The Dark King

by Steffen Schmidt

  Indeed, it was a small single carriage and only two people could sit inside.

  "All right. Jim you must protect the lade. No slip ups, do you get me?" Middle-aged gentleman hesitated again but agreed and talked to knight who was riding the horse. He had agreed because he could judge from Dudian's voice that his age wasn't that much and speculated that he was son of some wealthy family.

  If the other party was an adult, he would never agree to such a thing.

  Dudian's lips curled up into smile as he saw the middle-aged man agree. The man went back to the broken carriage. He raised the umbrella and opened the compartment. A petite figure came out and followed the middle-aged gentleman back to Dudian's carriage.

  Dudian opened the door of the carriage and saw her appearance clearly. His heart was full of joy as he raised his hand to help her into the carriage.

  Middle-aged gentleman saw Dudian and sighed in relief. However, he pushed away Dudian's hand. He helped the girl to get onto carriage and spoke in serious tone to Dudian: "You can't touch our miss. Lady if he dares to touch you tell Jim immediately, so that he punishes him on spot!"

  The girl's head has been down as she got into the carriage. However, when she looked up and glanced at Dudian she was stunned for a moment and her cheeks flashed crimson red. She subconsciously replied to the middle-aged gentleman: "" The girl has been head down, sat in the carriage, this quickly looked up and sweep Dudian, when you see the appearance of Du Dean, suddenly stunned for a moment, flashed flashed crimson cheeks, hear the words of the middle-aged gentleman, subconsciously Replied: "Ok, uncle! You should take care of yourself too. "

  "Miss, you do not have to worry about me," replied middle-aged man and glared ferociously at Dudian, implying warning. He closed the door of the carriage to prevent rainwater splashing into the compartment.

  Dudian turned a blind eye to middle-aged gentleman's actions.

  "Coachman, go to Glint Street!" The middle-aged butler told the driver.

  The driver saw Dudian didn't say anything so he began to ride the carriage towards the Glint street.

  Dudian smiled and looked at the figure sitting opposite to him.: "Long time no see, ah! I didn't think you would turn out to be Buron family's little miss. You actually deceived me."

  "I did not mean it." The girl looked up at him once again. However she quickly bowed her head so that he couldn't see her red face.

  She was Jenny who Dudian had met last time in noble party.

  "If it was unintentional then I assume its alright. Fortunately, you met me today or else you would turn into a chicken soup after being drenched in rain." Dudian laughed.

  Jenny seemed to hear for the first time a phrase like that. She could help but laugh at him: "Where do you learn such strange phrases? By the way, I wasn't worried or afraid as I could stay inside the carriage."

  "Well, few moments ago someone was talking about riding a horse back home!? " Dudian laughed. "I did not expect you to know how to ride a horse. Should a noble lady practice riding?"

  "Yes, its not ladylike to ride a horse. " Jenny calmly said: "But I think it is very chic. Moreover there are women who ride horses though the numbers are a bit less."

  Dudian nodded: "As long as you want to do something do it, try not to pay much attention to what the people say about it."

  "Do you think so?" Jenny looked at him with delight.

  Dudian looked at her and found her eyes sparkling, like two bright gems. Speed of his heart-rate inexplicable increase but he recovered himself and turned calm. He continued to speak in serious tone.: "Yes, of course. It's not like horse riding is patented for men only."

  "But my father does not like it when he sees me ride a horse. He gets so angry."

  "You should ride in secret then," Dudian advised her.

  "That's what I do," Jenny replied cunningly.

  Dudian could not help but laugh.

  Chapter 131: Fate

  "Having said that, why are you out so late?" Dudian was curious.

  Jenny answered passionately: "Remember, last time I told you that I study law. The thing is after a few days there is going to be a trail to recruit trainee magistrates. So, I'm doing my best and study under a tutor who has a good relationship with my family. I was coming back from studying when the carriage broke up, but fortunately, I encountered you."

