LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 9: Training (Part 2)
At the entrance to the adventurer's guild in Shander was a well-dressed man, his silver armor with gold accents was accompanied by a red cape that made him look professional and outstanding. His pretty face with his narrow eyes and sculpted cheek and jaw added to the beauty that was his silver hair that flowed in the wind. To many of the passersby, this man was a man from the capital, wearing the armor of the imperial knights who had come here to make a request to the local adventurer's guild in the town.
'I wonder where she is now?'
Lance thought to himself as he waited outside the guild building, he recalled the meeting he was in with the Visnet and Jacon in the garden of the imperial palace a few days ago.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
“What?” Lance asked as his face held a confused expression at the words of the person sitting on the opposite end of the table.
“You heard me knight” Visnet said as a cocky grin appeared on his face
“I want you to go and keep tabs on Amelia, that is an order”
“But why? Amelia is fine at keeping herself safe” Lance replied as he leaned forward, his brows furrowing
“And how did that work out for her during the academy hmm? She may be strong but she is stupid, she can barely keep herself safe because she keeps running into danger”
Lance was speechless but silently agreed with his words, Amelia would always run into danger, disregarding her life.
“That’s why we keep track of her…to keep her safe” Visnet continued
Besides, a blonde bimbo Saintess like her whose only purpose in life is to be used would be useless to me dead” Visnet added, a twisted smile on his face
SLAM
“You take that back!” Lance shouted as he slammed the table with his fist, one hand on the hilt of his sword. Ready to strike down the person he swore to protect
“Tsk tsk tsk. My own personal knight is trying to strike me down? How amusing”
{!}
Suddenly Lance felt his body become heavy, his knees feeling weak and his insides feeling uncomfortably painful, especially in the area around his chest. Beads of sweat falling from his face as he clutched his chest and fell to one knee, mustering enough strength to look up, he saw that Visnet’s eyes and hair had changed from his typical blue-colored eyes with red hair to red eyes and white hair.
“You feel it?” Visnet said, a joyous and cocky attitude in his voice
“This is a blessing from a group I so happen to sponsor, in return for my sponsorship, they gave me this power that is stronger than anything on this world” he added as he stood up and walked towards the kneeling Lance.
“So I suggest you listen, or else your family and the position you fought for so hard will be…relocated per say” he finished with a devious smile on his face that was met with an angry glare from Lance
“So get going now. Report back everything. Oh and Jacon, tell him where she is”
“Of course” Jacon answered with a smile
“Yes…your highness”
…………………………………………………………………………………………
'They don't deserve her as I do. Especially Visnet…that bastard’ Lance continued to think to himself.
He then began to remember seeing her for the first time during the opening ceremony of the academy.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Now then, I welcome all of you to the Hallsworth Imperial Academy. To all of you students before me, I wish you all good years ahead in your journey to becoming great leaders and members of this natio-”
CREAAAAK
At that moment, Principal Alger’s speech was interrupted by the meeting hall's large doors being opened, everyone seated had turned their attention away from the man speaking towards the door opening.
GASP!
Audible gasps were heard from both faculty and students as all of them had the same thing in their sight. A girl with blonde hair wearing the uniform of the school drenched in blood. The girl standing at the door had a blank expression on her face as she pulled out a paper from her pocket and began walking towards the rows of seats, as she passed by row after row on her way to the seat designated on the paper, the people in those rows began talking in hushed whispers as each other tried to figure out who the girl was.
The girl then suddenly stopped near the first three rows and saw the empty chair that had the designated number on it, excusing herself as she squeezed her way into the seat that was several chairs into the row before taking a seat. Acting as if nothing had happened and everything was fine.
Alger himself also eyed the girl and cleared his throat
“Miss. what is your name and why are you late?” he questioned as he stared her down
The girl looked around and finally saw that he was looking straight at her, she sighed as she stood up and looked him straight in the face
“I am the adventurer your staff hired to kill the monsters in the mountains to the north. I am also a student here” she answer, earning audible gasps and shocked glances from everyone, including Alger.
