Now, let’s move back toward the present. While Darius was having his discussion with the old man, Kylian and Donald were having one of their own in a lobby.
As the duo was of esteemed status, their rooms were actually suites provided with many amenities and a lot of space.
The duo sat opposite one another, each one deep in thought. The events of the day had left quite an impression on them. Even if Darius’s performance during the first exam could be termed amusing, then his performance in the second one was most decidedly impressive.
Donald stroked his beard for a while. Then, he sighed in resignation, “I never thought I would see someone outshine the Princess in this exam.”
Kylian nodded in reply. “Indeed. She is quite the talent in her family, and considering how weak this Empire is, she is already impressive, yet somehow an unknown boy from the countryside completely outperformed her. The very notion sounds absurd.”
Donald’s large frame leaned on his chair as his fingers tapped the table. “I never thought I would see an Indomitable again after Lady Farah perished. What an ability…”
Kylian massaged his temples, “The Indomitable ability is both a blessing and a curse. It can free one from all fear, unlocking their potential through inciting pure bravery and courage. However, at the same time, those with the ability are often brash and act irrationally. The ability comes with a certain arrogance toward fighting. This type of fearlessness often leads to an early demise.”
Donald added on, “The Indomitable skill is extremely rare and powerful. You’re forgetting just how important it is.” His voice rose as he spoke with great admiration, “The last person known to have it was Lady Ferah of the Desolate Wastelands in the vast deserts that lay to the south of the continent of Valar. Although she died over a hundred years ago while defending the Southern borders from a Spirit Horde, the likes of which had never been previously seen, she is still remembered as one of the greatest Spiritknights to ever live. She was said to have laughed at the face of death and could draw energy from allies who fell in her presence, be they fellow Spiritknights or civilians, using it to fight all the harder in their names.
In the battle for the southern borders, she had been the first to arms and the last to fall. Without her, however, the southern borders quickly became infested. The blitzkrieg skirmishes still rage on to this day.”
Kylian raised a brow at his compatriot’s words. “You are speaking of these events as if you had not been there yourself.”
Donald shrugged his arms, “I was a mere recruit at that time, so to be honest, I didn’t experience much except for wave after wave of spirits.”
Kylian found Donald’s words ridiculous. “You may have been a recruit, but you were also Sir Humphrey’s squire. As he was Lady Farah’s confidante, this should have given you exposure to at least some of her battles.”
Donald shrugged once more. “It’s not that simple, old friend.”
“Why not?” Kylian questioned.
Donald sighed in resignation. A hint of melancholy could be seen on his face as he looked upwards, gazing into nothingness.
“Aye, I was Sir Humphreys squire, and aye, he was her confidante, but whenever she fought, everyone made sure to steer clear of her path.
I only saw part of her battle once. I was miles away, and even though it’s been a century, I remember the chills I got while watching her battle with the Spirits… Nay, that was no battle: it was a massacre.”
Kylian could not help but have his curiosity piqued. Lady Farah was a legend and a half. Her tales of bravery enticed anyone on the Spiritknight’s path.
Donald continued, “It was only when I saw her fight that I understood why no one was allowed near her. The spirits came in their millions, flooding the desert as far as the eye could see.
Many a Spiritknight fell that day. I almost fell as well, but it was not by a Spirit’s hand.
One of Lady Farah’s attacks landed near me. The explosion nearly blew me to pieces. The Spirits around me were reduced to ash.”
Kylian recalled that Lady Farah had been an expert in fire type magic. That coupled with a hot desert and her temperament must have created a hell on earth.
“When I finally opened my eyes, it was like hell. Fires raged around me as smoke rose to the skies. The screams of my fellow brothers were doused by the sounds of her epic battle. I looked toward the source of the sounds and saw something I will never forget.
Fireballs the size of meteors rained from the skies with devastating effect. Flames scorched the sands, turning all into molten glass.
Lady Farah herself was covered in a halo of flames, illuminating the battlefield like a second sun. More often than not, I was blinded by the light and forced to cover my eyes. To be honest, I’m not even sure what I saw for those few moments. What I can tell you is that after she finished and moved off to find her next opponents, there was nothing: no Spirits, not even remains, not even a piece of debris.
Her flames had flattened the earth and scorched it into a magnificent glass-like spectacle.
After that, I immediately returned to camp to rest. That was when I learned from the others of her ongoing slaughter.
Being Indomitable made her incredibly powerful, magnifying both her power and splendor, but it also brought out her hubris and bloodlust, making it impossible for her to fight cooperative battles with other Spiritknights. This allowed the powerful Spirits to plot against her and take her down, even if it was for a huge price.”
Donald’s somber recollection brought chills to the usually stoic Kylian. He could not help but wonder what she could have achieved had she lived longer. It was believed that she had not even yet reached the peak of her power and that she could have grown stronger. Alas…
“Indomitable effects differ from person to person. This is affected by their ability class and the user’s personality.”
(*Editor’s Note: This is kind of repeated in Ch. 18, but it has some new info so I left it here*)
Spiritknights were separated into multiple levels of power. Each level contained 3 sub levels.
The four main levels were Courage, Honor, Valor, Glory, with Courage being the weakest and Glory being the highest. This resulted in there being 12 sublevels of power, with each group of 3 sublevels representing an entire stage.
To advance to the next sublevel, one had to absorb a Dantian of that level. One could only do so once their body was capable of doing so. Raising the quality of one’s body to receive a Dantian required a lot of training physically and mentally. Talent also played a crucial role.
Each sublevel was called a star. Since Darius had absorbed two Dantians, that meant that he was a 2-star Courage Spiritknight.
Each Dantian brought with it an ability. These abilities are also arranged by the four levels in the same manner Spiritknights were. The higher the level of the ability, the more powerful its effects were and the more demanding it was of the person using it.
Donald continued his explanation, “Judging from what we saw, I think it’s safe to assume that the boy’s Indomitable is at least at the Valor level. There is even a small chance of it being at the Glory level!”
Kylian could not help but be impressed. Glory level abilities were extremely rare and ridiculously powerful. If Darius’s Indomitable ability was at the Glory level, then it immediately made the young man an important asset. Not just because of the ability’s class, but because it was his first ability!
