Gloves of Ether

"Your Majesty...we dug through the archive room and found what you were looking for." It was Braum who said this as he was carrying a wooden box in his hands. He was currently in front of the throne where King Adrian was sitting.

King Adrian was resting his head with his hand on the throne's arm but perked up after seeing what Braum brought. "Open it." King Adrian ordered.

Braum reached his hand into the front of the wooden box and opened it. Inside, there was a pair of black gloves with golden engravings.

"The Gloves of Ether..." King Adrian stood up from the throne and approached Braum. He stopped and picked up the gloves.

"With this...I will be able to sustain the Ethereal Sword longer..." King Adrian recalled his encounter with Slaven where he only managed to sustained around ten seconds of the Ethereal Sword, a magical sword capable of cutting through a person's soul.

"But Your Majesty...this glove only helps you control the output. This means that even if you can wield the Ethereal sword longer, it'll be in a much weaker form." Braum remarked.

King Adrian put on the gloves. "I know that. With the reduced power output, I'll be able to slowly weaken a person's soul if I hit them with the sword...but it can regenerate. I'll have to get stronger first if I want to utilize the full form of it." King Adrian channeled magic power into his hand and a transparent sword formed.

"Do you have it prepared? I want to test this thing out." King Adrian asked Braum.

"Yes. Follow me, Your Majesty." Braum replied.

--

They both walked into an area outside the castle designated for training. It was built like an arena with audience seats on the sides and the actual ground lower than the seats, creating an enclosed battle arena. King Adrian was standing alone while Braum was seen on one of the audience seats with other knights on top as well.

"Release it." King Adrian said.

Braum nodded to one of the knights who was holding a lever. The knight nodded back and pulled the lever.

In the arena, a large steel door opened. At first, there was only silence with the darkness of the inside. Suddenly, a monster leaped out.

"RAAWWRR!!!!" The monster roared. The monster was in the shape of a lion with a head full of mane but its size was larger and there were two long fangs protruding from its mouths.

"Saber Lion..." King Adrian muttered.

After seeing the saber lion, Braum started to get worried. "Your Majesty, are you sure about this?" He shouted.

"Yes. If I don't train, it'll be a disaster if I ever meet that man Slaven again." King Adrian replied.

The saber lion looked around in confusion but found a lone man standing in the middle of the arena. The creature was now furious as it concluded the man in front of him must have been the person who captured it.

"RAAAWRR!" The saber lion charged fast.

The King dodged just in time as if he was leading a bull.

SLASH

With one slash, the ethereal sword hit one of the legs of the lion.

"RAAGGHH!" The saber lion felt a cut. The monster looked down to see its leg but was confused to see that there was no wound. The creature could still feel the leg that was hit by the sword weakened.

"RAAAWRRR!" The lion charged again, this time opening his mouth wide open and its two sabertooths aiming at the King.

'Shit. The ethereal sword with the gloves is still too weak' King Adrian thought after seeing the lion could still move freely.

King Adrian decided to do a risky move. King Adrian ran forward as well and slide underneath the charging saber lion. While he was sliding underneath the creature, he stabbed the sword upward to the underbelly of the creature and created a long line of slash.

"RAAGH!" The saber lion felt that again.

King Adrian recovered and stood up again after sliding. The lion didn't waste any more time this time and charged again. But this time, King Adrian noticed something.

'It's slower!' King Adrian thought. The sword was slowly cutting through the soul of the saber lion slowly.

After repeatedly doing the dodging and slashing manuver for around 5 minutes, the lion finally collapsed, not out of tiredness, but the soul was finally completely destroyed.

"Hah...hah...hah..."King Adrian gasped for air as he battled the saber lion nonstop for 5 minutes.

From the audience stand, Braum and the knights all clapped together. "Well done, Your Majesty!" They shouted.

"Hah...this is not enough...5 minutes...hah...too long..." King Adrian dropped into the ground as well as he was tired.

Braum jumped down and approached the King. "But still, my king...the gloves allow you to control it longer....if we train more and more the strength of the sword will grow." He said.

"But for how long? We're running out of time. Grant told me there have been movements around the forest again. He'll appear again." King Adrian replied with dissatisfaction.

"Well...my king...you don't have to be the one to fight him...many of us, including me, is enough to defeat him. You have been working tirelessly for these last 3 months...I think you need to get some rest." Braum said.

"What are you saying? This is...a personal grudge I have with Slaven." King Adrian frowned.

Braum also frowned. "That's what I am saying my king...personal grudges are—"

Before Braum could finished, a knight ran inside the battle arena.

"Your Majesty...we have apprehended a suspicious man walking along the border of our territory. He does not seem to belong with the mercenaries...but he came with us peacefully without any resistance. Do you want us to deal with him, Your Majesty?" The knight reported.

King Adrian and Braum looked at each other.

"Thank Vathria Grant didn't find him first." King Adrian muttered.

--

King Adrian was not face to face with an eyepatched man with silver hair and a fur overcoat. His greatsword was taken away from him and was under the custody of the knights. They were currently in the guest room in the castle where Kings would meet diplomats of another nations. The layout of the room was similar to a cozy living room with a fireplace nearby.

"Greetings. I am King Adrian Vathria...the King of Vathria..I welcome you this our fine nation." King Adrian greeted the man.

The man stared at the King. "Imagine my surprise when I find out you and your people could speak Zaxsonian. I was so thrilled that I didn't engage in battle. Vathria...the Vathria they mentioned." The man replied.

"Huh?" King Adrian was confused at the man's reply.

Braum, sitting next to King Adrian, frowned. "I presume you have never interacted with a King before? Please introduce yourself." He said.

"Oh?" The man looked at Braum. "I could sense it...you're strong...close to my level....what do you say we have a friendly duel?"

Braum's forehead vein popped. "What did you say?" Braum released some of his battle aura.

"Braum! Stop it." King Adrian calmed him down.

"I apologize. Can you please tell me your name?" King Adrian asked directly.

"My name...is Samuel." The man replied.

"Samuel? And who are you? How did you know about us?" King Adrian asked.

"I am no one. I knew about...this place after killing twenty bandits that on the way here. They mentioned something about 'Vathrian' but...I'm more curious on how you understand my language?" Samuel asked.

"Ah, we're not really speaking your language." King Adrian pulled out a necklace underneath the shirt on his suit. "This magical necklace allows the translation of language." King Adrian described the item without going into details as he did not trust Samuel yet.

"A necklace that could translate languages...buildings I've never seen before." Samuel looked out the window of the castle where he could see the town. "And most importantly....Kingdom of Vathria...a place I have never heard about existing in this forbidden lands...Interesting..." Samuel said the last line with a face full of smile, like a child who discovered a new toy.

"I beg your pardon?" King Adrian said.

"How exciting...this place...I shall stay here for a while." Samuel said and laughed.

"Huh?" King Adrian muttered with utter confusion.