He saved us. Changed our fate. We’d have lost the war, with mankind being put under the oppressive thumb of the elves, had he not been summoned. The Champion led us to victory. To freedom. To power. To knowledge. He revealed to us our innate potential. Our own strengths.

  The elves have their longevity and powerful connection to Ether. The dwarves have their vitality, connection to all things related to the earth, and innate, nigh unrivaled talent for craftsmanship. The Giants have their superhuman strength, even without Ether, and inexhaustible endurance. The Therianthropes their bestial strengths and instincts combined with human level intellect and sapience. Maker only knows what the Primals possess.

  However, us? The Champion showed us that, we too, possess a racial strength. One that arguably surpasses all the others. Mankind possesses unrivaled adaptability, and an infinite potential for evolution. Harnessing that, we need no longer fear the other races.

  -Excerpt from “The Champion’s Impact on Man”

  Galen ran through halls of the castle, huffing and puffing as he sprinted by. He had no destination in mind. He simply ran.

  He didn’t know how long he’d been running by the time he needed to stop and catch his breath. He put a hand to the wall as he gasped for air.

  His mind raced as quickly as the heart hammering in his chest.

  That was too close…

  He’d nearly done something that would have gotten him stuck in Avani for the rest of his life. It had been so, so tempting to sleep with Callista. Even now he felt the echoes of the passions that had raged within him. He smothered them as he walked to cool his head.

  His cheeks burned not just with the exertion from running. That had been the first time any girl had come onto him so strongly.

  Part of him hoped he wouldn’t see Callista again considering he literally fled from her. Talking with her after that would be mortifying.

  As he walked, he noticed that the hallways were empty. The only sounds were his footsteps echoing off the walls. He realized that it was because most of the servants were busy tending to the feast.

  Hold on now…

  Galen paused in the middle of the hall as he came to another realization. Smiling mischievously, he altered directions and began to head to his room.

  With that feast going on, that means that everyone will be occupied, he looked out a nearby window, and gazed into Ignis, so the odds of someone stopping me from exploring on my own are as low as they’ll ever be.

  His smile widened into a full on grin. An unexpected blessing following the most embarrassing moment of his life had fallen right onto his lap.

  Time to see for myself what the Dominion is like.

  ***

  Galen nearly jumped when Redian suddenly spoke in his mind, “You sure about this, boss?”

  He’d been in the middle of changing in his room when the Sentient Weapon suddenly spoken in his mind.

  Startled, he tripped over the pants he’d been putting on and fell to the floor, “OW! Redian, seriously? You choose now to speak up?! You’ve been awfully quiet since I entered the feast earlier...”

  “Yeah… not gonna lie, I’m not a big fan of political gatherings,” the sword sighed in his mind, “you humans are something else. Particularly when it comes to politics. You pretend to like each other and play nice to each other’s faces, yet behind their backs you try to sabotage and ruin each other. All so you all can kiss up to your superiors. Which is what they were doing with you, by the way.”

  Galen frowned, What? Kissing up to me?

  “Duh,” Redian answered, “keep in mind that you are the new Champion. You’ve been here for what, over four months? Despite all that time, I can see that you still don’t quite grasp just how monumental of a role that is. You’re going to have a lot of power, both as an Etherean and politically, as you grow into your position. And as is common with man, there will be those who will seek to use you to broaden their own influence. It’ll be up to you to make sure that such dealings are mutually beneficial.”

  That’s… actually pretty sound advice, Redian…

  The Sentient Weapon’s words also reminded Galen of something Athanasius had told him, “...you will be in a prestigious position in my Dominion. If you can realize your full potential, you may just become my right hand man. You’ll be the new Champion of the Dominion. Second only to myself!”

  It was only now that Galen began to understand just what those words had meant.

  Redian continued in his mind, “Damn right that’s good advice! That’s part of my job. To give you advice and guide you as my Wielder. So I ask again, are you sure about sneaking into Ignis on your own?”

