The Ninth

It was an unusually hot day for the rainy Preston Kingdom.

The people go about with their daily routine.

Setting up the table with hot breakfast, getting ready for work, continuing to do their best for the good of the kingdom.

It is a country with an excellent foundation as it can be seen with how the poor people are able to live well, despite being a citizen of the lowest stature.

Though this smoldering hot day may be a blessing for the many, it can be a misfortune for some.

Leonvolt Machia "Ninth" Oliver Preston, the 9th Prince of the Kingdom, is currently under heavy scrutiny by the noble and common people alike.

The reason was because of his results at the recent Shell Aptitude Ceremony that young adults who comes of age goes to.

The 15 year old Leonvolt Preston, the 9th Prince of the Preston Kingdom, is currently standing in front of his father, the King of Preston, Charles Grom Gastroy Preston, with his head down, fidgeting his chubby fingers as he looks up slightly once in a while to see the gazes directed at him.

Please, what terrible thing did I do to deserve this maltreatment?!

Leonvolt screams internally, as he suppresses the fear, anger and sadness in his heart.

"Leonvolt, your Ceremony results yesterday have been a very big disappointment and a huge embarrassment to the Preston Royal family.

A Royal must not have a weak aptitude, for it can be misunderstood by the people as a sign of weakness and a decline in power. It pains me so, my son, to witness this in you."

The King of Preston, crestfallen by the fate of his son, slowly slumps on his throne.

Leonvolt underwent the Shell Aptitude Ceremony yesterday and his results shocked everyone in the kingdom.

A 1 in both Inner and Outer Shell force. The weakest appraisal results in the history of the Kingdom and maybe the whole world.

Even a 10 is the worst a normal person can get in common standards.

Shell Energy, a very fundamental resource in the current civilization.

It powers almost everything that needs energy. It is a resource of phenomena.

It also enhances the human body with nearly infinite possibilities.

An entity that has full control over their Shell Energy can become a great being.

Creating fire, conjuring water, caving in mountains, indestructible bodies and many more. You are pretty much superhuman.

Leonvolt, who acknowledges his inadequate aptitude, in a spark of immaturity, does the unthinkable.

In a desperate attempt of trying his best to get better results, he instead gets an overweight body and a harrowing fate to go with it.

He once read in a book that all creatures to roam the world has minuscule amounts of Shell Energy.

Without thinking of the consequences, he then decided to go through an extreme diet containing various meats of different creatures all over the world.

And the result? Well, here it was.

Anxious to know what is going to happen next, Leonvolt patiently waits for his father to continue speaking. He looks around the throne room to see the faces of the members of the Preston Royal family.

There are only 3 sons in the Royal Family.

The 2nd Prince, Chriswald Bron "Second" Patter Preston, the 3rd Prince, Ericco Tristden "Third" Brigg Preston, and Leonvolt Machia "Ninth" Oliver Preston.

The 2nd Prince and the 3rd Prince are both 23 years old and have taken on official duties in the Palace as a member of the Royal family.

His brothers received huge acclaim when they had their Aptitude Ceremony.

The whole Kingdom celebrated and expected a great future for the Kingdom with these two princes in the current Royal Family.

Leonvolt's results in the Aptitude Ceremony was the worst in the history of the Kingdom as such, there was a huge appeal to remove Leonvolt from the Royal family.

This audience was held for the final verdict that King Charles will bestow upon his incompetent son.

"By the authority of the Preston Royal Family, represented by the resplendent Sun Crow Crown Insignia, I, Charles Grom Gastroy Preston, hereby remove Leonvolt Machia Oliver Preston from the Preston Royal family succession line."

King Charles declares solemnly.

"According to Royal Accords, any act of shaming the glorious reputation of the Kingdom shall be punishable by death. However, as a privilege of being a former member of the Royal family as well as his Coming of age gift, Leonvolt Machia Oliver shall not be punished as a sinner for his measly fate but instead, he shall be pardoned."

