40 Reward
Arriving at the broken city walls, Jim saw half the city was on fire or collapsed. He spotted a father holding a broom trying to keep a group of monsters away from his kids. Jim jumped in and slaughtered the creatures, a quick minor heal on the father and he was on his way.
Jim immediately headed towards the closest Behemoth, these things needed to be taken down first. Crushing the smaller monsters on his way and throwing out healing magic at any wounded people he saw. Arriving at the Behemoth, he saw Derek heavily wounded and trying to hold the thing off. 'Old guy is pretty tough, huh.'
Splitting apart the Behemoth, he shot ten minor heals towards Derek. There wasn't time to stop and chat, he continued prioritizing the Behemoths. An hour passed, the Behemoths were all taken down, but thousands of monsters were still rampaging through the streets.
Jim tried to rescue groups of encircled soldiers, he directed them towards areas they could handle. It tore his heart up to leave some civilians to die, he felt them being torn apart and eaten through detection, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. He had to keep aware of the situation, keep fighting, save as many as he could.
Several hours passed, all the monsters were dead. Jim was mentally worn out. He couldn't care less if some monster or bandit died, but seeing all those innocent people get killed in front of his eyes had taken a huge mental toll on him. He didn't dare to rest, the monsters were all dead now, but there were many wounded.
Urging his tired self to continue, he found people under collapsed buildings, bloodied in the streets, crying over their lost loved ones. "Mom! Mom!" A little boy was huddled over his dead mother trying to shake her awake. 'Damnit.'
The city square had been set up as an impromptu field hospital, he gathered anyone with serious injuries there. Anyone with lighter injuries were taken care of with Minor Heal on the spot. 'I really need stronger healing magic, this isn't enough.'
Finally, the wounded were stablized, Jim headed to the high class inn, the southern wall had been torn off of it giving the once splendid building a tattered appearance. He headed to his room and collapsed on the bed, passing out.
Waking the next morning, Jim didn't get out of bed. He was gripped with sadness, grief, and shock after what he saw yesterday. He had gained a lot of power, but he wasn't a veteran soldier nor a first responder, he was just a shut-in that got into some fights before.
'What the hell am I doing?' Jim slapped his cheeks. Brooding over this wouldn't change anything, the monsters would have attacked even if he wasn't there. He couldn't take the responsibility of all those lives on himself.
Forcefully cheering himself up, Jim crawled out of bed. Heading downstairs, he got a bite to eat in the dining room. Heading outside, Jim began wondering what to do today, but was stopped by a group of soldiers.
Lead Soldier: "Sir, your presence is requested at the castle."
Jim: "Mm? Alright, lead the way."
Jim was wracking his brain thinking of how this would go. 'Will they try to recruit me? Subdue me?' He decided to treat the situation accordingly as it develops.
Reaching the castle, it took a few minutes to reach the throne room. It might sound strange to say this after he gained so many crafting skills, but Jim didn't have a real appreciation for art. All the paintings, statues, and carved pillars on the way just went over his head.
Entering the throne room, it was rather spacious. A wizened old man sitting on the oversized gold throne immediately drew Jim's attention.
[Name: Gaius Telesca Amgula]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 62]
[HP: 8,920/8,920]
[MP: 28,125/28,125]
[Strength: 1,201]
[Dexterity: 723]
[Vitality: 829]
[Agility: 960]
[Magic: 32,916]
[Status: Tulanka Viral Infection]
'Whoa, this old guy is strong!' Using Detection, he inspected the king's condition, it seems the infection was hindering his lung and heart functions. It was kind of amazing the guy was still awake and aware, Jim felt the atmosphere would collapse if the king passed out during his visit, so he imparted Low Atmosphere Breathing, Disease Resistance, and Poison Resistance as a service.
"Kneel before his Majesty!" Some fat guy in gaudy clothing started shouting at Jim from the side, he kept standing.
Fat Noble: "You dare remain standing? Insolence!" The guy was fuming mad like he had just stubbed his toe.
Jim: "The citizens of my country do not kneel, do you know the story of Prince Albrecht?"
Fat Noble: "W-who?"
Jim: "In ancient times, there was a Great Empire spanning a huge swath of land. The Emperor was wise, kind, and strong. His only weakness was his son, Prince Albrecht. The Imperial Prince was talentless and cruel, assaulting the palace's maids as he pleased to sooth his inferiority. The Emperor refused to believe his son was such a person and harshly punished anyone who made claims against them."
"One day, the prince saw a beautiful woman near the castle grounds, he ordered his lackeys to abduct her. After having his way with her, he killed her and threw her body in the trash. Her father was a great swordsman, arriving at the palace, he confronted the prince."
"The prince ordered the man to kneel, he did so. The prince approached, mocking the man and his deceased daughter. Getting close, he spit on the swordsman's face. The swordsman's blade unsheathed, the prince's head fell to the ground, still with a conceited grin stretched across it."
"The Emperor, distaught at the loss of his son and revelation that the reports were true, began ignoring matters of state. His health declined and he died soon after executing the swordsman, the country collapsed into civil war. Ever since, kneeling has been seen as a sign of disrespect and violent intent in those lands."
[Eloquent Tongue Skill Obtained]
[Storyteller Skill Obtained]
[Poker Face Skill Obtained]
[Deception Skill Obtained]
Finishing his storytime, Jim was content that he got the point across. None of that happened, of course, as a modern American Jim just really didn't want to kneel.
King: "I will allow it, continue standing."
Fat Noble: "Y-your majesty!"
Little did he know, Jim had planted a seed in the mind of everyone present. Refusing to kneel or bow became a popular way of showing loyalty to a lord over time, much to the confusion of neighboring countries.
Fat Noble: "Introduce yourself!" The fat guy was ashamed and wanted to salvage some of his authority. He began regarding Jim in a clearly hostile way.
Jim: "My name is Jim Garrett, I hail from a faraway land known as America."
Mumbling could be heard from the nobles lining the walls, they had never heard of this place.
King: "Very well, Jim Garrett. For your bravery and heroism in the recent Surge, I reward you with 100,000 Gold Coins."
Fat Noble: "Wha-"
King: "Silence, I am not finished. Additionally, I bestow upon you the title of Brave, you will hereby be shown respect as fits your achievements."
Fat Noble: "Your majesty!"
The mumbling grew far louder. "How long has it been since someone was given the Brave title?" "Is he really as strong as the reports?" "Why couldn't he be younger?"
'So that's it, not direct recruitment. He wants to show incentives for continuing to work together. Status and wealth in exchange for service, huh?' Jim didn't really care about titles and money was easy to obtain, but he approved of this method.
Jim: "I humbly accept, your majesty."
King: "Mm! Now that this is out of the way, I would like to get to know our savior better, would you join me for lunch?"
Jim: "I would be delighted to."
Jim still had over a month remaining before he could head home. He didn't have a lot of patience for formalities but figured humoring the local authorities would prevent bothersome events.
