An Empire in Turmoil

Aurora entered the room as Melina headed in a different direction. Without even knocking, she barged inside. 

While she knew it was disrespectful and out of courtesy, she was obviously not fond of her father, so she didn't pay much attention. 

The square shaped room was very large. 

It felt very lonely, but luxurious.

There was a wide bed with some sort of small table on both corners of the bed. 

On top of one of the tables, there were papers and a lamp on top of them, as well as other tools and artifacts. 

A window could be seen in the distance, which reflected the other side of the castle, away from the roaring crowds next to the gate. 

King Clovis sat down on a wooden chair as he stared outside reminiscing the scenery. 

Aurora stood behind him, unnoticed by the King until she finally spoke:

"Good afternoon, Father." 

Clovis didn't bother to respond. Seeing herself ignored, Aurora felt a tinge of sadness. Regardless of his position, he was still her father.

"I'd like to speak regarding the matter with the recent protests." 

Once again, there was no response. He sat quietly still observing outside. 

"Father." Aurora spoke again, her voice growing more desperate, just wanting him to acknowledge her. 

"You barge in my room unannounced," he said calmly, still looking outside, "Then speak as if you're owed something." 

Aurora turned her head down as she frowned. 

The King slightly turned, looking at the Princess with one of his honey eyes,

"What peasants say is beneath notice. You're royalty—act like it."

Aurora tried to ignore them, but it was to no avail. She had a good heart, she didn't do anything to harm them, yet she was accused of something she never even would dream of doing.

Aurora's mouth opened, to tell King Clovis he should take responsibility, but she closed it, fearful of her father. 

"Yes, Father." 

King Clovis turned his head once more to the window as he said to her with an annoyed tone, "Address me as 'Your Highness.'."

Aurora, torn between sadness and anger, nodded silently. 

She had no choice but to let the accusations and hatred against her continue. She hated herself for giving in. Again. 

Aurora stepped out silently as she bowed before closing the door gently. 

Her eyes narrowed, holding her tears back realizing her own father barely sees her as family anymore. 

She would have spoken back, but King Clovis was an intimidating and powerful man. He wasn't the King for no reason. 

She gritted her teeth as memories of her mother flashed back in her head. 

Her mother, the Queen, used to be the only person that had comforted her in times like this. 

But, Aurora witnessed it all. Her own mother and comforter took her own life, right in front of Aurora's eyes, as she was barely even a teenager.

Aurora was traumatized by that scene. Every now and then, she'd remember the painful scene of her own mother driving a sharp knife into her own neck.

Her mother used to bear the burden of being the Queen, and also the burden of being Clovis' wife.

At some point, Aurora barely understood why she was even alive. Now, with the unrest outside against her, and her father tossing her aside, that feeling came back. 

Her own consciousness felt tired.

Far away, outside the suffocating castle and back near the carved road littered with small rocks, a party of three were fending off a horde of lowly monsters. 

While it was not a big deal fighting the monsters, they felt bothered how their ride kept stopping every now and then.

The old man and Lara both sat quietly, observing each one of the fighters.

Alex drew his sword against a number of what looked to be Corrupted Wolves. Ros stood closely behind. 

"Need help?" Ros asked Alex. 

Alex chuckled, "This is nothing."

Alex's Core Mechanism grew exponentially in these past few months. After all, he wasn't sitting around, doing nothing. He worked for it.

At the same time, he collected more information about the world, and even learned the language up to some point. 

Now, mere wolves meant nothing but stepping stones for him. 

However, he still took caution before advancing to the Corrupted Wolves which all held the same mark. He wasn't about to let his progress go in vain because he acted reckless. 

'Visualization.. Visualize it.' Alex thought to himself. 

Every spell was only able to be made because of visualization. It was the most important step, whether it was a Blank or a Normal.

Slowly, in front of Alex, many silver circles were formed out of thin air, or rather out of the mana mixed in the air. 

These circles grew brightly under the cloudy skies. 

Each circle held the same look, but this time it wasn't like the unprepared version back in the Dungeon. It was far more refined and improved. 

He raised his palm in the air as the silver circles shone even more, before he threw his hand forward. 

The moment he did, loud beams erupted from the silver circles as they were aimed directly to strike every Corrupted standing in front of him. 

He managed to do what he never could have done months ago, even with Form One. 

In a single moment, all of the Corrupted fell down to the ground as the beams thrust into them, blowing a hole in their vital points as blood filled the grassy earth. 

The old man stared at the sight in front of him, amazed by what he just saw. 

Lara, next to the old man, chuckled proudly. She had a very amused face.

Alex exhaled, he was concentrating as much as he could as he fired off the beams. He needed a moment to take his breath.

"While I don't appreciate how you just stole my Blood's Spell, I can't help but be surprised at the pace you prepare and fire them off."

Every Blood, or family had their own specific spell that they'd invented. The Blood of Ros, Salyra, invented the Mana Rings. 

Alex didn't just copy Ros. He tried making it even better by refining it and using it in other ways, unleashing its full potential.

Alex's lips curled up, hearing what Ros told him. He had apologized long ago for just taking the spell, but it seemed Ros was still a bit bothered, or he was being sarcastic. Alex didn't exactly know. 

***

Two weeks of travel had passed. The party stopped sometimes near small villages, and other times just camped in the wilderness encasing themselves in a large barrier. 

Food also wasn't much of a problem. 

It was a dark night, the carriage stopped near the first major city they came across, Lunaria. 

Lunaria was a bustling town in Aeloria. It had its ups and downs, like every other city. 

It was called Lunaria after one of the old queens of Aeloria, Queen Luna. She apparently loved this town and often visited, and she'd host different types of ceremonies and urge the King to invest in the city. 

Due to that, it rapidly grew in both population and size. The city was already one of the most important in Aeloria, second only to the capital, Epilune. 

After they'd gotten themselves checked, the party entered the city. The old man took the lead as he guided them through the place. 

The old man stretched his hand and gave Ros a paper as he spoke:

"This is the map. I've marked the inn we'll stay at, make sure you don't take too long." 

He seemed to be in a rush, or it perhaps was because he was tired. Either way, the party planned on exploring around the city.