Paragon of Skills

The shield falls apart, and the room goes quiet. I pull my finger back, and I shake my hand once because the Mana left a sting. Marcel stares at the broken light with a blank face, and I stand in front of him with a smile.

"So," I say. "I win. Sit down. Can someone fetch me a razor?"

"This… this can't be possible!" Marcel exclaims. "F—father!"

Duke Dorian looks at me with interest. The glint I saw before in his eyes has grown bigger.

"Jacob has won fair and square," the Duke says without missing a beat. He gestures toward a servant, "A razor, please."

* * *

Soon, a razor is brought to me, and I walk toward this dear cousin.

"Any preference?"

"P—please, it took so long to grow my hair!"

"Jacob," my mother, Priscilla, intervenes. "You might want to show some mercy. Your cousin offended you, but we're still family."

"Yeah, and that's why I'm only cutting his hair and not his throat," I say, looking at my mother and adding a shrug of my shoulders. "These are stupid noble squabbles, and I don't want to get involved in any of them. I did not accept the invitation to join the Valemont. My allegiance is with the Academy and Knights. I came here to fight monsters. I've already met the Cult of Asmodeus, and those are my main worries. This?" I place the razor on Marcel's head. "This is a warning. Maybe a lesson? Next time, take your attitude to a Dungeon—that's all."

I start shaving Marcel's head and leave him with a fully bald head.

I see his twin brother frowning, but the older one just looks at me with curiosity.

"Cousin Jacob," the oldest of the brothers says, "I'm Bastian Valemont. I'd like a word later today. Champion to Champion."

"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow. "I… for some reason I didn't even realize that there can be Champions in different years. Sure, it'd be my pleasure." I smile at the guy.

I just humiliated one of them. It makes no sense to make an enemy out of him, too. And they can't do anything to me, anyway. The Headmaster would have their head in a second if they tried anything.

Duke Dorian ignores his now bald son and turns toward the other.

"Cassian, I spoke to the Headmaster," he says, "you and Jacob will face in the first-year tournament at the end of the first semester before facing Kai. Now that you've seen how capable he is, I hope you'll take him seriously."

"The what?" I ask, dusting my hands off the fallen hair.

"There's a tournament right in the middle of the first year," Kai explains. "Usually, the matchups are random, but one can make a request for them not to be. The Headmaster is usually very open to it. It doesn't really matter to him what the order of the fights will be. Nobles sometimes use it to prove which member of their current generation is the strongest."

"So, we'd face each other?" I ask Kai, raising an eyebrow.

"Only if you beat Marcel first, and then me," Cassian says with a cold tone. "Marcel is a vain fool, Jacob Cloud. And do not underestimate either of us. He's a Breaker. We both are."

"So?" I ask, not following.

Duke Dorian raises a hand, "We must leave for now. We have other events to attend to. It was a pleasure to see you, cousin."

Duke Dorian briefly salutes my mother and then leaves with his sons in tow.

"Dorian has been training the twins relentlessly, Jacob," I hear my mom say. "They're strong. Especially Cassian."

"Ok?" I say, still confused.

"Mother," I hear Thorne's voice straining. "Pardon my insolence, but Jacob's your son too, and he should know what the duels really mean."

"Thorne, darling, please—"

But Thorne has already walked up to me, with the giant tiger moving in synch to his side.

"Mother risked everything for you to be recognized. She's currently in between Quests and Royal Dungeon duty. She forced her grandmother to accept you and recognize you, Jacob. She had to pay dearly for that."

I just listen, with my eyes growing slightly wider as Thorne continues with his explanation.

"Mother is not welcome at court anymore, and our entire line is being questioned. If it wasn't for you and Kai becoming Champions together, there would be the kind of scrutiny you wouldn't even fathom."

"How do these duels factor into everything?"

"Thorne," my mother's voice becomes cold. "If this must be explained, then it's my place to do it."

Thorne backs off.

