《Valhalla》


 Chapter 1:The First Battle

    The Mist.


    It was first witnessed seventy-five years ago.


    Each time when night fell£¬moisture gathered quietly in somewhere of the Continent Midgard.It was like a group of cells from the body of a Diablo,rolling around with its lead-grey ,smoky giant figure.


    Sweeping through plains and forests,covering up cottages and mills,it could even break into avenues of the royal city£¬whose defences had been loose.Variety of horrible evil things would step out of the mist when it couldn''t grow thicker or colder£¬making havoc of anything alive.


    The Mist was nightmare,but it underestimated the creature Human.


    Mercenaries,misers,myth experts,hunters,huntresses,riskers,even desperadoes,came from all over the Continent Midgard and flocked together.Thoroughly tempered skills were the accesses,curiosity and ambitions gave them dynamics,plenty of people had dashed into the Mist regardless of their lives,and that never ends.


    And it was ten o''clock then.At this fancy night of late spring the forest in the hill belonging to Town Green Agate had been covered by the Mist.Meanwhile,a father and son were in a battle against the evil.


    "Thirty-seventh."


    An armored corpse soldier was cut in half from its shoulder by a mega broadsword,which had a figure of machete in adult height. The man using the sword was called Jonahhan Golmap,who worked as a bounty hunter hired by the mayor to tackle the Mist.His rank was "The Old Hand".


    "Oi,my silly sweaty son,admit your defeat if you feel tough!"Jonahhan shouted at somewhere nearby,and then swong the sword casually in horizontal direction,cutting through another living corpse at once.


    "Well, mind your own business! Old fart£¡¡±From another side of the Mist came a young voice,which belonged to Halley Golmap, the son of Jonahhan.


    ¡°So count out,or are you ashamed of telling your poor marks?"


    Jonahhan carried the mega sword with single arm,stepping forward and searching his new prey.He charged ,twisting to his left,making an extremely fierce crescent orbit of blade,and then four more corpses were beheaded.


    "I''ve got forty-two!"


    Forty-two?


    The young boy tread the ground heavily,stabbing through three corpses with his spear.His marks had raised to 50.


    Keeping up silence,he just wanted to widen the gap without being known by his father.Since this time the Mist was not massive,and those enemies were all about clumsy and weak,again the mission became a game between father and son.


    They had been playing this kind of races for about three years,twenty-four times in total,and the score was twenty-four to zero.


    Halley was that "zero".


    "I must win this time!"Halley stressed in his head.The burning desire of beating his father made Halley feel like in the flame,charging energy to his arms.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    First he needed to remain ahead,then find "the mistcore" at once,last crashed it to end up the Mist.


    Being widely acknowledged by the mistscholars,the mistcore is thought to be the origin of the Mist.Sometimes the mistcore is bare£¬hovering in the air.Sometimes it may be embedded in a cubic stela,glimmering and quiet.But most of the situations the mistcore is hidden in a monster''s body,which is the leader of those living corpses,the Mistlord.


    Then,an hour later,when the score between father and son raised to eighty-nine to ninty-three,Halley got to IT first.


    A big guy,about four meters in height,with a look like Frankenstein."Frankenstein "wandering around with its belly,four arms were armed,other two arms armored with shields.


    What a teaser.


    According to their rules of the race,one Mistlord,ten marks.And the Mistlords were always for father.


    But if so,Halley was hopeless to win.


    Never!


    Regardless of anything Halley dashed to the monster''s backside.The spearhead howled in the foggy air,stabbing straight to the monster''s spine.With the momentum of dashing and Halley ''s full weight to it,this fatal hit could pierce through a tree which is six feet in diameter.


    But he failed.


    Because the monster had already turned around.


    The sharp edge of spearhead sliced forward,gashing a long wound in its belly,tons of guts overflowed with foul green blood,just like a smashed coffin of snakes.


    The monster roaring angrily,the four arms with swords chopped at the same time,aiming at Halley.


    That really gave him gooseflesh,rolling over aside he avoided a mortal hit,but he was slapped to the air by a shield once he got up.


    For a second he thought his bones fell apart.Biting the bullet he rose to his feet,trying to engage with the monster again.


    "Frankenstein "ran towards Halley with angry roar,only if a hundred throat-choked turkeys or crows could make this horrible screech.The bloated body moved far more faster than you could imagine.


    Halley made every effort to fight£¬swifting his steps the spear was stabbing constantly towards the enemy.


    The spearhead stabbed to its head,chest,belly and knees but mostly missed.The Mistlord''s swords and shields blocked the attacts,weapons hit each other with clangors.


