Leaving the public square Roland briefly considered taking a detour through some less used alleys, before realizing he was being silly. Although he currently carried something extremely valuable by his standards, nobody else knew about it. And even if someone did, who would be stupid enough to try stealing something that had been given to Roland by a Knight of Grace’s caliber?

The only people that would maybe try it are Rats that have nothing to lose. And I know well enough how to deal with those.

He nevertheless decided to get a sack or something similar to store it, not about to leave it lying below his bed alongside the rest of his books. Though it would probably be a fairly good hiding place, considering how much worthless literature he had accumulated over there.

A detour would also delay Roland’s reunion with his companions, something he was actually looking forward to very much. Such great news did not come around often after all.

Entering a usually bustling street which led in the Orphanage’s direction, Roland saw four figures on the lookout for him. Normal citizens would avoid this area until it returned to a regular temperature. Commander Grace was simply too fearsome for the general populace, even some frost and cold air were all the trouble she usually brought to them.

Seeing Claire and Arthur waiting for him did not surprise Roland whatsoever, he was however happy to note they had not started fighting. What did surprise him however was the sight of Claire’s trusty companion that, instead of floating around her protectively like usual, now looked to be stowed away in a little sheath hanging on her belt.

Don’t think I saw the sword after Commander Grace appeared. Maybe it got traumatized from the giant monstrosity on her back?

But not even a momentarily earthbound floating sword could hold a candle to strangeness displayed by the other two figures. Laughing happily, the valiant Knight who had been close to tears barely ten minutes ago showed that true tenacity meant to never remain down. Or something along those lines.

Currently entertaining him with an apparently riveting tale of amusement was a pudgy child around Roland’s age. If not everyone’s favorite little Thomas, then who else could it be.

Claire, being the first to spot Roland figure, waved excitedly, getting the other’s attention. While everyone more or less wanted to know what the hell just happened at the square, she appeared especially interested.

All four of them ran up to the approaching boy, displaying varying degrees of excitement, though Edwin really only took big steps. Roland grinned happily to show them everything was fine. An apparently unneeded reassurance.

“And then he stumbled backward in panic, trying to dodge the spray,” Thomas told Edwin, huffing as he tried his best to keep up with the Knight’s leisurely looking steps.

“But doesn’t that mean…” Edwin started, face lighting up in schadenfreude.

“Yes!” Thomas exclaimed, giggling like a little girl sharing the latest gossip with her friends. “He totally tripped over the bucket and fell on his ass. Ha ha ha.” The joyful laughter ended up sounding slightly disturbing due to his heavy breathing, not that Edwin minded.

Joining the little boy beside him in his laughter, Edwin gave Thomas a thumbs up in a display of camaraderie only seen when fellow troublemakers met and shared tales of misfortune they had witnessed or caused.

Strained smile on his face, Roland chose to ignore the strangely dynamic duo, focusing instead on the people that actually showed an interest in what happened to him.

“Boss,” Arthur called out with relief when he spotted the happy expression of his leader. Though once he saw how happy Roland appeared to be he couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Although their leader often joked around in a jovial manner, he usually quickly returned to a more neutral expression. Him staying positively shining like this was an extraordinarily rare sight.

“Welcome back, Leader,” Claire happily called out after Arthur, literally dying of curiosity. “Seems like good news are inbound?”

She held herself back enough to let Arthur be the first to reach Roland, their previous fight at the very least amended, though not entirely forgiven. The large lad had given her a somewhat strained but good enough apology earlier.

And Claire wasn’t someone to hold a grudge. Though she would most definitely get back at Roland for her earlier defeat, though that hardly could be counted as a grudge, being more along the lines of competitiveness.

“You could say that,” Roland answered with a grin, mentally blocking out the unkempt Knight giving him a curious look, as well as the heaving Thomas who cleared his throat violently, the several seconds long excessive running seemingly having brought him that much closer to the brink of death. “Our glorious commander gave me a little homework.”

Trying to keep it vague he showed everyone the small white book. Reactions were about as varied as the appearances of this diverse group. Arthur looked confused, trying to make out the title, which Roland cheekily hid behind his hand, whereas Thomas looked incredibly disappointed, muttering something about how only Roland would get excited about a book.

