《Shame On Me》
Prologue - Adventure
The man climbed up, one foot in front of the other, as he had for the past three hours. The mountain seemed to stretch all the way to the skies above, its peaks piercing the blue clouds that prevented him from glimpsing the nature of the man who threatened to destroy the entire world. His three companions followed closely behind him. A magic-wielder whose robe flowed around him, emitting a strong aura that shielded him from the elements; a ranger, her bow tied up on her back, capable of knocking a man¡¯s badge off from over two hundred meters; a barbarian, his fury strong enough to melt steel with just a gaze.
A large gust of wind that came from above seemed to shake the mountainside and even the warrior had to frown his brow and brace himself so as not to be thrown off the very face of the cliff. The mage¡¯s staff clashed against the stone, and the material enveloped them, bestowing a boon that kept them from being pushed off course by the magic of the domain. His shield clattered as he walked forward, nearing their destination.
Another man waited painfully as he heard footsteps nearing his new home. His beard fell down to his knees, and his old staff cracked straight down the middle as he lifted himself up to full height. Another time, he could have fled with ease, but even his great power could not stop old age. Still, the brave men and women coming to face him now would not be able to stop him, no matter what.
The four adventurers finally reached the top peak of the mountain, and stood before an old man, who seemed out of the place among the death and destruction that had laid waste to everything miles around. He looked at them gently, and in that moment they saw the eyes of someone who had seen far too much to be all right.
The ranger took first action, her bow arm flung back without thinking, the result of inneumerable hours of training. The arrow at the front was instantly engulfed in fire as she poised to strike straight at the man¡¯s head. His eyes widened in a semblance of surprise that betrayed something of his latent power, but the arrow struck true, his hood going up in a burst of flames.
The warrior kept to the back, unable to get close to the man in front of him, who thrashed about madly as the fire spread to the rest of his clothing. Dashing forward, the mage threw something at his legs that quickly exploded in a mirage of different colours. The man leapt back as if he had fully expected that to happen, and spat upon the ground. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Instead of simply dissolving, the spit turned into a wall of water, that was impossible to pass. The various particles making up the formation sprayed like a great machine, pushing all the men back, making them near the edge of the mountain, almost falling into the depths below. The barbarian roared like a beast from the foggiest tundras, and shielded the other three with his body.
The man lifted his staff, and from it came forth beings of power: a canine forged in flames, a lumbering giant whose swings sent rocks flying, a moth the size of a small house that lurched forward with intent to pulverize. With a swing of his axe, the barbarian cut the giant across the chest, but the attack failed to put down the creature. A small incantaion from the mage was enough to send the moth into a frenzy, and the ranger¡¯s arrows pelted against its hide.
With a last and powerful scream, the moth crashed against the mage, sending him tumbling over the edge. He cast spell after spell as he fell, but none of them did anything to slow his fall. A below of rage came from Hortensio as he crashed against the ground, and laid still. The man sent off a beam of pure energy, now that the spellcaster was gone, and it splayed apart to hit the ranger and the warrior, sending their arms flying off with ease.
The barbarian, thrown off course by seeing his comrades hurt, was unable to keep up his relentless assault, and his spirit faltered, allowing the canine and giant to mount an attack in order to rip his limbs off. Lorena¡¯s bow and arrows, blessed by the goddess of archery, were now completely useless given her one good arm. Fernando¡¯s shield, given to him by the Paladins of the Light, had been thrown to his right, his fingers ripped off right with it.
Vesuno¡¯s bulging muscles, that came as a result of a boon from the god of rightousness, were strong enough to withstand blows that could fell stone walls, but they were now reduced to mere playthings from the monsters that ravaged his body. With a grunt that could be heard miles across, he raised his head and bellowed a roar that pushed back even the canine now feasting on his flesh.
Lorena attempted to grab a herb from her pocket to replenish her health, but the fire from the old man¡¯s robes had somehow transferred over to her, and her whole body was now burning away to nothing.
Fernando¡¯s spirit flew up, about to raise to the heavens. Everything had come down to him in the end. He felt himself being pushed back instead of forward, and suddenly he was no more.
Forty years have passed since that day, when he set out on his quest to protect the innocent and spread his faith as a follower of the One True God. His attempt to vanquish the evil at the top of the cursed Mountain of the Deathless had failed. Peace be upon his soul.
Fernando woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar home, in an unfamiliar body.
Chapter 1 - A Renewed Destiny
...I woke up refreshed and ready for a new day. Whatever nightmare had disturbed my sleep last night had been all but forgotten. Still, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that there was something important I had to do. Probably just something on the farm, I reasoned. I put on my work boots and¡ª
The sword on the table. What was it doing there¡ª I stumbled across the room, searching for a rag. My head felt like it was splitting apart, perhaps some evil spirit had attacked me during the night. A vision- of gripping a longsword in one hand, and a magnificent shield in the other. Yet that couldn¡¯t be me. He looked nothing like me. He was old and... and... had the same birthmark on his right cheek. Like a spiderweb, burrowing down and stretching across. I gripped the sword so hard it felt like my knuckles were going to be ripped apart.
There were people with me too, in that vision, a woman even. Two other men, and someone else we were facing. Everything seemed to be going well, until we started being pushed back and our formation broke, allowing one of our own to be thrown off the cliff we were fighting on, by... some sort of giant moth?
After that, things only got worse and worse. The vision ended with us all dying in horrible ways. Still, it was only a vision. That person might have looked like me, but he wasn¡¯t me. I kept repeating that to myself. Although, if that sort of thing could ever come to pass, then it was a good idea to train to make sure it didn¡¯t.
I washed up before eating breakfast. My uncle had prepared an assortment of bread, cheese, meat and vegetables. Trying to get the thoughts of that horrible vision out of my head, I began a conversation with my uncle about how the harvest was predicted to go. Apparently this year was supposed to be a particularly fruitful one.
The sacrifices to the elder goddess had been made, and the ritual had been completed just hours before. At least a twenty percent increase in grain was expected from last year, and much more in terms of fruits. My uncle would go to the market after harvesting, in order to make as much profit as possible.
My uncle had taken care ever of me ever since I was a little kid; I would have ended up going to the village orphanage otherwise. It wasn¡¯t all bad. I had a roof over my head, albeit of straw, and the food my uncle made was always good, so I had time to train every day.
I wanted to become a paladin, a holy knight, like I had heard about from the men who came from the capital. Paladins had been blessed by the true god, and could smite foes with bright light strong enough to blind even dragons. They carried cool swords and a shield that could tank blows from giants.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I would pray every night before going to bed to the one true god, to give me strength and protect me from evil, and to help me and my uncle in preparing our farmland for the harvest.
Every morning I went out and did fifty pushups and sit-ups, then did ten laps around the farm. Physical condition was the most important part of a fight. Often, many an otherwise strong warrior lost due to a lack of stamina. That would never happen to me. I would make sure that I would never be the first to fall.
Now I had to up my training regime even more, making sure to make my sword sparring as effective as possible. I had saved my pocket money in order to purchase a training dummy in our backyard, and in the afternoon, usually after coming home with Marcus and Linden, I would always help Marcus with his homework.
This time I had already finished my chores beforehand, so we jumped on my bed and started shoving each other around. We¡¯d been talking about the festivities around the harvest time. He threw his messy bundle of sheets from maths class onto the desk next to my bed.
They got to go to school while I didn¡¯t. Education was free and somewhat compulsory until ten, but after that it became more expensive with every child you had. My uncle made good money from the farm, but he couldn¡¯t afford to pay for my education; it was simply too much for him to pay in addition to his sons.
