《Journey of the Black Rose》 Chapter Zero Itwasaniceday,filledwithlaughterandfun. Iwasplayingwithmylovelyniecewhowasonlytwoshortyearsolderthanme.Wehadsuchagreattime, Icouldneverforgethersmilewhichilovedsomuch.Myparentswatchedus,talkingadultthingswhichweneverunderstood.Myunclejustcameinthegardentojointhem.Then,whenIlookedatmyfather, heseemedtense.Itwasweird, hewasnevertense, hewasthemostpowerful,afterall!Motherwavedatmetocatchmyattentionandsmiledatme...butitwasn''tthesmileIwasusedto, I feltsadnessinit.Somethingfeltwrong.Theycalledusandweran,butmyfacewaslackingthesmileIalwayshadon.Ourparentsembracedusandwhisperedtoourearswordsof love.*sniff*Thencamealoudrumble,followedbytheshakingearthandmyfatherrunningoff,sayingwordsthatIdidn''tthinkwouldbethelastwordsIwouldeverhearfromhim.*splash* "Neverthinkaboutrevenge,son.Therewillalwaysbesomeonegreedyenoughtofearthepowerfultakingover", hesaid.Thenlookedatmymotherandnodded. "We should go, my dears" she said, "husband is going to buy us some time". She grabbed our hands and started to jog through the garden, towards the forest near the mansion. We were almost halfway when I asked, "Mother, what is happening? Why do we have to run away?" She looked at me with her beautiful green eyes and smiled. "Because people with power in their hands fear the people who are really powerful. As you know, your father is the most powerful on all continents, and our family has at least twenty people who could be on the list of the fifty most powerful people if there was such a list. But, our family has no bonds with nobles, and we have no political power, so the Royals decided that we shouldn''t be this powerful." My niece, Scarlet, was dumbfounded, "Aunt, why is it wrong to be powerful? Why do they want us to be weak? Uncle and Father always fought for this kingdom, for those royal people! Uncle is the general of a whole army!" she cried. "I know, dear. But for those with power, the morepowerful you become, the bigger threat you are.¡± We almost reached the forest by then,and we could have escaped if not for the ten people blocking our way. Mother said, ?Go on, I¡¯ll be right behind you. I just have some words for them.¡±She was smiling, but as she looked at those people, her eyes were cold as ice. Scarletand I ran around them and onwards into the forest when we heard the sound of their clash. I have never in my life seen my mother fight, but as I could hear then, she wasrather aggressive against enemies.There were already seven people on the floor when one of the remaining people threw something our way. I tried toblock it, but I wasn¡¯t fast enough. The something hit the target, and my niece fell over.I tried to help her up, when i heard my mother shout at me panickedto run. The last thing I saw over my teary eyes was a dagger in the back of Scarlet¡¯s head. I ran crying, for what felt like days, not caring about anything. I had one thing on my mind, and that was my mother¡¯sshout to run, and so I did. I did, until I couldn¡¯t run anymore, andthen stopped at a cave we used with father during training. As soon as I entered deep enough, mysight went black and I felt my body falling to the floor. "Dharov!Dinnerisready!"shoutedDianafromthekitchen. "Coming!" Ishoutedback andwentbacktomydiary. Mother,Father,Scarlet, Imissyou.Afterallthoseyearsinthewoods, anadventurercouplefoundme.Theirnameis Diana andAndre.Theyarereallykindandtakegoodcareofme.Youdon¡¯thavetoworryanymore, Iliveagoodlifejustlikeyouwouldwantmeto. Iwillalwaysloveyou.Iwashedmytearyfaceandwentdownstairs. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it."Ooh, grilledFlameLizard?DidIdosomethinggood?" IsmirkedatDiana,whomademyfavoritemeal. "Don¡¯tyouremember, kid?It¡¯sbeenfouryearssincewefoundyou,wethoughtthatmaybeweshouldcelebrateit! Haha"laughedAndrewhoissomehowalreadybehindme. It¡¯sbeenfouryearsalready? "Woah,you¡¯redoinggoodnotthrowingmeoutafteralltheseyears!" ijokedwiththem. "Howcouldwe,you¡¯realreadyfamilytous,Dharov"saidDianawhilepettingmyhead. I¡¯malreadyastallasher,butshejustwon¡¯tstopdoingthis. She''s quite tall for a woman, as she is around 175cm, but because she is an adventurer, she sees itas a good thing. She has fiery red hair, which is around shoulder-length. Her husband and my master is almost two metres tall with brown