Edwin’s eyes hardened, a thoughtful expression appearing on his rough face. Though he couldn’t help but twitch lightly when a high-pitched shriek of excitement rang through the air. A jubilant noble girl acted a bit too much her age for his liking.

Having grown up around Knights and Mages from a young age, Claire instantly recognized that Roland held a Knight Manual in his hand, and obviously understood how big of a deal this was, especially because Commander Grace gave it to him herself.

Waving her arms up and down hectically, Claire looked like she wanted to give Roland a hug. But in the end ingrained manners got a hold of her as she instead settled for a radiant smile and a heartfelt, “Congratulation, Roland.”

She briefly considered whether her reaction had been a bit over the top, especially when she saw Roland’s futile attempt at keeping his laughter contained. Though Claire quickly realized it wasn’t her he was laughing at when she saw the direction of his gaze. Turning sideways she blanked upon witnessing Thomas standing behind her. The pudgy boy was waving his arms up and down, mimicking her previous excitement, slowly increasing his speed further and further.

Face turning a deep shade of red, Claire kicked at the irksome boy, making Thomas dodge frantically, emitting a shriek to rival her earlier one in pitch. Now whether that last bit had been on purpose or not, only the Princess and Thomas would know.

Making enemies left and right there Thomas. Consider yourself lucky she held back. Roland was actually somewhat interested in how far a fully powered kick of Claire’s could catapult their heavyweight friend. Something to possibly try out if he continued his antics.

“So, this is the real deal?” Arthur asked, voice trembling slightly. Claire’s reaction gave him a tingling of an idea about what could be happening. Which Roland ultimately confirmed by showing him the full title, nodding happily.

“Yes!” Arthur shouted, erupting in deafening guttural laughter as he, unlike Claire, lost all restraint. In what could be considered mutinous behavior, he picked up their valiant leader in a bear hug, twirling him around like a child’s toy.

Seeing this heartwarming scene, Thomas ran up quickly, not about to be left out. Jumping surprisingly high for someone of such proportions, he threw himself onto his friends with the full force of his sizable body, actually managing to topple the two exhausted boys over.

Falling onto the ground like a particularly unskilled circus troupe, all three of them suddenly started laughing manically. It was, after all, a rule of nature that any boy who unexpectedly fell down had to start laughing uncontrollably. Like gravity, or how it became more likely for one to get dirty after they took a bath recently.

The lonesome Knight actually displayed a somewhat fond smile at this chaotic scene, remembering some interesting escapades from his earlier years. Back in a time where he didn’t need to worry about being beaten black and blue by his superior. Claire on the other hand was happy about not having run headfirst into possible disaster after seeing the resulting pile of flailing limbs.

“The manual!” Roland suddenly shouted anxiously, leading to the three boys untangling themselves quickly, looking for the small book. Though Thomas’ efforts amounted to nothing more than him wiggling his belly slightly, giving up quickly when it achieved nothing of notice beside reminding him that he had not eaten in some time.

Dusting off the fallen manual, Roland heaved a sigh of relief while Arthur smiled guiltily on the side. Their slight mishap however did not even come close to breaking these two’s sky-high morale.

Dusting himself off, Thomas looked at them accusingly, despite being the sole reason they fell in the first place. Though it could be argued Arthur had failed in his responsibility of carrying the team on his back. Even when they were an entire member short. Truly sloppy work.

Glancing at Claire, Thomas considered that maybe it was about time to give Arthur’s position to someone more suited, imagining himself being carried through the streets on the small girl's shoulders while he in turn carried Stephan, their leader glorious leader at the very top.

“You are fine with heights, right Boss?” Thomas inquired, looking interested for the first time. “If not, we can go in reverse order, I guess. I’ll be in the middle anyway.”

Ignoring his friend's inane question, Roland turned towards the Knight who had been waiting for their celebration to end.

“Sorry for making you wait, Lieutenant,” Roland told Edwin politely, wondering what the latter wanted from him. “How can I help you?”

“Eh, I only stayed back to congratulate you,” Edwin replied, not even trying to pretend like he was telling the truth. “Good job boy, see you around.” Clapping Roland on the shoulder encouragingly, the sketchy Knight gave a little nod at Claire before leaving for good.

Guess he wanted to know what happened. There shouldn’t be anything wrong in letting him know I got a manual from the Commander. His response is strange however. He looked so panicked previously, and now it seems like everything is fine all of a sudden? Maybe me not getting punished means he will be fine too? Though that doesn’t really sound right.

