13 The Immaculate

A month passed in a flash.

Drake continued to train like a freak, spending most of his days either meditating or swinging his sword around. His workout sessions motivated the guards, who began training in a similar manner. After all, they had all witnessed how far Drake had gone with this rate of training.

However, he also spent at least an hour a day within the library, after discovering his father's hidden collection of books.

[Beep! Encycloepedia of Commoner Tongue, written by scholar Arson, has been successfully scanned! Understanding this book will provide host the linguistic perk!]

[Beep! Art of War, written by the Lord Commander of the Desert Watch in 44 IC (Imperial calendar) has been successfully scanned! Learning this book and understanding it will provide insight in the following skills: [Lunar Elven Sword Art], [Horsemanship], [Military Tactics].]

'That's it! This is the kind of books I was looking for!'

"Knowledge is power". It was the Magical Court's motto. Acolytes pursued truth, and they were strong. Now, Drake knew why the two were linked. He had scanned many books in the castle's library, but he never truly studied them to the core. After all, most of the books were about legends and superstitions. Some were even about pure fictions.

It seemed that his father had kept the important, relevant book for his personal use. Art of War was such a book. Over the past few weeks, Drake scanned and studied these kinds of books and felt his understanding of the world increase by leaps and bounds.

It is not like he didn't know the worth of knowledge. As someone who lived in a futuristic era he was well aware of how useful it could be. Not just spiritually speaking, but in matters of war and personal progress. His biochip too, was more efficient as his database increased in size.

However, the world he was living in was not very advanced in terms of knowledge. Or at least, this is what Drake originally estimated. Few knew how to read, much less how to write. Hence, the number of books was pitifully low, and the number of interesting and enriching books even lower.

The more Drake read about acolytes, the more interesting he was in discovering their secrets. They seemed to be an elite monopolising high-grade resource and using their magical power to control the tides of the kingdom's fate from behind the curtain. Drake admired their train of thoughts, their mortal disinterest in face of pursuit of truth and strength.

Eventually, guests arrived: Immaculate soldiers that Lewis purchased through merchants and high-ranking officials' network. A merchant was standing on the Boat's front, his black skin and red eyes revealing his foreign origins. He belonged to the south indeed, a few hundred kilometres away from the Moonlight Territory, in the Death Desert, a place in which only Desert riders existed.

The Kingdom trained the Immaculate by killing Desert Riders. Those who died in battle were unlucky or unskilled, while the survivors would grow stronger from the constant war. Their emotions would eventually disappear and be replaced with pure obedience.

When Drake saw them arrive in the giant boat, he couldn't help but feel a hint of arrogance.

As the tradition went, the Immaculate began to show their skills to their future master. The Immaculate were war slaves after all. Loyalty was their greatest trait, but their strength surprised Drake to the core.

His biochip immediately began to scan them, and gave really incredible results:

[Human Male – Immaculate. Name – (?)

Age – 22 years. Rank: Veteran Soldier

Attributes

Strength – 2.0 | Dexterity – 1.5 | Constitution – 2.0 | Internal Energy – 1.0

Skills: Immaculate Style Spearmanship (Soldier-level technique, Proficiency: Advanced), Shield Mastery (Soldier-level technique, Proficiency: Advanced), horsemanship (Proficiency: Beginner).]

[Human Male – Immaculate. Name – (?)

Age – 23 years. Rank: Veteran Soldier

Attributes

Strength – 2.1 | Dexterity – 1.4 | Constitution – 2.1 | Internal Energy – 1.3

Skills: Immaculate Style Spearmanship (Soldier-level technique, Proficiency: Advanced), Shield Mastery (Soldier-level technique, Proficiency: Advanced), horsemanship (Proficiency: Beginner).]

[Human Male – Immaculate. Name – (?)

Age – 22 years. Rank: Veteran Soldier

Attributes

Strength – 2.0 | Dexterity – 1.6 | Constitution – 2.0 | Internal Energy – 1.3

Skills: Immaculate Style Spearmanship (Soldier-level technique, Proficiency: Advanced), Shield Mastery (Soldier-level technique, Proficiency: Advanced), horsemanship (Proficiency: Beginner).]

