Mimic Knight

My father's dissatisfied look could be seen as I concluded my sparring practice with my elder brother. “You did well, Arthur. I’m amazed at how great you are with swords at your age. I’m sure our family’s legacy will continue…” he said, clapping his hands. My father said those things to my older brother, Arthur Bladewells. But there was nothing for me, not even his encouragement. He simply walked away to get back to his work. I was never really that talented compared to my older brother. It has been difficult for me to master swordsmanship. But I believe, I would live up to our family name, the Bladewells. I just needed to wait until I was fifteen years old, then my gift would manifest and I might become better at it. 15 years has passed… The family tree of the Bladewells. The esteemed Noble family of the Bladewells was well-known for their extraordinary abilities in knighthood throughout the Kingdom of Avendor. Among the kingdom's four principal families of nobility were the Bladewells. The Bladewells had produced some of the best knights in the land for a good ten or more years. They are all well known for their bravery, devotion, and skill. For this reason, the knights trained in the province of Bladewell are assigned to a specialized force within the kingdom itself. The head of the Bladewell family was going to be in charge of it. To continue the Bladewells family legacy, their descendants must rise to the top of the group. And today was the day for me to finally be able to live up to Bladewells name… as I am finally able to receive my gift. I have been waiting for this day to come ever since I was little. I could finally make my father proud. “Liam, hurry up! Don’t you want to know your gift already?” My older brother called me up as it was time to head to the church. He always teased me about being late whenever we went anywhere together. As much as I hated him, he was still my big brother... but right now I didn't care what happened anymore. All I wanted was for my wish to be granted soon. We arrived at the cathedral where the ceremony took place. We waited patiently for everyone else who came before us. There were many other people here from different noble houses too. A few of them looked like they knew each other quite well. My father didn't accompany me here as he went into the king's council to discuss something important. The only person left with me is Arthur. So Arthur greeted every one of the noblemen with a smile on his face while I remained silent and kept staring forward. I waited my turn to come and when it was finally time, we went through the door. The Archbishop smiled gently at us and nodded his head. He welcomed us into his office, then led us out of his private chambers into the main area where there's a rune carved onto the ground. This is where my gift will manifest. As I stand on top of the magic circle, the Archbishop begins to chant an incantation. He then raised his arms and lifted the staff in his right hand, pointing at the center of my chest. It was time… Suddenly, a surge of magical energy was sent coursing through my body. It felt like my whole body was on fire but not painful at all. A warm sensation ran through me. A certain rune appeared on my hand and then disappeared, and before I could even realize it, it was over. And it turns out that I had acquired a gift. I was really happy knowing that I was able to obtain a gift successfully. Because there's a chance where a person couldn't able to receive a gift. The gift itself is something to boost a person's power and was given by the gods itself. The Archbishop examined the results on his paper scroll to see what kind of gift I get. And I hoped it would be something similar to my older brother. My brother got the gift of Elemental Swordsman, which made him capable of using different elements in his swordsmanship. Then, the Archbishop handed me a piece of paper with my result written on it. The Archbishop said, "Young master Liam Bladewell. Your gift is Monster Tamer." It took me a moment before I could accept what was happening to me. I stood there looking at the paper scroll with my gift on it. I couldn't believe it! Monster Tamer?! It has nothing to do with a sword at all. Why would I receive this gift? It doesn't make sense because the Bladewells family always gifted their children with sword-related gifts. I tried to ask the Archbishop if there was something wrong. "Excuse me, but are you sure this is correct?" The Archbishop was certain with his words, "I'm sure about it young master Liam, you are a monster tamer." But my older brother Arthur said, "No way, you must be mistaken. This must be some kind of mistake! There's no way Liam got Monster Tamer as his gift. Can you recheck it, Archbishop?" Arthur was just as shocked as me. He doesn't know what to think of it either. The Archbishop agree with him and cast another spell on me again. After a while, the Archbishop looked at the result and said, "It is the same as before young master Arthur. Liam is a monster tamer." This was terrible news for our family. Monster tamer isn't a powerful gift, as couldn't boost the person's power but only the monster. Plus you could only tame a single monster based on your own man. So I am quite a disappointment for my family, and I would never be able to carry our family name. I stormed off back home in silence. My mind was filled with questions and I didn't know what to do. My older brother Arthur also didn't say a word either on our way home. I don't even know what he thought of me now… When we reached our manor, my mother was already waiting at the doorstep for us. She seemed to be in a cheerful mood but her expression quickly changed when she saw our faces. "What's wrong, boys? Did something happen?" she asked worriedly. Arthur told her everything that happened that day. He explained what had happened, why we were so upset, and what kind of gift I had received. "What? Monster Tamer?" she said, looking surprised. "This can't be true!" We both nodded in agreement and explained the whole story again. My mother listened carefully and seemed to understand what we were saying. After hearing everything that happened today, she said, "We need to talk to your father about this but I don't think he is happy to hear about your gift." I guess it was surprising since I was not gifted with the gift of the sword. My father isn’t yet home as it would take him several days to return from the capital of the kingdom. But regardless of how many days it needed… it couldn’t change the fact that I didn’t inherit any of the sword-related gifts. I waited years for this day to finally come and yet the result is extremely disappointing. I could already imagine what my father could said to me when he became aware of this matter. If only I could become better without my gifts, I might be able to make him proud. My mother didn’t say much afterward as she still seemed to be fairly shocked to hear what had happened with my gift. My older brother, on the other hand, tried to cheer me up but failed. Because part of him still couldn’t believe that my gift was monster tamer. It was understandable for everyone to be confused, as I couldn’t accept the reality yet myself. All I could do was simply lock myself up in the room, crying as much as I could. Because of what else I was able to do, I couldn’t fit into this family lineage at all. I wanted to become a knight myself but I am not strong, not skilled enough. And worse yet, my gift itself isn’t fitting of a knight. I wish that I could be a true knight… and live up to my family legacy.