"It was quite a smart decision you made for the other wishes."
"But why do you need a workshop? "
Sir Nicholas asked after a long stretch of silence as they made their way.
Ash gave him a glance that showed nothing on his face.
He didn't want to explain. If he had an option, he wouldn't.
But he had to since, technically, he was under his roof, and he was the one basically in charge.
"If you have most definitely heard, I can't accumulate mana and use it as other people do."
"Which means I can't call out my class, and I'm completely useless unless I'm using artifacts and mana objects."
"Which I'm pretty good at creating, " Ash replied calmly, almost missing the slight frown that crept into Sir Nicholas's face.
It was within his expectations that he was going to react that way,
But it still hurt a little, a tiny bit, though.
This problem was the beginning of how everything turned upside down,
showing the true colors of every member of the Hargreaves household, which at that time was unexpected.
His status in the house to the current head was that of a cousin to an uncle; his parents went missing when he was just three.
With little to no other option, he was taken in by his uncle, who ascended the throne in his father's place.
While growing up, Ash found out that he had one major flaw, which was that he couldn't accumulate mana in his core or heart.
As they referred to it, the stomach for the mana.
It was not exactly in the heart, but rather a subspace present inside the human body; however, Ash couldn't do so because the subspace was either missing or blocked.
This condition came with an advantage that he quickly took notice of, which was that it allowed him to focus mainly on control instead of absorption.
When one reaches a certain threshold, they would be able to awaken a class, which is a division of the body's mana function.
With each of the different classes being fundamentally different from each other, while also being very similar.
And there are seven basic classes, which are:
blades, lancers, casters, berserker, archers, riders, and assassins.
Each of the basic classes branches out into much wider subclasses when they reach a certain threshold in strength or when a certain condition is met,
This is a very complex and difficult process.
Not being able to absorb and accumulate mana is the beginning of failure,
which Ash found himself in.
But he didn't really take it to mind, using his advanced control over mana and the limited amount of information he could get from the family library.
He began to research other methods of magic, but it didn't help him find anything to help himself, although he found something.
And it was basically what took him to the Bastion in the first place.
"Although it's not in my place to say this, it's quite a dumb idea to throw someone away because of their weaknesses. "
"Everyone has something they're good at; that diversity in strength is what makes the Bastion powerful and still standing till today ."
"If I were to give you advice."
"It's that you should find where your strength lies and weaponize it because it's way better than being a freeloader."
Nichlas said before taking a slight pause ,
Taking a look at Ash, whose eyes gave a subtle glint, which showed surprise.
He turned his eyes back to the tunnel, which was already showing signs of light,
Which grew brighter as they drew closer to the end.
With a calm sigh, he said," Do your best to become stronger. The Bastion is not for the weak of heart and body. "
"The faster you can adapt, the better for you, because we see a lot of death around here every day. Just try not to be one of them, " he said calmly before a pause.
" Oh, and welcome to the Bastion."
*************
Sir Nicholas sat in his office with a grey expression; the new prisoner who arrived was supposed to be someone he dislikes very much.
But he ended up taking a liking to the kid,
Which was odd due to how different his ways of thinking were,
Which, by a long margin, were different from the way he thought of the boy.
"So what are your instructions?" a voice called out to Sir Nicholas, drawing his already drifting attention back to reality.
He turned to look at the person who was one of the loyal commanders under him, whose name happened to be Kane.
He happened to be the same person who welcomed Ash and the imperial princess into the bastion, and from what he could tell,
It was obvious that he had also taken a liking to the boy, even if they had not said anything.
"It is going to be difficult for him to settle down among the others."
"mainly because of his age and what he is convicted of, 'murder' . "
"That kid is different - yes .... But the case report and everything here are false. I'm not that dumb to fall for such."
Sir Nicholaas said, rubbing his forehead, as he tried to find a way around this situation since he was being convicted for such a crime at such an early age.
He would no doubt be the subject of bullying from both instructors , soldiers, and fellow inmates.
Members of royal houses were rarely ever convicted of murder,
Unless
In special cases, they may want to tarnish their reputation or give them a painful exile.
But the excuse they gave was to keep ' peace 'since it concerned another royal house, and it had to be the Elves.
"I'm sure the kid would be fine… if we do our part well, there is a high chance that he will survive."
"And by the way, he isn't hitting the field until six months; we can always hold back his deployment, " Kane said in a reassuring tone.
Which made him think for a little while before pushing Ash's file towards Kane.
"You heard what he wanted, sort them out for him, and I need the best and tell the old man in the smithy to help him with a good enough forging room while for his training." he stopped his words as an idea came to mind.
"And for that ,hand him over to Kruger."
Nicholas said with a smile at the end, while Kane had a tense expression,
since he knew that name was not to be used lightly when it came to training newbies.
Only in cases when the subject is extremely stubborn or truly exceptional,
And most of them either become elites in six months or break and are discarded.
Kane kept his question and comment to himself, but still had to chip in what he had in mind:
"Are you sure about giving him to Kruger ... that kid will not survive worse since he can't absorb mana, and you know how she reacts around such ' special individuals '."
Kane had to voice his concern since he knew very well how evil she could be. "If he can survive that trial, then I wouldn't have to worry about a thing, " Nicholas said in a tone of finality.
Leaving no room open for discussion, and he knew better than to argue, he closed the case and headed out to fulfill his given task.
He turned his attention to the glass pane, staring outside where the rift was located,
With an amused expression,
"Now, show me something fun."