    Thirty seconds,even shorter,young Halley had made fifty combos,this bloody high frequency squeezed out all of his strength and the four arms of the monster were just spinning swords like windmill of hell,cutting off everything in its way like crazy.


    It drove Halley mad.His arms were overloaded and about to become fiery like two pieces of boiling hot irons.


    All of a sudden he heard a srunning shout from behind.


    "LEAP BACK!!"


    Without any hesitation he focused the only power he left on his feet and did what his father said.


    When he landed on his butt he felt strong winds blowing upon his head,a tall stout figure flying in the air and shouting to him,"Bastard!It''s too early for you to win me stealthily!"


    The mega machete chopped like a flash of lightning shooting down,poor "Frankenstein "was splitted apart to halves rapidly.


    Immediately strong winds blew through the Mist as if someone was switching on a giant vaccum,thick fog disappeared within seconds,only remained corpses and their equipment all over the place.


    The air became clear.Crystal moonlight poured onto the ground.All cleared.


    Then Jonahhan stirred the body of the Mistlord with his sword tip and picked out a piece of crystal,which had a palm size,spindle shape,dim surface,covered by dence cracks.These features told the truth that the Mistlord had been destroyed.


    It was an iron grey mistcore,a kind of superior material which could be used to strengthen steel tools.Moreover, it was big and almost intact,even in the black market could you hardly find this kind of goods.


    "Sweet."Jonahhan shook blood off his blade,put the broadsword back to its sheath,and then threw the mistcore to Halley.


    "Why?"Halley caught it with single hand.


    "A gift."


    "What?"


    "Now''s after midnight."Jonahhan points to the moon.


    "So?"


    "So happy birthday,my silly son!"Old Golmap patted his son on the head saying,"Congratulations on your sixteenth birthday,which means you are already a grown-up now."


    "Thanks,but let go!Your hand is stinking!"


    "Oh,what a flush...."


    "Get out!"


    "Don''t be shy,adult!Hahaha..."


    "Bastard!"

 Chapter 2:Before Set Sail

    When they came back to the town it was almost two o''clock in the morning.Those bodies,together with other trophies,were left behind on the hill,waiting for townspeople to pick up at dawn.Possessions allocation plan had already been written on the contract in advance.


    They took a bath,salved ointment on strained muscles,and then maintained their weapons.But before going to bed,Jonahhan had a few words.


    "Halley,wait a minute."


    "What''s up?"


    "How do you think of my force?"


    "Just so so.You''re still too early to be called The Proficient Hunter,not to mention upgrading your rank from ''The Old Hand '' to ''Master''.Furthermore,there''s ''Master Ares'' above the Master rank ."


    "Well,in fact,you didn''t even see one fifth of my power.Strictly speaking,one sixth."


    "Okay,but I''m too tired to listen to your story now." Halley yawns deliberately,trying to end up this inexplicable topic.


    "Come on!You''re exactly too vigorous to go to sleep,I know you won''t feel tired even though fighting for one more night.Move your ass,yeah,stand straight and still right there.Yes,RIGHT THERE ."


    Jonahhan knew everything about Halley through training and fostering him for almost sixteen years.Could''t but stood in the middle of the room eyeballs to eyeballs with Jonahhan at a distance of around three arms,Halley waited for a lesson from a father.


    "Ready?"


    "What the hell are you..."


    Before Halley got a chance to spit out all of the questions,he froze.


    As if countless serpents winded on their bodies,as if a giant tiger broke into the town,all of a sudden whole Green Agate''s animals and fowls screeched and cried in chorus.


    But Halley felt far more a horror than those because Jonahhan was just standing right beside him.


    Jonahhan stood steadily,endless atmosphere of death erupted from every pore,which made the air change into thousands of needles piercing through Halley, nailed him at where he was.


    Trembling uncontrollably though he was,Halley believed deeply in the subconscious that the man standing in front of him would never hurt him,if not,he should be already on his knees.


    "Are you okay?"said Jonahhan out of the dangerous status.


    Halley felt released,streams of sweat were flowing from he himself like taking a shower.He stepped forward,but fell because of his limpness of knees,before hitting the ground Jonahhan got him and supported him to go to the bed.Not until he sat on his butt did he spoke.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "What the HELL did you do?"


    "It''s the Battle Power Status,BPS in short."said Jonahhan sitting against him on another bed.


    "Except for your broadsword you kept this secret skill all the time."Halley murmured.He recovered very fast.


    "Far from a ''secret skill'' but the basic skill.So,wanna learn?"


