《Unbounded》
Chapter 1
A man laid in his bed breathing his final moments. The room was dimly lit by lights from the ceiling. The man laid unmoving, listening to the noises of traffic from outside. He seemed to be in his early 20s, with pale white skin and sunken face. His short light brown hair barely reaching his eyes. His light blue eyes shined with the lights of the lamp.
As he laid in his bed he looked at the scenery. A city full of light and life, the night sky enhancing the beautyof it.The man coughed as a stream of blood went down from the side of his mouth. He was attached to a machine with tubes attached to his body.
The man smiled knowing his end was near. ''If only I didn''t have this weak body''He thought.
Ever since a child, he was sick. His parents were always busy with work and spent very little time with him. So that only left him to engulf himself in knowledge. His family was financially well off, so he was homeschooled by teachers, studied online and learned. When not searching the internet he would play games, watch movies, anime and etc. Of course, he still learned just in a much more entertaining way.
He was known as a genius by his accomplishments at a young age. He started his own online business at 16. By the age of 20, he was one of the richest people in the world. But as his success grew, so did his illness. By the age of 19 he couldn¡¯t walk, and when he turned 21 he was completely paralyzed from the neck down.
He grew lonely with no friends or loved ones in his whole life. His parents died when he was 18, but he didn''t feel pain from it.The people who did try to get close to him only wanted a piece of his riches. So he pushed them all away.
''After all this success,I still have not gained happiness.'' He thought.
He continued to stare at the night sky wondering if all of this could''ve been different. His vision started to become blurry.He could feel streams of tears along his cheek. He was confused as to why he was crying, he did not fear death. At least he thought he didn''t.
He closed his eyes awaiting death to come.His body became cold but warm at the same time. He couldn''t comprehend what he was feeling. He simply laid, waiting for when this pain would end. His pain slowly disappearedas well did the sounds in the distance. After what seemed like forever he slowly opened his eyes.He was shocked to find himself floating in a dark space.
¡°Where am I? What is this place?¡± He couldn''t recall who he was or from he came from.
He was shocked to all of this, but what surprised him the most was that he could feel. He could feel his hands and legs move. This sensation, its something he hasn''t experienced in.... years?He could see himself move his arms and legs. A smile spread across his face, without him knowing.
"Hahahaha" He laughed as he began to feel his body. But a bright light caught his attention, in the distance, he saw orbs of light. He slowly began to float towards them.
The orbs varied in size and color. He tried approaching one of them, but it moved away from him.He chased them down but to no avail. It was like they were afraid of him. He almost gave up until one slowly floated towards him.It was a cyan color with a tint of light green to it. The young man reached out to grab it.
Once he touched the orb with the tip of his finger it glowed brightly. The light blinded him, he slowly began to hear the sound of... rain?This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
He opened his eyes to only see something over his face. He tried to move but was wrapped in something cold and wet. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn''t move his arms free. He tried speaking but only heard a whimper come out of his...mouth? After making noise was it that he finally could see.
Because a man moved the blanket that was covering his face from the cold rain. It was too dark to see the mans face. But for some reason, he was happy to see that face. He finally got one arm free and pulled on his messy beard.
A man walked through the rainy night, under the bright moons. He was tired from the hours he ran. The child in his arms made a sound showing it was awake. He moved the blanket from its face to show a bright smile.
The man smirked seeing its face. But before he could cover him again it pulled his bloody beard. "Oho, a fighter now aren''t ya" He smiled as he moved its hand back into the blanket. He continuedwalking through the forest until he reached a small village.
Once he reached there was almost no one outside, but just people working or bums. He walked towards a small building that was an Inn. Once on the door, he could smell the booze and piss from all the man drinking. People were laughing and smacking each other in the back, while others were too drunk to know what was going on.
Once he walked through the doorway people closest to the door stared at the man covered in a black cloak. He walked past tables full of people that were being served food and drinks by young boys.
