As he walked out, Ajax plucked out a strand of his hair and realized that it did change colour as the general told him. It changed to dark shade between black and red something like crimson. "I guess it would be hard for anyone to think that I am the same as the missing prince," he thought.
As the general left, the maid entered again holding a tray of hot porridge and water. She put it on the table and immediately scurried out without muttering a word. Ajax tried to talk to her to get more information, but she left before he could get a word out. Chuckling at his slow speed, he started to eat and once done, decided to go to sleep.
He laid down on the mattress and began to think about the world. As his memories flooded him, he felt like his soul was pushed into the body of a kid but on afterthought, he felt like his near death caused him to remember his past life. He had been trying to keep himself alive from the instant that he realized it was his second life. He was so concerned about being alive that he forgot a very crucial aspect of this world as his memories made him think he was on earth. He forgot that this is a world of magic and cultivation.
He also remembered that he learned to use magic from the age of 7 and was a dark elemental mage till a few days ago. He was tutored to use a blade since he was 10. He was taught the ways of a mage whose spells act from a distance rather than a cultivator who also uses his body to fight by his mother. Now that his magic core is crippled, he would need to restart the magician's path from the beginning and slowly accumulate strength.
"I might be better suited to be a cultivator though," thought Ajax. With his experience as an agent in his past life, it felt that using weapons might be more suited to him as he has quite a bit of experience using bladed weapons which would be advantageous to him. Moreover, creating a magical core was not easy and he only managed to do it at such a young age, due to the resources of the kingdom.
Thinking of his core, he also checked his chest where the knife pierced him. Since the pendant fused with him, he hadn't really checked there. When he touched his chest, it felt like a gem or stone was embedded into his skin becoming a part of his body. He didn't know what it means but since his sister, uncle or the general didn't say anything, he assumed it wasn't that bad. At least there isn't anything he can do about it now. According to his knowledge, it was so weird even on this world, that he decided it best not to talk to anyone about it. With those thoughts, he dozed off.
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Early in the morning, he woke up to violent shaking. He immediately thought it was an earthquake and startled awake. But all he saw was Krev grinning at him. The general decided to shake him awake using his magic.
"Boy, you need to wake up and rest at proper times here, at the fort. Tardiness and lack of discipline will be severely penalized," he said throwing a brown rucksack at him. "Wear them and we will need to register you as soon as possible."
I took sack and checked it. There were a brown cotton shirt, trousers and cloak along with some bread and water satchel. They were dirty and looked old and worn out. Wearing them I looked like a person who hadn't cleaned himself for a few days.
"Yep, that's the look of person who doesn't have much and come to join our barracks, right?", asked Krev.
"Aren't I supposed to be your nephew?" asked Ajax confused.
"Distant nephew. Son of a distant cousin, removed for the family tree. I am only looking after you because I owed your father a favour from the days of my youth. That is the story you are going to use," explained Krev. "If you were a close relative of mine, everyone would already know about you."
"Your father's name is Damien Dustblade. Mother is Marian. Both used to be travelling salesman along the border towns. So, you have no proper hometown and only used to be in caravans. They got attacked in a recent bandit raid and died due to their injuries. On his last breath, your father sent you to the fort with a letter and my token. Any doubts?" asked Krev handing him a small envelope and a circular plate with the picture of a curved knife embossed in it and shining runes.
"No, I understand," said Ajax taking them and immediately put them in the ruck sack which he slung over his shoulder.
"Good. Now, hold on," said Krev as he caught him by his waist. Immediately, he felt an immense force encompassing his body and the next second, he found himself beside a large tree by the road. Krev was so fast that he couldn't even realize when or how he had been transported outside the fort.
As he turned around, he could see a great stone wall on one side. It was about 100 feet tall and he couldn't see where it started or ended. The road led to a huge gate about 20 feet tall. He could see many people coming and going, merchants moving their carts, warriors wearing impressive armor moving about the place. There was a line of guards who were checking and registering everyone who entered the fort.
"This should be a city fort," thought Ajax as he looked at enormous size of it. He moved towards the gate. As he reached the gate, he was stopped by a young guard who seem to have just entered his teens. Ajax intentionally approached this guard as he seems to be young and possibly a new recruit. He did so as he felt that it would best to create a scene and it would be easier with a new soldier rather than a veteran.
"Name and purpose," he asked looking at Ajax.
"Ajax Dustblade, I came to visit a relative of mine," said Ajax.