¡°So, today at school¡ª¡± Marcus began, sitting cross-legged on my bed.
I screamed as I thought my head was simply going to melt away. It flung forward to hit the bedside table on which I was writing. It felt like I could see Marcus already telling me everything about his day. That he had failed an incredibly important test and didn¡¯t know what his prospects were going forward. And that I would then help him study for the test. And then he would fail it regardless. And then in an act of rage he would try to fight the Amrita at the edge of our village and¡ª and die. I realized I had started crying. Marcus was looking at me, his eyes wide. He put his hand on my shoulder.
¡°Fernando, what happened?¡± He asked, his voice shaking slightly.
¡°Nothing, Marcus, I¡¯m¡ª¡± I looked at my friend, and then remembered the way that old man had decimated an entire team of professionals. ¡°I¡¯ve realized I need to take my training more seriously.¡±
A glare of the sun blocked my line of sight, slowing my movement, and my sword missed its mark, allowing Marcus to sidestep and strike at my exposed arm.
¡°Be careful,¡± he said, as I cried out in pain. ¡°There¡¯s no need to go over the top just because something scared you. Let¡¯s rest for a while.¡±
¡°No,¡± I insisted, rubbing my bruised arm. ¡°We have to keep going, no matter what.¡±
¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into you,¡± he said, staring me down, ¡°but I don¡¯t want to see you get hurt, so just take it easy, for my sake.¡±
I didn¡¯t meet his gaze, instead thinking about the best way to kill an immortal spirit.
Chapter 2 - Managing Under Duress
Our sparring session finished when I used the opportunity of a successful parry to hit Marcus across the chest, which would have meant a fatal blow in any other context, considering neither one of us had armour on. After he¡¯d gone to bed, I continued to do laps around the yard until I could not longer move my body. I pushed myself to keep going even when my legs felt like they were going to fall off.
Collapsing in a heap, I lost consciousness while I saw myself burned alive by a being far beyond mortal powers. The worst part was that it felt as if it was mocking me. As if it had been through this already and was just in a hurry to never have to do it again.
My sleep was undisturbed, like something had watched over me throughout my dreamless night. I woke up just as my uncle strolled into my room to greet me good morning.
¡°I brought you up to your room last night. You fell asleep outside the barn. I appreciate you trying to keep healthy and fit, but you gotta know your limits.¡± He scratched his beard as he went to pick up a bucket. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to milk the cows today,¡± he said, passing it to me with a grin. ¡°Get going.¡±
The morning sun beat down on my face as I made my way to the pen. It somehow seemed like I had lived these events before. Some sort of past life maybe? Yet that didn¡¯t explain the visions, not really anyhow. The temple in the village was not too far off. Perhaps they might be able to answer some of my questions, though I was going to have to be careful not to accidentally commit blasphemy.
Past lives were not strictly heretical, but they were not avowed by the church. The main church teaching was that there was not a reincarnation cycle, and that humans only passed through this realm once. Hopefully if I had lived some kind of past life, my memories would keep coming back to me. I needed to know what mistakes I¡¯d made in order to better prepare for what was to come.
I¡¯d decided to take all precautionary measures and try to both defeat the Amrita, and find a way to have Marcus pass the test. The easiest way would probably have been to simply find a copy of the test before he¡¯d actually take it, so he could learn the answers off by heart. The problem was that I wasn¡¯t sure where his teacher had placed it. I had to find a way to either beg him not to fight the Amrita, or defeat it myself.
The Amrita was not an overall violent being. It was born of the earth, and fueled by the everlasting love of the mother goddess. However, if it was threatened in any way, it would call upon the powers given to it and lay waste to anything before its eyes. The reason it was called an immortal spirit was difficult to find out, as riffling through religious texts did not yield a definite answer.
One of the best ways to kill anything was through a spell formula. It took in the energies of the world and expelled them forcefully through a calculated blast. They were not too difficult to get a hold of; however they were very expensive. The little money my uncle gave me would have only been enough to purchase one, maybe two at most.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
As I was deep in thought, I felt a fear wash over me. I turned as quickly as possible, milk being thrown everywhere. I couldn¡¯t see anyone directly behind me, but I got up regardless. Looking around, I tried to find the source of my premonition. At the very end of the pen, there was a small note tied to a wooden fence that ran around the farm. I wouldn¡¯t have noticed it coming in. Whoever had placed it there had done so deliberately.
I grabbed a rake off the floor and advanced carefully. Against a human opponent, the element of surprise could overcome even years of training. I tried and failed to remember if that had happened the last I was... alive. That was a weird way to phrase it. Whatever memories the One True God had given me did not actually make it seem like I was the one who had lived all those years. It was more like I had watched a vivid performance of someone else¡¯s life.
Clearing my mind, I crouched as I made my way across the farmland to the side of the pen, my rake held steadily in my right hand. I checked behind me every couple of steps, to make sure I wasn¡¯t being tracked. I could see my uncle plowing a field less than two hundred feet away, but I didn¡¯t want to put his life in danger. In any case, calling for help may have been the optimal choice, but curiosity got the better of me. The note might have had something to do with the forty years I could somehow remember. Perhaps¡ª
Something slammed into me from the side. I rolled away, tumbling past a pile of leaves. My body still hurt from the night before. I had to think quickly. I grabbed some dirt from my side and threw it in front of me. Raising my hands up to protect my chin, I tried to take up a stance.
¡°Wait, it¡¯s me!¡± The figure in front of me waved his hands madly, trying to deter me from throwing a punch.
¡°Ricardo?¡± I asked, bewildered. ¡°Why are you dressed like that?¡±
¡°Oh,¡± he said, cracking a smile. ¡°This?¡± He pointed to his oversized suit, a combination of red and brown that could scare the death from a ghost. ¡°The circus is in town for the harvest festival. Aren¡¯t you going?¡± He looked comical dressed the way he was, but Ricardo was probably the most popular kid in the whole village. He just knew how to butter people up.
¡°Um, I really don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t have anyone to go with, not really anyway. Do you know if Maria¡¯s going with anyone?¡±
¡°Huh, no I don¡¯t she is,¡± he said, giving me a wink. ¡°We were gonna go as a group. If you don¡¯t have any other plans, you can come with us. I don¡¯t mind, and I doubt anyone else will either.¡± He really was a nice kid, I thought.
¡°I just have to ask my uncle, but he¡¯ll probably say yes.¡± He gave me a thumbs-up.
¡°All right then,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s settled. See ya around!¡± He exclaimed, running off to who-knows-where.
¡°Hey, wait!¡± I cried, but he had already gone more than fifty paces.
I sighed wearily, and looked around the field. That moment, when I had been shoved... I assumed it had to have been Ricardo, but it felt too alien to be a friendly shove, and he acted as if he¡¯d just then seen me.
I pondered for a second. When had I ever been trained to take a combat stance? To protect my face or chin? For that matter, why did the idea of going to the festival send a tingle of chills up my spine?
Chapter 3 - Strength Is Internal
I pretended to do my chores in the morning while I made my plans to try to figure out where Marcus¡¯ teacher had placed the tests. Luckily, I was able to talk to my friend Alfonso, who was known to figure anything out for the right price, and I took some of my uncle¡¯s money to give him. It obviously wasn¡¯t the best thing to do, but I justified it as saving my best friend¡¯s life.
It also became increasingly important for me to figure out where my areas of expertise actually lay. Judging by the stance I took, it made sense to assume my main skills were in hand-to-hand combat. If I once had mage skills it would be a good idea to try out different key phrases in case any of them would ignite some latent affinity. Therefore I decided to purchase some books from the mana section of the temple library.