After a few seconds of staring people went back to what they were doing. Drinking and telling their tales that may or may not be true. The man in cloak was a little over two meters tall. The cloak was all covered in what seemed like mud and wet.
Once he made it to the register he dropped a gold coin onto the wooden table. A man that was cleaning the table stared at the man for a few seconds. Thinking whether or not to accept the coin. Finally, he grabbed it and hid it who knows where.
"What can I do for you sir" As the continued to clean the table.
"One room with privacy, warm food brought and a warm bath" He replied with a tired and raspy voice.
"Right away sir, please follow" he stopped what he was doing and lead him upstairs to a room that was well furnished.
The bed was big enough for just two people. The room had two smokey glass windows on each side of the bed.
"Is it to yourpleasing?" the man leading said shortly after.
"Yes, now leave." Cloak man responded.
The other left closing the door behind him. The big man took off his wet cloak and placed the sleeping child that was hidden under the cloak on the dry bead. The child opened its eyes and giggled at the man with a smile.
He walked towards the fireplace and lit it with a flint next to it. There was firewood next to it in case he wanted to add any more. He wrapped the child in a dry blanket and brought him closer to the fire.
"We have a long journey ahead of us, now don''t we boy." He smirked as he sat next to the fire on a wooden chair.
15 years later
A young boy was climbing up a tree, leaves shaking and the sky turning amber. Once on top, he could see the sun setting in the distance, along with the view of the river he knows so well.
¡°Ignius! Boy, where are you!¡± He could hear his name being called.
He turned towards the sound of the voice. He quickly jumped from tree to tree towards the source of the sound.
"Food''s ready!" the man''s voice was getting louder. Shortly after the boy dropped silently from the tree. He was behind the man that was shouting. He slowly walked towards not trying to alarm him.
When he was within arms reach he lunged at the man pushing him to the ground. At least that was what he hoped todo. He was pushed to the side by man''s quick movement.
The man was a little over two meters tall, with long dark brown hair neatly tied reaching his mid back. His beard reached his chest making him look majestic. He looks to be in his mid 40''s, his face showing some wrinkles along the eyes and forehead.
He has dark green eyes along with an old scar on his right eye, going vertically from his upper eyebrow down to his cheek. He has a muscular body with scars showing the battles he''s lived through.He wore dark leather clothes made from his past hunting, nothing amazing.
Ignius has short black hair along with light brown eyes. He has a medium build, nothing special. He wore the same clothes as his Uncle.
"You still need a lot of improvement if ya plan to hunt like that." The man smiled down at the young boy.
"When did you hear me?" Ignius replied while standing up and dusting off the dirt from his clothes.
"I heard ya 10 trees back while ya hoped along the trees. Speed is good but don''tsacrafice speed over being silent." He replied while walking away.
"I know that, but its hard while trying to keep balance on the branches," Ignius replied while following him home. "When are you going to teach me to fight Uncle?"
His Uncle stopped walking and looked at Ignius for a short moment. "Well start tomorrow" and continued walking.
"Finally, I thought you would never teach me" Ignius was so excited about tomorrow. He ran ahead of his uncle to get done for the day faster.
Chapter 2
Next Morning
As the suns light shinedover the heads of trees, inthe middle of a dense forest, a small house made out of stone and wood appeared. Inside laid Igniusin his warm bed. He awoke to the light coming throughthe mossy glass window.
He jumped from his bed looking forward to the day. He changed from his clothes into some better suited for the outside. He pushed the wooden door leading to a small hallway. He walked to his right into the kitchen where he saw his Uncle alreadycooking. His uncle cooked on a huge metal pot over a fire.
"What we having for breakfast?" Igniusasked as he sat on a wooden chair next to a table.
"Deer with eggs" His Uncle replies as he takes a sip to make sure the soup is ready.
The two served themselves in woodenbowls. Igniusasked what kind of training they would to, nut his Uncle just shruggedit off. After they''re done eating they clean up and walkedoutside. Outside of the house is nothing but trees that reach about ten meters in height.
