Monarch's Rebirth: Chapter 2

Today is the third day I am spending in this world. Yesterday I had to deal with a lot of paperwork that built up. Felix helped me through most of it, making it much easier than it should be.

Yesterday I slowly figured out the past and what had happened to Artorius before me.

Artorius Dorman was my full name and I was the king of one of the eight kingdoms that are in the continent. I was crowned king about two months ago, in the beginning of the new year.

My father, Theo Dorman, passed away as the new year came around. He was ill throughout winter before succumbing to it just as the new year started.

Slowly falling into despair, not being able to handle the death of his father, Artorius began drinking heavily and disregarding his royal duties. This led the kingdom to be in ruins as most of the money is spent on his drinking habits and fixing any wreckage that comes from his drunken actions.

Luckily I took over Artorius' body and now I can set everything back on track. Word of my sudden change has reached the ears of many in the kingdom and is slowly reaching the high kings as well.

The Aberdeen should become wary of this as well meaning they will slowly pull away, hopefully.

Felix taught me how to create elements and cast them. I got the hang of them quite easily and realised how easy it was to control mana. Though it's due to my body which was trained beforehand to control this mana and store such large amounts.

We moved on to sword fighting which is where I was not sure of how to go about it. I knew the basics but never tried it in practice. Felix brought forth a well-built sword. It looked like any other sword; it had more heritage behind it than just being an ordinary sword crafted for the noble.

Warrior's Ballad was its name and it was forged during the second war with the Aberdeen Kingdom for my father. He passed it down to me after I became a novice in sword fighting. It was a well-built sword overall, light and sharp, and even had no extra accessories. It made the sword not stand out but also made it quite practical.

I take it out of the scabbard and take my stance, lowering my torso and holding the sword in front of me.

"I assume you still know the basics?" Spoke to Felix getting in his stance as well.

"Y-yeah, pretty much." I became nervous not knowing what to do.

I was remembering everything that I could from the countless articles I had read about sword fighting and fencing.

"Let's begin our spar then, shall we?" Felix said before launching towards me.

His speed is admirable but it was not enough to get past my eye. I got ready to parry his attack and move away. He swung his blade at me swiftly and with immense power, but it was easy to parry. I parried his sword and moved away. He kept swinging a few times which I dodged easily and also parried.

Felix realised I was trying to tire him out so he stopped. We walked in circles trying to provoke each other to strike. Getting tired of it I decided to lunge at him.

Before I could fully stab through, I feint and pull back. This threw him off but his face was emotionless.

I swung from the top, expecting him to parry. Felix did as I predicted and I slide my sword across his sword, meeting him at his crossguard.

We were stuck in this position. Felix tried to force me to the right. I protested against it and kept us in a standstill.

This is where I saw my opportunity.

I turn my body around and put all my weight onto my sword. As it throws Felix off balance, I twist and pull away from his crossguard before swinging at his hip, stopping only inches away.

FELIX'S POV

He saw the opportunity well. I hadn't realised how open I was till he had beaten me to it. I felt a sense of fatherly pride but also shame, knowing that he beat me in under two minutes.

"Well done, I had no doubt you would beat me but I still gave it my all."

"To be completely honest, I was unsure if I could beat you this spar, glad I still had some skills left over." He spoke with not much confidence.

"It would not matter, let's move onto the crash course then, shall we?"

"As you say."

We start the crash course where Master Artorius would be set to dodge and parry multiple strikes from soldiers and even dodge logs that would fly at him. This would test his abilities in battle sense and defence.

This crash course was made to be past his abilities, even a prodigy would fail. Eight highly trained troops would strike at him and four logs from his back, front and both sides. It was difficult alone with the troops but the logs add an extra sense of difficulty.

I gave the signal to start the crash course and it started with no mercy for him. The logs swung towards him with full force and the soldiers striked one by one.

Yet, he dodges and parries everything so easily. There's not a moment where he is nearly hit by either the logs or the soldiers.

He continued to skillfully dodge the logs and parry away at the soldiers. It was like watching a dancer perform a choreography that they had mastered for years.

"T-this is amazing! Even the most elite cannot keep up with the chaos." Spoke a servant that watched on in awe.

"He isn't breaking a sweat either. I knew he was good but to be this good…" my voice trails off as I watch, completely baffled by the performance.

ARTORIUS' POV

My senses detected every movement around me. I could detect the mana of soldiers who came close. The only issue was the logs but even if they had no rhythm to them I could time the logs right and could tell when they would strike at me.

It had been just past five minutes while doing the crash course. A few soldiers got tired and some got hit. Only three were left and I was also reaching a limit. I made a few mistakes and had a few close calls. But as I was reaching the limit, the logs stopped and Felix halted the soldiers. The crash course was over.

I huffed and gasped for air as sweat dripped down my face. "How was my performance?" I turned to Felix and asked.

"To say it was excellent would be an understatement. It was extraterrestrial." Felix said with a face that showed his surprise.

