Legend of the Arch Magus: Curse of Agares

by Michael Sisa

  CHAPTER 1

  After the awarding ceremony, the soldiers of the Coalition Army were given two gold coins each, enough for them to live without working for a year or two. The family of the soldiers who perished in battle was given three gold coins and each of them was posthumously given a bronze medal for sacrificing their lives for the sake of the Kingdom. It wasn’t much, but the rewards were enough to appease the returning soldiers and the souls of those who died.

  There were rumors that the National Treasury was almost depleted, that the Kingdom would soon undergo a financial crisis. But despite this, King Alvis made sure to reward the soldiers who fought in the front lines for the country.

  Lark believed that the king was right. The money wouldn’t bring the dead back to life, but it would propel the family left behind to continue living forward.

  After the rewards were handed out, the Coalition Army was disbanded. The soldiers started going back to their home town.

  Lark and his men were currently outside the city’s gates, on their way to Blackstone Town.

  “Brother,” said Lui. “Why don’t you visit Gryphon City? With your recent achievements, I believe it’ll be possible to change Father’s mind. We can live together again in the Duchy. There’ll no longer be a need for you to live in that small town!”

  Lark shook his head. “It’s been several months since I left my territory. I need to go back soon. And, brother, you don’t understand. I like Blackstone Town.”

  Lui already expected this answer, especially after he heard Lark rejecting the king’s offer of becoming the ruler of Tranta City. Still, he had to ask. He wanted to leave no regrets behind.

  “I see.” Lui clenched his fists. “After I take care of the matters in our Duchy, I’ll come to visit you.”

  Lark smiled. “You can visit Blackstone Town at any time.”

  “And that master of yours?”

  “I’ll introduce you to him when the time comes.”

  Satisfied with this answer, Lui bade his goodbye and left with his men. The moment Lui left, a middle-aged man with a missing arm approached Lark’s group. Zacharia rode his mount and stopped right next to Lark.

  “Going back to that town?”

  The war veteran was as stoic as before. He looked disinterested despite asking Lark this question.

  “Yes,” Lark nodded, “Baro—no, Viscount. It’s Viscount Zacharia now, right?”

  A faint smile formed on Zacharia’s face. He seemed really pleased about being elevated to a Viscount. It was a dream of his ancestors, after all. And he achieved this feat in his generation.

  “I heard your sword broke,” said Zacharia. He ordered his soldiers, “The chest, give it to him.”

  Zacharia’s soldiers handed Lark a medium-sized chest. Lark opened it, revealing several black ingots.

  “Mithril?” said Lark.

  Zacharia was surprised that Lark identified the item at first glance. “It’s not much, but it should be enough to make a sword or two. There’s a blacksmith in Lion City called Garma. Tell him I sent you. He knows how to forge weapons out of mithril. He’ll surely help you.”

  Even in the black market of Lion City, mithril was impossible to find. Even Big Mona would have a hard time getting his hands on it, despite being a renowned merchant of a major city.

  To think that he’ll get his hands on several mithril ingots at once, and for free at that.

  Lark closed the chest. “Thank you. I’ll surely repay this favor someday.”

  Zacharia looked at him quizzically. “What are you saying, Commander Lark? You’ve saved my life—and the lives of my soldiers. This alone isn’t enough to repay that.”

  The soldiers of Zacharia nodded. They all saw Lark favorably, unlike the soldiers of Arzen.

  Lark smiled wryly. “Mithril’s not something you can buy with money.”

  This was true, especially now that the Dwarven Kingdom had closed off its borders to the other races.

  “Then… with this gift, let’s just say that we’re even,” said Lark. He reached out his hand.

  Zacharia dismounted and shook Lark’s hand. “I’m envious of your father, the duke. My oldest son will turn ten years old this year. I sincerely hope he’ll grow up like you.”

  Zacharia said these words without even flinching. Lark scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.