"Jacob, I don't want what I'm about to tell you to influence your life. If I cared about my own title this much, I would have never done all of this in the first place. Thorne, who seems more concerned than I am about these facts, was about to tell you that if you were to lose against either Marcel or Cassian, I would lose my title of Princess. Your brothers would still maintain their own titles as long as Kai wins. But… I staked my reputation in order for you to be recognized as a Valemont, and if they found you unable to keep up with our family's standards…"

"Family standards?" I say, feeling a vein pulse on my forehead. "I don't get it. I am a Champion. Sure, I might be the weakest, combat-wise, but I am a Champion. Are you telling me that the family ignores all of that?"

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"It's not that they ignore it," it's Thorne speaking this time, "it's that they want to confirm power. There's a general… distrust toward the Academy in our family."

"Because of our great-great-great-great-grandpa?" I ask.

Thorne nods.

"So, they think that fighting my cousins will prove that I'm good enough to join the Valemont?"

"Not exactly," my mother replies. "It's just to prove that I made the right decision. Whether you join the Valemonts or not. If you did and lost, you'd be stripped of your title."

"If I lost," Kai says, "we would all lose it and uncle Dorian's line would replace ours as contenders for the throne."

"Alright," I shrug. "I imagine these things mean something to you. I didn't have any intention of losing anyway. If I were facing Kai or any other Champion, I wouldn't be confident. But they're just normal first-year student, right?"

Priscilla Valemont hesitates.

"Both have just upgraded their Class to Platinum, Jacob. They're being groomed by Dorian in spite of Karma. They might face trouble later on, but they're currently somewhere in the Intermediate Platinum Rank in terms of levels, and probably Early Diamond Rank when it comes to fighting capabilities. I wouldn't put Intermediate Diamond Rank past Cassian by the time it's time for your duel. Dorian will do anything in order to win. And they were raised to beat Kai, not you."

I follow my mother to a tea room while I think.

The fact that they are going to be Platinum Ranked changes everything.

Shit. I have to upgrade my Class, then. Wait, end of the semester, when is that?

About two months from now, Jacob Cloud, King Baalrek says. And if you don't want to ruin your chances of getting a good Class, you'd better start working hard or tell your mother that you will, indeed, lose.

Wait, what do you mean?

You still haven't obtained the kind of Skills that you need in order to upgrade the Class. You've made a lot of progress, but I reckon you're about four Skill Crystals shy of the right Skills that you need to get the perfect Platinum Class.

Shit. And if I need to rank to Platinum Rank before then?

First of all, even if you did, it wouldn't guarantee you would win. You're strong right now, but ranking to Platinum Rank will NOT automatically make you THAT strong. You'd need training even after. A Dungeon, too, if I had to guess. Then, you'd be able to take someone at Early Diamond Rank.

King Baalrek, sorry, I'm confused. Why would it be so hard? Haven't I been skipping Ranks quite easily despite being only in the Advanced Gold Rank?

Yes. But that's the point. Diamond is where things start getting dicey for Rank skippers. Even the Champions, I reckon, can, if they use their aces, fight at Intermediate Diamond Rank. These are people who have been training their whole life, who received the best of the best in terms of education and resources, Jacob Cloud. If they reach Platinum Rank, I could see them being able to fight at the very PEAK of Diamond Rank immediately. That's who they are. I suspect that they could even spill into True Diamond territory as they progress. The resources they've consumed start showing their effects later on. Sure, Karma WILL make things difficult for them, but it does not negate their talent and upbringing.

So, what do we do?

Fetch you the right Skill Crystals. You need money first. Then, we'll start using your contacts for the Hidden Market and get everything you need. I suspect that Veythra, the Infernal, might also have more up her sleeve. You MUST use her and the Princess in order to get the right Skill Crystals. You won't be able to buy the ones from later on. In fact, for all it pains to even think about my great bloodline mixing with yours, you should probably marry the Princess. If you accepted the Valemont's title and--

Yeah, ok. Can we not talk about selling my body for Skill Crystals for now? We can try other methods.

