Paragon of Skills

Jacob looks at the metal box that Vice Principal Lyanna is offering him.

“A Skill Crystal from the Headmaster?” Jacob mutters to himself. “A few Vice Principals would kill. Well, they have killed, actually, hoping to receive one of the Headmaster’s Skill Crystals as a reward.”

Jacob moves his eyes from the tall and wiry woman to the metal box once again. He gets up and takes it in his hands. His shoulders lower slightly as he settles into the heavy weight of the box.

“The incredible concentration of Mana in some ancient Skill Crystals,” Vice Principal Lyanna says, “makes them denser. Plus, if cultivated properly, Skill Crystals can even evolve. But I don’t think there are many people other than the Headmaster doing something like that.”

“So, the Headmaster is rewarding my grandson,” Queen Anthea says. “That pleases me.”

“Does it now?” Vice Principal Lyanna asks.

“Just because Jacob refused to be officially part of the Valemont family, it doesn’t mean I cannot enjoy good fortune coming his way.”

Jacob puts the box away in his Interspatial Ring and says, “Well, I’ll open this later.”

Both his mother and Duke Dorian look like they want to protest, like they want him to open it right now to see what the Headmaster, such a mythical figure back at Ytrial Academy, would have gifted Jacob.

“Well, after this unfortunate interruption,” Queen Anthea says, getting up, “I think, grandson, that we should reconvene tomorrow night for the banquet. It will be your first taste of Valemont royalty. I hope you will be able to appreciate it.”

That said, Queen Anthea walks past Lyanna, not even looking at her. The Vice Principal just smirks at the behavior of the woman.

“Jacob,” Vice Principal Lyanna says, “um, come with me. We have some important business to attend to.”

Jacob looks at his mother, who nods at him and gestures for him to go.

About ten minutes later, Jacob is on the beach, sitting on a recliner and looking at Vice Principal Lyanna sipping on some juice from a coconut.

“Um, I’m sorry, what business did we have here?” Jacob asks, confused.

“It’s summer vacation, so I don’t know, maybe a tan.”

Jacob looks dumbfounded at the Vice Principal, who is now in a bathing suit, actually tanning.

“Vice Principal,” Jacob asks, “why are you here? I have not used my Skill on you, but could you please at least tell me — what are you doing here?”

“It’s pretty simple,” Vice Principal Lyanna says in between sips from her coconut. “See, the Valemonts are not the worst family there is. I mean, they’re way less dangerous than Vyrrak’s father, King Skaernex, but they’re still a threat. Your grandmother is the most vicious royal that this family has produced in I don’t know how many years. We knew each other very well. We worked on the same team for a long time before she decided to come back and claim the throne. That was more years back than I would like to admit.”

“But then,” Jacob frowns, “did you two end this friendship of yours on, like, bad terms?”

“Not exactly,” Vice Principal Lyanna says, looking at the blue sky above. Then she looks around at the golden beach and asks, “Do you really want to know about your grandmother of all things while we relax here? I also had someone go call your Squire. You could just relax. You could consider me a bodyguard just here to make sure that you, my little Karmic investment, are doing well.”

Vice Principal Lyanna was the first great expert that Jacob had ever met who had guessed that he had a Rainbow Skill and had warned him before he reached Ytrial Academy. He feels that the woman has his best interests at heart, despite her saying that he is her little Karmic investment.

“No, I would like to talk about Grandmother,” Jacob says. “There is an entire summer to relax. I would like to know what’s going on.”

“When I met you,” Vice Principal Lyanna says, “I actually didn’t know that Anthea was your grandma. I couldn’t see it. I don’t have that kind of Skill. But after all that happened this year, I guess it makes sense. I mean, you definitely took after her, which can be a good thing or a terrible thing, depending on how you look at it. But your grandmother is an extremely competent person and also an extremely vicious strategist. The fact that she called you here and not your mother is dangerous. If an Evil God had called you here, I would be less worried than I am about your grandma.”

Jacob starts laughing at that, but Vice Principal Lyanna just stares at him.

“Your grandmother is not that strong when it comes to pure combat power,” Vice Principal Lyanna explains with a serious face. “I was much stronger than her, but I always knew that if this woman wanted me dead, I would have to sleep with both eyes open for the rest of my life.”

“Wow,” Jacob frowns. “That sounds creepy.”

“When your grandmother was still with the Academy, she did things to our enemies that creepy would find very hard to describe. Now that she’s on the other side, I don’t like it. When the Headmaster told me where you had gone, I came here personally. I knew someone had to watch over you. Plus, your grandmother mostly stayed here and governed, and I didn’t. Whatever gap her intellect might have created back then, I have now bridged with raw power. So if she tries anything, I’m vaporizing the entire kingdom.”

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“Wow,” Jacob says again, repeating himself. “So, Vice Principal, are you stronger than, like, everybody here?”

“Not everybody. Not exactly.” Vice Principal Lyanna frowns. “Most of them I could reduce to ashes in the blink of an eye. Your mother, your uncle, your grandmother would be a little harder, but not by that much. The problem with old families like the Valemonts is not the current generation — it’s that not even the Headmaster knows how many of the ancestors are still living.”

“I keep hearing that word — ancestor. Can you explain what they actually are?” Jacob asks.

