Chapter 17- Untitled 2

Alden

'Wham!'

"Here goes another monster! Your Highness is really the strongest."

"It wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help." Finlay replied in a somewhat embarrassed but proud voice.

This was the 4th monster that has been slain by my squad. Finlay is really strong. He has the inherent charisma of a leader, he is very strong and he knows how to use the abilities of his allies in the best possible way. When I first saw him I thought he would be like all the other royals or nobles who loved to indulge themselves in their own childish pride and arrogance but looking at him up close I can easily say that he is probably the most cunning and smart person in our kingdom.

A nation can't work properly if the people discriminate against each other all the time. Sometimes the discrimination is based on their social status, sometimes it is based on the gender of a person and sometimes it is based on the nature of work a person does. If someone were to say that they are going to eradicate all the discrimination there is in this world; then let me tell you, they are just lying. No amount of effort can completely eradicate discrimination in this society.

According to what I think, discrimination is one of the main reasons behind the formation of a society. A society is a hierarchical structure made up of different people of different social status when they all come together to obtain mutual benefits from each other. For example, a servant of a rich household and his master. The master of a rich household doesn't want to bother himself with affairs like cleaning and cooking so he hires a servant to do all those things for him. And the servant who has been hired to do all the household chores only accepts to do this kind of work in order to gain financial stability and/or social and political influence through his master.

Unlike all the other royals who promised to eradicate discrimination, Finlay never said that he would do something like that rather what he said was that he would make use of each and every person in this country and by doing that he will reduce the discrimination that exists in the society. In my opinion this approach is way better than trying to create a utopian world with no discrimination. The society with no structure is bound to collapse.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that discrimination is a good thing. I full-heartedly oppose and despise the blatant discrimination that the higher classes exercise towards the lower classes. I am just saying that it is a necessary evil. Just like how humans need to eat plants or animals in order to survive, the society needs discrimination in order to survive.

"Humph. I wonder how much time it took those commoners to slay this monster." Ezra said in an arrogant tone. The monster whose corpse was lying in front of me was a Three-Eyed Four-Armed Bear, the same one that had been slain by Aziel and his squad

"Are you talking about Aziel and his squad? Humph I'm pretty sure not everything in their report was true. The monster they had slain must have been terribly injured otherwise those bunch of lowborn commoners couldn't have killed something this strong so easily. I do admit that Aziel is strong and also that girl Brina Just from the noble house of Just is pretty strong as well but they are nowhere near His Highness and Ezra in terms of strength. To be honest in my opinion Aziel is just a fraud who only knows how to trick other people."

This guy…

I don't even have any words to describe him. He is just…plain stupid.

"You do know that I lost against Aziel, right? So do you want to say that I, the Crown Prince of The Kingdom of Regalia was tricked by a boy my age? Tell me, is that what you truly think?"

Finlay started releasing his intent and tried to pressurize the boy who just spoke. What a scary guy he is.

"N-no your highness, you misunderstand…" the boy started to plead but before he could finish Finlay cut him off

"So you are saying that I, the Crown Prince of The Kingdom of Regalia misunderstood what you said? Do you think I am incapable as the future ruler of this kingdom?"

"N-no that's not what I was trying to say" the boy started crying and sobbing.

"Listen carefully to what I am saying and trust me this is the last time I am going to say this. Any person who doesn't know how to accept their loss can never become strong. So rather than trying to shame Aziel and his squad on the basis of their social standing try to become stronger than them and defeat them. This is my last warning if anyone dares to shame the person whom I lost to, I will make sure I thoroughly punish them. Is that understood?"

In front of Finlay's open threat everyone including Ezra just nodded their head. Looks like even he is afraid of Finlay.

"Alright let's take a short break and then we will continue forward. By the way good work Alden. It would have been very difficult for us to kill the monster without much damage to its body without your help." Finlay complimented me.

"Yes, you do know a lot about monsters. Although your strength is only above average, you are a pretty good addition to our team." Surprisingly this time it was Ezra who complimented me, looks like he doesn't hate commoners rather he just wants them to stay below him, which is a sick way of thinking in its own way.

"Thank you but it wouldn't have been possible without everyone in here." I replied.

"Hahaha that's right we all did great, let's eat something good after we return to the base." Finlay said in a happy voice.

"Yes!" everyone shouted in unison.

After the break,

We were moving in a straight direction when we suddenly heard a loud roar.

