Reborn: Knight's Code
Page 2
Ash found it a little annoying to be treated with kid gloves, but a part of him understood the reason behind it. Den and Ash moved toward the second largest tent where they believed the mage and his subordinates to live. There were a few guards who walked around the camp, but most of them only sit in front of the fire not paying much attention to what was going on around them.
Upon reaching the tenth Ash used a small dagger to cut the tent open so that he and Den could slip inside.
The inside of the tent looked far different than what Ash had envisioned. In his mind he had thought it would be layered with furs and pillows like he had often seen in movies about desert princes. Instead the only furs seemed to be in the small sleeping area, though there was a fairly large size stack of loot in one of the corners of the tent. Though it was nothing compared to what Ash had imagined it would be.
They found the mage sleeping on a thin pile of fur and blankets with a few colorful pillows but he was not alone. Next to the old mage was a young lady in her mid-twenties. Ash was shocked when he saw Den raise his sword, not over the mage but over the young woman as he signaled Ash to kill the mage. Ash was happy that he would get to kill the mage since he noticed a small reapers blade hovering over his head, but seeing Den calmly preparing to kill the young lady sent a pang of guilt running through his heart.
In the small space of time that Ash hesitated, Den’s sword had already plunged into the woman’s breast killing her instantly. Though the kill was mostly silent, the man’s eyes shot open. As the man opened his eyes, Ash quickly drove his sword down into the man, but not before he let out a loud piercing scream.
Pulling his sword free, Ash looked over to see Den looking at him with a reproaching look. Before either could say anything, someone outside the tent called out. From the noise that suddenly erupted it seemed that it wasn’t just their group that had encountered problems. As the mage died a faint white smoke arose from his body and flowed into Ash’s chest.
“Tring.”
[You have killed a level 21 person marked for death by the goddess and have absorbed a portion of the marked soul. Because your level was more than five levels lower you have received 12% of the marked person experience amounting to 472,731 experience.]
“Tring.”
[You have gained a level.]
“Tring.”
[You have gained a level.]
“Tring.”
[You have gained a level.]
“Tring.”
[You have gained a level.]
“Tring.”
[You have killed a person marked for death by the goddess and have been awarded the abilities Mana Manipulation, and Fire Affinity.]
Thanks to everything going on, Ash didn’t have time to look at his new abilities or levels. Though he couldn’t look at them, he was happy for such a jump in his levels.
Ash and Den both moved to the tent exit. As Den lifted up the tent flap, Ash took a quick look outside to see a number of bandits running around headed in the direction of one of the larger tents. The camp seemed to be in a state of chaos so the two stayed hidden and waited to see what was happening. They remained hidden until they heard a shrill voice call out and recognized it as Maria’s voice. Ash and Den both let out a heavy sigh then charged out from the tent.
As soon as Ash exited the tent, he came face to face with one of the bandits. The man was surprised upon seeing Ash and before he had a chance to react, Ash’s sword already cut through his chest, sending a spray of blood that temporally blinded Ash. As soon as the man fell, another yelled out and soon a number of bandits started to surround Ash and Den.
Thanks to his hellish training, without thinking, Ash’s sword started to dance as he moved through the men killing one after another. Most of the men were normal bandits, but a few of them had small scythes floating above their heads. Ash took effort to kill those that were marked, but Den moved through just as quickly, killing two of his targets but Ash was still able to get one of the three. As soon as the marked bandit died, Ash once again heard as the tring popped through his mind.
“Tring.”
[You have killed a level 19 person marked for death by the goddess and have absorbed a portion of the marked soul. Because your level was one level lower you have received 5% of the marked person experience amounting to 38,264 experience.]
“Tring.”
[You have killed a person marked for death by the goddess and have been awarded the ability Hide.]
Ash ignored the small windows that popped up in his mind and continued to fight. Within moments, Ash was so covered in blood that he could feel his tunic sticking to his body.
Before he had a moment to think, four more bandits appeared running around the corner. Without thinking, Ash put all of his strength into his left leg as he kicked forward and flashed past them to get him face to face with the man at the rear of the group who was marked. Ash’s sword darted forward, but though the other man was slightly startled, he was able to get his dagger up to block Ash’s strike.
Before he had a chance to attack again, one of the men Ash had rushed past took a swing at his exposed back but Ash’s luck shield flared, blocking the strike. Knowing that with two at his back, he had little chance to making it through the fight without receiving damage, Ash darted to the side just in time to see Den strike one of the bandits down. Now that it was one on one, Ash turned his attention back to the marked man and resumed his attack.
The marked thief was slightly larger and older than the others. His movements were also more refined than the others and after the man had blocked three of his attacks Ash knew that he was far from the others who he had easily cut through. Having not used it for a while, Ash used analyze on the bandit. When his screen was completely blacked out, he knew that the man in front of him was at least five levels higher then him though he figured that it was mostly likely far more since his speed was almost equal to his own.