    "Sweet!"Halley nodded firmly.He would rather learn as soon as possible.


    "But I am afraid I can''t teach you."


    Jonahhan frowned,as if something hard to disclose had been hidden until now.A terrible assumption suddenly hit Halley.


    "Don''t say that you are actually not my biological father...."


    "Alas!"Jonahhan sighed ,"Time to tell you something,since you''re already an adult."


    Halley was stunned and pale.But after he saw the artificial face of Jonahhan ,he knew the old bastard storied again.


    "Well,since you''re not my own father,farewell after the dawn."


    "You''ve got one thing right that we ought to part from each other for a while then."Jonahhan then spoke in a serious tone.


    "Really?But why?"


    "Because the new term of Dawnblade Academy is about to begin."


    "And what is that again?"Halley hadn''t even heard of this name.


    "The best academy of the whole empire for training elite warriors.Masters there consider teaching Battle Power and other battle skills as their duties.You will learn more than I''ve shown from them till your graduation."


    "I have no idea about that."


    "I had enrolled you without asking you half a year before."


    "WHY?"Asked Halley curiously.Even in this age "the school" was merely a concept in his mind like "the sun" or "the moon".He hadn''t been in even the most ordinary school.


    "The one who can''t master Battle Power is not able to be admitted as a strong man."


    "The reason you can''t teach me?"


    "For such-and-such reasons.Anyway,it''s the job of the school."


    "So where are you going?"


    "North or south,east or west.It is said that in the Silverfung Cordillera the Frost Wyrm awaken again,of course it have appeal."


    "Why can''t I go together with you?"


    "It will be a rather cruel course of self-sublimation for me myself."said Jonahhan in dead earnest,at least he tried to prim.


    But Halley smelt something like wild oats from this middle-age man who wanted to leave his son alone and hit the road.


    "Besides,my silly son,the first difference between adults and children is that none of the adults questions as a kid."


    "What if I refuse?"


    "It doesn''t matter but you ask for it."Jonahhan smiled,then he stared at Halley,spacing the word and whispered,"Believe it or not,you were getting nowhere if you chose to cower,not to mention defeating me."


    Halley avoided the teasing look of his father with his head bowed.Silence continued for a while,then Halley made up his mind.


    "I will go."


    "Lovely.Tomorrow we cash the bounty and set off.Good night."


    Halley lay on the bed,recollecting the thrill brought by so-called BPS.That kindled an expectation of the unknown academy from his heart.


    Yet after the dawn Halley woke up,only to find out his father together with his mega broadsword vanished into thin air.


    A folded note lay near Halley''s pillow.He unfolded it and read.


    "To My Dear Son,


    Effeminate farewell sucks.So I left in advance. The Dawnblade is located at the Bronzegate City,which you can find in the eastern inland of our empire.The new term starts in June,obviously you are not having abundant time now.


    The day you reach the top of the world and become rather illustrious is the time we meet again.Let''s have a showdown then.


    By the way,I signed you up but never paid for the tuition.You can ask the mayor for bounty when you awake,though I consider it is still not enough for you.You will manage to earn,I know that.Cheers.


    Your Lord Father,


    Jonahhan Golmap


    Who only support you till grownup "


    Halley read off without saying anything.Then he tore the letter in halves,then four pieces,then eight,repeating again and again until it was tore to shreds.


    Then the entire townsmen of Town Green Agate heard a roar with extreme anger.


    "Baaaaaaaastaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrd!!!"

 Chapter 3:Transportations

    Halley Golmap,male,sixteen years old,with fine black hair and dark eyes,and were as strong as a little tiger.


    His sixteenth birthday should be an unforgettable one.


    First he received an iron grey mistcore instead of a birthday cake,then his father Jonahhan Golmap,a skillful bounty hunter,abruptly told him he was going to a Dawnblade Academic to study further combat skills.Moreover,his father disappeard and left him a note rather than a letter before sun rose.


    And now he was for his bounty in the mayor''s office.It should be part of his tuition.But something went wrong.


    "Only the party B himself can cash the bounty."Mayor the fatso pointed at the contract,sitting behind a broad desk,"And the only name here is Jonahhan Golmap."


    "He merely signed his name all the time."Halley said angrily.


    "The quarrels between father and son is none of my business.What''s more you didn''t even get a license,so hardly can you scrounge money from me for this reason."


    Although Halley had tackled many Mist accidents with Jonahhan as an attendant,he himself had no qualification for a profession license,for one should attain it only after his sixteen birthday.


    "You''re just beating about the bush so as to get out of your payable bill."Halley finally came to a showdown.


