《Balance》


 Magic is no more

    The sound of giant rocks resounded throughout the whole castle. The soldiers were catapulting the castle''s magic barrier.


    The magicians anxiously waited till their last defences got destroyed. They prepared their spells and got ready for battle.


    As soon as the barrier got forcefully broken, arrows and falling boulders, awaited them. They easily deflected these with their defensive spells and quickly casted long ranged spells to destroy the siege weapons oppressing them.


    The magic cannons repeatedly shot randomly towards the endless soldiers attacking them.


    Uncountable numbers of warriors that surrounded the castle charged and killed their way into the mage defenses.


    The magician towers easily burnt down every warriors that approached. The catapults were brought out and they shot down the magic towers.


    The magicians managed to repel the warriors but the time to cast their spells put them in an uncomfortable situation.


    A warrior in shiny silvery full armor calmly slashed his way through the magicians. His sword cut spells half and his armour easily repelled any other hidden spells he couldn''t see. As he approached the castle''s main gate, three magic towers twice the size of the normal ones sent blazing fire rays to him.


    He raised his sword to his shoulders and performed a powerful horizontal slash. A giant sliver wave got expelled from it.


    An explosion louder than the catapults, louder than the explosive spells, louder than the magic canons resounded throughout the whole battlefield.


    The sword slash was so long that it managed to destroy not only the magic towers but also opened up a giant hole on the gate.


    He put the sword back in the scabbard on his waist and arrogantly entered the gate.


    A middle-aged man sat arrogantly on his throne. He waved his sleeves and ordered the old magicians. "Use the magic portal to teleport them! Hurry! We don''t have much time left!"


    The King shouted to the Mage Elders as they just finished opening up the portal.


    One the Elders anxiously asked the King.


    "Are you sure we send them there!? We are sending our last hope, no your sons right into the lion''s den!"


    "Don''t worry. He is trustworthy. Just send them."


    All the Elders nodded and the magic circle shined as the two children on its centre disappeared.


    A huge explosion accompanied by a small earthquake made him look in the direction of the gate.


    The king sighted as he took his magic staff and stood up. He slowly walked towards the gate as the Mage Elders silently followed him from behind.


    They walked to the castle''s courtyard where the man in silver armor stood there as if he was waiting for them.


    The Mage King looked at the swordsman straight into his eyes. Many emotions and memories surfaced in his mind. Happiness, love, loneliness, hatred and betrayal.


    "Long time no see...brother." He slightly loosened his grip off the staff. It has been years since he had seen him.


    The man in the armor frowned when he heard his words. He replied him with his deep hoarse voice containing no emotions."Don''t you dare call me brother. We are not from the same blood...Ralka Goldblood."


    "Indeed..." Ralka stopped looking straight into his eyes. He raised his head and put his gaze on the deep blue sky. Such a beautiful sight. The fall of the Magic Kingdom on such a beautiful day.


    Maybe such beauty is the heaven rejoicing the calamity...or the heavens are giving hope...he didn''t know.


    Ralka erased all useless thoughts and closed his eyes.


    "My choices led us here brother...no...rather Manral the adopted one."


    One Elder stepped up next to Ralka. He was the oldest among all the Mage Elders. He was supporting himself with his long magic staff.


    The old man adjusted his glasses with his old withered fingers and started talking.


    "A mighty powerful king ruled over two continents. Like his name, he called the two continents Goldblood. His magic so powerful he was almost revered as a god. He was The King"Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    He locked his gaze towards Ralka. "His wife died giving birth to his son... prince Ralka. Once The King put his hands on prince Ralka''s body, he immediately knew his magic aptitude."


    He turned off his gaze of the prince and looked at Manral instead. "He knew the prince''s talent would never surpass his...he knew that he would never be able to rule over the two continents. Thus he had to find another person to help his son rule over them. Someone without any ties to avoid betrayal."


    The old Elder coughed lightly. He was already old. He quietly resumed his speech.


