The Beginning of a Path

Walking all the way to the courtyard of the manor and unto the front gates, along with two guards by my side who were armed with halberds and a suit of plate armour, I awaited the arrival of the carriage with Snake Knight Sylvester in it.

After around 15 minutes, a carriage being pulled by a horse could be seen in the distance. Getting closer and closer I noticed its rather simple yet beautiful design, a sleek black carriage with thin silver lines and the insignia of a snake on its side.

The carriage arrived and its door immediately swung open revealing a man even taller than me, standing at around 205 centimetres with a well built body, red hair and black eyes and a longsword hanging loosely by his side. As soon as he saw me, the man flashed a wide smile as he walked up and…

Hugged me.

He hugged me so hard it felt like a bear was squeezing my organs out of me.

"HAHAHA! I never expected you would grow so much in just 10 years Wyle! How are you? How have you been? Are you okay?! Hahaha! You've grown to be a fine young man! You look just like that stupid father of yours back when he was young!"

The man laughed heartily as he bombarded me with questions and excitement at how much I had grown. It was unexpected, as judging by the title of Snake Knight I would've expected him to be a rather cold individual, not a cheery middle aged man with the loudest laugh I had ever heard.

"I can't say you fit the title of Snake Knight very well, Sylvester."

I said as I was finally free from his grasp and smiled at him.

"Gahaha! That's what everyone says until they cross swords with me!"

"I'll not keep you any longer, let's head inside, the succession ceremony is just 6 hours away, preparations have already begun."

"Of course, of course."

Although he laughed a lot, I could see the man was rather shaken by my father's death, the dark circles under his eyes and the slightly gloomy atmosphere that surrounded him made for a very telltale sign that he was mourning. It seemed he wanted to give me strength as well, although I couldn't exactly say I was sad for the death of a man I never met. A pitiful event, but irrelevant nonetheless.

Heading inside, Sylvester and I ate a plentiful meal as we talked about my childhood and he told me of the experiences he and my father had encountered over the years.

I could see now that this man was far from coveting the Miradet Barony.

"Ah, that reminds me… Uncle Sylvester, I need your help."

"Hm?"

Sylvester questioned as his face turned solemn.

"The territories that surround the Miradet Barony… they are eyeing my family's legacy, I need your help in driving them off."

"I see…" after pondering for a bit he said "I can't exactly help you against them, as the Royal Court and Dukes would not put up with the interference of a mere Knight between the affairs of noble houses, however I can guide you on what to do and provide you your own strength. Quite frankly I never have been as good with political things as your father, the most I can do is provide you the strength to protect yourself and your territory."

"I see.. then, please rest for now, I have more matters to attend to before the ceremony begins."

Making my way up to the study again, I called for Thomas who provided me with the profiles of 3 personal maids, who, by Thomas' own words, are 'as loyal to the house of Miradet as loyal can be.'

Storing the papers away, I called for all three of my subordinates, in hopes they had prepared what I asked for. And so they had.

I decided to look at the financial records provided by Yzol first.

After quickly skimming over them, even a teenager with a high school education could tell something was wrong. First off, the taxation rates, despite being absurdly high, at a huge 4/5ths of all produce grown on the land that my family lent the peasants, resulted in meagre payments be that in gold coins or in actual grains and vegetables.

This was apparent by the state of the treasury reserves. A meagre 300 gold coins.

To put in perspective, from what I've learned from Thomas, the currency is divided into gold coins and pence. A single gold coin is worth 100 pence. A single penny, would be able to buy… just half a loaf of bread. Furthermore, 25 pence is called a quarter and is its own coin.

Normally the citizens of the Solis Empire refer to gold coins as simply coins and pence as it is.

The average peasant family makes around 3 quarters a month. The more well off families make around one coin a month and prominent families around two coins a month. Of course that was only including peasant families that involved themselves with agriculture, dairy production, etc. Different occupations had very different salaries, but they were on the minor side of things.

What I couldn't fathom though was how the treasury was this poor. And I continued to ponder until I finally flipped to the expenses page.

'5000 thousand gold coins in miscellaneous expenses…'

Rubbing my forehead and grimacing deeply, I asked Yzol in a low tone.

"…Yzol, would you mind explaining what miscellaneous expenses are?"

