“In the land of Avalur, there lies the Royal family and 4 distinguished duchies.


    These four duchies symbolize the pillars of the Avalur Continent. Each is adorned by their guardian dragon and holds their own grand artifact.


    One such duchy is the Varun Duchy, also known as the Poison Clan.


    During the Great Massacre of Venomgard 300 years ago in the War of Continents, the vicious ancestors of Varun dominated the battlefield. Your very own great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was known as the Poison Monarch. His name was Zyler Varun.


    Zyler used the Poison Clan’s grand artifact, the Codex of Ouroboros, to conjure up an ancient 9th-circle spell that eradicated the Hundred Thousand Army of Murim in the span of two days.


    The Hundred Thousand Army comprised of Hundreds of Transcendence Realm martial artists perished as if they’ve never existed…


    That was the last official contact between the two continents.


    After the war, the Royal family, better known as the Agnes family, incinerated the latter half of the Codex.


    From then on, the first half was called “Mortal Arts” while the second half was called “The Forgotten Realms”


    ‘Pretty neat huh?’”


    -Plap


    I remember the moment my father closed the storybook, I saw his face turn stiff.


    “However, only our lineage knows… that The Forgotten Realms was actually sealed up in the Royal Treasury.”


    With a youthful appearance despite being in his thirties, Dante glanced at his son with a stern look on his face.


    “You’ve already mastered 1st-circle magic, it''s time to teach you about the contents of the Codex. Listen carefully”


    “There is a volume of the Codex corresponding to each of your circles… ‘Mortal Arts’ only goes up till the 6th…”


    ***


    That was 8 years ago.


    I turned 14 recently and reached the 3rd circle.


    According to the Mage Association, the 3rd and 7th circles were major advancement points. These stages are where magic power exponentially increases. A 3rd class mage was respected all over the continent.


    I never knew my talent would foster the envy of others.


    “Kai! Do you want to go play on the swings?” Edward asked Kai in the castle hall after their breakfast.


    My half-brother, Edward, was just a year younger than me, and always stuck close to me.


    “Sure” I replied


    That was until his mother started condemning him for hanging out with me. She thinks all that matters is Edward succeeding our father, what pitiful ideals. Family is supposed to help each other strive, not push each other down. How can she be so old, but still so selfish?


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    “Do you not know he is your rival?!” “You are going to fight him one day!”


    Her words pierced my heart like a dagger laced with poison.


    She was my father’s first wife, Carmilla Rossfield, and always looked at me with those disdainful wicked red eyes of hers.


    “Useless piece of shit… you would’ve been nothing without your measly talent”


    But as time passed, I grew unaffected by her nasty words… I mean who would even take criticism coming from someone named ‘Carmilla’?”


    Seeing Edward so eager to go on the swings in the garden makes me smile too.


    I quickly followed Edward to the garden and hopped on the swings with him. We chatted for a while about what our plans are for today.


    “Brother! What are you going to do later? If you’re free do you want to go spy on the knights again?”


    “Sorry Edward, maybe tomorrow? Father assigned me a task to collect herbs outside today”


    Seemingly disappointed, Edward put his hand on my shoulder and agreed.


    “Okay… that''s a deal? Tomorrow, right?”


    “Yes! For sure!”


    ‘My brother is so cute!’ I thought to myself.


    ‘How could I ever live without my adorable brother… only if he didn’t have that hag of a mother, I hope he never changes’


    As we continued to play together, the sun also started setting.


    “Oh shoot, it''s almost dusk, I better get going, see you tomorrow Edward!”


    “Aww, see you tomorrow Kai, be safe out there”


    ***


    I quickly grabbed my bag and [Mortal Arts], then headed down the river to find the poisonous herbs my father told me to gather.


    ‘Hogweeds, Serpent Parsnip, Black Snakeroot, Aflos River Grass…’


    “Phew, that''s a lot of work to do”


    I looked at the sun


    “Hmm, I better finish this before dinner starts”


    As I headed further away from the riverbank and into the forest, the sounds of birds chirping quieted and the sunlight dimmed.


    “Hm? There we go! I finally found you after so long”


    Using my gloves, I picked the leaves off the Black Snakeroot and filled a fourth of my bag with it. Just a handful of leaves from the Black Snakeroot are filled with enough paralyzation toxins capable of incapacitating an adult male. I wonder what Father wants to do with these leaves.


    After I closed my bag, I sat down on the ground and decided to rest for a bit.


    ‘...The forest seems eerily quiet today, I wonder what’s happening’


    The chilling winds blew across my forehead, hitting the sweat droplets clinging onto my skin.


    “Wow that feels darn refreshing”


    Before I could get up, I felt the presence of 5 people quickly surrounding me.


    ‘Masked individuals… They must be assassins.”


    My eyes darted between each of them in quick succession, still, I couldn’t identify them.


    ‘Who would dare to send assassins so close to Varun territory??’


    “Who sent you?!”


    I screeched at the top of my lungs hoping to cause a commotion large enough for others to hear,


    Like trained assassins, they didn’t speak to me, instead, they all dashed inwards with daggers in hand trying to apprehend me at once.


    ‘Like I’d let that happen!’


    [Lesser Lightning Call]


    A bright light flashed in front of me, dazing the assassins for a split second, which gave me enough time to slip past two of them.


    It was so dark I couldn’t tell which way I was running, but I still ran as fast as I could towards a random direction.


    -Gaaaaasp!


    As I was running, I was frantically gasping for air. Sweat ran down and off my face as I ran.


    -Woosh!


    The longer I ran, the heavier my feet felt.


    ‘Did I lose them?’


    The sound of leaves rustled as the assassins leaped from tree to tree.


    Unknown to Kai, the assassins were keeping a firm eye on him, as they scoured the surroundings.


    “He’s going towards a cliff! Catch him!”


    I heard faint yelling from the 5 people that surrounded me earlier.


    ‘Wait… did they say cliff?!’


    -Skrrrt


    I skidded both my feet to an abrupt stop when approaching the edge of the cliff.


    ‘What options do I have now??’


    “Shit”


    I’ve never used such vulgar language before, but I felt it was appropriate during this situation.


    ‘It’s either do or die.’


    I leaped off the cliff, scanning for any safer landings in the dark.


    Focusing mana on my eyes, my field of vision expanded and I saw more clearly in the dark.


    -RAHH


    “My eyes! It burns!”


    A bright flash of light covered my vision.


    This was my first time using mana on my eyes, I didn’t know about the complications of doing so.


    A second later, the light started to fade, and I saw the many trees under the cliff.


    ‘…the branches, I really hope it breaks my fall’