    "Thus he choose the orphan Manral. He was no ordinary child. He stepped over all the children with just his physical body...alas he had no magical aptitude. No one knew why The King chose him."


    "The two princes quickly became friends. They shared everything together. Prince Ralka was personally trained by the king, while prince Manral honed his skills under mortal soldiers."


    "As the prince Ralka rose in reputation over the mages, prince Manral rose in reputation over the mortals. As they grew, The King grew older and older."


    The old man sighted as he continued his story. "The King finally took his last breath and died. The princes were already old enough to govern but The King never specified which would take the throne. The GoldBlood or the orphan. The mage or the mortal. The orphan wanted to rule the two continents together with his brother, while the Goldblood wanted it all."


    "The overbearing greed of the golden price enraged the mortals. They wanted the orphan to be king. He excelled in both physical and spiritual. He was wise, humble and strong. He created a set of way of fighting called martial arts himself. He discovered the aura, an energy residing inside the body."


    "The mages would never allow a mortal to rule over them. They wanted the one with Golden blood to rule. The Goldblood chased and persecuted all mortals that refused his rule. He forcefully titled himself king and ordered the death of his brother. The orphan brought all mortals of the continent and escaped to the other continent."


    "Many struggles and events occurred...but all these led to the actual magic and sword continents. Only one tiger can stay in the mountain."


    The old man bowed towards the two princes and went back to the Elders.


    Ralka opened his eyes and looked arrogantly at Manral. "I always knew you were a genius brother. Father would never choose someone normal to become prince. You are a threat."


    He slowly tightened his grip on the staff.


    "You are no ruler Ralka! You are losing! Your kingdom is destroyed, your defenses are destroyed...you will be destroyed! Your arrogance is getting up to your head!"


    He quickly grabbed his sword and pulled it out of the ground but before he could do anything else, not only Ralka but all the Elders launched tens of spells towards him.


    Manral nonchalantly stood there as a silver aura covered his armor and sword. The whole courtyard got destroyed but Manral was still standing still.


    His silver sword was already raised up towards the sky. He did not wait for them to catch a breath at all. He immediately slashed downwards causing a giant silver wave heading towards the mages.


    The Elders quickly chanted and a huge circular mana shield surrounded them. All the Elders mana sustained the shield with their mana. Ralka didn''t waste time and started chanting. He knew it was hopeless but he still tried. He started chanting his most powerful magic spell.


    Manral repeatedly struck shield sending tens of silver rays to it. Cracks slowly appeared on the shield. The old men sustaining in were already shaking uncontrollably. The shield should have already collapsed but it was their willpower that held the shield up.


    The mana shield finally broke. The fell unconscious due to the overuse of mana. Their mana were depleted but their efforts weren''t in vain.


    A magic circles surrounded by runes appeared on Ralka''s forehead and palms. His body levitated in the air as he aimed his palms towards Manral. His body became the head of a fire dragon and the rest of the dragon''s body slowly materialized. The fire dragon''s mouth was wide open ready to shoot it''s scorching fire.


    Manral was already prepared for his next spell. His aura power rose to a very powerful intensity. The silver aura surrounding his body shot towards the sky and became an avatar of him in full body armor with him in its center.


    The silver giant and the red dragon glared at each other. The dragon roared and launched its blazing flames.


    A round silver shield appears on the giants hand blocking the dragon fire. The giant slowly advanced, heading closer and closer to the dragon.


    The dragon fire became more and more powerful but it couldn''t stop the giant''s advance.


    When the giant got close enough, he bashed the dragon''s head with the giant round shield. The red dragon was slightly stunned from the strike.


    The giant took this opportunity to materialize a silver sword on its other hand. It slashed down with all its strength and beheaded the dragon.


    The dragon disappeared and Ralka dropped on the ground causing a giant crater. He spewed a mouthful of blood and tried to stand up.


    Ralka gathered all his willpower but he only managed to kneel on one leg.