  Galen paused to think before giving an answer, Yes, I am. Every time I want to look into something on my own, I’m all but forced to go with guards and a guide appointed by the Dominion. They’re hiding things from me. That much is obvious. If I’m going to be working with these people for the foreseeable future, I need to make sure they aren’t hiding anything bad from me.

  “And what would you consider bad?” Redian asked.

  I… I don’t know exactly.

  He then eyed the sword that was placed leaning against the wall, By the way, when Callista… you know…

  “When she tried and nearly succeeded in seducing you?”

  Galen flushed down to his ears, Yes! That!

  He took a deep breath, and finished his thought, I just wanted to say thanks.

  Redian was silent for a moment before asking, seemingly confused, “Uh, what for?”

  Galen frowned, You know… for snapping me out of it before things… escalated. I had a strong feeling that warned me against going through with it. I’m guessing that was you?

  “Uh… I didn’t do anything, boss.”

  He froze, What? You didn’t?

  “Nope!” the sword still gave off feelings of confusion, “I personally didn’t see anything wrong with it? I mean, don’t you humans enjoy mating, even outside of the purpose of reproduction?”

  Galen flushed, I mean… yeah but… it would have been bad if I’d gotten Callista pregnant!

  “It would?” Redian now seemed even more confused.

  YES! You should only do that sort of stuff with someone you’re married to! With someone you love and care about.

  “Well that’s weird,” the sword mused, “I’m pretty sure the First Champion had an entire harem of women. Even some concubines on top of that.”

  He WHAT?!

  Privately, he thought, I know Isekai protagonists have a tendency to have harems, but damn! Seems like my predecessor lived up to the stereotype…

  “Yes, he did,” Redian confirmed, his confusion only growing at Galen’s reactions, “boss, why exactly are you so taken aback? I figured you’d eventually have a harem of women yourself.”

  “What?! No! HELL no!” he cried out both aloud and in his mind.

  The Sentient Weapon was silent for several moments before finally giving the impression of a sigh, “Alright, boss. You’re gonna have to explain to me what exactly you have a problem with? Because I’m confused. And I’m not SUPPOSED to get confused.”

  Galen rubbed his face in his hands, Look. I was raised in a monogamous household. With monogamous values. Polygamy wasn’t exactly looked upon favorably in my world, at least, not in the country I was born and raised in. I mean, monogamous values were deteriorating in society before I was summoned here, but they were still prevalent!

  “Aaaah,” Redian cut in, “I see now. Well, no wonder the idea of a harem and concubines disturbs you so!”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Of course it does! He shook his head with disbelief, I mean, raising and taking care of a family is a ton of work. It’s one of the most difficult, albeit rewarding, things one can do. At least, according to my parents. Imagining all that effort, and multiplying it by however many families you’ll be raising in a harem? To that, I say hell no. I’ll be happy to have just one wife, thank you very much!

  “Interesting,” the sword hummed in thought, “well boss, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but monogamy isn’t nearly so cherished in the Dominion. Polygamy isn’t frowned upon here like it was in your world. Especially if it serves Athanasius’s purpose of further evolving mankind.”

  Well that’s just great. So I can expect them to push me towards polygamy then? As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, Galen grumbled.

  “Yeah, sucks to be you. Good thing I’m a sword. I don’t gotta worry about any of that!” Redian chimed happily, “by the way, you asked earlier if I had been the one to snap you out of your heat towards that Callista lady. Well, allow me to reiterate that no, it wasn’t me.”

  Galen blinked. He’d nearly forgotten he’d asked the sword about that. He frowned, Well, if it wasn’t you then…

  Privately, he finished the question, Then who was it?

  The feeling had felt all too much as though something else had been warning him. He’d been so certain he’d heard a whisper in his mind.

  Maybe that was just my own subconscious mind? My own instincts recognizing the danger?

  He wasn’t sure he bought that, but he had no way to know otherwise.

  “Hey, boss?” Redian spoke in his mind.

  Galen, deciding to move on from the topic, responded, Yeah?

  “I should apologize,” the sword said, unusually morose.

  He frowned, Apologize? What for?

