CHAPTER 116: LEAVING CAELHART

In just a few days, the play called the Thousand Quests was known to every person in Caelhart and the neighboring villages and cities.

The Knight Archibald was now on everyone’s minds. You could see his influence on the children playing the final scene of the play, where he faces a knight with a powerful aura mantle.

But the ending is slightly different from the ending of the play. In the children’s version, the powerful knight was on the ground, and Knight Archibald was the victor.

"A false knight like you will never defeat me. I’m the Knight of dreams, Archibald!"

Of course, Lucen was not idle. He already anticipated the play to become famous, and had something these fantasy medieval people had never seen before.

Wooden figurines of Archibald, William, the barmaid Maria, and even the nameless black knight filled stalls, each sold for a silver coin. Children clutched them like treasures.

But Lucen went a step further, with the help of the Master Blacksmith, Oswin, and a few of the local blacksmiths in Caelhart, created ten replicas of the armor worn by the powerful knight who defeated Archibald, as well as another ten replicas of the worn-out armor used by Archibald himself.

Each armor piece had its own signature on it, and with the help of the mages from the black tower placed rune enhancements on them. Both Archibald’s armor and the unnamed knight were functional armor that was better than most.

He gave a pair to the third prince, another pair to Marquess Eron, who sponsored the play; he also gave Harry Nidouhi a pair as a gift.

The remaining eight pairs, he sold seven of them in an auction. The prices reached up to a hundred gold coins, which was enough money to make a normal, commoner family live in luxury for their entire lives.

As for the last remaining pair, he gave it as a prize for a contest. It was a trivia contest about the play The Man of a Thousand Quests.

The person who won the contest was surprisingly a middle-aged man who worked as a cook in one of the taverns.

"Why do you like the play The Man of a Thousand Quests?" The host of the contest asked.

The cook hesitated, then gave a small, weary smile.

"Well... When I was younger, I too yearned to go on adventures. I tried joining a mercenary band, since that was one of the few ways to see the world. But I had no skill with a blade. I thought of becoming a merchant, but I was no good at that either. All I knew was how to cook."

A ripple of laughter passed through the audience, but the cook’s eyes dimmed as he continued.

"Before I knew it, that dream I had was long forgotten, and I had become a cook in a tavern. I have no wife or children, and my parents have long gone. I thought I would live and die behind a counter, stirring pots, nothing more."

He paused, voice tightening. "That was when I saw The Man of a Thousand Quests."

The cook’s eyes started shining as he spoke about the play.

"When I watched the Knight Archibald keep charging forward towards his dreams despite not having any aura, with only mediocre skills with his lance, and being the same age as me, made me want to charge forward as well. With this new armor set, I think I will chase my dreams once more. Even though it’s scary, even though I might die with my crappy fighting skills, at least I moved forward, just like the Knight Archibald."

The crowd, which was mostly commoners, erupted in cheers, some laughing through tears, others pounding their chests in salute.

***

The next step Lucen took was to allow other theater groups to use his script and spread the fame of The Man of a Thousand Quests. Of course, to control the quality of the piece, Lucen interviewed the theater groups who wanted to use his script.

***

"So what kind of play are you going to write next?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Sorry, I won’t be writing anything for a while. I’m going back to Ironhold tomorrow." Lucen replied flatly, making Robert snicker.

"Yeah, that’s right. Lucen is done playing with you. It’s time to get back to finding the truth and doing experiments."

Normally, Harry would have reacted to Robert’s words, but he ignored him this time and spoke to Lucen.

"Why? Can’t you see how much this single play has started changing people? I’m sure if you continue on this path, your words will be able to affect everyone," Harry pressed, almost pleading.

"... I like watching the play more than writing it. For me, the joy isn’t in the pen. I just want to watch the entertainment. Just like everyone else who watched the Man of a Thousand Quests, I want to watch something that would make me feel a rainbow of emotions, that would inspire me." Lucen’s smile was small, almost wistful.

"So instead of waiting for me to write again, why not write something yourself? Something that will touch them all, that will entertain me. I’ll be waiting, just another face in the audience."

Harry froze, wide-eyed, while Robert rolled his eyes with a scoff.

Lucen, however, had already turned away, his mind on Ironhold, where dreams were forged not on paper, but in fire and steel.

***

After talking with Harry, the next person he met was Mireya, who was once again in the Thornehart mansion. The two of them played a few games of Territory War, and as before, Lucen had won each game.

