CHAPTER 10 (PART 1): THE NEXT TARGET

On the snowy ground beneath the tree house, Arth was hitting the tree trunk with frozen sword, testing out its strength and durability ever since before dawn. Light fog stayed still on the freezing morning air.

After giving another strike, the ice sword broke, shattering into pieces like window glass.

Arth muttered a curse, scratching his head in frustration. Then he closed his eyes and cast another ice sword, trying to create a stronger material.

As the weapon materialized, he took a grip on its handle and then struck the tree once again. The coldness of ice had made his hands numb. But that did not stop him, as he was desperate mastering Glacies Materia as soon as possible. The boss had told him that bigger battles were approaching fast, and that he would be playing a significant role in their fight.

A few minutes had passed and Arth took notice of Janshai from a far distance, walking back towards the hideout. The red-eyed young man was on his usual black leather cloak, with his hands on his pockets. Arth began to wonder what Janshai’s weapon looked like, as he had never seen the guy using one.

"You idiot, hitting a mere tree won't do you any good," Janshai said, wearing his cold face. “Are you that stupid? You think your opponent’s just gonna stand there, letting himself get hit all the time?"

Arth’s grip tightened, his eyes looking down on his feet. ‘He's right. If I want to test this weapon, I should use it against any beasts … or anyone here who can move.’

Janshai never bothered to pause from his walk. He climbed up on the circular staircase without speaking any further.

‘How come a nineteen year old like him already knows a lot about fighting?’ Arth thought, his eyes following Janshai.

Arth glanced down at his hands, then nodded. He had to work harder. He had to become stronger for the sake of his village and all the people suffering. And so he decided to head through the depths of the white forest to hunt for beasts. He didn’t bring Blackwinter with him, because he needed to practice what Alice had told him yesterday. However, he wouldn’t want to drain himself this time, for he and Robert would go on traveling to the capital later.

A few moments after, Arth spotted a wild bear ahead, and so he picked up his pace, charging towards the enormous animal. Before the beast could take notice of his presence, Arth already made his jump in the air, both hands gripping on his ice sword.

He drove its point down, plunging through the head of the beast from above, then he let go of his sword and recovered on the ground.

"I guess I made it stronger now," Arth said to himself, staring at his frozen weapon pierced through the bear's head. The enormous body fell, and then died seconds later.

But then, as what he had been expecting, more beasts came, having similar breed with the dead bear. The B-class beasts surrounded him, growling deeply with their intimidating eyes locked unto him.

Arth extended both arms and cast two more ice weapons. Then, he grabbed them both and initiated his attacks. B-class beasts had never been a problem for him at all. So he managed to slit all throats open without getting hit from their claws. Necks had usually been his preferred body target. He believed it was the easiest, quickest way to eliminate his opponents.

It was almost noon when Arth arrived beneath the tree house. That’s where he saw Robert ahead, preparing his horse on the small stables.

"Bro, you're late!" Robert scolded. “Where have you been?”

Arth furrowed his brows. "I came back at noon … as what we’ve agreed."

Robert rolled his eyes. "Get ready, we'll leave in ten minutes," he said while he donned his brown winter cloak. It matched with his dark skin tone perfectly.

Arth hurried back to his small bedroom, changed his clothes, and packed all the things he needed. It would be a long travel towards the capital, so he packed an extra garment just to make sure. After a few minutes, he returned to Robert outside to prepare his mount.

“Hold on, why are you dressed like that?” Robert’s eyebrow rose, surveying Arth’s white long-sleeved winter clothing, with two buttons opened, revealing his chest. It was tucked in to his dark trousers.

“What? Why? This is my usual attire,” Arth replied, puzzled, putting on his outer coat that reached down to his knees.

“Nothing, I guess,” Robert said, rubbing his chin. “Blue really fits you well, bro. But are you just gonna keep your coat open? You’re not feeling any cold at all?”

Arth shrugged. “I’m kinda used to it already. Let’s go?”

After saddling their horses, they began their travel straight to Crown Galacer, located in the far west, miles away from their hideout. Snow had yet to fall, but the howling wind against their faces was a warning.

"So, what's our mission?" Arth asked as they rode through the white forest.

"An observation, bro … on our next target.”

"We're doing an assassination already?"

Robert turned to him, puzzled for a moment, before he burst out laughing. "We'll just observe, brother … Relax, we're not gonna kill anyone today. But after we report everything to the boss, he might just send Janshai to do the killing."

"Janshai? Why him and not us?"

"Because our target is a member of the king’s high council,” Robert answered. “And we’re not stupid enough to forget that those councilors are highly secured, protected by the grand knights. So we should let a professional assassin handle this."

