Kingdom Oathbound Baptism

Sol laughed too. He had been afraid at first, but the reason he placed the glass in was to map it and see if he could influence it—the same reason he mapped his body.

He wanted to know if he could influence his body and fix his large hand.

The stone seat immediately shifts and changes. A backrest rose a bit, then a flat stone appeared to the left for resting books and writing. Sol no longer needed to rest it on his lap. Then the seating part improved—he could sit back and fold his legs.

"100 Ei for Sol!" the teacher said with a clap. "Everyone clap for him!"

The whole class began to applaud him. Zephyr and Sophie even whistled at him with genuine praise.

But Sol still couldn't remove the Eiros Glass.

"Artifact sources are numerous. One is Crafted, two is Sculpted, three is Nurtured, fourth is Nature, and fifth is Created. There are other sources as well."

The students were standing as the teacher continued to explain. "Crafted Artifacts are like the book you have. Different materials are processed, undergo certain conditions, and are put together to become an artifact ."

"Who can tell me what a Sculpted Artifact is?" Sabey Salvador asked. The boy who got his Glass stuck in stone said, "The stone seat is an artifact."

"Yes. 15 Ei for Rand!" Sabey said. "Those natural objects—stones, wood, or metal—that grip your Eiros Glass have the opportunity to be sculpted into an artifact. The seat was designed that way."

Nurtured Artifacts were like the book, but the best example was how some trees are raised and nurtured as Artifacts.

Nature Artifacts are mysterious most of the time. Sometimes a bolt of lightning lands on steel metal and it becomes an artifact.

Created Artifacts refer to those artifacts that the Gifted conjured. For example, a Gifted with the ability to permanently conjure a sword—that sword is an Artifact.

The class was fun and interactive, and at the end, the teacher gave everyone 10 Ei for making him happy.

***

Time passed, and with careful guidance of Zavien, Sol began to feel more free and appreciated it.

School became more challenging but also fun.

Rivalries rose as everyone wanted to outdo each other.

More students came to Sol's house. He was still the most creative among them, always thinking outside the box.

Groups within the class formed, and now they chattered even as the teacher spoke.

After the second week, there were no more lessons—it was pure practical training. The teacher made them train on Iron Dome specifically.

Sol by then had mastered Iron Shield and multiple smaller Iron Shields. He had also learned how to coat his hair with iron and turn his nails into iron.

The teacher focused on teaching them how to coat their skin. Sol grasped it faster than anyone since he had been learning about his morphology.

Of course, other students were rising too. Even Rolf was smart, just lazy. He was the first to show them how to turn their attire into iron.

Another noble boy named Roland showed them how to create an Iron Blast.

***

Sol leaned back from reading his Iron-Covered Book. His appearance hadn't changed much, but he was now 1.65m tall. He had the look of a scholar—his dark hair passed his ears, his uniform pristine, and his pen was being twirled by his right hand.

It had gotten bigger.

The hand passed his knee when he stand

It was making him feel sad and bad about himself.

The page before him showed his life-like image, zoomed in on his right hand, with numerous writings denoting information about what was wrong with it littered across the page.

Sol had copied every book about overgrowth in the library. Even now as he sat in the library, he had just checked if there were any he was missing.

He did find a book that explained the types of overgrowth: those who survived demon possession, those who were born that way, and those who had been to the edge of the kingdom.

He was born like this, and from what he learned, his ancestors must have gone there too. This made his situation caused by the edge of the kingdom.

Sol sighed. In the past four weeks, he had been spectacular. He learned many things and achieved a lot that should have granted him many opportunities, but his hand had made him lose it all.

Many in his class had become guards, becoming Oathbound to some of the City Lord's children—especially those lowborn like him.

The noble kids, on the other hand, had other plans from their parents.

Sol was the only one not chosen because of his hand.

"At this rate, I won't even get an artifact," Sol said before resting his head on the table. He was never a crybaby, but this time he felt like weeping, though he held back the tears.

Knock!

A knock came and Sol raised his head, then stood and bowed. "Teacher Sabey."

"Hello, Sol." The kind man sat down, bringing a book with him. Sol recognized it—he had passed it many times, but the content seemed unbelievable and he couldn't grasp it.

Sol sat too. "Why are you here?"

"I will be leaving tomorrow, and I thought maybe I should help you!"

Sol's eyes lit up, thinking the man would help reduce his hand size, but then he remembered to do that, there must be a lot of legal documents, and one needed to be at least Fourth Era.

"You see, what you seek is something that only those at Third Era and above dabble in. Though a Mage can personally do it to himself when they are First or Second Era if they study their body intensely, but it's not recommended."

He pushed the book toward Sol. "This has your answer. Our body is made up of systems, and each is made of organs, and each organ is made of tissues. These tissues are made of cells."

Sol frowned. That's what the book said. He had read it superficially but dropped it, annoyed. It claimed cells were the smallest building blocks of humans, but no matter how he zoomed his life-like image, he couldn't see them.