Once they were a fair distance away from the house his uncle stopped in his tracks. He turned around and threw a wooden staff towards youth direction. Igniuspanicked and barely managed to catch it. He was surprisedthat his uncle had this in his possession. ''Since when did he pick this up?'' Igniusthought.
"What''s this for old man?" he asked as he looked at it.
"For your training" He replied as he swung his own wooden staff around.
"Why a staff? Why not like a sword or axe?" Igniusasked.
"This or nothing" He replied while he slammed thewooden staff on the ground.
"Ok ok, I get it" Igniusreplied while he scratched the back of his head.
"If you can hit me once within an hour you pass. Come at me when u are ready," His uncle said as he stood without moving a muscle.
Ignius measured the staff to be about six feet, a head taller then he is. It seems to be handmade quite recently by the looks of it. It feels like it weighs aboutfifteen pounds. He tightened hisgrip and lunged forward. He swung the spear from the right side a little over the waist. But before it could connect he was smacked from the back of his head and fell to the ground rolling.
"Ouch ouch ouch" Igniuswhimpered as he rubbed the back of his skull. He looked back to find his uncle on moved. "What you just do," He asked confused. He did not respond. Ignius continued to lunge at him from different directions and angles, but every time he would be smacked.
He slowly was getting frustrated with every swing. Ignius was covered from head to toe in sweat and dirt. Its been maybe twenty minutes but no result.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
His uncle walked towards him and pulled him up. "You are too eager to start the fight without thinking" his uncle replied. "Try to trick the target instead" as he pointed to his own head.
"Now again" his uncle exclaimed as he stood still.
Ignius didn''t know what he meant. He was simply just trying to beat him. His body was beginning to get heavy. But that''s when he thought. ''I''ve been too focused on him. I should''ve paid attention my own movement.''
He slowly tried to control his breathing, bringing it back to normal. He stared at his target. Looking at all the possible outcomes that could happen. Then he lunged himself straight at him. He waited until he reached his striking zone. His face was just a few inches from scraping the dirt floor. Then he swung his staff to the ground causing him to change his momentum. It made him lose a bit of speed but it made his movement harder to read.
Soon after he felt his right shoulder get hit. But it wasn''t enough to force him off track. He swung the staff hitting the right leg of his uncle. But the attack didn''t faze his uncle at all. He looked up to find him smiling.
"Hahahaha, I didn''t think you would pull something like that" hisunclelaughed as he pulled the boy up. He gave him a paton the back causing some durt to blow of. "Good good, you have talent boy." As he grinned.
"How can you move so fast for such a big guy like you?" He truly wondered.
"Enough of that,let us continue with your training. Now I''m going to teach you the proper way to use the staff." as he smirked.
They continued to train till Ignius couldn''t stand up anymore. He looked at the sky and guessed its midday.
"Well guess that''s enough for today." As his uncle replied to the nearly unconscious boy in front of him. "Go do your chores and rest. I''ll be back before sundown."
"You doing another run?" Ignius asked surprised. "Didn''t you do one a couple days ago?" he was sure it wasn''t that long ago. His uncle would go out and come back a couple of hours later with supplies like food or materials.
"It''ll be a quick one" he replied.
"Can I come then?" he asked excitedly.
"No" he replied while walking west.
"Why? I''m tired of living my whole life in this place. You can see what I can do, can''t you? I can handle myself" he answered angrily.
His uncle gave him a stern look. "You know I''m only doing this for your own good."
"But why do I have to be locked in the same place, I want to see theoutside world."Ignius couldn''t hide his frustration.
His Uncle rubbed the bridge of his nose."No, you are not ready yet." removing his hand from his face.
"Then when will that be?!" Ignius exclaimed furiously.
"When I say YOU ARE!" The giant man replied with anger written all across his face.
".....fine" Ignius replied and walked away.
