Chapter 140

Eugene let out an explosive sigh. He looked at Elena, only to see her staring back neutrally. Nick also made sure his expression was composed. This was a story he really wanted to hear.“So, I have told you I started out as a Knight,” he began, and Nick nodded. That much had been clear from the start. “But I didn’t mention that I never wanted the class in the first place.”

That made Elena twitch, but she held back before she could interrupt.

Seeing that he was free to continue speaking, Eugene leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the ceiling. “My father, Edward Crowley, was a powerful Knight in his own right. He spent most of his youth fighting in the northern mountains against the clans there, and when the war was won and the last of the caves had been cleared, he returned to Floria to settle down.”

Nick was surprised to find that even while going through young Nick’s memories, he could barely find a mention of the man. Here and there, his father would tell them how powerful and respected he had been, but he never gave specifics. Young Nick hadn’t particularly cared about the reason, but it was easy to see that there was some trauma there.

“He never really stopped being Captain Crowley, not when he took over his duty at the wall, nor when he spent time with his family. My mother used to say that being sent away from the family at such a young age and being forced to fight such a bloody war had left him unable to express his feelings, but I always thought he was simply incapable of having them,” Eugene continued. His voice carried a hint of old pain, and Nick knew this wasn’t easy for him. Nonetheless, it was too important to get to the bottom of things if he wanted to advance.

“He wasn’t cruel or callous most of the time; he just never considered that others might think differently from him. Or rather, that the world might not be as black and white as he perceived it. He made sure the temple understood he’d be displeased if I ended up in a class that wasn’t Knight.” The last sentence was delivered without any emotion, making it clear to Nick that this hadn’t been much of a discussion. Edward had dictated the path to his son without so much as a by your leave.

“Now, I had trained with the sword before. I even enjoyed it, knowing I was good at it. But I always saw myself as a more versatile fighter. I liked the idea of adventuring across the Ancient and Just Kingdom of Berea—oh, that was the old name. Nowadays, everyone just calls it Berea, but back then, you could be fined if you didn’t use the official title. The only one with the power to enforce the rule here was my father, but he never cared if it was his own son who made a mistake,” Eugene added, waving his hand toward Nick, though he didn’t look away from the ceiling.

Nick blinked in surprise; he hadn’t known that. Once again, he promised himself he would dedicate some time to studying the history of his new homeland, if only to avoid stumbling over cultural taboos.

“I would have preferred to become a Ranger or even a Fighter. Just not something as limited as a Knight. But a Knight I became, and there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

“Well, you clearly found a way,” Elena commented. Eugene tilted his head to look at her, noting her pursed lips, and he sighed once more.

“I did. As you know, I was sent to Alluria to further my education. Master Xander took me in, as he had been an old comrade of my father, and he began teaching me how to become a swordsman, rather than just a Knight.”

Nick looked down at the journal and then back at his father. “Yes, I’m getting there,” Eugene huffed. “There was an accident in Floria shortly after I began my stint as a squire. A powerful horde of monsters had been sighted migrating south, threatening the town. My father fought them alone, and although he managed to divert their path, he was severely injured.”

Having experienced a stampede, Nick understood how dangerous such events could be. For one man to have taken the whole thing on by himself… “He was a Prestige Class, wasn’t he?”

“He was,” Eugene admitted. “Mother told me he hadn't even sought it. He had just become stronger naturally, and it had happened on its own.” There was old bitterness in his tone, but he continued before Nick could try to reassure him. “Still, for all his strength, he had been laid low. A poisonous monster had gotten to him, and even with all the town’s healers pooling their efforts, they could only save his life. He never fully recovered from that.”

A moment of silence passed, but neither Nick nor his mother broke it, allowing Eugene the time he needed.

“I was recalled through an urgent message. Mother feared he wouldn’t make it, and she wanted me to say goodbye. But when I arrived, I found him already recovering, and he threw me out of the house after a single night, telling me not to return until I’d become a real Knight.”

Based on the surprised look in his mother’s eyes, Nick was certain she had never heard this story—or at least not in such detail before.

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“When I returned to Alluria, I did so knowing that even on his deathbed, my father wouldn’t have respected me. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but there was no way I could ever reach his standard. So I decided to do something drastic.”

Nick nodded, “And that’s when the book comes in.”

Rolling his neck, Eugene propped himself up. “Yes. I found it during my youth, but I knew even then that my father wanted nothing to do with his family’s legacy. So, I hid it among my things, and without realizing it, he threw it at me with the rest of my belongings. It was only when I arrived at Master Xander’s again that I realized I had brought it with me to Alluria.”

Connecting the dots was the simple part he had deduced on his own. The much more complicated part was how Eugene managed to get his hands on the necessary ingredients. A cursory examination of the book had revealed that it would take much more than a trinket or two. He must have acquired a truly powerful artifact for it to be counted by the system as proof of a god’s intention.

Since the mystery would soon be solved, Nick put his speculations aside.

“My initial idea was to change classes entirely. Back then, I wanted nothing to do with swordsmanship, but the book was quite clear that such a radical change would require magical skills far beyond my capabilities.” Eugene continued, “I actually spent some time wandering through the guilds of Alluria, searching for a sufficiently competent Mage, but they were either too powerful to concern themselves with me and spent most of their time in the Tower or too shady for me to trust them with the book.”

