revenant Dungeon. From what I understand of it, even the first floor of the new Dungeon is superior in Experience and resources than any of the other Dungeons that can be found anywhere else in the Kingdom."

Reivyn heard the words, and they registered and caused him some slight surprise, but he was still wrestling with the Status Page he had just been shown. After several minutes of silence, Reivyn finally regained his wits and looked at his mother.

"If you're so strong as a young scion of the Empire, then just how powerful were the Dungeon Break and the mastermind behind it?" He quietly asked.

"So, something to know about Regions and the denizens that can be found in them," Ameliyn said, seemingly not answering the question right away, "a Tier 1 Region, like this one, the cannon fodder monster level is going to be Tier 1, like the goblins that roam about. You with me so far?" Reivyn nodded and indicated for her to continue.

"A Tier 2 Region, the cannon fodder level of monster will be a weak Tier 2," Ameliyn gave Reivyn a look. Reivyn extrapolated the information.

"So a Tier 4 Region's weakest monster is basically a weak Tier 4?" Ameliyn nodded her head.

"Yes, and Dungeons typically follow the pattern as well. There were more Tier 4 monsters coming out of each of the Dungeons in the Capital than there were Revenants from the Dungeon Break army we fought. There were also many Tier 5 and some Tier 6 boss monsters in the horde.

"We had people powerful enough to fight monsters of that Level, but not with how sudden it was and how many there were. It was a nightmare. Those Dungeons weren't demonic in nature, but the monsters and beasts from inside of them were no less dangerous."

So imagine the Dungeon Town if there were four Dungeons, and each Dungeon Break had more monsters than the Revenant Dungeon released. All happening at once on a much larger scale.

"What do you know about the mastermind?" Reivyn asked quietly after a moment.

"Not a lot," Ameliyn said. "All we know is he, or she, has a connection with the cults somehow, and they have the ability to affect the Dungeons from the outside. It is an unprecedented ability, and we've never heard of anyone else ever having that ability before."

"Hey, hey, hey," Refix called out as he entered the house in the middle of the discussion. He quickly spotted Reivyn sitting on the couch, and he got a giant grin on his face as he walked over to give his son a hug. He stopped with a frown on his face when Reivyn continued to sit and stare in contemplation.

"What's going on with him?" Refix turned to Ameliyn.

"I just revealed my Status Page and the truth about why we're in this Region," Ameliyn said.

"Ahhh, ok. Then his expression makes perfect sense," Refix said with a chuckle. "He's always been so strong for his age and Tier, and I'm sure seeing something so outside of his range of expectations came as a shock."

"I think he still can't get over it," Ameliyn agreed with her own chuckle.

"Well, let's help him out a bit more, then, shall we?"

Reivyn was aware of his father's arrival, but he was still so preoccupied with the new information he had been learning. He was brought out of his thoughts by another pop-up Notification.

Your father has requested to share his Status Page with you.

Familial Bond verified, sharing of intimate details authorized.

Accept Deny

Reivyn glanced at Refix out of the corner of his eye. His father just grinned back at him.

"You, too? Can't even give me time to come to grips with it?" Reivyn sighed.

"Nope. It's like a bandage. Rip it off all at once," Refix said.

Reivyn rolled his eyes. Ok, mom said nobody expected dad to be as powerful as he was, so let's see just how strong he really is. Reivyn mentally selected Accept and a new Status Page popped up once again.

Status Name: Refix Class: Embodiment of Righteousness (T5) Lvl 21 Age: 36 Heart of the Sword (T4) Blademaster of Vynn (T3)

Health: 44,160 Stamina: 101,080 Mana: 13,500 Physical Stats Mental Stats STR: 5,692 INT: 1,400 VIT: 4,416 MAG: 1,300 DEX: 5,670 CLA: 1,000 CHA: 175 PER: 1,800 LUK: 121

"Legendary!" Reivyn cried out in shock. He spluttered after shouting out the word, once more flabbergasted. "And Tier 5! I just noticed that. How is that even possible?!" Reivyn couldn't fathom how his parents had gained so many levels.

"You guys have been in this Region for longer than I've been alive, and I'm 10 years old! How did you guys get so strong?" He was finally able to give voice to the doubts in his mind. Refix answered him with laughter before explaining.

"We got a rare treasure from a Dungeon drop a long time ago in a much higher Tier Region. It allows us to remotely enter the Dungeon from anywhere in the same Realm once a month." Refix reached into a pouch on his waist and pulled forth a weathered-looking ankh. It didn't look like anything special at first glance, and Reivyn's Inspect Skill wasn't high enough Level to get any information out of it from the System.

"It's technically a key to bypass several floors of the Dungeon, but your mother and I paid a high price to a powerful Space-Affinity Caster to modify it. It now leads to the entrance of the Dungeon instead of deeper inside, but it can be used anywhere.

"It takes a month to recharge, and luckily the Dungeon itself has drops that can be used to charge it. If it had to charge simply from the ambient mana, it would take nearly a year to fully recharge in this Tier 1 Region."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense," Reivyn said. He looked up at his father with a hopeful look on his face. "Does that mean I'll get the chance to delve that Dungeon, too?"

"Yup," Refix said as he put the ankh back away. "That was always the plan, but you're not ready, yet. This is a Tier 4 Dungeon. The Revenant Dungeon is Tier 3, and you're probably not capable of getting to and clearing the bottom floor yet. Once you can clear it, while being a main member of the Party, not just tagging along, I can give you a slot in the Party that delves this Dungeon.

"If you went now, not only would you be in more danger than I'm comfortable with, but you also wouldn't be able to contribute enough for it to be beneficial. So with that in mind, what you need to do is keep up your training and do well in the Academy, alright?" Reivyn nodded his head.

And that leads to my current situation of continuing training my Affinities once again. If my hunch is correct, I'll need more than just to graduate to force the Tier 3 Class transition, so I still can't slack off.

Reivyn continued his diligent practice. He had made the goal to be as strong, or stronger, than the Adventuring team that had stepped in to save Magron, and now he had a glimpse of just how powerful he would need to be.

I think I can do it. As far as I know, both mother and father had regular Tier 1 and 2 Classes, and yet they both have more than one Epic Class, and dad even has a Legendary Tier 5 Class. I'll have to ask them the specifics of what their Classes are all about some time, but for now, I need to work.