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Book 2: Chapter 66: At Your Earliest Convenience

He already had a Breath Enhancement skill thanks to his time dueling, but he only started to level it when he focused on his breathing correctly — smoothly in and out as he lifted and lowered the progressively heavier weights.

It had interesting bonuses at 20, too.

For reaching this threshold on a body-enhancing skill, you have gained an additional 10% performance boost when breathing correctly during a strenuous task. In addition, you may now hold your breath up to 2 minutes with no ill effects.

Between getting his Lifting up to 20 and the breathing enhancement, he had added 6 attribute points.

The temptation to stick them into strength, especially after several days of grinding work was nearly overwhelming.

Instead, Arthur stuck with the plan and added them to all his luck attribute.

He still had one temporary bonus point of luck. As his luck attribute had started out at a base of 20, that made 27 in total.

He only hoped it would be enough.

Brixaby had been working hard, too. After his Basic Flying hit 20, he focused more on Flying Sprint.

That eventually hit level 20, as well. He stuck one point in stamina, and the other two into luck.

That brought his total luck attribute to 24.

From there, Brixaby worked on Trick Flying, which was a skill he had accidentally picked up while doing loop de loops for fun.

With his four rapidly beating wings, Brixaby could stop in midair, shoot up at nearly a vertical angle, dive with ferocious accuracy, and even fly backwards.

Trick Flying was an easy offshoot skill to pursue, and by the end of the third day, he had it to level 17 — a stone’s throw away from another level 20.

And that was when the official notice from the king arrived.

Carley came down to the gym at once, flanked by two guards in high livery. Apparently, they were there as witnesses to ensure the message reached the correct person.

Carley held a thick scroll in her hands, the edges gilded, and multicolored ribbons of rank covering the whole thing.

"This came for you," Carley's usually unaffected voice shook slightly. "It came through portal and dropped right on the floor outside your balcony."

"Oh?" Brixaby asked as he landed on Arthur's shoulder. He peered down at the scroll with interest. "Is it for me?"

"I believe it's for both of us," Arthur murmured. Then he reached out to take the scroll.

The thick, creamy paper must have been hiding magical runes or a card anchor spell. Something that was keyed to him. The moment Arthur's bare skin touched the scroll, the entire thing flexed and warped.

Arthur did not receive a notification from the Siphon card because this magic was outside of the card wielder’s aura.

He took a startled step back. Carley did, too, losing her grip on the other end of the scroll.

Instead of dropping to the ground, the scroll stayed in place within midair, still twisting, flexing size from large to small and back again. To Arthur's eye, it seemed to be flexing in and out of this reality into... somewhere else.

"It's a flesh-locked scroll, sir," one of the guards said, seeing his startled look. "These unlock themselves only after the intended recipient touches it."

"Is that what it's doing? Unlocking?" Brixaby asked.

No one answered because a moment later, and with a twist that didn't make sense to Arthur's eyeballs, the scroll was suddenly unwound and hovering flat in air in front of him. The many ribbons decorated the bottom, signifying the king's rank.

Cautiously, Arthur reached out and took the scroll. Whatever magic was holding it up in air drained away and the paper relaxed into a normal page.

Arthur Kane - Legendary Rider

You and your dragon are summoned to King Elizar's court at your earliest convenience.

First scribe for King Elizar, Mythic Rider, First of His Name, Father of the Kingdom, Savior of Candlewood City...

The titles took up the majority of the page.

"At my earliest convenience?" Arthur repeated aloud. "How am I supposed to get there?"

One of the guards cleared his throat. "Begging your pardon, sir."

"Yes?" Arthur asked.

"My brother works for the palace, you see, and I know it's not my place to advise you. I would never presume—"

Brixaby growled. "Just spit it out."

The man visibly paled but forged on. "At your earliest convenience is palace speak for you're expected to head there immediately." He paused. "Like your tail is on fire, sir."

"Oh." That put a different spin on things. Arthur still wasn't sure how he was going to get to the palace, however.