That made sense. Hells knew that Nick wouldn’t have let anyone else get their grubby paws on such a precious tome.

“So I started learning how to perform the class change on my own while I kept looking for a catalyst. It took me months of hard work to finally create a circle I was confident was identical to Aleister’s and even longer to find what I was seeking. It turned out that one of the local nobles was holding a gallery to showcase a Fire Drake heart.” Nick blinked in surprise, as did Elena. Fire Drakes weren’t native to the western frontier and, in fact, weren’t found anywhere within Berea. The beast was equal to a wyvern in power, which meant it achieved Prestige in adulthood. For a noble all the way in Alluria to have acquired it…

“Yes, I can see on your face that you find it hard to believe.” Eugene smiled, glancing at Nick for the first time since he began speaking. “You are wiser than I was. A minor noble wouldn’t have the funds to purchase something like that, not without putting his estate in debt. I never discovered how he convinced them, but he actually obtained the heart from the temple of Ulter, the god of the seas. I’m fairly certain it was a power move to show off in Sashara’s region of influence, but I never received confirmation.”

“How did you steal it?” Elena finally asked. She appeared calmer now, almost pensive, as if some pieces had finally fallen into place.

Eugene grimaced, bowing his head. “I’m not particularly proud of myself, but I seduced the noble’s daughter by playing the rogue, stealing her into the night a few times for adventures. She showed me the heart away from the guards to repay me, and I took it once she disabled the protections.”

A guffaw escaped Nick’s lips before he could stop it. Elena shot blistering looks at both him and Eugene, but Nick couldn’t help himself.

It took a while for the situation to calm down, but eventually it did. “I’m not pleased to learn of it. Certainly not in this manner,” Elena growled, and Eugene’s shoulders slumped. “But—”she continued, “I appreciate you opening up about this. I can see it wasn’t easy for you. I hope you can feel comfortable telling me anything from now on.”

Eugene hurried to agree, and Nick couldn't help but admire how his mother managed the entire situation. It was somewhat manipulative to use her husband’s guilt to make him promise never to hide anything, but he would have felt equally frustrated to have such a crucial part of his life kept secret. In this way, she demonstrated her ability to forgive him while also setting a clear boundary.

“I think I can connect the dots from here on,” Nick finally said, bringing the conversation back to its original subject. “You used the heart as a catalyst, changed your class to Flame Swordsman, and went from there. But there's one thing I’m curious about. Marthas told me that he also changed his class when he was young, but he made it sound like he had to start over from the beginning.”

Eugene blinked in surprise before shaking his head. “Nothing like that happened to me. I had been a level twenty Knight before I made the change and became a level twenty Flame Swordsman afterward.”

Furiously reviewing every detail, Nick tried to formulate a theory for the discrepancy. It was possible that he had misunderstood Marthas’ words, but he didn’t believe that was the case. Especially because it made no sense! How would experience in one class translate into experience in another…

“Aha! You didn’t lose levels because you had actually been walking the Flame Swordsman’s path all along! Yes, your class was Knight, but you probably only trained in traditional skills when necessary. Most of your time was spent doing things that didn’t yield much experience, but if you had a different class, those actions would have earned you levels. This likely means that the System only cares about actions and assigns experience points based on how significant such an action is for your class,” Nick rambled, feeling on the cusp of a breakthrough.

He stood up, pacing around the room and gesticulating. “Some of your experiences were valuable as both a Knight and a Flame Swordsman, such as training with your father and mentor. That would explain most of it. But the rest… You probably did things that would be regarded as universally valuable to classes that manipulate fire.”

Turning to look at his father, he found him furrowing his brow, deep in thought. Surprisingly, though, the answer came from a different source.

“Fire-based classes are known for their powerful tempers. They tend to erupt in anger quite easily. You spent much of your childhood grappling with feelings of anger at being ignored by your father. Could that serve as meditation training?” Elena asked, and Nick turned it over in his mind.

“That would likely work, but it wouldn’t explain everything… But then again, maybe it doesn’t need to. Dad, you used a Fire Drake heart. That’s a Prestige-tier object. Something that powerful could probably compensate for the lack of attunement.”

Eugene nodded, scratching his chin. “That sounds about right. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t I have more than enough experience as a swordsman? If my fire magic primarily comes from emotions and an object, I should lean more towards the side I've spent years training.”

“Ah, but you didn’t, did you? You maintained your skills, I’m sure, and probably even advanced in some of them, but that’s mostly due to your increased physical power. You probably put ten times the effort into developing your fire affinity. I’ve personally seen it grow in the last few months! When was the last time you spent time developing your sword skills instead of practicing what you already knew?” Nick asked, and the wide-eyed look his father gave him was answer enough.

“Hey, don’t look so down. That just means we've found a way for you to advance. You face the opposite problem of many martial classes, I imagine. From what I know, people usually have too many skills they've left behind. You just need to expand your repertoire and get them up to speed with your fire skills, and you will bridge the gap!” He concluded, and the responding grin told him he could expect to see results soon.