Suddenly his eyes widened as he had recalled what she had meant, cursing inward to himself for forgetting such a thing.
“Well…what is your name then?” he asked
“Amelia. Amelia Rothild” she answered back, still locking eyes with him
“Well, thank you for fulfilling our request Miss Amelia, you may take your seat” Alger quickly finished as he felt this was a bit too embarrassing
*****
As Alger continued his speech, Amelia sighed to herself as she felt tired, she had spent the better part of two days trying to kill the horde of Gratatosk’s living in the forested hills. She was basically running on the remaining energy had by pouring it into physical enhancement magic to just keep her body running.
“Psst. hey” a voice came from beside her
Looking over, she saw a boy with silver hair handing her a red handkerchief, the boy was holding it out to her with a gentle smile on his face
“You look like you could use this” he said in a meek voice, his cheeks a tint of red
Amelia smiled as she took the handkerchief from the boy and began using it to wipe the blood on her face, neck and forearms. Using magic to repeatedly cleanse the handkerchief of blood after every wipe. After she finished, she handed back over to the boy with a smile, said smile made the boy’s eye’s sparkle and his heart thumped.
“My..my name is Lance…nice to meet you” he added as he held out his shaky hand
“Nice to meet you Lance, I am Amelia. Hope we can be friends” Amelia replied as she shook his hand and gave another smile.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
‘Even back then…she was levels above everyone.’ Lance thought as he laughed to himself
He remembers how he tried his best to interact with her during classes since they were classmates, from trying to impress her during the swordsmanship classes to the adventurer classes where he tried to show off his knowledge. But every time he tried, he was outdone by the other guys trying to impress her, from the elf to the dragonkin to the crown prince and the priest. All of them tried to woo her and he was no different, but Lance knew that the others were only interested in her because she was a unique and exceptional person with great abilities. They wanted her power, her magic but not herself, not like him.
"All of them are unworthy of her"
He mumbled to himself as he dragged his mind out of those thoughts, he looked around once again and saw two familiar figures walking down the main street towards the guild. One was a beautiful blonde-haired girl wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a metal chest plate and brown pants with a utility belt and knee guards. The one next to her was an equally beautiful brown-haired girl wearing plate armor that was badly chipped and damaged.
'There she is!' He thought as he walked forward to meet the both of them, he stopped before both of them giving a smile to Amelia and then saying
"Hey there Amelia! Are you guys ok? I heard that there was an SS-Class monster here. So I was sent to deliver a request before any of the imperial military showed up"
Amelia looked up at Lance as he said those words, she did not return the smile but instead looked annoyed as she replied
"Yes, we are fine. We dealt with that monster already. Also, how did you know I was here? I believe you were not waiting in front of the guild for someone else?"
"Oh...uhh, I did not expect you to be here and I was just waiting to see if someone would come back and report that they had dealt with the monster"
Lance said he tried to figure out an excuse to try and save himself.
'Sorry Amelia, but that tracking magic we placed on you is for your own safety' He thought to himself as he lied through his teeth.
He then looked to the left side of Amelia and saw Sharon looking at a crystal she had brought out of her item box, it was light green and shone brightly in the sunlight.
"Uhh, Miss Sharon, what is that?" he said as he pointed at the crystal in her hand
"It's the crystal from the monster we killed, well., Amelia killed really"
Lance's eyes widened as he heard the answer
'Amelia truly is strong, but it's our job as men to protect her, regardless'
"Amelia! why did you fight it? You could have gotten hurt!" Lance exclaimed as he grabbed Amelia by the shoulders and looked concerned
Amelia gave him a confused and annoyed look as he heard those words
"I clearly killed it and it didn't even leave a mark on me. Why are you concerned?" she replied as she pushed his arms off
"Because I care for you, Amelia! It would hurt me if the person I love was injured by a monster who was stronger than she and I could do nothing. It is my job as a man who loves you to care for you and make sure you are all right"
Amelia broke eye contact with Lance and lowered her head, all the while saying his response, Lance had a look of concern and care for Amelia as he tried to convey the meaning behind his words. He hoped at the bottom of his heart that Amelia understood that he truly loved her and that he was better than the other men trying to court her. But as he looked on at Amelia who kept her head down, he had missed the fidgeting clenched fists that were by Amelia's side, even the expression on her face that was hidden away from Lance was not an expression of understanding but instead deep-seated hatred and anger towards him.
