Life (Part 1)

The group of knights arrived at the castle quickly, and they got into the castle after passing through the already-lowered drawbridge.

Ye Song had his sights on them until they completely passed through the gateway, and then he sat on his chair again. Ye Song had already gathered enough information about his father through Angele’s memory. Though people considered the baron as a cruel lord, he treated Angele really well. He was strict about the rules, but he had never beaten Angele even once.

‘I should go and greet my father.’ Ye Song thought. Before he stood up, someone started to knock on his door.

“Young Master Angele, the baron is summoning you.” Maid Maggie said outside the door.

“Alright, I am coming.” Ye Song yelled.

He stood up quickly, and he opened the door. Maid Maggie was waiting outside while holding a candle on a stand. Ye Song followed Maggie through the hallway, and they went down the spiral stairs. They reached the stairs on the second floor. At the end of the hallway, there was a room with a half-opened door. Ye Song could see the light leaking out of it.

“I will be waiting here, Young Master.” Maggie said after bowing to Ye Song politely.

Ye Song nodded and walked into the room.

Baron’s deep voice became louder as Ye Song walked closer.

“…In the territory, no one has the balls to ignore my order. Those criminals must be outsiders.” The baron said, but Ye Song only caught the second half.

Another deep voice came from the inside of the room, and it was Knight Audis.

“I am not so sure about that. Based on the criminals’ appearances, they are definitely from the east, and it must be the Saladin Empire. Their styles of clothes and weapons are all very similar to the east. They were also fighting like a trained army, not some random criminals. I suppose they are taking revenge for the event that occurred four years ago.” Audis said.

“It will take the best horses to travel from Saladin Empire to my territory within half a year, and there is a huge forest in between. The possibility of that being them is miniscule. However, I think that it could’ve been that old punk Candia.” Baron Karl said, and his voice sounded cold. “That is the last thing he could do.”

“True, and the chances are high here. We were pushing him too hard recently…” Audis said.

Ye Song did not knock on the door, and he only stood outside. He knew that his father and Audis had already heard his footsteps a while ago. The only thing he needed to do was to wait outside.

“However, there is one more possibility – Lasga.” Audis guessed.

“Lasga? I’ve been there about ten years ago, how is the place now? Is the mad woman Sally still there?” Karl asked.

“I think she is still there. Well, let’s leave it here. You can come in, Angele.” Knight Audis said loudly.

“Coming.” Ye Song said, and he opened the door.

It was a study room; there were two shelves full of books by the wall, and Ye Song could see the fire dancing slowly in the wall fireplace.

The baron and Knight Audis were sitting by a table, and they both had white cups in front of them.

Ye Song took a glance at the inside of the cup, and the cup was filled up with black liquid; it had a nice mint smell.

“Father and Uncle Audis, I am here.” Ye Song greeted them politely as the memories of the former Angele resurfaced within his mind.

Karl and Audis were two of the four strongest people in the Rio Territory. Baron Karl did not treat Audis as a mere knight, but more like a friend of him. They were two top swordsmen that survived the Redbud Battle.

There were no warrior rankings in this world, and there was only one way for a knight to show how strong he was, which was fighting battles.

“Take a seat.” The baron said while pointing at a chair nearby.

Ye Song nodded, and he sat down quietly.

“The situation outside is not going well. The Saladin Empire is very likely to put up a fight with us, the Rudin Empire. Our territory is right between the two country’s borders, and this place is going to be the frontline. I asked my guy to contact one of my old gangs at the harbour, and ordered some brand new gears from him. The armors and weapons should be on their way here…” The baron started talking to Audis again.

Ye Song sat by the side and started to examine the two people in front of him.

He was already familiar with the baron, and there was nothing more he could find about him.

But he never actually analyzed Audis before. Audis really looked like a bear, and he was huge even while just sitting there. He was about the height of two adult males. The iron armor worn by him was all black and shiny. He was bald, and his head looked like a lightbulb. He also had a silver earring worn on his left ear, and with all of that combined, it made him look barbaric because of the outfit and the accessories he wore.

‘Analyze their fighting skills based on my sensory information.’ Ye Song gave an order to Zero with his thoughts.

Suddenly, Ye Song could see information running down in front of his eyes like a waterfall. The words were blue, and they were very intense and complex.

Ye Song knew that an individual’s fighting ability was very important in this world. He learnt from Angele’s memory that unrivalled power was the only thing that would help him fulfill his desires. Also, becoming powerful would help Ye Song protect himself, so he decided to analyze the fighting skills of the two.

The baron and Audis kept talking about external affairs. But Ye Song noticed that the baron sometimes had his eyes on him, and the baron showed a disappointed expression whenever he saw that Ye Song was not completely listening.