"Roar!!!"

What was that? That roar seemed to have come from at least a Strong B-Ranked monster. Everyone including the three guards that came to guard us was horrified.

It looks like even they were afraid of facing something like that. Out of those three guards one of them was a middle aged man, he came towards Finlay and said,

"Your Highness, that roar at least came from a Strong B-Ranked beast I'm not sure but it could even be a Weak A-Ranked beast. To be frank, the three of us can't take on a Weak A-Ranked beast, so I request your highness to get back to the camp as soon as possible."

Finlay pondered for a moment and asked us, "What do all of you want to do?"

"I think we should go look for the monster and try to defeat it. And on the off-chance if we find ourselves incapable to fight against it then we will just escape. I mean the strength of our squad should be equal to a Strong B-ranked monster. I don't think the strength of a Weak A-Rank should be much higher." Ezra said in a confident tone. Everyone started to think about fighting the monster.

"I am really sorry to interrupt you Ezra but let me say this, if the monster there is a Weak A-Ranked monster then there is no way we can run away from it. Generally a Weak B-Ranked monster has speed equal to that of a Swift Wolf. Do you really think anyone here can outpace a Swift Wolf?"

When I asked this question Ezra immediately stopped talking, even he must have realized that he can't outpace a Swift Wolf. I didn't stop here and kept on talking,

"Plus the strength of a Weak A-Ranked Monster is not just one sub-grade above the strength of a Strong B-Ranked monster. The biggest quality of all the monsters that are ranked A-Rank or above is their developed brains. They won't go down as easily as the previous ones. Plus I don't think these three seniors who have been sent to guard as can win against an A-ranked monster. Even Professor Royce was only able to kill a Wyvern (Mediocre A-Ranked monster) because it was already injured. A strong A-Ranked beast is strong enough to destroy our entire nation. So in my opinion we should rush back to the camp as soon as possible and we should warn all of the personnel in there so that they can be prepared for the monster's attack."

Silence prevailed for a minute before Finlay said,

"Alden is right. Get ready we are going to rush back to the camp as soon as we can. Seniors please send the news that we have possibly discovered an A-Ranked beast to the head quarters and have them send some people to check the situation."

"Yes!" All of us said.

Whew looks like I dodged the trouble.

We were all rushing back to the camp when Finlay came to me and said, "That was good thinking on your part Alden, you really saved us. Is there anything you want? If it is within my capacity then I will do my best to help you."

"Anything I want? Then your highness please help with the trouble my family is facing."

"Okay, when we get back to the capital I will help you with all the problems you and your family are facing. Is that fine? To be honest I was going to help you with this even if you wouldn't have asked me. Do you really not want anything else?" he asked me once more

"Then your highness I have one more request. Please forgive Aziel for what he has done. I know this is something you wouldn't want to listen but please listen to me. Aziel isn't the kind of person who would want to hurt others unless and until it's completely necessary. I don't think he is a saint but he isn't the type of person who enjoys others' misery. So please forgive him." After saying this I bowed down to him,

"There is no need for you to bow down to me. I never held a grudge against Aziel to begin with. To be honest I really want fight against him once again. So there's no need for you to worry about your friend. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes! I thank you, your Highness." I said in a tone full of gratitude. He doesn't seem to be lying.

The late afternoon passed and the evening arrived. We kept on running throughout the way and now we are almost 300 meters away from the base camp. I think Aziel and his squad should have arrived by now. I really hope that Col. Pint doesn't send his squad as a reconnaissance team.

We were running when suddenly the ground started to vibrate.

'Rumble Rumble Rumble'

"W-what's happening?"

"Everyone brace for impact. We have already informed the head quarters about the possible appearance of an A-Ranked monster. So don't worry they will be here in a few minutes. Until then I want all of you to get into a formation and be our backup. Is that understood!?" One of the instructors said.

"Yes!" All of us said with confidence.

Things became really interesting all of a sudden. To be honest even though I said all those horrifying things about an A-Ranked monster they were all just the accounts of my predecessors and I always thought of them as nothing but textbooks written to stop people from getting overconfident in their own abilities. Just because they failed to kill an A-Ranked monster doesn't mean that I will fail too. So in the back of my mind I always wanted the monster to follow and catch up to us. But my thoughts changed after I saw the thing in front of me.

