Chapter 48: Preparations

'Okay, quick recap about Arturnus' tomb:'

'The tomb is located somewhere in the lands between Holdor and the land of the Elves. Three months from now, a week before it opens, it will shoot a beacon of light into the sky, signifying it is about to open.'

'Once you enter, the tomb turns into a massive labyrinth that changes and moves in real time, full of treasures and monsters alike. It's extremely difficult to exit after entering, and few make it out alive aside from those that gained valuable treasure.'

'Many groups and factions will send their people to find treasure, notably the Holy Order of Knights, the Elves, and the Dwarves. Despite being a major race, the Gri doesn't really venture outside of their territory. Many small factions or hidden groups such as nobles or criminals will be there. Don't trust anyone.'

Van was thinking about everything the man had told him yesterday. He was currently in Fensteed's library, studying up on mana.

"Ok, so apparently everyone can sense the mana signatures of those a major rank weaker than them, but not everyone can sense the mana signatures of those a major rank above them. That depends on how connected a person is to their mana." Van read aloud from a book.

'Guess that means I'm well connected to my mana.' 

For a few days, Van alternated between studying mana and hunting in the wilderness. He needed to become a High Mage by the time Arturnus' tomb opened, and at least create the 2nd Boon for his Grand Knight path.

'3 months…'

Van stood in front of 3 Middle rank mana beasts, a tiger, a bear, and an eagle. 

'I can do it within that time.' 

Van disappeared from his spot, reappearing in the air above the eagle. His arm was outstretched, a wide but thin film of mana sticking out of his arms. They glowed blue, and the ends that stretched past his hands were pointed and very, very, sharp.

<> Skill <>

Mana Blades [C] [Active]:

The user's mana gathers outside their arms before compressing and stretching into a thin but sharp blade. Can damage those stronger than the user to an extent. Costs mana to maintain.

<> End <> 

This was his 4th Link. He got the idea to materialize his mana into a weapon while studying in the library, and now he had a nifty new skill.

He sliced through one of the eagle's wings, cutting it off. He turned and cut deep into its chest before it jumped away, the tiger swinging at him from behind.

Van sidestepped the attack, the claw digging into the earth past him. He activated Ground Geyser, causing the ground along with the tiger's paw to explode. The tiger roared in pain before Van swung both his arms at its neck, decapitating it.

With the tiger dead, and the eagle heavily injured, all that was left was the bear. The large grizzly attempted to grab Van, who spun around it and sliced up its back. Van dodged and sliced multiple times, making use of the bear's slowness to really cut it up.

Van dodged a swing, punching his mana blade deep into the bear's flesh. Unable to take any more, the bear collapsed from the injuries given to it. Almost done, Van flashed to the eagle before slaying it as well.

'That… was surprisingly easy.' Van deactivated his mana blades and scratched his head. 'Goes to show the power of a Mage's skill combined with the raw physical ability of a Knight.' 

Being able to take care of 3 Middle rank mana beasts with ease gave Van the confidence for when he had to fight Grand Knights and High Mages at their peak in the future.

Van retrieved the mana cores from the beasts' bodies and absorbed them, getting an easy 352 mana points, and surprisingly, a new skill, courtesy of the bear's mana core.

<> Skill <>

Standing Tall [D] [Passive]:

Like the bears, the user's body is strengthened so that they may stand tall unafraid of attacks. The user's base durability is increased, and their body can take more attacks even without the protection of mana.

<> End <> 

"Just the type of skill to come in handy." Van smiled. Any boosts to his defense would be a welcome one. 

He remembered the immense durability of that bandit leader, that despite running on fumes couldn't be affected by a 6th Sword Van. Without Van learning to increase his defense in that fight, he would have undoubtedly lost.

"No time to rest too long." Van stood up. "Gotta be ready by the time it starts."

******

At the same time, visitors were once again at the ruins of Lord Raphael's estate, this time by more important people.

It was a small entourage consisting of 5 Grand Knights from the Holy Order, a hooded woman in a silver robe, and a knight that radiated the most power among them, with a blue plume on his helmet.

"Here we are, my lady." Markin, the Elite Knight offered a hand to the robed woman, who gracefully accepted it with her own, revealing her pale white skin.

"His Highness the king wanted to know how the nobles were being killed." She spoke. Her voice was soft and nice to the ears. "Lord Raphael is the last noble to be reported dead."

"Let us investigate."

"As you wish, my lady."

Markin stuck a hand out, and 4 corpses began to float in the air, a 5th corpse floating to the two from inside the manor. All of them were encased in a bright blue aura. This was the sheer genius of Markin, the Knight with the talent of a Mage.

"Yes, these 5 are the most important ones here." The woman smiled beneath her hood.

Markin nodded, bringing the 5 corpses to the floor in front of her while his men explored the grounds and the manor. 

The woman, still holding on to Markin, bent down a little, placing her free hand on the first corpse's head, which was unrecognizable from how badly burnt it was. 

A golden energy appeared beneath her hand and turned into a string connecting her palm and the corpse's head. Beneath her hood, her golden eyes swirled a little as she removed her hand. 

She repeated the process for the other 4 corpses, reading their memories before standing back up.

"So what transpired here, my lady?" Markin asked her, surprised to see her look up at him.

"The Servant Bandits and Lord Raphael's men wiped each other out." She said. "But there is one that survived."

"Survived?" Marking questioned. She nodded.

"A boy, no older than 18. Verro was trying to kill him when the Servant Bandits attacked. After the leaders killed Lord Raphael and his cloaks, the boy defeated the bandit leaders before escaping."

"Why was he fighting both sides?" 

She looked away.

"He's a servant that wants to kill your fellow Elite Knight, Elias. Fulfilling his duty, Lord Raphael immediately ordered his execution, yet we see now how it turned out." 

"I see." Markin sighed. "My lady, do you know his name?"

"I do." She nodded. "His name is Van Brown."