    "Don''t be screwed up.I am just strictly dealing with this by appointment."Mayor said,showing a straight face to Halley with the superiority coming from his age."Hadn''t your old man told you to be humble when talking to the elders?How kurang ajar!"


    Each man has his limit,no matter how old he is.As for Halley,he could accept somebody''s blaming his stupidness,teasing his poverty,even looking down upon his spear.


    But nobody could scold him "kurang ajar".


    The mayor broke the fence.


    SMASH!!


    The whole solid wood desk was smashed under one punch by Halley,splashing everywhere were the fragments.


    "Give me that and SHUT UP or I''ll kill you."His face was horrible as if he was something like a beast.


    Fifteen minutes later Halley left the town with one hundred and twenty percent of his bounty.


    Talking about administrative divisions, Town Green Agate was an area under jurisdiction of Jadeite City,which was the seventh royal city of Arcadia Empire.But Dawnblade Academic of Bronzegate City was in the fourth.Between the two cities was a long and difficult road that forced Halley couldn''t but seek help from the traffic stations.


    The most recent station was in the middle of the artery between Town Green Agate and Town Blue Glaze and Halley got to there by the noon.


    A receptionist received Halley.When he knew where Halley was going,he recommended three ways.


    The cheapest way was by Velociraptor.It was in three times speed of by horse and it would take the time of whole four days.On its downside,riding a Velociraptor was really toilsome and it had a risk that the reptile might bite your head off when camping with them.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The fastest way was by Incantation Airship.After aboard in Jadate City it only took a night to get to the destination.When it came to the shortages,surely the ticket fare was not a small amount.And not only should Halley take a trip to the royal city itself but also he might wait for the flight for some while. Due to those probabilities he might not save much time.


    Finally the eclectic way was by Alpine Paraceratherium,popularly called Al-behemoth,which was widely called the proper on-land transport champion, and it took two days.As for its shortcomings,that might be the inflexible routes which only be fixed in the arteries.It was not a direct train all the time so it would stop at every station along the way.Passengers were not supposed to be full because of the quite jolty journey,otherwise you should prepare for throwing up all of your chyme at any time.


    There were only four days left before the school opening day June 2nd.Halley had only ridden horses and Verociraptors before,others were brand new to him. He calculated the expenses and then chose the Al-behemoth.


    "Destination Bronzegate City,transportation Alpine Paraceratherium ,are you sure?"Spoken by the receptionist who was a pretty bob-haircut young lady.While speaking to Halley her left frontal hair slid down and she pulled her hair back gently behind the left ear.


    This unconscious action really enchanted Halley,the boy who never faced this colorful world before,and brought him a very delicate feeling.


    "Yeah,sure,certainly."Halley''s face was burning with a little bit nervousness.


    "Please pay four silver-rings."Pretty receptionist received the money and gave him a ticket of thin slice metal,one digit in width and two digits in length with a curly rose red mark in the center.


    "Please make sure your ticket is well kept before you reach your destination.Now please go to the Entrance Three."


    Halley''s heart itched,for many times he was eager to ask the lady her name but the desire was totally forgotten when he met the Al-behemoth.That exactly gave him a shock.


    It was the first time he could observe the Al-behemoth in such a close distance.Its back was about thirty inches,just like a mountain,giving Halley an invisible pressure to his head.But it was still on its knees,which meant it could be taller.On two flanks of the back hung many cabins,which might operate as the seats.A few people sat in the cockpit hanging around the behemoth''s neck,from there jumped out a dwarf.


    "Hey dude!Dude!Ticket,your ticket!"He could merely reach Halley on his waist but the voice was rather deafening.


    Halley showed the ticket. The dwarf reached his hand equipped with a strange gardeners and pointed at the rose red mark.A few seconds later it turned green.


    "Find a seat for yourself ,don''t waste my time."Dwarf roared,continued to check another passenger.


    Halley found a position in the middle,stepped into the cabin.It was kind of resemble standing right in a coffin with a urina smell of stables but that didn''t spoil Halley who was looking around in high excitement.


    On his left side hung a carpenter-look man,on his right side was a medium blondie maiden about his age,pop-eyed,gripped the grab bar tightly.


    "Why so nervous?"asked Halley.


    "Chippy is about to stand up."Said her in a shy euphony .


    "Chippy?"


    "The name of our transportation."


    "What about that?"


    "Is this your first time to travel by a Al-behemoth?"


    Halley flushed."No,not at all!Actually I''m experienced!"He pretended to be an proficient but had no idea about how to start,which made him anxious.