He had taken it to be advanced knowledge he didn't need.

"Within cells are organs that make them up, then a nucleus, and within that are chromosomes, and within those are something called genes."

Sol stared at the man. He hadn't gone that far. It sounded like too much.

Sabey smiled. "To know the issue with your hand, you need to look that deep." Before Sol could ask questions, he continued, "Your problem is energy. You can't zoom that far, but I can help you now."

Sol's eyes lit up, and he was given 100 Ei.

Eiros Glass in his hand, he kept zooming.

"Let me guide you!"

Sol only had to control the Eiros Glass as the teacher felt whether they had captured the image correctly.

To Sol's surprise, he consumed over 2,000 Ei before they reached the cell level.

"That is your limit now. You must reach the First Era or even Second to go beyond the cell level."

Sol hugged the man, tears streaming down his face. Sabey Salvador patted his back before helping Sol copy the Human Cell Morphology.

It was a giant book containing every cell sample from different organs.

Sol went home, appreciative of the teacher.

***

A large crowd—thousands of people—came to witness the consecration of First Era Mages. Thirty-two students walked forward and stood before the Lord of the City, an average-height man with red hair and a red stern gaze.

"It gladdens my heart that every year our noble city grows. The appearance of 32 individuals with Eiros Affinity from our 30 million citizens is promising. Don't look at the small number—look at what they can accomplish..."

His speech was long and boring to Sol because he hated this day.

Today was the day of baptism.

They were ushered to a pond with red-colored water.

Sol was the best in class, but some kids had pulled strings—he was pushed back. Rolf was called first.

He sauntered before the pond and carefully removed his shirt. Someone collected his clothes, and a white wrapper was wrapped around him as he got naked.

He stepped forward, his leg dipping into the red water until he sank.

This was one of the rituals for Oathbound, and within the red pond were twenty abilities—one would choose him.

Someone could get more than one Oathbound, just like Rand, who was a guard and had an Oathbound with one of the Lord's children. He could get another one which tied him with the whole Iron Roll City as well as the whole Kingdom.

Rolf emerged on the other side, taller and with more muscle than before.

"HAIL THE ROYAL FAMILY!" the Lord's voice rose, and immediately the whole audience repeated.

This was a form of appreciation that the Royal Family had granted some of their ability to Iron Roll City via Rolf.

This ability was also an emblem that if he became First Era and served Iron Roll City properly, he would be granted access to the Golden Capital.

Liam was next. But as he emerged, he didn't change, but an axe was in his hand.

Sol's eyes widened—he could feel the axe from here.

The Lord came down and shouted louder,

"HAIL THE ROYAL FAMILY. POWER TO MAJESTIC BLADES!"

Roland whispered to Sol and the rest, "That's a Grade 3 Artifact. The Majestic Blade of the Royal Family has claimed him already."

'Maybe I can…' Sol shook his head. There was no way he would ever get one with his condition.

Gradually, students entered and came out slightly different, but Liam was the only one who got an artifact.

Sol was called using his real name, and he walked forward. The students became confused—it was different and longer than "Sol."

As he removed his clothes, he heard snickers from the nobles.

"Ah, man, a disfigured one. This spoiled the mood!" an old dignified man said.

"What if he gets an artifact and you made fun of him?" another teased.

"Hell no. The Royal Family advocates beauty. There's no way he'll get anything."

"Quiet!" A man in crimson armor with crimson eyes growled at them. "We are before a ritual that involves our King. Show some respect!"

This very ritual went back to the king and his family. The Oathbound might not be linked to him directly, but it was under his sacred name.

Sol ignored them. He was used to it. His only fear was being rejected. But if he was accepted, then only one thing remained.

The moment his leg touched the red water in the pond, the world vanished from his senses.

He walked inside, and even the walking out was not by him—he just moved.

He heard, "HAIL THE ROYAL FAMILY!"

He also didn't know what he got. Of course, his oversized hand was still a burden, making him tilt to the right side if he didn't balance himself well.

He walked behind a veil where he wore his uniform.

Immediately lines formed on the uniform, and an emblem registered on different parts of the uniform.

One place was on his chest, then on either side of his shirt shoulders, then on his trousers, then on his bag and the book inside, even on the pen.

Sol found himself brimming with 100,000 Ei when he touched his book, and they were different. They appeared to have become iron grain on the iron covering.

"Settle down," the Lord's butler ordered.

Sol had gotten used to Sophie, and he whispered, "What ability did you get?"

"I don't know!" she answered. "Do you?"

Sol shook his head and relaxed—thankfully he wasn't the only one in the dark.

Sol was about to ask her if something had changed about him when a chill washed over them.

Clouds covered the sky, and everything went silent.

"Kneel!" the Lord shouted as he went to one knee, his head bowed.

Everyone, no matter where they were, all knelt and bowed as a chill washed over them as if searching for something before it settled on Liam.

"Finish the ritual ceremony!" a deep, authoritative voice echoed.