[Fireball] was a spell of supreme power. It could vaporize a dozen men and more if tightly packed. Such power was typically only accessible to the most arcane of wizards, but Philip could cast such a spell TWICE a day! Truly, he would make such a supreme accounting of himself at the Katze Plains this year, that all would hear his name and fear him. *I can give life, saving the dying... and I can take it... this much is to be expected from a man like me. Though perhaps there are no other men like me. Surely none amongst the incompetents that call themselves my betters!* he declared in his head. He began to head back to the manor when he started to consider the past year. His efforts to grow tobacco had not gone as well as could have been hoped for. Tobacco seeds were expensive compared to seedstock for grain crops. Philip had figured that it could wait until he had his [Ring of Fireball] because he could buy even more with whatever reward he got from the Kingdom.
Like wise, the herbs for making spell scrolls required a measure of special knowledge to grow, and so Philip would need to purchase books or hire someone to take care of such things. So he figured he would need to get a retainer but from where?
Such things as these Philip had no idea how to do. He was the third son of the Baron and so had little education on any such matters. Infact, his father was still taking care of the majority of the territories dealings despite being retired. Philip simply didn't mind his fathers taking care of it and so wouldn't bother learning anything about it. The family of his brother had remained in the main house despite Philip's best efforts as his father had said that it should be the case until Philip has a heir of his own.
Yet Philip had no wife. If he took one now, then he would not be able to marry again unless she died. At the current moment the only brides avalible were the woman of the territory whom any one of them would surely delight at the chance to become his wife, and the daughters of lower nobility whom were beneath the notice of one as great as he.
Ah, but all that would change at the Katze Plains in a few weeks. Yes indeed, he would go there, defeat uncountable knights of the Empire. And then return a hero to the Kingdom.
xxx
Once more, Philip was in E-Rantel. He entered the city on his horse, wearing his armor to give true inspiration to his soldiers. Unfortunately, they only saw an overweight man wearing a suit of armor that didn't quite fit right and as such were slightly disheartened but knew that it was unlikely they would be killed. Philip so loved to ride a horse as a warrior that he was. Everyone had to literially look up to him, as opposed to looking down on him. He delivered his soldiers to the baracks and set off to find his inn for the stay.
To say this inn was disheartening was... an understatement. He hadn't been invited to the Count's residence in the city so it was here or the barracks, and the barracks were simply unacceptable for a Baron. So he stayed at this shitty adventurers inn because thats all that was avaliable. Some of the more wealthy merchant's sons were staying at better hotels than he even though he was of a higher rank. He was served shitty fare as complementary food with his room. To really rub salt into the wound, he had to go to the dining room itself rather than having it brought to him.
The indignity of it!
The dining room was more or less a bar called something slightly nicer. Crude wooden chairs and tables, along with cheap beer, salted goat, and harsh bread was the meal of the day. Every day. Philip could hardly stand it but he had spent all of his money on his ring and couldn't afford to spend much on the vendors in the market for fresher foods. Not to mind that he couldn't cook himself, he had people for that but they weren't here. Philip stewed sitting in his chair, slowly and very clearly angrily eating his food amongst the common rabble. Being that it was an adventurers inn many scarred men had walked past him. Some looked at him and gave cruel smiles aware he would much rather be elsewhere. Some of their wounds were fresher than others. At some point or another as he was close to still bleeding. *Probably can't afford the healing magic, which I can call upon at my leisure! Not many of them have mages in their party. That's where the problem begins.* As Philip watched a young girl collapse on the floor, a few patrons around the bar looked on with gazes filled with pity. A few moved to surround her. Yet, none could help her. *Pity. Adventurers are more valuable than commoners.* and just then another truly astounding idea entered Philip's mind. An idea so fantastic that no one else in the whole of the world save for him, who surely surpassed the greatest minds in intellect, could achieve. If healing people for free won him enough support in his own domain to gain him the throne of his his father, then if he used it here, maybe he could gain enough support to be made King...
With that Philip stood up from his table and walked over to the girl, pushing past the men.
"Step aside." He declared.
xxx
13 days. Thirteen days of wasting time in E-Rantel had led Philip to become some minor celebrity amongst the people. He had used the entire extent of his healing magic to aid every person he could. They had offered him meager amounts of money, like a mere 3 copper coins which he declined.
It wasn't that Philip was the first person to just start healing people of course. When adventurers retired, they would be free of the guild's rules and so would do as they pleased without consequence in regards to healing people. What set Philip out from the others was the fact that he was a noble. A noble of the Re-Estize Kingdom healing people free of charge was almost entirely unheard of indeed. Most nobles looked down on magic let alone spending all of ones mana to help the people. Philip could only use 10 spells of the 1st tier every day this much was true but over the course of 13 days he could still heal 130 people there about.
Once more he was at the Katze Plains. Looking over the desert. Once more he was in roughly the same spot he was where he murdered his brother and took his rightful place and heir. *From third son, to heir, to Baron, now to ascend even higher!* he smiled to himself.
His horse enabled him a view above all the commoners surrounding him. The same horse he rode back home triumphantly was beneath him now. Hejin. A horse of typical light brown coloration and no distinguishing features. A work horse really. As Philip was contemplating the benefits of getting a war horse, the battle started. Once more the Empire charged. This time, as they approached Philip was ready. "[Fireball]!" he cried out.
xxx
Sir Jayce Barren was a man who loved his Empire. He admired the Emperor, who had given them so much. Who had improved the roads, the trade, the laws, and even the magic of the Empire. He admired most of all about his Emperor, was his strategy for defeating the Kingdom with minimal loses. Every year when the Knights came out to the battle he would be sure to kill at least one of the Kingdom's conscripts. He held a lower command for the legion, ordering around 50 knights that were the pride of the Empire. It was for that reason, that he was most shocked when he witnessed a fat man in ill fitting armor call upon one of the most powerful spells he knew of and destroyed so many of his men.
He stood there for a moment amongst the battle in shock as he saw that man, a noble of the Re-Estize Kingdom, smile down on him from a poor looking horse. It was so deeply unnatural. Like watching a starving pauper pull out a satchel of gold coins. He narrowed his eyes at the fat magic caster. "Ah. That's how it is." he said aloud. "Fall back!" He called out. This was obviously a trap. That man must have been a wizard of the third tier to have killed that many men using magic like that, one of the most arcane magic casters of the human race.
And with that, the battalion facing Philip fell back long before reaching his spear line.