    The giant silently stared at the pitiful prince. The screams of the losing mages made their situation even more pitiful. An arrogant prince that has lost due to it. Burning from the fire you put on. Falling inside the pit you dug...Ralka struggled to stand up with all his power. He managed to stand up but he was barely able to keep his balance.


    He sluggishly advanced forward after casting fireball spells on his palms. He wildly waved his arms sendings the fireballs to the giant. He repeated this sequence while pitifully walking in direction of his brother.


    The giant stood still not bothering with the fireballs that hit him. The impacts caused him no damage at all. He only looked at his brother. How did he start from a hot-blooded youth to a persistent man trying to avoid reality.?


    Ralka finally ran out of mana. He fell down on his knees. His head was lowered as his hands were clutching the floor.


    Droplets of tears fell down from his face. He heard the cries of his mages all around the castle. He could hear them call fro help.


    Ralka raised his head hoping to see the deep beautiful sky...he wanted to see hope again. Alas, the sky was no longer blue. His line of sight was overshadowed by a cold cruel silver wave heading towards him.


    That day was the fall of the Magic Kingdom...the fall of Magic itself. The royal family was annihilated, all official Mages were executed and the use of magic was prohibited. The continents were renamed as the North and South Aura Continents and the North Continent originally also called fallen mage continent got strictly under military surveillance.


    All little crime would lead to the death penalty by the sword.


    The orphan Manral...no Manral Silversword is now King... The King.

 Master

    Somewhere inside a forest was a wooden hut. It was old and shabby as if no one had touched it for decades. Suddenly, the wooden hut got illuminated by a bright blue light.


    That light gave the dark and lonely surroundings some life. Just for a moment, the wooden hut looked like a clean peaceful resting house.


    Unfortunately, the light disappeared as the hut got restored to its usual appearance. Two young boys were in the hut.


    These were the descendants of Ralka Goldblood. One of the brother seemingly taller than the other one was already standing with his hands on his back. He was called Alfred. He was 10 this year.


    The other one slowly stood up and patted his clothes. This was Blade Goldblood. He was two years younger than Alfred.


    Unlike Blade who had long golden hair, Alfred had short black hair.


    They looked around the surroundings and found nothing particular other than the dirt around them.


    "We have to find the old man with the Goldblood necklace just like they instructed us."


    Alfred signaled Blade to start searching for any clues or signs. The wooden hut was considerably big so the brothers had to separate. They both went in one of the many rooms of the wooden hut and investigated on their own.


    While Alfred was looking around, he heard a high pitched scream from another room.


    Alfred casually looked behind him and smiled. That was the voice of his ''dear'' brother. He slowly walked to the room only to find Blade on his feet while pointing fearfully in front of him. Alfred stared at the direction of his finger and saw an old withered body sitting on a chair. It held an empty glass bottle on one of his hands while sitting there with lifeless eyes, staring at the ceiling.


    What surprised the two brothers wasn''t the dead body but the golden necklace on it. Was this the hidden master their mentors told them about? If so, why is he dead?


    Many questions surfaced in their heads but all remained unanswered.


    Blade started panicking! He really didn''t understand what was happening here. The instructions he received were just to find the master in the hut and train under him until he would be strong enough to face the Swords.


    He kept shivering and crying on the ground. This made him look like a pitiful madman.


    Meanwhile, Alfred approached the corpse and took the empty bottle with one of his hands. He tried sniffing it but the moment it got close to his nose, he immediately threw it down.


    It smelt really horrible! Did he drink this? If so, was it suicide?


    He wiped his hand on the corpse''s pants before taking the necklace off the it''s neck. It was a golden necklace but it didn''t shine at all. It was very light and had no other special characteristics.


    While Alfred was examining the necklace, Blade had already managed to calm down and slowly stood up. He curiously approached Alfred and stared at the necklace.


    Alfred put his arm back behind his back knowing that nothing interesting came out of it after he lazily threw the necklace to Blade.