skin, brown hair and brown eyes, so he also doesn''t mind her height. Well, she still has her curves and all thatinthe rightplaces, so it''s not really eye-catching, but for me it''sa bit weird. Both of them are Srank adventurers, they got this rank two years ago, at the same time whenIgot my B- ranking. Oh, yeah, I am an adventurer, too! When they found me I was eleven years old, and I had already been hiding from everyone for five years in the forest, fighting animals and monsters alike for food. I panicked when they found me and started to run, but they ran after me. After a whileIgot cornered and attacked them, with thestrengthand speed of at least a C rank adventurer, minus the techniques, of course. As I was malnourished,I couldn''t fight for long and Ipassed out mid-fight. This is where the good things start! They took me in, got me a room in the inn they were too, and paid for my meals. I was thankful, but curious as for why they would help me. Turns out, I tickled Diana''s motherly insticts and she wanted to help, and after seeing mystrength,Andre wanted me to be his disciple. Well, not like I have to serve him and all that, he just wanted to train me and see what I can become. And, that''s how I became an adventurer with their help. Andre helped me with the fighting techniques and Diana showed me how to do more than the basics with magic. Father already taught me how to fight, but as I was only a child, I didn''t get to train in all our family''s techniques, and mother also taught me the basics of magic: how to spark a fire, how to conjure water that is clean enough to drink, how to make a little base for myself from earth, how to clean the air in my room and how to heal bruises. What Andre taught me was, how to properly wield a sword, be it one- or two-handed, short- or longsword. His main weapon is a big brute of a sword, which is as long as I am, and as I trained with him, even I started to use big swords, but mine is still a little shorter at around ahundred and fifty centimetres.Diana helped me with my magic, how to improve from the basics.As she was a dual-swordswoman, despite being talented, she knew magic only up to intermediate class, but that was a big help too. Oh, and also, she taught me the things I missed because I didn''t go to school, and she said i''m quite talented in that part, too! "Dharov, are you alright?" "Huh?...crap, Ididitagain,didn''tI?" IreplyedtoDiana''svoice. "Yeah, kid,youshouldleavebehindthis''narratingmyownlife''stuffalready,don''tyouthink?" "Yeah,I''malreadyonit,Andre,butitjustcomessometimes" Isaid,smilingwryly. "Leavehimalone,bigguy,youwouldhavesomeproblemwithcomminucating,too,ifyoulivedathirdofyourlifeawayfromhumans" "Thanks, Diana,buthe''sright, Ican''tdothiseverytime,I''mnotlivingin aforestanymore"I''mreallygladshewantstoprotectme,butAndre''sright."So,whatpart ofourconversationdidImiss?" "Weaskedifyouwanttotryout aschool.It''sprettygood, andtheprincipalisoneofouroldparty-memberssoyoudon''thavetoworryaboutanything.Theyletineveryoneoverfifteenandundersixteentobefirstyearstudents,youjusthavetopasssometests,butwithyourstrengththose barelyqualifyasannoyances,sowethoughtmaybeyouwouldwanttotryitout.Ifyoudon''tlikeityoucanleaveanytimeandjustgo backtobeinganadventurer."saidDianawithaproudlookonherface. "So,whatdoyouthink?" "Yes,thankyou!" Isaid,withabigsmilelike achild"But,didn''tyoutwosaidthatthereisnoonefromyourold team inthiskingdom?" "Mm,yeah.Thisschoolis inthedemi-humankingdom,butthatshouldn''tbe aproblem for you." "Well, alright, andwhenshouldI go?" Chapter One Meh, riding alone in a carriage really is boring. I couldn''t even pack food and all that. They should have told me about this school earlier, I mean, I only had one day to rest before I had to go! I love going on journeys, but not knowing what?s going on is a bit too much. I have to go on like this for 6 days before we arrive on the border, and 3 more days until I reach my school-to-be. I wonder what test these are... hope something about fighting or magic studies, I don''t really want to write a test about thesis'' and stuff like that, it really turns me off. In that case, maybe I should train something to do a better job. Status! Status Name: Dharov Wandaley Species: Human Race: ??? Level: 54 Adventurer Rank: B- Skills: Sword Mastery(High, passive), Body Strengthening(High, passive), Combat Techniques(High, passive), Fire Magic(Intermediate, active), Earth Magic(Intermediate, active), Water Magic(Intermediate, active), Wind Magic(Intermediate, active), Heal(Intermediate, active), Darkness Magic(Low, active), Light Magic(Low, active), Pain Resistance(Intermediate, passive), Meditate(Intermediate, active), Status(---, active), ???