The next scandal soon happened when Empress Gravelyn herself came to the kingdom to collect her father's unlife insurance.
How does that work? I don't know.
The guy was already dead and now his dead-dead.
Let's just say the entire military was called to action when an entire army of undead came to our doorsteps not soon after the war. Fortunately, the Empress wasn't in a modd for war but for collecting her well deserved money.
Something that became a very Huge problem as Baron Bayconn (I kid you not) signed Sepulcher's unlife insurance to get this:
1 TRILLION GOLD.
That much money would bankrupt anyone and run Swordhaven's coffers dry in one fell sweep. Not to mention, the city hasn't recovered yet and now this. The kingdom will fall in both infrastructure and financial needs at this point.
Luckily, Robina resolved the problem by trickling the owed money.
10 million gold per year, a hefty price but doable.
Empress Gravelyn wasn't impressed of course by this but she can't afford to force it. Either this or another war to which both sides aren't capable of yet due to the losses.
She have to accept it.
Not soon afterwards, the Empress recovered her father's remains which Swordhaven kept after the battle. Robina is more than happy to give her the corpse as they have no way of disposing the undead emperor's corpse.
Sepulcher's remains was too powerful to be cleansed by Paladins and Oracles.
That's when the taint of chaos began and the alliance of both Good and Evil took root.
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As for me, I was studying magic.
It was... Hard.
Turn's out one can't simply learn it by talent or hardwork alone. You have to haven an affinity to it. Latent talent asidez if you have zero affinity to magic, your put of luck.
Luckily, I have enough to barely pass and with the frantic recruitment drive of Swordhaven, I got in relatively easy.
It was studying and learning how wield magic is the hard part.
Having zero knowledge and history of the world except for in game lore, I was a fish trying to walk on land. It's almost impossible. Fortunately, I was an engineer graduate before I ended myself and if I can survive that kind of torture then I can survive this.
I just have to be careful not to blow myself up.
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Fire and Ice.
The two elements that I can safely use and most familiarized within the course of 1 month training under Swordhaven mage corps.
Both elements wasn't hard to learn but applying them on the field is.
Fire is energy and it consumes everything. It doesn't differentiate friend or foe. It's a destructive force and meant for explosive skills. Using it for combat is not just about flinging it around but knowing where and when to use it.
Ice meanwhile is much more flexible than fire. Ice is basically water in solid state. All I have to do is convert the moisture in the air into its solid form and you have ice.
But ice is also the most taxing element as it needs fine control and calculations in order to get the desired results.
Meanwhile, Fire is a low cost skill due to its short lifespan and easier production.
Just ignite the molecules in the air and bam! Fire!
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Meanwhile, the Alliance between Good and Evil is now established.
The threat of Chaos and Drakath's return was too great.
Already, both sides can feel Chaos encroaching to both territories.
In Swordhaven, Chaos corrupted monsters and animals have began to emerge to who knows what. More than once did I find myself deployed on the extermination missions to destroy said creatures as they began spreading Chaotic residue, corrupting more with Chaos.
The corrupted creatures themselves are nightmare fuel. Covered in tentacles that breached their skins, revealing muscles and gore, and the purple unnerving eyes pulsating on their bodies can make a grown man puke.
I did more than once per mission.
Only by burning the dead corrupted bodies can stop the spread of Chaos infestation.
I then remembered that the rats are also infected with chaos, breeding under the sewers of the kingdom. It was a big problem and would snowball to a plague sooner or later.
As such, I forged a report of rats breeding in the sewers and signs of chaos in the area.
It turned out be true soon enough as I became part of the extermination crew in the sewers.
The result was massive.
Hordes upon hordes of Chaos corrupted rats where burned to death by our group until we cleaned everything up. Still, the chaos infections hasn't been dealt with. The rats will return sooner or later even if we do sewer clean up every week.
I have to act.
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In the dead of the night, a lone mage run through the sleeping city of Swordhaven. The figure itself was darting through every nook and cranny, expertly dodging every patrolling guards. Having memorized and noted down their patrol areas, it was child's play for them.
Unknown to the mage, he was being followed by an Eye bat. A bat like creature that has an eyeball for a body.
It's job? To watch it's most talented student run away for some unknown reason.
Warlic, the Blue Mage and ArchMage, watched as one the kingdom's rising mages make his escape. As he was a thief in the night, making him chuckle. Although he have no reason to stop the boy, he was curious as to why he is running away.
This boy have no background, no family and no friends. A lone soul found after the war and volunteered to help which is commendable. He is also no spy as an undead spy is not this sloppy.
The boy is just running away for no reason at all.
It was a shame too.
Of all the recruits he had thought the basics in magic, this boy is the only one who grasped on how to wield magic.
To be an extension of one's self.
His affinity to both fire and ice is absurd. His creativity is more so. Not once did he had found the boy creating new applications in combat with his spells.
Turning a small spark into a steady breath of flames, akin to a dragon's breath.
Ice shaped into sharp disc with sharp edges and spun at highspeeds, it becomes a deadly blade.
Flying with jets of flames, propelling himself to safety or repositioning
And so many more.
If he stayed, the boy would be on his route to be a Royal Mage in less than a year. His talents and feats would be recognized and rewarded by Swordhaven.
But it looks like it wouldn't happen.
It was disappointing but Warlic wouldn't bother.
It's the boy's decision and he would respect that.
Although his curious.
Where will he go?