    Blade didn''t really expect this action so he barely managed to catch it. He opened his palms to examine it but saw that there was nothing in his hands!


    Alfred''s expression silently frowned seeing the development of the situation but strangely, Blade was smiling.


    "Alfred! Alfred! This necklace somehow gave me many magic spells and other amazing stuffs!"


    Alfred''s stunned face slowly faded away when he heard him. That didn''t stop him from asking questions.


    "Did that thing raise your mana pool? What spells can you access?"


    He continuously asked Blade his questions. Blade closed his eyes before answering him.


    "No, it didn''t raise my mana pool. I can only see some of the spells. There are other spells but they are all blurred and foggy."


    This resolved the actual problem of having no one to teach Blade magic. Alfred really didn''t need any of these spells. He has already been diagnosed by the Elders and the results were just enough for him to never even be able to even feel the presence of mana.


    The only reason he was sent here was just to act as his little brother''s guardian or maybe just to continue the Goldblood bloodline.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Alfred looked out of the window and saw that it was still kind of dark. It seems like it was still very early in the morning because the darkness was slowly fading away. He immediately thought of exploring the surroundings.


    He looked behind him and saw that Blade was still closing his eyes. Maybe he was still trying to uncover the other things he got from it.


    "Wake up Blade. We have to get out of here and explore for a bit. We have to find out where we are what is our situation to be able to survive."


    Blade slightly frowned hearing his brother but still opened his eyes and followed his lead out of the hut.


    Alfred carefully looked around and examined the surroundings while walking.


    All he saw was trees but the further he went, the less they appeared in numbers. They walked for an unknown amount of time. They didn''t know how long they were walking but the sky was already bright.


    "Let''s rest for a while Alfred! My leg hurts."


    Blade started complaining. His face was all red and sweaty. He also struggled breathing and was walking sloppily.


    Alfred smiled seeing his little brother. During the whole trip, his hands were always behind his back and not even a drop of sweat could be seen on him. He looked at Blade with distain as he slowly nodded his head.


    Blade clearly saw his expression but he was in the wrong here so he couldn''t retort. He could only sit down in shame and do his best to recover.


    Meanwhile, Alfred took out a monocle-like item from his belt with one hand still behind him. This was a multifunction belt that could hold basically anything. This belt was manufactured by him personally. His family were the most famous magic tool creators in the Magic Continent and he considered himself as the best of the younger generation.


    He didn''t really like anyone in his family other than his mom, the one that taught him everything.


    In his memory, all their interactions were just based on work and study. They didn''t only focus on the magic but also went to mechanics, human body and even psychology.


    No one ever befriended him due to his title of ''bastard''. His mom taught him that relationships are nothing that strings that are used to control others. She often told him of how she managed to seduce the prince just so she could access to the royal library.


    After her death, Alfred didn''t even bat an eye. He continued on perfecting all the skills he got from his mother while acquiring new ones.


    Maybe that was also another reason to send someone of his kind here with Blade. Well, it was at least better than falling in the hands of the Swords.


    He called this monocle like item ''magic eye''. He created it by using a mana suction device to condense many tiny thin layers of circular concentrated mana and superimposed themselves together. The later was attached to a special metal.


    He put the magic eyes on his left eye and the metal holding it magically attached itself on his skin so that he didn''t have to hold it anymore. He arrogantly put his hand back behind his back and looked through his left eye.


    The magic eye gives him the ability to see further and to access the mana view.


    The trees surrounding them were no longer as thick as before so he decided to use it now. He casually continuously turned his head. He stopped doing so in a particular direction and smiled.


    He took off the magic eye off and put it back on his belt. Alfred continued on walking without signaling Blade that was still taking a rest.


    Blade quickly stood up seeing that hid brother already started walking. He run to him in fear of being left out.


    Two brothers were slowly getting out of the forest: One with his arms behind his back and an arrogant smile that hid confidence and distain, the other trying to keep up with his pace while gasping for air.