"That's great! I haven't broken a proper sweat either! Let's move then?" I became excited hearing the compliment from Felix and wanted to work further

"Well let's enter the last training then," Felix says after which he gets a few dummies set up.

This time it was striking practice. I would strike the dummies while also, again, having logs thrown at me to dodge. I would need to parry the logs and dodge them this time, however.

This was easier than the one before. The logs were faster but were easy to dodge and parry. The dummies were easy to strike even if they were small.

"That was simply amazing!" Felix exclaimed. "It was the best performance I had seen in a while!"

I wipe the sweat off my face with a handkerchief. "Can you prepare the bath?"

"Of course. Take a bath while we prepare the meal." Felix leaves saying those words

I followed Felix back to my room and sat on the edge of my bed as he prepared my bath. It also gave me time to think about what to do with the Aberdeen kingdom.

The bath was cold and relaxing. The smell of flowers that was mixed with the water was great. I thought a bit more then got hit with a good plan.

Since they are trying to take over with little military power, I can set up a few outposts to guard the area. That way, they would back off.

I quickly finished the bath and dried off before swiftly putting my clothes on. Beige pants today.

I ran down the hallway and down the stairs to the dining room for lunch. It was already prepared and the smell of freshly cooked bread and stew reached my nostrils and emptied my stomach.

"Do we have anything important today?" I asked Felix, hoping I have something more exciting.

"We do, actually. A meeting with the count's son from the Triveni Kingdom. He is coming to talk about transport between the Rigel Empire and the Luxanor Empire." Felix lets me know.

It instantly excited me. Transport is something that I knew best in this world. Coming from the modern era, I knew this would be my time to shine.

"Well, can I have more information on this?" I asked him curiously.

"It is to find a better and faster way to travel between the empires. Both empires are side by side but reaching a major kingdom is difficult. Using only striders and horses on carriages takes days,"

I place my head on top of my hands, holding my chin up and listening to him. "That's a long summary," I told Felix while staring at the doorway. "Can you give me more information on the son?"

"His name is Alexander Damian, son of Arnold Damian. His father is the count of Caelfall, notorious for its natural beauty and fondness for nature. Alexander is known to be cold and distasteful of most nobles, especially from the human and dark elf races."

Alexander didn't seem like someone who is easy to cooperate with. But, I'm sure I have the perfect way of making him play by my rules and puppet him like a puppeteer.

Felix leans in closer to my ear and began to whisper. "He's quite unpredictable, I must warn you. One minute he's infatuated with your words, the next minute he gives you a cold shoulder."

"May I warn you that I'm a king, not a count?" I turned to him and stared him down.

I leave the dining room to go back to my room to be dressed. It was much more formal this time–a three-piece consisting of a white coat, white vest and black shirt. It wasn't too flashy but the pocket watch was made of gold and the chains linking the buttons were giving off the right amount of flamboyance.

The idea that I wanted to pitch to Alexander was one that revolutionized travelling in my past life. It was a historical landmark for humanity.

The steam locomotive. A vehicle that changed long-distance travel forever.

Felix escorted me downstairs to the foyer. A white carriage drawn by two beautiful stallions awaited with a chauffeur dressed in a similar outfit to Felix.

As the carriage exited the palace walls and entered the city, I noticed the people staring at me were kinder than before. They smiled and waved as the carriage slowly trotted through the mildly busy streets.

The front gates of the city were wide open. We drove past with ease, saying goodbye to the confines of the walls and out into the vast and open fields of the world.

This was the first time I had properly taken in the scene. The sky was turning orange as the sun was beginning to set. There were open plains for miles on end.

On one side, the plains reached the mountains that looked puny from such a distance. But they were snow-capped at their tallest peaks, giving you a hint to how tall and mighty they were.

Animals grazed upon the vast meadows near small farmhouses with a mill that spun at a lazy pace.

Such a sight was one to behold in my past life. Everywhere you looked, it was a concrete jungle. There was nothing like this. It was all high rises made of glass and concrete.

Slowly, my eyes felt heavy as I leaned my head on the glass, staring off into the mountains as I drifted off to sleep

***

I jolted awake after hearing an inaudible shout from someone. I could not tell what was happening or how far we had come. I looked outside to find that we were surrounded by a large group of people.

Felix stood outside with his sword and the chauffeur took his blade out too. I jumped out of the carriage and found we were surrounded.

"Felix! What's wrong!? What's happening?" I shouted while frantically looking around the surrounding.

Felix falls into stance and looks around. "We're surrounded by a group of bandits. Let me deal with them,"

I pushed him aside and stood in front. "Fall back, Felix," I whispered while eyeing down the bandits. "Let me deal with them."

"I cannot risk the consequences. Please stay in the carriage."

"This is an order. Give me the sword and I will deal with it."

Felix sighs and reluctantly agrees. I took his sword which was similar to Warrior's Ballad in weight and length. Felix goes back to the chauffeur and spectates

I cleared my throat and puffed my chest out. "As the king, I'll keep mercy and give you one chance. Leave or face the consequences,"

The chief, a burly man came out of the crowd. A brown beard covered his face as he held an axe, about the same size as a normal human being, on his shoulder.

