I arrive at the castle with Aldo. When I was crossing the drawbridge, the guards had already opened the gate.
"Good day."
"Good day to you."
The guards greeted me and Aldo. Aldo just gave a nod. We enter the castle and they close the gate.
"Master, are you on good terms with them?" (Aldo)
"I don't even know their names. I think they have gotten used to seeing me."
I could just teleport here but that would bring more trouble. So I just come here through the front gate.
I walk through the corridor searching for Trevor. I eventually found him. He is at the training ground, swinging a wooden sword.
"Yo, Trevor! How are you?"
I ask him as I approach him. He stops swinging his sword and looks at my direction.
"Oh, Clive. Yeah, I am good. It's rare to see you without a woman." (Trevor)
"Do I give off that vibe? I think you have already met Aldo?"
"I don't think we have. But my sister did say that you have taken a disciple. So this is your disciple. My name is Trevor McCarthy. You can say I am his long time friend." (Trevor)
"My name is Aldo Reed. Master Clive has taken me and my sister as his disciple." (Aldo)
Aldo introduces himself. But I hadn't noticed the other knights at the ground.
"We came here to train. I was thinking of a good place to train and this place came to my mind."
"You want to train?" (Trevor)
Why is he so shocked? He is even shouting.
"Don't shout. I am not here to train myself. I am here to train Aldo."
"Oh. You should have said so." (Trevor)
Why is he heaving a sigh of relief? Anyway, I look at Aldo. He is staring curiously at the other knights. They aren't armored today so I can get a look at their physique.
They are fit. Their muscles are well defined so they probably don't skip training. Some of them have skinny legs. They must not train their legs that well.
"Aldo, what kind of weapon do you want to use?"
I think I should get his weapon preference as well. It would help me with his training. I do have the dagger I got from the dungeon.
"I would like a shield as my weapon." (Aldo)
"Hmm…a shield! That would be a bit different and hard to master but I will try. Let me see.."
What kind of shield would be good for him? A ligjt shield is a must. It has to be strong as well. Prevents shock and isn't too brittle. I search through the database.
The best I could find was grade 5 titanium. Well, let's make a shield from that.
What shape should I make the shield? Let's go with a circular shield. It's weight, about a kilogram. Let's go with that.
Aldo is about 140 centimeters so half of his height for diameter would be good.
I craft a shield using that material. Although I created the material using <Spirit> and then gave it a shape using that as well. Well, I take a look at the finished product.
I didn't paint it. So it's still silver colored. But does it channel mana though? I will run a test on it later.
I give it to Aldo.
"How does it feel?"
"It's amazing, master. It feels just like a part of my body. It light as well. What metal is this?" (Aldo)
"It's grade 5 titanium. Don't remember it. Take a swing at me with that thing."
I take an open stance. Aldo is fidgeting but I tell him to do it. He holds the shield with both hand and charges at me. The shield connects with my abdomen and Aldo falls down from the shock.
Well he was just rushing at me with a shield. It's not a proper attack. But still, this has potential.
I take the shield from Aldo.
"Master, why are you so hard? It felt like I ran into a stone pillar." (Aldo)
"Sorry about that. Then let's test more things. Trevor, have a go at it. Let's test its integrity."
Trevor was going to swing his wooden sword at it. But I stop him.
"At least get a regular sword. A wooden sword would just break it half."
"Ahh..makes sense. Anyone, bring me a training sword."
A knight brings a regular sword. Trevor takes his stance. I stand with the shield and wait for his swing.
He swung his sword as hard as he could but the sword broke into many pieces. The shield has no visible damage.
"I have to say, this shield is tough." (Trevor)
"I would test it further. And I would put some enchantments on it as well."
I put away the shield.
"I will give you the shield once it has been perfected. In the mean time, let's focus on your physical training. If you want to use a shield for both offense and defense, you will need considerable amount of physical strength."
This is getting complicated. But I see general Louis coming this way.
"Mr. Belmont, I got a report that you were seen here. So what are you doing today?" (Louis)
"I was here to train my disciple. But I think I should train his physically first. I have a better place in mind for that."
I will take Aldo to earth. Because that place has gymnasium. I hope those are still functional.
I had a little chat with general Louis and Trevor. I asked where Gwen was and he said that she was meditating in her room. So I will leave for now.
I open a portal to earth. This shocked the audience.
"Aldo, let's go. This time, we will go to earth. It has the necessary equipment for your training so it would be easier for you."
I take Aldo's hand and was about to go in but Trevor stopped me.
"Is that a portal?" (Trevor)
"Yeah. I am going to earth."
He didn't believe me so I invited him to come with me.
"General, would you like to come as well?"
"Earth? Is that the star you all are from?" (Louis)
"Yes. And the star that Martin wanted to offer to the gods. It's currently free of any intelligent life form. How about it? It's a hard to come by experience."
General Louis ponders for a moment and prepares himself.
"I would like to visit that world as well. If I have a chance, I should make full use of it." (Louis)
The other knights were wary of me but the general announced that he was going to earth with me and Trevor. His message was to be relayed to the king.
After it was done, we all departed for earth. I haven't been there for a few days as well. I hope the dimensional void is okay. If not, I might be in for a shock.
Captain Jupiter. It’s not foreshadowing. Now let’s add some more unnecessary characters that serve no real purpose other than showing just how much of a cheat Clive is.