A commoner possessing a Holy Weapon—if not handled correctly, Leonard could be killed. When it came to matters concerning Classes, Qi, and Holy Weapons, they were of extreme importance and were given the state's full attention.
If a dog were to suddenly speak, how would you feel?
Leonard closely inspected the saber in his hands; it felt light. He could feel something being sucked out of his body and flowing into the blade.
"Saber," Leonard muttered.
Based on the weapon, he was able to guess that he most likely belonged to the Saber Class. Leonard wasn't against being a Saber, but he would have preferred being an Archer. The Saber Class was among the top five best Classes when it came to close combat; just based on that, one could tell how powerful Sabers were.
But there was one problem Leonard faced.
'I'm uneducated.'
Leonard had taught himself a basic education, but there was only so much he could do. Each Class had a set of unique skills. Since royalty were normally the ones who possessed Classes, they were taught privately, and only basic knowledge was shown to the common masses. Leonard was part of those masses; as such, he didn't know what skills to use.
He held the saber gently. He didn't want to cause unnecessary damage due to his ignorance of what the weapon could actually do.
Soon, Leonard felt a tingling sensation. Then, he felt something strange. It felt as if a limb had been severed. It wasn't painful, but it was eerie; just like dust being blown away in the wind, the saber turned into tiny gold particles and faded from sight.
Leonard felt his body return to that of a normal human. He was shocked by the scene of his weapon disappearing, his eyes wide and his mouth half-open.
"What happened?" he said, looking around his room. No matter where he looked, his saber was gone.
"Urgh..." Leonard let out a pained groan. He held his chest tightly. It felt as if something was being burnt there and then shoved back in.
It was extremely painful. Before he knew it, he fell to one knee, then both, then hit his head on the floor. His teeth were clenched; his grip on his chest was white-knuckled. He ripped his clothes open.
Once he did, he spared a glance at his chest. There, he saw a golden circle with a saber in the middle. On top of the circle was a hand which looked like a clenched fist. It was radiating a faint golden light. Golden lines appeared from Leonard's skin and made their way toward the symbol on his chest.
They swarmed like fish. As they arrived at the symbol, they continued to move until they fused with it, feeding it more golden light. This process was slow, but Leonard felt extreme pain every second. It felt like his heart was being burnt at a low simmer.
This pain would normally cause someone to faint, but strangely, Leonard didn't. He remained conscious throughout the whole process.
Only after two minutes did the pain stop. Once it did, Leonard felt a new "limb" on his chest, but when he looked, he saw nothing apart from the symbol—which was now slowly fading until it was no longer visible. The golden lines in his skin were also hidden.
"Huff..." Leonard breathed heavily. He touched his chest, this time properly caressing it with his fingers. Sweat was dripping from his face. After checking his chest, he didn't find any problems.
He was currently on the floor on both knees. He lifted himself up and threw himself onto his bed. He lay there, breathing heavily, thinking of what had just happened. Soon, a term came to mind.
'The Saber's Symbol.'
Each Class had a symbol. Although he hadn't looked at it properly, he could still tell that it was a Saber's Symbol. He had once read about such a thing, however, he had never seen or heard of anyone experiencing such pain.
'Perhaps I should buy more books concerning the Saber Class.'
He lifted his right arm and squinted his eyes. He was trying to see the golden lines he had seen earlier, but no matter how he looked, he couldn't see even one. Yet, he could feel a strange concentration in his chest where his heart was located—right where the Saber's Symbol had appeared.
He could feel something there, but he didn't know what to do with the sensation. He was also hesitant to try anything; after all, he had just experienced immense pain and wasn't willing to go through it again. At least, not now.
'Power of the King.' Leonard was certain this had to do with him suddenly having a Class. However, he didn't know where he had heard the phrase, making it impossible for him to seek out answers.
***
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Leonard heard bells ringing in the distance. Normally, he would be curious, but his chest still throbbed with the ghost of that golden fire. He had his own issues to attend to.
Then, a magically amplified voice boomed through the streets:
"People of Britannia! A year from now, King Arthur will hold a coronation. He shall adopt the middle name 'Von' of the Astria family as a sign of goodwill. His Majesty shall become a counselor to the Astria family, and the name of this state, Britannia, shall be changed to Silverest!"
A heavy silence followed, broken only by the muffled gasps of the crowd before the could rebel they heard the voice add
"Treason will be punished!" the
Leonard's eyes narrowed. Silverest? King Arthur had ruled for twenty years, and the Astrias were his sworn rivals. This wasn't a celebration; it was more like a surrender
When two dog owners fight, do they tell their dogs? No.
Leonard knew that if something important was happening behind the scenes, he wouldn't even hear a whisper regarding the matter. This coronation also posed a problem for Leonard: if a coronation was going to take place, there would most likely be an increase of royalty here. Leonard wasn't sure he could hide his Class from the piercing gazes of the high-born.