[E.M.Supreme] Chapter 5 - A Knightly Affair

Smith looked around the unusually serene little spring they found themselves in.

Him and four other Royal Knights had come to the area after sensing a large disturbance. All under the purview of their Commander Malor. 

What they hadn’t expected to find was nothing. 

Absolutely nothing that was strange or out of the expectation. 

They had been stationed within the local backwater town where all the villages and small communes would gather on this auspicious day to unlock the classes of their young and help them join society as productive adults. Watching and probing for rumor and myth that likely would never occur. 

It was then they felt what could only be a dragon going supernova during a fight, trying to cause its core to erupt and kill whatever it was fighting. 

A surge of pure, unadulterated energy that should have turned this place into a hellscape. 

Yet, here they stood in silence in a peaceful spring surrounded by flowers.

Fuck. I was hoping for some type of action. Nothing major, just enough to stave off this endless boredom. At least I’m not back in the town, right?

Smith had been suffering face melting boredom at the village as he saw the hundredth trash step up and unlock some variation of trash classes and being helped to unlock equally trash skills. All joyful and happy, dancing and partying for absolutely no good reason. 

How many variations of [Tanners] and [Bakers] did one town need?

Worse yet, it wasn’t any special type. Just basic variations, run of the mill, and quite average types. 

Smith kicked a pebble into the distance. Gravel surrounded the tiny pond that originated the spring. Likely an underground river of some sort that somehow had a tiny diversion come through this way to form such a peaceful little area. He sighed and knelt to touch the ground, it felt warm?

That’s strange…?

All of the other Royal Knights were spread out investigating the area in an attempt to gather clues and figure out what had happened. 

No matter how quiet and serene the place felt, this was the origin of the energy they felt. 

It was only a matter of time before they were able to solve this mystery. 

“Pilous!” The commanders shouted from the distance, walking back into the spring after having checked the eastern direction thoroughly by himself while the other knights checked in different directions.  “That pond won’t talk to you no matter how long you stare at it. Come here and help Smith kick rocks. They’re more likely to give us credible information.”

All the knights, including Smith, laughed and chuckled at their commander's horrible joke. 

Everyone except Pilous. He didn't shift or move as he continued to watch the pond before him with unwavering dedication, as though it would solve world hunger for him. 

Smith blinked at the reaction. 

Though the commander had been joking, it was obvious what his intent was for saying what he did. They were wasting time doing nothing productive when they could be in other areas finding more clues to this dangerous potential catastrophe that could end up leveling the entire town not too far away. 

None of them could afford that. 

Mistakes or negligence meant the death of tens of thousands of people. 

Pilous pointed and said nothing. The man from a far off land rarely spoke full sentences because of how difficult it was for him. Their entire language system was supposedly vastly different and made it hard to translate properly between what they could understand and his meaning fully. 

Smith and the other two Royal Knights all approached and looked at the pond.

“What’s wrong with it?” the Commander asked.

“Pond not talk. Pond, hot water.”

Smith’s eyebrows rose as he kneeled down and put his hand into the pond.

“Hot water?” the Commander said as realization crossed his face a few moments later. “Boiling water! Smith?”

He nodded at Malor. It was indeed boiling hot water and yet somehow it wasn’t bubbling nor was it obvious until he had placed his hand in it. Yet, Pilous had somehow figured it out. His estimation of the strange man increased. 

Pilous nodded as he looked at them all one by one. “Under. Under is ‘Nova.”

“Commander!” another Knight shouted from the distance, further to the north than the spring, running to them. “I got a hole leading underground. It's got signs of mana overload and mana burnings inside. It's still filled with smoke.”

Smoke? Then why isn’t it rising up and out of the hole?

Commander Malor looked back at him, they likely had the same thought, but hadn’t said it out loud. They were both the most experienced in their group to all the dangers and strangeness of the world around them, and yet every single day they were met with new oddities that left them baffled. 

“Rob! Go get Keith and meet up here. We need to discuss battle plan before heading down.”

It didn’t take long for the last two knights to arrive from their locations. Everyone gathered together and waited for the Commander to speak. It was necessary considering both Rob and Keith were newer to the Royal Order than the rest of them. 

Pilous had supposedly served the out of Kingdom branches during the war time nearly a decade ago. 

His communication barriers were the reason he landed this position.

Smith shook his head, unwilling to remember what got him his. The entire lead up, what he went through. The loss and–

The Commander cleared his throat. “Alright. Now that everyone is here. Listen and listen well. Stick with the group and never stray too far. If you notice something, shout it out loud. If you see an enemy, blast and then ask questions later. We can’t afford an ambush when dealing with dragons likely fighting for domination in the area. More so if we end up figuring out something more disastrous. If you have any worries, doubts, or questions, don’t speak them. Don’t let me know. Don’t let the man next to you know. Don’t even think them more than once. Voice them when we make it out of this alive and well. Any questions?”

Keith raised his hand.

Smith laughed as he smacked his head. 

“What?” Keith said with a scrunched face. Still trying to figure out why he had been smacked. 

Rob whispered into his ear.  

Keith’s eyes widened comically, before he gave a chagrined expression. Everyone laughed, it helped that Keith was a natural at lightening the mood even if it was mostly unintended. Helped keep them balanced when, by all accounts, they should have been worried. 

“Good,” the Commander said. He turned toward the hole in the ground. “Let's go see what this underground area has in store for us.”