The man watched him walk into the stone house. Once he was sure he wouldn''t follow him he ran through the woods at a remarkable speed. Trees passed him in a blink of an eye. Making sure not to leave a trail for the boy to follow.
After he traveled about 2 miles he came acrossa magical barrier. Of course, it can''t be seen with the naked eye. It can only be seen with magic or if the being who placed it there allowed it to be seen. The purpose of it is to keep out humans or dangerous beasts from walking in. It covered the whole place of where their home with a radius of about 2 miles. But it only stops weak targets, anything too strong and it cant do anything.
The Uncle checked it to make sure it wasn''t tampered with and nothing crossed it. Once done he ran back to where the boy was. Once he was inside he found Ignius fast asleep in his room.
"One day you will understand why I''m doing this." he covered him with a blanket and left him to sleep.
Chapter 3
Igniuswalked in the middle of a grass field covered in all kinds of flowers and insects. He touched some of the flowers feeling theirunique texture. Butterflies of all kind flew around him, making him giggle. But one particularbutterfly caught his attention.
It flew around him landing in a flower. Its wings looked moreleathery and bat-like, unlike the others. Its colors were white with black spots making a pattern that resembled a skull. He awed at the weird looking butterfly. He reached out to touch it but it turned into a black mist.
It left a withered flower in its place. Looking at the flower Igniusfelt a cold shiver go down his spine. He couldn''t comprehend why he felt that. But before he could think about it the sky suddenly began to get dark. The warm heat from the sun blocked by dark clouds.
In the distance, he saw a black mist slowly approachinghim. It moved like a wave along the shore. Igniusstarted to feel an immensepressure on his chest as it got closer. He fell to his knees clenching his chest, drops of sweat forming on his forehead.
He gasped for air but couldn''t. It was like he was drowning. He looked back at the mist to see it stop. His vision began to get blurry only seeing a smudge of black. But before he fell unconscious he thoughthe saw a figurewalk out of the mist.
He woke up to find himself in his room. He clenchedhis chest remembering his dream. He cleaned the sweat from his face with his sleeve and got out of bed. He could still feel the pressure from his dream. He didn''t know what that was.
''What does it mean'' he thoughtas he got ready for the morning. He washed his body in the river that''s near the house. Once done washing his clothes he began making breakfastwith his Uncle. Of course with what happened it made it quite into an awkward silence for the two. But his Uncle soon broke the silence when done eating.
"Today I am going to teach you to control your... senses" He said as he cleaned after himself.
"Senses?" Igniusasked confused. "What does that mean?"
"Come" He said as he leadshim outside.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Igniusfollowed behind. They walked along the river until they reached a part where the river becomes a waterfall. The waterfall was quite small of course, but it is still a good drop. They walked down to where the waterfall ends and they watched for a while.
"What are we gonna do here?" Igniusasked.
"Your training of course." He simply replied as he took in the scenery. "This is quite a beautifulsceneryisn''t." as he closed his eyes.
Well, the boy did think it was a nice view but there wasn''t anything special about the place. There was a small amount of fish in the water with some plants growing in and around the water. Mostly just moss growing in the rocks that poked along the water.
"I guess" Igniusreplied.
His Uncle walked on a big rock that hovered a bit over the water. Once he reachedthe edge he sat down cross-legged and placed his palms on his knees. "Come, boy, sit next to me." Igniusshortly followed.
"So...what now?" Ignius asked as he sat down.
"Close your eyes and listen." He replied. Ignius did what he said. "Now, what do you hear?"
"The waterfall?" Ignius replied for what seemed obvious.
"But look past that." His Uncle said.
He didn''t know what he meant. All he could hear was the roaring waterfall that was a couple of meters away. "Listen closely to the environment around you." It was like his Uncle could read his mind.
Igniustried to but he couldn''t. "What am I looking for?" He finally asked after a few minutes had passed. "You tell me." His Uncle simply responded.