    "Anyway,it''s good for you to grasp the bar properly.That bumps indeed."She reminded in a gentle voice.


    "Just a cinch."


    Seemed like Chippy heard that,it stood up abruptly.Being unprepared Halley almost tumbled if he didn''t hold the grab bar in time.Hearing a faint but clear chuckle,his flush turned dark red,all his courages of turning to look her face were gone already.


    At this time the dwarf had climbed up to the cockpit,swinging a silver club which could make great whistles.


    "WATCH OUT!Chippy''s launching!"Roaring the dwarf.His shouting really could rent the air.


    Mountain-liked Al-behemoth moved all of its eight stout legs,running like crazy.


    It was far more than jolts but a series of earthquakes rumbling forwards.Velo-riders on the artery felt the quake from behind and all escaped in a hurry.From Halley''s viewpoint they were just like hens-riding dwarfs fleeing everywhere in panic.


    The idea of chatting with others during the trip eventually went out of his mind.Now he was making every effort trying and praying for not to throw up.

 Chapter 4:The Bronzegate

    Rumbles,breakfast.Rumbles,lunch.


    Rumbles,supper.Rumbles,another day.


    Finally the rather jolty journey came to an end two days later.


    It was the first morning of June when arrived the Bronzegate Station.Fogs were still lasting,Halley jumped out of the cabin and stepped on the ground,for the first time he knew it''s a kind of happiness to be down to the earth.


    When ticket inspector was recycling the tickets Halley observed that station carefully.It was really worthy to be the main station for it was larger than the combined size of stations he had seen all the way.


    And he lost his way for certain.


    Suddenly someone approached from behind.Halley turned back alertly with his clenched right fist down to the waist,readied a mortal blow.


    The one cried out an"Ahh!"


    "It''s you!"Halley stood down.


    "I, I didn''t mean to..."


    "You''re getting off here,what a coincidence!"


    "I agree."


    Halley paid his whole attention to keep from vomiting during the trip, no wonder he didn''t notice if the girl left halfway.He never expected to have the same destination with her.


    "I just want to ask you if you lose the way?"


    "Yes, I do. This is my first time here."To avoid that embarrassing situation Halley told the truth this time. The girl seemed running around here like a pro might be a good guide,he thought.


    But it''s a pity that facts were always frustrating.


    "Me too."Said the girl with a friendly smile.


    "Then we have no choice but to follow the crowds,they''re always going to the exit."Proposed Halley a clever idea.


    "Or to ask a stuff first?"


    "Well,you''re not chatting with me on purpose so as to laugh at my mindlessness,are you?"He really thought he acted like an dumbass.


    "Not at all."She denied.


    "But why it seems to be the only fact?"


    She chuckled,wrinkled slightly was her cute nose.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Your remarks are amusing,indeed."


    "I didn''t see that."Halley flushed again,"Just follow your advice then."


    A uniformed stuff told this couple of teens the exact way to the city gate.As expected that was the very direction of crowds,which saved face for Halley.


    "So why not ask a stuff yourself?"Asked him in the crowds.


    "I don''t think I''m good enough to deal with strangers,those metropolitans."


    "Am I not a stranger?"


    "We had met and chatted before,so you are my prime acquaintance here,right?Besides you seem innocent."


    INNOCENT!That remark did hurt his feelings,making him disappointed.For many years Halley fought against the Mists in order to anneal a domineering,aggressive,imposing manner,and those temperaments like kind,gentle,considerate ,yes-man,were all pests to him.All lay loads on a willing horse,that make sense regardless of when and where.


    "There''s no acquaintance called John Doe or Jane Doe."Halley said.


    "Accosting?"


    "Sorry,just let it go..."


    "Not exactly,however..."


    "However?"


    "However,God named Adam first.And then came the woman in order."She murmured."So,gentleman?"


    "Halley Golmap,sixteen.And yours?"


    "Eve Claire."


    "Age?"


    "Age is girls'' secrets,didn''t anybody tell you?"


    "No."He replied frankly.


    "Dumbbell!"She refreshed her impression of Halley again.


    "But wait,you said I''m amusing,didn''t you?"


    "My fault."


    "Anyway, I suppose you''re two years younger than me."


    "Uh-huh."She sounded fairly pleased."By the way,is that a spear packed on your back?"


    "Yeah,forged from clean steel,so very heavy that I need to wield it with both hands."His tone was very proud.


    "Except for knives and swords using clean steel in smithing is uncommon,especially for making spears."Unexpectedly she seemed very expert."For sale or for you?"