  "So to say it is our fate to meet." Dudian laughed.

  "Cause?" Jenny could not understand the word. (Now, sorry for disturbing you read, but the word used in here has quite a few meanings in Chinese FATE, CAUSE & EDGE [VERGE]. He means FATE, but she understands it as CAUSE. If you read it in Chinese it makes sense, but after translations it loses the edge.)

  Dudian thought that the word 'fate' was coming from a Buddhist concept and in this world, there was no Buddhism. So he quickly explained: "The meaning of fate... ah, it's like... It's like when God of Light has arranged a fortuitous opportunity for two people to meet once again. An affinity."

  Jenny face reddened again as she heard Dudian's explanation. She secretly looked at him to see if he had noticed her abnormal actions. She was curious as she asked another question.: "So, how come you happened to be in here?"

  "I'm going home," replied Dudian.

  Jenny thought of something and said: "Have you been outside the wall yet? How is it over there? Is it like my father telling me? Is it dangerous?"

  Dudian looked at her sparkling eyes and thought of that night. He remembered her longing words as he sighed in his heart.: "There are vast grasslands, towering mountains and blue sea out there."

  "Really?" Jenny was surprised.

  Dudian nodded, "Well, although a bit dangerous, but if you can see the beautiful scenery and the vast world, then coming up with a bit of danger isn't that problematic."

  "I think so, too," said Jenny. "I hope that one day I can also see the scenery of the outside world. "

  "You will!" Dudian assured her.

  Jenny sighed, as her face turned sad: "Unfortunately, I can not go out."

  Dudian slowly said: "Even if you can't go out, but you can still see."

  "Really?" Jenny looked at him in surprise, some hope.

  "You will naturally be able to see if the giant wall disappears," said Dudian.

  Jenny shook her head: "The giant wall is to protect us. If the giant wall disappears then, our livelihood will turn dangerous."

  Dudian opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

  "Tell me something about the wall," Jenny said to Dudian.

  Dudian saw her staring at him and lost his cool: "Yes, uh, can ah."

  "Why are you stammering?"

  "Keke, it's cold."

  "Are the scavengers also afraid cold?"

  "Of course. "

  "Well, I won't interrupt, so you continue to speak. " Jenny rested her head in between her hands as she attentively listened to Dudian.

  Dudian's body stiffened, and muscles uncontrollably tightened as he saw her lovely look: "Ok, I will tell you all I saw. There are very high mountains covered in lush trees. Many cute little animals are lurking around. Such as rabbits, foxes, small squirrels..."

  "No monsters?" Jenny asked on instinct.

  Dudian nodded: "Monsters are in other places."

  "Where?"

  "Well, different regions. They live far away from the mountains that I talk about. "

  "Well, you go on, I want to hear more."

  "There are waterfalls on the hills ... local people live in peace ..."

  The carriage slowly moved because of heavy rain pouring down. The young knight who was riding his horse close to the carriage was drenched wet in the rain. He pressed the horse close to the carriage, listening to young lady's laughter from time to time. His face slightly wrinkled but didn't say anything and chose to silently and closely follow the carriage.

  "There are many fish and shrimp in the sea. There are animals called mussels which can grow pearls in their bodies... ... ah, pearl looks like a white bead. They are as g
ood-looking as diamonds. Pearls are round and very smooth ... ..." Dudian talked about from mountains to the sea while the wind whistled outside the carriage.

  Jenny listened attentively, and when she heard about the pearls, her face was a little surprised and had a feeling of longing, "I want to see the places and animals that you talked about."

  Dudian smiled but didn't reply. Because of the virus and biological changes caused by the nuclear radiation, there were no pearls within the giant wall. They couldn't be found outside the giant wall too as pearls had a shelf life. Most probably they had rotten to dust. That's why people living within the giant wall didn't know about the existence of pearls.

  The carriage's speed gradually slowed down, and vehicle completely stopped.