"O-Of course, my Lord, miscellaneous expenses are well… for miscellaneous things, ah, for example, new renovations to the buildings owned by staff of the estate, banquets, feasts, salaries and other necessary expenses."

"And whose salaries are those?"

This time, it was Garreth who replied.

"Ours, my Lord."

"Thank you, Garreth, how much do each of you receive then?"

Finally, the fat pig's face froze while Alexander's eye slightly twitched.

It was Garreth who spoke first yet again.

"It is shameless, but I must admit I receive 20 gold coins a month, my Lord."

"That shouldn't be too high of a salary considering you're the Guard Captain, no? And what about you, Yzol?"

"Ah, well, since I-I'm the Treasury Keeper I have some other necessary expenses as well so, I-I receive… three…" Yzol muttered in a hushed tone.

"Spit it out!" I barked, annoyed at his frequent weasel-like tone. If it were any of my staff sergeants they would've eaten this guy alive.

"300 coins, my Lord…"

The moment he spoke I could feel my veins popping in my forehead.

'Three hundred coins… and the Guard Captain receives twenty… I can't even comprehen- that's enough money to buy a mansion every other month.'

Gripping the quill I had in my hand while looking at the records, I held my anger in and looked at Alexander.

"…And you?"

"I receive 53 coins and a quarter pence a month, my Lord."

I turned my gaze and Yzol again who kept his head lowered.

Looking at him I was reminded of the exorbitant amount of taxes set upon the populace.

"Thomas. Who set the rate of taxes received from the people at this time?"

"That would be our Treasury Keeper, my Lord."

"And why is that he can change the tax rates without my or my late father's approval…?"

My tone started becoming higher with each passing word.

"The late Lord had given Yzol direct control of the estate's finances before he left for the frontlines my Lord, he believed you were far too inexperienced to properly manage the estate's finances."

'So basically he was the only person left that could even handle the treasury.'

Looking carefully at the reports before me, I remained silent as I studied them for a few more minutes.

No matter where you looked, it was obvious. Someone was embezzling money, and that someone was guaranteed to be Yzol.

What still remained a mystery though was how Yzol had managed to register himself with a 300 coin salary per month. That was illogical and impossible. The Treasury Keeper could not pay themselves their salary, someone else had to do it.

"Garreth."

"Yes, my Lord." Garreth responded solemnly as he stood at attention.

"Please detain and escort our Treasury Keeper to the dungeon, he will be brought in later for investigation and questioning."

"It will be done, Master."

Garreth swiftly took hold of Yzol and started dragging him out, which proved more difficult because of his weight than anything.

Yzol of course, did try to plead for his innocence.

"My Lord! It is not as you think my Lord! There is a misunderstanding! The truth isn't what it see…"

Yzol shouted as he was dragged out until finally his voice was not heard anymore.

Unfazed, I took a look at the report provided by Garreth. It detailed the current state of safety in the Miradet Barony, the threats and accurate number of guard personnel, those in active duty and those in reserve forces.

'Approximately 2000 reserve forces, exactly 1238 active City Guards responsible for keeping the safety in the territory, 100 Keep Guards responsible for guarding the Miradet Castle and Keep, 12 Miradet Guards responsible for the Miradet family's personal security which are under my direct command, 2 Vice-Captains of the Guard and finally Garreth…'

"Hm, Thomas, the report mentions the 12 Miradet Guards responsible for my personal safety, but I have not seen them anywhere."

Thomas looked confused for a second before answering slowly.

"…The Miradet Guards are always keeping watch over you, my Lord, even if you do not see them, if you wish for them to show themselves before you simply call for them out loud."

"I… will do that later."

'That's odd, is there some sort of mana technique that allows you to watch over a target?'

Putting the issue aside I flipped through the report and found the next problematic situation.

To sum it up, the Miradet territory, being located in the north-west of the Solis Empire, at its very edges, was at direct contact with the border of the Empire. Of course you would normally expect there to be another kingdom or empire of sorts, but no.

Lying directly north, northwest and northeast of the Miradet territory was the Great Uncharted Forest of Demonic Phenomenons, otherwise known as the Forest of Silver.

It was named as such because of something called a Corrupted Beast making its territory the Forest of Silver. A Corrupted Beast was a very rare phenomenon in which a beast of any kind gained the ability to infuse Etherium in its body to increase its power and longevity.