    "Of course for me myself."


    "For what?"


    "Slaying in the Mists.You know,the evil Mists only appear at night."


    "You?Against the Mists?Boo!"Eve made a face.


    Halley intended to say he would prove that later if she didn''t believe,but for a reason he shut up.


    Because they had already reached the gate.


    Magnificent bronze-made city gate was open,towering door planks stood as Titans of the myths.


    Halley stood in front of the gate,looking up but couldn''t see the top.He was often shocked by huge objects recently .


    When they got into the city came a large market,tumultuous,busy,full of huge crowds of people.


    "You want to take a stroll?"Asked Eve.


    Halley nodded,because he smelled a strong fragrance. The roast!


    "So we''re gonna say goodbye then."


    ""Where are you going,relatives?"Halley came up with the question eventually.


    "You''ll get it next time,till we get further acquainted."


    "Okay,when?"


    "Yes,you wanna bump into me soon?"Her face turned red for no reason.


    "Why not?Acquaintance,right?"Halley simply said."You blush?"


    "Ye....yeah?Well,okay,fine,goodbye then."Away she ran quickly.


    "Hey,what about..."Cried Halley behind.


    Without answering him she left while a small,unobtrusive smile curved her lips.


    "Dolt."She muttered.


    Though only met for two days,chatted for a few words along the way,he had taken her as a friend.More or less it was sad to separate,but that only last for twenty seconds ''cause the market appealed to his heart and soul.


    "Royal city,that''s...wow!"He shouted out.


    No idea if it was intentionally or not,Jonahhan never allowed Halley setting foot in any city for the past sixteen years.Even if the mission location was rather closed to a city,they directly turned to another town after finished.As a bloody result,he was mighty for battles and combats,even expert at killing the Mists,but those were all he possessed.


    It was a fact that Halley equals to an ignorant bloke,or else to say,he was simply a bumpkin.


    He cinched the baldric,leather bag stroke the wrapped spear with muffled sounds, Halley thrusted his way into the crowded market.

 Chapter 5:Market Under Titan Gate

    Bronzegate City,the fourth of the ten royal cities in Arcadia Empire,named after its ranked-first defense system and the three Titan Gates which were completely built from bronze.


    Legends,Bronzegate was a city under benediction from Owen Turag,also called The Ruining Warhammer,the fourth of The Nine Valhallas.


    However those myths or something more like common senses were not familiar to Halley.So he went curious when he brushed past flocks and flocks of hammer warriors over and over again in a certain time.But frankly speaking,was there anything he was not curious about?


    Ingredients hunters,bounty hunters,paladins,warriors,each figure matched to a certain career,he even met some characteristic ones of Monsterslayers.


    They were transferred from senior hunters or huntresses,ranked the Master.Symbolic full sets of armor displayed their status,derived from spoils of defeated monsters were their weapons,no matter two-handed swords,axes or assembled crossbows were all extremely large,equipped by them as heavy armaments which could be used to slay a dragon.


    So that was so-called bearing of the strong!


    "Incredible!"He couldn''t help showing his admiration.


    Hundreds of street vendors hawked their goods,boasting of their ordinary treasures.Intact hides,fragrant fruits,resplendent jewels,and then spice,wares,brass-made candlesticks......Those variety of merchandise dazzled Halley,especially arms and armors.Golden ornamental-engraved swords,light and handy throwing axes,bucklers claimed to be made from dragon scales,all were unheard for Halley who only grew up in such villages.


    Moreover he found a broadsword in a booth of a granny who had only one eye left.The broadsword resembled his father''s mega fellow"Heavenmachete " to a great extent.The only distinction was the size,either size of the hilt or size of the blade was much more tinier that the origin, just like a son of it.


    With the eye of acquiescence Halley drew the blade out.The edge was as sharp as a ray of cold light.The wicked-looking blade arose an itch on the thumb,seducing one to press on it and release a drop of blood. The smell on it reminded people that it was not a fresh product but a slaughter tool once stained with blood.


    "Wow!"Halley expressed his approval ,"How much,granny?"


    "Seventy thousand silver-rings or six thousand and nine hundred golden-knife coins."Said the granny.


    On hearing this he felt as if a thorny ache on the hands and he returned the sword. His entire possession was only one point five thousand silver-rings,less than a hundred and fifty if exchanged to golden-knives.It was a astronomical cost for an academician.


    "A man is never defeated by money if he is a man."Said the granny with a sardonic grin,"And dignity is tougher than gold."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Uh,really couldn''t afford it..."His face turned fairly red due to the roundabout slap on his face.