    They were hiding behind a big rock. Alfred has carefully peeking at the edge of it. He was looking at a gate. The city he found was surrounded by giant walls and the only entrance was the giant opened gate.


    The only problem was that there were guards on the gate and the surroundings had many patrols frequently passing by.


    "What are we going to do now Alfred?"


    Blade asked Alfred with slight quivering voice.


    Alfred didn''t answer him but kept on staring from the edge of the rock.


    Only after a long while did he get off from there and approached Blade.


    Blade took a step back in fear when he saw him get near him because Alfred had a very strange smile on his face.


    Before he could take another step back, a fist came into his field of view. That was the only thing he saw before everything became dark.


    Alfred smile slowly faded away as he emotionlessly carried Blade on his back. He put on a tired and panicked expression and ran towards the gate.


    The soldiers heard sounds from the forest and one guard seemingly the captain of the others signaled an archer to aim. The archer raised up his bow and aimed towards the forest but he loosened his grip when he saw two little boys clumsily heading towards their direction.


    He didn''t know what to do so he looked at the leader and awaited further instructions.


    The leader signaled him to lower his bow and he approached the two children.


    As he came closer, he saw their features. They had similar faces but the one carrying the unconscious one was obviously older.


    When the older one looked at him, his tired expression had a hint of hope. He tried to hurry in the leader''s direction but he fell on his knees. The leader thought that he was tired due to the burden he was carrying on his back so he quickly hurried and helped both of them. He first put the unconscious one in a comfortable position on the ground before checking the condition of the other.


    The boy was gasping for breath as he continuously muttered some words. "Wa-water..."


    The captain took the gourd off his belt and put it on the boy''s mouth. He took big gulps of water and his breath finally regulated.


    The boy looked anxiously at the other one on the ground before looking at the captain with his helpless eyes. He grabbed his sleeves as tears slowly poured down his face.


    "Please help my brother!"


    "Calm down. Breathe and talk slowly."


    The captain slowly reassured and comforted the boy. Only when he released his grip off him did he warmly asked him.


    "What happened to you?"


    The boy shivered as if recalling everything that happened.


    "The mage rebels attacked our caravan...our parents...they..."


    He tightened his fists and punched the ground. "I couldn''t do anything...I''m a coward...I...escaped."


    The leader felt at the same time pity and admiration for the little boy. He decided to help them for the moment.


    "Don''t worry. You are safe now. I''ll bring you to my home and see what will happen."


    He ordered one of the guards to carry the one on the ground and he grabbed the boy personally and carried him on his back.


    They entered the gate and headed to the gate captain''s home.


    Nobody notice it but as they advanced, Alfred had a smile on his face...that smile full of confidence and distain...that smile was...

 House

    The captain looked at the two boys lying on his bed. Many memories surfaced in his head when he saw them.


    He was an orphan. He also did remember having a little brother in his younger days. They both volunteered in entering the army.


    Together they faced blood, anger, regret, remorse...but...he alone faced his brother''s death.


    He soon retired after the Mage Continent was defeated and continued as the captain of this city''s guards.


    Everyday he would stare at the sky while asking to himself why is he still alive...? You can''t live just for no reason...even beast live for a purpose. They live for surviving, for feeding their kin,...even livestock lives in order to get eaten.


    And there he was sitting on his chair, trying to convince himself that he lived for protecting the city even though the only thing that kept his fire burning was long gone.


    He though of himself as a being lower then beasts and livestock. That was until he saw them.


    The two brothers that reminded him of what was long forgotten. When he saw them, he felt like the tiny flame inside of him became a large fire.


    The captain sighted as he it an oil lamp next to the bed. He grabbed a chair and sat near the two boys.


    "I know you''re not sleeping...talk to me."


    Alfred''s eyes slowly opened. He slightly turned his head and looked at the captain. The light emitted from the lamp shone on his face showing his tired middle-aged face. His silver hair was tied behind him into a bun by a red cloth.


