Above my head.
A glowing window flickered.
[Condition fulfilled!]
[The skill MONARCH'S FLAME (Lv.1->2).]
For some reason I didn't understand, my skill seemed to have increased by one level.
Maybe all I had to do was use it for it to improve. After all, if this system followed the laws of logic, then it simply meant that practice led to improvement.
[A small number of people are beginning to believe in you!]
[Your 'Monarch's Authority' is strengthening.]
Uh?
I felt my body grow stronger.
What the hell is this?
[Looks like the more people believe in you, the stronger your power becomes, right?]
You think so, Lena?
[I don't know, but that's what it looks like. Look in front of you.]
I raised my eyes.
The soldiers were busy laughing among themselves while trying, like Doran, to imitate the way I dodged attacks.
For the first time, I felt pride.
"Doran!"
He turned toward me.
"Yes?"
"I think I'm going to go rest a bit, so I'll be in shape to continue training later."
"Alright, rest well young master."
Huh, the 'young master' was back.
Even though I had gotten a little closer to them, they still considered me a superior officer.
If I really wanted to become stronger, they would need to see me as their leader.
[There's still work to do...]
I looked at my arms covered in bruises and murmured. "Yeah."
I went back inside the building and headed toward the stairs to return to my room.
"Aren't you hungry?"
I turned around to face Lise at the bottom of the stairs.
"No, I'll eat later… I'd rather rest so I can keep training this afternoon."
"Ah, alright…"
She seemed a little disappointed, which made me feel bad.
"I'll come eat a bit before going back to train!"
Her smile returned slightly.
"Rest well."
"Thanks."
Once inside my room, I locked the door and sat down on my bed.
The events of the fight were racing through my head.
In truth, I wasn't actually that tired. At least not enough to take a nap. There was something I wanted to try to understand.
I replayed everything that had happened during the fight.
Doran's kick.
My last-second dodges.
And this.
I tried to focus on the sensation I had felt at that moment.
I needed to feel that warmth again, that exhilaration, ...
[The system reacts to your determination.]
[The skill 'MONARCH'S FLAME' (Lv.2) has been activated.]
I immediately felt a violent heat invade every part of my body.
I grimaced under the sensation.
It didn't hurt, but it felt as though my body was burning from the inside.
I had never truly been burned before, but simply imagining it was enough to paralyze me.
[Take it slow Kael.]
"I know..."
The black cracks appeared one after another across my arms and probably the rest of my body as well.
Drops of sweat began pouring down my forehead. I closed my hand around the wooden edge of the bed and gripped it with all my strength.
It was as though I was being given power only for it to immediately be taken away from me. It was especially unpleasant.
I deactivated my skill.
Suddenly freed from the system's grip, I gasped for breath.
Rushing toward the window of my room, I threw it wide open and inhaled huge gulps of fresh air from outside.
[Are you okay?]
It could be worse.
Once my breathing returned to normal, I sat back down on my bed and started again.
I repeated this process for two hours.
Unfortunately, my skill showed no signs of improvement. The only thing that seemed to change was that I could now activate and deactivate it without any problems.
The sensation it gave me had also become less unpleasant than before. I had probably gotten used to it over time.
It was almost past 2:00 PM.
I put my shirt back on after taking it off because I had gotten too hot and headed downstairs toward the kitchens.
When I entered the room, Lise turned around and looked at me in shock.
"What! You look even more exhausted than before?!"
She grabbed a cloth handkerchief from the pocket of her apron and rushed toward me.
I took a step back, but I was too tired to resist her.
She grabbed my face and vigorously rubbed my forehead with her handkerchief. Then she wiped my cheeks and face.
It was crazy how motherly she could be.
"You honestly..." she sighed.
She pointed toward a plate.
"I left food for you."
I smiled at her.
"Thank you."
I sat down at the table and ate.
Once I finished, I headed toward the inner courtyard and went to train with Doran and the others.
He made me duel against him and his men.
Again and again.
I lost most of them. Even though I came close to winning some, I only managed to win twice.
I was too tired to dodge properly or rely on my skill.
Doran and the others, on the other hand, were used to fighting. They seemed tireless to me.
The days passed quickly like that, following the rhythm of my training sessions and Doran's lessons.
He taught me proper footwork and not to rely solely on my sword during combat. He also taught me a little magic.
Even though soldiers rarely used magic, Doran admitted that one of his aunts worked as a fortune teller.
She had taught him the basics of magic, which he then passed on to me.
Even though I knew them in theory, I had never put them into practice.
So he taught me how to coat my sword with ether to make it stronger and faster.
It was as though instead of resisting the air, my sword now passed through it.
As the days passed, our relationship grew stronger, and he abandoned the "young master" to address me informally.
Through constant training, my skill had also risen another level.
I controlled it better as well. I now had a fairly decent level in swordsmanship and combat for a beginner.
At the very least, it should spare me humiliation.
The day of the examination arrived quickly.
Lise woke everyone up at dawn on Saturday morning, and we left without even having breakfast toward the center of the central floor.
A gigantic tower stood there. Its circumference stretched for several kilometers, and it seemed to pierce through the sky itself to reach the upper floors.
I murmured for myself.
"So this is the heart of the Tower..."