    "Well,well.I thought you knew what''s what,and then?Just casting pearls before swine."She caressed the scabbard gently as caressing an ancient scroll,"The sword,Elemental Sword,reformed from Elven Royalty sabres,ancient smithing,Wind Veins.Elementals were all ruined in the Great Victory,the rest are less than a hundred,drifting about the three Empires."


    And it turned to Halley''s sneer.Jonahhan was right,as for merchants,nine out of ten trick.


    Elven Royalty?The Great Victory?Come on,three hundred years!


    Put aside the fact that a sword would rust away after three hundred years of time,let''s assume it would not.Dare who would put this in broad daylight,in a tumultuous market for sale?


    And it was a pretty nonsense about the amounts survived.It was simply the Heavenmachete used by father after enlarged into two times scales.A bounty hunter with an antique?


    "So,granny,it is worthy of seventy thousand silvers, what about a resemble one in this size,as tall as I am?"Halley gestured with a palm above his head,"Marked one hundred thousand,huh?"


    "Stop making fun,that never existed."Remarked her firmly.


    "Far more than existence but a plaything sometimes, I mean,for me."


    "Hell out,jerky nasty yokel!Out of my sight!"She went mad,picked up a piece of rock and threw it to Halley,though she missed.


    Considering as not to get into troubles here,he was not on purpose pissing the granny off.Hurrily he dashed away before onlookers came.


    Single-eyed granny gazed at Halley till he was out of sight,narrowing her only right eye, the expression was rather plain as she always did.


    And SOMETHING happened.


    Her shadow beneath her feet stretched as a cobra,writhing and cohering into a human shape lowered on one knee.


    "Keep an eye on him."She commanded.


    High noon past.Halley being kept in the dark,following his bloody starvation,finally he reached the barbecue stall.Fragrance of spices and rising smoke filled the air,grease dropped from the sizzing meat,alluring his stomach and wallet.Two copper-cents for three pieces,each piece was about the size of tongue,wrapped with greaseproof paper.It cost twice as much as the same amount in villages but it tasted better in exchange.


    Halley ordered some,gorging as a beast.At the same time he found a man also with a long spear on the opposite side. The spear seemed shorter than his,thinner than his,presumably lighter than his. The man finished his food,cast a glance at Halley''s spear,and he was truly surprised,then left with his jaw dropped and tongue out.


    Halley attained a spiritual victory,with his moods refreshed he ordered more,eating while strolling.


    As was expected,no street entertainers,no markets.Magics,somersaulting,flame shows,juggling torches,all about their popular performances gaining waves and waves of applause with a cent and a cent of coppers.


    One of the buskers truly under spotlight was a rather coquettish maiden dancer with bold dress that Halley had never seen.Curvy figure,cherry-red bandeau,slit skirt down to her feet,tan color waist seemed as supple as a snake,slender thigh occasionally rose from her skirt,teasing heartstrings of every men onlooking.


    More to people''s attention,the dancing girl covered her face with a golden mask,only baring jet black long hair and delicate eyes.Those eyes talked,with a sort of mysterious magic they held Halley tightly.But once they two creatures came to an eye-contact HE always avoided in a hurry.


    Drifting with current Halley cast a handful of coppers equaled to two silver-rings.That was all his power,after all tuition came first.


    Dance stopped soon.The dancer got into a small tent behind the place and a harp-playing old man started collecting the coins on the floor which could be a big fortune.


    "Is there more touch?"


    "Encore,encore,HOO!"


    Audiences threw constant questions and bravos.


    "Please wait on,sirs and lords!"Cried the old man in an oily voice,"Just an hour later."


    So kept strolling around before that,thought Halley ,and he left the crowds.

 Chapter 6:A Brave Deed

    Merchants sold markdown draught animals,jerks picking those aged and invalidish goods one and another.


    Stargazers ought to move in a mysterious way,but now they tend to draw businesses in street walkers'' way,humbugging passers-by that their disaster''s coming,only if they bought special amulets could they got safety.


    Bizarre empirics stirred snakes,frogs and unauthentic herbs in the boiling crucible,guaranteeing the healing effect of their curatives.


    Alchemists out of qualifications hired pretty bunnies,performing old tricks about turning stones into gold,peddling aphrodisiac and philter by the way.


    A small theater built by wooden boxes was popular among sugar-sucking kids,fantoccinis about stories of prince and princess were on show.


    Halley had already strolled all over the market,he had seen all interesting scenes and nothing was new to him.He was fed up with the chapmen,so he walked towards the position where the dancing girl were.