  “For not realizing what nearly happened between you and Callista was against your interests. Having thought about it further, I can tell Arawn was right about you. You definitely would’ve felt guilt over your actions and taken responsibility for them. As admirable as that is, you would’ve ended up stuck here as a result. You’ve told me your goal is to make it back to your home, so that would have been rather counterproductive for you. And as your Sentient Weapon, it’s my job to put the well being and goals of my Wielder first and foremost. So for not doing my job, I apologize.”

  Galen raised his brows at that, Apology accepted. I forgive you. You know me rather well considering we’ve hardly known each other for very long.

  “I’m a Sentient Weapon, remember? I’ve got an artificially made mind that’s rather advanced if I do say so. Plus I’ve interacted with lots of humans since my creation. I’d say I’m pretty good at reading people. It also helps that… you know… I’m sorta in your head. Lots of interesting stuff in here, I must say.”

  Hey, you stay out of certain areas!

  Redian laughed in his mind before suddenly becoming serious, “Listen boss, I also gotta say. That Arawn guy? Watch out for him. That guy gives me the heeby geebies. Not sure why, but he does. The only people who’ve done that have been some of the most dangerous humans I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. And also the pleasure of cutting down! Good times…”

  He nodded, ignoring that last part, and thinking to the sword, I’ve had a bad feeling about him too. And Aleksi seems to dislike him. If both of you feel something is off about him, then that’s more than enough reason for me.

  The Sentient Weapon seemed satisfied with that.

  Galen took a deep breath as he finished changing. He’d replaced the flashy outfit given to him by the servants with a less assuming one. Unfortunately, all his clothes were fancy looking to some degree. But given how he only planned to stick to exploring the First Circle of Ignis, he figured he wouldn’t stick out too badly.

  He desperately wanted to check out the other two circles, but he had to be realistic. The only ways that he knew of to exit the inner circle all had checkpoints. Checkpoints that he knew he’d never be allowed to pass on his own.

  No, he had to be discreet as he explored. Hell would be raised if the Champion was caught wandering around the capital city by himself.

  Redian, Galen mentally called to the sword, if you notice anyone, and I do mean ANYONE, in my vicinity. Warn me. I don’t feel like getting caught tonight.

  “Sure thing! But how do you plan to sneak around? As far as I know, you haven’t been taught any stealth.”

  He smirked, Redian my partner in crime, have I ever told you about my grandfather?

  “No? I don’t believe you have. Let me guess, he’s quite the character?”

  Very much so. At least, he used to be. When he was alive, he taught me and trained me to be able to do all sorts of things. I’d explain, but I think you’ll get the idea soon enough.

  “This ought to be good. At the very least, if you get caught, I’ll be entertained by you getting tackled by the guards!”

  ***

  Galen started his escapade by crawling out a window.

  He’d been a few stories up, so he’d grabbed parts of the uneven walls and began to climb down. By now, night had fully set in, so he was camouflaged by the darkness as he descended like a monkey. He’d been called one many times by both Serenity and his few friends back on Earth who had seen his climbing skills in action.

  Being able to climb and descend down many different terrains had been among the many things his grandfather had drilled into him. Galen had been forced to rock climb until the skin had nearly torn off from his hands. By the time his parents had found out and forced Nolan Daxton to tone down his training, he’d gotten good enough to satisfy his strict grandfather’s absurd standards.

  Before he knew it, his feet had reached the ground. He observed his surroundings, though it was hard to make out in the darkness of night.

  Redian? You picking up on anything?

  “Nope! All clear from what I can see.”

  Good.

  Galen made his way around to the nearest staircase and began to climb down towards Ignis. There were only a few guards patrolling the area at the moment. Considering they were on the lookout for anyone trying to break into the feast, he doubted that they were ready for someone trying to break out.

  That made them easy to evade, especially with Redian’s help.

  The gate was, thankfully, wide open. No doubt due to the many visitors coming to and fro from the feast. By now, his face was known to the people of Ignis, and likely the rest of the Dominion. So, he threw up a dark hood over his head and pulled up a scarf. With aid from Redian, he was able to blend into a leaving crowd, none of them the wiser as to who he really was.