The first order of the day, however, was to go to the temple to ask the priests about books regarding the flow of time.
¡°Hmm, that looks like something to do with mental mana,¡± the priest said, flipping the small plate on the desk to indicate the presence of a costumer. He picked up a booklet and started rifling through it. ¡°Are you familiar with the basic types of mana, young man?¡± he asked.
¡°I can¡¯t say I am,¡± I said, trying to remember anything from my few magic lessons at school. Most of them were on protective measures against hostile magic, and not much on fundamental theory.
¡°All right then, a manual on incantations might be in order. Second row on the left in the imperial section.¡± He pushed his glasses up, and glanced at the clock on the wall. ¡°Regarding your particular question, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to have to find something more entry-level. Most books on this theory are much too complex for a complete novice.¡±
The wall caved away, and I was able to enter the library section on mana. The old library was able to move around using advanced magic, meaning only the priests could get to certain sealed. I grabbed a book called ¡®Forces of the World and their Applications¡¯ off a nearby dusty shelf, and rushed back to the farm to read it, but was unable to keep myself from skimming most pages on the way home, nearly tripping myself up in the process.
According to the simplest categorization, there were three main types of mana: physical, spiritual, and mental, which all used different energies. Physical mana mostly increased your combat prowess, allowing you to withstand greater forces and retaliate in turn with even stronger power. Spirtual mana allowed you to attack your opponent¡¯s soul in order to leech their life away, or even transfer it to yours, and mental mana granted you different abilities depending on your perception of the outside world. Mental was mostly used by priests in order to bless items and heal the wounded. At its most extreme level it allowed its user to manipulate space and time, granting them a way to influence path events would end up taking, like creating an artificial direction for a river.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Cannonballing onto my bed, I settled down and tried to get into a meditative pose. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel the air flowing around me. I breathed in deeply and exhaled gently, letting my mind wander, analyzing the way the- what the fuck?
A breeze pinned me straight to the wall, closing my arms off. I started moving my arms wildly, trying desperately to shake the nonexistent restraint off of me. My mind flashed, and I was twenty years old, at the main temple academy, the sword missing me by barely an inch. My own sword came up to parry, and they clashed, sending me flying backwards. ¡°It¡¯s a wind elemental!¡± my uncle yelled out, but my mind was not in the same room anymore. My instructor nodded curtly. ¡°Do you think it is possible to dodge an attack made of pure energy with only your sword?¡± More men rushed into the room to help me, but I was miles away. His weapon cut right through the air, sending a gust of wind towards me. ¡°Answer me, Fernando! Is it, or is it not?¡± I barely dodged it, throwing my whole body aside, letting my shield take most of the damage.
¡°Of course,¡± I answered. ¡°All mana is made equal, so there should be a way to counter that which you cannot see.¡±
¡°Then show me! Give it your all!¡± As the gust of wind came once more, I raised my sword, and cut the beam of energy right in half, diverting it completely. Looking back at my instructor, I saw his eyes flash red. ¡°Congratulations, I wish you the best,¡± he said, handing me the blessed shield.
When I woke up, my whole room was a mess. My books were all over the floor, the cup I was drinking out of had smashed, and my head felt I had been binge drinking. Wait... what? What even was that? My memory was still very fuzzy, but there was something about my fifteenth birthday in there. In any case, my uncle was standing in the room, doing what I assumed was an assessment of how much money he¡¯d end up paying. I saw him look over to the stash behind the bed, which had been thrown across the room, and got reminded of my main task.
The school was split in three main blocks: Diana, Mars, and Saturn. Mr. Solomon¡¯s office was in the Diana block, right before the exit to the courtyard. There were about three hundred students in full, with about half a dozen teachers. Break was at half past eleven and lunch at quarter to one, while the end of the school day was at half past six.
I decided to find out when it would be ideal to get the test from Mr. Solomon. One of the best moments to infiltrate would be just before lunch, as everyone, staff included, would be going to eat. At any other time, Mr. Solomon was apparently in his office, conducting two different lessons at the same time using a technique that projected in face into two classrooms.
My plan was to get in at half past nine when school started, and hang around until lunch, when everyone would be gone. Just as I expected, the place was deserted, since they¡¯d all gone to get dessert. I crept around the backs of desks in order to get Mr Solomon¡¯s room. My body shaking from nervousness, I placed my hand on the handle. Just then, I felt a presence behind me.
Chapter 4 - School Matters
I froze, my fingers tightening on the doorknob. ¡°Mr Martinez.¡± The worry that was stuck in my throat prevented me from speaking as I struggled to make a sound. I heard a cane tapping the tiled floor. ¡°May I ask why you¡¯re trying to enter my office?¡± I turned around carefully.
¡°I-I-um-I-w-was-¡± I tried to answer.
¡°Perhaps you were looking for these,¡± he said, rattling a pile of papers in his hand. I had to stop myself from audibly gasping. They were the test papers. Then the picture of Marcus¡¯ grave pierced my mind, and the sound stopped on my lips.
¡°Um, no actually, I-¡± My eyes darted around the room looking for something that could help me. A notice on the wall. ¡°I just wanted to talk to you about trying out for the fivish team.¡±
¡°Really?¡± His smile crept all the way up to his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s always nice to see former students want to participate in school sports.¡±
¡°I know, sir, thank you. I didn¡¯t want to interrupt your lessons, as I know how busy you are.¡±
¡°No problem, shall we go in?¡± he said, as his eyes crinkled a bit.
Ten minutes, while were sitting down and he kept telling me details about the school team, including the captain and such, I tried to see if his eyes would stop looking at the test papers on the desk opposite him. ¡°Ah, let me just find a list of the players,¡± he said, getting up to walk to a cabinet opposite him. At that moment, I moved slowly around the desk. My hand grazed the shelf just as he was turning around, and I was going to make a run for it, despite whatever security precautions were waiting for me.
He ended up knocking a small key, or what looked like a key, to the floor. If a baby had been dropped, I don¡¯t think Mr. Solomon would have reacted so quickly. His hands dropped the papers he held and I barely managed to close the shelf in time to see him give a sigh of relief as he placed the key back.
¡°In any case Mr. Martinez, here you are,¡± he said, moving his hands over the papers in order to have them shift around. ¡°You will be in a team with Mr. Felton.¡±
¡°That sounds great, sir, I can¡¯t wait,¡± I said, shuffling the papers together to mix them, hoping he hadn¡¯t noticed anything. Now they were both together, the test papers and fivish papers. There was no way Marcus could fail.
Back home, I sat down to cycle mana for a little while. In order to increase your mana reserves, you would have to cycle mana hundreds of thousands of times, meaning the level of mana you would be working with was fixed. The main way to advance was to increase the ways you could use your mana instead. For example, say you had an affinity for fire mana. At first, you might be unable to even create a small spark. However, after a while, you could light up multiple fires from a distance, and use that in order to single out in the wilderness. Some mages lacked the pure offensive strength needed to win out in combat, but there were always other ways of approaching things.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
One of the most popular methods of combat was summoning creatures to attack the enemy. That could be anything from making a simple dog or wolf from the latent mana in the air, to opening up portals to allow fiends of fiery fury to descend upon our world.
You could also set up powerful formations beforehand, which would trigger when a hostile presence was detected. Many powerful mages used these to prevent unwanted intrusions.
I smiled. It was incredible to see how my teachings fused together with whatever knowledge remained in my mind to grant me insights into how mana worked. I was sure I wouldn¡¯t be able to remember half of what I was reading had I not already learned it in the past.