However such a thing was not possible for any animal or beast, because they simply could not handle the abundant Etherium in their unadapted bodies. There was a reason why animals in general could never absorb extra Etherium in their body except the one they already had since their making.

Normally, any beast that gained the ability to infuse Etherium and attempted it, would spontaneously implode in itself causing its immediate death. However fate always had a way of making some sick joke.

In the even rarer chance that a beast did not die immediately, it would instantly become a calamity called a Corrupted Beast, spreading 'tainted' Etherium, or otherwise called Infernum.

Corrupted Beasts would rarely move from their original territory, thus making what used to be healthy, fertile expanses of land into horrible places of poisonous fog, hallucinogenic fungi, Infernum Miasma and many other wretched things.

However a single Corrupted Beast could not spread destruction in such a grand scale, no, they did something much more ingenious. All Corrupted Beasts had the ability to turn surrounding animals and beats into Demonic Beasts, an inferior version of Corrupted Beasts that were far weaker and wreaked havoc upon the surrounding land.

It was precisely because of this that the Miradet territory faced such constant threats from the Forest of Silver, the Demonic Beasts lurking behind the eternal darkness of the Forest of Silver periodically invaded the territory of Miradet which was the first line of defense against them.

'It's not like the other territories help either…'

Support from the Empire or the neighbouring territories was an unimaginable thing, there stood absolutely no benefit in helping the Miradet territory whatsoever.

'The hand I've been dealt is worrying…'

Taking my eyes off the part about the Forest of Silver, I looked at the information about the surrounding territories.

'Every path leads to an enemy…'

Although the outside was worrying enough, I had to worry about the inside even more. It was unknown if the people under the Miradet Barony could be trusted, except for a select few who seemed to be loyal servants since my father's rule.

Disrupting my thoughts was Thomas' soft yet clear voice as he reminded me of the ceremony and the need to receive the guests.

"Young Master, it is time."

"Alexander, I will look at your report later, you are dismissed."

"Yes, my Lord."

———

The cluttering of dishes and utensils, the rushed footsteps of maidservants and frustrated voices of the chefs was heard throughout the keep as preparations for the banquet were under way.

The "guests" were supposed to arrive 1 hour earlier than the actual time of the event as part of noble etiquette so the rush was logical.

Pleasantly, I did not find the need to interfere with anything as Thomas and other higher ranking servants were directing the maidservants perfectly. Not only did they have experience, even the maidservants had plenty of years under the belt working as maids and thus did not make any mistakes.

Oh, and of course, despite the busy yet merry atmosphere, I was currently gnawing at myself from the insides. Why? Well of course, the guests I was supposed to entertain were the very ones trying to steal my land! And as an ex-countryman of a particularly sensitive country regarding property, I did not take kindly to it. At all.

Alas, it was noble etiquette for neighbouring nobles to visit their noble 'friends' during important events such as these, and receiving them well was also a noble's duty.

And of course I was not so much of a lunatic as to offend the higher ranking nobles of the Noble Faction with my disrespectful regard of the Noble Etiquette.

To sum it up I was in a situation similar to a politician having to speak kindly to a politician of another party because of the media.

Frustrating.

'Unfortunately I don't have enough time to meet up with Sylvester, I have to pay some attention to the Miradet Guard situation first.'

Heading back up to the study after telling my maids to prepare the outfit I would wear during the ceremony, I sat in my chair and contemplated how to go about this.

If I just suddenly said something cringy like: "Hidden Miradet Guards, appear before your master!" I would be embarrassed beyond any limit.

Luckily though, it seems I did not have to do that.

In a short few seconds, ten shadows materialized in the dark study illuminated by a dim lamp. Shortly their outlines and true figures became apparent as my jaw almost dropped to the floor at their sudden appearance

The ten figures who I could not tell the gender of were clad in black armor which I could not see clearly due to the all black cape surrounding it, however I could see that in the chest area it bared the insignia of the Miradet family, a black rose with a white moon in the background.

Their faces were hidden by the black cowl and mask combo leaving only their dark but mysterious eyes visible.

As soon as I was about to speak, they immediately performed a ceremonial one knee kneel as the person in the center of the line shouted in an indistinguishable voice.