In almost 10 seconds the monster appeared in front of me and my squad. It was almost 25ft tall. The monster had the head of a lion and the body of a giant ape. This monster is called the Leonkey; it is a Weak A-Ranked beast. The difference in grade between it and the Three-Eyed Four-Armed Bear is only one grade but the difference in aura of these two is more than the difference between heaven and earth. The sheer amount of mana this Leonkey is emitting is completely off the charts. Some of the weak guys around me have fallen to the ground under its pressure and even the three guards are sweating profusely. The murderous intent contained in the eyes of this monster is enough to freeze everyone's soul.

I was so wrong. I never thought I would see something this strong in my entire life. The only person who stands a chance against this monster is probably Professor Royce. Am I going to die in here? What would happen to my parents and siblings? If I die I would never be able to see my family or my friends.

"Huff huff"

I am having trouble even standing in front of this monster how the hell am I going to fight it!? I can't die. I have to calm down and think of a way to get away from here but can I do that? This is an A-Rank monster and to make things worse it is a Leonkey, one of the fastest ones amongst all monsters. Its speed is said to be equal to that of a Velociraptor.

Then the only option I am left with is to kill this thing in front of me but can I do it? Even with this squad can I do it? No, I can't but, I can make sure to stall this monster for at least a few minutes. If I am able to do that then the reinforcements will arrive. I must do it. No! I have to do it!

"Alright listen up everyone!" I said in a loud voice.

"First of all get off your asses you pussies. Why are you so afraid of an over-sized cat? You noble scum! Do you guys know nothing other than to bitch around about a bunch of commoners?"

My curses woke all of them out of their shock and then they all started shouting at me.

"Shut up you lowly commoner can't you see this terrifying monster in front of you!"

"I can see it alright! I don't have balls for eyes but I am not a coward like you guys so if you don't want to die then get up!"

When I said that all of them got up from the ground.

"Yes! That's the way. Now then I will tell you everything I know about this bitch in front of us. This monster is called Leonkey. It is a Weak A-Ranked Monster. It is also one of the fastest monsters in the world so make sure all the Wind and Fire mages stay at the front as for the mages of other elements, you guys stand behind and provide some support. Finlay you are going to stand at the mid position and overlook all the other people in this squad. Ezra you stay at the back! You are responsible for our defense. This monster can use ice attacks as well as earth attacks so make sure you watch for them too. The weak points of this monster are, its legs especially the ankle, its eyes, its groin, its ear and its neck. Fire and wind magic is the most suitable to use against it. As for its ice attacks we will have Finlay and Ezra handle them. The two healers, yeah you two, stand back and provide support to us. The three seniors you guys are going to be our main attack force. That's the plan. Now move!"

Everyone listened to my commands and started doing what I told them to. Out of those three seniors, one of them was a mage and the other two were spear and sword wielders respectively. Me and 3 other guys stood just behind the three seniors. Finlay stood behind me to act as the go-through between our offensive and defensive team. Ezra and 2 others stood at the defensive position and the 2 healers stood at the most backward position.

"Alright now let's start!"

As soon as I said this one of the three guards, as I recall her name, Ms. Jane used her magic staff and fired a big fire spell at the monster, Fire Magic, Fire Shower.

The big fire spell she casted disintegrated into multiple fire balls and shot at the monster.

But the monster was intelligent so it just kicked the ground beneath its legs and conjured a sturdy defensive wall. All the fire balls collided with the Earth wall and got diffused.

Dammit! This monster is really smart and the amount of magic energy it has is completely off the charts. Can we even stall it for enough time? What are those guys at the headquarters doing!? Are they going to abandon us? It's not entirely impossible since Col. Pint is infamous for sacrificing his troops. But what about the Finlay, there's no way he is going to abandon the heir of the kingdom. So how is he going to rescue the prince? Don't tell me…does he want to use us as bait and then have one of the guards rescue the Prince and run back to the camp.

I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly

The monster jumped forwards and used an ice attack, ice Magic Ice breath. The surrounding temperature got too low, this attack was aimed at Finlay, the center of our formation. Before Finlay could do anything against that attack Ezra used a basic water spell to intercept the Ice Breath but all the water that Ezra used started to freeze.

Then Finlay aimed at one portion of the frozen water spell and thus he cut off the original ice spell. When the monster saw this scene, the monster narrowed its eyes and retreated backwards. Then it raised its arms and punched the ground. The ground got obliterated to blitz and spikes shot out at us from the ground, earth magic Black Earth Spikes this was the same magic that Aziel used against Kelly (chapter 8).

