Chapter 29—The Royal Commendation.
Chapter 29— The Royal Commendation.
The scent of antiseptic herbs and polished white marble filled the quiet room.
Kaelen slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the soft, warm sunlight filtering through the tall stained-glass windows of the Academy’s Grand Infirmary. His body felt as heavy as lead, every muscle aching with a dull, throbbing resonance. Moving even a single finger felt like dragging a chain through thick, frozen mud.
A floating system notification sat silently at the edge of his vision, its dim blue light pulsing in slow rhythm with his heartbeat:
[MANA RESERVES: 0%]
[MERIDIAN LOCK: RECOVERY IN PROGRESS (02 HOURS 14 MINUTES)]
[PHYSICAL CONDITION: SEVERE FATIGUE / OVERCLOCK BACKLASH]
Beside his bed, Tsubaki sat silently on a low wooden stool, his katana resting flat across his knees, while Lyra adjusted a crystal vial of glowing green healing potion on the nightstand.
Both of them wore clean linen bandages around their arms and shoulders, but they were alive, alert, and safe.
"You’re finally awake," Lyra said, a faint, relieved smile softening her tired expression. She set the potion down and crossed her arms, though her golden eyes burned with a mix of awe and lingering frustration.
"The high healers had to flush three different types of volatile, corrupted mana out of your channels. They said if your Void Core had flared for even half a second longer, your meridians would have shattered permanently into dust."
"I had everything under control," Kaelen rasped, his voice rough and dry like sandpaper.
"Under control?" Lyra huffed, shaking her head as she poured him a silver cup of fresh water. "You swallowed a high-tier blood core explosion with your bare hands, Kaelen!
That isn’t ’control’; that’s complete madness. If Tsubaki hadn’t caught you when your mana hit absolute zero, you would have cracked your skull on the cobblestones."
Tsubaki tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes meeting Kaelen’s. "She isn’t wrong. But it worked. The entire central plaza is still standing, and the citizens in the lower district have no idea how close they came to complete annihilation."
Kaelen took a slow sip of the water Lyra offered, feeling the cool liquid soothe his raw, burning throat. "What happened to Malakor?"
"He’s in the deepest cell of the High Council’s subterranean dungeon," Tsubaki replied calmly. "Guarded by anti-magic arrays and heavy nullification cuffs. Captain Vane personally sealed his core. The corrupt registry you retrieved was presented to the Dean before dawn. Half of the Administration Building is currently being rounded up for interrogation."
Before Kaelen could reply, heavy footsteps echoed outside in the corridor. Captain Vane stepped into the room first, his cloak singing with residual mana, his expression solemn yet relieved.
"Glad to see you breathing, kid," Vane said, nodding toward Kaelen.
"The High Council is in utter chaos right now. Malakor sang like a bird under truth serum. But you three have bigger guests arriving."
Moments later, the heavy oak doors of the infirmary chamber burst open with a resounding impact.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Dozens of elite royal guards clad in shimmering silver-and-gold plate armor poured into the spacious room. Their heavy iron boots clattered against the polished marble floor as they instantly formed a double flank along the walls, their halberds raised in a stern military salute.
Tsubaki immediately stood up, his hand instinctively hovering near the hilt of his weapon, while Lyra straightened her posture, her eyes widening in genuine surprise.
"Make way for His Majesty, King Alden the Fourth!" a herald barked, his voice echoing off the high vaulted ceiling.
An elderly yet towering man stepped into the room. He wore simple, dignified velvet robes over tailored military attire, his piercing grey eyes sweeping across the three young students with genuine authority and warmth. Behind him followed several high-ranking academy directors, all standing rigid with solemn respect.
"At ease, young heroes," King Alden said, his deep, resonant voice filling the quiet chamber. He raised a weathered hand to stop Lyra and Tsubaki from bowing. "There is no need for formal protocol today. Not after what you three accomplished in the Central Plaza while the rest of the capital slept."
The king stepped closer to Kaelen’s bedside. His gaze rested thoughtfully on Kaelen’s pale face and bandaged torso, noting the calm, unblinking determination in the boy’s dark eyes.
"Delegate Malakor’s betrayal could have crippled the entire capital," King Alden continued slowly, his tone darkening as his brow furrowed.
"If that Blood-Core detonator had ignited fifty thousand high-grade mana crystals in such a tight alleyway, thousands of innocent citizens, guards, and academy staff would have perished in the blast radius. You saved countless lives last night, Kaelen. Your actions prevented a catastrophic war within our own walls."
