Stuck As A Dungeon Mob

The thunder and rain which soaked the soldiers was relentless. It never ceased to stop even as the people started to flee in retreat.

"In the end, some will still die" Samuel murmured to himself. The fleeing soldiers were trampling one another in the panic, causing many's fate to be sealed. Not just that, but some people continued to battle under the intense weather.

Samuel didn't know what drove these battle maniacs, but he soon left the battlefield and made his way towards the capital. He gave himself a short look over using a mirror of water and simply touched up his hair.

There was not a single drop of water on his body. The way he flew using the wind also had the side effect of making a simple barrier of wind. Spells and projectiles were guaranteed to make trouble for the simple barrier, but it was nothing Samuel couldn't just destroy beforehand, as he had already demonstrated.

Flying above the capital city, Samuel saw the tall buildings made up of as many as 5 floors. He also saw the congested streets of Pith and not too far a gated off land with lush greenery and a regal palace.

The regal palace was large, there was no modesty in its presence. Yet, it was surrounded by great trees, each carefully pruned and cared for. They had what the grand palace lacked in modesty.

The constant reminder of nature and the humility that being surrounded by it brought… Surprisingly enough, it seemed to not affect the people of the royal family at all. Until recently Samuel had not paid any attention to politics, but the previous king nor the regent prince seemed capable of looking at the larger picture.

Brennan Bosque was without a doubt better than some that came before, but that was not how one should set their standards. It shouldn't be done based solely on what came before.

Samuel started to go down once he entered the range of the palace gates. He did so as carefully and inconspicuously as possible. Once this was done, he paid the palace a formal visit.

"Samuel Oakley…" The knight at the gate said to himself, ruminating over the name.

"Ah! yes! The Duke has just called for you. We have a carriage ready, harry! Come lead him out" A knight at the gate yelled to a coachman not too far away.

"Aye, Sir!" The coachman was a young man who appeared rather humble.

"Nice weather we are having huh" The coachman tried to make small talk while driving them through the large palace garden. Samuel would have preferred some quiet to think about things, but he decided to make some small talk anyway.

Some ten odd minute later, the coachmen bid Samuel farewell and he was greeted at the palace's foyer by none other than the duke.

"Samuel, you've come a long way" Duke Lansworth said amicably.

"That I have" Samuel said with a kind smile. There was a trace of sarcasm in his smile and words. Was he possibly tired of being told he had come a long way?

After some greetings and pleasantries, Samuel was taken to a more private location.

"Oh, Miller" Samuel was surprised to find Miller in this more secure location. What surprised him more than anything however was his attire.

He would usually be dressed like a servant or attendant, but right now his clothing had both purple and blue hues, colors mostly associated with nobility due to being more expensive. Actually, it puzzled Samuel quite deeply.

"Let's have a seat first" Duke Lansworth said motioning for a seat. Samuel followed his orders and took a seat on a comfortable couch. The Duke took one opposite to him and Miller went to serve some tea.

"How was getting in? Tough?" Lansworth asked, starting some small talk.

"It was... turbulent" Samuel responded causing the duke to nod softly.

"I see, that's-" The duke stopped himself. Miller came back with the tea, preventing the Duke could open up another line of conversation.

"Well, let's get straight to the point then" The Duke shifted to the main topic as Miller found himself a seat.

"We have about a third of the nobles backing our plan to appoint a new king" The Duke said without any context.

"A third? What nobility?" Samuel decided he needed to prod a bit to obtain some information.

"Hahaha!" But the Duke simply burst out laughing.

"I didn't expect you to ask about that, aren't you curious about the new king?" He asked Samuel who just shot the duke a glance. Was he planning to institute himself?

For a duchy to take the throne was not unusual but… The duke had already shown through his words and actions that he had no interest in the throne.

"The third prince is too young, and the second prince though closer to the ideal is far too sickly. The only real option is… Miller" The duke said arching his lips into a smile. He wanted to gauge the reaction of Samuel after he said such shocking words.