Amelia then lifted her head and met eyes with Lance
"Well, if you think you are strong enough to defend me, why don't you try and defeat me? If you win then I'll quit adventuring altogether, but if I win. Then you will stop interfering with my life" she said as she tried her best to hold back her anger
"Very well then. I will show you the strength of a man who wants to protect you, there is an open field near the town we can use to fight" Lance replied with a beaming smile and a nod
"I see, lead the way then"
“His funeral” Sharon muttered under her breath
And then the two of them set off to the field
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sharon POV
I was walking behind both of them as they agreed to a duel on an open field near the town. Lance the ever-oblivious knight was leading the way with Amelia following behind, I saw that she placed her hands on the hilts of her daggers and was fidgeting with them. I have known her long enough that I can clearly see that she does not plan to lose the duel but also do something to Lance. But I understand her reasoning, ever since she entered the academy, she had been in the sights of so many men that coveted her for her abilities and beauty. Ranging from our seniors who were about to graduate to our juniors who were years below us, no man could look at Amelia and not be interested in courting her. It made the other girls jealous and even made me slightly annoyed that the girl who was my best friend when I went into the empire was the most popular. Even the crown prince and his brothers, the boy selected to become the next pope, and even the boy who was crowned to be the strongest mage in the history of the empire couldn’t help but be interested in her.
But I learned many things from Amelia during our time together for those first three years, she taught me how to hunt, how to use my magic efficiently, and even how to fight opponents who were way stronger than me. My bonding and experiences with her truly made me appreciate who she was and helped me recognize her abilities, but whenever someone would mention these things to her, she would smile awkwardly and say that it was nothing. To me who had been nothing but an F-rank adventurer at the start of my school life, this was weird to me as I thought that she was being too humble. But when 4th year came around, I saw a whole new side of her that only I knew about.
"Sharon!"
A yell pulled me out of my thoughts, and I found that we had already reached the middle of the field, Amelia was the one who shouted out to me and I quickly recomposed myself by giving her a nod of confirmation.
"You will be the referee; the match is over if one of the party surrenders"
Amelia said in a serious tone, it made me feel sorry for Lance as I had a feeling I knew what she was about to do.
"Alright then, I accept those conditions, let's get started. Don't hold back Amelia, because I won't. I will show you what I can do and why I am the only one capable of defending you" Lance said with a smirk as he unsheathed his blade and activated his magical skill, it gave him a red aura and I immediately knew what it was. It was the famous <Endure> skill that made the user almost invulnerable, with each attack blocked increasing their own striking power.
Amelia made no reaction to what she saw and simply unsheathed her daggers and went into a lowered stance. I knew that she had already devised a plan to deal with this type of magic and I felt pity for Lance.
I raised my hand and yelled
"Begin!"
I saw them both immediately rush each other, they were blurry for a moment before reappearing, their blades locking with one another before Lance jumped back. Amelia began swinging her daggers in sharp and precise slashes and strikes with Lance blocking each with a lot of effort to try and keep up, it was such a difference in power that made me realize that if she ever really got serious, we would die quickly. Plus I could tell she was still holding back because I remember during our academy years, that when she gets serious, she has a sinister smile to accompany those dead and unfeeling eyes that she has right now. On the other side, I saw Lance barely keeping up and that his face which was with a proud smirk earlier was now a face of struggling and fear in his eyes as he tried desperately to keep blocking the swings of Amelia.
Then as Lance saw an opening and tried to bring down his sword on Amelia, I saw her launch a low kick that hit the knee joint of Lance. I also heard an accompanying CRACK sound as it did. That was immediately accompanied by Lance yelling in pain as Amelia dodged the sword coming down then thrust her left-hand dagger deep into the side of her opponent before pulling out and hitting him with a front kick that sent him flying backward a few feet, collapsing onto his back as he clutched his wound.