  Galen breathed a sigh of relief as he separated from the crowd and made it into Ignis proper.

  “So, boss… now what?” Redian asked.

  Now we explore. This time, I’ll get to see a major city of the Dominion with my own eyes. And not through the lens they want me to see, Galen responded.

  Given the unrelenting heat of Axis Mundi, his clothing wasn’t uncommon. It reminded him of clothing from the Middle East back on Earth. People wore such clothing despite the heat because the fabric absorbed their sweat. That helped to keep them cool. It seemed that the same logic applied to this Realm.

  He began to walk around the city of Ignis, and took in the sights.

  The streets were lit up by lanterns filled with Ether infused materials. They all cast bright lights that reminded Galen of how cities back on Earth would look at night. Few people were out at the moment, but that was to be expected given the time and the feast that was going on. None of the people around gave him any trouble. The few that glanced his way looked at his clothing and seemed to assume he was just another noble out for a stroll.

  As he wandered, he hoped to notice something different now that he was exploring on his own. However, nothing seemed to be off. That in and of itself was both strange and disappointing. He’d been so confident that the Dominion was trying to hide something from him by only ever letting him go with guides and guards.

  Maybe what they’re trying to hide isn’t in this area, but rather the other two Circles… Galen wondered.

  He sat down on a bench to rest before asking his sword, Redian, what do you think?

  “That’s definitely a possibility,” the Sentient Weapon replied.

  Do you have any ideas as to what the Dominion might be hiding? Galen asked.

  “Nope.”

  Seriously? Galen couldn’t believe that, you’re a Sentient Weapon! Surely you can figure something.

  “That’s the thing, boss. I’ve been asleep for a REALLY long time if you recall. For some reason, some of my stored information on the Dominion is kinda fuzzy. And anything I can recall could be severely out of date.”

  “I see…” Galen muttered aloud as he sighed.

  He then frowned, Wait, some of your memories are FUZZY? There’s no way someone like you could have faulty memory. Were you tampered with before I found you in that vault?

  “Oh, most definitely,” Redian confirmed, “but before you freak out about it, my tampering probably had nothing to do with you. The Dominion had no way of knowing which Sentient Weapon you’d pick after all. And I can scarcely recall that we all had some work done on us before being put to sleep and stored in the armory. That’s probably why some of my information is missing.”

  Galen frowned, I don’t get it. Why do something like that to you and your kin?

  Redian seemed to smile in his mind, “Kin? You talk as though I’m a flesh and bone person like you, boss. Not that I mind. In regards to your question, the Dominion probably did it in case anyone managed to break into the armory and steal one of us. This way, they wouldn’t be able to extract any of the Dominion’s secrets from us.”

  Galen could understand that logic, but still, That doesn’t sit right with me…

  Redian seemed surprised, “You really are a strange Wielder, boss.”

  He thought for a moment, pondering on Redian’s lost memory.

  You sure Milton or someone else didn’t do something to you when I handed you off to them? He asked.

  “I don’t think so. I double checked my information once they were done with me. I’ve detected no changes.”

  Ah, well at least there’s that.

  He leaned back on the bench, looking up to the sky. Unfortunately, most of the stars were covered by the strange, swirling orange lights that covered most it. Though some were surprisingly visible.

  It was something he’d come to learn during his time here. The Aurora Borealis of this world seemed to dim as night neared. The lights were still present though, and combined with the light of the moon, which had a lunar cycle like Earth’s, it made night in this world brighter in comparison. The moon’s light strangely could pierce the swirling veil, regardless of where it was in its lunar cycle.

  He sighed aloud as he thought, Well, guess I really will just have to give up for now-

  A loud scream of pain startled him.

  He jerked to his feet, and looked in the direction of the scream.

  Crack!

  A snapping sound came from that direction, and Galen heard another scream. He didn’t hesitate for a moment. He began to sprint in that direction while drawing Redian from its sheath in one smooth motion.

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