A warm feeling embraced him as if he was hiding beneath a blanket after a long winter night. Large muscular hands enveloped him, patting his back ever so gently as if it was the first fall of snow. His father's gentle voice rang in his ears.
"It's alright," He said.
He couldn't remember why he was crying at that time, but he knew it had something to do with the book he liked so much. The one he kept on him all times, something related to it. His father lifted him and held him tight as he cried.
"Sometimes stories end that way," He remembered his father telling him. The reason for his crying was the ending of the book he liked to read so much. It was sad, even though he couldn't remember how it ended.
After that, he reread the book many times that he couldn't even count. He read it, reread it, reread the damn thing as if the ending would change eventually. It did not, and his father was no longer there to console him. After that day, he never saw his father again nor did he read the book. Both of them were gone from his life.
Arthur opened his eyes, unfamiliar and leafy ceiling greeting them. Light seeped from between the leaves, illuminating the interior of the hut he slept at. Kira was sleeping by his side. He lifted himself and felt the hard bedrock underneath him. He traced the cracks in it as if this was the only way to familiarize himself with them.
"I'm at the goblins' village," Arthur muttered inaudibly, realigning himself with reality. That was a nostalgic dream, but it was already burying itself away from Arthur's awareness. He stood up and stretched his body, yesterday was quite tiring.
After the goblins realized his worth as their leader, they began to actively follow him. It seemed the goblins weren't used to have such treatment, and Arthur wondered what kind of leader the chief was.
However, Arthur made it clear that he would only award those that accomplished things for the village. He made an example of those that gifted him things for others to follow, and it was quite successful. In a single day, everyone was either building, mining, or hunting. Arthur wanted them to build a wall surrounding the village, to avoid monsters or the like attacking them in their sleep.
It was easy to convey his meaning after their bond was strengthened by loyalty, making the goblins understand what he wanted. After one day, the village was surrounded by tree trunks and rocks of all kinds that Arthur saw when he was out of the hut.
Arthur doubted that such a wall could be used for defense, so he decided to use his skill Earth Manipulation to strengthen the walls of soil.
"Kakan," Mero bowed him to when he was out. It seemed their language didn't have many words in them, only what was necessary to convey their roles and orders. From what Arthur understood, they all referred to him as Kakan. Maybe it was something like 'Boss'? Arthur mused to himself.
"Today, I will leave."
His words came as shock to the chubby goblin, but Arthur explained further that he would be back in a couple of days. Until then, they needed to make the wall. Arthur proceeded to instruct him how they would make the walls when he's gone. He was no architect, but to make walls of soil would be hard without support from both sides. He instructed Mero to place trees around them.
After he comes back to the village, Arthur would harden the walls of soil to strengthen the defenses. He also asked them to make a trench beyond the wall. Even though these measures wouldn't be enough against powerful monsters, but they would be enough to deter any annoyance.
Arthur left the chubby goblin and headed toward the three blacksmiths. He wanted to give them his rune 'Compress' to help them in making proper weapons.
The three knelt as soon as he was near, and he had to ask them to stand up. Before he knew it, all gazes turned to him when they saw him talk to another group of goblins like yesterday.
"I'm going to give you a skill," Arthur ignored the rest. No, he was pleased that they were watching. His eyes glowed dangerously as his next words trailed. "If you ever betray me or slack off…"
The three goblins nodded like scared chickens, trembling all over. Arthur nodded and picked up a low-mid-tier core that he had picked yesterday after the worshiping he received. Just remembering the event made him cringe.
The core turned ethereal again, only this time being bigger and more detailed. It flickered with a radiant light that made the whole village silent with amazement. Before he realized it, the goblins were kneeling again. Not willing to entertain another cringe memory, Arthur hurriedly pushed the skill into the goblin.
The ethereal sphere merged with the goblin's body as it stared in amazement and shock. It let out a few screams of surprise while clenching its fist, tasting the new 'power' it had gained.
"Kakan, Kakan, Kakan!" Hands trembling, the goblin kneeled slowly on the ground while repeating these words like a mantra.
'No fucking away I'm letting them do this again' Arthur asked them to stop, but the whole village was kneeling again. In retrospect to today's events, Arthur would learn that Kakan didn't mean Boss in their language. It meant God.
Arthur went back to his home after dropping Kira at the pub. Many thoughts flashed by faster than the scenery on the train. Things were getting chaotic after the change in his life.
Even with his legacy, he had a late start. Jerano was one of the top colleges in the world. Even though its examination was for students in the Yalveran Union, it also accepted international students. Of course, students from other countries and kingdoms would opt for closer colleges. Some could contend with Jerano, but Arthur wanted to enroll in this one so there would be no language barrier.
Jerano College accepted only 200 students per batch, making the competition extremely fierce. For a sought-after international college, this was like a drop in the ocean. The number of applicants could easily exceed fifty thousand students, making the 200 spots look like an impossible dream to many.
That would be a 0.4% acceptance rate, Arthur noted. These fifty thousand would also be the top of their classes, the prodigies of their families, and the geniuses of their generation.
Arthur had to contend against that. Helplessness and even hopelessness crept upon his heart, telling to give up. However, a voice also whispered in his mind.
'Runes Apprentice Cup.'
A grin appeared on his face as anger overtook his heart. The darkness scurried away under the watchful eyes of determined conviction. He would secure a scholarship to Jerano college and payback the wrong that has been done to him.
'Oh Tyrin, you've messed with the wrong person.'
Arthur spent the rest of his ride home thinking of ways to pay him back. He was no expert planner, he was even less knowledgeable about things than the average person, but he had the time to plan things out. First, he needs to find out his goals. For that, he needed a well-deserved help from his new friend, Sier.
After he got home, Arthur searched for some things online. The first thing was the name of Hazel O'Keril. Several news outlets, international ones, emerged. Hazel was from a neighboring kingdom, one that wasn't from the Yalveran Union of Kingdoms. It was a small one called Tanera. The more shocking was that she was a distant relative of the royal family.
'The Emergence of The Lost Princess, Hazel of The Ice.'
'The Rise of The Ice Princess.'
'Summoner of Ghosts, Hazel: New Star of Tanera Kingdom.'
This news was fresh, and Arthur saw pictures of a golden robed Hazel all over them. This kingdom shared a common language with the Yalveran Union, despite the dialects that are widespread there.
The articles talked about how the distant relative of the royal family rose in power mysteriously after contracting a mage ghost. Her powers, on par with renowned geniuses across the kingdom, made her shine more than ever.
Arthur felt weird by reading all these news picturing Hazel as some sort of princess. He knew that this was the result of her obtaining a Legacy, but he didn't know that Legacies would even make you a royalty. He realized again what sort of people he interacted with and fought in the trial. Despite all of this, only a single triumphant thought appeared in Arthur's mind.
'So… I kissed a princess?'