Each one of them possessed excellent attributes for soldiers. More importantly, Drake was surprised to learn that each one of them had reached advanced proficiency in both shield and spearmanship. Although soldier-level techniques were incomparably easier to master compared to knight-level technique, it was still something that most of average soldiers would never achieve in their lifetime.

It was proof of their potential.

More importantly, Drake highly valued the balance in their attributes. Dexterity was especially hard to train in, so after seeing an average of 1.5 pop on these future subordinates, Drake felt very satisfied.

2000 gold coins were a huge amount of money, even for someone like the Viscount. Someone like Drake, who had yet to obtain a single nobility title or any estate, spending this amount of gold coins was definitely unheard of. Even the slave trader was sensing something wrong in the affair. Of course, he did some digging and nodded upon hearing the full story.

A rising knight, willing to spend his loot right away for a boost of strength and influence.

'To have this much determination at such a young age…He is like my past self!', the slave trader said.

"Greetings! I am Drake Moonlight, third heir of the Moonlight Household. I have heard of your arrival and hurried over to welcome you. I hope Blackwater will surprise you in a good way during your stay, sir", Drake said in the Sand Tongue, a foreign language that was spoken in a very fluent manner, surprising Verdon greatly.

"Oh come on, I am no sir! I am Verdon, a mere trainer within the Immaculate Camp.", Verdon said while shaking hands with Drake, grinning.

Drake, however, felt like a bucket of cold water hit him when the biochip managed to have a glimpse of the slave trader's strength.

[Human Male – Immaculate. Name – Verdon

Age – 93 years. Rank: Grand Knight

Attributes

Strength – 12.3 | Dexterity – 3.5 | Constitution – 15.6 | Internal Energy – (?)

Skills: (?)]

Drake couldn't believe his eyes. Verdon was a powerhouse who could, without any doubt, kill Drake with a single punch. The worst part in the story is the fact that Verdon looked like a febrile and skinny old man. He had white hair, and his skin showed an unbelievable number of scars. His muscles were well-defined, yet his skin showed clear traces of aging. However, the biochip was confident in its analysis: the old man could not be healthier, and would probably live another 50 years without suffering any setbacks from aging besides his appearance.

Drake witnessed for the first time of his life the benefits of cultivation. By becoming stronger, your vitality would be enhanced, and your cells strengthened. It would be weirder if life expectancy didn't change after so many changes.

A thirst for strength awakened within Drake.

After tasting death once, he wished for a long, healthy life. Immortality was very alluring.

"I have a favour to ask", Drake said after making his decision.

"What is it?", Verdon asked in a curious voice.

Verdon was particularly interested in Drake's achievements. The latter was so young, yet already a knight. In Verdon's experience, it was not a possible feat.

"You're strong. Can you enlighten me on an issue I've been facing? Breathing techniques are fine, but the stronger I am, the less efficient they become. The same goes for training and sparring. It strengthens me, but eventually, I will reach a plateau."

Verdon thought for a while, obviously quite startled that the boy in front of him recognized his true identity in a matter of seconds, and had the boldness to ask him for question when the only connection between the two of them was purchase of Immaculate War slaves:

"Alright, then let's do this. For every question I answer, I get to ask you a question in return."

"I'm okay with that, even if you ask me ten questions!", Drake replied, excited.

"In order to become strong, the best training ground is the battlefield. Killing enemies strengthens your confidence, the injuries might hurt, but as long as you recover, your flesh become stronger, your bones sturdier, your muscles more efficient. I didn't become who I am today by sparring or breathing. I became who I am through tears and blood, though it was mostly blood", Verdon continued.

"…", Drake made sure to note that down. No wonder his breakthrough happened during his first life and death battle. The most efficient way to become stronger is indeed in real, dangerous missions!

"Now, it's my turn to ask you a question. How did you guess my strength?"

"I can…deduct from contact and analysis the average strength of a person. When I shook your hands, I know you made sure to control your strength, but in reality, it was as if I was touching a mountain that could crush me at every moment. You are the first person to give me such a feeling, to be honest."