“Ancestors are like ancient people belonging to the family who have renounced most earthly matters. Most of them are madmen who look for power and power only, and keep diving into Dungeons all the time. They have relinquished any political involvement with the family, but they still care that their progeny is living. Every once in a while, they will also spawn a new child that gets assigned to the main branch of the family, and everybody has to walk carefully around them. Ancestors don’t usually care about nurturing their own children. But whatever, I don’t wanna get into the disgusting things that happen in families like this.”

The woman pauses briefly and then closes her eyes while fully reclining on the sunbed.

“So, ancestors are at a much higher level than most could imagine. Being fully focused on their martial prowess and trying to rank up and obtain immortality through leveling up, they are essentially hidden monsters that also keep the balance of the royal families around the world intact. If there were only one ancestor, he would probably just swallow up all the kingdoms around him, create an impossibly vast empire, and let his children rule it for eternity. But all families, especially royal families that are quite old, have a few ancestors hiding about. Sometimes they die. For all we know, some families don’t even have ancestors anymore. But if they don’t, they’re very good at keeping it hidden. They don’t want to advertise the fact that the current generation is the best that the royal family can offer, and they usually scramble to create more powerful warriors if that’s the case. A family like the Valemonts has been around for longer than people can remember, so they definitely have, at the very least, a handful of ancestors lying around. And from the way your grandma spoke, there’s probably one in the estate just as we speak. By the way, if you meet the guy, do not use your Skill. Rainbow Skills are absolute, remember that, but they’re not undetectable. The moment you do, you might offend someone that the Headmaster himself might not be able to stop before they take your life. And being family, them killing you is less of a Karmic problem than it would be for a complete stranger, an Evil God, or a Dark Champion.”

“That makes no sense,” Jacob frowns. “But I have other questions.”

“Ask away.”

“If ancestors are so important, why do they all stay hidden away and why don’t they show up more? What sense does it make for them to not show their faces?”

Vice Principal Lyanna shrugs.

“There’s a whole economy and underworld that is populated by these experts, and honestly, I’m not really there yet. I only know of it because of the Headmaster. He is really involved with the old carcasses walking this world. My best guess is they just don’t want any political trouble from whatever strife the family is going through. Two families might be at war, but their experts, their real experts, these ancestors, would not join the war unless one of the two families was on the verge of being obliterated. Because if they did, they would have to fight to the bitter end. And a fight against a family is not like a fight in a very dangerous Dungeon. There’s not that much to gain compared to what you have to lose. You fight a Boss or some big shot from an Evil God or an Evil God himself, you might get rewards beyond what you imagine. But you fight a family, and what do you get? More enemies. Now there’s another family of bastards who’s after you. Congrats, you’ve just ruined your life. So that’s my best guess. And speaking of rewards from Bosses — the Headmaster hasn’t really told me what you got. I kept asking him, but he said if I wanted to know, I would have to ask you. Show me the reward.”

Jacob looks at the woman and asks, “The reward from…” His words trail off.

“From the Original Primordial Dungeon. We hadn’t cleared one in I don’t know how long. What did you get? I know that Rafnov seeded them. So what did you get from the final reward? I confirmed with the Headmaster that there should have been one.”

Jacob turns his palm up and a red stone appears in it. He tosses it to Vice Principal Lyanna.

She looks at it against the light and turns it in her hand.

“It looks like a giant ruby,” she says, putting it closer to her eye. “So what is it? What does your Skill say?” she asks, handing it back.

“The Grimoire had trouble because there was a lot of interference back in the Dungeon, so it couldn’t really read what this did. It couldn’t really read what monsters were, either, until I figured out how the interference was being created. It appears, though, that this,” Jacob says, looking frustrated, “whatever this is — the kind of spell shielding its existence from the Grimoire is way beyond my current capabilities. I asked one of Rafnov’s greatest creations, and he said he had no idea, that not even he knew everything about his master. So whatever Rafnov left behind in the Dungeon, it’s this giant ruby thing, and I don’t know what it does.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s just a matter of time before it becomes apparent.” The woman just resumes her tanning position and yawns.

“I mean, how do you know?” Jacob asks. Then he facepalms. “Okay, don’t tell me. Is it Karma?”

“Karma,” Vice Principal Lyanna replies cheerily. “Karma is something you should start worrying about. As you grow more and more powerful, you will find it harder and harder to progress on your path. Levels and Skills are a facet of power. But to ascend, you must learn to deal with Karma.”

“I suppose,” Jacob says.

He sees Lancelot in the distance, waving at him and walking toward them. As soon as the Squire reaches them, he bows to the woman.

“Vice Principal, what an honor.”

Jacob narrows his eyes at Lancelot’s shirt.

“Are those crumbs from the biscuits?” Jacob asks.

“What biscuits?” Lancelot replies.

“My grandmother sent—” Jacob suddenly cuts himself off. “Whatever. I got a thing from the Headmaster. Want to see?”

“A thing?” Lancelot raises his eyebrows. “Like a reward?”

“It’s a Skill Crystal,” Vice Principal Lyanna says. “Even I don’t know what that is, by the way.”

Jacob takes out the box and puts it in the sand at the feet of the sunbed, and Vice Principal Lyanna suddenly sits up and scooches over. Lancelot gets closer and looks intently at the piece of metal.

Jacob slowly opens it and inside there is an Imperium Rank crystal.

His breath suddenly hitches in his throat as he reads the Skill’s name.

Baalrek’s Sword Art

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