  Zacharia stared at Lark for a moment. “Commander Lark, have you met Valcres before?”

  It was a familiar name. Lark didn’t expect to hear it from Zacharia’s mouth.

  “The Lord of Lion City?”

  Zacharia nodded. “That’s right. That psychopath. The sadistic bastard who loves beastmen meat.”

  Zacharia was obviously disgusted. The way he spat those words felt as though Valcres was the most despicable man in the world. It seemed that the two of them had a history, but Lark decided not to ask.

  Austen and George looked at each other. They’d been living in Lion City for several years. Indeed, there were rumors among the rats of the slums that the Lord of the City would feed on beastmen meat every now and then. The rumors were so absurd and disgusting that the brothers dismissed it. But to think that it was actually true. Austen and George shivered at this revelation.

  “Beastmen meat?” Lark frowned. It was the first time he’d heard of it.

  “Be careful of him,” warned Zacharia. “That one’s a backstabbing bastard.”

  Zacharia firmly believed that the territory governed by Lark would eventually prosper until it became a small city. Lord Valcres might someday point his sword at Lark and decide to swallow up his territory. Valcres was greedy, after all.

  Lark seriously considered Zacharia’s words. Although the time they’d spent in the battlefield was brief, he knew that the war veteran was a trustworthy person.

  “Thank you,” said Lark. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Zacharia mounted his horse. “If you have the time, come visit the Leonard School. My brother’s the current headmaster. I’ll give you a personal tour.”

  Lark smiled. “I’ll be sure to visit someday.”

  After that exchange, Zacharia and his men left the capital. Slowly, the number of soldiers camped outside the city dwindled. The Coalition Army had really disbanded.

  Lark turned toward his men. Over half the Blackstone Knights perished in battle, and a few dozen soldiers died as well. It was not a bad number, but Lark still felt that it was such a waste to have lost so many soldiers. He could create more Blackstone Knights, but he could never bring those who died back to life.

  Lark looked at his disciples.

  George and Austen were now both capable of casting first-tier spells. Anandra, on the other hand, had grown considerably stronger after facing innumerable imperial soldiers and after personally fighting General Rizel.

  And the last disciple. Chryselle.

  Lark and Chryselle locked eyes with each other for a moment. She smiled, her eyes filled with excitement, as though she was thrilled to finally go to Blackstone Town.

  “Shall we go?” Lark asked his men.

  “Yes, Young Master!”

  Lark and his men started moving toward Blackstone Town. Behind them were several carts containing hundreds of iron ingots, seeds, and other crops. These were bought at the capital at a relatively cheaper price with the help of the royal family—tax-free.

  Lark planned on creating more living suits of armor to help with the massive northern farmlands. Furthermore, it was finally time to convert the western fields of Blackstone Town into arable land. These seeds and new crops would be a great addition to the vast fields of wheat in his territory.

  A group of riders approac
hed Lark’s group. The lead knight spoke, “Are you Lark Marcus?”

  Lark noticed that the five knights were protecting the rider at the center. A figure clad in a hooded cloak.

  “That’s right,” said Lark.

  The five knights were obviously elites. The rider at their center was probably a prominent figure in this territory.

  The lead knight spoke to the hooded figure, “Princess, it’s fine now.”

  Princess?

  Lark looked bewilderedly at the rider at the center. She slowly pulled down the hood, revealing a familiar face.

  “Princess Esmeralda?” Lark was stunned upon seeing the princess here.

  They were already several hours away from the capital. What was she doing here? In the middle of the wilderness?

  The princess was clearly disgruntled. She locked eyes with Lark for a moment then immediately averted her gaze.

  She looked at the leader of the knights. “Parzival! I can’t believe you’re forcing me to go with this lot! Even if it’s the order of my father, aren’t you supposed to be serving me? Aren’t you my personal knight? We could have gone to that place even without their help!”

