Bab 8: Mission completed
Knowing full well that even a 5th-stage knight can't defeat so many soldiers all at once, he calmly ordered, "Retreat," and the army of Blackthorn hurriedly fled from the battlefield.
Commander Magnus was about to order their troops to pursue when Ethan raised his hand to stop Magnus. " Your Majesty?" bewildered Magnus asked, his expression overtaken with confusion.
''A cornered enemy is not one my kingdom can afford to mess with; retreat to the castle, and let's recuperate first before discussing what to do further," Ethan replied, his eyes lingering on the fading enemy.
A silent breath of relief washed over him, and he wanted to slump down in exhaustion from acting as he did. Beads of sweat formed on his head as he and his men retreated into the castle and the keep.
Unbeknownst to Ethan, Asher, next to Ethan, had a smile on his face as he thought. 'Looks like the cub has started to grow, my old friend, I will protect the little one, rest assured.'
Ethan was busy ordering his troops to clean up the battlefield when the familiar sound echoed once more.
*Ding*
Ethan returned to his chambers after taking a bath and resolving the current warfare issues. He told his generals to rest, and a meeting would be held tomorrow. So he had time to study his memories and the system in detail.
He remembered the system issued a mission and called it out. A transparent screen appeared before him.
==========
* Congrats on successfully completing the quest*
Reward: Celestial life-breathing technique
==========
Ethan looked at the quest and frowned.' I only got a breathing technique for all that effort,' he thought. Well, first things first, let's take a look at the system. 'Status,' he called inwardly.
==========
Status
Name: Ethan Darkwood
Level: Early-stage Trainee
Equipment: None
Breathing Techniques: Celestial Life (part 1)
Money: 136 Gold
==========
Kingdom status
Kingdom Ranking: 6th-Tier
Military Strength: Conditions not met
Conditions not met.
Unable to level up.
==========
<Shop>
<Inventory>
==========
Ethan spent the remainder of the day and night examining the system. 'According to the system, the system is there to help me become the strongest ruler of the strongest kingdom.'
The system gave him a detailed description of every function. The inventory is his personal space where everything and anything could be stored. The shop is where you can buy anything that he could ever imagine, including all sorts of goodies ranging from pen and paper to mighty war beasts, potions, artifacts, and many more. The only problem is that the mall uses gold, but even the cheapest item is a pen for 10 gold coins.
"How the Hell is a pen so expensive!!!" he shouted
"I can barely afford a couple of pens with my money, not to mention the war beasts, which would probably be around thousands of gold." Ethan felt like crying at the system's blackheartedness. With this newfound knowledge but unable to do anything at the moment, Ethan cast his attention back to the breathing techniques.
'This thing better be worth my effort or I could just go and die again,' he thought internally.
Based on his knowledge, most trainees are unable to become stronger warriors due to the lack of breathing techniques because kingdoms, although ranked up by growing stronger military-wise, are unwilling to share their strongest techniques with the rest of the kingdoms, only reserving those for the elite warriors of the kingdom. As such, only low-quality techniques are shared amongst the lower ranks. Thus, there were more trainees than warriors and knights.
Ethan sat cross-legged on his bed, using the techniques, and started practicing, 'T-This, This is amazing.' Ethan was amazed to discover that with every breath he took, his body was growing stronger. ' No wonder, trainees fight so desperately for breath techniques'
<Next Morning>
Without being unaware of time, Ethan practiced the whole night, and he even made a breakthrough in his realm. 'This is nuts!' he thought. 'Show status'
==========
Status
Name: Ethan Darkwood
Level: Mid-stage Trainee
Equipment: None
Breathing Techniques: Celestial Life (part 1)
Money: 136 Gold
==========
Kingdom status
Kingdom Ranking: 6th-Tier
Military Strength: Conditions not met
Conditions not met.
Unable to level up.
==========
<Mall>
<Inventory>
==========
"In one night, I went from an early-stage trainee to a mid-stage trainee. With this pace, it wouldn't even take two weeks before I became a late-stage trainee. I love you, system!" Ethan said, overjoyed at becoming stronger.
"Now, shall we take a look at this body." Ethan started wandering around, searching for a mirror he could use. 'With all that happened yesterday I didn't get the chance to see myself in the mirror.' He thought silently as he walked towards the nearest mirror he saw.
As he looked in the mirror, a young man with fair skin, emerald green eyes, and golden blonde hair stared back at him.' Wow, I didn't think I would be this handsome. How on earth have you not been able to get a wife?'
Ethan was admiring himself in the mirror when a knock on his door startled him. "Come in," he said. As the door swung open, Asher walked in with William at his side. "Your Majesty," they called out.
"It's time, call the commanders. We shall meet in the throne room," Ethan commanded calmly, a soft smile painting his face.
"As you wish, Your Majesty!"
Ethan had called upon his uncle, General Asher, and their family's trusted butler, William. William's lineage had served the Darkwoods for generations. They had a crucial discussion to undertake on the current situation in their kingdom following a grueling war with the Blackthorn kingdom.
<Throne room>
Ethan sat on his throne, listening to reports. Their reports began with the war's aftermath. The battlefield was littered with remnants of the brutal clash, Ethan gave the order that the remaining soldiers would receive compensation for their courageous efforts, and the families of the deceased would be paid tribute.
Ethan ordered William to distribute 5 silver coins to each deceased soldier's family and for the surviving soldiers to get 5 silver coins for their efforts. It must be noted that 30 copper coins are enough for a family of 5 to survive 2 months.
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone