5 Gaining information

Since Aliester had made his resolve to carry on the original's mission, he had to figure out a way to accomplish his goals.

"What are the plans?" he asked the knight.

The knight sighed. "For now, we need to rest. The enemies are quite vigilant, so we have to lay low for a while."

Mephisto then continued. "Then, we could secretly cross the Forest of Silence and go to a neighboring kingdom. We need to build forces with the Enclave so that we could reclaim Verbena."

Aliester would have agreed but Zarame interjected.

[It is a good plan, but in order for you to reclaim Verbena, you need the heir to rectify the mistakes of King Ignys.]

Zarame added.

[You are not strong enough to handle the enemy even if you try to level up. Only the heir is capable of defeating that person.]

'why only the heir?' Aliester asked. He was a bit perplexed why it had to be the princess to defeat the enemy.

[It is part of the oracle. Besides, certain conditions have to be met. Only the heir was able to meet that condition.]

'I see…' then, Aliester recalled that the princess was still stuck in the other realm. So, he was confused about what he needed to do.

He jolted when Mephisto patted his head. "Young master, do not worry about it. You have to carry the burden but you are not alone. You still got us."

"For now, please concentrate in getting back your vitality. You need to be in top condition to do your task." Mephisto advised while patting the young lord's head.

"Stop that! I am not a kid." Aliester grumbled, as he avoided the Mephisto's hand.

A few flashes of memories crossed his mind. It was when Aliester was younger. Sir Mephisto had served as his master, who taught him the way of the bow.

Mephisto served as another father figure whenever Alastor is not around. Since the knight did not have a son, he had always treated the young master as his own.

The memories reminded Aliester of Aegis Hausen.

'father used to treat me this way.' He thought while trying to stop the tear that had formed in the corner of his eye from falling.

Not noticing the melancholy that came over Aliester, the knight ceased patting his head. Mephisto chuckled before he left.

Aft he calmed down, Aliester then asked Zarame, 'if the princess is the only one who can defeat the enemy, how can I make her cross this realm? Can she be summoned?'

[Raiha used his powers to summon her but it failed. So, we have to wait for further instructions from him.] was Zarame's reply.

"This is a dead end. I have to do something…" Aliester fidgeted. Feeling listless, he could not just lie on the bed.

Henceforth, the young man got up and paced. He had been going back and forth and almost worn out the dusty old carpet.

'I need information to help me. Zarame, do you have a character sheet containing Aliester's data?' he asked.

He no longer opted for the memory retrieval. That process was painful and head splitting.

"I got a feeling that Aliester may have clues on how to get the princess back here or something." He mumbled.

"Otherwise, the enemies wouldn't have targeted him. Lord Alastor, his father, wouldn't have entrusted him with this mission if Aliester had not found something." He deduced.

In response to his request, a screen appeared before Aliester which contained certain information.

[Status]

Vessel: Aliester Verbena Alcove (20)/ Transmigrator: Aris Hausen

"So, he is four years older than I am." Aliester muttered as he read through.

Race: human

HP: 250/300

MP: 350/500

"Whoaa! His stats have three digits! It seemed that he might be in a decent level with a stat like this." Aliester had grown excited. "This is like playing a saved game from another person."

He then proceeded to the next line.

Social Position: Son of the Duke of Alcove, Nephew of the King of Verbena

Affinity: lightning and thunder.

Special skill: could use xxxxxx volts in a single attack

"Is there a bug? What is up with this xxxxxx volts?" his brows furrowed before he brightened up. "Wait! With this I can use magic!"

Aliester hold up his palm, imagined electricity running on his palms and called out "lightning!"

he waited but… "of course, it will not work."

"Then maybe…" he positioned himself properly like that yellow monster he had played on his desktop. "PI…KA…CHU!"

But nothing happened.

[what in the world are you doing? It is embarrassing!]

Aliester cleared his throat and fixed himself. It was a good thing that only Zarame can see him.

Not giving up, he mused. "My knowledge on how to activate the ability does not seemed to work. Then maybe that scientific standpoint may apply."

He recalled some of the sci-fi movies he had watched. "It is possible to produce electricity by rubbing two surfaces together."

He rubbed both of his palms but all it did was turn his hands red.

"Why?" he knelt in dejection.

[Information: host has abnormal status. Aliester is under a curse.]

"Say what? Why didn't you tell me?"

[You did not ask. Besides, it is there in the character sheet… right at the bottom.] Zarame answered.

Aliester read the character sheet and found that data. "The queen put a curse on him which had rendered him unable to use spells…"

"How can I undo…" he started to ask.

But Zarame cut in. [Answer cannot be found. But a grimoire that had been kept by the witch of the forest may be able to break it.]

"Yeah right. As if I wanted to meet a witch. This body is already cursed. I do not need additional spell that could make my situation worse."

Aliester then read the rest of the information.

Job skills: archer, hunter, swordsman

"Archery?" Aliester muttered." But I never tried that before."

When he was in Fahren, he learned several self defense from his father. But the Art of the Bow was not amongst the teachings.

"It does not matter." Aliester said. "I will just have to learn it later. I still have swordsmanship as one of the minor skills."

Background info. Locked.

"Huh? Why is it locked. Does it have something to do with that painful memory retrieval?" he queried while thinking of those fragmented memories.

[Answer: yes. Information about the host may be off limits until you meet the conditions.]

"How do I meet the conditions?"

[Answer cannot be found.]

Aliester was a bit pissed off. "Is this thing infected by bugs or something?"

[You are rude, master.] Zarame commented.