  "Miss," Driver called out.

  Jenny regained consciousness as she did not expect to get to home in the blink of an eye. She looked at Dudian and said: "Thank you for bringing me home."

  "By the way," said Dudian.

  The knight had jumped off the horse and came to knock the door of the carriage.: "Miss, we have reached home."

  The door opened, and Jenny saw the knight holding up an umbrella. She went and looked back at Dudian.: "Thank you for telling me the story."

  "Story?" Dudian was perplexed but let it go.: "Did you like it?"

  "A lot." Jenny's face flushed. She hesitated a bit but got her courage up: "Thank you for the poem too. I've been treasuring it." She turned around and ran away.

  The young knight also rushed chasing after her while holding up the umbrella.

  Dudian thought: "poem?" He remembered the poem that his sister was reading a lot. It seemed poetry and drama were the things that nobility loved.

  He didn't think much as he told the driver: "Let's go."

  The storm stopped. The drainage system in the commercial district was working fine as it was looked after. However, there was a different sight in slums because of floods brought by the rain.

  As the rain stopped, the carriage began to ride at full speed.

  Dudian sat in the carriage. The girl's fragrance was still floating in the compartment. She had not applied perfume, but it was the faint aroma coming off from her body. Her face illuminates in front of him. A warm feeling passed by his heart.

  Suddenly, he thought about what Jenny had said: "An examination to recruit trainees. I don't know if my knowledge is enough to pass the exam."

  ...

  ...

  Chapter 132: Examination

  As Dudian thought about Jenny and the examination, the carriage arrived at a remote town on the outskirts of the commercial district and stopped in front of an ordinary resident's house.

  Dudian opened the curtain of the carriage and looked at the number near the door of the house to confirm the address. The rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet. He took the bag filled with a gold coin from under the chair and got off the carriage. He took out the key and unlocked the door.

  The house was full of furniture. The consortium had assigned most of the things to help him out. However, because of the training, the house was unused and thick dust had accumulated.

  "I need to recruit a few servants," Dudian said as he touched the dust. He put the bag full of gold coins in the safe.

  Bong! Ding-dong!

  The clock began to ring.

  Dudian checked the time. It was eight in the evening. After an hour, curfew time would begin. He locked the door as the driver went back to the Hunter headquarters.

  The next day.

  Dudian woke up on time and arrived to eat breakfast in the castle's cafeteria. He saw a few students looking at him and whispering.

  However, he could still hear their low-toned voices.

  "I didn't expect that after being stained with Glenn's light, I'll become a celebrity." Dudian thought as he ate breakfast. Afterward he came to the training ground and continued with yesterday's practice.

  Two servants who were meant to help him with arrows and other things were present when he arrived there.

  As they helped him out, Dudian could concentrate on training. Moreover, his efficiency, improved at least by double because he was only shooting.

  The young instructor came earlier than usual. He watched Dudian who was diligently practicing. From time to time he pointed out a few things and left very satisfied. Because he saw the Dudian was already getting the essentials of scattered arrow shooting.

  Since the absorption of more than hundred cold crystals Dudian's physique had already exceeded the estimates of young instructor. Dudian had finished the task set by instructor earlier, but still continued to practice until 3 o'clock.

  As he thought about the examination that was going to happen in a few days, he left the training ground and hired a carriage to the magistrate. The architectural style of magistrate's division was extraordinary. It was on par with scavenger headquarters regarding magnificence.

  Dudian approached the reception.

  "Yes, the apprentices will be recruited in five days at Boer Square. If you want to join, then you should go there to pass the first test." The guard said.

  Dudian wrote down the address and left the place. He hired another carriage and went back to the residential district.

  Jura and Gray were at home, eating when Dudian arrived.

  They were surprised to see him back. After inquiring him because of few concerns, Dudian said to them: "The house in the commercial district is ready. I came back so that we can go and get your temporary permit to live in the commercial district. So, therefore, you can move whenever you want."