While walking to the shop to see how much multiple spell forumals were, I saw a girl running towards me. ¡°Fernando!¡± she cried, still running at breakneck pace. Seeing it was Maria, I¡¯d been hoping she¡¯d run right up and hug me, but she miraculously managed to slow down a few meters away. ¡°I heard you signed up for the fivish team. That¡¯s great. I¡¯m applying for captain.¡±
¡°Oh... um really, well, I mean... congrats, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get it no problem.¡±
¡°You think so? That means a lot. There¡¯s quite a few good players competing this year, but I think we could make it.¡± She stopped for a second, catching her breath. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you were into fivish.¡±
¡°Huh, well, you know it¡¯s really a way to...¡± I said, trying to think of something, when Marcus unexpectedly ran up to both of us from my yard. ¡°I was looking for you all lunch man! Where were you?¡±
¡°Ah, just working on the farm, as usual.¡±
¡°Really? Your uncle said he hadn¡¯t seen you.¡±
¡°He¡¯s been busy himself too you know, the harvest festival is coming up soon, less than a month to go.¡±
¡°Hum, I suppose so,¡± he said, looking off into the distance. ¡°Are you going with Maria then?¡± He grinned, and gave me a light shove.
¡°What! No, we were just talking-¡± I insisted, pushing him away, and trying to get him into a headlock.
¡°I don¡¯t really mind. We could all go.¡±
¡°Really?¡± we both said at once, letting go of each other.
¡°Sure, I¡¯ve got to take Linsey for a walk, but I¡¯ll see you guys around,¡± she said, walking off while giving a little wave. A faint memory, almost like a dream, was upon me, but I shut it down willingly. I just wanted to rest for a bit.
After many cycles, I felt I finally had a grasp of my mana ability, and could learn a simple incantation. The one I decided to learn was ¡®Brevis Inferno¡¯ which lit up a small flame right in front of you, which you would supply with your own mana. This would also let me know how much mana I had to work with.
After a few minutes, I could feel the mana flow rising in pace, managed only by my steady breathing. So at least a few minutes worth of a level one spell. Generally the indicated level was about how many months of learning with that incantation had taken place, so that a level three spell required about six to seven months, and a level ten spell about a lifetime.
Levels beyond that were hard to reach, as you started tapping into the strength of the soul. They were only a rough guideline, and there were instances of even complete novices able to fire off a level four incantation. In any case, even a simple flame could save someone¡¯s life, but I knew that there was a long road ahead if I wanted to study the art of magic, and that natural talent would only get me so far.
With that in mind, I bought another spell book with the money from my chores, and tried to learn more incantations. It was unlikely any of them would even scare the Amrita off, but I needed a backup plan. No matter what would happened at the festival and before then, me and Marcus would survive.
Chapter 5 - Getting Used To Mistakes
I didn¡¯t know what was going to happen at the festival, and no unlikely sort of inspiration struck me, so I tried to account for all options. If the threat would be enough to destroy the whole town, then anything I did would be a waste of time. In that case, I decided that the best plan was to see if I could escape beforehand.
In the town, there were four streets that led to the main plaza, two of them branching off towards the residential area, and one spiraling to the temple. The last one came from the west and cut through, ending up at a guard post to the south.
Most likely, anyone entering with foul intentions would avoid the guard post at all costs, and would also not want to pass by the temple. That left the two main roads, one of which passed right by my farm.
I continued my walk along the field, coming at last to a crossroads where a large wooden sign showed that the two roads eventually met up, with the most frequented direction being from a town to the north. That¡¯s where I would make my escape if it was needed. I set up a small post right by it, with a little trail leading back to the main road. I placed some supplies and vital equipment near it, as well as a map of the local area. Afterwards, I circled the land around our farm. Small gales were all over the remote fields at the end of town, of which ours was one. Wind elementals were not normally dangerous, but something or someone had been affecting them lately. Looking over the field, I saw one pick up a pile of rubbish and raise it high into the sky, then let it fall again. They moved into and around each other, threatening to crack the posts that me and my uncle had set up.
There was only a week until Marcus¡¯ exam. Him and I had gone over the notes, but he¡¯d been too lazy to properly learn them. We¡¯d argued a bit over it, and he went home early. I hated him at that moment, but I hated myself for not being there when he needed me. Hitting the training dummy until my arm was sore and my breath sounded like a storm, I pictured that old man from my dreams, and plunging my sword deep in him, again and again, until I couldn¡¯t even see my arm.
Going through town to find the genera store, I saw people milling to and forth. It really was the busiest month of the year. A couple argued near a vegetable stall and some bard decried the underground army of creatures that many said was going to attack our kingdom despite a weary alliance. A rackety cart passed me by as I entered the general store.
¡°Hellooo,¡± I said, peaking into the shop. ¡°I¡¯d like to buy some spell formulae.¡±
¡°Good eve young man. How may I help you?¡± I took that to assume he hadn¡¯t heard me. ¡°I said,¡± I began.
¡°I heard you the first time rascal. We don¡¯t sell those to anyone underage.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
¡°Underage,¡± I muttered. ¡°But I¡¯m nearly thirteen.¡±
¡°Rules are rules. I can¡¯t go helping any old kid.¡± I was just about to start protesting when he kept talking. ¡°However, if you can do me a favor, I might be able to bend the rules ever so slightly. What do you say?¡±
¡°Hmm, it depends surely.¡±
¡°Oh, don¡¯t you worry about it, it¡¯ll only be a minute,¡± he said, reaching into his desk and taking out a parcel. ¡°You just have to take this parcel and bring it to this here place,¡± he said, taking out a map of the city and scribbling down an address. It was right there in the residential area. ¡°Bring that there boy, and I¡¯ll help you out. One hand washes the other, right?¡±
¡°I... don¡¯t know,¡± I said, still thinking. I prayed internally for any memories to come up, but nothing happened. That man was so suspicious, I had to be sure there was no other option before doing something like that.
¡°Tell you what, sir.¡± I tapped lightly on his desk, to get his attention since he had started arranging his wares. ¡°I¡¯ll come back later,¡± I said, then stopped to turn back a bit. ¡°If you still need me, that is.¡±
¡°Humph, I¡¯m only trying to do you a favor, no need to get rowdy. Now off you go. I¡¯ve got costumers waiting,¡± he said, ushering me out the door.
I made my way back slowly, taking in the view of the preparations as I strolled towards the farm. My mind kept going back to my interaction with the storekeeper.
I could honestly say that it hadn¡¯t gone quite as I had planned. I was going to wait for at least something to go of off, since there were no clear signs regarding the danger I would be in, and it wasn¡¯t like there was no chance for Marcus to pass his test given that he now had the questions. Having the answers would have been ideal, of course, but Mr. Solomon most likely had them memorized instead of written down somewhere, so that would have been a fruitless search.
Getting back to the farm, I found Marcus¡¯ stuff placed around my room, and could hear him having a conversation with my uncle downstairs. I looked out the window just in time to see the Amrita nearing one of our leftmost fields.
It looked even more menacing than usual, its jaw was wide open, exposing rows of sharp teeth, with a long tongue that wiped around the air like a blade. There were some animals in the world that most people agreed were pretty safe as far as monsters went, and looks were usually not a factor considered.
Its six legs were split in two at the end, and it walked with a weird scurry that made it seem like a patient in a hospital ward. It looked like of insect-like, if insects were the size of a small house. Every so often, it neared a cow, and it would lick its puffy lips voraciously, causing the animal to run off in a panic. I poured myself a glass of water as I watched the scared animal spin around in an absolute frenzy.
