Royalblood

“Ready? Let’s begin then…”

“What is this? You are going to teach me the sword...?” Josiah asked.

“Teach you ‘about’ the sword, that is. Here, grab it.” Thomas did not hold himself as he threw a heavy broadsword at a four-year-old child. Josiah didn’t mind and caught it on the air by the hilt, like he was accustomed to it, though.

“You really are skilled. I used to be skeptical about the stories surrounding the royal bloodline, but watching the son of the emperor grow beside my eyes made me realize the rumors really are true… The superstition surrounding the royalblood is something I never gave credit, but seeing you with these old eyes, I’m starting to believe…”

Josiah stopped looking at the sword’s shape and brightness and got focused on the old servant’s words:

“What is this all about royal blood and bloodline you keep saying of?”

“You know you have been born inside the castle of Bucoa. Those who are born with the bloodline of the emperor or the high skilled combatants are called ‘royalblood’. The whole ruling system of Bucoa is based on the abilities granted by the blood only. That’s why only the emperor himself can raise the next heir to the throne. Ideally, the emperor’s first son is the next candidate. In this case… You.”

“But I already know all of that...”

“Listen… The kingdom of Bucoa had been ruling this continent for several millennia, based on this system. It is a system that is established and followed because it works. But why does it work? Is merely being the child of someone important enough to make oneself important?”

“…”

Josiah didn’t believe that at all.

“There is this millennial rumor that the answer is ‘yes, it does’, little master. The scholars have been studied and concluded several skills have the ability to be passed down to generations by blood. And one of them is the ability to be skilled. The gift. The susceptibility to the prodigy. It is believed the direct descendants of skilled people are skilled themselves, whether it is for the matter of physical combat, whether it dictates around political affairs.”

‘Hey, old man… I’m pretty sure the reason I am so ‘skilled’ is because I am an adult mind inside the body of a child, you know…’ Josiah thought condescendingly.

“You wouldn’t believe how fast you are mastering the art of everyday combat, young master! The adults say you are sent from the gods…”

‘Yeah, they tend to say that…’ Josiah ruminated.

“…The social and political hierarchy in this realm is based on what they call the ‘art of the sword’. As I mentioned before, it is a very well-established ranking system that has the property of quantifying how skilled a person is, when it comes to a lot of things. But the most important of them all is strength. The strength to overcome opponents in combat.”

“So is this like the law of the strongly fittest?”

“Master Josiah… You have seen the world around you. It is a wild world out there. The beasts are ferocious and uncanny. It is very essential that people have the ability to slay creatures in combat and that’s why mastering the skill is looked upon in society…”

‘You tell me about it, this looks like an RPG world, what with we finding strange monsters trying to kill us everywhere we go…’ Josiah thought to himself, as he remembered the days he would leave the farm delimiters and adventure in the forest, finding beasts like the blue wolf of four years ago or the wobbly mass he fought earlier that day.

Thomas proceeded:

“…And it is a common belief that those blessed with royalblood, the bloodline of the higher society, are the ones more prone to become masters of combat. Thus, the whole army of the empire, the royal guards of the castle… Everything is based upon the culture of the blood. The royalblood live to serve the kingdom with their mastery of the combat, while the not so blessed ones are tasked with support, such as providing food for the realm, like what we have been doing here.”

Josiah stopped swinging around the sword he had in hands and held it down:

“Thomas… aren’t there any skilled soldiers who haven’t been born from royal bloodline?”

“You see… This rumor, although holding some truth behind it, is not only preserved for generations because of its efficiency but a little because of pure politics. The royalbloods hold their high careers on the name of their families. They are a conglomerate of families. Therefore, even if a person as skilled to become a high-class soldier appears… It’s not easy for them to become a part of this family cartel, you know…”

“I see…” Josiah started picturing what would come toward him in the future. “And what happens to those people?”

“Very few of them manage to become a part of the army, yes, although their ability is probably contained as the more politically proficient ones tend to steal the credit of their works… There are also those who deviate and try to live on their own, the so-called ‘renegades’. But we are not aiming for that, we are aiming for doing the right thing to do. To give the first son of the emperor the power he is meant to be given.”

“I am the son of the emperor, ain’t I? So that’s why I have this ability to quickly absorb the ‘art of the sword’?”

“As I have witnessed you grow up beside my eyes I have started believing this is in your blood, yes. But oh, my little master… There is more to the genes of a royalblood than natural skill. This is about the level system. The level system natural quantifies the royalblood high via the system.”

“Level system…? And what would that be about?”

‘Sometimes I think this is all a big dream about an RPG and that I’m going to wake up from and miss my shift…’ Josiah thought as he heard once again about that concept, almost too formulaic to be real.

“Do you see the sword you are holding now?”

“Your sword you handled to me? Yes?” Josiah bought it closer to his eyes. “What about it?”

“My sword? No, my young master. This is ‘your’ sword.”

“What!? Oh, my! Thank you very much, Thomas!”

“I appreciate the gratitude but save your thanks to your mother. This is the blood sword promised to you since your birth.”

“Promised… Blood… Sword?”

“Listen… I am going to tell you about the role of the blood on the level system.”