(???, locked), ???(???, locked), ???(???, locked) Woah! When did my level go up? I should visit and Adventurer branch to refresh my page, with this I should be B rank! Well, ability-wise I''m already well above my level, but they don''t know about it, so they use my level to rank me up. About my abilities, with Andre''s and Diana''s training I got quite powerful, so much that I had quests with them on more than one occasion. What I couldn''t train with them is my Darkness and Light Magic, and my locked skills about which I didn''t even tell them. I''m pretty sure the locked ones have something to do with my family. When I was but a child, I heard some tales about abilities which made my family as powerful as it was, so the possibility is high. Diana didn''t know any magic other than the four basic elemental magic and Heal. Well, those are the ones all adventurer party should have at least at Low class, like my mother taught me as a child. Hmm, but what should I train now? I have plenty of time, but I can''t really train hard in the carriage. My close combat abilities are already high enough, and I can''t train any of them inside. Pain Resistance? Hell naw, that one''s for sickos, I mean who would inflict pain on themselves, even if it''s for a skill? Even I only got it after fighting monsters daily for years without proper training or weapon and training with Andre after that. Any of my intermediate class magic besides Heal is also out, because training it to High class would mean training it to a level which could cause destruction wherever it went and I don''t think the driver would be happy if I destroyed his whole carriage. As for Heal, it will be almost useless, as it should be useless above its level for something like an academy test. What remains is Darkness and Light Magic. Darkness Magic is one of the main skills assassins are trained in, because later on it can amplify their best skill, Stealth. But it is also used to create a black fog for escaping, or hiding/blurring one''s facial traits. I quite like this magic, but the only thing I can do with it is to make a fog big enough to hide one of my arms or to blur my face. Light Magic at such a low level can only be used as a torch, but it sucks magic too fast so it isn''t used by adventurers as Fire Magic does a better job at it. At a higher level, it can attain a bit of ''holy element'' to it, which modifies the light it makes to have a healing effect better than the basic Heal magic. Looking at things like this, the only choice I have is to train Darkness Magic, as I can do everything Light Magic will be able to do with Heal. Darkness Magic... What I can use it for, is to create a fog to hide where I''ll strike, so maybe I should just train it to cover a bigger area. Alright, let''s do this! I''ll sit on the floor of the carriage, so that I won''t fall down when we stop. Alright, sit cross-legged, focus your mind and imagine a fog seeping out of your body, covering you up to your waist and let''s try to slowly increase the amount of fog. Good, now I''ll just have to maintain this for like... the rest of the way? Ugh. It''ll be better if I use Meditate during training, won''t it? Increased mana recovery rate, increased focus and the only downside is that I lose track of time, which isn''t so bad seeing that I''m bored out of my mind, is it? Position is already good for Meditate, so let''s just slowly drift off and concentrate on the fog, think about leaving your body and becoming one with the fog, and growing, just growing... Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Do you wish to initiate Deep Meditation state? Duration: ~10 days. You won''t be able to wake up during the process. Yes/No.