Still, the fact that no one had yet died from that entity prancing around outside meant that the town guard could twiddle their thumbs until Marcus¡¯ death. I shook my head regretfully. As I was about to get up from my seat by the windowsil to refill my water, I heard my uncle shout something from downstairs. I ran off from window, just as one of its many eyes turned right towards me.
Chapter 6 - Awful Terrors
I instantly left the chair next to the window to sprint down to my uncle. Flinging the door open so hard that it smacked the wall and left an imprint, I bolted into the corridor. My legs sped past each other as I went down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as I raced to the ground floor. I ended up nearly knocking a vase over in the process, and barely managed to catch it a few inches off the floor during my mad dash to the living room.
Bursting through the kitchen door, I saw my uncle pulling his chair back to get up, his fork still in his hand, a piece of cooked meat on his silver plate. He looked at me with a dazed expression as I practically threw myself into the room.
¡°Uncle, we have to go!¡± I yelled as I started running towards the front door, before he tugged on my shirt to stop me as I passed him.
¡°Settle down son,¡± he said, though his brow narrowed and I saw him bite his lip when he saw my expression. He placed me aside so he could walk to the window after he put his hand reassuringly on my shoulder. His eyes suddenly widened as he took in the situation, and his hand reached for the small dial next to the door, before stopping to turn around. I quickly moved around him to see what was happening for myself.
The wind gales made it kind of hard to see, and the natural dust storm kicking up didn¡¯t really help, but the monster was big enough so that I could get what was going on regardless. It was throwing its ugly head all over the place; it had quickened its speed and was gaining on our field with great pace, it tongue lolling out of its mouth. ¡°Get your cousins and go up,¡± he said, getting away from the window and pushing some furniture against it.
He reached into the cupboard and procured a little box. ¡°Take this.¡± He opened the box up and handed me some matches. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to burn away the staircase,¡± he said, looking distraught.
¡°Uncle, have you gone mad? What are you going to do? You need to come with us.¡±
He shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m gonna figure something out. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t!¡± I reached for the wooden sword by the table. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here with you.¡±
¡°Trust me, this is the only way,¡± he pleaded, his eyes bloodshot.
¡°No, I¡¯m not moving,¡± I insisted, my eyes tearing up as I clutched my sword.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
¡°Please, take your cousins and go,¡± he said, his voice shaking.
I heard a loud noise outside, followed by barks from our dogs scattered around the farm, usually around the sheep and cows, and mud being flung about, then a very brief silence, before the scurrying began again.
¡°Now!¡± he screamed, and I panicked and ran up the stairs, taking my cousins by the hand. I had barely even looked back as the creature tried to enter the doorway, bashing its grotesque head against it until bits of the plaster started falling. ¡°Light the match!¡± he said from a couple feet away from the door, backing away from the insane monster trying its hardest to infiltrate the doorway. He rushed behind one of the curtains and managed to pull a hose from the yard, placing it on the smashed glass of a nearby window.
¡°I¡¯ll put it out so it doesn¡¯t burn the whole house.¡±
¡°No,¡± I protested through dry lips, my vision blurry, but I had no other option, none that I could see at least. ¡°Please uncle, you don¡¯t have to do this.¡± The plaster fell away completely, and the Amrita scurried inside, its nightmarish face fully visible now, the teeth seeming like rows of bystanders in the capital, applauding for some macabre performance. It didn¡¯t even flinch as my uncle smashed a porcelain sculpture right on the creature¡¯s head, and rendered any other attempts obsolete as it spun around, thrashing with uncanny precision as it decimated everything around it.
I braved myself for what was to come, knowing my uncle was going to try to take down the monster and sacrifice himself for us. I was about to close my eyes, unable to take in the sight before me, and simply held my cousins perfectly tight, trying to console them.
In that moment, as if by magic, the creature completely ignored him and charged towards me. I stumbled backwards madly. I even let go of my cousins. Throwing the match and allowing the fire to spread forward, I started to swing my sword around and over it, trying to push it back. Despite the ferocious heat, it was still trying to get to me. Thankfully the fire at least prevented it from physically doing so, but it didn¡¯t stop its tongue from lashing out and grabbing my sword, pulling it back and biting into it.
Hearing the wooden splitting apart, I rushed forward and hit it with a pure explosion of energy. The Amrita wailed so loudly I thought my eardrums would rupture, but it thrashed itself right over the burning staircase, and ended up falling over with a bang that resonated throughout the whole house.
Of course, given my lack of control, it threw me off balance as well, and I tumbled over the banister, falling about ten feet unto my back. I felt something crack, and could taste blood coming from my mouth.
I tried to move my hands, and found I could not even move my fingertips. ¡°Fernando,¡± my uncle said, rushing over to me, not even caring that he¡¯d gotten hit with the brunt of the damage from the Amrita¡¯s crash into the kitchen. ¡°I¡¯m going to call the doctors. Just hang in there!¡±
He activated a small formation at the entrance, and a voice message triggered that promised that help was on the way. I heard rubble moving around behind me, and I just managed to turn around as something got out of the damaged room.
The fucking thing was still alive.
Chapter 7 - Few Connections To Death
I couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing. It was picking itself back up, slowly but very surely, and it couldn¡¯t just be my imagination. The tales of an Amrita¡¯s immortality had apparently all been true. It really was going to keep on coming back up no matter how many times we defeated it.
Being able to feel my arms again, I dragged myself through the opening at the end of the wall, the concrete digging into my flesh, and eliciting a small cry of pain. My mind flashed, and I was transported to a fresh memory once again. This time, I was standing in some open plains, with a woman next to me. She had silvery robes on, with a crafted bow and iron-tipped arrows. Her face was young, without wrinkles and her eyes sharp.
There were forests on either side of the plains, reaching back into the distance, and far-flung trees rose into the sky, obscured by a fog that covered everything more than sixty or seventy feet away.
There were some peaceful creatures grazing on the plains, locking their horns together and pushing each other back. They resembled bulls in a sense, with powerful legs and meaty bodies. Every so often one of them would near a potential mate and initiate a show of strength up right next to them, though the females largely gave them little to no attention as their horns clashed.
¡°All right, you can exceed my expectations now,¡± I said, and looked at the archer. My companion smiled at me and unleashed a hail of arrows that did not hit even a single one. They scattered aimlessly, running off in all directions, but mainly avoiding the forest.
¡°Well, that was spectacularly bad,¡± I teased, putting my arm around her.
¡°Just watch,¡± she said, still smiling. She turned her bow upwards, and fired off an arrow while still looking at me. I snorted as I saw the arrow fly off, twirling through the air, until it smacked straight into one of the creatures. It gave a cry of pain, before falling over with a thump and remaining still. She repeated the procedure until not one creature remained standing. She then did a little bow. ¡°How was that?¡± she asked, trying to contain her laughter.
¡°Ah, much better than expected,¡± I said, pulling her towards me.
¡°Wait, what¡¯s that next to the forest?¡± She pointed to a pond behind a pale of trees. There was a dark shadow coming from around them, with a long appendage flicking around. ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go check it out.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°Sure.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°What would I do without you,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°My knight in shining armor.¡±
I made my way down into the edge of the clearing, my holy shield tapered onto my right arm, and my iron sword in my left. As soon as I got there, the shadows lashed forth to strike me, but I dodged without much difficulty. With one bash of my shield, the shadows were pushed away, revealing a large, six-legged, somewhat insect-like being. ¡°That takes care of that,¡± I said, and gave her a cheesy thumbs-up.