Arth blinked twice before he nodded, a bit disappointed. He thought he would be fighting someone in this mission.

"Isn't that great? We're gonna have so much fun on this task!" Robert said, grinning excitedly. "This is what I've been waiting for long, brother. We're just gonna go around the capital, maybe hit on some girls we see in the streets." Then he winked at Arth.

"You really are a playboy, you know that?" Arth said, shaking his head.

The sun had settled and Arth could already see the kingdom capital rising from the horizon. "Its … its huge!" His eyes widened, looking in amazement as they trotted their way through wide gatehouse. "So this is … Crown Galacer?!"

“Bro, keep it down. You’re embarrassing me,” Robert whispered as he seemed to notice the people watching them.

Stone curtain walls had surrounded the capital, almost two times higher than those in Casterfall City. Looking up at the crenellations, knights in silver armor and helm marched along the walkways, their elegant blue capes flailing with the strong wind.

The whole capital was like a huge mountain with the Crown Citadel at its peak. Its vast land territory had miles in radius, sheltering more than a million of the northern population.

Crown Galacer was divided into three rings. Inside the outer walls was the Lower Ring, where mostly commoners and middle class people had been living. Nobles and high-ranking executives, on the other hand, had stayed in the Upper Ring, a high ground surrounded by the inner walls, having elegant mansions and gardens and parks for the high-class men.

But what had caught Arth's eyes was the magnificent, majestic citadel—built at the heart of the capital. A single tower had stood from the highest roof of the castle, its peak almost touching the clouds in the skies. Arth found himself wondering what could be on the top of that tower, but Robert had kept on distracting him, poking his shoulder to check on the young ladies they saw on the streets.

“Oooh, how about that one, huh? That one’s cute, bro,” Robert whispered to him, his head jerking at the girl who was arranging the flowers outside their store.

“Stop it,” Arth said. “I’m not interested, okay?”

Robert turned his head to him, eyes looking in disbelief. “What do you mean you’re not interested? Oh, I get it now! You already have someone you like, haven’t you?” he said with his eyebrows bouncing up and down.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Arth replied in a monotone.

“That long … white-haired girl…” Robert began tucking an imaginary long hair, “So you like sassy ones, huh? Short but loud … I see now …”

Arth’s eyes widened. “What?!”

“Come on, bro. You don’t have to deny it … it’s just us,” Robert said, wearing his wide annoying smile.

Arth opened his mouth to to speak, but then Robert came pointing at something over his shoulder. “You’re hungry, right? Let’s grab some of my favorites!”

Robert led him to a small stand where different kinds of bread had been displayed; pies, cakes, and toasted, all giving sweet aromas. 

“You’ve got to try their Ube Pie, bro,” Robert told him before he turned around and bought two from the owner.

“Ube Pie?” Arth asked.

“Yes, lad. Y’all know Ube, a special ingredient from Drava, eh? Blends perfectly when used as filling on bread,” the old man said as he took two slices of thick pies with purple layers on the inside.

“I never missed a chance eating this when I am in the capital,” Robert said. He paid the man and then gave Arth the other slice.

“This is good,” Arth said mouthful, nodding after taking a bite, “But aren’t we gonna focus on our mission? That’s why we’re here, right?”

Robert stopped eating, looked around, then he leaned closer. “You’re being too serious, bro. We have to act like normal citizens or else they might get suspicious of us. Trust me. All of these are part of our mission.”

They stopped by in a weaponry shop as Robert wanted to look for the equipment he needed. Arth looked on to different shelves. He might need a small dagger for emergency. He was more than satisfied with the quality of the weapons here in the capital. But then, seeing the prices of the daggers had made him change his mind.

Arth returned the dagger he was holding to its shelf, remembering he had to send to Frostwood Village the money he’d received from his first mission. They would need it to cover the debt they had from paying unbearable taxes to the authorities. Arth had known the problems Chief Gregor was dealing now that he had sent some of his best men to the capital. Their manpower had drastically decreased after that, making their harvest rate slower than ever.

"What's in that high tower, by the way?" Arth asked Robert as they stepped out of the weaponry shop. He pointed at the tower which he had been wondering about earlier. From their view, the top of the tower above the castle was open-aired. The pillars that stood on the edges of the circular structure had supported the cone-shaped roof.

Robert turned his head. "Oh, that tower? It’s where the Power Crystal can be found, bro," he replied. "That crystal was the only thing that protected the Glacia against the demons a long time ago… but now, it’s already dead."

Arth stormed his brows. "Dead? But why?" They started walking down the cobblestone street.

"I'm not sure,” Robert said, rubbing his chin, “But I heard that it is somehow connected with the legendary sword used by the kings of Glacia before."