  Both of them were happy.

  Gray laughed: "Your aunt has been reluctant and didn't want to leave as we have lived in here for too long and familiar with the neighbors."

  Dudian nodded, as he was aware of Jura's temper.

  The next day.

  Dudian took both Jura and Gray and came to the government agency and helped them to get a temporary residence permit. Afterward, he took them to the new house.

  Jura and Gray were very satisfied with the house. Although it was in a remote suburb of the commercial district, but was far better than the location, they were living in the residential district.

  Dudian took hundred gold coins from the safe and gave it to them with the key to the house.

  By nine o'clock in the morning, he was at the training ground. The young instructor severely criticized him as he saw Dudian was late and then asked the reason.

  Dudian answered truthfully.

  Young instructor's face eased a bit after listening to Dudian but nevertheless increased the amount of the task by one-third as a punishment.

  Dudian was skimming through his law knowledge during the break he took while training. The position of a trainee magistrate was important for him although he was no longer an ordinary civilian.

  He was a hunter. Nevertheless, his identity was still a civilian.

  A status of civilian meant that in case he was assassinated outside the wall, in addition to Mellon Foundation no-one would feel sorry. It meant that the enemies would not care about too much attention to his status as he was a regular civilian.

  The next day, Dudian still finished the task arranged by the young instructor about three o'clock. It meant that his proficiency in archery had increased by one-third.

  Five days passed quickly.

  Dudian practiced scattered arrow shots and improved in accuracy during the day while in the evening he went to the library to study law. He would bring some books back to his room and stay up every night until 12 o'clock to review the books. For almost a week he had only six hours of sleep.

  "Instructor, I want to take a day off." Dudian was wearing ordinary clothes as he found the young instructor in the training field.

  Young instructor frowned as he saw the way Dudian was dressed: "Where are you going?"

  "It's a private matter," Dudian replied.

  The young instructor looked at him: "Alright, but today's amount will be
added to finish tomorrow. "

  Dudian overjoyed, quickly thanked and bid farewell as he left.

  Five students who were close-by stared in shock. One of them reacted in a hurry. : "Instructor, I gotta leave too."

  "Get back to training!"

  ...

  ...

  Dudian jumped into the carriage parked outside the castle and ordered the coachman to ride it to Boer square at full speed.

  Half an hour later, the carriage was on the street outside the Boer Square.

  Dudian heard noise coming from outside, so he opened the door to check the situation. He was shocked as he saw the streets packed with people. The carriages arranged on a long queue. All of them clearly were here to participate in the examination.

  "So many people!" Dudian felt some pressure. He left the carriage and dived into the crowd.

  He was taller than his peers, but much smaller than a healthy adult. He was like a poach who passed through the crowd. On his way, he leaned over and squeezed a girl. She turned around in a fury, shouted and abused the teenager behind her.

  The guy was surprised as he was ignorant of the situation.

  Dudian was half the way when he saw a refined carriage with a familiar flag. He remembered the rainy night.

  "It is her!" Dudian was surprised. Because of the crow, he couldn't detect Jenny smell as his senses were confused. He moved past towards the carriage.

  The knight with full body armor was by the carriage and protecting it. He saw Dudian getting closer, he raised his hand and coldly said: "Back off!"

  Dudian stopped and said out loud. : "Jenny!"

  The sound of the crowd almost overwhelmed his voice. However, the curtain of the carriage opened as Jenny looked at Dudian in surprise. She said pleasantly: "You?!"

  Chapter 133: Qualified

  Dudian would never think that he would be able to meet her on the way to the examination. His heart was happy as he said to: "What a coincidence that I have encountered you!"

  Jenny rejoiced too. "Why are you here?"

  "I've told you before. My goal is as high as yours." Dudian laughed: "I'm also here to take the exam and strive to be a judge or magistrate in the future!"