"Was he upset that I skipped out on his lesson?" Luka asked gingerly.
The older man looked directly at the heir and said, "Lord Evans said he half-expected this to happen. He noticed that the duchess was also missing and assumed something unexpected came up, which demanded your undivided attention. Lord Evans would like to begin tutoring you after the evening meal if you're available at that time."
"I'll try my best to return home by then," the teenager replied with a solemn nod. Luka felt embarrassed because he kept putting off the tutoring sessions for one reason or another. He worried that Cloten would form a low opinion of his student and quit altogether.
"I won't have time to go back to the dungeon with you, Luka. You should bring Bel and Gripper along," Juliette suggested. From her seat at the end of the table, she saw the two animals eating their meals on the other end. While the duchess didn't mind them eating meat, she wanted them to work for their food. The mother remembered their fighting prowess in defeating several man-eaters within the Grandlan Forest. Hence, she believed the pair would protect her son if they encountered monsters that Luka couldn't control inside the dungeon.
"Yes, mother," Luka agreed. He desired to bring his companions into the Alaife Dungeon and obtain Bel's advice on modifying it. The familiar may also notice something that the administrator forgets to ask the dungeon master during their meeting. Luka rose from his seat and walked over to the animals. The mage touched their backs and said, "I'm going now." He teleported to the beacon near the dungeon core.
Bel and Gripper looked around the underground garden and began to explore.
Alaife appeared next to Luka and curtsied. "Welcome back! I see you brought friends," the sprite said in a cheerful tone of voice.
"The rabbit is my familiar named Bel; the gorilla is my contract beast named Gripper," he replied.
The dungeon master observed the two newcomers and said, "I sense a strong, evil aura coming from the white rabbit. What is Bel's true form?"
"Bel, show Alaife your real self," Luka yelled out.
[Hehehe! Behold my majestic form!] Bel boasted and turned into a purple-skinned, muscular-looking demon!
"In the name of Alraune, what is that?" the sprite yelled in horror.
"That's a demon king," the mage replied with a chuckle.
Alaife flew in a circle around Luka's head. "You must be crazy to form a familiar contract with that thing!" she cried out.
"He approached me," the teenager shrugged. "I view Bel as my advisor and confidant," Luka added casually.
"I pray to Alraune that the demon won't betray your trust and devour your soul," the sprite remarked and shook her head. "Anyway, what do you wish to ask?"
Luka smiled broadly. "I have several questions. But first, I want to know if I can grow that gold vein inside the right tunnel."
Alaife chuckled. "Yeah, I thought you would be interested in gold. After all, humans are greedy," she smirked. "I created that vein to attract humans to enter my dungeon. Once they start mining, I would send in the giant rat horde to overrun the miners and wipe them out. At least, that was my initial plan. But your mother ruined it when she exterminated the rat nest," the sprite lamented and sighed.
"I want to change everything!" Luka declared unilaterally. "If I'm not mistaken, that tree at the center of the garden is a Life Tree, and it's providing you with raw life energy to grow this dungeon. You also received a power-up from Alraune via my staff. So, I don't think you need to kill humans to expand your facilities anymore," he reasoned.
The dungeon master nodded. "Yes, you are correct," she confirmed.
"In that case, I wish to transform this dungeon into my private domain. In other words, I want the entrance sealed up, and outsiders would not enter anymore. In exchange, you may drain energy from my staff regularly. Also, I plan to magically withdraw the mineral veins and avoid having miners dig them out. I'm hoping that you could replenish the gold ore periodically," Luka proposed.
Alaife thought for a moment. "You're proposing quite a few changes to my dungeon. However, Alraune's life energy is purer than humans. While turning my dungeon private would slow its growth, this would also reduce the risk of having my dungeon core destroyed by adventurers. In essence, this plan exchanges my dungeon's growth for safety. I suppose it's a decent offering," she admitted grudgingly. "Okay, you have a deal!" the sprite agreed and circled the human.
"Fantastic! I will return within a week to withdraw the veins. I plan to use spatial magic to replace the gold ore with regular rocks. At that time, I will let you charge up more energy from my staff," Luka said. "In the meantime, you should replenish your dungeon defenders without using giant rats."
"Sounds good!" Alaife replied.
"Also, you placed several clusters of man-eaters above the surface. I assume you wanted to devour animals in the forest for their life energy, correct?" the human asked.
The dungeon master nodded.
"In that case, please don't replace them. Since you're getting Alraune's lifeforce from now on, you won't need another energy source."
"That's fine," Alaife agreed because she didn't wish to replace the man-eaters due to the cost.
"Great! I'll head back home now. See you in a week!" The mage used Void Step to land beside his companions and then teleported again to return to the mansion.
Chapter 47
Training & Tutoring (Part 1)
Luka returned home in a happy mood. He entered his residence and encountered Hanna, who was waiting in the grand foyer.
"Welcome back, young master," she greeted with a curtsy.
"Thank you, Hanna. Do you know where my mother is right now?" he inquired.
"The duchess is currently in her study," the personal maid answered.