Igniuswas getting slightly annoyed but went back to focusing on his surroundings. He cleared his mind andslowly began to hear birds chirping. He could hear the sounds of leaves moving along the wind. He could feel the movement of the fish in the water. He began visualizing all of this along with the movement of squirrels running along the trees.It was like he was connected to his surroundings. It was a feeling he had never felt before.
"Alright, that''s enough." His Uncle finally said while removing his hand from his back.
Ignius opened his eyes to find himself back."How long was I doing it for? He asked surprised.
"Not sure maybe an hour or so" he replied with a smirk.
"What was it that I was doing? He threw another question at him.
"Nothing special, you just took in your environment" His uncle replied as hestood up. "Well let''s head back, we still got to continue from yesterdays training." Walking back to the house.
Ignius wasn''tsure that was all to it, but he pushed the thoughts aside and followed his Uncle. They continued from yesterday and Ignius began to learn to wield the staff. This became the daily routine for the both of them and in a blink of an eye, a month passed.
Chapter 4
It was still early in the morning with the sun peeking through the clouds. Igniushad learned mostly how to use the wooden staff. But of course, it was being worn out from the excessive use. Igniuswas practicing his forms along the river. Sweat being flung from his body as he made quick movements. This had become a habit of his as soon as he woke up.
His body had become a bit more defined with muscle. But the size was still quite the same. His hands showing small blisters and calluses. He was proud of what he had achievedin the past month. On the final swing, he spun thestaff in the palm of his right hand from the side and slammedit into the ground. He washed his sweat from his body in the river. Once done he started walking back to the house to begin making breakfastfor the both of them.
He began to heat the water with the fire that burned under it. Once he could see it bubblinghe started to add the few ingredients. He threw in chopped deer meat along some potatoes. Toadd some more flavor to it he added a small handful of herbs that added a spicy-lemonyflavor to it. He slowly began to steer the soup untilhe began to tear up a bit from the spicy humidity that smacked him in the face.
Once done he pouredhimself a bowl full of the spicy soup and ate it. Igniushad poured himself another two bowls untilhe was satisfied. There was still enoughto fillfive more bowls but he left it there for when his Uncle came backfrom the "Outside."
He stayed sittingon his wooden chair and began to think about the outside world. All the beautiful places he could see and people he could meet. He wanted to eat the food that was rich in flavor and everything else the world had to offer. He knew very little tho. All he knew from the outside was from what his Uncle told him or from a few books he read as gifts from him.
Of course, he tried to leave this place before but every time he failed. About 20 minutes into his journey he would find himself waking back up in his bed. His Uncle standing next to him looking angry. He would lecture him for who knows how long and tell him that outside is dangerous. So he gave up years ago on running away and,instead, strivesto improve himself so that "One Day" he is ready for the outside. Of course,it''s his Uncle that decides when that time is.
But he was soon interrupted by his train of thoughtsto hear his Uncle walk through the doorway. He carried a leatherbag that most likely contained spices, potatoes, and a few more supplies. He placed the bag near the entrance and poured himself some of the soup and quickly ate it all. Once Igniusmade sure he had eaten all of the food from the cauldron he stood and walked out.
But he shortly stopped when he saw a new staffand bow laying against the wall on the entrance from the outside. He looked surprised but lookedat his Uncle. He had a smirk when he saw his reaction to the weapons.
"Is this..."
"Sure ain''t mine, toosmallfor me." He said before Igniuscould even finish his sentence.
Igniussmiled at the answer he heard and quicklygrabbed the new staff. It weighs quite a bit more than the other one he had. Both its ends were covered in steel ending with a small cone shape point. Not long enough to cause a fatal wound but enough to cause damage. About two-thirds of it was covered in steel with designs of animals and branches that covered most of it. The wood was of a dark brown color that ended with a glossy smooth finish.