Quickly making a decision, he handed the scroll to Carley. He was momentarily concerned the thing would roll itself up and relock if someone else touched it, but the magic seemed to have faded entirely. It remained a decorative piece of parchment in her hands.

"Bring this to Valentina immediately."

He didn't include Whitaker, not having seen hide nor hair of him for the past three days other than curt messages saying their lessons were canceled.

Arthur was certain the man was avoiding him, and from the sounds of it he didn't have time for games.

"Yes! At once!" Carley could be snarky, but she knew when to take her duties seriously. Gripping the page, she sprinted off — not to the stairs, because that would take an absurdly long amount of time to reach the top — but outside to where the purples usually sunned themselves in the day. A ride to the upper levels would only be minutes.

Arthur would have taken one himself to the suite, but Cressida insisted his rooms weren’t "fit for habitation" yet so he had been spending the last three days in his old quarters.

In any case, everything Arthur needed was in his Personal Space. So, he headed for the small sauna to change.

He had no idea what to dress in other than "nice clothing" so he wore the same fashionable shirt and pants he wore during Brixaby’s hatching.

If it was good enough to meet his dragon, it was good enough for the King.

Meanwhile, Brixaby took the time for a sand bath, which was generally how most of the young dragons cleaned themselves. There was a large pit of sand set to the side of the gym. By rolling over and over, the harsh grit polished the scales and didn't leave dust behind.

By the time Arthur came out of the sauna, as reasonably clean as he could get, Brixaby's scales were polished to a shine. Literally. He flashed iridescent purple under harsh light.

Arthur admired him for a moment, feeling a swelling of pride. Though he hadn't grown so much as an inch over the last few days, he had worked hard to improve his skills. His fine control in the air had improved by leaps and bounds, as had his speed.

This was only the bare beginning of Brixa’bys journey. Arthur couldn't wait to see what kind of dragon he would grow up to be.

"Yes, yes, I am quite handsome, aren't I?" Brixaby said, turning himself from side to side, and twisting his neck around so he could admire his own scales. Then he looked at Arthur's outfit and snorted. "You ought to trim your cloak with deep purple so that we match."

"I'll commission something when we get back," Arthur promised, then considered, "Or make it myself. I could use more tailoring skills."

"No, your clothes represent me. Let an expert handle it."

Arthur rolled his eyes, but then grew serious. He held out his arm and Brixaby obediently landed on it.

He met Brixaby's blood-red eyes. "We're going to meet the king."

"Yes, yes, I'm aware—"

"Which means," Arthur said continued, "you must be on your best behavior. Brix... this is important, and the man may be unstable. He holds our future in his hands."

Brixaby paused. "I understand the King has the largest card library in the kingdom."

"Where did you hear that?" Arthur asked, thrown.

He shrugged a wing. "People talk, and that talk echoes."

He had spent a lot of time flying loop de loops around the giant gym area. Arthur put that mystery to the side for now in favor of frowning at his dragon.

"I suppose, being king, he would have only the best."

"So if we please him," Brixaby continued, "it stands to reason he will give us a gift. After all, he has so many cards and I am newly hatched and have only a few. Plus, you need a combat card."

Arthur was torn between agreeing for the best chance of getting Brixaby to behave, and getting his dragon's hopes up.

Briefly, he wondered if this was what being a parent was like.

"I've never heard of the king giving away a card," he said, "But I suppose anything is possible. I don't know what he will do, Brix. That's why we both have to be careful."

Brixaby bobbed his head in agreement. "Yes, I understand." Then, "I wonder how big the card library is?"

Arthur sighed, even though inside he wondered the same thing.

He didn't have much time to wonder before a servant came to retrieve him, explaining Leader Valentina and Whitaker were to meet him.

Aside from when Brixaby's egg was discovered, Arthur had never seen the two leaders outside the higher hive levels. The idea of Valentina standing outside the main entrance along with commoners was enough to make him smile, despite his rising nerves.

It wasn't to be. Instead of Valentina, a cloud stood waiting right outside.

The servant started to direct Arthur toward it, but he already knew what to do. He stepped up and was unsurprised to find the misty cloud as solid as a stone.