  Parzival bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Princess. But I cannot go against the wishes of His Majesty.”

  Esmeralda glared at the knights. It was clear that she was brought here against her wishes.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” asked Lark.

  Parzival pulled out a scroll and read its contents. “As decreed by His Majesty, Princess Esmeralda will undergo cultural exchange training at Blackstone Town. This will last for a year. Until then, she won’t be allowed to come back to the capital, unless special circumstances permitted otherwise.”

  It sounded stupid. It was obvious that this was a mere pretext of the king to force the princess to come with him.

  Cultural exchange training? Just the name alone sounded ridiculous. No wonder the princess was clearly distraught by this development. She also glared at Lark; clearly unhappy about what was happening.

  “She’s a princess,” said Lark. “We’ll be passing through monster-infested territories before reaching Blackstone Town.”

  Parzival replied confidently, “All of us here are high-ranking knights of the capital. We’ll be responsible for the safety of Princess Esmeralda.”

  It was good to hear. At the very least, Lark did not want to be responsible for the security of a royal. He already had his hands full with managing Blackstone Town.

  Parzival looked at the coachman momentarily and was stunned upon realizing who it was. It seemed that the famous Mikael Garios was the knight assigned to observe Lark. Currently, Mikael was dressed in dirty tunic as he guided the horses pulling the carts.

  Mikael noticed the gaze of Parzival. He wordlessly told the young knight to avert his gaze and mind his own business. Parzival momentarily shuddered upon meeting Mikael’s eyes. He could still remember the hellish training he underwent several years ago in the Military Academy under Instructor Mikael.

  Lark looked at the sulking princess then at the knights following behind her.

  “Princess,” said Lark. “It’ll take us several weeks before we reach Blackstone Town. Although it’s a bit dirty, we do have free space inside the third cart.”

  Although peevish, the princess muttered her thanks then went inside the cart Lark indicated. She must have been tired after riding for several hours to catch up with Lark’s group, as she immediately fell asleep despite the constant rattling of the cart.

  After the princess fell asleep, Lark told Parzival, “I expected her to turn tail after hearing that it’ll take several weeks to reach our destination.”

  “Well… there’s another reason why she’s coming to your territory. The Endless Forest. The princess deemed that she might find the item she was looking for there,” Parzival replied carefully.

  Lark shot a quizzical gaze. “What do you mean?”

  Parzival fell silent and didn’t utter another word.

  It was true that the king forced her to come to Blackstone Town in hopes that his daughter would become closer to Lark. It seemed that the king highly regarded Lark’s talent in warfare and his ability to govern his territory. He deemed that the second son of Duke Drakus would someday become a prominent figure of the Kingdom. As a monarch, he could not let this opportunity pass.

  But the reason why the princess eventually yielded to her father’s request was because of a particular item:

  Tears of Ubroxia.

  The princess’ personal knights were aware that the king was slowly dying from an unknown curse. And it seemed that the princess found out a few months before that the tears of a certain flower may potentially cure her dying father, and that that flower was known to grow only in two places—the Forbidden Region and the Endless Forest.

  The Forbidden Region was too dangerous, even if an entire army escorted her. The only alternative was the Endless Forest.

  The king didn’t know that his daughter agreed to come to Blackstone Town because of this.

  Thus, despite being clearly against the idea of marriage, the princess eventually conceded and agreed to come along with Lark and his small army. Parzival and his fellow knights felt relieved at this. The princess would be a lot safer during their travel if they rode along with this group.

  “What item is the princess looking for?” Lark asked again.

  Parzival shook his head. “Nothing. Please pretend you didn’t hear me talking about it. The princess will surely be furious at me if she finds out.”

  Lark was curious. What were they trying to find inside the Endless Forest that the princess was willing to travel to a faraway town in the middle of the wilderness?

  Seeing that the knight was unwilling to divulge any more information about the matter, Lark decided not to pursue it any further.

