Chapter 56: His Disciple
"In the time before Eudenia raised me, before she wrapped me in her chains, I was known as Aradel. Aradel Kein."
The name, spoken aloud, echoed in the quiet of my room, it had the weight of centuries. Aradel Kein. The true name of Herald, the legendary warrior that possessed the mythic dragon’s eye — an S tier artifact, the hero’s master. I had done it. I had outwitted him, extracted the information I needed for Narrative Redaction. The ultimate override was now, theoretically, within my grasp.
Herald regarded me for a long moment, his gaze fixed, as if assessing my reaction to his true name. A faint, almost imperceptible nod. "Now that we are... acquainted, Disciple," he said, his voice gaining a new shift, a subtle change in tone that acknowledged my acceptance, however reluctant. He had finally recognized me as his disciple, his student. The dreaded apprenticeship had begun.
He turned, his movements fluid and silent, and walked towards the open window. The night air, cool and crisp, blew his dark cloak inwards. He perched on the window frame, his back resting casually against the sill, his gaze fixed on the distant, moonlit landscape.
"Pack your belongings," Herald commanded, his voice calm, yet utterly definitive. "In the coming days, you and I will leave Elyndor. We will head to Megmura."
My brow furrowed. Megmura? The outskirts? My mind raced, trying to recall any mention of Megmura in Hero’s Vow. It was a minor province, barely a location in the grand narrative. Why there? And why leave the capital, the seat of power, the very place the Academy was located?
"But Master," I began, trying to keep my voice respectful, "the Academy... the Sword Knight exam is here, in Elyndor. And my training—"
Herald cut me off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You will enter the Ostina Sword Knight Academy. But not through the nobility route. "His eye, still fixed on the distant horizon. "You will enter using the commoner’s route."
My breath hitched. The commoner’s route? My mind reeled. This was a sudden, unexpected announcement, a drastic deviation from my already precarious plan. I knew, from the novel, that there was indeed a commoner’s route to the Academy. In fact, Eren Valtor, the protagonist, had used the commoner’s route to enter the Academy, becoming a ’Prodigy’ through sheer talent and hard work, and some obvious help from the system. But to become a Prodigy and enter the Academy through that route was incredibly difficult. The novel had explicitly stated that it was a brutal, highly competitive process. Only five out of the ninety commoners who attended the exam in Eren’s year had managed to get in. Five out of ninety. The odds were astronomically against me.
I wasn’t sure if a month, or even a few months, under Herald would be enough to make me good enough, skilled enough, to get selected through the commoner’s route. My current swordsmanship, despite will, was still rudimentary. I was stronger and faster due to my earlier upgrade to my stats— yes, but I lacked the finesse, the experience, the sheer mastery required to stand out among a horde of desperate, highly skilled commoners.
My deepest desire was to enter the Academy. It was my path to peace, to survival, to a semblance of normalcy after the chaos that had filled my life in this world. It was a place where I could hide, blend in, and perhaps, eventually ensure my survival in this world. But the commoner’s route... that was a far more public, far more demanding path than I had envisioned. It meant intense scrutiny, fierce competition, and a constant need to prove myself. My plan of going to the Academy to find a sense of peace, to escape any spotlight, was already on hold. This new directive shattered it completely.
"Why?" I asked, my voice filled with a hint of my frustration. "Why the commoner’s route, Master? I am the adopted son of House Sapphire. The nobility route would be far simpler, far less... conspicuous."