"Well, if it isn't the king himself," The man snickered. "Out for a drink, are ya? Not enough in your ruined kingdom of yours?"

The surrounding bandits began to crackle and laugh at his mocking words. I stood my ground, emotionless as Felix tries his best not to let his rage out.

"Leave, now," I muttered loudly.

"What if we don't comply?"

"You will face the consequences."

"I'd like to see those consequences."

The Bandits charge towards me as if jumping headfirst into a bloodbath. I hold my ground as Felix sets up a shield barrier using a magic tool

There was no reason to hold back. They picked their options.

I stamp my feet on the ground and erect a wall made of earth before using wind magic to fly above the wall.

Some tried to climb the wall while others hacked away at it, hoping it would break. There's no chance such weak bandits would be able to break through.

Archers and mages tried to shoot me out of the sky but my control mid-air was too much for them. This body is amazing!

I saw the chaos below and started to shoot wind blades. I used the sword as a tool to shoot elements. It worked like a charm and the bandits fell in large numbers.

But flying has a massive downside. It uses a lot of mana. Even with such an advanced mana core, I cannot stay in the air for too long. I can already feel the lack of mana making me tunnel vision.

The bandits realised their mistake. I was not one they could take on, even if they brought the whole squad in.

I let the earth walls down and and came down to land. As I watched dozens of archers and mage flee, I thought of letting them go. But that would be too kind of me.

I dash towards them and kill the fleeing bandits that were left. Archers ditched their bows and ran for their lives. I shot wind blades to cut them all off till only the chief was left.

The chief tripped on a dead body and fell to the ground. I walked towards him with my sword drawn and covered in blood. I had the intent to teach him a lesson before he meets the gods.

"P-please! Leave me! Spare my life but let me rot in prison!" The chief pleaded as tears rolled down his face.

"How shameful," I scoffed at his disloyalty. "The chief wants to live when his group dies?"

"I'm sorry! Just let me rot in prison! Please!"

"Mercy will be at God's hands, not mine. Meet him personally and beg."

"No! P-"

Before he could beg any longer, I sliced his head off. Blood gushed out of his neck as his head rolled away from the rest of his body which fell limp.

"Y-young master! I'm glad you're safe!" Felix came running to me as the fight was finished. "A guard had taken notice of the situation. This should be cleaned up soon."

I hand him the sword before walking away. "Are we sure this won't cause any misunderstanding?"

"It shouldn't. Let's be on our way as it's becoming late.

"Where is the chauffeur?"

"He has a weak heart when it comes to blood. He is behind the carriage."

"Well, let's move now. The sun seems to be going down."

"As you say, Master."

The chauffeur, dressed in black, came back from around the carriage and sat back on top of his seat. Felix sat alongside him as I hopped back on.

We slowly drove past the bloodbath and left it behind us. The lack of mana exhausted me and made my eyes feel much heavier than before.

***

I was woken from my nap when we arrived at the meeting house. The meeting house was quite far from the kingdom and served as a shelter for any evacuation but mainly a meeting house for kings and emperors.

This system seems quite flawed.

Alexander must've already arrived. I saw a carriage similar to mine, though less grand and smaller in size.

As we walked in, guards protected by armour from head to toe bowed down as we passed through the hallway.

A man dressed in all black, like all the butlers, approached us and bowed before me.

"Young Master Artorius. It is a pleasure to be in your presence," He said as he bowed down. "Please, follow me to the meeting room."

I gave him a gentle bow. "Good evening, I suppose Alexander has already arrived?"

"He has been waiting for some time now. We must go through a few security checks. Follow me."

We followed the man through security checks. Full body checks, mana scans and artifact scans.

We walked through a series of hallways where the ceiling reached the sky before stopping in front of a behemoth of a door. Two guards stood parallel to each other and bowed before opening the doors.

A lavish and rich room, exuberating royalty and beauty lay before my eyes. At the back wall of the room, a grand fireplace stays unlit. Right in front of the fireplace, two armchairs and a coffee table were placed with tea.

For the first time I had seen an elf in my life. Golden blonde hair, tall and skinny. He perfectly fits the depiction of an elf.

"Greetings. Apologies for my delay, I was attacked by a large mob of bandits." I told Alexander, hoping to be excused.

Alexander stood up and bowed. "Greetings, your majesty. Let's get the meeting started."

I already detected his arrogance and pride. He oozed off it. His lack of expression and emotions in his voice perfectly lined up with all that I had heard of him.

"Tea? Master Artorius?" A butler came up from behind and asked.

I gave him a smile and nodded. "I'll be glad!"

Alexander wasted no time and began asking me questions. "You must've had a plan in your mind, right?"

A devilish smirk comes out of my face. "Of course I have!" I said with full confidence. "I'm sure you will love this idea as well!"

The butler pours me a cup of tea as Alexander stared at me with blank eyes. It would only be a matter of time till I break the ice and have him under my spell.