Deep Meditation is over. You can wake up in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... "-ov! Mister Dharov! Are you alright in there? We are near the Academy, you''ll have to be ready in a few minutes! "Academy already? Alright, I''ll wash up and be ready in a minute!" What the hell? Wasn''t the academy more than 9 days away? Wait... Deep Meditation state? What is that? Woah! The fog is so thick I could bite into it! This was sick, I never heard of anything like it. I''ll have to ask Diana about it, as she''s the one who taught me how to meditate, or maybe their friend, the principal would know about it? They''re the leader of Magic Academy after all, they should know something about it. Oh right, I should get ready. Aqua Ball! *splash* Breeze! *woosh* That should do it for my face, but what about my clothes? I should also get rid of the fog... Wow, I''m drenched. I mean, really drenched! I never sweat this much even when Andre was frustrated and made me train for almost a full day with weights on! Was it because of that weird state? Hm, but it could be simply that using magic continuously for days is a bad idea... oh, let''s just get rid of these clothes. Fire Aura! Haha, I''ll never get bored of this. First time I learned this, I couldn''t control it and always got naked, but now it can spare my clothes if I want it to, which isn''t the case right now. With another Aqua Ball and Breeze combo I was cleaner than a kitchen, and got into my ''pretty clothes'' as I call them, these are the clothes Diana told me to wear when arriving at school. They really look cool though. It''s all black, like I like it, but has a noble-like feeling to it despite being an enchanted combat suit. It has a black pants with a bit of thicker leather at the knee part, black tee and a black, hooded coat which has thicker leather near the elbows and shoulders, and black fur around the hood. It looks good and all, but the best part is that it''s from monsters I hunted myself! The main ''ingredient'' is a Wyvern variant, its skin from the wing part to be specific. Durable, flexible and looks good. The thick parts are from a Drake variant, from various parts of the monster, but it''s even more durable, since I''ll fight in it for sure. The fur is from a Shadow Fox, it was the hardest to acquire. No, it isn''t a strong beast, but it''s tricky and hard to find. I had to camp near a nest for weeks. When I killed it, I looked into the nest and found another five of them, two of them adults and three little ones... and four of them were dead. Only one little guy survived, and I took it home. Looks like the one I killed, killed this little one''s family before running off, thinking they were all dead. Luckily, I found this guy before it died of starvation. The guy''s now with Diana and Andre, and he''s happy to have a ''family''. I wanted to take him with me, but I still don''t know if they allow ''companions'' at the campus. Back to my clothing, I also have my lovely sword on my back, which is, as anyone could guess, also black. Surprise!... No? Alright. It''s a too-big-for-me-to-be-human sword, as Diana calls it, together with Andre''s sword. It''s a hefty one with a blade as long as a hundred and thirty centimeters, and the rest being another twenty. It''s made from obsidian and a bit of mithril which I bought from almost half the money I made during the years. The handle is covered in Wyvern variant skin as well, with handle itself being from the bones of the Drake variant mixed with obsidian. nigh-indestructible and beautiful. It matches me, haha! Well, this gear really is to my liking. It looks good with my silver hair, and the same green eyes as my mother had. Well, almost the same. My pupils got a bit weird last year, it still looks almost normal, but it got some ''edges'' on the top and bottom. Not that you can notice it unless you stare into my face from like 5 centimeters. After I finished gazing lovingly at my sword, I got out of the carriage. "Oh, nice, finally a little fresh air! Thanks for the ride, Mr. Driver!" "You forgot my name, didn''t you, lad?" smirked the driver. "Busted. Now, can you come down help me load my packages down your carriage?" I asked nonchalantly, burning with shame from the inside. HOW COULD I FORGET HIS NAME? ARHHGH! "Sure thing, laddie." "Thanks. And, where is the school?" "Haha, you really don''t know anything, do you? You should''ve