The man gave a sneer then Ash noticed something flash above his head, but it happened so fast that he didn’t get a chance to see what skill was being activated. Ash didn’t have to wait long to see as the man in front of him blurred for a moment then seemingly disappeared and reappeared next to Ash. Ash had no time to defend and his shield didn’t activate as the man’s dagger aimed for Ash’s neck. Though he didn’t have time to block, Ash was able to move his body just enough to keep from receiving a fatal blow though his HP was still taken down by 10%. Seeing that he couldn’t win without using his own skills Ash invoked Gambler’s Gambit.
“Tring.”
[You have used Gambler’s Gambit and all stats are raised by 2.]
“A 2,” Ash was completely astounded, but then again no matter how high his luck was, sometimes it still had to fall short. Though he wanted to curse, Ash didn’t have time to think too deeply about it as the bandit was already moving to strike again. Without thinking, Ash used his Shadow Whip which struck out and slammed into the thief sending him crashing to the ground. Before the man could get back up, Ash jumped on his burying his sword into the back of the man’s skull.
“Tring.”
[You have killed a level 48 person marked for death by the goddess and have absorbed a portion of the marked soul. Because your level was more than five level lowers you have received 20% of the marked person experience amounting to 73,726,003 experience.]
Suddenly Ash’s heard the “Tring,” sound a number of times followed by the notification he had raised a level. It happened so fast that Ash was amazed. He knew that the higher level one got the higher the experience needed to reach the next level, but he didn’t think it would get that high. Not caring about his surroundings, Ash quickly called his status and found that he had already jumped up to level 35. In the space of less than an hour he had jumped twenty-one levels.
He knew that his absorption ability was a cheat. He had been told that a number of times by more than one person. That aside, if his absorption ability was a cheat then the goddess’s blessings was even
more of a cheat. Seeing the huge change, Ash resounded himself to go back to the temple and talk to the priest again. Before he could give it much more thought another “Tring,” resounded in his mind.
[You have killed a person marked for death by the goddess and have been awarded the abilities Boost and Blood Drain.]
Ash had to force himself to forget about the levels and abilities he had gained and focus on the other bandits as more and more were appearing. Once again he heard one of the girls yell and he and Den started to fight toward the sound of battle that was no longer very far away.
As they passed in front of the largest of the tents, they found the other four members of their group surrounded by more than fifteen people. It seemed that every bandit had come to the same place. From a quick look, Ash could tell that every single knight had been injured and Maria was laying in the center of the group unmoving with a small puddle of blood seeping out from underneath her.
Seeing the other knights in such a bad situation, Den let out a bestial roar and charged the group. Ash was stunned at the raw power Den was putting off, but even with his anger fueling his sword, he was still quickly surrounded, forcing Ash to chase in after him.
Once again, Ash’s training kicked in as he moved. He no longer had to think about his movements, they came as easily as breathing. He used no abilities or skills just his sword as he cut through the large number of bandits. The only thing he looked for, was to see if any of them had been marked by the goddess, but the few he saw were too far away and he could only hope that he would have a chance to get to them before the others.
The battle flashed by like a dream. One moment he would be facing one bandit, but his sword would flash and the man would die only to be replaced by the next target. Soon the field was littered with bodies of the dying or dead. A few bandits, noticing that they had no chance to win fled the camp and into the woods.
When the last bandit fell, Den and Ash checked on Maria’s status. Ash breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that she wasn’t dead, only heavily wounded. She had taken a sword blow to her side and seemed to have a few broken ribs as well as having lost a large amount of blood. Den quickly forced a light purple potion into her mouth then sat back as he wound slowly closed and the color slowly began to return to Maria’s face.
With the person in the most danger safe now, the others began to tend to their wounds. Ash was no different. He hadn’t received a large wound, but he had received a few nicks and cuts as well as a where the high level bandit’s dagger had hit near his collarbone. It was sore and hurt any time he moved his left arm, but it was already healing fast.
Now that he had time, Ash started to look at his new abilities as well as thinking of how to place his new points. He also started to think about the meaning behind a level. No matter how he looked at it, there didn’t seem to be much meaning behind the rise in levels. Sure one could get stronger, but five points didn’t make much of a difference. For the most part, unless you were like Ash and had a way to increase your stats greatly then even at level one hundred you would still only be slightly stronger than the best strongmen of his previous world. The main meaning behind levels seemed to be the experience one gained from the fights.
Ash had gained twenty-one levels meaning he had one hundred and five points to allot. Ash’s first thought was to put it all in luck, but he was slightly hesitant to do so. In a fight it was the most useless stat, but for rewards it was the most useful. When you coupled it with the bonus he received from his job, then it was still useful. Furrowing his brows, Ash forced his hand and put all of them in luck before he could argue with himself anymore. As soon as he finished Ash noticed that the bonus quit increasing after it reached +999. Ash didn’t know if it stopped increasing or if it just stopped showing it so he started trying to do the math in his head. He wasn’t sure but it seemed that he still got the increase even if it didn’t show it on his status board. With his status situated, Ash looked at his new gained abilities.