They were trying to get Ye Song involved in the discussion in order to help Ye Song become prepared to be the next leader, but Ye Song’s facial expression while analyzing the results made it seem like he was uninterested, and it made the two very disappointed.

Ye Song did not really understand the point, but at least he got the results.

‘Karl Rio, results based on sensory information: Strength is higher than 2, Agility is higher than 2, and Stamina is higher than 2. Audis, results based on sensory information: Strength is higher than 3, Agility is about 1, and Stamina is higher than 3.’ Zero reported in Ye Song’s brain.

Ye Song was surprised…

Having 1 point in an attribute was equivalent to having the ability of a regular male adult, and this was based on the information from Earth.

According to the results, Ye Song’s father and Knight Audis were pretty much the Superman he knew from the movie. Their strength points were higher than 2 and 3, which meant that they had the power of two or three ordinary adult males. Stamina referred to the ability of taking hits, poison resistance, recovery and endurance.

‘I am sure I am out of Earth right now…’ Ye Song was speechless.

‘Zero, do the analysis on me.’ Ye Song sent the order.

Blue-colored information appeared in front of Ye Song’s eyes.

‘Angele Rio, ability analysis results: Strength is lower than 0.3, Agility is lower than 0.4, and Stamina is lower than 0.7.’ Zero reported.

‘…’ Ye Song became speechless once again.

Even for a fourteen-year-old body, the data was way too low. A normal teen at this age on Earth would have a strength level at 0.5, and agility level at 1.2. Angele was taking knight’s training, yet his data was still below average. How was that even possible?

Maybe Ye Song was still injured, and he should first wait for a full recovery.

The baron stopped talking with Audis about their plan. They turned their sights to Ye Song.

“Starting from tomorrow, Angele, you will be learning the basic fighting skills with Audis. There will be some other boys in the castle training with you. “ The baron said.

“Understood, father.” Ye Song said.

“You are weak in terms of physical abilities. I want you to at least get to an average level, so I want you to learn the basic fighting skills.” Ye Song could see the worry from the baron’s eyes.

Ye Song knew that if Angele’s body was strong, he would not simply fall off the horse and die.

“I understand.” Ye Song nodded.

“How is your recovery? Are you getting better?” Audis asked kindly.

“I would be fine with the basic training.” Ye Song answered.

“That’s nice.” Audis nodded.

“Speak to Annker if you want any specific dish to eat; she is the leader of the maids. We got a horned bull the day before, so you will recover faster if you eat some of it. Well, go and rest for now.” The baron said.

Ye Song stood up and saluted before quickly walking out of the room.

Maggie was still waiting by the staircase while holding the candle stand. She stood in the dark alone until Ye Song finished his thing.

Ye Song quickly walked towards her.

“No one is around during this time? Why is there no light?” Ye Song asked.

“It is the living quarters; most of the people in the castle are at the training grounds and the bar. There are not many people here, so we are not wasting candles here.” Maggie shook her head and answered.

“Okay.” Ye Song nodded.

According to Angele’s memory, the castle was divided to several areas.

Living quarters, activity area, and the areas for miscellaneous activities.

The activity area included the training grounds and the arena. The other areas included the bar, blacksmith shop, and the stable, etc.

The castle was about the size of an average university on Earth, but there were only about two hundred people in it. Only strong knights, swordsmen, and lancers were allowed to live in the castle, and there were only about a hundred of them.

“Let’s head back.” Ye Song stopped thinking.

Maggie led Ye Song back to his bedroom.

Ye Song saw Cecilia hiding in the corner as he opened the door.

“You filthy rat, how did you enter Young Master Angele’s room?!” Maggie saw her, and she started yelling.

Cecilia moved closer to the corner, trying to hide.

“It is fine, and you can leave now.” Ye Song stopped Maggie from rushing inside his room.

“Yes, Young Master.” Maggie immediately stopped her actions, and she left the room.

The door of the bedroom was closed.

Ye Song walked towards the girl at the corner. He looked at her for a while.

She wore a white-greyish dress, and her shoulders were exposed; her skin was white and smooth; also, her hair was long and black. If she was not crying, she would actually be a beautiful young girl.

Ye Song did not really want to do anything. He took the silk sheet on his bed, and threw it over to her. Ye Song decided to just lie down on the bed because he was really tired after all that.

“Ha……” Ye Song breathed deeply.

‘Based on the current situation, I am in a good position. As long as the baron is there for me, there is nothing I need to worry about, but I can’t predict the future, and I need to prepare for the unexpected things. This world does not seem peaceful at all.’ Ye Song thought, and he fell into slumber right after.