  CHAPTER 2

  When night came, Lark’s group camped in the middle of the forest. His soldiers pitched tents and made campfires. They started grilling the meat they bought from the capital.

  To the sheltered princess, this was an entirely new experience. This was the first time she would be sleeping outside—although she’d been given the free space in the third cart as her own private quarters. It was not much, but she knew she still had it better than the soldiers who would be sleeping on cold hard ground.

  Sitting near the campfire, the princess observed the soldiers around her. Most of them were merrily chatting the night away, while those who wore full plate armor simply stood nearby. She heard from her knights that the latter weren’t human.

  “Princess, you might catch a cold if you stay outside for too long.”

  Parzival handed the princess a wool blanket. The princess wrapped herself with it and continued gazing at the campfire, at the crackling and burning kindling, at the sparks which would occasionally fly up into the air.

  “Parzival, what if we can’t find it?” said the princess.

  “Then we’ll keep searching, for another place, for another way.”

  Parzival knew that there were other groups searching for a way to cure the king’s curse. He even heard recently that the Captain of the Royal Knights would be organizing an expedition to the Forbidden Region. A group of handpicked elites would venture there and search for the flower.

  The princess must have been somewhat satisfied with her knight’s answer. She no longer sulked. She regained the glimmer in her eyes.

  “I heard that the Endless Forest is big,” she said. Her voice was filled with conviction. “We’ll surely find it. Even if it takes us months, a year—we’ll keep looking.”

  Parzival smiled. “Your knights will be sure to protect you, Princess.”

  After eating dinner, the princess went back inside her cart and fell asleep. Her personal knights took turns guarding her.

  Parzival went toward the cart located at the rear. He leaned on it and spoke to the coachman.

  “It’s been a while, Instructor.”

  The coach
man— Mikael—looked at the direction where Lark was located. After making sure that no one was eavesdropping, he spoke, “Parzival. I didn’t expect to see you here, and with the princess at that.”

  “A whim of His Majesty,” said Parzival. “And it so happens that it coincided with the current goal of the princess.”

  Parzival studied his former instructor’s appearance. Currently, Mikael looked like a serf. His clothes were worn out and his skin was dirty, as though he hadn’t taken a bath for several days.

  “I also didn’t expect to see Instructor here,” said Parzival. “I didn’t know that you’re the observer assigned to Lark Marcus.”

  “It’s more than half a year now that I’ve been observing him,” said Mikael. “A basket full of surprises. Sometimes I’ve even started questioning if he’s really just a kid.”

  This was the first time Parzival had heard Mikael praise someone to this extent. He also heard of Lark’s feats during the war with the Empire.

  “Radulf’s been assigned to observe Kalavinka Kelvin,” said Parzival. “The last time we met, he told me that the kid’s a shut-in, but becomes a demon during a naval battle.”

  “The genius of the Navy, huh?” Mikael had heard of Kalavinka before.

  “The Mullgray Pirates are becoming hard to keep in check lately,” said Parzival. “I heard they even started attacking the ports of the Empire. But they were always defeated by Kalavinka.”

  “It’s great that the young ones are stepping up,” said Mikael.

  There were a lot of talented individuals in the younger generation. And, surprisingly, most of them came from noble families.

  Lui Marcus, Kalavinka Kelvin, Lark Marcus.

  Even the three sons of Count Boris—Aris, Mokuva and Arzen—had already made a name for themselves, despite their young age. Unfortunately, the Boris brothers weren’t eligible for the competition for the throne.

  “If Kalavinka wins the competition for the throne, we might enter the golden age of sea exploration.” Parzival grinned just thinking about it. “And Lui Marcus is not a bad choic—”

  Parzival stopped midway. He and Mikael noticed several eyes glowing in the darkness of the forest. Soon, growls were heard. All of the soldiers immediately pulled out their weapons and the knights of Princess Esmeralda surrounded the cart where she slept.