My mind blanked. As that was the last thing I expected him to ask, and I would never have put my money on that badass blondie being a princess. I guess a warlike Imperium, like this place, has different standards for princesses. She definitely wouldn’t be the choice of a certain mighty mouse for a princess.
"Kahahaha! You didn’t know! Oh, I can’t wait to tell her that the peasant actually didn’t even know her! Kahahaha! You really are an interesting one," General Ataras starts to cackle hysterically.
"G-General, was it really okay to have the princess guide someone like me around?" I ask back, still a little shaken, as this took a weird turn I wasn’t prepared for when I came to meet this man.
"Oh, don’t sweat it. I always have her doing an assortment of random tasks for me like this. It’s good for her. Watch. Vernissa, get in here!" He suddenly yells out toward the tent entrance. To which she does walk in, though her eye twitches in clear annoyance.
"General Ataras, I would prefer it if you would stop calling me directly by my name and use my proper positional name," she says back plainly with a hint of resignation in her voice, as if she has had this conversation countless times before.
The general waves his hand offishly. "Don’t mind the details, girl; I’ve known you since you were a wee lass. And now you are one of my protégés."
"Tch," she scoffs.
General Ataras then shows a more serious look on his face as he asks in a slightly somber tone. "Are you still dead set on fighting in the trial when He calls for it? You won’t survive it; after all, that Third Prince is quite the monster."
Vernissa stares straight at the man without any worry or care. "Absolutely. My blood demands that fight for my right to the throne! It boils at the mere thought of running from it, even in death. If I die, then so be it."
"Stubborn girl. Forget it, you are dismissed and can go train," the general sighs and almost slumps in his chair.
She doesn’t wait around and immediately walks out of the tent. I just stood there like a man caught between his two parents fighting, not wanting to get involved.
"See what I have to deal with. This girl, so eager to die. She refuses to renounce her claim, even if it’s an impossible task." General Ataras complains to me, as if desiring a sympathetic response.
"Uh, is it really that far-fetched that she might win? She seems absurdly strong to me," I hesitantly question back, wondering if this will get me killed.
"Heh, well, compared to you, she is practically a god. Still, she is only a bit above average when compared to her siblings. Then, there is the Third Prince, who is a veritable monster of a cultivator. Most of the previous trials were pretty close, but this one isn’t because of him. It’s going to be a bloodbath for this one, since out of His Majesty’s thirteen children, only one has renounced her claims thus far," the general says, shaking his head with a resigned sigh.
"Only one?! Doesn’t that mean the emperor will lose eleven children in one go?!" I asked, struggling to imagine losing that many children in a single day.
"Looks to be so. Hell, we were all surprised that the Fourth Princess dropped out, as she is actually quite strong as well, and if it wasn’t for the Third Prince, most thought that she had the highest chance to win," General Ataras explains.
He then shakes his hand as if trying to wipe away the somber topic. "Enough of the Imperial politics. I brought you here for something else. As I mentioned, Vernissa is one of my protégés, and well, I have some interest in potentially taking you as one as well."
Feeling that my chance has come, I immediately got down on one knee, bowing my head. "It would be a great honor, General!"
"Kahahaha! Aren’t you quite the excitable one! Hold your horses, peasant Arthur Vale. I said potentially, and I don’t take protégés that haven’t even earned their Akai. You still have much to prove," the general bursts out laughing at seeing my quick movement.
I stand back up a bit awkwardly, feeling embarrassed that I had gotten ahead of myself, assuming that I was about to take off like a dragon by becoming the protégé of this famous general. ’Damn, almost thought I was actually a main character for a moment there.’
"What’s an Akai?" I asked suddenly, confused by the new term.
"Oh, right. I guess you probably wouldn’t know. An Akai is this," he replied, grabbing his regal-looking black colored cultivator’s robe. "Akai is a term from the ancient Silveressian language and means ’War Robe’. You earn it when you reach the Core Stage. Every nation has its own versions and variations, like the Avargustians’ silver Akai. There are also variations within each nation. Take our Sentinel’s Akai, all black with subtle red and gold trim; it gets more noticeable and regal at higher ranks." He grabs his own robe, showing the red outline and a vast amount of gold ornamentation throughout.
He also points out the various colored robes that are adorned as trophies along the sides of the tents, indicating the various nations he’s fought against. "You can see a variety of Akai from the different nations. The only one I am missing from my collection is from the Kingdom of Ravast. Alas, we share no border with them." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "Within our own nation, the various groups have their own iterations as well; for example, the Wardens wear all-black robes with red ornamentation and gold-colored armor on top."
"Wouldn’t gold be a bad choice to be made into armor? Also, why do none of the other Sentinels wear gauntlets like you?" I ask, thoroughly invested in learning as much as I can.
"Oho, you are quite the curious peasant, aren’t you? You’re lucky you have gathered my interest, and I don’t mind answering your curiosity," the general shows an intrigued grin upon his face. "First, it’s not actual gold. If you didn’t know, blacksmiths can use mana infusion to change a metal’s color. So don’t assume the metal type from its color. Wardens are special and actually get full Adamantium gear."
He pauses for a moment as he raises his hands, wearing the dark black gauntlets. "That leads into the second question. These are Adamantium, like what the Wardens wear. Adamantium is one of the very few metals we know of that has one hundred percent mana conductivity. Which means there is no loss of mana or slower casting time from Adamantium gear. However, Adamantium is an extremely rare metal, and even I only have my axe and these gauntlets made of it. That’s why the others don’t wear gauntlets; any other metal would impede their spell-casting."
"I see. So why do the Knights wear full armor then?" I ask, extremely pleased with all the new things I am learning.
The general shakes his head with an exasperated sigh at this inquisitive young man. "Foundation Stage cultivators only have internal mana constantly flowing within them, strengthening all physical capabilities. However, they can’t expend that mana outward and have to form a Core before they can do so."
Before I could ask another question, General Ataras continued. "That actually brings me to why I had you come here in the first place. It’s odd that you’ve been able to survive two battles without awakening yourself. Usually, the few peasants who actually do survive the charge tend to figure out how to awaken their Mana Veins and become Foundation Stage cultivators."
The man then stands up, towering over me. "Guess you aren’t that talented at mana manipulation. The only other method available to you currently is the most dangerous method to open your Mana Veins. It’s where a person, at least of the Core Stage, pushes their own mana into your body and forcefully awakens them. It’s not used that often, since it’s dangerous; if you don’t have a strong enough body, you’ll simply explode into a thousand tiny pieces."
"So, will you take this chance? Risk your life to rise to the next stage of existence?!"