My Cell Prison - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Chapter 36 – Young Knight

Translator: Exodus Tales

Editor: Exodus Tales

Fergus Barton was somewhat skeptical of the ‘self-taught genius’ experience that Han Dong had told him about.

The Han Dong right now had already allocated his Fate points toward ‘Mysticism’ after clearing the Space of Destiny, so there was no way to find out if he was truly a self-taught genius. He would have to wait for the other investigator to summarize the information gathered.

That’s right. This was a regulation set by the Holy City’s council.

The Knight Regiments were viewed as humanity’s hope. Aside from acknowledging a potential Trainee Knight’s talent and capabilities, a thorough investigation into their background was needed before admitting anyone into the National Royal Knights’ Academy for further studies and training, putting an end to all possibility that they might end up harming the very foundations of the Holy City.

Fergus Barton had been instructed by his higher ups to be Nicholas Valen’s ‘watchdog’, requiring the cavalier to use these three days before Nicholas entered the Academy to check on his background so as to verify and see if this returnee would become a potential danger.

Fergus was merely handling it in accordance with official procedure.

“Yes… If that is truly the case, your frailty ended up becoming a key reason why you delved into Mysticism. Not bad. I look forward to your performance in the future.”

“Sir Fergus, I have a few questions.”

Han Dong seized this unique opportunity to ask some in-depth questions to a high ranking Knight.

Han Dong still had plenty of doubts when it came to the Space of Destiny and the specialization classes. At the same time, he was hoping that he could use these questions to shift the topic at hand so as to avoid allowing Fergus from asking even more in-depth questions.

“Go ahead.”

“The Destiny System had said that a participant needed to allocate a minimum of 5 Fate points to the main specialization class before it would completely open up a talent tree… Is it possible to devote points to other specialization classes?”

“It’s possible, but not recommended… You’ll understand once you gain access to your talent tree. That will be when you realize that there’s simply not enough Fate points to do so, and with how the difficulty of earning these points would increase after, it would not only be the trial of the Space of Destiny that you would need to clear, but further requirements must be met to do so, leaving no extra Fate points for you to cultivate other classes. Furthermore, there are plenty of branches in the talent tree, and that is more than enough to fulfill your pursuit of all sorts of power you might seek. Just take the specialization you have chosen, ‘Mysticism’; it has branches that focus on the physical, spiritual, or even curse spells and so on.”

“I understand.”

The Space of Destiny had also suggested for Han Dong to choose a main specialization class, and not to be sidetracked. By the looks of things now, that was indeed good advice if a large number of Fate points would be needed and the difficulty of obtaining these points increased once the talent tree opened up.

Han Dong continued to ask, “I’ve only gotten a general understanding of Mysticism from some of the discarded books that I’ve read… Though I’ve currently put my point toward ‘Mysticism’, I’m not too clear about the relevant power it possesses. Would I be able to learn that through the external books in the Academy?”

“You can. The allocation of Fate points only allows us to get a start into the relevant paths, how we go down from there would still depend on your individual hard work… The Academy would recommend you to learn the most appropriate skill in accordance with your specialization as well as your area of expertise. There would even be a corresponding Knight instructor that would come and guide you. I heard that the Knight instructor for Mysticism is very weird, so mentally prepare yourself for that.”

“I see! Thank you, Sir Fergus.”

Fergus drank a large gulp of his ale before speaking seriously, “In short, be prepared! The next Destiny event will have you entering with fellow trainee Knights, and the difficulty would also increase accordingly… There’s no need for me to elaborate on these things though, as the Academy would most definitely have someone go into greater detail. I hope you will be able to develop a Knight’s heart and join our regiment. Fight for all those pioneers that have died before; Wage war for humanity, fight for freedom!”

The conversation then moved into small talk regarding Commoners’ Districts. 

After eating and drinking his fill, Fergus prepared to leave with his black warhorse because of prior engagements that he had with his Knight regiment.

Perhaps it was because he was also of commoner origin like Han Dong, or perhaps it was that he had too much to drink, but the man who usually had very few words was a lot more unburdened with his words today.