"Okay, I need to report to her immediately," Luka said and began walking to the west side to reach his mother's office. When he reached the door, the son knocked and asked, "Mother, may I come in?"
The butler soon opened the door for the heir.
"I negotiated a deal with the dungeon master," Luka reported proudly. "Alaife agreed to turn her dungeon private and forbid outsiders from entering. She will also replenish the mineral veins that I withdraw from her facilities via spatial magic. In exchange, I will drop by each week and offer her life energy from my magical staff. The sprite also agreed not to use giant rats as dungeon defenders," he said.
The duchess thought for a moment and finally nodded her approval. Juliette believed that the concessions were excellent, but she wasn't sure about transferring the staff's energy to the sprite. "Is it dangerous to offer energy to the dungeon master?" she asked.
"Not at all," he replied. "My Staff of Alraune stores life energy and replenishes itself automatically from the environment. The more natural essence within the vicinity, the faster my relic will recharge. I don't need to send my life or mana to refuel it," Luka explained.
Juliette visibly became relieved at his answer because she worried that her son would need to sacrifice his lifespan to recharge the dungeon core. The mother would never agree to that sort of exchange!
*Knock-knock* "Come in," the duchess called out.
Bianna entered the study and announced, "Lord Evans has returned with his friend."
"Thank you for informing me," Juliette replied. She checked her clock on the wall and saw that it was only three-thirty in the afternoon. "Since there is time remaining before dinner, Luka should greet his tutor and try to squeeze in some studying," she suggested.
"Yes, mother," the son nodded. "Bianna, please guide me to our guests," Luka requested.
"Yes, young master." The head maid curtsied and led him to the parlor room.
Cloten was enjoying afternoon tea with a monk. "Ah, I see you returned! Please allow me to introduce my friend. He is Sanjiv Karki, a traveler from the Shuren Isles. And this young man is Luka Heavensfell, heir of the Heavensfell Duke House and son of the late hero and my former pupil, Tsunka Heavensfell," the nobleman introduced.
"I am delighted to meet you," Luka responded with an aristocratic salute. The young man sat down, and Hanna served him a cup of freshly brewed tea.
"I didn't expect to see you today, Luka. I thought you ducked out of today's tutoring session," Lord Evans joked with a laugh.
"I apologize for disappearing this morning. Something came up which required my immediate attention," the young master replied without divulging information on the newly discovered dungeon. "I wish to start our lessons today if you have the time," Luka replied. "I realize that I'm very far behind the other test candidates for the Royal Academy."
"I thought you would prefer to start training with Sanjiv right away," the tutor teased with a grin.
The heir looked at the monk and shook his head. "Sanjiv just arrived at my estate, and he must be tired from the carriage ride. We could start lessons tomorrow morning instead," Luka suggested.
"That's fine," the monk agreed with a nod. "May I have permission to visit your garden?" Sanjiv asked. "I enjoy looking at flowers, and you have a nice garden," he praised.
"Of course!" Luka turned toward his maid. "Hanna will guide you."
The monk raised his hand to object. "My vow of celibacy as a monk forbid close physical contact with the opposite sex. So, I must decline to have a female servant escort me."
"I apologize for fringing on your sacred vow. In that case, we could ask the gardener, who is male, to show you his work," the young master said and lowered his head slightly.
"That would be wonderful," Sanjiv replied and bowed slightly.
"I will fetch the gardener," Hanna said and departed.
"What are your plans?" Cloten asked while facing his friend.
"I will probably stay here for two weeks at most. My wanderlust prevents me from remaining in one place for long," the monk replied. "If I do, I turn insomniac and become more irritable and violent," Sanjiv admitted with a faint smile.
"I always thought you were a pacifist by nature," his friend remarked with amusement.
Sanjiv laughed. "I was an unruly boy and a bully to the kids in the neighborhood. After I injured several kids in a particularly nasty brawl, my parents demanded that I change my ways or else they will kick me out. They arranged for a monk to teach me the path of pacifism."
"When I turned sixteen, I left home and wandered around the Shurren Isles while working odd jobs such as a fisherman, chef, and barkeep. Since the Isles wasn't a big place, I visited every part of it by the time I turned twenty years old. I joined as a ship's cook and traveled to this continent. Eventually, I quit to wander off on my own," he explained.
"While my lifestyle is highly unusual, my travels allow me to see the world and seek its truths. I picked up new skills here and there and learned the history of different places as well. I wouldn't change my traveling until my body can't walk anyone." The monk looked directly at Luka. "Although my stay in your residence will be short, I will try my best to teach you things you can't learn elsewhere," Sanjiv promised.
"Thank you," the teenager replied with a bow.
A middle-aged man with tanned skin entered the parlor room with Hanna.
"Gerren, please take my guest to the garden and answer any questions he may have regarding your work," Luka ordered.
The gardener bowed.
Sanjiv nodded and followed his guide out of the parlor room.
Cloten smiled at his pupil and said, "Finally, we can talk alone. I want to take this opportunity to discuss the school entrance exam and the topics it will cover. You could consider the test a roadmap on the proper education of a noble. The exam has written and practical portions. The written part includes reading and writing, addition and subtraction, history, geography, and kingdom laws."
