Half an hour later, Chuck found himself alone in what the castle staff had called "the hero's chambers"—a lavishly appointed room in the castle's east wing, complete with a four-poster bed, ornate furniture, and a balcony overlooking the kingdom's sprawling capital below.
He dismissed the servant who had been assigned to help him "adjust to palace life" and show him around with a polite smile and false gratitude.
She let him know she will come get him when it is time for his training to begin, she also left a bell on a dresser and said to ring it if he needed anything.
"Well then goodbye sir Tom"
The moment the door closed behind her, Chuck's heroic mask dropped entirely.
Tom, Thomas Dark, an alias he had used to when introducing himself.
He had done so because in the future he may make trips or secret deals that require having a hidden identity, and the name Thomas Dark was a perfect cover up name meanwhile he will use his real name for his shady business.
"Now then," he muttered, walking over to the full-length mirror and examining his reflection.
"Let's see what this world really has to offer."
He called up his status screen again, this time taking his time to explore the sections he'd only glanced at before.
The quests tab particularly caught his attention—it was time to see what kind of opportunities this new world had in store for him.
...…
───[Quests]─── (tap to expand)
Main quest: Deceit, betrayal, and dirty ambition
Quest description: you were brought into this world by a kingdom that hoped you would help fight their war for them, Ha, laughable. Play along with their little game, and when the time feels ripe, take them down from within, becoming the new ruler of the kingdom.
Quest goal: Take over the kingdom of Goroth
Quest rewards:
- Castle Goroth & Territory - Full control of the kingdom's resources, military, and political structure
- **Legendary Equipment: "Crown of Whispered Truths" - Allows the wearer to hear the true thoughts and intentions of those nearby
- 5 levels up
- **Unlocks Villain Class Evolution Options
...
This feels right for him, this is just the kind of goal he needed, the reward was pretty enticing too.
He licked his lips while looking at the rewards.
Speaking of licking his lips he was starving, he wasn't sure if it was because of the summoning or just the fact that he didn't eat breakfast today back on earth.
He thought about it for a moment and then decided to ring the bell.
*ring ring ring*
Shortly after ringing it someone knocked on the door.
"Come in"
Chuck said.
In walked the same servant girl from earlier with a questioning look on her face, wondering why he was already calling her when she left not moments ago.
"I'm sorry to bother you already but I am quite hungry, could you fetch me something to eat?"
He said in a polite tone, though it was a facade, and he wasn't sorry for bothering her at all.
"Oh, of course sir tom, how silly of me I forgot the prince mentioned that the summoning takes a lot of energy out of the summoner and summon both, I will have the head chef prepare something hearty for you."
'So that IS why…' he thought.
"Ah thank you very much, I am looking forward to it."
The servant curtsied before hurrying out, closing the door behind her.
Chuck leaned back against the wall, smirking.
'So the magic takes a toll on me too, huh? Guess that explains the hollow feeling in my gut. Still… if it's true, it also means the prince is even weaker right now than he wants people to think. Noted.'
He wandered over to the balcony, pushing open the ornate doors.
The cool breeze carried the smell of baked bread, roasting meat, and faint smoke from the chimneys below.
The capital stretched out in all directions—stone roads lined with bustling shops, merchant stalls shouting for customers, and guards patrolling in pairs.
Farther out, the walls of the city stood tall, though Chuck could see cracks in the stone in places where repair crews worked slowly.
Weak kingdom. Distracted guards. Corrupt nobles. A looming war.
This place is practically begging to be taken apart from the inside.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sounds of the city wash over him.
A sharp knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Enter," Chuck called.
This time, it wasn't the servant girl—it was a middle-aged man in a neat but plain uniform, carrying a silver tray with a covered dish.
He set it down on the table without a word, then stepped back and bowed.
'That was quick, they must have had it nearly prepared.'
"Compliments of His Highness, sir. He requests that once you've eaten, you report to the training yard. Captain Veylen will assess your capabilities."
Chuck gave him a gracious nod.
"Please thank His Highness for his generosity."
The man left as quickly as he came.
Chuck lifted the cover from the tray—steaming roast boar, buttered vegetables, and fresh bread still warm from the oven.
He dug in without hesitation, each bite fueling both his body and the wheels turning in his mind.
