Atlas Online: by Nick Venom (best books to read for knowledge txt) 📕

King Peter nodded. “I understand, go and meet with your brother. I’ll wait for your return here.” He shook his head. “If I remember, the Seven Guardians are beings that I should be kneeling to, not the other way.”

May shook her head. “I cannot disrespect you like that. You are the king of this kingdom, there’s no way I could have you kneeling to me. Plus, the other Guardians agreed that we’re in accordance with peace. Having the kings of this world kneeling to us will make us dictators, not Guardians of peace.” 

King Peter smiled. “I understand, I’m only messing with you.” May shook her head, slightly embarrassed. “Okay,” He said as he turned to face Tin. “Rest tonight and you’ll be embarking on the two-month trip to the capital of the Aska Kingdom.” He ordered. Tin nodded as he embraced the siblings.

King Peter glanced at Dize and Emma. “You two will be busy moving forward. There’s a lot of troops waiting for your instructions in the barracks. Get on it.” He told them. Dize and Emma nodded, quickly vacating the premises.

Tin, meanwhile, couldn’t rise, looking up at King Peter. “Thank you… Your Majesty.”

King Peter shook his head. “Thank me when you save this world.”

***

Tin and the siblings were put on the royal carriage and shipped to Aska Kingdom. The long trip on the carriage tired them out, but the constant breaks relieved them.

During the trip, Tin contacted Announcer to pry more information out of him but got no response. Announcer didn’t respond to him the entire trip, leaving him in the darkness, which irritated him. Knowing that there were two skills that even he didn’t know about, and lacking the information necessary to activate them frustrated him further. Within two and a half years, Helina would appear and threaten everybody in the world; Tin would be the only person able to challenge her. 

What do I do? I don’t know how to activate the other sub-skills. Maybe the tournament will activate the skills… but what if they don’t? Tin thought. I need to get stronger before I face here. If I was strong enough, Orville would’ve told me that.

“Sir, we’re here.” The driver remarked. Tin snapped out of his thoughts, noticing that the siblings had fallen asleep, sleeping on his sides. “We’re in the capital.” He said.

Tin nodded. “Thanks.” He said before peering out of the carriage and noticing that he was inside an enclosed area. They were inside royal grounds.

He turned to the siblings, shaking them lightly - enough to wake them up, but not going overboard. The siblings yawned and stared at him with half-opened eyes.

“Where are we, Father?” Arlin asked.

“Are we there, Father?” Siora asked.

Tin patted their heads. “Yes, we’re here.” He motioned for them to follow him. He led them out of the carriage, watching as the butlers that King Peter had sent with them unloaded their bags. 

“Are you Tin?” An elf asked him. Tin turned to face the elf, dressed in black and green clothing. He was a handsome pale-skinned elf with long ears, emerald eyes, and hair that was one shade off the sun’s color. 

He smiled at Tin, his hands intertwined. “My name is Echo, your guide. I’ll be taking you to meet with the Royal Family.”

“Thanks,” Tin said. He watched as Echo motioned to two elves behind him, who helped with the unloading process. They brought the bags into the castle, dropping them off in Tin’s room.

“Okay, driver, take it over there.” Echo, meanwhile, pointed off in the distance. The driver of the carriage nodded, grabbing the reins. He brought the carriage to an area resembling a parking lot. 

“Good. Now, everybody, please follow me.” Echo said as he turned around. He led them through the main entrance, undisrupted by any of the guards. None of them dared to steal a glance of Tin or the siblings. 

Echo continued to lead them through the castle, swerving around several corridors until reaching a large set of doors. The doors were made of normal wood, the frame made of red and gold materials that Tin couldn’t identify.

The gold must be normal gold…. But the red part is what? Crimson Ore? Blood? I wouldn’t be able to tell. He thought, quickly inspecting the doors.

“I am not allowed to go farther than this. On the other side of these doors is the Royal Family. Please mind your manners and kneel upon entering. Anybody rude will be escorted off the premises.” Echo told them.

Tin and the siblings nodded. “Thank you.” He told Echo, who nodded and smiled at him. Echo walked in the opposite direction, away from the doors.

“Is it scary inside?” Siora asked.

“It can’t be, right?” Arlin asked.

Tin shook his head. “It won’t be. I’m here with you. Now let’s go in before we make them wait too long.” The siblings nodded. Tin nodded back as he turned to face the door. He pushed both doors open.

TBC…

“Welcome, Tin, from the Lightstar Kingdom.” The Elven King remarked, sitting on his throne. He was dressed in the elven royal colors of blue and green. The Elven King, a handsome tanned-skinned elf, had blood-red hair and lime green eyes. 

“I am Tier, the king of the Aska Kingdom. I welcome you here.”

Tin and the siblings kneeled in front of the king, some distance from him. “Thank you, your majesty.” Tin said.

“Raise your heads,” Tier said. Tin picked his head up and stared at the king, stealing glances at the other members of the Royal Family. The Queen was a blonde pale-skinned elf with emerald green eyes, blending in with the majority of the elven population. The king’s features, meanwhile, were in the minority of the population.