"I guess that’s the end of the game," Lucen said as he fixed the board. "I won’t be able to play with you for a while after this."

When Mireya heard what Lucen said, her eyes opened wide as he looked at Lucen. "What, why?"

"I’ll be leaving Caelhart tomorrow and returning to Ironhold."

"... Then I will go with you," Mireya spoke after a brief pause. Lucen had already expected her to say that and sighed.

"I don’t think your Mother will allow that."

Upon mention of her mother, she lowered her head. "Cheater..." Mireya spoke in a low tone, but Lucen could hear it.

"What do you mean, cheater? When did I ever cheat?!" As a proud gamer, Lucen did not like being accused of cheating and raised his voice.

"Leaving, without giving me a chance to win, is cheating."

When Lucen heard Mireya’s reply, the anger he had quickly subsided. "Then, while I’m away, you should practice and get better so that you can win next time." Even though he said that Mireya still looked a little sad, Lucen continued.

"Who knows, maybe the next time we meet, I might have created another game."

The second Lucen mentioned creating another game, Mireya lifted up her head, her eyes practically glittering as she looked at Lucen.

"A new game! Fine, next time we meet, I’ll beat both in the territory war and the new game you will make."

Lucen extended his pinky finger forward, and Mireya wrapped her own pinky finger with his. "It’s a promise."

With that, Mireya headed back home.

***

Elyra also came that day, but unlike Harry and Mireya, she already knew that Lucen was heading back to Ironhold.

"Since you’re heading back home tomorrow. How about a spar?"

After their initial spar a month ago, Lucen had not accepted any of her requests to spar, but since he was leaving tomorrow, he decided to accept this time.

"Alright."

The two headed to the training grounds, and Lucen was about to get a sword, but Elyra stopped him.

"No, I want to fight you at your best. Use that unique magic of yours."

"... Very well." Lucen used gun creation to create the usual two revolvers in his hands. With that, Lucen and Elyra began their sparring match.

Unlike last time when Lucen used Acting Adept to fight Elyra with the sword, now holding two revolvers, he did not need to use that trait, since his gun kata skill and his marksmanship were enough.

Elyra, who was using a large, wide sword, could not get close to Lucen, who kept on firing at her.

It was difficult, even though she could see the bullets coming, making her able to evade and block them, she could not find the opportunity to charge forward.

Lucen was somehow able to read her moves and guide her movements. Elyra was now in a passive state and could not break through.

Lucen, on the other hand, with his gun kata skill and marksmanship both at an intermediate level, had an idea. He decided to try a technique he had wanted to do ever since he fired a gun, but at the time, he did not have enough skill to do it.

Lucen, with great skill, fired one bullet into the wall, making it ricochet, and then fired another bullet, hitting the first bullet, changing its trajectory again, making it attack in an unexpected position, finally bypassing Elyra’s defense and hitting her.

The second Lucen won, he heard the sound of the system notification he hadn’t heard in a while. A transparent screen appeared before him.

[Gained new skill: Ricochet - Active (Novice)]

"That was a good match." Elyra approached Lucen and extended her hand. Lucen grabbed hold of it and shook it.

"Yeah, it was."

"Next time, I will make sure my blade reaches you." A beautiful smile appeared on Elyra’s face, which made Lucen’s heart skip a bit, but he quickly dismissed it and smiled back.

"Yeah, I’ll be waiting."

After having some small talk, Elyra left and headed home.

***

The day of departure came. Outside the Thorneharts’ manor, Harry, Evander, Mireya, and Elyra were there to bid farewell to Lucen.

There were no words said, and they only waved their hands goodbye. Lucen smiled as he waved back from within the carriage.

Unlike when he arrived in Caelhart in the nighttime after being ambushed, making the city seem so cold and cruel. He left the city in the daytime, with people sending him off while waving their hands. It felt warm and made him chuckle.

’Even though there were some problems along the way, I guess in the end, I did have some fun in this trip...’

Lucen closed his eyes and remembered the people he met and the things he did in Caelhart, his lips curled ever so slightly upward.

He then opened his eyes and looked in the direction of where Ironhold was. The warning of the King had said about Inevir and the Rocton Empire. He shook his head, his eyes burning with resolve.

’Time to forge new weapons. And when the storm comes, I’ll crush it the only way I know how, with overwhelming firepower.’