Not finding a good enough explanation, Roland shelved any further deliberation. The unreliable Lieutenant being fairly far down his current list of priorities. Which shouldn’t be surprising, as the bolded words ‘Read the fucking manual’ occupied most of the list’s upper half. Something Roland definitely planned to do now that he finished sharing his joy with the majority of his friends. The last one of which would most definitely come here posthaste once he got wind of what kind of stir his leader had caused.

“Come to think of it,” Roland murmured, turning to the deep in thought pioneer of quite possibly the next human transport revolution. “Why are you here, Thomas? Did everything finish fine at the clinic? Besides Stephan’s apparent bucket scuffle.”

“Oh, more than fine Boss,” Thomas chuckled diabolically. “She is at home all better now. I’ll tell you the details when Stephan is around because that’s funnier.”

“Fair enough,” Roland accepted his friends report without further thought. “Well then, how about we head somewhere nice to enjoy a bit of fine literature for a change?”

*

Feet dangling above the water, two boys and a girl sat on the Soren’s singular cursed bridge, and maybe the entire province. One side of its railing had apparently been vandalized, whereas the other was missing a large chunk, which had been broken under the drunken might of an unfortunate hiccup previously.

When Roland studied here yesterday, he found it to be quite relaxing. Water splashing soothingly against the bridge’s supports, and a nice breeze helping against the summer heat. Not having any way to block the sun was somewhat inconvenient. Luckily the giant nuisance was currently descending.

This spot’s biggest selling point was the current absolute lack of people. To find something similar one usually had to move far out of the city, settle for some debilitated spot in the Old Industrial District’s ruins, or go somewhere so horrible nobody would want to go there in the first place.

But not only was everyone’s new favorite bridge close to the orphanage, it could also be considered comfortable and somewhat scenic. Truly one of the few good things to come out of the previous debacles. Roland was almost happy about the very real possibility of the bridge not being fixed for the next several months, though he also felt the tiniest sliver of guilt. Something easily enough ignored.

With Roland sitting in the middle, Arthur to his right and Claire taking Thomas’ usual spot on the left, the three leisurely sat at the site of the destroyed railing. Their fourth member decided to forgo reading of any kind, and instead opted to play around at the shore, building some misshapen structures out of dirt, sticks and pure imagination.

“All right,” Roland remarked, anticipation roaring through his veins. “Let’s do this.” He could have opened the manual on the way back or right after he had received it, but it felt disrespectful. The first Knight technique he ever held in his hands deserved his full undivided attention, free of all distractions beside the constant one called his best friend, who luckily could entertain himself for a few hours.

On the way here Arthur had, despite really not wanting to, asked whether Roland was allowed to share the manual with them in the first place, promptly stumping his leader, who in his excitement did not ask the Commander about that. Though asking her anything in the first place was way above his pay grade.

It was however not above a particular young girl, who luckily happened to be right next to them. She did not even need to ask the Commander to give an answer, displaying an exceedingly high mastery of communication skills.

On a more serious note, Claire response that it would be fine as long as they ‘did not spread it around everywhere’ was delivered with such confidence, you simply had to believe it.

Roland and Arthur’s skeptical gazes however remained, forcing her to go into more detail by telling them that a beginner manual like this might as well be considered trash to the average Knight, and how the only reason that techniques of such a level weren’t more widespread was that the people in charge did not want their general workforce to waste time on futile training.

Which despite sounding extremely patronizing, and downright oppressive towards the greater part of humanity, was ultimately quite fair. Becoming a Knight was no walk in the park, but every person had the opportunity to try for it, with various organizations from the military to mercenaries and sects giving people ample places to showcase one's talents.

If you couldn’t manage to get into any of these, the path of Knighthood was not for you. Even if you owned every manual in the world, there wouldn’t be a difference.

Arthur himself would receive several of these kind of manuals during the next year, if he managed to join the capital’s Sixth Academy. Something even a military lieutenant considered likely to happen.

The reason Roland and Arthur made such a big deal out of the current situation was because they, after all, were two orphans who had clawed their way from the bottom towards this glorious dream called Knighthood.

To them reading a Knight Manual was a big deal, so they decided to push Claire’s rather sobering explanation to the back of their minds, and instead approach their current situation with the feelings of children, opening the first present they ever received in their lives.