Brixaby clung onto Arthur's shoulder, and the two quickly rose up the great height of the hive.

Arthur's ears popped several times and he idly wondered if he would someday get an altitude resistance.

Valentina and Whitaker were indeed waiting for him — both dressed in fine cloaks along with spotless outfits. They also wore glittering jewels — Whitaker had so many adorning his fingers Arthur wondered if he had trouble closing his hand.

On seeing Arthur, Whitaker frowned and turned to Valentina. "I don't like this. Not only is the dragon too small to ride, he'll look as poor as a pauper in comparison to the rest of the court. Let me fashion him at least some gemstones." He gestured to a bit of craggy rock which detached itself from the cliff and broke apart — presumably in preparation to be remolded into something new.

"No," Valentina said, "the humble look suits him. He may be seen as less of a threat."

Arthur looked down at his own, best clothing. "It's not that bad, is it?"

"No, she's right," Whitaker sighed, "besides, if the king is in one of his moods it won't matter what you look like."

Brixaby spread his wings. "I shall shine for the both of us."

"Enough." Valentina made a sharp cutting gesture with her hand. "The portal will open shortly. We don't have time for this. Arthur," she turned to him, "When you are presented to the king, bow low, rise, and then answer any question he asks with strict politeness. Even if it's odd. Even if it's insulting. Chances are, this will be a formal welcome to the court. The king will treat this as a bit of administrative work and send you on your way. Be polite," she emphasized again, "address him as 'Sire' or 'My King', and do not speak unless spoken to."

Arthur started to nod and then stopped. "A formal welcome to the court?"

Her gray eyebrows rose. "Yes. As a Legendary rider, you are part of the king's retinue, just as you will one day choose your own Rares for your own.” She turned a searing look to Whitaker. "Didn't you explain this to him?"

"Not sure I should bother teaching him anything, until the king accepts him in or not," Whitaker said bluntly. "Don't give me that look. I haven't seen you preparing a grand festival for the hive's newest Legendary."

Arthur's stomach had gone from nervous flip-flopping to outright sinking down to his shoes.

"I don't have time to plan parties. I'm too busy doing the job for two people by running this hive," Valentina snapped back to him. Then she pressed her lips together, visibly controlling herself, before she turned back to Arthur. "We don't have time for this. Arthur, do you have any final questions?"

"Too late," Whitaker said and pointed directly to the side of the balcony.

There was an oddity in the air. A bright light, like a miniature sun grew from a pinpoint flame to a rapidly expanding ball. Though Arthur was more than a dozen paces away, he still stepped back in alarm.

Brixaby, too, hissed.

As the ball expanded, it became a ring with a hollow middle. Then, within a few heartbeats the flaming ring was the size of a door.

Through it, Arthur saw a hallway of white stone chased with gold.

"That's the portal," Valentina said, "Go. And do us proud."

You're not coming with me? Arthur wanted to ask, but he knew the answer.

She wasn't his grandmother there to hold his hand. Arthur was a Legendary rider. He was expected to stand on his own.

So, squaring his shoulders and reaching for his Acting skill for confidence he didn't have, he strode through the portal.

New Counterfeit Skill Obtained: Sun Ring Portal

Remaining Time: 9 Minutes 59 seconds

That was a Legendary level portal.

Arthur didn't have time to think much about it. The next moment he found himself standing in a huge, opulent chamber.

He didn't know anything about the King aside from rumors. His unconscious expectation was he and Brixaby were to meet with a servant who would conduct him to the king. There would be some grand affair with lots of bowing, speech-making, and either a very good or bad outcome.

Instead, he stood at one end of a beautifully stark chamber. The cold marble and golden edging deserved a long look, but his attention was drawn to the focal point of the oddly shaped, diamond room.

Three men stood in attendance on either side of a carved wooden throne.

And on that throne slumped a blonde teenager no older than Arthur. Possibly even younger.

With one leg hanging over an arm of the throne, he looked as bored as any school boy attending a tedious class.

Raising a hand, he gestured Arthur over. "You, there," the teen said in a light tenor voice. "What are you waiting for? Step forward and greet your King."