Beggars can't be choosers, I can almost hear the shrug in King Baalrek's words. But fine, then. Go sell your Runic Notation. I recommend that you also keep training your Squire and give him as much food rich in Mana as you can. He'll be essential for the Heartspire. You'll also have to fetch Skill Crystals for him... and that's going to be as difficult as finding yours. Slightly less, perhaps, since Dragonkin are less numerous than Infernals and not as protective as their Skill Crystals.

Why are they not as protective?

Skill Crystals meant for Dragonkin are mostly useless to others. Your Squire's Draconic Bloodline, thankfully, makes that point moot. So, you'll be able to pay them much less. But they're still rare. Anyway, I'll give you a list later for him.

Why Lancelot, by the way? The Heartspire is like some sort of mystical Dungeon, right? Why can't I just enter it with the other Champions if it's so important? Wouldn't that make more sense? Complete it more than once and bulldoze through it with them?

The Heartspire is not a normal Dungeon. It's a mystery that no one has ever solved. It's the whole reason the Academy was built here. In a way, the Academy was built here in order to make sure no one would abuse it. That's why you need Merit Points to enter it, and the Headmaster himself regulates such a system. It can bless those who enter with enormous power. It creates specific scenarios for those who enter it. And it can recognize the bond between a Squire and a Knight. Don't ask me how, why, or who the hell came up with it. I wish I knew myself. But you can't enter it with other people who are not your Squires. And no, you can't have people POSE as Squires, Jacob Cloud.

Alright, alright. Clear enough.

I arrive at a room with couches and rugs all over.

"Sit, Jacob," my mother says. "Thorne, Kai, I'd like a word alone with your brother."

My brothers and all the servants soon leave the room, but not before we get served two steaming hot cups of tea.

"About the duel—" I start saying, but my mother immediately cuts me off.

"I don't care, Jacob. I care about my children. Kai will win, and that's all that matters. If I were to lose my titles, it wouldn't be the end of the world. The Valemonts would go on their merry way, and I could go and take care of myself."

"Oh, that's…"

She's lying because she loves you, King Baalrek says. If your mother lost her title, her family would hunt her down and kill her. She's a PRINCESS. She probably knows way too much about the Valemont. Exile is not a choice.

I take a deep breath and clench my teeth.

"So, don't worry about me," my mother, Princess Priscilla Valemont, says, flicking her brown hair back and then tying it up in a high ponytail. "Instead, why don't you tell me about you? I heard something about what you did in Clearwater. But we don't really have men there that can tell us Valemonts what's happening in detail."

"I--" I swallow. "Ok. Sure."

I start recounting what went down in Clearwater, talking about Felisia, Sir Greyson, and the Hunt.

My mother's face goes through a whole host of expressions. She's soon sitting beside me, watching me with horror, surprised, and many other reactions. She laughs, she cries, and she rubs my shoulder when I talk about Felisia.

"Your first crush, darling," my mother says, with a note of sweetness in her voice. "Was she pretty?"

"First of all, she wasn't my crush," I say, frowning. "Second... I guess, yes."

"Good. Good. Remember that if you're not tied to the Valemonts, you'll never need to marry out of opportunity. Well, you still might receive offers as a Knight. Dead flowers, you might even receive offers in the next few months since you're a Champion already. In fact, I should check with my contacts. Perhaps the fact that you're close to us scared the minor nobles. See, I would not actually oppose a union with a lower noble--simple girls make for great wives. Maybe, you could find one with large hips and give me many--"

"Mother!" I exclaim, feeling outrage coursing through my veins.

Why's everyone trying to pawn me away?!

We're just worried you'll never find someone otherwise.

"Don't worry, darling, I'm just teasing you," Priscilla Valemont smiles like a cat from behind her teacup. "Plus, I hear that you might already be taken. The Infernal Princess, your Champion teammate, spread rumors about you two getting quite intimate."

"She did what now?" I say, raising an eyebrow.