“Do you mind if I ask about the elven siblings at your sides? I can tell they’re not blood-related to you. What is your relationship with them?” Tier asked.

“My children, your majesty. As you said, they’re not related to me by blood. I found them in a goblin cave and saved them. I adopted them.” Tin explained.

“Hmmm… I see.” Tier stroked his chin. “Anyways, I heard word of why you came here. You wanted to join the Atlas High Tournament, right?”

Tin nodded. “I do, your majesty.”

Tier stood up from his throne. “I was also told by the messenger that you are the ‘true savior’ who will prevent the world’s demise. However, you could color me skeptical of that remark. What strengths do you have to qualify as our savior?”

“I was informed by the God overlooking this world, named Orville. He told me that I would save the world. But I wouldn’t say I’m strong enough to do it right now. That’s why King Peter sent me here - to get stronger through the tournament.”

Tier nodded his head, approaching Tin. “I see…. What about your weapon? Is it a holy sword?”

Tin glanced at Ashbringer, scratching his head figuratively. “It isn’t, your majesty. Still, it’s one of the most powerful swords in existence, but it’s not a holy sword. 

Tier nodded, turning around. He turned to face his family. “You wouldn’t mind if I tested your abilities? To confirm whether or not you deserve all of this special treatment?” The Queen glanced at Tier, shaking her head. He mouthed, it’ll be okay to her. 

“I wouldn’t mind, your majesty. Who will I be fighting and where?” He asked. Siora tugged on his shirt, saddened. 

“Will you be fine?” She whispered.

Tin smiled, patting her head. “I’ll be fine.” He turned back to face the Royal Family, noticing that he was being given weird stares by Tier and his family---consisting of his wife, two sons, and three daughters. They were all staring at him, some appearing to be surprised or confused. 

“Well-” Tier coughed into his fist. “-let’s begin the test now. Your opponent will be me.” He glanced at a guard positioned at the door. He beckoned the guard forward, taking the guard’s sword. “I want to see how you’ll do against me. I’m not the most renowned for my swordsmen skills as I am for my magic, but I know some small tricks.”

“You want me to fight you, your majesty?” Tin asked.

Tier nodded. “On your feet, show me what our ‘savior’ can do.” 

Tin nodded. “Please move as far away as you can.” He told the siblings. They nodded, shuffling away from him and towards the door. Tier noticed them, motioning for them to go behind the Royal Family. “Your majesty?” Tin asked, tilting his head.

“There’s a barrier cast on my family. If your family stands behind them, then they’ll be safe” Tier said before gripping the iron sword in his hands, pointing the tip towards Tin, who followed suit. 

With weapons drawn and both sides ready, Tier charged first, striking almost instantly. Tin reacted by slashing the wind in front of him, throwing a wave of fire. Tier stopped his charge on a dime, jumping out of the flame’s path.

“I see what you mean by it being one of the most powerful weapons in the world. A weapon that emits a wave of fire? I never heard of a sword like that before. You could easily kill somebody in a duel if they had weak reactions and didn’t know of that ability.” Tier complimented him.

“Thanks,” He muttered, his mind still focused on the duel. He gripped Ashrbringer tightly, prepared to use Fire Slash again as quickly as he needed to. Tier noticed this, grinning. He gripped his sword tightly before rushing in. Tin threw another wave of fire at him before taking several steps backward. He needed to stay out of range, unsure what special talents Tier had. 

Tier closed the distance in fewer seconds than it took Tin to move back. Tier used a skill, known as Light Foot, to close the gap between them. He struck at Tin, able to poke at his ribs. Tin, however, shifted his body to angle his ribs away from Tier. He took several steps backward, but Tier continued closing any gaps that formed between them.

Announcer, is there any way I could defeat him? He asked Announcer via his mind.

~Use One-Shot Kill, duh~ Announcer responded in a smug tone. Tin wasn’t a fan of it.

Damn you, Announcer. I need a non-lethal ability.

~Good luck~ Announcer started. ~I can’t help you with that~

Tin ignored Announcer, focusing on his predicament. He took a step forward, surprising Tier who thought he would continue to retreat. Tin slashed, emitting another wave of fire. Tier dodged the fire but didn’t expect Tin to charge forward. Even so, he held his weapon up, clashing swords and preventing Tin from getting a strike in.

“Impressive, usually my competitors bounce off,” Tier remarked, applying more of his weight onto his sword. Tin was being pushed to the ground, struggling to push him off. Ashbringer, however, had a large difference compared to normal swords. Where iron swords were the most common and crafting them became widespread, it could never hold a candle to Mythical or Holy swords. Ashbringer was a Mythical-ranking sword that was indestructible.

Tier threw all of his weight into his sword, pushing Tin to the ground. Tin desperately held on, hoping that he could muster strength and force Tier to fold. Fortunately, he didn’t have to act at all.