"We simply completed our duty, Your Majesty," Kaelen replied smoothly, keeping his tone calm and respectful despite his completely drained physical state. "Malakor threatened the integrity of the Academy and the lives of my teammates."
"Duty or not, true bravery must be honored," the King declared firmly. He turned to a royal aide, who stepped forward carrying a black velvet cushion holding three radiant, star-shaped medals forged from sun-gold and polished mithril. The insignia of the Royal Crown was intricately engraved at the center, surrounded by microscopic defensive runes.
"By order of the Crown and the High Council, I present you three with the Order of the Silver Guardian—the highest honor bestowed upon those who protect the Realm from catastrophic threats."
King Alden personally stepped forward, pinning the gleaming medal onto Lyra’s uniform, then onto Tsubaki’s lapel, before gently placing Kaelen’s medal on the small wooden table right beside his bed.
"Wear them with pride," the king smiled warmly. "However, as you know, peace in the capital is fragile. Malakor was merely a symptom of a deeper shadow lurking within our borders. The High Council requires strong, unyielding mages for the trials ahead."
King Alden leaned slightly forward, looking directly into Kaelen’s eyes with a sharp, knowing glint.
"The Academy Selection Tournament begins in three days," the King said, his voice dropping to a serious, commanding tone.
"The eyes of the entire kingdom—and our foreign enemies—will be upon you three. The nobles are already questioning how an E-Rank student managed to foil a high-level conspiracy. Prove to the realm that last night was not a fluke. I shall be watching your matches personally from the Royal Box."
With a final nod of respect, King Alden turned and exited the room, his silver guards falling into formation behind him as the heavy oak doors clicked shut.
Silence returned to the infirmary, leaving the three youths alone with the shimmering gold medals resting under the morning sun.
"The Selection Tournament..." Lyra murmured, touching the cool mithril surface of her new medal.
"The entire elite student body will be targeting us now. Winning this medal puts a massive target on our backs."
"Let them try," Tsubaki said softly, sitting back down on his stool. "We survived an A-rank ambush. A student tournament changes nothing."
Kaelen didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he focused his mind inward, finally opening the backlog of system notifications that had been stacking up since the end of the battle.
[SYSTEM INTERFACE OPENED]
[QUEST COMPLETED: THE CORRUPT DELEGATE]
[TOTAL EXP GAINED: +150,000]
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL 12 -> LEVEL 15]
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 15]
[UNLOCKED TITLE: VOID ARCHITECT]
[- EFFECT: INCREASES VOID SKILL COMPRESSION BY 20%]
[- EFFECT: REDUCES BACKLASH DAMAGE FROM MANA OVERLOAD BY 15%]
[SPECIAL REWARD OBTAINED: HIGH COUNCIL VAULT PASS (KEYCARD)]
[- DESCRIPTION: A HIGH-CLEARANCE MAGICAL KEYCARD USED TO ACCESS THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE CAPITAL’S CENTRAL VAULT. CONTAINS CLEARANCE FOR ANCIENT ARTIFACT STORAGE ROOM B-4.]
Kaelen’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read the description of the Vault Pass. Ancient Artifact Storage Room B-4 was where the High Council kept confiscated relics from old world dungeons. If the red-eyed player was targeting the tournament, that vault was almost certainly his true objective.
Quietly, Kaelen allocated his 15 free stat points, placing 8 into Mana Meridian Endurance to prevent his channels from locking up during future overclocks, and 7 into Perception to increase his system calculation speed.
[STAT ALLOCATION CONFIRMED]
[MANA MERIDIAN ENDURANCE: 24 -> 32]
[PERCEPTION / COMPUTATIONAL CAPACITY: 41 -> 48]
A warm, subtle wave of energy washed through his veins as his stats updated, easing the dull ache in his chest and accelerating the healing process.
[STATUS UPDATED]
[MERIDIAN LOCK TIME REDUCED: 01 HOUR 12 MINUTES REMAINING]
He closed the interface and looked out the window toward the high spires of the Academy arena. The King was right, and so was the Red-Eyed Player. The ambush in the alley was just the prologue. The real game—and the fight for survival—would take place on the tournament stage in three days.
Kaelen reached out, his fingers closing tightly around the cold mithril of the Order of the Silver Guardian.
"Get some rest, both of you," Kaelen said, his eyes glowing with a faint, dark violet ember. "In three days, we show the whole kingdom what we’re truly capable of."