[Mana Manipulation: Cost: 40MP- able to manipulate pure mana and give it form. Level 1-0%]
[Fire Affinity - cost of using fire related skills and abilities will be reduced by 10% and power of fire related skills and abilities will be boosted 5%. Level 1-0%.]
[Hide: Cost 10SP- erase your presence.]
[Boost: Cost 50%SP- Double all stats.]
[Blood Drain- ability to absorb 1% of a person’s experience by drinking their blood after their death.]
A few of the abilities seemed useful but the last one was simply disgusting. Ash wanted to raise his level, but the thought of drinking another’s blood revolted him. Seeing the ability Ash now understood how the bandit had been able to have such a high level.
With the battle over, everyone simply sat around recovering their strength. While they sat around, Den searched through the tents bringing out a number of chests and other items that the bandits had looted. Since this was a knight mission, Ash wasn’t granted any of the spoils even though he had helped but since he had gained so many levels the thought of losing a few coins didn’t bother him. As night fell, they built a large fire in the center of the bandit camp and rejoiced in their victory even though it had not gone as they had planned.
“You did well today,” Den said, sitting down beside Ash.
Ash looked at Den then scanned his eyes to the others. Marilyn was sitting close to the fire drawing while Maria sat close by watching her. The other two were drinking not far away, laughing and joking. It seemed to Ash that it was as if nothing had happened. It was as if they had not just killed and drug the bodies of countless dead people off the side to burn. During the first Ash hadn’t given it much thought. He hadn’t had the time to think he only had time to act and react. Now that the battle was over and he had time to think he felt his stomach churn and a sharp pain in his chest as he looked down at his blood stained clothes.
“I did what I had to,” Ash replied after a long moment of silence.
“Do you know much about the knights?”
“Only a little,” Ash replied honestly.
Den laughed and sat down and leaned back with his eyes focused on the large fire in the center of the camp. “When we pick a squire, there are a lot of rules. One, they have to be younger than ten yet older than seven. The reason we want them young is so that they aren’t as dependent on their parents, but still young enough to instill the virtues we want. We are taught from that young age that one must never question the knight’s path. Each knight has their own way to teach, but one thing remains the same and that is the knight’s code.”
“Knight’s code…Is that some sort of oath?”
“In a way,” Den said with a restrained laugh. “It is more of a way of life than just an oath, though it is simple in its own way. I as a knight, shall overlook no injustice to the people of the kingdom and give my life to the noble whom holds my oaths and the people they serve. It is said that many knights go their whole lives pondering the truths hidden behind the oath.”
“Spend their whole lives just pondering the oath?” Ask asked skeptically. “It sounds fairly straightforward to me.”
“That is how things work,” Den said with another laugh. “The simplest things are those that invoke the deepest thought. If it was overly complicated then people wouldn’t look deeper into it, but the simple things those are what keep people awake at night as they try to make it more complicated than it really is. At least that is what my master told me when I first asked him what the code really meant. He said it was best just do keep it simple. Kill what needs killing and protect what needs protecting. At the end of the day let those who have idle time figure out the deeper meaning behind the words that bind us.”
After he finished speaking, Den left Ash sitting alone. He didn’t know why, but the older knight’s words had calmed some of the thoughts of self-loathing that had sprouted in his mind after the battle.
7-3
The next morning Ash and the others started to make their way back
to the city. Their speed was decreased thanks to the added burden of the spoils from the bandit camp and the wounds that they had acquired. Potions and spells could heal most wounds, but broken bones took a lot more effort and even then it left ghost pains behind that kept Maria wincing with every step.
Ash was in a slightly better state than many of the others. He had refused healing the night before for his own wounds thinking that it would be a good reminder that no matter how strong he became, that death was waiting around every corner for those who let their guards down and became overconfident. His shoulder hurt and every now and then the wound would tear open sending small tendrils of warm blood and puss running down his chest and back. With his knowledge from the previous world Ash knew to wash the wound and keep it clean while making sure that it didn’t show any signs of infection. Each time he felt the skin pulling and the dull ach of pain he felt like asking to be healed, but he always quickly pushed the thought aside.
Though the night before everyone had acted happy now that they had a night’s rest a solemn tension hung above them. Ash had always read books in his previous world when he had time. He had read a number of stories and no small number of them had to do with war. Right now it was almost like one of the war stories he read about. During the fight everyone acted on instinct and shortly after the sheer knowledge that they were alive made them excited. It was only long after that the truth fell on them. In one book that Ash remembered reading about a soldier as he told about his personal experiences. He called the time after a battle when one truly thought about the battle the reflection period. He said that unless you were able to make peace in this period you should stop being a soldier otherwise the rest of your life you will be stuck in a perpetual time of remorse and reflection. When Ash had first read about it, he had been slightly skeptical but now he only started to understand.