"Candidates from noble families are also tested on the concept of 'noblesse oblige.' This notion refers to nobles' obligation to act with generosity towards those around them and fulfill social responsibilities. The exam tests this topic in the form of an essay; frankly, it's the most challenging part and very time-consuming to answer. Eventually, I will provide you with mock exams and sharpen your test-taking skills. These practices would help you manage your time better for the two-hour written examination."
"The practical portion will test both your physical and magical abilities. Your regular training with your mother is enough to put you in the top 1% since Juliette Silverblade is among the country's best swordsmen. As for magic, I would be shocked if any student possesses greater magical aptitude than you."
"May I take practice tests for reading and writing and math today?" Luka requested because he felt confident in those areas.
"Sure," the tutor agreed. "This would give me an idea of your knowledge and how much tutoring you require in those areas. Let me fetch some materials from my room. We'll work here." Lord Evans quickly departed.
Hann refilled her master's cup with tea and placed a small bowl of freshly-baked cookies on the table. The maid then said, "I will get some writing material for you, young master."
"Please do." Luka took a sip of the hot tea. He took a bite of the butter cookie and enjoyed its taste; he thought the baker used just the proper amount of sugar.
The young maid won the impromptu race and returned to the parlor room before the tutor.
Cloten placed a stack of books on the table. He took out one book titled "Learning Addition & Subtraction" and opened it to page five. The tutor flipped the book around so that his pupil could read it. "Please do the set of exercises on this page."
Luka read the problem sets. The first one was the most basic: "1+1=?" He resisted the urge to facepalm. The student copied the ten problems on parchment and diligently solved each question. He finished in several minutes and handed in the answer sheet.
The tutor's brows rose in surprise because Luka took only three minutes to solve the problems. He slowly checked each set and confirmed that Luka answered everything correctly. Cloten then flipped the pages over before landing on page twenty-one. The difficulty of these exercises rose dramatically because the problems required mastery of addition and subtraction to resolve. He turned the book around and said, "Please solve the problems on this page."
Luka looked at the first problem, which read: "37-21+5-21=?" He then glanced at the rest of the problems and saw that they were similar in difficulty. The student copied the first problem and broke it down into several parts:
"37-21=16
16+5=21
21-21=0"
He took more time to solve the remaining nine questions but felt confident that he answered them correctly. Luka returned his three sheets of answers after approximately ten minutes.
Lord Evan reviewed the papers and confirmed that Luka's answers were all correct. "This is fantastic! You don't need tutoring on this topic. Let's move onto reading and writing." The tutor pulled out a book from the stack titled "Learning to Read & Write by Orion Barret Lawson." He placed it before the pupil and requested, "Please read out loud the first chapter."
Luka opened the book, took a deep breath, and began to read aloud. He felt silly doing this but understood the reason why Cloten asked him to do it.
Lord Evans carefully listened while stroking his chin. When the pupil finished his task, the instructor offered his honest evaluation: "You are a natural public speaker. Your voice modulates while reading, and your pacing is good. Okay, we just confirmed your reading ability. Now, I will read a passage from the book, and you will write it on parchment."
Hanna handed Luka more parchments.
The heir held a quill in his hand and waited for the tutor to begin.
Cloten flipped the pages toward the back and picked out a difficult passage. He read it slowly and stopped after reading four paragraphs. The instructor observed as his pupil scribbled
his last sentence furiously. Then Lord Evans took the papers off the table and evaluated the writing. "Your penmanship is decent enough for a nobleman. And your words are correct. If you ever get disinherited, you could get a job as a clerk or secretary," he joked and laughed.
The student frowned because Luka couldn't imagine how he would ever lose his inheritance! The only way for this to happen was for Luka to somehow betray the kingdom and get caught doing so.
Lord Evans clapped his hands to draw Luka's attention. "I apologize if my joke offended you," he said and bowed low to the heir.
The student waved his hand. "It's fine. You caught me by surprise," he explained.
The nobleman nodded in understanding. "I will refrain from telling jokes during your lessons," Cloten replied. "You receive an 'A' in reading, writing, addition, and subtraction. We can safely ignore them in your tutoring." He pulled two textbooks off the table and laid them on the floor.
"The remaining books cover history, geography, and law. You have to memorize them from cover-to-cover. I will develop a lesson plan and provide tips to help you remember the information. I will spend one hour teaching each subject daily. Each tutoring session will include a five-minute quiz at the beginning, followed by a review of the questions and answers. Since these questions appeared on previous entrance exams, the odds of them appearing again in the upcoming test will be high."
"During our fifth week, we will focus on taking practice exams and reviewing their answers. Practicing will help you develop a test-taking strategy to manage your time efficiently. You will also see the essay questions and understand what kind of topics the examiners like to explore. The composition portion is worth 1/3 of the total score, so you need to write a good essay."
Luka felt overwhelmed by the workload and sighed.
"Yes, I understand your next several weeks will be difficult. But you need to score high and uphold your family name. I want you to aim for top 10%," Lord Evans declared. "You can do it!" he encouraged with a big smile.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 39