"I see…" If Miller was to take the throne, the attire would be explained. What came as a surprise to Samuel however was that Miller had some royal blood in him.

"That was disappointing…" The duke muttered before clearing his throat.

Samuel's reaction was lackluster, but it was for good reason. Miller's connection with the duke was obviously one of servant and master, but the duke had not regarded Miller as lowly. They were like partners.

The attire told Samuel that Miller was not who he seemed and although he was indeed surprised by the reveal, it was not something he wanted to a kick a fuzz over.

"How are you planning to reveal this? What about when the third prince grows older?" Samuel asked curiously.

"Miller is an unfortunate bastard child, he is something of… a grand uncle to the current line of royalty" The Duke said sparing Miller's presence no mind.

Samuel was slightly surprised. Miller seemed pretty young, the one that came before the king was obviously quite busy after his retirement from the throne.

"The Third prince's right to the throne cannot compare" Miller was a brother to Brennan Bosque, how could anyone else take the throne? There were many systems of succession, in some, the direct branch of the family took precedent, but Bosque was evidently not one of these.

Even if it did have this system of hereditary monarchy1, laws were meant to be interpreted, they could always be bent.

"But… what's the end goal?" Samuel asked. There was something bugging him about everything occurring in Bosque related to the war and even with the dungeon at Arbor Town back home.

"The Forbidden Forest" The Duke said with a solemn expression.

"Th- The Forbidden forest?" For once, Samuel was shocked. This he hadn't expected.

The Forbidden Forest was recognized as a global threat by most of the nations near it, but there was not enough high level combatants to even think to tackle it. Most decided to just live and let live. As a person that actually lived near the forest however, Samuel had more of a live but play close attention.

"Wait… was that part of the reason why…?" Samuel was starting to understand something a bit better. Arbor Town was one of the closest towns to the forbidden forest. It wasn't close by any means, just the closest.

No town or city was crazy enough to build near the forbidden forest. There was solid proof from previous generations of failed attempts that detailed why it was a bad idea. Some adventurers might dare to leave in its vicinity, but no sane groups of people would.

For those adventurers, they had earned the land where they built their homes. It was a well known law that adventurers risking their lives in the Forbidden Forest could claim some land and even enter the ranks of nobility in the event that they made some progress. A lord should not leave his fief.

"I can't say it didn't influence our decision" The Duke said, believing he understood Samuel's train of thought.

Samuel was the branch leader of the only adventuring organization nearest to the forbidden forest, he was valuable. Sending his own brother, Khal Lansworth, to take charge was also a working method but... his brother had a few missing screws. Having Miller accompany him was a foregone conclusion.

"But… why?" Samuel said with genuine curiosity and confusion. What could they possibly need from the forest to merit claiming the throne over it?

It was here where the Duke scratched his head and put on a troubled expression. Samuel wasn't sure if he was taking his questions too far or something, but the duke did end up responding.

"Do you believe in gods?" The duke closed his eyes and asked.

"Gods?" Samuel was not expecting this question, but he had to answer it.

"I don't know…" He had never made a prayer, but… maybe there was something. In a world where magic existed, anything was possible. Samuel had just changed the weather in a small area outside the capital, to some... that was already godly!

"What if I tell you they existed?" The duke continued.

"Well, then I'd be confused by the use of the past participle…" Samuel said honestly.

"That's it, where have they gone? Have you ever wondered that?" The Duke said with a snap before asking more questions.

Samuel shook his head. They couldn't be in the forest?

"There are no gods in the forbidden forest either, but there might be a hint" The dungeons in the forest were ancient and some had even broken out. They were dangerous and had to be dealt with by a kingdom, not by small parties of adventurers stupid enough to risk their lives for a piece of paper.

The forbidden forest was one of the few places that might contain solid pieces of history!

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