Training yard, huh? Guess it's time to see how they measure strength around here… and how I can use it to my advantage.
When he was done, he wiped his mouth, checked his reflection one last time, and grinned at himself in the mirror.
"Let's give them the hero they're expecting… for now."
He stepped out into the hallway, already planning the first thread in his web.
A few minutes later, Chuck arrived in the training yard, the brief tour the servant girl gave him earlier still fresh in his mind.
Which allowed him to find it easier.
The training grounds were located in a large courtyard within the castle and were beaten and battered from the years of training that has occurred there.
Throughout the grounds were various things such as weapon racks with wooden and some real weapons as well as training dummy's made of wood and some made of straw.
There were various middle aged men and women and a few but not a lot young ones that were training in the grounds.
It seems men and women were treated somewhat equally when it came to knighthood and physical training in this world, Chuck isn't sure if that's a good thing or not but in the end decides that equality is good especially when alls fair in love and war.
A large topless muscular man with dark green hair and several scars along his body notices Chuck walking in and goes to greet him with a handshake.
Apparently it's normal in this world for people to have various vibrant hair colors and what not naturally, although some are rarer than others.
"Ah you must be Tom, my name is Rick Veylen, I'm captain of the royal guard. Most people call me captain Veylen but since you're the hero and thus a special case you may call me Rick if you choose. I will be the one overseeing your physical training, now I will let you know ahead of time that looking at your, no offense but, mediocre body it's going to feel like hell for you. First I will assess what you can do, follow me to the sparring ring."
Chuck nodded and followed Rick into the sparring ring, which happened to be just a big circle of stone in the middle of the training grounds.
People noticed the captain entering the ring with a newcomer and some came closer to see what was going on while others minded their own business.
"Hey hey, who's that the captain just entered the ring with?" One asked
"I don't know but he looks kinda scrawny, I hope he'll be ok facing our captain. Otherwise we'll have another Burty Veylen incident to clean up." Another replied
"Not another Burty, I still see some of the blood from the captains son on the ring, even with water magic used and a lot of scrubbing it didn't come out. Still can't believe he did that to his own son." One more replied
Murmur murmur
The people continued to chatter in the background while, and Chuck heard some interesting rumors/information that he would have to investigate and put to use later.
Rick stood opposite of Chuck in the ring.
He spoke.
"Alright Tom, I will say this as simply as I can, come at me with all you got. I will gauge your basic combat skills, nothing more. Then we will move on to a endurance check as well a see how you handle a sword. Wait scratch that last part, heads up."
Rick reached over to a weapon rack next to the ring and tossed a wooden sword at Chuck, who barely managed to catch it.
"Now let's see what your made of."
After he said that he nodded at Chuck who took this as a sign to begin and ran in towards Rick.
Chuck swung down as hard as he could towards Ricks shoulder but it was clearly a very sloppy swing, not only that but Rick easily blocked it with his hand.
"Hmm, not good at all try again"
He pushed Chuck back with a simple palm strike and urged him to try again.
This repeated itself in variety various times until Chuck was on the ground wore out.
The various people around were disappointed in the challengers attempts against their captain.
But the captain knew better than to be disappointed, because he knew Chuck was from another world and didn't really have to fight there or anything, or at least that's what he was guessing.
In fact Chuck didn't do good, but he didn't do bad either he seemed to last a bit longer than most rookies when it came to his endurance.
"Alright, I guess we don't have to make you run laps now that I already know how long you would last, I will say Tom you have the potential but so far it's mostly stamina and endurance wise. But don't worry about a thing, since you're a magic swordsman you should be able to learn quickly."
Suddenly someone rushes into the training grounds and up to Rick before whispering something in his ear.
Whatever he said makes Rick angry to the point he starts shaking and mutters something.
"That damn brat, trying to sneak off again…"
He turns towards Chuck and speaks abruptly.
" I am sorry Tom I'm going to have to cut today short and rush out of here to deal with a personal matter, let's meet here tomorrow at the same time. Why don't you head to Calfo the magic teacher for the rest of the day."
Chuck just nods and Rick runs off.
As Chuck turns to head towards the castle library where Calfo should be, he can't help but wonder what that was all about.