Opening the manual, two excited boys breathed in sharply, eyes sparkling in childlike wonder. Seeing the boys behave like children, Claire giggled, more interested in their comical expressions than the technique itself. Though she ultimately also glanced at the fine calligraphy displayed inside the manual.

‘Absorb a tree's accumulated Wooden Heart Laws to store them inside your own heart. Said Laws can be used to drastically increase one’s arms’ defensive, regenerative and offensive abilities. They can furthermore be turned into energy for the body, increasing one’s stamina by severalfold upon fully mastering the technique.’

This short description sounded impressive enough, though it lacked a bit in details, making it hard for the two boys to imagine exactly how strong or useful the technique would end up being. Something which would hopefully be amended with further reading.

Though the mere idea of increasing one’s stamina by multiple times already sounds amazing. And that part seems to be nothing but a mere side application. As expected of a real Knight technique.

While the name alone had been enough to make one realize the technique involved one's arms, Roland was nonetheless happy about the description confirming it for sure.

He considered whether this had not been a mere coincidence, seeing Lieutenant Edwin just earlier today told Roland his arms were the part holding him back the most. The fact that Commander Grace never met him before, as well as his fairly on point self-evaluation, pointed to it being one after all. Not that I’d complain either way.

After the description followed an out of place looking section, written in precise lettering devoid of any flourishes. A stark contrast to the beautiful calligraphy from earlier.

Wooden Heart Law

Grade: Phantom

Lifespan Order: 8th

Nature: Defensive

Location: Heart (Permanent), Arms (Training/Usage)

Peak: Evergreen Sect’s Stalwart Guardian Scripture (57%)

Verdict: Safe to practice starting at the mortal level.

Following the frankly confusing writing was a large beautifully colored stamp, depicting two giant snakes made of water and fire as they spiraled up a stone pillar extending toward the clouds.

Below that the words ‘Combine everything under Heaven’s gaze to reach the Truth’ shined in a faint rainbow glow, for some reason reminding Roland of the plaque at their orphanage. Though significantly more pompous.

“Straight into the deep end, eh?” Roland commented, confused by various technical terms used in this section. A look to his right showed that his dear friend shared the feelings. Arthur’s brows furrowed as he intently glared at the page, trying to interpret it to the best of his abilities.

Everything except the ‘Location’ section is confusing, so I somehow doubt brute forcing sense into things will be the way to go.

Turning the page, Roland’s faint hopes of seeing a glossary or any further explanations were snuffed out. Instead, a few highly detailed drawings of trees and more calligraphy occupied the following pages.

Returning to the previous page, Roland sighed, realizing there was no way out of their dilemma without paying a price. Looking at Claire’s overflowing eagerness, her whole body rocking back and forth as she tried to not show her grin, Roland felt that maybe staying ignorant would be the way to go after all.

Waiting a few more seconds, Claire still showed no signs of offering her help, fully intent on having the two boys ask for it. If this matter were less important Roland might have considered letting her stew in eagerness while he and Arthur took wild shots at possible explanations. As things stood however, he wanted to know everything about the technique right this instant. And he still had one up on her from their earlier race anyway.

“Miss Claire, wise beyond your years,” Roland gave in. “Would you be so kind as to explain this section’s meaning to us plebeians.”

“Why of course, mister Roland,” Claire replied with a toothy smile, returning the sarcastic politeness tenfold. “Your humble subordinate will try her best to share the meager knowledge she has accumulated in this life of hers.” Head slightly bowed, she cutely cleared her throat, before turning more serious, satisfied by her easy victory.

“Let’s start with the Lifespan Grade, because the other ones intertwine among one another, whereas this one mostly stands on its own,” Claire started her explanation, looking like any other young girl that tried to play the teacher, adorable beyond belief. “From the weakest grade nine, to the highest grade one, the Lifespan Grade indicates how beneficial the technique's laws are for your longevity.”

“But don’t get too excited,” Claire giggled, seeing the two boys shining eyes. After all, nobody could say living for centuries was not utterly amazing. “Grade nine to eight are known as ‘nurturing’ grades. They only give your body resistance against illness and increase your fitness in general. Seven and six are considered ‘strengthening’, also not increasing one’s actual lifespan, but allowing one to remain at peak form for longer. Techniques of that grade are the reason most Knights stay powerful even up to the moment they die of old age, instead of slowly getting weaker like mortals. Only techniques of tier five and upwards actually increase the length of your life.”