¡°Look out!¡± I heard her scream and she told me to move, but I was too slow. I felt a blow impact my back, and I staggered forward, slightly dazed, but still unharmed. ¡°That... didn¡¯t even hurt.¡± With a swift blow, the creature was flung apart once again. I watched it as it somehow put itself back together, starting with those six split legs, its misshapen torso, until it got to that putrid and disgusting face. ¡°Hmm, it may not be able to do anything to us, but perhaps we should try and permanently destroy it.¡±
¡°Ah, I have just the thing.¡± She reached into her pocket and took out a small vial. She looked at it for a second, making sure it was the right solution.
I kept my eyes glued to the creature in front of me. Like a ghastly and willowy specter, the shadows kept reforming endlessly, not matter how many times I used my attacks to scatter them.
¡°Better hurry up. My arm is getting sore.¡± She sighed. ¡°This is what¡¯s called cold iron. When any ¡®immortal¡¯ spirit is hit by this, it vanishes completely, without a trace.¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t we use it against the Awakened Mandrake?¡±
¡°Hah, you¡¯d have done as much good had you covered it with nice-smelling plants. When used on anything that cannot regenerate, it does nothing. You might as well use it to grow crops.¡±
¡°To grow crops, huh?¡±
My arm pulled feebly at the drawer, and the sounds of my uncle getting hit by that long tongue penetrated my mind, but my will remained strong. I pushed through the unimaginable pain, as even more debris fell upon me. I didn¡¯t think it was possible for a human to endure that much pain at once, but I was proven wrong, as I continued despite the tears soaking the carpet under me.
My arms were bruised and bartered beyond compare, but I kept going, no matter the agony sustained. Out of the drawer fell a small vial, barely bigger than a needle, labeled ¡®fertilizer, 85% cold iron¡¯ which I grabbed like it was my most prized and noble treasure. The Amrita flung my uncle aside like a rag-doll, and I cried out as I heard his bones shatter, but it only made me more determined to end that foul creature¡¯s life. I got up wearily, my legs barely able to support my weight, even without moving, and I opened the vial, taking in the sweet smell.
The Amrita screeched loudly and threw itself at me, but I merely let my body fall away from it, and threw the vial at it as hard as my frail arms could manage. It exploded upon impact, shattering its entire frame. Its last yell was music to my ears, as my legs finally collapsed and I passed out, and the last thing I saw was my uncle trying to get up and get to me.
Chapter 8 - Days Gone By
The rays of sun hitting my uncovered face woke me up. Judging by its position, it was probably midday. I looked around my bed. The room was not mine. In fact, it didn¡¯t look like a bedroom in any sense of the word. I started to panic, feeling a tight pressure on my chest.
There was equipment scattered around the place, along with a formation that seemed intended to deliver food and water to the room. It didn¡¯t have any sort of bedside table or a chest of drawers. If anything, it was the storage room of a hospital. The storage room of a-
I¡¯d passed out, I suddenly remembered, and my uncle was- he¡¯d- no, he was fine. He must have called someone to help. He must have. That was the only explanation. I took in a deep breath to try and calm myself a bit. I decided to mediate, to get the worry out of my system as much as possible.
I couldn¡¯t sit around and trust that someone would come and find me. I had to take matters into my own hands. That was, until I tried to move mine. I found them strapped to the bed, rough patchwork cloth binding them in place. I blinked as I could now see tiny needles poking out of my skin. Another spell most likely.My arms tensed up without a moment¡¯s notice.The view of those needles simply awakened something primal, and I had to stop myself from trying to rip them out. Whoever had brought me to the hospital had mostly healed me, and my wounds were now mainly nonexistent, a fact that had no doubt cost us at least a quarter of our entire harvest.
Healing magic was pretty common, and most villages had someone who could perform vital recuperations, but it required so many additional preparations that it was supremely costly, with prices for the most severe of injuries going up to a month¡¯s wages.Thankfully nobody had died, except for the Amrita, but that hardly merited even a curse. I wanted to raise both my hands to the sky, but since they were both tied down, I had to be happy with just my pure satisfaction and shit-eating grin.I realized I was holding back tears. I scrunched up my face to try not to cry. Now Marcus would survive. I could live the rest of my life with my best friend by my side.
The second chance that I¡¯d received was truly a blessing.
Still, that hadn¡¯t gone how I¡¯d assumed it would.Why did it attack me to begin with? I mean, it wasn¡¯t like... I¡¯d been making a plan to kill it. That had to be it. It didn¡¯t only react to physical attacks, but bloodlust as well. When it realized I was contemplating its death, it decided to take me out. I looked around again. There were no windows, and the only door was closed. An incantation was holding it in place. I could do something about those straps, if I just... there! I glimpsed a small knife hidden behind the blankets. You couldn¡¯t do anything with it normally, but with only a few tricks...Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
¡°Here, go like this,¡± the woman said, holding my hand and instructing me, the blade cutting through the fabric like it was tissue. ¡°Make sure it¡¯s steady,¡± she insisted. ¡°Don¡¯t want to cut your hand off.¡±
¡°Listen, Lorena,¡± I began to explain. ¡°I get you think it¡¯s important for us all to have basic skills, but surely this is never going to be useful.¡±
She gasped, eyes wide. ¡°I cannot believe you just said that.¡± The corners of her mouth were coming up to grin. She pricked my hand slightly. ¡°Hey, what was that!¡± I protested.
¡°For being an idiot,¡± she said, smirking. ¡°Now, come on, go like this,¡± she repeated, staring into my eyes.
The straps fell away, hitting the floor, and I hid the knife next to one of the moldier looking contraptions.
Now I just had to figure out how to get those fucking needles out. My left forearm seemed to have less of them in it, so I started to slide them out and throw away with my right hand. It didn¡¯t really hurt, but it felt so uncomfortable, like I¡¯d been pierced through my very soul, and the sensation was that of a wet and sticky insect ripping its disgusting body away from my flesh.
Once my left arm was done, I started to work on my right, continuing at the same gentle pace as before. It was a lot harder, since the needles were clearly doing their part to stabilize me, but I managed to pick them out carefully.
It left me quite fatigued, but it was more important for me to get out and see if my uncle was all right. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to live with myself if something had happened to him because of me, given the way he had seemed ready to throw away his life even if I was only his nephew.
While I prepared to get up and exit, I put my ear to the wood and attempted to hear anything outside the door. I stood still for a couple of seconds, and at that moment two pairs of feet were making their way to my room. They must have calculated how long the medicine would keep me sedated.
¡°He was in critical condition when he came in,¡± said a very high-pitched female voice. ¡°I¡¯m impressed at your work, doctor. The fesval operation you performed went off without a hitch.¡±
¡°Ah, do not thank me needlessly, it was the work of the One True God for certain,¡± came a gravelly male voice. ¡°No mortal hands would have been able to fix that boy fast enough. Even in tandem with that miracle I wasn¡¯t at ease that his legs would make it. They were completely crushed underneath that stone wall when we arrived.¡± He came to a stop right outside the door. ¡°Of course, your help proved invaluable. I see great potential in your future.¡±
¡°Thank you Doctor Bega.¡±
¡°Like I said, there¡¯s no need.¡± There was a brief pause. ¡°Now, let us see how our patient is recovering,¡± he said, shoving the door open, right in my face.
Chapter 9 - A Trio Of Power
Stumbling back, I raised my hand to my face. There was some blood pouring out of my nose, but otherwise I seemed all right. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± the man demanded, stepping out from behind the door and drawing a syringe from his back pocket. He was wearing white robes, and there was a small staff by his side. His coworker stood behind him, looking somewhat frightened, especially with the huge pair of glasses she had on. ¡°I¡¯m Fernando,¡± I said, my hands up.