I was about to try and end it but Amelia looked at me and I understood to keep silent.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
“Ughhhhh. Dammit” Lance moaned in pain as he lay on the ground, his hands were tightly pressing the wound that was caused by Amelia's dagger and it stung even after it was pulled out.
"Lance are you ok?" a voice asked out to him,
"Yeah, kinda. I guess I should have told you to hold back if I knew this was what was going to happen to me" he replied as he tried to sit up, the pain still burning in his side
“You were an idiot for saying that” Amelia replied as she used a <Cleansing Water> spell
Lance saw a water ball form in the hand of Amelia and winced as she placed it on the wound.
'I have to get stronger for her sake' he thought to himself as Amelia used the bubble of water to heal his deep side wound and his knee injury.
She then let out a sigh as she locked eyes with Lance, a serious expression on her face
“Tell me. Did they send you here to keep tabs on me?” she asked as she kept her serious expression
{!}
Lance slightly flinched as Amelia
“Wha…what do you mean Amelia, I came here because I am concerned for you” he quickly answered as sweat began forming
“I don’t want lies Lance. Out of all of them, you're the only one I considered to be an actual friend”
‘Only a friend huh…sorry Amelia, but this is for your own safety’
“Like I said, I came here to just check up on you because I am concerned about you…I’m not doing this because someone asked me too”
“I see…” Amelia replied as she looked away from him, lowering her head to hide her frustrated and angered expression
“I think I am fine now, I’ll just stand up first” Lance said as he sensed something was wrong, but as he stood up, a water bubble suddenly formed around his neck and trapped his head inside it. Slowly rising from the ground.
Lance began to try and claw the bubble off but to no avail, making him struggle and squirm as he tried to see who was doing this to him. His eyes fell on the person next to him. And there he saw it, slowly lifting the sphere that was carrying him was Amelia, her hand was slowly closing in and was being raised and the more it was raised the higher the sphere would go, her eyes showed emptiness, and a sadistic smile was spread across her face as the sphere continued to go up.
'Holy water can heal injuries, but just like normal water it can drown people in it' she thought to herself as she let her hand go back into its normal form and the sphere disappeared, sending Lance back down on the ground.
Lance gasped for air as he fell to the ground, water dripping down his face as he tried to regain himself. He looked up and saw Amelia slowly walking towards him, her eyes no longer showed that sweetness that he saw in the academy and earlier. But instead showing anger and contempt towards him, he tried to stand up but fell back on his knees as he felt a massive force pushing him down and making him wince in pain. He tried to make a sound but could not hear his voice, his eyes widened, and an expression of confusion and fear filled his face as he saw a smile flash across Amelia that did not reach her eyes.
He felt immense pressure and killing intent from Amelia that made him tremble as she kneeled next to him and whispered in his ear
"I know about the tracking magic that you guys put on me"
This made Lance's eyes widen and his fear increased.
'She knew?! But that bastard Jacon said she would never sense it unless she had extremely high sensing magic'
Amelia saw the expression on his face and heard the thoughts in his mind.
"All of you claim you care for me, yet you do things that don't sit right with me behind my back. You claim that you respect my freedom and my life choices, but you keep tabs and tracking magic on me because you think that I am not strong enough to handle my own problems" smiling as she declared this to his face
"But from you Lance. I am disappointed” she added as her smile swiftly switched into a disgusted look
“I cherished our friendship ever since we first met, but to see you overtime destroy it because of your overprotectiveness and your hope to one day court me has disappointed me. I even gave you one last chance to try and redeem yourself, but you still chose not to tell me anything because you believe it “will keep me safe” puts the final nail in the coffin for me” Amelia added as she grabbed him by the collar of his plate armor, bringing him to his feet.
Lance was shaking as he tried to look away from Amelia’s terrifying gaze, the sound of his heavy plate armor being broken into pieces filling his ears as Amelia’s grip continued to harden.