I dodged the spikes that were coming at me and slashed at the monster with my saber that was already clad with fire magic. Fire magic, heaven slashing saber but my attack wasn't enough to harm the monster so one of the three guards, Mr. Minks enveloped his spear in wind magic and thrust it in the same direction as my attack. Wind magic, dragon breath spear.

A fire saber slash attack and a wind spear thrust combined to become something entirely new. Combination Magic Fiery Tycoon. The attack went towards the monster and hit it directly. Yes!

Everyone thought that the monster will be severely injured but when the smoke cleared we were greeted by a scene that sent chills down my spine. Apart from having a few bruises on its body the monster was almost uninjured.

What!? How!? Even professor Royce would be afraid of this attack.

The monster was almost uninjured but there was one thing that changed, it was the aura surrounding the monster. The monster looked really mad, mad enough for me to get paralyzed. Crap! I am going to die at this rate.

I collected my thoughts and forced myself out of the paralysis. I ran straight towards the monster and then I got behind it. Then I covered my saber in mana and dashed towards the monster in front of me. I jumped up and got on top of the monster's tail. Then I slashed at the point where the monster's tail was connected with its hip and hence I cut off the monster's tail.

The tail is one of the most important body parts of a monster especially for a monster like the Leonkey that is considered to be one of the fastest monsters in the world. Tail helps provide balance to the monsters. Thus, a monster's fighting ability will be reduced significantly if someone were to cut off its tail.

"Gahhh!!!" The monster started screaming miserably. Taking advantage of this situation everyone attacked it with their best long range attacks. When the dust settled we saw a horrible sight in front of us. The monster was severely injured and it was bleeding from every part of its body. It was panting very heavily. But there was still no sign of fear in its eyes, rather its eyes were full of bloodlust and it was looking towards me with an expression full of hatred.

I looked back at the entrance of camp but there was still no sign of anyone coming out of there. Then suddenly the monster dashed towards us in mad rage and started attacking here and there. Its fist connected with Ezra's body and he got thrown like a rag doll.

Ezra's entire body got turned into a pile of bloody mess, he was still alive but I don't think he would be able to hold out for much longer without any support. Our two healers got where Ezra was and started treating him with grim expressions.

The monster then manipulated the mana around itself and conjured an ice lance then it started attacking all of us with its lance. The lance was around 14ft long and it looked very heavy. So when I tried to parry my saber with it I was thrown almost 15 meters away from where I was standing, my entire right arm was destroyed.

I could no longer use my saber. Shit! I need to get away as soon as possible. I can't die here. I promised to bring souvenirs for my siblings. I also promised my mother that I would get a new dress for her. A pair of boots for my father. And I was also going to talk about women with Aziel after I return from the mission but for some reason I couldn't move.

Huh? Why can I not move? When I looked downwards to see my body I found out that all of my body below my chest was frozen. Frozen…? But how? When I looked towards the monster it started grinning at me. More than half of my body is frozen. Am I going to die…?

"Aaah! Aaah! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Someone save me please! Uaagh! Aaah! Save me! save me! save me!"

I was pleading in a desperate voice but no one came to save me. I know that I am terribly injured but if the healers were to come and heal me then I would certainly survive but why aren't they coming towards me? Rather why are they giving me that kind of look as if they are amused by the state I am in. All of my teammates they are amused to see me die like this? But why? All of us went through life and death situation together then why are you guys so happy?

Then the monster turned towards me and started walking. Then it stepped on my already frozen legs but surprisingly I didn't feel any pain at all. It looked towards me and gave me a smirk but just as it was about to step on me once again, a spell forced it to retreat backwards.

"Wind Magic, wind scythes." Hundreds of blades made up of wind attacked the Leonkey and forced it to retreat backwards. Then the Prince stood in front of me and asked in a heavy voice, "Are you okay?"

I don't but for some reason I started crying. I was abandoned by all of my teammates but in the end Finlay came up and tried to help me. The fact that I wasn't abandoned by all made me happy beyond comparison. "Yes. Thank you thank you thank you." I said in a teary voice.

The monster got enraged and it charged straight towards us but then suddenly,

"Combination Magic! Lightning purgatory!"

A familiar spell hit the monster and when I looked at the source of that spell, I found that it was my childhood friend.