¡°Oh, right,¡± he said, giving a light chuckle.
¡°Pardon the unexpected intrusion. I only wished to check up on you.¡±
¡°Shall I take his vitals?¡±
¡°Leges Curtis Pulsation.¡± Her glasses seemed to become brighter as she uttered her spell.
¡°How does that work, exactly? Is all the information just... moved into her brain?¡±
¡°Ah, I can imagine the confusion. No, the read vitals spell works by taking in the physiological signs of a certain patient and translating them into numbers, which make it easier to compare between patients. All the information in stored in her glasses, which act as a storage item.¡±
¡°That¡¯s pretty cool actually,¡± I said, beaming. Maybe it would be a good idea to at least try out for the medicine entrance exam, just to see if I would get in.
¡°All clear, doctor,¡± the nurse said, readjusting her glasses with one hand, as she took the syringe back to put into a little box. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He can be a bit paranoid.¡±
¡°Paranoid? It¡¯s not paranoia if there really is someone out to get you.¡±
¡°Hmm, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right. Anyway,¡± she said, taking me by the hand and taking me by the bed, ¡°maybe you should rest a bit more; you still seem quite exhausted.¡±
¡°Wait a second,¡± I said, coming back to my senses, and letting go of her. ¡°Where did you guys end up putting my uncle?¡± The doctor looked at me with a weary expression.
¡°Oh, your uncle didn¡¯t make it.¡±
I felt my heart break into a million pieces.
¡°I¡¯m just kidding! By the gods, you should have seen your face. Your uncle is fine, don¡¯t worry. Just get some rest; we¡¯ll come around to see you off both tomorrow.¡±
With that remark, and without letting me get a word in, they left.
¡°You¡¯re an asshole, you know that right?¡± I heard the nurse say as they walked away from the door.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Oh come on Joyce, you smiled, admit it.¡±
There was a small pause. ¡°You¡¯re still a dick.¡±
¡°Maybe you¡¯re right,¡± he said, their voices fading into nothing. I closed my eyes, but was unable to fall back asleep. I kept thinking of my uncle, wondering if those people were trying to kill us, and if there was actually another Amrita lying in wait. Medication and meditation did not help much, and when I did fall asleep, it was heavy and beyond compare.
I reunited with my uncle in a giant meeting room, many security formations littering the place, with way too many chairs to comfortably stand around, and a musty smell that seemed to originate from everywhere in the room at once. I saw down on one of the tables, cleaning away some of the dust first. My uncle appeared from one of the main doors, looking none the worse for wear.
He sprinted over to me, lifted me up from the table, then pulled me tight and started spinning me round like when I was little kid. He finally placed me down and looked right into my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re okay,¡± he said, his face seeming much older than ever, but his eyes sparkled nonetheless. ¡°Me too,¡± I said, and I hugged him back.
The next day, I stayed in room all day to wait for Marcus to show up. I even helped my uncle in the kitchen instead of continuing my training the field. Of course, I still did my routine in my room until I had to change t-shirts, and I noticed I could do even more sit-ups and pushups that before.
Maybe it had something to do with the many times I¡¯d cycled mana. In fact, I felt like my mana pool had grown slightly. Perhaps the fact that I started so young had helped, or maybe it was my past life. That was not the only effect my memories of what had happened had on me. It also really made me appreciate being alive a lot more.
Maybe it was the fact that I¡¯d technically already died once, but every moment I still lived felt like a miracle, every breath like a personal gift from the universe. When he came through the door, I jumped up to hug him, and we fell back into the hallway.
¡°Woah, I¡¯m glad to see you too,¡± he said, patting me on the back. He started to giggle. ¡°That was like what my dog does whenever I don¡¯t come home for a while.¡±
I started to laugh too, and we just sat there for a bit, like two idiots with nothing to worry about in the world. Eventually, we decided to continue with the schoolwork we¡¯d left the last time we¡¯d seen each other.
¡°Maria said she needed someone to go with her to check her father¡¯s new field, to see if the harvest is good to go,¡± Marcus said. ¡°Apparently she¡¯s really not skilled at that sort of stuff, all those bugs freak her out. Maybe she should just give in and buy some spell formulas. ¡±
¡°Crazy to think that there¡¯s anything Maria isn¡¯t super skilled at. She could probably do a whole talent show for the school just by herself.¡±
¡°Come on, there¡¯s no reason to go that far just because you like her.¡±
¡°I just think she¡¯s nice, that¡¯s all there¡¯s is to it,¡± I said, shoving him, but that didn¡¯t stop him from groaning in fake pain like I¡¯d really hurt him.
¡°Oh really, is that the case,¡± he said, and snatched up a pillow off the bed.
¡°Um, do you think you¡¯re doing with that?¡± I said, moving back.
¡°Just... this!¡± He took the pillow and hit me upside the head with it.
¡°Ah! Shoulda known.¡± I took another pillow and kept hitting him until we were both full of feathers from top to bottom. Afterwards, we went outside to do laps around the yard. We both started heaving after the fourt lap, the afternoon heat making it hard to keep going. Maria passed us, but we were too for away for her to hear me. She seemed to be going towards the residential area.
When uncle came to tell us dinner was ready, we both rushed down together and started to dig into the food like it was the nectar of the gods.
Chapter 10 - Diamonds In The Rough
No matter how many times I tried to parry, the blow missed entirely and I ended up flat on my face. The boy standing in front of me was not that much older, perhaps sixteen, but he had clearly honed his sword-fighting skills to a point far beyond where I was currently. Every time he hit me, despite the lack of any malicious intent, it felt like I was getting smacked back by a battering ram.
I had decided that enrolling in the village sword-fighting league would help develop my skills, but most were already adept in the basics, and I was putting in a significant amount of effort in order to keep up with them. There was still a sense of deja-vu every time a particular attack tactic was explained to me, and I usually felt my limbs seemingly move on their own to counteract the advanced skill the others were demonstrating.
The boy, his surname Cabal, was not the fastest in the group, yet his precision in deflecting blows was unmatched by most of the others. I don¡¯t think I got a single hit on him during our first time sparring. Combined with his physical prowess, I was always at a disadvantage. In the group, there were altogether forty boys and ten girls, about ten of them roughly my age. My best guess would have been that I was around the middle of the pack for my age, somewhere around the fourth or fifth weakest. There were a couple boys born just before me, and also the two sons of the village¡¯s head.
Still, it was a small proportion of the village¡¯s kids, which numbered in the hundreds. I could see myself beating the vast majority of them in any form of combat, as long as they weren¡¯t much larger than me. Then again, it was mainly because I¡¯d kept up my training since I was little. Most kids were simply going to continue being farmers, but I had loftier goals on my mind.
Already I knew that in a previous life I had reached the rank of paladin, so I could not waver in my dedication to the cause. I would gnash my teeth and continue regardless, no matter the obstacles I would have to overcome.
Of the four others that were surely better than me, I could see myself beating one of them if I continued at such a pace for the following months, and the other three I could catch up to by the time we were adults.A few days had passed since my dream, and I had already improved quite a lot. My mana rate had definitely gone up, and I could run almost twice as long without getting tired. My strikes had improved as well, as had the weight distribution of my attacks. I could say with no arrogance that I was around the level of a fairly trained teenager, at least in terms of ability, though I would lose due to differences in size and reaction time.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The boy came towards me once again, and I tried to dodge to the side, my legs propelling me to the left as his weapon passed by a few inches away from my shoulder with a swoosh. Pulling my arm away, I twisted away from his blow, and, pushing forward off the muddy earth, struck his temple. His own weapon came up almost at the perfect time, but I just barely managed to knock him back slightly. He raised his eyebrows and stared at me.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected that from you, Fernando. How did you get so good?¡± He planted his sword in the ground, leaning upon it.