Before getting on his horse, he placed his palm on Han Dong’s shoulder, “Remember… No matter what specialization you choose, your constitution is the most important. It’s going to be difficult for you to participate in the physical training at the Academy with that body of yours, so you’ll need to find a way to solve that.”

With that last advice the cavalier offered, Han Dong watched as steam gushed out and the horse reared, galloping away.

Han Dong heaved a deep sigh before muttering, “That was close… It’s a good thing I’ve made preparations beforehand. Otherwise, the matter with my Faceless Ones’ head might well have been revealed.”

Only when he saw Fergus Barton leave from his view was Han Dong fully put at ease.

In the time they had their chat in the tavern, Han Dong had been very careful with every word he uttered… He was well aware that Fergus was here to investigate him.

“The humans in this world constantly struggle on the brink of life and death. All it takes is a momentary lapse of attention and they might find themselves extinct. A knighthood like what they have is very much the foundation of their nation and relates to mankind’s continued survival. They have to be certain of the origins of every new recruit. Yesterday’s interview was only to prove if I have the potential and whether I’m worth nurturing. As for the three days of rest I get before entering the Academy proper… A rest period would naturally cause us to drop our guard and using these few days to investigate the trainees, I could very well find myself secretly taken care of if they discovered that there was anything wrong with me. This nation that I’m in might be a lot more cautious and meticulous than I imagined. After all, this isn’t a time of peace, but the end times… I ought to be careful.”

——————————-

In a certain Knight Hall, Fergus Barton offered his view after giving his report when he made contact with Nicholas, as well as the information that he had gathered, “… This is more or less the general overview. I have a neutral stance toward this Nicholas Valen.”

The other investigator stepped up after, presenting documents that detailed the result of his investigation when he had secretly sneaked into Han Dong’s living space. There were plenty of old, disused books and tomes pertaining to ‘Mysticism’ which verified what Han Dong had said… Han Dong had a unique gift toward ‘Mysticism’ and was a self-taught genius.

The group of elders in the hall began their discussion with all the information that was gathered. Once they were done, they sealed their stamp onto a ‘Trainee Knight’ file.

“Okay… Then he is cleared. This Nicholas Valen should be considered as a talented disciple of Mysticism, who will surely gain great attainment in Mysticism in the future. He should be able to contribute to the Knights Regiment, so we should officially accept him into the Academy. As long as we can confirm he is of upstanding character, we’ll be able to provide him with the best environment to grow! After all, the death rate for Mystics is the highest among the five specialization classes, so we are in an urgent need for talent in that field. Because we lacked anyone that specialized in Mysticism the last time that our exploration team ventured out of the city, we ended up suffering heavy casualties and hardly managing to get far in terms of what we surveyed. It really illustrated the importance of having Mystics.”

From here onward, Han Dong had officially become a trainee Knight.

———————————————————

“Time to go home.”

The Hammer and Fire Tavern bordered the two districts. 

Han Dong decided to walk back to Samuel District.

He first had to pass by a cemetery as he got near to the border.

Not too far away from the cemetery, Han Dong spotted a two-storey Victorian Era villa that was surrounded by a crowd, as well as several security officers with ghastly expressions.

The security officers had already cordoned off the crowd, ensuring that the civilians were at least five meters away from the building.

Out of curiosity, Han Dong joined the crowd, and what he saw through the gaps of the crowd made him fairly uncomfortable.

A fairly mutilated body of a woman was hung in front of the entrance of the building.

But for some reason, even the Security Officers did not dare to approach it too easily, as if they were waiting for special case handlers to arrive.

That was when a blond-haired teenager in white light armor squeezed out from the crowd, he looked to be about approximately 20 years of age.

He held out a ‘Trainee Knight’ card that was the same as what Han Dong was given, and those Security Officers gave way to let him pass.

After he examined the mutilation of the woman’s body, the expression on his face became difficult… He turned around and yelled out to the crowd, “Are there any other Trainee Knight out there? If anyone is willing to solve this ‘Ghoul’ case with me, I’m willing to split a minimum of 30% of the reward with you.”