"All of you men disgust me, you think I am just some prize to be won, some object that can be used to expand your power or magic, or some simple countryside maiden who cannot defend herself. But you assume wrong, I am none of those things because I know I am the one who defines my own worth and what I am. All of you claim that you love me and that you would never do anything to hurt and break my heart. But you already did" she continued as she broke off a huge chunk of the chest plate
“You broke my heart…by sending her through that portal.” Amelia finished as her golden eyes shifted from gold to a deep crimson red
{!}
Lance had a shocked expression as Amelia dropped that last piece of info, he was about to say something but then a sensation of searing hot pain forced him to scream loudly, he looked down and saw Amelia crushing his elbow in an iron grip that sent shards of the plate armor flying in several directions. She then smiled as she then proceeded to do the same thing to each and every one of his joints, sending splinters of his armor in multiple directions, accompanying them with the sounds of bones crushing, metal plates cracking, and Lance’s screams. All the while she was laughing and smiling, Sharon was watching on but stayed silent as a word from her could mean that it could escalate into something more gruesome as Amelia was no longer in her right mind, it also helped that she could tell that this was not even the extent of Amelia's rage. She also noticed that Amelia had placed a circular barrier around them that was 100 meters in diameter in their area to stop anyone from hearing Lance’s screams.
A full ten minutes passed when Amelia finally settled down, Lance was sobbing and whimpering as he lay on the ground fully paralyzed with fear as he saw the person who he loved mercilessly inflict such pain on him. She had nearly ripped off all of his limbs during her tormenting spree. Amelia herself had placed her head in her palms as she sat on the ground near Lance, a bit of regret washing over her as she finally regained her composure, periodically looking at Lance which gave her a bit more regret after each glance. Meanwhile, Sharon was sitting on a nearby log, looking around just to make sure that no one was nearby to interrupt whatever was happening with her friend.
‘I should check up on them now’ she thought as she took a deep breath and walked over to the two of them
She saw that Lance’s eyes were now filled with fear and had tear marks down his sides, whenever he looked at Amelia he would flinch before looking away. She then looked at Amelia who was lowering her head as she was sitting, she could tell that she had regretted going a bit too far this time. She sighed to herself as she knew it was up to her to get these two back in working order.
“So, did both of you get to vent out your feelings?” she asked, both of them then locked their eyes on her, their eyes each containing a hint of confusion
“You know Lance, she has been keeping in that rage that has been building inside her ever since Ophelia was sent through that portal. It was going to come out eventually, especially against someone like you, who were part of that boy’s group that condemned her in the first place” she said as she sat down next to him, grabbing a towel from her pouch and wiping away the tears that were all over his face
“And you Amelia, I am surprised that you still held back, despite everything you know. I am amazed you didn’t end his life right then and there” she added as she looked over at Amelia who had a remorseful look on her face
“But there is a reason for that no?” Sharon continued
Amelia nodded as she let her head go back down
“You still consider him a friend, don’t you. Despite everything”
“Unn” Amelia replied
A wry smile appeared on Sharon’s face at that response and she looked down at Lance, whose expression changed little, but she could see that most of the fear was gone from his eyes. She looked back at Amelia who was about to cry so she quickly stood back up and sat next to her best friend, placing her hand on her back and rubbing it up and down to soother her, removing her armored chest piece and arm pieces,
“It’s ok Amelia, you can cry. It’s unhealthy to keep it inside”
“Hnng…hnnng…WAAAAAA” Amelia finally broke out into tears as she clutched Sharon’s arms, and buried her face in Sharon’s chest.
Sharon let out a smile as she hugged Amelia in response and continued to soothe her, glancing at Lance whose expression changed from fear to a slight confusion.
“If your still confused. Amelia and Ophelia were lovers, apparently long before they entered the academy” Sharon said and saw Lance’s expression go from confusion to realization then regret as he bit his lip and laid his head back down.