"Ok," said the guard as he put his arm out. "It costs 5 silver coins for visitors."
"I don't have five," said Ajax as he took out the token and held it his hand. But he didn't show it. He started to act frightened and began to shiver. "Can I enter the fort? I am sure my relative would pay for the entrance, my father told me so."
"Haha," said the guard as he looked towards his peers. "I finally got my first one," he yelled towards them. "He got no coins but wants to enter. How do such idiots reach this place?"
The guard pulled the rucksack from Ajax and began to check it. "A bit of bread and water, nothing else," he said. "Do you think anyone can enter this place?" he said as he pushed Ajax to the side.
"I have a letter. If you could just give it to," started Ajax, but stopped looking at the other guards who reached him and acted like they frightened him even more. He stepped back intentionally tripping and fell in the middle of the road, so that more people would notice him.
"We have one of these, every other week. They come running away to try their luck as a border guard. They think it to be too easy, coming here even without the minimum amount required to enter the fort," said one of them chuckling.
"He couldn't even finish his sentence when he saw you, Jules," said the first guard. "Is he that frightening?" he continued as he moved to pull Ajax to the side of the road and took the letter from his hands.
"Don't it is not for you," yelled Ajax in a childish tone as he took out the token and began to wave it front of the guards. "My father said it only for his friend Krev. You can't read it."
Though Ajax sounded aggrieved, he was anything but. He did all of this just to gain attention of the people at the gate. He wanted to make sure that people in the city knew that a relative of the general entered the fort today. He wanted this to be done so that it would give more credence to his identity as Ajax Dustblade and fewer would suspect him with the prince as long as he stayed here.
As Ajax expected, one of the older guards saw the token and immediately held the hand of the young guard preventing from opening the letter. "Don't open it," he said tilting his head towards Ajax who held the token above his head. "That is the mad general's token. Put your pride aside and apologize to the boy. You don't take any chances."
"Call for the general, Dustblade," yelled another guard who noticed the token as he helped Ajax get up, dusting the dirt off his clothes. "Sorry, kid didn't see the token. You should have showed it in the beginning."
Ajax looked surprised but still shivered a bit, to act as if he was still a bit frightened. He acted like he had been traumatized. "Get to the side of the road, we will call for the general," said younger guard who asked him for the entrance fee.
"I am already here," sounded the deep voice from behind Ajax and the guard causing them the jump in surprise. They turned around to find the general there fully armored like he ready to go into a battle. Ajax felt that the general teleported directly behind the guards just like he transported him outside the city.
Though momentarily startled, all the guards immediately turned towards Krev to salute him as he took the token from the guard. "I did notice that someone has brought one of my tokens," said Krev as he looked at Ajax like it was his first time. He took a couple of seconds to examine Ajax. "You are Damien's son?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," stammered Ajax.
"What's your name and age?"
"Ajax Dustblade. 13 years"
"I owe your father. I promised him to join the main family of Dustblade," said Krev. "But I don't owe the same to you. I can't give you the same offer as I did to your father as the Dustblade family is a family of military nobles. In my family, a father's chances and positions aren't given to his heirs if they didn't prove themselves worthy of it. So, the chance I promised him doesn't extend to you easily. With him, you can have been added as his son and got shelter in the family, but not now."
Hearing Krev, Ajax was genuinely surprised and a bit frightened. This wasn't at all what he had expected. "Is he trying to get rid of me in this way," thought Ajax but then realized that the man didn't need to do all of this if he was an enemy or wanted nothing to do with him. He was powerful enough to throw Ajax in a remote place and dust his hands off him if he wanted to. "So, what is he planning," wondered Ajax.
"Though I can't bring you back to the family, I still owe him and this token represents that. So, I can offer you a place in this fort. But you need to earn your place if want to continue to live here or join the family as your father wished. There are a lot of options for someone with means or talent to earn their place in the fort, but for a kid I can only see one. You willing to join the military boy?"
"Yes, sir," Ajax replied.
"Register his Identity as Ajax Dustblade and arrange for him to be assigned to the new batch of trainees starting next week," said Krev. "I will send you his address soon. Send his id and registration as a trainee there."
In the next moment, Ajax found himself back at the room where he woke up in the morning. "I will never get used to this form of travel," he thought.
"Not bad, that was a good act you put up at the gate. You are quite clever and a good actor for your age. You got your grandfather's talents more than your father's I guess," said Krev. "It is good. You need such talents to survive."