    The two of them stared at each other''s eyes and stayed there. They listened to the sound of the gentle breeze as it slowly caressed their faces.


    The captain finally opened his mouth seeing the boy''s silence.


    "I know you are not from the Sword Continent."


    Alfred eyes showed a hint of surprise hearing his statement. He quickly calmed his heart and regained his usual state of mind.


    "What tells you so?"


    The captain looked at Alfred''s clothes and silently chuckled.


    "No matter how dirty your clothes get, sharp eyes could still see the difference."


    He yawned and smiled at Alfred.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t do anything to you guys. I don''t care wether you are from the Mage Continent or the Sword Continent. I just rescued you to fulfill my selfish needs."


    The captain picked up a mirror on the nightstand near the bed and looked at his refection.


    What he saw wasn''t a warrior nor a brother. What he saw was his reflection. This is the refection of himself, the reflection of what he has become.


    What he was staring at wasn''t a mirror. He was staring at the consequences of his action.


    While still holding the bronze mirror, he kept on calmly talking to Alfred.


    "The mages are being chased and persecuted. Even though the war ended, it is still going on...but in my eyes the only war that is going on is the war in which I fight against myself."


    He put the mirror back on the nightstand as he relaxed on his chair.


    "Why am I even telling this to a kid?"


    Alfred was about to tell him something but he was interrupted by the captain''s words.


    "Sleep now. You guys will cause me some problems tomorrow so sleep."


    He closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep erasing all thoughts out of his mind.


    Alfred was still staying dumbly on the bed. He shifted his head to his left and looked at his half little brother. He was already sleeping peacefully.


    He closed his eyes and also slowly fell asleep.


    Alfred was standing in the void. All around him was darkness. He looked in front of him and only saw something darker than the darkness itself.


    He didn''t know why but he immediately ran towards the abyss as if it were some black hole forcing him to approach.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    He ran and ran and ran not knowing a thing. No matter how fast he ran, the abyss kept on moving backwards making him run aimlessly without reaching it.


    Alfred didn''t know how long he had ran but he was brought back to his bed without even knowing it.


    ''A dream?''


    He slowly stood up from the bed and rubbed his eyes.


    ''Yes...a dream.''


    Alfred saw that Blade was still sleeping so he slapped his head to wake him up.


    Blade immediately rose from his bed and looked around him in confusion. He looked at Alfred and finally remembered what happened.


    He was knocked out by Alfred and that''s all he remember.


    "Where are we?"


    Alfred took out two thin metal bracelet from his belt and put them on both his wrists. They bracelets shrieked to the size of his wrists and increased in lengths till they became metal bracers.


    "We have to careful. The guy that took us in knows that we aren''t from the Sword Continent. He says that he doesn''t care about our origins but we still have to stay aware."


    Blade nodded his head. During his unconsciousness and his sleep, he was exploring the secrets of the necklace and managed to learn the runes of the fireball spell. It needed 10 percent of his mana to launch a fist sized one. He needed at least 10 seconds to cast the spell.


    He also discovered a method to store a spell by reducing all the runes of a spell into a very small size and putting it into a mana circle. The latter was stored in the eyes. When activated, the eyes'' pupils would take the form of the runes. That gave the spell the name Rune Eyes. The amount of spell that could be stored depends of how small the circle was created.


    Blade could only store two spells, one for each eye.


    He didn''t report his discovery to Alfred because he didn''t want to be used just like earlier.


    While Alfred was still doing his things with his bracers, he got off the bed. He smelled a faint scent that made him hungry.


    Alfred was to busy with his bracers that he didn''t notice it at all.


    When Blade was about to check were the smell came from, a man with fit body opened the door.


    Blade was surprised and immediately froze on spot. It was actually the first time he saw this man. He still hasn''t prepared any spells so he looked at his brother but he was sitting on the bed, no longer continuing his earlier actions.