The King announced further.

"Therefore, by my will, Leonvolt shall be bestowed upon a Royal Pardon and be given a low-class 6th-tier noble status and a Royal aid of 3,000 gold coins."

As the King finishes his statement, servants then went ahead to hand Leonvolt his Certificate of Pardon and a pouch containing 3,000 gold coins.

Leonvolt held these with a tight grip as he realized that his Royal life has ended, his noble status has been lowered to the worst and he also almost died if not for his father's Royal Pardon.

Leonvolt suppressed his urge to cry as he stands still in front of his family, the ministers, and other nobles who attended this Royal audience.

"Lastly, I issue a Royal Order to Leonvolt Machia Oliver and to the Oliver Family. Leonvolt Machia Oliver shall permanently stay in the Oliver territory for the rest of his life and he shall not leave the territory unless the Royal Family lifts this order.

Should this Order be disobeyed, Leonvolt Machia Oliver and the Oliver Family shall be tried for treason. Head of the Oliver Family, receive this order."

Gregory Oliver, Leonvolt's maternal grandfather is a high class 6th-tier noble.

He was called to the Royal Capital to attend Leonvolt's Aptitude Ceremony.

Who would have guessed that the happy occasion would turn grim so swiftly.

Gregory Oliver walks towards the minister and accepts the document containing the Royal Order.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I shall follow your orders."

"This shall be the end of this session. Everyone is adjourned.

Leonvolt Machia Oliver shall immediately head towards the Oliver territory with no stop overs. This King shall allow the use of a Flying Carriage for a fast direct travel."

The King, followed by the other members of the Royal family, then walks towards the Royal Palace without a second glance or even a last farewell.

Such was the Royal Family's resolve to maintain their reign. It may be a heartless act but they consider it as a necessary action to remove any bad eggs and prevent them from tainting their radiant image.

Leonvolt is escorted towards the Landing zone together with his maternal grandfather and grandmother as they are slowly taken to flight by the Flying Carriage.

"Little Leon, don't be too crestfallen, grandpa and I will be here for you. You may think that your father was too heartless but it is just the way it is.

The Royal Family has a bigger responsibility than you think. I think you being cast away from the Preston family is a good thing.

I really look at it this way. That's why, don't be too sad okay?"

Leonvolt's maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Oliver, kindly wipes away the tears on Leonvolt's fat cheeks.

"Hmm, if only Little Leon's mother was still alive, she would at least be able to defend him well in front of this injustice. Alas, she died to early."

Leonvolt's mother, Alicia Grace Oliver Preston, was able to marry into the Royal family using only her own capabilities and resourcefulness.

She was very bright and sociable. An elite of high society. She had many supporters when she was alive.

Unfortunately, she died too early due to a sudden illness.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm sorry for burdening you with this responsibility. You even have to shoulder a massive burden in your old age. I hope you won't hate me for this.

When we reach home, I want to change for the better. This 3,000 gold coins given to me by my former father shall be given to you for use.

I don't have a need for these anymore."

Leon sincerely said to his grandparents. The couple are already advanced in age and yet, they don't have anyone left of their direct family except for Leonvolt, their grandson.

They believe that passing on their territory to Leon can only be the best thing. They can only take care of each other.

"Little Leon, don't fret, we won't use the money lavishly and will ask your permission whenever we need to use it. You will surely love the Oliver territory.

It may be a far cry from Royal capital standards. But at least we have some good natural wonders over there.

I do hope you can help us improve some basic conditions with your Royal knowledge. It's a bit too tough for us, this old couple, to come up with fresh and new trends."

"Of course, Grandpa. It is my wish to help you in your endeavors.

After all, it will become my home in this lifetime."

"Our Little Leon is really a sweet child. Why does the Gods have to forsake this kindhearted child?