“I’m sorry” Lance said as he stared up into the sky,
“Had I known that the two of you were in a relationship…I would’ve done what I could to help you”
“It wouldn’t have mattered” Amelia replies
“She told me that even if you knew, it any of you knew, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that she would be exiled. It still would have happened but more people would be hurt. We decided this because it was the outcome where there least people got hurt. But it didn’t stop me from growing hate towards all of you for various reasons for each. Emilio wants me because he believes that powerful mages like him and me are better and above everyone, Roimir wants me because he sees me as the perfect test subject for magic-related healing, and he wants to use me to try and be his lab rat in other words”
As she stated this, Lance’s brow furrowed as did Sharon’s but they said nothing as Amelia continued
“Kier wants me to be his ‘wife’ so that he can become chief of his tribe, they equate status to the strength you have over a strong wife. It is a disgusting fate. Jacon believes that just because he is the pope’s successor and I am the Saintess that we are meant to be together, but that’s just to hide his lust for power and since I have more power in the form of stronger Holy Magic than him, he wants me to further his own agenda. The twins just want what Visnet want…and Visnet -”
“Wants to just use you” Lance interrupted
“Exactly, he sees me as an object that can be obtained because he is the Crown Prince and that position brings him power, he is more interested in courting me and making me his Empress than actually ruling. And my anger towards you was just being associated with them, and also smacking and spitting on Ophelia when you imprisoned her” Amelia finished
“Yeah…I deserve that”
After she finished, there was a small silence that filled the area, all of them had thoughts swirling in their heads.
‘Damn, these men really are trashy’ Sharon thought
‘I really have been a horrible friend’ Lance thought
‘Ophelia…I miss you’ Amelia thought
Amelia then let out another sigh as she stood up and walked over to Lance
“Let’s heal you up, you will have to make it up to me somehow” she said as her hands began emitting golden light
“For hurting you and her. I will do anything” Lance replied
“Good. as it should be”
Amelia then chanted in her head <Restore> and the golden light in her hands glowed brighter, wrapping Lance’s body in its warm and fuzzy light, restoring the broken bones and the armor he was wearing back to their condition before Amelia had destroyed them. Lance let out a sigh and closed his eyes as he felt a fuzzy feeling inside him as he was experiencing the magic to its full effect.
As the spell finished, Lance opened his eyes and saw Amelia had a small smile on her face, which made Lance too have a small smile on his face. Amelia extended her arm and helped Lance up, both of them dusting themselves off as Sharon stood up and joined them, a smile on her face as everything had worked out.
“Now for how to repay me. It is very simple”
“I am listening”
“You will be Sharon’s sparring partner for the next two weeks”
{!}
Amelia’s request surprised both of them, but Sharon quickly understood as Lance was an S-Rank and thus the perfect sparring partner to get her to her goal faster. Lance on the other hand was still confused by the request but felt that asking why was something he shouldn’t do.
“Alright then, I will do as you ask”
“Good, we meet here tomorrow”
“Alright, I’ll be here around 10 in the morning”
“Alright then”
Amelia then looked up to the sky and saw that it was slowly turning orange, they had been out for a while already. She and Sharon were tired and she could tell Lance was as well.
“Let’s meet back here tomorrow, it’s getting late and I can tell all of us are tired”
“Yeah, I am” Sharon added
“Alright then, I will be heading to the knight's barracks outside the town, I take it you guys are heading to the inn?”
“Yep. we have a lodging”
“Alright. Goodbye then, see you tomorrow”
“Goodbye Lance
“Bye Mr. Triost”
“Goodbye Amelia, Lady Sharon”
Both parties then went their separate ways, Lance feeling a bit relieved that Amelia still was friends with him, but saddened that his romantic feelings will never bloom. Amelia on the other hand felt relieved that some of her anger had now been vented out and no longer clouded her mind and heart. While Sharon was relieved that no one had died in Amelia’s rampage and that a sparring partner had been found who wasn’t Amelia, she felt that she was one step closer to her goal.
A:N (Heyo, this one took a while to make since I have been writing after I finish my college reqs. Hope you guys enjoy this one, its a bit longer than the one’s before it so pls enjoy. If you have any thoughts just post them in the comments below. Many thanks for reading!)