Next, the bow was smaller compared to his Uncles but about the same size from the bow he used for the past months. Its wood was of a dark brown with a smooth finish. The handle was covered in steel with designs identical to the staff. It''s thread being of a light gray color. He pulled the thread in a position as if he was aiming for a kill. He released and felt a snap sound in his right ear. He smiled at the sound.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Thank you Uncle" He said as he came walking towards him.
"No need to thank me, you earned them" He replied with a smirk. He let out a loud burp and rubbed his stomach. "Well let''s see what you''ve managed to learn." He said as he walked out the doorway with his wooden staff in hand. "Use the old staff"Igniusfollowed behind with his old weapon.
They stood at the usual stop where he trained. Last time he could barely tap him with the staff on his leg. But this time It''ll be different. His Uncle stood without moving a muscle like last time waiting for him to attack. Ignius tightened his grip and closed his eyes. He slowed his breaths to a rhythmic pattern. He listened to his surroundings feeling the wind blowing through the leaves.
Then he felt his chance to strike as he lunged towards his Uncle at a speed that even he was surprised. Right before reaching withing his Uncle striking range he jumped to the left without losing speed. He sensed a swing coming at him from the back and so he swung his staff to counter the attack. The staffs smacked each other with a loud snap. His own staff was sent flying from his hands a few meters behind him.
Ignius was being overpowered in brute strength, he jumped back. He grabbed the staff but he saw a swing coming at him from the side. he had no time to dodge so he held the staff in both hands to block the attack. But as soon as they connected it sent him flying a few meters back.
He gasped for air but it was difficult. Shortly after he caught his breath and gulped large breaths. He sat up to see a five-meter trail he had left. Both his arms were numb from the shock from the attack. He quickly recovered and stood right back up shaken up a bit. He knew he couldn''t take another hit like that. He focused on using his speed to focus on dodging the attacks.
Ignius managed to dodge about six swings but most were by a hair. He continued to dodge until he found a chance to appear for him to attack. Shortly after one appeared. All of his Uncles swings were from the side but for once he swung vertically. Ignius moved to the side and pushed himself forward with a thrust hitting him in the right shoulder. All he could feel and hear was a snap. He looked down and found his staff broken in half. The attack had no effect on him, he stood up and helped Ignius up.
"It seems you''ve gotten quite better at dodging." He said looking at him. "I thought you would''ve just kept dodging until you gave up." He finally said looking at Ignius.
"I thought I was going to die a few times there" Ignius replied to his Uncle with sweat covering his body.
"But you didn''t." He replied with a smirk. But before Ignius could retort his Uncle continued. "It seems you can now handle yourself quite decently." His uncle said.
"Well am I ready for the outside?" Ignius asked expecting to hear what he wanted.
"No, but we''ll still go out." He replied with a confused lad.
Ignius didn''t understand what he said. Of course, he was happy he gets to go outside but if he wasn''t ready then why. This was something he had waited for so long. This felt like a dream to him. It''s unreal he thought, he started to feel a surge of emotions surging through him, he didn''t know what to feel.
"If I''m not ready then why are we still leaving?" He asked confused
"There is somewhere we must be before you turn fifteen." he replied.
"Does this have to do with me receiving my blessing?" He asked
"Yes" He replied.
The blessing that they speak of is something that every child receives when they are around fifteen. Its a blessing from the gods. Of course, its what many believe that is what it is, but no one truly knows what it is or why it even exists.
The blessing grants the user to use the system that exists in the world. It''s a game like system where one levels up and can learn skills and gain strengthone could only dream of achieving. This system has been around since the beginning of time in this world.
"When do we leave?" Ignius asked.
"Tomorrow" He replied. Ignius didn''t say anything else.
They both walked back with Ignius asking what they''ll see, eat and kind of people they would meet. He was like this for the rest of the day until it was time to go sleep. Ignius found it hard to go to sleep with so much excitement but in the end, he found a way. His Uncle stayed up a bit later making preparations for tomorrow.