Having experienced how it felt to snuff out one’s pupils hopes and expectations, Claire proceeded one step further along on the path of teaching. Next, she would need to deduct points for a technicality, to show them life did not care about their objections. Or promise to finish grading their tests by next week but not actually do it, teaching them that having double standards was totally fine if you stood in a position of superiority.

“Now the Order part is fairly straightforward, though it hides a lot of complexity. Though you don’t need to know most details until you actually become real Knights,” Claire continued enthusiastically, feeling like she could talk for hours. “Phantom, Physical, Transcended. Those are the three Orders of Laws. Everybody starts out by absorbing Phantom laws. They remain inside different parts of your body, strengthening it and allowing the usage of their associated techniques without creating any drastic changes. You can think of them as water being poured into a cup. One can direct the water with the cup, but they remain separate entities.”

Her choice of words gives a decent idea about what Physical Laws do. They should be what we consider the normal Knight standard.

“Physical Laws on the other hand combine with your fleshly body, which is equivalent to water that changes the structure of the cup itself when you pour it in,” Claire confirmed Roland’s thoughts, apparently liking her own choice of metaphor. “Once somebody absorbs a Law of the Physical Order, they become a real Knight. Those Law’s strain on the body is immense however, so people need to first strengthen themselves using Phantom laws before attempting to train in a Physical Law. All of the soldiers at today’s training no doubt have countless Phantom Laws inside of them but are still not strong enough to take that final step towards Knighthood.”

“Now for Transcended Laws…,” Claire started, displaying a thoughtful expression, for the first time unsure what best to say. “I guess you can see them as getting an entirely new cup.”

Feels less reassuring each time you use that one. Roland complained mentally, giving their teacher a wry smile. Though I sort of get the gist of it.

“You can honestly ignore Transcended Laws until they teach you more in depth at the capital’s Knight academy,” Claire continued happily. “Most normal Knights can only dream about those, much less us bumpkins.”

“Hold it right there,” Roland interjected with a grin of his own. “You need more than a few years of living here to take on such an illustrious title.”

“I’m very forward thinking is all,” Claire handwaved the accusation away. “Don’t pay it any mind.”

Doubly pleased by both her easy to follow explanations, as well as the fact Claire basically considered him and Arthur joining the Sixth Academy as a done deal, Roland decided to cut their resourceful companion some slack.

He went so far as to give her a mental commendation. Four more and she’d get a small token that let her skip homework once. Which would be quite useful if she ever decided to give up teaching and become a student again.

“What about that nature part?” Arthur asked, showing his impatient side for once. Something which would usually be unthinkable, seeing he was someone who always woke up at the crack of dawn, just in case Roland would jump out of his bed full of purpose on that day.

Which did happen quite often, but there were nonetheless more than enough times Arthur stood on his own in the Crescent Moon Orphanage's desolate courtyard, waiting for nothing. A person like him displaying impatience, showed how greatly he desired this knowledge.

“It is only singular most important point to consider when training as a Knight,” Claire answered seriously, pleased to have such a captive audience. “It indicates how this Law will behave when coming in contact with another one. Knowing this is vitally important, as Knights obviously want their Laws to support each other, and not waste possibly decades of training by having one destroy the other.”

The two boys gulped at Claire’s explanation. The mere idea of one’s own strength destroying itself sounded insane to them. To think Knights needed to pay so much attention to their training.

“Don’t worry too much,” Claire comforted them after seeing the duo’s worried looks. “Nobody expects young trainees to navigate all of this on their own. Your future techniques, and the Laws they bring with them, will be carefully selected by competent instructors, using combinations that have already been proven and tested countless times throughout the years.”

“Knights rupturing from Law conflicts is incredibly rare nowadays. And beginner techniques like this one can easily be supplemented or entirely changed in the future depending on how you fare.”

While it was certainly reassuring smarter people would tell him the way to train, something Roland had absolutely no problem with, there was one specific part of what Claire said he felt needed some more elaboration. Something his large friend apparently agreed with.

“Rupturing?” Arthur asked, a tad paler than usual, and most definitely not having signed up for this.