"The Miradet Oath Guard greets the new Lord Miradet!"

The shout was also repeated by the rest of the dark individuals as they lowered their heads.

"Um… you may rise."

As they moved to stand up I noticed something randomly as I was looking at them, their movements seemed illusory, as if they had completely different movements than their original ones.

Staring at them I smiled, these guys seemed powerful, too powerful for someone as weak as me. And I intended to express that.

"You must be the Miradet Oath Guard, how did you know I was going to call upon you?"

"We are adept in analyzing any target, Lord, it is relatively easy to guess when someone needs to call us…"

The center figure spoke yet again in the deep yet indistinguishable voice which couldn't be either male or female.

"That seems… nevermind, it is certainly impressionable though, the way your… how should I call it, powers act, how was it achieved?"

This time it was a figure on the right that spoke.

"Has Your Grace not been briefed on the concept of Pathways?"

"Pathways? No. I have not."

"Then it seems I will have to quickly explain for Your Grace."

The center figure spoke again.

"The world, or more accurately the world of Awakened possesses 36 Pathways that corresponds to the 36 Forsaken Gods that were believed in-in the past. These 36 Pathways, are composed of 9 Cycles each. Cycle 9 being the weakest of all Cycles and Cycle 1 being the strongest."

"The 36 Forsaken Gods? Don't we believe in just the Sol God?"

"We do now, however in a time long past, a time so ancient none of us could even fathom to think about, the civilisations then believed there to be 36 True Gods, who each ruled an essential part of the world or phenomenon. It is unknown in what point of time the 36 True Gods became the 36 Forsaken Gods and the Sol God was established as the sole creator, however records state that the origins of all Awakened stem from these 36 Forsaken Gods."

"Huh, so I guess that's where Awakened get their powers…"

"Not precisely, although Awakened origins do stem from the 36 Pathways, Awakened are far from grasping the true power of the 36 Pathways, a vast majority of Awakened are Pathless, people that have elevated their mana or aura control and reach levels equal to those of Cycles, however they lack something critical, nature."

"Nature?"

"Yes, although every Awakened possesses aura or mana, few possess the nature of Etherium. Take for example some of the Keep Guards enlisted under the Miradet Barony, a good amount of them are Pathless Awakened who do not possess a nature but pure aura instead. However, we, who are all followers of a Path, possess a nature to our Etherium usage, and that is the nature of shadow, deceit and trickery. Our nature comes from the power of the Path, the Path which is exclusively owned by the Miradet family as far as our knowledge goes."

"So you're saying that other Awakened do not possess the critical key that makes an Awakened, Awakened, and that is the nature of Etherium?"

"Precisely, we, the Miradet Oath Guard follow the Path of the Forsaken God of Shadows and Deception, all of us are Cycle 7 Awakened."

"Cycle 7… then does that mean that all Awakened who follow this path get powers similar to yours?"

"Quite the opposite, Young Master, the power one gives oneself is solely decided by you, not the Path you choose. The Path simply provides you the nature, or otherwise the key. How you utilize that power is completely up to you, not to the Path. For example, while this Path may be very useful for Assassins and the such, that does not limit its uses there. An Honorable Knight may also follow the Path to develop their own illusory sword art or imbue shadow into their movements making it so that predicting their movements would be extremely hard. The ways the nature of a Path can be used is limitless and boundless, it only depends on how far one is willing to go."

"This sounds… complicated, but very useful, then I guess I'll have the chance to become an Awakened of the this Path as well."

At my words, the figure fell silent, until he slowly started speaking again.

"Your Grace… there is something we haven't told you. Although this power is beyond common sense, a price must also be paid. There is nothing in this world that can be gained without a price accompanying it. And the price of becoming a follower of a Path is always… enormous. All followers, of any path, regardless of the Cycle have to constantly battle urges of sick desires or insanity in order to not fall prey to the murmurings and temptations of the Forsaken Gods. You will see things you should not see, hear things you should not hear, experience feelings you are not supposed to feel. You will, in every meaning of the word, lose your humanity."

I fell silent at the words of the Oath Guard. He explained it simply but the revelation of it struck deep.

' 'There is nothing in this world that can be gained without a price accompanying it' If so, then what was the price of me reincarnating as Wyle von Miradet?