Hahay, you could have done more for the Kingdom should you have the aptitude that makes up for it. Why does the world have to be so cruel to us, Oliver's?"

Grandma Elizabeth sobs.

The mood in the carriage turns gloomy with her tears.

Leon slips in to give her a hug but his belly gets in the way.

They make do with half a hug and throughout the rest of the trip, it was a silent lull.

The Flying Carriage of the Kingdom is an exceptional mode of transportation.

What should have been a months time of travel has been shortened to a 12 hour one. It is a truly magical equipment.

But who knows how much the Kingdom invested before they are able to manufacture a completely stable and "safe to use" carriage.

The Flying Carriage is one of the Preston Kingdom's qualification to be able to enter the Continental Kingdom Alliance. The Kingdom has always then become a leading superpower in terms of flying transport.

-

The Oliver territory is a territory to the far North of the Kingdom.

It is surrounded by the Icespike Mountain Range to the North, the Cold River Plains in the West, further in to the West is the Cold River Ocean, the Miller Barony to the South, and the Silent Forest to the East.

The Oliver Family has been residing on this patch of land for the last century.

Formerly a nomadic tribe from the Icespike Mountains, they were awarded a former Baron's territory when they defeated all the bandits and gangs residing in the North and offering all of the riches they collected to the Royal Family.

Since then, they have been slowly reclaiming the lands westward as it has proven easier to develop, especially for a poor noble household.

Currently, the Oliver territory spans about 400 acres on paper.

But considering that there is no actual competition in the neighboring lands. It is basically assumed that all things in the North is the Oliver's property.

Leonvolt and his grandparents arrives in the Oliver territory when it was about to hit midnight.

The old couple are then immediately escorted to their quarters as they have such a terrible stamina and have been dozing off while they were in the middle of the trip.

Staying awake this late may cause them to get sick, as such, formal proceedings were delayed until the next day.

Tomorrow, the 14th Day of May, Year 1889 of the Continental Era, will be Leonvolt's 16th birthday.

It is truly an unfortunate sequence of events, to fail terribly in the ceremony a day ago, to being cast away from his very own family a day before his 16th birthday, the coming of age celebration.

Leonvolt's entry to early adulthood has been nothing short of disastrous.

Leonvolt looks toward the townscape from his room's balcony and realised that this place may not be that bad at all.

He can slowly recuperate from his excessive diet and inappropriate lifestyle. He can begin his rehabilitation in this land and maybe find a good job with his acquired knowledge.

As Leonvolt thought of his plans moving forwards, he takes out something from his trouser's left pocket.

It is a candy that was among the last of the so called "Shell Steroids" that apparently helps boost the amount of Shell Energy the body can accumulate.

"Ugh, I actually still have this with me. I can't believe I have been chucking these things for almost 2 years and nothing happens. Well, I guess that's fate for me."

As Leon ends his monologue, he eats the last piece of candy and chews on it.

"Yeah, still tastes like candy."

As Leon continues to chew, he suddenly began to feel something weird happening to his body. He seems to feel slightly tingly all of over his body.

He inspects his fat arm and is horrified to see that the skin, likely the fatty muscles, on his arm is squirming around as if there were insects or worms trapped inside it.

Internally, Leonvolt begins to feel a hot sensation all throughout, and then those bulging and squirming areas throughout his body suddenly burst, making Leon wriggle in pain.

He musters the strength to let out a wail for help as he couldn't hold unto the pain.

"AHHHHH, IT HURTS!!! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PLEASE HELP!"

He continues to wail tragically as the pain seeps through his bones and into his mind.

Leon begins to pass out as the pain gets too unbearable.

As he passes out, he hears the voices of his grandparents entering his room, subsequently asking for help.

It was unusually bright around his surroundings.

Grandma Elizabeth is sobbing as she holds unto Leon's convulsing body while Grandpa Oliver is hastily instructing a servant to search for the town doctor.

As he watches these scenes unfold, Leon blacks out.