Chapter 3

“For now I’ll treat this like real life. In that case what is a swarm knight?” I asked Faye.

“Swarm knights serve the swarm lords. Many of them are either bodyguards, advisors, or rule over territory that the swarm lord controls. Since each swarm lord rules over entire planets and billions of people the swarm knights are vital. They often wield enormous power.” Faye explained.

My mind was trying to comprehend what Faye was saying. I was still thinking of this as a fantasy MMORPG. Her talking about multiple planets made this sound more like a space strategy game.

“What is this swarm that you are talking about?” I asked.

“Tiny creatures made of magic and metal that obey the commands of those with the talent to control them. They work without getting tired. A large part of the job of a swarm lord is controlling the swarm in order to improve the worlds they rule. A swarm lord can improve mana generation on a planet and vastly improve the abilities of the mages on the planet. When a swarm knight isn’t protecting their lord they often spend their time giving people the ability to use magic. They are also nearly invulnerable and able to defeat almost any opponent in seconds.” Faye answered.

“So basically by passing this test I’ll be the ultimate mage. Able to create mages while also being stronger than any mage?” I said, still trying to wrap my mind around what was happening.

Faye nodded. “That barely scratches the surface of the power of the swarm. Now do you understand why I’m interested in you? What woman wouldn’t wish to take advantage of meeting someone that may become that powerful?”

“So is that the only reason you are interested in me? Because you are hoping I become powerful?” I couldn’t think of any other reason. I wasn’t in that good of shape. I doubted anyone would call me attractive. Not that I was ugly, I was just average. Considering Faye didn’t even know my name, I knew she wasn’t seducing me for my personality.

Faye grinned. Then my mouth dropped open as she stood up and pulled her robe over her head. Underneath she wore a set of lacy red lingerie. She was at least a C cup, probably a D.

She may not have been as attractive as many of the supermodels from Earth. I didn’t care. None of them were trying to seduce me. I hadn’t even met any of them. In fact, Faye was the only woman that had ever tried to seduce me.

As Faye saw the expression on my face her grin widened into a smile. “Is there a problem with that? I promise that you won’t regret making me one of your mistresses. Let me prove it to you.” She said and then walked towards me again. I had to remind myself to breathe as she knelt in front of me and reached for my pants again.

Suddenly there was a cough from the doorway. I hadn’t even noticed that it had opened. “You should know better than to do something like this Faye. Put your robes back on and then report to the kitchens. Tell the head chef that I sent you there for punishment. We will discuss the rest of your punishment later.” A voice that held a trace of anger and a great deal of disappointment said.

“Yes assembly master.” Faye said in a frightened voice. I actually felt a bit of anger as I looked at the man that had interrupted us. Faye quickly slipped her robes on and rushed from the room.

“I must apologize for that, my lord. I can arrange for one or more servants to warm your bed tonight if you want.” The headmaster said.

“I thought you stopped Faye because she wasn’t supposed to sleep with me?” I said slightly confused now.

“Faye is in training to become a maid. Not the concubine of a swarm lord. She’s pretty, but not pretty enough to be offered that role.” The headmaster explained.

“And if I wanted her to warm my bed tonight?” I asked.

“Then she would be ordered to warm your bed tonight. It’s the only reason I haven’t already kicked her out of the training program. Afterwards we will notify her that she has failed her training and she will be sent back home. There are thousands more that will gladly take her place.” The assembly master explained.

I felt that surge of anger again. “What if I want her as one of my mistresses?”

The assembly master sighed. “I can’t stop you but I would suggest against it. Someone with that level of ambition is likely to betray you eventually. If you do I’d suggest confining her to your bedroom and keeping any sensitive information from her. It’s not unknown for swarm knights to have a few concubines they don’t trust.”

“I’ll have to give it some thought. Would it be possible to have dinner with her later?” I asked.

The assembly master looked surprised at my request. “I’ll have it arranged for later tonight. Before we move on to the test I have a few questions I’d like to ask. Would you mind answering them?” I nodded my agreement.

“Unfortunately I haven’t had time to review your file yet. Normally children are given the first part of the test when they reach adult age. If they pass, then they are sent to us or one of the other assemblies. We then conduct the rest of the test and provide them with a group of servants. You should have been tested nearly a decade ago. Would you mind explaining what happened?” The assembly master asked in a tone of voice that reeked of curiosity.

I carefully considered what to say. “My world is quite a bit different than this world. We don’t have swarm knights and lords. Or at least I’ve never heard of them.” I avoided mentioning that I thought that this was either a video game, or I was hallucinating.

The assembly master gave me a surprised look. “Hmmm. I’ve always thought the stories of such planets were just rumors. Many have theorized that without the swarm lords society would collapse. I suppose it’s possible that after a few generations the survivors would forget the swarm lords.”

I frowned. “It must have been more than a few generations. We have written records dating back thousands of years. I’ve never heard of any mention of swarm lords in those records.”

“Well either way I’m glad your planet has been reintegrated. Although I’m curious why your test provider didn’t explain this already.” The assembly master said.

“I didn’t hear anything about a reintegration and I didn’t have a test provider. I was asked if I wanted to take the test to become a swarm knight and then I was transported here.” I explained without going into detail about Ravarok and the VR helmet.

The assembly master shrugged. “They must have decided to begin testing the population before reintegration. I suppose it makes sense. Anyone sent to reintegrate your world won’t be as capable of educating you as the assembly teachers. In addition, having swarm knights from the planet would smooth the transition.”

“It would be great if you could explain exactly what swarm lords and knights are.” I didn’t tell him that Faye had already explained a bit. Besides, it wasn’t like she had told me very much.

“According to history the swarm was developed by our ancestors as a weapon against a terrifying enemy. After that enemy was defeated our ancestors found that the swarm was still useful during times of peace. It can be used to heal, enhance the power of mages, and create portals between worlds. Swarm lords and knights are those that have the ability to control the swarm enough to repair and enhance the mana system. Each swarm lord is given control of a group of star systems which they use their powers to improve.” The assembly master explained.

“What’s with the concubines then?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“People that have the talent to become a swarm knight are very rare. In the untalented general population it’s only around one in a trillion children that are born. The children of someone that can control the swarm are more likely to inherit the power. Around one child in a million. Although the chances are higher if the parents are more talented.” He explained.

There was something wrong with that math. “How could you possibly maintain a population of swarm lords and knights? Each swarm lord or knight would need to have a ridiculous number of children. If half the swarm lords are female then it would be even more. There are female swarm knights right?”

“Yes there are female swarm knights. There are two reasons why that number is so high. The first is that if both parents are swarm knights the number is nearly one in a thousand children. The second is because those that control the swarm can reverse aging. Most swarm knights have thousands of children.” The assembly master clarified.

“Why don’t they age?” I asked in a surprised voice. I suppose it was good news for me.

“Preventing aging and even reversing aging are abilities of the swarm. It’s one of the reasons we push to have as many swarm lords and knights as possible. It is one of the many benefits of the swarm.” The assembly master answered.

“What else can swarm lords do?” I asked excitedly.

“For most of the population the important thing is that a properly managed swarm provides almost unlimited mana. Mages can use that mana to provide nearly unlimited resources and accomplish work that would take hundreds of mages otherwise.” The assembly master explained.

I was starting to understand exactly how important swarm lords were. I had read plenty of books and played quite a few games with magic in them. If it was anything like that, having an unlimited supply of mana would be invaluable. The person capable of making that happen would probably become the richest and most powerful person on the planet. Especially when you considered that they could also reverse aging.