    The captain smiled seeing that the two finally awoke.


    "Welcome to the Sword Continent boys! Come let''s eat! I don''t want to give you a bad experience since you''re my guests."


    Alfred thought about the situation for a very long time while preparing his bracers and concluded that the captain really meant them no harm so he signaled Blade to follow him.


    The two brothers followed the captain to the other room where there was already food on the table.


    They were both really hungry. They haven''t eaten since their arrival so their stomachs instantly rumbled when they saw the soup.


    Alfred managed to control himself but Blade immediately leapt towards the chair and started eating.


    Alfred shook his head seeing his brother''s reckless action but he too was hungry so he took his seat and started eating.


    The captain looked at the two brothers amusingly. They might not know it but they were at the same time very similar but also very different from each other.


    He also sat down and ate his food.


    ''Maybe I too look like them?''


    The captain shook immediately took away that thought. He was no longer a kid.


    He decided to talk to these boys about what to do about them.


    "I will not ask about your backgrounds our anything about you. Due to my selfishness, I can only give you boys two choices: you either become my adoptive sons or work under me."


    Alfred lowered his spoon and looked at the soup while thinking. Blade also slightly paused but quickly continued eating. His Elders always told him to let Alfred do the decisions for him so he didn''t really care of the choices that were in front of him.


    The captain saw that Alfred was still in deep thoughts so lazily leaned his head on his hand.


    "Of course, you can still choose to not choose any of these and make a living on your own in the city or somewhere else..."


    Alfred rose his head and answered the captain. "It looks like we will be under you for a while sir."


    "Call me Captain Karl." He was slightly unpleased with the decision they took but still respected their decision.


    "Wait a moment! You want me to be his servant?!" Blade actually thought that Alfred would choose to be his son!


    "I am a mage! I don''t do the work of patrol or guard or whatever you do!"


    Alfred slapped his face when he heard his little brother. Why is he so stupid?!


    Meanwhile, Karl was also shocked at his revelation and also his stupidity.


    Realizing what he just did, Blade quickly covered his mouth in shame. He looked towards Alfred to see what he would do.


    Indeed, Alfred already took action the moment Blade looked at him.


    He abruptly leaped off his chair and sent his arm to wars Karl''s neck. He opened his palm and a blade extended from the bracer he put on.


    Unfortunately, Karl calmly grabbed his wrist easily as if he had already predicted his attack. The blade was just slightly about to touch his neck.


    Karl really couldn''t blame them for missing. His experiences in combat was too abundant.


    "What about you boy, are you also a mage?"


    Alfred tried moving his hand but couldn''t do so. He thought of attempting another attack with his other hand but abandoned the thought of doing so.


    "I am no mage. My constitution is the worst for the path of magic."


    Karl released his hand and continued on eating. He talked while putting the spoon in his mouth.


    "You should listen to your little brother''s words boy. You also have no aura, the energy used by warriors in your body."


    Alfred''s hand trembled when he heard that. He quickly put them behind his back like he usually did.


    He always had the thoughts of practicing the warrior''s Aura since he couldn''t use magic at all.


    He realized that he had no other talent than his knowledge. He could do maths, but are these useful against fireball shooting straight towards his face.


    ''No! Alfred! Stop demoralizing yourself.''


    He forced the shaking to stop with his willpower and a resolute expression appeared on his face.


    He might not have the talent but he could create many ''interesting things''.


    He looked straight in Karl''s eyes arrogantly and told him with a resolute tone.


    "Tell me. How did you people of the Sword Continent fight before the discovery of the Aura?"


    Karl was instantly taken by surprise by his words! His surprised expression slowly faded away as he started laughing.


    "Ok then! You will work under me while the other little boy will be my son! No oppositions?"


    The two brothers nodded their heads. Everyone was satisfied. Karl got his selfish desires fulfilled, Blade got a rather nice position and Alfred got what he wanted.