¡°Oh, just revised,¡± I said, and gave a cheeky wink. We circled around once, our swords almost clashing. He twirled his hilt around and advanced towards me, this time opting for a more direct strike, his stance narrow. Using his weight, he was able to pull his sword towards my stomach. I¡¯d have been gone, if not for the fact that we were fighting with wooden swords. Hence when his weapon hit me, I merely allowed myself to fall forward into it, and strike at him when his guard was down.
It hurt. A lot.
Eyes widening, he raised his arm up to protect his face. I knew he was going to do so, and maneuvered my sword straight to his armpit instead, where he wasn¡¯t wearing any armor. With a yelp, he dropped his sword. He¡¯d been going easy on me for the last ten minutes, and could have finished me off whenever he wanted, but I managed to defeat him in the end.
I stood in front of the boy, wheezing, barely able to keep myself from falling. ¡°I will remember this,¡± he pronounced, picking his sword back up off the ground. ¡°You have a bright future, my friend. I hope we see each other at the academy,¡± he said, taking my sword as well and placing them back on the racks. ¡°My name is Alberto,¡± he declared, extending his hand towards me.
The next few days passed by in a blur, while I kept helping Marcus prepare for his exam, and my uncle clean up the house. Marcus definitely was steadily improving, and I was glad that I was able to return the test sheets to Mr Solomon the day after, since someone else had tried the same stunt and he had turned him in to the town officers. I didn¡¯t think the punishment would be all that terrible, but it was one less thing I had to worry about.
My uncle and I were also able to get most of the rubble out, and we got to work on installing a brand new staircase, with him saying he¡¯d been meaning to get a new one. I even played fivish a bit, though I wasn¡¯t very good at it. Maria often had to block most of the shots I let whizz by past me, reaching the very top of the goal despite her short stature. Often, she and I stayed afterwards with Marcus to talk about the upcoming festival. They were only a couple of weeks left, and I wanted to make the most of them.
One day, as I was walking back to the farm, I saw Maria leaving the general store, clutching a strange parcel by her side, the man who had tried to sell me a spell formula watching her go.
Chapter 11 - Everlasting Hope
An odd sensation, like that of someone pushing on my brain, overcame me. I began picking up my pace, trying to shadow Maria¡¯s path. Every so often, she glanced behind her worriedly, the parcel clutched tightly to her chest. As we zigzagged between the dark paths of the residential area, far from the main road, we passed some men wearing bright green coats, huddled around a small fire. One of them called out to Maria, and she approached tentatively.¡°Um, is your name Maldonado?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s me Missus! Now just hand that thang over and we¡¯re good to go!¡±
¡°Um, tell me please, is this all I needed to do.¡±
¡°Yep, now bring that over ¡®ere.¡±
At that moment, a yelp came from the parcel Maria was carrying. ¡°Oh my gods,¡± she exclaimed, nearly dropping it. Their faces fell when the parcel began swaying lightly.
¡°Better watch out Missus, this is quite the way from the main roads.¡±
¡°Eh, is that so?¡± She looked around, her hands shaking as she gripped the parcel even tighter. None of them were aware of the fact I was hidden down a few doors from where they were, ducking my head behind a trash can every time their vision passed by my spot.
¡°Just give it ¡®s,¡± another man insisted, scowling.
¡°Perhaps I should tell my father about this,¡± she said, and all of them seemed itching to grab her.
¡°Listen, you¡¯re way in over your head here, trust me,¡± said the second man who had spoken, his voice changing. I could see a dark cyan light circling around his legs, as if the sky itself was preparing to launch him forward.
¡°Maria, what did I tell you about being so far out from your house? Your father told me to come pick you up!¡±
¡°Who¡¯s this geezer?¡± Maldonado said, as if trying to ascertain mine and Maria¡¯s relationship.
¡°He... he is a servant of my father¡¯s.¡±
The cyan light had vanished, but I could tell the man was still prepared for a fight. They looked like competent spellcasters, and I didn¡¯t like my chances in a three-to-one. Of course, Maria was there.
¡°So what if he is? Don¡¯t change a thang. We ain¡¯t got all day.¡±
¡°When I started working for the Antonia household, I had to have a tracking device on me. They¡¯re a bit excessive like that.¡±
One of them put his hand in his pocket, and I grit my teeth. ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll come deliver the package with you guys.¡± I began walking to Maria, and grabbed onto the parcel. She held it.
¡°Don¡¯t do this,¡± she said.
¡°Trust me,¡± I said, looking her in the eyes. She sighed, and handed it to me. It thrashed about while the exchange was taking place but rustling it a few times was enough to make it settle down eventually.
I had a plan. When I would reach them, I would proceed to force my energy outward. It wouldn¡¯t do much, as my aura was far too weak, but it was only a distraction to get the second part underway. If I was able to time it perfectly, I could break the mage¡¯s spell before it detonated. The backlash from it would break apart the parcel and allow whatever was inside to escape. A level two spell that grants the legs the ability soar for just a second ¡ª this would be the key in getting away from the men. They¡¯d have to choose which one of us to chase, and would surely go for the parcel¡¯s contents.
As I was walking towards them, I felt something pierce my soul. The tiny dagger in his pocket was not to stab my flesh, but latch onto the seat of my life energy. ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t try anything unwise,¡± the third man, who had until now been completely quiet, spoke. His skin and face looked like that of an ordinary man, but I could sense it. This was no mere mortal. The most basic of scans would tell you that the creature standing in front of you was an immortal monster. ¡®Grant me strength, True God,¡¯ I prayed, before I walked forward towards the two men.
I searched the deepest crevices of my mind, trying to recall this situation and how to best approach it, but it served only as a fruitless departure. The moment I got to them, I released the energy that I¡¯d been building up within in one burst, throwing the man back, his eyes wide in shock. The parcel ripped apart violently, and a strange sort of aura emitted from the being inside. There was no time for me to observe the impact of my approach, save for the spare glance which showed the man growling and raising his hands to prepare another spell, because I had to go straight away from him hastily.
I dug my heels into the ground, uttered the incantation, and propelled myself forward. The man pulled the dagger back, and the chain tethered around my soul tried to yank me towards him. In that moment, my soul, having withstood decades of relentless assaults from dark forces, did not even move an inch. Instead, the creature was thrown off balance and carried towards me when I ran off. Cursing, he released the binding he had cast upon me, and threw the dagger aside, moving with the speed of a thousand men.
¡°You fools! Grab the Cavall!¡± The second man had recovered and threw a raging ball of water towards me, striking my left arm, the whiplash causing me to scream. The creature was upon me, it grabbed both my shoulders and opened up his mouth. It had dark eyes, ears that looked like teeth, and a mouth that seemed eager to eat a whole bull in one bite. ¡°Let him go!¡± Maria screamed, and sacked the creature with a sign that been thrown aside on the ground.Despite doing no visible damage, the being screamed so loud I thought I would never hear again.
The bigger man, the one calling himself Maldonado, grabbed the creature, somehow managing to restrain him. ¡°He¡¯s going wild, keep the man steady! I''ll get it!"
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!Throwing another spell that I was barely able to duck under, the second man spun around to try to find the creature that had escaped from the parcel. As soon as the monster was no longer grasping me with his horrible claws, I grabbed Maria and activated the spell with renewed haste, fleeing the screams that came from behind us.