Verdon pondered, and finally sighed.

"Sixth sense, huh…I've met people like you in the past. Cherish this specialness of yours. One day, it will save your life."

"Can you face people with mysterious powers as a Grand Knight, I mean those who call themselves Acolytes? Those from the magical court are mysterious, and never appear in public. They scheme in the shadows, assassinate great figures, construct magical towers, but I never got to meet one."

Verdon seemed surprised. Not many people knew about acolytes, considering the secrecy of their organizations. Though nobles usually had dealings with them within the open-minded Porfield Kingdom:

"I am a Grand Knight, so of course I can face acolytes. However, acolytes are ranked in three levels: rank 1 to rank 3, with rank 3 acolytes capable of destroying your city's wall in a matter of seconds. If I face rank 1 or rank 2 acolytes, I would most likely come out of the fight unscathed, but the same cannot be said for rank 3 acolytes, who usually have annoying trump cards. I would need to use secret knight techniques, and I would have to be ready to be bedridden for months if I had to face one. As for Magi…I only fought with them once, thirteen years ago. If I can tell you something about them: don't trust them, ever. They will find your one weakness and exploit it if you have something they seek", Verdon said while frowning upon remembering uneasy memories.

"But acolytes do not necessarily belong to the Magical Court. For instance, your Druid of Blackwater, Gallan, is an ex-famous rank 2 acolyte who contributed a lot to-", he continued.

However, as Verdon uttered these words, the gentle old man Gallan, who took care of Drake since his childhood, healed his wounds and taught him geography and History, appeared out of nowhere. Gallan was not the same as usual. His old age was nowhere to be seen. His body was old, but his mind was not. Knight of the mind indeed suited his current appearance.

Drake didn't know what was happening, but the two old men were staring at each other.

'So old man Gallan was a rank 2 acolyte all along…'

While Drake was analysing the situation, the pair of old men were having a heated conversation by telepathy. Two powerhouses, capable of taking on a small army by themselves, were on the brink of entering a fight.

"What are you doing here, Verdon? I heard you swore you would die battling desert riders among your kind."

"Don't you dare look down on immaculate people, Gallan! We fought together, we lost together! The fate of the Porfield Kingdom is no longer up to us, but up to the young generation! Just look at your new lord!"

Drake was beginning to understand what was going on.

Gallan, however, wasn't keen on backing down.

"Drake, come on, leave this senile old man alone."

"Do you know each other?", Drake asked, wanting to know what was going on.

"Verdon used to be a war slave. He was bought by the Fireheart Household, and served as a guard. He served his master rightfully for ten years, accompanying him in the battlefield, accumulating merits. Eventually, he became a knight, and was freed. He became a lord, lord Verdon. Immaculate do not have names, after all. With druids on his side, he fought against acolytes and killed hundreds of them. After a combat, he would always be riddled with wounds, after suffering from fireballs, ice spears or acidic spells. The druids healed him, however, over and over again. This, in turn, made his body capable of absorbing part of magical power in the environment. At some point, he became a grand knight. He faced a magus, and almost died in the process."

"What happened to the Magus?"

"The Magus didn't even see Verdon as a true enemy. However, Verdon used it to his advantage and manage to land a knight-killing technique on him, after igniting his internal energy to boost his attributes. The land was so terrifying that it was heard from kilometres around. But the Magus all possess defensive field. It blocked most of the damage, but the Magus's heart was pierced. He didn't die, according to the rumours, but he probably became greatly weakened after the fight. Of course, the Magus didn't sit still, and retaliated with a mighty tornado that broke Verdon's bones, and cut his body over and over again. When we found him, he was no longer breathing. By some miracle, however, our spells managed to heal his body to a point that he breathed again. After recovering, he swore never to fight magi again after having been granted a second shot at life. Instead, he returned to his homeland, among fellow immaculate."

"I am afraid I won't be able to see much of Blackwater. I was only passing by and sending these youths on their way. Treat them well, they deserve it.", Verdon said, "the king himself has summoned me. If you ever lack enemies, come in the South with your army and fight Desert Riders with me. We are in short supply of good men."