"And this is our most promising rising star, Greem Bluehill", Captain Sanders spoke with pride, "Greem, quickly greet our guests. The woman in the center is called Neeko, and her two companions are called Ingrid and Hildir. All three of them are imperial mages from the Flying Citadel, who have accepted our investigation request on the brotherhood shamans"
As Greem entered the room, he was met with Captain Sanders' introduction. Three dark-cloaked men wearing the uniform of the Flying Citadel stared at him, as if they were trying to evaluate his strength from a glance.
"We heard about him on our way here from soldiers...What has he achieved?", Neeko spoke.
She was a white-haired woman in her twenties, with bandages covering her hands, and a cheerful aura around her. She was completely different from what Greem expected from acolytes. She seemed happy and was anything but apathetic.
'Is it because it is a different timeline from the book? Well, seeing the other two acolytes' apathetic face, I guess she is the exception to the rule instead', Greem evaluated
Captain Sanders quickly answered: "Well, he has broken through the knight realm at the young age of 14, and he has since then received the rank of Lieutenant, which is one of the highest in the army. He has subjugated four knight-level bandits in the past year, discovered two bandit outposts and intercepted eight bandit raids. In battle, I would rather have him than two dozen soldiers"
Instantly, it seemed like the acolytes' gaze changed from curious to awe. It was no secret that the knight realm was extremely difficult to reach. Although anyone possessed the potential to become a knight with enough knowledge, a breathing technique and extreme perseverance, few would actually manage to reach the realm due to the incredible effort it entailed. Breaking through by the age of 14 was proof of incredible talent, and his military achievements were quite unfitting his age
Evangeline nodded: "I can personally attest of his strength. His swordsmanship is one of the finest in the whole Empire"
Although Greem had never used his strength to its fullest, he was undefeated in Oasis, even when he faced knights as a preparatory knights. The reason behind his combat prowess being his swordsmanship. Most soldiers would possess [Initiate] mastery of swordsmanship, and only a handful of knights would reach the [Beginner] rank mastery. As for [Intermediate] rank mastery, only the most talented knights would achieve it, although they would do so in the intermediate or advanced rank knight realm. As for a beginner rank knight achieving something that even Grand Knights would have difficulty reaching, it was definitely unheard of.
[Beep! Name: Greem Bluehill | Class: Beginner Rank Acolyte, Beginner Rank Knight
Strength: 2.9, Agility: 2.8 | Vitality: 2.5 | Spiritual force: 6.2 | Magical Power: 6.2/6.2]
Skills: Optimized Blue Hill Swordsmanship (Advanced), Strategy (Beginner), Eloquence (Beginner), Etiquette (Beginner)
Knight Killing Technique: Falcon Thrust (Beginner), Quick Draw (Initiate)
Knight Secret Technique: Optimized Bluehill Warrior Enhancement (+30% Strength, Vitality, Agility)
Spells: Iron Skin: Rank 0 spell. Casting time: 3 seconds. Consumption: 2 magic power units. Effect: Create a layer of iron onto the user's skin in order to block up to [Spiritual Force] degrees of damage. It can be used locally]
Although his physical attributes had increased slightly, his spiritual force was stagnant. He could obviously recognize the acolytes' attributes, though.
[Beep! Name: Neeko | Class: Beginner Rank Acolyte
Strength: 0.9, Agility: 0.8 | Vitality: 0.5 | Spiritual force: 7.2 | Magical Power: 7.2/7.2]
[Beep! Name: Hildir | Class: Beginner Rank Acolyte, Beginner Rank Knight
Strength: 3.9, Agility: 1.8 | Vitality: 3.5 | Spiritual force: 5.0 | Magical Power: 5.0/5.0]
[Beep! Name: Ingrid| Class: Beginner Rank Acolyte
Strength: 0.9, Agility: 0.8 | Vitality: 2.5 | Spiritual force: 7.2 | Magical Power: 7.9/7.9]
Hildir, the one with the strongest physical attribute, seemed particularly interested in Greem's successful knight achievements. While Neeko, Captain Sanders, ingrid and Greem all shared the same physical traits with white hair, and red or blue eyes, Hildir was not an imperial human, but rather, a [Beastman].
There were theories that beastmen were actually the result of an ancient magus experiment which aimed at improving the standards of a kingdom's population, and instead turned into utmost failure due to the beastmen being unable to control their instincts. Since then, the beastmen reproduced and established a handful of extremely strong kingdoms, which have never once failed to defend against invaders, them being Dalian soldiers or monsters like orcs and goblins.
Still, a handful of beastman households managed to retain their sanity by using potions, Hildir probably coming from one of them. This also explained his incredible physical attributes in spite of his age, as Hildir was not thirty yet.
"Do you think you could beat him, Hildir?", Neeko said playfully, as if to try to gauge Greem's worth
Hildir scoffed: "Naturally. The boy is just fifteen, and although he has had great success against regular knights, I come from a beastman knight family, with secret knight techniques that match my bloodline. I can best intermediate rank knights, not to mention beginner rank knights. However, without relying on my bloodline, I think he has his chances"
Neeko titled her head: "He could beat you if you don't use your bloodline?"
Hildir nodded: "This is what my instincts tell me"
Greem was honestly surprised. His body was balanced, and his sword sharp. However, from a physical point of view, the difference in stamina and strength that came from the attribute gap would point out at his ultimate defeat if he could not use his swordsmanship advantage. Yet, Hildir seemed to see through it instinctly.
'Beastmen sure are interesting...', Greem thought
After exchanging a couple of words, the acolytes went straight into planning the expedition: "So this is it. We will march at dawn with the 6th Battalion, and investigate Qaarth, the desert merchant city, where your spy have discovered a shaman from the Brotherhood. We will capture him if possible, or kill him and look for clues afterwards. As you mentioned, we will throw bait at them, by disguising ourselves an important imperial convoy transporting the high-quality steel alloys mined from Oasis' underground mine"
Greem was surprised. Neeko was cheerful and sharp, but she also possessed methodology when it came to planning. She had accurately understood Oasis' strength, and even took the time to learn numerous facts about its existence, including the underground mine that was used to supply the fortress with enough iron in case a siege ever happened.
Somehow, Greem was excited. Besides his uncle Richard, these three acolytes were the first individuals capable of wielding magic he encountered. As a wandering acolyte, he wanted to compare himself to the acolytes from the Flying Citadel. He wanted to see if joining the Imperial Army and sharpening his swordsmanship and knight cultivation was a mistake, or actually, the best decision at his disposal.
The biochip was good at analysing data, optimizing techniques and transmitting raw data into his brain in a matter of seconds. It was not so good when it came to decision making, especially long-term planning since there were just too many variables. But perhaps this was for the best, since he had never once thought of relying on a computer to decide his life's fate. At the end of the day, it was a tool. A useful tool perhaps, but a tool nevertheless.