got out on the other side" "...the carriage is hiding it from my sight, really? That''s evil." I sulked. "Old trick, but I like it" smiled the old man. "Ah, I hope it''s the last trick and you didn''t bring me to another kingdom. Now let''s check out the schoooOUOOO WHAT IS THAT?! IT''S ENORMOUS! It''s like a whole capital!" Chapter Two After a while, I managed to calm down and say goodbye to Mr. Driver. Now, as I''m on my way to school I still can''t believe that it''s so big... I mean, it''s bigger than the capital I''ve seen! And it''s only an academy! Is it mostly dorms, or maybe the school itself is so big? It even has a mountain! Could it be that they will make us train there? It''d be awesome. "Hey! Are you a new student, too?" called out someone as I was looking around curiously. "Hello, yeah, you too?" I replied, after finding out who called out to me. It''s a long, bluish-black haired guy, a bit taller than me. He was in a blue robe, holding a staff in his left hand, fully intent on giving off mage-vibes. I mean, you look at him and you just know that he''s a mage of some type. "Yeah, just got here, I almost got lost in the crowd. Name''s Rowan, by the way." "I''m Dharov, nice to meet you. Erm, there are guards near the gate, you think we need to pay for the entrance?" "Nah, I think they just ask for your name and ID to see if you really are a new student. Doesn''t really make sense to ask money for entrance if you also have to pay to be here, am I right?" "Yeah, in that case I should ready my ID. Good to see a ''normal'' mage, by the way. It''s really rare to see one nowadays. I heard that a few years back they started to either disguise themselves as fighters, or learn hand-to-hand combat for real." "Hmm, I didn''t see the need, I never really had to fight against humans, or even humanoids. Well, I do know some combat techniques, but that''s not nearly enough to buy time against someone on my level." "I see. But don''t you think that now, that you''ll be in the academy you''ll have to fight fellow students?" "Maybe? I didn''t think about that. I''m more like a scholar, you know, it''s rare for me to fight." "Scholar? But don''t you need to take combat classes even if you only have interest in scholarly...things?" "Haha, yeah, but for the first year it''s enough to know some spells and you''re already fine." "Really? I thought that this school is harder. Now that I think about it, I barely know anything about this school." Why didn''t Diana tell me anything? For me to come here just to learn a few spells, that I most likely already know, isn''t it a waste of time? "Name and ID, please" Oh, time really flies when you''re talking. I''m already at the gates. "Dharov, and here''s my papers." I said, as I gave my ID and the papers I got from Andre to a guard. "Hm." grunted the guard, before asking the other guard while waving the papers, "Hey, what to do with these?" The other guard came, and took a look at them. "*cough* Advanced Fighting and Magic, 1/A class, right? Go to the dorm marked on this map, and here''s the key for your room, the room number is on the key. Your uniform should be delivered within an hour." said guard B, while separately giving me the map, showing my dorm on it, and giving the key to my room. "Thanks, have a good day!" Even if I say it while smiling at them, they probably have to stand here all day, so it isn''t really a good day. Maybe I should wait for Rowan to finish. I''ll check my status in the meanwhile. Status! Status Name: Dharov Wandaley Species: Human Race: ??? Level: 54 Adventurer Rank: B- Skills: Sword Mastery(High, passive), Body Strengthening(High, passive), Combat Techniques(High, passive), Fire Magic(Intermediate, active), Earth Magic(Intermediate, active), Water Magic(Intermediate, active), Wind Magic(Intermediate, active), Heal(Intermediate, active), Darkness Magic(Intermediate, active), Light Magic(Low, active), Pain Resistance(Intermediate, passive), Meditate(Intermediate, active), Status(---, active), ???(???, locked), ???(???, locked), ???(???, locked) Woo-hoo! That Meditation thingy really was good! I should try to use it more often. My Darkness Magic even went up a class! I had to go from failure to failure for years for my other Magic skills to go up to Intermediate class, yet one, week-long training helped me pass that, nice! Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site."Hey, Dharov! Why didn''t you tell me you''re in Advanced class?!" asked a rather irritated Rowan, interrupting my thinking. "Oh, hey Rowan, I see you''re done! And to answer your question, because I didn''t know about it. I only get to know that I''ll go to school here around ten days ago, and I didn''t hear about anything specific, just that I''ll be here for a few years. Maybe you could tell me what this is about?" "You didn''t know?! But you weren''t even surprised when the guard told that! My heart almost stopped when I heard what he said." Ooookay, I think that''s not true, but let''s not say that. "That''s also because I don''t know anything about this school. Don''t you feel you should tell me before you shout at me?" I asked, smiling innocently. This works almost every time. "But... alright. But after this, you''ll have to tell me who the heck you are... Most students go to the ''normal'' classes, they are average people who just started to experience fighting, melee or magic doesn''t matter. Then there are people like me, who are said to be talented, and have been polishing their skills for years already. We take classes from strong ex-adventurers, or from people who have been in the military for years. This part of the school is full of nobles, with some people who are from military families. This is the ''prodigy'' class, so to say. Then there are freaks, LIKE YOU it seems, who take ''advanced classes''. People there have around the same strength as an A rank adventurer, and they have what it takes to be stronger. And, it seems you''re a monster even amongst them, because if I heard right you''ll take advanced classes in both Physical and Magical fighting, which is... well, I don''t think it''s unheard of, but at least I never heard of anyone like you. Most people choose one type of skill to polish, since it''s hard to bring both to A rank level before you become sixteen." I see, so I won''t be with ''newbies'', so I don''t have to hold back anything, right? That''s a nice info, indeed. "Thanks, that was helpful!" I said it with a friendly face, but for some reason Rowan doesn''t seem to like it. "Umm, as I already said, I''m Dharov, and I am a B- rank adventurer. Well, my level already hit the B rank criteria, but I didn''t have the time to go to a branch to refresh my status. As for my strength, yeah, it should be right to say that I have the strength of an A rank adventurer, but in my opinion I shouldn''t be one as I lack the experiences to become one." Yeah, I still didn''t go on a real ''raid'', but I like it solo, so it''s fine as it is. "You... I should''ve known, your gear seems like a normal suit from afar, but as I got close to you I noticed that it''s from some kind of high-class leather. Haah, and don''t even talk about your sword, I think I''ll get a headache. So, you said your strength is around A rank, but what magic do you specialize in?" asked Rowan, seemingly tired. "Um, I don''t really specialize. I''m good with all magic, so that''s why I could fight off a specialized mage." "Really? You better help me with magic if I need some help, you hear?" Really now, asking it with a smile like you weren''t irritated before. Maybe he just doesn''t like when people surprise him? "Sure thing, just find me later and we''ll see if I can be of help" Is it the ''first friend arc''? I hope so, he seems like a nice guy, he''s also knowledgeable, and even has a pretty good personality. I wouldn''t mind becoming friends with him... or I shouldn''t rush things? We just met, after all... wait, isn''t that rule with girls? Andre''s rules with dating and stuff really doesn''t help me now. I''ll just have to see how it turns out then. "Alright, thanks man! Let''s meet at your dorm tomorrow afternoon and you''ll help me out with some stuff, if it''s okay with you!" he said while already walking away to his dorm with a stupid smile on his face. "Yeah, okay!" Where is my dorm again..? Oh, there it is, like... twenty minutes away if I walk? The classroom better be closer. At least the scenery is good, it has a similar style to the elven cities in legends. I guess I''ll like it here.