    Onlookers didn''t decline,but he felt the atmosphere was not in harmony.He then forced a way and thrusted himself into the crowds.


    The tent was in a mess,sitting on the floor writhing in pain beside was the harp-playing old man.Three noble youngsters besieged the dancer like cats caught a mouse and,she had no way to run.


    "It should be,your mask off,my golds out.But now, I have no patience,let me help you!"One of the childes reached his hand to the maiden''s mask.


    But he didn''t have his way as he wanted,on the contrary,his wrist was grasped tightly by another powerful hand.


    What a rough ranger,stepping out to save the beauty!As we all know,that was always a rather threadbare pattern and,people were glad to have a look at it.


    But Halley was not in the mood watching a soap opera.


    Because he was the protagonist.


    "Don''t you dare,rustic asshole!Let go!"With his wrist being locked the nobel roared,struggling out of the grip by Halley,at least he tried.


    No matter how hard the struggling was,Halley kept steady and still,moreover he held even tighter and the fierce pain piercing deep into the bone made the youngster cried out and burst out into tears.The childe shrank backwards with his ass sticked up to the air,which earned a big booing for him.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Does that hurt?Then never be a villain anymore ."Halley released of a sudden,with the inertia from struggling the youngster fell hard onto his butt and,some more humiliating guffaws were cast towards him.


    ¡±What the hell are you waiting for?Get him!"The youngster was brimming with tears,crying for help to his companies.They seemed dumbfounded just now but were called back by the cry,drawing their swords and approaching Halley.They were in the same stance,holding sword up right beside one ear,which exposed the fact that they attained swordsmanship from the same coach.


    Halley disdained to use his spear.Punches would teach them a bloody lesson,thought Halley.So he stepped forwards,striking two punches out.Without knowing what had happened the two swordsmen got a certain punch each on the chin and were knocked out like two drowned rats.


    It finished so quickly that the first youngster forgot to shred.And Halley the winner came back to him,squatted down and,gave a slap.


    "You''re the head,uh?"


    The youngster became speechless because of the stunning slap.Before he could master his tongue he suffered a second slap.


    "Are,you,the,head?"Halley asked again.


    "Wh...wh...what''s now?"He trembled in astonishment.


    Another slap.


    "You deaf? The last time,are,you,the head,clear?"


    "Yes,yes yes yes I am !"He finally picked up his mind and answered as soon as possible.


    "Okay dude,now I''m consulting you that could you three get out of here right now?"He sounded rather gentle.


    "Yeah,yeah,as you expected."The youngster stood up hurrily,fetched his fellows,with the way made for them by crowds the three Signorinos fled with a crestfallen look.


    "Thanks,my hero,I''m gonna marry you!"


    "Thanks,my hero,I am a princess from a distant country actually, I wore my mask so as to seek for the one I can fall in love with."


    Halley cherished illusions about those kind of replies.But as the saying goes,reality is cruel.


    "Out you,hurrily disappear!"The old man bounced from the floor,as nimble as a squirrel which never got hurt,pushing Halley outside the place.


    "Hey, I saved you!At least I deserved a ''thanks''!"Said Halley angrily.


    "Thanks?Did I asked for it?If not you,just three dudes;and now,you pissed them off,and me too! The nobles along with the Yellow Robes won''t let it go!And my business is gone!"He looked far more than frenzy.


    "So,you just laid on the ground,playing dead there and,"He pointed at the dancing girl,"Watching her being molested?"


    "Well,it doesn''t hurt."


    "Ok,in that case why didn''t you let her take the mask off at the very beginning?They paid after all."


    "Go to hell if they just wanted to pay my daughter''s beauty for one single golden-knife.You completely know nothing about these.Well,as I have told you,could you PLEASE fuck off?Coveting my daughter,at the vain hope of her mask off in order to show her appreciation?Guess what,piss off! "


    Halley had really fed up with the old man,he would like to give him a blow in the face but for he was aged.


    "Who cares!"He turned back.


    ""Please,wait for a minute."Voice of a maiden came out beneath the mask.


    "Why,daughter?"Cried the old man anxiously.


    The dancing girl stopped Halley from leaving,and tore down a string of bells as bracelet from her left wrist.


    "Keep this.Thank you."Her voice was faint but rather clear and sweet to Halley''s ears. She raised her head and they came to an eye contact.Halley didn''t avoid this time.Gazing each other through the eyes they held the post for a while.


    "You''re welcome."Halley finally came out of a frustrating answer.


    "If convenient,feel free to watch my performances."Remarked the maiden.


    "I will,certainly."