[Name : Trainee Cassian ven dyke
Warrior level : trainee
[System function : Training field (available)
[Skills: Cleaning: Swordsmanship:
Overhead Slash: D (Progress: 23%)Horizontal Slash: D (Progress: 14%)Diagonal Slash: D (Progress: 07%)Thrust: d (Progress: 03%)
Lower Body Massage Mastery. : Lv1(3/500) ]
Cassian lay on the bed, checking his status after a cold shower, the chill soothing him after a late-night training session. Lady Katherine hadn't asked for a massage today, so he had some time to relax. The day had been a long one—mostly good at first with shopping, kissing, and even getting to feel Lucy's breasts.
Things had taken a turn, though, not for him, but for others. Someone had attacked the castle, and judging by Tyron's continued absence, they hadn't yet caught those responsible—or at least not all of them.
Still, as Lucy had told him, it didn't really matter to him. Pushing the events of the day out of his mind, Cassian turned his attention to the book he'd bought earlier: The Human Kingdoms in the World of Surias from the Past 2000 Years.
The title was quite a mouthful, but the book seemed legit. It had a red stamp of an eye on the cover, known as the Eye of Knowledge. This symbol belonged to a neutral organization renowned for dealing in information—whether it be secret intel about kingdoms or preserved knowledge.
Many kingdoms had tried to erase their dark pasts and replace them with glorified propaganda, but the Eye of Knowledge worked to uncover and preserve the truth. Over time, people had come to trust them for their neutrality and honesty, so any book bearing their stamp was considered authentic and reliable.
The world they lived in was called Surias. No one knew exactly how it got its name, but it had been called that for eons. Regardless of the species—whether human or something else—the name was the same in every language. As for why the book only covered the last 2,000 years of human kingdoms, it was because a massive war had destroyed much of the knowledge from earlier eras.
Some remnants remained, but the author aimed to present only the most authentic information.
The first kingdom mentioned in the book was Andharta, an ancient realm that existed long before the timeline covered. It was the one of two human powers to survive the catastrophic war known as The War of extinction, and it was also where Cassian and the Scarlet Duchy currently resided. The other human power was just known as an empire.
"That's why these two kingdoms are still the strongest to this day," Cassian muttered as he read on. Over time, more human kingdoms began to rise, with notable ones like Ironclad, also known as the Mountain Kingdom, Munderia, the only human kingdom at sea, and Zurisa, a realm that bordered the mystical Elven forests.
There were more kingdoms than just these, but the ones mentioned were significant due to their locations, their survival over centuries, and their continued strength. Other kingdoms, while notable, had succumbed to wars and other conflicts over the decades and centuries.
One of the most recent falls was Kuma, a small kingdom on the seashore that was overtaken by civil war before another kingdom claimed its territory.
Many kingdoms had fallen, but only a few were still remembered for their unique contributions—some for their inventions, others for their rise to power, and some for the dramatic way they met their end.
One such kingdom was Lucist, which met its downfall at the hands of a single individual—the Duke of Fire and Blood. This figure became infamous after Lucist's fall and went on to establish the world's third-largest force, almost forming his own kingdom: But falling short and rasing only the strongest dukedom world has ever seen : Ven Dyke Duchy.
"I've got some badass ancestors," Cassian said with a mix of amusement and pride as he read about the establishment of the Ven Dyke Duchy. The duchy earned its title when the first duke single-handedly brought down an entire kingdom about 1,000 years ago.
As part of his oath, the duke pledged to serve the royal family for life and decreed that his descendants would do the same for another 1,000 years, provided they kept the duke title.
The Ven Dyke family upheld this promise, consistently producing some of the strongest warriors each century. Occasionally, they were the sole representatives of their strength, while at other times, a few of their members would live for centuries. Today, three of the top strongest human warrior are from the Ven Dyke family, including the current head.
As Cassian continued reading, he was surprised to discover that the 1,000-year timeframe of the oath was coming to an end soon—within just 15 years, according to his calculations based on the oath's date and the current year.
"This could cause some problems," Cassian thought, flipping through more pages. Aside from this startling revelation, the book contained little mention of magic, focusing instead on notable wars that shaped the rise and fall of kingdoms. One such war was the conflict between the Magic Empire, also known as just empire, and the Andharta Kingdom, which occurred 1,000 years ago.
This war had a significant impact on the world's current political landscape. It led to centuries of rivalries between different kingdoms and noble houses. At that time, nearly all human kingdoms were divided into two factions, nearly annihilating humanity and contributing to the extinction of several other species that had joined the conflict.
The war ended with the Andharta Kingdom emerging victorious by utterly destroying three enemy kingdoms, including Lucita, in just three days. This decisive blow forced the Empire's armies to retreat.
Following this, only smaller-scale battles continued between the Empire and various kingdoms, with conflicts mostly confined to rivalries between individual kingdoms from both sides.
As Cassian read about these historic wars, he felt his heart race with excitement, a feeling he couldn't quite explain. He wondered about the experience of being involved in such battles, even though he wasn't sure why it stirred him so deeply.